by J. K. Barber
An image of the white sandy isles where they had met the gargantuan dragon with the iridescent purple scales came into Sirus’ mind and all the others’ as well. The intent was clear. Misae was reminding her brothers and sisters that there were others like them, though different in appearance, who would take them in and make their family larger and stronger. They had a home to go to. A feeling of warmth filled Sirus’ heart at the thought of something he had never had.
The emotion was quickly shattered though as an icy spike slid though the scar on his shoulder deep into his heart. Sirus had turned, flapping his wings hard once again, hurrying back towards Snowhaven before he realized he had even reacted. The Ice Queen’s compulsion had returned, and it was calling to the dragons once more.
There was something different about the pull this time though. He heard the powerful call of the Empress’ spell, but it was as though he heard her voice from across a great distance. Sirus fought against the inexorable impulse that drove him to return to Snowhaven, enter the crystal and ride the lines of glowing energy though the Void back to Salamasca’s side. Though his resistance ultimately proved to be futile, a pair of thoughts occurred to Sirus as he spread his wings, gliding over Snowhaven.
The first was that he was surprised by the lack of fighting below him. Sirus had expected the clash of two such large armies to go on for hours, especially in the confined spaces of the mountain town. There were ample places where the Ice Queen’s forces could have held up, fortifying their positions and making the cost of retaking Snowhaven very high to the Illyanders in the currency of human lives. The orcs however, were in full rout, tearing open the northern gates in their eagerness to escape the invading army.
Obeying his mistress’ command to return to her, a second thought occurred to Sirus just before he slipped into the crystal above the tower in Snowhaven. He remembered resisting the call of the Empress’ compulsion. Before, such resistance had been impossible to consider, much less accomplish. However, resist he had, as had his brothers and sisters. Sirus’ confusion spread across the connection the clutchmates shared.
The world turned sideways and inside out and then Sirus had his claws sunk deep into the glowing channel of power, being pulled across the Void to their reunion with the Empress of Ice. As he turned his head to look at the radiant nexus behind him, he saw another luminous path heading away from the Snowhaven nexus in another direction. He had a moment to wonder where it led before it was lost in the great distances of the Void. He returned his attention to where he and his siblings were going, riding the flow of energy back to the Ice Palace. Isa pointed out that the Empress had not mentioned a time as to when the dragons should arrive. As a result, the dragons did not propel themselves any faster along the Ley Line, able to take the crossing as slowly as they wished, as long as they continued moving towards the Ice Queen. They were in no rush to share the company of their mistress.
We’ve never been able to do that before, Misae said, her mental voice at once perplexed and excited.
Do what? Asked Isa.
Resist the compulsion, Misae replied. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
But the fact that we could, even for a little bit…,” Isa replied before trailing off. Sirus could see the wheels turning in the head of his smallest sister. Isa had always been the smallest of the dragons, but had shown herself to be the most clever. More than once she had tricked Walron out of a portion of his food, even though she did not need the extra sustenance given her relatively small frame. Isa had perpetrated her ruses for the joy she took in outwitting her largest brother, not out of malice though, simply for the delight of proving that sometimes cleverness trumped brawn. Eventually, the food found its way back to Walron, but not until Isa, and sometimes the other clutchmates, had enjoyed a good natured laugh at the massive dragon’s expense. Sirus wondered if their antics had contributed to Walron’s betrayal of the rest of the dragons. Had the largest brother in fact been the most fragile? Had he sought acceptance from the Ice Queen, a maternal figure, even if a distant one, because he felt no such acceptance amongst his own family? Walron had often tried to take on the role of leader, an alpha of sorts, because he was the largest and strongest, only to be rebuffed by his brothers and sisters, who felt that such a position was not needed.
As Sirus thought of Walron, his brother was suddenly gone from his mind. Panic washed over the dragons as they moved through the Void. The death of Sindai flashed again in all their minds.
Do you think…? Niambe began to ask, before Isa interrupted her though.
