Caitlin Rebecca Craig

Chapter 7 – Stranger from the Sky “Yeah, that’s definitely a guitar,” I agreed, recognizing the sound. It was a common instrument for traveling bards. The kind of music it produced helped keep people upbeat in these difficult times, so it was a general favorite. The snake-demon, which had stopped ejecting miasma, still hadn’t moved. Its giant forked tongue, dripping with saliva, hung motionless out of its open jaws. Its orange eyes were glazed over, as though a pair of thin, transparent lids had been drawn over them. A forest of colorful scales, too high and smooth to climb, enclosed us in a perfect circle. It was great that the yvorg had been stopped before starting dinner. However, although Jarrett and I were lucky enough to be alive, we were still trapped. The guitar music continued, building in volume and intensity each second. I stared off into the horizon, the direction from which the sound was emanating, straining my eyes for any sign of our mysterious performer. The sun had begun to shine down through a break in the clouds, providing more light. Three dots materialized within that space, glowing like moving sunbeams inside the golden chasm. As they grew in size, the music became louder. Whatever those dots were, they were bringing the music that had immobilized the yvorg. Were they coming to rescue us?  The fast-moving dots turned into discernable objects. Were those…florses? No, they weren’t quite the right shape. They were too thick and furry. Oh wow! Could it be? My heartbeat picked up as I realized what was coming. Yes! Yes, it was! Those were flions! Flions! One of the beasts let out a deafening roar that penetrated the music as it flew ahead of the other two. Its tawny, muscular wings beat up and down in the air, thrusting its huge body forward at a dizzying speed. Closer and closer it came, with the other flions hot on its heels. Were they racing each other? “Flions! Those are flions! Can you believe it?” I squealed to Jarrett, only half-turning as I jabbed my sword towards the approaching caravan. What a stroke of luck! This was my very first flion-sighting. Flions were rare and expensive beasts. Only the wealthiest nobles could afford them. Not even Mayor Levinbrook or Mother Ferrell had one. But now three of them were headed this way! Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad day after all. “That’s good,” Jarrett responded. “At least we both get to see some flions before we die!” But despite his despondent words, his expression was hopeful and impressed as he gazed skyward toward the soon-to-arrive trio. The first flion had maintained its advantage. It was now far ahead of the others, close enough for me to glimpse its rider. A man was standing on the flion’s back, easily keeping his balance as the beast rose and dipped. His long, brown hair flew loose in the breeze as he strummed away at the guitar in his hands, continuing the catchy tune we’d been listening to. He was wearing a flashy outfit of red and gold, with an ornate cape and a jeweled belt. I’d never seen such elaborate clothing, even on Mayor Levinbrook (He was always ordering the latest fashions from Valadurian, our capital city.) “Why would anyone with sense dress like that on a rainy day?” Jarrett wondered, aloud. “He must be a noble. They can afford to throw nice things away,” I instinctively looked down at my soiled gown. There were large rips and holes in the simple black fabric. It had been the best dress I owned, before today’s adventure. “Do you think that guitar is…?” “Magical?” I filled in the gap for him. Magic was a loaded word in our society. Whether it was considered good or bad was subject to some very complex rules. “It sure looks that way. That yvorg stopped moving right when the music started to play. Perhaps the song cast a spell on it?” The guitar-player was close enough for us to ask him now. He raised a hand from his instrument, halting the music. He snapped his fingers twice. With a growl, the flion stopped moving. Perhaps it had wanted to keep flying on. The strange beast hovered to the left of the snake-demon’s head, beating its wings up and down to maintain its position above the towering coils. Its master leaned forward, balancing the guitar on one shiny knee, and called down to us. “Hey kids! Would you mind giving a traveling performer a hand?” Taken aback, I traded confused glances with Jarrett. This was a slightly different question than the one we’d been expecting! “Umm, sure, but you might have to bring your flion a little closer,” I told the man, after an awkward silence. I raised my free hand and wiggled it at him. “As you can see, we’re not exactly