by Katie Cherry
Hunter sighs, rubbing between his eyebrows. The headache he got from using the Abonsam wasn’t getting any better with practice. A knock sounds on the wooden door, increasing his headache. He groans, but wearily stands. He didn’t hate Dexter for the promotion, but he sure hated all the extra attention he was getting. Before, he could at least funnel them all to Patrick. Now, there was no one to turn to. He was the ruling authority.
Opening the door, he finds Patrick standing there, glowering at him. “Patrick? What-” He shoves his way past Hunter into the room. Groaning to himself, he shuts the door behind him.
“You aren’t ready to be the leader of the Dragon Hunters,” he growls, staring daggers at the boy.
Hunter sighs and returns to his seat. “I’m aware of your opinion, you’ve been stating it daily for the past week.”
“I’m going to get my place back as the rightful ruler,” Patrick seethes, gripping the back of the other chair in the room. “I will prove my worth to Dexter, to Astrid, to them all!”
“Yeah, sure, you do that,” Hunter sighs, returning his attention to the notebook before him. It had only been a week since his promotion, but the notebook was already full of notes and important information he had to scribble down in case it was forgotten.
“Tell me where Nathan and Crystal are,” Patrick begins, finally lowering himself into the chair he had been strangling. “I’ll take care of them for you.”
“No. Astrid doesn’t want another one of your kidnappings. We’re going with a much more tactical approach. Now get out of my office.”
Ignoring his command, Patrick leans back in the chair, a thoughtful look creeping onto his face. “I doubt they’re in Quagon yet…” he murmurs. “Perhaps they’re hiding out in Second Earth?”
“They’re not in Second Earth,” Hunter sighs, scratching notes onto the rough paper. “Now leave me be.” When Patrick doesn’t respond, he looks up at him and stands, an intensity returning to his stare. “If you disobey me, so help me, I have the means to make your life even worse than you made mine. You should get out of here. Go check on the medical wing, see if they can utilize you there. Might as well clean up the mess you made when you commanded your army to march into a death zone, trying to take on hundreds of dragons at once.”
Sneering, Patrick rises, tugging his gloves down. “Very well, Hunter. But know, this position of power you are in will not last.” With a glance at Hunter’s notes, he sweeps out of the door, shutting it firmly behind him.
<<
So, they’re in First Earth, Patrick muses as he stomps away from what used to be his office. That fool. He determined not to tell me where they were, but was too foolish to hide his scribblings from me. That mistake will not only be the end of him, but the end of Crystal and Nathan’s resistance as well.
Rather than heading to the medical wing as Hunter had ordered, he turns in the opposite direction to find the soldiers who remained whole after the slaughter the dragons had poured upon his people. Reaching the barracks, he raps upon the door. When there’s no answer, he knocks harder. The door finally swings open to reveal the haggard face of one of the soldiers. “Alright, alright. What do you want?”
Patrick’s eyes instantly narrow. “That is not how you are to speak to your commanding officer, soldier.”
“Yes, sir,” comes the bored-sounding response.
Patrick’s lip curls in disgust. He would get their respect back. “Soldier, gather up your fellows. I have an assignment for you.”
“Let me guess,” the man says as he picks at something in his teeth, “we’re to track down and grab either Nathan or Crystal.”
“Not quite,” Patrick smirks. “You are to kill the family.”
<<
“Nathan, I have something to confess,” Beryl cautiously announces as she slides into a seat. She hesitates at the confused look she receives in response. “…I’m from Quagon.”
“You… what?” Nathan blinks, not comprehending. “I mean, you were always open-minded about Zilferia, but I never… when did you leave?”
“Just before I married Tandoc,” she says with a sad smile. “We went through Zilferia, but ended up here, where we got married and began a life together.”
“That’s super cool,” Crystal murmurs, looking at Beryl with wide eyes. “Hey, this means that you can tell us what to expect over there!”
“I’m sure much has changed, but I can help you to get an idea,” Beryl chuckles. “Customs tend to evolve over time, fads come and go… but the people, their hearts are the same,” she sighs with a far-away look in her eyes. “They are a people in love with the ocean. So much so that not only are some things living therein worshiped, but copied.”
