by Linda McNabb
With a shock, Toby realised that the moon was almost full. It was so close that he had to stare at it for a full minute before he could see the small sliver missing from one side. They had less than a day to get the talisman.
All of a sudden Toby saw the reflection disappear and he glanced up. The moon was still there, so why did it go from the stream?
“Sanelle!” he shouted. He realised there were men in the stream just as they stepped onto dry land. Toby and Sanelle jumped to their feet, swords drawn as three men walked towards them, steel glinting in the moonlight.
“Sanelle?” A deep voice sent a shiver down Toby’s spine. He did not need light to know it was Blaise and he gulped as he remembered Blaise’s skill with a sword.
“Brother.” Sanelle’s voice was thick with anger and disgust as she stepped closer, sword ready. “Time to take my revenge.”
“But you forget, little sister. I have the talisman,” Blaise taunted. “No longer do I have to sit back and watch this fool of a king waste the chances he has had under his nose for so long. When I’ve got a dragon I won’t just wave a few scales around. Mother can’t stop me now.”
Blaise pointed up at the moon and gave a nasty laugh. “Looks like she’s in there for good!”
Toby had a brief wave of doubt that Sanelle knew how to use a sword but as Blaise swung at his sister Toby knew there was nothing to worry about. She met her brother’s sword with a resounding ring. The two guards behind Blaise stepped forward and moved towards Toby.
“Now, just hand it over and we might let you live.” Blaise stepped back out of range and twisted his sword to let the moonlight reflect off it.
“You’ll never get Klel,” Toby shouted, trying to make his voice loud enough to be heard by the guards he knew must be nearby.
“Klel?” Blaise queried sharply. “Who is Klel?”
“The dragon, Your Highness,” one of the guards said in a deep rumbling voice.
“Nathan?” Toby instantly recognised his milk-brother’s voice. Nathan stepped forward enough so that the moonlight lit up both of their faces.
“What are you doing in a North Kingdom uniform?” Nathan looked shocked and a little worried when he saw who his opponent was.
“It’s a long story,” Toby told him. How had things come to this? Swords drawn between himself and Nathan.
“Isn’t this a nice reunion?” Blaise sneered sarcastically. “So you have the dragon here. All I came for was the gemband but I’ll take both. It will save me the hassle of pretending to go along with my father until we find another one.”
Blaise lunged quickly at Sanelle. To Toby’s relief she side-stepped and Blaise’s sword struck the wagon.
“Is the dragon worth all this?” Nathan asked as he advanced slowly.
“Yes he is,” Toby replied bluntly as he raised his sword in defence and stood his ground. Nathan was the closest he had to family but if he had to choose, then he chose Klel. Nathan may hate him forever but at least his brother would be alive. Klel would not be if he gave him up. “Klel has nobody else to stand up for him. I can’t abandon him.”
“I can’t fight you, Toby,” Nathan said with a sigh as he let his sword tip drop to the ground and held out an arm to stop the other guard.
“Toby?” Blaise faltered mid-swing and stepped back as he put himself off balance.
Toby belatedly remembered that he wasn’t just an ordinary boy any more, he was an apprentice sorcerer. His magic was nowhere near strong enough to do any real damage to Blaise, but Blaise didn’t know that.
He quickly cast the rune for a sphere of light and then made it shoot directly at Blaise. It was harmless and faded almost as it reached him, but it unsettled Blaise for a brief second.
“You can’t scare me with that,” Blaise snarled as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, keeping his eyes on both Toby and Sanelle at the same time. “Is that the best you can do?”
“I could light up the sky with all those pretty lights,” Toby suggested. He knew he couldn’t do it, but did Blaise? “That would bring half the North Kingdom guards here.”
Blaise stayed silent for a few seconds while he was obviously considering whether Toby could do what he said.
“You’ll regret this,” Blaise threatened as he stepped back out of sword range.
“I’ll never let you have Klel,” Toby promised with a sneer that surprised even himself.
