Dragon Rise

by D. K. Holmberg

  Fes remained frozen, fear hammering in his chest.

  “Who’s out there?” he called again.

  “Fes?”

  It was a muted shout, and it came from in front of him. It meant that he would have to go through the shadow, and he didn’t want to. Everything in his being told him that he shouldn’t, but he was sure that he’d heard his name and convinced that the people he wanted to find were out there.

  “I’m here!”

  He squeezed his eyes shut and took a step forward.

  The shadows didn’t seem to move. Maybe they were only his imagination and nothing real. Another couple of steps and he thought that they began to lift, clearing.

  A few more steps.

  The sense of movement came from behind him, but Fes refused to turn. That had been his mistake before, and he now had hope.

  “Where are you?” he called into the fog.

  “Fes?”

  It seemed to come from his right, and he turned a little bit, following the sound of the voice.

  With another few steps, he finally emerged back out of the fog, practically tripping over one of the Deshazl.

  When he stepped inside the ring of Deshazl, the fog faded, becoming more translucent once more, the same as it had been when he’d been here before.

  Fes sighed, breathing out heavily and collapsing on the ground.

  On the far side of the circle, Nina watched him. She held the bundled line of yarn and her hand. Next to her, Dobrah still slept. Fes looked around the circle and saw that many of the Deshazl still slept. She looked at him, meeting his gaze. “What happened?”

  “I saw something.”

  “Did you figure out what it was?”

  He shook his head. “It’s out there. I’m sure of it, and I was afraid that it was the Damhur.”

  “You ventured into the forest on your own to confront the Damhur?”

  “I did it because I wasn’t sure,” Fes said.

  His heart continued to pound, and he wondered if it would ever ease up. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the forest.

  “When I woke up and you were gone…”

  Fes nodded. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to abandon you or anyone.”

  “I wouldn’t have thought that.”

  Fes made a slow turn, looking out into the forest. As he did, he had no sign of movement, nothing like what he had been detecting before. Maybe it had been nothing more than his imagination.

  “When everyone wakes, I want us to move as quickly as possible.”

  Nina studied him for a long moment before nodding.

  Chapter Seventeen

  They had been walking for the better part of the day. As they went, the fog seemed to push on them. Fes carried one sword, and Nick carried the other, creating rims of light around them, pushing back the fog. He didn’t understand how it worked, but the fact that it did was enough to give him a little bit of comfort. All of the Deshazl crowded around him and Nick, using their light to stick together. They were a solemn and somber group, and they traveled silently. Even if they spoke, their voices were swallowed by the fog in the forest.

  They had found no evidence of the Damhur. Fes was thankful for that but feared that perhaps they had chosen not to travel through the forest. It was possible that they had decided to circle around, and maybe they had people stationed all along the edge of the forest, waiting for them to emerge.

  They lost all sense of direction as they went. They thought they were traveling straight, but the trees forced them to take a meandering sort of path, especially as they tried to navigate between them. For all he knew, they were circling back around and would end up right back where they started. He didn’t say any of that to his companions. They needed his certainty that they would reach safety.

  “What can you tell me about this forest?” Fes asked Nick after they’d been walking in silence for what seemed like hours.

  “I don’t know much,” Nick said.

  “You have to know something. You acted like you knew something.”

  Nick looked over at him, and it seemed as if a debate warred in his eyes. “Nothing but rumors.”

  “What kind of rumors?” Nina asked. Since coming around, she had regained her confidence. Fes wasn’t surprised. Everything he’d seen from Nina told him that she was incredibly capable.

  “Do you feel the heat?” Nick asked.

  The people around them were nodding. Several started to listen, looking over at Nick as they walked.

  “It’s not like that anywhere else but in the forest. Even right at the edge, it’s cooler, the way most would expect for it to be. But here, under these trees, there isn’t any of that cool air. It’s hot and humid, and some have taken to calling it the Dragon’s Breath.”

  Someone chuckled, but Fes couldn’t tell who it might be.

  “Why would they call it the Dragon’s Breath?” Joey asked.

  Nick glanced around him before his gaze settled on Fes, however briefly. “It’s a rumor, that’s all.”

  “What kind of rumor?” Nina asked.

  “There are some who believe the forest is home to dragons.”

  “Dragons?” Joey asked. “The dragons are all gone. The empire killed them centuries ago.”

  Fes looked around, his heart hammering again. The empire had killed them, hadn’t they? And yet, he remembered the story that Arudis had told him, and he wasn’t certain. Maybe the empire hadn’t killed all the dragons. Now that Fes had some experience with these others, he believed that dragons had been controlled. If the Deshazl did have a shared connection with dragons, it was entirely believable that they were controlled the same way that he had almost been by the Calling.

  “Like I said, they’re nothing but rumors,” Nick said.

  “Wouldn’t it be something?” Joey whispered excitedly.

  “What would be something?”

  “If the dragons still lived. Can you just imagine seeing a dragon?”

  “I don’t want to see a dragon,” Nick said.

