Embracing the Flames

by Candace Knoebel

  “And however did you manage to get those, dear brother?”

  “I, umm…” he stuttered, “I had them,” he said, ripping off another piece of bread and shoving it into his mouth. “I took them when I took the essence.”

  “Almost like you knew you would need them, right?” Zane implied suspiciously.

  Zhax shifted uncomfortably. “I grabbed a lot of different things that I thought might be helpful.”

  “Just leave it be,” I said under my breath to Zane, giving him the shut-up eyes. I looked at Zhax and tried to level out my voice as I spoke. “At least we’ll have what we need. Will they cover our tracks as well?”

  Wiping the sweat from his brow, Zhax replied, “No. We will have to come up with a way to hide our footsteps.”

  “We could port around to where we need to go,” Zane suggested. My eyes grew wide as I looked at him, hoping he could read my expression. Porting was not a good idea. It would only give Zhax an open opportunity to split up from us. Zane looked at me, and his smile quivered as he continued, “I’ll open each port and we will all jump together.” Satisfaction lit up the corners of his mouth.

  I shrugged.

  “That’s settled then,” Zhax said, annoyed. He pointed his finger at us. “You two love birds have been gawking at each other all morning. I don’t think Fenn would like that too much.” He shook his head.

  I started to argue with him but then thought, why do I need to explain myself to him? He’s trying to kill us anyway.

  “Come on,” Zane said, interrupting my thoughts, “we don’t know how much time we have before you feel him.”

  I nodded.

  A little over an hour later, Zhax left us to “relieve himself.” The sun was high in the sky, and shortly after, that icky dark feeling crept in. Zordon was here. Zhax must have signaled him.

  “Ready?” Zhax asked eagerly as he came back over the hill, with his shirt in his hands. He rung it out and put it back on.

  “As I’ll ever be,” I replied hesitantly, deciding not to question how he knew that it was time. A tingling anxiety plagued my legs and my stomach. My body couldn’t decide if it wanted to run in circles or throw up. Our plan had to go smoothly, down to the last detail, or we might never find Fenn and Eve.

  Zhax gave Zane his cloak. I decided to use my reflection ability instead, trusting only myself. After we all camouflaged, Zane opened a portal. We linked hands and jumped through, landing right at the edge of the oasis.

  Lush, green palm trees canopied over the hidden source of water, about a yard away. The temperature dropped a few degrees as we entered the formidable shade.

  It was painstakingly quiet, like we were being watched. The birds weren’t even chirping. Zhax was the first to remove his cloak. He neatly folded it up and held it to his chest, scanning the area for any Sirens. When he came back around, his eyes scrunched in an effort to find us.

  I contemplated staying reflective. It was a great way for Zane and me to disappear, leaving Zhax behind to deal with the mess. But it wasn’t what we had agreed to; it wasn’t part of the plan. Zane removed his cloak so I followed suit.

  “What now?” Zane prompted Zhax as he moved closer to me.

  “Let’s find a good spot by the pond and wait,” Zhax said.

  “Okay. Let’s go then,” Zane agreed as he laced his fingers through mine and pulled me forward. I was too nervous to worry about his hand tugging mine.

  This was the scary part. We weren’t able to cover our tracks here. The sun peeked through the giant palms as we stepped in and out of rays of light. The silence was deafening. When we neared the hidden water, Zhax motioned for us to camouflage. For a brief moment, I thought we would be fine. But when Zane let out a gut-wrenching yell, that smidgen of hope quickly disappeared.

  “Zane!” I shouted as his hand was yanked from mine. We had failed to prepare for booby-traps. Zane had stepped into a foothold trap. The sound of the metal ripping into his flesh was horrifying. A net closed around him, pulling him upward, and the chain that anchored the foothold ripped from the earth. His cloak had fallen as he writhed inside the net.

  My scales formed, and I spread my wings, leaping to where he was. “I’ll get you down,” I promised as the heat lit my fingertips. But I was too slow.

