Trial By Fire (Going Down in Flames)

by Chris Cannon

  Wanting to try out her new weapon, Bryn backed up to the entrance of the room and swung the sword in figure eights. She misjudged the distance and clipped the corner of the table. The smell of burnt wood filled the air as the sword sliced through the oak table shearing off the corner.

  She froze and stared at the table.

  “Your sword burned through it?” Valmont retrieved the triangular piece of wood she’d sliced off. He turned it over in his hands. “Look, there are char marks where your blade made contact.”

  In a singsong voice, Bryn said, “My sword is cooler than your sword.”

  He snorted. “It is not.” Drawing his weapon, he held it to the light. The red and blue metal glowed more brightly than it had before. “Stand back,” Valmont said. “I want to try something.”

  Once Bryn was out of range, he positioned himself and swung his sword at the other corner of the table. The smell of burnt wood again filled the air as his sword burned through the table just like Bryn’s had.

  Valmont grinned. “You were saying?”

  “Dang. I wonder if they are part of a matched set?”

  “They could be.” Valmont re-sheathed his weapon and then pointed at her waist. “Yours didn’t come with a carrying case?”

  “Uhm…no and I’m not sure how to turn it off.” It’s not like she could walk around holding a half flaming, half frozen sword. That was the type of thing people tended to notice.

  “Open your hand, like you would to release a regular sword,” Valmont suggested.

  She opened her hand and the sword disappeared. A bit of panic filled her chest at its absence. She closed her hand like she would do to hold a regular sword, and it reappeared this time without sinking fangs into her wrist, which was a plus. “Again, wow.”

  “Agreed.” He checked his watch. “Why don’t you grab your key and we can show Miss Enid what we found.”

  Miss Enid stared at Bryn like she was a candidate for a psychological evaluation.

  “I swear we’re not making this up.” Bryn pointed at Valmont’s new sword. “Where do you think Valmont’s shiny new friend came from?”

  “Show her yours,” Valmont suggested.

  They were back in the room with the trapdoor, so it wasn’t like anyone could see. “Watch this.” Bryn held her arm out and pretended to pick up a sword. The sword came to life, making Miss Enid jump backward.

  “Oh dear.” She touched her forehead like she felt a headache coming on. “I don’t understand how this is possible.”

  “The writing was on the wall,” Valmont said.

  Bryn choked back a laugh.

  “I didn’t mean that as a joke. Literally, I saw the writing on the wall.”

  Miss Enid paced back and forth. “We should alert the Directorate immediately before we go back down there. Otherwise they might think we’re conspiring against them.”

  “Fine,” Bryn released the sword so it disappeared, “but I’m not handing this over to Ferrin. I’m calling my grandfather.”

  One phone call to the Sinclair estates and her grandfather stalked into the library in record time. He didn’t bother with social niceties. “Show me the room.”

  Okay. She’d show him her new bracelet after she showed him the room. It might make more sense then. She led the way down the stairs and over to the once again normal-looking wall.

  “Is this some sort of joke?” her grandfather roared.

  “It takes a knight bound to a dragon who is willing to bleed for him to open the door,” Miss Enid said like this was a common everyday fact.

  Bryn grabbed Valmont’s hand, waited for him to touch his blade to the wall and then once again sliced her finger on the blade. Before she could touch the area where the door handle had been, her blood rolled down the blade and when it made contact with the wall the door appeared.

  Her grandfather sucked in a breath. Good. She’d unsettled him. He’d done it to her often enough.

  Valmont opened the door. Miss Enid turned on a battery-powered electric lantern, which flooded the room with light. “Oh my.” She stared in wonder and then set down a canvas bag bulging at the seams with what she’d called a book preservation kit, which she’d insisted on bringing.

  “Sometimes there are old spells set to guard items which might still have power. What did you touch?” her grandfather asked.

  “The sword called out to Valmont, so we knew that was safe,” Bryn said.

  Her grandfather glared at Valmont. “That is Directorate property.”

