Sky Riders: The Rising Sun

Iterum was all but empty. The majority of the city’s inhabitants had left several hours before, just after sunrise. Only one small group remained, and their departure was iminent. They stood before the four interwoven trees that housed the archives, waiting for Mara and Astrum to reappear from the arched opening.

Eliana glanced at the faces around her—Denio, Kana, Ivi, Ispera, Caelum, and several palace guards. They all looked grim. Iterum had not been abandoned since it was built at the beginning of the Great War, when their first city had been destroyed by the humans. It was plain on their faces that their hearts were breaking to leave the city now. If Nocens brought the human armies there, they would leave nothing but destruction in their wake.

At last, Mara appeared from the archives, the large, white wolf at her side. They both bore the same mournful expression. Neither of them spoke, but they turned and looked up at the large trees. Suddenly, massive vines—each as big around as Eliana’s waist—dropped from the distant branches and began winding around the trees.

The vines wrapped around the interwoven trunks, like snakes enveloping their prey. They grew larger and longer, until no gaps remained between the vines, and the archives were wrapped in a solid cocoon of green vines.

Astrum turned his golden eyes on the group and spoke, his voice weary. “The archives will remain impenetrable until opened by Mara, myself, Eliana, or a member of the elven royal family. Not even Dark magic will be able to penetrate it.”

Eliana gave a short nod. “Are we ready to go then?” she asked quietly. They each nodded in turn, and she reached out to Oriens, who was circling in the clouds high above them. “We’re ready. Stay close, but stay hidden.”

As the small party headed towards Iterum’s gates, Eliana’s dragon spoke in her mind. “Are you sure you don’t want to be up here with me?”

“You know I do, Oriens, but I can’t yet. We can’t afford to have you land in the daylight—not when Nocens’ armies could be nearby. We’ll rest tonight and head out before sunrise tomorrow. I’ll fly with you then.”

She could sense his anxiety at their separation and heard it in his deep voice as he answered, “Very well. But I don’t like you being all the way down there when I am all the way up here.”

“Nor do I.”

The melancholy band continued in silence for hours, the only sound the crunching of the slushy snow under their feet; it would be gone in a few days’ time. They each had their own thoughts to tend to. Most of Eliana’s were focused on the elf that walked beside her, his head bent so that his blonde hair fell into his eyes. He looked exhausted, as if every bit of his energy had been pulled from him.

She glanced briefly at the people walking ahead of them, then reached out and took his hand. He looked over at her in surprise, as if he’d only just realized she was beside him. She forced a smile and asked as quietly as she could, “Are you alright?” Still, her voice sounded painfully loud over the quiet emptiness.

Caelum smiled back, but it was not the smile she’d hoped to see—it was a broken smile, a cruel imitation of the beautiful one she knew. “Of course,” he answered. “I just hate to abandon Iterum—that’s all.”

He turned his eyes back towards the snow on the ground before him. She continued to study him, knowing far too well that there was something more on his mind, something he wouldn’t tell her. She wanted to press him for answers, but knew that this was neither the time nor the place. If he wanted to tell her, he would tell her, but only in his own time.

Eliana glanced ahead of them again to ensure nobody was watching, then reached up and kissed his cheek lightly. “Everything’s going to be fine,” she promised.

He looked at her again with another forced smile. “I know,” he whispered, squeezing her hand. “We’ve got you, haven’t we?”

A shout suddenly rose from the guards that headed the group. Eliana looked towards them in the fading light of the sun at her back. They had reached a steep ledge, and the guards had dropped to their knees, reaching for their bows and arrows, aiming at something on the ground below them.

“Stop them!” Oriens shouted in her mind. “It’s Caedis’ party!”

Eliana rushed forward, shouting, “Stop! Stop!”

The guards looked up at her in confusion, but slackened the tension on their bowstrings. As the rest of the group reached the ledge and looked down, they saw tents and blankets set out on patches of green in the midst of the melting snow. The people below had begun to notice their appearance and were shouting to those around them.

“Let me lead the group,” she told the guards. “They know me. The last thing we want is a fight with our allies.”

The elves nodded their assent, and she took her place at the head of the group, Caelum falling into step beside her. They made their way down the steep slope into the little valley below. Eliana could see a few bows aimed in their direction, arrows on the strings. She raised her hands as they approached, and those with her did the same. When the villagers spotted her at the head of the party, the weapons were immediately lowered.

