by Dreagen
“What’s taking so long over there?” LemaRes called angrily from the clearing.
“Don’t rush me,” DiNiya yelled back. “I have a hard time going under pressure!”
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” LemaRes said to herself with a look of aggravation. “You’ve got another thirty seconds before I come over there and shake it out of you!”
“Damn,” DiNiya whispered, glancing at either side of her. “Looks like I don’t have a choice.” Pushing off with both legs, she shot forward and tore off through the underbrush. Not daring a look behind her, she heard the DraGon release a throaty growl and the sound of her massive leathery wings flapping, which sent a strong gust of wind that nearly sent her sprawling forward. Next she heard the sound that informed her she was now in trouble—a loud whoosh, which she knew meant LemaRes had ignited her flame and was quickly closing the distance between the two of them. At last mustering the courage for a quick look back, DiNiya was terrified to see the DraGon completely engulfed in blue flame and burning right through the trees, mere meters off the ground.
With what felt like an almost lethal injection of adrenaline, DiNiya pushed the muscles in her thighs harder than they had ever been pushed, and almost doubled in speed. What is she trying to do, kill me after all? DiNiya feared that she had pushed her boundaries one too many times with her captor and that now she had snapped beyond the point of all reason.
Faster and harder she ran, not knowing where she was going, just that she could not stop. Suddenly she felt the ground behind her shake and saw a surge of blue rush by beneath her feet. Before she could even inquire as to what that had been, two trees directly ahead of her jerked and contorted downwards, their branches reaching out for her. DiNiya ducked and rolled just beneath them before bounding back to her feet and continuing at full tilt. I’m so stupid, she berated herself. Damn it, I knew this would happen!Now she’s going to turn this whole forest against me!
The forest seemed to come alive with murderous intent. DiNiya jumped, dodged, ducked, and sidestepped the multitude of trees and branches that swung, jabbed, and reached out for her from every direction. Damn it, I can’t keep this up! She knew that at any moment one of the branches would ensnare her, send her flying, or slam her to the ground. She clearly had not thought this through and was paying the price for it, but then again, it was still better than being some monster’s hostage high in the sky.
She watched as three vines shot forward directly for her, when suddenly there was a shrill cry from behind followed by a heavy thud on the ground. DiNiya watched as the vines fell limp almost at her feet, which had come to a stop when they felt the impact rattle beneath them. Not hesitating, she spun around and saw the DraGon pinned to the ground, the base of her skull in the jaws of an AcaroVora, the EeNarin descendent of acrocanthosaurus, and more commonly known as the Ridgebacks for the elongated vertebrae of their spine. It was a welcome sight and one that could not have come a moment sooner.
LemaRes struggled in the powerful predator’s jaws but was unable to break out of the DyVorian’s superior strength. Then, right as DiNiya would have predicted, her flame pulsed, but it was quickly matched by that of the AcaroVora, whose green flame began to overtake hers. With an impressive display of physical prowess, he swung his head around and sent the DraGon crashing through several yards of forest.
DiNiya felt the ground beneath her shudder but did not take her eyes off the scene even for a moment. The Ridgeback stood his ground, waiting for what he knew would no doubt be an inevitable retaliation. Seconds later, a stream of fire came rocketing towards him. The Ridgeback spread his legs, dug his claws into the ground, and unleashed a spiraling torrent of his own, which collided with the DraGon’s. There was a deafening blast as two immense powers collided and pushed against each other in an effort to overwhelm their opponent.
At first it was unclear to DiNiya who had the upper hand, but soon she saw the green flame gain ground and begin to overtake the blue. With a mighty surge from the Ridgeback, the blue flame was quickly consumed within his. LemaRes screamed as she was struck center-mass by the green stream of fire and sent crashing back yet again through a hundred yards of forest.
Readjusting his stance, the Ridgeback reared back and arched his head up, letting out a triumphant roar as green fire swirled around him and whipped up a powerful wind.
