Burned

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

Chapter Twenty-Three

  Idris.

  The wardens figured out way too late that we weren’t actually supposed to be there. Avianna flew out of my collar and some of them dove down, looking scared. The mayhem began, the wardens had magic, but their spells weren’t refined enough. Their energy bounced off of my skin and Avianna was already burning them with her fire. For a baby dragon, she had very strong lungs.

  We were in the large open corridor with several entrances. Rhian and Idris were using lightening magic to disable the wardens. They weren’t at all prepared for what was just about to come. We managed to push them to the back, a few escaped outside, others were still fighting. Energy pounded through my system and I had never felt more alive.

  Rhian moved to the right, releasing a bright white light from her palms. She looked like she was completely absorbed by her energy. It looked as if she had been trying to break free for a long time.

  “The Dark Ones might show up here soon. You two need to get to the west wing. Your friend is most likely being kept in there. I will hold them off for now!” Rhian shouted at us. Before I could tell her that she was out of her mind, Idris grabbed my hand.

  “Let’s go. She knows the prison. She’ll catch up with us.”

  We took off running, leaving Rhian to fight off the other wardens. Avianna was flying, screaming that she wanted to burn up some Dark Ones. She saw the eggs in the ground and she was disturbed. I had no idea what the Dark Ones were planning to do with the dragons born in Dimond City, but the creatures wouldn’t be able to survive long in the Underground.

  We reached the end of the corridor and spotted a set of stairs. We had no idea where to head to next and Idris looked lost. Adrenaline was coursing through my body, making me a little dizzy.

  I shut my eyes, trying to ignore the pounding of my heart. We needed to calm down a little and figure out our next move.

  “The Dark Ones have been alerted. The prisoners are very excited; they’re shouting and screaming about freedom. There are some dead wardens, too. I’m sorry, Fran,” her voice rang through my head.

  “Okay, guide us to Nicolas. We have to find him. He’s still alive,” I told her.

  “There is a small room on the first floor. Hide there for now. The Dark Ones are sensing you guys. They’re after us,” she suggested.

  “Come on, I have an idea,” I said to Idris, and we hit the stairs. We got to the first floor, hearing heavy footsteps and some shouting coming from the north side. I pushed the door, that lucky for us, wasn’t locked. Idris and I barged inside. The room was small, filled with tables and chairs. Idris grabbed my hand and as soon as the door shut we sensed mages and wardens outside. The Dark Ones magic was different—heavier.

  Avianna flew to a table and started picking up bits of food that someone must have left there. Seconds later, Idris brought me closer to his chest. Then he was kissing me, and I began to forget about the havoc outside, about the exhaustion and the danger that we’d found ourselves in. His lips tasted divine, and heat enveloped my body.

  “Wow, you two, get a room. I don’t think I can look at you like that any longer,” Avianna’s voice rang in my head.

  I pulled away from Idris, realising I’d forgotten myself for a moment. His eyes were on fire.

  “I’d love to kiss you more, but this isn’t the time or the place,” I mumbled, embarrassed and glanced at my baby dragon. “And you don’t say anything. You weren’t even supposed to see this.”

  She was laughing internally, singing some love song again until she told me that the outside was clear.

  “When this whole thing is over, I’m taking you out on a proper date. You deserve to feel normal,” he told me, and I smiled. He was right. I hadn’t experienced normality in a really long time. Outside, the corridor was empty again.

  Several minutes later we were running through the narrow space, passing empty prison cells. There were signs pointing toward the west wing.

  “Second floor—I sense a lot of magic up there,” Idris muttered, sounding apprehensive. We climbed the stairs, still not seeing any Dark Ones. Sooner or later we were going to have to fight a few of them.

  I thought that this was too easy, too simple that no one was trying to stop us. I was worried about Rhian, hoping she was all right.

  “Stop, you two!” someone shouted and before we could react, a spell hit me in the back. I went down as sharp pain shot across the back of my head.

