The Golden Dragon

Cold chilled the twitching flanks of each steed the saviors rode lead by a black horse with the remainder of Nimer's belongings. They had traveled seven days and six nights in high hopes the ones they were searching for were still alive. The whole forest had been covered by a thick blanket of snow that continued to fall while they traveled. Each figure wore thick furs to keep them warm in the frigid air.

One man, gruff with a bushy black beard and kind dark eyes pulled the reins of his horse while turning toward their leader.

"How much further do you reckon, Alec?" he asked, his eyes turning toward the sky. "we will not know how much longer the skies will stay calm like this."

Their leader, a tall man with platinum lox and a serious look on his face dressed in exotic armor and furs pulled the party to a halt. He whistled at the black steed and it too stopped looking back at him expectantly. Alec nodded toward the animal acknowledging its worry for his master. Alec's pale gold eyes turned toward the heavens, flakes settling on his profound features.

"I do not fear a storm, for the wind is gentle and does not threaten us. If you do need a short rest, make it quick. We may be near our destination within a mile. It is faint, but the presence of the twin shards is upon us," he announced in a rather cold tone glancing over to the man.

The man's lips tightened as he watched his lord carry on the party. He had known Alec for years and had followed him close for several of them. He knew one of the three imprisoned on a personal level as well, for he was kin to his leader. He knew Alec would not waste time standing around when the family was in trouble.

The seven pushed onward, trudging through the snow leaving only their prints behind till several minutes later Alec drew them to a stop, raising his gloved hand. His icy eyes narrowed on the trees ahead and a frown creased his face.

"Show yourself," he commanded, the group's horses becoming restless.

A dark cloaked man emerged from the trees several feet out. His face was masked much like the other members of his cult. He raised his gloved hand pointing at Alec and the party, sparks flickering around his hand. A devilish snicker rolled from between his teeth with magic about bursting from his hand only to have an arrow shot into his chest moments later. The magic withered away and he stumbled back with a hand near the wound. The cultist's body began to spasm as he yelled in pain as his own magic smothered him in a series of chaos. He lay lifeless seconds afterward.

Alec scanned the trees for others before pushing them forward.

"What godly presence do you feel, my lord?" one of his men asked.

Alec was silent. He knew this magic. It had been a disturbance where he had come from some years back when a man was banished from his city for awakening into a celestial being. He dare not speak of the name pushing them onward through the winter scape.

"Presence or not, keep a look out for more. There is no telling the size of such a cult. I did not think he would have this many followers by now," Alec answered.

Lightning rippled through the air striking the horse of one of his men causing all seven to rear in response. Alec held on tight to the reins as his horse took off with some of the others. Yet another battle had begun, sporadic attacks flying in from all angles.

Alec pulled off his glove using his teeth, letting it fall to the ground not bothering to watch it as it was trampled deep into the snow. Going to see, the man waved his hands as barren trees around him contorted, bending out of shape at his will. Branches grew together creating living shields made of wood and bark till a tunnel had formed around them, parting way through the forest. Splinters and pieces of the trees sprayed about as each lightning attack collided with its rigid surface.

The sounds of battle echoed through the valley, the sounds reaching far ahead.

***

Fists swung through the air, colliding with the guide's jaw. Pushed to the ground, pain clutched him as blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. The leader elf stood towering over his beaten body leaning down and clutching his jaw and sliding his fingers down his neck and pulling him off the ground.

"I will ask you again. Where is the kingdom?" he scorned.

Nimer was silent, his bloody lips too swollen to answer straight.

"I said… I don't…know… " he managed to utter, coughing up excess blood as the elf picked him up and flung him across the room. Nimer's limp body hit the stone fireplace, gasping for air and coughing violently.

"That's not a good enough answer!" the elf yelled. "You have kept such an act up for five days! When will you break? My mind cannot reach yours! What are you? A god?!" The elf paused, his eyes turning to Nimer. "You must be…"

Hacking on his bodily fluids Nimer weakly shook his head. "I am a guide… nothing more."

"Silence! Nothing but lies spew from your lips, a poison I will not take!" the elf charged the man and backhanded him across the face before grabbing his neck again. "You will not lie to me. I know you have a vast knowledge of the kingdom. You are traveling there with your compatriots. What do they have to do with anything, hm? Tell me...tell me!"

Nimer was shaking like a child's plaything, white spots flooding his vision and struggling to speak. "Over...my dead body…"

The elf's eyes grew cold, a sinister smile crawling across his face. "That can be arranged," he sneered and withdrew a dagger, driving it into the man's gut.

Nimer winced, feeling his body weaken as he was dropped to the hard wooden floor. Grey fringed the corners of his vision. He couldn't move for shock overwhelmed him and his ability to fight back. The mental block he had created faded as the elf slithered into his mind like a snake.

"I'm sorry," were the only words Nimer could think of before he fell, out cold.

The elf had gained little knowledge but all he needed to proceed with his plans. Taking the knife out of his victim allowed him to bleed freely. "Such the man you are and such a prize I have won of your fellow travelers," he mused. "They must perish next." His footsteps carried him to the doorway as he attempted his pursuit toward the bedroom the others lie in only to be stopped in his venture.

"Zinlar!"

The elf stopped and turned as another cult member burst through the front door of the hideout. "What? Can't you see that I'm busy?" he growled.

"There is no time! Garor had been shot down! Seven men are headed this way!" the man cried. "And they have him with them."

"Who might that be?"

"It's the Golden Dragon, sir!"

"The Golden Dragon," Zinlar exclaimed. "How many men do we have left?"

"I can't account for all, but I fear not many," the man answered.

"Gather our survivors. I'd like to give this god," he paused and grinned, "a warm welcome."

***

Dull and dazed, the other two were still held captive in the back bedroom. Jex still lay unconscious on the bed with Ray curled up close to him half asleep, her energy expended from lack of food or water. Her mind was a tangle of worry for both Jex and Nimer. The worst case scenarios played through her head like a horror story she dared not believe.

"When will this nightmare end," she wondered, nuzzling close to Jex.

It was mere moments later the air in the room grew thick as black smoke seeped in from under the door. In her half asleep state, Ray rose from the bed trying to grasp that something outside the door was burning.

"Something is on fire?" she thought, her eyes snapping wide. "Jex, wake up," she cried, driving her knees into his back, her hands and feet still bound by rope. "Jex, please!"

The sleeping boy did not stir and a wail escaped Ray's through in an exasperated cry for help.

The air grew hotter in seconds as the smell of burning wood breached her nose. She had concluded, the hideout was being devoured by flame. The support beams creaked, weakened by the flames till it was evident the entire hideout was engulfed in flame.

Ray tried desperately, trying to wake her sleeping love, rolling over him and pushing him off the bed. His body hit the ground hard with a loud thump. Ray's back burned with the heat radiating from the wall behind her. She squirmed and launched herself off the bed and to the floor. She came face to face with Jex, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Jex…," she whined and leaned in placing her forehead to his as flame engulfed the wall behind her. "I love you… more than anything."