Dragon Frost (10 page)

Nafury reached the outside ledge and started to shift, before Ubi caught his arm and stopped him. He read her eyes and lifted her chin up. "Don't let him get to you. Cecil has always been a creep."

"I don't want to see Toria anymore," she said and absentmindedly looked him over. She wanted to sleep in his shift for their return and she didn't know how to manipulate him in such a manner to activate it. "This place makes me sad and I don't like any of it."

"It could be the Aur," Nafury said, offering her the excuse when he knew exactly what was bothering her now. "A dark Fay would be more comfortable near the Atrum's Aur. I'm sorry then that we won't see your castle up close."

Ubi shook her head. "It's fine."

He pulled her close and into his shift with his best effort to douse her sadness with sleep. Then Nafury stepped off of the ledge, and spread his wings in the direction of the Torian beach.

On returning to the beach, he landed next to Xirel. The Awl hadn't had any visitors to deal with in their absence. The merchants were quickly finishing their gatherings as well. They would be ready to start the return to the Suzerain Continent by nightfall.

"Anything?" Nafury asked.

"I'm not sure. The Threads have changed on this side of the world. Is Ubi alright?" Xirel asked.

"Cecil pissed her off, but other than a bit sad, she's alright."

"Did he listen to you?" Xirel asked.

"I don't know. I don't plan on hanging around to find out if he did or not, either."

"The silence here worries me. That and can you feel that in the air?"

Nafury tilted his head, as he tried to tune into the Threads that bothered Xirel. "That is weird. What is it?"

"Someone is realigning the Thread, and I don't think it will be in our favour. We should hasten our return to the Suzerain Continent."

'It's electricity,'
Alexia voiced to Nafury by psi. 
'They're statically charging the Thread.'

"Oh no," Nafury said.

"What?" Xirel asked, concerned.

"Alexia says it's electricity."

"And there are no thunderstorms on Aster..." Xirel brought his fingers to his mouth and let out a sharp whistle. It was the emergency signal that they were all leaving, right now.

The captain began to shout orders and his crew began to move at double speed. They loaded everything they could carry last moment onto the small boats for the GLORIA. In fifteen minutes, the last phelan shifters and humans were off of the beach and paddling for the ship.

Nafury spotted the enemy first within the trees. "A Sentry, there."

Xirel looked in the direction that he did and unsheathed his blade. "Go for the legs, it's their weak point.

Cries of fear could be heard from the GLORIA. Several of the sailors had spotted the semi-transparent, insect-like creature in the trees as well.

"Is it alone?" Nafury asked. When he got no answer from Xirel, he took to the air and then landed right on top of the creature. It screamed and thrashed, and one of its bladed arms cut the side of his face. Nafury pinned it down, before sending his teeth for its neck. It died, leaving nothing but silver ash in his claws. He looked around if any more would join the fight, but only silence answered. The answer was too easy, and he focused harder. He sensed one moving invisibly for Xirel, and he launched himself back into the air. He came down on the Sentry just as the Awl cut the Threads to its legs from under it. "Xirel!"

"Yes, I see them," the Awl replied and looked to the next closest one. "They can still reach the ship. We must hold them off a little longer."

Nafury charged at the one Xirel saw and crippled it with several rakes from his claws. Another came up from behind him and Xirel collapsed its legs. That gave Nafury time to react and turn around to kill the creature.

Xirel took focus on the next Sentry to come for him, and swiftly cut it down with a swipe of his sword. He paused for a moment then as the Sentry all vanished from sight again. One landed a bladed scythe arm across his back and he stumbled forward. He fell to one knee as it came back and nearly took his head off. Now frantic, he looked around for his attacker, but they remained completely invisible. "Nafury!"

Nafury pushed away another Sentry that was on him, and looked to Xirel. He took to the air and then swiftly scooped up Xirel as if he were prey. A heartbeat later, the Sentry dropped its scythe-like forearm where the Awl had been. "That one is a problem."

"Indeed," Xirel replied. The Awl was content to dangle between the dragon's claws out of harms way. "Thank you."

"Ubi would send me into the next life in pieces if you died. So that's not going to happen. The fantasy cruise is over--we're leaving," Nafury said and turned in the air to follow the GLORIA. He hoped that the Sentry hadn't learned how to swim or fly.

SIXTEEN

Ubi woke to the feeling of someone on her feet. She sat up in bed in the cabin given to her on the GLORIA, and found Loki's head and arms asleep on her feet. Only Awls weren't supposed to need sleep. "Loki?"

He looked up at her and pulled his arms away from where he had been resting. "Sorry, Princess. I was just worried about you."

"I'm alright."

"I know, but it was a close one on the beach. The Sentry shouldn't be able to move around on Aster like that. They can't survive the aeri and estus energies anymore than we can sunlight. Or at least, they couldn't before. Everything is just all wrong."

"We'll figure it out, Loki. Worrying non-stop won't help. Why don't we change the subject. You're supposed to be some kind of renowned storyteller, aren't you?"

Loki returned a small smile as he accepted the change of topic. "What story would the Princess like to hear?"

"If you told my mother a story, I want to hear the same one, just like you told her."

Loki's expression turned into that of surprise. "Alright." He sat down on the bed next to her. She lay back down and he pulled the blanket higher over her. "Once upon a time there was a beautiful world where everyone was born as twins. No one was ever born alone or without someone to love. They called the firstborn the Mei, and the second to be born, the Aliyr. The Mei was considered the shield into the world, and the Aliyr the sword. As such, the female was almost always the shield and the male, the sword.

