Dragon Frost (6 page)

"Heh," Nafury said and rested his chin on her head. "I think you both would have gotten along well. Both of you are completely unruly."

Ubi smiled and then looked around as their surroundings suddenly faded and changed. They were on a field of flowers now. Only the petals were soaked in blood. The field was covered with the bodies of plumas and dragoons who had taken back to their human form. Dozens on dozens of spirits stayed by their souls, unable to do anything more for them.

Nafury hadn't conjured this memory. He looked at Ubi who didn't have any idea how it appeared, either. "Alexia must be messing with us."

"What is this memory?" Ubi asked in concern of the death that surrounded them. It was a complete nightmare of a sight.

They both looked to where a silver-armored man stood on the edge of the canyon. From his long, blond hair, Nafury thought it might be Cirrus. He walked over to him and the man turned to face him.

"You will keep her from me no longer!" the man threatened. Then the knight unsheathed his blade and lashed out at Nafury with it.

TEN

Nafury woke with a start and immediately looked for Ubi. He found her, still locked in a restless sleep. He gently shook her until she opened her eyes and was free of the nightmare.

"What was that all about?" Ubi asked as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"I don't know. I do know that Cirrus never raised a weapon to me, ever."

"Scary," Ubi said as she tried to figure out the nightmare's hidden message.

"Fay are supposed to be able to see into the future as well as the past. Maybe we drew his angry spirit too close to us instead of your mother's."

"Maybe," Ubi theorized. "He did mention a 'her.' Whatever the meaning of it is, I want to go see if Xirel is alright. I had enough sleep for now."

Nafury followed after her. After some minutes, they tracked down Xirel to a small conference-like room. If he hadn't the ability to sense the Awl's Threads, they might have roamed the massive mountain forever. The chimera Awl was speaking with another when they entered. He couldn't help but stare at the newcomer's light green hair.
It can't be...

"Hello," the Awl said politely and turned to face them. "Prince Nafury. And this must be our newest Fay. It's an honour," he continued and looked to Ubi, before finishing his greeting with a short bow.

Nafury hadn't been called a Prince for so long, he almost didn't recognize his former title. He was frozen in shock to see Loki. The last time he had seen the Awl dragoon was on Earth, right after Sybl's fall. The only thing that kept Loki from strangling him with his bare hands back then was likely Hino and the once-Sentry's inability to hurt a human. Whatever Loki was thinking at that moment remained hidden under his silver mask that covered his eyes.

"I am Loki," the orange-eyed Awl added. "At your service."

"Loki is the leader of the Eastern Tribes," Xirel elaborated. "I contacted him with our desire to head over to the Torian Continent. He has a ship that can take us over. It has the added security of several Awls should the dragons prove to be less hospitable than usual."

"Where have you been all this time?" Nafury asked and took a step forward.

Loki looked to the side for a moment before looking back at him. "I swore that I would never forgive you after what happened to Sybl. That was until I finally came to realize that I was just as much at fault as you."

"How so?" Nafury asked.

"I swore to her that I would protect her, and I wasn't there when she needed me the most. But when I look at her," Loki said nodding towards Ubi, "I see a second chance."

"I must thank you then. Especially as my plan is still a work in progress."

Loki returned a fleeting smile. "If a war can be adverted, then it is worth a try. We cannot leave any negotiations to the Atrum. The dragons will not care what burns should they make the trip over to this Continent. You and I both know this. I can sense Sybl's spirit close to us, so this journey will fair well."

"You can sense her?" Nafury asked, intrigued. "Even though she's in the realm of death?"

Loki's smile grew and he looked at Xirel as they quietly guarded the secret between them.

"Is there a reason we can't be brought in on the secret?" Ubi asked, not enjoying being left out of the loop.

"First you must master Thread before you can understand, Princess. Please understand that we only hold from you what you are not yet able to comprehend," Loki said.

Ubi crossed her arms before her, not pleased with his answer.

