Hidden Fire - Section 15

Misty pushed aside the tapestry and entered the library, only to stop just inside the door to stare in awe. The room before her was immense and cavernous. She looked up and up and still could not see the ceiling. Shelves of books lined every wall and marched in rows for as far as she could see. Warm, dry air filled with the musty scent of old paper flowed through the room in a steady stream and her entire body relaxed as she felt truly warm for the first time since she'd woken up. A pang of despair broke through her. How in the world would she ever be able to find anything about the Scourge amongst these thousands of books?

A tall, silver-haired man emerged from the rows of shelves, carrying a heavy tome in one hand and a crystal reading glass in the other. He squinted at her and frowned. "You are a girl."

"Yes, Master Draxus. I was told to report to you for duties, sir." Misty bobbed her head respectfully.

Draxus slammed the book down on a nearby table and dropped the glass next to it. "You are a girl! I specifically told Aeris to send me a boy this time! Not another empty-headed, flutter-brained pretty thing! Can you even read, girl?"

Misty stood, frozen, as he stalked toward her, and she caught her first good look at Draxus. He was taller than any other Mage she had seen. His face was barely lined, but his silver hair spoke of great age. His face had the almost leonine appearance that she had grown to associate with pure Mage blood. And something else was slightly off about him. She didn't realize what, until he moved very close and she saw his sharply pointed teeth bared in an angry snarl. But worse even than those teeth were his large flame-red eyes. The last time she had seen eyes like that, the Scourge had been looking at her through the face of her best friend. She tried to stammer out an answer. "I-I-I..."

"Answer me! Or are you perhaps too stupid to even form a few words into a sentence?" He gave a sharp bark of disgusted laughter. "Trust Aeris to send me another halfwit."

Misty felt her fear fade as her temper roared to fiery life. "I might be a girl, but I am neither stupid nor useless! I can probably read better than you can, considering Aeris said you were as blind as a bat!" Her hands her hips, Misty stood firm, glaring up into his snarling face. "You can yell and curse at me all you like, you crazy old man! I was assigned here, and I am staying here!"

Draxus abruptly turned his back on her. Misty opened her mouth again to accuse him of rudeness, but a strange creaky sound stopped her. His head was lowered and his whole body was shuddering. A twinge of worry passed through her, dispersing her temper as quickly as it had flared. "Are you having some kind of fit, sir? Should I fetch help?"

"Crazy old man, am I, lass?" He turned back to her and raised his head and she realized the strange noise had been laughter. A grin split his face from ear to ear as he continued to chuckle. "Oh, quit fussing, girl! I'm not ready to drop dead yet. I plan to be a thorn in Aroostook's side for many years to come!" He grinned down at her, the fiery red of his eyes muted to an amber glow. "I do believe I like you, girl, and I can't say that about many! There's fire in your spirit. A great deal of fire..."

Then his gaze sharpened and he gripped her shoulders and pulled their heads into contact. She felt a searing touch in her mind that set her fire source ablaze.

He pushed her away. "Those fools never even bothered to test you for fire, did they? Once again that pompous windbag fails to see the threat before him! And they assign you to me, of all Mages! This is too rich!" His creaking laughter filled the room.

"Please, sir, you must not say anything! Lani says Aroostook will try to kill me if I challenge him too soon!"

"A very wise girl, our Lani, and a mistress of many hidden talents. You'd do well to learn from her. And fear not, I will not reveal your secrets. In fact, I plan to train you into a force to be reckoned with, my lass. Believe me, when the time comes to reveal your true strength, Aroostook will be powerless before you!"

"However, this does not mean you will get out of performing your duties here!" His voice snapped as one sharply nailed index finger poked her chest. "We pull the books for all the researchers throughout the Citadel, and there is much work to be done here. And, as you so astutely observed earlier, I am nearly as blind as a bat."

The next few hours flew by as Draxus showed her the library. His voice rang with pride as he described the contents of each shelf. Misty struggled to memorize the organization. There were books on every possible subject matter. Here was a shelf filled with books about far off lands, and there was one filled with medical journals. There were hundreds of shelves dedicated to all the aspects of magic. She followed Draxus through the library until they reached an iron bound door.

Draxus continued past it, pointing out a shelf filled with books on farming, but Misty paused in curiosity, eying the odd door.

"Sir, what is in here?" She reached out to run her hands over the blackened iron worked into the door.

"Hmmm... Well and why not show you? That is my private library, but there is something a little extra, as well." He pulled a large iron key from his beltpouch and turned it in the lock.

The door opened to reveal a small room filled with yet more shelves of books, as well as a small, soft reading chair and a small table covered with half-melted candles. Full of curiosity, Misty pushed past Draxus. She stopped and laughed.

"Cookbooks? And, and..." She doubled over laughing, pointing at the title of one, Dance of Desire. "Romances?"

"Humph! Cocky girl! Everyone has a hobby, and it just so happens that cooking is mine!"

"Ah, I see, and the romances? What hobby does that serve?"

Full of wounded pride, Draxus drew himself up stiffly. "Those are not mine. The Archmage Kaimana had a weakness for that drivel. He would lock himself in here for hours reading them. Gave him all kinds of ridiculous notions about honor and love conquering all. Absolute nonsense, of course, but far less dangerous than his other obsession." He waved to the far corner of the room. "Over there is every book in the library with so much as a single sentence about the Scourge."


