Chapter Thirty-Nine #2
He places his fingers between his lips and whistles loudly out into the void.
The whistle echoes as it bounces off the walls and travels through the atmosphere.
He stares into the forest below, waiting for someone or something to peek its head out above the trees and answer his call.
I have seen this before with Mr Knight in the taming quadrant, but I find it hard to believe that Ryder is calling on an elion.
For starters, this habitat is way too confined for them, they like big open spaces.
Also, there are only ten recorded elions this side of Palidonia, and they all reside in the taming quadrant.
I glance at him quickly out of the corner of my eye, not wanting to peel them away from the scenery below for too long.
Ryder’s eyes remain locked onto the roots of a far tree that disappear into the grass and protrude out every few metres before curving back under into the soil.
The twisted roots seem to spread for miles around the secluded terrain and are often hidden by plants and shrubbery.
I squint my eyes to adjust to the darkness as silence becomes us.
“What are we looking at?” I whisper, not wanting to disturb the silence too much.
“You don’t see it?” He raises an eyebrow at me, and I shake my head slowly, trying to dismiss the possible thought of Ryder going mad.
“There.” He points to a grove of trees, their green leaves and branches entangled in one another, and I watch as they briefly shake, almost as if something is moving through them.
The rustles send whispered secrets into the wind, but I still don’t see anything.
“It’s okay, you can trust her,” he reassures the empty void beneath us, and my heart beats in an unfamiliar symphony as the unknown holds my nerves hostage.
He senses my worry and proceeds to rub soothing circles on my back; the warmth of his body eases me.
My lips part as a being shifts before me, morphing from transparent into a solid figure as if enchanted by a powerful sorcerer.
Its large scales shimmer with an otherworldly sheen, a deep amethyst that fades into twilight and twinkles in the glimmer of the moon.
Movements ripple like coils of violet silk across the forest floor as it slithers towards us.
A duo of citrine diamonds target me from afar, blinking every so often as the creature holds my gaze.
It pauses. Two great wings uncloak themselves from behind their lavender spine and extend themselves out across the land, fanning out to gain posture.
They resemble leathery sails and are covered in a patchwork of bruised purples that hang bat-like.
All I can think about is the immense power they must carry to lift such a mighty beast.
“Is that really what I think it is?” I whisper, my eyes entranced by the creature who leaps into the air with great ease.
A cool breeze blesses my bare skin with every flap of its lengthy wings. The slight chuckle of Ryder next to me breaks my eyes away from their disbelief. He is standing proudly with his arms crossed in front of him, looking over at the creature with a mixture of awe and dignity.
“This is Versivius…He may be the only sky serpent left in Palidonia.” His words affirm my thoughts, but I am still shocked at the beast in front of me.
“I thought they were extinct in this part of the world?” I state, still lost in the reptilian masterpiece I never thought I would see.
“So did I until I discovered him, that’s why this place must remain a secret,” he replies as Versivius hovers gracefully level with us.
His snakelike diamond face is sleek and covered in a lilac mosaic of scales.
Two great fangs hang like ivory tusks framing his jaw, poised and ready to deliver a vial of deadly venom if needed.
The same venom that courses through Ryder’s veins.
His forked tongue elongates fast and snaps back into his jaws like a rubber band, hissing quietly like steam escaping from a kettle.
“He is amazing,” I whisper just loud enough for Ryder to hear. My palm grows hot as Versivius breathes hot steam into it. He looks at me curiously, snaking his head slowly around me as if checking my identity.
‘You bring to me the Star Child.’
A low and raspy voice echoes through the cerebrum of my mind, making me jump back a little.
“You know who I am?” I question the enchanting creature before me.
‘I can recognise the smell of Star blood anywhere,’ he responds as his wings flap gently and my hair whistles through the cool gusts.
His eyes flicker towards Ryder, who stands with his head held high. ‘What is it I can do for you?’
“It’s about the missing Moons.” Ryder stares tentatively into his yellow eyes, and they soften at his gaze. He must have told Versivius all about them because he does not look surprised at the information.
‘Go on.’ His hisses fade into a faint hum as Ryder strokes the space between his olive-shaped nostrils.
“We are planning a stakeout at a suspected location, and the camouflage you provide would give us a great advantage,” he calls out to him and waits eagerly for his reply. Versivius flaps his wings harder and flies to a high tree stump, where he settles down and rests his wings.
‘Here I take refuge, I am hidden for a reason, Ryder.’
An icy chill runs down my spine as his tone becomes harsher, the amber in his irises darken as his eyes narrow. Ryder’s stance does not change.
“I know…and I would not be asking for your help if it weren’t important.” Ryder’s voice is sure and strong, but a hint of softness gentles the outline of his words. I can tell he and Versivius have a history. They are connected.
‘I am hunted.’ Versivius drops his head low, and his words tremble. ‘My kind have been slaughtered, my family taken from me, and so my fate is sealed.’
I feel the pain in his voice, the sorrow on his scales that make up a sombre mosaic, the marks and scars on his pale underside a permanent reminder of his past. But it is hard to see even a hint of vulnerability in such a strong creature.
