Dark Secrets (19 page)

              Wait! What am I saying? I am Queen Ember! I may not be as cynical or selfish or even as reprimanding as she is, but I am royalty. With royalty comes great power, power I am sure that I can tap into!

              I take a few deep breaths to still my mind as the dragons emerge in combat. It’s hard to focus while I’m being slung all over the place, but somehow I manage. I fuse myself to Archer’s body, forcing myself to be one with the dragon (forcing him to let me). He lets out a loud bellow and I can’t tell if it’s because of me or the other dragon. At the moment, I simply do not care. Self-preservation has taken hold.

              I take one more deep breath releasing my fear. I draw the energy from nature in, enveloping the essence of our world like a great cocoon into my body. I raise my arms, held high into the sky, calling upon the ancient powers.
“Ancient spirits, hear my call. Power I must obtain to save us all! Great creator heed my warning, if I fail there will be great mourning. Help me stop the unbending doom. I hand my life over to you.”
Silence follows.

              The world around me is frozen in time just as I was about to be thrown off Archer’s back. The King Dragon’s claw is mere inches from slicing Archer’s neck wide open.

“
Get down, my child”
A voice whispered through my thoughts. “
Do as I say and all will be well”
The voice continued. I looked around shocked, unsure what was happening but confident that my spell worked. I crawled my way down trying to be careful, but inevitably falling on my ass in the end.

              I jumped up quickly and brushed myself off. “What now?” I ask the wind.

              “
Stand before the Draconian Lord. In front of Archer ye shall go. Place your palms upon thy majesty’s feet and sing a silent prayer for me.”

             
I did just as I was told, steering clear of anything sharp or pointy as I maneuvered around the two fiery beasts. I sat in waiting for my next instruction, pondering what song I shall sing
.
Instinctively I drew out my sword and plunged it deep into the beast’s leg, the closest body part I could reach. The voice spoke once more…

“Repeat after me:

This great beast is nothing to me.

This great beast shall fall at my feet.

I am Ember, Queen of the Souls.

I am Ember, see me glow.

Great Creator be with me.

This power within beckons me.

For fear of harm to those I love

I shall call upon the power Above

I thrust my sword upon his leg.

Extinguishing his power within.

Forever frozen in time.”

             
Repeating the words given, I felt a sense of belonging… like my soul was finally at ease. I was exactly where I was needed. My destiny had come full circle and while I still had a lot to learn I knew nothing would ever be the same. My life was never my own, but it no longer feels like a burden.

              A loud crack resounded through the trees as I opened my eyes, having not realized I had closed them in the first place. Reality came crashing back in and the world was suddenly un-paused. But, nothing is as it was. Archer was no longer in danger and the stealthy creature before me was no longer living, nor was he dead. The poem I sung did not harm a thing. Just like the Creator is as fair as the winds, his punishments are the same.

              Stood before me was a magnificent statue, one that would last through the ages and be told in all the stories. My life will firmly be planted in history for having been the first person ever to turn a dragon to stone!

“Butterflies and bees living in the trees

Flying high into the sky

Soaring through the endless night

Into a new beginning

So this is the reason for living

Life too strong to be confined

I’ll break free, just give me time

No such weakness as kryptonite

My soul will light up the world forever

Lovely universe in disguise

So many people despise

I know your true nature

I know your life

To protect your wisdom, I strive

Love and light intertwined

May you never feel alone!”

Fifteenth Chapter: Death and Democracy

              I silently thank the creator and spirits as I turn to see Archer backing up slowly, disbelief evident in every part of his body. He peers down at me as if I were something to fear, I relish the thought. I smile brightly up at him and say, “You’re in charge now. Enjoy your newfound reign as the King of Dragons. I wink at him in a humorous mood before remembering Derek. All amusement exited my system. I turn to run towards him, fearing the worst.

Pain gripped my heart as I recognized his mangled body. His legs were clearly broken, his arms dislocated and his neck turned in an unnatural direction. His shallow breathing was the only thing that indicated that he may survive this.

“Damien!!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, knowing he would hear me. Within seconds he was standing beside me. Sobs were taking hold of my chest, heaving up any food I had left in me. Derek’s grotesque body was making me physically ill and the thought of losing him being the cause of my emotional turmoil. Damien gasped as he examined the extent of the damage. Sadness creeps over his features as he shakes his head like a mad man.

“Fix him. We have to fix him!” I all but yelled between moans. Rocking back and forth my mind is going blank. I feel as if I am losing a part of myself. If he dies I will not recover, I can feel it deep in my bones. This man is a part of who I am. Without him, I am next to nothing. He means just as much to me as my son does.

“There’s nothing I can do.” Damien utters as he wraps his arms around me, trying and failing to soothe my woes. I cry harder at his words, finding no comfort in his embrace at all.

“I can heal him” a voice declares from behind us. Damien and I turn as one to see who it is speaking, shock coursing through my body as I realize I am staring at Lachlan once again.

“YOU!” Damien snarls, “You will not touch him!”

Damien’s face is a mask of anger and I can tell at any second he would gladly rip Lachlan’s head off. The voice of reason enters my head. Without Lachlan’s help, Derek will die.

“No. Damien, stop!” I lunge towards him before he barely makes his first step, firmly blocking his path to Lachlan who is slowly backing away. Damien looks down at me and growls.

