The Necromancer's Dragon

by C D Muller

  “He had plenty of time here!” Selena cried.

  Azrael attempted to speak again, but his eyes landed on the journal that Silver had given her and his expression quickly changed.

  “Where did you get that?” he asked.

  “It’s mine!” Selena immediately grabbed it and held it close to her chest.

  “Take it easy, I wasn’t going to take it from you,” Azrael quickly said, “but I wouldn’t leave that thing lying around for other people to read.”

  Selena glared at him.

  “Do you know what is written in here?” she asked, feeling suspicious.

  “I can only assume but journals are meant to keep secrets,” Azrael said before climbing to the new vacant spot on top and curling up.

  Selena, on the other hand, quietly escaped her barracks after all the lights were out. She wanted to talk to Silver about the journal but she knew that he would not be found until morning. She needed to confide in Thor. Even though she could talk to him from anywhere, she also wanted to be in his presence.

  She ran silently through the dark towards the dragon’s stalls. She saw Thor stir in his spot but he opened his eyes when she drew near.

  What are you doing here at this hour? Thor asked with a yawn.

  Instead of words, Selena started crying again.

  It’s hard to explain, but I have something to read to you.

  She re-read the journal to Thor.

  Selena still could not believe the words she had to force out; she thought that if she finally knew who she was that it would bring her peace. Instead, it felt surreal, as if she were stuck in a dream and that she made it all up in her head.

  When she finished her tale, Thor did not respond at first. She could not blame him.

  That explains why we have such a strong bond, said Thor at last, my dragon sister. And to think that this all had to do with Silver. He saved your life and tried to keep you safe. No wonder he’s always around. He, the Empress, Kain, and D wanted to protect the only living proof that there is a way to bring the dead back to life.

  I wonder what it looked like and how he made the Well of Souls. I think Silver’s true name is Genesis. It has to be him.

  Genesis Altessa? But he lived over sixteen thousand years ago!

  I want to ask him about it, but he hasn’t been able to tell me anything. Apparently D and Kain have been keeping a closer eye on him for some reason. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to tell me, but it doesn’t matter. I’m a failure! I let another person die because I couldn’t do anything to save them!

  What are you talking about?

  I couldn’t save him! My bunker buddy!

  Selena cried again and collapsed on his leg.

  Thor closed his eyes and lowered his head.

  You didn’t know that he was in that much pain and you tried your best to have him open up. I wish you wouldn’t blame yourself for things that you can’t control. I believe that everything happens for a reason, but I also believe that we have the right to choose our own path.

  Selena stirred a little.

  I fear that the Lich isn’t our only enemy. I think it’s the Council too, but right now, we can’t do anything about it. Since we are planning for an attack from the Lich, we need to know where Ragnarok is. I think it’s near Alfheim. I want to talk to the Empress and the Oracles. If we get Ragnarok, then the Lich wouldn’t be as much of a threat.

  I do not know. I have a feeling that he may have another plan, just in case. We still need to do what we can and right now, this is the only thing we can do. Talk to the Oracles and see if they can offer any help.

  The next morning during their weekend break, Erik was given a proper funeral in the Memorial District. His body was taken directly into the House of the Dead where those from the military were honored.

  Before she left, Selena dug through her pockets and pulled out the deck of cards that she and Erik played with together and set them in front of his tombstone. Afterwards, she went to the Oracles.

  She knew they were back at the cottage she visited on her first night. She found them searching through rolls of parchment and through different books that were lying on the counter top with a small, black cauldron sitting next to them. She could not imagine what kind of potion they were brewing.

  “Hello Selena,” Morta said without turning around to face her. She picked up a book and opened it up to a certain page.

  “Don’t worry, it’s just us here and so we can use your real name,” Cassandra said, smiling broadly.

  “And we know why you came,” Nona finished.

  “Nice to see you again as well,” Selena replied and looked around the shack a bit before she sat down in the chair next to the fireplace. “I wanted to ask if you had any more predictions lately about the Lich.”

  The Oracles blinked at the same time.

  “Do you think this is easy?” Morta asked in irritation.

  “It takes a lot of our strength to try to predict,” Cassandra continued.

  “It takes patience,” Nona finished.

  “It’s not that easy to predict the future,” they said simultaneously.

  “I’m sorry, but…” Selena began.

  “You were curious?” Morta asked, raising a brow.

  “Why so curious?” asked Cassandra.

  “You must learn to not be so curious,” Nona finished.

  Selena took a deep breath. “I only ask because…”

  “You’re formulating a way to try to stop the Lich,” the Oracles said in unison once more, “we know.”

  Selena was slightly agitated by the fact that the triplets were not letting her finish her sentences. “If you do know, then why can you not answer any of my questions?”

  “We’ve said it before,” Morta began.

  “We’re forbidden,” Cassandra followed up.

  “To reveal any more predictions,” Nona finished.

  “Any more?” Selena raised a brow in confusion. “Do you mean that…?”

  “Yes,” the triplets said together again.

