The Dragons Blood Key: Legend of the Dragon's Blood Key - Book 1 (19 page)

“Frier, it is I; your mother.”

Frier lifted his head and franticly looked
toward the door. “Mother, where are you?”

“I am in the dungeon where Alona has kept me
in bondage all these years.”

Frier looked about the room, convinced that
he had lost his mind. “No, that is not possible. You are dead.”

“No, Frier; that is another lie. I have been
here since Alona killed your father and trapped me in my human
form. She tried to destroy our clan, but she was not successful.
You see, evil will never win over
good
.”

Frier shook his head, trying to understand
her words. “But she has won, Mother, and now she plans to use me to
complete her evil plan. How can I stop her? I do not want my
friends to die.”

“Son, you must not surrender to defeat. The
Champion will face much adversity when she arrives at the castle.
She will be tested, so you need to remain firm and believe in the
power of the Blood Key.”

“Mother, what gives the Blood Key its power.
Why does Alona crave its power so much?”

Frier waited for an answer, but none came.
“Mother, are you still there?”

“Yes, my son. I created The Blood Key
from
the powerful Blood Stone,
which has great magical powers. Alona stole the Blood Stone from
the Guardians and planned to increase its power by infusing it with
the blood of the most magical of all creatures in our realm.”

“I don’t understand, Mother. Whose blood did
she need?”

Privlana did not want to tell Frier, but she
knew that he deserved to know the truth. “The blood that she needed
was that of King Ashlym, the King of the Dragons and your
father.”

Wails of pain burst forth from Frier,
filling the small room. He closed his eyes forcing the anger to
stay deep
within
him for fear that
it would consume his soul. Alona had destroyed his family, and now
she intended to
destroy
those he
cared for the most.

“Mother, what can I do to stop her? How can
I prevent her from fulfilling her evil plan?”

“I am not sure, my son. I do know that you
must fight against anything she may try to force you to do. She has
great
power and can bend your will
to suit her needs. Therefore, you must not allow her to use you in
that manner. I wish that I could help you more, but I cannot.”

Frier reached up and wiped the tears from
his eyes. He knew that she was right. He would have to be strong if
he wanted to save not only his Mother, but also his friends. He
closed his eyes, trying to
clear
his mind. Suddenly the image of Cassy flashed in his mind and he
felt a pain stab his heart.

“Is that the Champion?” Privlana asked.

“Yes, I hate to think of her facing the Evil
Queen alone,” Frier’s heart ached for Cassy and the task ahead for
her.

“Do not fear for her, my son. I have a good
feeling about this Champion. Apparently, Alona
fears
her greatly, so I believe that she will
have the strength to be victorious.”

Frier knew that his Mother was probably
correct, yet a part of him worried for Cassy’s safety. He did not
understand the feelings stirring up from deep inside of him, but
for some unknown reason she seemed to possess his heart.

“Mother, we have been able to speak by
sharing our thoughts. Can we see each other as well?” He held his
breath and
waited
for her
answer.

Privlana felt her heart leap with joy at his
request. “Yes, my son, but I must warn you that I am not in my
Dragon form.”

“It does not matter, Mother. I just want to
know that you are real and not a product of my imagination. Seeing
your face will
give
me the
strength I need to face the danger ahead for me.”

Frier felt a strange tingling in his head
as
the image of a beautiful woman
with flaming red hair and bright green eyes appeared before him in
his mind.

“You’re beautiful,” the words escaped his
mouth.

“And you are quite handsome, my son,”
Privlana cried through tears of joy.

“We both have the same green eyes,” he
laughed with the thrill of knowing they shared something
special.

“Yes, all Dragons have eyes the color of
emeralds. It is a sign of your Royal
Heritage
.
Still, I must warn
you they will glow blood red when we are angry. Your Father’s were
the brightest of all dragons,” Privlana laughed softly as the
memory of her beloved husband flowed into her mind.

