Dragon's Claws

by Bri Sailor

  “Ehren, please. Give her a few days to clear her head before you tell your father. This is what she needs, just give her a little time.”

  Ehren rubbed his forehead, his head suddenly hurting. He looked the priestess dead in the eye, his brow furrowed in anger. “No! I won’t! She could be dead right now for all I know!”

  He stormed off to his room. Cora’s eyes flashed again as she tried to increase her influence on the prince. She stopped and shook her head. What was she doing? Using her powers like that was not why the Goddess had chosen her as the High Priestess. This was how he was going to react, there was no avoiding it. He was so protective of the princess. She prayed that the Goddess would watch over her friend and bring her home soon. She also sent up a silent plea that the Goddess would reveal more of her plan. The priestess decided to give Ehren a little time to cool off, but when she went looking for him he had returned home, intending to bring a search party for his delusional, wayward sister. According to one of the priests the prince had had a shouting match with himself in the main hall of the temple before ultimately deciding to fetch a small army. Cora was grateful that Atreyis would have a few more days to figure herself out and maybe come home. She looked up at the billowing white clouds in the bright blue sky.

  “I pray that you know what you are doing.” She said softly.

  Later that night the priestess lay awake in bed unable to sleep. She could feel her faith in the Goddess falter. Slamming her fists on the bed, she sat up and walked over to a comfy pillow and plopped down. Silvery moonlight streamed in through her window. She took in a deep, relaxing breath and slowly blew it out. Something was nagging at the back of her mind, but she couldn’t quite place what it. Spending some time wandering the spirit realm had always calmed her mind in the past. There, she was able to be truly alone with her thoughts, away from outside influences. It also allowed her attempt to commune with the Goddess which was something she deeply ached for. She closed her eyes, relaxing, and emptied her mind. It wasn’t long before she felt the familiar vibrations starting in her toes and working their way to her head. Her body became heavy but light at the same time. In the black of her vision a small pinprick of light shone. She focused on the light and brought it closer, turning it into a tunnel. The tunnel gave way and she found herself in an open field of wild flowers. The colors were so vivid they made the palace flowers pale in comparison.

  The priestess passed through the flowers, as if a ghost, and looked up at the sky. It was such a deep blue. She inhaled the fresh scent of the field. The Spirit Realm was her favorite place. Ever since she was a little girl she would come here during her dreams. It was a beautiful place full of many adventures, but it wasn’t without its problems. When she visited it was only in spirit so she was unable to truly interact with her surroundings. Only once someone passed on could they completely enjoy everything that the realm had to offer. A sudden rumble of thunder caught her attention. She looked over her shoulder to the horizon. Black clouds were swirling and lightning flashed. A deep sense of dread overcame the priestess and she felt as if the very breath were being sucked out of her lungs. Suddenly, Cora felt like she was falling from a great height. The light of the realm faded as she fell down the dark tunnel. She gasped as her spirit was harshly thrown back into her body. Her hands were shaking and her heart was racing as her eyes glowed brightly. The Darkness was growing stronger, she could feel it.

  “Please keep Atreyis safe.” She pleaded with the Goddess.

  #

  By sunset they were still in the forest but Ky pressed on. The sun dipped below the horizon by the time they made it out of the trees. The warrior breathed a sigh of relief, the dots of light on the horizon told her that the wall was just within reach. Suddenly, a rustling sound perked Ky’s ears. The warrior’s stomach dropped and her heart raced. The girl was seizing. Ky vaulted off Luna and rushed to her side, overcome with panic. She rolled the girl on her side and propped her up. They were out of time, Ky knew it. The seizure stopped after a minute. The warrior secured the girl and then leapt onto Luna’s saddle.

  “Yah!” she gave the horse a kick and they were off, with the white horse following alongside.

  The warrior looked back at the girl, the moonlight cast an eerie glow on her already deathly white skin. Ky didn’t know why but something inside was telling her to not let the girl die, and she had no intention to. When they were close enough she caught the attention of the guards.

  “Help! We need help!” she yelled. “Open the gate!”

