Dragon Emperor 4

by Eric Vall

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t need strange magic to fuel my fire, Evan.”

  “Fine. We’ll see you later then.”

  “Bye, Valerra!” Ravi shouted back as we left.

  Ten minutes later, Ravi and I stood in the desert with Chief Fiyero, and the sun broke through the thinning clouds. Ravi had changed out of her robes and was currently dressed in a pair of red trousers and an impossibly tight red shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and feathers poked out of the top of it.

  “To master this form of fire magic, you must learn how to be one with fire,” Chief Fiyero explained.

  Next to me, Ravi nodded, and her face was scrunched up cutely in concentration.

  “This magic was taught to the warriors of our tribes,” the chief went on. “After we were hidden away, we had no use for this magic, so it slowly faded from use. Today, we bring it back. Ravi, you will become the first phoenix in a thousand years to learn this magic. Evan, you will become the first dragon to ever be trained in phoenix fire. Are you both ready?”

  “Yes,” I responded while Ravi nodded.

  “Then let us continue.” He raised his hands and summoned his flames, and his hands and arms immediately began to burn.

  “Nice,” I commented as I eyed the orange flames licking up his torso.

  “Evan, I’m afraid this magic might prove to be more difficult for you,” the chief said as he glanced at me. “Dragons are beings created of fire. Your power comes from your ability to control and destroy with your flames. However, a phoenix is fire. Our power is from our ability to become one with the flames and purify. We are two sides of the same coin. Life and death.”

  “I’m sure I can handle it,” I replied confidently.

  Chief Fiyero nodded and began to move his hands. Then he pressed them together and quickly ripped them apart. A whip of fire flew out of each of his hands and wrapped around both Ravi’s wrist and mine. The flames licked my skin but didn’t burn me. Then the chief lowered his hands, and the whips vanished in a puff of smoke.

  “Once you have mastered this, you will be able to create any weapon you could ever need. For example, a sword.” He pressed his hands together again, and when he pulled them apart, he held a flaming sword.

  “A bow.” The sword vanished, and in its place was a short bow, equipped with a flaming arrow.

  “Or even a shield.” A large, round shield covered the chief.

  When it vanished, the chief put out his flames.

  “This is the magic our warriors used a thousand years ago,” he intoned. “Our weapons could cut through almost any object, and the fire would purify any corrupt energy.”

  “Awesome,” I said with a grin.

  “Summon your flames,” Fiyero instructed as he moved to stand beside me.

  “Alright.” I brought my flames to the surface, and they danced across my arms.

  “Now, I want you to feel your flames,” he added. “Focus on how they are a part of you, not just something for you to control.”

  I closed my eyes, and I could sense my flames as they licked across my arms. Then I thought of the moment I first summoned them in the mountains. I knew that fire was a part of me, and I could feel the connection between me and my fire.

  “Very well done, Evan,” Fiyero praised. “Now, picture the object you want to create.”

  I pictured a shield. A shield that could protect myself and anyone I cared about from harm. So, when I opened my eyes, I expected to see a giant shield around me. Instead, however, my flames continued to dance along my arms.

  “What the fuck?” I frowned.

  “I told you, dragon, this might be more difficult for you,” the chief laughed. “Think of how your flames are connected to you. How you are one and the same.”

  I furrowed my brow and tried to focus on what he said, but then another voice cut through my concentration.

  “Papa! I did it!”

  We both turned to see Ravi with a small dagger of blue fire in her hand.

  “Excellent!” the chief praised her. “I knew you would be able to master this quickly. Now, try to transform the weapon back into flames along your hands.”

  I closed my eyes as he talked to Ravi, and then I focused on my own fire again.

  What are you doing?

  My eyes popped open as Miraya spoke in my head, and I ignored her as best as I could.

  You are trying to find your connection to your fire, right? the spirit sword asked. I don’t think you’re looking in the right area.

