Knights of the Dragon (of Knights and Wizards Book 1)

by A. J. Gallant

  “I had to push Ryxa off the cliff she was so scared.”

  Inara chuckled as she recalled her daughter’s first flight. “Oh, I remember. And when she flew back she blasted you with fire.”

  Kai nodded. “Yes, and when I was sleeping she pushed me off the cliff and scared the hell out of me. There’s nothing like waking from a dream when you’re falling off a cliff. I think that she might become queen rather than Sulphur becoming king. Things were a lot simpler back then and a lot more predictable.”

  The dragon couple snuggled up to one another as Kai sniffed Inara’s neck and slowly drifted off; he awoke with Inara licking his face and looking to mate.

  The next morning Marcus circled Leeander on Ryxa’s back. He would never get tired of seeing the world from the air, and because he trusted her he could relax and enjoy the view. Marcus watched seven kids playing tag below him, and when they flew over; he laughed at how their mouths dropped open at seeing him on the dragon’s back. He now flew in his dreams as well, but there he could control the dragon.

  “Ryxa, how wonderful it must be to be a dragon!”

  “You know what they say, Marcus, that the grass is always greener on the other side. Being human must have its good points too.” Though she knew it was infinitely better to be a dragon.

  She pumped her wings, and they climbed. They flew over a section of the castle where he could see several knights below that were talking and pointing northward. After several more passes they circled and landed in an empty field and both the boy and the dragon were excited at what the day might bring. The four knights from Joshuar had watched with interest as they had gently touched down. They had never observed a human on the back of a dragon although they had heard stories of it. How was that child brave enough to fly on the back of such a beast?

  The relationship between the boy and the dragon was tightening. They enjoyed learning about one another’s culture and idiosyncrasies. Marcus thought it fascinating that within hours of the birth of a baby dragon it had to be washed clean by its mother’s tongue or else it wouldn’t survive; her tongue was full of magical properties that strengthened the baby’s immune system. It killed the dangerous germs and replaced them with microbes that would protect the child. And that the baby could talk even from inside the egg. Dragons were advanced in a lot of ways.

  Ryxa and Marcus now had a plan of their own to save the kingdom, and it was as good as anyone else’s and probably better the boy thought. It was a dangerous quest, and the king would not approve, and that’s why they wouldn’t tell his father. Marcus would do his best to save Leeander and worried that he might never again see his big sister, even though she was a pain in the ass, sometimes literally. She was off on an urgent quest as would the boy be soon enough; that’s if they could manage it.

  Marcus had become acquainted with the four knights from Joshuar and perhaps they were just depressed enough to go on this adventure. He was sorry for them and wondered if others would soon be sorry for Leeander. Marcus had always been fascinated by knights, how they lived their entire lives to protect others. How they trained diligently to become the best that they could be. How others looked up to them. So far he had never met one that he didn’t like though perhaps a few of them thought too highly of themselves. He hoped to grow up to be just like Stone, a mighty knight with no equal. His father had told him life had a way of making a person turn left even when he wanted to turn right, and that important things needed proper consideration.

  The Knights radiated sadness even though they tried hard not to show it. Marcus knew that perhaps the same fate waited for him if he managed to survive the inevitable battle that was sure to come. How would he feel if his sister and his father and Stone were all dead? And all his friends were rotting in the sun? It was such a terrible thought that he couldn’t bear to think it, never mind if it came to pass. That’s why he would do anything to stop it.

  “I’ve seen it all now,” said Theon.

  The knights were waiting for the boy and the dragon near the huge rock that was in the shape of a needle, including the eye. Rumored that a hole had been blasted in it by a wizard long ago, but Marcus wasn’t sure if the story was true or if someone had simply made it up. He thought it might be fun to make up a story about some great battle that never happened, and have monsters with ten heads fighting knights. Stories told around the bonfires at night would be a good place for him to tell such a tale. His father had told him that as many stories were false as true, and now he wondered of the veracity of tales of great unknown battles.

