Healed by Fire Artemis Lupine 3 Read online

  I smiled and charged forward, trying my hardest to hit him. He dodged left and right, keeping me at bay. I managed to clip his chin and then he was attacking me. I dodged his attacks, but my concentration was wavering as I watched him attack. His style was familiar. I had an extreme case of déjà vu as I tried to remember who fought like him. My head throbbed in pain from the effort, making me stumble and drop to my knees. I clutched my head as the pain increased.

  Theseus dropped down beside me and rested his hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me, and as he did so, we heard a noise above.

  Blu roared overhead and wind pressed me down to the ground as he landed over me. I heard Theseus growl, but I was in too much pain to tell him to shut up. Blu placed his snout against my head and hummed, vibrating my entire body. After a moment the pain in my head eased and then disappeared.

  Blu growled again at Theseus and then nuzzled me gently. “Are you alright, Hatchling?”

  I stood up slowly and nodded my head. “Yes.” I remained silent until I was sure that I could stand on my own. “Did the Council give you a decision?”

  He muttered as his stomach growled hungrily. “First, do you have you any meat?”

  Two witches who had been watching our garden play brought out a cow and Blu gulped it down greedily. I waited until he was done licking his lips before asking again, “What did the Council decree?”

  Blu looked at Theseus who was standing a few yards away. “How long will it take for your leader to make the journey to the Lair?”

  Theseus answered quickly, “Two days.”

  Blu huffed. “Then you best notify him now that he needs to start his journey.

  Theseus bowed and hurried into the house. “Blu! What is going on?” I asked in exasperation.

  Blu flicked his tongue out in annoyance. “Your agitation is understandable, Hatchling, but you best remember your place when meeting the Council.”

  I bit my tongue and bowed my head, “I apologize, Draco-Blu. I have been in pain lately.”

  Blu pressed his nose against my head and exhaled. The sweet smell of his breath surrounded me as he used his magic to quickly view my memories of the time since he left. He snorted and pulled his nose back. “I see. Well, you and I will begin our journey to the Council and assuming all of the conditions are met, they will assist you in regaining your memory.”

  They’d agreed! I was finally going to find out who I was! “Wait, what conditions?”

  Blu shook his head. “They are not conditions for you so you need not worry until we arrive. Pack your things and let us head out.”

  I wanted to argue, but there are two types of beings you never argue with, vampires and dragons. So, I hurried up to my room and packed what little clothes and things I had. Theseus came into my room and watched me silently. I finished packing and turned to see him looking sad and fearful. “What is it, Theseus?”

  He swallowed and smiled. “Just worried that once you regain your prior memories that you won’t remember your time with me and we won’t be friends.”

  I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his cheek. “You will always be my friend. You are the only one like me.”

  Theseus rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually, there are quite a few others like us.”

  I gaped at him. “What?! When were you going to tell me?!”

  He shrugged. “I was told not to tell you too much. You’ll meet the others once your memory is back though.”

  “How many others?”

  Theseus whispered, “Hundreds.”

  Hundreds of wolf halfbreeds?! How come I had never seen them? How come I didn’t know they even existed?

  “Let’s go, hatchling!” Blu called from outside.

  I pointed at Theseus. “You and I are going to talk about this later.”

  He smiled. “Of course.”

  I walked down the stairs into the main living room and found all of the witches gathered. The children were teary eyed and the adults seemed more worried than sad. “This isn’t goodbye. I’m still a part of this coven and will return. I promise,” I said to the gathered women.

  The children I’d grown to love took their turns giving me hugs and kissing me goodbye. Each of the witches bade me farewell and wished me luck. Selene stood at the exit and handed me a talisman. “This will hide your scent and Theseus’ long enough for you to make it to the Lair. Be strong, Chandra, and return to me whole.”

  I hugged her and kissed her cheek. “I love you, Selene. Thank you for helping me regain my humanity.”

