Occultus Draconem

Fire and Nightmares

***

Zane, disguised in a mask and cloak, slowly made his way back across the treacherous path through Senin, into Draconia. This time, he was alone. It had been almost two years since the start of the Cleansing, and he was sure to find Draconia overrun by the Cadmian Army. Still, he had to go back.

Blaise couldn't believe that he was still stuck in Zane's memory. He wanted out—he couldn't stand the lack of control.

Zane looked up at the sky, taking slow, deep breaths through his nose. He wished more than anything to be able to change back into a Dragon. He wanted to fill his lungs with the sky, and feel the clouds against his outstretched wings.

That was nothing more than a dream, though. The Enforcers were still on the prowl for surviving Draconians, and Zane would be dead before he could even get off the ground.

Still, he longed for it. Maybe a few moments touching the sky would be worth it. Then, he could be with his mother...

His attention too fixed on the sky above him, Zane lost his footing on the ground below him. He went tumbling down the embankment. He managed to grab onto a small tree to stop himself from falling farther off the edge, and he let out a long, shaky breath. The last thing he needed was to die in a ditch, alone in the mountains.

Zane reentered Castle Draconia the same way he had fled, through the kitchen and the servants' quarters. The entrance had been boarded up, but the old wooden planks were easily torn down.

He moved quickly and silently through the halls, making his way to the throne room. He expected to find Agni there, his filthy, traitorous body dirtying Queen Maeve's throne. The thought of it made him sick to his stomach, but he was surprised to find the throne room empty.

"This can't be right," he whispered to himself. Where was Agni? Where were the Enforcers? His eyes darted all over the room, expecting them to jump out at any moment to take his life. But Zane was alone.

When no one came, Zane adjusted his mask, elaborately carved by the old Senian woman who had taken him in, and he moved out to the corridor. He closed the door quietly behind him, inhaling a sharp breath when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Hey, man. What the hell do ya think yer doin'?"

Zane's whole body tensed, afraid of who may have caught him. A chill ran down his spine when someone tapped him on his shoulder.

"What's the matter? Are ya deaf?"

Zane was paralyzed with fear, unable to will himself to move or speak, and sweat ran down the side of his face. He had been caught, and that meant he was going to suffer the same terrible fate as his mother and many of his people.

Taking slow, deep breaths, he finally managed to turn himself around to face the man.

Blaise recognized him immediately—it was Theron. He was younger, but still very much the same. Zane didn't know who he was at the time, though.

"You ain't go no voice or somethin'?" Theron asked.

"Sorry," Zane said, clearing his throat as the shock wore off. This man wasn't a soldier from Cadmus, nor was he an Enforcer. He was Draconian. "I was just—"

"You ain't allowed in the throne room," he told him, nudging Zane away from the door. "No one is. Ain't nobody allowed in there 'til we got our kingdom back. Ken's orders."

"Ken?"

Blaise wondered how long Kenric and Theron had been living in Draconia. They couldn't have been any older than Zane, and yet, they were strong leaders, ready to take on King Agni.