by A. Evermore
The Sirin Derenax was so cold it burned her throat and yet after it had passed her throat was unharmed. With it being poured straight into her throat she could not tell exactly what it tasted of, but she caught the faintest sickly sweet smell-taste.
Yes, that is how they smell. It is the Black Drink and yet it doesn’t seem so bad. In fact it seems almost wonderful. She wanted to taste it again.
The cool liquid slipped into her stomach and it felt as if she had swallowed ice. Her whole body convulsed once and then began to shake with the cold. She was freezing from within. She tried to scream for help but all that came out was a weak moan. The convulsions came again, this time one after the other, rolling through her so violently the black robed figures all had to hold her down. The cords restraining her wrists and ankles dug deeply and rubbed.
The coldness was spreading through her veins and now it was grasping her lungs. She gasped but couldn’t seem to get air into her lungs. She couldn’t breathe, she was choking. Pain like nothing else exploded through every cell in her body. It felt as if each cell had been set on fire.
‘Your weak mortal body is dying,’ the dark dwarf said in an excited voice as he leaned close, his feverish yellow eyes burning into her own, his breath was different from the necromancers, it was hot and stank of rotting meat. ‘You cannot fight it. Your soul will soon belong to Baelthrom. The Elixir of Immortality kills from within, replacing all inferior living cells with immortal ones. You are most fortunate indeed, our Great One requested the best elixir be given to you,’ the dark dwarf said, his eyes wide with reverent wonder.
Cirosa could say nothing her whole being was taken up with what was happening inside of her. The agony was immense. It seemed each cell froze and then burst into flame again and again. Her heart beat loud and so fast she thought it would burst, and then it would drop to nothing and so weak she began to pass out. Her body was being cleansed of its life force and there was nothing she could do.
She silently begged for unconsciousness, even for death, anything to release her from this unbearable pain. But consciousness would not let her go, and it was the last thing that would cling to her dying body.
An eternity must have passed when her mind finally fled from her dying body into a world of nightmares. She ran in darkness away from a monster that thundered after her. The ground shook beneath her feet and there came the snapping of a hundred jaws as the beast closed in. She glanced behind and screamed. A huge dragon-like beast with a hundred heads snaked towards her. Those heads turned into her own, mirroring her howls of horror a hundred-fold. Their eyes cried blood and their teeth were rows of gleaming white fangs. They struck down and she screamed as their teeth bit into her flesh and began devouring her.
Then the beast vanished and she lay bleeding on the ground. The Immortal Lord materialised out of the darkness, his heavy metal armour clanking as he stepped slowly towards her, his clawed lizard-like feet scraping, his heavy tail swinging, his black cloak billowing. Triangular eyes hidden beneath a tripartite helmet smouldered the darkest blue. He held a huge gauntletted hand forward and from it white light came and surrounded her, lifting her from the floor. She looked down and found her bloodied body healed and whole.
‘Thank you,’ she sobbed.
The light continued to spread from his hand and everywhere, filling even himself until he appeared to be made of white light. Only his eyes remained and they shone black in the whiteness. Great streams of white energy began to fill her and with it came ecstasy and omnipotence. She could be anything, do anything, have anything with this power. She breathed it in with all her being.
‘More,’ she gasped and was not denied. More came and yet still more she wanted and could have. It caressed her body and her whole being, filling her with euphoria, giving her all the power she had ever desired.
‘See the things that I can give you?’ his voice vibrated through her, a beautiful harmonious sound that made her tremble.
She nodded reverently, ‘Yes, my Lord.’
‘The goddess has abandoned this world. Now it is the time for a real god. I am that god and I give you a life of power and magic, a life without end. Do you serve me?’ the last boomed around her, shaking her body.
She nodded, ‘With everything that I am I will serve you.’
He laughed a deep, rich, triumphant laugh. It pleased her immensely that she had pleased him and she laughed softly in ecstasy.
