The Dream of Shadows

by Nicholas Clausen

  Draek, the Bone Thief is waiting for Cass to come down here as well. Hayden thought. Draek was on edge, but he slowly turned his silver head to face Shaylin. Cass remained still for a few moments before beginning to undo her saddle straps.

  Hayden waited in silence with the Bone Thief until Cass walked up.

  “Hello. I am Cassidy The Gold.” Cass said with a slight bow. They had both dawned their helmets so the Bone Thief could not see their faces. “I am sure Hayden has introduced himself?” Cass asked.

  Hayden shook his head and quickly spoke. “Hayden The Silver.” Cass lowered her head slightly as Hayden spoke.

  “And you are?” Cass asked.

  “Re.” The Bone Thief replied. Re’s voice was still a balance between male and female and gave no clues about the Bone Thief.

  “Re?” Cass asked, making sure that she heard the name right. Re’s skeletal mask moved up and down slowly, making the pieces of bone clink together.

  “And does your dragon have a name? My dragon is Shaylin, and Hayden’s dragon is Draek.” Cass said.

  “Re,” Re replied.

  “Your dragon’s name is Re as well?” Hayden asked.

  “We are one,” Re replied. The black dragon let out a high-pitched roar that made Hayden and Cass cover their ears.

  “Ok, Re. We are here to ask for your assistance in the war.” Cass started. “The people of Arvain are joining together to overthrow the Metallic Nation and bring true peace and freedom to the land.” Re did not respond by word or by movement.

  “You are both Metallic Riders,” Re replied dryly.

  “We were. We hatched our dragons and trained like regular Metallic Riders, but when we realized that the Metallic Nation was planning on raging war on the land to enslave the races further, we knew we couldn’t be a part of that.” Cass spoke with her queen voice.

  “You did not want to be a part of their war, so you started your own?” Re asked.

  “It’s more complicated than that,” Cass said.

  “Do people die in your war?” Re asked. “Do they die in the Metallic Nation’s war? War is war and death is death. War cannot bring peace for those involved.” Re’s body hardly moved as the words fell through the skull fragments like sand falling from a clenched fist.

  “It’s more complicated than that,” Cass repeated. “We came here looking for help; we would like to speak to your leader, please. Can we speak with him?” Cass asked.

  “Him?” Re asked.

  “I am sorry, her? Is your leader female?” Cass asked.

  “Her? Female? Re is Re. Our leader is Kne. Kne is Kne.” Re said. If Re took offense to the questions, Hayden could not tell.

  “You don’t have males or females amongst the Bone Thieves?” Hayden asked. Re turned to face Hayden.

  “Bone Thieves are Bone Thieves. We do not distinguish between men and women. All Bone Thieves must cook, must fight, must clean, must survive. What else matters?” Re spoke with the same monotone voice that Re had maintained throughout the entire conversation. “What does it matter if I am man or woman? Would that make me any less Re? Any less Bone Thief? Any less dragon rider? No, it does not.”

  “I am sorry if I have offended you,” Hayden said out of respect.

  “There is no offense, you did not know, and now you do,” Re stated simply.

  “Can we meet with Kne then? You said Kne was your leader?” Cass asked.

  “I am sorry that is simply not possible,” Re stated.

  “Why is that?” Hayden asked. He was sure that they were not going to meet with them because of the questions they had asked.

  “Kne is meeting with a Metallic Rider that arrived earlier today,” Re said. During the entire conversation, Re had only shifted its masked face but other than that Re had not moved.

  “What are they discussing? How many Metallic Riders are here?” Cass demanded a little more harshly then Hayden would have liked.

  “One copper rider arrived making it five Metallic Riders here before you two showed up. The total is now seven Metallic Riders here.” Re said.

  They had expected to run into the four Metallic Riders that were stationed at the Dark Hold, but with the help of the Bone Thieves, they knew they could easily overtake them. One more didn’t make that big of a difference.

  “And what are they discussing?” Cass asked again.

  “I am not sure. I am here with you two, not in the meeting with Kne. You will have to ask Kne when Kne is done.” Re stated.