"Okay then..." Nafury said and gently ushered Ubi out of the room before she could lose her cool on Loki. He called in question back as they left, "When do we leave?"

"Whenever you are ready," Xirel replied and got up from the chair he sat in.

Nafury pulled Ubi towards the exit. He quickly distracted her with how she would love the Harbor's shopping. Outside, he was surprised to find Sial waiting for them. "Oh joy, my spirit guide is back. That can only mean that I'm due to get a life-threatening situation soon."

"It's a unicorn," Ubi said as she looked Sial over again. The kyrie didn't so much as flinch as she touched him. "She's rather smart for an animal."

"He comes like that," Nafury replied.

Ubi looked into Sial's purple eyes. She quickly lost the staring contest. "That's creepy when I think about it. An animal that is as intelligent as a human, Eminor or Ancient?"

"He is very old. His Thread tornado isn't something anyone can learn in a single lifetime," Nafury said and walked over to Sial. He stopped when Ubi brought her hand to her chin in thought. "What is it?"

"Well, it's just that you keep saying 'him' and Sial is clearly a girl."

Nafury laughed at her like she were mad. "Sial has never been or ever will be a girl."

"Seriously? You had this kyrie close to you how long and you can't tell its gender?"

Nafury's intelligence took a direct hit, so he took a few steps back to confirm that Sial was a male. Only, the kyrie was indeed lacking certain parts. Now he was creeped out. "Um, Sial, are you feeling okay?"

"You are unbelievable," Ubi said.

Nafury hesitated to follow, as he felt Loki come out to join them. "Loki, is Sial a male or female?"

Loki lifted an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Are you unable to tell?"

"He was a male. He has always been a male--" Nafury stopped when he looked back at Loki. Their escort to the Harbor had shifted into his light green dragon form. He hadn't grown at all, and was easily still half of Nafury's dragon size. Loki sat down and waited patiently for the rest of his words. "All that command over Thread and you're still puny?"

'Of all the things to be exorcised from you, the jerk part of you had to stick, didn't it?'
"Princess," Loki said by voice then and looked at the Fay, "did he get any sleep? He seems rather grouchy."

"You might be right. We should leave him behind," Ubi teased.

Nafury continued to wait where he was for Xirel to emerge from the mountain. "Xirel, what is going on?"

Xirel shifted into his stag form and shook out his white coat. "It is as they said, you clearly need more sleep." He kneeled down so Ubi could pull herself up behind him, and started for the Harbor with Loki right behind, following by air.

Nafury was officially agitated. "That coming from the one who says I sleep too much... Would it kill you to make up your mind!?"

'Sial is a male. Or at least, he was a male,
' Alexia spoke to his psi.

"So I'm not crazy," Nafury replied, but remained determined to get the answers he wanted. Sial had never been a female--he knew that because he had fashioned the beast himself millennium ago. When it was reincarnated through Nephena, the Ancient was still a male.

He caught the creature's horn in his hand and forced its purple eyes to look into his. Closing his eyes, he then traced the Threads of its horn back into its memories. This demanded answers.

Nafury opened his eyes to find himself in the past. The Atrum that towered before him was like a spire-shaped tomb that reached into the sky. Nothing of it in this age made it look like the center of the Suzerain Continent that it had become. Before and during the Last War, Atrum City was little more than a shanty town. One filled with criminals, Feharin, and shifters who didn't fit in anywhere. He walked towards the Atrum for a while, until he spotted the one he looked for.
Sybl.

She sensed him before she heard his thoughts and turned around. "Who is Sybl?"

Nafury cleared his throat and looked himself over. This was a memory of the past, and the sister he knew in the present was not here in consciousness form. This was Asil, Sybl's previous incarnation. "What are you doing here alone?"

"I wanted to see you," she started.

"I'm here," he said and walked closer. The memory of Asil before him didn't know him yet as the monster Daath that he had become. Nothing of her showed any fear of him.

"You're not wearing your armor," she said, trying to lighten the air between them.

