Sentari: ICE (20 page)

***

The Shadow was quick and near impossible to hurt. He struck the hybrids with deadly precision. One after another he ripped the limbs from their bodies and slashed deep cuts in their throats and chests – but they kept coming. The more he fought, the larger the army seemed to grow. The whole time he fought, the Shadow knew in the back of his mind that it was only a matter of time before Denius began to fight too, and he knew that Denius’s power rivalled his own. But Denius did not fight the Shadow. He had eyes only for Drake. He looked up the mountain with burning desire. He had longed for this day and would not stop until he claimed his prize.

While the Shadow was busy fighting the hordes, Denius took the opportunity to move on Drake. He slipped past the Shadow and started the long walk up the mountain.

Denius trudged his way up the mountainside. It had been many years since he had walked any great distance. There were very few beings in this world, powerful enough to stop a dragon from flying, but he knew that he would not have to deal with the Shadow if he could defeat Drake.

***

Te’oma turned to join his friends in the cave. “Wait, there is something I must do,” said Drake. Te’oma turned around. Drake was on his hind legs, stretching his wings out far and wide. He puffed out his mighty chest and smoke started to pour out of his nostrils. Te’oma backed away in fear. “You must trust me,” bellowed Drake. “Open your heart and meet your destiny,” said Drake as fire roared out of his mouth. The fire engulfed Te’oma, spinning around him like a tornado. The heat was incomprehensible; the fire whipped around him so fast that he could not see anything except the flame.

Suddenly Te’oma’s arms were flung out and his head was tilted back as he was raised off the ground. His arms and legs were pulled out to an excruciatingly painful length. His mouth was ripped open and the flame poured down his throat. The pain of the fire going down was like nothing he had felt before. More and more flame was rammed down his throat until Te’oma felt like he was going to die and, in that very moment, when he could feel the life draining from his body, the flame stopped. Te’oma fell to the ground and Drake dropped down beside him exhausted.

Drake gradually got to his feet as Te’oma lay unconscious next to him. He looked down at his brother storming towards him with vicious intent. Drake lifted Te’oma up and hid him inside the tunnel, then turned around to see Denius standing in front of him.

Denius slowly walked around him, sniffing the air while looking down his nose at him. “My old brother,” said Denius.

“I may be old but my heart is free. Can you say the same?” asked Drake. The two walked out onto the jagged rocks of the mountain side, eyeballing each other with every step.

“There’s something different about you. Something’s changed,” said Denius. “You have no power,” concluded Denius with a grin.

“I may have no power but I can still give you a fight,” said Drake with anger.

***

Te’oma slowly regained consciousness just as Julius, Sky and Ariana came running down the tunnel.

“Are you ready?” asked Ariana.

“Yes,” said Te’oma, still a bit shaken by what had happened. The four of them quickly snuck out of the entrance and, as quietly as they could, they made their way for the top of the mountain. Their movement caught the eye of Drake; he smiled as they escaped.

Drake spoke a language that was foreign to all that lived save for the Shadow. The words were deep and incomprehensible, but they bellowed throughout the valley so loudly that the Shadow could hear them as if Drake were standing right next to him.

The Shadow looked up at Drake and sighed in disbelief; reluctantly he disappeared into nothing, leaving the hordes below and at the same time freeing Denius to fly once more.

Julius hurried up the mountainside and saw the platform at the top, which was covered in dust and rocks. He quickly cleared away the rocks and as much dust as he could. He stood in the middle of the platform with his hand on the pole. Ariana, Te’oma and Sky watched on bewildered.

“Quickly, you must stand next to me,” said Julius.

“What’s going on, Julius? How do you know what you’re doing?” pleaded Ariana.

“There isn’t time. I promise you, I’ll tell you what I can after,” said Julius, reaching his hand out to them.

“After what?” asked Ariana.

“Just stand next to me!” Julius yelled.

Ariana and Te’oma walked out onto the platform and stood around the pole. Te’oma was still confused by what had happened to him and was trapped deep in thought. Sky waited at the edge of the platform looking at them.

“Are you coming?” asked Ariana.

“I was raised my whole life for this moment. I sacrificed everything to be here, only to have it taken away by him,” said Sky, gesturing at Te’oma angrily.

Te’oma looked at Sky with confusion, “What are you talking about?” asked Te’oma.

“It was supposed to be me who met the last free dragon. It was supposed to be me who went on this journey, but you stole it from me,” said Sky.

“I’m sorry. I never wanted any of this,” said Te’oma.

At that moment, Denius and Drake leapt into the air and flew high above the mountain.

“Quickly, we haven’t got time to discuss this here. You must come now,” said Julius.

“I’m not going anywhere. This was my destiny and I’m going to take it,” said Sky, as she turned around and started walking back down the mountain.

“Sky, please,” said Te’oma, as he moved to leave the platform.

