“When is Cadra coming back with food? I’m getting hungry.” Corrigan! But hadn’t Prince Rakturan knocked her out in the battle? What was she doing here?
“You need to focus less on physical things and more on the magic I’m teaching you, girl. You make me doubt the trouble we went to in freeing you from the Ruby Isles.” Magika Hectorus! I crept down another stair until I was almost at the turn.
“You had no choice. I knew too much, and they would have questioned me. If you hadn’t spirited me away that very night, who do you think would be in more trouble, you or me?”
“There are other ways to deal with loose ends, Corrigan.” His voice sounded very dangerous. “Don’t mistake my fondness for you for weakness. I will do what I need to for the sake of the Dusk Covenant.”
Dusk Covenant? That sounded promising. Maybe if I listened more I would finally understand who was behind all of this.
“Now,” he said, “Forget the moneylender and concentrate. Pull your power up from the source and let it flare the way I showed you. You saw in your last encounter that fireballs only have so much use. It’s time you focused and learned something else of value.”
It was silent for a moment and then there was a cry of pain and a groan. Who was that? It didn’t sound like Corrigan or Hectorus!
“A bit better, but he is still intact. Try again.”
Were they torturing someone? I swallowed and peeked my head out around the corner in the staircase.
In one glance I could see the whole room below, woven from the same dragon-steel as the street above. Strangely enough, there was an open hole at one end with ragged edges, as if the room was not yet finished being constructed. Beneath it was nothing but darkness, but my stomach lurched as I realized there was nothing beneath it but the ground far, far below. Why would they be down here without even a railing?
A glowing chandelier of candles hung over the room. It lit everything and with horror, I realized who they were torturing.
Leng hung from the wall, his hands fixed above his head in cruel manacles. He moaned and swayed slightly as Corrigan raised her hands to try her magical training on him again. No one had ever told me that Magikas did things like this! Had they been doing this since I saw him this afternoon? He was bloody and battered, his Dragon Rider leathers ripped and worn.
Another moan escaped – not his - and my eyes darted to the other side of the room. Someone was crumpled in the corner there – a girl. Could it be Savette? I didn’t know if I should hope it was or hope it wasn’t with what they were doing to Leng.
I needed Raolcan. I couldn’t save them alone.
I come.
A bang from the building above startled me. Had Lenora seen something? Should I try to scramble back to her or stay where I was? Moving was too risky. Hopefully, she was clever enough to figure out what to say or do on her own.
“That must be Cadra,” Hectorus said. “Go and get your food. We’ll try again when you are done. Maybe you will be more use with a full belly.”
What was I going to do? As soon as Corrigan came up the stairs she would see me! I shrank against the wall, extending my crutch across the stair within the shadow. If I could trip her before she saw me, at least I’d have that much advantage. I could hear her footsteps getting closer.
“And now we’ll show you what a true Magika can do, Dragon Rider. And this time you will tell us who sent you and how much they know about the Dusk Covenant. Tell me, do they know our symbol?”
A cry ripped from Leng’s lungs and I flinched in sympathy. Why were they doing this to him? I should have come sooner. I should have been more prepared. This couldn’t be happening. My breath was coming too quickly. I fought panic as it tried to grip me. Corrigan’s feet were on the stairs. Her skirts rustled as she walked. I had seconds to act.
I held my crutch firm, braced myself and refused to allow myself to think about anything except the task at hand. There was another bang from above us – this one loud enough to send a shudder through the stairway. I tried not to think about what that might mean for Lenora.
“Would you hold your patience?” Corrigan’s tone was frustrated as she sped up just in time. Her foot caught on the crutch and she fell forward, arms wind-milling and face crashing into the step in front of her.
I ripped the crutch out from under her. She moaned, clutching her face, but I didn’t have time to watch. I slid down the steps on my bottom - it was faster this way – crutch clutched in both hands. As soon as I turned the corner I saw Leng, eyes open now and mouth wide in a rictus of pain as the Magika tortured him. Hectorus’ hands were green with rippling lightning bolts tangled around his clutched fists. They extended to Leng’s arm, ripping up and down it, but while Hectorus was unaffected by the ropes of fire, smoke and the smell of burnt meat came from Leng. How could I stop him? I should have brought a weapon.
In the corner, the girl stood on shaky legs, her hands clutching at the lattice of the wall for support. As her dirty hair fell from her face, I saw it was Savette. Her once-fancy dress was torn and dirty beyond recognition, only shreds of it remaining, but her eyes glowed with fire, as if they were reflecting the magic Hectorus was wielding. No, not reflecting. There was something strange...
I threw myself to the ground just in time. Savette raised her hands and from them a burst of blue lightning shot out, striking Hectorus in the chest and flinging him backward. He hit his head against the lattice and slumped to the floor. I rushed to where he was, scrambling through his pockets. A key. There had to be a key in his robes! I needed to unshackle Leng and get them both out of here! And until then I couldn’t afford to feel the injuries they’d been subjected to or the horror of it all.
“Amel?” Savette’s voice was too shrill, like she was barely holding on to sanity.
