Dragon Magic: Lyric's Curse 2 (Dragonblood Sagas Book 4)

by Robyn Wideman

  “Excellent work dragonblood,” said Apophis. “Tomorrow, we shall have to create a more challenging task for you.”

  Shayla shook her head. “No. It is time that I returned to Whiteridge. If you believe I need more lessons we can resume them after I’ve deal with the people that attacked me.”

  “Caritha thought you would say that soon. There is still much you can learn about dragons, but you don’t need me for that. Caritha knows our history well enough to teach you. You’ve done well, Shayla. You’ve shown you can control your magic, I just hope you remember our conversations when you are facing your enemies.”

  It was something they talked about often. The situation between humans and dragons. Apophis had known humans before she went to the mystic isle that had been the dragons home for a hundred years, but much had changed in that time. Human nature hadn’t changed, but politics had: new kings, new villages, and cities. Often Apophis had as many questions of Shayla as she answered about dragons. But the one thing that Apophis tried to teach Shayla was self-awareness. At first Shayla had thought Apophis’s lessons about self-awareness were leading into some further lesson in morality and how her actions would influence all mankind and dragonkind. But the further they delved into the lessons, Shayla started to realize the idea of self-awareness truly was about her. Her emotions and motivations, what made her happy, what made her angry. Sometimes they discussed her past, the attitudes she’d developed as a teen, the mistakes she’d made. Other times they discussed the future and what she wanted from it. Often, they didn’t even talk, instead working on the breathing and concentration drills used to calm herself and focus her magic energies. Shayla took the lessons to heart. “Yes, Apophis, I will never forget our conversations.”

  “Then I wish you well. Caritha will return you to your estate in the morning, or if you wish, she’ll take you to Whiteridge.”

  39

  “How are the dragon hunters looking?” asked King Horne.

  Talon looked over at Brother Abram and waited for him to answer.

  “I believe they are ready,” said the Sacred Blood member. “They’ve learned to fight as one unit. There is little more I can do now. The real test is to send them into battle.”

  Finally, thought Talon. Brother Abram had been relentless. For weeks they’d trained, repeating the formations over and over until each maneuver was ingrained in them. Talon had thought they were ready a week ago, but Brother Abram insisted on continuing before he would give his seal of approval.

  “Excellent,” said King Horne. “Now we just need to track down a dragon.”

  “It’s far better if you can get a dragon to come to you. The ability to pick your terrain and create an ambush is vital. Going into the mountains hunting a dragon will reduce the odds of success greatly,” said Brother Abram.

  “So how do we get a dragon to come to us?” asked King Horne.

  “The dragonblood,” said Brother Abram. “If you find something that makes the dragonblood come to you then you will get your dragon.”

  “Talon, you still have your asset from Middale?” asked King Horne.

  “Yes, Father. The man likes living in the capital, but it is expensive. He will help us. But I think know who our target will be. Either the witch he travels with or Lady Sibylle. If we get one of them we will have Lyric.”

  King Horne frowned. “Taking Sibylle Lamar would be dangerous. If Lord Lamar went to battle with us it would devastating. We can’t defeat the south and the interior at the same time.”

  “Perhaps, but you can’t hold anything if you don’t kill dragons,” said Brother Abram.

  Talon looked at Brother Abram. His words were a none too subtle reminder that the Sacred Blood had expectations. But with Brother Abram siding with him, they would likely convince his father to take a risk. “Our dragon hunter armor doesn’t bear the royal symbols. If we wore hoods and blindfolded the girl she would never know who took her. We use her as bait then I lead a rescue party, bringing Lord Lamar into the fold. Surely, he wouldn’t attack a king who just saved his daughter from marauders?”

  “And if the plan fails, and we are discovered?” asked King Horne.

  “Then we attack the Lamars and worry about the south later.”

  King Horne rubbed his chin, taking his time to ponder the situation. “It could work. General Ulman has been reporting that the fighting is going well in the south but he is requesting backup. I’ve been inclined to refuse. This would give me a reason to keep General Jacomus and his troops closer to home. I could send General Jacomus to Landcaster. If we have to fight with the Lamar’s we send the general to Middale.”

