Fractured Families (The Pearl of Wisdom Saga Book 2)

by Jason Paul Rice

  Reptile wings and shingled scales of protection covered the dragon’s body. The beast had a long neck, jagged teeth and fiery eyes. Short, thick legs ended in long, curled claws. Russell had never seen an animal one-tenth the size of this beast. He could feel the intense heat as the dragon descended even further. He grabbed his friends and pushed them behind a gray boulder. The dragon floated down within twenty feet and the increasing inferno-like heat followed. Expecting a flash of breath to set everyone on fire, Russell was surprised to watch the black dragon fly by and up the hillside.

  The dragon flew south toward the town of Caridale. A bone-chilling squawk came from the creature before the horizon became engulfed in orange and red flames. The town was located on the mountaintop and they could see it burning from the valley. They had to pass through Caridale to stay true to the map. You want to ride one of those wild beasts?

  “I’ll ask the obvious. Was that what I think it was?” Russell wondered. “I am afraid that was one of Damian Doome’s dragons,” the Imp told the crew.

  The intense heat subsided, but the group kept nervously looking to the sky in fear of another attack directed at them. The town of Caridale was three miles up the mountain, but they could still hear the tortured screams of burning victims. That terrible squawk erupted again and Russell saw the black dragon fly overhead and head north up the valley, away from the burning Caridale. Suddenly, two dark red dragons came into view, closing in quickly on the black one. The red creatures were similar in shape and form, but these smaller dragons navigated the sky at a greater speed. The hot wind raged with the humongous wings swooping around. The two red dragons emitted flames from their mouths and torched the black beast. An unimaginable screech of pain careened through the canyon and battered Russell’s eardrums as a pungent, horrendous smell attacked his nose. The smoking, black dragon fluttered to the ground and smashed into a huge slab of rock. Russell couldn’t tell if the black beast was dead or not as it lay on the ground, motionless. Thick ebony blood spilled from the wounded creature onto the crimson pebbles below. The two red dragons swooped in and hooked their claws into either side of the limp black body. The red reptiles had trouble at first but they flapped wildly, the wash almost knocking Russell back off his feet. He guarded his eyes as dust swirled around the valley. When the dragons got the fallen beast into the air, Russell noticed they weren’t much smaller than the big black dragon, but their wings were longer. The dragons disappeared in the blink of an eye after completely covering the sun and darkening the sky momentarily.

  Everyone looked at each other in astonishment. Russell broke the silence, “Whoa, I thought they were coming for us. So who do the red dragons belong to?” “I believe all those dragons belong to Damian Doome. From the stories I have heard, Damian’s dragons are red, black and purple. The dragons of Rockarius were silver, gold, green and bright blue. Of course I don’t know this for certain but all the wise men I have ever known named the same colors. But why would they attack one of their own?” Dragon-Eyes asked.

  Russell couldn’t provide an answer, but he hoped this would stoke the dwarf’s confidence to fulfil his dream to ride a dragon. He was going to do everything in his power to facilitate the Imp’s wishes. You can’t ride one if you’ve never seen one. Dragons exist, they really do exist.

  Russell’s heart finally calmed down as the group battled the heat and uphill climb. They got to the top of the hill before sundown and witnessed the utter destruction. He had witnessed some intense scenes in his life, but nothing rivaled this demolition. Bodies ranged from charred and disintegrated bones to barely burned citizens of Caridale. The five-hundred-square-foot area had been cooked, and several large buildings still blazed. The group walked in silence as the people of the city tried to process what exactly had happened. The buzzards showed up to feed, and the citizens chased them away from the bodies with straw brooms. Other people looked to the sky and asked the Gods why they had been chosen to suffer. As they walked through the rubble, Russell estimated one thousand bodies or bones of people who had been alive just hours ago. The vultures overwhelmed the living people and claimed the rest of the dead bodies after the exhausted citizens got tired of swatting away the flesh-eating birds. They made it through the traumatic scenes of decimation and set up to eat before continuing through the night.

