The Prince of Earthen Fire

by B C Penling

  “North, where the men live.”

  Treacherous mountains those are, Miss Lana. I saw them on the flight in. Stretched on for miles, they did.

  “Anything is better than here, Caeda. I would rather die in those mountains than die here in this hole,” Lana whispered.

  Rightly so, Miss Lana. Caeda itched the back of her head with her hind leg. I feel the sooner that we leave the less of a chance you have to be chained to that wall again and have something much worse befall you.

  “Do you know what he’s going to do with me?” Lana asked quickly.

  A door in the hall shut loudly. Panic grabbed Lana, causing her breath to stop in her throat.

  This way! In here!

  Lana stumbled over the cloak, tripped over her own feet, but managed to slide into an opened cell before they heard a Warisai speak.

  “That Turtleback,” he grumbled. “Always leaving doors open.”

  The dungeon door opened the rest of the way and slammed loudly against the wall. They heard the keys being removed from the wall hook and more complaining followed about how he was sent to retrieve a torture device from a locked closet in the dungeon since Turtleback and Donovan forgot. The keys clattered together loudly and more grumbled complaints ensued before they heard him try a few keys in a keyhole. A heavy metal item was dragged across stone, which made Lana’s skin prickle as she sat in the darkened cell behind the open door. The Warisai replaced the heavy ring of keys upon its holder and, with a loud clank, leaned the torture weapon against the stone wall.

  Lana heard his footsteps approached the cell door. She held her breath and slid the cloak up around her face, hopeful to blend into the thick shadows surrounding her. To her relief, he didn’t enter the cell. To her horror, he closed and latched the cell door. She uncovered herself and took in a sharp breath.

  Don’t make a sound! Caeda’s little hands covered Lana’s mouth. He will find you if you make as much as a peep.

  Lana held her breath and listened. The metal object was picked up again and the dungeon door was slammed closed.

  Do you know what this means, Lana?

  “That we’re trapped in here now.” Lana’s voice was weakened with sadness.

  You don’t realize what just happened? Caeda asked. Another Warisai touched the keys after Turtleback hung them up. That means that there’s even less of a chance of your friend getting blamed for your disappearance.

  “You’re right,” Lana muttered. “But, I’ll be found out. My escape was only partial.”

  The door rattled suddenly, causing Lana to cower beneath the black cloak again, and the hinge was slid up. It swung open with a soft creak, allowing light to spill through the doorway.

  Get up, Lana. Sitting there won’t help you. Caeda clung to the door, smiling. I opened the last doors; I could open this one, too. Now, let’s go. We’ll have to hurry. I’m guessing the Warisai will be busy with the torture and execution. The hall is clear. Hold on to that cloak tightly. There are a lot of Warisai outside and we don’t want them to see your skin. Stay to the darkness and follow me.

  “Is there a point, though?” Lana asked. “I have not gone far and yet I’ve almost already been caught.”

  How do you know how far you get unless you try? Caeda asked. And you must try, Lana. I’ve heard his nasty plans for you. I followed him, learned his ways, and learned his intentions. They are far from noble. You need to get out of here, Lana.

  “What if they find me and kill me for escaping?” Lana asked. “If I stay here…”

  You’d die anyways. Caeda interrupted. If you die out there, at least you’ll ruin Donovan’s plans and buy some time for Dagan. If you die the way Donovan wants you to, then Dagan will be doomed to die. I spent many sleepless nights held up in his dark chamber. I have hawked Donovan nearly every day since he moved you here. I knew he must have had a good reason to place you in this room. So I kept an eye on him since he is now the leader of things. He is a bad creature, Miss Lana, the worst any creature can be.

  “What did he do to upset you so much, Caeda?”

  He was looking at papers; charts and maps. He read and reread the same piece of paper each night. It was important to him. He kept it hidden behind a brick in the wall.

  “What did it say?”

  I can’t read, Miss Lana. Caeda said with a shrug. She shifted her color to a pale tan. But I can copy it.

