Dragon School: Warring Promises
Dragon School
Sarah K. L. Wilson
Published by Sarah K. L. Wilson, 2018.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
DRAGON SCHOOL: WARRING PROMISES
First edition. March 15, 2018.
Copyright © 2018 Sarah K. L. Wilson.
Written by Sarah K. L. Wilson.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Behind the Scenes:
For Mom
Chapter One
“I leave for one moment and you kill two people.” Hubric grabbed me before I fell. My head felt light, but my fingers clung to the scrap of paper like keeping it safe could prevent it from coming true. “What’s that?”
He took the paper from me and pushed his shoulder under mine to help me limp back into the Raolcan’s cote.
Steady now, spider, Raolcan told me. They lie. That’s what evil people do.
They’d had Leng before. They’d tortured him and tried to kill him before and now this paper said they would do it again unless I gave them Savette - the Chosen One – or at least according to Hubric.
“Let’s take a look at that note.” Hubric held it up to the moonlight, cursed and then lit a candle in a wall bracket. I already knew what it said:
We have Leng Shardson. Deliver Savette Leedris to Dominion City in exchange for his life before the next moon or he dies. Slowly.
My head was clearing enough to stand on my own, but I still felt sick. Leng and Savette were in danger and Raolcan had just flamed Artis.
She had it coming.
She’d been a friend. She said she was in a bad situation, being blackmailed.
So she turned around and did the same to us? What did she think would happen? Compassion is good, but I don’t pity those who choose to do evil. You can’t be responsible for the actions of another, but you are responsible for your own actions. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Don’t let them say “you made me do it.” No one can make you do anything unless you want it more than the alternative.
Quite the speech. It didn’t help.
Hubric whistled. “So, they have Leng Shardson.”
“We need to find a way to save him,” I said.
He met my gaze with his flint-hard eyes. “Are you suggesting we give them what they are asking for?”
“Of course not.”
He nodded. “Good. Savette Leedris is the Chosen One. I will defend her with my dying breath – and so will you. Never forget, you are sworn to the Dominar, sworn to me, sworn to your dragon and soon you will swear to the Lightbringers. Whatever your personal feelings, those allegiances always come first.”
My voice felt shaky with tension as I forced my words out. “Are you saying I should just leave Leng out there to die? They said they’d make him die slowly.”
“We don’t know how much of that is true.”
“No,” my voice rose. “We don’t. It could all be true. Who knows how long this message has been waiting for me? He could already be dead!”
“Calm down.” His words were like ice. “Before you fly off the handle, let’s talk calmly.”
I ran a hand through my mussed hair, blinking back tears. “Okay.”
“I have a message to deliver and orders to immediately fly north to deliver it to the hands of the Dominar.”
That was expected. I nodded my understanding.
“And you should have some messages for us from the game. Did you find your contact?”
I nodded as he drew close, looking around as if he were afraid of being overheard.
As if Kyrowat and I wouldn’t tell you there were strange minds listening.
A gout of flame from Kyrowat’s stall punctuated his words.
“Fine,” Hubric said over his shoulder to his dragon. “I trust you. I won’t doubt you again.” He turned back to me. “Tell me everything he said.”
“Ummm,” I thought back. It felt like ages ago even though it was less than an hour ago.
“Quickly. Or do you think no one will notice that our dragons turned two women into piles of charcoal?”
“I played the Prince and he said it was a fool’s move.”
“Sometimes a fool’s move is the only one you have. I’d say Rakturan is definitely that. Go on.”
“He played a pair of knives.”
“That was those two assassins Raolcan just killed.”
“Really?” I felt a tingle in my chest. If I had known the code I would have expected them. “When one of those assassins played four generals he said that she meant business.”
Hubric grunted. “I was worried that was true. Four of those generals we met tonight are with the Dusk Covenant.”
“How can that be true? Are the Dusk Covenant everywhere?”
“Their influence spreads. Even more among the rich and powerful.” He leaned against the wall. “What else?”
I was looking at the moon. So big. So silver. Was Leng looking at that moon? Was he held somewhere against his will hoping against hope to be freed?
“Amel? What else?”
I snapped back to our conversation. “I played something at random. I don’t know how to play cards. He said that a hand like that’s for a Dominar run. What’s that? And something about Backwater Manor.”
“What did you play?” he looked tense.
“I don’t remember.”
“Think, girl!” His eyes were so intense that I swallowed. What had I played? It hadn’t seemed to matter. At the time.
You played three dragons.
“Three dragons.”
Hubric cursed. “We have to leave tonight for the north, Amel. We have no other choice.”
“Leng needs us.” I turned my back to him. I didn’t know what to do about Leng. I didn’t know where he was or even where to start looking and of course I wouldn’t trade Savette for him, but I couldn’t fly in the opposite direction!
