Gatekeepers Book 3: Redemption

There it is. The Orb of the First King. Draycos’s hands tightened into small fists, his gaze fixated on the Orb. That’s the blasted thing that’s caused me all the trouble I’ve gone through over the past three months. Without thinking, Draycos’s feet began moving towards the dais.. He climbed up onto the dais and cautiously approached the throne, which he climbed up to reach the Rogue King’s lap. Vinkex remained silent as he intensely watched Draycos reach out towards the Orb.

At that moment, there was a loud bang, and the wooden doors on the far wall flew off their hinges. Draycos flinched as his fingers stopped just short of touching the orb. Both Draycos and Vinkex turned their attention to the other side of the hall, where a large cloud of dust floated around the air. Several pairs of heavy footsteps were heard as the new arrivals entered the room.

“This is the entrance to the throne room, correct, Corax?” A familiar deep voice questioned as the dust began to thin.

“That’s right,” another voice that Draycos didn’t recognize answered. “Two months ago, the fake Río blocked the entrances to this room and forbade anyone from entering; he’s been the only one going in and out of here several times a day.”

“Even so, Theravor, did you really have to destroy the doors?” a third voice sighed. “We could’ve gotten inside without destroying any more of the building.”

The first voice laughed as the dust finally cleared out, revealing Theravor, Corax, and Damrabe as they strode down the middle of the room.

“My friend, when time is of the essence, you’ll find that you care less about material things,” Theravor chuckled. “We can always rebuild damaged buildings, but lost lives can never be reclaimed.”

“...As you say,” Damrabe eventually sighed. The three dragons looked around and realized that Draycos and Vinkex were both staring at the group. Damrabe’s and Corax’s eyes immediately went to the stiff figure sitting in the throne behind Draycos.

“Río!” Corax cried. He and Damrabe flapped their wings and quickly flew over to the throne’s side. Meanwhile, Theravor stode up to Vinkex. The two of them quietly stared one another down. Theravor looked over Vinkex’s shoulder, focusing his gaze on the Orb cradled in Río’s arm.

“Well now, it’s certainly reassuring to see the Orb of the First King is unharmed,” Theravor stated, sighing in relief. “I must admit, after it was stolen three months ago, I had my doubts that I would ever lay eyes on it again.” Theravor’s eyes darted back to Vinkex. “What’s more surprising is that, despite having such a powerful artefact at your disposal, you refrained from using it.”

Vinkex snorted in displeasure. His tail thumped against the floor several times. “I am not so weak that I need to use the power of that damned brother of mine,” he hissed. “I’d rather die on the battlefield than to stoop to using that!”

“What I can’t seem to understand is how you managed to arrange all of these plans while you were still sealed away,” Theravor exasperated, shaking his head in confusion. Balara had been imprisoned in Skyhaven Prison, and Vinkex himself had been trapped in the lowest levels of Dragoneon Castle deep underground.

Vinkex snickered with glee. “Many adventurers and other types of people have found Dragoneon Castle over the millennia I’ve been trapped in the basement,” he explained. “Even though I was locked away, I still had enough power to slightly affect the world outside the seal. I’d lead those foolish wanderers down to the basement and straight to me, where I would then hand out fragments of my crystals.” Vinkex took a moment to tap the crystal protruding from his shoulder with a talon. The crystal uttered a short, soft ringing sound. “I managed to build up quite an impressive communication network throughout the centuries; nothing happened outside the castle that I wasn’t made aware of. But it wasn’t until that naive descendent of mine, Balara, found his way down to the castle that I obtained any pawns with genuine power and authority. Through Balara, I managed to gain control of several important figures in dragon society, namely your precious advisor, Vertex. After I got a hold of Vertex, I was able to proceed with my plans of resurrecting.”

It seems that this fool plans to tell me everything I want to know. Theravor remained quiet as he listened to Vinkex’s long-winded explanation. That’s fine by me; it makes getting crucial information easier for me.

“A few months ago, I obtained some surprising information,” Vinkex went on. “Apparently, the cooperative Rogue King had somehow gotten his hands on that treasured Orb of yours. I was going to approach Río about joining forces with me anyways, so I thought I would try to take that off his hands while I was at it.” Vinkex paused momentarily as a low growl rose from his throat. “But Río refused to involve himself with me. He absolutely refused to hand it over, claiming that he would return it to where it belonged at any cost. So I struck a bargain with Olafoc to disguise himself at Río and to make it so the real Río wouldn’t be able to do a thing.”

“Yet here we are now, and you still haven’t taken the Orb from Río?” Theravor questioned, puzzled.

Vinkex looked over his shoulder and watched Damrabe and Corax join Draycos at the side of the throne. “It’s a little more...complicated than just taking it from him,” he commented. “You’ll see soon enough.”

