Born of Fire: The Dawn of Legend (105 page)

Stepping forward, a medium-sized grey DraGon in blue and black armor eyed Rex carefully and with all manner of suspicion. “Where are the others?” he finally demanded.

Shaking his head, Rex replied, “There are no others. Just me.”

“Do you take us for fools?”

“Yes.”

The DraGon growled in response at the sarcastic quip. “You’ve been traveling with four other DyVorians,” the DraGon said, now losing his temper. “They haven’t left your side since you left KaNar, so where are they now?”

“Don’t know. All I care is that they’re not here, which means you can’t hurt them.”

“So are we supposed to believe you have just selflessly offered yourself to us in order to spare them harm?” the DraGon asked, crossing his arms.

“Wouldn’t you if you were me?” Rex replied, betting that even DraGons were not uncaring, a thought he had been having after seeing the way LemaRes had reacted to the old DraGon dying.

The knight looked noticeably struck by his words and regarded him with solemn intensity for a time, before snorting a small burst of blue flame from his nostrils. Then with a single fluid motion, he spread out his wings and asked, “You won’t put up a fight?”

“No,” Rex replied simply.

“No resistance whatsoever?”

“None.”

“You’ll just…let us take you with us to the Grand Marshal?”

With an agitated sigh, Rex replied, “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. That’s why I came to you!”

“It’s a trick,” said one of the other DraGons. “It has to be!”

“He’s right,” said another. “No way he would make it this easy for us!”

Rex, now fearing that his little ruse was unraveling, decided to play on a hunch. “What happens if you go back without me?”

“What do you mean?” the lead DraGon asked, turning back to him.

“I’m coming to that tower whether you bring me or not. The only question is what I tell your big, scary boss when I get there.”

Looking at the others, the DraGon said, “I don’t follow.”

“Take me in now and you get a nice pat on the head for being the brave heroes who captured the evil Doom Bringer or whatever the hell it is you all call me. Or you can leave me here, and I’ll have to walk half the day to the tower only to tell DayKar that you willingly chose to not bring me in when I so conveniently served myself up on a platter for you. You follow me now?”

“Clever beast,” the DraGon said, considering his words. “However, in your haste to con us, you failed to take into consideration the third option.”

“What third option?” Rex asked as he felt a stab of anxiety in his gut.

“The one where we do everything short of kill you, then fly your half-dead carcass back to our big scary boss, as you so eloquently put it.”

Rex grinned. “Then why haven’t you already?”

The DraGon looked noticeably taken aback by the question. “W…What?”

“I asked,” Rex said, looking up and locking eyes with him. “Why haven’t you done that already, then?”

Feeling the sting of nervousness now, the DraGon glanced at the others for support, but found they too were suffering from uncertainty.

“Come on,” Rex pressed in a tone that suggested less like one who had been caught and more like someone who had the upper hand and knew it. “I’m right here. What are you waiting for? I’m not running.” He took a step forward. “Nor am I hiding,” he said, taking another step, which caused the DraGon to stumbled back over his tail before quickly regaining his footing. “I’m just standing right here in front of you. Waiting. So I guess you need to ask yourself, who are you more afraid of? DayKar…or me?”

“There they go,” TarFor exclaimed as they all watched the seven DraGons rise up into the sky.

“Do they have him?” AnaSaya asked anxiously.

Focusing his eyes intently, VayRonx peered closely and could see the DraGon out in front was indeed carrying Rex. “They do.”

“Excellent,” LyCora exclaimed. “Now it’s our turn to get moving. Is everyone ready?” she asked, turning to ShinGaru, AnaSaya, and EeNox.

“We are,” EeNox replied while the other two nodded.

“All right, let’s go,” she called up.

Suddenly the Highwings led by NyEssa shot down with golden lightning from the clouds above. “Ready?” NyEssa asked.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” LyCora replied, leaping effortlessly onto the large winged alpha’s back, with the other three following suit on three of the others.

“Remind me again why I should let you go off ahead of us like this?” BaRone asked his son as he mounted the Highwing. “I mean…there’s still no guarantee I’ll get my little girl back. Why should I risk losing you now too?”

“Because as strong as Rex is, he still needs a little help,” EeNox explained.

“Even if he won’t admit it,” LyCora added. EeNox, ShinGaru, and AnaSaya laughed while BaRone just looked concerned.

“But why you, and not us?” he pressed. “It makes more sense for all of us to go and help Rex save DiNiya together!”

“And we all will, but he’s going to need back-up as soon as he gets there,” explained ShinGaru. “With the help of NyEssa and her people, we can get there ahead of everyone and protect DiNiya long enough for the rest of you to arrive and win the day.”

“BaRone,” NyEssa spoke in her deep, resonating voice. “I give you my word as alpha of Grand Heights that I will look after these children and help bring back the ones you have lost.”

