Boreal and John Grey Season 2 (42 page)

They were flying. Ella clutched at Finn, suddenly remembering why she hated this part.

Oh my god, they were going high. Like, real high. Right into the path of the airplanes. “Look out!”

“Just hold on tight,” Finn said.

He didn’t need to tell her twice. Wounds or not, she pressed against his back, clung so hard they’d need pliers to get her off Finn once this was over.

The dragon swerved and beat her great wings, rising higher as the air rushed past them and fire barreled over their heads. Ella focused on Finn’s pulse under her hand, his hair tickling her face.
Deep breaths. No passing out.
She couldn’t help Finn if she was unconscious.

You can do this. You must.

In her initial panic, she’d obviously stopped giving the dragon guidance and Finn had taken over. They flew up and up, dodging the fiery bursts of their enemies.

The towers came into view, sparkling like crystals, throbbing like hearts. They circled around them.

Then the other three dragons rose to block them. Ella could see the Boreals riding them, their snowy armor and helmets catching the gleam of fire.

Time to see if her idea worked.

Her arms tightened around Finn until she thought she was cutting off his air. “The threads,” she shouted over the roar of the wind. “Now, Finn!”

He shivered and the threads appeared, a vast web of gold. They were flying through it, through the threads of light, and it took her breath away.

Her threads greeted her, pulsing angrily, waiting for her emotions to catch up.
Yeah, fury.
For those who hurt Finn, who waited for a chance to injure and kill.

She felt it rise inside her — the power, the heat, the song.

The threads tightened, like her embrace, coming together.

Crashing the dragons and their riders. Ella watched the dragons spin and thrash as the darkness swallowed them and they fell to their deaths.

Finn’s heart doubled its pace, and her own matched it. Her chest ached. The threads pulsed and twisted, meshing until she thought her skull would explode from the pressure. Her teeth ground together.

The towers boomed, and their dragon flew down, out of the path of the missiles as the air-force retaliated. Shouldn’t those towers be down by now? It was as if the only thing able to destroy them was the fiery dragon breath.

“Enough,” Finn shouted, shaking. He could barely draw breath, and she wasn’t much better.

It was time.

Fire
, she thought.

Finn leaned forward and the dragon flew around the towers, belching flames. The first tower rocked, then tilted. Another burst of flame and a chunk of the tower slid off and fell, down on the city.

The dragon flapped, rising higher, lungs rumbling, and belched a rain of fire on the remaining tower. It was already damaged, half it having melted from the previous attack, and now it broke apart and dropped as well.

The explosion below from the falling towers was a blast of a heat wave. Then came the sound, deafening, and it threw the dragon sideways. She spun, wings folding.

Ella hung on to Finn’s solid torso, wishing she believed in an afterlife, as the air whistled and whipped her hair over her face, her breath leaving her. She gasped until black spots ate at her vision.

The dragon crashed on something solid and they slithered, crashing into antennas and walls.

The terrace of a building. They’d landed on a building.

That was Ella’s last thought before it all swirled to black.

***

She was safe.

That was Ella’s first thought. She was enclosed in warmth, pressed against muscled flesh, listening to a steady heartbeat. Scent of caramel and musk — and blood.

Finn.

She blinked, trying to get her bearings. She was held to his chest, his head bent over her, soft hair tickling her face as she shifted, staring up into the night sky with the lights of the airplanes and helicopters.

“Are you...?” Her head pounded like a drum. “Is it over?”

He shook his head.

Not over?
She grabbed his shoulders and struggled to sit up. “What happened? I thought the towers fell.”

“They fell.” Finn’s voice rumbled in his chest. He brushed his fingertips over her brow. “It’s done.”

“Then why the gloom?” She shifted and sat up. He’d managed to pull her in front of him, on the dragon’s neck, flush against his chest. She slipped her hands under the leather jacket and the shirt, and held on to his narrow waist. “We made it.”

He nodded. His face was blank.

