by Avril Sabine
“You are not in the least bit funny.” Amber grabbed hold of Simon’s hand and using her caged Pliethin took him to the dinning room where breakfast waited.
Simon drew away from her. “It’s manners to ask first.”
“Probably.” Sitting at the table, she wondered what Ronan would say if she said that to him next time he shifted her through the Void without her permission. She doubted he’d be impressed.
Simon sat across from Amber and Kade. “Can I see Jonah and Wayne after breakfast?”
Finishing her mouth full of toast, Amber said, “I have to talk to Ronan first.” She sent him a text with Simon’s request while she ate her breakfast. It didn’t take long for his reply to come through. I’ll bring Jonah and Wayne and meet you in the planning room in half an hour.
When she told him, Simon nodded and returned to his breakfast, remaining quiet throughout the rest of the meal. Once they’d eaten, Amber took Simon through the Void to the planning room to wait for Ronan. Kade stayed with them.
Ronan arrived on time. With him came Chait bringing Jonah and Anrai bringing Wayne. Both Knights had their hands chained with the grey shackles. They were used to deaden dragon abilities, but Amber guessed that the difficulty in breaking the metal would make it harder for the Knights to escape.
Jonah pulled away from Chait to face Simon. “They have Martin.”
“That’s not good.” Simon turned to Amber. “Martin is a member of the more fanatical part of our organization. Do they know you have him?”
Amber shrugged. “I wouldn’t have a clue, but he’s probably safer with us. Particularly since he admitted to killing off some Knights who asked one too many questions.”
“He’d never do that,” Wayne said.
“You’re time’s nearly up. You need to go back into the Void so no one can track you down,” Ronan said.
“Are you both unharmed?” Simon looked from one to the other.
Jonah shrugged, glancing towards Ronan. “We’ll live.” He paused. “Who’s taking care of things while you’re here?”
“Hannah.”
“Are you crazy?” Jonah demanded.
“Who else was I meant to leave in charge? Frederick?”
Amber started to ask who Frederick was when Ronan spoke. “Time’s up.”
When Simon protested Amber bit back her own. She had more questions she wanted to ask Jonah. Although she doubted he’d answer them. Both him and Wayne had remained silent, just like Stanley and Martin. They were starting to get a collection of prisoners and she had no idea what to do with them.
“I didn’t even get to tell him that the binding’s been broken,” Simon said. “It changes everything.”
“Like what?” Amber asked.
“The whole reason for the existence of our group was to protect the binding and keep it going. Now,” Simon shrugged, “I don’t have a clue what we’re meant to be doing.”
“Why does he need to know?” Amber asked.
“Because he’s my adviser.”
Kade chuckled and Ronan made a sound of disbelief. Amber didn’t blame them. She was pretty certain Jonah was far more important than an adviser. “Try again. You keep lying to us and the talk is ended.”
“Our policy is not to talk, but well,” Simon shrugged again, “the binding has been broken.”
“It was useless anyway,” Amber said.
“It was protecting the human race from extinction.”
“Now the human race has us,” Kade said.
Amber laughed when Simon looked towards Ronan. “Oh, not him. The Dragon Mages and a handful of Golds.”
“That won’t be enough. How are you meant to protect the entire world?” Simon asked.
Amber glanced towards Ronan, not sure how much he wanted Simon to know.
“We’ll always have two Dragon Mages watching from the Void for Hell Hound arrivals. They’ll be changed every hour so they remain alert during their watch.” Then Ronan said to Amber and Kade, “Which is why you’re going to need to recruit more mages.”
Amber wanted to argue, but remembering some of the crazy people they’d found, she nodded. She didn’t know that she trusted anyone else to make certain of the sanity of each person they asked to be a mage.
“The caged Pliethins you stole will wear out pretty quickly if you use them all the time,” Simon said.
“A Gold Warrior is taking them into the Void. That’s where Knight Mages are at a disadvantage. The Dragon Mages have dragon allies, what do you lot have?” Ronan asked.
