by S. E. Smith
Rope. I’m on a boat… with Nali. Nali!
He needed to focus on her. She had warned him this would happen. He shook his head to clear it and gripped the boat’s gunwale.
“You are not real,” he repeated.
The figure dissolved in front of him. He swayed when the boat veered to the left and he quickly gripped the rigging that held the mast in place. All around him, ghostly figures from his past moved in and out of his periphery. It was as if the fog were accessing his memories, trying to find the one that would entice him the most to let go of reality.
“Asahi, help me!” Nali implored in a desperate, terrified voice.
He instinctively turned in the direction of her voice and gasped in horror when he saw her being devoured by the alien. The liquid enemy was moving up her legs to her waist. She held her arms out to him.
“Asahi, please… save me,” she choked.
He reached for her only to realize that he was leaning out over thin air. The boat’s edge caught him at the knees, and he lost his balance. He exhaled quickly in alarm, twisted, and grabbed the rigging. The rough rope slipped in his grasp, causing a painful rope burn. He gritted his teeth and held on as the upper half of his body tipped over the side.
“Asahi, let go, boy,” his grandmother pleaded with bewildered hurt. “Come back with us.”
A wave of calm washed through him, and he focused on the rope he was holding. Then he swung his left arm up and captured a second rope. His muscles strained as he pulled himself up and swung one leg over the side.
He was precariously hanging by one leg outside of the boat, however, the ropes were supporting the majority of his weight, and he almost lost his grip on them when the boat suddenly rocked. He looked at the bow of the boat when he heard wood scraping against rock. Nali had steered away from it, but there were only a few inches between the boat and the boulder. If he hung suspended where he was for much longer, it would crush him.
Asahi pushed his legs against the hull enough to get some leverage, then he used his weight to fall into the boat. He lay panting on the deck and watched as they glided past one of the largest boulders they had passed so far. His stinging palms reminded him that he was still alive and that they were not out of this yet.
“Asahi, are you alright?” Nali called out.
He gritted his teeth and slowly rose to his feet. He flexed his fingers before he turned in the direction of her voice. The fog thinned for a moment, and he spotted her. She was standing at the helm and was holding one arm out to him. Relief swept through him when he clasped her warm, solid hand.
“I’m fine. How much longer before we get out of this?” he asked.
She tightened her grip on his hand. “Not too much farther. Stay close to me. It worried me when I couldn’t see you,” she answered in a tense voice.
He released a strained chuckle. “I was trying to make sure that Micco will get his boat back in one piece,” he teased.
He scanned the fog-enshrouded deck. The ghostly figures continued to move in and out of his sight, but they appeared to be wary of coming too close to Nali.
Nali shivered, so he stepped up behind her and rubbed her arms. She leaned back against him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. They remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts, as the current pulled them closer to their destination.
Isle of Magic
Ashure slowly opened his eyes and clutched his crotch to make sure his cock was still there. He sighed in relief when he confirmed that it was. He just hoped it was still in working order. If it wasn’t, he would have a lot of explaining to do to Tonya—after he killed Drago, of course.
His relief turned to horror when he took in the devastated state of their surroundings. Beside him, Orion lowered his trident and barked out a warning to be ready for battle while Drago stepped out of the Time-Space hoop and shifted into his dragon form. Ashure quickly pulled out his enchanted sword.
“What happened here?” Orion murmured.
Ashure slowly turned in a circle. Smoke still rose from the remains of huts and shops in the village. The grotesque remains of the villagers lay scattered amidst the ruins. Ashure and Orion stepped out of the hoop.
“Orion, watch out!” Ashure yelled when three black shapes emerged from the shadows.
The creatures were dogs, but the alien’s liquid form rolled over their bodies. Orion and Drago turned in unison. Orion struck the closest animal with his trident while Drago released a superheated breath of dragon fire on the other two.
The alien-controlled animals screeched with fury and pain. Ashure surged forward, staying out of Orion and Drago’s line of fire, and struck each creature with the enchanted sword. Each flash of brilliant light nearly blinded him as he pierced their bodies.
He stepped back and warily looked around. Everything was dead or dying. The trees that remained standing were drooping as if in sorrow.
“The attack has begun. We are too late,” he said, his voice reflecting his shock.
Tonya….
“I have to get back to my kingdom,” Ashure said, his voice rising with panic.
“Ashure behind you!” Orion shouted.
He twisted, bringing up his sword as Marina’s father, Ariness, stepped out from behind an overturned cart and aimed a long wizard’s staff at him along with a shouted spell. Fiery explosions rained down—in the area next to Ashure—causing the tangle of thorny vines that had been reaching for him to hastily retreat into the shadows.
“My lords, you are alive,” Ariness said in a trembling voice.
“Ariness, what happened?” Ashure demanded.
“It isn’t safe here. The spell won’t scare the entity away for long. Come with me. Those of us that survived the initial attack have built a temporary stronghold,” Ariness said. A glaze of fatigue and despair coated the wizard’s eyes, and his shoulders sagged with exhaustion.
Orion and Drago warily looked at Ariness before they motioned for him to go ahead of them. Ashure followed the old wizard, with Orion and Drago close behind.
