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They ran for some time along the road, their way lit only by the moon and stars that hung in a crystal clear sky. The air was cold and still, not a breath of wind bent a blade of grass or rustled a fallen leaf. The world was silent as the birds had left for warmer grounds and the crickets froze in their dens, never to be heard from again. The only sounds were those of boots crunching along the road, trying to escape a town that could still be seen blazing in the distance, though neither of them looked back to see it.
It was some time before they finally came to a stop, more than two miles from the small town. Dusk bent over, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily as white puffs of mist escaped from his mouth. Lex wasn’t far away, taking a similar stance to try to catch his breath. Neither of them spoke for the moment. Dusk, for one, didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what had happened even though he seemed to be the one doing it. Neither his actions nor his voice had been his own. He’d felt like a bystander from within his own body as he watched it draw strange symbols and burn a man alive, turning his own power against him. It had been like a waking dream.
In fact, he was surprised he was still conscious. The last time the voice had taken over it had seemed to consume all his energy and he blacked out on the edge of the cliff only to wake up almost a full day later. Now he had seemed to do something even more extraordinary, but proceeded to run miles away from the city with no help whatsoever. Things were making less sense the more he thought about them. What had been the strange substance the cloaked man had used to summon the fire? Why had he been so shocked by the crystal? Dusk heard the name Tephyss, or at least he assumed it was a name. It wasn’t familiar to him in any way, but it seemed to hold some significance to the man that had attacked them.
Dusk stood back up, looking down the road. Even in the darkness he could see the mountains far away, silhouetted against the moon. He just wanted to reach them and continue on the journey he’d started. He didn’t want to deal with strange men in cloaks with even stranger powers. He didn’t want to fight wolves as the buildings around him burned. He didn’t even want to be in another tavern around all those people talking all the time. It was just too much to handle at once. He stared longingly to the west, wishing he could be in Greencoast Port already. A fresh start was all he needed. If only he hadn’t taken the crystal from the cavern.
He pulled his shirt down and stared at the crystal disdainfully, hating the sight of it and the trouble it had caused him. Wrapping his fingers around his he pulled, trying to remove it from his skin. It began to ache and then he felt it shift slightly and pain shot through his entire body, making him cry out against his will.
“What are you doing?” Lex said as he jerked Dusk’s arm away from the gem. “If it hurts, leave it alone.”
“No!” Dusk shouted, wrapping his fingers around it once more. He could feel blood trickling down his skin, wet against his fingertips. “I don’t want it! It’s nothing but trouble!”
Lex pulled his arm away again and held it by the wrist this time. “It saved us! We’d be dog food if you hadn’t used it!”
“You don’t get it! That wasn’t me!” Dusk yelled into the night. “I just stood there, like a prisoner in my own body, and watched as it all happened! I don’t want this!”
“Dusk, calm down.”
“Calm down?! You don’t have some strange voice in your head. You aren’t spouting fire whenever you’re put under stress! There isn’t a rock fused to your chest! How am I supposed to be calm?”
Dusk turned and began to walk down the road quickly, ignoring the burning in his legs from running for so long. He couldn’t stand still. Movement, at the very least, meant he had some control over his own fate or his body at least. He needed control.
Lex caught up to him and tried to match his fast pace. For a long while they just walked, Lex keeping silent by his side. Dusk let his thoughts run wild, but as time went on they slowly began to fade, as if they were being pulled to the back of his mind and let go. He wasn’t sure if he was calming down or if the other entity living inside his head was helping. Either way his thoughts grew quiet. After a while his pace slowed until they were going no faster than a casual stroll.
“What is it?” Lex asked quietly, breaking the silence.
“How the fuck am I supposed to know? I just found it.”
“Okay. Why don’t you tell me the whole story?” Lex replied gently.
Dusk sighed heavily. He could hear the concern in Lex’s voice. He knew he was just trying to help, to get a better understanding of the situation.
“Let’s find a place to bed down for the night and I’ll tell you everything.”
It didn’t take them long to find a comfortable spot just off the road inside the trees. It was too dark to go searching for firewood, so instead they settled against the side of a large fallen tree and wrapped themselves tightly in their cloaks and the blankets Lex had thought to steal from the tavern. He had been right, Dusk was thankful he’d taken them. They kept the frost at bay, trapping his body heat so that it couldn't escape into the night.
“Okay. I’ll tell you everything about the stone, just don’t interrupt me. I don’t want to tell you this twice.,” Dusk groused finally.
Lex nodded and leaned his head back against the tree, looking up at the stars.
Dusk told him the story of how he and Nine had accidentally stumbled upon a mysterious cave on the other side of the mine shaft. He backtracked for a moment to explain who Nine was and how he was supposed to be his replacement, but quickly got back to the story. He told Lex of the journey to the cavern and how the massive dragon glowed with a pale blue light, filling half the room with its fossilized body. He mentioned the mounds of coins, the broken wing, and then began to explain his undeniable urge to explore the creature more. Then, when he found the gem inside the dragon’s eye, how he had almost no choice but to take it. How against all reason, he hid it away in his boot to keep it.
With a flat tone he told how Nine was executed for trying to steal away some of the gold coins. Then the next day, as if nothing had happened, he was shipped off to be sold in Malkekna only to free himself as the wagon was set upon by bandits whom he now knew were part of Brand’s gang. He mentioned Juniper briefly and the Legion of the Twilight, how she had told him where to go and who to speak to as he left early one morning.
