Dragonvein (Book Two) (21 page)

“Let go of your fears, young Dragonvein,” the voice continued. “We are here. Our power is yours. Use it. Save yourself. Save
us
.”

Inspired by these words to shut out the pain, Ethan removed his hands from his face. By now, the wall of fire had closed in to the very edge of the dais. But that no longer mattered. He reached out, although whether it was actually with his hand or just in his mind, he couldn’t be certain. Whichever it was, there was no mistaking the ball of light that blinked into existence just above his palm. At once, his flesh cooled and the blisters subsided. This was not magic. Not in the way he had come to understand it. No. This was something else. Something far more intimate.

Suddenly filled with confidence, he stepped down from the dais and into the flames. The ball of light expanded to wrap itself protectively around him. Moments later, with a great sucking of air, the flames vanished. More than that, the pillars were now gone, replaced by the very creatures he had come seeking. The dragons.

In general form, they were all similar to the dragon that had come to his aid on the mountain when fleeing Elyfoss, though with slight variations in size. Two were white, two black, one crimson, and one sapphire blue. Each was in a position that corresponded to the color of the orb that had rested atop the pillar.

Ethan’s eyes focused on the black dragon directly in front of him. Though the one next to it was virtually identical, he knew that this was the one who had come to save him. He bowed his head in a gesture of thanks. The mammoth creature blew out a huff of steaming hot air and lowered its head.

“I’m impressed,” came a voice from the dais.

Ethan turned. There stood a young woman in her early twenties wearing a plain tan skirt and white cotton blouse. Her straight auburn hair was clipped neatly at her shoulders, perfectly framing the delicate features of her face. She gave him a welcoming smile and beckoned for him to come closer.

He hesitated for a moment. Not out of fear, but out of awe. He knew her. He was sure of it. He even knew her name.

“Heather,” he said, as much to himself as to her.

“Yes, my dearest,” she replied. “I am so very happy to see you at last.”

Her voice was musical, yet bore a certain authority that told him she was a person of great importance. And though attractive, she possessed something far more than mere physical beauty. It radiated from her spirit and descended upon everything around her.

Ethan was drawn to her in a way he had never experienced before. It was love. Pure love. As effortless and natural as the love a child has for its mother, though even this seemed an inadequate way to describe what he was now experiencing. Even after having emerged from a raging inferno and being surrounded by dragons, all he could see was Heather’s face. They were connected to each other. He knew this for certain. He could feel it deep within his heart.

“Are…are you real?” he asked.

She laughed softly. “Of course I am. Do I not look real?”

He gave a flushed smile and scrambled up to stand in front of her. Her skin was flawless ivory, and her movements ethereal as she folded her hands across her waist.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked.

Ethan struggled to contain an impulse to reach out and touch her hand. “Yes. Your name is Heather.”

“It is indeed,” she affirmed. “Though I was called Ariki in the old language. But regardless of that, my name is not
who
I am.”

A cold spear stabbed at his heart when he heard her telling him that he was wrong.

Her features softened and her smile became even warmer than before. “It’s all right. No need to be embarrassed. I did not come here to scold you.”

This reassurance boosted his confidence. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s come over me. When I look at you, I feel…” His words trailed off, unable to express the tempest of emotions steadily growing inside him.

“You feel eager to please,” she said, though without judgement in her tone. “You feel you know me. You feel inexplicable love.”

Ethan nodded. “Yes, that’s it! Exactly.”

“All of our line who come to me feel this way at first. It’s a consequence of my place in our history. It will pass.”

Ethan looked at her more closely.
My place in our history
. These words echoed in his head. “You’re Heather Dragonvein!” he exclaimed. “
You
were the first.”

She nodded approvingly. “Very good. Most take a little longer to understand. I was the very first of our family to make a true connection with the dragons. Since then, all of my children, and their children’s children down through the centuries have retained that connection because of what I did long ago.”

“So you’re not…alive?”

“If you are asking if I live as you do, then I suppose the answer is no. Did not Renald explain anything before he brought you here?”