“After everything that has happen between our two races, I doubt that either side could trust the other,” Simon said.
“Dragons always know that today’s enemies may very well be tomorrow’s allies,” Kade said.
Simon looked confused. “You forgive them?”
Ronan grinned. “Of course not. But we are patient.”
“How can you expect us to trust when you make comments like that?”
“By not thinking like a human,” Amber said.
“I am human,” Simon said.
“Not completely. You’re a Knight Mage.” Amber recalled her grandfather’s rejection of her suggestion to become one. “You’re a Knight, aren’t you?”
Simon nodded.
“Then how can you bring yourself to become what you have? Isn’t that against everything the Knights believe in?”
“Some people are called upon to make sacrifices for the greater good.”
Ronan made a sound of disbelief again. “And some people make up all sorts of excuses to feel better about the choices they have to make.”
“This conversation isn’t solving anything. I came here to discuss what to do about the Hell Hounds. I swore an oath to protect humans. Breaking the binding doesn’t change that. I will still continue to protect them.”
“As I said earlier, we have mages watching for Hell Hounds. There’s an area organised that we hope our Golds can take the hounds to so they can be fought without endangering humans unnecessarily.” Ronan grinned. “They tend to get in the way and make a battle more difficult than it needs to be.”
“Then what do you want with me? It sounds like you’ve got it all figured out. Why would you need the Knights?” Simon asked.
“Because we’re certain there’ll be times when dozens of hounds come through. If there are too many for us to fight, we need to know who will help,” Amber said.
“I can’t speak for all the Knights.”
“Who can?” Ronan asked.
“No one person. This needs to be discussed amongst the leaders of the Knights.”
“How long will it take you to arrange a meeting between your leaders?” Kade asked.
“You would need to let your prisoners go first,” Simon said.
“Wayne isn’t a leader.” At least she hoped he wasn’t.
“No, but it wouldn’t be fair to leave any behind when negotiating for the release of the others.”
“Martin isn’t a leader anymore.” Amber grinned. “He was dethroned.”
“In what way?” Simon asked.
“He’s no longer High Protector of Queensland.” She enjoyed saying that, not that she was much happier with her grandfather being the new High Protector. Particularly with his hate of dragons.
“That doesn’t matter, he still has high standing with the Knight Mages.”
“I bet it matters to him.” Amber’s grin remained in place. When Simon didn’t comment, she asked, “How can he be a Knight Mage when he’s never held a Pliethin?”
“There are years of training before a Knight can take the next step and become a Knight Mage.”
Amber wondered how old Simon was. She guessed it had to be a lot older than the thirty years he appeared to be. “And what if we refuse to release your people? I mean, Martin isn’t even exactly our prisoner. We’re just keeping an eye on him for his true captors.”
“We are human. We don’t have the dragons’ pragmatic approach to enemies and allies. We’d
need you to release all three of our people before we could even think about fighting at your side.”
Amber inclined her head, not bothering to mention Stanley. “We’ll discuss it. But I can’t promise anything.”
“Can I return home while we wait for your answer?”
“No.” Amber opened the planning room door and gestured for Daray to enter. “Daray will continue to look after you while you’re here.”
Daray pushed away from the hallway wall he leaned against and crossed the room, reaching for Simon.
Simon took a step back, holding up his hand to signal stop. “Wait. Why did you heal Ira?”
“Because I’m a healer.” They weren’t the first words that came to mind. Those words were a complaint over all the continual questions people had for her.
“That isn’t an answer.”
Amber shrugged. “It’s all the answer you’ll get because I don’t have another one.” She nodded towards Daray who grasped Simon’s arm and took him into the Void. She couldn’t help wondering if Simon told Daray that he needed to learn some manners.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The next couple of days passed quickly. Ronan and Flinn argued against letting the prisoners go free while everyone else thought it would be a good idea to have more warriors on their side. Charles, Amos and Eliza wanted Martin given to them rather than letting him go, but Isaac said to return Martin to the Knight Mages. Roy told Amber that the Knights were splitting apart into separate groups and he didn’t have a clue how everything was going to turn out. Even the Knights overseas were being affected by the discovery of Knight Mages and Hell Hounds.
