Chapter Eighteen

Return of the Sun/Page 5 of 5 Summer Deyze Starfield

Chapter Eighteen

Tainted Blood

While Sola was on her midnight flight with Esmerelda, she took the time to think over what had happened that morning. She felt a pang in her heart again as she realized the entire time she had been pining after him, he had been in love with her too. But her shot at temporary happiness was gone, because she had realized that she no longer loved him like she had. As a brother? Yes, but not as a significant other.

She was also feeling sad and guilty because Paul had been walking around in a depressed fog all turn. She wanted to cheer him up, but didn’t know how. There wasn’t much choice when you were in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly, an idea hit her, and she laughed as she spoke to Esmerelda.

Hey Esme, think you can hold an extra passenger?

Esmerelda snorted, and a wisp of smoke came out of her nostrils. She hadn’t breathed fire yet, but Sola wasn’t worried.

Can I hold an extra passenger? What kind of a question is that? she replied, a note of sarcasm in her voice. She did a loop and flew back to the campsite.

Sola gently shook Paul awake. “Paul. Hey, Paul. Wake up.” He opened his eyes tiredly, and they widened a fraction when he saw who it was that was so close to his face.

“What do you want, Sola?” he asked.

“You feel like flying?”

Paul sat bolt upright, and if it weren’t for Sola’s elfin reflexes, she would have been hammered in the nose. Sola led Paul over to Esmerelda. She instructed Paul where to sit, just behind her, and told him to hold on tight, because this was his first time on a dragon.

Nothing too fancy this time, all right, Esmerelda? The dragon nodded then spread her wings and soared into the air, straining at first but then launching herself into the sky, where she belonged. Her bat-like wings kicked up eddies of dust as she took off. She soared higher and higher, until Sola noticed Paul was finding it hard to breathe. She instructed Esmerelda to take them a little lower. She complied, then glided for a little while, until Paul’s legs loosened from around her torso and he began to relax. Suddenly, Sola felt wind rushing past her and that plunging feeling she got when she was falling, though she soon realized she hadn’t gone anywhere. Esmerelda was still floating on the slight air currents.

Ask him, Esmerelda instructed.

“Paul? Do you want to dive?”

“Sure, as long as you don’t expect me to do some random kicks in the air then land spectacularly on Esmerelda’s back.” He grinned at her, and Sola grinned back.

“No, that’s my job.” Suddenly, Esmerelda dove, her wings tucked in and her tail streaming out in a straight line behind her. Paul yelled happily and Sola laughed blissfully. Esmerelda deposited Paul on the ground.

Watch this, she said, and Sola relayed the message, then Esmerelda took off again, climbing rapidly. She gave Sola a mental picture, who nodded, butterflies dancing in her tummy. When they were so high Sola could barely see Paul, Esmerelda did a loop-the-loop in the air, and Sola released her legs at the peak of the circle, tumbling from the dragon’s back. She flipped through the air, turning over and over, tumbling through space, and then suddenly she was on Esmerelda’s back, and they were flying again. Sola saw she was only about twenty parls above the ground. The feeling of exhilaration was unbelievable. Sola laughed as they descended and slowly walked back to the campsite.

Paul returned to bed, and Sola packed up her things, then her and Esmerelda went flying again. When the sun rose, Esmerelda and Sola descended into the campsite to find Pyrima and Paul sitting up, waiting for her.

“Why are you awake at this hour?” asked Sola, addressing Pyrima.

“I woke up early to see if I could catch you at it.”

“At what? Flying with Esmerelda?” she asked.

“No. When was the last time you were asleep?”

Sola thought back. “I’ve gone quite awhile without sleeping.”

“How long is ‘quite awhile’?” Paul asked.

“About four nights,” she confessed guiltily. For some reason, she felt bad about that. Like not being normal was a crime.

Pyrima and Paul gaped at her. “Four nights? How are you not dead on your feet?” Paul asked.

Sola shrugged. “I haven’t been able to fall asleep, so I’ve been flying on Esmerelda every night instead.”

Pyrima’s face became thoughtful. “I wonder why that is...” she muttered.

“What? What do you mean?” Sola asked, alarmed by her tone of voice.

“It’s nothing bad, I promise.” Sola visibly relaxed. “It’s just that I’ve heard of this happening once before, but it hasn’t happened in a long, long while. Not since the last time elves were in contact with faeries.”

