As the fight went on, Hayden felt his arm was beginning to get heavy, and as soon as he noticed it, he backed off and slowed down.
He realized the dwarf must have been trying to tire him out and use Hayden’s anger against him, so he stopped attacking.
If you are done, I could end this for you. Draek said. He had been following the fight but hadn’t intervened yet.
No, I need to do this myself. Hayden argued. Sweat threatened to fall down his face, but with his helmet on he could not wipe it clean.
Remember that if you die, I die. Draek reminded him. And I won’t let that happen. Hayden knew that at any moment Draek could end the fight, but this was something that Hayden needed to do on his own.
Hayden shouted as he brought his blade down, but instead of blocking his attack the dwarf deflected it to the side. Hayden used the momentum of his attack to slam his head into the dwarf’s.
Hayden felt like he was headbutting a stone wall, but he was wearing his eagle helmet. When he pulled his head back, he saw that he had finally done some damage.
He had sliced open the dwarf’s forehead, and blood was flowing down his face and into his beard. The dwarf seemed more annoyed that he was hurt, but the blood was getting in his eyes.
It was enough to make him mad and start attacking Hayden. He swung the ax like it didn’t weigh any more than a stick. He spun around so all Hayden could do was back up and keep his sword up between them.
Enough of this. Draek said, almost bored with the fight. He opened his mouth and drenched the dwarf, who was still spinning, in fire. Hayden had to shield his face from both the heat and light.
I said I wanted to fight him. Hayden said as he started to uncover his eyes.
Hayden heard a shout and lifted his sword out of instinct. He was just able to get his sword up to block the ax blade that fell on him. The dwarf’s hair was smoldering and almost completely gone, his robes giving off embers that floated up into the air. His ax blade was glowing slightly, and Hayden could make out faint flames coming off the metal.
Well go ahead then, fight him. Draek said as he backed away from the smoking dwarf.
Hayden continued to back up as the dwarf wiped the blood from his face and tried to clear his vision. Hayden lunged at him and tried to stab the dwarf, but his blade stopped short as the dwarf caught the sword in his hand.
Hayden pushed harder, but the blade refused to move. Hayden looked up in disbelief as the dwarf met his gaze.
Hayden and the dwarf locked eyes. He was covered in sweat while the dwarf’s face was a mess of ash and blood. The dwarf grimaced as Hayden’s blade slipped through his grasp.
The dwarf’s hand was smeared in his blood that he had been wiping off his face and he wasn’t able to hold the blade any longer. Hayden felt his sword slip slightly and pushed harder, moving his right foot back to give him more leverage. Hayden grunted as his sword cut free of the dwarf’s grasp, digging into his chest. His gray eyes widened before he fell to the floor.
Chapter Seven
Hayden stood over the body of the dwarf, in disbelief about what had taken place.
Your fire didn’t stop him. Hayden said.
He was burning, it just didn’t seem to bother him. Draek replied. Hayden put his blade back in his sheath and moved to where the dwarves had opened the walkway in the wall.
The dwarves were nowhere to be found, and the way seemed clear. There was a lot of unknowns before them, but everything was riding on their choices.
Do we follow them? Hayden asked. He was still a little winded from his fight, and he could feel his heart trying to slow down.
We don’t have a choice. Draek said. He lowered himself so Hayden could climb on his back. Before he did, Hayden convinced Draek to allow him to look at his tail. The wound looked far worse than it was, there was blood smeared everywhere but compared to Draek’s size the injury was small.
With that finished, Hayden quickly climbed into the saddle, but he didn’t strap himself in. He didn’t know if he would have to get down quickly. If he had to though, they didn’t want to have to worry about straps.
Let's go but not too hasty. Hayden said. Draek rumbled his agreement and began walking. Hayden could feel his nervousness and knew that his own worries must be felt by Draek.
