by Simon Archer
Fitz nodded slowly, and we turned to the magically open doorway. We made our way back through the passage, into the cavern, and up the stairs in what seemed half the amount of time it took us to get down. Fitz stopped at his room door and turned to me.
“Anytime you want to go back, and it isn’t super-secret or something, be sure you let me know! That was amazing!” He was smiling happily from ear-to-ear.
“You’ve got it,” I replied, leaving him and walking to my own door.
He tossed a hand up to wave goodbye as I opened my door.
Once inside my room, I stripped and went to take a shower. As the water ran over me, I thought of my last visit to Cadia and how she’d told me to pay attention to my visions.
So far, I’d seen my dream about being in the water, the river when the townspeople were looking for a missing girl, and the beautiful Healing dragon being attacked.
Memories of each flooded my mind as I finished showering and got dressed for bed. I went to sleep, hoping for the day that Airmed would simply be able to show me the future, and I wouldn’t have to worry about piecing dreams and visions together.
31
I slept for a full twelve hours and woke up feeling energized and excited. I couldn’t wait to get inside Airmed’s cave and see what secrets it held. Perhaps I’d even be able to find clues as to where she was at or, in the worst-case scenario, what had happened to her. Whatever was inside that cave, I was certain it would answer a lot of questions that Ponathian’s had been asking for a long time.
I went to the meal hall for breakfast, and when I walked in, there was a large table in the middle of the room piled high with food of all different types. The girls were already seated but not yet eating. There weren’t any students there, and the buffet line was empty. Making my way to the table, I chose an empty seat between Gale and Deyla.
“What’s all this about?” I asked, reaching for a nearby plate of fruit and caramel.
“The food is spelled to add strength, stamina, and cunning to our bodies in preparation for today’s battle,” Deyla informed me. “Be sure to eat slowly. You don’t want to end up over-full and sluggish.”
“You all really do have the whole adventure preparation down to a science, don’t you,” I joked. Nobody laughed, however.
“There is absolutely no way to know what we will find in that cave. It could be more booby traps, or a different beast… anything, really. We must prepare so that we can make it back in one piece,” Aron piped up.
“I appreciate that about you all,” I told her. I was in an exceptionally good mood, and I wasn’t going to let the looming seriousness from my tablemates change that.
The rest of the meal was eaten in a strange sort of silence that I found rather amusing. Now and then, I would chuckle, and the girls would look at me, their gazes full of judgment about my good attitude. I attempted to think about the day from their point of view, but I simply couldn’t get past the thrill of knowing I would get to walk through a wall of fire that nobody else could get anywhere near and uncover a secret nobody else has been even remotely close to getting to.
It didn’t take long to finish eating, and the moment the last bites were off our plates, several Witnesses showed up, seemingly out of nowhere, and cleared our plates. Water was the only drink served, so we sat long enough to finish our glasses, and it was time to leave. Right about then, after eating a special meal meant to arm us against danger, I had a question pop into my mind.
“Are our dragons fed special food today, too?” I looked at Gale, and Deyla.
“We don’t ever really ‘feed’ them. They eat when they need to eat throughout the day when they are out and about. However, they were let out early this morning to go find whatever food they’d like. Usually, they go for hyacinths that grow about thirty miles away. It’s a special treat and does something to help their firepower,” she replied.
“I’m all about a bit of amped-up firepower!” I told her.
The five of us got up to leave. Each of our dragons, two of which I hadn’t met yet, were harnessed up and ready to go. We mounted, and one-by-one, we launched into the air, taking off to Airmed’s cave. Victoria was particularly excited, and I got the feeling she was one-hundred percent planning on being in on my fight with the fire.
When we got to the mountain, it looked exactly as it had the last time I was there. We touched down and were all standing at the feast table before anyone spoke a word. Everybody’s face had fallen, except mine. They were sad for the loss of their precious Healing dragon and the traditions that had left with her.
“Would you ladies like a moment before we do this?” I asked quietly. I figured it was better to let them get their bearings before asking them to ready themselves for possible, unknown danger.
“No,” Aron said, looking around at the others. “We are ready.”
It was as though her statement flipped a switch in the others. They each took a deep breath and suddenly looked alert, and even fierce. I’d never pictured Heather or Gale as being fierce, but I saw it deep within them at that moment.
“I need all of you to stand back a way,” I told them. “That way, in case any of the flames go in unexpected directions or the like, you are out of harm’s way.”
They obeyed immediately, moving about ten yards back from the table.
I turned towards the cave. I already felt the buzz of anticipation running through my being. Stepping up to the line marking the fire zone, I stared into the blackness at the cave entrance. I could see myself strolling in, unscathed by the fire, and I’d considered trying that after I could hold a flame. However, it wouldn’t do the leaders any good if they couldn’t go in with me. I took a deep breath and reviewed the plan I’d made in my head to accomplish my task.
