The Order of Dragonfire

Chapter 27

"I'm still not sure it's safe in the forest..." Alex said nervously as they discussed setting up camp.

"Following the road will take too long and the trees will protect us from Shadowhawks. Probably." Ava explained. 

Alex still wasn't convinced. The stories she had read in Miles' scrolls cast a fairly bleak picture of the region and she had little desire to stay there at all. Although she did have a point; Thorn's wagons couldn't traverse the densely packed trees but horses on their own could. They could cut straight through the forest and cross the streams feeding the River of Life without having to risk the dangers of the bridge, and so would be back in Serpensbane in a few short days.

"We won't be here long and we have people on guard. Everything will be fine. Relax." Ava smiled, and Alex returned the gesture as best she could.

She turned and saw Lucian making his way towards them. He had the Ruby Soul under his arm and was surveying the area quizzically.

"The Northern Expanse is certainly not what it once was. To find life at all, besides the dragons and birds, was unheard of. And now a forest stands here? And water? Unimaginable."

"Have you had any more luck with the Soul?"

"No." He shook his head. "Booker tells me your circumstances are a tad... 'different' to the others."

Alex gulped. He hadn't considered what would happen when Lucian found out. Did he know what she'd done? Or why? She certainly didn't want these historical figures looking down on her, and she imagined those who were sacrificing their lives for the good of the empire were undyingly loyal to its laws and property.

"I guess that's one way of putting it."

"To use a stone as strong as the amulet without time to adjust takes a great deal of natural talent. I would appreciate it if you would attempt to unlock the Soul."

Alex froze for a moment as she tried to process what he had just said.

"You want me to do it? To get Anselm out? If Booker couldn't do it, and you couldn't..."

"It's worth trying. I will be asking the others as well."

Alex raised an eyebrow in mild disbelief.

"I suppose there's no harm in trying." She said, hands outstretched to accept it. Lucian smiled and passed the Soul over to her, and instantly she felt the power within. It wasn't an overwhelming painful burst as it had once been, but that was likely due to it no longer protecting itself. She closed her eyes and tried searching inside it in the same way she would sense a conduit, hoping that the solution would come naturally to her.

"When we got near the Ruby Soul it started flashing. Was that you as well?" She asked as she turned it over in her hands, trying to learn as much as possible about it.

"Yes. The Soul was to call out to any Order sorcerers nearby. It should have broadcast my last moments as a dream, although I do not know if anyone would have sensed that."

When he said that Alex suddenly remembered her dream after the fight on the bridge. She had been a dragon about to incinerate someone - Lucian, she knew now - as he held the Ruby Soul, but he had disappeared.

"Oh, I think I saw that."

"You did?" Lucian said, a slight rise to his voice. "That is a very promising sign. If the Ruby Soul has already connected with you then this should expedite the process."

The Ruby Soul felt warm in her hands, the heat growing in intensity with every second. An immense power was flowing through her. She could feel it, not just in the way she could sense a conduit but also as a physical sensation within her. The heat was growing in her chest as strength ebbed and waned in her limbs, pulsing in time with the light emitted from the jewel.