A Dragon’s Tale

Taloni finished replenishing her mana with a sigh. For some reason, she could draw mana much faster since bonding with Ethan. She had now completely refilled her mana twice in one day; quite a feat in her opinion. Granted, she'd spent most of the day meditating to do so, but it was still impressive.

She stood, feeling brimful of mana. It was a good feeling.

"There, Mana replenished." She announced to the high elf. "Can you start teaching me to fly the Argo?"

"Well done." Anthiel beamed at her. "Now, what have you learned about piloting an airship?"

"Nothing. I don't understand." The Fey teen admitted.

"Hmm. Perhaps a clue." The high elf mused. She walked a few steps so she was standing around the back of the ship's wheel and pointed to a sword that was hanging there, right next to a rollable leather shield. "What do you see?"

"It's a sword and shield."

"Yes, but why is it there?" The high elf asked.

"Um, just in case?"

"Yes, in case of what?" Anthield pressed.

"In case something happens and...." Taloni trailed off. Earlier, Anthiel had mentioned being ready in case Ethan needed them to open the portal again.

"So, it's about being prepared?" She asked.

"Close; it's about thinking ahead." Anthiel explained. "Even a small airship like the Argo is very large. It can't move very quickly and it's hard to change the direction once it is moving. There's very little room for error once you've committed to an action, so...?" She trailed off as if expecting the Fey teen to finish the sentence.

"Oh, you need to think ahead." Taloni said as it clicked in her head.

"Exactly." Anthiel beamed. "That's the most important part of piloting an airship; thinking ahead. Being prepared is very close behind."

"That makes sense." She nodded.

"Good, then I'll start teaching you the actual mechanics of piloting tomorrow."

"Thank you!" Her wings fluttered as she gave Anthiel a huge hug, which the taller elf returned.

"You're welcome." Anthiel replied. "Now run along and we'll start in the morning."

Taloni nodded then walked to the railing of the quarterdeck facing the camp and leaned on it. Not long after, she cocked her head to one side as she felt Ethan's emotions change. He was worried about something and feeling desperate. She was just about to pray for him when something caught her eye.

It was a fire.

"Anthiel!" She shouted.

The high elf was at her side in a flash. "Oh no." The high elf looked at the large fire, which looked to be coming from the cave where the wooden portal was.

"SERIF, RAKLAN!" She shouted with impressive volume. Serif was on the quarterdeck ten seconds later, and Raklan five after that.

"Go see what you can do about that fire." She ordered, then at Raklan's confused expression added. "The portal is made of wood."

The two men took off running towards the fire. Raklan was moving significantly slower until Serif shouted a word of warning at him, then he picked up his pace.

"Should I tell Ethan?" Taloni asked.

"There's nothing he can do." Anthiel replied. "If you can sense that he's not busy from his emotions, then yes. Otherwise, best not to bother him in case he's in the middle of something important." She glanced at the hold where Beth's body had been for a few days. "You can always tell him when he feels calmer."

"Okay." The Fey Teen nodded.

Serif and Raklan had reached the gate to the compound moving at top speed. She hoped they would get there in time so the portal wouldn't be harmed. If it was damaged...

She didn't even want to think about it.

Anthiel went back to the ship's wheel, seemingly out of habit. A quick glance saw some worry lines on her face that hadn't been there moments ago.

The Fey teen looked back toward the fire and tried to see what was going on. She could see Serif and Raklan running through the middle of the slaver compound towards the fire. She was switching back and forth between them and so focused that it took her several seconds to notice other movements.

She glanced down and thought she saw someone else moving.

The earthen ramp to the Argo blocked much of her view, but she could've sworn she'd seen at least one person -- maybe two or three -- running towards the ramp. But it wasn't Serif or Raklan, so who...

Her mind went to the slaves they'd freed and how shifty they had been.

"Anthiel." She said uncertainty. "I think I saw those slaves Ethan freed running towards the Argo."

Anthiel seemed confused for a second, then she turned and bolted for the gangplank which connected the Argo to the earthen ramp. Catching on, Taloni took a flying leap using her wings to keep her aloft, and landed not far behind the high elf.

They had almost reached the gangplank when the three men came charging over up the earthen ramp wearing armor and holding spears.

They were a mere thirty feet away and closing fast.

