Ice Phoenix
Chapter 31 - Garok's return

“Dragoth’s found them, and they are in trouble!” Prince Gil Ra Im shouted over his shoulder. Dragoth had entered Si Ren Da’s atmosphere in an almost vertical dive and was flying straight towards Baneyon’s team. As Dragoth plummeted, the protective shield the faar had wrapped around his passengers disintegrated, and Terrana, Lorn, and the prince were exposed to the planet’s hot atmospheric winds.

“Where are they?” Terrana shouted back, craning her neck as much as she could over the prince’s shoulder to try and catch a glimpse of Baneyon.

“West of us! Dragoth says that Eindz, Lady Anrath’s faar, is wounded. I’ll need to drop the both of you at that peak there.” He pointed to a nearby pinnacle that jutted from the mountain range up ahead. It was the same one Terrana had seen in her dream. Mire’s Point.

“That’s the least you could do after dragging us here,” growled Lorn. He was still simmering, furious that the prince had instructed his faar to escape Minda Yerra with him and Terrana still on board. The ride had made them both sick because they were not used to the effects of the transformation necessary for their bodies to survive the In-Between.

The prince ignored him. “We are nearly low enough. You should be able to manage the jump.”

“What? No, wait! You want us to jump off Dragoth right now in the middle of the sky?” Terrana yelped. The memory of Dartkala’s Arrow was still fresh in her mind.

“No arguments from you!” snapped Lorn. He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close.

“Don’t scream,” the prince warned. “We mustn’t alert anyone to our presence.”

Terrana didn’t even get the chance. Lorn covered her mouth and leaned heavily to the side. They slid off Dragoth into emptiness, plunging towards the mountains at bloodcurdling speed. Dragoth and the prince sped towards the Imeldors.

Dragoth, the dratkaars are too many. You’ll not be able to fly once you land. You’ll also be weakened.

We will race to the top, Prince Gil Ra Im. There, we can all fly.

The prince drew a long, thin sword from a sheath that had been attached to Dragoth’s side. It was an elegant sword, and despite the lack of engraving and decor, one could tell that it had been forged by a master sword smith.

As they neared Baneyon and the others, Dragoth unleashed his first attack. Long, deadly needles shot from his mane, straight towards the dratkaars. Laced with qi, the needles did not halt at penetration but forged on through their target until they exited naturally or their qi wore off. Because the dratkaars had the ability to nullify qi, the needles would, at the most, only slow them down.

Baneyon and Quempa were back to back, fighting off the hell dogs as they continued to charge at the Imeldors mercilessly. Raimus was using his weight, combined with his bulk, to ram into the dratkaars so they would lose their footing. Then he would be able to slide a short dagger through their eyes and into their brains.

Lady Anrath, Lady Fless, and L-Master Ana struggled atop the faar, kicking, punching, and cutting through the dratkaars that leapt at them. Eindz, Lady Anrath’s faar, was bleeding badly. The dratkaars had attacked him in full force, and many of his scales had been ripped from his body. But the majestic faar fought back, taking down six dratkaars at a time as they leapt onto him. He ploughed on furiously, forcing a bloody path through the gnashing beasts.

Everyone blinked in surprise as the dratkaars fell back suddenly, yelping and whining. Their surprise turned to amazement when Dragoth and the prince ploughed into the dratkaars, pushing them back. Dragoth tore the dratkaars off Eindz’s flanks, tossing them high into the air.

“Get on!” the prince shouted to Baneyon. Without hesitating, Baneyon flung Quempa onto the faar and he and Raimus quickly mounted behind the prince. Then, leading the charge, Dragoth cleared a path for them up the mountain. As they raced up, the wounds on Eindz’s body began to heal.

“His qi is returning,” said Raimus, staring at Eindz in surprise. “How’s that possible?”

“The faars are stronger together,” explained the prince. “It takes about ten dratkaars to neutralise their qi, but when the faars are together, the effect lessens.”

“So, if Nisa, the queen’s faar, were here, they’d be …” Baneyon trailed off.

