The Pariah Child & the Ever-Giving Stone

by Natasha D Lane

  The spiders visibly crawled under his green skin and moved up his arm to infect his whole body. The ogre beat at his arm with the club in an attempt to kill the small bugs, yet for everyone he killed, several more would appear. Realizing his beating was having no effect, he tossed the club to the ground, knocking down several dozen people in the process. He grabbed his right arm and ripped it clean off his shoulder. Dark purple liquid dribbled from his wound.

  He used his now detached arm to attack Serwa. As the ugly creature continued to swing at the trio, she realized there was no way she would reach Sarah in time.

  Her heart picked up speed and beat faster still when two cloaked figures in the sky flew overhead and landed beside the girl. Five enemies were now facing the small redhead. That was too many for an amateur to handle.

  Serwa looked over at the bleeding ogre, who was continuing to launch attacks at the twins though with less grace than before—if that were possible—now that he was losing so much blood. She knew what she had to do. With the ogre distracted and without a second thought she leapt in the air and forced the bone in her right arm to transform. She dug her nails into the beast’s forehead and held on. His eyes were fading in and out. He didn’t have much longer to go with the blood loss. She shoved her right arm, which had now transformed into a long sword into the ogre’s head. At the first strike, he screamed and thrashed around. Serwa continued to strike at his head until his movements slowed.

  The ogre stumbled to the ground lifeless. Serwa jumped down and rushed toward Sarah. Only a few feet away, she raised her sword. One of the cloaked figures turned around and blocked the attack using a small dagger. Serwa drew back and was preparing to deliver another blow when the figure removed his hood slightly and smiled showing fangs.

  “Alexander.” The name left her mouth with a strange taste.

  “Well, it’s nice to see you too,” he said returning his hood forward to block the sun. Serwa was speechless. She stumbled over her words and left her sword raised in the air. Alexander grabbed her arm and gently brought it down. “We’ll talk later. Right now we’re going to clear a path for Sarah. We’re not too far from the entrance.” He turned away from her and two more cloaked figures stepped beside him, over the bodies of the original three enemies that had faced Sarah.

  Serwa and her comrades surrounded Sarah and moved through the crowd blocking attacks from all sides.

  Chapter 27

  Soon they had pushed their way through the mass. Sarah raced into the entrance of the mountain with her friends following her. Once inside, Serwa lit a flame and revealed a wide passage way.

  “Where do we go from here?” Sarah asked. The witch looked around the cave.

  Alexander stepped beside her and pulled back his hood. “I think right now we need to move deeper into the mountain. Just to get farther away from the battle, so no one has time to follow us if they catch on.” He placed a hand on Serwa’s shoulder. She immediately shrugged his hand off and stepped aside.

  “Don’t touch me, you bat!”

  For just a moment the hurt on Alexander’s face was obvious. Only for a moment though before it was replaced by a huge grin. “I see you haven’t changed a bit.”

  She stepped back and balled her fists. She narrowed her eyes at Alexander, allowing pure annoyance to build in them.

  “We haven’t needed you for the past few weeks, and we don’t need you now. So don’t think because you helped out a bit that we’re just going to let you come back in here and start giving orders.” Her voice echoed through the cave, and her anger made the walls shake. The flame in her right hand grew so big that everyone had to take a step back. She marched to the front of the group and stormed down the passage.

  Alexander sighed and followed behind her. Sarah stepped beside him. She squeezed his hand. He looked down at her with a smile. “I’m glad someone’s happy to see me.”

  “I knew you would come back to us,” she said. “I always knew you would.”

  He ruffled her hair and wrapped his arm around her.

  “Nice to have you back, Alex.”

  Sarah nearly jumped out of her skin.

  “Jacob, where did you come from?” Sarah asked, a dagger already poised in her hand.

  He grinned through his panting. “I saw you all make it to the mouth of the mountain, so I raced after you.” His clothes were covered in different colored fluids, and his armor was dented. “It wasn’t easy,” he said.

