Onyx Eyes: Chapter Four

If you’re new here and would like to read the previous chapters, click here.

FYI, I went back and rewrote the previous chapters before I wrote chapter four. That helped me figure out how the spell had affected Drake, and it will also make them easier to follow for new readers.

This week, Drake will learn to fly! 

 

Chapter Four

 

Roose continued muttering his counterspell. Drake couldn’t believe it had been so difficult to ask for help. The spell had to be deep indeed. But who could have cast it upon him? BayHawk was his only theory, but the Aerial would have been stripped of all stones before entering the dungeons. Unless the guard missed something. A gem in BayHawk’s boot or hidden in a braid in his hair. Drake would have BayHawk thoroughly searched when they returned to the—

Something tugged inside Drake’s head. It slid like a needle and thread spooling around his brain, pulling slowly toward his ears. Stabbing. Boring its way out.

He screamed, shocked at the depth of the pain. “Stop!”

“You know I can’t,” Roose said softly. “Just hold on.”

The dragon growled and crept slowly toward Roose.

“Captain, keep it back!” Roose yelled. “I’m almost there.”

“He’s helping us, dragon.” Drake sucked air in through his teeth. “He’s a friend.”

He causes pain.

No, Drake thought. Another brought us pain. Roose is fixing it. We’ll feel better when he’s— Agony seized his head from a cramp so deep that he collapsed onto his side in the grass.

All around him, outside and in, the dragon roared.

Roose crouched in front of Drake’s face. Too close. Drake couldn’t focus. “It’s done, Captain. Are you there?”

Though his hands trembled, he brought them to the sides of his head, pressed them over his ears, and rubbed. The pain was gone, but the ache lingered. An echo of the pain. A memory. A haunting. “I’m okay.” He pushed himself to sitting. Behind him, his wings propped him up and gave him something to lean against.

“Here.” Roose held out a handkerchief. “You’re bleeding now.”

Drake flicked his gaze to Roose, who touched his own eye and ear to show Drake where the blood was.

“At least my mind is my own again.” Drake dabbed the handkerchief at his eyes. His body felt strange—nerves frazzled, head aching, and then there was the heavy appendage on his back.

The wings.

He shuddered at the horror of what he’d done.

“What was it?” Roose asked. “The spell.”

Drake wiped the handkerchief under one ear. “It convinced me that I needed wings to save AyanaRynn. I tried to fight it but…” He’d wanted to obey the urge. He wanted to do this for the princess. “Why would anyone want me to have wings?”

“I don’t know.”

The dragon moaned and lifted its head. Together, Drake and Roose turned to look at it.

“You’ve got a dragon now, Captain.”

Drake wiped under his other ear. “Yes.”

The pain is gone, the dragon thought.

“It is.” Drake should say something more, but he was spent. He wanted to crawl into his bed and sleep. But that would not change what he’d done. And it would not bring back AyanaRynn. “My name is AlsonFoyledrake,” he told the dragon. “Do you have a name?”

Tagboth.

“Nice to meet you, Tagboth.”

“That’s his name?” Roose asked. “You heard it in your head? Still?”

“The spell was urging me to get wings at any cost. But it was my own spell that created my bond with the dragon. That bond will not go away.” Not ever.

Roose’s face paled, but he nodded his understanding. “Then let’s see if you can fly.

Fly. Yes, Drake supposed there was no time to waste. He stood and tried to open his wings. His arms lifted with them, and he had to concentrate to keep his arms still and move only the wings. They extended behind him, reaching twice as far as his arms were long. They were deep red, like blood, and were ribbed and veined with black, like the branches of a burned tree.

“They’re nice,” Roose said. “I mean, if you’ve got to have wings. They’re really nice ones.”

Drake could not deny it. Still. “I abhor wings.”

Roose held out his hands and waved them up and down. “Can you flap them?”

Drake took a deep breath and tried. His wings were heavy and thick, and moving them rocked his feet forward several steps, then back again.

Roose laughed. “Something not right there.”

Drake shot him a smirk. “You think?”

