Vaddoc looked at the charred ground around the towers. “What burned?”
Medar frowned. “Those black demons have burned the towers twice. We built the first real sturdy, but soon learned to make it bare minimum. We put them up, the blacks burn them down. I suspect these will only last a few more days before we have to build them again.”
That the black dragons were breaching this far into Shadereen to hunt was disturbing enough, it was even more so to hear they were burning things down. Namir reached for him, “Since Mckale and Maleena have been battling these same troubles in Calladar, do you want me to speak with Tellnox and Nydara and see if they would be willing to come here?”
“Yes. If they have a solution to the problem, I would like to see it implemented in Shadereen. Thank you, Namir.”
Vaddoc turned to Medar. “There might be a fix for that. Give Namir a few minutes to discuss it with some friends of ours.”
Medar nodded.
Though Namir kept an eye on the group of children that scampered around him and even scaled his side to climb on his back, Vaddoc sensed the gold’s conversation with Tellnox. He smiled as he watched several older children sitting on Namir’s back.
The gold stretched out one large wing and angled the trailing edge toward the ground. The children looked at the wing then back toward the dragon’s head. Namir bobbed his head in encouragement. One of the more intrepid children placed his foot carefully on the extended wing, drawing a chuckle from Vaddoc. He knew what was coming; those wings were slippery. Namir was bringing one of the favorite games of the children of Galdrilene to the children here.
The boy put his weight on his foot and it went out from under him. With a shriek he went skidding on his stomach down the widest part of the wing near the dragon’s body. With a light thump, he slid off the trailing edge of the wing and dropped the last few inches to the ground. The boy sat for a moment as if processing what had just happened before leaping to his feet with a whoop and running back toward the dragon’s front leg.
Another boy leaped onto Namir’s wing and slid to the ground. It wasn’t long before a steady stream of children were climbing up the dragon’s side, with the aid of the catcher strap, and walking carefully down his back before jumping onto the extended wing. Even the smaller children joined in with the older ones helping them up. Cat dashed in and out of them, meowing and enjoying the attention they gave him.
Vaddoc couldn’t help laughing as Lenya, squealing with delight, went careening down the golden wing of “her” dragon.
“Tellnox says they know what to do and are coming,” came Namir’s sending.
Two horns blared in frantic blasts over the town as three whirlpools filled the sky. People screamed and started to run until Namir’s welcoming bugle froze them in their tracks. Three dragons Slid through into the sky above Welan.
The answering bugles of the red, green, and silver dragons filled the air. Lenya jumped up and down while clapping and laughing in delight.
Tellnox, Syrakynn, and Nydara landed not far from Namir and his crowd of young admirers. “Sykynn!” Lenya’s shout carried across the open grasslands at the edge of town as she dashed toward the red.
Syrakynn lowered her head as the little girl neared and huffed a gentle breath at her. Lenya giggled and did her best to hug the red’s large snout. “You broughts me more dragons, Sykynn?”
The red rumbled in acknowledgement. Lenya turned to Kirynn as she leaped down from the saddle and propped her foot on the dragon’s leg to remove the catcher strap. The redhead barely had time to toss the strap up on the saddle before the little girl wrapped her arms around Kirynn’s legs. “Thank yous for bringing me more dragons.”
Kirynn gently pried her arms away and knelt on one knee so she would be more level with the child. “How could I not bring a little one as cute as you more dragons?”
Lenya beamed at her and looked at the green and the silver. “What their names?”
Kirynn pointed. “That big green one is Tellnox and the nearly as big silver is Nydara.”
“Will they play with us like Mir?”
“I’m sure they will.” Kirynn smiled. “Why don’t you go ask them while we see if we can help the grown-ups with their towers?”
Lenya ran up to the new dragons. Vaddoc found himself laughing yet again. Apparently her way of asking was to take hold of the edge of Tellnox’s nostril with her tiny hand and proceed to pull him toward the group of children. The green obliged her without protest. Before long the four dragons basked in the sun rumbling happily while the town’s children climbed all over them and slid down their wings.
