[Bram Thorne.]

[I knew his day would come again.] Nestor had no fear of the warlock, but he needed to learn his lesson. Nestor couldn’t interfere. There still was a chance he could do what he promised. Nestor’s only chance was to depend on the Dragons. [My love, is there a Dragon anywhere near him?]

[Yes.]

[Is the warlock anywhere near them?] He asked.

[Yes,] She sent. [The warlock is heading right for them. I think he’s going to attack them.]

[Warn them,] The lord of the underworld said. [Hide them in the dark. Don’t let Bram surprise them.]

[I understand,]

Alea sent her husband a kiss then she leaned over the side of her chariot and rubbed the etched on symbol for the moon. Clouds rolled in and fog came down to cover the ground in front of the whirlwind. Bram looked out at the fog and shrugged. He didn’t think there was a cloud anywhere strong enough to resist his winds so he charged straight in thinking he’d blow the fog out of his way. But that’s not what happened. Trying as hard as he could, every time he tried to break up the fog banks, more fog rolled in to replace what had blown away.

[That’s not right.] he thought. [Fog is just condensed air. It can’t be stronger than me.]

He tried again and again. The fog got thicker and thicker. Soon it was almost like walking through warm water. Eventually, Bran stopped. His magic was being wasted. This was the work of some elemental warlock with stronger air magic than him. Bram backed himself out of the soup-like air. Whoever the warlock was, he had won this time.

“But I’ll be back,” He screamed into the fog. “And I won’t be a happy camper.”

As Bram backed up, his whirlwind started spinning around with lightning flashing out in all directions. The voices were laughing at him and calling him a failure. Bram screamed back cursing his masters and daring any of them to come out and fight him spell for spell.

[Why bother,] Nyer of Ishtar said. [You couldn’t beat my Grandma, and she’s 374.]

The voices broke out in another burst of laughter. Bram shut his mouth and spun himself away, thinking about what his next move should be. Then a thought hit him and he slowed to a stop twenty miles outside of Winterhaven.

[Caius,]

As they went about setting up camp Caius stopped when he heard his name called out.

[I know you’re there, Caius Regulus,] Bram sent. [I will make a deal with you.]

[What do you want?] Caius sent.

[You know what I want. I want my rings.]

[What do I get?] Caius sent

[First of all, you get to live,] Bram sent. [And I will let you keep the elemental powers I gave you.]

[Fat chance,] Caius sent. [I know you. You’ll let me keep the powers, then they will burn me up as they go out of control.]

[No boy,] Bram laughed at him. That would have been a good idea. [I promise I will leave you alone.]

He could always find some other fool to kill him once he has the powers of the underworld.

[What do you say?] Bram sat quietly as Caius thought about the offer. [Do not keep me waiting boy.]

Caius thought, there may be a way later on for him to destroy Bram. He just needs Niro’s hammer and a few of those trick items Hoddie has stored away.

[When they sleep tonight, I’ll steal the rings and bring them to you.]

[You made the right decision,] Bram said. [I might even let you keep Winterhaven when this is all done.]

All though Alea had been watching Bram and the Dragons, she couldn’t hear the deal that Bram and Caius had just made. She would stay with them until Alee was ready to start his ride. Then she would have to go back to the underworld to rest up for her next ride. To tell you the truth, the Gods were supposed to stay out of this. And they usually did, they knew the fate of most mortals was beyond them and on borrowed time. But even the Gods had a sense of right and wrong, and they usually would obey the laws of balance. But this could be something that would affect all of the Gods. If Nestor lost his seat on the underworld’s throne, the prophecy promised ten thousand years of evil would reign on Keanna. The Gods would oppose that. They will stick their hands into that if they have to.

As the sun rose, Niro took the time to feed and care for Ankrua. Though they had flown north to Fay Shea, the rest of the way to Winterhaven would be by foot or horseback. Niro checked his bag. His water and rations were there. So were his face mask, healing potions, and his treats for Ankrua. His hammer was always at his side, but his ring, he always kept hidden in a small pocket in his saddlebag. Once he was done, Hoddie and his small pony came out with Rowyn and Ranjer. Quyyn, Sky, and Cutter followed them with Bly sitting on Cutter’s shoulder. They still had more than five hundred miles to go straight through Fay Shrea and some pretty bad territory. Niro and Hoddie took the lead with Bly and Rowyn in fairy form buzzing ahead as lookouts.

The first hundred miles went easy. They passed through a few fairy nations and some forest Elves’ kingdoms and hollows. The land around here was beautiful, with shires with homes built right into the hills. There were fields of elven herbs and streams with falls with beautiful caves with small homes built in the sides.

