Born of Fire: The Dawn of Legend (82 page)

Without saying a word, RemoKy strode over to where the others were standing, stopping just short of Rex. Lowering his head, he took a good look at him, eyeing every part of him as if scanning his body for something specific. At last he reared back up and spoke. “So she wasn’t one of a kind, after all. I had been wondering about that much of the time I was lying here, trying not to die.”

“Wait,” Rex said with surprise. “She?”

“Yes. DiNiya
was
the name she gave, as I recall.”

“You saw DiNiya?” EeNox asked enthusiastically. “When? Was she all right?”

“Yesterday at dusk, and it depends how you define all right.”

“Was she hurt?” Rex asked.

“Not as far as I could tell, but then again, that DraGon she was with seemed none too pleased with her.”

ShinGaru stepped forward and asked, “Did she say anything to you? Like why they were taking her?”

“All she told me was her name, that she had been taken captive by the DraGon, and that your village had been attacked by others. Shortly thereafter we were…interrupted.” RemoKy glanced down at the wounds on his chest, which while no longer life threatening, were still in the process of healing over.

“What was the last thing you remember?” Rex asked.

The Ridgeback thought for a moment, the memory of yesterday’s battle coming back to him in fragments. “I had heard a terrible sound while I was out hunting. It made the ground tremble and sent all winged DyVorians flying. It was then that I smelled something unfamiliar. Naturally, I decided to investigate, and that’s when I saw your friend running from something strange and angry. Being that this is my territory and that this…DraGon…was clearly intruding, I did what was well within my rights, and engaged that winged monstrosity in battle.”

“Doesn’t look like it went well,” LyCora said.

“No,” he said with a sigh. “No, it did not, at least not in the end, which I suppose is the only part of a fight that really counts. Still, I had her down and out for the first half!” he boasted with a sense of accomplishment.

“So what happened?” Rex asked.

“Well, your friend and I were getting acquainted much in the same way we are now, when that thing ran two tree roots through my chest and threw me halfway across the damn forest.”

“So, wait, this isn’t where it happened, then?” EeNox asked.

RemoKy shook his head. “It all went down about a kilometer west of here. Give or take, that is.”

ShinGaru walked around from behind and placed a hand on his leg. “If you’re feeling up to it, could you please show us?”

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the edge of the burned-out clearing, where they all took in the terrible sight in silence. It was especially disturbing for Rex and LyCora, who had flashbacks to the day they had come to a similar sight in the mountain forest where sentinel clones had attacked them.

“Well, this looks familiar,” Rex said while walking out into the center of the clearing.

LyCora and the others followed close behind, wary of the ground beneath them. “I don’t know if we should be out here like this,” she said. “Remember what happened last time?”

“KaNar had sentinel clones at its gates. We’re no safer in the forest than we are standing right here. Besides, these DraGons aren’t trying to hide their presence anymore. The attack on KaNar was their big coming-out party. They want everyone to know they’re here and to be afraid.”

EeNox felt a chill run down his spine. “Just the same, I think LyCora’s right. We should get out of here.”

Rex turned to look at him. He could see his friend was doing his very best to keep up a brave face, but in truth he was very much afraid. He could not blame him, for he also was masking his own fear every time he spoke with any kind of determination. He only hoped that at some point along the way he could believe his own projected sense of bravery. They returned to the cover of the forest where the others were waiting.

“Well?” asked ShinGaru calmly.

“It was definitely a DraGon,” Rex answered.

“That’s strange.”

“Go out there yourself if you don’t believe me.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I was just wondering why she would have stopped here just to burn a hole in the middle of a forest. Especially since she made it clear that she needed to bring DiNiya to the tower.”

“DiNiya may have been trying to escape and convinced her somehow to land, giving her a chance to run for it,” Rex suggested.

“The DraGon was indeed chasing her when I intervened,” RemoKy said.

