Dragons and Mages: A Limited Edition Anthology

by Pauline Creeden

  With the last forkful scraped off of my plate, I set my utensil down and applied my napkin to my lips. Placing the cloth next to my plate, I folded my hands and looked Silas directly in the eyes. “What made the guards think they should abduct Ryker and me?”

  “A simple misunderstanding, I assure you. But now that you’ve brought up the subject, I feel I must share with you my feelings about the Tatsu tournament.” Silas leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands in front of his chest while his elbows barely touched the armrests.

  His pose looked ridiculous. Did he rehearse it in front of a mirror? From the pious look on his face, I could only assume many wasted hours of practice had gone into this gesture. “Go ahead.” If he’d get his stupid threats out of the way, maybe I could still get home tonight and sleep in my bed.

  “It’s my job to make sure the people are content with their lives here on Heliok. I’ve gone to great lengths to ensure everyone is healthy and as happy as they can be, given our current situation. Would you agree that I’ve done my part as I’ve described it?”

  “I guess. Although,” I gestured to our empty plates, “the food that’s given to the rest of the world is a far cry from what I ate here tonight. Maybe you should consider letting us eat as well as you do.”

  Silas looked at me with a pitying expression before shaking his head sadly. “If only I could. You see, we just don’t have enough for everyone. What you sampled tonight is a new crop we’ve been testing. These ingredients are slated to be added to the dispensary allotment soon.”

  “Will they look like they did here, or will they be mashed up until they’re unrecognizable?”

  “We have to consider the storage issue as a priority over the visual presentation.”

  “So more gray mush.”

  Silas clapped his hands sharply, effectively startling me out of my sullen reverie. “Even so, I do my best to maintain the order throughout all five domes. It has come to my attention that you’re planning to disrupt this order through the Tatsu tournament. I must advise against this plan for the goodwill of our planet.”

  I coughed in disagreement. “I fail to see how a senior class tournament has any effect whatsoever on all of Heliok. Besides, we’ve always been taught to do our best. Are you suggesting we should curb our abilities just to appease the other four domes?”

  “No, nothing like that. Just be mindful of the impact you could have on your future.”

  “Is that a threat?” I turned my body to face him, my fingers tapping an annoyed rhythm on the edge of the table.

  “No, it’s a promise. Katherine. You’re an intelligent girl. If you pursue this path, then I must have your promise to help me fix whatever damage you create in the process.”

  “My promise? What would that entail?”

  Silas shook his head slowly as if he pitied having to explain this to a slow child. “We won’t know until the time comes. Do you give me your promise?”

  “Sure. I mean, I’ve dedicated my life to the betterment of Heliok. Ever since my sister died, I’ve renewed my promise to her to help; however I can.”

  “Oh, yes. Brekke. Such a waste.” Silas sighed and looked away.

  Was there more to her death than we’d been told? “So, if we’re in agreement, then does that mean I’m free to leave?”

  “Yes. Thank you for your assistance with this delicate matter, Katherine.” Silas stood up and waited for me to follow suit.

  With alacrity, I stood, my chair legs scraping loudly across the floor. “Can you have your guards return my practice sword?”

  “Your sword?” Silas looked overly confused.

  If that’s how he’s going to play this, then I guess I’ll have to spell it out. “Yes, the one the peace keepers took from me when I was detained earlier today. I’d like it back so I can use it in the tourney.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t know anything about that. I’ll make inquiries. Hopefully, we can get it back to you in time.”

  Fat chance. Rather than voice my real opinion on the matter, I nodded at his suggestion and stepped around him. “Thank you for dinner. It was very…enlightening.”

  Ryker and Silas remained at the table while I strode across the room and let myself out. Taking in my surroundings, I followed the exit signs and hastened my steps to get outside as fast as possible. Not until I exited the building did I feel like I’d managed to make an escape.

  I jogged home, never seeing anything around me as I replayed my bizarre evening. No sooner had I turned the final corner to my home street than I discovered all my friends standing with their heads close together in front of my house. What were they plotting?

  “Hey!” I chuckled when they sprang apart as if they’d been caught doing something wrong.

  Alyssa broke away to race over and hold me by the shoulders. “Are you okay? Your parents said Silas called to say you were having dinner with him. Did he threaten you?”

  “Jeez, give her a chance to breathe.” Drew pushed Alyssa’s hands away while he draped his arm across my shoulders and pulled me into his side.

  I could get used to this feeling. If only I could talk to Alyssa about my feelings for her brother. “I’m fine. We really should talk, though.”

  “Let’s go back to my house.” Drew didn’t even wait to see if anyone agreed before pulling me away from the crowd. He leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Are you okay?”

  Not trusting my voice, I simply nodded. Having him so close scrambled my brain. If our friends hadn’t pushed in around us, I would’ve loved to see where this intimate moment would take us.

  In the backyard, I sat with my back against the dome wall and everyone else facing me. With the barest narration possible, I told them about Silas’s proposition to me and my fears about what really happened regarding Brekke’s death.

  “We can’t go through with this.” Natalie looked at each of us for support.

