Embracing the Flames

by Candace Knoebel

  “Out now!” the man shouted as he slapped at the ground with a wooden stick. We crawled out of the muddy water and lined up on the other side of the pool, waiting for what was next. Now that the muck was cleaned off, I could get a good look at our surroundings. Tiny huts built out of scrap wood were tucked in between the trees that surrounded us. The largest hut stood closest to us and had trails of smoke billowing out of the windows and the straw roof.

  I stood in between the woman and Fenn. She was shoved forward, and we started walking towards the main hut. A crowd of grungy men gathered around the front door. Most were missing teeth. All of them smelled awful and wore mischievous smiles. The three of us squeezed together as we approached the rather small door.

  I felt Fenn’s head just behind mine, his breath radiating around my neck. “No matter what, we must not be separated. If I say so, I want you to shift and fly us both out of here,” he whispered.

  I nodded and ducked down to enter the hut. The smell of meat came from a hog roasting in the far corner of the room. It didn’t seem like a smart idea to roast a hog inside a hut made of straw, but these men didn’t strike me as being incredibly intelligent.

  “Fresh meat,” said a man’s toad-like voice. He sat in front of the fire in a chair carved out of a tree stump. He was fat and green and his eyes bulged out. His tongue flicked in and out, like a frog. “Come forward,” he belched out.

  The woman began to shake and cry, and she resisted walking forward. Two men on either side of her practically lifted her off the ground by her arms and then threw her at the toad man’s feet. “Please,” she begged.

  “Please what?” the toad man asked. “Do you know who I am?”

  She kept her face to the ground as she said, “Lord of the Undermarket.” Her voice was barely audible.

  “Then you should know why you’re here. To be bought and sold. I am not going to hurt you,” he assured, reaching out his slimy hand to caress her face. Her body tensed on contact. As soft as his caress was, his malice was just as sharp. He threw her to the side, dust forming a black cloud around her, making her cough in the midst of her cries. I went to reach out, but Fenn grabbed onto me, preventing me from doing something stupid.

  We couldn’t bring attention to ourselves.

  “Get her out of here,” the Lord said with disgust. “Who’s next?”

  I stepped forward, swallowing hard. “I am,” I said, keeping my face to the floor. My feet shuffled awkwardly through the soot as I approached him.

  He shifted forward in his seat.

  “Come closer,” he said curiously. I did as he said. “Your hair,” he began, reaching out towards it, “it’s the color of rubies. Let me see your face.” I slowly lifted my head, biting my lower lip with worry. “Your eyes...wait a minute...I know who you are. You’re the Progeny!” he shouted, standing from his chair. My eyes grew with horror as I turned back to Fenn. He was seething, struggling against the two men that held him.

  “Aurora, run!” he shouted, followed by a grunt as one of the men punched him in his stomach. I instantly shifted and shoved the Lord onto the roasting hog, ignoring his painful screams as the heated meat and flames burned his body. Fenn was only two steps away. I kicked one of the men back while he shoved the other. I let flames out on the both, grabbing Fenn and jumping as hard as I could towards the sky.

  We broke through the straw roof easily and aimed for the tree line. If I could make it out of sight then we would be in the clear. But the men in the camp were smarter than I thought. A flock of arrows appeared around us.

  I screamed out in pain as two hit their intended target — my wing and my side.

  “Fenn, I can’t,” I said through a blur of pain as we plummeted towards the earth. I tried with all my might to keep my wings going, but it was of no use. There was too much damage and pain.

  “I’m going to open a portal,” he said, but he wasn’t quick enough. Fenn spun just enough so that I would land on top of him as we hit the ground with a hard thud. Men with spears surrounded us. I tried not to moan from the searing pain in my side. I was dizzy and on the verge of throwing up. I barely made out the Lord as he stepped from his hut, his skin still smoking.

  “Lock her up. Put her in the pit. She can’t use her magic in there,” he said spitefully, spitting on me as he walked by. “I know a few clients that would love to have her delivered to them.”