“Wait a minute. Fairies?” Paul asked incredulously. “Believing in elves, okay, that’s fine. Dragons? That was pushing it, but sure, I’ll take it. But now you’re asking me to believe in fairies? Like the little mischievous things with wings that are silly, envious, nonexistent creatures?”

“No, those are pixies. I’m talking about faeries, fey magic. Like elves with wings and much stronger magic. Celeste is a powerful witch, but even the weakest faerie is stronger than her, just as the weakest elf is stronger than any human.” She turned back to Sola. “We haven’t coordinated with faeries for many thousands of revols. We are both ancient peoples, probably with our roots stemming from the same place, but they live across the mountains, on the other side of the Scleonin Sea. No one’s been able to get over there since the magic over the City of Mist intensified and made it impossible for anyone to get there or past.”

“And when did that happen?” Sola ventured.

“When the silver faerie was murdered.”

Sola remembered her waking dream. “Tell me more about this silver faerie. He/she/it was murdered several thousand revols ago? What’s the big deal about that?”

Pyrima sighed. “I can’t tell you anything about faeries, since our records including them were lost, stolen, or destroyed after the silver faerie was murdered. All I know is that he was the king of faeries, uniting all their nations under one banner, was the strongest creature, magic-wise, that has ever existed, and was murdered.”

“Why? And how?”

“I’m not exactly sure. I think a power-hungry courtier poisoned him after he had already been weakened by a battle with the dragons.”

Esmerelda hissed, and Sola automatically reached up her hand and stroked her scales.

Dragons would never do such a thing!

Let’s hear what Pyrima has to say before jumping to conclusions. Sola soothed her.

“You must understand, this was a long while ago, when dragons were much more savage than they are now. They were angry at the faeries for encroaching on their territory.”

Then they should have known better than to encroach on our territory!

“The dragons considered all of the Vale of Secrets to be their territory. One particularly ferocious dragon, Rinnel, used persuasion and coercion to get other dragons to help him attack the faeries. The fey won, but their king was poisoned the night after the battle was over, and all of the faeries were thrown into chaos, animosity toward the dragons and vice versa fluctuated disastrously, and the Mist sealed off the faeries from us.”

“How did we get on this topic anyway?” Paul finally asked.

“We were speaking of Sola’s lack of sleep. Oh yes, I remember. During the time of the silver faerie, our elfin king never slept either. He also had a dragon. I wonder if dragons have anything to do with it.” Pyrima then disproved her own theory. “No, it has only happened once, and dragons have bonded with elves several times throughout history.”

“Well, we’re not getting anywhere right now, so let’s just get a move on,” Paul suggested. They packed up their things and walked on in silence. At about midday, they came upon a huge, huge field of roses. It stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction. Pyrima sighed and began to wade through the thigh-high flowers. With a groan, Sola and Paul followed after her. After an hour of their sluggish progress, Paul suddenly fell. He was silent, and Sola and Pyrima walked on. After a few minutes, Sola finally noticed the absence of his presence.

“Pyrima? Where’s—” Pyrima fell to the ground as well, and Sola kneeled down to check on her, beginning to panic. Nothing appeared to be the matter, she had simply fallen. It looked like she was in a peaceful sleep. A thought struck Sola, and she put her ear to Pyrima’s chest to check her heartbeat. It was still there. Sighing in relief, Sola carefully made her way back to find Paul. She spotted him just in time. His hand was completely covered moments after she saw it. With terror, she realized the roses were concealing him with their stems.

She always kept her knife at her waist, and she quickly unsheathed it, hacking at the vines around Paul, but being careful not to strike him. After a few minutes, the roses began to actively fight back. They lashed out at her when she brought her knife too close, and they entwined around her limbs.

She began to feel sleepy, but fought it determinedly. If she succumbed, she knew she would be taken as well.

Eventually, she uncovered a part of her pack and tugged it free. Apparently, the plants didn’t really want it. As she pulled out the bag, she was able to catch an unimpeded glimpse of Paul’s body for the first time. She stared, horrified. The roses were eating him. She could see where pieces of his flesh were completely missing. It was sickening, and it only inspired her to fight harder. She snatched her sword free of the pack and redoubled her efforts, using her knife in her left hand and her sword in her right to free him from the carnivorous flowers. Finally, the few stems left retreated and she was able to lift Paul free and call to Esmerelda to come and get him.

