Kengr Planes

Claire adjusted her position in the dip of Jovari's neck where it met his wing joints—for the zillionth time. She scooted around on the bedroll folded beneath her, wishing it offered more padding. Dragon scales were as hard as glass, and although the scales themselves were smooth, the places where they joined together were anything but.

Her body ached with soreness. Each movement sent her muscles screaming. It was impossible to get comfortable. She ground her teeth and gave up, turning her attention to the land beneath them, wondering how Reyr's trip north was going.

The grassy landscape was completely flat. Monotonous. Every so often, they passed over a small grove of trees. These clusters of irregular growth were the only distinctions offered up by the otherwise lifeless world below, which appeared to stretch out indefinitely.

They'd been flying nearly two days. The excitement had long worn off, replaced by her increasing worry. There was nothing to do but speculate about everything that might happen, everything that might go wrong. Which made the time alone in the sky worse.

She couldn't tell what made her uneasy, exactly, but she had a hunch as to why the pit of her stomach wouldn't relax. Her nights were filled with dreams of dark, cloaked demons. They hunted her, even in sleep, looking for the Dragon Stones. Unease prickled the back of her neck. She glanced over her shoulder. A dark smudge on the horizon caught her gaze, but when she blinked and squinted, there was nothing there, just wide open sky.

They will not stop hunting you until they have the Stones.

Her conscience had grown increasingly pesky as of late, giving its opinions and facts more and more frequently. It especially showed itself when she had misgivings. The thoughts were hardly reassuring. But she didn't question it anymore. She was too overwhelmed.

***

Their second day in the sky was just as tedious as the first. Jovari and Koldis were courteous enough to stop twice so she could stretch her legs and relieve herself, but they never transformed to talk to her. It was a lonely existence.

With only her mind for company, her thoughts often drifted to Cyrus. If he were he still alive, how might things have gone differently? Would he be in her place, weak and delirious on the back of Jovari, getting rushed to the capital by his companions for magical healing? Would she be sitting at home in her farm house, condemned to live out the rest of her life wondering if everything had simply been a dream?

"Dusk is approaching." Koldis was in her mind, drawing her from her thoughts. "We should be upon the Marble Dragon soon."

"Not soon enough if you ask me. I am eager to be rid of my...added weight."

She clenched her jaw, desperate to say something cutting in return. There were few things she hated more than being considered a burden. But when she opened her mouth, her voice died. She didn't have the gut to do it.

At least one positive thought improved her otherwise dismal mood. The hope that the Marble Dragon might allow her some genuine rest. Their journey south from the Gate had taken them out of the hills and deep into the flat lands. The ground in these flat lands was hard and uncomfortable to sleep on, littered with pebbles and rocks. After days of flying through her world and then Dragonwall, she craved a soft bed and a hot meal.

She didn't have to wait long to see the Marble Dragon. The sun was sinking when Jovari descended toward what looked like a giant white boulder starkly distinguished against the dull landscape. It was aptly named. The landform was indeed a giant chunk of white marble, carved into the shape of a sleeping dragon.

Dissatisfaction blossomed in the pit of her stomach. Her shoulders fell. It certainly wasn't a pub or an inn. There was no settlement of any kind. The landscape was as empty as it had been since entering Dragonwall.

She began to feel the first real frustrations of the journey. She should have known better. She wasn't cut out for this task, for what she'd agreed to do. She'd live up to the Promise—she had no choice otherwise. But it might just get the best of her.

Now more than ever, Cyrus's insistence felt more like condemnation than anything, which made this especially unfair.

Damn him! Why her? Why'd he have to fall into her cornfield when he could have picked a hundred others?! For the first time, she began to harbor genuine anger towards him—anger for what he had asked of her. He'd had no right!

The Drengr descended towards the ground. Jovari landed, light on his legs before his forearms settled. She dismounted as quickly as possible, eager to be away from him. Eager to rid him of his...burden.

Despite her inclination to hate the marble statue—mostly because it wasn't what she'd wished for—once she was on the ground, the sight of it took her breath away. It was slightly larger than her companions, and reminded her of what Cyrus looked like. She pushed all thoughts of him from her mind.

Jovari and Koldis had already shifted into their human forms. They were searching out a good spot for camp, ignoring her as they did frequently. She followed them anyway, away from the white dragon, watching it over her shoulder as they retreated.

Why did it look so real? And what was the point of carving a dragon from marble anyway? Weren't there plenty of real dragons already in existence?

"Where did it come from?" she asked, before realizing that she'd voiced the question aloud.

Jovari and Koldis prodded the ground with their feet.

"No one knows, exactly," Jovari answered. He didn't look up from his task. "Its existance is heavily shrouded in myth. One legend says that the feature was made by those who spoke the old language, the great Asarlaí sorcerers. They speculate that it was forgotten when the time came to wake the dragons."

Koldis snorted. "That's nonsense. It's is one of Rage's generals cursed into stone. Everyone knows that."

Jovari shrugged. "How about here?" He didn't wait for an answer as he began smoothing out the area, muttering.

