Defiance: Dragonics & Runics Part I

by A. Wrighton

  Kalyna pushed through Nylan, back towards the exit. “We have to leave. Now!” Kalyna looked up at Alaister, the copper color dominant once more. She frowned with the face of a tormented child. “Please, Alaister.”

  Alaister needed no further convincing. He led them out the hallway, Drystan and Nylan nipping at his heels. Laced into Kalyna’s hand, Alaister raced out of the palace, the continuous moans of the Beasts thinning and cooling his blood with each stride. Kalyna tightened her grip on Alaister’s hand, the hairs on the back of her neck and arms rose.

  Followed.

  Kalyna looked back behind them in muted horror.

  Nothing.

  No one.

  Alaister squeezed Kalyna’s hand until she found his face again. Her hand relaxed in his. Rounding the last bend, Alaister ducked under a collapsed beam and pulled Kalyna out into the crisp dawn air with one final heave. The light of the two moons faded behind the mountain peaks; daybreak approached. Alaister scanned the sky, knowing that all too soon Council Patrols would be approaching.

  Kalyna slid down to the ground, gasping for air, for support. None moved to aide her. They let her be; they let her sit alone. Alaister looked at Drystan, whose face twitched and his hands shook. He had seen it too – those eyes.

  The men did not have to summon the Beasts. They came on their own, eager to leave Lynae with roars demanding faster departures.

  “You okay t’ere, Kaly?”

  “I think so.”

  “Is it…”

  Kalyna interrupted Drystan with a squeeze and a shake of her head. “It’s the Mountain. Something still lives there,” Kalyna said softly.

  “T’at done be imposs—” Drystan caught Alaister’s look and stopped. The icy, gray-blue stare ordered concessions. Alaister was not about to inflame the Runic that had just managed to calm. Drystan nodded, something inside believing that she was right – something in that mountain lived. “Still… I’m gonna have to keep a close eye on you t’en – just in case, ya know?”

  “Drystan, you don’t even know the symptoms to keep a close eye on me for.”

  “Sure I do. I saw the wall. She done went crazy.”

  “Well, Listener be saved,” Kalyna chuckled, “I am safe from turning crazy with you keeping watch.”

  Drystan squinted at her sarcasm and then smiled. “Always,” Drystan said before mounting an invariably impatient Allanox. The white Beast roared and yipped at Drystan until he was quickly reprimanded in fast-talking Creipan.

  Nylan mounted Fynix, fighting a chuckle at the odd scene Drystan and Allanox made. He commanded his Beast to hover and found that, despite his Beast’s loyalty, Fynix was unusually unreceptive. Hesitant, even. Nylan looked to Jaxin who did not seem to notice Alaister or Kalyna mount him. The Fire Beast’s red-orange eyes scanned the sky relentlessly.

  Alaister squeezed Kalyna’s side and caught her eyes. He refused to let further doubt settle. He had to know if she was okay – that she was still her.

  Kalyna looked at Alaister, drained but attentive. Her eyes were still copper.

  “Was it?” Alaister asked.

  “No.”

  “And if you’re wrong?”

  With a faded smile, Kalyna inhaled deeply twice. “Well then, take faith and count your praises that I come kill you first, Alaister Paine, for you sleep less than any man I know.”

  LEOSAN CAVERN

  SOUTHERN SOLERAN MOUNTAINS, SOLASTI

  Kalyna stared at Nylan from her back corner of stalagmites and books until he caught her in the act. Her face was tired and her lips were drawn tight. She smiled and waved him over. Kalyna rose to greet him, adjusting her cinch as she stood. She had aged, or at least seemed to have aged, though her beauty was unmistakable. And, Nylan understood why the Rogues could not take their eyes off her. She was different looking from the other Soleran women, and although he knew her secret as to why, Nylan was still stunned by her distinctive beauty. She did not look like any Lythgorian woman either. She was in a realm of her own. A feral beauty.

  Kalyna shrugged at Nylan’s docile approach and placed her hand on her hip. “So are you going to teach me that Rune or not?”

  “Ah, I figured you’d forget with those scrolls you found.”

  She sighed and handed him one. “It’s slow going. They’re all in Drakanic and from what I’ve translated, it looks like they’re just accounts of achievements with my Kind.”

