To Light the Dragon's Fire

by Margaret Taylor

  “You had best land,” Arin called over his shoulder. “That storm will be here soon.”

  She nudged Dinsa with her heels and he dipped, spinning in a slow descent to the nearest open space.

  Arin landed next to her and Shada followed. A ball of light surrounded his Chimera form and within a heartbeat, he was back to his humanoid self. He gave a shake, sighed and pointed to a large barn like structure off to their right. “The Roc’s can bed down in there.”

  She exchanged a look with Ion and they headed for it. Her fellow Rider said nothing, just helped her get the saddle rig off Dinsa. She didn’t have much to say either and helped him with Shada before they both headed back out onto the plateau. The wind had picked up even more and her hair whipped over her face, momentarily blinding her. Shifting it out of the way again, she gave the area a quick once over.

  Terra was nowhere to be seen but Arin was leaning against a post not too far away, his arms crossed over that delectable chest. She sighed, on the verge of apologizing for their earlier argument when he did the most unexpected thing. He pushed off the pole, strode toward her and did it first.

  “I am sorry,” he said. “I did not mean to be rude. It is, just that,” He paused and she could see the indecision on his features as another bolt of lightning lit up the night.

  She put a hand on his arm. “It’s ok, Arin. I didn’t mean to snap at your Alpha, or you for that matter.” She twisted a look over her shoulder to the closed barn doors. “I’ve just never had a real friend before and well, the thought of giving him up.” She brought her eyes back around to lock with his, giving his arm a squeeze. “He means a lot to me.”

  His forearm slipped out from under her hand. “I see.”

  She wasn’t going to let him off that easy. “No, you don’t!” She shifted forward until they were almost touching but not quite. “Dinsa is the only being to ever love me unconditionally, without reservation, or judgment for the stupid things I do, or the stupid words I say, or the stupid things I sometimes think!”

  Arin’s hands wrapped around her arms in a vice-like grip. “He is not the only one you stupid wench!” His fingers relaxed almost as quickly as they’d tightened and his voice was soft, barely audible above the wind. “I do too. And it kills me that he can have your time and affection and I cannot!”

  Chapter Twenty

  Arin spun on a heel, stomped away and you could have bowled her over with a feather!

  Did he just say?

  No, he couldn’t have. He wouldn’t have!

  Why would he?

  Aside from one kiss that had given her one dragon-sized headache, they hadn’t, hell they didn’t even like each other!

  Did they?

  Well, she liked him for sure! But, love?

  No, no, not love.

  He’s an abomination, Neither-Born! You’ll never be safe! Run, Lanni. Run now!

  The anxious directive was all consuming. Her feet turned of their own accord. Her fingers curled around the handle of the barn doors again…

  “Arin!”

  She’d no sooner shouted his name and he was behind her, hands digging into her shoulders. His body heat pressed into her back and his lips brushed the top of her head. The wind calmed momentarily, a lull in the coming storm and she could just hear his whispered words. “Forget what I said, ignore it. I did not mean it.”

  On the one level her heart folded over on itself in pure agony. On another, she knew them to be an outright lie. He had meant every syllable, she’d seen it in the fierce glow of his eyes.

  So, who was he trying to convince?

  Whatever is controlling you, idiot!

  Oh.

  The urge dissipated nearly as quickly as it had set upon her and she relaxed, sagging back into his chest.

  He kissed the back of her head again, his sigh ruffling her hair. “I am sorry, Lyra,” he whispered. “I will be more careful what I say in the future.” She tried to turn and see his face, but his hands tightened enough to keep her facing the doors. “No, do not.”

  “What just happened?”

  He explained in a calm enough sounding tone but she could just hear the hint of a tremor in the words. “The spell Golix cast compels you to run whenever you try and form an attachment to someone.” His fingers squeezed gently. “Until it is broken, I cannot, we cannot be together.”

  She gulped back the heady dose of fear clogging her throat. “That’s what you meant, the other day.”

