Embracing the Flames (28 page)

I sucked my teeth at Zane, squinting angrily as I stood. They all stood right after me in a gentlemanly gesture.

“We have to prepare to go before the War Council tonight,” Gabe reminded me, his tone suggesting that I sit back down.

I crossed my arms. “I need to think first, okay? You all expect so much from me but never want to hear what I have to say. At least give me some time to gather my thoughts.”

Gabe sighed once more. “Don’t fight it, Aurora. You really are that important to us.” Then he walked away.

“Really?” I turned and yelled at Zane. “You really agree with all of this? We need to do something.”

Zane was on the other side of me, smiling as I yelled at him. “Actually,” he cut in, “no, I don’t agree. I just wanted Gabe to think I did. I have an idea.”

Fenn slid his hand in mine, and we started walking  towards the courtyard where the meeting would take place.

After hearing the reports of what was going on in the outside world, the King decided that it would be a good idea to make us a part of the War Council. Darian and his Queen sat upon their thrones while the Imperials guarded all entrances, preventing any intruding ears.

Their reflective scales glistened from the light of the lava like blades of fury. Zane, Soothe, Gabe, Myrdinn, Fenn, and I stood in a horizontal line in front of them.

“Have you heard anything new from Zordon?” Darian asked, his tone heavy with authority.

Gabe cleared his throat, slightly bowing his head. “Step forward,” Darian advised.

“He’s disappeared, my King. I overheard Sayer telling Kaede that he needed time to gather. I don’t know what that means.” He bowed his head once more and then stepped back in line.

Myrdinn bowed his head next, and Darian motioned him forward. “Maybe he is gathering more allies? Although he has the Dark Saar, he cannot defeat all who support the Draconta without manpower. He has yet to conquer our allied Magiums.”

Darian contemplated this while Gabe bowed his head again and then stepped forward.

“Perhaps…,” he hesitated, and then said, “perhaps he’s encircling us by attacking the lands surrounding the Chasm. We will be trapped when the Dark Saar are unleashed. We will have no way of escape. I still believe we should take action now,” he finished with a slight bow of his head as he stepped back in line.

“We cannot stand against the Dark Saar. They will wipe out our entire race,” Darian said.

“It is also against everything we stand for, Gabe,” Naveena gently spoke. “We refuse to bring more chaos to this realm. That is not our purpose. Our sole purpose is to protect the Stone.”

“Forgive me for saying this,” Soothe interrupted boldly, without bowing for consent, “but you can’t protect the Stone if you are all dead.” He held my grandparents’ gaze brazenly, his posture calm and confident. “It will happen whether you want it to or not. I have seen it. Aurora needs to be out there, fighting against this now. She is the only one who will keep your race from going extinct. She is the only one who can put an end to it.”

My grandparents and parents both went rigid, and Gabe shook his head in defeat. The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed. “It’s something I am not willing to risk,” the King warned, a low growl emitting from his snout. “She is not ready to fight this war. We will stand our ground as a united force. We will not make the first move. That is my final order,” he finished angrily as he stepped off the ledge and stomped towards the tunnel that led to the Great Hall. His footsteps shook the ground, and the flowers wilted around him.

“Our daughter needs time, Soothe. You must understand,” Eralise forced out, her voice shaky.

He snickered. “Time. That’s all you keep talking about. When are you going to realize time is running out? The war will happen whether you like it or not. It is written,” he shot back as he turned away from us.

My mother looked to the rest of us, standing there with eyes wide. “Get some rest,” she said softly. “We will discuss this another time.” She took Myrdinn’s hand and walked away.

As the Council dispersed, I pulled Fenn and Zane aside. “You heard Soothe. He said I should be out there. The plan is solid. We will leave tonight.”

“Are you sure, Rory?” Fenn asked, worry filling his cerulean eyes.

I huffed at him. “Fenn, we have to do something. Gabe said Zordon is gathering. We need to find out what he is gathering because it sure as hell isn’t people.”

“Tonight then,” he replied hastily.

“See you soon,” Zane mused as he walked away.

I headed back to my room, intent on following through with my plan. I was almost there when I bumped into someone. “Sorry,” I said as I looked up. It was Brohm. I hadn’t seen him since before we left with Lexi.

“No, forgive me,” he said sadly. He looked horrible. There were bags under his eyes and wrinkles that marked the pain he felt. He looked like he lost weight.

“Brohm,” I started, reaching for his arm, “I’m so sorry about Alexis.” I felt the heat behind my eyes.

He didn’t look at me when he said, “Everything happens for a reason. I must be going now.” He turned and headed out of the quarters, though to where I wasn’t sure.

