Six of Ruin (Heirs of Irenwell #1)

The volcano above us shook, the rocks detached themselves from the mountain and crumbled down the steep, black sides. Lava slid down, devouring the tiny rocks in its wake, creating orange and red glowing stripes across the mountain’s surface.

On instinct, we stepped away, not sure what to expect. The boys grabbed their weapons and prepared for better, but the usual urgency and stealth was gone from their movements. We were too tired.

If something attacked us right now, we wouldn’t be able to fight.

“What the hell is going on?” Danilo shouted.

“As I said.” Ace put his hands on his hips. “It’s our ride.”

“No!” I came closer to the mage, anger churning in my veins. “We’re not done talking! You’re going to explain what you meant right now! Why would you say my father was involved?”

“I’ll advise against talking right now, Princess.” Ace didn’t look at me. “We’ll have company soon.”

The volcano continued to shake, almost as if an earthquake gripped the mountain from within.

A deep, guttural voice came from inside, “Who dares to disturb my sleep?”

I pulled back and stood beside Rixen, knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to defend me, but still feeling strangely safer by his side.

“Abe?” Ace called. “It’s me, your old buddy. Come out, come out!”

Silence.

A large scaly hand with claws for nails grabbed the edge of the volcano, stopping the flow of lava. The fire did nothing to the brown, dry scales.

Instinctively, we pulled back, cowardly pushing Torvald up front, like he could handle anything that came out of that volcano.

The lava burst around, sprinkling all over the rocks, as the large, scaly body emerged from the pit of the volcano. First came the wings, stretching and spreading over the mountain, covered with glowing red lava. Then came the front legs, strong and muscled, pulling up from the bottomless pit something terrifying, ending with clawed, human-like hands.

I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, and neither did anyone else. We simply stared, too stunted to run or ask questions. Only Ace came closer, hands on his hips, annoyance in his snarl.

“Abe! We don’t have time for the dramatics!”

A roar came in response, so loud it shook the ground around us, and a horned head peeked above the crater. Huge, pointy red eyes scanned us from head to toe. The scales around the eyes were black, gradually turning lighter towards the neck. Bulging, straining muscles covered the beast’s entire body.

Fear rendered me incapable of breathing.

The beast pulled its body out of the crater, balancing on the edge of the volcano, lava sliding mercilessly over its skin and down the mountain.

“It’s a dragon!” Nick shouted, his eyes wide. “It’s a dragon!”

“We can see that, floran.” Danilo mumbled, his eyes equally wide.

I still couldn’t breathe. All I could think about was my younger brother, Ira, who wanted a pet dragon. If he could see this beast now, he’d probably change his mind.

The dragon didn’t let out a sound; his eyes trailed over us like he decided whether we were friends or dinner, until they landed on Ace. Smoke and fire burst out of his nostrils.

“Abe!” Ace grinned. “Long time no see.”

The dragon’s size was incomprehensible. He was larger than buildings, kingdoms, mountains. We were nothing but bugs in comparison.

“Folks,” Ace turned to face us, “This is Abazmakiel. Abazmakiel, this is everyone.”

“Hmph.” Fire blew through the dragon’s nose.

“Oh, don’t pout.” Ace’s grin didn’t waver. “You knew I’d come eventually. You’ve had five hundred years of peace!”

The dragon’s eyes narrowed, “All good things come to an end.”

“He can talk!” Nickeltinker shouted. “It’s a dragon! And he can talk!”

“We can hear that, floran.” Danilo mumbled.

“What do you want, Ace?” Abazmakiel leaned against his arm and looked at his nails.

“We need to cross the Frozen Sea.” Ace came closer.

The dragon’s eyes rolled back, “Take a ship.”

“Can’t do that.” Ace glanced back to where we came from. “There’s a fire mage following us. Also, our ships blew up.”

The dragon blew smoke once more, “Is a ride over the Frozen Sea truly what you want to use my debt for?”

“It’s not what I truly want to do.” Ace rolled his eyes and tilted his head towards us. “But these five aren’t going to survive by themselves.”

“How did you piss off a dragon?” I hissed.

“I did not piss him off.” Ace squinted at me. “I gave him hands! And now he’s the richest creature alive.”

“Which isn’t something we simply share with people, High Mage.” The dragon came down the mountain in two large steps.

My gaze fell to his front legs, ending with scaly, human-like hands. He had five fingers and each ended with a sharp, pointy nail, bigger than my head.

“So,” Ace ignored him, “How about a ride?”

Abazmakiel looked over us once again, taking in each of us. My neck hurt from staring up at him.

