Eye of the Oracle

chapter 5

BAPTISM OF FIRE

Driving her trembling legs forward, Sapphira shuffled toward the river. She thrust her hand into her pocket and jerked out the Ovulum. “Elohim!” she cried, her entire body quaking. “Help me! I don’t know what to do!”

Elam dove into the magma. Sapphira gasped and trudged to the edge. She breathed a quick prayer and pushed the Ovulum back into her pocket. Scanning the magma’s bubbling surface, she searched for any sign of life.

A head bobbed in the current. There he was! Swimming back to the side! When he neared the shore, he waded up to dry land. A thick coat of magma dripped down his tunic and instantly hardened to a crusty coat of ash, blackening his frame from head to toe. At least he was safe, but he was alone.

Sapphira dropped to her knees and cried. “She’s gone! My poor Paili is gone forever!”

“Gone, yes.” Elam began brushing the ash from his sleeve. “But maybe not forever.”

Sapphira lifted her head, barely able to breathe. “What . . . what do you mean?”

“It was the strangest thing. I could open my eyes under there, and I could see everything clearly. Paili was sinking into a whirlpool, and I dove down to grab her, but before I could reach her hand, she suddenly disappeared. If I could survive this stuff, maybe she did, too. That whirlpool has to lead somewhere.”

Sapphira pushed up to her wobbly legs and helped Elam brush the ash from his chest. “Did she look scared?”

“I think so, but it was hard to tell.”

Stooping next to the river, Sapphira dipped her hand into the current and raised a sample of the magma to her eyes. It was certainly warm, but not the superheated, blistering sensation she expected. As she continued to examine it, the tiniest bubbles became clear. Each one carried microscopic bits of ash through the thick suspension. Staring at the magma seemed to raise the familiar feeling of sadness; Acacia’s face, then Paili’s, scorched her mind’s eye.

She let the magma trickle to the ground. Each drop sizzled on the granite as it struck the floor. “It’s a portal,” she whispered.

“A portal?” Elam brushed both hands through his hair, breaking chunks of black crust and letting them fall to the ground.

Sapphira’s legs strengthened, and her voice steadied. “The whirlpool in the river must be another portal, just like the one we used to get here. Maybe Paili went through it, and she’s alive on the other side.”

“You mean it’s a door to somewhere else?”

“Yes, to yet another place or dimension. That last portal brought us back to the lower realms, but there’s no way to tell where the whirlpool leads.”

Elam waded into the magma again and extended his hand. “We’d better find her right away. There’s no telling what’s at the bottom of that whirlpool.”

Sapphira reached for his hand and tiptoed in. As the bubbling liquid rose to her thighs, the warmth soothed her tired feet and legs. When she moved to deeper magma, she let go of Elam and paddled through the thick goop, raising splashes that found their way to her mouth. Spitting out the hot, crusty ash, she clamped her lips tight and swam after Elam, but the sense of sadness grew so strong, her arms felt weak and heavy. She bit the inside of her cheek, hoping the pain would spur her on. She had to keep going! She just had to!

Keeping afloat by paddling with one arm, Elam raised his hand and pointed at the river. “I think the whirlpool’s straight down.”

Sapphira nodded, barely opening her lips to speak. “Let’s go!”

Elam dipped his head under and kicked to thrust his body downward. Sapphira took a deep breath and followed. Forcing herself to open her eyes, she saw Elam more clearly than if it were the sunniest day in history. He plunged deeper, and she kept following, glad she had taken so many dives into Lucifer’s pool hunting for polished stones. Her lungs would hold out . . . she hoped.

A slowly swirling eddy appeared below. Elam swam inside and disappeared in the shining vortex. Her lungs now begging for air, Sapphira plunged into the center of the swirl, thrusting and kicking with all her might. As the whirlpool swallowed her, she felt the familiar transformation to light energy and a blinding sensation, then, a few seconds later, pressure on her feet as though she were standing upright.

Although her eyes were still blinded, cool air breezed past her face, signaling that she had re-embodied and was now standing on a flat surface. As her vision cleared, she saw a nearby fountain, dry and cracked. A line of broken-down shops lay beyond it, as well as another dry fountain in the distance. She drank in the air, nearly hyperventilating as her lungs slowly recovered.

“It looks like we’re back where we started.” Elam tightened the belt on his tunic. “At least there’s no black stuff all over me this time.”

“Back where we started?” Sapphira scanned the city again. This time she spotted the familiar brick kilns and tar pit. “Those portals just took us in a circle?”

“I guess so, but we’re not in exactly the same place as before.” He pointed at the rise on the other side of the more distant fountain. “We were over there.”

Sapphira breathed a sigh. “If we made it through, then Paili probably did, too.” She cupped her hands around her mouth and called, “Paili! Are you here?”

A tiny voice replied from far away. “I’m here!”

Sapphira stretched up to her toes. Excitement pitched her voice higher. “Where’s here?”

