by Walls, Devri
She was taken aback with the beauty. “It’s amazing,” she whispered as he lowered her to the ground.
“The view is even better.” He grabbed her hand, pulling her to the window.
The main windows were so large that when standing in front of them, you almost forgot you were surrounded by stone walls. With her hand clasped in his, the walls melted away and it was just the two of them, standing above it all, looking out over the forest and mountains beyond.
Putting his arm around her, Emane pulled Kiora close. “This is where I come when I need to escape.” Leaning over, he kissed the top of her head.” I have never brought any one up here with me before.”
“Why not?”
“I was always worried I might need it.”
She looked back at him with eyebrows raised.
He smiled looking past her out the window. “You met Ciera.”
“Did you hide from you father too?”
He smirked looking at her sideways, “Still am.”
She grinned, picking at the stone wall beneath her fingers.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Kiora, you always fidget when something is bothering you.”
“No, I,” she looked down, surprised to find that she was indeed fidgeting. She jerked her hand back to her side. “You told your father that you loved me,” she said, still surprised.
He reached down taking her hand, “I believe I told him, ‘my heart belongs to another.’”
They looked in silence over the valley leaning on one another for support.
“Have you ever wondered what is beyond the mountains?” Kiora asked suddenly.
“Sure. When I was a little boy I would dream of adventures,” he stopped, tucking her hair behind her ear. “You are so beautiful.”
“What kind of adventures?”
“Hmmm?” he asked. “Oh, the mountains. All kinds. You?”
Kiora looked out, remembering her childhood. “I would look at the peaks poking up over the top of the trees and wonder if there was anyone on the other side that was like me. Anyone that could…” her eyes moved to his face, he was so handsome. She reached up to touch his cheek and he asked, “That could what?”
“Could what?” she asked, her head cocking to the side. “Oh! That could do what I could.” She was about to expound, but her thoughts slid away from her and she was left frowning at her feet. Suddenly more aware of Emane standing next to her she wrapped both arms around his waist squeezing him tight. He reciprocated and rested his chin on top of her head.
His feelings of love washed over her and she reveled in them. It was selfish, so selfish! Sharply inhaling, Kiora jerked, nearly knocking them both over.
“Kiora?”
Two dark threads pierced her heart as a large dragon appeared out of nowhere in front of their window. With one large beat of its wings, the stained glass windows shattered, exploding inward in a deadly display of color. Kiora was hit with a bolt of magic before she could react, and fell unconscious to the floor. Emane threw himself over the top of her with a yell, trying to shield her from the falling glass.
***
The dragon was keeping even with the turret with great deliberate flaps of its leathery wings. Sitting astride its back, wearing a dazzling evil grin, was a man with dark hair, Dralazar. Reaching out his hand with a laugh, Dralazar flung Emane backwards against the wall like a gnat. Emane grunted as he slammed into the stone. Before he had time to worry about the pain shooting up and down his spine, an invisible force began tightening around his throat. He clawed at it, gasping for breath, but there was nothing to remove. Despite his inability to find anything, it continued to tighten, Emane’s feet dangled helplessly in the air.
Dralazar yelled something, but Emane couldn’t understand it through the ringing in his ears. In response, the dragon gained altitude, bringing his feet even to the window. With more precision than an animal of that size should have, the dragon turned himself deftly to the side. One large clawed foot reached through, wrapped itself around Kiora’s lifeless body and pulled her out through the stone window.
Emane tried to scream, but could only managed a strangled cry. Just as quickly as the dragon appeared, it was gone— bubbled by Dralazar— leaving no clue as to which direction it was heading.
As the dragon disappeared, so did the invisible force holding Emane to the wall. He slammed back into the ground.
“No,” he coughed. “No, no, NO!” Scrambling to his feet he ran to the window, “KIORA!” he yelled, leaning on the ledge for support. “KIORA!”
