The Dragons Blood Key: Legend of the Dragon's Blood Key - Book 1 (11 page)

Cassy looked at the man and smiled. “My name
is Cassandra.”

“That is a beautiful name for a lovely young
lady. I am honored to meet you, Cassandra.” The man bowed his
head.

Roupert stepped forward and held out his
hand. “It is
good
to see you
again,
Othan
.”

Othan
took
the offered hand and returned the handshake. “As it is to see you
again, my friend.” He then turned to Frier.

“Hello, my Dragon friend. You haven’t set
any fires lately, have you?” Othan teased.

“No, but Roupert doesn’t let me sleep inside
the hut anymore,” Frier winked playfully.

“That is
wise
of him,” Othan winked at Roupert.

Othan walked over to Cassy then reached out
and took her hand in his. “I feel great courage in this one, even
though she questions herself. The Blood Key has chosen well.”

Cassy was unsure of what to say.

Aaron stepped forward and faced Othan. “Can
you see if I’m brave too?”

Othan turned toward Aaron. “Ah, give me your
hand.”

Aaron held out his hand to Othan, who
grasped it with his. “Let me see,
you,
my
blue-eyed friend are quite intelligent, but you do not
seem to apply yourself. I see a great future ahead
of
you, but only if you take the time to fully
understand what is going on around you before you act.”

Aaron pulled his hand away, wondering what
Othan had meant. He knew he was smart, but the other part made no
sense to him. “Thanks,” he replied with less than an enthusiastic
tone in his voice.

Othan turned back to Roupert with a serious
expression on his face. “There has been much talk among the
woodland creatures of the arrival of the Champion to battle the
Evil Queen Alona. You must take heed, as word has without doubt
reached the Queen and she is preparing. We must not allow her to
best our Champion again.”

As Cassy listened to Othan, she wondered if
she would be able to win against the Evil Queen. She reached up and
rubbed her fingertips along the Blood Key, feeling the warmth
radiating from it.

“It talks to you, does it not?” Othan’s
voice took on a serious tone.

“Huh? Ah, I’m not sure,” Cassy quickly
pulled her hand away from the Blood Key and put it down to her
side.

Othan reached up and touched the Blood Key.
“You must trust the power living inside of the Blood Key. The
King’s blood is very powerful, and if you believe in it and
yourself, there is no
force
in
this realm, or any other that can stop you
in
your quest. The spell cast by our Queen Privlana will
protect you, but you must believe. I see greatness in you,
Cassandra. I only pray that you are able to accept your
destiny.”

“Do you really think that I can do it? I’m
so scared that I will fail,” she turned her head not wanting to
meet his gaze.

“Come close, child,” Othan motioned that she
kneel down in front of him. “I believe in the wisdom of the Blood
Key and the King’s blood hidden within. I
believe
it chose you because you have a rare gift, the
gift of courage and self-sacrifice. You may not believe in your
destiny yet, but soon you will learn why you were chosen as our
Champion.”

Cassy did not know what to say. Intense
emotions surged through her body, and she struggled not to cry.

“Thank you, Othan. Thank you for believing
in me.” She reached out and hugged Othan so tightly that she lifted
him from the ground.

“Oh, my, please put me down, Cassandra,”
Othan gasped with surprised by this unexpected show of
affection.

Cassy quickly set Othan back down on the
ground. “I’m sorry, I never meant…”

Othan straightened his ruffled clothes then
gazed up into her eyes. “There is no need to apologize. I must say
that I rather enjoyed it.”

“I enjoyed it too,” Cassy saw compassion
shining
in Othan’s eyes. She had
to admit that in spite of his ruff-n-gruff exterior, Othan
was, in fact,
a gentle soul.

Roupert stepped forward and patted Othan on
the shoulder. “My old friend, you need to be careful. One might
begin to think that you are a pushover for
such a lovely
young lady.”

