Aberration

by Kyle West

  I realized that wasn’t quite accurate. The Shen had also taken over Brevia from the Colonians a little less than a hundred years ago, but that had hardly been a fight, so maybe Mian wasn’t counting it.

  Mian sipped his tea calmly. “And so here we are. Shen recognizes your authority on the battlefield, seeing that the defense of the Red Wild has fallen to you. As such, he has placed us under your command . . . at least for the duration of the war, since he cannot be physically present.”

  “I see,” I said. “He’s placed a lot of faith in me.”

  More than he has a right to, I thought.

  “We are doing all we can to arrive on time, but most of the men must go by foot. The two hundred miles we have left to reach Haven is a tall order.”

  “Perhaps the ships themselves could advance,” I said.

  “Yes,” Mian said. “It will come to that. However, it would be dooming the men here if there is ever a coordinated air attack by the Radaskim. They can defend from the ground well enough, but our anti-air cannons can only provide so much cover.”

  “Haven must not fall,” I said. “It’s our best chance at stopping Odium.”

  Mian nodded. “Yes. The Grand Canyon would serve as a natural barrier. But it isn’t ultimately the fall of Haven that Odium wants.”

  “What does he want, then?” Shara asked.

  “We believe he is most interested in Ragnarok Crater,” Mian said. “Whatever he wants is there.”

  It was the last thing I expected to hear. “Ragnarok Crater. Why?”

  “We don’t know,” Mian said. “But our air scouts have reported his dragons’ movements in the area. A large group of Elekai dragons have stopped him from intruding, but it’s safe to say that something about it interests him, at the very least.”

  Those Elekai dragons had to be the Elders, or at least what was left of them. “Tiamat is fighting with us, then.”

  “What does Odium want with Ragnarok Crater?” Fiona asked. “The Hyperfold is gone, so it can’t be that.”

  All of us were quiet, trying to think about what it might be.

  “Ragnarok Crater is the location of Hyperborea, and the Xenofold’s Point of Origin,” Isaru said, breaking the silence. “Could it have something to do with that?”

  That had to be it, but I couldn’t even begin to guess what Odium would want with it. Perhaps there was some vulnerability we didn’t know about. If the Elder Dragons were busy defending the Crater, then that meant they would be of no help in Haven. The dragons we had now were the dragons we got.

  “All we know is that the Crater is important,” I said. “We’ll only find out the reason if we ask Tiamat himself.”

  “Which we should,” Fiona said.

  “I agree,” I said. “But there’s still something I need to know.” I looked at Mian. “About a month ago, Pallos left Sylva for Shenshi, with Odin damaged. Has there been any word from him?”

  Mian nodded. “Yes. He arrived safely and is busy repairing the ship. He hopes to have it ready in time for Haven’s defense.

  “Do you think he will?” Shara asked.

  Mian was silent for a moment. “I can’t say. He seemed frustrated with his progress when we left the city, but he told me there was a chance of fixing it in time.”

  The hopes seemed slim. I wanted nothing more than to speak to him personally and see for myself. As far as he knew, all of us who had gone to Ragnarok Crater were still dead. Him seeing that we were alive might give him the inspiration he needed. But going to Shenshi would mean another day of flying, and Mian had just given me the news I wanted.

  Just as I was about to suggest leaving the next morning, two crewmen ran into the bridge, both saluting before speaking breathlessly. “Dragons sighted, High Guardian. Shall we raise anchor?”

  Mian’s brow furrowed in thought. He was as calm as if he had been told his dinner was ready. “How many, Ensign Yu?”

  “I can’t say, High Guardian. The dust is still thick.”

  I grasped for Silence, finding Flame somewhere out there in the storm.

  Elekim, came his voice in acknowledgement.

  Have you seen any Radaskim, Flame?

  Nothing, he said. Something about this storm has dulled my senses. Do you need me to come?

  I felt the same way, too, though I didn’t know whether it was the storm, or our distance from the Red Wild.

  Come back to us, I said.

  “Raise the ships,” Mian decided. “We may founder in the storm, but we are only helpless targets on the ground.”

