Embracing the Flames (26 page)

We smiled back and then raced across the courtyard. The remaining humans and dragons all bowed as we passed them by. Their faces were filled with a renewed faith. I hesitated, attempting to smile. These were my people.

Directly across the courtyard, we entered a dusky tunnel, illuminated by the lava that careened through the channels. “This tunnel takes us further into the cave where we keep the armory. The Draconta humans forge our armor and their weapons using the heat from the volcano,” my grandfather explained, his voice echoing off the curved walls of the tunnel.

“How is it that we aren’t burning?” Fenn marveled.

Darian chuckled as he turned back and said, “The same way you are able to conjure things. Magic. This volcano is enchanted by our magic.”

“So long as the King lives,” my grandmother added pretentiously amongst a loud clanging sound of metal and hammers. The smell of smoldering embers that wafted through the air was heavenly. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling tiny flames ignite along my fingertips.

“Ahh, here we are,” Darian indicated with his snout as we neared a brightened archway. A room appeared before us, the roaring fires along the back wall coating the space in orange. “This is the armory. We supply the highest quality armor you can find not only to our people, but to the Market as well.”

Men covered in soot dipped swords into pools of fire and then hammered away as their magical energy poured into the steel. Others took the finished weapons and poured vials of potions onto the steel. As the blades absorbed the liquid, they began to glow in vibrant reds and soft blues.

When Darian cleared his throat, everyone looked up and immediately bowed.

“Draconta, meet your Progeny,” he said proudly as his gleeful eyes met mine. Again, a hoard of eyes stared at me wondrously as the heat burned behind my scales.

“Hi,” I stammered awkwardly.

One of the thickset men walked towards us, carrying a set of polished daggers in his hands. He stopped in front of us, offering his hands out and bowing his head. My family crest was etched into the hilts. I took the from him. The moment I touched them, fire wrapped around each slightly curved blade. I swirled them in my hands as he bowed and walked away.

“Your grandmother and I had these made for you. The blades are enchanted to catch fire whenever you hold them in your hands.”

“Thank you,” I said as Fenn peered over my shoulder to look at them. The man returned with a belt that held the sheaths. I wrapped it around me and tucked them away.

Darian chuckled and said, “Please, resume, we don’t want to keep you.” I smiled as the men bowed once more, their eyes still gazing curiously at me.

We headed back out into the tunnel that sloped farther down. “Now to the Great Hall,” he announced, his steps rumbling the ground beneath us.

“Great Hall?” I asked, astounded as I looked to Fenn. “You mean there’s more?”

My grandfather’s humble chuckle began again as he said, “All the Draconta resides in this cave. Our livelihood depends on staying together. It’s what Gidius would have wanted.”

“Who’s Gidius?” I asked.

“The fifth Fate. Our creator,” he replied proudly. The tunnel began to widen, and a bright light shone at the end of the passageway. “We’re almost there.”

The Great Hall was even larger than the courtyard. It opened up and dropped hundreds of feet into the earth. Small niches were carved in rows all along the walls like tiny caves. “This is where we sleep,” Darian explained as he leapt off the ledge and into the open air. Naveena followed suit. They turned and faced us. “Follow us. We’ll show you to the Stone.”

“What about Fenn? He can’t fly?”

“We know,” Darian said bluntly. “He can’t see the Stone either. Only the royal family.”

I turned to look at him.

“It’s cool, Rory. I wanted to check out the weapons anyway.” He lightly kissed my cheek.

“You sure?” I asked hesitantly.

“Go,” he laughed.

When I turned back to my grandparents, they were watching us, heads cocked to the side. My grandmother smiled at Fenn before he turned and headed back to the armory. It was the first time I had seen her smile at a human, leaving me even more confused.

I followed them, letting the warm air drift beneath my wings. “Where to?” I asked, secretly thrilled to be in the air with my grandparents.

“To the Lair of the Stone,” Darian called out as he flapped his majestic viridian wings and nose-dived. His mirrored scales reflected the coppery light of the lava, making him look almost like a meteor falling from the sky.

