Chapter 29-Shadows Lengthen

Tamli and Finca were both brought back to attention once Makiar entered and laid Dhran down on a table next to him. The man had a swirling red aura around him and blood coated most of the right side of his face, masking any other facial features that might distinguish him. Slowly the white dragoness drew back her head as Tamli continued to gaze at the torn male beside him, trying to remember anything about the person next to him.

What happened? Finca asked as her eyes flickered to Makiar, the ruby dragoness snarling harshly and searching for something to help stop the bleeding.

An insane dragon and a burst of Fear Shriek happened, the aggravated female hissed as she found a large ball of thick cloth and levitated it in the air.

"Fear Shriek? As in the element of fear?" Tamli inquired as he watched her unwrap the cloth in mid-air and then halt the process to glare at him.

Exactly, you . . . She paused, eyes narrowing. Oh. Amia finally accomplished what no other creature could do to you, huh?

Tamli blinked, trying to remember what Makiar might mean as she tore the fabric and began to bind it around the entire right side of Dhran's face. Everything from midway across his nose over was fitted with the flexible material, with some staining immediately with a dull copper color. The ruby female snarled angrily and started on a second coat, working more frantically to stop the new rider from bleeding to death.

It took Finca's snout brushing against his arm to cause Tamli to come back to where he was and he glanced at her, pleading for help through his gaze. "I suppose. You said a dragon did this to him? What dragon?"

Sitedal. That newcomer thinks he can just walk in here and have a place by that mate of his. Respect has to be earned, not wasted like he nearly tried to do tonight. Stupid fear-breathing mongrel . . .

Finca hummed softly, nudging him again. Go if you want. I'll watch him . . . and Makiar.

Makiar? That's the red dragon's name?

Yes. Smoke rose from her nostrils as he rose and placed a hand on her snout before she could nudge him a third time.

He patted it gently before slipping out of the room, intent on finding the dragon Makiar had called Sitedal. From what he could gather, the dragon was a user of the fear element, the rarest kind out there. Also, the fear-user had a mate, possibly offspring. Those aspects could be used to speed up the search some.

Breaking into a run down corridors he had once traveled with a full memory, Tamli lightly trailed a hand over the delicate flower carvings on the wall. They were so beautiful yet he knew they couldn't be dragon-made. What had formed the multitudes of wood shapes he saw?

"You should know better, son of the twisted spirit Szara."

He slid to a stop. Who had said that? Was it in his mind? He glanced around, seeing nothing other than the carvings and the twin-material floor. A sense of imprisonment enclosed him and Tamli frantically searched for the nearest off-shoot that could provide him some relief.

The nearest entryway gave him little peace as he spotted it and broke back out into a full run. Passing under the smoothed archway that led inside it, he briefly looked around. Up ahead was a figure clothed in shadow, a hood pulled up over its face. A single red eye and a purple eye focused their gaze on him as Tamli stopped and examined the dept of the irises that loomed before him.

"You came." Surprise mingled with a touch of disgust in the voice of the individual as it took a step towards him. "Pity you have no memory. Last time we met you muttered something about going back in time and saving my dragon from his slow, agonizing death. I see now I'll just have to inflict pain on you until you remember what you promised me."

'Oath breaker, traitor, murderer!" The voice of Finca from his past screamed throughout his mind, loud enough that it made his head hurt. Was it a warning to be cautious?

"What did I promise you?" Tamli asked, shrugging off the warning from Finca that had suddenly rattled him. Things would be fine, he could seek her out if something went wrong.

"The return of my dragon in exchange for . . . one of the eggs of the clutch that Sitedal and his mate laid."

Something about the words drew Tamli back to the warning but he shook his head. He was over thinking a little thing that meant nothing. If that was all the individual wanted then he could get it for him, at least the dragon egg part. He wasn't sure if he could even travel through time, far less locate a single point in the time stream and return there.

"No."

The mismatched eyes narrowed as a thick vapor slowly filled the corridor. "No? You dare to tell me no!"

Tamli threw up his hands to cover his face as the shadowed figured drew a sword, the pummel of which bore a red gemstone and threw it with the intent to strike a major organ. Somehow the sword missed and was redirected up towards Tamli's face, slashing from above his left eyebrow down diagonally across the nose to stop at his chin. The warmth on his face drew his attention and he tried to swallow the rising panic that filled him.

A harsh scream filled the air, unknown to Tamli whether it was his or not and the cloaked man reached out with a hand towards him. Pressure built around his neck as he was lifted from the ground and the sword returned to the shadowed attacker. He was going to die. Finca wouldn't be able to reach him in time to save him. There would be no chance to rediscover who he was.

