Forged of Fire (37 page)

Stefen heard Alaric yelling for his soldiers to fall back. The sea of immortals above them parted like the proverbial sea just in time. Stefen echoed the command on the ground as the Dragon gathered one last gust of wind under his giant twenty foot wings and reversed directions, speeding towards the arena. Stefen shielded Kielyn and flung them towards the outer edges. They landed hard and rolled some fifteen feet before colliding with the pit’s wall.

The beast hit the ground with the force of an earthquake and Stefen had to quickly extend his own wings to shield them from falling debris shaken loose by the force.“Ash!” Kielyn screamed out and the Dragon snaked its head in their direction, it’s golden eyes glowing.

Stefen covered her mouth with his hand. “It’s not Ash.” He fought to hold her to him. He had no idea if Ash would recognize her in this state. The beast had given no clearance in his descent. Both Angels and Vampires alike had been clipped out of the sky by his advancement. No, this was personal now and their tiny forms reflecting in the molten gold slit eyes of the beast held no understanding of right from wrong. This was a Dragon and Dragons did not see reason. Dragons were creatures of war, they were pure fire.

The Dragon growled and smoke rolled from his nostrils and mouth. Someone yelling from above drew his attention away. Stefen had to get them out of here and fast. He looked to where Dax had been digging the tunnel. It was some ten feet from the Dragon’s swishing tail. Marsala, Marcus, Kizer and Dax were nowhere to be seen. Stefen could only hope they had made it down the hole in time.

Flames flew from the Dragon’s mouth in the direction of the spectator that had yelled. Screams rang out by the scores followed by orders to capture the beast. Ropes began to be shot out from above. One arrow anchored nearly a foot from Stefen’s head. He heard Alaric shouting again and the fighting in the sky commenced anew. The Dragon roared once more, fighting against the restraints, ripping them from their tethers and sending them flying through the air like toy spears.

Stefen shot up and made a run for it with Kielyn in his arms. He had to get her to the tunnel. An arrow impaled his thigh from behind dropping them to the ground only a few feet from the hole. Stefen righted himself and spun on his knees, protectively putting himself between the archer and Kielyn.

A pretty female Original slinked forward through the dust, smiling, a cross bow in her hands. “Katara!” Kielyn hissed from behind Stefen. The female aimed her weapon at Stefen’s forehead and cocked the trigger.

A loud rustling from above was all the warning given before Alaric collided with the female, knocking her back. “Go!” He yelled over his shoulder.

Stefen whirled, clutching his leg and made to stand, but not before a blade struck him dead center in the chest. He staggered back, falling to his knees again as he looked down. The damage was finalizing. Blood oozed from the puncture, barely contained by the two inch steel imbedded deep within him. His eyes shot up. There standing only a few feet away and holding Kielyn paralyzed, the same way she had done to an Original earlier, was Bane.

He smiled and stepped forward. “I knew you would cause me issues,” Bane sneered as he leaned down, his face contorting with hate. “With your blasted Oracle and her destiny bullshit!” Bane put a boot to Stefen’s chest and took hold of the weapon’s handle. “Pity she did not foresee this coming.”

In one swift movement Bane yanked the blade from Stefen as he kicked him backwards. Hot liquid flowed from the wound and Stefen gasped, unable to obtain much needed air as he fell, landing roughly on the hard clay. Choking on his own blood his head fell to the side, his fading gaze found Kielyn’s as the sound of rushing footsteps faded out around him. He was sure he heard Alaric screaming. Still, he held onto to Kielyn. She was motionless, trapped in Bane’s invisible cage, but she saw him. One solitary glass tear rolled from her violet eyes and hit the earth. It sounded like a bell. Someone was lifting him. Yelling. He was so cold. So cold…

****

Kielyn’s screams pierced the air as she broke from the Water-bender’s grip. She lunged towards Stefen but was yanked back by the hair. “You’re coming with me!” Bane snarled.

