Unedited.
Chapter 37: Retribution Calls.
Golden sunlight scorched the stones of Bulmar, and only the softest tendrils of cloud could be spotted drifting across a deep blue sky. I only had to look up to source where the distant, trumpeting calls came from.
A set of faces were emerging under my hand, as familiar as those of my friends. They were the faces of the adopted children of Mazus. I hadn't seen a glimpse of them in my mind – thankfully – since the other night but I wanted to expel them from my mind. My fingers were smudge grey, lines stretching up the outside of my pinkie finger. I had spent maddening hours since the storm broke just, drawing. I only had to flip the pages of my sketch pad and I would have snippets of others drawn too.
One day I would paint them – when I had proper time to give them the colour and detail they deserved.
A prickle of sweat trailed down my forehead, the sun hot on the back of my neck. I sensed Dem before he arrived, shadow rushing to whisper before the essence of Dem, invaded my senses. I was getting used to the sensations that the Change had brought me, but it had amplified how I felt around people. Whenever Dem came near, I felt an overwhelming sense of calm for a brief, wonderful moment before it faded.
Beyond that, the sizzle along my skin and the sudden heavy air – that was Jamie. They were a chorus of lightening, air, fire and water. I flipped my sketch pad close on an image of Peter's half-sketched face and rose to face them.
"Why is she hiding out in a garden?" Jamie grumbled.
Dem rounded the corner, grinning wide when he spotted me. Beyond that Jamie and Gabriel walked together while Peter brought up the rear.
"Neely has a date!" Dem crushed me to him excitedly, laughter rumbling his body.
I groaned, my cheek mushed against his broad chest. Dem laughed again, as carefree as ever and held fast to my hands and pulled me into a spinning dance. My head tipped back, and my unwilling laughter joined his as we spun madly, the world becoming a blur of colour. My soft hair slipped from its weak bindings, white-blond hair scattering into my eyes.
Jamie fell onto the bench I just sat on with a groan, her curls loose and wild around her face. She had barely even been out in the sun and already her skin had developed into a gorgeous, sun-kissed tan that seemed to draw out warmth from inside of her. Her hair was even become lighter, with streaks of soft gold weaving through the brown. "I hope you dance with me like that when someone asks me on a date."
Dem paused, and I rocked slightly as I tried to reorient myself. "I am always ready to dance with my girls."
I rolled my eyes, amused but Dem's infectious joy had seeped into Jamie and she returned his smile unwillingly. Content that she wasn't sulking, Dem spun me again and I had to clutch tight to his toned arms, so he wouldn't send me flying. Raised in a world of high society, there was no fear that Dem would stand on my toes, but childhood lessons of Irish dancing hadn't rid me of my lack of rhythm. At least Dem had the grace no to wince as I repeatedly stepped on his foot, and the tune he was humming loudly didn't even falter.
"You already knew about it," I accused.
"I know everything." He sang as he spun me out. I glimpsed Peter for a moment, his arms crossed tight as he watched us stoically. I grinned at him, and as I was pulled back, he returned it.
"Prick," I scowled at Dem as he caught me, releasing me again so I could step back.
I swayed, blinking before scowling again. His fingers had left white-imprints on my skin – my skin was too quick to show the marks of others, whether they were good or bad marks. "Your skin looks better."
He motioned to the spattering of freckles across my arms. So different from the stark, sickly colour that it had been for so long- it had looked almost greyish, paper-skin and brittle.
"You'll love this..." I grinned.
I held out my hands to him, and like the past few days, tried to focus. My mind sought out the shadows clinging in the garden, Dem's shadow and the others. Nethore had told me that it had felt bone-chillingly cold to be hidden in shadow, where the light couldn't reach and that feeling brushed against me and doused my hands in nothing but swirling darkness as if my hands had turned into night.
"Woah..." Peter leaned over, a broad hand brushing down over mine. It passed through, and he winced. "That's freezing!"
