by Jack Knight
As the fire rushed out of him, it clung to everything it touched. It started melting and burning the leather armor on everyone around Xion. It melted their skin and burned their flesh so quickly that the smell hit Xion before he could even take a breath. By the time Xion could no longer push out any more fire, almost the entire army around them had been set ablaze.
As soon as the fire stopped, Xion’s body sagged. Sapphire caught him before he hit the ground, and Ava and Xara lunged outward to fight the few members of The Hand that were not rolling on the ground and screaming or running away in terror.
“Over to the portal,” Venitia commanded.
Xion grabbed Sapphire’s shoulder and leaned on her for support and walked as quickly as he could after Venitia. Ava’s mother jumped and flapped her wings once, which propelled her a dozen yards to the portal of shimmering air.
Feeling like he was already useless, Xion hobbled over to where Venitia had landed and waited for them. Xara and Ava beat them to the portal, and Warren jogged over just as Xion and Sapphire reached it.
“Sorry, am I late? I tripped on a dead guy, it was gross,” Warren apologized, trying to wipe blood off of his shirt.
Ava glared at him, and then looked to her mother. “How do we close air?” she asked.
Venitia smiled at her and then walked into the shimmering air. As soon as she touched it, the shimmering air expanded outward. It became a window in the air. Through it, Xion could see a clear area of red rock ground, and a sky of absolute darkness with no sun and no stars. The entire area was lit only by giant bonfires that burned randomly on the rock. They did not look like they were burning up wood, they appeared to just come out of the ground. The air that came through the portal was as hot as the fire Xion had just breathed on all of the members of The Hand, and smelled like the demon that Xion had stabbed, rotting eggs and decaying flesh.
The second that Venitia passed through it, the portal solidified into a tall oval, six feet high and three feet wide. Warren walked beside the portal and laughed.
“Gods! Guys, this thing just doesn’t exist! If you look at it from the side it just isn’t there,” he said in amazement. He did a complete circle around the portal.
Ava grabbed him to stop him from examining the portal any longer. “I swear, I will kill you,” she growled. With the blood of her enemies smeared across her face, she looked even more fierce than usual.
Warren chuckled nervously. “Right, yeah, sorry. I’m done.”
“That’s great, but we have a tiny little problem,” Xara said. She was trying to sound calm, but her voice shook with fear.
Xion looked at her with confusion, and then followed her gaze into the portal and saw what was scaring her. He cursed and steeled himself enough to stand on his own. He was weak and tired, but he forced his body to obey him as he leapt through the portal and summoned every ounce of strength he had left to lift his sword.
Xion had thought that the air coming through the portal had been hot, but it was nothing compared to the air on the other side. He started sweating immediately after he crossed through. The air felt thicker, like he was trying to move through water, instead of open air.
“What are you doing?” Venitia yelled in surprise. Xion nodded in the direction that he was looking, and Venitia followed his gaze and cursed.
In the distance was an approaching horde of demons, just like the one that Xion had killed in the forest. Most of them were running across the ground, and moving incredibly fast, others were flying through the air above. Xion tried counting how many of them were coming, but at such a distance they blurred together. They all had the same scales, all the same color, and Xion kept losing count in the high fifties.
“Close the portal, now!” Venitia insisted. She grabbed Xion and tried to shove him back through.
As weak as Xion was, he fought against her, trying to stay on the same side. “No! If we shut you in now, they’ll kill you as soon as the portal is closed!”
She looked him directly in the eyes and growled in a voice that sounded identical to Ava’s angry tone. “And, if you don’t close it, they will kill every human in Ustama.”
Xion glanced back at the approaching horde, and then sheathed his sword. “Then tell me how to close it.”
Venitia sighed, but did not argue. She shouted to the others, “Grab the edge of the portal and push it closed, when the sides touch it will seal.”
“Get Xion back over here first!” Sapphire shouted desperately. She looked like she wanted to jump in herself, but she could not get any closer to the portal.
Warren tried to rush the portal and cursed in surprise. “I can’t get any closer, it’s too hot!”
Xion understood. Venitia was half demon, he was half dragon, they were both immune to fire. It was not the actual fire of the Hells that was the problem, it was that the air itself was too hot, it was fire. Warren and Sapphire could not even get close enough to close the portal.
“You’re all idiots,” Ava growled as she rushed into the portal. “Get him through!” she yelled as she grabbed onto one side of the portal.
“Avalon, don’t you dare!” Venitia screamed at her.
Xara rushed through the portal next, turned around, and kicked Venitia through to the other side. “You already did your time, close it from that side.”
“No!” Xion yelled in terror. “You guys can’t! Venitia already said she would…”
“Shut up,” Ava interrupted. She waved her hand and it felt like Xion had been slammed into by someone three times his size.
Xion was lifted off his feet and tossed through the portal. He dropped the sword the second he was hit. When he crashed into the ground, the fire inside him died. He looked up at the portal in terror as Venitia grabbed both sides from the side he was on, and Ava and Xara grabbed one side each on the other. They all heaved, and the portal started moving, like a giant eye blinking closed.
