by B. H. Savage
Tao Long stared at the boy for a moment in silence, as did Anye. He hadn’t mentioned anything involving demons or an army of any kind during their time together.
“I have seen the demons myself, in The Shroud.”
“I suspected as much,” Tao long said. “You confirm what I have feared, but that only serves to strengthen my resolve. I cannot allow you or your companion to travel to the Sun’s Bed. You will return to your ship and leave our islands at dawn.”
“Do you think we fear you?” Anye asked as she quickly got to her feet.
“No, I do not,” Tao Long answered. “But you are surrounded by my students, all of which have been extensively trained. If you provoke an act of violence, you will not live to regret it.”
The threat was clear, and it was obvious that nothing Amadi or Anye said was going to change Tao Long’s mind. For the first time since Anye had met the boy though, she saw fear in his eyes.
Anye calmed her body and nodded her head towards her host. “Very well, we shall leave,” she said. Amadi turned his head quickly towards her, but remained silent with his fearful gaze. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
Tao Long nodded his head in response. “It pleases me to see you understand. I wish your predecessors were as wise.”
The words sent a chill down Anye’s spine, with the realization of what had happened to Lord Taggart’s previous parties now becoming clear. She turned towards the door leading out of the island leader’s room with Amadi close behind her, but both of them remained silent as they exited the building. Whatever it is they wanted to say, they both knew they needed to wait until they were outside.
The sun had completely set by the time the pair exited the massive structure. Stars filled the skies above as the soft glows of paper lamps hanging from some of the buildings illuminated the city streets. Most of the townspeople that had been going about their daily activities had retreated to the warmth and comfort of their homes, leaving Anye and Amadi almost alone in the city streets.
When they got a good distance away from the tower, Anye finally spoke. “Care to tell me what that was all about in there?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Amadi replied, but he avoided looking at her as he still seemed visibly shaken by what Tao Long had been talking about.
Anye grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him into a wall. “I’m not stupid, Amadi, so cease the charade. Why are we here? It’s not for some stupid old piece of gold or flower pot, now out with it!”
Amadi stared at her silently, with his face still taught but more relaxed than before. “Release me and I’ll tell you.”
Anye hesitated. She knew what the boy could do, and she didn’t doubt that he’d do it if their situation came to that. She let him down, but kept close to him and continued to stare angrily. “Speak.”
“We should keep moving,” he said. “Please.”
“Fine.” The two continued their walk but increased the pace, hurriedly moving closer to the docks where their ship waited. “Now out with it. I don’t very much like being lied to,” Anye said.
“Your assessment is only half-correct,” Amadi started. “My uncle does want us to find the artifact mentioned in the diary for his collection, but I believe it is something much more important.”
“Like what?”
“I believe it is item that once belonged to one of the ancient heroes,” Amadi explained. “A relic of some kind that contains great power…power strong enough to stop what’s coming.”
“What do you mean ‘what’s coming?’ Are you talking about that presence you felt?”
“Let me explain. When I was a boy…” Amadi started to say, but he paused. “When I was a boy, I ran away from my village and into The Shroud. Old stories passed down by our elders said that the spirits of the dead dwelled there, and that it was a sacred place we should never go to. I lost my mother when I was very young, and in my ignorance I believed that I would see her there. I couldn’t have been more wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Anye asked.
“There were things there, Anye,” he said with fear in his voice. “Horrible things…ancient creatures, born of evil, and hatred, and greed… When I laid eyes on them, I ran in terror, fearing for my life, until I…I eventually made it back to the village and told the elders what it was I had seen.” Amadi turned his head and looked at Anye with the same fearful look that was in his eyes before. “Those creatures will cover our world in darkness, Anye, and nobody from my village believed me until it was too late. The artifact we’re searching for will help us stop them and any others that may appear. If we don’t find it, everyone we know and care about will be killed or enslaved by them, and our world will fall into chaos and despair.”
Anye felt herself go a little cold after hearing the boy’s story, but as chilling as it was she still wasn’t sure if she believed in such things. “How do you know that this wasn’t something your imagination came up with?” she asked.
Amadi sighed, apparently upset that he had to explain further. “Because…because I did not leave my village to be more like my uncle. I fled the village when the creatures left the shroud and attacked. I saw them butchering my people, and ran away. Uncle Micah and my clothes are all I have left of my home.”
Anye suddenly felt a tingle of nausea in her stomach, and she felt guilty losing her tempter with him before, no matter how much she hated being lied to or having information withheld. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“Now you understand,” he told her. “We must-”
Their conversation and path were interrupted by the sound deep shrieks in the sky. Anye recognized the sounds immediately as that of dragon roars, but one of them sounded much deeper in pitch than the others. She hadn’t heard such a thing since she left Delrich, and while it brought back pleasant memories it also struck fear in her heart.
“Those were dragons…” Amadi commented. “The sounds came from the west, towards the desert.”
“Glenn?” Anye asked herself, but before she could focus her thoughts, the memories of the treason in Mitus flooded back into her mind. “Amador!” Anye shouted in a rage. “We need to get there, now!” Anye turned and ran towards the boat, forgetting what Amadi had told her for the time being. If Amador was present and flying to the Sun’s Bed, she needed to get there.
