by Sariah Skye
I protested again, but Kiarra clasped my hand. “He's right.”
I relented.
“That really was quite fantastic,” she praised in awe, looking between Gabriel and I. “I've never seen such magic before.”
Gabriel grinned. “The magic of a pink dragon and knight is like no other. Supposedly,” he said with a small chuckle.
I forced a smile and elbowed him playfully in response.
Maxxus called out from across the room. “He is alive, but only just,” he said.
I dashed over to him and knelt beside my father. His dragon form was limp, his front legs in front of him and his head rested on his legs, eyes shut. Only a small pillar of smoke wafted from his nose. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Unlike Kit, he wasn't trapped by Shadow tendrils, but only certain spots of his normal black skin remained. Other spots were marred by the dark of Shadows. Somehow they were a muted black as if someone had taken a black marker and drawn all over black paper; somehow, it only became duller, darker.
A lone Shadow tendril remained, slithering up his body.
Gabriel had joined us and I smiled in appreciation and as he shot a small ball of light at it, quickly putting an end to the tendril.
“What do we do now?” Maxxus asked. He had shifted back to human form and was adjusting his robes over his chest and shoulders that became ruffled in the shift. He fiddled with the leather cuff appreciatively. “So cool…”
“We need to move on,” Kiarra prompted.
“What? And leave him here?” I asked, horrified by the idea. I opened my palms and hovered them over his back. “If I can heal him, he might be able to help.”
Before I could summon the magic, Gabriel reached over and grasped my hands shut. “You can't, Leo. You might drain yourself.”
I opened my mouth to defy him, but Maxxus quickly sided with him. “He's right. We will send help as soon as this is over. He is strong. I believe he can make it.”
I let out a low growl, and Gabriel slowly moved his hands away when he was satisfied I would not use my magic. “Fine,” I grumbled, standing and letting my hands fall to the sides. “But I have to do something…”
“That shield thing you just did,” Kiarra said. “Can you put one over him? It should at least partially protect him from those Shadows for awhile, at least until we can get him some help.”
I looked to Gabriel. “Can I?”
He shrugged. “I don't see why not, but I don't know how long it will hold if you're not here to reinforce it. But I might be able to help reinforce it. Call the shield.”
I thrust out my arms and concentrated, pulling the protective energy from inside me. I threw it over my father's crumbled form and shaped it around him.
Gabriel shaped a ball of light between his palms and pushed it slowly towards the shield, forming it over the invisible barrier.
“There. A shield of light,” Gabriel said, satisfied.
The bubble of dim light surrounded my father and cast a slight glow through the room. It was a welcome sight in the abyss of the Shadows' void; almost like a nightlight. We watched as a couple brave tendrils tried to penetrate it and jumped back in dismay at the magic.
Satisfied, I allowed them to lead me away, further down the hall.
“That could have been a whole lot worse,” Kiarra mused with an uncomfortable giggle as we collected ourselves and continued our descent to the throne room.
I cocked an eyebrow, she probably couldn't see. “Seriously?”
“Well, there could be dozens of those Shadow dragons here—like your father. Imagine having to fight all of them,” Kiarra said.
Maxxus growled under his breath. “That's what worries me. Where is everyone?”
I swallowed nervously as we inched ever closer to the large, gilded doors to the throne room. “I guess we'll soon find out. Maybe.”
Maxxus simply grunted. “Perhaps they're all at home,” he said, not sounding convinced by all of this.
“Likely story,” I mumbled, reaching out and fingering the red, gold and burnt orange tapestry hanging from the top of the doorway, reminding us of the 'holiday'. I glanced around at my friends, offering them a wry smile. Kiarra stood forward and linked arms with me.
“Let's do this.” She held out her palm and touched a golden plate—dragon magic only allowed members of the Court entrance to the Throne room. There was a loud clicking sound of a lock mechanism opening and then a loud creak as she slowly pushed one heavy door open.
I stepped through, but halted abruptly, feeling a sudden sense of doom.
“What?” Gabriel asked, concerned.
