Ramaeka (The Ramaeka Series Book 1) (20 page)

He paused for
a moment, looking Ramaeka right in the eye.  “However if a dragon were to
involve themselves in the war, it would be my duty to help him and protect
him.  There’s a clause in the Covenant that allows me to fight anything that
threatens my first born people.  I know it is a lot to ask, wanting you to get
involved with this human war, but I need your help.”

“Alright”

“That is it? 
You are just going to go into war with me, no questions asked?” Rama stared at
him in surprise.

Ramaeka
grinned and grabbed a bit of fruit.  “Don’t be daft, I just asked a heap of
questions which you answered.  Anyway you’re my friend, my only friend.  So if
that’s what you want to do then I'm all for it.  It’s not like I have a lot of
options open to me right now anyway.”

Rama smiled
back shyly.  “If it makes you feel any better, you are my only friend too.”

“What happened
to all your people?” Ramaeka asked curiously.

“As I said, it
is a long tale.  To put it very shortly and inadequately, they all perished and
returned to the Great Mother in the war against the Shadow.  They used the last
of their powers to create me, the last of the first.”

 “That’s sad,”
said Ramaeka, “But I’m glad they made you.”

The two of
them sat in pensive silence, watching the crackling fire.  Ramaeka wondered
what Stripe was doing, and how much his friend now hated him.  Maybe if I fight
well in the war he will forgive me he thought sadly.

He turned to
Rama.

“So why
Stripe?  Why did you lead me to him?”

“He is very
important to me too.  I was hoping that he would be able to overcome his
dislike of dragons when he became friends with you.”

“Well that
didn’t work,” Ramaeka muttered.

Rama smiled,
“Do not give up on him just yet, he has a good heart.”

Ramaeka
shrugged “So why is he so important to you?”  He asked.

“I mean, he’s
getting better at fighting but he’s not the greatest yet.”

“Did you ever
hear the rumours about the four humans I created?”

Ramaeka’s eyes
widened in surprise and interest.  “I did, just briefly.  They’re supposed to
have the power to change people into a new powerful race.”

“That is
correct, just humans though, not your people,” he smiled at the expression on
Ramaeka’s face.  “You are stuck the way you are for now I am afraid.”

“Great,” he
muttered.

“Stripe is one
of the four, though it will be a few years before he gains his full power.  He
and his three brothers were placed in separate worlds so that there would be
less conflict.  So you can see why he is important to me, he is a part of the
future.”

Ramaeka sat
still for a moment processing all that he had been told.  It made sense that
Stripe would be the future leader of a new people.  He had a sudden glorious
vision of what the future for humans could be like.  And Ramaeka was filled
with determination to help Stripe get there.

“Right, let’s
set out tomorrow for the city,” he said firmly.

“And for war,”
Rama added softly.

“Yes,” Ramaeka
nodded, “And for that too.”

Chapter Ten

They set out early in the morning both filled with determination.

“It should
take us around four days at a brisk pace to reach the city, if we take the
shortcut and if we only take a few rest stops,” Rama determined, he had already
decided that it was too risky for them to fly over though Ramaeka had assured
him that he would be able to carry him, probably. 

“Does Stripe
know about the shortcut too?” Ramaeka asked.  “I thought it would be
further since we were heading away from the battle.”
 “Yes, I explained the route to him just in case we were separated.  We
weren’t exactly going away from the battle, more parallel to it.  If we
head north from here we will join with the General’s shortcut in a day and a
half.” 

Ramaeka nodded
and set out at a trot.
The first few days passed quickly, they stopped only briefly throughout the day
for Ramaeka’s sake.  They started before dawn and ran well into the evening,
eating their food cold and sleeping within Rama’s barrier of magic. 

As they sat
eating a quick breakfast before dawn on the fourth day, Ramaeka suddenly
remembered a question he had been meaning to ask. 

“Hey Rama,
since you’re, you know, Rama, can you see ahead and see what’s happening?”  Rama
raised an eyebrow.  “See ahead?” 

“Yeah, can you
see the future?  Or even what’s happening now?” 

Rama looked
thoughtful.  “Very few beings have the ability to see ahead in time. 
There are so many limitless possibilities each triggered by the tiniest
decision, it would drive most insane attempting to sort it into anything
reasonably useful.  However when I am at home on my lookout I can see what is
happening currently.  Down here it is almost impossible.” 

