Fated Magic (The Fated Saga Book 2)

by Sariah Skye

More deftly than the last time, Gabriel climbed on my back with little issue. I adjusted my wings and stretched, turning back to him and asking “Ready?”

  “One sec,” he said, rummaging through his pack. He produced a silky black rope.

  “Oh… kinky!” Daniel quipped, with a chuckle.

  “Ha! If only,” Gabriel added under his breath. He leaned over and wrapped it around the base of my neck; it was a harness. “Sorry, I know that it’s scandalous for dragons to wear these but—”

  I scoffed. “Like I give a shit. Besides, we’ll be cloaked. Hopefully…” I added dryly.

  He smirked out of the corner of his mouth, as he pulled himself over my wings and made himself comfortable on my back.

  “Comfy?” I asked sarcastically.

  He poked at my large spine. “Well, it’s a little bumpy, but…”

  I snorted. I nudged him with the base of my left wing. He squirmed to regain his balance, legs clutching at my side. I chuckled. “I’ll be sure to add your complaint to the right department, sir.” He chuckled.

  I turned to my human and dragon counterparts. “We good?”

  Finnian flicked his hand slightly, staring intently. “Uh… yep. No pink dragons here. No blue or green ones either… just a couple of white ones with really big wings. Good?” Finnian questioned, and I nodded with a grin. “Now it will only work as long as you're enforcing the magic, you know?” I took the hint and, closing my eyes, I imagined us all indiscriminate white dragons and the humans and Loremaster were just parts of our large bodies. Nothing to see here. I breathed out my dragon spirit “fire” and flapped my wings lightly.

  “I got this.” Gabriel waved his hands around, and collected beats of wind, he swirled gently around us, propelled by both his magic and my wings. The magic spun and danced in the air while slowly settling over the group. I narrowed my eyes slightly and saw now that everyone had a very slight glow about them and I hoped that meant the magic was working.

  “Nice work,” Finnian said, and I responded with a wink of one of my dragon eyes which probably looked rather devious as dragons often did. Finnian grinned mischievously.

  “Let’s go save these ungrateful sots, shall we?” I called out to my band of misfit friends. Kiarra gave a little whoop and Maxxus grunted and nodded. The two of them flapped their wings and took off without issue.

  I swallowed briefly; nervously. I know with Finnian’s potion this should have come second nature to me now, but...

  Sensing my fear, Gabriel patted the side of my neck reassuringly; flying and casting magic? That was unknown territory. “You got this. And if you fall, I’ll summon a cloud. Or put down a pool of water so we make a splash. It will be okay.”

  I inhaled and summoned my courage. I closed my eyes briefly and concentrated. You can do this. I told myself in my mind. I slowly flapped my wings and I let out a little roar, exhaling my magic around us. My wings absorbed it and spun it around us and with little effort—but much apprehension—we raised above the ground.

  “See?”

  I opened my eyes and saw the ground far below me. I hadn’t even realized how far we lifted. “Wow…” I was raising up, my wings beating in time, slicing through the wind and atmosphere around us and joining my fellow scaly friends in the air.

  Kiarra let out a triumphant whistle. “Yeah!” she called out. I glanced briefly at Maxxus who beamed through his dragon scowl. But our triumph was short lived.

  We took formation, in a line; Maxxus barely taking a slight lead and Kiarra and I in tandem behind him. Gabriel, who had been holding onto my neck for dear life had loosened his grip on the makeshift ‘reins’ when Maxxus halted in the air.

  “Oh my…” Kiarra gasped. I could barely hear her through the howling wind.

  You could see the towering, massive, gray stone castle that is home to the king, Queen and Court of Anarach. Normally castles on Earth were depicted with tall walls surrounding but since dragons could fly, there was no need for one. Or a moat. Instead, our castle was surrounded by miles and miles of deciduous forest… birch, redwoods, pine that reached towards the sky, hugging the sunlight beaming down on them. Miles of trees, miles of grassland underneath with the dotting of an occasional dragon village—like the one we hailed from. Small fields of crops surrounded each village and extensive gardens cultivated, usually by green dragons—the masters of the earth.

