Enflamed (Book 2) (26 page)

XXIII

“’E looks just like ’is mum,
’e does!”

Kaijin awoke the following
morning to the sound of an excited Nester. He sat up slowly and rubbed his
lower back, feeling old and new cramps and agitating the stiffness in his bones
from from the days of being comatose.
Ugh, that’s the last time I sleep on a
cave floor.

His comrades clustered around
Kyniythyria. He heard a chirp.
Birds?
In a cave?
Curious, Kaijin craned his head, trying to
catch a glimpse of the center of the group. He saw movement faint enough that
he thought it was his imagination at first, until he saw Zarya kneel down.

A bright smile stretched
across the priestess’s face. “He is absolutely adorable, Mistress! Truly a
beautiful creature blessed by the goddess.”

Kaijin raised an eyebrow then
made his way over to join them. What he beheld made his jaw drop.
Another Dragon—a
baby
Dragon.
Its big, green eyes
were open wide, swiveling around, taking in its surroundings. It chirped and
crawled over to Zarya.

“I think ’e likes you already,
beautiful!” Nester laughed.

Zarya cradled the wyrmling in
her arms, though it seemed to prefer walking around on its own, by the way it
attempted to squirm away. “It is such an honor to hold such a precious
creature. How could anyone want to bring harm to him?”

Kyniythyria snorted. “It
happens. And that is why we must remain ever vigilant.”

“So, did you pick out a name
for ’im yet, Your Majesty?” Nester asked eagerly.

Kyniythyria chuckled. “I’d
decided on his name long before he hatched. His name is Czylenemaraad.”

Nester blinked. “Uh ... you’re
excused?”

Aidan rumbled with laughter.
“That is his name, Nester.”

“’Ow in
th
’
soddin’ ’ells do you even
say
that?” Nester scratched his head.

“You should know by now that
Draconic is the world’s most mind-boggling language, Nester,” Omari said. He
stood a small distance away from the rest of the group, feeding Percival some
berries from his rations pouch.

“Actually, the Celestial
language is,” Kyniythyria interjected, somewhat amused. “But who’s counting?”
Her tail swished, and her eyelids lowered.

Nester looked at Zarya. “So
all that strange mumblin’ you do in your prayers is just you talkin’ in your
secret language?”

Zarya smiled. “It is not a
‘secret language’. It is a very old language.”

The baby crawled to Sigmund
and rubbed its cheek against him, much like a cat marking its territory.
Sigmund smiled faintly at the wyrmling and rubbed under its chin but did
nothing more.

“’E seems to like you, too,”
Nester said, grinning at the guardian.

Sigmund bristled. “Yes, well.
I have seen many births. The Mistress and Her child are very dear to me, but I
cannot develop an attachment. I must go where and when my duty calls.”

“Your ‘duty’ is with me until
I say otherwise, Sigmund,” Kyniythyria said sharply, glowering at him.

Sigmund bowed his head. “But
of course, Great Mistress.”

“Now then, why don’t you take
Carver outside and start him on his training, hmm?”

Carver looked up from the
baby. Terror lingered in his eyes, but he said nothing.

“Yes, right away, Great
Mistress.” Sigmund bent at his waist, giving a more formal bow, and then
grabbed Carver’s arm and tugged him outside the cave.

Kyniythyria nudged her child
back into the nest, where it sprawled out on its belly and fell asleep.

“Now, then.”
Kyniythyria turned to the rest of the group, “I
believe there are a few matters that need to be addressed before I send you all
on your way, yes?”

Omari bolted upright. “Indeed,
Great Mistress,” he said quickly. He retrieved his staff and presented it to
her. “I have traveled all the way from the Citadel in hopes of fulfilling the
requirements of my test by having you enchant my staff. If you would do me this
honor, Great Mistress ...”

“Mmm.
Of course.”
Her eyes
flickered in a dazzling array of electric sparks as she gazed at him.
Bolts of lighting shot from her eyes and into the tip of the staff.