  The group continued to travel deeper into the mountain’s cave with Serwa leading them. The vampire guards whom Alexander had brought stood in the back, silent. The passage began to open up and soon the group stepped into a large circular space. The passage continued on the other side. Sarah looked around. She didn’t know how far it went up, but from what she could tell there were no windows or doors on the sides. “We have to keep moving,” Serwa said. Sarah and Alex nodded. They started their march across the large room.

  Midway across, the air picked up creating a light breeze. Familiar chills ran up Sarah’s spine. She wrapped her arms around herself. Alexander stopped walking.

  “Do you hear that?” he asked.

  Sarah listened. She couldn’t hear anything, everything was silent.

  “What does it sound like?” Jacob stepped beside Alex with his sword drawn. The vampire listened again.

  “It sounds like flapping...” Alexander turned his eyes upward and line of tension crept along his shoulders. He looked at Serwa.

  “Dragons,” the witch breathed, and as if on cue the water dragon appeared from the above abyss, landing right between Sarah and the hall leading from the room.

  A low bubbling grew from the beast’s belly. He sat straight up on his two back legs and peered down at the small group. “What are you here for, earth human?” His voice was deep and commanding.

  Sarah took several wary steps toward him. “I’m here to return the stone.”

  The dragon chuckled. “So, you are brave,” he said. “It is an admirable trait. However, I cannot allow you or your friends to pass. An opportunity like this may never come again.”

  “Please,” Sarah begged. “Lyrica needs all the elements. One isn’t supposed to rule.”

  “Says you, someone who isn’t even native to this land. Turn around now and leave, or face me.”

  The pleading left her eyes. Sarah wrinkled her nose and balled her fists. “I’m not going anywhere. You’re going to have to make me.”

  The dragon roared. The very force of his howl made the group stumble back. Then, from the dragon’s throat came the sound of rushing water and a whirlpool aimed at Sarah erupted from his mouth. She stepped into the blast, allowed the water to graze her palms and circle her hands like Serwa had taught her. She watched, confidence building in her, as the water moved past her.

  Serwa, who had moved to counter the attack, now stood stuck in place. All around the group, on every side, was water, a shield Sarah had created from the dragon’s blast. Sarah met the witch’s eyes.

  She grinned and nodded toward Sarah.

  The solid feeling of pride settled on the girl, and suddenly, she felt invincible.

  “We’ve got another one,” Alex screamed.

  Sarah stepped to the side, out of the pathway of the water. Three fireballs flew at the group. She took the shield of water and thrust a single blast at the balls of fire, putting them out.

  The fire dragon loomed on the other side of the room watching Sarah. The dragon shook his head.

  “You were warned. Now, we must eliminate you so that only one can rule.”

  Two more dragons appeared from the sky as he spoke, sending shivers down Sarah’s spine. She swallowed hard. One had dark brown scales with grass, trees and roots sprouting across his back. He was huge like the other elementals, and as he moved, dirt fell from his scales.

  The earth dragon.

  The other dragon was the lightest blue with beautiful silver eyes. As soon as he entered the room the air grew cold. The wind pick
ed up and twirled around him.

  The air dragon.

  “You are what stands between us, and the final battle to see which element will rule,” said the earth dragon cornering the group of friends. The other three moved in as well creating the perfect blockade.

  “And so your journey must come to an end, human. I am sorry that all you have done was for naught,” said the air dragon. Then, in unison, all four opened their mouths preparing for a single blow.

  Sarah looked around her. There was no escape, and she couldn’t dodge all their attacks at once. But this couldn’t be the end. Not yet, not until she had placed the stone back in its rightful place. Even now she could feel the stone beating inside her like a second heart. It wasn’t ready to give up yet and neither was Sarah. If she were going to die, she would go out fighting. She looked back at her friends. They were looking all around the room for some sort of exit. Perhaps she could at least save them. Maybe she’d die in the process, but not all stories have happy endings. Not every hero can survive.