“Because of
all your power being tied up?” Ramaeka said curiously. 

Rama sighed
and made a face.  “That and the covenant, I have been very foolish by the
One Mother.” 

Ramaeka
frowned.  “Who's the One Mother?” he asked. 

“A story for
another day,” Rama replied firmly, as he rose and grabbed his pack.  Ramaeka
sighed and followed suit. 

“Oh, and
Ramaeka, please call me Amar.” 

Ramaeka rolled
his eyes at the back of ‘Amar’s’ head as they set off again.  At least
they only had one more day of running and they would finally be there.  He
desperately hoped that Stripe and the others were still alive.  He was
suddenly wrenched from his thoughts by the most intense pain he had felt so
far.  It ripped up through his ribs forcing him to drop to his knees and
gasp for breath. 

Amar turned
then stopped in surprise.  He ran back to Ramaeka and dropped down beside
him. 

“Are you
alright?” he asked in concern, sliding his hands over Ramaeka’s ribs.
 Ramaeka gasped in relief as the pain began to fade. 

“I’m okay,” he
managed slowly getting his breath under control. 

“What
happened?” Amar asked giving Ramaeka a stern look. 

“I’ve been
getting these random pains for the last couple of weeks,” Ramaeka admitted.
 “They seem to be getting worse.” 

Amar’s hands
glowed softly as he checked Ramaeka over.  “How often do they occur?” 

“Not that
often to begin with, maybe every couple of days, but now it’s several times a
day.”  

“Hmmmm,
interesting,” Amar leaned back slowly. 

“I’m not dying
am I?” Ramaeka asked nervously. 

Amar smiled. 

“No you are not
dying I promise, however...” 

“There you are,”
interrupted a deep voice.  “I've been looking for you everywhere.” 

The two of
them sprang up, looking for the source of the voice.  Slowly a figure
materialised in front of them, out of what seemed like thin air. 

Ramaeka felt
Amar relax beside him, his friend placed his hand on his shoulder. 

“Hello Thowra,”
he said with a smile. 

The figure
bowed to Amar and gave Ramaeka a cheeky grin. 

“Ramaeka, this
is Thowra the element of the wind,” Amar calmly introduced them. 

Thowra, who
was now mostly solid, was tall and lean with wild white hair, bright blue eyes
and an impish grin.  Ramaeka couldn’t help but grin back at this strange
being.  So this was an Element.  Thowra certainly looked like the embodiment of
the wind; his hair whirled and waved as breezes caressed him, begging for his
attention.  

“You were looking
for me?” Amar queried. 

“Fate asked me
to find you, she’s not far away and she wants to see you before you go off to
play war, and your friend too.” 

Ramaeka looked
at Amar inquiringly.  If they hesitated now they would lose precious time,
but if an element like Fate wanted to see them it was probably better to go. 

Amar was
unconsciously biting his lip, staring past Thowra and down the path. 

“I was not
aware that you were acting as her messenger,” he said. 

Thowra looked
vaguely embarrassed.  “I owed her a debt,” he admitted. 

“Very well,”
Amar said eyeing Thowra thoughtfully.  “Though I am uncomfortable with the
delay, I wish to be at the city when the battle begins.” 

“It already
has,” Thowra said calmly floating around in a bored manner.  Amar stiffened in
surprise as Ramaeka stared at Thowra in horror, they were too late. 

“But the
Warlord’s armies have not breached the city yet, nor will they for many hours,”
Thowra reassured them sending a puff of air to ruffle their hair reassuringly. 

Amar bowed his
head.  “Lead on then my friend.” 

Thowra didn’t
really walk, Ramaeka couldn’t help but notice, worried though he was, instead
he seemed to float, drifting along one moment then spinning past the next.
 He wondered if he had enough courage to poke the element and see if he
was substantial.  

After an hour
or so of walking or drifting, they reached a pretty little clearing in which
sat a young girl. 

“This is where
I leave you my friends,” Thowra said cheerfully.  “I have a storm to whip
into shape not far from here.” 

“Thank you
Thowra,” Amar murmured. 

