Greetings all!
Doran has found Saita, but how much of her is left to be saved? I guess you'll have to read on to learn more.
The other Heavenly backed off, but Shareik only grinned, “You are already free. You are nothing but the intent that this place has soaked up. Your blood may have activated your intent, but your body is free.”
“You forget the second promise you made me, Shareik. You offered freedom, but you never said it had to be mine.”
Doran had no idea what was going on. He had seen her die. How was she here? She flashed him a grin but kept her attention on the Heavenly.
“Your power is restored, and I am making my wish. I wish for the Fell Dragon to be free.”
“There is no Fell Dragon.” Shouted Shareik as he pointed to Matta. “Each time a Fell Dragon is brought here, its intent is absorbed by the cage, and it is aligned to the cage. We can’t do that because she is already in the cage’s system despite us doing nothing.”
“Then let her go.” Demanded Doran.
“No.”
Kay chuckled and said, “Then you have destroyed the universe.”
“How? You couldn’t manage it, how can she? She is your copy.”
“No. I only had want. A want to be treated like any other living breathing creature. Freed from the abuse of my father. Her?” Kay chuckled again, “I took away her family and made her long for something she can never have again. In time, her longing will turn to want, and that want can never be fulfilled. Don’t you understand? She doesn’t need the cage. The marks on her skin can sustain her. If she ever leaves the cage as a Fell Dragon, nothing will get her to return, and she will devour everything. In your desperate attempt to remain immortal, those you employed made better and better Champions and eventually made one that didn’t need the cage. Surely, you must have known, as you sent your underling to ensure the cage rejected her.”
“There are other Fell Dragons we can use.”
“No, because I systematically destroyed every single champion and fledgling before I ended myself. You only have her, and to use her will spell the end of the universe. If you keep her here and find a way to link her to the cage, you will have to find a way to kill her because she will consume everything.”
“Why?” demanded Shareik, “Why do all this?”
“You failed to keep your promise. Everyone failed to keep their promise. You tried to kill me when you could have used me. We Fell Dragons are balance keepers, and you are our guides. We were meant to work together to bring harmony, but you allowed so many to poison us again and again and again. Dekai and Kai interference tipping the scales again and again, but you were too desperate to keep your immortality to guide the Dragons. They were poisoned with intent, and we fought to keep sane, but we couldn’t because we had no guides that weren’t also poisoned with intent that wasn’t the universe’s.”
Kay turned to Matta and said, “Your Master grew smart in his old age. He saw the cracks forming, but his younger self can’t. A pity because this is the crucial point.”
Kay held up the favour, “Grant Saita her freedom or lose everything you have worked so hard for.”
“The cage is still functional…”
“The room isn’t, I saw to that. You would have to spend millennia trying to fix it, and who would help you now that the truth is known? I have killed all but one of you in this timeline, you are all but visitors now, all of whom eventually fall to me. This could have been prevented had you kept your promise.”
The Heavenly looked at each other, hoping to get some guidance, but Matta stepped forward to lay a hand on Kay’s arm.
“Master spoke of you and his guilt in his final letter. Said that you deserved better. This isn’t your fight. I can release your intent and give you the true freedom that you justly deserve.”
Kay shook her head, “No, I am a monster, always have been. I was born that way, treated that way, and I knew nothing else. I have never been a good person, so if I can leave one good thing behind, it will be the girl in the next room.”
“How?” asked Shareik softly.
“Excuse me?” said Matta.
“How do we bring balance when there is no Fell Dragon or us? If Saita cannot be bound to the cage, then we will cease to exist.”
“Have none of you been listening?” laughed Kay, pointing to Matta. “This one somehow managed to upload her information into your system. She is recognised as a Fell Dragon, but she isn’t bound to the cage. With the correct guidance and teaching, as you should have been doing since this mess started, she can take on the role that we were meant to do.”
“But she is mortal. She will die, and then what?”
“I can’t do all the thinking for you. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Kay gave Shareik the favour, turned around, and stood on the tips of her toes to pull Red-Eye’s face down to face her.
“Mistress.” Doran could hear the longing in his voice.
“Kay. My name is Kay. Thank you for everything, but you’re free now. Free from this cage, free from me…”
“I never wanted to be free from you.”
