Lex squinted his eyes, following Dusk's gaze. Just as another icicle broke free they both saw the same movement again that distorted their vision for only a fraction of a second. Lex's hand slowly reached down and wrapped around the hilt of his sword. Dusk realized he didn't have his bow or quiver with him. He was completely unarmed.
In front of them the air shifted again and there was a soft thud as something struck the ground inside the cave. Two large paw prints appeared in the undisturbed snow, heading in their direction before disappearing on the bare stone floor. Everything was silent and even the wind seemed to have quieted. Dusk tucked the light stone into his pocket and looked at Lex, the fear evident on his face.
"I don't have a weapon," he whispered, his voice shaking.
"Get behind me," Lex replied, holding an arm out. "I'll protect you."
Dusk didn't want to allow Lex in front of him, but before he could say anything he felt his feet swept out from underneath him. Landing hard on the cold, jagged rocks, the air was forced out of his lungs. He gasped, rolling to the side and looking back, but there was nothing there. Lex was standing at the ready, turning on the spot in search of the attacker. The air inside the cave was eerily still, the only movement being their breath. Lex looked down at Dusk, but as Dusk returned his gaze he saw the monster suddenly shimmer into existence behind Lex.
Dusk couldn’t get a sound out before a massive paw struck out, sending Lex flying across the room and his sword skittering in the opposite direction. Dusk cried out for him, but here was no answer. The man laid still on the ground, his blond hair smeared with blood.
The creature ignored Lex and stepped forward, its massive paws making no sound as they padded towards him. The humongous cat- for that was what it looked like- was easily six feet tall at the shoulder with rippling muscles under its pitch black fur. Huge tusks jutted down from its upper jaw like sabers, ready to kill with a single bite. The back legs were shorter causing its back to slope down, but just as powerful looking followed by a long sweeping tail tipped with a dangerous looking barb. Bony spikes protruded from its shoulder blades and forearms that flexed as it moved. The oddest and most unsettling features were its snow white eyes without a pupil or iris. They stared down at Dusk while saliva dripped from the steaming maw, hissing as it hit the stone. Whatever happened, he knew the jaws and the tail would probably be a death sentence if they were to find purchase.
Dusk watched in horror as the creature towered over him, a deep growl rumbling in its chest. He knew he had to run, to do anything to get out of the way. With a kick he rolled himself backwards and tried to land on his feet. Having never attempted such a thing before, he immediately came crashing down on the hard stone again before he rolled into a kneeling position. Before he could react another massive paw caught him in the side, hurling him across the cavern until he struck the soft snow. He glanced up to see the creature turn away, heading for Lex on the opposite side of the room. Scrambling to get up, he felt his hand strike something hard in the snow. Wrapping his fingers around it he hefted up Lex's lost sword.
Thanking the gods for his good luck, Dusk took off at a sprint towards the creature, holding the sword aloft. It glanced back at him for a moment before lashing its barbed tail out. Dusk swung the blade, but it merely bounced off the creature's flesh with a dull clang. At that moment he caught a glimpse of the trail of heavy scars running down the animal's body. In the split second before he was thrown to the ground again, he recognized the markings. It was another creation that had been made by the Circle. But where it had been created and how far it had traveled, he didn’t know. He hadn’t seen such a creature at Windsher Pass. There must have been more than one hideout buried in the Dorsum Mountains.
"Lex!" Dusk cried, pushing himself to his feet once more as bruises began to form on his body. "Get up!"
Another kick sent Dusk back into the snow, the wind knocked out of him once again. His vision was growing hazy and the panic was setting in. All he had was Lex's sword and not enough strength to wield it or cut through. He wished he had his bow, but even then he doubted the arrows would have pierced the monster's flesh. Glancing down at the sword, he saw his gloved hand and had an idea. He could use another spell. But if it didn't kill the creature both he and Lex would die, neither of them able to defend themselves. And if it did and Lex didn't wake up soon, they would freeze to death while Dusk lay unconscious on the floor. Tara had no idea where they were and the cave was freezing cold even in his fur lined cloak. It seemed like there were no good options.
