False Echoes

The carriage lurched forward as Julius climbed inside, nearly throwing him off balance. He caught himself against the wooden wall and sat down as the wheels began grinding over the uneven road away from Saltus. Through the open side of the carriage, he watched the trading post slowly disappear behind them. The enormous stone pillars, crowded stalls, and rusted sword at the merchant's stand grew smaller with every passing moment.

Julius kept thinking about that sword.

The faint blue light above its hilt. The cloaked figure standing beside it. The strange feeling that had settled in his chest when he looked at it. He turned away from the road and looked down at the axe resting beside him instead.

Tikar sat across from him while Kirves held the reins at the front of the carriage. Julius's eyes remained on the weapon. He could still remember everything he had seen when he touched it. The cave. The cold stone floor. The dead warrior's hands gripping the handle. Every movement remained clear in his mind, clearer than memories that actually belonged to him.

Yet when he tried to remember what he had wanted before the Earth Drake attacked, he found nothing. Julius lowered his gaze to his hands. Blisters still covered his palms. Hands that had never belonged to a warrior.

So how did I kill it?

His eyes returned to the axe. After a moment, he reached for it. Kirves noticed immediately.

"Going to try again?"

Julius didn't answer. He wrapped his fingers around the handle and waited.

Nothing happened.

No blue light spilled across his hand. No second heartbeat pulsed beneath his ribs. No memories rushed into his mind. The axe was just an axe. Julius lowered it slowly.

"Nothing?" Kirves asked.

Julius shook his head.

Tikar finally looked at him. His dark eyes moved from Julius to the axe before settling on the blisters across his palms. "So you really don't know how you did it."

"I told you that already."

"Then maybe you got lucky."

Julius wanted to agree with him. It would have been easier to believe that the Earth Drake had simply made a mistake, that somehow, in the middle of his panic, Julius had found the exact weakness needed to kill it. But he remembered the movements. Stepping beneath the drake's jaws. Seeing the gap between its scales. Swinging the axe exactly as the warrior had.

Those memories were not his, yet his body had followed them anyway.

"Maybe," Julius said quietly.

The carriage continued down the road toward Svard. Julius looked back through the open side one last time. The rusted sword was already gone from view, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he would see it again.

Julius leaned against the wooden wall and watched the forest pass through the open side. The wheels rattled over the uneven road, making the wooden frame creak with every turn. Across from him, Tikar remained quiet, his dark hair falling across one eye as he stared outside.

Julius glanced at him.

He had heard Kirves call him earlier, but with everything that had happened, he hadn't really paid attention.

"What's your name?"

The boy turned toward him.

"Tikar."

Julius nodded. "I'm Julius."

"I know."

Julius frowned slightly.

"Right."

Silence settled between them again.

The carriage slowed so abruptly that Julius was thrown against the left side. Kirves had pulled the reins tight, the two bulls snorting as they shifted uneasily beneath the carriage. His attention remained fixed on the forest beside the road, one hand resting near the weapon at his side.

Tikar noticed the change immediately. "What is it?"

Kirves didn't answer.

The forest had gone strangely quiet.

Julius listened, trying to understand what had caught Kirves's attention. The wind still moved through the branches, and the wheels gave an occasional creak as the carriage settled, but beneath those sounds came something heavier.

A scrape against stone.

Julius's fingers tightened around the axe.

Another scrape followed, closer. The bulls pulled against their reins, their bodies tensing as a deep vibration rolled through the ground.

"Earth Drakes," Kirves said.

The words had barely left his mouth when the trees ahead erupted.

A silver-brown mass tore through the undergrowth and slammed onto the road, crushing branches beneath its weight. Another drake emerged behind it, then a third, each one filling more of the road until there was barely any space between them.

Tikar drew his weapon. Kirves stepped down from the carriage and moved between the creatures and the bulls.

"Stay with the carriage."

"I'm not a child."

"You are if you get in my way."

The first drake lowered its body. Kirves shifted his stance.

Julius remained inside the carriage, the axe cold against his palm. The memory of the first drake came rushing back. The terror. The helplessness. The sudden change when the Echo had taken hold.

He tightened his grip.

Nothing. The drake charged.

Kirves met it.

The impact shook the road. He drove his weapon against the drake's skull, forcing its head sideways as its claws tore through the dirt where he had been standing. The creature recovered almost instantly and swung its body around, its thick tail cutting through the air hard enough to snap several young trees along the roadside.

Kirves ducked beneath it and stepped inside its reach, bringing his weapon down against its foreleg before twisting away from another strike.

Tikar had already joined the fight. He moved around the second drake rather than confronting it directly, keeping his distance whenever it turned toward him and closing in whenever it exposed its side. His attacks were quicker than Kirves's, forcing the drake to keep turning after him.

The third Earth Drake remained near the carriage.

Its head shifted toward Julius.

His blood ran cold.

He backed away, gripping the axe with both hands as the drake lowered itself. His eyes flicked toward Kirves and Tikar, both still fighting the other two.

Should I scream?

He opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat. Kirves was already fighting for his life, and Tikar was nowhere near him. Shouting could only distract them.

Come on.

A faint warmth touched his palm.