The pressure on his throat suddenly vanished and the ground felt solid under him after what had transpired. His mystery assailant turned its back on him and Tamli gingerly placed a hand on his neck, marveling at how close to death he had come. Why had he been let go? Was there another motive besides that method of demise being too quick?

"Come." The word was sharp, filled with anger and bitterness.

There was nowhere to go anyway. Where else would he run to if he didn't follow this offer? Blood dripped into his left eye as he lowered his hands and took a step forward. Finca would forgive him for this, he hoped.


The mystery man led him to an old run-down building. Ash fell around it and the scent of buried bodies filled the air, enough to make him gag. Where was this place? How had his attacker known about whatever this dismal location had once held?

"Enter."

The word was powerful in the commanding tone the shadowed male used to speak. Tamli swallowed and pushed on the rusted blackened door that was the only entrance in sight. He cringed as it fell backwards and smashed into the ground, letting light into a blackened room. Scorch marks lined the walls and two skeletons of what he could guess were dragons rested against one of the more damaged parts of the initial structure.

Terror filled his thoughts as he stepped past the door and stared at the corpuses, trying to imagine what they might have been like as fully grown dragons. The cloaked man swept past him, motioning to another chamber that connected to the current one by a knocked out chuck of the wall whose corner preserved the skeletal remains of the two beasts.

With his head swimming with thoughts, Tamli tried to control the rising bile that slowly traveled up his throat. He placed a hand on the wall closest to him and hung his head, waiting for the feeling to pass. The nausea nearly drove him to his knees and he closed his eyes, lifting his other hand to rest it against the fire-blasted wall. He wouldn't be sick, he could manage this . . .

He heaved, shaking as the effort seemed to take all the strength out of him. The sound of cloth rustling behind him reminded Tamli he wasn't alone but the lack of energy and sickening thought that he wouldn't have the strength to go on made him stay where he was. A few minutes wouldn't make a big difference when he now had no time-table.

"Tamli," the man sighed. "I know this is all very overwhelming but we need to keep moving. You want answers, right? Well then, get yourself together and let's continue."

The way his name had been spoken, Tamli realized that the person he was traveling with knew him at least somewhat. Tone and emotions aside, it was the same way Finca had said his name. With that knowledge it made it a little easier to push himself away from the wall and wipe at his mouth. He was known by the individual he was with, it was a start to finding out more about what had been taken from him.

His attacker cast a wary glance at him but he shrugged it off and headed toward the next chamber, taking special care not to look at the skeletons on the way out. The new room was also blast-marked and blackened but had a long corridor stretching off of it. Dried blood residue lined the floor, collecting together in piles of dark red stains. It unnerved him but Tamli made sure to not get focused on it like with the skeletons. Nothing good would come of him getting sick again.

"How do you know my name?" Tamli asked as the darkness concealed his aggressor from view.

"What makes you think I know anything else besides your name?" Tamli dared to not speak, wanting to see what the man would say. Finally a sigh came from the man. "All right. I know more about you than I wanted to let on but for time's sake I'm only going to tell you this: yes, I know you. Besides, the name's Amia and we should follow the corridor until it ends, then take a left to enter the cell nearest the end of the hall."

A brief smile lit Tamli's face as he made a note of the achievement to get Amia to say something beyond just instructions. He immediately entered the corridor and stopped in horror. Cages lined each side with at least one skeleton in each. Some had two bodies but the small rooms were littered with debris and, what terrified him the most, dozens of tiny scales. They came in all colors but the fact that they rested on the floor confirmed his fears that this place might have been a facility where dragons had come to be treated harshly until their deaths.

. . . A brown dragoness stabbing a sharp needle past his protective coating and releasing the purple contents in the tube that connected to the razor thin weapon . . .

A hand on his shoulder broke Tamli from the vision and he jerked away angrily, whirling around to find that it was only Amia who had shook him from the disturbing images. He wasn't a dragon, that part made no sense. Every figure on him gave proof that his body was human and, therefore, not the scaled hide that he had seen in the odd dream.

"This . . . place is a nightmare. Was it used to house . . . dragons?"

Amia nodded, face still masked by the cloak hood. "Indeed it was. You stayed here for a time, certainly your memories show you that much."

He knew then. Amia knew that these visions were happening. Why hadn't he said anything before about this? Tamli shook his head, hoping to clear his thoughts. The end of the hall then and the last cell on the left.

Footsteps padded softly behind him as he walked causing Tamli to occasionally remind himself that it was only Amia. Yet something troubled him as he passed the endless holds where innocent scaled beasts had come to die. If the one who had brought him here knew so much about him then why even lead him through the dismal place anyway instead of just revealing everything by talking? It made no sense to him the more he thought on the subject. Either secrets were being kept or there was something that Amia wanted him to see with his own eyes.