“Ariness, I don’t understand. What happened? How can the alien have spread so quickly?” Ashure demanded.
Ariness glanced over his shoulder before refocusing on the path ahead of him. “Quickly? We’ve been under siege for over a month,” he replied.
“A month!” Orion exclaimed.
Ashure’s stomach twisted. How could this have been going on a month with none of the other kingdoms knowing about it? Surely King Oray or Queen Magika would have sent a warning when they returned from his and Tonya’s wedding celebrations.
He swallowed. Seeing this kind of devastation in the mirror and in real life were two very different experiences. He wondered if, because they had intended to save time by using the portal, the thing had instead stolen time from them.
Ariness stopped and pointed his staff down the path, searching the area carefully before he nodded. Ashure frowned, trying to understand if there was a threat ahead of them.
“We placed a concealment spell around the area. The aliens can sense our magic and use it against us. They have already killed most of us. When I create an opening, we must move quickly,” Ariness instructed.
“I’ll go last,” Drago stated with a menacing growl.
Ariness nodded. “Open concealment,” he intoned.
A powerful ball of changing colors glowed at the end of his staff for a moment before it shot outward. Ashure, Ariness, and Orion sprinted forward with Drago, still in his dragon form, following closely. They were almost to the entrance when Ashure heard a loud buzzing noise behind them. Glancing over his shoulder, he glimpsed a swarm of black insects approaching them, bringing with it a sense of déjà vu from the Daktyloi hut.
Drago twisted and released a long fiery breath of dragon fire at the swarm. A vine erupted out of the ground in front of Ashure. He quickly sliced through it just as Orion blasted another vine. They were running out of time.
“Drago, get your ass in here,” Ashure yelled
, swinging the blade through more vines.
“Go!” Drago roared as the swarm engulfed him.
Ashure stumbled back in shock when he caught the look of fury and resignation on Drago’s face. The Dragon King’s eyes and body glowed with his dragon’s internal fire. Orion grabbed Ashure’s arm and pulled him through the opening a split second before Drago’s body ignited into a fireball of super-heated dragon fire.
Through the concealment, he and Orion stood in stunned silence as the tiny flakes of red-hot ash floated to the ground. Drago had destroyed the alien-possessed insects and vines, but killed himself in the process. The King of the Dragons was dead.
Chapter 20
The Hive:
Valdier
Stardust, wait up for me, Phoenix breathlessly called through her connection with her symbiot.
Ten minutes earlier, she had finally given up trying to keep up with Stardust in her two-legged form and shifted into her dragon. It was actually easier because her eyesight was better, and she now had four legs instead of two. Unfortunately, there was not enough room for a dragon to fly, not even one as petite as she was. She followed the swiftly moving glowing symbiot as it weaved in and out of the labyrinth of tunnels.
No worry, we almost there, her dragon said.
We should stick together! Phoenix’s unease filtered into their connection, and her symbiot slowed down enough to let her catch up. Even with her symbiot close by, she worried that they were about to face something unknown and scary alone. Maybe she should have told her family about the voice. She could have convinced them to come with her—but even she thought it sounded weird.
What would I have said? That I’m hearing a voice calling to me, asking me for help? She sighed.
She was already so different from the others. No one else saw Aikaterina when she came to visit. The thought of the beautiful alien that the others believed was a Goddess sent a wave of sadness through her. It had been so long since she’d last seen Aikaterina.
We here, her dragon murmured.
They paused in the entrance to an enormous cavern. It was just like the one she had seen in her dreams. She shifted into her two-legged form and walked around, exploring the cavern in awe.
Twin pillars, carved with images of different star systems and symbols, graced each side of the entrance. She studied each pillar in wide-eyed amazement. Her heart pounded when she realized that she actually understood what the symbols meant. She didn’t know how or why, but she knew that they were star charts to other worlds.
Stardust padded on silent feet beside her as she ambled along the wide path. Massive slabs made of granite and limestone bordered the cavern. Along the walls were more pillars. Each pillar engraved with what appeared to be different star charts and symbols, also had a flat surface on top. The flat surfaces looked like platforms.
“Gateways,” she whispered as a vision of golden figures standing on them formed in her mind.
She absently stroked Stardust’s golden head and stepped around a large rock. She gasped when she saw a river of gold in front of her. A shiver of awareness ran through Stardust.
“This is where you came from,” Phoenix murmured.
Stardust looked at her. Images flashed through her mind. It took her a moment to realize that they were Stardust’s memories. She looked at the river.
“This is the river of life for the symbiots,” she said with awe.
Fascinated, she walked over to the river’s edge and sank down onto her knees. She stared at the moving gold liquid for several minutes before she bent forward and ran her fingers through it. Warmth surrounded her fingers, and she giggled at the pure joy she felt in the golden flow.
“I can feel the energy,” she breathed, looking up at Stardust.
She gasped when she looked behind Stardust and saw a stairway carved into the rock at the far end of the cavern. A wide platform with an arched doorway stood at the top. She pulled her hand away from the river and rose to her feet. As if in a daze, she walked toward the steps.
