Dragon Blessed (The Dragonwalker Book 2)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “May I help you?” Jayell asked. Fes was impressed by how steady she had managed to keep her voice and suspected that she struggled much more than it sounded like.

  “Where is he?” The voice sounded as if it belonged to a man, which ruled out Elizabeth. And it didn’t sound like Jaken.

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

  “You have someone else with you,” the fire mage said.

  “You are welcome to come and take a look,” Jayell said, stepping aside.

  Fes glanced at the back of the room, realizing that the dragonglass sword lay near the window. They had made a mistake leaving it there.

  “I can smell him.”

  “If that’s some comment on what you can smell of me, then I take offense.”

  The fire mage pressed into the room, and Fes could see the outline of his deep black cloak. Boots thudded along the floor—a pair of soldiers approaching.

  “As you can see, it’s only—”

  The fire mage turned toward Fes.

  Fes lunged forward, slashing at the air and the spell with his daggers, and grabbed for the fire mage. He wrapped his arm around the man’s neck and crushed his windpipe. As he did, he held onto the daggers and jumped back behind the door.

  The two soldiers approaching neared, and Fes nodded to Jayell as she closed the door.

  He slammed the hilt of his dagger on the fire mage’s head, and the man collapsed.

  “Keep an eye on him,” he told Jayell. “And see what he might have that you can use.”

  There came another knock on the door, and Fes pulled it open and greeted the first soldier with a dagger to his chest. The other man reacted more slowly, and Fes kicked, catching him in the groin and doubling him over. He brought his knee up, slamming into the man’s face, crumpling him.

  Fes dragged both men into the room, closing the door behind him. How much time did they have before they were discovered? He wasn’t sure how many soldiers would come through the inn, and when they did, would they be knocking, or would they just force their way in?

  “Does he have anything?”

  “He has one dragon pearl, and he has a small length of dragon bone. He wouldn’t be a very high-degree fire mage.”

  “Does he have anything that you can use?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Try it,” Fes urged.

  She closed her eyes, and he felt a strange trembling, but no surge of heat. When her eyes opened, she shook her head. “The relics that he has are keyed to a different fire mage.”

  “So you believe they come from a different type of dragon.”

  She nodded.

  Fes made quick work of cutting off strips from each soldier’s jacket, and bound their arms and then their legs. He tied them in place, keeping them from moving, and then turned his attention to the fire mage.

  “Do you think he might have anything else on him that you could use?”

  “Like what?”

  “Sort of like with your necklace.”

  Her eyes widened. “How did you—”

  Fes smiled. “I can feel it when you use it. Is it already inert?”

  “I haven’t risked using the necklace,” she said.

  “You have, even if you haven’t intended to.”

  Fes began examining the priest, checking for any sort of jewelry that might be a dragon relic. He found a ring, but it was made of metal and carried with it a strange marking. It wasn’t an empire mark. When he held it up to Jayell, she nodded.

  “That is a mark of the fire mage. It denotes his ranking. It shows that he is a first-degree.”

  “I haven’t seen anything like that on any of the other fire mages I’ve encountered.”

  “No. Most of them don’t wear it openly. It is odd that he is willing to do so.”

  Fes continued to look. He found a necklace, the same sort of thing that Jayell wore. This was shaped like a pointed talon, and he yanked it free. When he handed it to Jayell, she closed her eyes a moment, the strange fluttering working through him as she did, and when she opened her eyes, she shook her head again.

  Fes stuffed the dragon claw into his pocket.

  When he finished his examination, he found no other signs of items that the priest might have concealed.

  “Will he need to be carrying them himself to be able to use them?”

  “Most believe that contact is required, but some of the higher level fire mages might not require that.”

  “I don’t think that Reina did.”

  The fire mage began to stir. Fes quickly bound his wrists and his ankles, tying him so that he couldn’t attack when he was awake. He doubted that he would do anything without access to his power. More likely than not, he would be scared.

  When the fire mage came around, he looked over at Fes and then his gaze drifted to Jayell. He frowned. “I know you, don’t I?”

  She shook her head.

  “I have seen you before. Hair like yours is not easily forgettable.”

  “I don’t know you,” she said.

  The fire mage turned his attention to Fes. “And you. You’re the one she searches for.”

  “Where is she?”

  “Oh, don’t worry. She will find you soon enough.”

  “Not if I find her first.”

  “You are a fool if you think that you can challenge her.”

  “I don’t intend to challenge her,” Fes said. “All I intend to do is rescue my friend.”

  “The child? That’s what this is about? Then you are even more of a fool than I had been led to believe. The child has access to power.”

  “I know.”

  The fire mage’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You did know, didn’t you?”

  “Where is she?”

  “She is here in the city. When she realizes that I have not returned, she will send others for me.”

  “You’d better hope not,” Fes said.

  “Why not?”

  “Anyone else she sends for you will end up the same way as your friends there.”

