“We were betrayed? By who?”
“No one ever found out, but steps were taken to make sure it would never happen again.”
“What sort of steps?”
He gestured at the caverns around him. “We returned to our ancestral home. This place had been abandoned for decades, but we brought life back into it. As the Order continued its attacks, we welcomed the survivors from other tribes. They knew this was one of the few safe places left. Of course, we cut our ties to the humans. There was no more mingling with them, no more servants of human blood. They were too dangerous to keep within our midst.” He pointed toward Leland. “That includes Paladins. Especially them.”
“I am no longer a Paladin. I swore an oath to Catori and cannot leave her side. If I do, my life magic will abandon me, and I will weaken and die.”
Fenwick’s eyes scrunched together as he mulled over Leland’s words. Several minutes passed as the council surrounding Fenwick murmured to each other and shook their heads. No one approved of Leland’s presence, that much was obvious, but Fenwick was not so quick to cast judgement like Brian. Speaking of Fenwick’s second-in-command, Catori noticed that he was nowhere in sight.
“Even with a life oath,” Fenwick finally, said, “this puts us all at risk.”
“I swear I’ll keep him in line myself.”
Fenwick’s eyes snapped to Catori. “You have not earned the council’s trust.”
“You said it yourself, I’m Catherine and Ian’s daughter. I came here for sanctuary after being a prisoner for years. How dare you question my loyalty? Jack trusted me with this location. I never gave it to the Lucidium Order. Does that not prove my worthiness?”
“If you didn’t tell them, then who did?” Brian stepped out of the darkness, having just returned from somewhere. He was breathing hard, and anger burned in his dark molten eyes.
Fenwick turned to face his second, lifting an eyebrow. “Speak what you mean.”
“They are coming. The Lucidium Order have our location. These insolent fools brought them to our sanctuary. Legions of them.”
Fenwick returned his eyes to Catori and Leland. “Did you give up our location to the Order?”
Both Catori and Leland shook their heads.
“No. We would never tell them.”
“Then how is it that they are here, at our doorstep?”
Leland frowned. “No, it can’t be.”
Catori turned toward her companion. “What is it?”
He faced her, his eyes full of panic. “Tarek.”
“But he never saw my map.”
“Yes, he did. At the lodge. It’s rare he doesn’t remember something, even from a glance. His photographic memory is an asset for a future Paladin. It’s why he rose so quickly to apprenticeship. He’s the youngest ever promoted that quickly.” He took a breath. “Damn him! He pretended like he wasn’t paying attention, but he was. I knew there was a chance, but I thought I could trust him.”
Catori’s shock filled her until rage burned in her eyes. She reached out to smack Leland but held her herself back. “How dare you not mention this? He went back and brought them here! I should’ve killed him when I had the chance.”
“Catori, I didn’t think he would do this. I’m sorry.”
“Fools!” Brian hissed. “We’ve been compromised because of you!”
“Stand down, Brian.” Fenwick straightened, his voice full of gravel.
“We ought to kill them both now.” Brian’s rage heated the room, and his dragon flashed behind his eyes.
“This wasn’t their fault,” Bran interjected. “Not directly.”
“The hell it wasn’t!”
“Enough!” Fenwick slammed his hand down on the table. “We’ll deal with this later. For now, we fight. Sound the alarm and get ready.” He pointed a finger at Catori and Leland. “You two come with me.”
Chapter Fourteen
The entire cavern was filled with warriors, running down the halls to gather weapons and place armor on their bodies. Catori knew they wouldn’t shift to fight humans. Not at first. For dragons, it was not honorable to transform until they knew the strength and ability of their enemy.
Catori pressed her lithe body to the wall to avoid getting run over. Leland and Bran did the same as they hurried down the corridor behind Fenwick.
“Where are we going?” Leland asked.
“To the armory then an alternative exit. I have to remove some artifacts from there, and we’ll be leaving afterward that.”
