Inferno Legacy: Loyalty of the Dragon (Book Two)

Chapter 30

"What did you think you were doing!?" the Dreamkeeper challenged.

Though he towered over Cody, the rider returned the fierce glare and answered sternly, "I defended a weak and starving people and saw that no innocents were killed."

"You call that woman an innocent, after she tried to kill the king," the beast of a man snarled. As he spoke he drew a little dagger and held it to Cody's throat. Inferno's warning growl seemed miles away.

"I'll answer to the queen, and if she asks you to kill me, so be it. Until then, get that blade away from me or I'll see to it that you're bathed in dragon-fire."

Inferno opened his jaws wide as he emitted another harsh growl. The Dreamkeeper sheathed his dagger and backed off a few paces. Cody turned away and began walking down the hall to the main hall, when a familiar sound struck his ears: a sound like a flame bursting to life.

That's exactly what it was.

With a moment of concentration Cody was able to overwhelm the energy he felt behind him, and turned swiftly around to see a ball of fire about the size of his fist hovering close enough to touch, flickering softly and casting its light sharply on the dark cave walls. As Cody poured his energy into the little ball it grew to the size of an average person's head. I final burst of strength, and the ball went flying back to its source only a few seconds later. But Cody's attacker was prepared. The Dreamkeeper caught the ball in his hands, or so it seemed, until he clapped and the fire dissipated between his fingers. But just as quickly the attacker raised a heavy brick from the ground with a slide of his left foot, and with his right he sent it forward, sharpening the edge with magic as it flew forward.

Cody grunted as he summoned a current of air and lunged forward, shattering the stone with the wall of wind. Stone shards shot off to all sides, scattering the onlookers with a rain of pebbles. But the rider payed them no mind as he concentrated his air wall and surged it forward to batter against his opponent. The attack quickly wore him out, but as soon as he released his control of the air he formed a new ball of fire, which he allowed to envelope his hands; a feat that would have burned the skin of any normal person.

He slammed his burning fists against the ground, pouring his energy into the stone. The intense heat burned at the rock until it cracked, and Cody urged the rock into the air. As it fell he threw his hands forward, and though he barely touched the rock, the fiery gloves quickly spread across the surface to envelop it. Then Cody poured his energy forward and threw the rock, forcing every bit of his strength ahead with the stone until it collided solidly with the Dreamkeeper's chest.

The burning rock pinned him firmly to the ground for several long seconds before someone managed to gather enough energy to force the rock off his chest. As soon as the strange magician's probing magic touched the stone the blazing flames vanished, leaving only an acrid cloud of smoke in its wake.

Cody's muscles ached, but he remained still as he watched them roll the blackened stone off the Dreamkeeper's body. From where he stood he could see that the stone had melted away much of the warrior's flesh, and certainly burned most of his clothes off. A healer rushed forward and lifted his head a bit before pulling away the charred remains of his clothes, revealing hard, blackened skin. The injured man breathed in great gasps and uttered a loud moan as several of his friends lifted him up. But it was clear that he would live, when they passed Cody and he saw that only the skin had been damaged. Most of the other Dreamkeepers rushed off eagerly to follow him, or back to their dens.

"That was dangerous..." Cody admitted to Inferno, abashed.

Inferno snorted. "He should have thought of that before he attacked you."

"I mean for me; for us," the rider grumbled back. "He could have killed me, and Blissful will certainly be a little more wary of us now that we attacked one of her people."

The great black dragon took a step forward and dug his talons into the ground to show his annoyance as he answered, "I suppose we're lucky he was a warrior and not a magician...he likely assumed that your skill with swords far outweighed your skill with magic. I daresay if you had been challenged by a trained magician, you may have been the one being carried away, groaning in pain." Cody felt him wince at the thought, though the effect was brief.

"Regardless, I doubt the queen will be happy."

"She shall be far less happy when she hears from a dozen different men that you were attacked before she ever spoke with you," Inferno pointed out before he began walking toward the main hall.

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