Dragon Guard

by Devonnie Asher

  At Jules' command we sprang into action, sprinting towards the trap door.

  The plan was deceptively simple.

  We split into groups of three—Avek with me, Irikai with Solra and Jules by herself. From our maps and old journals, we deciphered that the large chamber where the dragons were held was set in the center of the facility. Most of the corridors were connected, so it was likely that anyone we took would lead us there, as long as we kept going deeper. Avek and I were to get to Ignimitra and back at all costs.

  We would split up to clear the paths and reconvene where we had entered.

  Jules pried the door open in a single swoop of her sword, revealing a rickety ladder that led into the belly of the dragon. It led us to a dimly lit corridor.

  There was water at our feet, and the smell of moss and mold, and something wretched was high on the air—I had to bite my tongue to stop the cough. The hall was connected by two others, but only one of them looked to take us toward Ignimitra, the other veered left.

  The place looked abandoned, were we in the right place? The air smelled like death, and I suppose that was how dark, dank places were after being closed for centuries.

  My thoughts were dashed when a soldier rounded the corner to our left, obviously on his patrol. Jules was on him before he even realized that he had stumbled into us. He fell to the ground seconds later, red coloring the water at our feet.

  In the dull light, his uniform looked odd.

  Jules ducked into the corridor he came from, while Solra and Irikai continued through the main one. Avek and I took the path that led deeper into the building. The splash-splash of our boots echoed in the clammy corridor, sounding like an announcement of our arrival.

  Instinctively, I unsheathed my sword. If there was one guard here, there would be more.

  Ahead of me, Avek did the same.

  We passed rows of metal doors on either side of the corridor, rust rotting the hinges and handles. Torches that had been melted into their holders hung above every other door, a testament to a time when Pyralis had been devoid of electricity. Bulbs had been hastily installed, the exposed wires running along the roof. The water at our feet concerned me. If just one of them came free, we would all be fried.

  The hall ended in another junction. Again, we chose the corridor that would take us deeper into the maze. A few steps in, and a wan light caught my attention. I tapped Avek’s shoulder, pointing to it.

  It kept getting brighter as we approached.

  Something felt like that was where Ignimitra was. My feet sped up.

  The light was streaming through a cracked glass door with hinges so rusty it was almost detached from the doorjamb. With tentative steps, I got close enough to peer through it.

  My breath caught.

  Ignimitra.

  I almost screamed in joy, but another sound met my ears.

  "Intruders!" The soldier's guttural voice rang out in the narrow corridor, bounding down the hall towards us, sword in hand.

  We had been made.

  I felt frozen in my soles, but Avek's eyes were like cut steel. He motioned me towards Ignimitra, then turned towards the oncoming attacker.

  I knew he was right, but for a split second we were back in Astraphotis and I couldn’t protect him...

  No, I reminded myself.

  I could help Ignimitra first, then get back to fight with him.

  She needed my help more than he did.

  With the hilt of my sword, I broke the lock off the door and stepped in, just as their swords met in a loud bang.

  THE ROOM WAS UNCOMFORTABLY small.

  Ignimitra was bound similar to the way she had been in that despicable Astraphotian camp—her legs spread-eagled, a heavy chain holding her in place. The sound of my entry didn’t draw her eyes to me. She was limp, her head lying on the packed earth, her tongue peeking from her mouth. Even her scales lacked their usual luminescence.

  I ran over to her, my heart in my throat and heat in my eyes.

  Was I too late?

  My hand found her favorite spot—the strip of flesh right between her ears.

  Ignimitra! I shouted, fumbling with my belt bag with my other hand.

  Kaos? She didn't move, but I heard her voice in my head. It was weak and distant, but I knew it was her voice.

  I released the breath I had been holding. She still had her mind.

  You’ve...come... she sounded like she was slipping away.

  I'm here to protect you, angel. I urged, stroking her softly.

  Just then, her ivory scales began to glow amethyst and blue. Had she been hurt?

  They took me...with a fight.

  With those words, my mind was filled with the happenings through her eyes—the Dragon Guard soldiers and their chains, the scuffle when she refused their attempts, and then the lethargy that filled her after they doused her with some kind of powder. They had carried her to this place under the cover of a plume of dragon ash, suspending her through the retractable roof of the chamber.

  I don’t...understand...why they would treat...me...like this...

  My heart ached. I don’t have an answer that would make any of this less bad. The sounds of the battle in the hallway drew my attention then, and I remembered Avek. Have they given you anything yet?

  No, she said. It has just...been me...and these...savage soldiers.

  Relief lifted a weight off my shoulders. If she had only been given a sedative, there was still hope. Good, I produced the serum. This serum will protect you from what they are about to do.

  I felt her ire. It wasn’t as strong as it usually was, but it was there.

  You aren’t here to rescue me?

  Her words ran a stake through me. I wish, angel. But as of right now, we have no way of escaping them. This is the best way. They will let you go once the serum doesn’t work.

  Are you...sure?

  If they don’t, then I’ll be back. We’ll burn this place down together.

  Despite everything, I felt her smile warming me.

  Then you must hurry.