 
"But there were exceptions. Asteria was unlike all the others of her kind, and was born alone. They called her a Sylph, which were considered to be gods as they were able to survive entirely alone. She wielded great power and wisdom despite that. As she made the world flourish in prosperity and peace, they named it after her; Aster. But this did not mean she wished to be alone, so when a Sentry of Earth fell in love with her, she agreed to be his wife.

 
"Daath gave her a beautiful Unicorn on her wedding night. In its horn, he had Threaded the names of all 3000 Eminor loyal to him. From its horn that was also a curved, bladed staff called a festra, she could command the dark army as she pleased. He in turn, would have her to please him. But the army's primary purpose on Aster was to devour and destroy any nightmares to come near her. They became known as the 'Nightmare Eaters.'

 
"It was a world of peace, so the Eminor lived peacefully alongside the Asterians. They aided them with their powers in exchange for their life energies. When they were unneeded, they would sleep peacefully entertained by the Asterian's few nightmares.

 
"There was no hunger, suffering, pain or disease. The Asterians could wield the spirits like magic. They could cure and build almost everything, limited only by their imaginations. Every once in a while, they would stir up Earth's humans for inspiration. They would indirectly inspire their love for each other, even where it caused war. There was no need for their own kind to wage war, for they had the power of psi. They could see into the minds and feelings of those around them. Where a dispute lay, it was settled by the power of their own spirits.

 
"The most powerful Dreamer would always intimidate the other to yield. Then the conflict would be settled. Or the opposition's spirits would be devoured. In such case, the host was exiled to continue their pursuit of misery on Earth. Many became or returned to being Sentries.

 
"Asteria and Daath had a baby girl and boy, twins which they named Asil and Erebus. Unlike most twins, Asil was born as the Aliyr, and Erebus the Mei. They lived happy for a time. There was nothing that existed that could match Asil's beauty or Erebus' strength. The people took their love for one another as an example to live their own lives in balance. They were the first Fay; fairy immortals composed of two worlds.

 
"But the happiness was not to last. The Sentries from Earth formed together to take Daath back, and the army that he had fled Earth with. They feared that the child Prince and Princess would amass a force against them. As such, their very existence was a threat. But the Asterians were masters of the energies of life and death, aeri and estus alike. So they had to create a weapon capable of wielding and defending against both.

 
"So they drowned the evil and good from Earth, and fused both energies together. Of the storm that erupted over the flood waters was born the Dragon Moon.

 
"They unleashed the dragon's rage on Aster, and it destroyed everything. Asteria's and Daath's combined energies were not enough to stop the monster. Before they died, they were able to tear the wings from the Dragon Moon.

 
"So Erebus and Asil fell from the highest heavens in the universe. The Dragon Moon pursued them, slowed by its loss of wings. Yet it was determined to destroy what was the last of the existence of Aster. He caught Erebus and devoured him. He caught up to Asil as well. But before he could attack her, she unravelled the Threads that were on her mother's festra. Then she sung the names of the Eminor within.

 
"The Eminor, immune to death as they were, combined around her. They created a dragon even larger than the Dragon Moon. It could bend the folds of space into black holes like a whirlpool in an ocean. Aragmoth attacked and consumed the Dragon Moon, fueled by Asil's rage and sadness. It hurled its soul back to Earth, taking the estus energy from the Dragon Moon into itself. Of the titan's bones, Aragmoth left them to forever float in space near the Earth as its moon. A testament and warning of his power should the Sentries ever try and cross him again."

"Are there any stories of me?" Ubi asked, hopeful.

"Hmmm." Loki said as he closed his eyes, and tapped into the Threads that connected him to all the other Awls. "Xirel is the only one who remembers one of your previous lives. Kas likely erased all memory of you. That or those who would remember you were destroyed by the Dragon Moon. None of the other Sentry who have fallen seem to have memories of you, either."

"I will never forgive my father," Ubi said and turned away from him and to her side. "It's one thing to die, but to be erased from existence entirely?"

Loki set a hand on her shoulder, willing her not to cry.

"How did you die, Loki?"

Loki was momentarily stunned by her question that came with no consideration to his feelings. "I drowned when Tenu and the Phoenix took out Mer City. I couldn't make it to the surface in time."

"And your Sentry? Why did it fall to Aster?" Ubi asked.

"I'm not sure. It won't tell me."

Ubi turned back around and looked at him. Then she reached out her hand and touched his face.

Loki felt weird and looked down to see that she was unravelling the illusion weave he had around him. "No, wait --" He looked back at her, as only his pitch black, hairless humanoid-like form now remained. It was what Awls truly looked like on Aster. He now looked as terrifying as a demon. But she wasn't scared.

"I knew it was Xirel who came for me on Earth cause I could see his last memories as a Sentry when he touched me. Those memories are an important piece of you and should be seen."

"I... I don't want to make you sad, Princess," Loki said, and calmed down despite his current state.

"The saddest stories sometimes have the happiest endings," she said. "But if you never try and get through the sadness, you can never reach that happy ending."

Loki didn't resist her as she looked into his mind. Images of Earth flashed by him, until they slowed to one. In this memory he was hunting something, he realized. He was on a bridge on a bright, summer day. It was warm and humid. He was also three times bigger than anything around him. The vehicles passed through and under him like he wasn't there at all. Loki soon saw what he hunted, but he was out of reach of it. The demonic shadow struck the bridge hard enough to make it crack, then threw a large yellow bus over the side.

Loki ran to it and reached out for the bus, but it was too late. The vehicle hit the water from a terrible height. The screams of the children inside were drowned in its depths within moments. Loki came back to the present just as a surge of pain burned through him.

Ubi was holding herself partly up on an elbow now, wiping the tears out of his eyes.

"Ubi..." Loki said, trying to get a grip of himself. By defensive reflex, his illusion weave had already begun to restore itself.