“Yes, but how did she manage to convince her to land in the first place?” EeNox asked.

“Does it matter?” Rex replied. “It obviously didn’t work, and probably just angered LemaRes more, which I doubt made things any easier for your sister.” A solemn look spread across everyone’s face.

“So…what now?” AnaSaya asked.

“Nothing has changed. We stick to the plan and go and get her back, no matter what.”

LyCora sighed. “Yes, I figured as much.”

“You having second thoughts again?”

“No. It’s just as you say. We see this through or die somewhere along the way.”

“Now there’s that positive attitude we all love so much about you, LyCora,” ShinGaru said with uncharacteristic sarcasm and a laugh.

“RemoKy,” AnaSaya called up to the Ridgeback. “Would you do us a tiny favor?”

“As I said,” he replied. “I am in your debt. Ask of me what you will.”

“Could you travel east and give word to the search party that is looking for us, and tell them what has happened here?”

“Hey, wait,” EeNox protested. “Are you trying to get us caught?”

“Of course not. But they have a right to know that we, and at least as of last night, DiNiya, are all right.”

“I suppose,” EeNox replied, sounding uncertain.

“We won’t be making it any easier for them to find us, just giving them a little good news to give them hope. No harm in that, right?”

EeNox sighed and nodded. “I guess not, but we better get moving, just to make sure we stay ahead of them. If I know VayRonx, he’ll be tearing through everything in his way to get to the tower and us.”

“Do you feel up to the job, RemoKy?” AnaSaya asked.

“Consider it done,” he said, pulling his head and neck into an s-shape and puffing out his chest. “Stick to the forest as much as possible.”

“That was the plan,” said Rex.

“Good. If you run into any others of my kind, tell them I granted you safe passage. That should keep them from harming you, but there is no guarantee, so be on guard.”

“We will, and thank you.”

“A safe journey to you all. Go save your friend.”

The five of them parted ways with RemoKy and continued west.

“Hey, does anyone else think we should have asked him to come with us instead of sending him in the opposite direction?” LyCora asked.

“No,” replied Rex. “We show up with anyone else besides the five of us, and we risk their killing DiNiya.”

“He’s right,” added EeNox. “That’s the whole reason we ran away in the first place, remember?”

“Yes, I remember, but what makes you think they won’t just kill her anyway, or that we could even stop them if they decide to?”

“You’re right,” Rex replied. “There’s no guarantee that we’re not doing all of this for nothing, but if you’re going to think like that, you might as well lie down and die right here.”

“That’s a bit dramatic.”

“That’s life.”

They continued on for another hour, not encountering any other Ridgebacks, much to their relief. At last they reached the edge of the forest and beheld the expanse of what seemed like an endless plain before them.

“So much for sticking to the forests,” said Rex unhappily.

“We have to cross the plains to get to the forest on the other side,” said EeNox.

“Great. How far is that?”

“About three hundred kilometers.”

Rex sighed heavily. He wondered if he really knew what he was doing.
Am I really going to save DiNiya like this, or just get all of us killed?
He glanced at the others, who looked back at him with expectant faces.
Well…only one way to find out
.

Moving forward, he took the first step out into the open air and walked out into the expanse. The others followed suit, and they were once again moving towards an unknown destiny.

BaRone had been the first to realize that his son and the others had slipped away unseen into the night. He had come home, wracked with grief and anger despite having just mounted a rescue party with VayRonx, when he realized that EeNox and Rex were not home. He quickly asked KySer and the other CyTorians to immediately scan the town from overhead and ask as many as they could if anyone had seen the five of them. After what seemed like all night but had actually been less than two hours, it became clear that they were nowhere in KaNar, which meant only one thing: they had taken matters into their own hands and done what they had all told them specifically not to.

