The Clockwork Heart

by T Ariyanna

  Kaliyah appeared before Kaitlyn, her twisted smile showing off her pointed teeth. With one swift movement, the other girl pulled back her leg and kicked Kaitlyn in the side. She was flung a foot away, landing on her side hard enough to bruise. She groaned as she rolled onto her back, head ringing. She stared up at the sky, unable to hear anything around her.

  Sadistic laughter in tune with the bells in Kaitlyn's ears rung as Kaliyah stepped up to her. She said something, but the words were unintelligible. When Kaitlyn didn't react, Kaliyah scowled. With a shrug, she raised her foot above Kaitlyn's head, an evil gleam caught in her eye.

  Kaliyah slammed her foot down, missing Kaitlyn’s face by less than an inch. Kaitlyn's breath caught in her throat, Kaliyah's scream piercing her ears as it echoed Polae's. Rolling away, Kaitlyn covered her ears from the harsh sound. Daring a glance up, she saw that Vyekrin had Polae's throat in his teeth, black blood dripping down her scales. He had wrapped her up in her own wings, and her struggling only made her wounds worse.

  Vyekrin was not unscathed, though. One eye was closed as black blood spilled from a hole in his forehead, and one wing hung limply onto the ground.

  Kaitlyn found her gaze wandering back to the crowd, where Cy hung limp in the arms of the Draken. Even from this far away, she could see that he was shaking uncontrollably, his talons unsheathed.

  Kaliyah stopped screaming, and Kaitlyn snapped back to attention. “You bitch! How dare you hurt my Polae! You’re nothing!” Kaliyah screamed, stomping over to Kaitlyn.

  Acting on instinct, Kaitlyn flipped herself onto her back, and kicked her legs out wildly. Kaitlyn winced when she connected with Kaliyah's ankles. The other girl fell to the side, her head cracking against the ground. Blood spurted from the wound, and the girl held herself up on wobbly arms.

  Kaitlyn forced herself to stand, stunned at what she’d done. She backed away from Kaliyah, wanting nothing more than to flee. But even in her damaged state, Kaliyah still had an angry fire in her eyes. She glared at Kaitlyn, getting to her feet.

  The girls stood facing each other. Kaliyah looked relaxed, but Kaitlyn could see how tense her muscles were, ready to spring into action at any second. Not knowing what else to do, Kaitlyn raised her fists in front of her face, watching the girl from behind her knuckles. They stood there for a long moment, waiting for each other to move. She thought back to when she had punched Cy, and her hope fled her.

  Polae screamed again, fighting against Vyekrin and making him bite down harder on her neck. Kaliyah screamed as well, bolting towards Kaitlyn. Closing her eyes, Kaitlyn swung her arm wildly, praying that it would work.

  Her arm flew through the air without hitting anything, and she lost her balance. She stumbled forward, catching her fall with her hands. She pushed herself forward, stumbling into a standing position. She looked around her, expecting a sneak attack from Kaliyah, but the girl could not be seen. When Kaitlyn realized she had been engulfed in shadow, she dared to look up.

  A great golden dragon hovered above her, each flap of its great wings silent as though the beast weren't there at all. It was the simplest of all the dragons, looking as though it had come straight from the oldest story, but also the most stunning. It was larger than Vyekrin and carried an air of royalty on its wings. Regal blue eyes watched Kaitlyn curiously before turning to the other two dragons. They halted at once under the great dragon's gaze, and Vyekrin dropped Polae. Moving as one, the two dragons bowed low to the ground, both forgetting their injuries.

  The golden dragon had scooped Kaliyah up in its hind paw. She hung limply in its grasp, glaring at Kaitlyn with pure hatred in her eyes, ignoring the blood that should have blurred her vision. Kaitlyn sat on the ground with incredulity, awaiting the dragon's next move. Kaitlyn leaned to the side, hoping to get a view of its rider, but all that could be seen was a silhouette holding itself regally on the dragon’s neck.

  After a moment, the dragon left the Arena with Kaliyah. Polae followed close behind, her head hung both from shame and her wounds.

  No sooner was Kaliyah taken away than Vyekrin was upon Kaitlyn. He picked her up in his paws and drew her close to his face to inspect her. She rubbed his snout weakly, feeling as though she would be sick.

