And she was magnificent.
“Are you up for more of the journey? Or should you shift back to your cat form? I can carry you. After all, you did carry me for a while.”
She didn’t answer, though I didn’t really expect her to. I looked around, hoping there was something to eat or at least some water.
I closed my eyes and listened, and then let out a sigh.
“I hear a stream. We can at least hydrate. But I think we may have to go hungry for a bit longer.”
Technology didn’t work in the Maison realm, so it wasn’t as if I could call Easton and the others and tell them where we were. We would have to get there on our own and hope for the best.
I just didn’t know if us returning was for the best.
What would happen when we got there? Would I tell Luken what I had learned?
And would we be enough, even all together, to take down The Gray? He had so much power, even though I should have it, too. Or at least a version of it.
I didn’t feel like I was enough, and that worried me. I needed to be. I had to understand what to do about Luken, and learn who The Gray’s spy was.
I had been thinking those things repeatedly as we flew over the landscape. The only thing comforting me was my thoughts.
Braelynn nuzzled into me, still in dragon form as we made our way through the foothills and found the stream. There were no animals here. No other Wielders. The area had clearly been deserted after the Fall.
We took our drinks, both of us on high alert. For all I knew, the League, the Creed, or The Gray himself were waiting for us.
We wouldn’t be safe. Maybe not ever. I wanted to think that I would be sheltered, that both of us would be secure once we got back to the Obscurité Court, but I couldn’t think that way. Not when there was a spy in our midst, a traitor. And given the idea that The Gray could come at any moment.
But perhaps now that I knew that, I could stop him.
I closed my eyes and let my Wielding slide through me, the Water and the Earth mixing, the Air and the Fire dancing. The Spirit Wielding within me coasted over my body as if it were waiting for the right moment or some kind of feeling.
I wasn’t sure what any of that meant, but I knew I would eventually figure it out. I had with the other elements, and I hadn’t fractured in so doing. I hadn’t broken apart like I thought I would when I entered the Lumière Kingdom all those months ago. Was it months? Or was it days? Years? I didn’t know anymore. Time seemed to stand still and yet moved far too quickly all at the same time.
And here I was, standing back, hoping for an answer.
“Are you ready to start again? Tell me what you need.” I paused. “Or at least show me. I wish you could talk to me.” I leaned forward and rubbed my head against hers.
I met her large eyes. In answer, she lowered her head, and I climbed onto her back once more. We weren’t nearly where we needed to be, but we were out of the Shadow realm, at least, and I had to hope that would be enough for now.
“We’ll go for however long you can. Okay? Then we’ll walk, and I’ll carry you. I promise. We’re in this together.” She used her wing to rub my thigh, and I leaned forward, kissing the top of her head.
I missed my best friend more and more with each passing day, but we had this, at least. I had to believe that counted for something. It was more than some people got.
Brae leapt into the sky, and I held on tightly, Braelynn’s dragon form moving as if she had been doing this for lifetimes rather than for the first time today. We were still near the mountain range that would lead us towards the Obscurité Court, which meant we were closer to the ground. I was grateful because even with my Fire Wielding helping me stay warm, it was still far too cold up in the sky without warmer clothes.
I winced, risking my handholds to press my free hand to my side, hoping the blood had stopped flowing. It had seeped into what little of my shirt remained, and I was covered in stains, but it didn’t feel like I was losing any more blood. That honestly had to count for progress at this point. I would take it as a win.
Braelynn flew even closer to the ground about an hour into our journey, and I knew her wings must be hurting. We’d flown for too long. I was about to tell her to land when I caught sight of something in the distance. I froze, wanting to scream or shout out a warning. Only I didn’t need to. Braelynn had seen it, too.
The giant snake whipped its tail at us from below, its scales bright green with tan and purple diamonds along its back. It looked so out of place here within the Spirit territory that I knew it must have been locked away, kept dormant for eons. Perhaps long ago, it had once matched and blended into the area when the Spirit Wielders had thrived within the territory’s borders, and larger mythical creatures had roamed free.
However, those creatures had turned to dust or gone into hibernation long before the Fall. With the broken magic and the fractured warding of the realm itself, things had unraveled to the point where these creatures were now waking. They were hungry, angry, and they lashed out at anything in their path. What was worse, the enemy had learned of their revival and were using the creatures in their armies.
I didn’t see any other beings around this snake…a basilisk now that I got a good look at it. I hoped it was alone and wasn’t being controlled by anyone.
I didn’t think Braelynn and I were strong enough to fight more than what we were seeing…and, honestly, I wasn’t sure we were strong enough for that.
I thought of all of this while holding onto Braelynn for dear life as she tumbled from the sky, turning over onto her back for a moment as I screamed in panic, and she sprayed fire at the basilisk. She righted herself, flapping her wings harder, but the snake lashed out with its tail again, slamming it into her side.
I shrieked, though not because I’d lost my hold or because there was only open air beneath me, or the earth coming at me at an alarming speed. No, I yelled because Braelynn was beside me in the sky, plummeting to the ground, her side covered in blood as she tried to make her wings work correctly.
I could not lose my best friend again. Hearing the agonized, painful sounds from her chest brought tears to my eyes and caused rage to run through my veins. I pushed out my Wielding, using Earth to bring the dirt and soil up towards us as I made my Air buffer us and slow our fall so we both ended up on our feet.
Braelynn stood next to me. Her breathing labored as she faced the basilisk. I held out my hands, ready to use anything I could within my arsenal to protect us both.
Then I remembered what the texts had said a basilisk could do.
“Don’t look into its eyes!” I shouted, and Braelynn lowered her head. A basilisk could cause death by a single glance. Only we’d looked directly into its eyes already, the green slits bright with poison.
How was that possible?
“Your Spirit Wielding will protect you and your Familiar,” a voice whispered on the wind, and I shivered where I stood. I knew that voice.
Seven.
One of the Spirit Wielders not of this time but of the past, the present, and the future. She was one of those who’d tried to help me, even if she spoke in riddles half the time.
However, I was glad for her voice. Because it meant that Braelynn and I could meet the basilisk’s gaze and survive. My Spirit Wielding was the only element I still hadn’t gotten a firm grasp of, but it seemed it had a hold of me.