Blood Bond

by Susan Leigh Noble

  “Soren!” Bevin said.

  “What’s going on?” His eyes flirted from his friends to Drayce.

  “I knew you were trouble,” the large man growled. “Get them out of my tavern.”

  “We’re going,” Soren said.

  Drayce signaled to his men, and they lowered their swords. But when Kiara took a step toward the door, two of them stepped forward to block her.

  She whirled around. “Father! I am going with them.”

  “No, you are not.” Drayce walked around the bar, stopping in front of his daughter. “I will not allow it.”

  “I have to go. Soren and I have a deal. I gave him my word.”

  Drayce gaped at her. He looked at Soren. “You made a deal?”

  Soren nodded.

  Drayce swore.

  Kiara laid her hand on Drayce’s arm. She leaned in, talking quickly to him. Finally, she nodded to Soren. “Let’s go.”

  As they walked toward the door, Soren asked, “What was that about?”

  “He’s big on commitment. There is no backing out on a job.”

  Outside Dex and Aria waited in the street. Kincade swung around. He glared at Kiara before turning his attention to Soren.

  “Which part of not traveling alone, don't you understand? We have less than two days to prepare. We don't have time for saving you,” he gestured at Kiara, “or adding new people to the mix.”

  Kincade didn't wait for a response. He vaulted onto Aria’s back. He held out his hand to help Royce. Soren sighed and led Kiara over to Dex.

  “Climb up,” he said. “Don't worry about hurting him. There is a strap that hooks around the waist."” After she was secure, he turned to Bevin. “Coming?”

  “You better believe it. I may never let you out of my sight again.”

  Soren sighed as he climbed onto Dex.

  They flew straight to the practice field. When they were close, Dex called the other dragons to collect their riders and meet for practice. He circled the area once before landing. Soren slid to the ground. He turned to see a pale Kiara clutching the harness.

  “Kiara, we are here,” he said. “You can climb down now.”

  She didn’t look at him as she shook her head.

  “Kiara?”

  She didn’t respond. Bevin reached from behind her, prying her fingers from the leather. He helped her to slide her leg over Dex. Soren guided her to the ground. Her legs collapsed, and she landed on her knees in the dirt.

  “It…it was so high,” she stammered.

  Soren and Bevin exchanged glances as Kincade walked over.

  “Perfect,” he said, glaring at Kiara. “So much for her helping out.” Kincade shook his head as he walked away.

  Bevin followed him as Soren knelt by Kiara.

  “Are you okay?”

  “All I could think about was falling.”

  “I wouldn’t let that happen,” Dex said.

  Kiara jumped.

  “Yes, that was Dex.” Soren smiled. “I guess I should introduce you. Kiara, this is my dragon Dex. Dex, Kiara.”

  “Hello, Dex.” Kiara ducked her head. “I...I don’t mean…it isn’t that I don’t trust you. It is just…”

  Soren understood perfectly her fear of falling. He took her hand. “Do you think you can do this?”

  “I’ll…I’ll try.”

  She looked up, watching as the other dragons landed. Kincade spoke to the other riders as Soren helped her to her feet and back onto Dex. Emery took her place in the middle of the circle, raising her hand to indicate she was ready. Kincade and the other riders mounted their dragons. Soren climbed on Dex and signaled to the others to take off. Kiara gasped as the dragon leapt into the air. He glanced back to see her eyes pressed closed.

  “Don’t worry,” Dex said. “I’ll talk her through it.”

  Soren swallowed hard. He hoped Dex was right. If she couldn’t do this, he shook his head. He didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t have a replacement in mind. He had to believe Kiara could do this.

  Everything went fine until it came to the point where Kiara needed to unhook her harness and leap to the ground. She fumbled with the clasp and jumped late.

  Aria landed. Kincade slid to the ground. He stomped toward them. “I told you. This won’t work.”

  “It is her first try,” Soren said. “And only her second time on a dragon.”

