Dragon Tender (Fae Unbound Teen Young Adult Fantasy Series Book 3)

by Jill Nojack

  ***

  James rubbed his palms together to end the locator spell that had led him to the gnomes. He really hadn't needed it once he got close. The usual noises that accompanied gnome activity were enough once he was in range.

  It was clear Hamish had done the best he could. He'd attended their wounds, tearing his own clothing to provide the bandages, and he sat next to the two pale gnomes laid out on the ground beside him with a glum expression on his face. Gurrdenn's leg was in a splint and the bandage around his head was stained with blood. However, his expression was still fierce and full of fight as he nodded in greeting. James felt sure that Gurrdenn was going to be fine.

  "I'm sorry, I couldn't leave the wee things alone in this state. And I couldn't carry all of them with me. They're small, but so am I. And I might just have hurt them worse if I'd tried."

  "Hamish, you did good. Don't beat yourself up about it."

  "I might have wished for a better conversationalist than this one, though," he said, cocking one thumb toward the gnome chief. "Not really one for chitchat."

  Gurrdenn grimaced in response.

  "Yeah, well, that leg doesn't look good. I doubt he's up to entertaining anyone right now. But it's going to have to wait for a while longer. From the look of things, these other guys are in more danger." He turned to Hamish. "I need you to get into my apartment and bring me the black bag I've got stowed in the closet. It's got a red cross on it in a white circle. Can you do that for me?"

  "Aye, I can. I'll be back with it in two shakes."

  Hamish ran off with the surprising speed of the gruagach. James could hear him breaking through the brush with little concern for the branches that lashed him as he went. Gruagachs have tough hides, much like gnomes. But neither of them have hides tough enough to fend off a magically-enhanced elvin blade.

  He wished Tanji was here to help. Tanji was a better healer than he was. She was quicker to diagnose, and the people she healed recovered from the effects of her magic faster. What she and Thomas accomplished for Mona had been miraculous. Even so, he hadn't liked Lizbet going off with Avenall to get her, even if the elf did have a dragon to call on. He would have liked to have been the one to be there for her if things got dicey.

  He was also still having a hard time accepting that his friend and former roommate wasn't who he seemed to be. Thomas had loosened up a lot when he first started dating Tanji. How could you not become more fun with her around? But then he closed up again and returned to a twenty-four hour a day focus on magic and magical society. Plus, his bromantic interest in Freoric was nothing short of pathetic. It had surprised everyone when Freoric stopped avoiding him and seemed to take a real interest in a friendship. He should have seen what was going on. He might have stopped it.

  As James assessed the gnome's wounds, he felt anger building inside again and knew he'd have to focus it in a positive way if he was going to do them any good. He was sure that Freoric had taken advantage of Thomas and led him astray. And there's no way a few gnomes could have been a real threat: Freoric didn't have to hurt them like this.

  He sat cross-legged next to the gnomes and ran his hands over their bodies, feeling slowly along their abdomens and limbs, using his anger to fuel his magic, feeling for the aura of blackness that indicated the site of an injury. The first gnome's wound was easy to find. He was bleeding freely from his side, and Hamish's bandage had only slowed the flow to a trickle. But it was the only wound, and although it went deep, it didn't seem to have pierced any of the unfamiliar organs James could sense in the gnome's small body.

  The second gnome had fared much worse. In addition to the external wounds, James sensed a spreading blackness in the gnome's abdominal cavity that could only mean his systems were shutting down. If Hamish didn't get there soon...

  And then the black bag was there at his right hand. Hamish had made a several mile round trip in mere minutes. Note to self—get a gruagach, thought James. These guys are frackin' handy.

  He quickly removed the herbs he needed and mixed them in a small bowl with some of his own spit, then applied it as a poultice to the worst wounded of the gnomes. He had Hamish hold the gnome's mouth open as he poured in a few teaspoonsful of the contents of a blue glass bottle. It stunk, but it should stop the spreading blackness in the gnome's abdomen. The gnome spluttered as the liquid hit the back of his throat. James hoped some of it had gotten down to where it could do some good.

