Dark Wood: Legends of the Guardians (7 page)

Worry
settled into Mayla’s brow as she stood with an urgent nod. “Come, Allos, we’ll
need your strength to bring him in.”

Mayla
hurried out the door past Allos with Korena. Pausing, he turned to look at
Elizabeth. “I can only ask you not to break my promise to her.” He’d sworn to
Aryaunna that he would protect Elizabeth. It was not a promise he was willing
to see broken. Their eyes locked for only a moment before Mayla called for him to
hurry.

Reluctantly,
Allos shut the door behind him, leaving Elizabeth alone. Sitting in the bed for
only a moment she weighed her options. The window was capable of being opened.
If she stood on the bed she could get out of it. But the chances of her getting
by anyone in the village unseen was slim to none. Worse yet, it was the dead of
winter and the only protection from the elements she would have would be if she
took the blankets from the bed with her.

Pulling
the blankets back, she turned herself to sit on the edge of the bed, pondering
her next move. Decidedly, she readied herself the best she was able with what
she could find. Without a look back, she slipped from the room soundlessly.

Reign
was full of more questions than answers. He seemed to want to know everything
about her. He’d taken Aryaunna deep into the cave, which was as vast as the
mountain itself. Aryaunna was so in wonder she could hardly find the focus to
answer his many queries as precisely as he wanted. Constantly he nudged her to
elaborate as they wandered deeper into its magnificence.

The
inside of the walls glittered and glistened from either the natural beauty of
the pure white stone or the trickle of pure spring water along the walls. The
first spring she came across fountained into a natural small basin before
seeping back into the rock wall that surely fed another hidden spring
elsewhere. Eagerly she began to drink, soaking her hands and gloves entirely in
her haste of thirst.

Reign
had stopped to watch, quite fascinated by the display. A thickly scaled brow
arched in silent question when she finally looked up from the water. They
stared for a long moment as she realized she must seem like a fool for her
behavior. “Are you hungry?” he asked before she could defend her desperate
actions.

His
question caught her by surprise, and relaxed her. “Very.”

“Then
come. As we walk, you shall tell me of your magic.”

Wiping
her mouth with the back of her hand, she returned to his side. They moved
together at a leisurely place. “I fear there is little to tell. My mother died
when I was a very young girl. She’d not had time to teach me much.” He asked
how old she’d been when her mother had died. Aryaunna told him the painful
story of what had happened. Though she was prepared to, she did not have to
elaborate on why.

Reign
knew all too well the darkness that had swept through the world, bringing grief
and tragedy to those far and wide. “What else do you remember about her?”

“Sometimes,
nothing,” she spoke quietly as if the truth were too horrible of her to say
aloud. It felt awful to say, shameful. “Elizabeth looks like her. There are
times I dream of my mother, but Elizabeth is who I see. I know it is her
though, because my mother had dark hair like mine. My sister’s hair is the red
of the Blood moon.

“That
and her beautiful stones. She let me play with them. I’d had them in my pocket
when the knights came for us. I’ve had them since.”

Reign
stopped, raising his front leg like a barrier before her. Though he walked
using all four, his front forelegs functioned nearly arm-like. “Keep behind me.
The path grows narrow.” Narrow for a Dragon perhaps. He was more wide than she
was tall, and from head to tail he was by far longer than Aryaunna could easily
estimate. His wings must’ve had the same span as the length of his body,
although she couldn’t be certain.

Rays
of sun had danced off the white walls radiantly all throughout the winding
cave, but the deeper they went, the more the walls seemed to grey for lack of
light. They were clearly moving down a slope now, which was considerably steep.
Steep enough that to keep her balance she had to keep a hand out stretched
against the stone wall.

Her
fingerless gloves, soaked from the spring, cooled her flesh as the icy stone of
the mountain soaked up what heat was left in her hand. A chill was creeping up
through her body that the growing dark seemed to accentuate.

“Tell
me what you know of these mountains, Aryaunna,” Reign’s voice resonated even
more deeply the further into the cavern they ventured.