After tying my hair back and putting on my armor, Fenn came into my room.

“Human form,” Fenn stated, caressing my cheek.

I leaned into his caress. “I ran into Brohm earlier.”

“He looks horrible, doesn’t he?”

“You knew?”

Fenn nodded as Zane came into the room. “I saw him shortly after we got here. I try to avoid him. It only makes what I feel worse.” He looked off to the side, his eyes slick with fresh tears.

“Do you know where you want to go?” Zane interrupted. I finished putting the things I would need in the backpack Lexi had bought me. It was enchanted to shrink and meld into my armor so that my Oraculus would always be on me.

“The Biblium,” I said matter-of-factly, holding out the box that I had used to port to Zu’therin. “Obscuro,” I chanted as the box lifted from my hands and floated to the center of the room. Like before, it spun until a portal appeared. “Alister told me to come back if I had questions. Now I have a question. What is Zordon gathering? So let’s go.”

I stepped forward.

But then Gwenevere burst through my door, her face filling with dread as she looked from me, and then to the portal.

“I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t stay put. You just can’t seem to follow orders, can you?” she scolded, shaking her head in dismay.

“Mother,” Zane and Fenn said in unison. They looked at each other awkwardly, and then Zane motioned for Fenn to continue.

“Mother,” Fenn started over, a little more calmly this time, “we are going whether you like it or not.” He took a stern step forward so he stood directly in front of her. “We have to stop Zordon. Deep down you know the King is wrong in keeping Aurora locked away. It’s not what she was destined for, and as scary as it is to risk her, we have to trust her instincts.”

I looked over at him, shocked at his words. A sliver of a smile spread on my lips.

Gwen sighed, and I caught her rolling her eyes. After what seemed like a decade’s worth of bated silence, she grudgingly said, “I have to protect what children I have left.” Her stare pierced right through me.

“They don’t have to go,” I mumbled as the pang of losing Lexi stabbed through my heart.

She ignored my comment. “Which is why I’m coming with you,” she added, her tone remiss. Before we could object, she jumped through the portal.

The three of us looked at each other. “Great…a babysitter, just what we need,” Fenn said sarcastically, shaking his head as we jumped in after her.

For a brief moment inside the portal, I felt a rush of excitement. I was going to see Alister again. But that feeling disappeared as soon as we safely landed on the other side.

Chaos replaced the serenity of the Biblium. Pages floated towards us, some burning, others torn. Multitudes of owls lay dead, covered by the destroyed books.

“No!” I cried out as I began to fumble through the murdered bodies. Blood coated the floor of the tree, and the smell of burning feathers tainted the air. It was everything I could do not to purge. The vast shelves that once lined the hollow tree were now either burned or broken and scattered about. Where was Alister?

“This was done by the hand of your father,” Gwen said barrenly. She stood, frozen. “This is a sacred place,” she whispered, on the verge of tears. “It should never have been touched by his violence. He was after something,” she finished blindly, her pale face reflecting the trails of fire that remained from his destruction.

We split off, checking each owl for signs of life. All of their eyes were glazed over, remnants of fear marking their lifeless features. I prayed that each body I came across wouldn’t be Alister’s. Tears rimmed my eyes.

I was just here
.

“Rory, over here,” Fenn shouted. I bolted over to him. Alister lay beneath a table, a book clutched in his trembling hands.

“Young Progeny…” he hooted through a constrained cough. He was definitely alive, though rather shaken. I sighed in relief when I didn’t see any real damage to his robed body.

“Alister, what happened?” I charged, dropping to my knees to hold the tips of his feathers.

“Zordon. He…came for something…for…for this,” he forced out, holding up the book he was clutching. His words were jumbled and pitchy, the fear inside him spilling out. He wouldn’t stop shaking his head, as if he were trying to deny what had happened. 

“The book of the Dark Saar?” Zane asked curiously. “When was he here? Just now?” 

“And secrets. He was after secrets…today…fire…He is searching for a spell,” Alister stammered out. Realization seemed to register in his eyes as he looked up at me for the first time. “He’s a murderer, hatchling.” I patted his hand, letting a tear fall as I helped him from under the table.

“What spell did he come for?” Gwen faltered, her tone full of dread.

Alister’s eyes suddenly became clear. “The spell of creation,” he said sorrowfully.

“The spell of creation?” Gwen tapped her chin as her eyes scrunched in thought. “I’ve heard of that. It was a spell created by the Priests.” She stopped pacing. “Did you give it to him?” Fear laced her words.

