The Crystal Warrior

by Lori Hyrup

  “No, I got a response. I think.”

  Both of Malechi’s eyebrows rose.

  “The shard is dying. It’s in pain. Priest Malechi, why is it in this state?”

  Priest Malechi’s lips drew tight, and his brow lowered. “That is unfortunate.”

  Aria’s sorrow turned to simmering anger. “What is? Priest Malechi, why is the shard dying?” Aria stared at him. “Priest Malechi, answer—” Before Aria could finish her sentence, the crystal on her hand flared to life with energy, and she was overcome with an all-too-familiar sensation, a mixture of pain and exultation. “Priest Malechi, get to safety,” she commanded as she pointed toward the back entrance of the temple. “I sense a large and powerful shard beast heading right for us. You escape while I deal with the creature.”

  “How can it even enter?” Priest Malechi asked cryptically. The man smiled, but no hint of kindness touched his face. Aria caught a glimpse of the bracelet on the priest’s arm. It was glowing softly. She glanced at the priest, at the bracelet, and back at the priest. Aria’s eyes narrowed at the observation.

  In addition to the shard beast she sensed heading toward the temple, Aria now sensed at least two others moving toward the village with incredible speed. Cursing under her breath, she turned and bolted out the door.

  Aria sprinted down the hillside path as fast as her legs would carry her, much faster than any normal human. As she reached the village green, a massive shard drake crashed through the tree line on the north. Sword in hand, she continued sprinting toward the beast. A second shard drake burst through the path she had just vacated and pursued her. Flames erupted to the south as the third shard drake demolished the village’s only forge. Three? These were solitary creatures. Why were they attacking together? Later, she said to herself. Focus on the task at hand.

  The first shard drake saw her and let out a piercing screech. The creature’s elongated neck undulated back and forth. Its sharded, crystalline head, jagged and cracked at irregular intervals, moved side to side. Tiny black eyes sat high on its forehead, and a long, wide, crooked mouth displayed teeth as long as daggers. Craggy plates of crystalline armor covered its entire body, neck, legs, back, and tail. Its body swirled in an ebb and flow of colors covering the entire spectrum.

  Aria reached the shard drake at a full run, slashing at its snapping jaws. Unused to its prey retaliating, the creature jerked its head away from the blade. Normal swords would have trouble piercing a shard drake’s armor, but not a krusword. Aria swung around just in time to slash the second shard drake on the side of the head as it attempted to catch her off guard.

  Led by Mayor Domnur, villagers poured out from the Golden Rose to investigate the commotion. Others from nearby homes joined them. The third shard drake, still on the opposite side of the green, spotted one unfortunate villager who stumbled out onto its path. Before Aria managed to shout at him, the creature lunged at the man and snapped him between its jaws. The mayor issued commands to the people around him. Each armed with some type of implement—swords, pitchforks, shovels, even brooms—they attacked the beast in an attempt to free the man. The sound of the man’s screams cut off abruptly. The creature flung the man aside and swiped at its attackers.

  Parrying the first and second drakes, Aria moved to intercept the third. Before she got there, the drake sliced the mayor’s arm with its serrated claws. The people of Murali stood no chance against these things. Whenever a shard drake was the intended target for a hunt, two or three kruustas worked together to deal with the menace. Three shard drakes at once was beyond a nightmare even for a kruusta fighting force. I need to get these things away from the village, she thought. Even if she did not have a chance at defeating the creatures, she knew she had to get them far enough away from the village to avoid further casualties.

  Aria caught up to the third drake and slashed its shoulder as she ran by. The beast howled and turned its attention away from the villagers and over toward her. The clang and ting of crystal sword on crystal armor made for an almost melodic rhythm as Aria continued to parry the creatures as fast as her arm would move. They would soon wear her down, so she needed to get away while she still could.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Aria spotted the mayor’s son, the same boy who had retrieved the sack full of glimmer worm fragments two days before. He watched her with frightened intensity. “Torga! Release my zegu.” His eyes grew wide, but he nodded and sprinted toward the stables. Within moments, Xierex charged up beside her. Though smaller than them, the zegu’s rearing hooves gave the drakes pause, buying enough time for Aria to get mounted.