Shielding her eyes, DiNiya approached the large predator cautiously, unclear as to whether she had truly been saved or had just traded one danger for another. She was well aware that she was in wild territory, meaning the Ridgeback here did not have to adhere to laws set by the unified tribes about preying upon each other. Out here it was perfectly acceptable to adhere to the ancient ways of indiscriminant predation. Was this an act of valor or territoriality?
AcaroVora were species that predated most of the modern-day predators in EeNara, having evolved several millions of years prior to those such as the TarBoranx, but were still younger than others like the StyNovora and BorMax. DiNiya knew that this particular species was known for its abrasive nature, which often resulted in them biting first and asking questions later or sometimes not at all.
“Umm…excuse me,” she said in a tiny voice. The Ridgeback arched his head back and glanced down at her with his left eye. “Thank you for saving me. That is to say…well, I realize that may not have been your intention, being that this is probably your territory and so you were probably just defending it from what you figured was an intrusion from another large predator like yourself, but…well…thank you all the same.”
The Ridgeback turned his whole body so he was facing her and looked down inquisitively at the little SaVarian. DiNiya felt the now all-too-familiar sense of dread in the pit of her gut return, as she feared that the powerful predator was eyeing her with a little too much interest.
“You’re KaNarin, aren’t you?” he finally said, crouching down slightly.
“Ye…yes, that’s right! You recognized me…how?”
“Your attire, of course. It’s indicative of the SaVarians of your mountain tribe. The question is, what are you doing so far from home, with…what was that thing, anyway? I suppose I forgot to ask before I killed it,” he said, turning back to look in the direction his enemy had been dispatched.
“Well, this may sound strange, but it was a DraGon,” she said in a manner that implied she no longer cared how that sounded.
“A DraGon, eh? Hmm, I always heard they were all dead, extinct.”
“By the looks of it, that one is, at least.”
He turned back to her, now bringing his head down to her level. “That still doesn’t answer the question of what you’re doing out here, or who you even are.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, blushing slightly. “You saved my life and I haven’t even introduced myself. I am DiNiya of the KaNar Tribe, but you already figured out that last part.”
“I am RemoKy of no tribe. Pleasure to meet you, DiNiya…wait a moment. Your eyes…they’re red.”
Looking uneasy, DiNiya glanced away and responded offhandedly. “That they are…”
“But then…does that mean you are of the red fl—”
“I apologize, but could I impose on you and ask if you could escort me back to KaNar? I was taken captive several days after my tribe was attacked by a horde of DraGons!”
“You mean there are more of them?”
“Yes. We managed to kill a number of them in the battle, but we are unsure as to how many there were to begin with.”
“Hmm, I wonder if this has anything to do with what has been driving many of the herds east.”
“What do you mean?”
“Something in the far west has been disrupting the ecology and forcing it this way. We’ve been trying to figure it out for a while now here in these parts, but because the tribes and solitary predators are not part of a settlement, they refuse to talk with any of us. They won’t even let us come near them without going on the defensive.”
“We saw
the same thing in KaNar. It started with a few mysterious deaths but grew worse over time. By the time we realized we were up against something really serious…it was too late.”
RemoKy looked at her for a moment. He was still unsure as to what to make by all this. True, he had saved her, but it had been purely by chance. He had smelled a foreign predator in his territory and instinctively came to defend it. He had not expected to find an ancient war-era monster or a young SaVarian so far from home. At 387 years of age, he had grown accustomed to a life of routine, one where things flowed according to a basic daily pattern. Get up, eat, patrol the forest, eat again, patrol some more, get together with old acquaintances here and there, eat some more, and then finally start to unwind as the day drew to a close. This day, however, defied his personal routine to such an offensive degree that his mind was still struggling to catch up. With a heavy sigh, he finally said, “I can lead you to the end of my territory, but you will have to go alone beyond that, or seek help from another.”
