by Alia Johnson
Vashti ordered, “Hurry and make it snow before you melt before my very eyes, and I’ll explain.”
“Great Freyja, what a great idea.” Odesha’s silver eyes glazed silver, snow beginning to pour from the ceiling with just a thought. The heavy flakes of snow blanketed them so that they could talk in private. In the past, Odesha could conjure snow with great pain, but now it was a simple task.
The demons wouldn’t be able to see their exchange now. Odesha had already helped Vashti, and she was unaware of it. Vashti gleefully chuckled to herself at the mischief she was causing.
“I can’t hold this for very long. The heat is too powerful. Hurry,” Odesha whispered urgently.
Vashti began explaining, “Saphira and I were boarding Autum’s ship to visit you when we were captured and taken to an auction. I lost sight of Saphira. The men that bought her took her away while sending shocks that froze my muscles in place through me.” She gritted her teeth with anger. “They took her deep into the Forest of Bijou. I’m at Baklan to the south competing in this damn tournament to win the hand of a mystery demon, while trying to get back to the Forest to rescue her.”
“When can you escape the tournament?” inquired Odesha hastily, her fear for her sisters replacing the discomfort over the heat.
Vashti answered honestly, “Not for several days, at least. I have trials to make it through before I can leave these halls.”
Odesha thought quickly. “Brother can make it there faster. He’s here in the castle. It’s not safe for you to travel in Bijou alone and I’m sure he has contacts that can find Saphira. I’ll explain everything and send him to Bijou first, then retrieve you second. Don’t do anything rash, Vashti. Stay alive.”
“I… I think I may have found my fire here, Odesha. I just can’t guarantee he feels the same.” She had blurted that out unexpectedly but had wanted her sister to know in case something happened to her.
Odesha froze, concerned. “But you know what happened to mother.”
“Yes, I remember. But I want to take this chance. Like you did with Kunchok. Pray. Pray to Freyja for me,” Vashti urged, holding tightly to Odesha’s blood-soaked hands.
“You’ve never asked me for anything, Vashti, and you know I would do anything for you. Gods be with you.” Odesha didn’t want anything to happen to Vashti, but she could feel that she wanted her approval.
Odesha’s hand began to fade, disappearing from Vashti's grip, her words fading fast until she was completely gone.
The bloodstone, only an empty stone now, hung dully around Vashti’s neck. It was unable to be used another time.
Vashti hoped she had used it at the right time.
Chapter 10
The snow stopped falling, the last puff of white falling gently to the floor blanketing the stadium with a layer of white helping bring the environment down to a cooler temperature.
Staring defiantly at the crowd, Vashti waited for the silent elders. The front of her hands were soiled with the blood Odesha had brought with her. She held them out to the sides, waiting. A soft chant began echoing throughout the stadium, growing louder as the fever caught on.
Golden eyes. Golden eyes. Golden eyes.
They revered her in the madness she had created. She felt the presence of Mar above the elders but didn’t look upon him. The demons could guess at what had happened, each would tell the other they saw something different, and the tale would grow.
The lead elder nodded toward the guardian standing at the gong. She grappled with the large hammer, ringing the gong to quiet the roaring crowd. The former general stood, commanding the attention of the room.
His deep voice echoed throughout the entire stadium to hear, “Golden eyes. I’ve heard the men chant that name in the first trial. You command the elements and the dead walk at will before us. You would honor us to be one of the Baklan.”
The general sat, folding his wings tightly behind him, staring intensely into her eyes. He was much older than any she had seen here. His armor was worn, missing pieces, showing his battle prowess proudly. The gong rang out as the crowd caught the frenzy again, calling out to her in her triumph, luring her in with their praise.
No. They thought her able to command the dead? If I could be so lucky! I wonder if Odesha’s new feelings would make her angry at being called the walking dead?
She inclined her head to the elders, sweeping from the room, making sure not to make eye contact with Mar or the generals surrounding him. She wanted him to feel her dismissal, while still playing her game.
