Flash Fiction #716 -- A Second Tale of the First Alliance/14

 

 

Callum had spent years in a hidden temple learning both the lore and the language of the dragons. He had become fluent in their language, and he could recite ancient dragon poems that took weeks to repeat.

He had never met a dragon.

The sky shimmered with gem-like colors and the hum of moving dragon wings.

Five dragons settled from sky to land, each a shimmering jewel color: jade, sapphire, emerald, diamond, and onyx.  Their beaks snapped in unison, and eyes that matched their scale colors blinked as they leaned closer.

"We are neither food nor enemies," Callum told them in their own language.

They each jumped backward like a pile of startled cats.

"You speak the true words," Jade snarled, again sounding too much like a cat. "You are not our oathed guards!"

"Your guards are no longer oathed."

Protests, followed by ominous silence from everyone except the drums still pounded and grew louder. Magic flashed through the air and died.

"Not oathed," Jade agreed, the dragon's voice far softer now.  "They swore their fealty to us! How could they gain such power to break that oath –"

Callum waved his hand and spread magic everywhere.  "Everyone will understand now.  We don't have time to keep explaining.  The problem is that the humans who swore an oath to you are long dead.  The oath held for several generations, but the link is nearly gone now.  Worse, someone is taking advantage of that weakness.  They want the dragons under their control."

Kono looked at him as if he were insane.  He might be, but everything he had learned from the temple and the journey pointed this way. He wanted to explain it better, but it was Lady Bear who convinced the dragons.  She did so with a powerful fae song that Callum, Kono, and Ryson only partly understood, but drew all the others to her.

All except the berserkers, who had dropped out of the well again. With them came Lord Bear, who looked as wild and dangerous as the others. Then Lord Bear killed three berserkers in quick succession and shredded their drums.

"I clearly didn't understand what was going on when they held me.  We had better help our fae friends.  If one falls, so will the other, and we don't want to explain why we didn't even try to save them."

"Yes," Callum agreed.  He looked at Jade, who twisted his long neck back and forth to watch everything he could see.  The battle between the berserkers and the fae was not the only one.  "Jade, you and the others must decide what side you are on.  We will do our best to keep others from the eggs."

Callum turned to his cousin.  Ryson shrugged and drew his sword.  "I think we have that problem worked out.  I will go help our ally."

Callum watched him go with some trepidation, but he snagged Kono as she started to follow.

"Let him go.  We need to trust him."

"Like trust him not to do something crazy?  Are you joking?"

She tried to pull away, and when he didn't let go, she got a look that could send council members running.  

"Let go of me.  Now."

"No."

Tsak had been crossing to them.  He stopped and took two steps backward. Kono found that amusing, and by then, Ryson was working with Lord and Lady Bear.  Jade and the other dragons had taken to the sky, including River and her friend.  Apparently, there would be no trouble over the stolen egg.

Everything appeared to be going well.

So why did he feel like disaster was only a heartbeat away?

Because they had found no answers here. The dragons had not started this battle, and he suspected the berserkers had even less to do with it. Things just did not add up yet.  Something else was still standing in the shadows, and Callum suspected they were playing right into its hands.

"Kono, listen to me.  We still have someone out there waiting to strike. It could be at any moment now, with everyone else involved in their separate battles. We need to find them."

Kono didn't ask questions. She stood still for a moment and then slowly turned in a circle -- and she stopped when she aligned with the well. No more berserkers fell out of the sky, but the circle was not closing this time.

Something moved there, shadowy and misshapen. It left darkness in its wake. Plants died and turned to dust. Birds fell from the sky, and animals they had not seen scattered in all directions.

Ryson joined them.  The other battles had slowed and stopped.  Everyone faced the true enemy.

Whatever it might be.

 

Flash Fiction #715 -- A Second Tale of the First Alliance/13

 

Ryson wanted to stop everything and take over. 

