Excerpt: Of Stone and Ice - 1st Book in the Ages of Sidari

Ocpahri stood in the center of the courtroom having finished his statements, his hands clasped behind his back, his chin high. He was confident that with the eyewitness testimony of his housekeeper and the brutality of the murders, the man, the criminal, the filth of all filth (he could think of nothing disgusting enough to call Ansat who sat beside his lawyer to Ocpahri's left) would be convicted and put to death.

"Was he seen committing the murders?" the judge asked.

"As has been repeatedly stated," Ocpahri said, "Loatni saw the accused standing over my...the victims, covered in their blood and the Armed Patrol caught him as he ran from the house."

"This is the last time I will ask this, counselor. Did Loatni see Ansat kill your...the victims."

Anger, frustration, confusion, pain burned in his chest, strangling his heart, but he answered truthfully. "No."

"Then I can see no grounds for conviction here. Although I cannot say that Ansat did not murder the victims, I also cannot say that he did. Judgment is for the accused. Ansat, you are free to go."

Ocpahri swung around in shock. His eyes landed on Ansat but all he could see was blood. The man was covered in his wife's blood and his daughter's blood and he was going to walk out of this courtroom free to kill again and to gloat about his senseless act. As if in a dream, a nightmare, he heard Ansat's answer.

"Thank you, your honor. I am grateful that you have seen through these lies to my innocence."

There was a collective gasp and then a few voices cheering and then it was all swallowed in a darkness that seemed to invade his brain starting with his eyes and ears and then swallowing up his very soul.

A familiar voice spoke words that were supposed to be consoling, he could tell by the tone, but the words made no sense to him. Someone took him by the arm and then he was walking, blindly stumbling away from the noise of the courtroom, from the insanity that could only be a nightmare because no competent judge would allow a murderer to go free. Men went to prison for far less and on less evidence.

"It's just a dream, right Loatni?" he asked of the woman he was certain was with him though he could not see her. "It's just a dream?"

"Oh, my Lord," Loatni moaned. "No. It is not a dream. Ansat is free. The judge released him. I am so sorry. I cannot believe this could happen in this day and age. This is so wrong I cannot even find the words to describe my anger."

"But it is a dream. It must be. I argued the case eloquently. I wore my best suit. My hair is trimmed by the most expensive stylist in town. I am the most famous attorney in all the land. I have never lost a case. This is a dream." The last was said with more determination than he had had started a moment earlier.

"No, my Lord. It is not a dream."

He allowed Loatni to continue guiding him through the stone building because he still could not see. Another set of hands took his left arm and shoulder.

"I will help you, my Lord. Loatni, you go ahead and open the doors. Do not let anyone stop you. Bring the buggy around as fast as you can."

"Ah Sheska, my old friend," Ocpahri said, reaching over to place his hand over Sheska's. "You have joined me in my dreams. But you may go. I have no use of an accountant here and soon I will have to awaken and go to court to defend my wife and daughter."

"He insists he is dreaming," Loatni said, but her voice was fading along with the click her heels.

"My Lord," Sheska said. "You do not dream today. This is truly a nightmare of outrageous proportions but it is a nightmare that exists and shares space with reality as the two were a two-headed beast."

"Your words are elegant, my friend, which simply confirms my belief in the etherealness of the situation. Judge Paddera would never release such a guilty, filthy, manure-filled soul."

Sheska gasped but patted Ocpahri on the back in agreement just the same.

"Come! Hurry!"

Loatni's voice echoed through the hallway coming from the double doors at the back of the courthouse.

"There is no one around back yet. We can escape the crowds if we hurry."

"Step up the pace," Sheska urged, pushing Ocpahri's back.

Ocpahri stumbled but made his feet move faster. "Why can't I see?" he panted as his feet skidded on the polished marble.

"You are in shock."

"No. I am dreaming."

He felt the breeze touch his face and tousle his hair. Voices barked behind him, some shouting his name. The press. They used to be his friends, building him up, bragging on him as they're golden boy. Now they were closing in on him like dragons after fruit. He ran harder, trusting Sheska's guiding hands and following Loatni's urging voice. The jangle of the harness and the snort of his matched pair of purple dragons welcomed him to the buggy. He stumbled, missing the step, and fell on his stomach on the floor.

