"Ethan! It’s closing up again...! The shield keeps it open."
"Then you will have to run...!"
Dragg! Dragg! The door closed slowly but steadily. Ethan hauled the sack by the mouth, with one hand, and held the shield firmly with the other. Cyclux was running... or just walking faster, the door was closing still, there was now only a tiny opening left but wide enough for Cyclux to squeeze himself through it. The large chunk soon closed and rapped loudly, so that it echoed in the tunnel. Cyclux had squeezed himself through. He wanted to walk majestically, shoulder high- running through an opening that was closing up, in that short while, is not a feat for an old man. He was probably 'young again' and Ethan was wrong- but the hem of his robe was trapped between the rocks. Cyclux did not know. He took a step and then, teear! The rock wrenched almost completely the hem of his robe. Cyclux wasn't sure about what had just happened, he turned quickly and the shred of fabric loosely attached to the remaining part of his robe finally snapped. The only reflection of light there was, was at the end of the tunnel, ahead. The tunnel was totally dark. Cyclux could not see anything; it was darker when you look down.
"We should leave now... Can you do that 'light up the dark place thing'... Please?"
"It only works when there is something that can burn... torch, amber, wick... anything." Cyclux answered." But there might be wolf bats to burn... er... so I'll do it anyway..."Cyclux laughed, feeling lofty,"...allitroe!"
Nothing happened at first, but something started burning somewhere at the lower part of the large chunk of rock- which had shut behind them. It burnt like a lamp with a tiny wick, probably stationed there for that purpose.
"This is not wise... the lamp should have been placed somewhere up there (Cyclux pointed up, he faced the rock behind)... It's not even burning bright."
"Yeah, but the illumination is bright enough to help make out what I'm doing here." Ethan was trying to get the shield back into the sack.
"Do you smell that...? Smells like fabric... like someone's cloak is on fire..."
"No... I don't, maybe the lamp smells like that when it burns."
"Oh... no... It's not a lamp."
And then the light went out... Everything was completely dark again.
They soon got to the end of the tunnel; warm breeze stroked them lightly on their faces. Cyclux looked awkward; he had his long robe tucked into his pants. He discovered he must have set a part of his own cloak on fire, he didn't suspect that the light tug he felt on his robe as he stepped in through the small opening, was the rock having a piece of his robe.
Zoooom! Zoooom! Zoooom! Five sizable motorcycles approached them and then encircled them.
"Who are you...?" One of the bikers demanded.
"I am Ethan Alger... I've come to see Jonathan Jaydefire."
The bikers exchanged glances. "Alright then, follow us..."
Ethan and Cyclux were taken to the wall of flames. It was exactly as the name suggests, blue flame was burning on the rocky wall from top to bottom and from side to side. The bikers had taken them around a large mountain; it has a large vent at the top. There was dry ash, spattered all around it. They had gone through another tunnel before they came to the wall of flames. There was an entrance at the center of the burning wall, the only part of the wall that wasn't burning. They were led through it into a large, exquisite living room. It had a luxe interior, which was almost completely white. Almost all the furniture in the room was stainless-white, the blinds and the carpet too. It felt as though they had entered into another world entirely, like Zander the Cruel's chamber, the air inside was cool and soothing. A moderately large sofa with gold plaiting at the edges, one cannot but notice, was at the upmost part of the room, with two smaller ones by the sides. A picture frame hung directly above it and a tall, slender woman stood before it. She wore a long, wine robe, which she covered with a white, plush fur. She was gorgeous. Her hair was completely gray and silky, but her face- completely youthful.
"Welcome, young men... Please have your seats" She said, gracefully. Cyclux giggled when she addressed them as young men- he thinks his pale, wrinkled face is obvious enough, Ethan must have been right-he is still haggard and aged. "An ageing spell... You could have been mistaken for spies. Why the disguise...? What are you running from...? Cyclux, is it?" She faced him.
"How do you know my name...? Who are you?"
"Answer the question first; you will know all that in the meantime."
"Migol did this... not me. Mr. Ethan is on a mission to kill Cryptmaw and I am on a mission to kill Migol..."
