The Vitalis Chronicles: Steps of Krakador (25 page)

The first dragon was out of the water and descending on him now, its companion working to make its way back and away. Ardin grit his teeth, trying so hard to focus the light, to send it at his enemy. The tail hit him so hard that the light was knocked out with a flash. He skidded along the rock, feeling it scraping at him in some places and never making contact in others.

There was a roar as one of the dragons dropped down on top of him. His body made the jump, but only where the monster made contact. The rest remained in place, the sensation of it driving Ardin to scream. He clenched his eyes as its right foreleg rose. It hammered its claw down. He made the jump just in time.

Ardin swirled in the mists of the Atmosphere, his consciousness torn in a dozen ways at once.
I can do this.
He was willing himself together again.
I have to do this.

And then he saw everything. The dragons, the people the ships and the sea. There was energy coursing through the monsters and terror on the wind. The mists were responding to him, though confounded in their efforts. And he realized the bond of the Shade, saw the physical directly linked to the metaphysical. It was an anchor for the Shadow, but for Ardin it was a superconductor.

If he had possessed a face in that moment, he would have smiled. He jumped back in. Everything came together in a snap, his whole being unifying as it had before but with a greater permanence. The dragons were swirling out and around him again. He could kill them. Instantly the light returned, blazing forth from his core and focusing down Caspian's steel. The injured dragon was already diving, fire brimming along its lips. But Ardin's blaze caught it in the stomach again, and this time it did not waver.

The metallic scraping of the dragon's death cry grew until it was silenced suddenly by the power burning it from the inside. Ardin let the smoking corpse drop sizzling into the sea, the grin on his face secured by the vacuum of his departed fear. And then he was enveloped by blackness teeming with purple energy. The intensity of the heat lasted only a moment before he made the jump into the metaphysical, the terrifying rush of being burned alive imprinted on his mind even in this otherworldly state.

The other dragon must have recovered. He chided himself for being so cocky as to let his guard down. The purple glow around him died down as he sensed the dragon moving onwards. He made the jump back, only then feeling the pain of his burns. He sucked in air against the shock, not realizing that he had been so badly injured before jumping.
Why don't they heal?
His whole body began to shake instantly, the pain racking him as he tried desperately to find his flying assailant in the night sky.

The rising moon reflected gently off its dark scales, giving him time to make the jump long before it came down on top of him. The purple glow lit the mists of the Atmosphere around him like thousands of tiny stars, coming into existence only to die brilliantly moments later. The force of it was translated even here. It shook his formless being as the dragon swept past and climbed to start another attack.

He jumped back, the relief in finding his bodily form overshadowed by the pain of his burns. They were getting better, but not significantly or quickly enough. To his amazement, everywhere he had begun to heal, his armor had done the same. He called on the warmth, sending it along his skin and mending the patches of burned flesh as best he could while time permitted. He only hoped that it was enough of an expenditure to keep the dragon's interest, but after killing two of its kind, he doubted it would leave him alive if it had the choice now.

Why doesn't it just make more dragons from the ships?
He was certain the creatures needed the metal to procreate. He was glad they didn't seem to do so too readily.

The dragon's broad wings shot out to the sides as it finished its climb, banking to its right and coming around for another pass. Ardin concentrated on building his body back up, but found that the wounds were different than any which had been inflicted on him before. They were healing, yes, but slowly. He looked up just in time to see the dragon flap its wings to slow, the broiling purple-blackness streaming out towards him.

He made the jump, the energy rolling around him. It didn't die off so quickly this time, however, building until it was swirling around him where he floated in the Atmosphere. He drifted off to the side, trying to get away from the fire before he made the jump back in. He was in no condition to fight the dragon yet, but he wasn't sure what else he could do.

He waited for a minute until the purple glow began to dwindle and die off. Finally it was gone, but he couldn't be certain that the dragon had moved on or whether it was still nearby. The clarity of a moment before had left him. He felt like he must have put some distance between himself and the dragon, but the unfamiliarity of his Shadow form kept him from knowing how to tell for sure. Finally he decided to risk it, making the jump back into the physical. He was met instantly with a blow to the side as a massive claw struck out and sent him sailing out into the water.

The cold dark peaks of the choppy water struck at Ardin until they brought him to a halt. The salt burned the wounds that remained open as he coughed and fought to gain the surface. No sooner did he manage to take a breath than did he see purple blazing down towards him. He jumped into the metaphysical, the purple lightning launching past him and setting off the Atmosphere in its dazzling glow. He moved as quickly as he could back towards land, jumping into the physical and rolling to ensure he wasn't caught off guard again so easily.

The dragon, thankfully, was still circling around to reach him.
Can it see me even when I jump?

He pulled together the warmth inside himself again, ignoring the wounds left on his arm and chest. He had to end this before the dragon got the best of him, which, he was beginning to think, might not take as long as he would like to believe.

He drew together the light again, this time finding it even easier than before in spite of his wounds. The area around him erupted in a glorious display of refractions before he focused it into a solid white and then launched it at the incoming lizard. The dragon swung low, launching its black death under the beam in hopes of catching Ardin under his attack. But Ardin was faster.

He swung the light down, meeting the fire head on. The two forces caught in mid air, the light being forced around the darkness as the fire caught up with and compressed into itself. Then the light won out, burning away the flame and forcing its way into the dragon's throat with a flash. The light was absorbed into the dragon and then reflected outwardly through its scales. The beast didn't even have time to scream before its entire body was enveloped in light, vibrating and shaking and incinerated in the night.

