Born of Fire: The Dawn of Legend (89 page)

With that, LyCora pushed off the ground, spun her body around in midair, and unleashed a torrent of flame into the soil. Suddenly, all the plants began releasing the raw energy of their own flames into the air. The two pursuers stopped dead in their tracks as they watched the air around them start to glow.

“What are you doing?” Rex shouted.

“Showing you that there’s more than one way to stop someone than by blowing them up,” she replied as the vaporous airborne flames turned blue and suddenly closed in on the other two DyVorians.

“What is this?” KyStov roared in protest. “I can’t move!”

“Nor can I,” ManaTy echoed.

“Hmmm,” she muttered sounding pleased with herself. “That should hold them long enough.”

Rex stared at the two in curiosity, for their bodies were like that of living statues, frozen in place and surrounded by a faint blue glow. “What did you do to them?” he asked, cocking his head to one side.

“I’ll explain later,” she said, nipping at his neck to make him focus. “Right now we need to get out of here!”

Rex snorted red flame from his nostrils and turned, running away with the others, where they met up with AnaSaya and ShinGaru. Together they proceeded west as fast as their legs and flames could take them, hoping to put enough distance between them and any would-be pursuers from DonGahl. They moved without hardly speaking, being told by Rex periodically that they did not have time to stop and talk yet, and that they had to put more ground between them before they could rest. Soon two hours had passed and everyone could feel their muscles burning. Even with the help of their flames, they could no longer sustain the grueling pace they had been traveling.

AnaSaya could feel her body sag while ShinGaru, who normally loped in long fluid strides, now dragged his tail across the ground like a dead limb. The other three were no better off, for EeNox was foaming badly at the mouth and LyCora now walked awkwardly from a sharp pain in her left leg. Only Rex seemed to be still moving with any sense of fierce determination, putting one foot in front of the other in defiance of the terrible fatigue afflicting every muscle in his body. At last, though, he too began to falter, tumbling to the ground after stepping in an unseen burrow. Rather than get back up, he lay there, breathing in a short, raspy rhythmic pattern. It was clear to the others he had not been doing as well as he would have them believe. Rather, he had just done a better job of hiding it. Working together, they all tried to hoist him back on his feet, but feeling the weight of their own tired bodies, they quickly succumbed to fatigue and collapsed on the ground.

They lay there for a time, not speaking, all of them just trying to steady their own breathing as the beating of their hearts finally began to slow to a point where they no longer felt as if they would explode in their chests. At last EeNox, steadying himself on his haunches, spoke, “So, this is a bit of a setback.”

“Not really,” LyCora said in a tone that revealed she was still exhausted. “We knew this would probably happen sooner than later.”

“So you were recognized?” ShinGaru asked.

She nodded. “Apparently VayRonx sent word out to all the settlements between KaNar and the western coast.”

“That means we must have been found out much sooner than we thought.”

“Looks like it,” she said, collapsing on her side with what almost sounded like defeat.

“We still have to keep going, though, right?” AnaSaya asked insistently. “I mean, we can’t stop now!”

“She’s right,” EeNox said, shakily rising to his feet.

“Easy,” ShinGaru said, moving beside him just in time to catch him from falling. “You need to regain some of your strength first. We all do.”

“No time,” EeNox replied, pushing himself off him. “DiNiya needs us, and we can’t waste any more time just lying around!”

“Oh, come off it, already, EeNox,” LyCora managed to say with what little energy she had left. “Your flame’s power has been exhausted. You can’t even keep your legs from shaking when you stand, let alone go off and slay DraGons.”

Feeling the truth of her words push down on him, EeNox crumpled back down, defeated, his pride mortally wounded.

“I’m sorry,” AnaSaya said, lowering her head. “I just…I was afraid everyone was giving up.”

“Your heart is in the right place,” ShinGaru said, placing a hand on her back.

“A lot of good that does anyone,” Rex said at last, having remained silent this entire time.

“What do you mean?” ShinGaru asked.

“Having the best intentions never helped anybody. In fact, it’s been my experience that they often make things worse.”

“How so?”

