The Protector and the Peacemaker

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

(Porter)

"Whoa," Porter said when he stepped up to the archive's door. The rings and runes had been reconfigured in a way that meant absolutely nothing to him, but apparently they had opened the door. That wasn't what he was impressed by, though. The sight of the bright green fire at the end of hallway, reflecting off the mirror-like onyx stones, was enough to make his stomach tie itself in knots. Beside him, he heard Sarah give a similar reaction. He looked over at her, still in her human form, and saw her eyes wide with amazement. The green light of the Keeping Fire was reflected in them as well.

"Sarah," he whispered, "are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," she whispered back for the final time, "I am."

With that, she ventured into the archive with a determined look on her face. Porter went after her, nervous sweat beading his forehead. The others followed silently. Porter was a bit relieved. With the tower's magic dying, he had been afraid that they'd open the door to find the fire extinguished.

Sarah stopped in front of the fire, the light bathing her tan fur with green light. She took a deep breath and turned to Azkular.

"What do I do now?" she asked.

"You have to swallow it," the djinn answered. "And to do that, it has to be removed from its pedestal."

He stepped forward, gazing reverently at the fire.

"This is amazing," he said quietly.

"What is?" Porter asked, anxiety still clawing at him from inside.

"My veins are filled with magic fire," the djinn answered. "This Keeping Fire has been around since the beginning of recorded history. It was fire like this that made it possible for people to become djinns. You could say that, in a way, the Keeping Fire is my great, great grandfather."

"So, Sarah's about to swallow your grandfather?" Misty asked.

Azkular shot the werewolf an angry look, his dramatic moment ruined. Even with the tension, Porter couldn't help but smile a little. Behind him, Ozzie snickered but then stopped when it hurt his ribs.

"Well, I would prefer not to think of it that way," Azkular grumbled. Then, his face going serious again, he turned to Sarah. "We'll have to do this quickly. The moment I remove it from its base, the fire will start to go out."

"How are you going to move it?" Sarah asked, her eyes still trained on the fire. "If you touch it, it'll consume you."

"For anyone else, that would be true," Azkular agreed. "But I'm a djinn. Fire is as much a part of me as blood is to you. I'll be able to pick it up and move it for you."

Sarah nodded, her eyes betraying how scared she was, but Porter knew she wouldn't back down.

"Then what?" she asked.

"Then you will open your mouth," Azkular instructed. "I'll place the fire inside it, and you'll have to swallow it."

"Sounds easy enough," the sphinx said, trying to dispel some of the tension— including her own.

Azkular shook his head. "I won't let you do this without knowing what's in store, Sarah. When I put the fire in your mouth, you will have only a few seconds to swallow it before it burns you. It will be very hot, and holding it in your mouth will be extremely painful."

Sarah shuddered, no longer able to hide her fear. Porter ground his teeth together and had to hold himself back from grabbing her and dragging her out of the archive. Azkular saw her fear too, and frowned.