I stepped over the line, my heart racing, and waited. A moment later, the glow of raging fire appeared at the mouth of the cave and hurled towards me. I stepped backward to safety and waited for the flames to reach the barrier. They crashed into it and spread out in front of me. Their heat energized me. Before they had a chance to dissipate, I shot my arm out, directly through the barrier and into the flames, cupping one in my hand. I ripped my hand back, holding a bright blue and white flame dancing in my palm.
I stepped forward again just long enough to coax out the fireball. As it formed in the mouth of the cave, I paid very close attention to how much perimeter was left around it when it launched towards me. I let it dissipate against the barrier then looked back at the girls. Gale and Heather moved to the right of me, and Aron and Deyla to the left.
Once they were in position, I stepped across the line once again, only this time I didn’t retreat. Instead, I waved my hand in front of me, creating an invisible barrier a foot inside the one that was already there. The girls stayed behind the line, waiting to see if my power over fire would work.
Flames roared out at me again. My heart skipped a beat even though I was completely competent in my abilities. I heard the leaders gasp when the flames were directly in front of me. If my barrier didn’t work against the spell the fire was under, I’d be dead in a matter of moments. The knowledge made me want to press forward even faster, but I waited. The blue fire smashed into the invisible wall I had created. It took them longer to dissipate than before. In fact, it was almost as if the fire got angrier as it tried to get through.
When it was finally gone, the girls stepped forward over the original line. I’d wanted to make certain my barrier didn’t mess up the creation of the fireball, so they were there to trigger it. They stayed behind the invisible line that was the barrier I had created, however. I was relieved to see the fireball form as quickly as before and fly towards me. I had no doubt my magic would hold. I was still bouncing a flame in one hand while I outstretched the other to reinforce my clear wall.
The fireball slammed into my wall and shattered in all different directions. I looked to the girls to make certain my wall had been wide enough to protect them from flames on either side of
me. They were all safe, so I refocused on the cave. I waited a few seconds to make sure there wasn’t some sort of third type of fire that might emerge as a backup in case someone tampered with the first two. Nothing came, so I moved my hand out in front of me, dropping my barrier.
I took two giant steps forward and put up another barrier just in time for another wave of flames. When the barrier held, just as before, the leaders stepped up to engage the fireball. Again, my wall held as the fireball slammed into it.
We repeated the process four more times, and each time the fire got angrier and slammed into the wall harder. We were standing even with the sides of the cave entrance. The closer we got, the hotter the heat radiated through the walls, and it concerned me that the girls wouldn’t be able to stand it. Checking on them, though, they were holding their own, and my flame was still burning brightly in my hand. We only had one more big push, which would take us inside the cave to the point where the fire was coming from. I took yet another deep breath, felt the lightning energy roaring through my body, and dropped the barrier.
Running forward, I threw up another wall just in time to stop the raging flames. As soon as the flames dissipated from the first blast, it was time for Gale and Heather to go to work. In the tiny moment between the first blast and the fireball beginning to form, they darted into the cave and ran to the place on the cave wall that was spelled to create the deadly fire.
I didn’t want to lose concentration, so I watched them long enough to see them reach their destination. They had to figure out the spell and get back out before the fireball shot out to my wall and blew back on them. It seemed like an agonizing period of time passed before they ran back out, the fireball chasing them. They nodded to me as they made it to the safe side of my barrier just in time, letting me know they had accomplished their task.
Then it was time for the last round. Heather crossed over to the other side, switching places with Deyla. I dropped the wall, we stepped forward, and I put up the last barrier we would need if all went well. We got through the first blast. The instant those flames were out, Heather and Deyla ran back into the cave. The fireball began to form. It grew larger every split second while they tried to undo the magic that created it. I glanced over to Aron and Deyla and could see the panic started to well up in their eyes as precious moments ticked by without the return of their beloved sisters. Deyla leaned forward, and I knew she was going to bolt inside the cave.
“Deyla! NO!” I screamed over to her. “Trust them!”
She stopped in her tracks and looked into the cave, terrified. The fireball was almost to its full size, and Heather and Gale were still reciting spells to undo it. Flames started spreading close enough to them to singe their hair and melt the chiffon on their clothing. One more pulse and the fireball would be at full size and hurling only a foot or so forward. That would mean the flames would fly back and engulf the girls if they didn’t move. The ball contracted slightly to launch itself forward. The girls still weren’t done, and I had to do something.
I looked at the flame still dancing in my palm. It was at full strength, which told me I was still at full strength. I crushed my hand around it, extinguishing it instantly. I threw my arms wide open into a half-circle in front of me. Closing my eyes, I envisioned a barrier circle going as far around each side of the fireball as I could see. I had no way to tell if it worked initially, so I closed my arms together slightly and saw a peripheral flame or two get knocked back, telling me it was holding. The ball launched forward directly into the wall, and the flames immediately started to flip back on themselves. Heather and Gale paid no attention to the danger directly behind. The sides of the barrier held as they should, but the flames kicked back hard enough to spill out of the opening in the back of the wall I was holding. I watched in horror as the first flames curled out from the back and reached towards the girls.
