“I’m going to need everyone’s help. We need to get everyone to my house. It’s the only place in the village big enough to accommodate all those who are sick. Lucy, can you head to the village center and ring the village bell? When everyone comes out, tell them to come here to help.”
Lucy nodded and ran off as quick as her little feet could carry her.
When the panic had died down, it became apparent just how much of an emergency it was. Dragons were huge creatures and not easy to carry. I joined Ash and about twenty others, and we slung the green dragon between us. Even with so many of us helping, it was still not an easy task to get him all the way across town. If only we had a cart or something, but we didn’t. Instead, we each held part of him and moved slowly down the dirt track toward Spear’s house.
Bodies littered the landscape. Those dragons that had not been affected helped carry their kin to Spear’s mansion, and yet it still took over an hour to collect them all. Those in human form had been taken inside and placed on beds and sofas. The unfortunate ones who had become ill in their dragon form were now laid outside next to each other. It reminded me of the dragon keep in Dronias, where the Slayers kept the dragons without souls.
“Do you think their souls have gone back into the swords?” I asked, seeing them all sleeping soundly. Every so often, one of them would snort in their sleep. I recognized one of the dragons as Mary, the first dragon we’d freed. She looked so peaceful.
“No,” replied Edeline, coming outside. “Fiere is unconscious, but some of those inside are still awake. They are sick but they still have their souls. This is something else.”
“It’s something to do with the swords though, right?” Jasper asked.
Edeline nodded. “I think so. The only dragons that have become ill are the ones whose souls were taken from them. It seems that the longer the dragons’ souls were apart from their bodies, the sicker they are. I’m sorry to say, those of you still feeling okay will likely succumb to this sickness, too. It is only a guess, but I think you should go inside and rest. Spear is still trying to organize care for everyone, but the truth is, beyond putting them comfortably down on a bed, there is not much we can do until we figure out what exactly this is.”
A number of the dragons took her advice and went inside just as Spear was heading out.
“I was just telling everyone that this is only affecting the dragons who have been separated from their souls,” Edeline told him.
Spear nodded and then turned to the assembled crowd. I’d never seen the whole village out before. There were hundreds of people filling Spear’s garden. Spear had to stand at the top of his steps so everyone could see him.
“I know everyone is scared right now” he began. “We thought we had gotten our friends and family back, but as you can see, they are getting ill. Edeline is right. It seems that the ones that have been separated from their souls the longest are the sickest. I have the best caregivers and first aid providers in town looking after everyone. Once they have gotten everyone comfortable inside, they will come out here to take care of the dragons in the garden. At this point, no one knows if this illness is a temporary thing. We can only wait and see.”
“What about the other dragons?” one of the villagers asked. “Those that are still without a soul. Won’t they get sick too?”
Spear nodded his head. “I assume that will be the case. The longer they have been asleep in the Slayers’ keep, the sicker they will get. With some luck, those that have only had their souls taken from them recently will stay well, but I cannot know for sure. I’ve asked the medics to keep an eye on those that are not sick yet. I promise to keep everyone updated.”
“Don’t we still have some swords with dragon souls in them?” the same villager asked.
I could already feel people’s eyes begin to turn to me.
Spear took a few seconds to answer. He knew the only person that could release them was me and I could tell he was weighing up whether he could burden me with it. “To free the dragon souls, it requires blood and with that blood comes pain.” He didn’t mention my name which I was grateful for, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide from my responsibility.
“This is their fault!” shouted a dragon. “Why are they even here?”
“Do you see what you’ve done to us?” shouted another. “You are nothing but monsters.”
It was plain to see that the tide was turning against us. The dragons in the village had been friendly up until now. I couldn’t let everything descend into chaos.
“Spear,” I interrupted, “please bring me the swords.”
“No!” shouted my father. “You don’t have to do this. We don’t know if freeing them now will save them from whatever this is. We don’t even know which dragons are in which swords.”
“There is only one way to find out,” I replied steadfastly.
Spear headed into his house, I assumed to retrieve the swords.
“What if you free an elder dragon?” Ash asked, gripping my hand tightly. “One that has had its soul in there for a long time. Freeing it will only condemn it to this disease. It might be kinder to keep it where it is.”
I thought about it and he was right, but at the same time, if I could save one or more of the dragons whose souls had been taken within the last year, I might be saving their lives. “I have to do this,” I insisted.
“No, you don’t!” My father glared down at me.
“Yes, I do. It is because of the people in our village that this is happening in the first place. Neither of you can talk me out of it. I’ll bleed for a bit and then heal. I’ll be fine in a few days, but will the sick dragons be? I need to do this. I need to atone for the Slayers’ sins.”
My father’s glare turned into an expression of remorse. “I hate that it is you that has to do this. If I could take this from you, I would.”
I patted him on the shoulder. “I know, Father. Actually, there is something you can do to help.”
“Anything!”
Spear brought the swords that still held dragon souls and laid them out in front of us. “Father. You know which sword belonged to which Slayer, right?”
“Of course. I know every sword in Dronias.”
“Then tell me, which sword is the newest? Which one has been used the most recently?”