From there they moved into the lowlands of a few dark elves. There were tall castles with magical borders that barred their lands from any intruders.

Hoddie warned them about the troubles with messing with dark elves. Their magic was legendary and their curses outstanding. Princes had been turned to frogs, and frogs became heroes. Anything was possible in the land of dark elves.

They moved from Erodarios to Losdedin moving at top speed. In Hyronges, Ranjer went up against a warlock named Was Levos who held the princess of Roltalon hostage in the poisonous swamps of Hyronges. The fight went on for hours until a lucky blast knocked Ranjer out of the fight. One would think that was the end, but Rowyn stepped in to take his place. As Levos laughed and held the princess tight against his chest. Rowyn pulled her wand and spoke a line of intelligible words. She waved the wand in a circle over her head then brought it down on Was. His throat crapped up until he could barely speak. His eyes bulged in pain and a sound came out of his throat that was more guttural then human or elven. As he fell, he dragged the princess down with him. With his hammer in one hand, Niro reached out and ripped her out of his clutches. Was fell down into a puddle of shadows and slowly sank, leaving nothing showing but one dark gray hand.

The princess swooned in Niro’s arms but he wasn’t the prince she was waiting for. She kissed his cheek and stepped away from him. She looked around to find Ranjer sitting in a giant toadstool off to the side. She smoothed her white cotton dress and fixed her hair, then she walked over to stand next to Ranjer.

“Excuse me, Sir.” She tapped him on his shoulder, “I’m not sure what I should be saying here but I want to thank you for saving me from that bastard Was. He broke into my father’s castle and kidnapped me in the middle of the night.”

“I‘m sorry to hear that.” Ranjer smiled, showing his fangs. “I know warlocks like Was Levos. Most of them are all talk and a lot of drama. My mother and Grandfather were like that. They tried to overthrow my father and take over our home. They got my older brother killed and scarred another brother’s face. She tried to gas me to death.”

“Wow.” The princes said. “You’ve got some mother.”

“Princess,” Ranjer started. “I don’t know your name.”

“My name is Clarissa Admoira.” She said as she bowed. “Princess of Belanor. You may call me Cassie.”

“I am Ranjer Valkar Arturus Zlenka,” Ranjer held her hand and bowed. “I’m the youngest son of King Valkar of Yedessa. Ranjer to my friends.”

Cassie looked closely at Ranjer. She noticed for the first time how pale he was. Then she saw his fangs in his smile.

“You’re a Vampire?” She said as Quyyn and Sky came over to stand with them.

“Does that matter?” Quyyn asked her. He had a frown on his face. It seemed her answer might upset him.

[Relax my love.] Sky sent. [Not everyone on Keanna accepts us. We were once called monsters.]

“I am not a monster,” Quyyn said. “I am a Dragon and a man. If you can’t accept that, then I will leave.”

“This isn’t about you,” Ranjer said. “It’s about me. Yes, I am a Vampire and I live in a land of Werewolves. I am proud of what I am, if you can’t accept that, then we have nothing to talk about.”

Ranjer, Quyyn, and Sky turned to walk away. Cassie stopped them.“I’m sorry if my tone was of disapproval,” She said. “I was just surprised. I have nothing against Vampires or Werewolves. I’ve never met anyone like you before.”

“My apologies Princess,” Quyyn said. “We see prejudice and hate from your kind so often, I guess I expect it.”

“By my kind,” She said. “You mean Humans?”

“Yes,” Ranjer said. “We try not to judge people, but sometimes it happens.”

“I won’t judge you,” She said. “Now I expect you not to judge me.”

“We’ll try not to,” Hoddie said as he and Niro joined them. “Belanor is not far from here, so we’ll take you home.”

“Thank you,” She said taking Ranjer’s hand.

[I think she likes Ranjer,] Quyyn smiled and looked to Rowyn. [I hope this won’t be trouble.]

Though Cassie stayed close to Ranjer, Quyyn, and Niro, Rowyn, and Bly kept a close eye on her. They were both respectful to her, but not friendly. Hoddie thought someone had to do something about that.

“Cassie, did you know that Rowyn is a princess too?”

“Really?” She looked over to Rowyn and smiled. “I should have guessed. She carries herself like a princess. You can see it in the way she walks. Bly is a princess too, I can see it clearly now.”

