by Darren Lewis
“No!” She shook the orb viciously but the light returned to its normal level. Ellie's arm dropped as failure swamped her mind. Cole turned his head to cast one eye on his rider.
“How can the world abandon us?” He growled in anger. Ellie simply shook her head, her face a picture of despair. Her plan had failed, what was there to do now?
A loud screech from the sky brought Ellie and Cole's attention back and they saw a black dragon, not Eridan but his brother, Corvus, tumbling uncontrollably until he crashed in the vast pit caused by Plume a short time before. Ellie's eyes scanned the sky and she saw the three dragons had ceased their firing of the woods to intercept Eridan and Rox. Seizing on the moment and the imminent danger Ellie yelled to Cole.
“Let's get up there! Your father is outnumbered!”
Cole didn't hesitate, he bounded forward and cleared the temple before bunching his muscles and launching into the sky. The rain lashed against Ellie's face so she shielded her eyes and squinted into the sky again to find the black figure of Eridan. The three dragons were closing in on his position from above and Eridan was clearly unaware of their proximity.
We're too far away! Cole shouted in frustration. Ellie felt her hand grow warm for an instant and glanced down. The orb, the repository of power created by Eridan and Celestine, was glowing once again. Ellie's eyes danced from the orb to Eridan.
Cole open a dragon thread! Ellie instructed.
But that won't work. Cole replied, reminding Ellie that a dragon can only travel fast between two points in a dragon thread after that journey had been made once before.
I know but we have to try!
Ellie felt a moment's hesitation from the red dragon before his mind concentrated on creating a dragon's most special form of travelling.
A small black hole appeared directly in front of Ellie and Cole. Blue streaks of electricity jumped and sparked from the edges of the rapidly expanding area of darkness. Though she had experienced the dragon thread already, Ellie held her breath and clenched her jaw tight as Cole crossed the threshold from this world into a dimension of infinite blackness.
* * *
Rox, using senses evolved since the dawn of her race, intuited rather than saw the imminent attack on Eridan.
“Dive!” She screamed at the black dragon. A roar from above distracted Eridan momentarily and both Rox and Eridan glanced upwards briefly into the claws of three dragons. Both rabbit and dragon knew it was too late to take any evasive action and braced for impact.
* * *
Now what? Cole queried as he and Ellie sped through the black tunnel. Though Ellie could feel Cole beneath her and the orb in her hand such was the total darkness her eyes, in an attempt to detect any light, were round and trying almost by themselves to make sense of where they were.
Think about your father and where we saw him in the sky. Ellie advised as she brought the orb to her chest and fixated her own thoughts on Rox sitting on Eridan's back. Image in place she directed her thoughts to the orb. If Eridan had communicated his intentions to this strange object maybe she could too.
Help me please. Ellie pleaded for the second time in ten minutes but this time to a different power. I need to get to Rox. Cole needs to get to his father. Ellie felt a brief pulse of warmth from her hand holding the orb and then it went cold once again. Ellie's shoulders slumped in defeat.
Whoa! Cole yelled and the red dragon tilted sharply to the right and Ellie grabbed at his back to stay mounted.
What's happening? Ellie asked fearfully as the dragon tilted even further.
I'm being pushed out of here! A white light appeared that quickly resolved into dark clouds and the rain of the outside world.
It worked! Ellie yelled triumphantly and the orb began to throb with heat and Ellie could see the object glowing with power as she and Cole emerged into the sky. Cole's senses being more adapted to hunting immediately saw the three dragons descending on his father and he roared his anger at them. The dragon leading the attack, stunned by the sudden noise, glanced sideways and it was to be a mistake that would cost him. Instead of diving away, Eridan taking advantage of the distraction turned sharply to his left and whipped his enormous tail at the head of the dragon. Ellie heard the sound of the impact over the wind and rain, it reminded her of two rocks bashing together and the lead dragon dropped from the sky, knocked unconscious by Eridan's strike. Only then the black dragon folded in his wings and pointed his body towards the ground. Ellie glimpsed Rox hanging on for her life on Eridan's back as the two remaining dragons gave chase.