Blaise stopped when he was almost at the stream and then suddenly hurled his sword towards them. Toby could tell immediately that it was in no danger of hitting either of them but Blaise laughed hideously.
“If I can’t have it, then no-one can. I’ll get my own.”
The meaning of his words sank in just at the sword sliced through the canvas cover of the wagon, and the cry of pain from Klel made Toby’s blood run cold. He barely heard the swish of Sanelle’s sword as it flew towards her brother and he didn’t know if it hit its target.
“Klel!” Toby and Sanelle both yelled together as they leapt into the back of the wagon.
The scene that waited for them was worse than Toby had imagined in that brief second. Sanelle cast up a light-sphere, proof enough to Toby that Blaise had gone, and they both saw the sword at the same time. It was sticking out of Klel’s back and blood was oozing slowly from the wound. Sanelle pulled the sword out and Toby shook uncontrollably as Klel moaned in pain.
Goodbye… Friends… Klel’s eyes were as white as the moon. His lids sank shut again and Toby choked back a sob.
“Surely there must be something we can do?” He cried desperately. “We’re both sorcerers so there must be something!”
“There’s one thing,” Sanelle said quietly as she tried to stem the flow of blood with her hand. “It passes magic from one sorcerer to another. I saw it in one of mother’s books last year but I never thought I would ever need to use it.”
“I’ll do it,” Toby offered. Not knowing what effect it would have on him but not caring.
“Your magic isn’t strong enough yet,” Sanelle replied and Toby sighed.
“But what will happen to you?” Toby did not want to ask if she would die, he couldn’t make the words form in his throat. He hadn’t known her long but he didn’t want to swap one friend’s life for another’s.
“I don’t know, I didn’t read the whole page, but if I don’t do it he will die,” Sanelle replied and quickly drew a rune on Klel’s bloodied hide.
Sanelle began to shake and her light-sphere faded as she laid her hands on Klel’s back. She closed her eyes, but not before Toby could see her fear at what she was attempting. She let her hands rest there for several seconds before she opened her eyes wide.
“I don’t have enough magic!” she cried, fear glassing her eyes over.
Toby couldn’t believe it. It had to work! He wasn’t going to let Klel die. He ripped open the side of the canvas cover to let the moonlight in and quickly traced his finger along the barely visible lines she had drawn in Klel’s blood then placed his own hands next to Sanelle’s. They stayed motionless, staring at each other in hope and desperation as they waited for signs that their magic was rejuvenating Klel.
Toby felt a tear roll down his cheek as Klel’s scales slowly changed from white to brown and then shone with a golden glow that was so bright it lit up the inside of the wagon.
Klel opened one eye then the other. They were a deep, rich green and they shone with joy and surprise. He looked amazed that he was still alive and he stood up and looked stunned at his glowing scales.
What you do? Klel’s voice sounded stronger and the sagging hide under his eyes had gone.
“You were dying,” Toby stated, not sure he could explain what they did. He was still amazed that it hadn’t killed both him and Sanelle. Toby grinned at his winged friend, delighted to see him looking so well so quickly.
“You needed the magic more than we did,” Sanelle told him and the gratitude was clear in Klel’s eyes as he understood what they had done.
&nb
sp; Why Toby? Klel asked.
“My master needed me, my friend needed me. You saved my life when I was little and I had to try.” Toby’s heart was still racing but he didn’t regret risking everything, he never would.
Sanelle? Klel turned his grateful gaze on her and she shrugged her shoulders.
“My brother tried to take your life, I gave it back.”
“What’s going on over here?” A voice called from outside the wagon and two of King Robet’s guards appeared at the rip of the fabric.
“Sarge. Look at the dragon!” one of them exclaimed.
“What happened to the dragon?” The Sergeant demanded, looking at the blood on their hands.
“He got better,” Toby answered simply.
“Grab them,” the Sergeant ordered and several more guards appeared at the rip and caught hold of Toby and Sanelle. “Fetch King Robet! We’ll just see what he has to say about all this.”