Catori’s eyes widened with a wild vengeance shining through them. “We’re not going to fight?”
“No. You’re not. You’re far from trained, and you’ll get in the way.”
Catori scoffed.
“I’ll join my warriors, but you owe this tribe for your slipup with the apprentice.” Fenwick didn’t glance back toward Leland, but as the young disavowed Paladin’s cheeks flushed. “Catori, you and Leland will guard these artifacts with your life. Your mission is to take them to another stronghold, the one run by the Valdar tribe in Alaska.”
“How will we find them? What of this tribe?” Catori yelped as a soldier rammed her shoulder while passing them by. He didn’t stop to apologize or acknowledge her at all. None of them did. This was going to be a fight for their lives, and nothing was going to distract them.
“You’ll have the map.” Fenwick paused in front of a door. He slipped a key into the massive wooden door and gave it a good shove. The worn hinges screamed but faded into the noise of the masses as they rushed in and shut the door behind them. Fenwick turned to face them.
The room was lit up by torches lining the walls. A great fire roared in a fireplace at the far end of the expansive chamber. Rack after rack was filled with not only spears, bows, swords, and other archaic weaponry, but also guns.
“This is one of three main armories,” Fenwick said, “but this one also holds our artifacts—dragon heirlooms of power the Lucidium Order would kill for.”
He pointed. In the center of the room, above a small wooden table, was a marble-sized orb glowing a fiery color and flickering as though it was lit from within. It hung off a thin, silvery chain dangling from a small branch protruding from the middle of the tabletop.
“Is that… the Orb of Fire?” Catori asked as the trio approached the artifact.
“It is that. And so much more. It is the origin of our powers. Whoever wields it is the leader of all dragons.”
“Why is it here then and not with the ruler?” Catori asked, turning toward Fenwick as he circled the table, reached out, and grabbed the amulet.
“Because it belongs to you, Catori. You’re the last of the Reinhardt line, the ruling family of all the tribes of Draconis. I hoped you would return one day, I just didn’t know when. It would not allow another to wear it unless you had died. I felt that you had lived, but I didn’t where. Here. It is rightfully yours.”
“Catori’s the leader of all the dragons?” Leland’s disbelief rippled across his face. “No way. She was in the Lucidium Order’s custody for years. They would’ve known this and used it to their advantage.”
“Yes, but she did not yet possess the amulet, the true mark of the empress.”
Catori shook her head, but her eyes remained fixed on the charm. “No. There’s no way I’m the heir of this thing. There must be another.”
“There are no more Reinhardts. You are the last.”
“And if I’d died? Who would’ve been the ruler?”
“The amulet would’ve chosen from the council. There is no way to know who it would have gone to. It could’ve been anyone. Alas, it chose no one. Occasionally there has been no empress or emperor chosen, and the position was left empty. Every seven years, the council would gather and present possible heirs to it, but it has not chosen anyone in the last two cycles. And now we know why.” He turned toward Catori. “Our empress is still alive. I always believed it, but I couldn’t convince the others.”
He held the amulet out t
o her. “The chain is enchanted. It will never break or tarnish, and it will stretch when you transform.” Before she could step away, he unhooked the clasp and slid the chain around her slender neck. “There. See? It knows you.”
The fiery light of the amulet grew as it touched her skin, humming with magic along her collar bone. She could feel its warmth, something she’d never felt before, and smiled, peering down at the small, marble-like orb.
“It’s singing to me.”
“Yes. Your memories, your parents, your ancestors, will all be in that orb. Let its magic in, and you’ll know everything about our kind and our history. I wish I could tell you more, but time has run out.”
As the words left his mouth, a loud, resonating boom echoed through the caverns, shaking the ground beneath them. Dust and bits of rock peppered them from the ceiling, filling their lungs with dirt.
“We need to get out!” Leland called out, motioning for Catori to take his hand.
“Wait! Fenwick, the map. Where do we go from here?”