in a position to offer one right now, down in this snake pit!” “I’m saying that I’d appreciate your help,” the man followed up, as though he were clarifying his former statement. “Not that I’d like to actually take your hand! Perhaps I was a little unclear.” “Help?” Jarrett asked, his tone betraying his disbelief. “You want us to help you?” “That’s right. To be perfectly clear, I’d like a helping hand from both of you kids. So? What do you say?” “Does it involve getting us out of this mess?” I asked, gesturing in a circle with my sword to indicate our position. “Otherwise, I’m afraid we’ll have to pass.” “Well, it does involve removing the mess. You see, I came to obliterate this yvorg,” the man explained, matter-of-factly. “And another one, but…my, my! It looks like that’s been taken care of! The strong ones often consume the weakers’ brains to obtain their energy. I’m guessing that’s what happened here?” I nodded. “It got its head ripped off,” I said. “It was kinda slow-witted, I guess. And shorter than the snake-demon.” The man chuckled. “That’s life for ya! Even for undead creatures like these, the rules are the same as for the living. If you’re too weak and wimpy to cut it, you get cut off. You kids are still young, so I’ll offer you a grain of wisdom. Learn the following from this example: Those who fail to achieve true strength, like this pathetic, headless yvorg, always end up as slaves at the feet of their betters…” “But this snake doesn’t any have feet,” I interrupted. Jarrett poked me in the ribs. Ouch! “What was that?” I yelled, glaring at him. Jarrett’s cheeks were flushed. His eyes sparkled with irritation. He tried to mouth something to me, but I shook my head and turned away. What was his problem, all of a sudden? “The weak shouldn’t interrupt the strong,” the man’s voice rang out, above us. He didn’t sound mad or annoyed. Just…matter of fact. “Unless said weakling is willing to take the risk, that is, of upsetting its natural master…”  “Weakling?” Anger began to bubble inside me as I realized he was referring to me. Not to mention the word ‘master’ added even more fire to my indignation. My fist tightened around my sword as though it were the man’s neck. I glared up at him. “What do you know about me, Mister Red and Gold Sparkles in the Sky?” “Well, let’s see. You’re holding a fine sword. A very fine sword, by the look of it! And yet, in the wrong hands, even the best of weapons can be useless. You had the guts to steal it. You tried to face these yvorgs on your own, didn’t you? I can tell just by looking at your face! But instead of winning glory, you got yourself and your friend trapped by this beast. You failed to carry out your objective because you didn’t think bigger. You didn’t consider: What will it truly take for someone like me to do something like that? You weren’t willing to make the necessary sacrifices because for you, this was still nothing more than a silly dream! Or perhaps some part of you was hoping for a quick end to your miserable life?” “Shut up!” I gritted my teeth as I spat the words. My body tensed up as an angry shudder ran through it. A tear squeezed out of one treacherous eye socket. Who was this man? How did he…know me? Why had our conversation taken such a nasty turn? “Shut up, shut up, shut up! You’re so high and mighty up there on your flion, your esteemed Silk and Laceness! What would you know about strength? I bet you’ve never had to work a day in your life! You’ve never had to try for anything. If anyone ever dared to bother you, you could just fly into the sky and leave them behind without a second glance!” “Don’t give him ideas!” Jarrett pleaded, in a harsh whisper. I ignored him. “Tell me, how are you going to kill this yvorg?” I demanded, still addressing the man on flionback. “I don’t see any weapons on you, unless you’ve got one buried inside that ridiculous cloak! Or perhaps you’re going to use the guitar to knock its head off? You’re so obviously prepared for this! Ha ha! You know what? I think you can’t do anything except play that instrument. You’re lucky it has special powers, or that snake would’ve had you for dessert after eating us for dinner! I’ll bet you couldn’t even knock this sword out of my hand, you cake-eating, fancy pants guitar player!” “Is that a challenge?” Asked the man, tilting his head. “Ev, don’t you dare! We’re already in so much trouble! Please, don’t ruin our one chance at escape! He might decide to unfreeze the yvorg and abandon us to our fates! He could have weapons on him we can’t see yet! And in case it isn’t obvious: This guy’s a noble! You can’t talk to him like that! Apologize now!” Jarrett begged, pulling