The Witch (Dragon Eyes Book 1)

by Kristina Hlaváčková

  9 CHAPTER

  WITH MAGIC IN HER BLOOD

  With a faint smile, Elena sprawled onto the cold rock and closed her eyes. Finally! She managed to awaken her inner dragon on purpose and nothing exploded! It was true, though, that due to her repeated experiments the stone around her was scorched, crackled and partially melted by explosions and enormous heat. Luckily, there was nothing around them that could catch fire. Wilbur landed next to her on the platform, lying down, his tail hanging over the edge of the stone slab.

  “You did it, Beastie!” he appreciated her effort and she laughed happily. Wilbur was a good teacher. As far as magic went, he knew what he was talking about. And it wasn’t only his personal experience with what was running through her veins. He said things directly, not making a riddle out of even the simplest of thing like Failon did. It made understanding and learning that much simpler, because he was easier to understand in moments she needed to concentrate on her tasks. In fact, Wilbur and Failon complemented each other very well. Elena was making quite a quick progress. It felt strange that finally she had managed to awaken a dragon within herself at will without setting anything on fire, blowing something up or just shattering it in the process and then she … Well, she was herself again afterwards. Right now, it didn’t matter that she suspected it was more or less by accident. It worked. She didn’t even mind that she felt like a squeezed out lemon.

  Wilbur breathed at her. “Get up, Beastie, or you’ll catch a chill,” he prompted. Elena opened her eyes, as a snowflake landed on her cheek. It really was cold. She shivered. In this kind of weather, it was asking for trouble being as sweaty as she was. It felt like sitting under a cold shower. Carefully, she got up. Her head was spinning. A bit. He muscles were shaking. Wilbur held out a paw to help her into the saddle. By now she was used to flying half asleep, snoozing in her saddle while Wilbur glided above the trees.

  ◆◆◆

  It was nicely warm in the smithy. Elena slumped onto a stool in a corner, leaned her head on the wall and from under her almost closed lids watched Llillam and Michael work. Michael was a good apprentice, learning fast. And the work in the smithy obviously did him good. It took only a few weeks for hard muscles to start showing underneath his shirt. It was a pleasant sight to see him moving around confidently, as if he truly belonged here. Watching them both was a sight to see. Elena would have happily joined the two men, but she was tired and the regular thud, thud of their hammers was lulling her to sleep.

  When she opened her eyes, Michael was squatting by her stool, tickling the back of her hand gently. He waited for Elena to rub her eyes, smiled and handed her a little packet.

  “Eat this,” he commanded lovingly.

  “What is it?”

  “Failon’s medicine.” Michael stood up and returned to his work. Quite suspiciously, Elena peered into the packet. Some of Failon’s medicines were rather dubious and often tasted foul. And if you poured them into a flowerpot, it would usually mess up the plants. Sometimes she felt like a lab rat, having him try things out on her. Something closely resembling chocolate was in the packet. Very carefully, she tasted it. It was chocolate. She ate a few pieces and stuck the rest of the goodies into her pocket. Chocolate, after all, was a rarity.

  “Eat it all, Failon thinks it might help,” Michael mumbled.

  “But it’s …”

  “No buts about it! Eat it all!” Michael commanded. Reluctantly, she obeyed, cherishing every bite. It did help. Elena had a sweet tooth and she loved chocolate. And she would have probably been surprised to know, that it was more Írimë’s medicine than Failon’s.