No, she said, her tone one of intense concentration. He still lives, but he is… far away.
Sirus focused his thoughts on Walron and perceived the same thing that his siblings had. Their largest brother was still alive, they could still sense his presence, but it was so far away that they had to strain to be aware of him. As they did, they saw a glimpse of a barren landscape under a cloudless sky. Hills of sand stretched as far as Walron’s eye could see, which was quite a distance given the superior eyesight of the dragons. Sirus could feel a trace of a hot dry wind against his wings before the sensation was lost to him. Walron had felt the probing thoughts of his siblings and immediately clamped down the iron walls of his will against the other dragons. They were cut off from their brother once again.
Sasha slapped Jared’s hand away. “Would you cut that out,” she snapped. She looked at the woodsman, his face wearing a grin that he kept trying, unsuccessfully, to keep subdued given the circumstances. The four remaining Illyanders had just finished burning the corpses of their dead allies and wrapping Mala’s body in the immense green velvet curtains from Roane’s bedchamber to prepare it for transport back to Snowhaven. Sasha thought of the mountain town and suddenly felt very tired. It had been so long since she had seen her home that she had trouble picturing it in her mind. She looked to her sister, where the raven-haired sorceress sat, leaning against one of the frozen walls of the courtyard, hugging her backpack tight to her chest. To Johnson, the sole survivor of the three score soldiers from the King’s Army that had journeyed north with them, Sasha was sure that Katya’s behavior was typical for a young woman who had just lost a dear friend. The soldier was only half right. Though Mala’s death had hit both twins hard, Katya had pushed those feelings down marginally, so that she could concentrate on the important matter at hand. Sasha saw Katya’s mouth moving slightly as she whispered into the tanned leather backpack. The young sorceress was conferring with the Nhyme who were hiding inside. The events of the day had taken their toll on the tiny creatures, Chyla most of all, and Katya was trying, as delicately as possible, to discuss the matter of the crystal spire that resided somewhere inside the Empress’ expansive palace.
Jared’s hand slipped around Sasha’s waist again and he spread his fingers out along her stomach. She wrapped her hand around his, grasping his thumb and twisted, wrenching the digit painfully around so that the woodsman was driven to his knees. “I said, ‘cut it out,’” she whispered harshly looking intently into his brown eyes. Her annoyance evaporated when she saw the dreamy smile that hung on his face.
“I can’t help it,” he said quietly back. “I’m going to be a father.” The sheer joy in his eyes was contagious.
“And I’m going to be a mother,” she said, barely able to suppress a smile while trying to keep her tone one of irritation. “We’ve covered this already, a dozen times.” Sasha was exaggerating but not by far. Jared had placed his hand over Sasha’s womb countless times since Katya’s declaration on the balcony far above. The hunter had also whispered words of their impending parenthood to her easily twice as many times as they descended the Empress’ palace, eventually finding their way to the courtyard where Mala’s body had fallen.
Sasha released Jared’s hand and he stood once more, dusting the snow off of his knees. The swordswoman nodded meaningfully towards Mala’s shrouded corpse and then glowered half-heartedly at Jared. “We will talk about this later,” she whispered. “Until
then, please…,” her voice trailed off, her meaning clear. This was a time for sorrow at her swordmistress’ passing. There would be time enough later for the joy of a new life, but now the ending of another life needed to take precedence.
“I understand,” he said, and Sasha believed him. However Jared tried, he could not keep a small grin from his face, though. Deep in her heart she carried the same joy, as much as she needed to attend to her duty, and could not find it within herself to begrudge the woodsman his happiness.
“Good,” she said, her tone softening. “Now, keep your hand off my stomach and try to refrain from dancing if you can.” The corner of Sasha’s mouth twitched upward in a half smile for just a moment before she turned to her sister.