  “No Runes?”

  Defeat danced across her face. She shrugged, failing to imagine the wearing weight lifting from her shoulders. “No. I guess it’s up to my imagination and Vee’s teachings now.”

  “Well then, I shall teach you what I know. Hopefully, it works – if it does, we can send a message to the High Runics. They might have some texts with Runes you don’t know yet.”

  Kalyna glowed. “Sounds wonderful.”

  “Okay then… let me see….”

  Nylan tried to recall the memory of watching Lord Tryn summon a bird to pass the message to his father that he had been found sneaking around, causing havoc with Lord Tryn’s daughter. The thought of his childhood friend relaxed him. Slowly, it came back to him.

  “Stand like a star in the sky – feet and arms spread.”

  Obediently, Kalyna mimicked the stance as directed.

  “Do I even want to know?” Alaister asked, an unusual amount of laughter in his voice.

  “He’s teaching me a Lythgorian Air Rune!” Kalyna’s glee was delightfully contagious.

  “It’s for summoning a bird to relay messages. I’d like to contact my Command, if it works,” Nylan said.

  “By all means, carry on then.”

  “All right, Kaly. Now repeat after me.”

  Knowing the Lythgorian words would be difficult for a Soleran, Nylan over-enunciated everything, hoping that it would not affect the spell itself. Lythgorian was derived from Drakanic, but still used sounds Kalyna could not have been familiar with unless, somewhere deep inside, she remembered what her mother’s native language sounded like, if she had ever heard her speak it at all.

  “Frant minli, takat vengri ek fluja. Frant wurti, gefat ek seja. Frant hiatri, lifi langriten exstri…”

  As Kalyna repeated the words, an air gust whirled around Kalyna, whiting her out. Only the waving flaxen hair marked where she stood. There was a caw and screech of a bird and a glint of gold in the whirlwind. A shadow of wings flapping appeared. Large wings. Gold.

  Nylan leaned into the growing wind to shout the final instructions. “Concentrate and say, Librek!”

  Kalyna obeyed, or at least it sounded like she did, though Nylan could not be sure. The wind gusts grew too powerful to try to look through, and both Nylan and Alaister ducked behind stalagmites to shield themselves. A heartbeat later, the wind was gone and the area was still. Silent. Nylan and Alaister looked back to Kalyna. She stood there, hair freshly tossed but neatly placed, alone. There was no bird, just a broken frown on her pale face.

  “That… was some whirlwind,” Alaister offered.

  “What good does that do?” Kalyna huffed. “I heard the bird. I saw it. It was there and then gone…” Her face reddened; her lips parted with the shock of her failure. She never failed at Runes. Ever.

  “We can try again,” Nylan said.

  Kalyna paced with her arms clenched across her chest. “To what end? I did exactly what you asked of me Nylan. I am sorry. You put too much faith in me. Vee taught me some things but nothing like this. I wish I could’ve helped, Nylan. I do… really.”

  Nylan wanted to comfort her but could not find the words or actions to do so. He just stood and nodded at Kalyna. Her frustrations were just and he was disappointed. Nothing else needed to be said. Nothing else could be done. He still needed to get in contact with Command and the High Runics. They had to know what he had seen in the Solastian palace and about Kalyna’s strengths and control. His upset blocked his sympathy at first and Nylan was grateful that this time, Alaister was faster as his comforts would be
far more welcomed than any other’s.

  Alaister approached Kalyna and set his hands on her shoulders. They instantly fell, relaxing under his touch. She leaned back into his warmth and for a moment, Nylan saw Alaister’s panic at her ease, when he caught his annoyed glower. Nylan had expected the look sooner, and so his face remained emotionless. Nylan knew Alaister did not like the sudden existence of his and Kalyna’s camaraderie, but it was not his place to explain it either. Nylan would happily accept the unsure glances and distrust until Kalyna was ready to dislodge the truth. But, this look of Alaister’s had more substance than usual – more annoyance – and Nylan could not blame Alaister for staring at him so. Perhaps he had asked too much of her.

  “It’s all right, Kal,” Alaister said. “You did what you could.”

