Heir of Dust and Wind

Chapter 20 - The Temple

"It's one of the fallen ones," Trygve's voice said inside her mind.

He clearly didn't dare speak out loud for fear that the spell primarily designed to conceal their magic wouldn't be soundproof.

Although the beast shouldn't be able to hear them or detect their magic, it still lifted its ugly head, scanning the area with its pale, lifeless eyes, tail swishing agitatedly. The gesture made all three of them cease breathing as it turned its empty stare to where they were standing. Its nostrils flared as it sniffed the air intently.

It can't see me. It can't see me. It can't see me. 

Ava kept repeating the words over and over as if they would somehow divert the monster's attention. 

Just as she felt holding her breath nearly impossible, the fallen one  turned away its gaze and rested his head back on its forearm.

Even though she dared to let the air out of her lungs now, Ava's skin still ran cold, sweat trickling down her brows and spine.

If it had truly learned of our being here, it would have attacked instantly.

Ava didn't quite know what to make of Trygve's statement. Was it a mere summary of the facts or supposed to reassure her? If he had aimed at the latter, he had failed spectacularly, for even he sounded quite shaken. 

From Orla's books, she had learned that the fallen ones, those Dracaeni that had been in Dunstan's service when he fell victim to his own experiments. Those that remained and hadn't been killed instantly, slowly withered away, drained by the dark forces that now dwelled inside their veins.

Ava had encountered one in his human form before, but not the dragon version. It was not necessarily an acquaintance one needed to make, she thought. Not only did it share the colourless exterior of the man she had encountered in the bookshop, but it also reeked of the same foul odours that now wavered over to them. Rot, decay, and death. It made Ava's stomach churn uncomfortably, shivers running down her spine.

While fallen ones still walked the three dimensions in either of their two forms, they were but empty shells, their blood tainted with black magic, mindlessly following the baser instincts except of course their master's commands. 

Of all the creatures that allegedly roamed the vast emptiness of the Wasteland, the one in front of them was clearly the worst.

"I will distract it, while you finish the quest," Ava heard another voice brush across her mind.

They had roughly filled Gainor in on how her ability worked earlier, but there hadn't been time for experiments, so Ava was slightly surprised upon hearing him join the conversation. And who would've known she could host conference calls inside her head?

"That would be foolish," Trygve said, mirroring her own feelings on the topic. 

Gainor was still weakened and even a Dracaeni at his best would have a hard time defeating the monster only a few yards away from them.

"Have you got any better ideas?", Gainor shot back. "I don't see how it's going to move out of the way if we only ask it nicely."

"I'm going to do it," Trygve declared with finality.

"Absolutely not, brother! If this goes wrong, her chances of surviving are higher with you by her side."

Ava's heart ached slightly at Gainor's stubborn determination. Unlike Trygve, he didn't seem to have any problems with sharing his opinions openly. Sadly, that was probably one of the main reasons he had had to endure more punishments than almost any other Dracaeni in Frode's service. As she had guessed earlier, his psychological wounds ran much deeper than his newly healed outside let on.