by Daniel White
“You’re mad.”
“I beg to differ.” Malath swung at him. Aldrick lifted his sword in defence but this time it was struck from his hand. A searing pain shot up his arm and he dropped to his knees.
Malath lifted Aldrick’s chin with the tip of his blade and leered down at him with hateful eyes. “Time to leave this world, whelp. Die knowing that I will go on and slaughter all whom you hold dear. Then, I will return them and do it again, over and over. I will toy with their souls until they have nothing left, in this world or the next. Your helpless soul will know only of their suffering.”
Aldrick felt feeble… empty. There was nothing left to do now. This was the end.
There was a roaring. The figures of the two dragons hurtled past and then came a thunderous crash from below. The floor shuddered and pillars swayed. They must have struck the foundations of the terrace.
“Dear me,” remarked Malath, looking around. “Perhaps this temple will be destroyed after all.”
Aldrick looked up at him. “You do know what will happen if it is, don’t you? That dragon’s kin will be freed and the whole world will burn. You won’t be divinity for long.”
Malath chuckled. “Did the white one tell you this? He too is misguided, then. The banishing is a myth, an old wife’s tale—folly rubbish.”
“You’re wrong.”
Malath frowned momentarily, then shook his head. “No, no I am not.”
Télia appeared at the top of the stairs. The second Aldrick glanced at her he knew he had made a mistake. Malath noticed his eyes shift and turned.
“What have we here?” he asked gleefully. He looked back at Aldrick, then to her again. “Oh, please tell me this is not your woman….” He laughed. “She is!”
Aldrick panicked. “Télia!”
Malath went for her. She fired an arrow at him, but to no effect. He brushed it aside before grabbing her by the collar and striking her hard across the face.
“Malath.” Aldrick forced himself to his feet. “Let her go.”
Malath shook his head. “No. Her, you will witness perish before you die.”
Aldrick tried to move but found an unyielding warding wall keeping him at bay. Malath strode to the edge of the terrace and held Télia out over the chasm. She didn’t struggle. She looked at Aldrick with an expression he could not read.
“Malath… Malath, don’t,” he pleaded.
Malath’s lip curled. “Oh how it must hurt knowing you can do noth—”
In a flash, Télia drew a hidden dagger and drove it into Malath’s shoulder. He cried out in pain and let her go. Aldrick watched in horror as she fell from sight.
“No!” He launched himself forward. The warding wall had crumbled. He felt his storm surging from the depths of him. He had power and he had purpose. He drove into Malath with all his might and they both toppled over the edge.
They were falling. Wind beat against them. Below, Télia disappeared into a murky haze. He had to save her but knew Malath would impede him.
“Illumir, catch her!” he yelled out, praying the dragon was near enough to hear him.
Malath let out a merciless laugh. “She is damned.”
Aldrick hurled a spear of lightning at him. He deflected it with a shield of fire.
They fought as wrathful beasts, slashing and hammering each other with every element in their control; a battle to honour this gamble of the fates.
Illumir appeared, descending in a dive with Aashkara on his tail. For a moment the dragons fought alongside them, locked in an equally ferocious battle until Illumir broke free and continued down at fierce speed.
“Save her!” Aldrick shouted after him. “Save her!”
Malath dealt a blow that snapped his bones. His sword was lost. He clasped his ribs, healed, then struck back with talons of lightning and shards of ice. Malath blocked.
“Nothing will hinder me!” he cried madly.
Aldrick looked back down to see the haze had thinned and a jagged terrain of scolded stone was rapidly approaching. He held a hand down and tried to slow his descent with gravity. It was hard to focus. He hit the ground at great speed. Malath landed lightly nearby. Dazed and aching, Aldrick lifted his head. Illumir and Aashkara were battling a short distance away from them. Illumir held Télia in his claws. The dragon had caught her! She was alive! He made to find his feet but Malath struck him with earth-shattering force and he hurtled sideways into rock. He collapsed, barely conscious…
He would not give in! Aldrick leapt up and unleashed a blaze upon Malath, who forged a wall, but the flames pushed through. Malath’s robes caught alight for an instant before he doused them and retaliated with spears of ice. One pierced Aldrick’s chest, slicing like glass. He pulled it out and threw it back. It met Malath’s thigh. He grimaced and dropped to one knee. Aldrick saw that he was finding it difficult to heal now. His storm was near spent. So was Aldrick’s own. Blood dripped from his chest wound. He staggered forward. Malath gritted his teeth and readied for more.