Ethan glanced up the side of the canyon. “He hasn’t said very much at all. I get the feeling he is somehow disappointed with me.”

“Ah, poor Renald. I imagine he hoped for you to be a fully trained mage.”

Heather glanced over to her left; a blue light flashed, out of which a pair of plush chairs materialized. She sat, and offered Ethan to do the same.

“You want to know what I really am?”

He nodded and took a seat.

“A spirit is the best way to put it, I suppose. All those of my bloodline, once they depart the mortal world, reside within the essence of the dragons. They have kept us with them for thousands of years.”

“Are you trapped?” asked Ethan.

Heather laughed. “Of course not. We are not prisoners. Should any of us choose, we can be released and our spirits would scatter into the void.”

“You mean you’d stop…existing?”

Heather shrugged. “Truthfully, I have no idea. I am contented though, and can see no reason to risk oblivion.”

“How are you able to be here?”

“The power of the dragons created this place. Here, and only here, can I take on a physical form. Though I must admit, it is not something I enjoy. I prefer to dwell among my kin.”

Seeing the confusion and doubt on Ethan’s face, she paused for a moment. “One day you will join us. Then you will understand. But for now, there are things you must see. And much for you to learn. You are the last hope for Lumnia to survive.”

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back. The light in the canyon began to distort and ripple, much like heat rising from a sun baked earth. Ethan blinked in wonder as slowly the world around him melted away and he found himself gazing upon a vast expanse of rolling hills at the edge of a snow capped mountain range.

“Long ago, this was my home,” Heather told him. A tiny smile lingered on her lips as she surveyed the scene.

Ethan rose from his chair and walked to the edge of the dais.

“Do not step off,” she warned. “If you do, the spell will be broken.”

He backed away a few paces. “How long ago exactly?”

Heather gave a wistful laugh. “My dear boy. Even
I
have lost count of the years. My people came here in search of game. The winters of the north had been increasingly brutal, and by the time we arrived there was only a small fraction of us still alive. It was a hard time.”

Ethan continued studying the landscape. There was something eerily familiar about it. “Where is this?” he asked.

“Why Earth, of course,” she replied.

Ethan’s eyes went wide. But before he could speak, the sound of voices seized his attention. Over to his right, six people were approaching. The four men had thick, unkempt beards and wild hair. The two women were a bit more neatly groomed – but not by much. They all wore crudely fashioned pants and shirts made from animal hides and were wrapped in thick furs. The men carried long, flint-tipped spears, while the women had large woven baskets strapped across their backs.

As they drew near, Ethan recognized one of the women. It was Heather. He looked back. Her eyes were distant as she gazed nostalgically at her former self.

“Not exactly pretty, was I?” she said playfully. “But of course, we didn’t have much time for beauty.”

Ethan was speechless. The way they were dressed. And the weapons they carried. The implications were mind-blowing. He turned his attention back to the oncoming group.

A short man with thick shoulders and stumpy legs grunted disdainfully. “You go where you want. I don’t trust them. Demons is what they are, I tell you.”

A taller man with jet black hair sneered. “You’d rather die in the cold? I don’t care if they are demons. They promise us food and safety. No more scavenging and stealing. No more running.”

The short man waved his hand. “Go then. No one is stopping you.”

Instead of replying, the tall man’s eyes shifted across to Heather. This did not go unnoticed by his companion, who laughed scornfully.

“I think we should concentrate on getting home,” Heather cut in quickly. “We’re not supposed to be hunting here. If we’re caught…”

“Hunting?” scoffed the short man. “We haven’t seen a deer – or even a rabbit – in days.”

“All the more reason to hurry,” she countered. “There’s food back home. And I’m hungry.”

The tall man reached into a small leather satchel tied to his belt and retrieved a handful of blueberries. “I have these if you want them,” he offered.

Heather smiled and shook her head. “No, thank you. Save them for later.”

