Born of Fire: The Dawn of Legend (58 page)

“Because you’ve got the muscles,” EeNox replied, doing a mock flex.

Rex looked at him, then down to AnaSaya. Walking forward, he knelt down beside her. He was feeling very uncomfortable with the whole thing. It was not that he did not want to help her, but he still felt uncomfortable about putting his hands on a girl, especially one that had been so forward with him recently.
Man up, you coward!
he told himself before he reached underneath her head and thighs: suddenly she shot up, causing everyone to yell and jump back.

“I’m fine, I’m good,” she said energetically. “What did I miss?”

“What did you miss?!” EeNox repeated, gripping his chest as if to keep his heart from leaping out.

“What the hell did
we
miss?” Rex asking, looking more startled than even EeNox. “What was that whole ‘I’m fucking possessed’ thing just now?”

“I told you she went into shock from her flame, overw—”

“Yes, yes, I remember, but why?”

“Oh, that happens to me sometimes,” AnaSaya said, smiling as she stood up and dusted herself off.

“No shit,” Rex replied flatly.

“It means that there is a lot of powerful energy nearby,” she said, looking around.

“In other words, someone with a powerful flame,” ShinGaru said. “Makes sense.”

“Oh really?” Rex said with his trademark sarcasm. “It does? Well, I guess I’m stupid for it shooting straight over my head!”

“What I mean is that it would take a flame of immensely concentrated power to overtake someone else’s like that.”

“If that’s the case, why didn’t it happen to any of the rest of us?” DiNiya asked.

“Because we’re not healers like her,” LyCora explained. “Those who are born of the lavender flame draw power from others, not just their own flame.”

DiNiya turned and looked at AnaSaya, who was standing innocently with her hands clasped together behind her, a look of coy curiosity over the conversation that revolved around her.

“Any of this mean anything to you?” Rex asked her.

“LyCora is correct. There is someone here with a powerful flame. I felt it just before I fell asleep.”

“Fell asleep…” EeNox started before DiNiya signaled him to stop by holding up her hand.

“AnaSaya, we are taking you back,” she said as she gently placed a hand on her back. “Rex has kindly offered to carry you so you don’t strain yourself.”

Rex felt his anxiety quickly returning.

“But I don’t want to go back,” AnaSaya declared. “I want to keep going.”

“You…do?”

“Yes,” she replied, nodding her head vigorously. “I will admit that, at first, I was just coming because I wanted to fit in with all of you. I know it’s silly, but this is the first time I’ve spent any extensive period of time with anyone my own age. I just wanted to see what it was like before I had to return home.”

“But now?” Rex asked.

“Now…I want to know what it is I felt…and saw.”

“Saw?”

“Just a moment ago, when I was overtaken…I saw a blue flame.”

“No surprise there,” said EeNox. “We already know that someone of the blue flame is probably behind all of this. He or she would be the only one with the ability to use and control the type of power that created the sentinel clones that almost killed your uncle.”

“Yes, but this person, whoever they are, was not from here,” she said with a look of severity.

“Again, no big surprise,” LyCora said this time. “All the really powerful ones come from ClyVen. I wouldn’t be surprised if VayRonx and my mother were planning on traveling there soon to get to the bottom of this.”

“No, you misunderstand,” AnaSaya said, raising her voice slightly, catching everyone by surprise. “What I meant was…they were not from EeNara.”

For a moment no one spoke; they just stared at the girl as if hoping she would say something else, anything else that would help what she had just said make any kind of sense. Finally, DiNiya braved the question. “AnaSaya, what did you see…exactly?”

The fair-haired girl looked up at her with what she could now see as fear in her eyes, and said, “A blue fame in the shape of great winged beast.”

Everyone looked at each other with fear and apprehension. While an element of danger had always been present, it was only now setting in that this could be the beginning of something far bigger than they could have anticipated or would have wanted to.

Rex knew that it was possible for someone to go from one world to another. He himself had done it twice in his life, but for the life of him, he still did not know how.
Could someone else have come through with me?
he wondered. Regardless, he knew despite what was a very apparent fear in everyone there was now only one direction for them to go. They all stood together. eyes forward, locked on the dark Spire.

