The Fire Within

by Nicholas Clausen

  What did they say about it? Hayden asked, not meaning to ignore Draek but he wanted to make sure.

  They said they remember the last time they made this trip. They know how far it is. Hayden listened to Draek and realized that the last time the dwarves made this trip they were marching to save Bureg.

  They had stopped and waited for more of their clan to arrive and when they had thought they had enough dwarves they had made the slow march south. Durgen had said it had taken longer to convince his people to march after the death of his brother then it had when he was still alive.

  Some had thought that since Bureg was dead, there was no need to march south. This time they were moving faster, with fewer people but they were of one voice. They had one purpose and win or lose; they were going to fight to the end.

  Hayden was still having a hard time coming to grips with the end of the war. All the planning and secrecy had finally brought them to Celestial City, or a day’s flight away at least.

  He didn’t know where Cass was, or Shane for that matter. He hoped the Bone Thieves had made it to Kirin and together they were waiting for Hayden and the few dwarves that he was bringing with them.

  We will make it. Draek reassured Hayden. He knew his rider’s thoughts and knew that Hayden could get lost in them.

  If we don’t? Hayden asked. It was a question that had burned in his mind ever since they had separated from Kirin and began their journey to the Frost Fangs.

  If we don’t then we would have either already won or lost. Draek answered. If we won then great, we won.

  And if we have lost? Hayden asked.

  We fight anyways, we fight hard. Draek said. Hayden knew that he was now putting his sword in with the dwarves. Win or lose there was no other option for them either.

  Durgen and Bjorn flew back to where Draek was and tried to fly beside them close enough so that Durgen could shout to Hayden.

  “We are making good time.” The King shouted.

  “We are, your people are faster than any of the other races.” Hayden had to admit. He remembered how laboring it had been to get the Frost Fangs to even pack to move.

  “We fight better too,” Durgen said with a laugh. Bjorn roared, and Hayden couldn’t help but laugh as well. The sun was warm, and the breeze was fair, it was a perfect day.

  “My king!” A shout rang out from one of the other riders. Durgen and Hayden both looked at the rider that was flying over to them and saw that he was pointing out over the Starlight Plains.

  They followed his gaze and saw a few shapes moving in the sky and knew that they could only be dragons.

  “We will get our taste of battle early!” Durgen shouted as he turned Bjorn towards the dragons off in the distance. Hayden saw the madness that was in the king’s eyes, and it reminded him of the look in the Utahnen’s eyes. It unnerved him.

  The dragons roared, and together the entire group turned slightly and began heading to the new target. Hayden wanted to protest, but this was what they were here for, fighting the Metallic Nation.

  If they could stop a group of Metallic Dragon from reinforcing Celestial City, what did Hayden have to complain about?

  “It’s time you see what we can do Hayden,” Durgen shouted, and Bjorn took off with a burst of speed as if they had been flying in one spot. Draek had to fight to catch up to the red dragons that were racing to battle, but they were still a reasonable distance back.

  Hayden could feel Draek prepare for the fight that was about to happen. They fell upon the Metallic Riders as they tried to flee. They must have seen or heard them coming but the red dragons were going too fast, and they quickly overtook them.

  Durgen and Bjorn took out one of the three dragons while the other two fell to the small horde of red dragons. The Utahnen were catching up to them after the short fight was over.

  “They tried to flee from us, just as the rest of their kind shall!” One of the dwarves shouted to the delight of her people. Durgen and Hayden were the only two not celebrating. Bjorn landed next to the stone dragons that were shattered in large, gray chunks on the ground.

  Draek did the same, and soon Hayden and Durgen were walking around the stone remains.

  “What’s the matter?” Hayden asked. He saw that the King had lost his fire almost as soon as they had reached the riders.

  “I wasn’t expecting this.” He said as he pulled on his beard. His grizzled, callused hand seemed to work on its own.

