by C. K. Rieke
“I suppose you’re right,” Lilaci said, and Roren began to walk off out towards Kera. Lilaci paused, and then looked down at the back of her pale hands, inspecting for anything new. “Nothing.” She seemed reassured and went off after the rest of the group as they walked on towards the rolling mountains in the distance.
After a long day on foot, in a particularly hot day for that time of year, the travelers arrived at the foothills. Their feet found hard rock once again, and their chances of finding food and water grew one-hundred fold, as anyone who walked the sands knew. Burr went off at once, to scour up on the hillside. There were plants scattered upon the hills, albeit mostly dead. There were many cacti— short bulbous ones down on the lowest parts of the hills, and taller, tree-like cacti with many offshoots, like branches. Fewn went to cutting and trimming the skin and prickles from the shorter cacti as Lilaci and Roren went after looking for Kera.
As Kera sat to rest on a soft bed of long blades of dead grass, Lilaci watched Fewn prepare the cactus pedal for Kera. Her arm was still wrapped in the bandage from when Lilaci unintentionally burned her. But Lilaci knew that Fewn was a hardened warrior, and no matter the pain incurred, she’d stay strong, or at least put on that facade. Watching her in the later hours of the day, Lilaci could finally feel the soft, delicate fingers of the breeze as it cooled her neck and shoulders. Kera noticed it, and pulled her cloak clean off and tossed it aside.
Roren went about removing the young girl’s boots and letting her small feet dry in that last bit of sunlight. Kera looked at the brink of exhaustion. She’d walked her whole life, but back with her tribe, they’d camp for a week at a time sometimes. Now, they walked every day, without fail. Not only did they need to make it to the sandworm’s cave with the egg, but they needed to avoid prying eyes. Who knew who’d be after them next. Lilaci worried about another pack of Scaethers, but she worried about the Reevins just as much. The Scaethers were excellent hunters and killers, but the Reevins brought with them all sort of unnatural beasts. She’d not only have to kill the Reevin but protect Kera at the same time. Then she remembered the orbs, and she breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she held onto all three of the stones, she could withstand many types of attack. She only needed to learn to use the new dagger from the cave as another tool.
Fewn ran and leapt down off a boulder, landing next to Roren. Then he gave a slice of the cactus pedal for Kera to chew upon. Cactus was always bitter to eat, but when thirst kicks in, you couldn’t ask for a better alleviation. Kera chewed feverishly on the cactus, and trickles of juice fell down her chin as she sighed in relief. They’d all carried watersacks from the Dune of the Last Dragon, but they hadn’t eaten all day. And walking the sands on such a hot day, they mostly finished their watersacks by the time they’d reached the foothills, where they knew they could find more.
“Is there food coming?” Kera asked in a sweet, soft voice. “I’m hungry.” Lilaci saw her young face, covered in a delicate layer of sand, with dirt smudged under her eyes. Lilaci took a kerchief from her pack and began to brush away the dirt and sand. “Thank you,” Kera murmured as her eyes began to glaze over. She could barely keep them open, as the young girl drifted off.
“You’re welcome,” Lilaci whispered. “You can rest now. You’re safe here. We’ll get you something to eat. You just get some rest. She held out her hand to Kera’s mouth, and Kera spat the cactus into it, which Lilaci discarded. Kera rolled to her side, and her breaths turned to a vague wheezing sound, she’d fallen asleep. Such a sweet girl. I need to get her some real nourishment and water soon. I hate to look at her hungry.
Roren went and placed her cloak over her, and tucked it under her on both sides, he then pulled his blanket from his bag and folded it, placing it under her head. “She’s always been able to do that— fall asleep in an instant. What a great relief it is, when you have all of this weight on your shoulders. Even from when she was a baby, if one of her caretakers took her up in their arms and swayed or walked, Kera would be fast asleep.”
“She’s so beautiful, isn’t she,” Fewn said. “She’s the most beautiful thing I think I’ve ever seen.” Yes, yes, she is. I could look at her innocent face all night as she sleeps. The pleasant look on her face warms my heart.
Roren simply nodded and smiled.
