The Ascending

by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson

  Jahrra shook her head vigorously. “But you need it for your magic. You already look like you’ve been pushing yourself too far. Even if you stopped checking on the soldiers, you need to replenish yourself.”

  Dervit had been watching and listening to the entire exchange, not wanting to interrupt. Now, however, he felt that he should.

  “I have an idea!” he exclaimed.

  Three pairs of eyes turned on him, and he almost lost his nerve.

  “We, we crossed a stream about a quarter of a mile back down the road. I noticed an area where the water gathered into a deep pool.”

  He paused to take a breath but took too long for Jaax’s liking.

  “And your point?” the dragon pressed.

  “My point,” he said with some bravado, “is that mountain trout like to rest in these pools. It’s also a place where insects and amphibians lay their eggs and trout love to eat these eggs.”

  “Are you suggesting we go fishing?” Jahrra asked.

  Dervit nodded.

  “We don’t have the proper equipment, and I cannot lend my aid this time,” Ellyesce said wearily.

  The elf pinched the bridge of his nose and took long, steady breaths. Jahrra was starting to think he’d used the last of his magical reserves during his most recent scouting mission. She bit her lip and turned her attention back on Dervit.

  “We don’t need equipment,” he blurted, then held up one hand and wiggled his fingers.

  “You’re not suggesting you can catch them with your bare hands,” Jaax growled.

  “Yes, I can,” he insisted. “I’m really fast and my claws are sharp enough to grab them.”

  “No one is that fast,” the dragon countered.

  Jahrra had been patiently enduring her guardian’s foul mood for the past few days, but she’d had enough.

  “I don’t see you offering to help,” she stated, glaring at her guardian.

  He narrowed his silver green eyes on her, the full weight of his authority behind them. “It would be a waste of time and energy for me to try.”

  Jahrra took a breath to fire back, but just managed to stop herself. This was ridiculous. They were having a pointless argument and growing angry about it because they were all hungry.

  “Look,” she said, letting out her breath slowly and closing her eyes, “what’s the harm in letting Dervit try?”

  “Fine,” the dragon conceded, “but let’s be quick about it.”

  They left Ellyesce at the campsite to rest and kindle a fire. Fortunately, the soldiers were still a day behind them, and they were close enough to Cahrdyarein that a campfire might be mistaken for activity associated with the city.

  By the time they reached the stream with the deep pool, dusk had begun settling in all the nooks and crannies of the mountain valley.

  “Will you be able to see?” Jahrra asked.

  Dervit gave her a mischievous grin. “Eyes of a fox,” he chirped, pointing to his very elf-like eyes.

  Jahrra just had to trust that although his face more closely resembled hers than a fox’s, he was telling the truth.

  “I’ll need you to catch them as I throw them from the water,” he said, his demeanor quickly switching from mirth to business.

  Dervit crossed the channel of water, hopping from one stone to the next, his tail swinging to keep his balance and the claws of his feet digging into the slippery moss for a better hold. Once on the other side, he meandered through a few tangles of thorn bushes before reaching the edge of the pool. He leaned over the water and grew very still, only his ears and tail twitching.

  Just when Jahrra was about to ask if he could see anything, his arm darted out with incredible speed and disappeared under the water. Before she even knew what was happening, a fat, silver trout was flapping around on the ground before her.

  “Quick!” she hissed at Jaax. “Kill it!”

  Getting over his own surprise rather quickly, Jaax used one of the talons on his right foot to kill the fish before it suffocated. Jahrra, in the meantime, had pulled out the string she’d brought along, wrapping one end around the gills of the dead fish.

  Just as she finished her task, Dervit had delivered another fish, and then another.

  “You are great at this! Why didn’t you offer this as a way to contribute to your community?”

  He shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin. “Every limbit can fish. It isn’t considered a talent among my kind.”

  “It sure looks like a talent to me,” she insisted, trying to keep track of all the flopping, scaly bodies surrounding her.

  Jaax was having a hard time keeping up as well.

  “Looks like you could use a lesson in quickness yourself,” she teased, watching her guardian try, and fail, to kill all the fish being thrown his way.

