It was Draz's laughter that finally broke the silence which had settled after Rollan's unexpected declaration. Claire struggled to make sense of what he had said. Of all the things she had encountered in Oria, of all the things she had experienced up to this point in her life, this was by far the most unbelievable.
"This is insane," Claire said at last, ignoring Draz who seemed unable to regain his composure. Of all the emotions she should have felt in that moment, anger burned the hottest. "I don't want to rule anything. I can't even make it to work on time!"
She rose to her feet and looked pointedly at her father. "She's your sister, tell her that she can keep her damn crown and everything that comes with it, I just want Alek back!"
Feeling she had gotten her point across, Claire started for the door. She had to find Xeiren and explain the change in circumstances.
"It's not that easy," Valerick called after her, banging his fist on the table.
Claire paused and turned to face him again. "You've spent the last twenty-five years running away because it was too hard," she said, clenching her hands into tight fists. "I am not going to do the same, not when someone I love is counting on me. If you really want to make it up to me for leaving, and to my mother, you will find a way to help."
Valerick started to speak, but the words were cut short when the ship suddenly pitched hard to the right, throwing all of them to the floor. Claire grimaced as fresh pain blossomed in her side but managed to get to her feet without too much effort.
"What the hell is Xeiren doing?" Draz asked, finally coming back to his senses.
The entire ship shuddered beneath their feet and they heard the sound of wood creaking and groaning as the ship banked again. Panicked shouts could be heard echoing down the long hallway that ran the length of the airship.
"We must be under attack," Valerick said, making his way towards the door. "Wait here."
"Like hell," Draz replied, following after the larger man.
"Let's go," Claire said to Rollan before hurrying after Draz.
"Wait- Claire! Maybe we-" Rollan shouted after her. "Damn it..."
The upper deck was pure chaos, or at least it seemed that way to Claire. As they emerged from below, they could see men and women alike running back and forth, groups of them dragging what appeared to be long, slender cannons into position along the sides of the ship. They were as ornate as the rest of the vessel with dragons carved into their sides, painted gold and adorned with emeralds and rubies for the eyes.
Xeiren met them at midship, his expression a mixture of excitement and concern.
"What's happening?" Claire asked.
"We're not sure," Xeiren replied. "The cloud cover over Ninguid is thick, but we saw something large and dark coming at us fast so we were forced to use evasive maneuvers to avoid a direct hit. It's been quiet ever since, but we aren't taking any chances."
He motioned to the cannons.
"Something happened last night," Claire said. "Alek showed up, but he wasn't himself. He warned me to stop looking for him."
"I don't suppose you are going to heed that warning?" Xeiren replied, a knowing smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"I told you, he wasn't himself, something is wrong, I won't abandon him, but this isn't your fight," Claire said. "This is probably your last chance to get out of this entire thing in one piece. I wanted to give you that opportunity before it was too late."
"That is very thoughtful of you, Claire, I am genuinely touched by your concern," Xeiren replied, the ghost of a smile blossoming. "But I knew what I was getting into the moment I offered you the use of my ship. I'll make sure you reach Ninguid, one way or another."
"Incoming!"
They all looked in the direction of the shout and saw the black mass just moments before it erupted from the clouds and dove towards the ship – a loud shriek erupting from a gaping maw. Aside from its mouth there seemed to be no other recognizable facial features, not even a head. The only other discernible feature were the long, black, leathery wings erupting from either side of the shapeless creature.
The ship banked hard to avoid a collision and Claire would have ended up on the floor again had Valerick not caught her in time.
"We have to get below the clouds, it's the only way to see what we're going up again," Xeiren said before darting off in the direction of the bridge.
"If I asked you to go below deck, would you?" He asked, his expression one of deep concern."I'm sorry, I can't..."
Valerick sighed. "Stubborn as Nathalie," he said. "Very well, stay close to me otherwise I will be distracted trying to keep up with you."
Claire nodded and followed him as he made his way towards the bridge where Xeiren had already resumed command of the wheel.
"What is it?" Valerick asked.
"It's difficult to say, Ninguid is full of strange and wild magic, the likes of which we've never seen, it could be anything. Whatever it is, it's big," Xeiren replied before returning his attention back to the ship. "Here we go. Everyone hold on tight."
Without further warning, the ship began a sharp descent downward. A cold, biting wind whipped up around them causing Claire to close her eyes and duck her head. As the ship hummed beneath her feet, she grabbed hold of the nearby railing with both hands. Wordlessly, her father stepped in closer, offering himself as a shield against the elements.