  “You weren’t expecting them to run?” Hayden asked. “Look how quickly we attacked them, they had no choice,” Hayden said.

  “They ran because they are children. They have not seen battle yet, and they didn’t know what to do.” Durgen spit on the ground when he finished speaking.

  Hayden looked over the stone pieces and saw just how small the dragons had been. They were three coppers, but they were all almost half the size of Draek.

  They probably weren’t even a year old yet. Hayden didn’t have to find the bodies of the riders to know that they were teenagers as well.

  “This must have been the group of first years,” Hayden explained. “They were probably training for their first flight away from the city so no one would see them.” Hayden understood now why Durgen felt the way he did.

  “I do not like this.” The dwarf King said. He put his hands on his hips and looked around him like he wanted to put the pieces back together and somehow bring them back.

  “I don’t either, but they chose to hatch dragons, just as we did,” Hayden said. He hated that they hadn’t been able to spend more time with their dragons before they had met their end, but Hayden and Draek only had a year more than they did.

  “Do you feel bad for killing your own kind?” Durgen asked. It was a question Hayden had not thought about.

  “To be honest, I don’t like killing at all,” Hayden said. “But I don’t think of humans as my kind. We are all people of Arvain. We look similar enough, we all need to eat, sleep, and drink. Do we not?” Hayden asked.

  Durgen nodded his head but never looked away from the evidence of their fury.

  “Then all those that inhabit Arvain are my kind. You are my kind, as are the elves and even the Bone Thieves.” Hayden said.

  “Ha,” Durgen said with a short, abrupt laugh.

  “You don’t think of me as one of you?” Hayden asked.

  “It’s not that. I don’t think of you as one of the Bone Thieves. I am not sure what those monsters are.” Durgen said.

  “You will get to meet them soon enough. Kne should be at Celestial City with the others.” Hayden walked back over to Draek and quickly got back in the saddle.

  “Now that I think about it though,” Hayden said, pausing what he was doing for a moment as a thought passed through his mind like a breeze. Draek picked up on what he was thinking and quickly began looking around them.

  “What is it?” Durgen asked.

  “When the Metallic Nation picks its new riders for the year, they pick four. Or at least they had every year until Draek here hatched.” Hayden said.

  “There are only three here.” Durgen finished Hayden’s thought and grasped what he was thinking. There might be a fourth rider that knows the dwarves are coming to help fight at Celestial City.

  Durgen jumped on Bjorn’s back, and the red dragon threw itself into the air before he was fully seated.

  “There might be another rider, fan out and find them!” He shouted to the red dragons that had been circling overhead like birds waiting to eat a dead deer on the side of the path.

  The red dragons answered his commands without hesitation and quickly broke out into every direction. Hayden and Draek joined them in their search.

  There was no sign of the fourth dragon or any other dragons.

  “Durgen, we have to get going again.” Hayden pleaded with the King as they flew across the open fields with no sign of life.

  Half the day had passed, and they were wasting time, precious time.

  “Are you sure there sho
uld be a fourth rider?” Durgen asked.

  “There should be but if there was a fourth rider they would be fleeing to Celestial City, the same way we need to be going,” Hayden explained.

  “You are right,” Durgen said. He had Bjorn quickly call the other dragons back so they could regroup.

  Soon the dragons were flying, and the Utahnen were running, and the leagues were melting away. Hayden and Draek tried to talk, but everything seemed silly.

  It felt odd to talk about hunting, or how Draek’s tail was healing when they were heading for a fight. They finally decided to fly in silence.

  Hayden felt his mind begin to wander back to Shane. He was worried about Cass, but he had no idea where she was or what she was doing.

  Shane was in Celestial City either dead or about to have to face Hayden and Draek. Draek wanted Hayden to think of something else, but they both knew they wouldn’t be able to help it. Draek missed his friends just as much as Hayden did and he did not want to fight Rilora anymore than Hayden wanted to fight Shane.

