Chapter 7: Hot Reunion
Present Sun…
Laughter. Innocent, playful laughter. Not something Sonja was used to being awoken by, but a nice change all the same. She threw off her blankets, yawned, then pushed out a deep stretch. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she realised she had slept well. Good, she needed it.
She listened to the voices while getting dressed. Her father and brother were easy to pick, but who was the woman? It sounded like Tequidi, but she heard no stuttering. Should she stutter while chuckling?
She raced down the stairs to see what all the laughter was about. Everyone went quiet.
“Good early sun,” Sonja said to everyone.
“Thank you,” Tequidi said appreciatively, “for l-letting me recover in your residence.” And there’s the stutter.
“It’s not my place!” Sonja stretched once more. “My father, Kaine Bluwahlt, is the man you should be thanking!”
Kaine smiled and handed Sonja a hot mug of coffee. That stuff really helped the pre-sun wake up ritual! Taking a sip, Sonja felt a gush of warm air blast from the front door. Tequidi offered a nervous, toothy grin. Sonja turned to the origin of the heat, only to see Raithia’s head resting by the door. The wyvern’s lips were slightly curled—a wyvern’s grin.
“Good early sun Raithia,” Sonja said. She sat at the table, shaking her head. “We’re having a wyvern over for breakfast?” She rubbed her eyes and released a laugh. “Here? In Holtur?”
“Everyone’s comfortable with the girl,” Volk called out from out beside the wyvern. The frizzy, ginger-headed slayer stuck his head through the door, offering a wave.
“This is your doing Red?” Sonja was still sluggish. She must have slept well over the last moons. Every deep gulp of coffee helped her awaken a little more.
“I heard that Tequidi had regained consciousness,” Volk responded. “Figured her and Raithia would want to be reunited!”
“Th-thank you V-Volk,” Tequidi said, blushing. Volk was blushing as well. Uh oh.
“Tequidi, are you well enough to fly Raithia?” Sonja asked. “Two slayers never returned from a scouting mission last sun. I’d like to locate them, and feel a wyvern would achieve that goal much faster than horses.”
“Y-yes,” Tequidi nervously said, pushing on the frame of her glasses. “We will do this.”
“Who’s out there?” Volk asked.
“Joust and Meatloaf,” Sonja said. “There was a smoke signal coming from Rider’s”—she slapped herself—“from Knoch’s run.” Why did she say that? She desired Rigst’s return, but she knew full well it was Knoch who was out there.
“W-what direction w-was it from?” Tequidi swallowed. “The s-smoke signal?”
“West.” Sonja folded her arms.
Tequidi’s eyes grew wide, her glasses made them look even larger. “We should all flee Holtur,” she suggested. “If i-it’s Crispin, they are p-probably dead…” So much for awakening to cheerful laughter.
“Let’s hope not.” Sonja slapped some cold, leftover stew onto a slice of bread. Dinner turned to breakfast. “Don’t worry, we’ll push this Crispin back. No one threatens Holtur.”
A surge of energy flowed through the room. Tequidi was in a house full of proud Holtur folk; people who didn’t give in so easily.
“Y-yes Sonja,” Tequidi eventually responded.
“Thank you Tequidi,” Sonja said. “When you are done, report to the north gate. Let me know what you find.”
Tequidi nervously nodded.
“Red,” Sonja said, walking towards the wyvern outside. “First sun will arrive shortly. We should get a move on.” She took a large bite of her breakfast.
“Of course, Captain,” he said, following her.
***
Often creatures arose with the sun, many of those would drift towards Holtur with first light. Not this sun. It had been quite calm. Like many slayers, Sonja took advantage of this quiet time to hone her weapons—mainly her claymore. Between strokes of the whetstone, she glanced over the land ahead. Nothing unusual between Holtur and the mountains. Nothing appeared out of place. In the sky to the west she could see a lone flame wyvern heading towards the western ranges.
Hopefully Tequidi and Raithia would find Arnis and Theodoric—Knoch too if he was out that way—and they’d all return to Holtur by first moon. Sonja’s gut twisted, things weren’t going to be so simple. If only something could try and attack soon. Nothing like a bit of slaying to calm the mind.
