Born In Flames (12 page)

Thoughts flourished as I raced down the highway. The music I blared wasn’t enough to keep everything away so I smacked the power button off and rolled the windows down, letting the night air glide over me.
This was all so crazy, yet I knew it was true. I knew it would lead me to the answers that I had been looking for. The answer to who I am. That was why the decision should be so simple—find the keys. But then there was Fenn.
I was growing doubtful about the worth of finding out the truth anymore. I could simply let the full moon come and go and just live happily with Fenn.
Butterflies stirred again. Maybe that was what I should do. I mean, my parents did give me up so I could make my own choice after all and I could keep the freaky scary side of myself locked away. If what Eve had said was true…I’d really be something other than human. I wasn’t quite sure I was okay with that.
I sighed as I turned into Mily’s driveway, shutting off the lights so they wouldn’t wake anyone. I grabbed my stuff and quietly eased the car door shut. A light was on in the house. I knew it wasn’t late enough for Mily to be asleep, but I didn’t feel up to chatting. I put the keys under the potted plant and headed over to the bus stop, plopping heavily onto the bench. No one was around, which gave me an idea.
The words written had an ancient scroll look to them, letters curved as if written by a regal hand. I ran my fingers across the rough, stained page and felt a light shock course up my arm. Eve’s earlier advice sprang forth.
“Apparatio,” I said aloud, letting the word roll on my tongue as if I’d said it before. I felt the energy inside me awaken, as if it recognized the magical language. I paused and looked around to make sure no one was behind me. Only the crickets chirped.
“Apparatio,” I repeated, this time pushing my energy into the word. Little blue sparks popped around me and what felt like pure lightning rushed through my veins and coursed through my heart.
I was doing it. I was using magic.
Hunger for more burned in the pit of my stomach, growling and intensifying with each repetition of the word. I felt connected with the other side of myself. I felt alive.
Blue fizzles popped and sizzled around me. I was now unperturbed by the fact that I was out in the open. “Apparatio,” I commanded one last time, forcing my power into the word.
My vision became blurry as a blast of blue light shot out from both of my hands, light streaming from the tips of my fingers. It was instant and then gone, but I felt myself fading, being pulled into the other realm like before. The last thing I saw was the Oraculus glowing in front of me in the same blue-green hue. A void opened around me as more words began to scribe across the page. Then everything went black.
Chapter 14
The Fates Speak Through Me
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN twenty-four hours I found myself in another realm of time. Zordon sat in what looked like a bedroom that must have been located in the Lyceum. The walls were made of the same white marble, and everything, including the bed dressed in blood red linens, seemed to suspend in air.
The room was wide open, the ocean air gently breezing through the balcony’s sliding glass windows. Zordon’s back was resting on the chaise that sat at the foot of the bed. And as if he knew I was there, he tensed and sat straight up.
I wanted to turn and run, but that wouldn’t do me any good. I didn’t know where to go. I quickly assessed the room for a place to hide, choosing a thick crimson curtain that hung on the wall behind me. As he began to turn in my direction, I darted behind the curtain, praying that he would pass off the disturbance of movement as the ocean breeze.
Moments passed as I tried to calm the frantic pace of my heart, waiting for the inevitability of being caught. The moments seemed to stretch on like a prolonged round of torture.
Instead, his footsteps carried him away from my direction. I peeked around the inside of the curtain. He was facing the mantle of the fireplace reaching for a crystal ball.
“Are you awake in there, Lev?” he spoke to the crystal menacingly.
My hand flew up to my mouth, in an attempt to hold back a gasp. How could he put a person in a prison like that?
“If anyone ever found out that you hadn’t deserted us, I don’t think they’d be so eager to follow me.” He laughed a knowing, chilling laugh and continued. “But if anyone ever tried to desert me, they would only end up like you. So I guess it doesn’t matter either way.”
His smile made my insides turn. How could I hate someone so much that I barely even knew? “Gazing into your crystal again?” interrupted the beautiful lady with hair like white gold who had sat in the corner of my earlier dream. Her face was as expressionless as a rock.
“Ah, Gwenevere, you’d think after thirty years of marriage you’d know not to defer my train of thought.” He set the crystal down and rolled his head in her direction, lips as thin as paper. “But since you have, what can I help you with?”
Walking over to her, he put his arm around her waist and pulled her towards the openarched windows. His white-knuckled grip was digging into her hip.
She kept her face expressionless and moved with him, but at the same time I noticed the little bit of distance she tried to maintain by leaning her head slightly away.
“This is my room too, you know. Though I wish you would take up my offer and move me across the Lyceum near our boys.” Every note of her voice was flat like the drab hum of a motor. Zordon let out a low growl.
She somehow managed to free herself of his grip and walked over to where I stood. For a second, I thought she was going to notice my form behind the curtain, and I cringed in anticipation, but she never looked my way. I let out a lengthy breath.
She sat at the vanity, next to where I was standing. The misery creased in her face reminded me of Lady Eve. My heart twisted in agony.
Inside the mirror, black smoke twirled and then Zordon’s face began to take shape. A Grinch-like smile stretched across his face. His eyes were completely black with only the faintest hint of a raging fire burning in the pit of his irises. No sign of human compassion burned there.
“I’ve missed you while you were away,” he derided, head bobbing in the mirror like a ghost on thin air. His body was still by the window standing motionless, eyes glazed black as his magic pulsed around him. “I feel as if we don’t spend as much time together like we used to.” The cruel curve of his smile revealed a set of perfect white teeth, somehow adding to his mocking tone.
His dark black eyes held no verification of his words. He moved from the window to stand directly behind her, his face disappearing from the mirror in a puff of smoke. His hands picked up a strand of her fair hair. With care, he bent down and sniffed it, pausing with eyes shut tight to inhale deeply. The knots in my stomach tightened even more. Her face remained unmoved.
She gently took her hair from his hands and began to run her comb through it. How could someone as beautiful and pure as her, marry a man like him?
A crackle of black energy popped around her head, and in an instant her chair spun around, leaning on its back two legs. His nose met hers, her eyes as wide as saucers. His energy was exploding around him.
“What ARE YOU HIDING?” he shouted, the venom in his voice penetrating the air as he crowded her.
My fingers dug into the palms of my hands as I clenched my jaw, biting the inside of my cheek. I should do something. I should help her. The anger flared inside of me.
“I don’t know what you are talking about, my Liege.” Her voice faltered with betrayal. “You can ask any of the guards and maids. They are with me all the time.”
For the first time I saw her look into his eyes. Her own light blue energy sizzled around her, ready to unleash. I had no idea what was going on between the two of them, but it seemed like some kind of ongoing mini-war.
Carelessly, Zordon laughed, grabbing his stomach and throwing his head back.
What is wrong with this man?
I thought.

