The black wolf looked at the girl. Blood flowed from its wounds forgotten as it only spared any attention for its quarry.
Her breath caught in her throat as Cheleya looked death in the eye. She had no weapons and no magic. Her human body may as well be naked and tied to the stone behind her for all that she could do to this monster.
A new movement caused the werewolf to suddenly look upward and Cheleya found her eyes following his. Smashing into the werewolf from the sky, an even larger winged form drove the black beast to the ground.
“No, you don’t, beast,” Kel’lor’s deep voice stated as the gargoyle stood up putting himself between the wolf and the girl. Cheleya gasped in surprise nearly dizzy with the shock of her friend’s arrival. She spied no weapon in the gargoyle’s hands, but that didn’t mean he was unable to fight.
The black wolf recovered quickly leaping at the mar’goyn’lya. A fist drove the beast back as Kel’lor judged his opponent quickly. A second attack scored some scratches on the hard skin of the gargoyle accomplishing little.
As the wolf danced back readying for a third attack, Cheleya felt Kel’lor’s power rise. It attacked and the gargoyle’s deep voice ordered, “Dragon’s claws.”
A glowing red dragon’s hand appeared in the air between them extending from the gargoyle’s own hand catching the black wolf driving it head first into the vertical stone of the steep mountain cliff. A crack of stone and bone breaking from the power of the blow filled the air. The closest of the combatants broke from each other sensing the powerful magic of the gargoyle before looking to the large, black werewolf as the body slid down the stone with Kel’lor’s release of his spell. The skull was shattered and the wolf’s brain crushed inside the bone no longer controlled its lifeless body.
With their leader dead, the werewolves and cats pulled back from the crag dogs, which were willing to let them run. Injuries had mounted on both sides. Three wolves were left on the ground dying and one werecat, while three of the crag dogs were dead and several more were wounded severely.
“Kel’lor!” the girl cried running over to the gargoyle hugging him without caring how hard he felt to her soft skin. “You saved my life!”
Holding both of her small shoulders in his, the mar’goyn’lya asked, “Why didn’t you use your magic to fly away or fight?”
Tears came again as Cheleya mourned, “I can’t. Malaketh did something to me. He tried to kill me and trapped me in this form. I can’t change and I can’t use my magic!”
“Why would Malaketh try and kill you? Are you sure?” the mar’goyn’lya asked having trouble wrapping his mind around such a drastic thing.
Wiping at her tears in annoyance, Cheleya tried to explain, “He had Fa’Kelman’zer under a spell using a black amulet to control his. Malaketh made the master open the secret rooms to steal the artifacts and other magical items inside. He may have made him give him even stronger spells that had been hidden by the masters.
“When I stumbled on them in the chamber, he trapped me with his black amulet before destroying mine and locking me in this form. He is going to blame me for stealing from the academy, so he disrupted my magic and threw me from the spire balcony. I was supposed to die but barely made my dragon wings open to keep that from happening.”
Looking dubious, Kel’lor asked, “Then why aren’t you going to the city to tell everyone?”
With a big sigh, the girl wondered how he could miss such an obvious reason. “First, who would I tell? You don’t even believe me and you’ve known me for over a year. Second, did you forget about the werewolves already?”
A sudden realization from her own words made the girl check the poor crag dogs that had defended her. Kneeling beside the dog that had been stabbed through the eye, Cheleya began to cry. The poor animal was dead and already starting to cool. She looked around the pack and asked Kel’lor, “Did you happen to bring any healing potions with you?”
She stood and moved towards the other crag dog that had his tusk ripped from his jaw. It was breathing hard and lying on its side. Seeing the girl approach, the dog raised its head. The six inch spike at the rear of its body serving as a tail wagged twice amazing her at the creature’s resilience. Hugging the wounded animal to her breast, Cheleya cried letting her tears go in sadness.
