Companion of Darkness: The Dragons' Curse, #1

By CJ Rutherford

Free the dragons. Save the world.

Jesaela always dreamt of visiting the Eldar Citadel.

But when she's ripped from her home in the fairy forest to become the companion to an Eldar princess, her dreams become her nightmares.

In her new world of prophecies and curses, Jes finds friends in unexpected places, even as she struggles to survive in the den of a rising evil which threatens to destroy the lands.

With the world of Teralia teetering on the brink of war, she must fight alongside allies of forest and stone, and must find the curse that binds the dragons. Must free them to fight.

For if she fails, the Darkness will cloak the world in shadow, forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CJ Rutherford
• Release date: Jul 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781393159841

CJ Rutherford

CJ Rutherford has always been a story teller, even if they started out in his mind only. He grew up on a farm in very rural Ireland, and was left pretty much to his own devices most of the time. ​So, he invented his own world, with fairies, trolls, and other mystical creatures. ​His stories stayed with him throughout his life, sometimes scrawled down on scraps of paper, and occasionally brought to life in a sketch (although he’s the first to admit what he drew and what you might see might not bear any similarity to each other.) ​Along came two daughters, and at last he had an outlet for his imagination. As the girls grew up they were enthralled by the characters and the worlds their father created. He even brought them to life in his fantasy world, and they never knew when he sat down to tell them their bed-time story, whether they would be fighting a dragon or playing with one. ​But time moves on, and daughters grow up, and soon enough, CJ needed another way to tell his tales. The rest, as they say, is history…or the future, depending on how you look at it. Tales of the Neverwar is a unique fantasy series, spanning two worlds, one of magic and one of science. Millennia ago, magic was hidden to prevent it being used by an ancient evil malevolence to conquer the universe. Now, the spell hiding it is failing, and the magical land of Teralia is about to re-enter our world. The Darkness, banished for thousands of years, awakens as the magic grows stronger, and searches for a way to use this new magic, this 'science', to free itself from the prison entombing it. 20-year-old Katheryn’s ordinary life is turned upside down when she discovers she’s the only thing standing between survival, and the destruction of everything she loves. So begins a desperate battle across time, space, and multiple dimensions, as magic collides with science in an ancient battle for supremacy…for whoever controls the magic, wins the war.

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CJ Rutherford

Copyright (c) 2018 by CJ Rutherford

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are purely the result of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people or events is entirely coincidental.

Any reference to real life or events happening in this world is intended to enhance the storyline and give it a sense of realism and authenticity.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means-electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying), recording or otherwise-without prior permission in writing from the author, with the exception of a reviewer who may quote brief passages in the review.

This ebook is licensed for personal enjoyment only.

Dedication

To my characters—maybe one day you’ll do as you’re told!

Chapter One

Teralia – The Great Forest

I clapped my hand over my mouth to muffle the giggles. Any minute now, I thought, folding my gossamer wings tightly against my back. The forest was unnaturally silent, just the way I’d planned it. My forest friends were watching as well, waiting.

I squealed as my two older sisters and brother flew straight into the diaphanous threads of silk stretching between the boughs of the tree. Within seconds, their struggles caused the threads to bond together, creating a very sticky prison bouncing between the thick trunks of two mighty oaks. The three of them quickly became a tangle of arms and legs. Loud and angry arms and legs. Uh oh.

Jesaela, I’m going to rip your pretty pink wings off when I get out of here, Browaen bellowed, and my sisters’ voices were too enraged for me to work out the words.

Oops. Maybe I’ve taken it a bit too far this time. I mean, all they’d done was call me an immature, lying, mischievous imp. Looking at the struggling mass, I grinned. Perhaps they were right...except for the lying part. I hated being called a liar.

Browaen had called me an imp for as long as I could remember, even though I’d just passed my hundredth birthday and was now – officially, at least – an adolescent. He was the only person I tolerated calling me by the name, however, because I knew he meant it affectionately.

I sighed. Hold still. If you struggle it’ll only make it worse.