  “What about him?” the man with the patched eye asked.

  “Keep him for now. We may need him to keep her under control.” The Lord laughed menacingly. A second later I was dragged by my hair across the root-filled ground. I screamed out as every bump magnified the pain in my side, shoving the arrow further and further into my flesh. Then I was pushed over an edge, freefalling for a moment until the bottom of the pit caught me, knocking the breath out of my lungs.

  “FENN!” I shouted as loud as I could. Before I could stop them, tears rushed out. Bones and the smell of rotting flesh surrounded me. There was no escaping so I quickly pushed as much as I could to the other side and turned my back to it.

  The blood from the wound on my side was leaking through my armor and dripping down my leg. I lightly touched it, feeling around for the arrowhead. It was really wedged in there, and I had no experience with removing arrows. The one in my wing was easier to remove since my wings were made of tough but thin hide. I flexed it out and then winced as I carefully broke the arrow in half, pulling it out nice and easy.

  I curled into a ball and continued to cry until I fell asleep. But sleep wasn’t easy. Men kept pacing around the pit, taunting me and kicking dirt onto me. I worried about Fenn and where he was. I worried about Gwen and about Zane and about my parents. What would happen if I didn’t make it out?

  The cool night air filled my tiny hole in the earth. The loss of blood had thinned me out; I shivered uncontrollably and rocked my body hard. I did the only thing I could think of to get warm. I dug my hands into the blood-stained earth and began to dig out a small hole. After an hour of slowly moving dirt aside, I got in and began to pull the dirt back on top of me, trying to ignore the smell.

  No matter what, I had to survive.

  The sun set and rose twice, turning my hole into hell. The wound in my side had stopped bleeding, but the arrow was still in there, torturing me whenever I moved. I passed out more times than I could count. My throat felt scratchy and dry. My lips were cracked and bleeding. I called out for food and water, only to be laughed at and spat on. I dropped to my knees in desperation, dry-heaving from a lack of food.

  Fenn was in and out of my mind, sending waves of reassurance and love. It’s what kept me clinging on to reality. Death was becoming a high probability. The temperature vacillated between scorching and freezing. It was the only time in my life that I ever cringed from the heat.

  Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I was hauled out of the pit and tied to a tree.

  “Clients on their way now for ya,” said the man with the eye patch. My eyes were heavy and my head hung down. He started laughing as he walked away. Dehydration and exhaustion left me with no tears and no words.

  “Rory,” someone whispered. I tried to pick my head up to see who it was, but it was so heavy. “Rory, can you hear me?”

  “Hmmm?” I moaned.

  “It’s me, Fenn. I’m right beside you,” he said quietly. “Don’t say anything. We’re going to get out of here, okay?” I lolled my head a bit to let him know that I heard him. “All I need you to do is be ready and trust who grabs you.”

  I had no idea what he was talking about, but I nodded again and felt myself drifting away...away to Zordon. I used all my might to pick my head up to keep myself here. I couldn’t afford to cross over right now. “Rory? Is it happening?” he whispered, worry edging his voice.

  “Fenn,” I moaned, “please…help me.�
�� Darkness seeped into my vision, threatening to consume me. The need to see what Zordon was up to pushed at my resolve.

  “Hang on to my voice, Rory,” he begged. “Our escape will be here any second now.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Stop talking!” One of the men shouted at us as he walked by. He came back seconds later with foul smelling water and poured it over both of us. I couldn’t help but open my mouth to try and take some of the droplets in.

  More footsteps approached. “Here she is, as promised,” a voice said. Whoever he was talking to stood in front of me, wearing a black cloak that covered a nice pair of shiny black boots. I picked my head up, praying that it wasn’t one of the “clients.”

