Key of Living Fire (The Sword of the Dragon)

by Appleton, Scott

  Specter saw Valorian turn to the cathedral, knew when the dragon burrowed into the ground what it would do. He stood, his leg marvelously healed by the weapon of Living Fire, and ran toward the pedestal. Beneath the energy dome, the key blazed with the Living Fire.

  As he ran, the stones beneath him rose. He stumbled on a patio stone, caught himself, and ran on. The stones beneath the pedestal lifted. The pedestal tipped. The ground shifted, and a huge stone speared through the floor. Specter leaped onto it, reached into the falling pedestal’s dome, and snatched the key. He stood forth with the Key of Living Fire in his hand, gazing upon its fine craftsmanship.

  Valorian’s head pushed through the floor, then his shoulders and powerful arms. The dragon’s claws snatched the pedestal, and, finding no key, the creature roared and threw the pedestal against the cathedral. The pedestal crumbled to the ground, and the energy shield vanished.

  “Give thou the key to me, Xavion, or I will paint these cavern walls with thy blood!” The creature loomed behind him.

  Specter turned and faced the creature, key in his hand. He had no weapon this time, no way to harm this beast. But what could he have done? This creature was beyond him—even with a blade in his hand.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ilfedo set the young woman on the floor and grasp his sword with both hands. He was going to attack. Specter felt despair fill him. Not even the sword of the dragon could defeat this creature. It would take someone as mighty as Albino. None other could stand, not unless an army stood with him. And Specter felt the tramp of a thousand men, Valorian’s men, marching to stand behind him.

  Ilfedo felt as if evil poured in tangible waves out of the dragon’s eyes. He ran toward it, sword held wide. But the scales along the creature’s tail rose like barbs and whipped toward him.

  He jumped, but the tail followed him, as did the dragon’s dark eyes.

  Pointing the sword at his feet, he blasted fire, sending himself flying onto the dragon’s back. He stabbed the blade into the dragon’s shoulder, but the beast did not even turn. The wound healed, and the scales constricted around the blade, forcing it out of the dragon’s flesh. As the sword jerked back into his hand, Ilfedo stabbed the dragon’s wing. But as he slashed down the membrane, the cut flesh repaired itself.

  “Thou art insignificant, human. I shall no longer play your game. Now thy end has come by my claw.”

  The dragon’s hand shot toward him, and the shifting of the creature’s back beneath him upset his balance. Ilfedo rolled under the dragon claws and off its back. He grabbed onto a wing and, hanging there, stabbed the beast’s knee.

  Specter’s mouth opened in astonishment as the mighty Valorian stumbled under Ilfedo’s attack. Never had a man stood up to Valorian in such close quarters and lived. Ilfedo dropped to the ground and stabbed the creature’s rear leg. Valorian kicked him aside, but Ilfedo rose with his body still aflame and slashed across the dragon’s belly.

  Specter searched the nearby ground for a sword and hefted a hand-and-a-half broadsword. He ran toward Ilfedo and the dragon, but heard a grunt behind him. He spun and faced line upon line of dark-clad warriors. They gazed into his eyes—sneers curling their lips—and drew their swords. Specter’s hope fell as fast as it had risen.

  His eyes fell upon the flaming key in his hand. Valorian wanted to destroy it, and he would do so as soon as he humbled Ilfedo.

  The army of the wizard dragon tramped toward him, and Specter knew what must be done. He could be of no use to Ilfedo. Not here. But the Key of Living Fire must be secured where Valorian and Letrias could not find it.

  He thought of Dantress, Caritha, Rose’el, Laura, Evela, and Levena. He saw them in the Hemmed Land. Dantress when she was the happy wife, and the sisters when they accepted their roles as aunts. And then there was Oganna. She was special above all the women before her. He had watched over them all in secret. He had been their hidden guardian. Today he would be the hidden guardian again. But he would guard the source of Ilfedo’s strength so that evil would never find it.