Realizing there was no way they could pull the gangplank before the men charged onto the ship, Taloni skidded to a halt and reversed direction, using her wings to help her. She still couldn't fly with them yet, but they were a great help when moving anyway.

"Run!" Anthiel shouted as she also skidded to a stop and turned. She made a beeline for the ship's wheel, where the Fey teen had just seen that she kept a sword and shield for just such an occasion. Taloni leapt away from the gangplank, avoiding a spear thrust as she did so.

The three men skidded to a halt once they were on the ship. One of them took up a defensive position with his back to the gangplank. The other two men pulled the gangplank onto the ship while he stood guard.

The other two men drew their swords and with a few chops, cut the mooring lines that held the Argo close to the earthen ramp. Then they flipped their spears around, set the butt ends against the dock, and pushed hard.

The Argo moved.

They were pushing the ship away from the dock!

She knew there was an enchantment that prevented the wind from blowing the ship sideways, but apparently it only worked against the wind. The two men gave a final huge push as they reached the end of their spears.

The Argo moved, its 80-foot anchor rope providing plenty of leeway for the ship to move far from the dock. It had already been about five feet away, and now was approaching fifteen feet.

It was too far to jump.

Well, maybe she could jump it with the help of her wings, but Anthiel couldn't. Serif and Raklan certainly couldn't, which meant there was no help coming. Her husband -- a dragon who would've laughed at the pathetic jump and ripped those men to shreds -- was worlds away.

No one was coming.

She felt panic starting to rise and she fought to keep her calm. It was just like a cave-in at the mine; losing your head made everything worse. She could still feel the anxiety forming as she stood frozen, unable to think of anyone or anything that could help.

She felt paralyzed. She couldn't breathe properly. She couldn't move. Nothing in her eighteen summers had ever prepared her for this. She considered calling out to Ethan, but he couldn't help.

No one could help.

Now that the Argo was away from the dock, the men turned towards the quarterdeck, completely ignoring Taloni. She didn't blame them and shame rushed through her; she was completely helpless in a fight and probably looked it.

The men rushed toward the quarterdeck, but Anthiel -- now armed with a cutlass and shield -- blocked their path on the stairway. One of them stayed to engage her, but the other two headed for the other stairway to flank her.

It was useless.

Anthiel was only armed with a cutlass and shield, while the three men were wearing armor that no cutlass could penetrate. Anthiel seemed good with a blade, but only a master swordsman could take three armored opponents at a time whilst unarmored.

Without help, they were doomed.

* * *

Beth watched the scene unfolding before her with shock and horror. Gabriella had promised she would live again, so why wasn't she waking up? Why was her body still lying there lifeless?

Why wouldn't she wake up?

Ethan was still furiously pushing on her chest trying to save her... but nothing had changed. She was still stuck on the Astral Plane and its damned purple hues.

Why?

Alana was standing nearby and she looked crestfallen. Beth could see tears starting to form at the corners of the lovely wood elf's eyes. Her lips were quivering and she looked like her heart was about to be ripped out.

Rachel was still on the ground and looked exhausted after the effort of breaking the stasis spell, but she too looked deflated; sad.

Ethan was still pushing.

Why?

Why wasn't it working?

* * *

Kendra sprinted up the earthen ramp leading to the dragon's airship, cursing herself as she did so. Why did she have to get involved? That damned dragon could've easily come to help the Fey and the high elf on the airship. Where in Saidow's lair was he anyway?

She grunted with the exertion and activated her strength-enhancing vambraces to make the task easier and faster. She would need them anyway to make that obscenely long jump across to the airship. It was a smart move pushing the ship away from the dock, but they hadn't pushed it far enough to stop her. An ordinary person yes; but not one with strength-enhancing vambraces.

Kendra crested the top of the earthen ramp running at full speed.

She sprinted towards the airship, timing her footfalls so she got her foot pushing directly against the edge as she jumped. She soared through the air, the strength-enhancing vambraces giving her legs the ability to leap such a large distance...

But only just.

She hit the airship's deck and rolled to absorb the impact. Midway through her roll, she put her hand on her sword and drew it as she rolled into a standing guard position.

The men looked stunned.

The tiny Fey girl looked equally shocked.

Taking advantage, Kendra dropped her stance and ran at them screaming like a woman possessed or a banshee from legend. She wasn't actually feeling so primal and had done it purely for shock value... and it worked.

