Red Sky

 

   There was trouble brewing in the air, Katie could feel it. The first thing she noticed when she woke up was the redness of the sky outside. Deep red, like blood. What a night it was going to be. It was ten o'clock, she had forty-five minutes until she had to face reality. That means forty-five minutes of fantasy until then. The dog. Where is the dog? She looked around the bed, but he wasn't there. Where the Hell did he go? "Oliver. Oliver?" she whispered. There was a jingling of metal tags as the cat jumped onto the bed. "Oh, Merlin, not you! How is my sweet little kitty, hmm? Oliver."


  Katie could see a black nose peeking up over the edge of the bed. Then the sweet puppy eyes of her canine companion begged for her to say the words. "Come on up Oliver, you silly little doggie!"


  Like a flash of liquid light the springy Oliver was on the bed and slipping right next to Katie on a pillow, with his head in her lap. He sniffed at Merlin until the cat became annoyed and moved on to better things awaiting him in the kitchen. Katie gave Oliver's black head a huge kiss between the ears, and a hug. He was such a good dog.


"Ugh! Let's get up Oliver," Katie stretched and yawned, "it's time to get ready."


  The moment Katie turned to slide herself onto the floor, Oliver jumped back to his feet and off the bed. Oliver the spaz, always quick on his feet, he was always on edge.


   Katie moved on into the kitchen to feed the cat, Oliver trailing right behind her. It was so cool out, with the breeze coming through the opened sliding glass door. Katie never liked to close that door, leaving it open kept the house from getting too stuffy, too lonely. She took another look out the window, still red, glowing red. Oliver will need a walk, right into the red sky. The poor thing was always cooped up all day.


"Wanna go for a walk Oliver?"


  The response was a series of spastic skids and thumps across the floor as Oliver ran back and forth between Katie and the front door. She stood still. Oliver sat by the front door, then looked at Katie and ran back to her, back to the door and in circles again. Katie stood still, leash in hand, waiting. Finally Oliver came back to Katie and sat straight, waiting for her. Katie smiled as she snapped the leash on the spaz of a dog, and off they went. There was a dense fog outside, but it didn't stop the red sky from showing itself. There was no moon, no stars, just thickness. They walked along the lake and through the golf course. Everything was completely silent, like a sort of calm before the storm. Something big was going to happen tonight, she was sure. They made their way back to the house, Oliver sniffing every blade of grass along the way.


  It was ten-twenty, time was running out faster than Katie wanted. Who would be there tonight? Elisa. Elisa would be there, that was good. She went back into the bedroom to get ready, eyeing her luscious bed along the way. It was such a nice comfortable bed, if only she could just sink right back into it, with Oliver siddled up along the pillows and Merlin curled up next to her. How nice that would be. No. No going back to bed, Reality was waiting, and it didn't like to wait long. Instead, Katie washed her face, that would wake her up for sure. Oliver spent his time laid down by Katie's feet.

  Thump. Thump.

  Oliver's ears perked up, but Katie never noticed.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

  There was a light sound coming up the stairs to Katie's apartment, Oliver could hear it. He got to his feet to investigate, without Katie ever noticing.

Thump. Thump.

  It was very light, a hidden noise- purposely hidden. Oliver went to the kitchen and looked out the sliding glass door- someone was there, a shadow.

“Grrrrrrr…..”

“Oliver hush!”

  At the sound of Katie's voice, Oliver ran back to the bedroom. He was anxious and whining, Katie was afraid of him waking up Mary downstairs. She knelt down to face him eye-to-eye. “You have to chill boy, you can't be making so much noise in the middle of the night.” She scratched his ears and patted his head, but he jerked away and ran back to the kitchen. Katie sighed and followed him through the house.

“What? You think there's something out there?” Katie peeked through the screen, “There's no one-”

  Katie was cut short as she spied a pair of glowing green eyes.

“What the Hell is that?!”

  Before she could collect her thoughts, Katie was knocked off her feet by a blast of wind as a shining streak crashed through the screen. She looked up, and into the face of a silver dragon. His eyes were like glowing gems, and so feline, so curious. The serpent bent its head to sniff Katie, and nudged her to get up. Oliver sat behind Katie, no longer afraid, but still very confused. Katie got up and just stared, about as confused as Oliver.

“Who-what are you?” she asked the beast. The only answer was a quizzical look from a cocked head.

  The dragon turned abruptly and took a tour of Katie's apartment, helping itself to a bowl of water and some of the cookies left on the counter. It made it's way to the living room and sat down next to the sword that used to belong to Katie's grandfather, a Viking sword, supposedly belonging to her ancestors. Katie followed the dragon, and picked up the sword. She usually used it in play, pretending to be an ancient warrior, dance-fighting through the house. The dragon stood back up, head held high, and walked proudly back toward the screen door, like a soldier. Katie followed, sword in hand- Oliver came along as well, a good distance behind.