Ardin dropped to his knees, suddenly more exhausted than he had been since facing the Shadow King over the Abyss. He shook his head, the water in which he found himself stinging his burns with every recurring wave. He knelt there staring at the moonlight in the water for what seemed like an age before Hevetican appeared at his side.

“
That was.... that was incredible, Ardin.”

Ardin nodded his drooping head as best he could; it felt like the dragon he had just killed was sitting on the back of it. Hevetican grabbed his arm and helped him stand, then pointed out into the water. A small boat was approaching, and before Ardin knew it, the Fisherman jumped over the side and waded towards him.

Hope picked his heart back up from the depths of exhaustion as he moved out to meet his old friend. His joy was quickly diffused, however, as the hand that was extended to him did not look so familiar.

Paul Donovan clasped him by the hand and elbow and shook him vigorously. “Creator above, lad. I hope you'll soon be forgivin' my dismissin' you outta hand before.” The broad man grinned from within his salted dark stubble. “I'd hate to offend ye and wind up like those piss-poor featherless birds!”

The introductions had been quick, Donovan's suspicion surrounding the Truans relieved as quickly as Ardin could explain their origins. Even Hevetican seemed more relieved than afraid to meet the new steward of his people. Donovan, it seemed, had a reputation much like Cid among the Truans, though his was for mercy.

“
I can't believe the old dog's passed on,” Donovan said when Ardin finally broke the news of Cid's death. “He saved my life more than once. I always told 'im if he went and got himself killed he might as well just kill me in the process, I'd be doomed without him.” He laughed sadly. “A good friend and the best captain I ever had...”

The sadness that infused itself into Donovan's tone only renewed Ardin's own, and spoke of a deeper love for a man that Ardin realized he had hardly known. “I doubt he could have imagined a better way to go.”

“
We had bets on who'd get put down first...” Donovan said with a small smile after a long pause. “Guess I'm buyin' the first round when I finally see him next.” He looked around beyond them as the Truans cautiously made their way back towards their leader. “Now, how many of this lot are there exactly? I got quite the armada behind me for once, though only a few can carry a large payload and fewer'n that can fight.”

“
To be honest, I no longer have any idea,” Hevetican said sadly as he looked back on his own people. “There are thousands to be sure, but how many thousand I cannot say.”

“
We'll look into it then,” Donovan said as another small boat grounded itself in the shallows behind them. “Was told there'd be a lot of ya, but there's no sense in not takin' a muster afore we get the lot of ya on board.”

“
Make it quick,” Ardin said as he finished healing the last of his wounds. “There's no telling who else might be joining us if we stick around too long.”

“
Right enough,” Donovan said as he waved a group of men over from the beached vessels. “These boys'll take count quick as a whale swallowin' minnows. Not that they'll be swallowin' any of yer people,” he said as if Hevetican might actually worry.

“
Please,” Hevetican bowed his head in concession. “The sooner we can leave this place the better it will be for all of us.”

“
Where will you take them?” Ardin hadn't even thought this far until now. “You said you were told there would be a lot... did Cid get word to you?”

“
Nah, lad, though I wish it were him.” Donovan scratched his chin and waved the approaching group over to begin their count. “Some young major from Elandir gave me word that you'd be needin' my help. And with the way things was deterioratin' around there at the time, I figured it best to take his word for it and make for the forbidden continent. Lucky we found you, too. Those filthy sea snakes had changed their patterns some, forced us farther south than we first wanted to be comin'.”

“
But where can we go?” Hevetican looked as though everything he heard drained his hopes. “If Veria isn't safe, what hope have we of finding a haven?”

“
Not all o' Veria is up in arms yet,” Donovan said with a laugh. “Elandir ain't so influential as they like to believe themselves to be. We'll take you south, somewhere near Rinoa, and find you some land to squat on 'til all this is over. The people in those parts are much more inclined to help the needy in any case. The lad here can tell you all about it, I'm sure.”

“
I won't be coming with you,” Ardin said finally. “I need to finish things here.”

Donovan sighed. “I wondered if you'd say somethin' foolish like that. Lad, let me get these folk to safer shores, then let's finish things here. There ain't nothin' so important as savin' the lives o' the helpless. After that, I promise we can tear this continent a new hole to screw itself in and put that Demon squarely in it.”

“
There's no time.” Ardin backed away slightly, somehow scared this man might try to detain him. “You want to save people? Fine. The best way I can see to do that is to strike at the source from which all of this is coming. I have to meet the Brethren to the north and put an end to whatever the Relequim is planning before it gains traction.”

“
You're just a boy, lad.” Donovan seemed to be losing his jovial tone.

“
A boy who just killed three dragons in the span of twenty minutes.” Ardin didn't back down. “You'd do well to remember that, old man. If you trusted Cid so much, you shouldn't go questioning his choice of charges when all you've done is wander in and get a handful of ships sunk.”

Hevetican stepped between them, cutting the argument off with the plea of an open hand. “Please, let the boy go. He is right in saying he has a calling elsewhere, and I doubt you wish to find yourself at odds with him so quickly.”

Donovan looked like he might continue to speak his mind anyway, but let out a long gust of air and shook his head. “It'll be a shame to waste power like that on fools' errands.”

“
Sir!” One of Donovan's men shouted from along the shore. “Someone here claims to know the lad there.”

“
Send 'im over.” The resignation in Donovan's voice told that he had given in.

Donovan's crew member began to walk slowly over with a ragged-looking figure as Hevetican turned back to Donovan. “How long will it take to count my people and take them to your ships?”

“
Not long,” Donovan laughed. “Mariners are excellent counters when it comes to bottles 'n noses. They'll have yer bunch aboard before you can figure out how to spit backwards.”