There was a roar. They both looked sideways. Illumir had his jaws closed around Aashkara’s neck. Her talons were lodged deep in his side. With vicious ferocity, Illumir tore her neck wide open. Burning blood gushed to the ground. She grumbled and sputtered then fell sideways, tearing Illumir open as her final act. The dragon toppled over. As he did, his claws opened and Télia jumped to safety. She stood and brushed herself off, then looked up.
“Aldrick!” She ran frantically toward him.
Aldrick looked up. Ruins of the terrace were falling straight for them. Télia launched herself into him and wrapped her body around his. With one hand he held her and with the other he forged a warding wall above them. Malath did the same. The rubble crashed down upon them. Its weight was immense. Aldrick could not withstand it, yet somehow he could. Télia gave him strength. He could not let her die. She would not!
They were smothered in total darkness. The air was choking. “Hold on!”
“I will, Aldrick,” she whispered.
From somewhere close, Malath spoke.
“How are you holding up, Aedimon?” he asked. His voice wavered. He was almost done. It was a test of will now.
“Could… be… better,” Aldrick replied.
“I… cannot. It… how can this be?” Malath winced. “How can you…” There was a crumbling sound and then silence. He was dead.
Aldrick held on to Télia and let out a roar. The stone suddenly gave way above them and they ascended, his storm birthing wings beneath them. Télia lifted her head and looked into his eyes. He looked back, feeling devastating exhaustion but overwhelming love.
And so their lips met. They rose higher and higher in gentle embrace and for a time the world around them disappeared.
In the back of his mind, Aldrick heard beating wings. He opened his eyes. Illumir flew past them.
“Thanks for not checking on me,” the dragon grumbled in jest. “You are lucky you have your own way back up.”
He was thankful to see the dragon alive.
“See you at the top,” he called, then continued kissing his future wife.
19
GALDREM
The cool stone floor of Darkna was welcoming. Both ends of the hall were now levelled. The wilting sun’s light spilt in, turning rubble to a tender shade of orange. Somewhere, a fantail was chirping happily. Aldrick and Télia collapsed in each other’s arms upon landing and for a moment just lay there, taking deep breaths of the still air. The dust had settled.
As Aldrick’s thoughts fell upon the others, they came running.
“Aldrick!” Jon cried. “Aldrick, you are alive.”
He and Télia stood.
“Yes, we’re still here,” he said. “As are you.”
Jon sighed heavily. “Yes. Malath’s followers who remained are no more. Selayna we fought at length, until finally, well, she just shrieked and dropped dead. That was when I presumed Malath had fallen.”
Aldrick nodded. “Malath is dead.”
Quite out of character, Kaal came and took Aldrick and Télia in his arms. He looked to be unharmed.
“Tell me—is it over, Brother?” he asked, not hiding his weariness.
Aldrick closed his eyes. “I think so.”
One of Jon’s elderly friends stepped forward. “That dragon of yours—is it friend or foe?”
Aldrick looked to where Illumir awaited on the court. “He is friend to us all. We owe him much.”
“Ignoring where you found him, I am curious as to why he had quarrel with Aashkara,” said Jon with a furrowed brow. “What were the dragons’ motives to involve themselves in this debacle?”
Aldrick now glanced around the crippled temple. “You will know soon.”
With Télia’s hand in his, Aldrick made his way through the hall to Illumir. The others followed nervously. Doubt was dulling his relief. Was this day truly a victory?