Alister’s eyes widened as if he were staring at a ghost. I could almost hear the screams of the fallen. “We tried to hide it. We did everything we could. We even set fire to our precious books. He had Warlocks with him. We couldn’t protect it. Oh —” he broke off, sobbing uncontrollably as he clutched the book.

I gasped, feeling the future slipping right through my fingers.

Fenn stepped forward. “Do you know what ingredients the spell calls for? Maybe we can head him off or find him before any more destruction happens,” he asked quickly, trying to console Alister.

Alister sniveled, picking his head up again to look at Fenn. “I know he’s after something a little different…let me think.” He moved away from us. “The blood of a Fate,” he began, his feathered wing trembling as he tried to step around his fallen friends, “a drop from the Pool of Virtue.” He looked back at Eve and said, “Are you writing this down? The blood of a dragon, and a piece of the Sun. The spell can only be cast on the rising of the full moon. In three days time. So much to do,” he said under his breath as he began picking up the torn papers.

“Blood of a dragon?,” Gwen said, confused.

“The third ingredient is what you use to create. If you want land, you use soil. If you want a creature, you use a part of that creature,” Alister advised.

“What is he trying to create with dragon’s blood?” I asked, feeling a little dizzy. “We, uh, we need to bring reinforcements here to help him,” I stammered to Gwen. “I can’t go back.”

She knowingly looked at me. “No, you cannot. I will give word to Gabe and see that Alister gets what he needs.”

“Why do you think he wants this spell?” Fenn asked.

“The Stone,” I confirmed. “If he gets the Stone, he will become a Fate. He will have the power of Gidius. But it doesn’t explain the dragon part. He wants to end the Draconta, so why use them in a creation spell?”

The room fell silent. “He took pages from my book,” Alister said, handing the book of the Dark Saar over to me. I handed it to Zane. He flipped through it, stopping where the missing pages used to be.

“The spell to undo being a Dark Saar. We really need to find him before he follows through with whatever he’s planning.”

“Agreed,” Fenn said.

“That’s all well and good, but how do we find him?” Gwen asked.

“I know how,” I said, already feeling the heat of my Oraculus searing through my hidden bookbag.

Chapter 23

The Beginning of the End

“RORY, NO!” FENN SAID, GRIPPING my arm. “You can’t keep doing that. You disappear, and there’s no way for us to help you.”

“Fenn,” I said, pulling my arm from him, “stop jumping to conclusions. Who said anything about going alone?” He stepped back, his brow furrowing. “What better way to reach him than to use my Oraculus? We can head him off. He won’t see it coming! You know a way?” I asked Gwen. She nodded.

“Wow,” Zane said in awe, “good thinking, Aurora. Mother?”

“I have to say…it’s a perfect idea,” she replied, tossing the idea around in her head.

A breath of relief whooshed out.

Alister cleared his throat. We all turned to look at him. He seemed a little more composed. “He shouted something when he tore my home apart. I was lucky enough to hide under this table before the Warlock set their imps on my kind. But I heard him clear as day when he left. Someone was with him. He was hooded, I couldn’t see his face, but he shouted overtop of the screams to someone.”

“Well, what did he say?” Zane said impatiently.

“I already have my father’s blood. Find them and meet me at the Pool,” he recalled in a trance of remembrance.

“So then he may be going to the Pool of Virtue next,” Zane stated.

“He has been after his father for as long as I can remember,” Gwen said quietly. She was stuck on the mention of Zordon’s father. “Since we were kids. It doesn’t make sense.”

“You knew him that long?” Zane asked.

He didn’t know the history of his family?

“Unfortunately, yes. He came from a powerful bloodline though he never spoke of his parents. They were never around. He was always strange, always powerful. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him hurt. That’s how he became Liege actually. He never lost a fight.”

She stepped away as if stepping into a dream, staring vacantly at the walls as she continued. “I remember one time a man came to our Magium. I had never seen him before,” she paused to turn back. “As a Seer, I could basically read anyone who I touched, and when I took his hand to guide him to Zordon’s study, there was nothing, just a white light. It was like a wall had been built around his fate, a wall that kept me from reading him. I believe he was Zordon’s father. A Fate.”

I could see the worried looks on their faces. “I have a Fate on my side too. Whatever’s going on up there in the Hall will eventually come to light. But for now, Zordon and I are even,” I said.

Later, we helped Alister back to his home outside of the Biblium and waited for Gwen to return with Gabe. She was able to get in and out without being spotted because no one suspected her to be with us. Gabe was upset with the whole idea at first, but Gwen talked him down from turning us in to the King.

