Burned

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  Idris finally ripped off the lock with some kind of spell. Maybe he was only half Dark One but that didn’t mean his magic wasn’t strong enough. Seconds later, Avianna flew out of the cage, batting her small wings and spreading fire everywhere. Her bright golden eyes were shimmering in the darkens.

  “It’s good to see you too, girl, but I think we have company. There’s a dragon in there, farther away.”

  Chapter Nineteen.

  The easier way.

  We hadn’t even walked that far. Maybe Avianna was wrong. The tunnel was enormous, so it was possible that a real fully-grown dragon could fit in here. I decided to walk ahead, with Idris behind me. No one ever mentioned a dragon, but this made sense. The Dark Ones must have stationed the beast here to guard the passage.

  I stopped and turned around, facing Idris.

  “Avianna is saying that there’s dragon ahead, a real one,” I whispered. It was difficult to read Idris’s expression in the darkness, but I imagined he wasn’t expecting to hear that.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you became a Dark One? That idiot, Baxley, was trying to spellbind me, but he couldn’t. We didn’t have a connection,” the baby dragon complained.

  “The warlock’s spell messed with our bond. You should have known that I was coming for you, my dear. I wouldn’t have left you alone,” I replied. “But right now, we have more important things to worry about. The dragon. Can you make a connection with him, tell him to let us pass or something?”

  Before I could say another word, a large roar spread throughout the tunnel and the ground trembled beneath our feet. Idris grabbed my arm and this time around he must have really believed me.

  “We need to get back to the prison. Who knows what the beast could do to us? This is too dangerous, Francesca!”

  “Since when did he become such a boy? I thought he was a man. This dragon has been living in slavery for years and he is not happy. He will let us pass, just trust me,” Avianna assured me.

  “Don’t be silly. We can’t go back now. Avianna is saying that it’ll be okay. Besides, I’m getting Nicolas out of Dimond city whether you like it or not,” I said, more firmly and started marching towards the tunnel following Avianna. The air around us had this metallic scent, and my energy was already boiling inside me.

  I could sense the dragon ahead, and it was probably enormous. I wanted to see him for myself. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, before my own dragon would grow up.

  “Do you feel it? The electricity is crawling all around us, the magic is alive. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Idris said, barely above a whisper. I knew what he was talking about. I felt foreign magic in my bones. Then in the distance, we could see the beast. This dragon that wasn’t supposed to exist. It laid in the tunnel, breathing hard and staring at us. He had giant red eyes that were shimmering in the darkness.

  I thought this dragon had most likely never experienced real freedom in its life. The thought alone made me sad and angry at the same time. The beast didn’t belong in here and the Dark Ones were feeding off of his magic. When he flew over the prison, it was most likely the only time when he could be free.

  “Should we keep moving? I mean, is he sensing us?” I asked Avianna.

  “He’s asking me what I am and how I can fly so freely without chains. The Dark Ones have had him since he was in his egg, before he hatched out,” she replied.

  My heart pounded deeply in my chest and we kept moving really slowly. Now we were only a meter away from the beast’s huge front claws. His energy was empowering, and it instantly made me stronger. I’d never felt better in my entire life.

  “Keep talking to him. We need to pass safely, Avianna. ’Nicolas’s life depends on it,” I told her, thinking that someone at some point needed to free this beast.

  I felt sorry for him. The Dark Ones used him for their own benefit and I hated them for it. The warlock’s spell must have faded away completely, and I felt like myself again.

  “He doesn’t like Idris. He wants me to free him? What do I tell him, Fran?” Avianana asked me.

  “Just tell him that we’ll try to free him later on, but we don’t have enough magic right now to fight all the Dark Ones. Tell him that we’re going to Draconia to change the fate for all of the dragons.”

  The dragon was breathing hard, and now we are almost half way through. I couldn’t hear what else Avianna was telling him. My connection was obviously only with her; besides, this dragon didn’t have a host. He had been in slavery all of his life. She was flying very close to him, but his red eyes were focused on me.

  “He doesn’t want to believe you. The Dark Ones have been treating him badly,” she said. “But he says that he will let us all pass, because he’s impressed by your magic. If you promise to get him out of here soon enough, he won’t do us any harm.”

  I didn’t know how to respond but I knew that I had to return here at some point. Idris kept squeezing my arm a little like he was trying to keep me safe. He was staring at the beast with his eyes wide open, like he didn’t believe the dragon was really there.

  The beast growled loudly, and a strong wind ruffled my hair. He tried to lift himself up, but there was not much room in the tunnel. I shut my eyes and told myself that everything was under control. The dragon was on our side, and he promised not to harm us. Now I was positive the Dark Ones were responsible for the deaths of so many wardens. The Dragon Fever was spreading faster and there was still no cure, well, at least not according to the council.

  They kept telling us that we were the weakest link, that we were born without magical abilities.

  “Keep walking, little one. I will be waiting for your return. The half Dark One here isn’t like others. He has a kind heart,” a voice in my head spoke and my heart stopped.

  It was the dragon. He was speaking directly to me and I thought that wasn’t possible. I swallowed hard and made a cross over my heart.