“Go Klel!” Toby gave Klel a push towards the back of the wagon and with two quick steps Klel had launched himself out and up into the sky.
Klel never forget. Toby heard the words floating on the wind as he and Sanelle were dragged out of the wagon backwards.
“King Robet will be furious when he hears you set the dragon free,” the Sergeant barked at them as they were roughly dragged off towards the main tents of the camp.
They were left in a small brown tent with two guards standing watch over them while King Robet was summoned. Toby knew that now would be a good time to be invisible and he quickly cast the rune, but nothing happened. As he walked across the tent the guard’s eyes followed him. He saw Sanelle do the same and watched in horror as hers failed as well.
“Well, being a sorcerer was nice while it lasted,” Toby muttered as they moved to one corner and sat with their backs against the canvas.
“Mother would be proud,” Sanelle added softly.
“Psssst… Toby… Sanelle…” Kaylene’s voice from the other side of the canvas made them jump.
“What’s up?” Toby asked casually, pretending he was talking to Sanelle.
“I’ve got the neckband,” Kaylene whispered and Toby raised an eyebrow in surprise. She obviously didn’t know that Klel was gone or she wouldn’t have taken such a risk.
“There are guards in here, Kay,” Sanelle muttered with her hand covering her mouth. “We can’t get out there.”
“Just wait. They’ll be gone in a minute,” Kaylene assured them and fell silent.
Sure enough, less than a minute later a cry came from the outskirts of the camp.
“Fire!”
The two guards looked at each other, then at Toby and Sanelle and raced outside. The side of the tent lifted and Kaylene grinned at them as she grabbed their hands and pulled them outside. She handed the neckband to Toby who immediately strapped it around his waist. It was a perfect fit as it hugged his back and hung in a v-shape against the flat of his stomach, almost as if it had been made for him.
“Father had to take it off because it was too tight,” Kaylene explained. “Don’t worry, the fire’s just a pile of grass I set alight,”
Kaylene headed for the wagon but Toby pulled her off towards the barren land between the two camps.
“We need to tell you something,” Toby said as they reached the safety of darkness a few hundred feet from the lights of the camp.
“Why didn’t we take it to Klel?” Kaylene asked, sounding worried.
“He’s gone,” Sanelle said shortly.
“Dead!” Kaylene almost shrieked and Toby clamped his hand over her mouth until he was sure she would not cry out again.
“No. He’s fine, better than ever,” Toby assured her and she calmed down. “He’s flown off.”
“I thought he needed his neckband?” Kaylene said with a sigh that said she was confused and tired.
“He’ll never find his way home without it,” Sanelle agreed. “But he’s not in any danger of dying.”
“So what do we do with it now?” Kaylene asked.
“We find him and give it to him,” Toby stated. “And if we don’t get going soon we’ll be caught again and he’ll never get it back.”
“I’m coming too.” Kaylene’s voice was firm and defiant.
“I guess you’ve every right,” Toby agreed and in the moonlight he saw Sanelle’s nod of agreement. He had a feeling that if Kaylene had any magic to give, she would have given it too. “But you’ll be in trouble for sure if you run off again.”
“Are we going or are we just going to stand around, waiting to be found?” Kaylene asked pointedly.
“We need some horses,” Sanelle said as she led them all towards King Herat’s camp. “We’ll go and get some from King Herat’s camp as they’ll be looking for us here.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS
The horses were in a makeshift corral at the far end of King Herat’s camp. Nowhere near the cooking area and Toby was a little disappointed as he had hoped to see Aggie again.
“There’s three over by the tree.” Sanelle pointed them out and they moved quietly around to them.
The horses were stamping on the cold ground and clouds of mist shot out their nostrils as they snorted. Someone wasn’t taking very good care of them, they were freezing, and Toby felt sorry for the poor horses.
“Why don’t we just go invisible?” Kaylene whispered.
“We gave our magic to Klel,” Toby replied in a tone that said he did not want to talk about it just now. Kaylene took the hint and followed them quietly.