Upon hearing this, VayRonx immediately dispatched the rescue team that, along with himself and BaRone, consisted of VoRenna, TarFor, VyKia, and NyRo. They had cleared a great deal of ground the first night, leaving KaNar far behind, reaching the lowland forests in record time. Having failed to pick up their trail, they stuck to forests, figuring that is what the five teenagers would have done to avoid being spotted by air. “A wise plan,” VayRonx had said. “Until they reached the western plains, that is.”

They pushed through the forest, their muscles burning with flame to keep the pace up, but by dawn they had begun to tire. VayRonx, despite wanting to cover as much distance as they could in the shortest amount of time possible, decided to slow down to not push themselves beyond the point of fatigue.

They continued for another twenty minutes or so before the large DyVorian called back to the others. “We’ll break here for fifteen minutes.”

Low rumbles came from the other DyVorians and lone OroGon while the SaVarians sighed heavily as they sat down, feeling the weight of their bodies collapsing upon themselves. BaRone was in no mood to take a break, however. Instead, he confronted VayRonx, who was sniffing the ground and air for signs of any danger.

“VayRonx, I know everyone is tired, but don’t you think we should throw the usual protocol aside in favor of speed?”

Peering down with his right eye, VayRonx replied, “It is times like these that protocol is most important, and why it even exists in the first place, BaRone. You should know that, seeing as how I am the one who taught it to you.”

“I know but—”

“But what? What exactly would you have me do? Tell everyone no breaks, and push them past their limits so they themselves break before we even make it halfway to catching up to them? Because if so, then we really will have to rely on those children to save your daughter.”

“That’s not what I meant, VayRonx, and you know it,” BaRone replied, feeling more frustrated than ever.

“Is that right?” VayRonx said, turning his entire body and lowering his head down to the man. “Then tell me what exactly you did mean. What is the other version of this scenario that does not result in complete and total failure?”

BaRone now felt his heart sink, for he knew he had made a grave mistake questioning his friend and mentor’s judgment. VayRonx had always been selfless, putting the tribe before everything else. Grief and anger had gotten the best of him, and now was making him suggest things that would probably bring about more harm than good to anyone. “I’m sorry,” he said at last, looking down. “I was wrong to question you…I won’t be so selfish as to ask for forgiveness.”

VayRonx turned his head to the side slightly and regarded him with one eye. He peered through the man’s very essence to the wounded flame within. With a low rumble from deep within his throat, VayRonx lifted his head back high above the forest floor and gazed out to the search party. “Trust is a heavy burden to bear.” BaRone looked up. “However, for the one who must give it, it can be agonizing. Right now KyVina is back in KaNar leading our tribe in rebuilding our home. It is my responsibility as alpha to fulfill that role; however, a situation has arisen that requires me to pass the responsibility on to another.”

“KyVina is your Beta, your second-in-command,” said BaRone. “You may as well be there yourself if you left her in charge.”

“I agree. However, not a moment goes by where I do not worry if something is going wrong or if things could be going better if I were there.”

“But why? KaNar is home to all of us, so any one of us would naturally feel the desire to want to do more to help. Why not just place your trust in her without worry?”

“For the same reason you cannot do so with me. You blame yourself for what happened.”

The words fell upon BaRone like huge stones, crushing him beneath their massive weight. Deep down he had known that he held himself responsible for what had happened to DiNiya, but hearing the words spoken aloud brought it out to the surface. “I…I should have saved her.”

“How?”

“I should have done…something.”

“What?”

A long, expectant moment passed between them.

“You were forced to face a situation that you were not prepared to deal with, and as such, paid a terrible price. That is why she was taken, BaRone. Not because you were inept and cowardly, but because there is someone out there who wanted to take what was most important to you, and there was nothing you could have done to stop them.”

“But she was my little girl!”

“And she still is. And she is also why you did the only thing you felt would stand any real chance of getting her back alive: putting your trust in me.”

