The Dragon Blade

by P D Atkerson

  "'Cult'?! Is that what you think we are?" Brody hissed. "How dare you! We are fighting to end King Munay's reign. But you don't want that to happen, do you? You're working for him, aren't you?!"

  "I would never work for that devil!" Aroron screamed. "He killed my father, my mother and most likely my uncle and his servant! Why would I ever work for him?!" He felt sick. "I... I...!"

  An ear-piercing whine ripped through him.

  Aroron screamed out in pain as he fell to his knees, clutching his hands over his ears.

  He just needed something solid to hold onto, but there was nothing. Everything around him seemed to be vibrating and shaking.

  It was as if he could feel the earth breathing below him.

  Then, just as quickly as it had come over him, the strange attack was over.

  Aroron moaned and dropped his forehead against the floor. He still felt like throwing up. Slowly, he sat back up and took in a deep breath.

  "Are you okay?" Brody asked, helping him to his feet. Aroron nodded. "I thought for sure you were going to bring this whole cabin down on us."

  He'd had some bad attacks before, but this was by far the worst.

  Aroron sat down and leaned against the table. His heart thudding in his chest. He was slowly starting to feel normal again. But he didn't know how long that would last.

  "I know someone who can help you with your gifts," Brody whispered, standing next to Aroron. "But I don't think you should tell Hunter about any of it."

  "What?! Why not?" Aroron asked, glancing towards him.

  "Does he know you're an Oddity?" Aroron shook his head. He'd hardly even known it himself. "Then it's best you keep it that way. You're in Shenock now, you shouldn't trust anyone with that knowledge."

  "Should I not trust you then?"

  "That's different."

  "How?"

  "Fine! I'll show you why you can trust me with this," Brody said, then he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

  Slowly, a dark metal seemed to ooze out of the palms of his hands spreading up his arms. A few seconds later, a gauntlet was formed around both his arms.

  He opened his eyes again and looked over towards Aroron. "You're not the only Oddity in Shenock. You're in a kingdom that doesn't trust our kind," Brody said, as the gauntlet slowly began to dissolve. "I should know, I had to leave my home and family. They would never have understood me."

  "You left your family behind?" Aroron couldn't understand that. He'd give anything to have his own family back. "Why would you do that?"

  "My father...he was one of those people who didn't trust Odditys," Brody whispered, lowering his gaze to the ground. "He... he probably would have killed me himself."

  "I don't believe that!" Aroron said, shaking his head. "A father would never kill his own son! Not simply because you're an Oddity."

  "You don't know my father! And there's nothing 'simple' about it," Brody hissed, as he made his way to the water pot and poured himself a glass. "Many people have killed those they said they loved. I'm not going to take that chance. Do not underestimate the hold society has on people. I once knew a girl who betrayed her own twin sister (who was an Oddity)."

  "Where I come from, Odditys are not treated with disrespect," Aroron said. "One of the most powerful people I have ever met was an Oddity."

  "Shenock is against all Odditys," Brody said, sitting down across from Aroron. "No matter if they're dangerous or not. If anyone finds out that someone's an Oddity, they see it as their duty to turn them in."

  Aroron rubbed his head and groaned. "If it's this bad, why are you still here? I know you said the 'Elders' sent you back, but who cares! If coming back means almost certain death!"

  "The day will come when all of Aleanare is joined together again, Odditys and all," Brody said, taking a sip of his water. "That's what the Rebels' mission is, to lead the way for the Dragon King."

  "Dragon King? Who is he?" Aroron frowning. "Your god?"

  Brody spit his water all over the table, coughing up the last of it. Aroron grimaced, glad he hadn't gotten showered on. "God? No way!" Brody said, wiping the water off his face and chin. "He's just a man, chosen by the Creator to rule over the realm, an heir of one of the first seven kings. They will call him Elhor, which is Eloun for 'the Dragon King'," he said, getting a far-off look. "They used to say that he would be King Ozony Strangeheart's first born, but that will not happen now."

  Quickly, Brody cleared his throat and shook his head, as if he was shaking away the thoughts.