Ramaeka
reached out and touched the element as he drifted past.  Thowra looked
down at him in surprise and amusement. 

“Ha you are
solid,” Ramaeka exclaimed with a grin. 

Thowra
laughed.  “See you around dragon boy.”  With that he seemed to fade
into the wind again and vanished, though his laughter still echoed around
them. 

With a quick
wave, Ramaeka followed Amar into the clearing.  The young girl looked up
at them with a warm smile. 

“Hello Amar,
hello Ramaeka.” 

“You know me?”
Ramaeka said in surprise.  “Are you really Fate?  But you’re only the
same age as me!” 

Amar sighed
while the girl laughed.  

“I do know you
Ramaeka, though you don’t know me yet.  Yes I am Fate and I am your age,
though my essence is older.”  She looked up at Amar. 

“I am sorry to
call you away when you are so close to your goal, but there is some advice I
need to give you.” 

“I knew it
would be important,” Amar said watching her intently. 

Ramaeka beamed
as they sat down across from her.  Set in front of them was a huge meal
obviously meant for several people. 

Ramaeka
drooled over the sight of it, unable to pay attention to the other two while so
much delicious food tempted his sight and sense of smell.  There were birds
baked in spices, hot pies filled with meat and gravy, steaming vegetables and
crisp fruit.  Best of all Ramaeka could smell the tantalizing scent of apple,
cinnamon and sweet pastry that surely must be apple pie.  Suddenly he realised
that Amar was talking to him. 

“Sorry,” he
mumbled, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand and trying to look at them
rather than at the food. 

“Now that we
have at least part of your attention,” Amar said sternly, though Ramaeka could
see purple glinting in his eyes which meant that he was amused. 

“Ramaeka, this
is Zanir.” 

Ramaeka smiled
sheepishly at her as Zanir giggled. 

“Let us remove
this temptation before we speak of serious things,” she said pretending to be
solemn.  “Please join me in this meal.” 

She indicated
the food set in front of her.  She raised her hand as Amar started to
protest.
 “You will need strength for the battle.  It will be a while before you eat
again, and dragons especially need the sustenance.” 

Amar
acquiesced with a nod to Ramaeka’s relief and they settled down to eat.  

“Eat up
Ramaeka, I made plenty because I knew you would be here,” Fate grinned at him,
pushing her black hair behind her ears. 

Ramaeka
grinned self-consciously, adding more food to his plate. 

“Dragon’s are
meant to eat large amounts; it is nothing to be ashamed of.” 

Ramaeka
attended the food with fervent admiration.  Even Amar applied himself
diligently though Ramaeka was unsure whether that was because of hunger or the
need to remove temptation from under Ramaeka’s nose.  Finally not even Ramaeka
could fit in one more bite and he turned to his host with a regretful sigh. 

She looked at
them seriously.

  “Are you
ready to know what I have seen for you?” she asked, her sombre demeanour a
strange contrast to her youthful appearance.  Ramaeka swallowed hard at the
sudden weight of magic that cloaked the clearing.  He and Amar both nodded.

Taking a deep
breath, she closed her eyes and held her hands out flat in front of them palms
up.  Slowly she released her breath, white mist streaming from between her lips
to settle over her palms.  Staring at it in awe, Ramaeka leant closer as he
noticed an image forming in the mist.  Squinting he saw the shape of a large
knife, no sword he quickly corrected himself.  The sword glowed within a cloak
of darkness, unable to penetrate its gloom, yet unrelenting in its light.  As
he watched, a figure of vivid light strode through the darkness, wresting the
sword from its grasp.  The darkness withdrew before the light of both figure
and sword, leaving them burning in triumph.  Instincts clamouring he noticed
that the figure of light was marred by a single streak of darkness, but before
he could get a closer look the darkness returned a sword of cruel burning red
in its grasp.  Darkness and light swirled together in a fluid mesh of battle
before the image completely faded and another formed.  In this one two small
figures of gold appeared, one blazed with power while the other took the form
of a small dragon. 

“That’s us,”
he gasped.

The two of
them walked into what appeared to be a camp cloaked in darkness.  They
disappeared from view only to burst back through the gloom carrying, Ramaeka
noticed, the sword of light.  As the image began to fade, the golden Ramaeka
and Amar fled towards a distant city, sword in hand.