Scattered clouds moved slowly across the moons as the six intrepid youths made their way quickly across the open expanse that lay before the Spire.

“Almost there,” EeNox said, glancing back.

The tall structure loomed high over them now to the point where they had to crane their necks just to look at it. Minutes later, they were out of the clearing and beginning their ascent up the Spire via the spiral stairs that encircled it.

“Hey, what do we do if we run into a guard or something?” Rex asked.

“We’ll have no choice but to kill them,” EeNox said sternly. “We cannot afford to let anyone know we were here.”

The group behind him stopped, almost as if on command, and stared up at his back. Slowly, EeNox turned and revealed a sheepish grin. “And, yes, of course I’m being completely serious,” he said in a tone that suggested they were all fools for not having picked up on the sarcasm. “Damn it, people, learn to take a joke.” He turned and resumed his climb. “Like we could actually do anything to anyone if they caught us and decided to haul our asses in anyway.”

They proceeded up the rest of the way, taking note of the incredible view the Spire provided of the lands far off to the east. Rex wondered if he would ever get to see any of the places DiNiya had told him about when he first arrived.
Then again
,
KaNar
alone seems to have enough excitement to keep me occupied
.

At last they reached the top, where they were greeted by two large metal doors that featured the etchings of two parasaurolophus-looking DyVorians lowering their heads to one another with what looked like a sun and planets orbiting in between them.

“I think this is supposed to be VekRar and HarTess,” said DiNiya as she ran her hand over the etching.

“Who are they?” asked Rex curiously as she stepped up next to her.

“They were two famous astronomers who lived over four thousand years ago,” explained DiNiya. “They became known throughout EeNara for discovering how to read the night sky and pioneering the field of astronomy. They are listed in the historical records in the capital.”

“I’ve heard of those records,” LyCora said, staring more closely at the two figures. “They are supposedly a record of all the major advancements in EeNara over five thousand years.”

“Apparently they had discovered a way to connect one’s flame with that of the cosmos, the birthplace of all flames.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” Rex asked.

DiNiya turned around and shrugged her shoulders. “Nobody really knows, unfortunately.”

“They died before being able to complete their research,” ShinGaru said, stepping forward and admiring the doors. “I myself have tried long and hard to receive approval from the Guild to view the records to learn more of those who came before and built the foundation of which the modern world is founded upon. Sadly, it is very difficult to be permitted access for the need to preserve them, and thus I have always been denied.  Still, we know that these two helped push EeNara forward in its understanding of how our world and even universe was formed.”

“Well, as fascinating as all this is,” said EeNox. “We didn’t come this far just to get sidetracked by a history lesson. Is everyone ready?” The group looked at each other before turning back and nodding. “All right, but remember: we don’t know what we’ll see beyond this door. It’s possible that we may be forced to witness things that—”

“Just shut up and open the door,” LyCora said, clearly annoyed that he was dragging things out after having first insisted that they were taking too long.

EeNox, looking a bit disheartened, turned and pressed up against the door, which, after a second or two of resistance, opened slowly. A rush of warm air wafted over them, and a dark tunnel with a dim light at the end lay in front of them. Everyone looked at each other in silent agreement and cautiously stepped through the threshold into the darkness.

The passage, which had seemed like it would have lasted an eternity, turned out to only be about ten meters. Distant voices could be heard coming from up ahead.

“Hey, I think I hear VayRonx,” EeNox said, slowing down.

They all pressed themselves against the wall and inched their way to the corner, where EeNox peeked around and immediately found himself staring at the top of an enormous tree which had been designed to grow in the form of a massive telescope. Peering below, he saw his father, VayRonx, VyKia, and VoRenna standing with the CeraVora bound in thick roots that rose up from the ground.
Looks like VoRenna’s handiwork, all right
.

“What do you see?” asked DiNiya.

“Father, VayRonx, VyKia, and VoRenna,” he replied, leaning back. “And our friend.”