The other woman was not slow to react. Letting out a loud huff, she snatched the berries from his still outstretched hand. “I’ll take them if you won’t,” she said, shoving the entire bunch unceremoniously into her mouth. Juices dripped sloppily from her lips as she moaned with delight.

“And I’ll go with you to Lumnia if you want,” she continued, even though her mouth was still full and her words muffled.

The tall man frowned. “You already have a mate.”

She gave a shrug and sniffed contemptuously. “Since he hurt his leg he can’t hunt. So what good is he? Besides, we have no children. He doesn’t have any claim on me.”

“He’s my brother,” the man snapped back with a flash of anger. “And you will watch what you say to me about him.”

The woman looked at him impassively, wiping the juice from her chin. “I’m only speaking the truth. If he doesn’t recover, what should I do? Stay with him and starve?”

“He’ll be fine,” he insisted. “You just keep your mind on helping him…and off anything else.”

At this point, the scene became hazy.

“I never did like Kimma,” Heather remarked.

Ethan turned, still awestruck by what he had witnessed and desperate to know more. “Did the brother die?”

Heather sighed and nodded. “Less than a week later. Tam – that’s the tall one - had hoped the dwarves could help. It was rumored they could cure any illness and heal any wound. But there was no way to get his brother to them in time.”

Ethan figured this must have been during the time the dwarves were recruiting humans to fight against the elves. “So you and Tam came to Lumnia after that?”

Her countenance darkened. “No. Tam wasn’t with me.”

The haze cleared.

Ethan could now see Heather climbing through an outcropping of rocks, a reed basket over her shoulder. She bent down and reached into a crevice, pulling out a small clutch of eggs one by one. She smiled as she placed them carefully in the basket.

“Another bribe for Tam?” called a voice from behind a gnarled oak. Kimma stepped out, a sinister grin etched on her face.

“What do you want?” Heather demanded, pulling the basket close to her chest.

“For you to leave Tam alone,” she replied. “I’m the better choice, and you know it.”

Heather sniffed. “I think he can decide
that
for himself. Now get the hell out of here. I’m not in the mood for your nonsense.”

Kimma hopped nimbly over the rugged ground until only a few feet separated them. She peered into the basket. “A nice find. Surely you intend to share them.”

“They’re not for you,” Heather told her sharply, taking a step back.

Undeterred, Kimma moved in closer. “Do you really think you can beat me? I have two brothers and a sister to help provide. What can you offer? Nothing. All of your family are dead. And you want to know why? Because they were weak. Weak and stupid, just like you. Why would Tam want anything to do with
you
?”

Tears welled up in Heather’s eyes; her hands were trembling with fury. She wanted to strike the woman, but that would mean dropping her precious cargo of eggs.

Encouraged by this apparent reluctance to fight back, Kimma continued with her taunts. “You know that the others all want you to leave, don’t you? Everyone knows that you’re the one telling Tam he should go to the dwarves. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they forced you out before long.”

Heather locked eyes with her tormentor, her tears suddenly gone. “I’m only going to say this one time, you bitch: Get the hell away from me.”

This sudden injection of steel in her voice warned Kimma of the danger she would be in if she stayed around for very much longer. “What a pity,” she remarked, looking again at the eggs. “I’m sure Tam would have really thanked you for those.” Her hand then shot out, pulling hard at the edge of the basket. Without waiting to see the result of her attack, she spun around and ran for all she was worth.

Jerked sharply forward on the sloping and jagged ground, Heather struggled for several seconds to keep her footing. There was a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach as she heard the crunch of eggshells striking stone. Though she had managed to hold on to the basket throughout, Kimma had ripped it almost completely apart.

After recovering her balance, she stared down hopelessly at the ruined eggs. Not a single one had survived. It was true she had intended them as a gift for Tam, though not as a bribe the way Kimma had suggested. He loved her, and she him. But now her surprise was ruined. She threw down the basket and let out a furious scream. Tears of frustration began falling.

Ethan glanced back. Heather appeared unemotional while watching herself - merely taking a long breath and leaning back in her chair.