  A guard squinted in the dark. He could just barely make out the two horses and the litter dragging behind. He sounded the alarm and the gate slowly opened. The instant they made it through the gate the guards swarmed the bloody rider and the wounded girl. The captain flew down the stone steps from the wall walk.

  “What happened?”

  Ky leapt off her horse. “We were attacked. They were trying to rob some people and she got caught up in the fighting.”

  The captain checked on the girl and her eyes grew wide when she saw her face.

  “You must take her quickly! Get her to the temple!” she pointed towards the mountains. “There’s nothing that we can do here.”

  The girl began coughing up blood and sputtering, she was at Death’s door. Ky released the white horse and cut the ropes of the litter. In one swift move she picked up the girl and put her on Luna’s saddle and climbed behind her and sat her up. Wrapping a strong arm around the unconscious girl, Ky kicked Luna and the horse took off at a full gallop towards the temple. A second set of hoof beats followed her. She craned her head to see the white horse chasing behind her, ever the loyal creature. The girl moaned in pain and her head rolled back onto Ky’s shoulder. The bloodied white streak of hair fluttering in the wind.

  “Hold on. You’re almost there,” Ky whispered in her ear.

  The white tower grew closer and they raced through the courtyard. Ky wasted no time and jumped off barely before Luna even came to a stop. She gingerly picked up the wounded girl in her arms and ran up to the doors.

  “Help! I need help!”

  Two seconds passed. Too long. Her eyes flashed red and she kicked the doors in, splintering them. The crashing wood echoed throughout the temple. A guard came running with a sleepy elderly priest in tow. The barefoot priest nearly fainted at the sight of all the blood.

  “You need to help her!” Ky yelled with pleading wild gray eyes.

  “T-the priestess—’’ he stammered, “—take her to the High Priestess.”

  He pointed to the rear of the temple to the door that led to the dormitory. Ky held the girl tight and sprinted through the temple and barreled through the door.

  “I need the High Priestess!” her desperate cries woke the whole temple.

  Several people stumbled out of their rooms to the large hallway. One priestess quickly ushered them into an empty room. The general laid the girl down in the bed.

  “Someone get Cora!” yelled one of the priests.

  A few seconds passed and a sleep-addled girl with sandy blonde hair stumbled into the room. When she saw the beaten and bloodied princess lying motionless on the bed her legs threatened to give out and her heart caved in as tears stung her eyes. She rushed to her side. The brunette’s shirt was in tatters and there was nothing left of her pants from the waist down. Two large blood soaked bandages covered her abdomen and thigh. Around her neck was an ugly purple bruise. Her breathing was irregular and rattled.

  “Oh my Goddess! Atreyis!” cried Cora.

  She spun around to face the blood soaked figure in black.

  “What happened to her?” she demanded.

  Ky was caught off guard by the priestess’ reaction. “She was attacked in the forest last night. I did what I could—“

  The priestess didn’t let her finish. She faced the wounded princess and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She moved her hands as if she was going to pray. The room fell deathly silent as all eyes were on Cora. She opened he
r eyes. They were no longer a sparkling blue-green, they were glowing a dazzling gold. She place her hand on the princess’ head and the other just below her heart. Both of the priestess’ hands started to glow like her eyes and she began chanting in a low tone.

  “Héám m’hé vvóyuld’éd ólé. Máwé hér l’rón m’hé Éwér Dárh. Yumé nth mílé ám hér óúl.”

  The wounded Atreyis’ breathing softened and evened out. After a minute the priestess stopped glowing and she collapsed on the side of the bed, breathing hard. The princess appeared to be sleeping now. Cora checked the bandaged wounds and breathed a sigh of relief. They had stopped bleeding and had already started healing. She let her tears flow freely down her burning face. She took slow deep breaths.

  The weakened priestess turned to Ky. “She’s going to be fine. If you hadn’t done what you did, she probably wouldn’t have even made it here alive. I thank you.”

  Ky nodded, slightly dumbfounded. She had never seen a priest do something like that, and definitely not Lusha.

