Rise of the Flame

by K.N. Lee

  Vaugner shrugged. “Will I?”

  “I was around in the beginning as well, old man.”

  “Were you?” Vaugner gave Dragnor a bored yawn.

  Dragnor pursed his lips.

  Vaugner traced a finger along the chairs arm. “I grow weary these days. Once the Storm and the Flame destroy The Barriers, I cringe to think what horrors they will release.” He pointed to himself. “I remember why The Barriers were created! Some people choose to forget. Some hide the truth. You cannot hide the truth from someone who was actually there.”

  “You won’t have to worry about it old man. The Flame will be dead by morning.”

  Vaugner smirked. “Not likely. You aren’t strong enough to even contend with her.”

  Now, Dragnor smiled. He raised his hands. Flames ignited and ran up and down his arms. He waved the flame before Vaugner.

  Still, Vaugner smirked. “What was that, little elf cub?

  “I have stolen the Flame’s power. I command the power of the Ancients now.”

  “Was that supposed to impress me?” Vaugner lifted a bushy brow. “You have only tasted her power. No one can take it from her.”

  Dragnor restrained himself. He could feel Lilae’s power, yet, he knew Vaugner was telling the truth. He could not completely take the Flame’s power. He wanted to rip the old man to shreds. Still, there was work to be done, and he needed Vaugner’s help. Instead, he overturned one of the cluttered tables in a fury.

  “Do as I say. Make the potion.”

  “I see what’s going on here.” Vaugner nodded knowingly. “You’re afraid of the gatekeeper!” He laughed. “I see right through you. Not all of the Elders were on the same side. Some still uphold their vows to protect the people of the remaining realms, while…there are those who wish to see them fall. Some who wish to aid in the destruction of life.”

  Dragnor remained still, as though frozen by Vaugner’s words. “Who are you?”

  Vaugner shrugged. “No one. A potion maker…right?” He cracked a mischievous smile.

  “The Elders are dead old man.”

  “Are they?”

  “Of course they are.” Dragnor paused, remembering what he saw. There was fire and chaos, and every black shadow was covered by the flames. “I was there. I saw Wexcyn turn them to dust. I watched him reshape the entire Underworld. I thought you were supposed to be a wise man.”

  Vaugner nodded. He rubbed his chin in thought. “You watched him kill the Elders did you? All of them? Interesting.”

  “Shut up your babbling! I will ask you one last time,” Dragnor began, through clenched teeth.

  “Don’t bother,” Vaugner cut him off. “I refuse.”

  Dragnor raised a hand, the light brighter than any that had ever penetrated that room. He pointed the rays at Vaugner’s face and waited for the screams to ensue. When there was nothing but silence, then a low snicker, Dragnor quickly lowered his hand in confusion. He saw Vaugner sitting there, shivering with restrained laughter.

  Vaugner chuckled, that smug, self-satisfied look on his face that further infuriated Dragnor. Dragnor drew his lips into a snarl.

  “Who told you to come here swartelf?” Vaugner asked between laughs. “Didn’t they tell you that I was blind?” More loud laughs.

  Dragnor lowered his fists.

  “Your cheap tricks won’t work on me,” Vaugner explained as he began to calm his fits of laughter. “Age,” he continued, “has made me immune to your methods of persuasion. Among other things, might I add?”

  There was a thick, tension filled, silence between them.

  “What do you want with the potion anyway? It’s never been tested on your race.”

  “It’s not for me.”

  Vaugner raised an eyebrow. “Who is it for?”

  “That’s none of your concern.”

  Vaugner shook his head. He sighed deeply and stood. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re quite vague?” He smirked, shaking his head as he walked towards the back of the room. “I remember the day, Cyden the Prophet, spoke the words of the prophecy of the Storm and the Flame. The Ancients gave the people hope.”

  Dragnor looked up in surprise.

  “The day when humans can actually make a stand against the likes of you. I can’t believe it’s finally come.” Vaugner stepped into the shadows, Dragnor’s eyes never leaving him. Vaugner turned around with a small box in his hand. It was black, with a single large red ruby set on its lid.

