Inferno Legacy: Loyalty of the Dragon (Book Two)

Chapter 19

                One night, as Cody slept in the dungeons of Mournful’s kin, he had a dream similar to when he was still in Semiones and he once tried to reach Heyrone. Then he could feel his mind groping about the forest searching for life, but now he had a body, at least partly. He was a sort of apparition, appearing to be a ghost or spirit with transparent skin that seemed to glow a dim blue, but in all other respects he was exactly the same as himself. But there was one other key difference with the world in general: he was alone in the dungeon. And yet, he was not.

                Cody closed his eyes and thought about what he could feel. He knew instantly that somehow, nearby he could detect the souls of his companions and the dungeon master. They were not visible when his eyes were open, but with his eyes closed he could definitely sense, almost see forms near him. They each had a color that he could name, but they were not truly colors.

                After a while of focusing on the souls of his companions, Cody again opened his eyes and looked around in the darkness. It felt as though a light had been turned off, but he could still detect, albeit more vaguely than before, the shapes of those nearby. He walked over to the bars of his cage and found that he could not touch them. In fact, he passed straight through the bars without even a thought.

                What an amusing dream, he thought to himself as he left his cage and walked along the dungeon passageways. He passed the dungeon master’s quarters and felt the flickering yellow flame that was her spirit as he walked. Feeling humored he walked up the spiral staircase into the tunnel above. When he reached the tunnel, he was overwhelmed by the number of souls he sensed around, above, and mostly below him.

                One thing that caught Cody’s soul-seeking eye was a strong spirit that flickered a purple-grey color. He followed it up through the tunnel and into the throne room that he had first entered and seen the queen and her son. He approached the thrones and passed them without much care until he found a smallish tunnel behind them, hidden by a door of stone. He passed through the rock easily into a darkened chamber, where he could feel the presence of five beings near the end of a long tunnel. He recognized them as the queen, her children, and two guards. The souls stirred slightly but remained a sleep, though the queen and one of the guards seemed to subconsciously note his presence.

                Feeling a bit disturbed by their acceptance of his dream, Cody left their room and went back to the tunnel. He ran along a bit quickly to try and return to his cell and return to wherever he was supposed to be, but down below the ground he could feel so many souls, so many voices waiting to be heard. He passed the spiral staircase eagerly and sped along, down deeper into the tunnel.

                The tunnel quickly became more disorganized and branched to the side often, but he followed the flickering torches that were the natives of the mountain. As he came nearer, he could feel several of the spirits being aroused by his presence. By the time he reached the hall where they lay, not only did they acknowledge his presence as the queen and her guard had done, but a sort of whisper seemed to be sent out amongst them all. Suddenly, Cody felt his sleep wearing off. The whisper rose into a call of confusion, disbelief, and amazement.

                Walker? Walker lives. Walker is among us. Walker has come.

                Cody awoke only a short time after his dream faded. He opened his eyes and tried to remember what he could and could not do with his actual body. It was difficult to compare so soon after waking, but he soon sorted out that he could see, but he could not detect someone’s soul or walk through things, and once he made those notes the rest of his mortal control returned to him.