Embracing the Flames

by Candace Knoebel

  “Of course,” I said, standing at once, my heart skipping a beat. “How is he holding up?”

  “He’s as strong as a Barbarian as far as his health is concerned, but his mind…” He broke off and looked away, then said, “his mind not so much. He’s distraught and unreachable after your mother’s disappearance. I think he blames himself.”

  I lowered my head, trying to hide the tears that surfaced. All this guilt and pain that I caused. “Give me a second to put my armor on,” I managed to mumble out, my voice awkwardly lilting higher than normal from the lump still clogging my throat.

  He nodded and closed the door, waiting on the other side of it. I grabbed my bag and put it on. Then I slid my armor on, waiting for the bag to merge with it.

  I opened my door. “Let’s go,” I said. He placed his hand on my lower back as he guided me through the Courtyard and down one of the many halls to the Infirmary.

  There was a sterile smell to the room as we entered. Sconces hung on the walls above the many beds, the candles glowing brighter than normal. Most of the beds were empty, the white sheets folded and placed neatly at the end of the bed. My father was towards the back of the room with a nurse standing over him, using her energy on his legs.

  “What’s she doing?” I whispered to Gabe.

  “The spell used on him is not easily healed. It is dark magic. Whoever cast it was very strong and very skilled.” The nurse stepped aside as she heard us approach. She nodded a little and disappeared through a wooden door.

  “Dad,” I choked out, “I’m so sorry I left.” I sat on the edge of the bed and reached for his hand. He didn’t move. He didn’t even flinch. “Dad?”

  “He hasn’t spoken since that night,” Gabe added regretfully.

  A few tears fell as I leaned down to my father’s face, looking into his violet eyes. “It’s not your fault Mother is gone. We will get her back. I swear it,” I said forcefully. I squeezed his hand then laid it back down by his side. I carefully moved a few strands of hair from his forehead and pulled the covers up to his chin, kissing his cheek softly. Then I turned to Gabe. “We will find her. Take me to Soothe.”

  He nodded, and I followed him out of the Infirmary. We found Soothe eating in the Courtyard. He was chatting away with a couple of smaller dragons. Whatever they were talking about must have been humorous because they were drenched in laughter. “Excuse me,” I politely said to the two dragons, and then to Soothe, “can I borrow you for a second?”

  He followed Gabe and me across the Courtyard towards the throne where we could speak freely without prying ears. On our way, we passed through a group of Necromancers painted in blue body paint. Tribal symbols and colorful pieces of fabric covered their dark bodies. I couldn’t help but think of Irisi, wondering what she was going through.

  Soothe swallowed and stared at me curiously. “What is it, young Progeny,” he asked coyly. It was everything in me to bite my tongue.

  “You know who has my mother, don’t you?”

  “What makes you think that?”

  I huffed and looked at Gabe for some help. “Can you please get him to quit playing games with me? This is important.”

  “Alright, alright,” Soothe conceded, rolling his eyes to the skies. “Yes, I have an idea of who took your mother.”

  “Well?”

  “Who do you think, Progeny? Use your head,” he nagged. “Who would want, no, who would need your mother?”

  I stepped back as it hit me. “Zordon?” He confirmed my thought by pursing his lips and lifting his brows in agreement. “But how?”

  “Have you heard from Gwen?” he asked Gabe, changing the subject once again.

  “Not yet,” Gabe replied regretfully.

  Soothe looked back at me, his eyes still trying to tell me something. Rather than getting mad at his deferral of conversation, I paused and thought about his change of subject and his question. He does everything for a reason. Gwen. She was missing. She had access to the Draconta. Zordon has dark magic at his fingertips. The kind that can control someone. “Oh my god,” I began, “you think Zordon used Gwen to steal my mother?”

  “How else would he get into the Lair? He is not of royal blood and certainly not welcome here,” Soothe confirmed.

  “Gabe, we have to do something,” I pleaded.

