The Fire Salamander Chronicles Series: Books 1 - 3: The Fire Salamander Chronicles Series Boxset Book 1

by N M Thorn

  The second man approached the pole and carefully freed Gunz’s wrists, gently lowering him to the floor. Gunz moaned and relaxed in the man’s arms. He blinked a few times, trying to focus his vision, still distorted and blurry.

  “I’m sorry it took me so long, my friend,” muttered the man. His voice sounded so familiar, but Gunz couldn’t organize his thoughts enough to recall where he heard this voice before. The man pulled his trench coat off and covered Gunz’s shivering body with it.

  This trench coat… I remember… Gunz looked up, finally recognizing the man.

  “Angel… Am I glad… to see you…” whispered Gunz, his teeth still chattering.

  “Yeah, not too many people say that when they see me, my young friend,” said Angel chuckling.

  In the meantime, the other man approached Chernobog and put his hand on his shoulder.

  “Hello, brother,” he said in a deep clear voice. “I see you still let your wife run your life…”

  Chapter 18

  ~ Aidan ~

  Kal paced the limited space of Aidan’s office, muttering something under his breath. With his massive shoulders and his height of six-feet-eight he was making the room look tiny. Aidan kept following him with his eyes, wondering how he managed to turn around, forget about pacing.

  Finally, Kal stopped in front of Aidan and leaned forward, planting both his fists on to the desk. Aidan silently waved at the chair for the hundredth time, inviting the Great Salamander to sit down.

  “What are we waiting for?” asked Kal, his voice low and heavy.

  Kal wasn’t happy with Aidan and the fire within him kept breaking through, setting his long hair ablaze and igniting furious flames on the bottom of his deeply set eyes. His body was emitting an unbearable heat like any industrial oven, and the air conditioner in the office couldn’t keep it cool.

  “I’m waiting for Uri to get back to me,” explained Aidan calmly, taking a Kleenex from the box on his desk and wiping perspiration off his forehead. “He is trying to get in touch with Angel and Svyatobor. I want to know if there are any new developments before we jump headfirst into the Land of Dreams.”

  “Why, Aidan?” asked Kal but didn’t sit down. “No matter what Uri will say, we should go to the Isle Buyan and see what we can do to help Gunz…” His voice trailed away, and he shook his head. “Agh… I wish both of you were a bit smarter and knew when it was time to be asking for help and when you should clean up your own mess… I’m sure Gwyn agreed with me.”

  The air shimmered with a soft golden glow, and before Aidan could say anything, Uri materialized in the office next to Kal. Uri glanced up at the Great Salamander and his mouth opened slightly. Taking a step back, away from Kal’s heat, Uri bowed to him.

  “Great Salamander,” he said, quickly hiding his surprise. “It’s nice to see you after so many years. Since the moment the young Fire Salamander crossed the threshold of this dojang, I suspected that I’d see you sooner or later.”

  “Archangel Uriel,” replied Kal, inclining his head. “It’s been a while since I had the pleasure of talking with one of your kind.”

  “Any news, Uri?” asked Aidan, breaking into their conversation.

  “I’ve heard from Svyatobor,” said Uri. “He is waiting for you at the World Tree. He found Veles, and Veles agreed to take Angel to the Dark Nav.”

  “Oh, good,” said Aidan, feeling relieved. After all this time, as inconclusive as it was, it was the first message from Svyatobor. At least now he knew that Angel and Veles were on their way to help Gunz. “Thank you, Uri. Kal and I will be leaving at once.”

  “Finally,” growled Kal. He waved his hand unfolding his fire-portal and gave a sarcastic stare to Aidan. “I believe you have some fire in you, boy. My portal shouldn’t be a problem for you, eh?”

  Aidan threw a reproachful gaze at Kal and passed through the fire. He walked out of the portal and halted, awestruck. The energy of magic and elemental powers flooded him, intoxicating him. He drew in a sharp breath, pressing his hand to his chest and his eyes ignited with the brilliant light of his magic. Kal closed his portal and stood with his arms crossed, observing him with an uneven smirk.

  “I thought in your long godly life, you experienced the effects of the magical nexus,” he said, patting Aidan on his shoulder.