“You can’t,” said Julius, grabbing Te’oma by the hand then squeezing his eyes shut. As he did, the platform below them began to spin but, strangely, they did not move. The platform spun so fast that it became almost liquid-like. Te’oma leaned down and put his finger in the liquid, creating a ripple. Suddenly, the three of them disappeared and the platform regained its solid form.

Sky looked back up at the platform to see that they were gone. She took a deep breath, then steeled her resolve.

***

Drake and Denius flapped their huge wings and floated high above the mountain, staring into each other’s eyes. Denius’s eyes were as cold as ice; Drake’s full of fire.

Drake looked down at the empty platform below and smiled. His plan had gone perfectly. “You didn’t tell him did you?” asked Denius.

“We do what we must,” said Drake, with venom in his eyes. He opened his mouth and a massive blast of fire came roaring out. He may not have had much power anymore, but he could still breathe fire.

Denius quickly darted out of the way of the flame, just in time to see another hurtling his way. Then another and another. For an old dragon, Drake could certainly create a lot of fire. Denius grew tired of dodging the fireballs. He opened his mouth and a jet stream of ice come flying out. The ice extinguished the fireballs easily. Denius fired back with blast after blast of icy projectiles, easily knocking down every one of Drake’s fireballs.

After a while, Denius tired of the fight. He heaved his mighty chest and blasted out a continuous stream of ice at Drake. Drake dug deep and sent an equal amount of fire back at Denius. The two pushed desperately as the fire and ice battled one another.

The fire pushed forward, inching closer to Denius. Denius knew that Drake was always the stronger of the two of them. The fire got so close that some of the flames started to hit his wings, causing his skin to burn and melt. He winced in agony but did not relent. He pushed on, forcing the fire backwards.

Denius closed his eyes and cleared his mind and, drawing on the magic that resided in him, pushed with all his might. The ice forged forward, pushing the fire back until it was all but gone. With one last thrust, Denius forced the ice down Drake’s throat, freezing him from the inside out.

Frozen, Drake quickly fell towards the ground. Denius looked down from above as his brother shattered into a million pieces on the mountainside below, the impact shaking the mountain to its very core.

Denius looked down at the mountainside. A tinge of sadness crept into his eyes, then suddenly he too began to fall. He had not noticed the giant holes the fire had burnt in his wings. He flapped them as hard as he could, but he continued to fall. He stretched out his wings as far as he could, trying to glide. He managed to glide across the Yen-Gyle and past the cliffs to the remains of Yen-Dori.

His wings were failing him and he was picking up far too much speed to land safely. He raced towards Yen-Dori at faster speeds, out of control. The ground drew nearer. From the corner of his eye he saw Christian, still entombed in ice. He angled his decent towards him.

Denius crashed into the ground. His bones shattered as his body took the full impact of the crash. He tumbled along the ground, creating a huge chasm in the earth behind him. He slid for nearly a hundred metres, before coming to rest, just in front of Christian.

Denius could not move. He was near death. Christian looked on in fear. He was aware of what was happening in front of him, but the ice did not allow him to move. Denius opened his mouth and a small puff of mist came out. The mist moved slowly through the air. It floated up in front of Christian’s face. The mist pushed through the ice and ran down his throat. “In two weeks you will wake,” said Denius, as he closed his giant eyes for the last time.

“Sometimes good can come from selfish intentions.”

The Price of a Debt

Noah never wanted to be anything but a farmer. His father was a farmer, as was his father before him. His family had lived and worked on Angel Island for a long as there had been history books.

There was only one thing he wanted more than being a farmer and that was to be a father. He didn’t mind if he had boys or girls, he just wanted to raise a family and live in peace.

Angel Island was a small oasis that existed many hundreds of miles from the mainland. The towering, snow-covered mountains were but a small blip on the horizon. The ocean that surrounded it provided an endless source of food, but the true gift of Angel Island was in the soil. It had always been the most fertile land in all of Sentari, a fact little known.

The warm winds of the east, combined with the sea mist, had kept the little island green and lush. Only three hundred people lived on Angel Island. They were spread out across the land, each having very little to do with the other.

Noah lived alone on his farm on the south of the island. His home, like all other people’s there, was built into the landscape. High on a bank, it peered out at the ocean in front of it. You would not see it if you were passing by. The entrance was shrouded in grass and the bulk of the house underground.

Occasionally, Noah would sit at his front door on his rocking chair, watching the tall ships sail past in the distance. The outside world had no interest in Angel Island and the residents liked it that way, butut, in the back of his mind, Noah was very curious about the outsiders. He had been inquisitive since he was a little boy, but his father did his very best to beat that out of him.

His father was not an evil man, but he was very stern with Noah. He would not hesitate to hit him if he felt it was needed to get his point across, a trait that Noah never wanted to find in himself.

