Alni Read online

  They had both been captured, his magic was muted, and they had kissed. Almost instantly his cheeks warmed, mouth remembering the imprint of hers. Even with the happiness that flooded through Alni, he could not help but feel he was being watched.

  A soft scraping sound overtook Dora’s snoring, and he looked up to the window that led out to the town’s square. There was a shadow that covered the bright moon, two crimson eyes shone down at the two of them, familiar scales glinting in the night, the reflection dancing on the floor of the cell.

  “Dora…Dora wake up.”

  Alni adjusted, nudging her as best he could with his arms asleep and numb beneath him. She grumbled something unintelligible before moaning out a soft, “Leave me alone.”

  “Dora.”

  This time the shove was less than friendly and she awoke immediately, hand seeking her side for her weapon…but finding nothing.

  “What…what is it?” She snapped out, searching the darkness around them as she moved away from his body quickly.

  “Silthia is here,” Alni smiled, rolling slightly to get himself in a seated position.

  Slowly the blood flow was starting to return to his hands, the tingling making way for sore muscles. Dora had looked up, catching sight of the dragon head looking down at them. She frowned in surprise and peered over at Alni before finally acknowledging the situation.

  “We have to be quiet, they’ll hear us,” Dora said then, words barely audible as she turned towards the cell doors inside.

  It seemed she already expected the guards would be on their way to them, ready to demand silence. Surely they would see the dragon and all come out to fight her. They’d hear whatever attempt at breaking them out Silthia had in mind and all would fail. It was so hard to keep hope with all that had happened to them thus far.

  “Not to worry, you won’t be bothered by them this night,” came the gravelly response through the window, Silthia backing away from the opening before one taloned claw reached out and grasped onto the bars.

  “Get on the ground and cover your heads, you’re both far more fragile than I’d like,” Silthia said, eyes locked with Alni’s as he slowly lowered down to the ground.

  Dora followed his movements and covered her head next to Alni’s body without question. It was clear her dislike for dragons had been put to the side when faced with the possibility of escape.

  There was a loud crash as the window was pulled outward, debris and stone crumbling towards the ground below. It fell around Alni and Dora, somehow missing their bodies and hitting a bathroom pail in the corner. The loud clang rang through both of their ears and down the hallway, certain if there were any guards left they’d be racing towards their cell in no time. Already there was a muffled voice as the old man in the cell next to them awoke and shuffled around his cell.

  Dora helped Alni to his feet, his balance still suffering terribly with the shackles enslaving his hands behind him. A long, thick tail pushed through the opening, more stone falling to the ground as the scales and spikes hit the cell.

  “Grab on tightly,” she growled, tail swiping back and forth like a cat ready to strike.

  Dora grabbed onto it and it ceased moving. Her hand wrapped around one of the large white spikes, other grabbing for Alni. He had his back to Silthia’s body, hands reaching for a spike as the tail started moving upward towards the destroyed window and freedom. Almost falling, it was only a miracle that he was able to hold on through the scratchy fabric surrounding his hands. Dora’s arm was wrapped around his waist as she held onto Silthia and him, yelling out in pain as her arm stretched to keep hold.

  They were through the window and in the court square just a moment later, and the promise of solid ground soon kept them holding on. Dora let go when they left the window and cell behind, the two of them sliding down to the ground from their position attached to her long tail. Silthia’s head lashed back, teeth showing as a puff of smoke exited both nostrils in their direction.

  “Alni, turn around,” she said, voice desperate and rushed as she peered around the square.

  He did so without question, facing Dora as the dragon’s head lowered to his bound hands. There was a sizzling sound, then the smell of burning rope, the fabric that had kept him trapped fell to the ground in a heap. It sizzled for a second longer before turning to ash on the dark cobblestone below, freeing the magic they had smothered.

  “Now use your magic to release the shackles and climb on,” Silthia said, looking towards where yelling and footsteps were heard just down the cobblestone street.

