IGNITE (The Heir Chronicles Book 1)

by Shretima Bahadur

  "We go to the centre of the maze," he says.

  "And then what?"

  "War." He looks at me as if he hopes I will contradict him.

  "That'll have to work," I say with a shrug.

  "Welcome, my sweet guests," A voice booms from above us.

  Nadora's.

  "I hope you all know that the voices you heard are real, which means that whoever's voice you heard is alive. It's just a matter of who reaches the centre first. The one who reaches first will chose who to rescue," her voice drips of amusement and I can imagine her expression as she says this.

  I look at Drake for some help as to what I should do now, but his face has become distant again and he dodges my gaze.

  "Drake! Drake! Are you even listening to me?" I wave a hand in front of his face. "Please don't tell me you are actually going to trust her words," I plead.

  When he doesn't respond, I continue, "it's a trap. She wants us to turn on each other instead of all of us turning up at her all at once. Please don't do this. Listen to me," I say, as persuasively as I can.

  In a corner of my heart, I too, want to leave him back here and make a mad dash for the centre and save my dad. But I know better than to trust Nadora.

  "Who do you think the others heard?" Drake asks out of the blue.

  "What?"

  "Who do you think the others heard?" He asks again.

  "To be honest, I have no idea. Although, my best guess for Adrian would be Altin and as for Rafelia-"

  "Emmica."

  "What?" I ask when he cuts me off with just a name.

  "Her sister. She was captured on the day of attack by Nadora."

  "Oh," I say, feeling a bit demoralised. Everyone has someone they love on the line. And no one except one is going to survive.

  "If we don't want the others turning against ourselves, then I guess we'll just have to get there first," Drake says as light-heartedly as he can.

  We both take a look at each other, and with a deep breath, haul ourselves forward.

  ___

  "Haven't we already been here?" I ask Drake for a hundredth time.

  "Yeah, I was just thinking this," Drake says, scratching his head.

  "Well, now let me lead," I say and he nods in agreement and we move forward once again. I concentrate hard for and plead for some kind of help to come forward and show us the way. I open my eyes due to a sound which sounded like a bird’s screech.

  “You did this?” Drake asks, pointing towards the bird. It is completely covered in red feathers with hints of orange and gold in them. A Phoenix.

  “Uh, huh,” I say and nod my head and follow the Phoenix into the maze.

  "We haven't been here, have we?" I ask Drake when the Phoenix leads us to an intersection we haven’t been to before.

  "No, we haven't," he says hopefully. He has been awfully quiet the whole time and, even though I have no reason to doubt him, I know that he loves his father and I am having second thoughts on bring him with me.

  As we continue walking, we both try to distract each other by taking about other useless topics like what would we do if we survive this showdown with Nadora. To be honest, our odds don't look good.

  "We should be reaching our destination," I say, noticing how the paths have gotten broader.

  As I previously predicted, we have reached the centre of the maze. Well, not exactly reached, but our destination is right in front of us.

  "Let's go," Drake says.

  "Wait," I say and he stops mid-tracks.

  "What happened?" He asks in concern.

  "I just . . . I was thinking that . . . that it would be nice if we made a promise to each other," I say, not looking at him.

  "What kind of . . . promise?" He asks slowly and sceptically.

  "That . . . that we'll not turn our backs on each other no matter what. I mean, that I won't choose to save my dad," I cringe a little as I say this, but I keep going. "And you won't choose to save yours. We won't agree to any deal struck at us by Nadora, no matter what she says. We both know that she is never up to any good. She will always want to break us apart. Promise me," I say.

  He looks a little sceptical but agrees. "I promise."

  I smile a little at this and walk forward.

  We finally reach the end of the path and I see the face I hate the most.

  "Well, look who we have here," Nadora says in a voice that drips of fake sweetness.

  "Where are they?" I ask through gritted teeth.

  "Oh, just about here," she says and flicks her hand and all of the people held captive by her appear. I don't know how, but Drake and my dads too are there.