He nodded before looking up at EeNox. “I love you, my son.” EeNox lowered his head so his father could hug him. “When you see your sister,” BaRone whispered in his ear, “tell her I’m coming for her.”

“I will,” EeNox replied. The two separated and gave one another a silent nod.

“LyCora,” VoRenna called to her daughter. “Don’t forget to use your head.”

“I will, mother,” LyCora replied with a nod.

“And know that I’m very proud of you. I love you.”

To hear such words from her mother—a strong, proud female who rarely showed affection to anyone, including her—filled her with such a sense of pride and love that for a moment she thought she might break her rule of not crying. “I love you too, Mother,” she said in a shaky voice.

“Be careful, AnaSaya,” VyKia said to her own daughter. “Don’t forget what I taught you.”

“Don’t worry, Mother,” she replied kindly. “I remember every word. Even the ones you said when you thought I wasn’t paying attention,” she added with a wink.

VyKia gave a look of surprise before succumbing to a grin. “Cheeky girl. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mother,” AnaSaya replied.

ShinGaru looked at everyone and smiled. He was happy to see them all learning just how loved they truly were, and how strong the ties that bind was between them and those who had reared them. “Well, I believe it’s time that we were off,” he said at last.

“ShinGaru,” BaRone called to him. “When this is all over, you’re coming home with EeNox, DiNiya, Rex, and me, you understand?”

“I uh…”

“You’ve been without a proper home and a proper family for too long, but no longer.”

“Hey, you hear that?” EeNox said, nudging ShinGaru, who looked stunned for the first time anyone had seen. “We’re going to be brothers!”

“I…I don’t know what to say,” the golden serpent stammered.

“Say you’ll be home in time for dinner,” BaRone replied.

ShinGaru regarded the man for a moment before finally smiling and saying, “I will. Thank you.”

BaRone gave him a nod, and with that they all lifted off into the air with a powerful golden surge. As they watched them shrink into the western horizon, they could not help but feel that their precious children had in that moment flown the nest of what would have been their childhood and taken on the burden of life as adults. A life they now knew they could have never prepared them for.

“All right,” roared VayRonx. “It is time to finish what our ancestors began ten thousand years ago!” With another powerful bellow, he led the charge down the canyon where his fellow tribe as well as the five hundred warriors who followed him from Bloodstone had been waiting patiently for the signal to move out. Now they moved as a single force, glowing with the brilliance of their united flames, led by the mightiest predator in all of the Northern Continent, and following the shadow of the deadliest that ever lived.

Rex strained to keep his eyes open as the high-altitude winds blew against them and swept over his downy coat; yet despite the whistling in his ears everything seemed silent. Glancing down, he saw the world far below, silently gliding by beneath him. For a moment he felt as if he was a giant, with his head towering in the sky, surveying an endless horizon. But the sudden pressure of something tightening around him brought him back to reality. Looking up, he saw the grey DraGon gliding through the air as he had probably done countless times before. Rex had often wondered what it would be like to fly, and even found himself envying the DraGons for being able to do so.

They flew for another thirty minutes before the large red rock walls and spires that made the western coast so famous came into view. Rex marveled at the massive geologic wonders that stood taller than the tallest tree in KaNar. As they passed between them, he noticed enormous hieroglyphic images etched in them as well as carved reliefs of DyVorians. He had never seen such sights since he arrived in EeNara, and wondered what else there was to see, and also if he would survive what lay ahead. He did not have to dwell on such thoughts for very long, though, for no sooner had they rounded the spires than the tower loomed imposingly into view.

Rex’s eyes went wide as he took in the awesome sight. So massive was the tower that its base alone covered almost three kilometers. As they drew closer, he could see DraGons perched on various outcroppings all over it, while others circled its mass. As they neared the side, the DraGons veered up, climbing in altitude. Rex watched as faces of all shapes and sizes rushed past him as he rose higher and higher. Finally, the tower disappeared and he was greeted by the sun, shining down over a large flat stone surface. Before he could so much as utter a word, he felt the DraGon’s grip around his ribs vanish and he dropped to the floor. Standing up quickly, Rex turned just as the other DraGons landed behind him.

“Where is she?” he demanded. “Where’s DiNiya?”

“It is not for us to say,” the grey DraGon replied.

“Don’t give me that! Tell me where she is right now or I’ll—”

“Or you’ll what?” came a deep voice.

Rex spun on his feet, searching for the source but saw no one else besides himself and the other DraGons. “Who said that?”

“Let me guess, you’ll kill us? Oh, that would be your style, wouldn’t it Rex? Someone doesn’t give you what you want and you have a fit! Hardly anything worth commenting on, but given who and what you are…well, let’s just say I’m glad this tower is as durable as it is.”

