by Sariah Skye
He nodded, and the remaining four of us left Daniel and Finnian to close the portal. Finnian already had the ancient leather bound book out and was flipping furiously through the pages.
I hesitated before Maxxus clutched my hand tighter and slightly pulled. “We need to go, Leorah.”
I slowly turned away, nodding slowly. My eyes felt hot with the prickle of a tear. I had only known them a short time, but I would be devastated if anything happened to either of them… even Finnian. But I summoned my courage with a deep inhale and allowed the boys to pull me away.
“Daniel’s a hard ass. I know he’ll be fine,” Gabriel whispered, almost sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than me. “Finnian well… he’s legendary. I think it’ll take a lot more than some stupid Shadows to stop him.”
I did chuckle a little. “He’s probably immune with that—background of his.”
“Background… now I need to hear this,” Kiarra pipped up, with a chuckle. It was an odd sound amidst this void of nothingness. It made me smile, and feel stronger.
“A story for another time,” I said, with a smirk. I nodded through the large gate, into the immense entryway. The guards in their dragon forms writhing on the ground, Shadow tendrils tightening their grasp on them made me remember how dire the situation was.
The inside of the Court castle was never brightly lit—as per tradition, most modern conveniences like electricity were shunned; tradition stated that it was preferable to use magic. A group of fire dragons every day would light the hundreds upon thousands of torches that illuminated the gray stone walls. Torches that light the hundreds of paintings, sculptures and tapestries that adorned the walls and brightened our way.
In the middle of the day, it appeared to be twilight inside the castle. Gabriel attempted, to no avail to summon a small ball of fire to hold in his palm ahead of him for magic. The Shadows quickly engulfed any sort of positive magic with a small burst of black smoke any time it was attempted. Gabriel became frustrated. “How the hell are we supposed to see where we are going?”
“Let me try.” I didn’t know if it’d do any good, but I had to try. I closed my eyes, blocking out the scene of the dim shadows around me and imagined a spark in my outstretched palm. My fingertips tingled slightly, but as I opened my eyes, there was nothing there.
I cursed in frustration. I shut my eyes and tried again. Gabriel hovered his hand over mine. “Together,” he said.
We both cast our magic simultaneously; him with light magic and me empowering with my own spirited brand. The result was a stable orb of light that rest my hand now. “Sweet,” I said, amused.
“Let’s get going,” Kiarra prompted us.
Gabriel seemed to suddenly realize where he was. His head craned in every direction, trying to take in what he was seeing. Even in the dim of the Shadows it was impressive.
The entrance foyer was about as large as an entire house. Massive stairs in the rear led upwards to the Royal Chambers where the king and queen and their family—had they had any—actually lived. Off to the right and the left were massive corridors leading to different official wings. The right wing generally held the auditorium where official court business was done and the left was a large ballroom, quarters and other eating areas.
What stood out more than anything was the artwork, including the tapestries on the shiny gray marble. The dozens of tapestries depicted the crest and color of each dragon that had ruled in the past handful of millennia. I knew in the hallways heading towards the different wings and up the stairs held the tapestries of the most ancient of royalty who ruled in another, an older derelict castle that lay in ruins not far from here. This particular castle had been built around 3500 years ago. The other one erect for countless years before that on Earth (human Earth) but was moved for sentimentality’s sake years ago.
Against either side of the massive stone staircase sat replica statues of the current king and queen… not quite life size but still big. King Athalos, a commanding red drake on the right and Queen Valessia, a beautiful blue drake on the left. Over their necks were draped official banners for the Mabon festival in harvest golds, oranges and rusty reds that would generally go on today but was obviously sidetracked by the Shadows.
But all the beauty and regality of the Court was marred by a sheen of Shadow; like a slimy substance that clung to everything like an oil slick. I shuddered, just standing there amongst them. Every now and then I saw a small tendril slither over the wall. I shuddered. “Let’s get going.”