  “At once, High Guardian,” Ensign Yu said. “I’ll get the word out.”

  Ensign Yu turned and ran from the bridge.

  “We have to go,” I said.

  Mian nodded his understanding. “The timing is unfortunate for us. Stand clear of the ships if it comes to a fight. I wouldn’t want you to be caught in the crossfire.”

  “We will, Guardian Mian. Good luck to you and your crew.”

  “And to you, Annara.”

  All of us left the ship and waited on our dragons, the wind howling around us in the near-blinding darkness.

  Chapter 16

  Once we were a few steps away from Proudwing’s boarding ramp, Flame thudded on the sand in front of me. He and the other dragons seemed to come out of nowhere because of the sandstorm. Once I recovered from the initial shock, I cinched my cloak tighter around my waist while wetting my scarf with water from my canteen, which I tied around my mouth and nose. Once we were done preparing, I mounted Flame and I directed him to fly up into the storm.

  Are you okay flying in this, Flame? I asked.

  Yes, he said. Hold fast, Elekim.

  I gripped him more tightly, and leaned in closer.

  After a minute of flying, I realized that our objective was futile. Visibility was poor, with both the sand and the darkness. If we did find Radaskim out here, it would only be after crashing into them.

  Behind, the Proudwing was already lifting off, the wind and sand whipping around its bulk. It seemed to rise alone in the darkness. The wind might be strong enough to blow the smaller ships off course, or to even crash them.

  I feel something nearby, Flame said. To the northeast.

  Before I had time to redirect my attention, they were in front of us. Flame shrieked a warning as he averted the first dragon, only to batter himself into a second one. I felt myself dropping, and for a second I thought I had fallen off Flame, but he was still under me. His wings spread wide, slowing the fall somewhat. Even so, we hit the ground, the shock of which jolted me from Flame’s back.

  The wind carried me much further than I would have flown alone. I reached for Silence, to be ready for whatever awaited me. There was no telling when I might hit the ground, but panic would only make things worse.

  I went into a crouch just before I hit the surface. Rocks tore at my skin, while my bones jangled inside my body. I was still alive, though probably not for much longer. I wasn’t stopping, and even with Silence, it was sheer agony.

  I’m watching myself die, I thought.

  I continued to roll, losing consciousness long before I ever came to a stop.

  * * *

  The cold wind roused me from my sleep, along with the steady beating of a dragon’s wings. I opened my eyes, waiting for my vision to not be blurry. It was night, that much I could see. My face was pointed downward. Clouds moved beneath me. I was lying on my stomach, and something was keeping me from falling, whose scales were black, not pink like Flame’s.

  The pain was still there, but distant. It wasn’t Silence keeping it at bay. I had been given something, something that seemed to make my mind fly just as much as this dragon. Despite my dulled senses, I reached out, to feel just who this dragon was. Instantly, I could tell that it wasn’t Radaskim. But if that was so, then it had to be one of my own dragons, none of which had followed us out this far.

  But no matter how I tried, I couldn’t get my thoughts straight. I wasn’t alone on the back of this
dragon; someone was sitting behind me. I couldn’t turn to see who it was. I continued watching the clouds, feeling as if I were in a dream. The only reason I knew it wasn’t a dream was the throbbing pain and the cold wind, both of which were all too real.

  Time passed. Hours, maybe, with little to no deviation in the passage of clouds below, though from time to time, a mountain peak poked through, like a knife rising above the fog.

  I faded in and out, and when I next woke, it was day. Whoever was behind me forced me to drink something again, most of which I coughed up. They rubbed my back comfortingly, and before I knew it, I was dozing off again.

  When I opened my eyes next, it was night. I tried to remember just how many times night had passed into day, but I couldn’t.

  At some point, we were on the ground. I could hear voices deliberating. I opened my eyes, but those voices were only shadows silhouetted by a flame. I fought to remain conscious, to hear what was being said, but I must have been given more of the medicine without remembering. I drifted back into a dreamless slumber.

  Until something inside me snapped awake. My whole body jerked, fighting against the binds keeping me on the dragon. A scream was just beginning in my throat when hands clasped down on me once again.

