Divided (90 page)

Taking the challenge, she let out a terrifying roar and
opened her mouth to release a strange, black fire from which Calis leapt away. 
The fire destroyed all in its wake, not simply burning the ground, but charring
it, leaving it without life.  And yet, as Calis stared at it—he only thought of
Taeru—was that what this monster was doing to him?  Desperation exploded
through him, and he shook his head.  He ran towards the dragon, a feat that
most would have considered insane.

The dragon turned to face him as he slid along the ground,
cutting along its stomach with a risen sword.  She let out a slight groan of
frustration, and then she let out another wave of fire away from which he
rolled.  He wished fervently that he’d had a shield, but there was no guarantee
that one of those would dissuade the life-sucking fire either.  The dragon
leapt towards him with surprising agility, and the talons reached down as he
jumped aside, catching her stub of an arm with his sword.  When she landed, she
turned to spew that fire again, and he was forced to dive to the side.

The dragon’s wings spread, and she raised momentarily,
landing against his body with one of her back feet.  He let out a shocked cry
of pain, and the weight began to slowly crush his body.  His hand somehow
managed to keep its grip on his sword, and the Magister angled herself so that she
could shoot the fire at his trapped form.  He squirmed, pushing his sword into
the foot of the beast with desperation.  When nothing happened, he pulled back and
stabbed upwards once more. 

When she lowered her head enough, Calis managed to pull his
body just far enough away that he could raise his sword so that it nearly
pierced the skin of her throat.  She growled, and as she let out another burst
of fire, he lunged forward, leaping behind the tail of the monster. 
Unfortunately, she was well aware of his presence, and the blunt side of the barb
on her tail slammed into his side and sent him skidding across the grove.  Mud
shot upwards, slicing into his eyes with a mild sting. 

He pulled himself up, though, readying his sword for another
round.  As he watched, the dragon spread her wings again, and this time she
launched fully into the air, flapping the massive appendages and somehow
managing to bring her disturbing form far above the grove without much effort. 
His eyes widened, and he stepped backwards.  The dragon turned to face him, and
as she started her path towards him, Calis saw her take the breath to launch
the fire again.  Not needing any more warning than that, he leapt aside as the
fire scarred the grove with its power. 

The dragon turned at once, and yellow eyes glared at him,
murderous intent blazing in them.  Gone was the composed confidence the Magister
had held as the woman—no, she was angry with him.  Good, he thought.  Working
to keep his eyes from Taeru, for he knew it would very surely end in his death,
he prepared himself for another dodge.  A vine beneath his feet, though, shot
up and rooted him to the spot.  Realizing a moment quick enough, he stuck his
sword downwards, freeing his foot, and then, rather than pulling himself to the
right or left, he ran towards the dragon as she flew towards him.

Raising his sword again, he caught the bottom of the monster
a second time.  His sword wavered, though, and rather than creating a full
gash—it was thrown to the side, and it nicked the wing of the creature.  She
let out a screech, and all at once, she rose herself back into the air.  Then,
instead of launching another attack, she aimed the fire down, shooting from
well beyond his reach.  He moved aside, though she fired again, and he was
forced to dodge another time.  The process continued, and he realized that he
was losing time.  She was not going to come back down.  “Are you
afraid
of me, Aleia?” he snapped.  “I am but only a man!” he repeated her words. 

Her eyes widened, but she shot another bolt of fire towards
him, and he staggered out of the way.  “Surely, you do not intend to manipulate
the Magister of Manipulation, little Tsrali?” she asked.  There was a smugness
in her voice that he knew must be due to her imprisonment of Taeru.  If he
couldn’t reach her, then he could not kill her—and if he could not kill
her—then he could not save Taeru.  Horror clawed into his mind once more. 

Without bothering to think about the consequences of his
actions, Calis stepped backwards, and with a solid thrust, he launched his
sword upwards, at the dragon.  He surprised her, for the beast’s eyes widened
in unexpected confusion.  The sword caught along the side of her wing, nearly
crippling it, but then, she caught the sword and let out another roar.  “Your
desperation makes you foolish,” she informed him. 

