Wings of Arian (11 page)

“It was just an accident, Kiora.”

She shook his arm off her shoulder, standing. “It was an accident? What if it would have been you, Emane, instead of Leo that was outside that tent? Would you be so apologetic if it would have been you I blasted into a tree?!” Kiora’s voice was getting louder. “I could have killed someone, Emane. I got lucky that it was a Guardian. How am I supposed to deal with the fact that if I think the wrong thing at the wrong time, I’m going to blow somebody up!” She broke down again covering her face with her hands.

Emane stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do. “I don’t,” he dropped his head, shuffling his feet in dirt. “I’m sorry, I wish..”

She moaned. Stepping into him she shoved her face into his chest. Startled, he looked down at her before slowly wrapping his arms around her. Standing there in the dark he didn’t say anything, he just let her cry. Her sobs began to slow after a couple of minutes and she leaned back to wipe her eyes.

“Kiora...” before he could finish his sentence she gasped and stumbled backwards.

“It’s… happening… again…,” she said between gasps of air.

“What’s happening?”

Kiora’s eyes were blank and distant. “Kiora.” Emane grabbed her by the shoulders. “What’s happening?” Her legs gave out and she crumbled like a rag doll, her eyes rolling back in her head. Dropping with her, Emane put his arm under her head to prevent her from slamming into the ground.

“ALERIC!” Emane screamed. “Aleric, Eleana, Arturo.... somebody help me!” Turning back to Kiora, he ran his hand over her hair. “It’s going to be alright Kiora.”

Kiora didn’t hear any of it. She was already deep within her vision.

***

She hadn’t had time to prepare herself for it when she felt herself falling again into the blackness. The first part was the worst, sucking blackness pulling her backward into her own mind.

When the light returned she found herself in an unknown place, so much different than the lush green forests she was used to. She slowly turned around, surveying the dismal landscape. Everything around her was charred and black. It looked as if a fire had ripped through the trees breaking them off, leaving only their blackened stumps standing like little forlorn footmen guarding the lake before her.

The small lake was inexplicably boiling with steam rising from its surface. The smell was overwhelming, reeking of sulfur and she crinkled her nose in response. This land was so desolate. The only color that caught her eye was a plume of purple smoke.

It looked almost alive the way it slinked and slithered its way from the sky to the earth, sliding across the charred land. The front of the smoke plume nodded back and forth, looking for something. It snaked its way up a blackened hill curling around the side and continuing on its way up the back. She followed its course around a massive hole in the ground; the smoke circled around the edge before it slid in and was gone.

As Kiora inched herself closer to the hole she peered over, looking for the smoke. A roar exploded upward with a blast of heat. She scrambled backwards as fast as she could. Another roar came, sounding closer than the last, and then a dragon the size of a small house came shooting out of the hole and into the sky. Behind him another dragon came hurtling out, followed by another. She watched them as their wings strained, pushing themselves farther into the sky, growing smaller and smaller before disappearing into the blackness.

The darkness enveloped Kiora again. When the light returned, she stood on the cliffs of the Garian Sea. She watched as another plume of smoke snaked its way across the sky, this one was blue. It dropped out of the clouds and plummeted straight into the sea. She nervously looked on, expectant of some other great beast exploding upwards, but instead the darkness began to close in on her again.

When the darkness began to clear, this time it swirled around her licking at her feet. Squinting, she looked ahead to make out the towering cliffs of the mountains that surrounded them. It looked familiar, two peaks, their sides swooping in towards each other creating a pass between them. There, between the two mighty mountains, stood a gate of enormous proportions. Iron bars swirling up and around, the two halves affixed in the center with a giant lock. Standing in front of the gate was the silhouette of a man, laughing.

The mist became thicker, obscuring him, and then faded, sending her back to reality.

“Wait! No, I haven’t seen anything yet!” She shouted at the mist. It didn’t matter. The vision was gone.

Moaning, Kiora blinked furiously trying to get the room to come into focus. Not three inches from her nose, leaning over her with anxious eyes, was Emane. Yelping, she scrambled backwards like a crab, pushing herself against the head of the bed.

“Emane? What are you doing here?”