Let's go! Ellie ordered but she needn't have bothered as Cole performed a sharp turn before executing the same manoeuvre as his father.
Father! Cole called out. Open a thread, lead us all in there!
But they'll follow us wherever we go! Eridan protested.
No. Ellie found a way to overcome that. We can leave those dragons in there to find their own exit.
Eridan didn't reply but from their higher vantage point Ellie and Cole saw the beginnings of a dragon thread being created. The two dragons chasing Eridan roared in triumph at the seemingly pointless tactic and as Eridan's large form disappeared they added their own power to keep the entrance open. Both quickly disappeared and Cole was left alone in the sky above the woods. The moment didn't last long as Ellie gripped Cole's back tightly and once again they entered the darkness.
* * *
Eridan and Cole appeared in the night sky over Sydney, Australia in a wash of blue electricity. Cole had communicated to his father that he should picture Sydney harbour and then using the orb once again Ellie had directed it to help them break out of the dragon thread leaving the two pursuing dragons behind. Ellie had no idea if those dragons would be able to find their exit point or not and so had chosen this place instead of heading directly for home.
Remarkable. Eridan observed to his son. Cole nodded and flared his wings to catch an updraft rising from the bay hundreds of feet below. Ellie stared at the lights on the bridge, her thoughts slow but tumultuous nonetheless.
No. Why? Why did you say no? Ellie asked out into the night sky. Sounds of the traffic on the bridge dropped to silence. The wind passing Cole's wings was absent, Ellie could only hear the sound of her own heart beating. She closed her eyes and her vision merged with that of her dragon's. Why? She asked again but her only answer was her heart pumping. Cole looked over at his father who was still carrying Rox on his back. Ellie tilted her head and ran her hand through her hair as something was bothering her.
The dragons couldn't follow us.
Cole and I never travelled from home to the temple or vice versa.
Ellie's entire body temperature dropped causing a violent shiver.
Eridan did.
Cole picked up on his rider's emotions and bellowed in alarm. He folded his wings and dropped out of the sky and with no warning to his father opened a dragon thread.
* * *
The sound of people screaming merged with the roar of flame. Malachite lashed out with his tail to swipe the already blazing house, smashing bricks and collapsing already damaged walls.
After waking on the hillside Malachite struggled at first to remember the sequence of events that'd brought him here but on moving his head the sharp, intense strike of pain in his jaw brought his memories back. A small brown rabbit had somehow cracked his jaw with a ridiculously powerful kick from such a creature, causing it to hang loose, broken on one side. He'd easily bashed that awful tiny animal aside and then set forth to find the girl and her traitorous dragon. Finding them had been easy but when confronting them near the destroyed temple his world inexplicably had disappeared. A cry from far above revealed the ongoing struggle between dragons including a dragon he had not seen for countless years, Eridan. Malachite snarled releasing a lance of cold fire in his jaw. His vision clouded with tears of pain but through those tears Malachite could see a streak of black belonging to Eridan. As dragons moved through their different space to travel quickly the
y left a trail in the world for other dragons to see. This trail could only have come from Eridan himself as Corvus, the only other black dragon in the vicinity had arrived with Malachite. Knowing then with some fury he was not in a state to confront Eridan, Malachite decided to lay in wait after travelling the black dragon's thread, reasoning with some hope, that the black dragon would return to his point of origin.
Leaving the fight behind Malachite rode Eridan's thread only to emerge almost instantly above a rain lashed house. Malachite's eyes were drawn to the roof as he watched raindrops fall and explode upon impact. The hypnotic effect drew the green dragon closer to the human dwelling and the steady, pounding beat of the water upon tile whispered dark secrets to his warped mind. Malachite grinned, ignoring the furious pain of his jaw and let loose a stream of fire.
Now the fire raged and when humans from inside the building had attempted escape another blast of Malachite's fire had sent them screaming back into their certain deaths. Malachite did not understand why this structure's destruction was so important, all he knew was that it was right. More humans had come but were sent either swiftly away by the sight of the dragon or had to be persuaded permanently by their destruction. Transports carrying humans with wailing noises and swirling lights approached disrupting Malachite's concentration upon the building but this time he rose high on the thermals created by the fire and he waited until they'd entered the building before descending and blasting orange flame from above.