Get us out of here now, or Mother and Father will hear of it! Selaer, the eldest of us, always played the parents card. Typical.

I studied her, deciding if another moment or two in the web might be justified. I imagined Father’s face, his lips curling up at the corners, attempting a stern expression while hiding his amusement. Then Mother’s stormy expression, ripe with consequences and punishment, came to mind. No, I suppose I’d better quit while I’m ahead.

Okay, okay. Give me a minute. I cupped my hands around my mouth and started clicking. I didn’t actually need to make a sound; I could silently communicate with all the creatures of the forest. The clicking was just my way of masking my power.

There was a snort from Trianna. By the Maker, the imp actually thinks she can talk to the creatures. How utterly ridic—

Her words cut off as the branches parted, and two of the largest spiders any of them had ever seen descended on the same silk thread that bound the trio. Hah! My sisters’ screams as the spiders attacked the bindings were highly gratifying.

I suppose most might have found the spiders terrifying. Their bulbous bodies were over three feet across, and their spindly legs stretched out around ten feet on either side. Then there were the eyes; dozens of tiny glittering mirrors. And I guess the venomous pincers might have looked menacing, if they hadn’t been hard at work slicing through the web I’d asked them to spin.

With a final snap, my siblings were free, and the trio darted up and away, halting a safe – at least, what they presumed to be safe – distance away, my two sisters peering wide-eyed over my pale-faced brother’s shoulders. Their wings fluttered, ready to speed them to safety.

Browaen widened his eyes. So you weren’t lying, you weren’t making it all up. You really can talk to the spiders. His face reddened. I’m sorry for what we called you earlier, and I’m sorry we didn’t believe you. He looked at the two arachnids that were now talking to me in their strange clickety-clack tongue. What are they saying?

I giggled. They’re saying you smell delicious. It was a lie of course, but the expressions on my siblings’ faces were worth it. Just kidding, I snorted between breaths, they’re just saying goodbye. I was having so much fun. "I think if my friends wanted to feed on you, you wouldn’t be where you are now." Trianna’s face turned green. Served them right. Imp, indeed!

And with that, my arachnid friends gave me what might have been a spider bow before scuttling away through the forest, vanishing in seconds into the canopy above.

My wings popped out with a slight whish and I fluttered up to my siblings. I looked at them sheepishly. I’m sorry if that scared you, but I figured it’d be the best way to get you to believe me.

Browaen shivered as he watched the retreating spiders. I knew he was terrified. I actually felt a little sorry for what I’d put them through...a little.

Selaer took me by the hands. She gazed at me from the pale blue eyes we all shared. Her hair was fine and golden, like Trianna’s and mine, hair we’d inherited from our mother, along with our slight builds.

Browaen, in comparison, looked like our father with his dark features and muscular build.

And we’re sorry we called you a liar. Aren’t we, Trianna?

My other sister floated slightly apart from us, her arms folded and a huff on her face. Hmph. I suppose so.

Oh, how gracious of her!

A chime sounded, its beautiful tone echoing in our ears. I took off to answer the summons, laughing as I looked over my shoulders. Last one home is dragon dung!

They didn’t stand a chance of catching me. I may have been the youngest, but I was the fastest in the family, and I swooped and soared, grinning from ear to ear, as I cut through the maze of branches and trunks, racing home.

All the earlier bitterness was forgotten as I took in the world around me. The forest teemed with life, and golden shafts of sunlight speared through the canopy. A flock of small birds intercepted me, chirping with excitement as they raced alongside.

Hello, little friends, I shouted above the air rushing over me. I’m afraid I don’t have time to play right now. Maybe later, okay?

A feeling of playful disappointment came from them, along with anticipation of some possible shenanigans later on, but my thoughts were interrupted as the dense forest gave way. I flew out into the immense clearing, clear brilliant blue skies crowning the expanse. Mighty and ancient oak trees rimmed the area, but the tree sitting in the center of the clearing dwarfed them. It stood hundreds of feet high, and even in the bright sunlight it shone with an inner glow. This was my home, the home to the faer race. This was Faerhaven, what we called the Tree.