  They were less than a mile from Leeander’s border but would be away from prying eyes, and, more importantly, eavesdropping ears. The value of those precious rocks the only reason the Knights turned up. Marcus walked over to Zak and looked up at him; he was big, strong, handsome and a little scary to the boy. How many had he killed in his life? Zak had seen too much killing in his life and was ready to head to the kingdom of the red sun more than a thousand miles to the west, and the promise of gold would go a long way to start a new life. Time and distance might ease their pain.

  “You are the knights of Joshuar. I am so sorry for the loss of your people.” Ryxa bowed, and they ignored her.

  “We don’t talk to dragons. We are in no mood for banter boy. Why are we here?” Titus looked up at the dragon and then down at the boy. “What is this offer?”

  “It is actually my offer,” said the dragon. “I’m the one with the gold, and so you would be working for me. It is necessary that you understand that.” She jingled the sack tied to her neck.

  All four spoke simultaneously. “Working for a dragon?” It was such a shock that they didn’t know what to say. Titus laughed. Urban scratched his head. What sort of ruse was this? It made Theon smile as he shook his head. What a preposterous notion. It was obvious that they had come out here for nothing.

  Ryxa took four bags of gold out of the sack around her neck and tossed them at their feet. They all stared at one another not sure what to do next, but they were all curious enough to look in the leather pouches. Inside were solid clumps of gold and a hefty amount at that. That grabbed their interest. How much gold was the dragon willing to give up? Dragon’s placed no value on gold whatsoever. Titus examined the gold, convinced that it was indeed genuine.

  Urban was impressed at the amount of gold. “What would we have to do for all this?”

  “Oh, that’s just an advance. Your can take right now if you agree to do the job?” Ryxa could see that she had them by the looks on their faces. She thought it peculiar how all humans were so fascinated by a bunch of rocks and would even die for it. Dragons kept the rocks away from humans because they so liked to fight over it. The looks in those eyes made her smile. It was as if she had given them the most wondrous thing. “I’ll give each of you four more bags should we survive the quest.”

  All four could come up with good reasons not to work for a dragon, but a suicide mission appealed to them. If they didn’t make it back so what, and if they did they would be well off, besides the fact that they had nothing better to do. They had no reason to live. Revenge on the Yurrosy was all they had and unfortunately with their numbers they might not be able to kill a single one of them. Most of their energy and ambition had dispersed like fog in the sun. Had they been riding towards a cliff none of them would have changed course or slowed for that matter. But for now, it was all they had to consider.

  Theon stared down at the boy. “And what exactly would we have to do?”

  “I’m up here,” said the dragon. “Don’t look at the boy I’m giving the gold. Are you aware of the Valley of Cubes?”

  Zak looked at Marcus, who shrugged. “Is he trying to be funny?”

  “The dragon’s a girl,” said the boy.

  All four faces change to disgust.

  “We’d be working for a female dragon? It just gets better and better.” There was a deep sigh from Zak. “Everyone knows of the Valley of Cubes, and everyone knows there is no way in. You�
�re wasting our time with this bullshit. If you weren’t the king’s son, I’d give you a good swift kick.” Zak mounted his horse followed by the others.

  Ryxa knew she shouldn’t do it, but it might be necessary. In general, the Dragons kept their business to themselves and away from the ears of humans, besides the fact that they so enjoyed the humans and their attempts to get into the cubes, superb entertainment value over the centuries. “The cubes were built by dragon magic. Did you know that? All dragons know how to get inside. Getting in is not the problem. Finding the throne room and getting out alive will be difficult.”

  Titus looked puzzled. “There’s a throne room? Who sits on the throne?”

  “I don’t know,” answered the dragon.

  “I’ve never heard that the Valley of the Cubes was a product of dragon magic. Is there such a thing as dragon magic?” Titus commenced to examine the dragon up close.