Malachite landed in front of the burning wreck and he raised his face to the grey sky, allowing the rain to wash over him. For the first time in what seemed an eternity to him he felt a moment of peace. In knowing that he had landed the first blow in the war to come with the humans, the world felt right and just.
Bricks tumbled from the collapsing walls and Malachite lazily lowered his head and with satisfaction drifted his vision across the rubble and flame. A small pile of grey rubble shifted and attracted the dragon's attention. Malachite grunted and wandered over. A strange, surreal sight greeted him and Malachite leaned in for a closer look, not trusting his eyes. A hand, small and dust covered was standing like a monument to the dragon's wrath, amidst the remains of the house. Malachite scoffed with disdain and made to turn when the hand moved. Malachite jerked slightly, not in fear, but in surprise that anything could survive such an intense barrage of fire and the collapse of the building. Malachite used his sharp talons and flicked away pieces of rubble, uncovering the arm and then head of the person trapped. Malachite's eyes narrowed as he recognised the young of the humans. This one was extremely small and strange thoughts flitted about Malachite's head. To survive such an onslaught spoke of strength and a will to live that held Malachite's vengeance against the humans at bay. The human coughed and opened its eyes, finding Malachite's sickly yellow lantern eyes directed at it. It did not cry or call out and Malachite felt himself drawn into those innocent eyes. Malachite felt lightheaded and his mind called out to the young survivor still buried in the rubble. He felt the flow of his thoughts travelling outwards from his mind and into that of the child and in return he received alien thoughts, thoughts that were not his. A series of images flickered to life behind his eyes, some distorted, some clear of that of two older humans. When he thought of them a warmth flooded Malachite's body making him uncomfortable. Another sensation, that of loneliness in the dark, a crying out for human contact in the mind transforming into the cries in the real world bringing one of the humans to him and once again the warm feeling when they held him. A smaller human appeared with long hair. It spoke to him and though he did not recognise the words he understood the spirit of love behind them. Malachite reared back slightly, these thoughts and feelings totally new to the green dragon, conceived in darkness and implanted with the wicked deeds of man. A face resolved of the one with long hair and Malachite's thoughts seemed to shrivel with recognition. It was the girl, the girl with the dragon who'd found him and then escaped. The one he had sworn to kill first. Ellie. This young human was related to Ellie. Malachite stumbled backwards to break the contact and attempted to bring his fire to bear but his mind froze. The human sat up and simply stared at Malachite. The dragon searched his memories given to him by the surviving dragons and with pain, wonder and dismay he realised in his own form of innocence he had allowed himself to bond to the child just as Ellie had bonded with the red dragon, Cole. Malachite reared backwards and regardless of the pain in his face let loose a bellow of fear followed by a torrent of fire. He then collapsed to the ground, tears of anguish coursing down the rough hide of his face. A small touch opened his eyes and he saw the child had managed to free itself from the remains of the house and make its way to him. With a gentle touch it now stroked Malachite's injured jaw, an expression of understanding and grief on such a small face. Malachite rose to his full height and scooped up the child, he held it close to his chest and launched into the grey sky.
Home again
The house burned. The roof had caved in taking a side wall down with it, scattering debris and fire onto the driveway and the garage. Fire with a life of its own jumped and danced hypnotically not allowing Ellie to glance away, even for a moment. As the flames consumed the wreck of her home Ellie closed her eyes briefly and saw a wall of turbulent orange whipping wildly about her. Nothing was recognisable. Rooms were now mere containers of destruction. Furnishings if not ablaze had already been consumed by the fire. Ellie's vision shifted forward towards a small opening above and she recognised what was left of the stairs. They were now impassable, filled with the destroyed remnants of the roof itself. The image flickered into darkness as Cole blinked while continuing his search of Ellie's house. Safe from fire the red dragon had charged without thought or command towards the blazing house on arrival while Ellie had collapsed to her knees on the street. Fire not only raged in front of her but around the small village. Fire engines dispatched to deal with the inferno had met with disaster and sat smouldering in the road, overturned, their own fires dying quickly, their fuel tanks already consumed in what must have been a series of devastating blasts. Smaller fires set in seemingly random spots throughout Ellie's home village were gaining in intensity and Ellie was dimly aware of the multitude of screams around her.