“This is beyond creepy,” Kiarra observed, clasping my shoulder with her hands and walking in step with me. The boys flanked my sides, Maxxus unsheathed his sword and raised it defiantly in front of him, ready for battle. Gabriel was still trying to spark a fireball in his hand. Finally, he managed a very dim one, no bigger than the head of a match.
“Let me try.” Our combined magic seemed to be effective here. I called for mine with some difficulty and it sparked with some effort, but combined with Gabriel's magic, the fireball grew in size and strength and glowed brightly.
“How much further?” he questioned.
“Not far,” I replied, as we traipsed quietly through the corridor.
From out of nowhere, we heard a hissing sound. Low and ominous. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw it.
A large object… it appeared to be a dragon, but… not. It was as if something had eaten away at its form; parts of it were missing. It’s yellow or brown color was marred as if someone had spilled black watercolor paint. It wasn’t solid; almost transparent. The dragon didn’t appear corporeal any longer.
“Leo…” Maxxus whispered. “This would be a really good time for a cloaking spell.”
The nearly serpentine Shadow creature stopped in its slither away from us down the hallway. He slowly turned around. “Who isss there?” it almost hissed like a snake.
With no time to spare, the instincts kicked in and I breathed out quickly. I imagined a black veil around us, and I flapped my wings slightly to allow them to take the magic on them and spread them out. The veil surrounded us as we stood totally still to avoid the Shadow Dragon’s creepy stare.
Satisfied nothing was there, the Shadow dragon turned back and oozed his way back down the corridor and disappeared through a door just off the Court ball room.
I had barely managed a sigh of relief and was about to drop the shield when, seemingly out of nowhere I felt a sudden feeling of absolute dread. I could feel the cloak slipping as the feeling oozed over my shoulder. I shuddered and was frozen in my tracks.
“Leo!” Gabriel called out. In a flash, he summoned a ball of fire in his now outstretched palms.
“Leeeeeooo?” The creature hissed behind me. I slowly spun around. Something about the sound of its voice was vaguely familiar.
When I turned, I realized I was looking into the muddied green eyes of my father.
Chapter 18
Normally a black dragon, he was nearly invisible amidst the backdrop of the dark walls; all but his dull, gray eyes were visible until he opened his jaw and a mouthful of razor sharp, jagged and dripping with dark slime.
My father was fairly menacing for a dragon but, Shadowtouched, he was wholly terrifying. I stood, frozen in my tracks.
“You... aren't supposed... to be here...” he snarled. His form, seemingly half eaten away like the other was now fully exposed as he slithered towards us.
“Saladin.” Maxxus voice was barely over a whisper.
“You know this one?” Gabriel questioned.
Maxxus slowly nodded. “I know them all, whether I recognize them or not. But this is Leorah's father.”
“Father?” Gabriel partially squeaked in shock.
Maxxus gave one nod of his head.
Gabriel let out a low whistle, barely audible, but it seemed to echo through the castle walls with an eerie rumble. “Not a good time for a family reunion.”
Normally I would have registered his snark, but I stood instead, immob
ile. My father intimidated me. He intimidated anyone with his calm demeanor; like a volcano always on the verge of exploding, he was volatile at best. For me, he had no patience, never had. In the best of circumstances, it felt like he was one bite away from snapping my neck off, but right now more than ever I sensed the dread.
“Father.” I managed to spit out.
He seemed to materialize from the Shadows; his appendages slithering inwards from the Shadow tendrils nearby to form his legs. His tail and the rest of his scaled body, making an odd sucking sound as he finally appeared in his full form, but with pieces seeming to be missing from him. Like, bites were taken out. He was gnarled and twisted like an ancient, worn tree. “Leorah.” His voice was a raspy whisper.
I swallowed nervously as my heart seemed to skip a few hundred beats.
“What are you—” he said, then trailed into Dragon.
I heard a growl from beside me. In a split second, Maxxus had shifted into his large, domineering dragon form and put himself between myself and my father. He was larger than my father, but still Saladin was much more intimidating because of the slimy Shadows.
Maxxus spoke in angry Dragon. Gabriel nudged me and quietly asked, “What is he saying?”
