“Indeed, he was,” she agreed, accepting the flame. Inhaling deeply, she paused, not ready to set the blaze.
“We’ll allow you to say goodbye in private,” the wizard informed her, calling to his men to move on to the next.
“You will provide a proper burial for all of them?” the girl asked, turning to stare at his feet as he moved away from her.
“Only if it pleases you,” he called back.
“It pleases me,” she agreed with a small smile. “Gwirwen was my father’s friend before he betrayed him. I hope they have found their peace in their passing.”
Nodding, Gradien twirled his hand in the air above his head, calling the others to follow and complete the task.
“It is very gracious of you to be so kind with the dragon who overthrew your kin,” Rey observed. “His actions have cost us dearly.”
“I have chosen to forgive him. Holding my rage would only add to my suffering,” she replied. Squeezing his hand, she released him, stepping forward to place the torch against the lumber.
Catching fire, the flames spread quickly, and Ziradon’s body became engulfed in the conflagration. Watching the dancing light, Amicia sighed. “Where will you go?” she asked quietly.
Caught off guard, Rey gasped, “I thought we would finally find that place where we belonged and settle down.”
“Oh, Rey,” she whispered. “I have much left to do.” Cutting her eyes over at him, she smiled enticingly. “Remember when we made a plan and I would wait for you to come to me?”
“Aye,” he replied warily, “so long ago.”
“Yes, many moons have passed. You spoke once of returning to your parents’ farm. I think that you should,” she offered.
“Domania?” he gasped. “Firstly, it’s part of the rim, so you know that –”
“I know it is part of the rim of mortals,” she laughed, catching her hair and pulling it out of her face. “I will see that you are transpositioned there. And I will further promise no more dragons will burn your crops and scorch your cattle.”
Studying her in the warmth of her father’s pyre, sadness filled his eyes. “Will I wait for you to join me?”
Swallowing, she held the grin. “My dearest Rey, I cannot promise we have any days left between us.” Turning to face him squarely, she added, “But in my heart, I wish that it were so.”
“Then I will return to the farm of my youth, making milk and cheese and awaiting your arrival,” he agreed, sweeping her into his arms for a final hug. Unable to hold back the tears, he cried against her. “I wish you could promise my wait would not be long.”
“I will be there with you, always, so long as you carry me in your heart,” she replied.
Sighing, he could only agree, as he had always agreed with the wishes of Amicia Spicer. But deep in his heart, there was room for little more than the girl in his arms, and that tiniest of things was fear – fear she would return to her dragon form and spend her days with Lamwen, instead.
Dragon’s Heart
Sauntering up to Lamwen’s massive form, Amicia grinned as he barked orders. They would have the walls of the city cleared and construction under way in no time.
“You will change the heart of these people, my love,” she cooed.
“It is you who have changed their hearts, my queen,” he teased, sitting back, then lying on the sand beside her. “Shall I gather the others that we may finally call forth your dragon form?”
“Not yet,” she replied, shaking her head as her hand traced the scars on his jaw. “My bravest admirer,” she sighed.
“I am more than that,” he growled playfully. “A dragon’s heart beats within your chest. My only desire is to see her freed.”
“In time.” Amicia sighed, dropping the touch and turning to amble out away from the others.
Rising, the new king followed, not dissuaded by her refusal. “There will be plenty of time,” he agreed. “Will Rey be returning to the beach at New Abolia with Meena and the Mate?” he asked, changing the subject. “The trolls have offered to help them rebuild the cabin, and they are going to place Baldwin’s remains there in the forest, erecting his stone above them.”
“It will be good to have them back where they belong,” she agreed, speaking of the older couple. “Rey will be returning to his people and his family across the sea.”
“My queen,” Lamwen gasped, “you wish to return him to the rim?”
“Yes,” she agreed, stealing a glance at him after his shocked reply. “I am removing the barrier between Eriden and the rest of our world. It is time that the humans were returned to the magic of our kingdom.”