Julius froze.

For an instant, the familiar sensation returned. Then it vanished.

The drake charged.

Julius threw himself out of the carriage as its claws tore through the wooden side. Splinters flew past his face as the carriage shook violently behind him. He hit the ground, rolled through the dirt, and scrambled upright with the axe still clutched in his hands.

The Earth Drake turned toward him almost immediately.

Julius tightened his grip and backed away, his boots slipping against the loose dirt as the creature lowered its head and advanced.

"Kirves!"

His voice came out weaker than he expected.

Julius swung. The axe struck its scales and bounced away, the impact jolting both of his arms. It barely reacted. Its claws came down a second later, forcing Julius to throw himself sideways as the ground exploded beneath him.

He rolled through the dirt and scrambled up, but the drake was already turning toward him. Julius swung again, aiming for its neck like he had in the Echo. The blade struck its scales and bounced away, leaving his arms numb from the impact.

The drake lunged. Julius barely ducked beneath its jaws and stumbled forward before turning to face it again. He raised the axe, waiting for the opening he remembered.

It never came.

The drake struck again. Julius brought the axe up to block, but the force sent him crashing into the side of the carriage, nearly tearing the weapon from his hands.

Why can't I do it?

He remembered the first fight. There had been no hesitation then. His body had simply moved, following movements he had never learned.

Now there was only him.

The drake slammed into the carriage, sending the entire frame sideways. Julius lost his footing and grabbed the edge to keep from being thrown beneath it. Wood cracked above him as the creature tore into the carriage.

Julius dropped beneath the broken frame and crawled through the dirt. He could hear Kirves fighting somewhere behind him while Tikar shouted from the other side of the road.

Something struck the ground beside him.

The axe.

Julius grabbed it and forced himself upright. The drake was already coming.

He didn't wait for the Echo this time. He turned and ran.

A roar erupted behind him.

He didn't look back.

Julius pushed through the trees, branches whipping against his face as the sound of the drake faded behind him. He kept running until the noise of fighting reached him from the road.

Kirves and Tikar.

He slowed. Then a scream that wasn't human tore through the forest, and he stopped completely.

The sound died almost as quickly as it came. Julius stood between the trees, breathing hard. He knew he should keep going, that his life was in danger.

Instead, he turned toward the road.

He stepped through the branches and stopped.

The three Earth Drakes were dead.

One lay across the road with its skull split open. Another had collapsed beside the carriage, blood running from a deep wound beneath its neck. The third was sprawled near the trees, its body already going still.

Kirves stood beside the carriage, wiping blood from his weapon. Tikar was pulling his blade from the last drake's neck.

Julius stared at them. It had taken them less than a minute.

Tikar noticed him first.

"You ran?"

"Yeah," Julius said, lowering his eyes. "I couldn't fight it."

Tikar wiped the blood from his blade and sheathed it. "You killed one before."

"I know."

"Then what happened?"

Julius turned his attention to the axe. "The Echo didn't come."

Tikar stared at him for a moment before glancing toward the dead drakes. "So you ran."

Julius didn't answer.

Kirves walked over, his expression unreadable. "Running was the right choice. You wouldn't have survived another fight like that."

"Then how did you two kill them so easily?" Julius asked.

Kirves glanced at the corpses. "Experience."

Tikar gave a small shrug. "And knowing where to hit."

Julius glanced at the ruined carriage. One side had been torn open, the wooden frame splintered across the road. The two bulls had broken free and now stood farther away, still restless from the attack.

Kirves inspected the wreckage.

"We won't be taking that anywhere."

Tikar sighed. "Great."

Julius looked toward the road ahead. "So what do we do now?"

Kirves turned to the forest.

"Walk."

Tikar stared at him. "All the way to Svard?"

"Unless you have another carriage hidden somewhere."

Tikar muttered something under his breath and began gathering what little had survived the attack.

Julius stared at the axe in his hand. He had run from the drake while Kirves and Tikar had killed theirs in seconds. For the first time, he began to wonder whether he had ever been strong enough to kill the first one himself.

"Whoa! Make way!"

Something enormous came charging around the bend.

Dust exploded beneath its paws as it raced toward them, its massive body surging forward with every stride. Two long fangs protruded from its upper jaw, flashing white whenever it opened its mouth.

Julius's eyes widened. He was too stunned to move. Someone was riding it. The rider leaned forward with one paw stretched behind him for balance, a wide grin on his face.

"Move!"

Julius finally snapped out of it and jumped aside.

The beast rushed past him before digging its claws into the ground. Dirt scattered across the road as it came to a stop.

The rider straightened himself and let out a strange laugh.

"Kikikiki!"

Julius stared at him, unsure if he was seeing things correctly.

He was an otter, dressed in polished silver armor over dark leather. A long, weathered coat hung from his shoulders, its edges worn from years of travel. A sword rested at his side in a silver-etched sheath. His dark brown fur was slightly matted from the wind, while the lighter fur around his muzzle remained damp.

A small fish dangled from one of his hands.

He took a bite.

Julius blinked.

The otter looked back at him while chewing.

"What?" he said, still chewing. "Never seen an otter before?"