  “What do you mean?” I whispered.

  I glanced at the two phoenixes, but they were both too preoccupied to pay any attention to me as I talked to myself.

  Dragons are created of fire. Your connection to your flames is not when you first summoned them. How do you know your flames are yours?

  I thought about it for a second before it came to me.

  “Ruslan,” I muttered. “My connection to my flames is my father. I couldn’t even control fire until he adopted me.”

  You’re welcome, she chuckled.

  I grinned and closed my eyes again. Then I focused on my bond with Ruslan. Suddenly, it all made sense. A ton of memories flashed through my head. The first time I met Ruslan, my adoption, when I summoned my flames, when I learned how to create my messenger dragon. All of these and more flashed through my head, and I pictured my flames as they pulled off my arms and into my hands. Then I envisioned a shield. A giant shield that I could use to protect my family and friends.

  I could feel my fire instantly react in my hands, so I pulled them apart quickly and felt the flames explode from my fingers.

  I opened my eyes and nearly closed them again. Bright white flames burned in front of me, and they formed the shape of a giant shield that towered over my body. It stretched into the air and rose about fifteen feet and was about ten feet wide.

  I took a step back and admired my work.

  “Dragon … ” I heard the chief and turned.

  Both him and Ravi stared at the shield in awe. Then Ravi’s small dagger fell from her hand and landed in the sand before it disappeared into smoke.

  “How is this possible?” the chief asked as he stared at my colossal shield.

  “I told you I could handle it,” I responded with a smirk.

  Chapter 9

  Ravi and I practiced our new found magical abilities until the sun began to set. I was able to summon a shield and sword with ease. I had problems with the bow and arrows, but since I would never need weapons, I wasn’t too concerned. My dragon body, magic, and the Sword of Hatra gave me more than enough options for battle. So, the shield was my main priority, and I’d summoned it enough times that I could confidently say I’d mastered the concept.

  Once the sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon and the darkness of the night settled around us, Chief Fiyero finally called our lesson to an end.

  “You two are free to return to the village,” the chief said with a nod. “I want to check in with our night scouts and get a report.”

  “Yes, sir,” I replied. “Thank you for all your help.”

  “Be careful, okay, Papa?” Ravi added. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  The chief kissed Ravi on the forehead and turned away.

  Then, in a plume of fire, he transformed into his phoenix form and flew off into the twilight. As soon as his fiery form soared away, Ravi collapsed onto the sand. Her dark orange hair was still wrapped up in a ponytail, but several strands had escaped and framed her face. Her eyes were closed, and her arms were crossed behind her head. She panted, and her chest rose and fell with each breath she took as her red shirt clung to her sweat-slicked skin.

  I was watching each breath, mesmerized, when she cracked open an eye and smiled at me.

  “Well, that was fun,” she said in a tired voice.

  I laughed as I laid down next to her.

  “Fun is one way to put it, I guess,” I said and looked up at the sky. The stars began to light the ink
y darkness, and I watched as slowly, more and more of the twinkling lights appeared.

  “How is it possible to be this sore without any sort of physical activity?” Ravi sighed as she sat up and massaged her thighs.

  “I’m not sure,” I chuckled, “but I know what you mean. I feel like someone just put me through a full body workout.”

  I groaned as I stretched my body out on the warm sand, and several of my joints cracked back into place.

  “At least you were able to figure it out,” she grumbled. “I practiced all day, and all I can make is the stupid dagger.”

  “Hey, it wasn’t stupid,” I comforted her. “You’ll be able to figure it out eventually.”

  Ravi shot up to her feet with a furrowed brow.

  “I don’t want to learn it eventually! I need to learn it now!” Her hair smoked as she started to pace along the sand. “My father has finally trusted me enough to train me in our ancient magic, but I can’t even manage to master it. I’m supposed to lead my people one day. How am I supposed to do that if I can’t even protect myself?”