  Safe. You are safe now, Vyekrin whispered in her mind over and over. Though his voice was soothing, she knew he was speaking more for his own comfort.

  Cy was at the dragon's side next, yelling for Kaitlyn. Vyekrin lowered her slowly, and Cy checked over her wounds as well, but she paid him no mind. Her vision was failing her and it was all she could do to stay awake. She felt hollow inside.

  Cy's hand begun to glow green, and he touched the light to her arms gently. She winced at the initial touch, but the magic was warm and familiar, comforting. She smiled at Cy and he returned the gesture, though it was clear it wasn't genuine. Kaitlyn gathered herself to reassure him, but she was cut off as Lane and Orthros ran up to them excitedly.

  “I can’t believe you held your own against Kaliyah! She must have been going easy on you, since you’re new,” Lane said. His face was still red from all the excitement, and his smile was glowing. Orthros nodded his head energetically, though he didn’t speak.

  “I don’t think she was going easy,” Kaitlyn muttered, finding her voice.

  “Hell no, she didn’t go easy. Do you see the wounds she’s got? What kind of guards do you think you are, letting her get dragged into something like this!” Cy rounded on the two Draken. His fists were shaking at his side, green sparks escaping from the metal.

  “We told you, no one can interfere with a duel once it’s begun. Especially not against Kaliyah, she’s brutal!” Orthros raised his hands to ward Cy off.

  “I noticed! Screw Theresa’s orders, I don’t want anything to do with you Draken anymore. We’re leaving as soon as Kaitlyn’s better, with or without your help.”

  “Cy, it’s fine. I don’t feel that bad, just scraped up a little. We need all the help we can get, and you know that,” Kaitlyn said.

  Cy shot her a worried glance. His eyes skimmed over her again, and she put her hands over the worst wounds on her arms. He turned away with a huff. “We’re leaving as soon as we can. I’m not staying here as long as you’re in danger.”

  Kaitlyn reached for Cy, wanting to argue with him, but the golden dragon had returned. She retracted her hand, a lump forming in her throat. Kaliyah was nowhere to be found.

  Lane and Orthros dropped to their knees. “Chieftain Kyros,” Lane said in awe.

  It landed just in front of Vyekrin, and the dragon bowed again. The golden dragon laid on its stomach, and revealed its rider to be the Chieftain, Kyros. Cy stepped up to him as he dismounted his dragon, but Kaitlyn couldn’t hear their conversation.

  She studied the Chieftain instead, overwhelmed by him. Kyros wasn't young, but he wasn't old. His features were sharp and defined, the definition of royalty. He held his head high and his shoulders perfectly square as he talked. Long white hair was gathered into a large bun on the back of his head, and a short beard covered his chin. Golden armor made from his dragon's scales covered him from head to toe, but Kaitlyn doubted he had a hard time moving in the weight. In the gaps in the armor, it was easy to see the vast amount of muscles he had. A light blue cape danced in the wind behind him, matching his crystal eyes.

  He was the only Draken she had seen with a normal color eye, and it puzzled her. Her curiosity tugged at her, but she hadn’t the strength to ask him now. She worried she wouldn’t get another chance, and her heart sank.

  As Kaitlyn was lost in her mind studying Kyros, he approached her. Taking her hand, he spoke to her, though she could not hear the words. He grazed his fingers along the outline of her face, then down her arms, gentler than she would have thought possible for a Draken. He took in all of her wounds with guilt clear on his handsome face.

  He turned back to Cy, and they nodded at each other. Kyros mounted his dragon yet again, and took to the skies. Vyekrin shifted Kaitlyn in his paws so that
he could pick Cy up and put him onto his back. Holding Kaitlyn as tight as he could without hurting her further, Vyekrin straightened out his wings, whimpering through the pain as his dislocated wing popped back into place. He launched into the sky, and Kaitlyn fainted.

  Kaitlyn woke to the sound of hushed voices all around her. She rolled onto her side and pulled the blankets over her head, groaning. Her ribs were bruised and her arms throbbed when she moved them. At her movement, all noise stopped.

  Removing the blanket from her face, she peeked into the room. It was different than the small house she and Cy had been given for their stay. It was made of a lighter stone, and multiple candles lit the room. It was mostly empty but for a few other beds all in a row.