Omari jumped back, still
holding fast to his staff as it crackled with intense energy. The force sent
Percival flying off Omari’s shoulder and slamming into the cave wall. Percival
yelped in pain, and Omari echoed him. The group drew back, leaving Omari and
Kyniythyria together in the center.

Zarya took a step forward,
about to help Omari, but Aidan stuck out his massive forearm, barring her from
continuing. She gave the giant a pleading look, but when he ignored it, she
reluctantly stepped back.

Omari gritted his teeth and
closed his eyes; Percival’s pain had obviously affected him. Streaks of
lightning encompassed Omari, before disappearing within him. The tip of his
staff crackled with energy.

Kyniythyria reared and then
dismissed the magic. Her eyes returned to normal, and her body relaxed.

“It is done,” she said
sharply.

Kaijin, Nester, Zarya, and
Aidan gawked at Omari.

Omari fixated on the dancing
bolts of lightning, and it seemed as if his eyes now possessed a similar energy
within them. Even Percival miraculously revived and rushed to Omari’s side as
if nothing happened, seemingly drawn to the staff’s aura.

Omari tore his gaze away from
the glowing staff.
“My thanks, Mistress.”

Nester’s eyes had gone wider
than wide. “If I ain’t seen th’
most craziest
fiddlin’
before ...”

“That was amazing,” Kaijin
agreed. Then he asked Omari, “Are you all right? How do you feel?”

Omari shifted his gaze to
Kaijin, and grinned.
“‘All right’?
I am more than just
‘all right’. I am rejuvenated! This is the greatest feeling I have ever felt.”

“Well, what does it feel like,
mate?” Nester asked.

Omari shook his head slowly.
“I ... I cannot explain it.
The power of the Dragons,
perhaps?”

“Hardly,” Kyniythyria said
flatly. “The enchantment I placed on your staff binds to you mentally, and
enhances your innate abilities.”

“Permanently?”
Kaijin gaped.

Kyniythyria laughed.
“Of course not, Kaijin.
The enchantment will last only long
enough for Omari to show his teachers proof of the completion of his test. By
the way, Omari, I attached a message for Na’val on the enchantment.”

Omari blinked.
“A message?
Where? How do I deliver it to him?”

“It will be delivered as soon
as he sees you.”

“You sound like you’ve done
this many times, Great Mistress,” Kaijin said.

“So far, in my lifespan, Omari
has been the fourth mage.” She glanced at Omari. “You are one of Na’val’s
students, yes? He is the only one who sends his students to me. It is his way
of checking up on me, I suppose. After all, he did rescue me from slayers long
ago.”

Everyone gasped. Aidan
stiffened, his biceps tensing.

“
You,
Great
Mistress?”
Zarya exclaimed. “You
were a victim of slayers?”

“My parents were, but I
managed to escape. A generous young man named Na’val Faulk found me and took me
someplace safe.”

“Oh, Great Mistress, I am so
sorry ...” Zarya lowered her head solemnly.

Kyniythyria snorted. “Save your
pity, priestess. Dwelling on the past solves nothing. Only the future matters.”

Zarya lifted her head. Her
eyes had gone glassy.

Such a sad story, indeed,
Kaijin thought.
I wasn’t aware of the constant
dangers and perils that Dragons have to go through, despite their being the
guardians of the world. Their lives seemed to be in an ironic state of affairs.

“Master Faulk has only sent
four of his students to you?”
Omari quirked his brow.
“But he has hundreds of students. I do not understand.”

“Perhaps he only sent the ones
he deemed worthy and capable of surviving the trip?” Kaijin suggested.

Omari shot a cool gaze at
Kaijin and huffed. “Yes ... yes, perhaps that is it, then.” He secured his
glowing staff to his back.

“His reasons are his own,”
Kyniythyria said. “I saw nothing interesting about the other three he sent. You
are no different, Omari.... Well, except that you and Kaijin strangely carry
the same scent.” Her eyes shifted to the cave’s entrance, and she appeared deep
in thought.