  “I did,” replied Aidan, his voice hoarse. “I’ve been to a few of them. But it’s been a while, and I already forgot how it felt to be surrounded by the undiluted energy of magic. The initial effect is quite jarring.”

  “Well, breathe in and out.” Kal chuckled and pointed forward. “This is where we need to go. It’s a short walk to the World Tree.”

  Aidan turned around, taking in his surroundings. They were standing on a narrow strip of land, soft dark waves rushing on and off. Ahead of them, the land was getting wider, while still staying completely flat. Farther on the horizon, he saw a giant tree. It was so tall that he couldn’t see its crown as it was disappearing into the sky, leaving just a few massive branches visible. Its trunk was so wide that a dozen people wouldn’t be able to encircle it, holding their hands together. The World Tree was surrounded by green shrubbery and thickets that were obscuring the bottom of the trunk.

  It was scorching hot. Aidan looked up, noticing that the sun was high above their head, blasting from the east side of the World Tree. On the west side of the World Tree, the sky was darker, resembling late evening, and the silver disk of the moon was shining through the thick green leaves of the Tree.

  Kal didn’t seem to be affected by the heat. On the contrary, he seemed to enjoy it. Giving another quick tap on Aidan’s shoulder, Kal headed toward the Tree. A few minutes later, they passed through the shrubbery and wound up on a large clearing. Tall lush grass bedazzled with colorful wild flowers covered the land. The light warm breeze was blowing through the grass, its soft whispering sound peaceful and lulling.

  The air was filled with the thin buzzing of busy bees that were zooming in and out of the World Tree, exploring the flowers. Now that they didn’t have the thickets and shrubbery obscuring their view, Aidan saw a massive stone located in the center of the meadow. The World Tree’s powerful root system was wrapped around the rock and disappeared under the ground.

  “Alatyr Stone,” said Kal, pointing at the rock. “This is the center of the Slavic Realms. It has some healing properties and magic of its own, by the way.”

  “Thank you for the guided tour, but I know that,” murmured Aidan, searching around. “What I don’t know is where Svyatobor is. He was supposed to meet us here.”

  “I guess you didn’t instill discipline and the fear of a tiny god of the Celtic Otherworld in your team,” said Kal snidely.

  “Ah, Kal, give me a break,” muttered Aidan, rubbing his forehead. “I just want to know that Svyatobor is okay. It’s enough that Gunz is missing. I don’t need any added worries.”

  He heard a loud rustling noise, coming somewhere from above and raised his eyes. Right above his head, on the sunny side of the World Tree, he saw a large bird. Aidan stepped back and placed his hand above his eyes to shield them from the bright sunlight.

  The creature that was sitting on the lowest branch of the World Tree was a bird, but it wasn’t. As large as an ostrich, the bird had a rich white plumage. Its tail was as long as the tail of a peacock, decorated by silvery-white feathers and its wide wings were spread open. But instead of a bird’s head with a beak, the creature had the head of a young, beautiful woman. She had large blue eyes, framed in thick black lashes and pink full lips. The bird looked down at them and smiled, exuding happiness and cheerfulness with its disposition.

  “Don’t worry, Aodh. You’ll find your friend,” she sang. Her voice was pleasant and mesmerizing and Aidan couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  “Sure, you’ll find your friend. I just don’t know if you’ll find him alive.”

  Aidan heard another voice and snapped his head to the right. A second creature—a cross between a large bird and a
young woman—was sitting on the moon-side of the World Tree. The second creature looked like she could have been the twin sister of the first bird. But her plumage was dark, black and electric blue feathers were decorating its chest and long tail. Her amazing aquamarine eyes were flooded with sadness and clear tears were sliding down her tender cheeks without stop.

  “Don’t listen to her, handsome young god,” sang the first bird with a happy smile. “My sister is a pessimist. Her glass is always half-empty.”

  “I’m not a pessimist! Glass half-empty,” huffed the dark bird, rolling her deep blue eyes, spilling more tears. “I’m a realist and as opposed to my happy-go-lucky sister, I think things through before jumping into conclusions.”

  Aidan glanced at Kal but found nothing but a wide grin on the face of the Great Salamander.

  “Did any of you see Svyatobor?” asked Aidan with a sigh. “He was supposed to meet us here.”

