Regent

by Brian Rathbone

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  Feeling like the wind itself, Catrin attacked. Everywhere she turned, demons flew like leaves in the wind. Her sword high and the spider globe sending light streaming out through the gaps in her clenched fist, Catrin roared a primal battle cry. Twice she pumped her fist, and thunder shook the mountain. Wild energy reached out from her and licked the walls. Her hair rustled in a preternatural wind that gusted within the charged field around her.

  The regent queen turned to look at her. You should be gone. Call him to you. Use the saddle and lance. Become your destiny and leave me to my fate.

  "I don't want you to die." It was the most honest thing Catrin could say.

  You are a credit to your race that you would still feel that way given my treatment of you. I'm afraid it is too late to save me, and in attempting to do so, you are endangering your kind's future. We are lost but I'll not allow you to be lost as well. Now go! Kyrien! To me!

  The last might not have been intended for Catrin to hear, but the powerful call must have been heard on the other side of the world. Catrin reeled with the power of it, but she knew now the best thing she could do was get Kyrien saddled and fight the enemy from the air. She could save the regent queen yet.

  But Kyrien did not come. No one could have resisted that call, and Catrin's heart climbed into her throat. The world moved unexpectedly as darkness crowded her vision. The thought of Kyrien lost, all of his kind dead or dying, nearly brought Catrin to her knees. Needing strength, she reached out for something familiar and comforting. Like the swiftest arrow, power extended from her outstretched hands toward Pelivor. The essence of him slammed into her an instant later, and lightning cleaved the air between them.

  Catrin staggered back to her feet, feeling the texture of the energy Pelivor lent her and, in doing so, learning all he knew about controlling the power and building efficient structures with energy. His mind amazed her in its precision and logic, the way he moved through problems by breaking them into smaller pieces and tackling each piece individually. Another energy responded to her call, and Catrin was shocked to see Kyrien land within the great hall. Blood dripped from what seemed a thousand wounds, and his nostrils flared with his rapid breathing. Frothy foam gathered around his legs, which trembled as he stood, panting. Never before had Catrin seen a creature that had given so much of itself. Kyrien looked as if he would drop over dead at any instant, and Catrin ran to him, her energy already caressing him, bolstering him, healing him.

  No! his voice rang in her mind. Save your energy for the fight. I will survive.

  Catrin wanted to argue, wanted to take the time to tend his wounds and give him time to recover, but he pushed her before him, his muzzle driving her toward the saddle.

  If this must be done, then let us do it. I can no longer take the guilt. Let this be at an end.

  Catrin moved as if in a dream, her mind unable to cope with the consequences of this day. Never before had she seen a species wiped from existence, and she prayed she'd never witness it again. When she sat astride Kyrien, goggles on and strapped in, she could barely remember how she had come to be there, and she marveled at the beauty of the saddle. In her hand waited the greatest shock: a lance of gleaming filigree extending from the sword Strom had made for her, as if the two had been made to fit together. When Catrin's memories began to return, she realized that the sword had been made to Kyrien's specifications, yet she could not reconcile why Kyrien would have done that if this were not supposed to happen. Taking a deep breath, Catrin had no choice but to return her attention to the present. Atop the saddle, Catrin felt secure; the many buckles on her leather flight pants allowed her to strap in. Again she was amazed at the foresight of her dragon.

  Kyrien, though seeming only slightly recovered from battle, tucked his wings and charged back into the great hall. An unbidden battle cry issued from Catrin's lips, and it turned to a scream as Kyrien leaped from the heights without ever opening his wings. Demons clogged the entrances and flew into the open air before Kyrien's maddened charge. With a trail of energy leading back to Pelivor and the wind trying to tear her apart, they fell like a stone. There were lurches and bumps in their descent that Catrin eventually realized were the times Kyrien attacked. They dived along the mountain face, Kyrien extending his wings in only small amounts to make adjustments to their flight path. Catrin would have launched attacks of her own, but she could not get her body to respond; the forces acting on it were simply too intense. Even her scream was choked away.