We’ll figure something out, Amel.
“Did he say anything else?” Hubric asked from behind me.
“He played a full army.”
“A bold move.” I heard shuffling, like he was picking something up. His tone was light and friendly.
“That’s what the others said. He just said it didn’t matter as long as none of the rest of us had the Dominar.”
“In the end that’s what matters,” Hubric said. His tone now was so regretful that I started to turn to look at him. “It all rests on who has the Dominar.”
There was a pain in my head and the world went dark.
Chapter Two
I felt something cool on my forehead.
“Are you awake, Amel?” Savette asked gently. She was bathing my forehead with a cool cloth. I sat up. “You shouldn’t get up too quickly. Hubric said you’d have a knot on the back of your head and a splitting headache.”
He was right about the headache. Where were we?
A field near a pond approximately two hours north of the wall around Dominion City. Hubric didn’t waste any time.
I needed to get
up and get going. If we’d flown two hours north of the wall, it would probably take me about four hours to go back to the city.
And say what at the wall? You have no message and they aren’t letting Purples through on their own.
I’d have to think of something. I swayed as the pain hit me like a hammer flattening pot-iron.
“Lean on me. I’ll help you drink something,” Savette said kindly. She was still so distant, but before this magical change, she’d never been so kind. “Suffering focuses the mind.”
Had she heard my thoughts?
No. She’s just very perceptive now.
And wait. How did I get here unless Raolcan carried me?
Of course I carried you.
Against my will? When he knew I wanted to find a way to save Leng?
Sometimes the best thing I can do for you is to stop you from getting yourself in trouble. Running off to try to find Leng on your own, against orders, when you have no idea if he’s even in danger? That’s a fool’s move.
Was he joking? He thought he’d done the right thing? He’d betrayed me. He hadn’t been on my side. He’d been with Hubric who hit me over the head and loaded me onto Raolcan without my permission!
I sputtered as Savette gave me a sip of water just a bit too quickly.
“Hubric will be back in a few minutes and then we’ll need to fly again,” she said. “It will be dawn in an hour and he says he has a place in mind with real beds for tomorrow night.”
Dawn? I’d been unconscious for hours! Well, I wasn’t wasting any more time.
“Thank you for the drink, Savette.”
“Of course.” She smiled in the dim light of the nearby smoldering fire. “We’re friends, Amel. You usually have to help me, but I’ll help you, too, whenever I can.”
Her words almost made me feel guilty about leaving before Hubric got back.
Going where?
Back to Dominion City.
No.
Wait. What? He was flat out refusing to go?
I’m a dragon, not a horse. You can’t just kick me with spurs and make me run. I’m staying right here until Hubric returns, and when he does, we’re going with him.
My mouth was open. I knew it was, but I was too stunned to shut it. He meant it. He wasn’t going to go with me. That gave me two options. I could go with him in the direction I didn’t want to go, or I could try to hobble across the landscape on my own.
It’s days on foot from here to the nearest town. And you’d have to carry your own food and water. And you have no idea where you are.
Frustration and betrayal filled me.
You can’t always call the shots, Amel. I’m your dragon. I will back you up into the face of death, but every once in a while I’m going to say no to your ideas.
I closed my mouth with a click, too angry and hurt to say anything. What could I do? I had no options.
“Good. She’s awake. Time to get airborne,” Hubric emerged from the shadows, drinking from a mug. Caf, no doubt.
“You hit me on the head and conspired with my dragon to bring me here against my will!”
“And you’re going to pout like a child about it? We both know you were in a jam. You couldn’t leave me and Savette and you couldn’t walk willingly away from saving your sweetheart. I did you a favor and didn’t make you choose.”
“It was my choice to make,” I said quietly.
“Trust me. You’ll thank me later. Now, mount up. If we fly hard all day we’ll be at our destination by late afternoon and finally get a hot meal, a soft bed, and some friendly discussion. It’s been a while since we slept without fleeing.”
“What about the Ifrit?” Savette asked quietly. I felt a chill wash over me. The Ifrit. I’d forgotten about him. And Starie. And Artis’ death. I bit my lip as sadness washed over me.
“What about him?” Hubric asked, casually.
“I saw the wall when we left. Something attacked the gatehouse and lit it on fire. There were people everywhere trying to put it out. I felt him there.”
Hubric shifted, sipping from his mug before answering. “You were in that sack. I didn’t think you saw.”
“I see everything, Hubric.” Savette sounded so calm, but also like she was far away. “I felt him watching us and I felt him turn to follow.”
“Why would he do that?” Hubric asked quietly.
“Because he wants Savette,” Rakturan said, emerging from the shadows. “And he will hunt her until he kills her or is killed in return. We can’t flee from him forever.”
