Starbeam: Chapter 18

Days flew by without Albert.

I had to agree with Caleb and Helmut, this was getting a bit too much. He didn’t know me technically. It was just a mask ball and I was sort of drunk. But I knew we had a connection. To be honest I fell harder for him here than that night now that I thought about it and I still had mixed feelings about Goran.

That night was definitely stronger and more for Albert.

The women in his life must be wretched.

Well Constance was.

What had Maggy told her?

He finally emerged on the fourth day but he was sullen for half the day.

He spoke a lot to Connie and I could tell she was annoyed.

It always put a smile on my face.

But that died too. He didn’t speak to her that often anymore.

I was a wedge between them.

He finally came to sit down next to me.

“You okay?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine.” He said and pushed stew into his mouth as we had lunch around the table.

You idiot, I’m right next to you. I rolled my eyes.

“So how did she die.” I asked.

“She refused to tell me, but I got what I needed from her.”

“Do I want to know?”

He huffed with a smile tugging at his lips. “A name.”

“I heard, Katherine.”

“No, the one who told her. I’ll get the truth from her.”

“How Al, no one is supposed to know you are alive.”

“I have a dragon, he’ll be back soon. He does wonders with a name.”

Oh crap. I hadn’t met Bob yet, and he would not like me.

“About him. I heard him and Tanya…”

“They are not a thing. I told him many times to forget about her. She despises him as much as she despises humans.”

“And you want me to embrace that.”

Al laughed which made me laugh too.

“You have something amazing with her, Andrew. We could learn more from the two of you than I ever learned from Bob. I was sure he told me everything, but he never mentioned that bond.”

“Maybe he doesn’t believe in it, the way Emanual does.”

“Maybe but still, he would have mentioned it. We covered superstitions a long time ago.”

“It’s far fetched Al and I have to agree with them, a bit blasphemous.”

“You don’t know what you are saying, Andrew. If a bond between dragon and human exists and we can find the recipe for them, the signs, it would mean lesser beatings.”

“Beatings, what beatings?”

“It’s something Bob told me. Chromatics only stay good through beatings.”

“You beat him?”

“It breaks me more. I hate the beatings, but I have no choice. He tells me when it gets too dark and it’s not something I enjoy believe me. If I could find an alternative for that, I don’t care how far fetched it sounds.”

I could see the sincerity in his eyes.

“I’d have to beat Tanya, I couldn’t do that.”

“You have the bond idiot. She wouldn’t need it if she goes through whatever she needs to change with the bond.”

“It sounds unreal, something sinister Albert, I don’t want to be part of it.”

“You heard what Emanual said that night. Maybe this is how it’s meant to be. Otherwise why do we both exist. If we can’t learn from them, and they from us, what is the point of them being here. Or us being here, Andrew.”

I sighed.

“We know nothing about them. And through the school, we can change that.”

“What are the requirements for this school and can anyone have a dragon, Albert?”

“I don’t know that one yet, but just like we discovered the bond, we’ll discover that part too.”

“Fine,” I smiled. “Who am I to crush your far fetched dreams.”

His smile disappeared. “It’s already crushed, this dream is doable.”

It melted my heart. Was I really his dream?

I slept that night with Connie.

My feelings for Andrew couldn’t be ignored today. It wasn’t admiration, there was something about that guy that I couldn’t pin down.

He was everything that I wanted to be, but this feeling wasn’t admiration. It was much deeper than admiration.

Connie loved every minute of it and let’s be honest, I needed a woman’s touch.

The next day I only saw Andrew when he came back from the hunting party.

Something was troubling his soul today and then it hit me why he was so scared about his dragon.

Shit, Andrew had feelings for men.

It was against the law, but it wasn’t unheard of. That was why he was so easy to talk to, why he was drawing me in. Why Tanya said that her feeling him up didn’t work. She just said that, didn’t give me more. She too thought he was hiding something. Maybe it was his attraction toward men.

I had to keep my distance.