“Invincible,” grunted Lady Anrath, as she kicked a dratkaar in the face. “Nisa is the leader and the most powerful of all the faars. Her presence would greatly boost our chances.”

The faars thundered on aggressively, gradually making their way towards an almost vertical hill. As the path became steeper, the faars pulled away from the dratkaars, gaining a short lead.

“Everyone, hold on!” shouted Lady Anrath as they approached the edge of a narrow ridge at the summit. The faars took a flying leap, sailing up and over the ridge. Everyone’s stomachs danced in their throats as they plummeted down the other side. The faars’ wings spread out and they soon began soaring upwards again, much to everyone’s relief. Mire’s Point was now only a few minutes away, and they knew they would soon be safe. Qi flooded into them like air to their lungs. The nullifying effect of the dratkaars had been truly devastating.

After Terrana and Lorn had scrambled to their feet after their bumpy landing on Mire’s Point, Terrana began scanning the land below. She hopped nervously from one foot to the other, her eyes straining until she saw Baneyon and his team. They looked as small as ants from that height, but she could make out the dratkaars tearing after Baneyon and the others on the plains. She nearly cried with relief when the prince reached them. His presence seemed to turn the tide, and she clenched her fists anxiously as Baneyon and the other men leapt onto Dragoth.

“They’re going to make it!” she cried. “Please let them make it.” In her nervousness, she grabbed Lorn’s hand and squeezed it, not realising what she was doing. She didn’t notice his mouth pressed into a tight line as he observed her, while also keeping an eye out for dratkaars that may have been sneaking up on them.

“They’re nearly at the summit!” Terrana leaned a little too far forwards and would have fallen down the slope of Mire’s Point had Lorn not pulled her back. She opened her mouth to apologise, but hesitated when she saw how black his face had become. He hadn’t said a word since they had landed, and Terrana suddenly felt selfish.

“Lorn …” she said uncertainly. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this. I didn’t mean for you and the prince to fight. I just … I had to come for Baneyon. He’s my family, Lorn. I can’t lose him.”

She quivered under his stare, mistaking his hurt and concern for anger, and she felt he must think she was a stupid girl trying to interfere in the affairs of adults. Looking down at the dratkaars, she wondered whether he was right; she didn’t know what she could have done to help Baneyon. She couldn’t weave anything to save her life, she couldn’t fight as well as the others, and she couldn’t outrun the dratkaars — which was saying something. Running from dogs was almost a national past time in ; every person at one point or another had run from an angry dog protecting its territory. As the saying goes, ‘Once bitten, run faster.’

“Why, Terrana?” Lorn asked, finally. “Why did you run to the prince?”

“Because I knew his mother was coming here,” she said guiltily. “She intended to rescue Baneyon and the others. She’s here because of me.”

Lorn’s eyes widened in disbelief. “That’s a little presumptuous, don’t you think? Don’t you know who his mother is? She’s the queen of Sector Six! She’s also the most fearsome Imeldor to have ever existed. The cruellest some say. More importantly, how did you know what was happening here? It’s not like your guardian would have kept you updated on his whereabouts.”

Terrana knew she had to tell him. She didn’t want to lie. “I dream things, Lorn. About real places and people. And when I dream, I’m actually there. That’s my ability. That’s how the teachers found me. I met Master Drummik in my dream, and he sent Baneyon to fetch me.”

She saw how Lorn’s face changed and she grew scared. She thought he didn’t believe her and that he was distancing himself from her. “Lorn, I’m not lying. I do dream about events as they are happening.”

“Then, when they die, do you see that too?” he asked harshly.

Terrana nodded. Lorn’s face was unreadable as he stared at her. He pulled his hand away and stepped back.

“They are going to make it,” he said without any emotion as he turned to watch the Imeldors and prince racing up the hill. Together, he and Terrana watched as the faars sailed over the ridge. Terrana’s heart did a swan dive as the faars plummeted, and her agony was only relieved when she watched their wings spread out and they soared into the sky. They were coming straight to Mire’s Point.

