by C. K. Rieke
There under the moonlight, the three of them shared what could best be described as a family finding one of their own back from the dead. Lilaci wanted that moment with them under the night sky to last forever. But she knew all too well that those who hunted them wouldn’t stop. They’d never stop. Moments like that night were just pauses in the game. The whole world was seemingly after them, but this time, she felt safer knowing that their group was growing. Roren and Burr were both skilled fighters and seemed dedicated enough. Things were finally looking up for Lilaci, after all— Kera was finally under her protection once again, and until her last breath, she’d never let another place a finger on her, without paying for it with their life.
Hours later, in the warmth of a blazing fire in a nook of the mountain, where the tip of the winding tail wrapped around, sat the five of them huddled around it. Burr and Kera had warm blankets wrapped around them. Roren, Lilaci and Fewn sat staring at the fire as it danced, cracking and popping. They watched as its embers floated up into the sky, and they watched as Roren rotated six skewers of meat over the flames, which created a hunger and salivation in the others that was so overwhelming that none spoke. They only watched the animals roast, which Roren had went off hunting for once Burr had descended the climb safely, and Kera had Lilaci and Fewn with her.
Once the meat was fully cooked, and the five of them tore into the small, lean and bony animals, the extra one was split between Kera and Burr. Not fully satiated, but with the bellies content for the night with warm food, their minds returned back to the matter at hand; what was next in their paths. Lilaci assumed as they all stared into the fire, each thought of their own roads and ideas, but all had Kera as the integral factor. She’d told them about the contents of the white box as Kera had opened it and inhaled it. Even though the mystery remained of the box, and its effect on her, all had to follow and protect her to the end. So, their own personal desires were all on hold, except for the desire to follow Kera, wherever she may lead.
“Well,” Burr said, after clearing his throat, “I’ll break the silence. Thank you for the food, Roren, that put the spirit back into this old man’s soul.” Roren nodded. “Kera, I’m sure we’re all eager to know now. What is your wish? What road do you wish to take?”
“What options do we have?” Kera asked. “Where is safest to travel?”
“Away from the cities and settlements,” Fewn said. “They’re not only looking for you now, but at least the three of us.” She motioned to her, Lilaci and Kera.
“The real decision to make,” Lilaci said, “is to find a place to lay low, and stay safe. Or— to continue the path that leads to fulfilling your destiny.”
“The egg,” Roren said. “It is far off now, and the path to it is the road we took to get here. That’s not wise. They may be looking for us still back on that route.”
“Aye,” Burr said. “We’d have to go around. Take the northern desert. It’s quite out of the way, add a week or more, but it’d be out of the path prying eyes.”
Kera leaned in towards the fire. “I’ve no worries for my safety. I’ve only just met you Demetrius, but I feel as if you four could take on an army. The egg is the goal now. That’s the single most promising thing I’ve yet seen. Burr,” she said, looking over at the old man as his tan face and white beard glowed in the firelight, the rocky mountain flickering behind him. “Tell me more of the cave above. I want to know about the headdress, and the spell that protected the cave.”
Burr cleared his throat, and undid his pouch from his belt, pulling it up onto his lap, but not opening it to reveal the orbs yet. “Very well, first off, as for the spell. I would gather that the spell was placed there after Kôrran was defeated by Gorg and Eyr. It must’ve taken fifty or more of the knights to erect a spell like that, something that lasted that long, with that much power. Obviously, it was to protect the dragon’s horde. There’s no magic that could dispel such a magic, except that of one of the Whiteblades.”
“On that,” Lilaci said. “There is something I must ask you, Burr.” She leaned towards him, and as she looked into his eyes, she assumed he already knew what question she was going to ask.
“Go on then,” he said.
“The blood— The Knights of the Whiteblade use blood magics?”
He nodded “Aye.”
There was a looming silence after that. We were all raised with tales of old magics, and we all knew that blood magic was associated with hexes and curses. Yet, now that I think about it, who created those tales? If it was the Knights of the Whiteblade who used blood magics, and the gods were the ones who spread their lies, then it makes sense they would lie about the knights and their magics after they were defeated.
“There is a stigma about it, I can’t deny,” he said. “But there is great power for doing good in blood. It’s the most powerful fluid in all the Arr. It creates life, it makes us.”
Again, silence.
“Well,” Fewn finally said. “Next time you want blood, look somewhere else. That’s just creepy.”
“We can talk more about that later,” Roren pressed. “What of the headdress. Can I see the gems you plucked from its crown?”
Burr slowly lifted the flap to the leather pouch, and delicately pulled out the three colored orbs, one by one, until they were in his lap. They all reflected the firelight gorgeously, and as they caught the light of the fire, they seemed to glow from within.
“Beautiful,” Roren said. Kera stood, letting the linen blanket fall behind her. She walked over to Burr and sat closely next to him, staring at the three orbs in his lap.
“Yes,” she said. “Quite beautiful.”
“What are they?” Lilaci asked. “Is that what you were looking for in the cave?”
“I hoped they’d be in there,” he said. “But I wasn’t sure. Not after all this time.”
