Volusia looked down at the dying leader, who turned on his back and looked up at her in anguish and shock.
“You cannot wound a man who comes to talk terms,” he said, outraged. “It goes against every law of the Empire! Never has such a thing been done before!”
“I did not intend to wound you,” she said, kneeling down beside him, reaching out and touching the shaft of the spear. She shoved the spear deep into his heart, not letting go until finally he stopped squirming and breathed his last breath.
She smiled wide.
“I intended to kill you.”
CHAPTER TEN
Thor stood at the bow of the small sailing vessel, his brothers standing behind him, his heart pounding with anticipation as the current carried them straight toward the small island before them. Thor looked up, studied its cliffs in wonder; he’d never seen anything like it. The walls were perfectly smooth, a white, solid granite, sparkling beneath the two suns, and they rose straight up, hundreds of feet high. The island itself was shaped in a circle, its base surrounded by boulders, and it was hard to think amidst the incessant crashing of the waves. It looked impregnable, impossible for any army to scale.
Thor held a hand up to his eyes and squinted into the sun. The cliffs seemed to stop at some point, to cap off in a plateau hundreds of feet high. Whoever lived up there, at the top, would live safely forever, Thor realized. Assuming anyone lived up there at all.
At the very top, hovering over the island like a halo, was a ring of clouds, soft pink and purple, blanketing it from the harsh rays of the sun, as if this place were crowned by God himself. A gentle breeze stirred here, the air pleasant and mild. Thor could sense even from here that there was something special about this place. It felt magical. He had not felt this way since he had reached the land of his mother’s castle.
All the others looked up, too, expressions of wonder across their faces.
“Who do you suppose lives here?” O’Connor asked aloud the question on all of their minds.
“Who—or what?” Reece asked.
“Maybe no one,” Indra said.
“Maybe we should sail on,” O’Connor said.
“And skip the invitation?” Matus asked. “I see seven ropes, and there are seven of us.”
Thor examined the cliffs and as he looked closely, he saw seven golden ropes dangling from the top down to the shores, glistening in the sun. He wondered.
“Maybe someone’s expecting us,” Elden said.
“Or tempting us,” Indra said.
“But who?” Reece asked.
Thor looked up at the very top, all of these same thoughts racing through his mind. He wondered who could know they were coming. Were they being watched somehow?
They all stood in the boat silently, bobbing in the water, as the current brought them ever closer.
“The real question,” Thor asked aloud, finally breaking the silence, “is if they are friendly—or if this is a trap?”
“Does it make any difference?” Matus asked, coming up beside him.
Thor shook his head.
“No,” he said, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword. “We will visit it either way. If friend, we will embrace them; if foe, we will kill them.”
The currents picked up, and long, rolling waves carried their boat all the way to the narrow shore of black sand that surrounded the place. Their boat washed gently up, lodging on it, and as it did, everyone all jumped out at once.
Thor gripped the hilt of his sword, on edge, and looked about in every direction. There was no movement on the beach, nothing but the crashing of the waves.
Thor walked up to the base of the cliffs, laid his palm on them, felt how smooth they were, felt the heat and energy radiating off of them. He examined the ropes which rose straight up the cliff, sheathing his sword and grabbing hold of one.
He tugged on it. It didn’t give.
One by one the others joined him, each grabbing a rope and tugging on it.
“Will it hold?” O’Connor wondered aloud, looking straight up.
They all looked up, clearly wondering the same thing.
“There is only one way to find out,” Thor said.
Thor grabbed the rope with both hands, jumped up, and began his ascent. All around him the others did the same, all of them scaling the cliffs like mountain goats.
Thor climbed and climbed, his muscles aching, burning under the sun. Sweat poured down his neck, stung his eyes, and all of his limbs shook.
And yet at the same time, there was something magical about these ropes, some energy that supported him—and the others—and made him climb faster than he’d ever had, as if the ropes were pulling him up.
Much sooner than he’d imagined possible, Thor found himself reaching the top; he reached up and was surprised to find himself grabbing onto grass and soil. He pulled himself up, rolling onto his side, onto soft grass, exhausted, breathing hard, limbs aching. All around him, he saw the others arriving, too. They had made it. Something had wanted them up there. Thor did not know if that was cause for reassurance or for worry.