“Robert is coming.” One of the scouts yelled from a tree.

I look at the sky. His outline was on the horizon.

It was about bloody time too.

He was really fast and when he landed the earth shook.

Andrew fell over as Bob was as big as a house and he shifted immediately into his human form.

I looked at Andrew.

Bob was a handsome fellow or so Issy and Connie said.

A twelve among the ladies.

Andrew definitely had feelings toward men rather than women as he couldn’t stop looking at Bob. His gaze shifted when he found mine staring at him.

Bob hugged me first.

“What is wrong?” He asked and my eyes welled up immediately. “Let’s talk.”

“No, we need intel.”

“No, we talk first. Intel can wait.” He took me by the arm and led me to the back of the log house.

We sat down as a tear rolled down my cheek.

“Talk to me Al.”

“It’s stupid, I didn’t even know her that well.”

“Your lady.”

“She’s gone, Bob.”

“Gone, as in…”

I nodded.

“How did you discover this?”

“Her name was Katherine. Constance found the girl that won mother’s lottery. She told her.”

“How?”

“She doesn’t want to tell me, said I would blame myself so it could only be that attack on Eikenborough.”

“You didn’t instigate it.”

“I need to know how, Bob.”

“I’ll find out, does this woman have a name?”

“Marguerite, or Maggy, I assume.”

“I’ll find her and I’ll get the how from her, I swear to you.”

“Thanks, now please can you tell me what is going on in the castle.”

“Your father is raving mad. You are not going to thin out his numbers Al. He is getting assistance from outside.”

“Outside the wall. Those people will never be able to leave Bob.”

“They will be here in 90 days, you can stop it.”

“90 days. That’s too soon.”

“You have dragons.”

“He has too.”

“Chromatics I mean.”

“You know they don’t stand a chance against Jako’s army.”

“If they discover they are fighting against you, Al. I’ve never seen your father this distraught in all the time that I’ve worked at the castle.”

“I thought he was raving mad.”

“During the day he is, at night it’s a different story.”

I nodded.

“He will listen.”

“What if he doesn’t. If I go back now, he would not see me as a threat, he would see me as a liar. We need to fight, draw swords for him to see how strong my beliefs are for change.”

“Whatever you say my lord. But if you want to win this war, Al, it has to happen in 90 days.”

I nodded.

We got up. “Andrew is finally here.”

“Andrew, as in Goran’s best archer.”

“The best,” I said.

“Better than you?”

I nodded. I swallowed hard. “There is something else.”

“What?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about the bond?”

“What bond?”

“Between dragon and human.”

“Seriously Al, that bond is an old dragon’s tale.”

“It’s not.”

He looked at me and squinted. “We are seeing it, Emanual told us what it is.”

“Seeing it, with who.”

“You are not going to like it.”

“Who?” He grunted.

“Tanya and Andrew.”

“What?”

“Bob, she loathes him, she has no reason and he doesn’t want it either.”

He squinted. “He doesn’t want a dragon?”

“No, he makes me feel like a monster.”

“You are not a monster. I’ve told you that many times before.”

“It doesn’t change how I feel. He doesn’t want a dragon, he rebels as much as she does against it. I think we are going to experience the first dragon set free.”

“Nobody has set a dragon free before. Not with the Metallics and it will never happen with the Chromatics. Their gifts…there’s usually blood and war with the tamings.”

“I know.” I pulled my hands through my hair. “This guy is unbelievable, Bob. We can learn from him.”

“You are the crown prince of Paegeia, you had many tutors.”

“Not what I mean. Being human. He sure gives me a run for my money.”

“I see. Just be careful Al. I know how you are with trusting someone, so fast and easy. You don’t know him that well. I’ll speak to Tanya, find out why she is doing what she is. She’s a very sensitive dragon, not like anyone I’ve ever met before.”

“I know.”

We went back to the others and I introduced Andrew to Bob, or by his full name, Robert Leaf.

