Raulin's Oath

Gustoff had his arms wrapped tightly around Xersa’s neck as the pegasus climbed higher into the clouds, soaring away from the cursed Draconis mountains. His strength was fading, but to loosen his hold meant certain death. He needed rest, water, and food, but it would have to wait a little longer. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind. He had to know that she was safe, so he focused on Arietta with all of his mind and heart. His mind filled with a vision of the inside of a library. And then… a white blade smeared with blood. The blood glowed, thickly coating the weapon. With this vision in mind, his heart raced, and his grip on Xersa’s mane tightened. The meaning of this, he didn’t know, but what he did know was that Arietta needed him.

They were flying through thick billowing clouds, and as Gustoff looked past Xersa’s neck, and there was a break in the clouds. They were over the foothills of Draconis and would soon be entering the prairie lands of Equus. What he saw in the distance forced a track of tears to slide down his weather-beaten face and fall like raindrops from the heavens to the scorched earth below. It was worse than the Wastelands, worse than any natural disaster he’d seen before. He forced himself to look down, forced himself to see it all. “When will we be able to rest, Xersa?”

“We will rest when we reach Lenovia. That is the only country that does not belong to the King of Dragons on this continent. I will need to eat and gather my strength for the final push to Aridol. The last of the resistance is housed there.”

He relished the opportunity to lie down to sleep. His body ached from every joint, and his mind was still a bit foggy from both the lack of sleep and the mind-joining that Lucius repeatedly attempted on him. If not for the absence of Lucius, Gustoff would still be in his cell.

Xersa soared over the northern tip of Equus and into the southernmost reaches of Lenovia. There she found a large lake with a small island towards its center. “This should do nicely! We will be able to rest without having to worry about being spotted by the enemy.” She circled the island from above to ensure that it was uninhabited.

Once she decided it was safe, they glided in for a landing just inside the tree line. Gustoff dismounted by falling off of Xersa and landing flat on his back, forcing all of his air to leave his body. He spent the next minute or two trying to just breathe. Once he had established that he would live from the fall, he removed the last two pieces of meat that he had taken from Lucius’s chambers. He offered one to Xersa, who declined with a shudder. Gustoff summoned fire to cook the remaining meat. He then devoured it and lay down to sleep under the canopy of trees. Xersa then began to graze on the sparse vegetation on the small island to supply the energy needed for the final leg of the journey.

***

That night, Arietta’s sleep was anything but peaceful. Her dreams were filled with hunters chasing them to the sea. The dreams then shifted to the Shadow Walkers, who devoured villages as they moved ever closer to the last bastion of hope. She dreamed of her Grandpa being tortured by Lucius and his men. And finally, she dreamed of a cold so complete that she could no longer move, of an evil that sought revenge and of a darkness that extinguished all light. As the darkness approached, her subconscious yanked her away from that awful truth, and she sprang up in the night, in the real world, far away from the terrifying dreams.

She got out of her bed and made her way to the door of Arkas’ hut. She stepped outside to get some air and shake off the vestiges of her nightmare. She grabbed a water skin on the way out and took a deep drink from it. As she peered into the swirling night sky, the uncomfortable sensation of eyes on the back of her neck made her nervous. She turned and nothing but sand was in that direction. She did, however, know this feeling, and it was definitely time to wake the others up. She turned toward the hut and saw the great beast blocking her path. It was inky black with razor-sharp teeth. She tried to scream, but her voice was caught in her throat. The beast slowly stalked towards her, its emerald eyes locked on hers.

Arietta felt dizzy and lost, looking into the eyes of the beast. Her arms fell to her sides, and she walked slowly towards the Hunter. A dense fog had descended upon her mind, and after such a dream, it was difficult to think clearly. Though she knew that she was in danger, her feet brought her closer and closer to the snarling being.

Ari was within a few feet of the Hunter when she was knocked backwards to the sand. Her vision was blurred from the fall, but she could make out a figure standing over her, facing the Hunter.

***

Jerry was torn from his slumber when Ari pulled the door of the hut closed on the way out. He stretched and sat up in bed, looking around and listening for signs that others had awakened. He silently slipped on his shirt and crept outside. After peeping his head out of the door, a black blur in the dunes just past the hut scurried on.