Lilaci couldn’t take her eyes off of Kera. Her lips almost curled into a warm smile, her cute nose, and her eyes fluttering behind closed eyelids. Her eyelashes were dark and long, for such a young girl, and a few of her black hairs rolled across her face and nose like tiny streams of water. “Roren,” she said looking over at him. “What was she like as a young child? What was she like as a babe?”
“I dare say she indeed was the most beautiful thing any of us had ever seen. It was as if she’d placed a spell on all of us.”
“Where’d she come from?” Lilaci asked. “Was she born in your group? I haven’t asked you yet, but what about her mother and father? Where are they? Who are they?”
“Like most stories of young children in these lands, it isn’t a pleasant story, and one we’ve not told Kera yet— for good reason we think.” He pulled Lilaci aside with his hand on her back. “I’d rather her not hear it yet, even if she is asleep.” Fewn followed the two over to a nestling of dead grass without rocks. They all sat together in a circle, Roren with his legs crossed in front of him, and Lilaci on her knees, Fewn sat with her legs to her side. Lilaci went and let her hair down to let the sand let itself free in the breeze. Fewn did the same. “Her father, was from the deep south, a wild man, not unlike a Scaether. But he had dark skin and was more barbaric than the hunters. He took her mother by force on a starless night of dark cloud. When we went searching for him, we’d found he’d been killed by a neighboring tribe, they’d taken his head from his body. Her mother, we started to call her Evenell.” Roren’s eyes grew somber when he mentioned the name. “She— she died in childbirth.”
“Both her parents are dead?” Lilaci said in a sad tone. “Why haven’t you told her?”
“We didn’t want her blaming herself for her mother’s passing, number one,” he said. “Number two, it was to give her the feeling she may have been created for her purpose only. When she’d ask such questions about a mother and father, we’d just insinuate she’d been given to us for the sole purpose of saving these lands.”
“Who are you to decide that?” Fewn spat. “You’re just like the Scaethers. You were just training her for your own desires? She’s just a girl.”
“Roren, that’s atrocious, she deserves to know the truth,” Lilaci said. “You can’t lie to her about something like that, just because you want her to be your weapon doesn’t give you the right. That is indeed the way of the Scaethers!”
“We are nothing like them,” he said defensively. “We didn’t kill her parents, we would’ve saved the mother had we the chance. And— we were going to tell Kera in time. Once she reached maturity perhaps. We would not keep this from her forever. I agree she deserves to know, but her purpose is so important. It was for her own well-being. Please do not tell her these things. I promise you, when the time is right, I will tell her, or the order will when we return.”
Lilaci looked over at Fewn. When was he going to tell us this? He had better not hope I’m not going to follow wherever she goes. “You intend to take her back to the Order of Drakon?” she asked Roren. Fewn gave a disapproving gaze.
“Why of course,” he said as if the answer should have been clear. “We are her family. Why would she not return?”
“We are her family now,” Fewn said, looking over into Lilaci’s eyes for approval. “All of us.”
“Do not misunderstand,” he said. “We are not taking her away from you. You are all family, but— she needs her original family. They can protect her. They can keep her safe. She won’t have to walk the sands every day, hoping that they won’t be attacked. Mind you, there are those after her— of course— but there are others after you two as well. You put her in danger by
being near her.”
“How dare you!” Fewn stood abruptly in anger.
“Fewn,” Lilaci said, trying to calm her.
“No, Lilaci. He’s wrong. She’s safer with us, we can protect her better than them.”
“No, Fewn,” Lilaci said. “He’s right. We do bring unwanted eyes towards us. We do attract the wrong attention. They’ll be after us always. But—” she looked at Roren, “—we can protect her better than the order. It’s all we know, is battle.”
“I don’t disagree that you can . . .” Roren said, but then they all turned back around to the foothills to see Burr leaping down, one boulder at a time. He had a small, furry animal in his wrinkled hand.
He ran down to them, “It’s not much, but it’ll be enough for her tonight.”
Fewn scanned the foothills, “That’s fine. But what about us? I’m starving too.”
“I looked down on the hillside,” Burr said. “There’s hardly any trace of life. The herds have either gone south for the season, or this is just a desolate mountain. There’s not even a bird in the sky. Not even a buzzard.”
They all three looked up and saw nothing.
