Quest for Cydonia

Frank sighed quietly as the cool night air flew past his face. It wasn’t often he was allowed to leave the clouds of Cydonia; most of the time his presence was required so the horses would be safe. On a few occasions, however, he was given freedom, even if it were only for a few short hours.

“Easy, Lyra,” he whispered in the creature’s black, pointed ear. “There is no need to rush, my friend.” The horse let out a low, dark neigh in response, barely a whisper over the whistling wind. Wisps of violet air flew past his face as the horse’s breathing deepened, a result of her powerful wings beating against the cold wind. Frank smirked and gave the slightest hint of a command to the creature. She sharply dipped toward the ground, folding her leathery wings back along her streamlined body to gain even more speed. The clouds were disappearing now, and the air around them was becoming warmer as they descended even closer to the ground-

The horse curled up almost in a ball, then with a great burst of violet light, she sprung back up into the air at full speed. Frank was laughing by now, a sound that only encouraged the creature further. She spiraled upwards and dove again, as if trying to leave him behind on the ground. He knew better, though. It was nothing more than a game they played.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Frank cooed softly. “We have work to do.” The horse whickered softly and grudgingly glided to the forest below. She landed in absolute silence, though it was unnecessary with the nighttime sounds of the small animals and countless insects crawling among the verdant trees and entangled roots. Lyra’s light, prancing stride allowed her to tiptoe around these obstacles, fluttering a few inches above the ground whenever necessary.

A shrill screech caught Frank’s attention, but both of them remained calm. The sounds of flapping wings seemed to surround them completely, growing faster and more numerous with each passing second. Frank calmly dismounted the horse, standing next to her protectively. More screams began to fill the air, too high-pitched to be human. Closing his eyes to focus, he held his hands just in front of himself, palms facing each other and spaced just a few inches apart. He could already feel the energy building up between them, drawing power from everything nearby, even the slow-moving air.

One of the creatures burst through the bushes nearby, fangs bared and prepared to attack him. His eyes flashed open quickly, and he stretched his arms toward the monster to release the energy. A brilliant purple volt of electricity shot through the bat, killing it instantly. Frank changed his focus slightly so the bolt continued around in a circle, forming a barrier against the bats and protecting him and Lyra. The giant bats attempted to pass through it, only to be incapacitated by the shock. The rest began flying in a circle around him, waiting for the field to disperse.

“In the name of Cydonia, I order you to stand down!” Frank shouted to them in an ominous tone. “You know the consequences if you do not!”

You are not a royal. The words seemed to appear in his mind. They had no voice or tone at all.

“Perhaps not by blood, but I am in service of the royal court and of high standing. Now stand down!”

Go home. And take your pretty pony with you, unless you’d like her to become our next meal. Lyra snorted angrily at this and let out a terrifying scream of her own. Frank intensified the power of the lightning; the bright light caused the bats to widen their circle slightly. Trees began to splinter and crackle nearby, and loose leaves were caught up in the tornado of electricity and wind encircling them.

Intruders. Intruders. Intruders.

Attack the intruders.

Kill the intruders.

Before Frank could respond to their words, the bats suddenly flew off in another direction. He waited a few seconds to see if they would return, but when they did not, he allowed the lightning field to dissipate into the air. Lyra was not at all shaken by the experience, still standing calm and collected where she had been the entire time.

“Let’s go, Lyra,” Frank murmured to her. “I do not know how long it will be until they return.” Lyra nickered in response and halfway knelt to the ground so he could remount more easily. He laughed quietly and did so, nudging her in the right direction. She took off at a light, silent trot, holding her neck high and perking her ears forward, occasionally turning one back to Frank whenever he spoke to her.

A few hours later, he let out a low purr under his breath, a signal for her to stop. She halted suddenly and remained still as he dismounted again and walked towards a nearby cave, motioning for her to follow.

“I’m certain this is where I last saw them hiding,” he muttered to himself. Lyra crept closer to him, able to see far better in the darkness. Frank led her to the mouth of the cave and stood completely silent, listening to the sounds echoing off the rocky walls from within.

“Don’t you know that some of us need more sleep than you, you silly horse? Only three hours a night doesn’t work for everyone.” He didn’t recognize the voice, but he could sense that the ones he was searching for were somewhere nearby. If only he could pinpoint them…

Lyra nudged his shoulder, and he had a sudden idea. He placed one hand on her forehead and closed his eyes again. She seemed to understand what he wanted and directed her attention to the cave. An image appeared in Frank’s mind as the horse’s eyes swept through the cave, so much clearer than the murky darkness looked to him.

A flicker of movement caught his attention. Lyra focused more clearly on the object, a horse appearing a dim gray in the lack of light. There was a man seated on the ground next to the horse, speaking to the animal. Frank could see further into the cave; two more horses rested quietly off to the side, and four more people lay asleep on the ground. One was a girl; he was certain of that. He stared intently at her form, which continued to sharpen and become clearer.