  Sitting around her bed were Cy and Kyros, Vyekrin perched on her pillow in his lizard form. His face was only an inch from her own, and he stuck his tongue out to lick her nose. With a smile, she moved her hand out from under the blanket, and stroked the top of his head with her fingers.

  “What happened?” she asked. She remembered Kaliyah had made her fight, and Vyekrin dueled with Polae. What she didn't understand was why.

  “I must apologize deeply for Kaliyah's actions. She’s not very sociable, picking fights with anyone that meets her eye. I did not think she would go so far as to attack our guests, but my guess would be it was out of jealousy. She felt threatened,” Kyros started. He leaned forward in his chair, clasping his hands on his knees.

  “That’s not an excuse. She could have killed Kaitlyn! She’s only human, and Kaliyah dragged her into a death ring,” Cy grumbled, clearly holding back his anger.

  “Cy, I told you, it’s fine,” Kaitlyn protested, feeling guilty at Kyros’ calm demeanor.

  “No, it’s not fine. We came here on an errand for Theresa, and she said we would be welcomed, not attacked. For all we know, this was some sort of sabotage. We were told you were absent, Kyros, but you showed up pretty quick to play hero,” Cy snapped.

  “Cyllorian! That’s no way to speak to someone, especially not their leader,” Kaitlyn hissed, before flashing Kyros an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry he’s being difficult, Chieftain.”

  “No. He’s not in the wrong. They sent a messenger to me informing me of your arrival, but when I returned, you had already been taken to the Arena. Orthros and Lane have both been reprimanded for their behaviors toward you as our guests.”

  “He gets my anger,” Cy muttered triumphantly, leaning back in his seat. He crossed his arms over his chest, clearly still not appeased.

  Kaitlyn weighed her options a moment, then spoke her mind. Kyros seemed to be level headed, so she felt confident taking a risk with him. “You said she was jealous of me. Why?”

  Kyros sighed, letting his shoulders slumped. “It is not my story to tell, and I do not feel comfortable sharing the lives of my people so easily.”

  “Either way, we deserve an explanation. If I tried to kill you for no reason, you’d want to know, right? And you said you’d like us to stay on good terms,” Cy pressed.

  Kyros nodded slowly. The wear of his title of Chieftain could be seen in his sunken expression. Without meeting their gaze, he began quietly, “You see, she has had a difficult past. I must ask you to leave this secret with you when you depart from here, and not speak of it again. Kaliyah was deserted by her family and home. She came to Deidrich from across the sea, from a land unknown to us, but seems to possess great similarities to our own.”

  “Across the sea?” Kaitlyn asked, her intrigue taking over her better judgement. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but… I’ve never heard of any lands other than Lontorra.”

  “I haven’t heard much of them either, to be honest. Kaliyah has never felt comfortable talking about her place of origin, but I trust that what she says must be true. She flew to our land looking for refuge with Polae, after being chased out when she gained her power to transform into a dragon. None of us here truly understand her gift, but we are accepting of it. Despite this, I doubt she fully trusts us, even after these two years she has resided with us.

  “I believe she thought herself to be special to have gained a dragon companion, though she is not a Draken. To have met you, to learn that she is not the only one, threatened her. All of the attention has shifted from her to you, given that you are even more of a curious case.”

  Kaitlyn sat up and thought for a moment, hanging her head. “I didn't want to mess things up for her. I'm just trying to get things back to normal. I'm sorry.”

  “It is not your fault. Kaliyah has overreacted, and she will be reprimanded for her actions towards you. You are our guests, and I will not have my people treat you poorly. I wish for Drakens to be accepted into the whole of Lontorra, not feared.”

  “Maybe Gil doesn't give you guys enough credit, after all,” Cy muttered, balancing his chair on its back two legs. He held a calm expression on his face, but it was clear to Kaitlyn how worried he actually was. His fists were clenched, and his eyes never left her face. She squirmed under his gaze, feeling her cheeks go hot as she avoided looking at him.

  “Gil?” Kyros asked, his curiosity genuine.

  “He's a Droll that's agreed to help us. He doesn't like the Draken very much,” Kaitlyn explained. As an afterthought, she added, “Sorry.”

