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  He seemed to calm down a bit while he weighed what I said. Ash finally let him go and he stayed away from me.

  Sensing the shift in his mood, I felt safe to ask questions. “How exactly did you escape?” I asked, my voice hesitant but firm. “What was it that let you out of the sword?”

  “The last thing I remember before I was trapped was a young man with a group of older men on the mountain. He stabbed me with his sword and at first, I felt pain, but then the pain subsided and there was a kind of whooshing sensation. It was as if I was being sucked out of my own body, and then it all went dark. It was dark ever since, until last night. There was no real sound, but the vibrations made me feel as if something was buzzing around me. Then I sensed movement, the clanging of my sword against another.”

  “That was me. You were trapped in my brother’s sword when I fought him.”

  “You fought your own brother? Why did you do that?”

  “I told you, father, she was fighting him for his sword. She believed that there was the soul of a dragon inside. She wanted to see if it was true.”

  “You fought for us?” The menacing look dropped from his face and was replaced with something else. If I was to guess, I’d say he was impressed.

  “Yes, sir. I wanted to see if I was correct. Now that you are standing here, it seems that I am. Can you tell me what happened after the fight?” I now knew that it was Ash’s father that had caused the fire in my house. His escape must have taken so much energy that he’d inadvertently set my house on fire as he left the sword.

  “I don’t know exactly. It went on for a few minutes and then something changed. It suddenly got very hot. I’d not felt anything for so long that just being able to feel the heat excited me. It meant something was changing. It got hotter until the whooshing sensation happened again. This time it went on for much longer. I felt like I was flying but I had no control. Everything was still dark until I opened my eyes. I was back in my own body. Darkness still surrounded me but this time there were specks of light. It took me a while to realize I was seeing stars and the moon. The ground was soaking wet from rainfall, but I didn’t care. I could see and feel and move again. It took a couple of hours for me to readjust to using my body again. I had to relearn how to walk and fly, and by that time dawn had come.

  “In many ways, being able to see again was a wonder, but it was also like waking up from one nightmare into another. The bodies of my fellow dragons lay next to mine. I tried waking one I recognized as my uncle’s friend who had gone so many years ago. There was the faint beat of his heart, but he didn’t stir. I couldn’t wake any of them. There were so many dragons there that I knew, all sleeping in some kind of eternal sleep. I had the energy of a newborn, so it took me a long time to get out of there.”

  “Where were you being kept?” If there was a prison full of sleeping dragons, surely I’d have seen it.

  “It was a great place with four large walls but no roof. There was a huge, locked door which I assumed was how we were brought in. I had to fly out over the walls. It was about a mile away from your village, in the forest that borders the Triad Mountains and the farmlands.”

  I knew where he meant. From the outside, it looked like a castle. I’d asked my father about it and he told me that a giant lived there. I knew he was making it up, but I just assumed it was an old building that was no longer in use. My father had never taken me into that part of the forest again, and as I grew up, I’d forgotten all about it. If only I had known it was full of soulless dragons.

  “I spent the morning eating anything I could find. Squirrels, foxes, fruit from the trees. Once I had enough energy, I was able to fly and then I could catch some birds. I flew straight here. When I arrived, I saw that the village was empty of people. It took a few flights over to see everyone in the town hall. I had planned to land outside and change into a man, but I’d forgotten just how much energy that took. I’m afraid I accidentally set fire to the town hall.”

  “You caused this?”

  I turned to see Spear standing behind me. I didn’t know how long he’d been there, but he must have come in as a dragon. Unlike Ash’s father, he was fully dressed.

  “Spear! It’s so good to see you.” The two men embraced like old friends. “Please forgive me. I can assure you it was entirely accidental.”

  “No need to apologize, Fiere. It is just good to have you back. I cannot believe my own eyes. My dead best friend standing right in front of me.”

  “Believe it, Spear.”

  “I am the only one that owes anyone an apology. I’ve been wrong, and I can see that now.” Spear turned to me. “Julianna and Ash, I hope you’ll forgive me. I did not believe you and I did not trust you, and yet you have brought my oldest friend back to me. I thought he was dead. I thought they were all dead.”

  Someone held my hand. I didn’t have to look to know it was Ash.

  “I have just one question though,” I said. “What made it possible for you to escape? Just fighting with the swords wouldn’t have done it. I fought against Jasper and his sword before in training.”

  “What happened just before the fire started in your house?” asked Ash.

  I thought back to the scene from the night before. My father had picked up Jasper’s sword and then... and then he had cut my arm.

  “It’s the blood!” I exclaimed. “My father nicked my forearm, look.” I showed them the small cut. “Just after my blood hit the sword, the house caught on fire. If what you said about the intense heat was correct, then it was at that point that your soul left the sword.”

  “So, it’s a dragon’s blood that entraps us, but the blood of a slayer that sets us free. There is some poetry in that, would you not agree?” Ash’s father said.

  I looked at Ash as he looked at me. It seemed that my blood was the key to saving the dragons.