“I think I may have a vial or two in my pack actually. While I was never any good at healing magic, my alchemist master always says that I had a good feel for potions.” Digging into the pack he had dropped several feet away before attacking the werewolf, the gargoyle continued to talk trying to diffuse the sadness of the girl. “Too bad you aren’t a true dragon,” he stated sounding almost amused. “They say a dragon’s tears can heal almost anything. I never had any to use, of course, but that’s what the alchemists said.”
As her tears fell on the dog, Cheleya closed her eyes wishing that she were a dragon of legend with such tears. A glow formed around the two drawing Kel’lor’s attention. Several of the crag dogs moved closer to the dragoness wrapped in a human’s body. They seemed enchanted by the light that she radiated.
Kel’lor’s jaw closed suddenly as he realized that his mouth had hung open at the sight. He had never heard of magic like this, but it felt warm and peaceful. He could also feel the girl’s sadness and longing to help.
When the crag dog in her arms suddenly shifted to sit and lick Cheleya’s face, the girl opened her eyes in surprise. The dog looked almost completely healed though his tusk was beyond her magic to fix.
“You healed him,” the gargoyle stated in shock.
Still crying her tears, the dragoness replied, “Maybe a che’ther’s tears can heal too? It’s not like we ever cry normally, so who would know?”
Standing to take advantage of what she felt, Cheleya quickly moved to the worst hurt among the pack shedding her tears and holding them. Whether it was her tears or some innate magic in the girl’s human form, neither of them knew, but her healing magic healed all her saviors except for the few that had already passed beyond her ability to save.
Once finished, the crag dogs barked their strange cries to the girl and disappeared once more into their pass.
“I wish that none of them had died,” Cheleya said sadly as she watched her new friends disappear into the darkness. They had saved her life and she had managed to repay the debt if not completely in full.
Kel’lor surprised the girl and came to her wiping at her tears. He had emptied an unimportant flask in the moment to capture some of the che’ther’s tears.
“What are you doing?” the girl asked the giant.
“I thought that I would capture your tears just in case this never happens again,” the gargoyle replied.
Standing tall, Kel’lor looked back towards the distant city of Mar’kal and asked Cheleya, “So what now?”
The girl sat on the cold ground and shivered as another cold wind blew into the valley riding up her legs into the dress. Shaking her head and pulling the skirt of the dress tighter against her legs with her hands, Cheleya replied indecisively, “I don’t know, but I don’t think that I can go back to Mar’kal right now. Perhaps I just have to get out these mountains and find a wizard that can reverse what Malaketh has done to me.”
“Why would you leave the mountains? Malaketh is here and surely someone would know how to deal with magic using the amulets here rather than looking for some random wizard.”
“Why do you keep asking me all these questions, Kel’lor? You’re twice as old as I am. Shouldn’t I be asking you what to do?” the girl asked in annoyance.
Chuckling at the little human sitting so forlornly on the ground one moment and getting worked up the next, the gargoyle retorted, “I think that your human side is becoming more dominant. You never used to talk like this as a che’ther.
“So I am older and you want my advice. If you think that Mar’kal is too dangerous with Malaketh there, then why don’t we head south? Southwall has hundreds of wizards and schools of learning. I have heard talk of
them quite often since they sent word of a tournament in the capitol, Hala. If we head there, we might find some of our wizards at the tournament that can fix you as well. We can warn them of Malaketh’s deceit also and maybe find a way for you to return.”
Eyes lighting up in surprise, Cheleya hopped up onto her feet excitedly. “Just when I thought that you weren’t as intelligent as I had hoped, you come up with the perfect idea. I had heard a few of the wizards and magicians speaking of the Winter’s Edge tournament. There will be wizards from around the world, so I suppose someone must know how to remove this spell.”
Her brow wrinkled in confusion as she caught his use of ‘we’. “You will come with me, Kel’lor?” Cheleya asked unsure if he had meant his words. “This isn’t your problem to bear.”
