A Shadow Flame (Book 7) (33 page)

"Well, you're a lot bigger than the last time I saw you," Dash commented.

"The last time you saw me, you stuck a dagger into my chest."

"One of my many regrets, that was," Dash replied, then he took a strong pull from the jug and he choked as he felt the sweetwater burn his throat. "Truthfully, I'm glad I failed."

"May I see it?"

"My dagger?" Dash frowned, then he fumbled around for a second and pulled the knife from his belt, sheath and all, then he held it up. "Take it."

"You have my thanks," the young man said as he took the blade.

"You've no need to be polite with me," Dash said. "I hardly deserve it after what I've done."

"That may be," the young man said as he pulled the dagger free from the worn leather that encased it and tossed the sheath back to him. "I have seen things that tell a greater truth about the things you have done, and you are not entirely to blame."

"That's generous of you, but I see them just the same," Dash replied, then he looked at the dagger as its blade glimmered in the firelight. "It's got a good edge except for one spot near the tip where it got nicked and it won't sharpen."

"I remember," the young man said as he held the knife in his hand and stared at it.

Dash nearly dropped his jug of sweetwater as he leapt from the log on which he sat when the fellow turned the blade toward himself and plunged it into his chest. Strange screams echoed in the night sky and the stars that were all around suddenly began to disappear, covered in a sort of darkness like a night fog. Everything went dark and all Dash could see were the glowing embers of the fire that had somehow suddenly died down, nearly to ash, and the young man, who flickered like so many flames as though he was made of fire itself.

"What have you done?" Dash cried as he stepped toward him.

Dark, black blood spilled out of his chest as he pulled the dagger free, then he shoved the dagger into the burning embers, which seared away the blood with an angry hiss. A moment later, he held up the blade and showed it to Dash.

"The shadow shard of is returned," he said, then he flipped the dagger around and held it by the blade as he handed it back to him. "If you wish to do something to atone for your part in things, then hold onto this dagger and never let it be used again."

"I would destroy it if that might make you happy," Dash said as he took the knife, which now felt heavy and cold in his hand, and its metal seemed darker, though he could see that the blade no longer had a piece missing.

"That may not be possible," the young man said. "In this place, it appears that some things are possible, while others are not."

"You noticed that," Dash said.

"I am curious about it," he replied, then he looked at the jug that sat next to the log where Dash had been sitting. "Might I try a little of your sweetwater now?"

"Of course," Dash said, and he slid the dagger into its sheath and shoved it into his belt, then he grabbed the jug and handed it to him. "Take the whole thing if you like."

"Just a taste is all I desire," he replied with a smile, then he took a sip from the jug and handed it back. "Perhaps I will visit you again some time."

"You're leaving?" Dash was confused. "I thought you'd come to kill me."

"As I said, perhaps I will visit you again some time," he replied, then he walked away, and disappeared among the stars in a flicker of flame and shadow.

"Then take the bloody dagger with you," Dash said, after a moment, and he pulled it from his belt and threw it in the direction he had gone, but it landed in the embers of the fire, which suddenly blazed to life once more. Irritated that he had already attempted to get out of the one thing he had been asked to do, he tried to reach into the flames to retrieve the knife, but the fire flared angrily whenever he reached for it, and its heat was enough to sear his fingers, no matter how quickly he tried to reach through the flames, though neither the dagger nor the leather sheath appeared to burn.

"Well, if I can't get at it, then I suppose it's as safe as it can be," he said, then he took a swig from his jug, but the sweetwater had gone sour again, and he spit it out, onto the fire and the flames burned higher into the night.

Out among the vastness of the stars, Aaron walked alone as the shadow and the flames burned within him, in an endless battle of light and dark. It was easier now that the shard of the knife was gone from him, a tiny fragment of shadow that, like a seed, had grown within him for so long. The roots of its power, that had reached down into the center of his being, had finally been cut free and he no longer struggled to keep the darkness from taking hold of him, but it seemed that there was still nothing he could do to completely destroy it without destroying himself. Aaron was not yet ready to attempt such a thing, for he knew there was a chance that it might not succeed, and that could very well risk releasing the shadow once again. At least, for now, in this place, he could do no harm should the darkness take hold of him. Here, he posed a danger to no one, except perhaps to the broken man he had left by the fire.

Aaron could already see the torment in the man, and he wished him no further ill, but he thought about the veiled threat he had made to him before he left, curious that he would say such a thing, and he wondered if it was a thought that was his own, or some remnant of the shadow. It was strange that he would be unsure of such a thing, and he was not so foolish as to underestimate the dark power that still swirled inside him, for he had learned the way it took power over the thoughts of others. Aaron ignored the angry screams of the one who was both sustained and trapped by his flames, and he considered that the only way to keep the shadow from the world might be to stay in this place forever.