  “I think it wouldn’t be too hard to guess what they are talking about,” Hayden said.

  “No. You’re right Hayden. They have to be discussing the war just as the Frost Fangs were doing when we arrived at the Ice Keep.” Cass said looking up at the Dark Hold that loomed high above them.

  “We need to get in there,” Hayden said.

  “We need to what?” Cass asked, turning to face him. “Hayden, we can’t just barge in there.” She said in frustration.

  “Why not? The war isn’t stopping for us and this is what we came here to do.” Hayden turned to face Re. “Can you get us up there to the meeting?” Hayden asked.

  The Bone Thief remained silent like a death statue until finally, Re’s raspy voice came through the dark mask. “Yes.”

  Hayden looked over to Cass; he wasn’t going to go without her. She looked up at the black and grey structure that was the Dark Hold. “Alright, let’s go.” She finally said.

  “This way,” Re said and ushered the riders to the base of the Dark Hold. Instead of using dragons Re led them into an almost hidden cave entrance. Re didn’t slow down as the Bone Thief melted into the darkness.

  Hayden paused at the mouth of the cave. Re hadn’t lit a torch, and there was no way to see where they were going. Out of the darkness, the skeletal mask emerged.

  “Are you coming?” Re asked. Hayden felt Cass put her hand on his back.

  “I am,” Hayden said as he stepped into the darkness.

  Together, Hayden and Cass followed Re through the caves. They listened to where Re was trying to guide them through the darkness, when that failed they relied on using their hands to feel the walls of the cave.

  They tripped and stumbled in the darkness. Cass reached out and grabbed Hayden’s hand, her skin cold to his touch. They squeezed each other’s hand and continued their trek through the dark.

  “Can we stop for a second?” Hayden asked. They had climbed up a few sets of uneven stairs, and his legs felt like they were on fire.

  Silence answered them. “Re, did you hear me?” Hayden asked again. He felt Cass’s hand squeeze a little harder. “RE!” Hayden yelled.

  The only answer they got was the echoed sound of Hayden’s voice coming back at them.

  “Cass,” Hayden said.

  “Keep going, just keeping going forward.” She urged him on. Hayden closed his eyes; it didn’t make a difference. He reached his hand out and found the wall and slowly started moving forward. He inched his feet forward to make sure he didn’t fall in a hole and together they made their way through the caves.

  Moments turned to minutes, minutes to hours as they kept walking. They spoke with their dragons, but there was nothing they could do to help. Their dragons were able to move out of sight and still keep an eye on the Dark Hold. No other dragons besides Re were outside the hold.

  They stopped their wandering in the caves to catch their breath. They sat side by side to make sure they didn’t lose the other one. Cass seemed to be less worried then Hayden was, or at least she was far better at hiding it then Hayden was.

  “What do we do now?” Hayden asked.

  “We keep going until we find our way out.” Her voice only wavered slightly as she spoke.

  “Ok. Let’s keep going.” Hayden said as he stood up. “Which way do we go?” He asked trying to remember how they had gotten there.

  “Don’t we continue to follow this wall?” Cass asked, placing Hayden’s hand on the wall they had been sitting against.

>   “No this is the way we came, I thought we needed to go the other way,” Hayden said as his heart started to beat faster in his chest.

  “Are you sure, I think we should go that way.” Cass insisted. Hayden turned his head from side to side even though he couldn’t see anything.

  “I… I…. don’t know Cass. I don’t know which way we need to go.” Hayden admitted, letting the pressure break in through his mind. “We are lost.”

  “You have no idea just how right you are.” A familiar voice said from all around them.

  “Who’s there?” Hayden demanded. He tried to pull Cass in behind him, but she shoved him and stood beside him.

  “You don’t remember me? You forgot already?” The voice continued. There was a sharp sound of metal hitting something and then Hayden and Cass were blinded. Hayden was sure that someone had found a way to bring the sun inside.

