Daughters of Creation

Chapter Twenty-Six: Orgulous (Part Three)

  The chill that swept through her was akin to the stark feeling of panic right before her body jerked awake from the jarring sensation of falling. Dana's jaw tightened. The pull of the Sword had yet to wane. The strange, magical sensation nudged and flitted and pushed at her; resorting to a slightly harder tug if she didn't quite give the Sword a kernel of her attention. 

Dana had stepped foot inside the belly of the beast. 

Before she could blink a second time the Five had split, parting gracefully like water. Hari and Rena didn't start walking right away, waiting for her to adjust. She could feel the power of so many sources of magic brush against her skin. She didn't have to try very hard to know which ones belonged to the Council and which belonged to other Guards. There was no denying the magic of the ones who took her childhood.

The warmth in Hari's eyes was not the pity she expected. More gently than Dana thought a dragon could possess, Hari said, "I'm sorry you have to be here, Dana. You won't have to come back, ever, unless it's on your own volition. Rosalyn will never step foot here—and she'll never tell you this—but she would have instantly taken your spot if you had given her the option if it meant keeping you from having to step foot inside this hellhole.

"But, and I have no proof besides instinct, I believe only a witch could find the Sword of Creation. We need you and I'm sorry our selfishness has brought you here."

Dana surprised herself. She touched Hari's arm and offered a small smile. Her voice was soft, but sturdy. "It's not selfish to want to end this pain the Son of Destruction has brought upon the Veil. And, I know I have not been fair to Lys—Eytelis has made me more than aware of this—but I do not want my High Priestess here. There's things within the coven that even we do not understand because our Elders have been taken away from us, and because of this, I could not knowingly risk the High Priestess of my coven even if it means I have to be within this hellhole myself." 

Hari's eyes flashed from the familiar brown color to a raging mix of gold and green—the green mostly winning, Thunder clashed within. Dana knew he wasn't angry at her but the anger she could see made her thankful she wasn't on the receiving end of it anyways. Through a simmering, long exhale the dragon nodded, the green in his eyes receding back to their normal brown. 

Rena's own eyes were particularly bright, her anger also barely concealed. "Rowan, Andre, and Ezra are in place. The Council is in their meeting chambers—all of them."

Dana didn't have to ask to know how she knew. Rowan's link. 

She gathered herself. "I don't think Kozel's changed the location of the Sword since the memory Millicent pulled from him."  

Neither Rena nor Hari questioned how she knew this, but Hari's insight to his thoughts regarding the Sword told Dana why. And, after feeling the persistent draw of the Sword, she was inclined to see the truth in Hari's hypothesis. As if the Sword knew she would no longer ignore it, the sensation seemed to become less of a forceful nudge to a humming excitement. Dana was beginning to see the weariness in which immortals held magical objects—especially magical weapons. This sword that could end and save lives was acting more like a cat than a powerful link to the past and great beings. 

"I know where Kozel's personal studies are. Follow me." Rena said, pace brisk. Almost like Dana's own illusion, Rena seemed to pull the arrogance of being a Guard around her like a cloak as she walked. Here, there was no denying who Rena Coraelia was and why the Council wanted her so close. The siren Captain was a force to be reckoned with.

Rena and Hari made no noise as they walked across the stone floor, their steps completely silent. Despite the situation, she couldn't help being irked that no matter how quiet she tried to make her footfalls she still made noise. If they thought this amusing, the two Guards wisely kept it to themselves. There was little room for laughter as they walked deeper into the castle and closer to where Kozel's studies lay.