Fell Dragon Book 4 Part 26

Greetings all

It's with a very heavy heart I update Fell Dragon today. Yesterday I took Cupcake, my little writing partner, to the vet to figure out why she was under the weather. At 2.5 years old, I figured it could be an age-related disease and something I would have to manage for the rest of her short life. Sadly, after some x-rays, we realised that she had two tumours growing in her chest. One on her heart, and the other further down in her lungs. Both are inoperable, as she would need a new heart and lungs to recover from this.

Cupcake has been my little writing buddy for as long as she has been alive and I can't imagine not having her on my shoulder as I write. At this time, the vet says she is too healthy to consider putting down, so we are doing palliative care until she tells me she is ready.

Cupcake was there when I started writing Fell Dragon, and it's going to be tough to finish the series once she goes. She has been a wonderful little rat and until she does eventually leave us, she'll continue to sit on my shoulder and judge me for what I am doing to my characters.

Now that the trauma dump is over, we are officially starting Saita's background as of today. Please note, the following updates are not meant for sensitive viewers. You have been cautioned!

Edzeeker was surprised that his shackles had been removed, but when he saw the spell etched onto the floor of the room, he knew Sedeath didn’t fear his escape. This was powerful magic, and he was surprised the whelp Jethron was able to put it together. The Dekai pointed to where he expected Edzeeker to sit, but he refused.

“I want to speak to the girl before she enters that circle.”

“You don’t get to make demands.” Said Jethron.

Edzeeker took a deep breath and said, “Your Majesty, this is going to be a confusing time for her. Especially the last six months of her capture. She needs to know what is going to happen.”

Jethron pointed to a symbol and said, “This is all she needs.”

The older Dekai clenched his teeth and hissed, “Do you want her mind to shatter? Experiencing all that again…”

“Will give her the opportunity needed to form true memories.” Jethron sat down on his symbol and invited Edzeeker, “The way you are acting has me believing there are things you don’t want her to see.”

“I feel shame, but I would also prefer to remain alive by the end of this spell.” Edzeeker eventually stepped forward to sit next to Jethron.

“I agree. Now sit still.” He drew another symbol and placed it on the older Dekai’s forehead, “For truth and protection.”

“I can’t lie within this spell, why bother?”

“So, you can see the truth of what really happened. You need to face what you did as much as what she does. See this as Saita’s retribution. You were the one to put this thought in her head while I tried to stop you.”

Edzeeker sighed softly and waited for the other players to enter the spell. He already sensed the old woman who had accompanied them. She was along the edges of the spell, hiding in the dark, she would help guide the girl through the memories externally. She was already marked and ready to do her part. The last two parts, Saita and Doran were on their way. Saita would remain unmarked, and outside of the circle while Doran would be marked and placed in his part of the spell. Once all the players are ready, Saita would enter the spell. She would hear, see, and feel everything Edzeeker had been forced to do to her. He hoped the old woman knew what she was doing.

“Don’t think you can hide winged one.” Said Silens from the dark, “Your memories are bare, and you will give her back what is hers. As to whether she will crumble or build herself up will be a testament to what strength was instilled in her by her family. The doctor may have been insane, but he was a genius, he knew forming bonds would empower her.”

“Ooh, I misjudged you.” Edzeeker grinned, “The girl is in very good hands.”
“We will see.”

Edzeeker then turned to Jethron and added. “The last time the girl had strength and saw me face to face she tried to rip my throat out with her teeth. Do you have a plan against that happening?”

“Doran will control her, and she will not be facing you during this spell.” Jethron closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath before calling to Silens, “You remember what I told you?”

“I will not forget Grandson.”

Jethron grinned a little but that fell from his face when Doran entered Saita at his side. The wave of emotion hit him hard, and he almost lost grip on the spell in the room. Doran leaned down a little to whisper something at Saita, and she looked away from the Dekai.

“Where do you want me?” Said Saita after a few minutes of fighting her own inner demons.

“You stay right there.” Jethron then pointed to Doran’s symbol and added. “Doran, you need to sit here, facing me.”

Doran gave a squeeze to Saita’s shoulder and made his way to where he needed to be. Jethron looked up to see Saita grit her teeth at being left to stand on her own. He slowly drew a symbol in the air and sent it to rest on Doran’s forehead.

“What is this?” asked the human, clearly not trusting anything being done today.

“Guided guardianship. The same symbol given to Silens.”

The Dekai looked up to Saita and said, “You understand that once we start there is no way for this ceremony to be stopped? We will be trying to uncover everything that had been hidden from you. This will extend from before you were taken to where you stand today. This is the last chance you will get to back out if you cannot go through with this. The moment you step into your position your life will play out for you. You won’t only get memories back, but you will relive everything that was done to you. Can you live with that? Is the truth worth that much to you?”

