BOOK ONE
CHAPTER twelve
The guards escorted the freshly bathed Prince to town center where a crowd of people packed bleachers in anticipation of some sort of event. His escort led him to the seats of honor, a box sectioned off from hoi polloi. Nico greeted him there. This man could be my father, the Prince thought. He couldn’t get his heart to appreciate the full weight of that implication. Nico seemed nonchalant about the whole thing, which angered the Prince greatly. Nico caught the Prince staring at him; he returned the look with calm confrontation.
“What happened to your necklace?” the Prince asked.
“One of your friends stole it. Someone tricky.”
“You don’t seem concerned. Doesn’t it have the power to kill?”
“No.”
“Then why…what power does it have?”
“None. It’s only jewelry.”
“But then, why did my mother— ”
“The charlatan who sold it to her lied, told her it was some mythic talisman that could take a life with nothing more than a thought. When her father died, she thought the necklace had made it happen, but when I went to use it, I found out it was only glass. She didn’t kill her father, he just died, like people do.” The Prince’s heart went out to Flori.
The Queen entered, carrying the North Star on a piece of leather around her neck. Nico stood like a gentleman, and offered her a seat between him and her son. She thanked him and took it gladly. A purple stain covered her dress. The Prince felt panic set in.
“What have you done to Moriandra?” he demanded. He moved to stand up, but the guards around him would not have it.
“Son, she was a dragon, a scourge on the land,” the Queen responded calmly and with conviction. “She should have been killed a long time ago.”
“No, mother, you didn’t. She had changed!”
“Why should that make a difference?” she responded. The Prince’s head spun. He had been back under his mother’s authority for only an hour and already one of his friends had fallen victim to her wrath. He would never be able to restore Moriandra now. What a fool he was to have tried to save his mother! He regretted ever having had the desire to do so.
“Where’s Sasha? Your promise!” he reminded her desperately.
“I intend on keeping my promise. One of my trusted men has challenged Sasha to battle, and as a Reezan, she has to accept.” The Prince looked out at what he now realized was a fighting arena. Stellan the Hyena stood front and center, twisting his sword in his hand dexterously, wearing the traditional fighting garb of Reeza. “Son, I know you think you love her, but she’s not what you think. I can see what she’s really like; maybe today you’ll see it, too.” A gate on the opposite end of the ring opened, and in walked Sasha also in uniform and carrying a sword. She looked at the Prince with fear and apology in her eyes, then transferred her gaze to the Queen and threw her sword on the ground. Nico addressed the crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen, in honor of our illustrious guest we have a special evening of entertainment planned, a night of one on one combat in a Reezan Battle Ring! For our first battle, we have the very rare pleasure to see two actual Reezans, and both former champions, square off against one another – Stellan the Hyena and Sasha the Crimson.” A bell sounded, and the crowd erupted with cheers of aggression.
Stellan the Hyena did not waste time, running full sprint at Sasha the minute the bell rang. Sasha ran away, and searched the edges of the ring for a possible escape route, trying to keep as much distance between her and Stellan as possible. When he finally caught up to her she jumped and dodged as best she could, but soon found herself reliving her first encounter with the Hyena, cuts bleeding all over her body. The crowd booed and jeered at her refusal to face her opponent. Stellan maneuvered Sasha to a position right under the box seats. The stricken Prince tried to get up and jump over the partition separating the fighters from the spectators, but the guards grabbed him and held fast. This business distracted Sasha for a moment, allowing Stellan to land a devastating cut that sliced open Sasha’s face. She hit the deck mere feet from the Prince and Queen. Stellan positioned himself for the kill when the Prince finally let out a scream, “No! Fight, dammit! Sasha, FIGHT!!” And with that the North Star, still on a necklace around the Queen’s neck, released an intense energy that stunned everyone in the vicinity. When people got their bearings back, Sasha no longer laid at Stellan’s mercy, but stood some ways away, weapon in hand, a cat’s grin across her blood-drenched face. Stellan laughed like a lunatic.