I gulped. “It's bad. Real bad.”
Maxxus bravely pushed ahead of me. “I will go first. As sort of a shield. Leo, you and your magic with Gabriel—be ready. We might need it.”
I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled. I wanted to stop him, but he was right. I looked to Gabriel, who flicked his fingers open and a bright, electric ball of light appeared in his palm, crackling and thundering like a small storm.
“We can do this, Leo,” he said, forcing a brave smile.
I nodded hesitantly as Kiarra grasped my upper arm briefly. “We can, Leo. You're not alone. We got your back.”
I nodded again. “Okay. Maxxus?”
Maxxus let out a low growl and his earth magic and wide gestures from his hands, he slammed aside the doors and took a couple steps before stopping dead in his tracks.
“Oh my god,” he said softly, not even in dragon, but in his stunned British-sounding accent he sometimes tried to hide.
My wings outstretched around the three of us remaining and we stepped in together and witnessed one of the most horrifying scenes I could have imagined.
The throne room was a rather large room where the king and Queen made declarations and held meetings of the court. It was set somewhat like a stadium, with a high platform in the middle, about two feet off the ground with two large thrones where the king and queen sat…. then a lower platform where another handful of less impressive wooden chairs sat for their highest ranking official Court members. Around the 'stage' of thrones were rows of stadium style seating. Directly in front of the throne stage was a wide aisle leading to the heavy doors where we stood now. Horrified.
Shadows... everywhere. Shadow tendrils slithered all along the floor and up and down the walls, making low hissing sounds as they slithered. They congregated on the tapestries, dulling the bright, fall colors. All the torches were out so it was dark and nearly impossible to see. If it wasn't for the dusk-colored, massive portal in the middle of the room we wouldn't be able to see anything.
“Is that—” Gabriel began. In the din of the dark I nodded.
“Another portal.” Was all I said, dimly.
“Do you think that's where everyone is?” Kiarra questioned, her voice barely above a squeaky whisper.
“I don't know.”
Maxxus growled; he took a few steps in and let out a surprised Umph. “We need some light.”
“On it.” Gabriel made the ball of light in his hands bigger and held it out towards me. I concentrated on my own light magic from inside, pulling the light from inside my soul and holding it out in front of me. I gently pushed it into Gabriel's and the ball intensified, illuminating around us about two feet around in diameter. I summoned my pink dragon magic on it and, both Gabriel and I containing the magic in our outstretched hands wove the mist in the ball and gently urged it up towards the massive ceiling of the room. It floated slowly a few feet before stalling, dimming slightly.
“More magic, Leo,” Gabriel instructed, tossing another sum of light at it gently. I exhaled and pushed the magic towards it, willing the light to grow brighter.
From beside me, as the light illuminated the throne room better, Kiarra let out a cry. She shivered; reaching out and grabbing my forearm for strength.
The light put into perspective the horror on the ground: dozens of dragons in either human or dragon form, encompassed by tendri
ls, nets of darkness. The one nearest our feet were so far gone, we couldn't even tell if it was male or female, or which form he or she was in. Judging by the sheer size, we assumed it was a dragon form.
Kiarra knelt down at its side, but Gabriel and I promptly grabbed her arms, prompting her to stop.
“Better not,” Gabriel said. “We still have light magic on us and Finnian's potions, but who knows how long they will last.”
“Especially with Shadows of this magnitude,” I said, looking around me, struggling to find the words.
Kiarra pulled back, and nodded. “I wonder who they all are,” she said, her voice trembling slightly.
Maxxus grumbled. “I think we're better off not knowing.”
“I wonder which one is the king, if any of them,” Gabriel mused.
I snapped my fingers. “Right.” I closed my eyes and tried to picture the vision Daniel showed me. The room in the vision—like in reality—was almost completely dark. The light ball we elevated in the room was barely brightening a five-foot radius around us, it was that dark. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dim light; like the moonlight in a lunar eclipse. There was light, muted, but barely.