  A loud, beautiful scream broke my concentration. It was the most alluring sound I had ever heard. I glanced down at Zhax who was unfazed by the voice. He was watching me, hatred burning in his eyes and betrayal lacing his cruel smile as he took off in a sprint towards the pond.

  “Aurora, cut me down,” Zane said calmly, reaching out of the net for my arm. I shook my head to shake the muted voice of the Siren, and concentrated once again on the heat. The Siren must have been watching because a spear blew past me a second later, barely missing my side. I turned just in time to catch another spear, the tip nicking my shoulder. Pain seared the area as my skin bubbled from the poison that laced the tip of the arrowhead.

  Her voice picked up, the notes rising and falling in a bewitching harmony as she jumped from treetop to treetop. I could make out her figure now, but her voice was weakening my mind. One second she was angelic and lovely, and the next she was deformed and ugly. “Aurora,” Zane called again.

  I turned back to him. He was already working magic on the rope, but his spells did nothing. Enchantments. I glanced back down. Zhax was gone. As expected, I thought as I shot a flame towards the top of the net.

  Zane fell to the earth before I had a chance to catch him. The fall knocked the breath from him, but he quickly doubled over, reaching for the foothold.

  The Siren was beneath me now, her gnarled, bubbling mouth opening again. “Rest your eyes,” she sang to Zane. His eyes glazed over. The spell we used was quickly diminishing.

  At the same time, I felt Zordon and turned to face him. He stepped from behind a jagged palm that sloped over the pond a few feet away. He was surrounded by curling, black smoke.

  His cruel smile surfaced as a Siren snuck up behind him. I returned the arrogant smile, looking past his shoulder at the Siren. His smile vanished as he turned to face the luring voice. Instead of dropping to his knees, as I had seen Zane do, he pulled a mirror out from under his robe. It was Crystalline — enchanted to reflect not only your image but your voice as well. Alister had suggested we use one, but there was no time to obtain it.

  The Siren was jarred to a stop, her head cocked to the side in curiosity. She moved closer to the mirror and reached out with her fingers. Her voice still echoed out of the mirror, repeating what she had just sung. Her eyes glazed over, and she dropped to her knees, spelled by her own voice. Zordon didn’t waste any time. A black ball of energy hit her face and knocked her backwards.

  I turned back to Zane. The Siren’s mouth had opened un-humanly wide, showing three rows of teeth as her head tilted down to devour him. I swooped down and kicked her, sending her in Zordon’s direction. She screamed in a lulling tone, but I focused on Zane, tuning her out. “Aperium,” I commanded, sending my energy into the trap that still held his foot. It opened, and relief immediately brimmed his eyes. His foot was already healing.

  He smiled a thank you and then shouted, “Go!” I turned back to Zordon who was leaving the other Siren’s dead body and heading for the pond. I still hadn’t seen the Stella so I waited a moment to see what he was going to do. Zhax appeared from under the water along the surface of the pool.

  “They’re right below me,” he announced excitedly. But then something changed in his face, and his complexion went from a light tan to an opaque white. “Behind you!” he shouted.

  Zordon turned on a cloud of smoke just in time to see a herd of Sirens running wildly towards him. They were all singing in unison, which somehow sounded like yelling and beautiful music at the same time. Zordon fumbled with his robe to pull the mirror out. Zane h
urriedly limped over to me. “This is it, Aurora. We have to follow through. We have to lose one to win one. Help Zordon.”

  “I just hope it works,” I replied as I lifted Zane off the ground and dropped him into the pond. Zhax waded through the water towards him. He punched Zhax as soon as he was close enough and then grabbed his shirt and shoved him under the water. Once I was sure that Zane would be okay, I took a deep breath and went for it.

  Zordon had his mirror out and was fighting Sirens off, left and right. He glanced back at Zhax and his now black eyes widened as he realized that his help was in trouble. Zane let Zhax’s limp body go, and he floated face down away from him.