  ~

  Hayden sat around a small, crackling fire while the dragons were off hunting. Draek and the red dragons were out somewhere in the fields looking for any food they could find.

  Hayden had asked the dwarves to make sure the dragons did not eat horses or cattle that might have belonged to someone, but no one made that promise.

  Even Draek wouldn’t be held to Hayden’s wish.

  I am hungry, and I must eat, I care not where the food comes from. He said when Hayden complained about them feeding on a farmer’s cattle.

  “I know you don’t care but that farmer will.” Hayden tried to explain. Arguing with a hungry dragon was something he had yet to master.

  They should be honored that their cattle went to a dragon. Draek said.

  “Not everyone looks up to dragons the way I do.” Hayden had told his silver friend.

  Everyone looks up to dragons. Draek replied before flying off in search of food.

  Now Hayden was sitting by himself, waiting for his dragon to return to him. His saddle and all his gear were laid out around him.

  He would typically spend this time cleaning his armor or tending to his blade, but his armor was in perfect working order, and he could not touch his sword.

  All he could do was sit and wait. The dwarves had made a large bonfire, they had chopped down several full-grown trees and had used their dragons to stack the trees onto each other and catch them on fire.

  Hayden had made his temporary camp away from the dwarves, and he was glad he had because once the fire got going, and the dragons left to go hunt. The dwarves began wrestling and partying. This was a giant celebration for them, and Hayden did not feel like celebrating.

  “You look defeated,” Durgen said as he walked up and sat next to Hayden on the ground. The king, like the other dwarves, had taken off his armor for the night.

  “I am fine, I just don’t feel like celebrating,” Hayden said. He was still nervous for the upcoming day, but there were too many worries in his mind to be thinking about having fun.

  “I understand,” Durgen said. He groaned as he stretched out his legs and rubbed his knee.

  “And yet you celebrate?” Hayden asked.

  “I understand, but I don’t agree,” Durgen answered.

  “A few things are certain. We will fly to Celestial City tomorrow. We will either fight tomorrow night when we arrive, or we will fight in the coming days.” Durgen watched as his people cheered and shouted at each other.

  Hayden wasn’t sure if he was smiling underneath the beard, but he thought he was. The firelight flickered and reflected off his dark, sunken eyes. The King looked old and tired in that moment.

  “Nothing else is certain, and if we sit here sulking, those things will still happen. If we celebrate, those things will still happen as well.” Durgen stood up. “So we might as well have fun while we can.”

  The King nodded for Hayden to join him and together they moved over to the fire.

  “Hayden just told me he was stronger than any dwarf,” Durgen shouted as they neared the group of dwarves that had just finished wrestling.

  “What?” Hayden asked. It was the only thing he could say before the dwarf that had just won the previous wrestling match slammed Hayden to the ground.

  Hayden squirmed and wiggled his way out of the choke hold the dwarf was trying to put him in. It was like fighting a stone, a hairy stone.

  Hayden was able to lock eyes with Durgen for a split second, and the King was smiling and laughing. Hayden wanted to be mad, but he found himself smiling back as he flipped the dwarf over on his back.

  Over the next few hours they fought, they sang songs that Hayden had never heard, and they lived.

  He learned about those that were joining them in their fight, and they learned about him.

  Draek returned with the red dragons, and they sat around while the dwarves and Hayden celebrated. The night finally took its toll, and they turned in for sleep.

  Hayden looked up at the night sky, the very reason the Starlight Plains were named. He remembered the first night Fendrel, and he had looked up at the sky, and he had seen the trail of fire made by a dragon.

  “In the morning,” Hayden whispered, echoing the words of a friend.

  Chapter Twelve

  “We will be there sooner than I thought,” Durgen said. They had been flying most of the day and were stopping for a quick rest. The wind had blown in their favor, and the land was flat and easily traveled by the Utahnen.

  “Sooner? How much sooner?” Hayden asked. He didn’t intend to sound as nervous as he did, but he couldn’t help it. No one seemed to judge him as they all had a somber look on their face. They were nearing a fight, and it was expected to be a little off.

