SciFi and Fantasy Stories: The Last Trumpet chapter 4

Later that day, the whole town gathered in front of the tavern, and listened as Jeremy explained the situation to them. Jeremy was a short man, lithe and nimble, with a shock of unruly dark hair. He stood on the steps of the tavern entrance, and addressed the crowd.

Eldren had been part of a cult, he said. They called themselves the Heralds, and they were obsessed with using magic to end the world. At this the crowd let out a collective gasp, and the townsfolk began to whisper among themselves. Magic had not been used in the world for more than a hundred years, ever since the last of the wizards, Jwarn, had banished magic and all magical creatures into the dark Winter Forest of the north. Jeremy waited for the whispering to quiten before continuing.

The Heralds had made their base deep in this forbidden place, harnessing the magic stored there, gathering it so that they could release it all in one devastating wave that would sweep across the land, destroying everything. They called it "cleansing". All they needed to complete their design was the one thing that could break Jwarn's wards and release the magic from the Winter Forest: the last scream of an innocent. Jeremy paused for a moment to let that sink in, then went on.

"Do not worry," he said. "My men will remain here to protect you. We have been fighting the Heralds for months now. You will be safe in our care."

"What about you?" someone asked. "Are you staying?"

"I will spend the night in the tavern, as your tavernmaster here has kindly offered me a room. But tomorrow I must leave for the Winter Forest. We must destroy the Heralds once and for all!" He turned away towards the tavern, indicating that his speech was over. The crowd dispersed, returning to their homes in small murmurring groups.

Garth followed Jeremy into the tavern. "Do you really think they can do it?" he asked.

"Do what?" Jeremy replied.

"Destroy the world. With magic."

Jeremy sat down and motioned for Garth to do the same. "No one knows much about magic anymore, Garth. Who knows what power they've discovered in that place? We can't take that chance. We have to stop them." Garth nodded.

"But why would they want to destroy the world? What do they have to gain?"

"It's not about gain. They're fanatics. There's no reasoning with them," Jeremy said. A scraping sound caused Garth to look up. Lori was standing at the other end of the tavern, and Garth wondered how much she had heard. Jeremy must have seen the look of worry on Garth's face, because he leaned forward and said reassuringly, "Do not fear, Garth. My men are experienced. No evil will enter your town while they stand watch." Garth nodded again and stood, walking over to Lori. I wish I could believe that, he thought.

Lori smiled at him as he approached, and Garth returned the gesture. "How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

"Better," she said, then nodded towards Jeremy. "What was that about?" Garth explained what Jeremy had told the townsfolk. Lori listened with growing horror, and Garth tried to comfort her.

"Everything will be fine, Lori. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Garth, you don't understand... when Jem -- when Eldren -- dragged me into the fields, he told me things... Garth, what they're planning to do... they have to be stopped. I'm not just scared for myself, or even for our town. I'm scared for the whole world!"

"We can't save the world, Lori. Leave that to Jeremy and his people. You have to take care of yourself. Now come on, you need your rest." With that, he took her arm and carefully led her up the stairs.

*

Kieran couldn't sleep. Winter was some months away, but there was a chill in the room he shared with his brother and sister. He could feel it even under the covers. Finally giving up, he shrugged off his bedcovers, wrapped them around himself, and walked over to the window. Ellera and Dex were still sleeping soundly. His bed was closest to the window, though, so he wouldn't have to worry about waking them.

The tavern was at the north end of the town, and the window looked out over the open grassland. Kieran propped his arms up against the window sill and sighed, his breath frosting against the cool glass. At the insistence of Dex and Ellera, Garth had tried explaining to them what all the recent commotion in the town was about, but Kieran still didn't understand what was happening. Dex and Ellera didn't want to explain it to him either; they kept saying he was too young. But he was already twelve, only two years younger than Ellera. She had no right to act so haughty, he thought.

Just then, something caught his eye. A dark shape, silhouetted against the night sky, blotting out the stars. It looked like it had wings, like some kind of great bird, or --

Kieran rushed over to Dex, shaking him excitedly. "Dex, wake up! Wake up!"

"Alright, alright, I'm awake. What is it, Kieran? Why'd you wake me up?" Dex mumbled sleepily.

"There's a dragon outside, Dex! A dragon!"

Dex groaned. "Kieran, come on, this is no time for games. You know very well there's no such things as dragons any more."

"I'm not kidding! It's outside, landing on the grassland, come see!" Kieran tugged on Dex's arm, but Dex shook him off.

"It's just a dream you had. You've been listening to too many of Jem's stories! Now leave me alone, go back to sleep." Dex turned over, and refused to respond to Kieran's further entreaties. After another futile attempt to get Dex out of bed, Kieran turned away in disgust. I'll just go myself, then.

He made his way carefully down the stairs, avoiding the creaky ones near the bottom. As he crept across the tavern, winding his way between the tables, he could hear Garth and Lori talking in the adjoining kitchen. The lanterns in the kitchen were lit, and their light spilled out into the tavern, painting the floor with long, spindly shadows.

"...don't know why he chose you?" Garth was saying.

"No," Lori replied. "I'm far from innocent."

"Lori, you don't mean..."

"Oh, come on, Garth, I'm not talking about that. I've seen death, felt it close to me. I hardly think that qualifies me as innocent. I don't know, maybe Eldren was just a sick lunatic who wanted a girl to scream for him. That wouldn't be too hard to believe..."

Kieran could hear the sudden hatred in Lori's voice when she mentioned Eldren. He wanted to stay and listen, but he wanted to see the dragon more. The voices faded as he crossed to the door and eased it open. Outside, the night was lit by the lanterns strung up at regular intervals by Jeremy's men, pools of golden light sliding across the ground as the lanterns swayed in the gentle breeze.

Kieran listened carefully before opening the door fully and stepping outside. Suddenly he heard a voice, whispering to him -- Run to your left, quickly! -- just as he heard footsteps coming from the right. With no time to think he ran to his left, around the side of the building, and peered back around the corner. One of Jeremy's guards stepped into the light outside the tavern entrance and lit a cigarette, peering around as he took a drag. He walked slowly towards Kieran. Kieran held his breath. The cold air was making him shiver, and he clenched his teeth tightly to keep them from chattering. The guard stopped just before the corner. Kieran heard his heel crunch against the gravel. Kieran considered running, but the whispering voice insisted that he stay put. Apparently deciding that there were no evildoers in this part of the town, the guard stubbed out cigarette, turned, and walked off. Kieran breathed a sigh of relief. Still, he waited until he was sure the guard had left before creeping around to the back of the tavern and climbing over the fence. A short walk later, he was out of the town, and in the grassland.

Out here the only illumination was from the stars, gleaming coldly in the sky. And just ahead of him, silhouetted against the horizon, Kieran saw a great, hulking beast, pitch black against the blue of the sky. A pair of glowing eyes, burning like twin crimson embers, stared at him from within that dark shape, but somehow Kieran was not afraid. Climb up onto its back, the voice whispered. Don't be afraid, little one. It will bring you to me.

Kieran stepped forward, running his hand along the side of the dragon. Its hide was warm to the touch, almost comforting against the chill of the night air. It made no sound, and Kieran began to climb its scaly hide, using the gaps between the scales as hand- and foot-holds. He felt brave and strong. He was riding a dragon! A Dragon!