  Fes glanced over at Nick. The other man was frowning, looking at Joey for a long moment before turning his attention back in front of him, staring out into the depths of the forest.

  “Why wouldn’t you want to see dragons?”

  “I’ve seen what they can do,” Nick said softly.

  “You have?” Joey asked.

  Nick looked up, meeting Joey’s eyes. “Close enough.” Nick turned away.

  “Well?” Joey said.

  Nina tapped him on the arm and shook her head, but Joey didn’t seem to take the hint.

  “Why won’t you tell me?”

  “Because he’s seen a fire mage,” Fes said softly. “As have I. The fire mages use the power of the dragons. I’ve seen powerful fire mages do terrible things.”

  Joey watched Fes with an expression of awe. “What were they like?”

  “They use the power of dragons,” Nina said. There was something almost chiding in the way that she spoke, and Fes was reminded that she followed the Path of the Flame. He had forgotten about that, though he knew that he shouldn’t have.

  How many others here would follow that path? How many others here would be devout, believing that the dragons were something sacred and to be revered? And how would they react if they were to know the way that the Damhur would use the dragons?

  The others didn’t revere the dragons. They abused them, the same way that they would have abused the Deshazl had they managed to keep them controlled.

  “I was just saying—”

  “We know what you were just saying,” Nina said.

  They fell into a silence, continuing to make their way through the forest. How long had it been that they’d been walking? Long enough that Fes had lost track of time. Long enough that his thighs burned. Long enough that his throat was dry and his stomach rumbled.

  They needed to get out of the forest, and soon. Everyone would need something to drink and eat, and they would need to rest. Fes wasn’t sure that
they should rest in the forest again.

  “Let’s take a break,” Fes said.

  Nina glanced at him before nodding. She made quick work of getting everyone organized, and they all took a seat, most of them crouching with backs against the trunks of two nearby trees. Nick stayed in between them, the light from his sword pushing back the fog, making it so that no one would get lost. He remained silent.

  Fes watched him, wondering what he’d gone through. Nick had some experience with fire mages, and whatever experience it was had left him angry. It was a feeling that Fes thought he understood, though his reasons were very different.

  “Do you think the dragons could be in the forest?” Nina asked, taking a seat next to him.

  “There are no living dragons,” Fes said.

  “Even after what Nick said?”

  Fes looked at Nick. He sat between two large groups of people, the sword resting on his knees. His eyes had a haunted look to them, and he stared blankly. What had he seen? What had he gone through? Whatever it had been had been awful. Fes hadn’t noticed it before and felt bad for the fact that he hadn’t. It was something that he would have to address with Nick at some point, but for now, they needed to focus on getting themselves out of the forest.

  “I’ve seen dozens and dozens of dragon relics,” Fes said. “Nowhere has there been any evidence that the dragons still live.”

  He remembered what Jayell had said about fire mages going off, seemingly returning with even more relics, a constant supply that should not be unless the dragon still lived. Was it possible that living dragons remained?

  Maybe the dragons hadn’t been killed and had only disappeared, going into hiding so that they couldn’t be used by the Damhur.

  He looked around. Why not here? Why not a forest?

  He knew the answer to that. The dragons wouldn’t disappear into the forest because they wouldn’t have a chance to fly.

  But then, if they flew, they risked exposing themselves. If he were to attempt to hide, he would sacrifice the one defining feature that might reveal his presence. Most agreed that dragons were incredibly intelligent. With that being the case, then it seemed likely that the dragons would have known to hide. But that relied upon the empire not having some way of finding them. Fes wasn’t certain whether or not that was the case.

  “Just think if they still lived,” Nina said, her voice taking on a faraway quality. “How much would be different?”

  “Do you remember how you felt when you were taken?”

  She nodded. “I felt helpless. I wanted to run, but my body didn’t react. It was almost as if I froze.” She looked at Fes, and a flush came to her cheeks.

  “You didn’t freeze because you’re weak or anything like that.”

  “I didn’t say—”

  Fes smiled and patted her on the arm. “You didn’t have to. You weren’t the only one who had that reaction when you faced them.”

  “You?”

  Fes sighed. “I wish that had been my experience. I was betrayed by a friend, and they knocked me out. By the time I came around, I was in the wagon and confined.”

  “Then why ask about how I froze?”

  “I ask only because you have mentioned how great you think it might be for the dragons to return.”

  “It would be great,” she said.

  “Maybe. But these others have a connection to us, and we have a connection to the dragons. If they can force us to freeze and can force some of us to fight each other, just think what they could do to a dragon.” His voice had gone quiet, low enough that he was careful that the others with them wouldn’t overhear him speaking. He didn’t want to scare anyone.

  “They can control dragons?”

  “That’s what I’ve been told,” he said.

  Nina swallowed. “Well. If the dragons still live, then we would need to do whatever we can to protect them.”

  “I’m not sure that there’s anything we can do that would protect them,” he said.

  “I thought you said that we shared a connection with the dragons.”

  “As far as I know, we do.”