  “Oh there is,” said Ryxa.

  Zak looked puzzled. “So what exactly would we be looking for?”

  “A couple of things,” said the boy. “Something magical to power up our shield or even a wizard that would be willing to help us, or something magical that would help us to destroy the Yurrosy. Maybe you could get your revenge that way?”

  They all liked the sound of ending the Yurrosy. The four knights huddled together away from Marcus and the dragon to discuss the offer. The quest seemed sufficiently dangerous that they might not return, and if they did they would have lots of gold and perhaps even the power to kill those bastards. The dragon whispered to the boy that it looked as though they were going to agree to the proposition because the rocks hypnotized them. But the huddle took longer than they expected, arguing about taking orders from a girl dragon.

  Urban stepped forward. “All right were in. What do we have to do?”

  “You work for me now,” said the dragon. She considered that it might be the first time in history that humans worked for a dragon, and that pleased her. The world certainly needed to progress. “Show up here two days from today at sunrise. Leave your horses and bring some salt. You’ll be flying into the realm of the cubes on my back; it’s the only way in for a human.”

  Theon was prepared to take off on his horse. “Why do we need salt?”

  “Salt can disrupt some magic. You should all have some.”

  Without saying another word the knights rode off back toward Leeander, all in a bit better mood than when they had set out earlier. Would the end be a harsh reality?

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  ELLA WAS BACK ON TOP OF THE CLIFF of the red dragons, but it was different. Instead, of the dragons throwing themselves at her, they were avoiding her as if she stunk. She even tried batting her eyes at Hughgobo and when he ignored her she realized what was going on, and soon others would too. The bonding process with Zedock had gone too far, and she now smelled of him. Why had she let herself get close to that stupid black dragon?

  “Stupid Zedock.”

  She was so angry that she couldn’t think straight. The scent would wear off in a month or two, but that was a long time, and she would have to face many tough questions that she wouldn’t be able to answer. Her parents weren’t stupid, and they would figure it out. She couldn’t even approach her parents with the problem as they would be as likely to toss her out as not. Life had suddenly become complicated. The dragon was cute but not worth this! The boldness of that black dragon! If she ever saw him again, she was going to smash him. No, she was going to blast him with fire.

  Ella made her way to her rose garden; she enjoyed just sitting and admiring the beauty of the hundred red roses inside her circle of volcanic rocks. She loved the scent that they produced and could sit there for hours if she was permitted to do so. It was a spectacular view over the flowers and the cliff; Ella could see for miles and miles. It was her happy place as she liked to envision multiple scenarios of the future, and all of them happy ones, but now she had to imagine herself with a black dragon? Even her happy place was now tainted. It was as if she took all of her feelings, put them in a pot and stirred them so fast that she couldn’t get hold of them. Her mind was buzzing around and around.

  Her father flew down and landed. He approached her and immediately began to smell her. He took a step back as he smiled. “Ella, have you bonded with someone?” Krandar said in a happy voice.

  Ella thought that she might faint. “No, not totally.”

  “Who is it? You must tell me.” The thought of her baby dragons flying around was exciting.

  “Father, I’ll tell you when the bonding is complete if it ever gets to that point.”

  “Oh, I do hope that it’s someone I can get along with, someone that I can hunt with. I can tell him stories of what you were like when you were a child. And it’s good to have someone else to share ideas. I must tell your mother!” He flew off the cliff before she could say another word, circled around as he admired his daughter from above and headed back to his den to break the good news.

  Ella shook her head slightly and felt like pulling out her roses but of course, she didn’t. She lay down and snorted. It was all becoming much too depressing. If she did get banished, she would never be able to see her garden again, or she would have to come at night to do it. She lay down and closed her eyes.

  Ella found herself in a deep dark cave cuddling with Zedock. At the end of the long cave, she could see the morning sun as it commenced to enter, pushing away the shadows and lighting up Zedock who continued to snore loudly. She got up and stretched, cracking her neck. She could hear some ruckus out there just beyond her sight, and now several shadows appeared as they rushed past the entrance. “What on earth?”