“They’ve no bridles or saddles,” Sanelle commented as she untied a rope that formed part of the corral and, using her sword, cut it into three even lengths.
“We should go and find Blaise,” Toby said quietly as he helped Sanelle tie the ropes onto the horses. “We have to get the talisman.”
“We can’t go into Herat’s camp with that,” Sanelle replied bluntly as she pointed to the glowing neckband. It was fading now that Klel was gone, but it was still quite bright.
Toby could not see her face but he could hear the deep regret in her voice. He was about to suggest that he take the neckband and bury it somewhere while they went into the camp but a voice from the darkness stopped him.
“Who’s there!” A loud voice asked nervously. Toby had to suppress a sigh. Obviously someone had seen the glowing neckband, even though he had covered most of it with his coat.
“I’ll fetch the guards, Stephan.” A whiny voice said and Toby realised who it was, Stephan and Nevan. No wonder the poor horses were suffering.
“You won’t get away, there are guards coming,” Stephan yelled but did not come closer.
“Keep going,” Toby urged Sanelle forward with the ropes. “Stephan won’t come over here on his own.”
Sanelle nodded and they had put crude bridles on two of the horses by the time several pairs of feet could be heard running their way. A rush torch showed Nevan returning with two guards.
“I got the first guards I came across, Stephan,” Nevan whined and made no attempt to come any closer to them.
“Halt! Who goes there?” Another voice called as the guards approached with the rush torch.
Toby knew there wasn’t time to bridle the last horse so he leapt up in one movement and pulled Kaylene up behind him.
“Sanelle!” he hissed. “Let’s go!”
The two guards reached them just as Toby was about to turn his horse and the light shone on the guards’ faces.
“Cole! Nathan!” Toby held the makeshift reins tight, ready to turn with a flick of his wrist as he exchanged shocked looks with his friends.
“Nathan told me everything,” Cole said and didn’t look angry at all. “You were right not to let Prince Blaise have the dragon.”
“And you did get the princess after all?” Nathan looked amused to see Kaylene sitting behind Toby with her arms wrapped around him.
“It’s not like that,” Toby argued, feeling the colour rising in his chee
ks.
“Toby we have to go,” Sanelle drew her horse over next to his and nodded at his two friends. “Are you going to raise the alarm?”
“No, we’ll tell them they were just jumping at shadows,” Cole replied.
“We wouldn’t want you turning us into frogs or anything,” Nathan added with a smile. “But you’d best get going.”
Toby turned his horse and then twisted back to look at his friends. “Thanks,” he said simply and kicked the horse into motion.
They rode west, as best they could tell, until they almost dropped from exhaustion and finally tied the horses to a tree, sleeping where they fell. When the sun rose they found they were only a short distance from the base of the mountains. It had snowed lightly in the night and Toby shivered as he stood up and he stamped his feet to bring the feeling back into them.
“So, do we wait here and hope Klel finds us before any guards or kings do?” Kaylene asked as she stretched her back and arms. Toby doubted she had ever slept on the ground but she didn’t complain, even though the ground was cold and hard.
Toby was about to reply that he didn’t really have a plan when a golden glint in the sky caught his attention. Sanelle had obviously seen it as well as she cried out and pointed towards it.
“There he is.”
They mounted their horses again and rode towards where Klel was circling slowly around near the base of one of the smaller mountains. Toby had slept with the neckband on and his back felt terrible.
It was mid-morning when they trotted up the rise to the small plateau and Klel finally noticed them. He was still flying in circles near a lake and he glided over to greet them. Up near the mountains it was colder, but the sky was clear and the sun shone weakly.
Feel home nearby. Can’t find, Klel told them. He looked healthier than Toby had ever seen him.
“Here, this might help,” Toby said as he dismounted, causing Kaylene to dismount as well, then unclipped the glowing neckband from his waist.
Band! Klel almost drooled at the sight of it and waited patiently as Toby walked over and clipped it into its rightful place. Feel it. Feel home now. Gateway… there!