Young Writers Society

Chapter 34: On The Edge of A Rescue

The Moonlight Kingdom capital sat at the top of a high hill, with a valley that dipped low between the hills around it, like a giant, natural moat. From where they stood, on an adjacent hill, looking across the dip between them, and the snow-capped trees, they could see the hints of buildings, long winding streets, all securely tucked in behind a massive stone wall surrounding the entire city.

Peeking out, through the foggy mist, were the towers of the palace, at the far edge of the city.

James hadn't been there in five years.

He wondered how much had changed.

Elliot snorted, and James patted him on the neck. The sun was going down, hiding behind the mountain range that danced around the city's back, like nature's frame. The mountains stretched for miles, and with jagged edges guided the sky's silhouette across the horizon. James had forgotten how breathtaking the view was, and even more so from the palace towers, where you could see it even closer, looking down into the deep valleys, where the snow pooled like little rivers.

Somewhere, in the depths of the palace, Clandestine was waiting.

Mel rode up beside him, adjusting the scarf around her neck so her face was showing. Her full lips stretched into a smile.

"We're almost there," she said, with awe leaking into her voice. They were both looking at the same picture.

"Tomorrow morning, we'll split up at the base of the hill. We know a spot where we can avoid the usual rounds of guards on patrol."

James nodded, his eyes drifting to the city gates. From here, they looked so small. But when standing in front of them, they towered high above the trees.

"Raj is going to create a tunnel with his earth magic," Mel explained. "So we can avoid the gates altogether."

James nodded again. They'd mentioned that. Raj had trained under Mickey, and though he wasn't a dragon, he'd done this many times before.

"You're staying back, right?" James asked.

Mel nodded. "I'm a healer. I can fight, but I'd better serve you out here, keeping watch, with the horses."

James glanced back at the others. Robin was in his wolf form, carrying Dinny on his back, climbing up a large boulder, presumably to get a better view.

When Robin had first shifted, two days ago, James was too shocked to say anything. Not because Robin was a werewolf, but because he was surprised there were any still around. Dinny had been shocked as well, but she took it pretty well, all things considered. She and Robin had warmed up to each other pretty quickly, actually.

"Robin will stay with me," Mel said. "He's good at sensing when people are coming."

She paused.

Dinny was laughing as she tumbled off of Robin's back, and he flopped on top of the boulder. Bo was standing beside the big rock, and briefly held out his hands to catch Dinny, but she didn't fall. She pulled herself back up quickly with a giggle and pointed out towards the mountains in view. Raj, in the background, was the only one actually doing anything productive, tying up the horses and starting to unpack.

James looked over at Mel, who was grinning.

They sat atop their horses in silence for a moment, looking at the distant city, and breathing in the crisp mountain air.

"How long have you been at the guild?" James asked.

Mel looked at him, seeming a little surprised that he'd talked, but she smiled.

"About twenty years, now," she said. "It's hard to believe it's been that long."

James had known the guild had been around for a while, but knowing that it had existed longer than he had been alive was still hard to swallow. Bo had explained to him that Mickey took great lengths to keep their location a secret, and have no less than a myth-like whisper of their existence spreading throughout the kingdoms. James could understand - trying to rebuild after the war against the mages, and after the calamity - it had to have taken time.

He did feel, though, that he didn't fully understand the extent of Mickey's power. Mickey was a dragon, but he wasn't all-powerful, and he wasn't immortal or immune to sickness or pain. He did live what felt like an eternal life in comparison to someone like him, but even a dragon's life had an end. That was why there were inheritors. Eventually. So he learned.

"How old were you when you were recruited?"

Mel looked up in the sky in thought. "I was 13. Raj was 10. Our parents disowned us and cast us out before mage-hunters could find us, and we were on our own. I had been hiding my magic for a few years, using my healing magic to heal scrapes and bruises Raj and my other siblings got without my parents knowing. But they found out, eventually. It was Raj, who they discovered first. And then my other siblings spilled about me, and from there, our path was pretty clear to us."

She paused, looking back at Bo, who was now climbing atop the boulder with Dinny and Robin.

"Bo found us, actually," she said, with a small smile. "It's so strange, that he really hasn't aged a day."

James followed her gaze. How old did that make Bo?

He remembered how Bo said he'd been a part of the magical experiments pre-calamity. That would make him over 100 years old, just like Clandestine.

The only difference was she'd been locked away, unconscious, for most of it.

"It's those dragon genes, am I right?" Mel joked, looking to James and winking.

James blinked. He didn't laugh, but he did breathe hard through his nose. Mel looked at him and rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Okay, it's a cheap joke, maybe, but really, once you know someone for twenty years and you notice you're aging and they still look the same, you'll begin to understand what I'm talking about."

"Oh I'm sure," James said. "Mickey still looks exactly the same from when I first saw him. It was unsettling. Don't get me wrong. He's... kind, but - it's very different."

Mel nodded in agreement. "It takes getting used to, for sure."

A bout of silence passed between, and James dismounted, hopping beside Elliot, and taking his reins. Mel followed suit, and her fur boots crunched against the half-frozen layer of snow on the ground.

James turned to lead Elliot back to camp but stopped when Mel spoke.

"How have you been doing?"

Gods, not this question again.

"Health-wise."

Oh. Well. That was a little easier to answer.

"Your healing magic has been helping a lot," he said.

He looked back at Mel, who was patting her horse on the snout. She smiled.

"That's good," she said. "No more aches and pains?"

James shifted on his feet, and looked at the ground.

"Much less than normal," he said quietly.

"Ah," Mel's tongue clicked. "Sadly, I can't take it all away. It's... harder to get rid of pains that have been around for a long time before. I'm better at the more immediate. The fresher wounds. The recent ailments. Some healers are better at different things."

James listened, and after a small pause she kept going.

"Do you know much about healing magic?" she asked.

"I think it's safe to say I only have an elementary understanding of most magic," James answered.

"Ah. Right. So, with healing magic, it's like a transference of energy. That's what helps heal a wound, or a sickness, or whatever it is, so rapidly. With other magics, you're manipulating an element that's already there, usually one that you can see. But healing magic is more of a sense and a feeling. It's kind of like you're giving a little of your life to restore a little of someone else's. Which, well, that's why we have limits. Like bringing someone back from the dead. Or, that's why we don't always heal completely right away. We stabilize someone, and then aid in the natural healing process to speed it up more than normal, but not so much that we shock someone's body too much. Because it can be a lot to take in."

James nodded slowly.

Yes. It was a lot to take in.

"A healer's limits are mostly defined by their own magical strength and stamina. We only have our own energy to draw from. It's forbidden to draw from another source. That's also why we can't heal ourselves. Drawing from another life source can drive a healer mad."

Laughter erupted from Dinny and Robin again, and Bo was quick to hush them, even though Bo himself was fighting back laughter. Mel shot them a warning look, and they quieted down.

"But! You don't have to worry about that."

She smiled and laughed a little, like she was trying to break a tension James didn't really feel was there.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I've only ever heard horror stories about it, so it's kind of scary to think about. But I've never been desperate enough to suck the life out of a plant or whatever, to use it to heal."

James tried to give her a small smile. "That's good," he said.

Dinny came running over to them, skidding in the snow as she stopped at their feet.

"Bo says it's time to make camp!" she announced, before running back over to the boulder. James wasn't going to mention how Raj was already doing that before the rest of them.

James and Mel looked at each other before following behind Dinny at a walking pace.

In just a few hours, they'd be inside the Moonlight Kingdom. Or rather, below it.