by Cyn Bagley
It was a dragon in full glory. Its scales were a dark charcoal that glittered in the moonlight. “So what do I have here?” it said. The voice slithered through his head.
The smell of magic on this one was of rot and sulfur. It was old and powerful. The Draugr opened his mouth and roared. For a moment he slipped his leash and headed full steam ahead into the transparent wall.
“Tisk, tisk,” the dragon said. “I see you need a little magic.”
The leash pulled around his neck again and the Draugr stopped. Something cool and black slid through the leash and settled into his mind. His thoughts woke up and once again the Spymaster looked through the eyes of the Draugr.
The Spymaster took control of the body and stopped. When the intelligence shone through his eyes, the dragon began to speak in his mind. “You feel that tug?”
The Draugr nodded his head. Suddenly he could see a line connecting from his solar plexus off into the forest. It was gray and frayed, but still a line. “I am tied to those children.”
The dragon laughed. “How fortunate. You will lead me to them, my hound.”
The Draugr stopped and refused to move. This time the dragon’s laugh screamed and wailed inside the Draugr’s head. It wailed of hate and despair. “The dragonling weakened me. When I am done with him, you will eat well on the girl. Otherwise, if you aren’t my tool, then I will kill you now.”
The spymaster would have asked for the release of death just a few months ago. Now he was mixed with the lust for life of the Draugr. So he nodded his head, yes. He would lead the old dragon to the ones he was following. He would feed well. If that didn’t work, he would feed on the old one.
The dragon sent him amusement. When the Draugr tried to get into the dragon’s thoughts he was blocked, but not before he saw that the dragon knew how to put him to rest.
It would be better to stay on the good side of this one. So he was now the hound.
Instead of stomping through the forest like he had been doing as a mindless undead, he looked for ways to follow them. The dragon flapped its wings and flew into the night sky, silhouetted by the moon.
The Draugr felt the leash around his neck. He knew that whereever he went the dragon would follow. There was no fear in a Draugr, just rage. Still he had a better chance of success with the old one than by himself.
He put his hand on the frayed link and followed. If all went well, he would be feasting before dawn.
South of Koenigstadt
Davi Dracson
Before the morning sun hit his eyes, Davi woke suddenly. He listened with his ears and his entire body. It was too quiet. There were no bird calls and no small animals rustling in the bushes. He woke Kayla. When she tried to speak, he covered her mouth, “shhhhh.”
He stood up quietly, and pulled Kayla with him. They walked hand and hand away from their sleeping area. They left the packs, blanket, and food. His stomach cramped with urgency. They had to leave now. Something was coming.
He tried to sense it, but all he got was fuzziness. Kayla wiped her eyes as they hurried down the path. They had to reach Hilda and Michael before the big bad one found them.
A rotten egg smell drifted to his nose. He knew when he had smelled it before. No, it couldn’t be. He had defeated the Old one at the White road.
Kayla opened her mouth, but Davi whispered in her ear. “We need to get to Hilda now.” She stopped. “Please, we need to get to them before it catches us. He grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her down the road.
By the time they burst through the bushes into Hilda and Michael’s campsite, Davi and Kayla were running as fast as they could. They startled the horses that Michael was loading. Hilda turned toward them with a sword in her hand. Michael began to glow blue.
When Hilda saw their faces, she kept the sword in her hand and looked past them. Sassy slid up her body and was sitting on her head. “What’s chasing you?” she shouted.
Davi and Kayla leaned over, panting like winded horses. They couldn’t answer. Michael let the glow go from his hands. He fumbled for something from the pouch tied to his waist.
He pulled out a stone that had been polished in a river. Then Davi felt Michael’s water magic. It was the power of water dripping on stone and the power of the flood as it tore through the fields. It was life in the veins and death by drowning.