Z.

The thought leapt into his mind and startled Lyra out of her trancelike state. Frank opened his eyes suddenly. A terrified neigh echoed from inside the cave, causing an alerted Lyra’s large eyes to flash a blazing jewel purple in response. Knowing they couldn’t be discovered, Frank immediately jumped onto Lyra’s back, and she took off into the night sky, beating her wings furiously against the growing wind.

Hundreds of piercing shrieks filled the air around them; Frank hesitated to look back, already knowing what they belonged to. Instead he urged Lyra on ahead, hoping the Zan would not catch them. The creatures were infamous for never leaving anything alive. Frank did not want to experience this firsthand. Even if he did escape, he would be crushed if anything should befall Lyra.

He released an amethyst-colored crescent of lightning behind them to hold off the monsters until they were far enough away from Archos. Vicious as they were, the Zan were only protective of their own territory. If he could just get clear of the boundary line, they would be safe. Hopefully.

The bats surged up and over him like a tidal wave, ready to overtake him and Lyra. He closed his eyes, feeling a slight weakness settle over him, a result of using so much magic in so little time. Maybe he had enough strength left for one more trick, the thing that could save them…

Tightly entangling his fingers in Lyra’s silky lavender mane, Frank used the last of his power to teleport the two of them out of danger. There was a resounding crack that nearly split his eardrums as the lightning encased them. An eerie, deafening silence settled over them for half a second.

A cool midnight breeze swept his hair out of his face. He remained still for several seconds before he opened his eyes to find that they were standing on the silver clouds of Cydonia once again. Lyra was quaking in fear, still not fully understanding what had happened. Frank slid off of her back and collapsed onto his hands and knees in exhaustion. He tried to crawl towards the barn just a short distance away, but his body lapsed into unconsciousness before he could do so.

Lyra approached her friend with an air of curiosity, wondering why he had decided to rest right there. She nudged him with her nose, and when he did not respond, she shoved him the last few feet off the cloud and into the barn aisle. She lay down next to his unmoving body and spread one black bat wing over him, protecting him as much as she could until help arrived.
-
“I believe he has returned,” Gerard said coldly. Mikey opened his eyes quickly.

“Hm?” he asked lazily, suppressing a yawn.

“Frank. He has returned from his short-lived vacation,” Gerard repeated, enunciating each word clearly. “Go get him. I wish to know what he found out.”

“I’ll do it,” Bob said quickly, standing and exiting the throne room. Mikey felt a wave of sympathy pass over him as his friend left. Bob’s father, the Duke, had passed away just hours earlier. The fact that he had just inherited that title was little consolation. He probably wanted some time to himself.

Unfortunately for Mikey, that meant he had to endure a speech from Gerard about not sleeping in his presence.
-
Bob’s walk to the stables was a slow one. Thoughts were running through his mind at an unfathomable rate. They had been discussing plans for the ceremony since nearly the moment his father had breathed his last. While it meant he would have more power in the political happenings of the country, it was hardly something he was looking forward to. His father had been one of the most prominent diplomats the country had ever known. The people of Cydonia did not even know of his death yet. Bob knew they would be greatly saddened when they heard the news. He felt even worse knowing he would have to fill such a large position in the government.

“Frank,” he called as he neared the barn. “The prince wants y-”

He froze in place when he entered the stables. Frank was lying unconscious at his feet with a large black horse shielding him with one bat-like wing. Bob was a little shaken by the sight, but decided not to question it.

“It’s alright, Lyra,” he said in a calm tone. “I’m here to help him.” The horse looked up at him with questioning violet eyes, but obediently folded her wings and stood. Frank stirred almost immediately.

“Nn…Lyr…”

“It’s okay, Frank,” Bob said reassuringly, propping Frank up against the wall of a nearby stall. “Lyra’s fine. What happened?” Frank coughed a few times before answering.

“Damn Zan almost got us.”

“The Zan?” Bob questioned. “I thought they were supposed to obey us.”

“Me too,” Frank murmured almost inaudibly. His eyes slowly opened, and Bob was shocked to see that the irises were a deep amethyst, not unlike Lyra’s eyes. “Had to teleport…back here.”

“No wonder you can’t stay awake,” said Bob. “You should rest. I’m sure the prince will understa-”

“No!” Frank cried suddenly, his eyes widening in fear. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I can rest later. Besides, he needs to know.”

“If you insist.” Bob helped his friend stand, laying one of Frank’s limp arms across his own shoulders to help support his weight as they slowly ambled up towards the castle. Lyra attempted to follow them, but Frank commanded her to remain behind.

“What could possibly be so important that you have to tell it to him now?” Bob asked just before they entered the great hall leading to the throne room. Frank gave him a grim look.

“I’ve finally found our traitors. What’s more, the knights are with them.”