by Bianca D’Arc
Seth shook his head again, but his expression had eased. “I’ll try.”
Livia smiled as she pushed him down onto the bed. “Don’t worry. I’ll make a believer out of you yet.”
Those were the last words spoken for some time as Seth and Livia renewed their acquaintance on the most basic levels. She cried out his name in ecstasy more than once, as he did hers, and when morning came, they were wrapped in each other’s arms, the bed sheets a tangle around them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A little later that morning in the great hall, Hrardorr was in what looked like a serious conference with Gryffid when Seth and Livia made their way to the great hall. Gryffid had pulled up a chair near the dragon’s head and waved them over when he noticed them walk in.
“What do you think that’s about?” Livia whispered to Seth.
“I haven’t the foggiest idea. Hrardorr and I haven’t spoken since yesterday,” he replied as they walked over to the wizard and the blind dragon.
If Seth was any judge, Hrardorr’s expression seemed troubled. Not in an alarming way, but it definitely looked like the wizard had given the dragon something very important to think about. Seth couldn’t begin to imagine what the two might have been talking about, and Hrardorr wasn’t saying anything. He looked both distracted and perhaps a little miffed as they walked closer, and Seth wasn’t going to be peppering him with questions when he had that sort of obstinate look on his scaly face.
“Good morrow, milord,” Seth said to the wizard, pulling out a chair for Livia at the table just in front of Hrardorr when Gryffid indicated they should join him.
Livia also offered polite greetings of the day to the wizard. Gryffid seemed in better spirits this morning, though the thought of his missing spell book cast a pall over everything and everyone within the keep. No doubt things would be subdued on the island until it was recovered.
As if by magic, two plates full of food arrived at the table, placed in front of Livia and Seth by pleasant-faced servants. It seemed, when dining with the wizard, you didn’t have to go and fetch your own plates.
“I have had reports from the far cove about the sea dragons,” Gryffid said as the three of them began to eat breakfast. “Lady Shara is healing nicely with Lizbet and your friends Leo and Xanderanth to look after her. I have also spoken to Lord Skelaroth, leader of the sea dragon community that claims this part of the sea for its own. He has agreed to ally his forces with us for now. Dragons were created with the sacred duty to protect the world from the use of rogue magic. Once Skelaroth heard what had happened, he was eager to be of service. He is also interested in learning more about Sir Hrardorr and his abilities.” Gryffid nodded toward the dragon who sat just beyond the table. “I was asking Sir Hrardorr if he’d be willing to meet with Lord Skellaroth in the coming days and he agreed…with some reservations.”
“Reservations?” Seth sent privately to Hrardorr, concerned for his friend. “Are you all right with meeting this sea dragon lord? You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do here, my friend. You’ve already saved this island once. They owe you, not the other way around.”
“Be at ease, Seth. My only reservations are that I am still blind, no matter what I may have been able to accomplish in battle. My…vanity…bothers me at times. I do not want to be seen as handicapped by these new dragons. It’s bad enough suffering the pity of the dragons in our land.”
Seth relaxed as Hrardorr’s words sounded in his mind, ringing with truth. Seth was glad it was something as simple as Hrardorr’s unwillingness to meet new dragons who might judge him because of his injury. The very fact that Hrardorr was willing to acknowledge the reasons behind his hesitancy was a big step forward, as far as Seth was concerned. He wondered if Hrardorr realized it, but Seth wasn’t about to point it out. Especially not when the wizard was still talking.
“I want you both to stay as long as you wish,” Gryffid was saying. “For your bravery in journeying here when the others in your land refused to come, you have earned an open invitation to travel between my land and yours whenever you wish and a guest room in the keep for as long as you want it.”
“That is incredibly generous of you, milord,” Livia answered politely as Seth nodded agreement with her words. “As you may know, my father left a small boat for my use. If it is all right, I’d like to stay on here for a while before returning home.”
“As would I, milord,” Seth put in. “Thank you for your kind and generous invitation. I would see Lady Shara healed more before I consider leaving. I might also be able to help with the other dragons if more will be joining her. I have been showing Lady Lizbet some of the techniques we use in the Lair and would be happy to train others while I’m here.”
