Warsgra didn’t hesitate in attacking. He stormed forward, his massive bulk taking up most of the space. Despite his size, he was also fast and accomplished, and the guard barely managed to lift his sword in time to block Warsgra’s attack. Orergon took on the second guard, and the passage was filled with grunts and the clang of metal on metal. Dela flinched each time it looked as though Orergon or Warsgra appeared to be losing, and she lifted her hand to hide her eyes but couldn’t quite bring herself not to look.
They parried, moving around each other with a strange grace that reminded Dela of a dance. Warsgra was the aggressor, fighting with his massive strength, but the guard was smaller and faster and managed to block each of his strikes. The movement had opened up Warsgra’s previous wound, and blood ran down his naked, heavily muscled back.
Orergon and the second guard appeared more evenly matched, but Orergon was still the stronger fighter. They rounded each other as they parried, blade skating down blade, until finally Orergon got a cut in the guard’s side which brought him to the ground. He lifted his foot to kick the guard the rest of the way down. Warsgra delivered a final strike to the first guard, the blade cutting across his throat, before swinging back around and stabbing the sword down into the second guard’s chest.
With a grunt, Warsgra yanked the sword from the guard’s body and gave a nod to Orergon. Orergon nodded in return, and Dela watched the exchange with curiosity. It was almost as though Warsgra had known Orergon wouldn’t have wanted to be the one to kill the man.
“Come on.” Warsgra was breathing hard. “Let’s keep going before more of their friends arrive.”
They left the bodies behind. Brer led the way, and the others followed. Finally, they reached the end of a long passageway. A huge iron door blocked the way, as wide as it was high.
“That’s it,” Brer said.
Positioned in the middle of the door was a dial.
“Can you get it open, Vehel?” Dela asked him.
He nodded. “Let me concentrate.”
They fell silent. Brer shot Dela a baffled glance, but she frowned at him to tell him to stay quiet.
King and Queen Crowmere would have been informed of the capture of Warsgra, Orergon, and Vehel by now, and would most likely be on their way down to the dungeon to question their new captives. The moment they saw the empty cells and the dead guards, the castle would be put on high alert, and everyone would be looking for them. Time was running out. They still needed to get their hands on the dragon egg, and then somehow figure a way to get out of the castle.
Vehel’s eyes were shut as he lifted his hand in the direction of the vault’s door. The air crackled with the energy he created. The skin on Dela’s arms rose in goose bumps, and the fine hairs on her head prickled as though tiny, invisible fingers palpitated her scalp. A familiar blue light appeared in an orb around the dial, and slowly it began to move. A loud clicking sounded from somewhere deep within the mechanism. Dela glanced at Vehel’s face. Fine lines appeared between his white eyebrows as he concentrated, his magic working to align the mechanics to the right positions to open the door.
Come on, come on, she willed. She glanced back over her shoulder, making sure they didn’t have company. Their luck was going to run out soon, however; she could feel it in her bones.
The huge metal door gave a final click and swung open a couple of inches. Vehel’s blue light faded.
She took a breath, her heart pounding. This was it. She hoped they’d be able to find the egg quickly.
Dela stepped inside the vault, and her heart sank. The place was huge. Candles were positioned along the walls, and Vehel said a few words under his breath and waved his hand. The wicks burst into flame. Chests, and sacks, and pots were stacked against the walls as far as the eye could see.
Orergon stared around in dismay. “We’re never going to find a single egg in all of this.”
“Start looking.” She turned to Brer. “Stay at the entrance. Keep an eye out and let us know if anyone is coming.”
The four of them separated, each taking a different part of the vault. Dela pulled open sacks and lifted the lids of chests, running her fingers through the contents of sparkling diamonds in the candlelight, or lifting the small ingots of gold in case the egg was hidden somewhere behind. At no point did she consider taking some of the wealth for herself. The gold and jewels meant nothing. The egg was the most precious thing in here.
“Anything?” she called out to the others, but they all looked up from what they were doing and shook their heads in unison.
They got back to searching, but time was running out.
“Vehel,” she said in desperation. “Can you use your magic?”
“I don’t know how to use it to find something like that.” His teeth dug into his lower lip. “But you could.”
She frowned in confusion. “Now isn’t the time for riddles, Vehel. Tell me what you mean.”
“You have the Dragonstone, don’t you? Use that to see if it can locate the egg.”
She felt like smacking herself on the forehead. Of course. Why hadn’t she thought of that?
With her heart in her throat, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the smooth, black and red stone. Immediately, it grew hotter in her palm. A part of her was nervous the dragon would be angry with her for using it again, but she reminded herself that she was doing this for them both. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the egg, though she had no idea what it looked like. Her hand suddenly jerked forward, as though someone—or something—had hold of her and was pulling her along.
Her eyes snapped open. It was the stone. It was like a magnet being pulled toward metal, and she had no choice but to go with it. Her fist was curled around the Dragonstone, and she didn’t dare let it go, for fear of it flying out of her grasp and vanishing somewhere among all the wealth. It pulled her in the direction of the rear of the vault. They’d already looked there, but it wasn’t as though she could argue with a stone.