“It’s the Rider!” she heard someone shout.

The word spread around the campsite and someone emerged from a tent. He made his way to meet them on the outskirts of the encampment. It was Caedis. His brown eyes were bright with excitement, but ringed with dark circles.

“Caedis,” she said with concern, “you should have been in Amiscan by now. What happened? Did you meet with trouble?”

He looked at her seriously and nodded. Gesturing to the people behind him, he said, “You may not have noticed, but our number are much smaller now. We met our elven guides, as you said, and we continued walking through the night.

“It was dark. There was no moon. We never saw it coming. A dragon dropped out of the sky and began carrying people off. The rest of us ran for the trees, scattered every which way. These were the only ones that made it back to the group.”

She stared at him, stunned. Oriens spoke in her mind. “Is he certain it was a dragon? My kind don’t ordinarily attack humans. Their livestock, maybe, but not a band of travelers.”

She repeated Oriens’ question to Caedis, who looked up at the sky curiously. “Where is your dragon?”

“Close by, keeping watch. If it weren’t for him, you could have lost more of your people.”

Caedis nodded, then answered, “Yes, I’m certain it was a dragon. I was able to make out its shape, even without the moon. It was much smaller than your dragon, and it was a very dark color, which made it more difficult to see, but I’m sure of it. What else has teeth and claws and wings?”

Eliana could still feel her dragon’s puzzlement, but neither of them could come up with another explanation; it had to have been a dragon.

Caedis still looked strained. “There’s more,” he said quietly.

“More?”

He nodded. “The dragon itself didn’t take many of us. Most made it into the woods. We all hid until sunrise, then tried to gather ourselves together again. We found dozens more of our people dead around the forest—killed by swords. Someone was waiting for us, Eliana. That dragon was working with someone.”

Her eyes widened, and fear gripped her insides. She felt Oriens echoing her own feelings at the idea—the human army may have found themselves a Rider. Eliana didn’t voice the frightening thought, but as she looked at Caelum, she knew he had to be thinking the same thing.

She turned back to Caedis, trying to keep her voice calm. “We’ll stay with you for the rest of the journey. Oriens and I will keep watch at night. I promise, nothing like this will happen again.”

Caedis gave her a weary smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s good to have you with us, Eliana. The people will feel much safer now.”

“And what have you done to make them feel safe with you?” a voice growled beside her.

She looked up at Caelum in surprise.

“What?” Caedis asked with a scowl.

“I asked you what you are doing to protect these people. Or have you just been hiding in your tent, waiting for the Rider to come and do what you cannot? You were strong enough to torment her, but aren’t strong enough to lead your people without her?”

Eliana could see Caedis’ anger flaring up. She placed herself between the two men and put a hand on Caelum’s arm, looking up into his angry face. “Caelum,” she hissed, “what’s the matter with you?”

His blue eyes remained narrowed in Caedis’ direction, ignoring her, but he didn’t say anything more. She gave a sigh of exasperation and turned to the other man before he could say something that would cause more trouble; though Caedis had changed his attitude since she’d returned as a Rider, she did not expect his personality to change, and he had always had a tendency to say stupid things.

“Come with me, Caedis,” she said, giving his arm a gentle tug. “Caelum and the others will find a place to set up camp while we talk.”

They returned to Caedis’ tent and sat facing each other cross-legged, just inside the closed flaps. “Is that the way all the elves are going to receive us?” he asked irritably.

She sighed and shook her head. “No, of course not. I’m sorry, Caedis. I really don’t know what’s come over him. He’s never acted that way to anyone before—not even humans.”

Caedis considered this for a moment, then made a face and said. “Guess I’ll just have to accept the fact that their precious prince doesn’t take well to me. You can only expect so much cooperation between two species… So, how long will your dragon stay up there?”

She accepted his change of subject. “Until nightfall. We can’t afford to have him come down in daylight, when Nocens’ troops could be near. He has to stay in the clouds.”

“Which is getting very tiring,” he interjected in her mind.

She smiled to herself and went on, “How many did you lose to the attack?”

“Fifty-seven,” he answered grimly. “Many more were wounded, but somehow managed to fight off their attackers in the trees. I have to admit that the guides you sent for us played a great role in that. And your Healer was an incredible help with restoring the health of the wounded.”