After a while, her claymore’s edge was sharp enough to split a hair. Sonja looked out again; nothing heading for Holtur, and Raithia was barely a speck in the distance. Sonja sheathed her blade, then returned to the command bartisan. She sat in Commander Maver’s chair, then closed her eyes, letting her thoughts consume her. Are these people Tequidi fears as bad as she makes them out to be? Why wouldn’t Bernard talk more about them? What had they done to him?
“Get back here soon Meatloaf, Joust, Knoch… Rigst…” she said to herself. All this thinking was getting to her. “And hurry up and get your arse back up here, Maver.” Hopefully the commander never falls ill again!
She grabbed the looking glass, then returned out to the wall walk. Through the lens, she could see Raithia off in the distance. Flame began billowing from her back and her mouth. Small lines streaked through the sky, closing in on the wyvern. Raithia ascended, burning the lines that chased her. Arrows or bolts. They were under attack. From what? That army? A lot of projectiles were swarming around the two, more than her and her slayers could summon. Raithia would be lucky to survive!
The wyvern began gliding sideways. Of course, a smaller target. Once she had made it to this side of the ranges, she dove towards the ground. Shit, was she alright? As it skimmed along the mountain, Sonja began to fear it would crash into a tree or boulder. It didn’t. The wyvern flew low, then began gliding across the plains back to Holtur.
Sonja released a deep breath, one she had been holding in since noticing the projectiles racing after Raithia. Her head turned to the north as she inhaled a fresh new breath. More flying specks headed for Holtur. They were closer than Raithia, and would arrive first.
The looking glass revealed something Sonja did not want to see right now. Not with Raithia and Tequidi heading their way. She counted twelve. Twelve flame wyverns were heading to Holtur.
Most of them appeared young, juvies, and wouldn’t have stood much taller than Sonja herself. A single wyvern was considerably larger than the others—the alpha. It wasn’t the size that worried her. It was what would happen if Raithia saw them slaying wyverns. Would Raithia turn on Tequidi? What would Tequidi think?
Sonja walked along the wall walk then yelled the order, “Flame wyverns! Prepare, but do not engage!”
Slayers leapt to attention, readying their weapons for the oncoming creatures. Do not engage? What could Sonja do?
“More of them Captain?” Volk asked. He raced up to the wall walk, straight to Sonja’s side. His squinting eyes revealing a look of worry. Volk gazed out at the specks approaching from the north, then to the single speck to the west. “They’ll arrive before Raithia, won’t they?”
Sonja nodded.
“I don’t want to slay them,” Volk said.
Sonja sighed. “Neither do I.”
“Do you think we can communicate with them?” Volk asked.
Sonja shrugged. Could she? It was that or fend them off. She didn’t want to destroy the creatures, but she’d rather that than let them attack Holtur. If communication was possible, she had to try.
Volk offered a hopeful smile. “Perhaps we can tame them, like Raithia!” The Aesterus worshipper had never liked killing the creatures, but was probably a little ambitious.
“Maybe,” Sonja said. “I’m going to try communicate with the alpha.”
“You think you could do that?”
“I’ve done it before,” Sonja said. “At Aestridge, when I first met Raithia.”
Volk laughed. “You’re alw
ays full of surprises!”
“The wyverns in Aestridge happened to be domesticated. I’m not sure a wild one would be as open to interspecies communication.”
“We can try…” Volk released a deep sigh. “I’ll stand by you, Captain.”
Rak had been leaning against the bartisan, listening to the conversation. “I’ll come,” he said. He stubbed his cigarette, then released a puff of smoke in the direction of the creatures. “If your speech doesn’t work, I’ll place a bolt between the alpha’s eyes.”
“No,” Sonja argued. “Well, if it comes to it, yes, that would be good. But let them strike first. If we can hold them until Raithia returns, perhaps she can communicate with them.”
“Captain, I’d say you’ve grown soft towards the creatures,” Volk said. “You haven’t started worshipping Aesterus without my knowledge have you?”
“You can keep your gods,” Sonja said dismissively. “But yes, I have grown to appreciate the flame wyverns.”
“Hmph,” Rak spat.