He thought he could do it, too.  That was a heady feeling.  He had powers he had never dared draw on since his capture by Lord Bear. It had not just been about getting control of him. Yes, he had wanted that link to Kono, but more than that, he wanted Ryson as his heir. 

That was the future Ryson had refused for himself and did his best to deny to anyone else.  Bear had seemed more frustrated than angry, and at that point he had lost control of the berserkers and himself.

The berserkers had tried to kill Ryson.  Bear had gotten him free and into Tsak's hands.  Bear had not wanted him injured – not then.  He was still in control.  He had just never thought a human would turn down such power as he offered. His only contact with humans had been the berserkers, and they had almost all joined the army for the power they gained.

 Ryson had said no.

 Ryson had the feeling he was not going to give up easily. In fact, he was aware that the berserkers were coming down the well. He could feel the drums more than hear them.

 He could take over here and get things moving before the enemy arrived. However, to do that, he would have to call upon his own berserker powers.  Could he pull back from them again?

"What are you thinking about?" Callum asked.

"Taking over," he admitted.

"And you think you could?"

Ryson looked at his cousin, glanced at the queen, and back.  He said nothing, but he could feel truths bubbling upward to take hold of him and his world.  Callum looked at the sky and studied the circle that still stood there and would still drop more trouble in their midst. Then he looked beyond toward the black clouds that swirled and surged and maybe gave distant cries of challenge.

 "I have powers," he finally said.  Admitted.  Callum nodded as if that had always been obvious. Maybe it had been to everyone but him. "They're linked to the berserker powers. I don't want to use them for fear of what will happen to me."

 "That's not what you fear. You worry about what you will do to others."

 He wanted to argue, but he didn't. "What will we do, Callum?"

"Whatever we have to do. Don't hold back for fear of what might happen.  We all have to use our powers in this trouble."

 By now, they could all hear the drums. Rayson pulled his thoughts together, and although he didn't make a decision, he knew he would help in whatever way he could.

 And then maybe they could go home.

 Someone laughed nearby.

 Ryson did something he had feared to do for years now.  "Show yourself!" he commanded.

 The laughter stopped with a startled gasp.  Ryson turned to the right, where a sudden mass of vapor began to swirl and take on a human shape.  Lights twinkled and the sound of the drums faded to a distant throb.

 She became solid.

Not human.  Fae.

 She turned to him and smiled.  For a moment, he expected her to laugh again, but she had a different look now.  Puzzled, perhaps. 

 "I didn't think you would come back within his reach," she said,

 "We have matters to settle still," Ryson replied.  He bowed his head.  "Lady Bear."

 "I thought you would know me.  How could you stand to be here?"  She looked at the others, pausing more at Callum than Kono. Ryson's two companions stayed close but kept quiet.  "This matter has become too complicated. My Lifemate hoped to disband the berserkers before the Dragon Core awoke. After so many centuries, they have become almost impossible to control. "

 "Why were you laughing?" Kono asked.

 "Because, despite all our powers and magic, it comes down to the humans to save us."

 Ryson had an almost uncontrollable urge to laugh as well.  He looked at his companions, who looked more chagrined than amused.  Kono looked worried.  Callum glanced back at the sky and the clouds growing ominously large while they talked.

 The opening to the well swelled larger and brighter.  People dropped out of it, both berserkers and Dradeni, already fighting.

 "Why couldn't they have dropped into the muck?" Kono demanded.  No one answered her.

 "How do we stop this insanity?" Ryson asked.

 "Your cousin Callum must get to the dragons and explain the situation so that they take control of the link forged between themselves and their human guards.  This will not be easy.  Dragons do not understand human – or fae – motivations.  We have taught Callum all the fae know about dragons.  We hope it is enough."

 Ryson thought his cousin didn't look worried enough.  It was not reassuring. Even Kono looked increasingly worried, especially once the drums began to beat.  She grabbed Ryson by the arm and then snagged Callum as well.  Ryson sensed the power in those links.

 "How do we reach the Dragon Core?" Callum asked.

