Dragon Blood 4: Knight

by Avril Sabine

  Roy laughed, a startled sound that he cut off before it had barely begun. “She knows you already.”

  Amos glared at Roy and Isaac who both grinned. “We’ll get this cleaned up. You two go to lunch.” He eyed them. “After you’ve showered and changed.”

  There was a sharp knock on the door. Amos and Amber swore at the same time and Amos sent her a look as if to ask how dare she be even the slightest bit like him.

  The handle rattled.

  “Are we going to open it?” Roy asked.

  “You open it.” Amos collected his sword while Roy crossed the room.

  Amber picked up her own sword, grimacing at the blood on the blade. Her eyes were drawn to the door as Roy swung it open. When she saw Charles and Martin in the doorway she grinned. “Well isn’t this just perfect.”

  “What’s going on?” Martin drew his sword as he entered the room.

  “No one is meant to harm her.” Charles left his sword at his side. “Do you know how many dragons they’ll have here if she dies? We can’t get that many Knights organised quick enough to protect ourselves.”

  “We were training,” Amber said.

  “It was a tie,” Amos quickly added.

  “You’re unharmed?” Charles eyed her up and down. “Whose blood?”

  “Mine,” Isaac and Roy said together.

  “Both of you?” Martin asked.

  “Probably a little bit of everyone’s,” Amber said. “It was a tie after all.”

  Martin’s gaze arrowed in on Amber. “Did you start this?”

  “I wanted to know what a mage can do,” Isaac said.

  “What did you discover?” Charles asked.

  Isaac met Amber’s gaze and held it. He smiled. “That she can hold her own in a fight.”

  She nodded, returning his smile.

  “Everything is alright? We aren’t going to have two castles full of dragon warriors turning up on our doorstep?” Martin demanded.

  “Everything is fine,” Amber said.

  “Then get to class.” Martin glanced at Roy. “Both of you.”

  Her stomach growled. “What about lunch?”

  “You missed it,” Martin said.

  “I doubt it. Not unless you want a panther roaming your corridors.”

  “Go get cleaned up and we’ll meet you in the dinning room,” Isaac said.

  “You aren’t the High Protector here, Isaac. I don’t come into your headquarters and start throwing my weight around,” Martin said.

  Amber barely managed to control her shock. She reached for Isaac’s mind. “You’re High Protector?”

  He sent her a grin, ignoring Martin. “Twenty minutes. I’ll organise someone to prepare lunch and get this place cleaned up.” He strode from the room, Amos on his heels.

  Charles grabbed Amber’s arm when she started to walk past him to follow Roy. “Are you certain you’re unharmed? There’s a lot of blood in here.”

  “I’m fine.” She met his sharp blue eyes, holding his gaze. She was confused, trying to figure out what the hell was going on, but physically unharmed. “Was that all?”

  Charles let her go.

  Amber held his gaze a moment longer before she strode after Roy, who had stopped partway along the corridor. He showed her to her room and as soon as he’d gone, she grabbed her bag and headed for the bathroom. Standing under the warm spray of the shower, after she’d cleaned her sword, she tried to figure out what was going on. Obviously Roy had lied when he’d said his family wasn’t important. She tried to think of what he’d said. ‘We have no family members in Brisbane that are high ranking in the Knights.’

  She chuckled. Typical dragon. No, but they were here now and they were a very high rank. What had she been told about the Knights? She frowned. Sydney. Headquarters were in capital cities. Isaac was the High Protector of New South Wales. How had he managed that? He was half dragon. And why had he managed that? Just because he wanted to kill his father didn’t mean he had no ties with other dragons.

  Ronan would want to use this information and she couldn’t keep it from him. Not without losing all the ground she’d gained with him. Turning off the shower, she reached for her towel, stopping centimetres from it, swearing. They could be Golds. Whatever the headquarters were made of they didn’t keep dragons out, only prevented them from remaining in the Void. How many other Knights had dragon heritage? Her hand closed around the towel, drawing it to herself. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Dragons always had to make things far more complicated than they needed to be.