  Hayden blinked his eyes, and as the light softened, he was able to see again. Everything was blurry, but he was able to see the sun that had blinded him was actually a torch and the person holding it was Benet The Copper.

  “Do you remember me?” Benet asked. Hayden nodded his head, but he had to squint his eyes. “Good, let’s get out of these caves and discuss your surrender, shall we?”

  Chapter Twenty

  Cass walked in front of Hayden as they were led out of the cave system beneath the Dark Hold. Bone Thieves surrounded them, each of them wearing the same dark colored fabrics held on with different variations of bones. Hayden couldn’t tell if Re was amongst those surrounding them but at that moment it didn’t matter.

  Hayden had been in contact with Draek the moment that Benet had shown up, but he had talked his dragon into staying hidden. It had taken a lot of restraint on Draek’s part not to catch the entire Dark hold on fire.

  “Where are we going?” Cass asked Benet who was leading the group. He was fully dressed in copper armor and held his helmet in his left hand.

  “We are going to the main hall where we can talk,” Benet said as if they were just catching up.

  “Where are the other copper riders?” Hayden asked.

  “Ahh, now that is a good question,” Benet said as they left the cave and came to a large grey stone bridge that connected the cave entrance they had walked out of to the landing pad on the Dark Hold.

  “I have sent the other copper riders that were stationed here to head back to Celestial City. Elizabeth is calling all dragons back to Celestial City to prepare for the battle with you. That includes the other race’s dragons as well.” Benet led the way across the bridge. The height of the bridge didn’t bother him at all as he strode across the expanse.

  “The other races?” Hayden asked.

  “Yes, soon the Metallic Nation will have the full force of the Frost Fangs and the Bone Thieves behind them to combat the elves and Sea Serpents you bravely bound together,” Benet said. As Hayden and Cass crossed the bridge, they couldn’t help but look down. “What you have done to this point has been admirable, to say the least, foolish but still admirable,” Benet said over his shoulder.

  It wasn’t the bridge that made Hayden nervous; it was not being able to see the bottom that made him nervous. All that he could see was darkness, the sun had set, and the only light they had were the torches that the Bone Thieves carried.

  “No Dwarves?’ Hayden asked.

  Benet stopped for a second before answering. “The Dwarves can’t help in this battle,” Benet said with all seriousness. “Their part in this is done.”

  “That’s right because you killed them all.” Hayden shot at Benet.

  “No, we killed them. As I recall you were at that battle as well and as I specifically remember watching you kill many dwarves with your own hands. I watched you cut them down with your shimmering silver blade. We all saw that eagle helmet of yours as you stood on the mound of dead dwarves you had killed.” Benet shot back with anger burning like dragon fire in his voice.

  Hayden stared at the copper rider that he had once called a friend. Hayden didn’t know how well Benet could see Hayden’s face beneath his eagle helmet, but if he could, all he would see was anger and hate.

  “Enough.” Cass broke through to the two riders. “Let’s get this over with.” She said as she pushed past Benet and followed the leading Bone Thief.

  “Ah, spoken like a true rider of a golden dragon, Elizabeth did a splendid job training you.” Benet grinned.

  Cass did not respond, but Hayden knew that her face glaring at Benet just as he was doing.

  It did not take long for the group to make it to the main hall. It was a dark and gloomy room with a high rounded ceiling. The room was large but not large enough to fit a dragon Draek’s size in.

  There were four wooden chairs that were covered in black leather near the center of the room. The only light came from the torches on the wall and at the center of the ceiling was an opening where the stars could be seen.

  Benet went and moved the chairs so that Hayden and Cass could sit on one side and look at Benet and the empty chair. Hayden sat down next to Cass and waited for Benet to sit.

  Benet brought a Bone Thief with him as they sat down together. The other Bone Thieves moved to the rounded walls of the room.

  “This is Kne, the leader of the Bone Thieves,” Benet said pointing at the Bone Thief set beside him. Benet could have told them that it was Re and Hayden would have believed him because there was no way to tell the difference between them except a few bones in different places.

