InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ The Call of the Magi ❯ Ch 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Ch. 3

The young girl crouched low in the shadows of the cave. She peered around the corner, her vision gaining dull forms in the dark. A low, sooty glow emanated from the next cavern. Holding her breath, she slowly slid around the corner.

“I know you're there, Amberyl.” The girl let her breath out explosively. He always knew.

“I got closer this time, brother,” she pointed out. Blue flame burst into life in the center of the chamber, the light searing her eyes. “Don't do that!” she cried, flinging her hands over her face. “It hurts!”

“You've weak eyes,” he said in his rich voice, dimming his magical flame. Amberyl sighed. Her brother never apologized for anything.

“I'm only human,” she said deliberately, lowering her hands so she could look at him.

“Human now?” He snorted, lowering his reptilian head closer to her. Amberyl was mesmerized by the blue light dancing off his glistening coat of ruby colored scales. He seemed different to her when she was in human form, impressive even. “Humans are frail, weak creatures,” he hissed. She knew he was deliberately goading her. “What dragon would wish to lower itself to such a pathetic form without good cause?”

“I think they're quite cute,” Amberyl said defensively, twirling around to give him full scope of her low-cut summer dress. The red dragon snorted again, creating a large gust of warm air. “Well, only the women.” Amberyl thought for a moment. “And only the ones who don't sit on their rear all day, either. Women aren't supposed to be large.”

“You take such childlike delight in mingling with them, did you know that?”

“Yes. No one else seems to appreciate my presence, so why not?” she asked archly.

“Because you're a dragon,” he answered, his luminous flame-orange eyes flicking over her small body. “If the fools even saw you in your true form, sister, they'd faint.”

“Fine,” Amberyl said, feigning irritation. She stuck out her tongue at him and turned to leave.

“Someone comes,” the great red dragon announced with mock weariness. “All you mortals are beginning to agitate me.” He glanced meaningfully at her. Amberyl stuck her tongue out at him again.

“You do know that that is supposed to be a rude gesture, don't you?” he said absently.

“Yes, I know.”

“It's terribly childish,” he said pointed out.

“I am a child,” she said. He looked down at her, a deep rumble of laughter emanating from his throat. Yes, she did seem like a child. “Old enough to bear child in the race of mortals,” he pointed out.

“Shut it, you,” she said, flushing slightly.

“Now, dear sister, I must rid myself of an intruder.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun. Can I come?” Amberyl asked eagerly.

“If you must,” the red dragon sighed. He rose from his position and moved with surprising grace through the cavern entrance into the dark tunnel. Amberyl clamored up his back, laughing delightedly at the ride. The red gave her a despairing look, but his fangs barred in a dragon's grin.

“Why do you bother with an entrance accessible by foot?” she asked. “It's the only reason any humans can get in.”

“Why would I cover it? What harm can any mortal--”

A crackle of lightning seared through the darkness, striking the red dragon's head. Amberyl was hurled from the dragon's back as he recoiled in pain, shrieking in pain. The sickening smell of burned flesh made her gag, and she felt blood falling like hail on her body.

“No!” Amberyl's shriek became a vicious snarl as she released the restraints on her human form. Her face became feral and elongated; her heart grew and expanded. Blood pulsed through massive veins, feeding her strong taloned legs and enormous red-scaled body. Her tail lashed out in search of the offending intruder. A shriek of insane laughter sounded from beside her, and Amberyl turned to see the dark outline of a man raising a sword bathed in an unholy green light. Horror welled inside her as she saw the man plunge the blade downward, into her brother's neck; severing his spine. His thrashing claws fell limply to the floor. The fire in his eyes diminished as they were covered by a misty glaze.

Amberyl cried out in anguish even as she launched herself forward. With a great sweep of his arm, the man sent the blade twirling through the air. With a steely rasp, the blade sank deep into Amberyl's right shoulder. Snarling her defiance of the pain caused by the sharp blade, Amberyl's powerful jaws closed on her brother's murderer. She could feel bones crushing, and warm blood pooled in her mouth. Amberyl flung the body from her. She watched as the body bounced once on the chamber floor, then lay still. Blood gushed from gaping holes in the man's body, forming a large pool of crimson beneath him.

