About half an hour after the frost nymph left us pondering over her random appearance and the fate of Kitfox, Wildfire announced that she had spotted a most peculiar stream. When asked about it, she merely smiled and said it would undoubtedly lead us to Symbilla. With her leading the way, we made it to the riverbank without trouble.
The stream Wildfire had described was a surprise indeed. Instead of finding flowing water as expected, liquid gold sloshed over the rocks as it made its way over the island. Everything it touched was instantly turned to solid gold. Kitfox dared to dip his belt in the flow. It turned to gold in a flash and hardened. He was thrilled to say the least and I had to pull him away before he dipped himself in.
After a few minutes to get over the initial shock of the stream, I moved my team on. Once again following the pull I felt from Symbilla, I lead everyone upriver about half a mile from the coast. A large hill with a nasty scar in its side loomed over us. The river of gold spewed forth from the scar-shaped cave and I knew we would find Symbilla within.
“Atoka, Wildfire, you two stay here and guard the entrance with Visler while we retrieve Symbilla.” I said as I jostled the sentinel from his perch on my shoulder. He squawked indignantly and landed on Atoka’s back where he promptly curled up and went to sleep.
“Be careful in there, everyone.” Atoka said softly. “Dimitri could be lying in wait.”
“And keep Kitfox from touching the liquid gold.” Wildfire chuckled. Kitfox blew her a raspberry.
I was all smiles as I waved good-bye to my dragons and lead the team through the crack in the hillside.
◆◆◆
A lagoon of shimmering gold filled the murky grotto and a small, rocky island was tucked in its midst. From our position by the cavern entrance, we could barely see the island in the dark. There was a rickety, wooden bridge spanning the distance between the shores. The longer I looked at it, the less I wanted to attempt to cross it to retrieve Symbilla.
The black dragon statue we had been seeking guarded over the bridge. Standing beside the statue, with her back to us, was a young girl with long, sable hair. I drew my war fans as a precaution less she be one of Dimitri’s new minions and ordered the girl to turn around. With deliberately slow movements, she peered over her shoulder. A look of recognition crossed her features and she turned to face us completely.
Dragon green eyes burned beneath her jet black bangs as she stared at me. She was clad in silver armor and black leathers identical to what I had seen Amorez wearing. Two leather belts crisscrossed her midriff and two familiar, shimmering bars were affixed to each. I suddenly felt like I was looking at a 300-year-old mirror and I didn’t want to believe what I was seeing.
“I don’t believe it!” Cried Thera.
Kitfox gawked. “Is that Amorez?”
“No.” I said as I stepped passed them. “That girl is me; or, more accurately, a look-alike of me from about three centuries ago.”
“How in the names of the Five Souls is that possible?” Exclaimed Shazza. I could only shake my head in response. I had no memories to recall of the doppelganger’s creation or her reason for existing.
“What do you suggest we do about her?” Thera asked.
“I don’t remember why she’s here, so we’ll need to keep an eye on her while we retrieve Symbilla. The dragon will hopefully know what to do.” With that, I lead the way to the hazardous bridge that spanned the golden lake. My three teammates fell in line behind me. All four of us eyed my double suspiciously as we approached. Surprisingly, she made nary a move as we passed within arm’s length.
“You should let your hair grow out like that again.” Kitfox said after a moment to stop and look at her up close.
I glanced back at my double. “I might consider it.” I replied as I stepped foot on the first plank of the bridge.
My doppelganger shrieked in rage. In a burst of superhuman speed, she drew her own war fan and hurled it at me with deadly accuracy. I was frozen in place by fear and there was no way I could escape the deadly blades in time.
Kitfox was suddenly in front of me, pushing me back. He jerked and took a shaky step to steady himself. Every sense and sound fell away as I stared into his eyes. A look of agony crossed his features and he slowly looked down. I followed his gaze to find my doppelganger’s tessen breaking through his chest from behind. Blood flowed down to stain his white tunic crimson. I retuned my gaze to his face. He gasped before collapsing into me.