  Aw, crap.

  Valmont unsheathed the sword. The dual colored flames danced in the light. “Can you argue it wasn’t meant for me? Especially since I’ll use it to defend your granddaughter?”

  “You may keep it,” her grandfather said. “What else did you touch?”

  Bryn pointed at the book with the crumbled pages. “I found that open and tried to turn the page, but it fell apart. And I opened that scroll.”

  Valmont pointed at the disc with the maze. “Be careful. The edges on that thing look sharp.”

  “Why were you down here in the first place?” her grandfather asked, sounding more curious than irritated.

  “I’m writing a paper on the history of lineage checks.”

  “Strange topic choice.” Her grandfather pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and picked up the maze disc.

  “There’s still a lot I don’t know about this world,” Bryn said. “I thought that was a good place to start.”

  Her grandfather harrumphed like he almost believed her. “This is where your paper would begin.” He held the disk out for her to see. “Hundreds of years ago, dragons who applied to marry would have grabbed the edge of this with their right hand, slicing through their palms and sending blood into the maze. If the blood combined well, marriage would be approved. If there was a negative reaction, the marriage was denied.”

  “But how can a metal plate tell you that?”

  “The spell checks for traits such as greed, tendency toward violence, intelligence.”

  “So,” Bryn said, “when you talk about bloodlines combining, you are literally talking about mixing together blood to see if the genetics will result in something undesirable.”

  “Exactly. And that is knowledge not all dragons are privy to,” her grandfather said. “Calling me first, rather than turning this over to whatever Directorate member was the closest, leads me to believe you are ready to share in such knowledge and you will keep it to yourself. As will your knight.”

  A strange sense of pride and belonging flowed through Bryn. “Thank you. And yes, we’ll keep this information to ourselves. There’s one more thing I need to show you.” She backed up a few feet and performed the grabbing maneuver, which made the sword appear.

  Her grandfather stared open-mouthed. “How did you do that?”

  She pushed up her sleeve revealing the bracelet. “This called to me the same way the sword called to Valmont. When I put it, on the sword appeared.”

  He blinked and stared then shook his head. “Miss Enid, have you ever read of such a thing?”

  “Only in legends. It’s an elemental sword, created from the elements Bryn holds power over. The bracelet focuses those powers and forms them into a weapon.”

  “Forget diamonds, this bracelet is a girl’s best friend,” Bryn said.

  Miss Enid pointed toward a bookshelf in the back of the room. “There are more boxes back there like the one Bryn opened, but I don’t believe we have any other keys.”

  “Key? What key?” her grandfather asked.

  Bryn held out her necklace so he could see the charm. How could she explain this without making it sound like a conspiracy? “When I first came to school, Onyx gave me a protection charm as a gift. He said he placed it on this key because it reminded him of me.”

  Her grandfather touched the small golden key. “Keys like this are not uncommon.” He released the charm and pressed his lips together like he was contemplating something. “It seems like more than a
coincidence your key opened a box containing a weapon. Especially since Onyx gave it to you. Do you know the legends?”

  “I thought jewelry makers created the keys to be rebellious after the Directorate was formed and hybrid marriages were forbidden.”

  “That is partially true, but before there was any conflict with the Directorate, keys like this were worn to symbolize a dragon’s ancestry.”

  Miss Enid retrieved the open box the bracelet came from. “For experiment’s sake, try to remove the bracelet and return it to the box.”

  Bryn didn’t want to, but one look at her grandfather told her it wasn’t optional. “Sure.” She grabbed the cuff and tried to slide it off. It didn’t budge. Holding the bracelet with one hand she twisted the other arm. It didn’t slide or twist or anything. It felt like it had fused with her skin. “Umm…we may have a problem.”

  Miss Enid stared at the box and then at the bracelet. “Try using your key.”

