Richard Tuttle - Army of the Dead

“Be careful where you dismount,” he said to the others. “Her blood is all over the place.”

The dragon’s body was torn and distorted. Long raking cuts split her flesh everywhere they looked. Her wings were bent back at impossible angles, and her head was twisted to one side. A mass of broken trees rested under her body, and blood was flowing everywhere.

Marak dismounted away from Myka’s body and walked purposely towards her head. He ignored the streams of blood and knelt next to her head. As his hand ran gently across her face, Marak offered a prayer to Kaltara.

“How are you going to create a hole large enough?” StarWind softly asked Lyra. “Won’t that destroy the forest?”

“Let’s move away from here and discuss it,” Lyra responded just as softly. “Marak needs some time alone with her.”

“I guess they were close,” StarWind surmised as the three Sakovans moved off into the woods.

“Very close,” Lyra nodded with tears in her eyes. “You would never know it from the way Myka talked to him, but she loved him very much, and he knows it. He will never forgive himself for this.”

“Forgive himself?” questioned HawkShadow. “What did he do?”

“His faults are in his mind,” answered Lyra. “He blames himself for being on her when the first demon attacked, and he blames himself for not being on her when the other demons attacked. He is punishing himself for her death. That is why I think it is important to give her a proper burial. If I have to destroy this forest to do that, I will.”

“Will that really help?” asked StarWind. “Wouldn’t it have been better for him to remember her how she was instead of seeing this deformed pile of flesh and bones?”

“I will admit,” sighed Lyra. “I did not expect her body to look this bad. I guess I should have thought about that. I thought we would just see a dead dragon on the plains, not this.”

“This image will haunt him for the rest of his life,” HawkShadow said solemnly. “You must keep a close eye on him in the coming days. I would not be surprised to see him use his grief as a weapon and sacrifice his own life.”

“What do you mean?” asked Lyra.

“What punishment would he exact on someone who killed Myka this way?” asked HawkShadow.

“He would kill them brutally,” answered Lyra.

“And who does he blame for her death?” HawkShadow continued.

“No,” Lyra said adamantly. “I will not let that happen. While any of us may die in the coming days, I will not permit him to throw his life away. I will freeze him if I have to, but I will not stand by and watch him sacrifice himself for a lost friend.”

“Lyra!” shouted Emperor Marak. “Lyra!”

The three Sakovans looked up in alarm. HawkShadow and StarWind immediately drew their swords as they rushed back to the clearing where Myka’s body rested. The Star of Sakova ran after them, but she could see no attackers when she arrived. HawkShadow and StarWind glanced once around the clearing and then each of them darted into the woods in different directions. They both clearly thought that someone had threatened the Torak.

“Come here, Lyra,” demanded the Torak.

“What is it, Marak?” she asked. “Are you in trouble?”

“Not me,” Marak shook his head. “I think I can feel her breath on my hand.”

Lyra raced through the streams of blood and slid to a halt next to Marak. She pushed his hand away and substituted her own hand in its place. She held her hand over the dragon’s nostrils for several minutes, and finally shook her head.

“I think that is just the heat escaping from her body,” Lyra said softly. “Surely her breathing could not be so shallow. I can hardly feel it. A creature of her size would blow me over with the volume of air she must expel.”

“She is breathing,” Marak said adamantly as HawkShadow and StarWind came back into the clearing and looked quizzically at the couple near the dragon’s head. “Heal her.”

“Marak,” Lyra pleaded, “if only I could. I would do anything for you, but I cannot raise the dead.”

Marak leaped to his feet. He clawed his way onto the dragon’s snout and with both hands tried to raise Myka’s eyelid. HawkShadow, thinking that Marak had gone delirious, sheathed his sword and moved to pull Marak down. Lyra held up her hand to forestall the assassin’s move.

“Breathe harder,” shouted Marak as he struggled with the eyelid. “Show her you are alive.”

Suddenly, the eyelid popped open, and Marak fell backwards to the ground. A low rumble emanated from the snout of the dragon, but the pressure of her breath did not increase. Lyra stared up at the eye staring back at her.

“Praise Kaltara!” Lyra said as she jumped to her feet. “I thought you had gone crazy.”

“Can you heal her?” Marak asked as he picked himself up. “Can you make her whole again?”

“I don’t know,” admitted Lyra, “but I will certainly try. Go weave an air tunnel back to the camp. Have HawkShadow give directions for LifeTender to get out here. She knows more about healing than I do.”

“But you have the power,” frowned Marak, “and LifeTender is hours away.”

“I have the power that Kaltara gave me,” nodded Lyra, “but I do not have the knowledge. Just do what I told you to do, and let me get to work.”

Marak nodded and moved away to where StarWind and HawkShadow had retreated. He wove an air tunnel to the campsite and asked for LifeTender. The Sakovan healing mage’s voice came through quickly.

“What is it, Emperor Marak?” she asked.

“When we get done talking, I will let HawkShadow tell you how to get here,” instructed the Torak, “but I have a few requests first.”

“Certainly,” LifeTender said pleasantly.

“We found Myka,” Marak said quickly, “and she is not dead. Lyra has asked that you come out here to instruct her. I am concerned about the length of time that might require. Can you instruct her through an air tunnel?”

“Not without knowing her condition,” replied LifeTender. “What can you tell me?”

“She is in bad shape,” admitted the Torak. “The whole ground is covered with blood, and I am willing to bet that she has broken every bone in her body. Her breathing is so shallow that Lyra thought it was just heat escaping from the body.”

“That sounds bad,” responded LifeTender. “Loss of blood could easily kill her if her other injuries do not. Maybe I should bring some other healers with me.”

Marak frowned for a moment as he had hoped to use the air tunnel to give Lyra the instructions she needed, but it was clear that that was not going to work. LifeTender started to speak again, but the Torak interrupted her.

“I want every mage there to leave immediately,” ordered the Torak. “That includes the Chula and the elves. In fact,” Marak added, “move the whole campsite. Those that are not mages can donate blood, but I want the mages on the fastest chokas and cheetahs. The rest will have to walk.”

“Walking will take them the whole night,” HawkShadow said softly to the Torak. “What about the attack for tomorrow?”

“LifeTender,” Marak said into the air tunnel, “I want someone to contact the other groups, especially Bakhai. All attacks and preparations are cancelled until I give orders otherwise. Let the warriors at your campsite remain where they are. Instead you are to tell the Fakarans to send men down to donate blood. They are much closer, and they can be here quicker. We will light a fire to guide them here. Do you understand all of my instructions?”

“I believe so,” LifeTender answered hesitantly.

Marak sighed with impatience and StarWind stepped next to him and spoke into the air tunnel.