Castle of Flame

Chapter Seven: A Message Arrives

Elliott wandered around Inverness for two days before he found what he hoped was the right place. His Google searches for dragons had been fruitless, and with no other ideas, he had begun searching on foot. On the evening of the second day, he walked down a one-way residential street lined with red sandstone houses. Nestled between the houses was a pub. Its windows were at street level, and a couple of steps led down to the door. Above that door was a low-relief carving of a dragon, about a foot tall. Elliott didn't know for sure that this pub was the place he was looking for, but it was the first sign of a dragon he had seen, and he had nothing to lose. He stepped down to the door and pushed it open.

Inside, the pub was lit by a few mismatched lamps, leaving many of the corners in shadow, and it had an earthy smell. Elliott approached the bar, unnoticed by most of the patrons, who were eating at tables scattered around the space.

"Evening," said the purple-haired man behind the bar. "What can I get for you?"

Elliott, deciding that it would be polite to order food before he started asking weird questions, asked for fish and chips. The man put in the order and brought Elliott an apple cider.

Elliott swallowed some. "Can I ask you a question?"

The man tossed a towel over his shoulder. "Sure."

"That dragon over the door – what does it mean?"

The man gave him a piercing stare. "It means we like dragons. Why do you ask?"

Elliott sighed, tired of the struggle of trying to hide his true purpose to sound sane. "On May thirty-first, my sister vanished from the Oban Ferry, and I have reason to believe magic was involved in the incident. My memories of her disappeared on that day and only recently came back."

The man's eyes widened, and he leaned forward. "Your sister...is her name Kerenza?"

Elliott lifted his gaze and met the man's wide eyes with his own expression of shock. "Yes!"

"This is crazy. You're the adopted brother of the princess? Unbelievable!"

Elliott half-rose from his barstool. "You know where she is? Wait, princess? What?"

The man studied him. "Aye, I ken where she is, and I promise she is safe." He paused. "Stay right there. Give me an hour." He took the towel off of his shoulder and put it behind the bar, then rounded the corner and opened the front door of the pub. Elliott tried to get up and follow him, but the man turned and faced him. "Please stay there. I'm going to bring you someone who knows exactly where your sister is and can explain everything to you."

Elliott nodded and sank back onto his seat. His fish and chips arrived, but he was too anxious to do more than pick at it. He grew more and more restless as an hour passed, but then, finally, the door opened, and the man returned, accompanied by a boy.

The door shut behind them, and the purple-haired man gestured at Elliott, saying something to the boy that Elliott couldn't hear. Then the man moved out of the way. The boy took a step forward and then stopped as his eyes, which were a brilliant dark blue that somehow managed to sparkle despite the dimness of the pub, met Elliott's. He stood there, staring at Elliott as though he had never seen another human being before. Confused, Elliott looked around for the bartender, but he was busy serving another customer. Elliott looked back at the boy, who blinked and moved forward.

"Harold tells me that you're Ren's brother," said the boy.

Elliott stood up. "Yes – I – what – what have you done with her?"