B006T5JMRC EBOK (8 page)

Kale’s memories were interrupted by the sharp affliction in his calf that felt as though his lower leg was on fire.

“We’d better head back to camp, Kale. You’re soaked and need to dry by the fire. I’m afraid the only spell I know that allows an individual to walk across liquid is limited to only myself.” He sighed regrettably, feeling sorry that his friend would now have to wade through the remnants of monsloth particles. Until this point, Thomas had not foreseen becoming part of a war in which he would have needed to know such a spell. He now wished he had dedicated more time to the study of spell books in his youth.

Kale nodded as he began to trudge through the water. Once he arrived at the deepest section of the lake, his leg felt cool and relieved from pain. This lasted briefly as the agony soon returned. With every step he took, he could feel a chunk of loosely attached meat from his wound swaying in the water. The sensation felt as though the flesh was being tugged from his body, slowly ripping away. Kale had never been so glad to stand upon dry land as he made his way up onto the shore. At this point, he wanted nothing more than to return to their camp to enjoy the comforts of a warm fire and rest. It had been the worst day in all one hundred and twenty six years of his life. Between General Jedah and the monsloths, he couldn’t tell which was worse; both were equally ugly and vicious—then there was the whole being transformed into a human issue. He sighed, grunting and groaning, as he limped his way back to the camp.

When they arrived back at the ransacked caravan, Kale had a much better understanding of what really happened to the travelers. He tried to shake the thoughts, knowing he needed to rest his mind and body. The once cozy fire had dwindled to nothing more than hot coals and embers. Thomas began to gather nearby twigs and sticks in order to salvage the dying fire, instructing Kale to rest and warm himself. After the fire began to feed off the small pieces of dry wood, Thomas carried a small log to the flames, gently laying it on top of the coals; as he did, his eyes widened. Thomas jerked his hand back, pulling it under the sleeve of his robe thankful Kale was so exhausted he did not notice the blackened veins which ran through his hand.

Thomas knew he had exceeded his magical limits. Even supreme spell-casters such as sorcerers had boundaries on how much power they could expend within a certain amount of time. Each caster was different and had their own extent of what would push them over—Thomas had met his. When a caster went beyond what their physical and mental strength could handle, the magic would react against them, absorbing into their body as a poison.

“Can’t you just conjure us a fire? It’s a bit ridiculous to watch a sorcerer tending to a fire as if he were an average human.” After seeing him in action, Kale felt confident Thomas had his strength back.

Thomas glanced up toward Kale, who still sat in his sopping clothing. “Magic is not to be used recklessly, Kale. It’s not wise for a skilled spell-caster to ease their way through life using only their magical abilities. Any decent sorcerer should be self-sufficient without the need to use spells on basic daily tasks.” He tossed another small bundle of twigs on top of the flames, gently blowing onto the sparkling embers until the fire’s intensity increased. The larger flames now hugged the logs placed into the pit. “I think it would be best for us to sleep inside the caravan tonight. It will provide cover against any unexpected weather and it is much less of a risk in case there are further night creatures roaming about.” Even with the door missing, the caravan would provide better shelter than sleeping in the open.

Kale nodded in agreement, so tired at this point that he truly did not care where they slept. They spent a brief time engaging in conversation before neither of them could hold their eyelids up any longer. They slowly made their way toward the wooden caravan. Thomas gave a final glance over his shoulder to ensure there was no debris surrounding the pit which could catch fire while they slept. The last thing they needed after such a horrible night would be to wake and find themselves surrounded by flames.

Suddenly, Thomas paused, stopping in his tracks as he pointed toward the inside of the caravan.

“I’ll leave that to you, Kale.”