“Amador?” Amadi yelled as he tried to keep up with the woman.
“The bastard who stole my life from me!” she yelled.
The pair reached the docks where Evans sat on a barrel at the gangway, keeping watch for the time being.
“Evening,” he greeted the pair as they came to a rushed stop. “Did you hear that dreadful noise just now? Terrifying…”
“Where is the captain?” Anye asked through rushed breathing.
“In his quarters, I imagine,” Evans answered. “Is something the matter, Miss?”
Anye pushed passed the boy and ran up the walkway without another word, hurriedly moving across the deck to Bikke’s chambers, and banged on the door repeatedly to get the old man’s attention. When he opened the door, the woman didn’t even give him time to ask what it was she needed. “We need to leave, now!”
“What?” Bikke asked. “Woman, are you mad?”
“We’re heading west, to the Sun’s Bed. We need to get there now!” she yelled again.
Bikke was an old man who had lived his entire life on the sea. Taking orders from a woman he had been paid to ferry to the islands and back east wasn’t part of the deal, and he didn’t like the conversation. “Miss Karst, it’s close to midnight. My crew is sleeping, we won’t be fully stocked until the morning, and I’m the captain of this ship!”
“I’ll pay you double what Lord Taggart did on top of what you’re already getting if you take us there now!” Anye blurted out. She didn’t have the money to hold that promise, but she hoped he would believe her.
It looked like he took the bait. Bikke’s tone shifted from agitated to excite with the next se
ntence. “Now that’s how you do business!” he yelled. He waddled past her and started ringing the bell hanging near his door as he started shouting over the ship. “Hey all you dogs, get your lazy behinds out of bed! We’re shoving off of this rock!” The old captain continued to bark orders as he rang the loud bell just over Anye’s shoulder, echoing over the water and likely through the island’s streets.
Anye’s heart was pumping as she stood next to the old captain and Amadi, who had been standing silently behind her as she yelled at the old man. If they were caught heading towards the westerners’ forbidden island, she was sure they would use their own ships to blast them out of the water. Hopefully the sound of the dragons caused a bit of a panic and they wouldn’t notice the ship leaving.
When The Empress was finally clear of the docks Amadi decided to help a bit by conjuring some wind as he did to help speed their journey like before. The gesture was more than appreciated by the crew as there was no natural wind blowing, which meant they were about to start using the paddles and drums. With some luck, and Amadi’s help with the wind, they would arrive at the forbidden desert in a few hours.
______
The assumption that the sound of the dragons had caused a bit of a stir on the island proved to be correct. Whatever naval defenses Tao Long usually had in place between his island and the Sun’s Bed were nowhere to be found, and The Empress dropped anchor just off the shore so Anye and Amadi could take a small boat to reach the landmass.
The sun was still down but early morning glimpses of its light started to peek out from the east. Anye and Amadi caught what little sleep they could before leaving the ship, knowing that they would likely need it, though rest did not come easy for the woman. The assumption that Amador was close, and that he could have been pursuing Glenn, caused her to worry greatly, making troublesome dreams appear while she slept. The nightmares Anye had suffered from involving the fire had finally stopped at least. She suspected it had to do with her subconscious remembering the Sky Fire, and learning about it from Lord Taggart had put it to rest.
First viewing of the island alone was enough for anyone to call it a forbidden place in Anye’s opinion. The barren landscape appeared completely devoid of life, covered in sand without a building, tent, tree, or person in sight. The only bit of landmark she could see was an outcropping of rocks in the distance, similar to a mountain if it wasn’t one itself.
“There,” Anye said as she pointed towards the rocks. “If there’s anything here, I would expect it to be in those rocks,” she explained. “If those dragons we heard last night were anywhere else we would be able to see them. This entire place is flat enough…”
“We should move quickly. When the sun rises it will become very hot,” Amadi said. “Do you have your water?”
Anye patted a leather pouch of water tied to her waist affectionately. “Yes, and I’ve got some water and food too. What about you?”
Amadi nodded. “Let’s get moving.”
______
The rocks Anye spotted while the sun was still down had turned out to be much further away than either of the two walkers had anticipated, and they looked to actually be a mountain. The sun’s heat beat down on them relentlessly as they walked through the sand. Beads of sweat formed on their brows and dripped through their clothes. Anye’s hair had become matted and unruly from the heat as well.
“Anye…how far…do you think…those mountains are?” Amadi asked. The boy was exhausted from the heat, and his robes weren’t well designed for desert travel, which caused him to feel like he had been taking a bath while they walked. Fortunately he still had some water left, but the fact that it felt like it had been taken right out of a hot spring didn’t make it very refreshing.
“Not sure…” Anye replied. “I thought I saw…something glint…in the sand before…but I think…it was nothing…”
The pair continued to drag their feet through the sand when their legs became too weak to lift up any more. Anye’s mind raced from thought to thought, wondering why the rocky outcropping still looked so far away, how far they really were from the boat they left at the shore, and mostly why they hadn’t heard any dragon cries since the previous evening. If the entire group had indeed flown to the landmark then that would explain why she hadn’t seen any, but she thought for sure she would have at least heard one of them at some point.