A strong wind kicked up and a torrent of loose snow assaulted Sasha. The swordswoman raised her hand and turned away from the gust to protect her eyes from the onslaught. She heard a loud thumping noise and the stones of the courtyard shook beneath her feet. She felt Jared’s touch again, this time more insistent in its pressure. The swordswoman actually had to strain against his hand to keep from being pushed several steps away.
“Look!” she almost yelled, turning to berate the hunter, her temper rising. “If you…,” and the words froze in her throat.
Beyond Jared stood a dragon, its wings folding in along its massive flanks as it settled more comfortably onto the stones beneath its gigantic claws. She thought of the smoldering funeral pyre and cursed her stupidity. The smoke must have led it right to us, she thought. The woodsman’s back was to Sasha and he was slowly trying to push her towards the door through which they had entered the enormous courtyard, which suddenly seemed smaller in the presence of the giant creature. Jared’s hand was on the hilt of the sword that rode his shoulder but he had not yet drawn the blade.
“What… how…?” Sasha’s words died in her mouth as the reptilian eyes of the dragon turned to her, apparently drawn by the sound of her voice. Instinctively, her hand went to the sword at her hip but Jared, somehow sensing what she intended to do, fumbled with his left hand to try to keep her from drawing her weapon.
“Don’t,” he whispered, still trying to push her towards the doorway on the opposite side of the courtyard from the dragon. “Don’t do anything to threaten it.”
“Don’t threaten it?” she hissed. “Have you seen the size of that thing’s claws? I don’t think anything short of an avalanche is going to threaten it.” Despite the venom of her words, Sasha was frightened. She spared a quick glance for her sister. Johnson had adopted a similar pose to Jared, placing himself between the dragon and Katya, now standing, and gently, but insistently, pushing her towards the door. Sasha looked behind her sister. The open doorway was easily a hundred paces away. There was no way they would be able to make it to safety of the interior of the castle if that thing decided to attack them.
Sasha looked at the dragon once again. After the initial shock of its enormous size had washed over the red-haired twin, she took in its features. It was covered in the same white crystalline scales, black veins visible beneath, in which the Ice Queen’s mount had been encased. The creature lowered its head on its long sinuous neck, reminding Sasha of an enormous snake. This reptile, on the other hand, had curved ivory horns as long as spears protruding from the front of its massive head above its cold purple eyes. Not caught up in the heat of battle, the swordswoman was able to look more closely at the creature. A row of spines, as long as a man’s arm ran down its head, along the creature’s spine and nearly to the end of its gently swishing tail. The creature’s long extremity ended in what looked like a massive spiked club that reminded Sasha strangely of a giant pinecone with large thorns protruding from between the boney scales.
As Sasha looked at the creature it regarded her as well, staring at her with giant, unreadable purple eyes. The dragon made no threatening gestures, other than the gentle undulation of its long tail. However, the swordswoman had no idea what the threat display of a dragon would look like anyway and continued to inch her way towards the open doorway that seemed miles away as the dragon looked at her.
A second wind kicked up, blowing snow and ice across Sasha’s back. There was the sound of another thump of a massive weight hitting the ground behind them and the swordswoman’s heart nearly stopped, her stomach twisting into a tight knot. The icy wash of unbridled terror flooded her veins and she slowly turned to see another dragon, this one larger that the first landing between Katya, Johnson and the door.
Jared heard the impact of a second enormous draconian body hitting the ground behind him and felt Sasha freeze in place. The hunter did not need to look behind him to see what had landed. The sharp intake of breath he heard from Sasha’s lips told him all that he needed to know. Even had he dared to take his eyes from the dragon in front of him, he knew what he would see. They had been cut off from their only avenue of escape. Jared turned his head from side to side, never taking his gaze from the gargantuan head of the dragon in front of him, hoping to catch some way to escape in his peripheral vision, but he saw only the towering grey stone walls of the Ice Queen’s courtyard. Any hope of escape over the icy walls was futile and the dragons blocked the only two doors that led to safety.
The dragon turned its colossal head from side to side, mimicking Jared’s movements. Whether the creature looked away was difficult to tell. The hunter saw only solid purple eyes with no hint of a pupil.