  “After we made the prophecy before the war and about you, we were forbidden to share anymore.”

  Selena pulled out the journal she kept hidden in her robes.

  “Do you mean the prophecy about this?” she asked.

  The three of them nodded, leaned in, and whispered, “We’re being watched.”

  Selena did not respond to this, but rather nodded and stood up as if to excuse herself.

  “I take it, probably by the Council?” she asked.

  The Oracles then looked among each other and started randomly giggling.

  “We should probably go through the Hinterlands,” Morta suggested.

  “Of course! We always find our best and freshest re-agents there,” Cassandra replied.

  “Maybe we’ll see something interesting,” Nona laughed. The three of them turned around and walked outside, leaving Selena alone. She was not surprised. Regardless, asking the Oracles anything at that point was a waste of time.

  Chapter 22:

  The sun shone brightly in the sky that same afternoon. Selena welcomed the warm rays after being used to seeing black and gray clouds blanketing the heavens.

  She walked towards Alfheim Dock near the barracks to look at the North Sea as Thor indulged himself in his meal that the butchers prepared for him.

  Selena stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the edge. Looking at the sea’s still surface was calming and soothing. A part of her felt like she wanted to step over, wanting to let the water wash away her pain and struggles.

  Her ears twitched to the sound of footsteps crunching over branches. From the corner of her eye, she saw Rahim making his way towards her.

  “Are you all right?” he asked. “We’ve all been worried sick about you.”

  “I don’t know,” she whispered.

  Rahim nervously looked down and scratched the back of his head.

  “I heard about what happened,” he muttered.

  “
I’m sure everyone has at this point, but I wanted to ask you something. How would you feel if you found out that you were part of an experiment to bring the dead back to life?”

  Rahim’s eyes widened.

  “That’s extremely specific and out of the ordinary for a hypothetical,” he said.

  “Never mind it,” Selena said with a wave of her hand.

  The two stood in silence as they watched the sun’s rays slowly disappear over the horizon.

  “Since the incident, they decided to partner me up with Azrael,” Selena said again.

  “Azrael? That conniving bastard! I hate him! I heard that he’s been tormenting you since you joined the Air Force,” Rahim said angrily.

  “I won’t hold it against him,” she whispered, “I’m not sure if he even knows what he’s doing.”

  Rahim’s expression changed as she said this.

  “Why do you say that? You know exactly what kind of person Azrael is!”

  Selena closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “I believe there’s more to him and to why he does what he does;” she whispered, “even so, I still don’t blame him.”

  Rahim shook his head.

  “I don’t understand how you can say that about him.”

  “I may not even understand it myself,” Selena began, “but I can just feel it.”

  She pushed one of the pebbles with her foot over the edge and watched as it hit the surface of the water, disturbing the delicate surface and casting ripples that stretched towards the edges of the sea.

  Rahim shook his head.

  “I know you said that about Silver, and I’ll be willing to believe you about him, but it’s hard to think that of Azrael. It’s just if he hurts you, I will not hesitate to defend you.”

  Selena looked at him with a kind look, remembering that Thor had said the same to her not too long ago.

  “You don’t need to interfere in my battles. I have to fight them alone.”

  “Rubbish! You can’t be expected to do everything by yourself! You have friends who are willing to help you!” Rahim exclaimed.

  Selena was about to object to this when she heard Azrael and Doragon snickering behind her.

  “You think you know me so well?” Azrael crossed his arms over his chest as a sneer played upon his lips. “You think I’m an innocent little boy who doesn’t know any better?”

  Selena glared at him as she took a defensive stance, her heart racing.

  Rahim growled as he held up his fists and stood in front of her as if to protect her.

  “And so it comes to this again,” he said in a low tone such that only Selena heard him.

  She gently pushed Rahim away as she walked up to Azrael.

  “What do you want? I have done nothing to you,” she stated, as she held her ground.

  “Do I really need a reason to do anything that I do? You think you know everything, and that you can read people like a book. You know nothing about me and what I’ve gone through!” Azrael spat and reached up and grabbed her shoulders to force her to step back.

  “Selena!” Rahim called out as he tried to intervene, but Doragon stood in his way and kept him from getting any closer.

  Selena struggled against Azrael’s grasp and tried to get him to let go, but Azrael was stronger. She thought of possibly using magic to fight him back, but she did not have the will to do so.

  She heard Thor roar off in the distance as he swooped in from above. Doragon, however, was faster and met him in midair to prevent him from going near her.

  Rahim quickly ran over and tried to grab Azrael to stop him, but he kept pushing Selena backwards until she was standing right on the edge.

  “You bastard! You’re going to kill her!” Rahim shouted as he struggled to try to stop him.

  Selena’s eyes widened and started trembling in fear at what he was about to do.

  “I hope you can swim!”

  All the while, Azrael laughed as he pushed her once more. Selena lost her footing and fell backwards as Rahim tried to grab for her.