  I screamed and kept screaming as I was seeing vivid images of my friend, Dara, like she was still burning alive. The Dark Ones came out of nowhere and I couldn’t move. They got into my head. Their magic was soaking into my bones and I didn’t know what was real anymore.

  I lifted my head slightly, seeing that Idris was trying to fight two Dark Ones and they had him under some sort of spell. Avianna started making strange hissing sounds like she was in pain.

  Then she flew down releasing her magical fire, burning their hoods. I shook my head and gritted my teeth. The pain finally eased off; my dragon must have distracted them, so I could get up. Moments later, wind swept through the whole place. Both mages were thrown against the wall and when I glanced at my hands, my fingers were sparkling.

  Idris got up, staring at me with his eyes wide; he looked disorientated for a second.

  “How the hell did you do that?” he asked me, and I didn’t understand what he was talking about. My chest felt heavy, too. One of the Dark Ones must have used his spell to mess around with my energy. I still felt the effects of their magic in my system. Avianna was trying to put me back together. I couldn’t be the one who created the wind; this kind of power could only belong to mages.

  “It wasn’t me,” I mumbled.

  “It was you, but we don’t have time to discuss it. We’re somewhere in the North wing. Come on, let’s try to keep going. There will be more of them here soon,” Idris said.

  The two Dark Ones started coming around, so we needed to get out of there fast. Around the corner there were a large door. Idris used his magic to break the lock.

  My heart sped up when I spotted the sign showing the direction to the west wing. The guard’s station was empty, and I found this odd. Something was wrong, but I didn’t want to think about it for now.

  “There’s a list. Nicolas is in cell F,” Idris told me grabbing a pad with prisoners’ information. This was it. We made it here and now we just had to get him outside. This was going to be the most difficult part.

  We started marching through the long corridor, passing the locked cells.

  “A … B … C—” Idris was counting. I was worried; my anxiety was rising with every step. The doors were locked with magical spells and we couldn’t see who was behind them. I remembered being locked up in one of these tiny rooms without a window in my lifetime. It took a month of recovery to be able to even go outside again. Now Nicolas was here, too, and I had no idea how he was coping.

  “Cell F—this it. Step away,” Idris said, pushing me away.

  He waved his hand, mumbling some incoherent formulas of magic. He knew what he was doing, but I was already pacing around nervously. Avianna sat on my arm and the instant warmth slid down my spine.

  “Just stay calm, he’s there. I can sense him,” Avianna was telling me, but I needed to see him for myself.

  Finally, the spell was broken, and the door seemed to move. Seconds later I saw him. Nicolas was sitting on a bench with his head down. He looked terrible and he had lost a lot of weight. His internal energy felt almost nonexistent.

  I was frozen on the spot, unable to move. My heart was pounding in my chest, way too fast, and I really wanted to touch him.

  “Nicolas, Nicolas. It’s me, Francesca. I came to take you home,” I said, and my own voice vibrated with emotion.

  He didn’t hear me or maybe he was pretending that I wasn’t even there.

  “Fran, no, it’s a trap,” said another voice that I finally recognised. Then black smoke filled the cell and I started coughing. Avianna his
sed and snarled loudly in distress. I could hear the batting of her small wings.

  The smoke descended and a long moment later, I realised that I wasn’t standing near Nicolas, but Magnus.

  He grabbed Avianna, his hand was gripped around her spine and she was going crazy. He smiled at me and then he looked at his son who still stood in the entrance to the cell.

  “The council should have never trusted you. I cannot believe you betrayed me like this,” Magnus spoke, and Idris started marching towards him.

  “No, Idris. Stop, he has Avianna,” I cried out.

  In the corner of the cell, I spotted the real Nicolas. He sat in the corner, staring at me with his eyes wide. He was completely bald and my heart broke. He looked worse than I imagined and the sparkle in his eyes was gone.

  “Nicolas, I’m sorry,” I whispered but he shook his head.

  “Father, let the dragon go. She doesn’t belong to the council and Fran has done nothing wrong. I don’t agree with the violence,” Idris shouted, sounding furious but he was making this situation worse.