DiNiya felt her heart sink a little but knew why he was so reluctant to take her back all the way. “I understand. I promise you no harm will come to you by my tribe. VayRonx is our alpha and he is an honorable leader.”
“True as that may be, those of us who live in accordance with the old ways must always err on the side of caution. I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal. Now, shall we?”
RemoKy lowered his head so she could climb on but was suddenly startled by a loud rustling off to his left. Whipping his head around, he caught a glimpse of a thick vine shooting out of the forest, just as it drove itself through his chest.
“RemoKy!” DiNiya cried as he fell on his side, coughing up blood. It was then she heard something that struck her with an almost crippling sense of panic—the furious cry of a DraGon, LemaRes. With the sun now gone, the forest seemed alive with dark foreboding shadows, any one of them potentially being the form of her enemy shrouded in darkness. With no flame to enhance her vision in the dark, there was no way to tell. She stepped back several feet before bumping into the fallen mass that was RemoKy. She quickly turned to look at him again and saw that he was struggling to raise his head. “Can you get to your feet?” she asked, placing a hand on his face.
“Not too sure I can even stay alive,” he said. “The vine…it’s punctured my lungs…I’m bleeding out internally.”
“No,” she said through gritted teeth. “You don’t deserve this! You saved my life! It’s my fault this happened to you…if only I wouldn’t have made her land!”
“Enough,” RemoKy said in a commanding, yet pain-laden voice. “I am a warrior, and I alone made the choice to fight. I am ready to die if need be.” Suddenly he fired two blasts of fire from his nostrils, which exploded thirty yards off to his left. Rising into the air from the explosion was LemaRes. DiNiya turned back to RemoKy, who was rising to his feet, saying, “Doesn’t mean I’m in any hurry to.” With that, he looked at his advisory before his flame pulsed and the vine buried in his chest was burned to nothing. “Looks like I’ll just have to take you apart.”
“I’d love to see you try, DyVorian,” LemaRes said, giving her wings a powerful flap.
“You will. In fact…I think I’ll start by ripping off those wings of yours.”
“Fool, the accuracy of that last attack was no coincidence! You’re bleeding to death even as we speak. You don’t have long, and the more you fight, the sooner the inevitable will come to pass. Face it, you’re already dead!”
RemoKy seemed unfazed by hearing what he had already surmised for himself. “Right you may be, DraGon, but who says I’m the only one who has to die tonight? Besides, even if I die before I kill you, this world is filled with far more of those like myself than it is of those like you. No matter where you go, you’re in a world not of your own, surrounded by enemies closing in.” RemoKy laughed. “Face it, DraGon, if you manage to make it out of this fight alive, you’ll just be living on borrowed time. Die here and now, and you’ll be sparing yourself a far worse fate.”
“Are you finished?” LemaRes asked, crossing her arms.
“Never,” replied the Ridgeback, an exchange that DiNiya took as having a larger meaning.
“Well, I’m done indulging your little delusions of grandeur, so if you don’t mind, I’m just going to wrap this up and take back what is mine.” Two roots erupted from the ground on either side of RemoKy, driving themselves into his sides and raising him into the air. “Perhaps you can get a better look at the big picture from up there. Seems to me your kind has been crawling around in the dirt for so long that you’ve lost perspective on just where it is you fit in it. But don’t worry, I’ll be happy to remind you.”
“Nothing that bleeds has the right to lord over anything else,” RemoKy said, straining his head to look down and locking eyes with LemaRes. “Never forget that, DraGon.”
LemaRes glared back at him. Even in death this creature still speaks without any sense of fear, or shame. He actually believes his demise is a noble one, and serves to protect something worth keeping alive. I hate him…I hate all of them! She could feel the warmth of blood flowing slowly from the wounds on her body, and was suddenly enraged by her own mortality. “May the Holy Mother damn your flame for all eternity!”