“The portal.” I said. I trudged slowly through the mounds of Shadows at my feet. Some were still trembling. Some were moaning lightly. Maxxus growled, but followed behind us.
Tendrils tried to slither at our feet as we walked, but were quickly shied away by the light magic we had. The ones that were brave and got a little too close I heard Gabriel from slightly behind me zapping them with balls of light magic. I felt a small sense of elation every time I heard on squeal in terror.
Suddenly I felt something grab at my foot. I let out a noise and Gabriel was at my side in a split second with his electric light magic in his hand, poised to start tossing light balls.
My gaze followed the dark mass—it nearly appeared to be a hand, though it was hard to tell; it wasn't in a full form looking like it had bites of darkness taken out of it. But I followed the mass with my eyes and landed on a much larger mass about a foot or so away. It was nearly engulfed in tendrils and Shadow darkness—almost like a spider had spun a web over its prey except it wasn't silky white like a web but deathly black. I squinted, towards one end of the mass I could swear I saw something sparkling and shining so slightly, in the dim glow Gabriel's magic gave off. I pointed at the area. “Gabriel, shoot some magic right there. Do you see the sparkle?”
Gabriel gave a slight nod of the head. He spun his magic around, making it large and tossed it at the spot I pointed at. Some tendrils gave a pained cry and moved aside, exposing something gold and jeweled.
“The king!” Kiarra cried, and she immediately was kneeling at his side.
I gasped. Before I could say anything further there was a moan coming from the lump of Shadows and King.
“Your Highness, I—” Kiarra tried reaching for his hand, but it continued to clamp around my foot.
“Magic! Everyone!!! Everything you got!” Gabriel yelled his instructions insistently.
Kiarra was teary eyed, panicked, attempting to summon water in her palms. It was ineffective against the Shadows. “You're going to be okay, Your Highness,” she kept mumbling repeatedly in a frantic tone.
Gabriel opened his palms and produced two large balls of light, and I summoned one of my own and tossed them down towards the king, exhaling my magic the entire time over him.
Maxxus unsheathed his sword and sliced at the tendrils trying to escape the magic we were shooting at them. He grunted and swore under his breath as he stabbed at them; they cried out in pain.
Just when we'd banish a handful of tendrils, two handfuls more would appear and attempt to re-take the king. Gabriel wiped his brow with the sleeve of his sweatshirt and continued tossing balls of light at the front of the king. “We aren't making much of a dent, Leo. We need your shield.”
“Hurry!” Kiarra was trying to shoo the tendrils away with her water magic. It only slowed them down slightly. Sniffling, she continued to comfort the king, who periodically let out a small, pained moan.
“Light!” I ordered Gabriel, who quickly reciprocated and summoned a large light ball of weather and lightning in his hands.
I conjured a smaller mass of light in my palms. “Okay, now!”
Gabriel tossed his light towards me and I caught it deftly. I spun my own pink dragon magic on it, closing my eyes and pulling at the mass of pure light inside. I took a deep breath and exhaled a long breath and thrust the magic down with a shriek as the magic smashed against the tendril mass that was the king.
The area around us lit up brilliantly like a million fireflies and the king and the Shadows both let out pained shrieks as the magic penetrated the shield of Shadows.
I reached out around him and shaped the light magic around him, keeping more Shadows from getting in and leaving the Shadows near his head limp and lifeless. You could finally see his rugged face, contorted in torturous pain.
Slowly, he opened his dark brown eyes. Kiarra and Maxxus were at his side immediately as Gabriel and I continued to hold the magic in place around him.
He tried to speak, but Kiarra shushed him. “It's okay, it's going to be okay.”
His eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. “Where... she... the pink...” he struggled to speak in a raspy, hoarse voice. He struggled to see between them as his eyes fell on me. “You.”
I swallowed nervously.
“She's only trying to help you, your highness,” Maxxus explained.
King Athalos shook his head ever so slightly, dismissing us. “Come closer….” he said, staring right at me.
I took a brief glance at Gabriel. “Go, I can hold this a moment.” Gabriel squinted and braced himself as I released my part of the magic. He winced slightly as it slammed into him like a fastball thrown into a catcher's mitt.