“I’m not serious, Gwen,” he spat her name as he spun her chair back around. “As if you could hide anything from me. You know I have my people watching you.” I could see the mist growing in her eyes, but she never let it form into a tear.

“Oh, I hear the dinner bells chiming,” he mused, changing the subject like nothing had happened. He placed his hand to his ear, leaning in to hear more. “Be at my side in ten minutes. One of the Mages has insight about the prophecy and we will be discussing it over dinner. I hear the cook has made my favorite again, heart of cow and yams. Oh and wear my favorite gown. The red one—you always look stunning in it.”

She winced as he smiled with delight. As soon as he left the room she slammed her brush down on the vanity and stormed towards the window, affectionately holding her lower stomach. Letting all reservations go, I followed her and was taken aback by the view. The room was located a few levels above the main hall overlooking the beach.

She walked to the ledge and looked down. Waves crashing over the jagged rocks matched the rolling skies and promised a quick death should someone fall.

Oddly enough there was no railing to keep someone from tumbling into an untimely death. My heart dropped. She had moved to the very edge, balancing on the heels of her feet.

This was not what I needed to see right now. I didn’t want to watch her die. A tear fell from her eyes, and she tilted her head down as if watching it fall into nothingness. Then her head went back and her arms went straight out to her sides. She looked like she was ready to dive.

“NO!” I screamed and ran towards her. Blue energy shot through my hands. As I grabbed her waist I expected my hands to move completely through her like they had before, but the energy that was flowing through them latched onto her. For a moment, our minds connected and I felt something more powerful than me, more powerful than anything, speak through me to her. “There is another way; this doesn’t have to be the answer.” And then the moment was gone.

She was limp, and it took everything in me not to fall with her as I tightened every muscle in my body and jerked backwards. I couldn’t let her do this, my future depended on it. At least that was the thought that echoed in my mind the moment she went to jump.

