The Fire Within

by Nicholas Clausen

  I would think so. I can see them clear enough, and we are not trying to hide. Draek answered.

  They continued flying in silence after that until the city came fully into view. It was a sight Hayden had been hoping for.

  The few dragons that were flying over Celestial City were, in fact, metallic dragons, but they did not fly past the giant walls. The entire city was surrounded by tents, people, and dragons. War machines were scattered throughout the surrounding army as well as horses and elk.

  They haven’t started fighting yet! Hayden shouted in his mind.

  “They haven’t started fighting yet!” Hayden shouted aloud as well. He couldn’t contain his excitement as they neared the city and more of their army came into view.

  From Draek’s back, and how far away they were, Hayden couldn’t make out where the Frost Fangs were or who was an elf or Sea Serpent, but he didn’t care. They were together as one people.

  They seemed to all be here, and their numbers looked good, really good. Hayden saw a lot of movement off to the left of Celestial City, in the direction of the Shadow Desert.

  Are those? Hayden started as he squinted at where he had seen the movement. Whatever it was, was too dark to make out any details. Is that?

  Its Kne, and the Bone Thieves! Draek roared with all his might at the sight of Kne and the last of their reinforcements. It seemed that they had all arrived in time and all the races of Arvain were present.

  Several dragons from the surrounding army flew off to meet with the dwarves while others flew off to meet with the Bone Thieves. Hayden watched as a white dragon flew to them and guessed that they had been sent to find out who was arriving and why.

  Draek flew ahead with Bjorn following right behind. The fields closest to the city had been perfect for the standing army to wait in. There was room enough for the dragons to land and the camps to be set.

  Kirin wants to meet with us. Draek said with a roar.

  Tell the dwarves to land and Utahnen to follow the dragons. They need to stay together but a little further away from the others. Hayden thought. He didn’t know how all the races were acting together and he didn’t want to mess it up with overzealous Utahnen.

  The red dragons found a place to land and banked off towards the clearing they had chosen. Hayden asked Draek to make sure Durgen and Bjorn stayed with them to meet Kirin.

  The last time all the races came together, it was to fight the dwarves after the Metallic Nation had conquered Arvain. Draek said. Hayden hadn’t thought about that, but he hoped this time it went better for the people of Arvain.

  Bjorn and Draek landed where the white dragon instructed them, a seemingly untouched field where the grass had grown up almost to Hayden’s knees. The Frost Fang told them Kirin would be with them soon. He didn’t wait for Hayden to ask anything and flew back to where their camp was.

  Hayden and Durgen got off their dragons and stood together in the tall grass while they waited. Hayden was excited that they had made it in time as did the Bone Thieves, but he could tell that Durgen was uncomfortable.

  “Is this your first time meeting the other races?” Hayden asked. Hayden tried to not notice just how tall the grass was compared to the dwarf, slightly above his waist.

  “I have met elves before,” Durgen said. “We have been stealing wood from them since I was young.” He explained.

  “Have you ever tried talking with one?” Hayden hadn’t thought about how entangled the two races’ history was.

  “Why would I do that?” Durgen asked.

  They both looked up as a green dragon flew overhead and started to land before them. The grass seemed to bend and kneel before the Queen of Eytherka.

  “I think it would be best if we didn’t bring up you stealing from them,” Hayden said as they watched Kirin step off her dragon.

  Hayden could feel how excited Draek was to see Nignra and it made Hayden smile. He tried to look serious as Kirin walked over to them.

  “Queen Kirin, this is.” Hayden started, but Kirin interrupted Hayden and gave him a hug. Hayden was shocked for a second and didn’t know what to do so he patted her back.

  “Um.” Hayden didn’t know if he should finish introducing Durgen or what he should do.

  “I am sorry Hayden,” Kirin said with a huge smile stretched across her face. She looked like she was about to start laughing at any moment.

  “Well, uh, this is Durgen. He is King of… well.” Hayden was stunned by how their first meeting was going that he didn’t know how to introduce the two. Both of them being the leaders of their people Hayden felt outclassed standing with them.

