With a flourish, Master Starrus struck the sack with his staff.
The string on the mouth of the sack unraveled. A giant plume of fluff burst from the sack, flying up into the air, an explosion of color in the blazing sunset. Master Starrus waved his staff and the plume dispersed. Feathers of all colors swirled around the clearing in a madcap dance. Emerald, lapis and amethyst feathers spun through the air, landing in mages’ hands. A gold sparkling feather shot past Fenni. A pair of peacock feathers angled themselves and flew like arrow shafts, one straight into the hands of a girl next to Fenni, and the other, to a boy across the clearing.
“Peacock,” the girl crowed, racing across over to the lad, who was standing dumbstruck, admiring his feather.
“So, I have to catch one?”
“No, the feathers will find you. They’re imbued with magic to sense what your weaknesses are and who your best opponent would be.” Jael chuckled. “I wonder who I’ll get this year.”
“This year? How many trials have you been at?”
Jael gave that casual shrug of his. “A few.”
“Like, how many is a few?”
“My parents are both mages, so I’ve been trialing since I was a littling.”
“Whoa, you must be good. I’ve only been training for—”
A long-plumed silver feather dropped down past Fenni’s face and hovered in the air in front of him. He stood gobsmacked, staring at it. The feather bobbed up and down impatiently. When Fenni didn’t grab it, the silver quill twisted, poking his chest.
“Hey, stop that.” Fenni snatched the feather. A thrill of magic ran through his palms and the feather flopped, lying flat against his palm. “Jael, what did—” Fenni’s words died when he saw a matching silver feather in Jael’s hand. Oh, shards. He was pitted against Jael—a mage with years of experience—but at least he was pitted against someone his own age.
A sudden silence enveloped the clearing.
Fenni spun. Master Giddi and Master Starrus were standing in the middle of the ring, both holding orange feathers as long as his arm. Overhead, stray feathers floated in the air, defying the chill breeze skittering through the trees. Master Starrus glowered at Giddi, then waved his staff. The stray feathers formed a plume, then rushed back into the open sack. He thumped his staff on the snow and the sack closed, tying itself shut.
Master Giddi regarded Master Starrus, face impassive. “So be it,” he said, his quiet voice carrying in the silence. “I’ll duel you at sunset tomorrow.” The last rays of the setting sun were swallowed by darkness.
§
The next morning, Fenni was observing Master Giddi forming magical ice daggers and plunging them into tree trunks, when a mage ran into the clearing. “Dragon. A dragon’s coming.”
“Defensive positions,” Master Starrus yelled. “Non-combatants inside.”
A few mages scrambled up trees, at the ready. More took positions around the clearing. The others rushed to the cabins.
Fenni had been about to run after them, when Jael laughed, nudging Master Giddi. “All this over a dragon? Ridiculous. In Naobia we get along with the green dragons and their riders.”
Giddi just arched one of his bushy eyebrows.
“You know those eyebrows are famous across Dragons’ Realm,” Jael said. “They’re so versatile—a twitch for every mood.”
Giddi guffawed, his laughter booming across the clearing.
The mages on duty shuffled from foot to foot as a silver dragon swooped across the trees, its wings catching the sunlight. Its beauty made Fenni’s breath catch in his throat. It spiraled down to land gracefully in the snow.
“Time you fetched me those herbs, Jael, and bring some cups too,” Master Giddi muttered, sending the Naobian trainee off to the cabin.
Giddi paced over to the dragon. With a flourish of his cloak, he bowed. “Liesar, it’s an honor to see you.” He cocked his head, then laughed.
He must be mind-melding, sharing a joke with the dragon. The dragon turned its eyes on Fenni, staring straight at him. Its slitted orbs were a beautiful deep shade of turquoise, like the wizard crystal he’d receive if he passed this trial.
“One moment.” Master Giddi waved a hand at the mages on duty. “These visitors are mine. No need to stand sentinel. Go back to your duties.”
“But Master Starrus said—”
“But Master Starrus, nothing,” Giddi boomed. “I won’t have my personal visitors being treated like enemies. This rider and dragon protect the realm, like we do. Now get back to work.” He flung a flash of wizard fire at a mage in a tree.
Wizards scrambled out of the trees and fled to the large cabin.
“Good riddance,” muttered Giddi. “Marlies, how are you? John told me you were back in the saddle.”
