Flame Caller (39 page)

Dozens of Fire Warriors lined the
inner courtyard of the keep as they dragged Sammy back to the
castle. They watched with abject curiosity, pointing and whispering
amongst one another as she passed. It wasn’t animosity in their
expressions—it was anticipation. There was a heaviness in the air,
as though everyone realized something remarkable for the Fire Caste
was on the cusp of occurring.

They marched through the towering
front doors of the castle but rather than turn toward the spiral
staircase leading back to her prison cell, they dragged her through
the throne room doors.

The secret door on the far side was
already open. Sammy planted her feet on the ground but her
resistance did little. The warriors on either side lifted her arms
upward behind her, pinching her shoulders and sending waves of pain
radiating down her arms. The toes of her feet bumped along the
uneven stones of the floor as they continued dragging her
forward.

With the narrow tunnel ahead, one of
the guards released her, leaving her lifted arms held entirely by
the burly Fire Warrior behind her. As they entered the passage,
Sammy saw her opportunity to fight back. She kicked backward,
slamming her heel into the man’s shin. He howled in pain and
released her arms. Before she could turn, though, the warrior in
front of her struck the side of her head with his elbow, driving
her face into the rough, stone wall. She felt blood trickle from
the edge of her scalp as it reopened a wound given to her during
her battle with General Abraxas.

“
Hold her this time,” one
of the warriors growled, though Sammy was having trouble focusing
as the tunnel swam in her vision.

The firm hands behind her reasserted
themselves and her arms were lifted even higher than before. The
angle forced her to lean forward and she released an involuntary
cry of pain.

The rest of the march down the tunnel
was unpleasant. Sammy’s head rang with pain from the open wound on
her scalp. Every time she tried to slow her pace, her arms were
lifted slightly higher and someone shoved her in the small of her
back.

Before long, the tunnel gave way to
the dragon’s chamber. The room was already lit and the massive,
scaly body dominated her view as she entered. Jets of flame roared
from its nostrils excitedly at the sight of her and its enormous
vertical slits of eyes blinked in rapid succession.

“
Welcome home,
fleshling.
”

Sammy didn’t have a witty or sarcastic
response. Her voice felt frozen in her throat, even as beads of
sweat formed on her brow. In the presence of the Fire Elemental
once again, she forgot the blood trickling down her face or the
bruise already forming against her left temple.

The draconic eye drifted toward the
left of the room. Sammy had been so caught up in her own dreadful
position she had failed to notice anyone else in the dragon’s
chamber. Against the leftmost wall, two Fire Warriors flanked a
third man, who was kneeling awkwardly on the stone ground. Around
his neck, he wore a yoke like she would expect to see on an ox. His
arms were lashed to the ends of the yoke, stretching his neck
forward while pulling his shoulder blades backward.

“
I’m disappointed in
you, Lord Balor
,” the dragon hissed. “
I had such hopes for
your future when first you swore fealty to me.
”

Sammy’s mouth opened in surprise.
Despite his promise to give her more time to escape, she never
expected he’d be discovered and captured so quickly. The guard
behind her let her hands go and her arms fell limply against her
back. Blood flowed back through the limbs and pins and needles
exploded down their length. The pain was exquisite but she pushed
it aside as she walked forward until she could see around the bulk
of the yoke.

Her father’s face looked horrible. He
was haggard and drawn from the pain he was experiencing. Beyond
that, he had obviously been beaten severely. Bruises were glowing
an angry purple in the torchlight and his right eye was nearly
swollen completely closed. With his head angled forward, blood
dripped from his bottom lip and pooled on the ground in front of
him.

“
Please let him go,” Sammy
cried. “He didn’t do anything wrong. This is all my fault. Punish
me if you have to but please let him go.”

“
He’s hardly without
blame. I know he helped you escape. Did you think anything happened
in my domain or to my servants without me knowing? As for punishing
you, I’d never do such a thing. You have far too great of a future
as my host.
”

Sammy’s throat swelled and she had
trouble swallowing. She didn’t know what it meant to be a host but
her imagination ran rampant with possibilities, none of which ended
well for her.

“
In fact
,” the
dragon said as it shifted its reptilian head toward her, “
untie
her. I’d hate for anything to happen to her body.
”

A Fire Warrior stepped behind her. His
knife slid easily through the leather thongs holding her arms
behind her back. Once cut free and feeling returned, Sammy felt the
marks on her wrist and upper arm where the leather had cut into her
skin when she struggled against it.

“
Take Lord Balor and
hang him as he is from the front of the castle walls. Let his slow
death be a reminder of what happens to anyone who betrays
me.
”

“
No,” Sammy screamed.
“Please, you can’t kill him.”