Once we knew Alister was settled, Gwen told us it was time. My stomach was in knots as I pulled out my Oraculus. What if something went wrong? This was my idea, and although it felt like the right thing to do, it still wasn’t easy taking the reins.

“Now, I want you to focus on your Oraculus and the energy that streams from it,” she instructed while looking at me. “You should be able to use the connection to locate him since you are tied together. I want you to focus on Zordon. Let the pull you feel to him, take over your senses.” Then she turned to everyone else. “Join hands in a circle, please.” We all joined hands in Alister’s tree house.

“I want you to let your energy stream into each of us so we are connected,” she told me while holding my hand. “I want everyone to chant ‘Ligardi Unum,’ a binding spell that will link our energies with Aurora’s. We must do this every time we are to travel using her Oraculus or you will remain behind, understand?” She eyed us all as we nodded in unison. “Okay, let’s begin.”

I closed my eyes and connected with my Oraculus, feeling the ominous pull that was always there, the tainted string that tied me to Zordon. I focused on my energy, letting it flow out of my fingertips and into Fenn and Gwen who stood on either side of me. I felt a surge of power when their energy connected with mine. Then they pushed it along to Zane. A jolt of recognition hit me, and his eyes met mine. 

“Ligardi Unum,” Gwen began to chant.

“Ligardi Unum,” we all chanted together as I focused on the Oraculus and the pull to Zordon. It felt like a weighted chain between us. I pushed away the sound of our chanting and only thought of him.

The chain went tight.

I felt the darkness seep in as everything else faded around me. I squeezed Gwen and Fenn’s hands to reassure myself that I wasn’t alone. Slowly, I opened my eyes. It worked, but I had no idea where we were.

“Get down!” Gwen hissed. We all dropped right before four hooded men strode by with staffs in their hands, mumbling to each other.

We were on the edge of a forest, hiding behind a bush that had prickly thorns. I was carefully pulling a few out of my shirt when Gwen poked my side, motioning for me to stop moving.

“Where are we?” Fenn whispered from the other side of me, picking at the thorns in his arm. Fog emerged with his breath. The end of fall was near.

“See that temple over there?” Gwen whispered. I strained to see through the clumps of leaves. I switched my eyes to my dragon sight and zoomed in.

The structure was made out of a sparkling, violet-colored stone. It was magnificent. “That is where the Pool of Virtue is,” she explained. “It is the Temple of Priests — men who have devoted their lives to worshipping and practicing the law of The Fates. It is said that the Pool was made from the tears of The Fates when their brother sacrificed himself, imbibing the grounds with a holy cleanliness that can purify the soul.”

“I never thought I’d see this place,” Zane marveled.

“You shouldn’t have. No one but the Priests sworn in should ever see the Temple. The hooded men that we saw guard the outskirts of this sacred land are the Priests in apprenticeship. Their magic differs from our magic. We were born with the ability to use the elements to conjure, whereas they use the power of the Pool of Virtue.”

I already knew this from what I had read at Astral’s. “I’ve only heard rumors of how they are able to harness this power since it is not a natural ability. It comes from a ritual they perform when sworn into Priesthood.” She slowly picked her head up and peeked over the bush.

“Do you think he’s here?” Fenn asked me. I looked away so I could focus on the pull. I definitely felt something nefarious and dark.

“Yes,” I acknowledged. I pointed to his ring. “Can’t you tell?”

He looked down at it. It was glowing blue again. “How are we going to get around without being spotted?” he asked his mother.

“We need to figure out exactly where he is first,” she suggested. “He could be anywhere. He could even be waiting, as we are, to find a way in. Especially if he came alone.” She peeked once more over the bush and then crawled to the other side. “Fenn, I want you and Aurora to go that way,” she gestured to the right, “and loop around the Temple. Meet back here. If you see something, turn back and meet here. Zane and I will go the other way. Whatever you do, do not get spotted. It is treason to be anywhere near the Temple. The law of The Fates differs from ours. You won’t be tried fairly. You will be executed.”

I felt the knot in my stomach coil tighter as I nodded. “See you soon,” Fenn said to Gwen as he grabbed my hand and pulled me away from them. “Don’t let go of my hand, okay? Obscuro,” he chanted. “If you let go, the connection will cease.”

“Okay,” I whispered as we tiptoed around the edge of the forest, trying our best not to disturb the foliage on the ground. Fenn shivered slightly from the chilled night air.

Now that I was standing, I could see the temple was made of pure amethyst. It was something out of a whimsical fairy-tale. The stone peaked in varying angles, like it had grown up and out the earth. It sparkled under the moonlight like a storm cloud full of stars.