Frier gasped. “Is that my father?”

Taken aback by the question, Privlana felt
her heart quicken. “Can you see him? Oh, how wonderful; yes, that
is your Father.”

Frier squeezed his eyes tighter, trying to
hold on to the vision in his mind. “Mother, I see flames dancing in
his eyes. Why don’t you or I have them?”

“What
an
excellent
observation, my son. The flames dancing in your
father’s eyes show the intensity of his powers. Your eyes will have
the same once you take his powers as King.”

Frier felt sadness tug at his heart at never
knowing his father and mother. “Mother, do you think father would
be proud of me?”

“Oh yes, he was so excited about your coming
birth. He would count the days until you came forth from the egg,
as did I,” Privlana’s voice was soft and sorrowful at the memories
of the loss of their lives together.

“So you both wanted me? You didn’t cast me
away?”

Privlana sensed his sadness and wished that
she could take him in her arms. “Oh my son, my heart has ached
every day
to see you. My heart
broke to know that you would come forth from the egg and not know
about
your heritage. Your father
had such plans for you. He wanted to teach you the way of the
Dragon and all the responsibilities involved. You are a Prince of
Walandra and destined to be its King.”

The words hit Frier with such force that he
could barely breath. How could he be a King over the entire
Kingdom? He could not even sleep in Roupert’s hut without nearly
burning it to the ground.

Privlana sensed his doubts and quickly tried
to put his mind at ease. “Do not fear, my son. You will make a
great King
someday
, but that day
has not come yet. First, we must stop Alona from obtaining the
Blood Key. The Champion is wearing the sacred Breast Plate and
Blood Key, so she needs to come to me in the dungeon to break the
curse Alona has over the kingdom. I sense great courage in
Cassandra, and I know with the help of Roupert and Keira, the
Milif, she will be triumphant. Do not surrender to doubt, my son,
for we have the power of good on our side.”

Frier knew she was correct, but he could not
help but worry.

“Mother,” he asked with his eyes tightly
closed.

“Yes, Frier,” her voice was calm and
soothing.

“I’m glad that you are
alive
and thank you for coming to me tonight,”
tears streamed down his cheeks again.

Privlana felt her heart warm with love and
pride. “I’m so proud of you, and I look forward to the moment when
I can take you in my arms. I love you, my son. Rest well, for
tomorrow will be a difficult day for us all. Goodnight.”

“I love you too, Mother and goodnight.”

The swirling fog appeared again, this time
taking the vision of Privlana from Frier’s mind. Once she was gone,
he leaned back against the cold wall, feeling a new sense of pride
surge through him. He was glad to have learned the truth from his
mother and to discover what she expected of him.

“I promise not to fail, Mother,” his words
filled the empty room, as he realized there was no escape for what
lie ahead of him, and those he cared for.

The morning sun gently kissed Cassy on the
cheek, awakening her from her restless slumber.

“
Good
morning,
”
Roupert
said
playfully. “I found some berries for our breakfast. I’m sure you
didn’t
want to eat dried
meat this
early in the day.”

“Berries sound
fantastic
, thank you.” Cassy had to admit that she was
relieved not to be eating the dried meat again so soon.

Roupert handed her a small pouch of berries
then sat next to her.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Cassy held out
the
pouch
toward him.

“No, I ate while you were still sleeping.
I’ve been awake for some time now going over our plans again,” he
smiled,
but Cassy could see the
concern in his eyes.

She reached
into
the pouch and pulled out a handful of the berries
then shoved them in her mouth. “These are
really good
,” she grinned as berry juice flowed from the
corners of her mouth.

“I’d say so,” Roupert chuckled as he wiped
the juice from her face with a small rag.

Once Cassy had swallowed the mouthful of
berries, she shot Roupert a concerned look then shook her head.
“I’m worried.”

“What worries you?” He thought he knew the
answer,
but he needed to know for
sure.

