The Atheil Chronicles: A Call to Fire

Chapter 17

    She was somewhere dark and cold. Ariana looked around her, but she couldn't determine exactly where she was; it looked like maybe a basement or dungeon of some sort. Ahead, chains hung from the walls and water dripped from somewhere to her right. She took a few tentative steps forward and heard her footsteps echoing through the room. As she went on, she couldn't help but pick up on a feeling of dread. It seemed to hang in the air like fog.
    Ahead of her, there was a room closed off with bars. She gave a start when she realized it was a cell. A vivid feeling of dejavu swept over her. Wait, her mind said, do you know this place? She peered into the cell and could see the moonlight shining in through a small barred window, illuminating a figure laying on a cot in the corner. Ariana stepped closer to the cell and stared at the figure.
    It was a thin woman. Her hair shone with a glimmering radiance that Ariana somehow knew had nothing to do with the moonlight, her skin smooth and pale like porcelain. She was covered in horrific scars and the sight of them once again jogged something in her memory. Did she know the woman? As soon as the thought crossed her mind, the woman opened her eyes.
    She turned her face toward Ariana, revealing a set of gorgeous thulian pink eyes. Her ashen face was covered in fading bruises that somehow made them even more pronounced. They widened when she took Ariana in and she sat up quickly, turning her body so that she could face her.
    She stood up, staring at Ariana like she was a ghost. She tried to walk toward her but there were chains attached to her wrists and ankles and they stopped her from stepping away from the cot. She looked down at them sadly and then brought her attention back up to Ariana. She gazed into her eyes and neither of them said anything. Then the woman lifted a hand and touched her chest, just above her heart.
    Ariana felt something warm in her own chest and she reached up, touching it in the same spot as she had. She felt the warmth just below the surface of her skin there and looked at the woman in surprise. "What is that?" She asked.
    The woman shook her head sadly and brought a delicate hand up and touched her shell pink lips. Ariana saw a tear run down her face, leaving a trail in the thin layer of dirt that covered it. She looked heartbroken.
    "Don't cry." Ariana said. "You're going to be okay. I can help you." She began searching for the key to the door of the cell.
    The woman's beautiful eyes filled with fear. She began shaking her head as if in a panic and kept mouthing 'no'.
    "You don't want out?" Ariana asked, confused.
    She nodded and then her shoulders slumped in defeat.
    "But why?" She asked.
    The woman bit her lip and Ariana saw another tear make its way down her face. She took a deep breath and reached her hand out in front of her, her palm facing Ariana.
    As everything around Ariana grew dark, the woman seemed to glow brighter. When they were the only two things left, the darkness began to overtake her, too. Her body slowly disappeared and when all Ariana could see was her face, she saw her mouthing something, her face glistening with fresh tears.
    'You never should have come back.' She mouthed, fading into the darkness..
*        *        *        *        *
    A man was calling her name, his voice getting louder as she came back into consciousness. She opened her eyes, the brightness making her flinch at the stark contrast. Orbs of glittering blue and gold fire were bobbing gently along the ceiling of the room she was in and, now that her eyes had adjusted, she realized they weren't actually that bright.
    Above her, a man was gazing at her, concern etched on his face. She gave a start and was going to roll away from him when her head throbbed painfully. She winced, her hand coming up to touch her temple. The man's eyes followed the movement, then he seemed to understand her panic and sat down in the chair next to the bed.
    Ariana turned to look at him suspiciously, her mind racing to figure out who he was. He had beautiful chestnut colored hair that fell just past his shoulders and the brightest blue eyes that Ariana had ever seen, the blue seeming to sparkle in the firelight. He was wearing a dusty rose colored tunic that had darker tones mixed into the fabric to accent it. He didn't look like he was older than 25, but something about his eyes made her think he'd already lived a whole lifetime.
    When she didn't speak, the man cleared his throat and gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry to have startled you," he said, his voice melodic and strangely soothing. "I didn't mean to crowd you just as you were waking up. I was merely making sure you were doing okay." When she didn't speak, he continued. "I know you must be disoriented. My name is Lamis. It was my home that you and your friend stumbled upon."
    At the mention of Ryonen, Ariana tried to sit up. Lamis' slender hands reached out and gently pushed her back down on the bed. "It's okay," he said slowly, "Ryonen is right over there on that couch. Look, you can see that he's just sleeping. He hasn't left your side since you got here."
    Ariana peered around the bed to where Lamis was indicating. Sure enough, Ryonen was fast asleep on the small wooden couch, his black hair strewn across his face as he leaned over the arm of it. He looked utterly exhausted.