  Blu set me on his back and I slipped the talisman on. I watched in shock as the designs on my skin faded and my hair turned blonde. She had to have put an extreme amount of power into the talisman for it to change my appearance so drastically. I looked at Theseus who was climbing onto Blu’s back behind me and blinked in shock. The markings on his skin were gone as well.

  Blu roared farewell to the coven and took us up into the sky. The press of wind on my body felt wonderful. I leaned into it and lifted my arms beside me. I looked back at Theseus to find him sitting with his eyes closed and a smile on his lips as he enjoyed the wind on him as well.

  “How long will it take us to get to the Lair?” I asked Blu.

  “Two days. I will travel as far as I can the first night. I fear staying on the ground too long with two halfbreeds, even with Selene’s talisman on you.”

  Theseus sighed longingly. “Someday the vampires won’t have the power to make us hide in fear.”

  Blu laughed. “Yes, little halfbreed hatchlings, someday soon you will restore the balance.”

  We flew in silence until the sun rose and brightened the sky. Blu landed near a river and we all slurped greedily at the water. My nose twitched as I caught the scent of a deer, but before I could turn to chase after it, Theseus was already bounding into the forest.

  I growled, yanked my clothes and talisman off and then charged after him. He stood in wolf form over a large buck, his muzzle stained red from taking it down.

  I changed forms and walked forward, growling softly. Step aside.

  Theseus dropped his head and backed away slowly. Of course. I simply wanted to take it down for you.

  I turned so that I could watch Theseus as I ate then tore into the deer and ate until I was full. Once my stomach was full and my anger sated, I walked a few feet away and lay down to lick my muzzle and paws clean. Something seemed familiar about this situation, but during the years I’d spent as a wolf I’d gone on many hunts with the small wolf packs, so I pushed the thought away and changed forms. “I’m going to the river to bathe.”

  I jogged back towards Blu and then past him to the river. I shivered at the cold water and Blu plugged one nostril, snorting a jet of fire into the river around me, warming it instantly. I sighed happily and then started tossing him the fish which he’d killed in the process. I washed my body thoroughly and then caught a few more fish for Blu before walking to the shore. I closed my eyes and called to the flame of power which resided deep within me. The flame brightened and then purple fire covered my body. I held the flame around me long enough to dry my body and then dressed and put the talisman back on.

  “Your control over your fire has improved,” Blu said as he used one of his large talons to pick at bones in his teeth.

  I finger combed my hair and smiled. “I had been working on it daily. The last thing I need is to offend the Council by accidentally shooting a flame at them.”

  Blu laughed. “Yes, that would be considered a grave insult.”

  I smiled. “Fira didn’t like it much when I shot his nose with my fire yesterday.”

  Blu laughed loudly, shaking the ground and me. “It was a good tactic, but it’s never pleasant to have foreign fire on you.”

  “Have you learned to use your fire to deflect another’s?” asked Theseus as he walked to the river and cleaned the blood from his body.

  I watched him as he cleaned and grew angry at my incapacity to be interested in him. “Yes, I
have. Have you?”

  Theseus stood up and red flames surrounded him in a mini tornado. “As you can see.”

  I envisioned fire covering my hands and purple flames covered them instantly. I formed two giant streams of fire from my hands to his body and watched as the blue and purple flames swirled together and then my purple disappeared from his body. Theseus inhaled as he prepared to attack me back, but Blu snorted two twin jets of blue flames between us. “That is enough, hatchlings. We must rest.”

  “I was just playing,” I grumbled.

  Blu sighed at me and lay down. I climbed between his leg and body, underneath his wing and curled up into a ball. Theseus cleared his throat and I smiled at him. “Come on. Blu won’t mind if you lie with me here. He’s large enough.”

  Theseus smiled and climbed beside me, curling around me.

  “Good night, hatchlings. May your dreams be pleasant,” Blu whispered as we drifted off to sleep against him.

