by M. Arcturus
Oberon clapped his hands as he made his way toward his daughter. “Well done, precious, well done!”
“She could have eaten me! You did nothing to help me. Were you just going to stand around and watch me die?”
“As much as I want to, I’m not going to live forever. You are the next in line to rule Avalon. You must learn how to handle dangerous, as well as bizarre, situations.”
“So, putting my life on the line was just a learning experience you wanted me to go through,” Pandora stated bitterly. She was more disgusted at the fact that secretly it was her father’s way of getting even. He didn’t want her to stay for the war, so he used the whole feeding situation to satisfy his spite. Just as she had decoded his undercurrent motive filled with malice, he confirmed her thoughts.
“You’re the one that enjoys putting yourself in dangerous situations. You could be safe and home by now, but instead you wanted to stay and fight.”
“So, it’s not enough for you.” She was filled with anger. This was not her fault. The boat had not arrived.
“What’s not enough?”
“Our bargain of me looking for the eggs until the boat gets here, remember?” Oberon didn’t have a reply for the comment. He just kept the same smirk, which highlighted his expression of contempt. “There’s no way I could be home safe and sound right now. You couldn’t summon a boat until recently. We’re not even sure if the boat will come before the dragons get here,” Pandora had had enough and walked away to rejoin her friends.
Seth put an arm around her to comfort her as Anthony returned to share the bad news.
“Not a single member of the Secret Guard lives, but I did find a few palace guards who know the maintenance shafts. They’re willing to guide Pandora and Selené through the maze of tunnels. I also ran into Giséi and Sorbek. They might join Pandora and Selené as well. Then again, they were so engrossed with each other; I’m not really sure if they were paying attention to the conversation I was trying to have with them.”
Pandora was relieved to hear that her father’s marriage plans were pretty much demolished. She gratefully looked up into Seth’s eyes, knowing that she was all his, but her joy quickly fled away. She knew it was for the best that Seth fought as she looked for the eggs, but she really wished he would come with her. She also knew that Selené would feel the same way about Anthony. However, both Seth and Anthony had seemed to have made up their minds, so arguing would have done little good. Then again, Selené had a better chance at changing Anthony’s mind.
Without warning, an elven scout ran up to her father. Out of breath, he choked out his words, “Dragons just attacked the boat from Avalon that was supposed to pick Pandora up. We saw it go under in flames just on the horizon. There’s no sign of survivors. The dragons are on their way here.”
Almost on cue, a loud roaring growl emanated from the thick cloud coverage above. The beating of wings on the wind spread out all around them without a visual of where exactly it was coming from. The elves and allies scurried around, picking up their shields and weapons. Oberon shot Seth a look, spurring him into action. Taking Pandora by the upper arm, Seth took off for the palace followed by Anthony and three palace guards. War broke out on the beach, and the screams were loud in their ears as they dove into the surrounding brush.
Thinking quickly, Seth frantically tried to locate a hidden access point into the Atlantean Command Center. He knew if he could find one of the access tunnels, they would have a straight shot into the palace without jumping over hurdles and would be able to steer clear of all dragons. With most of the personnel either deceased or fighting the dragons, there would be few soldiers in the Command Center to question their clearance and deter them from reaching the palace. Extremely frustrated, he couldn’t find an access point anywhere, so he just kept running.
Seth became like a gazelle dodging trees and large tree roots, and poor Pandora was more like a ball and chain slowing him down. Twigs and branches tore at her skin and smacked her in the face as she did her best to keep from losing her footing. She didn’t care much for the thought of injuring her foot or ankle only to be dragged the rest of the way to the palace.
Reflecting back, Pandora noted that none of them were ready for war. Why were the troops sitting around drinking when they should have taken formation? Then again, they didn’t know when it was going to happen. Even the archers couldn’t be any more attentive than what they were due to the overcast. The scouts were only lucky enough to spot the boat in flames because the horizon was clear.