  “What can we possibly do, Aurora? Your grandparents won’t listen now that you’ve openly disrespected and disobeyed them.” I winced. “I have to keep my cover intact for the sake of your mother.”

  “Damn,” I cursed, shaking my head in dismay. Fenn came around the corner and spotted us, waving.

  “Hey guys,” he said happily as he jogged to meet us. Then he noticed our grim faces. “What is it?”

  “The young Progeny has just figured out who has taken both of your mothers,” Soothe told him effortlessly. I glared at him, wishing that my gaze were tiny daggers that could poke him to death.

  “I believe Zordon has taken them, which would mean Gabe’s cover could potentially be blown. We can’t risk him going back to check,” I finished, giving one final death stare to Soothe.

  “Whoa,” Fenn said. “Give me a second to process.”

  “We need to come up with a plan. We have to help them.”

  My grandparents entered from the Courtyard a moment later. Darian saw us, and his eyes went tight as he took the throne. “Meet back in Aurora’s room at midnight,” Fenn said under his breath. I didn’t check to see if Gabe and Soothe agreed.

  “Have you spoken to your father?” Darian asked with much chagrin in his voice.

  I couldn’t even bring myself to look at him as I said, “Yes, your Majesty.”

  “Did he speak to you?” he asked, this time sounding hopeful. My stomach coiled. I was about to disappoint him again.

  “No,” I said shamefully.

  “He won’t speak to anyone,” Naveena added kindly. I looked up at her and managed a half-smile.

  “We’ve sent Imperials out to search for your mother. We can only wait and pray,” Darian confessed. “As punishment for your disobedience, the Council has decided to ban you from fronting the attack on our Chasm. Until we find your mother, you must remain protected for you are the last heir to the throne.”

  I felt my lips turn southward. I didn’t even try to fight him on this. I looked over at Fenn whose face changed many shades of red.

  “The war is only days away. Since you have been gone, Zordon’s armies have successfully tromped the outsiders. What hasn’t been murdered or taken prisoner has fled to our Chasm,” Darian continued. “We’ve taken in as many as we could. Our blacksmiths have worked around the clock to produce enough armor to cover each and every warrior, but with all the newcomers, I’m afraid we won’t have enough in time.”

  “If I may, your Majesty,” Gabe spoke. The King nodded. “I know a few allied families that are scattered across our island. If I may be granted leave, I can gather them. A few excel in the art of blacksmithing.”

  “Go at once,” the King commanded. Gabe bowed and then disappeared through a portal. “The Polar Magium has been contacted and is preparing as well. When the war begins, they will come to help.”

  “And the Necromancers?” I asked, thinking of Irisi and her people.

  “We have taken in those who have given up their dark ways,” Darian confirmed.

  “Irisi?”

  “Her clan is here, but she is still held captive by Zordon’s people. Her clan has requested that we help, but with the war on the brink, we have no one to spare,” he replied in his gentle, deep voice. The sadness that filled his green eyes tugged at my heart.

  It felt like everyone I came in contact with was doomed. I silently vowed to myself that when all was said and done, Astral, my mother, Irisi, and Gwen would all be returned home. At leas
t I hoped.

  Moments later, Darian was interrupted by Gabe falling through a portal. Blood was gushing from his right side. He coughed before he spoke, blood spraying out from behind his teeth. “No time, he is coming. Sound the alarm,” he painfully urged and then a hand, shaped of black smoke, reached through the open portal and yanked Gabe back through.

  I couldn’t separate my scream from Naveena’s.

  Chapter 29

  A Mother’s Deceit

  SOMEHOW, I HAD ALWAYS KNOWN it would happen this way. Between the screams and the panic and the horns blowing to alert everyone, one thing remained true—the war had begun.

  I was pulled from Fenn and Soothe, from my own free will, and tucked away in a room I had never seen before. It was far below the Courtyard, deep inside the heart of the volcano. My grandparents took me there, carrying me with their claws, flying as fast as they could.