As my body became nothing, shadows creeping slowly up my arms, the whispering in my ear grew louder. And more understandable. Beyond the usual things I could sense from the others, I could catch snatches of their.... voices? Their mouths weren't moving but the hunger inside me snapped, more real and violent this time. It was drawn to the wind, to the water and to the lightening skittering along Jamie's skin.
I wrenched myself out, and the shadows twisting its way up my arms vanished. My smile was brittle as I looked at them. "What did ya' think?"
"I'm just imaging all the books you can steal for me." Dem gave an exaggerated inhale, as if he could smell them there in front of him already.
"Knowledge for books." I taunted.
When Jamie stood again, her shirt rode up and exposed the golden skin of her stomach. The smallest smidgen of jealousy wove through me. I couldn't wear shirts like that – I only had to bend or turn and the students of Bulmar would catch a glimpse of what I endured in that mountain.
Nothing to be done about that now – briskly, I tried to shove away all shreds of jealously inside of me. I was scarred, and I couldn't change that. No amount of skin-oil could alleviate that horror.
"I'm going to get Nethore. Lets that advantage of this sun because it won't be this warm back in Ithrall."
Jamie laughed. "The Muscarn Riders aren't used to this weather at all!"
"Actually," Dem's attitude flipped instantly. "Muscarn experiences moderate to high levels of sun during the months of May, Jun -!"
Peter slid an arm around Dem's waist, hoisting him into his side. Quieting, Dem's cheeks flushed a deep shade of crimson. Jamie and I shared a look as Peter leaned down, whispering something that deepened Dem's silence and made his blush darker.
That was – one way to get him to be quiet. Pity it wouldn't work for the rest of us. Jamie and I left them there to sully the garden. Jamie gave a playful scowl as we passed into the hallway, and Peter gave a booming laugh that was rare and usually always loosed around Dem.
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A roofed walkway extended along the side of the inner atrium where only Riders could access. Other breeds had their own atriums too. Today, our atrium was packed with dragons baking in the sun. On the walls around the atrium, the stone had been smoothed down and packed again with the dragons who couldn't fit in with the others.
Namely Beau.
He looked no way comfortable packed in on that one wall but I wasn't going to raise that issue with him.
Nethore sensed me the moment I arrived. He was tucked tight in that circle of coloured scales, a dark brush amongst the reds, blues and silver. His might head rose, and his pupils slitting against the light. There was a quiet rumble from his chest while his dark eyes watched me. Like a circle of gold, Turana was snoozing beside him and she jerked awake, a hiss filling the atrium before she spotted Jamie standing beside me.
"Don't give an attitude, Turana." Jamie muttered, loud enough for all of us to hear.
"Human." Nethore's voice was a gentle brush against my mind.
Both ears were turned towards me which meant he felt completely safe amongst the nest of slumbering dragons. Or he trusted himself to be able to react to a danger quickly. I didn't need to ask – Nethore sensed what I was going to ask, and a quick-fire burst of excited agreement raced through him.
Coiled tight, Astor cracked open a brilliant eye to glare as Nethore rose. It was like he was picking his way across a mine-field, and I laughed as I watched him, so he could clamber his way up to me. One strong step on a dragon's tail, or skies forbid, their wing, he would earn himself a nasty bite in retribution.
He pushed himself up onto his back legs, his claws curling on the low wall of the walkway with enough coiled strength to break through the stone. "When?"
"As soon as I can get the others ready. Or Dem does. He's the one who organizes everyone." Brushing a hand over his scales, I mused. His nostrils slitted and he surveyed Jamie quickly with a huff. He hoisted himself up, and I dodged and rising claws that gripped the wall and then the roof of the walkway. He leapt onto an adjoining roof, and the sound of his claws on the slates reminded me of nails sliding down a chalk-board.
"Tell Dem to hurry."
He gave a rumbling snarl, which was rebutted by several snarls which if the dragons could speak aloud, would be curses. His wings rose, wide and strong. They cast a shadow over the walkway, and the atrium and light shone through the dark velvet to illuminate the thousands of blood vessels that was usually hidden by the dark membrane.