  “This is amazing!” Gabriel called, over the roar of the wind and flapping wings. He was leaning slightly into my neck, peering over my shoulder.

  Through my trepidation, I smiled at his awe; but my smile was quickly dampened by what I saw below us.

  Kiarra must have seen it at around the same time; she stopped flying forward and abruptly halted, hovering nearby me… wings flapping rhythmically to keep her airborne. I saw the concerned on her face, her eyes wide at the sight.

  “What is—” Maxxus, just barely behind me paused as I stopped in mid-flight. My mouth fell open at the sight. He muttered something under his breath.

  “The gardens….” The Court castle, not surrounded by walls, but instead by extensive gardens, usually representative of the current king and queen’s color and floral preference. The king, was red and preferred roses; the queen, blue and adored lilies and small daisies… with small smatterings of other flattering bushes and flower around them to accentuate. Normally the Court gardens were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, on this realm or Earth.

  I cried out. The foliage was wilted and the color of the flowers appeared to be drained. They were shrouded in Shadow; the blooms normally open were now wilted and closed. More than that they nearly appeared to shudder. Shivering… as in fear.

  “They shouldn’t look like that,” Kiarra said. “I need to get a closer look.” She flew downward but Finnian called out.

  “No—you shouldn’t do that. You don’t want to get close to it.”

  “It?” Kiarra asked.

  Finnian exchanged a glance with me. I nodded. I knew exactly what he was thinking.

  “Let’s fly in a little closer.” I said hesitantly.

  Cautiously we neared the castle… there was a collective gasp when we all saw it.

  A dark haze surrounded… it wasn’t just mere dark, but… a certain sense of emptiness. The walls had no shine in the sun… it was like the sunbeams coming down just disappeared. The was no substance. And I knew at once what it was…

  “Shadows.”

  Gabriel clutched his makeshift reigns a little tighter to his chest. “No…” was all he could say.

  I nodded vehemently. I could feel it: the nothing. The emptiness. Usually the Court this time of day—especially this close to Mabon—hustled and bustled with a boisterous energy. A growl here, a hearty laugh there. Maybe a little tipsy conversation and joyful dancing by the younger dragons.

  But now… nothing. I heard nothing. Even though the Castle was gray somehow it seemed flatter… like an artist had spilled turpentine over it and any touch of color had been washed away leaving behind a flat canvas. There was no depth. It was just… void.

  “Oh no…” Kiarra muttered.

  Feeling a sense of horrendous dread, we slowly flapped closer to the castle. The closer we got, the more panic I felt inside and the tighter Gabriel clung to my neck.

  Maxxus was beside me. “Are you all right?” he asked, a worried look in his dragon-blue eyes.

  I just stared straight ahead. I couldn’t acknowledge his question. If I thought about anything else other than flying towards that castle right now, I was liable to chicken out and not only pee myself but run all the way to the other end of the forest.

  Quietly I heard Gabriel swallow. “How many people… err… dragons would be here normally?”

  I blinked slowly, not wanting to acknowledge the question. These dragons had never done me any favors, but to imagine anyone being touched by the Shadows as I had…

  “Hundreds, easily,” Maxxus piped up, allowing me to remain silent. He flew close and cautious now;
his wing nearly touching as they beat in time with mine. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him watching intently.

  “Really?” I could hear Gabriel swallow nervously.

  I didn’t look, but in my peripheral vision I watched as Kiarra flew closer to me as well. “Leo… Kit lived through it. She’s okay. They will be too. We'll try to get them out, and heal them back home. It'll be fine.”

  I wasn’t thinking about them, now. All I could think about was the horrific emptiness I felt inside. My heart felt hollow. My mind, blank. I’m not even sure how I was still flying, or remaining in disguise. I didn’t even know if it mattered at this point.

  We set down just outside the castle. Finnian wanted to bolster us up with more potions.

  “I was afraid of this,” he said, with a sigh as Gabriel awkwardly slid off my back; awkward because I was somewhat paralyzed and stoic at the sight and feel of the Shadows around me. I knelt stiffly as much as I could, but Gabriel made due. Maxxus landed artfully next to me and didn’t kneel; Daniel just leapt off like the spry ninja he probably was. Kiarra was already on the ground, and Finnian was already looking through his pack for more magic.