  Lana watched as black words formed across Caeda’s body. Lana got closer, straining her eyes to see it in the low light and watched them thicken from hair-thin to beautiful calligraphy that was obviously not written by something as ugly as a Warisai. Lana read the text.

  “The key to unification is one of a pure heart.”

  He said his knife would have to stay shallow enough to keep you alive long enough.

  “Unity is forged with a heart of integrity.”

  He said none of the Warisai can do it, Miss Lana. He needs you alive in order to accomplish his conquest. They are all too evil.

  “Upon the eve of the winter solstice, take the silver dagger…”

  It’s approaching quickly, Miss Lana, we’re running out of time for you to escape.

  “Expose the Septum, then add the chambers to the cavern within the body of the faithful… Twice, it’ll pulse. Its life restored from the lifeblood of the sacrifice. Twice, it’ll pulse, again; a strong heartbeat. Then and only then can you remove it.”

  Lana gasped.

  Do you understand now Lana?

  “Yes,” Lana said. She swallowed hard. “He’s going to kill me in order to reunited Magnen’s Heart. I’m the sacrifice he needs. I’m the lifeblood to restore it.”

  He needs you more than you know and your life now will give way to the end of others. Now get up and get your feet moving while there’s still a chance! You don’t have time to feel sorry for yourself. Your life weighs the fate of the world.

  Lana sprang to her feet and wrapped the cloak around her tightly, making sure not to show any of her light skin or lighter clothing.

  “Let’s get out of here, then. I’ll follow you.”

  Caeda nodded and leapt into the dungeon’s main room and glided to the door that led into the hallway. She vanished, flawlessly camouflaging herself with her surroundings.

  It’s clear. Let’s go out the southern exit since the execution is happening on the north side of the castle.

  “I don’t know which way that is,” Lana said.

  This way.

  Lana saw Caeda turn black upon the opposite wall and crawled around the corner near the bottom of the stairs. Lana shuffled across the hall quickly and quietly and rounded the corner into a long, wide hall lined with many doors. Lana’s anxiety peaked at the thought of having a Warisai exit one while she was making her way to freedom.

  Keep coming down the hall. With the sound of them outside, I assume every one of them is watching the execution. The doors are this way.

  Caeda turned black again and crawled to the right along the wall and into another corridor where, along the left side, there were two tall doors and a very plain foyer with no frills or formality like the elves had.

  There is nothing outside. Hurry and slide through the door. Careful not to open it too much, this door squeaks loudly.

  A lump formed in Lana’s throat. Caeda had obviously kept busy observing every small detail she could. All of it was done for her, Lana.

  “I don’t know what future lies beyond this door, Caeda,” Lana whispered. “I wanted to say thank you, for everything that you’ve done for me.”

  Anything for you, Miss Lana.

  Lana pushed at the door, sliding it open slowly and just enough for her to squeeze out. She closed it and adjusted the cloak again.

  Go straight to the buildings and travel alongside of them. It’ll be less suspicious than slinking along the castle wall. It’ll also look like you’re just a little late to the execution.

  Lana listened, holding the cloak tightly as she walked hurriedly to where
Caeda wanted her to.

  Sunwake is this way.

  Caeda pulled at her cloak in the direction Lana needed to travel.

  You can almost go straight through the gates to freedom down the road in front of you.

  Lana walked as casually as she could. Her heart was beating through her chest with the overwhelming anxiety and dread of being caught. Time passed agonizingly slow for Lana as she made her way paralleling the castle’s southern wall.

  Add a limp to your walk. It’ll make you look more convincing.

  Lana listened, limping slightly as the crowd of Warisai came into view around the castle’s corner. On a platform in the middle of the mob was a Warisai with his arms chained to thick posts. The crowd was eerily quiet until…

  Lana’s breath caught in her chest. Donovan took to the platform and the Warisai cheered at the sight of him.

  “This Warisai killed our leader!” he roared. “He poisoned my father! Tonight, we will have our vengeance. Tonight, he will die slowly!”

  The Warisai roared with excitement and some waved kegs of liquor in the air.

