Enaya: Solace of Time (9 page)

“Y-yeah?” Nile said, raising his hands.

“What are they?” Roland asked, as the barrel of a cannon rubbed under his chin.

“Dark knights,” Nile replied. “I don’t know what else to call them.”

“Is this the place? Is this the place you saw?”

“Yes,” Nile said, nervously.

Another dragon flew over them. Roland and Nile stared at it in amazement.

“They coexist with dragons,” Roland said.

“That is what I have been telling you.”

From a distance, a voice called, “Hold fire.”

The knights cleared out of the way, and rushing up between them was Norcross, his hands behind his back, and a sleek smile stretched across his face. “We’ve missed you. That was some magic trick you pulled off the other day.”

Nile lowered his hands.

Chapter 15

The Ancrya

Roland was petrified. His hands clasped the wired fence behind him, his joints almost locked in place, but Nile managed to remain calm. This Norcross character loomed over the two of them like a dark lord, but was that just their imagination? His black soldiers lined up behind him, guns pointing toward them. It painted a dark and towering picture, and with every blink, Nile hoped they would disappear.

The villagers of this kingdom gathered around the black knights. Their faces, however, were terrified. Nile noticed as he relaxed his shoulders that they were tensing up. They looked around at the forest beyond their home. Nile’s eyes followed against the crowd of people as they tried to understand the
magic
that took place. Nile wanted to smile at this, but he was becoming used to the
magic
. He had been engaged with absurd events the past several days.

Norcross folded his arms, his leather trench coat crinkled and cracked with the movements of his body. “So I’m curious as to what kind of
trick
that was.”

“There was none,” Nile replied.

“Just the gem, right?” Norcross mocked.

“Yes.”

“Lower your weapons,” Norcross said, glancing to the soldier on his right. They all followed his command. Norcross turned back to Nile. “Where is your friend?”

“Home.”

Norcross lowered his head and placed his hands behind his back. He rocked back and forth on his heels. Norcross licked his lips and he looked around the city, trying to comprehend what had happened. Nile figured out that Norcross was nervous. He was trying to maintain his posture in front of his knights. “You say there was no trick and I say prove it. I’ve got millions of people to account for.”

“Norcross,” Nile said, “I don’t have your answers. This is new to me as well.”

“I want answers now.”

Roland jumped in. “I have the answers you need.”

Norcross smiled at him intently. “Proceed.”

“He used Enaya to go into your world, and he came back. That’s the answer. He brought your world back with him,” Roland said, releasing his grip on the gate.

Norcross rubbed his chin with his index finger and thumb. “Then why did we not appear back with him when he used it?”

Roland scolded the city heights. “Your home is so large that Enaya could not have brought it back. It takes time, sometimes minutes, hours or days, depending on how large the subject matter is. This is unusual, but one of our ancient scribes used Enaya, element of time, and brought back a war that was brewing three hundred years into the future. We haven’t seen this war yet. That is the only recorded account.”

“What?” Nile asked, squinting at Roland. “How do you know all this? How could I have brought back a city? A city, Roland? It is far too large.”

Roland breathed hard; his nervousness had finally caught up with him. “You . . . you don’t know the magic it contains and you just used it. Perhaps the darkness of Seraph dwelling in you brought it back for his ultimate plan.”

“How is this ‘Enaya’ used?” Norcross asked, interrupting.

Roland grew quiet for a second. He glanced around, hearing the gasps from the people of this foreign new world. “By the desires of your heart.” Roland sat forward. “If you have the power to use this element, then it is used by the emotions you feel at the time. That and only those who can use it have to have contacted Seraph.”

“Who is Seraph?” Norcross asked.

“A dark lord,” Roland said.

“What?’ Norcross replied.

“What were you feeling when you used this element?” Roland asked, looking to Nile.

Nile took a deep breath. “I’d rather not answer.”

Roland leaned close to Nile. “You must.”

Nile glanced around the city and then to Norcross. “I was hurt, upset that I lost someone I loved.” Nile slowly glanced to Roland. “It hurt so badly that I wanted to leave. So that’s when Enaya worked.”