Kale could immediately see that Thomas referred to the corpse of the woman traveler within the wooden vehicle. He had forgotten all about her until now. Her body hung halfway through the side window, as though she had been trying to escape when the monsloths attacked. Her attempt to flee had failed horribly. Kale sighed at the inconvenience as he made his way around to the side of the caravan. All he wanted to do was sleep. He wrapped his arms around her torso, tugging forcefully in an attempt to dislodge her from the small square opening she had tried to squeeze through. His muscles ached as he battled his fatigue. The deceased body inched forward, until the woman’s feet slipped down from the window frame. Kale released his grip around the torso as her body crumpled to the ground in an abnormally grotesque position. Her neck bent to the side, and Kale could see that beneath her auburn locks was a hole where her face had been eaten away from the skull. He cringed. Even for a dragon who devoured animals whole, this was disgusting. A single eyeball remained, sagging loosely in globs of thick, oozy blood.

Thomas peeked around the corner of the caravan, “How long must an old man wait?” As he saw the woman, he choked back the vomit that slid up his throat like a scorching volcano about to erupt.

In a poor attempt to cover the bloody remnants of what once was a face, Kale picked up as many pine needles as he could fit within his grasp and tossed them onto the woman’s head.

Thomas smacked his palm to his forehead in disbelief at his friend’s shameful method of hiding the corpse. He wrinkled his nose as he eyed Kale’s blood-smudged arms.

“You are sleeping on the opposite side of the caravan, young man.” He waved a finger as he spoke. “Tomorrow we will need to find a clean source of water to hydrate and wash.” Although friends, Thomas often behaved as the adult and father figure of their relationship. Kale had lived longer than most humans; however, he was a juvenile among his kind with a great amount of immaturity and reckless behavior.

Kale paid no attention to his sticky hands as he walked back toward Thomas. “Why do you think the monsloths ate only portions of these people? From the story you once told me, and from what I’ve seen tonight, I would think there would be nothing left of them.”

“Well, I’ve never encountered their kind prior to tonight—I’ve only heard stories as well. I would assume they rummaged through the caravan and found that between the chunks of meat they indulged upon already and the stocked food within the vehicle, it was enough to satisfy their temporary needs.”

Kale then explained to Thomas about the one who stalked him as he slept.

“I’m sure they were returning to recover the bodies and bring them back. Then to their surprise, fresh meat had arrived.” Thomas shook his head, attempting to remain awake.

Kale limped his way over to the caravan, planting his bottom onto the wood as he scooted toward the far end. He was completely exhausted.

“Jumping balt toads, Kale, why didn’t you tell me you were wounded?! How did this happen?” Thomas earlier assumed Kale’s stagger to be due to the adjustment into a human body. “Let me have a closer look,” he demanded.

Kale rolled his weary eyes, explaining to Thomas it was just a small wound and he would be fine after a little rest.

Thomas dismissed Kale’s sorry attempt at pretending to put on a tough exterior. He firmly gripped Kale’s ankle and pulled the leg toward him to better analyze the injury. He pulled out his spectacles, placing them upon his face as he maneuvered himself to allow the light of the camp fire to illuminate his view.

“My goodness...you hardheaded dragon.” He exhaled, “You were bitten by a monsloth—and don’t you dare try to deny it, boy. I once read a book which spoke of various venoms across Ravondore, and this is most definitely from a monsloth. I can’t tell whether your brain is filled with pride—or stupidity.” He continued to investigate the open wound, gently pressing against the sides as he watched a green pus-like substance squirt down Kale’s calf. The wound, having become infected at an accelerated rate, had already begun to fester and smelled putrid. Thomas increased the pressure on the red swollen tissue of the wound and Kale moaned in pain. “My, my.” He removed his spectacles, returning them to his pocket. “You’re in for a rough night, dear friend.” Thomas’ green eyes narrowed sympathetically. “From what I’ve read, those who are bitten by one of these creatures will suffer with symptoms for a day at the least. You can expect severe vomiting and temporary hallucinations. I can however, offer you a bit of relief.” He held his hand up above Kale’s wound, ensuring the sleeve of his robe shielded the blackened veins from sight. He knew using even more magic in his current state would not be wise, but he could not allow his friend to suffer in agony. Healing spells of this magnitude were fairly easy. The wound was not extremely large and he was only going to use a little of his strength to ensure comfort, not cure the entire opening in the leg.