‘Go. Enjoy the gifts that I, your Immortal Lord, have bestowed upon you and upon all my faithful servants. Bring others to me to bend to my will, bring them so that we may all be free. Free from the goddess forever.’
‘The Great Mother is dead. I embrace you, my Lord,’ she said in adulation, glorying in the power that coursed through her. True power, real power, power the silent goddess had never bestowed upon her.
Yet deep within her mind, in a place she thought had long since been destroyed and buried, sadness pooled like clotting, lifeless blood. In that dying blood knowledge and grief mingled whispering their secrets over and over, “There is no life without love.”
The Sirin Derenax slowly stilled those voices until they were gone forever as the light of Cirosa’s life force went out and consciousness faded. She had no use for love now that her soul had embraced oblivion.
Chapter 49
An Untrained Dragon
ISSA watched in awe as the air around Asaph shimmered briefly. In the Flow it was a golden mist already sparkling in the shape of a dragon surrounding the man. The magic that flowed around him felt ancient, wild, and free. The dragon magic surged.
There now stood before her a huge dragon, scales gleaming in the rain, huge tail curled gracefully around equally huge legs like a cat. His talons were as thick as her arms and deadly sharp, his wings were folded away neatly on his back. Golden horns curved up smoothly beside his long ears and his flashing sapphire eyes blinked as he considered his new form.
Issa shivered, her skin went all tingly and sweat rolled down her back. She tried to pretend she was calm and unaffected by the dragon fear but the truth was she was frozen to the spot. The raven hopped madly around her feet squawking fearfully. All she could do was move her eyes a little to side-glance at the others.
Coronos gripped his staff white-knuckled in one hand and looked about to pull out his beard in the other, but his face was otherwise unreadable. Cusap’anth’s legs trembled uncontrollably and he was trying to look everywhere but at the massive winged serpent in front of him. Palu’anth had an arrow in one hand and a knife in the other, looking at each in such confusion as if he didn’t know what they were for. His face was a mask of sweat. Rhul’ynth was so white she looked like she was about to faint. Diarc’ynth was partially hidden from view by the others but her mouth hung uselessly open and her eyes were about to pop out of her head. She appeared to be frozen to the spot as well. The raven stopped squawking, lodged its head between her feet and pretended to be dead.
Only when her heart pounded less could Issa bring herself to look at Asaph again. There was still a shimmer in the air, as if he kept some magic around him, and he had curled up tighter and sat lower on his haunches, making himself as small as possible. He avoided looking at anyone directly and held a remarkably placid and sleepy look on his otherwise expressionless face.
He is trying to protect us from the dragon fear, trying to make himself seem small and harmless, Issa realised and a small high-pitched laugh escaped her lips. He wasn’t too successful but she did feel the fear drop sooner than it might have. A few moments more passed and then people began to twitch and come back to life. Issa wiped a shaky hand across her sweaty brow.
‘Phew, glad that’s over!’ she said, breaking the silence and getting a few nervous laughs from the others. She could not remove the fear of him completely and she was certain he sensed it as all animals sensed fear. He turned his head to look at her but she could not meet those massive sapphire eyes and pretended to be busy with her bag.
‘Please don’t
fear me,’ he said in a surprisingly soft soothing voice for a dragon.
Issa swallowed, ‘I’m, uh, not scared, heh,’ she smiled back and darted her eyes away.
Asaph was saddened by this. He wanted her to feel safe and protected in his company, not afraid. He tried to smile reassuringly but ended up baring huge glistening teeth in what looked more like a growl than a smile. Her eyes widened and he immediately stopped smiling. Dragons cannot smile, he decided, and vowed never to try again. He had an idea and tried it.
‘It makes me sad knowing you fear me.’
Issa jumped and dropped her bag. Asaph had spoken to her with his mind, just like the Wykiry did, just like Keteth did.
‘I didn’t know you could mind-speak,’ she replied.
‘It seems to be a natural part of being a dragon. It seems all magical creatures can. And yet I cannot commune with you like this as a man.’