“What do you mean, ‘how so’?” Rex roared as he spun around and fixed ShinGaru with a look of rage before it subsided to one of sadness. “How many people did I hurt back there?”

“I’m sorry,” ShinGaru said. “But I don’t think I understand…”

“Back in DonGahl, how many people got caught up in the blast? The one I was responsible for?”

“Rex, you didn’t know what would happen,” EeNox said in an effort to try to console his friend. “None of us did. Besides, it’s not like you killed anyone back there.”

“So, I got lucky, but what about next time? What if next time it’s just a little bit more, and that little bit is what crosses the line…is what kills someone?”

No one responded. They all sat for a time in silence. The reality of their newfound powers was finally sinking in, as well as the responsibility that came with them. Each one seemed lost in their own thoughts, trying to discern whether their DyVorian natures were truly something to be happy about or fear. Each one now found themselves consorting with the voices in their heads.

DiNiya had been subjected to an almost continuous psychological assault from DayKar over the past three days. At first she had been able to resist his relentless barrage of taunts, but soon they turned into something altogether different. Mean-spirited teasing evolved into sinister prying of such an invasive nature that it would leave her feeling sullied and unclean. His voice was like warm water, slowly cascading down into the unseen crevices of her mind, soothing at first, but then scolding, stirring parts of her she had long since forgotten. Still, despite his almost hypnotic abilities, she was very much aware of his primary objective.
How could I not be?
she thought. His every word seemed to touch only the most sensitive of places, like a perverse form of lover’s talk, but with the full intention of prying free by force what he wanted from her. Little by little, she felt her defenses begin slipping away, allowing him closer and closer to that memory, that object of fear that was both the key and the barrier for him achieving what he wanted, and deep down what she knew she did as well.

She sat two meters from the edge, her knees tucked up under her chin and her eyes forward, taking in the great sea beyond. Despite the magnificent vista before her, she felt detached from everything. Her mind was filled with images and memories going as far back as the one of her gazing up into her father’s eyes as he cradled her in his arms as a baby, all the way up to the morning she saw Rex open his eyes for the first time. In between was a parade of all that had constituted her life, yet for some reason those two specific memories served as bookends for everything else. Then, just as it always had been this time of day, she was engulfed in a huge dark shadow that, when in it, felt as if it was swallowing up the whole world.

“How much more?” she asked in a soft voice.

“That depends entirely on you, DiNiya,” DayKar replied, looking down at her.

“Why are you doing this to me? Why do you keep submitting me to this torture?”

“Torture?” he said, rearing his head back. “I have not harmed you once since you have arrived.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” she replied, looking back down and holding herself tightly. “The things you say…the way you’ve been getting inside my head, hurts a great deal.” The DraGon’s lips curled back, revealing a sinister draconic smile as she continued, “And the worst part of it is…you enjoy it. Every moment of it.”

“Now, now my dear. You make it sound as if I have done you some great disservice.”

DiNiya looked pain-stricken by his words. “How can you just say that? Of course you have! You keep prying into places in my mind I don’t want you to go, and no matter how much I plead for you to stop, you continue! You just keep pushing deeper and deeper!” She grabbed her head and gritted her teeth. “And every time I cry out, I can feel you inside…laughing.”

DayKar sat down on his haunches and encircled her with his huge wings. “Poor little DiNiya, always the victim. How tired you must be of playing this role for so long.” DiNiya regarded him with waterlogged eyes. “Have you not figured out just why you are here yet? Why you are waiting for him to come save you once again?” He bared his teeth and encircled them both in a ring of gold fire. “Again from me?”

DiNiya felt her mind slipping, no, falling backwards. Her feet were still planted firmly beneath her, yet she could feel the rush of free fall. DayKar’s face seemed to change right before her yet remain the same. Rather, his features became more hardened, as if he was aging right in front of her. She watched as the sky around him changed into one of deep crimson and realized she was once again floating amongst the clouds as she had done so many times in her dreams. Yet she was wide-awake. Suddenly she heard a familiar sound beneath. Turning slowly, she saw the dark cloud in the shape of what she now knew to be a TyRanx rear up and roar, making the very air around her vibrate. It was at that moment that she felt herself suddenly rising up, like something was pushing her faster than she could comprehend. The wind now raced past her face and whipped through her fur. Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed tiny flashes of red, and the terrifying sight of DayKar as she rocketed towards him. There was a sudden flash, followed by a bellow, then only darkness. Slowly, she opened her eyes. The image was of the stone floor, now warm to the touch. She glanced down at her hands just as the faint red glow around them faded and disappeared. Left behind was a warm wet sensation that ran down over and in between her fingers. Holding her open hand up, she was horrified to see it was covered in blood.

