by B C Penling
It wasn’t the prettiest thing she’d ever seen. It was quite the opposite. It had a black beak much like that of a buzzard, the wings of a hawk and the proportions of a wyvern. Around its neck was a feathery mane of dark gray feathers; hackles that had once been full but now resembled a chicken during molting that was on the bottom of the perching order. Its body was light, ashen gray with feathers that were tattered and worn.
She’d rather fall into the ocean below than be carried away by the creature. With all the strength she could muster, she pulled hard at one of the scales by the base of a talon on its toe. Blood spurted brightly from the wound. With a surprised screech, the bird dropped her.
Lana tucked her arms and splayed her legs to rotate her body so she was head down. She pressed her legs together and felt herself accelerate, much like Zen had done when he dove. Her heart beat wildly in the chest. The distance closed quickly and it was time for her to roll so she could enter the water feet first.
One hundred feet above the ocean, she tucked her chin to begin her roll. With terror in her heart she realized her escape wasn't perminant. Talons closed around her. She screamed in anger and angst. Her heart choked her, inching its way up into her throat. She was so close.
The bird pulled out of the dive a couple dozen feet above the water and turned sharply to continue its original bearing. Lana cried, pounded its foot angrily, repeatedly, and begged for it to let her go.
The gray ocean surface suddenly gave way to rows of serrated teeth. The fiercest predator in the sea had propelled itself out of the water to take a bite at the bird. The mouth of the giant shark scarcely missed Lana as it closed upon the bird’s long tail. It dragged them into the water.
After they plunged beneath the surface, the bird released Lana. She swam as fast as she could to get away from the thrashing of the combating creatures. She surfaced and gasped for air. Behind her, surging beneath the waters, the bird fought for survival.
Lana took the chance. She swam as fast as she could toward sunwake, toward the cloud-capped Alvens on the darkened horizon. Perhaps her gambled dive had paid off after all. Her arms and legs moved quickly, powering her through the rolling waves. If she didn’t get eaten by something, she would surely reach Ancienta. Maybe Thalassinus or another riotinan would find her and take her to land. Thalassinus...
At Port Eyzin, Thalassinus had said to call him if they needed him. She hadn’t given it much thought at the time but was certainly thinking about him now. Would he hear her? It was worth the try.
“Thalassinus!” she cried. “Help! Thalassinus!”
Her cries for help had been heard by Barator not long ago. She hoped they would be heard this time, too. She called for him again but this time it was answered by a sharp, agonized screech behind her. She looked, hoping to discover it was the final cry before it was killed by the shark.
To her horror, it was perched on the floating dead body of the shark. Feathers were missing and it was bleeding but it was very alive. It’s yellow eyes fixed intently, evilly on Lana as she bobbed in the water.
“No!” she screamed. “Leave me alone! Thalassinus! Help me!”
With urgent beats of its wings, it was airborne and winging its way after her. Lana turned and swam with vigor before its talons plucked her from the water. She screamed for help again but nobody was there to save her.
She knew she must fight it. She drew her sword from its scabbard, clutched it firmly with both hands, and swung it at its leg. It cut through the scales like it had sliced Warisai. The bird screamed in agony and bit at the sword. Its beak closed on it while Lana took a swing at its throat.
Before she knew it, the sword was ripped from her hands and tossed away. It landed in the water and vanished from sight. Retribution, her father’s old sword, was gone. Lost among the shipwrecks.
“No!” she wailed. “Let me go! I hate you! Let me go!” She was back to hitting the birds foot.
“Either you or I,” it replied.
Lana looked up from the ocean, angry and seething with murderous thoughts. “You can talk! Let me go!”
“I cannot do that and you well know it.” Although it had beastly features and was quite ugly on the exterior, its voice was nearly musical and very feminine. “My masters will not allow such treachery.”
“Your masters? The Warisai?” Lana scoffed. “A smart creature like you should know better than to serve the likes of them! That is treachery to all of Dagan!”
“Do you think I don’t know that?” she said with sternness in her beautiful voice.