“Kitfox!” I fell to the ground with him in my arms. My senses slowly trickled back and the sounds of a battle echoed all around me. I figured it was Shazza and Thera retaliating the doppelganger’s surprise attack and I chose to ignore it. Kitfox needed me now more than they did.
“S-Sorry.” He tried to flash a cocky smirk, succeeding only in a grimace. He coughed and blood sprayed from his mouth. I wiped it away.
“Don’t be sorry.” I said as I looked over his wound for some way to remove the fan without killing him. Unfortunately, the blades were too close to his heart. He would bleed out before I had a chance to finish removing it and heal him. I forced myself to look into his eyes to tell him the truth, but the words just wouldn’t come. He slowly nodded in understanding.
“I wanted… so badly… see you beat… Dimitri.” He grimaced as he gasped for air. He slowly lifted his arm and cupped my cheek with his hand. I blinked through my tears and leaned into his caress.
“Don’t leave me.” I cried. “Kitfox… you can’t… I need…”
His hoarse whisper reached my ears. “Stay strong.”
Kitfox smiled one last time.
His eyes slowly drifted shut.
His hand fell away.
“Kitfox!” My anguished cry echoed over and over in the cavern. The next thing I knew, I was charging past Shazza and Thera, war fans drawn and thirsty for blood. I ignored the concerned cries of my two comrades as they tried to call me back to my senses. I would have none of it. My doppelganger needed to pay for what she did!
Momentarily thrown off by my enraged entrance into the battle, my double’s guard faltered. I exploited this fault by slamming my tessen through it. I felt flesh and bone split before my fan stopped deep within her ribcage. I wasted no time in focusing a spell at the tip of my tessen. The magic exploded through my double’s body, ripping her apart from the inside.
Her blood splattered everywhere and she released a horrid scream. I buried my other fan in her gut, twisting until I heard a sickening crunch. Another exploding spell rippled through her and the wretch fell to her knees. I roared and kicked her away just far enough to hurl another spell at her. Then another. And another. Again and again, over and over, my spells slammed into her.
Stop it, Hatchling!
Come back to your senses, Xyleena!
I finally stopped my barrage when I felt my energy dip dangerously low. It was over for good now and my doppelganger was no more. Just as I was turning around to return to Kitfox, a brilliant flash of light blinded me. It took a minute for my vision to clear, and when it had, I realized my double was back on her feet and glaring at me. There was no evidence that she had ever been injured let alone at death’s door.
She snarled and launched herself at me. I deflected her attack with a quick spell and shuddered at the extensive drain it took on what little energy I had left. I countered the attack with a punch aimed at her jaw. She dodged it at the last possible moment and spun away with a laugh. I was quick to take up a pursuit, but something grasped my arm and yanked me back.
It was Visler. He must have darted into the cave when he heard the commotion. I turned my back to him and he released my arm from his jaws with a concerned chirp.
“You need to stop this, Xyleena!” Thera shouted. “You are going to kill yourself if you continue!”
I glared at the Feykin over my shoulder. “I don’t care! I have to kill her!”
“Snap out of it!” Shouted Shazza. She promptly followed her outcry with a sound slap across my cheek. I saw stars dance before my eyes
for a long moment before my vision cleared. When my sight came back to me, I glared up at Shazza before launching a spell at her to knock her away.
The next thing I knew, I was being yanked backwards and pinned against an armored body. A cold blade was held to my throat and hot breath spilled across my ear. It was my double; and she was ready to kill.
Visler screeched and dive bombed the doppelganger. She swatted him away with the hand that held the blade at my throat. Seizing the opportunity, I slammed my elbow into her ribs as hard as I could. Her grip on me broke and I bolted away.
She did not give chase. Instead, she took aim and hurled her tessen at me. It moved far too fast for me to dodge. A searing pain exploded through my shoulder as the blades of the fan sunk in.
I screamed.
A fierce roar answered.
Momentarily forgetting the pain, I looked around to see where the roar came from. The liquid gold of the lake rippled violently before surging upwards. A split second later, a dragon with shimmering, gold scales exploded from the depths. She slammed into my doppelganger, pinning her to the ground with a long, ivory claw. Symbilla growled at her prisoner before turning her sepia gaze to me.