“So Laurus is safe?” she asked in relief.

He nodded.

“The sun is nearly gone,” Oriens said. “There’s enough shadow for me to land now.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you outside the campsite. Be cautious, Oriens, These people truly have a reason to fear dragons now.”

She stood and said to Caedis, “Oriens is about to land. Please tell your people. I don’t want them to harm him by mistake.”

He nodded in acknowledgment and followed her out of the tent, then went off to make the announcement while Eliana went in the opposite direction to wait for Oriens. She walked several yards away from the tents, then gave Oriens the clear to land.

His golden form appeared from the clouds above, barely visible in the waning sunlight. He circled above her once, then, with a rushing of air, landed beside her in the slush and show. He sighed and folded his wings to his sides, looking exhausted.

“That must have been the longest day of my life,” he complained. “It gets quite boring when you’re up there alone.”

“I’m sorry,” she answered, hugging his nose. “But I’ll be with you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be holding you to that.” Oriens pulled back and looked at something over her shoulder.

She turned and followed his gaze to find Caelum approaching, his face still clouded with anger. She sighed and said to her dragon, “I was hoping he would have cleared up his mood by now. I swear, I haven’t a clue what could be wrong with him.”

Caelum looked up at her, his face softening slightly into a small smile. “I thought I’d find you here,” he said.

She didn’t respond until he was standing right in front of her. “What’s wrong, Caelum?” she asked, her voice coming out much sharper and harsher than she’d intended.

He blinked in surprise at her tone. “What do you mean?”

“I thought you would be the person most eager to get along with the humans, with all of your preaching about how I’m supposed to unite these races. I never expected you to hate someone for their blood.”

He was clearly offended now. “What are you talking about? Of course I want to get along with the humans! I don’t hate anyone for their blood!”

“Then why are you acting so hatefully towards Caedis?” she demanded.

His face clouded. “You think that’s because of his blood? My feelings towards Caedis go far beyond blood.” The way he said the man’s name made it sound like a filthy word.

“What reason could you possibly have to hate him? What has he done to you?”

Caelum shook his head in disbelief, apparently baffled by her lack of understanding. “He’s done nothing to me, Eliana. But I know what he’s done to you. Every time you spoke his name, it was to tell me about something cruel he’d done to you. He tortured you! And he relished it! You didn’t see the pain in your eyes that I saw when you spoke about all he did to you. How can I forgive him for that?”

She frowned and answered quietly, “I have.”

Caelum’s voice was equally low as he responded, “Congratulations. You’re apparently a much better person than I, because I cannot forget the pain he caused you.”

She sighed and stepped forward, folding herself in his arms. “You must try,” she pleaded. “We can’t have an alliance with these people if we don’t trust each other. I need you to try, Caelum. Please. For me.”

He held her for a moment in silence, then sighed and kissed the top of her head. “Alright,” he whispered. “For you, I will try.”

She tilted her head back and smiled at him. “Thank you.” She kissed him lightly, then added. “You should get some rest. I’ll keep watch with Oriens.

Caelum shook his head, though there was a crooked grin on his lips. “I wish you wouldn’t volunteer for these kinds of things. Even Sky Riders need rest.”

Eliana chuckled. “Well, I promised, and I plan to make good on it.” She sat down next to where Oriens had settled and smiled up at Caelum. “Now, you should sleep.”

He dropped to the ground beside her. “Very well, but that doesn’t mean I’m going anywhere.”

She gave a loud laugh and rolled her eyes. “You must be the most stubborn man I’ve ever met!”

He grinned back at her. “I have to be stubborn if I’m ever going to get anything from a Rider. They’re the most stubborn of all creatures—especially the female Riders.”

This drew another laugh from her as she leaned against his shoulder. “And what fun would it be if you always got what you wanted?”

He looked down at her upturned face, smiling softly. “None,” he whispered, kissing her forehead. “None at all.”

They fell silent, his fingers toying softly with a strand of her long hair. She was supposed to be on watch, she knew, but the combined comfort of Caelum’s presence and Oriens’ steady breathing beside her quickly took its effect. She nestled her head into the nape of Caelum’s neck and drifted quickly into an uninterrupted sleep.