Cries of 'here, here' rose up in the crowd. The Caelestan army looked from Cayden to Quimby, waiting for the rotund man to have a retort to what Cayden had said.
Instead, he crossed his arms looking at Cayden and Astrid with narrowed eyes, and scrunched brows.
"I will not pretend that it doesn't stab straight to the core that you do not trust me," Astrid finally spoke up. "You act as though you are the only ones who have lost in this battle. In this moment, my sister fights for her life, while the man she loves travels the kingdoms to find something that will heal her. I do not know if I will ever see her alive again, but I still came here to prove my loyalty to you, the Sky people."
"Why are you here? Why not just go back to your sister?" One of the soldiers stood, his pale face genuinely concerned.
"Because, the day that I was asked to leave the Volcano of Shadows and come here to seek justice for you, and help restore the kingdoms, I agreed to it. I agreed to it with all of my heart, even if it will cost my life." Astrid felt the tiredness of the fight in her body, the memories of those she had killed cycling through her conscious as she recalled all that she had overcome to be with them in this moment, begging for their trust, even as her heart longed for home.
"Who asked you to do such a thing?" The lithe man continued, the only one brave enough to interrupt the intense conversations that had taken place.
"Just as you have a king for Telluris, Aequoris and Caelestis.... my sisters and I, my people, we had a king too. It was his request that we take the skills we had learned on our little island of Volican and bring them to your kingdoms. Rumors of the evils, the hoarding, and wars became too much for my kingdom to bear. So, my sisters and I, gave up the comfort and safety of our home where we had lived all of our life. We came here and we have done nothing but fight for the people from the moment we left. Hekla, my sister with the gift of healing, in this moment attends the water kingdom. She, too, feels the pain of having left our sister, Svana, to die, if the man she loves cannot secure something to heal her." Astrid struggled to keep the details to herself, as well as the tears that threatened to fall. They may suspect her of dragon magic, as the Vizier had done from the very beginning, but to reveal that to them now could destroy their trust even more.
"And you, what gift do you have?" Quimby challenged her. "You cannot heal, only death follows you."
His word struck to her heart. Yet, death was the very thing they had asked her to do from the moment she arrived. She had tried to offer alternatives, yet, they would not accept what she had to offer.
"That is not fair, and you know it! You cannot speak on such things, when it is your king, and your Vizier who asked me to do the things I have done."
Her anger blazed hotter than fire, rising in her like wild flames as she fought the urge to question his intentions. He had never stood up for her, though he had pretended to be her friend.
"Quimby," another Caelestan stood, her voice frail and shaking, "I," she stuttered, "Quimby, Astrid of the bow has brought us something this kingdom hasn’t had for a long time. She has brought us honor." The woman took a deep breath, unable to raise her head to meet his eyes. "She has fought the armies that camped at the base of our kingdom, the true evil of the Tellurian land. Armies that threatened our livelihood, our children, do you not remember how many lives were taken by arrows loosed here from those cold beings?"
This caused the sky people to mutter amongst themselves.
"Yes, but now she returns, asking us to trust one of the very men who may have killed our people," Quimby shot back.
"No!" Astrid interrupted, "I only ask that you decide for yourself who is worthy of trust, and not jump to conclusions. If I myself, can vouch for this man, why would you direct anger at me for trusting someone worthy of trust. I have proven myself to you, and he has proven himself to me... does that not count for anything?"
Quimby stroked his chin.
"Narrow-mindedness and judging all by their kingdom— is exactly the thing that will continue to destroy us. We must move past this now, and move toward uniting our people, and building up our lands once more. All of us go without, because of the division brought on by an unnecessary war. It's time to change that."
The Caelestans faces softened with her last comment, and even Quimby seemed to finally see where she was coming from.
"All right, I understand." He waddled forward, extending his hand to her.
"I apologize for my attitude, I just can't stand to see one more life lost, I just can't,” Quimby admitted.
"Nor can I, but you have to understand, your people are my people now. Your family is my family. I have no one else, my sisters, whether they live or die, have their own people and families now as well. It is expected of us, and we accepted the responsibility, gladly. If we had not, if there was a question in my mind, I would not have come back here again. Every time I come back, I am asked to take more lives, and it wears on me. My hope this time is to reason with the king and take the first step toward uniting us all. Cautiously, of course."
Cayden rested his hand on the small of her back, the warmth from his body comforting her. So much had happened, the pain could be crippling at times. It caused her defenses to always be up, and she knew it to be the reason she had taken it so personally that Quimby didn't trust her. As they shook hands, she knew their friendship had been restored, and she hoped that the next time she brought someone here to help, that he wouldn't question her.
“So, what happens next?” another Caelestan asked.
“Well, I have shared everything I can. You may return to your families and homes if you wish,” Astrid said.
They nodded, most of them departing as soon as she affirmed that they could. The woman who had been afraid to speak earlier, waited until everyone left before she approached Astrid.
“Astrid, my son was killed by a stray arrow from one of the Tellurian guards below that you killed. My husband died in battle against them many years ago. This kingdom is all I have left, but our king.” She took a deep breath. “He is no better than king Armand was. Please be cautious when you go to speak to him. Quimby was right in warning you against the man’s anger and refusal to forgive for the death of his son.”