  He was the one that killed him, Lana. He’s lying, as usual. The good thing about his lie is that you’ll have plenty of time to escape since their attention will be fixed elsewhere.

  “Tonight,” Donovan yelled over the crowd. “Revenge is ours!”

  The Warisai’s happy upheaval morphed into a chant for torture. Deep, resounding drums began to beat. The chained Warisai glared at Donovan with pure hatred and fought against his bonds.

  “You did it!” he yelled. “You poisoned our leader, mratchash! You killed your own father!”

  The Warisai’s noise decreased and Lana noticed a number of them were looking at others with curious expressions.

  Donovan, aware of the shift in focus, backhanded the bound Warisai.

  “A steep accusation,” he spat. He turned to the crowd. “The unfaithful amongst us shall perish slowly and painfully.”

  Spittle erupted from Donoan’s lips and showered the prisoner. He snarled fiercely and looked at the Warisai surrounding the platform. His eyes darted around manically, looking for an ally; someone to help him out of his predicament. They stopped; fixed on something that made Lana’s heart sink.

  Her. His eyes rested on her. The anger in his face disappeared and a grin spread across his face.

  In that moment, her escape was discovered. In that moment, she knew she’d be locked away until she was murdered by Donovan. In that moment, her decision to escape was...

  “Enough talking, Donovan!” The Warisai spat in Donovan’s face. “Get on with your unjustified execution to cover your own betrayal.”

  Donovan punched him.

  “We won’t waste any more time, then,” Donovan roared. “Pluntz!”

  Donovan stepped away, walked to a corner of the platform, and allowed a very large, ugly Warisai to take the center. He withdrew a thin hooked tool and the other Warisai cheered.

  The prisoner’s eyes fixed on Lana again, frozen in fear beside a building. He nodded his head to his left a few times before scowling at his torturer.

  He’s telling you to run, Miss Lana. Go!

  Lana, with shaky knees and a nervous heart, began shuffling away. She made her way behind the cheering mob.

  Caeda ran ahead of Lana, watching out for any patrols that might be occupying the streets. They wound their way cautiously through the darker alleyways and avoided any torchlight. There were no Warisai wandering the streets, though. They were all preoccupied at the torture and execution of the falsely accused.

  All Warisai were watching the execution, except for the two that guarded the gate. They slouched against the wall with large scimitars at their waists. They, like the executioner, were bulky, unsightly creatures.

  “How do we get past them? Do we go over the wall?” Lana whispered.

  Wait here. When they leave their posts, dash through the gates.

  Lana could only guess where she was going and had a lingering suspicion that the gragon was going to distract the guards. She hid among rubbish piles that littered the narrow alleyway. Time ticked passed eerily as she waited for the sentries to leave. Her heartbeat was the only sound she could hear until a frighteningly loud clang echoed along a street a few blocks away.

  She heard the guards mumble and peeked cautiously around the corner. One guard walked away to check the sound and one remained behind. There was no way she could make it past him. She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. She tried to keep the tears from coming. She had made it so far and yet, there she was, stuck right at the brink of freedom.

  A cry came from down the road where the loud noise came from. She heard the second guard get up and run off. It was then or it was never.

  Lana dashed out from the cover of the alley and ran as fast and quiet as she could. Nothing was around her but buildings. She took a brief glance behind her, half expecting a large hand to grab her.

  Nothing was there.

  She sprang through the gates and into the darkness beyond the walls. Her legs pumped wildly, driving her forward toward the skeletal forest that bordered a large field of stumps. She sprinted like a startled deer. Visions of Warisai pursuing her urged her to keep up her frantic pace. She didn’t look back even after she entered the forest and something dropped onto her shoulder.

  It is me, Miss Lana. Keep running. They did not see you go through the gates.

  Lana didn’t need to be told twice. She continued her pace well into the night while navigating the deadfall and avoiding brambles. Only when her sides felt as if they were splitting and her mouth was terribly dry did she slow to a jog. Caeda clung to her shoulder and kept a sharp eye behind them.