  Finally, he extended his hands face down over the gnome's small body, and a pale blue glow jumped from his palms to bathe the gnome's belly in light. After a moment, the glow stopped and James removed his hands. The gnome looked better, less pale. He burped once, with more gusto than he'd managed before the healing session. It was time to move to the next.

  He finished faster with the second gnome. He revived immediately under James's care. Hamish had to shush him and threaten him sternly with additional harm if he didn't just lay still.

  Finally, he turned to Gurrdenn. "Are you hurting anywhere that I can't see, Gurrdenn?," he asked.

  "No. Leg. Head."

  "Good. Then I think I can help you out."

  The head wound was superficial and healed quickly, leaving only an abraded patch of skin after a few minutes under the poultice. His leg was more difficult—Freoric had broken it in several places. James was amazed the sharp edges of bone hadn't broken through the skin. So, yeah, it could have been a lot worse. As he applied the magic to knit the bones back together, Gurrdenn's expression softened from fierce to grateful. When James was done, the gnome stood tentatively on his damaged leg, then put his full weight on it, and began to walk toward the silo.

  "Good," he said in his limited English. "Good wizard. Now, we kill elf. Come."

  "Not a good idea, guy. You do know you're limping and wincing, right? You've got to give that leg some time to finish healing."

  "We kill elf. Come."

  He looked at Hamish, hoping the gruagach had some suggestion for how to handle the determined gnome, but Hamish only said, "Nothin' more bloody-minded than a gnome when he's set himself to it. You may just want to follow him and get it over with."

  Having no other plan, and knowing that he'd done the best he could for the other gnomes and was now leaving them in good hands, he took a few minutes to build a protection spell around Hamish and his charges. Then, he fell in behind Gurrdenn on his slow tramp through the woods.

  ***

  Thomas's magical strength was not the only power increased by his absorption of the wisps. His physical strength had also risen, and he had no trouble running with his girlfriend's weight across his shoulder. He took a direct route through the city and then the woods, clearing any obstacle in his path with a wave of his hand and a blast of magic. He'd planned it out so carefully: the dinner, the flowers, the spell, and then they would be on their way to the French compound where they could practice magic among their own kind with no more interference from humans.

  It would have been so romantic, so right, and Tanji would have loved it. She'd always hinted to him of her need for romance. And Lizbet had spoiled it for them! But Tanji wouldn't forgive him if he punished her for ruining the special evening he'd planned. And he very much cared what Tanji thought. He'd done all of this as much for her as for himself.

  When he reached the clearing near the silo, Eamon turned when he heard Thomas coming down the trail and ran toward him, shouting, "Thomas! What are you doin' with that poor lassie? Put her down!"

  Thomas blew the interfering gruagach off his feet and into the tree line with a wave of his hand.

  On the other side of the clearing, James came into view behind the small, slow-moving figure of a gnome.

  "I don't want to hurt anyone, James. But don't interfere with me tonight or you'll find out the hard way how powerful I've become."

  James wasn't afraid of Thomas, but he couldn't risk a lightning pulse or other attack without potentially harming Tanji. He watched Thomas hurry into the silo and close the metal do
or behind him. It clicked shut and then disappeared, leaving only a solid concrete wall where the door had been.

  ***

  Tanji woke within a magical bubble. Thomas stood with his back to her, chanting with his arms high in the air. She put one hand onto the light blue barrier that surrounded her, and it went through. She stood up and started to walk out of the bubble but was overcome by dread when she did. She gasped aloud at the force with which the terror hit her and shrunk back against the wall, safely encapsulated again. Her terror abated.

  Thomas turned to her, and his face was kind. "I'm sorry I had to take you the way I did. But you need to stay inside that boundary until it's time for us to go. It protects you from the spell."