  “I will come back, and I will free you,” I assured him.

  I grabbed Idris’s arm and we moved past the dragon.

  “What the hell was that all about? I can’t believe he let us pass.” Idris said, once we were several meters further in the tunnel. Someone with a huge amount of magic must have created this passage. I suspected that it was a warlock or maybe several fairies who were hired by the council.

  “I have to come back at some point and free him, this was my promise to him,” I said. Idris started asking me why the hell I promised him something like that. He told me there was no way I could ever go back to this tunnel, especially after the Dark Ones figured out what happened upstairs, but I didn’t want to listen to him. We argued for a little bit until Avianna started hissing, flying around us.

  After half an hour, the tunnel finally ended, and we walked down through a small passage. It took us a long moment to realise that we were under an old bridge. In the moonlight, I recognised the narrow street that in the past had led me all the way to the main square in the city. Blood rushed to my ears as magic started flowing through my system. I was home, finally, after so many empty days—I was back.

  The city was under the Dark Ones control, so we had to be very careful. It was night time there and I suspected it was would be difficult to find a decent place to sleep. We couldn’t head straight to the Dimond city. We needed to rest, and I was bloody starving. No one was looking for us yet, unless Baxley had woken up from his magical coma.

  “You shouldn’t have come with me. Now everyone will figure out that you’ve been helping me,” I told Idris when I could finally think straight. He was still furious with me about the dragon, but I believed it was my duty to return to the beast at some point.

  “It will take days for Zuzanna to track down Baxley. Don’t worry about me, little one,” Idris told me. “We’re in the city now. I can sense the magic. It’s thriving.”

  “Yes, but what are we going to do now? I don’t think I can get back into my old shitty apartment. My landlord probably rented it out to s
omeone else,” I said, and my stomach rolled in unease. Even if that place was still available, I couldn’t imagine bringing Idris there.

  “There is a place for Dark Ones, some sort of hotel, but I have a much better idea,” Idris said, and his face brightened up. Seconds later Avianna landed on his arm and he nearly jumped. I was certain he wasn’t expecting her to suddenly be so affectionate.

  “I’m hungry, Fran, and I’m not going back into that cage.”

  “You have to. We can’t bring too much attention to ourselves. We’re walking straight back into the Dark Ones territory,” I told her.

  I felt nervous about being in the city, nervous about seeing my streets and revisiting the same ugly memories. Dara’s death broke me to pieces, and now I felt like I was relieving that moment all over again.

  We walked for another hour and a half, passing several wardens on the way until we went around the square. I never believed that there was a passage between Draconia and Sepulcrum. Apparently, it truly did exist, and we’d just crossed it.

  “The council building is in the centre of Draconia. There’s another tunnel that could take us directly to Dimond city,” I said, thinking about my escape from the vampire and the time when I saw the crack with the passage for the first time in my life.

  “I have a family member who lives in Draconia. She could take us in for a night. She hates my father, so that’s always a plus,” Idris said, unexpectedly.

  I was shocked, but I agreed instantly. It took me a little bit to convince Avianna, but she eventually got into the cage. I placed a small blanket over it, just to make sure no one noticed her golden eyes. There were plenty of people in the city who transported animals in the cages like that, plus it was late. Wardens typically didn’t like hanging around the market square after dark.

  “You’ve never been here, so how do you know your relative still lives here?” I asked.

  “My father has been talking about his sister for years. She’s under house arrest and has been for some time. It’s a red house somewhere by the square. I doubt we would be able to miss it,” he said, so I followed him.

  The city seemed empty, but I knew the Dark Ones were always watching. We were ahead of Baxley, but we needed to rest. I noticed many stores were closed; the places where I used to hang out since I was a little girl. Being back here was making me feel nostalgic—the roads, the steam bikes parked around the corners and, of course, magic.

  “Are we in Draconia? I mean, come on. You have to let me out of this damn cage some time. You’ve been thinking about your home for so long. This isn’t fair,” Avianna was telling me.

  “We’re attracting too much attention to ourselves as it is,” I hissed, using my internal voice.

  “I’m not sure, Idris. She’s another member of your family. How do you know we can trust her?”

  “She’s against the order, and she truly hates my father. That’s a good enough reason. Do you have any other ideas? You may know the city, but you said yourself; we have nowhere else to go.”

  He was right, so we kept walking. In the distance, and just around an obscure corner, I saw several Dark Ones. They were talking to some wardens. Idris must have sensed them, because he told me to wait in a dark alley until the streets were clear. Finally, after ten minutes, we spotted the red house.

  In the past, I must have passed this house at least ten times a day, but not once had I paid any attention to it. There was a dozen of wealthy houses in this part of Draconia, and I robbed a lot of them of their precious possessions.

  “We need to hurry up. Those nosy bastards saw us. Get inside, Idris!” I hissed at him while he was staring at the brown door, waiting for something. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement and panicked.

  Fortunately, the doors weren’t locked, and we found ourselves on a large enclosed porch. I followed Idris inside and then he started banging on the door to the house. My heart was pounding deeply in the chest, because I had a feeling the Dark Ones had spotted us.

