Dream of a Vast Blue Cavern

Chapter 12: A Dangerous Decision: Stasia

 Startled, the Fire King pushed her away, but her bound wrists caught on his neck. His lava mesh burned into her body. She tried to do what she had done with the Flame Soldier at Grimshore, pulling the heat from his body into hers. She thought she could take it better this time. It was minimal compared to the rushing heat of the lava river.

 But unlike the other Flame, he was ready for her trick. Holding her close, he began to pour heat into her, but it was not just the heat in his lava mesh. She screamed when she realized what he was doing. He pulled heat from the lava below and pumped it into her body; he was like a net through which water passes but is not held. As her skin began to crack and burn, he shouted, “Get out of her mind, Medoc! I must take her Dreams before she dies!”

 Medoc withdrew. Stasia was alone again with the heat and pain. With all the heat of the lava river pouring into her, Stasia knew that she was going to die, half-Flame or not, lava-tested or not. She had to make the most of her last few moments, or her death would be entirely in vain. She must do something to be sure her people survived. Drawing a trickle of T’Jas from the heat pouring into her body, she reached out for Medoc’s mind one last time, to plead with him to stop his insane King.

 Before she could reach him, she was falling toward the hard floor of the cavern, and her head slammed against a stalam. Somehow, though her body was tiny compared to his, she had pulled Dynat down with her, and he covered her whole body with a muffled whimper. As his face fell over her shoulder, she saw a look of surprise in his eyes.

 Then Medoc was pulling the Fire King's body off her, pulling her up, healing her with rough fire.

 “You killed him,” Stasia said, amazed. She truly had not thought he would be able to attack his King. He had not believed he could.

 “No,” he said. “He is merely stunned. A dangerous prisoner, half Icer, half Flame, escaped from her cell and overpowered the King. She had already fled with him when I arrived.”

 Stasia was too stunned to move. “You’re going to free me?”

 “I will have an escort take you to the Lake. From there you will send a message to your people. You will be held at the Lake until it is clean.”

 “The people of Iskalon. Will you spare them?”

 “I will pull back my troops to secure Chraun under my rule. After that, the safety of your people depends on how quickly and thoroughly you can clean the Lake.”

 “What of the guards? Won’t they kill you when they see me leave with him?”

 Medoc walked to the door and rapped on the portcullis. It opened, and he whispered something she could not hear to the guards. Then the portcullis slid shut again. “The Royal Honor Guard follows the throne, not the man. If they had seen me attack him, I would be dead. But I told them that he is dead; they belong to me now.”

 “Why not just kill him?”

 The General did not have an answer for her this time. He stared at the cloak-shrouded heap as if wondering the same thing, and smoothed his mustache with vigor. Stasia thought of her people desperately trying to survive in the Outer Tunnels, and the Icers who had surrendered with her, now dead. Lava was too good for him. She kicked the Fire King's unconscious form in anger.

 Medoc grabbed her arm. “Do not make me change my mind. He is still . . .”

 Stasia shook her head. Whatever Medoc thought Dynat was, he had changed that forever with a single blow. There was no going back now. She had seen his plan in his mind, though Dynat's attempt to kill her had altered it. She was to take the blame for Dynat's disappearance, so that Medoc's loyalty would never be questioned. He would even make a pretense of sending Flames to re-capture her. But if she was found by Flames who were not loyal to him, the truth of his treachery would out. She saw his need to have the Icers clean out the lake, and trusted him for that alone. “You are as close to a good man as a Flame can get,” she said. She thought of her mother, and wondered if Medoc had known her.

 A rap came at the door, and Medoc opened it. Four Flames in decorated steel armor entered and saluted Medoc sharply. Stasia began to breath again as she realized these men were loyal to Medoc.

 “Take her to the Lake, Tejusi. Be sure that no one sees you. Keep them hidden under his cloak until you reach the Spiral. She is to send a message to her people from the Lake.”

 Stasia looked down. The Fire King was still breathing, his lava still glowing. His face was peaceful, almost like the face of a child. Tejusi picked Dynat up like a dead raihan and slung him over his shoulder. The cloak draped all the way down to the floor along his side, and Stasia stepped close to him, hiding herself in the folds.

 “Go quickly,” Medoc said. “If any Flames ask you questions, kill them.”