Page 38 of Shadows of Air and Earth
Slowly controlling the crashing buildings in the distance, I could practically feel Remnant’s glaring look of disapproval asthe basilisk tore through the city in search of her…or us. That much was still uncertain.
"So any ideas on where this firestone seal is?" Ri breathed again, as we crept quickly along the shadowy alcoves, my power retreating from the landslide of rock deep into the marbled road. It was somewhere below—I couldsenseit. But there was so much of the firestone laid within that I could not pinpoint an exact location.
"Why would they build this goddess damn town from firestone?" I tugged on my hair, stretching my power to feel the ebb and flow of the earth beneath my feet and all around me. "All it takes is one naive wielder to light up this city."
"I find myself suddenly thankful that you are not naive, terrella."
I gave him a sharp look and his mouth curved upwards in a half-cocked smile. "You are onlythankfulnow, Dragoon?"
Winking, Riley wrapped his air around me, pulling me flush to his body, and I gasped. His heat flooded into my skin, enveloping me in the safety of his air. "I amend my statement…" he murmured, the mint of his breath a refreshing breeze upon my face. "I ammorethankful than ever before."
Leaning forward, I closed the distance between us, planting a soft kiss on his smiling mouth, his hand instinctively cupping my exposed face. "So am I, Dragoon…" I whispered, then tilted my head up with a smirk, "For you to raise me up to a better vantage point, that is."
Together we peered up the stone wall of the high tower where a bell hung, hauntingly silent.
He quirked his brow. “An unusual request for you, your feet will no longer be on the ground.”
I licked at my lips. "There is too much stone blocking me from finding the artifact. The seal must be pure firestone but I cannot pinpoint it while submerged within the city—"
A finger pressed against my lips and Riley smiled down at me. "The last and only time I’ve ever seen you this nervous was when we stole the Empedolces staff."
Slapping his finger away, I shot him an annoyed glare. "Ri, she is out there on her own facing a goddess forsaken basilisk, she dragged me out of that Faerie ring alone with her heart bare and untold dark confessions on her lips. All for us." I shook my head, my gaze falling to the ground and I shifted uncomfortably. "It's the least I can do for her," I confessed.
Riley grunted, pulling my chin back up, determination set in his eyes. "It's the leastwecan do terrella. Now hold on tight."
I inhaled at the stirring of his element swirling around us, my hair blowing further across my face before he pressed the full length of my body against his. His chest vibrating with a low groan just moments before he shot us straight up into the air landing whisper light on the tower’s ledge.
"Sweet goddess," I gasped, eyes widening at the view of the city and the general just a few streets away. She walked confidently down the smooth marble path, its yellows and oranges glittered like hot sparking embers reflecting in the sun, and not fifty feet in front of her stood the most grotesque and enormous monster I had ever seen. As tall as the building around it, the basilisk's shrill crow shook the city, windows shattering in a spray of glass raining down on its great rooster head. Ending in a hiss, a great forked tongue slithered between a serrated beak full of sharp fangs. Bright red feathers that trailed down its serpentine-like body trembled with its rage, only to be accented by its unfurled leathery wings. Clawing at the street with razor sharp talons, bigger than my forearm, the beast’s beak dripped with saliva, burning holes into the stone below. Instinctively, I pulled Ri to me when without warning, it screeched, streams of fire shooting upwards into the air. Awarning sign to the shadow fae that faced this creature without fear or hesitation—and without sight!
"The goddess is playing tricks with my eyes,” Riley cursed, “please tell me she isn’t blindfolded, Xi?”
Unable to lie, I simply stared. Remnant Darkwasblindfolded and with no weapon in hand. Her only defenses were the shadows licking at her feet like dark flames rising from the depths of Sheol. They set her arms ablaze in shadow, excitedly anticipating their next task.
"We need to get down there—" I hissed right before a streak of violent lightning crossed the cobalt blue sky, drawing our attention outward, beyond the town’s borders to the waves of green grasses below. The Goddess plains rippled, and with it, large marshmallow clouds rolled in, thundering upon each other, battling the skies with its great storming wave.
Riley leaned out over the ledge of the bell tower, his gaze fixed past Remnant and the basilisk, his face darkening gravely. "That’s no natural storm," he growled.
“Ri!” I hissed, my hand snatching out to grip his thick arm, nails digging into his soft flesh, jerking him back to where the most immediate danger was. That fucking storm could wait—in fact I knew that stormwaswaiting.
"The goddess damn me to Sheol and back," Riley breathed, his gaze turning on what mine could not look away from. Now just feet away from the basilisk, Remnant Dark bowed low, genuflecting to the great beast's monstrous form while the shadows enveloped her body.
Its talons pranced, scraping harshly on the marble under her lowered gaze and a long serpentine tail wound across the street, curling around the bowed shadow fae general who never flinched. Tilting its large beak downward, its tongue slithered out around her head, slathering its acidic saliva upon her,burning holes in her shadow shield—and still she did not stir in fright.
"Is she…?" I brushed my hair back fully, needing both my eyes to comprehend what I was seeing.
"Speaking to it?" Riley finished my sentence, shaking his head. "Yeah, she is, in ancient fae."
I sputtered, my heart racing, when the basilisk beak dipped lower still, its head twitched, cocking sideways to listen. "She is veritably mad. What in the love of the goddess could she possibly have to say to that…that mutilated creature."
Riley snickered, "It’s a good thing you're not the one negotiating with a beast of origin."
I licked at my lips, unable to take my eyes away, my breathing short and slightly erratic. "Shut up Ri and tell me what she is saying."
Chuckling still, he bent slightly, his warm breath at the shell of my ear. "She says…" he stalled, inhaling markedly before I felt his lips widen in a smile. I was unable to tear my eyes away from the incredible display of bravery…or was it insanity? With Remnant, I wasn’t sure anymore. "She is just…exceptional. The legends don't do her justice Xi."
Grinding my teeth, I dug my nails into his arm harder. "What? What is she saying, Riley Dragoon? Goddess help me, don't make me bury you within this bell tower."
His grin grew wider and for a brief moment I thought I would have to follow through with my threat, but when he spoke it was the words I wanted though not what I fucking expected. "She says,My great beast brethren,I see your pain and your rage. I know you had no control over the fae you killed here and in the other towns. I have not come to fight you, for you are fierce. No. I have come bowed before you to help you so that I may take your pain away without violence and the cost of more lives."
