Evonne redirected the flame from the creature ahead of them at the very last moment. There were two of these creatures chomping, growling, and blowing way too much fire. Kaden watched as Evonne’s hands slowly moved back and forth, pulling the fire around them.
The heat seared their senses, making a sweat break across his brow. Sayori threw up another stone to block the onslaught before Evonne had to drop her hands. Kaden’s heart was beating hard in his chest. They knew something was under there but they hadn’t expected such a beast, much less two of them.
Reese slid next to Kaden with their backs to the stone and simply said, “Well, fuck.”
Kaden couldn’t help but laugh at the reaction. It was ridiculous that they were being attacked by such a creature. It had caught them off guard entirely, even though they were expecting something. He wasn’t thinking this whole time, just reacting.
It was time for him to think.
Standing back up, he closed his eyes and tried to sense the air around him. It was damp and cool. The tunnel was more like a cave. Moisture had nowhere to go, nowhere to evaporate. It was perfect.
He pulled the water toward him, willing it to pool into his hands. If the creatures controlled fire, then he needed to extinguish that with his use of water. The others could also manipulate water, but they hadn’t been able to pull without a direct source quite yet. Kaden, on the other hand, he just needed some type of moisture to exist near him.
The creature stopped blowing fire as the water was flying past him toward Kaden. Stepping from behind the stone wall, Kaden wielded the water into whips. They slithered and flew through the air at the creature. It tried to smack them out of the way, but they only reformed after each assault.
That’s when it tried to blow fire at them and Kaden made his move. He pushed the water right down its throat, extinguishing the fire before it could even be released. The creature gagged and pulled away which screeching and coughing from the water. It tried it again and he was quick to force the water into its mouth again.
It quickly learned that tactic would not work anymore. It backed up, wary of nearing them again. The others were able to use the water remnants that Kaden had brought forth and were helping him with the assault. The creature howled at the onslaught.
It didn’t take long.
The creature was turning around and doing its best to escape their attack. It faded away into the darkness without looking back. They heard a blood-curdling screech behind them. It was guttural and wet. Sayori and Kaden’s eyes met in panic. She didn’t hesitate before sprinting back toward the noise.
He couldn’t blame her after what had happened to them before. They had nearly lost Taldor before. He couldn’t imagine what Sayori felt then. The blood that had burst forth from them alone would have traumatized anyone. He had been there and knew how horrible it had been and yet still; he didn’t know how horrifying it was with the dragon and rider connection.
The dragons came into view, standing over the creature. Kaden’s shoulders dropped as they neared it, realizing it was no longer breathing. The dragons looked pleased with themselves, and he could only shake his head at the scene. Evonne was searching over Jerri for any wounds, but from where Kaden stood, none of the dragons looked to have any lacerations or cuts on them. That must be the reason why the dragons were still okay with using the tunnels. The creatures seemed ferocious, but to them, they were too strong for them.
“Well,” Reese said as he passed by Kaden. “Guess those beasts weren’t as ferocious as we thought.”
He walked to it and kicked the furred creature and the body seized. Reese jumped into the air, his wind magic propelling him higher than normal before he floated back down as the body continued to lie motionless. Kaden couldn’t help but snicker.
“Now what?” asked Sayori as she patted Taldor.
Evonne sighed and said, “We keep going.”
Kaden looked over at the creature on the ground. “What do we do with this thing?”
“Leave it,” Reese flicked his hand. “I doubt this is the first time one of these ended up dead here.”
They couldn’t really argue with that, and all of them shrugged and walked away. The dragons weren’t bothered by the creature, not even curious to check it out after they killed it. Kaden wondered why they made the dragons have to even deal with such creatures in the tunnels. They weren’t in the earth kingdom. These dragons weren’t used to hiding in the earth.
There were several instances where the tunnel did naturally split off. Kaden could only assume that’s where these creatures were hiding. The glowstones they saw cut into the wall of the main passageway must be what they were hunting for. Meeting dragons down there has to be irritating for the creatures.
Evonne hadn’t been gone long from her country before she met with the group in the White City. They had only made this change recently, as she knew nothing about the tunnels. Kaden wondered how much they let her know in the first place. While she was a dragon rider, there was something unsaid between her and her fire ambassador Malfor.
He remembered seeing the scars on her arms at the water castle. How embarrassed she had been from having to display them. They were from being set ablaze. It seemed all over her, all except her pretty face. Whoever did it had done so intentionally. She hadn’t spoken about how she got them or who had done it. Kaden had a feeling that being in her home country was going to bring those memories to the forefront. He wasn’t about to push her into revealing anything she didn’t want to.
Stolen story; please report.
“Do you think there are some Serpent shenanigans going on here too?” Asked Reese as he had his hands crossed behind his head while he strolled next to Kaden.
“I’m sure they probably have some sects here based on what we know. Why?”
“Well, why did they make this tunnel for the dragons? Humans aren’t allowed in here, or so they said. Those creatures I think are more native in here, so I doubt they were maliciously placed. Why are they keeping the dragons from the skies? The Dragon Games are about to start here. Such a strange thing to set up before an influx of people arrive.”
Sayori did a little hop and skipped closer to them to join the conversation. “Yeah, I hadn’t thought about all the incoming visitors and dragons. Outside of those beaked monstrosities, I don’t think the tunnel is that dangerous. At least, I don’t feel anything else out of sorts down here. Those things are giving us a wide berth now. I think we scared them.”
“I think they eat the glowstones,” said Evonne as she joined them. “I haven’t heard of them before, but I know dragons like the stones, so why not other creatures?”