The sight never failed to take my breath away. This was the heart of the forest, the fount of life and magical growth. Every tree and creature in the forest was bound to this place. Tiny lights flitted around the trunk and boughs. My people, thousands of them, went about their daily lives in happiness and contentment.

A rustle behind me alerted me to the arrival of my siblings. Browaen hovered to my right, seeming to read my mind. It’s always the same, isn’t it? I can never stop the extra beat of my heart whenever I enter the clearing.

The chime sounded in our heads, louder this time.

Someone’s impatient, said Trianna, as she passed us on her way to our dwellings. My mother was a handmaiden to the queen, so our home was near the base of the Tree, just above where the first mighty branches reached out from the massive trunk. The queen’s court resided here, inside the widest part of the tree, but as we passed it, I saw it was quiet, the throne room deserted and the huge crystal doors shut tight.

Odd, I thought. Normally this time of day was dedicated to court business. The throne room should have bustled with activity. Even stranger were the looks we...I...got from the other faeries. Not looks as much as...non-looks: a quick glance away, a lowered gaze, as if reluctant to meet my eyes.

Something was wrong, but it wasn’t until I entered our home that I realized how wrong. The silence of the queen’s court was because the queen wasn’t there. She was here. The grave expression on her face, and the unshed tears welling in my mother’s eyes caused dread to pool inside me.

My brother and sisters knelt in deference to the royal presence, but my father left my mother’s side to come over and take my hands before I could kneel as well. His normally tanned face was pale, and his mouth was pressed together in a tight line. This alone was enough to send a sliver of ice into my heart.

Jesaela, the queen would like to ask you something. He inclined his head to our monarch.

I’d seen her before of course, but never this close, and I gasped at her beauty. Her long auburn hair was the color of the last leaves clinging to the Tree in autumn, and her chestnut eyes were flecked with the golden sunlight flickering through the canopy at noon. Her face was gentle and kind, although sad. I wondered what had made her sad.

She patted the seat next to her. Come, child. Sit with me while we talk. Her voice was as musical as a mountain stream flowing over a smooth bed of pebbles, and her smile settled my nerves, just a little, as I sat.

Jesaela, you know that the king and queen of the eldar had a daughter some years ago, around the same time you were born?

I nodded. What has this to do with me?

The queen sighed and twisted her hands in her lap. There is a custom among the eldar royalty. Because births among their race are so rare, perhaps as rare as once every century, it is customary for a child from another eldar or lower elven family to be adopted, to become a companion to the eldar child...a sibling, perhaps, might be a better way to describe the arrangement. Do you understand me so far, child?

I nodded, my brows furrowing. Yes, your majesty. But what does this have to do with me? I have a family already, and even though they can be a pain in the butt at times, I love them all. I shot a look at Trianna. Mostly. Then I looked at my family. The expressions of pain on their faces killed a part of me as the penny dropped.

The queen took my hands. Her soft voice trembled slightly as she spoke words I already knew. There are no children of like age among the eldar or elven people, so the eldar king sent messages to the other races. The dwelves are almost as slow to birth as the eldar, so they found no suitable children there, either. She dropped her head. Part of our blessing has become our curse, Jesaela, for you were born the same year as the princess. Her father has selected you to be his daughter’s companion. The last sentence came out as a whisper.

Our blessing. While the faer counted their lives in centuries, we were fireflies when compared to the eldar, who were nearly immortal, living for thousands of years. And with our shorter life span came an increased birth rate. Yes, our blessing was our children, but as the queen had pointed out, it had also become my curse.

No!

I caught my breath as my brother stood up, his teeth bared in a feral snarl.

Browaen... My father tried to grab my brother’s arm, but Browaen was too quick, and reached the queen before he could be restrained.

No, he repeated. They can’t have her! He grabbed my hand away from the queen’s, a breach of etiquette that caused a collective intake of breath. I was suddenly aware of the two guards flanking the queen, the glamour concealing them vanishing as they approached Browaen.

