Dawn of Fire

by Anna LaVerne

  I laugh at her choice of words for Al, he is impish in terms of most men in my family line. “I like that one,” I point to a gothic-style black dress. It is an off the shoulder dress with long sleeves made of crushed velvet. Although it is worn with a corset, I decide I don’t want one. I remove my robe and slip the simple dress over my head. The dress is lined with silk for comfort, and there were are laces on the back that need tying. I tie a wide purple ribbon around my waist loosely enough that it angles towards my hips. It matches my opal crown well, which I know Bee will insist I wear. This is the first time I have had to present myself to a sibling.

  “I like it, but you should still wear a corset.”

  “Why? The High Mystic, wears untraditional clothing. I dislike being bound and unable to breathe.”

  “I like it, shows off your curves without making you uncomfortable. That is a win in my book,” Trey speaks up from the chair he is lounging in. I love how relaxed he looks with two women getting dressed for dinner.

  “You should go get into your own clothing, Trey.”

  Trey springs from the chair with ease, “I'll be back soon, ladies. Dina, don’t go anywhere until I return. It will not take me long.”

  I hear the door close behind him. I know Trey would waste no time getting back. In the meantime, Bee braids a crown around the top of my head with my raven locks. She allows the rest of my hair to flow down my back. I insist that she adds a few braids with a purple ribbon into my long hair. It all comes together with my beautiful opal crown. I add black boots to the ensemble with my golden key tucked into the side. My garb makes me feel wicked. I'm ready to go meet Al, Luhl’s ambassadors, and my dear aunt for dinner.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Trey arrives not long after Bee puts her final touches on me. He is dressed to match in black clothing. Vex is also always in black, so I am sure we will all look thrilled at dinner. Bee reminds me to take mental notes and tell her everything we do and hear. Trey comments on how I look frighteningly beautiful. He is certain I will stun them all into respecting my authority. There is nothing that Trey can say to wash away my nerves because I am not prepared for dinner with Luhl Ambassadors. I'm not even aware what kind of ally they are. I don't know Luhl's islands, chieftains, or anything. I am clueless. I'm not familiar with politics at all. All I know is that I have to go down my secret hallway and meet my aunt in private first. She is most likely already there waiting with Vex.

  Trey insists on going first into the room, just in case something terrible is waiting on the other side. As soon as the door opens, I can hear the soft crying of a woman. She is sitting on the couch with her head buried in Vex’s chest. This is not a normal scene for a woman who always had composure. "Aunt Gayla?" I asks in a tentative voice, not sure if this is a moment I should interrupt.

  She looks up with tears running down her round face. Her gray hair is pulled back with elegant sticks holding it into place loosely. Her bright-blue eyes look like jewels glistening with the weight of great sadness. “My dear Dina, I am so glad we still have you!”

  “What do you mean still have me?”

  Gayla climbs from her seat and pulls me to the couch to sit down, "Celeste has taken my girls. They are with her in Cavet. Stolen from right under my nose, whilst I was in Yardel! That little witch took the time to scry me and lied through her teeth. She said my girls went with her willingly. That the three of them have already taken Aster, and we just don’t see it yet."

  The betrayal of my cousins should sting, but it doesn't. Celeste had her grubby hooks into those women long before anyone suspected her betrayal. That isn’t a lie. The real question is how does she already have Aster? My sister must have her plan in motion, and we are sitting ducks. I am getting sick to my stomach, and I have to go to dinner as soon as the High Mystic pulls it together. My arm lays across my stomach in an attempt to keep the nerves in place, "Does my mother know?"

  “Yes, because just this morning all of Celeste's girls are missing too! She left the three boys!”

  "Then she is in Aster, not Cavet," Vex speaks up.

  I nod my agreement, "Yes, it would be too hard to sneak the girls out of Aster. Security on the walls is beefed up. I am sorry, Aunt, but you need to pull it together to think this through. Your daughters will be fine, Celeste needs them." I don’t want to tell her that her children betrayed her and joined the enemy.

