by Toni Cox
Soon the first green shoots broke the ground and she closed her eyes, concentrating on the plants before her. The shoots grew taller and the stems thickened. Then, with the final notes of her song, the buds opened to reveal the beautiful, lily-shaped, white flower she knew would glow a calm blue during the night.
It was difficult for Maia to leave the grave and her brother eventually took her in his arms and walked her back to the city, with Wolf’s mournful howl echoing through the forest.
“I am so sorry, Maia,” he said. “He was a good man.”
“Yes, he was,” she said, “and he deserved better than to die at the hand of a traitor.”
Angrily she wiped the last of the tears from her eyes; there was a lot to do and she had to distract herself.
There was a rush to get the city’s defences reinforced, which left little time for mourning, and Maia spent the next two days working relentlessly beside her people to get everything ready. Most of the preparations had already been made, but in light of a direct attack on Shadow Hall, new precautions had to be taken. Maia was suddenly painfully aware of how vulnerable to fire their city was as she assisted in placing buckets in strategic places; she almost wished they had a mountain stronghold like Stoneloft or Tarron Heights.
At one point, she found herself working alongside Aaron and found his quiet company comforting. He was aware of what had happened to Riker and, although they had been rivals, Aaron treated the matter with a measure of respect and sadness that startled Maia. Aaron had turned into a strong, yet sensitive and sensible man, and she was glad she could call him her friend. They sat for hours around the fire that evening discussing their present situation and his confidence in her abilities helped her over the worst of Riker’s death.
On the third day since their return, Maia met up with Silas. She had only seen him briefly during the burial, but had then been so busy keeping herself distracted, she had not been to see him since. His cave; always warmly lit by lanterns and candles, had always given her comfort and she now longed for his reassuring presence.
“Matters of the heart are always the most difficult to deal with, Maia,” he said as they sat around his fire.
She sipped her tea and nodded. Silas had known how she felt about Riker, even before she realised it herself. She was now sorry she had never told Riker the truth, but maybe he had died happier believing Maia might have been his one day. She just wished she had not ordered Riker to capture Kanarel. Or, if she had been strong enough, to restore life to him …
“Do not blame yourself,” Silas said, as if reading her thoughts. “It will not help bring him back. There was nothing anyone could have done for him. You are meant to create and heal life, not bring that which is already dead back to life. It is not meant to be.”
“I know, Silas, but I almost feel I could do it, if only I was strong enough.”
“It has never been done, Maia. It is not possible.”
With a single tear rolling down her cheek, she finished her tea and put her cup on the bench beside her.
“Everything is a mess,” she finally said. “I thought the information I brought back from Naylera would be enough to win us the war, but now we know it was only a small part of their plan. How have they managed to bring through so many of their warriors?”
“You said they used invisibility.”
“Yes, I believe that to be true and for someone who can manipulate Air it would be a simple matter to smuggle in a person here and there. But we are talking whole armies. How did they do it? I was not even aware that the Vampyres possessed magic.”
“They do not. They have their speed and their strength, but they are not magic users. Elves helped them with this.”
“It is a thought too horrible to contemplate, Silas. Why would our own people turn against us?”
“I can only assume, Maia, but I believe that most of them were forced. Only a few, like Kanarel, have their own agendas, whatever they might be.”
“I wish he had not escaped,” she said.
“I am sure justice will find him in the end.”
“I hope you are right. He deserves death.”
As she said it a shiver went through her and a brief vision of Kanarel lying on the ground, burnt and bleeding, came to her. It was so brief she wondered if she had only imagined it, but it felt too real. Unbidden, the image of Blaid’s face came to her mind and she suddenly felt utterly lonely. How were they ever supposed to overcome these odds?
“Maia, are you all right?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” she mumbled, but Silas was not fooled.
“Talk to me, Maia. What is it?”
She was silent for a moment. Silas knew more about what had happened between her and Blaid than anyone else, yet he was also against it and she felt that she could not talk to him. But he was her mentor and she had no one else to share this burden with. She needed to tell someone.
“I miss him, Silas.”
Silas’ forehead wrinkled for a moment as he thought about her statement. She realised that they had been speaking about Riker and then Kanarel and maybe she should have been clearer. Maybe it was better if Silas thought she was talking about Riker; maybe taking about Blaid had not been such a good idea after all.
“Maia,” Silas said and took her hand in his, “you know it can never be. We have been over this. The law forbids it and the people would never allow it. And even if there were a way, you know it could only end in death. That is the way. There can be no happy ending.”
Silas pulled her close and she sobbed quietly into his shoulder. He held her for a long time until her tears finally dried up. She knew the law. She had read the scripts. And she knew how her parents felt about the matter, even though Silas had explained to them that it had been because of the magic and not of Maia’s free will.
She stayed with Silas until long into the night and, when she went home, she took with her the scripture that contained the writings of the Elders about the story of the Life and Death Elementals that had killed each other. She read it seven times; by candle light so as not to wake Rothea; and the more she read the clearer the story became.