Blind rage consumed her and she jerked backward, pulling her own hair from her scalp as she fought for leverage. “I’m going to kill you!” She bellowed thrusting fire from her palms.

The flames glanced off his face as if she had simply tossed confetti on him. Bane smiled behind the protective barrier of sweat he had manufactured over his skin to fend off her attack. “Nice try, but you forget, I’m a lot older. You’re no match for…” His eyes grew large and his footing faltered as he looked past her.

Kielyn felt him then. Felt his energy. His heat. Ash… The Dragon snarled low and guttural behind her, exhaling hot smoke that curled around her legs like an ominous fog wafting in. Kielyn did not alter the fixated stare she held on Bane. “I believe it’s time you meet your destiny, asshole!”

Without hesitation she threw every ounce of fire she could muster into him just as flames flowed over her from behind like water. She manifested her own protective barrier to coat her skin as the Dragon’s fire heated, but failed to singe her own flesh. Her energy merged with the beast behind her and Bane’s body was engulfed in a burning inferno, his screams blending with the battle cries of the avenging Angels around him.

Kielyn turned around. Two golden orbs stared into her own eyes.
Ash
. She reached out her hand and the Dragon jerked his head back. She stepped forward, her energy imploring him, calling to the man inside the beast
. It’s me.
Slowly the giant head lowered and she leaned in, placing her hand between his eyes. They shut slowly.

“Seize him!” The yell from above broke their connection and the Dragon’s eyes snapped open a mere second before its head reared backwards and a blood curdling roar ripped across the sky. Kielyn stumbled backwards to get out of the way just as the beast spun. Her eyes traveled up. There on its back, thrusting a spike between its shoulder blades was Dante. “He is mine!” He pulled out the dagger and plunged it into the Dragon’s scales once again.

“No!” Kielyn heard herself scream as more restraining ropes were being shot across the arena. The Dragon’s tail swiped viciously through the air, taking out everyone in its path. She waited until the massive spiked tail was within range again and jumped. Holding on for dear life she began to climb the Dragon’s horned spine.“Alaric!” She screamed.

Like a spiraling light, the Angel-King came flying, connecting with Dante and toppling them both to the floor of the arena. Kielyn continued to climb as she was tossed back and forth, side to side, by the raging beast beneath her. Miraculously, she was able to keep from being flung off and managed to position herself between the Dragon’s shoulders. Balancing herself against two razor sharp horns, Kielyn assessed the damage done by Dante’s cruel blade. Hot lava leaked from the wound.
Forged of fire…
You are made of it!
She laid her hand over the gash as the Dragon continued to roar and snatch at the ropes, breathing fire wildly in every direction. “Shhh.” Kielyn concentrated on the source of pain. Tuning out the chaos around her, she focused on merging her fire with his. Slowly, the gaping puncture began to heal from the center out, the nasty gash closing with heat generated from Kielyn’s hands.

Shouts from the battle on the ground drew her eyes down and she felt her brows knit together. It was too close. She saw Dante get his footing and…“Now!” She yelled without thought when Dante heaved Alaric off of him.

Without hesitation the Dragon’s neck snaked out. A flash of jagged sharp teeth was all Kielyn saw before it ripped the head off Dante’s body, tossed it in the air and caught it on its descent. The crushing sound of bone and brains came next. Her stomach turned over but still she watched, fascinated as the mighty jaws worked, sawing and chewing until there was nothing left but the spit the beast expelled like a bad taste. It’s massive tail whipped around next and speared Dante’s detached, flopping body right through the heart, pinning him to the pit’s floor. The ground beneath them seemed to shake and Kielyn looked down, expecting to see the earth opening up around them. The ground was not moving. They were… She saw Alaric scooping up the limp form of Stefen as she bent low and tried to hold on. As if on cue, the Angels fell back in unison and flames rained down, demolishing the pit below them as Kielyn rose higher and higher into the sky. “Fly.” She closed her eyes and cried into the Dragon’s heated scales. “Fly!”