  He rendered himself invisible, and the lines of warriors before him staggered back, eyes darting to and fro as they sought him. Valorian roared from behind him. “Thinkest that thou art hidden? My eyes see through that pitiable cloak, Xavion! Albino would have done well to come to this place himself rather than send you, for now you will die, and I will throw your carcass into the Palm of Heaven.”

  “Yes, you can see me,” Specter whispered as he gazed out upon the bewildered lines of warriors. “But your servants cannot.”

  Spotting a puddle at the base of the steps, he descended to it. He touched the water with his ice hand and willed it to form him a new weapon, one reminiscent of the one he had wielded in his ancient service to the prophets. A two-handed sword grew from the water; its blade became hardened crystal and so did its handle and guard. It looked similar to the sword he had carried long, long ago.

  With a grim determination, Specter carved his way into the wizard’s host. The warriors cried out as he felled them. Their companions sought to strike but could not find him. He passed like a ghost through their midst with the key in his hand. He snuck past a group of men only to attack the ones behind them. Making his way between the ancient buildings that stretched as far as he could see in the portal-lit cavern, he pierced through the warriors’ midst toward the line of portals glowing between the massive pillars—portals that led to places unknown.

  Ilfedo could not believe his eyes, for the other man had vanished, and the black dragon ignored Ilfedo’s attacks. It swatted him aside. “I will be back for thee, little warrior,” it growled.

  The dragon spread its wings and charged its army. The warriors did not flinch as the creature rose into the air with inches to spare between its claws and the men’s heads. It roared as it glided out over the city. “Xavion! I see thee.”

  Far out over the city it flew. Ilfedo stood rooted to the cathedral steps.

  “And now darkness will fall!” The dragon roared, the sound of his words splitting Ilfedo’s ears.

  A point of light preceded the dragon. It swelled and pulsed, a green phosphorescent bubble. “Remember the fury of my revenge, Xavion. Ye are filthy fools, both thou and the prophets.”

  Specter watched in horror as Valorian summoned his demonic power. Green lightning zipped from the cavern’s ceiling, feeding into the wizard’s bubble, growing it. Specter had a hundred yards to go before he would reach the pillars. The bubble would reach him first.

  The swelling bubble in Valorian’s hand drew the light of the many portals like a magnet. And when the dragon threw the bubble directly at Specter, the portals grew in size. The bubble splashed against the corner of a growing portal, as if caught in the portal’s gravity well. Green filaments sprayed onto the ground, and new portals swirled into existence. Valorian roared and dropped into the city with a flurry of his wings. He crashed through the wall of a large building, and the roof collapsed over his back.

  Valorian charged down the highway, sweeping his warriors aside as he loomed out of their midst.

  But above the dragon’s head a hole was punched in the cavern roof. Blinding white light shone through. Specter blinked and raised his hand to guard his eyes. Other holes were punched into the cavern ceiling, as if worms had burrowed through. Valorian skidded to a stop, his great claws sparking on the stones as he turned his long neck, facing the strange event.

  Water gushed through the holes, and the city began to flood. Still the dragon kept his eyes on the ceiling.

  Amid the water fell a mass of white blubber. The water skeel Cromlin smashed into the city, and Specter gasped. Cromlin’s fins crushed a hundred of Valorian’s warriors, and his body ground stones into dust. In his presence even the mighty Valorian seemed to cower, though the dragon growled fiercely up at the creature.

  Valorian slunk toward the water skeel, and green energy gathered along his body. The dragon sped toward the creature, released a roar, and turned into a green energy mi
ssile that struck Cromlin’s side. But he bounced off and crashed into a building. He rose from the dust and rubble with a shake of his serpentine head.

  Cromlin warbled, and the warriors of Valorian covered their ears. Specter did the same. From the holes above dropped a hundred or more full-grown water skeels. Then the king of the water skeels looked down upon Valorian, and from his nostrils a stream of water gushed forth. The water struck the dragon’s chest, hurtling it farther into the city. The water around Cromlin formed into ice.

  “It has been too long, Valorian, too long.” The water skeel spoke in the tongue of humanity as it slid toward the dragon. “But at last I have found this place, and you. You I had thought lost to the world, yet here you are, and how glad I am that it will be I that brings you down.”