Before making it to the hall, Mar decided to make his move and stop her.
Vashti felt a tingle of magic behind her, the hairs lifting on her neck like a great void was pulling her backward. At first thought, it was another competitor beginning their trial behind her, but she hadn't seen anyone enter yet. And there was only one door in or out at the bottom of the stadium.
The magic had to have come from up above her, but before she could turn to verify the source, she felt the heat coming toward her.
A fire so intense it warmed her from the inside. The heat didn't bother her at all; it was soothing like something she had been missing and just found again. And it was coming straight for her.
Turning swiftly, approaching her was something she had never encountered before.
An inflamed dragon was gaining on her from the top of the stands. Vashti felt such wonder she didn't move, admiring the shining scales and golden eyes. It writhed through the air as if riding waves, the snow melting below it. The crowd was silent, watching them together. It encircled and watched her as if it knew what she really wanted deep inside. It read her thoughts and mirrored her dreams in the brightness of its scales.
The golden beast was a replica of the dragon she had carved in the tunnel but in much greater detail. She held out her hand to feel the scales, but it stopped her. Instead, it turned its head to nuzzle her palm with its great snout. The dragon opened its mouth looking as if to bite her, but instead, it disappeared when it reached her hand, dissolving into her veins. The pulse of life was intoxicating and the glow in the center of her palm mesmerizing.
After the dragon disappeared, she watched her palm’s glow fade, her hand outstretched, and couldn't help but to look up at the King to see what he thought. She felt lost, and Mar was the center she needed to ground herself.
The King was standing upright in front of his generals, holding his hands out to the side as if to embrace her. His body had trails of golden lava flowing along the veins of his body threading out to his wings, causing him to glow with life.
The same color as the dragon.
Mar smiled at her dangerously as if warning her what she provoked. The teeth looked as if they came from that golden dragon, sharp and pointed.
He knew I made the small dragon for him in the tunnels.
Shaking, she turned away from the demons, moving fast to the hall, knowing in her heart she had lost the game to him already.
Was the dragon he created a warning... or a promise?
Chapter 11
“What just happened?” Medorah asked, catching Vashti's hands in her cold grip.
Vashti's unfocused eyes stared into Medorah's whispering, “I... well... umm.”
The gong rang out, interrupting their conversation.
“When you are more articulate, I expect answers,” ordered Medorah with mild heat in her tone.
Vashti nodded her head, wrapping her arms around Medorah, whispering, “Good luck, Rah.”
“I like this nickname. I shall keep it. Let me think on your own nickname. I'll tell you after I win this,” Medorah informed, moving away to join the center stadium to the roar of the crowd.
Medorah or “Rah” was also becoming a crowd favorite.
Cassira bit her nails, standing on the side of the door, staring at Vashti with an excited gaze. Vashti couldn't tell Cassira what she had seen in the kitchens because the guardian would be obligated to inform the Horde King and they would lock Vas
hti away for questioning.
Vashti couldn't risk it right now with her sister’s life at stake.
Instead, she settled on the other side of the door, while attempting to turn Cassira's attention to the center stadium.
Medorah stood alone, cloak and mask intact, staring at the elders. The crowd wasn't going to miss anything else. They expected something big to happen this round after the last. Magnamar sat enfolded in his wings, watching the center stadium. Gorius stood at his right; his usual messy hair combed down nicely.
Medorah preferred the curls to be free and loose. When he noticed her gaze on him, his wings fluttered to hold her attention, preening again.
Medorah thought those wings were magnificent. They may not have the golden magma running through the veins, but they were special to her. She felt the pulse of life all around her; heard the hushed voices.
They were ready.
Medorah uncoiled her tail, raising to her full height. The rattle on her tail flicked back and forth.