  Fes nodded to the soldiers. Neither man had moved, and he had positioned them in such a way that the fire mage wouldn’t be able to see the strips of cloth tying them in place.

  “You have made a grave mistake in attacking the empire.”

  “I haven’t attacked the empire. I’ve attacked these men.”

  “And these men are an extension of the emperor. Did you think that you could attack these men and get away with it?”

  “You know, he asked me the same thing, and I will tell you the same thing that I told him. I don’t work for the emperor. I never have.”

  The man stared at him.

  Fes got close and slipped one of his daggers beneath his chin. The man’s gaze was drawn to the dagger, and Fes didn’t know whether it was because he had the sharp blade pressing beneath his chin or whether it was the heat that pulsed in the blade. Fes wasn’t sure what that meant. Was that a reverberation of the mage’s power, or was that something that he had somehow caused?

  “Where is she?” Fes asked again.

  “She will have fun with you,” he said.

  “I doubt that.”

  He slammed the hilt of his dagger up against the side of his head again, knocking him out.

  He crouched back, looking at the fire mage.

  “What did he mean that the girl has power?”

  “She’s from Toulen. She makes little totems that have some attachment to power. I’m not entirely sure what they do, but—”

  Jayell frowned. “Totems?”

  Fes nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out one of the totems that Indra had made. “She calls them figurines. They’re designed to offer some sort of protection. I’m not entirely certain how it works.”

  Jayell held her hand out, and Fes handed the totem over.

  She ran her fingers along it and studied it, giving it an almost appraising gaze. When she turned it over, noticing the sense of movement on the back side, she drew in
a soft breath. “Do you realize what this is?”

  “A figurine.”

  Jayell looked up at him and held the totem cupped in her hand. “Do you remember when we are talking about the other places where the dragon relics were brought?”

  Fes nodded.

  “Most of the relics ended up within the empire. That was simply a matter of proximity. But other places were able to acquire some, and they use them in a very different way than the empire—and the fire mages.”

  “And Toulen?”

  “I don’t exactly know what Toulen acquired, only that they were given several very important relics.”

  “What important relics?”

  “I know they have a skull. Few other than the highest within Toulen are allowed to see it, but there have been so many stories coming out of there that it has to be true.”

  “Even if they have a skull, what does that matter?”

  “It matters because it is another relic of power. It matters because the Priests of the Flame have not been able to uncover anything like it. It matters because the empire does not have one.”

  If that was what Elizabeth was after, if she thought that Indra was somehow able to bring her access to the dragon skull, he could see her forcing her way across Toulen, trying to force Indra to show her the relic.

  And it would make more sense for her to have a golem.

  With a creature like that, she might be able to overpower what defenses the people of Toulen could muster. With an item like that, even the protection of the totems or the figurines might not be enough.

  “We have to stop her,” Fes said.

  “If she reaches Toulen, the people might be tempted to help. The moment they use the power trapped within the dragon skull, she will detect its location.”

  Would the people of Toulen be motivated to help Indra? She was a merchant’s daughter, nothing more. But then, it might not matter. It might be that the people of Toulen would view any assault by the empire as going against all of Toulen.

  Fes wiped his daggers on the fire mage’s cloak before slipping them into his sheath. Elizabeth would have to be stopped before they reached Toulen, but he wasn’t sure whether he would be able to do that. Would they have enough time to prevent her from getting there?

  Fes stood and turned around, looking around the room. Could that be what it was all about? Elizabeth was after something—the fact that she was willing to take Indra and use her for whatever it was that she intended was proof of that—but it surprised him that it could be about some dragon relic that the people of Toulen had.

  “Do you know whether Elizabeth uses relics that might be compatible with your abilities?” Fes asked.

  She shook her head. “I’m not even sure that it matters. It might be more about my abilities—or lack of them. I have been away from the temple a long time now. Some relics are easier for me to use than others.”

  Fes sighed. It would have been too much to hope for. And if there weren’t anything that she could use, then she would be in danger traveling with him.

  “She might not be able to use it, but it is likely that one of the other fire mages can. Even that might not be the reason she chases after it in the first place.”

  The empire wanted a skull to prevent the rebellion from getting it.

  And what direction had the rebellion been traveling? Here he had gone to Horus thinking to send word to the rebellion, but maybe that hadn’t been necessary. And maybe he’d done nothing more than give the rebellion what they needed for their strange plans to raise the dragons by leaving Theole and Indra with them.

  Could that be why Theole had died?

  More than anything, they needed to get moving. Find Indra.

  Boots thudding on the floorboards caught his attention, and he glanced toward the door. The longer they stayed here, the more likely it would be that they would need to fight their way free. How many times would they get lucky?

  “It’s time for us to get going,” he said.

  He grabbed the sword from where it had been left, and searched for a way to stuff it into his belt. He didn’t have anything.