“You are the destroyer,” he whispered, swallowing and pausing his step to glare at her.
Her gaze narrowed, she agreed, “As it should be. None in our world hold a position one above another. It will take time for us to adjust, but we will manage. An ancient wrong will be set right beneath your reign.”
Catching her words, he blinked rapidly. “But I reign in your stead. You will join me and take your place at my side.”
“Oh, Lamwen,” she sighed, reaching for the rough feel of him once more. “You have my undying love and deepest devotion. I promise I will come to you when I am able.”
Turning, she walked a few steps before she disappeared, leaving him with the belief she had chosen the mortal over him in the end.
Sevoassi’s Secret
Materializing next to their camp in the marsh, Amicia looked around anxiously. She knew the gnomes were there, watching from the shadows. They were always there, always watching, even if she had not seen. The events and truth of the day would be recorded in a tome no outsider would likely ever read.
Sinking to her knees, she crawled inside the leaning shelter, her hands roving over the blanket. Locating a strap, she pulled it, freeing her bag from beneath the jumble of their meager belongings. Studying the worn material, her mind drifted, and she recalled the afternoon of Arely’s funeral. The day I packed this with all that I owned and set out on the grandest of adventures.
The journey had been long, and seldom easy. Her discoveries had been immense, and yet new ones still lay before her; she felt certain of it. Working the pack open, she shoved her hand in, her fingers wriggling as she searched the contents. Pulling out her brush and mirror, a brief smile crossed her lips at all they had meant to her.
Dropping them on the blanket, she resumed her fondling, until they brushed against a smooth round surface. Clasping it gently, as if it were easily cracked beneath her hold, she withdrew her arm from the pouch.
Opening her hand, the red orb fell against her flesh. Shimmering in the bright light, it awaited her command to open and reveal its secrets to her. Closing the digits around it, she pulled the globe to her chest, wrapping it with her other hand as well. “I’m ready,” she panted, closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of the magic that enveloped her.
Getting to her feet, she left the rest of her belongings, taking only the orb and nothing more. Moving away from the structures, she closed her eyes and instantly transported to a small cottage beneath a tree in the northern woods.
Her smile broad, she rested her hand against the rough bark. “Sevoassi?” she called loudly, turning her gaze into the leaves above her as she awaited his reply.
Hearing nothing, the grin faded, and she turned her back on the tree. Kneeling, she shoved her feet into the opening and climbed down into the darker room below. The air cooler, she shoved the orb in her pocket and rubbed her hands together briskly.
“Winter is coming to the north,” she giggled, surprised at how quickly the summer had been and gone. “With all the running and fighting, we hardly noticed,” she sighed to herself.
Tossing a few logs into the hearth, she located the flint and set the blaze. Smiling at the flames as they licked at her, she breathed deeply, exhaling the breaths to calm her.
“Sevoassi!” she tried again, standing to have a look around the home that had been his. “I know you’r
e here,” she added. “You might as well come out. I’m going to look inside the orb.”
Silence the only reply, she stamped her foot in mild disgust. Her eyes roving again, she pondered, “Maybe he wants to wait and come after I have seen.”
Sitting on one of the new stools before the fire, she thought of the small siren that had once held the chair. Pulling the red orb from her pocket, she turned it gently, slowly observing the beauty of it once more. It’s ok, she soothed. You can look.
“I don’t have to look,” she countered, sparring with herself. “I know what’s in it.” The truth.
Cilithrand had claimed as much the first time Amicia had been shown such a trinket, but this one was real. The only one. That’s what Sevoassi had told her.
All the others could be used by any who had the gift to wield magic, but not this one. This one requires a special magic, she assumed. It shows the things the other orbs cannot reach. This was the orb of the oracle.
Taking another deep breath, she willed the orb to reveal its secrets. Sevoassi’s secrets.