“So?” Fewn pressed. “What was worth risking your life for?”
Burr looked into the light of the orbs, and his eye glimmered with wonder and delight. “These— these are the Stones of Geminos, the three orbs that protected the alpha. The most powerful dragon wore that headdress in battle, and when it did so, it was impervious to almost everything.”
“The Stones of Geminos?” Roren said in disbelief.
“Can I touch one?” Kera asked. Burr nodded with a smile. She reached out and touched the white stone.
“Go ahead,” he said. “Take it.”
She gently plucked it from his lap. “Why— it’s as light as a feather. It weighs almost nothing.” Lilaci watched as the orb moved from his lap to her small palm, the orb appeared to shrink to fit snugly into her cupped hand. “It's magnificent.”
“It’s yours,” Burr said. Kera gave him look of shock. “They’re all yours.”
“What?” she said in disbelief. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll keep them with you,” he said. “You’ll keep them together at all times, and you’ll keep them hidden.”
“Thank you,” she said, with teary eyes. He handed them one by one to her.
“Remember, they only work when they are all together. You’ll be impervious to magics, physical attacks, and poisons. But you can still be hurt. Things like having a rock fall onto you, or drowning can still kill. So, don’t think you’re invincible, but you’ll be pretty close to it.” He winked with his one eye.
“Thank you,” Lilaci said. “That is a gift for all of us, Burr. You’ve proven yourself already as a friend.”
“I will say this though,” he added. “Once you’re done with them, they will return to my Order— for safe keeping.”
“Deal,” Kera said. She then looked around to the others around the fire. “So which path do we take to the egg now?”
Chapter Twenty-Six
After hours of debate, and a heated argument between Roren and Burr, the travelers decided to take a slightly more northern route back towards the cave which housed the dragon egg. Burr wanted to make a straight shot towards it, which
would take them dangerously close to the Zont-ils, and the open Dakaran Desert, which housed the Great Oasis of Noruz, and the City of Voru. Burr said they could slide along the northern foothills of the mountains, remaining nearly invisible if they moved during the right time of day in the shadows. Roren had none of that, saying it endangered Kera too much, especially since they’d killed an entire troupe of Scaethers. More were sure to follow.
They’d take the mountain range that bordered the northern border of Bompart, the Isoz-Bor mountains. They were shallow, rolling mountains that nearly reached the northern sea of the Arr’s coast. They could follow that range almost the entire way back down and around the backside of Bompart, and to the cave. Burr wasn’t happy that the walk would take them at least three days longer, but Lilaci and Fewn held Kera’s safety in the highest regard. Burr thought the Stones of Geminos would keep her safe enough, and the rest of them would fight through any pack of Scaethers sent from the palace. But Lilaci wanted to keep her as far away from danger as possible, even with the stones.
In the light of the early morning sun, they packed up their belongings, extinguished their fire, burying it, and as they left back out west, Burr stayed behind, removing nearly all traces that they’d stayed there the night prior. More and more Lilaci was beginning to appreciate his dedication, stealth, and skills. The man who’d appeared out of nowhere, even followed them hundreds of miles without them knowing, had lived up to the stories of the glory of the Knights of the Whiteblade. Roren, on the other hand, seemed a bit warier than her of their new-found companion. Fewn seemed indifferent, as she seemed more preoccupied with a mix of contentment that Lilaci had forgiven her, and an unusual quietness about her, as if she was deep in thought. Kera had grown surprisingly close to Burr already, but in her youth, Lilaci had seen that she could garner attachments quickly to those who proved loyalty. Not to mention, he’d given her one of the most valuable, if not the most valuable, treasures in all of the Arr. The Stones of Geminos were bound to prove their value in Kera’s hands.
Past the foothills they walked, behind them the magnificence of the carving of the headless dragon on the monumental mountain. Also, behind them, and growing further behind with every step, was the island the gods slumbered upon. Every one of them was elated to be moving away from that place.
At the lead was Burr, trudging through the growing deep sands. The sea winds were still at their back, and the rising sun brought back the heat, and blue, cloudless sky. To their left, down south were the rocky plains that nestled themselves up to the great mountain, and before them in the distance were the Isoz-Bor mountains. Behind Burr walked Fewn, head down in thought. After, walked Lilaci and Kera, hand in hand. Then, Roren took the last position, his eyes constantly scanning the horizon in all directions.
“Burr gave you a great gift,” Lilaci said down to Kera, the young girl’s black hairs wafting out the side of the tan hood covering her head. Her silver eyes piercing deep into Lilaci’s. “Those stones are going to help you stay safe, no matter what happens, don’t lose them. You heard what he said, they only work if they stay together.”
“Sort of like us,” Kera said.
“Yes, sort of like us.”
“I don’t think it will be a problem,” Kera said. “Keeping them together that is. Look.” Kera reached into her pouch at her side and pulled out the orbs— all in one handful. Lilaci looked down in amazement to see three stones, which all had been larger than the size of apples when they were plucked from the dragon’s headdress, were now little larger than a child’s marbles. “Guess they knew I couldn’t carry them when they were big.”
