Burning Flame

Chapter Eight

Magma soared through the air, her thoughts racing with worry and outrage.
You don't mess with my son, she thought, You mess with him, you mess with me!
She roared her anger to the sky, letting it echo and be heard by all that were near.
She spotted a group of soldiers on the horizon and she dove suddenly, her wings pinned against her sides.
The soldiers saw her and they all bowed as she landed hard on the ground in front of them.
One of them stepped forward as they all came out of their bow.
"To what do I owe this pleasure, Your Majesty?" he asked.
"Where is King Inferno?" she growled, trying her best to keep her tone civil.
"The last I saw of him was in Siege's base camp. That was a while ago, though," he replied.
"You're absolutely sure he was there?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," he assured her.
"I will be off then. Good luck on your patrol, Captain..."
"Zarront, Your Highness," he finished politely.
"Thank you. Now I really must be off-"
"Is everything all right?" he asked cautiously.
"Everything is fine," she growled, already becoming irritated with his curiosity.
He quickly took the hint and bowed his head to her.
"Very well, Your Majesty. I hope you can find the King soon. I'm sure he will be more than happy to see you," he said.
Magma nodded before spreading her wings and leaping into the air. She flapped her wings hard until she was high in the sky, and that's when she headed towards the direction of Siege's base camp.
She flew for a little while until she finally spotted a familiar cluster of stone and mud huts on the horizon. They were just large enough to shelter a couple of dragons, which was exactly what they were intended to do. The soldiers called these their homes, and, in many occasions, they were their only homes.
More than half of the kingdom's dragons were soldiers now, and very few had the chance to lead normal and less dangerous lives. Magma remembered a time when dragons came together for social meetings or special events. Now they came together to practice fighting or to talk about strategy. Everything was about war, and she was at the head of it.
She quickly shook off those thoughts and dove towards the edge of the camp, her focus on one thing and one thing only; finding Inferno.
She landed with a jolt that made her bones creak and her muscles ache, and she cursed herself for coming in too fast. She usually knew better but her thoughts were so jumbled and muddled at this point that she could hardly think through everyday physical motions, let alone flying.
After she stretched and lessened the ache in her body to a dull throb she headed towards the heart of the camp.
She passed various soldiers of different age, size, rank, attitude, sex, etc., yet each and every one stopped to make a courteous bow to their queen no matter who they were or what they were up to.
She always bowed her head slightly back, which was generous considering that she was higher in rank than any of them and she had no reason or need to return the courtesy.
But she did it anyway, knowing in her heart that it was the decent thing to do.
At one point she stopped a green male soldier as he came out of his bow to leave.
"Wait."
Her voice rang with authority and he stood stock-still, ready for any command from his superior.
"Yes, My Queen?"
"Do you have any idea as to where the King might be? I need to speak with him. Now, preferably."
It was more of a demand than a question, and the green dragon immediately caught on to her urgency.
"His Majesty is speaking with General Siege in the General's quarters. Shall I escort you, Your Highness?"
"No, I don't think that will be necessary. I shall tell General Siege of your great willingness to help your Queen, though," she exclaimed.
She gave him a pointed look suddenly and he realized that she was waiting for his name.
"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty. Strike, at your service," he said as he gave a deep and gratifying bow.
"Thank you, Strike. You have done well today and I shall send good word to the General of your deeds."
Then she was off without another word, leaving Strike to mutter an unheard "thank you" as he slowly stretched out of his low bow.
Her pace quickened as she got closer and closer to the center of the camp until she was finally standing in the center of the ring of structures.
The space was large enough for multiple dragons to crowd in at once but oddly enough she was the only one at the moment.
Then she remembered that most of the soldiers were probably training, which meant that they were at least a mile away at the training grounds.
Each General had a special training ground for their soldiers apart from the camps, and the Generals usually spent the majority of their time there. Today was an exception though, since Inferno had stopped to pay Siege a visit.
She spotted a larger home than the rest, though only slightly larger, and she briskly walked over to it.
She listened for noises inside but it was eerily silent. She knew better, though.
Magic could muffle voices, she knew that, and she also knew that there was no better place for them to meet and strategize.
She reached out with her mind, knowing that she would find a telepathic connection.
Magma?
Inferno's voice rang clearly in her head and she quickly locked on to the connection.
Yes, it's me. Open the door or so help me I will break it down myself.
There was a short pause and she could feel Inferno's light laughter through their connection.
I don't think Siege would like that very much, he replied.
Open it!
The door slid aside almost immediately and she quickly walked inside.
She was met by three large heads, the one directly in front of her cut nearly in half by a disfiguring scar.
"Hello Siege," she growled, not amused in the slightest.
Siege's mouths twitched up at the corners and he backed away with a low chuckle.
"Apparently someone's not in the mood for a good laugh," he mused.
