A Star is Born: The Coming Dawn: Book I (40 page)

Ky was so startled she sat up, fully awake. Huntra’s box melted away when Ky bolted upright. She wasn’t sure how long she slept, but everyone had dozed off except Cobaaron. She slid off Huntra’s back, and joined him by the campfire. There was a gentle soothing snore among all the sleeping men.

As Cobaaron rested in front of a fire, his hands were in the flames. Every once in awhile he would try to clutch flames or even create them having his hand blazing brightly. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“I was going to ask you that. Why didn’t you join me?”

“It looks like there will be a storm.” He glanced into the sky. Big dark clouds were churning, as they brew overhead. “There is lightning over the fire, to the south.” He pointed to the storm. Ky could see silent bolts of lightning in ominous black clouds. It was still too far away to hear the thunder, but each time the lightning flashed the sky, she could see vast and violent clouds.

“Looks pretty gruesome.”

“If a tornado strikes us…” Cobaaron began to say but then stopped talking and glanced at his men, and the women. He took a deep breath and again made his hand flame.

“Is that likely?” Ky asked.

“I said if, but truly I mean
when
and where,” Cobaaron uttered. “I should have foreseen this. Of course the fire would have caused the storm. One more mistake I’ve made in the last few days.” He was quiet again. Ky leaned against his arm. A few silent minutes passed before he continued: “I’ve been making them a lot lately. I shouldn’t have left you alone when we were lost in the castle. My men still think you’re a witch even after hearing about the archive. They think the hot air balloon was proof of your incredible power. We lost over three thousand men, and I can’t help wonder if I had chosen some other way, other than the balloon, more men would have lived.”

“Are you saying you’re mad at me?”

“No, it was my decision, Ky. I am chief. I carry all blame. Their deaths are making me wonder whom else I’ll be sacrificing for this journey.” He dropped a hand onto her lap as he continued to stare into the fire.

“Don’t be hard on yourself, Cobaaron.”

“No, I’m being practical. And I’m thinking of you, Ky. My men think you’re a witch and I can’t keep you by my side all the time. It seems the moment I leave you, you’re vulnerable.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“I know,” he said, but Ky could hear that he didn’t believe she could. “I’m expecting a lot from a vulnerable Star.”

“This will be over soon. You killed a king. Of course there was going to be loss. Don’t think about it.”

“Yes, that is your motto, isn’t it? Don’t think about it.” He laughed under his breath. “I’ve never lost so many men in one day. I don’t want to lose you.”

“The prophecy says I don’t die.”

“There are a lot of other ways of losing you, Ky. Death is only one way to be separated.”

“Why don’t you go to sleep in Huntra’s bed,” Ky said. “You’re tired. You’ll feel better after you’ve rested.”

The wind began to blow. It smelled like smoke. “No. I should be awake to keep an eye on the storm.”

“Why don’t I watch it for you?”

He smiled. “Thank you, love, but why don’t you watch it with me? I want you near.”

They both began to play with the flames. “I find fire more fascinating than I used to,” Ky admitted. Cobaaron nodded, saying that he was now drawn to it, too. They were quiet trying to ignore the growing storm, until they no longer could.

The wind slowly picked up. The smoke was stronger, and the sound of thunder rumbled. The churning hot air and bad weather was quickly getting worse. “Look.” Cobaaron pointed to the blazing horizon, which shifted and before their eyes a funnel came out of the clouds toward the fire.

Flames twirled violently into the funnel, and as it did, the tornado widened. In moments the vortex of wild wind doubled. Across the heavens, an enormous flash with jagged splinters spread over the sky from north to south. It lit the earth below, and the clap of thunder was deafening. The twister raged, tearing through trees and the dusty earth as it continued to expand. Cobaaron stood and told his men to stir the women.

“Wake Huntra,” he said to Ky. “It begins.”

Warriors got up, and ordered the others to wake. The smell of smoke soon had everyone’s attention. The winds blew harder over the flat plains, and gradually continued to pick up speed until it was a strong bluster. The tornado was growing as it sucked in more fire and ash. It thrashed about in the midst of the fire in the far horizon.

