The Darkest Dragons

CHP. 14 "Locked Away"

Raine's P.O.V

I sat up slowly, for some reason my body was heavy and I couldn't stand. I looked around and my eyes slightly widened. I was in a room with a window above me. What startled me was the bars. I was in a dungeon room. The walls were bare other than the cleaning supplies off to one side. There was a little ladder leading down but it probably lead to a bathroom. I slowly hauled myself up to look out the window. I saw dragons but they were not regular dragons. There were hundreds of darkness dragons. I sat back down heavily and started to stretch. Slowly my limbs gained back feeling and I could start to move around more freely. I suddenly stopped moving though as The doorknob started to jiggle. I tried to disappear but a pain ripped through my head and I fell screaming. The door flew open and a young man walked in. When he realised what happened he started to laugh. "Oh no my dear, you will not be using magic in my castle." I looked up in pure hatred and said "Who said I needed magic, I'll kill you so painfully slow you'll beg for mercy." his face flashed with fear but he shook it off and said "Oh dear, I just hate that you feel that way. I guess I'll just put you in your place." before I could comprehend his meaning he kicked me in the side of my face. I flew across the room and spit blood out of my mouth but I wouldn't scream for him again. I just glared and he smiled evilly and stalked over to me. His eyes were once again red and held a menacing glint. He grabbed my hair and pulled me up to his level before spitting out "You will do everything I tell you or I will kill your brother." did he have Abelard? No... I couldn't let him kill Abelard. My face fell in defeat and I nodded reluctantly. Stryker dropped me and I sank to my knees dropping my hands to my side. I was defeated. Stryker knelt down and grabbed my face and said "Hey, cheer up! I'll only torture you twice a week!" he cackled and threw me against the wall before walking out. Though what confused me was his look when he left, what confused me even more were his now blue eyes, he looked as if he didn't mean what he said. Once he was gone I wiped my face and got up. I walked painfully over to the window bed and laid down. I looked out the window and whispered "I won't give up Abelard. He won't hurt you if I have anything to do with it."