“Hello Aldrick, wielders and humans,” Illumir said, meeting them with attentive eyes. “You have questions for me?”
“Yes,” Aldrick said, “but first I thank you, Illumir. You saved Télia’s life.”
“Yes—thank you, Illumir” restated Télia, stepping forward. “I am indebted to you.”
Illumir looked upon her kindly. “I did only what I could.”
Aldrick surveyed the dragon. “How are you holding up? You were wounded…”
Illumir snorted. “I am quite well. My opponent may have been large but, in the end, she could not match my stormpower. She spent hers in fire, whereas I restored my body to health.”
“What of the Shard’s storm?” asked Jon, gazing upon Illumir in wonder. “Do you possess it now?”
“I do. Its power is reserved in me until the day when I must contest with a greater evil.”
“Illumir, is that greater evil still at bay?” Aldrick asked nervously.
Illumir surveyed the crippled temple and grumbled. “The seal yet holds, but it has been weakened. Much of the king’s storm has left these walls. We must hope he will respond accordingly.”
Aldrick’s head dropped. So, it was both good news and bad.
Télia stroked his arm.
“Cheer up, gloomy,” she said. “This day is a victory.”
He managed a grin and leaned in to kiss her.
Kaal groaned and looked away. “Come on, you two. There is a time and a place for that kind of thing.”
Jon was scratching his beard. “Can this really be? The Banishing…”
“Indeed, wielder,” said Illumir. “It has been a well-veiled truth for ages among your folk.”
“Devéna, tell me you knew nothing of this,” Jon said, turning to her.
She shook her head. “Honestly, I did not. It would seem that even the highest of the Synod were ignorant of this truth. I assume no one was ever meant to know.”
“Correct,” affirmed Illumir. “A day such as this may long since have passed, had it been discovered.” The dragon looked over each one of them. “You are humble creatures, the lot of you,” he said. “Always astonished by what you do not know.” He turned and gazed out toward the distant eastern ocean. “There are things I could tell you that would cause the very fabric of your reality to unravel around you. You might find that some things are best left unknown. After all, to wonder can be a greater thing than to know, can it not?”
There was a lengthy silence. Internally, they contemplated much. The day was indeed a victory, Aldrick decided. Télia was in his arms. His mother and father were avenged and the peoples of the land were safe from harm, at least for the time being.
Eventually Jon suggested they all return to Galdrem. Aldrick had looked upon the city from Illumir’s back and could see it in the distance now. He was eager to walk within its walls.
Before they left, he went to Illumir’s side.
“What will you do now?” he asked.
Illumir surveyed him a moment. “I am undecided, young Aldrick. It has been some time since I last left my hollow. In truth, I find your company agreeable…”
“Well, you are welcome to stay with us for as long as you wish,” Aldrick said gladly. “We really must thank you for all this somehow.”
The dragon chuckled. “Have a feast in my name, Aldrick.” He outstretched his wings. “Do you wish for me to fly you to the gate of the city? Darkness will soon fall.”
Aldrick shook his head. “No thanks. A walk in fresh air will do me some good.” In truth, he just wanted more time to hold Télia’s hand.
“Very well. We shall see each other tomorrow then. I seek not to panic the inhabitants of Galdrem tonight.” Illumir launched into the air and flew silently away toward the mountains.
“Good evening, Illumir!” Télia called out after him.
For a while they watched the majestic dragon go, then turned and began to walk down the steps of the temple together, hand in hand.
They met Sinin at the gate of Galdrem. He was with his wife and child, overseeing the last of the citizens’ safe return home after fleeing earlier in the day. He was overwhelmed at the sight of them and welcomed them with long and hearty embraces. There were tears of joy in his weary eyes. His family and home might well have been lost to him this day, had fate not shown kindness. Such kindness had not been shown to all, though. Amidst celebration, they found sadness and dismay within the city walls. Scores of the city guard and young scholars of Delthendra had been lost. The highly respected Synod—that which Devéna and Frade belonged to—was all but decimated. Malath had wounded the city deeply and much time would be needed for healing.