  “Where?” Bryn pulled the key from her blouse and touched the bracelet with it. A keyhole appeared between the red and blue stones. Reluctantly, she inserted the key and turned it. The bracelet opened a fraction of an inch and Bryn was able to remove it like a normal bracelet.

  “For now, place it in the box,” her grandfather said. “I don’t believe it’s something you should wear all the time.”

  “Does that mean I can keep it?” She’d been sure he’d claim it as Directorate property.

  “Why don’t we allow a few Greens, who I trust implicitly, to study it? Then you can have it back. Without fully understanding it, I’m afraid you could hurt yourself or others.”

  She didn’t like that answer, but he made a valid argument. “I guess you’re right. I’d hate to reach for a pencil in class and accidentally stab someone, but you should make sure no one tries it on.” She told him about the Trial By Fire.

  “That will make testing it a bit difficult, but I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Now, is that all you have to tell me?” her grandfather asked in a teasing tone. “You’re not hiding a giant flaming battle ax or a cannon that shoots daggers made of ice?”

  “No.” Bryn grinned, enjoying this side of her grandfather she’d never seen before, “but both of those would be cool.”

  “All right then. I will need to use you occasionally to open this door, unless we find a way to keep it open. If I call you out of class, you must come immediately.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Excuse me,” Miss Enid said. “I’d like to perform a quick test which could help in that area. If all three of you would leave the room and close the door, I’ll see if I can exit without your aid. If that works, we could leave a guard and a librarian inside the room to protect it and catalog it, plus you could come inside whenever you wish to visit.”

  “If you’re not out of there in five minutes, we’ll open it again,” Bryn said.

  “Thank you.” Miss Enid gave a nervous laugh. “This is so exciting.”

  They exited the room, and the door disappeared. Then it reappeared as Miss Enid swung the door open.

  “I am relieved that worked.” Miss Enid turned to her grandfather. “Mr. Sinclair, I will start cataloging the artifacts, if that’s all right with you.”

  “Good idea. I’ll personally escort a guard downstairs to stay with you.” His gaze drifted to Bryn. “It’s past curfew. Stay with me, and I’ll walk you both back to your rooms.”

  That was nice of him. When they emerged in the library on the main floor, her grandfather placed a few calls. “And now the fun begins.”

  Bryn wasn’t sure why her grandfather looked so pleased with himself until Ferrin emerged from the stairs scowling.

  “Explain yourself.” He pointed at Bryn. “Why are you out past curfew?”

  Bryn knew she was grinning like a smart-ass but it seemed unavoidable. “Perhaps, you should direct your questions to my grandfather.”

  “Is there a problem?” her grandfather managed to sound confused.

  A pair of guards entered the front door of the library and walked toward them.

  Ferrin growled. “There is plenty of security in the area. Why are your private guards here?”

  “It’s difficult to know who to trust in these troubled times,” her grandfather said. “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do in the archives.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Ferrin stated like he was hoping someone would try to talk him out of it.

  “Of course you’re invited to join me.”

  Bryn could practically hear Ferrin grinding his teeth in frustration at being relegated as a tag-a-long rather than being the one in charge. She had to clamp down on a giggle.

  “Bryn, I’ll ask you to lead us downstairs one more time and then I’ll escort you back to your dorm. “

  “Of course.” She did as her grandfather asked, enjoying the look of avarice on Ferrin’s face when he saw what she’d discovered.

  “Perhaps you should have your granddaughter bleed on more walls,” Ferrin said. “You never know what else we might find.”

  At this rate, she’d be a human pincushion.

  Valmont leaned over and whispered to Bryn. “You don’t have to be the only dragon with a knight. Then you wouldn’t be the only one who could open doors.”

  Once her grandfather was finished lauding “his discovery” over Ferrin, he walked her back to the Blue dorm.

  “We could fly,” Bryn suggested as they walked across campus.

  “Nonsense. We want to enter through the front door to see how many students have heard the news.”

  “How could anyone have heard about what happened half an hour ago?”

  Her grandfather laughed. “Security guards watching the tapes will talk. Students who were in the library will be curious. Wait and see.”

