Dragons trial, p.6
Dragon's Trial, page 6
part #3 of The Demon's Blade Series
Morning brought renewed hope, as Ceres finally sensed Jerris’ aura, but it also brought a new difficulty. A dark cloud had filled the sky in front of them. Between the darkness and his focus upon searching the ground, Darien had missed the coming sandstorm. The search took on new urgency, as they continued to move parallel to the river, with Ceres sense of her charge guiding the way. The land had flattened as they moved toward the desert. The hills here were lower, and the river lay nearer the lip of the ravine. Darien hoped it would not be much farther to find the spot where they left the water. From that point, it would be a matter of tracking. All the same, Darien kept his eyes open, in case he was fortunate enough to happen across his apprentice by chance.
As the morning dragged on, the dust grew thicker, and the winds kicked up, but it did not matter. Darien would search even through the storm. As their visibility began to decrease, desperation set in. The grim half-elf moved quickly now, running at top speed from one high point to the next, keeping his companions in view, but venturing ever farther from them. They too increased their efforts, trying to keep up.
Finally, just as the blowing sand started buffeting against his cloak, Darien saw dark shapes on the ground, unusually shaped, contrasted with the rest of the terrain. When he moved closer, he realized he had been correct. Three dragons, all dead, lay in a space of about thirty yards in a shallow depression between two high hills. They came to a violent end, but before Darien could stop to examine the bodies, he heard a shrill call from Ceres about a hundred yards east. He sped to the spot, where Ceres knelt over Jerris. The younger half-elf lay on the sand less than a hundred yards from the bodies.
“He’s alive.” Ceres declared with relief. “Just unconscious.”
That was the only thing Darien had wanted to hear for the past days. Jerris’ aura seemed as weak as Darien could remember feeling it. There must have been a battle, and the three dragonkin corpses were his apprentice’s work. Darien breathed the first sigh of relief he had enjoyed in days, the tension left his body, and he very nearly cried tears of joy.
Only after the initial relief faded, did Darien remember Niarie. He looked around, then reached out with his magic sense, but there was no sign of her. What had happened? Had they fought the dragons, and had they prevailed? Jerris was alive, which seemed to indicate he had been victorious, but then where was Niarie? Had she fallen, or had they been separated somehow? It seemed strange to find one but not the other. The only way to know was to talk to Jerris when he awakened, but the storm was a more immediate concern.
“You found him.” Rana said as she ran up. “Where’s Niarie?”
Darien shook his head. She was gone, most likely dead, and there was no time to search for her. The storm was building around them already. They had to shelter themselves. In their haste, and their desire to travel light, they had left the tents. Darien laid down the unconscious youth, instructed Rana and Ceres to sit beside him. Darien would raise a shelter out of the earth itself.
Darien readied himself. With earth magic, it was far easier to destroy than to build. Conjured earth structures returned to their natural form once the caster withdrew focus. Making something permanent took a great deal of concentration, and large amounts of magic. Darien had only done this once before, and then only out of desperation. He had not been so tired then. Even so, there was no more choice. Darien concentrated, and a wall of earth and sand rose up around them, then the stone walls bent towards one another and met at the middle, forming a small domed artificial cave with a small, roughly triangular, opening to the east. The next stage proved the most difficult. Darien mixed the earth with fire, and heated it, until it was almost molten, much as he had done with his sword in the fight with Alistair. The cave became unbearably hot, but the rocks molded to their new shape, and then Darien withdrew the magic, slowly. Too fast, and the rocks would become brittle and crack. He felt the strain on his already taxed energy, but he fought the fatigue. Finally, the rocks cooled down, and the shelter was finished. It was cramped and hot, but it was enough.
Darien let go of the spell, and fatigue overwhelmed him. He felt thin, insubstantial, weak, like an autumn leaf, all its life drained and spent, reduced to a dry husk, but that did not matter now. Jerris was alive, and his strength would recover. Darien leaned back against the rock wall he had just created, and, for the first time in days, slept.