“Finn, what aren’t you telling me?” Sudden worry hit her. Had he been wounded again? Was he bleeding? “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Strained. Not very convincing, really.

Jesus.
“Talk to me.”

He let out a long breath. It made his sides heave. “Have to go.”

“Yeah, Dave will have a fit if we don’t make an appearance real soon. He’s down there in a van waiting to see we’re all right.”

He didn’t speak. His head dipped lower, his breath warming the side of her neck. His hands skimmed over her arms, then pressed into the small of her back — bringing her closer.

“Finn, what is it? Tell me.” Her stomach was knotting so badly she thought she might throw up. Because deep inside she thought she knew. “Go where?”

“Away.”

Her lungs locked for a second. “Please, don’t do this.”

“They know where I am, where to find me,” Finn whispered. “I need to move, hide for a while.”

“Okay, you’re right. We’ll leave and hide somewhere. In another city. Nobody will know where we are. If you don’t open Gates, you’ll be difficult to track.”

“I can’t.”

She pulled back. She could see in his eyes how tired he was. “You’re going to Aelfheim, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the mother of all bad ideas.” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “You’re going to return to the place that hurt you, to the people who want to use you.”

“Dave wants to use me, too.”

“Yes, but Aelfheim is where the Dark Elves are. Where the war plans are being made. Where you said you never wanted to return.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

Finn’s mouth tightened. “I need to see if my mother is alive, if she’s well. Norma said...” He swallowed. “She said I should.”

Oh god, what could you say to that? “She’s dead, Finn. Your mother.”
And Norma. Christ.
“We talked about this. Your queen was lying.”

He shook his head. “Not sure. Remember the device we took from the dead Boreal? Both she and my father are listed as living.”

Ella just stared at him. He was serious.
Holy shit.

He’d lost both mothers and now he had a chance to get one back. Of course he wanted to go. “Not now, though, right? You’re hurt. You need to see a doctor, especially about your leg.”

“Ella... Now is the perfect opportunity. The dragon is here, so they can’t hurt her. The tracker is out. Nobody is watching me right now.”

Damn.
“We’re not prepared—”

“You can’t go with me.”

His words struck her speechless. She gaped at him and tried to get air back into her lungs.

He gave her a calm stare that only served to piss her off.

“The hell I’m not.” Her neck was heating with anger. “Take me with you.”

“It’s too dangerous. I can’t.”

“Too dangerous for whom?”

He blinked. “For you.”

“I can help you. We work well together.”

He didn’t look convinced.

“You can’t leave me here.” Ella was aware her anger was turning to panic. She tried to think but her mind ran around in circles and all she wanted was to grab him and never let go. “It’s dangerous for me.”

He cocked his head to the side.

Okay, good, he was listening. “Don’t you think they’ll be looking for the Stabilizer after seeing what I did today? Don’t you think Dave will find a way to use me — as a weapon or to force your hand?”

If possible, his white face paled more. He hadn’t thought of that, had he? Hadn’t realized how similar they were now — two freaks on the same show.

“Aelfheim is a tough place,” he said and her heart boomed. “I don’t know what I’ll face there.”

Oh god, she would start begging and bawling like a baby. “Please, Finn. I know you don’t want me to come, but—”

“What?” His hands gripped her ribcage. His eyes narrowed. “Damn, Ella, you have no idea...” He drew her back to him, crushed her to his chest. Pressed his mouth to her neck. “Not sure I can leave you.”

“Then don’t,” she said, muffled against his shoulder. “I can’t... Can’t be without you.”

A small eternity passed.

Then she felt his lips tilt in a smile against her skin. “Okay.”

He’d agreed. They were leaving. To Aelfheim.

In a daze, she let him maneuver her, help her twist around and swing a leg over the dragon’s neck so she sat with her back to him. Her hands closed around the horns and Finn’s hands covered hers.

“Are you ready?” he whispered in her ear.

Not really. But he was leaving, and she wasn’t staying behind. “Ready.”