  “Shanti? Calm down, let me find you medicine . . .”

  All I could manage in response was a single groan. “No more medicine, Shara.”

  But as the waves of pain hit me, I was beginning to second-guess that decision. My whole body felt as if it were aflame. My head throbbed while my throat was as parched as a desert. I’d never felt so awful in my life.

  “What happened to me?” I rasped. “Do you have water?”

  “Drink carefully,” Shara said. I heard her canteen unstop, and felt it on my lips. I drank, as deeply as I could without choking on it. She held it like that for a minute at least, until most of it was gone.

  “That’s enough for now,” she said.

  She wiped my mouth with a kerchief. The white clouds below me seemed to fade a bit before coming back into focus. I wanted nothing more than to wretch, but I pushed that impulse aside. I needed to keep down this water if I was to get well.

  “Where are we?” I managed.

  “We’re going to Ragnarok Crater,” Shara said. “At Tiamat’s insistence.”

  Tiamat? What did he have to do with all this?

  Seeming to read my mind, Shara explained. “Those dragons that came in the storm weren’t Radaskim. They had come to find you, Shanti, and to bring you to Ragnarok Crater to speak with Tiamat. It’s apparently for you to hear alone.”

  I had trouble understanding what she was talking about. So, my falling off had only been an accident? In the end, I had almost died not to an enemy, but friendly fire.

  “I have a feeling that conversation might not happen,” I said.

  “Quiet,” Shara said. “We just need you to stay alive long enough to let the Sea of Creation do the rest.”

  The Sea. Of course. That would heal me better than any doctor or medicine. Once that was done, I would be well enough to talk to Tiamat. The subject of the discussion had to be important if Tiamat had thought it worth sending his dragons this far, and leaving Ragnarok Crater relatively undefended.

  “Where are we, then? I asked. “How close?”

  “I don’t know where we are,” Shara said. “It’s too cloudy. Redtail assures me we’ll be at Ragnarok Crater soon.”

  I tried to nod my understanding, but my neck was too stiff for even that.

  “The dragons are looking for a place to make camp tonight. Isa will get a nice fire going along with some stew before long. You haven’t eaten anything these last two days.”

  On Shara’s advice, I closed my eyes once again. If I was asleep, I could at least ignore how cold it was.

  Soon, I felt Shara touching my shoulder. “We’re here.”

  The surroundings were gray and dismal under a cloudy sky. It seemed we were on a ledge of some mountain or hill, filled with evergreens with half-melted snow banked against their trunks.

  Isa had a fire going within a few minutes. I sat beside it with a thick blanket wrapped around me, holding my hands toward the flame. Most of the pain was concentrated in my left shoulder, which Shara assured me was cracked, bruised, bloody, and filled with disgusting pus. Nothing else was broken in the fall, miraculously, but I had a dozen minor wounds and injuries besides. Any time my knee moved, it sent a sharp, intolerable pain up the right side of my body. It hurt to touch my ribs, my right hip, my arm, and everything was covered with cuts and scratches, most of them throbbing and irritated. Fiona and Isa both tended to my wounds, Isa making a paste out of local plants she had found, which she applied before bandaging.

  “I don’t know how much you saw, but Flame nearly ran into one of the Elder Dragons during the storm,” Fiona said. “He managed to dodge it, but you weren’t ready for it, and that’s what caused you to fall. Flame only blames himself, though the storm was too dark for him to see. Thankfully, you weren’t too far above ground at the time. Maybe ten feet or so. It could have been much worse. Another ten feet would have meant your death.”

  Memory returned to me, now. “I was rolling for what seemed like forever.”

  We all sat quietly as we watched the stew cook. Isaru worked at getting the tent set up. Evening faded into night by the time we were eating. I made myself eat as much as I could, with Shara helping, which wasn’t hard. I hadn’t eaten in well over a day.

  After that, I could do little but go to sleep myself. I was helped inside the tent, and as soon as I was covered with my blanket, I was fast asleep.