  "You're right, I am High Mystic, after all." I witness my aunt grapple with her composure and wipe the tears from her cheeks. She squares her shoulders, standing tall. There is a knock on the door that draws my attention away from my crumbling aunt. Vex opens the door and an average-sized man enters. His eyes shoot directly to my aunt.

  "Dina, this is my husband Mark, I don’t think you have ever been introduced." I shake his hand and admired his perfect black beard. It is a good contrast to the salt-and-pepper hair he had on his head combed to the side. He was handsome even as an old man.

  "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am sorry it is under such bad circumstances."

  "There are no good circumstances in Aster right now. We will just have to make due. Aunt Gayla, if my mother knew of this why didn’t she tell me?"

  "Oh dear, she said you needed to focus on the problems in Cargil and your training. I told her I was traveling there next to help you with the threat we are facing." I could see my mother taking that perspective.

  "Have you seen Al yet?" I change the subject to distract my aunt from her daughters. She needs to get her wits together and be sharp for dinner. I need her to be a crutch because I know nothing about Luhl.

  "I never trusted that boy. Luhl is a long time ally, but right now we can only trust each other." I murmur my agreement.

  Vex pours each of us a glass of wine and takes that moment to pass them out. “You are right.” I hold up my glass before taking a long drink. I will need a few more of these.

  "Before we leave, Aunt Gayla, this is my partner, Trey." She sends him a big smile and then pulls him into a hug. Vex gives them a minute to say their pleasantries before motioning for us to follow him out the door. I have never been to the private dining hall in Cargil, so I am not sure where we are going. We follow him out and in the opposite direction of the stage I was on the day before. It does not take long before we come to a hallway that widens, and at the end, is a tall wide door. When we enter, Al and two others stand up from their seats at the table for introductions.

  "Dear Aunt, it is good to see you!" Al is short with blond hair, brown eyes, and a cute nose. To be fair, he is not ugly at all, he is just small and sniveling. He is older than me, but the servants told stories about how he tattled on anyone and everyone, so not many people liked him. My Aunt is closer to his size than me. "Sister, it is a pleasure." He comes forward for an awkward hug, which I divert by turning and introducing him to Trey. Mark and Vex are already acquainted with my brother.

  "Dina, I would like you to meet Sefa, he is the lead ambassador of Luhl." My aunt is familiar with this large tan man. His hair is black as my own, and his eyes match. "This is Manu, he is a prince, of sorts, from the Isle of Fetu. Manu is here to negotiate warriors for our fight against Cavet."

  Manu is gorgeous, every bit as tall as Trey but twice as wide. He had the same coloring as Sefa, and is the first man I have ever seen with long hair. He wears it in a braid that starts at the top of his head and flows down his back. I shake his hand and take my seat next to my aunt who is sitting at the head of the table. I sit across from Manu, his status as a prince allows him a better seat than the ambassador. Al sits next to me. Trey, Mark, and Vex take up the ends. Hoda is missing from dinner, and I am not sure why. I make a mental note to ask Vex why she is left out.

  As High Mystic, Gayla starts off with pleasantries. Talk of how trade is going in Luhl, and if they had a heavy rain season or not; things of that nature. I keep sneaking glances at Trey, trying to avoid looking at Manu. Manu makes me entertain the thought of taking another man, but now isn't the time, and Manu is
a prince. I can’t marry outside of Aster. It would upset the balance of Aster staying independent. These thoughts are not within my character at all. I shake my head and try to rejoin the conversation, my aunt hasn’t mentioned her daughters once.

  "So, Al, how is Simon? I was told he would arrive soon?" Gayla asked.

  "Oh, no," Al wiped the food from around his mouth and swallowed what he had left. His adam’s apple bobs up and then down, "Simon is dead."

  "What?" I drop my fork and stand. I need to not be rash, but everyone else follows my lead, even the men from Luhl.

  "What do you mean Simon is dead, Al?" I feel the fire bubbling up within me, tickling the insides of my throat like heartburn. A feeling most hate, but I rejoice in.

  Al stays in his seat not looking concerned at all. "Oh, yes, he is quite dead. Dead as dead can get."