He leaned back a little, his eyes still raking over, as if checking to make sure she was ok. “You had a vision while we were talking. Aleric suggested I bring you here while you finished it.”

Her face turned bright red, “You saw me have a vision!?”

“Yes, we were talking, remember? You just, fainted.”

“Oh no.” Pushing herself out of bed, Kiora shoved past Emane.

“Kiora!” he said stumbling out of her way, “I know your still mad at me but—”

“I have to talk to Eleana and Aleric.” Pushing the tent flaps open Kiora put her arm over her eyes to block the sun. “I was out all night?!”

“Yes, you stopped moaning after a while and Aleric figured you had fallen asleep.”

“You stayed all night?” she asked. Sheepish, Emane nodded. Kiora blushed, turning her head away. “I have to go.” She took off, weaving back and forth between the trees as she went. She could hear Emane’s feet pounding a little ways behind her.

“Kiora, where are you going?” Emane yelled.

“I have got to talk to Aleric.”

“You don’t even know where he is!”

“Of course I do, I’m following his thread,” she shouted back over her shoulder.

They ran right past the tent where they usually ate and into a part of the Hollow they had not seen. Kiora came to a sudden halt and looked around.

Emane caught up to her. “Now what’s the matter?” he asked leaning into a tree. Rolling to the side he put his hand on his chest taking in great gulps of air. He shook his head and mumbled under his breath, “You have got to be kidding me!”

“I’m sorry?” Kiora asked.

“You are in better shape than me, too.”

“Too?” Kiora turned in a circle frowning, “I like to run.” She took a step to the left, and then to the right, shaking her head.

“Of course you do.” Emane said pushing himself off the tree.

“Shhh.” “What is it?” he whispered.

“Something else is here. I thought I could feel Aleric and Eleana’s threads but now they feel… fuzzy.” Kiora frowned. “The thread of whoever else is here is overpowering theirs.” She started walking slowly through the trees, looking around each one. Emane followed behind her. Then she saw it. She turned around to warn Emane, but it was too late. He had already seen it.

Emane’s jaw fell slack, “Kiora, is that a… a…” he closed his eyes, breathing out.

“A dragon, yes. Turning back she peered through the trees trying to get a better look at the dragon. “But it’s not the one I saw in my vision.”

Emane took a step up behind her, putting his face over her shoulder he hissed in her ear. “There is more than one of those things?”

“At least four now.”

Chapter Six

DRAGONS

“WHAT?!” PRINCE EMANE SHOUTED jerking backwards.

Kiora cringed as the dragon turned its head toward them, letting out a thunderous roar.

“So Eleana, you now harbor eavesdropping children?” Its voice was deep, male, and resonated with a melodic quality.

“Those children are who we have been discussing,” Eleana answered calmly.

The dragon stretched its brown scaly neck around one of the trees to get a better look at the two humans that stood staring at him. His head moved past Kiora without much of glance to focus in on Emane. “This is the Solus?”

“No, Morcant, the other one.”

Pulling his head back a bit, his eyes widened slightly in surprise at the sight of Kiora. Pulling back further, the dragon turned his massive head to the side looking at Eleana. “The Solus is a female?”

“Yes, Morcant, she is. Kiora, Emane, will you both please come over here?”

They picked their way through to where Aleric, Eleana and the giant dragon were standing. Kiora was not sure how the dragon had gotten himself in there in the first place. She glanced behind the dragon.at a huge section of trees that had been crushed like toothpicks.

Oh, that’s how,
she thought.

Eleana put her hand on Kiora’s shoulder. “Kiora, this is Morcant. Morcant this is Kiora, the Solus. And this is her Protector,” she hesitated for a moment, before naming him. “Prince Emane.”

Morcant raised his eyebrows as Emane was introduced. “Did you say ‘Prince?”

“I did. Morcant,” she warned, “he is not his family, just as you are not yours.”

Morcant humphed. Poking his massive face forward, he nearly butted Emane in the head. Emane jumped back, looking nervously back and forth from the dragon to Eleana.

“That was an interesting little tidbit you kept from me Eleana.”

Eleana pulled her head higher, sliding between Morcant and Emane. “It was Epona’s decision, Morcant. You may take it up with her.

Pulling his head back to his full height, Morcant snorted in disgust.