Draycos jumped off the throne and raised his hand in greeting as Damrabe and Corax drew close. Damrabe nodded at Draycos in response, but his attention was mostly focused on Río. He could hardly feel any life force coming off the Rogue King’s stiff body, and Damrabe could just barely see Río’s shoulders rise and fall as he breathed. Damrabe stood next to the throne and pressed a talon against Río’s wrist to check for a pulse. There wasn’t one. Panicking slightly, Damrabe began prodding all over Río’s body, looking for any signs of life.

Corax anxiously watched as Damrabe continued to examine Río. Corax’s tail twitched back and forth at an unsteady tempo as his foot tapped against the floor. Unable to contain himself anymore, Corax couldn’t help but to ask the question weighing on his mind. “Damrabe, forgive me if I’m interrupting, but please tell me: is the Rogue King still alive? Is his condition treatable, or…?”

Damrabe didn’t answer immediately as he lifted one of Río’s eyelids and peered at the eyeball. A sigh passed between Damrabe’s lips as he let the eyelid fall down. He turned around and faced Corax with a relieved expression on his face before nodding.

“Río is still alive,” Damrabe announced. He tapped the Rogue King on the shoulder. “He’s currently in a catatonic state that’s the result of having the majority of his blood drained. Enough blood was left to keep him alive, but his body ended up being “mummified” so to speak. A few blood infusions and a week or two of bedrest should be enough for him to get back to full strength.”

Corax let out a big sigh of relief. “Thank our ancestors; I was fearing the worst there for a moment,” he groaned.

Draycos gave a big grin as he put his hands behind his head. “Well, that’s great to hear,” he said happily. “Looks like things will be just fine, Corax.”

Corax turned his attention to Draycos for the first time. “How did you know my name?” Corax questioned, surprised.

“Huh? Don’t you remember?” Draycos asked, tilting his head to the side. “Theravor was talking to you when he broke the doors down, remember?”

“Theravor, huh?” Corax murmured, taking note of Draycos’s lack of formality. He and Damrabe exchanged looks. “Has this human always been so improper?”

“All day, every day,” Damrabe answered flatly, focusing his attention on healing multiple puncture wounds around Río’s wrist.

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!” Draycos snapped in annoyance.

“It means that you don’t show proper respect,” Corax responded.

As Corax and Draycos continued to bicker, Damrabe finished healing Río wounds. His eyes fell upon the Orb still resting in the Rogue King’s arm. Damrabe reached out to touch it, but the moment the tip of his talon brushed against the amber surface, there was a bright flash of light, accompanied by a sound like a zap of electricity.

“Oww!” Damrabe yelped, backing away. Draycos and Corax ceased their banter at this point and looked at Damrabe. Damrabe cradled his right hand close to his body. The smell of burnt flesh began to fill the air as smoke rose from Damrabe’s hand. Damrabe hissed in pain for a moment before healing his injured hand.

“I wouldn’t recommend touching the Orb,” Damrabe suggested as he tested his hand. “Whatever just happened just now, it’s clear that the Orb won’t let itself be used anytime soon.”

“I take it that that’s what you were talking about?” Theravor questioned as he and Vinkex watched the incident occur.

“That’s right,” Vinkex confirmed, shaking his head in displeasure. “No matter what Olafoc and I have tried, the Orb just refuses to part from Río. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that my accursed brother’s consciousness is still active and alive in that blasted treasure. It certainly has his stubbornness, that’s for certain.” The two remained silent as they watched Corax try to remove the Orb, only to be met with the same result. Corax’s pain cried echoed around the hall as he fell to one knee.

“Idiot,” Damrabe muttered, shaking his head. He knelt down and began treating Corax’s hand. “What did I just say about touching it?”

“It couldn’t hurt to try, could it?” Corax huffed, panting slightly.

“But it really did hurt, didn’t it?” Draycos remarked, unperturbed by this new development.

Corax shoots a glare at Draycos. “If you’re so unconcerned about it, then how about you give it a try?” he hissed.

“Fine by me,” Draycos answered simply, letting his hands fall to his sides. He conjured a sword and hopped on it to get up to Río’s lap. “I was going to try, anyways.”

“Please, Draycos, don’t do it,” Damrabe advised as Draycos jumped onto Río’s lap. “Didn’t you just see what it did to Corax and I? If a human like you received a shock like that, it could be very lethal for you.”

Draycos ignored Damrabe’s warnings and walked closer to the Orb. “Well, if it comes to that, at least you’ll be here to put me back together,” he said casually.

Damrabe sighed heavily, shaking his head in exasperation. “If you’re that desperate to suffer another near-death experience, then be my guest,” he growled, realizing he wouldn’t convince Draycos otherwise. “But don’t complain when I say ‘I told you so’ when you wake up in the infirmary again.”

Draycos waved his hand dismissively and stopped just in front of the Orb. He lifted his hand and unceremoniously put his palm on the surface of the Orb. Draycos’s immediate reaction was one of surprise; the Orb was surprisingly warm under his palm, as if he was touching the skin of some large mammal.

