Magik: The Son of Fire

Chapter Seven

Dracolis was much different than I thought it would be. I was expecting an underground cavern, walled with ice. My friends had described it as a city, so I figured it would be about the size of a human city. But boy was I wrong.

The stairs opened up to a large chamber, with two men in iron armor in front of a doorway. The stairs closed behind us, and Tarra and Danni walked toward the guards. I guess they recognized them because the men stepped to the side and allowed Tarra to open the door. I caught a glimpse of the inside of their helmets and noticed there was nothing there. But after everything I had seen in the last couple of weeks, ghost knights didn't surprise me much.

We stepped out and my eyes adjusted to a much brighter light than we saw outside. When I could make out what I saw, I was floored. It was a massive city, as far as the eye could see in all directions. Skyscrapers, bodegas, arcades. It looked like any other city I had been to. Modern, save for a few things. No cars for example, which makes sense. I mean, in a city of dragons, why would you drive when you could fly?

The most jarring thing about the city was the sky. There wasn't a ceiling made of ice, but an actual sky. I could even see rain clouds in the distance. And it was warm too, despite being under the ice. Magik is pretty incredible, and this was no exception.

"Come on, we need to talk to the council. Morgana said they will have instructions for us." Danni said. We walked towards the right, which seemed to be some kind of legal district. There were courthouses, legal offices, and lots of people in suits. That was funny to me, because they were all Hybrids or dragons, so at any moment they could transform and rip their suits to shreds. "Must be expensive" I thought to myself.

Danni and Tarra led us up the stairs to a massive colosseum-style building. We entered and walked down a dimly lit hallway. Torches lined the stone walls, but most of the light was coming from the exit in front of us. We entered to see ten dragons, all smaller than I was when I was in my dragon form.

"Welcome back children, I see you've brought the Son of Fire. And is that Morgana's child as well?" The centermost dragon had spoken up. She was in her own section, with a giant gavel placed in front of her. It was almost comic if it wasn't for the fact that it was real.

"Yes, your honor. We have brought the final champions of the prophecy. But there is news." Danni said. She was almost shaking, I could tell she was nervous in front of the council members. "We ran into Merlin's apparitions. They attacked us, and almost killed me. Luckily we were able to defeat them. We made sure we weren't followed."

The council started whispering and became uneasy. "That is not all your honor," Tarra said.

"Go on." She replied.

Tarra gave Danni a reassuring nod and continued. "Danni was attacked by two of the apparitions. They took her into the ocean. And... Danni shifted. Into a water dragon."

There was an uproar in the council. "How is this possible? Humans have never been able to transform. Danni is this true?" Said one of the members.

"Yes. And thanks to Morgana's teachings, I believe I could do it again. I don't understand how but... I am a Hybrid now." Danni said. The council spent a few moments whispering to each other. I could tell Danni was worried, but there was a look of confidence in her eyes. She could finally do the things she dreamt of as a child. However the inverse effect was apparent in Tarra. Even a human could shift, and she still couldn't. The look of defeat in her eyes was heart wrenching.

The judge spoke up. "This, unfortunately, is of no consequence. We do not have time to explore this any further. With the news of Merlin gaining power, you must leave for England. Our only hope of finding a way to defeat him is to find Arthur."

"All hail King Arthur, the One True King," The dragons all said in unison.

"Yes, your honor. But he has been missing for hundreds of years! How are we supposed to find him?" Tarra said. Nobody seemed to question the fact that Arthur was a human, and would certainly be dead by now.

"His sword, Excalibur. It is in Camelot. The city has been disguised by Magik for quite some time, but the four of you should find it with ease. Morgana's child is drawn to it, aren't you, my boy?" The judge said.

Lincoln glanced at me before saying "Yes your honor. I will lead them to it." I assumed this had something to do with what Morgana had told him the day we left.

"Very well. Then you are dismissed." The judge smacked her giant gavel on the stone, and we left the chamber.

"C'mon, we can crash at my place for the night. We can head out in the morning" Danni said. She led us down a hill, and towards the road. We followed her through the city, which gave me a chance to take everything in. It really was just like a normal town, except for a few minor things. For example, we passed a fast food restaurant, but instead of golden arches, it had golden wings. Then a car wash, except dragons just walked through it.

After walking for what felt like forever, we finally came to a small cottage on a couple of acres of land. There was a small stream that flowed through the yard and a bridge on the walkway. The whole property was surrounded by a white picket fence. Danni opened the gate and led us into the home.

It was much larger on the inside than it was outside. Danni really was an amazing Magik user. The house easily had four or five bedrooms, a beautiful ocean-themed kitchen, and a large living room. We all sat in chairs in front of the fireplace.

Tarra turned to Lincoln. "Would you care to explain how you are able to locate Excalibur? And don't just say it's because your mom is Morgana," she said.

Lincoln scowled, but after a moment, his face showed relief. "Yeah, I think I should probably explain. I only figured this out the other day. It pertains to what my mom told me before we left. She said that my lineage is a bit more complicated than I thought."

"Okay? That doesn't answer any questions. Chop chop dude." Tarra said. Danni playfully smacked her arm, letting her know she was being rude.

"Right well... she said that I descended from royalty, and I was destined to be king. Which didn't make a whole lot of sense to me at first, but now I see."

We all looked at him quizzically, but before we could ask him to elaborate, he stood up flustered.

"She told me that I have been alive for hundreds of years, and each time I die, I am reincarnated. A spell was placed on me by my grandmother when I was born, and ever since then I just keep coming back to life." I was finally understanding why he was so shaken up that whole week, and honestly, I think he took it well.

"But that wasn't all. Being essentially immortal wasn't enough apparently." He said.

"You can tell us, man. We're here for you," I told him. I was trying to comfort him, but he seemed to get more worried.

"We aren't just going to save the famous King Arthur. We're going to save... my father."