The Dragon Rider (The Alaris Chronicles Book 2)

by Mike Shelton

  Gathering up their packs and kicking snow over the fire, Kharlia and Bakari mounted the dragon, and then they took off over the mountains.

  The mountains here were similar in size to those in Quentis, where they had found Jaimon and his dragon: quite a bit smaller than those encircling Mahli. Still, their peaks held snow, and the deciduous trees had lost most of their leaves. A few birds were scattered in the air around them, most likely wondering what kind of oversized bird Abylar was. He enjoyed roaring at them and chasing them off.

  “Can you tell your child to settle down, Bak?” Kharlia groaned. “I’m going to get sick.”

  Bakari laughed but patted Abylar with his hand. Relax, Abylar. We’re back here, remember?

  Abylar slowed down. Way down. Until they were barely staying in the air.

  Kharlia rolled her eyes at the dragon, and Bakari tapped him with his feet lovingly and said, Not that slow.

  Abylar roared and sped back up, this time keeping his acrobatics and turns to a minimum.

  They continued their ride up over the mountain peaks. Bakari saw a picturesque lake, surrounded by snow, with a half frozen river winding its way from the mountain peaks, down to its shore, and then out again on the other side. Soon they spotted a small group of people, hiking in a small valley between two mountains. Pointing up at the large beast, they pulled their swords out in defense. One began to gather a fireball in his hands, signifying that at least one of them was a wizard. He threw the fireball up at the dragon, but it was a pathetic attempt compared to the might of Abylar and the height they were flying at.

  Bakari raised his hands in greeting. “We come as friends,” he shouted down to them.

  The three people stopped running but didn’t sheathe their swords. So Bakari asked Abylar to find a place to land, and then Bakari and Kharlia hopped off the dragon and approached the group.

  There were two men and one woman. All had dark hair, and they were wrapped in warm parkas of white fur. All three appeared to be about a dozen of years older than Bakari or Kharlia. But he and Kharlia walked deliberately forward through the snow and stopped twenty feet away.

  “I am Bakari, Dragon Rider,” he said, for he couldn’t hide from who he was anymore, and he needed to get it out in the open.

  The three opened their eyes wide. The woman stepped a few feet out in front of the other two. She removed her hood, and long, brown hair cascaded down over her shoulders. Her eyes were brown, and her skin looked weathered, but she exuded an aura of power.

  After a brief nod of greeting, she said, “I am Delia, wizard of Turg.” Her voice held a heavy accent, and Bakari listened carefully. “The Oracle of Turg has foreseen this day. We are here to search for a great power.”

  “The Oracle?” Bakari asked.

  Delia frowned at Bakari’s apparent lack of knowledge. “Our supreme leader. He is a seer and sees the future.”

  Bakari nodded in understanding. “A powerful wizard gift.”

  The two other men walked up to stand even with Delia. “Seth and Milo,” Delia said, introducing them. “Seth is the oldest of us three.”

  “This is Kharlia,” Bakari said. Then he turned his head toward his dragon and added, “And this is Abylar, the first dragon. And, of the dragon riders, I also am the first. There are two more pairs, and I have been directed here to find the fourth.”

  “The power we seek,” Delia said. “Maybe it is a dragon. Our Oracle was not clear on that fact.”

  “There is a dragon egg close to here,” Bakari said. “Abylar senses it. But there is also another group approaching it, which I am sure, is up to no good. We must find the egg before they do.”

  “The Oracle directed us to a waterfall,” offered Delia.

  There is a waterfall at the head of this river, up into these mountains, Abylar said to Bakari.

  Bakari related this information, and then the group began to walk north, following the stream.

  “You can speak with it?” Seth asked.

  Bakari smiled. “Yes, I can speak with him in my mind.”

  “You truly are a dragon rider,” Milo said.

  Delia looked Bakari up and down. “So young,” she said with almost a sneer.

  Bakari blushed with frustration. “A friend of mine told me that a wizard’s level should not be determined by age but by power. I assume that is the way with dragon riders also. The dragon chooses the rider, not the other way around.”