“Right here with my two new friends.” A tiny pair of hands waved in the distance behind the second fountain.

Sapphira grabbed Elam’s wrist. “I see her! Let’s go!”

They ran past a carpenter shop, a seamstress boutique, and a spa, all with broken columns and entryways, then across a patio that led to the fountain. Letting go of Elam, she surged ahead, jumped into the fountain’s cavity, and dashed to the other side. She leaped over the low parapet and swept Paili into her arms.

After swinging Paili in a full circle, Sapphira set her down and combed her fingers through the little girl’s hair. “You’re okay! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Me, too!” Paili chirped. She turned and pointed. “I have new friends!”

Sapphira took a quick breath. A man and a woman stood at the base of the fountain, the same couple she had seen by the brick kilns. She dipped her knee in a brief curtsy. “Uh, hello.”

The man ascended the few marble steps leading to the fountain. “It is the girl from my vision!”

Elam stepped in between the man and Sapphira. “Who are you?”

The man stopped and extended his hand. “Makaidos is my name. What is yours?”

Elam lifted his hand slowly, his eyes revealing deep suspicion. “I’ve heard that name somewhere before.”

Makaidos gripped Elam’s hand and shook it, then looked back at the woman and smiled. “This is my daughter, Roxil.”

Elam’s brow lifted. “I have heard your names! Those are dragon names. My father told me lots of stories about dragons.”

“Your father?” Makaidos released Elam’s hand. “Who are you?”

Elam squared his shoulders. “I am Elam, son of Shem, grandson of Noah.”

“You are Shem’s missing son?” Makaidos stared at Elam. “You must have died over a thousand years ago!” He glanced back at Roxil and scratched his head. “But now I am confused. We died as dragons and awoke here, so I thought this was a place for dragons to rest after they died. Why would a dead human be here?”

“We’re not dead,” Sapphira offered. “We can travel from one dimension to another. We came here looking for Paili, and we’re planning to leave as soon as possible.”

“Do you know how to leave this place?” Roxil leaped up to the fountain level. “May we come with you?”

“I don’t know,” Sapphira replied. “If some of these dimensions are meant for the souls of the dead, would it make sense if they could leave? I mean, wouldn’t they all just leave if they could?”

Makaidos took Roxil’s hand. “It could be dangerous. I think we should stay right where we are.”

“Listen to you!” Roxil said, turning to face him. “The one who loves adventure!”

“A well-placed stroke.” Makaidos shook a finger at her. “But there is adventure, and there is foolhardy risk.”

Roxil tapped her foot on the ground. “Would you prevent me from trying?”

“Would I be able to stop you?” Makaidos sighed and gazed at every face in turn. “We have only been here a short while, and I suspect that other dragons are hereabouts in the guise of humans, perhaps my father and mother or my siblings.” His gaze lingered on Sapphira. “Would you care to assist us in a search?”

Elam cleared his throat sharply. “I don’t see any dragons, and we have Paili, so we should ”

Sapphira squeezed Elam’s arm. “I’d love to help! Just because we can’t see the dragons doesn’t mean they’re not here.”

His eyes glazing, Elam raised his hands toward his ears, then lowered them quickly. He jerked his head back and forth as if shaking water from his hair.

Sapphira caressed his arm. The voice must have been tormenting him again. “When I’m standing at a portal,” she said, “I can see everything. Maybe if I ” Sudden warmth radiated over her thigh. Sliding her hand slowly, she reached into her pocket and withdrew the Ovulum.

Makaidos stepped closer, his eyes bulging. “The Ovulum! Where did you get it?”

He reached for it, but Sapphira pulled it away. “I’ve had it for centuries,” she said. “The Eye of the Oracle said I could keep it.”

Makaidos pushed his hand through his short reddish-brown hair. “The Eye speaks to you?”

“Yes . . .” She pulled the Ovulum closer to her face. “Or he used to. It’s been a while since the last time. But the egg got pretty warm just now, so I thought he was going to speak again, maybe to help us find your dragon family.”

“So,” Roxil said, “what do you do? Ask it a question?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t always answer.” Sapphira raised the egg to her lips and spoke slowly and clearly. “Are there any more dragons here, and if there are, can you help us find them?”

“That’s two questions,” Elam said. “Maybe you should ask one at a time.”

“Don’t worry. He’s smart enough to ” The egg suddenly grew red hot. Sapphira juggled it for a moment, passing it back and forth between her hands as she lowered it to the marble skirt around the fountain. It rocked to the side for a second, then stood upright on its larger end.

Red halos pulsed from the glass, creating vertical rings of light that dimmed and thinned out as they expanded. The frequency of the pulses increased. Ring after ring flew from the Ovulum, so quickly that the gaps between them vanished, leaving a shining red half oval that feathered into pink hues at the edges.