“Very kind of you,” Gryffid said, nodding. “I have heard of the surgical instruments Jarel and his folk are working on. If they are successful—which they always are, eventually, I’ve found—I’d like to send you back with some of the sets of instruments as a gift to the dragons of your kingdom from us. And you are correct,” Gryffid went on, not pausing for thanks. “There will soon be dragons patrolling in the skies as well as the oceans. You see, the sea dragons have kept themselves apart from the affairs of men for so long, they lack some of the necessary skills. Skellaroth and I have devised a plan in consultation with General Falthith. Sea dragons will learn how to patrol from the sky with gryphon partners, then take those skills into the depths with them. Skellaroth will set up regular patrols around the circumference of the island, but I have asked Hrardorr to organize the training and lend his considerable wisdom as the only dragon who knows air, land and sea tactics.”
Gryffid nodded toward Hrardorr, and the dragon nodded just slightly as if he knew they were all looking at him. “Although I fear I may not be up to the task, I am honored to try,” Hrardorr finally spoke, including them all in his thoughts. “Xanderanth will assist, of course. He will have to help do the things I cannot, and it will be good experience for him, young as he is. He needs more responsibility. I believe this is just the ticket.”
“It is good of you to consider your subordinate’s needs,” Gryffid said with approval. “Xanderanth may be young, but even I can see he will grow into a mighty dragon in the not-too-distant future. He has the makings of greatness in him, and his knight partner has a pure and true heart. They are a good pair and, like you, will always be welcome here.”
“I may be crippled, but I will do what I can to uphold the ancient trust,” Hrardorr went on, surprising Seth. “We dragons were created to safeguard magic. We stand guard against infiltration of the Citadel, but we also have a duty to protect the knowledge from getting into the wrong hands. I failed here. The book that was taken is a great threat to our world and our way of life.” Hrardorr’s voice had taken on a solemn tone. “But there is more on this island, now that it is not hidden in the mists of time, that could be used against the forces of good. I will do all in my power to keep the rest of the magic on this island safe. If that means treating with sea dragons and training those who have not yet mastered the skills I once took for granted, then I will fulfill my duty.”
“And glad I am to hear it, too,” Gryffid said, confirming to Seth that the wizard had been awaiting the dragon’s decision. Perhaps that’s what Hrardorr had been thinking about so hard when Seth and Livia had arrived. “But, my friend, you did not fail. The theft of the book was my failure and mine alone,” Gryffid told the dragon, facing him, his expression one of compassion, fatigue and sadness.
“I don’t think anyone could have expected a ragtag group like that of having such a lofty goal as sneaking into one of the most magically fortified places in the world,” Livia said quietly, offering comfort.
“I should have been better prepared,” Gryffid said, sighing heavily. “In the old days, no one would have gotten past me, but I fear I’ve lived in peace for a little too long. When the island was hidden, I had little need for the strict vigilance I once took for granted. I must adjust to thes
e new times and being out in the world again. I only pray it is not too late.”
Seth had no idea what to say to that. How did one truly comfort one of the most powerful beings in the world? Gryffid might look, and even act, like some benevolent grandfather, but he was truly unlike any other creature Seth had ever met.
Unlike the fey and the dragons and gryphons, Gryffid didn’t just seem immortal by human standards, he was immortal. He had lived longer than any of them had been alive. He had seen and done things in the faraway past that Seth only knew as ancient history.
Gryffid had participated in the wizard wars, for heaven’s sake. He’d designed and created the gryphons. An entire race of mighty beings owed their existence to the wizard, which seemed almost unbelievable to Seth.
Gryffid wasn’t a god. He didn’t pretend to be all-powerful and omnipotent. But he certainly had abilities that put him up there, alongside any deity Seth had ever heard about.