The last cell was empty but as he entered it, Tamli heard the audible scrape of metal against its sheath and was about to spin around when a sharp pain seared from his left leg, right around the knee. Without looking around the room right away, he took a step forward, only to stumble and fall to his knees and hands as his new injury flared angrily at the movement.

A low moan escaped him and Tamli heard Amia chuckle quietly as if he was enjoying the scene that was being played out before them. The wound pulsed softly in fresh waves of pain as he glanced back at the man, stood with caution as he was afraid to put weight on the new injury, and quickly scanned the room for an item to use as either a shield or as a weapon. His eyes fell on the only object in the room: a metal slab that was held to the ground by two thick bolts, locking it in place.

He tried to run for it, mostly dragging his weakened leg behind him, and finally slid under the smooth surface as he heard Amia walk over to get the sword. With a hand on the table, Tamli set about breaking the bolts off so that he could throw the slab to the ground as a shield against the metal that had already dealt him savage blows. Blood slowly dripped into his vision, less than before but still annoying, and he wiped it away angrily. He had to get this to work, it was his only hope.

. . . A sweet human girl glancing at him as a putrid smell assaulted his nostrils. She watched as he retched, spitting up his own blood in place of any food. It was his third session of the day already and the sheer force of his stomach sending up any of its contents weakened him each time he found himself crippled by the . . . .

The sound of metal striking granite snapped Tamli from his vision, revealing to him that he had retched again and his own clothes were now covered in the horrid smelling stuff. His leg wound was throbbing more with pain than it was before but he silenced the thought of the sword having sliced open anything else on his body. He suppressed a gag and returned to work on loosening the bolts, ignoring the putrid scent that came from his once clean outfit. Amia laughed softly, mercilessly as his struggling grew more frantic and again the noise of steel against stone ringed through his ears.

"Try as you might there is no escape. Just surrender Tamli and save us both this unnecessary pointless struggling. Every object you touch bares its memories to you of its past and your place in it."

Amia was right in some aspects. The objects that Tamli had touched were the cause of his visions. How could he have such a skill? It made no sense but, then again, nothing made sense anymore. He tugged harder at the bolt before him, leaving the other until after he was done working with one.

"Why give up?" Tamli panted, stopping to wipe blood and sweat from his eyes. "These objects that I touch give me hope, Amia. Something you could never dream of!"

With a scream from Tamli, the first bolt broke free, causing the slab to wobble unsteadily on its remaining attachment to the floor. He slid over to work on the other one, having to painfully drag his leg behind him now, but just as his hand touched the second obstacle that lay in his path, he was thrown backwards by a sudden telekinetic burst. His head and back slammed into the wall as pain shot up his right shoulder, causing black dots to dance before his eyes.

His attacker was coming after him and here he was dazed and left without anything to defend himself with. Amia closed in as Tamli tried to lift himself up but fell back onto the floor, nearly panicking when he saw a pool of blood under his right arm. That explained the pain from his shoulder then.

"Go ahead and kill me," he spat as Amia stopped just feet from him, ruby-jewel pommeled sword in hand. "What difference would it make? I'm already dead to you anyway . . ."

Amia rose his right hand and Tamli felt the constriction around his throat return greater than it had been when he had been able to call for Finca's help. The hand lifted higher and he was dragged off the floor until the power of his aggressor's mind was the only thing that kept him off the ground. He tried to feebly kick at the man but a single flick of the hand that held him helpless threw him into the wall beside him.

Dazed and barely conscious from the force of the throw, Tamli felt himself grabbed again by the invisible force before he could fall, lifted higher, and more pressure came around his throat. He had angered Amia, had brought this upon himself. There was no other person to blame, let alone save him. Finca nor the others had he told where they were going and now he regretted it.

"Stop."

The voice, both telepathic and spoken verbally, gave Tamli hope. Amia growled and turned around, tightening his grip on the sword in his left hand. Behind the one who was trying to kill him a black specter stood. Piercing red eyes dominated its appearance but its demeanor was gentler than the blackened coloration which suggested rage and anger.

Its form rippled and appeared to be in the shape of a dragon, another sign that brightened Tamli's outlook that this might be the creature who would save him. A single step towards him did it take and Amia let him go, sending him flying up into the ceiling instead of against another wall. The initial impact knocked the wind from him but when he fell back down did the true meaning behind the reason for a upward throw strike him. A quick and painful death for him but with less chance of it turning into a bloody scene.