He took one powerful leap, and the slates scattered underfoot as he pushed off. He climbed the air with a shudder of joy, each sweep of his wing utterly confident. I watched him go, my eyes riveted on him even as Turana rose. She didn't need the space to take off but managed to nudge Astor out what I assumed was spite and he snapped lazily at her before moving to take the space Nethore and Turana had abandoned, ignoring Arthur who tried to stretch into the space.
I turned to say something to Jamie, when I sensed another Rider coming. Jamie frowned as I turned away from her, waiting for the other person to arrive. Their steps were rapid, frantic and something settled in my gut as the shadows coiled, hardening on my hands like little sharpened blades.
Buzz appeared, the straps of her Riding gear still loose. Her chest was heaving, her forehead beaded with sweat, but she straightened, her posture perfect as she breathed out the words burdening her tongue.
"Come now. It's serious." Her eyes were wide, with either excitement or anxiousness, I didn't know. Strong emotion crackled under her skin as she stared at us. "Now!"
She disappeared down the stairs again. Jamie and I stared a worried look before Jamie took off behind her, and I wasn't far behind.
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All fourteen Riders were gathered in the Pit, with our dragons standing behind us. Everyone looked just as confused as I did, but I could feel a deep pit of worry inside my stomach. Nethore sat behind him, his tail swept along his legs while he watched everyone, his dark eyes scanning each Rider, each dragons and wondered what was so critical that we had to delay our plans.
The shadows between us stirred uneasily. Even Damien didn't deign to glare at me, his expression pensive. The Bulmar trainer, Goldar stood beside Nikki. Terra was a solid force behind them, a dark glare pressing down on her horned brow. The Muscarn trainer sat on the stone steps, looking oddly bored by the proceedings. Even though I hadn't had a conversation with her at all in Bulmar, or even learned her name, I aspired to look that relaxed during serious situations.
Abner stepped forward. The unease in my gut curled tighter. His face was ice. As severe as the face of the man I had met all those months ago when I knew nothing of what was to come. He didn't look like our trainer, or my father. I looked like what people expected the Lynch family to look like.
Cold and unforgiving – harbingers of destruction.
"We've received news from the Council of Valaxia." Abner began, his tone hard. "An order has been sent out the squadrons of Riders around Valaxia, to Moone's wolves, to the Valacari Vampires, the Elves...to all those who have a representative on the Council – that the Naughton mountain is to be purged clean."
Everyone looked to me.
I didn't move- didn't react.
The words rung in my eyes, clashing symbols that my mind raced to process. Clips of what I imagined would happen began to filter through the buzzing. Soldiers of all creeds – but Valaxain soldiers most importantly splitting open the doors to hell. The foul wind that permeated that place would blow outwards, burdened with the smell of death.
Soldiers would wash into it, bringing with them light and free the prisoners locked inside and liberate the Innochs trapped in the shadow of the mountain.
It would be over.
I kept looking at Abner, my back straight and my face impassive. Inside was a different story. The bond screamed between Nethore and I, a celebration of finally knowing that the mountain was going to be purged. I would never be trapped in stone again.
At the same time, I didn't want them looking at me. I didn't want that mountain mentioned and for people to automatically look to me. I would always be tied to it, but I just wanted to be considered as strong, as objective as the rest of them.
Abner raised his hand against questions. "You have all been drafted."
"Ne?" I nearly turned around to seek reassurance in Nethore.
"We're being called to the mountain?" Gabriel frowned. "But we aren't graduated. None of us are."
"The Council thinks its time that you all experience..." Abner winced. "This is their words, not mine – they think its time you experience the 'real world'."
"I bet you my father wrote that letter." Gabriel grumbled.
"Or mine," Dem added helpfully. "Seems like something the both of them would do."
I didn't listen to them. I didn't catch the look the best friends cast each other – teasing, laden with affection that had was born from years of friendship. I was going back. It would be different this time. The first I looked upon the walls of the mountain prison, I had no idea where I was or what was happening. I was returning now with soldiers ahead of me, at my sides and at my back.
Abner cleared his throat. "Of course, you don't have to go. You are Riders, but that doesn't mean you have to be soldiers."