“What do you mean, copied?” Nathan asks, still trying to shake off the shock of her revelation.
“Well, the people change themselves to become more like the sea creatures they adore. Gills being the most prevalent thing, but there are others. That extra clear eyelid fish have to protect their eyes from debris, for one thing. Knowing how fads evolve, I’m sure there are much more extreme things they do now to show their love for sea creatures.”
“Wait, if you’re from Quagon, wouldn’t you have those things too?” Crystal asks, narrowing her eyes at her as if trying to find hidden scales in her skin.
“Oh, I never bothered with all that. I just have the breathing device that you both have,” she chuckles, pointing to what had appeared to be a mole behind her ear. “Let’s see, what else… the marketplace is a little overwhelming, but you’ll get used to it. Everyone shouting out their wares as they line the streets… luckily they’re easy to avoid if you want since the marketplace is only in the main streets. That reminds me, did the King and Queen give you any Quagon money? Their currency is a little different than what you two are used to.”
“They did, actually,” Crystal confirms, opening her backpack and pulling out a small pouch of coins, which she dumps onto the table. Beryl swiftly sorts them by the five colors- pink, gold, silver, white, and black.
“Alright, this might be a little rough to follow, but bear with me,” Beryl chuckles before pulling a small pink coin away from the rest. “This one is a senine, it’s the smallest system of money. Fifty of these is equivalent to one seon,” she continues, selecting a silver coin a little larger than the pink senine. “Fifty seon are equivalent to one amnor,” this one is the gold coin. “Twenty amnor are equivalent to one ezrom if I’m remembering correctly,” she continues, pointing to the black coin. “Finally, ten of those equal one limnah, this white coin here.” Seeing the glazed look on their faces, Beryl chuckles. “Smallest to largest: pink, silver, gold, black, white. Senine, seon, amnor, ezrom, and limnah.”
“Yeah… we’re just going to have to practice that later,” Crystal chuckles, scooping the coins back into the pouch. “Thank you, Beryl.”
“My pleasure, my dear!” she beams, patting her hand. “Is there anything else you two need?”
“I’d like to hear a little more about Quagon and the people before we go if that’s alright,” Crystal asks.
“Happy to!”
*****
Nathan smiles as he listens to his grandmother gush about her former home, but jerks back to alertness by a pounding at the door. The door then shows an image of who’s on the other side. “The Dragon Hunters,” Nathan murmurs, his blood running cold at the sight of five cloaked figures on their porch.
“What do we do?” Crystal gasps, already shaking. Nathan rushes to her side and pulls her up out of the chair.
“We have to go. Now. We have to lead them away from here.” He turns to Beryl and pulls her into a quick hug. “I love you, grandma.”
“I love you too, sweetie,” she replies, fear showing through her confident expression. “Please be safe.”
“I will,” he replies, leading Crystal to the back door. “I’m sorry we put you in danger,” he chokes out, holding back tears.
“Oh, sweetie. This i
sn’t the first time they’ve tried to find me,” she chuckles with a wink. “I can disappear, don’t you worry. You just take care of the two of you, alright?” Nathan nods, trying to hold this watery last image of his grandmother in his mind before finally turning and slipping out the door behind Crystal.
The brisk air helps to sharpen his thoughts. “Alright. Okay. We just have to provoke them into chasing us to give her time to hide, like she said.” He puffs out a lungful of air, sending a white cloud into the cold surrounding them. “Ready to run?” he asks, turning to her. She stares back at him with big, blue eyes, fingering the strap of her backpack before nodding. The clouds had rolled in, darkening the land, which Nathan was grateful for so that Crystal could see with her natural eyes. Still, he couldn’t help but wish that it was bright so he could have an advantage over the Dragon Hunters.
“Okay. Let’s go,” Crystal declares, striding confidently forward, her long legs getting her to the front of the house just in time. The man in front lowers his raised fist, glaring at her.