“I fear these mountains aren’t going to provide the sustenance we’d assumed they’d have,” he said.
“Well, there’s got to be something up there,” Lilaci said. “If it’s not above, then it's under.”
“Ugh,” Fewn sighed with a disgusted face. “I hate grubs.”
“I rather enjoy them,” Burr said with a smile. “I like the crunch of their head when you bite down.”
“You’re gross,” Fewn said.
“Yes, if there’s another option we will find it,” Lilaci said. “I’ll go up and look around. You stay here and watch her.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No, that’s okay Fewn, thanks, I’d like to be alone for a bit. Clear my head and breath some fresh mountain air.” Fewn gave her a saddened look.
Lilaci strode off up the hill, looking at Kera’s sweet, slumbering face as she did. She looked up at the high peaks of the mountain and looked to her left as the range carved off as far as the desert went. This is going to be a long walk back to the cave, I told Kera the dragon inside the egg is alive. I certainly hope I was right about that. Don’t worry about that right now though. Right now, it’s time to hunt, so we all don’t sleep on empty bellies yet again. At least we have food for her when she awakens. She had a mother and father. Why didn’t they just tell her? She’s old enough to know. I can’t help but be a little reminded of the Scaethers, as Fewn mentioned. They molded children into tools— weapons. Will the Arr never change? Will the winds never blow in a different direction? With the Great Oasi never let their waters flow outward again? Are these lands cursed? Lilaci looked down at the back of her hands again and holding it up closer to her face to inspect. She asked herself, “Is that a new wrinkle?” She held her hand closer, extending her fingers out and squeezing them back together. “No, it’s just in your head. There’s no curse on you.” Focus Lilaci, it’s time to hunt.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The smell of the fire wafted around them, its musty aroma carried hints of pine and tree sap. There were no grubs or insects they had to eat to be able to sleep with full bellies— but lizards. Lilaci had stumbled upon a small crevasse higher up in the foothills harboring a half-dozen brown lizards with blue spiked fins on their necks, and long red tails. Their flesh popped and crackled on roasting sticks over the fire. Lilaci could feel her stomaching aching for the warm meat. Her normally dry mouth was wet with hunger from the aroma. Each of them held their own skewer, waiting for the meat to cook through.
Kera had already eaten enough of what Burr had brought back so that she’d had something in her belly, but it wasn’t much. She eagerly awaited the new, warm meal. Fewn eyed her cooking lizard with eager eyes. The smell was almost torture to them. Impatiently, Fewn pulled the skewer close to her, and popped a leg off, nibbling off the sparse meat on the thin-boned joint.
“Better than worms?” Burr joked.
Fewn let out a groan of pleasure from the warm food. She nodded. With some luck, Lilaci had also found some root plants growing in a ditch over a hill, and so they had a handful of onions and potatoes resting on the coals. For them, this was to be a feast. Kera watched the fire with intense eyes, staring, and not speaking. Lilaci glanced over at her and held concern for what she was thinking. She also wanted to tell her about her parents, but she figured that could wait until another time.
At the campfire that evening, under a star-filled sky, with the mountains on the one side, and the never-ending desert on the other— little was spoken. The group filled their bellies with as much as they could, they drank from the full watersacks, with water collected from a nearby deposit of fresh water, harnessed in a shadowed crevasse. Then they were off to sleep, which they found quickly. That is— except Lilaci. She’d be on first watch that evening. She was tired, and her eyelids felt heavy, but she wouldn’t succumb to the temptation of rest, not with Kera sleeping soundly next to her. She heard the far-off howling of a pack of dogs, or wolves. They yipped and let out long, drawn-out howls that seemed to carry for miles.
It’s strange how life can move so quickly. Growing up in Sorock, taken from the sands, I found it to be my home. I got used to the walls. I got used to being in a bunkhouse with all the other girls. The teachers I looked up to, like Elan, became my parents. I got used to the routines of eating at those proper times and drinking from endless pools of water. That was my home. Then, when Veranor took me away, took me away from Gogenanth and the others, I found a new home. Here, next to Kera, my mind is free to remember what happened in that place.