  Nobody ate very much after the stomach-turning march through Caridale. Being raised in a castle, Russell Seabrook had never eaten so poorly in all his life. He had eaten better than most bastards could ever dream of until his adventure with the wizard. He wrestled with another piece of salted beef. The hardened meat only seemed to stick in between his teeth and dry out his mouth. He hoped that the food would improve once they got to Gama Traka.

  According to the map, they had to make up time, and Russell realized Dragon-Eyes needed to get to Gama Traka soon. The four adventurers hiked through the night and all of the next day. Nightfall was imminent and the Imp looked over the map as they stopped for a moment. “What is the difference between a demon and a coldomore?” Russell asked. In a frail voice, Dragon-Eyes said, “Coldomores are demons who fight against humans, but most people use the two terms interchangeably. A coldomore has to be a demon but not necessarily vice versa. I would guess it’s an honor amongst the demons to be called a coldomore much in the same way that it’s an honor to fight for the School of the Learned Warrior.”

  This month-long trek up and down nearly every mountain on the Seventh Island was starting to get to Russell. Even with the sleeplessness, Russell started seeing visions of the men he had killed.

  “Oh damn,” said Dragon-Eyes. “What is it now?” Shireez asked. “Looks like we’ll have to cross the Field of the First Battle at night,” the Imp answered. “What’s the Field of the First Battle?” Russell wanted to know. The wizard feebly tried to clear his throat and spoke, “The Field was the site of the first battle between Rockarius and Damian Doome. They say twenty-five thousand of Rockarius’ men died along with sixty thousand coldomores. The over-confident demons didn’t bring any dragons. The humans held them off just long enough for their dragons to show up and turn the tide. It is said that the land is haunted by the demons’ spirits. We have to walk the long stretch across the Field before getting off the battleground. Nobody ever walks over the Field of the First Battle. When demons die, they turn to black blood and sink into the earth. The Field is covered with grassless black soil and the demons are rumored to live just under the dirt. None of the locals go anywhere near the place. This is dangerous. The demons appear to be on our trail and this is like walking directly into their hands. Alas, if we wait for daybreak, we may ultimately lose the Pearl. Quite a conundrum we face.”

  “I’m not scared,” Russell said confidently, even though he was. The girls craftily constructed a carrying sling to hold the wizard on the young man’s back. The Imp fell asleep and the crew marched in silence toward the Field. Russell had trouble talking with Shireez and Lizeria. Dragon-Eyes tended to spark all the conversations and acted as a bridge between everyone. Now he slept for at least half of every day. The aging man had warts on his neck and ears show back up and wrinkles attacked his face with fury.

  About one hundred yards from the Field, Russell’s skin began to crawl, and the bottoms of his feet burned. The dark, cloudy night, masking the moon and stars, provided another element to the creepiness. He shook himself to make sure the Imp was awake as the huge, black Field opened up. There were several trees without leaves around the field, but it was mostly a plain of dark soil. The full, low hanging moon momentarily broke through and lit up the black field before clouds moved back in to mar the view. They stepped onto the soft ground and Russell felt a strange pressure in the air surrounding him. After about fifty steps, something reached out of the ground and grabbed Russell’s leg as he kicked it away. Green hands came up and grabbed Lizeria and Shireez too. Russell saw a tree with low hanging branches and pulled a knife from his belt. He stabbed the green hands away and freed the girls. He pic
ked up both girls and set them on a sturdy branch as the hands pulled him underground to his knees.

  Russell panicked as he felt more hands from below the earth pulling at him, and he quickly started to go underground. They got him in past his stomach, and the young man remembered Dragon-Eyes teaching him about how the purest of souls could call on the spirits by only sounding their names. He was now down to his neck and he rapidly stated the names, “Pledius, Manteel, Selvane, Judithe, Kelwyn, Aropan, Lecidor, Cantidore, and Relsyn.”

  Russell kept being pulled under until only half of his right arm remained above ground. Underneath was a wide tunnel filled with strange creatures and lit by an unknown, red glowing source. He saw purple and green demons with red eyes. They were like small blocks, barely taller than the dwarf and had really stubby arms and legs. They still looked menacing as they tugged, bit and grabbed at Russell.