Astrid nodded her head, reaching her hand out to the woman’s. “I’m so sorry for everything you’ve suffered.”
The woman nodded her head. “I just don’t want it to be in vain, that is all I ask. Please, make this right.” A tear trickled down the tall woman’s face, her delicate wings shivering gently as she walked away.
“Poor woman,” Cayden said.
“Indeed,” Astrid replied.
“Are you ready to do this?” he asked her.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to confront certain death,” she offered with a light chuckle. They left the area and Quimby departed with the last Caelestan.
12
Jakobe
Everyone has pain. Most people think they can hide it—they just tuck it away and tell no one. No matter how well you think you can hide your pain—you’re fooling no one. It does not make you stronger. Pain weakens even the strongest man or woman. Whether it is physical or mental—it matters not. The pain will eventually be revealed, and when it is, you best hope it isn’t too late to heal it.
Civeress, The Champion, Third Dragon Elder, Fourth Age of Verdil
Jakobe pushed himself harder and faster. He’d enjoyed the company of Captain Telvidius. The man wanted what was best for Telluris, which was good, since at first the captain had attacked Jakobe and Eloise. Telvidius still didn’t take Jakobe at his word, but at least he let him go and would return to the capital to see the king. It was a best-case scenario.
However, the encounter left Jakobe behind. He already didn’t have much time to reach Volican, but now, he had even less. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself forward. He knew he shouldn’t be this tired, as it was only midday, and they still had many hours left to travel before they could break for the night. Yet, he was
exhausted, and in pain. He didn’t know how much farther he could make it.
As he got to the top of the next hill, he stumbled, and fell to the ground. When he did, he couldn’t catch himself as he began rolling down through the thick, tall grass.
He cringed as his pain intensified, and a trail of blood followed him. Eloise shouted as she chased after him. When he finally stopped moving at the bottom of the hill, he laid face-up, staring at the bright orange sun. He closed his eyes as he moaned.
“Are you all right?” Eloise asked.
“Fine,” he said through clenched teeth as he brought his left arm up to cover his eyes.
“You don’t look fine. In fact, you haven’t looked fine all day. And why are there spots of blood following you down here?”
She failed to hide the concern from her face, and it made him wonder. She put her hand behind his back, helping him into a sitting position.
He undid his upper leather armor and tossed it on the ground. Eloise sat next to him, her brows furrowed with worry. She winced as she saw the fresh blood, staining his armor. He uncovered his left shoulder. A deep gash penetrated deep between his shoulder-blade and neck.
Eloise moved her hands to her mouth to cover a gasp. She reluctantly reached out and touched his wound.
Jakobe cringed, pain intensifying all through his body. “Careful.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” she demanded, her hand shaking gently as she withdrew from him.
“We don’t have time to stop,” Jakobe said. “Svana’s life depends on our speed.”
“We could have at least bandaged it up,” Eloise said, the motherly tone to her voice dripping in disapproval.
“With what? I don’t know about you, but I don’t have an extra shirt or gauzes. In fact, I can’t even recall the last time I took a bath. And I’m sorry about the smell.”
Eloise’s face showed a partial half-smile as she examined his wound, fingers gently pulling away the fabric of his torn shirt. “This is bad, Jakobe. You need medical attention.”
“We cannot stop. There isn’t time.”
A red mist circled around Jakobe coming from the sword at his hip. Lingaria appeared in front of them, his red tail curled around his body. Red eyes blazing, not looking fierce, but rather innocent, which was odd for them being red.
“Dragon?” Jakobe asked.
“My name is Lingaria,” he said.
“Right,” Jakobe said.
“I may be able to help,” Lingaria said.
“Help with what?” Eloise asked.
“Jakobe’s injury.”
“Dragons can do magic?” Jakobe asked.
Lingaria rumbled in what Jakobe considered a chuckle. “Dragons are magic, Jakobe.”
Jakobe’s forehead crinkled as he thought about it. He supposed it was magic that let the dragon move in and outside of the sword. But for some reason, he thought his magic was limited to that and fighting. He saw the three sisters, and each had their talent. Svana was the warrior, Astrid the archer, and Hekla the wizard. He just assumed the dragons had similar talents. Jakobe had only seen Lingaria and the blue dragon, but he figured each sister had a dragon.
“I didn’t know you could do that type of magic,” Jakobe admitted.
“I admit it’s not my specialty. But, yes I can do some healing. It’s just—” Lingaria trailed off.
“What?” Jakobe asked.
Lingaria scratched the ground with his front right paw. “I’m not technically supposed to.”
Jakobe tilted his head. “Why?”
“I am Svana’s dragon. I am not supposed to help anyone else unless it is by her command. That is by command of the Unseen Ones.”
Jakobe tilted his head. “But you said the Unseen Ones gave you this mission. That they told you to return to Volican with me.”
The dragon’s jaw tightened and shrank back. “That… technically, wasn’t entirely true.”