  Valorian shook himself and spat fire at the water skeel. “Warriors, art thou prepared to die for me?”

  The scale-clad warriors shouted in response.

  “Then kill all within thy reach!” The dragon’s retort thundered through the Hidden Realm.

  Cromlin laughed, and the sound of it chilled Specter’s bones. “The power of Living Fire resides here, doesn’t it?” The creature slowly turned his massive head and gazed at Specter. “Were you attempting to stop this man from escaping with the key, Valorian?”

  “That power belongs to me,” Valorian screamed.

  “No, it does not, and it offers no threat to me. I say let the prophets have their playfellow.” Cromlin slapped his flipper on a building, crumbling it as he slid his bulk toward the dragon. “At least for now.”

  The dragon took a step back and flexed his wings. “Thou art a fool, Cromlin!”

  “A fool!” Light shot from Cromlin’s eyes, striking the dragon’s wings.

  Valorian roared and spread them. A large hole had been carved from each wing, and as they began to heal, the water skeel spewed water from its nostrils again. This time the water froze over the dragon’s feet.

  Line upon line of warriors rushed Cromlin and the water skeels, but the creatures tossed them into the air with their fins. They slid into the men’s midst, spraying freezing water upon them. With ease they engaged in the battle and prevented anyone from helping Valorian. The water skeels were magnificent and deadly in their movements.

  “How?” Specter heard Valorian roar as Cromlin burned light from his eyes again. The dragon rolled through several buildings, then trembled as he rose to his feet. “How did thou find me?”

  The water skeel laughed again. “Oh, that part was easy. Your pet the Grim Reaper was slain not long ago—and Auron begged me to send him in search of you. I covered his body in my ice, and he bore my signature into this realm. When the ice melted, it acted as a beacon that led me straight here.”

  Water rose to Specter’s knees, and he pulled himself higher on the rubble.

  Cromlin dug his fins into the water, pulled out massive balls of ice, and slammed them into the dragon. Valorian melted some with fire and rose against the water skeel, claws raking for the creature’s throat. Cromlin smacked one massive fin at the dragon and warbled as he withdrew the fin. The dragon flailed his wings, careening around another building. But Cromlin’s long neck reached out, and his mouth closed over Valorian’s back. He pulled the screaming dragon high into the air and clamped with his jaws.

  Specter heard Valorian’s back snap under the pressure. The black dragon, that vile beast he had so long dreaded, grew limp in Cromlin’s powerful jaws.

  Specter took one last horrified gaze at the creature, then regained his composure. He glanced at the cathedral, but Ilfedo was not there. He turned and jumped into the water, swimming for all his worth toward the wall of pillars. He could see the mighty pyramids that stood behind them, but the water did not flow past the wall.

  Ilfedo had watched the battle between the dragon and the new arrival. He gaped at the potency of the white creature. Its blubbery body bespoke age and strength that should not be reckoned with. He stuck to the perimeter of the cavern, carrying the young woman over his shoulder, wishing all the while that somehow he could ascertain the fate of the key. Without it his mission was a failure.

  When he reached the wall of pillars, he found the breach he had made in its defenses earlier. The water strangely stopped at the wall. He stepped through first and turned to pull the young woman after him. It was then that he saw Specter holding the key. Specter stood a little distance down the wall, and Ilfedo called out to him that here was a way through.

  But Cromlin dropped the body of Valorian into the ruins and slid toward the pillar wall and the man with the key. “Give me the key and I may let you live, Warrior,” the creature said, and its voice sent ripples over the water.

  Specter turned to face Ilfedo, and he soberly set his strong jaw. “The key will be forever safe with me, Ilfedo. And the Living Fire will remain connected to your sword.”

  “I’m sure it will be. But hurry—”

  The man raised a hand to silence him and stepped toward a portal. “Tell Oganna that I wish her a happy life. Tell her that I will greatly miss her, but that this separation was necessary.” The portal expanded around Specter, and Cromlin warbled, speeding toward him. “All things are now as they were meant to be, Ilfedo.” Specter laughed, and a smile lit his countenance. “Trust in God’s ultimate purposes and you will know peace.”

