“Why would they have wanted that?” she asked.
“What if there is something required to allow the dragon to hatch that they didn’t have access to?”
Her mouth pinched in a frown and Fes realized he had the right of it. There was something about the dragon heart, or more likely, something about what they had stored it with.
“What’s up in the top of the tower?”
Elorayne said nothing. Whatever it was must have been the reason that the rebellion had allowed the fire mages to acquire the dragon heart.
And if that had been the case, then Fes had been used even more than he had ever known. He had somewhat come to grips with the fact that Alison had used him, but this was more than using him. This was manipulating him and then discarding him.
And he had thought there was a connection between them.
It had been a long time since they had shared that connection, and a long time since he had believed that the two of them were anything more than rivals, but in the time that he had traveled with her while going after the dragon heart, Fes had begun to think that maybe there could be something else.
And now he began to fully understand just how much she had used him.
They reached the tower. Fire mages ringed the outside of the tower, though most of them were young, likely embers, students who would have no real experience in manipulating the fire magic. A few of them looked older, though not nearly as experienced as Elorayne. As she approached, many of the fire mages bowed their heads, nodding to her.
“Master Elorayne,” one of the men said. He at least had the look of someone with some experience, but his eyes were wide and every so often, he glanced up to the top of the tower. “We have tried to get as many as we can out of the temple, but—”
“We must bring all of our strength to bear to the inside of the temple,” Elorayne said.
“But Master Elorayne, the temple is—”
Elorayne studied his face for a long moment. “The temple is not going to explode, if that’s your fear.”
He looked up, and a bead of sweat trickled down his brow. Fes was scared, too, though there wasn’t much that he could do about that fear. He had no choice but to continue on. What was up in the top of the tower was no worse than the people outside of the city.
He wanted to run, get away from the Damhur, escape an attack that doubtlessly would be coming. Yet he couldn’t. It was memories of the dragons, dreams that came to him, that he knew were nothing more than dreams, that compelled him to stay. And it was more than that. It was the fact that he might be responsible for this. Even if he had been manipulated, it had been his stubbornness, his eagerness for coin, that had driven him to work with Alison and the rest of the rebellion, and because of that, he had mistakenly given up the dragon heart.
He would make amends for that, though he didn’t know if there was anything that he really could do.
Elorayne started into the temple, and Fes and Nick followed. Lanterns glowed on walls inside the temple. He had not entered through the main entrance, and seeing it this way created a sort of majesty to it.
“How do you think the others are doing?” Nick asked in a whisper.
Fes glanced over. “Hopefully, they found a place to hide.”
“Others?” Elorayne asked.
Fes nodded. “There are other Deshazl that were with us. We were trying to stay ahead of the attackers.”
“Why would they be after you?”
“Because of our connection to the dragons,” he said. That was at least close enough to the truth that she would believe it, though it might not be enough for her to help him.
“Where did they go?” Elorayne asked.
Fes shook his head. “I don’t know. They went to find a tavern or someplace like that. Someplace where they could stay and be safe and not worry about an attack in the city.”
Elorayne observed him. “When this is over, you will need to share with me why you were concerned about them.”
Fes watched her for a moment. If they survived, he might owe her at least that much, wouldn’t he? And if they survived, maybe there was something that Elorayne and the fire mages could do to protect the Deshazl. She had been able to prevent him from feeling the effect of the Calling, so it was believable that there was something that she could do.
They continued into the temple. A thought came to him, and he looked around. “Where is Jayell?”
Elorayne watched for a moment.
Fes stopped. “I won’t go with you until I know what happened to her.”
“The one you know as Jayell is unharmed.”
Fes frowned. What did they know Jayell as?
“Where is she?”
“It’s possible that she’s no longer even in the temple,” she said.
“Where would she be?”
“She would have been brought to safety, especially if everyone thought that there was danger here.”
Fes hadn’t seen any sign of her, though he hadn’t fully explored the rest of the city. If Jayell was there, he wanted her with him. Mostly because he trusted her. It wasn’t that he distrusted Elorayne; she had nearly expended all of her strength to keep him alive as they had attempted to reach the Damhur.
“If that is all?”
Fes shook his head. “It’s not all, but I can wait until this is done to find her again.”
Elorayne studied him for a moment before nodding. “When this is done.”
Fes followed her as they reached a wide stair that wound around the inside of the tower. They climbed higher and higher, stretching well into the peak of the temple. Sconces led the way, providing a steady light, most of them shaped in some sort of dragon form. The decorative work was impressive, and Fes should have expected nothing less, especially from the fire mages.
They reached a landing, and from there, he wondered whether or not Elorayne intended to turn off, but she continued up the stairs.
“I can’t believe that I’m here,” Nick said.
“It will be okay,” Fes said.
“How will it be okay? We lost everything. We’re in the heart of the fire mage domain. And—”
Fes patted him on the arm. “When this is over, we can find her, too.”