Somehow he managed to force himself into a spin on the downward return and landed heavily on his injured right shoulder. He rolled once more before coming to a full stop, laying on his back. Tears sprung to his eyes but Tamli ignored it and strained to watch the fighting as Amia began losing ground against the specter.

"You stand no chance." It taunted, striking out with a wave of blueish light that was collected by Amia's sword. "Warriors do not give up when the odds are against them, they fight on. Only cowards turn their backs and run. Which shall it be?"

"You don't scare me, you monster," Amia growled, slashing madly at it, his blade passing through without causing any damage. "You were created to be MY personal guard, not defend the original who I got your genetic material from!"

Tamli blinked, head pounding. Had he heard that right? Was the specter Amia was fighting a clone of him? How had he even been cloned in the first place? He rolled over and started to slide on his belly to the closet wall to use as a post to stand.

The clone jumped and its form shrank, becoming more like his own in a manner of seconds. Amia ducked under and brought his blade up, matching the burst of energy that was sent from the specter. The resulting explosion rained debris around him and Tamli spotted a good sized rock he could use to help get him over to where he would be out of harm's way. He clutched the piece of rubble and pulled himself with all his strength, using his good arm to drag his weakened body forward and closer to the wall.

Air rushed past him and Tamli readied himself to roll away, but stopped as he saw the clone of himself inches from his side. Fear not, it whispered softly in his mind, I will get you out alive. Amia knows not the secrets of this place, while I do. Stay here for a moment longer and then I will be done.

With that the copy of him turned and lifted a hand, aiming its palm at Amia. A spark of white light flickered to life and quickly grew, aided by the misguided blasts of blue lightning that tore themselves from the blade of their foe. Soon a swirling vortex of light blue energy rested in the hand of the specter and he let it loose with a roar of rage. Tamli closed his eyes as Amia's scream pierced his ears, the very thought of seeing the man burn terrifying him.

"Open your eyes. The danger has passed."

The voice of his clone reflected his own if not only slightly deeper, yet it was enough to make him trust the words and open his eyes. A pile of smoking ashes lay where Amia had stood moments before and Tamli fought back against the urge to retch. His gaze found that of his clone's, mirror images looking at each other despite the hardness he saw in the eyes of the one who had saved his life. Black hair rippled down from the back of the man's scalp before him, his eyes still the same red shade they had been during the fight.

"Thank you," Tamli managed to croak out, surprised by how weak his voice sounded. He knew he was exhausted but to know that his voice reflected that caused him to understand further why Amia wanted to end his life here.

"He wanted you to die where he created the first clone. A life for a life. Now that plan will never come to completion thanks to you."

Tamli blinked, hesitant as his clone knelt by his side. "Why thanks to me? You burned him to ash so why me?"

"You are the catalyst for the others. I was always watching from the moment you two stepped in here. While you have rediscovered some aspects of clairvoyance by yourself today, it was I who was providing you with so many visions." The copy of him sighed. "Your genetic material may have formed us but we each took up our own path, guided by the actions you had made."

"How many were created?"

"Over fifty. Amia and the dragoness Misery worked side by side on this. They thought they could create a clone army to counter the dragons by using one that was well known as a way to confuse the opposition."

His shoulder burned as Tamli reached up towards it only to stop himself with the thought that Amia had worked with another to do this awful project. When had he realized it wasn't going to work? Or had the thought ever crossed his maddened mind in a sensible fashion?

"He knew the project wasn't successful with his first batch. They went mad after only days. I said more than fifty but only ten of us remain now yet I fear some of those are doomed to become subjected to what crippled so many of the others . . ."

"And that is?" Tamli was interested now. There were only ten left from a starting point of fifty plus. He had to ask what had drove them all mad.

"Finca. Furthermore, your deep love for her. They simply couldn't escape the pull of emotions that had been inherited from you."

The words stunned him. It couldn't be, could it? They had all fallen for the dragoness that had been his love. So she was telling the truth when he first awoke and she called him her love. Why hadn't he seen it then that they were together? His gaze fell to the floor then to his wounded shoulder. There was no way he could stand without putting some pressure on it and he didn't want to cause further damage to whatever muscles were left from the harsh blow that had nearly caused him to fall unconscious and lose his life. Also, he had to consider his leg and whatever damage had been done to it from Amia's attack.

His clone sighed and reached for him, picking him up like it was the easiest thing in the world. The suddenness of the grab surprised him but Tamli allowed it, finally permitting himself to see how his left leg looked as they started to walk away from the scene of carnage and destruction. Streams of blood trickled down it from right at the kneecap and he fearfully flickered his gaze over to check his shoulder. All he saw was blood and more blood. There was no bone, nor could he move it. Panic shot through him and his copy slowed to a stop.

