It's dark outside and we need to get to Jorgen before morning, otherwise this entire plan might collapse. Aria's eyes brighten up and she seems excited again. It seems like she’s already forgotten that she spent the last eight years living her life as someone else.
"I do, but there are dangerous tigers in the cells and the animals only listen to the general himself," she explains. "One of them killed a warrior. It was a terrible tragedy."
"Just lead the way and we’ll worry about them later," I say, knowing that I'm being a bit snappy, but right now we don't have time to hang around and discuss our feelings. My senses are confusing humans with real shifters, and we still need to locate the druid. He’s the only person who can save Jetli's life. We’re wasting precious time.
She nods and we leave the room several moments later. My stomach’s filled with heavy bricks of nausea and anxiety, because I don't understand how my energy’s feeding on the magic in this place. The corridors are empty and I keep thinking that we’re walking straight into a trap. Aria made a hell of a noise and yet no one’s chasing us.
She seems to be reading my mind, because she tells me after we pass through another empty corridor.
"All the guards are always with nymphs after sunset, so we’re safe. We need to go two levels down. The cells are in the underground tunnel."
I tell myself that I need to pull myself together. Aria’s just gotten her memories and she’s the one who’s keeping all her emotions at bay. Edvard seems to be thinking the same thing, because he keeps glancing at her from time to time, like he’s expecting her to break down at any second.
We keep moving through the dimly lit, long wide corridors; our only source of light are the lamps every few meters. The temple, it's like one giant labyrinth, filled with sharp angles and what seems like millions of empty prayer rooms. It goes on forever…
Half an hour later, we finally stop around a corner by the stairs, hearing voices coming from the opposite side. Someone’s approaching and I haven't even had a chance to cloak myself in my invisibility spell. There’s a dragon shifter coming in our direction and I know that they can sense us.
"Quick father, we must hide in one of the rooms. I shouldn't be seen out in the corridors with a stranger," Aria urges us, sliding the door to a small boxed in room, filled with some sort of flowery scent and masses of candles. I completely lose my head, thinking that this is a bad idea, but the voices are getting closer. The three of us squeeze inside and Aria slides the door shut.
My heart rate kicks up as I begin to realise that we’re going to get caught. General Ming seems obsessed with killing shifters, and he’s already killed at least one of us that I know of. Maybe we should’ve waited for the right moment and formed a better plan. We hear the footsteps as they approach, and I count at least two people passing though the room. Then someone starts shouting, running through the corridor.
"General … sir,"
"Is that Ming himself?" Edvard whispers with astonishment and Aria nods, reminding her father to be quiet.
"What is it, Vaszka? The nymphs are waiting," the loud voice responds with a short bark.
There’s something wrong with my magic. I sense two humans outside the room, and also one shifter. This doesn't make sense, Ming himself detests any sort of magical creatures, especially shifters and there are only nymphs in the temple. However they’re under his protection, and he uses them to entice shifters for his own sick pleasure. The rest of the people here should all be humans, so what the hell is going on here?
"The prisoner is ready sir, the wizard was able to tap into his source and fed him with Zing potion," the other man explains and my heart leaps in my throat. What's that even mean? What did that wizard give Jorgen?
I look through the tiny space between the doors, seeing the face of a very short, bald man. He has a funny moustache, and small beady eyes. I have no doubt that I'm looking at General Ming himself, wearing a gold uniform, filled with an assortment of colourful medals.
"I'll be there in an hour Vaszka, the shifter isn't going anywhere, so we don't have to hurry," the short man says, sounding annoyed that the guard dared to interrupt him. Blood’s pounding loudly in my ears. I recognise his scent, and the swirling energy of his beast. This can’t be right, but my instinct, like my visions, are never wrong.
"Yes, sir," the second guard responds, and then we hear him marching away. Edvard’s twitching behind me, and he too must realise that something isn’t adding up here. The General himself can't have any magic; he’s human and yet …
"I thought you were going to wait until tomorrow, sir," the other human man asks.
