Celestia's Tales: The Lybiria Scales
Page 16
The scene outside the palace window filled Dryad with satisfaction. Demeter was burning in their own riches. His salamanders were working their magick to the best of their ability and destroying everything in sight. Dragons circled the skies with salamander generals bellowing out orders. The angels had been defeated and with Tatiana’s magick they were now imprisoned. The wizards, however, were needed more and were held hostage inside the throne room waiting to crown him.
It was something he had not anticipated, the rejection of a crown, and Prince Xander needed to die for him to claim it. Damn Zolar magick. Two generals entered the throne room disturbing his thoughts.
'What do you want?' he demanded.
'The prince and princesss were sspotted outsside Demeter,' one of them hissed.
'And?' he asked. He had hoped that they had come to him.
'They got away.'
'WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY GOT AWAY?' he yelled suddenly, causing the wizards to draw closer together.
'The princesss wasss more than we bargained for,' the generals pleaded.
'Leave and get me a dragon ready,' he yelled.
They bowed their way out of the room. He desperately needed to go back to Nepta and find out if his mother knew what protected the princess. If he didn’t, it meant that he was weaker and he could not afford to leave anything to chance.
He turned toward the group of wizards and pulled one of them away.
'What do you know about the princess and who she travels with?' he asked.
The old wizard shook his head, his lips tightening.
'I said, what do you know?' Dryad said evenly, his face close to the old man’s.
'She travels with a basic crew,' he mumbled.
'You are lying,' Dryad answered.
'No... no... I swear,' he protested.
'Tell me what and who the crew are then,' Dryad asked, trying a different tact.
The wizard looked behind him at the others. 'She travels with a dwarf, a gypsy, and possibly an elf, although we are unsure. He has the most hideously large eyes and there are two more and we don't know what they are.'
Dryad frowned. 'Two?' he asked.
The wizard nodded. 'All I can tell you is that the one named Orlson is the closest to her. He has been with her since birth.'
'And you don't know what he is?' Dryad asked again.
'I am not a reader. Only angels can do that.'
‘And the other?’
‘They or he is a mystery to even us.’
‘They or he? What does that even mean?’
‘He is a being that can separate into three men. I have no idea why or how it’s done.’
Dryad tuned away from the old man and walked back to the window, this could be the one Tatiana was worried about.
'The dragon iss ready my lord,' one of the generals said hurrying into the room.
He followed the general down into the castle’s boughs where he could hear the cry of a restrained dragon. The red beast eyed him evenly and Dryad shuddered. He would have to do this. There was no other choice.
Dryad hated flying dragons, they never gave a smooth ride. The red and orange beast growled in protest at being ridden, but maintained its path towards the now smoking volcano at Nepta, another side effect to the Scales being taken.
Dryad stumbled off its back once it landed and made an unsteady retreat to his mother’s caves. The caves stank of rotting fish and seaweed and he felt his throat tighten, as his stomach threatened to empty. He could not wait for his new life in the splendour of Zolar away from all this damp and rot. He could hear his mother’s singing voice and with it came the comforting feeling of dread that came from being near her.
'Why are you here Dryad? Have you lost the taste for Zolar already?'
Tatiana sat in her usual place near the pool and he had to admit she looked worse then she usually did. Her seaweed dress had lost its shine and slime, as though she was starting to dry out.
'The princess travels with two that are of unknown origin. But the closest is called Orlson,’ Dryad said.
'And you think he is the one with the power?' Tatiana asked as she lifted her gaze from the pool to him. 'She travels with a very powerful being called the Trio.' She waited for some recognition from Dryad and when she got none she carried on. 'He was born one person, but as a child his mother could not cope with the extremities of his personalities and asked the Goddess Hecate to help her...'
'Wait! The goddess nor the gods do anything for us in Celestia anymore,' Dryad interrupted.
Clearly irritated, Tatiana continued. 'As I was saying she took him to the lost temple of Hecate and begged for her help and she gave it. She turned one child into three, however the goddess only did what was asked and did not tell the mother they would be able to become one when they pleased. So they were abandoned and brought up with the basic skills to survive. They are cold blooded killers and faithful to no one.'
'Except the princess,' Dryad added.
Tatiana shrugged her slimy shoulders. 'All I know is legend, their loyalty is their weakness.'
Suddenly, she banged her hands on to the floor. 'Damn it, why can I just not see?' she snapped.
Dryad made to walk towards her, but as he did he fell to his knees, slicing his hands on the sharp rocks that surrounded the pool. He grabbed his hands in pain as blood began to pour from them.
'Give me your hand,' Tatiana demanded grabbing at him.
'Ow! What?' he almost cried.
'Your blood is doing something. I need more,' she gasped.
He winced as his mother squeezed his hand of its blood. He watched blindly as the blood floated upon the pool surface like oil. He had not inherited his mother’s sight and could not see what she could. Suddenly, she gave out an almighty scream, shaking the cave around them. Dryad clutched his ears.
'Get out,' his mother screamed at him. 'Get out now.'
He stumbled to his feet, as he saw pure fear on his mother’s face, something he had never seen in his life. What had she seen? His mother was not easily scared so should he be?
Chapter Fourteen