The Dark Ages of the Synakoy; The Past Forgotten, Wolfheart [top ebook reader .txt] 📗

for humans to warship, but something feels…off.”
“I know the feeling. I really don’t like the cave, but it draws me…”
“Then we will see how Champion reacts to it.”
She helped him up behind her. At first he was embarrassed when a few boys saw this. When nobody snickered or smiled and pointed, however, he realized it wasn’t unusual at all here – men weren’t made fun of for a woman’s assistance.
That will take some getting used to.

It didn’t even get a second glance when she kept Champion’s reigns.
I remember most men would laugh hysterically if I didn’t take the reins and was helped into the saddle; men were expected to do it for the women even with all those ‘anti-sexist’ laws going on.

Rivera just nodded when she saw them gallop off toward the cave…

It took around an hour to actually get there. The snow drifts and many rocks, uneven snow and patches of hidden ice soon put Champion at a slow walk. In fact, they got off and walked twice. The ride was mostly quiet, with Ky completely wrapped in her thoughts. Levin attempted to keep away from actually thinking about much of anything but the journey. When they rode or walked and how fast they went kept Champion from ending up in the same fate as Tempest.
When Ky did say something, it was about the trail; they must leave this and go around…there was snow too deep to trust there, or the rock pile was too dangerous to jump or climb. She walked most of the way, insisting that somebody had to make sure there was safe ground for Champion. But otherwise she kept her eyes ahead of her, on the cliffs or on the cave.
When they did make it, however, they froze and just stared. Levin felt almost sick. Something was very wrong about this cave. For a second, he thought he smelled blood and fire. But it was gone as fast as it was there, so he really could have smelled anything.
The camp cuts and cooks meat every stop we make. I could have smelled that in the wind – or maybe Zenic’s kill with smoke in the breeze.

“Do you smell smoke and blood?” Ky asked nervously. “I thought I smelled it…just for a second…”
“Yeah…I smelled it.”
I can trust her senses. They’re never wrong anymore.
“Let’s leave Champion here; we’ll tie him.”
She looked around and found a tree to tie him to. Then she led the way into the cave. Though Ky stopped to look around, he wondered how she saw anything in detail; there was so little light, he stopped simply to allow his eyes to adjust. Even then, he saw only rock and darkness. The smell of wet stone assaulted his nose, as well as the feint trace of blood. The sound of dripping water was rhythmic, quickly becoming background noise.
“There are no bats here.”
“What?”
“There are no bats.” She pointed up. “If we were back at home, I’d say they don’t go very deep in the cave, so they can get out easier. There aren’t bats any here – at least not where we can see them.”
“Maybe there aren’t bats here.”
How can she see anything?!

She shrugged. “Or maybe they’re just bigger, more dangerous and nest deeper in the cave; this world is strange.”
He didn’t like her outlook on this cave. His nerves were just getting worse the deeper they progressed. The smell of blood came and went in waves of strength, but was always there. Slowly, he realized why the scent varied. It was one of those smells you smelled only in your mind – one of those you got going into an empty house your grandmother baked cookies in, and even though she’s dead, you smell the cookies baking in the oven that’s not working anymore. It wasn’t an actual scent; it was the memory of it.
Why would I recall the scent of blood in a cave I’ve never been in before?

Ky paused and scented the air. “I don’t know, but you’re thinking and remembering so loud I smell it from your memories.”
He blinked.
She can read minds?

“No. I can hear the thoughts of animals – and you’re an animal. I guess it’s because you’re so distressed that I hear yours. And maybe because we’re so close.” She looked away. “I would have said it was because we’re cousins…but…”
Pain struck his chest, bringing him to his knees. Ky hissed and grabbed her chest as well, then came to him.
“What’s wrong?” She was distressed. Her eyes were full of panic, pain and confusion.
Am I influencing her?

“That pain…it’s the feel of an old injury…” She muttered to herself. “Were you stabbed in the lungs?” She sounded absolutely bewildered. Levin noticed her breath was as uneven as his.
He was going to shake his head, but then something flashed in his mind – a memory of eight huge dragons, surrounded by people with wings. There were eggs in nests and very young dragons taking naps with human children half their size. He felt peace. Somehow, the scent of fire and smoke comforted him. He gasped when he saw himself, only seven years or so, lying beside one of the eggs. He had wings on his back, though somehow he knew he couldn’t use them yet; they hurt badly.
“Don’t touch her too much, Levin.” A kind and very familiar voice told him from behind. He didn’t turn around, because he knew who she was. “She’s asleep, and won’t like to wake up from her nap.”
“When will she be born, mother?”
“Soon, child Remember;she takes longer to grow.”
“Yeah. She’s been in there forever!”
“She was in there eight years before you were even born.”
“I know!”
He stopped stroking the egg to let his sister sleep.
An egg is my sister?