  I am about to give in to the urge to ask back my dad when he says, "You know what to do. Follow what your heart says. Find what you came to find."

  He says all this in Hinak so there is absolutely no chance of Nadora understanding what he said. Even if she does, she won't know what it all means.

  "So, have you decided what you want yet?" Nadora asks.

  "Yes," I reply.

  CHAPTER-40

  "Yes."

  "Well, darling, go ahead, make your choice," she says.

  "I want all of them free," I say and she bursts out laughing.

  "Oh, honey, did you hear a single word of what I just said? You can take only one. Go ahead, choose any one,"

  I take a look at each of their faces. They all have the same expression of despair, hatred and fear on them but, as my eyes move to each of their faces, they shake their heads, telling me not to choose them.

  "I want to make a deal with you," I say.

  "You—make a deal—with me?" She bursts out laughing. When she finally becomes sober, she looks at my face which, by the way is unfazed by her humiliation.

  "You aren't serious, are you?" She says, widening her eyes.

  "Do I look like I'm kidding?" I say, my hand gripping the hilt of my sword.

  "Well, in that case, let's see what you've got," she says.

  "I want to do a duel with you. If I win, you free everyone you have ever captured. If I lose, you can have me for your prisoner and let Drake choose who to save," I say according to the plan in my mind.

  "Oh, honey, are you sure? Because I'm pretty sure you're going to end up in my clutches pretty soon," she says.

  "I'm sure," I say.

  "We have a deal then," she says.

  She turns around and her cape changes into a shield. Her long gown changes into a pair of shirt and pants.

  Her hands both have daggers in them. One of them I recognise as the bone dagger. The other one is just a simple one.

  I take out my sword and get ready.

  We circle each other and she makes the first move. I duck just in time to avoid my skull from getting skewered, and although I have not fully regained my balance, I use my sword to make a cut in her side. Her blood gushes out of the wound.

  She immediately stands up straight and tries to shove a fist at my face but I catch it in mid air and haul it towards her own face.

  "Oh, no, you don't honey," she says and kicks me in the side.

  I stumble a little and clutch my side and Drake yells, "watch out!"

  Too late. Nadora has already reached me and stabs me in the shoulder with the simple dagger. I cry out in pain as blood gushes out of the wound. Thankfully, she stabbed my left shoulder, so I should be able to fight her.

  "Fena!" Drake yells and tries to step forward but can't enter the centre. He tries to push

  "Give up yet honey?"

  "Not. Yet," I say through gritted teeth as I stand up.

  My wound is not healing. I look at Drake in panic.

  "It's not a supernatural weapon," he says, looking concerned and trying to break the invisible wall keeping him out.

  "Let. Me. In," he says threateningly to Nadora.

  "Aw, honey, now that wouldn't be fair, would it?" Nadora says and kicks in once again in the stomach.

  I stumble a little and clutch my stomach.

  "Fena! Get u
p. Remember my training," my dad says. Well, technically not my dad, but still, I wouldn't know what to call him, so . . .

  I stand up straight and, even though my shoulder hurts like hell, I take my stance.

  In my mind, I analyse her fighting style. She plays offensive. Uses her left hand the most but right leg for kicks.

  I do all of this in a matter of seconds and, as soon as she comes up to deliver her next blow, I duck and catch her hand mid-air and twist it. I knee her in her stomach and she lurches forward. I seize this opportunity to connect my elbow to her face. Repeatedly until I've got all of the anger out of my system.

  She groans in pain and so do I as I use my left hand to hit her.

  She touches my arm and a sharp-shooting pain spreads through my whole body.

  I immediately release her and use the shielding glyph Drake taught me. Nadora too, summons her magic and tries to attack me but as soon as they come in contact with my shield, they turn to dust.

  After playing defensive for some time, I decide to attack her. I use the attacking spell while maintaining the shielding spell for protection. I choose the moment of distraction of her and use it to my advantage and soon enough, she is covered in flames.

  "Yes! Great Fena!" Drake shouts.

