Surviving Prophesy: The Immortals

by Frances Howitt

  ‘That’s what I’m trying to do. You need to be patient.’

  ‘Release me; NOW.’

  ‘Your mate wasn’t anywhere near as snarly as you,’ she told him, whilst working on another section. ‘Your trap is complicated and takes time to unravel.’

  ‘What have you done with my mate?’

  ‘She’s free. She’s standing right beside you actually.’

  ‘You lie! She is not answering me. What have you done?’

  Megan stepped back once more sufficiently to see his face so far above her. She now noticed the eyes were blinking furiously, trying to take in everything around him. Those red eyes fixed on her now and she could feel his anger, panic and desperation.

  ‘Dragon,’ she said turning to the female. ‘Your mate is upset. You’d better move to where he can see you.’ The red eyes seemed surprised to hear her words, and then swivelled to follow where she was looking as best he could when his head was immobile. Megan stood back then as the female went up to her mate and looked into his eyes. The overpowering sense of stress emanating from the male calmed markedly, to Megan’s relief. She worked on another line of the spell, but saw nothing happen. She looked up at the dragons searching for some kind of reaction and then realised she felt a mental buzz. She knew dragons spoke mind to mind. Were they now able to communicate with each other? She hoped so and that the female was able to reassure him.

  ‘Are you calm now?’

  ‘What is taking so long? Release me.’

  ‘Patience. You are large and your trap is made up of many complicated layers. My strength is limited and you are not the only one in this hall in need of my aid. Every statue in here is a trapped being, like you.’

  ‘None are dragons. Why would those others be important to me?’

  ‘Because, when you leave, you will have to pass amongst them to get to the exit at the far end,’ she told him drawing his attention to the light at the end of the hall. ‘I would rather you did not smash any on your way out.’

  ‘Continue working little one,’ he ordered, his gaze fixed on the tiny but bold female and her wary mate standing over her. ‘I am eager to be gone from this place.’

  ‘Your mate has promised not to harm anyone within these walls. Do you agree to that as well?’ Megan asked.

  ‘Why should I? Dragons obey no-one.’

  ‘I am not being unreasonable. That is the price for your freedom. It is up to you whether you accept and are then free to go on your way. Or if you refuse, you can continue to stand there immobile, watching as I free others.’

  ‘My mate would not allow you to keep me in this state.’

  ‘She has made her choice, now it is your turn. What do you choose?’

  ‘What’s going on?’ Zacharias asked, aware Megan and the dragon were silently staring at each other and she now had her hands on her hips in annoyance.

  ‘A small matter of getting his promise not to eat anyone on his way out,’ she said shortly.

  ‘Ah. That’s hardly unfair. You’d have thought his freedom was more important to him,’ Zach remarked, watching the dragons closely. Then he turned his attention to her. ‘How are you doing, sweetheart?’ he asked softly, noticing her wince.

  ‘The baby’s kicking,’ she admitted and took his hand, placing it over her belly.

  ‘Hey, little one,’ Zach said softly leaning down and stroking her belly. ‘Give your mother a break, she has enough to cope with right now,’ he added. He glanced up at the dragons and noticed they were watching him.

  ‘I accept. I promise not to eat anyone as I leave this place,’ the dragon said, his tone markedly quieter.

  ‘Thank you,’ Megan responded simply and carried on unravelling. She smiled to see a flood of vivid colour sweep over the dragon’s body. He now had scarlet scales, gleaming with a soft sheen rather than the cold dull stone.

  ‘That is one very big and very red dragon,’ Zacharias murmured. He noticed the green dragon seemed excited now, her nose touching his restored flesh.

  ‘There, it’s done,’ she announced and stood back. She grinned as the dragon suddenly shook himself like a wet dog. She let Zach pull her farther away from the dragons, giving them space to move.

  ‘Brendon,’ she called and went to meet him. ‘Can you run and ask everyone to clear the outer courtyard and get under cover before the dragons come out? They’ll need space to take off and we don’t need panicked people running in front of their noses when they’re probably hungry.’

  ‘I’m on it,’ he assured and ran swiftly down the length of the hall to the doors. He glanced back at the dragons and noticed the red one was watching him closely. He had no idea how long he had to get everyone out of sight, or how willing they’d be to take his orders. Having said that, gossip would already have spread like wildfire; everyone would have heard of the method of Darcourt’s demise. Even if they hadn’t been an eye-witness, he doubted anyone would choose to risk staying outside with a dragon on its way. Megan had a point though. To avoid disaster, it was best to minimise proximity between people and hungry opportunistic predators.

  ‘Thank you for aiding us, little queen,’ the red dragon said and lowered his head to her eye level.

  ‘You’re both welcome,’ she responded simply. ‘I’m glad I was able to help.’

  ‘I am curious as to why you freed us?’ he asked. ‘Our kind is feared by humans and hunted, yet you released us. Why?’

  ‘I am a healer. It is in my nature to aid others and prevent suffering wherever I find it. Keeping you trapped was wrong. Some of these others are dangerous predators too, but they deserve to live out their lives as nature intended. The land has suffered without the balance of predators to thin the overabundance of prey animals. It is time to set things right.’

  ‘You are a rare human to have this understanding. How are you known?’

  ‘I am known as wizard Megan,’ she responded.

  ‘Fare well wizard Megan,’ he said and then the two dragons were striding off, one behind the other, down the aisle to the doors. Despite the fact that the aisle was narrow for the huge dragons, making them almost brush against statues on either side, they were careful to ensure that none fell, none smashed.