  “Svyatobor? That cute god of nature?” asked the white bird and her bright smile grew wider. “Of course I saw him. He’s not the kind of man you can forget easily.”

  “Of course she saw him,” parroted the dark bird, rolling her sad eyes. “How many centuries ago?”

  Kal clapped a few times and burst out laughing. Aidan threw his hands in the air and turned away from both birds. It was obvious that he couldn’t get a clear answer from them.

  “Aw, we got the handsome young god upset, sister,” said the white bird, her cheerful voice not wavering even for a moment.

  “He was like this when he got here,” replied the dark bird, folding its wings.

  “Aidan, stop talking to them. It’s useless. This is the Bird Alkonost and her sister, Bird Sirin. Alkonost is always singing happy, cheerful songs and Sirin is her opposite. She sings of sadness and prophesies troubles. To get the true answers from them, you need to know how to ask.”

  Aidan heard Svyatobor’s voice and spun around. The Slavic god of nature was sitting at the evening side of the World Tree, his large eyes glowing with a phosphoric light.

  “Aw, darling, thank you for your kind words,” said Alkonost, gazing down at Svyatobor, her eyes filled with admiration.

  “What did he say so sweet that got you melting away?” huffed Sirin, staring at her sister with disdain. “Let me translate for you his words, sister. He said that you’re a euphoric idiot and I am clinically depressed. And he also said that no one should ask us any questions because we’re deceiving bitches.”

  Kal snickered, shaking his head and sat down on the ground, resting his back at the Alatyr Stone. “One thing I can say—these two beauties are always entertaining.”

  “The Great Salamander loves us,” squealed Alkonost in delight, hopping up and down on her branch.

  “Ugh, what are you talking about? He thinks we’re dimwitted clowns, here to entertain him,” replied Sirin bursting into tears.

  “Ahh…” exhaled Svyatobor. “Shoo! Both of you. Go away! I’ll summon you if I need you!”

  Both bird-women gasped indignantly and flew up, migrating to one of the top branches of the tree, disappearing into the sky. Kal burst out laughing. “Finally, the first smart move from you, old bear,” he told Svyatobor through the laughter. He wiped his eyes, getting serious. “What did you find out about my Salamander?”

  “Nothing,” said Svyatobor. “I don’t know anything new. Veles took Angel to the Dark Nav and he asked us to wait here and do nothing.”

  “Do nothing?” asked Kal, suddenly on his feet. He wasn’t laughing, his face tensed, small flames circling around his arms.

  “What is it, Kal?” asked Aidan, troubled by such an abrupt change in Kal’s behavior and disposition.

  Kal didn’t reply. He turned around and put both of his hands on the roots of the World Tree. Then he closed his eyes and stilled like a person listening to something only he could hear. His face hardened, and his massive muscles tensed, wrapping around his arms and back like thick ropes.

  “No,” he whispered. “God, please, no… Not this… not to my boy…”

  Which god is he praying to? Chernobog? Veles? There was so much pain in Kal’s voice that Aidan took a step forward and carefully touched his shoulder.

  “Kal—,” Aidan started to say but cut himself off as the Great Salamander turned around and stared at him with unseeing eyes.

  Kal looked terrifying. His eyes were filled with angry flames and his whole body was ablaze with scorching fire. For a moment he stood, staring into nowhere. Then he threw his head back and screamed, burying his hands into his hair. His power, fueled by agony and despair, ran wild and a sweeping wave of pure energy of fire spread around him like a blast wave of an atomic bomb.

  Kal turned around and hissed a few words in Dragon Tongue, striking the Alatyr Stone with the palm of his hand. A dark swirling void of a portal opened up at the foot of the stone. It wasn’t the usual portal of a Fire Salamander and it was breathing with the dark demonic energy and the presence of death.

  “Kal, what are you doing?” yelled Aidan, grabbing his arm to stop him.

  Kal glared at him over his shoulder and twisted his arm, throwing Aidan’s hand off. As he was ready to jump into the portal, Aidan felt that the energy of Fire that was ravaging the Isle Buyan somehow doubled. A curtain of Fire opened up right next to Kal and Semargl, the fiery Slavic deity, walked out of it. His glowing igneous eyes stopped on the dark void of the portal and he rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Kal and pulled him back, away from the darkness.