I can see the addition to the structure. It’s cleverly done. Hard to see from the outside. I’m almost there.
The key! My hand closed over a key ring and I yanked it from Hectorus’ pocket at the same moment that his eyes flickered open. He wasn’t moving yet and I couldn’t wait for him to start.
“Lenora! Get down here!” I yelled and raced to where Leng was, fumbling through the keys to try to find one that might match the lock. I tried not to look at the nasty burns on his left arm or to breathe the smell of his burned flesh too deeply. Poor Leng! I needed to get him out of here now! Was this it? I tried the first key. No.
“Amel?” Savette sounded lost.
“Yes, it’s me, Savette. I’m here for you. Just let me free Leng and I will get you both out of here.”
“Think again!” Corrigan! I risked a glance at her. Both her hands were lit up like holiday lanterns, ready to throw fireballs again. I didn’t have time to worry, or a way to defend myself, so I went back to Leng’s manacles. I tried another key. No. Another key. No. He looked so hurt and vulnerable. How did this happen? Why was he alone doing this when he should have had allies? “Turn around with your hands up or I’ll let these loose.”
Should I flame her? I’m right outside that hole in the floor.
He couldn’t do that without killing us, too. Click. The key worked! Frantically, I unlocked the other manacle, catching Leng’s slumping body as he fell. One of his eyes was open, the other crusted over with blood.
“Amel,” he whispered, like my name was a blessing.
I gripped him harder, bending under his weight, but a second later Savette slipped under his other arm. Her eyes were wild, like she didn’t know what was going on.
“I’m not bluffing,” Corrigan said, but she still hadn’t let the fireballs loose. “There’s no way out of here but through this door.”
I swallowed, edging toward the hole in the floor. If Raolcan could just line himself up under the hole we could drop onto his back.
Risky with all three of you and it doesn’t sound like Savette is tracking right or Leng is in any position to land on a saddle.
It was the only chance we had. Master Hectorus was getting up. He scr
ambled to his feet, clutching his chest and leaning against the wall. I’d had nightmares about him since he tried to kill me in the woods. They were nowhere near as terrifying as he was in the flesh.
“I mean it!” Corrigan’s voice was shrill as we shuffled towards the hole in the floor. It was just a step away. If we could just make it over there...
The door at the top of the stairs opened with a crash and the sound of feet on the steps broke into our tableau. Corrigan jumped, letting her fireballs go – unintentionally, I was sure as they splashed against the wall where Savette had been, instead of where we were now. The heat of them hurt my skin and they left trails of fire still burning on the wall where they hit. Hopefully, dragonsteel didn’t melt at high heat points.
There wasn’t time for relief. Magika Hectorus’ eyes were focused on us. A green glow blossomed around his hand. Was Raolcan in place?
I’m ready.
“You’re first Savette,” I said, gesturing to the hole. “Raolcan will catch you.”
A flicker of fear passed over her eyes, but whatever they’d done to her here must be worse than what she feared from the fall. Her expression hardened and without hesitation, she leapt through the gash in the floor.
Caught her. She’s badly hurt.
She hadn’t looked hurt.
In her mind.
No time to dwell on that. Green lightning flared from Magika Hectorus’s hand, hitting Leng on his injured arm. He screamed.
Above us on the stairs, Corrigan screamed, too, I glanced up to see someone hit her on the head. She slumped forward.
My gaze met Leng’s for a moment and I mouthed “Raolcan” as I pushed him out of the flames and into the hole. Oh, sweet stars and clouds! Raolcan, please catch him! I felt like my own heart had been flung out into the night with nothing to save it but faith in Raolcan.
Hectorus turned on me, his emerald lightnings racing from his hands. No time to guess or fear. I pushed off with my crutch and stumbled to the hole in the floor, but my gaze traveled up to where Corrigan had been on the stairs. Was Lenora the one who had knocked her off her feet?
As I dropped through the hole, my eyes met those of Prince Rakturan, standing over Corrigan’s fallen form, sword in hand and his bodyguards on either side. He had a quizzical expression as if he were amused by something. What was he doing here?
Cold air whistled around me. There was no sign of Raolcan! I was falling, falling, falling with nothing but a sparkling city above me and the cold hard earth below. I’d made a deadly error. I shouldn’t have leapt-
Brace yourself!
I hit his back spine-first, scrambling to catch his saddle in my hands. I’d lost my crutch in the fall. Strong hands gripped my dress and pulled me firmly onto the saddle. I looked up to see Savette, a vacant look on her face and one hand gripping me, the other reaching to grab onto Leng.
She’d saved me just in time, but I had a sinking feeling that we hadn’t been fast enough to save her.
Continue Amel’s story in Dragon School: Sworn
Behind the Scenes:
USA Today bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson, hails from the rocky Canadian Shield in Northern Ontario where she lives with her husband and two small boys. Her interests include the outdoors, history, and philosophy. Her books are always about fantastical adventures in other worlds.
Sarah would like to thank Harold Trammel and Sarah Brown for their incredible work in beta reading and proofreading this book. Without their big hearts and passion for stories, this book would not be the same.
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Visit Sarah’s website for a complete list of available titles.
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