Brother Of The Dark Places

by Miranda Bailey

  “I haven’t seen her, Taka.”

  I barely heard Wruin’s reply.

  Even as dragons, we might not be able to destroy that entire army without destroying Wruin’s lands. I turned back to my brother’s, and knew that this might be our last day in this land. We may soon find ourselves in the halls of old gods.

  I shifted as I flew out of the window of Wruin’s home, wanting to get a head start, wanting to give the children a chance to escape at least. Endre followed suit, his mate safe in my lands.

  Endre’s black and blue dragon-shape was easily discernible in the sky, but my near invisibility made me a harder target to track. I searched the ground with dragon eyes, but could not see Aska. I rained down fire from the sky, at the back of the river of evil beings flowing into the village that Wruin’s people had built. Endre blasted his own path, and I knew he’d seen what I had; we couldn’t kill those already in the village without killing Wruin’s people.

  We had to do this carefully.

  Women and men from both of our lands fought the invaders, some were even succeeding, but there were far too many. Even with our efforts, there were just too many. I stopped looking for Aska, and kept spewing fire below, hoping that the day would be one.

  Thousands perished beneath our wings, the sounds of our beating wings making the air vibrate. Fires started, went unchecked, and soon, started to consume what was left below. That was what finally drove Airitech’s army out. The fires began to spread.

  Wruin joined us just as a fire tornado formed, a demon itself, which sucked up everything and spit out ashes. Those of our people that were left screamed as they ran for portals. I looked at the destruction and felt my guts twist.

  There’d been no other way.

  From below an unintelligible shout could be heard. This was followed by the sound of a bolt being loosed. The bolt, four feet long, an inch thick, and tipped with a vicious spear, flew at Wruin.

  And my brother fell as Airitech fled.

  8

  Taka

  “He will not live.” I heard the pronouncement of the healer behind me and felt the weight of day finally begin to crush me.

  Airitech’s army had retreated, though they had not left, taunting us. They were waiting for Wruin’s death. I knew that now, the whole battle had been a ruse to draw Wruin out for their little gambit with the bolt. The spear tip had been doused with poison, a poison that could kill dragons. The only place to get the cure was in Tir Na Nag, the land of the fairies.

  Wruin was going to die, I know that now. The fairies had disappeared from all of our known planes of existence long ago, leaving man and magical alike to fend for themselves as they took only the best with them into a true land of peace. They would not come back to heal Wruin.

  “I can try, my king.” Fern whispered to me from my side. I looked down at the green female, barely five foot tall, but beautiful and full of life. Right now, that life was dimmed by sadness and her own burden as a fairy unable to heal my brother. “If I can at least get the plant, we can make him better.”

  “You can try, Fern, but take it as your failure if they do not come.” I turned away then, to see the mate of my brother prostrate across his frame in their bed of furs.

  “Abigail, I…,” but I couldn’t think of what to say.

  The face so like my own mates stared up at me for a moment, but I don’t think she saw me. Ingrid had treated Wruin’s wound, but it was still seeping blood, the poison would not allow his blood to clot. He was going to bleed to death, if the fever he now had didn’t consume him.

  “My king!” Ingrid, the healer in training, stood up suddenly and pulled me out to the porch surrounding the tree house.

  Fires still raged below us, but the men and women that had battled Airitech’s army were now battling the fires. Smoke still billowed up from the forest floor as water was used to douse the fires. I squinted my eyes against the sting of the smoke as Ingrid shifted in front of me, her own eyes closed in pain.

  “What is it, Ingrid?” The words came out softly, my spirit broken. Wruin was going to die and there was nothing we could do about it.

  “I saw a plant in Endre’s land. It grew in one of the ice caves I explored. I wasn’t sure about it at the time, but it might be the plant we need. It’s so similar, but we’ve always been told it only grows in Tir Na Nog. What if that’s not true? I would like to at least try, my king, if you will allow me.”

  I stared at this young girl, only a child recently, but now proving herself as a healer. Pride in her pierced the pain within me for a moment, and I smiled at her.

