Asharielle and the Hidden Realm, page 31
Crack! They hit the platform like a crystal ball thrown on cement. Worry filled her as a larger fracture appeared. She didn’t know whether she would be able to catch her friends if they fell, so she had to keep her shield strong. She sealed it, hoping her will would not falter.
“I come!”
The ancient voice booming in her head could only belong to one being. It filled her with hope as Kyron dragged them off the platform for the third time. All she had to do was hold on until help arrived. This time, she paid no attention to the trajectory of the orb. Instead, she scanned the skies, looking for Dragon.
“I’m here too,” Phoenix added as he appeared overhead. He whipped his fiery tails at Kyron, hoping to snatch him from the sky.
Asharielle felt the tension give as Kyron let go of the net. She looked up to see that he had copied her sphere to protect himself from direct contact with the otherworldly fire. He sped away from Phoenix, who chased after him, but he wasn’t quick enough. Phoenix simply teleported. His tails were like ropes. They closed over Kyron’s orb, and it burst into flame. From the inside, she could hear Kyron screaming, but she had her own dilemma to contend with.
Her orb hit the platform, bounced twice, and rolled toward the edge. She wasn't worried about falling, but the drop came sooner than she expected as Kyron dissolved the platform to channel the hue into his own defences.
They were free-falling through the air, and the mountains were getting closer. She wondered how much of a drop lay below the cloudbank. She searched for a gap in the clouds, but it was too dense.
Wait!
A blanket of white billowed upward as though a puff of air had disturbed it.
Serra’s voice in her head was filled with enthusiasm. “Look, My Lady, the clouds are moving over there. Is that him?”
She followed Serra’s gaze and saw the same disturbance at least a kilometre away from the movement she had seen. Excited, she pressed her nose against the orb.
She didn't have long to wait.
Golden wing tips burst through the clouds and Asharielle forgot that she was falling like a stone. Her eyes flicked to the middle distance between his wings, and she couldn’t stop the squeal that burst from her mouth as his head appeared. She gasped as his wings, then his entire body, broke free of the clouds.
He was magnificent! All previous images of dragons from fairy tales vanished from her mind as she stared at the colossal being that flew toward them. His molten scales glittered in the sunlight, and like Nick, he projected an aura of yellow, orange, red and gold. The sheaths of skin on the underside of his wings were dark orange, and their velvety texture stretched between delicate bones. The top of his wings was patterned with tiny scales that looked like the one embedded in Ryder’s chest. On Ryder, it was horrifying, but on Dragon, they shimmered like a sea of gems.
His face was sculpted by kindness. Every dragon she had ever seen had eyes on the side of their skulls, but Dragon’s big green eyes were front facing and they tilted up at the corners. Horn-like protrusions jutted from the ridge above his eyes, giving him a distinguished look. Larger horns grew on the crown of his head, but they arched backward, looking more like twisted tree trunks. Each one split into two curved branches that tapered away to form fine points. No teeth jutted from his mouth, but the line of his lips stretched back, tilting at the corners with a friendly countenance. Longer claw-like scales dangled from his chin like a well-trimmed beard. And he had ears! Big pointy ones that were tucked back for flight.
He blocked out the sun as he flew over them. Asharielle looked for Phoenix, only to see him diving after Kyron and Rychek, who were plummeting toward the mountainside without shielding. It was the last thing she saw as a massive, clawed hand closed around their sphere.
Her world went dark.
She marvelled at how small and insignificant she felt. She was an ant, trapped inside a marble in the palm of a giant. She reinforced her shields just in case Dragon didn’t know his own strength. Then she added light to the sphere so she could see in the darkness.
“Eviath,” she said, shaking the shoulders of the floating woman. “Wake up!” She jolted her with hue to hurry the process.
The woman opened her eyes. She looked a little disoriented, so Asharielle helped move her to a sitting position. Knowing she needed a moment to collect herself, she peered at the bronze scales that pressed against the sphere. Eviath followed her gaze, then turned back, a question apparent in her raised eyebrows.
"Yes,” Asharielle confirmed. “Dragon has us, and we are currently flying above Drakensberg in his meaty paw.”
The woman looked at Serra. It must have triggered her memory because her face coloured as her eyes flicked to the red marks around her throat.
“Thank you,” Eviath said to the two of them, “and I’m sorry I choked you, Asharielle.”