Koldis nodded. "It'll do. I'll locate some dry wood. Claire, you remain here." Koldis's expression hardened. "Do not consider wandering off, or the wolves will eat you. And if that happens, we won't bother saving your skin."

Jovari gave a pleased grunt, as if the thought of her getting eaten alive amused him. The two of them stalked off, leaving her alone. She glared after them until they disappeared, then turned her attention to the giant marble creature. At first, she did follow their orders, keeping her feet firmly glued in place. But one small step led to another. Curiosity drew her closer, until she was close enough to touch it. Even with dusk approaching, she could see that there were dark grain lines etched in the marble, giving it an authentic appearance, like blood veins.

"Magnificent," she muttered. How could someone carve marble this way? Every curve was perfect.

It was evil once, until it suffered the wrath of Queen Isabella.

She frowned. Queen Isabella? Was that someone Cyrus had mentioned before?

She wandered around the statue, getting a good look at every inch of it. Truth be told, at any moment she expected it to wake and lift its head, or to yawn and spread its wings. It was merely resting until it was ready to rise and take flight.

The longer she stared, the more it drew her in, stealing her attention. She forgot all about Jovari and Koldis, about her mission. Would its scales be warm like the Drengr? Would they be smooth as glass? Was it strong enough to whisk her away upon its back?

Arm outstretched, she laid her hand atop the marble body. Instantly, the ground began to spin beneath her. Pain stabbed through her mind. She gasped. A strong force grabbed ahold of her, stealing her thoughts, slicing through her. She pushed back and felt it falter. Some instinct of hers, unknown but powerful, cut into its mind, breaking in.

Her eyes widened, unseeing. There was awareness—an eternity of consciousness. Scenes flashed through her mind, but none of them made any sense. She was flying over cold mountains, wings strongly beating against the thin air. She was hunting in a wildflower meadow that glowed in afternoon sunshine. She was surrounded by enemies. Fighting. Betrayal.

Golden hair and bright blue eyes swam into her mind. She saw a face not so different from her own—or maybe it was hers, in some other life. The woman's body was covered in strange markings. It was unnerving, seeing herself like this.

The beast living within the stone fought her, trying to push her from its mind.

Waves of anger and vengeance flowed from it, washing over her. It wanted very badly to hurt her. And it was. With a great force, her lungs constricted and she couldn't breathe. Her mouth moved, but nothing. No air. No breath. Something was sucking her life away. The stone consciousness was stealing her energy, feeding on it to attack her, to weaken her, to kill her.

Fight it, Claire. You must fight it.

A scream tore from her lips. She tried to call for help, but she couldn't form words. She wasn't even sure if she was connected to the real world. Darkness pressed in around her. A single foreign thought invaded her mind.

"Your life is mine," it said as it tried to steal her essence. "Mine." the word echoed, bouncing around in her head. "Mine..."

Everything stopped. Her hand broke contact with the marble surface. She was dragged away from the dragon.

"Claire? Claire!" Jovari held her at arm's length, shaking her back and forth. Her head bobbled. "What in the gods' hell is wrong with you?"

She blinked and slowly the world came into focus around her. "I'm...I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" The words were mumbled, weak. Where was she? What was this place. She traced Jovari's face, as memories of her life began flooding back in.

She trembled, trying to suppress the lingering feelings that had overpowered her. She felt as though she had been brought back from the dead.

The word mine still echoed in her mind.

"What...what happened?" She looked back at the dragon, breathless. It was unchanged, sitting curled up, exactly as it had been before.

"You tell me. You're the one acting strangely." Jovari let go of her, scowling at her inconvenience. "You...well...you sort of went rigid. You looked like you were suffocating—grabbing at your throat with your hand." His eyes turned hard. "Are you well?"

She ignored his question, pointing instead at the Marble Dragon. "That thing isn't marble at all," she said. "Maybe feels like it, but it spoke to me. There is something...something living inside it."

Jovari barked a laugh, looking at her like she was mad.

"I felt something, an intelligence within the marble. I don't know. I can't explain it. But it was trying to kill me." She heard how crazy she sounded now. No wonder Jovari was looking at her strangely. "Touch it," she said. "Touch it and see for yourself."

"Claire. This is—"

"I know it sounds insane."

"I was going to say impossible."

"I'm not making this up." She crossed her arms.

"Look, I have touched the statue before. It's nothing but marble. See?" He laid his hand down on the statue's surface. Nothing happened.

"I'm not lying!" Her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides. "When I touched it, I saw things in its mind. It was angry with me. It tried to kill me, right after saying, 'Your life is mine.' Like it was claiming...claiming me." She was about to say my powers, but she thought better of it. She didn't have any powers—

"Have you arrived?" She almost jumped at the sound of Reyr's voice in her mind. "What is your status? You never checked in with me."

"My apologies," came Jovari's immediate answer. "We had a minor...incident."

"What do you mean, minor?"

"Nothing—nothing serious. There was an incident with the Marble Dragon. I am not sure I can explain properly. Claire was behaving strangely. We can discuss it when you arrive."

Their correspondence took seconds. Jovari's eyes came back into focus. "See here, Claire, I never said you were lying. We can discuss it with Reyr when arrives."