  “It was.”

  He said nothing else. Slowly, control of her body returned and she quit shaking. “I’m good. Thank you.”

  His chin rubbed against her hair. “You are welcome. When you are ready, my home is the third on the left.”

  She drew in a steadying breath. “Alright, give me a minute.”

  “Do not stay long.”

  She reached up and patted his hand. “I won’t. I promise.”

  The heat at her back moved away and his boot falls were absorbed by the first drops of water plinking against the dusty ground. A good rain shower had always soothed her in the past, but on this night, it burned. Not literally but figuratively as the downpour increased and blended with the tears coursing down her face…

  ***

  Arin paced in front of the fire, one eye on the door, the other on Terra and Ion. They were seated at the table between the kitchen and the living room, talking across it in low voices. He could have eavesdropped but his worry for Lanni was more pressing.

  Why the Rider had stayed with them, he wasn’t quite sure and made a note to ask. Probably had something to do with Shada, but either way, it was a mystery for later.

  The door finally cracked and a very drenched Lanni slipped through. She shut it behind her, eyes on the floor. “Is there someplace I can change?” she asked in a small voice.

  He pointed to one of the four doors across the room. “Second from the right is yours.”

  She nodded, still refusing to look at him and it tore at his hearts.

  He was the one that had given her that look of defeat.

  And for the first time in too many Suns to count, he wanted to…to…make it better.

  He wanted to sweep her up in his arms and squeeze away all her worries.

  He wanted to stretch her across his furs and love her until her silver eyes glowed with passion.

  He wanted to touch her body, hold it close and protect it with all the strength he had to give.

  He needed to see her eyes full of life and love and laughter as they had been back in Roasu, not closed off and sad as they were now…

  A rap on the front door interrupted his melancholy wishes and he sighed. It was probably his mother, or one of his brothers coming to welcome him home. What he was not expecting was an aged, nearly bent in half, Harpy Crone standing on his front porch.

  Her black eyes lifted to his and she waved a gnarled staff in his face. “Well? Are you going to step aside youngling, or do I need to smack you out of my way?”

  ***

  Terra looked up as Arin moved back from the door.

  A hooded figure shuffled into the room. A rain drenched cloak covered it from head to toe, dragging along the floor and leaving a trail of water in its wake. A feather covered hand peeked out of one of the sleeves, lifting to sweep the cowl back. It dropped to the neck line, unbuttoned the clasp and Arin took the garment, hanging it on the stand by the door.

  A beak of pure white swung their way and the two nostrils opened wide on a long intake of air. “There be a Dragon here.” The nostrils flared wider and the beak opened in a crooked grin. “No, a moment, two of them!” She had beautifully pristine white feathers and wore a robe of light brown. The material fluttered around her taloned feet and she turned to Arin, promptly smacking him in the stomach with the gnarled staff in her hand. “You did not say there were two, youngling.”

  Color crept up Arin’s neck but he tilted his head in respect. “I did not know, Crone Mother. Please, enlighten us.”

 
; The Harpy harrumphed, glared at him then turned. Her black eyes pinned Terra to the spot and she could no more look away than draw her next breath. “Yes, I think I shall do just that.” She shuffled to the table, took her hand and pulled her up with surprising strength. “Come child, we shall talk.”

  ***

  Lanni exited the bedroom just in time to see Terra being dragged out the front door behind a cloud of white and brown. “Who? What?”

  Arin just crossed his arms and jerked his chin toward the departing pair. “You should go too.”

  Intrigued, she did. Stepping onto the wooden slats of his porch, she found her twin and a Harpy staring out at the rain. The hunched figure leaned a long wooden staff against one of the pillars and beckoned her closer with age twisted fingers. “Come child.”

  She took the arthritic digits gently, unable to understand why she was following the command. But there was something in the old, crackling voice that sucked at her soul. Deep down, she knew this was a person with answers to the hundred or so questions tumbling through her thoughts.