  “You’ve got one more chance,” Dragnor said warningly.

  “I don’t need your chances, you fool!” Vaugner held the box before him. “Don’t you get it? I’ve been waiting for you Dragnor, Son of Malikar,” he looked at Dragnor pointedly, his eerie eyeballs, blind, yet meeting those of the Shadow Elf. “I am not so sure whoever sent you here wants you to survive this night.”

  Dragnor raised an eyebrow, taken aback at hearing the old man say his name. He never introduced himself. Moreover, he felt a twinge of panic at the thought that Kavien had betrayed him. He had sent him there. Now, he wasn’t so sure why. Was this errand a trick?

  “Truth is, I’ve had a visitor,” Vaugner explained, taking out a small silver key from his pocket. Dragnor watched as he placed the key into the lock. “One, who wanted a similar potion.”

  Dragnor started to feel worried. He glanced at the only exit and back at the box. There was something about the box that made him shiver.

  Vaugner smiled, his back straightening, making him incredibly tall. “And she was much more convincing than you.” He turned the key and the room was flooded with light. It was so bright that Dragnor shielded his eyes and ducked.

  “But making potions is not my specialty.” Then realization filled him like a pot of hot water was thrown on his face. “There was a time when collecting souls was my only occupation,” he hissed. “And your soul is ripe for the picking.”

  Dragnor gasped and turned to run towards the stairs.

  “You better run Swartelf! The Elders don't take kindly to those who escape without permission. And I am much stronger than my brothers and sisters once were. You better run fast!”

  Dragnor used his cat-like agility and sped up the stairs, his body disappearing into the darkness. The light of the box chased him, the voices of shadows and spirits calling to him, shouting in muffled voices. The Underworld reached out to him and he could barely breathe from the fear.

  He trembled at the realization that some of the Elders had escaped. He should have guessed it sooner. Vaugner was the only one who could rip Dragnor's soul from his body. If the Underworld was ruled by Wexcyn, where would Vaugner send his soul if he captured it? Dragnor sweated with terror, and ran faster than he ever had.

  Dragnor felt his heart race, the fear smothering him like a thick blanket. He was too afraid to look back at the whispers that chased him and called out to him. Dread flooded his body as he mounted his wyvern and barely escaped with his soul still intact with his body.

  Chapter 54

  “Lilae?” Kavien called softly.

  He couldn’t hear her breathing. He opened the lid of the chest and saw her laying there motionless. His heart began to thump in his chest. He touched her and she felt cold. In a panic, he unhooked the collar around her neck and began to lift her from the chest. He gasped when her eyes opened and like wild animal she scratched him across the face.

  Kavien wasn’t surprised by her actions. He had said some vicious things to her. He had hurt her. She struggled against him.

  Kavien tried to hold her down. She elbowed him and used all of her strength to wrench herself free from his arms. With a shriek she raised a hand to hit him in the throat. Kavien caught her wrist and she swirled right out of his hands.

  “Lilae stop!” He shouted at her. He didn’t want to hurt her, but as she freed herself, she tried to run.

  In a flash, he caught up to her and slammed her to the ground. Lilae stared at him in shock at how quickly he had gotten to her. He held her down on the cold marble
floor and she bucked and growled.

  “Get off! Let me go!” She wailed at the top of her lungs and he realized that he was crushing her. He sat up, but kept a firm grip on her arms.

  He’d never seen her so wild and enraged. It tugged at his heart to see her in that way.

  “Calm down Lilae,” Kavien urged and she shook her head.

  “No! Get off of me!” Lilae watched his eyes change color and saw another level of his domination over her. She had failed once again. She began to whimper, seeing how defenseless she was against his strength. She looked at him the way everyone did once they learned what Kavien could do. She’d only seen a glimpse of his power and it was enough to stifle her attempts of escape.

  Kavien felt ashamed. Lilae feared him more than ever, and that was the last thing he wanted. He softened his grip on her and lifted her up.

  She was frozen as she watched his face curiously. He never failed in baffling her. He sat her on top of the chest and sat on his knees before her. He held her small hands within his own and looked into her eyes.

