No. His parents believed in him. Ivna believed they could do this, and Koll did too.
At once, the moment he accepted that this was the way, a sense of peace washed over him. He said not a word but nodded.
Ivna opened her mouth. Yellow-orange glowed in the back of her gaping maw, and a burst of fire shoot out straight for him. He held the staff out, and the flames were drawn to it, not touching him at all. The staff somehow didn’t grow hot in his hands, and it glowed a bright red color that faded to the same coloring as Ivna before the color disappeared entirely.
“Very nicely done,” Callor said, clapping.
Koll carefully placed the end of the staff against the ground. “Now what?” he asked eagerly.
“Now, we can start your training with magic, unless you wish to go for a flight?”
Koll turned to Ivna. “Well?” he asked. “What do you want to do?”
“I want to see you do some magic.”
He grinned but then frowned and shook his head. “My parents…”
“Oh, they know where you are.”
“They do?” he asked, surprised.
“Yes. After I handed you over to those guards, I found your parents’ house and told them.”
“Told them what?” Koll cringed.
“That you had become a dragon rider and that you would return home to see them shortly.”
“You didn’t tell them where I went or what happened?” he exclaimed.
“No.” Ivna blinked her large eyes. “I thought it should be up to you if they learned what you did.”
“Or not learn,” Koll muttered.
Ivna laughed as did Callor.
“I won’t ask either,” said the trainer, “but maybe you can learn enough magic that you will not need to make use of the castle healers again for quite some time.”
Koll grinned. “Sounds like a plan!”
Chapter 13
The trainer worked with them for hours, until Koll felt weak from hunger. He enjoyed one last meal at the castle before he and Ivna opted to walk rather than fly to his house.
“There will be plenty of time for flying,” Ivna promised.
“I can’t believe I caused fire to come out of the staff!” Koll exclaimed.
“The others will come soon,” Ivna said.
Koll nodded eagerly. Unsurprisingly, fire was the easiest command for Koll to utilize. All he had to do was say, “Incendium” while holding the staff, and fire would burst out of the stone on top.
But try as he might, Ventum did not yet produce wind, unda no stream of water, lux no light. There were far more commands, some of which he did not even know what they would conjure. Crustallum, the trainer had said, did not always work for all dragon riders, and only the strongest could make use of fulmen or gelum.
He rested his hand on the amber stone atop his staff.
“Do not conjure fire here,” Ivna said, amused.
“Why not?”
“There is no need.”
“But…”
"Save your energy," she suggested. "Then, you can show your parents."
Koll grinned. He couldn’t deny it that using his staff or even just attempting to wield magic had worn him out considerably. The trainer assured him that, with time, Koll could use magic as he could his sight and hearing. One day, it would become almost like second nature. Until then, he would have to do his best to train without overexerting himself. Even though she wasn’t using the staff, because the magic was tethered to their bond, Ivna’s energy also diminished with each use of magic.
“What about your parents?” Koll asked.
“Not all dragons stay close like humans do,” Ivna said. “Most of the time, when a dragon chooses a rider, that rider becomes the dragon’s family.”
Koll gulped. “I’m not going to have to move out of my parents’ house, am I?”
“I do believe that most dragon riders live at or at least near the castle for the duration of their training.”
“We could fly back and forth,” Koll said eagerly.
“If I have the energy to, then yes.”
“Oh.” Koll bit his lower lip.
“We do not have to decide that just now.” Ivna nodded sagely.
The two talked about nothing overly important for the rest of their trek. Talking to Ivna was so easy. Koll felt as if they had known each other for all of their lives.
“You’ll have to meet all of my friends,” Koll said. “Gilbar, Camren, Rud, and Lenda. Maybe Nicai too but we aren’t really friends. She’s a dragon rider too, but the rest of my friends aren’t.”
“I would love to, but I hope they know better than to ask to ride on me,” Ivna said.
“Dragons only carry their rider. I know. I don’t think they’ll ask.” He hesitated. “If they forget and ask anyhow, even though they should know better, hmm, don’t char them?”
Ivna just laughed and laughed.
When the stone house came into view, Koll only had to take a few more steps for the door to burst open and his mom to run out.
“Koll! We knew you could do it!” She embraced him tightly.
His dad stayed in the doorway. “That’s my boy,” he said as Koll came up to him. They also hugged.
“Mom, Dad, I want you to meet my dragon. This is Ivna. Ivna, these are my parents.”
“A blessing upon you both,” Ivna said.
“A pleasure to meet you,” Koll’s dad said.
“It’s very nice to make your acquaintance.” His mom glanced around. “Koll, where’s your horse?”
Koll swallowed hard. “I… My horse died. I didn’t push him too hard! Promise was the best horse ever, and I’m so sorry… I never meant… I…”
His parents both hugged him then, and no one said anything more about the horse. Koll knew, though, that he would never ever forget Promise.
And that was when Koll came up with an idea to honor him. He would need Ivna’s help, and perhaps it was another foolish idea. Ivna seemed smart, though. If it was too dangerous, she would object. Then, they would wait until they were stronger together. Otherwise, they would go in the morn.