Amberyl watched in terror as the man rose, unphased by his apparent demise. She recoiled involuntarily as his mangled form leapt towards her. Again, he began laughing. Leaping back and forth he twirled around, as if in some sort of crazed dance, shrieking hysterically. Blood flowed freely from his ruined form, pulsing forth without cease. Amberyl bellowed and raised her claw to crush the crazy man. With incredible speed, the man somersaulted away from her. Once again he danced in crazy circles out of her reach. Amberyl opened her jaws, and fire burst from them. Engulfed in flames, still the man laughed and danced.

“What does it take to kill you!?” Amberyl hissed in frustration and fear.

As if noticing her for the first time, the man stilled. His clothing had all burnt from him, and his flesh burned also, filling the air with a rancid stench. Yet he was not consumed. He stared at her curiously as the flames of her fire licked at his body. Then he grinned, and stretched forth his mangled hand. The pain in Amberyl's shoulder, which had all but vanished, erupted into new anguish. The blade imbedded in her shoulder pulsed with life. Wave after wave of pure agony spread through her body. She began to thrash wildly at the sword, thinking only to tear it away and end her torture.

The pulsing blade flickered and vanished, reappearing in the burning man's outstretched hand. The unbearable torture increased as he waved the sword around in delight. The man bounded toward the massive red form of Amberyl's brother, trailing blood and fire as he went.

Amberyl felt as if she was being slowly torn apart. Her vision was a haze through the pain. She could no longer control her movements, but merely feel what convulsions as she made them. Her shrieks resounded through the chamber, and down the empty halls. Then, with agonizing slowness, the pain began to subside. Amberyl's breath came in ragged gasps as she lay on the cold ground. She opened her eyes, and, finding them unfocussed, closed them again.

A nagging thought flitted through her mind. Amberyl didn't want to think, but it screamed of necessity. Again she opened her eyes, and sucked in her breath in sudden terror.

She was human.

Amberyl called upon the image of her true self, trying to once again regain the power of the dragon. She felt nothing; no sensational strength and freedom that always accompanied her transformation. Frustrated, tried again, and again. Nothing. Suppressing a growing fear, Amberyl looked around her

She saw the burning madman standing before her brother's massive red body. Amberyl rolled over and tried to push herself from the floor. She hissed in pain as her right arm gave way beneath her. Remembering the wound, she rose swiftly to her feet.

The man was no longer dancing around or laughing insanely, but merely held out his gleaming sword in front of him—the blade leveled at the red's chest. Instantly the fire burning the man was extinguished, and Amberyl watched in horrid fascination as his ruined body reformed itself. He stood shrouded in the new darkness—standing naked before the dragon, still holding his blade.

With deliberate movements, the man thrust the blade into the dragon's chest. Amberyl made a small noise of outrage, but she was far too terrified to interfere. She stood there, wide eyed as she watched the man begin to pulsate with the same unholy green nimbus as the sword. His body flickered with the repulsive incandescence. Amberyl took several slow steps backwards before turning to flee. Behind her, the man gave a strangled shout of triumph, which turned into a desperate cry of pain. She skidded to a stop, seized by an overwhelming compulsion to see what was happening.

He was gone. Amberyl could see the sword protruding from the red dragon's body. The green light had vanished. Amberyl stood for a moment, confused. She took a single step towards her dead brother.

His eyes blinked. Amberyl froze.

“Brother?” She watched him slowly raise his massive body from the ground. The sword still fast in his chest, and the mortal wound in his neck still exposed. The left side of his face was charred from the initial lighting strike.

A shiver ran through Amberyl's body as she noticed that no blood poured from his wounds; no blood flowed through his veins. She couldn't move. Her eyes were held by his; dead, blackened, and bottomless. His voice rumbled through the cave, hollow and lifeless.

“Sister…” Amberyl could feel the fraud rolling from him like a thick fog. She knew that this couldn't be her brother, but she could not turn away. She did not even know she had been walking toward him until his warm breath swirled around her, stinging her eyes and forcing her to look away. His hold over her broke and she stiffened in sudden terror.