  As Ella exited the cave she saw three young dragons, apparently the product of her union with Zedock. The boy had splotches of red and splotches of black, and all she could think was that he looked ridiculous. All dragons were certain to make fun of him. One of the girls was split right down the middle, half red and half black. Ella pulled her eyebrows together tightly. The second girl had two heads. “Oh no!” A two-headed dragon! Both heads were fighting with one another; one wished to go one way, and the other wanted to go another.

  Ella awoke with a start as both her parents were approaching with huge smiles on the faces.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  ZEDOCK RETURNED TO THE AREA WHERE HE HAD MET ELLA and sniffed for her scent. He could pretend all he wanted, but he was desperate to see her again. He couldn’t get her out of his mind, and he had tried, had spent most of the day mumbling to himself about her. He thought that he might find her here or that she might return, but it didn’t appear that she was going to and that depressed him. Her scent under the oak tree was fading which made him want to cry as he sniffed vigorously, getting dirt and grass in his nose and making him sneeze. Sighing he knew that he would soon be sufficiently hungry and would leave, and when he returned the wind would most likely have taken all of her scent with it. He was similar to Ella in some respects, recently considered an adult he wasn’t exactly wise to the ways of the world. How would he be able to track her down? She was all that was on his mind. He knew in his heart that he shouldn’t attempt to bond with a red dragon, but those eyes had captured him; her face may as well be carved in stone. Love didn’t care one iota about reason.

  “Ella, I miss you already. Stop blowing you stupid wind; you’re going to take all her scent away!” Of course, there was no sense in telling the wind not to blow.

  It appeared that her aroma was now even fainter than when he had arrived. Last night he observed a burst of fire high up in the night sky, long and straight, but whether it was her or another dragon he couldn’t say. Whoever had created the flames had been too far away to attempt to pursue.

  “Ella is such a beautiful name,” he said to himself and again sighed. “Ella. Ella.”

  Zedock had always been a happy-go-lucky dragon, but now he didn’t know if he would ever be so again. He looked like a dog that lost his master. Females certainly had a way
of disrupting a male’s life, perhaps it was done with magic, but it was just a guess. Most likely it was nature’s pull. The act of bonding that failed to complete could make a dragon miserable for years and in some cases forever. He had an uncle that had never gotten over his lost love, and boy was he cranky. It was best to avoid him altogether.

  She now danced in all his dreams and was certainly more receptive there. In his dreams, they were mating, but the reality of waking was like a slap in the face. “Oh Ella, the fairest dragon that I have seen, will you now only visit me in my dreams?”

  It had been rash to start the process of bonding with a dragon that didn’t want to bond with him, and a red dragon at that. Why had fate pulled him down to her from a thousand feet up? How could he have been so stupid? She was a red dragon. He commenced to bang his head against the tree at the futility of it all, but then remembered how captivating she had been, her scent maddening. And again he commenced to sniff the ground where she had been. Zedock was in the clutches of love’s intoxication; it didn’t care one bit if it was right or wrong, a red dragon or even a yellow one he guessed. He felt sick and, unfortunately, Ella was the only remedy.

  “Dragon, are you still at it?”

  She startled him. “Ella, you’ve come back. I just knew you’d come back.” Nothing in the entire universe could compare to those beautiful eyes. His hormones were revving up at the sound of her voice.

  “Shut up black dragon, just shut up. I’ve come back for my rock, not for you.” She went to the tree and picked up her quartz crystal rock; she loved the way it sparkled. “Given to me by my grandfather, and sometimes I carry it around with me.” She paused and stared into his eyes. “You idiot! We did actually start the bonding process, but a black dragon and a red dragon can’t bond you should know that.” She was making that part up, but she had never heard of a black dragon with a red one.