  The rain poured like a giant waterfall down my face as I scanned the forest. I wiped at the rain, but nothing helped. I put my hands over my eyes and screamed in frustration. I tensed as a wolf howled nearby, answering my scream. I walked backwards into the cave, pressing my back against the wall. My heart hammered against my chest, threatening to break through. I wiped the water from my eyes and stared at the black opening of the cave. Lightning flashed allowing me to see outside and my entire body stilled. A large black wolf stood in the doorway smelling the ground. The wolf turned its head towards me and sniffed three times quickly. I tried to slow my breathing, but the adrenaline was pumping too quickly to allow it. The wolf walked into the cave and whimpered. I shook my head and closed my eyes. The sound of bones snapping and popping echoed in the cave. I hugged myself tighter, fear consuming my rational thinking. A familiar male voice whispered, “It’s alright. I won’t hurt you. I’m your mate.”

  I woke up gasping for air and my head throbbing in pain. Theseus whined beside me and I realized he was now in wolf form.

  “Are you alright, Hatchling?” Blu asked. “I feel that you are in pain.”

  I groaned. “My head…hurts.”

  Blu placed his nose against my head and exhaled. In a matter of seconds the pain was gone and I relaxed against Blu and Theseus.

  “Thank you,” I said as I fell back asleep.

  Morning came faster than I wanted. I felt drained emotionally and physically. The pain in my head was still present as was the pain in my entire body due to the connection with the werewolf prince. I felt it stronger than ever and knew I needed to see him soon or I felt as though I would break.

  Blu and Theseus ate quickly and after I forced down a few bites of food, we set off into the air again. Blu sang softly in the language of the dragons as we flew and after a few minutes I started to fall asleep again. Theseus wrapped his arms around me to keep me from falling off and I let Blu’s magical song put me to sleep, healing the parts of me that it could.

  * * *

  I woke up when Blu started rumbling beneath me. I recognized his angry growl and was instantly alert. Theseus stood on the ground beside Blu in wolf form, his fur puffed out as he snarled at something in the distance. I started to climb off of Blu’s back, but he snapped, “Stay there.”

  I frowned. “What is it?”

  “I landed to get water for you both and a group of strange vampires surrounded us,” Blu said.

  “Why don’t we just fly away then?” I asked softly.

  “Because we have archers with us,” said a melodious voice which sounded vaguely familiar. A man with white skin and golden designs stepped out from the tree line. I didn’t need to be near him to recognize that he was Sidhe.

  “What do you want?” I asked. “And why are you working with vampires?”

  The man smiled and there was something nagging at the back of my mind about him. He looked familiar somehow. “I was sent to intercept you.”

  Theseus changed forms and let his wings out. “You will not take her, traitor.”

  Blu roared angrily and shifted his back foot. The signal. Blu had taught me this signal the first day we met. I screamed in rage and used all of the power I could without draining myself to send a ring of sunshine outwards away from my body. Vampires screamed and disintegrated in fifty puffs of ash. The Sidhe roared in anger and jumped up to come at me, but Blu and Theseus shot him with their fire, forcing him to protect himself and drop to the ground.

  Theseus jumped onto Blu’s back as Blu continued to spray the man with fire and then we took off into the air and zoomed away. I looked back, but the man did not follow us, though we all knew this wasn’t the last that we’d seen of him.

  “How did they know where we were? How could they have known we would be heading this way?” I asked angrily.

  Theseus sighed. “That would probably be my fault.”

  Blu’s head whipped around and I saw the murderous intent in his eyes. “You have two seconds to explain before I chomp off your head.”

  Theseus looked at me with pleading eyes. “I made a call to the werewolf prince, but spoke quickly before asking if he was alone. He has an ally who is a vampire, but sometimes his ally has minions around him who are not loyal. I should have asked first if it was safe to speak, but we were in a rush and…I am sorry.”

  Blu spoke rapidly in the language of the dragons, which meant he was saying harsh things he didn’t want me to hear.

  “You should be more careful next time,” I said softly, “Apparently I’m wanted by the vampires.”