Michael has changed elements, was Davi’s surprised thought. The Grimorie had damaged Michael’s ability to access fire magic. “How did I miss this?” If Davi could breathe, instead of gasp, he would have asked Michael how he had gotten a water elemental. And there she was, the elemental that had been their enemy.
Before he could open his mouth, Michael nodded at him. “We will talk later,” was all Michael said. By this time Davi could smell the rotted flesh of the Draugr mixed with the sulfur smell of the Old One. He could feel the spirit of the Draugr and could tell from his mind that the Draugr was now leashed.
The silver chain around the Draugr’s neck wrapped securely around it and disappeared up into the clouds. With a roar the Draugr rushed into the campsite.
Hilda let the horses go. They squealed and ran without thought down the path. Davi watched the horses go with all the food and supplies. He had only a small period to feel despair before the Draugr rushed toward him and sliced his torso. The pain stabbed through him and he screamed.
In his peripheral vision, he saw Hilda attack with her sword, while Kayla dragged him from underneath the Draugr. The Draugr, his hands turned to claws, sliced at Hilda. Hilda fought back, cutting the Draugr’s arms. The sword bit deep into the Draugr, but the wounds healed within seconds.
“Wake up, wake up,” yelled Kayla in his ear. She rolled him over and put her hands on the wound. The pain made him scream as he healed rapidly. He could feel the muscles and then the flesh knit. Normally this would have been done over time so that the pain didn’t kill the patient.
There was no time, so she healed him all at once. He felt weak. Kayla pulled him onto his feet. “Run,” she said as she tried to drag him away from the adults.
“The silver chain,” Davi yelled. “Until they cut the chain, the Draugr will have unlimited energy.”
He pulled against Kayla to get to the Draugr. “What are you going to do?” She yelled back. “Try and get killed?”
He didn’t say yes to her. The blacksmith was supposed to keep him safe, but they hadn’t been bonded long. Before she could read what he was going to do, he leaped onto the back of the Draugr.
Michael threw energy at the Draugr at the same time. The Draugr was stunned for a moment. Davi grew a long nail. He had no idea how he had changed his finger. There was no time to think. He sliced at the chain. He parted it a bit at a time.
The Draugr screamed and bucked. Davi slid down and his arm circled the Draugr’s neck. The Draugr bit Davi’s arm, but Davi held on and climbed. He sliced and sliced until the silver chain came free.
At the same time Michael had taken chalk and had circled the Draugr with strange staves and spells. The Draugr threw Davi across the clearing and then it charged Michael. Michael had just barely finished the spell. He rolled away and said a word. Davi could feel the spell snap in place.
The Draugr bounced off the barrier. It roared until Davi covered his ears. It hurt so bad that his ears began to bleed. “Kayla,” he yelled. He ran to her. She was rolling on the ground. The sound continued until the Draugr dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
The four of them gasped and sank to the ground. Hilda’s face went white and she almost dropped her sword. She wiped it down then put it in the scabbard. Davi admired her determination. He was already on the ground, trying to get his nerves under control.
“What were you cutting?” asked Hilda.
Chapter Twenty-six
South of Koenigstadt
Old One
Before Davi could answer the question, the Old One in human form walked into the clearing. “That would be my leash,” he said. He was dress
ed in black leather with a jaunty feather in his cap. A long bow was tied across his back. Hilda kept her hand on the hilt of her sword.
The Old One knew he looked impressive in human form. He had wandered the earth as a mage and now as a hunter. It did his heart good to see Davi’s face go white. To have this dragonling banish him for even a second was embarrassing.
“You have us surrounded?” asked Hilda. She stood straight on the balls of her feet, ready to fight. He turned his attention to her. That spark of fire in her was small and her little elemental would never amount to much. She was not on his level. He dismissed her with a glance and kept his attention on Davi and Kayla. Those two had power and he admired power.
The two young ones held hands tightly. He could feel the light probes as they checked his aura for weaknesses. It made him laugh. He was not just an old dragon. He was the first dragon. Davi’s blood connection came to him. He could twist it and hurt the dragonling quite easily.