“
Xaranthium mendona.
” With a painless
zap
the red inflamed tissue returned to normal and the pus seemed to evaporate. Though the chunk of flesh was missing, the opening was much smaller in size and the pain relatively gone. Thomas informed Kale it would still need more time before fully healed and his body would naturally run its course to do so. The old sorcerer could feel the veins on his hand pulsing as the black magical poisons ran up into his arm. He would need to refrain from using any spells over the next couple of days if he wanted to survive.

“Thank you... I mean it.” Kale yawned heavily. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had... Well, the only friend—but still the best.” He smiled as his tired eyes finally closed.

Chapter 5: A Mysterious Encounter

K
ale drifted into what would normally have been a peaceful rest, but tossed and turned as he passed from one disturbing dream into another. In the final and most troubling dream, he stood before Pan, the mighty dragon god. Pan held his enormous grey head up, gazing forward with wide, hazel-toned eyes. Every step he took pounded against the ground, sending tremors across the area. His body was covered with bone-like spikes aligned down his spine. Above each eye were two rows of small horns, embedded into his skin, nearly hiding his webbed ears. Alongside Pan stood many other dragons; they walked in a significant herd toward a pink horizon. Kale immediately recognized a few of the dragons within the group. He saw the beautiful pearlescent torso of Sylicia, the Ice Matriarch, shimmering with each stride; the large blue fins of Xelanthos, the Ocean Dweller, slapping against the ground; and Zandol, the Emerald Prince, who tucked his large wings upon his back. They looked proud, magnificent, and very much alive. Kale’s heart leapt with glee as he took off in a sprint toward them.

“Pan! Sylicia! Everyone, it’s me, Kale—the Black Dragon, Firehart!” He called out as loud as he could.

They didn’t respond. They didn’t glance his way or acknowledge his presence; it was as though he were invisible. He waved his arms high above his head, continuing to shout as loud as his puny human lungs could handle. “Everyone,
please
! It really is me, I swear!”

He continued to watch them roaming past him in silence as his eyes grew wide with horror. Each dragon plummeted head first toward the ground; their bodies exploding into thousands of bloody chunks upon impact. Kale fell to his knees in despair as his eyes began to glass over with tears. The vision of dragons was suddenly eclipsed by the image of General Jedah who now stood before him and laughed profusely as his dark eyes pierced Kale’s. His armored foot lunged forward, slamming forcefully into Kale’s gut.

Kale awoke from the dream, vomiting brown and yellow chunky fluid from his mouth onto the bed of the caravan. His stomach ached terribly. He crawled his way out of the vehicle and inhaled the overwhelming scent of urine, forcing him to choke back more fluid rising in his throat. The sun beat down on his head as he emerged into the open air. Although still shaking from the ill feeling churning in his stomach, to be awake and outside in the sunny cloudless day was pleasantly refreshing. His leg felt amazingly better, with only a minor wound remaining. As he glanced around the camp, squinting to adjust to the bright light, he noted Thomas was missing. Before panic could take hold, he heard someone walking toward him.

Thomas emerged from the foliage carrying a bucket filled with water. He wobbled, holding the handle within both hands as he brought it near the caravan, setting it near Kale.

“Good afternoon! Glad you’re finally able to join me in the realm of reality!” Thomas chuckled, patting Kale on the shoulder. “I mean no disrespect when I say you look—and smell—horrible. Wash up boy, you’ve been asleep for the past two days. I’ve tried to keep things tidy, but between your constant vomiting and
relieving
yourself, it’s been quite a task and hard to keep up with.”

Kale glanced down at the bucket, peering toward the waters’ glassy surface and catching his first glimpse of himself as a human. He tilted his head to the side in a combination of confusion and curiosity. He squatted lower to examine his facial features, lifting a hand to his smooth cheek. Kale’s black hair and eyebrows contrasted in a most appealing manner against his blue eyes, causing them to appear as two gems of sparkling ice in the reflection. He quickly shook his head, feeling slightly disappointed for having had any interest with his human body—after all, humans were disgusting. Kale quickly dunked his hand into the bucket, distorting the reflection into a rippled blur. He quickly withdrew his hand, shaking it to remove the water droplets as he peered down at the ashy flakes floating around within the water.