  Aria continued to slash and thrust at the beasts, making sure their ferocity remained focused on her. With a simple nudge of her knees, Xierex took off down the eastern road. Enraged by the fleeing prey, the drakes pursued. Their eerie bugling screeches carried through the dark forest. Any creature with any amount of intelligence would know to stay hidden this night.

  Aria drove Xierex hard. At times she slowed or even circled about so she could get a few slashes in on the shard drakes to be certain they remained interested in their quarry rather than break off and return to the village.

  After what seemed like several hours later, when Aria deemed they had distanced themselves far enough from the village, she reined in her zegu and decided to make her stand. Xierex’s blue coat glistened with lather. His muscles quivered at the exertion, but he was just as ready as her to face their foe.

  The shard drakes, their sides also heaving after the chase, snarled and growled in fury. Their mouths frothed with excitement, knowing their target was near its end. Xierex stomped and snorted, rearing and kicking any time the drakes drew too close. While he fended off one from the front, Aria slashed at the two coming from the sides. Sweat dripped into her eyes, but she ignored the stinging. She had no time for discomfort.

  Each drake bore wounds from the zegu and rider but none were life-threatening. Xierex’s breathing became labored. While he had much more stamina than any horse, he still had his limits, and those had long ago been exceeded. Aria jumped down from his back, tucked and rolled on her landing, and came up under one of the drakes. Surprised by the change of tactics, the drake attempted to leap away. Its reaction was too slow, and Aria’s upward thrust drove through its underside armor and pierced its heart.

  The drake’s ear-piercing wail caused Aria to wince despite being ready for it. The beast staggered backward, tripped over its own feet, and fell to the ground. It thrashed around, writhing in pain, and finally fell silent and still. The other drake she had been fighting wasted no time and leaped over Xierex to get to her, taking advantage of Aria’s vulnerable position. She rolled out of the way, but its claw connected solidly along her ribs. Her momentum carried her beyond its reach as she clutched her bleeding side.

  A shrill scream from Xierex caused Aria to spare him a glance. He stumbled and fell as the other drake overwhelmed him. Cursing herself, she scrambled away from her drake toward the fallen zegu. From his side, he glanced at her with wide eyes. He was still alive, but he had nothing left to give. Aria positioned herself between the zegu and the two drakes. She knew it was pointless, but she was not just going to lay down her sword and give up. If she was lucky, perhaps she could take one, or even both, with her before the end.

  One of the drakes attacked low. The wound on her side prevented her from parrying the strike cleanly. The attack connected with her calf, and her leg buckled immediately. The other drake, attempting to take advantage of her vulnerability, lunged at her. With a twisting thrust of her sword, she drove the blade through the roof of the creature’s mouth and into its brain, killing it instantly, but the drake’s momentum caused its corpse to crash down upon her before she could roll away.

  Hopelessly pinned, her back against the ground, Aria lay vulnerable. In order to pull the crystalline weapon free from the drake’s mouth, she retracted her blade, allowing the weapon to soften and loosen its form as the crystal on her hand reabsorbed it. The othe
r drake was on her then, its sharded jaws snapping at her face. Instinctively, she brought up her free arm to protect her face. She closed her eyes and anticipated the snap of her bones, but nothing happened.

  Daring to open her eyes, she caught sight of something white streaking across her field of vision. The white blur disappeared as quickly as she had seen it. Pinned as she was, she could not tell what the blur was or where it went. The drake’s angry trumpet bellowed, followed by sounds she was unable to identify. Something sizzled and hissed behind her. Aria growled at her inability to see what was going on around her. She heard a series of footsteps. She strained to twist around, but the pain on her side made her wish she had not. She closed her eyes to let the pain wash over her.

  “Hold still,” said a gentle, somewhat familiar voice.

  Aria opened her eyes and focused on the face that was just a few inches away from hers. “Kharra?” she said, not quite believing what she was seeing.