Mckale walked up and clasped forearms with Vaddoc. “I hear you have an issue with lookout towers down here. We had the same problem in Calladar for a little bit. Towns would build them and the Shadow Dragons would burn them down.”
Medar nodded. “That is exactly what is happening here.”
“I can help with that.” Mckale smiled at the innkeeper.
Anly, who had watched the children play in silence, turned to Vaddoc. “I would really like to see this, but Annoc will start to fuss if he has to be held much longer.” She paused and glanced back at the dragons. “Do you think they would mind if he crawled around them? He is too little to Slide on wings.” Her expression said she would never have believed such a thing if she hadn’t seen it. “He would really enjoy seeing them closer. My oldest daughter, Tenyi, will help watch after him.”
Vaddoc smiled at her. Who would have thought this nervous mother would ask if the dragons would be willing to babysit her youngest. “Of course they will not mind.”
“Will they…will they step on him? Maybe it is not a good idea. He is so little.”
Maleena stepped forward. “They won’t step on him. Dragons love children; there is no safer place in the world than with them.”
Anly stared at the small, violet-eyed woman for a long moment. “If you are sure…”
“I’m very sure.”
Anly walked slowly over to Namir and gazed up into his amber eyes. “Please be careful with him.”
Namir lowered his head until his eyes were level with hers. “Vaddoc, please tell her that I will protect her little one with my life.”
“Namir says he will protect Annoc with his life. Your little one is more than safe.”
Anly slowly set the baby down. Annoc blew a few spit bubbles and then crawled toward the dragon’s front foot. He sat next to a talon far bigger than him and immediately leaned over, put his mouth on it, and began teething on the hard rounded surface at the front as drool ran down it. Namir rumbled the dragon equivalent of a chuckle and cocked his head so he could better keep an eye on the youngster trying to gum his way through the dragon’s claw.
Anly sighed. “I would pull him away from teething on a big, dirty claw but he would just go right back to it.”
Kirynn laughed. “As if we didn’t all eat dirt as small children.”
“Very true,” Mckale said as he turned to Medar. “Let’s see what we can do about your towers.”
Medar led the way to the nearest structure. Mckale eyed it up and down. “It could be taller. Can you have your man come down? I’m afraid I’m going to have to remove this one in order to erect another.”
“Remove it? How?” Medar looked a little nervous.
“I’ll have Kirynn burn it down. Don’t worry, it won’t take long and she hasn’t lost control of a fire for a long time.” Mckale glanced at the redhead with a smile. “In fact, the last time I saw her loose complete control of her magic we were camped next to a lake and she burned every stitch of her clothing off.”
Kirynn laughed. “Yes, I did.” She winked at Medar. “I promise not to burn my clothes off or your town down.”
Medar swallowed. “Do what you need to do.” He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled up at the man in the tower, “Come down from there, Haddoc.”
A young man climbed down the ladder on the side of the tower and walked up to th
em. “Is something wrong?”
“No.” Medar shook his head and clasped his hands behind his back. “These friends of ours are going to take down this tower and put a better one in its place.”
Haddoc looked at them. “How long will it take?”
Mckale shrugged. “A few hours for both towers.” He motioned to Kirynn. “Take it down.”
Vaddoc couldn’t see her magic weaves but he saw the product of them. The tower burst into flame all at once, burning so hot they all had to step back from it. Within minutes it was reduced to a pile of ash.
Mckale looked at Maleena, concern flickering in his eyes. “Are you ready for this?”
“Of course.” She nodded.
“We have been doing this a lot lately, if you need to rest…”
Maleena smiled. “Mckale, I’m fine.”
Vaddoc looked between them, confused. “What does Maleena have to do? I figured this would be something to do with Earth magic.”
