Keeper of Fire Chapter 6

6. More Problems

Destiny looked at the dirty floor in disgust. She had washed it three times since the rain had started early that morning. Men trudged in and out of the White Blade Inn, chatting with their drunken friends, sloshing their own drinks in response. Destiny watched as they walked throughout the inn without any heed to the mud that they tracked with their mucky boots.

Frustrated, she shoved her violet hair behind her ear, then smiled as she remembered her brother's cocky face whenever she had cleaned the floor of their old home.

She stopped scrubbing, and her smile vanished, the moment she remembered the argument. Her father had been yelling at him about money. Only minutes later, Evan stormed out of the house and never returned. The year following the fight was grim. Her father and Mila had died of the fever; her mother and youngest brother died soon after. Destiny, who was barely twelve at the time, was left all alone to defend for herself. Men had come and tossed her out of her home in the middle of the winter; if it hadn’t been for the Fosters, she would have been dead. She worked for them until she turned sixteen.

And then her whole world was ripped from her again. They died in a fire that had started in the dry heat of the summer. She had wandered around for two years, before finally finding a steady job for the winter again.

Destiny scrubbed the floor harder and closed her mind from the unwanted memories of her past. A medallion slipped out of her shirt, and swung back and forth in time with her moving hands. Destiny grabbed at it to stop the swinging. Leaning back, she studied it.

No matter how many times she looked at it, the medallion never changed. She had memorized it by now, but still she stared at its face. There, staring back at her, was the image of a black and gold dragon flying freely in a silver sky. It was the mark of a dragon slayer. A gift to her, it was the last thing she had ever gotten from her brother Evan. A letter had been attached to it. "To a hopeful dragon slayer…," it had said. She smiled, remembering what Evan, and his friend Brian, had said before he had left for the Dragon Slayers' Academy. "You can’t be a dragon slayer!" Brian had teased. "Girls aren’t allowed to be!" Of course, young Destiny had not given up that easily. "I can too! Just watch me. Someday I’ll be the best one out there." Evan had flashed his toothy grin in response to her outburst. "You can do anything sis," he said, "just remember that I will always be there to help you through…"

"Where are you now Evan?!" She whispered angrily as she stuffed the medallion back into her shirt. She finished the floor jerkily.

After cleaning all day, Destiny stretched tiredly and rolled her shoulders. Her legs tingled as she stood. She grimaced. The pinpricks in her calves caused her a lot of discomfort. Alex shot her a look as Destiny limped over to the bar. "What's wrong?" Alex mouthed. The bar was still packed with unruly customers. "My legs are just cramped up from being on the floor for so long." Destiny explained. She sighed and streched. Alex shook her head in exasperation as she finished cleaning a glass behind the bar. Destiny smiled at her, silently telling her not to worry, then made her way to her room in the back of the inn.

*~*~*

Destiny awoke to find herself in a field. The biting air was shocking to her lungs as she took a deep breath. She felt compelled to walk towards the stream, knowing that before she could reach it, she would see a doorway. Perfectly on cue, the door appeared just to the right of the crystal water. Her movements led her to open the door. A cold gust of air billowed from its depths, chilling Destiny to the bone, yet she forced her feet to walk down the empty hallway. Again, she heard familiar voices, the ones that had no face. She knew they weren't really there. But they were whispering to her, telling her that she needed to leave, to stay, to laugh, and to cry. Destiny kept walking through the eerie blackness. She touched the handle of the dark door right before she woke up.

Destiny shivered even though she was sweating, her heart pounding like she had run miles, instead of lying still in sleep. She had almost made it through the doorway. It was important in some way. She sighed, knowing that she wasn’t going to sleep anymore that night. Gracefully, she stood and left her room to itself. Taking herself back out towards the bar area, she saw that only a few men lingered at the wooden tables. Alex looked like she was about to drop from lack of sleep.

Destiny turned the corner behind the bar.

"Go to bed Alex I’ll take over," She whispered after gently tapping Alex awake. Alex looked over at her.