  Ignimitra opened her mouth as best as she could. It was bound with metal chains as well, but she managed to open her jaws just enough for me to drop the serum inside. Through the crack of her teeth, I could see the serum coloring her tongue.

  It tastes like sweet berries, she commented.

  Betheka made it for you, I said simply. Then I was hugging her huge snout tightly, trying to transfer everything I felt to her. Ignimitra was an extension of me, we were one. Her pain was mine; her sadness was mine. My heart broke at the thought that I couldn’t put an end to this right now. I love you, angel.

  Get out safely, she said. Thank you for coming.

  Tears pricked my eyes but I couldn't allow them to fall. The mission wasn't over. I still had to get everyone out safely.

  After another brief hug, I sprinted out into the hallway.

  The guard lay motionless at my feet, but Avek was gone.

  Chapter 18

  We had gone over it nearly a dozen times back at my house.

  Jules' words were still clear in my mind: when you've done your part of the mission, go back to where we entered the chamber. Perhaps Avek had gone back there.

  There was no other explanation.

  He had bested the soldier who had discovered us.

  But when I climbed out of the chamber to see Solra, Irikai and Jules—what was left of my heart shattered. Jules eyes flickered from my face to the empty space beside me, then she was motioning for us to leave.

  There was no way I was going to leave him.

  Not again.

  Not after everything we had promised each other.

  “I have to go back,” I said, shattering the silence of the night.

  Jules froze, turning to meet me with eyes so fierce I had to swallow the tendril of apprehension that snaked around my neck. She walked up to me quickly, her mouth just shy of my ear.

  “That’s not the plan,” she whispered coarsely. “We agr
eed on this.”

  My body was stone.

  “I didn’t,” I shot back. “I’m not losing him again.”

  “Then we will leave without both of you,” she was staring holes into me again. In her gaze I saw urgency, I saw danger. Choosing to go back was tantamount to choosing death. Reinforcements could have already been on their way.

  I didn’t reply to her.

  Instead, I went back into the chamber.

  IT WAS EERILY QUIET.

  The sound of my sword leaving its scabbard echoed through the hallway. A bubble of fear rose to my throat, and it was all too familiar. It felt like I was back in the Wastelands, with everyone accounted for but Avek.

  Only this time, there was no Ignimitra to help me fight off whatever that came.

  The desire to best that feeling was what sent me running towards the nearest corridor.

  I wouldn't be a victim of my fear this time. I couldn't be.

  I had already lost too much. To add Avek to that list would break me.

  Holding my sword slantways with both hands, I quickened my pace.

  The torch posts lining the wall were good markers for my location, since I couldn’t waste time retracing my own steps. Yet every corridor turned up empty.

  I hopped over fallen guards, but wasn’t sure if they were Avek’s doing.

  Time was running out, I was certain. It wouldn’t be long before news of an enemy attack had the whole Guard descending on this place. Hopefully Solra and Irikai would have been in the wind by that.

  I had just ducked into another corridor when the sound of metal-and-metal made my heart leap. It was coming from around the corner up ahead.

  Rushing towards it, my mind was alive with ideas of what I might see, and how to prepare for it. If he was dead, I had no choice but to kill them too.

  I managed to shake the thought out of my head just as the sounds intensified and their source came into view. This corridor was twice as wide as the others and led to single door.

  Avek was backed against the door, surrounded by five Dragon Guard soldiers.

  Despite being outnumbered, he looked to be fending them off as best as he could. His clothes were scratched and bloody in a few places, so he hadn’t got off completely unscathed.

  He was alive.

  He was alive and needed my help.

  My appearance had drawn the attention of two of the soldiers. Adrenaline pounded in my veins, compounded by the relief that came from knowing that Avek was alive, and there was something I could do.

  The soldiers lunged at me in tandem. They were bigger than me, but I was quicker.

  With a roll, I narrowly escaped their strikes and broached the circle that they had created around Avek. I couldn't tell if he was relieved to see me, but I hoped he was.

  He was dealing with three soldiers using just his sword and dagger.

  There had to be an easier way to end this.

  The two soldiers stormed towards me again, swords drawn. The three of us started a dance of swords and wills. Each strike came quicker than the last, but I deflected, parried and struck back until my blade landed square in the jaw of one of the soldiers. Before his comrade could fall, I was on top of the other soldier, striking him similarly with my dagger.

  Avek had managed to disarm one opponent, leaving two between us.

  With our backs to each other, we fought.

  It felt like we belonged to the same whole, protecting each other strike for strike.

  When the other two soldiers fell, he grabbed my hand and the two of us made our escape.

  "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE come back for me," Avek said finally when we had made it back our alcove in the trees. He had removed his face covering, revealing disheveled twists and cheeks flushed from the most exercise he had gotten in weeks. “You could’ve gotten hurt, or worse.”

  I shook my head, peeling my own head covering off my sticky skin.

  “I think you meant to say ‘thank you’” I said, looking up at him. “I left you behind once before and I never forgave myself for it. There’s no way I would let that happen again.”

  His hard eyes softened at my words, his gaze falling to my lips. A small smile grew on his, twisting a lump in my stomach.