“There she is!” he shouted as she brandished her sword. It was Sasha’s turn to take the lead; she ran full speed at the Hyena. The fight was more dance than battle. Speed matters most to a sword fighter, and the pair of them attacked and countered each other so fast the onlookers could barely make out what was happening. What they could make out was the ever growing trail of blood that followed the frenzied duel, until the two dancers came to an unexpected halt. Sasha had a madly grinning Stellan at an arm’s length, her sword point protruding two feet out of his back. He came to his knees, and laughed wetly before falling over dead.
The gleaming blood that covered her clothes, the hideous gash across her face, and the twitching body at her feet made Sasha a truly terrifying sight to behold. The crowd stared open-mawed at the specter before them. No one had the guts to approach her except the Prince, who released himself easily from the dumbfounded guards and leapt down into the ring. As he approached, the crowd found themselves again, and released their pent up screams of sadistic jubilation.
“Sasha?” the Prince said carefully, as if talking down a bucking horse. “Sasha, are you alright? Are you… Of course not. You’re hurt. Come. Come with me, let’s fix you up.”
“Yeah, look at me. He gave a good fight. Haven’t had one like that in a long time. So, what are you, the doctor or something?” Sasha asked, no recognition on her crimson-covered face.
Flori and Cicero had watched the whole horrible spectacle of Sasha’s battle from the sky, and knew they had to act now or never! Cicero sped straight down, grabbed Sasha and the Prince, and shot again upwards like a slingshot. Sasha thrashed against her rescuer until Flori cast a sleep spell on her. Cicero’s flying started faltering under the burden of so many bodies, so they all called out with their minds to Orion. A minute later Jove appeared, took on Sasha’s dead weight, and relieved her of her sword.
The Queen watched her son ascend once again out of her reach and felt an intense pain in her chest. The crowd around her was screaming and shouting at having seen a dragon. It hurt her ears. She wished they would stop. “Quiet,” she uttered softly. Energy once again burst from the diamond around her neck, and the mouths of every last citizen of Holder’s Deep smacked involuntarily shut. They all looked to the Queen, their whimpers in their eyes.
“What happened to your necklace?” the Prince asked.
“One of your friends stole it. Someone tricky.”
“You don’t seem concerned. Doesn’t it have the power to kill?”
“No.”
“Then why…what power does it have?”
“None. It’s only jewelry.”
“But then, why did my mother— ”
“The charlatan who sold it to her lied, told her it was some mythic talisman that could take a life with nothing more than a thought. When her father died, she thought the necklace had made it happen, but when I went to use it, I found out it was only glass. She didn’t kill her father, he just died, like people do.” The Prince’s heart went out to Flori.
The Queen entered, carrying the North Star on a piece of leather around her neck. Nico stood like a gentleman, and offered her a seat between him and her son. She thanked him and took it gladly. A purple stain covered her dress. The Prince felt panic set in.
“What have you done to Moriandra?” he demanded. He moved to stand up, but the guards around him would not have it.
“Son, she was a dragon, a scourge on the land,” the Queen responded calmly and with conviction. “She should have been killed a long time ago.”
“No, mother, you didn’t. She had changed!”
“Why should that make a difference?” she responded. The Prince’s head spun. He had been back under his mother’s authority for only an hour and already one of his friends had fallen victim to her wrath. He would never be able to restore Moriandra now. What a fool he was to have tried to save his mother! He regretted ever having had the desire to do so.
“Where’s Sasha? Your promise!” he reminded her desperately.
“I intend on keeping my promise. One of my trusted men has challenged Sasha to battle, and as a Reezan, she has to accept.” The Prince looked out at what he now realized was a fighting arena. Stellan the Hyena stood front and center, twisting his sword in his hand dexterously, wearing the traditional fighting garb of Reeza. “Son, I know you think you love her, but she’s not what you think. I can see what she’s really like; maybe today you’ll see it, too.” A gate on the opposite end of the ring opened, and in walked Sasha also in uniform and carrying a sword. She looked at the Prince with fear and apology in her eyes, then transferred her gaze to the Queen and threw her sword on the ground. Nico addressed the crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen, in honor of our illustrious guest we have a special evening of entertainment planned, a night of one on one combat in a Reezan Battle Ring! For our first battle, we have the very rare pleasure to see two actual Reezans, and both former champions, square off against one another – Stellan the Hyena and Sasha the Crimson.” A bell sounded, and the crowd erupted with cheers of aggression.