BaRone could feel the other’s eyes on him now, watching him silently. “You’re right,” he said, pushing his fur back and out of his face. “I know no one is more capable of saving my daughter’s life. But still…it just doesn’t feel like enough. None of this does. I can’t help but feel like there’s still something else that I’m not doing, something else that will make all the difference in the world.”

“And it will always feel that way until she is back in your arms. Now sit yourself down and rest. You’ll need all your strength if you are going to stand any chance of saving DiNiya.” With that, VayRonx turned and lowered his body to a squatting position, like an enormous bird, and closed his eyes.

BaRone watched his friend sit in absolute silence except for the deep breathing. “Thank you, old friend,” he said, placing a hand on VayRonx’s side before slumping down and leaning against him. He gazed up to the colorful sky beyond the patchy canopy, observing the thick cumulus clouds silently creeping across it. All around him he heard the sounds of the forest, Avian DyVorians singing through trees, insects, and the distant calls of herds. Maintaining his skyward gaze, he saw a CyTorian far up circling lazily, seemingly a world away yet being able to see so much more of this one. Fatigue crept into his muscles and then slithered upward behind his eyes. “DiNiya,” he whispered as his eyes closed, and he succumbed to his mind and body’s craving for rest.

DiNiya felt her body floating through the air. No longer bound to the physical world, she drifted silently, a cool breeze whistling in her ears. Opening her eyes, she saw she was soaring through a sea of clouds at dusk, their deep orange and red hues looking like great stone reliefs that she could walk upon.
But I can’t really walk on clouds
,
nor can I really fly…but then…how am I…?
Her thoughts were interrupted by something moving behind the large mountain of a cumulus cloud rising up hundreds of meters in front of her. It was like a grand structure carved by the winds that reached to the very top of the heavens.
What is that?
A dark shape moved from just within it—something alive, something stalking her from within the clouds, always just out of sight but always close and drawing nearer.

She instinctively pulled away from that which was unknown to her, and to her surprise, her body banked left.
Wait, can I actually fly
? She pushed her body to her right, and just as before, it followed her commands and moved accordingly. A broad smile spread across her face as she held her arms back tight against her body and pushed herself forward faster. DiNiya let out a shrill cry of joy, spinning in great loops through the beautiful crimson sky. Arching her body downward, she dove straight through a thick cloud, shooting out from the top and leaving a trail of wispy clouds behind her as she continued to tear through the air free of all restraint. However, it was while climbing in altitude that she noticed the dark shadow moving upward perpendicular to her within the clouds, matching her speed effortlessly.

“You want a race?” DiNiya declared with a grin. “You’ve got one!” She quickly veered to the left and took off at an incredible speed, cutting through the clouds like a sword through water. Feeling oddly sure of herself, she ventured a glance back to verify that she had indeed left her mystery stalker far behind, only to see it was directly behind her—still out of sight in the clouds, but now close enough she could make out the pretense of a form. Trying to discern what she was actually seeing, she was struck with a pang of panic, and she picked up speed to escape what she now felt was less a curious observer than a pursuer.

Faster and faster she pushed herself before she heard a deep and powerful sound behind her, one that sent chills down her spine. Too afraid to look back this time, she banked and shot straight up. Higher and higher she climbed, all the while feeling something just below her. She punched through a cloud and was immediately shrouded in a dense red mist that provided zero visibility. Consumed by the cumulus titan, she began to panic as every second went by with no sight of the sky beyond until eventually she broke free and beheld what she at first thought was the sun, but soon realized was much too bright. Shielding her eyes, she came to a stop and tried to make out the source of the brilliant white light. Squinting hard for a moment, she thought she saw something moving, something else alive. However, darkness obscured it as the entire sky turned to dark grey and rumbled with thunder. It was then that she heard it again, the same terrifying sound from before that sent her careening through the sky to escape the dark shadow. She looked down and was stricken with a crippling sense of dread as the enormous dark cloud below took the form of a TyRanx’s head with two glowing red eyes. DiNiya’s lips parted and released a horrified scream as the huge dark jaws opened and raced up towards her.

