Ascent From Ash, page 12
“Since when do you care what anyone thinks? You are Queen Sophie Rend of Lapis Highland, Wizard of the North, and one of my very best friends. They can think what they want, let them speak badly of you in front of me and I will hand you their tongue.” Dominic nudged her with his shoulder.
When they got to Sophie’s room, Dominic embraced her warmly. “Sleep well, Soph. I will see you in the morning for breakfast.” Sophie closed the door as Dominic walked down the hall toward his room. She fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow and didn’t wake up until the morning light was shining brightly into her eyes.
23
Akiri
Gabe and Akiri jolted awake to the sound of a dragon screeching as it passed by their bedroom window. Akiri jumped out of bed with her heart pounding and threw on a dressing gown. She was already out of the room and down the hall before Gabe could even get out of bed. Akiri ran out the back doors and across the southern courtyard. Her heart dropped and she screamed as she surveyed the scene. Loud clanging from the bell tower told Akiri that someone noticed the fire and was at least alerting the castle.
Smoke billowed from the door of the lair and Akiri bolted from the back of the castle to the steel door. It was hot to the touch, but she grabbed the handle anyway. She screamed for Gabe as she cried and frantically tried to open the steel door but it was stuck and her hand sizzled as she gripped the hot metal handle. She roared in pain as she pulled her hand off. She looked at her right hand which was now missing the top layer of skin in the shape of the handle. Gabe made it outside just in time to see Akiri burn her hand and he quickly grabbed a bucket of water and rushed it to her. She plunged her hand down into the bucket and muffled a scream as the water took the heat from her wound.
Another ear-piercing roar rang out as a large, dark shadow passed over them. Gabe and Akiri looked up to see a large black dragon flying south with a bag hanging from its mouth.
“It can’t be. I thought he was dead?” Gabe wondered aloud.
“The eggs! The eggs!” Akiri screamed.
Gabe ran to the training yard on the western side of the courtyard and grabbed two swords from the rack. When he got them back to the door, he ran both of them through the handle of the door in opposite directions. He took off his tunic and ripped it in half, he wrapped both of his hands in the fabric to protect them from the blades. He grabbed the handle and blade of each sword and pulled back as hard as he could.
“Can you cast any water spells?” Gabe asked as the door flew open. A wall of heat and smoke poured from the opening, causing Gabe to recoil as he felt the heat singe the hairs on his skin.
Akiri was still frantic, crying as she looked at the entrance to the lair. She carried the bucket to the doorway and emptied the bucket as she flung the water through it. It made little difference to the flames that burned at the bottom of the stairs. She put her hand in the empty bucket and tried to cast a water spell but the bucket would not fill. Her casting hand was injured and the spell wouldn’t work. She screamed again and threw the bucket down the stairs, she listened to the thin metal pail clank down the stairs until it too reached the bottom and disappeared in the flames.
“This is your fault,” Akiri screamed at Gabe. “I wanted to stay with the nest, I wanted to stay with our babies, but you… you,” she couldn’t finish her sentence, she fell to the ground and cried. It was the most mournful sound Gabe had ever heard. She knew it wasn’t his fault- not entirely, but she still felt like he had clouded her judgment.
“How could this even happen? Weren’t the guards supposed to be here?” Gabe asked.
With no way to fight the flames, Gabe sat down on the ground next to Akiri and tried to comfort her. He had no words that would cheer her up so he placed his hand on her shoulder. She was curled in the fetal position, sobbing. She shrugged away from his touch.
“Akiri, I’m sorry. I didn’t know something like this could even happen. I promise I will get to the bottom of it.” Gabe said.
Akiri got up from the ground and shifted into her dragon form. She braved the flames and went down into the lair. Her breath weapon was an acidic sludge, which would do no good. Akiri pushed her way through the flame; her scales protected her from the heat. Akiri heard a crunch as she stepped on something. She backed up to look down and saw that she had crushed a human skull. The skin was melted off of the corpse, but she would recognize the armor anywhere, this was one of her guards. He must have died trying to protect the nest, she thought.