You must bend down, the dragon said to Drake’s mind. You cannot start flying from such a position.

Drake bent at the waist. He lifted his wings as high as he could, then brought them down fast in an attempt to flap. In the draft his wings had created, his feet lifted half his height off the ground. He panicked and curled his wings in, which made him fall. He put out his hands to catch himself just in time to keep his face from smacking into the grass.

Tagboth purred.

Drake pushed himself up and glared at the dragon. He’d never heard such a sound before, but he guessed the dragon was laughing. “You could help, you know.”

“Uh … Don’t fold in your wings when trying to fly?” Roose said, a guess in his tone.

Drake glared over his shoulder at Roose. “Not you.” He pointed at the dragon. “Him.”

To ride the wind, you must catch it. Tagboth rose onto all four legs and extended his wings. He ran away from where Drake and Roose stood near the trees, out into the clearing. He brought his wings up, down, up, down, then he jumped and soared up.

Drake saw the moment when Tagboth’s wings caught the wind. Between the ribs, they swelled, tight with the air underneath them. Tagboth held himself a moment, then brought his wings down and up once, which lifted him higher.

“Guess I need a running start,” Drake said.

“Don’t kill yourself, Captain,” Roose said.

“That’s helpful, thanks.”

 Drake extended his wings and ran into the clearing in a crouch. He brought his wings up, trying to mimic the dragon. When he pushed them down, his feet left the ground again. He tensed every muscle in his body, but managed to keep his wings extended. Pulled them up again. The force returned his feet to the ground, so he tried to run to keep up with his forward motion. He pushed his wings down again, and just before his feet left the ground, he tried to jump. It wasn’t much, but he felt himself go a little higher.

Another up, some more running, another down, another jump, and when he lifted his wings this time, the air caught him, pulled him up and held him. He glided no more than his own height off the ground. He kept his wings up, afraid that moving them would take him down again.

Still, he was slowly drifting back toward the ground.

You must flap them, Tagboth said. Now that you’ve caught the wind, climb it.

Drake pushed his wings down and pulled them up quickly. His body dipped, but rose again. He repeated that motion, a quick flap, letting his wings stay up longer than they stayed down. He rose higher.

Below him Roose whooped.

Drake couldn’t help but smile as he followed Tagboth over the tops of the trees. Why had he so disdained wings for so long? Flying was exhilarating. It was freedom.

Ahead of him, Tagboth turned, circling back to the clearing. Drake tried to mimic the way the dragon’s left wing dipped farther than the right. He turned too quickly, though, and had to make a complete circle before he caught sight of the dragon again. And now he was far behind it.

He tried to fly faster, to see if he could catch up. His back and stomach muscles burned, as did his arms, which he realized he’d been holding out to the side. He brought in his arms, crossing them over his chest. This increased his speed.

Up ahead, Tagboth landed in the clearing. Drake could see Roose, small on the ground, looking up at him. Drake hadn’t seen what Tagboth had done to land.

How do I land?

Lift your wings and hold them.

Drake lifted his wings as high as they’d go, and he plummeted. Fear shot through him and he flapped to get level again.

Slowly, Malaki. Lift them slowly. A little at a time. And when you’re close, pull down your hind legs.

Hind legs? Drake lifted his wings just a little. He slowly descended. But he was going too fast. He was nearly down—below the tree line, anyway—and the forest loomed ahead. If he didn’t stop soon, he would crash.

He lifted his wings a little higher, sank a little more. He stretched his feet down and his toes grazed the grass. The trees were coming fast. Wings a little higher. He was able to run now. Still coming up too quickly on the trees and bushes. He was going to hit them!

He folded up his wings and tried to run to a stop. He sprinted, trying to catch his balance, but the loss of his wings and his speed pitched him forward. He hit the ground on his right arm, and curled into a ball, which sent him rolling head over feet until he crashed, headfirst, into an olivewood tree.

He untangled himself from the bushy branches and lay on his back. His face stung. And his wings felt knobby beneath him. How did Aerials sleep with these spindly appendages?