She called to the walls in the Pit's language, to the ones hidden. At first, nothing happened, the crowd impatient with their waiting. The head elder began to stand to deliver the verdict when a shout from behind him made him turn to see what the problem was.
The demon shouting at the top row pointed to the walls to warn the others. Snakes began crawling from crevices of all sizes and colors. They came from all sides of the stadium, slithering down the walls. She had asked them to show themselves in her call. The demons may know they share the space with a few snakes, but not the amount pouring from their very walls. Several demons took off running out the doorways.
Vashti couldn't see the snakes at first from her vantage, but when they begin falling into the middle of the stadium, she let out a loud gasp and rushed from the hall toward her room as fast as she could run to escape them, lost in a nightmare.
Medorah didn't take offense, her friend had come far in her fear, but these numbers were overwhelming for even the toughest.
Vashti hardly twitched now when Medorah’s pet crawled across her at night.
Medorah directed several snakes to General Gorius and the Horde King's section. King Magnamar sat still as the snakes crawled across his wings and legs, with no reaction.
Gorius surprised her.
He reached out to one of the snakes slithering down the wall and let it twist around his arm, moving through his fingers as she often did with her pet. When the head of the snake rested on the top of his hand, he gently pulled it to his mouth, kissing it atop its diamond-shaped head.
It was endearing.
Medorah felt her heart flutter at the sweet gesture. She wanted to know if he could accept her snake half and he had proved himself more than capable.
Hissing for the snakes to return to their homes, they complied, thankfully.
The head elder nodded his head to the guardian manning the gong. She stood, still covered in dried blood, her face white as a sheet. She failed twice to bang the golden circle before the head elder stood, clearing his throat. Medorah promised to tell Vashti of the guardian’s troubles to make her smile.
“You fought well in the first trial using your cunning. You command the snakes we coexist with within the very walls of Baklan. We would be honored for you to continue to the next trial.”
Medorah bowed slightly. As a goodbye, she gave Gorius a small wave at the edge of her cloak. He noticed it, a smile brightening his entire face. She felt happy about her choice to come to Baklan and hoped she wouldn't regret it.
Cassira met her in the hallway looking about for Vashti.
“She is in our room,” Medorah informed her, moving past.
Cassira rushed to catch up. “Oh! How do you know?”
Medorah shrugged, not wanting to betray Vashti's fear of snakes to the guardian if Cassira hadn't seen her run from the room in fear.
That was Vashti’s story to tell.
Medorah shut the door behind her after entering the room, asking, “So, will you tell me why you fear snakes so much? It’s not a normal fear. Your face was as white as a banshee’s skin.”
Vashti laid in bed with the covers pulled up to her nose, Medorah's pet snake peeked out from the covers beside her and blinked his eyes. “What makes you say that it’s not normal?”
“Because you ran from the room, terrified. I know you've been getting used to my friend here, but this was true fear. I've seen it in the jungle before when people come face to face with their worst nightmare.”
Vashti stared at Medorah, who waited patiently for an answer to her question. Confident, Medorah reasoned she could help Vashti get over her fear if she knew what caused it. Coming to a decision, Vashti turned in bed.
Vashti raised her sleep shirt so Medorah could view her back and waited for her reaction.
Muttering a few coarse words, Medorah hissed in shock.
From what Medorah could see of her skin, Vashti's back was covered in snake bites from the shoulders to the top of her bottom. Hundreds of bites where her pale skin had been torn away covered the area. It looked like the venom had spread from the initial wound, making the skin melt away. A skilled surgeon had attempted to piece the skin back to its original shape, but the scars were horrifying to look at.
Vashti had known Saphira had seen the marks before when she had been bathing. Saphira’s shocked stare had been enough to convince Vashti to keep her back hidden. If it was enough to make her sister run from her, what would it do to someone she didn’t know?
They would pity her.
Vashti could think of nothing worse.
She didn’t want Medorah to think she was weak, so she hurried with an explanation.