I smiled and looked to my grandmother who winked at me, flapping and then diving as well.

We flew deep into the Hall, twisting and turning with every corner that appeared. It was a maze of underground tunnels designed to trick intruders into thinking they had gone the right way, only to reach a dead end. The farther down we went, the brighter the tunnels became from the gleaming lava that magically floated up the walls towards the entrance of the Obsidian Chasm.

Enchantment was pungent in the air. As we passed the many decoy tunnels, I began to notice something. I could see the enchantments the Draconta used. They looked like a faint shimmering barrier that sparked when touched.

“How can I see the enchantments?”

“You are of royal blood, Little Flame,” Naveena called over her shoulder.

Duly noted. 

I tried to keep up, to remember every left and right that we took, but it quickly became impossible. My grandfather explained that traps were set along the way to hinder or even kill those who were after the Stone. Skeletons of fallen thieves lined the tunnels.

We slowed as a blazing light flooded the end of the tunnel. I stopped abruptly right before the end, staring into a churning pit of molten lava. Across the river of lava, my grandparents sat on a wide ledge that held an open-mouthed doorway. Their massive bodies took up most of the space. I quickly flew over to them, hovering next to them.

“Beyond this doorway is the entrance to the Lair,” my grandfather explained, turning his wide body to face me. I fluttered back to give his tail some room. “You will pass under an enchantment woven by Gidius. Only royal blood, or someone accompanied by royal blood, can pass under this enchantment.”

“What happens if you aren’t royal blood?”

“You will see,” Naveena sneered.

On the other side of the doorway, Imperials lined the edges of the tunnel. The enchanted barrier was only feet away—little sparks of light bubbled down, cascading like a waterfall in shimmery blues.

“Ready?” they questioned with a smile.

I nodded as my grandparents disappeared underneath the enchantment. I took a deep breath and followed, bracing myself as the enchantment covered me. I felt nothing.

“Welcome to the Lair of the Stone,” Darian announced, his voice wrapping around the Lair and rumbling like thunder.

My foot slipped off the edge of whatever I had thoughtlessly stepped onto. My eyes trailed down to discover that we were standing on a floating piece of stone. A single, miniscule piece of stone that barely fit the three of us.

“Watch your step,” my grandfather advised as he stepped off the edge of the stone. Another piece of stone reappeared underneath his front claws. “They only appear for —”

“Let me guess, for the royals,” I finished, trying to steady my racing heart. A low-bellied chuckle was his response. “Can’t we just fly to the Stone?” I asked grudgingly, feeling unstable on the small stone.

“These steps are the only way. Unless of course, you want to end up like them,” he said, his head gesturing to the intruders below us.

As I took my first step, I glanced down and noticed humans wandering around the pit of the Lair like mindless zombies. I didn’t like how the stones dropped a few inches when weight was added.

“The enchantment makes them go crazy?” I whispered, horrified. Naveena nodded absently. “And you just leave them here?”

“It is punishment,” she replied pointedly, her tone clipping. “We have to protect this Stone, Aurora. It is our duty.” She paused, waiting for Darian to take the next step before nimbly jumping forward. “These humans who dare to defy our law deserve nothing more than a future as grim as this. You understand, don’t you?”

I nodded distractedly as I watched the ragged, dirty humans. Some fell, tripping over the bones of other humans as their eyes stared hungrily up at the Stone. There was no getting out of this pit, at least not for them. Their wailing moans mingled with the smell of decaying flesh.

I felt nauseous. “But they are humans. They are living beings. Isn’t there some other way?” I protested, not willing to let it go. Especially not after the way Naveena had looked at my father earlier.

“They broke our law,” she repeated slowly.

A small wisp of smoke trailed from my nostrils. That gave me the push I needed to ask what had been bugging me. “Not to be rude,” I said, trying my best to keep my temper in check, “but do you have an issue with humans?”