Chapter Twenty-four
POWER
KIORA PUSHED HERSELF UP onto her hands and knees. Wincing, she gasped and nearly dropped back to the ground. Gently she touched her side, what had happened? Pulling her shirt up she looked at the long purple and black bruises that ran from her side, all the way across her stomach. Somewhere between a groan and a whimper, she tried to rise up again, then froze.
Magic and threads accosted her on all sides. The dark threads punched through her, grabbing hold with an icy grip and pulling her heart into a cold downward spiral, her stomach sinking with it. But there was something else, something magic and powerful and new.
Pulling her head up, she peered warily through her hair, scanning. Her view was, unfortunately, limited by the terrain. Rocks and dry scraggily bushes obscured much of what there was. She could see no one, and had no idea how she had gotten there in the first place. The last she remembered, she was standing in the tower with Emane.
Her eyes moved upwards. Mountains towered over her, the slopes coming steeply down to meet the ground where she lay. Kiora’s eyes narrowed further. The angle of the earth, the small ridges at the base, it looked somewhat... familiar. Still on her hands and knees, she turned her head to the other side and stopped breathing. Ignoring the jolting pain in her side, she pushed herself quickly to her feet. Towering right in front of her, as though out of nowhere, her dreams had magnificently emerged, fully formed, into reality. The dark threads fell away for a time as all she could see and feel was the size and power of the gate stuck between the two mountains— the same gate that she had dreamed about for years.
It was difficult to look at, her mind kept swimming in and out of focus. One second she was thinking about the behemoth structure in front of her, the next she was aimlessly wondering about whether or not she had had dinner yet that day. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes pressing her palms to the side of her head. “Focus,” she whispered. It was there, she knew it was. Opening again, she focused on nothing else but seeing the gate.
The workmanship was different but equal in skill to the Wings of Arian. It stretched upwards, two separate panels arched at the top. The iron bars were intricately scrolled, some decorative, others depicting things and creatures Kiora had never seen. Beasts with bird’s heads and snake’s tails, winged people flying upwards, and more fantastical creatures beyond anything she could have dreamed.
Each side disappeared smoothly into the side of the mountain as if they belonged together. No seam or hinge was there to prove otherwise. Where the two sides met in the middle, they were sealed shut— melted in fact. It was the only mar on an otherwise beautiful masterpiece. Stepping towards it, Kiora examined the pictures, which were beautifully illuminated by the sun that was just beginning to set. Shining straight through the break in the mountain range, the two peaks focused the light into a beam. As a result, the gate itself looked ablaze.
Acting almost without permission her hand hesitantly reached out, trembling. She paused for a moment before taking the three steps forward she needed and then, touched the gate. Currents jumped from the gate to her, eager for an escape route. The power was shocking, but not nearly as shocking as the two distinct threads that came with it. One was dark, and familiar: Dralazar. The other was also familiar, if unexpected: Eleana.
Ripping her hand off the gate, Kiora stumbled, falling hard. Scrambling backwards, she use
d her hands and feet to pull her along, barely feeling the rocks and brush ripping at her hands.
“I was hoping you would touch it.”
Kiora spun around, frantically pulling herself back to her feet. The lace dress she had worn at the castle caught in the brush and tangled between her legs. The threads she had felt but not seen were now standing in plain sight— an enormous dragon she was too familiar with, Soolan; a Fallen One wearing a resplendently beautiful dress to distract from her ugliness, Vitraya; and Dralazar himself. With a scream, Kiora threw out her hand, magic flying from her fingertips. She had no idea what magic she had thrown, but it didn’t matter, Dralazar batted it away easily.
