by Scott Toney
Silence held for a moment as Ragoor approached with Faiyror.
The shimmering man looked upward and then to the approaching men. “You know my history with captivity. You know the dragon’s history.”
“What is captivity to you and me?” Riad smiled and then hid the smirk from his face. “I believe they request we remain in a cell with bars. Is that so bad for a time?”
“I suppose not.” Dune looked to Julieth. “I have heard much of you. We should fly together sometime. My dragon’s name is Orpheus.”
“A pleasure to meet you. I look forward to knowing you both.” Julieth watched the woods still burning in the distance. Many of their homes would be destroyed by the blaze. Soon Ragoor joined her side as Faiyror continued past them.
“Faiyror trusts you, Julieth. And he trusts my opinions. He says we must retreat to the caverns for a time.” Ragoor took Riad’s larger weapon. He then pulled two sets of shackles out of a sack a man close to him was carrying. He fastened the shackles to Riad and Shaun Dune’s wrists. “As for you,” he walked in front of the men, “if you should try anything then we will be below ground, where we are strongest, and we will restrain you.”
“Advice taken,” Dune spoke. “I would extend a hand…”
“Your hand is appreciated,” Ragoor told him.
Riad said nothing.
How hard is it for you to hold back words? Julieth wondered. Then she looked out over the desert, away from the smoldering woods. She heard the sounds of tree trunks thrashing down amidst the blaze. Bayne, why did you flee? I know your strength better than to think you could not overpower the dragon with your mind. Fight the essences. I know your heart is within you.
Chapter 15
In the dark of night Julieth flew above the vast cavern of Gest. Moonlight shimmered off her wings. She watched the forest as it smoldered. The remaining specks of fire remind me of the light insects, she thought. As she took a deep breath she could smell the ash which fell through the air about her, drifting down and lying on the earth like a cloth. When she looked below she could see beasts scurrying between tunnels. The people without beast blood had also been released from the holding-cells once they determined Bayne’s army was no longer an immediate threat. How do we get the beasts to trust Riad and Dune? How do I trust Dune?
With a curve of her wing Julieth dove, falling fast and curling into the largest tunnel leading from the cavern mouth. She whipped past running beasts. They stopped to watch her and then continued on their way. A turn into another tunnel, a curve into another, and then she saw the brilliant light breaking through the tunnel before her.
Julieth dropped down, touching her feet to the rock and then moving from a run to a walk. She did not want to approach the men quickly.
As she entered the vast cavern where Riad and Dune were held she waved at Ineal, who stood silent sentry before a thick cage of wood and rock that the two men were enclosed in. Ineal created it for her when she encountered him in the tunnels as they were deciding how to hold the men.
He always shows up when needed, but never to harm another, Julieth wondered for a moment before looking to Dune’s radiant form behind the limbs. Perhaps they are roots. It was a fleeting thought. A few beasts also stood guard close by.
“When will we be released?” Riad called to her.
“Time,” she responded simply.
The borg beat his arm against a wood shaft. The cavern boomed. “Do we have time?”
“If we do not have time then we are doomed anyway.” She walked to him slowly and then extended a hand to Dune. She bowed her head to Dune as a show of respect and trust and he did the same.
Then they talked. They talked for hours. Julieth told both men all that had happened in Gest since Riad and the rest of her companions had left the place. When she told him of how the good-hearted beasts had saved what remained of Gest’s population she noted Riad paying close attention. His features went stoic when she spoke of him leading the attack against them. He did not apologize though, only listened.
“It is hard to believe that so much time passed when my mind was in darkness,” Riad spoke to her when she was through.
Then Dune told the story of his life and how his body had merged with the dragon when the meteor fell and the essence bonded with him. It was hard to believe that this man was from Ivanus’s time, but that he had actually lived those years instead of being transported to her time like Ivanus had.
He must be the oldest living creature on Solaris, unless there is another merged with an essence from that time still alive.
When Dune was through speaking, Riad told Julieth all that happened after leaving her, of the attack by Samuel by his fellow space crew and of their discovery of Dune beneath the earth.
“But once we entered the citadel my memory is blurred.” Riad gripped the roots imprisoning him, the muscles in his mortal hand and arm tensing in the grip. “I wish I could remember more. It is still so hard to believe that Vrax turned on us.”
“I believe he was infected by the essence bonding with your cybernetics. Perhaps if you had never come in contact with the essence then Vrax would not have turned.” Julieth reached an arm into the prison and touched the essence marking Riad’s metallic form. “Vrax was a droid,” she reminded him. I have so seldom seen what looks like caring in Riad’s eyes, and yet he seems attached to Vrax. Perhaps that is because Vrax came from his world before Solaris. “What is done is complete. We need to focus now on getting the beasts to trust you and deciding on a plan of action to stop Bayne.”
There was commotion in a dark corridor connecting to the chamber. Julieth turned her head, as did Riad and Dune. Faiyror emerged from behind a glossy stone wall. The light Shaun Dune illuminated did not change him back to human form. Dune’s light must not be of solar origin, Julieth made mental note.