  “We should reach the city a few hours before nightfall,” Durgen said. He didn’t use a map, but somehow, he assured them he knew where they were.

  “A few hours.” One of the dwarves said. “We could be fighting tonight.” The dwarf shouted. She raised her ax, but no one joined her.

  “It is time,” Hayden said. Durgen nodded at his words.

  “That it is,” Durgen replied. “Everyone needs to have their armor on and weapons ready. When we stop next, it will be at Celestial City, and it will be for retribution.” Durgen said somberly. The dwarves nodded their heads and spread out to prepare for the last part of the journey.

  Here we go. Hayden said. He moved over to Draek and made sure his arrows were within reach of where he was going to be sitting. He strung his bow and made his final checks.

  Draek did not respond, but he could feel the shudders through Draek’s body at the anticipation for what was about to happen. His muscles flexed and loosened, and his claws dug trenches in the ground.

  Hayden put on his dragon helmet, tightened the chin straps and climbed onto Draek’s back. Let us be on time. Hayden thought. With no more words left to be spoken, the dwarves and red dragons took to the sky, and the Utahnen began running.

  ~

  Hayden sat on Draek’s back and tightened the straps on his gauntlets. He didn’t know what to do so he kept tightening and untightening the small leather straps that help his armor on.

  Hayden. Draek said with regret filling his ordinarily booming voice. It was the first time they had spoken in some time. They had resorted to flying in silence instead of repeating the same few questions over again.

  Hm? Hayden thought. He was tightening the last strap and flexed his hand to make sure the armor wasn’t too tight. The silver scales clicked together as he made a fist.

  Hayden. Draek repeated.

  What is it? Hayden asked.

  We are here. Draek said.

  Hayden’s head shot up, and his eyes fell on the shining point that was on the horizon. He could just make out the tip of the Metallic Pyramid, but there was no mistaking what it was. It was a beacon on the landscape for all those who fell under its rule and protection.

  It left nothing to
guess what they were looking at, Celestial City lay before them, and they had finally arrived to join the fight.

  Draek roared, just loud enough to get everyone’s attention, in the off chance that anyone hadn’t seen the sign of their enemy. Durgen and Bjorn flew over to them to see what was wrong. Hayden pointed ahead, and Draek told Bjorn what he was seeing.

  Durgen’s head slowly turned forward, and Hayden saw the King nod. They flew off, and Hayden was sure that they were telling the other dragons what was going on. Hayden felt his hand tighten around his bow as the land beneath them gave away to the massive farming fields that surrounded the city.

  One of the red dragons flew down to where the Utahnen were running beneath them. Hayden saw the lead dwarf shout and hold up his right hand above his head, making a fist in the air.

  The Utahnen had run freely up until that point, taking whichever path they wanted to and spreading out across the open fields. At the dwarf’s sign, they tightened up their ranks and came together. Hayden looked behind him and saw the dirt path the Utahnen were leaving.

  They couldn’t clearly see what was happening around Celestial City, but they needed to be ready for anything.

  Time seemed to slow, and the last few leagues felt like they were creeping by.

  The Metallic Pyramid didn’t look any closer than it had before, but Hayden knew they hadn’t slowed down. He was just somewhere between nervous, excited, and afraid.

  I can see a few dragons flying around. Draek said. His voice was back to calm and strong. It didn’t betray the storm of emotions he was feeling.

  Can you tell me what kind they are? Hayden asked.

  He was afraid of the answer, and when Draek remained silent for a few moments, he knew the answer. They are metallic, aren’t they? Hayden asked.

  That doesn’t mean anything. Draek said. Fear gripped Hayden in a way that it had never done before. Hayden knew that they might be patrolling over their city, or the battle could be over, and Kirin had lost.

  Can they see us? Hayden asked. He knew Draek wouldn’t know the answer for sure.