‘No, well, I guess we’ll have to make do with spoken words then.’
‘I will never harm you. I want you to feel protected by my dragon self.’
‘I will try but it is pure instinct…’ she was cut off by Coronos.
‘You two maybe able to speak with your minds but we all know you are doing it,’ Coronos grinned. Issa and Asaph stared back at him. The karalanths were also watching and grinning knowingly with their arms folded.
‘Oh,’ Issa said, reddening in guilt, ‘sorry, I didn’t know we could commune like this. Perhaps it’s rude. Only the Wykiry and… Keteth have spoken to me in this manner. I can commune with some animals too but they talk in pictures, and only sometimes.’
‘All karalanths are what you humans call Daluni,’ Cusap’anth said, ‘that is how we communicate with our spirit animals. But, as you say, only when they will it,’ he added with a snort.
Coronos set about arranging his makeshift harness of ropes and blankets with as much aid as Asaph could offer. Asaph clearly didn’t seem too impressed by the idea.
‘We should get something safer and more secure made,’ Asaph grumbled.
‘Indeed, which village shall we stop off in and place our order for a dragon harness? Who would you like to take your measurements? Which smithy would you like take it to test it is fire proof?’ Coronos asked lightly. Asaph snorted a cloud of smoke that made his father cough.
‘The best harnesses were made to a design probably long since destroyed in Drax. But in saying that, perhaps with the help of the orb I could sketch out what I remember. It took a lot of dragon scales and iron rings as far as I could work out,’ Coronos scratched his head thoughtfully. He turned and pulled a rope tight. ‘There, we are all set and ready to go,’ he looked proudly at the mess of ropes around Asaph’s neck and back. Then his gaze settled on Issa.
This was the part she had been dreading. ‘I’ve been thinking,’ she began, ‘that I’ll probably be of more use down here with the karalanths,’ it was lame and she knew it but the thought of jumping on the dragon’s back, much less flying on it, made her sick.
‘Nonsense, get up here, Raven Queen, before I come down there and carry you,’ Coronos said firmly, amusement dancing in his eyes.
Before she knew what was happening Cusap’anth had grabbed her waist and Rhul’ynth her legs and they carried her squirming to the amused looking dragon.
‘All right! Set me down! Will you quit hoisting me about all the time,’ she squealed.
They laughed and plonked her down on a massive golden paw. With a loud sigh she took Coronos' out-stretched hand and with some difficulty clambered up Asaph’s massive shoulder.
‘We’ll head off now,’ Cusap’anth said, ‘see you soon,’ he winked, and with a wave they bounded off into the forest.
Coronos and Issa secured themselves into the ropes and blankets.
‘Flying is a cold business,’ he explained as he settled down in front of her. ‘I’ll fly the dragon, having been a Dragon Rider,’ he added. Asaph seemed remarkably deaf to anything his rider was saying and despite Coronos pulling on the ropes to go one way Asaph ignored him and turned in the opposite direction.
‘This is an untrained dragon,’ Coronos cautioned over his shoulder with a chuckle. Asaph snorted again and made them both cough in his smoke.
Issa clung tightly to Coronos' waist as Asaph stood up and spread his wings wide. She closed her eyes as he bunched his legs then squealed in terror as they launched violently into the air. Flying as a raven was a far different game to flying on the back of something else. The air whooshed past but still she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes. The make-do harness seemed remarkably weak and flimsy right now. Coronos squealed in delight, clearly loving the take off part of the journey.
Only when they began to level out did she open one eye and peek under Coronos' arm. The green forest was a blur beneath them. Every now and then she glimpsed the brown form of a swift moving karalanth between the trees. They were slowly dropping behind the fast flying dragon. Please, Zanufey, don’t let any harm come to them because of me, she prayed.
Though wet from the drizzle she sat relatively comfortably behind Coronos holding his waist tightly. The rain had already soaked them through, somewhat diminishing the glory of flying on a dragon.