Stellan the Hyena did not waste time, running full sprint at Sasha the minute the bell rang. Sasha ran away, and searched the edges of the ring for a possible escape route, trying to keep as much distance between her and Stellan as possible. When he finally caught up to her she jumped and dodged as best she could, but soon found herself reliving her first encounter with the Hyena, cuts bleeding all over her body. The crowd booed and jeered at her refusal to face her opponent. Stellan maneuvered Sasha to a position right under the box seats. The stricken Prince tried to get up and jump over the partition separating the fighters from the spectators, but the guards grabbed him and held fast. This business distracted Sasha for a moment, allowing Stellan to land a devastating cut that sliced open Sasha’s face. She hit the deck mere feet from the Prince and Queen. Stellan positioned himself for the kill when the Prince finally let out a scream, “No! Fight, dammit! Sasha, FIGHT!!” And with that the North Star, still on a necklace around the Queen’s neck, released an intense energy that stunned everyone in the vicinity. When people got their bearings back, Sasha no longer laid at Stellan’s mercy, but stood some ways away, weapon in hand, a cat’s grin across her blood-drenched face. Stellan laughed like a lunatic.
“There she is!” he shouted as she brandished her sword. It was Sasha’s turn to take the lead; she ran full speed at the Hyena. The fight was more dance than battle. Speed matters most to a sword fighter, and the pair of them attacked and countered each other so fast the onlookers could barely make out what was happening. What they could make out was the ever growing trail of blood that followed the frenzied duel, until the two dancers came to an unexpected halt. Sasha had a madly grinning Stellan at an arm’s length, her sword point protruding two feet out of his back. He came to his knees, and laughed wetly before falling over dead.
The gleaming blood that covered her clothes, the hideous gash across her face, and the twitching body at her feet made Sasha a truly terrifying sight to behold. The crowd stared open-mawed at the specter before them. No one had the guts to approach her except the Prince, who released himself easily from the dumbfounded guards and leapt down into the ring. As he approached, the crowd found themselves again, and released their pent up screams of sadistic jubilation.
“Sasha?” the Prince said carefully, as if talking down a bucking horse. “Sasha, are you alright? Are you… Of course not. You’re hurt. Come. Come with me, let’s fix you up.”
“Yeah, look at me. He gave a good fight. Haven’t had one like that in a long time. So, what are you, the doctor or something?” Sasha asked, no recognition on her crimson-covered face.
Flori and Cicero had watched the whole horrible spectacle of Sasha’s battle from the sky, and knew they had to act now or never! Cicero sped straight down, grabbed Sasha and the Prince, and shot again upwards like a slingshot. Sasha thrashed against her rescuer until Flori cast a sleep spell on her. Cicero’s flying started faltering under the burden of so many bodies, so they all called out with their minds to Orion. A minute later Jove appeared, took on Sasha’s dead weight, and relieved her of her sword.
The Queen watched her son ascend once again out of her reach and felt an intense pain in her chest. The crowd around her was screaming and shouting at having seen a dragon. It hurt her ears. She wished they would stop. “Quiet,” she uttered softly. Energy once again burst from the diamond around her neck, and the mouths of every last citizen of Holder’s Deep smacked involuntarily shut. They all looked to the Queen, their whimpers in their eyes.
“What the hell happened to her?!” Jove asked as they flew, glimpsing Sasha’s slashed face. No one answered, only exchanged concerned looks. Jove noticed and decided not to ask after Mo. When they touched down in the Valley of the Dragons, Orion and the grey dragon took Sasha to her room. A couple other dragons stood around, some concerned; some angry at the return of trouble. Flori, Cicero and the Prince eyeballed one another, trying to keep their emotions in check by shutting their mouths. They heard a scream come from Sasha’s room, and they ran in to see her. Orion and the grey dragon held a struggling Sasha down. The Prince told her that everything was okay, that these were her friends, but before she could answer, Flori cast another sleep spell.
“What did you do that for?!” the Prince shouted.
“You know why. She’s dangerous, and until we figure out just how dangerous, it’s better she remain out. We all know what happened back there!” Flori yelled back.
“We do. And if you both hadn’t acted so rashly, I might have had a chance to use the North Star to put her right again!”
