The Last of the Firedrakes

by Farah Oomerbhoy

  Calisto also came out of the shadows. Damien and his friends surrounded me. I looked for a way to run, but they were everywhere and had surrounded me on all sides.

  I was scared now. If Rafe had taught me to use knives, like I had asked, I might have had a better chance of defending myself. But who was I kidding? Even with knives, one against eight was not exactly a fair fight.

  “What do you want?” I asked. I hated that my voice was a little shaky; I could feel the fear rush in. Whatever Damien had planned for me tonight was not going to be pleasant.

  “I want to see if you are as brave as all the other disgusting Silverthornes,” he said, with a sneer. “Stay where you are and you may get a chance to defend yourself.” His tone was full of malice, and his dark eyes bore down on me. “You are nothing, a commoner from a distant kingdom, yet you think you are better than me, Damien, son of the Duke of Blackwater, one of the noblest and most magically powerful families in the kingdom. You don’t deserve to be in this school. I told you I’d teach you a lesson. Let us see what you’re made of.”

  While I was distracted, one of Damien’s minions surprised me with a stun strike. It was weak, but it hurt, and I was dazed for a few seconds. I quickly put up my defensive shield, although it was shaky at best.

  I tried to calm my racing heart and slowly shook off the stun. I strengthened my shield just in time, as five more stun strikes hit my shield and bounced off. It held, but only just. I drew more power and infused it into my defensive barrier. Damien and his friends didn’t stop their barrage of magical strikes. Attack after attack, stun strike after stun strike hit my shield and were thankfully deflected. I tried to think, but the attacks were coming at me so fast, I had no time to react except to shield myself. If I channeled my power into striking, my shield could drop.

  The attacks were starting to become fiercer. At first, they were one at a time, but soon they were combining their strikes against me. I was getting tired; I’d never had to hold out to a magical attack for so long before. And even then it was against one person with Professor Tanko looking on.

  One fire strike managed to get partly through my shield and scorched my leg before I could seal the breach. The pain was agonizing, but I held my ground.

  I tried to remember everything Professor Tanko had taught me. “Keep your shield in place at all times. Don’t forget to seal the top and bottom as well.” I concentrated on the area and closed the break in the shield. I was getting tired. My legs had gone weak, and I fell to my knees, but still I drew more power into maintaining my shield. I just didn’t know how long I could hold out. My leg was hurting where the fire strike had hit me. It throbbed, and my skin was red and burning.

  “Come on, get up Rory,” sneered Calisto. “You think you are so important because you are a ward of the Silverthornes. Well, let me tell you, your peasant blood is nothing compared to ours. We are Blackwaters, our magical bloodline spans generations, and no one even cares where Andrysia is.”

  She hit me with a strong fire strike.

  My shield was weakening again. I felt fear rush in, and her strike hit me on my shoulder. Pain shot through my arm, and I cried out in alarm. I put my palm over the area and reinforced my shield, drawing more power into it. I could feel my power source depleting. Soon I would have none left, and, if I tried to do too much, I could die.

  I knew I would have to eventually fight them physically; my magical shield was about to fall. I wondered if I should take off my amulet, but Uncle Gabriel’s warning resounded in my head. If I took off the amulet, Damien would know who I really was. He would inform Lucian, and Morgana would come after me immediately. For now I was only safe because she had no idea where I was.

  I calmed myself and got ready for the final blow. I was not going to let them defeat me. I was a princess, daughter of the greatest mage of this age, a fearless warrior, and the true King of Illiador. The thought gave me strength to further reinforce my shield, but time was running out.

  Suddenly I heard Damien’s voice. He sounded panicked. “Let’s get out of here. Someone’s coming.”

  They all left as quickly as they came.

  I collapsed in a heap on the floor, my shield still defensively around me.

  “Rory, are you all right?” a worried voice said.

