by Megg Jensen
Though she longed for a life of peaceful solitude, she loved Vron. Maybe someday she would work out an equitable future with him, one where they could be together, yet she also maintained her freedom. She would not become tied to one person. Alyna needed her freedom as much as she needed the air she breathed.
It was the same freedom she offered Syra.
The unicorn looked at her with doe eyes, blinking softly. Syra's long lashes brushed her cheeks. Her neck extended as her horn touched Alyna's forehead again.
Tears sprang to Alyna's eyes. She couldn't bear to be parted from Syra, but she would never, ever force her into a war. If they survived, perhaps they could find one another again in the forest. Someday...
Alyna pulled back, moving to the side, giving Syra the space she needed to leave the stable, but the unicorn stood still, gazing at Alyna.
"Go," Alyna said, shooing the unicorn on.
Syra sidled closer to Alyna, resting her muzzle in Alyna's hands.
"Go," Alyna said again, despite the deep heaviness in her chest.
Syra nudged Alyna until her head was under Alyna's arm.
"You have to go before it starts again. Before you're hurt." Alyna moved her arm from Syra's neck, then kissed the tip of Syra's muzzle. "Please, Syra, go now."
Syra thrust one hoof out, bending her knees like a supplicant at Alyna's side.
"You won't leave will you, you silly, beautiful unicorn?" Tears sprang from Alyna's eyes as she realized what Syra had been trying to say. She would stay. She would fight.
"You are the most stubborn creature I've ever encountered," Alyna said with a laugh. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Fine. We will fight together. You and I. We will show these orcs, elves, and humans what fauns and unicorns can do."
Together, Alyna and Syra left the stables, heading toward the barracks to meet with Vron. He stood outside, covered from head to toe with weapons. Alyna couldn't help but laugh. She knew Vron wanted to be prepared, but he looked absolutely foolish.
"Get anything for me?" Alyna asked him, not mentioning the over-abundance of weapons.
"Go in and take whatever you like. Kazrack has his dagger," Vron said.
With a weak smile, Kazrack held up the tiny blade.
"Very well," Alyna said. "Syra will stay here with you. I'll be right back."
Alyna entered the armory, finding they had mostly been stripped empty. She wasn't proficient with any weapon, but she ought to have something, anything, to protect herself. A small sword with a jewel-encrusted hilt lay on the ground. It was probably worth more as a showpiece than a weapon. Still, something about it spoke to Alyna.
She grabbed it, finding the weight pleasing to her hand. It would have to do.
Alyna exited the barracks. The human, Brax, had rejoined them. Vron was studiously ignoring Kazrack, while the elf patted Syra's muzzle. He cooed at her, as if the unicorn was nothing more than a horse.
"Don't touch her horn," Alyna cautioned the elf.
"Why?" His fingers hovered over it.
"She doesn't like it. You don't want to know what she'll do to you if you try."
Kazrack ripped his hand back, patting his brocade lapel. "No matter. I've ridden plenty of unicorns in my day. This one doesn't frighten me."
"Really?" Alyna raised an eyebrow. "You know they only let virgins ride them."
Kazrack inhaled sharply.
It was a rumor that had spread over the centuries. Unicorns were so pure, they only allowed innocent beings to ride them. It wasn't true. Alyna herself had been deflowered long before meeting Syra. She had never had a problem riding Syra. Still, it was funny to watch Kazrack fan himself at the thought.
"Where to?" Alyna asked, turning to Vron, who seemed to be enjoying the conversation.
He opened his mouth to answer when the ground began to shake again.
"Run!" he yelled, pushing Kazrack in front of him and taking off in a sprint for the city gates. Brax followed on the draft horse.
Alyna jumped on Syra's back. The unicorn galloped hard away from the barracks. A chasm opened behind them, swallowing the barracks whole.
Kazrack screeched with fear, passing Vron as the elf scurried ahead. Alyna wished Vron would discard some of the weapons he carried, but it wasn't the right time to argue. He'd have to figure out the cumbersome haul for himself.