  When Llillam confronted his wife with the fact that his grand-daughter was to live with them, she was not happy. However, it soon began to worry her that the child was literally wasting away before their eyes. After all, Írimë was to look after the girl and she wouldn’t have it said that she was not taking care of her properly. It was obvious that Wilbur’s teaching was exhausting the lass. Elena would eat everything at hand, if she had enough strength for it, but she was getting thinner by the day nevertheless. Her cheeks were sunken, skin pale, bones were beginning to show under her skin. Though Írimë did her best to keep an excellent table and flesh up the child, her efforts were unsuccessful so far. And then she had a long talk with Failon, who was vainly trying to find a cure for Elena’s fatigue. Elena was not fond of those bitter herbs of his. Sometimes they made things even worse, because Elena felt sick after them. On occasions, Michael nabbed her pouring herbal tea into a herb bed, flowers, or Llillam’s water bucket for cooling iron. The quack remedies usually messed up Llillam’s work, or at least did something much unexpected with it. And it tended to kill the flowers or made them grow wildly in much unexpected ways. Írimë was getting worried. Something had to be done! So, one day, she made Elena a mug of cocoa with whipped cream. A rather a long silence followed as Elena relished the treat. When she returned the mug, it was basically wiped clean. It took only a few minutes for color to appear on Elena’s cheeks and a sparkle to glint in Elena’s eyes. While usually she was nearly falling asleep at the table, this time she sneaked into Llillam’s smithy and began to ask questions.

  Elena smiled at Michael. She sat for just a bit longer and then went to, as Llillam always put it, carefully get under their feet. Making herself useful in the smithy made her think, for the first time, that she was at home here. It brought a slight smile to her lips, which could not pass unnoticed by Michael. She grinned at him.

  “I did it!” she announced happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet, looking a lot younger than she really was. Michael, however, had no clue what it was she was talking about.

  “And I didn’t blow anything up!” she continued and Michael finally caught her meaning.

  There was not much to tell, really, but they were happy for her and even though she was tired, she didn’t feel like sleeping. Even Öron kept his tart comments to himself. After dinner, she was given a huge mug of hot cocoa with whipped cream and cinnamon. Drinking it, she dangled her feet happily, looking smug. Maybe, things won’t be as bad as they seemed they would be a few weeks ago.

  ◆◆◆

  The guardians of the forest were unique. Their captain, Nolan, was the most unique of them all. His appearances in the city were rare and should they happen, he hardly ever spoke to anyone. Living gods knew where, he seemed uneasy in a larger company. Though he was never where you expected him, somehow he always managed to appear when you needed him. Elena was fascinated by him and spent long days trying to track him around the forest. It was a great, though a bit frustrating, adventure to try to keep up with the elf, not to lose sight of him and not to be seen herself at the same time. These little expeditions usually resulted in Elena not only losing Nolan’s trail, but herself in the forest. On occasions she got lost so utterly, not even the signs on trees were of any help. At such times Nolan usually appeared on the edge of Elena’s field of vision, wrapped in a cloak that made him virtually invisible in the woods. He would simply stand motionless until Elena noticed him, then slowly started towards home followed by a crestfallen child who was keeping her distance. Leading Elena to places she was sure to know, he would disappear again, leaving her to her own devices.

  The lass was curious. In all meanings of the word. It took him a while to figure out why Elena was trying to follow him around. Though it was easy for him to shake her off his trail, he had to hand it to her, she was dogged. And learned fast. Each new time she got on his tail it took him a bit longer to shake her off. To discourage her, he had repeatedly led her to scary and often dangerous places. The chit of a girl refused to budge. It didn’t take Nolan long to discover that the shrimp was actually talking to the forest. If he were to be honest though, he would have to admit that their little game was quite entertaining. Sometimes he even took pains and left special signs for her, waiting to see how she would deal with them. Not only had they not spoken for quite a long time, but they hadn’t even properly met. Even so, slowly
, but surely a strange wordless friendship developed between them.

  Hidden in the shadows, Elena halted at the edge of the forest, watching two elves sitting in front of Failon’s shack. She hesitated. Failon never had guests when Elena was to have her lessons. Unless she was mistaken, the elf sitting next to Failon, was Nolan. She tried to remember the last time she had seen him in the open and in the company of someone other than guardians of the forest. Unsure whether she should invade their conversation or wait for Nolan to leave, she shuffled her feet for a while. Then she decided there was still time before the beginning of her lesson and ventured to find out which direction Failon’s guest had come from. It shouldn’t be all that difficult since fresh snow covered the ground.

