Xerox was seized with a moment of panic. How could this have happened? Aluna had been so easy to control up until now. She was a valuable guinea pig, and he needed her to achieve his goals. A great druid like him could not stop in the midst of his most important work, meaning he had to try everything in his power to bring her back.
Feeling her wrist, he found that her pulse was very weak, almost nonexistent. The fire monster must have gotten the better of her this time. There was only one thing left he could do. The girl would have to drink the water of the Sacred River, or else she would die, and the fruit of all his experiments would die along with her.
However, there was a problem with that plan: to dip even a single finger in the Sacred River was forbidden. It was in the territory of the Orgads, aquatic creatures who were its ruthless guards. The consequences of defying their laws would be severe, probably fatal. Still, he had no other choice. No magical cure could save her, considering what had caused her injury. The river was the only answer, because losing Aluna was not an option. The druid thought for a long minute and decided he would risk anything to save her. His work was more important than that ridiculous ban on breaching the river, and if there was some sort of magical spell in place to kill those who broke the law, he would defend himself or flee, especially if Attila was with him. He had to try.
Once he was decided, Xerox took two masex and attached them to his belt, before attempting to carry the body out of the cellar. His arms were not strong enough, so he had to find another way. He put his hand to his belt. One of the masex lit up, and Aluna’s body levitated off the ground. Moving forward, he touched the second masex and the wall before him turned cloudy. A black hole materialized in the midst of the stones and he heard a muffled sound: it was the cry of the dragon that had just appeared.
“There you are, Attila,” Xerox said. “I need you to bring me somewhere.”
The beast let out a roar and lowered its mane, allowing his master to mount it. Xerox levitated Aluna’s body and set it down on the animal’s back.
Its eyes were piercing red, and its reptilian skin gleamed with the light of a thousand fires through its golden fur. Two huge fangs extended past the corners of its mouth, which contained several rows of sharp teeth. Only the dragon’s head and neck had emerged through the black hole but it was clear the creature was enormous.
Xerox climbed up quickly and sat on the animal’s back, then disappeared into the passage, which closed up behind him like it had never existed. The crossing took just seconds, but it seemed an eternity to the old man. When he no longer felt Aluna’s pulse, he ordered Attila to speed up. The dragon growled, beating its wings frantically, and was soon flying so fast that Xerox had to keep Aluna’s body balanced on its back. They finally came out of the passage and found themselves high in a twilight sky.
Xerox directed Attila where to go, all the while glancing down again and again at the body he was carrying. It took several hours before an immense stretch of green spread before them. Xerox ordered Attila to reach the tree level and slow down. The animal reduced the flapping of its wings and glided gracefully over the forest, heading east.
∾
On the ground, while looking through his telescope, one of the soldiers of the Goran royal guard spotted an object flying towards the Sacred Forest. He left his post and ran to his commanding officer to report what he had seen.
“Lieutenant! I saw somethin’—somethin’ big—in the air. It’s comin’ this way, and it’s not a bird! It’s comin’ from the west, and it’ll be over our heads in less than fifteen minutes!”
Lieutenant Neilarus, sitting atop his brown horse, exclaimed:
“Well, finally some action!”
“What are the orders, Lieutenant?” the guard asked, trembling.
Neilarus looked down at him, amused. The man had reasons to be afraid. After all, it was not every day that they saw a large creature flying over the forest. It could only mean one thing: a chimera or some other magical being was coming towards them. And the lieutenant, for one, would take pleasure in killing it.
“Return to your post, inform the others and prepare yourselves to attack when the target is within range! I’m going to warn the captain.”
The soldier ran off towards one of the wooden towers, built to survey the area during the prince’s hunts. He relayed the message to his comrades and got into position, ready to shoot.
The lieutenant galloped to the edge of the forest, where he found the prince and the highly respected Kenton, captain of the royal guard, talking cheerfully. Neilarus jumped down from his horse and rushed up to them.
“Captain, I have an incident to report!”
The two men turned at the sound of his voice. Neilarus bowed respectfully to the prince.
