United Against Hate: Chapter 16

Flying across the desert.

Sofie thought she would get used to it eventually. The rolling waves of sand and dunes. Navigating the tall dark clouds to avoid wind and storm. It wasn’t like the parts of home she’d been able to see. Emeralda wasn’t used to it either and she’d seen more than Sofie had.

The dragon coasted on the hot air, her wings flapping slowly. Even after having been with her for months, she was still an amazing creature. Hanging in the air and crossing miles in seconds. Her wings went down and took them higher into the air and Sofie sat up quickly. She looked to her side and saw the flock of birds dip away from them. Sofie made a face watching the brown feathered birds angrily squawk at them.

As she sat up though she saw her hands. She saw her fingers shaking and it had nothing to do with the elevation or adrenaline. She knew now her eyes were a bright yellow. Sofie leaned forward and kept her arms around Emeralda’s neck tightly. Just touching the body of the dragon was relaxing. Stilled her nerves.

“Are you okay hatchling?”

“No Em. Not really,” she mumbled against her warm scales. She could hear the low crooning behind them and a small smile touched her face. “Though I don’t think they are either.”

“They are not accustomed to flying I imagine.”

Looking over her shoulder Sofie saw the trio that was sitting just behind her. Ryza was the closest to her, the strange woman who had saved her and her brother’s lives. She seemed so distant, like she’d seen this all before and her mind was somewhere else. But when she spoke to her, she was patient and kind. And the understanding in her grey eyes reminded her of Sehren.

But the other two were new to her. They had ears and a tail like Ryza. Both of them reminded her of Fin and his brothers. Ryza was a little bit taller than Sofie but these two were huge. Tall and muscular and deeply in love with Ryza. They looked at Ryza the way her parents looked at each other.

“How far away from the city are we?” she could hear the one s named Snow ask.

“Not far at all love,” Ryza replied looking back at her. “We’ll be there soon. I promise.”

“I hope so. I don’t like flying.”

“Me either,” Stephanie mumbled resting her head against her back.

Ryza chuckled and turned back to look at Sofie. Sofie met her eyes and then looked away quickly a blush touching her cheeks. She shook her head and looked down at Emeralda’s neck. She could hear Emeralda’s soft laughter in her head which didn’t help things. But she looked past Emeralda’s neck and could see the massive ring of the city. She could barely see the guards on the walls pointing at them from the walls. Calling out and letting them know who they were, that they weren’t dangerous, and didn’t need to be shot at.

Emeralda remained high above so the backdraft of her wings wouldn’t catch up to the city. She circled around the proving grounds slowly, going lower on each rotation. Then she spread her wings and came down at the proving grounds. When she landed, she kicked up sand and dust in every direction but things stilled.

The first time they’d come down there had been a massive number of people to see something as exotic and strange as a dragon. No one had seen one outside of the stories. And here she was, a living legend before them. This time there were fewer people thankfully.

They’d only been here a few days. Ryza manifested a portal that snapped them here immediately. Though they didn’t say it at the time, Sofie was sure that the only reason Sefirin had survived was because of that.

Emeralda came down setting her paws against the ground with a soft shake. She wriggled gently and then folded her wings against her side. Snow and Stephanie both stumbled off her and onto solid ground as quickly as they could. Ryza was a bit more reserved, though she seemed to relax with solid ground under her feet.

She turned slowly and glanced back at Sofie. Sofie was hesitant, her arms still tightly wrapped around the dragon’s neck. She stared at the ground as if it were chasm and then back at Ryza. The old necromancer asked, “Are you alright?”

She looked at Ryza with her steady green eyes and looked away, “Em asked me the same thing. I told her no and I think the answers still no.”

“It hasn’t been long since Isal,” Ryza told her. “The things you endured there I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. Least of all one as young as you.”

“It’s alright to feel unnerved by the events,” Emeralda told her.

“Your partner is wise,” Ryza said her tail swishing slowly. “Thank you for helping me bring my girls here so quickly. They’re a welcome comfort to me during these times.”

“No problem,” she smiled gently. “It’s better to do something than just sitting around watching Seffy recover.”

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and slid off the side of the dragon to the ground. Her legs wobbled slightly and she stumbled but Emeralda caught her on the tip of her head. “It’s alright hatchling. I am here.”

