Wynter Reign

by Emmy R Bennett

  We look up to see the moons are nearly joined, giving us the warning that night will be upon us soon.

  “Meet in the Hall, within the hour, please,” she says, as Akira, her tiger yawns behind her. “And make sure you’re wearing those items in the box.”

  Cory and I bow, as we put on our bracers. “Thank you, Arryn,” Cory says.

  As we walk away from Arryn’s stand, I say, “Nice dagger you have there, Cory.”

  He looks down and grabs his blade. We both take notice of the inscription on it. “I can’t make out the script, but it does look to be very old.”

  “Here, let me see that for a minute.” I try to make out the words, but some of the letters are too faint. “It says Blade of something…” In the center of the hilt is a blue and green gem in the shape of an oval. The colors swirl, blending into one another.

  “Hmm, Blade of something. Now, that’s original,” Cory teases.

  “Knock it off.” I jab him with my elbow.

  “I didn’t know you could speak the ancient language of Ladorian?”

  “I don’t, really, but Mother’s been teaching me. Although I don’t have time to study much of it right now.” I hand him back his weapon.

  “Perhaps someone around here will know about its history?” Cory asks.

  “Yeah, but something tells me you’re not going to find out right now.” I point to the sky to see black dragons form in the distance, like a flock of geese would, heading south for a winter season. They’re coming from the opposite direction of Dragonscale Island, giving me an indication these dragons aren’t friendly.

  Cory puts his weapon back in his belt. “Probably right, and it looks like Trek’s are riding on their backs. We better take cover. Something tells me those beasts flying towards us are not on a house call.” He runs for the gates to the castle before the door shuts and I follow.

  “Man your stations, men!” I hear one knight call out when we pass him. People immediately close up shop in the courtyard. A huge commotion begins, with women and children fleeing to their respective homes. Soldiers rush to their appointed positions while some shift into dragons themselves and take off in the air. If it wasn’t for their scales showing other colors than black, I don’t think the townspeople would be able to tell who is friend and who is foe. The bridge leading to the gates of the Storm castle pulls up, and archers line the wall of the perimeter.

  “I should be up there with them, not running, Cory.”

  I watch as one dark dragon successfully blows fire near the gates, and flames consume the front perimeter around the castle. A few dragons in our corner blow the intruder backwards, and the creature falls to the ground with a loud thud, shaking the floor beneath our feet.

  “Get those shields up,” I hear one shout.

  “Rory, we need to take cover now,” Cory says, nudging my arm.

  “What do we do with these?” I ask, referring to the boxed gear in our hands.

  “Take them with us. Obviously, it’s important we have them.”

  I hold on tight to my items as we jump and weave in and out of the chaos. I see Arryn run alongside her tiger, readying her bow. She shoots one of the flying dragons and makes a direct hit. The dragon vanishes, and the Trek Rider falls to his death.

  Is that what those arrows do, kills a dark dragon?

  I know Cory saw what I saw and is as surprised as me. "Here," I say, and thrust my package to him.

  A few dozen more dragon riders approach, and I follow Arryn’s lead with my bow and arrow. “This isn’t good at all,” I say. “There are so many of them.”

  “I’m assuming the underworld is working on getting ahead of the game,” Arryn shouts. “Shoot as many dark dragons as you can.”

  The ground shakes as a fireball blasts through the center courtyard. People scream, and I hear agony in their voices. The clock tower park is destroyed, and the fruit trees are set on fire.

  “Get those shields up, now!” another soldier orders.

  Sprinklers from the ground pop up, and the water begins to spray the burning trees. More dark dragons continue to burn everything in sight. “There are much more of them than us,” Cory says, tugging at my hand.

  “They must think Wynter is here and aren’t taking any precautions,” I say, as we temporarily take cover by a heavily shaded tree.

  “Hurry up with that safeguard before all is lost!” the commander roars again.