“I have heard everything,” Faiyror said as he walked on his hind legs toward them. “If I tell my brothers and sisters that you are to be trusted, then they will believe. Besides, I know that if you wished to free yourselves here then you could. You have remained as our prisoners in effort to gain our trust.” Faiyror walked near Riad. He was taller than any of the group in beast form. “Would you have us as your allies, man who is half metal and man-dragon?”
Dune extended his hand beyond the prison, barely able to extend it through the roots. “I have known of your kind of many years, both those of you with dark minds and those with good hearts. This planet needs us all. I pledge myself. Within me the dragon, Orpheus, comprehends also. He will join you as well.”
Riad’s cybernetic eye glowed green and it clicked as it rotated. “Yes, it seems we have need of each other. I am with Julieth and she is with you. I trust few, but you have proven yourself to me.”
“How does one become like you in his soul?” Faiyror spoke to Riad. His moist eyes glistened in Dune’s light. “I digress. As you say, we have little time, be it days or years. We will need each moment. Julieth, can you…”
“Yes.” Julieth motioned to Ineal and the mute walked to her, his blue eyes connecting with hers. “Can you rid us of the cell?”
Ineal went near the prison and placed his hands on the cavern floor. The roots encompassing the men fled into the cavern roof, shaking the chamber and sending dust floating down like stars in Dune’s light. The rocks braced between the roots boomed down to the cavern floor. Soon all was silent except for the group’s breathing. Ineal stood and walked away from Julieth and the others.
“It feels good to be free,” Dune remarked.
“When will we speak?” Riad asked.
“If it is alright with everyone, I think we need to talk now,” Julieth said. She waited for a moment, and when no one interceded she continued with her next thought. “I have been thinking of something since the attack. We cannot remain here. Gest is a shell. I know all of Gest’s people will not wish to leave, but here in Gest, Bayne knows where to siege us and so do the other beasts, if they should choose.” She saw Faiyro
r about to say something. “But that is not the main reason I propose leaving. If we stand a chance of defeating Bayne then we will need force. We need to contact the remaining cities of Solaris and band with them to defeat the essence bonding with Bayne.”
Faiyror raised a clawed hand. “If I may, I agree. And my people know all the tunnel mappings beneath the planet’s crust. We can disseminate quickly and speak with the few remaining cities that scatter the land.”
“They will not trust you,” Riad inserted himself. A kink in his cybernetics released steam as he stepped toward Faiyror. “I could accompany you. I should be able to keep close with your pack. I have been on Solaris for a long time and have made connections with many of the places you will go.”
“Thank you for the offer. We will have you if this is our plan.”
A shiver ran up Julieth’s back. “And I will go to Kaskal and speak with the people there. You can bring all of the people you convince to join you to meet us. Ineal will come with me and plant vegetation over the land we travel to give the people who are traveling nourishment. Kaskal is vulnerable because Bayne is from there as well. When he realizes we are not in Gest he will surely come to Kaskal. If we can amass a force fast enough, then we may have a chance. Once the people from other cities arrive in Kaskal we will have to convince them to be changed to beasts so that they cannot be controlled.”
“One thing at a time. This is a large task.” Faiyror went to all fours and then rose again.
“I will go with you,” Dune stepped to Julieth’s side. “Perhaps we will ride the wind.”
Julieth sighed. “It is time to discuss this with the others. If this is our plan, then we must leave soon. There is no sense wasting time while Bayne plots his return. I am not sure why he fled us the first time, but I am sure he will overcome his apprehensions. I will go to Elias and Gest’s other people. Undoubtedly some will demand to stay here. That is their choice. I only hope Bayne does not discover them when he returns.”
“And I will speak with my people.” Faiyror turned to Riad and Dune. “Wait here until we have told all others about your release. All must understand before you join our fold.”
Julieth beat her wings, lifting from the ground and then catching the current of wind in a close-by tunnel. She moved swiftly away from Dune’s light and her other comrades. Ineal has heard all, I am certain of that, and he will follow me for the planet’s greater good. She spun in a full circle as she curved her wings and soared out into a vast chamber where Gest’s humanoid and beast people had congregated. “Elias!” she called out to her friend.
*
At the break of sunlight the next day Julieth stood with Shaun Dune and Ineal near the scorched forest. The scent of ash tinged the air.
“How many remain in Gest?” Dune asked.
Faiyror, Ragoor and Riad had left with the beast army to their first destination before daybreak. Riad had spoken but a few words extra with either Julieth or Dune once Julieth had returned to him. “Twenty-one,” Julieth watched the suns as they burned red on the horizon. “Nineteen humans and two beasts.”
“Will they survive?” Dune’s light shimmered.
“It is their choice to make, their choice to stay. It is our destiny to leave. Ineal has left them fruit trees and a lake of water. That is all we can do for them. Shall we fly? Could you carry Ineal?”
Ineal walked silently in front of Julieth and Dune. He held up his hand. He pointed to both of them and then made the motion of wings with his hands. Then he pointed to himself and held one palm flat, using his other hand to make his fingers walk across his palm.
“You will never keep up,” Julieth spoke.