  He felt someone clasp his right hand and pull upward. Russell’s head sprouted up above ground again and he loosened his hand enough to stab at the demons with his knife. The spirit of Lecidor pulled him up and he could see all the other ghostly spirits of the names he had called upon. Russell quickly discovered the Imp was still under and tried to dive back down, but the ground wouldn’t let him. Aropan came up to Russell and rubbed an area in the dirt and pushed Russell under while holding onto his legs. The demons had surrounded the defenseless old wizard and ripped and pulled at his body. Russell swiped three demons with his knife, causing them to run up the tunnel and used his other hand to pry the dwarf away. They shouted in high-pitched squeals as Russell cut away several more before entirely freeing his friend. He clutched the old wizard to his chest and wiggled his legs. Aropan pulled the men out, and Russell looked at the Imp. The man looked dead, but after a few moments his eyes opened, and he said, “We’ve got to keep on moving.”

  Russell, stricken with fear, noticed the spirits had created a protective circle around the group, within which no demon hands came up from the ground. The girls got back on the ground and thunder cracked, prompting the females to start screaming and crying. A web of lightning swallowed the sky and Russell tried to remain strong as he felt the energy in the air. Raindrops which hit like hail began pelting the group. The wizard instructed the spirits to guide them through the Field and as they moved, the ghosts remained around them in a protective, moving shield.

  On the outside of the circle appeared ghostly figures with a black, cloudy presence. The sky lit up again and lightning flew back and forth between the light and dark spirits. He felt the force increasing but kept moving in the direction Dragon-Eyes told him to go. Fire then exploded back and forth between the contending spirits with such intensity, it fully engulfed a tree in the driving rain. The supernatural battle raged on with the group in the eye of the storm, continuing on the map’s course to capture the Pearl of Wisdom. Russell had a sweaty hand on each girl and could feel the Imp’s long nails digging into his neck.

  Hungry hands again invaded the shield and grabbed through the loose soil at the girls. Russell pulled his knife once more, and delicately stabbed at the green and purple hands, making sure not to hit the girls’ legs. The hands dissolved into black liquid and rushed into the ground aided by the rain. Their feet began to sink in the soggy mud as Russell tried to quicken the pace. His heart felt like it would explode and his neck and head began to pulsate. He had feelings of passing out but forged on, releasing his touch on each of the girls.

  A flash of lightning broke through the angels and crashed into Russell’s chest. This flung him backwards into the force field of spirits and he hit the mud harshly. Russell quickly crawled over to Dragon-Eyes despite the tremendous pain. The hands started to pull the wizard under until Russell recovered and liberated his friend again. The small man wasn’t moving, but Russell didn’t know how to check for a dead body. He picked up the wizard and had the girls help get him in the back harness. They were almost to the end of the Field as Russell fought against the mud and demonic hands. He noticed the circle of spirits was smaller and several of the original group were gone. Russell hoped he hadn’t gotten the spirits killed, if that was even possible. They slogged over the last hundred feet and made it to the edge. All four were a mud-ridden and shaken mess. The fire and lightning subsided before almost stopping and the sky went dark again. The ring of spirits continued to surround the group until they got into the nearly-black forest. They pulled the Imp from his carrying sling and he still hadn’t opened his eyes, but Russell thought he could see him breathing. The angels disappeared and the area went black again. He thought the Imp might be dead in the next breath as the dwarf seemed to go still. Russell carried him in his arms into the forest and after a few moments, heard a light coughing sound.

  He stopped and looked down. The fiery eyes of the wizard were open but he looked woozy in the darkness. The group stopped and Dragon-Eyes still had the energy to light a fire in the rain. Shireez couldn’t stop hugging and kissing her love. Russell couldn’t fully comprehend the situation and the old man was in no condition to explain anything right now. The dwarf breathed in shallow breaths and Russell knew his body must be in great pain from the tumultuous trip through the Field of the First Battle. The young man felt like he had been through a battle himself, but pressed on even with the raging pain over his whole body begging him to quit.