  However, the result of her enquiry, was unsatisfactory. It was true she found where Nolan stepped into the clearing, but her finding wasn’t very convincing. In the powdery snow, Nolan’s footprints were just about as visible as they would be on smooth stone. There was no more time to think about it, though, because she needed to attend her lesson.

  Both elves silently watched her approach, coming from a direction opposite to her usual one. Though she dragged her feet through the snow and had her shoulders stooped, hands in her pockets and head slouched, neither of them doubted she was secretly watching them. Hesitantly, she halted a few meters away from them. Her teacher’s unexpected guest had confused her, she was still not sure if she should be there. Failon gave her that unreadable look of his and motioned her to sit on her usual stool.

  A strange afternoon, that’s what it was. She really didn’t learn anything new. Failon and Nolan, however, asked her a lot of questions. Yes, Failon had actually asked questions. It surprised her as much as the rest of the interview. Elena rather liked the result of it. Nolan was going to teach her. And Michael was going to learn with her.

  Admittedly, Nolan’s lessons were a lot more interesting than Failon’s. They were more of a game, running around the forest, climbing trees, tracking the other forest guardians, getting to know the trees and nature and playing hide and seek a huge portion of the time. Simply, it was fun. Though somewhat dangerous, because Elena and Michael had often ended up neck deep in a swamp, hanging above a deadly abyss, climbed rocks and trees without belaying. The game they tracked and followed was anything but friendly and more often than not turned to hunt them instead. Fighting for their life was what it was. But Elena enjoyed it. For Michael it meant having his hands full, but finally he also felt like a fish in water.

  It was even more entertaining, because she didn’t have the notion someone was actually teaching her something. Elena spent half the time getting herself or Michael out of trouble. The other half of the time she spent getting into trouble, or being pulled out of it by Michael.

  Nolan didn’t speak much, but he answered every question Elena or Michael fired at him. And if he didn’t answer in words, he simply showed them. It was a relief compared to Failon’s questionable style.

  But there was one more thing. Nolan saw in Elena something everybody else seemed to overlook. He saw a child who wanted to discover new things, a child who wanted to learn. He saw a lass who loved life and the forest, his forest, a girl stepping lightly around tree roots, a child healing everything alive that was hurt in some way. Nolan saw Elena to be the descendant of the chosen. Nolan was one of them. Nolan was a Guardian of the forest. He was its Patron. He was the Guardian of the elves. And he knew many secrets not only of the forest, but his nation also. Even many of those secrets long forgotten. Elena listened to him eagerly. Though she wasn’t aware of it, Nolan put her through several tests. And the little girl was far more successful in them than many before her. Thus, Nolan began to teach her secrets as old as the earth itself. In his company, Elena walked places known only to few, listened to stories untold for centuries and learned ancient spells. Being an attentive student, her powers and skills progressed rapidly.

  10 CHAPTER

  … A FEW UNINTERESTING YEARS LATER

  Terrified, Failon took a step backwards, then a second one and third. He stopped with his back pressed to the wall of his shack. He stared at Elena with wide opened eyes full of horror. He backed away from her. An elf, one of the most powerful magical creatures of this world, her teacher has backed away from her because he was scared. This was magic. Real magic. Not only herbs, potions or smart talk that messed up people’s heads. This was not a play on feelings. This was true, raw, powerful magic. If she sets her mind to it, she could do anything! The next one to back away from her will be a dragon.

  Suddenly, Nolan was standing in front of her. Elena didn’t know where he’d come from. She glared at him with blue-orange dragon eyes, bearing her teeth in a threatening snarl, instinctively lifting her hands.

  “That’s enough!” Nolan said quietly, standing in front of her like a solid rock with a calm, dangerous expression in his eyes. It was not the Nolan she knew. He didn’t radiate his usual peaceful strength. A Guardian, a Patron of the elves was standing before her. A dangerous opponent. Extremely dangerous. Then and there he was an enemy that needed to be crushed.