Sofie looked back at her and smiled. Sofie walked toward Ryza and the others. Snow and Stephanie both tried to smile as best they could toward the younger girl. Snow sniffed at the air gently and then laughed. “You really aren’t from around here,” she settled on and Stephanie hit her lightly. “I’m just saying. She doesn’t smell like Norian, Sanctum, or the Free City.”

“You can’t just say that though,” Stephanie made a face. “It’s rude.”

Snow made a face back and Ryza giggled. Sofie giggled as well relaxing a little. They started walking back toward the tents and into the city proper. Sofie glanced back at Emeralda who nodded and then got comfortable on the grounds as she lay down.

“It’s alright. I’m not from here. I’m from a place to the southwest. A country called Reditus. My home is called Agrentum.”

“What’s it like there?” Stephanie asked.

“It’s not like here. There’s trees everywhere. Forest with lots of animals and flowers. It’s beautiful. Most of the villages are actually in the forest or near them. But there’s festivals in the summer and in the winter. Especially when the snow comes down. And in the castle we all make a big show of it. The cooks make the best pastries and sweets.”

“I was there a long time ago,” Ryza said. “Are Madeline and Olivier still doing alright?”

“My q’unas?” Sofie said and turned to look at her. “You know them?”

“I do. We used to get into some trouble together with Solaris.”

Sofie smiled at her but stopped walking for a second and made a face. She felt the stinging at her eyes and the three women stopped around her. Stephanie crouched slightly getting at her level as she recognized the shaking in her form.

“Daddy and mommy would always help out with the decorations and games. And take us to play growing up. Q’una would always start humming and singing old faerie songs. And una would make sweets from her home. And we would be getting ready for that now. My brother would always get so excited. And even Silva would smile more and we could play games together.” She covered her eyes and started to cry finally. “I miss my parents. And my q’unas. And my sister. I don’t want her to be dead. I don’t want her gone.”

Stephanie hugged her tightly and Snow put her hand on her shoulder. Sofie tried to hold it back, turning to a hiccupping sob. She shut her eyes tightly and covered her face with one hand. Ryza looked down at her, resting her hand on her head. “We’ll get your sister back Sofie. I promise we will save her. Okay?”

Sofie looked at her and nodded slowly as she started to wipe her eyes and nose. “Thanks Ryza.”

They waited until she was okay before taking her back through the city with them. They made their way to one of the larger tents near the center of the city. It was a large tent with a lot of people coming in and out. A medical tent. As they went through it, they could hear two voices arguing back and forth. Sofie recognized her brother’s almost immediately.

She broke away and sprinted inside, going through the many beds and seeing him in the corner. He was shirtless, wearing fresh bandages. Standing beside him was a fiery haired man with a pissed off expression on his face. Seeing Vincent with her brother made her relax. She could barely hear what he was saying when Sefirin finally stopped and looked at Sofie. He raised both arms and shouted happily then winced and writhed back against the bed.

“I told you to lay back down moron,” Vincent said rolling his eyes.

Sofie ran over to his side and hugged him as best she could without hurting him, “How are you Seffy?”

“Better. A little stiff and a little sore,” he said wincing and glancing at his shoulder. “Still hurts a bit.”

“Yeah cause the doctor said to stop moving so much,” Vincent glanced down at him. “You’re as bad as most of the Rogues.”

Sefirin rolled to his good side. “He’s been keeping me here all day. He’s worse than mom.”

“Because you’re supposed to be resting,” Sofie said hitting him lightly. “You’re tough but don’t make it worse.”

“Fine,” Sefirin pouted and looked past her to Ryza. “Hey Ryza.”

“Glad to see you’re lively,” Ryza said chuckling. But she turned to Vincent and raised her eyebrow. “Where’s Alison?”

“With Brynie.” Vincent shrugged. “She missed her mom a lot so they’re spending the day together. Knowing them they’re doing magic.”

“Wonderful. I look forward to teaching her once she gets the basics down,” Ryza said smirking and then stiffened. Her silver eyes widened and both Stephanie and Snow whirled around. The hair on their heads stood on end but Ryza touched both their hands gently.