  The dragon only thinned his gaze at her, but she recognized the glint of humor at the edges of his eyes.

  Eventually, Jaax managed to attend to all the fish until not a single one was left gasping for breath. Jahrra strung them all on her string, finding that she would have to carry a few of the fish by hand. Altogether, Dervit had caught eighteen of them, an even number, she noted with a wry grin. Plenty for her, Ellyesce and their new, very resourceful friend. There might even be a few left over for Jaax to enjoy.

  “Well done, young limbit,” Jaax said to Dervit as he rejoined them on the other side of the stream.

  He was soaking wet and looked exhausted, but he smiled anyway.

  Jaax turned to lead the way back, and Jahrra fell into step with Dervit, the string of fish thrown over her shoulder.

  “Looks like you proved yourself once again,” she murmured, her voice tinged with pride.

  Dervit shook some of the water from his fur and gave her a courtly bow. Jahrra laughed at his antics.

  “Thank you,” he said. “It’s nice to be appreciated.”

  Jahrra couldn’t agree more. She pulled the fish from her shoulder and stretched the lot of them out in front of her, straining a little against their weight. “Wait until Ellyesce sees this. He won’t believe it.”

  Ellyesce, as Jahrra predicted, was pleasantly surprised when the trio returned with enough fish to feed a small army.

  When Jahrra relayed the tale, with Jaax nodding his support of its truth, the elf slapped his knee and huffed out a laugh.

  “Who would have thought that you would be such a boon to us, Mr. Dervit? I say this definitely calls for a celebration. Over a game or two of Astral cards.”

  The three of them quickly cleaned and prepared the fish to roast over the fire while Jaax stood guard, all of his senses scanning the area for trouble. While the trout roasted, Jahrra and Ellyesce patiently explained the rules of Astral cards to Dervit. He didn’t know nearly as many of the constellations as Jahrra did, but he expressed his eagerness at learning the game. By the time the fish were ready to eat, he had puzzled out the value of his hand compared to the others, almost entirely on his own.

  They woke early again the next morning and got moving right away, Ellyesce skipping his usual routine of checking for the Tyrant’s soldiers before they left.

  “Going to preserve some of my energy for when we get closer to Cahrdyarein,” he said.

  At noon, they stopped to rest on a rocky ledge. A few stunted pines adorned both sides of the road, but most of the trees had been left behind, nothing but the bare, granite bones of the mountain on full display.

  Jahrra finished her meal quickly and then joined her guardian, who was standing on the precipice, his gaze trained northward. Ellyesce, on the other hand, excused himself to call upon his magic and check on their pursuers.

  “How close are we?” she breathed, eyeing the sheer drop before her with extreme caution.

  Jaax inclined his head toward a jagged peak less than five miles in the distance. “Just behind those crags,” he said. “You might be able to see part of the city’s stone wall if you look hard enough.”

  Taking a careful step forward, Jahrra squinted her eyes
and tried to spy what her guardian was talking about. Several spires of pale grey granite rose like teeth in an open maw, a sprinkling of green on either side of them suggesting more trees at the top. The road they currently traveled continued to hug the mountainside, winding back and forth like a silver serpent. Although it was wide compared to the last trail they’d been on, it still made Jahrra think of rock slides and a heart-stopping drop to the river far below. She returned her attention to the jagged outcropping and tried her luck again. There, between the slivers of rock, she made out a darker stone that looked too smooth to have been formed naturally.

  “Does the wall encircle the entire city?” she wondered aloud.

  Jaax nodded. “It is one of the city’s greatest achievements. The elves of Cahrdyarein can defend their city, and defeat an army of ten thousand, by simply employing the skills of their archers and the engineers who build their catapults. The city itself encircles the very precipice of the mountain, similar to Nimbronia.” Jaax lifted his head, drawing Jahrra’s eye with it.

  The granite continued to taper upward, forming a snowcapped peak several hundred feet above the place where she noticed the wall.

  “Who rules the city?” Jahrra asked, imagining that such a well-fortified place must have a strong leader.