Life and Death; no names were mentioned in the story; had come together to save their people from an evil that had arisen to eradicate them. For many Moons, they had battled that evil and, in the end, they defeated it. During those Moons Life and Death became close and they had consummated their love in the sacred forest. The people had learned of this and persecuted them, driving them away from the sacred forest. It was then told that once Life and Death left the sacred forest, their true natures had taken over and, in a rage, they killed each other, destroying the land around them in the process. It had taken that nation over a hundred years to recover from that destruction.
Maia now believed that they simply were not able to live without each other and, instead of living apart, they had chosen to die together. She was unsure if the destruction of the land had simply been the effect of the death of two Primes or if they had chosen that destruction to punish the people. But she was sure they had not killed each other out of hate, but out of love.
She finally put the scripture away and put her head on her pillow. Understanding the story gave her peace in her head, but no peace in her heart. How would she ever be able to make her people understand something fundamentally different from what they believed? For millennia, the people of Elveron had lived by this law; who was she to change it now?
“Lord Hazelwatch has sent word,” Jaik told her in the morning. “The Vampyres have attacked all the outlying settlements of Thala Yll and killed anyone who stood in their way. They have been battling them for two days now and are holding them off from the city, but he says there are at least a thousand of them and their Werewolves. They are struggling and are being pushed closer and closer to the city.”
“Is there nothing we can do to help them?” Maia asked.
“Father is considering all options, but even if we were to send a Regiment, it would take t
hem at least five days to get there. It could all be over by then.”
“Midnight could get there within a day,” Rothea said.
“What? No, Maia will not be going there alone. Besides, we could be attacked here at any moment.” Jaik looked horrified at Rothea’s suggestion.
“I don’t think it is such a bad idea,” Maia said. “We have no confirmed sightings of Vampyres in our area yet and I can’t just sit here knowing that the people of Thala Yll are dying. I have to do something.”
“No, you cannot go. You are needed here. And what would you alone be able to do against a thousand Vampyres and their hounds?”
Jaik looked smug as he said it, but Maia countered him.
“I would not be alone, Jaik. I have Midnight and I would have the force of Thala Yll’s warriors and their dragons behind me. And I do not need to go alone. Rothea can accompany me.”
“This is crazy, Maia. I will not allow you to go.”
“I think I should try. They are my people too.”
“Father will never allow it,” Jaik grumbled.
“Why don’t you speak to him for me? It is a good plan and Father cannot help them any other way. They have come to our aid when we needed them. Now they need us and we cannot desert them.”
“Maia.”
“Please, Jaik, speak to Father.”
“All right, but he will not be happy and I doubt he will approve.”
Maia watched as Jaik took his sword from the hook by the door and left the house. She listened as he took the steps down to the Gathering Grounds.
“Let us pack quickly,” Maia said to Rothea the moment she could not hear his footsteps any more.
“My Lady?”
“My father will never allow me to leave. We need to get out of here before Jaik gets back. Pack lightly, only what you need to fight in.”
Together they ran up the stairs and quickly donned their leathers. It was easier to wear their armour than to carry it, so when they eventually stepped out of the house, they were dressed for battle, with their weapons slung over their backs.
They took the few steps up to Lofty Run and then ran along it all around the city to The Crags. They were less likely to be seen this high up in the city and, although it took them a little longer, they made it there unnoticed.
Midnight already waited for them on the small clearing close to The Crags and he graciously allowed Rothea to fly with him in light of the urgency of the situation. Maia felt Midnight’s excitement; he was a dragon after all and loved to fight; and she felt her own excitement grow. Finally, she was doing something that would help her people.
With a few powerful strokes of his mighty wings Midnight rose into the air and then angled north over the forest. No one in the city saw them leave and no one could stop them now. Maia savoured the wind in her face and, after a while, even Rothea lightened her death-grip on Maia’s waist and seemed to be enjoying the flight.
It was over two hundred miles to Thala Yll, but at top speed Midnight could reach it in under an hour. Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to fly that fast with people on his back, so it was almost noon by the time they reached the outskirts of Thala Yll. From the dragon’s back they could clearly see the burnt homesteads. The fields were empty of livestock and Maia wondered if the people of Thala Yll had managed to drive them to the city or if they had been eaten by the Vampyre army. She shuddered and asked Midnight to angle east and make for the city.
Soon they noticed a dark smudge stretched along the fields before them and, as they flew closer they realised it was the approaching army. It was difficult to tell how many there were, but Maia estimated there to be at least five hundred. They were marching unopposed towards the city and she wondered why no one was fighting them. Then Midnight noticed something further in the distance and he let her know that the main battle was raging a few miles ahead of them; below them were the reinforcements.
Quickly they covered the last few miles and as they flew over the battle below, some of the Battle Dragons bugled their welcome. Immediately Commander Hollowdale rose into the air and then signalled for Maia to follow him. They set down their dragons about a mile from the battle.
“Lady Maia, we did not expect to see you here.”