Sapphira reached out and touched the flat oval with her finger, making the surface ripple. She leaned close and gazed through the translucent screen. Elam and Paili stood on the other side, bathed in a wrinkled red shroud, but Makaidos and Roxil appeared as dragons. She jumped to the side and peeked around the edge. Four humans stood agape next to the fountain.

She looked through the screen again. Two humans and two dragons stared back at her.

Elam pointed at her from the other side of the screen. “Sapphira! You’re covered with fire!”

Merlin rode on Clefspeare’s back through the clearing skies and gazed at the terrain below. A stream wound through a forest, leading away from a cliff that housed Makaidos’s cave. A rough path followed the stream through dense forest and undergrowth, but few now ventured its dangerous trek. With Goliath on the warpath, this area attracted only the ignorant or suicidal.

Clefspeare circled lower. “I fear we are too late, Master Merlin. The sense of danger peaked and now wanes with every second. If I had not been such a fool, I would have realized that Arramos was leading me away on purpose.”

“Don’t fret about the past,” Merlin said, patting the dragon’s neck. “Just get us to the cave.” He pointed toward the path. “I see two people carrying a third. Is that the king?”

“Yes,” Clefspeare said. “Devin and Palin are carrying him. Hold on!” He angled into a dive, taking Merlin almost straight down.

As they approached, Devin and Palin laid the king on the ground and withdrew their swords. Making a sharp turn, Clefspeare avoided the blades and slapped them away with his tail. He landed with a rough bounce, and Merlin scrambled down his back.

“Fools!” Merlin shouted. “Couldn’t you see me riding on the dragon?”

Devin picked up his sword and pointed it at Clefspeare. “If you had seen the heroics we had to accomplish to rescue the king, you would have done the same. No dragon can be trusted!”

Merlin squeezed Excalibur’s hilt but kept it in its sheath. “Speak quickly. I am in no mood to listen to your idiotic boasts.”

Devin kicked the other sword toward Palin. “When we sneaked up to the cave, we overheard Goliath and his mate conspiring with Makaidos. They planned to kill the king and blame it on our allies. Inciting war, they said, would ensure more human deaths and distract us from hunting dragons.” He nodded toward his squire who now stood next to him, his sword raised in a similar defensive posture. “Palin and I had to rescue the king from their clutches.”

“Your story smells like a nest of rats,” Merlin said. “The dragons would have sensed your approach.”

“Who can say what they sensed?” Devin waved his arm toward the cave entrance. “The carcasses are in there, so feel free to judge for yourselves. Unfortunately, Goliath got away. When faced with two warriors in closed quarters, he showed his true cowardly stripes and fled. But he cannot hide forever. Even if I do it with my last dying breath, someday I will slaughter that beast, just as Palin and I killed his mate and his father, Makaidos.”

Heat surged into Merlin’s cheeks. “You killed the king of the dragons?” He yanked out Excalibur, and the beam shot into the sky.

Palin stumbled backwards, his eyes wide, but Devin held his ground. “Makaidos was a traitor!” Devin shouted, a vein bulging at the side of his head. “Palin is my witness. We had to rescue our king!”

“Rescue me?” Arthur pushed himself up to a sitting position. “What need have I to be rescued?”

Devin dropped to his knees next to Arthur. “Your servants, Palin and I, rescued you from the clutches of three dragons, Your Majesty.”

Clefspeare roared. “You are a liar! My grandfather would never harm the human king!”

“But what of your father?” Devin helped Arthur to his feet, keeping his stare fixed on the dragon. “Will the son of Goliath defend him as well?”

“Defend him?” Clefspeare roared. “To the likes of you? You killed my mother and my grandfather. I should roast you and your little pageboy where you stand.”

“Perhaps not to me,” Devin said, nodding toward Arthur, “but I think the king would like to hear why he was unconscious in the cave of Makaidos.”

Arthur massaged the back of his head. “Yes, I would like to know. I remember nothing after my sword flashed.”

Merlin shoved Excalibur back into its sheath, extinguishing its light. “Goliath captured you and threatened to kill you. As a ransom, he demanded that Makaidos give up his war alliance with humans. Makaidos agreed and flew to his cave to meet Goliath and restore you to us.”

Devin pointed his sword at Clefspeare. “An obvious excuse to join forces against us in war. Makaidos saves face while plotting our demise in the recesses of his cave. I heard the conspiracy with my own ears.”

Palin waved his sword. “I heard it as well, exactly as Sir Devin has described.”

“Merlin,” Arthur said, “I cannot ignore two eyewitnesses. This is a most chilling accusation.”

“Your two witnesses are a lying snake and a conniving parrot.” Merlin strode in the direction of the cave, shouting over his shoulder. “I will see the carnage for myself. Clefspeare, I doubt that these two cowards would be brave enough to attack you in the light, so please stay here and represent my interests.”

“Gladly, Master Merlin.”

