Blood-tied Lies

~Chapter 14~

I pushed open the old wooden doors of the temple. Dead leaves were scattered about the floor giving the area a forgotten feeling. Rivit trailed behind me all the way into the largest room. Cracks lined the stone walls and cobwebs hung from the open archways. We entered the grande library, or at least what was left of it. Books sat here and there on shelves carved out of the walls and under the grand staircase that now stood covered in dirt. Despite its rundown appearance, it was my favorite place in the world.

I'm not so sure I like this place. Rivit curled his tail around my leg and puffed out a ring of smoke.

Oh Rivit, there is nothing wrong with the library. I come here all the time. I picked him up, holding him close to me as I walked farther into the large room. Old, sturdy beams stretched across the high ceiling where an old chandelier hung collecting dust and spiderwebs. The room did have a creepy chill, but I had grown accustomed to its as I made it my hideout.

Rivit squirmed in my grasp and leaped out of my arms when the wind whistled in the rafters. He climbed onto my back and peered over my shoulder.

I simply shook my head and picked up a book from the top of a stack I had left from my last visit. There was no title, only the color on the worn leather cover, and the gold designs to tell what it contained. It was a spellbook, or rather a book of powerful spells from a time when those who wielded magic were in power. Spells like those disappeared, making my world smaller than it already was.

Enchantresses and wizards, stretched far too thin across the kingdoms, hid in the shadows until they could leave for elsewhere. My mother was my entire world as the only person I knew who possessed my abilities. Ironically, we didn't always see eye to eye. She always diverted questions about my father. It was as if she wanted to permanently erase him from existence.

My father was a touchy subject around her and I seldom asked anymore. I was angry at him, for leaving us, for doing whatever he did that got us exiled from the High Kingdom. I was angry because my mother was angry at the mention of him. If I ever met him, I would curse him. Of course, my mother never taught me anything remotely close to a curse, but that's what I had the library for.

I opened to the page where a black and gold bookmark lay, folded around the dried petals of a midnight light. I had used them to read well into the night after my mother had yelled at me a few weeks ago. She had her moments where the hate she held for my father would surface and come out at me. I know she didn't always mean it, but it hurt a little.

Words written in a language I had only begun to decipher were scribbled across the paper and faded illustrations of smoke were drawn in the blank margins. It really was a creepy looking book if you flipped through the pages. I was able to read a couple of words from the writing. Hatred, pain, time, dies. The words sounded like something out of a nightmare. I traced my finger along the green splotches that dotted the paper like a border.

Rivit had found a loose vine that was hanging from the far was pulling at it. His clawed feet slid on the wooden floor as he put all his strength into every tug. Then the vine began to detach from the wall until I heard a loud snap. I shuddered as I watched Rivit tumble across the ground and into a tall shelf of books. The shelf was unstable from years of neglect in the elements and a book on the topmost shelf rocked back and forth. It teetered for a moment while Rivit sat, stunned from his

The book finally lost its balance and fell from the shelf. I raised my hand mindlessly. "Wihsrim," I muttered and the book froze in midair. With the flick of my wrist, the book floated back on top of the shelf.

That was a close one. Rivit looked up at the book that was now resting on the top shelf again.

Try to be a little more careful in here. Things break easily after they've been left for decades. I gestured for Rivit to join me.

He happily trotted over and rested his head on the book in my hands. What are you looking at?

I paused for a moment. It's a book of not-so-friendly spells. For such a young dragon like Rivit, it was best to keep things simple.

The last of the sun's light faded from the sky and Rivit had curled up next to me for the night. I closed the book and put it back on the stack before getting on the ground next to Rivit. I knew I was supposed to go home, but I didn't want to. My mother was just going to have to deal with me tomorrow. I soon nodded off as the wind rustled in the overgrown ivy.

In the darkness of my subconscious mind, I wandered aimlessly, lost. It was strange how your mind twisted your thoughts at night. I was trapped in emptiness again. Then it started. Pictures from today morphed into a speck of light. I heard the soft hum of someone's voice faintly in the void. The light began to expand across my vision. It sparkled with shimmering blue and purple waves. The waves were mesmerizing as I was caught in a trance. It was a dream though, a very real dream. My senses were dulled as the light faded.

I knew what was coming next. Shuddering when it began, the man's voice yelled the same words as before. "Get out, go! Leave and never come back!" The words echoed in my head. I wanted to cry when I heard the woman's voice. It was muffled as the dream began to fade away. "Please, don't do this..." Her words trailed off as I fell back into darkness. There was urgency in her voice. An overwhelming sense of hatred clouded my thoughts. I hated that man's voice. It caused pain and suffering. Where I was once surrounded by nothing, green flames burned around me. I couldn't move as if my mind was frozen.

I felt something hesitantly shaking my body as I fought to escape the glowing flames that had swallowed me. I forced my eyes open, pushing myself up at the same time. It wasn't dark anymore and a cold breeze brushed some of the hair out of my face. Someone had their hands on my shoulders. I whipped my head around to face my mother.