The Final Downfall [Inter-Universal Protectors Series: Book 2]

A shrill and oddly feminine cry came from the cute as Zane fell face first onto the stone ground. Out of the three, he had the most ungraceful landing and was shown up by both Carmin and Dan floating down, landing effortlessly on their feet. Carmin struggled to hold in a laugh as Zane shot her husband an accusing glare. Dan masked his own laugh behind an innocent look, denying that he had pushed Zane down the cute without warning.

Carmin’s attention moved from the two men now arguing to the room they were standing in. It was hidden in the pool of lava. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the room were covered with a sheet of gold. It was bright enough that Carmin wished she had a set of shades to take the glare off.

The gold held the heat, making the temperature of the room almost unbearable compared to that of the edge of the pool. Almost. Being a Dragonoid, she was accustomed to high temperatures and was rarely bothered by them. Now, were they in a field of ice . . .

“There’s nothing here,” Zane whined, bring Carmin out of her thoughts.

“There’s nothing in this room,” Dan corrected. “There will be something here.”

“Have you met your Queen?”

Dan went to answer, holding up his hand, but stopped. He frowned and gave his friend an agreeing nod. “Good point.”

It was true. For all they knew, this room was just another decoy and a trap was about to spring on them. It certainly sounded like something Amneris would do. Carmin wouldn’t put it past her at all. Even so, the path had been relatively simple by now. There had to be something, even if it was just another trap.

“If it’s not in this room, then maybe it’s somewhere close by,” Carmin thought aloud. She placed her hand on one of the gold walls, skin tingling at the heat but not burning. No visions crossed her mind. However, the feeling that they were close to something did. Yes, there was definitely an item nearby.

A small carving near her hand caught her attention. It was small enough that it would be easily overlooked, especially as it was carved into the gold. The fact that they were the same colour and the same material made it even harder to see. Carmin recognised the image. It was a wai’u, one of the animals native to Lyriumia’s main continent, mostly found around the Great Lake at its centre. She’d always thought they were beautiful creatures.

She pressed the image with a finger. It retracted into the wall before returning to its original position. The sound of gears turning filled the room. The wall begun to move. Carmin braced herself for the oncoming wave of lava from the other side to push them away–

Nothing happened.

The wall had completely retracted but the lava remained in place. It was like there was a shield of some sort keeping it there . . .

She frowned, glancing back to her companions. Zane was giving her a death glare at the risk she’d taken. He wasn’t lava proof and would have died. Dan, on the other hand, was being the ever-encouraging husband. Carmin was surprised he didn’t try to stop her. He usually attempted to talk her out of these things. With a deep breath, she took a step forward.

The first thing she expected to experience was the heat. But that never came. The lava felt warm but not hot. It was like she was floating in lukewarm gold-orange water. Carmin had swum in lava before, she was a Dragonoid after all, but never had it felt like this. It made her wonder if there was a spell they hadn’t picked up on.

A glance back showed that neither Dan nor Zane had followed. They were standing at the edge of the wall, watching. She was alone with the strange sensation. Deciding that floating around would get her nowhere, Carmin used her wings to push herself forward.

She swum for what felt like hours, even though it was only minutes. Nothing had been found. Carmin was beginning to doubt herself. There was no sign of anything other than the seemingly endless pool of lava. Had her feeling been wrong? She was beginning to believe it was. Carmin stopped, shaking her head, her long braid floating behind her. Even if there was nothing, she still could check the other side of the cavern. The search was far from over. With a flap of her wings, she continued.

Rounding the next corner around the chamber, something came into view. A small black box floating in the lava. Carmin grinned. It was the item. She moved forward, reaching out to the box. As soon as it touched her skin, a vision filled her mind.

“You’re insane!”

“Of course, I am!”

Carmin watched the argument between her Queen and the General. From what she could see, it looked like they had forgotten they were standing on a battlefield. The Dark King’s army was clashing against the own, wave after wave, ignoring the fallen on the blood-soaked ground. The scene looked like something from an old, dark painting as rain crashed down on everything. A glance down showed Carmin that she, too, was soaked through, rain mixing the dirt and blood on her skin together. Her attention returned to the argument.

“There must be another way.” Leo was begging now. “I won’t let you do it.”

Amneris only shook her head, water droplets falling from her hair. “There isn’t and you know it.” She swept a hand across the field. “I’m the only one who can stop this, Le. No one else has the power. You have to let me.” That hand was then held out to the General. “Give me the items.”

The two stared at each other.

Leo gave in first, placing the ten items and a small red crystal into the palm of his Queen’s hand. “You’d better come back, baby sis. I – we still need you.”

Amneris gave him a small smile, saying something Carmin couldn’t hear from where she was standing. She found herself unable to move, instead only able to watch as her Queen walked over to Colt. Amneris kissed him before they spoke. Carmin didn’t know what was said but, whatever it was, it was enough to make Colt fall to his knees as she turned away, head bowed.

Amneris walked away. Carmin felt herself run after her. The Queen glanced over her shoulder and gave the Dragonoid a smile before taking to the sky.

Carmin watched as her Queen shed her mortal form, rushing toward the Dark King who was hovering far above. They clashed. A bright light filled the sky, marking Carmin look away from was no doubt the final battle–

When she opened her eyes again, Carmin found herself free-floating in the lava. It felt different to before. Colder. Or maybe that was the feeling in her heart. She knew what was to come now. They were going to find Amneris and Colt – that was a positive – but it would only lead to worse things. She didn’t want to know what the flash of light had been. There was no way it would be good. If events played out right, it could be avoided . . .

Carmin sighed. It was never that easy and she doubted there would ever be a case of her visions not coming true. Grasping the box tightly, she swum back to the chamber. When she stepped inside, the wall closed behind her. The heat level increased drastically. Carmin pocketed the black box, hoping it wouldn’t be affected by the sudden change in temperature after being in lava for the Gods knew how long.

She nodded at the two men watching her. They understood.

Dan took off first and was followed by a wide variety of swear words curtesy of Zane. Carmin rolled her eyes and grabbed the Lyriumian man, following her husband up the chute. The landed on the edge of the lava pool beside the carved message.

“Right,” Zane said. “Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here.”

“I have a better question,” Dan said matter-of-factly, taking a few steps backwards. “Is it just me, or is that pool of lava overflowing?”

Carmin realised both men were right. The pool was, in fact, overflowing as the temperature shot up. The vision from before they came to this world resurfaced in her memory. She cringed. “We may want to leave. Right now.”

The three ran for the tunnel they’d entered through as a large tremor shook them off their feet. They fell, recovering quickly. A second and longer tremor came but they were able to stay upright. It slowed their progress as the lava spilled over the rim of the pool. The deep orange glow from behind was the only thing telling Carmin they were still ahead of the newly formed stream chasing them through the tunnel.

Daylight ahead. The three raced toward it. Dan grabbed Zane as they reached the lip of the tunnel, shooting into the sky. Carmin followed close behind, the three going as high and far as possible to avoid the eruption they knew was coming.

As they flew, Zane opened a portal. Dan zoomed through it without looking back. Carmin, on the other hand, stopped. Smoke was billowing from the top of the mountain, small streams of lava flowing down its browned sides. Deciding it was best not to sick around to see the explosion, Carmin flew through the shining portal.