“You, Great Mistress?” Zarya exclaimed. “You were a victim of slayers?”
“My parents were, but I managed to escape. A generous young man named Na’val Faulk found me and took me someplace safe.”
“Oh, Great Mistress, I am so sorry ...” Zarya lowered her head solemnly.
Kyniythyria snorted. “Save your pity, priestess. Dwelling on the past solves nothing. Only the future matters.”
Zarya lifted her head. Her eyes had gone glassy.
Such a sad story, indeed, Kaijin thought. I wasn’t aware of the constant dangers and perils that Dragons have to go through, despite their being the guardians of the world. Their lives seemed to be in an ironic state of affairs.
“Master Faulk has only sent four of his students to you?” Omari quirked his brow. “But he has hundreds of students. I do not understand.”
“Perhaps he only sent the ones he deemed worthy and capable of surviving the trip?” Kaijin suggested.
Omari shot a cool gaze at Kaijin and huffed. “Yes ... yes, perhaps that is it, then.” He secured his glowing staff to his back.
“His reasons are his own,” Kyniythyria said. “I saw nothing interesting about the other three he sent. You are no different, Omari.... Well, except that you and Kaijin strangely carry the same scent.” Her eyes shifted to the cave’s entrance, and she appeared deep in thought.
Omari made an appalled face. “What?” He glanced at Kaijin.
“Uh ... Should I be worried about that?” Kaijin asked the Dragon.
Nester snickered. “Of course they would smell alike, Your Majesty—them both bein’ fiddlers, an’ all.”
Kaijin rolled his eyes. Whatever the Dragon meant, he was not in the mood to dwell on it.
Kyniythyria chuckled and then looked at Zarya next. “Zarya. Your willingness and determination to please the goddess is admirable, but do not become blinded by your own aspirations—that is your greatest weakness.”
Zarya gulped. “But ... is it not my duty to help protect Her world and Her creatures?”
“Of course. But as a priestess, it is your duty to spread Her truths to those who may doubt. Prevent the Legion from strengthening in numbers. There is more to serving the goddess than simply pleasing Her. We, the Dragons, are your advisors to ensure you do not stray from the prime objective.”
Zarya bowed her head again. “Y—yes, Great Mistress. I understand.”
Kyniythyria looked at Aidan next, but Nester jumped up and down, waving his arms, yelling, “Me next, Your Majesty! Me next!”
“Nester!” Zarya retorted, shooting a sharp gaze at the brownie.
Kyniythyria snickered, tiny sparks of lightning escaping her nose. She held up her claw to silence the priestess. “It’s all right. I’m rather fond of brownies, actually. They make me laugh.”
A guffaw suddenly burst out of Omari, but as all eyes turned to him, he quickly caught himself and brushed his hand down his robes, as though removing some specks of dirt.
“Aye?” Nester’s gap-toothed grin brightened. “Well, ’ow ’bout a joke? I know plenty.... So, a Dragon and an orc walk into a pub and ...” He went on for several minutes with bizarre joke-telling that left Kyniythyria reeling in laughter and the rest of them scratching their heads.
“I don’t get it,” Kaijin muttered.
Frowning, Omari nudged him and muttered, “His jokes are obviously not meant for intellectual minds.”
Kyniythyria stopped in mid-laugh and glowered at Omari. “What was that?” she growled.
Omari’s head snapped up. There was obvious apprehension in his eyes. “Ah ... I meant to say, Great Mistress, that the rest of us lack your outstanding intelligence to comprehend such complex forms of humor.” He dropped his head.
Kaijin looked sidelong at him. He hadn’t often seen Omari so submissive; it was a refreshing change.
Kyniythyria looked down her nose at Omari. “Indeed.” She returned her attention to Nester. “Excellent, Nester. You should be a traveling entertainer.”
“Aww, y’think so? I ain’t as good as my cousin Nellie. She’s th’ queen of jokes, she is! She’ll make you snort lightnin’ through your nose before she even gets to th’ punchline! I think she almost killed a man before, she did. ’E laughed so ’ard ’e couldn’t breathe! She called it ‘th’ killer joke’!”
“Death by laughter. A most dangerous weapon, indeed.” Kyniythyria chortled.
Omari turned around and grumbled, with a dramatic roll of his eyes, “Great. More of Nester’s senseless rambling.”