“That’s it?” Norcross raised his eyebrows. “Sticking to the same story. That is the dumbest thing I’ve heard.”

“It is real,” Roland said. “It was founded upon magic.”

“So, what now? This world has wizards and elves?” Norcross laughed, looking back at his soldiers who chimed in as well.

Roland and Nile looked at each other oddly. Roland spoke, baffled, “Your world doesn’t?”

Norcross lifted his hands. Nile figured out now that Norcross used his hands to express how he felt. He did so now, arching his fingers and rotating his wrists. After a second, he gripped his hands tightly and lowered them, but rolled his eyes. “Of course my world doesn’t. We don’t have fairies or dragons or elves.”

“You don’t have those?”

“No!” Norcross yelled, “Wait, what do you mean? Do you have dragons?”

Nile nodded.

Norcross stood up straight. “This is incredible.” He looked beyond the fence to see the trees tower over this ancient realm. He was astonished, and this world was so beautiful to him. “Can I see your hometown, please?”

Roland looked at Nile conspicuously. “Yes, I will take you. I am Roland Grendon, heir to the throne of Woodlands.”

Norcross turned to two of his soldiers. “Prepare the Ancrya.”
He then turned to a group of his other soldiers. “Set up a perimeter around Silvago. Nobody is allowed to leave the city limits and nobody is allowed in.”

A few soldiers saluted Norcross and then dispersed between the citizens.

“Follow me,” Norcross said.

The remaining soldiers waited for Nile and Roland to get to Norcross, and then they fell behind the new strangers. They walked down the street until Norcross stopped at the dozens of people staring at them. He held up his hands and smiled. “Everything is all right. We are getting to the bottom of this.”

The villagers from Silvago stepped to the side as Norcross led them through the city. Nile noticed that there were signs displaying the names of different streets. Noise was constant. Giant metallic birds flew overhead, and Roland shook as he watched them pass by. Nile then looked at a group of kids kicking a ball; they stopped and stared at him as he neared them.

“We have everything in Silvago,” Norcross said.

Out in the clearing were more large birds and people loading into them in single-file lines. Some were taking off into the city. One bird caught Nile’s eye. It was large and red. The nose narrowed into a sharp point, and the back was wide and curved upward like a tail with a porch built under it that extended outward. There was a large windshield just above the narrow tip, and it had two seats that were visible. The underbelly of the ship was solid black, and there was a crystal-blue ocean wave that zigzagged across the black.

As they approached it, there was a small flight of stairs that extended from a door leading into the airship, and sitting on these stairs was a man with a short scruffy beard and long brown hair that seemed dry and shaggy. He had a scar on his forehead, and he was wearing a green leather vest with a tight, white long-sleeved shirt underneath. His pants were gray and worn out, but had three pockets on each pant leg. He flicked a smoking stick in front of Norcross and then reached into his right breast pocket, pulling out another smoking stick and placing it between his lips. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a black lighter and lit the thing up, inhaling the smoke as if it were the best thing in the world.

“Got to have my cigs,” Locklin said.

Norcross stopped at the repulsive being, looking at him in disgust. Without excitement, he said, “This is Locklin Richardson, the pilot for the Ancrya. I hate to say it, but he is our best pilot.”

Norcross turned to Locklin. “You seem to be calm.”

“Why wouldn’t I be, huh? It’s not like trees starting growing out of the middle of nowhere.”

“Our home is barren,” Norcross explained. “Our cities are sanctioned off by sound barriers. Everything runs on the power of sound. Every building has a sound barrier in it that keeps the electricity afloat. Nobody has seen a tree over a hundred years. Well, a live tree. We can artificially grow our own, which bear fruit, but it tastes bland. So you can imagine what a shock it is to our people when mountains and green trees began to show up around us.”

Roland nodded—following everything Norcross said—but he really didn’t. Nile had no clue and just looked at Norcross as he spoke. He glanced around to see families gather around the edge of the fences and looked out into this ancient world.

“What’s left your land barren?” Roland asked.

