Dragon Frost Page 5

  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!"

  "Master Xirel?" a voice said from beside him.

  "Yes?" Xirel replied and turned around to look at the young man.

  "The captain is ready to go when you are."

  "We will be right there," Xirel said and looked back at Ubi, as her eyes had grown larger with her plea to have the cloak. It didn't help that she made them glow blue, targeting his weakness. He reluctantly gave in and handed her a few coins to give to the merchant. She dashed off to pay for it, then put it on right after and came running back to him. "If the meals on the ship prove to not be free, you are going to be learning to use Thread to fi
sh for your dinner."

  Ubi laughed and followed him as they walked for the ship and across its plank. The captain was a stocky short man who had purchased the GLORIA after its former captain's death. Ubi wasn't sure if he was a human or some kind of shifter, as there was just too much going on to pinpoint all the shifts. The captain called for castoff, and immediately the ship turned into a machine of well-abled men. They started swiftly on their designated tasks without hesitation. Because of the escort to be had, the best of the best were on board to serve on this venture.

  Most of the Awls who had not been killed during the Aeger had retreated into hiding or joined the Atrum's Order. Those who had sided with Kenshe were later chased out and took refuge in the established Awl Tribes. Loki's Tribe was such a place for some years now. No one had a death wish to go near the Continent of dragons. Xirel and Loki were a rare blessing of protection to the ship. This soon became evident when the crew attended to him and Ubi as if they were royalty. Xirel smiled as he watched Ubi raise her head high in her new cloak. It made him happy to see her free her mind and worries from her inner demons long enough to have some fun. He wondered how long he could hold onto the Ubi before him now.

  Xirel went over to the rail and looked back at the Suzerain Continent that disappeared from sight. The fog of the estus energy that surrounded the land was as a thick, dark blanket created by the Aur. It would set soon, and the Soph Aur of Toria would rise with its bright light and cover the atmosphere with colour. A sharp stab of pain struck Xirel's heart, and he immediately looked around for the attacker. Only no one had struck him but his own sad reminiscing. There were no more Aur storms to endanger their journey. The Sylvan Aur brought balance to the Soph and Atrum's Aur. It was also why his Caelestis had to remain in the realm of death.

  Sial had not brought Nafury to the Harbor yet when they had set sail. His brother had sent word by psi that he would make his way on his own to them. Xirel silently prayed that he didn't make a huge mistake by leaving Nafury alone with Alexia. He didn't want Nafury to be the first dragon he had to tear from the skies on their journey. Xirel once believed that Sybl's brother should have been executed for his crimes. Now he found that he had changed his mind. He was Ubi's only real family left here on Aster. For that reason, he convinced himself to continue to try and befriend Nafury. It wasn't like the human was completely useless anymore, at least.

  'You're too hard on yourself, Xirel. It will be okay.'

  He smiled as a memory of Sybl's words touched his mind and eased the pain he felt. She wasn't completely gone, and he only had to keep reminding himself of that. Fay didn't die. She would stay with Aragmoth until he was healed and Aster was once again in balance. He hoped that he would still be alive the day she chose to return, if she did at all.

  "Incoming dragon! All hands on deck--wait--is that the White Death...?" the captain trailed off.

  All the Threads on the ship all vibrated fear at once as the white titan flew straight towards them. Xirel found Ubi and pulled her close as he lifted his hand in the ready. He would cut the Threads of the dragon's wings should Nafury have lost his soul to Alexia. But the dragon did not attack and slowed his approach.

  Nafury manipulated the air around himself until him could hover close enough to unshift and land his feet on deck. Such a feat would have been impossible for a dragon with no power over wind. Xirel lowered his hand and let out a breath of relief, as the entire ship remained in absolute panic.

  "Nafury!" Ubi squealed and ran over to him. "You made it!"

  "Of course I did. So little faith," he said as he looked at Xirel who raised an eyebrow at him, clearly unimpressed.

  "Was it necessary to terrify the entire ship?" Xirel asked.

  "Sorry, I was never much of a swimmer," Nafury replied with a shrug. He avoided eye contact with the crew that was now really angry. A few had soiled themselves from the fear of dying moments ago.

  "Master Xirel, is he a...friend?" the captain asked, hobbling over to them.

  "Indeed. Tell your men that they have nothing to fear now, as a dragoon and two Awls will be escorting them."

  "Phew. I didn't know there was another white dragon on Aster," the captain replied. The stocky man wiped the sweat from his forehead with his dirty handkerchief.

  "There has only ever been one white dragon on Aster," Xirel replied.

  The captain's eyes darted back at Nafury, before he made a hasty retreat to his cabin. He seemed uninterested in further details.

  "And to think you scold me for terrifying them," Nafury said.