‘Aren’t you scared?’ she shouted over the rushing wind and Coronos laughed.
‘No, I used to ride dragons all day, every day, when I was a commander in the Draxian army. They are smaller than Dragon Lords though and it was a long time ago. You just have to hang on tight,’ he shouted over his shoulder, but his words did little to reassure her.
She would have preferred to fly as a raven and join her companion following behind if she hadn’t felt so weak and exhausted. Flying as a raven seemed so natural, riding atop a dragon as a human was definitely not natural. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about it.
Asaph flew carefully. He hated having such precious passengers on his back but it was the fastest way to travel. He flew low in the air where it was warmer despite the worry of being seen. They had to take a chance and there were not many hours left until night fell.
‘Can he fly at night?’ Issa asked a few hours later as the grey day darkened.
‘Yes, though it is not preferred. Dragons can see well in the dark but flying at night is more dangerous. It is harder to see the enemy,’ Coronos replied.
‘How long will it take to get to Celene?’
Coronos shrugged. ‘I have never flown this path before, it depends on the wind currents mostly. Though I would say at least all night. Asaph may have to rest depending on how tired he is.’
Issa nodded and settled back in her harness for the journey.
For the next few hours as darkness fell, and the rain blessedly stopped, Issa thought of Ely. She had been too busy to really think about her friend but now there was nothing to do she did and worry clamped around her stomach.
Why had she and Freydel not sent warning of trouble? They would have done, Issa was certain, but the visions the raven had shown her plagued her. Could the raven’s message be about the future? Though she wanted to believe it, the vision was simply too clear to be so. How long had it taken the raven to find her and deliver his message? And then there was that dream of Duskar, he had called to her, how many nights ago was that? One? Two? But then before that there had been another where he was trapped in his stable. So much has happened I cannot even remember when that was! Despite the knots of worry in her stomach she started to drift in and out of a dreamless slumber.
Issa began to rouse when a warm breeze blew through her hair. Either they were descending or the dawn was coming, she thought, blinking and rubbing her tired eyes. It turned out to be a mixture of both as they burst through a white cloud. It was growing brighter and she glanced to the horizon where the brightness was growing. The rain had stopped a while ago but they were still soaked through and there were many clouds about.
Far below, the forest had been replaced by sea and many islands of various shapes and sizes. Some were just rocks that whi
te waves pounded against, trying to drive them under the ocean. But otherwise the sea was calm in the growing dawn. Other islands were big enough to have tiny coves filled with turquoise waters and palm trees and thick foliage growing on them. The palms with big wide leaves reminded her instantly of Celene and for a moment, and for the first time in a long time, she actually felt like she was returning home.
Everything is fine, the raven only delivered a warning and we have come in time to stop it. She breathed the warm air filled with the scent of the sea and let the relief wash over her. She would have a bath and chat with Maeve about everything that had happened. She would wear that dress Ely had given her and they would have a banquet. Asaph and Coronos could meet Freydel and she would take them to see Duskar.
I cannot wait to see the look on Cirosa’s face! She was looking forward to that, despite feeling a pang of sorrow for the lonely and disliked High Priestess. It was going to be wonderful! Asaph is going to love Celene I am sure of it. Perhaps we can even build a house there together. This will be our new home.
Thinking all these wonderful thoughts filled Issa with such relief and joy she felt tears come to her eyes. We could even fly and see Edarna! Maybe we could convince her to come to Celene as well. The villagers could do with a witch. How wonderful that would be with us all together!
Chapter 50
Mark Of Maphrax
THE sun broke over the sea and spread its warm rays over them. Issa closed her eyes, and let light fall upon her face. Perhaps the clouds would all dissipate and it would be a lovely day. There was nothing but sea for a short time and then in the faint light she glimpsed the shores of Celene. They were approaching from the east side and though she strained to see the white spire of the temple she couldn’t find it. Perhaps it is hidden by trees, she thought.