IGNITE (The Heir Chronicles Book 1)

by Shretima Bahadur

  I finally give up and sit on a rock, beside the narrow stream of water. I put down my sword and the prophecy and splash some water on my face so that my mind remains clear while I try to assess my situation.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the Golden Prophecy glowing. I immediately rush to it and open it. Words glow on its page and I read them aloud.

  You shall see what you lost

  In the mouth of dark and moss

  Under the empty roof of the endless room

  In the silver milk of moon.

  CHAPTER-22

  I stare at the words written on the prophecy.

  What do they mean? I decide to decipher the meaning of the prophecy and settle down on a rock.

  Find what you lost.

  What have I lost?

  In the mouth of dark and moss

  Who the hell's mouth is dark and covered with moss? Ew.

  I shake my head and try to walk out the door once more.

  I pound my fists on the invisible barrier. "Drake! Adrian! Anyone! Help!" I shout but no one comes around.

  I keep pounding but nothing happens. I decide to try my plan B. I pick up my sword and hit the invisible barrier as hard as I can, but my hit gets ricocheted and I am thrown about a feet away from the momentum.

  "Great," I mutter as I examine myself. I might have a bruise on my hip, but except that, I have got only minor bruises which are hardly visible.

  I make one last try to break out of this make-shift prison. I run to the mouth of the cave at full speed and, where I expected to stop, it get deflected and develop an even larger bruise, I run straight through it and, because of my speed, when I try to stop, I lose my balance and fall down, face-first. The sun has risen above the horizon, and my guess is that it is about five or six in the morning. How long have I been in that cave?

  I get up and brush the dirt away from my face and check for any injuries.

  As far as I can tell, I have absolutely no injuries. Although, I seem to have gotten some of the dirt in my mouth.

  "Ugh," I whine, trying to get the taste of the dirt to vanish from my tongue.

  After I am done cleaning up, I run straight to the lake.

  When I reach the lake, I find it completely deserted. Not a single person in sight.

  "Are you kidding me?" I let my arms drop to my sides and.

  I cup my hands over my mouth and shout, "Drake! Drake!"

  I continue to do this for about two to three minutes and then decide to walk back to my tent.

  When I reach the tent area, I find the nobles walking around in their normal manner. They all seem normal as if nothing happened last night.

  I walk to Drake's tent to find Adrian pacing wildly in front of it.

  "Hey, Adrian," I say. He looks up at me, his worried thoughts making their way towards me through his eyes.

  I walk towards him and lay a hand on his shoulder.

  "What happened?"

  "Drake." The single word confirmed my worst suspicions which I had decide to ignore if it meant me staying sane. But now, I can't ignore it.

  "Wha-What about Drake?" Even I can hear the slight tremor in my voice.

  "He, he hasn't returned to his tent since last night." He closes his eyes and puts a hand over them.

  "I . . . When did you last see him?" I question, knowing that it is a stupid one.

  "Last night."

  "Oh," is all I can manage. My stomach drops like a couple hundred feet and I sigh.

  I sit down on a rock. That's when my eyes flit over to the prophecy.

  Find what you lost.

  "That's it," I think out loud.

  "What?" Adrian asks, confused.

  "That's it. I know where Drake is," I say and launch into the whole experience in the cave.

  "Then that's it. Then, the second line.

  In the mouth of dark and moss.

  Right?"

  "Yep."

  "It's the cave." He shouts.

  "What?" I ask. I have been so absorbed in my thoughts that the only thing I heard was ave.

  "He's in the cave. A mouth of dark and moss. That's the cave. It's dark, and it's covered in moss on its walls near the stream."

  He claps his hands and his expression brightens a little.

  "Then, the third line,

  Under the empty roof of the endless room, must mean that he is where the sky is visible from inside the cave," I conclude.

  Only one line left.

  In the silver milk of the moon.

  "The stream!" We both exclaim together.

  "Come on," I say, grabbing his hand.

