Ascension

by Selena IR Drake

  “What can I get ye, ma’am?” asked the barkeep.

  “Three glasses and a pitcher of Katalanian red butter wine.” Zhealocera flipped him a coin that was more than enough to pay for the drinks.

  He thanked her and scurried away to fill the order.

  “Where did you get money like that?” Ríhan asked, noting Zhealocera’s full money pouch. “Surely you don’t earn that much working security for the Temple.”

  She winked and bit into her sandwich. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

  I smiled. “I did it.”

  “Did what?” my companions asked simultaneously.

  “I finally spoke to one of the Gods.”

  “Wait, you actually spoke to Them?” Ríhan asked, stunned.

  “Yes, Zahadu-Kitai and I had a conversation.”

  He was about to say something, but opted for taking a bite of his sandwich instead.

  “So,” Zhealocera swallowed the bite she had taken, “what did She say?”

  I was about to regale them with the whole story when the barkeep returned with our drinks. We thanked him, and he scurried away again. So I began my tale of this morning’s little adventure. They both listened intently, not once interrupting to ask a question until I had finished.

  Ríhan looked skeptical. “So Zahadu-Kitai visited you but didn’t really tell you anything helpful?”

  “Yes She did,” Zhealocera said and took a long draught of her drink. She smacked her lips, then continued, “She warned you of something bad about to happen, and told you that once it does happen, you will know who you are. She also told you that that book you mentioned was important, though She was not specific as to why.”

  “Let’s not forget that She dodged the question about the girl with the light.” Ríhan pointed out.

  Zhealocera put her glass of butter wine down. “So? Like Zahadu-Kitai said, She cannot give everything away. What we do know is that the girl with the light will be found in the future, and is of less importance than the book.”

  “I don’t see how that really helps,” muttered Ríhan.

  “Change of subject,” Zhealocera poured herself another glass of wine. She pointed at me. “You know how you said the man walking around as if he were the High Prince was acting suspiciously?”

  I nodded.

  “I ran into him last night.” She leaned in closer. “Apparently, he has two Dákun Daju bodyguards.”

  Ríhan laughed. “Yeah right. The High Prince – actually the entire Za’Car family save Djurdak and Aadrian the Firsts – is known to be racist against your people. There is no way he would have Dákun Daju bodyguards.”

  “I caught one of them sneaking around after curfew last night. Her name is Godilai, and she mentioned another who goes by the name Luna Graves.”

  Why would Dákun Daju come here? I wondered. “Did she say why she was sneaking around?”

  “Stargazing.” She scoffed at that. “An obvious lie. Then the Prince showed up, all friendly like, but his eyes betrayed him.”

  “I know your people excel at reading emotions through the eyes, but why did the High Prince’s eyes affect you so?”

  “At first I thought it was just the way the light was hitting him, but his eyes really were red. That means that the man going around claiming to be the High Prince is really a Dákun Daju. And that is not all; Some travelers were on their way here when they came across what looked like evidence of a massive wildfire. They also discovered a man’s body further in the woods where the fire had not touched. Apparently the man found dead looks like the real High Prince.”

  “Whoa!” Ríhan’s jaw dropped.

  “So we were right about the bad feelings we got from the guy claiming to be the Prince. Have you told anyone else about this news?”

  “You mean have I reported it to the acting Palavant? No. I have not. I did not think about it. I probably should, now that you mention it.”

  I nodded. “She needs to know that there is a good chance that the man claiming to be the High Prince is a Dákun Daju and a murderer.”

  Zhealocera sighed and stood up. She flipped Ríhan a coin. “Thanks for lunch.” Then she was gone.

  “I was not expecting that,” Ríhan said, setting the coin on the table.

  It was a silver piece stamped with a face of a queen I could not name.

  “That is quite a bit of money. More than enough to pay for eight sandwiches and pies. Where did she get all of it?”

  “She won a few rounds of dice,” I answered with a smile.

  He stared at me dumbfounded. “She was gambling?”

  I merely shrugged and drained the rest of my glass.