Remembering the campfire, the log, and the jug of sweetwater that Dash had apparently conjured from nowhere, Aaron thought about a rock that lay among the trees by the cottage where he had grown up, where he used to like to sit and watch the creatures of the forest, and he turned his head and found that a rock had appeared behind him that was very much like it. Accepting the strangeness of this place, Aaron sat down upon the rock and stared at the stars, thinking about the many things he had seen and those he had met in his travels, and he hoped that they were safe now that they were free from the darkness that he had taken from the world.

"Aaron," a voice whispered in his ear, and he turned and saw a wavering light beside him that shifted and became a face he recognized, but somehow looked different from what he remembered, though he could see that her essence was dark with shadow and a kind of sickness that worried him.

"Ehlena," he said. "Why did you come here?"

"A part of me is here," she said as she became more corporeal for a moment then faded back to a kind of apparition. "The other part of me is still in the world."

"How did you manage that?" he asked, a little curious that she would have done such a thing.

"I am a goddess," she said with a tired smile, and he could see that she was struggling as her form wavered again and became faint.

"Come here," Aaron said to her, and she floated closer to him, then he reached out his hand and placed it on her chest, at the base of her neck.

Ehlena gasped, and she felt as though her very existence was being drawn out of her. Surprised by the force of it, she panicked and grasped his wrist, and was shocked at how she could not break free of him even though Aaron barely touched her with his open palm. It took a moment before she realized that her hands had now become solid and she no longer had to focus her power to become visible. The pull of his power subsided and Ehlena felt a strange warmth flow into her, then Aaron removed his hand and she found herself standing in front of him, feeling like herself again. It was as though there was nothing missing, like she was whole again, even though she could feel the faint pull of her other self that was still in the world. She looked up at Aaron and saw a flicker of shadow and flame disappear from his eyes as he smiled at her.

"What did you do to me?" she asked.

"I took the shadow from you," he said. "And I returned some of what it stole from you."

"How could you do such a thing?" she asked, and Aaron smiled, the tiredness in his eyes matching the way hers had been only a few moments ago, then he sat back down upon the rock and stared out at the stars.

"Tell me," he said. "What does it mean to be a god?"

"That you ask such a question, you must already know the answer, Aaron."

"I suppose that is true," he said, then he smiled at her again, this time with a twinkle of stars dancing in his eyes. "I thought it might give us something to talk about."

"Tell me about the shadow," Ehlena said.

"The shadow is a god," Aaron told her, then he gave her a suspicious look. "But you already knew that didn't you?"

"You defeated him," she said, the hope and fear of uncertainty plainly evident in her voice.

"Not yet," Aaron said, shaking his head. "It is not such an easy thing to destroy a god, it seems."

"No, it isn't," Ehlena said, her voice quiet.

"Let us talk of other things," Aaron said, sensing that she was a little uncomfortable. "Can you see the world? Can you hear things upon the wind, even in this place?"

"They are very far away, like distant echoes, but I can hear a few things," she told him, then she stepped around to stand in front of him and put her hands on his arms, surprised at first at how hot one of them was and how cold was the other, until she saw the flames flickering in part of his being and the darkness swirling in another part. "Everything we did was for the good of the world."

"I know," he said staring at her with eyes that glittered with infinite stars like the sky all around them. "I also know that you are still Ehlena, my friend, even though you are also the Lady, the goddess Ayra."

"I am," she said, looking up at him. "I will always be who I am."

"I am glad," Aaron said. "Then you can tell me the truth. All of it."

"I will," Ehlena told him, then she leaned up and kissed him, innocently, the way she had before, in a time that seemed so long ago.

"What was that for?" he asked, a bemused smile upon his face.

"Everything," she said, and she rested her head on his lap and stared out at the countless stars that glimmered all around them.

Lexi sat upon a rock that lay upon the forest floor, out among the trees near the remains of a small cottage that had burned to the ground, and she watched a squirrel foraging among the undergrowth near the traces of a path that ran through the woods. It was strange that she liked to come to this place, because there was nothing here except the trees and a few animals, most of which would run away at the appearance of the great blue dragon whenever she arrived. She would come here every time Brian invited her to accompany him when he would visit his family at their farm, which was not too far away and when she had visited Lord Kaleb, who had offered her a place at White Falls, which was only a short distance for a dragon. When she visited them, she liked to spend some time at this place, where her friend had once lived, and she felt as though she could hear his voice on the wind, like a faint echo from a great distance, and this was where it began. Another squirrel appeared, interrupting her thoughts, and the first squirrel chirped at it angrily then scampered off into the forest. The other squirrel watched as it ran away, then it hopped over a fallen log and stopped at Lexi's feet and looked up at her.