Just then, there was a large cracking sound coming from above in the treetops as a huge dragon plummeted to the earth right in front of them. The head was the last appendage to hit the ground with an enormous thud. If they were twenty feet further ahead, they would have been crushed. Seth stopped dead in his tracks, making the others run right into him. They all stood there looking at the fallen dragon that was full of arrows. She couldn’t believe how large the dragon was and was saddened by the numerous arrows penetrating its body. Pandora took back her thoughts of the archers not being ready.
She noted how the lifelessness of its body was betrayed by the warm red vital fluid of life leaking from its wounds. Otherwise, one might have thought it was nothing more than a stone statue. The bright pinks and browns of its scales were fading as the life drained away. Its wings were caught up in the trees, and it was sad to think that just a day or two ago, these creatures were their friends and trusted allies.
The crackling sound started up again as Seth grabbed her by the arm and took off at his unusually fast speed. Dragons were falling all around them. They dodged left and right trying to keep from being crushed by the massive bodies dropping from the sky. In the distance, Pandora heard a man cry out before being drowned out. She looked back just in time to see one of the palace guards being fatally crushed by a fallen dragon. His body was slowly swallowed up by an enormous wing settling down on the earth. In that same instant, Giséi and Sorbek leaped out of the trees, which hovered over the newly fallen dragon. They hit the ground running, trying to catch up.
Looking back in the direction of the palace, it seemed that the war had now blanketed the whole isle of Atlantis. She was thankful that they had detached from the mainland when they did as she eyed the palace being bombarded by sprays of fire and acid, which hit Mt. Caspen like king-size cannonballs. Even the town was pelted by fire leaking from the sky like meteors. For the first time since the mention of war, she finally admitted to herself that she was not ready. Fighting Ackrids was nothing compared to fighting dragons. She knew now that her chances of living were slim at best, and if the occasion arose that she had the opportunity to sail away, she would. If she died before the end, she prayed that she would go quickly and peacefully.
Even the thoughts of dying peacefully faded as she watched fire sprites dance around the buildings of the town and then realized that the sprites were actually people trying to put themselves out. The dragons were not going to stop until every one of them was dead. At this most powerful hour of chaos, she wondered where Selené was and if she would ever see her childhood friend again. The Phoenician ship that brought them here to Atlantis seemed nothing more than a dream at this moment, and she desperately clung to her memories as if she would cease having them at any second.
Selené lay in the bathroom on the cold limestone floor staring at the gold oval toilet. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. There was no water tank to it, and it didn’t sit on a base; it just floated in the air. There was no water in the bowl, but instead, there was some sort of energy field that disintegrated any waste product that passed through it. Selené was scared to death to see what it would do to her butt if it got too close, so she always sat close to the edge of the seat. She wanted to stare at other things, but the green flowery pattern painted on the walls had started to look like it was moving, dancing before her in merriment. She was trying to convince herself that
it was due to fatigue, but it wasn’t quite working. If only she could stop the world from spinning so fast, her head was killing her.
It seemed like the longest of Atlantean days had passed since her body had started to cleanse itself of the toxins. Curled up in a ball, her pants were still down around her ankles, and the bowl that she had paid homage to sat near the top of her head. She was completely exhausted and dehydrated from puking her brains out, and still, it didn’t seem like it was enough. Blood sat in the bottom of the puking bowl, and it appeared odd to her. From what it looked like, the elixir that Kajaka had given her had not only pulled the poison out of her blood cells but had coated it with something because looking in the bowl, the blood reacted to the milky puss of toxin like water versus oil. He had come and gone with warm cups full of elixir, and it finally dawned on her that he had been slaving away for hours making more, as she needed it.
That thought did not help her mind as it ran with guilt allowing her to be consumed with thoughts about the impending war and the friends that were probably waiting for her at the archive. She had let everyone down, and yet she still couldn’t find the energy to move. Her intestines felt bruised, and it felt like someone had punched her in the gut.