I flicked some light magic at some tendrils attempting to slide up my legs as I knelt down inside the shield at King Athalos's side. I pushed my wings back over my shoulders as they tried to reach out over the struggling monarch. “Your Highness,” I said, bowing my head slightly.
He grunted. “No... time. You are the only one who can save us.” He struggled to get the words out, breathing labored as he spoke.
“Me?” I asked, taken aback.
He nodded slightly. “Find Valessia. Find the queen, please!” he pleaded, his eyes welling up with tears as he spoke her name.
“We will find her, Highness,” Kiarra promised solemnly. “Somehow.”
King Athalos struggled to lift his head and peered towards the portal. “There.”
I gulped. “She's in there.”
He grunted a yes.
I caught the eye of a wide-eyed Maxxus.
“Please... find her. Save her. Save the... dragons….”
Gabriel was panting by now. “Leo, having a hard time here!” I peered at him quickly; with one hand, he was blasting tendrils attempting to crawl up his leg, with the other palm he struggled the hold the light magic shield around him.
“Hold on, Sir,” I said, biting my lip as I watched the king struggled to remain composed.
He sputtered and coughed as he tried to speak. “I… am… sorry… pink…” His head fell back on the floor and he took one long, raspy gasp as his body tensed. He cried out in pain and then suddenly, his body relaxed.
Kiarra let out a yelp. “Oh my gods, is he—?”
Maxxus reached out a couple of fingertips and placed them at the throat of the king, feeling for a pulse. Grimly, he looked up at us a few moments and shook his head slightly, his mouth set in a firm line.
My hand immediately flew to my heart, which fluttered in my chest at the news.
King Athalos—the ruler of our kingdom of dragons, of Anarach, my home—was dead.
My eyes swelled with tears. My knees gave out under me and I fell on my backside to the floor nearby. I had never seen someone die before—and certainly not the king.
Maxxus rea
ched out and grasped my forearm. I glanced at him briefly; his face was clearly troubled.
“What will happen?” Gabriel said, letting go of the magic. It faded and fizzled away, leaving only the light from the portal nearby to illuminate our sadness.
I shrugged. “We still have the queen.”
Kiarra spoke up then in a small voice. “Maybe, anyways.” She gently smoothed the king's long dark brown hair aside and adjusted the gemmed crown on his head. “So that when he's found again... he still looks...” she trailed off, unable to find the words.
“Kingly?” Gabriel offered.
Sobbing, she nodded. “Yes.”
“At least he didn't go to the Shadows; he just died. He won't be suffering anymore,” Maxxus said wryly. It wasn't much comfort, but at least he wasn't suffering the same as what I or Kit experienced (Kit especially).
I took one last glance at him before attempting to get to my feet. Gabriel grasped my hands and helped me to stand. Feeling woozy at the magic use and the distressing news, I stumbled into his arms briefly. Before parting he whispered into my ear softly, “I'm so sorry.”
I gave a small smile of appreciation to him as I pulled away. The monarchs have never been kind to me, but the king's words were... baffling.
You are the only one that can save us. I stood there silently for a moment, processing the situation and his words while my motley crew of friends looked on. I’m sorry… pink. What did that mean? He was sorry—to me?
With the king gone, it was possible for the queen to rule alone in his absence but it didn't happen often. To keep things equal, she'd be required to choose another king. Generally, in this instance of an all-too-early passing (King Athalos was fairly young as dragons went; only around four-hundred years old) the Council would vote on a new replacement for her. But, most of the time the monarch remaining would give up their position, not bearing to rule with someone they weren't bonded to. It did happen—just not often. Most of the time it was a mated pair that took the monarchy. The last time it was a platonic relationship was long ago; my grandfather still young at that point.
Usually it went that once both the king and queen were gone, the position was generally offered to the next-prominent ranking member of the Council—generally an Elder. It could easily fall on my grandfather if he was still alive or possibly even my parents if they were still alive.