  I smile in spite of myself and concentrate on the glyph.

  "You really thought you could win, didn't you?" Nadora says, still covered in flames.

  “What do you mean—” I am cut short when a pain bursts through my body. It’s like my bones are churning inside my body. My muscles are burning on their own. Before I know it, I am on my knees in front of Nadora, her laugh playing on repeat in my ears.

  “You thought you had a chance,” she shouts and for a moment, I think it is all over.

  I am wrong.

  I turn around and see Adrian and Mirella being held captives by the Nemeses. Their shield and shield both have been taken from them.

  "No!" A shriek escapes me.

  "Oh, yes Darling," Nadora says.

  In the time taken by me to contemplate the situation and think of an idea to rescue the people closest to me, Nadora reaches me and holds the dagger at my neck.

  "Give me your sword and I'll make it quick. I promise. Well, maybe not for you, but I'll show some mercy," Nadora whispers in my ear.

  One look at their faces and I know what to do.

  "I'll do it," I say and hand her my sword.

  "Now that's like a good girl," she says with a smirk and walks over to Mirella and Adrian.

  They both shout at me and plead me to take it back but I stand my ground.

  She takes turns in taking each of their hands and cuts it, collecting their blood in a bowl.

  Finally, she reaches over to me and takes my palm and makes a deep cut on it and collects my blood in the same bowl as Adrian and Mirella's.

  "Now, let's start," she says and the Nemeses reach over to me and bind my arms.

  Nadora starts the spell. Green flames gather around her. She turns the shield and keeps the shield in front of her and hits it with the sword. With a clunk, it hits the shield, but nothing happens.

  She looks around in confusion and tries it again. And again. And again.

  "What is happening?" She asks and, as if on cue, her eyes flit over to me.

  "What? Something goes wrong and you look at me?" I say innocently.

  After a second, with a laugh, I say, " Yeah, you should look at me."

  "What did you do?" She asks, reaching me.

  The Nemeses' hold on me is released and arms wait for the one opportunity.

  "Well, we don't have much time. In short, a few days ago, I asked Drake for a favour. Guess what? It was to make an exact replica of the fire sword. You don't think that I would actually move around carrying it with me? Do you know how heavy it is? Not to mention how valuable. So well, your little spell won't work now," I say and she raises her hand to slap me, I think. When she raises her hand, it reveals the bone dagger hidden underneath her cape and I take it, working in the blink of an eye.

  Without wasting any time, I take it in my hands and draw it in her heart. She seems frozen for a moment, and everything else becomes silent. The silence is finally shattered by her piercing laugh.

  I turn towards her and see her as she was before.

  "You really thought I would be so easy to defeat, didn't you. Well, guess what, you're not the only one with a master plan, darling. To use this," she motions towards the dagger. "You have to make it comes in contact with my spirit. And guess what, it's not in my body. It's somewhere safe. Where you won't find it. Even if you do, you won't be able to destroy it," she finishes.

  I look around. Drake is still trying to enter through the shield. This time when he tries, his hand comes through. Nobody notices and he uses a glyph which I have never seen him use. Invisibility glyph.

  He becomes invisible immediately. My guess would be that, with the spell being too critical and complicated and strong and power consuming, she didn't have time to maintain the shielding glyph at the same time. Good for us.

  He places a hand on my shoulder and whispers in my ear the name of the host of Nadora's spirit. I reminisce about the vision I had a long time ago. When I first arrived. It all connects in my brain and brace myself for the worst battle till now.

  "Now!" He yells in my ear and I retrieve the dagger from Nadora's heart and make a beeline towards Altin. Before I have time to hesitate, I pierce his heart with the dagger and his body freezes. It turns cold and hard and falls down, lifeless.

  "What have you done, Princess Serafina Illaná? You have betrayed the ones who trusted you the most. The one thing you hated the most. You became it. You'll do anything to win. But I won. I'll be back—" before she can complete the sentence, her body falls down on the ground, limp and lifeless. I fall on my knees beside Altin.