There’s a long pause. I try not to breath, feeling too anxious to move.
"I was planning to, but after the message from Ruscal, it looks like we need to take certain precautions. The nymphs sensed a Wyvern dragon shifter on our land," Ming replies and I think that I'm having a mini heart attack. How on earth does Ming know about Ruscal?
"Wyvern’s were slaughtered a long time ago, and that man in the cell isn't a mage. The wizard couldn't detect any magic in him, he told me that himself," the other man says.
I glance at my uncle, who seems as shocked as I am. Ruscal shouldn't have any connections to Ming. Shocks holds me immobile as I try to understand why humans in the Asian World are so closely connected to our worst enemy.
"It doesn't matter if the prisoner is a mage or not. I sent Ruscal a message earlier that we caught a Wyvern and he’s most likely already on his way here. Unfortunately, we made an agreement years ago and I have to honour it. We have his protection as long as we follow his rules," the general replies, and my stomach drops.
I feel static rush over my skin, being still and pretty much in shock. Ming’s only pretending to be human, so he can kill his own kind, but for what?
Is he getting paid for it, or is he doing this because he’s too afraid or doesn’t want to be mixed with shifters.
Either way, I don't care; he’s Ruscal’s accomplice, and I want to twist my knife in his gut and watch him bleed for all of the shifters he helped slaughter. We need to find Jorgen and get out of here, as far away as we can. Ming must have never met Ruscal in person, otherwise he would know by now that he has the wrong person in his cell. Ruscal and Jorgen are nearly identical. Once he figures out what’s going on, it’ll be too late.
"It's a good agreement, sir. People are scared of shifters. They understand that they’d never be able to co-exist with them peacefully."
"I'll keep them safe as long as Ruscal’s satisfied. He detests Wyverns and we’ll have one in our cells soon. If we play this right, we might be rewarded greatly," Ming says, and I can hear the excitement in his voice. I feel sick to my stomach, Ming is nothing more than a coward and he uses humans, instilling fear in them, in order to be their commander.
My heart keeps jackhammering in my chest, while the general and whoever the other guy is finally leaves. For a long moment, we hear their loud footsteps echo throughout the corridor, until the silence becomes almost unbearable.
"He's a dragon shifter," Edvard whispers.
"Yes and he's working with Ruscal. How long has he been hiding in here, pretending to be human?" I ask, shaking with anger. The general created a quite comfortable, little nest inside the temple. He kills shifters and uses nymphs to make sure that no one would ever challenge him. The old bastard’s clever and obviously scared of his own kind. "How is it possible that Ming’s connected with our worst enemy?"
"I have no idea, and right now that doesn't matter. We need to keep moving, Astri, otherwise Jorgen won't make it through the night," Edvard says. "We have a window of opportunity now, while he’s indulging himself in the Nymphs company."
"A shifter… so Astri’s saying that the general is just like us? No … that’s impossible. He hates shifters," Aria says, looking from me to her father filled with confusion. "How do you even know this?"
"Because we can sense each other and it looks like Ming’s been lying to eve
ryone for a very long time."
Chapter Twelve
Aria's voice.
We leave the prayer room and follow Aria, who’s hopefully leading us towards the underground cells. I'm still in shock that Ruscal managed to acquire such a significant advantage. Aria appears to be distraught by the fact that Ming’s a dragon shifter. I have to help her find a way to expose him and at least try to avenge the Wyvern who was executed here, right outside the temple.
Ruscal and Ming must have been in constant communication, but I don't believe that Ming realised exactly what he was signing up for when he made that deal with Ruscal. It was probably Jorgen's twin brother who executed another member of my family; the other Wyvern shifter who was murdered because of some old, unknown prophecy.
We’re moving fast, passing through the dark and empty corridor. I know that I won't be able to fix the entire world on my own. I need Jorgen, Lenin, Jetli and Emilia. Things haven’t been going my way, but soon this will all change.