“Can you feel him?”

“Like a plague,” I replied sarcastically. “We’re heading in the right direction. Do you have a game plan?”

“Not really. Just winging it, I guess. This place is beautiful,” he admired. “Almost wish I had my guitar so I could play for you.”

“Me too,” I muttered as I scanned the area for Priests. “What do you think about these Priests? You got your wish about seeing them,” I teased, stepping over a fallen tree.

“Yeah, guess I should’ve paid a little more attention when we were training with Astral. Can you believe we’re here?”

For a moment, I stopped paying attention to what was around me and thought about Astral and how much I missed him. How I had failed him so far. The only thing that brought me back from the thought was my Foresight. A flash of two men with weapons coming after Fenn and me. A second later, a panicked look corrupted Fenn’s beautiful smile.

“Quick…hide!” he mouthed while pulling me down, shaking away the lull I was in. Two guards stood only a few feet away and must have heard us talking because within seconds they were at the tree line, picking through the prickly bushes to find us, holding their staves at the ready. A slight buzzing hummed around the sharp amethyst tips.

“Who goes there,” one of them said with a slight English accent. He used his staff to push aside the bushes so he could move forward. They were dressed in beige, burlap robes with leather pants underneath.

Great protection from the thorny mess we were in.

I prayed the shadows from the trees were enough for us to blend in as we silently crawled backwards, seeking a place to hide.

“Aye heard somefin’, didn’t you?” the other man said with the same Scottish accent, their pronunciation rolling up and down like hills. They continued forward with their staves pointed in our general direction, their eyes using the strained moonlight that trickled down through the leaves. Where their pupils should have been, light in the shape of teardrops formed.

“Trench…behind us…” Fenn breathed out, his breath warming my earlobe. I nodded and then took his hand so he could guide me down towards the trench next to a large tree. There was a sudden drop where the earth had trenched open, the roots becoming a wall to keep the dirt from caving in. My knees hit the dirt with a light thud as I slid underneath the root, confirming to the men that something was there. They came around the tree just as my head cleared the edge of the root.

They stood right above us now. I could no longer see them so I closed my eyes to heighten my sense of hearing and waited. If they took one step forward, they would step  on our heads, and we would certainly be caught.

Side by side, with our knees to our chest, Fenn and I held our breath, hoping that the guards would pass by. Fenn’s eyes caught the moonlight as they bore into mine, bringing images of our last night together to the surface. I felt the heat building within me, and the pendant began to glow. My hand quickly covered it as I gently let my breath out to calm myself. Even in the most absurd situations, he could still bring out the dragon in me.

One of the men stepped forward, causing dirt to rain down on us. I looked up at the roots straining from the man’s weight, trying to blink through the falling bits of dirt.
Please don’t break, please don’t break
, I repeated to myself. More dirt cascaded down, tickling my nose. I was frighteningly close to sneezing when Fenn reached up and plugged my nose. His other finger came up to his mouth, as if I needed a reminder to keep quiet.

“Let’s go back,” one of them said. “Was prolly an animal.” The air whooshed out of me as their footsteps grew faint.

“Coast is clear,” I whispered, trembling as I stepped out into the fresh air. “Let’s hurry.”

“You don’t have to rush off,” he said with a chuckle. “I felt awfully cozy crammed next to you.”

I shook my head and said, “Come on. Let’s finish this before we are caught. I doubt we will have such luck the next time.” The enjoyment of being close to him had disappeared with the thought of an early execution.

We finished our loop around the outskirts of the Temple, stopping two more times to hide from the Priests. They were everywhere, every last one of them with a shaved head and a half-moon marking the top, like a tattoo.

When we finally approached our starting point, something felt off. Heightened voices carried on the cool night breeze. Fenn’s ring hadn’t stopped glowing since we arrived here. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I mentally prepared myself for the worst.

“Get down for a second while I check it out,” ordered Fenn as he crept ahead, using the leaves as a cover. The muscles in his back bowed out as he readied himself for whatever may be on the other side of the bush.

I didn’t want to make any unnecessary noise so I didn’t fight with him, but I definitely felt I should have been alongside him. My ears strained against the hooting owls and chirping crickets to listen, waiting for any sign that Fenn might need assistance.

The voices were muffled and faint so it was hard to tell what was going on. I did know that one second they were talking and the next second, they went quiet. Eerily quiet. My heart slammed against my chest, panic spreading throughout my limbs. I froze at the sound of rustling in the bushes ahead. Maybe Zordon had found Gwen and Zane, and now Fenn.