The smoke began to burn Ky’s eyes. She strained to watch the twister. It had managed to spread out a mile wide of hot coiling fire. Then it split. One continued engulfing the forest, while the other jumped to the charcoal woods of smoldering ash and sparse trees. The amber flames in the tornado mixed with the ash, and ominous billowing looked like a boiling furnace racing across the terrain. “
Run
!” Cobaaron roared.

Huntra ran to Ky. She hadn’t awoken him, because she was still looking at the tornado. He scratched at her as she tried to run. She stooped to pick him up, but when she did she noticed he wasn’t looking at her or the storm. He was looking at something else.

“Cobaaron look,” Ky yelled as she pointed. A large glowing orb was zooming toward them from several hundred yards away. Behind it was a wide cloud of disturbed ash.

The rushing wind was loud in Ky’s ears. She couldn’t hear Cobaaron’s words, but all the warriors drew their weapons. Warriors advanced, and sped ahead of Ky, charging the orb as they outran her and the women. The warriors weren’t going to stop for whatever was approaching them. The twister was closing in on them from behind.

The gust was so strong that Ky could no long run. The wind was pushing her backward. She held Huntra tighter against her chest. She wished he would grow and put her on his back, but he was uncommonly still. Why he stubbornly chose this moment was aggravating, considering Ky was much lighter than Huntra when large. Cobaaron grasped Ky’s arm and yanked her forward. He held her tight enough that she could resist the wind, and they ran again.

The orb was moving so fast it quickly gained ground until not a hundred yards were between them. All the warriors bellowed in a simultaneous battle cry. The women screamed, knowing they would soon be in the midst of a battle and tornado.

Ky peered back seeing the twister was bending as it zigzagged over the bare land. There was a huge cloud of ash spinning around the base. The whirlwind was yanking dead trees from the ground. It would be on them in seconds if the tornado didn’t change direction. For a moment Ky thought fate was kind as the wind changed course and the twister circled away, but unexpectedly it jumped, becoming even closer.

Ky faced the orb. It was closing in on them, but then the white light vanished. The ash cloud remained, but it didn’t stop. The dark dust cloud raced toward them. “Stop!” Cobaaron bellowed out. Ky saw it, too. Visible from within the stirred ash were thousands of beautiful beasts like horses except their snouts weren’t as long as Ky knew them to be.

It dawned on her that these horses could be from one of the kings who had come to take revenge on them for his brother’s death. She scanned, looking for one of his brothers. She saw nothing, but more rows of horses appeared in the stampede. There was no king.

In seconds, the swift animals weaved between the warriors and women. One stopped in front of Cobaaron. The creature towered over him, its wings tucked. The beautiful beast was a winged horse. Cobaaron mounted the creature as if he had been waiting for one to approach him. In one fluid move he flung Ky up behind him. He tightened their firm grip, not letting her go.

Just then the winged horse sprang into the air with a single bound, and flapped its long wings. Ky nearly fell off, but Cobaaron expected it. He seized her securely, hugging her to his back. He kept her close so she couldn’t fall. Within seconds they were high off the ground. Huntra was still, and hid his head in the crook of Ky’s arm. He was shivering with fear, as Ky was, but they didn’t dare budge.

The wind tossed them around; it was stronger than ever. Ky saw warriors mounting countless horses, and kicking off the ground. Some warriors brought their women.

The tornado had grown rapidly as it ate ash and trees, and wasn’t far from them. It twirled and turned, and engulfed the warriors still close to the ground. They weren’t going to make it. The dust billowed and grew from the high winds. Then the tornado skipped back. The warriors, who had been swallow up by the twister, shot out of the cloud on the backs of the winged horses.

Soon they were high up in the sky, and far from the tornado. They survived the storm. The majestic creatures managed to save them from the twister, without a single loss of life.

Ky relaxed, with relief. She closed her eyes, thankful there was nothing to fear. It was over.

The air was thin and cold. The wind blew against them, slowly losing the scent of smoke, and Ky was grateful Cobaaron’s thick body was taking the brunt of the wind. Every time their winged horse flapped its lengthy wings they soared higher with a sudden jerk, but Cobaaron held tightly to both Ky and the beautiful beast.

They were soon far above the clouds and flying to the east. Cobaaron held its mane, and steered the beautiful creature taking them to the Escape Mountains. They swerved to the south once they were away from the fire. The winged horses were flying in several V-shaped formations so they could ride in each other’s current.