  Delia took a step back at the forcefulness of Bakari’s words. “I meant no offense to you,” Delia said. “My first language is not the common tongue you speak. I only meant it as an observation. In Turg, a wizard cannot be named until his twenty-fifth birthing day.”

  Bakari’s eyes brightened. “Yes. In a ceremony called The Acceptance, if I remember correctly.”

  “You know of Turg?” Milo asked. “And our ceremonies? You are correct. I was accepted just last week. This is my first mission.”

  “Bak remembers everything he reads,” Kharlia said. “It is amazing.” She took hold of Bakari’s hand and led him to walk quicker. Once out of earshot of the others, she turned to Bakari and whispered, “Do you trust them?”

  “I see no reason not to,” Bakari said.

  “You trust too easily, Bak,” Kharlia censured him. “You must be more careful. What if the wrong person got hold of the dragon egg?”

  “Like Kolo,” Bakari said. Motioning to the others, he said, “Hurry. We must reach the egg before the others do.”

  Abylar flew overhead and related information back to Bakari about the approach of the others.

  Soon their party began ascending a hill, still following the creek, which now crashed over rocks, spraying a cold mist in their faces. After another hour, the climbing became steeper. The steep face of the mountain loomed up in front of them. Stopping to catch their breaths, they saw the head of the waterfall, a thousand feet above them.

  Milo and Seth groaned.

  “How are we going to get there?” Delia asked. She turned to Bakari. “Why are you smiling, Dragon Rider? Have you brought us here to fail?”

  Kharlia moved in front of Bakari, to defend him. But, with a gentle touch, Bakari held her back.

  “It is only the way they speak, Kharlia,” Bakari said.

  “Well, I don’t like it.” She folded her arms in front of herself and took a stance of defense. “I don’t like it when they don’t respect you for who you are, Bak.”

  “Respect must be earned,” Bakari said. “They are only testing me.” Turning back to Delia, Bakari pointed up at his dragon. “Abylar can take us.”

  Delia’s brown eyes opened wide, and then she threw back her head and laughed. “Of course! But how?”

  Bak took a rope from his bag. “I will toss this end to Abylar. He will hold on to it, while two or three of us at a time will hold on to the other end.”

  Now it was Kharlia’s turn to stand up to Bakari. “You mean we will be pulled up a thousand feet into the air with only that rope to hold on to?”

  “Yes,” Bakari said, directing Abylar to come down closer to them.

  Bakari spent a few moments tying loops and knots in the thick rope. Then, first, Seth and Milo grabbed the rope and were lifted up into the air. With a whoop of excitement, the two men were pulled up through the air and then dropped off a few dozen feet away from the head of the waterfall. Then Abylar returned for the rest of them.

  Bakari motioned for Delia to grab the rope. “You go first, Delia. Then Kharlia and I will follow.” Turning to Kharlia, he whispered, “I’m not letting you go alone this time.”

  Kharlia leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

  Delia raised her eyebrows at the two.

  “Just hold on tight,” Bakari said.

  As Delia was lifted up through the air, Abylar flew quicker than he had the time before.

  “You crazy dragon,” Delia shouted at the top of her lungs.

  Bakari reached out to tell him to slow down.

  I don’t
like her, Abylar said.

  “Slow down, or I’ll blast you away,” Delia yelled. In her hand, she gathered a fireball, preparing to use it.

  But Abylar roared and blasted blue fire out into the air in front of them. The wind from the blast put out Delia’s fireball.

  “Abylar, behave,” Bakari said out loud. In his mind, he continued with, She may be the next dragon rider.

  The dragon slowed down but ran Delia right through the waterfall itself before dropping her off on the landing spot. Then he returned for Bakari and Kharlia. Bakari got a firm hold on the rope, placing one arm around Kharlia for support.

  That wasn’t very nice, Bakari said to Abylar. Now she will think I can’t control my dragon.

  Abylar’s reaction was one of satisfaction, with only a minor amount of shame. But Bakari assured Abylar that it was fine and that he wasn’t mad.

  Kharlia laughed, and Bakari pulled her closer as he gave her a stern look, which only made her laugh more.

  “I thought it was funny,” she said as they continued to be lifted higher.

  “Kharlia!”

  “Well, I did.”