“Makes sense.” Sayori tightened her bracers as she walked. “They must have been worried about dragons coming in overhead or walking through the city. There is enough of a threat that they had to put these measures in. They had to have had earth mage support for how this tunnel is crafted. It’s partially natural, partially man-made. I bet the commotion caused some glowstones to get loose, hence the creatures.”
“That all sounds pretty accurate,” scoffed Reese. “But why did they have to do it in the first place? Who are they afraid of? I have a nasty feeling it’s the damn serpents again.”
A voice rang out and said, “You would be right.”
They all snapped their heads up, their dragons growling at the sudden entrance. Kaden popped his eyes open in surprise as a silvery shimmer bounced their fire light off its scales. A white dragon was pushing through the darkness. The figure laughed as the dragons relaxed.
Their white mage acquaintance, Meinor, was standing there before them with his arms crossed. “You four like to cause drama everywhere you go, don’t you?”
Their tension fell as they realized they were meeting someone friendly. Reese shook his head. “What are you doing down here?”
“Walking, clearly.”
“Humans aren’t allowed down here,” laughed Sayori.
Meinor had been there with them through so much of the incident at the citadel. He too had fought off the House of the Serpent members from scaling the walls. He had been there when they discovered the treachery of the Water Ambassador. Of the white mages, he had seen the most with them.
“Exactly. Which is why they sent me down here to get you four.” He shook his head and laughed. “I should have known better that it was you lot. They had just said it was a few dragon riders in here. I don’t know what they were worried about. They must not have heard of all your various exploits.”
Kaden smiled slyly and shrugged. “We just like to break rules when we enter new kingdoms.”
Meinor let out a burst of laughter. He was one of the three riders that had stopped Kaden and Sayori from entering the white city unannounced.
“Come on, we have to get you to the compound before Malfor’s ears blow off.”
He joined them in their stroll and explained that they he had been dispatched to discuss defenses with the fire nation. There had been some developments with the serpents that he couldn’t elaborate on. Kaden knew that while they had been involved in several instances involving the group, they were still considered lower in rank. None of them pushed it.
“They had been attacking dragons in the skies and in the city, so this was the only solution.” Meinor waved to the surrounding tunnel. “We can control the entrances and exits so we know who gets in.”
“You haven’t been able to track down the ones attacking them in the streets?” asked Reese.
“They are blending well into the people. Those people aren’t cooperating with us either. I don’t quite understand it. I worry that something is bubbling under the surface that none of us are prepared for.”
The vision of the end of their world flashed in his memory. Something was coming, something that none of them could be prepared for. Something, someone, was going to cause the destruction of their world, and Kaden had to stop them.
“What about the creatures?” Evonne asked in a quiet voice.
He smirked. “Ah, you met one of them? Vicious beast aren’t they? We sealed all the natural entrances to make sure to keep this place contained. Unfortunately, we didn’t think about checking to see if anything was in here beforehand. An oversight on my end. The creatures don’t seem to mind too much with all the glowstones they’ve found.”
“I figured,” grumbled Sayori. “Are there more earth mages here that helped with this?”
“There is a group they sent to help me with this. I could have done it myself, but it would have taken a lot longer of a time. Ambassador Remni has been working overtime building bridges with the other nations, so she jumped at the opportunity to help by sending a delegation of earth mages. Most of them have gone back home now, but there’s still one or two here for maintenance of the tunnels.”
Ambassador Remni had been the only one who was fully supportive of them when it came to snuffing out the traitors in the white city. The Lord Commander of the white mages trusted her, and Kaden trusted his opinion. She must know that they will be better united than apart.
He began asking them about the water nation incident. Hearing of their exploits from someone who hadn’t even been there was a bit strange of a sensation for Kaden. Meinor was being incredibly candid with what he knew. He knew of how they trapped Lord Loratyk into confessing his crimes even.
“You four just like making a name for yourselves everywhere you go, don’t you?”
Reese shrugged and said, “we’ve got to make you white mages look bad somehow, don’t we?”
Kaden expected anger at the words but instead was met with laughter. “You don’t know how right you are! We are having to do so much now, thanks to your adventures. I haven’t ever been this busy with my duties.”
“Are you just here for this construction and intel you’re sharing? Or will you be staying for the games?” Asked Evonne politely.
He nodded to her and said, “I’ll be here for a little bit. I’ll probably catch a game or two, but I have to get back to the Lord Commander soon. We haven’t had a serpent attack since the tunnels were built, so I’m getting pressure from the fire lords to let them handle it. We’re supposed to let the nations handle things themselves, just help when it’s needed. If we push too much, it’s seen as the white city trying to control the sovereignty of a nation. They don’t like that.”
“Makes sense,” mumbled Kaden.
“I’ll take you lot to your first gladiatorial game, though! They should start in the next day or so. I’ve got to check the schedule, but you will love it. I know a guy who knows a guy and can get you down in the pits to see it firsthand!”
Kaden watched as Reese’s posture jumped to attention. “You do not.”
“I do!”
“I would love you forever and ever if you could get us down there.”
He winked and blew a kiss toward Reese and said, “I expect regular love letters then.”
They were laughing as they walked. Kaden realized the path was moving up an incline. A faint light illuminated the tunnel as the surface came into view. He could see clear blue skies ahead. They were laughing at something Meinor said when they finally reached the exit.
Standing there to greet them was a very grumpy looking, dark-haired Fire Ambassador, Malfor. If he could burn them with his gaze, he would have. Meinor bowed deeply to the ambassador. He turned to face them, gave them a wink, and dipped away as he strolled back through a growing crowd. They parted for him and his dragon easily.
“You four have explaining to do.”