Vitraya, however, snarled in response and flung an attack in her direction. Kiora wasn’t ready for it. She tried to throw a shield, but her tangled dress threw her off balance and she stumbled to the side. To her shock and confusion, Vitraya’s attack was coolly batted away by Dralazar. Kiora didn’t have time to question it though before Soolan released his attack. Throwing her hand up again, a shield roared forward meeting it. It was the largest shield she had ever produced, encapsulating her in a comfortable dome that merged with the rock around her. Kiora looked wide-eyed around at it. The shield was so large and easy! The silence within was shattered as dragon fire roared against the shield, sheeting off in red and orange rivulets. Then, it abruptly stopped.
Pulling her shield in on one on side, Kiora hesitantly peered out to see Dralazar with his back turned to her. Soolan and Vitraya both stood before him with heads dropped, listening. Kiora strained to hear what he was saying, but couldn’t make out the words. Tendrils of smoke twisted and twirled from Soolan’s nostrils, his eyes fixed not on his master, but on Kiora.
“Go,” Dralazar commanded, louder this time. Soolan spread his wings, the ground rumbling as he took a few giant steps to push up in the air. Vitraya followed behind the dragon.
Dralazar turned to look appraisingly at Kiora. She noticed for the first time that he was strikingly handsome. He was just as gorgeous as his sister, but in a dark and hard way. He had high cheekbones and nearly black hair. Dralazar’s blue eyes stood in stark contrast to his dark features, his nose strong and angular.
“It’s alright,” he said gently, “You do not need your shield anymore.” Kiora scowled, pulling back further behind it. “Kiora,” Dralazar said, smiling and dropping his head to the side as if she were a silly child playing hide and seek. “I know you felt our threads when you awoke. If I wanted you dead, you already would be.”
Swallowing, Kiora dropped her shield.
“Dragons are widely unpredictable,” he said, still smiling at her. “But it is best not to anger them unless you have something more in your arsenal than a shield.”
Kiora asked warily, “What do you want?” She was unsure as to why they were having such a casual conversation.
“I want a great many things Kiora, all of which I believe you can help me with.”
“I won’t help you with anything.”
Dralazar crossed his arms, “Not yet.” He leaned back his head, breathing in deeply as if he were smelling something truly wonderful. “You’re still pulling magic, did you know?”
Kiora frowned, her eyes flicking around waiting for something to come springing out at her. “What are you talking about?”
“Can’t you feel it?” He spread his arms out. “It’s intoxicating.” Dropping them back to his side, Dralazar lowered his chin, looking up at her through stunning blue eyes, the color of a storm over the sea. “Normally someone such as yourself would never feel it as I do, like Eleana does. But you, you’re different now. Changed. And now it’s your turn— to feel what it’s like to have and to wield so much power.”
Kiora held her hands tensely at her side, “I don’t need power.”
“It’s not just about the power, Kiora, it’s about how it feels.” He moved closer to her, speaking softer, “How it feels when magic is flowing through every inch of you, when you become it.”
Kiora stood still, her mind racing, trying to understand what was going on. He kidnapped her from the tower at the castle, had her here with no protection, and was making no move to harm her. “What do you want with me?” she asked, looking at Dralazar sideways.
“I want to help you understand who it is you are fighting with,” he said, snapping out of his reverie, “I think you may have been misguided.”
Kiora’s eyes flickered nervously to the gate.
“Yes,” a smile quirked up one side of his mouth, “I was dearly counting on the fact that as powerful as you are now you would be able to see the gate. I was hoping you would touch it. It is much easier to convince someone of the truth when they already have suspicion.”
“I don’t understand. What is it?”
“That,” he said with a flourish. “Is a magical feat unlike any other I know of. Its effects are far reaching, all inclusive. This beautiful piece of art is what has kept the occupants of this valley imprisoned for thousands of years.”
Kiora stepped back, her heart hoping not to understand, but a flame growing in the back of her mind that understood. “What do you mean imprisoned? We can go wherever we want, were not—”
“Really? How many of you have ever gone past the mountains?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure somebody has to have...” she stammered, trying to think of anyone.
“Think about it, Kiora, just try to think of going over the mountains.”