A strange chuckle rose behind them. Alyna turned her head, looking back at the chasm, as a long, pink tentacle wound its way out from the depths.
A xarlug. It had to be.
And no one knew how to kill it or how many there were.
It slithered over the ground, using its suction cups to feel its way toward the mob of orcs trying to escape the city.
It wanted more. What it had already taken wasn't enough.
Alyna tapped Syra's side with her heels. Syra stopped and turned around.
"What are you doing?" Vron yelled. "Come with us!"
Alyna wouldn't respond. Maybe he would keep going without her. Maybe, for once, that stupid lug of an orc would let her do the right thing without intervening.
Alyna closed her eyes, shutting out the screams of the orcs and the strange sucking sound the xarlug's tentacles made on the ground when it moved. She thought of the trees and the wind. Of the grass and the bushes. Of the life force that throbbed through nature. She harnessed the powers she'd rarely touched.
Alyna raised her hands, feeling the wind kick up around her. Her curls bounced in the air as the power grew within her. She did not know how to stop the xarlug, but perhaps she could give the orcs time to escape.
She opened her eyes again as leaves spun in the air. Cupping her hands together in front of her, she thrust outward, pushing the wind at the xarlug's tentacle. It tried to move forward, toward her, but the wind held it in place, not allowing it to advance.
The end of the tentacle curled as it reached into the wind, but it wasn't strong enough to push further.
"You can't hold this forever," Vron yelled behind her.
Damn it, he was still there.
"Go away!" Alyna yelled.
"I won't leave you!"
"Your weapons are no good here, Vron. You can't defeat it. You must live to fight another day."
"I won't leave you!" he yelled again.
Alyna's arms shook. She couldn't block the xarlug forever, Vron was right about that. All she could do was give the others time to get away. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She knew it would come for her next. The xarlug would punish her for getting in its way. The last thing she wanted was for it to get Vron, too.
Exhausted, she dropped her arms. "Run," she said to Vron, hoping he would do as she said for once.
"Not without you." He rested a hand on her shoulder.
The tentacle began to advance on them, slithering over the ground with a sickening speed. Alyna swallowed hard. They had no time to run. None at all.
Syra bent her head. She shot forward, ramming her horn into the tentacle, leaving a searing hole. Again and again in a frenzy, Syra stabbed the tentacle with her glowing horn.
Another tentacle burst from the crack in the ground.
Alyna gasped as the tentacle grabbed her off the unicorn’s back, hurling her away from Vron and Syra.
Chapter 57
Ademar held on to Tace's waist, trying not to grasp too tightly or too loosely, as Pesha soared through the sky. For the first part of the trip, she'd leaned against him, but the closer they got to Agitar, the farther she pulled away. It was only a bit at a time, but eventually she was sitting up straight again, almost as if she was unaware he was behind her. Tace spoke occasionally to Nemia, but Ademar might as well have been invisible.
It was typical Tace. She'd built up walls Ademar might never be able to scale. Though he knew a small amount of her childhood, he knew there was more to uncover, and he feared there were things she wouldn't ever want to speak about.
His life had been fairly easy. He'd never wanted for anything. He had been fulfilled, even if he w
orked nearly all the time and had no personal life. Still, Ademar had no complaints.
Then Hugh killed himself. Everything changed for him at that moment. Ademar's entire life had been upended, thanks to the priest he'd faithfully followed. And now he was on the back of a dragon with two orcs, one of whom he'd broken all of his vows for.
Ademar had zero regrets.
In front of him, Tace gasped and pointed. "Look, it's Agitar!"
Ademar squinted, trying to see around Tace and Nemia. In the distance, he could see the spires of the orc castle rising into the clouds.
Tace's back became even more rigid, her shoulders pulled so far back, Raseri almost fell off. The little dragon coiled itself up tighter.
Ademar felt more than a bit of dread as the city grew closer. Back in Agitar, his relationship with Tace, if he could call it that, would change.
"Once we land..." Tace's voice trailed off.
"We each have our own things to take care of," Ademar said. Maybe once they were both settled, they could decide if they had anything worth pursuing.