“He's basically saying, 'Don't harm her, or we'll attack.'” I replied, hushed.
I heard a snide chuckle come from my father's Shadow form. Slowly, he slithered closer to us. Maxxus inhaled a breath and puffed out his chest in an act of intimidation. Saladin—my father—just chuckled.
“Do you really think I'd be afraid of you, Earth dragon?” he said with an evil snicker.
Gabriel held up his palm and flicked his fingers open, summoning a ball of fire. “Two against one.”
“Four, twit,” Kiarra responded dryly. “Sorry, Lord Saladin.” Kiarra was wholly terrified and could barely move, but reached out and grasped my hand. She pulled me closer to her and the form of her body was stabilizing in the midst of the Shadows.
Saladin chuckled. “Oh boys, whatever did she do to you to cause you to do her bidding?” he clicked his tongue, shaking his dragon head. “And you,” he said, giving only a brief glance to Kiarra. He just snorted, looking over her quickly and dismissing her just as quickly. “Harlots,” I heard him mumble.
I said nothing, but Kiarra and I clutched our hands tighter in solidarity.
I frowned. Inside of me raged a battle. Terror, from the Shadows. Anger, from my father's chiding accusation. Despair, regret I hadn't been loved by my father as I should have. His comment brought up much deep-seeded issues.
“Fight it, Leo,” Gabriel whispered into my ear.
“We are doing what you should have been doing Leorah's whole life: protecting her,” Maxxus growled out in his gruff, angered tone.
Rather than be ruffled by Maxxus' comment, Saladin just snickered and a slow grin spread over his face—or the Shadowed remnants of his face.
“What makes you think I'm not doing that now? Have I attacked, yet? No,” he replied. He slowly slunk around us, Shadow tendrils trailing in each step, sneering at us with his dull, clouded eyes.
“Then what do you want?” I forced the speech from my throat; I could feel the pull of the Shadows abyss deep inside.
Gabriel placed a hand on my arm, allowing his light magic to penetrate my haze.
I gave a slight nod and smiled slightly at him as the magic surged through me, causing a quick sense of warmth trailing down my side. It felt like the first rays of sunlight after a ten-day-monsoon: refreshing and warm.
“Since when have you ever tried to keep me safe?” I quipped bitterly.
“You have no idea!” he shouted bitterly. With a low growl, my father spun—well, slithered—around, inhibited by the Shadows as he spun. As he turned, Shadow tendrils broke off from his form and snaked their way towards us.
Quickly, Gabriel shot subsequent fireballs at them.
“You dare defy me, child!?!” Saladin's voice boomed, he inched rather quickly towards me and his face was inches away from my own.
“You will not harm her!!!!” Maxxus commanded, snarling, attempting to smack Saladin's face away.
Before Maxxus swatted Saladin away, quickly—almost as fast as a blink—I saw my father's eyes switch to his normal green shade color that resembled my own and my brother’s. His face was almost pleading as he uttered a panicked, “Leorah... leave.”
I gasped, and the cloak of the Shadows reappeared over his eyes and face and the snarl returned as he turned to glower at Maxxus.
“Leo!” Kiarra said, pointing towards the Shadow tendrils rapidly snapping at Gabriel's feet.
I let go of her grasp. “Magic—any. Try it,” I said, as Kiarra nodded and started squirting streams of water towards the tendrils. They slowed by they were still slithering forward.
Gabriel's fireballs grew larger as he was tossing them by the handful down at the tendrils.
I closed my eyes briefly and imagine a place of light inside. I opened them and summoned a ball of magic—I can only describe it as pure light—in my palm. I breathed in deep and exhaled, the magic absorbed my magic and grew. “Gabriel!” I called, tossing it towards him. Deftly, he caught the magic and, spinning his hands around, conducted the magic into a very large mass of light and sparks.
He slammed it down on the ground with force, crying out as he did so. He too was fighting the Shadows pull. The magic slammed down on the ground and covered the area around us, quickly vaporizing any tendrils nearby. They fizzled out with anguished cries.