Back then, things were foggy. After the mages cast that spell on me, weeks and months flew by like minutes and hours. I still don’t have any idea how long I was really there. A couple of years maybe? Even three or four? The training was a form of torment, but now that I’m here. I don’t regret the training, it only made me stronger. A better killer.
What I regret most is— how I was used. In Sorock, I was used and manipulated and toyed with to turn me into something different. They wanted the little girl in the little girl’s body gone. They wanted a weapon in a little girl’s body, and that’s what they got. Under Veranor’s servitude, I became something different. He didn’t even want a weapon in a girl’s body. He wanted nothing in there. He wanted a blank canvas on which to paint. There were no conversations that existed between us, it was only a one-way road when he was around. I remember trying to fight against the wall created inside of me. I’d scratch and beat at the wall in my head. I’d cry out for help, and go into wild fits of rage, but on the outside, my body didn’t move. My hands stayed at my side, no matter what I told them to do. I wanted them to simply reach out, reach out and grab his neck— and squeeze. Squeeze until nothing could move under the grip of my curled fingers. No air would enter in or out.
They were all fantasies though. In my enslavement, and stuck in my own mind and body, in a weird way that became my home. There wasn’t anything else. Sorock was taken from me, the desert was taken from me. I only had my training, and my isolation in my room. Yet— here I am, looking up at the stars. They are magnificent. In all my lifetime I couldn’t count them all. How far I’ve come, from that small dark room I was kept in, to my true home. My home without walls, without borders, without restriction. I’ve never felt so alive, so free. It’s all thanks to her too. From the moment we met eyes when I was with the Scaether pack, I knew my life would be different. If it wasn’t her in that tent on that dark night, I fear I would’ve gone through with our mission for Veranor and the gods, and I’d be back within the palace walls. They wouldn’t take the Sanzoral back, and I could possibly be a trophy for them— the Six.
She has saved me. This will be a long road to the cave and the egg, and once we are there, there will be many long days and nights after. The hunt will continue. One baby dragon won’t change those things, if
the dragon is alive, that is. I do think about what the Garen Pixies whispered to me though, and if they were right. The first whisper, meant that I needed to live to protect her, which I have every intention of doing. The next was Gorlen, the infamous Witch Queen is going to come after us one day, and that I’d have to find another way to defeat her. The only way I can think to kill a god is with a dragon, and that doesn’t seem to be an option yet. Kera may be a key to that, as she can dispel the mage’s magics. There’s a chance that can work on the gods, but that’s a very risky proposition, as the only way to test it would be to have a god get close to her, which I’m not willing to test. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for a clue. The third, and most troubling whisper was that something isn’t as it appears, or something won’t be what it appears. The pixie could’ve been more descriptive though, that would’ve been helpful. Of the three of them sleeping, Fewn is the most likely to flip on me, it’s possible Burr is, but he’s proven his worth a few times now, and then there’s Roren. The only flaw in Roren, is also his greatest strength— his blind and absolute dedication to Kera. I’ll have to keep my eyes open. If the whisper is true, they could be referring to someone I haven’t even met yet. Best to not let it bother me, but to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. We will walk again tomorrow, and when the stars and moon have gone off to rest, the sun will return, and under the bright light of the sun, prying eyes are our biggest threat. On our way to the cave, we are going to have to be nearly invisible. For if we fail, if we can’t help Kera fulfill what she was born to do, the sands of these lands may never change. The Arr will be wrought with sadness for another thousand years, or more. With every last breath in my body, and as long as blood runs through my veins, I will not let us fail.
The following morning, Lilaci awoke to a brilliantly warm sun again. Roren had been on lookout the remainder of the night, so she was able to sleep roughly five hours. They made their way to the hidden pool of water and filled their watersacks. That day, under the hot sun they walked along the foothills of the Isoz-Bor range. When they needed a reprieve from the sunlight, they found shade among the rocks. They even found morsels of food, scattered around and under the sands. It was a full day of walking burning their feet on the endless sands. Kera seemed to be in high spirits, and asked many questions about the dragons to Burr, and she loved listening to his descriptions of them soaring high above the clouds, and them slumbering upon vast hordes of gold and treasure. Fewn seemed to enjoy the tales as well, as she listened intently to them. Roren seemed preoccupied with watching out for any signs of threats.