Thor took a knee and drew his sword, immediately on edge, not knowing what to expect up here. All around him his brothers did the same, all of them rising to their feet and instinctually getting into a semicircular formation, guarding each other’s backs.
Yet as Thor stood there, looking out, he was shocked by what he saw. He had expected to see an enemy facing him, had expected to see a rocky and barren and desolate place.
Instead, he saw no one there to welcome them. And instead of rock, he saw the most beautiful place he had ever laid eyes upon: there, spread out before him, were rolling green hills, lush with flowers, foliage, and fruits, sparkling in the morning sun. The temperature up here was perfect, caressed by gentle ocean breezes. There were fruit orchards, lush vineyards, places of such bounty and beauty that it immediately caused all of his tension to fall away. He sheathed his sword, as the others relaxed, too, all of them gazing out as this place of perfection. For the first time since he’d set sail from the land of the dead, Thor felt as if he could truly relax and let down his guard. This was a place he was in no rush to leave.
Thor was baffled. How could such a gorgeous and temperate place exist in the midst of an endless and unforgiving ocean? Thor looked about and saw a gentle mist hanging over everything, looked up and saw, high above, the ring of gentle purple clouds covering the place, sheltering it, yet also allowing the sun to streak through here and there—and he knew in every ounce of his body that this place was magical. It was a place of such physical beauty that it put even the bounty of the Ring to shame.
Thor was surprised as he heard what sounded like a distant screech; at first he thought it was just his mind playing tricks on him. But then he felt a chill as he heard it again.
He raised his hand to his eyes and looked up, studying the skies. He could have sworn it sounded like the cry of a dragon—and yet he knew that was not possible. The last of the dragons, he knew, had died with Ralibar and Mycoples. He had witnessed it himself, that fateful moment of their deaths still hanging over him like a dagger in his heart. There wasn’t a day that went by when he did not think of his good friend Mycoples, when he did not wish she was back at his side.
Was it just wishful thinking, his hearing that cry? The echo of some forgotten dream?
The cry suddenly came again, ripping through the skies, piercing the very fabric of the air, and Thor’s heart lifted, as he felt numb with excitement and wonder. Could it be?
As Thor raised his hand to his eyes and looked up into the two suns, high up above the cliffs, he thought he detected the faint outline of a small dragon, circling in the air. He froze, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
“Is that not a dragon?” Reece suddenly asked aloud.
“It is not possible,” O’Connor said. “There are no dragons left alive.”
But Thor was not so sure as he watched the outline of the shape disappearing into the clouds. Thor looked back down and studied his surroundings. He wondered.
“What is this place?” Thor asked aloud.
“A place of dreams, a place of light,” came a voice.
Thor, startled at the unfamiliar voice, wheeled around, as did all the others, and was shocked to see, standing before them, an elderly man, dressed in a yellow robe and hood, carrying a long translucent staff, inlaid with diamonds, a black amulet at its end. It sparkled so bright, Thor could barely see.
The man wore a relaxed smile, and he walked toward them in a good-natured way and pulled back his hood, revealing long, golden, wavy hair, and a face which was ageless. Thor could not tell if he was eighteen or a hundred years old. A light emanated from his face, and Thor was taken aback by its intensity. He had not seen anything like it since he had last laid eyes upon Argon.
“You are correct,” he said, as he locked eyes with Thorgrin and walked right up to him. He stood but a few feet away, and his translucent green eyes felt as if they burned right through him. “To think of my brother.”
“Your brother?” Thor asked, confused.
The man nodded back.
“Argon.”
Thor gaped at the man, shocked.
“Argon!?” Thor said. “Your brother?” he added, barely able to get the words out.
The man nodded back, examining him, and Thor felt as if he were seeing into his very soul.
“Ragon is my name,” he said. “I am Argon’s twin. Although of course, we don’t look much alike. I believe I am the more handsome one,” he added with a smile.
Thor stared, speechless. He did not know where to begin; he’d had no idea that Argon had a brother.
Slowly, it all began to make sense.
