Hearts of Fire

Prologue

                I woke up to the sound of knocking on the bedroom door. I heard a shuffling, and knew Deirdre had woken up, too. I shared a room with my sister, despite the four extra bedrooms in our house. We were very close, even for twins, and couldn’t bear being separated, even for a few hours.

                “Who’s there?” I asked, quietly and cautiously. The door opened to reveal our mothers face, sick with worry.

                “Girls, get dressed. I need to take you somewhere.” There was a sense of urgency in her voice.

                “But mom, we’re sick. Aren’t we supposed to be rest-” I broke off in a fit of coughs.

                Deirdre sniffled. “Where are we going?” her voice was raspy, weak from coughing and barely more than a whisper. “Is it somewhere that will help us get better?” she coughed.

                “I hope so, dear. I hope so. Now get dressed, we have to get there as soon as we can.” I glanced over at the clock. It read 11:00 pm.

                “Okay, mom. We’ll be ready on time.” As she shut the door, Deirdre and I both got out of bed and picked out our outfits. We got dressed quickly before running downstairs. Our mother was waiting for us, standing just a few feet away from the front door.

                “Okay, girls. Get in the car, we need to hurry. There isn’t much time left.” Wordlessly, she led us to our forest-green Subaru, and sat us in the back seat. As we pulled out of the driveway, I looked out the back window at our beautiful four-story six-bedroom home, wondering why we had to leave so late at night. One look at my sister and I knew we were both thinking the same thing: are we coming back?

                The car ride took hours; we stopped once at a gas station to refuel the car and use the bathroom, but besides that, we drove until we were far outside the city, at the edge of a large forest, at around 1:00 am. And even after we got out of the car, our mother led us through the forest for about a half hour or so. My feet were getting sore, and my muscles ached. We were only 5, after all.

                “How much longer, mommy? I don’t think I can walk for much longer,” Deirdre complained. Neither of us were really walking anymore, so much as trudging and trying not to trip over rocks and loose tree roots.

                “Not long. See that large rock up there?” We both nodded, noticing the gigantic boulder that was at least fifty feet high and forty feet wide. “There’s a cave in there. We’re just going to that cave.” Within a minute, we’d arrived. Our mother let out a heavy sigh. She seemed nervous, as if she was unsure whether she was doing the right thing by bringing us here. Turning around to face us, she smiled weakly, and a single tear ran down her cheek. “Deirdre, Rylee, before anything happens, I want you both to know that I love you. I always have and always will. And I’m very proud of you both. You are my perfect little angels.” We walked around the large boulder to find that it was mostly hollowed out. Gleaming orange eyes stared at us from inside the rock.

                Out of nowhere, a light, feminine voice chuckled happily. “Celeste! I never expected to see you back here!”

                “Adelinda,” our mother bowed her head. “It is good to see you. I wish I could have visited bearing good news. My daughters; they are very sick. I need your help.”

                “Daughters? You mean to say you have more than one child?” The voice sounded curious.

                “Yes, twins. They are five.” She turned her head around to face us. “Girls, come meet Adelinda. She’s an old friend of mine.” Cautiously, we stepped in front of our mom, both shaking with fright. “Adelinda, these are my daughters, Rylee and Deirdre.” She pointed to each of us in turn.

                “Hi, Adelinda,” I said, a bit less scared, but not by much.

                “Now, now, girls. I don’t bite, there’s no need to be scared.” Adelinda laughed. All of a sudden, the eyes staring from the back of the cave stepped forward to reveal the rest of the creature. The three of us found ourselves gazing at a snow-white dragon, at least ten feet tall, with bright, fiery eyes and wings that rested by her sides. She had four legs, and a long tail that was at least as long as our mother was tall. I gasped, and so did my sister. It was a truly magnificent sight. Without warning, Deirdre began coughing violently. Adelinda looked down at her worriedly.

                “As I said, they are both very sick. Every doctor I’ve spoken with has said they won’t make it.”

                “Celeste… I’m so sorry. I will try to help, but you know as well as I that the rejuvenation process cannot be performed without a… sacrifice. Life doesn’t come from thin air, after all.”

                “I know; all I’m asking is for you try.”

                “Very well. Come with me, children.” She led us back into her cave, which was surprisingly roomier than it looked with a large dragon occupying the space. “Have a seat; I’ll get you some water.” She flicked her tail towards a rock about the size of a sofa, and we sat down. A few seconds later, she brought us two clay cups full of fresh water. “Drink, dears. You must be exhausted.”

                The rest of the night was a bit of a blur. Adelinda examined us each thoroughly, testing our senses and occasionally asking us questions to keep us distracted from our sickness. I remembered her telling mom that she could give us some herbs that might help bring down our fever, but other than that, she could do nothing without a human life to give us. Naturally, I wondered if that meant someone would have to die for us to live. Then I heard something that snapped me out of my thoughts.

                “Take me.” Just two simple words, which by themselves held little meaning. Two little, insignificant words that would have meant absolutely nothing in any other situation. Two words that scared the hell out of two little five-year-old twins.

                “Celeste, are you sure?” Even Adelinda was shocked. “You know what it means to -”

                “I know, Adelinda, I know. I would do anything to save my daughters.”

                “Very well, Celeste. I will miss you.”

                I didn’t remember anything after that, besides suddenly feeling better, and seeing mom lying on the ground, looking helpless. All of a sudden, Deirdre seemed faint, and I realized I felt faint, too. We both passed out in an instant.