Dragon's Fire

by Bri Sailor

  The courtyard for the temple was filled with charred grass and other vegetation. Massive statues nearly a hundred feet tall lined the path to the temple. Each looked as if they had been melted and twisted into dark creatures, rendering them unrecognizable. Again she felt as if she were trying to remember an old childhood memory. It all seemed so familiar yet so wrong. She didn’t stop to think as she raced towards the doors of the temple. The roaring suddenly stopped as she threw open the doors and crossed the threshold. Unlike the black glass exterior, the inside was a sickeningly pristine white. Atreyis slammed the doors shut behind her. She jumped as the doors locked themselves. The temple was comprised of a single room. Enormous pillars reached hundreds of feet above her to a stained-glass canopy. Blood-red light streamed through the glass, casting a design on the floor. Atreyis cautiously looked around as she inched closer towards the pattern on the floor. She held her breath. In a perfect circle on the ground was the Goddess surrounded by five dragons flying around her. The Goddess was crying tears of blood and four of the dragons were merely flying skeletons. Only one remained alive. It was flying above the Goddess and was white. Atreyis felt a chill down her spine as she walked around the terrifying image. She continued to walk down the seemingly never ending expanse. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being followed. She looked around but saw nothing. The more she walked the more she could feel electricity in the air and surges of energy. That’s when she saw it. At the end of the temple was a wall that looked like it was made of swirling translucent rainbow glass. It was giving off a power like she had never felt before. She didn’t want to go near it but felt an uncontrollable draw to it. It was as if her mind had gone completely blank. All she could think about was the wall. She slowly walked up to it, reached out a shaking finger, and touched it. The surface rippled like water. She took a step back and looked it over. It was driving her mad. This place. It was like it was on the tip of her tongue but she just couldn’t quite grasp it. She looked back into the otherworldly swirling colors. She reached out to touch it again when it changed. Visions flashed in front of her. She could see the Seal deep under the Temple of Ages and how Nya stood staring at it. It flashed again. She was now looking at some sort of vast cavern. It was empty and dark. In the center was a platform of some kind. It flashed again. A never-ending staircase leading down into the infinite darkness. The temple grew cold and ice began to form on her hair. The steps down filled her with such a dread she had never known before. She couldn't cry or run away or escape. From the blackness a deep, rumbling growl shook the very ground beneath her like a tremendous earthquake. She fell to her knees as her very soul was being sucked from her body. An earsplitting shriek caused her to cover her ears and hold her head to keep it from splitting open. When it wouldn’t stop is when she realized that it was coming from herself. The temple around her began to crumble. Just as she was about to give in something inside her snapped. She magically rose to her feet. A raging fire coursed through her veins and burned inside her chest. Her face hardened.

  She spun around and came face to face with a giant dragon. The beast’s flesh was decaying and falling off of its bones. Its venomous yellow eyes narrowed and stared her down. Atreyis didn’t flinch and her eyes glowed a blindingly bright gold. The dragon reared up on its hind legs and spread its wings wide and roared. Atreyis fearlessly stood her ground. She could feel the energy swirling in her body. She collected it all into the center of her chest and felt it explode out her back. The dragon lunged for her with its gaping maw and razor sharp teeth. Atreyis exploded off of the ground and flew at the dragon as wings unfolded from her back.

  #

  Ky raced through the pitch black forest. She stumbled over exposed roots and low-hanging branches reached out like claws and ripped at her clothes. She was wearing a long white shirt and pants and was covered in dirt. Her chest heaved with every breath as her legs churned beneath her. The rumbling and growling were getting louder. Trees and limbs snapped behind her. She fell flat on her face as she stumbled into a clearing. Panic overtook her body and refused to let her mind think. She raced through giant twisted statues towards a temple made of solid black glass. Her feet felt like lead as she raced for the doors. The ground shook. She burst through the doors and they closed tightly behind her, locking in place. Ky fell to her hands and knees as she tried desperately to catch her breath. Her entire body shook with fear. After a few minutes she was able to catch her breath and she stood up. The sickly white temple stretched out in front of her. Still shaking she walked towards an image that was projected onto the ground. A woman crying tears of blood surrounded by four flying dragon skeletons and a white dragon overhead. She watched her breath cloud in front of her as the temperature began to drop. Her eyes darted around looking for danger. Something deep within her told her she had been here before. That same voice told her that she needed to get out as fast as she could. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck and arms. She made her way towards a swirling wall of colors. Again she was struck with a sense of familiarity. She cautiously reached out with a finger and touched the surface. It rippled like water, just like she remembered. Wait. Remembered? The wall suddenly flashed to a scene. Before her was her mother staring at the glyph covered Seal. She reached out to her and it changed again. A vast empty cavern was before her. Alarm bells were ringing in the back of her mind. It changed again and showed the eternity of steps that led down into the impossible darkness. Every inch of her told her to run. She had seen those steps before, a very long time ago. Deep from within the dark a vicious rumbling growl shook the ground like an earthquake. Every drop of blood pooled in her feet. Ky felt like her very soul was being sucked from her body. She let it. A dark voice spoke within her.