  “No, Nat. We have no choice but to follow through.” I saw her beginning to form a protest and held up my hand. “You see, there’s a prophecy about five friends winning the tournament.”

  “No, there’s not. You’re totally making that up.”

  “Anna, I have proof.” I raised my hand toward the pendant.

  Drew’s hand grabbed mine. “I can corroborate what she’s saying. We have definitive proof that the dragons can be brought back.”

  Everyone’s mouths hung open.

  I took the opportunity that their silence provided. “But it’s said to be a perilous journey. If we succeed, then we can bring the dragons back to Heliok and save the planet from dying. But only if we all work together. Winning the tourney is only the first step.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  Oh, good. Marcus is opening the door for my answers. “Several sources.” I wished I could simply pull out the necklace and have Aaliyah tell them. For some reason, Drew didn’t want me to share that piece yet. Only then did I recall I’d used my three questions for the day, and she probably wouldn’t appear to us anyway. My position would appear weaker to the group, and they might decide to back out.

  Without proof of the dragon in the necklace, I decided to share one piece which I could. “I’ve had a sign that it’s meant to happen for us.” I turned to Alyssa. “Remember when I asked you about seeing anything unusual during your practice sessions?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s because I had something happen while sparring with my father.” After sharing the whole incident with them, I could see new excitement stirring inside them. Anna, Violet, and Natalie grasped each other’s hands as if they shared some secret. “What do you know?” I asked the three girls.

  Another meaningful look passed among the three girls, Anna finally turned to me. “Yes. All of us had that happen a few months ago, within days of one another. At first, it scared us until we learned to simply let it happen. Ever since then, we’ve excelled in our skills with the game at an unprecedented rate.”

  I nodded, a grin formin
g across my lips. This was another sign for our success.

  “Wait!” Alyssa jumped up to her knees and leaned forward with her fists in the dirt as she addressed the trio. “You mean to tell me all of you had something amazing happen, and nobody thought to share it with us?” Without waiting for an answer, she turned her head to me. “And another thing, I haven’t had anything change during my practices. Does that mean that I’m going to mess this up for all of us?”

  “No, I don’t think that at all. Maybe your skills don’t require any enhancements. Or it could be that you needed to be told about the possibility before it would show up.”

  “Tell me how it works.”

  I briefly explained how the lights directed my movements. Even as I talked, I carefully watched Anna, Violet, and Natalie to see if their accounts differed. From their confirming nods and their minor bits of input, I knew their experiences mirrored mine. I ended my story and waited to see what Alyssa would say next.

  “Are you serious?” She sat hard onto her rear, the dry dust billowing up around her unseeing eyes.

  “What is it?” Drew scooted over to his sister’s side.

  “I’ve had that happen for the past two years. I always chalked it up to being dehydrated or tired. I never once suspected it was something trying to guide my movements. What if I can’t learn how to use it in time? I can’t believe I totally dismissed this.” Moaning in dismay, Alyssa’s hands covered her face.

  Yes! All the pieces are in place. We will succeed! I tipped my head back and started laughing. I must’ve sounded like a maniac, but I didn’t care.

  “What’s so funny?” Marcus asked.

  His question only made me laugh harder until tears ran down my cheeks. Pretty soon, all of us were laughing. Once we expended all our nervous energy, I took a deep breath.

  “We’ve totally got this!” I made eye contact with each of my girlfriends. “Now, we simply have to make sure each one of us wins. Each trophy must be handed to one of us.”

  “Why’s that? I thought it just had to be a Dome 2 win?” Natalie asked.

  I shook my head, more convinced than ever that I spoke the truth. “No, it has to be us together. Let’s make a pact.” I held out my fist into the middle of our circle. I waited for them to place theirs on top of my own. Once everyone’s hand was in place, I said, “Tatsu, on three. One. Two. Three!”

  “Tatsu!” we cried out in unison, pumping our hands once before breaking them apart and smiling like lunatics at one another.

  Chapter 14

  THE NEXT TWO days flew past in a blur of activity and triumph. Not only did we all do well in the first rounds of the Tatsu tournament, but we also didn’t have any trouble with the peace keepers. Although, every time I saw one lurking in the distance, I feared he would charge over and take me into custody.

  Earlier today, Violet, Anna, and Natalie each earned herself the championship of her respective game. Not that I had any doubt, especially after their admission to already experiencing the lights of direction.

  Tomorrow would prove whether or not Alyssa and I would activate the prophecy by winning ourselves. I wished I could cheer Alyssa on at her sport, but her final match conflicted with my own. Drew had mentioned how nervous Alyssa had grown with each of our friends winning. She didn’t want to let any of us down by failing to uphold her part of the bargain.

  As I lay in bed, my mind kept replaying the three matches I’d won that day. Much as I’d suspected, none of the peace keepers fessed up to taking my sister’s sword during my unlawful detention. This proved to me that they believed they could keep me from winning without my familiar equipment.

