by Dixon, TJ
“What has that got to do with anything?”
“The only way you can save him is to do the soul dive yourself, but you will lose your immortality by doing so. You will also most likely die with him.”
“How? And why would Contractia be at risk?”
“The Ring of the Dead. It can be found in the lair of the dragon unless it has been stolen already. The dragon is asleep but if you wake it you will die, and Contractia may be destroyed too. Especially if the Fallen Angels take advantage of the situation.”
“Pity he hadn’t gotten around to killing that dragon yet.”
“What?!”
“It is one of his goals. The whole company will get immortal status if he manages it, so it doesn’t matter so much if I lose mine for now. I won’t wake the dragon and I won’t fail. Hermes, port me to the dragon’s lair.”
“Like I’ve been there before!” Hermes says.
“I have so I’ll share the location.” I say and Hermes mouth drops and hangs open for a moment.
“But, but you’ll be risking all of Contractia and…” Hermes starts to say and I slap her cheek. She hardly feels it but the impact is immediate.
“You are that boy’s slave! He may treat you like a free person but do not forget that to you, he, as your master, should be more important than all of Contractia! Now port me!” I say and Hermes reluctantly but feeling a little ashamed ports me.
“It’s not because he’s my master, but he saved me. Contractia was happy for me to die but he saved me. So I’ll do it for his sake as my friend and not my master.” Hermes says though she is crying as she says it.
“You’re weird but that’s fine.”
“What right does a little fairy like woman who was alive thousands of years ago, have to call me weird!?” Hermes says and we both laugh for a moment.
“This is where it gets dangerous. You wait here and I’ll get the ring.”
“No I should…” Hermes starts.
“No. You will wake the dragon. I alone can enter, because I am a small fairy like woman who has lived tens of thousands of years.”
“What does being alive from the start of history have to do with it? Ouch! Don’t bite me.”
“Don’t say I was alive from the start of history! What my age has to do with this is that knowledge is power and I have more knowledge than all of you students at the academy and the teachers, with the exception of Silmarion, combined.” I say, but in truth what matters more is my size and lack of power. Of course I don’t tell Hermes that or she’ll get a big head and annoy me even more. Why did my master have to treat her like a person instead of the slave she is?
I fly inside the entrance to the mountain lair. The tunnel is a twisting path but if we had ported right on top of the dragon it would certainly have awoken. Finally I reach the end of the tunnel and see the cavern. It is deeper than any other I have seen before. I recall when this was the Mountain Palace ten years ago. Had the queen been present at the time we would certainly have killed the dragon but our army barely managed to drive it into this cavern. Of course the only way such a huge creature could get in here was to port. The many floors collapsed or were displaced when it did so and I can see the rubble strewn about but the main thing that fills my gaze is a dragon wing larger than the mountain itself. Most of the sleeping dragon is buried beneath the mountain of course.
I shiver remembering my comrades getting eaten, burnt and torn apart by this beast. Tears silently flow from my eyes but I strengthen my resolve. I became Peter’s pet not on a whim but to repay him for saving my life. Now it is my turn to repay the favour in full.
I open my senses of air, earth, fire, ice and dimension. I am on the verge of collapsing when I finally sense it. The power of the Ring of the Dead. I silently groan as I realise where it is. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy but this is much worse than I feared. I need to get to the very bottom of this cavern. In human form I could have just ported straight down or flown there and back again in less than a day. That said the dragon would have surely woken. In this form it is going to take much longer, but I can do it without waking the dragon. For now I fly back to Hermes.
“Did you get it?” Hermes asks but her smile falls when she sees my expression.
“It is going to take a while. I know where it is now but it may take weeks to fly down there and back again. I need to rest first. Take me back to Rin’s.”
“OK.” Hermes says both disappointed that I didn’t get it and relieved that there is still hope.
The moment we are back everyone bombards me with questions. I sigh and tell Hermes to answer everyone. I don’t wait for her answer but instead fly off to find a suitable sleeping spot. The next morning Hermes ports me back. Despite everyone’s protests I forbid anyone else from following. I am the only one who can save Peter now so for once they actually listen to me. Hermes will return briefly each day until I return.
I quickly reach the cavern but am again awed by the sheer scale of it, and the dragon. I push back unwelcome memories this time and glide slowly downwards. I could go quicker but that would require using too much magic. If I wake the dragon it is all over. Just falling would of course get me killed and breaking the fall with magic would definitely wake the dragon.
Time passes slowly as I glide downwards. It is a little over a day but feel like years when I reach the bottom. I make sure to land where the ring is. I don’t want to sleep so close to the dragon but it is going to take much longer to get back up and I need to have my full strength so against my desire I try to get some sleep. Eventually I succeed.
I don’t know how long I was asleep but I am restless and want to return as soon as I can. I grab the ring. Even in my current form it has no weight so I pick it up easily and tie it to my top. Right now that weightlessness is a blessing that will let me carry it back up to the top. This time I need to use magic but only the slightest amount or I will wake the dragon. I carefully apply the magic to my wings and start flying upwards. Soon I reach a hot draft and can glide again without magic. Riding the rising hot air I very, very slowly rise with it.
