Surviving Prophesy: The Immortals

by Frances Howitt

  Suddenly a vast power grabbed at her magic and she gasped. She could feel an alien awareness reaching for her with terrifying strength. What the hell was that? What had she awoken?

  ‘Stop her,’ Darcourt suddenly called out.

  Megan smiled then; Darcourt sounded worried and perhaps even scared. She looked around the hall, wondering what it was that had had the strength to respond. None of the statues seemed to have altered. Her gaze was drawn to the head of the hall; no! She didn’t want to see Zach being tortured.

  ‘You will see me,’ a deep voice growled mentally. ‘Continue as you were. Release me.’

  That voice shook her. Somehow she identified its owner as being female, despite the gravelly growl. Megan’s gaze was drawn to the right of the throne and then up and up to the very rafters. A vast stone creature stood in the shadows at the head of the hall, so vast she had not identified it as being anything other than the bones of the structure itself. The face atop a long serpentine neck might still be stone, but a gleaming crystalline green eye now met hers.

  ‘Dragon,’ she murmured in shock and felt her guard swivel, obviously hearing her. ‘The one who trapped you sits at your feet attacking my mate,’ Megan told her, adding her view of Darcourt. ‘He and his son have trapped thousands in stone, some of which you may be able to see in this room. If I free you, will you aid us?’

  ‘You too wish to enslave me, little wizard?’ the dragon asked angrily.

  ‘No. I ask merely that you kill those two and then you are free to leave this place.’

  ‘That’s it?’

  ‘I would prefer it if my mate and the other humans are not harmed as you leave. I know you have reason to be angry, but hope that killing the ones responsible for your trap will suffice?’

  ‘I accept your terms,’ the dragon replied. ‘You will free my mate too?’

  Megan turned to the other side of the hall and realised that second dragon was even bigger. He had to be at least thirty feet tall at the shoulder. ‘You have my word that I will make every effort to free him.’

  With no more ado, Megan concentrated again and felt a great chunk of the spell unravel. The dragon was suddenly no longer stone coloured, but had turned a rich emerald. The great eye was blinking now, but the body remained frozen. Suddenly she felt strands of spell being renewed and glanced over at Darcourt. He was attempting to head her off, perhaps realising that she was actually likely to succeed.

  ‘Zach, when I free the dragon she’s going to go for Darcourt and his son. Don’t get in her way.’

  ‘Free the dragon?’ he gasped and turned his head to take in the vast brightly coloured creature just a few feet behind him. ‘Why the hell didn’t I see that on the way in?’

  ‘She has been in stasis, and disguised as stone,’ she explained absently. She then returned her full attention to working through the unravelling as quickly as possible. The dragon aided her and as more and more of the dragon’s power were released she knew Darcourt’s counter spells became less and less effective. Unexpectedly, there was nothing else to do. She’d done it!

  ‘You are free!’ Megan called.

  The dragon remained motionless for a moment, her gleaming eye turning to acknowledge Megan. Then, with astonishing speed, her head darted down and with unerring accuracy she grabbed her tormenter in her teeth, throne and all. He let out an ear piercing shriek, struggling ineffectually in the dragon’s jaws. Then he was silenced with chilling finality. A gruesome crunch sounded clearly in the shocked silent hall. Darcourt fell back onto his dais with a hideous wet splat, in several more pieces than he’d been in before.

  Yes! Lord Darcourt was dead. His cruel rule was finally over.

  30

  The hall was frozen, everyone staring in shock. Then pandemonium took over. A vast dragon stood in their midst, blood dripping from her toothy maw. People scattered in all directions in a screaming, panicked chaos as their minds caught up with the mortal danger they were in.

  Darcourt’s son Stevens tried to make a run for it too, but was no match for a fully aware dragon, especially when he’d been all but under her feet whilst working on Zacharias. The dragon’s head darted down once more and massive jaws clamped around the wizard, cutting his scream short. The dragon flicked her head up, repositioning her prey in her jaws and then Stevens simply disappeared down her throat.