  I looked up to see Professor Dekela, the mastermage, crouching over me. I was safe, and I let my shield drop, but I was too exhausted to get up, let alone walk. Professor Dekela carried me through the mage quarters to his study and lay me down on a comfortable leather sofa. He was quite strong for an old mage.

  He handed me a cup of what I recognized as snowberry milk, and I took it gratefully. Snowberry milk was wonderful for calming the nerves and restoring strength to the body, as well as aiding sleep.

  The mastermage sat down on a matching leather armchair near me. He looked serious, and I was not sure how much I should actually tell him. If I squealed on Damien and his friends, they would hunt me down, and the next time I may not be so lucky.

  “Who was responsible for this, Rory?” Professor Dekela asked slowly, but his eyes showed that he was very serious and concerned.

  I shook my head. I didn’t want to lie, and so it was better to just keep quiet.

  “If you don’t tell me, I will punish every student in this school until you do,” he said, in his usual matter-of-fact way. “I don’t think your friends would appreciate it, when all you have to do is to tell me who the aggressors of tonight’s attack were. I will not have any of my students behaving this way.”

  I weighed the options carefully in my mind. It was no use lying; he would find out eventually.

  “It was the Blackwaters, Professor,” I said finally, unable to keep it in. “Damien and Calisto, along with some of their friends. You cannot let them know that I’ve told you or punish them. If you do, they will make my life hell, and you said I don’t want to bring attention to myself.”

  “I will think about it,” said Professor Dekela. “Tell me what happened, and then I will decide.”

  “There were about seven or eight of them, and they attacked me out of nowhere,” I started. “I was stunned once. It was a weak stun, but then I got my shield up and held it. They didn’t stop. I got scared, and my shield dropped for a minute. That’s when the fire strike hit me on the leg.”

  I showed him where I had got burnt.

  “Are you saying that they used fire strikes on you outside of class?”

  I nodded. “Mainly stuns, but a few fire.”

  “We will fix that,” he said simply. He put his palm over the wound and closed his eyes. I had learned this in my healing class but had never done it myself. The pain vanished almost instantly, and the skin started to heal, although I knew it would take a few days to restore itself to normal. I showed him my shoulder too, where Calisto’s fire strike had hit me. He healed that as well.

  “Now, let me get this straight,” said Professor Dekela, when I was feeling a little better. “Eight students attacked you out of nowhere and used stun and fire strikes on you.”

  “And push strikes too,” I added, remembering my ordeal.

  He frowned. “And you held your shield against so many magical strikes one after another?”

  I shook my head. “At first it was one after another, but then, when they were not getting through my shield, they all struck together, maybe four or five at a time. I think they were trying to break my shield from all sides. I didn’t have enough power to strike back, so I concentrated on holding my shield.”

  Professor Dekela was rubbing his chin, and his eyes were wide. “Are you trying to say that you held your shield against so many multiple strikes at a time for, what was it, about ten minutes?”

  I nodded.

  “And this is the first time you have created a shield against a real magical attack outside of class, am I right?”

  I nodded again. What was he trying to say?

  The mastermage rose. “That, my dear Rory, is quite impressive. There is only
one mage I have seen who had so much power at your age.” He stopped, a faraway look on his face; he seemed hesitant to continue on that subject. “Nonetheless, this kind of behavior will not be tolerated in my school. Use of fire strikes on one of my students, ambush on school property . . . these students have to be dealt with in some way.”

  There was a knock on the door.

  “Ah, Penelope and Miss Foxmoor,” said the mastermage, looking over at the door. I turned to see Professor Plumpleberry and Vivienne walk in.

  Vivienne ran over and hugged me. I winced when she touched my arm. “What happened?”

  “Damien happened,” I said simply.

  Penelope looked livid.

  Professor Dekela cleared his throat. “I summoned your roommate and Professor Plumpleberry when I brought you here. They will take you back to your room, so Penelope can tend to your wounds. I expect you don’t want to be alone tonight.”