"I know what his mission is..." She moved a little bit closer to Ethan.
"Actually...I'm on a mission to rescue my girlfriend, but I just have to do all of this, so that I can get to her..." Ethan said darkly.
"I know that too, Ethan. Except that if you don't kill Cryptmaw, you can't rescue your girlfriend." She smiled.
"I guess..."
"I know..." She snapped. "You will need all the seven items scattered in the seven cults. Though forged by sorcery, only you can wield them or wear them, only you can restore balance between the good and evil forces... and you will need this wizard as much." She nodded in Cyclux's direction. "...only the mage that charmed you might be able to undo the spell, but I can slow down the ageing, the journey is yet still long."
"It seems you know all about the prophecy..." Cyclux said. Witches are not only known for their confectioneries Cyclux," she gave him a long, sharp look. "...they are also known for the efficaciousness of their prophecies. My grandmother prophesied those words, she wrote the prophecy." She then turned to Ethan, "if you'll excuse me..." She left the room, ambling. "And how the heck did she know our names...?" Ethan nudged Cyclux in the side. "And how the heck do you want me to know that...? She's a witch..." He gave Ethan a familiar 'stop asking me such questions' look.
"Branda is a witch too... she didn't know things we did not tell her."
"She is no ordinary witch; she is like an arch-mage." They continued whispering, their voices slightly rose. "Uhn-uhn... chocolates," someone coughed from behind and they became totally mute. The woman came in with two mugs of cold chocolate, laced with goats' cream and berries. "I made this myself, I hope you enjoy it." Ethan and Cyclux took a long, satisfying swig from their mugs, relishing the flavor and coldness. Cyclux still had his head buried in the mug, his neck slightly slanted backward and seemed to be determined to finish up the content at one swig.
"Er... Where is the leader of the cult, please?" Ethan asked, still holding his mug. "He went for a conference on earth; it's the annual conference of the magic and technology advancement department, Ministry of magic. Jonathan is one of the few mages that believes magic and technology can be used together for a better universe."
"Will he be back today?" Cyclux gulped, pushing down berries coated in cold chocolate, down his throat. He had chocolate on his nose but he didn't know, this made the witch to giggle. "You should get that off your nose... “klinslate." She said softly, and Cyclux's nose was wiped clean.
There was a long pin-drop silence, but Cyclux interrupted the quietness. "If your grandmother wrote the prophecy, then she was no ordinary witch."
"I expected you to ask. I am not an arch-mage, I am a Branian witch... We have a special gift to read minds. I got to learn your names from Grusav but every other thing I learnt, I did by listening. Listening to the heart, to the mind... My grandmother listened to the heart of the stars and of the twin moon, she then uttered those words. She got the names from two separate Hebrew words; one means good and the other, evil." She explained. "They call me... Lexis."
"...I am sorry to ask, who are you to the cult leader?" Cyclux asked, curious.
"I am more like Jonathan's secretary, the league of witches I belong to- the Branian witches, have served the leader of this cult from one generation to the other and it's my turn." Lexis said simply. "I hope you enjoyed the chocolate..."
"Yes... yes."
"Absolutely..."
"I should probably refill your mugs."
"No, thank you... I'm good." Ethan said, but of course Cyclux wouldn't mind the dainty a second time... and then a third time too. She gave Cyclux's mug a tap, with her ring and the dark-brownish semi-liquid reappeared, the fresh cream too and with berries dancing in the slimy liquid.