  “Yes. Don’t move. I’ll have you out of here in just a moment.”

  “Wait, there’s another drake.”

  “Don’t worry, Zephyron’s taking care of it.”

  “No, get him away. He’ll be killed.”

  The weight pinning her down disappeared as the drake’s corpse lifted from her and moved a short distance away. Unable to comprehend what had caused it to move and simply thankful it had, Aria was finally able to twist around. Worried that she would be too late to help Zephyron before the drake killed him, she started to rise, but before she fully gained her footing, she stopped, lowered herself back down, and stared at the scene before her.

  Not only was Zephyron unharmed, he was overpowering the drake. In his hand, he held some type of blade Aria had never seen before. Crackling vibrant blue energy conformed to the shape of a sword; the weapon sliced through the shard drake’s crystalline armor as if it were no more than skin. With each strike to the drake’s crystalline armor, the blade hissed. Zephyron moved fluidly and effortlessly. With each strike from the beast, Zephyron dodged and sliced, which only served to enrage the drake more. Light bluish-purple fluid oozed from dozens of wounds across its face, neck, and body.

  Watching Zephyron’s body sway, weave, spin, and turn was like watching an elaborate dance. Aria could almost hear the Battle of Tazah Overture playing along with him. Mesmerized by the spectacle, the kruusta almost forgot her own pain. At last the shard drake stumbled forward and fell on its chin. Its sides heaved laboriously, and saliva dripped from its jaw. The drake looked up at Zephyron, seeming to know it had been beaten, and then it closed its eyes. With one final, long sigh, the beast stopped moving.

  Zephyron’s blade disappeared as he left the beast and came to Aria’s side. He must have seen the confusion on her face, for he winked at her as he approached. “I hope you don’t mind our assistance,” he said cheerfully.

  Aria found herself smiling, if weakly. “Not at all. I’m just not used to it. Assistance, that is. Those drakes can tear a person apart with little effort, so people’s desire to assist tends to turn into a liability.” She studied him for a moment. “But you’re not a normal person, are you?”

  It was his turn to study her. “Observant. What gave it away?”

  With a shake of her head, Aria chuckled half-heartedly in response. The chuckle caused her to wince in pain. Once the pain cleared, she shook her head again. “All that matters is that you saved my life, and I am in your debt.”

  With a start, Aria remembered Xierex had fallen. Her moment of panic passed when she saw him standing a short distance away. Kharra stood with him, petting him along his chin. Aria’s stunned expression must have been obvious. Xierex never let anyone touch him without her being present, and he was especially sensitive to having his face petted.

  Kharra smiled as she walked back to Aria and Zephyron with Xierex moving alongside her. “He was worried about you. He said you saved him from the drake that had you pinned.”

  Aria realized she was gawking and clamped her mouth shut. “He said that?”

  Kharra nodded as she drew closer. Xierex lowered his head and nuzzled Aria’s face. She smiled and scratched his chin. “I’m okay,” she said with a chuckle. The zegu snorted.

  Zephyron knelt beside her, his face suddenly concerned. “Mind if I lift your shirt so I can get a better look?”

  “No, go ahead.” Aria had never been bothered by modesty. No kruusta was.

  Zephyron lifted her shirt and frowned. “This gash on your side is pretty bad.” He leaned back and glanced at her leg. “And the one on your calf is not much better. We need to get them both cleaned out.”

  “With a little rest, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  Kharra tilted her head slightly as if listening to something. “There’s a creek farther along to the southeast,” she said. Zephyron nodded, scooped Aria up in his arms before she could protest, and set off through the trees in the direction of the water source. Xierex and Kharra followed right behind.

  No one ever mistook Aria for a small woman, but Zephyron carried her, in full armor, with ease. Neither of the travelers spoke, so Aria’s mind turned inward as she reflected on the fight and the events that had led up to it. Zephyron’s heart thudded in her ears like a war drum, giving a cadence to her thoughts. By any logic Aria knew she should be dead. No one fought a solitary shard drake alone, let alone three, and expected to survive. Yet here she was, accompanied by two strangers who had risked their lives to save hers. She had a lot to process.