Anything she might have said was cut short by a gut wrenching screech rising up over the sound of the rushing wind. Whatever was attacking them made another pass, an inky black blur lost in the thick cloud bank now racing by them.
When they finally broke through the bottom layer of the clouds, Claire got her first look at the mountain. It was breathtaking and utterly terrifying. It cut across the landscape like the jagged backbone of a sleeping dragon, the sharp peaks softened only minimally by pristine white snow.
Creeping up along its edges were dark swaths of forest, the trees as ancient as the mountain itself and home to just as many dangers. These were of little concern as a far more immediate threat had finally revealed itself. No longer able to use the clouds for cover, they were able to see the creature clearly for the first time. As it swooped towards them, wings flapping effortlessly, its featureless face splitting apart to reveal row after row of jagged, needle like teeth, Claire noticed a figure sitting astride the creature's elongated neck.
"Ready the cannons!" Xeiren bellowed.
Claire frowned.
Surely she was just imagining things.
"Prepare to fire!" Xeiren yelled again. His instructions were being repeated all along the line to ensure everyone knew what was happening.
As the creature came into range of the cannons, Claire was no longer able to deny what she was seeing. Her breath caught in her throat and she leaned into the railing, as though a few extra inches was going to make a difference.
"Wait!" She called out.
But it was too late.
The ship rocked beneath the force of the blast as a cannonball was sent hurtling towards the black, flying mass. The creature dove downward in an attempt to avoid the attack but it wasn't fast enough and the ball of iron ripped through one of its wings causing it to spiral out of control.
Claire held her breath as the dragon-like creature screeched loudly before it banked hard to the left, righting itself while nearly throwing its red-haired rider from its back.
"Is that who I think it is?" Rollan asked, rushing up beside her.
"It's Alek," Claire replied breathlessly.
"What the hell is he thinking?"
"We have to stop them," Claire said, ignoring Rollan's question. "We have to stop them before they kill him."
"Stop them? If we don't do something he's going to kill us," Rollan protested, following after her.
Claire knew he was right, but she also knew that had to be an alternative. There had to be some other way to stop him.
Another cannon fired, this time the iron ball hit the creature square in the chest.
"NO!"
The creature exploded, thick tendrils of shadow spiraling out in all directions. What had once been one giant beast became a dozen or more smaller monsters. They swarmed the ship, writhing black masses with long talons that grabbed and ripped apart anything they came into contact with – including the three air-filled envelopes that kept the vessel afloat.
As one of them found itself ripped to pieces, the ship began to list downward, the bow of the ship angling towards the ground which was still several hundred feet below.
With chaos swirling around her, Claire could only stare at the empty space where Alek had been just moments before. Was that it? Was he really gone? Claire was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't realize someone was shouting her name until Draz's face suddenly appeared inches away from her own.
"Didn't you hear me calling you? We have to go, the ship isn't going to stay up for very much longer," Draz said.
"He's gone," Claire replied, the realization sweeping over her like an icy wave.
"What?"
"Alek... he's gone," she repeated.
"Come on, Claire," Draz said, grabbing hold of her arm and giving it a tug. "I'm not that lucky. That pompous prat is destined to bother me until my dying day. If given the chance to decide, I'd rather today not be that day."
Draz was right, Alek wouldn't be taken out so easily and neither would she. "Where is everyone else?"
"They're prepping the gliders," Draz said, guiding her towards the opposite side of the ship where she could just make out several figures rushing back and forth to assemble what looked to Claire like several large kits.
"We're jumping?" Claire asked, feeling an overwhelming sense of deja vu.
Draz grinned. "I thought that would be something you were used to by now."
"What took you so long?" Rollan called. "Where is Valerick?"
"He was with Xeiren doing whatever it is he does with those cards to keep the ship from going down faster," Draz replied.
Claire looked back in the direction of the bridge. "Aren't they coming?"
"They'll follow after they've confirmed we've gotten off safely," Draz said as he looped a length of rope around Claire's waist.
"What do you mean after?" Claire frowned.
"I didn't ask questions," Draz replied as he looped the other end of the rope around his own waist and knotted it in place. "Your father asked me to get you off the ship safely and that is what I intend to do, now come on."
She saw him motion towards one of the gliders and felt her stomach twist. "You're not serious," she said. He motioned again and when Claire made no immediate move towards the glider, he reached out and grabbed hold of her hand.
"I promise I won't let you fall," he said before giving her hand a pull.
With great reluctance, Claire grabbed hold of the cross bar on the glider and Draz stepped up behind her. He reached around her with both arms to grab the bar on either side of her hands before leaning in.
"Hold on tight," he said before suddenly pushing forward on the glider and launching them both into the air.