He was actually so infatuated by him that it was screaming loud and clear he was more attracted to men than women. But I had to be 100 percent sure if that was true.

Still I kept my distance from Andrew, spending more time with Bob. He would leave soon again, finding out the fate of my lady, how she passed on to the afterlife.

I had many things to concentrate on and sent Andrew away with a scout team. He didn’t understand it, felt he was more needed here, but he did what I told him to do.

Bob came to sit next to me as we were having our lunch.

“Be careful Al.”

“Of what?”

“Andrew. He is hiding something. I don’t know what.”

“You picked up on that too.” Three dragons had told me that.

“He’s going to disappoint you, and I don’t want that for you. You know you struggle with that type of disappointment.”

“I know what he is Bob.”

“Then how can you let him in this campsite.”

“It’s against the law not life threatening.”

Bob squinted. “Al, he could jeopardize the entire mission. If he gets word back to your father…”

“What are you talking about.” We were definitely not on the same page.

“I spoke to Tanya, she feels he is hiding something big.”

“Like what, being a spy. No.”

“Then what are you talking about?”

“He is a pantser.”

“No,” Bob said. “I didn’t …oh crap.”

I laughed.

Bob looked at me. “Are you sure?”

“Why do you think I’m keeping my distance from him.”

“It’s not infectious but the men need to know.”

“No, Bob, they don’t. Andrew is a good guy. We will get used to it.”

“Then why are you keeping your distance?”

“It’s blasphemous and something I don’t understand.”

“You have feelings for this guy?”

“I thought it was admiration, but it’s deeper than that. He makes me laugh, makes me feel things I do not want to feel.” I was so honest with Bob.

“So it is contagious?”

“It’s not a disease, Bob. I don’t know what this is. It’s confusing, that is for sure. I need you to find out about my lady, please.”

“Okay,” he said. “Still be careful. Tanya didn’t say what he is hiding, I got a feeling that she isn’t talking about his affection for men.”

I nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind too. He sure wasn’t happy that I sent him away.”

“No, he wasn’t and that is usually a tell.” Silence lingered and then Bob squinted. “That must be what Tanya meant.”

“What are you talking about.”

“She didn’t make sense and all I got was a spy when I think about it. It wasn’t that type of role she was talking about. She doesn’t get Andrew because he has feelings for men.”

“Role?”

“She said he is hiding something he isn’t, a double role.”

I squinted. He wasn’t making any sense.

“I think you are right, he isn’t a spy, he just has a lot of feelings for you, and to dragons not use to humans, she senses a woman, Albert.”

We both laughed. Okay so Andrew was infatuated with men. This was going to get ugly.

I didn’t like Robert. Sure he was handsome as hell but he was putting a wedge between me and Albert. Albert was keeping his distance lately and this morning he sent me away.

I was keeping watch, and my mind was reeling with worry.

What had Robert told Al? Could he smell the dragon magic on me too?

Tony said I had to be careful with some dragons, did he mean Chromatic dragons?

This was all Tanya’s fault. She probably told him that I was hiding a gender.

But then Al did say that she loathed Robert as much as she loathed humans.

Why would I even want that for a dragon?

I didn’t care how much Albert was going to learn from a bond like this. It could never happen.

I should forget about Albert. I had made up my mind, but then he had that night with Constance, and I wished it was me.

How could men easily discard their feelings like that for someone and just be with another.

I wiped a tear and I was glad that no man saw it.

I felt a tingling and I opened my pouch to take another kernel.

How long was this war going to carry on?

I thought about Maggy a lot.

I wished I could warn her that if a beautiful man shows up asking questions about me, just tell him I am dead.

What did she tell Connie?

Questions I would probably never get answers to were overclouding my mind.

I didn’t even see it coming.

An arrow hit me straight in the leg.

My cry woke the men instantly and I took three arrows out of my quiver and placed them in my bow.

I saw movement and shot all three arrows.

I lost my balance and roll down the hill. I was out of reach from the group and lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes I was at the bottom of a long stone staircase.

