87. Of introspection, mistakes and a little bit of reunion

Cassandra Pendragon

Flying could be awesome. The sinking sun turned the ocean below into a glittering sea of molten gold and reddish reflexions. The warm breeze that carried me along smelled of fresh salt. Cool winds blew along my body and over my tails while I whirled through the sky, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of freedom that coursed through my veins. My wings pushed me along while I rose and fell, following the air currents in an intricate dance that brought me ever closer to Ahri and my family. If there hadn't been another emergency along with the news of more death that made my haste necessary I would have been happy. As it was I barely spared a glance for the exquisite scenery and silently cursed my companion whose weight was starting to hurt.

It hadn't taken us long to leave the hijacked ship in the caring talons of Viyara. To assure the smooth cooperation of her newest employees she had transformed back into her draconic self and sent a blazing stream of flames over the masts when Erya had introduced her. I've never heard of even trained soldiers snapping to attention faster then her recruits. Pete had been put in charge of the more practical decisions, our resident dragon had as much knowledge about sky sailing as a real lizard and would mainly ensure that Pete's commands would be followed.

A minute later we were in the air, I had offered to carry Erya along, even without interwoven teleports I was considerably faster than her and to my chagrin she had jumped at the chance. So instead of freely riding the wind I had to lug a squirmy bundle of attitude along and even though she wasn't heavy, I'd put her at about 30-40 kilos, my shoulders were starting to burn with the constant strain. A little energy from my core kept my muscles working but it wasn't a real substitute for the time I'd need to recover naturally. By now I had pushed so much transcendent power into my still mostly mortal body, within a short amount of time, that I was continuously experience something like muscle ache or soreness. I thought it was mostly a psychological reaction, I might have been projecting the way I expected to feel after the trying days that laid behind me, but I wasn't sure. I'd have to talk to Mephisto about it as soon as he had recovered from his last attack on Galathon. About this and the ritual to free the snake, a way to deal with the statues, about repairing my spear and whatever else I could come up with… I just hoped I wouldn't have to wait several days again for his hibernation to end.

Soft snoring rose me from my reverie. Erya's head rested against my shoulder, her arms wrapped around my neck while I held her in a princess carry. Considering how close to the horizon the sun already was, we had been in the air for nearly two hours and we had chatted for the most part of it. We had speculated a bit on what kind of curse we would encounter once we arrived but without actually seeing Reia there wasn't much to work with. Soon we had talked about our life before we had met, mundane things like music, favourite places and the like, while we both tried to avoid more serious topics. She hadn't been keen on explaining her past and I had been preoccupied, Reia's lively features reduced to a deathly stillness before my mind's eye.

Erya had fallen silent a couple of minutes ago and at first I had appreciated the tranquility but by now my mind was turning in vicious circles. I was wondering who had died, if I would recognise their faces, how we might help Reia and, most of all, if all of this shit was my fault. Maybe Ahri had been right and I should just leave behind everyone I cared for to protect them from the mayhem my life had become. On an abstract level I knew that I was simply wallowing in self pity but that didn't make the constrictive feeling in my chest and the tears that came to my eyes any less real. I was glad for Erya's weight and her minor movements that screwed up my balance and tore me back to reality ever so often. Stubbornly I pushed the emotional baggage away, shook out my tails and focused on the horizon, metaphorically and literally. I forced images of Ahri, my family and even Viyara and Erya to the front of my mind every time it wanted to go astray once more and searched for the outline of an island with renewed fervour.

It didn't take much longer. Once a purple shadow manifested in the blue expanse before me I knew I was nearly there. Admittedly, it was still quite the distance but knowing that I was this close sent a surge of warmth through me, blowing away the soreness in my body. With an unrestrained cry of joy I managed to accelerate once more, the wind an unending roar in my ears and the withe, frothing crowns of the waves below a blurry haze. Erya woke with a start and nearly struggled free before her mind caught up. Grumpily she snuggled back into me:

"Warn a girl, I thought we were being attacked! I understand your desire but there's no need to fly fast enough that a lonesome bird might become a deadly projectile. Slow down a bit, would you?"

"Not a chance. Hold on, I think I can go a little faster." That shut her up handily. Our surroundings were turning into streaks of colour and I felt her work some kind of spell on us to part the air in front of me and keep away any animal that might be unfortunate enough to cross our path.