I looked at him as if for the first time. For as long as I could remember, Browaen had treated me like an annoyance. In fact, all of my siblings had. I was so much younger than them – almost a century – but now he was willing to fight the queen and her guard on my behalf? My mouth opened and closed, and my breath sped up to match the hammering in my chest.

Before the guards could act, the queen raised a hand, halting them in their tracks. She turned to my brother, who gazed defiantly back. His jaw was set, and I felt an overwhelming urge to hug him.

The queen leaned forward. It is a great honor to be chosen to be—

No! It’s no honor to serve those monsters, Browaen spat. He turned to our parents. Are you just going to let them take her? I can’t believe you’d let that happen.

My father stretched his arms out beseechingly. My son, we have no choice.

We always have a choice. We can fight! His eyes darted to my mother, then to the queen and the guards. We outnumber the eldar a hundred to one, and our magic, it’s...it’s powerful...in its own way. He knelt in front of her, tears streaming down his face. Please...please, don’t let them have her.

The queen dabbed at the corner of an eye and gently shook her head. I’m sorry, young one. Even if we could stand against the eldar, they control the dragons. The Tree—the whole forest would burn if we defied them.

I didn’t understand any of this. All I knew about the eldar was what I’d heard in stories, and the glimpses of their Citadel, stolen on nights I’d escaped from my bed and flown to the tallest branches of the Tree. The glistening lights were a beacon, a childhood dream. I’d always wished to go there, to walk amongst the wondrous eldar in their magical castle. I’d never even seen a dragon, though from the vantage point up so high, I could see the far-off glow of the Mountains of Fire, their homeland in the north.

By the horror etched on my family’s faces, it was clear they knew more about the eldar than I did, but then that was hardly surprising. Faer children rarely interacted with older faer outside their own family.

Then a memory of a recent conversation I’d overheard flashed into clarity. I’d been in bed, and my parents had clearly thought I was asleep. I couldn’t remember the exact words, because at the time I had indeed been about to drift into dreams, but they’d mentioned how innocent I was and how sad they were about me having to learn the truth. I’d barely remembered the words up until now, but now the memory chilled me.

I was bitterly conflicted. Part of me reeled with excitement at the possibility of me...me, lowly little Jesaela...traveling to the land of my dreams, but then I looked at my family, at the sadness in their eyes. It was like they’d already lost me.

I stood up. You know, maybe it won’t be so bad. I mean...the princess might be lovely, and I’ve always wanted to visit the Citadel, haven’t I? And it’s not as if I’ll never see you again—

The cold pit in my stomach dropped below freezing. My family couldn’t return my gaze, and as I looked at the queen, her head shook, almost imperceptibly.

No! This can’t be happening.

How long do I have?

The queen looked up at my words, her breath catching in her throat as tears slipped down her pale cheeks. She looked at the ground.

So...not long then.

Their emissary is waiting below, she whispered.

My mother’s sobs echoed my sisters’. Browaen reached me first, clutching me to his broad chest. I was numb. I had no time, no time for farewells, no time to say goodbye to my friends, to my people, who were like one huge extended family.

Momma? I hadn’t called her that in decades, but I needed her now. She rushed to me, crushing me in her arms. For a second, as I clung to her, a distant memory stirred in my mind.

It was my first day, the day my wings came. Faer aren’t considered truly born until their wings sprout, usually around their tenth birthday. The ridges on my shoulder blades indicating my wings were ready to emerge had appeared in my fifth year. I dimly remembered the fuss this had caused but concentrated on what was going to happen as my mother and I stood atop one of the loftiest boughs of the Tree.

Feel the wind, Jesaela. My mother’s thoughts had entered my mind, banishing the fear and bringing the wind. It filled me, warm, fragrant, and alive. I let go of my doubt and fell forward.

The branches stung my body as I shot through them, my kin watching my descent, hundreds of faer gathered on the branches as I flashed past them. Down...down...down. I loved the fall, embraced it, the wind whipping my hair up like a streaming cape of gold as I fell.

Even the painful snap of my virgin wings emerging from my back couldn’t suppress the cry of joy as I stretched them wide, darting through the boughs, faster and faster. Laughter split the air, and I realized it came from me, mixing with the cheers coming from my people.