“It does,” Mckale said. “However, it will work better if I can weave heat into it. For that, I need Maleena to bind Kirynn and my powers together. I will also need a shield from you. In Calladar we borrowed Belynn for the fire and Brock for the shield. By the time we were done with fortifications on the border towns, Belynn and Brock were both exhausted and really needed to return to their dragons.”
“We’ve barely been in Taragen at all in the past couple of weeks. We’ve spent all of our time along the border,” Maleena said then rubbed her hands together. “This tower is down let’s get to work.”
Vaddoc watched her take a deep breath, as her eyes unfocused a little, and he knew she already worked to bind the powers together. Mckale walked over to where the tower had stood. He knelt and placed his palms on the ground.
Medar gasped as the earth turned to something that looked like thick liquid. Gradually, the ground began to flow upwards like a slow moving river. As the sun passed slowly overhead the thick, liquid earth climbed higher, moving in a slow vortex until it was taller than the height of the old tower.
“Vaddoc, can I get a shield?” Mckale asked without looking away from his work.
Surprised, Vaddoc nodded at his friend. “How much of one?”
“Everything except my hands; they’ll be protected by Kirynn’s magic. Everyone else might want to step back, this is about to get very hot.”
Vaddoc reached out for his magic and wove a strong shield around Mckale, leaving only his hands exposed.
Gradually, the liquid earth began to heat until it glowed white hot. Tremendous heat waves poured off the vortex, forcing everyone except Mckale to step back. Vaddoc fed more magic into the shield. It was best to maintain the shield rather than set it. He would be able to tell if any part of it started to weaken sooner.
Vaddoc noticed silence from the direction of the dragons and turned to look, although most of his focus was on the shield that protected his friend. All four dragons were curled in sleep, their wings still spread out. In the shelter of their shade, the children of the town gathered like a large pack of puppies with Cat right in the middle of them. Lenya and several other younger ones were sound asleep, while the older children reclined on the grass talking quietly.
Annoc was asleep in the shadow next to Namir’s head, one pudgy little hand lying against the bottom edge of the gold’s jaw. Every now and then, one amber eye would open a crack as the dragon checked on his youngest charge. The rest of the town’s adults gathered not far from the dragons, watching Mckale work.
Kirynn settled crossed legged into the grass. When Vaddoc raised an eyebrow she shrugged. “I might as well relax; it isn’t as if I’m doing anything that requires concentration. I’m just a pass through for magic right now.”
Vaddoc watched as Mckale continued to sculpt the tower. He glanced at Maleena and though sweat rolled down the side of her face, she didn’t waver. After several more minutes, Anly got up and left, striding purposely into town. She returned quickly carrying a plain parasol. She went to stand next to Maleena, using the parasol to shade the shorter woman from the sun.
Finally, the vortex of molten earth slowed. It began to ripple like water moving over rocks as it spiraled upwards. “Kirynn, can you follow the weave and start to draw the heat out as I finish?” Mckale asked, his voice strained.
Kirynn stood up and brushed her hands off, her eyes on the forming tower. “I got it.”
Little by little, beginning at the bottom, the ripples smoothed out and hardened until the completed tower stood in the sunlight. Mckale remained kneeling for a moment, breathing heavy.
Maleena wiped her hand along her brow and took a shaky breath. She smiled at Anly. “Thank you.”
Vaddoc let go of the shield and eyed Maleena. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yes. Binding that much power together for such a long time is tiring, but I’m alright. I could really use a drink though and once Mckale recovers, he will too. Maybe something to eat as well.”
Medar turned wondering eyes from the tower to her. “I welcome you to my inn. The ceilings are high and the temperature is quite comfortable. I will be happy to serve the mid-day meal.”
Maleena inclined her head. “Thank you, Medar. Your hospitality is most welcome.”