Jetli’s a little fighter and Lenin won't let her die before I have a chance to return with the venom. Once we get out of here, I’ll use the mirror to communicate with Emilia, she won't even know that we ran into trouble. Aria leads us through another large open room, where there’s a large, marble statue of a bald man, looking a lot like the traitorous general. This must be another prayer room where people see Ming as one of their God's. There are buckets of fresh flowers scattered around, and at least what seems like hundreds of candles scattered throughout.
We barge through the door leading us downstairs to the lower level, but that image from the other room stays with me. Humans need to realise that Ming’s a shifter, and the biggest hypocrite in the entire Asian World.
Soon, it seems like we’re going around in circles, as every room and all of the corridors look exactly the same as the last. Ming’s already sent Ruscal a message, so the mage must be heading over here as we speak; we’re running out of time. It took Edvard a long time to come to terms with the fact that he may never see his daughter again. Now that they’re reunited, I can't let Ruscal know that I'm not the only Wyvern left in this world, otherwise he wouldn't hesitate to kill them as well. We all need to stick together to fight this evil.
"The cells are located on the next level down and there will be a few guards patrolling this part of the castle," Aria explains, and I take out my knife, trying to prepare myself for the worst. I'm a good hunter and I know I can take out a few humans on my own if I have to.
We start moving further down and the stairs seem to go on forever. Magical energy keeps jolting through me. We must be several meters underground now because my ears pop and my breathing becomes laboured. I hope Aria knows how to get out of here after we rescue Jorgen.
"What about the tigers? How are we going to get past them?" I ask as soon as we move through the narrow door, ending in a small cramped room. We stop abruptly, walking straight into three warriors who are playing cards around a small table. They jump back to their feet, removing their swords, noticing Aria.
"Easterners," one of them shouts and launches himself at Edvard.
My dragon instinct takes over and I jump forward, making a one hundred and eighty degree spin kicking him in the stomach. Since I’ve been living in the castle, Jorgen taught me a few tricks here and there, and I'm pumped with adrenaline, ready to take them all down by myself.
The warrior goes down, and I kick him a few more times, just to make sure he won't be moving any time soon. Edvard’s already fighting with another warrior, trying to avoid getting struck by his swinging sword. The warrior pushes my uncle towards the wall, and he swings his weapon towards his head once again, and misses. Edvard jerks away, and the warrior's blade gets stuck in between the rocks. He roars in frustration and at the same time my uncle throws something towards me. It’s a small, brown bag.
"Use the defensive powder, Astri. Now!"
Aria backs away to the wall, while Edvard head-butts the warrior and he goes down with a thud. I shove my hand inside the bag and then throw the purple dust around, summoning its energy.
"You will all die in here!" the warrior mumbles, but then he starts screaming when the dust works like acid, burning his flesh. Edvard moves away, kicking the man as he stumbles around, screaming and rubbing his eyes. I grab Aria's hand, who stares horrified at the warrior.
"Come on, we need to keep going. We don't have much time," I say to her. She snaps out of it and leads us to another door. We start moving through a very narrow staircase, then find ourselves in a tunnel leading into an open terrace looking down into the prions cells.
"You need to be careful, Astri; those tigers are vicious. I heard that if anyone tries to get anywhere near the shifter, his gate will automatically open and the tigers attack instantly, tearing the prisoner apart," Aria explains, sounding scared and I can't help but curse loudly.
It looks like Ming’s thought about everything. We spot several empty cells, I see Jorgen in the one on the right, and he looks like he’s sleeping. My heart rate picks up again, hoping that he’s all right. The human told Ming that the wizard fed him with some kind of magical potion, maybe to keep him sedated for a bit longer.
Seconds later, four tigers come into view, they’re walking around, most likely sensing our presence. There are several large bones scattered around the place, and nausea rolls through my stomach. The animals look thin, and I have a feeling that they haven't been fed properly for a really long time. The general must be starving them in case they need to feed on his prisoners. Only when I look closely do I realise that the floor is scattered around with human bones. I feel like I might vomit.
