Dragon Child

by Elana A. Mugdan

  The werelion growled and his eyes rolled back in his head. He retracted his arm, but his paw wasn’t burnt. His fur wasn’t even singed, the wound he’d inflicted on himself was gone. He started shaking, and Thorion felt a tingling sensation in the tips of his toes. He stared down at himself in alarm.

  His breath caught in his throat. He watched, awestruck, as the tendrils of darkness that had worked their way up his claws receded. They narrowed, then vanished altogether. At the same time, infected black threads fanned across Uhs’s forepaws before fading.

  The tingling spread through Thorion’s legs and into his chest. Uhs trembled more violently, and Thorion felt the spell changing the ailments the darksalm had wrought within him. His heart burned as it beat more freely, feeling lighter and stronger than it had since the attack on Irongarde. The spell spread to his neck, then his skull. His head throbbed with warmth. His eyes itched, and black veins briefly cobwebbed across Uhs’s rolled-back orbs.

  Uhs stopped shaking and slumped to the ground. The tingling faded from Thorion, leaving him cold, but undeniably rejuvenated. The darksalm had been weighing on him more than he’d known—how had he been able to breathe when the Shadow had been pressing on his lungs? How had he seen, when darkness had clouded his sight? The world was brighter, crisper, clearer than it had been in months. His blood sang with fire and life, pumping through his veins with renewed vigor.

  “Thank you, Uhs,” he breathed, flexing his wings and staring at his claws, which were pristine and white once more.

  Uhs gave a feeble growl of acknowledgement and rose on unsteady limbs. “A difficult healing, a taxing healing, yes; but a good one.”

  Keriya asked, inching around the fire pit toward Thorion. The purple color was draining from the flames, leaving them golden-red once more.

  thought Thorion.

  She reached his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

  he admitted. Excitement bubbled within him. He was buoyant with hope. It was amazing how much better everything seemed now that he was healthy again.

  Now that I feel healthy again, he corrected himself.

  “The Oldmoon is still high,” Uhs commented. “I might be able to do some more healings.” He peered at Max and Seba, who’d kept their distance throughout the ritual.

  “No hope for you,” he told Max, “but I could perform the same spell on you, galancrelas. It can’t save you for the same reason it can’t save the drackling, but you would benefit from it.”

  Seba opened her mouth, then closed it. She spun on her heel and fled into the night. Thorion’s ears, which had also improved after the healing, caught a muffled sob.

  Uhs shrugged and looked at Keriya. “As for you . . . I admit, after a moon cycle of study, I’m still not sure what’s wrong with you.”

  “For the last time, I’m not sick,” Keriya growled. “But thank you for helping us, Uhs. We’re in your debt.”

  “I like challenges. Challenges keep me sharp.” Uhs padded toward his cave, circled in the entrance, and settled down. “I expect you’ll be leaving tomorrow, so get some rest.”

  “Do you think . . .” She glanced at Thorion and bit her lip. “Would you consider coming with us to the Fironem?”

  “My home is here,” the werelion told her. “This is where creatures who need healing come to find me.”

  “Yeah, but—” Keriya cut herself off. Her thoughts were as plain as if they’d been painted on her face: Healing Thorion is more important.

  “It would not have the result you desire, dragon-child,” said Uhs. For the first time, Thorion heard a note of regret in his deep, growling voice. “A sickness of the soul is not like a sickness of the flesh. Now that I have felt the Shadow’s touch, I understand this darksalm better. We would have to wait another full moon cycle for me to perform the spell again, but it would not be as effective. In fact, it might well make things worse.”

  “How is that possible?” said Thorion.

  “The poison learns,” whispered Uhs, his feline pupils thinning. “I cannot explain it, for I have never experienced anything of its like before. It reached out to me as I worked through your threads and tried to snare me in its clutches. I am more than equal to such trickery, of course, but it was almost as if it were—”

  “Alive,” Thorion finished. He should have expected as much. Darksalm was a poison born of dragon blood. He knew the potency—and maleficence—of the magic in his veins.

  Uhs nodded. He cracked his mouth wide in a yawn, as if they hadn’t just been speaking of terrible things, and laid his head on his forepaws. “Well, goodnight. If you know someone who’s sick, feel free to refer them to me. But don’t tell too many people, otherwise they’ll all be swarming up here, and I shall be forced to track you down and kill you.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  “I value honor more than I fear death.”

  ~ Aarcass Maldrieve, Seventh Age

  Keriya hadn’t slept much, but for the first time in ages, she’d slept well. She felt rested and calm the following morning when they headed for the southern pass.

  Uhs was nowhere to be found, so they left the sandy cave without fanfare or farewells. With Max in the lead and Thorion soaring overhead, they crested the stone ridge and began their descent into the Erastate.

  “Glad that’s over,” Max commented when they left Uhs’s domain. “I was getting tired of him insisting there was something wrong with each of us. What a waste.”