“So they
did
bring him here. Looks like you were right.”

“Imagine that,” he said, giving her a less-than-kind look.

Rex walked ahead of everyone else and glanced around the corner. There he saw the same sight as EeNox: the four adults with the prisoner bound to the floor. However, it was the large contraption filling the space within the Spire that grabbed his attention. His mind began to wander as to how powerful the telescope was and just how it worked. “Hey,” he suddenly said angrily in a hushed tone up to EeNox, who was leaning on him for a better look.

“It looks like Father is trying to get him to talk,” EeNox said, ignoring Rex’s complaint and focusing his attention on the scene below.

“Let me see,” DiNiya said as she leaned on her brother and peered down to the same scene. “Wow, look at that. VoRenna has him bound to the floor. Can’t say it looks comfortable.”

Rex felt the pressure on his back increase further as he heard LyCora’s voice say, “It’s a simple binding technique. Split your flame into multiple links and control the flame in something else. In this case, the roots running underneath the floor used to link to the roots that power the telescope.”

“Get off of me,” Rex said in a monotone.

“Look, she’s making three more come up,” she said, pointing down. “See how she focuses her flame to create the links?”

“Oooh, I want to see,” AnaSaya said enthusiastically as she jumped up onto LyCora’s back. “Wow, what an incredible degree of control your mother must have!”

“Damn it, EeNox! Your elbow is digging into my back,” Rex growled.

“I wonder how long they’ve been at it?” EeNox asked, ignoring Rex, who felt the weight on his back increase yet again as ShinGaru spoke. “Probably since we brought him back with us.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Rex growled as he rose up, throwing them all off.

They picked themselves off the ground slowly like children who had just been severely scolded, while Rex looked at them disapprovingly with his arms crossed. The group stood in silence before the sound of a pain-laden howl echoed wildly through the air. Whipping their heads around, they ran to the edge and knelt down and peered below.

The CeraVora was writhing in what looked like pain, thrashing his head and tail about wildly. VayRonx stepped forward and placed a massive foot down on the struggling form to hold him down, while VoRenna formed a blue ring of fire that glided over to their captive and ensnared his jaws. She then approached him and placed a claw on his head. They watched as a tiny flame passed from her finger to their captive, whereupon his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the floor. His ragged breathing slowed as he lay there, not moving for a time before stirring once again, but much calmer now.

“Thank you,” he said in a soft voice that seemed filled with regret.

“I’m sorry for having to be somewhat rough with you,” VayRonx said as he lifted his foot off him. “We simply do not want you hurting yourself.”

“Or us for that matter,” VoRenna added.

“I should be the one apologizing,” the CeraVora said as he rose shakily to his haunches. “I am the one who attacked your people…your children.”

“If you truly wish to make things right, then help us discover what possessed you to do that.”

“I’ll try…I promise I will, but my mind is…it feels like someone’s dug their claws in and torn it to pieces.”

“Then we’ll take it slow,” said VoRenna. “Let’s start from as far back as you can remember. Can you tell us when that was?”

He closed his eyes as he raised his head slightly. “I was hunting on the edges of the western forest during the last crescent moons.”

“Go on.”

“The forest was unusually quiet. Normally there was always large prey, but it was as if they had suddenly all vanished…like the forest itself was in hiding.”

“Is that it?” VayRonx asked, looking disappointed.

“Please,” VoRenna urged. “I know this is difficult, but it is also very important.”

The CeraVora focused his mind on that night; straining himself to remember even the smallest of details, the tiniest sight, smell, or sound. Anything that might help him remember what happened to him that night. Then, as if a bolt of lightning shot through him, his head reared up and his eyes went wide. “The scream!” he gasped.

“Scream?” VayRonx asked, cocking his head to the side.

“I was hit hard by something from below. I didn’t get a look at it, but it was so strong, so very strong…whatever it was. The last thing I remember after that was hearing this horrible scream that felt like it was cutting right through my head. Then…darkness.”

“Please try,” insisted VoRenna. “Learning the truth about what happened to you when you were taken could tell us who is behind these murders.”