****

Gliding felt like falling the second they pushed through the realm’s barrier. Kielyn held on tighter as they made a speedy descent. Four figures, Dax, Marsala, Kizer and Marcus, could be seen running towards them in the meadow below. Without warning, Kielyn was thrown over the side. She stopped her crash landing a few feet from the solid ground. “Thank God you’re safe.” She heard Marsala rushing up behind her as her feet drifted to the earth.

Kielyn looked up to the sky. A roar followed by hot blown steam and a flapping of wings whipped her hair wildly about her face as the Dragon rose backwards into the sky. “No! Stay with me!” Kielyn reached out as the beast rose further into the air and then flew towards the setting sun. “Please!” The last word was but a whisper.

“Let him go!” Alaric said from behind her. Kielyn whirled, unaware of his arrival. “He will be back. Give him time to shake off the Dragon.”

Kielyn ran to his side as he laid the body of her best friend on the ground. “Stefen!” She gasped, falling to her knees beside his brother. “There has to be a way,” she cried. “Something!” She looked around frantically, searching for an idea, anything, that might come to her. “I could turn him!”

“It’s too late for that,” Alaric said solemnly. The Angel army began to manifest out from the clouds above. Alaric lifted his arm and waved them away. “Go! I want to be alone with my brother.” Without a sound, they were gone.

Marsala, Dax, Marcus and Kizer began to retreat too. Kielyn swiped her tears away angrily. This was all her fault! She began to rise. “I’m so very sorry. I will leave.”

Alaric’s hand caught hers, halting her in place. “Will you stay?” Kielyn choked back tears. She was too unworthy to be here with them. Not now. Not after all they had done to save her. Not after she had led Stefen to his death. “You did not cause this, Kielyn.” Alaric read her mind. “Please sit.”

She slowly knelt back down beside him. “He was my friend.” She placed one of her hands, still soaked with Ash’s blood on Stefen’s arm. The contact made a hissing sound and she jerked her hand away. Both of them stared at where her touch had been. The bluish pale color where her hand laid on Stefen’s flesh, warmed to a natural olive glow before crystallizing over to ice. “Did you see that?” She moved her trembling hand to her mouth.

“Is that Ash’s blood on your hands?”

Kielyn nodded. “Yes, it is.”

“It is never advised to dabble with fate.” A feminine voice drifted in on a breeze. Alaric was on his feet, sword in hand before Kielyn could even look up to locate its source. “Stand down Your Grace,” the voice said again. “I come in peace.”

A woman with jet-black hair and golden eyes stepped from the shadow’s edge. Methodically, she walked towards them. “Who are you?” Alaric more warned than asked as he put his body between the stranger and Stefen and Kielyn, shielding them from the intruder.

The beautiful woman smiled at Kielyn. “You have matured nicely, my dear.”

“How do you know her?” Alaric demanded.

The raven haired lady turned to him. “I know your brother, too.” She looked down at the lifeless body of Stefen and frowned. “It is not his time.”

Alaric moved towards the other female, but Kielyn stepped around him and blocked his advancement. “Wait!”

“I am Pythia,” the woman said. “Come here, child.” She beckoned to Kielyn as she continued to walk towards where Stefen laid.

“Don’t!” Alaric said. “She may be a witch.”

“She is an Oracle,” Kielyn said. “The one that advised Stefen.” Kielyn was not sure why, but something in the woman’s demeanor echoed trust.
Because Stefen trusted her.
She realized. Pythia was the reason he had known to bring her to Ash.

“We don’t have much time.” The older woman squared off with Alaric. “Please… Your brother needs all of your strength now.” To Kielyn’s shock, after a pause, Alaric moved aside. The Oracle bent down beside Stefen. “The blood.” She unfastened Stefen’s breast plate and began assessing his damage. “I am going to clear the wound.” She looked up the Kielyn’s blood soaked hands. “I need as much of that as you can get off of you.”