Dragon Scepter

by Angelique Anderson

  He left then, guards dragging Jakobe and Svana.

  “No!” Svana called out, watching Miralee’s face. “Mira, please…” she begged, willing the woman to know what was in her mind.

  “Don’t worry, Svana. I will take care of your affairs until other arrangements can be made,” she said with a knowing glance, putting Svana at ease for the time being.

  “Thank you,” Svana replied in a hoarse whisper, as they were drug out into broad daylight. So far, her sword had not been taken, and she wondered if it was just an oversight. Her sword was her only connection to Lingaria. She needed to feel connected with him even as she knew that he was dying.

  Miralee, worried that the guards or her son would come back and try to search the house and immediately shut the door. Even as they were dragged away, Svana could hear the soft sound of metal as chains and locks slid into place. No matter what happened now, at least she knew that Lingaria was in good hands. Perhaps Hekla wasn’t around, but Svana knew that Miralee would do her best to care for them.

  If the woman had any Aquaberries left from Svana’s last visit, hopefully that would be enough to keep Lingaria sustained until Hekla returned, or they could escape the guards.

  “The king will decide your fate,” William said, eyes dripping menace, his lips tightly pierced as they marched forward toward the sea. On the land, near the boats, hung the orb they used to imprison land walkers under the sea.

  The guards opened the side, shoving the two of them in tightly before they locked it, and dragged the ball underwater to lead Svana and Jakobe to the king.

  28

  Hekla

  Magic, in many ways is similar to lust and love. There are two ways to do magic: static and continuous. If you will, imagine static as lust and continuous as love. Lust is immediate and more draining in the beginning, but once the climax has been met, you become useless. Love, on the other hand, takes energy over a long period of time, but it’s slow, and its effects will never run out—until you are completely drained of life.

  Voadria, The Life Giver, First Dragon Elder, Second Age of Verdil

  The surface of the cliff was slick, and Hekla had a hard time keeping ahold of it. Her hand slipped three times. As she gripped at the ragged edges covered in algae and slimy sea-growth, she was able to catch herself two of those times, but the third, she lost her grip entirely. Bits of the rock broke away in her hand, and she floated upwards over a dozen feet before she caught herself. Unlike a cliff above the water, which you could fall down to your death, an underwater cliff was one where you had to keep ahold to not float back up, especially with the current coming from the canyon.

  It took longer than Hekla anticipated to reach the bottom of the canyon. She knew it was deep, especially since they couldn’t see the bottom from the sea floor, but she had no idea just how deep it went. Without the light of the sun penetrating the deepest depths of the sea, it took her eyes a long time to adjust. With the Aequorans, it didn’t take as long, and it made her wonder again if she truly was suitable to leading them when she was so different.

  After more than an hour of climbing down the canyon wall, they finally reached the bottom. Once there, they were able to walk again. The strong current that pushed the water upward was above them, and they were able to find their footing on the semi-firm sea flooring again.

  Speltus, the pressure is too much, I feel like I’m going to suffocate.

  Don’t fear, I’m taking care to monitor, he said in her mind, and she immediately felt the relief of pressure around her. I forget humans have a lower tolerance for such things, he continued, and she thought she could hear a chuckle.

  The few Aequorans with her also had trouble, and they began to complain about their heads hurting.

  Speltus, is there anything we can do?

  I suppose, he answered, and she wondered if it bothered him to be expending his magic on anyone besides her.

  It won’t be I who will do it. I am simply a vessel. To help the others, I suggest you combine spells. Use your breathing spell and direct it to an individual.

  Hekla nodded. I think I understand.

  “Orbium Expandum Aquum Purum, Personae,” Hekla said as she focused her scepter on Jetevius.

  A blue glow appeared at the tip of her scepter, then spiraled around him, until his body seemed to consume it.

  His eyes widened as he looked at her. “What did you do?”