  The priestess stood up and looked the warrior over. Her appearance was beastly as she was covered in blood and dirt and grime.

  “Are you hurt as well?” she sniffed.

  The warrior shook her head. “No. I am fine. Are you sure she will be alright?”

  “Yes. Come with me.” Cora motioned for the stranger to follow her, leaving her temple subordinates to watch over Atreyis.

  Once they were in the hall the priestess whirled around and pinned the much larger woman against the wall, her eyes were glowing bright gold again.

  “What really happened to her? And Goddess help you if you had anything to do with it!” she whispered harshly.

  Ky’s eyes narrowed and she looked the priestess square in the eyes. “I didn’t do anything. She was fighting off some thieves and I heard the scuffle. I went to see what was going on and stepped in to help her. I swear to the Goddess herself, I did nothing wrong.”

  Cora searched the piercing gray eyes and found truth in them. Her eyes stopped glowing and she backed off. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

  Ky straightened herself out. “It’s fine. I take it you know her?”

  The priestess studied the warrior for a moment, and got a tingling sensation in her head. “Yes, she happens to be a friend of mine. And who are you?”

  “Ky.”

  Cora waited for more but got nothing from the blood-covered girl.

  “Okay…Ky, I thank you for bringing her here.”

  The two stared at each other in awkward silence. The priestess couldn’t explain it, but there was something familiar about her. Something…

  “If you would like to wash up and rest I can show you to a room.” Offered the small blonde.

  Ky nodded. The priestess led her to a room that was two down from Atreyis’. Ky was left alone as the priestess returned to check on her friend. The blonde looked around. It was plain and simple, typical for a temple. There was a single narrow bed, a small dresser and a washstand. She stood for a moment and tried to collect herself. What exactly had she just witnessed? And the priestess. Who, or more accurately, what was she? The warrior shook her head and tried to refocus herself on the task at hand. It was completely out of character that she had allowed herself to act the way she did. Looking down at herself reality came furiously roaring back. Dried red-brown blood covered her from head to toe. She carefully stripped and tossed her clothes in a pile on the floor. Curious as to her appearance she grabbed her dagger and checked her reflection. She laughed. It was amazing that she even got through the Aznurro’s toughest defense looking like she did. Once again the warrior flipped off the switch inside, anything that she had allowed herself to feel was now replaced with a familiar numbness.

  “Amazing.” She said to her reflection. “Years of attempting to break the stone bastion of the king and all it took was reckless little girl with a sword, and I’m in.”

  She tossed the dagger on the bed. “So simple.”

  The water in the washbasin was cold and refreshing.

  “Curious, though.” She said to herself as she cleaned off the blood. “That name…I wonder…”

  Ky plunged her face into the basin and scrubbed. She stared at the water. “No. That would be too easy…her eyes were extremely bright though. Pure-blood or higher nobility at least.”

  The clear water quickly turned red as Ky washed herself off. After some more scrubbing she was finally clean. There were some blue robes folded neatly on the bed. After slipping into the cool blue silk she lay down and put her arms behind her head. As soon as she could, she would make a dash for Lynica and get her mission over and done with, and get her command back. While it was unfortunate what happened to that Atreyis girl, things couldn’t have been going more smoothly. As Ky thought about the girl though, she felt a strange sense of familiarity, like a childhood memory that she just couldn’t quite bring to light. She dismissed it and fell asleep almost instantly, only to be tormented by nightmares once more.

  The pink light of the early morning streamed in through the temple windows and Ky found herself wandering around after only a few hours of sleep. She was impressed with the details in the ceilings and the overall size of the place. Unlike the temple she was used to back home, this one was inviting, a place of rest. The temple in the mountains surrounding Óhn stood like a fortress and had an air of intimidation. It was deathly quiet and for those that dared to visit, the priests rarely interacted with the people. If that wasn’t enough to scare people off, Lusha was the figurehead and leader of all of the priests. It was she who demanded that a new temple be built the moment she arrived in Óhn; leaving the ancient temple inside of the city to collect dust. The witch claimed that she was sent by the Goddess Ailana to do her will and to unite the kingdoms. Ky furrowed her brow. There was something about Lusha that she had never liked from the moment she met her. The woman gave off a weird energy that set the warrior’s nerves on edge and her muscles coiled. The witch had shown up out of the blue some twenty years ago. No one knew where she came from or who she was, but suddenly she was at the king’s side and never left it. The warrior couldn’t prove it but she was sure that the witch had placed some sort of spell over him.