  Chapter Twenty

  An acrid, burning stench filled my nostrils. Almost without warning, waves of nausea washed over me. The world spun around me and I began to falter. Ash hurried me out of the ruined town hall and back into the village square where we had landed not an hour before. When the fresh air hit my lungs, I immediately felt better, although the underlying nausea was still there, waiting to consume me.

  Part of me was elated at figuring out how to save the dragons, but knowing my own blood would have to spill to do it was too much. Just how many dragons were there? My people had been slayers for centuries and I’d lost count of how many dragons had been brought back to the village in just my short lifetime. How much blood would I have to give to save them all? Of course, if it was just a tiny drop and if it was just my blood, I might feel okay about it, but it wasn’t just a small drop. When my father had nicked me with his sword, the cut had been superficial but quite a bit of my blood had hit the sword. Multiply that by the hundreds, or even thousands, of dragon souls we had stolen and I wouldn’t have any blood left in my body. The dragons would have to use the blood of my family, of my friends.

  “Are you okay?” Ash gently placed his fingers under my chin and lifted it until I was looking at him. I couldn’t lie to him.

  “Not really.”

  “We’ll figure all this out, don’t worry.”

  “Don’t worry?” Easy for him to say. He didn’t have a hoard of dragons wanting to take all his blood. I shivered despite the warmth of the air.

  “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you if that’s what you’re thinking. It can’t only be your blood that works. There must be other’s blood we can use instead.”

  I knew he meant well, but using other’s blood was exactly what I was afraid of. Still, his arms around me were comforting, and just for a minute, I enjoyed his warmth and tried to forget about what I knew was coming.

  It didn’t last long. The dragons who had followed us had changed and dressed, including Fiere.

  A couple of women brought chairs and tables from one of the cafes that lined the square. A neighboring restaurant did the same, bringing enough chair
s for everyone to sit on. Ash took my hand and led me to one of the tables. Almost as soon as we sat, a waitress brought us both a cup of coffee and a slice of cake each. Spear sat to one side of me, making me feel nervous. The others had all changed into their human forms and joined the impromptu party or meeting.

  Suddenly, a loud scream made me jump and spill my coffee all over the table. Edeline ran towards us, tears in her eyes and arms outstretched. Lucy was just behind her, her small legs struggling to keep up with her mother. Edeline jumped into Fiere’s arms, burying her head in his shoulder. Seconds later Lucy barged into them and was enveloped into the hug.

  “You should go to them,” I said to Ash. His back turned to me as he went back to his family. A pang of sadness hit me as I wondered what my own family was doing right now and if they were out looking for me.

  “As many of you can see, our brother Fiere has returned to us,” began Spear, standing to address the others. “I owe you all an apology. Julianna was telling the truth. Our ancestor’s souls have been trapped by the slayer’s swords but their living bodies remain, hidden in a secret place outside of the slayer village. Julianna’s own blood is the key to releasing our people, and it is because of her that Fiere is back. The fire that destroyed the town hall was an accident and I know that Fiere wouldn’t mind me telling you that it was he who started it. After so long trapped inside a sword, he’s not quite used to being back in his body. I’m sure no one will hold that against him.”

  “I’m sorry everyone,” said Fiere, finally extracting himself from his family. Ash came to sit next to me with his family on his other side. Lucy perched on her father’s lap.

  A cheer went up as I looked around me; a sea of smiling faces greeted me, glad to have one of their own back. I lifted the corners of my mouth to join in, but the thought of what my people and I would have to do to free all the dragons was a constant thought in my mind.

  “What about Stone?” Ally shouted. “Did you see him? Is he still alive?”

  “I’m afraid when I woke up I was very weak. I saw many dragons and tried to wake the ones nearest to me, but I can’t remember who I saw. There were many, many of our people there. I’m sure Stone will be among them.”

  “I knew he was alive. I knew it!” Ally’s fist pumped the air, his joy evident for all to see. “We need to go and get him.”

  “We need to go into the slayer village and rescue all of them,” said Spear. “Most of you here have lost someone to the slayers so I think you’ll agree with me; however, it’s not just a case of flying into the village and waking our brethren. We have to get the swords first. Only then will we be able to save the dragons. We need to make a plan.”

  “How will we find all the swords?” asked a man I hadn’t seen before.

  “It’s good that we have someone who knows the village very well.” Spear’s hand clapped heavily on my shoulder, pushing me down in my chair. If only he’d pushed a bit harder, I could have disappeared under the table completely. “Julianna has agreed to help us. She’ll be able to tell us where the swords are and who owns them. She is a valuable resource indeed. With her help, we can make a map of the village and write up profiles on the owners of the swords.”

  Everyone began to clap again, this time for me. I picked up my cup and managed a weak smile. I’d said I’d help the dragons but I’d not mentioned anything about maps or profiles. I wanted to help the dragons and see the same look of joy on their faces that were currently being shown by Edeline and Lucy, but to do that, I’d be betraying my own kind.

  “With Julianna’s help, we’ll know the slayer village intimately. We will know at what time everyone gets up and what time they go to bed, what time they eat and who goes to work where. I’m not going to send anyone down to the village until we’re ready.”

  “But I want to go fetch my brother now,” Ally said in protest. “He needs me.”