Kaijin half-smiled at Omari. “That’s what Nester does best.”
“Right. Have fun listening to that blithering idiot. As I am finished with my business here, I am leaving.” Omari rummaged through the pile of rations, then filled up small pouches and retrieved a waterskin.
Should I stop him?
No, Omari was right. Their journeys had been separate all along.
But Kaijin was concerned about Omari surviving his trip back. He hoped Kyniythyria would take notice of Omari’s actions, but the Dragon appeared preoccupied with Nester. Aidan and Zarya continued staring. Perhaps they were still attempting to decipher Nester’s joke.
Nester’s bright smile faded slightly. “By the way, Your Majesty, can I ask for a little favor?”
“You need not ask for favors, Nester. Just ask.”
Nester blinked, surprised at her response. “Well, in that case ...” He rubbed his chin. “I’d like to be a great merchant like my Uncle Nickle someday, but ... well ... I can’t seem to get my big break, y’know what I mean? Maybe you can ’elp? You can make somethin’ extraordinary with all that fiddlin’ you did before, aye? I mean, with a Dragon on my side, I can’t lose!”
Kyniythyria beared her fangs. “That is your way of saying you want one of my priceless, shiny trinkets from me? There is nothing more precious to a Dragon than its hoard.”
Nester’s eyes lit up at the mention of a treasure hoard. “Uh ... O–of course not, Your Majesty! I wouldn’t even think of askin’ you for a beautiful ... sparklin’ ... shiny ...” Kaijin was certain he saw a stream of drool ooze from the side of Nester’s mouth as he began talking in slurred speech.
Kyniythyria’s tail twitched. “Good. Because I had no intentions of giving you any of my treasures, anyway.”
Nester deflated a little.
“There is one trait I find most admirable amongst brownies,” she continued. “Their strong sense of determination. Why be as good as your uncle? Why not be better than him? Become a great explorer, instead. You will not only be rewarded with useless trinkets, but you will also gain fame and notoriety. Encounter new and exciting places around the world and make the most unlikely of friends as you’ve begun to do.” She gestured to Kaijin, Aidan, Zarya, and Omari, who paused from packing his bag and looked up guiltily. “Surpass your uncle, the merchant, and become Nester, the great explorer.”
“‘Nester th’ Great Explorer’ ...” He thought for a moment, and then his eyes lit up with delight. “’Ey! I like th’ sound of that! Thank you, Your Majesty!” He happily bounced over to Omari. “Did you ’ear that, mate? I got a new title, I did! Straight from th’ Dragon’s mouth! Nester th’ Great Explorer!”
Omari cringed at the brownie’s boisterious speech and brushed past him, heading toward the entrance. “Is that synonymous to ‘Nester the Thief’? ‘Nester the Confounded Brownie that Does Not Know When to Be Quiet’?”
Nester frowned. “’Ey, now!”
Kyniythyria narrowed her eyes, which crackled with electric sparks, and she exhaled a small bolt of lightning toward the cave’s high ceiling. A large rock fell from the shadows. Nester leapt out of the way just in time as it crashed on the back hem of Omari’s robes and pinned him in place. Percival squeaked and skittered away from the danger.
Omari yelped and tried to free himself. He pressed his back against the stone and looked behind him fearfully. “What in the—?!”
“I did not dismiss you yet, Oma
ri Batsuyou!” Kyniythyria growled.
Omari made no further attempts to leave. Percival poked his head out from behind the sacks of footstuffs. Convinced that the danger had passed, he returned to Omari.
When the tension in the air died down, Aidan implored Kyniythyria, “Mistress, Aidan has small question.”
“You want to know where to find your ancestors,” Kyniythyria said, as though reading his mind, “I cannot tell you where to begin your search—if any still live, that is.”
Aidan pursed his lips. Rage filled his eyes for a moment, as if the Dragon had said something offensive. But he stayed his tongue.
“I understand your frustration, Aidan,” Kyniythyria continued, “but what happened was in the past—long before you were even a spark in your father’s eye. You cannot change what has happened. However, you can work toward forging a new future and restoring honor to your clan. If any of your kin are still alive, then they are most likely disguised and living amongst society. Use your senses—learn to study people—and you will find what you are seeking.”