Tace nodded curtly, then turned to face the front again. Raseri opened one lazy eye, sticking her forked tongue out at Ademar.
Ademar resisted the urge to grab the dragon's tongue and fling her into the open air. He would never do such a thing to a living being, but part of him wished he could.
Pesha began her descent as they approached the outskirts of the city. Ademar swallowed hard, popping his ears. It was then he noticed something strange. "Tace, I think we need to be careful where we land. It looks like Agitar has had an earthquake."
"You could be right. Look at all the orcs standing outside the city. I wonder if they had to evacuate?" Tace asked.
Nemia said something, but with the wind blowing at them, Ademar couldn't hear the young orc's words.
Pesha's legs reached out for the earth, and they came to a gentle stop outside the city gates. A roar rose from the crowds gathered.
"They've never seen a dragon before, have they?" Ademar asked Tace as they slid off Pesha's back.
"I doubt it." Her voice shook a little.
"You must save us!" an orc yelled to them. "Stay on your beast and help us!"
"What is she talking about?" Tace asked, looking around wildly.
The orc grabbed Tace's hand, pulling her past the gates and into the city. Ademar followed, staying on their heels.
A fat, pink tentacle rose from a fissure in the earth, waving something in its grasp.
"What is that?" Tace asked, gaping.
Ademar wished he had an answer. Whatever it was, it wasn't friendly.
"Get your flying beast and save her!" the orc yelled.
Tace looked at Ademar. "Come with me?"
"Me, too!" Nemia yelled.
"No." Tace pushed the young orc toward the one who'd asked for their help. "Stay here. You can't come with us. It's too dangerous."
But!" Nemia yelled as Ademar ran after Tace.
Ademar boosted Tace onto Pesha's back. She reached down, pulling Ademar up behind her. The Staff of Jokan was still securely fastened to the saddle.
"Pesha, will you help us?" Tace asked the dragon.
Ademar hadn't thought to ask permission. He'd assumed the dragon would do their bidding, like a horse. But when Pesha looked at them with her brown eyes and nodded, Ademar was reminded he wasn't riding on a beast, but on the back of an equal.
Pesha pushed off the ground, bolting into the air.
"How are we going to save her?" Tace asked Ademar. "We don't have any weapons."
"You have that." Ademar pointed to the staff. Pesha banked hard to the left, and Ademar wrapped an arm around Tace's waist. Not to protect her, but to keep himself from falling.
"The staff? What am I to do? Hit that thing with it?" Tace rolled her eyes.
"What do your legends say about the Staff of Jokan?" Ademar yelled in her ear as the wind picked up.
"I don't know. I told you before, I barely paid attention. I thought you were the scholar. Shouldn't you know?"
"I only recently started studying orc texts. I don't know everything! But maybe you should start with hitting it until it lets her go!"
"Fine!"
Ademar fiddled with the straps around the staff while Tace held the shaft in her hands. As soon as it was free from its bindings, Tace lifted the staff in the air.
Pesha banked again, flying toward the gyrating tentacle.
"That's not an orc," Tace said to Ademar. "What is she?"
"Does it matter?"
"No. It doesn't." Tace locked her eyes with Ademar's. She leaned in, kissing him square on the mouth, then pulled away before he could kiss her back. "Let's save her!"
Ademar held tight to Tace's waist as Pesha dove toward the tentacle. Tace brandished the staff in the air, reaching out to hit the tentacle. She struck it once, but the tentacle didn't seem to register the attack.
It waved the woman around, her legs kicking in defiance. Whoever she was, she wasn't about to give in to the beast.
Pesha came around again for another chance. Tace held out the staff, and the gem in the center lit up. Ademar flung his free arm over his eyes, shielding himself from the blinding light.
Tace thrust the staff toward the tentacle, hitting it squarely with a beam of light and leaving a smoldering mark on its puckered skin. A great roar of pain came from underground.
"What is that thing?" Tace asked.