Merlin girded his robe and hustled down the muddy path. Within a few minutes, he arrived at the cave’s yawning entrance. In the dim recesses, two nebulous lumps took shape, quiet shadows that rose from the floor in uneven mounds. Stepping lightly on the pebble-strewn threshold, he avoided streams of dark blood trickling around his shoes and climbed to higher ground inside. As his eyes adjusted, the dusky outlines became clear, two dragons, his old friend Makaidos with his wing draped over his beloved daughter Roxil.

Merlin fell to his knees and pressed his hand against his stomach. As bitter nausea boiled within, tears flowed and dripped to the ground. Rocking back and forth through convulsive sobs, he grabbed two handfuls of pebbles and squeezed them in his shaking fists. “God!” he cried out. “O God, my Father! Why must the valiant bleed while the devious plot treachery against the innocent? Why must the noble among us lie silent in a bed of blood while murderers whisper treachery and death into the ears of a king?” He threw the pebbles against the wall and rose slowly to his feet, lifting his head and spreading out his arms. “But I cannot see what you see. I see only shadows, while you see everything unveiled. Grant me hope in these dark days, for I feel the dread of evil coming upon this land like a swarm of locusts, yet I know that you can blow a horde of wickedness out to sea with a single breath. Let me feel a hint of that breath while I await the deliverance you always bring to those who follow your path.”

As he lowered his head, a glint of light caught his eye, a red flash near Makaidos’s body. He walked in that direction, again high-stepping over bloody streams. Stooping next to the tiny red strobe, he touched it with his finger. “A gemstone?” he murmured. He lifted the knuckle-sized stone, mesmerized by its hypnotic oscillation between two shades of red light. He curled his fingers around it. “This must be the rubellite he kept between his scales. It probably popped out when Devin killed him.”

He crawled over Makaidos’s body and lifted his wing off Roxil, then, pushing with his feet on Roxil and his back against Makaidos, he rolled her to her side. After wiping the blood away from her belly with the hem of his robe, he searched her cold exterior shell. There it was. A pulsing red gem lodged between two scales.

Taking a deep breath, he pried the tiny stone free and gently placed it in his left pocket while sliding Makaidos’s gem into his right. Then, resting a hand on each dragon’s body, he heaved a sigh. “Father, I know very little about the spirits of dragons and their eternal destiny, but I do know that you are both just and merciful, so I trust that you will take these souls to the place you have prepared for them. Wherever that is, I pray that you will grant peace and everlasting justice to these noble leviathans. Makaidos showed his undying faithfulness to your purpose for dragons, his unflinching loyalty to serve humans at the risk of his own life and the loss of his family, and his hope in your plan for salvation, for, although he was a dragon, he trusted in the human messiah for his deliverance. I ask you to honor his obedience and give him the desire of his heart.”

Merlin rose and shuffled out of the cave, looking over his shoulder briefly before girding himself again and hurrying back to the king. When he arrived, Devin was gone and Palin stood next to Arthur, his sword drawn.

“Where is Devin?” Merlin asked. “I want to have a word with him.”

Arthur pointed down the path. “I sent him to call a council of war at noon tomorrow. We agreed that we must eliminate Goliath and his followers as soon as possible.”

Merlin spread out his arms. “I beseech you, my king. Do not allow this maniac free reign in his quest. A dragon slayer, once he savors the aroma of dragon’s blood, will always lust for more, and he will not care if the dragon is a follower of Goliath or Makaidos. The good dragons will also be targets.”

“During the council we will draw up safeguards to protect your so-called” the king eyed Clefspeare suspiciously “good dragons.”

“Do not denigrate a soul you know so little about simply because its appearance frightens you.” Merlin laid a hand on Clefspeare’s neck. “If humans, kings or otherwise, could elevate their virtue to the level of this noble creature, they would not have to battle hordes in the wilderness, and they would not doubt the counsel of their prophets.”

Arthur’s face reddened, and he spoke through his teeth. “Just make a list of the dragons you want me to protect, and I will forget your careless words.”

Merlin bowed his head. “Although I fear such a strategy, we will make your list.” He climbed up on Clefspeare’s back and looked down at Arthur. “May I assume, Your Majesty, that you do not want a ride to the castle?”

The king averted his eyes. “You may assume.”

“Then I will meet you in the throne room for this council.” Merlin sighed and shook his head. “May God help us all.”

As the king and Palin departed, Merlin grasped the tallest spine on Clefspeare’s neck. “I fear that this war against Goliath will not stop at the boundary of his influence.”

“Nor at the boundary of his species,” Clefspeare replied.

“What do you mean?”

A low growl created a tremor across the dragon’s scales. “I believe Devin has more on his mind than the conquest of dragons, but time will tell.”

Sapphira walked to the edge of the pulsating red screen and patted her dress with her palms. “Fire? What are you talking about?”

Makaidos closed in on the screen from the opposite side. “When we view you through the light, it appears that you are aflame from head to toe. Do we appear the same way?”

“No,” Sapphira replied. “You and Roxil look like dragons, and Elam and Paili are human, but no one is on fire.”