She wound her way around sacks and chests until the feeling of the stone pulling died away and the heat against her skin faded. Shoving the stone back in her pocket, she got to work, dragging away all the bags of coins and gold and diamonds that were stacked up.
Finally, behind them all, she revealed another chest—only this one was upright, so it opened at the front. Her breath caught. This was it. She could feel it in her bones. With a trembling hand, she reached out and opened the front of the chest. In the center, nestled within red silk cushions, was the dragon egg.
It was beautiful.
Like the dragon, the surface was an emerald green, but with swirls of blues and purples running through it in the candlelight.
Vehel’s voice came from behind her shoulder. “You found it.”
She nodded, her tongue tied.
Knowing they wouldn’t be able to move swiftly while carrying the chest, she reached in with both hands and scooped up the egg. It was large—easily ten times as large as a hen’s egg, and she nestled it protectively against her chest. At her touch, the shell grew warm, and she was certain she could feel it pulse with the rhythm of her heartbeat.
She looked up to the others, blinking back tears of joy and amazement. “I think it’s alive.”
Warsgra looked toward the exit. “Let’s get out of here.”
They turned to leave, but Brer’s yell stopped them.
“They’re in here!”
Chapter 29
Vehel
From the passageway outside, the sound of multiple heavy feet pounded toward them. Vehel glanced at the others in concern. There was no other way out of the vault, and the route they’d taken to bring them here only went in one direction. They were trapped.
Warsgra and Orergon stepped forward, ready with the swords they’d taken from the guards in the dungeon.
“Brer, you son of a bitch,” Dela spat as she glared, narrow-eyed, at the young man who’d supposed to have been keeping a look out. “You traitor!”
�
�You’re the traitor, Dela,” he replied, obviously feeling braver now that he had the City Guard to back him up.
Orergon looked to Vehel. “Vehel, can you use your magic to get us out of here?”
He glanced back toward the dragon egg. “I don’t dare. We normally lose whatever we’re holding when I do that. What if I try it and it smashes the egg?”
Dela nodded, frantic. “He’s right. We can’t risk it.”
“We’re going to have to do something,” Warsgra said, brandishing the sword, “because it sounds like half the castle is on its way.”
Vehel turned to Dela. He’d thought of something and quickly lifted his hand to her. They didn’t have much time. He fixed his gaze on the egg, and the blue light that signaled his magic flooded over the egg and spread around her hands, before coiling around her wrists and up her arms.
Dela stared down at the light, her lips parted. “What are you doing?”
“A binding spell. It’ll connect you, physically, to the egg. No one will be able to take it away from you, and if I can manage to move us, it will protect it. I hope.”
She looked up at him with wide eyes. “‘I hope’ isn’t good enough, Vehel. I won’t risk the dragon egg being broken.”
City Guards rushed into the vault, each armed with swords. Warsgra and Orergon stepped forward, steel clashing in the candlelight, roars and grunts of anger and exertion filling the confined space. Brer had made a run for it, probably not wanting to get caught up in the fight, and most likely aware Dela would kill him herself if she got her hands on him.
More guards piled in, far outnumbering them.
“Find us another way out of here, Vehel,” Dela begged him.
It broke his heart to let her down, but there was no other way out. The vault was designed that way.
Orergon and Warsgra fought with everything they had, but it was never going to be enough.
Vehel lifted his hand and did what the Seer had taught him, channeling his magic, without expelling it all. Blue light erupted, and the first line of guards flew backward, hitting those behind.
“A Mage!” someone cried. “Stop him.”
He suddenly realized he’d just made himself the number one target. Even with the Seer’s teachings, his magic wasn’t an endless resource. Was he going to be forced to kill all these people to keep Dela safe? He wasn’t a killer, but times had changed now. Xantearos was at war, and this was what was necessary. Killing for the things you believed in.
Warsgra suddenly let out a yell, and his sword clanged to the ground. One of the guards had managed to disarm him, and he was defenseless. Three guards surrounded him, each with their swords pointed at the Norc. Vehel glanced toward the door where more guards streamed in like rats.
Were they about to kill Warsgra?
Suddenly, a male voice boomed from the doorway. “Wait! I want them taken alive.”
King Roland Crowmere stood in the vault’s entrance, his shoulders back, his head held high. City Guards surrounded him, protecting him with their weapons.
Orergon had also been relieved of his weapon. It was a standoff, and not one they were going to win.
“That one is capable of magic,” a different male voice shouted, and Vehel looked over to see Dela’s friend appearing from behind the king’s shoulder and pointing directly at him.
King Crowmere fixed his gaze on Vehel. “So, you were the one to break the Treaty.”
Vehel stared back. He’d been around royalty his whole life and it was never going to intimidate him. “It was never my intention. I was trying to save lives.”
His lip curled. “That sounds like an excuse if I ever heard one.”
