Carla stood at the edge of Vane staring down at Lunar below. When the clouds allowed it, she caught glimpses of the terrain below. A rather large white cloud broke for a moment, and the small Premier spotted the Pentagullian Wastes. She sighed and shifted her gaze away from the Wastes. Vane was in the skies above Lunar once again, but instead of being completely free, it was cut off from the rest of Lunar. Yes, mages could teleport people to the ground, but on advice from Ruby no one was to risk it. The Red Dragon had shielded the floating city from any scrying spells in an attempt to keep it hidden from the Hades Army and the Demon Dragonmaster. So a shielded Vane was forced to wander almost aimlessly across the skies of Lunar.
The Premier sighed and turned back towards the Guild mansion. It was somewhat cooler this high up in the sky. Carla pulled her simple gray cloak closer over her shoulders. Beneath the cloak, she wore a black velvet dress to her knees. A red sash was tied around her waist, and the Star Dragon's Crest hung around her neck on a golden chain. A quick wind blew over the city, and she shivered. "No, that's not the entire reason for the cold feeling inside me," she muttered.
Since the following morning after Vane had risen again, Carla had been replaying the events of the battle just before the takeoff in her mind. She still had not completely figured out what had made Vane liftoff. The Premier had an idea though. "But that's impossible," she whispered as if her thoughts would doom the world. "It couldn't have been that."
"Couldn't have been what?" asked Ruby as she appeared next the mage.
Carla gave a little squeal and jumped slightly. When she focused on the Dragon beside her, the Premier hit her on the arm. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" she growled.
Ruby gave Carla a smile and laughed. "Sorry, Thumbilina." The Red Dragon of Althena wore her customary red slacks with a pink top and a wine colored vest. A yellow bow was tied around her neck, and her shoulder length red hair was in a ponytail. "I've been looking for you for the past half an hour. What have you been doing out here?"
Carla held back her customary retort to the Dragon's previous insult in an attempt to keep the peace. "Nothing really. Just looking down on the planet below and thinking."
Ruby kept her face from revealing any emotion as she nodded. "Where are we floating over right now?"
"Pentagulian Wastes," said the Premier flatly.
"And what were you thinking about?" asked Ruby.
Carla looked the Dragon in the face, but Ruby betrayed not a hint of emotion. However, the Premier knew that the Red Dragon was probing for information. "Don't try and play games with me, Ruby," said Carla straight out. "If you want to know something, just come out and ask it."
Ruby gave her a half smile and nodded again. "Fine, Carla. We've known each other too long for stupid mind games." She was quiet for a moment. There was only the sound of the wind until she started again. "Do you know why Vane is floating in the sky?"
Goose bumps erupted all over Carla's body. The Dragon's red irised eyes were all business now. She swallowed before speaking. "I'm not entirely sure, but I have a few guesses."
Ruby's face remained the same. "I have just been privileged to some information, but I'm not sure if you are ready to handle it yet." Ruby waited for a minute, but Carla only stared back at her. "So you want to know?" Carla nodded reluctantly. "Very well. Althena, as you know, is on the Blue Star right now. She has hidden her location from the Demon Dragonmaster and his minions, but she is not sure how long her shields will hide her. We have all seen that the power Cole's double wields is the power of Ziatoch, and the Green Dragon's power is able to negate the Goddess'. So in case she is discovered and cannot escape, Althena has imparted certain things to me as the Tetrarch of the Dragon Tribe. Now it is up to me whether or not to say anything about what I have learned."
Carla released the breath she had been holding in a loud, exasperated huff. "Just tell me already! Why is Vane flying!?"
"You," replied Ruby.
Carla's joints went stiff. Her lungs refused to pump air to and from her chest. Eyes wide with something very close to anxiety, Carla managed to get out a strangled, "You can't be serious." Ruby's nod was completely serious. "Then that means..."
"You are related to the Goddess," finished Ruby. "Distantly, but related nonetheless."
As the reality of her situation set in, Carla could feel her knees beginning to weaken. Ruby noticed and led the Premier over to a nearby bench. They both sat, and Ruby began to pat Carla on the back. "Are you going to be all right? You look a little shaky."
Carla was breathing deeply now, but she was shaking anymore. "I'll be fine. Ruby?" asked the mage.
"Yes?"
"Does this mean I'm a member of the Goddess' Tribe?" There was a combination hope and fear in her voice.
Ruby shook her head. "Not anymore, Tiny." Carla didn't even hear the Dragon's taunt. "What immortal power you had was used to make Vane fly again. You're just a regular midget once more." The taunt registered this time, and Carla punched Ruby in the arm again.
Then another thought hit the Premier. Carla gasped and looked at Ruby. "If I was carrying the power of Althena, then does that mean..."