  “What do you have this time?” Gabriel asked him.

  Moments later, Finnian pulled out a handful of smooth, cool stones and held them out in his palm. I recognized the transparent white of the quartz, and the telltale swirls and whirls of a Lake Superior agate… three of each. “These, are to be cleansing stones. They’ve been smoothing in the waves of the cool, cleansing water of Lake Superior for hundreds of years. Maybe even thousands. All impurities have been washed away… essentially.” He shrugged, as I pointed to a slight gold nick in one agate. “Okay, so… not entirely. It’s symbolic,” he said. “Daniel and Gabriel… take a stone for you and your dragon—whichever, doesn’t matter and hold them in your palms.”

  They did; Gabriel selecting an agate for me and quartz for himself. He held them out in front, and Daniel followed suit.

  Out of nowhere, seemingly, Finnian pulled a flat pink colored pouch from his sleeve. Normally I’d give him an odd look, but all I could do is stare; my eyes darting all around me scanning for Shadow tendrils or something else ominous. Besides the low light around me, despite the sun’s high position in the sky and the wilting plants there was nothing. Yet.

  He thrust the pouch to me. “Leorah… I need you to pour it over the stone and cast your magic over them. It will help keep the Shadows at bay, and you clear-headed while we go into the castle. There’s no telling what we’ll find in there.”

  I nodded; closing my eyes and struggled to will the shift, feeling the familiar shrinking of bone and muscle inside hesitated. I was distracted to finish by the Shadows presence. Somewhere deep in my mind, I wanted to sit and sleep and just lose myself in the silence; in the nothing. But I fought it and forced my body into its human form—all but the wings. No matter how I concentrated, I couldn’t make them shift away. I guessed they stayed for now.

  The boys placed their palms outstretched next to each other and I slowly poured the contents of the pouch over the six stones. It appeared to be no more than snow-colored glitter, but it disappeared when it touched the stones. Normally I’d question such magic, but the Shadows were making my general orneriness take a backseat to controlling my internal sense of doom. I exhaled a sprinkling of my misty magic over them and Finnian hovered his palm over them after, chanting something in an indiscernible language, speaking firmly and with confidence.

  “What’s that?” Gabriel inquired, meaning the language.

  Finnian smirked lightly. “A dialect older than all of us combined.”

  I let out a low whistle, knowing just how old Finnian is. “Damn.”

  “It is done,” he said. Gabriel handed me the agate and, my fingertips tingled as it touched my hand and I felt a small smile creep across my face.

  “Ah, it seems to work,” Finnian said, relieved, taking his own stone.

  “What is it?” Kiarra questioned, palming her own stone. She inhaled and clutched her quartz to her heart. “It feels nice, whatever it is.”

  “It’s to help ward off the Shadows. Very ancient magic. I don’t know for how long it will work, but as long as it’s on you, it should help control the urge to succumb to them,” Finnian explained. He placed his stone in the holster for his dagger and I followed, knowing that the enchantment would help the stone stay there through any shifting I might do.

  There was a brief sense of peace wash over the group; but it was short lived. I could sense Maxxus’ determination to get closer to the Court. And, presumably, at Nicodemus.

  I summoned up all my courage, grasping the stone between my fingers and rubbing the pad of my thumb against it. “Let’s do this.” I shoved the rock back in the holster of my dagger and trotted from the group to Maxxus, walking quickly.

  “Maxx?” I called to him, but he seemed to be in a trance. I reached out for one of his tense forearms, clenched against his sides.

  He jumped slightly when I touched him. “What the—” he turned to see me next to him and his appearance softened. “Oh. Leo. Sorry. I’m just…”

  “I know,” I said. “I know you want to… well, you know.” I said, punching one of my fists into my other palm and making a menacing expression.

  Maxxus managed a wry smile. “More than anything.”

  “But… please… don’t get hurt,” I pleaded with him. I reached out and clutched his forearm. “I may be able to heal, but not sure if I can bring back from the dead. I don’t think…”

  I trailed off, looking down at the leaf-cluttered ground.