A fog was clouding the top. I could hide in that fog until night time.

I could still hear calling in the distance. None of them sounded familiar.

Were the men in my unit okay?

Would Al even come and look for us. What was going to happen when word reached him that our group was gone. Captured by the enemy. Would Goran save them?

I started the climb as my blood dripped.

The arrow was still protruding and I made sure that I couldn’t see the bottom before sitting on the step.

I broke the one piece off and ground my teeth.

A few heavy breaths and I was ready to pull the mother out of my leg.

It was more painful than I thought and I passed out again.

When I woke up it was night and I was a woman.

I grabbed my bag and took out another kernel.

I could lose my bow and arrow but my bag filled with magic kernels, my life depended on that more.

The transformation took place fast and I was back to being Andrew.

My strength wasn’t what it used to be as I crawled up the stairs.

When I finally reached the top, the fog was gone, but I wasn’t alone.

Men were running toward me. The fog blocked their sight of me, and my only hope was the cave.

I entered without a second thought and the wall closed.

Thank you. I breathed loudly as I listened to men’s voices outside.

“Blood, it’s still warm.” One of them said. “He must be here somewhere.”

“He’s a goner.” Another then said.

“What do you mean?”

“Look where you are standing. We need to leave. There is a dragon that keeps watch on this cavern.”

“Let him come.” A sword got drawn.

“It’s not a dragon you want to mess with. We should go. Once you enter that cave, you don’t come out.”

I gasped and then fire sprouted out from all sides. Lighting up the cave. I looked around.

There was a platform and one of those time- counting glasses.

The voices disappeared outside and so did their steps.

I knew where I was. It was the Sacred Cavern. I didn’t want to be in here. I had no concern for this place. But I knew many came here as it had a magical pond that could show you anything you wanted to know, past, present or future.

The future wasn’t for us to see.

“No, I have no time for being here. This is a mistake.” I called into the depths of the cave but no one answered. There was some writing on a wall.

It was a different language but then it turned to English.

“A puzzle you have to solve, in order to claim what the pond beholds. One wrong move and you will be stuck, so I wish you all the luck.

The platform hoisted up and I hopped on my good leg toward it.

The time thingy turned around and I saw the puzzle pieces scrambled on the platform. There were about ten tiles that you could move one at a time.

I made out what was on a few pieces. It looked familiar and I saw the picture in my head.

It was a weapon, and I started shifting it into place.

When I was done the grains of sand just ran out and water poured from above. My mind immediately went toward a sinking ship. It was going to fill up this cave and I was going to die.

“No, I solved it before your sand ran out. That’s not fair.” I yelled. The water fell on my pants and I hopped back, seeing my cut started to close.

I looked at the water again. It was healing water.

I put my leg underneath and it ached for a while but then the pain was gone.

The water at the bottom was mixed with my blood but the wound the arrow made was closed.

I changed back with a gush of wind blowing in my face and I wasn’t Andrew anymore but Katie.

“No, no, no.” I said as my bag of kernels disappeared from my belt.

A plate of food stood in place of the puzzle and I knew that I shouldn’t eat it. Just a feeling I had but I was so hungry.

I gobbled down the meal and a door appeared with a rumble.

I kept staring at it and saw the too-big shoes on my feet.

I stepped out of them and walk barefooted.

I looked back and know my freedom was behind that door, but it wasn’t the door that opened.

I had to go forward.

I rolled up my pants’ legs and tied my belt before walking through the second door.

It slid closed behind me fast. The first compartment was gone. There was only this one.

The cave was dark and my breathing was fast and heavy. My heart was beating like horses’ hooves running on turf.

Fire sprouted from the walls again.

I knew what it was. I didn’t even have to read the writing on the walls.

It was a hinder course. One with axes as big as houses and swords, sharp blades that could slice a body in half, a hammer that can pound the life out of you.

It started out slow and I didn’t think twice.

I passed the axes, and ducked for the balls, a few steps forward I fell flat on my stomach as a singing sound came toward me.