Ruby's silence sent a shiver of fear down Carla's spine. "Cole," was all she whispered. "That explains his blast of energy the day Leeta was hurt. But if he has that kind of power inside himself, that means that the Demon Dragonmaster does as well." The horror of what she had just said made her want to run screaming off the edge of the city. Carla looked at Ruby and saw her own fear mirrored in the Red Dragon's eyes.
"May the Goddess help us all," whispered Ruby.
Deep inside of the black tower of Xobelisk, the Demon Dragonmaster stood alone in a darkened chamber. Wearing nothing but a pair of black training pants, he held Kasra, the Soul Crusher, in his hands as he went through various fighting forms. Sweat dripping from every pore on his body, Kole slowed his exercise as a series of foot falls echoed throughout the chamber. A mug of water appeared in his left hand as he turned to meet Arlax.
"Your report," Kole said flatly as he lowered the mug from his lips.
Arlax made a stiff bow and looked at the Demon Dragonmaster with those bottomless black eyes. "We have lost sight of Vane," he answered. "It has flown too high to be seen, and our scrying spells cannot track it."
"Then why don't you fly up into the heavens and find it yourself?" asked the Demon Dragonmaster in a dangerous tone.
If Arlax was at all taken back, his face did not show it. "Neither my fellow Demon Dragons nor myself would know where to begin a search. Vane could be anywhere on Lunar by now." He laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. "It may even be here on the Blue Star for all we know."
The water vanished from Kole's left hand, and he gripped his black sword with both hands. He raised the blade carefully and made a few quick cuts through the air in front of Arlax. "Is this all you have come to tell me? Have you only failures to report?"
The Chaos Dragon swallowed ever so slightly. "There has been a sighting of the Dragonmaster." Kole lowered Kasra at the mention of his double. "He has been seen in the region known as southwestern Stamaria not far from where you and your Knights arrived in this world."
"Really," mumbled Kole. "What could he be doing there?"
Arlax cleared his throat and continued. "The Red Dragon Knight has also been spotted in this area. If you recall, the one called Fox is in search of the fabled Damon's Spire. It could be guessed that the Dragonmaster is doing the same."
A stone table appeared beside the Dragon and the dark warrior. Kole placed his sword on it and began to dry himself with a towel in his right hand. "Interesting sugestion, Arlax. Have some of our units in the Katarina Zone punch a hole in the Stamarian defense line, and then send some troops to investigate the sightings of the Dragonmaster and the Red Dragon Knight." The Demon Dragonmaster picked up Kasra and waved Arlax away. The Dragon lowered his head slightly and left.
Once he was sure that he was alone, Kole slid Kasra into a sheath that appeared at his side. He closed his eyes and slowly began to draw in large amounts of dark energy. Soon the dark warrior was surrounded in an aura so black that it seemed slightly dark blue. He stretched out his right hand and opened it. A ball of dark energy began to take shape in the palm of his hand. At the Demon Dragonmaster's silent command the walls of Xobelisk opened to reveal the dead landscape around the city and tower.
"Fly," whispered Kole.
The dark energy flew from his hand and out through the hole. Faster than the speed of light, the dark power soared through the air and impacted not half a mile from Xobelisk. The energy ball struck and a black dome of destructive power exploded outward. Everything within that half a mile and some beyond was vaporized. The Demon Dragonmaster lowered his hand and burst out laughing. "Such power!" he roared. "It was within me all this time, and I did not even see it. Nothing can stand in my way now." Dark laughter echoed through the halls of Xobelisk.
Somewhere, in a place outside of normal time, sat a figure alone. Hovering inside a ten foot bubble of psychic force, the figure sat there huddled with her arms around her legs. Outside the bubble was a throne room of immense size. The bubble hovered in the air beside a throne of blood and bones. The throne itself was set atop a large podium of stairs made from black rock. Pillars of fire lined the room from front to back. The pillars shone with bright fire and heat, but no light was shed from them.
The huddled person inside the prison of the bubble raised her head and looked out into the throne room. She looked at the throne itself and shut her eyes tight. Seated on that seat of blood and bones was a creature shrouded in shadows blacker than Ziatoch's evil. Nothing could be seen of this beings features, but the prisoner in the bubble could not bare to look at her captor.
"Soon you will want to do nothing but look at me, my dear," rumbled a monstrous voice from the throne. "It is only a matter of time."
Tears were streaming from her eyes even though they were shut tight. Fear of the being on the throne was evident on the prisoner's face. Suddenly, she stopped crying when she remembered who she was. With much effort, she stopped her crying and held her head high. Her skin was paler than it ever could have been on the mortal plain, and her blue, blonde hair was a shade lighter as well.
Leeta opened her eyes and stared back at the being on the throne. Fear was still evident on her face, but there was a sheen of hope in her eyes. She had seen Cole, and he had seen her. He knew that she was out there and waiting for him. He would find her. "Cole, please hurry," she whispered.