  ___

  We arrive at the mouth of the cave and I step inside.

  "You were trapped here?" Adrian asks, examining a rock covered with moss.

  "You know, this is not the time I would choose to irritate me," I say through gritted teeth.

  "Okay," he says, putting his hands up in surrender.

  "We've got to find him. Where is the freaking idiot?" I shout, agitated by walking for about fifteen minutes.

  "Look." Adrian points behind me.

  There, standing under the open sky, was Yashid. Moreover, how was there open sky in a cave?

  I look around the edges and come to the conclusion that the edges of the hole in the roof would have had a crack and as time passed, it might’ve become a full opening. That’s the only rational explanation.

  We scurry over to him.

  "What are you doing here?" I fire.

  He immediately turns around, exposing a body he was hovering above.

  "Drake," Adrian says, kneeling beside him.

  "You better have a good explanation for this." I take him by his arm and lead him away from Adrian.

  "I . . . How did you reach here?" He counters.

  "None of your concern. Answer me or you won't be able to get out of here."

  "I can't tell you why I am here, but I can tell you I am here to help you. I am not your enemy." His voice somehow forces me to trust him and I give him the benefit of doubt.

  I hurry over to Drake.

  Adrian is shaking him and pressing his chest continuously but his eyes don't open.

  "It's not gonna work," Yashid says from behind. We both turn to him.

  "He isn't gonna wake up." He points to his wrist. It is bleeding profusely. I hold his wrist up and examine it.

  "The dark side." Adrian says for above me.

  "What?"

  "He has been wounded by one of the blades made by the bones of the Red Marmadox ."

  "There has to be a way," I say and turn towards Drake.

  "There is," Yashid says after about a minute of silence. I can hear the reluctance in his voice.

  "What?" I ask.

  "Your blood." He says.

  "What?"

  "Your blood can heal him. You are one of the chosen three."

  "I will do it," I say.

  "No. There is a catch. If he drinks your blood, he will be linked to you. Not like the empathy link the chosen three have. This will be different. You will feel everything he feels. You will be connected to him. He will be wounded and you will get the scar. Whatever happens to you will happen to him. You will be linked together. Everything that happens to one of you, happens to both of you.

  "At first, the link will be very weak, but if he has too much of your blood in him, it will become stronger and stronger. Are you willing to do that?"

  "I will do it," Adrian offers.

  "No, you can't." Yashid says.

  "Why?"

  "Because you are the Heir of Time. Your blood can cure any mortal from the power of the dark side, but not the Hinaks. Or any magical entity. Only the blood of The Heir of Fire can cure them," Yashid says.

  "How do you know all this?" Adrian questions.

  "I just do," is all he says before turning to me.

  I nod and pick up a piece of pointed rock.

  "Are you sure, Fena?" Adrian asks.

  "I will do it," I say more to re
assure myself than to reply to Adrian.

  I take a deep breath and position the rock over my palm and in a swift motion, I cut it and blood shoots from the incision.

  I press my hand to his mouth and put his neck in my lap.

  After about ten seconds, Yashid pulls my hand away.

  "He will wake up soon," he says. "Right now, we have other things to worry about." He points to the mouth of the cave which looks lights years away.

  "What?" I ask.

  He offers me his hand. "Come and see."

  I take his hand.

  "Close your eyes."

  I shut my eyes. He mutters something and, when I open them, I see a kind of black curtain over the mouth of the cave.

  "What is it?" I ask.

  "A spell. The Nemeses did it."

  "The who?"

  "The Nemeses. They are the supporters of the Dark Queen. They want her to get the Clansh so that they can revive their lost powers."

  "So, what do we do--" I stop mid-sentence when I notice a flicker of movement by Drake.

  I immediately rush to his side and reach him just as his eyes flutter open.

  "Adrian?" He says.

  "Yeah. I'm here," he replies.

  "Fena? What the hell are you doing here?" He asks, turning his head.