“They’ll kill me. Please, release me! Take me back! Something other than delivering me into their hands!” Lana sobbed.
“I cannot do that,” she snapped. “For if I do, they will kill my family and torture me until I succumb to death myself. Do you think I’ve always been this ugly? Do you think my feathers have always been this drab? Do you think I enjoy serving the beastly, ghastly things?”
“Please, then, take me back to my dragon,” Lana cried. “He’s all I have. He needs me as much as I need him.”
Sadness crossed the bird’s face. “I know of whom you speak. He tried so hard to save you.”
“Please, take me back to him. Don’t return to those creatures. You can stay on Ancienta, be free,” Lana pleaded.
“It wouldn’t matter either way,” she replied. “I’m enslaved. Don’t you see my collar? I must do my master’s bidding when summoned to do so, or else suffer repercussions.”
Around the bird’s neck was a metal collar that was mostly hidden by her feathers.
“They captured me while I was landing at my aerie on Genetricis. They took my chicks for collateral after they murdered my mate. They, or rather he, then fastened this evil contraption around my throat to enslave me with a powerful spell.” Tears had welled in the bird’s eyes and rolled down her feathery cheek.
“I’m sorry,” Lana consoled. “They killed my entire family. Zen is all I have, now.”
“Zen is your dragon friend?”
“Yes. I hope he can rescue me,” Lana said.
“I hope he can rescue us all,” the bird replied.
After a moment of silence, she spoke again. “They summon me places with these green spell stones and demand of me things I wouldn’t normally want to do. The stones are dragon eyes, magical to those who speak the binding language. Once the command is spoken, I have no say. Whoever controls the master stone also controls me. If I deviate from their commands, they have only to speak of how they wish me to die and the eye-stones will slay me.”
“That’s awful,” Lana said.
“I hope they don’t do the same to you,” she said sincerely.
She flew slower as the last bit of the Sunrest diminished from the sky. Throughout the night they flew in silence with only the stars to guide the bird through the night. Lana fell asleep shortly after midnight and awoke to Sunwake shining brightly behind them. Her light bathed the azure surface of the ocean, sparkling and dancing upon the waves.
Lana rubbed her eyes and looked down at the sea. Despair and sorrow erupted from her heart and she sobbed heavily, knowing that the awful events the prior day were still a reality.
“I am sorry, elf. You, like me, were born to be immortal and free. Not to be bound by dishonorably wretched spells.” The bird sighed heavily and continued. “If he finds out that I have spoken to you, he will punish me severely. I beg you to not mention it to anyone.”
“I will take it to my grave, wherever they toss my bones,” Lana replied. “I know I’ll not join my mother upon the Lavender Plateau but likely with the rest of my family in the bellies of those beasts. Our secret will die with me.”
The bird looked at her sideways. Her predatory eyes fixed softly at the sad elf in her foot.
“You have a kind heart,” she said. “Even after I’ve done what I’ve done, you’re quick to forgive and honor me with a promise to protect my wellbeing. I wish we could have met on kinder, peaceful terms. Maybe then we could b
e friends. I’m sorry you have suffered loss.”
“My whole family, my kin, my city,” Lana replied shakily. “They’re all gone and I’m the last.”
“Arbortown. I heard of the attack. I mourned for them. They were good people,” the bird said.
“I only have Zen, now,” Lana said.
“The dragon.”
Lana nodded and sobbed, “I’ll never see him again. I never got to say goodbye.”
“He killed the ones who caught you and summoned me,” the bird said.
“If his wing wasn’t broken, he would’ve come after me.”
“He would have torn me to shreds if he could have,” the bird said. “The fury in his eyes told me so.”
Lana’s thoughts drifted to Zen and she wondered where he was and what he was doing. Was he okay? He was probably frantic, unable to save her, and she knew he’d be heartbroken; as heartbroken as she was.
“Do you know what Donovan wants with me?” Lana asked. She doubted her question’s answer would confirm her suspicions: that Donovan wanted the Septum, not only her.