When they let Simon return early to his people to find out what they’d do if the three Knights were returned to them, Amber impatiently waited for an answer. When it finally came, not everyone was happy with the decision.
It was Friday, nearly a week since the binding had been broken, before they met in the courtyard of Temolae Keep. Simon, along with Hannah and a Knight Mage he introduced as Frederick, waited silently for Ronan to arrive. Amber, with Kade on one side, Rian on the other, wondered if she should call him. She wasn’t about to let him play games and have them all waiting around for ages.
Ronan stepped out of the Void, his Golds stepping out after him bringing Martin, Jonah, Wayne and Stanley. No one had yet asked for Stanley. Amber had convinced Ronan, after hours of argument, that it was time to give him back too.
Amber indicated Stanley with a wave of her hand. “He was taken prisoner the first time we captured Wayne and Jonah.”
“He’s not one of ours.” Simon barely gave Stanley a glance.
“He’s a Knight, from the Brisbane Headquarters,” Amber said.
Simon turned to Frederick. “I guess that makes him yours.”
“Martin?” Frederick asked.
Martin shook his head. “There was never any plan for him to become a Knight Mage.”
Frederick strode forward, pulling Martin from Chait’s grip. “Looks like he’s your problem then, Simon.” Frederick and Martin vanished.
Simon gestured Hannah forward. “Take Wayne home.” He removed the caged Pliethin that hung at his belt, holding it out to Jonah.
As Hannah and Wayne vanished, Jonah stepped forward. He took the Pliethin, hanging it at his neck. “What have you done, Simon?”
“We’re allies for the next six months. You would have done the same.”
“What does that mean exactly?” Jonah turned to Amber.
“That you help us fight the Hell Hounds and don’t retaliate against us, encourage others to attack us or harm us in any way,” Amber said.
“But we can do that after the six months are over?” Jonah asked.
Amber laughed at the disbelief she heard in his voice. “Not quite.” She dredged up the words Ronan had spoken during one of their many meetings. “On the last day of those six months we meet and discuss where we go from there. If we remain allies, part company as neutral parties or become enemies.” She hoped it was the first option, although Ronan believed it would be the last. But he always believed that about everyone.
“All the Knight Mages?”
Simon shook his head at Jonah’s question. “Only our group. Fredrick wants no part of the dragons.”
“Will you honour the bargain?” Ronan asked.
Jonah looked to each of them, his gaze finally settling on Ronan. “It was made in my name, I will keep it.” His hand reached for the Pliethin hanging at his neck.
“What about Stanley?” Amber asked.
“He’s not our problem.” Jonah looked at Simon. “Is that everything?”
Simon nodded before he faced Amber. “Ring me when they come.” Both Knight Mages vanished.
Ronan eyed Stanley with one of his predatory grins. “Looks like no one wants you.” He looked Stanley up and down. “Can’t say as I blame them.”
Seeing Stanley’s expression go from shock to rage at Ronan’s words, Amber stepped forward. “Leave him be.”
Stanley struggled to get away from Alsandair’s grip. “I don’t need you to speak for me.”
She ignored the anger in his voice. “What will you do if we let you go?”
“Return to the Knights. Not the ones that were just here. They aren’t true Knights.”
Amber wondered if she should tell him about all the changes that had happened while he’d been gone.
Ronan chuckled. “Take him back to the headquarters.”
“No.” She decided she couldn’t let him go without telling him.
“You’re going to keep me here? Then why did you bother asking me what I’d do?”
“I’m not going to keep you here. I thought you should know what’s been happening while you were gone. There’s been changes,” Amber said.
“Why do you think I’d believe anything you have to say?” Stanley snarled.
