Inferno Legacy: Valor of the Dragon (Book One)

Chapter 48

            Cody gazed in horror. Silence filled the cave as the dragon’s last roar died away. Cody’s mind felt strangely empty. A piece of him had been torn out of his very soul, dying along with Inferno. He fell to his knees, shaking, remembering the look of defeat in his dragon’s eyes as the life drained from his body. The smell of his blood was unbearable, soaking the air with the scent of defeat.

            “Inferno” He called into the empty recesses of his mind as a tear rolled down his cheek.

            Only silence greeted him. Cody felt something in his pocket, and he reached inside with numb fingers. He felt two sharp chunks of something, though the chunks were very smooth. Cody drew them out of his pocket weakly, revealing the coal-black scales of a dragon. His dragon. The dragon that lay before him, gone forever.

            Vicious laughter filled the room as Merikh announced gleefully, “How does it feel, rider? That worthless beast is dead.” His words were slow, deliberate.

            Heat coursed through Cody’s veins as the man, the enemy, laughed. Cody’s heart felt like a piece of paper. In his mind it was tossed carelessly into a fire. Black enveloped the paper from the middle first, spreading to the edges and leaving a trail of blazing fire across it. An inferno, he hissed in his thoughts, imagining the charred remains left behind. He felt the fire burn through his limbs as if it were real.

            Barely thinking about it, Cody grasped the scales tightly in his hand until he felt them prick at his palm. Grabbing his sword in his other hand he felt the power of his misery, of his pain, lancing through his body. Fire burned in his limbs as he slowly stood. Merikh’s laughter continued, but he hardly noticed as he put weight on his now steadied legs.

            With a roar, Cody twisted around, slicing the empty air with his blade. He felt rage build in his entire body, his eyes glowing with anger. He faintly noticed a flash of gold at the edge of his vision as he swung again. With a roar he dove forward, bringing his blade down onto the ground for no reason other than to take his anger out on something, his enemy being too far away.

            He felt the scales burn red-hot in his hand as his golden sword struck the stone floor. There was a burst of flame from the tip, spreading out in all directions, seeming to feed off the air itself. The inferno grew in an explosion of flames, dancing before Cody’s eyes, though he couldn’t feel anything physical anymore. His gaze was overwhelmed by golden-red fire, and he felt darkness overtake him, hardly noticing as he fell backwards and collapsed on the stone floor.

~

            Cody’s vision swirled around him, even though his eyes were still closed, as he struggled to stand. His head pounded viciously in pain, so he stayed down and forced the back of his head to stay down. He remembered everything, but didn’t know exactly what he had seen. Images of Inferno collapsing on the cold stone floor filled his mind and he began to tremble.

The floor he laid on felt slightly different, not the polished stone but uneven rock. Scents of cold, of autumn’s harsh chill, filled his nostrils and he felt a breeze ruffle his hair. His mouth tasted dry and parched of water, but he was too afraid to stand. Even though his eyes were closed, he felt the world spinning around him and he grew dizzy. He felt the rock slowly smooth out and the feel of fall had mostly disappeared, the only opening he knew coming from high above where the wind could not come through very easily.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The rock had gotten bumpy again, and instead of the smooth, dark ceiling, he saw a slightly higher one that was a bit lighter in hue. He felt the cold chill return, and looking to its origin he saw a massive opening into the cave, with nothing but a bluish-gray sky in sight. He thought he saw a flash of shimmering blue at the entrance, but it disappeared with the image as he faded back to the first cave.

What was that place? He asked himself, feeling weary and sick. Looking straight up he could just barely see the edges of the mesh that coated the entrance. On closer inspection, he saw that everything around him was dark, charred black by what he assumed was fire. The headache suddenly pounded his brain again.

“Cody!”

“Inferno!?” Cody yelped in surprise.

“Come to me,” the voice said, definitely not Inferno’s.

The voice had been much deeper than Inferno’s and sounded slightly ragged and slow with old age. Whoever had spoken to him was definitely old, but it wasn’t like anything he had heard before. It certainly wasn’t Heyrick’s voice. Or Heyrone’s for that matter. Cody felt a pang of anger in his gut when he remembered what the enemy, Merikh, had said about the rider. While the evil man had been an enemy, Cody somehow knew that his words rang true. Putting that aside, he tried to focus on the new voice.

“Who are you?” He asked, fading in and out of the room as he spoke.

The voice came back stronger, “A friend. We need you here.”

As the voice sounded, Cody went back to the enemy’s caves and the words grew quieter as he did. The thing talking to him must have wanted Cody to come to the place where it was. But he had no clue how to do that as he faded from room to room, unable to stand. He felt his energy beginning to slip away as it continued.

“How do I get to you?” Cody asked weakly.

The voice slowly replied, “Relax, hone in on the sound of my humming, then let the spell go. Lose yourself, Cody.”

Cody wanted to laugh but was afraid it would hurt. Instead, he tried to do what the being told him. He began to hear a hum and focused on the tune. He ignored all thoughts about the old cave and listened to the humming, a song he’d never heard before, as it drew him in. His mind swirled as images of grace and beauty filled his eyes and lit up his mind. Let the spell go, he thought.

So it was magic of some sort. He could only feel a faint pull at the back of his mind. How could he cut it loose though? He had never used magic before, so he had no clue how to lose a “spell”. He remembered the rest of the words and relaxed, breathing deeply in through his nose and letting it out through his mouth in a massive exhale. The music was a beautiful summer day in the way it warmed his insides and brought strength to his mind.

He lost himself in the song and thoughts of the cave he was supposed to reach. He didn’t dwell on Inferno’s gruesome death or whether or not the wolves had survived the battle. Sweet music filled his head, dancing and leaping with majestic and beautiful bounds as each calming note sounded. He felt himself lose consciousness several times, until the music faded and he was sure that he had failed.

Though as the humming faded, a smile pried at his lips and peace washed over him.