Unless.
Dusk drove the tip of the sword into the ice and snow so it stuck upright. He ripped off the glove, tearing away the flap that concealed the crystal. If he cut it out of the glove, he'd be able to hear Tephyss again and access the magic without using his energy. But would Tephyss even help him after being sealed away for so long? Dusk glanced up to see the massive beast leaning over Lex, the burning saliva dripping from its mouth too close to Lex's face, hissing on the stone. He decided it didn't matter, there were no other choices. Saving Lex was more important than anything else.
Dusk braced the glove against the blade, making a sharp tug downwards. With a satisfying tear the glove sprung open, letting the crystal fall to the ground. It tinkled slightly against the floor before he snatched it up. It was just enough to catch the monster's attention, who turned away from Lex to face him. Pushing himself to his feet, Dusk lifted the warming stone in his hand, hearing the rumbling voice deep in the back of his mind once again. He pressed the stone to his chest, holding the other hand palm-out towards the creature who was now coming towards him.
"Tephyss," Dusk muttered, still fearful the dragon lord wouldn't help him. "Please, give me the strength to do this."
With that, Dusk closed his eyes, concentrating on the symbol he'd used before for his arrows. But this time there was no weapon to channel through, so he would have to release the energy from his own body. As he built the complex glyph in his mind he heard the deep voice rumble through his brain. He didn't understand it, but all he could think about was Lex and never being able to kiss him again if he failed. Suddenly the glyph in his mind’s eye began to shift and grow. New parts were added while others were taken away. What formed in his mind was a glowing golden circle unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Large geometric shapes filled the area with splashes of runes across the surface. He could feel the power rolling off of it, raw and untamed. A metallic flavor filled his mouth, but it wasn’t blood, it was the taste of powerful magic.
Hot stinking breath rolled into his face and Dusk flashed his eyes open. The beast was no more than a couple feet away. With a searing pain he felt the saliva drip onto his hand, burning his skin as it immediately bubbled, but he kept it still. With one last mental push, he forced the glyph down his damaged arm and to the tips of his fingers. A golden light formed on the tip of his index finger, growing brighter and brighter until the creature began to back away. A sharp pain, like a hot knife, shot through his chest as the spell released. A single beam of pure golden light erupted from the tip of his finger with a high pitched whine. The beam pierced through the creature without effort, striking it between the eyes and shooting through its entire body and the stone wall behind.
Without so much as a cry, the creature collapsed, the beam slicing it wide open before it faltered and faded away. Dusk fell to his knees, still clutching the crystal to his chest. His entire arm felt as if it was on fire. He looked down at his chest, hissing through his teeth at the pain that shot through his sternum. He glanced up to see a large gouge cut into the rock behind the fallen creature, still glowing red-hot from the beam of light. Pulling his hand away he looked down to see the crystal now seared to his chest once more, a massive burn radiating from the gem across his skin and shirt.
Ignoring the pain, he ran to Lex and skidded to a stop beside him. He reached out and rolled the man onto his back. Placing his uninjured hand on Lex’s chest, he was silent, holding his breath. His chest w
as still rising and falling. Lex was still alive. Dusk let out a sigh, slumping forward onto Lex before he finally let the pain take him into unconsciousness.
Twenty
Dusk found himself lost in a never ending expanse of nothing. There wasn’t a single sound and the darkness seemed to crush in on him from all sides. He looked around, desperately searching for some hint of light. Feeling as if he was blind, he reached up and touched his face, making sure his eyes were actually open. Just then faint pinpoints of light began to emerge. First it was just one, then two, but it made his heart skip to know that he wasn’t alone in the dark. He reached out for them. They seemed so close and yet impossibly far at the same time. Then more lights began to pop into existence, filling the dark void around him with millions of tiny points. Dusk looked all around, taking in the vast expanse of stars that surrounded him. Although it felt as if he was standing on something solid, he could still see stars glowing below him as well. Off to his left he caught sight of swirling clouds of vibrant colors filled with some of the brightest stars he’d ever seen. The undulating reds, golds, and blues gave him a strange feeling, like he was seeing something that nobody in all of Udalara had ever seen before. He stared for some time, lost in his own fascination of the starscape around him.