Feet slapped the ground, getting closer. Roose’s dark face and green hair suddenly loomed above, looking down. “Well done, Captain! For a first go, that was amazing!”

A shadow fell over them both as Tagboth landed beside Roose. Landing is an art you will practice as long as you have wings.

Drake used his wings to help him sit up, a trick he rather enjoyed. His arms and legs felt bruised all over. His face burned. “My landings don’t have to be pretty, but I can’t be crashing either.”

You require more practice.

Drake glared at Tagboth.

Roose extended his arm and pulled Drake to his feet. “What was it like?”

He saw no reason to lie. “Breathtaking. Both literally and figuratively.”

Drake practiced until the sun went down. By then he was able to land without crashing, though he needed a great deal of room to succeed. Roose used quartz to shrink Tagboth to the size of a mouse, and the dragon climbed into Drake’s hipsack where he had once stored the onyx. Drake now held the orb in Roose’s handkerchief, afraid to touch it at all.

They returned to the barracks. Drake stored the onyx under his bed. He changed into clean pants, but Roose had to cut a gash in the back of his shirt and help him get it on.

How did Aerial’s dress themselves without help?

This time he put Tag in his front shirt pocket. Roose used crystal to make Drake’s wings transparent and jasper to create an illusion of an unripped shirt, then they went down to the dungeons where Og and Kenneth were waiting.

“You have the valet?” Drake asked Og.

“Yes, sir. He’s in a cell.” Og scurried ahead down one of the corridors. “It’s this way.”

OgmuckElden was a skinny fellow. He had a large nose, large lips, shaggy short hair, and squinty eyes. He reminded Drake of an adolescent—awkward and gangly—though he was well into his twenties. Drake and Og had become friends back in their first year of training for the guard, and while many could only see Og’s weaknesses, Drake knew him to be devoted and very clever.

“And how was your day, Captain?” Kenneth asked.

Drake had not seen Kenneth since that morning when he’d entered the throne room. He’d told no one but Roose about his plans to stonecast real wings. He wasn’t certain he wanted anyone else to know.

“Productive,” he said. “Roose and I have worked out the necessary magic to make my wings convincing.”

Roose glanced at him, then quickly looked away.

Yes, yes. Drake hated to lie to his men. Once AyanaRynn was home safe, he would deal with the consequences of his transgressions.

Og stopped at a cell with a small circular opening that was covered in ice. “Here we are, Captain.”

Drake fingered the lapis lazuli pendant on his belt and muttered the spell to look through the ice door without taking it down. Prince Suel’s valet was built like Og but had yellow hair and bark-white skin. “What do you know about him?”

“His name is FinBorl,” Kenneth said. “He’s been with Prince Suel for two years. Worked as a tailor before that. Grew up in the palace at CloudBright. Both parents were garment crafters. Father was a tailor, mother a seamstress. And he likes to eat quail.”

Drake raised one eyebrow at Kenneth. “Quail?”

“That’s all I could learn eating with him in the kitchen today, Captain,” Kenneth said.

“Better than nothing, I suppose,” Drake said.

Inside the cell, FinBorl stood, frowning at the door. “I can hear you! You have no right to keep me here. Let me go at once!”

Roose stepped up to the ice door and removed an oth token from around his neck. He muttered, “Nakaw,” to clean the stones of any previous spells, then elbowed Og. “Keep him talking.”  

“The princess is missing,” Og said in a raised voice. “What do you know about it?”

“I know nothing about your princess,” FinBorl answered. “And if you wanted to know that, why not simply ask? Send a message to Prince Suel immediately, letting him know I’m here.”

Roose was muttering under his breath, casting a spell on the oth token.

“I’m afraid that’s impossible at present,” Og said.

“You don’t know what he’s… I’ve been gone all day. If I am missing too long… It will not go well for me.”

Drake felt bad for the Aerial. The fear in his voice made it clear that he did not work for a kind master.

And AyanaRynn was to be his wife.