Othan turned toward Roupert. “That is no
surprise, Roupert. I have always had a soft place in my heart for
pretty young
ladies
; especially
when they are those such as our Cassandra here,” he glanced over at
Cassy and wink playfully.

“Well, my old friend, we have far to travel
today, so we must continue on our way. It is always
good
to see you,” Roupert said.

“Wait, before you go I have something for
Cassandra.” Othan turned and quickly walked over to the bridge then
he disappeared behind the bush where he appeared when they had
arrived. After a couple of minutes, he returned holding a small
glass vial. He held out his
hand
and offered it to Cassy.

Cassy took the offered object and held it up
examining it
carefully
. “What is
it?”

“It is the nectar from the blossom of the
Samen plant. It is a very
particular
plant, as it only blooms once every twenty
years, and then you must capture the nectar from the heart of the
blossom
in the light of the full
moon.”

Cassy’s eyes grew wide with amazement, as
she watched the fluid inside of the vial slowly swirl and change
its color from blue to purple then back to blue. “What’s it
supposed to do?”

“It will provide you your greatest need,”
Othan replied flatly.

“I don’t understand. When will I know?”
Cassy shook her head, not convinced if she understood him.

“You will know when you need it, and when
you do, open the
vial
and drink it
all.” Othan reached up and touched her hand. “But be warned. Do not
use it for personal gain, for if you do, what happens next will be
very grave. The nectar of the bloom is sacred, so you must only use
it in a time of extreme need. Do you understand?” Othan looked
Cassy deeply in the eyes, letting her know the importance of his
words.

Cassy nodded her understanding then she
reached for her pack on her back.

“No, do not put the vial in your pack. It
must be kept in a safe place where you can get it without delay.”
Othan raised his hand and with one finger, he touched the Breast
Plate. Suddenly the Plate began to vibrate and in an instant, a
small opening appeared near the Blood Key.

“Hand me the vial, please.” Othan held out
his hand.

Cassy placed the
vial
in
Othan’s
outstretched hand, and then she watched as he
put
the
vial
into the opening then he tapped twice on the Blood Key. Once he
pulled his hand away, the small opening holding the
vial
had vanished.

“Where did it go?” Cassy cried out.

“It is hidden safely within the Breast Plate
where no one can take it from you,” Othan smiled.

“But how do I get it out when I need it?”
Cassy looked down at the place where it had
vanished
and ran her finger along the smooth surface.

Othan shook his head and laughed. “Were you
not paying attention? Here,” Othan reached up and tapped the center
of the Blood Key twice, and when he pulled his hand away, the
opening appeared with the vial safely secured inside.

“Oh, I get it now. I tap the center of the
Blood Key twice to open and close it; cool,” she grinned.

Othan looked at Cassy, confused by her
response. “I do not understand. It is not cold. Why do you say it
is cold?”

Cassy could not hold back her laughter. “No,
I didn’t mean it was cold. That’s just a figure of speech. In my
realm, when you say something is cool, it means that it’s
good.”

Othan shook his head, unsure of the strange
customs of this realm she came from. “I see, well I guess it is
cool to have met you today, Cassandra.”

“It is cool to have met you too,” Cassy
teased while
the rest of the group
broke out in laughter.

Roupert reached out and rested his hand on
Othan’s shoulder. “It is time for us to leave, my old friend.”

Othan’s eyes gazed into Cassy’s with sadness
clearly showing in them. “Please remember to use the nectar should
you find yourself facing a difficult and dangerous time
against
the Evil Queen. If you drink it with
purity of heart, you will receive that which you need to be
triumphant over her dark magic.”

Cassy reached up and rested her hand
over
the glass
vial
hidden inside of the Breast Plate, feeling
a warm sensation under her fingertips. “Thank you, Othan, I will
remember.

Frier walked over to Cassy and took her hand
in his. “You will not go against Queen Alona alone. I will stay by
your side; no matter what the future holds.”

Cassy could see the compassion burning in
Frier’s bright green eyes. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.”