“We have come to help Evandeor. Rothea will stay with you and fight on the ground. I will help you from the air. There is another group of about five hundred on their way here now. They are about five miles behind us. Can you hold this group a while longer while I see to the reinforcements, or do you want help here first?”
“There are only about three hundred of us still fighting and they are at their strength’s end. They could do with some encouragement.”
“Then I will help you here first. We have about half an hour before the others get here.”
Commander Hollowdale nodded and together they rose back into the air. On the front line, Maia dropped Rothea off to fight alongside the men on the ground. They all cheered as Maia flew over them and she saw them attack with renewed strength.
She tried not to look too closely at the carnage below her, but even so she was aware of the stench of death all around. Her stomach roiled, but Midnight sent her images of revenge for Riker’s death and she was suddenly ready. Drawing her bow, Midnight swooped low over the fighting crowd. She shot five Vampyres on their first swoop. She was sorry Midnight could not use his fire here, now that they had learned how to use it properly without incinerating Maia, as there were simply too many Elves mixed in with the Vampyres. It was a mess below and Maia had to aim carefully not to hit her own people. All around her dragons flew with their own archers on their backs and the dragons clacked and bugled, adding to the deafening sounds of battle.
Soon she was out of arrows and she wished she had taken a second quiver. Out of other options, they went back to using the techniques they had learned for the first war. Midnight swooped low, grabbed a Vampyre or Werewolf or two, crushed them with his talons and then dropped them from a height. They were decimating their numbers, but painfully slowly, while their own people were still dying.
Thinking quickly, she waved to Evandeor, who came to fly beside her.
“Ask your men to retreat,” she shouted across to him. “Ask them to run as fast as they can. I cannot get Midnight to burn the Vampyres with your warriors in the way.”
Evandeor nodded and left to give his orders. It took a little while to get the orders passed to everyone, but, once it was done, Maia was glad to see that Evandeor had understood her correctly. All at once his warriors suddenly retreated, leaving the Vampyres and Werewolves baffled for a moment. It was a brief window of opportunity and Maia didn’t waste a second. Immediately she asked Midnight to fly over them as low as he could and spray them with fire. They had learned that they were hardy creatures and did not burn easily. The flames had to be hot enough to make the Vampyres and Werewolves burst up in flame, and now they knew how.
As soon as Midnight was ready, Maia channelled the air around her and covered herself in a fireproof cocoon. She could still see the dragon fire wash over her, but she did not feel it. Unfortunately, the cocoon of air did not protect her from sound and she was only too aware of the screeching and howling of the creatures below her. She did not want to look and asked Midnight for another turn before the Vampyres could catch up with the fleeing Elves. Again, Midnight sprayed his fire, using his full force, like he had on Shard. Maia knew Midnight’s fire could melt metal if it was in contact with it long enough. So, by the time they rose back into the air after the second pass she was not surprised to see two strips of seared earth, dotted with burning and smouldering remains of what once were Vampyres and Werewolves.
With the Vampyre horde now drastically reduced, the Elves turned to fight again. Evandeor signalled to Maia that they could handle this now and she turned to take care of the other five hundred approaching fast. Maia felt Midnight’s glee as he realised that he did not need to worry about Elves this time and he relished the opportunity to unleash hi
s worst upon their enemy. Clinging to Midnight’s back in her bubble of air she tried to shut out the screams from below. Midnight did not need her now; he knew what he was doing and he was good at it. She did not count how many passes it took Midnight to eradicate them all, but soon they were flying back towards the city, with only charred earth behind them.
The fighting was still going on, but it was sporadic; pockets of defiance from the Vampyres, who were now defending themselves and not attacking any more. Midnight landed just behind the fighting and, drawing her Twin Blades, Maia joined the melee. She took no pleasure in the fighting and her stomach heaved with every one she killed, but the thought of the Elves who had already lost their lives fuelled her on. She had trained for this and she had become better, stronger, and faster. Vaguely she was aware of Midnight snatching up Werewolves as they ran past him; he never ate them, but only chewed them up, then spat them out.
It was the middle of the afternoon when the fighting stopped. Everyone was bloody, dirty, and sweaty, but in good spirits. Rothea came to find Maia and together they went to see who was injured. Maia spent another hour or so healing those that needed attention and then they went to see Lord Hazelwatch.
“My Lady, we cannot thank you enough for your assistance.”
“I did promise your people that I would do everything in my power to keep them safe. Will you be able to deal with whatever stragglers might still be out there?”
“Yes, I believe so. We lost fewer people than we would have if you had not come to our aid. I believe there were some skirmishes on the other side of the city, but they were meant to mislead us and there is no other large force of Vampyres around.”
“I will fly over the city and its surroundings before we leave just to make sure. Would you mind if we cleaned up before we left?”
“Thank you, My Lady, and, of course. I will get Thala House to prepare a bath for you immediately. And I insist that you dine with us before you leave. You must surely be as exhausted as we are. Is there anything we might do for your dragon?”