  "Anyway, back to what I was saying. It's not going to be safe for you here if anyone else finds out about your gift, and they will if you can't control it."

  "What should I do?" Aroron asked, running his hand through his hair.

  "The person I spoke of helped me with my powers, when I had no one else to turn to," Brody said. "So, if you want to hide your gifts, you should go to see him and learn how to control them.

  "And if I say no?"

  Brody shrugged. "You'll be lucky if you're not sold to slave-traders. In Zilla, being an Oddity makes you valuable," Brody said. "Haven't you ever heard about any of this?"

  Aroron shook his head. "I've only been outside of Karlay for roughly two months."

  "That makes sense," Brody said, nodding his head. "So, as warning to you, if you get caught being an Oddity in most of the kingdoms, one of three things will happen to you: You'll be killed, made a slave in Zilla, or sent to spend the rest of your days out in a dark prison somewhere deep underground."

  "I don't even know you, why should I trust you, or anything you have to say?"

  "Because," Brody said, standing. "I'm the only person you can. As an Oddity, you can never trust someone who's not an Oddity," he said, moving towards Hunter's bed. "Besides, I'm not asking you to trust me. If you're going to stay here with Hunter, you're going to need to know how to control your gift," Brody said, flopping down onto Hunter's bed. "He's one of my only friends and a very important person to the Rebels. If anything should happen to him, bad things would follow. So, I'll see you early in the morning to go visit my 'friend'." With that Brody closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

  Chapter 20

  Awake

  Someone grabbed Aroron's shoulder.

  Aroron's eyes shot open, grabbing the person's arm, he twisted it around. Quickly jumping up and bringing the person to the ground. In the darkness of the cabin, he could hardly see, but that didn't mean Aroron didn't already know what he needed to do.

  In one swift movement, Aroron drew his knife out and pressed it against the person's neck. "What do you want from me?!" He hissed, applying pressure to the knife.

  "Whoa, man! It's me, Brody!" The person gasped.

  "Don't do that to me again!" Aroron said, letting up. Carefully, he slid the knife back into his belt and stood up, offering his hand to Brody.

  Brody hesitated, then took it.

  Aroron fumbled around and grabbed the match box off the table, lighting the lamp, he turned towards Brody. "What the heck were you doing?"

  "What was I doing?" Brody asked, his eyes big. "You're the one who went all crazy assassin on me! All I did was shake you a bit."

  "I'm not used to people grabbing me without warning, especially when I'm trying to sleep!" Aroron said, fighting back a yawn. "What's the big idea anyway?"

  "I told you we'd leave early."

  "It's not even morning yet," Aroron said, motioning to the inky blackness outside the cabin window. "It's probably still snowing too. You're crazy to want to go out in a snow storm right now!"

  "Fine," Brody said, shrugging. "But just as a warning, if you don't learn to control your gift, you're going to get someone hurt and after what happened last night with your gift, I'm guessing it's going to be bad."

  "Alright," Aroron whispered. He still couldn't quite believe he was an Oddity. He'd heard of them before, but never dreamed he might be one! If this man could help him get under control, he'd see him. He didn't want to hurt someone. "So,
where do we find this guy?"

  "The man lives in a cabin not far from Qillen," he said, straightening out his cloak. "So, if we want to get there and back before dark, we'd better get going."

  Aroron rolled his eyes. "I still think it's madness to go out in this, but okay." He could tell Brody wasn't going to drop it until they went.

  Outside it was as cold as Aroron had expected. They'd barely begun their journey and already his fingers were numbed by the cold. Luckily, though, it had stopped snowing some time during the night. As they walked, they worked their way up and down several hillsides.

  They just drew near to another one of the hills, when the sound of yelling reached them.

  Brody held his finger against his lips, warning Aroron not to speak, then he motioned him forwards.

  Slowly, they crept over the crest of the hill and looked down below them.

  A small encampment was set up, not more than a hundred feet from them. Four earth colored tents sat closely together.

  Aroron watched, as a man emerged out of one of the tents and walked to the other side of the encampment, scanning the horizon. They both scooted down, as he drew closer to the hillside.