  Callon, having witnessed the display from afar, weaseled around Nylan to join Alaister. He elbowed Kalyna and smiled warmly. “Looked cool while it last—”

  A screech pierced the cavern as a golden eagle dove into the group, pulling up short to hover before settling on Kalyna’s outstretched hand. Kalyna stared at her arm, shocked by her instinctual commitment to provide a landing place. She knew the bird belonged to her – she knew it in her gut and bones. She and the creature were united – deeply. Kalyna’s gaze flickered to Nylan.

  He beamed.

  Kalyna’s face calmed and she returned Nylan’s smile before setting her fingers on the bird, instinctively knowing where to stroke it to make it croon. The silence returned fragilely, living between stunned breaths and watchful eyes.

  Callon broke the silence first, the bird ruffling at his interruption. “Well, that’s a bit… realistic for my taste.”

  “You have no idea, Caledonian,” Nylan muttered as he approached. Something was off. The bird was too vivid. Too bright. Too marked with personality. He felt Callon and Alaister stare at him in unison and Nylan knew he should wipe the smug grin from his face, but he could not help it. He had known she could do it – and well. His father had warned that his need to be right would probably get him killed, and both the Rogue Commanders looked primed to fulfill that prediction. Nylan pet the bird and felt its mass. His smile grew. The sheer power was stunning and now his command could know everything.

  “Commander McKafrey to you, Darkling.”

  Nylan sneered but did not feed Callon’s desire for a peaked reaction. He settled beside Kalyna and helped her hold her arm up as it braced the giant eagle. He looked to Alaister – pride laced with slight panic exuding. Alaister looked again at the bird, then Nylan. He understood the implication. The improbability.

  Alaister failed to find words; he was too stunned to do or say anything. He moved away from Kalyna without her noticing. She was far too entranced with the bird. Entranced as she should be. Because the eagle had feathers and weight. The stories were true. Nylan caught Alaister’s gray gaze and nodded. They both knew.

  But the truth was lost on Kalyna. And it was lost on Callon, too. For them, the impossibility of the eagle’s presence could not be digested.

  “Nylan, I thought you said it wouldn’t be real if I conjured it. That it would be a … figment?”

  “It was… is supposed to be.”

  “Oh,” Kalyna frowned. She petted the bird as it glanced about warily, inspecting its existence with a saddened face.

  “You shouldn’t be sad, Kaly. Do you have any idea how amazing this is? How amazing you are?”

  Nylan’s navy eyes latched onto Kalyna’s copper, but his intensity drained. Kalyna rolled back from Nylan’s gaze and stepped into Alaister’s presence. Nylan’s look terrified. She retreated until her body touched Alaister’s, her rigidness fading beside him.

  Alaister’s voice was rich and fluid in her ear. “Kal, you’re a Soul Runic.”

  Her copper eyes shivered in a lilac wave of disbelief. “No. No I’d be dead.”

  “Yet, here you are conjuring life,” Nylan said.

  “I don’t even know how…”

  “I humbly beg to differ, Kaly.” Nylan’s smile grew as an odd silence filled the air. The gravity of the matter choked the hearts and minds present.

  “Soul Runic as in like… I-am-going-to-suck-the-life-from-you-and-live-forever Soul Runic? That kind?” Callon asked.

  “Some of them do that, yes.” Nylan shrugged. “Is this a recurring nightmare of yours, Commander McKafrey?”

  Nylan’s mocking voice rubbed, but Callon did not flinch. He was too concerned to care. A real Soul Runic was before them. Kai Paine had saved her; Trent McKafrey had too. The Prophecy was alive – enabling and real.

  “There’s more Soul Runics than just Kalyna?” Alaister asked.

  Nylan exhaled, shaking his head as he began to pace. His purple cape swished against his bootstraps as he walked, creating a jarring jingle that drew Kalyna away from any attempt at understanding her inner monologue of terror and fear.

  A Soul Runic.

  They were dead.

  Legends.

  Extinct.

  The Prophecy must be true – and she a part of it – somehow.

  “Centuries ago, we did have a Soul Runic that tended to… do that sort of thing. I am sure that’s how you Solerans got that ridiculous bedtime story in the first place…”

  Callon’s eyes rolled until only the whites showed at the comment, pulling a smile onto Kalyna’s twisted face.