“Dia
is the tallest of her earthen towers. It is said the Guardians themselves
carved her crevices.”

Before
she could continue with the common knowledge of Dia, he stopped her. “Yes,
everyone has heard the stories. Can you tell me nothing more? Look around you,
Aryaunna. Open your eyes, your mind, use your spirit. Tell me what you see.”
His great form turned on her as he spoke.

“It’s
dark,” she returned briskly, sucking in a sharp breath at the start of his sudden
movement. She’d no idea such a large creature could move with such speed and
grace.

“Close
your eyes,” he ordered. Letting her breath even and slow, Aryaunna’s eyes
closed without question. She did not doubt her safety, despite his fortitude.
“Your hand on the wall, use it. Open your mind and see it for its truth.”

Her
focus became her intent. “Your mother’s voice. It is inside of you. Find it,
Aryaunna, daughter of Annalee Luvea.” The sound of her mother’s name, her true
name, lit a fire inside of her. Aryaunna had been stripped of her mother’s name
the day she had died. She had not heard it even in whisper, not even from her
sister’s lips since that day. Aryaunna had even told herself she’d forgotten
it.

Women
in her family had carried the name Luvea for centuries. No man could take a
Luvea woman from her name. The name carried great power. That power awoke
within her. She could see the mountainside, as it had not been seen in a
millennia. Black. Black as night itself. The mountains were raw and wild, peaked
and jagged. From the great Dragons’ fire, molten rock spout forth from deep
crevices.

Her
eyes opened. She looked at the wall, running her fingers up it slowly.
“Crystal… This entire range is forged of crystal from Dragon fire, Guardian
fire.”

His
eyes seemed to light up brilliant blue, as radiant as the rarest moon. He was
so close to her that she could see the Guardian’s flame that shown so keenly
within him. “Very good. Now, look around you.” His head nodded out past the
carved path they stood upon.

Following
his sight, she turned her chin to the cavern. It was alight with blue stars.
Her mouth parted, falling agape. The stars twinkled, reflecting off every
surface. The light of the sun may have been hidden this deep within the cavern,
but the stars shown its magnificence. Stalagmites shot up from far below,
nearly reaching the stalactites from above. The cavern was so vast that Reign
could have flown, if he’d been able, throughout the space freely. Not just
Reign, but other Dragons as well.

“How
is this possible? Stars inside of the earth?” She couldn’t pull her eyes away
to look at Reign.

A
low rumbled chortle coughed out of his throat. It seemed to be a sound he’d not
made in decades if not longer. “They’re Luciola. They’re quite beautiful for grubs,
are they not?” She’d never pondered the possibility if Dragons could smile, but
it seemed that they indeed could.

“You
see, Aryaunna, you are never truly in the dark.” Though she liked the way it
sounded, it was a rather unbelievable statement. Turning once more, his long
tail, tapered in feather like whiskers, carefully avoided her. Still in awe,
she followed Reign through the mass cavern. It was the first time in as many
hours that he’d stopped drilling her with a surplus of questions. Perhaps he understood
her awe because he’d felt it himself.

Deep
inside of the cavern Reign slowed to a stop. Aryaunna had not found replenished
warmth though she’d not faltered or ailed for the chill. “This cavern, as are
these mountains, carved by Dragon kind. The way is not made for human step.”

Aryaunna
came to stand at his side, looking out over the chasm. “I can climb it,” she
spoke with assured confidence.

“Your
fingers are nearly numb, if not completely. You’ve not yet eaten this day. I can
only wonder the last you had a decent meal. You couldn’t hold a proper sword,
let alone traverse this chamber.” Her eyes narrowed at the accurate note of her
state. It stilted her. “You must climb to my back.” He didn’t seem thrilled by
this idea, though not entirely against.

She
laughed out at the suggestion. “Don’t underestimate me, Reign. The Guardians
wouldn’t have accepted the offering from someone so weak.” Rolling her knuckles
so that they would pop and her fingers would flex. Not waiting for him to
react, she slithered her body along the impossibly narrow slope, finding foot
holes that even goats would bock at.