 "The Dragon Core comes to you," Lady Bear replied.  She pointed to the sky where the black clouds separated into hundreds of dragons.

 No, they were not ready.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flash Fiction #714 --A Second Tale of the First Alliance/12

 

Kono said nothing.  Her cousins fell silent as well, the three of them moving quietly down what seemed to be endless stairs. She only looked back once and could no longer see the opening.  Kono wasn't certain if they were too far away to see it or if it had closed.

She didn't ask.

They rested twice before the opening below them looked any closer.  They even slept in turns. Kono thought days had passed, but there was no good way to measure time.  The opening below showed no day-and-night cycle.  The well held a monotonous pattern of colorless stairs and dark walls. It didn't help when the walls' surface became damp and slick.  She heard Ryson make small sounds of protest and fear, but he never slowed. His breathing steadied, even after the walls turned slimy.  Kono thought she heard strange, distant laughter.  She said nothing.

"How far is it across to the other side of the well?" Ryson suddenly asked.

Kono had kept that question buried in her own thoughts.  Of course, Ryson had attacked it straight on.

"Miles," Callum replied. It was the kind of answer she had expected.  Even Ryson only sighed. "We don't have much farther to go," he added.  "I suggest we stop and rest, and then hurry to whatever waits there."

"That has the sound of someone who just wants this over," Ryson added.

"The magic is changing," Callum said. He sounded distant. Kono wanted to grab hold of him, but she dared not move.  "It is not just that we are close to the end of the well ... I feel as if our arrival has triggered a change that we cannot control. I don't think the change has a purpose -- it does not feel good or bad.  It just exists.  We will have to learn to deal with it.  Let's get down to the ground. I would rather fight on the ground rather than here, if it comes to it."

Kono agreed and started with what was probably a precipitous descent toward that green land somewhere below them. Neither Callum nor Ryson argued with her about it, which she did not take as a good sign. Kono thought she could hear the scrabbling of feet somewhere on the wall above them. 

None of them made any comments about it. They hurried a bit more than they had lately. For Kono, it was just the hope that they would soon be done with something. She couldn't tell how far they had traveled, although she was nowhere that they'd gone through different realms. Would she ever return to our snow castle?  Callum and Ryson would do their best to get her home, and it had nothing to do with duty -- or with the idea that they might want to be back where they belonged, too.

Then, between one stair and the next, she fell towards that green, which did not now appear to be grass.   Moss. Water.

Sinking.

Before Kono could flail, Ryson grabbed her by the arm and dragged her upward. She almost fought him, trying frantically to find Callum in the murky water. Other things moved there, but she could not see them clearly.  Some were too small to be Callum; others were too large.

They broke through the mossy surface, Kono frantic, only to find Callum in front of them, sitting on the moss and water.

"There you are," Callum said with a nod.  "Good. We need to get out of the lake before something tries to eat us."

Ryson started to say something and then shook his head.  "I can't argue with his logic."

Kono thought she might argue just to make things more normal.  Fortunately, this journey had tired her so much that she couldn't bring herself to do something so useless. Kono wanted to get out of the water and rest for a while.  Maybe even for a long while.

Callum took them both by the hand and pulled them out of the moss and muck.  They were instantly moving with such speed that she had to close her eyes against the wind.  She tried to blink things into focus and thought there might be a distant ridge of hills and clouds moving there.

She could neither see nor feel anything out of the ordinary here, so she stopped fighting to keep her eyes open.  She trusted Callum to keep them safe and just hoped that Ryson kept calm now that they were out of the well.

Kono finally looked up at the sky, not at all surprised to find that dark opening gone.  Trapped here? She would not allow it.  Besides, she trusted that if magic brought them here, it could get them out again.

It seemed odd to depend so much on Callum, though. He had always been her quiet cousin.  Except for his exceptional wardrobe and jewels, he might have gone unnoticed.

And Ryson?  He had magic of his own – oh yes, she had known that for a while.  Not Callum's type of magic, but nothing dark she could tell.  It seemed linked to the chaotic magic of life itself.