Vaddoc turned to examine the new tower. Built entirely of seamless, gray-speckled stone, it was functional and beautiful at the same time. Single petal roses climbed the outside of it, each petal so detailed it seemed as if they would shift in the next breeze. As he looked closer, he noticed tiny, life-like dragons among the thorns. A staircase wound around the outside of the tower to the top where the lookout area was covered with a round peaked, stone roof.
One side of the roof held the dragon and crossed swords of Galdrilene in raised relief. The other held the standard of Shadereen, three circles linked together in a triangle with a lion tail scimitar through them—a symbol of their defense of the border—and the eternal watch of the three sister nations, though one nation no longer existed.
Mckale rose slowly to his feet and stood straight, though weariness showed on his face. “Medar, please lead the way to your inn. I will need to rest a short time before I can tackle the next tower. The rock layer is much deeper here in Shadereen, it took considerable effort to draw it up.”
Medar nodded and motioned for them to follow. “Right this way.” He glanced at the tower again then looked at Mckale as they followed him into town. “Will it withstand the Shadow Dragons?”
Mckale shrugged. “Not indefinitely. It will have to be remade at some point. It’s made of solid granite. Maleena binding Kirynn’s Fire magic to mine allowed me to superheat it and draw it up easier. It also allowed me to infuse it with a weave that requires the two powers to work. It will keep Shadow fire from eating away at it like it does other stone. Eventually, if subjected to repeated Shadow fire, the weave will break down and the tower will start to suffer damage. However, it should be a few years before that’s necessary.”
Medar shook his head. “I wish all structures were made that way.”
“A lot of them used to be made in this manner, except for the weave. That wasn’t discovered until recently, thanks to another Guardian named Anevay who has the very rare ability to create new weaves.”
Anly stopped to gather the sleeping Annoc. “Thank you, Namir, for taking such good care of him.”
Namir rumbled softly as she turned and walked toward a small house. Vaddoc smiled as he stepped through the door of the inn into the cool interior. It seemed the dragons had made permanent friends in this village.
They sat down to a simple meal of stew and warm, soft bread. Medar offered them a pitcher of water and another of wine. Maleena and Mckale struggled a little with the twin sticks offered as eating utensils. Mckale worked at learning them while Maleena gave up and used one of the sticks to stab the pieces of food in the soup.
Vaddoc savored the familiar tastes and textures of the food. He glanced at Kirynn as she ate the stew with obvious relish.
He smiled at her. “It is good, is it not?”
“It’s delicious. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything quite like it.” She plucked a small piece of meat out of it with the twin sticks she had finally mastered. “What is this? It has an interesting flavor, good but different.”
Vaddoc hesitated, should he tell her what the small chunks of “meat” were? “That would be ‘meat’ harvested from an adult sand spider.”
Kirynn dropped the sticks as if they had bitten her. They splashed into her soup and she nearly knocked over her chair in her leap to avoid being touched by the broth. Her green eyes narrowed at him. If looks could kill he would have dropped dead. Another glance at her face told him she was seriously considering using more force than a look any moment.
Testing his luck, he chuckled and popped another bite of the meat in his mouth. Maleena glared at him from across the table. “That wasn’t nice, Vaddoc.”
She looked at Kirynn. “You’re very angry with him right now; however, you will regret it with every fiber of your being if you follow through with what you’re thinking.” She stabbed another vegetable, avoiding the meat chunks. Then she glanced at Kirynn and said, “Although you will likely not regret what you’re thinking now,” before turning her glare back on Vaddoc.
Vaddoc looked at Mckale who studiously ate everything in his bowl as if it required his absolute attention. “Not going to come to my aid, my fellow Borderman?”
Humor flashed in Mckale’s silver eyes when he looked up and shook his head. “I’m not getting between you and Kirynn. Tellnox would be very upset if I died. Besides, you have angered my bondmate and I have to live with her.” He flashed Maleena a smile when she turned her glare on him. “She is not happy with you right now.”
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