"I'm going." Dem's smile was gone in an instant, his voice uncharacteristically sharp. I glanced at him, shocked. His face held a savageness that I had never witnessed before. It was more than fury, more than mere anger. It was a wildness contained too long – pressurized water that was racing towards a sudden opening. "The Ashbourne Riders have a score to settle."
Jamie's grin matched that savageness. "That we do."
The four of them shared a look – one that they shared a lot I assumed. A promise in it from my oldest, and first friends here in Valaxia. A promise of retribution for me.
For Peter, it was the guilt, the anger that assuaged him. Hidden behind that never-shifting expression was a deep sense of failure. He had let me down, had let us all down. For Jamie, it was for her best-friend who flinched too often. Gabriel had turned away from his father's teaching – I had become his friend and that meant I was to be protected. And when I looked to Dem, I could see it as clear as day, like everything was being fed to me as clear as day.
It was for the broken girl in the hospital corridor with an even more broken smile.
There was no doubt in my mind. They would follow me to that mountain no matter what happened. Swallowing a hard lump in my throat, I looked away so the depth of their emotion wouldn't unravel me.
The other Riders began to speak up, all throwing their lot in with this mission. Maybe because they didn't want to be labelled a coward, or maybe they didn't truly know what to expect on that mountain. Abner left us with instructions.
Be ready for tonight.
Pack weapons and armour. Check the saddles for damage. Rufus couldn't go – not with Lilac's leg still bandaged and he didn't seem to sad about it. Abner called Jamie away and I caught the beginning of their conversation – something about a present he was waiting to give to her when her Change happened.
"This doesn't seem real." Collette couldn't hide her excited smile. "This iz like our first mission!"
I threw her a look, wondering how she could be so giddy about it. She knew what happened in that mountain.
Odette eyed her twin. "This is serious."
Collette toyed absently with the hilt of her weapon, still strapped to her toned waist. "Odette, hush. We've been training for this for long enough. It's time we actually got to deal with some dem-"
Odette moved quickly, standing close to her sister. The twin Antasa dragons stirred restlessly. "Be careful what you say."
"Why?" Delicate, beautiful Collette frowned.
It was Zephyr who spoke, his voice tight but soft. It wasn't gentleness, but tightly restrained anger that did not make me afraid. I felt a whole lot of something else instead. "Stop talking Colette. This isn't something to be excited about."
Colette flinched at the harshness to his voice and he turned away, stalking towards Elser with a fluidity that I just wanted to...
"Human, bond is open." Nethore sniffed.
Zephyr caught my eye as he passed, and he slowed for a moment, before his jaw ticked and he continued on, hauling himself up into Elser's saddle. I didn't move as the wind stirred as Elser leapt into the air.
"What's wrong with him?" Colette asked, hurt.
"Colette!" Alex let out a whistle, shaking his head. The sun had brightened his crimson hair, his lashes gone completely blonde from the sun. "You're acting all e-excited about fighting Innochs, nearly calling them demons when Zephyr is standing right there."
"He hasn't tripped." Nethore commented. "Not yet, at least."
My chest was tight as I followed Elser's rapidly disappearing figure. It was retribution for me, but this was going to be hard for Zephyr. Killing his people- even if they were evil, was bad. Many of them could have been indoctrinated from a young age, taught to hate Riders like his tribe had been. The only consolation for his tribe was that they never had to deal with Acheron. They had hidden well for years.
"How do you feel Neely?" Gabriel asked.
"I – I don't think its settled in yet." I glanced up to Gabriel's concerned violet eyes.
"You have us Neely. Don't worry." Peter clasped my shoulder, his palm warm against my skin, squeezing gently for comfort.
No. This time I wouldn't be alone. I had my friends, whose loyalty was whispered to me in the song of shadow. I had Nethore, whose rage was not a burst of fire. For Acheron and Amon, his rage was ancient. It was colder than ice, sharpening his mind into something unmerciful.
I had myself. My strengthened muscles and a dark, stirring need for revenge. I needed to purge that mountain for myself, for the people trapped there.
I was going back.
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