The Clutch of Sharys: Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter 37- A Defiant Light 

Nepthys turned, swiping with the last of its strength at the fabric of space, rendering three holes and tying them to the sphere. Its purpose fulfilled, Nepthys curled around the globe and fell into a slumber that it has not awoken from since.

The streets of Corfu were full of life, the port city taking in a significant number of shipments each day. They were carried into the city via the many dragons that filled its skies, clutching enormous shipments of goods wrapped securely in nets. A large grayish-green dragon nearly crashed into one of these cargo-carrying dragons, its rider yanking their reins back and yelling at the offending rider as they passed underneath. 

"Watch out, Cara." Bree said, tapping Cara's lower back and bringing her focus back to street level. A horse-sized orange dragon with four knobs in its horns lumbered by, carrying a large cart of fresh produce to be shipped out of the city. Among a collection of verdant greens, the bright oranges, rubies, and pearly whites of other vegetables peeked out, ready for market. Quickly stepping out of the cart's way, Cara followed Ahnn as she led them down some side streets, away from the main bustle of traffic. 

They exited into what seemed to be a more residential area, a group of neatly painted white houses boasting some plants and sculptures in their doorways. On one stoop that the group passed, a couple of young children played near the steps, chasing a light green hatchling the color of seafoam around in a circle while trying to catch the darting creature. Its rider sat nearby, Cara guessing a nanny or older sibling of some sort, the girl laying on her side and watching the children play while she languidly flicked small licks of fire into the air. 

"Any luck, Ahnn?" Petra asked, her voice tight. "Your Highness. I know the crystal is close, but this is a busy city. It makes it difficult for me to focus on a single resonance. My apologies." Ahnn dipped her head as she spoke, but the princess waved her words away. "You're doing your best." Petra murmured, and she turned off into an alleyway leading to another street. 

"I have Smak making some friends and searching too." Bree said.

"Searching for what?" Cara asked. 

"A Netian with something on them that smells like Ahnn," Bree said, looking back at her. "She said they were supposed to have their letter on them to find the meeting place." 

Cara nodded, looking up at the sky as they walked down the street. That grey-green dragon soared overhead, and Cara could have sworn she caught the barest glimpse of a purple robe flapping in the wind, but she was distracted by the smell of fresh bread slowly intensifying nearby. Her stomach grumbled, having not eaten since grabbing a couple of pieces of dried jerky the night before. 

They entered a street that ended in a small cul-de-sac towards the right, lined with shops on all sides. A sleek white dragon reclined on a tailor shop's blue awning, sunning itself in the afternoon light with lazy flaps of its wings to create a slight breeze for their nearby rider. 

Near the end of the street was the source of the wonderful yeasty scent that drew them in, wetting mouths and rumbling stomachs with the promise of fresh, warm food. A stick propped up a large, brown awning over a rectangular service window, which held a wooden counter topped by a till and several steaming loaves of golden brown crusty bread. Next to the counter, in front of the shop, two short, squat dragons sat side by side, one looking over the counter and the other leaning its head into the bakery through a side window. The one dragon bending into the bakery, a dull grey beast with two knobs on its horns, blew buffets of air at the fire under the oven, heating the flames for the fresh bread. 

The purple creature by the counter was slowly flapping its wings, sending a cooling breeze over the wares, propelling the scent further into the street, and drawing a steady stream of clientele. Inside the bakery, two men worked side by side, helping each other shape the loaves and laughing at some joke. A customer walked up to the window, and one turned to serve them, his partner grabbing his shoulder before he could finish. Quickly and gently, the baker wiped some flour from the man's face, letting him go after he was finished with a quick kiss on the cheek. 

"Hurry up, Cara." Petra said from the mouth of a nearby alley. Quickly, Cara looked away from the happy little bakery, where the two men exchanged an affectionate smile before they returned to their busy lives. 

There was something odd about rushing through this city, looking for trouble when there were so many happy souls within its walls, living out their lives with their own hopes and concerns to grapple with. Something was wrong in Corfu, and Cara and her friends were going out of their way to look for it, which seemed a bit twisted the more Cara thought about it. 

Another few turns, another set of winding roads turned up, more fruitless searching, the group fully frustrated by the time that Smak came skittering out of the shadows towards Bree. 

The Countess quickly knelt, holding out a hand to the tiny creature. It skittered onto her palm, eyes glowing the same deep, dark black as Bree's did when she lifted it. After a second, Bree deposited the rat on her shoulder, swiftly turning on her heel and doubling back down the alley they had just entered. 

"This way." Bree said, quickly making her way down the bricked street. "Smak said she smelled blood, and a lot of it. Be ready for a trap." 

Hastening to their full extent, the group of riders made their way to the spot Smak somehow indicated to Bree. Turning the corner, there was a sharp, metallic tang to the air, and the dark liquid covering the stones confirmed where the smell came from. 