Shaking his head, the gargoyle replied, “Ah, little sister, how can I not go with you? You have almost no magic, no protection, you’re stuck as a pitiful little human, which is why I would never pick one so small to hide in, and you have no place to go. How can I, as your big brother, let you in all good conscience go off to the human countries so far away through these dangerous mountains by yourself? You’d be dead before daybreak without me to watch over you,” he finished looking very proud of himself.
Ignoring him as she rolled her eyes at the goofy gargoyle, Cheleya turned towards the rise in the valley. “I’ve never been out of the mountains. Do you have any idea how we get there without my wings, smart guy?”
Rubbing his chin, the giant winged creature mused. “I could fly with you short distances, but adding the weight of the two packs as well would be difficult. I suppose we start by following the path out of the valley like your little friends.”
Cheleya thought of the crag dogs. Each easily outweighed her little human body and could stand taller if they were on their hind legs. Calling them little could only be done by something as large as Kel’lor or a che’ther. “Then we should go soon. Standing here just makes me feel colder by the second.”
His large finger poked her arm with his left hand after picking up the two sacks in the other. “How will you survive in such soft skin? Have you already lost your che’ther immunity to cold?”
Sighing and rubbing the offended shoulder with her opposite hand, she retorted, “I will survive much better if you stop poking this body. Thank you.”
“Yes, little sister,” the gargoyle chuckled again letting her barefoot human body lead the way. He tended to laugh each time the poor girl injured her toes, but Cheleya did her best to ignore his amusement at her expense.
It was going to be a long walk.
“Toban,” Malaketh called to the warlock sitting on a stool in the darkness of the classroom.
Standing up to stride over to the balcony where he followed the dragon master’s pointing finger, the dark haired, bearded warlock looked down the hundreds of feet to see the stragglers of the creatures he had called through his portal. Noting the missing big black wolf, the warlock frowned. More than a third of the pack was missing. “I thought that you said the girl had no power. There is no way a human should be able to drive away a team of hunters.”
“They’re your beasts. Why don’t you use your magic to go find out? Besides I warned you she had enough magic to save herself from the fall, didn’t I?” Malaketh retorted angrily. It was supposed to be a simple task. They only had to kill a girl that should have died from plummeting to her death hours ago. Now it looked like she had survived against the odds once more.
“I am not your servant, Malaketh. Remember that I was sent by our masters to ensure that you fulfilled your duties here.”
“Fine, but they are still your beasts. I can’t communicate with the damnable things. You are the beasts’ master, not I,” the dragon mage stated with a wave of his hand. The two men had been butting heads for years and unfortunately Toban was his main contact with Ensolus. The home of the emperor only heard what Toban conveyed to them, so Malaketh had to treat the man well enough or be stranded amongst the dragons and gargoyles for the rest of his life. That is if they didn’t decide to reveal the truth about the spy and get him killed instead.
Cutting the palm of his hand, the warlock known as Toban used the strength in his blood to draw a rectangle in the air. His magic left the trail of red visibly floating to create the doorway which lit as he finished drawing the shape before him. Toban stepped through the doorway disappearing from the tower.
Malaketh turned to look over the rail and watched as the glowing portal created a duplicate less than a hundred feet from the beasts below. The warlock cast another spell and the mage could see even from the heights that one of the werecats changed shape lifting from all fours to stand like a man or orc.
The two had words and Malaketh wished that he could be there to here this excuse for himself, but portal magic was rarely within a solo warlock’s ability. Toban was strong and that wasn’t the only magic he could use because of his massive power. A new portal opened while the first remained in effect, a feat that required strength beyond what Malaketh could hope to attain.
Moments later, the werebeasts were gone through the second gate, while Toban stepped through the first and returned to the spire balcony.
“Well?” the mage asked curiously.
“By the description, I would say the dragoness was saved by a pack of crag dogs and a mar’goyn’lya. The last of who saved the girl from the pack leader. They were outnumbered and outmatched with the gargoyle joining the fray.”