"So what now?" I ask, afraid that we might not be able to get Jorgen out of here alive. This whole thing seems like an impossible task. I can't even shift in here, it's too dangerous and I can't risk using my fire magic.
Edvard’s pacing around, and then looks back at his daughter as if he just had the most amazing idea.
"Aria, you must sing to them, you’ve always had a beautiful voice. Once they start listening to you, they should sleep. The wizard must have charmed them and that's how Ming gets his prisoners inside the cages. He doesn't trust humans, so he relies on magic," Edvard says.
"Are you sure about this, Edvard?" I ask, knowing that we have to hurry, uncertain that Aria's voice will do the trick. Jorgen’s energy is weak, and Ming won't stay with the nymphs forever. I lost control with Pollock and this is my only chance to make things right. Edvard seems to be confident that Aria can take care of our problem with the tigers and I need to trust him. He knows what he’s doing.
"Yes, I do remember singing, many other children used to gather around to listen to me. It was fun times," Aria says and then walks closer to the balcony, taking a long, deep breath.
Aria’s been living in the temple for years and she isn't used to the world outside. Then she starts signing and I suddenly feel overwhelmed by her stunning voice. I have no idea what language she singing in, but her notes are on perfect key and sound so beautiful. Suddenly, waves of calmness rush down my spine and my anxiety starts fading away. Her energy’s connecting with mine. Edvard looks proud of his daughter and whatever she’s doing starts to work, because the tigers begin slowly drifting off.
"You have to keep signing Aria, we’re going to get the duke out of the cage," Edvard says, pointing down as soon as the tigers are fast asleep.
Soon we find a way down, through a metal staircase. I'm a little nervous as we approach the huge animals, but I'm determined to get Jorgen out of here. Small waves of desire starts building up in the pit of my stomach. I close my eyes for a second, trying to concentrate. Then I remember Alex's potion, so I remove the small flask from my pocket and swallow a few drops. It's Jorgen, his presence reminds my body that sooner or later we’re going to mate.
"Aria won't stop singing until Jorgen’s out, so just focus, Astri," Edvard reminds me and I nod.
The smell of blood and human flesh makes me nauseous, but I try to
ignore the human bones. Aria's voice drifts around as I pass by the beautiful tigers that must have been locked inside this chamber for quite some time now. The animals have beautiful yellow fur with black stripes, and I suspect that they’ve been living in captivity for a long time. We reach Jorgen's cage and Edvard opens it with his magic. The duke looks pale, and he’s unconscious.
"The wizard must have done something to him. We need to wake him up," I say, running my hands over Jorgen’s face who seems cold to the touch. He’s not dead, I can still feel his pulse.
"Ming keeps him close, don't worry, we still have time," Edvard says, and glances back at Aria. She’s still singing, but we need to hurry.
'"There’s something wrong with him. Why isn't he waking up?" I ask, as my blood freezes with fear. My uncle and no one in this bizarre place knows that Jorgen went through cutting of the mage ritual. He has no magic, and wizard must have realised that the warriors made a mistake when they assumed he was a shifter.
Edvard frowns and checks the duke's eyes, shaking his head.
"He’s out. Give me some of that energy boosting potion. We can't carry him out of here," he says, and I start digging in my pockets knowing that Emilia had given me everything that I needed.
"Yes, I knew that I had one left," I say and Edvard quickly snatches the flask from me. He unscrews it and without hesitation, pours the liquid directly into Jorgen's mouth. His body goes stiff instantly and several seconds later he starts blinking.
"Jorgen, hey Jorgen … you need to get up. We have to leave right away," I tell him, shaking him slightly.
"Astri, what's going on? It's too late, they know the truth about me and I'm going to die," the duke screams, shaking me like he’s losing his mind. Edvard pushes me away and then tries to pull Jorgen away from me. The duke struggles and then vomits the potion back on the floor.
"I'm going to carry him out and you need to keep an eye on tigers," Edvard tells me as we both help Jorgen to stand up again. Edvard curses a few times, telling me that this better be worth it.
Wyvern's Passion (Mage Chronicles Book 3) Page 9