"Very well, Jovari. We will discuss it upon my arrival. I too have news to share." Something was wrong with how he said this. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be good.

"What sort of news?" Jovari ventured.

"Later."

Tired of his accusatory glares, Claire left Jovari to go sit at the campfire Koldis was preparing. Somehow, he had managed to go hunting during her little adventure into the Marble Dragon's mind. She put her bedroll under her for cushion and watched Koldis, eager for Reyr's return. He would believe her, surely.

Koldis ignored her presence as he piled firewood in preparation for their fire. When he was done, he stepped back, held his hand up, and muttered something. His lips hardly moved. Flames burst into life and the wood blazed brightly.

She sucked in a sharp breath. "How did you..." Her astonishment was obvious. She never got to see Cyrus perform magic, though she had wanted to.

Koldis turned to her but said nothing.

"The fire," she said. "You started it without a match." Since their journey's start, the only fire they had were the fires she prepared, which had been nothing compared to what Koldis had conjured up.

"Oh." He shrugged. "I take it you've never seen magic?"

"I haven't."

"Right..." His gaze narrowed.

To kill Cyrus, she would have needed a good deal of it. Naturally, Koldis thought she was putting on an act.

"I swear. I'm...I'm impressed, that's all."

"Eldár is the word I used. It means fire in the old language, but surely you already know this."

"I—I don't." She tried her hardest to be civil with him. Even still, he clearly disliked her. She watched him walk over to a spot on the other side of the fire, farthest away from her. He sat down with a scowl. She was about to say something more when her conscience advised otherwise.

Let him be. He has suffered a terrible loss.

So had the others, but they didn't treat her nearly as poorly. She decided to let it go. Instead she watched the flames, allowing her mind to drift back to the giant white beast behind her.

How curious it was. Magnificent, beautiful, majestic, and deadly. Was it simply marble? Or was it something more?

She'd experienced so much mindfulness within its body, as if it had once been alive. Its strength had nearly killed her. That was another bizarre aspect of magic she could hardly wrap her head around—the idea that her energy could be yanked from her body. But why? Why her? The Marble Dragon seemed to have no effect whatsoever on Jovari. Was that because he was a Drengr? And she, merely a human?

You are not merely human.

The idea made her itch. But she knew it had to be true. After all, she could hear the Drengr speak to each other telepathically. She could touch seemingly inanimate objects and read beyond their surfaces. She had done it at the Gate, and now she had done it with the Marble Dragon. She had dreams filled with things she couldn't quite explain. Her mind seemed to know answers to questions when it shouldn't.

Holy hell! What was happening to her?!

Just two weeks ago, she seemed as normal as normal could be. If anything, she was too normal. College education, no job, terrible ex-boyfriend issues, living with Mom and Dad, student loans...The list went on. Now she was anything but. Maybe her companions had a good reason to be wary of her. It seemed that she hardly knew herself anymore. What she was capable of, the strange things that happened to her, the strange things that happened around her, the inexplicable pathway her life now traversed. All of it was shrouded in mystery.

Maybe her biggest fear shouldn't be failing to fulfill her promise to Cyrus, but rather, the idea that she might further lose herself in the process.

***

Reyr returned the following morning. When he landed, Koldis untied the neatly-wrapped packages on his back, then Reyr transformed into his human form. He seemed agitated as he opened the parcels and began distributing the supplies. He said nothing as he did this. There were blankets, water skins, pots for cooking, bowls for eating, and a burlap sack full of buns, dried meat, carrots, and potatoes. The sight of the food left her stomach growling, but that wasn't what caught her attention now.

Folded in cloth, Reyr removed a sword, which he handed to her.

"You cannot be serious, Reyr. Giving her a weapon?" Koldis looked disgusted. Reyr gave him a look that immediately silenced him.

"What is this for?" She realized afterward that it was a stupid question. It came mostly from shock that Reyr trusted her enough to hand it over.

"You are supposed to stab an enemy with it. What do you think?" Koldis muttered, going back to sit by their breakfast fire. She shot him a mean look.

"Rumor is that these lands are being roamed by demons of Undirfold. It is best that we be prepared." The sun was rising high into the sky as he spoke. The brightness of day made the idea of dark demons seem absurd. But she knew that come nightfall, the terror of his words would set in. If Vodar wraiths were truly roaming the wilderness, then what would happen when they found her?

"By demons, do you mean the Vodar?"

Reyr jerked, startled. "You have knowledge of these wraiths?"

She nodded.

"Let me guess, you cannot speak of it."

She chewed on her bottom lip but again, nodded.

"I see..." His face went hard, but he hid it by turning to Jovari instead.

"What news?" Jovari asked as he came up to stand beside them. He had been out hunting and had only just returned.

"There is no time to speak of it now. We will discuss it tonight. Let me catch my breath and then we must depart." It was obvious that he was in a hurry to return to the capital, now more than ever. She couldn't help but wonder what it was that he had learned on his trip north. The two of them left her to go sit with Koldis, but only for a short while. True to his word, Reyr gave the order, and they departed shortly thereafter.

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