  Her voice cracked on the last word, and she stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath. She ran a hand through her hair, and tiny embers fluttered to the sand. Then she wrapped her arms around her stomach and choked on a sob.

  “Ravi, hey.” I stood up and walked over to her. Then I gently pulled her arms off her stomach and settled my hands on her hips.

  Her hands wrapped around my arms, and my skin tingled where she touched me.

  “You’ll get it, don’t worry,” I told her. “You already have the basics down. With a little more practice, you’ll be fine.”

  “Thank you, Lord Evan. I suppose I’m a little jealous of you. You just found out about all of this,” she removed her hands from my arms and gestured around her wildly, “and you have already surpassed me in something I have dreamed about since I was a hatchling.”

  “I’m sorry, if it makes you uncomfortable, I can ask Chief Fiyero to train us separately?” I offered.

  “No!” she said quickly and blushed. “Sorry. I mean no. I don’t want that. I’m impressed by you, I think it’s incredible how quickly you picked up our magic. I just wish I could have picked it up as easily as well.”

  Her head dipped sadly, and a discontented growl bubbled in my chest, but I shoved it down. I hated to see such a beautiful woman upset, especially if I was the indirect cause of it.

  “I know. I’m sorry it was harder for you than you thought.” I moved forward slowly and wrapped her in a hug.

  Her arms tightened around me as I held her, and I rubbed her bare arms and felt goosebumps form along her skin. A cool breeze blew over us, and she shivered slightly, so I tucked her closer to me and turned toward the phoenix village.

  “Come on, let’s head back before you freeze to death.”

  I walked us back to the village and dropped Ravi off at her tent before I walked toward mine. I froze in the entryway when I heard movement from inside of Valerra’s tent next door, and my curiosity convinced me to walk over and peek inside the entrance.

  Valerra was naked for the first time since we’d arrived at the phoenix tribe. She sat in the hammock, and one of her feet dangled near the floor to occasionally rock her back and forth. Her eyes met mine as I walked inside, and she raised a brow.

  “I see you are comfortable in your own skin again,” I commented as my eyes raked over her body.

  She looked down at her bare chest and snorted.

  “I'm tired of human clothes,” she responded dryly. “Why have you come?”

  “I heard noises, I wanted to make sure you were okay,” I told her as I walked inside the tent.

  “I’m fine,” she replied, but there was something off in her voice.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked as I came closer.

  She huffed in annoyance.

  “I said I’m fine. Now, go away.” She pulled her foot up on the hammock as I approached her.

  “You’re worried about your sister’s egg,” I stated simply, and I could see her tense as she eyed me.

  “She is the only family I have,” the other dragon shot back. “Of course I’m worried about her in the care of humans.”

  “Valerra, I’m sure she’s fine,” I promised. “Alyona wouldn’t let anything happen to her.”

  The crimson dragon exhaled sharply.

  “You put too much faith in humans, Evan,” she spat. “Humans only know betrayal and greed. To put your trust in them is to doom yourself.”

  “Why do you hate humans so much?” I asked as I sat down in front of her. “You’re The Crimson Dragon. Humans have more reason to be afraid of you than you do of them.”

  “Humans tried to take everything from me,” she said, and her tone was as hard as iron.

  I could hear the pain in her voice, though, and suddenly everything seemed to click in my head.

  “Humans killed your family, didn’t they?” I asked, and my voice was calmer than I thought it would be since fury burned under my skin like a wildfire.

  Valerra glared at the side of the tent, but she stayed silent. Then, slowly, she turned to face me.

  “Yes,” was the only word she said before she turned away again.

  “Tell me what happened,” I said gently, and I could feel my protective instincts unfurl in my chest. Valerra was important to me, and the fact that someone had once hurt her made me want to destroy them.

  Valerra was silent for a long time, and eventually, I sighed. The crimson dragon was stubborn, and I knew she wouldn’t talk if she didn’t want to, so I stood to leave.

