The Kengr Gate
Claire expected the Gate to be a spectacular structure, some kind of extraordinary thing to behold, or at least a door. It wasn't any of that. Its mundane appearance was hardly distinguishable amidst the wooded grove where it lived. Jovari was the first to walk through. When he vanished, all she could do was blink, gazing open-mouthed at where he'd just been. Watching something disappear into thin air was unsettling, even after what she had been through.
"What...what will happen to us?" She turned to Koldis and Reyr.
"Your insides will explode and you will cease to exist. It's pretty painful if you ask me, especially for a human." Koldis smirked. He hoisted up Cyrus's body and followed Jovari, vanishing through the Gate.
She watched the spot where he'd vanished and swallowed down her rising fear. "He was only...he was only joking, right?" Of course her insides wouldn't explode, that would be silly. Yet, she still felt the need to ask.
"He was only joking," Reyr confirmed.
"So...so we will just walk through and come out in your world?"
"That is the gist of it."
She adjusted the straps of her backpack, overly nervous, stalling for the inevitable. Even now, she could feel the bonds of her Promise like invisible hands, pushing her where she needed to go. "What will it be like on the inside?"
"You mean between worlds?"
She nodded.
"When you travel through, it will be cold as ice and darker than a moonless night, but only for a few moments." He waited patiently beside her. A welcome relief. After nearly three days of flying, he seemed a bit more relaxed towards her. He was especially nicer now compared to before.
She hesitated, turning to face him. "Reyr, you know I didn't kill Cyrus, right? I don't know any magic. I especially don't know how to fight. I could never best a Drengr. I could never kill a King's Shield." She wouldn't dream of saying this with the others around.
Reyr's eyebrows knitted together. "King's Shield..." he repeated. "How much did he tell you?"
She worried at her lower lip. "Everything."
The Promise allowed her to reveal that much.
Reyr sighed. "I hardly know what to make of you, Claire. Either way, you must go to the king."
"I know."
"Shall we depart?"
She looked over at the Gate and her heart began to race. With a mind of their own, her feet took several steps backwards. It wasn't the Gate that frightened her, but rather, the thought of leaving her home world behind. She was about to make a monumental decision, one she had little say in. There was so much uncertainty. What would be waiting on the other side? Would she ever come back? Would she ever see her parents again? Her friends?
You can do this. You are braver than you know.
She shut her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, ignoring the reassurance coming from the back of her mind. Inside, she was so conflicted. Part of her felt stretched, pulled towards the Gate, as if she were being tugged and manipulated like a marionette. The other part held firm to the ground beneath her, terrified and full of doubt, reluctant to move so much as a muscle.
"You have nothing to be frightened of," Reyr said, his voice turning soft. "Passing through is not a thing to fear."
She opened her eyes to look at him. His amber gaze met hers. She traced the planes of his face. In truth, he was hopelessly attractive. A strong jaw bone and straight nose. And he carried himself with poise, with overwhelming confidence. But he wasn't Cyrus.
"Here, take my hand." He held out his hand. She stared at it. This was the first nice gesture he had offered. Taking a deep breath, she gladly accepted.
His skin was warm and rough, but not overly so, not like her father's hands after working years on the farm. She was happy to latch on to him, squeezing his hand as if her life depended upon it. They walked forward together.
She did not know where the veil to Dragonwall lurked, somewhere in between the boulders they passed through. The moment she stepped through the barrier, she knew. Everything around her vanished, just as Reyr said it would. She saw only blackness, and her body felt a freezing chill. She gasped. Reyr's hand wasn't there anymore. He was...gone! Her heart began to race. She cried out, but she could not hear her own voice.
It lasted seconds. Darkness was quickly replaced by bright sunlight and warmth. Her eyes sharpened into focus. A new world came into view. The air here was warm. It also lacked the humidity she was used to. A light breeze—gentle and refreshing—rustled her hair and tickled her cheeks. She squinted against the sunshine, trying to get her bearings.
Reyr dropped her hand and moved away, but she hardly noticed. She was too busy taking in her surroundings. Shielding her face with her arm, she looked around, releasing a huge sigh of relief. She'd made it. This was Cyrus's world. Dragonwall. She was one step closer to fulfilling her Promise. All that stood between her now was a vast stretch of land.