  “Then we would need to use that connection.”

  Fes watched her for a moment. “Right now, I mostly concerned about bringing you and the others to safety.”

  “Maybe that shouldn’t be all that you’re focused on.”

  Fes frowned.

  “What if you should be focused on something greater than yourself?”

  He looked around at the others there with them. “I think that I am focused on something greater than myself. If it was only on myself, I wouldn’t have stayed with you.”

  Nina watched him for a moment before turning her attention to the others. “Tell me about this friend of yours.”

  “She was captured when we were attempting something stupid. We thought we needed to break into the fire mage temple so that we could get artifacts that she could use to defend ourselves.”

  “Your friend is a fire mage?”

  “My friend was a fire mage. Now she’s…”

  Fes wasn’t quite sure what to say Jayell was. She didn’t want to be a fire mage any longer, but Fes had continued to use her in that way. How could she be anything other than a fire mage, especially with as often as she had been asked to use her talents?

  “I didn’t know,” Nina said.

  “How could you?”

  “That’s why you are doing this?”

  “That’s why all of this started. Had she not been captured, and had I not gone to find help to rescue her, I doubt I would have been captured.”

  And had he not been captured, he wouldn’t have been able to save all of these people. As difficult as it was, there was value in what had happened.

  “When we get out of the forest, what do you intend for us?”

  There was more in her question then what he knew she was getting at. He could tell that what really worried her was whether he would abandon them. And it was a valid question, especially considering that all he wanted was to find some way of reaching Jayell, but he wasn’t sure how he would get to her. How could he, especially as he didn’t know if she was even still within the fire mage temple? It was possible that they had brought her somewhere else.

  It was also possible that she had reverted back to the person she’d been. Could she have changed, have allowed herself to return to serving as a fire mage?

  Fes didn’t think so. She wanted more than what could be found within the fire mage temple, but what if they had some way of persuading her?

  “There’s a place that I think I can guide everyone. Once I do, once everyone is safe, then I will go after my friend.”

  “What happens if you can’t reach her?”

  “I don’t want to think about that.”

  And when he did reach Jayell, then his tasks changed. From there, he would focus on figuring out what Alison had done and why she had betrayed him. It angered him, knowing that she had betrayed him, and it angered him not knowing whether or not anything between them had ever been real.

  He nodded, motioning to Nina that it was time to keep moving. She studied him for a moment before making her way around the base of the trees, sending word to everyone that it was time for them to depart. She reached Nick last, and when she got to him, he looked up at her, that haunted look in his eyes making him seem almost empty.

  They started out, attempting to continue in the same direction as they weaved through the trees. No one spoke, and Fes felt as if there were almost a sense of sadness hanging over their party, almost a pall that seemed to come as much from the forest as it did from anything else. They paused a few more times, each time resting for long stretches, and when they did, no one spoke. Even Nina gave Fes space. Had he angered her?

  Maybe it was just that she, like everyone else, wanted out of the forest. Maybe it was only that she worried about what would happen to them after they left. Fes didn’t have good answers for that. They were Deshazl, but none of them understood exactly what
that meant. Even Fes didn’t understand. Serving as Deshazl meant that they had a shared bloodline, but what use was that shared bloodline if they didn’t have those they cared about around them?

  He thought of Dobrah and her unborn child. What would she do, especially if she couldn’t find the child’s father? Nina probably had someone special. She was too proud and strong and impressive a woman not to. The younger people had families, too. All of them would want to return to their families, but how could they? Would it even be possible, especially as they had been separated from their families?

  They had been walking for an unknown duration of time when it seemed as if the trees began to grow more widely spaced. The fog around them started to lift, and even the heat retreated.

  Fes raised a hand and leaned over to Nick. “I think we’re at the edge of the forest.”

  Nick looked around, and the haunted expression on his eyes changed, fading for a moment. “The edge? Could we have traveled so far?”

  “Look,” Fes said.

  Nick looked at the forest, and part of the emptiness in his eyes began to fade. “Could we really have survived the Dragon’s Breath?”

  Fes laughed softly. “Well, most of us have to be descended from the Deshazl, so surviving the Dragon’s Breath makes sense.”

  The mood of the group lifted, and all around him everyone seemed to have a better attitude. There was more chatter than there had been in hours or days—Fes had lost track of how long they’d been traveling. People smiled, and a few laughed, something that hadn’t happened since they had started into the trees.

  A few more steps and traces of sunlight appeared.

  “I think—”

  Fes cut off, feeling a sudden pressure upon him.

  He recognized that sense and jerked his head around to see all of the people with him having glazed eyes, staring blankly and straight ahead.

  A Calling.

  Where was the person performing the Calling? They had to be nearby, close enough that they would influence them, and how would they have known that they were appearing?

  Unless they hadn’t known. Maybe they’d been trying to use the Calling on the forest, anticipating that the Deshazl would appear. Maybe they had used the Calling for a very different purpose. If they believed that dragons were inside the forest as Nick suggested, then it was possible that the Calling was to draw them out.