Leaning against the building was a corpse, a curly dark head drooped over a slit throat leaking a rivulet of dark red blood down the front of a simple green shirt. Their arms bled from the wrist, and a bloody diamond decorated the wall over their head, causing Cara’s eyes to narrow at the familiarity of that symbol. Crouched near the corpse was a man, his head laid against its shoulder as his own shook. "Luca?" Petra said, taking a step forward. "What happened to Marlon?" 

The man barely had time to turn, his hand thrown out in caution and his blue eyes full of fear before a cloud of darkness fell on their heads, dousing out the light and spilling over all of the surrounding streets and rooftops. Confused screams sounded nearby, and Petra quickly recovered, calling out an order. "Cara, get us a light. Ahnn, see if you can sound out what's happening."

Cara patted at her pockets, her heart dropping as she realized she had left the gem in Lysander's saddlebags. She didn't have long to search, however, because a dull roar suddenly built, quickly rushing at them before Cara could even point her weapon in the direction it came from. Her dragon drew close in the dark, pressing to Cara's side for reassurance. Not that it mattered because when the wall of water hit them, they were split apart instantaneously. 

She lost track of how long she fell, tumbling again, the tail of her pants over whichever direction her toes faced at that moment. Darkness and water filled her eyes and lungs as she struggled to breathe. The water swept her away to a shuddering stop atop the cold, hard stone, the shadows preventing any way for her to place where she was. Cara sputtered and gasped as her lungs raged for air, fighting to expel the fluid within them for want of breath.

Pushing herself up to her knees, still coughing like mad, Cara pushed her sopping braid out of her face and sat back on her heels. "Bree!" She called out to the void, "Cheska! Ahnn! Anyone!" 

No replies came, though Cara swore she could hear shouts in the distance, which was enough to have her slowly push up to standing once more. Cara turned around slowly, looking for some blinking light or indication of where she should go, but found nothing save emptiness and dark. Her heart rate picked up, its rhythm slowly becoming the only thing she could hear as she stumbled around the streets of Corfu, blind and isolated, unsure if her friends were drowned, hurt, or even alive.

She wandered for some time, tripping over street curbs or running into what felt like fences, falling after a fierce blow to her stomach. If she had just thought ahead for once, brought the damned rock that Petra gave her for this purpose, then maybe they wouldn't have been surprised by that attack, and she could illuminate a way out of this endless darkness. As it was, she was there, frozen, weak and useless, muffled by the antithesis of her magic and separated from any source of light. 

If she stood here now, in this darkness, doing nothing and frozen by her fear, then every step she'd taken, every hurt and sacrifice, every mistake and triumph she'd had, no matter how little, would've counted for nothing. Despite this, though, the darkness pressed in around Cara, suffocating and overwhelming her. It reminded her of her frailty, her dependence on others just to survive, her weakness and mortality, a bare flicker that it would descend on and consume, smothering all light. 

Her breath came in shuddering gasps as her entire body trembled on the cold, rigid stone of the street, an itching warmth spreading up her limbs and setting her skin ablaze with its irritation. Here and now, no one could save her or come to her rescue. It was just her and the fast dying spark of hope that she had, making her easy prey from an experienced rider. She was alone, and no one was coming to help, no parents, sister, or friends flying in to save the day. But then again, she'd been like this before, alone and with only herself to rely on. 

Cara had survived through everything that had come before, the Trial, her uncle, the neglect of her parents, and the loss of her loved ones because she refused to give up and accept things as they were, and now was not the time she would start. She refused to remain stationary, inactive as she watched people be hurt, especially ones that she cared about, deep in her heart, despite her best efforts not to. If that meant that Cara had to rebel against her fear, then it was time to revolt. No darkness would crush her, not when she had bigger things to accomplish with her life. 

Will and power burst out of her, warm emotion flooding the breadth of her chest as a rebellious spark extended into a blazing orb of light, departing from Cara and following her hand as she pointed it over her head. Looking up at the miniature ball of light, she pushed a wave of power until it shone like the fiery orb in the sky, ripping back the cloud of darkness before her and consuming all shadow that would dare touch its radiance.

Her light was many things, burning white and small before splitting and growing to include many colors, swirling together and pulsing fiery defiance of the dark both within her heart and without. Greens, indigos, crimsons, golds, and silvers all curled out of her chest in wispy arms, shooting out into the ball held above her hand and sparking back the darkness. The illumination consumed it until she held a small sun over her head, the light beating back all shadow and creating a shelter of sight once more.

Slowly lowering her hand, Cara resolved to move forward, refusing to let her fear keep her from being there when the need was great. She would act and look forward because she couldn't let the past be the weight that kept her heart turned towards the past. Cara was her own illumination. She needed no source, help, or permission to be luminescent. Darkness or not, she would always have, and be, light. 

Footsteps sounded nearby as Ahnn stumbled into Cara's sphere of vision, clutching her side and trailing blood from her mouth. She straightened and looked around the circle cast by the light, eyes quickly searching. Upon seeing she was the first one to arrive, the Kitisalian turned on her heels, forgetting her hurt side and dashing off into the darkness with flashing purple eyes as her lips formed Petra's name. 