I crossed the remaining distance in less than 10 minutes. Somewhere along the way I had started to supplement Erya's magic with my wings. I had formed a wedge with 7 of them in front of me and pumped enough energy into them to turn them into a blazing knife that cut holes into space with a glittering display of light. In a way we had started to teleport forward, jumping as far as I had still been able to hold the folds I had ripped open together. For me those short burst had felt pretty much the same as moving along the silvery lines in my second vision and just as exhausting, but I had been able to carry Erya with me. Unfortunately she hadn't enjoyed the experience one bit, she had even stopped supporting me after the first jump.

When I slowed down and spread my wings to let inertia carry us for the remaining distance I felt her tremble in my arms as if she had been bathed in ice water. I pulled her closer and asked: "what's wrong?" It took her a moment to focus back on me, a cold sweat was starting to form on her pale skin.

"Please, don't do that again. You took me to the space in between, between worlds and realities, the void. You might survive there but for me it's a damned nightmare. It sucks away my life for as long as I'm in there without ample preparation." Her voice became a little stronger. "It wasn't that bad just now but you could very well have killed a weaker fey. Think, Cassandra and don't just try every idea that pops into your mind when you're not alone! We're not all some kind of magical anomaly." She was right, without a question. The image of holding Ahri in my arms again had pulled me along but that was no excuse. I had been an idiot and I should have known better.

"I'm sorry, I truly am." I squeezed her lightly. "It won't happen again. Can I somehow make it up to you?" She squirmed until her face was close to my ear and I leaned in her direction. Blazing pain shot through my hole body, the little minx had bitten me! Sensitive as my ears were the white hot surge was enough to make my tails curl up reflexively and I nearly lost my balance. Over my throbbing pulse I thought I felt a trickle of blood run down my neck while I fought to remain upright, a wrong move with her dangling from my neck might turn out extremely ugly.

"There, no we're even. Pain is the best teacher, after all." A colourful curse escaped me and I was sorely tempted to drop her, especially the part of me closest to the bite marks was very keen on the idea. But she had been right and the red hot agony that flowed from my ear was nothing compared to how I'd have felt if I had seriously harmed her. Lesson learned. But honestly… did it have to be the ear?

"I guess I deserved that," I hissed through clenched teeth. "But if you ever so much as pinch me there again, I swear…" warmth had returned to her limbs and I could practically see her mischievous grin when she audibly smacked her lips. She snuggled back into me and I felt her relax.

"Don't worry, next time I'm going to be much more gentle. Just say the word." Over the hours I had become much more used to her banter but I still blushed. Every second conversation with her tuned into flirting sooner or later and I was still having a hard time discerning if she was really into me or if it was just the way she was. And maybe, by now, I was the tiniest bit curious. Never the less I was glad she wasn't holding a grudge even though she had a valid reason. I really had fucked up. Luckily I was spared an answer when a a small figure with fiery wings launched itself from the island and headed towards us like a living flame. She elegantly circled around the airship anchored to the cliffs and soared into the sky.

"Oh my, I think I can fly on my own for a while," Erya said while she was already pushing herself away for me. "I don't want to be in the middle of that." She didn't have to repeat herself and I readily let go of her. A strong push catapulted me forwards and I channeled energy into my eyes until I could finally make out the details of the beautiful angel that was headed my way.

Ahri was still wearing the set of clothes the dwarfs had given us and hers were only marginally looking better than mine. A huge tear ran along her left sleeves and parts of her trousers were burned. The rim of her shirt had been ripped away up to her naval and she was barefoot. But her emerald green eyes were still sparkling with an inner light and her delicate features were split by a wide smile. Long, nearly translucent waves of silky hair danced behind her in the wind and I thought I saw a couple of reddish reflections sparkle amidst the pearly white flood. Relief washed over me when I saw her unhurt and well.

