“Hekla? No, she has gone back to be with the Aequorans. Those are her people, and she has much to do there.”
“So, you’re saying he’s stuck like this?”
Svana found herself pacing back and forth as well, what can I do?
Allies, Svana. Remember your allies. Lingaria answered.
I thought you were gone, she thought bitterly.
Not even if I wanted to, he responded.
Do you want to?
No, Lingaria admitted.
“Emmeline, I cannot guarantee that I can help him. Though I can guarantee there are people in Telluris who will want to. I will return to the village and seek out help. Surely there is someone who knows what to do. Surely there is a medicine that can be found to aid him?”
“Please, Svana, do what you must. He means the world to me. I know the man you know is dark and uncontrollable, but I assure you that everything I said is true. You know—” She paused, eyes glistening with tears again. “When my mother and father were killed, he took me in. Without a question.”
“I’ve no doubt he was once good,” Svana said. “But this man… the man that stood on the battlefield today and invoked a fight that took many innocent lives.” Svana sighed. “I do not know if he is worth saving. I am only going to try to do so for your sake but mark my words... if he comes after me, I will defend myself. I have to.”
“I wouldn’t blame you for that.” Emmeline looked to her sleeping uncle and walked back to the bed to sit next to him, taking his aging hand in hers. “I know you do not think he can be saved, but I believe that he can. I do not think that he is too far gone yet. I’ve seen it.” Emmeline took in a deep breath, then placed his palm against her chest and hugged it. “There are times, brief as they may be, that I have talked with him, of my hopes and dreams. Times I have brought to him my deepest fears, and I have seen that long-lost glint of true caring in his eyes rekindle once more.”
Svana could not hide her surprise, it stopped her in her tracks. “Is this true?”
“It is, I would not lie. It is not befitting of a lady to do so. It is in those moments that the darkness that has overtaken him seeps away. I can feel the light coming back in. It’s evidenced in his kind words and understanding. Whoever this man is, he is still my uncle. He is still worth saving. I can bring him back.” Emmeline sobbed softly. “Help me bring him back...”
Emmeline’s voice broke, and Svana approached her new friend, putting a caring hand on her shoulder.
“I promise you, Emmeline, that I will not return until I have found something that can help him. I will help your Tristan too.”
“Please, Svana, as much as my heart needs Tristan, it is for the betterment of the kingdom to bring back the King and return him to the man he was. I will heal.” Emmeline wiped a tear from her eye. “But a broken kingdom will not.”
Svana bowed. “As you wish, my friend. Take care until I return.”
9
Hekla
The dead often don’t care how they are set to rest, but the living—they are very particular on how they say their goodbyes to the dead.
Palladin, The Great, Ninth Dragon Elder, Tenth Age of Verdil
Hekla’s heart pounded in her ears as she remembered her sisters’ faces. She enjoyed seeing them both again, but now, running back to Aequoris, her anger was renewed. Why had Palladin sent them on a fool’s errand? So far, they had been met with nothing but death. She couldn’t even get in to see the king in the beginning, and now the possibly that an evil wizard-controlled King Armand? How could they hope to prevail against such a thing?
Hekla’s feet met the water’s edge before she even realized where she was. Her rage had fueled her running, and the memories of battle had made her quicker than she’d ever been.
“Speltus, I don’t know what to do. So much has transpired today. I don’t even know where to begin,” she yelled out breathlessly, her chest heaving from her adrenaline-fueled run.
Speltus left the orb of her staff, his talons resting gently on her shoulder. “You’re right. There are many things that have occurred today. You must choose what is most important, as any good leader must do. This is practice for your reign as queen.”
“How are you so sure that is even going to happen? I am not queen material, I think everyone knows that but you and Palladin,” Hekla spat out, her cheeks flushing red so deep it reached her eyes.
“Do not speak badly of the Great Palladin. He is all that we have left. His wisdom is ageless.”
“I have no doubt of that, but I think he made a huge mistake in choosing me for this ‘quest.’” Hekla’s fingers clutched her elegant staff so tightly, her knuckles turned white.
“That may or may not be true, but that also depends on you. Do you want it to be true? Or do you want to succeed at this?” Speltus lifted off from her shoulder and flapped in front of her.
“Why does it always feel like you’re mocking me?” she hissed.
“I’m not, I asked an honest question and now I want an honest answer.” He smiled a toothy grin, his pearly white fangs flashing brilliantly against the dark of night.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know who I am right now.” Hekla huffed, her voice dripping of irritation.
“Really? Because just a short time ago, I saw a blue-haired woman who acted with the speed of lightning, as she darted around a battlefield rescuing many hundreds of people. I watched as time and time again, you pushed yourself near death to save a stranger. Aequoran, Caelestan, Tellurian—it didn’t matter. You gave no thought to it, and it seems to me that you know exactly who you are. The sooner you admit that to yourself and stop playing this ‘I’m too young’ game, the better off you’ll be.”
“I do not do that!” Hekla yelled out, angry that the dragon had seen through her false weakness. “I am young!”
