Born of Fire: The Dawn of Legend (97 page)

“May all who seek to bring ruin tremble before you,” ShinGaru declared.

AnaSaya looked away shyly, where she found herself facing LyCora, who nodded in approval, something that filled her with a great sense of pride. Though she had never told anyone, AnaSaya looked up to LyCora and had secretly wished for her approval. To now see that this young woman of comparable age but of infinitely greater wisdom had accepted her and was willing to fight by her side made her realize that anything truly was possible and that she could indeed master this rare and deadly power. After all, it was like her mother had always said, a person of power with no direction is just a weapon, but one with that purpose is a warrior.

The two DarMorvora tore through the underbrush at top speed as they tried to put as much distance between them and the battle as fast as they could. At last, despite the aid of their flames, their legs now screamed in pain and their lungs gasped for air. Both skidded to a halt and panted breathlessly. “Did you…see that…back there?” the larger female asked the male.

“I did,” he replied as the pain in his lungs slowly began to subside. “Were those what I think they were?”

“I can’t believe this, the rumors are true…DraGons. Real live DraGons!”

“I couldn’t believe the story I was hearing when they said a tribe to the east was attacked by those things.”

“You believe it now, don’t you?”

“I don’t know what I believe,” she shook her head and her feathers stood on end. “All I know is that we have to warn everybody! Now!”

“I need to rest for a moment first,” he said.

“You can rest when you’re dead,” she replied, igniting her flame again and urging him forward. The two quickly resumed their course with the plan to spread word to as many as they could that the rumors were indeed true. DraGons had indeed returned.

The sun was beginning to fall as night approached. At last EeNox, LyCora, ShinGaru, AnaSaya, and Rex reached the edge of the foothills and found themselves overlooking an immense city carved right out of the massive red rock outcroppings. The city itself was at least three times the size of KaNar and served as home to thousands more. Rex marveled at yet another beautiful example of DyVorians’ and SaVarians’ amazing ability to build within the natural environment. The areas in the design where the natural geology mixed with architecture was seamless, a cohesive whole.

“My, my,” LyCora said, stepping ahead of them. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”

“How long?” ShinGaru asked.

“At least four years,” she replied, scanning the beautiful expanse of the city below. “My mother made a point of showing me most of the Northern Continent years ago, as a part of my training. Still, we mainly stick to the northern regions, so we don’t come out this way very often.”

“What’s our next move?” Rex asked.

“We obviously need to get down there, first of all,” she said, looking at him.

“But what if they recognize us like they did back in DonGahl?”

“Yeah, and that was a tiny little trading post,” EeNox said. “This is an actual city. They must have at least a hundred sentries in there. We won’t be able to just get away by running again.”

“Trust me, realize that, but we can’t go to the tower like this. Besides, we should also try to eat again soon if we can. I don’t know about you all, but I’m famished! These forms burn energy much faster when we use our flames, which means we need to eat regularly.”

“Yeah, I was trying to keep it to myself, but I feel like I’m going to start eating some of you if I don’t get something in my stomach really soon,” Rex said, glancing down at his underside.

“Scary thing is, I believe you,” EeNox said, taking a small step back.

“Also, going back to what we were just talking about,” ShinGaru said, “how are we going to keep from being spotted?”

“Just stick close to each other and follow me,” LyCora said.

Twenty minutes later, they were walking alongside the main road where various wagons and caravans were rolling along to enter the main gates of Bloodstone. Rex was surprised by how much bigger and more active things seemed here compared to KaNar. The city itself was much more defined compared to the mountain community, which was mostly forest. Here he actually felt for the first time like he was in a city, one that made him think of one from a fantasy story he would have loved reading, back at the library on Earth.
Wow
, he thought.
I haven’t thought of that place in a while
.