  He cleared his throat. “So…um…you’re not upset that I kissed you, are you?”

  It was my turn to be dumbfounded. “Why would I be upset? I thought it was sweet.”

  He blushed. “I’m not sure why I thought it would upset you. I just…uh…I don’t know.”

  I smiled. “You can kiss me again if you like.”

  “Well…I…um…I…” His blush deepened to an impossible color.

  I smiled and leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek. “You are so cute when you’re flustered.”

  He smiled back and put his arm around me. We sat in silence, listening to the musicians play and enjoying each other’s company.

  All of a sudden, the music stopped. I glanced toward the stage in time to see the would-be Valaskjalf ascend the stairs trailed by two Dákun Daju women and an ugly old man.

  “What are they up to?”

  “I don’t know,” I frowned as an unknown sensation came over me, “but I don’t like it.”

  “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped,” Zenith had told her, a queer tone to his voice. It was then that I knew, when that dragon looked to the future, everything would turn out just fine. This world – our world – would survive.

  – FROM “CONVERSATIONS WITH DRAGONS” BY DJURDAK ZA’CAR

  That indescribably feeling crawled up my spine. I noticed several people now had their full attention on the stage, but many more were still bartering or chatting. I watched as the would-be high prince raised his hand to the air. I saw his mouth move then bolt of red lightning shot straight up from his fingertips. A blast of thunder followed suit, silencing the entire festival. All eyes were on the stage.

  “If you value your pathetic lives, you will obey me!” he shouted and stomped his foot for emphasis. “Dragon Keeper Amorez or the Judge Zamora, whatever name you prefer these days, reveal yourself now and I shall spare the lives of all these pathetic Humes!”

  The entire crowd, Ríhan and myself included, was stunned.

  “Why would he be after her?” I wondered aloud. Some unknown force was screaming at me, Check the diary. I quickly undid the clasp on my satchel, flipped the top up. Sure enough, the book was still there.

  “Amorez died centuries ago,” Ríhan sounded doubtful of that.

  “She faked it, made up a new identity to hide her existence as she has been doing most of her life,” I stated in a mater-of-fact. How I even knew that was unknown to me.

  The false prince had apparently grown irritated with the lack of response and continued to shout. “Not convinced I won’t do anything to these worthless Humes? Fine! Should you choose not to reveal yourself, I will destroy the area.”

  Ríhan started pulling me away from the table. I let him.

  That same unknown force screamed at me again, this will be the tragedy! And I knew it was true. I gripped Ríhan’s wrist firmly, started to pull him away. “We have to get out of here. Now!”

  Ríhan made no protest.

  The man’s patience had finally worn out. “You asked for it! Heile pricé!”

  The two of us paused just outside the wine stall. I watched in dread as dark clouds instantly converged overhead, blotting out the midday sunslight. Deep down inside I knew what this was; I had seen it before.

  I screamed, “No!”

  The
clouds swirled faster and faster. They exploded with a yellow and red light, and at last the tornado of fire was spawned. The man directed the spell into the crowd. They could not escape fast enough. There was no hope to save them. All I could do was watch the massacre. It made me sick to my stomach, yet I could not turn away. The tornado danced across the grass, sucking anything and everything into its inferno, melting them into nothingness. Ash rained down on the people scrambling to escape– ash that had once been their family, friends, and loved ones.

  “By the Gods!” screamed a woman as she shoved passed me. The movement was so sudden that I was sent careening to the ground, spilling the contents of my satchel all over. I rushed to stuff it all away again, hoping against hope that no one saw the book.

  Then I heard the man shout, “Godilai, Luna, after that girl! She has the diary!”

  I looked to the stage; He was pointing… at me! Spotting me, the women leapt off the stage.

  “Oh, Gods. No!” I was on my feet and running as fast as my legs could carry me.

  Ríhan was right there beside me, urging me on. I did not dare look back to see if the two Dákun Daju were behind. I just focused on escaping.

  Ríhan lead the way through the Temple Gates. “Hurry!”