“That, I cannot say as I do not know. But, I have faith that they will not kill you right away, if at all. Rumor has been whispered that he merely wants you as a token of conquest, a pet of sorts, but I do not know for sure.”
“I don’t want to be someone’s animal to be kept captive. I’m no exhibit.”
“I understand your feelings but you will likely join my ranks as a pet, a tool or a trophy. Anything to benefit them, they will keep alive. They are greedy spawns of Magnen.”
“I’m not sure what’s worse, being kept alive and tormented with imprisonment or dying.”
“Death is journey’s end,” the bird said.
“Death could be another beginning,” Lana replied.
“For some, it is.”
“For me, who knows?” Lana sighed and wiped her teary eyes. “Do you know much about Donovan?”
The bird shook her head. “Not much, I am afraid. Other than he’s possibly the worst of the Warisai I have to deal with. I will say that if you try your best to please him, to be a good pet without forsaking yourself, you should keep yourself alive long enough.”
“Long enough for what?” Lana asked.
“To figure out a way to escape before they collar you,” she replied. “I cannot risk talking any more. We will soon be upon their vile lair.”
Lana craned her neck to look at what was ahead of them. Land rose out of the sea; tall mountains that were capped with snow and some so tall they were concealed by clouds. It was a miserable land, one of skeletal trees and earth so vacant of grasses that barren was all it could remember. In the hazy air above the ugly landscape were large figures that were too far away to identify.
Lana waited in silent anticipation as she watched them approach. She laid eyes on Zen’s kind for the first time and what she saw, she disliked. Their eyes were dull, void of any feelings, enslaved for so long that they forgot how to be dragons; forgot how it was to live. Their scales were tattered, cracked and cloudy. Their wings had tears and holes. Their bodies were famished, their skeletal anatomy noticeable even beneath their hard scales. Upon their backs they carried Warisai riders in saddles at the base of their necks. Lana could easily see the green stones upon the Warisai’s elf-skin belt. A wave of nauseating anger struck her.
“Hurry up,” one of them yelled. “He’s waiting for you and you know how much he hates to wait!”
The bird quickened her pace, casting a quick, sorrowful glance at Lana. She carried her over the desolate land where no animals roamed and no birds flew. Not even a stream flowed over that part of the cursed land.
Past a small clearing was a forest of blackened trees and beyond that was the Warisai city of Dinsmore. Its buildings were dark and tall and upon their corners rested fierce iron monsters. Forges steamed heavily with production of crude weaponry and armor. Many ugly variants of Warisai roamed the streets. The largest building was in the center of the city, a square castle with a plain appearance. The castle of Dansrivan.
They landed on the bare roof and were soon joined by a large black dragon and with it came Donovan. He leapt down from the saddle and clapped his hands together. His beastly face was greedy and angered.
“What took you so long?” Donovan snarled, spittle spraying from his mouth when he huffed his displeasure.
The bird bowed low, touching her beak on the rooftop. “My apologies, master, she tried to escape while over the ocean,” she said. “Tried,” she emphasized and added a cruel chuckle. “Her gamble brought us so close to the water that we were attacked by a shark. I had to spend some time fighting and killing the creature. It will not happen again.”
“You can speak?” Lana screamed. “You ignored my pleading the entire time?” She began to thrash under her foot, kicking and punching, squirming to escape.
“Let her up, Beond.”
The bird lifted her foot obediently and Lana sprang up. She glared loathsomely at Donovan.
“Come to me, my elusive little elfy.” Donovan held out his hand and motioned for her to come to him. Lana eyed him for a moment then made a dash for the edge of the roof. She knew she likely wouldn’t get far with so many Warisai below in the streets but it was worth trying and if she died in the process of descending the window ledges, then at least she wouldn’t have to contemplate her obscure future. If she hadn’t tried, she wouldn’t have forgiven herself.