Noah’s parents died when he was just nineteen. They were taken by the ocean in a freak storm. He had lived alone ever since, until the day that his life changed forever.

It started like any other. He would get up at the crack of dawn like all farmers seem to do, and stand on the rocky banks of the ocean with his fishing rod in hand, waiting patiently for the fish to bite. He would catch his fill of fish for the day, before starting on his farming duties. But, one morning, something caught his attention. He noticed an object bobbing up and down in the ocean in the distance. He could not quite make out what it was. He scurried out to the furthest rock he could find and squinted his eyes. A large wave rolled past, lifting it up high and, suddenly, it became clear. It was a small raft and on it lay a person.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Noah jumped into the water and swam out as fast as he could. The waters around Angel Island were quite treacherous and the currents could be very strong. Lucky for him, the sea was relatively calm that day.

He swam out to the raft to find a young lady unconscious upon it. She was wearing fancy clothing that was all wet and torn. Her skin was a milky white and she had stunning blonde hair that ran all the way down to her ankles. He reached up and grabbed the raft. There was a small rope at the front of it. He tied it around his waist and swam back to shore, pulling the raft in with him.

Noah checked to make sure that the woman was still breathing. She was badly dehydrated and had severe sunburn in places. There was a pulse, so he lifted her off the raft and carried her to his home.

His home was modest; there was not much in the way of comforts, but the one thing he did have was a very comfortable bed. He lay the woman down. He was instantly struck by how beautiful she was, which made what he had to do next all the more difficult. He was a very respectful man, but he knew he had to get her cold and wet clothes off her. So, with his hands half over his eyes, he pulled her clothes off and replaced them with some of his mother’s clothing.

He laid a blanket over her and rested her head on the pillow. He took a small cup of water from beside the bed and gently poured it into her mouth. He wasn’t sure if she would be able to drink it, but he hoped some of it would find its way down her throat.

For three days, she slept in his bed. Not once did she wake. Noah tended to her every need, without her ever saying a word to him. He slept on the floor next to her, cleaned the bed and fed her water where he could. He couldn’t understand why, but it felt imperative to him that he save her life.

One morning, as the sunshine beamed its way through the house window, it shone on Noah, still fast asleep. This was strange for him as he was always up before the sun. That morning, however, it was the girl who was awake first. She opened her eyes and instantly turned her head away to block the glare of light. She slowly got her bearings and sat up in the bed. She had no idea where she was our how she had come to be there.

Not realising Noah was asleep on the floor, the woman moved to the edge of the bed and stepped on top of him, waking him from his sleep. The woman jumped back into bed and cowered with fear.

Noah was shocked that she had woken before him. “It’s ok,” said Noah. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Who are you? How did I get here?” the woman asked nervously.

“My name is Noah. I found you floating on a raft in the ocean. I brought you here to help you,” said Noah.

The woman looked around at Noah’s humble little home. Noah watched her eyes as she gazed around room. Noah smiled at her. She looked down at the new clothing she was wearing and her smile quickly disappeared.

“Oh, no, it’s ok. You were soaking wet. I had to change you. But don’t worry, I didn’t look,” said Noah, rather embarrassed. The woman gave Noah a rather unconvincing smile. “What is your name?” he asked.

“My name is Serena,” she said.

“How did you end up in the middle of the ocean?” asked Noah.

“I was on my brother’s boat. He is a fisherman. We were attacked and our ship sank,” said Serena, rather briefly.

Noah suspected there was more to her story, but it was blatantly obvious that she did not want to speak about it.

Noah watched as she slowly got out of the bed and inspected the room.

“Where am I?” asked Serena.

“Come, I’ll show you,” said Noah. He reached out his hand. Serena nervously accepted and he led her out of the room and through the house. Most of the decorations on the walls belonged to Noah’s mother. He was never the decorating type.

Noah opened the front door and revealed the rolling hills of grass that led to the ocean below. It was glorious. Serena’s eyes glistened in the sunlight as she gazed across the landscape. “Am I dead?” asked Serena.

“No,” smiled Noah. “You are on Angel Island, a long way from anywhere,” he continued. Serena stumbled and nearly fainted.

Noah caught her in his arms. “Here, sit down. You have been asleep for a long time. You need to take it slowly,” said Noah, resting her down on his seat.

“You have been so kind to me. I can never repay you,” said Serena.

“There is no need. I look forward to the company,” said Noah.

“They’re all gone,” said Serena.

“Who?” enquired Noah.

“My family. I watched the ship sink with them all aboard,” said Serena.

“I’m so sorry,” said Noah.

“Don’t be,” said Serena. Noah was her rather surprised. “They were not the nicest people,” said Serena.

The two sat in silence, looking out at the ocean, listening to the small waves lapping on the rocks. Noah was very excited. She didn't appear to be in a hurry to leave. In fact, she looked happy to be there. “Well, you can stay here for as long as you need,” said Noah.