  The next leg of the trip was filled with torrential downpour. Dragon-Eyes recovered slightly from his injuries, but still experienced great pain. Russell suspected he had broken ribs because the small man said that even breathing hurt his chest. The wizard had aged even more and as they closed in on the Stone of Rockarius, he estimated the dwarf looked about eighty. Gray hair covered his head and face. He could barely speak due to his pains, and had trouble reading the words on the map because of impaired vision due to the aging.

  The soaking wet trip continued mostly in silence without the Imp to lead the conversations. Shireez had red eyes constantly, filled with concern for the wizard. Russell felt sympathy for Lizeria who couldn’t possibly understand what had been occurring. The more he thought about it, Russell realized that even he didn’t fully understand what was happening. He kept twitching in fear, expecting to see a dragon every time a gray cloud floated in front of the hazy sun. He also thought more hands would sprint out of the ground at any moment, and preferred being on the clear paths to fully see the area around his feet.

  Russell fought through a sleepless delirium as the group moved to within a few hours of their destination. Daybreak would coincide with the time of their arrival on the Black Stone. Adrenaline from the excitement served better than coffee or morning water and Russell wanted to find out if he would be the one to see the Pearl on the Stone of Rockarius. He wondered if he had angered the spirits by calling them into a deadly fight with the demons. He knew they seemed to favor his soul, but only one man in the history of the world had ever held the Pearl of Wisdom. He kept contemplating whether he was worthy of holding the Pearl. He could feel the old man moving around on his back, full of as much excitement as the dwarf could muster. Only a slight hill stood in front of them and the Pearl as Russell became very nervous. The burnt orange sun rose over the horizon and exposed an enormous black rock. The Stone stood over five feet tall and even longer and wider. Russell could only see a bare rock. The Pearl was supposed to be visible to the worthy man, he thought.

  The dreaded question came from the Imp, “Do you see it, Russell?” Russell walked around the Stone and said, “I don’t see anything except a rock.” The sun fully emerged on the first dry day in a while, but Russell still couldn’t see anything on the Stone. The four members of the team spent three hours staring at the huge rock and looking around for a sign of hope.

  Russell felt like an absolute failure and became upset more for the Imp than himself. The young knight felt like he had let his friend down. The wizard had put the utmost faith in Russell to hold the Pearl and he had failed his friend. They continued to look until the sun started to set on the d
ay. The group made a quick camp and Dragon-Eyes quickly went to sleep.

  Russell spoke frankly to Shireez, “I let him down and now we have to leave for Gama Traka, empty-handed. He’s also afraid you are going to leave him because he is aging.” “I will never leave him. We need to get him to the Fuji Dust soon. I’m sorry you didn’t see the Pearl, Russell,” she responded. “Don’t worry, failure is my specialty it should seem,” he told her.

  “Don’t say that. No man in over five hundred years has seen the Pearl of Wisdom. I can only think of one other solution,” Shireez said. “What is that?” Russell asked. “The dying man said the Pearl lies within. Do you think the Pearl is somehow inside the Stone? We would have to figure out how to smash it first,” she told him.

  “I never really thought about that. I just remembered it was in plain sight for Rockarius. The obvious problem is we don’t have the tools or manpower to break that rock up,” he dejectedly said. “I’m torn, if we stay we may find tools to break the stone but I fear for my love’s life. The best thing for him would be to head for the sea at sunrise, if not sooner. He would have us stay until he died. We may have to make this choice for him,” she returned. “I fear you’re right. As much as I want to help him fulfil his dream, I don’t appear fit,” Russell stated.

  “Don’t believe because of a far-fetched map that you aren’t worthy. I saw the spirits of the angels. They weren’t protecting me, him or her. You called their names and they came to your aid. I don’t think the spirits would do that for any other man. Can they be in two places at once? You are worthy of great things, but the Pearl can be a fickle mistress. I have sworn allegiance to many different leaders during the ongoing fight for the Pearl on the Main Island. Men have searched their entire lives to find that gleaming object only to die with an empty feeling. Sleep well, Russell, you are a good man.”