“Crystal Dragon,” he growls, causing the others around him to turn as well.
“Hey there, ugly,” she coolly replies, hands on her hips. “Have you come to seek revenge? You know, since a couple of teenagers keep making you look stupid?” She laughs, and Nathan watches her in awe. “You do realize it doesn’t take much to do that, right? All of you are stupid in the first place. No wonder you’re losing this war, despite your war machines. I hear the dragons like, literally stomped half your force when you tried to attack them all at once.”
The nearest Dragon Hunter steps toward her, his hands raised. She laughs again, although Nathan can tell she’s getting scared. “Oh, you’re going for the kidnapping thing again? You really aren’t the brightest, are you? You like going around and around like this?”
“Don’t fall for her words,” the leader barks at those around him, who are shifting on their feet like they’d very much like to seize them both.
Nathan now jumps in with the insults. “Seriously, I’ve never met anyone who’s so obviously just a pawn for the true players of the game. You guys? You’re just the meat people like Patrick toss into the front lines. You’re just bodies to shield everyone else.”
“That’s it,” he yells, jumping down from the porch.
“Run!” Nathan yells, turning and sprinting down the street. As his feet fly over the moving sidewalk, he lifts the watch up to his face. “Vlad! We need… a portal… by Angela’s house.”
“What? Why are you running?” Vlad asks, concern on his holographic face. “Oh, Dragonfire, there are Dragon Hunters chasing after you.”
“That’s why we need the portal now, Vlad!” Nathan barks, lowering his hand once more to concentrate on running. Crystal, to his surprise, stays just half a pace behind him the whole way there. Her breath is coming hard the longer they go, but they’re leaving the Dragon Hunters a comfortable distance behind. As they approach Angela’s house, he sees Walter on the porch. He looks up from his book at the same time and sees them approaching. Calling for Ramona, he steps down off the porch. Shoot. How am I supposed to get both of them to safety? Ugh, the Dragon Hunters are right behind us!!
“Walter! Get inside! Now!” he shouts as he approaches.
He doesn’t seem to hear him. “Ramona, it’s Nathan!” He turns away from the house as they begin to slow before him. “Who’s this?” he asks, looking at Crystal in confusion.
“No time! Walter, you’re in danger. Stay inside and you should be safe. Keep your doors locked.”
He pauses, then stubbornly shakes his head. “I don’t think so, young man. Where is my daughter?”
“Where’s Angela?” Ramona adds as she steps out of the house, shutting the front door behind her. Nathan feels like punching them.
“They’re right behind us!!! Get inside, we can talk about her later!”
“Too late for that,” comes the menacing voice behind them. They spin around. The Dragon Hunters had caught up, one at a time. The leader raises his arm, something held in his hand.
“Run!” Nathan shouts as he sprints to the side. Crystal keeps to his side, but Ramona and Walter are too slow to react. The object sails through the air as the leader releases it, arcing towards the couple. Nathan and Crystal watch in horror, helpless, as time seems to slow, allowing them to realize exactly what’s coming.
“No!” Crystal screams as the object explodes on the wood porch. Flames instantly ignite, climbing the posts and hiding the two from sight. The heat was intense enough for Nathan and Crystal to feel, feet away. Nathan stares in disbelief as tears begin to trail down Crystal’s cheeks.
“You’re quick, I’ll give you that,” the leader sneers as he turns back to them, pulling out a knife.
“We have to run,” Crystal gulps, pulling at Nathan’s sleeve. He stirs at her touch, then spins and leads the way to the portal, holding Crystal’s hand tightly. They manage to dodge the few knives that are thrown at them as they weave through increasingly dense trees. Leaping over a bush, they find Vlad standing by the portal.
“Come on!” he calls, waving them forward. “They’re right behind you!”
As Nathan follows Crystal into the portal, he looks back at the Dragon Hunters, who slow and glare at them with menacing eyes. Vlad follows them in, and the only thing he sees is the white of the portal as it closes behind them.