  The moon above was casting its waning light upon the forest. There was no green vegetation amongst the ghostly forest. She felt nothing from them, no life. The forest was dead, a phantom of a once flourishing land. Lana began to feel fatigued but continued with a decent pace through the dead woods. She didn’t know how much time she had before they realized she was gone.

  I think you're right about going north. It'll be a slow climb but maybe they won’t expect you to take a more difficult route. Plus, there might be a port that'll take you home to Zen.

  Lana changed her direction and ran north. The shadows followed her, engulfing that which she passed. She hurried her jog into a run. The faster she got to the mountains, the closer she was to freedom.

  She stopped suddenly and stood at the edge of a wide, sprawling wasteland. Jagged mountains loomed in the distance; their snowy peaks glinted brightly atop their dull copper color.

  In the middle of the ashen clearing was a large, shallowly sloping hill.

  Lana took a few deep, full breaths to ease her pounding heart. She took a cautious step out onto the dead plain. The black soil puffed from each footfall as if it had been burned thoroughly.

  “I feel like I know this place,” Lana whispered.

  We flew over it.

  “No, it’s more than that,” Lana said. “I was here when it was lush and green, when it was beautiful. I was with Zen.”

  Zen hasn’t been here, Miss Lana.

  “He was in my dream.”

  She stared at the hill and sadness filled her heart. Feeling stricken with homesickness, she walked along the edge of the forest and thought about Zen. She wanted so badly for him to come flying over the trees to take her far away from the Warisai.

  Let us go, Miss Lana.

  Lana tore her eyes from the hill and jogged her way along the tree line to the other side of the desolate meadow. The breeze picked up and tossed the ashen ground. The dust assaulted Lana’s nose and made her eyes water. It smelled of burned flesh and death, of blood and tears. A cold shiver crept up her spine, causing the hairs on her neck to bristle.

  She looked around, suddenly aware of her vulnerability. She crouched low and ducked behind a tree. She felt eyes upon her. She scanned the landscape. The blackened ground was vacant of life and the
forest was more silent than an old forgotten graveyard.

  “I feel like I’m being watched,” Lana said silently.

  As do I.

  “I wish Zen was here. I wish he could take us away from this place. I want us to be safe with him,” she whispered to Caeda. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

  We need to keep going.

  “I’m thankful you’re here, Caeda,” Lana said softly. “I couldn’t have done it without you. I’m afraid we might’ve been seen, though. I have an overwhelming feeling that something spotted me. I should’ve stayed in the woods, not alongside them.”

  She inhaled shakily. I wish Zen was here.

  Warmness embraced her suddenly. A warm breeze brushed the cold away from her exposed skin. Her worries, her fear of what might’ve seen her, melted away. The wind swirled around her and quickened. Streaks of light illuminated them.

  What is this bewitchment?

  Lana tried to run out of the swirl of light but found her legs would not move. A dark figure appeared over the trees; unmistakably, a dragon. Its wings rose and fell with quiet whooshes. It belonged to the Warisai, she was certain, and it and its rider were searching for her. The dragon swooped low over the clearing, over the hill, and straight towards her.

  Fear knotted in her throat. She could see the blank eyes of the beast. Her heart seemed to cease beating and her breath failed. She’d been found. She’s going to return to that awful place.

  The dragon flapped his wings and flew right over her, brushing the tops of the trees as it past.

  She watched it disappear, the sight of it obscured by the dark, dead branches of the trees. Caeda looked at her.

  They didn’t see you?

  The sphere began to swirl faster than ever. She stared into it as it grew brighter and melded with gorgeous colorations. Lana focused beyond the sphere and realized the gray trees were no longer dull. They were alit with daylight, glowing with a golden, misty hue. There were bright green leaves on their limbs, complimenting their white bark. Lively shrubs grew at their trunks and the brambles had berries.

  The meadow before them was gorgeous, filled with long wheat that bowed in the wind. Their thick green tops brushed against one another. The craggy mountains to the north teemed with vegetation and waterfalls that tumbled white from hidden, misty peaks.