    She turned to Lamis, half ashamed at her reaction. "I'm sorry." She said sheepishly. "I don't feel quite right yet." This was true. Her vision was back now but she still had residual pain running through her body. Even now, laying immobile on the bed, she could feel the dull aching inside of her.
    He nodded appreciatively. "It's okay, you've just been through a serious ordeal, I don't blame you one bit."
    Ariana flexed her hand, testing the feeling for pain. It gave off the faintest flicker of pain, but she could tell that it was receding now. She looked up at Lamis. "You made the antidote?" She asked, amazed.
    "Yes." He said, and reached out tentatively to touch her forearm. "You may feel sore for a while but it will fade with time. You very nearly died. If you hadn't shown up here when you did..." He trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished but the implication clear.
    Ariana swallowed. "Thank you." She said, then stopped. "I thought that it wasn't possible to get the ingredients, though?"
    A look passed briefly over Lamis' face and then disappeared so fast that Ariana figured she must have imagined it. He gave a shy smile. "It shouldn't have been, but this is a very unique place. I had everything needed in my store room. You're lucky; I just went out yesterday to forage for ingredients, otherwise it would've taken too long."
    Ariana took in a shuddering breath and then glanced down at her wrists, which she realized now were a bright shade of red, the skin around the chafe marks a light shade of purple with the bruises continuing to her elbow. She looked away.
    "It's not as bad as yesterday." Lamis said softly. She heard him rustle around in the bedside table for a second before coming back up with a bottle of clear liquid and a bundle of cloth. "I'm going to clean it, okay? It might sting a little bit."
    Ariana shut her eyes as he smeared the cold liquid on her wrist. She felt him wiping it with the cloth and then dabbing it lightly with another cloth soaked in something. When he was finished, he set that hand back onto her lap and picked up her right hand, going through the same process of cleaning it.
    He was just finishing up when he paused, his hand turning hers over so he could gaze at something on the back. He looked up at her. "Where did you get this?" He asked. His voice was strained as his eyes flickered between her and the mark.
    She looked down at her hand and let out a soft gasp. From the spot between her thumb and index finger to her ring finger was a pale pink burn scar in the shape of flames. Lamis brushed a thumb over the skin there and Ariana could feel a slight tingling resonating from within.
    "Where did you get this?" He asked, again. There was something more than curiosity in his voice. He was taken aback by it, that much was clear.
    Ariana just stared at the scar. "I don't know." She said, finally. "A phoenix burnt me when it laid its head on me, but it didn't even touch me on the back of my hand."
    Lamis didn't say anything for a long time as he gazed down at the mark. When he did speak, he said "Do you understand what this means?"
    She looked at him confused. "That I have a burn?" She asked, not sure where he was going with it.
    He shook his head and looked up at her seriously. "You've been marked by a Phoenix as one of their own." He let go of her hand and took a breath. "It's been thousands of years since anyone was marked like that. Maybe longer."
    She pulled her hand up to her face and examined the small scar. It felt warm, even now, just like it did when it first happened. "What does that mean?" She asked.
    Lamis screwed up his face. "To be honest, I'm not really sure myself. My mother used to have a saying about Phoenixes, 'They're majestic and proud, but secretive and loyal to themselves. Fire calls to fire.'" Now he paused and thought about this. "It's been too long to know for sure what lasting effects this could have on you. I suppose we'll have to watch closely and just wait and see."
    Ariana dropped her hand into her lap, her mind racing. Lasting effects? She thought for a minute. "Can vivid dreams be included in that?" She asked suddenly.
    "What do you mean? Dream about what?" He was watching her carefully now, his eyes fixed on her face.
    "Well..." she stopped and gathered herself. "I don't really remember all the details, but I've been dreaming about this woman." When Lamis didn't respond, she continued. "It started happening after the incident with the Phoenix. I can't remember much of what happens after I wake up, but I remember her."
    He looked thoughtful, his blue eyes seeming to stare off into the distance. "Perhaps." was all he said.
    Ariana wanted to ask him to elaborate but he looked so far away that she stopped herself. He seemed troubled, his dark brows furrowing together and wrinkling the skin between them. She changed the subject. "Ryonen said he'd never seen this place before." She said, watching him.
    "Very few have. It's a bit of a family secret. My wife inherited it when her parents passed." He said, leaning back in his chair.
    "Is she here, then?" Ariana asked, looking past him to the door.
