by M. M. Perry
The cave darkened. Then the light returned. Then it darkened again, the sun flickering overhead as if a great flock of birds were flying just over the cracks. A roar erupted from outside the cave.
“Mortals! It is time!”
The bellicose voice of the Ambassador shook Cass to her bones. They had no time to mourn their departed fellow. The group ran out of the cave and it disappeared around them as they did so, looking as if they were just in more of the Wet Desert. Overhead dozens of dragons flew to the northwest. Cass and company made haste to the Ambassador’s side.
“That’s not in the direction of the plains,” Viola said quietly, forgetting her anger and confusion in the caves. In the still of the desert it was easy to hear her voice.
Cass watched the dragons fly, their bodies disappearing over the horizon. There were a number of places in that direction, forests, lakes, smaller plains. But the dragons looked to be travelling further than that.
“They’re going to Faylendar,” Cass said with certainty.
Chapter 16
The ambassador beat his wings forcefully, flying faster than he ever had with the riders. It was all they could do to hold on. They were in a flight of six other dragons. Cass stared in awe at the others. The ice dragon was the largest, great crystals clung to its white scales and fell off as it flew. She shivered whenever it came closer. It was easily twice as large as the star dragon she rode upon. In contrast the fire dragon looked like a baby compared to the rest. Half the size of the star dragon, it weaved in and out between its fellows, a soft red glow like lava shining out between each of its ash grey scales. There were no water dragons, but there was one earth dragon, green and mossy, its scales reminiscent of tree bark in a thick wood. Such a dragon would be difficult to see, despite its bulk, in the forest. It was slightly smaller than the star dragon.
Cass turned forward, her knuckles white from holding on to the scales. She could see smoke rising in the distance. It was too much smoke for any normal kind of fire. The entire city of Faylendar was clearly ablaze. The ambassador began his descent and the flight followed, coming down in what used to be the bustling trade area just outside the city. Everything was charred waste. Cass could make out the outline of bodies among the ash.
“Shouldn’t we be going to the city, to help the people?” Cass asked as she slid off the dragon.
“We will do what we can to bring the fight away from the city. But you have another task, do you not?” the ambassador’s voice rumbled through the air.
Cass gripped the hilt of the sword at her side. It still felt unusually warm in her hand.
“Aren’t all the gods here, fighting? I would be more useful…”
“No,” the Ambassador said, his red eyes staring down at Cass. “They are not all here. We will herd these ones. We will send them to retreat. They will return to their place of power, the place they created to protect them from us. Whatever remains of them, they will return. We will make sure of that. You must go there. Remember, any who remain with power must choose their fate. If they do not, we will be unable to control the flow of power, to guide it into the world evenly. If they return to the city to try to finish us off, we will know you have failed. We will do what we must then. Now go.”
With that, the Ambassador took flight and the other dragons followed toward the heart of the city. Cass and her companions watched as they disappeared into the smoke over the city. A sinking feeling entered Cass. She had no clue how to get to the River, the seat of power for the gods, without something to fly her there. She could see every second they stalled, the city’s predicament grew ever worse.
“Cass!”
The voice was faint and distant, and sounded as if it were coming from someone running. They looked around trying to pinpoint the sound and saw Anya running in from the nearby tree line toward them.
“Cass, come! Come this way, quickly!”
When Anya was sure they had seen her, she turned and began running back toward the tree line. Cass hesitated a moment before following. It seemed wrong to her to run away from a city in peril. She and her companions followed Anya’s path through the thick grass into the woods. The deep shade of the trees made it difficult to see the sky. Cass peered around trying to figure out where Anya went.
“Over here!”
They followed the voice further in and after a short walk stopped abruptly at the sight of so many people moving through the forest.
“Cahss!” came a familiar voice.
“Driscol?” Cass exclaimed turning around.
The huge man picked her up in a bear hug.
Cass looked around as he plopped her down to see hundreds of people moving deeper into the woods. They we being guided by an unfamiliar group of ruddy looking men.