“A massive creature has been spotted above the forest,” the lieutenant announced. “The creature is still at a distance, but it appears to be heading straight towards us!”
“How long before it reaches us?” Kenton asked worriedly.
“It should be above us in ten minutes. I have given the order to attack once the creature is within range.”
“Well done, Lieutenant. Have you been able to identify the creature?”
“No, Captain, but my best guess would be a chimera—one unlike any we’ve seen since the war!”
“I certainly hope not,” Kenton said calmly.
“Speak quickly, gentlemen: this could be our dragon!” the prince interrupted them. “We must be prepared to fight.”
“I doubt that” Kenton countered. “I’m willing to bet that the dragon we’re looking for would have shown up near the river, closer to us in any case, not coming from outside the forest. I’m thinking this creature is probably a second-rank chimera—which means there must be someone controlling it . . . and if whoever it is passes over us, they’ll head straight for the river or even further on towards Crystallia. Is it possible that…?”
“Who are you thinking of?” the prince frowned.
“I’m thinking of the rebels. I am worried that some of them do not care about the Lord Regent’s cause anymore. I have heard that a small group of them might want to avenge the deaths of their comrades, lost during the war, by attacking our neighbors again.”
“That would be a disaster,” the prince declared. “This truce we’ve managed is more than we ever hoped for. If this person reaches the other side of the river and attacks them somehow, the Queen will think we are trying to start another war. This creature must be stopped at all costs!”
“I agree with you, Prince,” Kenton said. “Lieutenant, follow the creature. We must have someone there when it lands. If it does.”
Neilarus nodded and took off.
“Kenton, we should go to the river,” the prince suggested. “I want to see this creature up close.”
“Very well, Prince.”
The two men mounted their respective horses and rushed towards the river, which was only a few hundred yards away. They soon reached the clearing overlooking the Sacred River that served as the border between their kingdom and that of Crystallia.
The prince dismounted, passed several soldiers and approached the vast expanse of water, in which reflected the full moon. At first sight, the river did not appear particularly unique, but there were uncountable myths and legends surrounding it. For instance, it was said that the water had the power to cure any wound. The prince had never dipped so much as a thumb in it, due to the ban that had been imposed centuries ago by their neighboring kingdom. This ban had become all the more important since the truce had been signed, seeing as the river was a site sacred to the Orgads, who were citizens of Crystallia. The Orgads were the only ones allowed to enter it. In the current political climate, violating the ban would breach the terms of the hard-won truce. The prince was not aware of the reason behind this law, but as far as he knew, no one had ever dared to infringe it.
A soldier’s cry pulled him out of his thoughts.
“We got it! The beast has been hit! The beast has been hit!”
The prince looked up and saw a human figure falling from the sky. He could not tell whether it was a man or a woman, but he knew the person was about to land right into the river!
∾
While gliding over the forest looking for an open space to land, Xerox was surprised to see arrows flying in their direction. Before he could react, Attila was struck. The old man tried to stay upright and not lose control of his beast. They were near the river, but the soldiers below made things very complicated. No one was supposed to be there, especially at this late hour. Furious, Xerox clenched his jaw, refusing to give up. He was too close to his goal.
Slowing down, he tried to avoid the barrage of arrows. He could surely reach the river by the south and take a bit of water on his way before fleeing. However, as he approached, a dozen more arrows were loosed towards him. Attila reared back instinctively, and inadvertently sent Aluna’s body tumbling off its back. The druid directed his chimera to dive after her, but there was already a pack of soldiers gathering on the shore. If he tried to rescue her, he would be captured.
It was too risky. At the speed she was falling, she was doomed anyway. Xerox swore to contain his anger and touched the animal’s flank to calm it and make it understand that the battle was lost. He rose up above reach of the arrows and did a U-turn in the air; he would have to get back to the house right away to cover his tracks.
∾
The prince’s eyes were fixed on the human figure tumbling towards the river.
“Kenton, look at that!” he shouted, pointing.
