Lorkana by Emily Zimmerman. (free e books to read TXT) 📕

We sat in a small part of the cave where a natural formation made a smooth table out of stone. My mind was reeling with the information I’d just learned. “They what?” I asked for the third time.
“They captured a dragon; she’s become their…pet I suppose you could say. She will do anything they order her to. Now dragons are our allies, but this dragon they captured has been raised with the humans since birth, serving them is all she knows.” Ben explained.
“So if we should declare war against Labara, he will send this dragon to attack her own kind?” I asked him.
“Yes. If we should ask the dragons to help us, than they will be going against their own kind. Dragons hate that.” He told me.
I sighed. “Well then we will not ask them to help us, I will not have them make a choice between us and their own kind.” I said.
Ben nodded. “Next we have-“
“Hold on.” Salvator interrupted. “In what I’ve read, a dragon would always choose family over friends, no matter the cost. Maybe this dragon will choose its family instead.”
“Yes, that is a possibility, but you have to think about this, this dragon thinks of the humans as family, it has no knowledge of the dragons’ law. It is too much of a risk to take. And if you should have these dragons go against their own kind, they will choose family over friends, and fight against us.” Ben argued.
“He’s right.” Demetrio agreed.
“Next.” Ben looked sternly at Salvator. “We have the fairies, which would also give us aerial coverage, as well as the advantage of dark magic.” He slid a list of the fairies abilities over to me.
The list said;
Major abilities;
Flying, invisibility, shape-shifting and venomous, eyes.
“Venomous eyes? What is that?” I asked.
“They stare into your eyes and give you an incurable illness that incapacitates you for three weeks.” Logan explained.
“Huh…”
I set the paper down and looked at Ben. “What do I need to know about them?”
“They are very perceptive, and are able to tell when you are lying. They can spy on you by turning invisible, so you must be very careful when they are around. Don’t make them angry, they are heartless creatures and won’t hesitate to get rid of you.” He told me seriously.
I took a deep breath. “They sound…malevolent.” I muttered.
Ben smiled. “It’s just the way they are. We kill on instinct, they…kill when angered.” He shrugged.
I sighed. “And we’re sure they’ll accept if we ask them?” I asked.
“If we mention the humans, they’ll join us.” Demetrio told me.
“Right.” Salvator, Ben, Rain, Logan, Kail, and Baelof said in unison.
I raised a brow. “Labara banned them from the kingdom, and forbade them to ever come back. Of course they were angry, but, they left without complaint. They may be malevolent, but they never turn down a polite request.” Ben explained.
“It about killed them to do it, but they didn’t want to seem…inherently evil.” Kail said with a chuckle.
I nodded. “Okay, so we send for the fairies.” I said.
Ben pulled another piece of paper. “Next are the angels. Our advantage with them is that they are telepathic. They can use the power of light and are impervious to human weapons.” He told me, handing me the piece of paper.
“And what do they have against the humans?” I asked him.
“That’s a tough one.” Ben said, pursing his lips. “They are controlled by a…Higher Power, you could say. And this Higher Power needs a good reason to punish the humans. Now he may make an exception for Labara, because Labara is a very evil man, but I can’t guarantee he’ll accept. There are a lot of innocent men fighting with Labara as well.” Ben said.
I nodded. “So it’s a maybe for the angels.”
“Yes. We’ll send the messengers out tomorrow. Right now, let’s get some rest, and gain our strength.” Ben said to us.
We stood up and Logan smiled slightly at me. “We’ve hunted and gathered food for tonight, but before we go eat, I’d like you to see something.” He murmured.
I nodded and he took my hand, leading me down the torch-lit cavern. I noticed a bright light at the end of the cave and raised an eyebrow at Logan. “Are we nearing the back entrance of the cave?” I asked him.
He smiled at me. “Not quite.”
We came closer, and I noticed that the rock seemed to slope down, turning into a wall, and leaving a round opening about six feet tall and three feet wide. I heard the sound of running water, and I looked at Logan once more with a raised eyebrow.
Not noticing my confusion, he led me through the opening, and I gasped at what I saw. The cave was enclosed, with a large hole at the top where the sun streamed in. A large waterfall streamed from an opening up at the top of the cave wall. This wasn’t what amazed me though. Animals were everywhere. They drank from the stream, flew overhead, and grazed in the clearing…but that still wasn’t what I was amazed about. Sitting on a large formation of rock, was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen. It was a phoenix. Fire cascaded from its wings like a waterfall, but its body was encased in bright gold armor. Its razor sharp beak was golden as well. I looked up into the creatures eyes, and noticed that they weren’t red or gold, like I expected, but bright, startlingly blue.