  “Don’t fight it. It will be over soon. You shall find peace.”

  Ky let the darkness seep into her every pore as she dropped to her knees. The more she let it in the more she felt, not at peace, but completely numb. Just as she was about to give in to the darkness a memory flashed in her mind. No. Not a memory. A vision? A stormy battlefield. A woman dressed in all white. Her skin as black as coal and her eyes were empty pits. She stood over a lifeless body as blood soaked the ground. Ky tried to focus on the blurry vision. The face of the fallen came into view. It was Atreyis and she was dead. The numbness faltered and Ky felt a spark of something. It was small and deep within her, but it was there. She fought the numbness and focused on it. Something was telling her not to let go. The spark grew until it felt like flames were coursing through her body once more. The heat intensified. Behind her she felt the ground tremble as a roar was let out. A decaying dragon with yellow eyes was staring her down. Ky slowly turned around. Her eyes were emanating an impossibly bright gold. Her face was as stone. The dragon reared and roared again. Ky could feel the energies swirling deep within. She gathered everything she had and forced it into her belly, her center. The dragon lunged at her with an open mouth exposing razor sharp teeth. Ky felt and explosion out of her back as wings formed. She let out an earth-shaking roar and flew at the dragon with her claws.

  #

  Cora gasped as she leapt out of bed. Sweat poured off of her brow and her hair was stuck to her neck and back. She fell to the floor gasping for breath. Her entire body was shaking. She couldn’t remember the dream but she could still feel the fear, the evil that radiated from it. She stayed on the floor until she was able to gather her senses enough to stand. On wobbly legs she walked over to her wash basin and washed her face off. She looked at herself in the mirror. Something wasn’t right. A pair of sickly yellow eyes flashed over her shoulder. Her heart leapt out of her chest and she spun around. Nothing was there. Her room was empty. She wiped her face and tried to get ahold of herself. She peeled off her outer robe and stripped down to her nightgown. Her room was growing steadily and impossibly hot. Too hot. An all-too familiar tingling started between her brows. She rubbed the spot. The pressure slowly intensified until it felt like her head was going to explode. Sudde
nly, a huge crash rang out in the palace. Cora raced to her door and threw it open. The hall and balcony were empty. She looked across and saw a worried Ehren. They locked eyes as they listened. Another crash. Both raced in the direction it came from. They were quickly joined by Riker, Taryn, Joslette, Doan, and the rest of the palace. They raced through the palace halls until the came to the open-air throne room. Stars twinkled above them. Down below, in the darkness, two combatants were clashing. The red and blue eyes sent panic through everyone. Atreyis and Ky were fighting! Ehren, Taryn, and Riker wasted no time as they leapt from the second floor down to the fight.

  “Atreyis! Stop!” screamed Ehren.

  “Ky what are you doing?” screamed Taryn.

  Riker ran headlong towards them but was suddenly blown backwards through the air by an invisible shield around the combatants. He landed with a hard thud and the wind knocked out of him.

  “What’s going on?” yelled Joslette.

  “It’s like they are under some sort of spell!” shouted Doan.

  Ehren looked up at Cora. “Do something!”

  Cora was nearly to the point of tears. “I don’t know what to do! I’ve never seen anything like this!”

  Atreyis and Ky continued their fight with their bare hands. Their faces were completely emotionless. Ky kicked Atreyis across the room. The princess quickly hopped up and ran at the warrior. She jumped high into the air, higher than anyone had ever seen, and came crashing down on Ky. The warrior dove out of the way in time and the princess landed her knee into the stone floor, utterly smashing it. She quickly kicked her leg out and knocked the warrior over. Ky kicked her feet up and popped off of the floor with ease. They both cocked their arms and swung. Their fists connected with a concussive force that shook the ground. It was a battle of titans. Iyara watched on in horror. Ehren and Taryn both tried to run at them. Like Riker, they too were blown back by an unseen force. Joslette grabbed Cora’s arm.

  “There must be something you can do!” she pleaded. “This is beyond anything I am capable of!”

  Cora stood frozen to the balcony. What could she do? Her friends were locked in a death match and no one could touch them. The pain in her head inexplicably gave way to a powerful burning sensation. She gasped in pain and held her head.

  “Cora!” yelled Joslette.