Laughter rumbled in his throat. He threw his head back and bellowed triumphantly. Amberyl began trembling in uncontrollable fear. As she watched, the clear features of his great form began to blur—soon becoming lost in an impenetrable black mist. Amberyl could not see or hear; her world becoming blind and deaf in the haze of darkness.

The air around her began to swirl, and then rush past her—taking with it the oppressive mist. Gathering in a great vortex the miasma condensed, forming in the image of a human.

Amberyl went numb as she stared at him, standing only five steps away. His eyes were as black as the abyss as her returned her gaze through long strands of dark hair. He was garbed in a long dark cloak and robes, revealing only his pale face. In his hand he still held the sword—its uncanny glow had died. He half turned, sliding the sword partway into its sheath, which dangled from his hip.

“Ah yes,” he said, pausing. His voice was soft in the empty cave, though it caused Amberyl to flinch in terror. “Sister… would you not come to me now?” Amberyl was trembling in fear, but she began moving jerkily towards the man as if her body were not her own.

“That's better,” he whispered. “Come to me now.” Under the soft sound of his voice, Amberyl could hear a steely rasp as he withdrew his blade once more. “My sword seems to have lost its edge, and I must hone it once more.”

With strength and speed born of desperation, Amberyl knocked the blade from his hand with a sweep of her arm and leapt backward. Words of magic sprang from her lips, and the man disappeared in a burst of flame. Well aware of how well that tactic had worked before, she scrambled for the sword.

The man laughed a cold, high laughter and stepped from the flames as if they had never been. Amberyl's hand closed over the hilt of the sword—it's handle as cold as the grave. She leapt forward and thrust the blade at him with all of her strength. He made no effort to dodge the weapon, and staggered only slightly as it slid into his chest.

“When I said `hone the blade', I didn't mean on me,” he explained delicately, as if speaking to a child. Amberyl's face paled. She took two unsteady steps backward, and turned to flee.

Amberyl flew down the cavern entrance, her feet barely touching the floor as she ran as fast as she ever had. She could hear him behind her, laughing as he gave chase. It was a reckless move; it would take a long time to reach the ground exit as a human, even at this pace. In a desperate decision, Amberyl bolted up the passageway that led to the cliff face. She knew that if she could not regain her wings, she would die anyway. A faint light glimmered ahead of her. She smelled fresh air, giving strength to her rapidly tiring body.

The shrill laughter of the seemingly unkillable man was even closer. Amberyl chanced a terrified glance behind her, but she could not see him. The cliff face entrance was within sight; but Amberyl could feel herself slowing as her breath came in ragged gasps. In desperation, she tried once more to release herself from her human form and return to the majesty of the dragon. Once more she felt a void where her strength should have been.

The man appeared in front of her in a flurry of movement, his cloak swirling about him.

“Too slow,” he goaded. Amberyl might have stopped, might have tried to fight, but as it was, she was too close, too tired, and going much too fast. With a yell, she leapt forward, bracing herself for impact. She saw a look of surprise on his face before it came in violent contact with her shoulder. Amberyl hissed in pain as she had again forgotten her shoulder wound. She fell rolling to the ground and regained her footing quickly. She was almost at the exit—it was only a stones throw away.

Spitting distance.

Arm's reach.

Amberyl launched herself from the cave, arms spread wide, hanging suspended for a single moment before she plummeted toward the forest hundreds of feet below.