“You started a war,” Dela threw at the king. “We want to end it.”
The king pointed a finger at Vehel. “No, you started the war.”
King Roland Crowmere turned his attention to where Dela was standing, clutching the dragon egg to her chest. “And how does being here, in my vault, stealing my property, help to end a war?”
Dela pulled the egg closer. “This doesn’t belong to you.”
King Crowmere frowned and took the couple of steps needed to bring him in front of Dela. He caught her by the chin and wrenched her face toward his. He need not have bothered, as Dela lifted her chin anyway and stared him defiantly in the eye. “Who are you, girl?”
“My name is Dela Stonebridge and I am a Dragonsayer.”
He gave a laugh and released her face. “There are no Dragonsayers.” He nodded to one of his guards. “Take the egg from her.”
The guard returned a brisk nod and stepped forward. He reached out and took the egg in both hands and pulled. It didn’t budge. Dela threw Vehel a look that was filled with both gratitude and fear.
“I … I … can’t,” the guard stuttered.
The king’s face grew puce with anger. “What?”
“It seems to be stuck.”
Brer jumped in again, and Vehel curled his lip at the young man in a snarl. “It was magic. The Elvish male did something to stop us taking the egg.”
The king turned back to Vehel. “Is that right? Then I suggest you undo it.”
“I can’t,” he lied. “The magic will wear off in time, but it can’t be undone.”
King Crowmere turned to his men. “I’ve heard enough. Take them prisoner.”
They came at him, multiple guards rushing toward him at the same time. Vehel spun away from the nearest one, then ducked the strike of a sword coming from the other direction. He let out a blast of light, sending several men flying, but there were too many for him to contend with.
A blow struck him across the back of his head, and everything went dark.
Chapter 30
Dela
Dela screamed as Vehel crumpled to the floor of the vault.
“Separate them,” the king commanded.
“No!” She struggled in the grasp of the two City Guards who had hold of her.
“Let her go!” Warsgra roared. He had a sword held at his throat.
“Try anything, and we’ll take her hand,” the king said. “Maybe then she’ll release my dragon egg.”
“It’s magic,” Orergon snarled. “She can’t release it.”
“Separate them,” King Crowmere repeated. “Lock them in different cells. Actually, lock them in different places, too. I don’t want them conspiring with each other and coming up with some kind of story. I want the truth behind them being here. Torture them if you have to.”
Dela struggled again, though she knew it would do no good. She couldn’t fight too hard for fear of breaking the dragon egg, and she was never going to get past the king’s men even if she did break free. But it wasn’t the thought of being tortured that bothered her the most, but that she was going to be separated from Vehel and the others again. Vehel didn’t even have a way to protect himself.
It took four men to drag Warsgra out of the vault. She was terrified she was never going to see him again, hating the sight of the sword at his throat. Warsgra was hotheaded. What if he pushed them too far and they pulled that blade across his throat? The possibility of losing him—of losing any of them—was worse than anything else she could imagine being done to her.
Orergon’s face was a taut mask beneath the curtain of black hair that hung over his features. He shoved his shoulders into the guards who had hold of him, but one of them had the point of a sword pressed into his side.
“It’ll be okay,” she called to them both. “Just tell them the truth. Tell them we want peace.”
Because that was the truth. They hadn’t come here with violence in mind. Even though they’d been forced to fight for their lives, all they truly wanted was peace. But that was never going to happen while this king and queen were in power. But how was she ever going to change that? She was only a girl, and they’d been overpowered at the first hurdle.
In her arms, clutched to her chest, the egg grew warmer still, and she was certain something had moved beneath the shell, a rippling, l
ike something was pushing to get out.
But that was impossible. How long had the egg been down in the vault? Years, she was sure. Maybe even since before this king and queen had taken the throne. There was no way anything could still be alive inside, never mind something suddenly ready to hatch, was there? Yet she was certain she’d felt the thump of something akin to a heartbeat when she’d first held the egg, and there was no denying the warmth it emitted. Was there a chance it had lain dormant all this time, just waiting for the right moment to be freed?
Though she didn’t like not having the use of both hands, she was grateful Vehel had bound the egg to her. She held it tight to her chest, like a talisman. While she didn’t want to lose her hands either, those were the lengths they would need to take if they were going to take the dragon egg off her.
Rough hands pushed and yanked her as she was dragged away from the others and down the long, dark passageways of the castle. She’d given up calling out for the others, knowing Vehel wasn’t going to hear her anyway, and that Warsgra and Orergon would be out of earshot by now. The guards who had hold of her made no attempt to be gentle, but Dela wasn’t concerned about her own safety. The most important thing was that the dragon egg stayed safe. She was terrified she’d be thrown against a wall, and the egg would take most of the impact and break. She didn’t know how Vehel’s magic worked, but the egg felt as though it was a part of her now. She could remove one hand from it if she needed, but she doubted she’d be able to put it down. Though she was grateful for that right now, it wouldn’t exactly be practical in the long term—if she lived long enough to have to worry about that.
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