  I see a clear shield begin to rise, resembling glass, only it isn’t. It’s more like a dome bubble, surrounding the entire kingdom, and when something hits the protective layer, it bounces off as though the shield is rubber. Some of the enemy dragons are caught inside, raising havoc, but our ground shifters are ready, and they fight head on. Three beasts get trapped inside the shield, and one goes down hard, knocking himself out of his shifted state from the fall, while the other two dark dragons continue to fight with our allies in the air.

  “Only way to kill a dragon is if they’re shifted into a human state,” Cory remarks. I watch as the soldiers lock a cuff around the fallen enemy.

  “Is that what I think it is?” I pull my turtleneck up around my mouth to breathe. Ash begins to sift through the air from the burning buildings and vegetation.

  “Valiancium steel? Yes, it will keep a shifter from changing back to dragon form—”

  “Allowing them to kill the enemy,” I say, finishing Cory’s statement.

  Cory nods, adding, “Except they may take this one prisoner. ”

  "I’ve lost sight of Arryn and her tiger through the smoke and ash." I turn around viewing the devastation the dragons have inflicted.

  “They will be okay,” Cory says. “We have to get out of here. You and I are not dragons. We will burn from the fires.”

  “Are you saying Arryn is?”

  “No, but she’s a huntress, with good instincts. Her and Akira will be fine.”

  “I hope you’re right.” I follow Cory along the side fence, leaping over bodies that have perished, and passing others wounded.

  I see a young woman and her son. The mother appears injured and the child cries, pulling at her to move. “Momma, Momma, we have to keep moving.”

  The mother shakes her head. “I can’t, child. My leg is broke. Go, run and take cover. I’ll be okay.”

  “Cory, we have to help them.”

  “I know. Here,” he says, this time, he shoves his box in my hands. “Take this for me. I’ll carry her, you hold the boy’s hand.”

  Before I have a chance to protest, Cory is by the woman’s side and lifting her in his arms, as though she's weightless.

  I take a firm grip of the boy’s palm, and we dash as fast as we can to the closest armory tower. A fireball blazes past us and misses, taking down a cart of hay a few feet away. I turn to see one of the dark dragons spot us running. It circles around, making a second attempt.

  “Go!” I ready a shot, knowing full well I might not have time to make my target, but before I have a chance to shoot, one of our ally shifters fires flames of his own, and the dark dragon is distracted, allowing us to keep moving. We take cover inside the tower, where a few other people are crying and moaning with injuries. “I don’t have the healing abilities like Wynter does, Cory. Can you conjure something for these people?”

  The woman we helped with the small boy says, “I’m a healer, but I need help with my leg, first. I think it’s broken.”

  Her boy looks frightened. I bend down to him. “She’s going to be all right, okay?” I smile, handing him our boxed gear. “Here, can you hold these for me while I help your mother?”

  The boy nods.

  I look past the child’s shoulders out the open door of the tower to see a glimpse of enemy dragons attempting to penetrate the kingdom’s barrier. “This must be what Sara meant about an immortality spell cast upon the kingdom should the underworld attack?”

  “Perhaps. Hopefully, this dome will hold.” Cory begins to help secure the woman’s leg, by conjuring a splint and
bandages. “Can you not heal yourself?”

  “Not while I’m injured like this. If it was a bruise or scrape, yes, but this is a break; therefore, my magic is severed, too.” I look at Cory, not knowing what to do.

  “Can you help me with the splint and bandage?” the woman asks. “Perhaps that will give me enough juice to restore myself, so I can heal these folks?”

  “We can try,” I say. “What is your name?” I begin to help Cory put her leg in a brace.

  “Eve, and this is my son, Kevin.” She smiles.

  “Well, Eve, let’s do this, okay?”

  She nods and I hear her scream, as Cory sets her leg.

  “Where did you learn to do that?” Eve asks.

  “I watched my mom a few times.”

  “I feel my magic flowing again,” Eve says. “Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be as good as new to help these other folks. How can I ever repay you?”

  “No need,” I say. I watch as soldiers prepare cannons and marksmen ready their bows above on the upper walkway, while in the sky the remaining dragons fly about screeching inside our protective dome. They are black and massive, spewing fire at anyone and anything.