 

~~~~~

 

Elphidel slowed his mount to a walk. He had learned that when traveling up a steep hill, it is best to go up slowly, and make up for lost time on the other side. Cresting the hill, he came to a full stop. His brow furrowed slightly. Another valley lay before him, stretching for miles. The sun was already setting—the days were becoming shorter.

“Inconvenient.” He nudged the horse to a canter, and then a full gallop down the hill.

Something caught his eye as he surveyed the mountainside far to the east. He fixed his attention on the cliff face, reined his horse in sharply. The beast skidded to a halt, and looked back at him in confusion. He stroked the animal's neck as he studied the rocks. His keen elven eyes scanned the cliff until he found what he was searching for. A falling spot of light against the slightly darker background signified the rapid descent of a body.

Elphidel sighed. What reason could there have been for someone to leap from such a height?

“Or, perhaps they were thrown,” he mused aloud. If made little difference. Unless the individual could sprout wings, they would perish in a matter of seconds. Elphidel studied the falling body for an instant longer. Something about it seemed strange. Yes, he was sure now. The falling figure was becoming larger. Over the vast distance, Elphidel could see the figure becoming larger and—ironically—sprouting wings. It caught the shining rays of the setting sun on dazzling red scales, creating the illusion of a blood red star.

However, the star was falling—very close to the ground. Elphidel watched impassively as the dragon struck the side of the rocky cliff face. He could hear its shrieks over the vast distance as it desperately tried to escape from its deadly fall. Its mighty wings stroked powerfully, but only once. The dragon disappeared from Elphidel's view as it crashed into the dense forestry. Elphidel watched for a moment longer. He did not see it rise.

Elphidel's mount nervously pawed the ground, also having heard the dragon's cry. Elphidel looked down the valley, hesitating. The day was too far gone for him to reach his home before nightfall anyway. He turned back to the site where he saw the dragon fall. He sighed, and kicked his mount's flanks, heading off the road.

 

~~~~~

Amberyl lay in agony on the forest floor. She had, in a moment of desperation, regained control of her true form—but once again lay on her back as a pathetic human. Her arm was positioned at an impossible angle beside her, and she felt no sensation in her legs. A long gash ran across her stomach from the thick trunk of a tree, and she felt a terrible throbbing sensation in her head. She was bleeding in various places, her dress becoming wet with blood.

She could not move, and the trees around her that were damaged by her initial fall as a dragon neatly pinpointed her location from the cliff face. Dead leaves and twigs lay about her, as well as smashed timbers—broken when she fell. The surrounding bushes had all been crushed, leaving Amberyl in a relatively large open space.

She swallowed, tasting blood in her mouth. With her labored breath, Amberyl cursed; cursed the gods, cursed her frail human body, cursed the man who killed her brother. She cursed them all, a trickle of blood seeping down her throat as she swore. Breathing soon became more difficult, and Amberyl could not find the strength to continue. She lay limply, staring with unseeing eyes as she willed herself to either transform into the shape of a dragon and heal, or die. After a long time, she gave up on both.

She was extremely tired, but every time she tired to close her eyes, the pounding sensation in her head seemed to increase tenfold. Forced to stare upward into the sky, she watched the clouds roll past. The sun was setting, and the clouds seemed bathed in blood as the sun set them afire. The anger and hatred began to slowly fade from her mind. How many times had she watched the sun fall behind the mountains?

She didn't enjoy watching the sky. Not really. It made her eyes hurt when she stared at it for too long. But she had never missed the opportunity to be by her brother's side. He always seemed to have an errand to run or somewhere to go—but each time he returned for her. He said it was the glorious sunset on the snowy peaks of the mountains. She didn't believe him.

Tears welled up in her eyes, though she tried hard not to cry—it hurt. She couldn't help it. Between her frustration, pain, anger, and loss of her beloved brother, Amberyl began to weep. Shuddering sobs wracked her body, causing a harsh throbbing in her arm and chest as her body shook.

The throbbing in her head became unbearable, and she strived to escape the agony and grief. Amberyl tried to rise, to get away from reality. The effort was too much for her beaten body, and she spiraled gratefully into unconsciousness.

 

~~~~~

 

The sun had disappeared completely, and Elphidel walked beside his horse through the woods guided by a dense ball of light in his hand. It was not wisdom to ride a horse on uneven ground, particularly in the night. He was sure he had seen the dragon fall in this area. He could not have miscalculated, so where was the dragon?

“A fool of a dragon to fly from its cave without the benefit of wings.” It was slightly irritating, not being able to find something so big. Elphidel's brow furrowed and he increased the light emanating from the sphere in his hand to a blinding radiance. He saw a small space before him where several trees had been smashed or felled. The glowing ball flickered and dimmed.

Elphidel began moving forward again, but his horse stumbled. He looked at the beast; its eyes were blinking rapidly. Elphidel sighed. So, he had raised a horse to stupid to shut its eyes when looking into a bright light during the night. He dropped the reins and continued alone.