“We couldn’t risk that,” Cicero explained, joining the fight. “The Queen knows how to control the Star. We heard her use it to get information out of Mo before she—,” Cicero took a breath. “If we hadn’t rescued you, she would have used it on you and Sasha, and you would have given up everything, everything you knew about the Star, and Flori, this Valley, nothing would be safe!”
“You don’t know that! I still might have had a chance. I might have been able to beat her. Use it against her!”
“You mean like you had already? You only made her worse. Mo’s dead because of what you did!”
“I could have fixed her!!” the Prince screamed. The other dragons were getting agitated. Orion asked them all to go home for now, telling them they would meet first thing tomorrow morning. They left reluctantly. The Prince looked at Orion expectantly.
“I’m sorry, she’s a very different person from the one who left here,” the dragon told him gently. The Prince despaired. This was all his fault. He knew it the moment it happened. He wanted Sasha to fight so badly, he unconsciously commanded the Star to make her. He didn’t think he had it in him to use the diamond that way, but clearly he did. He had exposed Sasha’s unchecked violent side. Who knows what parts of her he removed in order for that to happen? He would find out when she woke up. Terror and guilt overwhelmed him.
“You three need to get away from each other for right now, but I don’t want any of you to be alone…” Orion told them. Flori responded by walking away.
“I’m going to stay with Sasha,” the Prince insisted. Orion moved to Cicero, who had been staring intensely at the same spot for far too long, eyes wet. They walked off into the valley together.
The Prince sat on the hill outside Sasha’s room for ages, looking out at the same moonlit landscape in front of which he had been kissing her the night before, when suddenly, a piteous, unnatural wailing emerged from one of the other quarters. It was Flori. He ran to the sound, and found the golden girl a heaving mass on the floor, wracked by invisible sobs that she couldn’t truly embody, her skin churning like a squally sea.
“It doesn’t work!” she howled. “It’s nothing!” Nico’s necklace lay on the ground beside her.
“What did you do that for?!” the Prince shouted.
“You know why. She’s dangerous, and until we figure out just how dangerous, it’s better she remain out. We all know what happened back there!” Flori yelled back.
“We do. And if you both hadn’t acted so rashly, I might have had a chance to use the North Star to put her right again!”
“We couldn’t risk that,” Cicero explained, joining the fight. “The Queen knows how to control the Star. We heard her use it to get information out of Mo before she—,” Cicero took a breath. “If we hadn’t rescued you, she would have used it on you and Sasha, and you would have given up everything, everything you knew about the Star, and Flori, this Valley, nothing would be safe!”
“You don’t know that! I still might have had a chance. I might have been able to beat her. Use it against her!”
“You mean like you had already? You only made her worse. Mo’s dead because of what you did!”
“I could have fixed her!!” the Prince screamed. The other dragons were getting agitated. Orion asked them all to go home for now, telling them they would meet first thing tomorrow morning. They left reluctantly. The Prince looked at Orion expectantly.
“I’m sorry, she’s a very different person from the one who left here,” the dragon told him gently. The Prince despaired. This was all his fault. He knew it the moment it happened. He wanted Sasha to fight so badly, he unconsciously commanded the Star to make her. He didn’t think he had it in him to use the diamond that way, but clearly he did. He had exposed Sasha’s unchecked violent side. Who knows what parts of her he removed in order for that to happen? He would find out when she woke up. Terror and guilt overwhelmed him.
“You three need to get away from each other for right now, but I don’t want any of you to be alone…” Orion told them. Flori responded by walking away.
“I’m going to stay with Sasha,” the Prince insisted. Orion moved to Cicero, who had been staring intensely at the same spot for far too long, eyes wet. They walked off into the valley together.
The Prince sat on the hill outside Sasha’s room for ages, looking out at the same moonlit landscape in front of which he had been kissing her the night before, when suddenly, a piteous, unnatural wailing emerged from one of the other quarters. It was Flori. He ran to the sound, and found the golden girl a heaving mass on the floor, wracked by invisible sobs that she couldn’t truly embody, her skin churning like a squally sea.
“It doesn’t work!” she howled. “It’s nothing!” Nico’s necklace lay on the ground beside her.
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