Still he wanted to explain his reasons to the dragonling before killing him. The dragonling was one of his. “You are my seventh great grandson. Your talents and your blood come from me.”
“You are supposed to be a protector,” shouted Davi. He was magnificent in his rage. If the dragonling could change, the old one would have been worried. It saddened him for a minute that he would have to kill Davi before he had grown into his potential.
“You don’t want to live forever,” said the Old One. Then his lips firmed and he gestured. Dragon fire leapt from his fingers, turned blue then black and consumed the Draugr. All that was left in the middle of the circle was black ash that drifted down and covered it.
He gestured toward Michael, but the mage had already set up a shield while the dragon was burning the Draugr. The shield held as the fire tried to consume it. Davi could see the sweat role down Michael’s face. Michael’s shield was made from water so it could keep the fire away for a little while before it turned to steam.
The Old One dismissed Michael and Hilda as unworthy opponents. He turned his attention to Davi and Kayla.
Davi held Kayla’s hand tightly, using her energy as he started the same banishing ritual that he had used once before on the Old one. Just as he reached the crest of the words, the Old One’s body shredded and the Old one transformed from human to dragon.
Black light streamed from his head as the Old One’s face lengthened and changed. Davi could see large sharp teeth as the Old One reached down to swallow him whole. He rolled away and the Old One missed him.
Kayla dropped to the ground, stunned. Davi reached for her and threw her at Hilda and Michael, hoping they would open the shield for a moment and pull her in. She lay next to the shield.
Then Davi tried to distract the Old One. The Old One laughed, roared and blew fire. The Old One could see all outcomes and was delighted when Davi ran to the other side of the clearing. “Why are you doing this?” Davi yelled. The Old One sparkled with black light.
Davi’s mental wall fell and the Old One invaded his brain. “You wouldn’t understand,” said the Old One. “You have never lived forever. There is nothing that I haven’t seen or haven’t done. I want to see the ultimate destruction. I am so bored.” He pushed a hundred years into Davi’s brain. Davi screamed in pain and rolled on the ground.
The Old One swiped at him with his front claws, but Davi rolled away. Even in pain, he screamed, “But you were a protector of dragons and of humans.”
The Old One smiled, showing his large teeth. With one bite, he would satisfy this hunger and kill Davi, the blacksmith, and his friends.
“No, no,” Davi yelled. “No. I can’t let you.” Red shot out of his human eyes. Black billowed out of his ears. He stood. Kayla screamed. “Don’t do it.”
Davi’s body ripped and shredded.
The Old One stepped back and watched, “I may have a worthy opponent.”
Davi screamed in pain and defiance. Every part of his body dove down to the most elemental level. It hurt. He screamed again. He wouldn’t die. He wouldn’t die.
There was a huge pop and Davi stood there, weak and unable to move. He was a dragon, but much smaller than the one in front of him. The Old One laughed in scorn, “This? This? My enemy is a child. To kill him would be too easy.”
Davi trembled there, while the dragon pulled in air. In a moment the dragon would blow fire and he would die. Changing like this had taken too much energy. This was the reason that dragonlings were guarded and not allowed to change until they had reached maturity. There was nothing he could do. He hung his head and waited for his demise.
Kayla screamed with rage. “No,” she ran to Davi and leaped on his back. He could feel her tap into his protector energies.
The dragon looked surprised. Instead of waiting, he grabbed Davi with Kayla atop him. She pulled her hands apart. The energy in them grew like a little sun. The colors were blue and red intertwined. Kayla arched her back and threw the energy at the Old One.
The Old One dropped them. Davi and Kayla collapsed in a heap, not moving. Davi turned back to human, still unconscious.
The Old One roared. The energy attacked his wings. The wings blackened and fell off. The Old One screamed again and again. Michael let the shield go. He and Hilda raced to the children, while the Old One thrashed. The Old One was being eaten alive by magic.