She stopped, almost stiffening. Darian glanced back at me looking thoroughly amused. “Your grandmother has no issues with humans, Little Flame,” he assured, still smiling. “Almost half of our Draconta are made up of humans.”

“But I saw the way you looked at my father,” I mentioned quietly as I took the next step.

She sighed heavily. “I have an aversion to your mother and father’s relationship, Aurora, not to humans. What they did,” she began, her tone filled with disgust. I cringed. But she continued, “My daughter is the Princess,” she said unwaveringly. “For her to choose a human form over her true self—I regard that as disrespect. We are an example to our kind. We don’t want the other dragons getting any ideas. It goes against everything Gidius stood for. Everything he sacrificed for us.”

I bit my lip, feeling slightly burned by her words. “What does that say about me?” I asked faintly, ashamed of the tremble to my voice.

Her eyes instantly softened. “Oh, Little Flame, you are of our blood. I would never disown you,” she recanted, her words tinged with regret. “I just haven’t adjusted to your mother’s choice. It’s nothing against you or your father.” She turned slightly in my direction, nudging me lightly with her nose. I took her loving gesture, rubbing my hand along her glassy snout. “Now come,” she said tenderly.

“How did those people even get this far?” I asked, breathing through my mouth instead of my nose in an attempt to avoid the smell.

“Most were men who disguised themselves as Draconta,” Darian answered as he leapt off the last stone step, followed by Naveena, and then it was my turn.

A huge gap lay between the last step and the column that held the altar for the Stone. I gulped. I couldn’t fly if I were to miscalculate. I glanced down and then back up at my grandparents who were watching me questioningly.

I sucked in an encouraging breath and went for it, landing with a light thud right beside Naveena.

“Behold, the Stone of Immortality,” Darian said in admiration.

In the center of the column was an altar made of Lapis Lazuli, made of the same stone as the altar in the other realm. The crystal blue Stone of Immortality hovered right over the top of the altar, encased in blue-tinged fire. There it was, the thing I needed to protect. The reason for Zordon’s current mission.

“The fire is enchanted as well, another precaution that Gidius took when he built this cave,” Naveena explained.

“Only royal blood can touch it?” I smarted off.

“Actually no,” my grandfather corrected with a chuckle, “only a Fate can touch the flames that surround the Stone.”

“Oh.” I felt the blood drain from my face. Zordon was a son of The Fates. Does that mean he can touch it?

“Now you know. Every member of the royal family must know. If something happens to us, this Stone is the most important thing for you to protect. No one can have this Stone or all hope is lost. It is more than just immortality. It is a gateway to creation. It can destroy the barrier between our realm and the non-magical realm. It can end life as we know it,” Darian heeded, his tone going dark.

“Then why isn’t it kept in the Hall of Knowledge?”

“When Gidius sacrificed his immortality, he bound this Stone to this altar. He didn’t want his brothers to have his power. They can obtain it only in the presence of a dragon.”

He leaned his snout a bit closer to me, his eyes filled with shadows. “So far, they have respected his wishes.”

“But we can’t touch the Stone…so how could we give it to them?”

He smiled proudly. “That, Little Flame, was his reasoning for all of this — to make obtaining the Stone impossible.” He finished with a wink.

It was just what I needed to hear. There was no way Zordon could get through all the enchantments. Though he may be a son of a Fate, he is not of royal blood. I just have to make sure that he never makes it past the Obsidian Chasm.

After leaving the Lair, the celebration my grandfather had ordered was already underway. Rich laughter and music filled the Courtyard along with the scent of delicious food. Dragons and humans swayed to the joyous beat, all crying out in joy of my return. Platters of food passed through the crowd on the hands of Draconta waiters.

Darian leapt into the air, signaling for Naveena and me to follow. Together we flew into the Courtyard, their screams vibrating throughout the cavern at the sight of us.

“Draconta,” my grandfather’s voice boomed through the Courtyard as he took his seat on his throne. “Tonight we celebrate the return of our beloved Aurora. She is here to restore our faith. Let us give her a hearty welcome.”