She awoke with a gasp as her body jerked up, and she found herself staring at seemingly nothing, or rather it only appeared that way for everything was shrouded in a dense fog.

“I trust you had a pleasant sleep,” came an unpleasantly familiar voice.

DiNiya immediately realized she was still clasped within the grasp of a clawed hand, and looked up to see LemaRes staring forward.

“I actually thought I had finally woken up,” DiNiya muttered, adjusting uncomfortably.

“A most curious choice of words,” LemaRes replied, glancing down.

DiNiya met her stare and felt as if there was some sort of silent understanding that passed through them.

“In any case, it’s good that you’re awake.”

“Why’s that?” DiNiya asked.

“Because we’re here,” LemaRes tucked her wings back and swooped down, breaking free of the mist, where they were greeted by the warm glow of the falling sun. The scene was one of intense natural beauty. Red stone peaks with sparse vegetation dotted the land, while the sea lay just beyond, shimmering red and orange from the dying light. With three strong flaps, LemaRes reduced her speed and glided silently through the great stone formations. At such a close range, DiNiya could see what appeared to be carved reliefs of DyVorians etched in the stone. The carvings were ancient, dating back to a time long before EeNara came to be what it is today. They rounded one of the large peaks on their left and were immediately greeted by a sight that rose up in front of them like an ominous titan.

“The tower,” DiNiya said in a hushed tone.

“One of four just like it spread out in all four corners of EeNara,” LemaRes explained. “It is an incredible sight, is it not? The power they once possessed—the ability to bestow life anew to a world marred by savagery.”

“I always heard they were some form of terrible weapon.”

“I suppose they would seem that way to you. After all, civilization can only prosper once it has rid itself of the beasts at its gates.”

The tower itself was made of dark ore, which contrasted sharply against the surrounding geology, giving it a menacing appearance. To DiNiya, it looked like the immense body of a monster that died long ago, a relic of a behemoth that once stood as a mighty symbol of power but now was a fallen giant decaying in the shadow of its former glory.

As they drew closer, she could see nearly two hundred DraGons perched on various places on the tower, watching them approach. She soon began to fear that they would actually collide with the tower itself, but LemaRes banked upward and scaled its full height. Seconds later, they reached the top, a large platform some one hundred meters in diameter. In its center was a smaller platform with four spires in each corner. LemaRes came to a hover several meters from it and landed with a flap of her wings. To DiNiya’s surprise, she was immediately set down. Looking frantically all around her, she saw that the platform was in fact much larger than it appeared from the air. “I had heard stories of this place,” she said, still taking everything in. “I saw this tower once a long time ago from afar when I was very young.” She began taking tentative steps away from the DraGon before stopping and glancing back apprehensively. “I never thought I would walk upon it, though.”

LemaRes chuckled. “By all means,” she said, motioning with a hand that she was free to move about.

DiNiya walked slowly to the far end with the enormous setting sun dominating the horizon. One foot after another, she drew closer and closer until she reached the edge and looked down at the rolling waves that crashed against the rocky shore some one thousand meters below. Vertigo grabbed hold of her by the neck and she felt as if she would suddenly be pulled right over the edge. Taking several frantic steps back, she gripped her chest and breathed heavily. Behind her, LemaRes watched her with an almost perverse curiosity.

To anyone else, they would have seen a small, frightened girl standing before them, but not LemaRes. Rather, she saw the dark silhouette of a monster. As she watched the outline of DiNiya against the sun, a memory crept to the forefront of her mind, and soon the shadow began to grow larger, changing shape, a pair of shadowy jaws parting wide and coming closer, coming for her. A sudden cry ripped through the air and brought her back to reality, while seemingly bringing about a dead silence in the air. LemaRes, of course, knew who it was. It was he who she had brought the girl here for. It was he she would do anything for.