  Kiara stepped between them. “I don’t need you defending me, Soren.” She lifted her chin as she addressed Kincade. “I can do this. Let’s do it again.”

  Kincade stared at her for a moment. His eyes narrowed as he assessed her. Finally, he nodded and returned to Aria. When Soren moved to help Kiara climb on Dex, she waved him away. Their second run was marginally better than the first.

  “Again,” Kiara said as she climbed back on Dex.

  Soren had to admire her resolve. They ran through it three more times. On the last one, they jumped at the same time and were able to on sneak up on Emery.

  “Now we need to work on the part we need you for,” Soren said.

  He dismissed the others but asked Emery to stay. For the next hour, they ran through different scenarios of what might happen as they tried to obtain the scepter. The problem was they didn’t know how Samaren would attack.

  “I will talk to Cane about it in the morning,” Soren said as they headed back into Camden for dinner.

  Bevin joined them as they walked. He had been watching their practice. Soren was sure he meant what he said; he wasn’t letting him out of his sight again. Soren’s eyes flirted to Kiara as they entered the official buildings at the heart of the city. Kiara slowed down until they walked side by side.

  “I was wondering where I would be staying.” She gestured to the hallway leading to the guards’ quarters. “Somewhere here?”

  “No, you will be staying with Emery.”

  “Emery?”

  “Yes, she has a tent at the dragon camp.”

  “A tent?” She wrinkled her nose. “I think I would be more comfortable somewhere…” She looked around, waving her hand. “…like here.”

  Soren laughed. “You think I would let a thief stay this close to where the King was staying. I am sure there are too many tempting items here. You will stay with Emery.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You think I would steal?”

  “You are a thief.” He shook his head. “Did you really think I bought the whole idea that you would do this just because you were curious? You will be with Emery, Bevin or I the whole time we are working together.”

  Kiara laid her hand on his arm and smiled. “And here I thought I pulled one over on you.” She sighed. “Okay, it is true. One of the reasons I agreed to come is I would have access to areas I never could go otherwise. I even used that when persuading my father to let me come. I wasn’t lying when I said I am intrigued by this. I am.”

  “Until you discovered your fear of heights.”

  She smiled. “There is that.”

  “Give me your word you won’t steal anything while we are working together.”

  “You would take my word?”

  “No, but I would like it anyway.”

  Kiara bit her lip as she stared at him. Finally, she sighed. “Okay. I promise. I won’t steal anything.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  The door creaked open. Soren entered, glancing around the room. He didn’t see Cane or Elden. Three vials sat on the table. He wandered over, fingering the closest one. The liquid inside was a dark red almost like blood.

  “I’d be careful with that one.”

  Soren jumped. Elden crossed the room with the ornate wooden box in his hands.

  “Cane will be here in a minute. Those vials hold the potions we made for you.” He sat the box on the table. He pulled a thin leather cord from his pocket. At the end of it hung a black stone swirled with red. “The pommer stone.”

  Soren took it, slipping it over his head. “What is it?”

  “It is a natural stone infuse
d over time with magic. They are rare because they take so long to create. I spent ten years on that one.”

  Soren ran his finger over it. “How does it work?”

  “It repels magic. It should be good for maybe three or four hits.”

  “Hits?”

  The chair behind him jerked forward, hitting him in the legs causing him to fall backwards. He grunted as he fell into the chair.

  “Magical attacks,” Cane said, drolly. He waved his hand, sending the chair and Soren across the floor and into the wall. “Like that though I doubt Samaren will be so gentle. Most likely, she will throw you much harder or will hit you with an energy bolt.”

  Soren grabbed the pommer stone. “It doesn’t work. You still used magic on me.”

  “Ah,” Cane said, “but I didn’t. I used magic on the chair. The pommer stone will work if she directs her magic at you but not at objects around you. That means she can throw rocks or use a tree to hold you, but she can’t lift you and throw you around like a doll. It also can deflect a bolt of energy. Of course, every time she uses her magic, it drains her. She can’t do it forever. That’s good news for you.” His eyes moved to Elden. “Did you tell him about the potions?”