“I traveled for a couple days from there following the road when I came upon you,” Dusk gestured to Lex. “And you know the story from there.”
Lex let out a long sigh. “That’s quite the story,” he said simply. “I have so many questions, but I’m afraid you won’t know the answer to most of them.”
“Probably not.”
“If I wasn’t wary of this stone before, I definitely am now,” Lex said, gesturing to Dusk’s chest. “I don’t know what it is, but it must be more powerful than either of us can imagine and it’s obvious we have no control over it. Quite the opposite in fact. I wonder what it is or how it came to be? I thought all those stories were just fairy tales, but it sounds like the history books got it wrong.”
“That guy called it Tephyss’s Eye. He said something about it being destroyed? But that doesn’t mean anything to me.”
“That name isn’t familiar to me either. Although the more time I spend out in the world with you, the more I realize I know much less than I thought I did. I’m starting to suspect that what I’ve been reading all these years has been less than true. Or at least not the whole truth.” He paused for a moment, tipping his head back to look at the stars once more. “If I had known dragons and magic were going to play a major part in my life I would have read more children’s books.”
He chuckled quietly and Dusk couldn’t help but smile.
“I don’t even know how to read, so I’m afraid I won’t be much help in that regard.”
“You can’t read?”
“You seem surprised. Do you think we had a slave school? Or a slave library?”
“No... no I guess not.” He was silent for a moment. “I can help you.”
“Help me?”
“I’ll teach you to read. Maybe not right now while we’re running from crazy people with magical powers, but when we finally come to a peaceful place. Your place.”
Dusk looked at Lex, meeting his eyes and holding his gaze for a few moments.
“Thank you.”
Lex nodded and they both leaned back once more, staring up into the heavens through the barren branches the crisscrossed above them, deep in thought.
***
When dawn came once again, the pair made their way back to the road, stowing their goods away and strapping their packs on. Before they walked on, Dusk looked back to the east to see dark smoke still trailing up into the sky. Kinallin was still on fire. He felt a sudden surge of guilt. It had been him who brought the fire to the town. There were no soldiers from Inahan, no battle raging, or surprise attacks. Just him.
“Come on,” Lex said gently with a light hand on his shoulder. “We still have a horse to steal. We ran past most of the farms in the night, but I can see some fields ahead.”
When Dusk turned back he saw them too. To the south side of the road there was a harvested field littered with the remains of the year's crop surrounded by a low stone fence. It didn’t take them long to reach it. Just beyond the field was an old house, the wooden walls bleached gray by the sun and rain. Behind it stood a small barn with a wide open door and a fenced area connected to it. A strong looking black and white horse was trotting through the small pasture, the sunlight rippling off its muscled form. From behind the barn, another chestnut colored horse came to join it.
Out of the house came a small girl who ran across the yard and up to the fence. The horses came to her immediately and they interacted for a moment. They were too far away to tell, but Dusk imagined she was feeding them something. The horses were certainly interested. They continued to walk towards the house in the mid morning light, watching the girl and her pets. As they came upon it Dusk’s foot caught a stone and sent it clattering across the ground. The young girl turned towards the noise and saw them both. She jumped off the fence and ran for the open door to the house, slipping into the darkened interior. It was less than a minute before a tall, thin man and what looked to be his equally thin wife stepped out. To his surprise, they both walked down the small lane until they reached the edge of the road, beckoning them both to stop.
“What news do you have from Kinallin?” the man said hurriedly. “We saw the blaze in the night and feared the worst.”
Dusk opened his mouth to answer, but Lex cut him off. “There was an attack in the middle of the night. We didn’t see the culprits, but just before it happened there was word that King Cecil was assassinated by the ambassador from Inahan.”
“But that—”
Lex cut him off again, waving a hand. “We suspect it was probably Inahandrian soldiers.”
“How terrible! The king!” the man’s wife clasped her hands over her mouth, muffling her words.
“What’s more, we suspect war has already been declared with Inahan, although we haven’t gotten word yet.” Lex looked at them both seriously. “If I were you, I’d prepare. You aren’t far from the border and this is a heavily traveled road. It might be best if you went somewhere else in the meantime.”
“We aren’t leaving this farm,” the man replied sternly. “It’s been in my family for generations and I won’t give it up now. No Inahandrian soldiers are going to take my rightful earth away from me!”
“Of course,” Lex nodded to him, stealing a quick exasperated glance at Dusk. “No man should have to leave his heritage.”
“If we’re at war, why are you headed towards the border?” the wife inquired, a hard look in her eye. “You aren’t from Inahan are you?”
“Gods above us, no!” Lex made a big show of being thoroughly offended. “To be truthful with you, our mission is to deliver the news of the king to the Windshear Pass. It seems the fellow in Kinallin had his pigeons burned in the fire before they could forward the message, so we’ve offered to take it there ourselves.”
Her expression changed instantly. “Messengers for the crown! Have you had breakfast? You must have been walking through the night! Come inside and I’ll get you something to eat.”
“We wouldn’t want to trespass—”
“Nonsense!” the thin man clapped a hand on Lex’s shoulder. “It’s the least we can do to help our king and country in these troubling times! The faster you let the fort know, the less likely they are to get past them. An empty stomach will slow you down!”
“True enough.” Lex looked to Dusk, locking his eyes with him. “We would be more than gracious to accept your offer.”
“Yes sir,” Dusk replied, then added quickly to the woman, “you’re very kind.”