Rowyn blushed as she and Bly caught up with Cassie and Ranjer. She plucked a dead flower from the side of the road. She held it close to her mouth and blew a magical breeze at it. Suddenly color flowed back into its leaves as the flower bloomed. White petals formed around a yellow center. Rowyn held the flower out to Cassie.

“Thank you, Princess,” She said. “I’ll keep it forever.”

As Caius watched from the saddle of his horse, he shook his head. He couldn’t believe how stupid Niro’s friends were. Yes, the princess was pretty but none of these fools should be anywhere near her. She should be hanging on his arm, not that imbecile Ranjer. He didn’t care if he was a prince. He didn’t care if he was a Vampire. With his elemental powers, Caius had more power then Ranjer ever would.

The trip to Belanor was pretty uneventful. Rowyn and Bly kept Cassie busy with hunting and working at the cookfire. For a princess, Cassie could make a meal with a skinny rabbit and a few root vegetables. Hoddie and Niro came back for seconds, and cleaned out the cooking pot. This time, Bly did the hunting for her and Yarden. She came back to get Yarden to bring back her kill.

As the sun went down, a silver sliver of the moon made its way up into the sky. Bly told them the sliver meant Alea’s ride would be far out in the sky. She wouldn’t be able to see much of Keanna from this night’s ride. Caius kept quiet. He didn’t want to let anything about what he had planned for tonight to get out.

With a quiet nod, Quyyn and Sky found a cave to sleep in. Caius offered to take the first watch and let everyone get some sleep. Ranjer got an offer from Cassie’s father to stay at the castle. That left Hoddie, Rowyn, Cutter, and Niro in the tents that they packed on Cutter’s back.

When the campfire went out, everyone was asleep, it was time for Caius to make his move. He walked over to the tents where he heard Niro and Hoddie snoring. Cutter was sitting with his legs crossed as he slipped into a deep sleeping trance. Now he had to find Bly. He knew she kept Bram’s rings in a bronze box somewhere near where she sleeps. The problem was Ammath fairies were one of the most powerful and dangerous fairies in Fay Shrea. Her sting could blow a hole through a wall a foot thick and still have the strength to drop a charging bull. In her fairy form, she could knock out a Sorrowdown gladiator. In a full rage, there was no telling what she could do. Even with his newfound abilities, Caius had no idea if he could beat her. Waking her up would be a big mistake.

Fairies had a habit of making a nest either high up in a tree, or deep down in a cave or a hollow. Quyyn and Sky were sleeping in a cave west of camp. Caius wondered if Bly could be in there too. There was only one way to find out.

After taking his pack off his horse, Caius set it free. He wouldn’t need it where he was going. The cave was west of the campsite. With his pack on his back, he set out to find his prize. He walked for an hour looking for a hill or a grove where a cave could be located. After a few more minutes, he ran into a wall of stone. It was Mount Kilstro, an eastern peak that rose high in the Hallmar range. Caius was sure the cave had to be here. But where? It could be anywhere high or low. As he made sure his pack was fastened down, he called on his wind powers to take to the air. Like a bird, he circled the lower areas on the mountain looking for the cave. He spotted a few dark areas, but most of them were shadows. Moving further up, he widened his search. He found two bear huddles and passed them by. Then he saw it. It was a cave about halfway up the mountain with no noise shaking the cave.

[This is it.] Caius said to himself.

Caius flew in closer, still not hearing anything. He dropped down to the entrance and looked into the cave. He thought it would be dark, but there was light twinkling in and out of a thousand different colors. Caius reached around and took his pack off of his shoulders. As he stepped forward and took his first step into the cave, Caius looked up and around the walls of the cave. As the light shined in, it bounced off different crystals reflecting back like stars in the night sky.

As Caius walked, he watched the flashing lights blink in and out around the walls. The lights made him think back to when he was a young boy in the Sorrowdown Empire. At night his mother gave him his first chore. He had to go to the Chan Nel bakery and bring home freshly baked bread. On his way back, Caius would stop at the arena. It was late night so it would be empty. Caius would walk up the ramps to the top floor and layout and watch the stars in the sky. As he watched, he would pick out certain stars and connect them into warriors that he could put together in battles. Heading into the cave, Caius watched as his imagination formed warriors that fought in bright fantastic battles.

As he walked, he started to hear something strange. It was like some kind of wind heaving in and out through a tunnel. Caius couldn’t imagine what it could be, but as he walked, it got louder and louder. To Caius, it sounds like a giant, breathing in and out through a tunnel.