  “I created a pocket of air around your body to help you breathe with the heavy water pressure,” Hekla said. “Did it work?”

  “My head no longer throbs. Thank you.”

  Hekla smiled, then she used the spell on Ecthelion and Isabella and the others. Once everyone was better able to breathe underwater, they continued on. It was dark, and they all had a hard time seeing anything, but the glow of Hekla’s scepter illuminated their surroundings as they traveled. The ground below their feet crunched with each step.

  Underneath them, the ground was littered with gold and gems. It wasn’t only in the spot where the Aequoran guards had dumped the latest crates, but everywhere. The further they walked, the more they noticed the gold and gems weren’t loose pieces of material, but embedded into the ground and rocks, creating a road of gold and sparkling gems.

  Hekla mis stepped, and nearly tripped on a loose diamond on the ground. Before she could fall flat on her face, Isabella caught her arm, steadying her.

  “Thank you,” Hekla said.

  Hekla wasn’t sure what came over her, but she realized her mind wasn’t crisp like it normally was. Her constitution was weak and growing weaker with each step.

  Speltus, what is going on? she asked.

  You are no longer holding a spell for yourself to breathe underwater, but also your companions. It is using more energy for you to keep this up. You will not be able to hold the spell forever.

  I did not realize I was holding a spell, Hekla said.

  This is not a static spell, Hekla. If you create an air pocket around someone that is static, it will run out of air eventually, and suffocate them. It would all depend on how large of a bubble you create. In the beginning, I showed you how to create a static bubble, because it was easier for you, but that bubble is bulky because of all the air it has to hold. It depleted more of your energy than the new way you’re doing it, but the cost was all up front. Now, you’re creating more or less a filter around your body and theirs. This makes it so you don’t have a large bubble of air around you, but a small one—tight against your skin. Everything you breathe out goes through a filter, and back into the water, and everything you breathe is filtered from the water and into your lungs. It takes less magic upfront, but it is a constant drain on you.

  Hekla thought about all the things Speltus said, and it took her a few minutes to grasp it, but then she did. If she’d created the large air bubble arounds all of them like she had first learned, it was limited, and the amount of energy it would have cost would have drained her entirely. This way, they could all breathe for a period of time, but with each breath, it drained her, which meant they had a time limit to search down here before needing to travel back up.

  How much time can I sustain us? Hekla asked.

  Fifteen minutes. Twenty max, Speltus replied.

  Hekla nodded, then prompted her allies to keep up with her as she stepped up her pace.

  Isabella ran up to her. “What is it?”

  “I can only sustain your filters for you all to breathe through this water pressure for fifteen minutes. We have to hurry to find out what is down here.”

  Isabella nodded. “Let’s go then.”

  They traveled forward for another five minutes before the canyon opened up wide. It was no longer a thin path forward, but now a large meadow underwater. Hekla stopped, and Isabella bumped into her left shoulder, and Jetevius ran into her right.

  “Wha—” Jetevius started.

  All of them stared at the opening with disbelief. They stared at an underwater city more massive than the capital
of Aequoris. And instead of being made from coral and rock, this was made entirely of gold and silver, with gems all throughout the structures.

  “What is this place?” Isabella asked.

  “A lost city?” Jetevius asked.

  “Of gold?” Hekla scoffed. “This is most likely why all the metal and gems have been dumped down here. But the question is why? And who? Who is building a city down here? And for who? This is large enough to house a very large population.”

  “We need to find out,” Jetevius said.

  Hekla nodded, then motioned for them all to continue forward. She dared not stop, but she did linger as she took in the beauty of the underwater city. However, her energy was draining her, and she had to remind herself that she didn’t have as much time as she would have liked.

  The roads of the city, like the rest, were lined in gold, but Hekla noticed that the roads were a slightly paler gold than the rest, as if pointing out the fact that there were the paths. She increased her pace as the minutes were dwindling down.

