The Imperial Dragon spewed a wall of flame, burning six fire drakes enough to take them out of the battle.
Yord jutted into the opening left behind.
“This way.” Cullen motioned at the Unicorn with his staff. “You take the lead.”
The Unicorn darted through. He sped around the far side of the rock wall into a wide fissure.
The senior blue dragon flew close behind, spreading his wings wider than necessary over them.
The Guardian flew at top speed directly at a solid rock face with no door or opening.
Lyra pointed her staff at the wall. This time, her weak aura couldn’t stop their impact. As the stone loomed before them, she gritted her teeth.
Kenzo sailed past them.
A cry for him to stop stuck in her throat.
Chapter Three: Secret Passages
Lyra gasped.
Tendrils of the Unicorn’s aura touched the rock wall and crawled like vines across the rough granite.
Without hesitation, Kenzo flew top speed into the area of the cliff face draped with white aura.
The Unicorn darted to one side, out of the owl’s path.
Jostled, Lyra clenched the Unicorn’s mane.
The owl passed through and disappeared.
The Guardian lowered his head. Pointing his horn at the wall, white power splayed into a wide circle.
Yord hovered behind until the diameter widened, then passed.
Cullen flattened himself along Yord’s back, barely clearing the circle’s upper edge.
Finally, the Unicorn broke his line of aura aimed at the wall and sailed forward. The circle diminished rapidly. Lyra feared they wouldn’t make it through in time. At impact, his head cleared only by inches. He landed with an unsteady clatter of hoofs against a stone floor.
She lost her seat and flew forward over his head. His mist still clouded the air around them, confounding her sight. Afraid they’d collide with whatever lay beyond, she unsuccessfully attempted to command her staff in mid-air.
Soft feathers of Kenzo’s wings brushed her face and arms.
Cullen’s blue lasers shot around them. Threads of light formed a net, bracing them from impact with the back wall of the room.
Lyra rolled along the netting with Kenzo tumbling on top of her stomach until they landed gently on the floor.
The Unicorn dropped awkwardly to his knees.
“What just happened?” she asked, checking to make sure the Staurolite remained in her hand.
Yord offered a foreclaw to help her stand. “We opened one of the secret passageways into the lair. The main entrance is covered with the green dragons’ toxic chlorine gas. Also, it’s probably secured from the inside by several wards.”
“Why haven’t we used this entry before?” Lyra bent and checked the Unicorn’s legs to make sure he received no injuries.
“Only a Guardian can open the secret doors.” He responded and cautiously stood while extending and flexing his limbs as she directed.
“That’s a lucky break for us,” she replied. “Will the Imperial Dragon come in this way also? Should we clear away from the landing?”
Yord shook his head. “Most likely he’ll avoid this one, in case we were followed. He’ll select other hidden doors to allow our squadrons’ safe passage.”
“Let’s proceed to the grand hall in case a ward needs to be strengthened.” The Unicorn walked toward the corridor. “I expect the Tortoise handled that, but let’s determine if he needs assistance.”
Cullen and Lyra followed, and Kenzo flew above their heads. “How do you feel?” Cullen asked her.
“I had a momentary spell of weakness after I shot that cimafa, but I’m feeling better now,” she replied. “I think the Staurolite might be helping me regain my balance of power more easily.” She displayed the stone to him.
“You found it! I’m sure it does help.” Cullen nodded. “I saw that fight. You dueled the cimafa and won. No wonder you’re a bit weak.”
The senior blue sentry walked with difficulty a distance behind them. The corridor twisted and turned, slowing the dragon’s progress.
“We’re in the far south side of the lair.” The Unicorn paused and called back. “Just a little farther.”
After a few more turns, they entered parts of the lair that Lyra recognized, decorated with pennants of the Alliance on fields of royal blue.
The Tortoise Guardian and Sorceress Mimio met them in front of the archway which led to the grand hall. He extended his craggy neck, and she raised a hand. “Go no farther,” the Guardian requested in a raspy voice, then glanced at his assistant. “I told you he’d lead them through a secret passage. Everyone appears safe.” He broke off into a fit of coughs.