Jakobe’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“I was told Palladin the Great may be able to help Svana. I was told you may be able to help me, and without you, I may not be able to accomplish this. I made the decision to bring you into this, but I couldn’t see any other way. But I have only been given permission to travel with you. They have not given me permission to heal you or take your orders.” Lingaria asked.
“And you can’t ask the Unseen Ones?” Jakobe asked.
“No. They have closed themselves off from me.”
“And you think they’ll be upset?” Jakobe asked.
“If we fail… yes.”
Jakobe rubbed his eyebrows. “Well, we need to get to this Palladin before it’s too late then. I assume he’s the one we’re trying to reach in Volican. You never did tell me what our mission was—just that we didn’t have a lot of time if we wanted to save Svana.”
“Yes.”
“So, you can heal him?” Eloise asked.
Lingaria nodded. “I’m not good at healing, so it won’t be perfect… and it may hurt.”
“It already hurts,” Jakobe said.
“Not this much.”
Jakobe gritted his teeth. “Go for it.”
Lingaria nodded, then jumped up onto Jakobe’s shoulder. The dragon was smaller than Jakobe ever imagined a dragon being, more like the size of a ferret than the massive beast he imagined in his mind. Lingaria ran around Jakobe’s neck to dig his claws into Jakobe’s back. Jakobe clenched his fist to prevent himself from screaming out.
Lingaria’s jaw opened and flames escaped its mouth and onto Jakobe’s shoulder. The heat was unbearable. Jakobe finally screamed. This didn’t feel like healing. It felt like Lingaria was cauterizing the wound—not healing it. Blood no longer dripped from the wound, and the scent of burnt hair filled the air, nearly making Jakobe gag. Lingaria continued for several minutes, all the while Jakobe bit on his leather armor to prevent himself from screaming even more. Eloise put her hand on his good shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, but he felt little comfort—only pain.
When Lingaria stopped, he jumped off Jakobe’s shoulder and flapped his small wings, flying a few feet before landing on the ground. Lingaria looked to the ground, as if ashamed of what he’d done.
“It is done,” Lingaria said. “I am sorry.”
The pain didn’t settle, and Jakobe finally took his mouth off of his leather armor and shouted louder than he ever had before. It sounded more like a frustrated cry of pain rather than a scream, or at least, that’s what he told himself to feel better. The pain hadn’t fully recessed, but it was already feeling much better.
“Was that necessary?” Jakobe asked.
“You are healed,” Lingaria said.
“Is that how it feels when the blue-haired woman heals someone?” he asked.
The small red dragon shook his head. “No, Hekla is much more skilled with healing. Speltus, my brother, has trained her well.”
“Remind me to never get injured around you again,” Jakobe said. “That was brutal.”
Lingaria shrugged, his shoulders moving up toward his head. “I’m more of a fire and brimstone type of dragon. Battle? Check. Fire? Check. Being fierce. Check. Healing?” the dragon scoffed. “Not so much.”
“Fire? Where was this fire when we were fighting the Toverak?” Jakobe asked.
“I was one with the sword. I cannot be inside and outside the sword at the same time.”
Jakobe shook his head as he lay on his back on the grass. The healing had taken a lot out of him, and the pain was still heavy. He needed a short rest before he could summon the energy to continue on.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a dog standing over him panting. Svana’s dog. The dog leaned over and licked Jakobe’s face. Slobber caked a thick layer on Jakobe’s face. He groaned as he turned his head away and wiped his face with his good arm.
“And where have you been, mutt?” Jakobe asked. “Where were you when we were attacking the Toverak?”
“He actually did help,” Eloise said,
“He barked and distracted the second Toverak, which enabled me to loose two bolts into its throat.”
“Fine… what do you want? A good boy?” Jakobe asked.
The dog whimpered.
Jakobe sat up. “Fine… good boy.”
The dog barked and proceeded to lick his face again.
“Uggh,” Jakobe muttered as he wiped his face again.
“Are you ready to continue to the Volcano of Shadows?” Lingaria asked.
“I’m weak, dragon. That so-called healing you did to me wore me out. I’m famished.”
“I’ll warm you up some of the Toverak that Captain Telvidius left with us,” Elosie said.
Lingaria approached, sniffing loudly, and nearly begging like a dog. The beast really did love the Toverak meat.
“Allow me,” Lingaria said.
Eloise used metal stakes to set the meat off of the ground. Lingaria approached and opened his small mouth. Flames blazed through the air, crisping the outside of the red meat until it blackened. The smell of cooked meat filled the air, making Jakobe’s belly rumble. The dog barked, licking his chops in anticipation of his meal as well.
“All right,” Jakobe said. “I have to admit… that was pretty neat.”
Lingaria turned around and bowed.
“Let’s eat,” Eloise said.
13
Hekla
Greed is powerful. Greed is controlling. There are times when greed can be good. You want what is best for yourself and your family. It is understandable. But when you let your greed blind you to everything else. The truth, to your own family. Then greed has consumed you. If greed consumes you, it controls you. If you have everything you’ve ever wanted and more, if you own everything? What is the purpose? If you have all the jewels and money in the world, you cannot spend it if there is nothing to spend it on.
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