  Talon smiled. General Ulman was the most powerful of the late King Gramalt’s generals, and the one of the biggest threats to his father’s throne. Not sending the general reinforcements would cost lives, but it would strengthen his father’s grip on the throne, even if only in the capital and the north-western parts of Droll. The chance to weaken one opponent while tricking another was something his father wouldn’t turn down.

  “All right. Take your dragon hunters, get the Lamar girl, and kill the dragonblood. Be careful though, we can’t afford to mess this up,” said King Horne.

  “We won’t,” said Talon. “If we get a chance we’ll take the witch instead of Sibylle. But she hasn’t been seen in Middale in weeks.” Talon didn’t have any intentions of trying to capture the witch, he just wanted to present it as an option so his father wouldn’t obsess about the Lamars. Talon had plans for Sibylle, and capturing her as bait for the dragonblood was a perfect place to start.

  40

  When he returned to the mountain, Lyric was considerably less drained than when he’d returned the previous night. The two long shifts and a few little shifts done before and during the fight with the wolfhounds had taken considerably less out of him than the previous day’s magic use.

  Welcome back, mindlinked Kemoth.

  Thanks, Kemoth. Where is Celine?

  She’s with us at the beach.

  Lyric smiled. Dragons loved sunning themselves, and Celine had no issue with sitting on the beach either. He should’ve guessed that is where they would be. He shifted from the mountain top down to the beach.

  “You are back early,” said Celine as he popped down on the sand beside her.

  The dragons must’ve told her I was back this time, thought Lyric. She hadn’t even flinched when he shifted into the air above them. “The problem is taken care of,” he said.

  Celine frowned. “Are you sure. Those wolfhounds can track even the smallest amount of a person’s scent.”

  “What he means is that he killed the wolfhounds and their master,” said Kemoth.

  “Really?” asked Celine. She turned to study Lyric’s face.

  Why did you say that? mindlinked Lyric.

  Isn’t it true?

  Lyric sighed. It was true, and he was going to tell Celine, he just wasn’t going to blurt it out the way Kemoth had. “Yes. The wolfhounds were foul beasts trained to hurt innocent people.”

  “I agree. They are terrible creatures. It just isn’t like you to kill anything. Let alone a man, even as vile a person who would raise beasts to be people killers.”

  Lyric knew she was right. He’d never been one for violence before, but he’d always been weak. Running and hiding had been his only options. Now he was dragonblood and had the power to fight back against evil. “I guess I’ve changed since you first met me.”

  Celine reached out to touch his face. She then leaned in and kissed him on the lips. “Change can be good.”

  Lyric enjoyed the taste of Celine’s soft lips against his own. He felt relieved that Celine wasn’t judging him for his decision.

  “What are they doing?” asked Leomaris?

  “Kissing,” said Kemoth. “It is the human way of showing love.”

  “Why don’t they just rub noses like normal creatures?” asked Leomaris.

  Lyric chuckled. It seemed the youngling still had much to lear
n about humans. But he knew he still had much to learn about dragons. “Where is Rythin?”

  “In his cave. He needs his rest,” said Ovalia.

  “Really? He doesn’t seem old or weak,” said Lyric.

  Leomaris laughed. “You better not let Rythin hear you call him weak or old. He’ll roast you.”

  “He needs his rest because he does a lot of flying. He has to go back out on his next round of flights soon so he needs his strength,” said Ovalia.

  “Where does he go?” asked Lyric.

  “Everywhere,” said Ovalia. “Rythin and Bryman fly to all the dragon lairs and check in on the dragons. Apophis wants to make sure everyone is obeying the rules, and that humans aren’t trying to hunt us again. Brendoth also helps, but mostly Rythin and Bryman do the flights. Brendoth just visits some of the dragons that give Rythin and Bryman trouble.”

  “Why would any dragons give Rythin trouble?” asked Lyric.

  “Because he and Bryman are single color dragons. They have no magic,” said Ovalia. “Some dragons are elitists. They believe having magic makes them more important than other dragons. It is dumb.”