  They made their way back to the lake where Katie and Oliver had recently had their walk and stopped at the shore. The dragon waited. Katie waited. She didn't know what she was waiting for, but it seemed like it was the only thing to do. The sky was still red, deep blood red. It reflected off of the silver scales of the dragon like firelight, glistening. There were no noises to the night as they sat there, staring out over the lake. The silver serpent looked up into the sky- something was coming, something big. It was heading straight for the trio- Katie grasped her sword tightly. What would she even do with the old sword if something happened anyway? She never had any real training on how to use it. The large thing loomed closer.

  Katie watched as a giant set of wings came and hovered in front of her. There was a sort of flat surface between the wings, which the dragon climbed onto. Katie followed, but left Oliver on the ground.

“It's for your own good baby,” she told him as the wings carried her away. Oliver tried following them from the ground, splashing through the lake, until the water became to deep for him- Oliver cannot swim very well. He barked and howled and cried for Katie to return, but there was no way for her to turn back now. She wondered where she was going, and why she would need the sword, but didn't dare break the silence. The dragon was still as a statue, like he knew no fear. Katie watched him intensely- there was something familiar about him. He looked like any other snake-type dragon she'd ever seen in movies and books, but she felt like she knew him. She scooted over to lean against his warm scales- they were soft, like a snake's, but as shiny as new metal. There was a streak of black hair lining the edge of his spine, from neck to tail, and claws as sharp as razors. Katie felt the scales, they were like miniature shields surrounding his body, she put an ear to his side to hear his breathing. The dragon turned to look at Katie, then curled his head over his back to take a nap. Katie took a nap too.

  She awoke to a battle. There were dead bodies all around, human bodies. The dragon was already standing, on guard. Katie rose to her feet as they flew above the fighting and on towards a castle.

“What's going on? Who are these people? Why are they fighting?”

  The dragon looked at Katie, a sad look about him. Then he sighed and directed his attention towards the building ahead of them. It was an old castle, with so many holes in its walls she was amazed it was still standing. The giant wings stopped on the roof, and the dragon jumped off, Katie followed suit. They wandered through the twists and turns of the maze of rubble and fallen stone, until they came to a large room, empty but for a tall chair and an old man. He was a sad old man, as haggard as they come. On his head rested a crown, as filthy as the castle itself and bereft of all luster.

“Who is he?” Katie asked the dragon, but he just looked at her then walked on toward the man. As they got closer, Katie noticed that it appeared the old man was sleeping. He was the sleeping king. That would explain all the fighting outside, there was no one to rule them but chaos. Katie had heard stories of a sleeping king, but she could only vaguely remember them. The dragon knelt before the king, in a way only dragons can. Katie did the same. The old man's shaggy gray eyebrows raised slightly, and Katie gasped in surprise. This old man was no sleeping king.

“Merlin, old friend,” the old man's voice strained, “I didn't think you'd come back.”

  Katie looked at the dragon, whose head was still lowered. So this was Merlin, the Merlin? She had read so many stories about him. Somehow she always believed him to be more…more human, though it made sense to her to have a wise magician be a dragon.

“Things have gotten pretty bad here, Merlin. All the land has succumbed to Chaos, and there's nothing I can do about it, I'm too old and weak,” the old man sighed. “So have you come to save us?”

  The dragon leaned its head down and nudged Katie.

“Me? What can I do?”

  Apparently the king had not noticed Katie before, for now his eyes were wide as saucers as he eyed the blade she absent-mindedly still held in her hand. “Is that what I think it is?!”

  The dragon nodded, and the old king slowly and excitedly stumbled off his throne and towards Katie. His hands grasped feebly at her arm as she handed the sword over to him. He held it out in front of him and stared along its length. There seemed to be a glow coming from the weapon, and then from the old man. Yes, there was light all around both man and sword! Katie was witnessing magic, she knew it by the feeling, there was magic happening live before her. The man's age just seemed to be melting off of him, the gray hair turning a lovely gold, the hard face turning soft, sad old eyes all of a sudden alive and fierce. The king was in his prime, and his presence held so much power! Katie bowed lower than she ever thought possible, all the way to her knees, chest to the floor before this great king. Merlin walked up to the king and bowed once more, the king bowed back to him.

“Thank you my friend,” the king said. Then he suddenly sprang a hug upon Merlin, and cried tears of joy.

  Katie waited, not knowing what to expect next. The king walked toward her, sword in hand. Merlin remained where the king left him. A sudden shiver of fear crept through Katie's awe, she had no idea what was going on.

“Rise child,” the king commanded. “You have no reason to bow to me. You have done me, and my land, a great service. How you ever happened to come across my sword I do not know, but I don't have time to ask questions now. Merlin! We must ride! Will you come too, my old friend?”