Chapter 8: Waiting Out the Weather
Jerris awoke slowly, his mind hazy. His head pounded, his body ached, and his spirit felt weak, drained, as he had never felt before. He heard howling winds from somewhere nearby, but wherever he was, the air was still. The fight with the dragons flooded back to him. Nia was gone, he had to go after her. He had to move. He opened his eyes to dim darkness, and groaned as he tried to sit.
Immediately, he felt cool water from a flask at his mouth, and drank deeply, not caring where it came from.
“It’s alright, Prince Jerris. You’re safe now. Just rest.”
Jerris’ groggy mind recognized the voice of his bodyguard, but how was she here? “Ceres, where am I? What’s going on?”
“We found you passed out a short distance away, just as the sandstorm started. We took shelter,” Ceres answered. “We’re safe, but stuck for the moment.”
As Jerris eyes adjusted and the grogginess of sleep left him, he looked around the room, roughly round, just a few feet tall, not large enough to even stand. Ceres sat next to him, with a look of extraordinary relief on her face. Darien lay collapsed near the far wall, his head resting on Rana’s legs. Rana sat quietly, awake, and ran her fingers through his thick raven hair. She’d removed her armor, which was sitting near what a triangular opening that had half filled with sand. He shuddered, realizing how close he had come to being caught in that storm. Outside, exposed, it would have killed him. It was impossible to say whether it was night or day, as the twisting sand outside was only marginally brighter than the dark walls.
“Where are we, anyway? A cave?”
“No, Darien made this shelter,” Rana answered this time.
“Made it?” Jerris said. “How? You can’t build things with earth magic. Once you withdraw focus, the earth returns to its natural state.”
“There are ways to get around that,” Rana explained. “If the earth is heated, it can be resettled in a new shape, but it’s incredibly difficult. It requires so much raw power. I’ve never heard of anyone actually able to do it alone, only stories. Darien really is incredible.” Jerris nodded.
Rana continued to run her fingers lightly through Darien’s messy hair, then up and down his arm.
“I don’t think you should do that,” Jerris said. “He wouldn’t like it, and he can be really violent if someone gets too close when he’s sleeping.”
“I don’t think he will, not this time,” Rana said. She sounded exhausted, and somehow sad. “He hasn’t slept since you fell. I doubt he’ll wake up for a while. I know he wouldn’t like it, but I think he needs it, even if he doesn’t realize it.” The young half-elf didn’t agree, but decided not to argue the point. Part of him hoped that Rana could get through to Darien. He’d begun to worry for his teacher. The older half-elf seemed to be getting more guarded, mistrusting, and suspicious since leaving Trinium. If the expedition proved too much, and the sword’s corruption accelerated, was it worth it?
The fact that Rana was even here confused Jerris. Darien had been making a point to keep his distance from her. Had something changed?
“Where are we?” Jerris asked as his mind refocused on more practical concerns.
“Many miles from where you fell,” Ceres answered. “We’ve spent the last two days plus last night searching, making our way down the river towards you. It seems we found you just in time. The storm would have killed you.”
“There’s no telling how long we’ll be stuck here,” Rana added. “The storm is still raging outside.” Jerris looked over at his teacher again. Darien seemed to be sleeping deeply, perhaps more deeply than Jerris had ever seen before. Maybe Rana was right, maybe Darien did need her. “Jerris,” she hesitated, taking a deep breath, “where is Nia? I didn’t see her. I can’t feel her aura anywhere. We assumed she’d be with you.”
Jerris’ face contorted in pain at the mention of Nia, and he shut his eyes. He hated to admit that he’d lost her, that he’d failed her, but they needed to know. “We were attacked by dragons. I fought them but they took her. I couldn’t save her. As soon as the storm lets up, we have to go after her.” Jerris lost his composure and sobbed quietly.
“We will do no such thing,” Ceres said calmly but firmly. “We are going back to Kadanar, as we should have done weeks ago. Your courage and loyalty are commendable, but you are young and inexperienced. You are not ready for this challenge.”