  Keriya didn’t think it had been a waste—Uhs had helped, and he’d given her a lot to think about. There hadn’t been time to properly confront Thorion about what she’d learned, but he looked so happy twirling on the warm mountain updrafts that she let him be.

  They stopped that evening in the foothills and made camp near a cluster of hot springs. A frigid wind whistled from the snowy plains beyond, reminding Keriya that it was winter. The cold brought with it the realization that they were heading into danger—outside of the enchanted basin, shadowbeasts still roamed Allentria, hunting them.

  “I wonder how the others are doing,” Thorion said when he returned from his hunt, bringing them a rabbit to cook. “We might not need the elf anymore. We could find our friends.”

  “Let’s not have any more detours,” Max said shortly.

  “I feel better than I have in ages.” Thorion looked at Keriya. “Don’t you want to find Fletcher and Roxanne?”

  “Yes, but I don’t think we should go anywhere near Noryk,” she replied. “I know you feel better. I’m relieved beyond words. But what Uhs did isn’t a permanent solution.”

  “That’s right,” said Max. “We need to head straight to the Fironem—”

  “We don’t need to go to the Fironem, either,” Keriya interrupted. “We already have the answer: we perform an exorcism.”

  The prince sighed. “Keriya, you don’t understand what an exorcism is.”

  She bristled, crossing her arms. “I understand more than you think. Uhs told me Valerion split his soul in half. So if Thorion were to cut out the infected part of his soul—”

  “It doesn’t work like that,” Thorion growled.

  “—in order to keep the rest of his magic safe from the darksalm,” Keriya continued loudly, speaking over the dragon, “then he can—”

  “It won’t help,” Max said more loudly still. “Besides, Valerion exorcised half his soul so he could trade the rest of it to Necrovar. And unless I’m mistaken, Thorion is trying to keep his soul away from the Shadow Lord.”

  Thorion narrowed his eyes. “How do you know that?”

  “I’ve studied the Great War, the rheenarae, and the dragons extensively,” Max told him. “You’d be surprised what I know.”

 
“I am already surprised,” Thorion hissed.

  “I am, too,” said Keriya, gaping at Max. “Why didn’t you tell us about that in Sairal?”

  “Because back then you weren’t planning an exorcism,” Max returned curtly. “It’s dark magic, an evil spell.”

  “There’s no such thing as an evil spell,” said Thorion, still glaring suspiciously at the prince. “Magic is simply energy manipulated by a wielder. What a wielder does with his power is a different story.”

  “And would you not say that Valerion’s actions were evil?” Max argued.

  The ire drained from Thorion’s gaze, leaving it oddly blank. “Selfish, foolish, arrogant, yes,” he murmured. “But evil? I’m not old or wise enough to make that judgement.”

  “Valerion was a hero,” said Keriya. “He saved the world and ended the war.”

  “He did neither,” said Max. “The world is imbalanced and the war continues to this day. An exorcism is an unnatural act.”

  “Then how come the unicorn told Thorion to do it?!”

  “So the Shadow won’t own my soul when I die.” Keriya and Max looked at Thorion, whose voice was laden with dark, unspoken things. “If a soul is not complete, it cannot be wielded. Valerion cut out part of his soul before he made his deal with the Shadow so Necrovar couldn’t control him.” He shook his head ruefully. “I can’t win. I can only ensure that Necrovar loses.”

  “There has to be a way,” said Keriya. “I’m sure this can help—”

  “You’re sure?” Thorion repeated, raising his brow ridges. “Keriya, you know nothing about magic.”

  She recoiled from his words. They hadn’t been spoken in anger, but that made it worse. The power she’d borrowed from Shivnath was long gone. She could study magic until the next age came, but she wouldn’t understand it like a natural wielder did.

  “Fine,” she said in clipped tones. “We’ll go to Valaan.”

  “It would be better to go straight to Mount Arax and face Necrovar head-on,” said Max. “But we have time to figure out our path before we reach the Fironem.”

  Thorion said nothing. He retreated into the darkness to be alone.

  Keriya’s heart strained after him, but she remained where she was. Pursing her lips, she inched closer to Max. “What else do you know? Specifically about . . .” She leaned closer still, and Seba shot her a nasty glare. “. . . Dragons.”

  “I’ve told you quite a bit about dragons.”

  “I mean about their secrets.”

  A pained expression crossed his face. “Do you want the truth?”

  “No, I want you to make something up.”

  Keriya saw a faint smile curve the edge of Max’s lips. “Dragons were once the most dangerous creatures in the world. They wielded an ancient magic that caused the imbalance, and they guarded its secrets well. Not even their rheenarae knew the full extent of their power.”

  “It was a magic that allowed them to perform exorcisms,” she guessed.

  “Have you not been listening to what they’ve said, or are you that stupid?” Seba snapped. “An exorcism won’t save Thorion!”

  Keriya bit back a furious retort. She didn’t care if no one liked the idea. It felt like the answer was at her fingertips, but she was trying to put the puzzle together in the dark. She just needed some light to see the pieces.