And she had powers of her own.  Those came with the throne, but they were alive in her blood and came down to her through many generations of rulers. Maybe it was time to revisit that ancient legend of how her family came to rule.

Kono thought it might be part of what was going on now, and she didn't trust that feeling.  Despite everything, she didn't really trust magic.

Flash Fiction #713 -- A Second Tale of the First Alliance/11

 

Ryson could see the opening above them fast growing smaller -- but not because it was shrinking.  They were falling, and he held tight to Kono's arm even though he didn't think he could save her.  The shock of the sudden fall kept him from panicking just long enough for Callum to save them.

"There!" Callum shouted. With a sickening jolt, they moved as much to the right as downward.   "Sit down and grab hold of the stone!"

Ryson asked nothing before his right knee found the promised stone. He grabbed at the wall -- but it wasn't where he expected it to be.  Ryson was still falling. He hit his elbow -- ledge!

Ryson's body moved faster than he could gather his thoughts. He held tighter to Kono and swung her around and upward. She hit with a yip of pain, but grabbed hold of something.

"Sorry," Ryson gasped and tried to make his hand hold tighter, although it felt as if his entire arm and hand had gone numb.  "Careful. I don't think I could catch you again."

"Let go.  I am safe. I think we are on some stairs."

"Stairs," Callum confirmed.  He seemed to be somewhere close below them.  "Sit down, Ryson.  It will be easier to do magic to protect us if we are close together."

Ryson thought that made sense, but he still couldn't make himself let go of Kono.  She finally grabbed hold of his arm and tried to pull him upward.  He panicked, realizing that she had let go of any handhold.  He threw himself against the wall and found the stairs.  Kono finally let go when he sat with his back against her legs.  For a moment, Ryson still couldn't breathe. Then a soft, calm blue light filled the small area where they sat crowded together on three stairs.  He could only see the distant spots above and below them, but they were still.

"And now what?" Kono asked as if they had a clue.

"Climb up the stairs or walk down them." Callum waved his hand, and a little spread of blue light showed a dozen steps in each direction. "We know we left a battle behind us, but I suspect it will long be over before we can get back.  I have no idea what is below us, except for considerable magic."

"Downward," Kono said, but made no attempt to move.  "Let's not make the walk worse."

Callum didn't argue, and Ryson was ready to do whatever they said.

"Downward," Callum finally said aloud.  Ryson echoed him.  Kono stood, frightening Ryson into a surge to his feet.  Callum and Kono both grabbed him, which did not help.  Ryson feared he would pull them all down.

"Calm!" Callum ordered.  Ryson froze, but Kono still pulled him upward and into her embrace.  It had been a long time since she had held him.  Callum came close behind and put a hand on Ryson's shoulder.  It had been a long time since the three of them had stood so close.  He thought that might have been his fault.  Despite all his best intentions, he had let the berserkers change him after all.

"Down," Ryson said, his voice shaky.  "Please, let's go down now."

Maybe his two companions finally realized the precariousness of their position.  Callum carefully turned, a hand going to Ryson's arm to help steady him.  Ryson took Kono's hand, and her fingers curled around his with surprising force.

"This was not the best time for me to have an existential crisis," he admitted, and felt better for having said those words.  "My apologies."

"We were all part of it," Kono replied.  "And it was better to face that trouble now rather than later."

Ryson knew she was right, but hated the inevitable show of weakness that had been hanging over him like a cloud since he walked away from Lord Bear.  Ran away, to be honest with himself. 

"Where are we?" he finally dared to ask.

"As far as I can tell, this is the well between worlds," Callum replied.  He didn't slow.  "It is an ancient passage that links two realms and was created by the fae so long ago that the magic has mostly faded."

"So you know where we are going," Kono replied and sounded more assured, though her fingers still held tight to Ryson.

"It is not that easy," Callum answered.

"It never is," Ryson mumbled.

"The well forms its own links between realms and goes where it wants to go. It is interesting, though, that it opened beneath our feet."