  “I am Durgen, King of what Remains and rider of Bjorn,” Durgen said roughly. He was trying to act as serious as he could meeting the elf Queen for the first time. “And we don’t have to hug.” He added.

  “Well, Durgen, King of what Remains. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Kirin said with a smile. It was probably the first time an elf had said that to a dwarf, and that was not lost on Durgen.

  “I am Kirin, Queen of the elves, Guardian of the Woods, Chieftain of the Seven and rider of Nignra of the Summer Woods,” Kirin said with a slight bow.

  “Hmm,” Durgen said as he sized up Kirin. “I think I need some more titles.” Hayden couldn’t help but laugh, and Kirin joined in quickly.

  Durgen cracked a smile but remained silent. They had a few moments to calm down before Hayden asked the question. It was an odd and yet monumental moment as the three stood in the grassy field, sharing a laugh as they stood before Celestial City.

  “What has happened since I was gone?” He asked. Both Kirin and Durgen stopped smiling and Kirin, to her credit, didn’t look away.

  “A lot has happened since you left,” Kirin admitted. “And we will discuss it, all of it when the other races are present.” Both Hayden and Durgen nodded their approval.

  “I know that the Bone Thieves have just arrived, and I am about to go and meet with them before we have that discussion,” Kirin said. “With them here and the dwarves being present I assume that all went according to your plan?” She added.

  “Nothing could be further from the truth,” Hayden said. He wanted to smile, but his face refused his commands.

  “We will talk about that. Are Shane and Cass with the Bone Thieves?” Kirin walked back over to Nignra and was about to climb onto her dragon’s back as she spoke.

  “They are not with us,” Hayden said. He expected Kirin to ask what had happened, but instead, she locked eyes with Hayden.

  “That makes you the highest-ranking human here, and there are several humans here,” Kirin said. “On our way here some of the villages joined with us.”

  Hayden hadn’t thought that with Cass gone he would be in charge. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it, but he knew he wasn’t happy.

  “Don’t do anything to embarrass yourself,” Kirin said with a tired smile, and Nignra leapt into the air and flew in the direction of the Bone Thieves.

  “That did not go how I expected it,” Durgen said.

  “No, not at all.” Hayden agreed.

  ~

  “The three of you can enter together if you want,” Kirin said as they walked. The dragons were all resting together and were having cows brought up for them to eat. Kirin was leading Hayden, Durgen, and Kne to a large tent that stood in the center of a barren field. There were armed guards around the tent from every race except for the Bone Thieves and dwarves that were walking with them.

  Hayden saw a few humans that nodded to Hayden. They stood a little straighter and held their spears tighter when Hayden walked by.

  “That’s ok with me,” Hayden said as he looked to the other two rulers. They both nodded to Hayden.

  “Good. I will go in first and address them. The guards at the entrance will let you in when it is time. There will be a table and three chairs in the center of the tent when you walk in. Sit there and wait for us to talk to you.” Kirin instructed.

  “Why do we have to wait for you
to speak to us?” Durgen asked. “And Hayden might speak for the humans, but he does not speak for the dwarves.” Durgen said.

  “I know he doesn’t speak for your people. It is his story we are interested in, and you only came to be a part of that story near the end.” Kirin explained. Durgen was still upset, but he remained silent.

  “We ask that you wait to speak until you are addressed just to be polite and we don’t want everyone speaking over each other,” Kirin added.

  “Makes sense to me,” Hayden said. Durgen looked over at Hayden but didn’t say a word. It was the same look Marge used to give him when he was younger and said something she didn’t like.

  Hayden almost stopped at the thought of Marge. He shook his head as if he was shaking the thoughts out. He didn’t need to think about that now, there would be time for that later.

  They made it to the entrance of the tent, and Kirin disappeared inside. The sun was just beginning to set, but it wasn’t dark yet.