  "Who else is dead?" my aunt asks appearing every bit of the High Mystic.

  He leans back in his chair, "Oh, lots of people."

  I blow a small stream of fire under his seat, causing him to jump to his feet. "Now, Dina, there is no call for that!"

  "Oh, but I think there is, Al. Who all is dead?"

  "Three of the High Mystic’s sons, Rhett’s family, and Hoda should be already dead, and next will be you."

  "I can kill you right now! You little fucking snake!"

  "Yes, you could, or you could listen and walk out of here alive. Celeste is in Cargil, she has the help of Luhl and Cavet…"

  Before Al can say another word, my aunt raises her hand, and he is asleep. "Well, the good news is he hasn’t poisoned us." She turned to the ambassadors of Luhl, "Is it true? Did you come here today to help Celeste?"

  Sefa stands tall and squares his shoulders, "Yes, Ma’am."

  "And you?" I ask Manu.

  "Yes, although I didn't support the decision."

  In that moment, the door to the room bursts open. Hoda and Tig stand there covered in blood, swords drawn. They were alive! "Come on, we must leave! Cargil has fallen!" Hoda yells into the room.

  What in the world has happened? My aunt puts Sefa to sleep. Vex and Mark grab onto Manu. I am being ushered through a secret door at the back of the room. We enter a small dark hallway. "What happened? How did this happen?" Confusion muddles my thoughts

  "I'm not sure how it happened, but we were attacked. I was in my tower, and then a hole opened in the wall, soldiers entered, and I was left battling for my life! Mae is dead. I wasn't able to save her. On my way to you, I ran into Tig." It is obvious Hoda is hurt, but she is a hardened warrior; voicing her loss and is already moving on. There will be time to grieve later.

  "Is Celeste aware of these halls?"

  "Yes," Manu answered.

  "We need to get out of Cargil now!" Hoda repeats.

  "How? There is no chance to stand and fight?" I ask.

  "NO! There are portals with soldiers pouring in all over Cargil. Our warriors are getting slaughtered, caught unaware."

  The High Mystic raises her hand, to get our attention. "Calm down, this our only moment to devise a plan. Where does she expect to find us?"

  "At dinner. Al wasn't meant to open his mouth, he misjudged the time. She knows the tunnels."

  "Okay, so where would she least expect us to go and hunker down?" Gayla asked.

  "The jails. She will fill the jails with those who won’t turn. There we would find back up and can formulate a plan," Vex answers, and Hoda grunts her agreement. I can only think about the lives we've already lost.

  "Dina, open yourself up so you can tell us if anyone is approaching." I do as my aunt asks, but the minute I do so I am pulled to the ground. There is so much death happening above and around the hidden hall we are in. Oh, my heart. I feel the fear and anguish of those who are being overrun and outnumbered.

  "Hold on tight, Dina, narrow your energy focus on in front of us and behind only. You can do this if you focus. Hoda, you take the lead. Tig, you bring up the rear. Vex and Mark will keep Manu. And Trey, support Dina. Now, Hoda, is there a place we can hide for a day in the jails? We want to give them time to fill them up, so we can take as many as we can with us."

  Hoda’s shoulders heave as she is still out of breath from fighting her way to us. "Yes, the pit is the perfect cell to hide in."

  "We will hide within a cell? Isn’t that risky?"

  "This one is a pit. When Cargil was first built, it is where they threw people to starve. It has not been used for ages, you can't see the bottom from the door, and I have the keys. It is the safest place to be as long as we are quiet."

  "Good, Hoda, take the front. Tig take the back." My aunt gives us each an order as we move. She is right, we need to get to the jails before they make use of them.

  "We need to cross the main hall up here and head down the stairs into the jails. It is the route they bring in the food carts, so there are no stairs only a steady incline," Hoda gives us the warning.

  Once we make it to the door, we need to exit, Hoda takes a quick look out. "A dozen or more Cavet soldiers in the hall. Countless dead. We will have to fight through, as it doesn’t look like they are leaving."

  "I can fix this." Gayla casually walks through the door and mutters a short incantation. "All Clear! Hurry!" We run into the hall where all the soldiers are on the ground asleep.