“What’s going on? How did all this happen?”
“We dig, Cahss. Great, great tunnels out of the city. Selina, she saw it. So we did it,” Driscol said in his heavy accent.
“The warriors did all this in the time since we left?” Cass asked in disbelief.
“They did,” another familiar voice came from over her left shoulder.
Cass looked up to see Callan on a great white steed, his attire entirely inappropriate for a clandestine escape, gold embroidery and bright red velvet lining every available surface. Cass tried not to chuckle when looking at him.
“I’m glad they did. Well, I wasn’t at first. Digging up our city, making a mess of things. But it turns out they were right. Almost half the city has escaped now. The warriors are still in there, trying to help more. It’s rough going, I hear. These strange fellows out here agreed to help get everyone through the woods safely. I don’t know who… or really what they are, but I suppose I should be grateful.”
Cass looked more closely at the men guiding the lines of citizenry through the wood.
“Satyr,” she said under her breath.
“It’s not a dirty word, you know.”
Cass turned to see Patch standing behind her, his mouth set against smiling.
“Hey, Patch,” she said softly. “Didn’t expect to see you again.”
“Yeah, you aren’t the only one. But our sisters insisted. So here I am.”
“The nymphs?”
“No, the other creatures I call my sisters.”
Cass smiled at him and shook her head.
“Still don’t like me much, do you?”
“Don’t like any of your lot. I suppose you’re the least objectionable, though. By a hair.”
“Well, thank you, Patch.”
Patch waved his hand in front of his face as if swatting at a bug.
“Don’t worry, we’re taking your people far from here. I can’t promise it will be safe in the long run. The gods will do what the gods will do. And hiding from them is only temporary. But word going around is this is it. So maybe it won’t matter much. In any case, it’d be good if you didn’t die so you can come back and claim them. The stench is unbearable and there is only so long I can…”
Cass interrupted Patch’s speech by pulling him into a hug to rival Driscol’s.
“Next time, spare yourself this indignity and just say, ‘you’re welcome,’ you stubborn goat.”
Patch’s posture softened a little at the friendly moniker and he returned the embrace, if only for a moment, then pulled away, embarrassed.
“You’re stinking me up. It’s taken ages to get my scent back after I left you lot. Now it’s going to be days before I’m rid of it again.”
He walked off then following alongside a group of people fleeing Faylendar. He turned back to Cass and gave her a rare half smile before continuing onward without another look back.
“Should we go into the city, help the rest of the warriors then?” Nat asked as he watched people shuffle through the forest.
“I can’t. I have to find a way into the River. But I think some of us should. We could save a lot of people splitting up,” Cass said.
“You should see Selina, Cahss. She has something t
hat will help. The rest, you come with me. I go back into the city,” Driscol said. “But now I need a moment with my Cahss,” he said ushering Cass aside.
When they had parted from the group enough to give them some privacy, Driscol took Cass’ hands into his own. Cass remembered the last time Driscol looked so worried. It was before she strolled into Oshia’s temple.
“Has Selina seen something else… about me?” Cass asked hesitantly.
“Not exactly, leetle one. She knows where you next go. She has not seen your end, if that is your worry.”
“It isn’t. Not really.”
“Good.”
“Are you? Worried?” Cass asked.
Driscol stared at Cass for a moment before speaking.
“Things will change after what you do. I don’t need a seer to know. I know. I want to see you now, before it does.”
“Ok, pops,” Cass said, looking from Driscol to Gunnarr who was watching her patiently. “It would have been nice to have more time.”
Driscol patted Cass on the shoulder. He moved to go to the group and turned after two paces.
“If Morte’s realm is still open for business, be sure to look for me, leetle one.”
Then he turned and rejoined the group. Cass watched as they exchanged some words. Driscol nodded, then moved toward a small group of warriors waiting to go back into the city. As Nat and Viola came up to her, she waved her hand to ward them away.