  Hayden took a deep breath, and they waited to be summoned into the tent. It didn’t take long, and then the elf guarding the entrance pulled the flap back to let the three of them through.

  Durgen told his dwarves that had been walking with him to wait outside while Kne remained silent, but the Bone Thieves with Kne did not try to walk inside. Hayden leaned in and walked into the tent with Durgen and Kne behind him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Hayden stepped into the tent and stepped into a scene that no one before had witnessed. There was a small table with three chairs standing in front of them like a guard standing sentry before a gate.

  On the other side of the tent, there were several seats that were as different and out of place from each other as the people sitting in them. There was one that looked like it was made of driftwood pulled out of the sea and held together with planks from a ship. Rimney Sky sat upon the seat wearing a half smile and her captain’s hat.

  The next seat was draped in white fur, and Klarack was sitting on the edge of that seat. Klarack’s wounds were healing and had left him with a row of scars on his face.

  The final chair was where Kirin sat, and it looked exactly like the living throne that she had sat on back in Eytherka.

  “Please, have a seat,” Klarack said as he pointed at the chairs in front of them. Hayden was sure that Durgen was going to complain about the simplicity of the chairs they had to sit in, but he sat down without a word.

  “Thank you all, for everything you have done,” Hayden said as they sat. He felt awkward with Kings and Queens and was unsure if he should even speak.

  “Here sit the six rulers of Arvain. Something like this has never happened before, and I wish we could make this more official, but time is not on our side.” Kirin said, pushing past what Hayden said.

  “And there is a whole lot of people just over there that want to kill us,” Rimney added. Everyone in the tent looked at Rimney, and she responded by pointing to where Celestial City was. “Just over there.” She added in case anyone was unsure. Hayden fought back a smile, but he could tell he wasn’t the only one.

  “Thank you Rimney,” Klarack grumbled.

  “As I said, we don’t have a lot of time. If you three would not mind indulging us and telling us what all has taken place to get you here.” Kirin said. “I am sure that Hayden has informed you both on how we got here?”

  Durgen and Kne both gave a single, quick nod. Kne’s skull clicked with the movement.

  “Good,” Kirin said. She looked over to Rimney and Klarack before speaking again. “Anything else before they begin?” She asked.

  “It’s good to see you Hayden,” Klarack said.

  “It’s good to see you, all of you,” Hayden replied.

  “Please, begin,” Kirin asked. “And quickly.” She added.

  “After I left Klarack at the base of TheeAgren, Draek and I made our way back to the Ice Keep.” Hayden began. “We found Cass and Shane and then we all made our way to the Shadow Desert.”

  “We found a passage through TheeAgren and were able to make it back to the Starlight Plains. We had a good idea of where we needed to go in the Shadow Desert, but there aren’t a lot of markings on the map where anything is in the desert.” Hayden admitted.

  “There aren’t a lot of markings in the desert,” Kne said.

  Hayden shook his head. He was right, and none of the other rulers had ever seen the gray sands.

  “We decided to stay in the Starlight Plains until we thought we were lined up with the Dark Hold,” Hayden explained.

  “Dark Hold?” Klarack asked. Rimney and Kirin remained silent as Hayden spoke and their faces were impossible to read.

  “It is the Metallic Nations stronghold in our land,” Kne explained. Klarack nodded his head in understanding and signaled for Hayden to continue.

  “It was during our flight over the Starlight Plains that we saw a single copper rider and her dragon flying. We were debating trying to stay hidden from them, but they saw us and came to us.” Hayden remembered how they had almost argued about what to do when the copper rider had started flying towards them.

  “We thought it was going to attack us, but instead they landed and waited for us to do the same. We did, and the rider wanted to talk.” Hayden said.

  “She tried to convince you three to surrender?” Kirin asked.

  “She did. She told us that we were all important to Elizabeth. None of us believed her but then she told Cass that there is a chance that Shaylin was the last golden dragon they had to hatch. That only she can lay golden dragon eggs and if not the line of golden dragons will die.” Hayden said.