  Interesting, thought Lyric. I wonder if they have royalty like humans do too?

  Not exactly the same, mindlinked Kemoth. The oldest, most powerful dragons like Apophis, Brendoth and Nelarth are the equivalent of royalty. But there are no royal bloodlines, only stature earned by time and strength.

  Lyric appreciated the answer that Kemoth gave him, but he didn’t want to exclude the other dragons from the conversation. Ovalia in particular was a huge source of information. “So, the biggest dragons are the most important?”

  “Yes,” said Leomaris.

  “No,” said Kemoth and Ovalia simultaneously.

  Lyric and Celine laughed at the dragons’ reaction to the question.

  “Ogre breath here thinks biggest is best because he is a gold. He’ll be one of the biggest dragons in a few years. It’s too bad his brain isn’t growing as big as his body,” said Ovalia.

  “The biggest dragons are the strongest. You can’t deny that,” said Leomaris.

  “That is true,” said Ovalia. “But strength isn’t everything. Brains and magic are important too. Just because Kemoth and I are smaller doesn’t mean we are less dangerous. You just wait until Kemoth has his grow spurt. You want to try fight him now that he can shift?”

  Leomaris puffed up his chest. “I’m not afraid of anyone.” He then looked over at Kemoth who was giving him an appraising look. “I will admit the runt has powerful magic. If he ever does get a growth spurt he could be dangerous.”

  Ovalia laughed. “Are you feeling okay, Leomaris? That almost sounded like a compliment.”

  Leomaris scoffed. “Let’s not get carried away. Even if I admit Kemoth has powerful magic, the rest of the dragons won’t see him as being strongest. Older dragons will always respect size and strength more than magic.”

  “True,” conceded Ovalia. “But it is hard to say which dragons. The browns and other single color dragons would follow another single-color dragon if he or she was strongest, but the magical dragons, especially the ones who think they are special, wouldn’t follow a none magical dragon. And Apophis is probably the only dragon who can rule all the dragons. Without her there wouldn’t be one pack anymore.”

  “Why is that?” asked Lyric.

  “Dragons don’t normally have one single pack,” said Ovalia. “Traditionally, we only ever had small packs or lived in pairs. Some dragons prefer to live in complete solitude. Only in rare times do all dragons join into one pack and follow the lead of a single alpha. When the great war was almost over and we agreed to go to the mystic isle there wasn’t a single alpha. And it caused chaos. So many dragons on one isle. The older alphas fought regularly. Almost a dozen died in the fights before Apophis established herself as the dominant alpha. She had never been an alpha before, she was part of a pack who followed an older white alpha Vasgar. When Vasgar was killed during an alpha fight, Apophis challenged. She defeated all the alpha and has kept the peace ever since. She’s the biggest and most powerful dragon, but she’s also fair and consistent. Even the dragons who don’t agree with her rules know where they stand with her and would rather follow along instead of revolting.”

  “That was when we were on the isle. Now Apophis must be even more diligent. Some dragons will test her now, and see what they can get away with,” said Leomaris.

  “Nelarth and his sort,” said Kemoth.

  “Nelarth?” asked Lyric.

  “Nelarth was one of the younger alpha that Apophis defeated. He believes dragons are the natural rulers of the world. That humans are cattle not worthy of respect. There are many other dragons that think like this. It is part of the reason there never has truly been peace between man and dragon. Too many humans and dragons who only see the other as the enemy to be destroyed.”

  The idea of another dragon war was something Lyric didn’t want to think about. He’d heard plenty of stories from Azina about the wars, and he’d seen a few the ruins, spread all over Droll, of cities and villages that had been destroyed.

  “Are you ready to leave for Fallstorm?” asked Celine.

  Lyric nodded. “Yes. I would like to stay and meet Apophis, but I think going to Fallstorm is safer for everyone.”

  Leomaris coughed.

  “What?” asked Lyric.

  “Fallstorm is east of where you lived before right?” said Leomaris.

  “Yes. In the mountains on the coast,” said Lyric as he looked to Celine for confirmation.