Both of their water pouches ran dry by the time the sun began to fall. Their mouths were dry and felt like cotton, and Amadi had already tripped over himself a few times. Anye felt like a fool for rushing into the desert so unprepared based entirely on a gut feeling, remembering Amadi’s advice to her before they left Mark’s Landing. She had been smart enough to avoid capture entering Belrun, had won a tournament nobody thought she could even place in, and had been learning to control magic in ways she’d never seen or imagined. Why she had let herself get in to such a stupid situation, especially after Amadi advised her against such rash thinking, she wondered and regretted.
Anye heard a thump behind her and stopped. Slowly, she turned to see Amadi lying on the ground with his eyes closing. “Amadi…? Amadi, you need…to get…up…” Anye tried to say to him, but she was so exhausted the words barely came out above a whisper.
When she tried to walk to him she felt her feet get caught in the sand and went tumbling down too, dirtying her face even more. Anye felt too weak to get back up, and the darkness of her eyes closing felt more comfortable than trying to stay awake. She knew what was happening, but she also knew that she just didn’t have the strength to fight it. It was like having two voices in your head screaming at you, one saying to get up and the other saying to give-in. Quite unlike herself, the choice to give-in sounded like a much better option and she started to close her eyes. With the last of her strength before succumbing to exhaustion she whispered a single word.
“Glenn…”
Chapter 5
Inheritance
The roar of the dragons boomed, echoing all around with such ferocity that they shook everything on the ground. Anye's eyes quickly opened in shock from the sound, but unlike the sandy bed she remembered passing out in, she found herself in a hammock set up in a dark tent. Amadi was nowhere to be seen. The tent was strangely decorated, with plants and burning incense hanging on ropes, filling the room with a particularly strong odor. If she was being held prisoner it didn't feel like it, but the mystery of her location and companion placed her in an immediate state of panic.
She swung her feet from the hammock and placed them on the dusty floor. The feeling of cool sand between her toes opened her eyes to the fact that she had been completely undressed and garbed in a light robe that felt like silk. She had no idea where her weapons were, and being unarmed heightened her fear. The panic started to subside as she realized that she should at least be grateful she was alive. If someone had taken her prisoner, she doubted she would be anywhere but chained in a cellar.
Anye walked through the opening of the tent to the sight of a village nestled at the foot of the rocks, which she assumed to be the mountains she saw before. People all around her stopped as they saw the woman emerge from the tent to stare.
Being a knight, or at the very least a warrior, caused her to notice that every single person she could see was armed with an oddly fashioned curved blade. None of them had any armor on, but rather light cloths and wraps around their heads, along with sacks of what she presumed was water tied to their waists. Who they were, she had no idea; people weren't supposed to be living in the Sun's Bed.
"Ah, the desert princess wakes!" a light womanly voice yelled through the crowds. "We had feared the sands had taken you. It is fortunate you have returned!"
Anye looked to see a woman, similarly dressed but different enough to be identified as a leader of some kind, walk through the crowd in Anye's direction with Amadi beside her still holding his staff. The woman looked older than Anye, possibly at least ten years her senior, and had long black hair. Her skin had been tinted the
color of the sand, and she had large medallion hanging from her neck.
"Who are you?" Anye asked. "Where am I? What's going on, Amadi?"
"Anye, we owe our lives to these people," Amadi answered.
"We are the watchers of the desert," the woman answered.
"You found us? How?" Anye was confused, unarmed, and while she tried to keep her composure she was afraid. "Where are my weapons? Why have I been undressed?"
"When our scouts saw you and your friend collapse in the wastes, they brought you here," the woman explained. "Your clothing was not helping your condition, so I had my maidens change you. Your weapons and attire are safely stored in my quarters." The woman paused and extended a hand towards Anye. "Please, come with me and I will return them to you."
Anye didn't feel like she had much choice, but at least it didn't seem like a bad one. She agreed and stepped forward to walk with Amadi and the strange woman.
When the trio started their pace, the rest of the people in the tent city began to go about their usual business, making the area sound more like a common market than a desert wasteland. The mountains Anye and Amadi had been trekking towards now loomed overhead, casting a long shadow across the sands. The length of the shadows indicated that either Anye had not been unconscious for long or she had been out for at least an entire day.
"There is not much time for introductions, I'm afraid," the woman began to say. "Since the arrival of the invaders, the mountain has been under constant siege, and our defending of the sacred ground has forced the invaders to begin attacking with more force."
"Invaders?" Anye asked, but she quickly knew what she meant. "You mean the dragons?"
"It seems the man you mentioned is indeed here," Amadi explained. "He arrived with his men shortly before we did, claiming the temple in the name of Delrich."
"The mountain temple is a sacred place. We cannot allow it to be disturbed by any except the ones destined to entire its hallowed ground," the woman continued. "To allow that man passage is sacrilege, and we denied him access. He answered with the fiery breath of the beasts he rode here on, but we are people of the desert. We have been holding them back with the unexpected help of another. But this Amador is powerful, and we cannot hold him off for much longer."