Fenwick was across the room, busy stuffing other artifacts into a worn messenger bag. He dashed back over to them and held it out to Catori. “Guard it with your life. Bran will take you to the second entrance; leave from there. Head north. Whatever you do, do not stray from the path. Take these treasures straight there.”
“But what about you?”
Another boom shook the ground beneath them, and a chunk of wall fell forward, shattering into a hundred shards at their feet.
“Go! I’ll be fine. We are dragons—we fight until we cannot fight any more. The young, old, and wounded will be flown to hideouts across the land. Go now!”
He pulled open the wooden door leading into the hall. No longer were there soldiers rushing by, but rocks littered the ground everywhere they stepped. Grabbing weapons and gear, both Bran and Fenwick loaded themselves with as much as they could carry. Following suit, Catori and Leland grabbed what they could as Fenwick ushered them to the hall and motioned for them to go. Bran picked up the pace and began the trek toward the far side of the compound as Leland and Catori followed. Fenwick disappeared behind them.
“This is crazy! How many Paladins would attack the mountain if they knew we were here, Leland?” Catori’s voice faded as another attack hit the caverns. Behind them, screams echoed down the hall, terrified and agonizing. Catori swallowed, afraid to know what was going on. Even so, the pull to turn and fight was strong.
“Too many for this small tribe. They’ll be slaughtered.”
“Not if they morph,” Bran yelled over his shoulder.
“Morph? You mean shift?” Leland’s eyes grew as he turned his head slightly before glancing back the way they were going. All three began running now. The collapse of the cavern was imminent.
“Yes. When we morph, one dragon can kill hundreds of humans. It’s when they catch us before the morph that we get slaughtered. Just like the last time.”
“Were you there? The last time I mean?” Catori’s words came out faint as she tried to catch her breath. They turned off into another hallway. It narrowed until they had to move in a single file.
“Yes. I was a child, but I remember when the Lucidium Order came.”
Catori bit back the tears as she remembered the incident too. All this hate, so much death… for what? For nothing. They’d captured her and Jack, two innocent children, and treated them like monsters. How her hatred grew toward the Order and even toward Leland. His brother had brought them here, and they both knew it.
“Damn Tarek. If I see him again, I’ll kill him for sure this time.” Catori cursed.
Leland remained silent behind her, but she swore she could feel him flinch at her words.
Next to the exit was a shelf with several backpacks on it. Bran picked one up and shoved it toward Leland. “Clothes and supplies for the journey. We exit here, into the night. Whatever you do, don’t look back. The Paladins might be able to see you once you’re outside. You’ll have to fly, Catori. Take the Paladin on your back, and don’t look behind you.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Wait! Where are you going?”
Bran’s mouth tightened as Catori grabbed his arm. His eyes slid down from her face to the hand wrapped around his arm, but he did not pull away. His brought his gaze back up, and it settled on the orb around her neck.
“Your Majesty, I’m ordered to escort you to the Valdar tribe of the north and protect you with my life after I help in the fight. I will catch up with you. Follow the map.”
“And everyone else?”
“Those who end up retreating or escaping will join us in the north only after dispersing for several weeks, to safe, hidden places we have set up across the world.”
“What of your brother? He won’t like you helping us.”
Bran placed his hand gently onto Catori’s. “My brother fights a good fight. He has been known for foolish decisions, but he will do everything in his power to keep our tribe alive. He will do as he is told.”
“Then why is he here now?”
Bran’s eyes widened as he turned to find his brother Brian holding out a sword, fire spilling from his partially morphed mouth. “Move, Bran. I’m ending this now.”
Bran shook his head. “No. We have our orders. I will not allow you to kill the empress.”
“Idiot. I’m here to kill the Paladin. Now move.”
Bran shook his head and placed himself squarely in front of his brother. Without hesitation, Brian kicked his brother in the knee, sending him to the ground. He slid down the side of the slope they were standing on, struggling to regain his footing.