The dragon’s forked tongue flickered
between its rows of razor-sharp teeth as it reveled in Sammy’s fear
and sadness. “
I can and I will. The Fire Caste doesn’t need
water as often as regular humans
,” it mocked her, “
so he’ll
be able to last for more than a week hanging crucified from the
parapet. It’ll be excruciatingly painful on his body but nothing is
too severe if it reminds the rest of who their master
is.
”

The dragon lowered until it hung just
above the ground, mere inches from Sammy’s face. The smell of
brimstone was overwhelming and she had trouble catching her breath
between hitched sobs. She was paralyzed in the Elemental’s
presence, unable even to move as the Fire Warriors dragged her
father away. Her sobs only increased as they pulled awkwardly on
the yoke and her father let out a cry of pain.

“
You might have had
more time to prepare for this great honor of serving at my host but
your boyfriend has left me no option. He’s claimed the power of the
Wind Elemental. The line of the Wind Warriors is dead, which makes
it my turn to rule.
”

Firm hands grabbed her arms and held
her in place as the dragon’s head pulled away. The Elemental rose
to its full height, its head and wings brushing the ceiling in the
tall chamber.

“
This is a great honor,
becoming my host,
” the dragon said as the membranes of its
wings melted into flames. “
Few ever get chosen for such a task.
You should count yourself lucky.
”

Sammy struggled against the grip of
the muscular Fire Warriors but her fighting was to no avail. Their
grip was unwavering. She turned her head upward as the scales on
the dragon’s tail lost their composure and burst into living
flames. The transition spread up the length of its body, consuming
its back legs and torso as it flowed over the beast.

“
I should warn you,
I’ve heard this is a very unpleasant experience.
”

The flames rippled over the dragon’s
head, leaving behind a sheet of flames in the outline of a massive
dragon. The blaze poured forward as the head seemed to dive
straight toward her.

She opened her mouth to scream but the
flames poured into her mouth and nose. The heat was unbearable as
the fire rolled down her throat, taking refuge in her lungs and
stomach. Sammy tried to breathe but the blaze stole the oxygen from
the air.

Her body stiffened as the Elemental
flowed into her. She could feel its saturation as the mystical
flames soaked into every cell of her body, washing away the woman
she had been and replacing it with the Fire Elemental’s
essence.

The thought of Xander appeared in her
mind and she fixated on the memory of his face. The sadness within
her faded as the Elemental took her as its host. The edges of her
memory of Xander burned in her mind’s eye, like a photograph tossed
into a roaring blaze. The image blackened and curled away from her
conscious mind as the dragon overwhelmed all that was
Sammy.

She said a silent apology to Xander
before her consciousness faded away.

When the flames died, the room was
cast into a deep darkness. The fires that had illuminated the room
had been swallowed by the Elemental’s transformation.

With a flick of her arms, the two
guards holding Sammy in place were tossed easily aside. They
crashed into the walls and slumped onto the hard ground.

As she turned, her eyes smoldered with
red and yellow flames, casting a faint glow into the dark room. The
Fire Warriors near the entrance to the chamber ignited their fists
and placed them over their hearts as they bent on one knee to their
master.

“
Gather the
warriors,
” the Elemental said through Sammy’s mouth. “
The
time has come for the Fire Caste to lay claim to the
world.
”

The first enormous thank you has to go
to all the fans that have made the World Aflame series a best
seller! Nothing could be done without your support. If it weren’t
for you buying the book, supporting my releases, and berating me to
finish the next in the series, this would just be a hobby that no
one else really enjoyed. You’ve made this series a success and I
can’t thank you enough.

A special thank you has to be shared
with my fellow Clean Teen Publishing authors. You have created
phenomenal stories, with complex worlds and even more complex
characters. I hope every one of you enjoys incredible success with
your releases.

This series has been successful first
and foremost because of my editor, Cynthia Shepp. When I talk about
fans berating me, you’re the loudest voice and I appreciate all
you’ve done for me. I continue to learn and I promise to limit my
use of the word “tacky”.

The biggest thank you has to be shared
with a special group of ladies. Beckie, Courtney, Dyan, and Marya,
who are the heart of Clean Teen Publishing. You’ve created an
exceptional cover (it still looks like a movie poster), interior
(even though you have to listen to the demands of a diva author),
and marketing/distribution plan that has really made me successful.
I can’t thank you enough.

This has been a wild ride so far and
the series isn’t done. I’m so excited to show you how the first
story in this world wraps up.

Clean Teen
Publishing

www.cleanteenpublishing.com

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