As his mom fretted about what to feed a dragon who would, of course, be staying for dinner, Koll smiled. Yes, his heart still ached for Promise, but life was looking up. The banshee had tried to kill Koll once the undead warrior failed, but she had been wrong to herald his death. Koll was very much alive, and he intended to stay that way.
Chapter 14
The morning came. Koll had fallen asleep outside beside Ivna as they had stayed up far too late talking. He rubbed his eyes and jumped to his feet.
“Ivna, I have something I want to ask of you.”
The dragon peeked one eye open. “You want me to meet your friends before we’ve had a chance to even break our fast,” she grumbled.
“No. Not yet. Soon.”
“Well, what is it?”
“I would like to return to…”
“To avenge Promise? But we already…”
“To honor him. Unless you think we shouldn’t…”
“We probably shouldn’t,” the dragon agreed. “But if you want to, we can.”
“Are you sure?” Koll almost jumped with excitement.
“Yes, but you must bring your staff and a sword.”
He grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. “I wasn’t given a sword yet.”
The dragon heaved a sigh. “Then maybe we defeat only one monster or beast. We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves.”
“Who knows? There might not be any more monsters lurking there anyhow.” Koll shrugged. He was just grateful for the chance to honor Promise.
"Believe me, I saw a fair deal more when I flew to your rescue, and we cannot continually fly there. If they were to all converge on us… even if you could master every bit of magic from our bond, we would not have enough power between the two of us to take them all on," Ivna warned.
“Just this one last time,” Koll said.
“Will you
say goodbye to your parents before we leave?”
“I already did last night. They think I’m going to start my training immediately. Which I will. Immediately after we get back.”
Koll scrambled up Ivna’s side. No saddle, no rein. This would be crazy for his first ride, especially considering their destination was Keptra.
“They are good people,” Ivna said as she took to the skies.
“Yes, they are.” Koll grinned, thinking about his mom cooking and baking to fill as many people’s bellies as possible and his dad carefully cutting leather to make shoes specifically for each person. Some shoemakers made shoes first and hoped to find a person whose feet could fill them, but not his dad. His dad custom made each pair with love and care.
On a dragon’s back, the voyage to that dark, desolate place took hardly any time at all compared to on horseback, but it still took days. Sometimes, Koll did the hunting, the other times Ivna, and they never went hungry or without rest. Who would bother a dragon and her rider? No one. Burning Havens was safe, but if the creatures from Keptra ever dared to cross the mountains…
“Do you think they’ll ever come to Burning Havens?” Koll asked as they flew above the Scarlet Peaks.
“The creatures? No. They would have long ago if they had the inclination,” Ivna said. “This is for Promise and not the people of Burning Havens.”
Koll stared hard at the barren landscape below. From this height, the dark red soil of Keptra seemed to be more brown stained with blood, and he shuddered.
“There. A giant. Will that suffice?” Ivna asked.
Koll nodded and shifted slightly forward as he grabbed the staff from his back. One day, perhaps soon, he would have his own suit of armor with a special spot for his staff on the back instead of the leather throng tied around his upper chest that Koll had once used for his sharpened stick.
Ivna flew lower but still relatively high above the ground. Up ahead, a giant was picking up a boulder. He heaved it, not at Ivna, but at a small fire that danced and moved. No, not a fire. A salamander. The lizard’s body was entirely engulfed in flames.
“Can I kill it?” Koll asked.
“You may,” Ivna said through what sounded like gritted teeth.
“What’s wrong?” Koll asked.
“Dragons and giants do not get along,” she said bitterly.
“We don’t like them either,” he said. “There used to be a lot of giants in Burning Havens, or at least that’s what I had been told. We killed them all or at least drove them out. If any creature is to potentially move south, I would bet the giants would.”
“Go on then,” Ivna said. “Kill him!”
Koll aimed with his staff. “Incendium!”
The fire burst out of his amber stone, but it struck the boulder the giant was holding. A worthless shot.
“Try again,” Ivna urged, swooping back around to face the giant again.
This time, Koll closed one eye and took aim. “Incendium!”
The first blasted the ground to the giant’s right.
“Miss again, and it’ll be my turn,” Ivna warned.
The salamander seemed to be dancing. Excited by the fire? Maybe salamanders and dragons were allies considering both were fire-based.
Koll shook away his thoughts and waited. The giant threw the boulder but not at the salamander. Toward Ivna instead.
The dragon dodged, and the massive rock sailed on by, so close that the wind from the throw as well as Ivna’s sharp movement caused Koll to twist and then tumble. He fell off Ivna and hurled toward the ground.
The giant raced over. Not to catch him but to finish him. Koll twisted in mid-air, still falling, and cried out, “Incendium!”
Just as the blast of fire hit the giant square in the chest, Ivna’s claws closed around him. She snatched him seconds away from slamming into the ground, and he scrambled to climb up her arm and side to sit on her back again.