Lyra peered into the huge gathering room. Changes had happened since they left only hours before. All of the elaborate wool carpets and tapestries were gone. Chandeliers of candles and the wrought iron wall sconces illuminated a foggy haze. Through the mist past the opposite archway of the outer foyer, the battle continued with flashes of magma and lightning. Long tails of blue sentries slashed through the air above the landing ledge. Open jaws of an attacking green dragon appeared and exhaled a dense cloud of chlorine gas. Lyra jerked backward, and Cullen’s strong arm encircled her waist.
“No need to worry,” the Tortoise directed her. “We’ve layered the wards.” He looked to Mimio. “How many did we place? I’ve lost count.”
“At least twenty of varying types.” The corners of her pale eyes watered, and she dabbed them with a handkerchief embroidered with stars, the same motif on her long dress and head scarf. “Setting the first couple proved the hardest…that gas seeped through cracks.” She gasped for breath. “We removed all the finery and added wards over the inner walls and this archway as extra protection.”
“Still, the entire lair will need to be monitored.” The Tortoise lowered his head and coughed through thick mucus. “This is the weakest area since it is an entrance. The lair’s walls have been protected with secret wards through the ages. We Guardians routinely check and fortify those. They should stand strong.” His massive rune-covered shell scraped the ground.
“You both need to be treated for inhalation injuries.” Cullen nodded to Lyra, then stooped and ran his fingers along the rough skin of the Tortoise’s throat.
She did the same, palpating the soft, wrinkled skin over Mimio’s sinuses which seemed swollen.
“I appreciate your consideration, but I wasn’t able to treat either of us.” Lyra examined lower respiratory passageways and lung tissue, and the sorceress flinched. “Our magic is ineffective to treat this injury from a true black power, the same way we can’t treat cimafas’ injuries.”
Cullen stepped back and ran a hand through the waves of his shoulder-length, brown hair. “Sadly, she’s right. I could only relieve some symptoms, draining mucus.”
Lyra moved her full skirt aside to sit more comfortably and work. She pushed more of her scribal aura into her hand and probed deeper tissues. “I think I can try something that might help.” She glanced at Cullen. “Please steady her. Mimio, if this hurts, let me know.”
The sorceress nodded and braced against Cullen’s arm.
Lyra poured a thin film of her aura over an area of bumpy lesions in the lung tissue. She paused and monitored the effects. The tissue smoothed. “How did that feel?”
“Tolerable.” Mimio straightened her delicate frame. “But I can breathe more easily.” She took a deeper breath. “Amazing!”
“I only did a small portion,” Lyra replied. “The process is tedious to work with delicate tissues that deep.”
“It does help. Please administer care to our elder Guardian.”
“I’m anxious to hear about the outcome of your quest to the Sea of Cogadh,” the Tortoise said to the Unicorn as Lyra gently touched his throat. “Please tell us your account while our Scribe and Imperial Sorcerer work.”
Methodically, she treated small patches of inflamed respiratory membrane
s, and Cullen provided both physical and magical support to calm and stabilize.
The Unicorn told how they recovered the Staurolite but both the young seer, Kessa, and the Pearl of Pendola were taken by the Dark Realm.
When Lyra resumed treating the sorceress, she winced. “Are you all right?” Lyra asked.
“Yes, my dear. I’m just outraged that foolish mother endangered her daughter. She had no good reason to take her from this lair. Such a sweet child.”
“And a valuable seer.” The Tortoise lifted his head from Cullen’s broad shoulder. “That is a tremendous cost to the Alliance.”
“We need to plan what order to follow, finding the keystones or saving Kessa first,” Lyra said without taking her concentration from her healing efforts.
“What is the current status here? Have we lost more fighters?” asked the Unicorn. “That may help determine our strategy.”
“We saw two blues receive fatal wounds from ice drakes,” the Tortoise replied. “Three others dropped from the sky off of the landing cliff. They weren’t brought in, so I don’t know.”