Rex was surprised by how acclimated he had become to EeNara after having lived here for just under a year. This enchanted lost world of dinosaurs was like something out of the pages of his favorite authors: James Gurney, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Anne McCaffrey. That last one made even more so by the arrival of DraGons. Still, these were far from the peaceful good-natured DraGons that the talented writer had depicted in her fantasy alien world. These were creatures of pure malevolence. Ones who seemed to want to burn the people of this world to ash, but at the same time, they had some special purpose for the five of them. On top of all that, he was now one of the very characters he followed with endless interest in such stories. Looking back on everything, it did indeed seem as if he has been plucked right out of his ordinary dismal existence and dropped into the pages of one of these grand adventures. Still, reading them and actually living them was an entirely different matter altogether, for as fun as they had seemed on the page, the truth was that the trials and tribulations that his favorite characters went through proved both terrifying and heartbreaking to experience firsthand. The loss of his father had been so detrimental to him that he had locked the memory away so he would not suffer the pain that came with the image of the man who had raised him dying in front of him.

Then there had been the sentinel clones and the realization that they were the perverse reanimated remains of the dead, followed by the slaughter at KaNar, a place he had come to welcome as his new home. Now they were at what he had always thought of as the best part of the story: the journey, the quest for something lost. Only, now it was not for some ancient relic or mystical power but someone truly important to him, and the cost of failure would mean her life.
Strange
, he thought,
how much more dire the story is when one is actually a part of it.

“Okay, LyCora, are you going to clue us in on your little plan for getting us past the sentries up there?” EeNox asked as he motioned up ahead at the CyTorians perched atop the gates.

“See that big wagon up ahead?” she asked, pointing with her snout.

They all followed her gaze and saw what looked almost like a ship some thirty meters long being moved by six KarVora, all communing with the large wagon, moving it along.

“Whoa,” exclaimed Rex.

“Probably on its way to the coast,” ShinGaru said.

“And our way in,” LyCora added.

“Wait, you’re not expecting us to stow away on that thing, are you?” EeNox asked with a look of uncertainty in his eyes.

“Of course.”

“But we can’t do that! We’ll be seen!”

“Not if we hide in the bilge.”

“The what?”

“The very bottom of the ship, where water that doesn’t get thrown overboard often collects,” she explained.

EeNox and Rex cocked their heads to the side.

“Oh,” AnaSaya chimed in. “So it’s like a basement for the ship.”

“Something like that, yes,” LyCora replied. “In any case, it’ll just be a hollowed space big enough for all of us to hide away in while we pass into the city undetected.”

“And then what?” Rex asked. “We just climb out and stroll through the streets like tourists?”

LyCora gave him a cross look. “They bring the ship to some sort of storage yard, probably somewhere on the outskirts. We’ll ride it there and then get off. Hopefully there won’t be too many people around.”

“Our luck has held out for the most part so far,” said ShinGaru, trying to sound optimistic. “Still, I’m concerned about what we’ll have to say to explain me should we be spotted.”

“Oooh, I have an idea!” AnaSaya said excitedly, holding up her hand as if waiting to be called on.

“Why are you raising you hand?” LyCora asked.

Quickly lowering it with an embarrassed laugh, she said, “We can just say he’s from the Inferno Islands.”

“What?”

“What’s that?” asked Rex.

“A series of six tiny island in a chain in the southern part of the western ocean, home to three species of serpentine aquatic reptiles,” ShinGaru explained. “The islands themselves are volcanic in nature, hence the name.”

“Hmm,” Rex thought. “An interesting idea.”

“Not really,” LyCora said. “In case you’ve forgotten, no one really travels back and forth to those islands except for traders.”

“Except during the alpha trials,” declared EeNox.

“But that’s what makes it perfect!” AnaSaya said, her enthusiasm undeterred.

Rex, EeNox, and ShinGaru now stared at her expectantly.

“Don’t you see? Because of the lack of contact between the continents and all those tiny islands, there would be many aspects of them unknown to people this far north. We could just say he’s from one of them.”

“A reclusive species of terrestrial serpent from a tiny island chain in the middle of the western ocean,” ShinGaru added proudly with what could have constituted as a grin.

“Hmm, I don’t know…” LyCora said uncertainly.

“Sounds reasonable enough to me,” Rex said.

“Ditto,” agreed EeNox.

“It just sounds a bit…forced, I guess,” LyCora insisted.

“Do you have a better idea?” ShinGaru asked, sounding almost offended.