She did, not wanting to believe. Keeping her eyes on Dralazar she imagined herself going over the other side. But as soon as she did her mind slipped, just as it had when she was trying to see the gate. She tried again, with the same result.
Dralazar smiled as he saw her frustration, “Nobody goes anywhere. They believe it is their choice, but it is not. You are all imprisoned here by this,” he said, motioning to the gate.
“But why would you...”
“Me?” he laughed strolling back over to her. “You know it wasn’t just me, don’t you Kiora? You felt the gate, you felt the magical signature.” Leaning in so his face was just inches from hers, he whispered, “Who helped me Kiora? Who?”
The memory, the feeling of the thread shoved itself to the forefront of her mind as if she had just touched it again. “Ele… Ele…”
“Yes, Eleana.”
“No,” she whispered, a tear trickling down her face. “I don’t believe it, she would never.”
Backing away, Dralazar gave her a knowing look before walking to the gate. Trailing his fingers across the iron he glanced over his shoulder at her before leaning against it, apparently unaffected by the jolt of magic Kiora had experienced upon touching it. “But you do believe it. That’s what makes it so painful.”
“It doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “Why would Eleana want to keep us all here?” “It doesn’t make any sense because you don’t know what is on the other side.” Smoothly standing upright, Dralazar looked her square in the eye. “Magic you can’t dream off, creatures you would not dream of. We didn’t stand a chance of controlling this valley.” He shook his head as if it were some great regret. “Not with the amount of magic that exists outside of these gates. It was just a matter of time before they found us, before they found this valley and took it for their own. We had no choice.”
Kiora looked up, startled.
Dralazar smiled. “Yes, we.” He strolled around her. “Eleana and I were going to rule side by side. It was our plan, not mine. It was not until much after that she decided to split from me, take the glory for herself, and what better way to get glory than to claim goodness and vilify me for the same choices she made.” Leaning forward as if relaying some great secret he whispered, “She is a FRAUD, Kiora.” He smiled a closed-lip evil smile before standing back up. “She has fooled you into fighting for her, bringing her the glory she always wanted. She is using you to get rid of me, just as she has used all the other Solus before you.”
Kiora shook her head. “No, it can
’t be...”
“And the proof is standing before us.” Holding out his arm, Dralazar motioned to the gate.
Kiora’s eyes slowly turned to follow. “But,” she searched for an explanation, “Why would she help me?” She shook her head, as if trying to clear cobwebs from her mind. “No,” she nearly shouted. “I don’t believe you. You thought you could just bring me out here and I would side with you? Did you think it would be easy to convince me that everything I have felt is wrong? I know good when I feel it, and I know evil.”
“Do you? You also say you know Eleana. Did she mention this?”
Kiora’s eyes flickered back to the gate.
“I didn’t think so.” His voice had taken on a new edge that hadn’t been there until now. “Did I think it would be easy? Well, yes. Your sister was incredibly easy to convince…” he said slyly. “I thought maybe, you being family, it might be the same.”
Kiora froze, a sick feeling rising in her throat. “You’re lying.”
“Why would I lie about something you can so easily verify, Kiora? I know you can call visions. It’s true, your sister spent time convincing me how evil you were. She told me all about your evil visions, how you killed your parents.”
Kiora’s stomach dropped and she swayed to the side. Dralazar moved to grab her, placing his arm under her elbow. She felt magic pour into her under his touch, gasping she jerked her arm away.
“What do you want, really?” she demanded backing away from him. “Why did you bring me here?”
“Why are you still alive? Is that what you’re asking?” Kiora nodded curtly. Dralazar smiled at her. “Because, Kiora, you and I could do amazing things together.”
“You don’t need me.”
He gave an amused nod of acknowledgment. “You’re right, I don’t. But you need me.”
As he reached his hand out to her, Kiora panicked. Reacting on instinct, she attacked. Her magic hit Dralazar squarely in the jaw. His head swung sharply to the side as if he had been punched.