He breathed out a heavy sigh that was filled with a sense of despair. Nick didn’t expect to ever see his sister again, and he blamed the fire mages, which made the fact that he had willingly come with Fes all the more impressive.
They continued to climb. He didn’t know how Elorayne managed to do it, especially given how weak she must be. Fes’s legs were tired, and he wondered whether he would be able to make it to the top of the temple. With each step, his legs burned.
It wasn’t all that burned.
It took a moment for him to realize that his entire body burned with each step. It was almost as if he was pushing against power that he shouldn’t be able to even detect as he attempted to climb.
He considered bringing out the sword and trying to slice through the spell, but there was a part of him that knew this was no fire mage spell. Whatever it was that he was fighting against, this was nothing that he had ever encountered.
It reminded him of the Calling, though unlike the Calling, he didn’t feel as if he could fight it. It didn’t try to control him, it forced him to slow.
If this came from a dragon—or even a dragon attempting to hatch—the power within it was impressive. How would Fes be able to withstand that? How would any of them? And if the Damhur managed to control the dragon, what would happen?
Fes could imagine what it would be. A dragon would attack, and the people of this time would not know how to deal with it. It had been centuries since anyone had faced a dragon. The fire mages might be skilled, but they didn’t have any experience facing a dragon. No one did. And they would be overwhelmed. Ultimately, they would be forced to destroy the dragon.
Surprisingly, that as much as anything bothered Fes immensely.
It gave him strength, and he lunged forward,
reaching Elorayne and moving past her.
“Fezarn—”
“I’m not going to let them reach the dragon before me,” Fes said.
“There may not be anything that you can do,” Elorayne said.
“I’m Deshazl. There is something that I can do.”
He continued to climb the stairs and paused a moment to glance back at Nick, who motioned him forward.
Fes would reach the dragon. He would do whatever it took to help the dragon. And he would keep the Damhur from getting to it.
Fes continued up the stairs, moving quickly as he went and resisting the pressure that he felt, the steady sense of resistance that seemed to try to hold him from reaching the top of the temple. He had no idea how high he had already climbed and didn’t know how much higher he would have to go, but hopefully, he would be able to get there soon.
The power built, more and more, and soon it would be released. What would happen then?
If the dragon exploded from the top of the tower, what would happen?
Fes needed to be there if it happened. He had to somehow find a way of preventing the Damhur from controlling it.
And then what?
They would have to hide the dragon.
Where?
He didn’t have a chance to come to that conclusion. The power exploded, sending Fes stumbling, staggering down the steps before he caught himself.
All resistance faded, and he raced up the stairs to find an open platform.
His breath caught.
Standing on the platform, perched with massive wings that curled outward, was a dragon.
Fes had seen dragons in his dreams, and he had seen artwork depicting them but had never expected to see one in person.
They were real. And it was amazing.
The creature had a massive body and a tail that wrapped around it, ending with sharp spikes. Scales glittered a deep blue that was almost purple.
It was the same color as the one he’d seen in his dreams.
The dragon eyed him with eyes glowing a deep yellow. Steam coursed from its nose, and he feared an explosion of heat.
“You can’t go down there,” Fes said.
What was he doing? How could he talk to a dragon?
But all reports said that the dragons were incredibly intelligent creatures, so why wouldn’t he talk to a dragon?
“They want to attack you,” Fes said. “They intend to use you.”
The dragon roared. The sound was incredible, and it pierced Fes’s ears, screaming out a cry that was foreign and powerful, and the kind of cry that left Fes longing to hear it again.
There was power in the dragon’s roar.
“Please,” he said.
The dragon spread its wings and, with a powerful push, it leaped into the air.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Fes raced back down the temple, passing Elorayne and Nick as he did, motioning for them to follow. The stairs seemed darker, though the sconces along the wall remained lit. Maybe seeing the dragon dimmed everything.
“It’s too late,” Fes said, hollering up the stairs.
“What’s too late?” Nick asked.
“The dragon is free,” Fes said.
He glanced up at Elorayne, and she blinked. “The dragon is free?” she asked with a whisper.
“It is.”
“You saw it?”
“If we get to the base of the tower, you’ll see it.”
They reached the base of the temple, and Fes threw the door open and stumbled outside. The fire mages all around stared up, and Fes followed the direction of their gaze.
The dragon soared, circling around the top of the temple.
“I never thought that I would see one,” Elorayne said.
“Now that you do, it’s time to do everything we can to keep the Damhur from controlling it.”
“Controlling it?” She didn’t take her gaze off the sky, though Fes couldn’t blame her. Even though he’d seen dragons in his visions, this was something quite different. More majestic, if that were possible.
He nodded. “That’s their intent. They have some way of controlling those who have the connection to the dragons.”
Her breath caught. “Deshazl.”
He nodded. “That’s why we headed for the temple. We needed help, and we thought that we could be safe by coming here, but…”
“What now?” Nick asked.