Jared repeated the gesture, turning his head slightly one way and then another. The dragon repeated the motion. Slowly the woodsman raised his chin and the creature again copied his actions. As Jared lowered his head, the white crystalline scaled chin of the dragon did the same.
The dragon was copying his movements. To what purpose Jared had no idea, however the action was not that of an animal poised to attack. The hunter’s mind latched onto an idea. Slowly he drew his left arm away from Sasha and raised it slowly in a wide arc above his head and then back down. One of the dragon’s enormous wings slowly stretched out, eclipsing his view of the far side of the courtyard walls behind it, and then folded back to its side. The posture of the dragon’s body did not change.
“What in the Mother’s name are you doing?” Sasha hissed, grabbing onto Jared’s belt and trying to pull him slowly backwards. Jared held his ground, resisting her attempt to haul him with her.
“I have an idea,” he said. When the red-haired woman did not respond he took her silence to mean he should continue. “It hasn’t attacked.”
“I noticed,” she said, her irritation with him a poor cover for the fear she obviously felt. She was not the only one. Jared’s heart was threatening to beat its way through his ribcage. It was primal, instinctual fear that gripped the hunter’s body. He took several slow, deep, cleansing breaths trying to bring his terror under control. Jared had faced animals larger than himself before, not quite this much larger, but the hunter knew that the worst thing he could do now was show fear in the face of the creature.
“If it had wanted to kill us, we would already be dead,” he stated. Not waiting for a response, he continued. “I’m going to see if I can figure out what it wants.”
“What!?” Sasha cried. The dragon’s head twitched slightly, looking over Jared’s shoulder at the swordswoman. The woodsman moved his head, imposing it between that of the dragon and Sasha. The dragon, as Jared had hoped, returned its gaze to the hunter.
“You’re going to what?” Sasha asked, this time in a much quieter voice. “Are you insane?” The tone of the woman’s question indicated that she had already decided the answer to the question.
“Think about it,” Jared said, lowering his right hand away from his weapon. “If they wanted to attack us, there is nothing we could do to stop them. If we can find out what it is they want, then we might have a chance of getting out of here alive.”
Jared heard Sasha’s mouth open and the intake of breath like she was about to protest, but then she said nothing. After several seconds the swordswoman spoke. “I s
till think you’re an idiot.”
“Thanks.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t think of better idea right now.” Sasha placed a hand on Jared’s shoulder, her touch a gesture of support and concern. “Be careful,” she whispered in his ear.
“Always am,” he said. Sasha’s only reply was a derisive snort. The hunter spared a quick glance over his shoulder to where Johnson and Katya stood, still and waiting. The veteran soldier had placed himself between the second larger dragon and the young sorceress. Katya had placed her back to Johnson’s, facing towards her sister. The raven-haired woman had her staff in her hand, ready to act on her sister’s signal.
Jared looked back to the dragon in front of him and forced himself to relax. The woodsman gently but methodically flexed every muscle in his body, starting with his toes, and then letting them relax before he did the same with the muscles along the arch of his foot. He repeated the process, as Sirus had taught him years ago, working his way quickly up his entire body until he finally raised his eyebrows, letting them fall back into place. The entire process took only a few seconds, but Jared felt the tension of his body flow away as he focused his senses on the world around him.
With the dragon this close and within his sight, the connection was nearly instantaneous.
Jared’s mind exploded. His head was immediately filled with a torrent of images, most from several different points of view and none of them made any sense to the hunter’s reeling mind. There was pure golden light, deepest black, writhing sickening purple, putrid green and a sense that every color, every sound, every sensation in the world was trying to crush him beneath their combined weight.
Jared found himself lying on his back, panting and staring up at Sasha, the connection broken. The swordswoman stood over his prone body, her shield presented and her sword drawn. A massive roar filled the courtyard, and Jared rolled his head towards the noise. His entire body protested at even the slight movement and he moaned in pain.