  3

  THE FATE OF A KRUUSTA

  The two travelers had come prepared for emergencies. With gentle hands Kharra cleaned and bound both of Aria’s wounds. The kruusta sensed the crystal in her system already at work, mending the torn areas of her skin and muscles. She would not need to keep the bandage on for more than a day or two.

  With darkness full upon them, Aria’s new acquaintances decided to make camp a short distance away from the creek where they had treated her wounds. Kharra pulled out a number of provisions from their packs while Zephyron started a fire. He then disappeared, only to return a half hour later with three large whitegill, already cleaned and ready for cooking. He skewered each fish with a stick and set them to cook over the crackling flames.

  Kharra unfolded a small pan on her lap, opened a tiny paper bag, and scooped out a handful of mushrooms. With dexterous fingers she cut them into fine slices and dropped them into the pan. From a second, wax-wrapped package, Kharra sliced off a wedge of cheese and added it into the pan with the mushrooms. Zephyron reached into his pocket and pulled out two eggs.

  Kharra beamed. “You found some!”

  “You didn’t think I’d forget, did you?”

  Kharra took her prize from Zephyron’s hands, broke them, and poured the yolks into the pan. With a spoon she stirred up the contents and placed the pan over the fire beside the fish. Zephyron grinned as he grabbed a piece of wood from a pile beside him and unsheathed a small knife at his belt. He turned his attention to the wood, and with swift, deft hands, he began whittling.

  Aria sat in silence as the two, demonstrating familiarity with traveling and sleeping beneath the stars, went about their routine. They knew how to provide for themselves and how to fight.

  Kharra looked over at her. “What were those creatures you fought?”

  “Shard drakes,” Aria responded.

  “And your job is to hunt them?”

  Aria nodded. “Those and other shard beasts like them.”

  “Sounds like a rough job.”

  “It’s not so bad most of the time. Shard drakes are among the most powerful of the shard beasts. They’re solitary creatures by nature. Under normal circumstances two or three kruustas are called in to handle one to be safe. I don’t know of any instance prior to this event where someone fought multiple shard drakes.”

  Zephyron set his project aside, pulled the fish off the fire, and asked, “What changed?”

  Anger welled up in Aria as she recalled the events that transpire
d in the village. She ground her teeth and forced the anger down. “I-I’m not entirely certain,” she answered as she continued to replay the scene in her head.

  Zephyron placed each fish on a metal plate and handed them one at a time to Kharra. His eyes met Aria’s. Though she could not quite read them, within them, she found confidence. A whispering sense deep within her told her these two travelers were trustworthy; it was a sensation to which she was unaccustomed. Her mind of reason warred with her gut of intuition.

  Kharra divided the omelet into three parts, scooped each part onto a separate plate, and served two of the plates to Aria and Zephyron. Aria accepted and offered her thanks. Her stomach rumbled in anticipation as she took the first bite of her meal. She recalled that it had been two days since she had last eaten. The cheese was sharp but not bad, and an unfamiliar spice accentuated the flavor.

  As she ate, reason lost its battle, and Aria soon found herself reciting her experience in Murali. The two companions listened quietly and attentively as Aria explained her meeting with Priest Malechi, her two-day commune (including the pain she had sensed in the shard), the priest’s odd behavior after her commune, and the subsequent attack by the shard drakes.

  “Back up a minute,” said Kharra. “You mentioned a glowing bracelet. Made of crystal? Are you certain?”

  Aria nodded. “Is that significant?”

  Kharra looked at Zephyron. “Is it possible?”

  Zephyron shrugged and then nodded. “Anything’s possible.”

  “What am I missing?” Aria inquired.

  “Long ago,” Kharra began, “there used to be people who could make devices out of crystal, devices with unique properties. As far as I know, those people no longer exist, but we encountered some of their devices a few years ago.”

  “What was special about them?” Aria pressed.

  “The devices we encountered were paired bracelets and necklaces. The wearer of the bracelet could control the wearer of the necklace.”