  Megan remained where she was, watching the dragon closely. The dragon had done as she’d promised, chilling as watching that terrifyingly efficient predator in action had been. Now what would she do? Would she forget herself and go on a rampage? Megan wouldn’t blame her if she did, but Zach was all but under her feet still. She glanced around behind her at the body of the hall and what the guardsmen in particular might be doing. She hoped no-one was going to be brave or stupid enough, to mount an attack on the dragon.

  ‘Schubert! Brendon! Everyone needs to stay out of her way. She’s promised not to attack, but we shouldn’t provoke her,’ Megan called mentally, aware of people running in all directions, mindlessly seeking a way out. She concentrated on the doors at the far end of the hall, which had been closed once more. She watched in satisfaction as they responded to her magic, unlocking themselves and creaking open to their fullest extent. Now she had made good on part of her promise to the dragon, that she was free to go. It was the best she could do for the moment as a show of good faith. The dragon eyed the moving doors and the sun lighting the exit but didn’t move. Damn, she was going to wait for her mate. Whilst it was better that she could speak to him as he woke to reassure and control him, equally it meant continuing to have an exceedingly dangerous and unpredictable predator with them in the hall. At least the panicked people in the hall were now able to leave, although a mindless stampede was more like it. She couldn’t blame them for their fear and actually the fewer people in close proximity to a dragon, the better.

  ‘Thank you,’ Megan said simply, her gaze meeting the dragon’s as she fell to her knees beside Zach.

  ‘How are you, my love?’ she asked scanning his slumped body and carefully removing the wickedly long and thick needle from his arm. She sent a small spell to seal the unnecessarily vicious wound before he could lose any more of his precious blood. He’d lost enough to make him weak but it wasn’t serious; they’d stopped the attack before that could happen.

  ‘Better now I’ve got you back,’ he responded and wrapped his arms about her, holding her tight. ‘Don’t ever scare me like that again.’

  ‘I’ll try not to,’ she told him and stroked back his hair tenderly. The floor creaked ominously; the dragon was moving over to her mate, her clawed feet only just avoiding stepping on them.

  ‘Let’s get out of here,’ Zacharias said, one eye on the scary dragon that was far too close for comfort. They were well within the dragon’s striking range and that was now occupying his mind to the exclusion of anything else. There were also the gruesome scattered remains of Darcourt close by amid a spreading pool of blood.

  ‘Sorry, love; I have work to do first,’ Megan told him gently. They helped each other climb to their feet and noticed the last of the people disappearing out the open doors at the other end of the hall. Prudently backing away from the dragon and indeed from the gory dais, they finally felt they could breathe and take stock of the situation.

  ‘Magic work?’ he asked and she nodded. ‘Ok, but you need food before you do anymore. That took a hell of a lot out of you. I can see the weight dropping off you already.’ He glanced round and led her to the nearest seating. The long wooden pews, set in rows facing the dais, were clearly not designed for anyone’s comfort, but would suffice for the moment. He ruefully knew that the blood loss he had just suffered meant he needed to sit for a bit to recover too. He kept a wary eye on the emerald green dragon and took in the even larger dragon, still clad in stone that she had gone to. ‘Is that dragon alive too?’

  ‘Yes; well, I believe so. It’s difficult to tell when they’re so deep in the stasis spell. All the statues y
ou see here are in the same state,’ she said gesturing all around them. ‘No wonder the lands locally are so empty and also why any rebellion by the native creatures ceased. He just froze all his enemies, or the key ones, as an example. I’ve promised her I’ll try and free her mate, but that’s going to take some doing,’ she admitted.

  ‘I can believe it. That is one very big dragon,’ he acknowledged. ‘There are a heck of a lot of statues in here, and from so many different races,’ he added, glancing down the length of the hall to get an idea of the scale of the work that would need to be undertaken.

  ‘I know; and these aren’t even all of them. It’s awful,’ Megan responded following his gaze. ‘Everyone expects me to free them right away,’ she murmured unhappily. ‘How can I when I’m wiped out freeing only one?’