"Keep walking," he hissed between clenched teeth as his clone started to walk once more, eyes fixated on the bloody red area that should have taken his life from him during the fight.

Why wasn't he dead then? The wound itself was grave enough to have sucked the life from his body yet something had prevented that from happening. He wanted to know what and why. Thankful he was for the saving, but the nagging question of his survival plagued him as he was carried back the way he had come.

Tamli felt his body shift several times during the walk until they had returned to the room where he had first entered and first retched while in the awful place. His clone gently laid him down against a wall and from the darkness other pairs of eyes watched him hungrily. It unnerved him to be the subject of so many people when he had nothing to defend himself with should they choose to fight him.

"I cannot carry you any farther but I can dress your wounds, if you like." The clone that had carried him here commented as he kneeled and placed a hand on Tamli's good leg.

"Sure. Can one of you contact Finca and tell her where I am? You sound so much like I do that I'm positive she wouldn't suspect a thing," Tamli requested, eyeing each clone that hid itself in the shadows.

One of the others brought the copy of him at his feet a roll of white gauze. "Ultimately we cannot," the man said as he started to wrap Tamli's shoulder tightly with enough that it wouldn't bleed through and kill him. "This is our home until the fight against Corruption's magic is waged. Fear not, we will watch you from the shadows and keep you safe when Finca isn't around."

"So much for help," Tamli muttered under his breath before wincing as the copy of him moved to working on his leg. "Could you at least . . . get me outside?"

A faint smile rose into the features of the clone at his side. "That we can do for you."

Using two others to help get him up onto his feet, the lead copy wrapped a hand around Tamli's waist. Tamli ignored the oddness of being helped by copies of himself and leaned against the bodies that kept him sturdy and made sure to not let him fall. One of the quieter clones walked up and clipped something to his belt, saying that it would do him well in the future when he would be in his greatest need before running back into the darkness.

"Can I give you some kind of nickname?" Tamli asked as the copy that supported him fully now nodded in approval.

"Sure. What were you thinking?"

The name came to him immediately as soon as he thought on the subject. It suited the person beside him and not himself. Only he wondered if the idea would be shot down before he had the chance to voice it. He hoped not and that the clone would like it.

"Dragonsbane. It separates us from one another. Two different personalities but the same identity. Is that good for you?"

"It suites me very well, Tamli. Thank you for your thoughtfulness," Dragonsbane whispered as he suddenly withdrew his arm and shoved Tamli out into the open field that surrounded the burnt building, muttering something about him being between the darkness and the light.

Grass fell into the air around him as Tamli slammed hard on the ground and glanced back at the deserted lab. It wasn't deserted anymore because of the clones and Dragonsbane. He hoped he would get to see them again and thank them for the help they gave to him.

Oh, you will, Dragonsbane assured him as the sound of flapping wings broke his concentration and he looked up to see the outline of a massive white dragon overshadowing his tiny frame.

The dragoness shrieked as she banked to the left, going into a half circle before she landed and her thoughts met his. Tamli held back a laugh as Finca tore through the boundaries in his mind except for one and discovered all he had witnessed and been through. He almost pitied her for the sheer amount of information that he knew she was assaulted with upon their joining minds.

This was reckless, Finca hissed before she reached him and poked him sharply in the stomach with her snout, but I'm glad you followed him and even more glad that those clones helped you. To think that someone could figure out a way to even clone you is . . .

Unthinkable? Tamli suggested, laying his free hand on her snout. I know. The thought scared me as well before one of them saved my life.

You nicknamed him Dragonsbane? There was a slight edge of humor to her worried tone as he felt her quickly scan the details of the past few hours. That could have gone either way but what happened to Amia? I doubt he's dead but I'm not sure anymore. You changed my feelings on that subject, love.

Tamli withdrew his hand, flickering his gaze away from her. He was scared as well that Amia had survived but he figured Dragonsbane and the other clones could handle it on their own. Finca snorted, bringing his attention back to the one he was speaking with.

Come. There waits a surprise for you back in the underground. Finca paused, watching his expression as it darkened with aguish for some reason. We will return here one day, love. I promise you that with all my being.

Tamli allowed her to grab him in her claws and take to the air, leaving her a free front taloned leg in which to fight. While her words brought him a small bit of peace, he was still concerned over Amia. Fingering his belt, remembering that one of the other clones gave him something, his hand slipped around a small vial. Immediately, he ripped the container free and gazed at the red liquid, reading the front of the bottle with baited breath:

CAN HEAL ANYTHING