    A silence filled the air and Ariana looked back at him, taking in the heartbreaking look of sadness that had risen on his face. "She's long gone." He said, his voice sounding so grief-stricken that it made her catch her breath.
    "I'm so sorry." She said, feeling terrible for bringing it up. "I didn't mean-"
    He stopped her. "It's alright." He said, gaining his composure and half-heartedly giving her a small smile. "It was a long time ago."
    She didn't say anything, but looked around her. The walls were set in deep amaranth and the curtains fell in silver folds on either side of a large window that went from the floor to the ceiling to her left at the end of the bed. There were two glass doors that led out to a balcony, which she could vaguely make out in the receding light of the day. Directly to her left against the same wall as the bed was a beautiful wardrobe and, she just now noticed, she was laying in a four poster bed with blush colored netting that hung from the posts. The blankets and pillows on the bed were also pink, a theme that she was beginning to notice.
    Lamis caught her looking around. "My wife came from a large family so there's no shortage of rooms here. There's a bathroom next door and then I gave the room on the other side of that to Ryonen to use."
    At the word bathroom, Ariana realized how wonderful that sounded. It had been-well, she didn't know how long it had been since she had bathed herself. She was about to open her mouth to ask about it when Lamis said, "I'll help you up and you can go next door. Use whatever you need." He helped her push back the blanket and she gingerly brought her legs to the end of the bed. He locked his arm in hers and she brought herself up to stand on her feet. She wobbled a bit, but his grip was firm and steadied her as she took her first few steps, gaining stability as she went on. She gave Ryonen a passing glance as they went on, but then turned her attention forward to the open door.
    Lamis eased her through it and then they turned left and walked a few feet before stopping at a door painted with gold edges. He turned to her. "This is the bathroom that you will be using." He said. He opened the door and once again guided Ariana through it.
    Lamis walked her forward until they reached a beautiful ivory tub with legs that were in the shape of dragons about to take flight. With a flick of his free hand, water sprung into the tub, steam rising up from the water like little tendrils of smoke. He turned back to her. "There are bottles on the shelf next to the tub with various perfumes in them to scent the water. They're labeled so you can choose what scent you want. My wife loved them so I still have all of them, but I don't use them. Everything you need is in here." He pulled out a plush looking towel and set it on a table next to the tub. "When you're done, that door over there leads into a closet. You can find clothes in there that should fit you. Use whatever you want. I'll let Ryonen know where you went and then I'll go prepare some food. He tells me you haven't eaten in quite a long time." He inclined his head at her before turning away and heading back where they came from.
    When the door had shut and she could hear his footsteps receding, Ariana took in a breath and stripped off her dress. She could see now that it was tattered and dirty, the satin fabric matted with what she knew was her own blood. She walked forward, tentatively lowering herself into the large tub. She was greeted with the absolute bliss of hot water against her skin, the water seeming to penetrate right through her aching muscles. She let her body relax as she leaned back against the side of the tub, letting out a deep sigh of relief. She turned her head toward the shelf of fragrances next to her. Most of them were normal scents, like rose and lilac, but toward the back Ariana could see a bottle with the words 'Luna Flos' written in a woman's scrawling handwriting. She reached a dripping hand over and grabbed the bottle, pulling the cork off and instantly being greeted with an intoxicating scent. It reminded her vaguely of a mixture between sweet pea and orchid, but there were other minor scents in there that she couldn't distinguish, like maybe berry or lilac.
    She poured an ounce or so of the perfume into the water and it quickly filled up the room with its wonderful scent. Ariana relaxed her head against the lip of the tub and closed her eyes. Even after all that time sleeping, she could feel the warm water trying to lull her into sleep. Everything began to feel like it was moving in slow motion and she fluttered her eyes a little bit, trying to stay awake. To occupy herself, she took some of the fragrance and ran it through her hair, saturating it with the perfume and working out the tangles that she had accumulated over the past week. She used a rag she found near the tub to wash her body and she gently washed away all of the dirt and blood from her skin while taking special care with her wrists so as to not irritate the healing skin. When she was finally done, she rested her head again, letting the perfume soak into her hair and skin as she did so.
    Try as she might, she couldn't quite keep her eyes open, so she closed them and just relaxed into the lip of the tub. She was so overwhelmed by the peacefulness of the smell of the perfume and the heat of the water, that she found herself drifting off.
    Ariana could feel her body getting heavier with every passing second and then, suddenly, it wasn't. She began to feel light, almost as if she were floating. When she opened her eyes, she was in a cave that was lit by the light of a dozen candles distributed around the vast space. The cave didn't seem to have an obvious entrance, but there did appear to be a door of sorts on the ceiling. An underground cave, then?