So fascinated in fact, that he didn’t notice the bright glow coming near until it was almost on top of him. Dusk turned to investigate and found himself face to face with a towering white dragon. His scales shone in the starlight, glittering like the sun on the ocean waves. Rows of spikes ran down his spine and along the length of his tail that flicked from side to side. One of his eyes was icy blue while the other was stark white without a pupil.
“Tephyss…” Dusk muttered, his voice feeling tiny in the vast expanse.
“So, you’ve decided to come back to your destiny,” the deep booming voice said, his good eye turned towards Dusk. “Or I could be mistaken. I thought I knew you better, but you left me locked up. Why did you release the crystal once more from the binding magic?”
“I…” Dusk faltered. He thought about lying for a moment, but something told him Tephyss would know. “I needed to save Lex.”
“Hmm.” The dragon was still, gazing into Dusk’s eyes with a piercing look. “I would say it’s foolish to use a power so great to save something so insignificant, but I’ve done it myself.”
“Lex isn’t insignificant!” Dusk found himself shouting back, his voice cracking.
“The love between humans is as fleeting as their lives,” Tephyss replied, turning his head to the side. “But their betrayal knows no bounds. That much I know is certain about your kind.” He glanced back at Dusk, staring at him for a long moment. “Men lost the privilege to their gifts a long time ago for a reason. And now it seems someone is trying to force magic back into a world where it doesn’t belong.”
“You know about Tiernan?”
“I know everything that exists inside your head. Even the things you can’t remember. It takes very little effort to penetrate your human mind.”
Dusk dropped his head to the floor. Tephyss had never spoken to him so dismissively before. He could feel the anger growing in his chest, but it was held at bay by fear. Fear that a single wrong word would see him destroyed.
“I’m not yet certain that you’re the correct person for this task, but as another has not shown themselves, you’ll do for now.” Tephyss craned his neck, bringing his face within inches of Dusk’s. “I will grant you the power of the eye again, but if you willfully leave it trapped ever again by some bastardized magic, I will burn you alive from the inside out once I am free.”
“You’re no better than Tiernan!” Dusk shouted in the dragon’s face, forgetting his fear. “You stand here and threaten me to get me to do what you want! I won’t be anyone’s slave any longer! Burn me alive if you want to, but I’m not taking orders from you or anyone else!”
Tephyss was silent for a moment, but then a deep rumbling came from his throat. It took Dusk a moment to realize that he was laughing.
“Maybe you do have the fortitude after all,” he replied, pulling his head back a few feet. “After all, you are one of the last descendants of the Alamondian kings.”
Dusk’s face fell. Tiernan hadn’t been lying.
As if he could read Dusk’s thoughts, the dragon continued. “No, Tiernan was correct. You and he are related by blood, though how closely I do not know.”
Dusk felt himself sink down to his knees. He’d hoped it wasn’t true.
“There are more than the pair of you out there that could claim the title, but it is rare. I imagine more than a few people wandering through the world still hold Alamondian royal blood. But only the crowns can determine that now. All the family lines outside of Ditanian royalty have been lost to time.”
Dusk looked up, meeting Tephyss’s gaze.
“Yes, when there is royal blood present the crowns alight. You saw that with Tiernan. They alone are proof of the royal lineage.” Tephyss hung his head. “Although I’m afraid it no longer matters since Alamond now lies in ruins. Even if they were brought back together, I doubt it would matter.” The great white dragon sighed deeply. “It’s best they stay apart anyway. If they were to get too close to the heart, it could be disastrous.”
“The heart?” Dusk asked, cocking his head to the side.
“It doesn’t matter,” Tephyss shook his head. “As long as you have the eye and the third crown is still missing, the invocation cannot happen.” The dragon glanced down at the confused look on Dusk’s face. “These are things that will never come to pass because they are unknown to all. I made sure of that.” He paused again. “Do not concern yourself. There is a more pressing task at hand.”