  Soon they landed, and Delia marched up to Bakari, fire blazing in her eyes.

  Before she could say anything, Bakari put up his hand. “My dragon is still a child, in many ways,” Bakari said. “He is still learning. He is only two months old.”

  “That thing is only two months old?” Milo exclaimed. “How big will he grow?”

  Big enough to eat your whole town, little man, Abylar said, but only to Bakari.

  Trying to stifle a laugh, Bakari motioned them forward. “We must hurry,” he said. “Behind the waterfall. Something is there.”

  Delia wiped the remaining water off her face and then continued forward with the rest of the group.

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  As Bakari and the others entered the cave behind the waterfall in the mountains of Turg, the five travelers stopped to let their eyes adjust to the dimming light. Climbing through a narrow opening, they found themselves inside a huge, cavernous room. Bakari, Milo, and Delia lit mage lights in front of themselves so they could all move farther into the shadows.

  “It’s here,” Delia squealed in delight. “It’s really here.”

  Bakari nodded. Sitting in front of them was a huge egg, not unlike the previous three. But this one stood even larger than Abylar’s egg had and almost hit the twenty-foot-high roof in the room. The shell looked rougher and thicker than the other eggs’ shells, most likely to shelter it from the cold climate of the high mountains.

  Bakari and Delia walked toward it.

  “Can you feel it?” Bakari asked, turning to the older woman.

  Delia nodded. “It is amazing. Peace, love, intelligence, and power.” She reached her hand forward and touched the egg. Upon contact, the egg let off a stream of light, making Delia and Bakari shade their eyes for a moment. Then the light receded somewhat, and the egg was transparent. A white dragon with red eyes sat inside.

  “It is beautiful,” Delia whispered.

  “It’s yours,” Bakari said. The more times he had helped match an egg to its rider the more sure Bakari was of the feelings that had guided him.

  Delia placed both her hands on the egg, and it began to crack, swirls of light breaking through and shining out into the cave. Then Delia stepped back, next to Bakari. The entire group watched as the enormous dragon almost filled the entire cave, its bright white wings spreading, touching the walls on either side.

  Outside the cave, Abylar roared, and the new dragon answered back, its head swinging down to look at Delia. She gazed into its eyes and reached a hand out, touching its head lovingly.

  “This dragon has called you, Delia,” Bakari said. “But you must name it. That cements the bond. In dragon lore, this is called the naming ceremony.”

  Delia pursed her lips in thought and then opened her mouth.

  But a scuffle had ensued behind them. Bakari turned around to find Kolo and three other men emerge from the cave entrance. Kharlia screamed, and Delia’s companions drew their swords, but Bakari called out to Abylar.

  Kolo jumped up on a small rock and, before anyone else could speak, yelled out over the din. “I name you Sephtis Kerboros.”

  The white dragon swung his head back and forth with a painful howl, the tips of his white spikes and wings turning as black as coal.

  “You are mine now!” Kolo rushed forward, pushing the other men to the side. Delia and her men moved to block him. But, before they could, Kolo placed his hand on the dragon’s head and forced him to look into his eyes. The dragon moaned and roared, but Kolo kept his stance.

  Bakari! Abylar roared in his mind. Get out of there. Now!

  Bakari took Kharlia’s hand and ran, motioning for the others to follow. If the now crazed dragon shot out fire toward the small cave opening, they would all die inside.

  “Noooo!” Delia shot her hands forward, ready to blast Kolo.

  “No, Delia,” Bakari called out. “There is not enough room in here. You might hurt the dragon!”

  She relented with a grunt but then jumped onto the back of Kolo instead, wrapping her hands around his throat.

  Glancing back as he hurried forward still, Bakari saw Kolo’s men jump in to help as Kolo reached back and tried to grab Delia off of his back.

  “I am a dragon rider now. Sephtis will obey me. I have bound him with his name,” Kolo croaked out, gasping for breath.

  “That is not how it works,” Bakari said to Kharlia as they turned back around at the mouth of the cave, motioning the others behind him to keep moving.

  Kolo’s eyes went black with an abomination of the dragon’s power. Sephtis roared again and scratched his claws into the ground. Swaying his head back and forth, the dragon tried to shake off the bond with Kolo, but it seemed to be too strong.