  “Listen to me Lilae,” Kavien began and she turned away from him. She tried to rip her hands from his only to have him hold on tighter.

  She bit her lip and her jaw tensed but she remained silent. Lilae refused to face him.

  His head hung and his shoulders slumped. “Why do you always insist on fighting me?”

  Lilae shook her head in disgust, thinking in her head that he should know.

  “Aren’t I good to you?” Kavien asked and she faced him with a look of incredulity.

  “Look at me!” Her face turned red. “You keep me locked in a god forsaken box! You put a collar on me like I am your pet. You let that elf carve spells into my flesh. You let him beat me nearly to death--“

  He cut her off with just a glare.

  “I did not let him,” he told her with a slam of his fist on the chest. “I sent him away. There is no way he can survive what I have sent him to. I sent him to his death Lilae.”

  “I don’t believe you. I only know what I see, and it is you who has me trapped here. Why do you keep me here? You don’t need me. Just let me go!”

  Kavien shook her. “What’s wrong with you?” he shouted. “Why can’t you see that I am protecting you? Do I have to spell it out for you to get it through your skull?”

  Lilae tensed. She stared at him. “What?”

  Kavien tried to calm himself. He let go of her hands and covered his face. Wexcyn yelled at him. He shuddered.

  “FOOL!”

  “KILL HER!”

  “KILL HER NOW!”

  “SHE WILL KILL YOU! YOU’RE SUCH A FOOL!”

  “DO IT NOW!”

  Lilae leaned forward as she watched him rock back and forth. Her brows scrunched up and she reached out for him. He caught her hand so quickly that she gasped and she watched his eyes flicker with light. The whites of his eyes were gone. Shadows ran and lights flashed and she couldn’t help but try and scurry away.

  His grip on her wrist tightened, and tightened, until the blood began to be cut off. She screamed for him to stop and suddenly, he let go.

  Kavien jumped to his feet and stumbled away from her. He covered his face in shame. He tried to compose himself. He refused to let them take over.

  Lilae began to crawl away and he slid down to her. He held her close. “Please believe me Lilae,” he begged. He held her in a tender embrace and spoke into her hair. “I never wanted to hurt you. I love you. I wanted to keep you safe.”

  She listened intently. She was too afraid to move as he held her. Lilae would never forget the horrors she saw in his eyes. She was still too terrified to look him in the eyes, even though they were back to his usual soft gray.

  He spoke calmly now, and still she was unsure if he would change on her again. She eyed the exit, wondering if there was the slightest chance of making it.

  “I keep you in the chest to make sure that no one can hurt you. I kept you there to keep you from Dragnor’s reach. By my side, so I could watch over you. Can’t you see that? Can you find it in yourself to believe me?”

  Lilae opened her mouth to answer but found herself speechless. He held her at arm’s length and seeing the tears in her eyes made her heart tug.

  “I am cursed,” Kavien revealed to her bitterly. “It is not just my name. It is everything that I am. My will is not my own. Not until I met you did I have the courage to fight back. Now, I fight Wexcyn every day.”

  She still watched him with caution.

  Kavien waited. The silence was deafening and he began to wonder if he should have told her so much. He wanted her to know. But, what would she do with such information? Would she be empathetic, or would she hate him even more?

  Lilae began to speak and Kavien felt his stomach twist in anticipation. “You were protecting me?”

  He nodded quickly. “Yes Lilae. I never wanted anything to happen to you. From the day I first saw you. But Wexcyn is always with me. Watching, giving orders. Soon, he will invade the Overworld, and I am to invade Auroria.”

  She nodded slowly. “And Dragnor?”

  He swallowed and looked at her uncomfortably. “You know how the Elder took you from your parents when you were born?

  Lilae nodded.

  “She protected you, trained you, and maybe even loved you, right?”

  “Yes.”

  Kavien’s eyes darkened. “Well, Dragnor killed my family. He took me from my home. He trained me, yes, but with pain. You think you’ve suffered Lilae?” He took off his shirt and turned his back on her.

  Lilae gasped. Every inch of his back had long, ghastly scars from years of lashings from Dragnor’s whip.