“Hey, I’ll be there with you too,” Aaron
chimed in. “There is no way I’m gonna let some wicked Queen do
anything to my sister.”

The determined expression on Aaron's face
made Othan chuckle, “It
sounds
like your brother is a brave warrior as well. Queen Alona will
inevitably
be defeated
by
two such fierce warriors standing by your
side.”

Frier and Aaron felt pride as they held
their heads up high.

“The Evil Queen will soon face her demise,”
Frier growled, with Aaron nodding in agreement.

Cassy was glad to have Frier and Aaron with
her. She glanced up at Roupert and noticed the
pride
in his eyes. “Thank you all. I’m so
pleased
that you are here with
me.”

Roupert reached out and gently touched her
on the cheek. As their eyes locked, he could see Abigail’s face
gazing back at him with the memories of the time they spent
together, flooding back into his mind.

“Are you okay?” Cassy asked, seeing the
emotions escaping from the safe place in his mind where Roupert had
kept them safely hidden.

“Ah, yes, I am fine. Come, we must go.”
Roupert cleared his throat then walked toward the bridge with the
others following closely behind.

“Goodbye, my friends,” Othan called out, as
they crossed the bridge.

“Goodbye,” they all waved back to him, and
then they disappeared into the woods on the other side.

The woods seemed to grow
exceptionally
dense and dark, as the group got
further away from the bridge and Othan.

“Dang, it’s creepy here,” Aaron groaned as
he looked around at the tall trees that seemed to be closing in
on
them.

Frier looked at Aaron, confused by this
statement. “What is creepy?”

“It means scary. Somewhere that you don’t
want to be,” Aaron grinned nervously.

Frier looked around at the trees. “Yes, it
is creepy here, but if you stay close to me, I’ll protect you.”

Cassy watched the conversation between her
little brother and the young
dragon
and realized that this was something that no one
at home would ever believe. She was glad that they had met Frier
and Roupert, for she knew that she did not want to face the Evil
Queen alone.

“Well, I hope you two are going to protect
me,” Cassy teased.

Frier and Aaron exchanged glances, feeling
confident in their ability to protect Cassy.

“We will be by your side, but you are the
Champion. The Blood Key has chosen you, which gives you the power
to conquer the Queen,” Frier said with reverence.

Taken aback by the statement, Cassy was at a
loss
for
what to say. She knew
that she was supposed to be the chosen Champion, but she had never
completely understood what it meant. At seeing the look of
innocence and trust on their faces, she suddenly felt the enormity
of what she was facing, this causing fear and doubt to consume her
entire being.

“Cassy, are you alright?” Roupert asked,
seeing the emotions surging through her.

Cassy wanted to scream,
NO
and run away, but where would she go?
She finally steadied her nerves and answered him. “I
’m fine
. I was just thinking of what’s ahead for
us, that’s all.”

Roupert understood her concern, for he was
experiencing the same fear. Would she finally bring about the fall
of Queen Alona and restore the Dragon rule over the Kingdom of
Walandra? As he gazed at Cassy, he again saw Abigail looking back
at him.
Stop, you must not let your heart go to that place,
he silently scolded himself.

They all walked without speaking until the
sound of Aaron’s stomach grumbling broke the silence. “Dang, I’m
hungry,” he laughed as he patted his stomach.

“I can see you are,” Roupert teased. “Why
don’t we stop here and eat
before
our young friend here fades away from starvation.”

“I smell some berries nearby. I will go and
get some for
us,
” Frier
offered.

“May I come with you?” Cassy asked.

Frier looked at Roupert, who nodded his
approval. “Yes, I would enjoy your company.”

“Aaron and I will wait here for you. Now
don’t take too long or Aaron may find me to be a tasty treat,”
Roupert laughed as he lightly punched Aaron on the shoulder.

“Come, the berries are this direction,” Frier
waved for Cassy to follow him into the thick trees.