Forged of Fire

by Stacy Von Haegert

  “Wait!” Kielyn scrambled after him on her hands and knees. “Is Ash with you?”

  “No, he is at the castle waiting to confront and propose a deal with his half-sister about securing your escape. We have to get word to him ASAP that you are safe.” He looked over his shoulder at her. “Try and keep up.” He was gone.

  Kielyn flashed out after him. In what felt like only seconds Dax had stopped and began parting a new tunnel going up. “This is the house Marsala and Bane are in.” He said as dirt rained down on top of them. Kielyn shielded her eyes. “You will stay here while I go back for Ash.”

  Light poured in when he busted through the floorboards. “I’m coming with you!” Kielyn demanded.

  Dax picked her up before she could protest and shoved her up and into the room. Marsala came running from another room followed by Bane. Dax emerged behind her. “Oh my God, Kielyn!” Marsala threw her arms around Kielyn’s neck. “You’re safe!”

  “She can explain how I found her,” Dax said. “I have to warn Ash.”

  He dropped back down into the tunnel. “No!” Kielyn broke the hold Marsala had on her and dove for the hole only to have it seal back up before she could reach it. Kielyn punched the broken and dismantled floorboards. “Damn it!”

  “He will be faster on his own dear.” Bane assured.

  “Zander is the one that took me,” Kielyn said. “I got the impression he wanted no one else in the castle to know he had me.” She stood and began to pace. “If Dante finds Ash…”

  “Kielyn.” Marsala stepped in front of her and placed both hands on her arms. “This is Ash we are talking about. I’m just so very glad Dax got you. How did you get away from Zander?” Her look of joy faded to worry. “He didn’t?”

  Kielyn shook her head. “No, a knock on the door interrupted him. I dove out of a window when he wasn’t looking.”

  “I need to send a mental message to Skyler that you are safe,” Bane said. “So she and Marcus can get to safety.”

  “Yes,” Marsala agreed and Bane hurried from the room. She looked back to Kielyn. “Please sit. Conserve your strength. You will no doubt be starving soon and Ash will want you healthy when we make our escape.”

  Kielyn sat down as suggested and hung her head. Marsala was right. She could already feel the first twinges of hunger coming on. “I was such a fool,” she confessed. “I allowed doubt to shadow my feelings for Ash. That’s how I think Zander was able to get back into my head. He must have somehow had a direct link to where I was through that open door. This is all my fault.” Hot tears began to build behind her eyes. “What if something happens to Ash because of my stupidity?”

  Marsala wiped an escaped tear off Kielyn’s cheek. “Look, I don’t know what all happened to make you doubt him and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know but I do know this, you are not stupid, Kielyn. You were just scared and jeeze, it’s not like you haven’t had the world flung at you over the past few weeks. I personally think you are very brave.” She smiled. “Much stronger than I was at your age.”

  “Unfortunately, she is going to need most of your strength now.” Bane’s cool tone from the hallway made both of them turn their heads to face him. “I am sorry it has to end this way.” The front doors flew open and soldiers began to file in. Marsala charged forward just as Bane lifted a small crossbow and shot her in the head.

  Kielyn screamed and rushed forward, fire lifting to the surface of her palms. Two Vampires rushed her and she thrust her hands out sending hot currents of electricity shooting from them straight into the hearts of the males. Their bodies burst into ashes. Kielyn’s eyes sliced away from the carnage and fixated on Bane. “Traitor!” She yelled.

  He lowered the weapon and aimed it at Marsala’s heart. “I will end her life once and for all if you refuse to go with these good soldiers.” Kielyn looked to Marsala who was writhing on the floor. “I know you are new at all this child and I’m very sorry that you were born into this warring world of ours, but now you must play your part.” He walked over to the Air-bender and knelt down, yanking the arrow from her skull in one fluid movement.

  “No!” Kielyn’s scream matched her friend’s desperate cry of pain as blood poured from the fresh wound.

  Bane stood. “She will heal unless…” He cocked the trigger and aimed it at Marsala’s chest. “I put this through her heart.”

  “What do you want, you sack of shit?” Kielyn growled.

  “It’s simple. You go with these males to Dante and I will rule all of the benders on earth.” He grinned. “It’s just politics.” Marsala groaned. “Go with them and she will live to go with you.”

  “Don’t do it, Kielyn.” Marsala hissed.

  Kielyn lowered her hands. “I will go.”

  “Kielyn, no!” Marsala cried as she tried to stand, the wound on her temple closing.

  Two more males marched forward, slapped iron cuffs on Kielyn and Marsala’s wrists then yanked Marsala to her feet. Together they were marched out of the house. “Flood the tunnels with lava!” Bane ordered.

  “No!” Kielyn jerked away only to have something sharp jammed into her neck. Everything went black…

  ****

  Ash was prepared for his half-sister to resemble his mother, what he was not prepared for was for the female that entered the room to be a literal carbon copy of her. The only difference was Katara’s thick brown hair and golden eyes that grew large the moment she entered the room. The rest of her remained calm as she looked at him sitting, equally relaxed, in the chair across the room from her. “Hello, sister.”