“You two, grab steeds,” Sonja commanded, “I’ll go on foot.”
“Captain?” Volk asked.
“I’ll be communicating—well, attempting to—with the alpha,” Sonja said. “If I fail, I won’t be able to escape, with or without a steed.”
“Yes, Captain,” Volk said.
“Come on,” Rak grunted. He punched Volk’s shoulder, then started towards the stables.
“Alright Sonja,” the captain of the north gate said to herself. “You can do this!”
She glanced at the armoury. If this didn’t work, no projectile would help her. Her claymore could possibly help her, but she didn’t want any bloodshed—human or flame wyvern. This has got to work!
She eyed the approaching wyverns—from the north and west—one last time before setting the looking glass down. The ones from the north would be at the gates shortly. Raithia would too, but Sonja would have to try hold back the others—without force—for a good ten minutes first.
Sonja held her head high as she walked through the north gate. Confidence would favour her considerably more than cowardice during this exchange. Rak followed closely behind on her left, his crossbow readied as he sat atop his great black stallion. Behind her to the right, Volk sat atop his blonde mare. He had a bow relaxed in his right hand.
The ground rumbled with the deep, echoing roar that blasted ahead of the alpha. Higher pitched noises followed from the juvies. Sonja instinctively reached her hand over her shoulder, tightening her grasp around her claymores handle. No, not yet. She fought against her intuition, relaxing her hand back at her side.
The alpha sped up, leaving the juvies to fall through the burble of its wake. An inferno burst from its back, charring the sky above. A pillar of flame escaped its mouth, scorching the land below. Is this a show? Would the alpha be depleting its flame sacs if it intended to fight? Either way, Sonja felt intimidated.
She swallowed hard, looking back to the slayers behind her. Volk was smiling, in awe of the magnificent display. Rak’s eyes were narrowed, studying the approaching creature. Sonja was glad that those two had her back, even though it probably wouldn’t matter!
She inhaled deeply, then released her best attempt at a roar back at the wyvern. She could feel something pumping through her veins, adrenaline. It wasn’t fear, but it made her arms shake. She clenched her fists in the hope it would make her appear more in control.
The flame wyvern alpha swooped in towards her, landing on the road before them. Dust and gravel sprayed up from where the creature landed. Sonja grimaced, among the spray that hit her, a large stone struck her in the side of her face. That would leave a bruise. Her eye watered a bit, but she didn’t fidget or touch her face. She wouldn’t let the alpha assume it had unsettled her so easily.
The dust stank of mould and charred earth, an unusual combination. Through the haze she could see how magnificent this alpha was. This thing would have towered over even Raithia. The size reminded her of another wyvern, Raithia’s mate, Reizexus. As the dust settled, the wyvern slowly lowered its head. The snout was covered in scratches. Centimetres away, the slitted, black pupil expanded within its bright yellow eye. It tilted its head, revealing the other side of its face. Across its left eye, from top to bottom, was a scar. This was indeed Reizexus!
“Alpha to alpha!” Sonja chose to reuse same words she had spoken to the great wyvern during her time in Aestridge. “I don’t want any trouble, and it would bring neither of us any good if we fought here.”
Reizexus recoiled his neck. He might not have realised it was Sonja before, but now he did. Well, Sonja hoped he did.
“We will fight, if it’s what you really want,” Sonja spoke confidently. “We may take casualties, but know that you, and the young that follow you, will all die too.”
Reizexus stood tall, and inhaled a deep breath, puffing out his chest. Strapped to that chest was the beaten up remains of a piloting frame. Sonja braced herself, but dared not move her hands to her ears. The alpha roared. No matter how many times she heard a wyvern roar, she was never ready for the next one, and restraining her hands from covering her ears was near impossible to achieve when the damned thing was standing right in front of her. The pain of the roar was excruciating; it was like a pair of rock golems were pounding each side of her head while grabion stingers were scraping through her skull. The urge to release her claymore from its sheath and detach the wyverns neck was overwhelming. No, she would hold her tightly clenched fists by her sides.