  When they entered the Blue dorm, the first floor sitting area was oddly full for a Monday night after curfew. Bryn smiled at everyone who stared at her, just to be perverse.

  “Would you like to come up to my room?” she asked when they reached the marble staircase, because truth be told, she wasn’t sure what to do. She would have hugged her grandmother, but that didn’t seem like an option with her grandfather.

  “Thank you. Maybe another time. Valmont, I hope you enjoy the sword my granddaughter commissioned for you. Bryn, tell Jaxon I said hello.” Her grandfather chuckled and headed back toward the front door.

  “I get the part about saying you gave me the sword, but what was that other bit about?” Valmont asked Bryn as they headed up the stairs.

  “I have no idea.”

  Jaxon standing outside her door, made her laugh openly. “My grandfather says hello.”

  “How nice of him.” Jaxon jerked his thumb toward the door. “May I come in for a bit?”

  “My vote is no,” Valmont told Bryn.

  “It’s late, Jaxon. What do you want?”

  “Don’t play games. You know exactly why I’m here.”

  He could believe what he wanted. She unlocked the door. “After you.”

  He held his ground. “Ladies first.”

  Since when did he put me in that category?

  “It’s sort of my job to go first and make sure it’s safe.” Valmont drew his new sword, holding it out so Jaxon was sure to see it.

  Jaxon sucked in a breath. “Where did that come from?”

  “Early Christmas present.” Valmont entered the room and flipped on the lights. “All clear.”

  Bryn and then Jaxon followed. As soon as the door shut, he spoke rapid fire. “Is it true you discovered a secret room in the library?”

  “How in the hell did you hear that already?” Bryn sat at the table because she didn’t want Jaxon to get too comfortable on the couch and decide to overstay his welcome, which would end in about thirty seconds.

  “One of Rhianna’s friends was in the library and saw your grandfather arrive. She knows the younger cousin of one of the security guards who watched the footage of the cameras in the library. No
w, tell me what you found.”

  For once, she liked being the person in-the-know. Since arriving in the dragon world, she’d constantly been one step behind. “Something about the magic of the knight-dragon bond allowed us to discover a hidden room containing old books and scrolls.”

  “What about your bond allowed you to do that?”

  “I’m not sure you should share this information with everyone,” Valmont said. “It could be used against you or another dragon and knight.”

  She hadn’t thought of that.

  “I am not everyone,” Jaxon said. “I’m…I won’t say your future husband because God forbid that comes to pass, but I am the person who pulled you off a rather pointy javelin, so make with the details, now.”

  When he put it that way…she told him about finding the door, how they opened it, and what was in the room. And suddenly she was exhausted. “You have ten minutes to ask questions before I literally fall asleep sitting up.”

  In a surprise move, Jaxon reached for her hand, which was resting on the table. “Show me.”

  She turned her hand palm up so he could see the fine red lines that marked where she’d bled on Valmont’s sword.

  He pointed at Valmont. “That’s why you don’t want everyone to know. They could snatch a dragon and knight and bleed the dragon dry, hunting for hidden doors.”

  Valmont nodded. “We need to keep this information a secret.”

  “Secrets have a way of coming out. We need to lay a false trail.” Jaxon sat back and ran his hand through his hair. “Something close to the truth would be best.” He stared up at the ceiling for a moment. “I know. Let’s say both dragon and knight had to touch the sword for it to work like a key.”

  “Technically, that’s true,” Bryn said. “So it won’t be hard to remember.” She needed to include Valmont in this decision because it wasn’t all about her. “What do you think, Valmont?”

  “I hate that he thought of it, but I like it.” He gestured toward the door. “Now that we have our stories straight, it’s time for you to leave so Bryn and I can to go to bed.”

  Well, that sounded sort of wrong. Jaxon glared at Valmont as he let himself out. Was it because he’d been dismissed or was it because of the way Valmont had made it sound like they were going to bed together?