  Each dragon was charging, collecting all the power inside of him for this attack. Sarah stepped forward and raised her hands. She was ready for whatever was going to come. The stone sent soothing feelings through her.

  “It’s been a good run,” she murmured and raised her hands, palms forward.

  “You’re all cowards!” Serwa’s voice broke the silence.

  Sarah whipped her head around and stared at the witch, jaw dropped and brows pushed together.

  The dragons stopped their charge and glared at Serwa. She gritted her teeth and screamed. “That’s all you are. Just cowards. The mighty elements are scared of a little earth human. So scared, that they need to gang up on her to win. Pathetic. Why not fight one another? Aren’t you all the real challenge?” She crossed her arms and scowled at them.

  The dragons looked at each other. The earth dragon spoke. “What do you speak of, witch?”

  Serwa shook her head and placed her hands on her hips. “You all are scared to fight each other, so you’re fighting her. Before you three arrived, the water dragon was saying how he was going to be the ultimate element. I guess that must be true since you all are scared to fight him.”

  All four dragons roared.

  “I fear no one,” said the fire dragon. “And water will not rule. Lyrica will be controlled by fire.”

  Earth stomped, and the whole ground shook. “No, earth will be supreme.”

  “You’re all fools. Air will be the victor! I’ll kill all three of you.”

  Sarah could feel her mouth tug up into a smile.

  “Arrogance brings down the best of men, Sarah. Never forget that.” Her father’s words had never rung truer.

  No more needed to be said between the dragons. They began to tear into one another, their claws sinking into the flesh of their kin. Earth bit into Fire’s stomach, and lava poured from the gaping wound, causing Sarah and her friends to take several steps back.

  Serwa gestured toward the exit. Sarah nodded, and they all followed her across the room into the next passage until they couldn’t hear the battle behind them. Several yards into the passage they came to a stop, falling against the walls and taking deep breaths.

  Jacob took in a gulp of air and sighed. “That was too close for comfort.”

  “Exactly,” Sarah agreed feeling her heart pounding in her chest.

  “We have to keep moving,” Serwa said still trying to find breath. “If one of the elements kills the other, we won’t be able to find balance.”

  Sarah stared at her. She hadn’t thought of that.

  “How much time do we have?” the girl asked.

  The witch rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. Turning them against one another wasn’t part of my plan, so we need to keep moving.”

  Everyone nodded and the group continued on.

  Slowly, the temperature increased, and Sarah could feel the sweat began to build on her forehead. The air became thin, and her lungs had to work harder to take in oxygen.

  “Where is this heat coming from?” said Serwa.

  Sarah shook her head as they came to a dead end. “There’s no other way to go.”

  Serwa placed a hand on the wall. “There are stairs,” she said. “Help me move the wall aside.” Sarah and Serwa placed four hands on the barrier. Their hands sunk into the rocks and with concentration they pushed the wall aside.

  As soon as the path was clear, Sarah began to sprint up the staircase. Her friends followed behind her at a much slower speed.

  “I think it’s close,” she said. She could feel the stone shivering inside her. It’s home was so close.

  The higher Sarah climbed, the harder it became to continue on. The heat was almost unbearable at this point. Alexander and his guards pulled their cloaks tight around them to stop their skin from melting. Their march had turned into a crawl.

  But Sarah moved forward. When she reached the top of the stairs, she stepped into another hall. At the end stood two gray stone doors.

  Her friends caught up to her, panting and leaning over with their hands on their knees. The vampire guards slumped against one another and took in wheezing breaths.

  Alexander turned to them. “Go back and scan the battle. If one of the elementals gets ahead report back to me immediately.”

  They looked at each other and then back at Alexander. “Are you sure, Sire?”

  He nodded. “I’ll be fine. Go, now.” The three guards thanked him and followed the path back down to the elementals. As soon as they had turned the corner, Alexander leaned weakly against the wall. Serwa stood beside him. She rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her, and she struggled to smile as the skin on his face began to melt.