“So Giant John has been gossiping again, has he?”
Back in the saddle? She was dismounting, sliding down the dragon’s side to the snow. The rider was tall, old enough to be his mother, and she had eyes the same shade as the dragon’s.
“Oh, Giddi, it’s so good to see you.” She embraced his master, and not only for a few seconds.
Was this an old lover of his master’s, or a good friend? Embarrassed, Fenni coughed.
“Seems we’re causing my trainee discomfort.” Master Giddi ceased embracing her, and turned to him. “Fenni, this is Marlies, master healer at Dragons’ Hold. It’s been eighteen years since we’ve seen each other. Marlies, Fenni.”
Not an old lover, then, just a friendly reunion.
They shook hands, and Marlies smiled. “I have a son and daughter about your age,” she said. “Good luck in your trials.”
“So, the rumors are true. You did have twins,” Giddi said.
Marlies nodded. “Although not without a cost.” She shook her head, sadness in her eyes. “But that can wait. Do you have the healing supplies?”
“Yes, I got your messenger bird. I had enough time to ask the Naobians to bring supplies from the South. There’s not much growing around here at the moment.” He gestured at the snow-blanketed earth. “Uncanny of you to remember where the wizard trials are held, especially after all this time.”
“I never forgot a thing, Giddi, even after all those years of hiding.”
Hiding? This woman was brimming with secrets.
“Couldn’t have been much happening in Lush Valley.” His voice grew urgent. “You were needed here all along, Marlies. The realm needs Hans, too. I’m glad you’re back.”
“And the realm needs you, Giddi,” Marlies said softly, placing her hand on Master Giddi’s arm. “Even though you’ve given so much.”
To Fenni’s surprise, his master didn’t shake her arm off, or bluster, or even flinch. He stood there, gazing at the sky, eyes shiny with tears, while Marlies waited silently beside him. At long last, Master Giddi shook his head, his face lined with deep sorrow. “The past is over and we must both move on.”
She nodded.
Giddi cleared his throat. “So, what’s the first order of the day?”
Who was she, to bring back such sad memories that even the toughest wizard had tears in his eyes? The only emotions Fenni had seen his master show were mirth, frustration or his blustery gruffness. He hadn’t known Master Giddi had a tender bone in him.
Jael returned, holding two bulging sacks. “Your herbs, Master Giddi. I have another sack somewhere.”
“Not mine,” Giddi answered, waving a hand at Marlies. “Master Healer Marlies from Dragons’ Hold, this is Jael of Naobia. How about you brew us a cuppa, Jael?” Master Giddi and Marlies each loaded a sack into the dragon’s saddlebags. They went over to a log, the silver dragon included. Giddi flourished his hands and the snow dissipated off the fallen tree in a cloud of steam. As Marlies sat, Master Giddi observed, “Your cloak is ripped.”
“It’s only a corner. I was fighting a tharuk in Western Settlement and its tusk got caught.” She shrugged. “The tharuk came off much worse.”
This rider looked weary. She must be
tougher than she looked.
“I’ll make you a new one, although invisibility cloaks take a while. What else do you need?”
Marlies hesitated. “You. At Dragons’ Hold.”
His master’s face shuttered. “Marlies, I’m not coming to Dragons’ Hold.”
“Giddi, the realm needs you. With this rift, we won’t withstand Zens. Our young trainees need to ride together, fight together, like we did.”
Jael poured water from a waterskin into three mugs, and Liesar opened her maw and breathed over the cups. Soon they were steaming. Fenni added soppleberries to the cups, passing them around.
“No, Marlies. Those days are over.”
“But dragon riders need wizards. We need to work together. The whole realm will be overrun if we don’t defeat Commander Zens and his tharuks.”
Master Giddi shook his head, bitter lines etched in his face. “I’ll do more harm than good.”
“No, Giddi. We’re older, wiser. We won’t make the same mistakes.”
“Leave saving the realm to the young. We’re still trying to undo the damage I caused.”
“You caused? It was Mazyka’s mistake, not yours.” Marlies drained her cup and handed it to Fenni. “I’ll see you soon, to collect my cape. I don’t care about history, Giddi. We have to stand together.” She climbed upon Liesar and flashed Giddi a smile. “Don’t give Starrus too much of a hard time. Leave him some vestige of pride.” She waved at Master Starrus, who was scowling from a window. Her mighty dragon tensed its haunches and leaped into the air.