“No, no, no!” Jerris felt fury rising in his chest. “I can’t abandon her to that monster. I won’t let you do this, Ceres. I can make my own choices. When Darien wakes up…”
“Not this time, young prince,” Ceres interrupted him. Her voice carried a certainty and confidence that stopped him cold. “Your Executioner won’t step in for you this time. He didn’t react well to almost losing you. He’s barely sane as it is. When you fell, he lost his mind. He dropped everything to search for you, and then he almost killed me when I confronted him and reminded him that it’s his fault you’re here at all.”
“Ceres, you’re exaggerating,” Rana said. “If he was really out of control, you wouldn’t be alive to complain. Fighting and killing are instincts for him. You can’t understand because you’ve never had to fight for your life, not really. You always had a choice. Some aren’t that fortunate.” Jerris looked over at Rana. Of course, it wasn’t surprising that Rana had defended the object of her affections, but this seemed to come from somewhere even deeper. She talked as if she knew how Darien felt, but perhaps she did. She’d spent her life fighting, pursuing vengeance, just like he had. Rana seldom spoke of her past before she trained with the Golden Shield. The two really did have much in common.
“Foolish sentimental girl,” Ceres said. “You can’t save him, no matter how much you want him. You’re in love with a twisted reflection of a man, a demon that only looks handsome on the outside.” Jerris winced momentarily, remembering what Darien had learned about the Demon Sword, what it was doing to him. The two women glared at each other viciously.
“Stop it Ceres,” Jerris ordered., “I’m tired of your attitude. I just survived a battle with five dragonkin, and I had to kill three of them. I’ve had one of the worst days of my life. I don’t have the patience for your nagging, and I don’t need you to protect me.”
“You killed three dragons?” Ceres asked incredulously, her mouth suddenly agape.
“Yes,” Jerris answered. “I didn’t have a choice. They just attacked without warning. They would have killed me, killed us both. Thank the light they were only the man-shaped dragons, and not the elders.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Ceres said. “I just meant, three dragons, Jerris, that’s… remarkable. There are stories of whole companies being defeated by just a handful of dragon warriors. I’ve only encountered a dragon once. It was only one, not even an elder, and I barely escaped with my life. To kill three of them. How did you do it?”
“Well, I don’t think they’re used to fighting someone that can knock them out of the air.” The young half-elf suddenly became aware of the stunned expression on Ceres’ face. Clearly, she had not realized how skilled he had become. He felt a surge of something like pride, then he remembered the face of the dying dragon who had spoken to him, and shut his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, Ceres was still looking at him like she no longer recognized him, so he described the battle in its entirety to the two listeners. When Jerris finished, he leaned back against the wall again, and sighed. “We have to go after Nia,” Jerris said. “I promised.”
Ceres opened her mouth as if to speak, but suddenly closed it again, and shut her eyes in concentration. When she finally opened them again, it was with a look of resignation. “Alright, Jerris. If that’s your decision, I will help in any way I can,” the sentinel captain finally declared.
Jerris blinked for a moment, wondering if he had heard correctly. “You’re not going to even argue about it?”
“No. After all, you could just invade my mind again and make me agree anyway. I concede. I’ve vastly underestimated you, again.” Jerris sighed deeply. Finally, his bodyguard had shown him some respect. He’d had to kill three dragons, lose Nia, and almost die, but at least he’d finally managed to win Ceres’ respect. “When you came to Kadanar, you could barely cast a spell. Now you’re able to fight dragons. If I didn’t see it, I wouldn’t think it possible.”
“Well what did you think Darien was teaching me?” Jerris snapped back.
“I don’t know,” Ceres answered. “I don’t know what I thought, but if you’ve already come that far…, I suppose I can see why you follow him.”
“He kept things easy when you or Galen were watching, but when we were alone, he pushed me hard.” Jerris shifted nervously, not sure his teacher would want him to reveal this much, but this was the only way he could make her understand. “Every time I’d get tired or scared, he’d just stand there and remind me that an enemy wouldn’t care how tired or scared I was, and then he’d make me keep going. I didn’t want him to go easy on me. I wanted to be ready for anything. When my mother needed me, I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t do anything. I wanted to be able to protect the people who were important to me, so I asked him to teach me to fight like he does.”