  But then she suddenly flipped over and faced me.

  “Humans are not all weak and fragile, like in your city of Hatra,” she began. “Some are smart. Smarter than any creature should ever be and crueler than any demon ever has been. I grew up far from here and far from my canyons. I was hatched along the side of a mighty volcano … ”

  She trailed off and hesitated as her golden eyes got lost in her memories.

  “Hey, it’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it now,” I told her, but she waved me off.

  “I am not a hatchling,” she bit out with a glare. “Do not coddle me.”

  “Okay, fine,” I replied and raised my hands in surrender. “Then continue.”

  Valerra sat up, and her feet fell down onto the sand.

  “My parents raised me alongside my older brother and sister inside a volcano that resided within a dense green forest,” she said. “There was a human settlement at the base of the volcano, far from our lair but close enough to still be in our territory. We got along with them well enough. They would leave us be and offered us animals. In return, we would provide them with protection from invaders, whether they be human or fellow dragons. For hundreds of years, my family and the humans lived in peace. Then, one day, the humans decided they no longer needed protection from the dragons.”

  My fists clenched in my lap, and I forced myself to shove down the flames that wanted to erupt from my body. I could tell where this story was going.

  “They began to appear closer and closer to our lair,” Valerra continued. “When a group of them finally found our cave, my father chased them away and burned a few of them alive. That was the beginning of the end for both of us. The animals the humans once offered to us stopped, so my family had to hunt further alongside the volcano to find food. Then the settlement attacked us at night. They used some kind of spell they acquired from a mage who had traveled through their settlement, and the magic hid their essence, their smells, and their sounds. My father was at the entrance of our cave and was the first to fall. I awoke next to my mother when my father’s roar echoed inside our cave.”

  She paused again, and her face contorted with rage.

  “I followed my mother and siblings to the entrance,” she went on. “My father was dead along the stone floor, his legs bound, and they’d used knives to slice the thin membrane of his wings to ribbons. He could not have taken to the skies
to save himself.”

  “How could anyone do that?” I snarled in disgust.

  “Humans have no honor,” Valerra sneered. “After we found my father, my mother rushed us back inside and deep into our cave. We had a tunnel system that led deep inside the volcano. My mother pushed my siblings and I each down a different path to prevent all of us from being killed if one got caught. The tunnels all led to the heart of the volcano eventually, so we planned to meet up and escape together. Once we arrived there, no human could survive the heat, and we would be safe. I reached the heart of the volcano first and waited. My sister’s egg was down there alone when I arrived, and I curled around it in terror to give me something else to focus on.”

  I imagined a small Valerra curled around her sister’s egg, and my scales crawled up my arms as my eyes narrowed. If these were the only humans Valerra had been around in all her years, I could easily understand her hatred.

  “The screams of the humans as my family fought and burned them alive echoed across the volcano,” Valerra continued her story. “Magma and fire burst around me, but it was a comfort in a way. A few hours later, I heard the agonized scream from my mother as they murdered her next. As for my siblings, I never saw them again, I never even found their bodies.”

  “I’m so sorry that happened to you.” I uncurled my fists and reached for her hand.

  She jerked it away with a glare.

  “I do not need your pity,” she hissed.

  “It’s not pity,” I argued with a frown. “It’s empathy. No one should have to suffer like that.”

  She rolled her eyes at me but didn’t comment further.

  “So, what happened after that?” I prodded.

  “I waited for two days,” she grunted and averted her eyes to the far wall of the tent. “When I could no longer hear the cheers of victory, I fled the cave. I found both of my parents’ bodies, torn apart by the humans to sell to mages. Dragons have many magical qualities. Our teeth, talons, scales, and hearts can be used by magic users to enhance spells. Our other organs and blood can be used for medicinal purposes. To find my parents butchered the way they were fueled my fire. The humans had no knowledge of me or my sister’s egg. So, their victory was short lived.”