Akiri made it to where the eggs should have been and found only broken shells in the remains of the nest and scattered around the floor of the cave. There seemed to be fewer shells than she expected for five eggs. Some of them must have turned to ash in the flames. She thought, either that or the black dragon took what he wanted and burned the rest.
Akiri ran up the steps and took flight into the sky, leaving Gabe on the ground below. The castle staff had gathered and formed a chain from the well to the lair as they filled bucket after bucket of water and tried to put out the fire.
Akiri flew until she reached Ledora. She landed on the western beach and walked to the castle gates without care that she had arrived naked; better that, than showing up in dragon form, which after the way she treated King Haki last year, could be perceived as a threat. A coughing fit took over her as she approached the gates and she caught the attention of the two castle guards standing on either side.
They both rushed to help her. One of them took off his cape and wrapped it around her. He checked her face for bruises, cuts, or any other sign of violence.
“Who are you running from, Miss?” he asked with concern.
“I need help, I need to see Prince Dominic and Princess Kamara please,” Akiri said. The other guard took off toward the castle while the other tried to keep Akiri engaged in conversation.
“Have you been hurt?” He noticed her hand and the soot on her face. That’s a stupid question. Of course, she’s been hurt, look at her. The man thought. “I mean, who hurt you?”
“I’m not sure. I- uh…” She wasn’t sure if she should tell the guard about the eggs or not. Prince Dominic and Kamara would probably try to have children soon, so she needed to warn them.
“Can you tell me what happened? We want to help you. Did it happen here in the city?” Akiri shook her head.
“No, it happened at my castle in Ash, but I would rather wait for Prince Dominic and Princess Kamara, it’s a personal matter.”
Just then, the other guard returned with Dominic and Kamara. When they saw Akiri in the state she was in, Dominic rushed to her and offered his hand to help her up.
“It’s okay, we have her from here. Thank you for coming to get me.”
They led Akiri through the front doors of the castle and into one of the guest rooms located on the second floor and down the right-side corridor. Kamara asked one of the maids to find Akiri some clothes and Dominic heated some water for a bath. Akiri was seated in the chair beside the hearth, still wrapped in the guard’s cloak. Kamara grabbed her a dressing robe and sent the guard’s cloak with one of the castle maids.
“What happened, Akiri?” Kamara asked as she pulled the other chair closer to Akiri’s.
“He’s back. The black dragon I mean- he destroyed my nest and my clutch of eggs.” Akiri sobbed.
“Are you talking about Baelfire? We killed him, that can’t be right, can it?” Kamara asked.
“I guess so, but he was very much alive when he destroyed my babies and then flew off toward the south with a bag of something hanging from his mouth, My guess would be he stole an egg.” Kamara looked at Dominic, “We should tell Sophie.”
“Would you mind if we asked Sophie to join us?” Dominic asked Akiri.
“I- I’m not sure she will want to see me, given the history she has with Gabriel.”
It was strange hearing her call Gabe by his full name, he never used his full name, not in Blackwater, or during their journey to Choddrath last year.
“I can ask her if you want, but we don’t have to.”
“I don’t mind, I just want to find the bastard who hurt my babies, and I can’t do it alone,” Akiri said.
Kamara nodded and got up. “Dominic and I can go talk to Sophie and in the meantime, you can clean up and get dressed. Meet us in the kitchen when you’re ready, we will leave a guard outside your door to show you the way when you’re finished.” Kamara placed a friendly hand on Akiri’s shoulder.
“I know we have never been friends, nor have we ever really worked together, but I would like to change that,” Kamara said softly. She smiled at Akiri before she turned to follow Dominic out into the hall.
