Vyheria - Chapter 8

“It’s not orichalcum or mithril. I can electrify it.” Januse tightened his grip on the metal pole, sending sparks surging through it. He turned around to his inmates in what was now their stone prison. Pacing the length of the small cave was an impatient Exliana. Kandi, sitting in the far corner of the cell, lifted her face out of her knees.

“So Exliana can melt them?” she asked, a hopeful look crossing her face as she gazed at the row of metal poles blocking their prison’s only exit and entrance.

Januse nodded, a smile bridging the gap between his ears. “Yep.”

“Let me at ‘em!” Exliana growled, cracking her knuckles and grasping two poles in her gloved hands. A glowing red light consumed her palms and the bars, and the force generated by it sent her red scarf flowing behind her. Beside her, Januse’s yellow jacket nearly blew off his body.

When the smoke cleared, the bars were still intact. Annoyed, Exliana heated her hands again, this time putting more fire into them. Again, the outcome was the same. Growing angry now, Exliana prepared to use all her flames at once to melt, but just as she prepared to release them, a hand on her shoulder stopped her. It was Januse’s.

“Don’t use all your magic up now,” Januse said calmly. He glanced uneasily outside the cave prison at the long, dimly-lit passageway.“We don’t know what we’ll run into while we’re here.”

After a moment of hesitation, Exliana sighed and reluctantly lowered her hands. “You’re right. We’re stuck here for the time being.” She chose not to acknowledge that she was unable to melt the bars, hoping maybe they would assume the bars were fireproof.

Kandi stood up, a twisted, horrified expression consuming her face. “So we’re trapped? The wyverns are going to kill us, aren’t they?!” She threw her head into her hands.

“Kandi, calm down. The wyverns didn’t risk kidnapping us, three random apprentices, if they didn’t need or want something from us,” Januse explained, clearly trying to keep himself calm as well.

“Indeed, the boy is right. What that something is, you’ll soon learn.” Exliana felt a chill wrack her body, and slowly she turned around. The poles in the entrance of the cave had disappeared, and standing across the hallway was a man with silver shoulder plates and a red cloak. He had elongated ears, almost resembling horns, and his eyes were serpent-like. Patches of scales littered his skin. “I ask that you come with me.”

Januse’s hair stood on end, his hands sparking instinctively. Taking a deep breath, his hair fell flat, and his hands fizzled out. “Who are you?”

The man seemed impatient, but he answered regardless. “You cannot pronounce my name, so you can simply call me Two. I am the Wyvern Mistress’s right hand man, and her military consultant. I am also the second most powerful in the wyvern kingdom, hence the name I told you to use when referring to me. Now, if you will follow me.”

Exliana dashed forward, her right hand burning a bright red. “Her right hand man, huh? Then you’re a high-priority target!”

“Exliana!” she heard Januse and Kandi call out simultaneously, but she paid them no mind. Her fist was aimed at Two’s face, but a well-timed sidestep sent her flying past him. He placed his hand on her back and sent her slamming to the ground. She felt her body be paralyzed at every joint down her spinal cord as he lifted her over his shoulder. Looking up, he once again addressed Januse and Kandi

“The Wyvern Mistress ordered me to bring you to her, and physical force was authorized. If you refuse, you will be given the same treatment as Exliana. Please follow me.” He began to walk down the passageway, and thought Exliana could not turn her head behind her, she was confident they would be following.

The passageway was long, and at the end of it was a massive spiral staircase. The stairs were beautifully decorated and carved from the walls of the vertical tunnel they were built in. The artistic side of the wyverns surprised Exliana.

As they slowly made their way up the stairs, Exliana noted that there was a large space running through the center, wide enough for a wyvern to fly through. How frequently wyverns needed to visit the holding cells Exliana did not know nor want to consider.

They finally reached the top of the stairwell, and Exliana regained motor function. She leapt off of Two’s shoulder, but before she could consider attacking again, Januse’s hand once again stopped her. He nodded to what was behind Two—a massive, ornate pair of stone doors with gold décor across the surface. “Whatever or whoever is behind the doors, we don’t want you to be immobile when we face them.”

Two opened his mouth, and a guttural foreign language left it. “Evast vo liuxu gre jen.” Kandi leaned close to Exliana and Januse.

“He said ‘Grant my entrance’, if you’re wondering.”

Exliana turned to Kandi, raising an eyebrow in surprise and curiosity. “You speak Wyverian?”

“A bit. My mother worked in the royal library, so I spent a lot of time reading the language guides there. I’m fluent in Fae as well.”

Januse looked clearly impressed. “That’ll come in handy. You’ll have to teach me sometime.”

Kandi’s face flushed red from the attention. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

The sound of the heavy stone doors sliding open suddenly captured the three apprentices’ attention. They spun around and watched as it made visible the room inside. Through the doorway was a large chamber of white stone with golden design throughout. The floor was a rich brown wood, and in the center was a long rectangular table with six seats on each side, and a large throne at the end.

At each of the six seats save one sat another humanoid wyvern wearing a cloak and silver shoulderplates. “I have brought them, your mistress,” Two said, walking over and seating himself in the empty sixth seat. On the throne was a seemingly powerful wyvern, her humanoid form wearing red robes, silver shoulder plates, and a dark red cape. The silver crown on her head made it clear who she was.

“Very good. I’ve been waiting to meet you three, Kandi, Januse, and Exliana.”