Ineal turned from the two. He placed a hand to the earth in front of them and a great line of trees bloomed before him as far as they could see. The ground shook as they grew.
Dune smiled. “One who can do that has his ways; I believe is what he’s saying.” He breathed deep breath. “Stand back.” When both Julieth and Ineal had stepped a distance back Dune’s light dimmed, turning charred black. His muscles ribbed over themselves and he grew a great size, his head now that of a dragon and engulfing wings spanning his back. “We proceed!” the dragon’s head boomed in the distance.
Julieth plunged her wings and joined the dragon as it thrust upward.
Chapter 16
Ivanus walked the desert steadily, each foot in front of the next as sunlight stripped the energy from his body. Each day it seemed he walked slower. Each night he collapsed on the desert more exhausted than the last.
He held the leather book before him and read, just as he did each day, partially because he needed to keep his mind active and partially because he enjoyed consuming the words. He spoke them lowly aloud as he walked.
“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless. Maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy. Deliver them from the hand of the wicked. They have neither knowledge nor understanding. They walk about in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken.”
He stopped reading for a moment as a vision flashed through his mind. It had been so long since his future-sight had emerged. Placing his finger on the page to hold his place he knelt low. The snoot leapt from his shoulder and scurried around him before nestling along the back of his bent legs.
An army in the distance. Ivanus closed his eyes and focused on his sight. They are wounded and… he breathed hard …is that Bayne? I sense two essences bonding with him. The new essence must be Samuel’s. He knelt low. He could barely see the army on the horizon. Without his ability he would never have noticed. Can he sense me? In his future-sight Ivanus saw tears streaming down Bayne’s face. The men with him seemed hollow shells. Where are Andral and the others? I need to reach Gest and speak with Julieth. Long moments passed before Ivanus could no longer sight Bayne. If he is now out of my range then perhaps I am out of his. Instead of standing, Ivanus splayed the book before him on the desert and read a passage close by the first. He needed a lift to his heart and hoped he would find one.
“Oh God, do not keep silence. Do not hold thy peace or be still, O God! For lo, thy enemies are in tumult; those who hate thee have raised their heads. They lay crafty plans against thy people. They consult together against thy protected ones. They say, ‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation! Let the name of Israel be remembered no more!’ Yea, they conspire with one accord against thee and make a covenant. Oh my God, make them like whirling dust, like a chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, so do thou pursue them with thy tempest and terrify them with thy hurricane. Fill their faces with shame that they may seek thy name, O Lord. Let them know that thou alone, whose name is the Lord, art the Most High over all the earth.”
Smelling the hot wind around him, Ivanus closed the book and then placed a hand to its cover, feeling the grooves of the leather. “These essences need to be driven from the land… but how?” He felt the essence bonding with him burning in his chest. “If only the God of this book existed. If I can take the intent of its words with me to forge a better man, a stronger man, out of myself… If I can somehow use it to unlock a way to rid Solaris of the essences…” Ivanus stood, peering out over the whipping sand before him. He took one step, and then the next.
Chapter 17
Days later – Bayne’s Tower – Within his mind
Where am I? Bayne stood in a dark world, the sky lit with writhing hues of red. How did I get here? He stepped forth. The earth beneath him pulled him downward, swallowing him into its moist soil. With each step it wrapped more tightly around his feet, until he could no longer move.
Bayne, a voice resonated around him. You are failing us. We thought you stronger.
The boy looked to the writhing sky above. “Who speaks to me?” he called out.
Do you truly not know? We are the essences bonding with you. We speak as one.
It was the first time Bayne had heard the voice and realized it
was not his own. Somehow it had separated from his consciousness and yet was still combined with him. “What Julieth spoke was right. You do speak,” he said aloud to himself.
We have thought you capable of assisting us with the destruction of Solaris by our side. We thought you would enjoy power. But when you saw the woman…
Wind burned Bayne’s flesh, drying it and causing flakes of his skin to rip away and flow into the crimson sky. “I am powerful! I created what I am! I do not need you!”
Feeble boy, the voice inside his mind mocked.
“I am not a boy! I have never been a boy! I am a man!” Bayne screamed indignantly.
Then prove it. A steadiness came to the voice. Prove you do not need us… that you can destroy the woman. She goes to Kaskal. If you can defeat her there then you can restore order to your home. They will worship you as a god. Perhaps you will not even need to control them.
Hot lightning cracked in the distance.
“I will go.” Bayne struggled against the earth that held his body firm, bracing his hands before him. As his muscles burned he slowly hefted his legs back to the top of the land. They remained there. The earth no longer fought against him. “Stay away from my mind. I will know you now.”
We have two more things to say.
“Yes?” The boy closed his eyes, gritting his teeth.
We know the reason you fled the battle was not the dragon. You fled because of your love for the woman, because you began to question your resolve. Do not deny yourself your destiny. She cannot undo you.
“And?” Bayne waited for the last of the voice.
We have contacted other essences of Solaris and their hosts. We send an army to your gates to serve you. Do not control their hosts. This army will fight better with their own will. They already serve you. Once you take Kaskal, then you can possess those we send.