  "Fine," he huffed, taking a step towards me. "Thank you for saving my life."

  With a hand on either side of my face, he brought his lips to mine.

  Chapter 19

  Knock, knock.

  I froze in my position on the sofa. Ever since the heist, I had been on edge.

  Were they coming to arrest me? There had been no time for sleep, only worry. It was a miracle that I'd managed to take a shower since returning. My nerves were frayed.

  The days after would be the hardest, Avek had said.

  With the courage of a cat staring down a tub of cold water, I swung the door open to see a Dragon Guard soldier standing on my front step. He was alone.

  I relaxed enough to pull a smile and release the breath I had been holding.

  "Captain Kressin," the soldier began. At least he didn't start by calling me a traitor. "This correspondence is for you, from The Headmaster." He extended a red letter to me, much like the one I had found when Ignimitra had been kidnapped.

  I took it, and he left.

  On shaky legs, I walked over to the sofa and collapsed in it. Every inch of my body trembled. My fate was contained in the words of this letter. Ignimitra's fate. Avek's. Solra's. Irikai's. Even Jules. Sinking my teeth into my lips to calm myself down, I unwrapped it gingerly.

  Captain Kressin,

  Following preliminary examinations, the need for more research has been revealed. Ignimitra will be returned to your care this afternoon, until a new breakthrough has been made in His Majesty's Dragon Enhancement Program.

  Headmaster Major Vulcan Archer.

  It was all of four lines, a bittersweet message.

  Betheka had only managed to get Ignimitra a reprieve, not free her completely.

  My heart ached.

  I HATE THEM, KAOS, were the first words Ignimitra spoke to me when she returned.

  For the first time, I didn't know how to answer her, what to say.

  Because I hated them too.

  Epilogue

  It was the day after Ignimitra returned that I found Luztra on my doorstep, looking entirely out of place, wearing a jumpy expression. She was dressed in her nurse’s uniform, but the bags on her eyes told me that she might have been on her way from work, not to it.

  “Luztra,” I croaked, smiling.

  “Captain Kressin,” she began, her words rushed. “They were about to dispose of her, but I figured since you’re her grand-daughter, you’d want to scatter them yourself.”

  She held a golden vase out to me.

  “Dispose of her?” I repeated, not following. Then the light hit the vase just right and I caught the BB engraved on it. My eyes widened, looking from the vase to her, then back. “Is this...?”

  “Alchemist Bankola’s ashes,” she finished.

  With shaky hands, I took it from her. It was lighter than I imagined, contents shook softly as I adjusted it in my arms.

  “You said I should...scatter her ashes?” My thoughts were jumbled as I considered the fact that I was holding Betheka.

  Luztra cracked a smile, “Yes, scatter them. Go somewhere she would have liked and set her free.” She looked at me as if what she was saying was totally normal.

  Was this a regular thing that people did when they loved ones passed?

  “Oh,” I said simply. “Thank you.”

  Satisfied, she left.

  With shaky feet, I walked over to the kitchen to put Betheka on my table. The vase was ornate, with silver veins holding the gold pieces together. A smile pricked my lips when I considered that this was exactly the kind of vase she would have chosen for herself.

  She was many things, but modest had never been one of them.

  Like a strike of lightning, I suddenly knew where I would take her. But first, I
had to figure out how to carry her safely on Ignimitra, and that seemed like a challenge in itself.

  THE SUN WAS HIGH IN the sky by the time we made it to Dragon’s Bay.

  I like the idea of being made into ashes when I die, Ignimitra said, as I carefully took Betheka’s ashes out of her saddle bag. Wrapping the vase in layers of clothes had been the best solution.

  We’d need a much bigger vase for yours, I said. A pang of guilt seized me because of that joke, but I dismissed it quickly. Betheka wanted me to live for her, and that meant making jokes and being happy.

  She would be happy that you did this for her.

  Her words lingered in my mind as I walked away towards the water’s edge.As much as Ignimitra loved Betheka, she gave me the space to do this alone, resigning herself to lounging in the sand.

  The beach was mostly empty, with only a few fishermen setting up their boats for the day. The pristine waves were calm, lapping the beach lazily. It was the most beautiful scene, and I felt that it would have reminded Betheka of the seaside town where she grew up.

  I was almost in the water when I remembered the journal I had taken from Betheka’s things, so I doubled back for it. I would read it after I had scattered her ashes. Since we had the morning free, it felt like the best way to remember her.

  With the journal under one arm, and the vase in both hands, I waded out into the water until it was waist deep. The water was warm, and the fine sand soothing against my soles.

  “I miss you, Beth,” I said, shaking her ashes into the water as ceremoniously as I could. “But I know you’re in a better place.” A tear pricked my eye then. “If you can, give dad a hug for me,” I bit my lip to stop the tears from coming.

  It felt like a stupid thing to think, but it was all I could come up with. The thought that my father and Betheka could be gone forever...I didn’t like it.

  Her ashes turned the water around me a light grey, then they were swept away by the waves. Betheka was finally free, as free as the waves that travelled the oceans of the world. I smiled through the sadness coating my every thought.