Firebolt(87)

Chapter Twenty-Seven





Queen Catherine appeared in my dreams again, and I noticed that the woods she pointed at looked similar to where we were. I knew now why I'd been dreaming about her. She had prepared me for the decision I had to make. The dream changed from her to the Book of Shadows. I saw my foretelling, and the words were red.

The smell of a strong woody and sweet essence filled my nostrils, and I opened my eyes. Lucian just smiled as I looked at him. He looked so beautiful when he woke up. Not like me, hair a mess and eyes thick from sleep. The tent was barely lit. When we crawled out, I saw the sun had finally begun to set. We found four rows of small skinless animals spiked on sticks, roasting over an open fire. I gawked at the amazing survival skills these guys had.

When the meat was done, we all ate in silence. I didn't think that they were very happy to be here, but I knew it wasn't for nothing. I needed to know whether the sword still existed, and if so, where it was hidden.

After dinner, Lucian took me to wash up by a nearby river. I grasped his hand to steady myself on the moss-covered rocks that lined the riverbed. Away from the campfire light made it difficult to find my way around, and I had to rely only on my sense of touch. When I gathered enough courage to jump into the inky depths, the water felt like ice cubes, but it was just what I needed.

On our way back to the camp, we saw a dark figure heading our way.

“We need to talk about what it is we are going to do.” Blake's voice was right in front of us. I lost my balance and slipped on the smooth rocks.

“We take it as it comes,” Lucian said simply, catching me before I tumbled in again.

“Excuse me.”

“We don't know the rules on this one, Blake. What do you want to go over?” he snapped back.

“You bring me here only to tell me we have to wing it.”

“I didn't bring anyone here. You wanted to come,”Lucian said as he passed him, shoving his shoulder roughly into Blake’s.

Lucian held out his hand for mine. I took it without looking at Blake. Back at camp, we packed the water bottles and snacks we needed for the trip. Lucian's watch beeped, and a small electronic voice said it was eight.

“It's about an hour's walk to the Sacred Cavern. I suggest we get a move on,” Blake said, and took a backpack from Tabitha, who glared daggers at me.

“Would Brian do me the honor?” George said, and held out a manmade torch in Brian's direction. Brian blew on it, and the torch set on fire instantly. He lit two more and gave one to Blake, who took the lead.

“Your highness,” Brian joked, and handed Lucian one too.

“Ha ha,” Lucian said with a tone drenched in sarcasm.

Brian winked at me and ran to catch up with Blake at the front of the group.

Small animals made noises in the brush as they ran from our heavy footsteps. I jumped and shrieked every time.

“You're scared of things in the woods? Unbelievable.” Arianna passed us and shook her head.

“Ignore her, Elena. I think what you’re doing is pretty brave,” Lucian said in a soft tone, rubbing my back gently.

“Why did she have to be here?”

“Why?” Arianna whipped around at my words and looked at me with a ferocious expression on her face. “Because what you are doing, Elena, isn't brave at all.” She looked at Lucian. “It's stupid.” Then back at me. “And if any of us die tonight, it's on your head.”

I hadn’t thought about that and swallowed hard.

“Arianna, you begged to come with us tonight, so shut your pie whole,” Lucian snapped back.

“You guys, enough,” Blake yelled. “Nobody was forced into coming tonight, Arianna, but I agree with you, this is a suicide mission. There's nothing we can do about it now, so all of you shut your traps.”

The dragons all stood with Blake, except for Sammy. She stood right next to Becky and looked everywhere but in my direction.

She's pissed off with me too?

The rest of the trip felt long. Arianna's words weighed like a ton of bricks on my mind. What if somebody dies? It will be on my head.

Sammy whispered something to Becky, and she put her arm around Sammy. It frustrated me so much that I couldn't hear what they were talking about.

Lucian squeezed my hand a little tighter every time I looked at the two of them.

We exited the woods and ended up in front of a towering mountain that had a stone staircase winding up into the fog surrounding it. I'd seen it in small-scale at the museum, but never did I imagine that it would be this colossal.

“Welcome to the Sacred Cavern,” Blake yelled in a theatrical tone. Tabitha and Arianna giggled. We reached the stairs, and Lucian let me go first, a true gentleman.

The climb took everything out of me,and my muscles felt as if I’d spent an entire day at the gym doing leg lifts. I was glad that Lucian drilled me every morning, otherwise my lungs would’ve collapsed, or worse, Lucian would've had to carry me.