As things were, she didn’t even make it off the roof before Donovan’s dragon pounced. His hand slammed into her with such force, it knocked the wind out of her and slammed her head against the stone rooftop. Her head split open and began to bleed again. She shuddered in pain and gasped, trying to catch her breath.
Talons closed around her, accompanied by a growl of discontent, and she was lifted up. Blackened yellow eyes stared at her. Donovan’s dragon looked at her with cold eyes. Beneath the darkness of his scales was a hint of blue and beneath the scales was a heart consumed by magic. The dragons' eyes spell stones had their hold on him. He was not the proud dragon he once was. Whoever he was, he was hollow and felt, to Lana, as if he was soulless. What if they did this to Zen?
She reached out to him and touched his snout. “You’re better than this, dragon. You’re not a monster like them.”
The dragon blinked. For a split moment, his eyes brightened. For a split moment, he remembered who he was.
“The elf,” Donovan spat. “Bring her here.”
The dragon blinked again, his eyes darkening again as his imprisonment overtook his sliver of hope. He turned and dropped her at Donovan’s feet.
Donovan grabbed her by the arm and hoisted her to her feet. A yellow-toothed grin widened on his ugly snout.
“Finally,” he hissed. “You’re mine.”
Lana twisted her face into the biggest scowl she could muster and stared murderously into his tan eyes.
“I’ll never be yours.” She spit in his face.
He grabbed her by the throat and drew closer to her face; his breath was like death, malodorous and offensive.
“You think that, at this moment,” he sneered, “because you don’t know any better.”
Lana kicked him in the shin. He released her throat and laughed.
“Feisty,” he rumbled. “You might actually be fun to keep around, for awhile.” He licked one side of his mouth and stared at her intently.
Lana stared back. Although she was afraid of him, she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing it.
“You’re not going to eat me like you ate my family?” Lana scoffed.
He laughed deeply, sinisterly. “Oh no, I have better plans for you.” His eyes grew darker as if trying to hide the secrets within. Lana kept her eyes fixed intently on his.
“As for you,” he said, turning to face Beond the bird. “Don’t think for one minute that I’ve forgotten your lateness.” He touched one of many spell stones on his belt and muttered a few words.
Beon
d collapsed and started screeching agonizingly as pain surged through her body. She convulsed violently, her neck twisted over her back. Her talons scraped upon the rooftop as she writhed, trying to escape the spell.
“Remember who owns you!” Donovan shouted over her cries. He then mumbled the counter-spell and allowed Beond to catch her senses before sending her to her roost.
Beond struggled to her feet, her ankles weak and shaky. Her wings quivered beside her as she stumbled her way to the edge of the rooftop. She fell into the air and glided to a building closer to the perimeter of the city. Her life was nothing more than a pitiful shadow trying to exist in shade. Lana’s heart ached for her. Beond deserved freedom, just like Donovan’s dragon did.
“Now it’s just me and you.” That was something Lana never wanted to hear from Donovan. It repulsed her soul and made her want to vomit on him.
“And your dragon,” Lana said dryly, trying to point out the stupidity of his statement.
His grip tightened. “He’s empty,” he said. “There’s nothing inside, nothing, because I broke his soul.” A smirk spread across his face. “And I’d do the same to your dragon,” he snarled.
She punched him in the face and kicked his shin before he grabbed her around the waist and flung her over his shoulder. He carried her to a rooftop door and down a set of winding stairs. She kicked and screamed at the filthy brute, wishing she had her sword to cut him down. Nobody threatens to harm her dragon.
Hatred was an understatement. What boiled beneath her surface was more than that. What boiled in her heart was a resolute commitment to destroy Donovan. One way or another, she would kill him.
Nobody threatens her brother.
CHAPTER 23
HANDCUFFS AND HUNCHBACK
“Here, Pretty, here you go.” The voice was tauntingly harsh.
Lana opened her eyes and focused on what was talking to her. At her feet crouched a hideous Warisai. Its face was screwed into a horrid, jagged-toothed grin. Lana scowled and drew her feet away from him. The creature laughed croakily and rubbed his face with a three-fingered hand.