Amber stared at him for a moment, pushing away the anger his words made flare. Shrugging, she met Alsandair’s eyes. “Take him back to the headquarters. No need to wait around and see that he makes it to the door.” Obviously he didn’t need her help.
Kade slid an arm around her waist. “This will give us more time to find the next lot of humans to become mages.”
She wanted to protest, but he was right. And it was something that couldn’t be put off. She glanced first to Daray before her eyes came to rest on Rian. “Kade and I will go after lunch. Just the two of us.”
“Make sure you call Daray if you need help.” Rian disappeared into the Void the moment Amber nodded.
“When you have another twenty or thirty organised, let me know.” Ronan vanished before Amber could answer.
Holding out a hand, she threaded her fingers through Kade’s when he took it, taking them to the dining room. Lunch was brought in several minutes after she was seated. As soon as they were finished, they returned to the human world to recruit more mages.
By Monday night they’d found twenty humans and agreed to turn five humans that Kade’s mother, Kiani, had brought to them, into Dragon Mages. Amber wondered if she should again ask her grandfather if he wanted to be a Knight Mage. Too tired to think about it properly she told Kade she was heading to bed.
He drew her close, kissing her. When he pulled back to stare down at her, he ran a finger across the shadows under one of her eyes. “I won’t be long and I’ll head to bed too. How about we sleep in tomorrow and have the day off? We can go back to searching on Wednesday.”
“Sounds good.” She kissed him one last time before she drew away and stepped into the Void, heading to their bedroom.
Amber fell asleep immediately, to be woken by her phone ringing when she was far from rested. She reached for it, trying to focus on the bright screen.
“Answer it,” Kade growled.
The screen said the contact was Hound Emergency. Sleepiness faded as adrenaline kicked in. “This is it.” She answered the call. “Yes?”
“They’re coming. I’ve already informed Ronan.”
“Let Simon know as well.” When the mage agreed, Amber hung up, checking the time before she rose from the bed. She’d barely had an hour’s sleep. She stared at Kade for a moment. “The hounds are coming.” This time she didn’t hear an echo of Vikki as she spoke the words. She felt both nervous and excited. It looked like their plan to watch for the Hell Hounds was working.
Kade got out of bed, pulled on a vest that matched his trousers and armed himself. Amber grabbed her weapons then held out her hand to him. She tightened her fingers on his.
“Are you ready?”
Kade nodded. “More than. Let’s go see how many are coming.”
Pressing her fingers to the caged Pliethin she’d hung at her belt, she took them into the Void, searching for the pathway to the Hell Hounds. It only took her seconds to find and she pulled it to herself.
“You know I think I could follow this thread back to their world. It’s much stronger and clearer than the one from the hound we killed.”
“Not on your own.”
Amber grinned. “You aren’t going to tell me I can’t do it?”
“No. Being able to get some of their stone to protect our castle better would be worth the risk.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She tightened her fingers on his before she took them through the Void. They stepped out into a crowd of Golds and warriors, the ones at the outside of the crowd unarmed. The concrete footpath she stood on was cracked and uneven, leading to closed shops that continued on past the crowd. She had no idea where she was, but that wasn’t important. Getting the Hell Hounds out of here the moment they arrived was.
Familiar faces were everywhere Amber looked. Including Crystal, Rian, Jasper, Turi, Angela and Flinn. She couldn’t see any Knight Mages or Ronan, but she could feel the waves of fear rising. The Hell Hounds weren’t far away. Ronan better hurry up.
Crystal covered the short distance between them, throwing her arms around her. “I hope this works.”
Amber hugged Crystal tightly before letting her go. “Of course it will.” She doubted Ronan would accept anything else.
Simon, Jonah and Hannah stepped out of the Void, along with three other Knight Mages. Simon nodded towards Amber in greeting, the rest of the Knight Mages barely giving her a glance. Ronan and six Golds stepped out of the Void in front of her and Amber wondered if the Knight Mages’ arrival had been what they’d been waiting for.