  Then the saddle pressed into her hard, and Kyrien extended his wings. Catrin saw the army of demons, giants, and men in orderly formations, waiting to fill the void when their comrades fell. Finally Catrin was able to control herself, and she reached out for energy. She nearly swooned. The saddle responded with alacrity. The charge of millennia leaped to her call. The fiery link with Pelivor surged, and the energy of the comets resonated in a way she'd never felt before.

  You're burning up!

  Only then did Catrin realize that she rode amid a maelstrom of fire, her body a conflagration. Without hesitation, she launched a dozen attacks at once. Pelivor's control combined with the saddle's energy and Catrin's will caused the world to explode. Ranks of the enemy, formerly so orderly and geometric from above, now looked as if they had been tossed by a giant wave. Trails of smoke filled the air as balls of fire streamed into those who scaled the rock face. Lightning reached out to anything close to the great hall, but in the back of Catrin's consciousness, she knew that she needed to be careful not to hit the regent queen. Determination filled her as Kyrien brought them around for a pass along those closest to the queen, and Catrin almost smiled as a cloud of demons filled the air before them, thrown from the great hall by a very alive regent queen.

  "We can save her!" Catrin shouted.

  Kyrien made no response.

  The air around them suddenly filled with teeth and claws, reaching for Catrin and tearing at Kyrien's already tender hide. Nothing could have prepared Catrin for the maneuvers Kyrien undertook to keep them both safe. It seemed impossible that they were still alive. A sizzling, crackling sound followed by a loud boom made her wonder how much longer that would remain true. Light exploded around her, and Catrin felt the shock of it, even though Kyrien took the brunt of the attack. His flight became erratic, and Catrin scanned the skies, ready to protect the stunned dragon from any new attacks. Kyrien regained stable flight, but Catrin knew he was not fully recovered. Ferals came in close, and Kyrien's reactions seemed delayed. For a brief instant, Catrin's mind registered the fact that the dragons were all riderless. She wasn't certain what it meant, but she was certain it meant something. It was not something she could ponder long.

  When the buzzing, crackling sound filled the air around them again, Catrin searched the clouds and seas, trying to find its source. It was coming from the ships, which were now moving in formation once again.

  Catrin opened her mouth to tell Kyrien, but he was already turning to dive for the attacking formation of ships. Just when Catrin thought the lightning would strike, the air exploded with fire, but she felt no pain, only the radiated heat. Alongside them, a feral dragon was engulfed in a web of charged air. It folded up like a swatted moth, dropping beside them. When Kyrien pulled up, the dragon continued falling and struck a warship on the prow, driving it underwater in a shower of exploding timber and sending its masts crashing into the ship adjacent to it.

  Missed me.

  Catrin almost laughed--almost.

  No dragons had gotten close enough for Catrin to use her lance, but it felt good in her hand, far lighter than she would have believed from looking at it. Even as thin and delicate looking as the gold wire comprising it would seem, it felt solid and gave her confidence. When she pointed it at the next ship she could hone in on, she applied her will, and the lance responded. The delicate wires hummed and shone, light dancing across them in rolling waves with shape and texture. Like mist over the world at daybreak, it flitted along the surface
and even over the empty areas between the wires. Erupting from the tip of the lance like liquid smoke, it roared through the air toward the ship. When the beam of energy struck amidships, the warship did something Catrin had never seen before: it imploded. It started slowly then accelerated, essentially folding the ship in half and sending it to rest at the bottom of the shallows.

  Kyrien banked away from another feral attack, and Catrin could hear the cries of man and demon from below. There was panic in many of those cries, and as unlikely as it was, Catrin felt as if the battle were turning in her favor. The ships had no way of avoiding her attacks, and it was just a matter of time before she took all of them out, stranding them, just as she'd done to the Zjhon when they had invaded the Godfist. Sending waves of devastation into the midst of every formation of ships she could see, Catrin did her best to cripple them. Only the ferals were able to disrupt her attacks. Kyrien's evasive maneuvers made taking aim exceedingly difficult, and many of her attacks missed their marks. Those that landed, though, were equally as destructive as the first.