She stared through the skylight in the ceiling above. The clouds were thick, but she could still see patches of the starlit sky as twilight stole light from the sun. Another day had passed, and there were no signs of the dragons. Selené took a sigh of relief. However, that thought of serenity was disrupted and tainted by a large dark shadow that swept over the skylight ever so briefly, which seemed to portray doom in Selené’s thoughts.
With a big swoosh of wind, something nestled itself on the top of the temple. With razor sharp claws, it dug into the stonework like a metal rake scratching concrete. Something large had wrapped around the temple covering up the windows on the outside walls of the bathroom. Selené did her best to scramble up to her feet and make herself ready to leave the building. As she fidgeted with her pants, the mighty beast screeched the loudest growl she had ever heard, causing the building to shake and rumble, making her lose the grip on her pants, which made them fall back down to the floor.
A soft yet urgent knock sounded on the door followed by a familiar voice. “Selené, I’m sure you know that we have company now. Please don’t dilly-dally; we don’t have much time, and please don’t make me come in there.”
Poor Kajaka had been subjected enough to the foul-smelling fluids that had been leaving her body for hours, and she wasn’t about to expose him to it again. After wiggling her body around trying to get her pants up, she fluffed her hair and opened the door. He handed over another mug filled with a hot liquid. “You need to hydrate yourself. We have a lot of work to do.”
“More elixir?” She whined.
“No, peach flavored cactus juice.”
“Thank God!” She said gratefully. Selené had never tried cactus juice before, but it was bound to be better than the elixir.
They entered the entertaining room where the others had been sitting around trying to come up with a game plan while Selené was recovering. She approached Shadow, “You were right. People here on Atlantis were trying to take your feathers. In the form of an egg, but still, I don’t think it matters under what condition they were presented when being stolen.”
He nodded, “But at the same time, we weren’t aware of when it would happen or how. You’ll need this.” He handed her a long, brown coat, which reached down to her calf.
“I don’t understand. Why do I need this?” she asked out of irritation. Even though she posed the question, she still took it and put it on.
“A lot of the dragons that have arrived control the weather. It has started to snow as well as rain.” There was a knock on the door, and Shadow went to answer it as the others suited up to leave. Though he had been expecting him, he was still a little surprised to see his brother standing on the other side of the door. Aros stood in his golden grandeur even though most of him was covered by a large black raincoat. He stepped aside to reveal his entourage. Vermilion, Hermetrien, and Gepsom smiled back at Shadow. “Not that I’m ungrateful, but where are the rest of the forces?”
“I’m sorry, brother. We’re it. The Phoenix Council refused to send any more of us for what they considered to be a dying cause. The Council didn’t want us to come either. We took it upon ourselves to come and help if we could.”
“So, the Council doesn’t think Atlantis will win?”
“I’m not sure what their thoughts are. We got the impression that they wanted to ensure that Atlantis would fail. I think they’re afraid Atlantis will win.” Aros noted Shadow’s confusion and tried to smooth it over. “They might feel that Atlantis has become too corrupt. Or maybe they think that Atlantis will not survive the dragons, who knows. We’re here to help, and that’s all that matters. It looks like we need to get out of here, your other guest seems to be upset.” Almost on cue, the dragon screeched again, making the temple quake. It used its tail to tighten its hold on the temple. Squeezing it like a boa constrictor, the rock of the temple started to come crumbling down. “We will assist you as much as we can. We can even sink Atlantis if we have to, in hopes that she will rise again.”
“Let’s use that as a last resort. We better go,” Shadow said as he flagged to the others to leave the temple. Watching Kajaka exit through the door, his green feathers reminded Shadow of his gift. Not knowing if they were going to return to their home, he waited until they had all left to grab the dark red box containing Kajaka’s wedding gift out of the cherry blossom bush. After heading out the door himself, he addressed his brother. “Aros, I need you to take Selené to the palace. She needs to find those dragon eggs.”