At the moment Ademar could only wonder if they possibly had any way to make it out of this alive. Whatever it was, the tentacle was only a small part of it. Ademar couldn't fathom what the rest of it looked like.
Pesha took a third trip toward the tentacle. Tace smacked the tentacle again, harder this time, burning a hole so large it spasmed, dropping the woman it had been holding.
Without urging, Pesha dove toward her. Ademar thrust out his free arm, grabbing hers and pulled her onto Pesha's saddle behind him.
He looked down, surprised to see hooves instead of feet dangling next to his.
"My thanks to both of you," she said. "But we must get back to the city immediately. We have to evacuate the rest of the orcs."
"I'm Ademar, and this is Tace."
"I'm Alyna. And who do I have the pleasure of riding on?"
Pesha looked back at them, winking at Alyna.
"This is Pesha," Tace said. "She's a—”
"Dragon," Alyna interrupted. "I know. You can drop me down there, next to my unicorn."
Ademar looked at the ground, spying a white horse with a glowing horn. Pesha landed next to it. Alyna slid off Pesha's back, no worse for the wear.
"Glad to see you're not dead." A man walked over to Alyna, his long hair tucked behind his pointed ears.
"The elf!" Tace grabbed the staff, jumping off Pesha. "Are you the elf who dared take the orc throne?"
The elf looked at Alyna and a male orc who stood to his side weighed down by one of every weapon imaginable. "Maybe."
"You cannot rule on the throne at Agitar. Once we've defeated whatever that thing is, I'm going to defeat you." Tace's upper lip curled.
The elf laughed. "Don't worry. If any of us live through this, I won't be stepping anywhere near that throne again."
"Kazrack is telling the truth," Alyna said. "He has no real designs on the throne. If you're willing to help us, we would gladly welcome it."
"What do you need me to do?" Tace asked.
Before she could answer, the ground cracked again, and three tentacles slammed onto the earth as a huge, pink, bloated body rose from the depths.
Chapter 58
Tace swallowed her fear, steeling herself as the beast rose from the depths of the earth. One pulsing, bloodshot eye emerged, blinking as it took them in.
"We have to kill the xarlug," Alyna said.
Tace didn't care what it was called. All she knew was that she was facing the biggest challenge of her life. The last few years, she'd done nothing but bring death to others. It was her way of earning
her family a place in the afterlife. A redemption for the heretical path her parents had taken. Yet lately, she'd seen more value in life than death, and she'd questioned the very purpose of her existence. Life was precious. Even the lives of other races.
But she would kill again today.
One hand grasped the Staff of Jokan, the other reached for a dagger. She would fight with whatever weapons she had at her disposal, though, deep down, she knew it would never be enough against a beast like this.
It continued to rise, until it stood taller than the orc castle. Where a second eye should have been was only a jagged scar. The rest of the rotund body came into view, followed by eight gyrating tentacles. Its mouth opened, revealing serrated teeth accompanied by rivulets of drool at the sides, and it laughed as the ground under them shuddered.
"We need a plan," the male orc laden with all the weapons said. Tace hadn't caught his name yet, and she didn't bother asking. She'd find out later if they all survived. "First, I think the two of you should make sure no one else enters this area."
The human man and the elf both looked relieved. They took off down the city streets to block anyone from coming this way.
"Syra and I will do our best to hold back the xarlug. Then you can attack. Try to get an arrow in its eye?" Alyna didn't sound sure of her plan, but they all knew it was better than doing nothing. "What are your strengths?"
"I'm good with daggers, but I can't imagine they'll help much now. Maybe Pesha would be willing to help?" Tace looked at the dragon, who appeared ready to burst into the sky and take on the xarlug herself.
"And you?" Alyna asked Ademar.
Tace nearly told them he could sit on the sidelines and pray, but she held her sarcastic tongue. Ademar deserved more respect. Considering his background, he'd become a formidable fighter.
"I don't know." Ademar shrugged.
Tace could tell he was feeling useless. "Ride on Pesha. Help guide her. Watch her back."
"I can do that,”
"What about me?" The small voice came from behind.