  They didn’t know me at all. Their childish stunt only fueled my desire to prove them wrong. Knowing how worried I’d been about what I’d fight with, Marcus had kindly offered me the use of his sword since he hadn’t entered the match at all. I’d had two days to practice with his weapon to get its weight familiarized to my muscle memory. Even with my borrowed sword, I’d felt confident.

  With the way the numbers were pulled for the rounds, I came out pretty lucky with my opponents. Before the tournament, I’d wondered if I’d have to use my new ability during the matches, but it turned out I didn’t need it until the final bout of the day.

  The first game had me paired with a girl almost the same size as myself. Since she lived in Dome 4 and tended to stick to practicing with her own friends, I’d never actually sparred with her before. She used a more defensive strategy rather than an offensive one, probably due to her size.

  Using my borrowed sword, I assumed an offensive stance before I parried several blows. Even though her weaknesses became apparent within the first couple of minutes in our match, I held myself back from utterly annihilating her with a quick finish. After all, I didn’t want any future opponents to get any ideas of how I planned to finish out this tournament.

  As Dad had always drilled into me, I played fairly and worked on the fluidity of my movements. Over time, I’d accumulate enough points to win the match without having my opponent feel as if they had been wholly outmatched. His training had taught me restraint while also increasing my stamina. By the time I dealt the final touch needed for the win, the girl had smiled at me and held out her hand.

  “Good match,” she had said, pumping my hand while I nodded. She turned away, and our audience cheered for both of us.

  Had my father been in the audience, he would have been proud. As it was, both of my parents had to be at work. Because of the timing of the first match, I didn’t have any friends watching since they had their own competitions to win in their assigned locations.

  Without anyone to share my win, I spent the next bit of time examining the edge of my sword while surreptitiously working out the kinks in my muscles. If nothing else, the first contest had been a good warm-up session for my next round. I glanced around to see who had managed to win their bouts to assess my potential partners to come.

  We waited several minutes before all of the matches ended the first round. As the last contestants finished, the silence filled the arena. With half of the opponents eliminated, the formerly empty seats in the audience had filled almost to half-capacity. The winners’ names went into another bowl to draw out the pairings for round two.

  I practiced taking deep, measured breaths to oxygenate my blood as well as to control my racing heart as the winners stepped up to the podium. Only three more rounds separated me from fulfilling my promise to my sister. As the hand reached into the bowl to fish out my future, I silently prayed for another easy match. This time, my opponent was someone I rarely sparred with who lived in Dome 3.

  As our names were selected late, we had to wait through several matches before a sparring space became available. Just as my father had always instructed, I used the opportunity to assess my potential competition. I had it in my head that I would win this match; the idea of failure had not even crossed my mind.

  Several of the matches seemed well-matched, creating quite the spectacle of swords crashing together. I could just imagine what the sound would have been had our swords been made out of steel rather than our regulation carbon fiber. Just the idea of the silver steel gleaming in the sunlight would have given us an advantage by blinding our opponent.

  I’d become so caught up in the fight in front of me, I almost missed the deadline for stepping into my own match. My heart raced. I’d come so close to being disqualified over something as stupid as being late. As it was, I arrived out of breath with my mind scattered, which never bode well for concentration.

  The referee called the start to the match, and Kalina struck the first blow from her left. Already, she showed her dominant side as well as her favorite stroke. I wish I’d had an opportunity to watch her practice before facing her in the match. In any event, I narrowed my eyes and allowed my muscles to remember the moves they had practiced so often.

  We danced around the ring, each delivering thrusts and swings, which she countered with a shocking amount of force.
Kalina’s five-foot stature hid her wiry strength, which she delivered as a significant punch through her sword. She had my attention as well as my reluctant admiration.

  All motion ceased to exist for me outside of Kalina’s sword and my response to it. My footing remained secure and steady as I shuffled forward to punch through her back-handed swing in an attempt to make a much-needed score against her exposed belly. At the last second, and beyond any movement I’d seen before, she dropped the hilt of her sword to intercept my stroke.

  A smile spread across her face, obviously showing her pleasure at outmaneuvering me. I couldn’t help my answering smile, but I filed away that move for future use. Hopefully, I’d have a chance to try it out before the tournament ended.

  As our match continued, I wondered if I’d have to tap into my newest ability just so I could get one step ahead of Kalina. How had I missed her undeniable talent during all of the sparring sessions throughout the years? Maybe she had practiced in private and kept all her secret skills to herself for just a moment like this.

  About ten minutes into our match, I’d established Kalina’s pattern. She favored her left side, even though she preferred having her left foot forward. This stance gave her added strength to her thrusts, but it left her open for the attack I’d formulated. To throw her off balance, I stepped back, knelt, and swung my sword from left to right using both my hands.

  She didn’t have time to counter. My sword struck her low in the ribs, delivering a painful blow since I’d turned the blade so the flat would hit her rather than the edge. I needed the points, but I refused to draw blood. The breath flew out of her lungs, allowing me enough time to pull back and deliver another blow to the back of her thigh. As her feet fell out from beneath her, her sword flew from her hand. She hit the dirt flat on her back with a resounding thud and a plume of dirt rising around her.