She stood on a giant hill covered in long dry, grass. It snapped and crunched under her feet. Beneath it were many others, stretching out in rolling waves that quickly fell flat. Beyond that, the prairie extended endlessly onward.
The air was cleaner here, she realized. No man-made pollutants smudged the horizon. Even the sky looked bluer, with puffy clouds scattered across it.
She turned in a circle, a laugh bubbling up from her chest. Behind her, she was greeted by jagged peaks of a mountain range. It towered up over the land like a wall, stretching to the left and the right as far as her eyes could see. Her gaze fell on Reyr, Jovari, and Koldis. They stood in a circle talking logistics. She ignored them and looked past, continuing to gaze along the range.
"Do those mountains have a name?" she asked.
"The Northern Barrier Range," Reyr answered absentmindedly, returning to his conversation with Jovari and Koldis. Cyrus's body was on the ground beside them, still bundled up.
She blinked and looked away, back towards the mountains. Nothing came close to the magnificence of the Northern Barrier Range. Even Mount Everest would have paled in comparison. The peeks were lost amongst the clouds. Then they fell straight down into the hills. She trekked her sights along them. There she spotted something that caught her eye—smoke on the horizon. A lot of smoke.
"Something's burning," she said loudly, pointing. "Over there."
Reyr, Jovari, and Koldis turned in the direction she gazed.
"Is that—"
"Smoke. Yes." Reyr cut off Jovari's question.
"That's a lot of smoke," said Koldis. "It doesn't give me a good feeling."
"Your sight is better than ours, Jovari. What do you see?"
He was quiet a moment. "The aftermath of a blaze. But it is some distance away. What cities lie north of here? Any?"
"There's only one large enough to create that blaze," Reyr said. "But...surely it can't be."
"Belnesse?" Koldis ventured.
"Aye. Known for its iconic bell tower."
"I don't understand," Jovari ventured. "Why would it be burning? Why would an entire city be burning?"
"That, Jovari, is a very good question." Reyr had his hand over his face to shield his gaze from the sun.
"I see no signs of life," said Koldis, searching the skies above them.
"Drengr of the North! Are there any sweep teams in the area? Can anyone hear my call?" Reyr's voice sounded very loudly in Claire's mind. She flinched. It was as if he'd shouted at the top of his lungs.
There was no answer.
Again he called out, "My name is Reyr. I am a Shield to the king. If any are near, I would have you answer."
She frowned. He was trying to contact others who might be nearby. Cyrus told her that telepathy depended on distance. If no one was around, Reyr's calls would go unanswered.
"All is silent," Jovari concluded after several long minutes.
"Then I must fly to their aid. Immediately." Reyr's declaration left both Jovari and Koldis protesting.
"Have you forgotten Cyrus? Have you forgotten this girl?" Koldis demanded, now angry. "We must stick to the plan."
"Koldis is correct," Jovari said. "It is too far out of our way."
"Then what would you have me do?" Reyr sounded helpless. "Am I to leave Belnesse to its fate?"
They were all silent for a time. "What of Davi?" Koldis asked at long last. Reyr shook his head. "Doubtful that he would be aware of it. Not with the lack of sweep teams in the area."
"We cannot afford to linger, Reyr. Alone, it will take a full day to reach the city. With weight," Koldis paused to glance at Claire, "it will take two days at least."
"Then I must go alone. The two of you must continue on with Claire and Cyrus."
"I do not think this is a good idea." Jovari wiped his brow, looking uncertain.
"I cannot turn my back on them. I cannot do nothing. It does not sit well with me. They aided us greatly in our war with the Kalds. Koldis, you can carry Cyrus. Jovari, take Claire upon your back." Jovari looked as though he would protest, but Reyr silenced him with a single stern look. "Get over it. There are more important things in this life than your dignity. You need not worry about what is proper out here." He spread his arms wide. "Not a soul will know that you did something which is considered...distasteful."
Her face burned hot with annoyance. What was so bad about carrying her? This wasn't the first time they had talked about it. They acted as if it was shameful. Why?
"I will fly fast. If all goes well, I can determine what happened and return to you in three days' time. We can meet at the Marble Dragon. Wait for me there."
Before Jovari and Koldis could further protest, Reyr transformed into his behemoth golden form and leapt from the ground. Each flap of his great wings took him further away. As he receded into the distance, flying towards the smoke, she heard his voice in her mind. "Do not mistreat Claire. She is innocent in my eyes until the king decides otherwise."