  Seconds later, my whole body felt weak and I must have passed out for a good few moments. The pain was unbearable. When I opened my eyes, Magnus was spreading some kind dust around me. My whole body ached, and my magic was gone.

  Avianna was snarling. He must have locked her up in the cage that I carried with me everywhere.

  “You won’t get away with this. I saw the eggs on the way here and once every warden discovers the truth, they will start an uprising,” I shouted, trying to lift myself up, but my muscles failed to obey me. Nicolas was staring at me and I wondered how long I had been out and why that bastard, Magnus, hadn’t called for any back up. Idris stood by me and he was staring blankly at the space ahead. Something was wrong—something was very, very wrong.

  “I underestimated you, warden girl, but now, I’m going to correct my mistake. This was supposed to be straightforward. The wardens have always been the weak link and soon enough, they will be extinguished from the whole Lower World. You will never get your hands on those eggs,” Magnus was saying, sounding confident.

  Avianna was screaming in my head that he had done something to Idris while I was unconscious. I looked around, trying to think of something. Idris needed to snap out of it and help me deal with this mess. I needed him now.

  “Don’t worry, you are going to stay here forever; your body will rot in this cell. And your dragon will serve the council well. The wardens will remain ignorant forever.” Magnus laughed and then he pointed at his son. “Idris, kill her. Be the man you were always supposed to be. Prove to me you are a Dark One!”

  I started shaking my head, crawling towards the wall. Idris must have been charmed. He attacked me, and I tried to kick him, but I felt so weak. I couldn’t call out for my magic; I couldn’t do anything. Seconds later, his hands were wrapped around my neck and he was suffocating me. I didn’t recognise him, his irises were completely dark, like he had been possessed.

  I tried to speak, kicked him with my knee, but he was squeezing his hands harder around my throat. Magic pushed through my pores, but it was all for nothing.

  “You bewitched him. He was supposed to be the greatest, the strongest, and you poisoned his mind with some kind of stupid ideal. The dragons never belonged to wardens. Even Qesborth was one of us. He was a mage!”

  His father was speaking and then I realised he must have taken some kind of control of Idris. Magnus was waiting for me in here, which meant that someone knew we were going to show up. My pulse was slowing down, and my life was fading. I couldn’t fight anymore. Idris was going to kill me, and he was doing what his father always wanted.

  “No don’t give up, Fran. Fight him. There is magic inside of you, just reach for it. It’s not Idris,” her sweet voice was coming to me.

  The pain was the greatest I’d ever felt and then I couldn’t hear her voice. It wasn’t reaching me anymore. Oxygen wasn’t getting to my lungs, and I was drowning in deep waters of oblivion. There was no more hope for me. The man who I cared about most was going to end me.

  Then everything went black and his grip loosened; I felt warmth floating through me. Then someone was talking, and I thought maybe I’d been saved after all.

  “You were always a coward, Magnus,” a familiar voice echoed through the cell.

  Chapter Twenty-Four.

  The goodbyes.

  My head was really hurting when I lifted myself up. Rhian was now in the cell and she looked mad. Her hair was electrified, and her dress was burned. Pink, purple and yellow waves of magic swirled around the room, bouncing everywhere. Idris’s father was screaming, pressing his hands to his head, like he was in excruciating pain. Idris was lying on the ground next to me. He wasn’t moving, and Nicolas was standing in the back of the cell giggling to himself.

  Yeah, he was laughing as Rhian charged back at her brother. I kept blinking, trying to figure out what I’d missed. My throat felt raw, but I could finally breathe in oxygen again.

  Idris’s aunt was charged with enormous power that I could feel in my core. She smiled, but her eyes were shinning with purple light. The static energy was drawn inside me until a fierce throbbing sliced through my temple. Magnus was trying to fight back, and his magic was affecting me.

  A few more seconds and Idris would have killed me. Then I remembered my dragon. I unlocked the cage and she flew out, releasing bits of fire.