How is such a fortified weapon even bruised by the mundane?
Serpents are twice the size of elions, and they are fully loaded with bullets of deadly venom.
“I know what it’s like…to wonder every day if your fate is going to be the same as the rest of your kind,” I interrupt, a shred of truth peeking through the blur of my mind.
“I have felt unworthy of my power…my shoulders are heavy with the weight of the destiny Oriah has forged for me, but it is a destiny I cannot outrun.”
My eyes roam the width of his angular snout before locking onto his amber eyes.
“The Moons are being plucked out one by one just as our kind were, and we have the power to change that.”
I break eye contact for a second to look at Ryder, who places his hand on the small of my back again. Versivius snakes his head towards us and waits a moment before answering, his tongue stretched out an inch away from my face.
‘You speak like a Queen,’ he hisses, and his tongue snaps back between his jaws. I cringe at the title, another weight too heavy for my already trembling shoulders. ‘I can see why you like her.’ He directs to Ryder, who folds his arms and nods like a soldier.
I clear my throat to turn his attention back to me. “So, what do you think?”
‘I think I have been in hiding for long enough…’
The yellow in his eyes sparkle as the moon’s gleam touches them. ‘…And it would be rude, if not traitorous, to decline orders from a Queen.’
His words slither against the walls of my mind, and I know he would laugh if he had such humour in him.
“I’m not-”
Ryder nudges me, halting the rest of the words from forming out of my mouth.
“We leave at sunrise,” Ryder orders. Versivius nods his head in response and exchanges a look of alliance between us both before swooping down from the tall stump and offering us his head to walk upon.
‘You may stay here until it is time to leave.’
His sentence slides as we make the small leap from the dusty ground onto his scaled armour.
Ryder jumps first, effortlessly landing on the flat of Versivus’ head.
He leans over and reaches his hand out to me, although it is a short leap, it is an awfully long way down to the bottom of this cave.
I accept Ryder’s aid and jump, knowing his grip will not fail me.
My feet don’t sink into the flesh of the sky serpent’s skin; instead, they clank as if I’m walking on a series of metal drains, ones that encompass pure muscle.
If I were blindfolded, I would not think I was aboard a serpent.
The terrain is so solid I would think I were scaling a small mountain if it weren’t for the ever-so-slight expanding and deflating of his lungs.
Ryder still grips my hand in his, he marches forward like a man on a mission, and I trail slightly behind, trying to keep up with his pace.
We hike the scales along the back of his neck until we reach a large dip between his shoulder blades.
Metre-long spikes protrude along the length of his spine.
Ryder wades past the first spike and wedges himself between the second and third spikes.
He gives me a reassuring nod, and I copy him, adjusting to the uneven surface as I position myself between the first and second spikes.
The spikes are spaced perfectly, just wide enough to hold a rider comfortably; its scales dip between each spike like a throne of armour.
I nestle myself into it and relax my back into the spike behind me.
Versivius swoops down, and I sink into my seat further.
He takes the long way round, swirling around the cave like water circling a drain.
I shut my eyes and grip onto the spike in front of me, as the motion dizzies my head, threatening the little food in my stomach to make an appearance.
The ground quakes when he lands as his six legs force contact with the ground below, and I open my eyes knowing the descent is over.
My stomach settles as Ryder grips my forearm to pull me up.
“That was quite the descent,” I say to Versivius, holding my head to comfort the dull ache, and Ryder laughs whilst Versivius huffs out a thick steam from his nose.
“You’ll get used to it,” Ryder comments and leads me down from Versivius back, sliding the way down his outstretched wing and onto the forest floor.
I take leisure on a fallen tree trunk, resting my legs from an eventful twenty-four hours, whilst Versivius disappears into a burrow in the ground beside us.
Ryder searches the floor for dry twigs and bark to use as kindling for a fire.
It is not too cold due to the lava lying dormant hundreds of metres beneath our feet, but I can see myself catching a chill if not careful.
He lays them out carefully, creating a teepee-like structure, then flashes me a look to get me to light them with my Gifts.
The fire crackles as I rest my head on Ryder’s shoulder, shutting my eyes momentarily as the need to sleep fights me.
“So she does sleep!” He laughs, startling me to pry my eyes open.
“Of course, I sleep, I’m not a complete weirdo.” I nudge my shoulder into him and laugh at his humour.
“Well…” He shrugs, and I gasp at his insinuation of me being weird and send a playful hit his way, but it lacks force due to my fatigue. He rubs the afflicted area and feigns being hurt. “I forgot how feisty you were,” he adds, and I laugh as I nestle my head back into the warmth of his body.
“Shut up.” My words a whisper as I sink deeper into the comforting movements of his chest.
“It’s okay, you should sleep. We have a very busy day tomorrow.” He pats the thighs of his legs and gestures for me to lay my head there, and I plunge into his lap.
Ryder’s fingers gently explore the contours of my head, parting the strands of my hair like a soft breeze through long grass and massaging my scalp. The smoke from the fire weighs my eyelids as I fall into a deep slumber, giving in to the calm of his touch.