Aidan bowed his head in thanks. He backtracked to the cave wall, slid down, and drew his knees to his chest. He rested his forehead on his knees.
Zarya looked from Aidan to Kyniythyria, confused.
Kaijin considered his own situation. The last time he’d encountered the Dragon, she’d seemed too flustered to give him a straight answer. He wanted to know who he was—what he was.
He knew he was no ordinary man who just happened to have an affinity for fire. He was different. Aidan’s situation reminded Kaijin of his own family. Regret wrenched his heart.
“... And last, the Firebrand.” Kyniythyria said caustically, breaking Kaijin’s concentration.
Kaijin met her gaze. What great things am I really destined for? He made a sour face. I’m a murderer—a monster.
“Oh! Ask ’er about th’ orb, Kaijin! Th’ orb!” Nester exclaimed.
“Yes, about the orb ...” Kyniythyria began. “I’ve sensed its presence ever since you first arrived with it, Kaijin.”
The orb. Yes, that’s all I really have of importance, isn’t it? He looked at the Dragon curiously. “You knew I had the orb here? And you didn’t touch it?”
Kyniythyria chuckled darkly. “After witnessing what happened to Omari when he tried to touch it? Dear boy, even I am aware of the painful consequences of attempting to handle something that a deity has reserved exclusively for someone else.”
Surprised, he glanced at Omari, who tried to hide a frown. Kaijin recalled the last nightmare he had. The necklace protected me ... from Omari? That didn’t make sense. “Omari? Did you try to steal the orb from me while I was unconscious?”
After a few moments’ silence, Omari said, “I was not trying to ‘steal’ it. I simply wanted to study it.”
“An’ it burned ’im pretty bad, it did.” Nester added. “Took Zarya almost an ’our to patch ’im up again.”
“Well, tell him my whole life story while you’re at it, Nester!” Omari snapped.
“That’s what you get for thinkin’ you’re a better prigger than me!”
“Why, you—”
Zarya stepped forward. “Enough. Omari has already learned his lesson, and we have already talked about this and moved on. Let’s not dwell on past issues.” She glanced at Kyniythyria. “Forgive us, Great Mistress.”
Kyniythyria waved her claw dismissively. “I found it very amusing, actually.” She focused on Kaijin again. “Show me what you have there.”
Kaijin slowly retrieved the orb from his haversack and held it up to her. He clutched it tightly.
Kyniythyria’s gaze was glued to the swirling flames. She hissed irritably and made no move to grab it. She sidled closer to the nest, blocking the path to her sleeping child with her body. She tensed; her eyes narrowed. “Where did you get that?”
Kaijin, sensing the Dragon’s displeasure, pulled the orb close to his chest. It felt warm and soothing, much like his necklace’s continuous pulsating heat. “Nester and I found it amongst some druids’ ruins in Houndstooth Marsh.”
“I knew I could count on you, mate, for givin’ me credit!” Nester beamed.
Kaijin gave him an odd look, then asked the Dragon, “Do you ... know what it is, Great Mistress?”
She growled and dug her claws into the cave floor, creating deep gashes in the stone. “That is a bruane in Druidic: a fire orb. Druids craft items like those to contain essences of the elements, for use in rituals. The fact that you happened to find one still intact is quite ... shocking.”
“Aye?” Nester blurted out, standing beside Kaijin and focused on the orb. “So what’s it worth?”
Kyniythyria chuckled. “It’s as useless as a ball of lint to someone who is not a druid. It is, quite literally, fire trapped inside a glass ball. Even a novice mage can emulate such a trick.”
Kaijin ran his hands over the orb’s smooth, glassy surface, mulling over his thoughts. “How can something so beautiful—so powerful—be worthless? I don’t understand.”
“Sometimes true beauty does not have a price.”
Kaijin chewed on his bottom lip. “What about the afriti? It lives in the orb.”
Kyniythyria’s gaze hardened. “An afriti ... interesting. You saw it? Spoke to it?”
Kaijin nodded. “It spoke to me, rather. It consumed Gaston’s camp with fire and killed almost everyone. Why would an afriti live inside this druidic item?”
“Because it is a being of fire. It can ‘live’ anywhere it wishes, whenever it wishes, so long as there is fire for it to consume. It could live in your necklace, if it so chose. But it seems more content being inside the orb as opposed to its home plane, the Realm of Fire. Do not question the creature’s motives. You cannot stop it from doing whatever it does.”