“That’s what this is about? No wonder the Council acted the way they did. This concerns our children. All of those reports that were sent in to the Council about missing eggs had to do with Atlantis? They’re not going to help Atlanteans. I wouldn’t doubt that our forces will be joining the dragons anytime now.” Without warning, he picked Selené up, threw her over his shoulder, and took off down the tunnel to the outside world. Icarus went mad and ran after them, shouting curses into the air. His shouts did not deter Aros. Once he got to the end of the tunnel, Icarus saw Aros unfurl his wings and take to the sky with Selené. Hermetrien ran after Icarus and dragged him back to the others as he kicked and screamed.
“Who is this idiot?” she asked holding onto him with all of her might.
“That’s Icarus. He’s in love with Selené. She does not love him in return, and to top it off, we can’t return him to his time. His family thinks he is dead. I was hoping Aros would take him back to the World Tree to teach him some manners and give he some sort of direction, preferably away from Selené,” replied Shadow.
His screaming became louder, and his determination to break free got even stronger. Hermetrien wasn’t going to be able to hang onto him much longer. Through clenched teeth, she asked, “So what should we do with him now?”
“I hate to say it, but I know he’s not going to cooperate with us. We’ll have to take him to Selené and Aros. They’ll have to find a way to deal with him. Once this is all over, we will make sure he doesn’t come back to this planet, especially without an attitude adjustment,” Shadow said with a sigh. Hermetrien didn’t wait for another word. Taking Icarus with her, she took off down the tunnel, spread her wings and followed Aros’s suit. The others were not far behind.
Chapter Eight
Hell’s Fire and Second Chances
The sun had set, revealing a thin peach line of light on the horizon, and night was setting in. The stars were radiantly beaming, yet it was as bright as day because the dragons were lighting up the sky with Hell’s fire! It was now plain to see that the cloudy overcast she had seen through the skylight in Kajaka and Shadow’s bathroom were not clouds at all. The clouds were actually a haze of smoke given off by the dragons’ f
lames. She clung onto Aros as if her life depended on it. He tried to fly as smoothly as possible, but the dragons had other plans. Dodging tails, wings, and enormous orbs of what appeared to be melted hot lava, he accelerated his speed trying to get past the crowded airspace.
He heard someone call his name and he quickly glanced back to see Hermetrien in hot pursuit. As he reduced his speed, he turned to face the direction he was headed in and was confronted by a dragon a thousand times larger than his size. The black dragon spread his wings back revealing the turquoise armor scales on his torso. As he cocked his head back, the scales on his torso started to glean brightly. Aros knew the dragon was going to flame them. He wrapped his arms tightly around Selené and tucked her head into his chest. She started to shake with fear.
“Keep your eyes closed and trust me,” he whispered.
Bringing forth the formidable energy within, he ignited his golden wings, revealing his true form. More vivid than the sun in its brightest of days, Aros’s phoenix emerged from his body. It grew to be twice as big as the dragon and blinded the Atlanteans, pirates, and elves fighting on the ground. The dragon had already released its flame, and the phoenix cried, piercing everyone’s ears. As the dragon’s flame made contact, it was absorbed by the phoenix. The look in the dragon’s eyes was apologetic. He didn’t know Aros was an ally. The phoenix did not fight back. He merely shrank his form to a decent, yet noticeable size, and was off on his way to the palace. Hermetrien ignited herself as well in hopes to deter a conflict with the dragons. From the ground, all stopped to stare at the two phoenixes, one gold, one green, as they flew across the sky.
“Keep your eyes hidden, Selené. My flame will still be too bright for your eyes.” He didn’t realize that she couldn’t hear him. Like those fighting on the ground, the ringing in her ears from his screech still rang sharply. Aros heard her release a whimper followed by a downfall of tears. Crying in panic, she tried to wiggle out of his arms and pounded on his chest with her fists. Losing his grip, he wrestled her into a position in his arms pinning her in place. Knowing this was not the time to see what the problem was, he quickly flew on to their destination.