A giant black shape flew over his head and into the portal. Just before it closed, the last thing Xion saw was that horde of demons coming closer, Ava and Xara straining to push it closed, Tenebris turning to look directly at him, and Venitia bringing her hands together.
“I’m going to get you both out!” Venitia called with a strained voice.
“Whatever you say, Mother,” Ava laughed.
The portal shut, and there was no sign that it had ever been there. The air did not shimmer, the smell of rotting eggs was gone, the heat dissipated in less than a second. The only sounds were Venitia panting, and the bodies of The Hand crackling with the flames that were still eating away at them a few yards away.
Xion felt like something strong was clenching his heart. His throat was tight, and he could feel tears trickling down his face. They had shut the portal, they had saved the humans, and the world was not going to be overrun with demons.
Instead, Ava and Xara were trapped in the Five Hells. The worst part was that Xion knew that Draxis had been right. He did not care what the dragon was doing. He did not care about the vampires or werewolves. He did not care who the dark ones in the prophecy were. All he cared about was that he could not rest until he got Ava back.
Chapter 20: Direction
The next few weeks were filled with a darkness that clung to Xion’s every waking thought. He and Warren spent every available minute in the library of Evergreen reading every book that they could find that had anything to do with demons or the Five Hells. Xion knew they were not likely to find anything, but they had nothing else to go on. He felt that as long as he was trying something, he was getting closer to finding a way to save Ava and Xara.
The mood was even darker because Warren was not even trying to make any jokes. He made no suggestions about flirting with the women in Evergreen, he never said any of his one liners, they sat in almost complete silence. The only spoke to ask if the other had found anything, and neither of them ever did.
Venitia left Evergreen as soon as she had gotten them all back safely. She insisted that she was go
ing to find a way to get her daughter back, and she knew there was no way she would be able to accomplish it in Evergreen. Xion had pleaded that she allow him to go with her, but she refused. Venitia insisted that she would bring Ava back, and that Xion should focus on stopping Draxis.
They had found Laira shortly after Venitia left. Xion did not have the energy, or heart, to explain to her what had happened. Sapphire took that burden for him. Xion had expected Laira to be angry with him for breaking his promise, instead she started crying. Xion was not sure she ever stopped. Any time that he saw her, when he went to sleep, or when she would come to help them in the library, her eyes were puffy and red, and she was sniffling.
Paarathax was nowhere to be found. Laira explained, a couple days after they returned, that Paarathax had brought her to Evergreen and promptly left. His only explanation was that someone needed his help, and that he would be back when he could.
Sapphire was the most productive of all of them. She visited Kronos the day after they got back, figuring that he might have some ideas as to how to travel between planes, or summon somebody from the Hells. She explained that he had been very upset that he had not been told what they were going to do, and that he insisted he would have been an asset. Xion found that hard to believe, since his only instructions as a tutor had been “practice on your own”.
Sapphire continued to work with Kronos, and she contacted Glora daily to get her help in finding a solution to their problem. Xion was glad that there were no reflective surfaces in the library, so he never had to deal with the strange way that Glora spoke to him. Occasionally, she would visit them in the library and read through books with them. It was comforting when she was nearby, but not enough to cheer Xion up.
Xion was so tormented by his own thoughts, it was all he could do to get out of bed in the morning. He would wake with the feeling that there was no hope left in the world, his limbs felt too heavy to lift, and he would just lie in his bed. He would not think, he would not try to get up, he had no motivation to do anything at all. It would take him up to an hour most days just to get himself to sit up. He explained this feeling, and the hollow, emptiness that seemed to take up every other second of the day, to Sapphire and Warren. Sapphire had just tried to comfort him, but Warren looked at him curiously, like it had given him an idea.
Later that day, Warren had pushed a book across the table. He looked more excited than he had since they had returned to Evergreen. For a second, Xion felt a glimmer of hope, until Warren spoke.
“Okay, so this won’t help with getting Xara or Ava back,” he qualified quickly. Xion felt the hope die in his chest, like his heart had withered away to dust. “But,” Warren continued, “it was a lot easier to find than I thought it would be, once you gave me the idea.”
Xion closed the book he was reading, a spell book focused entirely on conjuration magic, and pulled the book Warren was trying to show him closer. He read it briefly before asking, “Why are you reading about gods?”
“Not just gods,” Warren grinned, “this is Miseria, goddess of misery, depression, and some other less than positive things. Read here,” he commanded, pointing to a paragraph on the right side page.
“Miseria’s most feared children, the embodiments of every aspect of Miseria’s influence, Devourers,” Xion read aloud. “Okay, what about them?” he asked, not seeing the point of anything except saving Ava and Xara.
“Those creatures in the dragon watchtower, the black things that almost killed me, that’s what they were!” Warren explained. He tapped the book, “When people start to feel things that Miseria has influence over, she can create those creatures from their misery. Then, it can spread, and… I thought it was interesting,” Warren trailed off. Xion assumed that his expression was not what he had been expecting.
Xion nodded and tried to sound sincere. “It is interesting, sorry. I just need to find a way to save them,” he explained.