Makaidos stepped to Sapphira’s side of the screen and looked through it. “Amazing! Elam is taller and more muscular, while Paili is smaller and emaciated.”

Sapphira lowered herself to her knees and touched the Ovulum. It was no longer hot. Carefully lifting it, she carried it and the entire screen in her palm. The half oval expanded below her hand into a full ellipse, exactly as long as Sapphira was tall and more than twice as wide as her narrow frame. As she gazed through it, dozens of new details appeared. The fountain gushed; the statues stood erect, polished with a pristine shine; and the brick kilns puffed gray smoke from iron stacks on top. Yet, no one attended the ovens or strolled the immaculate streets.

“I’m going to try something.” Sapphira walked slowly back toward the portal near the broken fountain. The screen of light added no weight, and it shifted with the slightest turn of the egg, making it easy to keep the viewing screen in front of her. Elam, Paili, and the two “dragons” followed, but they kept silent.

When Sapphira arrived at the dimensional doorway, she held the Ovulum out as far as she could and gazed at the city. All of Shinar seemed coated in crimson, yet clear a hundred times clearer than before. She could count the sparkling crystals in every marble statue and distinguish between the tiniest leaves on a distant sycamore tree.

She turned the screen toward the rise where the tower once stood. Her hand trembled. The tower was there in all its glory, an enormous ziggurat, stretching so high, it extended beyond the edge of her screen and out of sight. As she gazed at it, the screen enlarged and seemed to expand over her head and swallow her body, making her feel like she was inside the scarlet halo. The tower grew, and she could see its very top, a tiny point in the midst of the clouds. Looking down again, the tower’s entry portico began magnifying, as though she were flying toward it at blazing speed. The force against her body rippled her muscles, making her arms and legs cramp, and the stiff counter-breeze dried her eyes until they ached.

The tower’s doors swung open, and she zoomed inside, the sudden turns twisting her body. The planter swung into view along with the dozen surrounding statues, but the tree itself was no longer there. Her body swept into the middle, and her feet settled where the tree once rooted into the soil.

Now that her journey had stalled, she looked around, expecting to see the saluting forms, but they were no longer statues; they were tall lanterns with flaming wicks. Each flame swayed like a writhing ghost.

On the museum wall, huge letters burned into the marble, spelling out a message that nearly encircled the entire chamber. Sapphira read it slowly, letting the words sink into her mind. “When a maid collects an egg, she passes it on, giving it to the one she feeds.”

“It’s a riddle,” she whispered. Suddenly, her body jerked backwards, and she flew in the opposite direction. The tree, the lanterns, and the doorway all shrank, and the screen itself came back into view, as though the halo had spat her out onto the ground. Then, the entire screen flashed off.

Sapphira’s arms fell limp at her sides, but she managed to hang on to the Ovulum. She was back where she had started, or maybe she hadn’t really traveled at all. The whole city spun around her, so fuzzy and confusing, her legs wobbled beneath her.

“What did you see?” Makaidos asked. “Your face is as white as your hair!”

Sapphira could barely whisper. “I know where they are.”

She felt her body falling and the Ovulum slipping from her fingers. Strong hands lifted her back to her feet. “Fear not, child,” Makaidos said. “I have you, and I picked up the Ovulum as well.”

Sapphira blinked at a circle of helpers, four lovely, concerned faces. “Help me get to the tower,” she whispered.

“The tower’s gone,” Makaidos said.

“No. Where it used to be.”

With a quick sweep, Makaidos lifted Sapphira into his arms and marched toward the rise. Sapphira laid her head against his shoulder. His powerful muscles felt secure and stable, like the arms of Elohim when he danced with her at the pool. Even though Makaidos bounced up and down with his gait, she knew he wouldn’t drop her.

“We’re here,” he said softly.

His voice seemed to awaken her from a dream, and as he set her gently on her feet, her mind snapped to attention.

“I think this was the center of the tower’s foundation,” Makaidos said.

Sapphira’s vision magnified all her surroundings, and the familiar sorrow draped a sad curtain across her mind. “It is the center.” She pivoted slowly, trying to see beyond the emptiness that surrounded her. There were supposed to be statues, or maybe lanterns, but nothing appeared.

Elam stroked his chin. “Something’s here, right? You sense something that we can’t see?”

“I think so.” She waved her arm in a wide arc. “Statues. Twelve of them, I believe, and they make a circle around where I’m standing.”

“What makes you think they’re still here?” Roxil asked.

“I saw them through the Ovulum’s screen, but they looked like lanterns instead of people.”

Elam raised his hand as if holding a lantern. “You mean like cavern lanterns?”

“Yes. I think ”

Paili piped up. “Light them!”

“Light them?” Sapphira repeated.

Paili bounced on her toes. “With your fire . . . like at home.”

“How can I light lanterns that aren’t there?”

Elam lifted her hand. “Light the lanterns with these,” he said, spreading out her fingers. “They feed the hungry and bring light to the darkness.”