Perhaps that’s why so many of the wizards had turned bad. With such power, it wasn’t too hard to imagine one being tempted to believe in his own magnificence. And from there, it was probably a slippery slope to thinking all other beings were beneath you. That Gryffid hadn’t succumbed to that sort of thing spoke volumes for the man’s character to Seth’s way of thinking.
They continued their breakfast, talking about Lady Shara’s progress, and Hrardorr even said a few things about his plans for teaching the sea dragons to do what land dragons did on land as far as security functions and training. Seth was pleased to hear that Hrardorr planned to take an active role in the work, using the much younger and less experienced Xanderanth as his assistant—his eyes, though Hrardorr never came out and said it that way.
When the wizard finished eating, Gryffid excused himself, saying he had more work to do in his library. Seth assumed the wizard was going to be casting protections around the remainder of his collection in hopes of preventing more theft. That left Livia and Seth with Hrardorr, finishing the last remnants of their meal.
“Has there been any more talk about a possible traitor in the keep?” Livia asked quietly.
“Not in so many words, but I did notice some new guards had been added to the corridors we passed on our way down this morning,” Seth observed.
“I thought so,” Livia said quickly. “And there are more armed soldiers at the entrances, as well. Both at the doors to this hall and at the entryway we passed on the way in.”
“Indeed,” Seth agreed, popping a last slice of fruit into his mouth.
He looked carefully around the great hall, noting the very obvious increase in the number of warriors standing watch over everyone within. He knew there were more stationed all over the keep now, after the vulnerability of Gryffid’s protections had already been breached. Too late to stop the theft that had already occurred, but perhaps the visible increase in security would deter any further problems? Seth wasn’t so sure.
If there really was a traitor among Gryffid’s people, he or she wouldn’t cease their clandestine acts so easily. Not when they’d already succeeded. They’d had plenty of time to lay their plans, while Gryffid had only had a day or two to realize his own protections hadn’t been good enough. Seth thought privately that if the traitor was going to do further mischief, he or she would do it now, to prove the point that, no matter how many guards Gryffid put in place, he was still vulnerable.
The worst sort of punishment someone like Gryffid could have was knowing they were vulnerable, despite all their imagined power. Shaking Gryffid’s confidence was the ultimate blow and could make the wizard doubt himself if and when he needed to act.
And if the worst should come to pass, and the Citadel was breached, there would be need for the good wizard’s powers. If the Citadel released just one of its prisoners into the world, it could easily mean death or enslavement of thousands if not millions of souls…and war on a massive scale that had not been seen since ancient times.
Gryffid would be needed then, as he had been needed of old. But if he doubted himself, he would not be as useful as he had been a full strength. If there was a traitor in his court, then that traitor would be working to undermine the wizard at every turn—or so Seth believed.
He would make it his business over the next days, while he was in residence here, to keep a sharp eye out. Perhaps he, as a newcomer to the island, would see something others did not. Seth would tell the others to be equally as watchful.
The wizard had left Hrardorr with an impossible choice. Gryffid had come down to speak with Hrardorr that morning before breakfast, thanking him for defending the island and wanting to give him a reward for his bravery. Hrardorr didn’t want a reward for doing his duty or being what he was. No, he wanted for little in life. There was only one thing he would wish for if wishes really did come true, and that was something even a great wizard could not restore.
Gryffid had told him as much, answering Hrardorr’s unspoken wish as if he’d plucked it directly from Hrardorr’s mind. Perhaps he had. The wizard had almost unbelievable abilities. Perhaps mind-reading was among his many talents. Then again, it didn’t take a wizard to realize the one thing Hrardorr wanted most in the world was to see again.
“I can’t give you your sight back,” Gryffid had said quite plainly. “If the healers have not been able to make progress, then neither will I, but I can offer you something almost as good. It would require a sacrifice on your part, though,” the wizard had warned as Hrardorr’s emotions went flying skyward, then plummeting down again on a sickening ride. “If you were to bond with a new knight, I could probably devise a spell that would allow you to see through his eyes. At least when you are together, though the ability could be useful at other times, as well, if a bit disorienting.” Gryffid shrugged. “Perhaps, over time, you’d learn how to manage the view from elsewhere—wherever your knight is—while your body remains in another place.”