  Jaax cast her a sideways look. “No one rules, exactly,” he answered. “There is an elf by the name of Morivan Fairlein who has set himself up as regent. Most assuredly, his goal is to earn kingship from his people, but we are in the realm of the Creecemind dragons, and as far as I know, King Dhuruhn has not sanctioned his rule.

  “The steward’s dwelling is located on the western side of the mountain, and sits above all the other buildings. You cannot see them from here, but there are several watchtowers placed along the wall. The fortress is defendable on all sides, and there is always someone keeping an eye on the outside world. Furthermore, the only way to get to the city is by this road, and one other on the northern side, both very visible for many miles.”

  “So they know we are coming?”

  Jaax smiled at his ward. “Given the fact that I sent word ahead before we left Lidien, yes.”

  Jahrra narrowed her eyes at him. She would have punched him if doing so wouldn’t result in the skin being shredded from her knuckles.

  “But yes,” he said again, picking up on her mood, “they would have seen us already.”

  It was then that Ellyesce came stumbling through the low growing pines, looking ten shades paler than usual, the sharp bite of panic pinching his face. Jaax tensed immediately.

  “What?” he growled.

  “The Red Flange. They didn’t camp last night like I thought. They kept moving.”

  “What does that mean?” Jahrra demanded, her skin prickling with fear.

  Ellyesce turned to look at her, his sudden calm more terrifying than his earlier panic.

  “They are only a mile away, if not less, and moving fast.”

  Jaax cursed, a long, drawn out parade of words that made Jahrra’s bones rattle.

  “On the horses. Now!” he roared. “Ellyesce, take Jahrra and Dervit ahead. Move as fast as possible. Get to the city gates. They will know who you are.”

  Jahrra didn’t pause to ask questions. She bolted for Phrym, jumping on his back and reaching a hand out to a gaping Dervit.

  “You’ll have to ride with me!” she cried. “I can hold onto you if we have to make a run for it.”

  The limbit swallowed back his fear and took Jahrra’s hand wordlessly. She pulled him up and set him in front of her before nudging Phrym forward to join up with Ellyesce.

  “Jaax!” she threw over her shoulder. “What about you?”

  “I’ll only stay here if I have to. I want you three to get a sizeable head start, then I’ll follow.”

  Jahrra blinked several times, then nodded, turning Phrym around so that she and Ellyesce could get the horses moving. If the Tyrant’s soldiers encountered Jaax on the road, would he be able to fight them off without getting hurt?

  Memories from the day Hroombra died, images of him surrounded by the evil men with their pikes and swords, flashed through her mind. What if Jaax couldn’t handle all of them at once? What if they killed him? Jahrra avoided giving much thought to the idea of Jaax dying. He was too stubborn, too strong. Too skilled in battle to succumb to any mortal wound. But now, the threat was on their heels, not far off in the distance, and the very suggestion of her guardian being slaughtered like Hroombra sucked the air right out of her lungs. She gasped, almost losing her seat on Phrym.

  “Jahrra! Jahrra, are you okay?” Dervit squeaked.

  “F-fine,” she breathed.

  Shaking her head to scatter those unhelpful thoughts, Jahrra told herself that Jaax wouldn’t let those evil slaves of the Tyrant get the better of him.

  “Faster, Jahrra!” Ellyesce barked from twenty feet up the road.

  Even Rumble the pack horse seemed to notice speed was of essence.

  She gave Phrym a gentle kick in the ribs, and he dug his hooves into the loose stones. Ellyesce had his semequin moving at a swift jog, and she wondered if he’d encourage him into an even faster pace when they reached the flat expanse of granite just ahead.

  Not wasting any more time on stray thoughts, Jahrra kept Phrym moving swiftly until they were just behind the elf.

  “The road smoothes out and becomes dirt once again just around that next bend,” he shouted back to her. “There is also more tree cover, which will help if the Tyrant’s men make it to our resting area and think to use their bows.”

  Dervit, who had remained silent throughout the tumultuous ride, yipped. “Arrows? You mean they’ll try to shoot us?”

  “Don’t worry,” Jahrra breathed, trying to make her tone cheerful. “I’m a much bigger target than you.”