“That voice,” Rex said. Suddenly something began to rise from the ground in front of him. Not out of it, but separating from it, like a portion of the floor was coming apart from itself and taking shape. It was not long before it became that of a DraGon, one that Rex recognized. Dark-colored rock turned to gold armor as DayKar stretched his wings and flexed his muscles like he was waking from a long sleep. Wincing slightly from a pain in his right foreleg when he took the first step, he began slowly walking toward Rex, who noticed he would limp slightly every few steps.

“Catch you at a bad time?” Rex asked condescendingly.

“On the contrary, Rex,” DayKar replied, smiling. “You’re right on time.”

“Where is she?”

“Who?”

“Don’t play games with me! Where is DiNiya?”

“Oh, her?” DayKar replied, turning his back to Rex. “Curious how you just assume we haven’t killed her already.”

“We both know you haven’t,” Rex replied, taking a step towards him.

“We do?” DayKar replied, giving Rex an odd look. “And just how is that?”

“Because you need the both of us for either one of us to be of any use to you. That’s why you went through all this trouble of getting me here, right?”

DayKar grinned, turning back to Rex. “Very perceptive. Your most dangerous trait always was how clever you were. I’d wondered if that part of you survived.”

Hearing those words struck a chord deep within Rex. So much so that he was flooded with a sudden terrible rush of emotion that left him frozen in place. At last he lifted his head and regarded the massive creature with what almost looked like a pleading look. “Tell me,” he said. “What am I?
Who
am I?”

“Such easy questions to ask, yet…a bit more difficult to answer.”

“Try! I have to know! All my life I never belonged, then I end up in this world and for the first time I start to feel like I fit! But then
you
show up and tear everything down…I have to watch my life come undone all over again!”

DayKar regarded him for a solemn moment before rising up on his hind legs and bringing his wings out around them both. “Hurts, doesn’t it? To be forced to watch your entire existence thrown into question by the judgment of others. People who decide to take control of your destiny and lord over it. Oh trust me, Doom Bringer—”

“Don’t call me that!”

“Trust me when I say I know exactly how you feel.” He paused for a moment, closing his eyes and allowing the anger to pass through him and subside before continuing. “I know what it feels like to be forced to look into the eyes of the one who has taken everything from you…I will never forget what that feels like. Nor will I ever let it happen again.”

Rex looked at him without saying a word. The whole moment felt so surreal. After having lost his father and the world he knew to these creatures, he was now being subjugated to a tale of woe by one of them. Looking down, he could not help but feel that the whole thing seemed so perverse, so beyond reason that he felt his head begin to spin. “Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?” he asked finally, looking back up.

“Come again?” DayKar replied.

“Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?” he repeated, putting more emphasis on his words. “Because I look at you, and the only thing that puts any tiny sliver of joy in my heart is the thought of you suffering in any small way, shape, or form.” DayKar stirred uncomfortably, his lips curling and wings spreading slightly. “I may not remember anything about who I was before, or what happened to me. But I do know that if I managed to hurt you, if I managed in some small way to take something, anything from you that you cared about…well, then, I suppose I couldn’t have been all bad.”

DayKar spread his wings wide, dropped back on all fours, and bore down on Rex, who did not hesitate and raced to meet him head-on before they both stopped, both trying to stare the other down. The two stood there for a time with teeth bared mere centimeters from one another, DyVorian roars beating against DraGon howls. The knights that had brought Rex shifted nervously, none of them knowing if they should intervene or stay out of the matter altogether.

At last, the decision was made for them as the two adversaries slowly backed away from each other, but not without keeping their eyes trained on one another. Finally, DayKar reared his neck up and spoke. “Predictable as ever,” he said with a slight laugh. “You never could turn away from a fight, never could back down. You always were stronger than anyone around you…always willing and able to take that extra step that made all the difference.”

“I didn’t come here to be flattered by you,” Rex replied angrily.

“No, of course not,” DayKar said with a shake of his head. “No, you came here to play the part of the hero. Rescue the damsel in distress, right?”

Just then the ground in the center of the platform began to open as an altar with LemaRes perched atop rose up. It was then that he saw DiNiya, chained to the strange structure and having been hidden behind the DraGon’s wings. He also noticed that her hand had already begun to grow back, something he could not understand for he remembered biting it clean off only hours ago. Yet here she was, practically whole once more.
Could it have something to do with this tower? Some method of healing, alien to EeNara
? It would come as no real surprise, for they were an alien race. Even the very tower they were standing on was probably made of something unknown to even the best scientific minds this world had to offer. There was no telling just what other different and unknown forms of technology the DraGons had brought with them.

“Well, go ahead,” said DayKar. “What are you waiting for? You came here to save her, so save her. Be the hero.”