“Nope. There’s no need for this. You tell me your side of the story over drinks at the pub. My dad is the only one who gets to do that. Mostly because he’d keep me here until I let him.”
Cass was firm. Viola once again looked annoyed and Cass realized she might have had more to say than just farewells. Cass wasn’t interested in a long drawn out chastising at the moment or any further distractions Viola might impart, so she ignored the look as she walked away from them. Gunnarr let Cass’ get a way along before turning to his friends.
“She cares too much about you, Viola. Don’t let it bother you. Warriors, it is common for them to pull back when they are confronted with such things. She is not angry with you, just tired. Do not begrudge her the choices she makes. They are not easy ones,” he said.
“She doesn’t even want us with her anymore? What happened down there in the water?” Viola said.
Nat remained quiet, not wanting to upset anyone. Viola was his dear friend. He liked Cass, and she was a fellow warrior, but Viola was his closest companion aside from Gunnarr.
“You cannot go with her on this next leg of her journey. You have your part to play. People need your help. Let her do what she needs to do,” Gunnarr said more firmly.
“She can’t do it all alone. I saved her life just yesterday. And that was just the most recent time you guys thought you didn’t need us. She’s as mortal as we are. If she fails because of some notion that she’s the only one who can risk her life…”
“She will not be alone, Viola,” Gunnarr said in such a manner that it was clear that was the end of the conversation.
He walked away to join Cass.
“So that’s it. We’re dismissed then,” Viola said angrily.
“Viola,” Nat said gripping her shoulder. “I love you. But these insecurities about where you belong in the world… I don’t know if it’s the short time you had your power back that’s doing this or what. You’ve got to snap out of it. Take pride in the part you’re playing to rid the world of the gods. Stop thinking about all the things you could do if you still were an enchanter. You aren’t anymore. That doesn’t make you useless. That doesn’t make you disposable. And that is not what this,” Nat gestured at Cass and Gunnarr’s backs, “is even about. And you know it. We have a job to do. One that we are needed for. Not everyone needs to wield the knife to be essential to winning a war. A lot of little guys like us have to back them up for them to be able to do it. So let’s go back them up. Let’s make sure this battle is won.”
Viola stood up straight and nodded.
“Okay.”
Cass walked through the mud that so many feet had created and stopped in a clearing. Selina was sitting on a fallen log in the middle of the glade, her dark hair free and blowing. She was looking into the sky and smiling, her pale hands clasped in her lap. She turned when Cass approached and smiled at her. Gunnarr remained near the trees to give them some time to speak.
“Did you see him? My son?”
Cass crouched before Selina.
“I didn’t see him,” she squinted as she looked up at Selina, the sun in her eyes. “But he spoke to me.”
“I wanted to go to that cave. I wanted to dive in that water and talk to him. I always thought I could, the power Ves gave me. Surely it would count and I, too, could break the barrier. But I knew if I did the gods would see. Timta, she was always watching me. She spared my life, even though she knew what Ves had done and knew how the other gods would feel about it. She spared me. For a long time I thought I owed her for that. I stopped feeling that way the day she gave you to me, a squalling infant, red and cranky. I would have given anything to have my child back, and here she was, throwing hers away. The moment I had you in my arms I had the vision of Oshia’s temple. I knew what you would do. And I knew why Timta had you. And it sickened me. I delayed telling you about the vison of Oshia’s temple for so long. I hoped beyond hope that I could save you from that fate. But it was obvious you were going to go that route regardless of what I did. I told you in part for you to be ready. I didn’t realize it would mean you’d run off right then. And that in telling you, I set everything in motion. For that, I will forever be sorry. I didn’t get a chance to tell you that on the plains, what with the dragons and everything else. It seemed an inappropriate time.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I never blamed you for any of it. And… you must have known I’d get out. You had to know I’d find the sword. Toren told me you said I’d be there.”
“Even if I knew you only had to spend a night with that foul beast, I would have hated it.”
Cass reached out and took her foster mother’s hands. Selina brought them to her lips and held them there. She lowered her hands and looked up into her daughter’s face.