  "You may think you're protecting me, but all you've done is put me in a cage. Let me out. I know you don't want to hurt me."

  He went to her and took her hands in his. "I would never hurt you. All of this is for you. When it's done we can be with our own kind and be free to practice magic without human interference. We'll be with family. People who are like us, who care about us. Who don't laugh at your ears or fear your gift."

  "Whatevs. I am with people who care about me, and I'm fine with things the way they are, even when people don't get me. People have never gotten me. So you can let me out now. This is not a good date night!"

  She continued to try to sway him, but he tired quickly of her arguments. He cupped the side of her face gently with one hand. "I know you'll understand in time. But I have to get back to work now."

  He motioned to Freoric, who brought him a small case full of the components of his spell.

  "The table..." He waved his hand in the direction of a small folding table and Freoric carried it to him, set it up, then stepped back out of the way. Thomas laid out his herbs and tinctures, taking a pinch of this and a drop of that, adding each to the globe that swirled with the essence of the wisps.

  He chanted as he worked, sometimes in the Elvish he'd learned from Freoric, sometimes in English, sometimes in the old tongue he'd learned from Myrddin through James. Tanji wasn't able to catch all of the words because a mouthless scream was building slowly within the globe, making it hard to hear him. She knew his words were potent because the air was charged with power. The essence of the wisps glowed brighter and brighter, becoming painful to watch. She felt sure that Thomas was glowing, too, now, as he pushed himself forward in an ever greater use of his magical power.

  It grew too bright, and Tanji couldn't watch the scene playing out before her any longer. Even that evil freak Freoric seemed affected. He'd withdrawn as far from the globe as the round walls of the enclosure would allow, shielding his eyes with one hand. She covered her eyes with her hands and put the tips of her thumbs tight into her ears in a useless attempt to drown out the scream that filled her world.

  CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE

  Boy Falls From The Sky

  James ran to where Eamon stood waiting, composed again after his unexpected flight into the bushes. Gurrdenn limped repeatedly toward the silo and then limped away again with a little more speed, not learning as quickly as the others that the spell was coming from the silo and couldn't be breached with bravery alone. Fein touched down at the edge of the clearing and Lizbet slid off his back, then Avenall urged him skyward again.

  Lizbet ran to James, hugging him. "Are you okay? We saw what happened from up there. Avenall's going to take a closer look at what's happening inside that thing. And then we're gonna need a plan."

  Avenall made several passes, mentally mapping the location of people and things within. Tanji looked so small and lost as she leaned against the side of the silo. His resolve to use his newly discovered power for one final time grew. He didn't feel good about it. It wasn't something he wanted to do. But if he could force Thomas to peacefully stop what he was doing, it could prevent people from being hurt, including Thomas. He hoped he could use his power without the others knowing what he'd done. He didn't want to have to run from this new home like he had his old one.

  He communicated to Fein that he wanted him to hold steady above the silo. He hoped he would not feel the same blank space he'd encountered when reaching for Freoric's mind. No, Thomas's was there in sharp relief, buzzing with magic. He sent a pulse of thought telling him to stop what he was doing, leave the silo, then lay down on the ground and go to sleep.

  As the command arrived at its target, he felt it stop and reflect back to him. Thomas looked up, smiling, as Avenall made the motion of opening a door and then stepped off the dragon's back into the sky.

  That he was falling rapidly toward the ground barely registered. He felt so sleepy.

  He regained control of himself when Fein flew swiftly to catch him and carry him in his claws to the ground. The dragon did his best not to cause harm, but a claw dug into his shoulder just enough to hurt and disrupt the command he'd ended up sending to himself. It was much less than he deserved for continuing to use a power he knew was taboo. It didn't matter if no one else would know what he'd done. He knew what he'd done. It was past time to tell the truth.

  When he returned to the ground, he went down on one knee to his queen and bowed his head low.

  "I said don't do that anymore. And what happened up there?"