“You are an interesting bunch.” Abazmakiel murmured. “What brings such a colourful crowd to the edge of the world?”

Ace put his finger on his lips, “The spell in Orathia.”

“Oh.” Abe blew out smoke through his nostrils, making us cough. “I thought you had destroyed that already.”

“No, it’s still there.” Ace sighed. “How about a ride, Abe?”

“Hands in exchange for a ride over the Frozen Sea?” Abe let out a weird, throaty laugh. “Sure, hop on.”

The dragon dropped on the ground, his light-beige belly hitting the rocks with a thud. Dust rose around him. No one moved.

“Get on the dragon.” Ace walked over to the beast and tried climbing up his leg. “I can’t believe I’m wasting this debt on you, I hope you’re happy.”

“Is that safe?” I murmured and approached.

“There’s no safety in this world.” Abe glanced at me as I walked by his large eye. His body radiated heat and he smelled like burned meat.

“Isn’t everyone going to see us?” Rixen was right behind me.

“We’ll fly low.” Ace managed to climb up the leg. “Through the fog.”

“Hello, Mr. Dragon.” Nickeltinker patted the dragon’s nail. “I’m Nickeltinker.”

“I know who you are, you little scoundrel.” Abe murmured. “You robbed my bank.”

“Your bank?” Nickeltinker chuckled and retreated slowly. “I have no recollection of that.”

The dragon blew smoke through his nostrils, “That’s alright. You pointed at the flaws in our security. We were so busy defending the fort from large, dangerous creatures that we forgot about the tiny, sleazy ones.”

“Happy to be of service.” Nickeltinker let out a nervous laugh and hid behind me.

We climbed up the dragon. His skin was rough and scaly, but warm and comfortable nonetheless. Anything would be comfortable after sleeping on ice.

Being so high up caused vertigo at first, but it passed fairly quickly. The dragon was so large that sitting on his back felt like sitting on a ship that rode through the skies.

“We will have to go slow.” Abazmakiel’s entire body reverberated as he spoke. “You will fall down if I fly faster and someone might see us if we’re high in the skies.”

“So, you can breathe fire, right?” Rixen made himself comfortable in the middle of the dragon’s back and leaned against the warthog, who seemed way to calm while facing a predator.

“Am I that obvious?” Smoke burst through the dragon’s nostrils.

“Why can’t you just burn Soterios and his army, then?” Rixen asked.

“I’m neutral.” The dragon answered.

A crease forms between my brows, “What?”

As the dragon moved across the ice, we jumped up and down on his back. My teeth clanked in my mouth; my brain hit against my skull.

“I’m a bank, Princess.” Abe gained some momentum. “Hold on tight.”

And we did. There wasn’t much to hold onto, but we held each other in place and the dragon was too big to slide off.

Fear tightened around my heart the moment we separated from the ground. An irrational, visceral panic and an upturning, nauseating sensation gripped my insides. I tried closing my eyes, but it only made me dizzy.

“This is the rough patch!” Ace shouted. “It gets better once we reach a certain height and speed!”

I felt like vomiting.

But he was right. Once the dragon reached his preferred height and speed, he began gently gliding through the low fog across the Frozen Sea.

It wasn’t frozen now, though. Patches of sea water circled around the ice cubes. An occasional sea creature reached the surface to gaze at the flying beast.

Soon enough, my insides settled back in their place and I could breathe normally. The ride almost turned enjoyable.

“What did you mean when you said you were the bank?” I asked once I regained my ability to speak.

“Creatures all over the world entrust me with their money.” Abazmakiel answered. “I cannot betray that trust by picking a side. So, I stay out of all wars and keep everyone rich and happy.”

“But you’re helping us now.” Rixen pointed out.

“Only because I owe Ace.”

Ace shrugged and grinned smugly, “What can I say? I have a few useful friends.”

“So, what exactly happens once we reach Orathia?” Danilo chimed in.

“First, we rest.” I sighed. “I’m too tired to do anything right now.”

“And then we figure out a way to defeat Soterios, lock the plane of Ir-kaal, and save the world.” Rixen grinned. “Should be doable.”

“Abe, with the way you’re flying, Soterios will reach Orathia before us.” Ace complained.

“Do you want to fall off, old man?” Abe shook his head in annoyance, causing a small, dragon-quake underneath us.

“Death by falling to the icy water or death by a fire mage? What a conundrum.” Ace snickered.

“How fast can Soterios be?” Rixen asked. “He still has to cross the Frozen Sea and it’s not like he has-”

“Ships?” Danilo squinted at the fog.

We turned in the direction he looked in, only to find large, ship-shaped shadows at the shore. My heart sank to my gut.

