Dragon Heat (18 page)

collapse produced an extraordinary debris avalanche that swept

everything on its wake into the Pacific Ocean. Drew had been right above

the volcano when it all happened and got trapped in the lava. Since

dragons are creatures of fire, they cannot be killed by it or any blazing

material. So the rescue party had known she was still alive. All efforts

were used to track her down, but the smoke cloud emanating from the

craters lasted several days preventing the dragons from carrying out the

search accurately. After the tenth day, Deirdre convinced her father she

could locate her twin sister if he only let her. Hesitantly, he'd agreed to the

dangerous idea; he had run out of options. Within half an hour, Deirdre

found Drew, and the rescue dragons managed to dig her out of the

solidified debris.

Zoricah realized Deirdre was crying. Had she seen the images

Zoricah was remembering?

‚Now that’s cheating,‛ Ucidhere exclaimed impatiently. ‚Of course

she saw them. This is the gates to Apa Sâmbetei. Everything that is

essence is shared. And there’s nothing more intrinsic to the soul than a

memory.‛

‚Drew.‛ Deirdre’s soft voice brought Zoricah back to her mission.

Deirdre was still crying, but her eyes carried a different type of pain. The

pain brought by hope.

Slowly, tentatively, Zoricah reached out and held her friend’s hand.

She held it back and smiled for the first time. Zoricah felt like crying, too.

‚This is truly touching, daughter mine,‛ Ucidhere said,

interrupting the beautiful moment, ‚but unfortunately the order still

stands. You cannot take her back to Terhem Viahta.‛

‚Yes I can.‛ Zoricah turned to him while hugging Deirdre tightly.

‚The rules are clear, if an inimă has not crossed the third river, it is

officially in no-man’s-land and therefore able to return safely.‛

Ucidhere looked at her sternly. ‚The rules
are
clear. Apa Sâmbetei’s

soul count cannot be disturbed, otherwise the whole world will suffer the

consequences.‛ His dark voice reverberated like a lion’s roar.

‚But<‛

‚No buts!‛ Ucidhere shouted thunderously. ‚The balance must be

maintained.‛

Zoricah started to argue but was silenced by an excruciating pain in

her chest. Something was penetrating her sternum and slowly squeezing

her heart like a ripe grape. She dropped to the ground in agony. She

couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think, it was so much pain! Deirdre tried to

help, but nothing could be done.

‚Daughter of mine, when are you going to learn life is all about

balance?‛ Ucidhere remained distant, but there was something else in his

voice—empathy, sadness, tiredness? That gave Zoricah an idea.

‚I will<‛ Zoricah managed to choke out over the unbearable

agony in her chest. ‚I will bring you another soul.‛ The pain stopped as

suddenly as it had started.

‚Now that’s something of interest to me.‛ Ucidhere raised an

eyebrow and continued, ‚Tell me what you have in mind, child.‛

Wasn’t he the father every girl dreamed of? Taking a deep breath,

Zoricah stood up. ‚You said that Apa Sâmbetei’s soul count could not be

disturbed, so I will replace Drew’s with another.‛

Her so-called father regarded her for a moment, as if trying to

decipher what she was up to or maybe read her mind. Zoricah froze. Shit,

what if he could read her mind?

As if on cue, Ucidhere’s eyes narrowed. ‚Do not fear, my child. I do

not read minds.‛

Zoricah found that hard to believe, but there was not much she

could do about it. So she tried to gain some more ground over their battle

of wits. ‚I will need some time though.‛

‚Why?‛

‚It’s not easy to find a pure soul who is willing to sacrifice himself

or herself for the sake of world balance.‛ Zoricah replied crossly.

Ucidhere circled around them and stopped by Deirdre’s makeshift

sand castle. Deidre clutched Zoricah’s arm firmly.