Then, her eyes watched him and, turning in the air, she
angled herself for another strike.  After all, with no sword, he was all but
helpless.  He prepared himself, finding that he was nearly excited at the
prospect that she would lower herself to his level once more.  Even without a
sword, he ought to be able to do something.  He lowered his body so that he was
near to the ground.  She flew downwards, and as he stepped back, her tail
lashed out again and wrapped about his waist, flinging him onto his back.  As
she positioned her body over him, predator to prey, he slammed his foot upwards
into her stomach’s thick hide. 

Reaching frantically towards the back of his belt, he
slammed a dagger upwards into her stomach.  The damage was small, but she let
out a groan.  Rather than pulling back, though, she roared and prepared another
bolt of fire.  Pinned to the ground beneath her talons, his body flailed in an
unabashed desperation.  The fire exploded from her mouth, and Calis jerked his
head to the side, thinking only of the boy still trapped in the crystal. 
Though, rather than feeling the tear of the destructive fire, there was a
sensation of wind, as though the fire was drawn from him.

Blinking, he glanced at the dragon.  The fire was swirling
about him, and it was being dragged towards his chest, yet it didn’t appear to
be striking him.  He blinked again, and this time, he looked at his own chest
where the Cathalari amulet swirled, consuming the fire into it.  His shock did
not match hers, and using the momentary confusion, he reached to grab the
dagger and then twisted so that he slammed the thing into her tail, pinning it
just before the barb.  Then, he wriggled away and put distance between them. 
Risking a glance towards the amulet that he ought not be wearing, he touched it,
and it hummed with energy.

The dragon didn’t waste much more time, she shrieked and
pulled against her tail, removing the dagger and launching into the air another
time.  Calis stepped back, and his eyes narrowed as he looked into the dragon’s. 
“You can’t have him,” he whispered.  “I won’t let you take him!”

The path towards Calis was immediate.  With the sword still
clutched in one of her talons, the dragon pierced through the air towards him. 
Then, with a shocked cry, the dragon stopped abruptly, and his sword clattered
to the ground.  Calis blinked and immediately darted for his sword, rolling and
obtaining it before the dragon could realize that she’d given it back to him. 
When he obtained enough distance, though, he saw the cause for the lapse
sticking from the creature—an arrow.  Calis let out a breath, and when he
turned, he found he was not alone.

Taeru’s sister stood, bow raised and aimed at the dragon,
surely the position from which she had fired.  And beside her was Lee, looking
wary as he removed himself from the horse that he rode.  He had, in his hand, a
shield and a sword, and his eyes were narrowed.  Calis’s own widened, and the
dragon turned her wrath on the two newcomers to the battlefield.  Not wanting
to lose the moment, Calis leapt forward, and his sword rended the scales of her
back.  She used her tail to swat him into the air.  The barb tore into his
skin, through his armor, and he rolled along the ground after he landed.

When he glanced up, he saw that Aela had drawn another
arrow—despite the fact that the dragon was about to burn her alive, and Calis
severely doubted that she had any magical amulet that would protect her.  He
really didn’t want to chance that, either.  She released the arrow, and it slammed
into the dragon’s neck but ineffectually fell away after a moment.  “Lee!”
Calis shouted.  Lee was already moving, and he’d pulled the young girl out of
the way just before the fire pierced the ground where she’d stood.

Calis pulled his body upwards fully, and he darted towards
the dragon and, consequently, his new allies.  The dragon, though, launched
herself back into the air.  Aela readied another arrow, but the monster fired
her own weapon first, and Aela was forced to duck away.  As Calis reached the
other two, he breathed unsteadily.  Aela was staring blankly at her captive
brother.  Calis’s teeth pressed together painfully, and he shook his head.  “I
have to get him out of there!” he choked.  “She won’t let him go!  She stopped
attacking the land—why won’t she let him go?” he asked, screaming for an
answer.

Lee stared upwards at the monster, who was hovering and
firing at intervals, causing them all to have to dodge into separate
directions.  Her yellow eyes were glowing as they watched Aela, clearly more
interested in Taeru’s sister than the other two.  “Because Taeru didn’t tell
her to,” Aela choked.  “He’s such a fool.  He was so worried…”  Her eyes were
filled with tears, and Calis would have felt sympathy if he hadn’t felt more
pain than he’d ever felt in his life coursing through him.  “He only held her
to the part of the promise that would save the land, he wasn’t even thinking
about himself.  But he was what she wanted most.  She hates him, for proving
her wrong again—and for what his ancestor did!”  Calis wasn’t sure what Aela
was saying, but he didn’t particularly care.