  Dora was already climbing back up Silthia’s tail, making her way to the strong back of the dragon, looking to Alni the moment she was secured. Her eyes were terrified and wide, hands shaking visibly as she tried to grab hold of Silthia tightly enough.

  Alni tried to focus, feeling the familiar dance of magic creep from his pocket to his hands. The shackles were not dropping or melting off, they remained as tight as ever and the yelling of their enemies was only getting louder.

  “Any minute…” Dora said, pointing to the shadows dancing along the building sides.

  There was a large group breaking into the clearing, torches and lanterns lighting their way in warning as feet hit the wet ground.

  “Trying,” Alni murmured, closing his eyes as he focused on the shackles.

  Unlock.

  Nothing happened. Alni’s heart rate fired back up, breath quickening as the voices grew ever louder. There was a deep pressure at his hands suddenly, then a snap as the shackles fell onto the ground. He whirled around only to see Silthia’s teeth gleaming at him.

  “No time for magic, it seems. Get on. Now.”

  He wasn’t going to waste another second fumbling over what he could or couldn’t do, hands reaching to grasp onto her spikes as he climbed awkwardly up to where Dora was perched. She was secured at the base of Silthia’s neck, arms locked onto a large spike as her legs wrapped tightly around it. Alni slid into the space behind her, arms moving across Dora’s body to grab onto the spike as well and pull her close to him.

  “Hold on,” Silthia warned, kicking up from the ground.

  The world flashed past Alni and Dora, the sounds of the shocked voices below soon turning into muffled noises against the cold wind. It was an upward tickling sensation that did not seem to stop, settling at the base of Alni’s stomach and threatening to spill out of his mouth in a scream of terror. Dora was making soft noises in his arms, words muffled by the side of his shirt as she buried her face against it. He could have sworn he heard her saying ‘no’ repeatedly, voice a high pitched moan of dismay.

  Something soared through the air as the village became smaller and smaller. Silthia roared out, the cry was pained and monstrous as it broke the wave of sound around them and her body tipped. They jolted in the air, her wing dipping towards the earth as Dora’s words turned into screaming. She had lost her grasp on the spike, sliding back towards Alni and pushing his body further away from the solid object keeping them on Silthia’s back. With a growl he pulled them forward and secured his hand around her stomach, tucking Dora close to him while the other held on for dear life.

  Silthia was plummeting towards the ground just as fast as she had risen, the green fields near the village were growing closer and closer with the promise of impending doom. Dora’s and Alni’s screams were stripped from them as the wind tore across their face and forced them to close their eyes.

  As he pulled Dora ever closer, refusing to let her go, Alni was aware that this was the last few living seconds of his life and they were going to be spent plummeting to the earth with a dragon and a Princess.

  But just as they were about to make the crash landing, Silthia tore upward once more into the sky. Alni gasped as he felt warm blood fall onto his hands from the flapping wing on their left. An arrow was imbedded in the membrane of her leathery wing, tearing downward with the force of their flight and shredding her skin.

  Dora had stopped screaming and was holding on
as tightly to Alni as they seemed to steady out in the air. Silthia’s wing dipped slightly, shaking the two of them every few minutes as they silently flew on. She tore through the clouds around them, soaring over woods and villages below.

  Finally she lowered herself slowly, the ground of a vast plain growing ever closer. This time she seemed to be in control enough to brace herself, strong legs reaching out for the earth as her wings beat the air. With a loud thump, she landed upon the ground below.

  Alni and Dora slid from her back, reaching for the ground almost as desperately as Silthia had. Needing to be near to where they were meant to be and as far away from what they had thought would be the death of them…the air above. Certain that no matter how beautiful the sights had been, there was no possible way they would jump back on soon and give it another go without first blessing the solid ground they were on.