  “Those dragons are out of control.” I glance to the boy still holding our boxed items. “You’re a brave boy, Kevin. Thank you for keeping these safe.” I reach for the items and begin opening the containers.

  “If these are so important, perhaps we should put them on?” I hand Cory his case. I find inside a long cloak and nothing more, it’s black with buttons down the front, while Cory’s is a dark navy blue.

  “It appears we no longer have a treaty in place among the Trek people,” I say. “They ride those beasts as though they are going to win this battle.” The two other black dragons continue to wreak havoc on the town of Storm Castle. The arrows aiming at them don’t do a bit of good and bounce from their scales.

  “Apparently, the arrows don’t work on all the dragons,” I say to Cory.

  “Or perhaps not all the arrows are made the same way as yours and Arryn’s.”

  One of our dragons manages to lock talons with one of the enemies, trying to drag the evil beast to the ground below, but fails. Our dragon friends regroup. I count our five in the sky to their two. “Surely, they can take out those dragons that are left. Are they that much more powerful than us?”

  “They’re Trek shifters,” I hear Eve say. “My husband is one of them.”

  “Come again?” I ask.

  “It’s not what you think.” Eve bends over to help an injured child. We both watch as her hands light up and glow. Eve still wears a brace around her leg but seems to no longer be in pain. “My son, Kevin, and I are on the run from him. I had heard Ashengale is a safe haven for people seeking refuge. I think they are after me.” She looks at her son. “Us.”

  “Who are you? I mean, who really are you?” I ask. I can’t read her thoughts. She isn’t evil—I can sense that—but something tells me there is more to her than she’s leading on.

  “I know,” Cory says.

  Eve stares at him. “You can read my thoughts?” There is a long pause, and I sense fear coming from her.

  I still haven’t gotten this new psychic thing down, but I sense in my gut, that she’s running from something really dangerous.

  She shakes her head, as though to plead mercy. “Please, no.”

  “Your secret is safe with me, but you mustn’t stay here where you can be detected,” Cory adds.

  “I won’t tell you, so don’t ask,” I hear a voice inside my head. I know full well it’s Cory speaking.

  “Fine,” I say. My tone is brisk, and I get a concerned stare from Eve. “We can’t leave them here. How do you propose we get through that?” I point to the chaos outside of our temporary hiding spot.

  We both turn to the one window in the tower watching the battle unfold.

  One of the remaining dragons shoots out blue flames, hitting an ally dragon shifter, and he crashes to the ground. The impact pulls the shifter back into his human form. Before the ally soldier has a chance to regain his composure, the dark dragon stabs our ally in the heart with one of his talons, and then finishes him off with flames, barbecuing his body to ash.

  The soldier doesn’t die in vain, though, as another one of our flying comrades slams into the beast, knocking the enemy dragon to the ground, where he shifts into a human, allowing a ground soldier to shoot an arrow through the enemy’s chest.

  “Two down, one to go,” I shout.

  “It’s not going to stop them, though. They will keep coming until I’m dead,” Eve interrupts.

  “What do you propose we do?” I ask.

  “Take Eve and Kevin with us to the Hall of Secrets. It’s the only place other than Ashengale where they will be safe.”

  I notice her necklace begins to glow. “What is that around your neck?”

  She looks down. “What, this? It’s something that was given to me by my mother, why?”

  “Because I think that might be the cause of our troubles.”

  “I can’t destroy this. It means too much to me.”

  “And that’s why the bug was planted somewhere on that charm.”

  “Wait, you think they’re tracking me through this?” Eve lifts the amulet in her palm. “How will we fix it without destroying it?” Tears begin to form in her eyes.

  “I think we can do something about that,” Cory says.

  “Well, spill it,” Eve says. Her bluntness takes me by surprise. Perhaps, she’s not this fragile healer after all.

  “If we can get to the Hall of Secrets without killing ourselves, I'll show you. Are you ready?” he asks, looking at Eve.

