The Eternal War: The Dragon's Valkyrie

The Creature of Time

Standing at the edge of the fire's glow, was a creature no larger than a dwarf. It was hairless, and its skin was a sickly brown. Long pointed ears, similar to a wolf's, twitched on the sides of its head.

Saidy watched as it sniffed at the air. It hobbled on hunched legs with two large feet. The creature drug long claws through the dirt behind it. Saidy followed the slender arms attached to those claws back up to its face as it neared one of the men. It sniffed inches from the man's hand. Only two small holes between two covered eyes were all it had to call a nose. The eyes seemed like the skin had been melted over. How it saw anything, or knew the man was frozen there was beyond Saidy.

Saidy held her breath. She felt if she made no sound or movement, she'd remain unnoticed. However, a dreadful terror crept inside her, much like the one she felt when she encountered that shadow deep in the cave where she found the first heart.

A creature that can move through time must be something terrible indeed.

She felt Ash rumble behind her. The growl was inaudible compared to the pounding in her chest.

"No, Ash, shh." She turned to comfort him, shooting a glance over her shoulder at the creature.

Saidy prayed the thing didn't hear her, then she prayed the creature was peaceful. Its ear twitched at the slight sound of her voice. The creature's head snapped toward her, and a mouth opened. strands of flesh stretched and dangled around the orifice. Nothing but darkness lay inside the mouth, no tongue seemed to exist.

Jagged teeth like bush thorns littered the inside and lined down its throat. The creature bolted for Saidy. Its arms flailed around its head. Saidy kicked the blanket off her and stood to draw her swords, but Ash leapt instead, taking the creature in its mouth.

Ash threw the creature into the air and caught it between his fangs. Dark blood exploded from its body and pooled on the dirt below. The creature writhed in Ash's mouth before being spat onto the ground. Its final death throw sounded like a reversed squeal that echoed through the mountains.

Saidy panted. It was dead, thanks to Ash. But the moment of silence that followed its death was soon filled with the echoes of that very scream repeated hundreds of thousands, if not millions of times over. They came from all around her.

Saidy felt each shriek shoot through her like a bolt of lightning. She clambered into Ash's saddle and kicked his ribs, willing him into a sprint. Ash tore through the landscape, and Saidy guided him towards the Heart's pull. The creatures she'd heard echo the call began pouring in all around her. They dripped off an overhanging ledge as her and Ash ran underneath. Two of them managed to cling to Ash, and the wolf howled in pain. One landed on his shoulder in front of Saidy and another on his haunch behind Saidy.

Saidy drew one of her swords and stabbed the one in front through the head, causing it to fall into the sea of its brethren that raced behind them. She kicked the other off soon after. Saidy's heart raced as her and Ash fought against the growing tide. It wasn't a mere fight to survive, but one to keep from being swallowed by the masses.

They both knew that stopping or slowing meant death. Ash chomped into any that crossed his path and pounced on others as he tore through the horde. Saidy drew both her swords and squeezed Ash's sides with her knees to keep her seated. She cut away any who dared attack Ash's sides and rear.

As the night wore on, Saidy felt a moment of relief as they broke through the growing ocean of monsters and out onto a cliffside road that spiraled up a tall snow-capped mountain. However, the creatures never gave up pursuit. They melted off the edges of the road as they chased them up the mountain side. Saidy was surprised that they were able to keep pace with Ash for the most part. It was a hard-fought race to the top, and slowly they disappeared from Saidy's view when she turned over her shoulder.

The road narrowed into a small snow-covered trail. Ash was forced to slow down to keep from slipping over the edge and sending them both to their deaths. The night grew darker. Clouds began to roll over the mountain top above the time barrier, and the white snow was all they had to guide their way.

Despite the bumps forming on Saidy's skin, all she could feel was her blood racing through her veins. They needed a way off the mountainside. Although the bottleneck the trail would give, she knew she wouldn't be able to fight off all those monsters before one got her or she lost her footing. Her vision seemed to throb when she thought of the drop over the edge, and her heart leapt into her throat.

Eventually, the shrieks of the monsters faded. Had they given up the chase?

The night continued to darken. Saidy thought of turning back, but the heart's pull had begun to spiral—always facing toward the center of the mountain. She'd nearly forgotten about it with all the adrenaline that coursed through her. Saidy felt the bite of the snowcapped mountain too and pulled her cloak around her. She sheathed her swords and laid down on Ash's back. She could feel his warmth rising through his thick coat onto her cheek. His breath was strong and steady, and she felt every muscle ripple with each step he took up the mountain.

After what felt like time slowing to a stop for her too, she felt Ash flatten out. No longer did his body incline, and she shot up in her saddle. She felt the drool on her cheek begin to freeze. She hadn't even realized she'd fallen asleep. Ash stopped. They were on a plateau, and from what she could see, the mountain's pointed peak stood just below the top of the barrier. She hadn't even been able to see the translucent yellow shimmer of it before, which told her just how high up she was.

The world turned white for a moment, and the dull roll of thunder echoed high above her. Even time itself couldn't keep the powers of nature at bay. She waited for rain or snow, but none came.

Nothing entered the time barrier save for herself, and those stupid enough to try and face the horde she'd luckily escaped. A shot of fear ran through her veins as she thought about it. One wrong turn, one misstep from Ash, and they'd have either plummeted to their deaths, or been devoured by those things.

The Heart pulled toward the mountain still. A cave mouth was hollowed into the side of it. The mouth stood ten times larger than any she'd ever seen. It seemed large enough to fit a castle through it.

"Guess it's better than the snow..." she said as she turned Ash towards it. Ash was hesitant, however. He growled at the entrance. But the heart pulled toward it.

Maybe he senses the Heart?

Saidy patted the side of his neck. "It's okay, boy." She slid off the wolf and grabbed the reins, pulling Ash along with her as she made for the cave.

Ash planted his feet and gave a small whimper. Saidy tugged harder on his reins. Ash continued to resist but stepped through the threshold. The cave was dark, and Saidy relied on Ash's eyes and nose to guide them deeper inside.

She felt the air change as soon as they entered. It was no longer cold, but it wasn't warm. Unlike the rest, it didn't feel stagnant either. No more was there a scent of mold or dust. Saidy pinched her brows together. Could she hear the earth moving within? She strained with everything she had, listening for what she thought was a sound, but she couldn't be certain.

"Welcome Saidy Ebonharte, daughter of Yutan Ebonharte, blood of the Valkyrie," A voice, deep and powerful, filled the cave, or her mind, Saidy wasn't sure which. "I have long awaited your arrival. Come in." The voice echoed off the walls this time, and Saidy was certain it wasn't in her head.

The Heart also stopped pulling at her chest. Then, fire lit up in a circle around something—something gold. Ash whined and fled behind Saidy.

"Shh, it's okay, Ash," Saidy said as she turned and threaded her fingers through his fur before turning back to the origin of the voice.

A red feline eye opened and fixated itself on Saidy. She watched its wings stretch. They were like glittering bone with leather webbing between. Black spines, larger than lances trailed its back into a barbed tail. Its scales glittered in the light of the flame, and its four legs were thick as old oak trunks. The creature looked at her, and there was no mistake what she'd come face to face with.

A dragon.