  One of Silthia’s wings folded against her side, the other extended across the earth as she leaned her long neck down and inspected the tears in her wing from the arrow. Dora had left Alni’s side and approached Silthia, reaching for the arrow. Her hand stopped for a moment over it, a low growl making the ground around her shake.

  Silthia’s crimson eyes were narrowed, leathery lips pulled away to expose her long, sharp fangs. But instead of stopping, Dora moved quickly, hands securing on the arrow as she broke it at the base and eliminated the long end. Silthia’s instincts kicked in and she lashed out at Dora, teeth bared, blowing smoke from her nose. Thankfully, she was able to stop herself a mere few inches away from Dora’s face. She had staggered backwards, holding the arrow in front of her and waving it in the air.

  “Look, I helped. Don’t eat me. Knock it off, dragon.”

  She backed away from Silthia and let the arrow drop to the ground. Both Alni and Silthia watching her every move as she began rummaging through the nearby weeds.

  “Ah ha, I’ve found it!” Came her victorious words as she rose up and turned to them.

  There was a plant in her hands, the red flowers small amidst the tangling stems. She made her way back to them and sat down on the ground near Silthia’s wing.

  “We will grind this leaf up and pack it in the wound. It will help to stop the bleeding and to heal,” she quickly went to work on the plant despite the silence from the two comrades with her.

  “I know a thing or two about bandaging wounds. It won’t heal you fully and your wing may still be sore…but if this works on humans and horses, it has to work on you, right?”

  Silthia was grimacing but she nodded slowly, eyes never leaving Dora and the strange plant she was smashing with a rock upon the ground, her entire body going into each grind as she destroyed the red flowers.

  “You saved us…I…” Alni stopped speaking, eyes narrowing as they fixed on Silthia.

  It just wasn’t adding up. When she had saved him at the start, it could have truly been coincidental. The second time, it was clear she was keeping tabs on them, but he didn’t care why, especially when it meant they wouldn’t be dinner for other dragons or turned in to the magical authorities.

  But now? She had not only been following them since the last event, but clearly had other motives in ensuring neither of them fell victim to the authorities or death.

  “I think you need to explain, Silthia. We are thankful, obviously, but if you’re doing this just so you can deliver us to a worst fate, we ought to know. How did you know we were trapped?”

  “The fairies whispered that they saw you go into Swordstale. I knew there were no friends for you there. I do not want to see two travelers with the Kingdom’s best interests be hanged.”

  “You are a dragon, are you not under Mallor’s control?” Alni inquired further.

  Dora paused, then continued to mash the weeds, clearly not too concerned about what he was verbalizing. Or intent to not intrude on the conversation until they heard more of what Silthia had to say about things.

  “I am under no spell. No stone controls me. Without the missing bit of the stone some of us remain immune to the calling.”

  Her head tilted towards Alni and he grabbed for his stone quickly. It was still there, tucked against his side and cold. Although they had both lost their only weapons and maps, at least he still had it. It was only by divine chance, though. The guards and Atair too foolish to relieve him of it when he was in their grasps.

  “Why don’t you take it back to your current King? Or the dragons, that is…can’t he destroy it for us?” Alni asked, looking over to Dora as she moved to Silthia’s wing and grabbed the arrow.

  With a yank, it tore free and was quickly replaced with the muddled weeds and a firm hand. No matter how hard it must have been to keep hold while Silthia’s teeth snapped at her once again, this time Dora didn’t flinch, fully focused on the task at hand. Silthia looked back to Alni once she had decided Dora was not going to hurt her further.

  “The King is dead. Gone as Herrick had been before. The new King can overpower even the strongest of dragons with enough pawns at his disposal. Even now the dragons that are free band together to fight against him and the brethren he used to destroy our King. He’d not allow for another King of any species, even one that was swayed by the magic stone, by the Mystic Dragon’s call. Now we have been thrown into chaos as the humans will be. It is only a matter of time before he turns on his own people and they see they’re never safe in the hands of a madman. I could not help assisting you but sensed the stone immediately…it calls to us, beckons us near. When you ran into the lost Princess? I knew it was fate,” she nodded at Dora softly.