"I miss him too," Tash said as she shifted her form.

"There are many things I don't understand, Tash," Lexi said. "I don't have the right words to explain it, but I do miss him."

"Well, maybe he will come back someday," Tash said.

"Brian and Carly said they could not feel him anywhere, and the mages used their magic and there was nothing."

"Kasha says she can feel him," Tash told her, using her other name, since there were no other Ansari around to scold her for it. "I can feel him too. I can tell that he is very far away, but it somehow feels like he is also very close."

"How can you feel him?" Lexi asked.

"I am Ansari," Tash said. "That is what we do, we see things and seek the truth."

"I wish I could feel things the way you do," Lexi said.

"You must come see Ashan," Tash said. "Maybe he can teach you."

"I am not very good at learning," Lexi said. "And Ashan says I already know more than I should, and I don't understand what he means by that."

"I will ask him," Tash said. "He likes to say things in riddles."

"It makes me mad when he does that."

"And it isn't wise to make a dragon mad," Tash said. "Especially when they're already completely mad before you even begin!"

"That isn't funny," Lexi said, for she had learned a lot about the dragons, and she knew that it was the greatest danger for them.

There was a faint sound in the trees, and both Tash and Lexi froze.

"Tash, get behind me," Lexi said in a low voice as she drew her sword.

"I can fight," Tash whispered.

"I know you can," she said. "But I promised Kasha to keep you out of trouble."

Lexi disappeared in a flash of crackling energy, and Tash quickly put her foot down on some dried grass that began to smoke and she stamped it out before it caught fire. A short ways through the trees, Lexi pressed her sword up against the throat of a scrawny Darga, as she held him against the thick trunk of a tree with her free hand, her sharp nails digging into his chest. She was surprised when she noticed how weak a creature he was, and that he carried no weapon and was barely a threat, that he should have dared to try to sneak up on her.

"What are you doing here?" she growled.

"Please," he rasped. "I not want to fight."

"What do you want?" Lexi pressed her sword against his throat a little harder.

"A message for the queen," he said. "Darga want know when she will come?"

"The queen is dead," Lexi told him as she tossed him to the ground. "I killed her myself."

The Darga coughed as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Yes," he said. "You are Lexi of Xalla, ruler of Xalla and leader of Darga tribes. Our queen."

"I am your queen?"

"Darga wait your coming," he said. "Darga keep Xalla safe for queen but there are troubles."

"Go home, Darga," Lexi told him. "You will be waiting a long time."

"As you command, highness," he said, giving her a deep bow that looked like something he had practiced. "Darga will wait."

"And tell all Darga never to come to this place ever again," she growled.

"Yes, highness," he said with a frown, then he turned and disappeared through the trees.

Lexi began making her way back toward the rock where she had left Tash, but the young Ansari was already standing behind a tree nearby, and it was obvious that she had witnessed some if not all of the conversation with the Darga.

"Queen Lexi?" she gasped. "The Darga think you are their queen?"

"I am not their queen," Lexi said.

"Maybe you would make a good queen," Tash suggested.

"That's what those dragons say all the time and I know what they want."

"The dragons?"

"The drakes," Lexi said.

"What do they want?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Tash."

"I know about those things, you know," she said.

"Then you know why I don't want to talk about it," Lexi replied.

"Do you want to go to Maramyr and visit Ariana and the hatchlings?"

"Yes, we should go there anyway because she wants me to burn some more of those swords," Lexi said. "But you have to promise me you won't tell her about the Darga."

"I make no promises and you know I will tell the truth," Tash said, doing her best to keep her expression serious, despite the mischievous look in her eyes.

"Fine then we don't have to go there," Lexi said.

"Well, I could just fly there right now," Tash said.

"Then let me tell her," Lexi pleaded. "I should be the one. It's embarrassing."

"All right, I will let you tell her," Tash said, then she leapt into the air and shifted to a kestrel, one of her favorite forms. "But only if you get there first."

Lexi shook her head at how silly Tash was, thinking that she could fly faster than her, then she laughed precisely because Tash was silly and she was that way on purpose, which was a trait she seemed to have picked up from the thief named Jax. With a sigh, Lexi took another look around, then in a blinding flash she shot into the sky. Upon the rock in the forest, the faint outline of two people wavered in the air while they watched as the powerful blue dragon soared over the hills and the trees, leaving the tiny clearing behind.

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