  “You’re coming with me,” said a deep, familiar voice. “Him too,” the voice commanded. The man went around the tree and untied me. I fell into the arms of the cloaked man. He was ever so gentle, helping me limp over to Fenn. “Load him into my cart,” the man said. I had no idea who was taking us, but it didn’t matter. My strength was completely depleted.

  “Her too?” the man asked.

  “No,” he replied possessively, “I will carry her myself. Can’t have her in too bad of a condition when I take her to him.” Great, I thought, whoever this man is, he is taking me to Zordon.

  He cradled me as he walked us towards the exit of the camp. He smelled familiar. Really familiar. Like Zane familiar. My heart skipped a beat, and I stirred. “Calm down or you’ll give us away,” he said under his breath.

  Fenn was thrown onto the cart Zane came in. I was gently laid next to him. “Anything else?” the man from the camp asked.

  “No,” Zane said gruffly as he walked around to the front of the cart. He climbed on and commanded the horse to go forward. “Tell the Lord I said thanks.”

  As soon as we were at a safe distance, Fenn brushed my hair from my face. I was shivering and still on the verge of being pulled by Zordon. After traveling for some time, Zane stopped and opened a portal for us to escape through.

  “We need to get her back before her fever grows,” Zane urged, lifting me from the cart.

  “I’m so sorry, Rory,” Fenn cried.

  Then we were back at Alister’s, our safe house. I let out a sigh of relief and then the darkness took me.

  Chapter 28

  Facing my Disobedience

  I HALF-EXPECTED TO WAKE UP and see Zordon, but when I opened my eyes I was in the room Alister had provided for us, lying in a cozy bed. Fenn was sitting next to me, lightly snoring in a wooden chair. Zane was on the floor lying on his stomach. His eyes were open and set on me.

  “You’re awake,” he stated.

  I sat up, bracing myself for the pain, but there wasn’t any. I was completely healed. I reached up to the pendant that rested free against my chest. Instead of my armor, I was in an over-sized shirt and shorts.

  “My bookbag!” I shouted, fear instantly smacking me.

  “It’s here,” Zane answered, lightly tossing it to me. I sighed with relief, leaning back down onto the bed. “Alister tended to your wounds. Your wing was already healed, but your side couldn’t heal completely with the arrow still in it. That’s why the pendant didn’t work for you,” he said, sitting up and smiling at me. “You shouldn’t have stalled when we were going to port, you know.”

  “If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have found Fenn.”

  “Well, you’re lucky I know the Lord.”

  “How did you know I was there?”

  “Fenn,” he said as Fenn began to stir. “He wasn’t thrown into a pit. He conjured a message onto paper and dropped it through a portal to Alister’s. Pretty clever and risky given the circumstances you were both in.”

  I frowned and looked over at Fenn. “Where is your mother? What happened when we separated?”

  He winced. “I think she is with my father,” Fenn said quietly. “After we jumped through the portal, he was there, waiting for her. He snatched her up without even looking at me. There was nothing I could do. His port trail was closed.” Shame filled his voice.

  “Why didn’t you come back to us then?” I asked, hurt that he left me worrying without ever connecting to me.

  “I was being tailed by Looters and Zordon’s men. I couldn’t lead them back to you. I have to protect you.” His jaw flexed in anger. “Zordon figured out who I am. I’m not sure he knows how I apply to the prophecy, but he knows I am his son. I heard Gwen begging him to spare me.”

  “How did he know who she was?” Zane asked. “She still looks like Eve.”

  “Maybe it has something to do with being a Dark Saar. After all, they are the only beings who can defeat a dragon. Maybe they aren’t affected by dragon magic,” Fenn answered quietly.

  “I love you,” I professed, squeezing his hand.

  Zane leaned forward. “We’ve lost enough time with this. Zordon has what he needs, and he won’t waste any time breaching the Obsidian Chasm. We need to focus on the big picture. It’s what our mother would want,” Zane said, looking away.

  “Fine. But you two need to understand that we all need to be on the same page.” I stood up and stretched my legs.