  Ky tried to shake off the uneasy feeling as she made her way back towards the rooms, pausing at the Goddess’ statue. It towered over her, smothering her. She looked hard into the marble eyes. A chill ran down her spine and made her hair stand on end. It felt like they were pulling her close, drawing her in. It was odd, but a strange calm slowly washed over her. She lingered for another minute and then broke eye contact. It was time to check on this Atreyis.

  The wounded girl was sleeping soundly in her room. Cora had changed the dressings late last night so Ky thought she should check them. Without a sound she walked into the room. Despite what had happened to her, Atreyis looked so peaceful in her sleep. The warm sunbeams illuminated her chestnut brown hair with a golden glow. The warrior caught herself staring and mentally slapped herself. Her heart fluttered in her chest. The blonde ignored it and grabbed some fresh clean bandages and the jar of poultice, noting a still steaming cup of tea that someone had left. From what she could smell it was a medicinal tea. Returning to the task at hand she ever so gently pulled back the sheet. She forced her attention on the bandages covered in dried blood and tried to ignore the muscular body underneath. Her focus crumbled as the girl suddenly sucked in a breath and the warrior found herself drowning in sapphire blue eyes.

  Chapter 5

  Atreyis woke with a pounding in her head. Her mouth was dry and begging for relief. She slowly cracked open a dry eye. The barely risen sun proved too bright and she retreated to the shadow of her blankets, instantly regretting ever opening it. Where was she? What happened? The last thing she remembered was being in the temple. Images flashed in her mind. Trees. Screams. A large man with a sword. Keeping her eyes covered she tried to sit up and get a drink, which was a very poor choice. There was a sharp pain in
her abdomen and a burning and stinging in her leg that leveled her. She lay whimpering in the bed for a few minutes until her thirst got the better of her. Bracing herself for the onslaught of pain she attempted to open an eye again and winced at the light. Her head felt like it was in a vice. In a brief glance she got a look at the room, it seemed familiar but she couldn’t quiet remember it. She rubbed her face. Her mind felt fuzzy and sluggish. A cup of water was on the stand next to her bed; she gingerly picked it up and gulped down the entire refreshing contents and flopped back on the bed.

  Her whole body felt like a giant bruise. Gathering her courage she lifted the sheet to take inventory of her body. Her eyes widened. She was essentially completely naked, wearing only light cotton undergarments. Various cuts and scrapes and bruises adorned her extremities. The sight of her torso and leg covered in bandages took her breath away. What the hell happened? With a shaky hand she peaked under red-tinged bandages on her stomach. A long, wicked slash had been sutured shut. Stars danced in her vision and she felt lightheaded. She took a deep breath and dared to lift the second bandage. Immediately, she sucked in a painful breath. A short, but terribly jagged gash on her thigh was sewn shut and covered in some sort of poultice. The sheer shock of her current state and the pain of her wounds caused the poor princess to black out.

  A few hours later a slight tickling of her stomach roused Atreyis from a deep sleep. She cracked open a dry eye. She couldn’t believe what she saw. A tall goddess was standing over her, the sunlight illuminating her long straight blonde hair and blue temple dress. The princess panicked a moment, surely she was dead and the woman was the Goddess herself, but a large tattoo on the girl’s shoulder brought the princess back to reality. The artwork was oddly calming. The tattooed blonde was bent over and messing with something. The princess looked down the length of her body and saw that she was tending to her wounds and changing her bandages. The girl moved closer to inspect the wound and gently began cleaning it. Atreyis whimpered at the sudden return of pain. The blonde heard her and froze the moment their eyes met. The girl cleared her throat and turned away. Seeing a cup of tea she reached for it and turned back to the princess.