It was almost evening before Jonathan Jaydefire returned. Cyclux had slept off after he finished his fifth mug of chocolate. Ethan was engrossed in what he was reading: Magic Digest, Earth vs. Lonus, OSN- Only Sorcery News, Around Lonus, were some of the magazines Lexis had offered him. He was particularly interested in an article: why technology will fail and magic will remain eventually in the Earth vs. Lonus magazine. What delighted him more was that like his YouTube videos, he can decide to play and watch the events as reported by the magazine or newspaper. Jonathan Jaydefire uses the fireplace as his passageway to earth, in a coat of fire- the base of a volcano is rich with ley lines but always very hot. It's much faster. If you are not looking at the fireplace keenly, you might think it's just fire burning, but Jaydefire soon removed the coat and stepped out of the fireplace. So neither Ethan nor Cyclux really noticed anything when Jonathan Jaydefire came- who deliberately did not want to disturb them, walked on with an invisibility spell. Lexis was preparing dinner in the kitchen. Despite the invisibility spell, she knew someone was there, someone who wanted to know who the visitors were. "Ethan Alger and Cyclux, the mage accompanying him to the dragon's island." She said as Jonathan Jaydefire appeared and hugged her from behind, he pecked her at the back of her ear. "How was the conference?"
"Boring... I was just thinking about you, I was home sick." He hugged her still.
"No oo, Jonathan... I need to fix dinner and you need to go and take your bath, you smell like ash... You can have this." She handed him a mug of chocolate too.
"It's not easy to put on fire and walk through a volcano..." He said with a mouthful of chocolate, cream and berries.
"It's the heritage of the Jaydefire family, you can only embrace it my dear..."
"Okay okay, just a kiss then, please..."
"No oo... get out of here." She collected the mug and led him out of the kitchen, Jonathan moved reluctantly.
"Hello gentlemen, I didn't want to disturb you when I came in." Jonathan called from behind, he was now wearing a bath robe- white, made of fur. He has very dark eye lashes and curly dark hair. He is not too tall and not too fat. A dimple sat on each chubby cheek. "I hope it wasn't too tasking to find your way here."
Ethan was now standing in front of his picture frame and had turned in the direction of the voice. Cyclux had woken up and had been trying to read an article from the Magic Digest since he did. "I wouldn't say it wasn't tasking, but we did find our way eventually."
"Jonathan Jaydefire." He shook hands with Ethan, he had a broad smile.
"Ethan Alger."
"I know who you are... and Cyclux right?" He shook hands with Cyclux too, who had an awry smile.
"We are all looking forward to that day when you will become Ethan Alger, the dragon slayer." Jonathan said, his smile- much broader. "Eckrock and I decided to give you a small test and seeing you here right now shows you didn't fail it."
"The barrier...?"
"Yes... We closed the tunnel with that granite rock, removed a small part of it- so that it left that hole at the center and we attached it to the shield, a kind of insignia... You will have a very simple instruction: follow the pathway on the mountainous walls and your shield is the key." His smile was broader still, and his dimple sank deeper. "I knew a mage was with you and he will be of help."
"Yeah... absolutely, a great help at that."
Cyclux pretended he didn't hear and busied himself with the Magic Digest, staring at the same article. "Gentlemen, dinner is ready, you should eat now." Lexis called from the kitchen.
"You should eat and rest, tomorrow morning we will take you to the volcano volts, where the flaming sword is kept... Please come." Jonathan said, as he led them to the kitchen.
Ethan and Cyclux slept in separate rooms. The room was just like any room on earth, nothing unusual- but it looked as though he was passing the night in a comfortable inn. It's well past mid-night now, but Ethan couldn't sleep, he kept turning uneasily on his bed. Somehow, the weight of his quest seemed to rest on his heart heavily. It's beginning to dawn on him that his quest was beyond rescuing his girlfriend and their unborn child, it's about every man, woman and child; the mages and non-mages, the dwarfs, the elves, and every other magical creature on planet Lonus. He felt like the whole planet rested on his shoulder and if it affects Lonus, then planet earth cannot be spared. It's not some adventure game, it's like facing a real, fire-breathing opponent, like he did in the practice arena at the rock palace. The thought of a fire-breathing creature made him shiver. He had only seen a dragon in movies or read about them in books, is he really going to be facing a winged, fire-breathing, large lizard? He remembered the argument he had with Jessica about leaving his job, when she told him about what they were doing at Worcestershire. Sarah was right, his father was engrossed in it and now he is in the middle of all of it. Jessica isn't safe, Lonus is not safe and neither is planet earth.
Ethan decided to take a walk, he couldn't sleep still- the thought of what he had to do weighed on him archly. He stepped out into the living room, he was hearing a soft, rattling sound from the kitchen- someone's in the kitchen. He walked slowly towards the kitchen.