“You brought us here,” Thor said, processing it all. “Those currents, this island, those ropes… You planned for us to come here.” Thor pieced it all together. “You’ve been watching us.”
Ragon nodded back.
“Indeed I have,” he said. “And I am very proud of you. I did control the tides here—it was my way of extending hospitality. Those who arrive here, on this isle, can only arrive because they deserve it. Being here is a reward: a reward to those who have displayed great valor. And you—
all
of you—have passed the test.”
Thor suddenly heard the loud, definitive screech of a dragon—he was certain this time—and he looked up and was in awe to see a baby dragon, its wingspan hardly ten feet, diving down low, circling. It screeched, a young dragon’s screech, and extended its wings as it flew in broad circles; then finally it landed, setting down just a few feet beside Ragon.
It sat there, facing Thor and the others, and lowered its wings, still and calm, staring back proudly.
Thor stared back in wonder.
“It can’t be,” he whispered, breathless, examining it. It was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. It looked positively ancient. “I saw the last of the dragons die. It saw it myself.”
“But you did not see the egg,” Ragon said.
Thor looked at him, puzzled.
“The egg?”
Ragon nodded.
“Of Mycoples and Ralibar. Their child. A girl.”
Thor’s mouth fell open in shock, and he felt tears well up as he examined the dragon in a whole new light, as he realized, for the first time, how much she resembled Mycoples. He knew there was something familiar about her.
“She’s beautiful,” Thorgrin said.
“You can pet her,” Ragon said. “In fact, she has been looking forward to meeting you, very much. She knows all about what you did for her mother. She’s been waiting for this day.”
Thorgrin stepped forward, one step at a time, wary of her, yet anxious to meet her. She stared back at him proudly, unblinking, with light-red scales and glowing green eyes, and stood perhaps ten feet tall. He could not tell if she liked him or not, and he felt an intense energy radiating off of her.
As he approached, Thor raised a hand and gently stroked the side of her face, his palm touching her long scales. She purred contentedly as he did, lifted her chin as if to acknowledge him, and then suddenly lowered her head and, to Thor’s delight, brushed it against his chest. With her long, scratchy tongue, she licked Thor’s face.
It scratched the side of Thor’s cheek, but he didn’t mind. He knew it was a sign of affection, and he leaned down and kissed her on the head. Her scales were strong and smooth, young, still needing to be formed, softer than her parents’ were. Seeing her brought back all his memories, made him realize how much he’d missed Mycoples—and made him feel as if he had her back again.
“I loved your mother,” Thor said softly to her. “And I shall love you just as much.”
The dragon purred again.
“You’ve made her quite happy, Thorgrin,” Ragon said. “The only thing she needs now is a name.”
Thor looked at him questioningly.
“Are you asking me to name her?”
Ragon nodded.
“She is young, after all,” he replied. “And no one has come along to name her. I could have. But the task, I knew, awaited you.”
Thor closed his eyes, trying to allow a name to come to him. As he did, he thought of Mycoples and Ralibar, and wondered what name they would have wanted, what name would best honor her parents.
“Lycoples,” Thor heard himself blurt out. “We shall name her Lycoples.”
Lycoples raised her neck and screeched, breathing fire straight up into the sky, a small flame, still young, and Thor jumped back, startled. She spread her wings wide, lowered her head, and she suddenly leapt up into the air, circling, flying high above, higher and higher, until Thor watched her disappear from sight, in wonder.
“Have I offended her?” Thor asked.
Ragon smiled and shook his head.
“On the contrary,” he said. “She quite approves.”
Ragon reached out and clasped a hand on Thor’s shoulder and began to lead him on a walk.
“Come, young Thorgrin,” he said. “We have much to discuss, and this isle is far bigger than it seems.”
*
Thor and the others followed Ragon, winding their way through the island, taking everything in as they went. Thor could not believe how comforted he felt being here, in Ragon’s presence, especially after their long sojourn across an endless, unforgiving ocean, after so many days with no hope or land in sight, and with their provisions running so low. And especially after emerging from the land of the dead. He felt as if he had been reborn, as if he had emerged from the deepest rungs of hell to the highest levels of paradise.