Even before they landed, Terrana was already running towards Baneyon, shouting his name. He uttered her name in shock as he dismounted, then felt her rocketing into him and flinging her arms around him. The warmth and solid feel of his body told her he was alive, and pure relief flooded her. Tears ran down her face.

“You’re alive, you’re alive, you’re alive,” she mumbled into his stomach. “I saw the ship explode and thought you died.”

Strong hands pried her loose and she didn’t catch Baneyon’s grimace. She had brushed against the wound on his thigh where Garok’s rings had slashed him. The pain was excruciating.

“Terrana,” he said, unable to believe his eyes. “How ... why are you here?” He searched her face, demanding the truth. Suddenly, he noticed Lorn standing a little behind, and his face darkened. “Why are you both here?”

“Don’t look at me,” Lorn growled, his mood just as dark. “If I had my way, I’d never have come. I was trying to stop her from coming and getting herself killed.”

“I came to save you!” Terrana uttered quickly, her face paling slightly as she picked up on Baneyon’s changing mood. He looked furious.

“What you did was stupid and you should never have come! I want you to get on the faar and leave this planet immediately!”

“No.” She said it with quiet determination, willing herself to look strong. “Not without you.” She had come this far, trying to save the man she loved like a brother — a much older sometimes grumpy brother certainly, but a brother never the less, and she was not about to leave without him.

She couldn’t explain it to him. She didn’t want to. Recently, every dream she had where she had traversed the void had resulted in someone’s death. The experience weighed on her soul, and whether it was a coincidence or not, she could not take the risk with Baneyon. So standing there before him, she prepared herself mentally for the lashing she knew would come. If it meant that she would be seen as a childish, ignorant girl from Sector Thirteen who had just stepped onto a dangerous planet and endangered her guardian and the rest of his group, then so be it. But she would not leave the planet without him.

The words that left Baneyon’s mouth nearly broke her heart.

“When I return to Pophusia, I will relinquish my guardianship of you. If you cannot obey me, then it is clear that I have failed to be a proper guardian. Someone else must replace me.”

He bent down so his face was close to hers. Her lower lip trembled as she stared directly into his silver eyes. There was no warmth in them, only hardness and distance.

“You will get on that faar with the boy, and you will return to Minda Yerra. Good people have already died here — what made you so arrogant as to think that you could help?”

Terrana held her ground despite the tears seeping from her eyes. No matter how angry he was, she would not let go of what she believed. “I won’t leave,” she said. “Not without you.”

She saw the muscles around his jaw clench and knew she had angered him terribly. Convincing him not to give her up for adoption was going to be difficult, she thought to herself.

The other Imeldors had just dismounted and were looking at Baneyon with surprise. It was rare that he lost his temper; they could see that his concern for the girl’s safety clearly overrode everything else. Lady Fless was standing with Quempa and Raimus, staring keenly at Terrana. “Is she the child from Sector Thirteen? Baneyon’s ward?”

“Right down to the glaring eyes and stubborn jaw,” answered Quempa. “Makes you wonder if they are not really related.”

“Hey, guys,” Lorn shouted suddenly, gazing out towards the plains. “I hate to interrupt, but something’s coming this way. Whatever it is, it’s fast!”

Everyone rushed to the edge to have a look. In the distance, they made out a small dust storm heading towards them. Behind it followed a sea of dratkaars.

“It’s Nisa!” hissed Prince Gil Ra Im when he saw his mother’s faar sprinting across the hard, baked plains to the mountains. “My mother must be with her!” Relief flooded him at the thought of seeing his mother again, but as the dust cleared up somewhat, he could see that something was wrong. Blood foamed at Nisa’s mouth, and she had gaping wounds across her body. There was no sign of the queen.

“Where is the queen?” muttered Raimus.

