Chapter Twelve: Blood Safe

(Ten days prior to Spyro's death)

"You look beautiful," Ember said to Cynder who just returned from an afternoon bath in Friendship Falls. "He'll be returning very soon, I'm sure of it."

"I'm starved to hear his voice again," Cynder said with a smile. "Watch, he'll probably say something like, 'I thought I heard a beautiful dragoness cry for help' or something like that. Sorry if I took so long coming back, I decided to drop my diary off at our cave while I was out."

"He's such a flirt to you and its ok; I knew you wouldn't be gone for too long anyway." Ember said as she awoke Flame from an afternoon nap.

"Hey, shouldn't Spyro be arriving back sometime here soon?" Flame asked, yawning as he shook himself awake.

"Any day now hopefully," Cynder said as she stretched her front legs. "I just hope he will be anyway."

"Don't fret, he can handle himself." Flame said as he stretched he body to the farthest extent which he could muster.

"Is there a dragoness named Cynder in this lovely cave?" Spyro asked as he paced his way into the flower covered cave as all three dragons spun around to see him enter.

"Spyro, my cuddle bug, you've returned at last!" Cynder yelled as she threw herself into Spyro's arms.

"Cuddle bug?" Ember and Flame said in unison as they laughed while everyone basked in the emotion of Spyro's return.

"We were successful never the less," Spyro said in triumph. "The Cheetah Hermit who will be performing the ritual has asked if you would like to witness the spell first hand Cynder. I would really appreciate it if you could come darling."

"I would love to, you're my husband, I wouldn't think about not showing up." Cynder said as the two dragons readied to leave to Warfang.

"Thank you again for watching over Cynder while I was gone, I'll think of a way to repay you." Spyro said to Flame and Ember before opening his wings along with Cynder.

"Babysit perhaps?" Flame said with a smile, Ember's face took on the expression of shock and happiness all at once.

"You don't mean that do you Flame?" Ember asked, eager for his answer.

"Cynder talked some sense into me," Flame said with a smile as he wrapped one of his wings around Ember and pulled her closer to him. "She's a wonderful dragon Spyro; take care of her for us will you?"

"Always Flame, thank you once again for everything." Spyro said as he and Cynder took to the skies towards Warfang.

"He should be heading back by now, is the spell ready to be delivered?" Terrador asked the Hermit who was chanting a sacred spell around the clear crystal, making it radiate with white light as the Hermit ended his chant.

"All I need is a veil of blood from a loved one of Spyro and everything will be ready." The Hermit said as he turned back to Terrador from the crystal.

"I suppose that is why Cynder was allowed to come to the ritual?" Terrador asked as the Hermit nodded his head in reply.

"I did not know her position on giving blood for reasons such as these, I would rather have asked her in the same room than to have a message carried to her and besides, she would have wanted to witness the ritual first hand." The Hermit replied as he adjusted his cloak on his shoulders.

"What will the blood do again?" Terrador asked as he stared into the large, glass-like crystal.

"The blood acts like a failsafe," said the Hermit who lowered his cloak hood behind his head. "If the crystal for any reason cannot hold the demon captive, the blood will ensure the crystal won't break under the demon's power."

"How often is this spell used?" Terrador asked as the Hermit turned towards the crystal for inspection.

"The last time this spell was used was over 500 years ago." The Hermit concluded as the two climbed the small spiral staircase and exited the chamber.

"They should be arriving here any moment now," said Terrador who made his way towards the main entrance. "I must see that they arrive. You finish making the final preparations to the crystal before they come, Spyro might be out of time."

"As you wish Terrador," The Hermit bowed as he returned to the blank crystal chamber. "I will be but a few moments until everything is ready."

"Here we are, Warfang." Spyro said to Cynder as they landed outside the Dragon Temple.

"Let us hurry then, I want this to be over." Cynder exclaimed as they entered the Dragon Temple, pondering whether or not the spell may actually work. Spyro's heart raced in eagerness as he edged his way towards the Guardian dragons that awaited the two at the end of the main hall.

"Are you ready to begin Spyro?" The Hermit asked who just joined the Guardians.

"Is everything ready?" Cynder asked who was surprised to see that the Hermit was the same as the one whom she met with Spyro and Sparx in the Valley of Avalar three years ago.

The Hermit smiled to Cynder's presence as he said, "Time can bring good changes I see. It is good to see that you've broken the shackles of darkness which linked you to Malefor Cynder. Yes, the ritual is ready; all I need is a small amount of your blood Cynder so we can begin."