  Doing their best to stay above or behind Catrin and Kyrien, the ferals made for elusive targets. They knew how dangerous she was, and they had no intention of giving her a clear shot. Instead, they tried to hide in Kyrien's blind spot and attack Catrin from above. It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling knowing she was being hunted from behind, let alone from above and behind. Somehow Kyrien seemed able to sense them and managed to keep Catrin outside the reach of their attacks. Twice he was able to cause ferals to collide with one another. The first pair had simply flown off in separate directions, but the second pair collided with a sickening crack. Though the impact had killed only one of the beasts, the two became hopelessly tangled, and both plunged into dark water. Neither rose again.

  The problem was that all of this was but a distraction from their true purpose, which was to defend the regent queen. It seemed only an instant had passed, but when Catrin looked back to the top of the mountain, waves of demons were swarming into the great hall, and no more flew from the entrances. Panicked, Catrin shouted to Kyrien, but her voice could not be heard over the rush of the wind. Still, Kyrien made straight for the great hall, his own anxiety radiating from him. Both seemed to realize that their attacks on the ships and ferals may have come at the ultimate cost. Catrin's skin felt clammy, a prickly feeling making her shift in the saddle. Hurling vortices of air before them, Catrin knocked the demons clear, making a place for Kyrien to land. Even as he glided in, Catrin pumped her left fist, and from her right hand issued pulses of power that traveled down the lance, intensified, and pounded back the demon horde.

  Quickly scanning the area, Catrin could not, at first, locate the regent queen. Then her eyes landed on a swarming, black mass roughly the shape of the dragon queen. The taste of bile filled Catrin's mouth, and she did not hesitate in blasting away the demons using nothing but air, trying to be careful even in her haste. The giant dragon's great maw turned to them, demons still clinging to her face, trying to blind her. Catrin used targeted blasts of air to dislodge them, Pelivor's precision aiding her greatly. The thought of Pelivor caused Catrin to panic anew. The gleaming trail of energy still extended back to the sailor, but she could no longer sense him. Immediately she released the link, and all she could do was pray that she had not inadvertently killed her dear friend.

  So many consequences rendered Catrin numb. No matter what she did, people and dragons were going to die. This realization made her choices a great deal easier to make. Just act, she thought. With remarkable speed, Catrin removed the buckles that held her in the saddle and leaped to the cold stone floor of the great hall. Demons flew like kindling before her, and more of the regent queen was once again exposed to the light. The mighty dragon showed wounds, but none seemed mortal. A spark of hope shone in Catrin's consciousness. The future is not written in stone, Catrin said to herself, and she leaped into the air, engaging any demons she found still standing.

  The regent queen turned and looked at Kyrien. For the first time, Catrin saw something other than anger and hurt in the queen's eyes.

  You should not be here, Kyrien. I do not want you to see this. No one should have to see such a thing. Now take the human and go. Please, Kyrien--for your own good--go.

  Catrin could feel the emotion, and tears came to her eyes. Kyrien's feelings mingled with her own, and such grief was more than anyone should ever have to bear. Desperate, Catrin continued to drive away the demons. Rearing back, the regent queen reached a towering and imposing height. The demons fell back of their own volition, and even Catrin felt fear in the face of such tremendous power.

  You are worthy. Protect him.

  The words reached Catrin with a wave of compassion, and she could feel the honesty and sincerity as the regent queen looked her in the eyes. The air was sucked from her lungs in shock when she saw a single demon charging through the masses. When it broke into the open, Catrin was terrified to see it wielded a lance similar to her own, save this one looked as if it were made of black glass instead of gold wire. Streaks of light danced over the glossy surface of the lance, and without slowing, the demon thrust the lance into the regent queen's exposed breast. There was a wet sound accompanied by a terrible sigh. Not satisfied with simply running her through, the demon twisted the blade then yanked. Only instead of pulling the blade back out, it yanked it sideways. The lance shattered into thousands of daggerlike shards. With a final wheezing grunt, the queen rolled to one side and collapsed.