  “I beg to differ,” Zane said through laughter. “You do whatever you want, no matter what anyone says. Had you known where Fenn was, you would have left before we had a chance to handle Zhax.”

  I glared at him but softened as his laughter synced with Fenn’s. They were cute as brothers. “Either way, it's better that we’re all back together. So what’s next?”

  “We go back to the Chasm,” Fenn said, and the laughter stopped.

  After thanking Alister for his hospitality, we all took a deep breath and ported back to the Chasm. We arrived just outside the entrance, and the same two guards looked as regal as ever. They never even blinked as we stepped past them.

  Minutes later we were inside the Courtyard. My grandparents lifted their heads as the three of us entered. Everyone was weeping and chatting wildly. The room was packed full of dragons, Mages, and even Necromancers. “We have been awaiting your return, Little Flame,” King Darian said angrily. “Everyone leave us at once.”

  All the Draconta, including Soothe and Gabe, exited as quickly as possible, leaving the three of us wide-eyed and worried as we gazed up at them. What had I done?

  “Your mother,” my grandfather began, “she has gone missing. Shortly after you three decided to take your leave, someone from the inside managed to break into your parents’ room. Your father struggled but was overpowered by the unexpected, and she was taken from us.” Naveena’s tears poured like pitchers of water.

  “My father?” I asked in shock.

  “He’s fine. He’s in the infirmary right now. He was hit with the Rupterum spell, breaking both of his legs,” King Darian answered. “As for you three, I deserve an explanation.”

  “We went after Zordon,” I said quietly.

  “Did you succeed?”

  My head hung as low as it would go. “He went after the ingredients for the creation spell. We tried to stop him. He has all the pieces and will be coming here. We need to plan for his attack,” I admitted, defeat swelling up in my throat.

  Darian hung his head. It was a few moments before he finally spoke, but he said, “At least you are all okay. Where’s your mother?” he asked, looking to Fenn and Zane.

  They both shook their heads.

  “We lost her after our first attempt at stopping him,” Fenn added.

  “Such a shame, all this travesty,” Naveena said quietly through her silent weeping.

  “It is a shame, and I am very disappointed. I need to speak with my Council. Head to your rooms. You will be called upon.”

  We did as we were told, choosing to remain silent. When I entered my room, I found Soothe sitting on my bed. “I’m going to tak
e a wild guess,” he began snidely, “that you didn’t succeed against the big bad Zordon.”

  “Shut up and get out,” I snapped at him, trying to keep the lump in my throat where it was.

  “Moody, are we?”

  “Soothe, what do you want?” I demanded, glaring at him.

  “I just want to say hi and make sure that you’re okay, of course,” he said innocently.

  “I’m fine, now please leave.”

  “So now that he has what he needs, how do you plan to stop him?” he asked, still arrogantly sitting with his legs crossed on my bed.

  “Well, it’s not like he can get through all the traps they have set. He’s not of royal blood.”

  “Where’s your mother?” he asked, suddenly changing the subject.

  “Don’t be a jerk. Get out,” I said, my jaw set tight with anger.

  “Fine,” he said easily as he stood and headed for the door. He turned back just before he walked out and said, “You know, you really should learn to tame your temper. You don’t always hear what it is people are trying to tell you. Sometimes the answers lie within the questions.”

  “Whatever,” I said as I slammed the door in his face. He had me so bewildered that I paced for a while, trying to regroup my thoughts.

  Where was my mother? Did he know? Who would have taken her? I wanted to find Zane and Fenn, but I knew it was better for me to follow my grandfather’s bidding. I had already disappointed him enough.

  A knock sounded at the door before slightly opening. It was Gabe. “Can I come in for a second?”

  “Sure,” I replied lightly, trying to sound like I wasn’t as upset as I felt.

  “Your grandfather asked me to escort you to the infirmary to see your father. Are you up for that?” As usual he held his helmet to his hip, his amiable green eyes patiently inspecting me.