Sofie and Sefirin both sat up looking at the entrance to the tent. Sefirin looked at his sister, “Magic.”

“Our kind of magic,” Sofie rushed forward with Ryza behind her. The two came out of the tent together and were greeted by a massive golden circle in the air. The magic was as bright as the sun and just as bright. But then the light began to die down and they saw five individuals.

Sofie stared at the four of them her eyes widened. She shook slightly and reached out to them slowly before running. She stared at her parents and wanted nothing more than to throw herself at them. But the memory flashed in her mind and she stopped.

She looked at them slowly and then glared her eyes a bright green. “Is it really you? Are you really there? Are you really them?”

“What?” Lily asked confused.

“Sofia? Of course it’s us,” Dawn said shocked.

Ryza walked over slowly and put a hand against her back. Ryza’s silver eyes lit upon Sehren as the mage closed the golden circle behind them. “Long time no see Solaris.”

Sehren looked at her utterly surprised but relaxed into a simple smile. A smile that none of them had ever seen from him before, “Hello Shina. It has been quite some time.

“Why these questions Sofie?” Silver asked softly looking at them.

“She and her brother have been through a lot. Tricks at the hand of Daze,” Ryza growled deeply under her throat before looking down at her. “But they aren’t tricks. They are the genuine article.”

“Really?” she said eagerly the tears falling from her eyes. When Ryza gave one more nod, she all but scrambled into her father’s waiting arms almost knocking him down. She held him as tightly as she could and when she felt her mothers’ hands on her shoulders, she cried harder.

“Dad? Mom? Una?”

Sefirin stood in front of the tent with Vincent helping him walk. Sefirin grunted through his pain as he started toward them. Dawn saw his wounded shoulder and gasped covering her mouth. “Sefirin. What happened to you?”

“It’s a long story,” he said grinning despite the tears in his eyes.

“Where’s Silva?” Lily asked looking around and both of the siblings looked away from their parents. That look from their children drove a blade of fear into the hearts of Nero, Dawn, and Lily, deeper than any physical wound.

Dawn touched Sofie’s hand gently and reached out to Sefirin as he finally got closer and wrapped her arm around him tightly. “Lela. Ola. What happened?”

Sefirin finally started crying in his mother’s arms. Dawn walked them into the tent and worked at his wound as best she could with her own magic. The two siblings pulled themselves together and finally told their parents what happened.

The dream that Daze had implanted into their memories. The push they took to start the mission. The preparations. The spells. The work. And then being seen off by Daze who they thought was Sehren at the time. Traveling across the entire country on Emeralda’s back.

Their arrival here in Arkoria and the run in with the first of Daze’s people, the spellcaster from space. But then Silva being taken from them in a village and brought to Isal. Meeting Alison and going to save Silva. But then they watched the demon be summoned, fighting Daze’s people, and the final betrayal by using the tools they’d been given. And then nothing. No memory or understanding of what happened. They just knew their sister, Daze, and his people were gone along with the demon.

“And we’ve been here the past few days. Just recovering. Me and Em flew Snow and Stephanie back here just today,” Sofie said sitting down on the bed. “We don’t know where Silva is or what happened to her. Ryza has ideas but they’re just that. Ideas.”

Nero leaned forward lacing his fingers together his hair. He was shaking slightly and Silver squeezed one shoulder tightly and Lily squeezed the other. Nero reached up and squeezed both of their hands. They looked at Dawn and they both knew how hard it was for her to keep her eyes as calm as they were.

She took her glowing palms away from Sefirin’s shoulder and smiled at him. “Try and move your arm now ola.” He looked at her and did as she said and though it was hard, the pain was almost entirely gone.

“Wow una. It’s like it’s good as new.”

“It’s not ola. So don’t overdo it understood?”

He nodded quickly but his smile didn’t last long as he looked at his sister. “We just. Wanted to have our own story. Have glory. And now look at us. We screwed up.”

“Yes. You did,” Nero said looking at each of them. His pained frustration was plain but he was doing his best to try and hide it. He didn’t need to pile on them. Not right now. He turned to their crowd. “Alison right?” As they told their story Alison and Brynie joined them. The woman nodded at his question. “Thank you for getting our children to safety.”