“What?” Zarya blinked. “What do you mean, Great Mistress? We cannot prevent it from killing innocent people?”
“Afriti are not chaotic beings.” Kyniythyria touted a claw at them. “They do not kill for the sake of killing. They do have a sense of order among themselves, as they always serve a master.”
A master ... Kaijin felt his heart pound. The orb grew hotter in his hands for a moment, before cooling back to its normal comforting temperature. Perhaps the afriti is growing irritable.
“Ignis ...” Zarya mumbled. “It makes sense. Afriti are fire beings. Of course, they would serve the Firelord, right, Kaijin?” She looked to him for comfirmation.
“I would think so, yes.” Kaijin nodded to Zarya, then his gaze swiveled back to Kyniythyria. “Despite this orb’s ... strangeness, I am rather fond of it.”
“As you should be.” The Dragon nodded. “For anyone who reveres the Firelord, that orb is worth more than diamonds.”
Kaijin’s jaw dropped. “Really?”
“Really?!” Nester repeated more enthusiastically, inching closer to him. “’Ey now, mate, we might ’ave somethin’ ’ere!”
Kaijin glared at the brownie. “What are you talking about?”
“Think about it! We go to th’ Pyre an’ sell that to th’ weird fiery blokes there, an’ we’ll be rich in no time!”
Kaijin felt his left eye twitch. Blasphemy. “No, I will not do that.” He licked his lips, tasting bitterness in his words.
Nester opened his mouth to argue but frowned and shook his head, then dragged himself over to where Aidan sat.
Kaijin returned the orb back to the haversack and acknowledged Kyniythyria. “What else do you know about me, Great Mistress?” he asked. “What other advice can you offer?”
Kyniythyria hissed. “I know that you enjoy fire. And I know that despite your unlikely power as a Firebrand, you regret something that happened in the past.” She eyed him sternly.
Kaijin cringed. Regret wasn’t the right word to describe how he felt. He crossed his arms and rubbed his biceps, dwelling on his thoughts. He could feel the gaze of his companions bearing down on him. As it stood, they all admitted to his difference from them;
would his admitting to his crimes only make things worse?
Who cares at this point? It seems I’ve nothing more to live for. He looked at Kyniythyria, eye-to-eye. “I regret everything I’ve done and more. No one had to die, Great Mistress.”
He didn’t care who listened. He could see Zarya out of the corner of his eye. Omari stared at him, intrigued. Aidan remained sitting but seemed to intently listen to the conversation. Nester stood next to Aidan, bearing a look of uncertainty on his face.
Kyniythyria tilted her head to the side. “Who died?”
Kaijin swallowed. “Everyone, including my parents and younger brother. My whole family is dead, Great Mistress. So many innocents are dead because of me.” He lowered his head. His eyes burned with tears. “I ... I did it. I killed them all....”
Zarya looked shocked.
Kyniythyria tilted her head back. She stared at him coolly.
“I wish I could have controlled it,” Kaijin continued. “But I am a dangerous threat to society. I am a monster—I am a mage.”
Omari scowled.
“You rescued my child,” Kyniythyria replied. “You are hardly a monster.”
Kaijin frowned bitterly. “My former master said that I was different—that he’d never seen magic quite like mine. He said my magic was ‘tainted’ in some way. And I still don’t know how. I’m an abomination, Great Mistress. I should be dead! I hear voices. I ... I feel things that are beyond my power. I—”
“You dare doubt my words, boy?!” Kyniythyria growled. “Cease this senseless talk. If you were truly as evil as you claim to be, then I would’ve not entrusted you to find my child—in fact, I would’ve killed you myself while you slept in my cave. I sense there is more to your story than you let on, Kaijin. But alas, the goddess forgives those pure in heart. If it were not so, then you would not be standing here telling me your woes.”
Zarya bit her lip. “Forgive me, Great Mistress, for not offering that comfort and assurance that Kaijin needed during his times of trouble. I’ve said and done terrible things—I failed....”
Kyniythyria snorted. “Then fix those failures, learn from them, and do not make them again, lest you are determined to fall from grace.”
Enflamed (Book 2) Page 24