“The fire burned the poison from my system when he tried to kill me, but the pain in my mind lingered,” Vashti whispered. “It is hard to reason with your mind when you are bound so tightly you can’t move, and the pain keeps coming. It flows through your veins endlessly as if being stabbed over and over.”
Medorah ran a cold hand down Vashti's ruined back, asking, “Who would do this?”
“Prince Ruben of Romule. He is my best friend Rainey’s oldest brother. My father sent me to become an Incendie Tanssijja a while back. I'm not sure if father knew all that they did there or if he waved the bad rumors away. I was going to ask him when I reached Antiqua, but I never had the chance. Ruben was one of several Incendie teachers that I fostered under. He took a liking to me and I was flattered, but not interested because I was only there to complete my training and go home.” Vashti took a deep breath, reliving the nightmare. “When I spurned his advances at the celebratory ball, where I was to receive my official Incendie patch, he locked me in a gibbet cage and had me lowered into a pit of snakes. I never had a fear before then, but when the pain and venom coursed through me, I caved to his pressure, telling him what he wanted to hear. When I was released from the cage by his servants to be taken to him, I released the fire inside me and burned the people present to escape. I abandoned Rainey there to fend for herself, and I curse myself each day knowing I should have gone back for her! Then, I found out Saphira was staying in the city after I recovered. Luckily for me, she had the message from Odesha to come to Antiqua to visit, so we packed up, left, and were captured.” Vashti laid there quietly for a moment while Medorah soaked in the story. “I'm getting better though. I can sleep with this little guy, and it doesn't bother me anymore. I have a best friend snake-lady that I nicknamed Rah that makes me smile all the time. I don’t think about killing people that I pass by like I used to. But I have great enemies able to pay a King’s ransom that would love for me to return to the Incendie.”
Quirking her lip, Medorah thought of a way to make Vashti smile again. “I have thought of your nickname.”
Vashti's back was still turned so she couldn't see Medorah’s smile.
“Really? What is it? Something to showcase my spectacular strength, right? My fearlessness? Or my curiosity?”
Medorah tried holding in her laughter. “T
iti.”
Vashti flew out of bed, pulling her shirt down to cover her scars, yelling, “You nicknamed me after a boob?!”
Medorah's laughter exploded, falling over to her bed in her merriment, her slitted eyes tilting up with mirth.
“That's awful! Pick a different one.”
Medorah flicked the happy tears from her face. “Alright, if you insist. But you have to admit it's original.” Her face sobering, Medorah asked, “This Rainey you talk about, was she training to be an Incendie?”
Vashti nodded. “When I met her, she was a bloody mess in the torture chamber her brother had left her in. Her own brother, Rah. As she healed, she told me secrets that she had overheard during the years. She told me the truth about my mother, Queen Bera. Rainey’s step-mother, Queen Genevieve, came to Merdi to deliver the news of her marriage in person to the court of Merdi. King Rion, the man that Genevieve had married, was the secret acquaintance that Bera had fallen in love with. She had been waiting for him to come to her, as he had promised, but after Bera heard the news, she jumped to her death from one of the towers in the castle.” Swallowing hard, Vashti continued, “Bera had already sent Genevieve’s servant, the one named Vladeric, to Antiqua without knowing who he really took orders from. As soon as Vladeric arrived, he began sending the profits from the salt mines to Romule where Genevieve took every penny. Odesha killed Vladeric as soon as she found out the horrible things he had been doing in secret.”
“Then, you end up with a smart-mouthed half-snake that gives you horrid nicknames,” muttered Medorah drily.
Vashti was thankful that Medorah had changed the subject. She threw her pillow at Medorah’s head playfully. “Since you’re in such a great mood, I'm going to tell you the news I found out in the tunnels. The good news is, Gorius wants you.” She paused to wiggle her eyebrows. “The bad news is, he is having a secret affair with Uruti and plans to lead an army against Magnamar during the final hunt to destroy the demons that oppose him.”