“We’re beyond in your debt,” Lily said looking at her and then also Ryza. “Both of you.”

“It’s nothing. We’ve been in a position like that before,” Alison said then looked at Brynie who looked like she had a million questions. “And now that we have a daughter we understand personally.”

Ryza frowned hard, “I know the danger that Daze poses better than most. Anyway, to put a stick in his plans is always welcome.”

“How did you figure out that we had left anyway?” Sefirin asked looking at his parents.

“The spell that Silva put together was well done,” Sehren said. “Some of her best work. On its own it wouldn’t have been good enough. But it had been enhanced by Daze’s magic when you all left. And because of that, I knew something was wrong. It was able to unravel it eventually. Not fast enough though.”

“Then how did you come here?” Ryza asked. “This is definitely a good distance away from Reditus.”

“Honestly I didn’t,” Sehren frowned. “I picked the Free City because I know it. We were going to search from here and try our best to find you all.”

“That sounds like you Solaris,” she smiled for a second but then shifted into a glare. “So that leaves us with Daze. Is his plan still the same as it was all those years ago?”

“It’s evolved a bit since then,” Sehren scowled. “He stole back the sword of ten souls from Nero and is in the process of rebuilding it. The components are varied and I can only imagine the choices he’s going after. He did threaten to go after the souls of Sofie and Emeralda but they’re still here.”

Ryza’s eyes widened slightly, “One of those souls could very well be Silva.” She got the attention of the parents immediately with that one. “Silva has both dragon and faerie blood in her from what the kids have told me. Perhaps that’s what happened when Daze left. He took her for that reason.”

“No,” Lily whispered. 

“That can’t be,” Nero shook his head. “Our little girl.”

Sehren swore but when he looked at Ryza he nodded and kept thinking. “That only covers one extra soul. He needs more than that.”

“What’s on par with the soul of a faerie or dragon soul?” Ryza asked.

But then it dawned on him and Sehren’s eyes went wide, “He’s not looking for something equal. He’s looking for something more than a faerie. He’s going to search for a God. Or in this case a demigod.”

“The Zodiac?” Ryza asked and he nodded. “Is he that bold? Or even that powerful?”

“With the moves that he’s been making I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“So you’re saying our daughter may have been sacrificed to this monster already?” Lily asked sharply and the wind picked up within the tent.

“I can’t lie and say it’s not a potential option on the table,” Ryza said calmly and Lily glared at her. “But we don’t know whether or not that’s happened.”

“It’s not one we want to entertain,” Nero said looking between the two mages.

“I understand that,” Ryza said then looked toward Sehren. “What do you suggest we do?”

“If my brother is truly wishing to hunt demigods then the levels of his boldness have gone far beyond what I imagined. It doesn’t surprise me but it changes the math,” Sehren grimaced slightly at the thought. “But do we respect that he has done these things or even made the preparations?”

“Let’s be real Solaris,” Ryza said shaking her head. “Daze is the type of man to shoot high rather than low. It’s safer to assume he’s gone for the Zodiac than to think he ignored the possibility entirely.”

“You know the answer to that Shina,” Sehren said giving her a sad smile. “My brother would leave no stone left unturned for his ambitions.”

“Unfortunately.”

The laugh that they would have shared was drowned out by a groan of pain from Sofie. Her parents went to her side immediately along with her brother. She went down to her knees, holding her head and letting out a soft whimper. But as far as they could tell she was unharmed.

“Are you alright lela?” Dawn asked.

“Sofie what’s wrong? Talk to us,” Lily said gently.

“Something’s. Something’s wrong. Em can sense it,” she said softly. “Em knows something is coming. Someone is coming.”

Nero glanced at Silver and the dragon nodded. Her face was pained as she felt the same thing. Sehren pressed his hand to his forehead and narrowed his eyes. “He’s coming. I can sense my brother. He’s coming here.”

“What?” Alison asked her eyes widened slightly. “How?”

“I’m not sure but he’s almost here,” he said looking at Ryza.

“Then let’s go greet him,” Lily said punching her fist to her palm and heard no disagreement from the rest of them.

“I agree,” Nero said his voice dipping into a growl as he stood up. “Let’s go welcome him properly.”