  Without even a touch to persuade, the door behind her closed. “Well, well, what an exciting surprise. Brother…” She walked further into the room. “You are even more handsome than the stories.” She tilted her head, studying him. “But, good genes do run in our blood.”

  “From what I hear of you, that’s about where our similarities end.”

  “I would not know.” She grinned. “I don’t listen to rumors and I always question actions.”

  “Patterns.” Ash willed another chair to slide from the wall to a resting place across from his. “They rarely lie.” He motioned with his hand. “Please sit. We have some catching up to do.”

  Katara slinked towards the offered seat. There was not an ounce of confidence lacking in the female. Just like his mother, his sister’s energy filled a room. He could see how people were pulled in by her. It was hard not to watch her. Katara eyed the hole in her floor as she stepped past it. “Interesting means of travel.” She slid into the chair, relaxing both arms over the edges like a contented cat. “I have to admit, you must have a huge set of balls to come here.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “I don’t believe for one second this visit is to catch up with your long, lost, abandoned sister.”

  “You’re right. I’m not here to share the old family photo book.” Ash stared at her, emotionless. “Your brother took something that belongs to me.”

  She laughed. “So that is what the idiot was hiding.” Her knuckles lifted to her chin as her eyes looked to the left in thought. "He took your new mate.”

  “Needless to say I am here to get her back.”

  “Why not go directly to him if you know he is the one that took her.” She refocused on him.

  “I’m here to use you,” Ash said flatly. “I know you crave the throne. I also know you want to kill Zander the day after tomorrow in your father’s tournement.”

  “Correction, I will kill him.”

  Ash leaned forward in his chair. “Kind of hard to do if there is no fight, huh?”

  She matched him, leaning forward and staring back at him. “He plans on getting back in father’s good graces by offering a gift.” She sat back sharply, narrowing her eyes. “That little fucktard!”

  “I was banking on that being your reaction.” Ash uncrossed and re-crossed his legs. “You want the throne, I want my mate. I figured we could help each other out with this one.”

  “How do I know Zander has not
already delivered his trophy?” She went straight to the only possible obstacle in the scenario. Ash had to respect that.

  “We don’t,” Ash answered. “If your brother has already given Kielyn over to your father then it should be our goal to free her, making it look like it was your brother’s doing.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Revenge…” Ash allowed the word to hang in the space between them before continuing. “You know how jealous Zander is. He has always been jealous of me, I’m sure he is likewise of you. Now Dante has gone and dealt the final blow, demanding that his children fight to the death against each other.” Ash unfolded his hands. “All, in honor of me…”

  “He wanted a Dragon child.” Katara eyed the glowing ruby ring on her finger. It was their mothers. “This is all I have of hers. Centuries in this place and not one other item found. Not one word told of her. For if anyone speaks of her, they are put to immediate death.” She twisted the ring. “It’s one size too big for my fingers. I have tried it on all of them.”

  “Why not have it cut down?”

  Her eyes snapped up, a spark of rage lighting in them before she could mask it. She cooled it as she focused again on Ash. “Like I said, this is all there is. A thousand years, hundreds of story books destroyed over time and all that remains tangible, is this little ring.” She shook her head. “Nothing else to prove or dispel that Dragons ever roamed the realms. The last one died giving birth to me.” His sister looked back reflectively at the ruby. “And I’m just the daughter of Satan.”

  “You look like her.” Ash said after a long pause. Her gaze lifted from the ring to look at him. “Other than the color of your eyes, you could be her.” A trace of a grin crossed her features and for a second Ash thought he saw a hint of tenderness in her. But, all good sociopaths can mimic that emotion he reminded himself. Best to keep her focused on the only two things that mattered to Katara, herself and talking about herself. “I was very young when she died but based on the ill fitted ring,” he nodded to her hand. “I would guess you are just a little bit smaller than she was.”

  “It would be easy enough to frame Zander should your mate go missing.” She changed the subject. “I have been sabotaging him since I could walk. If my father does not have her yet, all you have to do is fight Zander for her.” She tilted her head. “I can show you right to his rooms. Just don’t kill him.” Katara grinned. “I want that pleasure.”

  Ash opened his mouth to speak just as a loud rumbling sensation shook beneath the floor. Both their heads jerked to the hole in the floor right as Dax’s head popped through it. “Kielyn is safe!” The Earth-bender rushed as he hauled his large muscled body through the narrow space. Ash quickly ventured a glance at Katara to get a read on what she would do. She was on her feet, as was he, but in her eyes danced excitement. “But they are flooding the holes!” Just then Lava begin to gurgle and spat at the opening.

  Ash moved quickly to the edge and mentally pushed the lava back long enough for Dax to lift the earth below it, dragging it up to seal off the hole. Both males stepped back. Ash grabbed his shoulders. “She is safe?”