Dusk knelt in silence, staring up at the massive creature. For the first time he noticed the chips in the dragon’s scales and a few pink scars running along his underbelly. One wing, although tucked at his side, was full of holes that had never healed over properly. For all the massive stature and terror the dragon represented, he looked as if his life had been one of chaos and war.
“You need to find Mirinda, as you planned,” Tephyss continued. “She will need convincing, but she can get you where you need to go.”
“To freedom?” Dusk asked timidly.
“No. To the north,” the dragon replied, a melancholy look on his face. “I’m afraid that you finding the eye has tangled your fate. The war, the Circle, and your coming into power are not accidents. The destiny of all of Udalara is converging upon one moment and I’m afraid no matter what you choose now, you will be caught up in it.” He paused for a moment, looking down at Dusk. “I will help you as much as I can from here, but you need to be trained. Already you have almost killed yourself multiple times with magic. The spell you cast moments ago would have evaporated you if I hadn’t intervened.”
“Weren’t you the one that cast it?” Dusk accused. “I’ve never seen that glyph before and I heard your voice!”
“The eye is a pure focus to the very fabric of magic. It seems you have a natural talent for drawing on that power without any knowledge of what you’re doing. Somehow you managed to cast using intention only, fueled by your worry for your friend. You heard me because I lent you my strength so that it wouldn’t kill you. But I’m afraid you’ve used most of my power for now. I’ll need time to recover.”
Dusk looked up at him. “Are you alive?”
“Yes and no. I’m not alive in the same way you are, but I still exist. Trapped in the crystal for all time.”
“Why?”
“We’re running out of time,” he snapped, seemingly annoyed at the constant questions. “You must go to Mirinda Kingraven and tell her to send you north to the Anthurium Mountain to seek answers. She’ll know what to do and where you must go. If she doubts you, show her the eye and speak my name.” Tephyss reached to his side with a clawed hand and plucked a single scale from his hide. “Use this to hide the crystal from those around you. It will camouflage it fro
m prying eyes. Make haste to the mountain and all will be revealed. There isn’t much time left to stop the Circle from damaging the world further. There are more skeletons to be found and even if they don’t succeed in bringing magic back permanently, they could destroy the world with the power left by the dragons.”
Dusk reached out and took the scale from Tephyss. It was almost pure white, warm to the touch, and lighter than a feather. He held it gingerly, fearing it might shatter.
“There are many dangers between here and your destiny. You’ll wake up in a moment and I’ll be quiet for some time. I won’t be able to help you, so use magic only in dire need and use as little as possible.”
The twinkling stars began to go out, one by one all around Dusk. He glanced up to see the beautifully colored clouds fading into black, their once magnificent display turning gray and sullen.
“One last thing,” Tephyss called, his voice now hollow as his body began to fade away. “Steer clear of Calendia. The paths to victory are many, but I only see darkness should you go to the royal city of Inahan.”
“Why? What’s there?” Dusk cried back, getting to his feet.
Tephyss’s mouth moved, as if he were responding, but there was no sound. Instead he faded away into nothingness. The darkness was total and once again it pressed in on Dusk from all sides. However, it only lasted a moment before he felt the invisible surface under his feet suddenly cease to exist and he fell.
◆◆◆
Dusk woke to a searing pain in his chest and arm. He forced his heavy eyelids open and glanced down to see a familiar burn surrounding the crystal now affixed to his chest. The hand he'd used to cast the spell was worse. All the skin from his fingers to his elbow was nothing but black charcoal. He hoped it would heal the same as last time, but it looked bad. He had almost no control over the arm at all. In his other hand he found himself clutching the white scale that Tephyss had plucked from his own body. Gently he tucked it into his pocket and using his good arm, pushed himself off of Lex. The man beneath him was still breathing, but his face was smeared with blood that had caked and frozen in his hair.
The Crystal Key: An LGBTQ+ Fantasy Series (The Crystalline Chronicles Book 3) Page 16