  In that moment, Catrin realized just how perilous her situation really was. With the regent queen dead, the demons could concentrate on killing her and Kyrien, and she wasn't even mounted. Running back to Kyrien, she leaped onto his back. His pain was palpable and unbearable. It tore at Catrin's resolve, soaking her in guilt and remorse and regret.

  "We must live!" Catrin shouted. "You and I are not done--not even close. If we die now, then she died for nothing."

  The last words drove Kyrien to reckless action, his anger a force that polluted the air around them. Demons drew closer, their ranks thickening until they blocked the light, which seemed to be moving farther away. It was a maddening view.

  Be ready.

  Catrin didn't need to ask what for; instead, she drew deeply from the stones in the saddle and the spider globe. When Kyrien started moving, Catrin unloaded a barrage of attacks that turned the great hall into pure chaos. None were safe from her fury, and the air around the openings was once again filled with flailing demons. A rare few managed to remain in the hall, and only one of those managed to stand. Catrin decided to blast those farther ahead since Kyrien could easily handle a single demon, but the beast reached down and, from behind a fallen body, produced another of the glass lances. Catrin thought her heart might just burst.

  Planting its feet, the demon was in a perfect position to strike. All it had to do was let Kyrien's momentum carry him forward and he would impale himself. The shock of it stunned Catrin and slowed her reaction. The demon smiled a dark, wet smile as Kyrien approached, even though it must know its own death came just as surely. As the lance was about to pierce Kyrien's breast, Catrin acted out of pure instinct; she cast a wave of vibrating air that sang a high-pitched note. Part of her brain registered that Pelivor knew how to break glass with sound. Glass struck dragon scale, and for a moment the lance held its form, but then it fractured in a thousand places, just as it had been designed to do, only it did so before entering Kyrien's flesh. The look of triumph on the demon's face turned to utter terror as Kyrien ran him down.

  Again, Catrin had to concentrate on the demons that blocked their escape. Kyrien needed speed to get them clear of the rock face. His trembling form gave evidence to her concern. Catrin, in contrast, felt as if she could sunder the world, and she feared she would go too far. When she lashed out again, she did so with as much restraint and control as she could. Using a delicate web of energy whose vibration was extremely high and resonance packed a nasty sting, Catrin went for the ene
my's eyes. Though she doubted it did any permanent damage, the result was nonetheless astonishing as every demon in the great hall reeled in agony and disorientation.

  Pushing stunned demons out of their way, Kyrien gave a heroic effort, trying to take advantage of Catrin's attack, but the effort slowed them. Some demons recovered their vision and moved to block their path. Catrin lashed out with short, precise strikes that pierced the demons and dropped them, the sounds of their deaths lost in the screams of the still blinded.

  Holding her breath, Catrin gripped the saddle horn and squeezed with her legs, some of her straps still not secured. When Kyrien launched himself into the air, Catrin bent her knees and braced herself. Though they dropped sharply, they did not quite clear the rocky crags below the entranceway. Based on the abrupt jolt that felt like it broke every bone in Catrin's body, she wondered how Kyrien could endure, but he extended his wings and caught a favorable wind that sent them soaring into the valley.

  The air below them hummed with arrows and bolts, and Kyrien turned aside. Only a few shafts managed to strike him, and his scales deflected those. Both he and Catrin remembered the last time she had removed an arrow from a wing joint, and Kyrien still complained that it ached before the rain. Using their speed, Kyrien climbed higher and out of bow range. A pocket of less dense air sent them downward, and Kyrien used it to turn them back toward the mountain. The view that waited would haunt them both. Accompanied by a victorious roar that frightened Catrin more than anything she'd ever heard, the head of the dead regent queen reached the entranceway and was sent tumbling down the rock face. It was an exceedingly stupid manner of celebration, as the rock face was crowded with demons, and the huge dragon head took out scores of them.