Once that was done, she sprinted back to Pyrima, only to find that Pyrima was almost completely covered as well. She immediately went to work slashing the vines away from Pyrima’s vulnerable body. This time, however, the roses fought back harder. Apparently they liked elf meat. Sola had to keep them away from herself while at the same time protect Pyrima from being devoured. She quickly became exhausted. I’m so... tired. So tired. Maybe I could just give in. Surely it wouldn’t be too bad. Surely... Just as Sola’s eyes were closing, she heard a deafening roar and looked up to see Esmerelda, jaws gaping, fangs and claws glinting poisonously in the sun, her jewel-like emerald scales reflecting the light. Esmerelda was majestic indeed, and the awe was enough to keep Sola from falling asleep. Esmerelda swooped down low and cut away all the vines surrounding Pyrima with one sweep of her claws. Sola jumped onto Esmerelda’s back as the dragon used said claws to snag the back of Pyrima’s tunic and fly them back. She deposited them next to Paul.

If I could breathe fire, I’d sear those roses, every last one!

Calm down, Esmerelda. At least we’re alive. Can you grab our packs from the field?

I will not be able to see them.

Then I’ll have to go with you. Come on. Sola quickly remounted Esmerelda and they scouted the field, searching for their packs and supplies. Finally, Sola saw them. Her sword and knife were missing from the bunch, probably lying where Pyrima had fallen. Sola jumped off of Esmerelda’s back and reached down for the packs. The roses again twisted around her ankles and wrist, but much faster than before. Sola just managed to grab the packs when Esmerelda swooped in again and grabbed Sola with her teeth, growling all the while. Sola yelped as she felt the point of a fang pierce her arm, but she knew she could not adjust her position just yet. Esmerelda tried to fly back to Pyrima and Paul, but Sola directed her to where she thought she had left her weapons.

I’m not letting you go in there again! Esmerelda insisted.

You must! I can’t go on without my sword and dagger.

I can’t go on if you’re digested by those man-eating plants!

I won’t be. Just let me jump down, grab my knives, and get back on your back. The roses won’t even have a chance to catch me! I’ll be back with you as quickly as is possible with my superior speed and reflexes. She sounded smug, even to herself. Esmerelda grudgingly dropped her. Sola’s hand was on her sword before her feet were on the ground, and she had located her knife moments after, but still the roses came. When Esmerelda tried to grab her, the plants reached up as high as they could and whipped her tender underside. She roared with pain and fury. Sola suddenly found herself in pain, furious, and wide awake. She held her sword firmly in her right hand and her knife in her left. Extending her arms to either side, but low enough to catch the roses, she began to spin. Faster, and faster, and faster she spun, until everything around her was a blur. She finally stopped when she felt something hard against her back. Esmerelda had, in an incredible feat, landed behind Sola and stopped her spinning attack while remaining unscathed. Looking around her, Sola saw she had obliterated all the plants anywhere near her. She had made a clearing large enough to Esmerelda to land in. Suddenly the world lurched to a stop and Sola stumbled and fell flat on her back. She lay there for a few moments, then turned over and retched.

Ugh, I’m dizzy.

I can tell. Are you ready to go back? I’d like for you to regain your strength so you can heal my wounds.

Oh! Esmerelda, you’re hurt! Can you fly me back to Pyrima and Paul?

Of course, but we should be quick about it. Something in those roses causes the blood to flow freely.

Sola gasped and scrambled to her feet. She quickly jumped on Esmerelda’s back. That means Paul and Pyrima are still bleeding too! Esmerelda launched into the air and beat her wings more powerfully than ever before, returning Sola in a matter of moments. She attempted to treat Esmerelda first, using her sciil. But the wounds would not heal. Pyrima eyes fluttered and Sola ran over.

“They will not...heal,” she gasped out. “Poison.”

“Well, how do I get rid of it?” Sola asked frantically.

“It must be drawn out.” Pyrima again lost consciousness. Sola walked back over to Esmerelda, took a deep breath, and placed her mouth to the cuts. Esmerelda whimpered as Sola began to suck the blood from her wounds. She spit out the tainted blood in her mouth, wincing, but knowing it was necessary.

There. Is it...?

The poison has left my bloodstream. Now go attend to Paul. He is human, he will die more quickly. I will help you know when the poison is gone.

Sola knelt down by Paul and repeated the same process. However, he had many more cuts than Esmerelda, so it took much longer. When she got to the last cut, Esmerelda gently placed a claw in Paul’s hand.

It is done. Quickly. Pyrima is fading. Sola rushed over to Pyrima and put her lips to the wounds immediately, trying to do the gruesome job quickly and thoroughly. Finally, Esmerelda spoke three beautiful words into Sola’s mind. It is finished. Sighing, Sola fainted.