  Everywhere was empty. There wasn’t a single soul in the city, and Hekla found that strange. Why would someone build a city with no one to occupy it? What was the purpose? Had they planned someone to occupy it one day? If so, when?

  They traveled along the path for another ten minutes before Hekla stopped in her tracks. Her eyes widened in wonder, and her companions behind her stepped to her side, also looking up in awe. Ahead of them, was a massive castle with two towers, stretching up well above eyesight. The entire castle was made of gold.

  “A castle… down here?” Jetevius whispered.

  Hekla’s lips pressed tightly together. “If there are any answers to find, it will be inside of there.”

  “Do we have enough time to explore it?” Isabella asked, looking to Hekla with concern.

  “We don’t have a choice… if we want answers. I’ll manage.”

  Speltus, how much time do I have? Hekla asked.

  Less than five minutes.

  Hekla cleared her throat. “Let’s hurry.”

  29

  Astrid

  It is often more difficult to defeat the demons in our own mind than the ones we face on the outside. Beasts can be seen and killed in physical form before they can cause damage or take a life. The beasts that live in the mind can cause irreparable damage, even death before they are stopped. It is important to be wary of both.

  Airlyoth, The Warrior, Second Dragon Elder, Third Age of Verdil

  “Aronus, please!” she said louder, begging the dragon to come to her aid so they could fight the beasts that now stood before them.

  I cannot, he said into her mind.

  “Please,” she begged out loud, drawing the attention of Quimby and Cayden.

  “Who are you talking to?” Quimby said in irritation.

  Astrid shook her head, realizing her mistake, but it was too late. They were desperate. The monsters were advancing on them, claws outstretched. Their teeth gleaming, eyes pierced. Astrid loosed her arrows on them, but they seemed to bounce off of the creatures as if their skin was too thick to be penetrated by the magic arrows. What kind of beasts were these?

  Aronus, she pleaded again, watching the arrows fall away and disappear into a wisp of smoke. Her dragon guide remained silent, and it was the first time she wished she carried a sword, rather than her bow.

  Cayden rushed forward, sword drawn, striking at the beasts who roared and sliced at the man. He maneuvered his weapon with such precision to intercept strike after strike of the unknown creatures. Astrid had only seen him fight a handful of times, but it was impressive. He fought for ground, trying his best to move forward as he fought the creatures, but he was having a hard time only holding his ground. The creatures were tall, almost as tall as Cayden, and besides looking fierce with long, pointed horns, sharp claws, glowing yellow eyes, and ugly faces that looked like a mix between a gorilla and a shark, they were also strong.

  A half a dozen of them blocked their exit, and Cayden was trying to fight them all. Astrid continued to loose arrows, one after another, but they seemed to be of little use against the creatures, which was strange to her. She’d never seen anyone able to resist the magical arrows.

  Cayden was growing weak against the creatures, and his left heel slipped on loose gravel as he stepped back. He stumbled to the ground, slashing his sword at the creatures all the while. When he crashed, the six creatures jumped onto him with hunger consuming their eyes.

  Quimby, angry and fed up, also drew a sword and rushed forward to stand on top of Cayden. He did his best to fight against the monsters. It was clear that he wasn’t as skilled of a fighter as Cayden. He didn’t have the experience of being the captain under the king for as many years as Cayden. Or, had he not? Wasn’t that exactly what Quimby was? Yet, all the time Astrid had known Quimby, she realized she’d never really seen him fight. He was never part of the battles or skirmishes. Quimby had always stayed in Caelestis.

  His coordination improved the longer he fought against the creatures, and while at first, he seemed an amateur swordfighter, after a few minutes, his skill had drastically improved. What did that mean? Was he a good fighter, but he chooses not to fight? His fighting style had changed after the initial battle. It was as if he’d known how to fight—that he was an excellent swordsman, but after so many years of not using his talents, he’d become rusty. But like nocking an arrow, the talent had never gone away. All it had to do was rekindle.