  * * *

  When I awoke, the pain was worse than the night before. Every single one of my wounds throbbed terribly, while my right shoulder was on fire. Isa fixed me some tea, the same kind she’d given me when I’d had Aether withdrawals, only this time she had no honey to sweeten it. It tasted something awful, but I forced it down with my meal, and started feeling a bit better soon after, though the brew made me light-headed and detached. They helped me mount Flame, then tied down my legs. Flame wasn’t big enough to carry two people, so I was riding alone. Judging from the tightness of the bonds, there was no chance at all of me falling, even if I passed out.

  Once we were in the air, I heard Flame’s voice inside my mind.

  Forgive me, Elekim. To think I might have killed you, our only chance of salvation . . .

  It’s not your fault, I said.

  Flame continued. The storm weakened my senses. I should have been more careful . . . I’m just glad you’re alive, if not well.

  It’s okay, I said. You did the best you could. Any other dragon would have probably killed me.

  I will not fail you, he said. Never again.

  I could see there was no convincing him that he wasn’t to blame, at least partially. I just stroked his neck a bit, hoping that he knew that I “forgave” him.

  The clouds had dispersed, leaving behind a clear blue sky. The ground below was covered with green forest where the pink xen didn’t show through. We passed narrow streams, twisted hills, and over high mountains, and didn’t see a single sign of civilization the entire way. We must have been over the Northern Wild, which until a month ago had been covered with thick fog. With the death of the Hyperfold, the land had returned to its normal state.

  Around afternoon, the forests ended, replaced with the xen-filled bogs of the Withering Waste. We weren’t far from Ragnarok Crater, having only the final line of Red Mountains to pass before we came to the Plains of Decay, the last landmark of any importance before the sudden drop of the Ragnawall.

  Around us flew the ten Elder Dragons Tiamat had sent to bring us home. They didn’t speak much, and when they did, it was only to talk about the journey itself. They knew nothing of what Tiamat wanted.

  At our last conversation, the new Elder King had been ready to flee Earth and begin life anew on another world. How much had changed, or was he of the same opinion? There was somet
hing he wanted to tell me, and me alone.

  Only time would tell what exactly that was.

  Chapter 17

  Night had fallen by the time we reached the Ragnawall. In one moment, we were passing over the trackless Plains of Decay. In the next, we were gliding down into the lush crater. As we flew closer to its center, we were joined by more Elder Dragons, who escorted us to the entrance of the Caverns of Creation, within which Tiamat awaited us.

  It was another hour before we came upon the nighttime ruins of Hyperborea, looking ghostly in the moonlight. It had only been a few days since we’d last seen them. Snow still blanketed its buildings and broken boulevards, as untouched as the day of our departure. Several dragons patrolled the air above the empty metropolis, but it was otherwise empty.

  We flew past the city’s eastern side, over a thick forest, at the end of which was a depression of rocky land. In the center yawned the entrance of the Caverns of Creation. That entrance appeared pitch black in the night, as if entering it would swallow us whole. I held my breath as we went inside, as the dragons glided through various tunnels and conduits with a familiarity that said they knew this maze well. Once inside, I could see that it wasn’t totally dark, something I should have known having been in here before. Xen almost completely covered every surface, growing from the floor, walls, and ceiling, providing the tunnels a magenta aura.

  The dragons flew in a single line, so narrow was the tunnel. The lead dragon, a black Radaska, made seemingly random turns unhesitatingly, and I lost count of just how many after the first few. After several minutes of this, the tunnel came to an end, reaching the largest cavern of all, the one that was an entire underworld filled with the radiantly pink Sea of Creation. The dragons flew on over the Sea, its glimmering light casting colored shadows off their black and pink scales.

  As we approached the distant shoreline, many dragons were bathing in the ichor, while a few more sat on the shore. A bounty of xen grew in the broken canyons and plateaus leading up to the Sea. The Xenofont could still be seen in the hazy distance, delving from the ceiling of the cavern straight into the heart of the Sea, not far from the glowing Point of Origin, shining like a nova in the distance. But the Xenofont itself no longer glowed with the Sea’s life; for the first time since its creation, it had ceased its vampiric siphoning.