Blades swung inches from my back.

If I were Andrew I would’ve been cut in half.

My eyes darted up a beam and saw a small ledge at the top.

I jumped for the beam, swung my body toward the top and started to walk with one foot in front of the other.

My balance was perfect.

I reached the last part, and jumped down.

The third door opened and I rushed through it.

The cave was lit and two men that looked like they had just woken up appeared from two separate doors. They rubbed their eyes.

The writing on the wall told me that they were brothers, one lies and one tells the truth. I could ask them one question but they don’t know life outside this cave. It had to be a question that could tell me which one tells the truth and which didn’t.

If I found the one telling the truth, he would show me the door.

It was easy.

They were quarreling with one another.

“Does this cave’s door lead to the fourth cave?” I yelled.

They stop their quarreling and looked at me.

“No,” one yelled and the other one yelled, “yes.”

They started to fight again as they disagreed.

“You,” I pointed at the man that had said ‘yes’. “You tell the truth.”

“You see what you have done now?” The other one yelled.

“Shut up.”

“Show me the door to the fourth cave.”

“Yeah, yeah, hold on to your pants.” They both looked at my pants that were way too big for me. They started to laugh at my big clothes.

“Door now!” I yelled and they stopped laughing.

I followed the one and we walked to the end of the cave.

There was a huge hole and he started to laugh.

“Are you afraid of heights?”

“How do we get to the other side.”

“Magic,” his eyes grew and I watched him walking toward the big hole.

I gasped as he walked on nothing and I rushed toward him.

It was weird, there was nothing but at the same time a soft shimmer of something kept catching my eyes.

I followed him, trying to not lose sight of the shimmer each step made.

It felt like a piece of wood, that was enchanted to be invisible.

My gaze shifted as cries deep below in the dark cave distracted me.

“Ignore them.” He said.

“There are people down there.”

“Yep, not worthy ones.”

I squinted. It was such an easy question.

I didn’t even see the little weasel as he tried to push me into the dark depths.

But something grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him down as he cried out at the man. How he managed to get his way back up, I don’t know.

A thin boy covered in black goo hoisted himself on the ledge. One that had just become a wooden beam, seconds ago.

The magic seemed to be lifted from the beam and the faint cries of the man started to die out.

“Didn’t like him very much,” he spoke in a strong British accent.

“Who are you?”

“Someone that was in there for a long time. It’s against his law it is.”

“What is?”

“They way he tried to trick you. He will be dealt with too. You didn’t eat the food in the first cave, by any chance.”

I knew I shouldn’t have eaten it.

The guy laughed. “Just tell him about this, he has no leverage of holding you here if you past his fourth quest.”

“Why are you helping me.”

“I do not belong down there, I don’t. He will make things right by me for saving a worthy damsel like yourself.”

“What is your name?”

“Stan. We need to hurry before his brother shows up. The door is this way, it is.”

He took me to the door and we were outside.

It was foggy and the deeper I followed Stan the clearer the fog got.

We found a boat and we climbed in. He took the oars and started rowing.

The water was pure silver and I felt like touching it.

Something grabbed my hand. It was strong and Stan hit the water hard with the oar. It eventually let go of me.

“What was that?” I asked.

“I heard about these waters. It’s where the ones not worthy dwell. You are worthy, right?”

“Worthy, I shouldn’t even be here. I came in to hide from the soldiers and I didn’t know that this was the Sacred Cavern.”

“Let’s hope you are worthy.” He said, and kept rowing.

The fog returned and Stan rowed until we hit the edge of the other side.

We walked slowly and a big gush of wind pulled me and Stan toward something I couldn’t see.

I planted both my feet and grabbed on to a railing of some sort.

Stan was in the air, his scream fading. I was too slow to save him.

The wind finally stopped and I opened my eyes and saw a dragon. But it wasn’t like any other dragon.

It had different colors. Was he their alpha?

“A maiden. You are definitely worthy. Who was the man with you my fair lady.”

