“Prepare yourselves. We shall soon be under siege.” Azerick pushed past his minions and disappeared inside.
CHAPTER 12
Ellyssa lagged behind Wolf and Ghost as she gingerly picked her way through the forest, ducking branches and untangling every manner of thorny vegetation from her clothes and hair. She was city born and raised and had never felt comfortable in the woods. Watching Wolf easily thread his way through even the densest undergrowth, she now understood why he chose a minimalistic approach to fashion.
After nearly another full day of traipsing through the woods, Ellyssa heard a thunderous crash and saw a flash of lightning. A moment later, another low boom reached her ears but without the telltale flash. She scanned the skies and soon spotted Sandy silhouetted against the light grey clouds high overhead. Even in the wane light of the cloudy, early evening sun, her brilliant scales found enough light to gleam like a tight cluster of stars.
The trio dropped into a trough created by two low but steep hills. When they emerged from the depression, Sandy was nowhere to be seen. The forest was silent, no longer wracked by the crack of lightning and splitting trees. Ellyssa began to worry Sandy had flown off and she would be forced to walk or hitch a ride on a merchant wagon to reach Southport.
They had just dropped down the other side of the hill when the woods to Ellyssa’s left practically exploded. Ellyssa performed a backpedaling leap away and promptly fell on her backside. Despite the surprise ambush, Ellyssa’s constant training allowed her to have a spell ready on her lips by the time she struck the ground. She let the energy drain away when she spotted Sandy’s enormous head and looked at Wolf’s grinning face.
“Dang it, Sandy, you scared the crap out of me!” Ellyssa shouted.
Sandy grinned, displaying a double row of sharp, white teeth. “That was the intent.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t blast you!”
Sandy snorted. “With what? I felt you call upon the Source, and it answered with a feeble response.”
Ellyssa’s stomach fluttered and her face heated. Sandy was right. Drawing upon the Source felt like trying to tie her shoes with fingers numbed by the cold and it terrified her. She wondered if she had permanently damaged herself. The thought was more terrifying than the idea of Academy wizards getting their hands on her. Her magic was all she had. It was all she was.
Ellyssa got up and brushed at the detritus clinging to her clothes. “I will never understand how something the size of a house can be so sneaky.”
Sandy let Ellyssa’s exaggeration pass. She was only about the size of large draft horse, her tail and neck slightly doubling her overall length. Even so, she was a fearsome sight to behold, particularly when taken unawares.
“She didn’t surprise me or Ghost,” Wolf said.
Sandy swiveled her big, wedge-shaped head toward the half elf. “That’s because you’re a pointy-eared little freak.”
“You knew she was there the whole time? Why didn’t you warn me?”
Wolf pulled his tongue back in from sticking it out at Sandy. “Because it wouldn’t have been any fun. Besides, someone needs to knock you on your butt once in a while to keep your head from swelling up too much.”
Ellyssa bit off her retort and shrugged. “You’re probably right.”
“So what are you doing this far from the school?”
Sandy asked the question openly, but Ellyssa knew the question was directed at her. “Wolf says something happened at the school. Some Academy wizards and soldiers showed up and took over.”
A low rumble filled the air as Sandy growled her displeasure. Despite remaining aloof since their return from Sumara, Sandy saw the school as her home and everyone in it her family.
“What do they want?” Sandy asked.
Ellyssa answered. “The Academy does not like the school not being under their control. I overheard Allister arguing with another man from The Academy about it when they came looking for me.”
Sandy slowly bobbed her head. “And with Azerick gone, they felt confident about forcing their assertions without provoking open conflict. It would seem the ripples caused by your monumental stupidity continue to disrupt the placidity of the waters that are our lives.”
Ellyssa flinched at the harshness of Sandy’s softly spoken words. “I’m sorry, but you don’t understand.”
“I understand all too well. We were all hurt and damaged during our captivity. Few people can pinpoint the exact moment their childhood ended, but we can, all three of us. My tormenters are all dead or of no consequence, so I must take out my rage, pain, and frustrations upon the land. I do this to become stronger so no one can ever hurt me again. But some of yours are still out there, and as long as they live, your soul can never be at peace, can never feel truly safe. Until they are dead, part of you will still be a captive in Sumara.”
“So you do understand. I’m glad someone does.”
“I understand why you are hunting slavers. What I don’t understand is what you are doing here. If you think to enlist me in throwing those Academy idiots out of the school, you had better have a good plan. Those kids have all seen too much fighting in their lives. We all have.”
Ellyssa shook her head. “No, I’m not going to fight them. From what I overheard and what Wolf told me, it sounds like things won’t change too much except for who’s in charge. I need to get to Southport and the sooner the better. I don’t think The Academy is done looking for me, and I was hoping you would fly me there.”