Roose nodded to Og. “Got it.” He handed the token to Drake. “There’s your voice, Captain, but I can’t give you any memories without touching him.”

“Then let’s get this done,” Drake said.

 

●            ●            ●

 

A half-hour later, Drake made his way into the guest wing of Torcrann Castle wearing a mask of FinBorl. He also wore the osh token to give him FinBorl’s voice, FinBorl’s valet’s clothing, and a half-dozen other spells to help him pull this off. As Captain of the Princess Guard, he knew the castle well and didn’t need to call on FinBorl’s memories to find his way. Prince Suel had third best guest room Torcrann Castle had to offer, the best going to his parents, the second best to his elder brother and his wife and child.

Can’t you let me fly? Tagboth asked. My wings are getting stiff.

“I’m sorry. You would be seen.”

There is no need to speak aloud when I can hear your thoughts, Malaki. Besides, that voice is not yours. What are you doing with it?

I am looking for Princess AyanaRynn. I have reason to believe the Aerials have taken her.

Taken her where?

That comment gave Drake pause. The barrier was impassable without knowing the spell, and few had it. Not even AyanaRynn. There was absolutely no way to leave Glasderry without it. If the Aerials had taken the princess—whoever had taken her—she must still be in Glasderry.

“FinBorl! Where have you been?”

Drake stopped and looked behind him. An Aerial servant approached, eyes wide, lips twisted into a smile.

“I wasn’t feeling well,” Drake said, digging into FinBorl’s memories for this face.

“You’ll be feeling worse when Prince Suel finds you. He’s been looking for you all day.”

This was LanTreb, a Cloudbright tailor who’d been passed over when FinBorl had been promoted to Prince Suel’s valet. Held a massive grudge.

“He’ll be thankful I did not bring my illness into his presence,” Drake said, continuing on.

“Such confidence from a man who’s already been threatened with exile to the human realm. I think it won’t be long until you live there and I have your job.”

Drake kept walking,  but he wondered what LanTreb had meant by that. Surely the Aerials no longer kept human slaves. Kenneth’s groups had been one of the last, and that was years ago.

Drake reached Prince Suel’s chamber and decided to knock. If the prince had been expecting him, it would be acceptable to report for duty.

“Enter,” a voice called.

Drake pushed in the door and stepped inside. Prince Suel sat on a chair by the fire, an Aerial woman on his lap, another behind him, brushing his hair.

“Where have you been?” Prince Suel snapped.

His tone reminded Drake of the mask he wore, and he gave a deep bow. “Sick, Your Highness. I kept away until I could be sure I would not infect you.”

“It’s this Grounder air. It’s stuffy, filled with dirt and germs. Thankfully we will be gone soon.”

“We will?” Drake asked.

“I had to call on these girls to assist me.” The Aerial prince twisted his finger into the hair of the girl on his lap.

“It appears they are better suited for the task than I ever could be, Your Highness,” Drake said.

Prince Suel chuckled. “Well, aren’t you in a mood? I see your weakened state has left you no patience for your usual groveling. I rather like the change. You will pack my things. We are leaving first thing tomorrow.”

Leaving already? But Drake hadn’t done any investigating yet. He would have to go with them. Perhaps it was a good thing he’d gotten the real wings.

How was he going to pack Prince Suel’s belongings? He had no idea what was his and what wasn’t, and even less of an idea how such things were to be packed. He spotted a pile of clothing on the floor beside his bed and went and picked it up.

“Not now, you fool. Can’t you see I’m busy? Come back in a half hour when I’ve gone to meet with my father.”

But that was something Drake wanted to overhear. He dropped the clothes and walked toward the door. “Yes, your highness.”

One of the girls shrieked with laughter, drawing Drake’s gaze.

The prince was tickling her, paying no attention to him. “Actually, make that an hour.”

“Of course, Your Highness.” Drake left the room, pulling the door closed behind him. He leaned against the wall, unsure what to do next. He needed to listen in on that talk with Prince Suel and his father. But if he was supposed to be packing the room, how would he manage it?