at my arm. I jerked it away from his grasp. “Sure, why not?” I shouted up at the man. I was too angry to listen. For the third time today, my honor was at stake. I’d been humbled enough already. This time, I had to uphold what pride I had left! “I’m not afraid of anything, which means that a sparkly, silver spoon-fed noble who uses magic toys to freeze demons because he’s too weak to fight on his own has no chance of making me back down! You’re another of those silly aristocrats who flies around hunting demons for sport, hoping to eclipse King Valadur. Well, you’ll never do it, because he’s the strongest! And one day, I’ll become even stronger than him! I don’t know how, but I’ll find a way! I’m just getting started! So, go on, come at me with all you’ve got!”  The man laughed. The wind lifted his hair off his face. For the briefest second, I met his sky-blue eyes. A smirk twisted his mouth as he said, “Let’s see how well you do.” The man snapped his fingers once. His flion plunged with a roar, descending into the snake’s coils. They were heading straight for us! This was all happening so fast! I barely had time to raise my sword and brace myself before they both materialized in front of me. The flion wasn’t stopping. Was he really going to charge me on flionback? Coward!  Still standing, the man snapped his fingers twice. The beast slammed its large feet onto the ground, settling directly before the dead yvorg’s remains, inches from where Jarrett and I stood. Whew! My relief that a flion hadn’t crashed into us was short-lived. In the blink of an eye, its master had tossed the guitar several feet into the air and proceeded to slide down the animal’s arched back. He jumped, launching himself over our heads. His shimmering cape flew out around him like red and gold wings, blinding me for a second. Was he actually flying? I felt a hand tap my shoulder. I swung around, sword at the ready, but it was instantly knocked from my hands. Holy Vaya! He hadn’t even drawn a weapon! Had he really just used his arm to disarm me? A pair of intense eyes stared into mine as the man leaned over me. They were even bluer up close. His smirk had widened into a gleaming smile of triumph. At this uncomfortably close range, I could make out my victorious opponent all too well. He was of average height and build. His face was that of a young man in his early twenties: handsome, smooth, and aristocratic. He definitely didn’t look like a warrior! But he was more of one than I was, clearly. “Too easy,” he said. I hated him! Still reeling from my loss, I wasn’t prepared for what happened next. Gazing down at me, the man’s smug expression suddenly changed. A pensive frown replaced his smile. A distant, yearning look appeared in his eyes, which narrowed into thin slits as he repeatedly glanced from my hair to my eyes. He squatted down so that we were at eye-level and continued to stare. Ok, this was weird! Just what was he getting out of this? “You really do look just like her,” he remarked, at last. “Your hair and eyes…are exactly the same color as hers...It’s such a rare combination…I never thought I’d see it again.” Oh, got it! So he was talking about Asteroth. I should’ve known that it would be impossible for anyone not to notice the resemblance, at least in this wretched world. But did he have to point out my physical shortcomings now, right after showing me up? What I didn’t understand was why he looked sad about it. Perhaps he was simply grieved to see a girl who looked like the Evil One. Ugh! I couldn’t wait for my hair to go gray! The man stood up. “What’s your name, kid?”   “What do you need it for?” “So that still didn’t teach ya your place in the world, eh? The weak must obey the strong, it is the natural order of things. Now that I’ve defeated you, and far too easily I might add…” “You already said that!” I yelled, balling up my fists. This guy really liked to pile it on, didn’t he? “I don’t need to hear it again! I’ve got good ears, ok?” “Good ears, huh?” The man grinned like a wolf. He leaned forward again and reached down, seizing both my ears in either hand before I could back away. “Let’s test that! Let’s see how good those ears are! They can’t work that great if they didn’t hear THAT THE WEAK ARE SLAVES TO THE STRONG!” “Ow ow ow! Get offa me! Get off!” I shouted, trying to pull his hands away as they stretched my ears out on both sides. Try as I might, his hands wouldn’t budge. His grip didn’t hurt much, but those were my ears! This stranger had no right to grab them! “This’ll show you what I was about to say when a little red mouse with tiny ears dared to cut me off! No doubt she had trouble hearing the voice