Chapter 8 - THE SHADOW UNDER THE EARTH
The castle shook as if caught in a violent earthquake. Fissures opened across the marble floors, releasing plumes of superheated sulfur and red sparks.
Outside, screams filled the air as the city walls began to crack under the tectonic pressure releasing from the Primordial Vault.
“You madman!” Elara yelled.
She lunged forward, her blade sweeping toward Aldric, but the king dodged frantically, throwing himself toward a secret trapdoor behind his bed. He slid down a stone chute, disappearing into the darkness below.
“Aurelia, stay above!” Elara commanded as the silver dragon burst into the room through the balcony arch. “Help Therond protect the civilians! Clear the streets!”
Aurelia let out a worried cry, but Elara gave her a reassuring look before leaping headfirst into the dark trapdoor after her husband.
Elara slid through hundreds of feet of spiraling stone tunnels, landing hard on an iron grate suspended over an ocean of liquid fire. The air here was so hot it scorched the back of her throat, forcing her dragon-scales to automatically cover her skin to protect her from the heat.
In the center of the subterranean magma chamber sat a colossal structure—the Primordial Vault.
Massive black iron chains, as thick as ancient oak trees, were anchored to the walls, binding a creature so immense its sleeping body filled the entire mountain cavern. It was Ignis-Vael, the ancient Father of Dragons. His scales were like obsidian slabs, and huge glowing red fissures ran across his massive chest where Aldric’s miners had plunged siphoning drills deep into his heart.
On the central control platform stood Aldric, holding a glowing magical scepter that controlled the siphoning drills. He was frantically turning a heavy iron wheel, driving the drills deeper into the ancient beast's flesh to draw out more power.
Ignis-Vael let out a low, agonized groan that shook the subterranean pillars. The magic in his blood was critical; the entire cavern was on the verge of a catastrophic implosion.
“Stop, Aldric!” Elara yelled, running across the iron bridge toward him. “You’re killing the entire city!”
“I am taking the power of a god!” Aldric screamed, his skin blistering from the heat, his mind completely shattered by greed and panic. “With this power, I will wipe your shifters off the face of the earth!”
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He aimed the glowing scepter at Elara, discharging a massive bolt of concentrated red plasma.
Elara crossed her blades, raising a barrier of silver dragon-fire. The two forces collided with a deafening explosion, throwing both of them backward onto the steel platform.