"Go!" Sheska barked.

The buggy lurched forward and Ocpahri rolled onto his side, his feet hanging out over the edge. He did not bother bringing them in. Nothing could hurt him in this dream. His pair of dragons reached their maximum velocity before launching into the air.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"It would not make sense to go to your house," Sheska answered. "That is the first place they will go. We can return there later. For now, we will go into the desert and spend the day at the Oasis. We can return to your home at night.

It seemed as if they flew for hours, the air cooling as they gained altitude. No one spoke. He listened to the steady pant of his dragons, amazed that they could fly so well and so long when he never used them for more then pulling him a few blocks so he could arrive at the courthouse or his law firm in enough style to impress his clients. Though they paid dearly for his services, they liked knowing they were getting their monies worth. They were guaranteed to win their cases and that was worth any amount to most folks in trouble. He had paid nothing for his own services and not even his matched dragons and buggy had bought him justice.

The biggest house, the best clothes, the most expensive and rarest dragons, the most stylish hair; it was all for them, the clients. And of course, he enjoyed what his years of training and learning and hard work had earned. But justice had no price. Justice was supposed to be free to all, a right granted by the Creator. And yet, to get that free gift, one had to pay someone else to bring it to them. Perhaps when he woke up and went to court, he should hire an attorney rather than arguing the case himself. He did not want things to turn out in real life as they had in this dream.

Hugh and Shade began their descent in a slow spiral, the way of dragons, encircling their target as they scoped the terrain for danger. Their wings beat the air in near silence, their slender legs tucked against their bodies reducing drag. Their iridescent feathers, the size of scales, caught the sun and reflected it in blinding patterns that sparkled across the ground setting their own shadows to life with light.

They touched down with such gentleness that barely a mark was made on the dust. Snorting, they tossed their wedge-shaped heads and pranced their taloned feet on the hot sand.

"Better get them into the shade fast," Sheska said. "My Lord, we are at the Oasis. Would you like a drink?"

"Yes, I would. Where is Loatni?"

"She is driving the dragons."

"Loatni?"

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Set the dragons loose. We will have no need of them ever again."

"We are moving to the shade, Ocpahri. They will get water and fruit and will be very happy."

"Loose them, I say!" Ocpahri struggled to his knees and fumbled his hands around to find a seat as the buggy glided through the sand.

"But, sir," Loatni said, "how will we get back to town?"

"What is the use of going back to town? There is nothing there for us. Shuli and Talli are gone. Ansat walks free. Justice is dead."

"He rants, Loatni," Sheska said, quietly, as if Ocpahri would not hear. "Continue to the shade."

"Justice is dead! Justice is dead," Ocpahri chanted, certain they would understand if he said it enough. "Shuli and Talli are dead. Life has no meaning. Justice is dead. Justice is dead."

"What do we do now?" Loatni asked.

"Get him some water and water the dragons. We can do nothing until nightfall. He needs time to rest."

Ocpahri heard them discussing him as they ignored what his words, talked over him as if he were silent. He spoke louder and louder, eventually building to a shout, but still they talked on and on. Soon he heard other voices, Ansat's, the jugde, the audience, the press, Shulianna and Talligem. Then he heard Hugh and Shade speaking. Though they spoke in their language, he understood them to say that justice was indeed dead and that only the Creator could save it and that He would use a man to do so. That man had to wander in the wilderness until his mind was free and clear and then the Creator would guide him to the truth.

Ocpahri laughed. Dragons could not talk.

Hugh and Shade laughed as well. Man believed he knew everything there was to know about everything so there was no use to tell him what he did not know as he would deny it as false since he did not already know it. Arrogance has killed justice, they said in unison. Humility will save it.

"Ha!" Ocpahri laughed. "I dream."

"Ha!" Shade said. "You do dream. But soon you will awaken to a knowledge so new, it has never been known. Sleep. Dream. Wait."