The sound of fighting came from the streets.
Fes jerked his head around. “Now I think we have to fight.”
He unsheathed his sword, and Nick followed. Elorayne watched them, her eyes narrowing. “You would fight for the city?”
Fes shook his head. “I would fight to protect the dragon,” he said.
“That might have to be all we have,” she said.
She dipped her hands into the pockets of her cloak and pulled out a pair of dragon claws. As she squeezed them, heat began to build, slower than it had when she had confronted him before. Elorayne shook her head. “I hope I have enough strength,” she said.
“If you don’t, I will fight alongside you,” Fes said.
She watched him before nodding.
They headed into the city. Fes took them straight toward the sounds of chaos. As he went, the pressure of a Calling built. It was steady, like a drumbeat, and it built within him. He glanced over at Nick, who nodded at him.
“I feel it,” Nick said.
“We need to fight this. We need to be there for the dragon.”
“I can fight it,” Nick said.
“Think of your sister,” he said.
Nick frowned. “Why my sister?”
“You need to find that part of you that burns. It’s a part that is most connected to the dragons, but it’s the part that will allow you to ignore the control. We have to overpower the Calling.”
Fes glanced up at the sky. The dragon was still there, circling. How long would it be before the Damhur managed to take control of it?
And when they did, it wouldn’t take long before the city was destroyed. A single dragon would be more powerful than any of them could withstand. Perhaps the ancient fire mages had some way of stopping dragons, but the fire mages of today didn’t have any experience with that. They wouldn’t know what it took to do so. There wouldn’t be any way of understanding just what was involved in preventing the dragon from destroying the city. If the Damhur controlled it, the fire mages might be forced to throw all the power they had at the dragon to stop it.
They had to get to the Damhur before that took place. They had to prevent the attack, stop the Calling, before it had a chance to take full effect.
He turned a corner and in the distance saw Dragon Guards fighting with soldiers of the Damhur.
Fes motioned to Nick, and they started down the street. Power built from Elorayne and exploded upon the soldiers, throwing some of the Damhur back.
Fes reached the nearest attackers and leaped into the battle.
He didn’t hold back. He put everything that he could into the fight, throwing himself entirely into it, letting the power of the attack consume him. He didn’t restrict himself from the heat that boiled within him, letting that connection to the Deshazl build. As he fought, it seemed to flow through his dragonglass sword, and he swept it through each of the attackers. Explosions sent the Damhur flying back. Fes didn’t know whether that came from him, the magic coursing through him, or whether it came from Elorayne and her promise to fight alongside him. As they cut through the line of others, Fes decided it didn’t matter.
Within moments, the battle was done. The Dragon Guard they were fighting alongside hurried off, heading into the city, presumably to fight others.
Fes glanced at Nick and then Elorayne. Both nodded, giving him permission to continue. Rather than chasing the Dragon Guard, he focused on the feeling of the Calling. He didn’t need to fight soldiers. He needed to fight those who could control him. If he and Nick and Elorayne could reach them and stop them, then he wouldn’
t have to worry about the dragon being consumed by the power of these others.
At one street intersection, he saw a familiar face.
“Is that—”
Fes nodded. The young woman was one of the Deshazl who had come with them, and she saw them and started toward them, carrying a staff in her hand. Fes didn’t remember her name and knew that she didn’t have any ability to fight.
“The Calling,” Fes said.
Nick nodded. “Keep going. I will keep her from getting to us,” he said.
“Just disarm her, and—”
A spell exploded from Elorayne and slammed into the girl. She crumbled, falling to the cobblestone street.
“What was—”
“She is unharmed,” Elorayne said.
They moved past the girl, and Fes glanced down long enough to see that she was breathing. If they could stop the attack, then they could dislodge the Calling that controlled her.
“We have to be ready to come across others that we know,” Fes said.
Nick nodded. “What happens if Nina attacks?”
Fes hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He didn’t want to confront Nina. She was someone he respected, and more than that, he suspected that Nina would be capable.
“We will just have to hope that we don’t. And if we do…”
He looked over at Elorayne, and she nodded. “I don’t have too many more of those in me,” she said.
As much as anything, that might have been the worst part about what had happened. They had wasted her energy trying to reach the line of troops outside the city, and when they had, there wasn’t anything that she could even do. Fes hadn’t stopped their spell.
Maybe he was never meant to stop their spell. After seeing the dragon, would he have done anything differently? Fes recognized the value in bringing the creature back, as long as they could do so in a way that wouldn’t allow these others to control them. If he could somehow help them, prevent the Damhur from controlling it, then would it really be so bad for a dragon to have returned?
He continued to follow the sense of the Calling.
It wasn’t difficult. The sense of it filled him, practically dragging him along the street. It was powerful and compelling, and thankfully with Elorayne with him, he was able to ignore that sense. He didn’t have to fear.
Dragon Rise Page 25