  “Not yet.” Elden reached across the table to pick up a murky-looking green vial. “This is the one I would suggest you use first. It will immobilize her.”

  “If you are lucky,” Cane said as he crossed to the table, “you can grab the scepter and be on your way.”

  “But,” Elden said, “we expect her to be powerful. She may be able to shake it off, so we have other options. This one,” he grabbed the one with a yellow liquid, “creates a dense fog. You need to throw it on the ground near her. The immobilizer needs to actually hit her to work.”

  “And this one?” Soren picked up the thick red one.

  “Now that one is the strongest of the bunch.” Cane took it from him. “You will need to be close to her. This is important. You must pour it on her. Just don’t get any on yourself.”

  “Why?”

  “It’ll burn you, and there is no healing from it.” Cane held out the vial and laughed when Soren didn’t immediately take it. “Oh, and I should mention the pommer stone may or may not protect you from any potions she uses on you. It won’t work on this one.”

  The door swung open. Darvin rushed in.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Cane demanded.

  “Sorry,” Darvin said. “General Thayer has been calculating the speed of the approaching army. It won’t be tomorrow that they arrive. It will be late this afternoon.”

  ***

  The next few hours were a blur of activity. While the army scrambled to finalize plans and gather their weapons, Soren met with the dragon riders at the training field to run through their plans. But everything seemed worse today. Kiara froze on Dex’s back. No matter what he said, her fear had increased overnight.

  “What are we going to do, Dex?”

  “Let me work with her,” the dragon said. “Talk with Royce and Kincade about how to best deal with Samaren.”

  “But…”

  “Trust me.”

  “I do,” he said as he slid to the ground. He turned to Kiara. “You are safe on Dex.”

  Kiara’s face was pale, and her fingers were grasping the harness strap so tightly her knuckles were white. She nodded.

  “You did this yesterday.”

  “I know,” she closed her eyes and sighed. “I dreamed…last night I dreamed I fell. We were so high.”

  “It was only a dream.” He reached up, grasping her leg. He gave it a squeeze, and she opened her eyes to look at him. “You will be strapped in most of the time. Dex won’t let anything happen to you. Why don’t you and he work together for a while?"

  Kiara nodded, and Soren quickly crossed to Kincade and Royce to explain the situation.

  Kincade swore. “I knew it,” he said as he paced. “We should scrap this. Someone else can go with you.”

  Soren shook his head. “Who? The dragon riders are needed elsewhere. If we pull another guard, they could have the same fear. We don’t have time to find someone else, let alone do a few practice runs. Let Dex work with her.” He sighed. “Worse case I do this alone.”

  Royce stepped forward. “Time is short. What tricks did the wizards give you?”

  Soren pulled out the vials. He explained each and about the pommer stone.

  “I agree with the wizards,” Royce said. “Use the immobilizer one first. Hopefully, that will be enough.”

  Royce proceeded to run through scenarios of what could happen, but since he would be battling a wizard with unknown spells, Soren wasn’t feeling reassured. There were too many unknowns. As Royce droned on, Soren saw his father watching the proceedings not far from where Kiara had watched them only a few days ago. Soren’s fingers balled into fists as his stomach tightened.

  “I’ll be back,” he said.

  Kincade, who had been watching Kiara and Dex, said something about their lack of progress, which drew Royce’s attention away from Soren leaving. He strode over to his father.

  “What are you doing here? You aren’t to have anything to do with the dragons.”

  Joran chuckled as he gestured toward the field. “Who would want to? Looks like a mess.”

  Soren was sure it did. Nothing had gone right this afternoon, but there was no way he would admit that to his father. “Get out of here.”

  “Mark my words, boy. You don’t belong here. You will fail at this. You always do.”

  Soren fought the urge to punch his father. Joran sneered at him as if daring him to do something.