My father studied the line of swords. Each was unique, made especially for the person it was bought for. If my father could tell me which was the newest, I could save the dragons that had been taken the most recently, thereby preventing their illness in the first place.
“This one,” my father finally said, picking up a blade with a golden hilt featuring opals. “This belonged to Hecta. She turned eighteen just before you did and made her first kill...er...took her first soul on her birthday.”
I nodded. I remembered it well. I’d been so excited watching her go off up into the Triad Mountains and wishing it was me. Taking the sword from my father, I held the blade to my hand. It was already crisscrossed with scars so what was one more?
“Stand back,” I warned, knowing that freeing the dragon would make sparks fly from the sword.
I drew it across the meaty flesh of my palm and waited for the burst of fire.
Chapter Ten
Nothing happened. Where I expected flames to shoot out of the end of the sword and the soul of the dragon to whoosh across the sky back to its body, the sword remained exactly as it was.
“Did it work?” asked Spear, staring down at my hand. Blood dripped from the long cut onto the grass below while the people surrounding me looked at me in confusion.
“I don’t know,” I replied uncertainly. “I don’t think so.” I gazed up into the sky, searching it for the soul of the dragon, but I already knew it hadn’t worked.
Spear took my hand and gazed down at the red line I’d just created. “Why didn’t it work?” He searched my eyes for an answer, but I had none to give him. It had always worked before and nothing had changed. I’d not killed anyone, which was the only thi
ng I could think of that could take away my power.
A voice piped up from nearby. “She’s a fraud! Why are the Slayers here anyway?”
“We’re here to save your asses!” bellowed my father.
“You are the ones that caused all this in the first place!”
So many people were shouting at each other I couldn’t tell who was who. A brawl had broken out beside me but all I could look at was the sword. Why hadn’t it worked? It always had in the past.
“Maybe you are too tired to release any more,” offered Ash, who was also ignoring the chaos. “Come on, we need to get out of here before anyone punches either of us. Let Spear deal with this mess.”
I looked up then. Most of the crowd was fighting. Actually fist-fighting. A few people were trying to calm everyone down, but most were too angry to listen.
I saw Morganna trying to pull Alpha from one of the dragons, and Xander was holding Jasper back from one of the Wolvren. All around me, the world had turned to madness again. Spear was now back on the steps, shouting for calm. It was a disaster and I was sick to death of it. Everybody was always fighting, no matter what I did. Ash was right. Spear could deal with it. I’d go back home with Ash and wait it out there. I turned to follow him, but as I did, a thought struck me. I realized what the problem had been with the sword. My father had told us all only a while ago that sometimes he brought back dragons that had already had their souls taken and pretended he’d made the kill. What if he’d done that with Hecta? If Hecta had been too scared to kill, or they simply hadn’t found a live dragon, would my father cover for her? I believed he would. Letting go of Ash’s hand I dove at the line of swords next to Spear. Pulling the nearest one to me, I dragged the blade across my calf.
Like an explosion around me, everything turned orange. A loud bang escaped from the sword and someone screamed as I was engulfed in flames. It took a second or two to register that the screams were coming from me. I was on fire. I was burning. The sword in my hand was white hot and vibrating. I dropped it to the ground, hearing it clang as it hit the wooden step.
Searing hot pain flooded through me, filling my senses. I’d gone from a sword not working to this. The sounds of arguing had stopped, replaced by reactions of shock. I could just about hear them over the roar of the flames.
I thought then that I was going to die as fire licked me from all sides. Surely no one could withstand this much pain and survive. Something knocked me to the ground and then everything went black. At first, I thought I really had died, but then whatever had been thrown over me, covering my eyes, was removed.
I blinked. The flames were gone but my whole body was in pain. Looking up I could see the shocked faces of Ash, Spear, and Morganna. Edeline came into view with a bucket which she promptly upended onto me, covering me with icy water. Another woman I’d never met followed suit and threw another bucket of water over me. The coldness soothed my skin.
“She needs to change out of those clothes and get some burn lotion on,” Edeline demanded, pushing everyone else out of the way. “Can you stand, Julianna?”
I was in pain but I tried to pick myself up. Ash took one hand, which was fine, but when Spear went for my other hand, I cried out in pain. It had been holding the sword and was badly burned. I wouldn’t let anyone else touch me as Edeline guided me into the house. In the upstairs bathroom was a large claw-footed tub which she began to fill with cool water.
“Everybody out!” she demanded. I looked back to see Ash, my father, Spear, and Morganna behind me. All but Ash back out through the door. Edeline had to push Ash out and lock the door behind him to keep him out.
She peeled my burned clothes away from my body carefully before helping me into the bath.
“You’ve got some blisters from the flames, but nothing that won’t heal given time,” she said, carefully wiping blackened ashes from my naked body. “I’ve got some burn cream which will do wonders, but you are going to be in pain for a few days. You are lucky Ash acted as quickly as he did. He threw his jacket over you and put the flames out.”
“What happened?” I croaked. It was the first thing I’d said since going up in flames. Even my throat hurt from the smoke I’d inhaled.
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it. Once we’ve cleaned you up I’ll go and speak to the others and see if they know.”