  Celine nodded. He’d gotten it right.

  “You leaving is going to be safer for us. No humans sneaking around our mountain trying to kill dragonbloods, but I wouldn’t say going east is going to be safer for you. That region is not dragon friendly.”

  “Not dragon friendly? What does that mean?” asked Celine.

  “Corca cats, lots of them, trolls, wolves, bears. And probably a few other creatures that I am forgetting. We spotted them when we flew over. We had them here too, but these mountains are steeper, and have less prey for them. That eastern valley and the mountains are full of beasts.”

  “We knew that,” said Lyric. “That is why those lands have been unused. Sir Chestmire is now moving his men into the valley.”

  “Yes, but your Sir Chestmire isn’t a dragonblood. Did you not notice how aggressive those corca cats were towards you? Corca cats are a natural enemy of dragons. They are predators that compete for the same territories that dragons like, high mountain valleys. It is the same with trolls. They will kill a dragon if they get the opportunity. Your new lands are filled with beasts that will hunt you, they smell dragon magic on you.”

  “Oh,” said Lyric. That didn’t sound good at all. The corca cats had been vicious, and he’d barely fought them off. Granted, his magic hadn’t manifested yet, but still they were ferocious beasts.

  “Don’t worry, Lyric, Apophis has no rules against dragons hunting corca cats. If any come too near your new home I will deal with them,” said Kemoth.

  “Don’t do anything foolish, Kemoth. Corca cats can take down a full-grown dragon,” said Ovalia.

  I won’t let them harm you, mindlinked Kemoth.

  We’ll fight them together, mindlinked Lyric. If what Celine said was true, and there would be more men waiting for them at Fallstorm, they wouldn’t just be worried about defending themselves but the men who lived there as well. And much like the vicious wolfhounds, Lyric felt no sympathy for corca cats. “How does corca cat taste?”

  “Actually, they taste darn good,” said Celine.

  Lyric raised an eyebrow and examined Celine.

  “What? Valeria and I travel in the mountains. We’ve been attacked before. Not like the way they attacked you, but Valeria had to kill one. We ate well that trip.”

  Lyric noted to himself that his witch friends were more dangerous than he’d given them credit for. Azina killing a corca cat wouldn’t have surprised him, but Valeri
a? He’d never seen her do magic. Come to think of it he’d never seen Celine either. “What kind of magic did she use? I’ve never really seen witch magic.”

  “She used a freezing spell on its heart,” said Celine. “I don’t use a lot of magic. I never liked how it made me feel. I need to use it more, but I’ve been avoiding it. Now that we are being hunted by wild beasts and men like Talon Horne I may have to reconsider my position on using magic.”

  Celine’s answer caught Lyric off-guard. They’d never talked about her and magic before, and he’d never realized her feelings about using magic. It was something he’d have to ask her about later. But that could wait for another time. It was time to get ready to head east. It was time to go to Fallstorm. “Shall we go see my new home?”

  41

  Flying on Leomaris’s back was much different than shifting. Lyric felt like he was riding a horse, only with wings.

  Dragons are not flying horses, mindlinked Kemoth who was flying alongside them.

  Lyric grinned. The wind was in face, but it felt good. The dusk lighting meant there wasn’t much to see, the forests and mountains below all blended into the shadows, but the horizon was a sight to see. The entire western skyline was a blend of purple and pinks with scattered clouds of soft white and grey streaks against the dark green and blue of the far-off mountain ranges.

  When the last remnants of sunlight were gone they only had the light of the stars and the smaller of the two moons to guide them. Below them the mountains were starting to thin out and the valleys were getting bigger. They were getting into the interior of Droll now and would soon pass by Middale. He and Celine had discussed their route with Rythin and the younglings and it had been agreed that they would fly miles south of Middale to avoid being spotted by any soldiers or spies that the king had in the town. The stuck to the mountains as much as possible, and when they hit the plains and hills of the interior they stayed above the clouds. There were many farms between Middale and Amberwick, the next village to the south. They avoided them as much as possible, but who knew what soul would be looking up into the sky in the middle of the night.