Together, they slowly moved down the passage, Draek’s claws clicking on the stone flow as they scraped with every step. They followed the way the tunnel bent and turned into the mountain. It was dark in the tunnel, but there were a few torches lit on the walls. They allowed them to be able to see where they were going but very little else. Hayden tried to make out the passageway but there was no use, and Draek insisted that they needed to be focused and not wondering about the sights.
The air was stale as if the corridor had been locked away for a long time, which Hayden figured it probably had. Dust and cobwebs covered the walls that he could see, and they could clearly make out the footprints and tracks from the dwarves and the one red dragon made in the dust on the floor.
They followed the winding corridor until it opened up into what appeared to be a throne room, or at least it might have been one before the mountain keep had fallen.
Hayden could see bits and pieces of ornate carvings that were illuminated in the room by the few, scarce fires that were lit. The room was still dark and full of shadows as over half the braziers and torches weren’t burning. Most had fallen over or were being used as washing bins.
The room was in disarray where the dwarves had made makeshift cots and had turned the throne room into living quarters. They were using some of the braziers to cook food, and they even had clothes hanging up to dry around the walls. It was a sad new reality compared to how ornate the throne room must have been.
Hayden tried to look around the room to take everything in, but once his eyes fell upon the pile of red dragons sleeping in the far corner, he didn’t notice anything else.
As if they had sensed his eyes upon them, several red dragons lifted their heads up above the twisted knots of red scales that were their bodies.
“It is done then.” One of the dwarves that had been with the group stated. “We can talk about why you are here now.”
All eyes fell on Draek and Hayden as the dwarf walked over to them.
“This should go without saying, but if you or your dragon try to do something we don’t like or if we feel that you are lying to us, we will kill you.” The dwarf said while he washed his hands in a basin of water one of the female dwarves was holding.
He spoke casually as if they were old friends meeting up for dinner, but Hayden felt that the dwarf would enjoy nothing more than a chance to kill Hayden. The dwarf nodded his thanks to the female holding the basin before continuing to speak.
“You can get down from your dragon now. I don’t want to get a stiff neck looking at you up there the whole time we talk.” The dwarf said over his shoulder as he dried his hands. Hayden wanted to protest, and he could feel Draek’s objections, but they didn’t have a choice.
Draek lowered his shoulder allowing Hayden to climb down. The dwarves went back to their business and seemed content to ignore him and Draek completely.
“So.” The dwarf started. He looked Hayden up and down before continuing. “You come here asking for help, but you wear the armor of a Metallic Rider with the scales of all the races, save ours.” The dwarf spoke as he walked over to the throne that sat in the middle of the raised platform.
The throne was much larger than the dwarf, but it was cracked almost in half and what looked like dragon claw scratches covered the once smooth stone.
“You do carry a token of my people though, that small hammer on your dagger’s sheath. It is dwarvish, is it not?” He asked while pointing a thick finger at Hayden’s chest.
“It is,” Hayden admitted. He wanted to explain how he had gotten it, but the dwarf seemed to sense Hayden’s intentions and continued talking.
“Hmmm.” The dwarf said, almost to himself. “It is a symb
ol of a dwarf becoming a father for the first time, it is a gift that his mate gives him when she learns that she is with child.” The dwarf explained.
“If I am not mistaken, you are not a dwarf, correct?” He asked.
“I am not,” Hayden said, again wanting to explain but being cut off.
“You are not. Do you have a dwarf child?” He continued.
“I do not,” Hayden said, giving up on defending himself.
“You are not a dwarf, and you have no dwarf child.” The dwarf said, thinking over the words he was saying. “Take it off.” He locked eyes with Hayden, and he could hear the anger in his voice like a hammer hitting an anvil.
Hayden pulled out his dagger and cut off the small hammer. He held it out to the dwarf who took it carefully.
“Now that’s better.” He said. “I am tired of others taking from my people.” He said looking at the hammer. His eyes lifted from the small trinket and locked on Hayden’s helmet.
“Speaking of that, take that helmet off.” The dwarf said.
“My helmet?” Hayden asked, confused.
“That’s human steel, but I know my people’s skill. No one other than a dwarf could make that kind of detail.” He said.