I looked at Logan with shock. “what…who…” I was at a loss for words.
I’d only heard about Phoenixes from story books, and they were never described like the one I saw before me. “It is called the Spirit of Hope. As long as it lives, there is hope.” Logan informed me.
The bird leaned forward and glided down to where we were. It landed, shaking the ground as its talons sunk into the rock. “Hello, dear Lorkana.” Its voice echoed through our heads, surprisingly smooth and deep.
“Hello.” I greeted hesitantly.
The birds’ eyes twinkled with delight. “It is so nice to meet you, young one. For I have been told for many years that you would come.” He told me.
“Who has told you this?” I asked him.
“The spirit of the future, of course. He’s a good friend.”
“Is he a Phoenix as well?” I asked curiously.
The Phoenix opened its beak and let out a laugh that seemed to echo for miles. “No, my dear. He is not like me at all. I am afraid he is invisible to the human eye. My eyes see a whole other world than yours. This is how I know you are Lorkana, your spirit it potent, it gives an aura that no other wolf can give.”
I realized I had been squeezing Logan’s hand tighter than I should when he grunted slightly. I made myself loosen my grip and shot him an apologetic look. This brought Logan to the Phoenix’s attention.
“Logan. I hope you are treating the young one well. She needs your help more than anyone if she is to defeat Labara.” The Phoenix told him seriously.
Logan nodded and tightened his hand around mine. “I’ve been doing my best to live up to what she deserves. I’m going to protect her, and be there for her forever.” Logan promised.
The birds’ eyes twinkled with delight. “Good!” He said loudly, making me jump. “Now, it’s time to bless you with power.” He told me, his voice softening.
I took an involuntary step back, nervousness taking over. “Bless me with power? What…how?” I asked him.
A warm chuckle rumbled through his chest. “Do not worry, young one, it will not hurt. I wish to give you the elements. Fire, water, earth, and air, but in order to give you these, I need the other three spirits. Obviously-” he paused, chuckling again, unfolding his wings and spreading them so they spanned all the way across the cavern. “-I am the element of fire, my name is Vatra. Now I must call upon the others.”
He slowly tilted his head back, opening his beak and letting out a song. It sounded like a flute, a smooth, low tune that made shivers run down my spine. His voice slowly faded, and I could hear the song float away through the forest.
A few seconds went by, and then the tune that Vatra sang came back, along with three wispy, white lights that swirled around Vatra before settling down softly on the ground. The lights grew, and before my eyes, they all turned to different creatures.
One was a brown buck, with patches of green, almost like grass, growing like fur from the base of its hooves. It was larger than any buck I’d ever seen, about half the size of Vatra, with antlers that had so many points it almost looked like tree branches, and its eyes were glowing green. Earth.
Another was a mermaid, her beautiful, rainbow scaled face smiling as she took me in with her fiery red eyes. Her hair flowed down her back in a literal waterfall, her entire body scaled in beautiful colors that changed as she moved. She had legs, but her feet were webbed, meant for swimming. She was water.
The last one was a Griffin. Half the size of Vatra, his wings spanned only half as far, but they seemed just as impressive. His head was of an eagle, but his beak was white, almost translucent. The feathers of his wings turned to mist at the end, and as he set his lion paws on the ground, little tornados swirled at his feet. His eyes were a startling gold, and they assessed me with delight. This was air.
I stepped forward, and without thinking, reached out to the buck. It leaned its head down slightly so I could touch its large face, its eyes were wise and kind, it didn’t look at me with delight, it looked at me with understanding, truth, and affection. “Hello, dear one, my name is Zemlja, the element of earth.” His voice echoed softly in my head.
“Hello. It is an honor to meet you.” I told him.
The buck’s eyes twinkled with laughter and he let out a rumble in his chest that I guessed was a chuckle. “No, dear one, it is an honor to meet you.” His voice was gruff, reminding me of my grandfather.
“Yes.” The mermaid agreed, her voice smooth, like silk. “I am called Polijevati, the element of water. It is an honor to meet the peace bringer.” She told me, bowing her head and putting her webbed hands together in front of her.
The Griffin stepped forward, his eyes holding mine as he did. “Hello, dear Lorkana, I am called Zrak, the element of air. We’ve waited years for this day to come, and it seems that now-” the Griffin shifted its eyes to the others. “-Now is the time.” He murmured.
The phoenix shifted its wings so the tip of it touched the tip of the Griffins. The buck shifted