  For a long moment, Catrin held her breath without realizing it then inhaled sharply when the ferals filled the air around them. In an instant, Catrin readied herself, but the attack never came. Instead the ferals attacked the remains of the regent queen. Kyrien's outrage flowed through the bond, but Catrin convinced him that the queen was already gone and that this could give them time to escape.

  Though she no longer maintained the link to Pelivor, she knew that he was still in the dragon's vale--her vale. Kyrien raced along the valley toward the vale unbidden, and Catrin could only hope that her friends were still alive. Guilt and remorse stabbed at her as she second-guessed her decision to leave them. Had she truly been protecting them, or had she simply placed them in even greater danger. The thoughts made her want to cry, but she waited to see what reality truly existed.

  She saw Kenward first; he was pointing at her and shouting, but she couldn't hear his words. Blood pounded in her ears, and she could hear nothing over the roar of it; not even the rumble of the wind pierced it. As Kyrien dipped low, Catrin sensed a presence above and behind her, and it was then she turned and saw the giant feral bearing down on them, claws extended and jaws agape. It was a terrifying sight that made Catrin's nightmares seem warm and safe. Nothing can be compared to the feeling of knowing you're about to be torn apart, and Catrin's body trembled.

  With unsteady hands, she unbuckled herself as quickly as she could. Kyrien dipped low, allowing her to roll unharmed from the saddle onto the rushing grasses. Tumbling, she hoped she could stop herself before she struck rock. A moment later she found herself lying faceup on the grass, watching a pair of claws only just miss grabbing her, Kyrien having done his best to keep her safe.

  Kenward ran toward her. Then Pelivor was there, helping her stand. The rest were huddled within the remains of the Slippery Eel. Pelivor led her back to the ship, and she could barely meet the eyes of those who waited. She had brought them all here, endangered their lives, then abandoned them. And after all of that, after betraying her friends for the sake of the dragons, she had failed. Now they would all die--her friends, her son, her husband, her people--all would die because of her folly. It hurt so badly that she thought she might crumble under the weight of it. The thing that made her feel worst of all, though, was the fact that instead of wanting to protect her friends, all she wanted to do was abandon them again.

  Familiar hands pulled her into the hold, and tears came to Catrin's downcast eyes.

  "Thank the gods you're back!" Farsy said, and Catrin felt wholly unworthy of his enthusiasm.

  "I'm sorry," was all Catrin could manage to say.

  A long silence hung between them, but the cries of dragon and demon filled the space.

  She turned to Pelivor. "I know I can ask no more of you, but I will. Pelivor, you must protect us," she said as she handed him the spider globe.

  He looked intrigued at first when he saw the globe, but when it dropped into his palm, there was an audible click and a small spark. His eyes went wide, but a smile crossed his lips. The smile faded when she handed him the lance, his hand sliding into the guard and closing over the handle of her sword. "The rest of you, please get the drums."

  "Oh, no," came Kenward's voice from behind. "You're not leaving us again."

  "I can go with or without your help, Kenward, but I am far more likely to return if you help me."

  Kenward stepped backward, as if Catrin had struck him, but he knew the stakes. This was no time for hurt feelings. He could get her back for those later, provided they survived. The captain looked critically at Pelivor. "Can you protect us?"

  Pelivor responded by smiling and holding his hands out to his sides. Preternatural breezes stirred the silks he wore, and light danced around him. When he spoke, it was not to Kenward. "Death awaits those who would do us harm!" The words rang through the vale, the deep bass of his voice amplified by the power flowing through him. The spider globe sent beams of light from within his clenched fist as he held it high. In his other hand, he held Catrin's lance, and he leveled it at an oncoming feral. He did not wait for the dragon to get close. He used the lance to focus his attack into a narrow beam of boiling liquid fire that seared the air with a roar.

  Catrin turned to Kenward. "Drums!"

  Chapter 20

  Only a fool stands between mother and cub.

  --Wendel Volker