Jon was quickly whisked away with Devéna and Frade to an urgent council meeting to discuss the events at Darkna and the revelation that the fabled Banishing was a very real historical event. Aldrick, Télia and Kaal remained with Sinin and his family. After a generous meal in their humble home, Sinin left with Kaal to unwind at a local tavern which had been opened for the night. In turn, Aldrick and Télia bid Leanne and young Flynn a goodnight and walked to the aera’s residence in the northwest of the city. It was quiet inside—exactly what they wanted.
Télia showed Aldrick to a small room in which she had slept during her training. They collapsed on her bed and, for a long time, just lay in each other’s arms. There were so many things to be thinking and reflecting upon, but right now all they cared for was each other. They had earned this time.
Sometime in the early morning, Télia led him to the bathhouse, where they washed away layers of dust and sweat from their bodies. She was careful to have a curtain drawn between them, because she was shy, he assumed. This proved not to be so, as when he returned to her room, he found her unclothed in bed with but a sheet covering her thighs. He tried not to stare. Her beauty was inexpressible. Her long locks fell in damp flurries around her. Her emerald eyes gazed straight into his soul.
“Come here,” she said quietly.
He dropped everything and went to her. They began to kiss—gentle pecks. For each one he would have traversed a desert, had he been requested, but here they were wilfully surrendering themselves to each other. Little by little, their kisses became firmer and fiercer as their passion soared. Finally all restraint was lost…
20
BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS AND THE SEA
For the first time in a week, there was no need to rise early. Aldrick and Télia spent the spare hours snoozing peacefully. Eventually they were woken by one of Télia’s good friends who lived in the aera’s residence. They ate breakfast with her before returning to Sinin’s. Both Kaal and Jon had slept there.
“Ah, you two,” remarked Jon upon their arrival. “I had almost begun to worry.”
“We needed a good rest.”
Sinin winked at them. “It was about time you two had a ‘good rest’.”
“How did the meeting go last night, Jon?” asked Télia, ignoring Sinin’s cheek.
Jon sighed. “Oh, you know politics. There was a lot of shouting and little actual discussion. The council found the whole deal with the dragons diffi
cult to swallow. We did at least manage to convince them that Illumir poses no threat to us.”
“I hear the dragon is outside the city wall,” said Sinin. “He’s been giving farmers and livestock a right scare.”
“I think he’s waiting for you, Aldrick,” prompted Kaal.
Aldrick nodded. “I should go and see him.” He turned to Télia. “Will you come?”
“Of course.”
As they made their way down the main city street, they noticed numerous people eying them. Some murmured in the ears of those close to them, others pointed. A few cheered. They must have heard details of the battle at Darkna.
Télia nudged him. “All eyes on you, huh?”
“Me? Why me?!”
She grinned. “You’re the hero.”
He shook his head. “No I’m not. I did no more than anyone else did yesterday, no more than you.”
She snorted. “That’s the kind of thing a hero would say.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.” She stopped and looked up at him. “Aldrick, you took on Malath. You saved this city and its people.”
“I may have taken him on, but I never defeated him. He was just unlucky.”
“Perhaps, yet you survived him all the same. You outlasted him. How many can claim that?”
“And what does that prove? That I’m a lucky fool?”
She wrapped her arms round him. “You’re a fool to be sure. But what it proves is that you are courageous and powerful. You are now perhaps the most powerful wielder who lives.”
“How much power I have is not something I have any say in.”
“Oh look—speaking like a hero again,” she said playfully.
He laughed sarcastically and they continued on.
The city gate was opened upon their approach. Beyond, the surrounding farmland was eerily quiet. This was because Illumir had settled himself in a nearby field. The dragon looked to be dozing in the sun. A flock of terrified sheep were huddled in the far corner of the field, adamantly looking in the opposite direction.
As they neared, Illumir unfurled and stretched. “Ah, Aldrick and Télia, I have awaited you.”