  "That's a Dark Castle guard," Aroron whispered, pointing towards one of them. "See? He has the Karlien crest painted on his armor." Why is he here?

  "But we're in Shenock, why are there Dark Castle guards out this deep?" Brody asked, glancing towards Aroron.

  Aroron shrugged. "I don't know, but whatever the reason, it can't be good."

  "I know! Why don't we ask?" Brody said, then before Aroron could stop him, he stood up, running quickly down the hill towards the road.

  Aroron glanced around, growled under his breath and hurried down after Brody. If he went alone, he was sure to get himself killed.

  Aroron kept his hood up and his head down, as he stumbled down the hill side after Brody. There was no telling if this guard might know who he was. If they saw his face, it would probably be over for both him and Brody.

  "What are you doing?" Aroron hissed under his breath, as he hurried to stay up with Brody.

  "I told you," Brody whispered back at him. "I'm going to find out what they're doing."

  "By getting yourself killed?"

  "Oh, come on! As far as they know, I'm just a kid wandering through the woods."

  "They won't see it that way!" Aroron said, shaking his head. Brody was either an idiot, or mad. Maybe both.

  Aroron lowered his head, as they came upon the guard.

  "What are you two doing here?" The guard asked, holding out his sword towards them. His body tense.

  "We were just walking through the woods and we saw you down here. What's going on?" Brody asked, frowning. "Aren't you Karlien?"

  "That has nothing to do with you!" The guard snapped, lowering his sword. "Now, be gone with you, before I decide to use force!" With that, the guard turned back towards the tents.

  "He's right, we should go!" Aroron whispered, grabbing Brody's arm, trying in vain to pull him away.

  Brody shook his head and yanked his arm free. He hurried after the guard. "I want to know what's going on!"

  "Wait a minute! I know you, don't I?" The guard asked, turning towards Brody. "You're one of those rebels! Get him!"

  "Run!" Brody screamed at Aroron, as the guards grabbed him from behind. He fought against them but was quickly overpowered.

  Aroron moved back but didn't run. He was unsure what to do. He couldn't fight off all these men, but he couldn't leave Brody alone with them. He turned sideways, as one of the guards moved towards him.

  "Do you know what this is?" The guard asked Aroron, holding up a small pouch from his pocket. "It is the Devil's Tongue!"

  The Devil's Tongue? Aroron quickly stepped back. He knew what that was. It was a black powder King Munay found deep in the Karlien mountains. It was a deadly weapon.

  The guard laughed, as Aroron's face paled. "Oh! Are you scared of a little powder?" He asked, grinning. "Good!" With that he tossed the pouch at Aroron's feet.

  The second it hit the ground, a four-foot-tall pillar of fire leapt up from the earth. Throwing ashes and embers into the air, along with thin, flaming shadows. The Devil's Tongue sizzled, as it burned. Then, it exploded, throwing Aroron onto his back.

  Drawing his sword, the guard slowly edged his way towards Aroron, who was still dizzied from the Devil's Tongue.

  Aroron quickly rolled the other way, as the guard slashed at him with his sword again. He jumped to his feet, drawing his sword. He blocked the guard's sword, just above his head. He parried and stepped back and out of the way of another cut.

  He was fast for such a big man.

  The guard slammed his shoulder into Aroron and threw him to the ground again. Aroron quickly rolled over and blocked another cut. He could hear his cloak burning, as the still hot Devil's Tongue sizzled into his back.

  Aroron pulled his knees up and slammed his feet into the guard's stomach, sending the guard stumbling back. Aroron jumped back onto his feet, just before he had to block and parry another pair of cuts with the guard, who quickly gained the upper hand against him.

  For some reason, Aroron found it harder to fight the guard than back in the Dark Castle, where he'd easily taken down one. His arms were already burning, like he'd been fighting for hours and not just minutes. Maybe it was the smoke still lingering in the air, but he doubted it.

  It was then he realized he hadn't touched his sword since he'd left Karlay two months before.