  ‘You freed a dragon, love. That was hardly a small task. Give yourself credit. It was an amazing feat, especially on your own. Not only did you manage to figure out and unravel one of Darcourt’s vile spells, but you did it on the biggest creature of them all.’

  ‘What if I can’t do it again? She lent me strength to aid her release. I didn’t actually do it alone. Now everyone’s watching me and waiting.’

  ‘Let them wait. The statues aren’t going anywhere. It won’t matter to them if it takes months to get round them all. Forget the scale of the job needing doing and concentrate on one thing at a time. You have your health and our child to consider first, remember. I’m putting my foot down sweetheart. You’ve already lost weight. You’re not doing anything else until you’ve eaten and are properly refreshed.’

  Megan felt warm at his protective concern and relished his hug. After so many years of being alone, it was wonderful to be cared for and to know she had a husband she could count on for his support. She felt him straighten, looking over her shoulder at something. ‘The Harpies have been helping me. Don’t worry, they aren’t a threat.’

  ‘That’s good to know. They could certainly be a threat if they wished,’ Zacharias pointed out warily watching them approach.

  ‘I will bring her food. I am Fabien,’ he said, walking up to the pair. ‘This is my brother Sabin,’ he added.

  ‘I’m pleased to meet you both,’ Zacharias said standing to greet the Harpies with due respect. He’d been aware of the white warrior watching them closely and also that he and a second male had actually been keeping a wary and defensive stance between them and the remaining people in the hall. No one had therefore approached or intruded on them while they recovered.

  ‘There’s plenty of food in my room,’ Lemoyne advised Fabien, joining the crowd approaching her now the Harpies allowed it. At Megan’s gesture of invitation he joined them on their pew.

  ‘Thank you,’ Zacharias said to both gratefully.

  ‘Megan, you’ve done it again,’ Schubert said, approaching her with a broad smile.

  ‘What do you mean?’ she asked.

  ‘Scared us and then saved the day. Good to see you still in one piece,’ he added and pulled her into a gentle hug.

  ‘Thank you so much for coming for me,’ she said with heartfelt simplicity. Meeting his gaze she felt his profound relief and knew he’d been deeply upset and worried for her safety. This immortal only allowed a small circle of true friends in after the tragedy of his murdered family. He had a big heart and truly cared. She was very glad they had not lost anyone today.

  ‘You must have known we would,’ Schubert said quietly. She smiled up at him and sent him thanks, gratitude and acknowledgement of his love for his friends through the hand on his arm. She also spread a comforting balm over his mind and frayed emotions. He sighed softly, accepting the reassurance that she had come to no harm. He was then able to step back calmly. She was the only one who had ever noticed and then been able to soothe his inner turmoil.

  ‘I see you’ve found every big bad beastie in the whole area and tamed it,’ Brendon added quietly and she turned to accept his hug. ‘Harpies and a dragon?’ he added with a small laugh while the Harpies had disappeared. He’d been worried when they flew down and began guarding Megan, even though she’d already said they were allies. They’d been exceedingly effective; their watchful and intimidating stares alone had been enough to warn everyone off. How she’d gathered their loyalty he had no idea, but he was impressed.

  ‘I know, I can’t help it,’ she said with a half smile.

  The two Harpies strode back into the hall down the small staircase Megan had descended earlier, their arms laden with a variety of food.

  ‘Put it on here,’ Brendon suggested, hefting a small ceremonial table from the side of the dais into a more convenient position. The Harpies placed the food on the table without comment and stood back. He noticed that whilst they walked like men, they had birdlike feet with long sharp claws. Their hands too were quite different and probably not as dexterous as human hands. He eyed Megan and knew Zach was right; she’d lost weight again, despite the large distorting shape of her stomach. Zacharias was looking pale and glancing at the stranger sharing their pew, he could see that he in particular was in a bad way and clearly very weak. He briskly turned his attention to the food before him, assembling sufficient hearty sandwiches for all of them to eat well. Food would aid all of them in recovering their strength.