Cole's eyes latched onto a strange mass in the kitchen and she felt her dragon's hesitation. She opened her eyes, squinting them against the orange fury in front of her, not wanting to see but needing to know.
Cole. Please, for me. She pleaded. Cole didn't respond but their joining allowed Ellie to experience the dragon's emotions as he moved deeper into the wrecked house.
Disbelief! Shock! Disgust!
No! NO!
Above the sound of the swirling flames Ellie heard Cole let loose a tremendous bellow of pain and anger. With her knees already on the floor, Ellie curled forwards, her head coming to rest on the grass with her hands covering her face, her fingers formed into talons, gripping her scalp harshly. She felt the pain of her nails ripping into her skin and it felt right, so she ripped harder.
ELLIE! Come quick! The garden!
Without conscious thought Cole's voice propelled her forward. She skirted the blazing house with her hands raised against the intense heat and followed the path to the back garden. She saw her dragon standing over a curled form in the centre of the lawn, his wings spread wide to protect it from the heat. Numbly, Ellie's feet seemed to move of their own volition as she screamed inside her mind to stop, stop, sit down and sleep. Ellie moved into the shadow of Cole's wings and she absently noted the decrease in temperature. She looked down at the poor creature on the ground, her mouth opened and a small whine escaped. She quickly placed a fist into her mouth and bit down hard, forcing the sob down. By the size she knew this was an adult but so much damage had been inflicted she couldn't tell who this person was. The skin was charred and cracked. She could see where boils had formed immediately from the heat and burst. No hair remained, nor could a stitch of clothing be identified. With silent tears coursing
down her already wet cheeks, Ellie leaned closer to the tortured form. A terrible, rasped breath escaped from the faceless person and Ellie gasped and stumbled backwards, saved only from falling by Cole's strong leg to hold her up.
Cole? She whimpered. I don't even know who it is! Cole repositioned his wings so he could lower his head to his rider's level. He looked at the creature on the ground over Ellie's shoulder.
I…I think it's your father.
Despite what she could already see Ellie's eyes widened in shock. She crept forward and knelt at her father's head.
“Dad? Daddy?” Another breath rasped out and Ellie leaned closer. “I'm here, Daddy.” A sigh was released and then terrible, tortured words were spoken.
“Ellie? Your mother and Jack, are they safe?” Ellie shook her head and looked desperately at Cole, knowing the awful answer as well as he. Swallowing her pain and wiping her face she forced a smile even though her father was now blind.
“Yes they're fine, Daddy. They're safe now.” She lied. The figure on the grass gave a small nod accompanied by a long groan of pain. He tried to move an arm towards Ellie but the pain of the burnt skin stretching was too much and he cried out. “What can I do?” Ellie cried.
Dad shook his head.
“Nothing, sweetie. Oh, Ellie I'm so sorry.” Dad croaked, his blind eyes searching her out. “Sorry, my darling.” Ellie shook her head violently and made a move to wrap her arms around her father, but Cole held her back and she realised doing so would cause him terrible pain.
“For what?” Ellie said in a forced light tone. “What do you mean?” Despite the pain and sensing his end was near, Ellie's father moved his arm, holding out what was left of his hand to her. Ellie's tears flowed freely now as she gently cradled his burnt hand to her face.
“Don't be afraid.” He rasped, his voice hardening ever so slightly. “Whatever else, never be afraid, sweetie.” Ellie nodded and she felt his hand relax. His last breath escaped him and her father passed. Ellie continued nodding for a moment before taking his hand away from her cheek and laying it gently upon his chest. The shakes began in her hands and they moved swiftly around her body. She felt her mouth twitch and the heat from her own body seemed to surpass that of the still burning house even as a cold fire raged within her mind. Her thoughts were sluggish as she stared at the still figure of her father. Then in one quick movement she jumped forward and grasped her Dad's shoulders.