  "I raise my hand to touch his face, but he grips it.

  "The hell happened to you?" He asks.

  "You happened," I say and help him come in a sitting position. He sits against a wall and I sit in front of him as I launch into our take of our journey from the camp to the cave.

  "Well, let's get out of here," Drake says, trying to get up.

  "We can't." Yashid says. "The mouth of the cave is charmed so that the Hinaks can come in, but can't get out."

  "The Nemeses did it," I mutter.

  "The who?" Drake asks.

  "The Nemeses." I tell him about what Yashid made me see and about the Nemeses supporting the Dark Queen.

  "You are a fallen angel." Drake says to Yashid, as if he is noticing him for the first time.

  "What?" I ask, getting up and waking over to him.

  "I'm a fallen angel." He says.

  "You are a--" before I can say anything else, my foot gets caught and I fall towards darkness.

  CHAPTER-23

  I land with a thump. "Ow," I wince as I rub the sore spot on my head.

  "Fena! Fena! Are you okay?" Drake's voice comes from above.

  "Yeah, I . . ." I look around myself. There is darkness all around me. "I'm alright."

  "One more thing to add to our to-do list," I hear Yashid's voice from above.

  "Shut up!" I shout.

  I move forward and my leg hits something and I immediately wince.

  "What happened?" Adrian and Drake's voices come from above.

  "I hit something." I rub my foot.

  "Wait, we'll figure something out," Adrian says.

  Instead of waiting for them to come to my aid, I decide to find my way out of here.

  I close my eyes and concentrate on one thing. Fire.

  After about a minute, I feel something. I open my eyes and see that a circle of light has formed around me and is illuminating about ten yards ahead of me. Perks of being the Heir of Fire.

  My eyes almost pop out of my sockets when I see where I am. It's like the cave has an ecosystem of its own. There's a waterfall not more than two feet away from me which pours down into a river. There are things floating in mid-air, out of my reach which resemble clouds and the area around me is covered in green flowering plants and grass.

  "Fena! Are you there?" Adrian's voice comes from above me.

  "Yeah, I'm fine."

  "How are we gonna get her out?" Drake's voice comes from above me and just loud enough for me to hear.

  "Guys . . . I think I have an idea," I say, looking forward where I can see light at the end.

  "What is your idea?" Drake asks as if he cannot believe that I am capable of thinking.

  "You guys need to come down here," I say, hesitatingly.

  "You need us to do what now?"

  "I need you guys to come down. I think there is a way to get out of here. I see an opening." I walk towards the mouth of the cave, towards the light.

  "I think she has a very bad concussion."

  "Shut up Drake. Guys, just . . . trust me on this one," I shout, eager to get out of here.

  "Okay," Adrian's voice comes from above, and about a minute later, I hear a faint thump near the spot where I had landed.

  "Do me a favour and remind me to never trust this girl again," Drake says as he lands beside Adrian and Yashid and I feel a faint pain when Drake lands, face-first.

  I silently rub my head, while Drake continues to rub his head while whining loudly.

  "Shut up," I say and urge them to follow me.

  "What is this place?" Drake asks in awe.

  "Exact opposite of you actually," I snap at him and we all laugh.

  "Ha-ha very funny." He rolls his eyes and continues to walk.

  "Wait. Isn't there always a catch in this kind of things?" Drake observes.

  "Don't jinx it Hothead," I say.

  "I'm a what now?" He raises his eyebrows.

  "You're a—" Before I can say anything, an all-too-familiar pain shoots through my head.

  "Ow," Drake and I wince together.

  "Guys, I think we have a problem," Yashid says just as I clutch my head and kneel on the ground.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Drake's eyebrows scrunching together as he tries to ignore the pain, and is apparently succeeding as he reaches me and engulfs me in a hug and rubs my back to soothe my pain.

  "Fena . . . no. Stay here. We have to leave this place first." He rubs my back soothingly and I try to keep my eyes open through the pain but end up giving in to the pain.