“I have vowed never to take another knight,” Hrardorr told the wizard in a solemn voice.
“Yes. So I understand,” the wizard said, not unkindly. “I know you have your reasons. For one thing, you have not been given adequate time and space to mourn the loss of your previous bonded knight. Your heart and soul must still be raw in the places where he was joined to you.” Gryffid reached out and placed an open hand on Hrardorr’s shoulder, in a gesture that was oddly comforting. “I know what it is to lose those we care for. I have lost more people to the next realm than you will ever know in all your years, my young friend.”
Hrardorr thought about the wizard’s words and, for a moment, sensed the eternity of his years. He understood, deep within, that the wizard had seen more—and lost more—than Hrardorr would ever know. It was a humbling thought.
“How do you go on, Master?” Hrardorr asked, unable to censor his words, even if he’d wanted to.
Gryffid sighed, breaking the quiet of the poignant moment. Hrardorr felt released, and as if he’d delved almost too far into the abyss.
“I will not say it is easy,” Gryffid went on. “Losing those we love is never easy. Knowing in our minds that they continue on, in a new place, without us, in ways even I cannot fully comprehend is small comfort to those of us left here, alone, lonely, struggling without them.” Gryffid patted Hrardorr’s shoulder and stepped back. “In your case, you not only lost your bonded knight, but your eyesight, as well. Either one alone would have been cause for great sadness and retreat from the world, but to have both happen at the same time… Frankly, I’m amazed you have carried on as you have, Sir Hrardorr.”
The fact that the wizard used Hrardorr’s title indicated a level of respect that was not lost on the dragon. This mighty wizard respected him? How could it be? Hrardorr was dismayed, but the wizard kept talking.
“You have almost single-handedly saved not only the town of Dragonscove, but my island. Certainly, others helped, but only after they saw you doing what no creature of your kind has ever done before. You are unique in your heritage, to be sure, but there’s
more to what you did than just your ability to flame and swim. It is your courage, my friend. Your willingness to help, even when you are hampered by the sense you lost. Your willingness to lay everything on the line to protect others, to help those in need and save innocent lives. You are selfless almost to the point of folly, truly.” Gryffid paused to huff out an amazed-sounding laugh. “You are a dragon among dragons, Sir Hrardorr. The lands have not seen your like in eons and perhaps never will again. Though I suspect there will be more matings among the sea dragons and your land-based brethren in future. The ability to flame is something the sea dragons have lost over the years, but I suppose, now that they’ve seen what you can do, they’ll want that back. And the Mother of All plays a hand, of course.”
“Of course,” Hrardorr agreed by rote, his head still spinning. “Master, I am not the hero you paint me.”
“Nonsense.” Gryffid interrupted him. “You are all that and more. And you have a very big decision to make. My offer stands. If you choose a knight, I will work the spell that may allow you to see again…after a fashion. But I cannot and will not bind anyone to you in that way unless they are also bound to you with the knight’s bond. It would not be fair to either of you, and could be dangerous. If you bond to a knight, I know you will both honor the bond until one of you dies. That is the only way this magic I propose will work.”
Hrardorr wanted to shake his head, but didn’t dare. He might accidentally hit the wizard, which would be unforgivable. Despair filled him.
“I cannot take another knight, Master,” Hrardorr whispered, his thoughts, his heart…broken. “You ask too much.”
“Perhaps I do,” Gryffid replied, his tone filled with understanding and tinged with sorrow. “I am only sorry I cannot do more for you, my friend. You have saved my people and my land. I owe you a king’s ransom, yet I know that is not what you truly wish. I offer you a sad bargain instead, but it is the only thing I have to offer that can even come close to giving you what you most desire. For that, I am sorry.” Gryffid patted Hrardorr’s shoulder once more, proving that he had not moved too far away. “You are welcome here for the rest of your days, Sir Hrardorr. You are a hero among my people, and to me. For what you have done, you will always have my respect and thanks.”