  “He does need you, but he needs you not to get caught. You will be of no use to him if you end up trapped too.”

  “So what?” replied Ally, standing. “I’d rather be trapped with him than sitting around here drinking coffee and eating cake.”

  “Fine, you go to him now, but which sword was it that took him? Because if you end up trapped in a different sword, you’ll be even further from being reunited with him than you are now.”

  Ally sat down, defeated.

  “Does anyone else want to start their own crusade, or are we going to do what we always do and work as a team?”

  No one spoke.

  “That’s what I thought. Now here’s what I propose. First of all, we need our strongest and most able men and women to go and fight.”

  I winced at the word fight.

  A number of hands shot up into the air, Ally’s among them.

  “I also need volunteers to help rebuild the town hall. Those of you offering to fight can start on that until we have our maps and plans. With Julianna helping us, they shouldn’t take too long to write up, maybe a couple of days. Just how many swords do you think we’ll need to look for?”

  Ash nudged me when I didn’t answer. Was Spear talking to me?

  How many swords were we looking for? That was a tricky question. Almost everyone had a sword in Dronios. Receiving one was a rite of passage. I tried adding up just how many swords there were in the village. There must be at least a hundred. Granted, many of the villagers didn’t use them and instead had them showcased in frames on their walls, but all of them at one point would have had to come up the mountain on their eighteenth birthday. Of course, there were also swords like my father’s that had been used on many dragons, though I couldn’t say exactly how many.

  “I would say there are between eight and fifteen swords you’ll need to find first. Not everyone in Dronios slays dragons, but there is a group of men who are up the mountain more than anyone else, the elders of our village. It’s these men who will have most of your people trapped in their swords.”

  I felt like enough of a betrayer just telling them this snippet of information, so I could hardly tell them that they would need to target most of the people in town as well. My own father was one of the men in the group I’d mentioned. If he knew I was telling the dragons about him, he’d probably never speak to me again. At least not until he knew the truth about them, that they were shifters. My father was many things, but he wasn’t a murderer. I knew he’d never take the life of another person. I hoped he’d find it in his heart to understand what I was trying to do and to forgive me because of it.

  “It seems Julianna is now our biggest ally. I’ll work with her closely over the coming days to define a plan that will allow us to free the dragons.”

  “Didn’t you say that it was Julianna whose blood we would have to use to free them?” someone shouted.

  I’m glad someone had noticed because Spear seemed to have skated over that small piece of information. Ash gripped my hand tightly under the table.

  “Well, yes,” said Spear, giving a little cough. “That’s something to worry about further down the line. Today our priority is to make a plan and find the swords. As for the freeing of the dragon’s souls, we can cross that bridge when we come to it.”

  “But we will need to use her blood, right? Why would she do that? She is a Slayer,” the man pushed.

  They were speaking over me as if I wasn’t even there. A waitress refilled my coffee and handed me another slice of cake on a stone plate even though I’d not touched the first one.

  “Well, as I’ve already said, she’s agreed to help us. Isn’t that right, Julianna?

  All eyes turned to me. It was all well and good, Spear telling everyone I would help, but now that he was asking me to agree with him, I had to make a decision. On one hand, I wanted nothing more than to help these people, to return their lost loves to their community, but I knew that in doing so, my own people might be hurt. Having a plan was a good idea, but plans weren’t infallible.

  I thought of my father then, how he had been so proud
of me on my last day of being seventeen. Was that really only a week ago? It felt like a lifetime. If I said yes to them, he would forgive me, right? All through Spear’s speech, I’d been thinking of my family and how they had always taught me right from wrong, but doing the right thing now could hurt them all. They might never forgive me, and in that case, I might never see them again. It was breaking my heart, and yet how could I leave so many dragons trapped, knowing that I was the only one that could save them? I’d never be able to live with myself.

  I took a deep breath, ready to utter the words that would change not just my life, but the lives of everyone, dragon and slayer alike

  Ash’s hand gripped mine hard. His emerald eyes glistened as he nodded at me. It was an almost imperceptible tilt of the head meant just for me, but I saw it and knew what it meant. He wasn’t asking me to agree like Spear was. He was giving me his support to make up my own mind. He understood the position I was in as no one else did. Everyone was so keen to bring back their loved ones that any thoughts of my welfare and that of my family had not even been a consideration. Ash was different though. He looked at both sides of the issue and had an empathy I was yet to find in any other person or dragon. I knew Ash would support me in whatever decision I made, and for that I was grateful. That was also what led me to the decision I was about to make.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Yes.” There, I’d said it. “I’ll help you. I’ll help you find the swords but I have one condition.”

  Spear smiled. “And what condition is that my dear?”

  “I want no harm to come to the people of my village. If we do this, we do it in peace.”

  “Are you proposing we fly down to Dronios and ask them nicely to give us their swords?”

  A couple of the people in the crowd giggled.

  “No, of course not,” I replied feeling annoyed. “What I’m saying is that we do this at night without making a fuss.”

  Because that had gone so well last time. At least this time I had a couple of days to plan it. Hopefully, if I did a good job, we could retrieve the swords without making the same mistakes as last time.