  For a brief second, I met Zane’s eyes and saw the sorrow that filled them. He turned from me to wade towards Zordon. It was now or never. I swooped into the crowd of Sirens and let my flames pour from me, consuming the Sirens. It went exactly as planned. Zordon saw it as an opportunity and ran for the pond. Zane was already out and walked over to me. His foot was completely healed. I watched nervously as Zordon’s shadowed form dove into the water and disappeared beneath the serene liquid.

  “What if he ports under there?” I asked Zane in a brief moment of panic.

  “You can’t port under water. Just be ready for him,” he instructed as we moved to the edge of the pond. All of the Sirens behind us had fallen, trying to roll out the flames that absorbed their bodies. I wasn’t worried. My flames were like tar. You couldn’t simply put them out.

  “He should be up by now,” I stressed.

  “Take a deep breath, Aurora. He has to catch one.” Sparkling like tiny diamonds, the water showed no signs of disturbance. Not even an air bubble.

  “I’m going in,” I said as I sucked in a breath and dove, without giving Zane a chance to stop me. The water repelled against my scales as I swam forward, trying to focus. Everything was slightly blurry, but I had to keep moving.

  At first everything looked normal, like any other pond, but then I noticed a light and movement to my left. A fish, only it wasn’t quite a fish, it was more like a butterfly with fins in the shape wings. My eyes scrunched, trying to make out the details of the Stella. But the more I looked, the more my eyes burned.

  I followed the direction of the light until I noticed a black blur in the midst of the school of Stellas. Zordon. Swirling spheres of black energy shot past me. I kicked harder, trying to swim away from him. He shot another energy ball that surrounded the school of Stellas. He was trying to catch one.

  Everything in me wanted to stop him because it would only bring him closer to what he wanted, but I saw Fenn’s face and knew I had to stick with the plan. If we let him win, he would port back to Fenn and Gwen.

  Zordon’s body suddenly shot up. I pushed off the bottom of the lake and found him already sloshing through the water to the edge, opening a portal. Zane was nowhere to be seen. Damn it!

  I swam to the edge and flew towards the portal just as Zordon jumped into it. When I reached the portal, Zane appeared from nowhere. His cloak. He reached out for my hand and pulled me through with him.

  We arrived deep inside the swamp. “It figures he would hide here,” I said snidely as I pulled my hands from the muck and shuddered.

  We were thrust back into freezing temperatures. The moisture from the muck only made it worse. Zane stood and helped pull me to my feet. He looked at me and I shook my head in response. “I don’t feel him,” I confirmed. “Maybe he ports here and then ports somewhere else?” My stomach bottomed out. What if we handed him that Stella, putting him one step closer to destroying everything?

  “We have to think positive,” Zane said as he glanced around. “Besides, where else would he go?” Just then, an arrow pierced through his arm. “What the —” he yelled, as we both dropped back into the muck. “Break it off,” he gritted out as he reached for one of the many tree roots. He squeezed the root with both of his hands to brace himself.

  “Where did that come from?” I stammered, internally counting to three and then splitting the arrow in half. It was quick. He only flinched a little.

  “I don’t know. There’s no telling out here. But judging by the arrow, I’d say it’s a Looter and if I’m right, we’re in deep trouble because they don’t travel alone.”

  Footsteps came closer. “Can we take them?” I asked. He glanced down at his arm. “Right,” I agreed. He was of no use injured. With the arrowhead lodged in, his wound wouldn’t heal.

  I wove a portal back to our safe house. It sickened me to think that I might be leaving Fenn behind. “You first,” I said, trying to tune out the rowdy voices that hooted and hollered as they neared us.

  He eyed me suspiciously. “We can go together,” he said warily.

  “We are. Just hurry up! They are almost here.” He didn’t fight me. Instead he grabbed my hand. As soon as he stood, I knew we were in shooting distance. He jumped through, pulling me behind him, but his grip was weak compared to the force of whoever had caught my other arm. I was yanked hard and fell face first into the muck, breaking the connection of my energy that held the portal open. When I pulled my head up, men’s laughter swarmed around me.