It was the question that weighed on everyone’s minds, but they didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on it. They all heard it; a loud crack in the sky. Then they felt the air rushing away from them; everyone doubled over, gasping and struggling for breath. Baneyon reacted immediately, pulling Terrana close. She was clutching her throat. Then, he raised his hand and wove a barrier that spread from him over the entire group, pulling in the escaping air. He was stunned at how much qi he had to use to create and maintain the shield. Something extremely powerful was sucking out all the air on the planet.

“Now I know why the queen’s faar is running towards us,” said Quempa, once he got his breath back. “Nashim’s figured out how to activate the pendant.”

Baneyon shouted across to the prince. “Your Majesty! Lorn! Get on the faar now! You and Terrana are leaving.”

“If we leave now, Nisa won’t make it out of there,” the prince said angrily. “She needs Dragoth and Eindz.”

“Regardless, Baneyon is right,” Quempa said. “Your Majesty, it’s for your own good. Once those dratkaars arrive, we won’t be able to protect you.”

“You don’t understand,” said the prince. He looked at Lady Anrath. “Tell them.” All eyes fell on the tall, dark warrior woman standing beside her faar.

“The faars won’t abandon their own,” she said. “Nothing we say will change that fact.”

Baneyon paled. Because he was holding her close, Terrana could feel him shaking with anger. “Do you mean to say, Your Majesty, you brought Terrana to this planet, fully realising that this could happen and she would be trapped here?”

“I brought her here because she wished to save you,” replied the prince. “As I wish to save my mother!”

Baneyon looked as if he wanted to deliver the prince a good thrashing, but Lorn interrupted once more. “Something’s happening!” he shouted, pointing to the sky through the translucent shield. “There’s a tear in the atmosphere!”

He was right. A vortex roughly four metres in radius had appeared and was sucking everything up into the sky.

“That looks nasty!” Raimus’s eyes were fixed on the vortex. “We need to leave before we get pulled into that.”

Baneyon turned to Lady Anrath. “The children need to leave now! Do whatever you must to get the faars to obey you.”

The smooth features of Lady Anrath wrinkled slightly, and for the first time Baneyon thought her eyes reflected something other than aloofness. Regret, perhaps.

“It is too late, Baneyon. Nisa has called.” The words barely left Lady Anrath’s mouth when the faars bolted. The ground trembled as they charged towards the cliff, and everyone flung themselves out of the way. The two faars sailed into the air, breaking through the shield, and glided down towards the plains. Behind them, the shield sealed itself.

“This is madness!” cried Quempa, scrambling to his feet. “Perhaps Nisa will heal in their presence, but that is not just a few dratkaars after her. That’s half the dratkaar population! They will drain the faars’ qi even before they land!”

“What if they didn’t have to land?” Lorn said suddenly. “What if we could clear a path for Nisa from over here?”

“What are you talking about?” barked Raimus. “Weaving has no effect on the dratkaars, and right now they are too far away for us to do anything effective. They need to be closer, and by then it could be too late!”

“The grandmaster and Kuldor will arrive in a few hours. We just have to hold out until then,” said Lady Anrath.

“Didn’t you hear me, Lady Anrath? Nashim’s activated the pendant! Can’t you feel it? The dark qi in the air? Something unnatural and evil is happening!” shouted Raimus.

While the adults argued, Lorn removed his jacket to reveal the strange panelling around his arm. He touched one of the panels and they began to unfold, reconstructing into a large crossbow. It must have been about a metre wide and heavy to boot, and yet Lorn managed it like a pro.

Three dark capsules floated out of his jacket, which was still lying on the ground. Each capsule was no larger than his palm. He plucked one and snapped it into place on his crossbow. He focused on Nisa’s position, noting that Dragoth and Eindz had almost reached her.

The adults stopped arguing as soon as they noticed the large crossbow. Raimus’s eyes widened. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Please clear an area in the shield in front of me!” Lorn shouted to Baneyon. Baneyon quickly obliged. “Done,” he called out.

Lorn didn’t hesitate. He focused on coordinates close to the faars and fired. All eyes were on the capsule as it shot towards the dratkaars. Lorn reloaded. The area left of Nisa exploded, and dratkaars went flying. Nisa pulled away slightly. Lorn fired the second capsule, clearing the area to Nisa’s right. Nisa surged ahead.