  Merlin was at the king's side quicker than lightning. He knelt down for the king to hop on his back. Katie felt as left out as Oliver, as the two whisked out of the castle and into the battlefield. A lady dressed in a purple gown came up beside Katie and bowed slightly.

“Welcome child, do you wish to see the battle?” Katie nodded yes, and the lady took her by the hand. “I can show you the best seat in the house,” she said as they headed toward the stairs. “Watch your step, the way to the tower has become quite dangerous.”

  Katie picked her way carefully through the rubble along what remained of the stairs, following the woman to the tower. It overlooked the entire land. The battle was raging as wildly as it was upon her arrival, there was no sense of order to it. Everyone was fighting- men, women, children. They used whatever weapon was available and fought like rabid dogs. Everything was red. Then, out into the middle of everything blazed a streak of silver light- Merlin and the king had entered the battle. No one stopped to take notice of them, but they tried hard to bring them down. The king held his sword high, the sword Katie had passed over to him, and shouted some words to the mess fighting around him. He was so far away, but Katie could hear those words humming in the back of her head- more magic, she was sure. As the strong arm of the king held the sword high above the crowd, and the words raced through their confused heads, a light started to shine, and Katie watched as their wildness melted as quickly as the king's age. Weapons were dropped, knees fell to the ground and eyes were wide in wonder. Things were changing it seemed, all this would be over now, Katie thought.

  All of a sudden though, there was a crash of thunder off to the west of the healing field. A red storm of heat churned in the sky, and a golden bolt of lightning struck Merlin through the chest, piercing the metallic armor. The king was thrown off the dragon's back and tumbled to the ground. A huge mass of blood red clouds circled the fallen serpent body, blocking it from anyone's view. The king fumbled on the ground for his sword, which had flown off in another direction- Katie could see it. Eventually, the king found it too. Once he touched the hilt, the body of clouds turned to close in on him as well, but the king was ready for that. He held the sword high above him with both hands, chanting something incoherent. The winds picked up, coming in from the east, and the rain started to fall. Each drop sizzled as it hit the red storm, and the sky turned to haze. The king sliced through the thickness with the lit sword, parting a trail through the crimson air. Katie couldn't understand what was happening, it was all so foreign to her. It seemed as if the king had wrapped the sky around itself and kept a grasp of it in his mighty fist. That is true power indeed. With the falling rain eating away at the heat of the storm, the wind blowing it away, and the king folding it into a tragic globe, the monstrous cloud was contained. A lady walking out onto the field gave the king a glass ball of some sort, and the bloody sky was placed in its care. Katie looked closer at the lady, and realized that it was the same lady who had directed her toward the tower. She had made some motions about the sphere and recited some spell of imprisonment.

  Katie searched the field for Merlin, but no dragons were visible. She ran back down the tower steps and out onto the field. All the people were leaving, off to reconstruct what they had left of their homes and families- the field was bare. Katie ran over to the king and the lady, “Where is Merlin?” she asked.

  The king frowned, and Katie caught a glimpse of the old sadness that haunted him before. He walked away, and Katie followed. Over the hill lay a silver cat, streaked red. Katie recognized the cat- it was Merlin. No one had anything to say, she wouldn't have heard them if they did. She knelt in front of her fallen friend, and she cried like only she could cry. The king's knights came out of nowhere to take the body away. It was buried in the king's garden, beneath a dragon fountain. The giant wings came to Katie, and the king motioned for her to get on. As she stood atop the flat space, she watched the king bow before her. She bowed in return. Katie rode home alone, crying herself to sleep along the way.

***

  Katie opened her eyes and looked at the clock. Ten forty-five.

“Shoot! I'm late!”

  She jumped out of bed and threw on her work clothes. Oliver ran into the room to see what was going on. He seemed exceptionally excited to see Katie in there. Katie patted his head while she ran out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. The sliding glass door was open, she rarely ever closed it. Leaving it opened seemed polite to her, like a way of inviting friends- it kept the house from feeling lonely. There was no time for a shower tonight, and that was too bad because the air conditioner apparently wasn't working last night. She was hot and sweaty. She grabbed a frozen dinner and grabbed her bag.

“Aye! Oliver stop hovering! I don't have time to take you for a walk, sorry!”

  Oliver looked at her confused, then sulked over to the couch and lay down. Katie was about to open the door when she turned around, “Where's Merlin?” Oliver just looked at her, then turned his head and went to sleep. Katie ran to the cupboard quickly and opened up a can of food for the cat. “I guess I'll just see him when I get home. Don't eat his food Oliver! I'll see you guys later!”

  With that she left. It was time for reality, and she never even got to have her moment of fantasy first. She looked up at the sky, it was a bright, clear, beautiful night. The moon was full and the stars were shining. It seemed like to pretty a night to be stuck inside working. Who was she working with tonight? Elisa. Elisa would make it fun.

---

   Written By: [kamisch]
...to see more writings by [kamisch], visit her library in Deviantart--> http://kamisch42.deviantart.com