“Xyleena, cancel the spell before this specter kills another innocent.” I heard Shazza and Thera gasp at the dragon’s words.
“It’s too late…” I winced as I tried to get the blades out of my shoulder. Thera rushed over to help.
“Xyleena, you must--”
“I don’t remember how to cancel the spell!” I bellowed.
The dragon snorted. “Listen, child, I can undo what was done, but only if you can get rid of the specter.”
I gawked at the golden dragon, searching her eyes for any evidence of a deception. Finding only truth, I pushed myself away from Thera. As I slowly made my way towards the pinned doppelganger, a memory played in my mind.
Over three centuries ago, when I buried Symbilla here, I had set a trap before leaving. It was forever active, but wouldn’t attack unless someone tried to cross the bridge it guarded. Because the magic would have been a constant drain on my energy, I had rigged an amulet to convert the energy of the dragon into a constant stream of magic. That amulet is what kept the specter alive. And it prevented Symbilla from using her real power.
I scowled at my double as I bent over her. I quickly freed the amulet from her breastplate and jerked hard enough to break the chain. Panic swept across her features as I stood to my full height. With one last look at my doppelganger, I let the amulet drop to the ground with a metallic ring. A moment later, I slammed my foot on it hard enough to render it into oblivion. The specter vanished with a scream.
I looked at Symbilla. “Revive him.”
Her sepia gaze fell on Kitfox. “Are you sure?”
“Of course!”
“Calm down, my Keeper.” Symbilla kept her voice soft, but stern. “I merely asked because my Soul Exhale has only been used once before and it forever linked that person with my life force.”
“Meaning what, exactly?”
“If I were to use Soul Exhale on him, he will be as immortal as you and I are. However, he will feel my injuries as if they were his own. And if I were to die, then he would too. Do you truly wish that fate on this Demon?”
So many things ran through my mind in that instant I couldn’t tell if they came from me or the dragons. I wondered if Kitfox would hate me for turning him immortal so that I could have him in my life. I closed my eyes and prayed to the Five Souls for an answer.
It was several minutes before I received an answer. A vision of a young, green-eyed girl with black hair and fox ears flashed in my mind so fast I barely caught it. Somehow, I just knew there was no way that Kitfox would be angry about the outcome of my choice.
“Xy?” Thera called softly.
I smiled as I opened my eyes. “Do it.”
After a moment, Symbilla nodded. “Very well.”
Shazza and Thera glanced at the golden dragon as she slowly approached Kitfox. They both retreated far enough to watch as Symbilla went to work. The dragon leaned in close enough to blow gently into Kitfox’s face. As she did so, a tendril of gold smoke left her maw and seeped into the gaping wound in the Demon’s chest. There was a flash of blinding light, then the wound vanished leaving only a faint scar as evidence it ever existed.
“It is done.” Symbilla said as she backed away and sat on her haunches. I watched Kitfox closely, waiting with bated breath for him to move or say something. It felt like forever before he took a huge gulp of air and coughed. He bolted upright and felt his chest in disbelief.
I couldn’t hold my excitement back any longer; I sprinted towards him. He looked up just in time as I threw myself into his arms and hugged him tightly. Thera was right beside me, glomming the Fox Demon in an equally tight embrace. His laugh rang out like a heavenly tune and he hugged us back.
“Good to have you back, fox-boy.” Shazza’s voice betrayed no emotion, but joy swam in her sunburst eyes.
“Someone mind telling me what happened? Last thing I remember is being in extreme pain while lying in Xy’s arms and then everything went dark.”
“My Keeper broke the doppelganger spell that drained my energy and kept me from using my full powers.” Explained Symbilla. “Once I had been freed of that drain, I revived you.”
Kitfox gawked at the dragon. “I… I don’t know what to say. Thank you just doesn’t seem good enough.”
“There’s a catch.” I said as I withdrew from the hug. A look of dread crossed his features as he looked me in the eye. “In order to revive you, Symbilla had to give you part of her soul. That little bit of her also…” I paused and looked at Thera for help, “… how do I word this?”