Sandy’s body tensed then relaxed. “The last time I carried someone on my back things went badly, but I can see why you would want to get away from these wizards. I imagine they are very eager to get their hands on that book.”
Ellyssa took a defensive step back. “How do you know about the book?”
“I can sense it. It is very powerful. Most any wizard would do whatever it takes to recover it. I have to fight my instincts to covet it for myself. I would do anything to keep it for myself, except betray a friend.”
“So we’re still friends?” Ellyssa asked, nervously shuffling her feet.
“We are. Some of the strongest friendships are bound by a shared pain. We all made our choices and, in the end, no one suffered for any reason other than their own.”
Ellyssa visibly swallowed. “That’s what Allister told me right after Azerick died. I didn’t believe him. I didn’t want to. I wanted to hurt, to suffer for what I did. Every time someone told me it wasn’t my fault, I wanted to punish myself even more for their refusal to do so. I guess I thought it was easier that way, for everyone. I know they wanted to blame me. They wanted to yell at me and tell me how angry they were, but they couldn’t. For Azerick’s sake, they couldn’t. So I did it for them, and for myself.”
“I think you underestimate their ability for forgiveness,” Sandy said.
“Maybe, but I don’t underestimate mine,” Ellyssa replied. “Will you take me to Southport?”
Sandy heaved a sigh as she overcame her disinclination to be used as a mode of transportation. “I will take you a day’s walk from the walls but no closer.”
Ellyssa nodded her understanding. “Thank you, Sandy. When do you want to leave?”
Sandy looked at the setting sun. “Now is a good time. It allows me to make most of the flight at night and deliver you by morning.”
“Wow, that’s fast,” Ellyssa exclaimed. “So how does this work?”
Wolf pulled a coil of rope out of his pack and looped it once around Sandy’s neck and then under her forelegs. “Sandy, if you get any bigger I’ll need to get a longer rope.”
The dragon glared at Wolf. “You speak as though this will become a reoccurring thing. I assure you, it will not.”
“You have all the humor of a porcupine,” Wolf scoffed. “You two are a perfect pair.”
Sandy snorted hard enough to make Wolf’s ponytail dance as he tightened the makeshift saddle and tied Ellyssa’s satchel of clothes and sack of food to the dragon’s harness. He then
lifted Ellyssa up onto Sandy’s broad back and instructed her how to secure her legs beneath the two loops of rope.
“You can lean back between her wing joints and actually sleep,” Wolf told her.
“Thanks, if I’m not terrified out of my wits I will certainly try,” Ellyssa said, still feeling the exhaustion inflicted upon her by her overreaching use of magic.
Wolf looked up at Ellyssa. “I hope you can come back some day. This place gets kind of boring without you.”
Ellyssa smiled down at him. “When I come back, it will be to toss these Academy idiots out on their collective asses.”
Sandy gave an approving growl. “Be careful, you are going to be in their back yard you know.”
“When’s the last time a wizard ever left his lab to tend to his yard?” Ellyssa’s face adopted a more serious look. “Wolf, thank you for everything you have done.” Ghost let out a sharp sneeze. “You too, Ghost. Keep an eye on those Academy goons. I don’t want them to feel too comfortable here.”
“We will, you can count on it,” Wolf assured her. “Do what Sandy says and be careful. Wizards may not go outside much, but if you set his house on fire, you can bet he’s going to come out for a look.”
Ellyssa simply waved and urged Sandy to take flight. Twice as big and significantly stronger, the young dragon had none of the troubles getting off the ground and into the air that she had when she and Wolf had made those first few flights. Her powerful muscles worked her wings with enough force that Wolf had to brace himself to keep from being blown off his feet by the strong wind.
Ellyssa’s stomach sank into her feet as the ground dropped away. It then jumped into her throat when she looked down and saw miles of verdant forest stretching out to a horizon that had never looked so far away. She looked behind her and it seemed like she was almost eye level with the northern mountain peaks. Looking to her right, her vision was able to encompass the entire city of North Haven.
Terror held her firmly in its grasp until the frigid air of the high altitude overcame her fear. Ellyssa managed to conjure a weak ward. Although unlikely to stop an arrow, it was sufficient to keep out some of the chill and enough of the wind to keep her eyes from streaming tears the entire way. Ellyssa’s fear soon abated as she accepted that Sandy’s broad back and Wolf’s makeshift harness provided a secure position. She allowed herself to lean back and let exhaustion pull her into a much-needed slumber.