The Unicorn stomped a large hoof against the stone floor. “Let’s hope they’re still alive. We need each of them desperately.” He looked at Lyra. “Whatever course is chosen, it must be swift.”
They all nodded.
“A decision of this magnitude requires a quorum of Guardians. We need the Imperial Dragon or the Phoenix.” The Tortoise surveyed their faces. “Was the leader close behind when you all arrived?”
“No. He’ll defend his fighters until each is safe,” Cullen responded.
“Sire Drake is correct. I’ll go check the other secret entrances to see if he’s arrived.” The Unicorn turned and trotted down the main corridor toward the Imperial Dragon’s observatory.
“We’ll meet in my library,” the Tortoise called after him, then motioned with his head toward that room. Along the way, he alerted a guard to direct the Imperial Dragon upon his arrival.
***
In the library, Lyra dropped onto her familiar floor cushion at one of the four low library tables. She hadn’t thought she’d ever be happy to rest there again after more than a week of constant study, pouring over ancient scribal texts. She had longed to be in two places, to do that task of decoding the magic of her ancestors, but also to help fight in the battle with her new, stronger powers. Now, tired from warfare, she gladly eased her sore muscles into a resting position.
The clatter of the Unicorn’s hoofs along the stone corridor caused both her and Cullen to jerk to attention. The Guardian’s white aura billowed under the heavy wooden door before he entered. Once inside, he reported, “Two squadrons have returned. Most believe that the Imperial Dragon will follow shortly.”
“Are any wounded and needing care?” Cullen asked.
“I’ll go.” Mimio glanced at the sorcerer.
“Yes, there are, but one squadron brought back several higher magicals from the cave strongholds in the Meadow of Peace. They will help mend the injured for now.” The Unicorn raised his horn toward the door and stood very still, as if listening to something Lyra couldn’t hear.
A soft rap sounded on the door before it cracked open and Kenzo flew in. “The leader is on his way.” The owl flew to a perch on a table edge near his master.
Thunderous noise of dragon footfall pounded in the hallway. The leader gave orders with a deep, raspy voice. After quieting a coughing fit, he entered and scanned the room with watery, bloodshot eyes. “The battle has calmed. Many deaths on each side.” He paused to suck in a breath that gurgled over thick mucus. “We lost many, maybe ten fighters. More are wounded.” He faced Mimio. “Please, direct the team of six magicals.”
She nodded and slipped behind him to leave.
Cullen strode to the leader’s side. “Are you well, Head Guardian?”
The leader nodded and leaned forward into a squat. He stared blankly at the Tortoise. “What happened here while we were at the Sea?” He gasped for air. “Is the lair secure?”
The Tortoise nodded and began to give his answer but abruptly stopped—the Imperial Dragon crashed to the floor.
A film of green liquid dripped from his mouth as he muttered, “Call for the Phoenix.”
Cullen spread his hands over the leader’s head, and Lyra did the same over his lungs. “He has serious lung lesions from chlorine gas exposure,” she said, not taking her eyes away.
“His cranial electrical impulses are erratic.”
Chapter Four: Chlorine Gas
Adrenaline flooded Lyra’s body. She pushed more aura into her hands to better locate and repair damaged tissues. Her fingers pressed firmly against the Imperial Dragon’s scales to maneuver her aura into deep parts of his lungs. “Monitor his—”
“Normal.” Before she finished the request, Cullen had checked the leader’s heart rhythms. He passed his hands gently over the head. “Quieter electrical impulses, but all regions remain active—no permanent damage.”
Lyra maintained her focus, healing the most badly injured areas first. “Let’s keep it that way.”
“Work fast,” Cullen snapped. “His pulse has weakened in his hind legs and tail.”
The Unicorn stepped to the window. The room filled with a bright, white light from his horn. “I sent a message to the Phoenix but how soon she will receive it, I cannot say. If she’s within the secured caves helping the residents, my aura will transmit slowly to her through cracks in the rocks.”
