Read Emberheart: The Fire That Defies the Veil :: Chapter 9 – Beyond the Stone Door

The stone door groaned, cracks spreading as Kael’s flames poured into it, the phoenix carving glowing like his orange eyes. The Veil’s whispers roared: You’ll break… you’ll burn… Elara stood beside him, her green eyes wide, her leather coat dusted with ash, her journal trembling, its phoenix sketch glowing. The air grew hot, the chasm’s light flickering, and the door slid open, revealing a chamber bathed in fiery orange light.

Kael stepped through, his tattered red scarf trailing, his embered veins pulsing. The chamber’s walls were lined with molten veins of orange and red, a cracked obsidian orb on a pedestal glowing like Kael’s phoenix scar. The air hummed, the Veil’s whispers chanting: Embered flame… light or end… Kael’s heart raced, Mira’s hollow eyes in his mind. “Answers—I’d rather die than give up!” he growled, his wild grin fierce, his voice burning with determination.

Elara followed, her green eyes scanning the carvings—a star falling, igniting a phoenix that battled the Veil. “A forge,” she whispered, awe in her voice. “Where the first wielders were born—and the Veil sealed.” She pointed to the orb. “A memory stone. But if the Veil’s tied to your flames—” The orb pulsed, a vision erupting—Mira, her blonde hair flowing, her blue eyes bright. “Kael!” she called, her voice warm. Kael froze, his flames flaring, a fiery wing sparking. “Mira? No matter how many times I fall, I’ll stand up again—because I have to keep moving forward for them!” he rasped, stepping forward, joy lighting his face.

The vision twisted, Mira’s eyes hollowing, her form becoming a Veilspawn, its red ember eyes glinting, tendrils whipping. “Kael, it’s a trap!” Elara shouted, yanking him back. The Veilspawn lunged, its shrieks merging with the Veil’s whispers: Burn… become ours… Kael’s joy turned to anger, his flames surging. “You dare use her?!” he roared, his voice raw with fury. Elara shoved him aside, pulling an obsidian shard from the wall, its runes glowing, and hurled it—blue-white light flashed, dissolving the Veilspawn, Mira’s vision fading with a whisper: “Save me…”

Kael collapsed, his flames dimming, sadness overwhelming him. “Mira…” he whispered, his voice broken with grief. Elara knelt beside him, her hand on his shoulder, her voice soft with hope: “It wasn’t her. But this stone can help us fight.” Kael wiped his eyes, his grin returning, defiant. “Then let’s rip the Veil’s secrets out and burn its lies!” He reached for the orb, the chamber trembling, black water seeping through the walls, the Veil’s whispers roaring: You’ll never leave… Elara grabbed his arm, her green eyes fierce. “We’re not done,” she said, and they touched the orb, its fiery light engulfing them as the chamber collapsed.