“Oh, sweet thing.” She stroked his ear gently. “You did everything you could for me, but it’s over now. I release you. I promised you freedom. Go home to the Vulpine packs and live out your natural life. Take the rest of the pack with you. Start your own, father some cubs, be free.”
“My grave will be next to yours soon.”
“No, it won’t be, not yet.” She pulled his head down to hug it tightly. “You will live, and you will tell your cubs about the Dragon you cared for. Only when you are white with age will I permit you to be buried next to me. I still have work to do.”
“You are nothing but intent. What work could you still have to do?” demanded Shareik.
Kay released the Wolven and turned to Doran, “She is hurt. Stem the blood, and I will work on these fools. Don’t end her life. This can be fixed.”
The Heavenly made to get into the room, but Red-Eye immediately moved to block the door, growling. He only permitted Doran to enter the room. He did so with fear. He had no idea what he could do to fix what had been done to Saita. He still wasn’t sure what was happening. He knew she was still alive as he felt energy within her. Then there was the laboured breathing and the blood that continued to drip from the table.
“That is plausible, but then you will be bound to her forever.” He heard Shareik say.
“Until such time that a replacement is chosen and guided correctly. This one here seems to be of sound mind, unlikely to be swayed by temptation like the rest of you. Bind a Heavenly to a Dragon, and you will have the immortality you need, but be willing to break that bond when the time is right.”
“This means we need rules, laws…”
“Things that should have been established before this mess happened. You can make the right choice while we are still able to. Your future is bleak, but with this one and Saita, there is a chance that more of you can gather. More chances to have favours that are used as they should be. For too long, you have allowed this corruption to crawl into what you were meant to be. Listen to the youth, take my favour, and release the girl.”
“There is no guarantee…”
Doran had stopped listening to them. He lay a hand on Saita’s head, which was soaked in blood. He already knew her sight on her right side was gone. She was fighting to live, he sensed that. While she may have wanted to end this, her body was refusing to give up. He looked down at her legs and saw the left was mangled beyond that could be fixed, but the remanets of the tattoo were there, embedded with flesh and cloth.
He allowed a fire to spread over her, giving her some warmth and energy back, but he knew, that unless he could get her home, there was no way he could save her. She was going to bleed out on this table in the middle of nowhere, and the secret she had been keeping would leave with her.
“I know.” He said softly. “I wish you had come to me instead of Saasha.”
She wasn’t conscious, but he knew she could hear him. He looked for other obvious injuries, terrified that he would cause more harm if he moved her. He didn’t know what to do except give her the comfort she needed.
He was startled when the Wolven appeared next to him and picked up the injured woman. Beside him was Kay. She had a sad smile on her face.
“This is it then Red-Eye. Remember what you promised me. Live.”
“Mistress.”
“It’s Kay.” She closed her eyes and reached out to Saita, only to disappear.
Doran was startled and spun around to look at where the Fell Dragon had gone, but she had disappeared. Behind him were all the Heavenly, looking as shocked as he was. Shareik had a thoughtful look on his face, the favour that had been in his hand was now gone.
“We can go now.” Said Red-Eye.
Doran wanted to question what was happening, but Matta approached him and said, “I will come to you soon. For now, keep her alive as long as you can. I need to prepare.”
The young Heavenly then touched each of them in turn sending them to where Saita could get the most immediate care. As soon as they were gone, Matta turned to face the rest of his brethren.
“She was right, and it is possible. I will be the first, and I will bond with Saita, but it has to be her choice. The universe has rightened for now. Leave her be until she is ready. There will be a time when she will want this but for now, leave her be. I will watch over her and her Fell Dragon aid. This is my responsibility. However, you should know about the two half favours that now exist.”
Saita is saved, but is she truly?
For those of you who have never heard of Fell Dragon you can find Book 1 here, Book 2 here, Book 3 here, and Book 4 here, Book 5 here, Book 6 here, and Book 7 here
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I love discussing my books!
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
Saasha’s Direct Family
Saith Characters Recap
Human Characters Recap
Alternate Timeline Brucel
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Part 39>>You are Here>>Part 41
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