  Maxxus gently tipped my chin upwards with a finger, forcing me to gaze up into his face. “I would never do anything to risk not coming back to you. We’ve had enough time taken from us; I won’t allow any more of it to be stolen away again.”

  I felt a smile creep over my sullen frown as he winked. He reached out, put his hand over mine and squeezed gently. “Let’s go,” he said quietly. He stared forward, expressionless as we walked.

  He halted suddenly in his tracks. Out of instinct, like a father guarding a child, he outstretched his arm to prevent me from going forward.

  “What—” I said, but cut myself, surprised.

  We had reached the Square. Normally, especially on the day of Mabon, it’d be bustling with cheerful energy. Dragons in human and dragon form would be gathering, chatting, drinking in the square. It’d be bright and sunny—if not sunny than there’d be dozens of oil lamps lit up, fires and torches everywhere to light the way.

  Only today… the torches were dark. The lamps unlit. Colorful lanterns… dulled to nothing.

  Many dragons made their homes in the square. The doors were shut, windows drawn. Booths that would normally have contained ware were empty. There was no life, no activity. No wind even. No sunlight penetrated the hazy Shadows all around us.

  “Oh my…” We stepped through the square cautiously until we came to a singular dragon—I assumed he was a blue dragon, but it was hard to tell as he was covered in Shadow tendrils. Not too far away, a dragon naked, in human form in the fetal position… Shadow tendrils slithered towards her. She muttered unintelligible to herself…

  “Is this what—” Kiarra whispered quietly. I didn’t realize, but I’d been inching ever so slowly towards the female, hands outstretched ready to perform magic.

  I felt strong hands on my shoulders. They brought me from my haze. I spun around to see Finnian’s concerned eyes in a shade of muddy yellow. “Leorah… you can’t help her now. After we get to the king and close the portal we will come back and heal them all. We will help them. But for now… we need to go.”

  I nodded slowly. “Okay.” He fell back and allowed Gabriel and Maxxus to flank my sides, each grabbing a hand and holding it tightly. I hadn’t noticed that the Shadows were affecting me too.

  I forced a smile at them both and forced myself to look forward. With each hand in one of theirs, I squeezed both to ground me. N
either of them looked back, but just grasped gently in return.

  It was torture not losing myself in the abyss of Shadow. I seemed to struggle with it the most but I could see the boys were having issues as well. The only one that seemed unaffected was Daniel of all people. He narrowed his eyes and stared forward with determination as we trudged through the dark square, amidst the fallen dragons who’d already succumbed to the Shadows. I swallowed nervously; it didn’t seem like the king had much of a chance.

  We finally trudged through the square and reached the main gate. It wasn’t so much open as… not even there. As if the Shadows had somehow eaten away at it. It seemed empty somehow.

  “Shit.” Finnian’s cursing bore attention. He was grabbing through his pack. “This is where they came in. This is where the portal is. Shit. Shit shit shit…”

  “Between the palace and the square,” Gabriel muttered in dismay.

  “That makes this a very, very strong portal. Gateways are always powerful.” He pulled out several vials and sachets along with a huge two-liter pop bottle appearing stuff. He held his empty hand out towards the portal and immediately grimaced and pulled back. “This is bad.”

  “What can we do?” I questioned, feeling a little of my sense come back as adrenaline took over.

  “You go find the king. Deal with the Court. I will stay and try to close this portal.”

  “Alone?” I shook my head. “You can’t be here alone.”

  “I will stay.” Daniel said confidently. “I can’t do much against those Shadow dragons anyhow. Might as well stand here and be guard.” Finnian gave him a nod of solemn appreciation.

  I agreed reluctantly, only because of his conviction.

  “I don’t seem to be as affected by the Shadows as you, Leo,” he said, his mouth set in a firm line. “I don’t know if it’s because I don’t have any active magic, or if it’s because I’m already familiar with them for walking in my dreams. But I’ll be fine here.”

  Gabriel clutched his brother’s forearm and gave him a worried expression. Daniel smiled grimly, but pulled his brother by the arm and gave him a manly slap on the back. “You take care of yourself, you hear? Be fast and we’ll be here when you’re done.” I looked on, sadly. Daniel blew me a light kiss and gave a slight wink. I forced a smile.