  Several Knights swarmed out to stop our pursuers. I heard the clanging of metal on metal and the cries of the Knights. I knew the Dákun Daju were winning.

  Ríhan and I sprinted on. We followed the road over the bridge and down towards the docks. My sides ached from the exertion, and I could not seem to catch my breath. We reached the beach, spotted men at the docks. I was not sure if we could trust them, so we turned and followed the shoreline. A memory of a nearby cave flashed in my mind. If we could make it there, maybe we would be safe.

  “Hydíca tabiki!”

  A wall of ice erupted from the ground in front of us. We slammed into it. The ice cracked, then shattered. Ríhan and I crashed into the sand.

  The magenta-haired Dákun Daju drew her gargantuan sword. “Give up now, girl!”

  “No!” Ríhan threw himself at her only to be kicked away as if he were dust.

  “Stupid, Hume! Do you think you can stop us?”

  “I will if I have to.” Ríhan got to his feet again and stood in front of me to shield me. “You won’t have her.”

  The Godilaied woman released a cold laugh. “Is that not sweet? You are far too weak to stop us, boy.”

  “No, Ríhan!” I screamed. I jumped to my feet and sunk into a fighting stance I recalled from a lost memory. This seemed to greatly amuse the two Dákun Daju.

  The magenta-haired one laughed. “My, aren’t you a funny, little Hume! You really think you can hold your own in a fight against us?”

  “Try me!”

  Both Dákun Daju were quiet for a moment.

  “Do it, Luna.” Smirked the Godilai.

  She must be the one Zhealocera caught sneaking around, I thought. Godilai was the name.

  “Very well. No weapons.” The one known as Luna stabbed her sword in the ground and sunk into a fighting stance.

  I held my breath as I watched her size me up with her colorless eyes. She sneered. “I won’t go easy on you, Hume.”

  “I never expected you to.” I kept my voice even and low. I watched her, waiting. She was as motionless as stone and only her hair dared to move in the soft breeze.

  Ríhan took a step, stealing her attention for a heartbeat. I lunged at her and managed to land a punch in her face. She reeled on me as if insulted and launched into a full-on barrage of punches and kicks. She moved so fast I could not block a single blow!

  “Stop it!” I heard Ríhan scream, but I did not take my eyes off Luna. To do so could prove fatal.

  “Quit blocking with your face, girl! You will never win like that.” Luna mocked.

  She lunged at me again. This time I was able to grab her hair, yank her back, and throw her into the ground. I slammed my foot into her face hard enough to hopefully break her nose and render her unconscious.

  “Look out!” Ríhan shoved me out of the way just in time to avoid Godilai’s deadly blade. I stared at him from the ground as he closed his eyes in pain. Blood ran down the length of Godilai’s sword and dripped into the sand of the beach. She had run her entire sword right through Ríhan!

  “No!” I roared and threw myself at her.

  She scoffed and caught me by the throat. I heard Ríhan collapse.

  “Foolish,” she muttered, yanking her sword free. “Now I will kill you.”

  “I demand that honor, Sortim.” Luna growled, wiping blood from her nose. “She will pay for the insult she bestowed upon me.”

  “Very well.” Godilai threw me to Luna’s feet. “Just be quick about it.”

  “How do you want to die, little Hume?” Luna chuckled, grabbed the pommel of her sword.

  I chanced a glance at Ríhan. An aura of blood grew around him, soaking the sand. I wailed and slammed my fists into the ground.

  “You…will… pay…for… killing him!” I launched off the ground, attempting to kick Godilai’s head.

  She grabbed my foot and twisted it before throwing me away. I splashed into the cold water.

  “Stupid girl!”

  I leapt to my feet with a deafening scream. The Dákun Daju paused in astonishment, and then rushed forward with their weapons drawn. As they closed in for the kill, images flashed in my mind: hundreds of festivalgoers now naught but ash and Ríhan who would never live the life he dreamed. As I thought of their fate, an inexplicable power swelled within me, growing stronger and stronger until it threatened to consume me. And with but two words, I let it explode.