  Fes glanced over at the soldiers. One of them carried a sword, and Fes removed the sheath from his belt and tested to see whether the dragonglass blade would fit. When it did, he buckled the sheath to his belt and twisted it so that it was behind him. His cloak would cover it, and at least he could conceal it from anyone who might get too close to him. He didn’t know how long he would be able to conceal it were he attacked by soldiers, though.

  He looked out the window. There was no sign of movement. He remained there for a moment before climbing out and jumping, dropping to the ground below.

  He nodded up at Jayell. She hesitated for a moment before climbing down. She did so with less grace than he managed and landed next to him. They made their way down the street, hurrying at a quick clip before reaching the end of the street, where Fes guided them away.

  “What now?” she asked.

  “Now I think that we need to figure out whether we can determine where Elizabeth might have gone.”

  “How do you suppose to do that?”

  He wasn’t certain. Would he be able to track her using his connection to the heat that he picked up on? If he could, that would be a huge benefit. Fes focused, closing his eyes as he tried to determine whether he could find any sense of heat building, but there was nothing clear to him.

  Either she was not nearby or she had not been using her spell the same way she had been before.

  “I don’t detect anything,” he said.

  “I don’t either,” Jayell said.

  “Do you think that means she’s not in the city?” Fes asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  They kept to the shadows but meandered through the city, staying on side streets as they went from place to place. Every so often, Fes would pause and focus, straining to see whether he could pick up on the sense of the spell that he’d felt before, but there remained nothing.

  They reached the edge of the city, looking out over the river, and Fes stared for a long moment, trying to determine whether there was anything out there that would reveal Elizabeth’s location.

  Nothing.

  “What do you suggest that we do?” Jayell asked.

  “Either she’s out of the city or she’s not using the same spell,” Fes said. Either possibility was likely. If it was about reaching Toulen and the possibility of finding a dragon skull, then he wouldn’t be surprised if she had already departed.

  Which meant that he might have already missed his opportunity.

  When they headed back into the city, they had to move carefully. The Dragon Guard were out in force. Every so often, Fes would pause, ducking into an alleyway to avoid detection.

  How long could they stay hidden?

  “We can’t go back to the tavern,” he said to Jayell.

  “Where would you have us go?”

  “Toulen.”

  “What happens if you’re wrong?”

  “Then I’m wrong. I don’t know where else to go.”

  And regardless of how he felt about whether Elizabeth managed to secure a dragon skull, he really didn’t want her to place Indra in danger in order to do so.

  One of the soldiers shouted, and Fes looked over to see several of them coming their way.

  They ducked along the street, hurrying away until they reached the first tavern they had visited. In the paddock behind it, he found their horses still secured. By the time they grabbed them, leading them back out into the street, more soldiers had appeared.

  “It’s time to ride—and quickly,” he said.

  Jayell climbed into her saddle, and he noticed that there was a certain reluctance to her. It was something they would have to talk about later—if they managed to get free. For now, they needed to focus on getting out of the city and away from the Dragon Guard. If they failed, Fes wouldn’t be surprised if Jaken came chasing after him.

  He jerked on the re
ins, and the horse started off, slowly at first, but with an increasing gallop. When they neared the line of soldiers, Fes prodded the horse to go faster and plowed through them.

  “Thanks,” he said to the horse.

  They reached the edge of the city, and he looked back, noticing that they now had a line of soldiers after them.

  “I think this was a mistake,” she said.

  “You wanted us to stay in the city?” Fes asked.

  “Not in the city,” she said. “But coming here. I think that was a mistake.”

  “I can leave you someplace safer if you would prefer?”

  “It’s not that.” She twisted in the saddle, looking behind her. Fes followed the direction of her gaze and saw the soldiers racing toward them. Could they outrun them?

  He didn’t know whether they would be quick enough to outrun the soldiers, but if they failed, he would have to send Jayell off. She didn’t deserve to be trapped by the soldiers. It was his fault that they were here in the first place.

  “What is it, then?”

  Jayell motioned toward the river. “To get to Toulen, we have to cross the river. How are we going to do that?”

  They continued to ride northward and almost unintentionally, they began to slow.

  She was right. How would they cross the river?

  Chapter Eighteen

  They had ridden for several hours before Fes felt comfortable stopping. The soldiers had trailed after them for a while, but eventually, they had given up the chase. Fes didn’t expect them to give it up permanently. Now that they had been seen, now that the soldiers knew where they were heading, he fully expected the Dragon Guard to come around and find them some other way.

  Jayell had been silent, but then again, so had Fes. What was there to say? They were following the course of the river but continuing to move farther away from Toulen.

  The river served as a boundary for the empire. It was wide enough that it was difficult to cross without a bridge, and bridges were only located in places where the other side had significant defenses. On the opposite side of Idaris, it was mostly unpopulated land, though fortified to prevent the empire from moving into Toulen without opposition.