Hayden undid his chin strap and removed his helmet. He held the eagle in his hands and looked at it differently for the first time. He was a little ashamed at how dirty the helmet had become, but he hadn’t had an opportunity to clean it, not in some time at least.
“Are you sure a dwarf made this,” Hayden asked, unsure if he was right. Hayden tried to inspect the helmet, but he didn’t know what he was looking for.
“I will take no offense to you questioning my knowledge of my people’s skill. I will prove it to you.” He said, holding out his hand for Hayden to hand him the helmet.
Hayden begrudgingly handed it over and watched as the dwarf looked the eagle over.
He carefully ran his hand down the feathers on the eagle’s tail and found the one he was looking for. Hayden couldn’t tell the difference between the feathers, but somehow the dwarf could.
He pulled on one of the feathers and the metal gave way. The eagle on his helmet spread open its wings as if it were about to take flight. The eagle shook its head slightly, and its beak opened in a silent screech.
The metal still looked flawless as if it had never moved in the first place. The dwarf smiled and looked up from the helmet. “This is something more than even I expected. I know of only one person that could have made this, but he is dead.” The dwarf’s smile faded away as he looked back at Hayden.
“So how did you come into possession of a helmet crafted by my brother?” He asked.
Hayden didn’t know what to say or where to start. He was still looking at his helmet trying to figure out how it had moved.
“Your brother?” Hayden asked. There were so many questions cycling through Hayden’s mind he didn’t know if he had asked the right one first.
How did his helmet move? Who was the dwarf’s brother? When did a dwarf make this helmet and how did Elizabeth get it? Did the other helmets that had been given to the first year riders all come from the hands of a dwarf?
“My brother.” The dwarf smiled but closed his eyes, reliving some memory. “My brother was Bureg. Know by many as Bureg the Swift, rider of Trohen. He was the Prince of the Strong Hammer Clan.” The dwarf opened his eyes.
“Over a year ago, his dragon flew with all of his might to this very mountain. He flew without his rider, something I don’t have to explain why it is so hard for a dragon to do.” He guessed.
Hayden remembered how hard Draek had wanted to follow him when he went off to fight Ricen, and he couldn’t imagine how hard it would have been for Draek to leave him, knowing that he would most likely die.
“Even so, he did leave my brother behind, to warn us of what the Metallic Nation was doing. We called our people and struck out to save my brother.” The dwarf continued.
Hayden realized at that moment, why the dwarves had been on the march to Celestial City. He had always assumed that they were coming to fight them for what they had done to their people but instead their primary focus, their only focus, was to save Bureg.
“We began our march, the largest in our people’s history. When we were ready to start marching with all our thousands of mighty warriors, Trohen died. He was flying with the other dragons and turned to stone in the blink of an eye. It was so sudden there were dwarves beneath him that didn’t have time to move out of the way.” Hayden had seen the damage a stone dragon could cause as they fell out of the sky.
“We had started our march out of desperation, with nothing but hope pushing us on. At that moment we changed. Anger became our reason, and the desire for blood made us continue.” The dwarf carefully looked the helmet over in his hands, as if he was holding a child.
“Of course, you know what happened next Metallic Rider. I was there, and I saw you. I remember this helmet, and I remember watching you fight from the ground.” The dwarf stopped talking for a few moments and looked Hayden over. He seemed to be sizing him up and making sure that he was the one he had seen during the battle.
“You fought hard, just as you did today.” The dwarf chewed at his upper lip slightly, pondering what to do next. “I have many questions for you. I assume that you are here seeking our help. So, my first question, and possibly the most important question is why would Elizabeth the Traitor send you to ask us for help?” The dwarf locked eyes with Hayden, and there was a fire there that rivaled a forge.
Hayden took a deep breath and began to try his best to tell his story.
“Elizabeth did not send me, I do not fight for her any longer. I am fighting against her.” Hayden said.
“Against her?” The dwarf asked, not believing what Hayden was saying.