  Sarah looked away from here friends and forced herself to focus. Time was running out.

  “It must be right here,” Sarah said. She approached the doors and summoned her magic to push them open.

  They didn’t budge. Serwa came and helped her, still no movement. Sarah tried to move the doors aside again, but they wouldn’t follow her command.

  “What’s going on?” she asked. “I can’t move them.”

  “Of course, you can’t,” a voice echoed in the passage.

  “The doors only appear to be made of stone,” said another voice.

  Sarah jolted back from the doors and watched, eyes glazed in amazement, as two more dragons stepped from the walls. But they were different than the others. They were smaller and translucent with wispy forms like the spirit Sarah always talked to. Their eyes glowed a bright haunting yellow. One was an almost see-through white, the other was a night sky black.

  “The doors aren’t made of stone,” said one. “They’re made of light...”

  “And darkness,” added the other dragon. “An element you haven’t yet mastered.”

  Serwa pinched the bridge of her nose. “This just keeps getting more and more interesting, doesn’t it?”

  Jacob nodded. “That’s another thing we can agree on. I thought there were only four.”

  “I am light,” said the one dragon. “I live strong inside you. Such a brave girl, you are. You have already mastered me and used the light inside you to get this far.”

  “And I am darkness, and I rest inside you as well but you have not acknowledged me.” The other dragon stepped closer, and Jacob moved in between them.

  Jacob scowled at the dragon. “Look, we need to get through those doors or our friend is going to die and so is all of Lyrica. Either let us pass, or die along with your world.”

  “You cannot hurt us boy, we are not made of flesh,” said Darkness. He leaned down beside Jacob and peered into his eyes. “But I see that you have your own darkness inside of you. So many lies, so much regret. It must be eating you up inside. Show me what you have done.”

  The dragon lifted a single talon and pressed against Jacob’s forehead. The boy’s body seized, before he regained motion and stumbled away, swinging his sword wildly. “Stay out of my head.”
>
  The dragon ignored his plea. “I see it now. You haven’t told her. You want to, but you know you can’t. You’re scared. Very scared.”

  Light stepped beside his brother. “But he does care for her. He is completely loyal to her, even willing to die for her.”

  “We don’t have time for this,” shouted Serwa. “Sarah, find a way to get past. We need to get Alexander out of here.”

  “But why,” said Darkness now looking at the witch. “He’s struggling as well. Right now he is weak. He needs blood to heal his wounds. How long will it be before he kills you all? And Serwa, I can see her standing right beside you. What does she call herself? The evil that lives within you.”

  “What are they talking about?” asked Sarah, staring back at her friends. The witch shook her head.

  “Nothing,” she whispered. “Just don’t listen to them.”

  “They don’t want to tell you, Sarah,” said Light. “All your friends want to protect you, and that’s why they’re lying to you.”

  “What are they lying about?” Sarah asked. The dragons cornered her.

  “But everyone has light,” said the dark dragon.

  “And everyone has darkness,” said the light dragon. “It’s time to see yours.”

  “Let me look into you,” said Darkness.

  His eyes drew Sarah in, a force she couldn’t fight. Everything slowly blurred around her until there was nothing. The dragons and her friends disappeared along with the cave.

  Chapter 28

  Sarah closed her eyes and reopened them. She was standing alone in the middle of a forest.

  “Where am I?” she asked.

  “You are within yourself,” came the voice of Darkness. “Here rests all your fears and regrets. Tell me Sarah, what burdens your mind now?”

  Sarah huffed. She looked up at the sky. “Let me out of here now. Without me, Lyrica will die!”

  “Is that the only thing you’re worried about?” asked Darkness. “What about your parents?”

  The words caught her by surprise. What did he know about her parents? She hadn’t thought about them in the past few days. Now, though, her mind began to drift.