  “You could be right. Oak trees grow all over the world, don’t they? Why can’t this plant? Get Fern to open a portal for you and get the plant. Hurry, girl, you may be my brother’s savior.”

  A heard a frizzle of electricity as Fern opened a portal behind me. I could only hope that Ingrid was right. Wruin was fading away, his face an unhealthy gray. Abigail sobbed at his side, her heart breaking. Soon her body would break as well, if Wruin passed on.

  “Taka?” I heard Abigail call out. I moved back inside the house, hoping that Fern and Ingrid would not be gone long.

  I knew that Airitech was only waiting for the death of my brother to attack us again, and he wasn’t going to be around for much longer. Not for the first time I wished we hadn’t been so complacent in training our armies. Endre didn’t even have one because he’d chosen to isolate himself.

  “Where is Aska?” Her question tore at my heart.

  “I don’t know, Abigail, I haven’t seen her since the battle began. She told me she was going to see you.” I handed her another cloth dipped in ice water to replace the one on Wruin’s forehead. None of the healer’s other medicines were working to keep the fever down.

  “I didn’t not see her at all today. You don’t think…?” She let the question go unspoken.

  “No, she’s not gone to Airitech. I don’t know where she is, I can’t feel her. Soon, I’ll be nearly as ill as Wruin. I have no idea where to look for her, and right now, all I can do is hope we find her before Airitech attacks us again.”

  “Perhaps she is in your land. Endre will return soon, after he knows the people will not be attacked. Maybe she’s with him.” Abigail turned back to Wruin then, resting her head on his shoulder as we both counted the seconds.

  Wruin might only have minutes to live.

  I had barely seen him over the last few centuries, but now that was back in our lives, I wanted to get to know my brother. I’d been angry at his decisions regarding both Endre and me, but I understood them. I didn’t want him to die and the poison used on him was surely going to do that if Ingrid didn’t come back with a cure.

  A crackling sound broke the silence of the death chamber, and Ingrid and Fern came back through. Ingrid went to her knees, healer’s bag in hand, and started to prepare the plant. She mashed leaves and stems with some alcohol, and looked at the wound closely to judge how much she’d need to cover the gash.

  When it was a masticated paste of goo, Ingrid began to spread the green medicine on Wruin’s wound. The spear head had punctured his left side and torn a four inch gash that went through skin and muscle. Luckily it had stopped before it reached any of his organs. If that had happened Wruin would have died instantly.

  I kept glancing out of the window, to make sure the invading army was still in the distance. A smell like eucalyptus and mint filled the air, driving out even the scent of the smoke outside.

  “How long will it be before we know if it’s the right plant?” Abigail asked from behind me. She still hadn’t left Wruin’s side.

  “Only a few moments. I’ll make a tea out of it as well, to feed to him, in case it’s weak.” Ingrid glanced at Fern and the fairy went to the stove to bring back a cup of boiled water.

  We waited, counting the seconds. I wasn’t sure it was going to work, not as the minutes passed and there was no change. He wasn’t dead yet, that had to be a good sign, I thought to myself.
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  Ingrid spooned drops of the tea into Wruin’s mouth, but he didn’t swallow. I hoped it would drain down his throat at least.

  “I think it might be working.” Ingrid spoke at last, her voice hopeful. “His color is coming back.”

  I looked at the healer, the one that was training Ingrid, and she shook her head proudly. “I think you’re right, Ingrid. Good work, my girl.”

  “Abigail?” Wruin’s voice, weak, but gaining strength, scraped out of his raw throat.

  “Swallow.” Ingrid insisted as she shoved another spoonful of the tea into his mouth. He couldn’t protest, could only swallow with wide eyes as he finally came fully awake.

  She kept spooning the liquid into him until it was gone and Wruin could sit up. Some of the goop on his side fell off and we could see the wound had already started to heal. We dragons heal amazingly well, especially when that process is helped by the proper medicine.