Without another word, she zoomed back toward the mountains. The giant was rolling around on the ground, trying to douse the flames, but the salamander was dancing on his body, the lizard clearly enjoying the heat and adding to the flames. The giant stopped moving by the time Ivna soared above the mountain peaks.
“You did it,” Ivna said.
“You dropped me!” he accused.
“But you didn’t get hurt,” she retorted. “I wouldn’t do that. Never.”
Koll laughed. “Must you have a positive spin on everything?”
“I do like to think that the future will be filled with much joy and laughter and fun.”
“And many more adventures,” Koll added.
“Yes, many, many more.”
Chapter 15
The trek to Burning Havens and back again toward the castle took nearly a week. When he spied his parent’s house, Koll patted Ivna’s neck. “Can we go visit them quick before starting our training?”
“Of course.”
The dragon landed, and Koll slid down her wing. He was a bit surprised that his parents didn’t come out to greet him. It was nearly dinnertime, so they should both be home rather than at the market to sell their pies or shoes.
He opened the door. The air smelled strange, and he rushed from room to room. His parents were in their bed, their faces pale and drawn.
Alarm seized Koll, and he couldn’t talk at first, his chest and throat were both too tight.
“Mom? Dad? What’s wrong?” he asked.
Through cracked, dry, bleeding lips, his mom managed to whisper, “Don’t… worry.”
Of course Koll couldn’t comply. He was desperately worried, but he knew just what to do.
“You two, don’t worry,” Koll said in a rush. “I will help you.”
He raced out of there and scrambled back onto Ivna.
“Hurry to the town fountain,” he urged. “I’ll send a healer to my parents, and then, just in case, we’ll head to the castle.”
“Your parents?” Ivna asked as she flapped her wings.
“They’re sick,” he said grimly.
Within ten minutes, Koll had sent the town healer to check on his parents, but the man had shaken his head.
“I’ve already seen to them as much as I can. There’s not much else I can do for them. They will either recover or…”
Koll hadn’t wanted to hear it. The town healer merely used herbs and spices to help people. The castle healers were dragon riders, so they could use magic. Not all riders could use their bond to heal, and none could heal themselves as far as Koll knew. If they couldn’t help his parents… Koll shuddered and refused to finish the terrible thought.
Ivna flew faster than ever before or at least faster than she ever had with Koll on her back, and they reached the castle quicker than he would’ve thought possible but still not quickly enough for his liking.
The guards blocked his path from entering.
“We’re here to train,” Koll lied.
“Then, fly to the courtyard,” the one guard said.
“Shouldn’t they have known that?” the other guard muttered to the first, but Ivna was already off and flying.
As soon as she landed, Koll fell off her, hurried to his feet, and raced inside the castle. The first person he saw was a maid.
“Please! I need a healer!” he gasped.
The maid’s eyes widened, and she stepped back, her mouth open.
“Please!” he shouted.
“Sir, come with me,” a man said calmly from behind him.
Koll whirled around to find a servant, and he marched just behind the man until he spied the healer woman who had helped him. Without hesitating, Koll rushed up to her.
“Please, come with me,” he begged.
“Come with you where? Are you hurt again, Koll?” she asked, eyeing him for any visible wounds.
“I’m fine, but my parents—they’re sick. The town healer can’t help them. Please!”
“I… Are they dragon riders?”
“What does that matter?” Koll shout
ed. “If you don’t help them, they might die!”
“I’m afraid that we’ve been given precise orders from the king and queen. We can only heal—”
“They are dragon riders,” he claimed.
“Koll…”
“Can’t you come and just look at them? See if there’s anything you can do? Anything at all?” he begged.
“What is going on here?”
The booming voice demanded so much authority and respect that Koll stiffened.
The healer curtseyed. “Master of the Guards,” she murmured.
Koll whirled around and hesitated before bowing. “Please, Master of the Guards, my parents are dying, and—”
The man was tall and intimidating, dressed in a complete suit of armor, his helmet tucked under his arm. “And you are trying to convince this healer to go against her solemn vow to the king and heal your parents who are not dragon riders.” His dark eyes pierced through Koll.
He couldn't lie, not to someone who held the king's ear. Dully, he nodded. "Please, I beg of you, let me talk to the king and queen. Let me ask them if my parents can be attended to by the castle healers. If not—"
“You are a dragon rider?” the master of the guards asked.
“Yes.”
"Then, you alone can be attended to by the castle healers."
“But if I can just speak to the king and queen—”
“I am afraid they are already receiving an audience. Come along…”
“Koll,” the rider said glumly.
“Come, Koll.”
When Koll made no move to leave, the master of the guards seized his elbow and firmly marched Koll out of the castle.
“Your refusal to let me see the king and queen might very well get my parents killed,” Koll said bitterly. “I will never become a guard because of this.”
The master of the guards said nothing at all but turned on the balls of his feet and returned to the castle.
Koll ran as fast as he could. Gradually, he realized Ivna flew above him, and he waited impatiently for her to land so he could climb up. They reached his house as the moon began to rise in earnest.
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