  A minute later, the light came on and we could hear someone walking downstairs. Another minute or so, whoever was on the other side, unlocked the door. I saw a woman’s face, and I assumed she was most likely Idris’s aunt. She was tall, lean and a bit older than I expected. She couldn’t be a Dark One. Either that, or her aura was very misleading, but she wasn’t a warden either. She was dark haired with dark brows and wore crimson red lipstick.

  “Idris? Is that really you?” she asked, sounding surprised. She glanced behind him and moved her eyes up and down my body.

  “Yes, we’re seeking shelter, Aunt Rhian. The Dark Ones are after us. We came all the way from Sepulcrum,” Idris explained.

  His aunt opened the door, inviting us in. She must have noticed that I kept looking behind me anxiously.

  “No one is allowed to enter my home. Those scumbags know that I’m protected,” she said, proudly.

  She led us inside an enormous living room filled with antiques and the most amazing collection of swords I’d ever seen. I didn’t know where to even look; the entire space was thriving with energy. The walls were red and purple. The intense colours were hurting my eyes.

  “I finally get a chance to meet you, Idris, and I see you’re with a warden. You have to tell me everything, but I want to hear more about your foolish father. I hope you came to tell me that he’s dead,” his aunt said, sitting down on the enormous sofa. The room smelled of roses. I was a little shocked that she was so forward. She really must have hated Magnus with a passion.

  “No, he’s alive and well,” Idris responded, and his aunt looked disappointed. She glanced at the cage and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

  “A dragon, a real baby dragon … hmm. Now everything is making prefect sense. Get yourself comfortable, hon. I’d love to hear how you made my little brother completely miserable,” she said, sounding amused.

  It was going to be a long story. I glanced at Idris and then started talking, knowing I finally had someone who was on my side.

  Chapter Twenty.

  Unexpected twist.

  I didn’t know why I had to start from the very beginning, but the words poured out of my mouth. It was like I was done hiding the truth about Dara and my other life back in the city. Idris was pacing around, looking a little shocked when I mentioned how I used to survive on the streets. I had never told him anything specific about my life back in Draconia. Maybe I was little ashamed of my life before.

  Avianna was finally let out of the cage and was sitting on my arm. Rhian didn’t look shocked seeing her, and I trusted her not to burn the whole house down. Rhian must have seen a dragon before; it was the only explanation I could think of. When I finally finished my whole story, it was very late. Unnerving silence stretched for some time. Idris looked moved, and I was attempting to hold back my tears.

  “Calm down, Idris. the Dark Ones aren’t allowed to cross the threshold of my home,” Rhian said, sounding annoyed when he looked out the window for the fourth time. She masked her age extremely well with immaculate make up and curly long hair.

  “Why is that?”

  “I’m under house arrest and have been for a few years now,” she said and I nodded. Deep inside I really wanted to know her story, too, but I didn’t want to ask her about it just yet. Idris scratched his jaw, looking uncomfortable.

  “And why is that? Is this my father’s doing?” he asked.

  “Something like that. I tried to smuggle some dragon eggs out through the cracks. It was a huge scandal and your father locked me up in here. In a way he wanted to avoid the shame that I’d apparently brought on the whole family,” Rhian said, glancing down at her nails, then at Avianna. “For Qesborth. You two must be exhausted. Relax, Idris and I’ll ask Catherine to make you something to eat.”

  I glanced at Idris who looked as confused as I was. Avianna was sitting in a fruit bowl, munching on some apples. My stomach was growling.

  “She was trying to smuggle eggs out of Draconia?” I hissed, won
dering why Idris had never mentioned her before. This was a huge deal.

  “My father despises her because of it. Apparently, she had never been interested in embracing her true nature. We should stay here for the night, then in the morning we can figure out our plan.”

  “Nicolas is in Dimond city. We could get there through the tunnels, but I think your aunt might have another idea,” I said, resting my head on the edge of the sofa. It had been a long day and my hands were dirty.

  His aunt was living in luxury while many wardens were starving on the streets. It was a high price to pay and I thought that I’d rather be free than locked up in this enormous house all alone.

  Moments later, another warden walked in. She was older than Rhian, with white hair, wearing the uniform of a maid. She had kind silver eyes, carrying a tray filled with food.

  “Eat, eat. I know you two are probably starving. Catherine will prepare your rooms. It’s very late, but it was such a great surprise. I have to tell you, I’ve been dying of boredom locked away in here. It’s a good thing you showed up,” Rhian said with a smile.

  I wasn’t really listening to her anymore. I started shoving bits of chicken into my mouth. Idris joined me, and we soon forgot about having any kind of table manners. Everything tasted delicious and after some time, even Avianna was picking at leftover chicken bones.

  The lights started flickering, and I expected the power to cut out soon. This was common in the city, but at least in here I could feel the magic in my core. The city still depended on it and this was liberating, because I had Avianna. She could connect all the missing links in my body. The wardens sensed it, too, even if they didn’t have access to it.