“I guess not,” Lilaci said. “Those must have been created long, long ago. Probably before even the oldest stories our grandparents spoke of.”
“Did you have grandparents?” Kera asked. “That you knew?”
“Well,” Lilaci said, “everyone has— had— grandparents. No, I don’t remember mine. I wish I did. I wish I had at least a single memory of them, a memory of a face. But I don’t. That’s the curse of time when you’re a child— it washes away the oldest of memories like the sands wash over anything old enough, buried and weathered away slowly over the ages.”
“Yes,” Kera said, looking with sad eyes back down at the sand. “I know what you mean, I wish I had a memory of any of my family. I wish I knew my mother’s face. I wish I had even a hint of what she looked like.”
“I bet you look like her, when you’re all grown up, I bet you’ll look just like her. I wager anything she was a beautiful woman. The most beautiful in all the Arr. I’d stake my life on it.”
Kera looked up at her with a wide smile, and loving eyes after she said that. “I think you’re right. I wonder if she’s still alive, I wonder if I’ll ever get to see her, even if I don’t know it’s her.”
“If you’re lucky enough to ever see her, I would like to think part of you would recognize her, and her you.”
“There’s not enough luck on the sands for things like that to happen,” Kera said with a sigh.
“Hey.” Lilaci nudged her on the shoulder. “I found you, that was some nice luck there.”
“You were sent to take me away.”
“And that I did,” Lilaci responded quickly.
“Yeah . . .” Kera trailed off.
“Hey,” Lilaci nudged her on the shoulder again. “I got you something.” Kera looked up at her again with curious eyes. “It’s pretty special too. Hold out your hand.” Kera held let go of Lilaci’s hand and held it out with an open palm. “Close your eyes.”
“But I won’t be able to see where I’m stepping,” Kera said.
“You’ve got an open desert in front of you,” Lilaci laughed, “I think you’ll manage.”
Kera closed her eyes, and as Lilaci’s reached under her tan-linen cloak to the small of her back, she untied the second dagger she’d found in the dragon’s treasure horde, and gently placed the hilt of it into Kera’s hand. She watched as Kera’s small fingers wrapped themselves around the black metal handle with the small white stones inlaid down it.
“Okay, open ‘em.”
Kera opened her eyes to look down at the dagger, and its silver, sharp blade glowing brightly in the reflection of the sunlight. She seemed not to know what to think of her new gift.
“It’s from high up in the cave, I grabbed it for you before we gathered the stones.”
“I’ve never owned a blade before.”
“This is a good one to start with,” Lilaci said. “Look how the way the blade carves down into the hilt, look how the curve of the blade forms up to its tip, see how they designed the handle to mold to slender fingers like yours? It was expertly made from metals I don’t even know. It may prove to be useful.”
“It looks pretty. It’s sparkly.”
Lilaci smiled. “Yes, it is sparkly, isn’t it? I’ll show you how to use it sometime soon.”
“Down!” Roren yelled suddenly, from behind. They all without hesitation dropped to the hot sands, each instinctively throwing out their tan cloaks onto their backs, leaving no shadow to detect as they rustled themselves into the sand.
“What is it?” Lilaci asked back to him.
“Thought I saw something, to the south. A shadow on the horizon.”
Lilaci scanned the direction he was looking. Intently, she gazed for several minutes, hardly blinking. Yet, after ten minutes of looking she saw nothing except endless sands.
“See anything again?” Burr yelled back.
“No,” Fewn said.
“I don’t see anything,” Kera said.
“Must’ve been a tumbleweed,” Roren said, returning to his feet.
“Let’s move on,” Burr said. They all rose back up and continued on again towards the rolling mountain range miles in front of them. Kera slid the dagger’s tip into its sheath and tied it to her belt at the small of her back, just as Lilaci did.
Long hours passed, as they all strode through the desert once more, back towards
the egg. The sands grew deep as they pressed further into the flat desert. Light winds blew across them, blowing swaths of sand behind them, burying their long tracks. The sand they walked through rose to their ankles, which made the walk that much harder. An hour back, Roren had offered to carry Kera, who’d become fatigued. She gladly accepted, and she jumped onto his back, as he continued forth, trudging through the deep sands.
Fewn remained quiet, deep in thought, or simply content she was allowed to stay with Kera. Burr walked on as though he was unfazed by the long walk. It appeared to Lilaci that he was a hard-worn man, who probably lived his long life in the harshest of the deserts, hiding, waiting for the right time to return to the world. Lilaci went up to his side, and they walked next to each other in silence for the better part of ten minutes. They listened to the whistling of the winds, the shifting of the sands at their feet, and the slumbering breaths Kera took slumped over Roren’s back.
“Have something you want to say?” Burr finally broke the silence in a scratchy voice, he then cleared his throat.
“No, not in particular.”
“Hmpf,” he groaned, continuing on, with her next to him. “I guess I’ve got something for you then.”
“Yes?”
“You’ve met these gods, correct?”
She nodded.
“What were they like? I would ask if you spotted any weakness, but I suppose you wouldn’t have.”