“I see,” the sentinel said, “So he taught you like the Shades are taught.”
“Yes, I think so, as well as he could.” Jerris shrugged sheepishly. “I don’t think I was ever in any real danger, but sometimes it hurt. Sometimes he’d just attack me without any warning, until I learned to defend myself. He always knew just how much I could take.”
“Neither Galen nor I would have approved of that,” Ceres said. “But I suppose it’s hard to argue with the results. All the same, whenever he wakes, he’ll try to dissuade you from continuing.”
“I’ll deal with Darien when he wakes up.” Jerris projected as much confidence as he could, but he quietly dreaded the confrontation.
He had never stood up to Darien before, not really, not on anything important, not when Darien had made a firm decision. He had argued, but never disobeyed a command or refused a request. He did not look forward to it now. Darien had a way of simultaneously inspiring both admiration and fear at the same time that made it difficult to disagree. Still, he had to try. He ran over the things he might say, the arguments he might make, and steeled his mind. Nia is depending on me, he kept repeating it to himself in the darkness.
Chapter 9: Master and Student
Darien awakened slowly, groggy and still tired, in the dark of the hastily constructed shelter. He kept his eyes shut, and enjoyed the quiet. He had slept well. For the first time since leaving Trinium, perhaps even before, he had slept completely free of nightmares. No visions of Kendra, or Alistair, or battling dragons, or himself as a demon, had intruded upon his sleep. He felt better than he had in days. Even his injured rib seemed far less painful. Most importantly, Jerris was alive and safe. He’d reached the young half-elf just in time.
He opened his eyes slowly. From the faint moonlight that streamed in the open side of the shelter, he knew night had fallen. Strangely, he found himself looking up at Rana’s long golden hair falling around her face. She had propped herself against the wall and laid his head on her leg. She clearly had taken advantage of his exhausted state. He squinted in irritation at first, but then he realized how much better he felt after the first good sleep he’d had in weeks. He felt his energy returning, and his mind was clear and untroubled. Perhaps it had more to do with finding Jerris than with Rana, but he could not rule out the possibility that the woman’s proximity had dispelled the nightmares just as they had silenced the demonic whisperings. Perhaps the constant reminder of his past sins somehow worked to protect him. I will ask Ezra when I see him next, he thought, as he drifted back to sleep.
When he next woke, he was laying against the back wall. Rana was kneeling near the pile of sand that had accumulated at the entrance, looking out. Jerris and Ceres were nowhere to be seen.
“Rana, where are the others?”
“Outside. Jerris wants to talk to you,” Rana said. “It’s about Nia. She was captured during the fight.”
“And he wants to go after her,” Darien said, rubbing his forehead in frustration. Rana nodded, and Darien crawled toward the entrance, grumbling as he went. He had to try to convince the headstrong youth to go back to Kadanar. This will not be easy, he grumbled to himself.
“Darien, I know you want him to be safe, but he’s feeling now what you felt when you lost him,” Rana continued. “Try to remember that.” Of course he is, Darien silently replied to himself. That just makes this even harder.
Darien crawled out of the cave, then got to his feet and brushed the sand off his dark leather. The morning sun was shining, and the sandstorm had passed. Ceres sat on a low rock a few yards away, several paces nearer than Jerris, who stood looking out in the direction of the rising sun.
Darien walked over toward them. Ceres regarded him coldly. Jerris turned to him when he came within a few paces. Rana had followed him and now stood beside him.
“Darien, good, you’re awake,” Jerris said. “I was beginning to worry. I’ve never seen you sleep that long since I’ve known you.”
“Yes, I slept well for some reason,” Darien said. He pretended not to notice Rana’s lips curl slightly upward in a smile. He did not intend to tell her about the effects she seemed to have on him. It would only encourage the romantic feelings she clearly was still nursing.
“Well, that’s good,” Jerris said. “We need to talk.” Jerris’ brow had furrowed, and his eyes held an uncharacteristic severity.