Nafury took notice of that on her mentioning. He didn't look much like the Damek he was playing the part of in this reenactment. "After what happened between us, I didn't feel like fighting anymore." He looked then at the shadows that hid nearby, daring them to just try and take him on today.

"I had no right to get angry at you like that. The phelan are beautiful and powerful creatures for battle. They are even more magnificent than the Nightmare Eaters of the first Aster," Asil said.

"They are yours," he said, pulling his festra from his back and handing it to her.

"They're your army," Asil said, but took the weapon anyway.

Nafury shook his head. "All this has shown me that the choices I would have made on the first Aster are not suitable choices for this one. This is your world. I gave this to Asteria once, so the names bound to this weapon are now your army. You can make new wishes, but you cannot alter the ones made in your past. My most significant wish will always be for the happiness of my most beautiful Fay. You will always belong to me." Asil stood her ground as he touched the side of her face and kissed her forehead. Unlike this memory with Sybl, it didn't send a freezing chill down her spine. A feeling of warmth and safety blushed Asil's cheeks instead. "I wish I could go back and do everything right the first time. I wish you could only know me as I am now and never as anything else."

She tilted her head as she studied his expression. "You seem so distant today. What's bothering you? You know you can tell me."

"I know, and I know you would do everything in your power to make it right. But this is something that I need to do alone," he said. "In the meantime, I need you to promise me something."

"Of course," Asil replied.

"I need you to promise that you will always remember me. Just as I am now, regardless of what I become in the future."

"You are the last one I would ever forget about, Damek. Now stop being so serious--you're making me worry."

"I'm sorry," he said and turned around. When he walked away, the memory faded behind him. He opened his eyes and found himself standing before Sial, still holding onto his horn. He wasn't sure how long he had been away for, as snow had begun to pile up at his feet. Alexia had let him get rather cold, as her patience for him had expired.

"You want what can never be, Damek," she stated without reserve.

"I want Sybl to be happy and safe, as I have always wanted. I have no more demons left for excuses to keep me from achieving just that." He pulled Alexia's spirit to him, and shifted into his dragon form. Spreading his white wings out with a small cry, he used his aeri in the Threads of wind around him to warm up his blood. Retaking his command over the air, he turned his wings for the Harbor.

ELEVEN

Xirel watched Ubi run from one vendor to the next in the market at the Harbor. She was taking in everything that other-world shopping had to offer and not wearing out any time soon. He checked that he still carried all his money with him, just to be safe. The GLORIA would be the ship to take them over to the Torian Continent, and its captain had yet to negotiate all the costs of such trip.

According to Loki, no ship had made the trip in years. Cecil had taken leadership of the dragons by right of his bloodline of Moon. While he did talk with friends of Sybl and the Sanctus, it didn't last long after her death. He only kept talks out of respect for Master Gei of the Sanctus. The Iynx had brought Cecil's Rose back to him from the ashes of the Phoenix's downfall. Just as the Sanctus' decayed, so did Cecil's patience for the Suzerain Continent. The warmongering that had taken up much of Kenshe's time made the phelan a nuisance. It was a campaign of fear, not security that he offered. It was likely the best he could do with his predecessor being the perfect dark Fay, Kas.

Xirel's reminiscing of the past had distracted him. He brought his attention back to the present and found that Ubi wasn't where he last saw her. He could once again hear the fighting for first buying rights around him. The healing plants brought back from the Torian Continent would sell for a fortune. He lifted his hand to find Ubi's Threads, before turning around on feeling she was right behind him. In her hands, she held up a thin, dark blue cloak that was well sewn.

"You need to buy this for me."

"Ubi..." Xirel let out a sigh. It wasn't that he didn't want to buy it, it was that it was his least favourite colour.

"I can't wear my black one on the Torian Continent, cause the merchant said it will be too warm. Please please."

"Did you have to find one the same sapphire colour as your uncle's eyes?"

Ubi lowered her hands and looked closer at the cloak on Xirel's mentioning of Nafury. Then she let out an even more enthusiastic, "Yes!"