  Kyros' eyes twitched at the mention of the Droll, but he waved his hand dismissively. “No, you're alright. Draken and Droll have never had the best relations, though not for a lack of trying. Perhaps we should send you with aid ourselves just to prove our kindness. It could be just the spark we need to relieve the tension between our kinds. If two individuals of our kinds can work together for a cause, why can’t our colonies as a whole?”

  Kyros lost himself in thought, stroking his thin beard. Cy was silent in his chair, balancing himself on one leg. Kaitlyn looked over herself, examining the damage that had been done.

  “My wounds are healed perfectly. I was actually under the impression that you didn’t have a healer,” Kaitlyn confessed as she noticed most of the wounds faded or completely gone.

  Kyros and Cy shared a glance before Kyros said sheepishly, “I'm afraid our healers didn't get to you in time. You had already recovered before they could assess your condition.”

  “Did you do it then, Cy? I remember you healing my arms before.”

  “That's all I did. Maybe Kaliyah isn't such a hard hitter after all, or she was holding back for some reason. What matters is that you're fine now, right?”

  Cy was avoiding the situation, but asking the questions on her mind wouldn't get her any answers, not now. Kyros glared suspiciously at Cy, which only confirmed Kaitlyn's need for answers. There was something they weren't telling her, though it seemed Kyros wanted to.

  Kyros sighed heavily, then stood. Making his way to the door, he said, “At any rate, you need to get as much rest as you can. I shall meet with my advisers in light of the recent incident. Cyllorian, you’ve expressed your desire for a swift departure. I’ll do what I can to find a suitable volunteer for your quest by this evening. We will keep Kaliyah under surveillance, but I still ask that you remain here for the rest of the day. We’ll have you ready to leave by morning, so long as you’ll be patient enough to wait. I’ll take my leave now. I hope for your swift recovery, Kaitlyn.”

  He opened the door to leave, but paused. Quietly, almost threateningly, he added, “Cyllorian, watch her well.”

  Cy's face was serious as he turned and bowed to the Chieftain. He exited, and his dragon's roar was heard moments later.

  “Well, you heard the Chief, you better get some rest. No good staying awake and worrying anyway.”

  “I don't like sleeping this much, but I am still tired. I definitely don't want to go outside again. Goodnight, Cy.”

  “Goodnight,” he said, trying one last time to perfect his balance on the chair. He moved too sharply and fell to the floor with a loud BANG. Vyekrin jumped at Kaitlyn's side, hissing. Kaitlyn giggled as Cy began arguing with the lizard, fa
lling back to sleep with a smile.

  “What's going on?” Kaitlyn mumbled, unable to open her eyes. She was being pulled somewhere, her legs unable to work. Her head was throbbing, and she waved her arms with little energy, trying to untangle her hair from whatever had a hold on it.

  “We're finishing what we started,” a familiar voice hissed in her ear. “Just the two of us. No one to interfere this time.”

  Kaitlyn was yanked forward, and she tripped over her feet. Her hands shot out to catch her, one of her palms scraping against a rough edge. Her one hand fell forward, and she hurried to catch herself with her other hand. Her eyes shot open, staring into the darkness that pooled below her, surrounding the mountain.

  Kaliyah cackled behind her, and Kaitlyn whirled around. The other girl was standing above her, though it was hard to tell it was the same girl. She looked perfectly normal with smooth, darkened skin and straight purple hair. She lacked the claws, wings, and tail of her dragon form, but she didn’t look any less threatening.

  “Did you really think those stupid guards could hold me?” Kaliyah snapped. “I'm stronger than any Draken here. There's no way they could've held me against my will. You should have known I'd be coming back for you. And with you out of the picture, things will go right back to normal around here. I'll go back to being the center of attention, and Vyekrin will hightail it out of here, hopefully taking that. . .thing. . .with him. It'll be like you were never even here at all.”

  Kaliyah lunged forward and Kaitlyn tried to dive out of the way, but her body was not ready for a fight. Kaliyah caught her by the hair again, and Kaitlyn screamed in pain as she was held over the edge. Tears stung her eyes as she stared into her death.

  Kaliyah changed, turning into her dragon form. Her wings beat quietly, and her tail whipped into Kaitlyn's sides. She could feel the claws of the other girl cutting through her hair, piercing into her scalp. She reached her hands around her to grab onto Kaliyah's arm, hoisting herself up. The scales poked into Kaitlyn's palms, and she bit her lip to keep from panicking.