  Finally we reached the end of the landmass and flew out over the ocean. The ocean spread out before us in a seemingly endless expanse. The winds blew the scent of salt up to us, making my nose tingle and me sneeze. The sea was powerful and silent. It was eerie and yet reassuring. The only difference from the preternatural take over and from when the humans ruled, is that now the ocean was much cleaner.

  We flew in silence for the next two hours, passing over the ocean and mountains until we finally came to the Lair. The mountain before us was the largest in the world, its peak over twenty nine thousand feet high. It was also hollow. The dragons used their magic to hollow out the mountain yet maintain its stability.

  The entrance was over fifteen thousand feet from the base and only accessible by air. It was also always covered in snow which made it a massive sight of splendor. Blu told me that there used to be other mountains around it, but the dragons thought they made a route for unwanted visitors so the dragons destroyed all of the mountains within a one hundred mile radius, leaving the behemoth dragon’s nest by itself.

  Blu approached the mountain slowly, making a wide arc so the guards had time to come to him and check him out.

  Two dragons roared and then swooped down from above where they’d been making lazy patrolling circles. The first dragon was green and large, but still smaller than Blu.

  “Welcome Draco-Blu. We are honored to escort you in,” said the green dragon.

  The second dragon, a gold colored dragon, glided besides Blu’s left side. “Hail, leader. I am honored to be in your presence yet again.” He was closer to Blu’s size and as I recalled, one of Blu’s friends.

  Blu hummed respectfully, confirming my belief. “I am happy to see you again my friend.”

  The golden dragon tilted his head and flicked his tongue out, trying to catch my scent. “You must be the girl Draco-Blu is so fond of.”

  I bowed my head out of respect and then smiled at him. “I am Chandra, friend of the dragons.”

  The green dragon asked, “How are you faring at the moment?”

  I bowed my head to the dragon and said, “I am doing alright. My pulse is faster than normal and there is a pain in my head and heart, but nothing too serious.”

  The dragons glided as they approached the entrance and then formed a single file line with the golden dragon first, then Blu and then the green dragon. They landed inside the opening, which was only wide enough for one dragon with his wings fully extended to land
at a time. Blu followed his friend through a pitch black tunnel which made Theseus and me growl nervously. I hated confined spaces, especially ones under the ground. My head throbbed as I recalled walking down a narrow staircase underground with a man in a situation very similar to this.

  I screamed in pain as I tried to recall his name or what he looked like.

  Blu stepped out of the darkness and into the open mountain where the dragons lived. We stood on a ledge which dropped off to the bottom of the mountain. Rock outcroppings jutted out every twenty feet or so which served as nests for the dragons along the walls of the mountain. The nests were scattered along the full height and circumference of the mountain’s walls.

  Theseus grabbed me and jumped off of Blu’s back, being careful to keep me from the edge and laid me down in front of Blu. Blu and the golden dragon pressed their noses to my head and started humming.

  The man in the staircase was connected to me. I recalled being able to speak telepathically with him, which was abnormal. I had been afraid and he started glowing. He glowed because he was a Sidhe! He was tall and he had markings on his upper body…

  “Hatchling!” Blu yelled. “Release the memory! Release it before it tears you apart!”

  Release it? Why would I release it when I was so close? I could almost see his face. I could… Pain ripped through my body and stole the breath from my lungs, not even allowing me to scream.

  Theseus bit into my arm and my eyes flew open, releasing the memory from my grasp. Blu and his friend hummed loudly, their magic wrapping around me in a soft whirlwind. The pain eased and then disappeared, allowing me to breathe.

  “Speak to me, Chandra,” Theseus whispered, “Please, say something.”

  I lay in stunned silence a moment and then whispered, “Ow.”

  The three dragons and Theseus exhaled in relief simultaneously, ruffling my hair with their combined releases of air. Blu rested his muzzle on my chest and whispered, “You need to be careful, Hatchling. That was too close.”