Fenni’s hair stirred in the breeze from the down-thrust of the dragon’s wings. Gripping Marlies’ cup, he frowned. Mazyka was the wizard who had opened the world gate and let Zens in. Why was Master Giddi shouldering the blame for her actions?
Jael shook his head grimly.
Master Giddi kicked the log. “Sharding dragon riders. To the Egg with the lot of them,” he cursed.
His voice shot through Fenni’s mind. “No gossiping. Keep your trap shut.” Not a muscle twitched in his master’s face. Not an outer sign he’d mind-melded with Fenni.
Fenni gazed at the silver dragon’s blazing scales as it grew ever smaller in the sky.
§
Wizards ringed the clearing, perched in trees, sitting on the roofs, and gathered in a group at the edge of the forest, but not too close—no one wanted to get caught in the crossfire of a wizard duel. They’d been watching for a while now. Fenni’s stomach was as a pond of frogs. Soon it would soon be his turn.
Velrama, the blonde who’d made the archway in the ice wall, was pitted against an older boy. She was good, blocking every flame the boy threw.
“Hey, Sorcha, you’re being bested,” someone called.
Face red, Sorcha flung a fireball at Velrama’s knees, but she froze it with a wall of ice. His blush deepening, Sorcha shot a plume of flame at her. She caught it and flung it back. Scowling and gritting his teeth, he threw a giant fireball that exploded over Velrama’s head, raining molten fire.
“Enough.” Master Giddi’s bellow shook the air. He raised his hands and doused the fire, then flung a hand at Sorcha, throwing him across the clearing to land in a snow drift.
Master Starrus shook his head. “Sorcha of the Flatlands, you know the purpose of the wizard trials is to demonstrate control over your power. Today, you lost control. Even though you have demonstrated great ability, you have failed. Velrama of Last Stop, your control in the face of his anger was exemplary. Master Reina will present you with your wizard crystal.”
Sorcha clambered to his feet and stomped into a cabin, slamming the door.
The woman from the Wizard Council placed a leather thong with a turquoise crystal around Velrama’s neck. Fenni wanted a crystal so badly, but his flame was still erratic. How in the Egg’s name was he going to show his skill against Jael? He mustn’t lose his temper, no matter what Jael flung at him. Or he’d never get to fight tharuks.
Master Reina called the next contestants. It was a routine demonstration with carefully-conjured and defended flame. No one wanted to repeat Sorcha’s mistake. At the end, both contestants were awarded turquoise crystals.
“Jael of Naobia and Fenni of Montanara,” called Master Reina from a table where she sat with the other two members of the Wizard Council—Master Starrus and Master Hemlon, a rotund wizard with hairy ears.
Fenni’s palms were sweaty as he stepped forward. Although he’d spent a few hours with Jael yesterday, he hadn’t seen him in action, so he had no idea what the Naobian was capable of.
“Now, remember, Fenni, play to your strengths,” Master Giddi said.
Jael’s master was nowhere to be seen. In fact, Fenni didn’t even know who it was. Poor Jael. At least he had Master Giddi to support him. “My strengths? What are those again?” Shards, those frogs in his stomach wouldn’t settle.
Giddi chuckled. “You’re a fast-thinker. Trust your instincts and make sure you—”
A horn cut off Master Giddi’s words. Well, that advice was as good as useless, wasn’t it?
Fenni sensed the sathir in the forest and drew the energy inside himself. He flung his hands. Bolts of flame flew from his fingers, straight at Jael. The Naobian conjured up a thick ice shield. Sweat beading on his forehead, Fenni shoved his flames through the ice, melting it. Rivulets of water ran down Jael’s shield. This was easier than he’d thought. Any moment now, he’d blast through.
Jael barely moved, but the water froze again. The shield thickened.
The Egg save him, no matter how much fire he threw, Jael’s shield stayed intact.
Jael tilted his head. A flurry of snow swirled at Fenni’s feet, then melted, turning to a pool of slush. Icy water trickled through Fenni’s bootlace holes. He ignored it. Jael was trying to distract him. Fenni blasted the shield with more power.
The shield collapsed. Fenni’s flame shot at Jael. Yes. He’d done it. Holding up his hand, the Naobian doused Fenni’s fire before it reached him—and smiled. Jael was playing with him.