“What if we can’t do it? What if we fail to
get the stone and
breastplate
to
Queen Privlana?” Cassy lowered her head, trying to hide the shame
burning in her heart.

Roupert reached out and took her hand in
his. “I understand your fear, for I feel the same. We are facing
great danger, and Alona will not hesitate to kill both of us to
obtain the Blood Key. She is an evil soul, who only cares
for
her own power, so we must try
to remain strong and have faith that good always wins out
over
evil.”

Cassy lifted her face and gazed into his
eyes, seeing compassion and strength staring back at her. “I hope
you’re right. You know something; I wish that Melissa
was
here. Don’t ever tell her that I said this,
but she’s the smart one of the two of us. She will never admit it,
but she’s
level-headed
and able to
think her way out of trouble. She just acts like an
airhead
so no one will expect anything of her.
Me, I’m more the charge in before thinking things through
type
of person. I can’t tell you
the times I’ve gotten in trouble for not stopping first and
thinking before acting,” Cassy moaned as she realize how much she
wished that Melissa was there with her.

“I hate to admit it, but I kind of wish
Melissa was here. That way the Queen could go after her, instead of
me,” Cassy glanced over at Roupert and grinned playfully.

Roupert could not help but laugh at the look
on her face. “Well, my young friend, I see great courage in you and
I believe that we will be triumphant.”

Roupert
gave
her hand a squeeze, this making her giggle. “I am
glad you are the Champion, and that you are here.”

“I’m
glad that
I
’m here with you too. The old Evil Queen may think she has
us, but we will have a surprise for her. We’re going to get the
Blood Key back to Queen Privlana and restore the Kingdom. We’re
going to be hero’s, and the subjects of Walandra will tell stories
of our bravery for hundreds of years,” Cassy sat up straight with a
new sense of purpose burning in her eyes.

“Why don’t you finish the berries then we
will leave for the castle,” Roupert urged with a playful grin.

Cassy looked at him and shrugged her
shoulders then put another handful in her mouth.

Roupert had stood and was gathering
their
things when they heard a
small voice.

“We have come to help the Champion vanquish
the Evil Queen Alona.”

Cassy turned and saw three little creatures
standing in the tall grass by the path leading to the castle. Cassy
looked closely at the strange looking creatures, and she decided
that they looked like elves from her storybooks. They were about
three feet tall, with long, pointy
noses
and pointed ears. The tallest of the three was the
one speaking, so she assumed that he was the leader.

“Who are you?” Cassy looked at Roupert then
over to the creatures.

“They are Elim,” Roupert said with a hint of
mistrust in his voice.

“Yes, we are Elim. My name is
Athrat
, this is
Tamrath
, and that is Gillmer,” he pointed to the other
two then bowed toward Cassy.

“Yes, we heard the Champion had come to
challenge the Queen, so we wanted to offer our assistance,” Tamrath
said with a crooked smile.

“We came to help you with your quest,”
Gillmer added.

Cassy took a step forward, but Roupert took
her by the arm. “Do not trust them. They are selfish creatures who
only do things for their own benefit. I promise you that they do
not care about helping you. They are only here to line their own
pockets with reward.”

Athrat grasped his chest as though in pain.
“It
pains
my heart to hear you say
such things, Roupert. We have only come to offer our assistance to
the Champion. We have no desire for reward.”

“Tis true, tis true,” the other two chimed
in with the same pained looks.

Roupert was about to protest again when
Cassy held up her hand. “Stop arguing.
I
think it’s quite honorable that you have come to offer your help
with my quest. I would like to accept your help, but on one
condition.”

The three Elim looked at each other, and
then
up to Cassy, each nodding
their agreement.

“Cassy, no, you cannot trust them,” Roupert
protested. He stepped toward the Elim in a threatening manner, but
Cassy prevented his advance.

“Stop, Roupert, you need to trust me. If
these three are telling me the truth then I will know, but if they
are lying to me they will face my wrath.”