  I nodded gratefully. I would never have asked. I didn’t want to sound like a scared little girl, but I was glad that I didn’t have to walk back to my dorm on my own.

  “And there is something else,” said Professor Dekela.

  “Yes, Professor,” I said.

  “After you are feeling better, come and see me. I would like to arrange some extra classes for you. It seems you have a lot of untapped power, and it would be a shame for it to be overlooked.” He glanced at Penelope, who I noticed nodded slightly.

  “Thank you, Professor,” I said gratefully, following Penelope and Vivienne out of the room.

  As we walked along the flowering paths and down the main avenue of cherry blossoms, I told them what I had told Professor Dekela. Vivienne shared Penelope’s anger, but they both agreed with me that, if the mastermage expelled Damien, it would definitely bring the Blackwaters down on my head, and I didn’t want them snooping around into who I really was.

  I felt humiliated. How could Damien do this to me, eight against one? He was always a coward, bullies usually are, and that’s why he always had his cronies following him about. I was sure I could beat him one on one, even with my binding amulet on.

  I decided that I was going to give more interest and time to my studies and training. I was suddenly extremely determined to be better than him. I knew I could do it, but I needed help. And now the mastermage of the university was willing to look into my studies personally. If I applied myself and worked hard, I was sure that I could challenge him to a public duel and beat him in front of the whole school.

  I hardly slept that night. Nightmares of Damien and his cronies hunting me down plagued me every time I tried to fall asleep.

  I woke up in a cold sweat. It was still dark, and Vivienne was sound asleep on the other bed in the corner of the room. A light sea breeze wafted in as moonlight shone through the little window and the trees threw rustling shadows on the bedroom floor. A shadow moved near the curtains, and my breath caught in my throat. Had Damien come to finish off the job, or had Morgana finally found me?

  “Rafe!” I whispered, relieved beyond belief as the moonlight finally lit up his face. He wasn’t wearing his mask.

  Rafe came over, knelt down by my bed, and hugged me.

  “Are you all right?” he asked softly, holding my face in his hands, his grey eyes glittering in the moonlight.

  I nodded, lowering my eyes. Did he really care what happened to me, or was he just upset that he wasn’t there to save me this time?

  “What are you doing here?” I said, trying to keep my voice low. “What if someone sees you?” I glanced over at Vivienne’s side of the room, but she was still sound asleep.

  “Penelope told me what happened,” Rafe said, holding both my hands in his. He spoke quietly, and Vivienne didn’t wake up. “I had to come and see how you were. I thought I told you to stay away from the Blackwaters.”

  “I tried,” I said indignantly, “but they cornered and attacked me when no one else was around. What was I supposed to do?”

  Rafe muttered something about needing to teach them a lesson.

  “You can’t do anything about it, Rafe,” I said. “Promise me you will leave it alone. The Blackwaters are powerful nobles, related to the king. If they catch you, you will be hanged.”

  Rafe laughed. “Don’t worry, Aurora. I can handle the Blackwaters.” He got up and sat beside me on the bed. “The only person I can’t seem to handle is you. I wish you would learn to listen, especially when it’s for your own good.”

  I tried to look offended, blood rushing to my face. I was lucky it was dark and he couldn’t see my embarrassment.

  Vivienne stirred in her bed.

  “I should go,” Rafe whispered. “But I want you to meet me tomorrow night in the cellar of your dorm house.”

  “Where are we going?” I asked, but only because I was curious. The truth was I would follow him anywhere.

  “Well, you said that you wanted to learn how to use a weapon,” Rafe said, smiling. “And I think it’s about time you learn how to protect yourself, with and without magic.”

  My eyes lit up. “You’re going to teach me?”

  Rafe nodded. “I will see you tomorrow. Get some sleep,” he said, getting up and moving towards the window. “And please stay out of trouble, for a few hours at least.”

  I smiled and, in a dance of shadows, he was gone.

