The Dragons Blood Key: Legend of the Dragon's Blood Key - Book 1 (14 page)

“We all know the need of dragons to be with
others of their kind, but you know that was impossible. Had Queen
Alona known of Frier she would have just taken him sooner.
You taught him well, so we must hold on
to the faith that he will remember the bond you two have shared and
not surrender to the darkness and hate from Alona.” Arianna
commented with sorrow showing in her eyes.

“Okay, standing around talking won’t save
Frier. We need to go get him,” Aaron said with determination in his
voice.

“You are quite brave, young Aaron, but you
must not go to the castle. It is not safe for you,” Brianna held up
her hand as Aaron began to protest.

“Brianna is correct. It will be a great
battle, and one of your young age, does not need to fight,” Syrea
pointed out, at seeing the disappointment in Aaron’s eyes.

“That’s not fair. I want to…” Aaron suddenly
closed his eyes, appearing to be in a strange trance.

Cassy turned and looked at Aaron. “What have
you done to him?”

“He will sleep until you have conquered the
Queen,” Syrea said without emotion.

“What? You can’t just leave him here,” Cassy
moved her hand in front of his face, with no response.

“My child, we will not leave him here
unattended. We will take him to our realm, where he will be safe,”
Brianna assured her.

“Okay, but what happens if I don’t win
against the Queen? What will happen to Aaron then?”

“Do not think that way, Cassandra. You will
be triumphant over the Evil Queen,” Arianna said.

“Fine, I hope I am, but if I’m not; what
will happen to Aaron?” Cassy was tired of not getting any answers
to her questions.

The Lillients exchanged nervous glances then
they turned and looked at Cassy.

Brianna spoke up first. “If you should fail
in your quest to destroy Queen Alona, Aaron will suffer your same
fate.”

The words hit Cassy like a sledgehammer.
“How is that possible? Why can’t you just return him home?”

“They won’t be able to return him to your
home realm because Alona will have the power of the King’s blood in
the Blood Key. Aaron will be trapped here and under her control
with the rest of us,” Roupert spoke up.

Cassy looked at Roupert then back to the
Lillients. “Is that true,” she said with tears filling her
eyes.

The three Lillients
merely
nodded their heads, acknowledging that his words
were true.

Cassy felt as though someone had just kicked
her in the gut. “No, that can’t be true.”

“I’m
sorry,
but it is. So, you must be successful,” Roupert said with a hint of
sadness in his voice.

Realizing there was nothing more to say, Cassy
leaned forward and gently kissed Aaron on the forehead. “I love
you, little brother. I promise to destroy the Evil Queen so that we
can return home again.”

“I can’t believe that he was dishonest with
me my whole life,” Frier moaned with tears streaming down his
cheeks.

“He was a traitor to the Queen, and he did
not want you to know the truth,” David smirked with a devilish
smile on his lips.

“Yes, he wanted to keep you in the dark
about who you really are,” Ralph taunted, feigning concern.

The two Demlins looked at each other and
cackled
joyously, assured they had
convinced the young Prince of the lie ordered by Queen Alona.

“I’m glad you had
found
me before I helped them destroy our Queen. When do
I get to meet her,” Frier
asked
while trying to control his emotions.

“Soon, our friend, soon.”

Queen Privlana paced the dungeon floor,
dragging the chain behind her.

“What have I done? How could I have allowed
Alona to see my thoughts?”

She knew the answer to that dreaded
question. She had allowed her excitement of finally seeing her son
consume
her
mind
.

Her heart ached at knowing that Frier was at
the mercy of Alona and her evil magic. The worry and pain surging
through Privlana was overwhelming, and she whispered a silent
prayer that Frier be protected from what she knew would come.

“My Queen,” a small voice penetrated the
agonizing thoughts consuming Privlana’s mind.

“Yes…what?” Privlana turned toward the sound
of the gentle voice.

Perched on a stone protruding from the
dungeon wall sat Keira, the Milif.

“I have come in answer to your question.”
Keira smiled, trying to calm Privlana.

“My question, I don’t understand what you
mean,” Privlana said with a heavy heart.

“My Queen, it was not your fault. Everything
is happening, as it must to be.”

Queen Privlana wiped the tears from her
eyes, unsure of the meaning of Keira’s words. “How can Alona
knowing of my son be
good
? She
will kill him,” emotions overwhelmed her as she thought of Frier in
the hands of Alona.

“Do not fear for the young Prince. While at
first he will believe Alona’s lies, his heart will soon learn the
truth. He is a Dragon of the Royal Clan, so the truth lives deep
inside of him. He will come to accept the truth soon enough.
Roupert raised him
well
and loved
him as a son. Do not fear, My Queen, all will be as it is meant to
be.”

Privlana felt a warm sense of peace flow
over her as she gazed upon Keira.

.She had lived in fear for so many years
that it had grown difficult to feel hope. She looked at Keira,
wiped the tears from her eyes, and squared her shoulders.

“What do you have planned, Keira?”

Once the Lillients had left with Aaron,
Cassy turned to Roupert. “Okay, what do we do first?”

Roupert combed his hand through his hair,
trying to decide the best course of action. He knew they could not
just storm the castle, for Queen Alona had
surely
put her best guards along the
perimeter
and at the gates.