The mist swirling within it, the view cleared, exposing a group of wolves. Standing in a ring, they glared down at a creature in their midst. “Oh, no. It’s me,” she whispered, falling into the images as if she were there.
Lost Time
The air cool around her, Amicia lay against the hard earth. Above her, Uscan’s large head occupied most of her view. “I’m so cold,” she whispered.
“Rest, princess,” the alpha replied, his eyes focused on the darkness of the woods.
Above, the air swished a moment before a large dark shape blocked the stars, then landed a few feet away.
“Dragon,” Uscan growled.
“Tis I,” Ziradon spat, catching the scent of the girl. “You do have her. Why have you prevented her return to the others?” he growled.
Not backing away, the rest of the pack held their ground, baring their teeth and their intentions.
“Leave him,” Uscan commanded. “We have had enough unfortunate turns of events as of late.” Shifting to reveal the girl he cradled, he added, “I’m afraid I do not have the strength to heal her. I have called for the nymphs, but I fear they will not arrive in time.”
“Kaliwyn,” Ziradon breathed, able to make out her injured form in the dim light. “What have you done, wolf?” he growled, the fire hot within his chest. It would only take a single blast to rectify the transgression.
“My deepest regrets, old friend,” Uscan sighed. “I was moved by the lies of my kin and struck her down before the truth had been revealed.”
“Oh, my sweet dragoness,” the old dragon breathed, lying across the dirt and stones to rest his head beside her.
“Father?” Amicia breathed. Her eyes fluttering, the gravelly tones of his voice soothed her. “I’m hurt,” she coughed.
“Bitten,” he growled. “You must be strong, my love. Help is on the way.”
Her shoulder ached as she lifted her hand, it falling short of her target before it dropped back against her side. Pushing his nose down, he nuzzled her flesh and inhaled the smell of her and he recalled the night she had been given the flimsy form. “It will be a shame that she should die this way,” he observed, his words heavy with regret.
The pack had relaxed around them, but a stir beyond the edge of the ring roused them to their feet. Forming a line between the trio and the intruder, they growled, ready to defend their dying queen.
“Stand way,” a voice called from the darkness. Taking a few paces, a massive red wolf appeared. “There is no harm,” the powerful jaws bade.
Rolling over, the dragon sat up, glaring at the intruder. “You may not take her,” he snarled.
“I have not come to remove her,” the wolf replied.
“Will you preserve her?” Uscan asked of his relative. Not part of the pack, but a wolf nonetheless, he considered the newcomer a friend.
Trotting a few steps closer, the auburn-colored beast placed his nose against her cheek. “Her end is near,” he announced.
“This we know,” Ziradon sighed. Using his talons, he scraped a few pieces of the dead wood around them into a pile and blasted them with a short burst of flame. Glowing, they warmed the air. “A few more hours we can buy her if we keep her warm.”
“Would you wish her saved if you knew her destiny?” the new wolf whispered.
Studying each other in the dancing light, Uscan growled, “If it is our place to keep her on her path, then so be it.”
Sitting, the red wolf produced a brilliant flash of light. In an instant, the shape of a man sat in his place, his bright red hair shining in the light of the fire. Raising his hands, he warmed them. “Your daughter is very brave, dragon,” he offered.
“As is fitting,” Ziradon replied. “She knows her place among our kind.”
“Among all of Eriden,” Uscan countered. “She holds no creature above another. I have seen it within her many times.”
“And yet you doubted, spilling her blood in your weakness,” the man pointed out, indicating her wound with an open palm.
“Do not punish her for my transgression,” Uscan urged. “Please, restore what I have taken.”
Leaning towards her, the stranger laid his hand across her wound. Closing his eyes, he called to her, “Amicia, mortal of the rim!”
“Yes,” she breathed, fighting to open her eyes against the weight of the lids; for thin slivers of flesh, they had never been so heavy.