  She pulled on fresh dragon-leathers, bundling up the bloody ones and putting them in the plastic bag she carried for her laundry. Kade was not going to be impressed when he learned about the fight. Neither was Ronan. She thought about his threat to get her bodyguards. Human ex-military ones. That was the last thing she needed.

  Returning to her room she found Roy leaning against the corridor wall, arms crossed as he waited for her. She ditched her bag in the wardrobe and followed him to the dinning room. Isaac and Amos were already there, four plates of food on the table.

  Amber sat across from Isaac, Roy across from Amos. She inhaled the scent of food, noticing no dragon bone on any of the meals. Smiling, she began to eat.

  “What’s so amusing?” Isaac asked.

  Amber shook her head, remembering the listening devices. “Nothing.” Then directly to Isaac, “How have you managed to avoid dragon bone your entire life?”

  “I haven’t. The weakness doesn’t last forever. Up to a month. Usually only two weeks.”

  “Just like how long the effects last when you consume dragon blood?”

  Isaac nodded then glanced towards his brother. “Amos wants to know what is going on.”

  Amber reached for each of their minds. “Is that better? Can everyone hear now?”

  “Get out of my head.” Amos glared across the table at her.

  “I can’t read your mind. I’m not good at that. Some dragons can, but they have to actually make the effort. Although there is a constant buzz behind your words. Maybe you’re kind of broadcasting.”

  “You can read my mind.”

  “No. If I tried I probably could, but I’m not trying. It’s more than enough effort keeping you all connected. Normally someone else does that when I’m in a group and we’re talking together.” She hesitated, knowing her next words were going to cause problems. “I have to tell my allies.”

  Amos rose to his feet, his hand going for the hilt of his sword before he dropped it. “You did that deliberately. I can’t fight you. I can’t stop you from telling anyone.”

  “Sit down, Amos.” Isaac continued to eat.

  Amos remained standing. “We’ll lose everything. Including our lives and you’re going to sit there calmly eating your food?”

  “I’m going to eat my lunch while I listen to what she has to say. I suggest you do the same.”

  “Why? So I can die with a full stomach? How’s that going to make death any less final?”

  “I will ask him to keep the knowledge to himself, but I can’t promise anything. Especially if it will benefit him,” Amber said.

  “Then why tell him?” Isaac asked.

  “Because she wants us to die.” Amos dropped into his seat, his food remaining untouched.

  “Because he’s my ally and I share what I learn with him.”

  “Does he do the same?”

  Amber smiled at Isaac’s question, almost laughing. “No, but in exchange he protects me.”

  “Who is your ally?” Amos demanded.

  Chapter Twelve

  Amber really wished he hadn’t asked her. No one ever liked the answer. “Ronan.”

  Roy groaned. “We’re dead. All of us.”

  Amos leapt to his feet again. “You tricked me.”

  “Sit down, Amos.” Isaac stared up at his brother, waiting until he sat. He turned to Amber. “Are you certain he’s your ally?”

  She nodded, her smile widening. “Absolutel
y.”

  “How did you manage that?” Isaac asked.

  She glanced towards Amos. “Maybe I tricked him too.”

  Isaac shook his head. “No. He’s far too smart to be tricked.”

  “Or far too confident to have much faith in a mere human to survive long enough to become his ally.”

  “You actually tricked Ronan?”

  She shrugged at Isaac’s question. “I’m still trying to figure that out. Maybe we tricked each other. It’s complicated.” Like far too many other things in her life because of dragons.

  “We need to meet with him,” Isaac said.

  She had no idea how she could do that without all hell breaking loose. “I’ll see what I can arrange.”

  “We’ll arrange it,” Amos said.

  “Good luck with that. No one arranges Ronan.”

  The dinning room door opened and Dominic entered. His gaze darted to Amber before resting on Isaac. “Stanley sent me to look for you. To see if you need me to show you where his classroom is.”