Giggles rose from inside the room. Drake squeezed his hands into fists and stalked away. It wasn’t right. He couldn’t allow his AyanaRynn to marry that… that lair!

What’s a lair? Tagboth asked.

An unscrupulous man. AyanaRynn deserves better than him.

Where could they have hidden your mate?

Drake sighed. She’s not my mate.

You never claimed her?

I did, but … He fingered the scarf that was knotted on one end to his belt. The scarf AyanaRynn had given him. It’s more complicated than that.

Why not track her scent?

Because I don’t have your nose.

My nose is in your pocket.

True. You think you could track her?

I would need her smell first.

“I have this.” Drake tucked the end of the scarf into his pocket so Tagboth could find her scent.

She smells delicious.

Drake pulled back on the scarf. She’s not a meal for you.

I will need to get out of your pocket to track her.

Very well. But first we must go where Kenneth thinks she may have been last.

Drake walked down to the grounds, through the courtyard, weaving around trees and bushes, hoping no one would pay him any mind. He entered the garden and stopped under AyanaRynn’s window. He scooped Tagboth out of his pocket and set him on the ground.

Kenneth thinks she may have climbed out her window, which is at the top of this tree.

The dragon sniffed the blades of grass. This would be easier if I were my full size.

I can’t grow you here. You’d be killed.

Tagboth continued to sniff, his tail sticking up like a flag. He started away from the tree. Circling out slowly, in a spiral. Found it.

She was here?

She went this way.

Drake followed the tiny dragon, hands behind his back as if enjoying a very leisurely stroll in the garden. But the dragon’s path no longer curved. He moved straight away from the tree. Drake glanced back, then forward again, squinted one eye and pretended to shoot an arrow, followed its imagined trajectory in his mind.

The fountain.

Drake’s heart plummeted. He scooped up Tagboth and ran toward the fountain.

What are you doing? Tagboth asked. I’ve lost her now.

Drake stopped at the fountain and set Tagboth on the ground, but he already knew what the dragon would find. The fountain splashed and gurgled, water spilling down over the statue of Oranmore crowning the first king of Glasderry. But Drake stared at the water, chilled with the revelation.

She’d gone through the narrows.

I’ve found her again! Tagboth called, apparently distracted from Drake’s thoughts with his search. But the trail stops here at this stone wall.

It’s not a wall. Drake picked up Tagboth and let him see the fountain before dropping him in his pocket.

Someone took her through the narrows. To the human realm.

 

End of chapter

 

I had planned to take Drake to Cloudbright and the Aerial’s domain in this chapter, but I also felt like it was important to see Drake learning to fly. And by the time I reached the fountain, I was all out of chapter.

My concern at this point is that I’m taking too long to get back to Kaitlyn. Should all go well with chapter five where Drake goes to Cloudbright and investigates, Drake will now go to Kaitlyn’s house in chapter six. Do you think chapter six is too long to wait to see Kaitlyn again? This is Drake’s story, not hers, but that’s why I felt it was important to start with Kaitlyn in a prologue, so the reader would wonder about her. But I’m worried the reader will have completely forgotten her by the time we get to chapter six.

But maybe not. What do you think?

If you think I need to get back to Kaitlyn sooner, what scenes could I cut from Drake’s chapters?

Another option would be to add a Kaitlyn chapter, showing more trouble with Quinn.  But I’m worried that will only lengthen the wait to get both Kaitlyn and Drake back to Belfaylinn where they can continue the investigation that will lead to the end of the story.

What are your thoughts as readers? Do you like Drake? Is his story interesting on its own?

This experiment of mine isn’t playing out the way I’d originally planned. I had thought this would be like a Choose Your Own Adventure-type story, but I think I had too much of this story thought out in advance. I appreciate you all keeping up with the story and giving your imput. 🙂

Chapter five will be posted next Friday on February 7. Unless your feedback demands a Kaitlyn chapter or something totally different, Drake will travel with Prince Suel to Cloudbright where he will make a discovery that leads him to Kaitlyn’s house.

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