“It’s hard to explain.” The Feykin interjected.
Kitfox pressed for an explanation.
Shazza was the one among us to find a comfortable explanation. “For every injury Symbilla receives, you will feel it as if it had been dealt directly to you and if she dies, so do you. On the other hand, you will live as long as the dragon does.”
“So…?”
I smiled meekly. “You’re immortal.”
Kitfox stared blankly at me. A moment later, he fainted.
My brother surprised everyone when he stood before the court and announced that he did not want to be king. He said that I would make a much better ruler as I have already led our people wisely. The court asked him why he had changed his mind. Oh! How he smiled when he told us that the Dragon Keeper, Amorez, was to be his bride. I could not have been happier for both of them.
– FROM “A JOURNAL OF THE FIRST KING” BY AADRIAN ZA’CAR, FIRST KING OF THE SECOND AGE
We chose to remain in the cave until Kitfox came to. Shazza had volunteered to go outside to tell Atoka and Wildfire what happened and to collect firewood. Thera stayed with me to heal my wounded shoulder and restore some of my energy. Once that was done, she lit a small orb and started to work on translating the next portion of the Riddle of the Twelve.
Shazza returned with an armful of wood. With a little help from Visler, a small fire was brought to life. The sentinel chattered happily and laid down on the heated stone mere inches from the blaze.
“Xy?” I laid a cold cloth against Kitfox’s forehead before answering Shazza’s summon. “Please explain to me why you hid the dragons in twelve different locations. Why not just one?”
I glanced at Thera, who was still bent over the rolled parchment containing Riddle of the Twelve. She looked up from her work to meet my gaze. “Because that would be too easy.” I answered with a smile. I could practically feel the frustration flowing off of Shazza at my answer. She grumbled and sat opposite me to stare into the dancing flames.
“My Keeper is right, Dákun Daju.” Replied Symbilla. Shazza looked up at the gold dragon. “Had the twelve of us been hidden in one location, it would have been much easier for the Shadow Keeper to obtain the Dragons of Shadow.”
“No kidding! Dimitri almost kicked
our butts the first time we faced him.” Added Thera. “That was when it was just me, Xy, and Teka. And Xy didn’t have nearly the amount of power or self confidence that she does now. If he had won and freed the Shadow Dragons back then, the world would have been destroyed for sure.”
Shazza quietly agreed.
“Speaking of Teka,” I muttered as I adjusted the cloth on Kitfox’s forehead. “I wonder how she’s doing. I hope she’s safe wherever she is.”
Thera chuckled. “Knowing that feisty sea wench, she’s probably giving Dimitri more trouble than he can handle.”
“That’s what worries me.” I sighed and looked away from the unconscious Demon at my side. “What if Teka, Zhealocera, Freya, and Amorez are all drawing too much attention during their mission to help us? Do they know the Shadow Dragons are loose? Are they even still alive?”
Thera and Shazza shared a look of concern before staring at me. I could tell they were both trying to say something to help ease my troubled mood. The words they were looking for eluded them, so they chose to remain silent.
Symbilla sighed. “You can’t afford to think like that, Xyleena.”
“Given recent events,” I jerked my head in Kitfox’s direction, “I think I have the right to worry about my friends.”
Symbilla’s gaze settled on Kitfox for a long moment. “Amorez and Freya have previous experience with all of this and I am confident that both of them are assisting your other friends in every way they can.”
“They had better be.” I grumbled and returned my attention to caring for Kitfox.
Silence descended over our rudimentary camp after that. The only sounds to be heard were the crackling of the fire and the scratching of Thera’s quill over the parchment. I watched my friends closely in the hours that passed. They were sacrificing so much of themselves for me that I couldn’t believe I had let them down.
A wave of regret washed over me as my gaze returned to Kitfox’s face. He appeared so at peace in his sleep, but the scar on his chest glared up at me in the flickering firelight. It was as if the memory of the fatal wound was pointing at me; accusing me of allowing his death to happen.
Culmination Page 19