Taken
aback, and yet amused, Reign watched this display. Waiting to follow until
she’d made enough distance that he could move with ease. “Slowly, Ary. The
stone is like glass in many places.” Despite her focus, her lips twitched with
a smile as he called her Ary. “No, move to the left.” Her right foot had been
searching for a foothold where there was none. Balancing the toe of her boots on
the same divot, she inched herself to the left and discovered the most modest
cliff.

In
time they made it down the vast chamber to the grotto. The water was rich jade
green. Reign had caught them a arapaima to share, a fish that dwelled deep in
the pool inside the mountain. Aryaunna watched the magnificence of Reign’s
flaming breath that roasted her fish from life to death. They ate together in
silence by a fire of driftwood Reign had gathered and lit. The aged wood burned
hot but slow.

She
picked at the last bit of meat held in her hand. “Reign?” He looked up, the
tail of a fish hanging from his maw. A smirk twisted her mouth. He’d had four
of the great fish, and the last of hers. “Do you know why I was sent here?”

He
slurped the last of the fin down his throat as he spoke. “Isn’t that obvious?
They sent you here to find me.”

“Yes,
to validate my claim as Emissary.” It was no surprise that she sounded just
slightly bitter.

Considering
her words for a moment, Reign pondered. “Did you think some grand event would
take place? Sorry to disappoint you, but you would be wrong. You made it here,
and by doing so you found the power of your bloodline and much more.”

“So
have I been validated?” Standing, she tossed the scarce bones into the fire.

“If
that means do I believe you’re capable of fulfilling your role as Emissary,
then yes.” He sat on his hind legs as he watched her.

Aryaunna
frowned, unamused with his toying answer. “Not that I want to dispute that, but
how is it you’re so certain? I have been given no tests.”

He
balked. “No tests? You made it through the Dark Wood. You overcame its
trickery, its deadly treachery, and demonic spirits that would seek nothing
more than to poison your mind and body. You stood before me, with not a single
ounce of fear in your eyes. More than I can say for any other creature I’ve
come across that did not share my kinship. I offered you aid for an easy
passage through the cavern. You turned that down, despite your suffering and
made it to the grotto on your own accord.

“I
find it peculiar that you never once assumed all of this was your test. These,
however minor, actions proved enough to me that you are the rightful Emissary.
Is that not enough? Or shall I produce for you an additional challenge?”

“No,
it just seems like it was too… Not simple, certainly. Perhaps I expected
something more direct, identifiable.” With a heavy lift of her shoulders, she
stepped closer to the fire, warming the palms of her hands. “Something I would
approach as a challenge knowingly.”

Not
acknowledging her statements directly he asked, “Have you had your fill of food
and water?” She nodded agreeably. “Your clothes are dry, and you have warmed
yourself?”

“Thanks
to you, all of the above.” To hear a Dragon laugh was probably the most unexpected
thing about all of this to Aryaunna. It rumbled through his body out his long
serpentine neck. “Something is funny to you, Reign?”

Despite
his size, Reign was incredibly agile, graceful even. His muscles rippled as he
moved, rolling throughout his body with every step towards her. “You truly have
absolutely no idea what you’ve gotten into.” His head lowered to be level with
hers so that he might look her in the eyes.

“You
assume you were sent through the Dark Wood to find me as some validation that
you are in fact the Emissary, but there is far greater purpose to you coming
here than just that, young Ary.”

“By
all means, please explain.”

“Walk
with me, Aryaunna.” He turned without wait knowing she would follow, which she
did. “In becoming the Emissary you accept a position of leadership. You will be
taught the art of battle. You will develop your magic, among many, many other
things. You will lead people, thousands in the end. Many, you will lead to
their death. The Guardians will speak to you, guide you in all things; even the
sword in your hand when you come to trust in it.”

“Would
you like to know how I swore myself?” Aryaunna reached up to brace her hand
against the stone wall as the incline became steeper.