“Someone I met in the third cave. That little weasel wanted to push me into the whole.”

The dragon growled. He had a bad temper. “I will deal with him. Answer me this, and when you can, you will get the reward.”

“I don’t want the reward. I came to the Sacred Cavern by accident. I didn’t know what it was.”

“You don’t want to look into the pond?”

“I have nothing I wish to see. Just let me go please.”

“No, it doesn’t work like that. You need to finish. What was and has been, is and will always be, and to come and will always last.”

I thought it was ‘time’, but there was a reason he said three things.

“You have till sun up to answer me.” He said and turned around.

“It’s past, present and future,” I yelled, and he stopped.

I only saw the maidens playing in a beautiful garden then. They all shrieked and started to cry, running around and back into the building.

The dragon blew out a gush of fire and stomped his feet hard on the ground.

I crouched down behind a boulder and waited until his temper faded.

It took awhile but when he was done, I peeked over the rock and saw his beautiful garden destroyed.

“Sorry, I don’t meet maidens that can easily pass all my tests, you sure are worthy and because of that idiot, I have no choice but to let you take a look in the pond and let you go on your way.”

“There is nothing I want to see.”

“It doesn’t work that way.” He lifted me with his claws as he darted into the air and flew with me fast. It was an exhilarating ride.

I got dropped by a meadow.

If I didn’t know any better I would say it was the garden of Eden and in the distance was a pond glowing.

“Go, ask whatever you want. Make it count.” The dragon lay down and I got up.

I didn’t have a question, but I sat down at the pond and looked at myself in the clear water.

I thought for a while about my question and then it dawned on me that there was one thing I wanted to know.

“Will I have kids one day?” I asked the pond.

It rippled and I saw a young man that looked an awful lot like Andrew. The spitting image. It changed again and I saw a girl with long blonde hair. A beautiful girl, she had the greenest eyes I’d ever seen. She looked nothing like me, but a lot like Albert. What did it mean?

That we would find a way to be together? That the king was going to accept me.

The girl looked around and smiled at someone, ran to them and Albert appeared on the scene.

He still looked the same.

He hugged her dearly and kissed her on top of her head.

The boy appeared again and did the same. He didn’t run to Albert this time but he walked.

I gasped when I saw their embrace. It wasn’t Albert, it was Goran.

Then the ripples faded.

I wasn’t going to have two children. Just one with the man that I ended up with.

I got up and went to the dragon.

“I’m finished.”

“You found something after all.”

I nodded.

“There are rules, Katherine.”

“How do you know my name.”

“I know everyone’s name. You can’t tell anyone what the Cavern contains. You may tell them what you saw in the pond, but you can’t tell a soul what is inside this Cavern. If you do, your firstborn will be mine. Understand?”

I nodded.

“Then let’s be done with it.”

He took me again in his claws and flew with me to the first cave.

He shifted into a beautiful man. Even he had a human form. He touched my face softly. “You sure I can’t tempt you to stay.”

I shook my head.

He huffed. “You can’t blame me for trying. Here,” he threw my coin bag filled with kernels. “I don’t even want to know why you are trying to hide yourself Katherine. You are simply,” he breathed again, “breathtaking.”

My lips curved softly. He was a creep to be honest and I didn’t know why anyone would want to stay with him.

The door of the cave opened and I grabbed my shoes and left.

Once outside, a dragon was waiting for me.

“Just sign the book and be gone.” The man said. “Remember our deal Katherine.”

The door shifted closed behind him and I looked at the dragon.

He had a book opened and I saw four names before mine. Only four made it out of the Cavern.

He sliced my wrist with a laser pointing out of his talon and blood spilled everywhere.

He closed the book, grabbed my arm and the pain and everything was gone with a flash of a bright light.

When I opened my eyes, the dragon was gone. It felt like a dream but the scar on my wrist told me otherwise.

It wasn’t a dream.

I was the fifth person that made it out of the Sacred Cavern.