"Is it interested in what we are doing?" Kono asked.

"I suspect so.  And given that they have some control over the well --"

"Fae," Ryson said, and without even a hint of surprise.  "Of course, there will be fae."

Someone laughed not far away.

Flash Fiction #712 -- A Second Tale of the First Alliance/10

 

Callum couldn't decide which he mistrusted more: the gryphon and dragon, or his own place in this mess. Yes, an extraordinary mage had trained him.  Callum even admitted to himself that he had used magic well on this journey. 

This trouble, however, would affect more than just him and a handful of friends.  He hadn't practiced enough to take on any real trouble.  Deal with dragons? No matter what his teachers had told him, he was not ready for that responsibility.   Even watching their young dragon companion sent a chill through him, and it had nothing to do with the falling temperature as they climbed higher.  He was, after all, one of the snow-born. He could not imagine his mother leaving to wander the woods for over twenty days until he was born far out in the wilderness. The actions were supposed to have made him braver --

"You are thinking too hard, Callum," Ryson accused.  His cousin startled him, since he hadn't been walking with Callum a moment before.  "What is bothering you?"

Callum stopped and stared at Ryson.  "You have to be insane if nothing is bothering you."

"I have my own worries," Ryson admitted.  "I assume you do as well."

"Magic," Callum answered.  Ryson nodded.  His cousin understood at least the basics of the problem.  "I know some magic, but until this journey, I haven't used it for anything but practice.  We need someone with experience."

"Do you think one is going to be waiting along the path for us?"

"I could hope so."

"The way things have been going, it might happen.  But supposing someone with better qualifications -- and one we are going to trust -- is not going to drop from the sky and save us.  The gryphon and dragon have accepted you in this capacity because you are what we need.  Should I trust another mage of your ability?  Could Kono and I work with anyone else?"

"I don't know what I am doing."

"None of us do."

"That is not reassuring." 

"It is not my job to lie to you."

Callum found that one amusing, even if it was more truth than he had wanted to hear.  Maybe it called for a truth in return.

"I don't know how to protect Kono," he admitted with a quick glance around to make certain she was not too close.  "Too many distractions --"

"Protecting Kono is my job.  You need to focus on the dragons."

"Can we trade?"

Ryson gave him a look of disbelief, his humor hardly hidden behind that mask.  "You really think protecting Kono is easier? I don't even dare stand near her for too long, or she accuses me of not trusting her."

He was right, of course.  She had always hated it when they tried to protect her.  "That is why you are teaching her your fighting skills," Callum replied.

Ryson didn't answer.  He had turned to look toward the right, where enormous boulders reached to the edge of the trail.  One guard moved there and disappeared again.

"Get ready for trouble," Ryson warned.  He put a hand on Callum's arm.  "Keep hold of her. I will stay with the two of you as best I can."

"Ryson?" Kono said, but moved closer to Callum.

"The guard didn't give the signal.  He must be a berserker, or else we have even more humans involved.  Be ready for trouble."

"As if we aren't already expecting it," Kono mumbled.

Ryson turned and took three steps away before shouts started among their desert allies.  The battle came only moments later as drums pounded and many of the enemy scrambled over the stony terrain. 

They should have been prepared for such a problem, Callum thought.  He found himself uncommonly calm as he stepped forward and engaged the first enemy.  The adrenaline just wasn't there this time.

He kept focused, though.  Callum took his place beside Kono while Ryson rushed back to join them.  They didn't have time to talk.  There were not as many berserkers as he had feared, but they seemed to have better control.

They still wanted Ryson, which made no sense to him.  They had wanted his cousin to get to the Queen, and yet here she was, not drawing any extra attention.  In fact, when it looked as though she was tired, two of the enemy backed away.

Callum slid over to stand beside her.  Nothing changed until Ryson neared. Then the ground trembled violently.  Kono took hold of Callum just as Ryson leaped forward and grabbed them both by their arms.

And then they were falling.

Downward.