Abelard's P.O.V
I woke up to he sound of birdsong. It was just becoming light and I looked around to find Arian talking to the root dragon. I sat up and they ceased talking to look at me. I yawned and stretched as the root dragon said "Wake your friends. You must leave us now." I nodded solemnly and got up. I found Chase and Grey a few feet away and said "Hey guys, I need to go inside. Wake up." they slowly opened there eyes and stretched. They were up in a second though as I was waking up Caleb. He mumbled something before opening his eyes and when he sat up rubbing his eyes I said "Guys, I need to enter the cave. I'll see you guys when I get the stone." they nodded and The root dragon said "here, you need to eat little prince." he nudged me towards the leftover food from the night before. I grabbed some food and walked over to Arian who huffed out a tiny plume of weak fire to heat my food. I ate it happily while Arian finished his own meal. Once I was done Arian said "We need to go. Are you ready?" I looked at him and everyone else and said "Yes. I am." he nodded and I got up. Everyone stood too and I hugged Chase and Grey. They said "Hey, it's okay Abelard. We will be here when you come out." I nodded and looked towards Caleb. He smiled and said "I wish I could go With you. But I'll stay here and try to locate the next stone fragments." I nodded and I turned to Arian who nodded. I got on his back and he walked till he was beside the root dragon. The dragon said "Good luck prince. I will see you in the other side." I nodded and we stepped into the cave. It was suddenly dark and when I looked back the entrance seemed so far away though we had only taken a few short steps. I swallowed turning back around. I shut my eyes for a few brief seconds and when I opened my eyes it was no longer dark and I could now see. A perk of being a dragon rider I suppose. I got up on Arians back and he walked cautiously through the tunnel. I looked to each side of the tunnel and Arian read my mind and stretched his wings. The tunnel was the span of Arians wings. We suddenly came to a fork in the tunnel. I got off and stepped forward. I heard a small voice and looked around till my eyes landed on the dragon. It was like no dragon I've ever seen. It was tiny and old looking. He said "I am not that old... I am just a couple centuries old..."I looked to Arian and he shrugged. I turned back and said "You look great." the dragon looked up at me with a doubtful face and said "What do you want prince?" I stuttered out an answer "I- we- How- we are looking for the sorcerers stone. The dragons eyes widened in surprise and said "Well...blunt and to the point eh?" the dragon spread his wings and said "Prince, if your purpose is pure than you will know which tunnel to go down." I looked at him incredulously and he said "Here... Let me tell you a secret. Everyone in this world is unbelievably strong, unbelievable smart, and unbelievably talented. It just takes a bit of courage to figure it out for yourself. So dear prince, have courage." I nodded and looked to Arian and when Arian nodded my heart swelled and I looked down one tunnel. I felt nothing but a cold breeze wrap around me whispering dark things. I shook my head slightly and when I looked down the tunnel to the right I felt warmth. I smiled and nodded my heard for Arian to follow. He walked to my side and I climbed on his back. When I turned to thank the dragon he was gone. So I shook it off and we continued. We seemed to walk forever till we came to a stop. There was a huge dragon standing in the way. I smiled getting off Arian and bowed saying "How do you do dragon?" the dragon bowed and said "prince, I am well. To pass me you will need to sacrifice something." My eyes widened in surprise and I looked to Arian and he swallowed hard. But when I looked back at the dragon he had a glint in his eyes. I knew then that I could sacrifice anything, it didn't have to be physical. I said "I will sacrifice greed." the dragon brought himself up and said "Your sacrifice will suffice." he moved and I nodded. Though I didn't feel any different. I got back on Arian and we continued. After an hour though we were both getting tired. So when we passed a duvet in the wall we stopped and rested. I took out some food from the pack and we ate a bit. I also pulled out a bit if water from my satchel and gave it to Arian. Once we had rested we continued and started talking and I saw light coming up. I told Arian to slow down and we cautiously walked forward until we stood at the mouth of a huge cave. There in the middle was a huge pedestal. At the very top though I saw a bright glow. I turned to Arian and he said "We made it Abelard..." I nodded but held Arian back when he went to go forward. I said softly "It's too easy. There is something in here... Something that could be a danger to us." Arian nodded and looked around. We suddenly heard a voice and I looked up slowly. "hello...prince." up above us was a giant viper. We jumped out and turned to look at it. It slithered down and curled loosely around us. The viper moved It's face close to mine and I, just like before, bowed and said "How do you do, viper." she stood tall and said "Well... You flatter me prince. I have never been shown chivalry. Usually they just come in and try to kill me." I looked up at her and said "Who?" she looked down at me and thought for a second. "Well. People who want more than they have. People who want more, much more, than the world can give them." I nodded and she said "You are unusual. Don't you just want to take it?" I smiled and said "The dragon I met before you said I had to give up something as a sacrifice." she nodded and said "You didn't sacrifice your dragon? Sibling maybe?" I shook my head and said "I gave up greed. I didn't want it. The stories I've been told are all about greed. The sorcerer who wanted to be the most powerful. That was greed. He killed many for greed and in my opinion I don't believe in killing for what you want. I believe that if I need it will be given to me." the viper nodded and said "Yes. Most unusual. It must be your kid-like innocence." I shook my head again and said "My sister was stolen from me. I was kidnapped, my friend has all but died for me and my family and I don't want my sister to die too. I need that stone to find a person who can help me get my sister back." the viper dropped her head and said "I feel your hearts ache my friend. I will help but I cannot give it to you, you see. The cave of the sorcerer has rules. Rules I must abide by. See you must be judged; Not by me, the brute dragon who asks for sacrifices, or the dragon who gives secrets to those who lack them. But by the sorcerers themselves." my eyes widen in surprise and suddenly there was a bright light. I looked towards it with a arm over my eyes. Once the light died down I saw four people. One was dressed in red, another in blue, and the last two were dressed in yellow and green. When they stepped aside though there was one more. She was a sorceress. Dressed in white. I turned back to Arian and the viper. They were both asleep and I swallowed hard as I looked back. The sorceress beckoned me forward and I took cautious steps towards the middle. When I got to about 8 feet away I stopped and dropped to my knees. I said "I am honored to be in the presence of you, sorcerers and sorceress. The woman glided towards me with so much grace it was heartbreaking. I glanced up at her face. She smiled and said In a beautiful enchanting voice "Hello young Prince, we knew you would make it here. I am surprised to learn you gave up greed. Not something many people give. Though we don't have time I will tell you one thing. You have succeeded though you are running out of time. The one who has your sister has convinced her that he has you too. She is submissive so as to protect you. You may have the stone." as she said the last words my heart grew cold and I looked up and said "Can you not help me? Must I go through all this to get my sister?" the woman knelt down and held my face and said "Dear, I know it will be hard. But