  ‘Thank you Brendon. Oh, where are my manners?’ she exclaimed, noticing Brendon’s gaze turn to Lemoyne. ‘Lemoyne, I’d like you to meet my husband Zacharias. This is Schubert and Brendon. Lemoyne is Yolanda’s father,’ she added to them.

  ‘I thought the name was familiar,’ Schubert remarked, going over to take his hand. ‘I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you don’t look so well.’

  ‘I’ve been better,’ Lemoyne admitted ruefully.

  ‘Schubert, he desperately needs blood,’ Megan said simply and reached over to carefully push back Lemoyne’s sleeve to reveal the hideous needle contraption embedded in his arm. ‘I’d quite like to remove that,’ she added. ‘He was bled almost dry right in front of me,’ she told them with sad disgust.

  ‘You’ve already kept me alive when I didn’t expect to survive,’ Lemoyne said quietly.

  ‘Brendon, could you grab my pack,’ Schubert asked and watched him quickly run to where it had been confiscated part way down the hall before they could come closer to the dais. He grabbed up a sandwich and ate it while he waited, knowing he would need the boost of strength. ‘Darcourt has been doing this to you to extend his lifespan?’

  ‘Yes, but a few years ago it stopped working as effectively. He took more each time then, which kept me weak. I think that’s why he was so determined to get a new immortal donor. Someone young and strong,’ he added, glancing at Zacharias.

  ‘He should have paid more heed to the prophesy. He might have thought he had Megan under his thumb, but even we know better than to underestimate a wizard,’ Schubert responded. ‘His arrogance was his undoing.’

  She aided Schubert, gently slipping the needle she usually used, into his vein and linking the two men together. She handed each man a further sandwich for their free hand and then looked over at the stone dragon and his irritably pacing mate.

  ‘I need to get to work freeing the other dragon. She is being patient at the moment, but I’d rather not delay their departure.’

  ‘Your lack of fear scares the shit out of us,’ Schubert remarked conversationally. ‘If your child is anything like you, Zach’s going to have grey hair very quickly.’

  Megan merely smiled around her third sandwich. She was already feeling better for the food, but also for the presence and support of friendly faces. She could see part of the spell on the stone dragon from where she sat but not all. It was always less difficult to spell-cast when up close to the object in question. That may have been a contributing factor to the power she had needed to expend on freeing the female. However, standing in the shadow of and then turning her back on a very much alive dragon was unnerving to say the least. The thought of finding out he was beyond help and having to tell the
female that was scary. So, she extended her senses to the male and worked to unravel the first little portion of spell from where she sat. Then she scanned him again and felt the first vague stirrings of another mind beginning to awaken. Good, he lived. Now at least she knew that she could go up there and not be working in vain. The female dragon paced again, her gaze sharp and defensive of anyone getting too close.

  Glancing around her Megan was aware of fear, impatience, but also expectation. She needed to get a move on. Once the dragons were gone, it would be safer for everyone in the hall and they could all relax. She slowly rose to her feet off the hard wood of the pew and found Zacharias rising with her. He took her hand and she knew he was determined she wouldn’t face this challenge alone. They walked towards the dragons and the hall fell silent behind them. The green dragon turned her head and watched them approach; then as Megan looked past her to the male and continued to calmly advance, the female stepped aside to allow her access. She took a deep breath, glanced at Zach, grateful for his bolstering presence and then released his hand to begin work.

  Achieving the release of another large chunk of the spell she stepped back enough to look up at the dragon’s face. The face and body might still be stone but as she watched, the eyes suddenly transformed into glinting crystalline, changing colour to a deep garnet red.

  ‘It’s working,’ she exclaimed to Zach, but then a powerful magical presence blasted into her mind and she staggered. ‘Ow,’ she complained, rubbing at her head. Only Zach’s quick catch had stopped her falling, mentally kicked in the head as she’d effectively been. ‘Pack that in dragon,’ she snapped, mentally as well as verbally. ‘I’m trying to help you.’

  ‘Release me,’ the gravelly voice snarled.