  He felt like he had when he'd just started to learn swordsmanship. It took him longer to react to his attacker's moves than it had in years. He hurt all over!

  What was wrong with him? Surely two months wouldn't do this to him!

  The guard brought his sword around again, and Aroron's movement faltered. He was barely able to block a cut, just months ago, he would have deflected with ease. Aroron quickly jumped back and out of the guard's reach. His heart pounding.

  Aroron jumped to the side and batted away another cut towards his head. That's when the searing pain ripped through his chest.

  It felt like a sword tearing through his body and he looked down to make sure it hadn't. An attacker could have easily stabbed him from behind. But there was no sword or knife sticking out of him. Which he was glad for.

  As the pain grew, he stumbled back and tore open his tunic, exposing raised, purple and black claw marks across his chest. It was then he remembered the Panther attacking him and tearing at his chest, just before the cloaked man took him to that odd gray place.

  But why are they acting up now? After all this time? In truth, for Aroron it felt like a life time ago.

  At the same time as he looked at his chest, Aroron's side cramped up and the sword slipped from his hand, clattering to the ground. He stumbled and was barely able to keep his balance. Black spots appeared in his vision, as he crumpled to the ground.

  His heart pounded in his ears as he clutched his head tightly. What was wrong with him?! What a terrible time for this to happen! The guard moved forwards and stood above him, but Aroron hardly noticed.

  "You stupid rebels!" The guard said, as he held his sword over Aroron's neck. "Did you really think it would be easy to fight us?"

  Aroron cough/laughed and forced a smile, as he fought the pain that dug into his side. He hated the Loyal Warriors and King Munay even more than he had before! After all of this, Aroron had expected the guards to have recognized him, but they hadn't! They thought he was a rebel!

  "Well, if you wanted people to leave you alone, maybe you shouldn't attack first," Aroron whispered, clutching his side with one hand and with the other, feeling for his sword. "You're all cowards, but I guess that's not surprising. You being a Karlien Warrior and all. You do King Munay's bidding no matter what it might be, like killing one of your own!" The moment the words left his lips, Aroron knew he shouldn't have said anything.

  For a second, the guard studied him. "Aroron?" He whispered. "Well, isn't this a surpri
se!" He said, laughing. "I didn't expect to see you here," he said, tightening his grip on his sword. "Your father was my friend, and I am sorry about what happened to him. But you were both traitors and now you must die too. You are King Munay's enemy and all of his enemies must die!"

  At the last second, something slammed into the guard and threw him back and far away from Aroron.

  Aroron stood and glanced around him, fighting nausea, as he tried to find his sword. He wasn't going to waste time trying to figure out what had just happened to the guard. He'd do that when he wasn't in the middle of a forest, with Karlien Warriors surrounding him.

  He took a step forwards and another wave hit him. His hands trembled as he reached out and rested against a tree.

  The solidness of it helped some.

  He was just starting to recover, when another guard stepped out of the woods and attacked him. Bringing his axe swinging towards Aroron's head, as he ran towards him. Aroron had just enough time to jump out of the way as the axe slammed into the tree. The tree snapped, crumbling to the ground.

  The guard yanked it out and went at Aroron again.

  Now weaponless, Aroron could only try his best to keep out of the way of the swinging axe, as the guard came at him again.

  Aroron could feel the tip of the axe brush across his shirt, as he bent back and just barely out of the way. But as he did, his foot got caught on a root and he slammed back onto the ground.

  Aroron brought his arms up to cover his face, as he readied himself to die. It was then the gray clouds above them released their fury upon the forest that surrounded them.

  It came quickly and hard down upon them.

  The drops of rain slammed into the dirt, throwing mud up. Thunder rolled through the air, echoing around them. Aroron could barely hear anything above the sound of the storm. In a matter of seconds, Aroron was soaking wet. He could barely see through the pounding rain, but the air was much clearer than it had been before. Any trace of smoke was gone.

  Luckily, the guard was as disoriented by the rain as Aroron was. Or he would have already been cut in half by the warrior's axe. Then, there was a snap, as someone stepped on a twig.