After holding his position for a second or two, Draycos grinned and looked over his shoulder at Damrabe and Corax. “Well, what do ya know? It didn’t shock me after all!” he declared, laughing at the pair’s shocked expressions (pun intended). Beyond the pair, Vinkex was staring at Draycos with his jaw hanging open, looking completely dumbstruck. Theravor himself seemed mildly surprised, although he also looked like he was about to burst out laughing.

At that moment, Draycos felt the Orb suddenly grow hotter underneath his palm. Surprised, Draycos turned his back towards the artefact just as the dull, orange glow it let off instantly grow in intensity. Blinded, Draycos made a startled sound and tried to back away, but his palm refused to pull off the Orb; it was as if the two were glued together. The light continued to grow brighter, and all Draycos could do was shield his eyes with his free arm as the light engulfed him. The four dragons in the room also covered their eyes as the light became blindingly bright. A dull boom shook the air, and the light immediately faded away.

Theravor slowly lowered his arms and opened his eyes. His vision darkened by the unexpected light, it took all he was capable of to see a cloud of dust blanketing the whole room. As his vision improved, a gentle breeze wafted in through the opening behind Río’s throne, dispersing the dust.

“Get this thing off of me!” Theravor heard Draycos cry.

“Draycos? What’s the matter?!” Theravor called out.

“Theravor?! Please help; I can’t get this thing off my hand!” The last of the dust blew away, clearing Theravor’s vision. He and Vinkex still stood where they had been, and Corax and Damrabe stood at the end of the dais. Draycos, who had apparently been knocked off the throne, stood on the dais just before the throne, flailing his right arm around wildly. It took Theravor a moment to realize that something orange twinkled softly in Draycos’s right hand. A shiver of surprise ran down Theravor’s spine as he realized what was going on.

The Orb of the First King, now shrunken down to a size small enough to fit in Draycos’s hand, had now stuck itself to Draycos’s palm.

“D-Draycos!” Damrabe managed to spit out after regaining some of his composure. He rushed over to Draycos and got down on his knees to closely examine Draycos’s hand. “What in the world did you?!”

“Why do you think I did this?!” Draycos yelped, still waving his hand around frantically. “I didn’t do anything!”

“Hold still for a second,” Damrabe growled, grabbing Draycos’s arm with one hand. Slowly, Damrabe carefully pinched the Orb between the index and thumb talons of his other hand, intending on pulling the Orb off. But the moment Damrabe touched it, there was another loud zap. Damrabe howled in pain as he pulled his sizzling hand away.

“Are you okay?!” Draycos cried, apparently unharmed by the electric shock.

“That’s what I should be asking you!” Damrabe snapped, losing his remaining composure as he released Draycos. “Why the hell is the Orb of the First King now stuck on your body?!”

“Ehehehe,” Draycos suddenly laughed sinisterly. His hair and eyes turned to their black and yellow colors as his laughter only grew louder.

“Wha…?” Damrabe was at a loss for words as he backed off, disturbed by the sudden change in Draycos’s demeanor.

“At last, I have it!” Draycos declared, holding the Orb high above his head. “I have the Orb of the First Kings in my hands at last! With this, I can rule the world!”

Even Theravor found himself stunned by this sudden twist in events. He, Vinkex, Corax, and Damrabe just stared at Draycos as the young man continued to cackle.

“Ah, just kidding,” Draycos chuckled. His hair and eyes immediately turned back to brown as his laughter grew louder. “I’m just kidding, guys.”

Damrabe fell backwards and landed on his bottom while Corax sunk to his knees as the stress suddenly drained from their bodies. Vinkex’s shoulders slumped in disappointment while Theravor’s booming laughter began to echo around the room.

“Well, that was something!” Theravor commented, still laughing. “That was well played, Draycos; I honestly doubted you for a second there!”

Draycos snickered gleefully. “I’ve been thinking about doing that for months, if I ever came across the Orb,” he admitted. “It’s too good of an opportunity to waste.”

Damrabe got back up on his feet, obviously irritated. He strode over to Draycos and whacked the man atop the head with his tail.

“Oww!” Draycos yelped, crouching down. “What was that for?!”

“Stop screwing around!” Damrabe roared. “If you ever pull a stunt like that in front of me again, I swear I’ll make things as painful as possible whenever I heal you afterwards!”

“It was a joke, Damrabe!”

“I don’t care if it was a joke! This is not a situation to joke around in!”

“Enough of this!!”

Theravor, Draycos, Corax, and Damrabe turned to the speaker of the last statement, Vinkex. Vinkex’s lips were curled into a snarl as he hunched forward, tail lashing. He looked like an agitated cat who was about to strike. “I do not have the time to play these games!” he hissed. “Draycos, now that you’re in possession of the Orb, I’ll present you with a choice. You can either willingly give yourself up to me, or you can hand over the Orb and then be chased down by me! Make your choice!”

“Ha! I made my choice months ago!” Draycos answered. He stuck his tongue out at Vinkex and flipped him the bird. “I’m giving this thing back to Theravor to make up for all the times he’s stuck his neck out for me! Nothing you can say will change that!”