DiNiya watched, powerless, as the roots flung his body high into the air, raining blood down on her, before coiling around one another to form a single thick vine, and with a sickening crack, smashed into him, sending him sailing into the distance and out of sight.
She stood motionless, when suddenly she felt her legs give out from underneath her. Collapsing to her knees, she stared blankly at the ground, blood dripping from her face, staining the forest floor. She was pulled from her trance by heavy footfalls that quickly approached. She reared back weakly, and took in the towering form of LemaRes, who stood above her with a look in her eye that seemed devoid of compassion, remorse, or any feeling of connection from one living thing to another. Without saying a word, she reached down and grabbed DiNiya, then with a flap of her wings and pulse of her flame, she pushed off the ground and into the air, penetrating through the canopy to the cool, dry night air, whereupon she opened her wings to their full spread. She gave one final look at DiNiya, who did not even bother to look back, but rather just hung limply in her hand. All will to resist was now gone.
With a nod, LemaRes exploded into blue fury and dashed across the sky to where the sun falls.
20
UNKNOWN DESTINY
The night on the river had been a difficult one for Rex and the others. All were supposed to take shifts keeping watch while the others slept, but they had all been so restless that they had only been able to grab the occasional hour of actual sleep here and there. Rex was feeling especially nervous, constantly keeping one eye on the sky, half-expecting the entire DraGon horde to suddenly swoop down on them. At one point he managed to fall asleep for twenty minutes, and had a terrible nightmare where his feet were chained to the floor and he was forced to watch DiNiya being pulled limb from limb by the DraGon who took her. When he tried to unleash his flame, it did not come, and soon all he could see was the limbless torso of DiNiya, whose agonizing scream filled his head to the point where he felt as if he would come apart right then and there. He must have been stirring in his sleep or making some sort of noise, for he awoke to see AnaSaya sitting over him while gently stroking the side of his face. He blinked and stared back at her before slowly sitting up and rubbing his eyes. A faint glow in the sky behind them indicated that dawn was near. “Sorry,” he said, cracking his neck.
“For what?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.
“For waking you.”
“I’m the one who woke you, silly,” she replied with a smile. “Besides, I haven’t been able to sleep really, so it’s fine.”
“A lot of scary things out here in the real world,” he said, adjusting himself so he could sit up straighter. “Maybe it’s better to hide away from them with the more familiar things in ou
r heads.”
AnaSaya leaned forward and placed her forehead against his, looking directly into his eyes. “From what I can sense…you’re more afraid of what’s in there than you are of anything out here.”
A flash of an immense form silhouetted against a wall of red fire flashed in his mind before he pulled back and turned away. “You would be, too, if you had lurking in your head what I have in mine.”
“What makes you think I don’t?” she said, scooting closer to him and brushing a strand of fur out of his face. Rex looked up at her and furrowed his brow. Leaning in close, AnaSaya whispered something softly into his ear that sent chills down his spine. “You’re not the only one who has someone whispering to them from the dark places in their head.” Rex gave a look of both curiosity and surprise. “Most of the time you don’t hear them at all, but sometimes, when you feel like you’re far away from everyone around you…you can hear a voice…it’s distant but it sees you, all that you are, what makes you happy, sad, angry, and most of all, what scares you. It’s your best friend and worst enemy at the same time.”
Rex stared at AnaSaya with a newfound sense of wonder. “And here I thought you were just socially awkward.”
“Well, you would know, wouldn’t you, Rex?” she said, locking him with a look that almost felt like hands around his neck before finally freeing him with a smile. “Then again, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. After all, what’s so special about being normal, anyway? Nature shows that it’s the abnormalities that often have the most profound effect on the world.”
“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. But then again, that particular way can only come from an optimistic way of thinking. I’m not so lucky as you, where I can just forget or ignore everything I see in life. I feel every scar.” He looked down at his knees. “I’m tired of hurting.”