  Isaac rose to his feet, pushing his empty plate away from himself. “We know where to find it. You clean up the plates, Dominic.” His gaze travelled the table. “Lunch is over. Time to train.” He strode for the door.

  Amber turned away from the angry look Dominic sent her as she followed Isaac and Amos, Roy beside her. She was going to have to keep an eye on Dominic. He might not be her enemy yet, but with the rate she was gaining them lately there was a good chance he’d eventually become one.

  As soon as they entered the classroom, Stanley strode across the room, his eyes boring into Amber. “You’re late. You and Roy to the training room. Stay there until dinner.”

  Isaac stepped between them. “They were with us. I wanted to meet the mage.”

  Stanley remained quiet for a moment. “You should have sent word. She’s a disrespectful student that believes she can do as she pleases. Been with dragons too long and learned their undisciplined ways.”

  Amber fought the urge to defend dragons, trying to remind herself that he had good reason to hate them. It didn’t help. She still wanted to argue his words.

  Isaac nodded. “My apologies.” He strode to the front of the classroom. “Everyone pair up.”

  Amber moved closer to Roy when Jennifer looked in her direction. “Is this normal? High Protectors teaching.” She sent the words to Roy only.

  “Yeah. And other high ranked Knights. It’s so all students get as much training as possible.”

  “High ranked. Are they not high ranked when they’re in Brisbane?”

  Roy flashed her a grin. “They weren’t in Brisbane at the time.”

  “That is such a dragon comment.” Roy looked away and Amber regretted her words. “That wasn’t an insult. It was probably closer to a compliment.”

  Isaac stopped in front of them. “Do you two need a personal invite to start?”

  Amber looked around and saw that everyone else was mimicking the movements of Amos and Stanley’s mock battle. Their weapons didn’t touch, moving away at the last moment. How the hell did they expect her to be able to do that? She drew her sword and tried to follow the movements.

  When Isaac called a halt and sent everyone to one end of the room to stand along the wall, she was grateful. That was until Isaac explained they each had to take turns against Amos. She met Amos’ gaze when he looked at her, letting him be the one to look away first when Josephine joined him in the middle of the room, sword drawn.

  Josephine lasted about ten minutes. Only Roy lasted longer than her, nearly twelve minutes. Even Dominic, when he returned, didn’t last that long. Then Isaac called Amber and she strode to the centre of the room, her sword out. She’d begun to think they weren’t going to call her, instead they’d left her for last.

  Amos dropped his gaze to her legs before meeting her eyes again. “Do you have another one of those dragon-leather vests on under your shirt to match those trousers?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then take your shirt off and put away your sword. Fight me with your skills, not ours.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’ve seen how you fight with a sword. I’m not having anyone believe I was tied against someone who fights like that.”

  Amber grinned, sheathing her sword, pulling off her shirt to toss it towards Roy. She was surprised when he actually caught it. She’d half expected him to let it fall on the floor. “Rules?”

  “Anything goes.”

  Amber raised her hands, fireballs pooling in them. “Are you sure?”

  His lips slowly curved into a smile. “Bring it on.”

  She flung the fireballs at him, spinning to the side as he dodged and slashed at her with his sword. Another two fireballs followed the first two, barely missing him. His sword came towards her and she knew she wouldn’t be able to get out of the way in time. Becoming a goshawk she darted past him, raking her claws across his cheek as she went. Coming up behind him, she turned human, her hand brushing his back as she dodged his spinning attack.

  “Lucky I didn’t have a dagger.” She jumped up, changing form to fly above the sword that slashed through the air where she’d been. Landing to become human again.

  “It would have barely been a graze.” Again he attacked.

  She dodged. “I guess that’s two strikes for me.” She nodded towards his cheek, warily watching him as he edged to the side, his sword motionless for now. Then he came at her with a flurry of attacks and she took flight, coming up behind him, dodging the swinging movements of his sword. Clawing his other cheek before she landed at the side of him in human form. “Three strikes. Does that make it my fight?”