  “Seba, let’s not argue,” Max said heavily as he picked up the rabbit.

  “Maxton, let’s not encourage this foolishness,” the princess fired back, gesturing at Keriya.

  Not trusting herself to keep a civil tongue, Keriya stood and left the campsite to get away from Seba. She walked until she found a secluded hot spring and slumped down next to it. There was a whisper of leathery wings, and Thorion descended from the skies. He landed and came to sit by her side.

  “I want to help you, Thorion,” she said after a stretch of tense silence. “I can’t do that if you won’t let me.”

  His ribs expanded with a sigh. “I know. And I’m sorry. I said hurtful things.”

  You’ve done hurtful things too, whispered the voice in her head. Though she hadn’t sent it to Thorion as a telepathic thought, he picked up on it.

  he admitted.

  Keriya briefly wondered if she could use their bond to extract information from him. The instant the idea occurred to her, she regretted it. That was a horrible thing to think. In the same way she’d had to trust Shivnath blindly, she would have to trust Thorion. And she did trust him. However, the fact that there was a stronger power than their bond, something that allowed him—perhaps forced him—to hide things from her, was worrisome.

  Thorion tipped his snout to the heavens, where the stars were cast across the sky like a silver net.

  He used his mind to help her pinpoint it, guiding her thoughts, mentally tracing a pattern through the series of stars to mold them into a shape.

  asked Keriya, examining the constellation.

  he replied.

  Keriya hadn’t meant to sound so terse.

 

  She gave him a bemused look, and Thorion smiled wanly. He sent her a mental image of a mountain range. Its lower slopes were cloaked in greenery, and its tiered peaks were crowned with spires of pale stone. The rising vistas were wreathed in mists and stained gold by the rising sun.

  Keriya could tell this was an ancestral memory from the hive-mind. The vision was muted, washed out around the edges, as if Thorion had unpacked it from his memory bank one too many times, and it had begun to fade as a result.

  Keriya told him. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the image, hoping against hope to sharpen the details.

 

 

  Thorion thought, finishing her sentence.

  Keriya nodded and glanced at him. It seemed like a long time ago that Uhs had healed him, for he looked tired and defeated once more.

  It also seemed like a long time ago that Keriya had slept well. After she and Thorion returned to the camp, she fell into a fitful sleep where nightmares plagued her. She saw visions of blood-soaked battlefields tinged with a purple haze, as if an amethyst sun were shining on the carnage, washing everything in its eerie glow.

  The four of them woke the next morning and continued their downward trudge. The further they got from the springs, the colder it grew. Bitter gusts cut into them when they left the pine forest and reached an open plain.

  “Welcome to the Erastate,” Max said, stretching his hands before him.

  The Erastate looked an awful lot like the Galantasa: a whole lot of snow on a wide stretch of nothing. As the ground leveled beneath their feet, a faint rumble sounded from the north.

  Thorion’s ears perked up at once. “Did you hear that?” he asked.

  “Probably thunder,” said Max.

  “It’s too cold for a thunderstorm.”

&
nbsp; Keriya thought, patting the dragon’s neck. He turned to smile at her—then, with a metallic clank, he jerked forward. Something thin and dark ricocheted off the back of his armored head, spinning toward Seba. The Galantrian gasped as the projectile sailed past her and landed in the snow with a soft thump.

  “What in Zumarra’s name . . . ?” Seba bent and retrieved the object. It was a black iron arrow.

  Keriya stepped forward and yanked the weapon from Seba’s grasp. “Where did this come from?” She couldn’t help but think that if she hadn’t chosen that moment to speak with Thorion, his head might have still been turned toward the sky, exposing the soft skin where his neck met his jaw, and the arrow would have found its mark.

  “Behind us.” Thorion’s second set of translucent eyelids rose as he scanned the eastern horizon. The thunderous rumble grew in volume, and six horsemen crested a windswept ridge in the foothills, galloping at full-tilt toward the plain. They wore pale garments that blended into the wintry background, but black veils hid their faces.

  “How?” breathed Keriya, clapping her hands to her head. “How the blood did they find us so soon?”

  Thorion’s lips parted in a fearsome snarl. “If they want a fight, I’ll give it to them.” His hind legs churned the snow as he launched himself into the air.

  “Thorion, no,” she screamed after him.

  “Don’t worry,” he called. “I am strong from the healing.”

  Another black arrow streaked toward him. He dodged artfully, tucking his wings close and rolling in midair before snapping them out again and gliding onward.

  With a growl that sounded more draconic than human, Keriya started to run after him. Max grabbed her hand to stop her.

  “Keriya, come on. He’s giving us a chance to escape.”

  “I don’t want to escape, I want to fight!”

  “You’re unarmed and you have no magic. You need to get out of range.” As if to illustrate his point, another arrow streaked past Keriya.

  Thorion dove for the lead rider. A feeling of grim satisfaction reached Keriya through their bond. He opened his mouth to spit lightmagic at his assailant . . . but no lightmagic came.