LyCora just sighed. “No.”

“Then it’s settled. Make way for the Inferno Islands’ official envoy.” He trotted off proudly like a prize stallion with his head and chin held high, something that evoked a laugh from both Rex and EeNox.

Taking their time to not look too eager, they quietly moved between the various wagons until they reached the back end of the ship. Eager to get inside before anyone noticed them, they scanned the large vessel for a way in. However, after several minutes of searching, they came to the realization that there was no such entry point into the bottom of the ship from the ground level.

“What do we now?” asked EeNox. “There’s no way in from down here!”

“Perhaps we can climb our way to the top,” offered ShinGaru. “One at a time so as to hopefully not draw any attention.”

“No, that won’t work,” LyCora said. “There are just too many people around. Someone would spot us up there instantly. I’m sure of it.”

“Ok, so do you have a plan?” EeNox pressed.

“Hey! The damn ship was my plan!”

“A lot of good it’s doing us!”

“Why don’t you think of something then, genius? I don’t see why it always has to fall on me!”

Rex looked from LyCora to EeNox as they argued back and forth, while ShinGaru and AnaSaya gently nudged them along to keep pace with the still moving ship. At last, having enough, he snorted two small plumes of red from his nostrils and pushed right past the bickering pair, startling them in the process. Lowering his body slightly, he unhinged his jaws to a frightening 180 degrees and took a massive bite right out of the ship, leaving a hole big enough for them to pass through single file. Spitting out the large chunk of wood, he looked back at them. “Hey, look what I found! A way in! Coming?” Rex stepped inside with the others still outside, staring in bewilderment.

“Works for me,” EeNox said, following after him. With a quick look at one another, the rest followed.

The bilge was like a large cave made of wood, lined with metal braces. Aside from that, it was completely empty. They proceeded to the far back right corner and lowered their aching bodies to the floor. It was then and there that they realized just how exhausted they were. Their leg muscles felt swollen and burned with an insistent aching pain, while their heads became foggy with fatigue. They had planned to wait until they got into the city, then sneak out of the ship, but overheard people shouting outside that something had happened with the city gates and they were stuck shut. Quietly they waited to hear the ship resume moving but minutes soon turned into an hour.

“At this rate, it’ll be night soon,” EeNox said quietly.

“We’re running out of time,” Rex said. “We need to get to the tower tomorrow, so we’ve got to get through Bloodstone today so we can be there by morning.”

“Well, we can’t go anywhere now,” said LyCora. “Not until we actually get into the city.”

“The night could be used to our advantage,” AnaSaya explained. “You know, help us slip through with less of a chance of being noticed, or even standing out.”

“She does have a point,” said ShinGaru. “I want to get to DiNiya as much as all of you, but we’ll be no good to her if we get caught now. I say we wait until nightfall then make our move.”

Rex and EeNox seemed reluctant at first, but soon nodded in agreement. ShinGaru was right, as he usually was. Capture was not something they could afford to risk, and so the decision was made to wait until nightfall and hope that they would not be discovered before then. Patiently and quietly they waited until, one by one, they succumbed to the overwhelming desire to lower their heads and close their eyes.

Rex suddenly found himself standing in a large open field with a hill in the center. The air smelled sweet of flowers and was filled with the sounds of CyTorians high overhead, while DyVorian calls echoed in the distance.
Where am I?
he wondered. He looked down and saw that he was a SaVarian again. Scanning his surroundings, he saw a lone figure standing atop the hill. It was AnaSaya, her beautiful pale fur blowing in the gentle breeze. Rex took a step forward then noticed movement off to his right. Looking over, he saw EeNox walking no more than ten yards away in the same direction. He was close enough to call out to him, but for some reason he could not. Or rather he just did not feel the need to, for he sensed that EeNox not only knew he was there, but also what he was thinking. Turning back to the hill, he saw AnaSaya beckoning him without saying a word; she was now accompanied by LyCora. He could not explain it, but just like with EeNox, he could feel a natural understanding between the two of them. Like words would just cause them to stumble over their thoughts. Thoughts that seemed to be all intertwined yet separate at the same time.