“Did they describe the gargoyle as male or female?” Malaketh asked having an idea of the interloper.
“A large male, though aren’t they all pretty much the same?”
“If he used magic to save her, then not all. That must have been Kel’lor; though what he was doing out there this late I have no idea. So her brother protector helped save her too? He might get her to return before we are ready.”
A third man standing in the doorway stated quietly, “They won’t believe her. The old dragon won’t back up her story and you are her teacher. Her word will mean nothing.”
“I am still the outsider here, Delever. Master of their magic or not, the girl might convince a few of her dragon friends to believe her. I have worked too long, and lived with these creatures beyond human tolerance, to have a baby dragon in human skin ruin the plan,” Malaketh replied angrily. “Can you bring something more useful than a mangy bunch of dogs and cats to make sure that she can’t give us away?”
“In time,” the warlock replied. “I need to replenish my energy for the spells required. Tomorrow night I will call them and bring better hunters than the pack. She won’t escape again.”
“But tomorrow might be too late,” the dragon mage replied worriedly.
“They ran away from the city. She is unsure that she can sway anyone to believe her or she would have tried to run back to Mar’kal. For all your worrying that the che’ther might believe her, I think she doubts that they will. Tomorrow will still be soon enough to kill her. Do not worry about her beyond that.”
Frowning, Malaketh replied, “She is strong enough that if we wait too long, her magic will return and make it that much harder to kill her. My spell won’t disrupt her forever.”
Toban pointed to the third moon cresting the horizon in the east as Turas held the sky for his youngest brother. “I can’t keep using my power and the third moon is already upon us. Wrap up what you can here and we will return to finish her tomorrow.”
Gritting his teeth knowing that he couldn’t influence Toban anymore than he had, the mage turned to lead the other two men back into the academy building to finish taking the artifacts that they needed. Malaketh would have trouble sleeping, but then again two of his three students were already gone so class could be ignored for the day. Shrugging, the dragon mage master would do as Toban said. He would try to not worry over the loose ends too much for now.
Chapter 5- Tandem Flight
The deep sound of snoring awoke Cheleya as the early light of dawn
tried to peek around the mountains to the east. She had slept in her blue blanket. The color was a sad reminder of the che’ther trapped inside, but warm to her all too human body.
Looking over at Kel’lor leaning against the wall of the shallow depression just deep enough to keep them from being struck by the cold, night time winds; the girl saw the cause for her early awakening. As a student at the academy she had to rise somewhat early, but never after a night as harrowing as the last. She felt like she could sleep for a week, but the second reason to awaken came from within as her stomach began to grumble.
Going out into the stone field of the upper valley, the girl went to relieve herself. Things were so different about being human as opposed to being a che’ther. One thing that was very different, Cheleya thought hiking up the dress to avoid soiling it, was that she never had to squat to pee as a dragon. It was a random thought, but the girl sighed as the thought was just one of dozens bugging her about being trapped in this form. It was strange to hate being something that had once been so fun to her. When she had the choice and could return to her true self, being human was fun and maybe more enjoyable than being a che’ther, but now she was trapped as a human. Her choices and freedom to be what she wanted had been taken away from her. Now the girl only had the freedom to flee from the home she had known all her life.
The rumble of Kel’lor’s snoring stopped and he came out of the depression seeing the little human with her skirt up above her waist. Unsure of where to look with such an uncommon sight, the gargoyle just found his eyes looking up at the far stone wall. Their races were normally less worried over such things, but for some reason this felt very awkward to both of them. “You are all right then?” his deep voice asked sounding as uncomfortable as he looked.
“I am fine,” the girl stated standing once more and moving back towards the depression. Looking at the state of her dress, Cheleya noted several tears from the rough night in the valley. It wasn’t made from material designed to take much abuse and it was a lighter weight cloth than a human would need in the mountains.
Battle Mage: Dragon Mage (Tales of Alus) Page 5