  “Do you know who you are?”

  She caught Terra’s eye over the hunched shoulders and shrugged, unsure how to respond.

  Terra didn’t seem so tongue-tied. “I am Terra Heegan. Who are you?”

  A crackling laugh blended with a shot of lightening. “Nay, nay, nay. Do you know who you are?” she asked again.

  She again exchanged a look with her own face. “We are human?” she tried.

  Another crackling laugh bubbled off into the dark. “Oh my children, you have so very much to learn.” The feather covered head turned and she was mesmerized by the pitch black eyes, falling helplessly into the soulless pits. “Walk the shadows of memory,” she whispered. “See all that you are.”

  She tried to look away, resist the pull of the darkness, but like whatever controlled her currently, she was powerless against the magics in those few, simple words.

  ***

  Terra watched the exchange and tugged at her hand. She wanted to reach across the Harpy, break whatever spell she was casting, but she couldn’t move. “Lanni?”

  Her sister didn’t blink. Her face slackened and her eyes rolled back in her head.

  “Ari—“

  The Chimera’s name stuck in her throat as the soulless eyes swung her way next. “Join her my child,” she whispered. “Learn your true past.”

  ***

  Your tale began an age ago…

  The soft voice drifted across the darkness and Lanni’s thoughts crystallized, breaking her through the fog of the spell.

  She was standing at the mouth of the cave again. The purple grass waved in a gentle breeze. She was alone, but only for a moment before Terra’s hand slipped into hers.

  “Sis?” Terra asked.

  She clasped the fingers tight, curling around the lifeline they represented. “I’m here. You ok?”

  “Yeah, I’m good. Where are we?”

  She looked around, seeing the long field they’d flown over on Eon’s back when they arrived. It was different though, the grass wasn’t as tall and it didn’t seem as unkempt or neglected as it had just a few days ago. Massive trees lined the far end, ringing the area in a protected nook. The same gentle breeze that had rustled the grass, shook through the leaves and she felt the power it held as it swept up the hillside. “I think we’re back where it all started.”

  Terra’s head swung this way and that. “What’s going on?”

  She chuckled. “No clue.” She looked for the Old Crone, but it was just the two of them. “Hello?”

  The ground shook violently and they barely managed to jump aside as Enon barreled out of the cave. Only it wasn’t the friendly Dragon they’d first met. He was different, younger and his long body was covered in gleaming armor. It had been molded around his head, shoulders, back, legs and each wing was protected by the welded pieces. His head drew up as he pounded into the open and he let out a bellow of rage. “You shall not enter here!”

  They both swung around and spied an Army marching up the slope. Two Unicorns stood at the front of a massive pack of normal looking Satyr’s. One was older and larger than the other, its red eyes glowing with power as they calmly led the group up the hill. Weapons of every type glistened in the hands of the Satyr’s. The Unicorns stopped, their troops forming a semi-circle at their backs.

  Terra’s fingers tightened against hers hard enough to crack the knuckles, her eyes pinned to the smaller of the two. “Golix.”

  “You know him?”

  She gulped and nodded slowly. “He’s the one that gutted me.”

  The larger one stepped forward, her black mane and tail swinging in the breeze. Her voice was soft yet full of underlying power. “We wish you no harm,” she said. “But we must pass.”

  A long stream of fire erupted from Enon’s mouth, scorching the ground just in front of their gleaming hooves. “You shall not enter!”

  Neither of them moved. “We will,” she said again. “My son must know the future!”

  Flapping wings drew their attention and they looked up to see a Harpy spiraling to the ground. She landed with an armor rattling thud, the metal covering her from head to toe gleaming in the sun shining high over their heads. She held a staff in one hand and a wide shield that matched the Rustac metal as Enon’s armor in the other. Her feathers were white, as pristine as the ones on the old Crone and caught the sun as well, casting her in a halo of light.