I am tired already and after another day it is not an exaggeration to say I am completely exhausted. The days pass slowly and I continue to ride the hot air. All the while I am terrified that the dragon may wake. I would of course be helpless and join my fallen comrades. Having lost so many of those who really mattered to me, why am I even considering joining another independent company? I do not wish to see my comrades killed again. If Peter truly does try to slay this dragon, how can the outcome be any better than when we fought it?
Even if I get out of here can I really save him from the shadow of the Death Bird that infected him? Is it truly hopeless after all? No. I mustn’t give up or it really will be over. Peter is strong and I can’t be weaker than this mere boy who I serve. He has never given up so I will not do so either.
The top of the cavern is now in sight. It is so close yet so far. I can see it and it feels like I should be able to reach out and grab hold of it but of course it is still a long way from here. Suddenly the hot air hits colder air and I start to fall. Silently cursing I use magic again and fly against the current. I am careful and avoid waking the dragon but I am unsure whether I have enough magic to reach the top.
I desperately flap my wings like mad to aid the magic. I have almost reached the top when my magic fails. I start to glide down again. Was all that effort wasted! I hope not. Then I sense it. Another hot draft. I glide into it and sail upwards. Finally I arrive at the top and fall onto the ground. I am unable to walk but I don’t want to stay here a moment longer than I have to so I slowly crawl until I have left the cavern and entered the tunnel. With all my energy spent I quickly drift to sleep.
I wake in hot sweat from a dream of my battle against the dragon. Looking around I remember the dragon is no longer in sight and breathe a sigh of relief. My energy restored I fly through the tunnel and the morning sun is a sight I am truly grateful for. The cool air refres
hes me and I quickly fall back to sleep.
“Hello Lucy.” A familiar voice says and I curse. “That’s not a nice way to greet an old friend.”
“You have never been a friend of mine, Claire.” I say. “So, are you here to eat me again?”
“No. I have something much more fun than that.” Claire says with a wide smile.
“Fun for who?” I ask but I know the answer.
“For me of course!” Claire says.
“Why did you wait until now?”
“Revenge is a dish best served cold as ice.”
“More like you were afraid.” I say and laugh with a confidence that I don’t feel.
“Even if I was afraid of your friends there is no need to fear a little woman like you. You have every reason to be afraid though.” Claire says and grabs me. The pain as her hand closes on my stomach and chest is intense.
“Like I would ever be scared of a little girl.” I say but the truth is that I am truly terrified.
“You can’t fool me.” Claire says and squeezes tightly. I gasp from the pain. “Just so you know, that Hermes girl isn’t coming to save you.”
“What did you do to her?”
“Oh I didn’t kill her. That would be boring. She’s just asleep. For now…”
“What are you planning, Claire? Just petty revenge?”
“Nope, my master has much grander schemes than that.”
“You have a master. Interesting…”
“Of course I’m not going to tell you who. I could even be lying, but it’s not like you’ll escape from me a second time.”
“If you switch sides now I may be able to get you a royal pardon.”
“Liar.”
“I have connections. I even have a relationship with the queen. Of course if Hermes or I don’t return you will be hunted down like the traitor you are.”
“Let them come.”
“Peter…”
“Is at the verge of death and waiting helplessly for your return.” Claire laughs.
“No.” Peter says grabbing her shoulder and shocking it. She screams but somehow the shock doesn’t reach me. Her hand opens reflexively and I fly onto Peter’s shoulder. “Where is Hermes?”
“Not… Agh! Stop! Please! No! I’ll tell! I’ll port you there!”
“Then do it quickly before I get angry.” He says and only then as he finishes his sentence does he stop shocking her. I notice there is something very different in his voice, and his actions strike me as even more different.
“How did you recover?” I ask nervously.
“Not now.” He says and Claire ports us. It is a small campsite but there are twenty or so mages. Most are adults. I see Hermes tied up and blindfolded near the camp fire.
“Let go of the girl or we will kill her with you.” An old woman says in a bored tone. I sense a very powerful magic within her. The mages are all well shielded. I doubt Peter can win.
“I don’t care. You’ll save me the trouble.” Peter says and lightning fills the camp. He at least makes sure to miss Hermes, but this isn’t his normal lightning. It could even be called ‘darkning’ if there were such a thing. Like lightning but pure darkness instead of light. Flames rush at him but they don’t reach. His attack on the other hand pierces every shield and before my eyes the twenty mages are instantly killed.
“Please!” Claire begs but he looks her in the eye and laughs. She tries to port but he easily counters her port.
“You don’t get to die yet. That would be boring.” Peter says an evil grin on his face.
“Snap out of this!” I shout at him.
“Don’t interrupt, or I might lose my temper.” He says and I find myself truly afraid of him. This is not my kind, gentle, slightly stupid Peter. That Peter may have killed monsters but he would never have killed people so thoughtlessly. He certainly wouldn’t have threatened me or tortured Claire before killing her as he so clearly intends to do.
“Why are the others not here?” I ask scared of the answer.
“They were noisy so I silenced them.”
“Silenced how?” I ask in dread.