“Well, we’re fucked.” Ace put his hands on the back of his head and leaned against the warthog. “At least we’ll die together.”

“I cannot fly faster,” The dragon said, “The winds here are rough. You’d either fall off or freeze.”

“Can we at least reach Orathia before they do?” Danilo let out a sigh.

We were all getting tired of this. Fighting, running, fighting, running. When would it stop?

“Yes.” Abazmakiel answered. “But if I were you, I’d come up with a plan.”

Silence that settled between us was thick and tense. Cold wind blew in our faces, but the dragon’s skin provided enough heat to keep us warm. Either way, the physical conditions were the least of our concerns.

This was it. We’ve almost reached the end of our journey. Resource-less, exhausted and disheartened, but we’ve almost done it. And everything would be in vain if we failed to lock the plane of Ir-kaal.

“We run.” Rixen broke the silence. “Once we reach Orathia, we run to the city and find the tome.”

“Someone will have to keep watch while we use the spell.” Ace said. “I’m the one who has to use the spell, Irina and Rixen have to be inside with me. It’s up to Nick, Danilo and Torvald to keep Soterios away from us.”

Danilo and Nickeltinker exchanged a glance.

“How the fuck are we supposed to do that?” Nick asked.

“Using any means necessary.” Ace shrugged.

The dragon blew smoke through his nostrils once more, “I can fly you back to the Golden City, but that’s the most I can offer.”

“Ugh.” Torvald murmured. “Rixen, uh.”

The shadowman looked at the giant, who’s never seemed as small as he did sitting cross-legged on the large dragon, squeezing his rugged fingers in his hands.

“Yes?” Rixen mumbled.

Torvald lifted his dark gaze towards the shadowman, “Uh, any means, ugh, necessary.”

Rixen’s eyes widened, “No.”

Torvald nodded, “Uh, yes.”

“We’re not there yet, Torvald.” Rixen shook his head. “There are more options to exhaust.”

“No.” Torvald murmured and looked at every single one of us. “Uh, free.”

“What is he mumbling about?” Ace was almost asleep.

Rixen sighed, “He wants me to free him.”

That jerked Ace wide awake, “But... that would mean. The curse would-”

Rixen nodded.

My glance darted between all of them.

“Ugh, strong-er.” Torvald said. “Torvald, ugh, strong-er.”

“He’d be stronger. Much stronger.” Rixen translated. “He might even be able to keep Soterios away from the tome while you lock Ir-kaal.”

Something changed in Ace, something I haven’t witnessed before. A certain frenzy took over him as he snatched his satchel from the warthog’s back and began digging through his stuff.

“Ugh, free.” Torvald nodded and offered a rare smile. “Torvald, ugh, alright.”

“Floran!” Ace shouted. “Give me your potions and your strange concoctions. Princess, hand me the Ars Magica. Now!”

“Uh,” I chuckled nervously, realising Ace just mentioned in front of Danilo I have a magic book in my bag, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The book I put in your bag. Now!” Ace rolled his eyes.

“What are you doing?” Rixen squinted.

“I’ll find a way to take the curse off the giant.” Ace snatched Nickeltinker’s potion bag from the floran’s hands. “There must be a way.”

We kept quiet.

“This man,” Ace pointed at Torvald, “Saved Frank when all of you wanted to leave him behind and run away. I’ll be damned if I let some stupid curse devour him.”

I physically flinched. It’s not something I’d expect from a man like Ace.

“Ugh, free.” Torvald pushed. “Please.”

Rixen nodded reluctantly, “It might be our only chance.”

Putting all my trust in Ace, I swallowed the sudden outburst of sadness. Ace would find a way to save him. For Goddess’s sake, he gave the dragon hands. He could break some petty curse.

Rixen took a dagger and cut across his palm, “Torvald of Gaddir, I hereby renounce the part of the curse that flows through my blood. Take it back and be free.”

Torvald met Rixen’s eyes, took his hand and bit down, drinking his blood.

“Disgusting.” I mumbled.

“This is a sacred procedure.” Ace narrowed his eyes at me.

“Sacredly disgusting.”

The sacred procedure didn’t last long, and Torvald did not drink a lot. His face distorted into a painful frown, his muscles strained and he bared his teeth.

His skin turned paler, almost greyish, and black veins began to spread all over his body, but did not yet reach his face. An animalistic cry fell off his lips and he crumbled to the ground, landing on his elbows.

After a few silent moments, he raised his head and looked at us.

His eyes were surprisingly clearer than before.

And then he spoke.

“Hello. My name is Torvald of Gaddir. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”