  “What happened?” He asked, and I instantly remembered watching Wruin fall, a giant red and black dragon that fell straight out of the sky.

  My heart lurched in my chest, and by the time I got to the ground the berserker’s mist of battle was gone. Wruin had shifted once he’d hit the ground and I’d carried him up here while Endre had gone to check on our people, unaware that Wruin was so close to dying. Wruin had been completely lifeless, but I couldn’t lose hope, not after the day we’d had. Now, he was alive and almost kicking again.

  “Airitech happened, brother. And he’s still out there.” I wanted to rush to his side and swear revenge for him, but the women were in the way.

  Abigail was clutching at him, weeping with joy, and Ingrid was still trying to spoon medicine into his mouth. Wruin took their attentions without complaint, but I saw his eyes. He knew what I was thinking.

  “You won’t have to do it alone brother. I’ll be out of this bed in minutes. I won’t be at full strength, but he has to go. Somehow, he has to go.”

  I could only agree with him, I just didn’t know how. Not until a new portal opened on the forest floor below. Endre came out first, and then a long stream of people came behind him. Another portal opened and more people came rushing out. Hundreds of thousands of people started to stream into the forest and I could hear Wruin’s people cheering.

  I could only watch with hope in my heart, hope tinged with sadness. We had a way to defeat Airitech now, we had the numbers. That didn’t help the ache in my stomach or the weakness that was killing me. Aska was yet to appear.

  Perhaps she had gone over to her father’s side? I would have felt her, though, surely?

  We had saved Wruin, Ingrid had saved Wruin, but what of me?

  That’s when I felt her, just as I saw her. She’d stepped out of another portal, a new one, leading a tribe of women that I would not want to tangle with behind her. These were all people from the other dark places, the ones hidden from the human world. Underground, underwater, we’d lived our lives away from war, but knew it must come again one day. They were coming to stand with us against the evil we’d hoped would not come into our peaceful lives. Out of the few we now had many.

  And I had hope.

  I shifted into a smaller version of myself and flew down to Aska. I picked her up, a move that made her scream with fright then glee, and carried her up to the highest tree I saw. I held her in my dragon arms until I’d calmed down enough to shift back to my human form. I kissed her sweet face, my weakness gone and a sting in my eyes that I could not identify. I only knew I was happy to have her with me again.

  Her gray eyes were clear and smiling now, delighted at my welcoming. “I knew you’d miss me dragon, but I didn’t expect this.”

  She leaned into me, kissing me deeply for only a moment before she pulled away. “We have evil to fight, my mate.”

  “We do. Can you handle it?” I asked, her hand in mine.

  “Airitech may have fathered me, but he is no father. He will perish at my hand if I have any say in it.”

  “I will be with you, Aska. Many have already died today, let’s hope to end this before many more pass from our world.” I shifted and took us back to the home of my brother.

  Aska was greeted with glee by all of the women and I went to Endre. “Are we ready now?”

  “I think so. I think we’ll have to stay out of the sky, brother. I’ve been told about the poison. Ingrid says she’s brought plenty with her, but there’s more there, in my world. Even so, I’d rather we didn’t have to use it.”

  “Are the fighters ready?” I asked, moving a step ahead in my thoughts.

  “Yes, we can attack right now. Airitech will be expecting a death, and our mourning. He may be moving already.”

  “Then let’s get to it, brother.” I clasped his arm, and Wruin came to us.

  “I’ll change and join you in a moment.” Endre and I were both already in our battle kilts, the massive leather overlapped to form a thick layer of protection. We also now wore a breastplate of thick leather, to protect our chests.

  When Wruin joined us, he brought Abigail, Holly, and her giant Lothar, as well as Fern with him. “We all go together. We fight together, we live together.”

  “As one,” we all repeated the old motto of our family long unspoken.

  With that, we went to the head of the thousands of people, and dozens of kings that had joined us, and began our march. It didn’t take long before we started to see the fires of Airitech’s army.

  “How do you want to do this?” One the kings I did not know asked quietly.