The landscape changed from rolling hills to wide snowy plains and then to white-capped mountains taller than the clouds. They flew through the mountains for quite a long distance until they began to gradually descend.

They dropped with a rough landing on the unforgiving terrain. Cobaaron hopped down, and then helped Ky slide off. Ky immediately set Huntra down. Cobaaron walked to the front of the gorgeous creature and gently put his hand on the short snout as he pulled its head toward him. They bumped foreheads. Cobaaron then said something to it so softly Ky couldn’t hear. He then petted the bridge of its nose.

Winged horses dropped all around them, stopping long enough to let the warriors and women dismount. Then they flew off.

Cobaaron clapped his hand to the side of the winged horse he was talking to, and it flew away.

“What did you say to him?” Ky asked.

“I thanked him,” Cobaaron said with a shrug. “I don’t know why they came to our aid, but I’m thankful, and told him so. They don’t understand words, but they do touch.” He smiled and watched it fly away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The abandoned city of Coontosh, within Escape Mountains, rung with the low clinking of wooden chimes. Thousands of hollow sticks hung among globs of clay on the ceiling of the cave; tiny birds called bluebeards, built them to warn of impending danger if creatures climbed walls to snatch their eggs. In the soft wind, they clunked together mixing with the sound of the beautiful songbirds’ melody, which hushed only when Huntra stalked them.

Like most other cities there was a common gathering area that was quite spacious. All the surrounding tunnels and rooms were cleared as women made a feast for the men to celebrate the victory. Soon, everyone gathered around to eat. The warriors cheered for the women dancing, and to no surprise the women were happy to oblige.

“Come Ky,” Cobaaron said as the men were distracted by an erotic shimmy of women’s hips and seductive charms.

Cobaaron took her hand, and led her out of the small city. “I brought you to this place for a reason, Ky,” Cobaaron said once they were alone, and the sounds wolf whistles became distant.

They headed into a room that looked as if a blizzard of thick snow was fiercely blowing. The deeper into the storm they walked the stiller and lighter the flurries fell. Cobaaron reached out, and snatched some of the substance that drifted to the floor. He took Ky by the hand, stopping her, and then gently put it in her ears. “Can you hear me?”

“I can. It’s muffled.” She reached out fingering the cotton-like substance. On the ground were small chimney-like plants puffing out the fibers.

Cobaaron caught more of the cotton and put it in his ears. He held her hand and led her on. They took a few more steps before they reached a very thin tunnel they had to squeeze to get into. As they continued down the tunnel Ky could feel her body getting lighter. By the time they emerged into a spacious cave, Ky was floating. There was little gravity inside the cavern.

Thousands upon thousands of silver hair-like strands flew in the air by either flapping like wings, or slithering. They glowed a shimmery white, and twinkled as they moved. They were beautiful and mesmerizing.

“This is breathtaking, Cobaaron,” Ky breathed in. She couldn’t stop staring.

“This is why this mountain is called Escape.” Cobaaron shook his head as if trying with difficulty to get his words out. He swallowed hard. “These are dreams. Each is imprinted with everyone’s dream. Once you touch it, the strand becomes your dream.” Cobaaron reached for the wall then pushed, boosting himself up to the ceiling. He cupped sand that was on the ceiling, and held it in his hands as he tried making it hot, but he wasn’t warm enough. “Come here.” He held out his hand. Ky floated up, and came to him. They sat, upside down, and he put sand in her hand. She made it glow warm. “Will you make me a flat bottle?” he asked.

It took Ky some time to heat the sand to glass, blow it into a sphere, and then flatten part of the surface as a face on one side. Then she made a small hole on the top. She let it cool before handing it to Cobaaron, and then she made a stopper as he asked.

Ky smiled enjoying seeing he was asking her to put so much effort into something that she knew he was going to give her. He pushed off the sandy ceiling bringing her with him, and then told her to take a dream and put it in her bottle.

Ky gently pinched a dream that was slowly flapping its way in the weightless atmosphere. She carefully slipped it into the jar. Cobaaron, who couldn’t handle as much heat as Ky, asked her to seal the two pieces together. When she tried to hand it back to him, with the dream sealed inside the jar, he shook his head not wanting it.