of the mighty hawk towering above her! The weak must obey the strong, it is the only way!” “You, towering? Ha ha! That’s funny! You’re not tall! You’re barely average! You don’t look buff either, even with that giant glittery cape! I bet you had it specially made just so you could look bigger! Well, it doesn’t work! You still look like a teenage boy!” To my delight, the man’s face reddened. His hands stopped pulling my ears. Hmmm. I seemed to have touched a nerve. Was he sensitive about his average height and build? With a rush of vengeful joy, I kept going. “The only reason you’re stronger than me is because you’re older than me, and rich! You’ve probably had years of training from the best masters. If it weren’t for that, I would’ve destroyed you just now! The match wasn’t fair. So, you have no right to call yourself my master!” “Ok, that’s enough.” The man released my ears and stood back from me. His frown had returned. “It doesn’t matter why I won against you,” he said, in a lecturing tone. “Whether or not it was fair doesn’t change the outcome. You tried to win with all you had, but I still won without even trying. For me, knocking that sword out of your hand was like brushing away a fly! And yes, it wasn’t fair. I am far older and richer than you. For years, I’ve trained with the best masters. And that’s not even the half of it. The two of us could never have a fair match! But my advantages still put me above you, whether you like it or not! This kind of unfairness happens throughout nature. It’s everywhere you look! Take a wolf and a sheep, for example. Can they have a fair fight? No, even the weakest wolf would defeat the strongest sheep, because the former has natural advantages. Fairness doesn’t figure into it. All the wolf cares about is finding a meal to fill its belly. It is faster and stronger than its prey, and that is why it targets the sheep. Weakness is an invitation to the strong: an invitation to make use of the weak in whatever way the strong sees fit. You’re lucky I don’t eat little girls. If you were a chicken, you’d be dead already. I haven’t had one of those in a while.” Wow. This guy sure liked to hear himself talk! He was infuriating! Before I could formulate a response to his ridiculous speech, he’d started up again. “All I’m demanding after defeating you is your name. I have proven myself your master. Now, obey me and hand it over!” He held out a hand, as though I could actually hand him my name. Well, he wasn’t about to get it, not in a million years! He seemed to know exactly the right words to make me want to defy his demands to the death. “No way! I’ll never surrender it to you! Ever!” I spat. “That name is mine! You have no right to it!” “But I have just won that right! Must I go over this again?” Crossing his arms, the man sighed and shook his head, as though he were a parent dealing with a rebellious child. “You really are a slow little girl. Scarcely minutes ago, when I triumphed over you with my superior strength, speed, and reflexes, I revealed myself to be your natural master. In this world, the weak must give in to the strong. This is the law of nature and it cannot be undone! Therefore, I will have your name.” Ok, my patience had reached its limit. I knew that I’d probably fail, being weak and slow and all, but I really wanted to punch this guy! At least once, I had to try it! “I’m waiting!” The man made an impatient motion with his outstretched fingers. “You sure do like to talk a lot,” I said, grinning as I glared up at him. “But you just keep saying the same thing over and over: the weak must yield to the strong, blah blah blah! Is that the only idea you have? Did you even come up with it yourself? Or did your natural master beat it into your dainty skull, you silky-haired glitter-boy?” The man smiled and replied, almost bashfully, “I have no master.” Hmmm. Where should I leave my mark on this smug, self-proclaimed Master of All? I wanted to go for his face. However, if I jumped too high and aimed directly for his head, my intentions would be painfully obvious. Should I go for his stomach, then? No, that was too close to his outstretched hand, which he’d undoubtedly use to block my blow. I’d have to settle for a smaller part of his body if I was gonna see this through. His shoulder, maybe? Yes. Yes! I’d go for his left shoulder! “Your name, girl. Or should I teach you a more effective lesson about your place within the natural order?” The man moved a little bit closer. Perfect. Hitting him in just the right place would be easier now!   “I won’t give you my name,” I replied, making sure not to look at my target. “However, I’ll happily offer you this!”