‚What about the vampire king?‛ Ucidhere finally spoke. He had

apparently decided to try to fix the sand castle by adding a few more

towers. Particles of gray sand were magically lifting themselves up the air

and forming a smooth pillar. ‚He seemed quite a good candidate.‛

Zoricah’s heart skipped a beat. ‚No, he won’t do.‛

‚Why not?‛ Another sand tower added to the right.

‚Because<‛ Zoricah swallowed. ‚Because he has killed. He is a

merciless ruler.‛

‚Oh, but he is just. He is a seeker of truth, is he not?‛ her father

asked, analyzing his work of art.

‚He has fought in and started many a wars. He is not suitable.‛

Zoricah was running out of arguments. She would not give Tardieh’s soul

to Ucidhere, never!

‚Why not, Zoricah?‛ Ucidhere looked up and faced her.

His striking dark eyes were almost too much to bear, but Zoricah

stood her ground. ‚Because he has killed before.‛ She didn’t care about

the consequences; her father could squeeze all the life out of her heart.

‚He repented himself,‛ Ucidhere replied pitilessly. His dark voice

echoed around them like a thousand thunders.

‚Tardieh is
not
a candidate!‛

‚Why not?‛

‚Because he is mine!‛ Zoricah yelled back.

Silence descended upon the gray desert. Zoricah could hear her

own heart beating. It sounded like a hummingbird’s wings on steroids.

Shit! Where in Hiad had that come from?
She hadn’t meant to say it out loud

or, more accurately, admit it out loud. She did have feelings for Tardieh.

His annoying way of getting under her skin had brought her back to life.

Her heart had been numb for a very long time. Before he came around,

she had only regarded the male species as a means to an end—to win

wars, to help the unfortunate, for sexual release when the going got too

tough. But Tardieh had refused to play his role quietly. He had surprised

her in ways no one had ever had.

Ucidhere’s low chuckle brought her back from her thoughts. ‚Does

that mean that the mighty, independent, no-nonsense Zoricah has finally

found her match?‛ He said sarcastically.

At the disoriented look on her face, his chuckle turned into a loud

laugh. Zoricah did not appreciate it one bit. But she knew she should not

tease the beast anymore, so she swallowed her pride and kept quiet. For

the moment.

Zoricah felt a strong wind touch her face. Suddenly gray, sandy

particles were everywhere. She saw Deirdre block her eyes with her

hands. The sand castle collapsed. She could not see anything in front of

her.

‚All right, daughter mine,‛ she heard him say from a distance. ‚I

will grant you your wish. You have forty-eight hours.‛

‚What? No! I need more time!‛ Zoricah tried to find him, but the

sand cloud turned into a storm, and Ucidhere was gone.

‚Show off,‛ she said after the storm had died down.

Forty-eight hours. Forty-eight bloody hours to find a pure soul and

convince him or her to agree to the ultimate sacrifice.

Zoricah collapsed on the sandy floor and put her head between her

hands. It felt good. The second river was still very comforting, but she

wasn’t blinded by it anymore.

Small fingers touched her shoulder. Zoricah lifted her head to find

Deirdre in front of her.

‚Let’s go home,‛ Deidre said, smiling.

‚Yeah, that sounds like a very good idea, Dee.‛ Zoricah stood up

with her friend’s help, and she focused on getting them out of there. She

had travelled in and out of Apa Sâmbetei numerous times over her long

life but never had she taken anyone with her. That would prove to be an

interesting task.

‚Just hang on to me tightly, okay?‛ she said to her friend, who

promptly complied.

Zoricah closed her eyes and tried to gather the last of her energy.

Nothing.
Hmm, interesting.
She felt good—the second river’s influence was

very powerful—but the fact that she was having trouble gathering her

strength meant she was dangerously running on empty.

‚Right. Better do this quickly, then,‛ she said to herself.

Closing her eyes again, she tried harder. She channeled her dragon

fire, bringing it forth and expanding it inside her. She visualized it spilling

out of her ethereal body and engulfing Deirdre. Within her dragon heat,

they were one.

