Summer of Frost (Forever Fae #3)(32)
“Please … show me the way,” I pleaded.
The energy surged beneath my feet and it was as if my legs had a will of their own; one minute I didn’t know where to go and the next I was being pulled like a magnetic force. My eyes were closed in concentration as I followed the invisible path in my mind. Once the magic dissipated and the connection broke, I knew I was where I needed to be. When I looked down, there was a collection of rocks piled into a mound just like Brokk had said.
“Drake, I found it!”
He came up behind me and hovered over my shoulder. The heat he gave off was scorching, but what else was there to expect from a fire breathing dragon. He winked at me with his smoky gray eyes as I ran my hands down his snout, smiling.
“Here we go,” I began.
Rock after rock, I moved them aside until there were no more. Nothing was underneath the rocks except dirt, so I scooped it away—layer by layer—until I came upon something hard. Smiling, I pulled the box out of its resting place, blew off the dirt, and held it in my hands. It was made of wood, but had symbols carved on all sides, symbols that I had no clue what they meant. My hands hummed with energy, and it wasn’t the good energy either. There was only a slight seal where I could see where the box was connected together. I had an idea, and I was going to try it.
“Oh, what the hell,” I said, picking up the box. Raising it high over my head, I slammed it down on the rocks as hard as I could. Over and over, I threw it on the ground and rammed it into the rocks hoping it would open, but it never did. There wasn’t even a scratch or dent on the surface of that dreaded box.
Drake’s dragon eyes showed amusement as he sat there watching me, almost as if he was laughing at me. “Hey, it was worth a shot,” I told him. “I’m sure you would’ve tried the same thing.”
Placing the box on a nearby rock, I wiped my sweaty hands on my black, leather pants, and realized that soon my silver and black armor would be traded in for the gold and brown of Summer. All I needed was to get the scroll and go home, but first, I had to pay the price; the price to save my people. By offering my blood, I was willingly giving the dark sorcerer my power, and willingly making him stronger. It sickened me to know that after this he was going to have my power coursing through his veins. I felt violated even though this was my decision, and my choice to have my power taken.
Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths. Drake nudged me in the side and made a small whimpering sound. He hated that I had to do this. “I’m okay, Drake. It just pisses me off that when I do this the dark sorcerer will have won another round. I wanted to be different, to be the one he couldn’t get, but that’s not going to happen. Instead, I’m offering myself up on a golden platter. I just hate that whatever we do, he has a way to change it and make us look like the fools.”
Drake growled in response, and I could tell in his dragon eyes that he agreed and understood. I knew Drake was in there, but it still amazed me how a dragon, dangerous and lethal, could have love and understanding in its eyes.
“Okay, here I go.”
Not wanting to waste any more time, I pulled my spear out from the harness on my back. The spear point was sharp; a light scraping of the blade could drag deep down to the bone if too much pressure was applied. Carefully, I ran my palm over the sharp edge, instantly drawing a stream of blood. I placed my hand over the box and let the blood flow freely. It coated the outer edge and slowly ran down the sides of the wood. Nothing was happening.
“I wonder how much blood it needs,” I mumbled to myself and Drake.
I took the spear and sliced open my other hand, hoping the extra blood would get it going. The pool of blood surrounding the box had me shaky, and staggering to stay on my feet. Blood didn’t bother me, but the amount I was losing did. Drake hissed and began looking angry. He wanted me to stop, but I knew I had to keep going.
“Just … a … little … more,” I sputtered weakly.
My vision began to blur and I struggled to stay on my feet. My legs gave out from beneath me and I collapsed onto the ground. I clenched my hands into tight fists to stop the flow of blood. Falling on my back, I closed my eyes, feeling too weak to move. When I glanced up, Drake was staring at the box in awe. Was it working? I wondered. I sat up slowly, and I was amazed to see that the box was now glowing and lifting into the air. Getting shakily to my feet, I brought up my hands and lightly placed them on both sides of the floating box. The lid started to open, and a bright flash of light burst from the inside, momentarily blinding me.
When my vision cleared I saw the scroll, the one piece of paper that could help save my land. It was a thick, yellow piece of parchment rolled into a cylinder with a ribbon wrapped around it. My heart thundered desperately in my chest, and it was telling me to grab the scroll and run as fast as I could. I took it out of the box and slowly unrolled it, not wanting to jeopardize the paper in any way. There were so many ancient symbols and texts that it was confusing to read. I could make out some of it, but I knew there was only one person who could decipher the full meaning … Elvena. We needed to get to her quickly.
I put the scroll in my leather pouch that was secured to my armor belt. If I closed it in the box again I took the chance of it sealing and never getting it out. I didn’t want to do that. Drake was waiting patiently for me so I staggered over to him and climbed up on his back.
“I’m ready to go!” I called out to him.