“Yes, after the battle with the dwarves. . .” Hayden began, but he was interrupted.
“You mean the battle with us.” The dwarf corrected.
“Sorry, yes, the battle with your people. After the fight was over and Elizabeth murdered your people that she had captured, we knew that we couldn’t be a part of them any longer.” Hayden knew that their story sounded crazy, he still couldn’t believe it entirely himself.
“We?” The dwarf asked. “I assume you are speaking of you and your dragon?”
“There were two others with us at that time,” Hayden replied.
“Where are they now?” The dwarf asked.
“That is part of the story. At the time this took place there was myself, Cassidy The Gold and Shane The Copper.” Hayden tried to stay on track with his story. “We fled Celestial City and went into hiding in the elves’ forest. Of course, the elves quickly found us in Eytherka and brought us before their King.” Hayden continued.
As he spoke, several of the dwarves that were in the room had gathered around to hear what was going on. If the dwarf on the throne didn’t want them around, he didn’t seem to notice them.
“Eventually, the Metallic Nation sent riders after us, and they killed Aelfrie.” The dwarf interrupted Hayden again.
“Aelfrie is dead?” The dwarf said, shock evident in his voice.
“He is, Kirin his daughter reins in his place,” Hayden said. “And she is a good Queen.” He added.
“While my people have always raided and stolen lumber from their forest, Aelfrie always turned his head as long as we only took what we needed. There have been arguments between our two races, but there hasn’t been bloodshed in many years. He will be missed.” The dwarf said sadly.
“We killed the Metallic Riders that had murdered the King, and it was then that the elves joined us in our fight against the Metallic Nation.” Hayden saw that the dwarf squinted at him as he spoke, looking deep in Hayden’s eyes to see if he was lying.
“We knew that we needed help, so I went to the Sea Serpents and begged them to join us.” Hayden’s voice was getting louder as he spoke.
“You went, by yourself?” The dwarf asked.
&
nbsp; “Draek and I went,” Hayden answered. Draek raised his head slightly to add his approval to what Hayden said.
“We fought the Metallic Nation over Eytherka. Many died, and the forest was horribly burned, but we pushed them back. We fought them, and they fled from us.” Now the dwarves started grumbling amongst themselves, in disbelief at what Hayden was telling them. Hayden could tell that some were getting angry listening to him speak, thinking he was lying.
“Queen Kirin then took the elves and Sea Serpents and began their march to Celestial City while a small group of us went to find the Frost Fangs.” Hayden realized that the only sound in the room was that of his voice echoing off the stone walls. Even the crackling from the burning braziers seemed to quiet down before him.
“We took the Ice Keep by force, and the Frost Fangs reclaimed their land. Draek and I chased down Ricen, a silver rider, and his dragon. They burned my hometown of Erskine down and killed everyone that lived there. Just because they felt slighted by us.” Hayden remained calm as he spoke, but he could feel his blood begin to pump faster at the very thought of Ricen.
“It is in Erskine where we killed Ricen and his dragon, and it’s there you will find their stone remains,” Hayden said without gritting his teeth, which he was proud of.
No. We did not kill them. Draek interrupted, speaking to the red dragons and then to Hayden. The red dragons lifted their heads, and Draek showed them the images of Hayden’s fight. Hayden killed them.
The dwarf looked over to the pile of red dragons and then back to Hayden. “You fought a silver dragon and his rider by yourself?” He asked, already knowing the answer. “And you killed them?”
Hayden simply nodded and continued his story. The dwarves were talking to each other now, no longer whispering.
“He killed a dragon?” Someone asked in a dry, deep voice.
“That’s what the dragons say, he killed a dragon, a silver no less. By himself.” A female answered.
“The Frost Fangs took many losses winning their freedom, but they marched north to join Kirin and our army with what they had left. We knew we were going to need more help though. Too many had died, and there weren’t enough of them to ensure our victory.” Hayden could tell the dwarf was looking at him differently. The dragons having told him what Hayden had done had been enough to change his doubt.
The Fire Within Page 7