  Astrid fought with renewed vigor as Quimby fought unlike anyone she’d ever seen. He still had gotten a solid strike on any of the creatures, but he was holding his own quite well. After a few minutes, Cayden got back up, his eyes slanted quizzically at Quimby, but soon he stepped by the half-Caelestan to fight by his side.

  Together they made a perfect triangle. Two melee, fighting with swords, and a single ranged as Astrid fought with her bow.

  Aronus, do you have any ideas? Astrid asked.

  None, Aronus responded.

  What are these creatures?

  I don’t know, Aronus said.

  One of the creature’s jumped forward, using its body as a slingshot as it knocked into Cayden and Quimby simultaneously. Their weapons impaled the creature in two spots, the head, and the groin, and it seemed to kill the creature, leaving only five. But, it did not matter. With both Cayden and Quimby on the ground, the remaining creature jumped on top of them, slicing and stabbing furiously with their long, sharp claws.

  Astrid felt powerless as she watched them fight, unable to do anything.

  Quimby was able to roll away, using his wings as leverage to knock down two of the creatures as he slipped away. Though with him further away than Cayden, Astrid watched in horror as the creatures stabbed their sharp claws into Cayden’s stomach, side and legs, and he immediately began bleeding profusely. “Quimby! Cayden’s hurt!” Her voice distracted him, and as he glanced back at her, she watched in dismay as Quimby was struck also, claws digging into his shoulder as he let out a scream, a sudden spray of blood catching her off guard.

  Cayden had rolled away and got to his feet to join Quimby, but they were both injured badly as they both staggered backward, trying to escape the attacks of the beasts as quickly as possible, but with the loss of blood they were growing weaker and weaker with each step.

  “We need help, Astrid,” Quimby mumbled, holding his side, trying to stop the flow that covered his arm.

  Aronus! she yelled into her mind as loud as she could, and in the next moment she could hear the flapping of his wings as he alerted them all to his presence. He opened his mouth, and a burst of fire blazed into the dark cavern, uncovering an advancing beast. The creature screamed out in pain, his fur alight with fire, and his eyes blackened with anger. “Your arrows!” Aronus yelled at her.

  Astrid nodded, reacting quickly. With her bow steady, she let loose an arrow which landed in the midst of the fire, knocking the beast back. His round stature caused him to fall off balance, and he fell to the
ground. Not wasting a single moment, Aronus let loose another fireball on the beasts, striking them as quickly as his mouth could shoot flames.

  Astrid moved almost in unison with him, allowing her arrows to fly one after the other; only striking where the monsters had been lit on fire, and one by one, Astrid and Aronus managed to bring them all down, until all that remained was a smoldering cacophony of dead beasts. The putrid smell of their flesh burning causing her stomach to turn, and she had to run past them out into the fresh air to take in a deep gulp of it. It was not enough for her, and she leaned forward, her stomach emptying its contents on the ground even as the scent chased her. She wiped her mouth, eyes closed, still bent over as she tried to regain her composure. Everything had happened so quickly. She’d barely had a chance to recoup.

  “Astrid,” a defeated voice called out to her, and she remembered Cayden and Quimby had been injured. She sucked in a deep breath, and hurried back into the cave, taking care not to breathe as she ran past the dead animals.

  “Cayden--Quimby!” She called to them, falling to her knees, as she reached Cayden’s side. “Are you all right?” she asked, noting the blood at his side.

  She immediately tore at the fabric of her shirt, using the piece to press against his open wounds to stop the bleeding. Quimby lay not too far off, his back against the cave walls, eyes closed as he held his side. At first, she had deemed his wound to be just a small gash, but as she crawled closer to him, she could see that she had been very wrong.

  Quimby was hurt bad, which she found as her hand brushed the warm puddle of blood that had gathered around him. Astrid could feel her heart racing, blood pumping faster as hints of panic began to settle in.

  “Hang on, Quimby. I’ll get you help--just hang on.”