“Okay,” Sapphira said, “I’ll give it a try.”

She raised her other hand and closed her eyes, imagining where the statues once stood. In her mind, she fixed twelve spots in the space around her. Then, opening her eyes again, she pointed at one of the spots and shouted, “Give me light!”

A flame burst to life and floated in midair. The fire burned downward, creating a blazing human frame. Without fuel or wick, the flame burned on, its human shape writhing as if in the bonds of torture.

Makaidos shielded his eyes and leaned back. “What now?”

Sapphira heaved breathlessly, her hands still raised. What should she do? Light up eleven more people and let them suffer in flames?

Paili tugged on her dress. “Five more!” she shouted.

“Five more?” Sapphira looked down at her. “Why?”

“To make six! Like the wheel!” Paili turned an imaginary wheel.

Sapphira gasped and cried out, “Of course! The control room wheel!” She pointed at the spot to the left of the first statue. “Give me light!” she yelled. Another flame erupted, again creating a human form with its light. She moved to the next “Give me light!” then the next, until six human-shaped torches blazed in orange brilliance.

Breathless again, Sapphira lowered her hands. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew the flames out, and six men stood limply atop the blackened marble. As their bodies collapsed to the floor, Sapphira’s companions rushed to help them.

“Time for nine more!” Sapphira said, waving her arms. “Move those six over here!”

Groggy and groaning, they shuffled or crawled toward the center. Makaidos gazed carefully into the eyes of the first one, a young man who seemed to be in his late teens, and touched a ring on his finger. He nodded at Roxil and whispered, “It’s Hilidan.”

Sapphira lifted her hands again and pointed at the next spot in the circle. “Give me light!” Another statue of fire erupted. She repeated the process, this time moving around the circle in the opposite direction. Finally, the ninth fiery form appeared. She lowered her hands, and a new gust of wind snuffed the flames. Eight women and one girl, all dressed in white silk, crumpled to the floor. The four helpers rushed to guide them toward the center.

A stiff breeze kicked up, swirling around and buffeting Sapphira’s hair. She raised her hands once more, this time closing her eyes.

“We have all the dragons!” Makaidos shouted. “You did it! You can stop.”

“We’re not finished!” Sapphira shouted back. “There’s still the number thirteen.”

She pointed next to the spot where she had ignited the previous lantern. “Give me light!” Yet again, a human-shaped column of fire ignited.

“One!” Paili called out.

Then, going completely around the room, Sapphira lit the other eleven, Paili counting out each new lantern as it burst to life. Finally, when Paili’s shrill “Twelve!” was carried away by the gentle breeze, Sapphira opened her eyes and lowered her arms. This time, no gust of wind came to blow the flames out.

“We need a thirteen!” Paili cried.

Sapphira spread out her arms. “There aren’t any more places in the circle!”

Makaidos pointed at one of the flaming forms as it writhed in place. “I think they’re suffering! We have to do something!”

Sapphira closed her eyes. The portal center once again flooded her mind with grief. Acacia’s terrified face blazed across her inner vision, and her best friend’s muffled splash in the magma river echoed in her mind. As she opened her eyes, she whispered, “There is one more lantern!” She wrapped her arms around herself and, her eyes filling with tears, shouted as loud as she could, “Give me light!”

Sapphira’s hair erupted in flames. Streams of fire poured down her arms and chest, like magma rivulets coursing their way to her feet. She lifted her arms, and her whole body burst into an inferno, enveloping her in a spinning vortex of fire. When she lowered her arms, a new gust of wind, the strongest yet, nearly knocked her over.

As the tongues of fire ripped away into the breeze, a heavy weight grew against Sapphira’s chest, a girl leaning on her, completely covered in white, her dress, her skin, even her hair.

Sapphira draped her weary arms around the girl. “Acacia?” She ran her fingers through the girl’s thick white hair, barely able to breathe a whisper. “Is it really you?”

Acacia groaned, her face buried in Sapphira’s dress. “Where am I?”

Sapphira helped her sit down and lifted her chin. “Look. It’s me, Sapph . . . I mean, Mara. Don’t you remember me?”

Acacia’s lips formed the first letter, “M . . . M . . .” Then, her eyes suddenly brightened, tears glistening in each as she whispered, “Mara?”

Sapphira grabbed her and hugged her close. “Yes! Yes! It’s Mara!” She rocked Acacia back and forth. “Oh, I missed you so much! I thought you were dead! I thought you were lost forever!” She pulled back and wiped tears from her eyes. “Do you remember what happened? I mean, what have you been doing all these centuries? Or have you been unconscious?”

Acacia pushed against the floor and rose to her feet. Sapphira rose with her and brushed the grit away from Acacia’s sleeves. “I remember falling and being sucked into something, then” she gestured toward the other twelve girls who were also rising to their feet “I saw my sister spawns all sitting around listening to an old man.”