  Dax nodded. “She is with Bane and Marsala.” The Earth-bender glanced worriedly over at Katara who presently looked more like a human child at Christmas than the vicious slayer she was known for. “We have to go! They are on to us!” Warning sirens filled the room, shrieking out at them from all walls like caged banshees. “Fuck!” He started for Katara. “You’re going to get us out of here or I’ll…”

  She slammed the Earth-bender to the ground before he could finish his sentence. “Now here is where you’re wrong, big boy!”

  “Katara,” Ash said. “Our deal?”

  “Is off! If your mate has escaped and my father is on to the fact that you are in his realm, then there is nothing in this for me.” She grinned. “Except you…” She lifted her head and yelled. “Guards!”

  Ash flew at her. They collided into the opposite wall. She made for a blade tucked behind her back, but Ash was quicker and stronger. He pinned her to the wall by her throat as she kicked and scratched at his arms and face. “Dax, bar the doors!” He ordered.

  “Dax can’t bar the doors…” A haunting voice from Ash’s darkest nightmares confirmed sinisterly over his shoulders. “Everything in here is metal. Your Earth-bender is worthless in my castle.” Ash squeezed Katara’s neck tighter. Her coloring began to change. He could feel the beast rising within him, begging to be set free. “I have your mate, Ashdon.” Dante said. “Put your sister down and we will talk.”

  “Why should I believe you?” Ash hissed. Blood began to drip from Katara’s nose and ears. His vision was altering. It would not be long now.

  “See for yourself.” Ash whirled around to face him, his sister still held firmly in his grasp. Kielyn’s image cut through his Dragon’s transformation, slicing straight into his heart and halting the beast where he stood. She was chained beside Marsala to the legs of Dante’s throne, surrounded by numerous guards. Dante closed the hologram. “Put Katara down if you want her to live!” He said more sternly. “Your mate is weak and needs nutrients. Unless…” He raised an eyebrow. “Of course, you don’t mind if she starves to death?” His slithery tone held a measure of hope.

  Ash slowly lowered Katara to her feet and released the hold he had on her neck. Her body crumpled to the floor as she coughed and gasped. “Take me to her!” He narrowed his eyes.

  Dante smiled and it made Ash’s stomach roll. “In due time.” He stepped past Dax and the four guards that had blades drawn on the enormous Earth-bender. “But first, you will give me a public apology for all the damage you have dealt.” Dante continued to walk towards Ash. When he reached his side he leaned in and lowered his voice to just a whisper. “You owe the devil his due.”

  ****

  Zander’s advancing tread across the polished marble echoed off the empty corridor walls as if confirming what he already suspected, there had been a summonsing. The castle had been cleared which only meant one of two things, either Kielyn had been captured by sources other than his own or Ash had finally arrived. Both scenarios pissed him off since they directly went against his original plan. Zander yanked his kidskin riding gloves from his hands. He had disbanded his men from their search when the castle sirens sounded. He was expected back and no good would have come from continuing the search and disobeying the warning alarms demanding a call to arms inside the castle gates. The deafening sirens served to signal either a threat or calling upon the realm. Regardless of which, townspeople were required to seek shelter indoors, all military personnel would surround the outer walls while all commanding officers and dignitaries would act without haste and gather immediately in the throne room.

  Considering there was not even a hint of life within the castle when he arrived, it meant a second action had been ordered. Zander took a left down the main hall leading to the outside courtyard. His father must have summoned an audience which would also call out everyone that was housed inside the castle. No sooner did he think it, a second alarm resounded out through the hall. This one in chopped, short successions, signaling that all townspeople had fifteen minutes to arrive at the castle gates.

  Zander picked up his pace just to be halted by maniacal laughter. He spun in place to search out his sister. Katara’s lithe form stepped from a shadowed doorway. “Should you not be running away instead?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh that’s right, you don’t know.” Katara smiled and walked towards him, mirth dancing in her eyes. “You have been out all night looking for Kielyn LaGoryen.”

  Zander fought to school his features. How did she know? Had Kielyn been obtained by one of his father’s men? Had one of his own men ratted him out? Zander’s eyes raked her over for unspoken answers. She had what appeared to be dried blood on one of her ears and was that…A bruise? His gaze focused in on her throat where the faint outline of a large handprint was fading quickly from her neck. “Save the
games and get on with it Katara.” He took one final step towards his sister. “Has she been found?”

  His sister’s eyes grew round with excitement as she leaned in. “Indeed she has.”

  “Where does father have her?” Zander snapped.

  Katara rocked back on her heels, clearly debating with herself on if she should share her secret. “Father is having her and two other bender freaks brought out to the courtyard. I do hope you were not overly fond of her face.” She grinned. “You know there are only two reasons why father would call an audience of peers and subjects in the dead of night and I will give you a hint, we are not under a threat of war.”

  Surely not. Kielyn was too big of a bargaining chip to get back Ashdon. If Dante maimed her too badly or killed her, he would have no chance of getting back his favorite pet. “What are you not telling me?” Zander growled. “Father is not that stupid. He needs her to get Ash!”