Then the world went dark, and he saw the growing light of dawn. He felt restless, and knew today would be the day his sister came from the egg – the day she was born. He got up, thrilled, and approached her. Then he froze. Turning around slowly, he looked outside. He’d heard the flap of wings – but they weren’t big enough to be dragon wings, and too big to be a hawk’s. When he saw the flash of silver fur and white feather, he raced over and shook his mother awake.
He pointed outside. She looked outside sleepily and gasped. Swopping him up, she leapt from the nest. Instantly, her brother was awake. The dragon, black as night, could only be seen with his glowing yellow eyes. He swept his tail, and shifted his wings. Levin, even just revisiting the memory, knew he was speaking to the others in their minds. It was how dragons spoke to themselves and their human.
“Stay by your sister. Defend her with everything you have. I will return to you.”
“She’s coming, mother! She’s coming to us now.”
Her eyes grew wide with horror and anguish. “Her mother cannot be with her; as I must go so must she.”
Then his mother sat him down and left. It wasn’t long before he heard screeching Gryphons and roaring Dragons. He smelled fire and blood, and burning feathers. Looking outside, he gasped. There were only eight dragons…but the sky was covered in Gryphons. They were everywhere. The human partners formed a barricade at the front of the cave; their wings spread wide and their magic holding the Gryphons from entering. Fear gripped him.
Will we win this battle? Or will the cave be drenched with the blood of my people?

He heard a cracking behind him, and turned. The egg of his sister was cracking open, slowly but surely Amazed, it drew his attention above anything else. The sounds behind him and the smells in the air suddenly meant nothing; only this meant something, only this instant mattered.
He watched the dragon slowly emerge; first its nose, then her tiny horns and her head, followed by her long neck. He could see her weak, membrane wings behind her. She was all white, as where most newly hatched females. Intelligent, sapphire blue eyes gleamed from within her marble white skull. Their eyes met, and something hit his mind. He peeled the remainder of the egg off her and embraced her, not caring that there was blood everywhere.
You are mine.

She stated affectionately in his mind.
He heard a scream. Looking over, he gasped. One of the people had fallen. It was…his father!
“Father!” He rushed toward it, but then stopped. He felt her fear.
“I will not leave you.” He whispered, and turned back to her. “Never will I leave you.”
What’s happening?
“The Gryphons have come. They are many and we are few. There are fourteen of us – seven fighting, seven protecting the cave. The Gryphons block out the rays of the morning sun.”
We must leave here.

“Yes. But I will not leave until she dies.”
He pointed at his mother, who was standing firm against the Gryphons. She had tears in her eyes, but remained in the barrier ranks, keeping the magic wall alive to defend the cave.
Levin watched as the young dragons and children surrounded him.
“You’re the Elder’s son.” The eldest of them said. “What do we do?”
“I’m younger than you are!”
“But you are the Elder’s son. That makes you much more capable of this than I am.” It was a boy three years older than him. But he was right. There was a wild panic in the boy’s green eyes that he did not feel.
“If you have to ask…then I can see what you mean.” He simply knew. “We have to get out of the cave.”
“Our family stands!”
“Not for long.”
He no sooner said that and another scream and a thud on the stone echoed along the walls. It was the youngest female; Levin had watched her take wing last night. She’d only trained for three hours. Her young female was still white, and barely knew how to breathe fire. It was painful to watch the youngster fall from the sky like a plummeting icicle.
But she had been required to fight.

“Do you want that to happen to you, D’zar?”
He shook his head.
“Your brother is still silver; he cannot fly nor breathe fire. You would die as soon as they came in here, and so would Blazi’kor. We must leave.”
We cannot wait for your mother to fall.

“We must leave now, before the Elder falls. Before…before my mother falls…we must go.”
“Why?”
“Because Elder is the only dragon keeping them back. If we wait for him to fall, to lose this final battle, then we give this fight of theirs no meaning at all.”
He nodded, and signaled agreement. The others were too young to even understand what was going on, but each held a necklace connecting them to their dragon egg. If the dragon was killed, its spirit would be put into the necklace. Even Levin wore one. They just fallowed Levin into the back of the cave. He realized he could see everything in detail now.
You’re seeing with my eyes.
He stroked her, knowing it would be a hard, long walk for her.
It will be difficult for all of us. Most of these children will lose their dragon tonight.
In truth…

He thought back to her they will lose nothing. They will