"You cannot possibly be serious, Reyr." She sensed Koldis's mental sneer as he said this.
"I am entirely serious, Koldis. I gave you an order. I expect you to follow it."
Jovari said nothing in response. Instead, he shrugged and knelt beside Cyrus, fussing over the ties holding the shroud in place.
Eager to look anywhere but Cyrus, Claire finally noticed the Gate standing beside them. The name was fitting. Two square columns rose from the earth. They were made of black onyx. She went to them and brushed her fingers along the glossy surface of the left pillar. Both were covered in symbols and runes. Nothing she could read.
She flattened her palm against the onyx and felt the rigidity of it beneath her skin. Under the intense sunshine, the surface was hot. She gasped. The world around her went dark, as if taken by a powerful storm. Rumbling with anger, clouds quickly moved in. Unable to pull her hand away from the shock of it, she blinked.
There were people, lots of people. They stood in an orderly line, a procession that stretched far down the hill. Something was wrong though. These people weren't solid. They were slightly translucent, almost like ghosts. Still unable to pull away, torn between horror and fascination, she allowed her gaze to shift over them.
The longer she looked, the more disgusted she became. They were dressed in rags. Many in the line were wearing manacles, others were clutching children, crooning to their frightened babies. There were people of all ages, but they each wore the same expression, one of devastation.
Then she saw powerful shrouded figures on horseback, patrolling the procession. Sometimes they used whips to keep their prisoners in line. One by one, these poor individuals were forced through the gate where she now stood, disappearing forever into the world she called home. Not a single being saw her as they passed beyond—she was invisible to them.
The masters on the horses were evil. She knew this immediately when she saw one of them whip a mother who was moving too slow. The woman stumbled, earning another lash. "Stop it!" she cried. "You're hurting her!"
Just as the words fell from her mouth, her blood chilled. Looking up from the horse, the hooded man's gaze found hers. Red eyes stared back at her—eyes like Kane's—eyes that she had seen recently in her dreams. The people couldn't see her, but the evil being could. Like a rippling effect, the other hooded riders looked up. They too found her. They too had red, glowing eyes and pale faces.
Yelping, she quickly pulled her palm away from the pillar. Like a light switch, everything disappeared. There were no more clouds, no more thunder, no more wailing people, no more evil masters. Everything around her was exactly as it had been moments before.
Blood rushed past her ears, drumming in her head. Had she seen a distant memory of the past? She couldn't help but wonder if the Gate contained a history darker than its own surface.
Despite the sweltering sun, she shuddered and turned in search of her companions. Had they witnessed the same thing as she had? From the looks of it, they had not. Koldis was already in dragon form. Jovari was busy strapping Cyrus to his back. Neither of them noticed her activity at the Gate. When Jovari was finished, he moved over to her. "Let us depart," was all he said before changing into a stunning blue dragon.
She had an easier time climbing onto his back. He wasn't nearly as large as Reyr. Plus, she'd had practice over the past few days. On his back, she got herself situated, adjusting the backpack she carried so that it sat in front of her. "I'm ready," she said at last, loud enough for him to hear.
They immediately launched into the sky. She held on for dear life, clutching tightly to the ridges along his neck. Her constant fear was that she would slip off and fall. After a few days of flying with Reyr, the sensation hadn't departed.
Beneath her, the black pillars fell away. So too did the large hill that had held the many prisoners and their masters. Try as she might, she couldn't leave the scene behind, though she wished it would disappear as quickly as the ground did.
Minutes later they were airborne, steadily flying towards the flat prairie. It stretched out in front of them all the way to the horizon. She glanced over her shoulder in the direction that Reyr had gone. Squinting hard, she could no longer see him. But at the last moment, just before she turned forward, she thought she noticed a bright glimmer of light reflecting off his golden scales.
"With our added weight," said Jovari, "how many days do you think it will take to the Marble Dragon?"
"Two, likely."
The Marble Dragon....
She mulled it over. It was a strange name, but she liked it. Not only did it have a nice ring to it, but it sounded like the name of a tavern or pub. She really hoped that it would be. After days spent flying and nights spent sleeping on the hard ground, she already felt eager to be done with this whole escapade. More than that, she was desperate to wash away her stink with a hot bath. All she could do now was hope. Hope, and wait.
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