  He wakes up, gasping for air.

  “What just happened?” He asks as he looks around.

  I look over my shoulder at Drake. “Please tell me this is how it’s supposed to be when I get her soul,” I say in a desperate attempt to lift my hopes.

  “Oh, I can assure you this is definitely not how it’s supposed to be when you finally get rid of me,” Nadora says, colour returning to her cheeks.

  “What?” I say.

  “You didn’t think I would just leave and let you all have a happy ending, did you?” She says with a smile.

  “You see, that is what makes me different from you three, your mother, that old hag Celenia. I always hated her.” she says and all the blood drains from my body. “How do you know who my mother is?” I ask.

  “Oh, I know your mother very closely. In fact, we both even shared a womb.”

  “No. That—that can’t be true, because if it were, then you would be—”

  “Yes. I am your aunt. The Heir of Shadows and Souls!” She proclaims.

  She closes her eyes and when she opens them, they are totally green. Black smoke surrounds her and from it, about hundreds of Nemeses, no, dead bodies start to appear.

  We are all outnumbered, one to fifty at the very least.

  I look back at all the helpless faces. They don’t seem sacred or hunted, instead, they seem determined. Determined to fight. Determined to live.

  The very first dead Nemeses to come my way. He must’ve been a boy, not more than seventeen or eighteen. Must have only seen so many seasons.

  I slash at it with my sword. He dodges and for a split second, his bare bones come in contact with my skin and the same burning sensation rushes through me.

  “Don’t let them touch you!” I shout back towards the others. I look forward. Nadora is sitting on a wolf, which happens to be forty feet high. She is sitting up, looking at us fighting as if we are doing it for her entertainment.

  I continue to slice at the Nemeses who come my way. Duck. Forward. Dive.

  Suddenly, a scream pierces my ears. Not just because it was loud, but because it was for someone important to me.

  “
Drake!” Came Adrian’s voice.

  My head whips in the direction of his eyes and I see Drake, surrounded by about fifty Nemeses, lying down helplessly on his knees.

  My own dress is soaked with blood but I scarcely noticed it. I hadn’t even noticed when Drake had become visible again.

  I rush towards Drake. Adrian looks at me and we communicate wordlessly.

  Do whatever it takes to save him, he says.

  I will, I reply.

  A couple of Nemeses come in my way and surround me. As I think that I’m not going to make it, their heads explode simultaneously, spraying me with some kind of black goo.

  “You thought I won’t come through, didn’t you,” Rafelia says, appearing from behind the wall of black dust which used to be the Nemeses’ bones.

  Although it happens rarely, I feel elated with the arrival of Rafelia.

  “Go get him. I’ll handle the rest,” she says and I race towards Drake without losing a second.

  I raise my sword and slash sideways through the Nemeses’ heads, making a way for me to reach Drake.

  His lips twitch a little and the right part rises in what I presume to be a smile. “Couldn’t stay without me for even some time, huh?”

  “Shut up,” I say as I cut my wrist and bring it to his mouth so he can drink the blood, not giving a second thought to increasing intensity of the link.

  “Behind you!” He shouts and I might’ve been dead if it hadn’t been for Leo who now stands above us, holding the head of a Nemeses in his hand.

  “You forgetting a brother?” he asks and helps me up.

  I conjure a shielding charm around Drake while he heals and ask Leo to protect him while I close my eyes and walk forward and concentrate on one thing. Fire.

  I open my hands and spread them with so much force that it spreads in all directions and almost half of the Nemeses die at my hands. I can feel the fire radiating off of me.

  I close my eyes once more and try to contact Adrian and Mirella to give them my plan of attack.

  They both receive it.

  I take one last glance at Leo, Drake and Altin and then move forward to join my hands with Adrian and Mirella.

  We all look at each other and close our eyes.

  I focus on fire. I imagine the fire burning inside Nadora. I open my eyes and all the three of us move our joined hands forward in one swift motion.