Omari made an appalled face.
“What?” He glanced at Kaijin.

“Uh ... Should I be worried
about that?” Kaijin asked the Dragon.

Nester snickered. “Of course
they would smell alike, Your Majesty—them both bein’ fiddlers, an’ all.”

Kaijin rolled his eyes.
Whatever the Dragon meant, he was not in the mood to dwell on it.

Kyniythyria chuckled and then
looked at Zarya next.
“Zarya.
Your willingness and
determination to please the goddess is admirable, but do not become blinded by
your
own aspirations—that is
your greatest weakness.”

Zarya gulped. “But ... is it
not my duty to help protect
Her
world and Her
creatures?”

“Of course.
But as a priestess, it is your duty to spread
Her
truths to those who may doubt. Prevent the Legion from
strengthening in numbers. There is more to serving the goddess than simply
pleasing
Her
. We, the Dragons, are your advisors to
ensure you do not stray from the prime objective.”

Zarya bowed her head again.
“Y—yes, Great Mistress.
I understand.”

Kyniythyria looked at Aidan
next, but Nester jumped up and down, waving his arms, yelling, “Me next, Your
Majesty!
Me next!”

“Nester!”
Zarya retorted, shooting a sharp gaze at the brownie.

Kyniythyria
snickered,
tiny sparks of lightning escaping her nose. She held up her claw to silence the
priestess. “It’s all right. I’m rather fond of brownies, actually. They make me
laugh.”

A guffaw suddenly burst out of
Omari, but as all eyes turned to him, he quickly caught himself and brushed his
hand down his robes, as though removing some specks of dirt.

“Aye?”
Nester’s gap-toothed grin brightened.
“Well, ’ow ’bout a joke?
I know plenty.... So, a Dragon and
an orc walk into a pub and ...” He went on for several minutes with bizarre
joke-telling that left Kyniythyria reeling in laughter and the rest of them
scratching their heads.

“I don’t get it,” Kaijin
muttered.

Frowning, Omari nudged him and
muttered, “His jokes are obviously not meant for intellectual minds.”

Kyniythyria stopped in
mid-laugh and glowered at Omari. “What was that?” she growled.

Omari’s head snapped up. There
was obvious apprehension in his eyes. “Ah ... I meant to say, Great Mistress,
that the rest of us lack your outstanding intelligence to comprehend such
complex forms of humor.” He dropped his head.

Kaijin looked sidelong at him.
He hadn’t often seen Omari so submissive; it was a refreshing change.

Kyniythyria looked down her
nose at Omari. “Indeed.” She returned her attention to Nester.
“Excellent, Nester.
You should be a traveling entertainer.”

“Aww,
y’think so?
I ain’t as good as my
cousin Nellie. She’s th’ queen of jokes, she is! She’ll make you snort
lightnin’ through your nose before she even gets to
th
’
punchline! I think she almost killed a man before, she did. ’E laughed so ’ard
’e couldn’t breathe! She called it ‘th’ killer joke’!”

“Death by
laughter.
A most
dangerous weapon, indeed.”
Kyniythyria chortled.

Omari turned around and
grumbled, with a dramatic roll of his eyes, “Great. More of Nester’s senseless
rambling.”

Kaijin half-smiled at Omari.
“That’s what Nester does best.”

“Right.
Have fun listening to that blithering idiot. As I am
finished with my business here, I am leaving.” Omari rummaged through the pile
of rations, then filled up small pouches and retrieved a waterskin.

Should I stop him?

No, Omari was right. Their
journeys had been separate all along.

But Kaijin was concerned about
Omari surviving his trip back. He hoped Kyniythyria would take notice of
Omari’s actions, but the Dragon appeared preoccupied with Nester. Aidan and
Zarya continued staring. Perhaps they were still attempting to decipher
Nester’s joke.