  "You can't blame their terror," Loki said as he jumped down from an overhead mast. "You left little to the imagination of Simera back at the Sanctus."

  Nafury had yet to question Alexia of what had all transpired at the Sanctus. She was overly quiet about the topic.

  'I may have overdone it a little...' Alexia psi admitted.

  "Your crazed shift even cowers at the reality of what she did," Loki said. "They are still looking for all the body parts. I don't know what Alexia's history is with Simera, yet I think we should hear it before we continue on."

  Alexia? Nafury asked, and found her near the cabin wall. She couldn't become entirely invisible to him.

  She didn't answer.

  Nafury became more determined with his psi barrage on her, but she gave up nothing. Loki joined Nafury's efforts with his own psi and raised the pressure, and after a few minutes she buckled and gave in. Her usually cool, collected thoughts were now disorientated, as if she had hit her head. They saw enough, and Nafury let her be as she retreated from the deck.

  Nafury closed his eyes for a moment to let the sickening truth sink in. Even Loki had a look of shock on his face now. "He had what was coming for him," Nafury said and focused on Ubi who was listening to everything next to him.

  Xirel got the message that what happened to Alexia was not something for a young woman's ears when Loki looked at him. He left with the Awl to do other things.

  Nafury focused on Ubi and brought a hasty change of subject. "I like your cloak." He straightened the hood on her head, and brushed some of her bangs out of her eyes.

  "Xirel almost didn't buy it for me." Ubi pretended to pout. "He said that he would only show me how to use Thread to fish!"

  Nafury laughed and shook his head. "By the caels, you found his sense of humour. There are still miracles to be found on Aster."

  "You will teach me how to read the Thread so I can see the memories of my necklace, right?" Ubi asked.

  "Maybe. But fishing can be fun too," Nafury teased as he leaned over the rail to get a closer view of the blue water.

  Ubi kicked him in the backside almost hard enough to push him over.

  "Okay okay," Nafury surrendered and sat down on the rail instead. "What did you want to learn first? Lifelines? Reading minds? Manipulating objects? Killing small animals?"

  Ubi replied with a mean glare.

  "Okay, we can leave out killing anything," he teased.

  Ubi thought on the choices for a moment. "Reading minds. I think that trick would be handy."

  "Alright, I will be your test mouse for this assignment. People and shifters usually have at least one thought in common. In a fight, it's defence and offence. In a conversation, it's often the theme of what is being talked about. Ultimately, every one has a thought that can be seen and read from their psi. When you learn the basics, you can expand beyond that and see even more of their thoughts."

  "Unless they block you out, right?" Ubi asked.

  "Yes. If they don't trust you, then that creates a lot of walls to jump and it makes it more tiring. Losing your mental strength jumping these barriers can leave your mind vulnerable in turn."

  "I think that makes sense. So what do I do?" Ubi asked.

  "Well, we have a few things in common. Try and see what I'm thinking. I won't put up any barriers, which is pointless as our Awls have already read me inside and out." Nafury sighed.

  Ubi giggled and then became focuse
d on his eyes, searching for the one thought that would link her mind to his. She was having a hard time, and it was likely because Xirel was watching her from nearby. "Why is he staring at me?"

  "He must be bored. Hey, I have an idea," Nafury said as a devious smile crept up on his face. "All chimeras have a deformity of some sort. Xirel's is proving particularly difficult for me to find."

  "You think that I could read his mind and find it?" Ubi asked, now wearing a devious look to match his.

  "I can't get anywhere near his head. He deals headaches out rather ruthlessly. But he won't hurt you."

  Ubi accepted the challenge as she went over to Xirel. The Awl was already well aware of their evil plan to uncover his secret deformity.

  "Xirel," Ubi said, as if she was about to scold him for something.

  "Ubi," Xirel replied. "Uncovering the thoughts of an Awl is not as easy as your uncle would have you believe."

  "Well, then it won't hurt for me to practice."

  Xirel nodded and smiled as he could feel her thoughts focus entirely on him with her blue eyes. Without training, her psi was random at best as it tried to seek out what she wanted from his mind. It was effortless for him to navigate her thoughts away from her intended target. He stood patiently and waited for her to admit defeat, and decided to watch her fairy pendant on her neck for a while. He could feel the long Threads of memories within its gold and wondered if she would let him look at it later. It twisted in place, and his mind came back to the present.

  "Aha! Nafury! I found it!" Ubi exclaimed. She then caught Xirel's white shirt before he could refocus on her and lifted it. Xirel's pale face went completely red as her fingers carefully counted his ribs. "This is it--you don't have all your ribs! I found his weakness! He's missing ribs!"

  Some of the crew had stopped what they were doing from her loud excitement. After a few moments they realized that it was a false alarm, and a few laughed it off before returning to their work.