“Are you done?” She asked once Reizexus had finished. At least she assumed she asked, the ability to hear her own voice had disappeared, in its place was a headache-inducing ring. “I don’t know all that happened to your group. I heard your pilot suffered, but Tequidi is safe. Her and Raithia came here seeking refuge.” She still couldn’t hear her words, but she felt movement in her throat.
The dust had fully settled now, and Reizexus’ head was flicking around, seeking if what Sonja had said was true. Reizexus took a few steps towards Holtur, moving around Sonja. The slayers behind readied their weapons.
“NO!” Sonja yelled at both wyvern and slayers. “Look!” Unaware how good the thing’s sight was, she pointed to the west. Raithia was now clearly visible.
Reizexus took to the sky, flying towards its mate. He roared, and the juvies fell in behind him. Once the echoing roars quelled, Raithia’s own roar vibrated through the air.
“Captain, the roars those two are sharing…” Volk’s eyes were wide. “They’re friendly ones, right?”
Sonja’s hearing had a ringing overlay, but watching the mouth move she could make out the words. “I sure do hope so...” Sonja could make out Raithia landing in the distance, and Tequidi clearing herself from the piloting sack. “We can't let them hurt Tequidi! Go!”
Rak and Volk’s horses shot towards the group of wyverns. Sonja turned back to the gates of Holtur, noticing a slayer, Rahlman ‘Stache’ Kinski, riding out towards her. He was pulling along an extra steed by the reins. Behind him more slayers followed suit, Bevan, the junior, was one of them.
“Turns out you did need a horse after all, Captain!” Rahlman said. He puckered his lips so his bright red moustache protruded even further out than normal. The superstitious man had a wyvern’s skull sitting atop his bald head. “Are we to engage?”
Sonja climbed atop the nut-brown horse he had brought to her. “Stay here Stache,” she said, then turned to the other slayers. “Be ready, but I still intend to see this end without conflict. Oh, and take that skull off your head. I don’t want the wyvern’s going kuhvi-shit crazy when they see you wearing one of their dead siblings!”
“Yes, Captain,” Rahlman said. He quickly removed the skull and hid it behind his back.
The other slayers that rode out behind Rahlman all nodded their confirmation. Bevan had the fight in his eye. The boy, despite his extreme lack of experience, was eager to jump into the fray. Idiot.
Sonja couldn’t wait around, she t
urned her horse, and urged it into a canter. Rak and Volk had already made their way to Tequidi. Sonja saw Tequidi awkwardly climb atop Volk’s mare, and they moved away from the flame wyverns.
Airborne, the wyverns swirled around one another. A cacophony of roars from the two larger ones, and screeches from the juvies, filled the sky. What were the damned wyverns doing?
Raithia and Reizexus suddenly changed their formation. No longer circling, they charged at each other. They collided, releasing a blinding blast of flame. The two large wyverns rolled to the ground, their slender tails tangled, their winged claws embraced. A raging inferno filled the gaps between their bodies while plumes carelessly fired from the holes along their spines.
The juvies had all landed now, and were casually scratching at the ground, sniffing the air, and going about their business. They had not a single care about what the two alphas were doing. Did it not concern them?
By the time Sonja had reached the two other slayers, a juvie began sniffing at the muzzle of volk’s steed. Both appeared cautious, but without aggression. She looked past them, at the two alphas. They had separated now, and one stood up, the taller one.
“Oh shit!” Sonja said, she reached over her back, preparing to ready her claymore. She froze, fist firmly wrapped around the hilt, only to see Raithia stand back up. The two large wyverns looked incredibly happy, at peace. “Did they just fuck?”
“I thought Reizexus was dead! But he’s here! Look!” Tequidi said excitedly. “They’re h-happy to be back t-together!”
“I thought that was Reizexus!” Sonja exclaimed. “Didn’t you say that he and Ace were taken by those men?”
“I thought they were. Reizexus must have escaped! I’m so happy!” Tequidi’s joyful demeanor suddenly drooped to one of despair. “They’re coming. They’re not f-far over those mountains.” Her trembling hand pointed west. “I c-couldn’t see your missing slayers, b-but I fear the worst for them. I’m sorry Sonja…”
The Holtur Curse (The Holtur Trilogy Book 2) Page 8