  “Some say I am lucky to be put on the throne of the Empire. But, I think you are the lucky one. I don’t even remember what it is like to feel love. My mother and father loved me, and now they are gone. The harem girls love me. But they love my power.” Kavien turned back to Lilae.

  “I’m sorry,” Lilae whispered.

  Kavien shrugged. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t until you came here that I even remembered what love felt like.”

  Her eyes met his.

  “Somehow, I am stronger than Wexcyn when you are near. Somehow, you keep him at bay.”

  Lilae raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  He shook his head. “It’s not important,” he changed the subject. “What would you say if I told you I wanted to be free of all of this and run away,” he watched her inquisitive green eyes. “With you?”

  Lilae pulled back in surprise. He started to smile, waiting anxiously for her reply. She began to open her mouth to answer when there came a knock on the door to his bedroom. They both looked at the door and Kavien sighed in annoyance.

  “Who is it?” There was no answer.

  They both looked at the door suspiciously.

  Lilae gasped when Dragnor entered the room and threw something at Kavien. Kavien shot to his feet only to be catapulted back into the wall. Lilae screamed when she saw flashing chains holding Kavien’s arms against his body. She scurried to the back of the room when a group of high ranked Sisters followed behind Dragnor.

  Lilae looked back at Kavien, desperately as they came for her. She fought. Lilae grabbed Kavien’s sword from beneath his bed. She knew it was there, it was where he always kept it. It was heavier than any sword she’d ever lifted and she waited for them to approach.

  Kavien was furious. He wanted to kill them all. He struggled to free himself from the chains.

  Dragnor grinned. “I thought we were past that now, Flame.” He twisted his arm and she fell to her knees in pain. Her eyes burned with tears and her stomach knotted. She reached for Kavien who fought against his chains. They held him in the air and Lilae remembered the sensation she felt when she was ripped from the sky the day of her capture. Dragnor controlled those chains. They both looked at him in confusion.

  Dragnor only grinned. “Thank you Kavien, for that impressive speech. I always knew you would betray us.” H
e approached Kavien and looked him in the eyes. His grin faded into a look of hatred.

  “I’m done pretending to follow your orders Kavien. It’s time Avia’Torena had an emperor worthy of its glory. Wexcyn will understand. He will agree that although I am not Mithrani, I can lead your people better than you ever could. The Seer is coming.”

  Lilae fought the pain but the Sisters used their wands to immobilize her. She was lifted into the air and pulled along, as if by a string from the room.

  Lilae screamed for Kavien. She reached for him.

  Kavien felt his face turn red with rage as he watched them take her away. The window opened and his attention was diverted. In flew Sister Eloni. She quietly landed beside Dragnor.

  Kavien stiffened. “Where are you taking her?”

  Sister Eloni smiled. “To the temple, of course.”

  Kavien called his power. He would destroy everything in that room. It pulsed out and fizzled.

  Dragnor grinned. Sister Eloni giggled.

  “My boy, please. Don’t embarrass yourself. Don’t you know what those are?”

  Kavien face flushed with dread. He looked down. The sparkling chains were tightly snug against his body.

  “Those are Cancelling Chains. They cancel any act of power.”

  Kavien closed his eyes and let out a breath. He had to remain calm, no matter how much he wanted to cry out in anguish. “What do you really plan to do?”

  “You really shouldn’t have threatened me, Kavien,” Sister Eloni said. Her voice was soft, yet serious. “I was truly on your side. After all, Wexcyn chose you. You were supposed to be his champion, and I believed in you. How could you disappoint me so? I don’t know what we’re going to do with you. So, I have no choice but to evoke a spell on you.”

  Kavien’s eyes popped open.

  “No, no. Don’t worry. It won’t kill you. It’ll just put you in a deep sleep. Sure, you’ll look dead to anyone who sees you. Your heart will stop, your breathing will slow, but the power will sustain you.”

  Dragnor nodded. “You have no idea the trouble I had to go through to get the spell.”

  Sister Eloni rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t handle one old man. I had to kill five of my own girls to make this spell,” she hissed.