Lee, though, felt compelled to explain to him.  “Long ago—a
deal was made.  Taeru is actually not Veyron’s son.  His mother was with
another man, and that man was a descendant of a hero who brought peace to
Telandus and Cathalar long ago, so that the Magisters wouldn’t destroy them
both!  Aleia was so angry at the failed destruction that she made the Hero
pledge his life and his descendants, as well as the lands, should the peace
ever be broken.”  Well, that described what Taeru had been trying to do.

“But the peace isn’t broken—there is no war!” Calis choked,
anguish riddling his body.

“I know!  Aleia isn’t upholding her end of the bargain,”
Aela said weakly.  “She is obliged to it, but only if the words are invoked. 
Taeru only entreated the part about the lands, not his own life.”  Her eyes
were spilling tears, and they were filled with weakness.  Calis let out a
strangled cry. 

Taeru, you promised…
 

“Selfless, little fool,” she whimpered.

“Invoke the words, then, Aela,” Lee said, and his voice was
as calm and neutral as always.  Calis’s head snapped to observe his advisor. 
Lee had a little blood on him, though the rain had washed most of it away. 
“The deal says nothing about Taeru having to speak them.  Call the Magisters,
now!  Aleia will have to let him go!”  Lee’s eyes moved weakly towards the
obelisk, and then he looked away, as though in pain—Calis knew the feeling.

Aela’s eyes widened, but she nodded her head in agreement. 
Calis turned back to the dragon, who was busy planning her next attack.  “I’ll
draw her away if I can,” Calis promised.  “Please, please, save him,” he
begged.  Aela’s eyes met his, and there was a moment of absolute understanding
between the two of them.  She cared for her brother almost as much as Calis
did, and she knew that.

“Go, Calis.  I’ll guard Aela!” Lee snapped.  Calis tore the
amulet from his neck and threw it to Lee.  Lee caught it, though there was a
question in his eyes.  Aela blanked as she stared at the amulet.

Rather than waiting to see if Lee would ask, Calis answered
their unspoken question.  “When the dragon tried to kill me, the amulet
absorbed the fire.  I don’t know why, but it did, and I think you might need it
more than I,” Calis said sharply.  Lee nodded his head, and then he glanced
towards Aela.

“It’s the Magisters, the family crests of the Telandan and
Cathalari rulers were imbued with magic to keep them from being punished
unjustly,” she said.  “Any crest willingly handed from a Cathalari to a
Telandan or vice versa is a protective talisman.  My brother gave you that,
yes?” she asked.

Calis just nodded, and then the dragon started towards them
another time.  The creature had obviously determined what she needed to do, and
her eyes were still trained on Aela.  Calis closed his eyes as the words
flickered through his mind.  Taeru had saved his life, he realized, his
directly—his only.  Lee threw the amulet around his own neck without another
thought.  The dragon twisted through the air so that its wings stirred up a
wind that made it difficult to see, and then it drew breath in order to fire. 

Lee released one of his knives, just as Calis tore to the
side and leapt so that his body caught the wing of the dragon.  The fire
started, and Lee jumped forward, throwing up his shield as fire raged around
him and Aela.  The amulet was glowing with power as the fire hovered just to
the sides of the shield.  Calis dug his sword into the side of the creature.  Though,
when she pulled herself up, straight up, his sword tore down her side, and he
fell to the ground with a hard thud. 

“Aleia, Magister of Direction, you made a promise long ago
that agreed that you would be able to take the life of the Hero should he fail
in his agreement to keep peace throughout the land.  In no other circumstance,
aside from council and agreement of the other Magisters, do you have the right
to take the life of a mortal!  You have to release my brother, lest you lose
your position as a Magister!”  Aela screamed the words, and Calis thought that
people back in Telandus ought to have heard her, and yet, nothing happened. 
She jerked her head from side to side, screaming in fury.  “Why isn’t this
working?”