I wanted to insist she take me but highly doubted that I’d feel able to walk downstairs and have a conversation about swords. Even with the cool bath water, I was still in agony. My skin was an angry red color, and most of it was marked with small blisters. Edeline let me drip dry rather than use a towel, which I was grateful for. It meant I took longer to dry, but the thought of moving a towel over my skin was enough to bring tears to my eyes. I had no idea how I was going to put clothes on without screaming.
“This is a miracle cure,” Edeline assured me as she took off the lid of the burn cream. “As you can imagine, in a colony of dragons, we had to come up with something amazing to treat burns. We can withstand high temperatures in our dragon forms, but we can burn in our human form.”
I nodded, not expecting much, but as she applied the cream, the pain began to dissolve. It was as if the cream leeched the pain right from my skin. By the time she’d slathered it all over me, I was able to put on a light cotton dress she’d found for me.
“You’ll have to wear that for a couple of days, but you’ll find that the cream will get rid of those blisters pretty quickly. I’ll let you have the tube.” She handed it to me. It smelled like nothing I knew, floral with a hint of something else, coconut, maybe.
“Thank you,” I said, placing the tube in one of the dress’s pockets.
She bustled about in a cupboard and came back with a roll of bandage. “You are going to need this on both hands and your calf. You’ve certainly done a good job of hurting yourself!”
She cut the bandage into three strips of equal length. The first she wrapped around my leg where I’d sliced it with the sword, then she wrapped both of my hands—my right because of the cut on it from Hecta’s sword and my left from the burn from the other sword. I was such a mess.
“I guess I won’t be entering any beauty contests anytime soon?” I joked.
Edeline laughed. “You look beautiful to me, and I’m betting there is a young man down there that only wants to know you are alright. Do you feel well enough to go downstairs and talk to the others?”
I nodded. We found them in Spear’s study. The last time I’d been in here, we’d been planning to raid Dronias. Now my father sat in there, munching on a cookie. How times had changed. When I walked through the door, everyone stood. Ash came running up to me.
“How could you have done something so stupid?” I could see the tears in his eyes as he approached.
“Stop!” Edeline demanded when he was still a foot away. “She’s burned her skin. You can’t touch her for a few days. She’ll not thank you for it. Her skin is very delicate at the moment.”
“I wasn’t going to,” objected Ash. “Is she going to be OK?”
“I’m right here!” I said. “And I’m fine. Your mom’s burn cream has taken most of the pain away. She thinks I’ll heal within a few days.”
Ash nodded and gave his mom a small smile. “You shouldn’t have done it though,” he insisted.
“No, she shouldn’t have,” agreed my father. “I told her not to. I’ve been telling everyone, including her, that this is too much for her, and now look what’s happened.”
“I’m agreeing with you,” said Ash forcefully. “I didn’t want this any more than you did. I hate that she got hurt.”
“You were close enough to stop her,” replied my father angrily. “If you didn’t want her to do this, why did you let her pick up the sword?”
“I’m right here!” I repeated, this time loudly. “Stop talking over me as though I’m not here. I am here and I can hear you. Does anyone know what happened? Why did the sword do that?”
Nobody said a
nything. I looked at the sword I’d picked up. Spear had it propped up next to him on the sofa. It was blackened by the flame, but I knew which sword it was. When I’d first picked it up, I’d just grabbed for the nearest sword, not thinking of who it belonged to, but now I could see it was my father’s sword. Even though it was covered in soot, I recognized the shape of it. That’s why it, and me along with it, had gone up in flames. I’d not released just one soul, I’d freed many. All the dragon souls my father had caught were now free.
“How many were there?”
“A lot,” said Spear “You did it, Julianna. You saved many dragons.”
“How many, Father? Ten? Twenty? A hundred?”
My father bowed his head. “At least.”
I smiled. Soon, over a hundred dragons would be flying across the sky and coming home. It was worth the pain. It was worth everything.
“You’re not doing this again,” my father demanded. “I won’t let you.” He turned to Spear. “You hear that? She’s my daughter. She’s been hurt enough. I’m sorry about the rest of your dragons, but there is no way I’m going to let you subject her to that again.”
Spear nodded. “You are right. Julianna has done so much for us already. I won’t ask her to do it again.”
They were talking over me again, but I didn’t have the energy to argue. In fact, I didn’t have the energy for anything. The room began to spin and I felt myself falling to the ground. Everything around me went black.
Chapter Eleven
I awoke in a room I’d never seen before. Light shone through a window, illuminating the white walls. It was sparse but large, with a large, ornate wardrobe at one side and a soft chair next to the bed I was lying on. Slumped in the chair, Ash was fast asleep, his mouth slightly open, one arm hanging over the side. I watched him for a while. The rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, the way his eyes moved under his eyelids. I wondered what it was that he was dreaming about.
The rest of the room gave me no clues as to where I was. There were no pictures on the walls and no personal items. I only knew I wasn’t in Ash’s house, with its walls carved out of the cliff rock, nor were we in any house in Dronias. The houses there were beautiful and quaint, but they didn’t have the perfectly straight lines of this room.
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