  “Hello, riders,” Kne said, the Bone Thief’s voice was almost the same monotone neutral voice that Re had. There was no way to tell if Kne was male or female, but as Hayden had learned, it didn’t matter.

  “I believe we were here to discuss your surrender?” Benet started.

  “I am sorry, but I don’t think that is going to work,” Cass said. All hints of anger had left her voice, and she spoke as if she had an army of dragons in the sky and thousands of ground troops surrounding the Dark Hold.

  “That’s not going to work?” Benet asked with a smile. “And what would work for you?” Benet asked.

  “Your surrender,” Cass said, causing Benet to laugh. “And if we could finish this soon that would be ideal. We need the Bone Thieves help, and we really need to be on our way.” Cass continued.

  “You need the Bone Thieves help? And why is that?” Benet asked, leaning forward in his chair.

  “We want the Bone Thieves to join us. To join our army to fight the Metallic Nation. Just as you were here seeking their help to join you,” Cass said. Her back was straight, and her voice was strong as she spoke. Benet might have thought that she was joking, but nothing about Cass’s demeanor said joking.

  “And why would they help you? Why would they throw away their lives to help your dying cause?” Benet asked. Kne remained motionless and silent the entire time as the others were speaking.

  “For one it’s not a dying cause.” Cass corrected. Cass made sure to look at Kne as she spoke, locking eyes with the leader of the Bone Thief.

  “We have the Bone Thieves, the Metallic Nation’s full force as well as the Frost Fangs. You have the survivors of the elf nation and the Sea Serpents if I am correct. Which from how I heard the battle went, aren’t many left.” Benet smiled. “So how is your cause not dead already?”

  “I am sorry to be the one to inform you, but your information is not accurate. The Metallic Nation will learn soon that the Frost Fangs will not be coming to their aid.” Cass said. Benet’s eyebrows raised at Cass’s words.

  “We came from the Ice Keep where we have united the Frost Fangs and taken over the keep. They have since marched North to join forces with Queen Kirin and her main army.” Cass finished.

  “You would have me believe that Ricen let you take the Ice Keep from him?” Benet asked. “We sent him south to rally the Frost Fangs and bring them to Celestial City.”

  “He fled and burned down my home village, Erskine. It is there that you will find
his body and the body of his dragon.” Hayden said coolly.

  “Ricen is dead?” Benet asked. Disbelief was evident in his voice. Hayden couldn't tell if he didn’t believe what they were saying or if he just couldn’t believe Ricen was dead.

  “He is, and the Frost Fangs have joined us. They too want to be free.” Cass added.

  “Hmm, if what you say is true then we need to be going sooner than I thought,” Benet spoke to Kne who, just like Re, did not move or respond.

  “I was instructed to come here and secure the help of the Bone Thieves, and if I ran into the runaway Metallic Riders, I was supposed to capture the three of you. It seems though that we are missing one, where is Shane?” Benet asked.

  “He has left us,” Cass said. Hayden was trying to think of some lie to tell Benet, but Cass beat him with the truth.

  “He left? And where exactly did he go?” Benet asked. Leaning forward on his black throne as he spoke.

  “He has gone back to Celestial City.” Benet smiled as Cass explained what had happened. “Elizabeth has captured his family, and they threatened to hurt them if Shane did not join them.”

  “I hate that it took such drastic measures to get him to realize the fault in his choices, but I am glad he made the right decision.” Benet turned back to Kne as he spoke. “You see, she can talk up their failing dreams all she want’s but they can’t even keep their family safe or their group together.”

  “What happened to you?” Hayden asked, forcing Benet to look at him.

  “I don’t understand?” Benet asked.

  “You were upset when the Metallic Nation first fell upon the dwarves. You hated what they had made you do, and yet here you are defending them.” Hayden asked.

  “Again, I hate that they have to take such drastic measures to make us realize when we have gone astray,” Benet said with a forced smile.

  “They did something to you, or they are going to if you don’t serve them,” Cass said. Benet did not answer with words but with a smile.

  “So, about your surrender?” Benet asked.

  “I am sorry, but we can’t do that,” Cass said.