“At last,” came DayKar. “Progress.”

Looking back up, DiNiya was shocked to see him holding the left side of his face, blood flowing from between his fingers. There was a small flash of golden light, and the blood flow ceased. Then pulling his bloody hand away, he held it out for her to see. DiNiya regarded him solemnly before looking back down at herself and realized she was, in fact, covered in blood. “Wha…what did I do?” she stammered as she took two staggering steps backwards.

“You allowed yourself to let go, if only for a moment, but you did it nonetheless! I knew you had the power in you. After all, I was once quite well acquainted with it.”

“I…don’t understand,” she replied, feeling lightheaded.

“Of course you do, DiNiya,” he said, catching her in his hand as she fell, gently cradling her. “You have always understood. All your life you have moved through it, seemingly always one step removed. Never fully being able to savor its taste, never being able to truly feel the warmth of its touch. You, like I, have always known there was a mirror image of yourself. We are more alike than you allow yourself to believe.”

“You’re mad,” she said, trying to push herself off him but feeling his voice take hold of her mind and keep her from fighting back. “We are nothing alike! Nothing!”

“Then tell me, DiNiya, why is it that I know that the reflection you see in the mirror is a false one to you?” Her eyes went wide as a gasp escaped her lips. “That to even look at it evokes something restless inside, something that you can feel moving just behind your eyes. Something…” he paused for a moment. “Something hating you for keeping it at bay for so long, for denying it the heat of the sun on its skin and the wind beneath its wings.” He shook his head and refocused his gaze on DiNiya. “Yes, we are indeed so very much alike, except for one thing.” He abruptly raised her high off the ground and brought her close to his face. “Unlike you, I have embraced the past, for it is the past that defines who we are today! Now it is time you come to terms with who it is that resides in you! What it means to be of old flame born of new flesh. It is time you acknowledged your true nature, AmaRanthine!”

DiNiya was suddenly struck by the sound of a young boy screaming. Instantly, she grabbed the sides of her head and opened her mouth to cry out, only no sound came. She felt as if her very breath had been pulled from her lungs. Louder and louder the boy’s screams grew until it was as if he was right inside her head, screaming through her.

“You’re just one step away,” DayKar said. “One step away from shedding this burden you’ve carried with you for so long. All you have to do is face the memory of that day. Do it, DiNiya.”

“No…” she whimpered.

“DO IT!”

“NOOO!” she wailed, rearing back as the faint, fiery shape of a dark, unknown creature rose from her with a roar, jaws bared, before vanishing just as quickly as it came. DayKar set her down and watched her, head down with her long fur draped over her face and swaying gently in the breeze. With the sudden glimpse of the young girl’s inner nature, DayKar found himself taken aback. He regarded her for a long moment, watching her stand still except for the slow yet heavy rise and fall of her chest as she took every breath like she was clinging to life through them. Slowly he lowered his head towards her, when she suddenly shot him a glare with one burning red eye appearing through the veil of auburn fur that concealed the rest of her face. Slowly, he rose back up, not taking his eyes off her.

DiNiya could feel something so dangerously furious burning its way out of her, that for a moment she feared it would tear its way out.
It’s the same feeling I felt that day.
She exhaled a misty red vapor.
I forgot how good this feels
.

DayKar could almost see the two pair of larger eyes emanating from her, staring at him with a savage intent. Then the fiery glow in them faded as a gust of wind blew the fur out of her face, revealing a frightened girl. Sounding like a proud father, DayKar spoke lovingly to the clearly shaken girl. “Ahh, I knew you were in there. Now if I can only coax you out of hiding, we can at long last pick up where we left off.”