Akiri went to the bath and slipped the robe off. She stepped into the large tub cautiously. The water was still quite warm and it stung her skin as she eased herself down into it. She did not put her burned hand into the water, instead, she used a cloth to gently clean around the wound as best she could. When she was finished washing her body, she stood up, the water was black with soot from the fire and smoke. She pulled down on the handle that pulled the stopper up from the drain and watched the black water get lower and lower until it swirled around in a circle at the mouth of the drain.
She found herself wondering where the water goes as the tub emptied. Her maids still had to empty her bath by hand. She felt a lot better after her bath, except for her had which had begun to blister now. Akiri opened the door to find the guard standing beside it as Kamara told her he would be.
“I’m ready, Sir,” Akiri said. The guard nodded.
“Right this way.” He turned and walked down the hallway. Akiri loved the way the golden trim brightened up the castle walls, it made it not as dark and scary looking as the dark halls of her castle. The guard led her to a set of double doors that opened into a large kitchen with several workstations. The pots and pans dangled from the rack above the kitchen island. Sophie, Kamara, and Dominic were sitting at a small table in the corner of the kitchen and there was a chair left for her. They had heated a kettle of water for tea and waited for her before they began.
“Please, join us,” Dominic said, as he gestured to the empty chair. As she sat down, he poured water from the kettle into their cups.
“We want to help you, but we need to come to an agreement first,” Sophie said.
“What kind of agreement?” Akiri asked. She feared that it might have something to do with Gabe, but she was never so relieved to be wrong.
“A year ago, we formed the dragon alliance between us and The Silver Talons Guild. It is our job to protect the interest of dragons, by assuring peace with humankind. If humans fear us, they will hunt us, and no one wants that. Humans who commit acts of violence or threaten dragonkind will be brought to justice by the guild. My father is the leader of the guild, so believe me, the punishment will fit the crime. We will only help you if you join the alliance with the Silver Talons Guild and agree to follow these rules.” Sophie slid a handwritten book bound in leather across the table to Akiri.
“Okay, I agree," Akiri said without hesitation or even opening the book. She wanted to find who was responsible and bring them to justice, she would do anything to see that happen, even join a guild.
“Great, looks like we are heading to Ash. We can wait until sundown and then we will go, if you need to rest up or eat, do it while we have time to spare. We will meet on the western beach at sunset.” Dominic said. Sophie started to stand up, but Akiri put her uninjured hand on top of Sophie’s.
“I hope that we can be friends,” Akiri said. She had wanted to say that she was sorry about Gabe, but Akiri knew that hearing his name from her lips would cause Sophie pain so she didn’t. Sophie pulled her hand away.
“Just take care of Gabe and we will have no problems,” Sophie said. She walked away, not offering any expression or other hint as to her thoughts. Akiri looked at Kamara and Dominic.
“She needs more time, Gabe was her best friend since they were children, and she is helping you as part of the dragon alliance code, if you want anything more than that, you will have to earn her trust."
“Gods know I don’t deserve yours after Choddrath, and what I did to your father last year,” Akiri said.
“Lucky for you, I believe in second chances. I don’t want enemies when I take the throne, I would much rather have friends and allies,” Dominic said.
Akiri winced in pain as she tried to rise from the table, she had accidentally placed her hand, palm down on the table to push up from the chair and instant regret filled her as she collapsed back into her seat.
“Let me take a look at that” Dominic held out his hand to Akiri. She showed him her palm. It was blistered and red and still looked dirty. Dominic waved his free hand over the wound and whispered an incantation. As his hand encircled hers, a blue crackling of lightning surrounded her hand like a bubble. The particles of dirt and smudges of soot lifted from her hand and floated away into the magical sphere.
“All I can do is clean it out, you need to see Clarice in the infirmary. Come on, I’ll take you.”
Dominic stood and reached for Akiri’s good hand to help her up.
“While you show her to the infirmary, I’m going to go talk to Sophie,” Kamara said. Dominic kissed her softly. And whispered something in her ear. She leaned in, placed her hand on his chest as she listened, and smiled.
“I love you too,” she said back to him as he led Akiri out the door.