Her wings burned the air behind her, her long, slender tails fanned out like weaves of silk while she flew towards me. I opened my arms wide and slowed down just enough to spare us from crashing into one another. A moment later her arms were wrapped around my neck while her tails coiled around my hips and caressed my sides. Without thinking I leaned forward and kissed her for what felt like the first time in ages. Her soft lips and the scent of pine trees swept me away and for a few blissful seconds I forgot my worries. Heat flowed through me and I fell deeper and deeper into her embraces until she bit my lip playfully. Her soft laughed sent another shower of sparks along my spine when her warm breath tickled my skin. "Cassie, we're falling. One of us has to keep us afloat. Could you maybe…?" Oh, right. I had wrapped my wings around her and had completely forgotten to stay airborne. We had already dropped a couple of hundred meters and I had to wonder how I had been able to ignore the howling wind. The feeling of weightlessness I might easily have associated with the girl in my arms.

I extracted my wings from hers and propelled us back up. Ahri wasn't even bothering with a token effort and instead preferred to hug me closer and bury her face in the nape of my neck. Electric jolts traveled along my body when she softly kissed the sensitive skin and I involuntarily allowed us to drop again before I regained my balance.

"Hmm, looks like you missed me," she whispered. "But I have to wonder, what happened to your ear?" She kissed the still throbbing appendage. "That looks like a bite mark. Is there something I should know?" I chuckled.

"Not in the way you insinuate, darling. But yes, you should definitely meet Erya, maybe you can muzzle the walking calamity. I brought her along to help Reia and I honestly can't wait to see the two of you together. You'll either be fast friends or at each other's throats within seconds. Ah, speak of the devil…" I had slowly circled higher and was now again on the altitude where I had left the fey. She had sprouted her butterfly like wings and was headed towards us. Reluctantly I pushed against Ahri's shoulders and while our tails remained intertwined I gained enough space to see more than the flames from her wings.

It was nearing sunset and the first stars blinked through a darkening sky. The island we had arrived at appeared small from up here, I could even see the other side, although faintly. A few taller hills, overgrown with large trees, beards of moss and lianas clung to them, filled the centre and I saw a merrily bubbling creek rush to the far side of the island from somewhere between them. Flocks of exotic birds in all colours of the rainbow, some of them large as turkeys others smaller than a nightingale, rose from their nests in the coming dusk. They filled the air with their surprisingly loud songs which still reached me despite the distance. With the amount of energy that was still coursing through my eyes I could see blurry movement beneath the shade of the trees, larger animals, predators and prey alike, preparing for the night.

Further towards the edge of the island the forest gave way to a rolling sea of grass, flowers and herbs, interspersed with small ponds and murky patches. From what I could see there was only one river but the ground stored an abundant amount of rainwater wherever I looked. Lush vegetation, vivid greens and blossoms in dark red, purple and yellow, thrived all around, a veritable paradise. Exotic smells washed over me with every gust of wind that blew reached me from the island. I smelled sweet fruits and nectar, aromatic spices and the musky scent of wild animals. But there were also darker flavours, smoke and a hint of blood and violence still hung in the air. The source was close to the southern edge.

Two smouldering wrecks had crashed onto the island, one clearly the remains of the ship we had found the kids on. It was still mostly in one piece but the area around the stone chamber was burned and charred, a gaping hole torn into the hull. The others must have been one of the pirate's vessels, not that I could still discern much of its design. The masts were broken and the sails gone, reduced to a fine layer of ash that covered the ground. The deck had been ravaged, massive explosions had opened craters every few meters and what remained if the hull wasn't even recognisable, the metal reinforcements had been blown away and most of the wood was either cracked, blackened or simply gone.

The dwarven ship was anchored a few hundred meters away. It had been severely damaged as well, one of the masts was already replaced and a second one was lowered to the ground while I was watching. Most of the sails had holes in them and a part of the rigging had come down. A couple of ballista bolts still lodged in the hull and dark burn marks showed where spells had hit. Towards the stern a huge chunk had been ripped away, the interior exposed to fresh air, but it was still flying.

Beneath the ship a sizeable patch of ground had been converted into a makeshift camp. Several fires had been lit and a few improvised workshops were already in use with two hastily erected tents at the centre. The faint pounding of hammers on iron reached my ears. A pond was close by, the gutted carcass of two large deer slowly bleeding dry a couple of meters away. A line of 10 sentries stretched from one end of the camp to the other. Dwarfs and kitsune alike meandered between the workshops, the spot where items form the ship were lowered, the tents and a large fire pit where several dwarfs were preparing a hearty meal.