  Megan followed them outside and everyone else left in the hall came too. They stood in the hall doorway and watched as the dragons ventured out into the empty courtyard, looking about them curiously. Then their heads rose as they scented the breeze coming over the courtyard wall. The sun was already low in the sky and gilded the green dragon as she crouched and then sprang into the air with great beats of her powerful wings. The scarlet dragon followed her aloft, the sun tuning his gleaming scales into a sunset of red, orange and gold. Everyone simply stood watching them fly away, in awe. They might be deadly and rightly occupy the top predator spot, but they were also intelligent and beautiful to behold.

  It was almost with a sense of letdown that Megan returned inside. The next priority was Fabien’s mother. She halted beside the Harpy female and looked it over.

  ‘Meg, sweetheart, you need to rest before you tackle anything else,’ Zacharias told her gently.

  ‘I promised Fabien,’ she told him, noticing the two Harpies coming towards her.

  ‘Wizard Megan,’ Fabien greeted. ‘Freeing the dragons was amazing,’ he said honestly. ‘If I may ask a favour?’

  ‘Certainly.’

  ‘The waking of my mother and restoring her to health, has been a long awaited hope held by our family. Many will wish to come to witness this event. Will you allow our gathering?’

  ‘Of course. She is your family and how you honour her is up to you. I am sure she will be reassured to see familiar faces when she wakes.’

  ‘Thank you. Sabin will go now and spread the word, if that is acceptable?’

  ‘You wish to wait until everyone is here before I wake her?’

  ‘Yes. I believe that delay will suit you better too?’ he asked, glancing at her mate. ‘It will give you time to rest and our family
a chance to share in her awakening.’

  ‘Sounds good,’ Megan responded simply and Sabin flew off, picking up speed astonishingly quickly as he flew the length of the hall and then was gone from sight out the wide hall doors.

  ‘I have spoken with the cooks,’ Lemoyne remarked, looking far fitter and healthier than she had ever seen him, courtesy of Schubert. ‘Dinner will be served shortly. I expect we could all use a good dinner and also time to refresh ourselves beforehand. These maids can show you all to guest rooms,’ he added. He’d lived in the castle for enough years to know where everything was and who the people to speak to were; equally the staff knew him.

  ‘Lead on. I could do with a bath,’ Zacharias said decisively, glancing down at the blood all over one sleeve. That was on top of the dust and sweat he’d accumulated from travelling so fast.

  ‘That’s a good idea,’ Schubert agreed, considering his own appearance for the first time, now the threat of mortal danger on all sides seemed over. They followed the maids and split up to take rooms on the same corridor from one another. Only half an hour later, when they reassembled, all felt better for the brief respite and sat down in a lavishly appointed dining room for the evening meal.

  Over dinner they discussed what they should do next. Once the statues that had kin waiting, like Fabien’s mother, were revived, they could step back and decide on what was the next priority. Someone would have to venture into the bowels of the castle to see what horrors lay trapped in the dungeons. Were there innocent victims down there? Had they been tortured? It was possible that failed projects and unnatural creatures might also live down there. Whatever life they found would have to be assessed for threat and dealt with as humanely as possible.

  A list of the other statues in the hall and indeed scattered all over the castle, needed to be compiled. The wood elves should be moved to the nearest major forest and some of the other shy or timid species also ought to be returned to their native habitat. Transporting them as statues was probably least traumatic; then they could to be woken to surroundings that were familiar to them. All in all, there was a long job ahead of Megan. Fortunately she was not alone in the undertaking and there was no deadline to meet.

  Lemoyne took charge of the castle staff, while Schubert reviewed their security and restored order among the troops and few guardsmen who hadn’t fled.

  It felt odd to Megan that the staff regarded her as their new ruling Lady in Darcourt’s place and sought her approval for every major decision. She didn’t fight that appointment since it suited them to stay here. It would take time to delve and discover the extent of what needed to be put right from Darcourt’s warped rule. She had no intention of living here permanently though; she was a crofter’s daughter and the castle’s scale and complexity was alien to her. She had little doubt that someone would soon step forward to claim the castle and lands. Until then, she considered herself the land’s steward. That leadership role would be a busy one though. The people needed reassurance and stability, to be law abiding. They needed to be governed and policed in order to thrive.

  With Darcourt’s death, people soon began coming out of the woodwork, demanding to know what she would do about all manner of things including taxes. They also brought to light strange rules he had instigated as well as things she never would have thought of. If she had been asked to handle this leadership entirely alone, she knew she would have drowned under the torrent of complex decision making that seemed a daily necessity. However, she was in the very fortunate position of being able to listen to the guidance of three experienced immortals, two of whom were ancients. They knew what laws used to be upheld in this country and not only what would work once more, but what the people would expect from a fair ruler and most readily obey.

  She found it almost a relief to go to work on the statues. Each creature she revived was different and required close attention and considerate, compassionate handling. Until they realised they were no longer being attacked they could be defensive, prickly and unpredictable. It would take time for most to fully come to terms with what had happened to them and that they had, in most cases, lost years of their lives. Some had proved aggressive and required guards to keep the peace until they actually listened. Others had fled out the nearest door, never to be seen again. Until they opened their eyes it was anyone’s guess as to how they would react. She found it remarkably satisfying however to walk in the nearest woods and tell from the renewed health of the plants and trees that the elves were thriving once more. As the native creatures returned, the land began to respond.

  And, as she and Zacharias became the proud parents of an immortal little girl, she felt all was finally coming right with the world. The prophesy had been fulfilled and no longer hung over their heads.

  The End

  A personal note from Frances:

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  Other books by Frances Howitt :

  WIZARDS OF WHITE HAVEN series are paranormal adventures full of magic, shape-shifters and mythical creatures. It follows the stories of the wizards and shape-shifters that find refuge, friendship and new purpose at the White Haven School for magic.

  Book 1: AMELIE

  Book 2: CLAN GREEN BEAR

  Book 3: NATALYA