“That’s a modified zipper, boy,” said Raimus, giving Lorn a piercing glance. “How did you come to have one?”

“PT class,” Lorn answered quickly. “The capsules are my own creation — they contain a compound that, when combined with carbon-dioxide, reacts violently and causes an explosion.”

“Kuldor would just love you,” muttered Raimus. “Keep firing, boy, and I won’t inform your headmistress that you’ve been breaking the school rules. How many capsules do you have?”

“Six.”

“Then make them count.”

“Nisa is lifting off the ground and joining the other two faars!” Quempa said excitedly. “Now’s our chance to catch them in the air and get the children out of here.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Move!” Baneyon barked, keeping a firm hold on Terrana. Without hesitating, he stepped off the cliff and began flying towards the faars. Everyone else followed, carrying the wounded.

As they flew towards the faars, Baneyon continued to contain the air around them. The vortex had widened, and it had expanded its reach to draw in the dratkaars. The hell hounds yelped as they were lifted into the air and dragged towards the hole.

The wind blasted past Baneyon’s shield, and he fought to keep everyone safely cocooned inside. The faars had spotted them and were flying in their direction, beating their wings hard as they struggled against the pull of the vortex. The two groups finally met, and Baneyon expanded his shield to include the faars. However, before anyone could approach the faars, a dark figure tumbled out of the sky, breaking through the shield to land on all fours on Nisa’s back.

“Demon!” Lorn swung his crossbow around to fire at the creature.

“Easy there now!” said Raimus, waving the crossbow aside. “That’s the queen you’re looking at!”

Lorn’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open as he stared at the queen. Terrana’s reaction was the same. The woman they were looking at was more of a reptile, instead of warm flesh and blood. The queen was covered entirely in black scales. In each hand was a long, bloody sword. Her frightening eyes flickered over Terrana briefly, and then came to rest on her son.

Disappointment clearly rippled across her features, made all the worse when she said to the prince, “You have disappointed me.” Then, without losing a beat, she turned to the others. “You’ve already worked out that Nashim activated the pendant. He is going to use it to destroy this planet.”

“Then we must stop him!” Quempa said. “He must not be allowed to leave Si Ren Da with the pendant.”

The queen nodded. “He cannot die. I’ve thrice removed his head, but he uses the pendant’s qi to regenerate himself. It will take all of us to defeat him and the lightning demon.”

“That’s your cue to leave,” Baneyon said to Terrana. He sidled up to Dragoth and plonked her rather unceremoniously onto the faar. But, as he pulled away, Terrana grabbed his hand.

“You can’t stay!” she cried, her eyes brimming with fear. “Baneyon, please, you can’t stay.” Her eyes pleaded with his, willing him to listen. She could feel it in her bones, something calamitous was going to happen.

“You need to keep quiet and leave,” Baneyon said abruptly, pulling his hand away. The queen must have seconded that thought because she waved her hand, and both Prince Gil Ra Im and Lorn were pulled through the air only to replace themselves suddenly seated behind Terrana.

Gut wrenching cries tore through the sky, sending chills down everyone’s spines. Each cry was more gruesome than the last, and they all looked towards the vortex. Blood rained down, along with the divided bodies of the dratkaars.

“Dartkala,” Raimus said hoarsely. “Something’s coming through that hole!”

“Leave now!” Baneyon shouted, hitting Dragoth on the rump as he struggled to conceal his own fear. He created an opening in the shield and the big faar took off, beating his wings furiously as he attempted to gain enough speed to leave the atmosphere. His transformation was beginning, and silver light brushed his wings. They had almost made it to the outer edge of the troposphere when something large and powerful slammed into them. Dragoth shrieked. Terrana, Lorn, and the prince were thrown off from the impact, spinning away in different directions.