Misty walked down to the other corner of the room and ran her hands over the volumes. Everything she needed was here, in one room. It was almost as if he knew they would be needed and he had left them here just for her. Misty had a sudden image of Kai curled up in the chair, candles lit, as he turned the pages of a book. A swift pain stabbed through her heart. "Oh Kai..."

"Ah, that's right. I missed most of your speech, as I am quite unwelcome at council meetings lately. I'd forgotten that you knew Kai. He is a good man. I may have been forced into sealing the gates against him, but I know that boy. Nothing will keep him from returning here."

"But he is dead! The Keep was going to fall. There was no way for him to escape after you closed the gates to the Citadel."

"Dead? Nonsense, girl, although it pleases me to let Aroostook think that for now."

"He is alive? How can you be so sure?" Her heart skipped a beat, as hope filled it.

"Well it seems your first lesson shall be fire scrying. Watch closely!"

Draxus held out his hand and a small ball of flame grew in his palm. As Misty watched, it grew and stretched, becoming a dancing ring of fire. A small image appeared in the center of the ring. Draxus frowned in concentration, and the picture snapped into focus. It was a group of mounted knights, galloping quickly. Misty gasped as she saw the Baron leading the way. It was them! And there, trailing in the back on a stumbling grey mare, was Kai! She'd know those horrible purple robes anywhere! Then the image faded as the fiery ring collapsed inward and vanished.

She crowed with joy and seized the surprised Draxus in a huge hug. "He's alive! He's alive!" She spun dizzily around the room and sprawled in the soft chair, laughing giddily.

"Ah, so it's like that, is it? I wonder, does he feel the same?" Draxus eyed her thoughtfully.

Both of them jumped as Lani cleared her throat behind them. Draxus, an odd, bemused smile playing over his face, looked down at her as she stood in the doorway, tapping her foot. "Gods, what did I do to deserve to be plagued with yet another silly girl? One was quite enough! Do go away!"

"Gods know, I had no desire to see you, old fool. Since I had to search the whole library before I found you, we are both quite late for class now. Are you growing senile as well as blind? You know what time classes start." Lani crossed her arms and glared at Draxus.

Misty's eyes widened as she looked between the two of them. Then Lani's frowning face twitched, and a grin spread across it.

Draxus threw back his head and laughed at her pertness. "Little girl, you need to learn to respect your elders! Go, and take her with my blessing. I've had quite enough of female foolishness for today."

Misty jumped out of the chair and ran over to Lani and wrapped her in hug. "Lani, Kai is alive! Draxus just showed me!"

"And you did not tell me, old dragon?" Lani pulled free and shook with anger as she glared at Draxus, all humor gone.

"Peace, child. I would have told you soon. But callous as it may seem, in order to protect Kai, I needed to be sure you knew nothing. Your reaction to the news of the Keep's fall had to be real enough to fool Aroostook. Otherwise, he would just have hatched some other plan to destroy Kai while he was still too weak from battle to defend himself."

"You should have trusted me. You should have told me that my brother, the only true family I have left, is alive!"

She turned her back coldly on Draxus. "It is time for classes. Please follow me, Misty."

"Lani, wait, please let me explain. I thought you would understand the need for my silence..." Draxus called out as she stalked out of the room.

Misty suddenly had a blinding revelation when she saw the lost expression on his face as he helplessly watched Lani retreat across the library. She grabbed one of the romance books off the shelf and shoved it into his wringing hands. "Try studying this for a bit, Draxus. You'll find it more helpful than a cookbook right now, I think." With a quick wink at his astonished expression, Misty slipped out of the room.

He recovered enough to growl after her, "I expect you to remember everything I told you today, girl! If you can't, don't bother coming back tomorrow!"

"Of course, sir!" She shouted back to him as she twitched aside the tapestry and entered the servant's passages.

Lani paced back and forth in the corridor, her face still grim with anger. "I still can't believe he didn't tell me! Just because it amused Aroostook to make me his personal servant while Kai was away, does not mean I would ever betray my brother to him! How could he think that?"

"He only did what he thought best, Lani. Are you sure you would have been able to act as sad if you knew Kai was alive? Don't you think Aroostook would have wondered why your spirit was not broken? Will you be able to hide it now, even?" Misty looked doubtfully at Lani's brilliant eyes and flushed face. Gone were the slumped shoulders and the wan, defeated expression, replaced by a vibrantly alive young woman.

"Well, I-I, damn it! Why is that old dragon always right?" Lani sighed deeply, the glow in her eyes fading as her anger seeped away. "Well, it is a good thing Aroostook assigned me to you. I really am terrible at hiding my feelings."

She cocked her head at Misty. "And our Fire Master certainly seems to have gained a champion in you! So how was your visit to the dragon's den? You must have made quite an impression. He almost never lets anyone into his private sanctum. What do you think of him?"

"He's not so bad. I rather like him. He is a little temperamental, but..."

Lani burst out laughing. "A little?" She giggled helplessly. "Oh, I admit, I rather like him too, even if he just sees me as Kai's annoying baby sister. But don't tell him that! We've been trading insults for years. I don't want him to think I've gone soft!"

Misty laughed and followed Lani back through the twisting passages.