  Ehren’s head whipped around so fast he nearly broke it. The heat intensified and Cora dropped to the ground. Her chest heaved as the liquid heat trickled down every nerve in her body all the way to her feet. A shock of electricity raced up from the soles of her feet and exploded in her head and lights flashed before her eyes. She stood up, her eyes glowing gold, and she jumped with ease over the balcony ledge. She landed with an etheric grace and slowly walked towards Atreyis and Ky. The two were still exchanging blow for blow and shaking the world around them. The priestess strode onto the battlefield. Ky and Atreyis launched themselves at each other. It was as if time slowed down. Cora flew between the two of them and placed a hand on their foreheads. They instantly dropped to their knees and their mouths hung opened as they gasped. Their heads thrown back and their arms outstretched. The ground shook from the sheer force. With glowing gold eyes Cora held them down.

  “They aren’t here!” she yelled.

  “What do you mean?” shouted Ehren with terror.

  “Their souls are in the realm of the gods!” she shouted.

  Joslette’s eyes were wide with fear. “Pull them out! You have to pull them out now!”

  Cora strained against an unknown force.

  “I can’t!” she cried desperately. “Something won’t let me!”

  The wind began to whip and swirl around them. Ehren shielded his face as he ran towards the girls.

  “Get her out!” shouted Ehren above the roaring wind. “I believe in you, Cora! You can do it!”

  “I can’t!” she lamented. “If I release my block to project myself there, they will kill each other!”

  “Then send me!” he begged.

  “I can’t!”

  “Yes you can!”

  Cora shook her head. “No you don’t understand. You’ve never been there before. You haven’t had the training. It could rip your soul!”

  “I don’t care!” yelled Ehren. “My sister is there and needs me! Send me there!”

  Cora pleaded with her eyes. She could see his resolve. She reluctantly bowed her head. Ehren reached out and placed his hand on Cora’s head. She concentrated. Suddenly, the prince collapsed to the ground unconscious.

  #

  Ehren could hear the sounds of a fight. He tried to move but his entire body felt like lead. He desperately willed his body to move. He fought to open his eyes. He was met with a bright white light. With every ounce of his being he willed his body to move. A finger. An arm. A leg. The prince rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself up. He blinked as the world around him felt like it was spinning and his feet weren’t touching the ground. It felt like something was pulling him up to the sky. He fought the feeling and took a step forward. His vision cleared and he couldn’t believe his eyes. There was his sister and Ky. Both with glowing gold eyes and both with wings. It was like he had double vision. The temple seemed mirrored upon itself. Both girls were fighting aerial battles against dragons that were the living dead. The battles were taking place in the same space, but not the same time. Atreyis flew through the air and connected a hard kick to the dragon’s belly and sent it flying across the temple. It looked like Ky didn’t even notice it as she slashed at her dragon’s wings, tearing a hole in them. Ehren couldn’t believe the spectacle that was before him. The floating feeling returned and he knew he needed to act quickly as he slowly started losing all sense of time.

  “ATREYIS!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.

  His sister didn’t even hear him. He looked around the temple for a weapon. There was nothing.

  “Cora!” he shouted into the air. “I could use a little help!”

  The prince watched on helplessly. Suddenly, two golden spears manifested at his feet. He picked them up and held tight. He studied the battle and waited. It felt like years as he watched his sister fight for her life. Suddenly, both of the girls flew high into the air, unknowingly, side by side. The dragons flew at them. Now! The prince heaved the spears with everything he had. They cut through the air and each pierced the dragons in their hearts. They let out a blood-curdling screech before bursting into a black mist. Ky and Atreyis both disappeared just as fast. Ehren felt himself falling.

  #

  Ehren slammed back into his body and gasped. He jumped up. Ky and Atreyis were both on their backs trying to catch their breath. Cora was laying between them. Unconscious. Ehren scrambled over to her and held her in his arms.

  “Cora!” he yelled desperately and shook her.

  The priestess didn’t stir. Joslette came running across the throne room and knelt beside them. Atreyis and Ky looked up in confusion. The queen placed a hand on Cora’s head and over her heart. She closed her eyes and waited a moment. She breathed a sigh of relief.

  “She’s alive!”

  Ehren felt the tears sting his eyes.

  Joslette put a hand on his shoulder. “She will be fine. She just needs to rest. I’ve never seen anyone do what she just did. I don’t think there is a priest alive who could. Not even Oldrin.”

  #

  Lusha sucked in a breath as she dropped to the floor. She had been hovering nearly to the ceiling. She crawled to her knees and let out a vicious roar.

  “No!” she screamed.

  She pounded the floor with her fists, the thundering booms echoing throughout the temple.

  “Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!”

  She turned her gaze towards the heavens. “Damn you, Ailana! After I finish with them I’m coming for you and your whore!”

  Her claw-like nails scratched the floor as she drug them across it. She was so close. She had both of them cornered in the temple. A few more minutes and they would be dead! Sh
e clenched her jaw. Even with her newfound powers it was still not enough. Hot tears began to flow down her face. She had let her Lord and Master down.