  “Me? Yes. All of these people are healed.”

  “Let’s go.” Cory is the first out of the tower.

  We run along the perimeter of the stone walls leading up to the castle steps. “Do you know where you’re going, Cory Storm? If you get me killed, I’m going to kill you.”

  Eve and Kevin surprise me by keeping up.

  A screech in the air causes me to look back, as I see the last beast has caught our scent. “Cory?” I cry, watching the beast get closer. There isn’t time to react, and I take my bow and arrow to ready a shot.

  “What are you doing? That arrow won’t do you any good. You saw the other soldiers. He can’t be defeated in dragon form,” Cory says.

  “It worked on some of the others, Arryn shot at earlier. I’ll take my chances.” I ignore Cory’s warning and go with my instincts, blocking out all distractions. “I can’t stand here and do nothing.”

  “He’s gaining on us, Rory. Hurry up if you’re going to shoot.”

  “If you would shut it and allow me to concentrate perhaps I will.” I begin to take careful aim, like I practiced earlier.

  “He’s after me,” Eve says.

  “Not if I can help it,” I say, concentrating.

  The swooshing sound of his wings is loud, but I keep my focus. I push through the white noise entering my mind while I target the beast. Then extending the bowstring, I release, watching it fly through the air. The dragon rages in fury, breathing out blue flames and in that instant, when his mouth is wide, I witness the arrow sink deep into the hole of his opening jaws, lodging inside the back of his throat. We hear him wail in pain.

  Instead of shifting back to his humanoid form, he explodes into a million shards of glass. I use my cloak to shield myself and the boy while Cory does the same with Eve.

  “What just happened?” I ask, stunned, standing on the bottom steps of the entrance of Storm Castle. “Why did that creature explode into pieces of glass?”

  “I don’t know.” Cory huffs. “But I’d say you killed it my friend.”

  I hear another angry roar, as though there is still a dragon we need to kill, but I see nothing. I turn around. All the intruders have been defeated, and soldiers begin to relax and recoup from the stress of the fight.

  Smoke seeps through smoldering coals of charred tree trunks and bu
ildings. Dead bodies layer the ground caked in black ash with smoke rising from their carcasses. The fallen moan in pain, and wailing children cry for their mothers.

  I watch as Eve begins to send healing powers to the injured and witness before my eyes the strength of her abilities.

  “Storm Castle community grounds is in complete ruin,” I say. The smell reeks of burning flesh and destruction. I look up to see the majority of the palace is still intact.

  Another screech sounds off. “Do you hear that?” I ask

  “Hear what? Rory, you killed a dark dragon. The rest are either dead or captured.” Cory looks over to the shifter prisoner the soldiers detained earlier. He fights the shackles as the guards carry him up the steps towards the jail area.

  The sounds ringing in my ears intensify, and I begin to feel heat upon my back. It’s as though I’m standing against a hot fireplace.

  I turn around, and there it is, breathing fire in my direction. I back away and stumble to the ground. “Don’t you see that? We didn’t kill him. He’s still alive.” The same dragon I shot to smithereens stares directly at me, screeching.

  “Rory, what’s with you? I don’t see anything.”

  “You don’t see him?” I point.

  “See who?” Cory is tossed aside in that moment and thrown to the ground. It takes a second before he gathers his composure.

  “That!” I say and scamper to my feet to ready another arrow. This is what the teachers must have meant in the telling of history; death isn’t final and ghosts are real.

  I grab another arrow to ready a shot.

  “What the hell was that?” Cory asks, pulling himself up from the ground. He brushes himself off.

  “You mean ‘is’?” I steady my aim. He’s much faster in his ghostly state.

  “You think you can defeat me?” the voice says in my head.

  “So, I can understand dragons when they die, too, huh? Good to know,” I say, and I release my bowstring, landing a direct hit. At least I think I did. The dragon disappears instantly in a puff of smoke. To another observer, they would have thought I’m nuts shooting an arrow at nothing. But I did see him before he disappeared.

  “Rory, what did you see?”