Rex burst into flame and charged towards LemaRes, who with a flick of her tail sent him flying back the way he had come. Rex shook off the blow, leaped to his feet, and charged again, only to be subdued once more. Looking down from where he lay, he saw drops of red fall to the ground. Licking the inside of his mouth, he tasted the rich iron flavor of blood. Spitting it off to the side, he rose to his feet again, and proceeded to power forward for a third time.

With a snort of condescension, LemaRes shot a ball of fire from her mouth, which slammed into Rex, exploding on contact. The TyRanx felt as if all his strength had suddenly been pushed out of him, and he collapsed to the ground, expelling ragged breaths. LemaRes was surprisingly much stronger than most of the other DraGons he had faced, mirroring DayKar’s power more than anyone.

With a laugh, DayKar stormed over, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and lifted him to eye level. “Not terribly impressive, I must say,” he taunted. “Then again, she is a Templar knight, so it is to be expected. You know, when this all started back up again, I wondered time and time again if killing still came as naturally to you as breathing. But now I see you’re just all talk!”

He carried him over to DiNiya, bringing the two face to face for the first time since she had been taken. She was unconscious and he could see dried blood and fresh bruises on her. It was her tear-stained cheeks that made his heart sink, however. “DiNiya,” he whispered. “What have they done to you?”

“What we’ve done?” DayKar repeated. “You think this is our fault?”

“You took her!” Rex fired back, his voice now cracking with emotion.

“And who let us do it? Who just stood there and watched as the person they claimed to care for was taken away? Against their will, no less?”

“No, we tried,” Rex protested as he attempted to break free of the DraGon’s grip, but he was still too weak from the heavy blows he took from LemaRes. “I tried!”

“You failed! That is what you did, Rex, and that is the only thing you could ever do! You act as if you are so very strong, like you can take anything anyone can throw at you, but the truth is you just love playing the part of the victim, don’t you, Rex?”

“No!” Rex shouted. “You’re wrong!”

“I’ll call you Rex now because the Doom Bringer at least knew what it meant to have a sense of pride, of dignity! He would have never walked around with his head hung low, begging for sympathy!”

“I’m not begging for anything,” Rex cried out as he continued his futile struggle to get free. “I don’t need anyone feeling sorry for me!”

“Oh, but you want someone to, don’t you?”

“No!”

“You think you’ve suffered enough to be called a victim? Think you’ve lost enough to carry the title?” Tightening his grip around Rex’s neck, DayKar brought him closer to DiNiya’s face. “Take a good look at her, boy, because believe it or not, this is the face of someone who actually cares enough about the people she says she loves to die for them!”

Rex stared at her, unable to speak. DiNiya, the beautiful girl with a radiant smile that somehow managed to breathe life back into parts of him that he thought had long since died. Killed by a world of people who no longer seemed to cherish or hold dear anything of any substance, of any real meaning, but instead would remind him time and time again that their lives were better spent denying him a moment’s peace rather than aspiring to see beyond their own small, narrow-minded perception of life. It was like being born anew the day he met her, like his entire existence had been reset that morning when he awoke and saw her sitting in the window, bathed in the morning light. Now here she was, that same soft and gentle face that was full of conviction, battered and bruised, and worst of all, defeated. All because he stepped into her life.

“She may have been ripped from her home, taken against her will, and subjected to both physical and mental torture, but in the end she still wanted to die the martyr rather than the victim. Unlike you, who traveled all this way, put yourself and the lives of your friends at risk just so you can be here now and cry about how hard you’ve had it! Poor little Rex who has no mother, no father, and doesn’t even know who he is.”

“Enough…I don’t want to hear any more of this,” Rex said in breathless voice.

“The poor little orphan boy cast out from his own world and marooned on some backwater planet where he was doomed to live as a freak for the rest of his days.”

“I said stop it.”

“Must have been like a cruel joke when you found yourself back here and realized that there were others like you. But at least you were still different, right? The boy with the red flame. Still looked at like something different, like a freak. Must have been an easy role to slip into for you, considering you had plenty of practice by that point. Oh, but just when you thought that you were safe and could continue feeling sorry for yourself, there she came along. DiNiya, the girl who had more of a reason to be sad, to loathe her herself more than you ever did. Must have torn you up inside, didn’t it?”

“No!” he cried angrily. “I would never judge someone for something they couldn’t help! I would never do to anyone what was done to me!” He could feel the pain of the past fifteen years welling up inside. How much had his father sacrificed to keep him? he often wondered. What kind of life could he have had, had he just left him lying on the floor that night in the museum over fifteen years ago? The pain of wondering of the life he might have robbed him of always tore a hole in his heart and made him despise himself every minute of every day. Yet, despite that, he could never bear the taunts and teasing of the others. Never could just look the other way when their voices carried over and filled his head with words designed to make him feel worse about himself than he already did. But the reality was that no one could make him hate himself more than he made himself. Because no one knew as well as he did just how much he did not belong.
And if you don’t belong, you’re just taking up space
, he would always tell himself.