Inner Darkness (Book 2 of Dragonfire series)

Chapter 14

Stella's POV

I'm still stunned from what happened to Alena and Professor Waylon yesterday. I know that's not her, something is wrong and we have to fix it before she really hurts someone. I stormed into Kokel's office and demanded he listen to me.

"We need to leave now and go find Alena. We can't just sit around while some evil psycho teacher holds get captive!" Kokel sat behind his desk uncomfortably and rubbed his temple with his left hand.

"Believe me Stella, I agree with you one hundred percent but I don't even know where she is."

"I do." We both turned to see who the voice had come from. Lilah stood in the doorway awkwardly.

"Lilah, please come in and tell us what you know." Kokel gestured for her to take a seat in one of his leather chairs. She slowly walked in and sat down hesitantly. I thought I saw her hands shaking.

"It wasn't until I saw Professor Waylon transform that I put the pieces together. The being he changed into is a product of Lord Damien, ruler of darkness. Those creatures are his signature." It looked as if it was hard for her to even talk about it.

"How do you know all this," I asked.

"My parents are the king and queen of a world consisting of pure nature, completely void of technology. Everyone is taught about the elements and those who manipulate them. Lord Damien manipulates shadows." I looked to Kokel, but he did not seem surprised by this information.

"You don't seem very surprised, do you know who this Damien is," I directed at Kokel. He took a deep sigh before giving me an answer.

"A long time ago, Damien searched this world for four precious stones. They represented the elements: fire, earth, water and wind. There is a legend that with these stones, you can open another dimension which contains an unstoppable magic."

"Is this legend true?"

"Seeing that nobody has ever successfully reached this hidden dimension, no one knows for certain."

"If he has the stones then why hasn't he tried to open this other dimension?" Kokel's face grew more stressed the more he talked about it.

"The stones are only part of it. In order to activate them you need a pure magic source-"

"Like the dragonfire," I finished for him as I connected the dots on my own. "So he used Waylon as a spy so he could eventually take Alena and use her power to open the other dimension." Kokel just nodded and stared down at his desk. Lilah stood up from the chair and cleared her throat.

"I studied Lord Damien and what it is like in his realm, I could lead a group of us down there." Lilah jumped back as Kokel abruptly stood from his desk.

"No, absolutely not. You will get yourselves killed." Stubborn old man.

"Kokel, did you forget everything you just told us? If Damien gets his hands on that power there's no telling what he will do with it! Not only that, but he could hurt Alena." I could see that his emotions were conflicting with each other. I understand it's dangerous, but what other chance do we have? After a few minutes of silence he finally gave in.

"Alright, I'll let you go but you must take Cullen, Alfio, and Derek with you. I will have a hovercraft waiting for you first thing tomorrow morning." We nodded and thanked him before leaving his office.

"Well, that went better than expected." Lilah looked at me and nodded in agreement. "I'll go find the boys, we will meet you in the cafeteria." I went to the training room and reluctantly all three of them were there. "I hope you boys are ready for some real action because I have a mission for you."

"Is it about Alena?" Cullen walked up to me looking anxious for any news about her.

"Yes, we think we know where she is and are planning a rescue mission tomorrow. All three of you have been recruited." Derek walked up to me and wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Maybe just us three should go, I don't want you to get hurt." I knew he was just trying to keep me safe, but I was slightly offended by his comment. I stepped away from him and scoffed.

"Alena is my best friend, if the situation were reversed she would come rescue me. Besides, Lilah has to come with us because she is the only one who knows what to expect." I explained the plan and they all agreed to help. They wanted to continue their workout so I joined Lilah in the cafeteria alone for dinner. She still looked a bit nervous from our previous conversation with Kokel.

"Lilah, are you ok? You've looked on edge ever since we left his office." She stared at her food before lifting her gaze.

"You don't understand what you're signing up for, none of you do. It's unlike any place you have been before." Yeah right, how bad could some cave be?

"Then tell me, what should I expect?"

"Well first off there is no sunlight, it is completely lit by fire. Therefore, you must save you magic because you will not have the sun to re-energize you. In order to reach the castle, you must go through a series of tunnels in the cave. The walls of the caves themselves are a constant drain on your magic. Since girls have the ability to fly, our powers drain much faster. You don't realize how much energy it takes to fly until you are in such a restricting environment. If we manage to get through all that, then we face Damien, otherwise know as the Shadow King. He has the ability to transform into a Phoenix. I'm not sure if it's true, but he apparently created monsters to protect his castle." Ok, maybe now I'm a little scared.

"Well shit, now you tell me all this. I think we will be fine as long as the five of us stick together." She gave me a weak smile and we finished our food in silence.

I've had some people complain about the time it takes for me to update and I'm taking it as a compliment (maybe my writing is that good?!) Anyway, sorry if I'm a little slow, I will try to update as soon as I can!