    She examined the walls a little closer and saw condensation forming on the rough surface of the rock. What was this place? She straightened up at the sound of male voices and pressed her body up against the wall of the cave, trying to blend in with the shadows there.
    "No." A velvety voice said. "I need more to finish it."
    A strange noise filled the cave and Ariana squeezed her eyes closed, hating the way the noise echoed in the small space. After a few seconds, she realized that the noise was a voice.
    "What progress is there?" The deep rumbling voice asked.
    Ariana widened her eyes and leaned closer to where the voices were coming from. The first voice was speaking again, though she missed the majority of what had been said. "-stronger. They fight amongst themselves too much."
    A loud rumbling shook the cave and then it stopped. "Kill those that do not listen. We do not have time for such wastes."
    "As you wish." The first voice said, sounding somewhat pleased.
    "Have you found the heir?" The deep voice asked.
    "No..." The first voice said, sounding uncomfortable. "But we are searching."
    A growling resonated throughout the cave, chilling her to the core. It wasn't just angry, it was furious, outraged. Ariana took a step toward the light, trying to see who was talking.
    Suddenly she opened her eyes and she was back in the bathroom. She looked down at her hands and saw that they were beginning to wrinkle from being in the water for too long. Shaking off the feeling of dread that the dream had brought on, she rinsed the perfume out of her hair and stepped out of the bathtub. She rubbed her hair dry and wrapped the towel around her body.
    Since there were no windows in the room, she had no idea how long she'd been out. She used a hand mirror she found on the table next to the tub and looked at her reflection. She already looked way better after her bath and she certainly felt her strength returning to her. She sat down on a nearby chair and worked through her tangles with a comb that she found. When her hair was sufficiently brushed, she stood up and made her way to the adjoining door that accessed the next room.
As soon as she stepped through, she gasped at the abundance of clothes hanging up around the room. As far as the eye could see, there were dresses of every color, every length, and every style. She walked over to the nearest rack and ran her hands over a purple silk dress with strands of gold sewn into the sleeves and collar.
    She walked through the room, just looking at everything. She had no idea how she was going to be able to choose between them, they were all so talently made. She was moving on to a different rack when a shimmer of light caught her eye and she took a few steps back, looking at the source of the light. In front of Ariana was the prettiest dress she'd ever seen in her life. She didn't even bother to look at any other dresses, she threw off her towel and slipped the dress over her body, feeling it fall into place like a glove. She turned and looked into one of the full length mirrors that rested on the walls.
    The dress was absolutely gorgeous. It was a long silk dress that was almost the exact same color of blue as the flower that she had seen outside by the door, and its long skirt cascaded down to the floor in shimmering blue folds. It had bell sleeves that hung off the shoulder and ended about 6 inches past the elbow, with a band that wrapped around her arm an inch or so above her elbows, and it had beautiful light blue embroidery done along the edges of the sleeves and at the bottom of the dress. The dress had a boat neck that fell just below her collar bone and a corseted waist adorned with jewels and glittering beading. A simple pale blue silk ribbon wrapped around her waist and came together in the middle to fall down the front of the dress and stop a few inches from the floor. She reached up and started braiding a section of hair at the top of each side of her head, pulling them back to form a sort of crown. After she was done, she tied them together with a blue ribbon that she found in a drawer next to the mirror.
    She gazed at her reflection in the mirror, enthralled by what she saw. She kept staring at herself, seeing herself in a way she never had before. Her hair was perfect; the braids made it look like she was wearing a tiara and the rest of her hair fell in perfect waves down her back. Her porcelain skin seemed to glow against the blue silk of the dress and her eyes shone with a strange light, becoming lighter than she'd ever seen them. She smiled and it lit up her face. She could only feel the faintest remnants of the poison's effects in her and she sighed in relief. That was the worst pain she had ever experienced in her life and she was happy to have it behind her.
    Now she glanced down at her hands, her eyes finding the flame shaped scar there, and swallowed. What would happen to her because of this? She thought, absentmindedly running a finger over the skin there and feeling the radiating heat from inside. She wondered if she should tell Ryonen about the dreams she had been having, especially the last one. Somehow, it felt important, though she wasn't sure why. She didn't even know who had been speaking or, better yet, who they were talking about, but she felt like Ryonen would want to know.
    She let her hands fall to her side, looking out a window the was at the back of the room. Darkness had fallen while she was in the bath and she knew they'd be waiting for her downstairs. On that note, she took one final look at herself in the mirror and swept out the door.