  Hayden didn’t know how much they knew about the metallic dragons and how only a golden dragon could have a golden egg and how that was even rare. No one asked, so Hayden did not try to explain.

  “Did Cass go with her?” Rimney asked.

  “No, she said that Elizabeth could surrender to her if she were so worried about the golden dragons,” Hayden replied.

  Rimney, Klarack, and Kirin all smiled when they heard what Cass had said.

  “But then the copper rider said some names. I don’t remember them, but they were the names of Shane’s parents.” Klarack lowered his head when he heard Hayden’s words. They all understood what took place.

  “Shane left with the copper rider to save his family,” Kirin said. She did not ask.

  “He did, I told him too,” Hayden said.

  “That was very noble of you Hayden,” Klarack said.

  “Stupid, and possibly the worst thing you could do,” Rimney added. “But noble.”

  “Shane left, and you and Cass continued to the Dark Hold?” Kirin asked to get the conversation moving forward again.

  “Yes, Cass and I continued with trying to find the Bone Thieves as fast as we could. We figured that Shane would tell Elizabeth everything that we were planning so the faster we could finish the better.” Hayden said.

  Kirin took a single, drawn-out breath before speaking. “We were not expecting Elizabeth to have Shane and know what we are doing,” Kirin admitted.

  “We weren’t expecting it, but the Bone Thieves and dwarves are here now, and there is no hiding that,” Klarack said. “We have been here for almost a week, and they have done nothing. They have not fled or called reinforcements. They haven’t even tried to talk with us.” He continued.

  “They won’t talk with us,” Rimney said. “They will talk to him.” She said as she pointed to Hayden.

  “Please, one thing at a time,” Kirin said. She raised her hand slightly as she spoke.

  “We made it to the Bone Thieves, and a single copper rider named Benet had stayed behind and was waiting on us.” Hayden continued. “The Bone Thieves captured us but after hearing why we were there and what we were doing they joined us, and Cass had Benet jailed.”

  “We did not stay long, and the Bone Thieves were ready to head to Celestial City. We had to first take the Aldreth Stronghold. We attacked at night, and while the battle did
not go as planned, we won with almost no losses.” Hayden took a deep breath before he continued.

  This was the part of the story he was sure was going to raise the most amount of questions, and he couldn’t answer any of them.

  “It was during that battle that Cass left us,” Hayden said.

  “She left you?” Kirin asked. She said the words slowly as if she was making sure she understood their meaning correctly.

  “We were expecting her to join us at the stronghold, but she never showed. Kne said it was a plan she had, but it had to remain secret. She would return when she was done.” Hayden said.

  He could feel the shift in the room as all eyes fell to Kne. Kne seemed not to notice, but Hayden knew a torrent of questions were about to smash into them.

  “Where is Cass?” Rimney asked.

  “She requested that I keep it a secret,” Kne said flatly. Hayden could tell that they did not like the emotionless voice and the sound of the skeleton pieces clicking together as Kne spoke. Bone Thieves were unnerving to look at, but when Hayden heard them speak, he couldn’t help but feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

  “There is no need for secrets with us Kne. Tell us where she has gone and what she is doing.” Klarack said. A little more forcible then Hayden thought was necessary.

  Klarack stared into the dark, black eyes of Kne and Kne stared right back. Kne made sure that Klarack knew who the Bone Thief was talking to when the next word came out from the broken skull mask. “No,” Kne said.

  Klarack stood up from his seat. He rolled his shoulders and moved like he was going to make Kne tell him where Cass was. Kne stood up and ran one of the bone covered hands over the rib cage breastplate.

  Durgen stood up and held his fists before him. Rimney quickly stood, and Kirin lowered her head and rubbed her temples.

  “Woah!” Hayden shouted as he jumped. “What is happening?” He tried to wedge himself in the middle of all the would-be fighters.

  “We are about to fight,” Durgen said and took a short jab at Klarack.

  “Why are you mad?” Hayden asked. He was confused as to why Durgen wanted to fight.