“What the—” I heard Saladin cry out in surprise. He stared at me. “What did—”
“You will let us pass,” I said to him, defiantly. Again, ever so fleeting I saw my father's eyes—the real ones—flash through his shadowy gaze. “I had... no...” as if being slapped, he struggled to regain balance.
“He's still in there, he hasn't been totally overcome. Yet.” Maxxus said as we watched the internal struggle.
Saladin cried out in obvious anguish. I winced as he threw his massive head back, yelling “Noooooo!” as a handful of tendrils enveloped him.
I let out a cry. I had little love for my father, but it didn't mean I wanted him to suffer this fate. No one deserved this fate.
Gabriel rested a hand on my shoulder. “Try your magic.”
I swallowed, nervously. I closed my eyes and inhaled, imagining the sun on a spring day after the snow started melting; of a lantern in a dark forest brought by a friend when you thought you were alone. I shifted my stance slightly as my wings jutted out from my back and to my sides. I opened my eyes and fixated on my father, in his dark struggle. I outstretched my arms, flicking my palms open and imagined balls of pure white light there. Behind me slightly I could hear Gabriel summon his own energy mass. The magic didn't make noise, but I had recognized the sound of someone shifting and summoning magic; the intake of breath, the growl in the back of the throat…
I exhaled and watched as the magic fire from my breath made the two balls of light grow larger. Gabriel tossed his own energy ball in the mix and between the two of us, we'd created a mass of light.
Gabriel and I spun the mass into one large, organized sphere of light.
“More, Leo!” he instructed and I knew at once what he meant. I breathed out again and we stepped apart slightly, and the mass grew larger, and larger.
My father called out again, unintelligible. From my peripheral view I could see that his form was growing more massive by the collective joining of his body with the Shadows. I bit my lip and tried to ignore him.
“More!” Gabriel hollered, and I exhaled straight into the mass, causing my sparkly fire to mix with the ball of light. I barely registered Maxxus and Kiarra nearby as they uttered, astonished at the sight of magic before them. It took all I had to concentrate on the magic at hand and ignore my father and the pull of the Shadows. He was chanting something lowly now, in Latin as he concentrated intently.
I quickly caught Gabriel's eye across the mass of magic. He smi
rked a grin through the chanting. In reply, the magic's electricity zapped me in the hand. I cried out, but heeded the warning: it was clearly reminding me to concentrate.
No time for snickering, Gabriel chanted louder. I took a deep breath an exhaled more fire and, as my father's groans grew louder, Gabriel's chanting reached its peak.
“Now!” he shouted, and in unison we collectively tossed the magic mass towards my father. It crashed with the dark magic of the Shadows and the tendrils cried out in pain. Upon impact the shockwave knocked us all backwards. Gabriel grasped my arm before we went flying backward.
I yelped as I smashed into a rather large, foreboding form: Maxxus was directly behind us to stop and shield us from the magic fallout.
Out of instinct my wings outstretched and covered anything nearby which was Gabriel and most of Kiarra's leg. I turned briefly to see my father, writhing in agony as he switched between his regular form of intimidating black dragon and menacing dark Shadow dragon. With a cry the light magic intensified and another shockwave came pouring out.
I threw up my hand as if tossing up a ball and outstretched my arms and wings as far as they could go. Without realizing I fully could, I had formed a magic shield around us that guarded us from more magic fallout.
“Is he—” I heard Kiarra began and at once, the cries from my father ceased.
I swatted away the magic shield and quickly was helped to my feet by Gabriel. We turned to see Saladin, still flashing between forms, fighting as the magic fizzled out. He was crumpled to the floor now, his limbs twitching slightly.
Against my better judgment, I ran to him, but Gabriel held me back.
“You can't. You're susceptible to the Shadow magic,” he said.
“But,” I protested, but Maxxus had composed himself and was on my other side.
“He is right. You cannot be lost to the Shadows. If you do, the Court has no chance. I will go see to him.”