“He’s our only hope right now.” I whisper to him. “Let him do it. I can’t lose him again”

Damien looks down at me in shock, recognizing at this moment that I remember who both Derek and Damien were to me in a past life. A softness fills his eyes as he brushes the hair out of my eyes. “I have only ever wanted the best for you, you know.”

“I know.” I smile meekly. “But without Derek I am lost. He completes me in a way I cannot explain. I’m sorry. But, I need him even more than I need you.” Hurt fills his features but he nods his head in understanding, gingerly backing out of the way.

Lachlan moves forward as Damien watches him warily. I kneel down next to Derek, next to Lachlan, as I watch the process unfold. Lachlan slowly raises his hands above Derek’s blood streaked chest and begins to speak. Latin unfolding from his lips in a way that’s almost mesmerizing, he speaks words that I cannot comprehend.  I watch intently as Derek’s body begins to heal itself. Little by little, piece by piece, the Derek I remember resurfaces. First his bones reset, and then his wounds heal. A soft cough escapes his lips and blood sputters out, frightening me even more. Lachlan keeps on talking and the winds pick up. Derek’s body heaves as each word from Lachlan’s mouth gets louder. With each intake of breath his body convulses. Until all at once, the world stops.

Lachlan gingerly picks him up and with a brief nod towards Damien; he leads the way back inside the castle. At first I don’t know where we are going but soon I understand. He is taking us back to my father, to the hidden chambers that no one but the king was supposed to know about. Worry creases my features as I realize my son and father could have been in danger all this time.

Damien must have been thinking the same thing because anger has replaced his cold demeanor. He glares at Lachlan as he gives a swift knock on the door; no response. He pounds again and still nothing. My eyes grow wide and I quickly force enough energy to reach the other side. Once in I realized teleporting in was exactly what needed to be done.

There before me was a scene I would not soon forget: my father’s body lay motionless on the ground while my son, radiating the same blue glow that I possess, was tossing around a lone vampire like a rag doll with only the use of his mind. Kai’s face was contorted in a mask of horror and anger, unyielding in the face of danger. The enemies’ body was bouncing from wall to wall as he quickly lost consciousness. I stood there shocked and unsure what to do. As I stare out at the scene unfolding it registers in my mind that someone is trying to break the door down. I quickly unlock the door and jump back to let them in.

The guys rush in quickly, Damien first with Lachlan quickly following, still holding Derek’s unconscious body. Both stop midstride, astonishment riding through every feature they had. Lachlan’s blue eyes grow wide as he quietly curses.

“Holy shit!” Damien yells.

Kai stops mid throw, dropping the rattled vampire to the ground to see who was behind him. Relief penetrates my son’s now vibrant auburn colored eyes as he runs towards me and jumps in my arms, immediately weeping.

The vampire slowly tries to get up. As fast as lightening, Damien unleashes the final blow. Breaking a chair, he uses one of the legs to pierce our enemies’ heart. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” Damien exclaims wildly.

I look down at the heap on the ground that is my father, tears streaming down my face as I try to calm my son’s unbidden sobs.

It’s been a week since my father’s death and nothing has gotten easier. Derek still lay in bed, not yet waking from his stupor, Lachlan is in the castle dungeon (although I am sure if he really wanted to he could escape), and Damien has been helping me to try and rally the people.

After all that has been said and done I am still not welcome as their ruler. I have a few followers sure, but the mass majority sees me as a half-breed not fit for ruling. I had unwittingly thought that with everything I had done for them they would accept me whole-heartedly. But, the sudden death of the King has left a gap between us.

On the bright side of things, the dragons have accepted me as their supreme ruler. Archer is the King just as I told him he would be, but I am the Queen and in the dragons’ eyes I am their true ruler now. I made a space for them to nest not twenty yards from the castle grounds. They now claim fifty acres of Elven land as their own and take commands from me but Archer takes care of what I cannot. Archer stays a bit closer than the others, more dedicated than most. He is now my second in command. Damien is my third. Plans for the future are being put into motion. A revolutionary leap between elves and dragons is well underway.

I have a lot of unwanted emotions running through my mind at the moment, unsure what my next step will be. Kai has been following me around like a little puppy… more afraid than ever to leave my side. This whole adventure has left him scared and unsure. I feel bad about dragging him into this mess in the first place. But, what was I supposed to do. I only just detangled him from beneath my legs a few short hours ago with the promise of returning as soon as my obligations were fulfilled. I have a meeting with the city council to attend in about an hour and I have been working on my speech and what I could possibly tell the people, my people, to make them understand that I am in this for the long haul and I plan on making sure our kingdom is never attacked again.

Kai is with the castle seer. He’s currently being looked over to see what all his latent abilities may entail and how much stronger he will be than I am. The seers’ name is Kathy, a sweet old lady who has spent the last seventy years of her life serving my father. She promised to help me with Kai’s coping mechanisms so that he may understand what all has happened. He’s too young to have gone through so much…

I am pacing back and forth in my chambers; Derek lay on my bed unmoving. I redecorated my room. I took out all the baby furniture and replaced them with a giant queen size bed made out of mahogany wood. Wood posts as tall as the room sat on each corner, a veil covered the bed to keep mosquitos at bay on those warm summer nights when I had to have the windows open. A maroon colored bedspread now covers the soft feather mattress. Two oak tables sit on each side of the bed with a purple lamp on each. I repainted the walls a pale blue and had a master decorator come in and paint clouds on the walls and the sun, moon, and stars strategically placed along the ceiling.