  “What ‘ave we ‘ere?” a thick accent teased. I desperately tried to remove the muck that covered my eyes so I could see, but it was too sticky.

  “Looks like a Harpy or somethin’,” another man said. The muck must have covered my scales.

  “Put ‘er in the cage,” the first voice instructed. I felt hands pull me up and then toss me. I landed with a thud and quickly pulled into myself, deciding to leave the muck where it was. For now, it was best to keep my identity hidden.

  Chapter 27

  Stolen and Sold

  I SAT CURLED INTO A ball for hours, trying to keep warm as the cage was pulled through the bumpy swamp. I thought of Fenn and called out to him in my head once again, hoping that he would hear me. I needed him as much as he needed me. My eyes shot open when I felt his presence in my mind, trying to soothe my growing fear. He heard me. I blinked back tears that threatened to spill with relief.

  A few others had been thrown in with me—a female who sat next to me crying, a real Harpy who cursed and snapped the whole way, and one other who didn’t make a sound. He didn’t even shiver. The men had called him a “fine young man” as they threw him in. It was hard to tell who or what he was between the muck that still covered my eyes and the muck that covered him.

  He stared at me the whole ride. Even though I couldn’t see him, I felt drawn to him. I direly wanted to scoot closer, but couldn’t because of the Harpy in between us.

  When we stopped, my heart raced with fear. I hadn’t even thought of a plan. My mind was tired from shivering and stressing. What was I going to do? I did my best to look around but couldn’t make out much through the muck. We were at some sort of camp nestled in between the swamp trees. I smelled fire and some meat stewing. My mouth watered. It felt like forever since I had a good meal.

  “Aight, listen,” one of the men instructed, “y’all gonna come out nicely, or we’ll kill ya on the spot, understand?” He paused, giving his words a moment to sink in. “Good. Now come on.”

  The door swung open, and one by one we got out and stood in a line. From what I could make out, his right eye was covered by a patch and his leathered face had a harsh five o’clock shadow.

  He herded us towards a pool of dingy water as some of the other familiar voices walked off, bottles clinking together amidst their songs about money and alcohol.

  I slowly let my dragon fade away, hoping that no one would notice my change underneath the dried up mud. The man from the cage was first to step up to the foul-smelling pool. It looked like it was manmade and almost as murky as the mud we had just came from. How many others had washed off in here?

  The man who guarded the pool was fat and dirty, his hair dreadlocked from lack of
washing. I cringed at his toothless smile as he kicked the “fine young man” in the back, sending him into the dirty water. I braced myself.

  But the man who fell in never turned in anger. After a moment in the pool, feathery-light hair emerged, followed by a pair of sky-blue eyes that were fixed on me. Fenn! I almost yelled out in happiness but was thankfully hushed by the Harpy who lashed out at the guy guarding the pool.

  “DIIIEEEE,” she screeched as she swung her talons at him. Three arrows pierced through her chest before she had a chance to poison him, and her body fell, lifeless. The guy spat on her and then shoved me towards the pool. I tripped over the Harpy but regained enough balance to fall into the pool rather than on the edge.

  For the brief second that I was under, I pushed off in Fenn’s direction, making sure that I faced him as I came up. His eyes widened when he saw me emerge. “Oooh, looky ‘ere,” said the guard, smacking his lips, “we gots us a pretty one.” He leaned down and ran his fingers through my hair.

  I slightly shook my head, hoping Fenn would take the hint and refrain from trying anything. His jaw was tight, and his eyes burned into mine. “I might have to bargain with the Master for ya.”

  The guard tugged my hair, pulling my face back so he could see it better. “Eyes of a snake,” he commented. The anger inside of me was making my eyes red. He leaned forward and sniffed at my hair then shoved my head forward and walked away. I let out a sigh of relief and quietly moved over to Fenn.

  The woman who had bawled the whole way was shoved in next, her fearful cry piercing my resolve. I wanted so bad to fight back, to kill each and every one of these men, but Fenn linked a finger through mine beneath the water, stopping me. There were too many for us to take on without any help.