CHAPTER THREE
Meditation
“What do you mean, no?” Hunter scoffs in disbelief. “You have to do what I say. I said, go check on Alyssa. She’s with the dragons. Don’t make me force you.”
“Silly boy,” the Abonsam chuckles as it dances around on his desk. “We are not like the weak-willed animals you play with. We are not even like the dragons, with their one-track thinking. We are wily, sly, and rambunctious. We are chaos incarnate. And you think you can control us?”
“Yes,” Hunter growls, closing his eyes in concentration. He feels the Abonsam’s mind with his own, but it feels slippery. Wrinkling his nose in anger, he tries harder. His desperation to save Alyssa throws him off track, however, and he finally loses it altogether. “No…”
The Abonsam laughs and spins on the desk, the gold on its wrists catching in the light. “Stupid boy. Didn’t you think that we could manipulate the chaos inside of yourself? You are not strong enough to keep a hold on one, let alone a pack, of Abonsam. Goodbye forever, foolish boy,” it screams happily before vanishing into smoke.
Hunter collapses into the chair at his desk and lays his head on the wood. Sorrow washes over him, and he begins to sob. I’m sorry, Alyssa. I wasn’t strong enough… I wasn’t fast enough to save you. His knuckles turn white as he tightens his fists. But rest assured, I will at least avenge you.
<<
“It’s quite the storm tonight,” Pearl notes, leaning over to her husband sitting beside her.
“Indeed,” he agrees. “But we need to hold the Council meeting regardless. We still need to figure out exactly what we’re doing- specifically, how we’re going to be prepared for Patrick’s next attack.” Pushing the empty plate away from him, he stands and offers a hand to Pearl. “Let’s go make sure everything is in order.”
They walk into the council meeting room hand in hand, ready to greet their visitors. Susan and Reed are alone in the corner, whispering to each other. The mermaids are standing nearest to the door, as always. Their fierce faces set in a mask of indifference, they’re there more as a favor to their king than actually wanting to participate in the affairs of humans. Kate and Zeke smile with relief as the King and Queen walk in and stand to greet them.
“Thank goodness you’re here,” Kate murmurs confidentially to Pearl. “Those mermaids look like they’re ready to tear into anyone who talks to them.”
“They’re not as bad as they seem,” Alexander chuckles. “They’re just warriors, which sets them on edge. They’re ready to fight, yes, but if you don’t provoke them you should be fine.”
“Comforting,” Zeke mutters with a glance to the red-headed Keyana.
“It’s just a short meeting,” Pearl comforts, laying a hand on Zeke’s arm. “You’ll survive, I promise.” The rest of the council is then led in by one of their servants, who bows and leaves after helping Thaddeus into a seat. He was healing well, but still had a cast on his leg.
“Thaddeus, good to see you,” Alexander greets, coming to stand beside his chair. “How’s the leg?”
“Cast should be off in another week or so,” he smiles, although he looks exhausted. “How are the mermaids getting along with everyone?” he continues, looking over at them and taking them in for the first time. “They certainly look fierce. I’m sure a lot of villagers are afraid of them.”
“Indeed, but they’ll soon see that the mermaids are our friends,” he assures his old friend before clapping his hands together to draw the attention of those in the room. “Alright, everyone. Welcome. Let’s start off with the housing situation. Zelda, what’s it looking like? Can we get everyone any closer to the castle?”
“Everyone is as close as they can get and still be in shelter,” she replies. “There’s barely enough room, but they’re making do.”
“And the food storage?”
“Should hold out for a few months, at least.”
“And Adam, how are the walls around the Village coming?” he asks, addressing Kate’s father.
“They should be functional in just a few days, my King,” he replies. “And from there, it requires minimal upkeep, so we can add more defenses once it’s ready.”
“Good, thank you. Krasnigor, how-” He’s interrupted by the sound of the door slamming open. Drawing his new black sword, Alexander spins to face the threat. He relaxes after a few terse moments when he sees who the visitors are. “Vlad, Crystal, Nathan. You made it.” All eyes turn to the three newcomers as they slowly drip rainwater onto the vast rug.