  “How did you know who I was?” Dora spoke up then, golden eyes searching for an answer from the dragon as her hand remained pressed against her wing.

  “You have your father’s face…his eyes. I worked closely with him, you know,” the words drifted to Dora, almost haunting, “You two must sleep, I can sense the exhaustion in your bodies. I will keep watch.”

  Dora looked almost like she was going to argue, but when Alni walked over to her, fell silent.

  “It’s a good idea. We need the rest,” Alni said slowly, taking a seat away from Silthia and Dora.

  He was in dire need of sleep and a moment to regain his thoughts and plan but still didn’t fully trust the situation. It was only when his stone remained silent that he knew it might be safe enough, if only for the night.

  “Thank you,” Alni spoke to Silthia, laying down upon the soft earth as he looked to the skies above.

  There was no response but a few moments later there was a shifting as Dora quietly laid down next to him. Neither of them spoke, allowing the night to take them far away from cells and dragons.

  The softest of songs fell from Silthia’s lips, the melody almost a hum in the air that eased them into a healing slumber.

  “The night shall take us, my darling, my dear.

  Away from all evil, danger, and fear.

  The darkness shall lead us to where we are bound

  And then my dear, we shall not be found.

  They will not find us, they will not be near,

  The night shall take us, my darling, my dear.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “Hello, boy.”

  The voice was familiar, low and booming as it forced Alni to his feet. The movements were not of his own accord, as if a strong string was attached to his back; forcing his compliance to the voice he was now certain belonged to King Mallor.

  Alni was in the same space of land Silthia had landed them in, but both the dragon and Dora were nowhere to be seen. There was a dark mist creeping across the field towards him, eating up the ground it rolled over and leaving only destruction behind. The mist tore into grass and wheat like an infectious disease, and yet Alni could not move his body away from its reach.

  He was going to be watching his death slowly approach him, of this he was certain. From the mist rose a figure Alni had only seen on propaganda posters in his home village and towns surrounding, a man that he had never seen in person, but kn
ew of quite well.

  King Mallor’s eyes were slate grey, piercing as he studied Alni closely. He looked to be middle-aged, noble and aristocratic as the drawings of him had suggested. The King was taller than Alni, looking down at him as he approached, lean and almost gentle in nature; as though he had never spent a day doing manual labor, but still attempted to keep himself healthy and strong.

  His black hair was wavy and healthy, and it stopped just below his shoulders. In the darkness of the mist, it seemed to almost stretch out and consume the night around them both. Still, Alni could not move as the man approached, body not under his own control.

  “I have seen you along your journey but not as closely as I would have wished.”

  The King stopped in front of Alni, one finger pointing to his pocket and the stone that lay inside. Alni’s hand moved against his control, reaching down into his pocket and lifting the stone towards his face and that of the King’s. Mallor’s eyes twinkled in excitement as they focused on the shard of stone.

  “I have the brother of that very stone, Alni. You know that together they can control all the dragons and provide the owner with everlasting life. Or…the magic inside can be freed. It only depends on what the master of the whole stone deems a worthy cause. Do you know what you deem a worthy cause, yet?”

  Alni tried to speak but the spell held him in place, unable to stop the nightmare that was happening all around him.

  “Oh! Terribly sorry, boy.”

  With a snap of his fingers, Alni’s face was released from the petrified state. His cheeks sagged downward as a grimace took over, brow furrowing with a rage that had been muted, body still under Mallor’s control.

  “I know that genocide isn’t a worthy cause. I know that taking food and demanding trade from villages that have nothing is a death sentence. I know that forcing the dragons to be your pawns isn’t truly ruling…killing their King isn’t ruling!” Alni spat, surprised at his own boldness in the face of their most powerful adversary.