  I sat in my bed and thought about what he’d said. I finally realized that now was the time to enhance my training. Rafe was right. I had taken things too lightly so far. I was enjoying learning to use magic, but I’d never understood what having all this power really meant.

  Damien and his friends were just students with limited capabilities. But Morgana, Lucian, the Shadow Guard, and especially the Drakaar were another case altogether. They were all experienced mages and sorcerers, and I would have to learn to do more than cringe under a defensive barrier if I was going to face them.

  Ever since I found out who I really was, I had been trying to run from my destiny. But the reality was that, whether I liked it or not, I was the true Queen of Illiador, and I had a responsibility to my people to free them from Morgana’s tyranny. I had to stop running. I had to turn and face my life head on. It wasn’t enough being like everybody else; I had to be the best, and I was going to show everyone what I was truly made of. I was done with being a terrified princess, constantly waiting to be saved. I was going to be a queen, and, like Vivienne said, I had better start behaving like one.

  22

  Queen in Training

  The next morning I got up, dressed early, and went down to Professor Dekela’s room. He had requested to meet me before I started my classes. He was ready and having his morning cup of something steamy and hot, which smelled a lot like coffee.

  “Well, Rory, you know why I have asked to see you. Your training is not satisfactory, although it is no fault of yours. I think that you need to be challenged far more. You have shown an extraordinary use of power for someone so young and inexperienced. I must say that I am not completely surprised. After all, you are Azaren’s daughter,” he said softly.

  I nodded.

  “I want you to cease worrying about the Blackwaters. I will keep an eye on them, and for now I will not expel them from this school. I understand that it is necessary to keep your identity secret. But now it is even more important that you learn all you can, as fast as you can. Your power must be properly directed and controlled. I also think you are ready to learn some more advanced skills, and unfortunately you don’t have the luxury of time like the other students.”

  He stopped and leaned forward a little. “You may or may not know, but Morgana and the archmage are readying Illiador for war with Andrysia, and when and if that happens, even Evolon will be under threat.”

  “Why? I thought we were safe here. Uncle Gabriel said that you would be able to protect me,” I said.

  “Yes, that is true. We are safe for now. But the archmage has always been against me, and he wants me to give him warriors from the school to ass
ist with his campaign. Naturally I said no, and he is obviously not too happy with me. He has given the king an ultimatum: give him an army of warrior mages of Eldoren or he will wage war on us too.”

  “Can he do that?” I gasped.

  “Lucian has become very powerful. And he is the leader of the mage guild. Even in Eldoren, some are afraid to go against him openly,” said Professor Dekela. He paused and looked me straight in the eye. “I am telling you all this because of who you are, or who we hope you will grow up to be. You must be updated on the politics of the kingdoms, as well as excel in your studies. Therefore, you will have classes with me every day after school. I don’t want anyone getting suspicious, so we will just say I am tutoring you at the behest of your guardian, who feels that you are lagging behind in your studies.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. Damien would have a field day. Just the fact that I was getting extra lessons would make everyone presume that I was falling behind in my classes. But I had no choice. And I had made up my mind; I was going to show Damien that I was not afraid of him or anyone else.

  “Professor Penelope and Professor Tanko will also give you extra classes in healing and warcraft respectively. One day you may be in a situation where you will not have anyone to protect you, and you will have to defend and heal yourself. Now return to your classes. I will see you in the evening,” said Professor Dekela.

  I nodded. “Thank you, Professor,” I said as I rushed away. I was already late for fae studies, and we were going on a small field trip to meet a family of dryads who had moved to the woods just behind the gardens of the school, relocated from Illiador.

  I had already met dryads with Kalen in Pixie Bush. Dwelling on that caused me to wonder how he was doing. It had been a long time since I had seen my friend or heard from him, and I hoped he was all right. I reminded myself that I must ask Professor Plumpleberry when she would send for him. I missed Kalen and his incessant chatter.