The human took a slow breath in before she looked up at the Dekai who had torn her life apart. Unafraid, he looked her in the eye and grinned. He had everything she ever needed and wanted to know. He knew that once she accepted this, she would see the truth of everything.

“What do I have to do?” She said softly.

The last thing Saita remembered was Jethron telling her to sit facing Doran. Now there was nothing but darkness. The irritation of the marks growing under her skin had disappeared, and the pain from her leg wasn’t even a dull thud. It was hard to decipher what was up and down in the inky blackness but eventually, her feet seemed to land on something. It was soft, cool, and the texture felt like dirt. She took a deep breath and smelt the scent of earth. It was dirt. Soon the taste of it entered her mouth and she tried to spit it out. Using her hands, she wiped at her face to get rid of the feeling of dirt there.

Then there was a feeling of being pulled upward. The feeling startled her, not because she was being pulled, but the sheer size of the hands that went around her middle. It felt that they covered her entire ribcage. Panic gripped her and she started to struggle. A deep voice seemed to say something, and she heard laughter. She was then placed in one arm while a hand wiped away the dirt that seemingly covered her eyes. Once her vision had cleared, she was met with the face of a man with a short grey beard and the bluest eyes she had ever seen. He seemed to be talking to her, but she couldn’t make out the words he was using. He seemed proud and smiling. He then held her tightly before putting her back in the dirt.

The loamy soil felt strange on her knees and hands, she didn’t like it. She pushed herself from it and almost fell over backwards. Somehow, she managed to hold her balance. She stood like this for some time before there was a gentle nudge on her back. She took a step, wobbling as she tried, before another step was followed. The uneven ground made for difficult walking, but she seemed to be on a mission, though to where she didn’t know. It didn’t take long before she was face-first in the dirt again, but this time, the frustration was too much, and she burst into tears.

Where am I? What is this?”

Again, she heard a voice, this time a soft, more feminine voice, before she was picked up again. This time the hands were considerably smaller, and they didn’t grip as tightly. She was then cradled and was able to look up at the one holding her. Another set of blue eyes peered down at her. The woman had lighter blue eyes, and short mousy blonde hair that had been tucked behind her ears. She was smiling broadly, but her eyes were awash with tears. Then the male figure joined her to look over her shoulder. They seemed to be conversing with each other while looking down at her. Now that she saw their faces together realisation hit her hard. They were faces she had seen looking back at her so many times before in the mirror. Edzeeker had been right, she looked a lot like her father.

“Well, that’s surprising.” Mumbled Jethron as he continued to maintain the spell, “I didn’t think she was capable of remembering her parents.”

Next to him, Edzeeker sat in a trance with his eyes closed, Jethron was sure Saita was in a similar trance. Silens was walking around the perimeter of the spell maintaining her abilities and having more ready if they were required. Doran could only look at his charge before him with pity. It was clear from what he had seen that she had had a loving family. He was trying to collect as many details as possible from what he was seeing in his mind’s eye so that he could trace any family later.

He already knew that her family were farmers on one of the colony planets. He wasn’t sure which one yet, but he had noted two moons. It had been difficult to gather a lot of information as he wasn’t able to hear anything the couple had said during Saita’s first steps.

“She didn’t understand language then, so you wouldn’t have understood anything her parents said.” Jethron looked over to Edzeeker. “Sadly, it won’t be much longer now. You will need to be ready for what she experiences next for I fear it won’t be pleasant for anyone.”

“Can’t we…let her hang onto these moments a little longer?” begged Doran.
“I wish I could let her, but we don’t have the time.” Jethron drew another symbol, “Silens?”

“I am ready.”

Saita had been frustrated with her form at first, but as she aged, she found things were easier to do. Especially when it came to running after her father as he harvested vegetables from the family’s small personal garden. She took great joy in carrying the basket as he picked vegetables and handed them to her.

“Looks like you will get some strawberries soon.” He said as he pointed to a container that had several partially ripe strawberries. “Maybe Mommy can bake them into your next birthday cake.”

She grinned and lifted the basket higher to accept some tomatoes. The older man grinned at her and patted her head, “What am I going to do with you? Colony life is just going to bore you, but your mother will kill me if I suggest sending you to boarding school. I want more for you than a farm on a colony world.”

“Love you.” Said Saita.

“Aye girl, I love you too.” He patted her head. “Let’s go inside and see what your mother has prepared for lunch. I have a meeting to attend afterwards. Perhaps I can get my grubby paws on the standing land. Would be nice to grow some potatoes in that field.”

“I love potatoes!”