A split second later I fell back onto my butt with her in my hands. She was unconscious, maybe from the scare of choosing to die or maybe from the mind meld that had occurred between us.

I looked down to my hands, still blue and humming. There was an incandescent yearning to use it some more, to practice. It was natural, what I was meant to do.

Now what?
I thought to myself. I sure as hell didn’t want Zordon to come back and find me here. I wasn’t sure if they could see me or not now that I had physically touched her. I looked at my hands again, amazed at what I had done. Was that magic? It felt good, whatever it was. It felt right.

Gwenevere stirred and then sat up, scooting quickly away from me.
“Who are you?” she asked, tucking her hair behind her ear.
What did I say to that? Umm, I’m a person from another realm? “I’m the one who just saved your life.”
I stood up, looking to the sky. A little help, Aurora? Now would be the time to wake up.
“Why?” she asked accusingly, staring vacantly out into the ocean. I tilted my head in puzzlement. “I hate this place, I hate my husband, and most of all I hate how he has tainted my sons.” She pulled her knees up to her chin and looked up at me with golden eyes of a doe. I swear I had seen her before, before all of this began.
“Do I know you?” I asked guardedly.
“I don’t think so. How did you manage to get by the guards?” She seemed so young, like my age young, but Zordon had said they had been married for over thirty years. She couldn’t be my age.
I shook off the unimportant question. “It’s a long story. Look, you really shouldn’t take your own life over this guy. Why don’t you just leave here?” I didn’t know how long this dream was going to last, and I didn’t want to leave not knowing if she was going to live or not.
“It’s not that easy to leave him. He is more powerful than anyone I know, well, besides the Dragon King, I guess.” She moved to stand up, a faint light replacing the despair in her eyes. But then it disappeared, as if she had ruled out hope. “He’s after revenge and he won’t stop until he has it. I’m stuck here. I can’t go on like this anymore. I’m not living and haven’t been for a long while now.” She turned back to the oceanic grave. “I won’t let him ruin another one of our children.”
Then her image began to fade. “Wait,” I said, hoping that I could hang on for a moment more, but she disappeared.
I felt myself returning to my realm, but grabbed onto the memory of Zordon. I had to know Gwenevere would be okay. I had to stay a while longer. “Apparatio,” I commanded, allowing the energy to encompass my body.
After standing in nothing but swirling darkness for a moment, I was once again in the main hall of the Lyceum. This time it was different. Everything seemed chaotic. The suspended objects pulsed wildly in their places.
Zordon paced in rage. He yelled for someone named Gabe and began moving objects angrily with a swish of his hand. He picked them off the shelf and slammed them into the fireplace where they burst into flames. His eyes were even darker than before. I ducked out of habit to avoid the flying objects.
I tried to seem inconspicuous as I quickly receded to a shadowed corner. The few Mages that remained to witness Zordon’s rage were too busy ducking to notice me.
“FIND MY WIFE!” he screamed, the Lyceum air turning a dull gray. A well-seasoned storm churned outside the archways. His robe billowed behind him as he stalked through the room, shoving monk-like men out of his path. Trails of paper flew everywhere from the scattered wind.
A biting breeze, hissing like a rattler’s tail, entered through the open windows.
Wait, did he say find her? Find the sweet Gwenevere? Oh no, what did she do?
“My Liege,” said Gabe, taking his plated helmet off and bowing to Zordon. That face, I knew that man’s face. All I could think of when I saw his face was a gentle smile on a full-mooned night. My head began to throb.
“What?” asked Zordon, ruining the slow appearance of a memory. “If it’s not the answer I’m looking for then you better leave me at once.” He was scowling at Gabe. Gabe’s weight shifted.
“We think we may know what has happened. I’m very sorry. Your wife is dead.” His voice broke off in sorrow on that last word, carrying the realization on the hissing wind. He backed up a step, perhaps in fear of Zordon’s outrage, but Zordon stood silent for what seemed like an eternity. The skies rolled furiously.
Sorrow replaced my anger. I let this happen. I didn’t try hard enough to save her.
Lightning struck just outside the Lyceum, splitting a tree in half. The sound of the cracking wood and the smell of the burnt sap infested the hall, singeing my nose.
After a long enduring moment Zordon spoke. “What do you mean she’s dead?” he dissented on a growl. He grew an inch, looming over the armored man. “She cannot be dead. Do you know why she can’t be dead?” Spit flew from his mouth as Gabe squinted from the vile debris. Everyone else had left the hall.