  “I saw we just run at them full tilt. If we move our people to surround them, then head straight at them, none can escape.” Wruin whispered back.

  “Agreed.” The unknown king said.

  “Thank you, Chalco of Aztlan.” Wruin quietly thanked all of the other kings as well, not only the ruler from the land of the people now called Aztecs.

  We waited for the crowd of people to spread out, and then we made our move. As one we all rushed forward, into the heart of darkness. With swords, magic, and pure fury, we ran at the enemy. Aska ran with me, shifted into the black wolf I’d first seen her as. She took the other wolves and the goblins by surprise, they didn’t suspect she was on our side, but she tore through their throats and flung them aside before they could even protest.

  I saw a blast of light and knew Abigail was in the fray as well. Screams filled the air, some of victory, some of pain, and the sound of blades rang like bells of doom. We were winning, but then something happened, and instead of moving forward, we started to be pushed back. I shifted into my dragon shape, only much smaller, and began to blast at the wall of goblins and wolves ahead of me. Aska darted in and out, taking out what she could on the edges.

  My concern only grew when Wruin shifted and flew high overhead. He’d been nearly killed once already today, opening himself up to Airitech’s bolts was just stupid. I kept blasting, the urge to kill them all, to get to Airitech spurring me to fight even harder. We were on the verge of pushing them back once again, and I moved forward to blast fire at another line of goblins, but instead of moving, I fell.

  The ground began to shake beneath us all, violently and with a loud rumble, just as a piercing blast broke the air, a sonic wave that sped through all of us, knocking any that were left standing to the ground.

  We all fell at last, every single one of us no matter which side, unconscious and unaware of what had happened. The fairies had returned from Tir Na Nog.

  “Airitech of the outcast wolf clan, you are sentenced to oblivion.” Oonagh, the queen of the fairies pronounced from a dais as I came back to awareness.

  The fairies had returned. By all the gods, the fairies had returned!

  I stood up to see that everybody else had already come back to the world and were gaping at the queen of the fairies on her throne. How could one being be so very white? Only her eyes had color, a very light blue that could pierce the hardest element on the planet without trying.

  Her hair was a curly mop of white
, her gown of silk was white, even her skin was an alabaster white. And were those sparkles? It seemed she was sparkling, little bubbles of light that popped to be replaced by new ones.

  “But, your majesty…” Airitech, in thick silver chains, was prostrate before the queen.

  “No buts, dog. You have disturbed my peace for the last time. You nearly killed one of the dragons, Airitech. You know that’s a no-no. I left you in peace, with all of your silly little machinations, hoping that you’d grow out of your childish desire to rule the world. It seems you haven’t. You have caused a lot of pain, and countless deaths. For that, you get oblivion.” She snapped her fingers and Airitech disappeared.

  Oblivion. Where you were nothing, only essence, without thought or a soul. Wow, he wasn’t coming back from that, I thought.

  “Aska of the outcast wolf clan.” The queen caught my attention again with those words.

  “No, Aska had nothing to do with this!” I cried out rushing forward, but two purple male fairies stopped me.

  “I know that, dragon.” She gave me a look that told me not to interrupt her again. “Aska of the outcast wolf clan, you are mated to the dragon Taka. You will be allowed to remain in this world, but the rest of your clan will go back with me. For retraining.”

  I heard gasps go around the field. Oblivion might be better than fairy retraining. The queen looked around at the rest of us left as her fairies took the remainder of the goblins and the wolves through a portal.

  “I am going back to my rest now. Fern, would you like to come home?” The queen didn’t look as if she expected Fern to say yes.

  “No, my queen. I uh, I would like to stay with Holly. And Lothar.” She moved between them, taking a hand from each one.

  Ah, it was like that then. I smiled as the trio smiled at each other happily. Good for them.

  “Fine. But listen daughter; do not call on me like that again for another three centuries at least, alright? Even the human world felt our return, and I don’t want them getting nosy. Understand?” She gave Fern a saucy look of indignation, before she smiled. “I do miss you, you know?”