“Sister spawns?” Sapphira tilted her head. “I don’t recognize any of them. I don’t see Taalah or Qadar.”

“You and I didn’t know these sisters. They were the first twelve.”

“Explain later.” Sapphira took her by the elbow. “Let’s get away from this place. It affects my mind in weird ways.”

“Me, too.” Acacia followed Sapphira’s lead down the tower mound’s gentle slope. “It feels dark and sad. Does that mean we’re not in heaven?”

“I’m not sure where we are, and I don’t know much about heaven, only what I read in Mardon’s scrolls.”

Acacia pushed her hair out of her face. “I don’t think heaven feels so depressing. My teacher told me it would be wonderful.”

“Who is your teacher?”

“He never told us his name.” Acacia shrugged. “We just called him Teacher.”

“Well, I hope he’s right about heaven. I wish I could be sure. Every place I’ve been is pretty depressing.”

The entire group gathered at the bottom of the slope. Makaidos stood at the center and lifted his hand in the air, twisting the ring on his index finger. “Our rings hold the traditional gem of the dragons, so I believe they are a symbol of the new life our Maker has given us in this place. Many of the dragons who died in or before the flood are here.” He waved for a young girl to come close. She wrapped one arm around his waist and leaned against his side. “Zera, my sister, made it.” He nodded at a young man who was straightening his clothes and another man wearing a bowler hat. “Hilidan and Clirkus, my two young warrior friends, as well.” He nodded again, this time at an older woman. “My mother, Shachar, is here, too.”

Roxil laid a hand on Shachar’s back and rubbed it tenderly. “But your father is not here. That proves Arramos is still alive.”

“Arramos could very well be alive.” Makaidos’s jaw tensed. “But that evil dragon who masquerades as my father is not Arramos.”

Shachar slid her arm around Makaidos’s waist, overlapping Zera’s grip. “Arramos is alive, my son. I do not know how long I have been floating in a senseless limbo, but I always felt his presence, and that made my wandering existence tolerable. If an evil dragon says he is Arramos, rest assured that he is a liar. My mate would never succumb to Lucifer’s song.”

“And on that truth, I will take my stand.” Makaidos brushed his lips across Shachar’s cheek, ending the gentle caress with a kiss. “Somehow, I will find him.”

“So what do we do now?” Hilidan asked. He quickly covered his lips with his fingers. “How strange. What kind of accent is that?”

Makaidos laughed. “You sound like one of the Celts.”

“I am fond of it,” Hilidan said. “It has the quality of song.”

“Indeed it does!” Makaidos clapped him on the back. “It seems that the Maker has given us unique human characteristics, including unique voices, body shapes, and personalities.”

“Unique?” Roxil grimaced. “That was not the word I had in mind.”

“Roxil, the Maker has given us this destiny, so we would be wise to make the best of it. We should forget the past, rebuild this village, and live as humans until the Maker sees fit to send us elsewhere.”

The other former dragons nodded their agreement, but Roxil’s face hardened as she stared at the ground. “Have you already forgotten my mother?” she asked. “Have you forsaken Thigocia?”

Makaidos’s face turned pale.

Roxil crossed her arms over her chest. “So you have already forgotten her!”

Makaidos nodded slowly. “Why would that be? How could I forget the love of my life?”

“Is it because you reject the Maker’s plan?” Roxil asked. “He made you a dragon, and now you want to forget everything about your dragon life, so he stripped away your greatest love.”

“I reject nothing!” Makaidos spread out his fingers and showed them to Roxil. “Did the Maker not also choose this form for me? I accept any form my creator shapes around my mind!” With the Ovulum resting in his palm, he gazed at it and walked back toward the tower portal. “I have to think.”

When Makaidos passed out of earshot, Roxil glared at Elam and the underborns, her eyes flashing. As she crossed her arms again, a barely perceptible smile grew on her lips. Her voice altered to a slow, Morgan-like cadence. “If this is a place for dragons to rest, then perhaps the humans ought to find another home.”

Sapphira called up the innocent voice she often used to answer Morgan. “Well, I’m not sure exactly how human we are,” she said. “We’re called underborns. At least most of us are.”

Roxil held up her ringed finger. “There will be no mixing between dragons and humankind, underborn or otherwise. As long as we have to dwell here in these human disguises, we will keep ourselves pure.”

Elam strode up to Roxil and looked her in the eye. “Don’t worry, dragon lady. I’ll leave on the fastest camel out of here, but if you get sick of this place in a thousand years or so, don’t be surprised if no one, human or underborn, comes to rescue you.”

Roxil kicked at the ground, raising a cloud of dust. “Even if this place were to crumble beneath my feet, I would never take aid from a human! Never!”

“Suit yourself.” Elam turned and waved for Sapphira to follow. “We’re leaving.”

Without looking back, Elam marched up the rise. Sapphira took Paili’s hand, then Acacia’s, and hurried to follow. The other girls huddled into a group behind them and began walking up the slope toward the portal.