  Avenall kept his head bowed. "My queen, I am ashamed. I've used a forbidden power, and I've lied to a friend about it to protect myself. I beg your forgiveness and ask that you allow me to help you with Thomas before you decide my fate." He raised his head briefly to look at James. "I'm sorry I did not tell the truth when you asked me. I was afraid."

  James nodded. "You shouldn't have been afraid. I just wanted to be sure about what I'd seen. I wasn't judging you. Mostly, I just wanted to know whether or not Lizbet was safe with you."

  "Although I can probably guess what you're talking about, you want to fill me in?" Lizbet said.

  Avenall explained. "The power of the Dragon Tender to enter the mind of others is no myth. I discovered this before I left my compound. I used my magic to communicate with a dryad who was imprisoned there. Then, when a Dragon Rider discovered my preparations for escape, I pushed a thought to him to go to the weapons room and go to sleep. I also used the power to prevent a man from getting too close to the dragons while I was traveling on the ship. I made him turn and walk away. What you just saw happened when I tried to push Thomas. He was able to push the magic back at me."

  "So basically what you're saying is, you used your power to talk to someone who was in trouble, to make someone else take a nap so you could try to prevent a war, and then forced someone else to walk away from a dangerous situation. Right?"

  "It sounds different when you say it, but yes. That is what I did."

  "And this is a problem because...?"

  "This power is wrong. It takes away a person's own will."

  "Yeah, well—if you do it for the wrong reasons and in ways that harm people, we'll have a chat. But we all have magical abilities that can be used in the wrong way against other people's wills. I'll let you know if I see you doing something evil, okay? I agree you probably want to keep it under your hat, though."

  "My hat?"

  "Not tell people about it."

  "As you say." Avenall relaxed visibly and stood again. "I had hoped I could stop this conflict today if I used my power, but there still must be a way for me to enter the silo. If Freoric and Tanji are in there, the spell must not affect people who are inside. I could drop from Fein's back. If Thomas pushes me back up, Fein can catch me. It would have to be from a safe distance so Fein isn't himself affected, but I feel sure I could do it."

  "Correct me if I'm wrong, but elves aren't much tougher than humans when it comes to smashing themselves up, are they? You'd never survive a jump like that."

  Eamon seconded her. "Aye, you wouldn't, laddie. But it's not a wasted idea. I'd have no problem with a fall like that. It's the sort of a jump I do for a spot of fun. My only concern would be fallin' on the lassie and causing her harm."

  "I've
got my bag of tricks. I'm pretty sure I could whip something up to help with that," said James. "That explosive thing I do—I could package up a small one for you that would push you away from the walls if you're going to land on anything you don't want to land on."

  "Right then. As usual, several heads are better than one."

  While Avenall described the layout inside the silo, James worked quickly, then handed Eamon a packet of powder wrapped loosely in paper. "Just toss it and say the magic word, which is this." James held up a piece of paper on which he'd scribbled the word BANG. "And no wisecracks. I'm wingin' it here. It'll blow you in the other direction when it goes off. It won't be much of an explosion, so it won't knock you out if you hit the wall."

  "Or an assassin, with a bit of luck."

  Avenall headed toward the dragon and Eamon followed, accepting a hand up to the dragon's broad back. Gurrdenn trailed after him and started to climb up, too.

  "Go on, get off with ye. We're in a hurry."

  "Kill elf. Come."

  "Might as well take him," said Lizbet. "Wasn't it you who told me how tough gnomes are?"

  Eamon grumbled but stretched a hand down for the gnome to grab and helped him clamber up behind.

  Avenall checked that they were all hanging on tightly to their little piece of the saddle and then gave the dragon leave to enter the sky.

  ***

  Avenall called back to the gruagach seated behind him. "You'll only have one chance at this, small one. I'll make several passes so that you can choose where to land carefully."

  "Oy! Who're you callin' small one? And you do know I'm hundreds of years older than you, right? You best be addressing the gnome, laddie, or you and I'll be having a parley after all this is done."