"Why do you need my blood?" Cynder asked who was a bit taken back by this request.

"It is a failsafe just in case the crystal isn't strong enough to hold in the demon." The Hermit answered honestly as Cynder looked to Spyro and then to the Guardians in uncertainty.

"Why do you doubt now if the crystal is not strong enough?" Cynder asked who was pondering with the information.

"We don't doubt the crystal's strength, we just want to make sure that we don't have a demon loose in the world, aimless and violent as it would no doubt try and seek out another host on its own." Hunter said who entered from behind the Guardians from the crystal chamber.

"Alright, do you have something to catch it in?" Cynder said as she now turned her attention to the Hermit who handed her a small veil upon her request. Uncertain of the sharpness at first, Cynder lightly ran the sharp blade part of her tail blade down her right arm with no success. Biting her lip, the second attempt brought success as Cynder scraped down hard into her arm. Her ruby red blood began to drip into the veil slowly as she allowed the small jar to fill completely to the top. Bandaging her wound with a piece of cloth given to her by Hunter, Cynder gave the veil back to the Hermit and nodded her head to her deed.

"Alright, let's go then." Spyro said, stomaching his fear as the group of seven made their way slowly down the spiraling stairs to the near white radiating crystal. The pit which housed the crystal had a feint odor of mold which lingered around the bottom of the chamber which was lit with torched made from carved silver.

"Spyro, whenever you're ready, place your hands among the crystal so we may begin." The Hermit said as everyone else stepped away from the crystal.

"Everyone is here… alright… Let's finish this… now." Spyro said as he slammed his paws against the crystal. The torches grew dim as the Hermit began to chant the open ritual words. Suddenly, a dark purple light illuminated from the crystal while the torches were extinguished almost simultaneously. Then, Spyro felt an unbelievable pain burst from his body like he was being burned and torn in half as a black mist began to protrude from his paws and submerge into the crystal.

The Hermit then began to yell the words to the ritual while Spyro bellowed in pain. Suddenly, everything went black in Spyro's mind as he was taken to a platform which towered over a sea of fire and lava while red lightning and ominous thunder ripped and roared through soot filled skies. Volcanoes erupted from miles away and earthquakes caused fissures in the ground as Spyro regained his mesmerized senses.

"You tore us apart, you vanquished us from you Spyro," the voice was emitted from an entity of pure black with no form in front of the rattled Spyro. "All I wanted was to find refuge; this is the place where I was exiled to. Lost souls and demons from the Dark Days War settle here, forced to suffer by Cripyro's will alone. My name is Zpharah; know me as 'Death', for I will have vengeance upon you, Cynder, Cripyro, and everyone else on that worthless rock of a planet. I swear I will kill you Spyro, I will be free once more!" There was an intense tremor and everything went to black to Spyro as everything returned to reality.

"Throw the veil onto the crystal now, it's beginning to crack!" Cynder yelled as the Hermit threw the veil of Cynder's blood onto to crystal, shattering into thousands of fragments of glass as Cynder's blood fill the cracks as if it was alive, sealing the spell permanently.

"… Fire… Death… Zpharah…" Spyro uttered as he fell to the ground, drained of energy and full of pain.

"Who is Zpharah?" Cyril questioned as he surveyed the now dark tined crystal. The demon squirmed and jetted through the crystal like running blood as he surveyed the chamber's inhabitants for an answer.

"That name sounds familiar…" Hunter said as he rubbed his chin deep in thought.

"It should to you Hunter," the Hermit said as he helped Cynder get Spyro onto his feet. "It is a name of the demon which was said to nearly possess Cripyro." Every soul in the room froze as the pain withered away from Spyro's composure.

"You mean the one who demon who was banished to the Forbidden Realm for causing the Dark Days War single handedly." Volteer said as he broke the silence.

"The very same I fear," said the Hermit. 'This cursed soul is now pure once more. Are you going to be alright Spyro?" The Hermit slightly shifted his body towards Spyro's direction for an answer.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Spyro said who finally caught his breath. "We can't allow anyone to know of this demon. If word reached the wrong being, who knows what evil this thing can unfold?"

"Spyro's right," Cyril said as he thought of a way to dispose of the crystal. "Deep within this temple is a chamber only the Guardians can access. We shall house it there until a more permanent solution can be made."

"Alright, tomorrow we shall find a way to uproot the base of the crystal without destroying it completely and move it to that chamber." Terrador said as the whole group left the chamber and the demon behind them, knowing that a dangerous presence was among the earth once more.