“You love everything.”

“Not wrong.”

“No, you’re right, it’s not wrong to love everything.” The man took the basket away from her and with one arm, lifted her until she came to rest behind his neck, “Now hold on tightly.”

She gripped his forehead and looked up at the sky above her. It was impossibly blue, like her father’s eyes, for she knew now this man was her father. The last few years had felt like a dream, and it had taken her a while to accept it. Faint memories of another world lingered in her mind, but they seemed so far away, and she didn’t want to think of them.

“Hmm? That looks like a ship. Funny, I didn’t let anyone know the harvest was ready.”

Saita’s vision was drawn to an object that had landed in an empty field. She could sense her father’s irritation. He had built a landing zone a year ago, and still, people thought it was a good idea to land in a bare field.

“Idiots.” She hissed.

“Now, now, that mouth will get washed out with soap again if you aren’t careful.”

Her father put her on the ground and gave her the basket, “Take this into the house and tell your mother we have guests.”

She nodded her head and took the basket indoors where she found her mother at the kitchen table. Saita was too short to see what she was doing but she did notice her mother had stopped what she was doing.

“Mom?”

“Go to your room.” The woman hissed suddenly as she stepped around her daughter to join her husband.

Confused, Saita turned to see a strange man close to the entrance of the house. He was much taller than her father and he looked funny, not like the other people that had come to the farm in the past. This man and her father seemed to be in a heated argument. There was a lot of gesturing, and their voices were getting louder. Saita was used to her father haggling with clients before, but this seemed different, like the time she had copied his ability to control rocks and threw one through a window. He was angry, but she didn’t understand why.

Putting the basket down, she came to stand behind her mother and peered around her at the two men arguing. This was when she realised the other person wasn’t a man. No, he looked different from those that had come here before. His ears were pointed, and with the way he was shouting, she noticed some of his teeth were pointed too. Then she caught a look at his back.

“Wings!” she exclaimed, “Like a bat!”

Her parents turned and looked at her in horror. At first, she thought she had said something rude, but then the stranger grinned and she felt the energy in the air change.

“There you are.”

Saita had never known terror until that moment in her short life. Her mother bent down to grab her, but not before she saw the creature grab her father and throw him into the house. However, this didn’t stop the man. He controlled the very earth, and their house was made of bricks. He was prepared to defend his family and Saita truly believed her father would keep them safe. Yet somehow, the creature was able to stop everything he threw at him. Saita didn’t see the rest of the fight as her mother covered her head and fled from the house. They didn’t get far. Her mother skidded to a stop as something thudded in front of her. Saita glanced down and felt all the blood drain from her face as she saw her father’s bloodied and mangled corpse.

“He didn’t have to die. I would have let you live if you had just given her to me.” The creature sighed behind them. “But now it would seem I have no choice.”
Saita’s mother put her down and looked at the creature in defiance before saying slowly, “I have known for years what was coming. Even before my pregnancy.”
The creature tilted his head and asked, “Oh, are you what the humans refer to as a sensitive?”
“The Fell Dragon nears, and you have no one to blame but yourself. Now you want to take my daughter to fulfil what you believe will be the end. You are sorely mistaken Edzeeker, the wheel turns, and you will only bring suffering.”

“Don’t make me kill you in front of her.” The creature didn’t even bat an eyelid at her knowing his name.

Saita’s mother slowly shook her head, “I should have ended the pregnancy when I knew you were coming, but he was so happy to finally be a father. I had hoped that you would go to a different time and leave us be.”

“Give me the child.”

Saita had always thought her mother brave, but when she looked up at her now, all she saw was the tears of terror that ran down her face.

“Mommy?”

“Swear to me that she won’t remember what you do to her. She doesn’t deserve this.”

The creature took a step forward and Saita suddenly found herself enveloped by her mother’s arms.

“Remember who you are and not who you will become.” The woman whispered, before saying one last word before falling silent.

The next thing Saita knew, she was being carried away from where her mother and father lay. A clawed hand kept her firmly planted against this creature’s shoulder and no matter how she squirmed, she couldn’t break away from his grip.

“I am sorry for what I am about to put you through but once you are older, you’ll understand.” Said the creature, “I’ll keep my promise to your mother. You won’t remember this.”

And there you have it. That is how Edzeeker found and kidnapped Saita. It isn't going to get better from here folks. I'll keep the trigger warning us as long as we go through these scenes.

Book 4
For those of you who have never heard of Fell Dragon you can find Book 1 here, Book 2 here and the start of Book 3 here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I love discussing my books!
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
Saasha’s Direct Family
Saith Characters Recap
Human Characters Recap
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Part 25>>You are Here>>Part 27
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