  "I see you are back," The dark queen's voice comes from behind me.

  I turn and see her pointing a knife to an elderly man.

  "No . . . No. It--it can't be," Drake's voice comes from beside me.

  "Drake? Wha . . . how . . . when?" I ask in surprise and he points to his wrist, his eyes still fixed on the elderly man.

  "I see that you have brought a friend." The Dark Queen says and raises her hand and releases the man. He tries to escape but a circle of fire forms around him.

  The Dark Queen advances towards Drake who is on his way to the elderly man.

  The Dark Queen glances menacingly in Drake's direction and I immediately know what is going to happen.

  "No . . ." I shout and run to Drake but before I can reach him, a flick of the Dark Queen's hand makes him shout in pain and clutch his head.

  I can faintly feel the pain growing as it does in Drake's head, but it's so faint, I hardly acknowledge it.

  "What are you doing to him?" I ask, rubbing Drake's back in the same way he did to mine a few minutes ago, unsure if I am helping or not.

  "Nothing. Just getting to know him. Hothead, Is it? The nickname you gave him. Not a good choice, but I can't blame you, can I? After all, you are your mother's daughter," she says with a smirk.

  "How do you know my mother?" I ask.

  "You'll find out."

  "Fena . . ." Drake's voice comes again and I can feel everything fading away with the only sound being of The Dark Queen's laughter.

  I am breathless when I open my eyes.

  "Drake," is all I say and look around to find him coiled into a ball beside me, still clutching his head.

  "Drake . . ." I say, reaching over to him as he sits up, still dazed.

  "What happened?" Adrian asks, eyeing both me and Drake.

  I explain all the events which happened in my vision which seem to have affected Drake in the real world.

  "This is not good," Yashid says after hearing me.

  "Why?"

  "She knows."

  "She knows what?"

  "Whatever he knows." His eyebrows are scrunched together as he scans Drake from top to toe.

/>   "Everything?" Adrian and I ask in unison.

  "I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not." He rubs his temples and settles beside Drake.

  "Let's get out of here first. We'll talk about it later." Drake says, not looking any of us in the eye.

  We all exchange glances but remain silent and start walking.

  As we are about to reach the end and Adrian and Yashid are busy in their conversation, I catch up with Drake, who has been keeping up a pace faster than us, which I think he did deliberately.

  "Who was he?" I ask quietly.

  "I don't know what you are talking about." He is lying. I know it. He is hiding something. He doesn't look me in the eye while he said this which is a dead giveaway.

  "You know what I am taking about." I grab his arm and force him to stop walking and look me in the eye.

  He tries to avoid looking in my eye but, seeing no other choice as I am gripping his arms as tightly as I can and looking him dead in the eye.

  "Tell me." The conversation between Adrian and Yashid has come to a halt and the only sounds that can be heard are of the water cascading down the waterfall and striking the surface with a soft sound.

  "Fine," he says and I loosen my grip on him and he runs a hand through his hair.

  "He was my dad," he says so quietly that only I am able to hear him. I can see him trembling visibly and think it is best that no one else knows about this and the way that he is only looking at me makes me sure that what he said was only meant for me to listen.

  "What?" Adrian and Yashid ask but I put a finger to my lips to tell them to keep quiet.

  "Later," I mouth and walk back.

  "Let's continue," I say while Adrian and Yashid give me puzzled looks although Drake looks a little relieved that I didn't tell them. Yet.

  As soon as we reach the exit of the cave, we all put our feet out together and, surprisingly enough, we come out of the cave without any obstacles.

  I turn to look at the mouth of the cave but it's gone. Vanished into thin air.

  We all look around us and it seems as if we have returned back in time. It's dusk and the sun has risen, just as it was when Adrian and I left.

  "Drake—" Adrian says as he turns to look beside him but sees that Drake has already started towards the tents and he gives me a disappointed look.