  “You must stay here, understood?” Darian threatened with a growl. His already giant form seemed to grow with his anger as his stomps shook the cavern. I nodded without hesitating. “Do not let her leave,” he ordered Naveena. And then he disappeared.

  I was frozen. I couldn’t even think. I needed to be fighting. I needed to be by Fenn’s side. I ran for the door, but Naveena’s dragon sense was expecting that. A block of ice appeared in front of me. I shifted and opened my mouth, letting flames pour out to melt the ice. But who was I to go against a queen?

  A blizzard formed around me, lifting me off the floor and whirling me around the room. I fought hard against the blowing winds and frigid snow, flapping my wings as hard as possible until I finally became steady inside the storm.

  “You must calm down,” my grandmother urged, her ice blue scales almost standing at end. “Save it for the fight. For when we need you.”

  I ignored her and opened a portal to take me to my room. When I jumped, it was like hitting a wall. “That sort of magic won’t work in here. A safety precaution,” she warned, her heavy footfalls nearing me.

  “Figures,” I muttered helplessly. She ended the blizzard, but I turned my back on her and stared at the door, straining with all my dragon sense for any sign of commotion from above.

  I didn’t even plan what we would do if this were to happen. I didn’t know where Fenn was. My stomach grew tight with worry. I reached out to him and sensed that he was okay. Think, I told myself. You can get out of here, just think.

  I felt a searing heat on my back and then it clicked.

  I needed to cross over to Zordon.

  I closed my eyes and thought about the connection. My eyes grew heavy as the heat built right behind my heart. Come on, I begged myself. I focused on the pull, and slowly the black began to creep into the corners of my eyes. Right before I disappeared, I turned just in time to smile at Naveena.

  When I opened my eyes, I was teetering over the edge of the Chasm. I shifted and jumped into the air before the gusty winds had a chance to push me to an untimely death–by-lava. My grandparents would never trust me after this.

  The song of battle closed in around me like a choir of Reapers. Shouting and screaming melded into one ungodly sound as the smell of blood rose up to the heavens, carrying a warning to The Fates.

  Zordon’s army was closing in on the edge of the Chasm, all armored in black sporting the symbols of The Fates; Zordon’s family crest. Black flags also carried the crest, bobbing up and down through the fight below.

  Swords barbarically greeted each other with a metallic clang, sending too many to the grave. Elemental magic cascaded down from the armored Imperials as they tried to disarm the infantry of twisted Mages and the rest of the army that Zordon had accumulated.

  The enchantments of the Chasm held as far as Mage magic was concerned, but it didn’t prevent physical combat. A never-ending row of archers shot flaming arrows at the Imperials who focused their powers on three chained Cyclopes placing wooden planks that would serve as a bridge for Zordon’s men to walk across. There would be no porting in the Chasm.

  I wove through the torrential rain, colossal pieces of hail, and unyielding gusts of wind that the Imperials used to take down a Cyclops, searching for Zordon, but he was nowhere to be found. He wasn’t here. At least, not anymore.

  A flash of a large hand smacking me from the sky crossed my mind and then a Cyclops’ hand appeared. I dove just in time to avoid the smack that was intended for me and two Imperials flying on either side of me.

  The Cyclops was batting left and right as if swatting flies, trying to pull the Imperials from the sky. The rain from the water dragons surrounded him in a massive bubble, cutting off his supply of oxygen as the boulder-sized hail pounded relentlessly at his large body.

  At that moment, everything froze. These were my people. They were fighting for me, for my future. I had to do something, to show them that their fight wasn’t in vain. I had been waiting for this—the moment where I could prove myself worthy.

  Desperate to help, I focused on the gurgling lava below and commanded the molten fire to rise up. This was my power, only something I could do. The battlefield quieted somehow as everyone stood in awe, watching a power that had yet to be seen.

  I felt the strength from my amulet pour throughout me, willing me along. I was determined to show that I could be counted on. One of the water Imperials caught on to what I was doing and began to freeze the bubble that surrounded the struggling Cyclops.