Cara decided that if people were coming to her light, then the best plan would be to stay still, a beacon for them to find. She opened her palm and raised it to her side, pushing more power into her light and urging it to grow, consuming more and more darkness as it shone. A cough weakly sounded from behind Cara, and she whirled to find Bree helping Fatimi down the street, the Countess’s pretty doll-like face bruised and cut from her encounter with the water. Fatimi looked slightly dazed, a nasty bruise spreading across the golden-tan skin of their temple. 

"Bree!" Cara called out, rushing over to her friends. 

"Cara, thank the Godbeasts for your light." Bree said, helping Fatimi off her shoulders so the Cetnan could rest on a stoop. "That gem Petra made is paying its dividends already." She noted. 

"It wasn't the gem Bree. It was me." Cara said, her voice sure as she looked towards the radiating ball of light over their heads. 

"It does seem more brilliant than usual."

Fatimi let out a small groan as they gingerly touched their head, fingers coming away with a small amount of blood. "Are you all right?" Cara asked, looking at the archer with concern. 

"I believe I will be, but for the moment, my head hurts, and I'm lost as to what even happened back there." They replied, offering a weak smile. "I'd like to know that too." Cara murmured, looking out in the darkness. It killed her to stay here and not go searching for her dragon, but she had to remain their rallying point in the shadows. 

"Stay alert." Petra's voice said from the shadows. Cara jumped where she stood, turning to face the Princess, who looked slightly ruffled and damp but otherwise fine. Ahnn trailed behind her, hand back on her side and eyes darting rapidly around the surrounding darkness. 

"What just happened?" Bree exploded, gripping her hammer's handle threateningly. The weapon appeared to have made it through the attack thanks to the strap that attached it to Bree's wrist and was the only weapon that made it aside from Fatimi's shouldered bow and a couple of knives between the group. 

"We were attacked. Someone must've tracked Luca and Haron here and attacked us on sight." Petra said, her voice slightly weary as she accepted Cara's keeper shank for defense. "I'm sure they'll show themselves soon enough."

At her words, there was the sound of a crashing can nearby and someone cursing. Petra and Bree whirled on the noise, their weapons held at the ready as Cheska entered the ring of visibility, hopping on one leg, her path guided by a graceful, silver dragon that looked perfectly fine and very proud of itself. 

Relief shuddered out of Cara's chest in a gasp as she rushed over to the pair, picking up Cheska's arm and throwing it over her shoulder to help her balance. Her movement caused her light to move with her, the dazzling orb traveling the eight feet that she rushed over to Cheska, shrouding Ahnn in darkness and putting the others near the edge. 

"Leg's a touch banged up." Cheska said, giving the group a painful grimace. "Can't put weight on it right now, but that'll change in a bit as the bone sets." She sat down beside Fatimi on the curb of the road, exhaling and extending a swollen, angry calf. Cara turned and had a quick reunion with her dragon, stroking her scaly little cheeks and scratching behind her horns as she fussed over the creature who basked in the attention. 

"This darkness." Cheska said, grimacing in pain as she set their foot down. "It's dragon's breath, not rider made. Doesn't that count as attacking innocents under the laws of the Seal?" 

"Cheska-" Ahnn began, interrupted by a mild voice from nearby. 

"No harm was done by the dragon itself, merely in accidents caused in the aftereffects, so such things largely fall outside of the Sacred tenets of the Seal." It said, flooding icy terror through Cara's veins as a pack of purple-clad figures emerged from the darkness, their robes embroidered with a silver thread around the cuffs and base, but no weapons or magic at the ready. 

Petra groaned loudly upon sighting the person at its head, a slightly familiar middle-aged man with the same high aristocratic brow as her but topped the king's dark curly hair. "I should've expected you to pull something that pedantic." The Princess said, expression displeased. 

"Shary's blessings to you, noble sister." The man said, placing the mild voice that had spoken before. 

"Adoni." Petra replied, her voice as flat as Ahnn's usual tone.

"I must admonish you for not covering your tracks better." Adoni said, looking at Petra like he was disappointed in a small child. "When I heard that some servants of the Aspas household were in Corfu, I must say it piqued my interest nigh immediately."

"Save us the pontificating and tell us what you want." Cara said, cutting into the conversation. 

"Ah, the missing Myzanti. It will greatly relieve your Uncle to hear you were found well." Adoni said, blatantly ignoring Cara's words as he looked down at the dragon by her side. 

"Don't dodge the question." Cara shot back, her expression firm. 

"Yes, and while you're at it, brother, please explain why partially drowning my friends was a necessary part of whatever you want." Petra added, her tone icy as her slim arms crossed over her chest, knife still dangling from her hand. 

"What I want should be obvious, little sister," Adoni said slowly, drawing out the following words that he spoke. "Your unconditional surrender and secession of claim to my throne."