The stranger smiled at her efforts. More quietly, he offered her comfort, “Do not struggle. You are safe within the power of your kind. Rest, and on the morrow, you shall be healed.” Giving her a squeeze, she shrieked in agony an instant before she fell silent, the darkness overtaking her.
From the Ashes
Sitting in the safety of the gnome’s cottage, Ami blinked at the orb. Tears wet her cheeks, the feel of her father’s love in the vision so real. Sitting up straight, she wiped at her eyes and stretched.
“Was it what you expected?” a male voice startled her, causing her to jump.
Swinging her head around the small space, she located him as he stood next to the exit. His hand resting on one of the small steps, he held it fondly.
“You remembered every detail,” he grinned, his free hand wafting to indicate his previous home.
“Meena and the ossci completed the restoration,” she replied gently, still drying her face. “They sheltered me here after the transformation stole my strength.” Glaring up at him, the light of the fire played tricks with his features. “I know you, but you are not who I expected,” she confessed. Shaking the orb, she added, “You healed me and left the food and water for me to regain my strength, but why are you here?”
Ambling forward, his movements unrushed, he stopped next the second stool. His clear green eyes sweeping over her, they met her gaze. “You are looking for the gnome,” he agreed, finally taking a seat next to her.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Sevoassi.”
“I am Sevoassi,” he replied. “I have spoken to you many times, Amicia Spicer. Brief visits as I have watched and waited for you to reach this place.”
“Then you are a gnome,” she agreed. “Thirac gave you away, claiming they had never heard of you.”
“How did that give me away?” he replied, his features scrunched with doubt.
“Later, when I asked, he said your name was not recognized there in the marsh,” she informed him, her conviction growing strength. “You were banished from them, and that is why they do not know you. They choose not to see you, or the part you play in the world.”
Nodding gently, he shrugged, “I have been alone for many centuries, but once they were my people, before I grew beyond them. Some think the dragons are the most powerful of Eriden, but they are mistaken. The greatest of all our inhabitants are the gnomes. So strong are they that they have sworn never to interfere in the affairs of others in our great kingdom.”
“You are the oracle,” she said quietly. “T
he creator.”
“Oh, that’s a stretch,” he laughed. “Surely you have seen past such fairy tales.”
Her brow furrowed, she disagreed, “Many of the creatures of Eriden shared this story with me, and I hardly wish to disparage it.”
“The number who believe in a lie does not increase its measure of truth. They believe because they seek to understand something that is beyond them,” he explained, holding out his empty hand.
Looking down at the orb, she gathered his intent. Placing the sphere in his grasp, she grinned, “You were the boy at Arely’s funeral. You gave me a rose and suggested I should travel.”
“Yes,” he nodded, turning the globe as it glowed, showing her the scene just as she recalled it.
“You were here again, in Heewan. As you are now, the weaver.” Staring at the orb, the scene shifted, and she watched as she and Meena discussed her love for Piers in his shop. Spilling a tear, she swiped it once more. “I’m so glad he was not taken from her.”
“You prevented it,” Sevoassi clipped. “I thought then you would recognize your inner self, but you failed to make the connection.”
“No. I wasn’t ready,” she swallowed. “It took me months and a trip across the continent to open my eyes. Even after I was told of Ziradon and had spread my wings as a dragon, I did not understand.”
Swiping the orb, the image changed, and Kaliwyn flew across the surface. “You have not taken her form again,” her companion observed.
“No,” she agreed, shaking her blond locks. Turning to the fire, she held up her fingers to warm them. “I don’t know that I ever will return to it.”
“You are afraid you will be trapped to her forever,” he surmised, his voice tender as he addressed her concerns.
“Yes. I’m not certain I wish to spend all my days as a dragon,” she coughed in a half laugh. “Besides, would I not need the help and power of my friends to make the transformation?”
“You wouldn’t have to use their power. You could simply use your own.” His lips hinted at a smile as he leaned towards her. “You have the magic within you. You always have.”
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