"I thought you went to bed, Destiny," Alex said groggily, her face looking puzzled.

"How long was I asleep for?" Destiny asked her.

"You were only gone to your room for a few hours time. Are you sure you can finish tonight?”

Destiny nodded. Alex smiled gratefully, and walked sleepily past her and out of the room. Destiny sat on a hard stool behind the bar, as the few people that remained in the inn began to disappear. Only one man still sat in a corner, his face obscured by a dark cloak. Destiny turned her back to the stranger, just as the door opened with a small squeak. She rubbed her arms for warmth. A cold gust of wind had accompanied the newest figure when the door banged shut once more. The stranger walked towards her without a sound.

"Excuse me, Miss," He said finally, his face hidden by a dark purple hood, "do you happen to know a girl bearing the name Destiny Foster?"

Destiny’s eyes narrowed after hearing her name on the stranger's lips."Why?" She asked him with suspicion. The stranger merely glanced at the other man in the corner. After draining an almost full cup, the man stood and joined their conversation. Destiny stiffened, and repeated her question to the man in purple.

"Just tell me where I can find Destiny! Tell me where she is, girl!" The stranger roared angrily. The other man held him from jumping over the bar that separated Destiny and the strangers. "Let her speak," he whispered.

Taken aback by the violence that the man had shone, Destiny sighed. "Let's compromise," she said. "An answer for an answer. Deal?" The stranger in purple growled again, and she tilted her head to the side in a dare. If he wanted an answer, he would have to agree. Finally, he nodded. Destiny smiled. "I do know her," she told him slowly. He was silent for a moment, as if waiting for her to continue. When she didn’t say anything more, he spoke.

"I need to speak to her," he said quietly. Destiny was relieved when he didn't shout at her. "It is important," His head bowed, making him seem sincere. The man from the corner did the same.

Destiny's eyebrows raised at this gesture. "I appreciate you answering me," The man in purple looked up. She continued. "I believe your next question had to do with Destiny's whereabouts? She is right in front of your face. I am Destiny," The stranger’s eyes widened slightly at her response.

"You are Destiny?" He asked doubtfully. She nodded. "I am here, so talk to me," She suggested. The strangers exchanged glances. Destiny folded her arms, and smiled. "Well?" She asked again. The man from the corner moved towards her slowly. Sensing that he was no threat, she stood, and walked the few feet to the front of the bar. He stopped, then shook his head.

"It is complicated," he explained. "We need your help…" She opened her mouth to talk, but he held up his hand. "You have a brother, do you not?" At this, Destiny eyes darted to stare at the cloaked figure. She nodded cautiously. " Like I said, it is complicated. But we believe that your brother may be in trouble. We think he may have been captured, and we…" He trailed off when he heard Destiny's quiet laughter.

"What is so funny?" He asked in a frustrated manner. Her laughter stopped. She looked at him, the humor still dancing in her stormy grey eyes. "It's just... Evan has always been good at weasling out of trouble," she stopped and took a deep breath. The strangers were still stoic in their pose. "You guys are serious, aren't you?"

The man in purple replied solemnly, "Yes. Very serious," Destiny shook her head in denial. "But I haven't heard from Evan in over six years now. How am I supposed to know that you really know him? And why would you need me?"

"We don’t know how he was caught. This was the first time he has ever missed a check in. We need you because… you have the motivation to get him out of whereever he is. And because a woman would be less likely to attract attention, as oppossed to a male who just signed on to work.” The man told her coolly.

Destiny sniffed haughtily and folded her arms looking as if she was unimpressed by his story. “If that is the case then who are you?” the two people exchanged looks then the stranger nodded.

“My name is Jaguar.”

“Wolf.” The stranger told her shortly. Destiny frowned,

“And you are?” again the men exchanged looks,

“What are you asking exactly?” Jaguar asked slowly.

“What are you?” the stranger threw back his hood and grimaced,

“Enough questions! Will you help us or not?”

“Alright! I’ll help you but you are going to have to answer more questions eventually.