People I would never, ever see again. I wrapped my arms around my mother, breathing in the scent of her, jasmine and honey, and vowed never to forget it.

My sisters joined in, and I reveled in the warmth and love flowing between us.

Then I looked at my father. His ruined expression wrecked whatever self-control I possessed, and the floodgates of my tears opened. I held an arm out and he joined in, Browaen completing the circle.

Magic flowed through our veins, strengthening the already unbreakable link. The spell spoke to me, promising that I would never be alone, that whenever I was in need, whenever I was in pain, they would be there for me. I cried. My shoulders wracked as sobs overcame me, but then the queen stood, her normally graceful shoulders bowed.

It’s time. Her voice quivered with something. Was it rage? Shame?

Her guards strode toward me, but I held up my hands. It’s okay. I’ll be okay. I gave my family one last smile, and walked away from my life.

At the bottom of the wide staircase, the queen stood at my side as I looked at the crystal doors that led to the throne room. Only those two huge clear panels separated me from my doom, from the fateful meeting with the eldar emissary, or so I thought until the queen took my elbow and gently guided me into flight.

Her guards followed as we flew down, all the way to the floor of the clearing at the base of the Tree. I harrumphed, looking back up to the boughs above. I knew the eldar didn’t have wings, but I was still surprised. I take it the emissary doesn’t like heights? Yes, I was feeling bitter.

The queen’s voice quivered. The emissary has no problem with heights, child. The problem is the throne room is too small.

What?

I had so many questions but they were blown away as the huge shadow engulfed us, hot wind spiced with the scent of cinnamon filling my nose. My time had run out.

The queen turned to face the new arrival. Keep her safe, Glyran. Fly straight and true.

I stood rooted to the spot, trying to convince myself that if I didn’t turn around, didn’t acknowledge the existence of whatever this was, I would wake up from this nightmare.

The deep, booming voice took me by surprise, not just the sound, but the words it said. I will, my old friend. For I know how precious the gift I will bear is to you and your people.

Friend? My stomach churned. I slowly turned to face . . . the most magnificent being I had ever seen.

It was a dragon, but the tales of them I’d heard paled to insignificance. He was huge, over fifty feet high, with a head so big it wouldn’t have fit through the throne room doors. His golden scales glittered in the sunlight, but there were hues of silver and azure alongside colors of the sunrise. He was beautiful, but I took a sharp step back as the enormous head snaked down to stop inches from mine.

Greetings, Jesaela. His warm breath flowed over me, sweet and rich with spices. I’m sorry our meeting could not be under better circumstances.

I marveled at the way the foot-long teeth spread into a crooked grin. I should have been terrified. I’d be less than a morsel to this magnificent creature, but his eyes...oh, his eyes mesmerized me! They were like molten fire burning into my soul.

My mouth opened, but no sound came out. I wasn’t worthy to address something so wonderful.

A warm hand took mine, and I turned to gaze into my queen’s red-rimmed eyes. Glyran and I have known each other for centuries. He will ensure you reach the Citadel swiftly and safely. After that... She looked away.

Were the eldar really that terrible?

I reached out a hand, on reflex, before jerking it back. What was I doing? This was a dragon, not some kind of pet.

A vibrating rumble came from deep in his chest. Was he laughing? I have an itch, right behind my left horn. Would you mind? The majestic head lowered to the ground.

I glanced at the queen who nodded, smiling slightly. I couldn’t believe what I was doing as I reached out to scratch the area behind the six-foot length of barbed bone.

Ah, that’s better, Glyran sighed. Now, if you’d just go left a bit...oh, yes!

The dragon started to...purr. By the Maker, if I’d died that night I’d have died a happy faer. The emotions swimming in my mind banished the pain I felt at leaving my family. I wanted the moment to last forever, but eventually Glyran groaned and raised his head.

We must go, child. We are expected at the Citadel, and there will be repercussions if I deliver you past the allotted time. He blinked, and suddenly I sat astride his back. I wanted to scream no, but I now