  Ilfedo pulled the young woman through the wall—as the portal swallowed the man with the Key of Living Fire. The portal sparked as Cromlin grasped at it with a fin. It collapsed and vanished as the creature warbled and fixated its luminous eyes on Ilfedo.

  Ilfedo ran to the highway and carried Escentra toward the largest pyramid. The white creature impacted the wall of pillars and they broke like twigs. Water flowed toward the highway, and the creature sailed with it. Ilfedo, his arms aching from the girl’s body weight, ran out the pyramid’s other side. He could hear the creature beating its fins into the incredible structure’s sides, yet he did not glance back. He staggered up to the Tomb of the Ancients, dropped Escentra to the stone floor, and closed his eyes as he raised his sword.

  As fire ripped along the blade, the creature warbled behind him. Colors and light swirled in front of him, fed by his sword. As the flames twisted into the vortex, he pulled Escentra into it. He was yanked out of the Hidden Realm and flung down the endless corridor. When he came to a stop, the Tomb of the Ancients rose around him, and the creature that he feared—he knew it was unable to follow.

  Vectra lumbered out of a shadowy corner, and suddenly she seemed quite small to him. The world seemed full of creatures far more powerful than she, and he did not want to ever encounter those creatures again.

  “Well, I see that you have returned with a stranger.” Vectra looked down at him, her long mouth twisted in a confused sort of way. No doubt, after he sorted out the day’s events in his own mind, he should share the facts with her.

  29

  THE DOORS CLOSE

  Dantress regained consciousness as an enormous white creature with flippers shattered a corner of the nearest pyramid. The creature warbled, and she spotted Ilfedo standing in the entrance to the Tomb of the Ancients. He threw flames from his sword, and a portal absorbed him and a young woman. Water rushed over her body and she stood, wrapping herself in a wall of flames.

  The flames erased the Hidden Realm, and she cursed herself. She had failed. She had failed her father and, most importantly, Ilfedo. She was supposed to have met Ilfedo in the Hidden Realm. Not only that, but it appeared that the witch had managed to so thoroughly deceive Ilfedo that now he was bringing her back home with him. She might look like a helpless young woman, but that girl deserved Letrias’s fate.

  The wall of fire faded, and the fields of the Palm of Heaven stretched as far as she could see in any direction. She walked out into that paradise, those borderlands to the kingdom of Emperia, and waited for the great white dragon to descend. But she stood there for a long while . . . and he did not show himself.

  Vectra
sniffed at Escentra’s clothes. “This one has a foulness, a rotting in her soul. We cannot trust her.”

  “She has already earned my trust.” Ilfedo stepped between the creature and the girl. “Pity her, Vectra. Do not analyze her. This is Escentra, and she has been serving a wizard, but no longer. She will be coming with me to the Hemmed Land. I believe Oganna will want to meet her.”

  The creature huffed and rumbled approval. “If this one is put under Oganna’s watchful eyes, then you will have no trouble, of that I am sure. For your daughter is wise and strong.”

  The heavy doors behind the Megatrath rattled on their hinges. The Megatrath turned, baring her teeth as the doors lumbered open, and a dark-hooded figure stepped into the tomb. Ilfedo gripped the sword of the dragon and rose to challenge the new arrival.

  The figure raised a shepherd’s staff in one hand, as if stopping Ilfedo from approaching. The hood fell away, and the prophet narrowed his blue eyes, his gaze burning into Ilfedo’s soul. Vectra slumped, raising a cloud of dust, and the prophet stepped over one of her powerful legs. “Lord Ilfedo of the Hemmed Land, thou wielder of the sword of Living Fire, I sent you on a quest to obtain the key. Now I have come to receive it from you so that it may be forever safeguarded.” The prophet’s eyes glanced over Ilfedo’s person. “But I do not see the key. Was your mission a failure?”

  The sword rose out of Ilfedo’s hands and spilled fire around him and the prophet, and the prophet reached out and grasped it in his ancient hand.