Jerry closed his eyes and pictured himself standing outside the hut and in his mind’s eye began to pull the light from that image. He continued weaving darkness around himself and then filled in the blackness with the colors of his surroundings. Jerry’s body vanished. Quietly he crept along the path in the sand that was left by Arietta. Her silhouette shimmered in the moonlight; her visage was that of an angel. He circled around her silently, needing to see her face. As he got the first glimpse of her face, he noticed the dampness of tears that had been shed drying. What was wrong with her? Why was she out here in the cold rather than tucked in the warm bed? A blur just between Arietta and the hut put a stop to his questioning; a Hunter was blocking her way to the safety of the quartet. Ari turned and locked eyes with the beast. Terror gripped Jerry’s heart at seeing Arietta go slack-jawed and stumble toward the Hunter. He had to act immediately, so he ran at her, shoving her to the sand. Jerry made himself visible, confronted the beast, and drew his daggers. The rubies inlaid in the quillon irradiated blood-red in the darkness.

The Hunter hissed, “The Daggers of Derge will not save you or your friend, boy.” She then extended her senses and let out three loud grunts, shaking her mashta--the dark structure surrounding her face that most mistook for a mane--so that her pack would surround the Chosen. The message was received, and the pack shimmered into existence, cutting off all routes of escape. “If you run, you will die,” growled the leader.

Jerry forced a smile and replied in his best Scottish accent, “Every man dies, but not every man really lives.” He then charged at the closest beast, slashing with each dagger in a move so fast that Jerry seemed to vanish and reappear at Arietta’s side. Sparks flew from the daggers as they struck the beast on each side.

She roared and snapped her jaws at the boy, capturing nothing but air in the process. The leader sensed power in this lad. She advanced two steps, head held low, readying her fire. She would try to subdue them without burning them, but bringing back bodies was infinitely better than telling Lucius that they had escaped again.

Jerry’s confidence faltered when the daggers did no damage to the beast. He moved to his right, keeping himself between the closest Hunter and a stunned Arietta. With his eyes never leaving the danger, he called to Arietta, “Could you come back to me? I could really use some help.”

Arietta blinked. Before she could respond, he flashed out of existence again, reappearing in close range to the Hunter and, with sparks flying off of her hide, followed by a terrible scream, he appeared at Arietta’s side again. When he reappeared, one of the long fangs had splintered from the impact.

“You will pay for that boy!” It charged at them, eyes blazing green.

Jerry quickly grabbed Arietta and threw her to the right as he lunged to the left. Jerry sprang upward, completing a flip at the pinnacle of his leap, coming down with both daggers aimed for the one part of the beast that frightened him most: her eyes. His daggers met the flesh, sinking to the hilt as the beast let out a startled scream, her mashta extending and spasming. Jerry was flung off of her head, landing ten feet from his initial leap. He was dazed from the fall and rolled to his side, attempting to fend off the other Hunters, but they were gone. Only the first remained, spasming in the sand. Once the flailing subsided, he cautiously approached and pulled his daggers from her lifeless eyes. “Daggers of Derge; I like the sound of that.” Jerry let out a loud whoop as Arkas stumbled out of the hut to see what the commotion was all about and froze when he saw the body of the fallen hunter. The sand vibrated as the first drop of the hunter’s blood splashed upon it. The swirling sand encompassed the hunter as it sank, becoming a part of the Great Beyond.

“How did you do that?” Arkas stared, watching the last of the hunters disappear into the ground.

“I used the Daggers of Derge on her. Stabbed her through both of her eyes. She didn’t have a chance.” Jerry smiled, wiped the daggers clean, and spun both in a circle before shoving them into the sheaths that he had fashioned in his vest.

“Are you certain that those are the Daggers of Derge? That would explain how you were able to subdue the beast. They were forged before the first war against the dragons. They possess the power that only one other blade has ever possessed: the power to slay a dragon. They have been lost for centuries.” He took a breath, allowing himself to think. “The next encounter will not be won with such ease. If they know that we can hurt or kill them, they will be taking more lethal options next time.”

“Um, they were using some pretty lethal options tonight. I just got lucky this time. We really need to put some distance between us and them.”

Arietta spoke in a loud, awe-filled whisper, “That wasn’t luck, Jerry; you were moving so fast that I couldn’t even see you. You were amazing!”

Jerry’s face turned crimson. He felt that his heart would leap out of his chest. “I thought that you were a goner. I had to protect my girl.”

Arietta smiled and said, “Who says I’m your girl?” She then turned to Arkas and asked if he could pack up the hut. She was ready to get moving, and she could tell that Jerry was ready as well.