“Fine, be young, don’t let it be an excuse. I know the greatness in you, even if you do not see it yourself.” Speltus turned his back to her and started to fly toward the ocean, clearly certain of what must be done next, even if Hekla did not.
Hekla couldn’t move from her spot. She was too angry, to overcome with the inability to fix everything, and too overwhelmed of the responsibility that awaited her in the future.
“Don’t think about all of that,” Speltus said kindly. “Only worry about what you must do next. Do not worry about the whole staircase, you know it is there, and you know you must climb it, but right now... all you must do is get to the next step.”
Hekla closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Speltus was right. Speltus was always right. Hekla had done a lot today, and she had saved many lives. That took something she didn’t even know she had until it was required of her.
I should be proud of myself.
“Yes, you should be proud of yourself. You were very brave today, and that is a lot to be proud of.”
Hekla nodded. “There is time for that later, I want to get back to my people. We still haven’t figured out what to do with the fallen soldiers. I wish to present my request to the king. Surely they will grant me an audience with him?”
“Perhaps, but tread cautiously,” Speltus warned her.
“I will. Ready?”
He nodded his scaled head and disappeared into the orb just as she started chanting.
“Orbium Expandum Aquum purum,” she said, comfortable with her magic and what was about to occur. She waited patiently as the orb that allowed her to breathe, emerged from the staff like before. Her magical scepter disappeared for the time being, the air around her becoming pure as the bubble encased her body. When it had sealed, Hekla hurried toward the water, waiting for the cold to embrace her completely until she was deep enough in that she could swim out to the Aequoran city underwater.
A much faster runner than a swimmer, it took time to glide toward the city. Hekla practically leapt with joy, as she drifted downward, the tall Aequoran towers of the watery homes reaching up as if to embrace her. When her feet met the cobbled underwa
ter road, she smiled broadly. Surely all I have done on top will be cause for them to embrace me now, and I will have gained their trust.
As Hekla walked the now familiar road back to the room of the elders, she thought about what she would say to Elder Croecius to gain his trust. She needed to meet with the king, that was the only thing that would satisfy her. The Aequorans were in hiding, no longer farming or doing their day to day duties as they had before when she’d been there.
“Not that I rightly blame them,” she thought out loud. A familiar soldier walked toward her on the road, his face grim as he approached.
“Jetevius, you’re alive!” she yelled out, resisting the urge to run forward and hug him. Instead she reached out her hand and gave him a firm handshake. “I’m happy to see you made it out of there.”
“As am I, for you, but there were many lives lost today. The king will not be happy about that.”
“I know, but I did the best I could,” she offered, put off by his lack of gratitude.
“You did, but you should have done more.” his face was cross, and she shrugged off his comment. She couldn’t hardly expect him to understand what it had taken from her, every time she had saved someone. Nor could he have known what it was like to come close to death so many times in one day.
“You’re welcome. Happy to help.”
He gave her a confused look and motioned for her to follow him.
“Come with me, it is time for you to see the King.”
“Jetevius, I could have died today saving our people. You do not understand that it takes my life force every time I have to bring someone back from death.”
“Well, you shouldn’t put your life on the line for strangers,” he said.
“You know, you sound like a toddler stomping your feet in a tantrum. I’m sure those who I saved are grateful to be alive.”
If Hekla could have flipped her hair, she would have. For the moment she just stared at the back of his Aequoran neck, glaring daggers at his head as his gills gently lifted and down with his breathing.
“I can feel your hatred boring a hole in the back of me, you know that, don’t you?” Jetevius said.
“I don’t hate you; I just don’t understand why you’re not more grateful that I saved many of our soldier’s lives today.” Indignation coursed through Hekla as wildly as the blood in her veins.
“When we get to the king’s chambers, you will understand,” he retorted, not bothering to hide the contempt from his voice.
“I should have just allowed my life force to be taken, at least then I wouldn’t have to deal with you,” she humphed.
“Now look who’s acting like a child throwing a temper,” Jetevius snickered.
His remark angered her enough that she remained silent for the rest of their walk, even though she enjoyed the lush underwater scenery, and she still maintained that Aequoris was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen, like a dream.
Jetevius had no qualms about marching right up to the Coral Palace and pushing open the massive doors. The familiarity of the grand room was not lost on her, only the four large chairs that were once occupied now stood empty, algae already beginning to grow on the soft cushions. The last time Hekla had been here, the elders had questioned her every move and the result had been death, or at least, she had assumed.
“Come, land walker, King Renault doesn’t like to be kept waiting, and I know he is expecting you.”
Hekla nodded her head, not meeting his Aequoran gaze as she was still fighting off her feelings of agitation toward him.
“Still upset at me, are you?” He turned around to face her. When she remained silent, he stepped closer to her, causing her nerves to be on edge.
“What do you want?” she huffed angrily.
“I think we stand a chance of being friends, if you can lower your defenses a bit,” he said, the hint of a smirk on his face.
“I thought your king was waiting for me. Don’t you think we should stop wasting time and be getting to him?”