“No, my Liege, I don’t,” he answered squarely. He kept his eyes leveled with Zordon’s. The hissing of the wind hollowed out. Claps of thunder ripped at the quiet while the lightning flashed savagely, illuminating Zordon’s sunken, shadowy face. Then his teeth gleamed in a twisted smile.
“She can’t be dead because I trusted her with your men, Gabe. You wouldn't train your men to fail me, now would you?” His words were laced with anger, heavily pronounced, emphasizing his disapproval.
“My Liege,” Gabe implored, wincing as another lightning bolt hit outside the opened hall. “I am sorry to have failed you. We aren’t sure what happened. We think something may have been slipped into the guards’ drinks because all three of them fell asleep. I unfortunately wasn’t with them on this trip…”
He was cut off by Zordon shouting, “Why weren’t you with her? It was your task to escort her!”
Gabe shifted again and moved his helmet to the other hand. “Sir, I was also on task to check in on Myrdinn and ensure he was working on deciphering the prophecy. I was only gone for a few hours. When I returned, I found the guards unconscious and the Lady Gwenevere gone.” Zordon didn’t respond, but he continued to glare daggers at Gabe.
“We’ve ridden all day, trying to find her. We had a Seer scan the area to see if they could pick up where her trace is, but there is nothing. There is no trace of where she may have gone or of her life force. She just disappeared. I will report this to the Counsel. I’m truly sorry to have failed her, my Liege.” He bowed his head.
A deep-bellied laugh grew from the pit of Zordon’s dark soul, spilling over into madness. The tumbling sky went charcoal. “You should be sorry to have failed me,” he pointed his finger at Gabe’s chest, “not to have failed her. You are my commanding officer and you have lost my most prized possession.”
Gabe winced at that remark.
All of a sudden Zordon’s tone changed and the skies returned to a normal sunny day. With resolve he added, “You will find her, Gabe, and she won’t be dead when you find her. Understand? You will spend every waking moment personally looking for her, and you are not to return here until you have found her. If I see your face before then, I will kill you. It will not be a pleasant death either. You will beg for me to finish with you.” He turned his back to Gabe and stared out of the windows into the skies. “No one takes what is mine.”
Then all of a sudden, I felt myself being pulled, forced back out of the realm.
I was back on the bench. My cell was flashing through the thin material of my purse, and the bus driver was getting ready to shut the creaking doors.
“Wait!” I called out, shoving the book into my purse and bolting to the door, almost slipping on the graveled sidewalk. Of course he was still closing it when my fist landed on the outside of it. He smiled an evil smile, and I imagined lighting his head on fire. If only.
He slowly opened it back up, still grinning from ear to ear. “Thank you,” I said snidely, giving him a sarcastic grin.
Why can’t he find a different passenger to torture?
He sneered and I shot him a nasty glance as I made my way to the back of the bus.
My heart skipped a beat as I locked eyes with Mr. Creepy. He was staring at me, as expected, so I boldly sat on the opposite side of him, knowing this was my one chance to ask about what the prophecy means. “Of dragon born a conqueror prevails,” echoed in my head.
The barren bus took off slowly, engine sputtering. I glanced over at Mr. Creepy, who was still staring at me, and then looked up to the rusty bolted roof.
It’s now or never
, I told myself as I turned to face him.
“I’m ready to learn,” I said, hoping that he would have a little sympathy and shed some light on my situation.
“Where’s your protector? He should never leave you unattended,” he chastised, ignoring my question.
“I don’t need a babysitter, you know. I am the chosen one.” I felt my face flush from his disapproval of leaving Fenn. “And it’s not like I need a guy anyway. Besides, he wouldn’t have let me go. I was in a hurry and left him. Believe me, I’m sure he’s freaking out right now,” I rambled on. “The important thing is that I’m here now, and you’re here, and I want to know about the prophecy. I want to know about me.”
“I told you I was done,” he dismissed, now facing forward.
“Please,” I begged, “I need to know.”
“Do you even know
who
you are? Have you at least figured that much out?” he asked, annoyed.
“I’m a dragon,” I replied, the words feeling foreign on my tongue.
“I see you’ve met Eve then.”
I paused a moment, taken aback that he would know that, and then asked, “Are you following me?”
He smiled, ignoring my question with one of his own, “And you saw the prophecy given?”
I nodded.
“Then that is all you need to know,” he said with a sharp nod of his head as if ending his side of the conversation.