Kiora could not get over how he sounded when he spoke. On one hand, the sheer volume was frightening. But on the other hand it was so melodic and the tone so beautiful she didn’t want him to stop talking.

“Morcant. I know it has been some time since you have had company,” Eleana chided stepping away from Emane. “But do you think you could perhaps try to recall some manners?”

The giant dragon smiled, exposing a very large row of very large teeth. He bent his head low to the ground in between Kiora and Emane’s feet. “I am very pleased to meet both of you.” His eyes shifted over to look at Eleana. “I apologize for my
dreadful
manners,” his voice dripped with sarcasm and amusement. “As Eleana mentioned, it has indeed been some time since I have had the need for conversation.”

Kiora looked down at him, a smile playing across her lips.

Morcant pulled his head up slightly so he stood nose to nose with her. “What are you thinking, girl?”

“Her name is Kiora.” Eleana corrected.

“Of course,
Kiora.
Those dreadful manners of mine.” He smiled wide again exposing his teeth. “What is it that you are thinking, Kiora?”

“I was thinking what a lovely creature you are.”

The dragon pulled himself up to full size, snapping a few branches in the process, letting loose a bellowing laugh. Kiora could feel her insides vibrating as the sound rippled through the forest.

“Lovely creature, she says! I like her Eleana, I don’t think anyone has ever called me that, not in at least three thousand years.” His laugh was still bellowing around them. He raised a foot and stomped the ground in sheer delight. The shock wave from the impact rolled through the ground knocking Aleric, Kiora and Emane off their feet.

“Morcant!” Eleana yelled over him, “You are going to kill them all if you are not careful.”

Morcant abruptly stopped, looking down at the pile of humans struggling to stand. Kiora pushed herself back to her feet rubbing her elbow.

“Sorry,” Morcant chortled. “I had forgotten the frailty of man.” He clicked his tongue “Too bad really. You could do so much more without all those limitations.”

Morcant bent back down coming eye to eye with Kiora. “So, I am a lovely creature. Why do you think that? Do I not frighten you?”

Kiora shook her head. “No.”

“And why not?” Morcant sounded a little insulted.

“I can feel your thread, it is good. Much different than the others.”

Eleana’s head snapped to attention. “Others? What others?”

“The ones I saw in the vision. There were three.” Kiora looked around, Eleana and Aleric looked alarmed, but Morcant slowly raised his head up, just watching her.

“She has the gift of sight?” He tilted his head to the side. “What else can you do?”

Eleana cut him off before Kiora could answer “Later, Morcant. I need to know what she saw.”

Kiora began to expound the vision. She told them as much detail as she could remember.

“None of it made sense,” she finished. “I thought the smoke must have called the dragons, but then one went into the sea and nothing happened.”

“No, Kiora, it all makes sense.” Eleana sighed. “You’re right, the smoke signal is how Dralazar calls his followers to him. You saw only two of the signals. According to what I saw in the Wings of Arian he has set out at least five.”

“But the one went into the sea,” Kiora said, “it didn’t call anybody.”

“I am afraid it did,” Morcant rumbled. “The Garian Sea is home to both the Merfolk and the Merserpents. You also saw the gate.” His eyes flicked to Eleana’s. “That is most interesting.”

Kiora was about to ask what was so interesting about that, but Emane said, “Merserpents? I have never heard of such a species.”

Aleric choked, shaking his head violently at Emane.

Morcant swiveled his head over so that, again, he was nose to nose with Emane, clearly enjoying how the proximity between them was making the young prince extremely uncomfortable. “Never heard of them?”

Emane struggled to keep his composure with dragon teeth flashing before his nose. “No.”

“Well then,” Morcant chuckled, “perhaps you have heard of the Rockmen?” Emane shook his head.

“The Chaoses?”

Another no.

“How about the Shapeshifters?”

No again.

“Fallen Ones?”

“Yes,” Emane said quickly, relieved to finally understand something.

“Well then,” he moved even closer to Emane’s face. “I suppose you’re not a total loss.”

Kiora cringed, Morcant was horribly condescending. Emane’s face had turned red under Morcant’s mockery and she watched as Emane’s hand moved to the hilt of his sword.