  “You cannot go there, brother,” he yelled, struggling to keep Kal locked in his arms. “There are no elemental powers in the Dark Nav. You’ll be nothing but a weak human there, broken and lost in the darkness.”

  “I must!” growled Kal, fighting Semargl’s bearhug. “I can’t leave my child alone and unprotected! Do you know what they’re doing to him?”

  “I know. I can feel his pain. This is why I had to come here, my brother. But if you jump into the Dark Nav, you won’t be able to help him,” hissed Semargl. He was slowly losing his fight. Holding on to the Great Salamander with all his might, he turned to Aidan and shouted, “Don’t just stand there, boy. Don’t you see. I can’t hold him much longer. Summon a Master of Power!”

  Semargl’s voice ripped Aidan out of shock. Quickly, he drew a glowing rune in the air, filling it with the light of his magic and touched it, summoning Mrak Delar, the Ancient Master of Power.

  Mrak Delar responded to the summons right away. Before Aidan completed the last word of the summoning spell, the Master of Power materialized next to him. He quickly observed the situation and his eyes flooded with the red color of the fire energy. He extended his arm toward Kal and said one word, “Cease.”

  A shimmering red hoop of his power wrapped around Kal’s arms and chest, rendering him motionless. Kal grunted and dropped his head to his chest. He didn’t fight Mrak Delar’s control and Semargl let him go.

  “Great Salamander, I’m sorry. I know that I have no right to control you, but I had to do it,” said Mrak Delar. He waved his hand, muttering a spell and closed the portal to the Dark Nav. “Be patient. We’re all here to help.”

  “You can release me, Mrak,” whispered Kal. He lifted his head. A single tear, a drop of liquid fire, escaped his flaming eyes.

  Mrak Delar hesitated for a moment, but then let go of his power and the shimmering red hoop slowly dissipated. Kal sighed and almost dropped to the ground, leaning his back against the stone.

  “You have no idea what they’re doing to him,” he said, his voice dead and hollow.

  “I know, Kalidus. Your young Salamander is in a lot of pain,” said Semargl. “I can feel his suffering. But there is nothing you or I can do to help him. It is up to the Grim Horseman and Veles to save him now.”

  Kal shook his head, a cold smirk on his face. “It’s not only the physical pain that he is tortured with. This particular torture also brings forth all the painful memories and experiences, even those that he went through as a child
and doesn’t recall now… And I know that, because centuries ago, Morgan La Fey put me through the exact same torture.”

  Chapter 19

  ~ Zane Burns, a.k.a. Gunz ~

  The sensation of teleportation made his stomach churn. The nausea was magnified tenfold by the nagging pain and non-stop flashbacks that were playing in his mind. Gunz grunted and swallowed, suppressing the nausea. Luckily, it passed quick. A split-second later, he felt something hard and steady under his back. Then Angel’s hands grabbed his shoulders, gently trying to lift him up. He wanted to tell Angel to leave him alone, but he couldn’t put the words together.

  “Do you have the Fire here?”

  Gunz heard Angel’s question and shook his head. There was no fire in the Dark Nav.

  “Any Fire? Elemental or Fire magic?” Angel asked again. He obviously didn’t see him shaking his head no.

  “There are no elemental powers in the Dark Nav,” replied Chernobog. Gunz shuddered at the sound of his voice.

  “He needs to revert into the natural state of the Fire Salamander. This is the only way he can heal his body and clear his mind from the effects of the torture your wife put him through.” Angel’s voice sounded angry, almost like a growl.

  Angel, didn’t you hear anything? There is no Fire here.

  “I’m sorry, Grim Horseman.” Chernobog sounded awkward, even remorseful. “You will have to take him to the Yav. That’s the only way.”

  “That’s not true, brother.”

  Gunz recognized the voice of the other man that came with Angel. By now his face was so swollen that he couldn’t open his eyes all the way. He cracked his eyelids open as much as he could and tried to focus his blurred vision. He could see the fuzzy silhouette of a giant man standing next to Chernobog, but he couldn’t make out his features.

  “I surely don’t understand what you mean, Veles,” said Chernobog dryly.