Beads of perspiration trickled from under Lyra’s hair down the nape of her neck.
Taking a position beside the Imperial Dragon, the Tortoise charged the surface of his body. The runes on the plates of his shell shone clearly. He brushed a cheek against the leader’s forehead and bathed his unresponsive face in silver aura.
The Unicorn paced back and forth from the window to where the others gathered. “Is anything helping?”
Without looking up, Cullen shook his head. He monitored heart functions, his shoulder touching Lyra’s.
She was glad that contact would allow them to combine their unique powers, but also enable private communication.
The heartbeat is developing an arrhythmia, Cullen said. It’s slight, but we can’t let this continue long.
Can you keep his rhythm normal with your magic? she asked.
If I borrow some of your power, I should be able to.
Take my deeper aura. What I hold in my hands, I’ve fine-tuned to this exact healing.
He nodded, and she felt some of her aura passing through their connected shoulders.
Shouldn’t we tell the other Guardians? she asked.
Yes, but let me try to stabilize the heartbeat first. Cullen’s face contorted into a grimace, and he sucked in a sharp breath. Success! You tell them. I can’t drop focus.
“The heartbeat is irregular. Cullen’s using his and some of my aura to keep it steady. I’ve healed more than half of the damage. The treatment is taxing the leader’s system, but he’ll die with his lungs full of fluid.”
The Tortoise trembled and snapped his tail inside his shell.
The Unicorn strode toward the window. Dusk descended over the sky. “I see the golden light of the Phoenix! Let’s hope she can help.”
Moments later, golden light passed under the library door and collected into a whirling orb.
The spinning ball of light slowed and transformed into the fourth Guardian—the Phoenix. “Oh! What is wrong with our leader?” She treaded air, beating her blue wings in a frenzy. “I came as soon as I received your message.”
The Unicorn greeted her and explained the situation. “Before the leader became unconscious, he asked for you. Can you help? Your aura is specialized to delve inside beings.”
“Yes, but I’m not a healer.” She shed a wild shower of sparks from her tail feathers. “I can only assess and correct energy imbalances to strengthen individuals against injury.”
“Like you did for me when I couldn’t form powerballs?” Lyra asked.
“Exactly.” The Phoenix flew around the perimeter of the circle.
The Tortoise raised his head from the leader’s face and addressed the Phoenix. “Can you connect to access his aura?”
“Are you thinking that way we can combine all four Guardians’ powers?” The Unicorn spiraled white energy along the length of his horn.
The Tortoise nodded.
“I can’t think of a better plan,” Cullen snapped, his brow lined. “Can you do it?” he asked the Phoenix.
“I don’t know. I’ll do my best.” The Phoenix hovered closer.
“Should I continue my healing?” Lyra asked. “Or will all the energy entering him be too much?” She felt Cullen’s arm begin to shake.
Cullen glanced at her. Sweat dripped from his brow. “How much do you have left to do? What severity?”
“I’m finishing one large badly damaged area now, if you can hold on a little longer. The rest is widespread but more superficial and can wait.”
“My energy is wavering. When you complete that region, ease away. Keep contact with me in case I need more of your energy to support his heart. The Guardians will take over then.”
“Yes.” Lyra kept her eyes fixed on her hands, willing them to work faster.
The three Guardians drew nearer.
“Almost done. Just a minute more.” Lyra healed deep tissues in one lung quadrant, then leaned back and pressed her shoulder tighter into Cullen’s. “There. Done.”
With one hand, Cullen guided the end of the Unicorn’s horn to the location of the leader’s heart.
The Tortoise touched a front foot to the same area.
The Lady of Peace hovered lower, trailing a tail fiber at the point. Her blue feathers sent golden sparks that mingled with white spirals and silver haze from the other two.
Through Cullen, Lyra felt the enormous blast of energy sent by the Guardians.
“I don’t feel the leader’s aura. Can you reach it?” the Unicorn asked the Phoenix.
“It’s deep,” she replied. “Pulled inside closer to the soul. Energy goes to the soul before death.”
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