The voice in her head was soft and faint at first. It grew louder the closer she got to the platform. She paused at the bottom of the steps and stared up at the arched doorway.
She studied the archway as she began climbing the steps. Stardust walked beside her. When she reached the top, she didn’t stop. Knowledge flooded through her mind, and she swept her hands outward with a silent command. The ornately carved doorway opened, and beyond it, a vast universe filled with many worlds was laid out before her.
Phoenix kept her gaze fixed on a single faint glow of gold. Like a beacon in the night, the pulse of golden light called to her. Shifting into her dragon form, she crossed through the doorway and disappeared.
The Isle of Magic
Ashure stood with his fists clenched at his sides until he felt Orion’s hand on his shoulder.
“We need to find out what happened here,” Orion murmured.
Ashure swallowed and nodded. He turned away from the ash that fell like snow beyond the confines of the concealment field. Unfamiliar emotion threatened to choke him when he saw the small encampment.
“This is all that is left of the residents?” he asked with disbelief.
Ariness nodded. “Yes. The aliens attacked the palace city first. The fight was over in a matter of hours. There were hundreds of thousands of the aliens. The palace forces were vastly outnumbered and quickly overwhelmed. Then the creatures swept across the Isle like a tsunami. My son, Isha, was killed in the initial attack. Mike and Marina barely made it back,” Ariness stopped and wiped a hand across his face.
“Where are they?” Orion asked.
Ariness stared straight ahead. “Marina is very ill. Cornelia and Erin are with her. Mike was… wounded,” he said, hesitating on the last word.
They followed Ariness to an open tent. Mike was sitting on the edge of a cot with his shirt open. An older woman was mumbling and holding her hands over a blackened area on his skin. He was extremely pale, sweat beaded on his face, and his eyes were glazed with pain. Ashure stopped in the opening and put his hand out, preventing Orion from entering.
“He’s infected,” he warned in a low voice.
Ariness nodded. “Yes. So far, we have been able to contain the spread within his body, but we won’t be able to do so for much longer. Its cells are multiplying at an exponential rate,” he replied.
“Ashure, Orion— Where are Drago and the others? Did they make it?” Mike asked through gritted teeth.
“Drago died battling the alien,” Orion quietly replied.
Pain flashed through Mike’s eyes before he closed them. He shook his head before he opened his eyes again and looked back at them. White lines of pain creased each side of his mouth.
“What about the others?” he demanded.
“We don’t know. None of this makes any sense,” Ashure confessed.
“What’s there to fucking make sense of? The aliens have won,” Mike harshly replied before leaning back.
“I’ve done all I can to stop the spread. The creature has connected with his cells and the magic can no longer distinguish between his body and the alien,” the old woman said.
“How long do I have?” Mike muttered.
“A few hours at best, most likely less,” she replied.
“Fuck!” Mike whispered, closing his eyes and leaning back against the post on the backside of the cot.
“King Ashure, you said that none of this makes sense. I’m afraid I don’t understand. One of your men said that the Isle of the Pirates fell nearly two weeks ago, and that Lady Tonya—” Ariness said before he pursed his lips together.
Tonya’s name sent a flare of panic through him. “What about Lady Tonya?” Ashure demanded, stepping closer to Ariness.
Ariness stared back at him with troubled eyes. “She was killed when the palace was destroyed,” he said.
Ashure staggered back several steps as if he had been struck a mortal blow. His mind rebelled at the thought of Tonya’s death. I
t couldn’t be true.
“Who—who told you that she was—that she had died?” he hoarsely demanded.
Ariness turned and stared at a fire pit across from where they were standing. Ashure’s eyes scoured the crowd outside the tent for his second-in-command. His attention locked on Dapier’s drooping shoulders. The perpetually good-natured pirate looked old and hollow-eyed.
Ashure pushed his way past Orion and strode across the grounds. Dapier looked up, his eyes briefly widening before he lowered them with a hunching of his shoulders.
“Where is she? Where is Tonya?” Ashure demanded, reaching out and grabbing the front of Dapier’s dirty shirt.
Dapier slowly lifted eyes filled with tears and sorrow. Ashure shook his head in denial and released Dapier’s shirt as if he had been burned. He wanted to howl in pain and grief, but he swallowed it and backed away.
“I’m sorry, Cap’n. I tried to save her. Them aliens were attacking. Lady Tonya was right behind me when the wall crumbled. She pushed me out of the way. She said… she said… to tell you—she wanted me to tell you that she loves you and that she’ll be waiting for you always,” Dapier’s voice was barely a whisper by the time he finished.
Blood rushed to Ashure’s head, and he swayed. Bending over, he placed his hands on his knees to keep from falling. How was all this possible? He had only been gone half a day. The alien had not even made it to Mystic Mountain when he left this morning. How could it have caused so much devastation in such a small period of time?
“Ashure,” Orion called behind him.
He slowly straightened, turned, and faced Orion, Mike, and Ariness. It was over. Mike would soon be dead, and this small encampment would not be able to last much longer.
He had lost everything. He slid his hand under his long coat and gripped the hilt of his dagger. There was nothing left for him to live for. He took a deep, shuddering breath.