Jetevius laughed deeply, though he said nothing to her about what was so funny. He turned on his heel and walked down a hallway with a tall arch. On each side of the entryway, elegant coral torches blazed, highlighting the pastel of the palace walls.
Hekla was speechless, entranced by the aquatic beauty of the underwater palace. The sea animals in the main room that hovered above the table, continued down the hallway like works of art suspended in mid-air. She smiled up at them, enchanted.
“She smiles, now there’s something I wouldn’t have expected.”
“Yeah, well... don’t get used to it,” Hekla warned him.
“Fair enough,” he said. “We’re here. Mind your manners, and be respectful, Earth-walker. You’ll be fine.”
She nodded, wondering why he cared suddenly. As they approached a large golden door, the guards at its stead opened the entrance for them. Neither acknowledged Hekla but nodded their heads at Jetevius. He nodded back but bowed slightly to permit Hekla to pass in front of him first, so that she could enter the throne room.
“Well, well, well. Hair as blue as the sea, skin nearly as pale as ours, and the ability to breath underwater. You must be Hekla of the Volcano of Shadows.”
Hekla bowed, her hair falling forward in the air of the bubble that protected her. “It’s an honor to meet you, King Renault.”
“I wish I could say the same.” His eyebrows furrowed, the gills at his neck flaring quicker and quicker as his breath sped up.
“I’m sorry, my king?” Hekla’s voice raised slightly, surprised by his comment.
“I mean, my men have come to me, rejoicing in your powers of healing. I’ve heard nothing but praise for your character and how you saved many of our people today. That I am grateful for, but I am convinced that if you were truly on our side you would have killed the Tellurians, putting an end to their reign of terror, once and for all.”
“My king, I am not sure what exactly you have heard... but yes, I healed your people. Your people that I consider my people. You must know that. I have spent all of my life on land, trapped in a volcano, and now I want nothing more than to be here to help protect this kingdom and bring peace across the lands.”
“If you think that impresses me, it doesn’t. If you are asking for my permission, you won’t get it. We consider all land-walkers Tellurians, and I consider them all better off dead.” His large head bore a coral crown encrusted in jewels, and his body was layered in robes of forest green and gold.
“I understand that, my king, but I consider all life valuable. I believe that the Tellurians can be brought to be peaceful. This day, King Armand called a truce among the people.”
“You should have killed them all!” he suddenly shouted, causing her to jump nearly out of her skin.
“Jetevius, what are you doing here? Why have you brought this land-walker to me? You know that I demanded her dead.”
Hekla gasped. “But I saved your people. I have come to help restore Aequoris to its former glory.”
“My king,” Jetevius said sternly, “she saved many of our lives today. She’s a hero.”
“I’ll decide that for myself, get her out of here!” He stood up from his throne, his cerulean eyes flashing thunder, and pounded his scepter on the ground.
“Ummm, my king... may I make a request?” Hekla whispered.
“Hmph,” he spat at her, not even bothering with an easy yes or no.
“It is those that I cannot save. They lay decaying in the night air, soon rodents and bugs will defile their bodies. If it pleases the king, I request that you, the Caelestan king and the Tellurian king join, and in respect to the bodies of those killed, and the families who lost someone today, we burn them all. We can implement ceremonial rites as we do so, for each kingdom and—”
“Shut up! Get out of my sight! We will no more burn our dead with the other kingdoms as we would feed them to dogs. We will bring them back here and send them out to sea as is our custom for our dead
. If you do anything outside of that, or ask me such a thing again... I will behead you. Understood?”
Hekla took a step back, suddenly fearing for her safety and feeling very exposed without her staff to guide her.
Speltus, I wish I could call you out to rip out his throat right now, she said angrily.
That is not how he dies, he said simply.
“Come on Hekla, I will escort you out of here,” Jetevius put his hand on her elbow, gently, pulling her along as he hurried to get her out of the throne room. They hurried away from the room, not pausing to speak until they had left the coral palace and he was sure they were out of earshot of any guard who may have sided with King Renault. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. For what it’s worth, I think it was a good idea.”
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t solely my idea. My sisters... they...” Hekla looked away from him, suddenly feeling emotional about being separated from them again.
“Well, it was a good idea. I’ll come with you to the surface. Let me just alert the soldiers who are alive to ready the funeral fleet. I don’t know how we’ll do this, as we’ve never sent more than one or two at a time out into sea. We’ll figure it out though.”
“I can offer my magical capabilities if needed,” she offered.
“Well, hopefully, we won’t need it,” he said kindly.
“And just how do you plan on transferring all those bodies into the water? We still have to get them back here,” she said, crossing her arms and glaring at him. “I don’t see that you have a choice.”
“Are you going to come with me to gather my men, or not?”
Hekla nodded. “Of course.”
10
Astrid
In Death, all men, women, and dragons are created equal.
Voadria, The Life Giver, First Dragon Elder, Second Age of Verdil
Astrid gripped the bow in her hand tightly as she ran, prepared to fight if needed. Her feet flitted over the dirt and rocks, as if she, herself had become Caelestan in the process of all that had occurred over the past few days.
Dragon Bow Page 7