“You’re worried you can’t finish what you started. That’s unlike you.”
Cass looked down at the ground. Selina was always able to see into Cass’ heart.
“It’s a lot. This isn’t saving some guy from a selkie or looking for some rare herb. This is… this is messed up, that’s what this is,” she said, still looking down.
“Yes. And you could choose to stay here, ignore the fight. Let… nature… sort out its issues. A very un-Cass-like thing for you to do. Or,” Selina lifted Cass’ face. As she did so, something large overhead swirled the air around them. Feathered wings, making no sound as they beat at the air, blocked out the sun behind Selina’s head. Cass’ eyes opened wide. “You could take all the things that have fallen into your lap in such a timely manner, and do something with them.”
The largest griffin Cass had ever seen landed behind Selina. It had heavy scaring along its side, making the typical outline jagged in many places, old wounds long ago healed. Its huge, birdlike head lowered and sniffed Cass. She tentatively raised her hand to touch its deadly beak. It lowered its head further and butted into her, knocking her backwards as it rubbed her with the side of its face.
“It’s you! I thought I’d never see you again,” Cass said, delight in every word.
“He came to the city shortly after the battle in the Plains. I think he wanted to know if you were okay. He must have searched the house and scented me. I was probably easier to follow, since I hadn’t ridden any dragons to get here. He’s been near me somewhere ever since. I know, if you choose to do so, that you’ll need him to get up there, and end all this,” Selina said gesturing around.
Gunnarr came forward, his eyes alight with wonder.
“This is your whelp, the young one you rescued?”
“Yes,” Cass said.
“Did you ever give him a name?” Gunnarr asked.
“It seemed odd to do so. Feels like if you name something, it belongs to you. And he doesn’t belong to anyone.”
Cass looked from the griffin to Selina.
“I never had a choice. I was always going to go up there.”
“I know.”
The wind whipped through their hair as they climbed higher and higher. Gunnarr clung to Cass, trying not to look down. The griffin was big enough to hold them both, a mature male with all the strength that entailed, but it was still a good sight smaller than a dragon. As they reached the clouds Gunnarr began to have trouble breathing.
“Breathe slower. Stay calm,” Cass advised.
Gunnarr tried doing as she asked, and when they came through the clouds to the clear sky above, he was able to stay conscious. He opened his eyes to see what looked like a huge floating island. A river plunged off one end of it and fell for a long way before it completely disappeared as mist. Cass pointed the griffin toward the River and it climbed even higher. By the time they arrived at the River, Gunnarr was nearly unconscious. The griffin landed silently on its nimble paws, great claws barely able to be sheathed. It purred a short trill as Cass climbed down. Gunnarr slumped and fell off. Cass jumped forward to catch him so he wouldn’t topple off the island.
She lightly slapped his face and whispered hurriedly at him.
“Gunnarr! Gunnarr! Remember what Selina said? Chew the leaves. Come on now, here,” Cass pressed a small bundle of fragrant leaves in his mouth. Selina had given them to her as they prepared to leave. Not for Cass, she had said. Cass wouldn’t need them. They were for Gunnarr, who surely would.
Gunnarr chewed sluggishly. With each movement of his jaw he felt a little better. Chewing the plant felt like breathing the freshest, cleanest air he’d ever breathed. Cass pressed the substantial pouch to his chest.
“She said you need to take some whenever you start to feel lightheaded. Don’t forget.”
Gunnarr nodded and stood, finding a safe place to stow the pouch. He looked around at their lush surroundings. If it wasn’t the safe haven of the gods, he might’ve enjoyed it more. Now all the unnatural beauty just reminded him that they were in great peril the whole time they were here. Cass took both the sword and Chort’s staff from where they were strapped to the griffin and fastened them around her waist. She could see the river swiftly running toward them, a small stone bridge over it and the domed temples behind them. Everything was overly serene and peaceful, as if time had stopped and no wars were being fought anywhere.