Terrana screamed as she hurtled through the sky alone, her limbs flailing wildly as she fought to steady herself. Even as she fell, she searched desperately for Dragoth, hoping he had reunited with the prince and Lorn and they would rescue her. She panicked when she couldn’t see any sign of them. Terrana was really afraid now — where were they?

“Terrana!”

Terrana almost cried when she felt Baneyon’s powerful arms wrap around her, pulling her into his chest. His familiar strength was nothing short of a safe haven and she raised her head to stare up at him. But the first thing she saw when she looked past his shoulder was a dead face, grinning wildly. With a start, she realised it was the same creature that had collided with Dragoth. Its head lolled to one side, as though it had been stitched back to its neck loosely.

"Baneyon, behind you!” she screamed. But her warning came too late. There was a horrible squelching sound as a claw perforated Baneyon’s stomach, coming in through his back. Baneyon cried out and Terrana watched in stupefied horror as the claw retracted and disappeared. The dark figure fell away from behind Baneyon and flipped into the wind, flying over Terrana.

Struggling to suppress her panic, she reached out and nudged Baneyon’s head gently. They were falling slowly as Baneyon struggled to keep them aloft. “Baneyon?” Her voice was barely above a whisper as fear clogged her throat. “Say something, please.”

No answer. She could see his blood everywhere, staining his clothes. She felt its warmth on her hands. It was even on her face. “Baneyon, don’t hold us up anymore,” she cried softly. “Dragoth will come for us. He’ll catch us, so please, let go.” Her tears fell, plopping quietly on his shoulder. She wondered where everyone was. She wondered why they weren’t coming to help. She couldn’t see anyone.

"Someone help!” she screamed. ”Baneyon’s hurt!"

But no one came to their rescue. Instead, the creature flew over her once more, and Terrana got a better look at it. With a start, she realised it was a dead demon. Darkness flowed from him, and Terrana could tell that he was being controlled by dark, unnatural qi. His head wobbled back and forth, and his tongue hung loosely down his chin.

Another demon dropped from the sky to join the first one. Garok grinned as he watched Baneyon continue to hold onto the young girl. Unlike the dead Eera who hovered next to him, Garok looked very much alive.

Terrana could hear the blood pounding in her head as she shook Baneyon. “Baneyon, stop weaving!” she cried. “Let us fall!”

Baneyon groaned and did something unexpected. Moving quickly so that Terrana wouldn’t suspect, he ripped her from his chest suddenly, and sent her spinning into the sky.

"What are you doing?” she screamed, trying to claw her way back to him. ”You can’t fight like that! You’ve lost too much qi!” Her voice was cut off as Baneyon wove a shield to protect her.

"Baneyon!” Terrana screamed his name over and over again, but he didn’t hear her. She didn’t know whether he could.

Eera raced towards Baneyon, and the Imeldor swung his spear at him. The blade cut through Eera’s neck and the demon’s head went flying. Baneyon watched in disbelief as the head returned and reattached to Eera’s body. Next, Garok flew towards him and snatched the phoenix spear from his bloody hand. Baneyon found himself staring into Garok’s smirking face.

“Boo! Bet you thought I died, didn’t you? I almost did because of your blade, but you forgot one thing — I can mindslip. When you believed I was dead, I had already slipped into your mind. My death was an illusion. I knew I couldn’t defeat you while you had the phoenix blade, and so I created a clone instead. You killed my clone, Baneyon. But Eera here, the queen really killed him. Nashim could only stuff his body with dark qi to create this monster instead.”

Garok leered over him, watching as the light faded from Baneyon’s eyes. Satisfied that the Imeldor could not fight back, he moved aside to let Eera finish his work.

Baneyon didn’t hear Terrana screaming as Eera ripped his abdomen open. He didn’t see the tears running down her face as she watched him fall away from her. His senses had shut down, but he could still access his most cherished memories. He remembered her smile, the way her eyes lit up when she saw new clothes, her scowl when she didn’t get her way, and the amazing strength that allowed her to carve a new life for herself in an alien world.

You were the best thing that ever happened to me, Terrana. So please, live.