  “Avianna, Avianna, what’s going on? Are you all right? I asked, looking around for the cage.

  “I was trying to treat that stupid mage with some of my fire, but he locked me up. I couldn’t do anything, and his magic changed Idris. He was killing you and I felt like your magic was ending. Then Rhian appeared out of nowhere. In some kind of smoke and she pushed Idris off of you. She was amazing.”

  “You, selfish son of a bitch.!” Rhian shouted again, and I wondered if I could get to Nicolas.

  Magnus was breathing hard, staring at his sister with the pure hatred. He was crawling towards Idris. Rhian narrowed her eyes at him and more energy pounded through her. I was anxious, more Dark Ones were going to show up here at any moment. The alarm was already raised, and we needed to get out of there.

  I wanted to get up. I wanted to tell Rhian that it was all over now, that we could escape, but I was still too weak.

  Moments later, Avianna flew over to me and spread her body over my chest. She began healing me.

  “Stop it, Rhian. This dragon needs to be killed. That egg was supposed to be destroyed—”

  “Don’t lie. You were never going to destroy the egg. You were planning to recharge your position in the council, that’s why you decided to wait for Idris here. Do you think after so many years you could still fool me?” she demanded, and she charged at him with more energy. Magnus stared fighting back, but he used his energy to take full control of Idris. His waves of light seemed broken and Rhian was only just getting started.

  “Our nation will fall. The greatest of the Dark Ones has foreseen it. I’m only altering the future, fixing what might be our greatest downfall!”

  “Oh, please—stop spreading lies. You created that fake hearing, just so you could keep me locked up for all these years, but it’s over now. I have chosen my side and I believe your son has, too!”

  I had no idea what Magnus was talking about, but in that moment, it really didn’t matter. Rhian knew my story, she knew I found Avianna by chance. Magnus must have known I’d brought the egg over from Draconia.

  He charged at her with one strong lightning spell and he managed to break their connection. Then he glanced at me with the most hateful expression that I could ever imagine. Rhian was thrown to the back and Avianna was still healing me. I needed to recover fast, because Magnus was already approaching.

  “Let’s end this once and for all, so my son can forget about you,” he whispered and lifted his hand.

  My energy swirled in the pit of my stomach, but I knew it was going to be too late. I was still inexperien
ced and felt so empty. I was trying to push Avianna off of me, but the baby dragon wouldn’t move. She was screaming that she wanted to protect me.

  I shut my eyes and waited for him to end me, wondering what would happen to Nicolas. The pain never came, instead I heard Magnus scream.

  More yellow light consumed the room, blinding me for a long moment. I couldn’t open my eyes as panic settled in.

  Sometime later—I couldn’t be sure—it was difficult to track the time, everything went back to normal.

  “It’s all right, hon. He can’t hurt you anymore. I don’t think he will be able to hurt anyone else now,” said the voice that I most definitely recognised. Rhian was leaning over me, and I was covered with golden dust.

  I heard moaning in the background. Idris was coming around, too, and Avianna was flying around the cell. She seemed okay, too.

  “What happened?” I asked, looking for Magnus’s corpse.

  When I looked around, I wanted to see what had happened with Magnus, but he seemed to have vanished. Rhian walked up to Nicolas. She wrapped her arms around him, whispering something to him. My neck was still sore, but I still had my magic. Somehow, Avianna changed it and healed me, while we made a connection.

  “What the hell happened?” I asked again, crawling towards Idris who looked completely disorientated. I hoped he wasn’t planning to attack me again. “Where is Magnus.”

  “You don’t have to worry about him for now. He was sent away to a place where he belongs,” Rhian said happily. That didn’t explain much.

  “Francesca, are you all right?” Idris asked, but Avianna hissed at him, so he backed away.

  “Your father used some sort of demonic curse to take complete control of your energy,” Rhian explained. “You nearly strangled Francesca.”

  Idris eyes drifted over the bruises on my neck and my arms, and he clenched his fists. He looked like he was just about to explode.