The first one had barely raised his blade because of shock when Kendra took a flying leap forward and buried the tip of her sword into his unarmored neck. The element of surprise had doomed him.

The second man didn't fare any better.

He overcame his shock and aimed a careful slice at Kendra. She blocked it with her enchanted vambraces, which were concealed underneath the long sleeves of her shirt. The man looked stunned as his blade was stopped by what looked like soft cotton. He died with that expression on his face as Kendra removed his head with her counterattack.

Kendra looked up to see the last man attacking the high elf on the quarterdeck. She seemed to be holding her own but was definitely on the defensive.

Kendra grabbed the man's dropped sword, ran up the stairs to the quarterdeck, and threw it. It whistled through the air, finding its mark dead center of the back of the man's head.

He crumpled like a sack of potatoes.

Kendra panted slightly as she caught her breath.

The high elf stared at her for a moment before speaking. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Kendra replied seriously.

Anthiel cocked her head to the side. "Who are you?"

That's when Kendra realized; neither the high elf nor the Fey girl had ever seen her. They had surely heard of her from the dragon, but didn't know her by sight. This was a perfect opportunity to get some information.

"Amara." Kendra replied. "My name is Amara."

* * *

"Come on Beth, come on." Ethan breathed as he pushed her chest again, harder than before.

He felt another one of her ribs break.

It felt like his hope of holding Beth again broke with it. He'd been doing this for a whole minute with no change. Ted had been adding blood the whole time while Sophia pumped air into her mouth, but it didn't seem to be helping. She was getting less pale perhaps, but she still wasn't breathing.

Her heart still wasn't beating.

"Hey." Ted said as he put a hand on Ethan's arm. "She's gone."

Ethan stopped his compressions just long enough to turn and snarl at the man before resuming. Ted beat a hasty retreat.

Two minutes had passed.

"She'll be okay." He told himself. Sophia had been giving her oxygen and he had been pumping her heart. Oxygenated blood had been flowing to her brain, and some people had lasted ten times this long without brain damage... as long as someone continued CPR.

"Why isn't this working?!" He growled in frustration.

"Mana!" Rachel suddenly blurted out. "Her death and the weeks in stasis might've screwed with her mana."

"What should I do?" Ethan asked as he continued the compressions.

"Give her some, deep mana if you can spare it." The redhead replied. "It might help her body stabilize."

Ethan poured a bit of his deep mana into her body. Something changed in her body. He wasn't sure what, but something did. He could feel it.

Rachel put her hands on Beth's shoulder and concentrated for a moment. "Yes! That's it. Give her a bit more."

He did.

There were several tense seconds as he continued compressions, then:

"AH!" Beth shouted.

She coughed and spluttered as Ethan stopped compressions immediately. The blonde teen panted for breath as her eyes here clamped shut in pain. She clutched her chest and moaned in pain.

"The broken ribs." He breathed.

Rachel instantly put her hands over his wife's chest and he could tell the redhead was healing her. A minute later Beth's labored breathing quieted down and she stopped moaning in pain. She took a few calm breaths before opening her eyes.

"Ethan." She whispered, a smile slowly spreading on her face.

Her face and golden blonde hair were covered in blood from her death two weeks prior. Her dress was a complete lost cause. But her face... The joy on her young, blood-streaked face was incredible. Her blue eyes were bright, alert, and shone with happiness.

She was a vision of beauty.

Her radiant face was split with a smile that could've lit up all of New York City. Her long, golden blonde hair -- covered in blood though much of it was -- was soft, silky smooth, and framed her feminine face perfectly.

Best of all was her smile. He hadn't seen it in two weeks and at that moment, he wasn't sure he'd ever seen anything so lovely.

"God you're beautiful."

She almost launched herself into a sitting position and threw her arms around him.

"I knew you'd save me." She whispered into his ear while giving him the tightest hug he'd ever received. He wrapped his arms around her in a similarly tight hug and just held her for a minute.

God, it felt so good to have her in his arms.

"I thought I'd lost you." He whispered.

"You did, but never again." She whispered back, holding him as if she'd never let go.

For the first time since that fateful day in Arcanum two weeks earlier, he felt complete again. It was like a part of him had been missing and come back.

She was back; she was okay.

It was perfect.