The infirmary smelled like every herb all at once. The wall to their right was lined with shelves of tinctures, potions, salves, and the wall to the left was lined with beds. An older woman with gray hair and an apron stood to greet them as they came in.
“How Can I help you, My Prince?” she asked with a curtsy.
“She has a pretty bad burn on her hand, she needs healing.” Clarice looked at her palm. She closed her eyes and began to chant in a language Akiri had never heard. As she spoke, new skin began to form and covered the burn in soft pale flesh.
Akiri looked down at her hand in amazement, she opened and closed her fist, turned her hand upside-down, and inspected the back of it as well.
“That’s amazing! I’ve never seen magic like this, it’s like it never happened. Thank you.”
“Yes, of course, this is my purpose. The Goddess gifted me with this power so that I could help others.” Clarice explained.
“You should get some rest before we go, It has been a traumatic day for you,” Dominic said.
Akiri nodded, although, traumatic did not even begin to describe it.
24
Sophie
Anxiety took over and Sophie paced back and forth across her room biting her nails. The coppery tang of blood hit her tongue before the pain signal made it to her brain and she looked down at her fingertips to see that two of them had started to bleed.
“Sophie, can I come in?” Kamara’s voice came from the other side of the door. Sophie rushed over to open it and invite Kamara in.
“I don’t understand, we killed Baelfire. I saw him turn to dust, he can’t be back.” Sophie began pacing again as Kamara closed the door and walked over to join her.
“Maybe there was another black dragon. We thought we were the only four until Baelfire emerged, so maybe he wasn’t the only one.” Kamara suggested.
“How can we find him? It’s not like we’re going to find an enormous sign that points us to his lair.”
“Sophie, stop, come sit down before you pace trenches into the floorboards.” Kamara patted the end of the bed next to her. Sophie sat on the bed next to Kamara but she continued to bite her nails, and her leg bounced rapidly.
“I’m worried for Gabe, Akiri left him there alone, what if the black dragon comes back before we get there?” Sophie asked.
“If that happens, I hope Gabe can fortify himself somewhere safe. We can leave as soon as the sun sets. We will be flying west, so we won’t be able to see until twilight at least.” Sophie nodded, but she was still filled with worry. Kamara was worried too, Sophie could see it.
“I’m going to get some rest, you should too; try at least,” Kamara said as she walked toward the door.
“I will,” Sophie promised.
Sophie pulled out her spell book and practiced some incantations, without the hand movements, the spells were ineffective, but her pronunciation needed work on some of the spells. She could cast fire in a bolt or an area, she could cast simple illusions such as the appearance of clothing, and she could create food and drink, and she could even turn invisible for a short time, but only in human form. She was unable to cast at all in her dragon form.
When Sophie was finished practicing, she kept to her promise and tried to rest. She closed her eyes and tried to force sleep, but it would not come. Instead, thoughts of Gabe and Bastian mingled in her mind and kept her awake. Why can’t I get him out of my head? Sophie thought. She tried to think of that day under the willow when she had kissed Gabe. She thought of his soft lips on hers, but when she closed her eyes again she was no longer kissing Gabe, now it was Bastian. In her fantasy, Bastian was strong and passionate and took what he wanted instead of waiting for her to make the first move. Maybe that was why she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
No matter how hard she tried, she could not remember what happened between them the night of the engagement ball. She remembered kissing him, Gabe interrupting, and then she woke up next to Bastian. She didn’t remember walking to his room, undressing, or getting into his bed.
Ugh, this is useless. Sophie thought as she threw back the covers and sat up. The wood floor beneath her feet was cold, she looked toward the hearth and noticed that the fire was out. She put a few pieces of wood in there and got the fire going again. As soon as she stood, there was a knock on her door.
“You couldn’t rest either?” Sophie called through the door. She expected to see Kamara again, but it was Bastian. Sophie looked at him in surprise but moved back so that he could enter. He looked at her so intensely that it made her heart flutter and her face flush. Sophie closed the door and locked it.