For Noah, it was love at first sight. He knew she was special and, as hard as he tried to keep his emotions to himself, he just couldn’t. Each day he would get up extra early to make her breakfast, so that when she woke up there would be a beautiful meal waiting for her, along with a flower that he had picked.

Serena was very grateful for his generosity, but she found it harder to let her inhibitions go. Like a gentleman, Noah continued to sleep on the floor and let Serena sleep in the bed. She offered to take the floor, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

Appropriately, their first kiss came on the one month anniversary of Serena’s rescue. It was a lovely evening and Noah took her to the highest point of the island. He pointed out which direction the lands she knew were, but all they could see was ocean. With the daylight giving way to moonlight, Noah finally plucked up the courage to kiss her. She let her guard down and the two fell deeply in love.

For the next two months they were inseparable. Noah’s chores were put on the backburner while he and Serena spent every waking moment in each other’s embrace. Noah had never known the touch of a woman before and he spent every second he could making up for lost time.

Every May, Angel Island would have a small get together, kind of like a dance but a little less formal. With there being three men to every one woman on the island, there was a little less dancing and lot more drinking. That year, Noah was very excited to attend. It would be his first chance to show off Serena.

The week leading up to the dance, Serena had been busy working on a new dress to wear. She had not let Noah see it. .

On the night, Serena decided to send Noah into town first. She wanted to surprise him there. Noah reluctantly made his way to the town hall. The hall itself was not much to look at. It was quite a large building, shaped like a barn, nestled into a small valley near the top of the island.

Noah opened the door to the hall. All the usual people were there, sitting on the chairs drinking their ales, complaining about the rotten luck they’d all had on their farms that year. A few grunts and groans come his way as he made his way in – which was about as friendly as these farmers knew how to be.

Noah sat down next to Aiden, who was the closest thing Noah had to a friend. Aiden was a pretty man, too pretty to be a farmer. Despite the years of toil in the fields, his skin was silky smooth, while men ten years younger had skins as rough as leather.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” said Aiden, knowing full well that he had a new girlfriend. “There’s been a rumour of a young lady staying at your farm. Is it true?”

“You better believe it,” replied Noah enthusiastically.

“Well, where is she?” asked Aiden.

“Patience. She’ll be here,” replied Noah.

Noah knew that it was fashionable for women to be late, but Serena didn’t know these men. Two more beers and most of them would be passed out on the floor.

Then the barn doors swung open. Serena stepped through the doorway, wearing a short, lacy white dress. She looked absolutely stunning. Her hair was tied up in a way that Noah had never seen. She radiated beauty. All the men in the room gasped; their wives looked on disapprovingly.

Noah got to his feet and took her by the hand. “You look amazing,” said Noah.

“Do you like it?” asked Serena.

“It’s the most beautiful thing in the room, besides you,” said Noah.

Aiden walked up beside Noah and coughed. “Sorry. Serena, this is Aiden. Aiden, Serena,” said Noah, with pride.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Aiden, as he kissed Serena’s hand. She blushed and smiled at the same time.

“Shall we dance?” asked Noah.

“I’d love to,” said Serena. The two danced alone on the dance floor. Noah did not care about the fact that no one else was dancing. All he could see was Serena. He had never been so happy.

The night whizzed by. Noah and Serena were the last two to leave the dance. They walked all the way home slowly, looking longingly into each other’s eyes and, for the first time, Noah and Serena spent the night together in Noah’s bed. Noah’s bed turned into their bed and, for a short while, the two lived as one, in love.

But some things are not meant to last. It wasn’t long before Noah noticed a change in Serena. At first she was full of light, but she started to become distant. He questioned her, but every time she would tell him that she was fine and that she was merely tired. Noah’s mother had warned him that love could sometimes burn brightly, but for only a short period of time. He refused to believe that that was the case – there had to be something else.

One cold morning Noah followed Serena into town. She would go in once a week to get some supplies. Noah knew he shouldn’t follow her, but he was so worried that he couldn’t help himself. She did not follow the path. She liked to walk through the grass and the trees. Noah made sure that he followed far enough back that she would not notice but, unfortunately, he was so far back that he lost sight of her completely. Noah sat on the grass for a few hours contemplating the world, mostly thinking about Serena.

Eventually, he decided that it was time to head home. After all, she would more than likely be back soon and he didn’t want her to come home to an empty house.

He walked through the grass as she did. He suddenly realised what she liked so much about walking this way. It was much more pleasant than the path.

A strange sound began to creep into his ears. At first he thought it was nothing. It was too far away to be a concern, so he continued on his walk. But the sound grew louder. Intrigue got the better of him and he decided to investigate. He walked over a small rise and, in the grass below, was a small hut. He had never come across this hut before, which puzzled him. The sound seemed to emanate from there.