  "That is useful magic!" I say as we enter the other door. My aunt waits for us all to make it through before she puts a crystal on the floor. She says a few more words, and I see the door pulse and disappear.

  "It's cloaked, we will have a few days, at most, before the power in the crystal runs out."

  I step forward and add my spell to seal the door shut in the event that it is found. If the door is found, Celeste will know we are beneath Cargil. We are off again following Hoda. The floor becomes slippery the farther down we go. All I can hear are the sounds of our breathing. It must mean they are still securing Cargil. I send out a little prayer that Bee is brought to the jails, so I have a chance of saving her.

  "Do you think you can put everyone in this block of cells asleep, so we can sneak past? The pit is at the end of the row." Hoda asks my aunt in the quietest of whispers.

  "Yes, but with this number, we will only have a few minutes. I am exhausting my energy stores."

  My aunt exits the door, and we follow. It takes a brief second for her to complete her spell. Adrenaline shoots through me, and I take off in a sprint to the end of the cell block. A giant iron door stands in our way. Hoda pulls out her key and quickly opens the gate.

  I dart through, my foot catching on something on the ground. I fall forward, but instead of hitting the ground, I keep falling until I hit the earth. My head bounces with a dull thud, and if I could see, everything would be spinning. I shake it off and pull myself together. "Dina, are you okay?" Trey shouts down into the pit.

  "Shh... Trey! Quiet! I can't see anything, but I'm okay." I reach down and rip at my skirt to get spare fabric. I tear up the seam and come away with a large section, leaving most of my legs bare. I blow fire on it, and throw it towards the center to give us some temporary light to work by. Bones riddle the floor, and yet, there is no stench of death.

  Mark and Vex toss Manu in first, and then follow him down to catch my brave aunt. Hoda and Tig followed next. "Get rid of the fire. We need to conserve our energy. Everyone, we will sit against the wall closest to the door. If anyone looks in with a flame from a distance, they will not see us. It is the best we can do," Hoda directs us all.

  I turn off my fire and settle into the wall nestling up to Trey. My aunt sits next to me, and Mark is next to her. Manu sits between Hoda and Tig who hold swords. Now, all we have to do is wait. "Once the time comes, can we open a portal like Celeste?" I ask.

  "Not without the right stones, but there is a key within Cargil. It will be tricky to get to," Gayla answers.

  “I have the key!” I whispered a little too loud in my excitement.

  “Shh, child!”

  “My mother had me get it ea
rlier today.”

  “She is always one step ahead. Now please shh.”

  "What about Manu?"

  "Princess, please stop talking. Manu knows better than to talk with a sword at his throat," Hoda answers me.

  "I won’t talk regardless. I don't support Celeste. I was against all of this!"

  Content with Manu's answer and knowing I have the key, I snuggle closer to Trey trying to relax. He doesn’t even have his weapons on him tonight. I doubt he will ever let that happen again. His arms wrap around me, cradling me into his chest. Trey breathes me in just as I do him. Time will go slow in a dark pit, and I think none of us will be capable of sleeping. The only comfort I have is that I have the key with me, and my aunt knows how to use it. I pray for Bee and Ayla to make it through this alive. I wouldn’t even fault Ayla if she switched sides for survival even though I know Bee would never do such a thing. Ayla might.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I keep praying I will drift off to sleep in the pit. The darkness and silence is deafening. My body keeps trembling no matter how hard Trey holds me. I hear every sound in the jail above the pit. People coughing and the occasional murmur of someone talking. My eyes burn with the need to detect light, and my fire itches to be freed.

  There are stories of a time when they would send a new mystic into the mountain of Lorcan. There they would spend a full day and night in pitch darkness exploring their gifts within. The practice ended after too many mystics returned insane with wild magic. The darkness amplifies the senses, and with mystics that amplifies the energy. Thrum… Thrum… Thrum… The node speaks again. It begs my body to move and take charge, but now is not the time. I have loved ones that rely on my patience. Thrum… Thrum… Thrum… The node calls. I throw myself free of Trey and place my ear to the ground.