  The limbit must not have picked up on her attempted humor because he squeaked again, “I don’t want them shooting you, either!”

  Jahrra didn’t waste her breath trying to reassure him. Instead, she urged Phrym into an even faster pace as soon as the skittering rocks gave way to a solid expanse of granite.

  Thank goodness the ice and snow has melted, she thought as the horses sprinted over the winding road. Had there been snow, or worse, ice, she would have been forced to slow Phrym to a walk. Red Flange hot on their tail or not, she would not risk her semequin slipping and falling off the face of the cliff. A five hundred or so foot drop was much more terrifying than an arrow flying in her direction.

  Finally, they cleared the granite slab and came out onto a wide road consisting of deep brown earth. Pines, tall and straight and growing up from the steep slope to their right, shaded the way and blocked the view of the somewhat hidden city in the distance.

  Ellyesce didn’t wait for Jahrra to catch up to him. Shouting a command, he used the extra length of the reins to slap his semequin into a nearly break-neck pace. Jahrra followed suit, trusting that Ellyesce knew the road well enough to feel somewhat safe traveling at such a speed. Well, there was that, and the fact that they needed to reach Cahrdyarein as soon as possible. Dervit gave up trying to cling to the saddle and grabbed Phrym’s mane instead, pressing himself as close to the semequin as possible.

  The road, to Jahrra’s great relief, proved to be well-maintained and relatively easy for Phrym to cover. The trees continued to line both sides of the path like ever-present sentries, and after several minutes, those craggy peaks she had gazed at from farther down below appeared once again, this time much closer.

  “How much farther!” she shouted breathlessly to Ellyesce.

  “Less than a mile!” he returned over his shoulder.

  Immense relief flooded through Jahrra’s veins. Oh, thank Ethoes! She only hoped that Jaax was somewhere close behind. They turned one more corner, the horses kicking up clods of damp earth as they flew up the mountain side, and the full-force of Cahrdyarein’s impressive wall hit Jahrra like a battering ram. The road made a wide, sweeping arc up ahead, brushing past the
entrance to the city like a lazy river bend before continuing on to cross the sister peaks to the northeast. The wall, constructed of enormous slabs of soot-colored granite, rose fifty feet in the air in what had most likely been a small canyon at some time. A massive wooden gate stood off center halfway up the wall, and a smaller road, veering off from the main byway, climbed the side of the canyon to meet up with the gate. Towering pines, rising along the hillside like the quills on a porcupine’s back, added an extra sense of menace to the already intimidating scene.

  Before Jahrra could take in any more details, something flew across the path just in front of her, causing Phrym to jerk his head and falter. Jahrra screamed as her semequin struggled to keep his footing.

  “No! Keep him under control, Jahrra!” Ellyesce shouted.

  Barely, Jahrra managed to get Phrym pointed in the right direction again, just as another projectile whizzed by, this one so close it grazed her hair.

  “Arrows!” Dervit cried.

  “Come on, Phrym!” Jahrra shouted, putting more strength into her kicks.

  The semequin whinnied and pinned his ears back, digging his hooves in and gaining ground.

  More arrows fell from the sky, two lodging into the bags strapped to Rumble’s back. Still, they kept moving, the impenetrable wall inching ever closer.

  They were now only a hundred yards from their destination, and Jahrra could see where the road to the city gate cut away from the travelers’ highway. Her heart sank. They would have to make a sharp turn and double back, before turning once again halfway up the switchback to reach the gate. It would mean slowing down and presenting themselves as an even easier target.

  Jahrra sucked in a deep breath and willed her heart to slow down. They had no choice. They had to do it or else they would die for sure.

  “Turn, Jahrra, turn!” Ellyesce roared, jerking on the reins of his semequin and forcing both him and Rumble into a tight turn as they began their ascent up the side road. A few more arrows sped by, but Jahrra mimicked the elf, directing Phrym to make that sharp turn onto the first switchback. Dervit nearly became unseated, but his grip on her semequin’s mane saved him. Still, he ended up flung out of the saddle, hanging against Phrym’s neck on the right side.