“What do you mean? Before you said that you would help me, that I needed to know things, and that you were going to show me. I have until the full moon to find these keys, which obviously doesn’t give me much time.” I leaned over and pointed to the almost full moon hiding inside a cloudy sky.
“I told you, girl, you’re on your own,” he recalled, eyes pointed in irritation.
Anger rolled through me. “Oh, I don’t think so,” I replied, feeling my energy awaken inside of me. Searing heat began as a ball in my chest, suddenly rushing through and bursting out the tips of my fingers.
My unstable tone made Mr. Creepy look up in acknowledgement and twitch as if he was startled. “Careful, young dragon, you’re revealing yourself,” he commented, pointing in my general direction.
“Yeah. I keep hearing that yet somehow I don’t care.” I glanced to where he pointed and saw in my reflection wisps of smoke trailing out from my flared nostrils. But it didn’t seem to matter anymore.
“See, what you don’t understand…is that you don’t get to pick what you do or do not help me with. I need to read this map, and you can help me understand it, yet now you won’t? Now that I’ve asked for your help? Don’t you see the contradiction in that?” A growl slipped past my lips and I stood up. “I
need
to find the keys,” I finished. “People’s lives depend on it.” I thought of Gwenevere.
He stood to face me and said, “You have no idea, do you? You still haven’t realized the importance of you being in this realm. You’re so eager to jump into something you’ve barely begun to understand. Things don’t just get handed to you. You have to fight. Prove that you are worthy and then maybe the answers will be found. The Fates help all those who look to your return as their saving grace.” Sarcasm laced his judgmental words.
I felt everything begin to vibrate from the angry energy I was unleashing. A small part of me knew that this had been a long time coming. All of my past frustrations were surfacing. I saw red.
“Sit down back there,” the bus driver yelled, bracing the wheel as the bus shuddered from the stress of the energy streaming through my hands.
The few passengers on the bus hung on for dear life as the bus shook, the anger continually building within me. Eyes watched as Mr. Creepy and I stared each other down.
He smirked as if this were simply a mere annoyance to him. The bus driver shouted once again for us to find our seats.
“Yes, young one, do sit down. And how do you young people say it…chill? Yes, I believe that’s right.” He turned away to regain his seat as the bus tires found a pothole, jarring the passengers around. At that moment in time, the worry and concern that was strewn across their faces didn’t matter. I was too focused on the smug twinkle in Mr. Creepy’s eyes.
“I will ask you one more time. Are you going to help me?”
“Miss,” the bus driver called out again, this time sounding more like a plea than an order.
I continued to ignore him, waiting for an answer from Mr. Creepy. Time dragged on as he ignored me. He had to have felt my anger rising as the energy began to gather in the palms of my hands.
The bus was now vibrating so hard you could hear the bolts in the roof jingling out of socket.
“That’s it! I’m pulling this bus over and you are getting off!” shouted the bus driver.
“You shut up!” I shouted, pointing towards him. The balls of blue energy that had been forming flew towards his head. But another jarring pothole caused the stream to miss him and hit the dashboard instead, flames roaring to life on contact.
Uh-oh
, I thought as I glanced back at Mr. Creepy, wide-eyed and looking for help. He just continued smiling.
“No brakes, NO BRAKES!” the bus driver shouted as he tried pumping them repeatedly. Headlights lit up the inside of the bus as we headed straight towards a semi with no power to stop. He swerved. But it was too late. Everything went flying from the impact, including me, as we spun out of control. The windows on the opposite side of me shattered and showered the passengers with broken glass.
I was thrown ahead into a seat and my head smacked the window. Then I flew up and into the next seat only to be shoved onto the ground and somehow rolled into the aisle. That’s when I felt a snap in my arm.
A scream ripped out of me as the fiery burn raced throughout my body.
My arm had caught on the seat and bent the absolute wrong way. When the bus finally stopped, I opened my eyes and gently pulled myself out of the awkward position. My purse was behind me and so was Mr. Creepy. He seemed to be knocked out. I poked his forehead and watched as his head lolled back and forth for a moment. Yep, he was out.
My arm was definitely broken. The bone was protruding underneath my skin. A wave of nausea rolled through me. I bit the inside of my cheek and promised myself not to look at it again. With my good arm I grabbed my purse while registering moans from the other passengers.
What have I done?