Ellyssa dreamed she was a dragon, flying over the blue swells of an endless sea. In the distance, she spotted the white sails of a ship and tilted her wings to fly closer. Even more than a mile away, her keen eyes picked out Captain Jake at the helm. Their eyes locked; Ellyssa’s radiating hate, Jake’s full of terror.
Ellyssa slammed down onto the ship’s deck, ripping sail from the lines and snapping the mizzenmast. Captain Jake tried to run, but the rocking of the ship threw him from his feet. Ellyssa pounced and pinned him to the deck with one of her talons. She slowly dragged her claw from Captain Jake’s chest to his waist, opening the slaver up like a fish being prepared for cooking.
Crossbow bolts, knives, and belaying pins bounced off her hard scales as the crew tried desperately to drive her away. Ellyssa’s foot slipped in the blood quickly pooling around Jake’s corpse as she turned to face the minor threat. Filling her giant lungs with air, she breathed a jet of fire stretching to the very front of the ship, immolating dozens of men and setting the ship aflame.
The ship rocked beneath her and she could feel it sinking. Ellyssa tried to take to the air, but several ropes tangled her wings. She used her dexterous paws and their sharp claws to untangle and slice at the bindings. More ropes found their way around her as if they were serpents constricting around her body and wings. The sinking ship pulled her down as it sank beneath the surface. She thrust her head up and extended her neck in a desperate attempt to keep from drowning. The ship lurched again, hard this time as if it had struck a reef.
“Ellyssa,” Sandy’s voice cut through the ether of her dream, “we are here, wake up.”
Ellyssa pealed her eyes open and squinted at the early morning light. She sat up and saw the sun was maybe an hour above the horizon. They rested in a clearing Sandy had chosen as a place to set down. Ellyssa heard the sound of running water and quickly spotted the stream running nearby. She slipped her legs out from under the ropes, slid off Sandy’s back, and fell on her backside when her legs refused to support her.
“It’s okay,” Sandy told her, “Wolf did the same thing the first time too.”
Ellyssa gave Sandy a small, embarrassed smile and struggled to get her legs to respond. After several attempts, she finally got her appendages to cooperate enough to carry her to the stream so she could appease her parched throat. Sandy thrust her muzzle into the water next to Ellyssa and drank deeply.
Sandy finally quenched her thirst and found Ellyssa pacing the clearing to restore normal function to her legs. “We’re about a half day’s walk from Southport. Head southeast and you should reach the gates before sundown. I could have gotten you a little closer, but you looked like you were trying to untie yourself and jump off my back.”
“Yeah, I was having a dream,” Ellyssa replied sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”
“How are you feeling?”
“My legs still feel rubbery but I’m okay.”
“I was referring more to your magic,” Sandy clarified.
Ellyssa beckoned forth a small tendril of magic. “It feels better. Not a hundred percent, but better than yesterday.”
“Remember what I said about being careful. Wizards are a patient bunch. Just because they have not chased you recently does not mean they have given up. They want your book, and I bet they want it pretty bad.”
“Well, that wizard, Harvey, looks like he is tied up in North Haven now. If he is still looking for me, he’s looking in the wrong city.”
“Unless The Academy found someone else to look for you and the book,” Sandy said.
“If he’s the best The Academy could come up with, then I am not too worried. He was an idiot.”
“They underestimated you before. Do not expect them to do so again,” Sandy warned.
“I won’t,” Ellyssa replied.
“Can you make it to the city okay?”
Ellyssa hefted her rucksack and slung the sack of food over her shoulder by its cord. “I’ll make it. Thank you, Sandy.”
Sandy simply nodded lit into the air with a gust of wind and cloud of dust. Ellyssa looked toward the sun, oriented herself southeast, and began walking.
***
Allister stood to the left of Headmaster Harvey’s desk facing four wizards in black clothing and hooded black cloaks trimmed in deep scarlet. Three were men and one was a woman, each shrouded in the heavy folds of their cloaks. They were all standing, with the exception of the Headmaster, in Harvey’s temporary office while workers constructed a suitable building. The four wizards were inquisitors, specially trained in battling other mages. They were as aloof as they were haughty, their status and combative specialty instilling an almost universal sense of arrogance and superiority.
“Inquisitors,” Headmaster Harvey greeted with a nod, “I presume you are here in regard to our rogue problem.”
“We are,” Inquisitor Fennrick replied. “We have been monitoring the city for a few months now and have yet to detect a trace of magical activity outside the walls of this school.”
“That is hardly surprising,” the Headmaster responded. “She has shown herself to be adept at hiding. Even Magus Sharpe was unable to locate her, and she is considered one of the best augurists known to The Academy.”
The Sorcerer's Abyss (The Sorcerer's Path) Page 23