The sparkle in her mind told her the dragon was preparing to move. She stood, opening her wings, shaking her spine. Crashing over the terrace she walked to the edge and sprang.

Dear god.

They dropped like stones, then arched up, their trajectory shooting them into the sky.

Finn whispered Ella’s name as the golden threads sprang into being, lighting up the night, erasing the city lights and the glow of the still burning fires below.

Then Ella called her own threads forth, and they wove with Finn’s, pulsing. She felt the moment he parted the threads, nudging hers aside to open the Gate. The air shimmered.

It wasn’t anywhere as big as the previous one. It was a perfect fit.

A perfect moment, with Finn’s heartbeat at her back, his breath on her skin. This was who she belonged with. The where didn’t matter.

Never had.

She held on to Finn as they flew through the sparkling mirror.

THE END of EPISODE 5 (SEASON II OF BOREAL AND JOHN GREY)

I hope you have enjoyed
The Weave
(Episode Five of Boreal and John Grey-Season II). Season Three is being written right now!

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THANK YOU FOR READING!

A huge thanks to all of you who followed my heroes on their adventures. I hope you enjoyed spending time with them.

If you have enjoyed this series, please write a review, it would mean the world to me.

Author note

In Season II of Boreal and John Grey, I’ve introduced quite a few new creatures and worlds – even more heavens. Nine worlds, nine heavens. That is a magical number, and in the Nordic mythology, these worlds and heavens symbolize certain aspects of life and death – or constitute memories of places from which the Nordic people wandered.

The worlds are arranged geographically on the tree Yggdrassil which symbolizes the universe. Here is how I picture them:

High above – up in the branches – are Aelfheim (Light Elves) and Asgard (home to Aesir, the gods – and location of Valholl/Valhalla, the land of the courageous dead).

Around the trunk – or in the trunk – are four worlds: Niflheim (land of mist and the rivers of ice, home to ice giants), Jotunnheim (land of rock and wilderness, home to the sorcerer giants Jotunn/Joettnar), Vanaheim (home to the Vanir, the elder gods), and Musspelheim (land of fire and volcanoes, home to the fire demons Ettin). In the center it’s us, human kind, and our world is called Midgard (“Middle Earth”).

Down below, among the roots, are Svartalfheim (home to the Dark Elves) and Helheim (home to the damned dead).

Above Asgard, which is the top of the worlds, there are nine heavens: Vindblain, Heidthornir, Hregg-Mimir, Andland, Vidblain, Vidfedmir, Hriod, Hlyrnir, Gimir, Vet-Mimir, and Skatyrnir.

The universe is huge.

Why are the Light Elves bent on invading other worlds and never once think of traveling to other planets and solar systems instead?

The eight worlds apart from ours haven’t given space travel much thought. Why? Because of the heavy cover of their sky – in some cases by clouds, in others by fog and in yet others by toxic vapors – the inhabitants of these worlds haven’t been able to observe the sky and use telescopes, therefore they never put much effort in this endeavor.

Instead, they rely more on something we don’t have: magic. Opening Gates is magic and they focused on that.

Why is Aelfheim a frozen world?

The epics don’t say so. I say so. The epics do say the Light Elves are pale, and for me it was a small leap to imagining their world as cold and full of ice and snow.

Aelfheim is in the middle of an ice age. Our earth has gone through many of those – even a Little Ice Age as recently as the Middle Ages. But the previous ones, the great glacial ages – they lasted hundreds to thousands of years each. Many causes may be responsible for an ice age – although it does look like it is a natural, reoccurring phenomenon.

About the Author

Greek Cypriot with a penchant for dark myths, good food, and a tendency to settle down anywhere but at home, Chrystalla likes to write about fantastical creatures, crazy adventures, and family bonds. She lives in Cyprus with her husband and her vast herds of books. She writes fantasy, science fiction and romance.

Blog:
http://chrystallathoma.wordpress.com