  As one, all the trees gasped and began to scarper. Silence was the first to flee, replaced by cracking, creaking, rustling, humming, splashing and squelching. Trees tore their roots out of the ground that had fed them for centuries, and ran. Square-built trees bashed into each other, branches broke. Roots, an apparatus unfit for movement, scurried and tripped over one another.

  Blood was boiling inside Elena’s veins. She could feel the power, seeing everything she could do with it, knowing all she could get. No one could stop her. That’s enough. Elena heard a voice. But it was not Nolan. It was not an elf determined to stop her … doing whatever it was she wanted to do. It was a voice inside her own head. She heard Eli, who woke up with the unthinkable ruckus of the forest fleeing before her.

  This was magic. Real magic. Not only herbs, potions or smart talk playing on people’s minds and feelings. This was power. Power that not only people, but the elves and even the forest were scared of. This was the reason she was here in the sacred Wasa Itacen. This was the reason why back home people feared magic and its bearers, why she could never be herself back home; why she could never demonstrate what it was she was capable of.

  The world had stopped. The din that previously reached her ears vanished, everything was motionless. Even the bees escaping across the clearing halted, hanging immobile in the air. Nolan was suddenly still, as if petrified in the middle of a movement. Thoughts, crocks and shards of events were flying through Elena’s head. From somewhere in that chaos in her mind a picture of a great hall built of shiny black stones appeared. Elena found herself standing in the middle of it, facing a man draped in a cloak, staring at her with dark, empty eyes with neither pupils nor whites. The staff he held in his hand was singing to her.

  They were not alone in the room. Somewhere behind her, in the shadows, orange, snakelike eyes opened, a Black Saurian awoke.

  Elena saw herself standing, reaching for a staff peaked with a throbbing stone of diamond. She could see her own pale face, feel the fear and resolve, she perceived her eyes change. Suddenly, she saw a dragon staring at her from her own pale face. Fire suffused the shadowy hall. From its flames, Nolan ascended, his eyes narrowed, hair flowing in total calm. Only a few centimeters away from her head a bee was suspended in the air. Utterly confused, Elena looked around herself and saw, momentarily frozen in the middle of its motions, total chaos.

  She looked at her hands, raised in an aggressive gesture against a friend. She could feel the enormous power she drew into herself from her surroundings to throw an extremely powerful enchantment. At that particular moment she could do anything and there was no stopping her. Destroying everything in her way would be just too easy.

  Elena found every bit of that magic, concentrated, materialized all its energy into a small, rainbow-like sphere and held it between two fingers. And dropped it. Before the marble hit the ground, Elena turned on her
heal and walked away.

  “That’s enough!” Nolan said and suddenly realized something was different. He would have sworn the dragon eyes he looked into had wrong color, a direful shade of orange. Now, a split second later, he was looking at the back of a retreating Elena. There was nothing in between.

  Nolan didn’t see the girl turn and walk away from him. The ground beneath his feet trembled, and suddenly, he was standing waist deep in forest grass, saplings were shooting out of the ground all around him, pulling themselves to full height and width in seconds, leafing out and stocking with fruit of all kind. The whole clearing was instantly full of bustling life and movement. A rock, who’s tip had always stuck out from Failon’s lawn flew into the air, blew up and a tiny, confused dragon landed on the ground in a shower of eggshells. Failon toppled over, jabbed in the back with a branch growing from the wall of his shack. Elena disappeared from view, hidden by a mass of full grown trees.

  While Elena walked away slowly, everything within the range of several kilometers went haywire, came to life and grew. Every seed, seedling, bud or egg, everything burst with life. The clearing around Failon’s shack disappeared and the house was suddenly surrounded by a deep forest that hadn’t been there seconds ago, although it felt like it’d been standing there for centuries.

  Nolan contemplated the scenery change. He was engulfed in silence. The only audible sound was a quiet puffing and crackling as sap settled in the trees. The whole forest was waiting, holding its breath. Even the birds went silent.

  “Interesting,” Nolan said drily, when Failon materialized at his side.