  “Soren,” Bevin called, hurrying toward them.

  Joran stepped closer to Soren, leaning in. “You know I am right,” he whispered.

  Bevin grabbed Joran’s shoulders, yanking the man away from Soren. “Stay away from him.”

  “I'm leaving.” Joran smirked. “You can’t blame a father for wanting to see his…son before he goes off into battle.” He turned and began walking away. “Remember what I said, Soren.”

  Bevin grasped Soren’s arm, propelling him back to the training field. “What did he want?”

  Soren shrugged. “Nothing.”

  Bevin swore. “I don’t believe that. What did he say?” When Soren didn’t respond, Bevin stopped walking, waiting until Soren too stopped and looked at him. “Whatever he said to you, ignore it. He is trying to irritate you.”

  Soren knew Bevin’s words were true, but his father’s words still rang in his ears. They too held some truth. He didn’t know if it was his father’s visit or just the pressure of the upcoming battle, but the rest of the practice went even worse than before. Nothing seemed to go right. All the dragon riders were on edge and snipped at one another. Even Royce and Kincade got into an argument that almost ended in blows. Soren, finally fed up with Kincade’s attitude about Kiara, had to walk away or risk saying or doing something he would regret. The only bright point was Dex seemed to be making progress with Kiara. Though she had yet to jump off the dragon at the correct time at least she was no longer frozen with fear. Dex credited it to a lot of practice, and the fact that he was constantly talking and reassuring her.

  A loud horn pierced the air. All activity on the training field stopped. The army was almost here. The battle was about to begin.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Dex flew high, circling over the field. Soren craned his head, trying to see the battle below through the clouds. He saw the blasts of dragon fire below and saw Warnox dive with a Southern dragon behind him. But from this height, the people on the ground were too tiny for him to make out.

  “I can see the wizard,” Dex said. “She is exactly where Royce predicted she would be.”

  “What about Kallen?”

  “I don’t see him.”

  Soren looked at the other dragons flying beside them. He caught Drake’s eye and gave the signal. Drake nodded. He waved his hand. His dragon dove with five others trailing after h
im.

  “The others are ready,” Dex said.

  Kincade waved as Aria, Dubbin and Thella tucked their wings and dove toward the ground. Dex circled the area one more time before beginning his descent to the east of the battlefield. Soren twisted, looking at Kiara. Her eyes were pressed closed. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the harness. He reached back and covered her hand with his. She opened her eyes, offering him a forced smile. Dex had assured him that even though they had not made it through a successful practice today Kiara would be able to do it. The dragon had been talking and reassuring her since they took off. According to Dex, she was determined and refusing to allow her fear to get in the way.

  Dex flew low, using the cover of trees as he made his approach. Soren placed his hand on the pouch holding the potion vials. His mind flashed back to this afternoon’s disastrous practice. He shook his head. It was a fool’s mission to take on a wizard with nothing but a few potions and a stone necklace. His stomach tightened. What he was even doing here? His father was right. He would certainly screw this up as he had done everything else in his life. Every job, every break his brother tried to give him always ended the same - in his failure. Why did he think this time would be any different?

  “Soren! Stop it,” Dex said. “I don’t know what you are thinking, but I can feel your fear, your panic.”

  “What am I doing?” Soren shook his head. His father’s voice played in his mind. You don’t belong here. You will fail at this. His father spoke the truth. He should tell Dex to turn around while he still could. Someone else could go after the scepter. Or better yet, maybe he should believe in General Thayer’s troops. They were skilled. They would be able to stop the army with the help of the dragons.

  “Remember the girl? The one in the village that reminded you of your sister?”

  Her image flashed before his eyes. Soren saw the doll lying inches from her hand. Addie’s doll. No. He shook his head. Not Addie’s but the little girl’s doll. She had been playing outside her house when the army had struck her down. He trembled at the possibility of a similar fate happening to Jerrick and Lyla. He pictured their lifeless bodies in the street outside their home.