  The water below her was steady and calm as if it were ready to take her in. Her heart was pounding. It was like falling without end. She was overcome with fear and panic, and a consuming feeling that she might die.

  The water welcomed her. The impact against its surface was cold and hard. It felt as though her body was pierced with a thousand needles at once. The shock of the drop slowly made her start to lose consciousness. However, she saw a blur of white dash in through the water after her.

  Silver wrapped one arm around her and swam back to the surface to bring her to the shore of the North Sea by the docks. He did not speak as he carried her delicately in his arms. Selena coughed up the salty seawater as her vision became clear once more.

  Rahim ran over, but stopped when Silver and Selena were in view.

  “Thank the Divines!” Rahim called out as he rushed over. Silver, still quiet, gently set Selena down so she could walk. Rahim wrapped his arms around her as tears trickled down his face. “Thank the Divines Silver dove in after you! I gave Azrael a proper beating for what he did!”

  It took Selena a moment to remember what happened. Even with what Azrael did, she still could not find it in her heart to be mad at him.

  Silver grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him, his eyes filled with hurtful tears.

  “What were you thinking? You’re not a fully trained soldier yet! What made you think that you could stand against him?”

  His hands trembled. It sounded as though he were hurt and angry at the same time.

  “Why are you mad at me for this? I had to try to defend myself! What was I supposed to do? Cower down and let you guys fight my battles for me?” Selena asked as she tried to pull away from his grasp.

  “We are all trying to keep you safe!” Silver exclaimed.

  “The Empress, and everyone else, is telling me to fight my own battles! What am I supposed to do?” She backed away.

  “You should know by now how reckless that was! You were almost killed!”

  “So what?” Selena’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m not afraid of death anymore. You even wrote it yourself that I defied all odds but for what reason? What else was there to bringing me back other than just to prove that you could?”

  Rahim kept looking over at both Silver and Selena trying to make sense of their conversation.

  “That was incredibly hurtful in more ways than you can imagine,” Silver quietly responded, his hands trembling.

  “All I’ve ever been was a tool the entire time. My own mother doesn’t even want me back and I don’t even know who my father is and he probably doesn’t want me back either,” she whispered.

  “Don’t you dare say that!” Silver yelled as tears fell down his face.

  “Selena, what is going on?” Rahim asked but Silver glared at him. “Okay, I’m sorry, I will ask later after you guys are done arguing.”

  “This isn’t a joke anymore, Rahim! None of you understand all I’ve gone through!” Selena cried.

  Silver and Rahim did not respond to this. Selena, hurt and tearful, turned around and ran in the other direction, ignoring their pleas for her to stay.

  Thor flew above her after a moment of running up towards the training encampment, and landed behind her, but she ignored him.

  Selena! What is going on? Please, talk to me!

  Selena did not respond. She felt terrible for hurting Silver with her words, but she was tired of being pulled in multiple directions. Everything in Silver’s journal haunted and taunted her.

  “I don’t want to be here anymore,” she cried to herself. “I feel like I want to die.”

  She faintly heard Silver’s voice calling her name as he pursued her.

  The sky quickly became dark with black clouds that billowed across the heavens.

  Selena kept herself hidden in her room for the rest of the day, jumping every time she heard the thunder. She hid herself in the blankets and under her bed and tried t
o ignore the sound.

  She heard her door squeak open and she shook even more with fear, hearing Silver’s footsteps strut across her floorboard.

  “Selena,” he called out.

  “Please…just go away!” she called out through her tears and yelped again when the thunder cracked again.

  “Huh? Where are you?” Silver scurried through the room until he finally leaned down and looked under the bed. “What are you doing under the bed?”

  “N…Nothing! Just…nothing…” She quivered with absolute fear.

  “Selena,” Silver said softly. He reached out his hand. “Are you afraid of the thunder and lightning?”

  “It’s fine!” Selena called out from under her sheets, “I feel safe under here… I’m used to being alone.”

  Her body still trembled.

  Silence lingered between them.

  “Alone?” Silver paused for a moment. “You've always been by yourself…The Empress, the Council, everyone telling you that you have to be by yourself, scared and alone, with your fears and nightmares.”

  He gently grabbed her arm to help her out from underneath the bed.

  “No, please…” Selena started crying as she tried fighting against his grasp to go back under the bed. However, thunder roared in the sky once more. She immediately yelped and scurried out; she found herself clinging on to Silver’s robes for support. Silver was surprised by this gesture, but he wrapped his arms to embrace her. Tears fell from her face as she buried herself in his chest.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, resting his head on hers, “I never realized it. You don’t have to be afraid anymore. I will always be here for you.”

  * * * *

  Azrael sat down on a boulder near the cliffside where he pushed Selena off earlier with Doragon lying beside him.

  Selena really sets me off. I don't know what it is. She thinks that she knows me. Why isn't she angry with me? Azrael growled telepathically to his dragon.

  Do you want her to be? Doragon asked.

  No. I don't know! Why is she even here?

  He picked up a nearby stick and threw it across the field and yelled at the sky.