Chapter 8

He made his way quickly, leaving streams of sand behind him with each movement. In what seemed like an eternity; he arrived as a wall of heat struck him, making his mouth dry and his eyesight blurry. He blinked in a desperately trying to regain his vision. As he did, he saw a violent ring of fire within a large stone crater. He stepped closer, trying to see what lay in the center of the ring. It took a moment to register in his mind what he saw, but then it hit him. Devon lay in the center of the ring, hands and feet bound upon a large bar made of iron.

"Devon!" Chadwick screamed as he ran towards the crater. Devon looked at him and in a horse voice said "father?" Chadwick could clearly see now that Devon's energy field was pulsing faintly. It was fading! The tips of the iron bar were turning pink and looking at Devon closer he saw that, his son's lips were cracked and his skin was turning pink. 'How long had he endured this torture?' Chadwick thought. It had 2 days since his abduction. He needed to get to his son before it was too late. In heat like this, nothing can endure.

Chadwick looked around for a way down when he spotted a staircase circling around the crater and ending near the edge of the fire ring. He ran toward the stairs when Avendelin appeared, blocking his way. Avendelin smiled, black teeth shown through his grey lips. He began to speak, "You, Chadwick, have come this far. Your precious son has shown strength, when others have perished within the night, he has endured two. Your precious Sorceress taught him well, but he now grows tired and weary. Soon he will succumb to the heat of the fire, and you will die, watching as the heat of my fire chars your son's skin."

With a crazed look in his red eyes, Avendelin said, "I will gladly destroy you in my original form. No one can stop me and you will die!" At that moment, Avendelin's skin turned red and to wrinkle, his arms and legs started to protrude. Chadwick stepped back, shocked by what he was seeing. Avendelin's face began to deform as his jaws broke through the skin. Large bones broke through Avendelin's back and he began to convulse and twitch until Avendelin was no more. In his place, stood a large fire breathing dragon.

The red dragon had black wings and the crazed eyes of Avendelin. It stood back, hissed and heaved a heavy stream of fire at Chadwick. He ran to the edge of the crater jumping upon the stone steps as the fire sailed passed him. He landed halfway down the staircase. Looking around frantically he saw the remains of a skeleton in full armor. He dove to the skeleton, as heat seared the staircase behind him.

The armor was iron, which he thought should hold back some of the heat. Unable to grab the lot of armor before the dragon unleashed more fire upon him; he took what looked like a rusted shield. He squeezed tightly to the edge of the crater, knowing that this was his only protection. Another roar echoed off the stones in the crater. Chadwick kneeled and held the rusty shield it in front of him as another rain of flame hit. The dragon flew closer and began to claw at Chadwick with its sharp talons. He held the dragon off, but not before a one of the talons ripped Chadwick's flesh on his bare arm. A cry of pain ripped through his throat, as he remembered Alana's words "the strongest soul can defeat the soulless".