The walls of the cave rattled, shaking him on his feet. Caius sent a cushion of air down beneath his feet to keep him from falling over. The noise got louder as he made it deeper into the cave. After he turned a corner, Caius stepped into a cavern almost the size of Sorrowdown’s arena. There were stalactites pushing up to the roof all through the cavern. Stalagmites dropped down in various sizes dripping pools of settlements everywhere.

Caius steered his way through the cavern. Bly had to be here somewhere.

The path Caius was taking would lead him from this chamber all the way back to a chamber with a large pool and a trail that would take him up

As Caius moved into the back of the cavern, he noticed how dark it had gotten. It was like with each step he took, the cavern got a shade darker.

[It was cold too,] He thought to himself.

Caius looked around to see all the water here was frozen. Icicles hung from stalagmites while snow covered the ground. It wasn’t deep, Cais thought as he kicked snow up to rain rainbow crystals as it fell.

As he watched the snowfall, Caius had a thought. This snow must be the work of Sky, the Snow Phoenix. He froze the water here as he slept. That means this is the right cave. From here on, he would have to be careful.

Caius raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Like a torch, his hand blazed to life lighting his way on.

To his right, there was a shelf, twice the size of Sorrowdown castle’s front gate. That would be big enough to hold a dragon. Above that, there was another shelf. That could be where Quyyn and his mate were sleeping. Bly would be somewhere close to the sleeping dragon and his mate.

Caius pumped more power into his hand and raised it higher. A strong wind blew cold air in giving more power to his blazing hand. There were three small shelves hanging out of the wall in front of him. Bly must be on one of the three shelves. Caius stretched out his arms and set himself on fire. As the fire blazed, his weight dropped and he lifted off from the ledge, rising higher and higher. In a few seconds, he reached the first shelf. There was something copper-colored on the shelf. Caius though it might be something Bly had guarding her while she slept. Whatever it was, it looked huge, he would have to be careful not to wake it up.

As he lifted himself higher, he got a closer look at Bly’s guardian. Caius jumped in shock when he realized the guardian was Quyyn, sleeping in his dragon form. Fire blew out of his nostrils as the dragon snored. Caius watched it closely to be sure it wasn’t waking up. Another twenty-five feet and he would be in the clear. Caius poured on power so he would rise faster. Ten more feet and he would be passed Quyyn. Then he would be out of danger.

He felt relief as he reached the next ledge. He was passed out of Quyyn’s sight so he was in the clear. The dragon can’t get to him.

As he reached the top of the ledge, Caius saw something blue laying on the ledge surrounded by snow and ice.

[In Rimnar’s name.] Cais said. [What is this?]

It was all blue and covered with frozen feathers. Caius was at a loss as he thought about what it was until the snow started falling. Then he knew what it was. It was Quyyn’s mate the Snow Phoenix. This could mean trouble, Caius didn’t know much about Snow Phoenixes, but he did know they could detect heat anywhere close to them. Caius had to do something. If he kept going using his flames, he could wake the Phoenix up. But if he stopped, he’d fall, like a rock, down to the floor of the cavern. He would have to pour it on for one final blast and pray he made it to the next ledge.

Caius pulled his arms in and balled up his fists. Hre closed his eyes and pushed really hard forcing gas fumes out of his bottom. Like a shooting star, he shot up, passing Sky and moving straight up to a smaller ledge right over his head. As he passed the ledge, he cut off the power feeding his accelerated ride. Like a mighty jump, Caius went up then dropped down onto Bly’s ledge.

There she was, laying there, sleeping like a baby, in the petals of a massive tulip she had magically grown on her ledge. Caius silently walked passed her, to the bronze box that lay off to her side. He rubbed his hands together as he kneeled down to work on the locking mechanism of the box.

The front of the box had stars and moons on its front. Shooting stars and meteorites blazed from one side to the other. Caius had to figure out what order the celestial bodies were supposed to be in.

“Last night,” He whispered to himself. “The moon was full and Ceatos was flying in from the west.”

Caius moved the pieces to mimic last night’s lunar movement then he did the stars of the night. There was a clicking sound and the box popped open. All of the rings were right here. He counted four rings. That’s not right. There should be six. He rummaged through them. The shadow and the terrain ring was missing. That would be Niro and Hoddie’s rings. Of course, they would still have their rings. That old bastard would have to deal with what he gets. Fortunately, my ring will make five.

Caius stuck his hand into the box and scooped up the rings. He opened his pack and dropped them in. Now he was ready to go. Relighting his flames, he took off up the roof and out into the night.

Our authors deserve your support. The only payment they receive are the emails you send them. Let Jandar know you are reading: Jandar dot Tyr at CastleRoland dot net.

12,581 views