  “Not even close.” He attacked again, this time cutting her arm.

  The scent of her own blood filled the air and when she tried to turn into a goshawk to dodge again, the panther forced it’s way through and she tackled Amos, his sword flying across the room. Her teeth were around his throat before she could stop herself. The room was filled with yelling, bringing her back to her senses. She let go of his neck, becoming human again, crouched over him. “My fight?”

  Amos laughed, pushing her to the side so he could rise, holding out his hand, a dagger in it. “If it had been a real fight it would have been a tie.”

  Amber rose to her feet, grinning. “Again? I guess we’re too evenly matched.” She pressed a hand to her arm, healing the wound. “Want me to heal yours?”

  “You said you can’t heal Knights,” Josephine said from where she stood near the far wall.

  “I might have figured a way.” Amber held up her hand. “By using my blood.” She turned to Amos. “Well?”

  He shrugged. “You better be right about this. If they learn I’m a dragon my brother will kill you.”

  She pressed her bloodstained hand against his cheek. “And your sister too, I’m sure.” Reaching for the dragon in him she healed the claw marks she’d caused. She stepped back, lowering her hand.

  Amos nodded. “Thanks.” He looked around the room. “You all did well. I expect to see even more improvement by the next time I’m here.” He looked in his brother’s direction and as one they headed for the door.

  Roy crossed the room, handing her the shirt she’d thrown at him. “You outlasted all of us.”

  Amber pulled her shirt on, wondering how many more of her clothes would end up bloodstained this weekend. “I’ve been in several battles, Roy.”

  “You didn’t lose.” He gestured to the rest of the class. “We didn’t even get close to a tie.”

  “Maybe he should have let each of you chose your own fighting style.”

  “The sword is our fighting style. Against you a sword is useless.”

  She met Roy’s gaze seeing the concern in their depths. She didn’t know what to tell him, then wondered why she should even want to reassure him.

  “I’d like to see her try and survive a gun,” Jennifer said.

  Amber faced her. “Didn’t you already see that?” She paused. “Ah n
o, that’s right. You and your father were too busy being overpowered by a single dragon in human form.”

  Jennifer raised her fists, starting forward. “Why you-”

  “Jennifer!” Stanley’s voice roared through the room. “Back in line. Now.”

  She glared at Stanley for a moment before she took a step back. The look she sent to Amber promised retribution.

  “You two.” Stanley pointed to Amber and Roy. “In line. Class isn’t over yet.”

  Stepping into line, Amber wondered how many of the class hated her. Certainly Jennifer, possibly Dominic. She wasn’t sure about Roy. Holding something over someone could be dangerous. But what else could she do? Kill him because she’d found out his secret and he might want to kill her to keep her quiet? She couldn’t do it. Killing in battle was hard enough.

  Stanley made them pair up and do more sword drills before he let them go. When Amber and Roy would have followed the rest of the class out the door he called them back. “An hour in the training room.”

  Amber opened her mouth to protest.

  Roy grabbed her arm, tugging her towards the door. “Okay, Stanley.”

  When they were in the corridor, Amber pulled away from him. “We didn’t do anything.”

  “So? You want to stand in there and argue with him and miss dinner?”

  “Yes. Well, not miss dinner, but-”

  “Come on. You’re wasting your breath.”

  She stared after him, anger making her want to go back in and deal with Stanley. When Roy glanced over his shoulder she sighed, hurrying after him. It wasn’t fair. They hadn’t done anything wrong. Once they reached the training room she was tempted to sit down and watch Roy jog, but joined him, her pace slower than last time. While she jogged, she sent a text to both Ronan and Kade to let them know she was fine. Then several to Crystal to complain about how much she hated being here. There was still more time to waste before she could leave so she sent a few messages to Angela who she hadn’t chatted to in ages. When Angela had to go have dinner, Amber checked the time and nearly groaned. There was still fifteen minutes.