Using the last remains of her strength, Zoricah shouted, ‚Terhem

Viahta,
eu vin la tine.
‛

* * * * *

Tardieh was known for his extraordinary composure, but this was

getting ridiculous. Zoricah had been completely immobile for over an

hour now. He could see her energy dwindling by the minute. Half an

hour after her soul had left to Apa Sâmbetei,
anxiety had gotten the best of

him, so he tried to go to her at the far end of the bed. But Yara, Sam, and

Drew stopped him. After the female commands and swearing were

silenced, Sam had explained to him that none of them should leave the

circle, that Zoricah needed their energy to complete the journey. So there

he stayed.

‚Are you sure this is normal?‛ he asked Yara for the third time.

She gave him a look that clearly told him her patience was wearing

thin too and replied. ‚Yes, Tardieh, this is normal. She will take as long as

it takes to complete her mission. That’s Zoricah.‛

‚Yeah but<‛ Sam bit her lips before continuing.

‚But what? But what? Tell me.‛ Tardieh’s desperate order

reverberated in the room. His vampire warriors lifted their heads in

response. He tried again. ‚Please.‛

Sam looked at Yara, who sighed and looked away. ‚She is usually

quite fast,‛ Sam said shyly.

Tardieh’s gut didn’t like that situation at all. ‚How fast?‛ he asked

trying to contain his temper.

Sam looked at Drew and Yara again, as if uncertain of how much

information she should reveal. It was Yara who ended the suspense.

‚Ten minutes max,‛ Yara blurted out.

‚Ten minutes? Ten fucking minutes? She has been there for more

than an hour!‛ Tardieh’s blood boiled in his veins. He wanted to break the

circle, go to Zoricah, and bring her back. Even if that meant he had to

shake her, drown her, burn her. He would do whatever it took to get her

out of Apa Sâmbetei
alive and well.
But as soon as he released Yara’s

hand, she held on tighter, and the yelling and swearing started again. This

time he did not back down, and more yelling, swearing, and threatening

followed. Even Hikuro, Joel, and Dyan joined in the uproar to back him

up. But Yara kept a surprisingly extremely tight grip on him.

‚Silence! She’s awaken!‛ Drew’s words did the job.

Tardieh looked at Zoricah, but nothing had changed. She was still

barely standing with her eyes closed and a frown on her face. Then he

realized who Drew had meant. Deidre was awake and looking at her twin

sister with a weak but sincere smile on her face.

‚No one breaks the circle!‛ It was his turn to shout. ‚Zoricah has

not returned yet.‛

After a few anxious heartbeats, Zoricah shivered, then took a deep

breath as if she had just come out of the water for air and slowly opened

her eyes. She looked straight into Tardieh’s and said in a whisper,

‚Mission accomplished.‛ Then she collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

Tardieh woke up with a start. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep; he

didn’t want to leave her unattended. It had been over twenty-four hours

since Zoricah had fallen unconscious since returning from Apa Sâmbetei.

He had brought her straight to his quarters and settled her on his bed.

Just like the other chambers in the house, his bedroom was ample

with a high ceiling and decorated in a minimalist style; the only difference

was that it was all in dark tones. The walls were dark slate gray, and the

carpet was a deep forest green. Just like the library, one of the walls was

made of thick translucent glass so that the room was warmed by the

moonlight. The walk-in wardrobe had a spinning rack that automatically

turned on once the door was opened. It was rather annoying, Tardieh had

concluded. The bathroom was furnished with a large marble bathtub,

which had been brought in from Italy, and a matching toilet set; a double

shower ran across the east wall. In front of his grand king-size bed was a

living room with a round table, a couple of cushioned chairs, and a chaise

where he usually spent his nights watching the sky when he wasn’t

working at the library. Tardieh loved to watch the ballet of colors in the

pre-dawn sky.

Tardieh looked at Zoricah once more. When he had brought her to