  But it wasn’t the feathers making her glow, not all of her at least. A wave of pure power undulated at the air, tickling along their skin as they watched the memory unfold. She lifted her head and the same pitch black eyes that had brought them to the past, gazing down upon the Unicorns and their minions. She thumped the staff against the ground. “This is a sacred place,” she said, her tone strong and commanding, not frail and crackling as it had been just moments ago. “You will not enter!”

  Lanni recognized the younger version of the Crone. “Is that?”

  “It is,” Terra hissed. Her other hand came up and wrapped around Lanni’s forearm, her grip digging deep. “How long ago do you think this was?”

  Lanni had no idea, but shushed her sister, wanting more than ever to let whatever this was play out. Her heart rate tripled. She was on the verge of knowing so much, she could feel it in the air and wanted it. Desperately wanted it…

  The older Unicorn’s head lifted regally and she looked down her nose despite the fact the Dragon and Harpy had the higher ground. “We must. You cannot stop his Destiny.”

  The Harpy spun into a crouch, bringing the staff up at the same time. “Then you shall die here.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Without waiting for the Unicorns to react, Harpy and Dragon went on the offensive, operating and directing the battle like a well-oiled machine…

  A huge ball of light composed itself around the staff tip and discharged down the hill within a heartbeat of her statement. It sang against the air, whistling like a mortal round before it slammed into the formation of Satyr’s, blasting apart thirty or so. Flying off in all directions, their screams of agony rang through the trees in the distance.

  Golix and his mother galloped off, half the minions following each.

  Enon’s head swung to the right, magma spewing from his maw toward Golix.

  The Crone’s eyes took in the flanking move and she spun on her knees, ending up under his long belly. She didn’t blink and fired another ball of energy toward the Unicorn’s mother.

  Both enemies danced as they ran, dodging the respective salvo’s with ease.

  The minions were not so lucky. A good portion of the troops following Golix caught fire and stopped. They fell to the ground, kicking and screaming as they burned under the molten assault. Their weapons melted, further intensifying their agony and the smell of burnt flesh reached Terra’s nostrils.

  Tears formed in her eyes from the stench and she swiped them away, clutching her twin’s fingers tighter.

>   The ground shook as the round from the Harpy’s staff landed amongst the troops on her side. More of the Satyr’s flew into the air, the slurping sound of flesh tearing apart and bones breaking overriding the clank of metal and pounding feet.

  Golix’s mother’s horn glowed brightly and a bolt of black lightning slithered across the air, landing inches from the Harpy’s protected spot under her Dragon companion. Golix did the same, assaulting the pair from two sides, however his bolt seemed weak compared to his mother’s and bounced harmless off Enon’s armored body.

  The Dragon laughed heartily and his green-blue eyes gleamed with power. “You will have to do better than that Unicorn!”

  His long wings arched out and he reared up on his hind legs. His head drew back and another car sized ball of lava erupted from his snout. He flapped his wings at the same time and the ball expanded to three times its original size with the influx oxygen as it surged over the troops.

  “Remind me never to piss off a dragon,” Lanni whispered as another group of Satyr’s fell to the ground, writhing within the flames.

  “No shit…”

  Sadly their initial effort barely evened the odds. Hundreds of the beasts continued to rush toward them, weapons clanking against shields, their battle cries ringing off the mountains surrounding the cave.

  The warriors weren’t done though and seconds before the Army would entrap and crush them under the sheer weight of their numbers, the Harpy grabbed a strap on the underside of Enon’s armor. “Now!”

  The Dragon’s wings flapped a second time, lifting them into the air just ahead of the opposing forces.

  The two halves of minions crashed into one another, unable to stop their pell-mell rush. Thudding metal echoed across the valley below, rumbling with the power of a thunderstorm and more screams from the dying bounced off the mountain as the front rows were trampled by their brethren.

  Mother and Son managed to gain control again, but the damage had been done. More than half the troops they’d arrived with lay strewn about the battlefield, dead or dying.