"Who is there...?" A man's voice called from inside. "Oh... Mr. Ethan, having trouble sleeping? It was Jonathan Jaydefire. Ethan was standing at the entrance. "You mind some wine... helps clear the head." He said. Ethan smiled and nodded slightly.
"It doesn't look like I'm going to sleep tonight." Ethan said, they were now sitting outside in front of the wall of flames; it was burning still- blue flames. It lighted up the whole surrounding, it didn't look like it was past mid-night already- few hours to dawn.
"Worrying about what lies ahead will not change it.” It can worst still, make our hearts fail us. Sometimes the strength we need lies in our quest." Jonathan said, as he sipped from a glass of red wine. "I was scared when I was first called here to shoulder the responsibility of leading the cult, after my brother died. I had a good job and a family I really love, but I just had to come. I didn't tell my wife and kids about Lonus, how can I possibly explain, they will think I'm crazy. I just told them I got another job offer in Europe, so I moved here."
"They didn't know you had magic? Ethan asked, very much interested.
"No... because I didn't. Children of the Jaydefire clan are mostly not born with magic, I'm just as normal as you are. However, we have a rare ability. We make use of magic, like humans make use of technology. We cannot cast an illumino spell like other mages do or build power plants that can lighten up a whole city like non-mages, but we can harness the power of magic and nature to create something like this; a wall that burns with fire, night and day, season upon season, a generation to the next. And unwanted visitors cannot go past it or they'll burn, it burns as long as the volcano exists." He paused a little. "You didn't notice there was no electricity inside, yet the house is like any normal house on earth? And we can make use of any appliance... What of the magazines you were reading...?"
"Wow! Wow...!" Ethan said, with some bewilderment. "That is true! There are no electric lamps everywhere in the house. But how did you do that?"
"There is a reason why we keep witches as secretary. It's a mutual agreement between the clan and the league of witches. We only emerged the leading clan because we outnumbered other clans here, at the volcano base. We used a powerful sorcery to harness and convert the heat from molten rock and ash to electricity. It’s a kind of geothermal power plant."
"Wow... I was part of a project to design a geothermal and geomagnetic power plant, before I left the company I worked with."
"Brimax technologies...?"
"You know Brimax...?" Ethan couldn't hid
e a surprised look.
"I was at the stakeholders' meeting. I proposed the possibility, considering the fact that ley lines existed on earth. They are easy accesses to the earth crust."
"Oh my…!" Ethan exclaimed. There was another pause, as they both gulped from their glasses.
"All these might not look real at first, but it's real, your girlfriend is in danger, Lonus is in danger and subsequently... earth too."
"Hmm... I know, I know now..." Ethan signed. "The conference Lexis said you went for, what was it about?" Ethan changed the topic, he knew enough about his role in averting the danger everybody was, enough to lose sleep over.
"I didn't go for the conference. I had to lie about that, I wanted to go and see my family. I've missed them greatly."
"Why did you have to lie? Your secretary wouldn't stop you from seeing your family..."
I and Catherine... that's my wife, are on the verge of a divorce and Lexis has been there for me all through, we are... you know... but I don't understand why she doesn't want me to see my family. I and my wife might not be on good terms now, but... my kids."
"If you love your family so much, why break it up."
"It's not something I wanted. It's Catherine that wants a divorce. She thinks I'm cheating on her and that I don't have time for the family... and it's really not my fault..." He trailed off, his voice was shaky and Ethan could sense uneasiness in his tone.
"Is she right?" Ethan looked at him, but Jonathan looked away quickly and stared absentmindedly at the wall of flames.
"I really don't want to talk about it, Ethan."
"Ethan...! Ethan...!" Cyclux shook him roughly, he really wanted him up but Ethan wasn't ready just yet.
"What...? Leave me alo-ne... I still need to sleep some mo-re." It was almost morning when he and Jonathan left for their rooms, after four glasses of red wine, it was easier to forget his worries and sleep off.
Dragon and Prophesy Page 8