“We’ll talk about that later,” she said, “but, for now, can you help me with Ryder? I want him ready for Dragon to heal.” She reached out and pulled him close to her. “You know, I’d always imagined that we would walk into Dragon’s home or enter through a secret tunnel. I never thought it would be like this. I wish I knew what was happening out there,” she said as her fingers searched for Ryder’s carotid pulse.
“The phoenix has subsided, My Lady.” Serra said. “Nick has returned and is currently perched on top of Dragon’s hand—holding on for dear life, is how he put it. Not long now, he says.”
Asharielle heard what sounded like the rushing of wind through a tunnel, followed by a muffled thump. Her stomach exploded with butterflies as she sensed a change in the way Dragon moved. It was a little like being on a rollercoaster that was going through a dark tunnel. The sphere made a sudden dip, but then they were being lifted higher.
Dragon had landed.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she felt their sphere sway from side to side. After a minute it stopped, and she felt as if they were being lowered. Dragon’s massive hand opened, and the sphere rolled across the stone floor. Had she not turned the inside into a floating chamber, they would have tumbled inside it like clothes in a washing machine.
A much older Nick landed in front of them and used his hue to halt their movement. This Nick was possibly eighteen. Muscles rippled across his chest and his wings had vanished. His jaw fuzzed with the first trace of a beard and his long blond hair sat on his shoulders. She looked at Nick with a heavy heart, already missing the boy she loved.
Dragging her eyes from him, she took in her surroundings. They were in a massive cavern. It was so high that the ceiling was swallowed by darkness. Dragon’s bulk filled most of the cave but there was also a large alcove that had been carved out for human occupancy. It was this section in which their sphere sat. Nick clicked his fingers, and sconces set into the walls flamed to life.
Asharielle dissolved the shield and the three ullmae bounded out on wobbly feet. Ryder lay slumped against her. This was their purpose, she remembered. They were here to save Ryder and they had made it. There was no time to waste.
“Help me,” she said, appealing to Dragon.
“Put him on the stone table.”
Eviath went to hoist him, but Asharielle manifested a disc instead and floated him across. She laid him on a flat surface hewn out of the rock and let her eyes pour over every inch of him. The crystal infection had spread across his emaciated body. No light shone beneath his closed lids, but the giant scale embedded in his chest still held a spark at its centre, she was sure of it.
“Cut his wrist and let his blood drip into the well.”
Nick took charge. The well looked as though it were an extended part of the table, and Asharielle sensed that the ground they stood on had been excavated to deliberately join the two. He moved Ryder’s arm over the well and made a deep slice into the sallow flesh of his forearm. She ran around the other side and followed the path of his blood as it trickled onto the magma below.
She glanced back at Ryder and waited. Everyone held their breath. Unsure what reaction to look for, she bit her lip as she flicked hopeful eyes back to Dragon.
“What now?” she asked.
Dragon pointed to the well and she turned to see an orange light shoot out of the hole. It hit the roof of the alcove, forming a perfect circle on the ceiling. She turned back to Ryder, expecting to see his eyes open, but he remained unresponsive. Asharielle looked back at Dragon, only to find empathy pooling in his large green eyes.
“I’m sorry, child,” the ancient voice said, “but he is dead.”
Acknowledgments
To my handsome partner. I could not have done this without you. Thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity to write. I treasure every moment I get to spend with you.
About the Author
Violet Eden lives in sunny North Queensland, Australia. She spends her days writing and pulling out all her notes and ideas from beneath the cat, who loves to sit on top of her paperwork. At the moment, her writing is frequently interrupted by her two Siberian Husky puppies, who would rather play than sit under her desk. Not content to debut her writing career with a stand-alone novel, Violet aims to complete a 4-book series by the end of 2023.
When she is not at her computer, it's probably because her partner has tempted her with a fishing trip to one of the many picturesque islands that form the lower half of the Whitsundays. Though she always catches more fish than him, she loves the opportunity to watch the turtles, dolphins, and sea snakes (and whales when the season is right) play in the water while thousands of butterflies drift over her head.
Her love of fantasy began as a teenager. Reading allowed her to escape from reality into the infinite and far more exciting worlds created by those who have come before her. It was only logical that she would begin to create worlds of her own.
Social Media
To discover more about Violet Eden, please visit her at: http://violet-eden.com.au/
Also By
Book 1: Asharielle and The Guardian of the Ancients
Coming Soon
Book 3: Asharielle and the Heart of the Crystal
Book 4: Asharielle and the Well of Souls
Violet Eden, Asharielle and the Hidden Realm