  Under my command, the lava rose higher and higher, becoming an impenetrable wall of liquid fire. Heat radiated off of it, sizzling with clouds of black smoke.

  I focused on my rapidly depleting energy. Calming thoughts, I told myself, and I envisioned Astral by my side. The image of his wise eyes helped me stay calm. Slowly, I began to feel peace, exhaling deeply. I was doing it. I was becoming the Progeny. Right on time.

  I pushed for another surge of energy to move the lava, but I faltered, free-falling for a few seconds before I regained enough strength to keep myself from slamming into the earth. I focused and tried again. The lava rose higher this time, as I mixed my dragon power with my Mage energy. I would not fail.

  The lava hovered right above the Cyclops’ head. He looked up, confused. I ordered the Imperials to stand back, and then, with a faint smile, I let the lava fall.

  Waves upon waves of molten heat swallowed the Cyclops’ frozen body whole, shattering him into pieces and leaving nothing in his wake. The board he had been holding disintegrated as well, causing the Necromancers and Mages trying to cross to fall into the pit of lava below.

  The Imperials closest to me regally bowed their heads in my direction. We had succeeded in putting a huge dent in their plans. We needed to move our focus to the Cyclops’ to prevent them from creating the bridges that led to the opening of the Chasm.

  I picked up more lava and managed to take out the other two Cyclopes before the sound of a battle horn hauntingly echoed off the Chasm.

  I watched in horror as a blanket of black covered the fields below. The Shadows. More Cyclopes were closing in with planks of wood. Warlocks and Harpies followed close behind. The army’s battle cries grew with excitement as every step brought them closer to us. I tried to pick up more lava, but something caught my eye in the distance. Fenn. He was fighting alongside of Zane, using his sword to push back a row of Necromancers that were relentlessly trying to cross a plank closest to the opening of the Chasm.

  I swooped down to the plank, letting fire pour from the very depth of me. It covered the Necromancers, their pained screams sounding like music to my ears. Fenn looked up and winked at me, a coy smile appearing before he and Zane picked up the burning board and dropped it into the Chasm below.

  I turned and saw overwhelming destruction. There were too many. Ten more Cyclopes, each carrying a plank, had replaced the three that were already defeated.

  I saw red.

/>   I left Fenn behind, soaring as fast as I could in their direction, leaving a trail of fire through the air. The Imperials followed me, dishing out as much of their elements as I dished out mine. This had to end.

  I picked up more lava, hurling it towards the Cyclopes while spitting fire on the Necromancers and Warlocks below me.

  My amulet flickered, and I faltered once again. The Imperial next to me looked over, his serpent-like eyes questioning me. I shook it off and continued forward with another wave of lava but couldn’t seem to manage. Something was wrong. I felt myself being pulled away, and before I could do anything about it, darkness consumed my sight and sent me plummeting towards the lava below.

  When I opened my eyes, I was back inside the room I had escaped. I awoke to a cool breeze — the door was open, and Naveena was nowhere to be found. Someone had pulled me back here, but how?

  I stood, trying to ignore my trembling muscles. I had overdone it.

  I peeked around the door, straining to listen for any signs of life. But I heard only dead silence. I had no idea where I was so I turned left, hoping that it would lead me back to the Courtyard. Each passageway seemed never-ending and offered no light at the end. I was beginning to think that I would never find my family. But then I heard something.

  A woman’s voice, very faint, just ahead. I closed my eyes and focused on my Foresight. Gwenevere’s face surfaced.

  I rushed forward, trying to focus on what she was saying. She was talking to someone. I heard my name. And then I felt a familiar darkness. As I neared the voice, I felt the heat from my amulet trying to heal me. I shifted, finishing the process, and sighed with relief as a surge of strength coursed through my body.

  “I summoned her like you asked. You will spare them or the deal is off!” It was Gwen’s voice. She turned in my direction as I rounded the corner. “Aurora,” she gasped, “you surprised me. What are you doing here? Everyone is above, preparing for the invasion.”