The captain of the guard, running over, was shocked to see a woman’s body hit the water at full speed. No one—not the captain, the prince or any of the soldiers—dared to move. Kenton spoke first, calling to the nearest officer:
“The hunt is over! Call all the soldiers back to the castle immediately!”
“Understood.”
The officer gathered the soldiers and led them away. Kenton waited until they had left before beseeching the prince:
“Prince, we must go and we must do it now!”
His friend seemed to be in a fog. Kenton urged, “Prince!”
“It’s just a girl. . .” he finally said, still staring at the river. “We have to save her!”
“What are you saying?”
“I just told you: we have to save her! Why did you send everyone away? We’re going to need help to pull her out!”
“Prince! No matter where this girl came from, she has just committed a crime against our neighbors. We cannot get involved in this! We must go, right away!”
“We have to save her. . .”
“Listen to me!” Kenton insisted, sensing the prince was losing touch with reality. “If someone has the misfortune to enter the river to save her, he, too, will be guilty of a crime against the queen!”
“I . . . maybe the queen will never find out. We can’t let this girl drown, she’s a human being!”
“She could be a spy—or worse, a rebel! I must insist, Prince: we have to go.”
“I. . .”
The prince was torn. He could not bear to see someone die before his eyes. He hoped with all his heart for the girl to find her way to the surface. But nothing happened. Kenton put a hand on his shoulder and looked at him as if to say there was nothing more they could do. However, the prince did not share his view. His late mother had instilled good values in him and taught him to always do what he felt was right. And abandoning this stranger to the cruel hands of fate was not right.
Decided, the prince took a deep breath and plunged into the river, ignoring Kenton’s cries: “Prince! Come back!”
He swam as fast as he could. The stranger’s body was already far down in the bottomless waters. He kept moving, hoping she was still alive. If she was not, he did not know how he could forgive himself. He went towards her and reached for her hand. But the river was unpredictable. An unforeseen current pulled him back. He pushed forward again and, this time, succeeded in grasping the girl’s hand. He grabbed her firmly and began moving upward.
That was when he noticed something shining below them. He was curious to see what it was, but he needed air. So he kept swimming. His movements quickly became painful; still, undeterred, he drew on what was left of his strength and made a last-ditch effort. Several strokes later, he approached the surface, secretly thanking his father for having forced him to learn to swim very young. A prince should be ready to face any possible situation, he had said. He had been right. Once his head was out of the water, he inhaled a huge breath of fresh air, which made him feel as if he were being brought back to life. He then swam slowly to the shore, where a panicked Kenton was waiting for him. The prince had barely emerged when his friend fell on him and shook him violently.
“What were you thinking? By the seal of Maldas! What were you thinking?”
He answered with a smile. “I’m fine, thank you for your concern.”
“You are completely reckless!” the captain of the guard exclaimed, finally releasing him.
Without even catching his breath, the prince went to check on the girl. He noticed she had exquisite ebony skin and a body so stunning it took what was left of his breath. He pressed his ear to her chest, and then turned to Kenton, pleading:
“Her heart isn’t beating! Can you help me?”
“. . .”
“Kenton!”
His friend finally looked at him.
“I will perform compressions on her chest to restart her heart, while breathing air into her mouth simultaneously,” he said. As he approached, his face was still disapproving though. “Move aside.”
Relieved, the prince dropped to the ground to gather his strength while the captain of the guard began resuscitation. He kept up compressions for a long minute, until the girl started to cough and spit up water. She sat up with difficulty and stared at each of the men in turn. She locked eyes with the prince, blinked, collapsed again and slipped back into unconsciousness. He rushed to scoop her up in his arms and ran to his horse. He climbed up onto the saddle and took off towards the castle, leaving his bewildered friend behind.
Kenton had often seen the prince act impulsively in order to satisfy his unique sense of duty, but this time, he sensed that he had gone too far with his kindness. He had to follow him. He, too, mounted his horse and galloped towards the castle.
As the two men sped away, a strange glimmer appeared on the surface of the river. It vanished in one fell swoop, giving way to a silhouette that watched the scene in silence and disappeared into thin air.