As he backed away she began to see the room in its full glory. She was always a little envious of the home that Siege had here, but she also remembered that he had done this all himself and she could've done it too, if she took the effort to use the magic it would take.
One of the greatest things about the place was that it was at least twice the size that it should've been compared to what it was on the outside. It was something that only magic could do, and she was always in awe when she saw it up close and personal.
Then there were the decorations, which ranged from trophy kills that Siege had made to a few gems and stashes of gold here and there.
She admired everything for a moment before turning back to Siege.
"Where is Inferno?" she demanded.
Before he could reply Inferno stepped out from behind him. He gave Siege a cold look.
"You nearly backed into me, you idiot."
Siege smirked yet again.
"I didn't realize you were back there."
"Of course you did. You just wanted to make me squirm out of the way," Inferno growled.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ridiculous accusations, in my opinion," Siege replied.
Magma rolled her eyes.
"Would you and your Protector stop fooling around?! This is serious business!" she hissed.
"A Protector does not fool around," Siege growled defensively.
"Then act a little more like Solaris and control yourself! That's why you have this position in the first place!"
"Solaris isn't here right now," Siege pointed out, " and I'm also a General, thank you very much."
She snarled at him.
"Calm down, Magma."
Inferno's voice was tinged with concern as he came forward and looked into her eyes.
"What could possibly be making you so ornery? Questioning my position as Inferno's Protector is so unlike you, not to mention snarling like that," Siege muttered.
"Blaze," she whispered.
Inferno and Siege immediately snapped to attention and their eyes locked on Magma.
"Is he okay? Has he been hurt? So help me if anyone laid a hand on my son..."
"Calm yourself, Inferno. He's fine," she growled.
Inferno relaxed but his eyes were still burning with rage.
"Then what is it?" he demanded.
"Dettra. I think she is somehow invading his dreams and she needs to be stopped, if she is," she exclaimed.
Siege suddenly spoke up.
"That's impossible!" he cried, " she's in the highest security prison in this dimension and it's at least 15 days flight from here! She's too far, even if she could breach Avalon's security!"
"What makes you think that she's invading his dreams?" Inferno asked carefully, completely ignoring Siege's outburst moments before.
Magma explained briefly, telling both of them about Blaze's description of the she-dragon and how she had just watched him in his dream and not said a word.
"The description fits," Inferno mumbled," but why? Why would she be in his dream?"
"Perhaps she wants to corrupt him," Magma muttered.
Siege stayed silent, knowing exactly what would come next.
"To be safe, we need to make sure she has no connections outside of Avalon. Siege?" Inferno turned to the hydra.
"Are you up for a little journey?"
"What about my regiment?"
"Solaris can watch both regiments at once. You, on the other hand, need to do a check-up on Dettra and the prison. Are you up to it?" Inferno growled.
"Of course, My King," he muttered irritably.
"Good. You'll leave at dawn, then."
"Shouldn't I prep my soldiers for Solaris's arrival?" Siege inquired.
"You will leave at dawn," Inferno repeated bluntly.
Siege rumbled and glared at the floor.
"Fine. As you wish," he mumbled.
Magma watched with little concern. She knew Inferno would always get his way, in the end. A Protector's first priority was always their king or queen's wishes, and nothing else would ever come before that. Ever.
She turned to leave but Inferno stopped her.
"Keep an eye on him, Magma. I can't afford to lose him," he rumbled mysteriously.
She nodded and quickly unlatched the barred door. Then she walked out without another word.
She flew back to the cave with hardly a thought on her mind, knowing that Siege and Inferno would handle whatever came next.
When she landed in the entrance she expected to see Blaze waiting excitedly for her arrival. Instead, he was curled up in the middle of the cave fast asleep.
She watched him for a moment with the soft gaze of a loving mother, her heart full with nothing but adoration for her son.
Then her eyes hardened and she released a low growl.
No one is ever going to hurt you. I swear it.
Blaze kept sleeping, remaining blissfully unaware of his mother's return.
She let herself relax a little before making her way over to him.
She nuzzled his small head and he jumped to a start, but when he saw it was her he just grinned sleepily and yawned.
"Is everything okay now, mother?" he asked. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and she smiled down at him.
"Yes. Everything is going to be fine."
Blaze nodded but as he looked into her eyes he could see a fear and protectiveness that had never been there before.
He blinked and tried to forget the look but it burned into his mind like a searing blade that cut and scorched his thoughts into a thousand shredded pieces. He forced a smile and got up to snuggle against her side. She let out a soft thrumming and it soothed him ever so slightly. But one thought kept nagging him over all of the others, and it was the same one that had eaten at him mercilessly since his mother had left in a fury.
What will happen if she learns about Serenity?
He knew the answer all too well, but it remained deeply hidden under the shroud of innocence that blinded all young creatures, and Blaze was no exception.