“I know,” Warren said sadly. “We just aren’t finding anything here, Laira isn’t really helping, and Sapphire hasn’t found anything, either. It’s entirely possible nobody’s ever tried to save someone from the Five Hells before.”
“I think I may be able to help you with that.”
Xion looked up and saw the Myst, Ari, walking toward them. She was wearing a flowing purple dress and smiling brightly. She sat down at the table with them, and Xion thought that Warren was going to burst with excitement.
“Well, hello there,” Warren winked at Ari.
“How can you help?” Xion asked, hoping that Ari, like him, would ignore Warren.
“You seek magic that is not yet known. It stands to reason that you should be asking those closest to the magic itself,” Ari answered cryptically.
“I don’t know what that means,” Xion admitted.
“I’m just so glad that you said it,” Warren said, moving his chair closer to Ari’s. “Maybe we could discuss it in length sometime.”
Ari laughed lightly. Xion could not tell if she was mocking Warren, or if she actually thought what he said was funny.
“Maybe we could, but why don’t I discuss it with the Chosen One first?” she suggested.
“Whatever you feel is best,” Warren conceded, his smile so big Xion would not have been surprised if it was hurting him.
Ari smiled at Warren for several more seconds before she looked to Xion. “The fey and the dragons are tied to the magic of nature more closely than any other beings,” she explained. “The dragons may not be willing to help you, but the fey might. I could take you to the Seelie court, and they may help you retrieve your friends.”
Xion felt hope spark within him again, and the fire inside him blazed with a small warmth. He knew that he probably was not going to find anything actually helpful in the library, and if the Myst was right, the fey were probably the only ones that could help.
“Hang on,” Warren said, his smile had faded. “Why would the fey help us?”
“Because, I would go with you. The fey love the Myst, the bridge between the two races,” Ari explained.
“And, what are you asking in return?” Xion asked. He knew it was unlikely Ari would help them out of the goodness of her heart.
Ari smiled and looked to Warren. “I would like for you to make me queen,” she said to him.
Warren’s eyes went wide, and his jaw fell open. “You… you want… you mean… um…” he stammered. He looked at Xion, his mouth opening and closing without any sound coming out. Xion had never seen Warren act like that, which made him sure he was missing something important.
“Sorry, but, how is Warren going to make you queen?” Xion asked Ari.
“He will marry me,” she answered simply.
Xion laughed in surprise. “Why Warren?” he asked, trying to stifle his own laughter. He had not laughed in weeks, it felt odd, like the feeling did not belong to him anymore.
“That’s not friendship,” Warren mumbled, his voice higher than usual.
“Warren is funny, and cute,” Ari said, smiling at Warren again. “And, it is a brave man who will fight The Hand of Dreskar to close a portal to the Five Hells, all for the good of the people of Ustama.”
“I am pretty brave, aren’t I?” Warren’s face brightened, his voice had returned to normal.
“Okay,” Xion said, not really sure that Ari was making any sense at all. “So… If Warren marries you, you’ll take us to the fey so we can get Ava and Xara back?”
“Yes,” Ari nodded.
Getting married to someone you barely knew did not sound very appealing to Xion, whatever the reward would be. He could not imagine marrying anyone at all, not until after Ava and Xara were back, and Draxis was defeated. Warren did not look like he shared Xion’s apprehension.
“Deal!” Warren said excitedly.
“Don’t you want to think about it?” Xion asked urgently.
“Nope, I’m good,” Warren answered with a laugh.
“Perfect,” Ari chuckled. “There are just two thin
gs left to discuss then.”
“Whatever it is, I’ll do it,” Warren said immediately.
Xion shook his head, not able to believe how Warren was acting. “What are they?” Xion asked.
“First, you must finish your discussion with the kings,” Ari told Xion. “If you are to become their knight, I will have a much more difficult time gaining the favor of the lords. If, however, you became my knight and gave your blessing for the marriage between your friend and myself, all of Qua’ke would rejoice. I would be made queen inside of a month of the marriage.”
Xion nodded. Ari was just trying to become queen as quickly as possible. Xion had thought she wanted to marry for love, but she barely knew Warren, it seemed difficult to imagine that she was already in love with him. He wondered if there was some other reason she would want to marry him, out of all the suitors she undoubtedly had.
Ari left shortly after that to arrange the meeting with the kings, which Xion was not looking forward to at all. Luckily, he had a few weeks to think it over. Apparently, the kings were very busy. Xion had never heard of them doing anything important, but Ari told him a few days later that the next time they had free was weeks away.
In that time, Xion gave up trying to find a solution to Ava and Xara’s plight in the library. Warren was certain that he wanted to marry Ari, and Xion had decided to place all his faith in the fey finding a solution. Sapphire was just as surprised as he was that Warren was so eager to go along with it, but neither of them were able to talk any sense into him.
All they had left to do was wait. Without any purpose, Xion spent most of his time practicing magic. He wanted to be prepared for anything that might come along, because he refused to lose another person to any of Draxis’ plans.
Careful
Aurum warned him every time he practiced too long. He would drain himself as much as he could possibly handle every day, and then stagger into his bed and collapse so that he could do it all over again.