When Elam reached the top of the rise, Makaidos met him with a raised hand. “Please! I beg you to wait!”

Elam halted. Sapphira tightened her grip on Acacia’s hand and waited near the crest. Makaidos held the Ovulum in his palm and waved at Roxil. “Come. All of you. I want to tell you something.”

Roxil lowered her arms to her sides, her face softened by a hint of fear. She and the other dragons ascended the rise and gathered at the top.

“I must give clear instructions before the humans leave,” Makaidos said. “When they return, I will be gone.”

“Where will you go?” Sapphira asked.

“I wish I knew.” He handed the Ovulum back to Sapphira. “You see, as soon as I walked into the old museum area, the Eye of the Oracle spoke to me. He told me that I must complete my work here and God would grant me the greatest desire of my heart.”

Sapphira took Makaidos’s hand. “What is the desire of your heart?” she asked, caressing the pulsing gem on his ring.

Makaidos stroked her hair. “I dare not presume. I would not jeopardize the possibilities for all the world.”

She gazed into his soft brown eyes. “Then can you tell me what you’re supposed to do?”

“Yes.” He waved his arm across the city scene. “We are to raze everything that would remind us of Shinar’s evil past and use the materials to build a new, peaceful village. We are to forget what lies behind and live and act as humans until God sends someone to deliver us to a better place.”

Sapphira twisted the ring on Makaidos’s finger. For some reason, touching the gem soothed her mind, the opposite feeling the portals evoked. “You’re supposed to forget everything?” she asked.

“About being dragons, yes. The Eye explained that God will grant us forgetfulness so we can survive here while we wait. Otherwise, we would go insane.”

“I wish we could stay and help.” Sapphira glanced down at his ring. As her thumb rubbed the gem, the pulsing stopped and its surface faded to pink, then to white. When she pulled her thumb away, it changed back to red and resumed its pulse.

“It would be best,” Makaidos continued, “if we dragons ”

“How odd!” Sapphira whispered.

Makaidos looked down at her. “Odd? What is odd?”

“May I try on your ring?” she asked.

Makaidos glanced at Roxil. Her sour expression had deepened. “I suppose it would be all right,” he said.

Makaidos pulled the ring off and pushed it over Sapphira’s finger. Since it was several sizes too big, it slid easily down to her bottom knuckle. The gem turned snow white. He lifted her hand close to his eyes and whispered, “Amazing!”

She slipped it back off and returned it to Makaidos’s finger. “Look!” she said, “it’s red again.”

Roxil raised up on tiptoes and craned her neck, but she said nothing.

Makaidos twisted the ring back in place. “Perhaps a dragon’s touch keeps it red.”

“Or maybe the touch of an Oracle of Fire turns it white.” Sapphira set a finger on her chest. “That’s what I am. At least that’s what the Eye told me.”

“That reminds me.” Makaidos pointed at her. “I need to tell you the rest of the Eye’s warnings. This dimension is reserved for the spirits of dragons, so everyone who is human will have to leave at once. The Eye said that a new king of the dragons will arise to set all dragons free and lead them to a better world. The two Oracles of Fire will have the power to open a portal to allow him in, but if they open it before the proper time, this place will burn with fire. And even when the king comes, the very hour he departs with his followers, all of Dragons’ Rest will be destroyed.”

“So we have to go right away?” Sapphira asked.

Makaidos lowered his gaze to the ground. “You have no choice.”

Roxil stepped forward and hooked her arm through Makaidos’s and pulled him away. “Father, I think we should get right to work and let these humans” she glared at Sapphira “and underborns obey the Eye’s commands.”

Makaidos began walking with Roxil toward the brick kilns, but he glanced back at Sapphira. “Godspeed, my child. I hope the Maker allows us to meet again.”

A tide of sadness washed through Sapphira’s mind. She sniffed, then waved, not wanting to turn and leave this lovely man . . . or dragon . . . behind.

Acacia whispered. “We’d better go. We don’t belong here. And besides, we have a thousand things to talk about.”

The joy of having Acacia back overwhelmed her sadness. She grasped her twin’s hand. “And all these other girls to get to know.”

“Do we have to swim up through that whirlpool?” Elam asked. “It’s no fun, believe me.”

“We came through the portal down near the fountain, so going back that way will likely put us back in the magma river. I’m not sure, but the one where the tower used to be might lead us to the bottom of the chasm, like it did when Elam and I used it. I’m kind of confused, because I don’t think we’re in the same dimension as when we used it before, so going back might take us somewhere else, like maybe the top of the museum.” She winced at her own words. “Does that make any sense at all?”

Elam shook his head, while Acacia nodded. “Perfect sense,” she said. “I vote for the tower portal. I don’t think anyone wants to fight that whirlpool.”

“That part makes sense,” Elam said, “but if the other portal takes us anywhere near Morgan, the magma whirlpool might start looking like a fun swim.”