  “Heile pricé!”

  The sky darkened in an instant and a rumble echoed all around me. The two assassins froze, a look of complete horror on their faces. Lightning flashed and a wall of wind buffeted the three of us as it plummeted from the black clouds. With the wind came a surge of heat, and a funnel of green fire dropped from the sky. It touched down on the beach only meters away and blasted the area with such heat that clouds of steam billowed off the frigid water. The Dákun Daju immediately changed course, darting away from me and the inferno I summoned. I waved my hand in their direction, and the blazing tornado gave chase. The vortex danced across the beach as the assassins weaved to and fro in an attempt to escape. They were fast, but my inferno was faster still.

  As suddenly as the explosion of power had come, it was gone. The tornado vanished with a roar as my knees buckled and gave way. The last thing I remembered was the cold embrace of darkness… then nothing.

  It took nearly a month for everything on the Haven to be stripped down and transported to the settlement. Once it was deemed unnecessary to return to the starship again, Aadrian Ithnez II activated the ship’s self destruct sequence. The resulting explosion could be heard half the world away, and pieces of the ship rained down from the heavens.

  – FROM “THE CHRONICLES OF ITHNEZ, VOL I” BY ADJIRSÉ DÉDOS

  “What in Havel do you mean she escaped?” Dimitri roared, wheeling about to face Godilai and Luna. The quartet had reunited in the old Palavant’s quarters to go over what had happened. Both women stood, seething, before Dimitri, only the old woman’s desk between them. The fat Judge was leaning against the wall closest to the door, obviously fearful of Dimitri’s wrath. He would use the door to escape quickly.

  “She used magic,” Godilai said quietly. “A spell that no Hume should even be able to handle.”

  “And she fought like a Dákun Daju,” Luna added, rubbing her nose.

  “You mean to tell me that two pure-blooded Dákun Daju assassins were no match for a little girl?” Vincent doubled over in laughter.

  Luna and Godilai glared at him.

  Dimitri sighed and sank into the Palavant’s chair. “She is no ordinary little girl. Of that, I have no doubt. But how in the name of the Five Souls was she able to beat both of you?” He stared out the window, ignoring their excuses.

  Much of th
e festival crowd had been killed in the firestorm he had summoned. The scant few survivors were either forced into serving his team or hiding somewhere on the island. And still there was no sign of Amorez. The only other thing that bothered him about that whole ordeal was the purple-haired Dákun Daju girl. He had last seen her disappearing around a corner of the Temple flanked by two figures cloaked in white. He could not help but wonder who was under the cloaks.

  The unknown girl had him vexed most of all. Who was she and how did she come to have the diary of Amorez? He remembered seeing the girl around the Temple a few times. There was an air of familiarity about her when he had actually looked at her. She seemed insignificant, yet she possessed the key to finding the Dragons’ Gate. Why?

  “She will not escape a second time.” Luna’s muttering pulled Dimitri from his reverie. He turned away from the window and listened to his team.

  Godilai leaned over the elaborate wooden desk. “It is highly likely that she did not survive the tax of energy the spell required. It is possible she is dead and her body washed up on shore somewhere.”

  A smile found its way to Vincent’s lips. “If that’s true, then all we need to do is have these Temple rats search the beaches here.”

  Godilai glared at him. “Think, you rotund imbecile. The current would have carried her away from the island.”

  Luna sighed. “Which means she could have washed up anywhere along the Anakor River.”

  “That is a lot of beach to search,” Vincent grumbled.

  “Given the amount of time the girl has been in the water, I doubt she could have gotten farther than Beldai or Sindai,” Godilai said, glancing at the map on the wall for reference.

  Dimitri sighed and reclined in the chair. “Here is the plan: Vincent and Luna, you two go to Beldai and check for the girl. Godilai and I will search for her in Sindai. Whether you find the girl or not, we sail out of Sindai at the beginning of next week.”

  Vincent scratched his head. “Three days to search two large towns? I’m not sure if that is enough time.”