  “Kill her!” Kolo directed the dragon, and Sephtis tried to swat Delia with his claw. But she jumped off of Kolo just in time, rolling to the floor of the cave.

  Milo hurried back to help Delia up and then ran with her to the cave entrance to join the others again.

  “Get them!” Kolo directed to his two companions.

  Abylar, get ready, Bakari said.

  For what, Dragon Rider?

  Bakari motioned Delia, Milo, and Seth to follow him as he and Kharlia moved closer to the edge of the waterfall.

  “We need to jump,” Bakari told them.

  Argument seemed about to break out among the group. Delia and her men clearly wanted to fight Kolo’s approaching men.

  “You can’t fight them,” Bakari yelled over the sound of the waterfall. “Kolo will be too powerful now, with the dragon doing his bidding.” Then, making his decision, Bakari moved next to Milo and pushed him through the waterfall off the cliff. Before anyone else could react, he had pushed Seth and Delia off also, signaling to Abylar to catch them. Then he turned to defend himself and Kharlia against Kolo’s approaching men.

  “I am the rightful dragon rider,” Bakari shouted to Kolo’s men. “You know that what Kolo has done is not right.”

  The men turned, looking back toward their leader. Kolo’s eyes were black, his dragon now half black itself. Bakari hoped their hesitation would buy a few precious seconds for himself and Kharlia to escape.

  I have them, Abylar said to Bakari.

  “Our turn,” Bakari said and then reached around Kharlia, grasping her tightly as the two of them jumped through the waterfall off the cliff’s edge.

  Free-falling in front of the waterfall felt strange. He had been able to see the snow-covered mountain through the water.

  Kharlia screamed in his ear and grabbed on to him tighter.

  “Abylar!” Bakari yelled, his voice echoing.

  He felt a sudden change in the wind and then saw the dragon appear beside them, timing his drop to match their fall. The three riders on Abylar’s back reached over and grabbed Bakari and Kharlia out of the air, bringing them onto the back of Abylar.


  Straightening himself up, Bakari took his rightful seat behind Abylar’s neck, the other four riders sitting behind him. Then Bakari motioned his dragon back up in the air, and they watched as Sephtis Kerboros, with Kolo on his back, crashed out of the narrow cave opening through the waterfall. Sephtis soared up into the open air, leaving the two other Mahlians stranded on the hilltop.

  Kolo yelled and struggled for control. Sephtis roared, black fire rolling over the air in front of them, and then tried to throw Kolo off. But Kolo held on tight.

  “I will kill you, Bakari,” Kolo yelled, “and return as dragon rider and king!” Then Kolo headed straight for Abylar by forcing Sephtis to obey.

  Bakari knew he had to do something. He couldn’t put all of his passengers at risk. He wished Breelyn and Jaimon were here to help him. Then he remembered what both of them had done after their bondings. They had each bowed to Bakari and called him master.

  Bakari knew he was young and untrained in fighting, but he was the first dragon rider, the master of them all. So Bakari drew strength from Abylar through the bond and opened up communications to the other dragon.

  To both Kolo and Sephtis, Bakari spoke out loud and in his mind. “Kolo, if you really call yourself a dragon rider, you will obey me. Regardless of whatever evil means you have used to capture and bond with the dragon, I am still the rightful dragon rider master.”

  Sephtis rose up in the air above them and screeched, so Bakari directed Abylar to rise up even higher.

  “I will never follow your command, Bakari,” Kolo said, his long, braided hair swinging around his head.

  Bakari closed his eyes and drew more of Abylar’s power into himself. Then, opening himself up to Breelyn, he pulled upon Miriel’s strength also. Jaimon and Cholena were still too new, but Bakari felt their distinctive and faint presence already growing through the dragon bond.

  “Bak!” Kharlia yelled.

  Bakari opened his eyes as Kolo, sitting atop Sephtis, dove down toward them. But Abylar swerved just in time, almost losing Delia off his back.

  Bakari stood up on the back of Abylar’s neck. Kharlia looked up at him, holding on to his legs. “Bakari, your eyes!” she exclaimed. “There are swirls of blue in them.”