A Flawed Alliance

Chapter 23- The Volvanic Acropolis

I didn't exactly land that softly but at least I didn't feel that much pain. Only when all the excess water around me splattered to the ground I was able to tell where I landed.

I was in a soaking mess. My shirt clung onto my skin and my pants felt leaden. I reached my hand out to my wet hair, but it was already drying, my hand smoothing over silky pieces of hair. I flicked my bangs to the side of my face and saw my clothes drying as well.

All around me, volcanoes sprouted out lava and ashes, polluting the air in fine layers of unfiltered gas. The air was so humid and hot that I could feel the buffeting of the heat against my skin. Huge chunks of rocks connected precariously throughout the whole region, making the ground look unstable. Underneath the chunks of land, boiling lava bubbled, pushing violently against the uneven pavement.

I quickly stood up and looked at the lava. There was a perfectly shaped circle leading downwards into the lava, but instead of lava dribbling from the hole, water spouted out in powerful undulations, knocking back the lava that was attempting to get in. The blue of the water was stark against the red of the lava that the contrast almost seemed unreal.

I turned away from the barren landscape and spun around, almost jumping back in fright. Ace was behind me the whole time, watching my expression as I surveyed the scene before me. "Looks like crap, doesn't it?"

I looked back, observing the wasteland. "So, this was their hometown."

"It was mine too," Ace added.

It was a wasteland alright but when I gazed up and saw the gradient of the sky filled with warm reds, purples, and blues, it was as if in a dream. Stars glittered above in vast pools of colors and red aurora borealis melted in atmospheric hazes.

"How did you even live here?" I continued. There were no buildings in sight and certainly no civilization.

"It used to be a city," Ace replied. "Blue skies as far as the eyes could see. Connected adobes and skylights that let in light even throughout the night. Until Malanthe came with her inferno dragon and turned it into this."

I remembered Logan had mentioned something of abodes and blue skies. Volvanic Acropolis was known as the land of community, but seeing it now, it felt more isolated and alone.

A tremendous uproar echoed from the frothing hole. From the tube in quick succession-in a about a five second interval-spouted out Ace's Garvyn, Nix, then Ember, then Logan, then Veronica, and lastly Zoey. They collapsed onto the molten rock in different heaps of puddles, breathing heavily for fresh air like fish flopping on a shore of a beach. Water dispersed and evaporated quickly, leaving them warm and dry.

Logan instantly stood up. I saw the landscape through his eyes, distant and unfamiliar. Veronica, besides him, was setting her hair back across her shoulders and checking the animals. Her expression didn't change when she saw Volvanic Acropolis. She only called Zoey to her and watched molten rocks explode from the lava.

Nix ruffled his wings and spread them out. He seemed to enjoy the hot temperature just as much as Ember who was raking her claws against the uneven ground.

"Well," Veronica gasped, putting a hand on her waist. "Welcome home."

Logan's eyes flashed in response. He girded his fingers around the sheath attached to his golden belt.

"There's an underground area not very far away that we can camp out, "Ace suggested. He turned his head and looked at me.

"For a second," Veronica said. "I thought you were going to suggest a burial chamber again."

Ace swiveled his face toward Veronica. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

The landscape was hard to take in. There was only land as far as my eyes could see. Bubbling. Hot. Frothing. Lava. Warm steam blew constantly in and out of my shirt and in no time during the walk, sweat piled on the palms of my hands and my legs were growing numb with fatigue.

The flat terrain started to dip slightly into the ground. It felt as if I was slowly walking toward the end of the world, sinking down into the ground with no way up. Rocks began to climb higher around the sides of me until it jutted way up when the ground sloped down so suddenly that it led to a large hole that I could barely see through. Crevices snaked outward from the hole but there was no indication of what was in it.

I was expecting to veer away from the gaping hole but Ace continued to walk right into it, disappearing with the darkness the tunnel created. Lava poured lazily down in front of the entrance of the hole. I followed Nix who maneuvered around the drips of magma and allowed light to filter through the dark tunnel.

Finally, the descent stopped and the ground smoothed out to an underground hot spring. It was cooler underground than up above with a breeze slowly billowing around a large lake. The steam acted like fog, obscuring and limiting what vision I had.

Jagged rocks jutted out from everywhere, above the water and high up to the ceiling of the cave. Light pierced through the holes on the top, bathing the springs down below with red light. The water was so clear that everything was reflected off it, from the rocks to the light from above.

While Logan and Veronica set out to explore the cave and possible hideouts, I went over to Ace who was standing idly next to the river.

"Hey Ace," I said to him. Just as I said that, I noticed I had not been alone with him ever since we were at the dorms.

"Hey."

"You never told me why you came with me on this trip," I said. "You have quite the history."

He crossed his arms. "I already told you. If I do this correctly, my mom will give me a pat on the back."

I sat on a rock next to him and skidded my legs out, almost touching the edge of the water's shoreline. "Malanthe and Searill say differently."

"Fine. You looked pitiful and vulnerable so I wanted to help." Blunt. Almost in a joking way.

"I have Logan and Veronica," I huffed. "And Nix."

Ace laughed mockingly. "Logan's an Undefined. Veronica's trying to find kindness that doesn't exist in this world. I don't see how they have any reason to be here either."

I looked at him. He didn't look back at me. When he exhaled, I saw the steam swirl around his nostrils until he breathed in, sucking the steam in his nose. I asked, "So he told you about being an Undefined?"

"Veronica told me."

"You asked her?"

"No."

"You don't think Logan and Veronica are going to stay with me? But they could have left hours ago when they found out Logan was an Undefined," I said.

A sickening feeling plummeted in my stomach. In a way, Ace was right. Though Logan and Veronica were still here, the responsibility and pressure of the Phoenix Auxiliary only resided within me, not them. They had goals, but no tethers.

He shrugged. "How would I know?"

I crossed my arms. "They can't do that."

"Who cares?" he asked.

I clicked my tongue. "I want them, too."

Ace sighed, letting his eyes close in disinterest. "People don't live for you, Iridian. You think they're friends but the moment you fall out of their life, they are able to find other people."

"And you're not a friend?"

"I'm no friend," Ace said curtly.

Silence passed but Ace continued to stand there, overlooking the steam and the haze of the water. From here, I could see Logan and Veronica guarding the entrance to the hot springs with the rest of the animals. They were shoulder to shoulder, whispering in hushed tones to each other. All I could hear was the trickle of water as it flowed across to the other side of the cavern.

"Was that how you thought when you were with Searill, Wyntarina, Felidae, and someone named Jahi?"

Ace was expressionless until I said the last name, Jahi. He grinded his teeth. "Do you want me to be your enemy?"

"You can't leave me in the dark forever."

I caught Ace's eyes flash with a hint of danger as he quickly looked back behind him, pulling out his staff for defense. I barely caught sight of hyenas before someone clamped their hand around my mouth and knocked me unconscious.