The very moment that the rogue flames, the ones I couldn’t control, reached the girls, they disappeared in a massive puff of smoke. Heather and Gale had done it. They had deactivated the spell that caused the fire to form. I was frozen in place, unwilling to let the wall down in case there was a third threat we didn’t know about for some reason. The girls walked to me, and each put a hand on my arms, gently pushing them down, causing me to release the barrier.
I stared straight ahead, just in case, until I felt Deyla touch my face.
“We did it,” she said. “Well, you, Heather, and Gale did it.”
I tore my eyes away from the cave and looked at each of the girls. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and felt the tension drain from my body. Looking down, I saw that I was smoking from every pore in my body. I felt a strong gust of wind hit my back and turned around. Victoria had come up behind me and blew me out. She dropped her head so I could rub her between the eyes to show my gratitude. Then I turned to the girls.
“I knew it would work,” I said, quietly. “But that was amazing!”
“And rather stressful,” Deyla said, then laughed. It was the first time I’d heard her joke around.
“Yeah, I’m not really too happy with the two of you staying in there. What if I couldn’t have wrapped the barrier to protect you?” I scolded them.
“You knew you could. We never doubted you,” Heather retorted. She was right, I had no doubt. I just didn’t like the sudden adjustment to the plan.
“Now we get to find out what’s been in there all these years,” Gale said, staring dreamily into the cave.
“Let’s not waste any more time, then,” I said, perking up out of my stress. I grabbed Gale and Heathers’ hands and took a step towards the cave, Aron and Deyla on the other side of them. I couldn’t wait to see what was inside.
32
We made it two steps into the shadow just past the entrance of the cave when we heard something inside move. All five of us froze and unlinked. Aron was instantly on the ready for danger, and the rest of us followed suit. When the noise didn’t repeat, we took a few more tentative steps forward. There was something off about the energy in the cave. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but my intuition was telling me to be extremely cautious.
One more step in, and the place lit up like an explosion had been set off, only the light was coming from torches instead of explosives. It was so bright we had to shield our eyes for a moment. A split second later, a battle cry rang out, and shadows showed in the firelight. There were dozens of them, and they were running straight for us. The mere thought of the girls being in harm’s way lit my fuse faster than ever before. My blood boiled in my veins, but I didn’t even have a sword on me. Aron and Deyla were armed and ready with swords, and Heather and Gale were already pulling out potions to throw. I had a deadly weapon, I just needed to find a way to light the fuse.
“Hold them off. I only need ten seconds!” I yelled.
Spinning on my heel, I tore out of the cave. If I ran fast enough, maybe I could get back before the girls had to fight anyone. I needed help, though.
“VICTORIA!” I screamed out of the cave.
I hit the sunlight, and she was already there, waiting for me to come out. I didn’t have to say another word. I held my hand out just as she opened her mouth and let out a small puff of blue fire. I caught one of the flames and ran back into the cave.
The girls were deep in battle. The assailants must’ve been closer than we thought, and it only took me a moment to realize that all the attackers were men. Aron was cutting them down with ease, wielding her sword as though it was an extension of her body.
Gale and Heather were strategically throwing potions at their attackers, rendering them paralyzed, or dead in some cases.
Deyla had a sword in her hand but was mostly just kicking their asses with martial arts moves I didn’t know she possessed.
Unfortunately, I needed all of my girls out of the way.
“Fall back!” I yelled as I stepped up.
The group of twenty or thirty men turned their attention towards attacking me as the gi
rls fell back behind me. I waited for them to get nearer as I bounced the blue flame in my palm.
Rage filled every cell of my being. They were coming from all sides, but the left was closer than the others, so I turned to face them. The moment they got within five feet of me, I held my hand in front of my face, took a deep breath, and blew my breath across the flame as hard as I could. A massive spray of fire shot from my hand. I didn’t realize how powerful my lungs were, or that the magic I was using would magnify my firepower that much.
The flames engulfed my enemies and sent them to the ground screaming. The air filled with the putrid smell of sizzling skin as their bodies burned.
I took another breath, and blew on the flame again, this time turning in a half circle as I did so. The flames surrounded each one of my assailants. The fire was burning so hot that they didn’t even scream for very long before their nervous systems shut down, rendering them paralyzed as they fried.
A moment later, I stood over them, making certain none of them were going to get up until they were all just charred skeletons. Only then did my anger start to dissipate enough for worry to set in.
I spun around and ran to the front of the cave, looking for the girls. All of them were just on the outside where there was some light. All of them were poised and ready to go if the fight was being brought out to them. Relief flooded their faces when they saw me.
“Are you alright?” Deyla yelled first, running to me and throwing her arms around my neck, making me hold the hand with the flame up in the air so as not to burn her.
“I’m perfectly fine,” I answered loudly so everyone could hear me.
All the girls surrounded me and took turns hugging me and kissing me over and over. When they finally stepped back, I looked at each of them.
Heather looked me in the eye. “I’m sorry I didn’t let you practice creating your own fire more. I should’ve let that be your choice.”