“Relax. I didn’t kill any of them. Not yet anyway. I will probably kill Rin at least though. She’s too annoying. Also this boy seems more attached to her than the others.”
“Who are you?”
“Simple, nice but stupid Peter. Don’t you recognise me?” He says with a mocking laugh.
“You are not Peter!” I shout and dive into the Ring of the Dead. Sparks fly at me but they are stopped by the sheer power of the ring. I lose sight of what is around me and see only the souls of Peter, Claire, Hermes and myself. Claire’s disappears, but instantly, like she ported rather than the fading of death. I plunge into Peter’s soul and gasp at the sheer coldness.
“Do not interfere.” A cold dark voice says but I ignore it and search for light in the darkness of Peter’s soul.
“Do not think that a mere human can stand in the way of a god.” It says and I gasp in pain, but I continue.
“You are no god.” I tell the Death Bird’s shadow.
“I am not a mere Death Bird. I killed that before taking this boy’s body for myself. I am Night. I am Darkness. I am Eater of Worlds, Eater of Light and Death of Stars. You stand no chance.”
“Then why bother talking to a mere human. If you are that powerful it should be easy to kill me.”
“This boy still holds me back. It seems he feels something for you, like he does for that Hermes and the others. Do not think he can hold me back for long though. GET OUT!”
“No.” I say as my soul shakes like it is in a strong wind. “Peter! Wake up!”
“It is hopeless.”
“No.” I say and start chanting that ancient spell. A spell I had hoped never to use. A spell I had thought I would never use. If this fails then it will kill Peter but if it succeeds he will be free. Either way my chance of survival is low to none. It feeds off the soul and not just magic. My magic is limited now so it will mostly eat my soul.
“What are you chanting? Impossible! Nobody alive should know that spell! Stop! I’ll give this boy back!” The voice calls out now afraid to its core. Even if it does return Peter it will still be in him though. I have no choice. I continue chanting and sensing I will not relent, it attacks me again. The pain is almost enough to interrupt my chant for a moment but somehow I continue. Again and again the pain wracks my soul but I continue.
(Hermes)
I wake in darkness. I feel tight rope on my wrists and there is something covering my eyes. My magic is dampened so I cannot simply burn through the rope. I hear voices. I cannot understand what they are saying. I can feel the cruelty in those voices though. I shiver in fear. Suddenly my stomach is in agony and I am thrown into the air. I know this feeling. The feeling of being kicked whilst bound and blindfolded. A common occurrence when I still belonged to my mother, but one I had thought was in the past.
“Let go of the girl or we will kill her with you.” I hear a distant voice say. The next voice makes me gasp. It is Peter!
“I don’t care. You’ll save me the trouble.” He says but after my initial relief I realise something is wrong. Not just from his voice but his words. The Peter I know would never say he didn’t care about killing someone, let alone that it would save him the trouble. I hear thunder, screams and a strange crackling.
“Please!” It is Claire and she sounds terrified, like she is about to die.
“You don’t get to die yet. That would be boring.” Peter says and I find myself terrified of him. Then he speaks again as if answering someone. “Don’t interrupt, or I might lose my temper.”
“…”
“They were noisy so I silenced them.” Who?
“…”
“Relax. I didn’t kill any of them. Not yet anyway. I will probably kill Rin at least though. She’s too annoying. Also this boy seems more attached to her than the others.” Rin! He must be talking about our friends.
“…”
“Simple, nice but stupid Peter. Don’t you recognise me?”
“…”
“…”
“…”
The silence drags on and I am left to my imagination. Unfortunately I have gone through enough that I have a very graphic imagination. The sights that fill my mind are surely more terrible than what is really happening. Perhaps he is just acting? I do not believe that though. Then I hear a scream and I gasp in fear. After a moment the scream is replaced by groaning and then silence. I wait in fear. Then I hear crying. It lasts a while. The blind fold is removed and I see Peter’s tear stained face.
“Her, Hermes…” He says in a raspy voice cutting my bindings with wind.
“Peter?” I ask unsure.
“Yes… It’s me… again.”
“What happened?”
“Lucy…”
“What about Lucy?”
“I, I… hurt her.” He says and loses his fight against the tears.
“You were being controlled?”
“Yes… I was weak enough to be controlled. I killed so many people.”
“What was controlling you? The Death Bird?”
“No. It called itself a god. It killed the Death Bird. I could see and hear and feel everything. I was so helpless. So useless…”
“You can’t be expected…”
“Please take Lucy back and apologise to everyone for me! I can’t face them… I can’t return to the academy.”
“Snap out of it!” I shout and slap him.
He looks at me in shock and I realise what I did. He’s still my master. I look at him, afraid for a moment, but then ashamed of my fear. He ports away. I look around and find Lucy. I port back and find everyone in a black metal cage. It looks easy to open from the outside but impossible from the inside.
“Hermes!” Rin exclaims in relief.
“Lucy…” Yu Kii says and then everyone else sees Lucy lying almost lifeless in my arms.
“She’s alive, but barely.” I say opening the door to the cage and letting everyone out.
“Peter…” Rin starts to say and I wince remembering. “You saw him?”