Hubric cleared his throat. “I’m not sure what else you expect from me. I’m doing my best to keep you safe.”
“I think we take him to the Feet of the River,” Savette said quietly.
“Even in Baojang, we know about that place.” Rakturan crossed his arms over his chest, staring at Hubric through his bandaged eyes.
Hubric ran a hand over his weary face. “See Amel? This is why you need your head screwed on straight. These people want to go to a place where nine out of ten men die and you’re pining over a man who’s probably sleeping in a soft bed somewhere.”
“Why do nine out of ten men die there?” I asked.
“Because they go there looking for magic. Don’t ever look for something you don’t want to find.”
“We have no other choice,” Savette said.
The silence stretched out long and deep.
“It’s two days before we’d have to turn in that direction or miss our chance,” Hubric said eventually. “Give me until then to decide. And if you feel that thing watching, do me a favor next time and let me know.”
Chapter Three
Dawn was long past and so was noon. Raolcan flew without pause and if he listened to my thoughts that was his business, but I wasn’t directing them at him. I’d thought loyalty meant he’d always be on my side. I hadn’t expected that he’d have his own opinion – or at least, that his opinion would be different from mine. After all, I was clearly right. How could an intelligent dragon fail to see that?
It was probably a good thing that he wasn’t answering my silent accusations. I wanted to fight with him. I wanted to convince him to be on my side. His silence cut me. It reminded me of how lonely my mind was without him and how desperate I was to patch things up. The problem was, I wasn’t quite desperate enough yet to admit I’d been wrong.
I leaned back in the saddle to speak to Savette. Hubric had her riding with me even though he’d allowed Rakturan to ride on Enkenay. He’d said it was because he was worried about my head injury. I was pretty sure he just wanted added insurance that I wouldn’t fly away. As if having Raolcan on his side wasn’t enough already.
“Can you feel the Ifrit out there?” I almost shivered at my own words. Imagine being able to sense those horrifying creatures?
“Always. But exactly where is the real question.”
“How do you feel him?”
“He’s evil. A thing made of evil desire and the twisting of human power and authority. He’s everything that the light is not and now that I’m filled with the light, I can feel those things of evil. They repulse me – I don’t mean they make me sick, although I guess they do. I mean like a lodestone pulls metal in but can push another lodestone away, in that same way they push at me. We repel one another.”
What would it be like to have such a relationship with dark and light?
“And Rakturan?”
“Rak pulls me closer. I feel him always, drawing me closer and closer.”
I blushed. “I think you two should be married.”
“Have you seen any wedding chapels?”
“Maybe we’ll find one on our way.” And how strange would that be? Their wedding was meant to have been two royals uniting two lands in what would have been a massive display of pomp and wealth. Instead, they would be two people hiding and running for their lives with a pair of dusty Dragon Riders and three dragons.
“If we do, then Rak and I won’t pass it without saying our vows
and pledging our futures.”
“You seem so sure. He was an enemy not long ago.”
“Now he is heart of my heart and soul of my soul. The light that fills me links us. We’ve become two halves of one whole.”
Such a strange thought. “What is the light, exactly, Savette? Is it the magic that Magika’s pull from the ground.”
“I used to think so. Now I doubt it. This isn’t Magika magic. I can’t make fireballs or strike with lightning. I can’t bind or loosen dragons. I just ... I know good. I know truth. I feel the truth of something and sometimes I can make that truth real.”
“Ummm... what?”
“Like, I knew that Ifrit was nothing but dust and hate. When I was so full of the light that I could barely breathe, I pushed that truth back at him and he became what he always was – nothing but dust and hate.”
“And Enkenay? He was dead!”
“He had loved his rider, Dashira. He loved Rakturan. I showed him the truth – that his heart was full of a new rider and he had every reason to live again – and he lived.”
What a beautiful way to do magic. Transformation through complete truth. What if I asked her to show me my truth? Would it heal me, or would I be nothing but dust like the Ifrit? I should ask. No! I shouldn’t. What if I was wrong and I... better not to think about it.
I hope you’re done sulking and ready to be friends again because this silence is killing me.
Was that an apology from Raolcan?
What do you think?
Probably not, but at least we were still friends and I didn’t have the heart to keep him away anymore.
I love you, too, spider.
I felt his relief and affection intermix with my own. It had been quiet for too long in my mind.
I’m glad you’re back. We’ve got trouble up ahead.
Trouble?
Three riders on horseback. Two of the horses have large bundles – man-shaped bundles. They ride full-speed on the North Road and bear no emblems.
What did that mean?
Likely bandits or some other unsavory people. The kind who might kidnap someone and stuff them in a sack. We’ll overtake them in just a few more minutes.
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