“I’m not quite sure, but we must be careful
not to act carelessly, for I know she is prepared for our
attack.”

Cassy felt her knees grow weak at his words.
“I thought you’d know how to get inside unseen. You were a guard
there once, right?”

Roupert saw the fear in her eyes,
and,
to be honest, he felt the
same fear consuming him. When he had realized that Frier was gone,
his heart nearly stopped beating in his chest. While he always knew
he had a great affection for Frier, he never realized just how
deeply those feelings went. He closed his eyes as the memory of the
day Frier came forth in life from the egg, and the joy his heart
felt the first time their eyes met. That was when he knew he would
fight any
enemy
and lay down his
life for the young Prince.

“Roupert, are you okay. Come on, we don’t
have time for daydreaming.” Cassy reached up and tugged on his
shirt sleeve
, drawing him out of
the memory.

“I’m sorry; I’m just so worried about Frier.
I fear that Alona will harm him should he challenge her.”

Roupert’s words made no sense to Cassy. “Why
would Frier challenge Alona? He does not know who she is or what
she did. I can’t imagine her telling him that she killed his father
and enslaved his mother in the dungeon.”

As Roupert listened to Cassy, he suddenly
understood why the Blood Key had chosen her.

“I believe that Alona will try to convince
him that she is on his side. Everything that I’ve heard since I’ve
been here is that she craves the Power of the Dragon. She tried to
get it from the King, but Queen Privlana prevented that. So, her
only chance now is to get it from the King’s only living son:
Frier.”

Roupert stood in amazement at the brilliance
of her words.
Of course, Alona would want to convince Frier that
she was on his side and that everything he knew was a lie.

A smiled appeared across Roupert’s face.
“You are correct. That is
precisely
what she would do. Cassy, you are
brilliant!”

Roupert grabbed Cassy, pulled her
close
to him, and held her in a
tight embrace. “Thank you. Thank you for restoring my faith in the
Champion.”

Cassy laughed as Roupert released her from
his grasp. “Well, I’m glad I have your faith. Now, let’s figure out
how we’re going to get inside of that castle without being
caught.”

They both stood in silence for several
moments, unsure of what to do. Each knew that it must be a perfect
plan, but neither had the slightest idea of how to accomplish the
feat.

Cassy shook her head and laughed. “I have
nothing, how about you?”

Roupert shrugged his shoulders. “Neither do
I. I worry the Queen will have extra guards posted around the
castle.”

“Come on, this is a magical realm. There has
to be a way to get inside the castle unseen,” Cassy reached up and
touched the Blood Key absent-mindedly.

“Did you just say something,” Cassy turned
toward Roupert.

“No, I haven’t said anything.”

“I can get you into the castle without the
Evil Queen knowing.”

Cassy and Roupert exchanged surprised
looks.

“You didn’t say that did you,” Roupert
said.

“No, and that wasn’t you, was it?” Cassy
responded, her eyes wide with fear.

“I said it,” the voice grew louder.

“Who are you, and where are you?” Cassy
struggled to see where the voice was coming from.

“I am here, sitting on the toadstool,” the
voice said in a firm tone.

Cassy and Roupert turned and looked at the
small creature sitting on
a
toadstool
not far from where they stood.

“What is that?” The words had
escaped
Cassy’s mouth before she realized saying
them.

“It’s
Bonert
, he’s an Elim,” Roupert said with a hint of
disgust in his voice.

Bonert
jumped from the toadstool then he began to grow until he stood
nearly five-feet tall.

“Hello Roupert, it’s nice to see you again,”
Bonert said with sarcasm in his voice.

“Well, I can’t
say
that it’s nice to see you again. What brings you to
this part of the Kingdom? I thought you were banished to the
Northern Mountains after your last fiasco.”

“Roupert, I was never banished. It was just
strongly suggested that I return to my people there,” Bonert
replied with a mischievous smile on his face.

“Call it whatever you want. I seem to
remember that you were lucky to escape with your life after what
you did,” Roupert said with a hint of joy at
Bonert’s
trouble.

Seeing that he was getting nowhere with this
line of conversation, Bonert decided it was time to change the
subject.

“So, who is this lovely young lady you are
traveling with, Roupert?” Bonert bowed his head toward Cassy.

Roupert suddenly felt an uneasy feeling come
over him. “She is no one of your concern.”

As Cassy listened to the two of them banter
back and forth, she could not help but watch Bonert. He was a
strange looking creature with his hooked
shap
ed nose and large eyes. His hands were large for his
frame with long thin fingers and sharp broken fingernails. He was
quite disgusting to look at in his filthy clothes, and Cassy
understood why Roupert was not pleased to see him.

Bonert turned and faced Cassy. “Is it true
that you worry about getting inside of Queen Alona’s castle
undetected? I could have sworn that I heard you utter those
words.”

Roupert stepped forward, placing himself
between her and Bonert. “You do not want help from this…this…”

“Now, now, my old friend, name calling is so
beneath us, is it not?” Bonert smiled.

Roupert glanced over at Cassy and saw a look
of concern flash across her face. He knew that he must control his
emotions, so as not to give Bonert an upper hand.