Leland had ended up with the messenger bag after he’d seen Catori struggling with it. Brian spotted it over the human’s shoulder and reached out for it, but the young man dodged him.
“You want this bag? Come get it.” He stepped back, holding out a large hunting knife he’d swiped from the armory. “I swore to protect Catori at all costs. Unfortunately for you, that involves me staying alive.”
Brian sneered and stepped forward, his eyes snake-like and emerald with steam rising from his teeth. “Did anyone ever tell you I met a Paladin once?”
Leland continued to back away with Catori at his side. He stepped on a loose rock, and it went sliding down the slope. They were on the other side of the mountain. So far there were no Paladins in sight, but if they didn’t leave soon, Catori feared, they’d be discovered.
“Did you ever hear that I don’t care?” Leland snapped, gaining his balance just in time to avoid a swipe from Brian’s sword. It sang as it cleaved the air to the left of Leland’s head.
Way too close.
“Well, I did meet one once. He begged for me to end his life after I was done with him. I burned every inch of his skin. Not all at once, of course. You want to go slowly, melt a bit at a time, take your time to ensure maximum torment. They spill their guts a lot faster that way.”
“You don’t say? Sounds kind of psychotic, if you ask me.” Leland’s jaw tightened as Brian jabbed his sword toward his gut.
“Stop this right now!” Bran yelled from below them. He was still struggling on the loose scree.
Brian ignored his sibling’s call. Bran finally got to his feet and began making his way toward Catori. He reached her as Brian and Leland continued to face off and tucked her behind him, even though she gripped his arm and tried to move to Leland’s side.
“Please, brother,” he said evenly. “Be reasonable.”
“Reasonable? Do you think the Paladins were reasonable when our mother was taken? Do you think they gave her mercy when they raped her in our home before cutting her throat? How merciful do you think that was, brother?” Brian scoffed and glanced at Bran, his sanity gone. His eyes glowed with fire, and his face was now long and scaly. “They tortured our mother in front of me. You don’t remember, but I do. I remember all of it. They cut her pretty throat when she was no longer of use to them. How merciful do you think I should be with any Paladin?”
r /> “This is not the same,” Bran cried, tears of frustration brewing in his eyes. “We are not monsters like those people were.”
But it was too late. Brian was morphing into his dragon form. His clothes shredded, exposing his skin as it turned scaly and his body grew ten times the size of his human form. Finally, talons as well as sharpened teeth grew from his hands and gums.
But Bran was no fool. He paused his own morph long enough to look back at Catori. “Run! Get out of here and take the Paladin with you. Protect the talismans!”
Suddenly, another dragon stood before them on all fours snarling at the large maroon creature which was Brian. Bran’s dragon was an iridescent green, reflecting the red-light bleeding from beneath his brother’s scales. They circled before simultaneously breathing jets of fire at one another.
The fire did nothing to either dragon, but it wreaked havoc on the sparse vegetation on the mountainside. Fire raged near Leland and Catori as they took off, running as fast as they could down the loose stones of the slope. The dragons did not watch them go but instead began a wrestling match. Talons swiped at the vulnerable soft spots at the base of the neck, the eyes, and the tender underbelly.
The green one hit lightly, almost afraid to hurt the other, but the red dragon was unforgiving and swiped harder, slashing the green dragon across the shoulder. Blood shot from the small but deep wound. The green dragon roared from the pain and dodged another hit. Brian was merciless, even to his baby brother, slashing at him without restraint.
This wasn’t good. Brian had lost his mind.
The dragons’ battle carried them down the slope, toward the others.
“Catori!” Leland dove to the ground as Brian swept his tail over them. Catori dropped down as well, rolling in the rocks, scraping her arms and legs in the process. The messenger bag remained on Leland; he’d strapped it across his chest and held on to it as though his life depended on it.
He reached for Catori to help her up, keeping an eye on the battle above them. “You have to morph. There’s no other way we can escape Brian. He’s too powerful.”