  Alaister shook his head at the display as he set his soft grip on Kalyna’s shoulder. Her thoughts grounded. “Did Vee know?”

  Kalyna balked at Alaister’s question before giving it much thought. “How could she? I didn’t even know… I mean… No. I don’t think she knew. She wasn’t really one to keep any secrets about Runes.”

  Callon stepped forward, his folded arms across his chest. “Let me just get this right. Not only can you defeat Dragons with ice and air, start a fire where none should be, and disarm a true master swordsman with vines, but now you can suck my life away? Great! Fantastic! So glad I volunteered for this tour of duty. Alaister, friendship be damned, I did not sign up for this gavasti!”

  The Sun Eagle perched on Kalyna’s forearm screeched at Callon’s raised tone, fluttering its wings uneasily. Kalyna instantly stroked under its ear bone and along its wings. She shook her head, tsking Callon with a soft smile curving her lips. Alaister joined in with laughter. His hands gently squeezed Kalyna’s shoulder – a reaffirming gesture assuring her that, for all his talk and games, Callon was not sincere – this time.

  “I won’t suck your life away, Callon. Not even if you asked me to.”

  “Damn! I was thinking that … it might make things… you know more—” Callon stopped at the advance of Alaister and his curt stare.

  “Tell her what you know about this Soul power, Bendran,” Alaister said abruptly.

  Nylan blinked at the barked order. “You do not command me, Paine. It’ll do us all best to remember that.”

  The two Commanders met in a vivid stare – a stare Kalyna could not afford. “Please Nylan?” Kalyna asked.

  “I don’t know much. I know Lythgor has had one or two Runic with the control over the Soul Runes before. Other than that, only the Queen Dragons wield it. It is how all Dragons are born; it’s part of what they are. From what I’ve gathered, it’s like any other Rune once mastered. For every action, there is an equal and opposite consequence. You can take someone’s soul for yourself or another – or you can give your soul to something.”

  “Like the eagle,” Kalyna said.

  “And the cost?” Alaister asked. “The cost for using Soul Runes?”

  “Part of the user’s life – their soul.” Nylan averted his eyes and frowned.

  “How much?” Kalyna asked flatly.

  “I suppose it would depend on the Rune and use of it really.” Nylan paused, thoughtfully staring at the awful beauty before him. The way her soft fingers could wield such definitive power amazed. She was legendary. A legend the Solerans had almost thrown away – twice. Nylan’s dark blue eye
s stabbed Alaister by surprise. “You know Paine, if your King hadn’t gone completely mad and destroyed his Runics, Kalyna would be in much better, capable hands. She has some serious gifts, Commander. Powers neither of us can even begin to fathom. She will need help.”

  “I will be fine,” Kalyna said, an angry tint lingering on her voice.

  “Kaly, there can be a thousand nuances to the ability to control the Soul Rune. You have to learn how to wield it—”

  Kalyna’s eyes left the eagle and her gaze fell squarely on Nylan’s pacing figure. He stopped, unsure of what her anger might allow her to do – what she might always be able to do.

  “And who might you suggest teach me, Nylan? You just admitted that there hasn’t been a Lythgorian Runic with this ability in over a century and only the Watcher knows how long ago Solera had someone with that Rune. So what do you suggest? I’m all ears for your suggestions – please – give me something! Perhaps you’d have me search for the Dragon Queen herself and ask her for lessons!”

  The cavern shook with a chorus of defiant, resounding bellows from the force of Dragons lurking about nearby. Kalyna cocked her head at Jaxin, who stood perched on the ledge, and he immediately leant his eye contact. Slowly, Jaxin steadied, resettling his weight under her wary eye. With Jaxin settled, the other Beasts followed suit.

  “The Lythgorian Elders will know…”

  “Oh, to Udlast with your Darkling Elders,” Callon said, striding towards Nylan, hand upon his rapier hilts. “We are not about to hand our last Runic over to the enemy.”

  Nylan did not move for his weapons. He stared blankly at Callon’s advance. “I am not your enemy. I told you, we are only here because of what your people did to your Runics. Revenge is one Udlastian mistress, Caledonian.”

  “You pompous, self-righteous Spout Blaster!”