Norcross smiled. “What destroys everything? War.”

Locklin exhaled the smoke and winked at Norcross. He then reached his hand out to shake Nile and Roland’s, who had no idea what he was doing. “Anywho chickadees, I’m Locklin, and I’ll be your pilot for the day,” he said sarcastically. He placed his hands together after he realized they did not understand and rested his elbows on his knees. “Where am I takin’ ya to today? Of course, I don’t know your world and don’t have a map of this place from scratch.”

“What is your home called?” Norcross asked.

“Woodlands,” Nile replied.

“Woodlands,” Norcross repeated.

Locklin sprung to his feet and clapped his hands together. “Well, let’s all board the Ancrya.” He stood to the side and held out his hands to the door, waiting for everyone to enter. “I don’t know what the hell just happened, but I’m sure we can still get to Woodlands without a map.”

Nile said nothing and entered the airship, followed by Roland and the soldiers. Inside, there was a large dining hall with black leather seats pressed against the walls. Norcross sat in one, and he patted the one next to him for Nile to sit in. Nile did, and Roland sat across from Nile. The lobby had black- and white-checkered marble floors, and there was a spiral staircase in the corner.

There was a door to the back of the airship and another beside Nile. The soldiers stopped and lined up in formation in front of a large window to Nile’s left, and to his right was another large window. Nile thought it could possibly be the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Norcross pointed toward the door that Nile was curiously studying a few seconds earlier. “In there are the cabins.”

“Cabins as in homes?” Nile asked.

Norcross smiled. “No, beds. This is what we use when we take our troops in battle. All of our airships are roughly the same. They have a lobby upstairs as well to fit nearly fifty passengers, and then this lobby that fits twenty. Downstairs is the command stations.”

“Command stations?” Nile repeated.

“Yes, command stations. Downstairs we have our cannons that shoot out high doses of ammunition. It can rip through another one of these aircrafts in just a matter of seconds. We have an armory downstairs as well. Every airship has one, and every airship has three soldiers on it to guard it. We never take chances letting our passengers be in danger. ”

Norcross pointed to the door where Locklin entered and was sitting. “That is the cockpit.”

By the look on Nile’s face, Norcross knew the boy had no idea what he was talking about, so he continued. “The cockpit is where we pilot our ships.”

“I knew that,” Nile lied.

“So that is pretty much it for the azure bateau. However, I’m interested in your world. I still can’t believe you guys have dragons.”

“We have wizards, and sorcerers, and witches and maidens. We have gateways to other realms, and we have kingdoms and giants and other sorts of things. We have magic and ‘magical gems’,” Roland explained.

“Ah yes, Nile. The ‘magical gem.’ Where is it?”

“I gave it to him.” Nile pointed to Roland.

Norcross looked to Roland. “May I see it, sir?”

Roland took off his glove and handed him the gem. “I kept it tucked between my knuckles under my gloves, that way I know for sure I won’t lose it.”

Norcross held it and the gem sparkled in his eyes. “It is beautiful.”

Nile couldn’t take his eyes off it either. “I know.”

“I need to know where to take this thing, eh,” Locklin called back.

“Take care of it, Nile,” Roland said.

Nile agreed with a shrug and got up. He walked into the cockpit and sat down beside Locklin, who grabbed a strap beside of Nile and pulled it across him. Nile watched in amazement and then tugged at the strap. Locklin glanced over to him and he smiled, still tugging at the strap, then he finally gave up and unbuckled the thing, swaying it to the side. Locklin laughed.

Locklin grabbed what appeared to be a stick and pulled it toward him. He then pulled on a latch above him and flipped a few switches. Lights on the large black leather dashboard came on, and a monitor appeared. Nile looked at the monitor to see a layout of Silvago.

“That thing there allows me to see the world from the sky, baby.”

Nile just looked at it oddly.

“This monitor shows a digital map of the world,” Locklin said. “It picks up everything.”

“Really?”

“Yep,” Locklin said, slapping the top of the monitor. “I can see everything.”

“Even people?”