there has to be darkness before you can shine." with that she vanished. Leaving me with the orb floating in front of me. I reached out and grabbed it. It was warm in my hands and I held it close. I didn't know I was crying until a tear landed on the orb. It glowed bright and whispered "You must shine bright to defeat the darkness." I nodded wiping my tears. I stood and looked back at Arian and the viper. She said "You did it? You actually have the stone." I nodded and said "Is there a way out?" the Viper​ drew close and wiped away a stray tear and said "You must go through The tunnel over there. Your friends will be at the exit" I nodded and climbed into Arian and said "I wish well to you. Thank you for your help." she nodded and Arian walked into the tunnel. Everything again was blanketed in darkness. But the tunnel did not last long and soon we stepped out. I looked around to find it was just dawn. I smiled and saw my friends. I cried out and their heads flew up and they laughed running towards me. I laughed and all but fell off of Arian to hug them. I hugged Chase and Grey then hugged Caleb. The dragons embraced me and they all hugged Arian too. I smiled and said "I can't belief it only took a day and night. were we that fast?" they looked at each other and said "It's been three days." I shook my head and said "What? We... We don't have much time we need to go." they nodded and everyone got on their dragons. I looked towards the root dragon and he said "I see you really are pure. If you passed the tests. I had a good feeling so I stayed until you were back." The dragon grew in size and when he stopped he looked down at me, "I am the Forest guardian. You have shown great courage and selflessness. I know this will be safe with you." He stooped down and out of thin air a beautiful necklace appeared. My eyes widened in shock and I took it carefully. This was one of the dragon magic items. I looked up at the dragon in awe and he said "You must head away from the rising sun to get to the ocean, be strong, brave, and you will find what you are looking for." I smiled and we mounted our dragons and flew up and away from the sun, as he had said. I took out the necklace and it pulsed in my hand. I found myself saying "I will shine, but, I will still need you sorceress... What if I need help?" a small laugh was heard and she said softly "I won't leave you prince. Not until you are safe with your mother. I've watched over her for many, many years. And I've promised to look after you too." I said "You knew my mother?" the sorceress said gently "She was my daughter... I had to leave her too early though and it pains me every day that I was not there for her When she came home." I almost freaked out but I managed to choke out "Your my grandmother?" she laughed and said "Yes, and my prince, you are doing well. I must leave you now but You will see me soon again." I said "Okay...thank you." she laughed gently again before her voice faded and the orb stopped pulsing. Suddenly I was jolted by Caleb saying "Oi, what's with you? You just spaced out for hours." I shook my head and said "sorry. Er.. What did I miss?" Chase said "The dragons need rest so we will be stopping in a clearing." I nodded and looked up to see that it was a little past midday. We flew in for a few seconds before finally spotting a clearing that was big enough. I sighed as we landed. Everyone set to work When we jumped off of the dragons. We went to find water and some of us got out some food. We fed the dragons a bit and then snacked while waiting for the others to get back with news about water. It didn't take long though before Chase and Grey, the ones who found water, came back. I stood and they said "You gotta see this Abelard..." they seemed out of breathe so I ran over to them and they said "Lets go. We should hurry." I nodded and we jogged out of the clearing after Caleb joined us. We jogged through the forest jumping over random logs and ducking under low hanging branches. We eventually made it to a small clearing to find a small dragon. It was a extremely dark blue dragon and when it looked up at me it's eyes were light blue but were almost glowing. It had small wings and it immediately clicked..I whispered, "it's a Deep ocean dragon..." Grey looked at me and I stepped towards the young dragon and said "Hey... It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you." I made contact with it's piercing blue orbs. And we locked gazes as I slowly came closer. After a few minutes I was close enough and I gently and slowly reached out and touched her snout. I rubbed my hand over her cheek and she closed her eyes briefly. I realized that she was a riders dragon. Very adapt to Being touched gently. I said softly, "Where is your rider, dragon?" she looked at me and dropped her head into my hands and she said "He got her... I couldn't do anything about it. She's only 14." I nodded in understanding and said "I know how you feel." she glanced up at me again and locking gazes I said "He has my twin sister. We are on the way to the ocean to find something that'll help us find him and rescue all the people he has kidnapped and all the dragons he has kidnapped too." the dragon nodded and said "I can help you. Are you looking for the Veneficus scriptor Stone? I've heard word of the prince looking for it." I nodded and said "Yes. I am looking for the sorcerers stone. Its the only way I can find my sister and everyone else." the small dragon nodded and said "Please. Let me help." I nodded and she said "I am Nikka." I smiled and said "Well Nikka, are your hurt anywhere?" she shook her head and I said "Great, our dragons are this way. Fly directly that way and you will come to a large clearing. It has three sky dragons and one Obsidian dragon." she nodded and lifted off the ground with surprising ease and flew in the direction. I nodded to everyone and we left to go back to the dragons. After a little bit we arrived to find my dragon and Faaris fending the ocean dragon off from the three sky dragons. Aggravated I said "What is going on here!" the three large sky dragons immediately calmed and looked to me trying to explain themselves. I held up a hand and they stopped while I said "Please back away from our friend." they did immediately and I walked towards my dragon and rubbing my hand across his cheek he purred while I passed him to get to the ocean dragon. I smiled and said "Forgive my friends, we are all edgy about the whole situation." she held herself high and said "It is fine. I don't blame them." I smiled and turned to the others. "This dragon, Nikka, is going to help us find what we need." the dragons looked surprised and they turned solemn as they came forward saying "We are so sorry, Nikka please forgive our hasty actions." she dipped her head and they stood back up and looked pleased. I smiled and turned to Nikka saying "Well. Lead the way Nikka." In response she blinked and we got on our dragons. she looked at us for a moment wistfully and then turned and launched herself into the air. We gave her a second to get high and stable herself before we launched ourselves into the air after her. She set out On a good pace, determined to get us to the ocean. She would, every so often, lift her head and sniff the air and either slightly change her direction or stay straight. I smiled in respect when she looked behind her. She gave me a small toothy grin before turning back. we flew in like this till the sun was starting to get low. Once the sun was level with us she started to decend and we followed her. When we landed my eyes widened. In from of us laid a huge beach. The water lapped at the shore and when I looked closer I could see the the water swirling. I smiled and Nikka turned to me and said "We are here." I looked at her briefly before saying "The cave holding the Veneficus scriptor Oceanum Stone."

(Hey guys! I am extremely sorry for the super long update, I've had some writers block and I've been busy. I hope you like the new chapter and I'll make sure to update soon. Btw, if you guys are confused with the language, I am using Latin.)