The earth underfoot churned with the slush to form mud. A gale-force wind blasted Fenni face-first into the mud puddle. Crows and hoots of laughter rang out.
“Go Jael,” someone yelled.
“Show that Northerner how we duel.”
Kneeling, Fenni spat out mud, grabbing handfuls of snow and scrubbing his face. His belly burned with anger. How dare—
No, he couldn’t go there. If he lost his temper, he’d fail.
Fenni drew himself up to full height and pulled sathir inside himself until his whole body was humming and his fingers pulsing. Snow swirled around Fenni, but he ignored Jael’s attack. He tugged a vine from a tree behind Jael. He’d bind Jael the way the strangleton had bound him. The vine whipped from the tree, wrapping itself around Jael’s torso, trapping an arm against his side. Surprise shot across Jael’s face.
Hah. A one-armed wizard—that would serve him right.
Jael flung his remaining arm out. Snow hit Fenni, knocking him back a step, his footing slippery in the mud. Pulling more sathir, Fenni channeled the energy into a vortex, flinging a whirlwind at Jael. Jael stumbled, but his laughter echoed around the clearing as he spun the vortex, aiming it at the ground. The wind ripped through the snow, spraying white as it plowed toward Fenni—and knocked him down.
Shards, he’d been knocked down twice. Would he qualify? Fenni’s dreams of fighting tharuks flashed before his eyes. He saw Uncle Fennock’s dead body all over again, his cousins’ tears tracking down their faces. He’d vowed he’d grow up to be a mage and smite those awful beasts.
Jael’s vines froze and shattered, debris flying.
Fenni scrambled to his feet and created a wall of mage fire.
His forehead glistening with sweat in the green firelight, Jael waved a hand. Fenni’s flames fizzled and died. A plume of green mage fire arced through the air, right at Fenni.
Flaming shards. Desperate, Fenni flung one hand up to create an ice shield, and pointed his other hand
toward the forest, searching for something, anything. A massive spiderweb, as wide as three men, hung between two trees. He squeezed his fingers into a fist. The web coalesced into a sticky mass, which he flung at Jael. The spiderweb wrapped itself around the Naobian mage. Jael’s fire guttered and fizzed out, and Jael fell to the ground.
He’d done it. He’d knocked him over—
Jael wasn’t moving. Murmurs rippled around the clearing. Oh gods, had he killed him?
Fenni ran over, kneeling by Jael, just as Master Giddi reached him. Jael was pale, eyes shut, his chest rising and falling with rapid gasps. “He’s still breathing,” Fenni cried. “He’s not dead.”
“I should hope not,” said Master Giddi. “Get him out of there, quick.”
Fenni used mage power to tear the spiderweb free and send it hurtling back into the forest. He shook Jael awake and helped him sit up. “You all right?” He didn’t look all right. He was still gasping for air. “I’m sorry. What happened?”
“It’s nothing.” Jael waved a hand, trying to laugh it off.
Master Giddi kept his voice low. “Jael’s mother was killed by a venomous gargantula when he was very young. Ever since then, he’s been terrified of spiders.”
Fenni hadn’t known, but everyone would think he’d exploited Jael’s fear. His face burned with shame. Surely, he’d failed his trials.
“Thanks, Giddi,” Jael snapped. “That’s not something I want everyone to know.”
“I’ve blown your secret. I’m sorry.” Fenni slumped.
Jael shrugged. “Too late now.”
Fenni helped him up and the crowd cheered. They stood, awaiting Master Starrus’ verdict.
“Master Jael, you dueled well, testing our trainee’s fire skills. We hope you have recovered.”
Still pale, Jael nodded, giving a tight smile.
Wait. What had Master Starrus said? “Jael’s a master?” Fenni asked. He’d had no idea.
Master Giddi twitched an eyebrow. “That’s why I let him train you.”
“Not that it did any good if I’ve failed my trials,” Fenni said, sighing.
“What do you mean?” said Master Starrus. “You exhibited control. You had no idea that the spiderweb would affect Master Jael like that.” He passed Fenni his turquoise crystal. “Now, you’re qualified as a wizard and have been endorsed by the Wizard Council. You may fight tharuks and use your powers to protect the realm.”
Riders of Fire Box Set Page 74