The adults pulled the young ones into the woods. The Old One turned back to human form. His arms were burned and withered. Still the fire burned. He left, hugging his stomach, running from his death. For the first time he knew what it felt like to be mortal. He wanted to laugh. He knew real hate.
***
“Where is he,” asked Kayla when she opened her eyes.
Hilda pointed to Davi on the ground. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing evenly. They had survived.
South of Koenigstadt
Hilda Brant
About thirty minutes later, after Davi woke and they checked his injuries, Hilda heard the pounding of horses hooves. The king’s soldiers rode into the clearing. Hilda and Michael stood guarding Davi and Kayla. “Hail the clearing,” yelled the Sergeant.
Hilda responded. “Hail.” She sheathed her sword.
The squad moved into the clearing and surrounded the four of them.
“We are here to escort you to the city.”
The horse soldiers rode two in front and two in back of their prisoners.
“How did you find us?” asked Hilda. The Sergeant pulled the reins and walked the horse next to hers. Hilda recognized him as a young private during the wars. She hoped he was willing to talk.
“Your fight in that clearing wasn’t discreet,” said the Sergeant. Hilda admired his seat on the horse. He had grown up a lot since she had seen last him.
“The mages saw the blue and black lights. We were sent to make sure you weren’t a danger to the city or the king.”
“Thank you for the escort,”Hilda said, knowing they were being detained. “We have been traveling toward the city for weeks.” She didn’t say more. She knew how this worked. They would see the Sergeant’s officer, then go up the ranks until someone would decide that they were safe. Magic was regulated here.
If they didn’t think they were safe, the four of them would die in the cells from an unknown disease. She would take that chance. She wouldn’t think of escape when they were heading to the right place.
Davi was still weak. The ride was uneventful. They rode into the city from a side gate. The Sergeant was hailed by the guard. Young stable boys took the horses.
They walked the rest of the way to a building used as headquarters for the king’s army. There were soldiers walking fast through the halls to their various duties. Hilda felt herself relax.
“Sit here,” said the Sergeant. It was a bench in front of the door. One of his squad stood next to them as he walked through the door. A moment later, Hilda was gestured through the door. The rest were left in the hallway.
“So, Hilda,” said the officer when she walke
d through the door. “It’s been a long time.” The Sergeant shut the door, leaving Hilda there with the Colonel.
She hugged him. “PDA, my dear girl,” he said and then hugged her back.
She sat down on a chair in front of his desk.
“Why are you here? The last I heard you owned an inn in Delhaven.”
The Colonel had been her liaison as a mercenary in the wars, so she wasn’t hesitant about telling him of Lord Barton and the dragons.
“Did you get that?” asked the Colonel. A young man that Hilda hadn’t seen appeared in the corner.
“Yes, sir. I’ll get the report to the mages.”
Hilda was not too happy. “You’ll edit what I said about the dragons.”
The Colonel and the young man exchanged a look. “No, ma’am.”
The Colonel saw the anger in her eyes. “You’ll be pleased who this report goes to.” He said.
Hilda felt a little unsettled. “No one else will know about Davi and Kayla?”
The young man agreed. “We will have to inform the king, eventually.”
There was a reason why Hilda had left the cloak and dagger of big city life. She sighed. It was the best outcome of an already hard decision. Dragons were not well-liked. And the mages would have wanted to use Davi for his magic.
“You know that I won’t let it go if harm comes to Davi.”
She left it at that. The mages and the Colonel knew her well. The Colonel nodded. She didn’t know how the Colonel signaled the Sergeant, but the soldier opened the door.
“Let’s get you some housing,” he said as he escorted Hilda out of the office. Then they were escorted out of the building and across the square. “You will be guarded at all times,” said the Sergeant.
Hilda knew what that meant. They weren’t officially in the city. With a little food and some rest they would be ready for the next phase. Whatever that would be.