The Lost Dragon (Cycle of Dragons Book 3)

by Dan Michaelson

  She stopped in front of what looked to be a rocky cave opening. It was set into a small cliff at the back of the garden, a ledge that swooped off on either side. I had no idea where the cave opening led, but I had my suspicions. I had encountered something similar to this before, and had barely made it out of the Academy with the dragon at that time.

  “What is this?”

  “A place I like to practice,” she said. “There are places like this all around the outskirts of the city, but this one has been fortified by various instructors over the years. Think of it as similar to the training room in the Academy, only stronger.” She waved her hand. “This is from a time long ago, from before the kingdom ever existed. Probably from a time when the Djarn occupied these lands. It would explain why this structure is so well designed.”

  I would have to ask Natalie. There were parts of the city I didn’t understand, though from the time I’d gone through it with her, I had to think there were parts that she would know as having originated with the Djarn.

  “Why here?”

  “I have already told you. This is where I like to have students practice. It’s a bit more practical than doing so within the Academy’s walls. You can use much more energy here than you can in other places.”

  “Practice what?”

  “I call them protective seals.” She smiled at me and took a step back, motioning for me to follow, then swirling her hand around in a steady loop.

  Flames drifted from one hand and shot off to the other, connecting to each other, but they spiraled in the air as she moved her hand. It was similar to the way Thomas used the flames, but different enough that I recognized how she was doing it, though not the purpose behind it. Thomas pushed power out from one hand to the other, using that connection to create crackling flames that could form intricate patterns, but also could be used to attack and hold. In this case, however, the way Eleanor spiraled her hand seemed to create increasingly complicated patterns, then she pushed her hands away from her. When she did, the flames separated.

  I expected them to dissipate, to disappear, the way they did when I did something similar, but instead, the flames looped around the opening in the rock. And then they held.

  I had seen something similar to this before with Thomas just the other night, but in his case, it was something he had placed and then separated. They were parallel lines, bands of flame that crisscrossed, sealing the opening of the pit. This was a spiraling sort of pattern.

  “How is what you did different from a crisscross pattern?” I asked.

  “The other is weak. Why don’t you demonstrate?”

  “Why don’t I demonstrate what?”

  “Perform the crisscrossing pattern you mention.”

  She stepped forward and traced her hand around the outside of the rock opening, and when she did, the flames were pulled back, disappearing once again. The control she displayed was almost as impressive as what I had seen with Walter. The pattern wasn’t nearly as complicated, and it left me thinking that perhaps there wasn’t nearly as much complexity to it as Walter’s had, but even without that, she certainly had a level of control over the pattern that gave her the ability to withdraw the magic back inside her again.

  “Show me your technique,” she said.

  “I’m not saying it’s my technique,” I said.

  “Show me what you would try,” she said.

  “I don’t know if it will even work.”

  “No? You seem to think you understand this pattern.”

  “It’s just one I’ve seen before.”

  She waited.

  I didn’t even know if I’d be able to create the pattern. I’d only seen it once, maybe another time, but certainly not often enough for me to know what it would take to hold on to it. Still, I had a sense from her that she wasn’t going to do anything else until I attempted it.

  I thought I could create the crisscrossing pattern, though it would take a bit of focus. I thought about what was needed, the way that power flowed, and I thought about what I could do to force it outward.

  It would take linking separate strands.

  Knowing what I did of Thomas and the way he had created those strands, there would have to be some anchor to them. I held my hands on either side of the opening, and I formed separate strands between them. I split them into five different strands, keeping them as tightly controlled as I could possibly manage, and then pressed down, thinking that if I could anchor the strands to the stone in some way, then I might able to leave my hands and withdraw from it. For a moment, it seemed as if it were going to hold, but then as I pulled my hands away, it shimmered for a moment and then dissipated.

  I switched to the other orientation and placed my hands back down again, separating them into multiple strands, and let the power flow out from my hands, from one to the next. The flames crackled between my hands, and as they settled, the pattern formed.

  When I withdrew my hands, it stayed.

  She nodded to me. “Very good. That is far more intricate than most students manage on their own the first time, though I’m not terribly surprised you were able to do it. From what I understand from those who have seen you working with Thomas, you’re quite gifted.”

  “Thank you, I guess?”

  “Yes. And it does appear you’re every bit as gifted as what they say. Very good.”

  “Why did you want to show me with this one?”

  “I wanted to show you that if you hold it here for just a moment, pressing the power into it, the pattern itself makes a difference. Take a look.”

  I studied the pattern, but I couldn’t tell anything from it—only that it held. In my mind, that was far more than I had expected I could do. I had no idea I’d even be able to create anything like that, so I was pleased with myself more than anything else.

  “I’m not exactly sure what you want me to see.”

  “What I’d like for you to identify is the laxity in this pattern.”

  I blinked. “Laxity?”

  “I’m quite certain your skill is significant, Ashan. I don’t want to diminish the technique itself, but it’s more about the purpose behind it.”

  “What exactly should I learn from this?” And how was this another part of my testing? That was what I needed to know from her.

  “I would like for you to see that the pattern has gaps within it.” She motioned for me to move off to the side. “Now watch.”

  I away and watched as she created a band of power between her hands. It wasn’t nearly as potent as the one Thomas had used, but it was more potent than what I had seen from Walter. She had a measure of control, and an understanding of attack type magic that suggested she had some skill with it. Perhaps not as much as Thomas, though as the chief dragon mage, I wondered if anybody had the same skill as him.

  For what she was doing, I wondered if she even needed that much skill. All she did was create a loop of power, sending it from one hand to the next, then she whipped it at the opening.

  The barrier I had formed held for a moment, but nothing more than that.

  The flames crackled where the magic struck, and as soon as it did, they sizzled, then the bands collapsed, falling in on each other.

  “So you see, it has some weaknesses. Not a bad pattern, and for those without any connection to the dragon mage magic, it would be incredibly effective, but against somebody with any power, it would not hold.”

  “I wouldn’t have even thought to try that,” I said.

  “What would you have tried?”

  “I probably would’ve tried what you did the first time.”

  “Indeed? Why don’t you try it then?” She placed her hands on either side of the stone opening, and single bands of power slithered across from one side to the next, moving quickly in a lattice type of pattern. It was different than the way I had placed it, but ultimately the effect was the same. It created a crisscrossing pattern. When she was done, she stepped off to the side, and motioned for me to move forward. “Go ahead and
see what you can do with it, then.”

  I stepped up to it. The heat from the dragon magic flowing out of it was profound, but the connection I shared with the dragons allowed me to ignore it, shielding me through their power. I was distinctly aware that the connection she shared with the dragons was different from the dragons that were part of my cycle.

  Would that make a difference?

  I wondered. Perhaps that would be a reason I’d fail here.

  As I tried to call that power back into me, adding it into the cycle, I found it resisted my attempt.

  “Try what I did,” she said.

  “I don’t know if it would—”

  “Try,” she snapped.

  I stepped back, formed a band of power between my hands, and whipped it at the opening. When it connected, I felt the faint sizzling I had felt before, and then it shimmered before finally crackling and opening.

  She smiled, nodding as she did. “So you see. This is not nearly as stout a defense as others. It created a barrier, but that barrier isn’t nearly as effective as others could be. What I’d like for you to try is a different technique.”

  “The spiral,” I said.

  “Perhaps that is one thing to call it, but I have my own phrase for it.”

  “What do you call it?”

  “Why, the Eleanor.” She created a band of power and began to loop it. The spiral continued working its way outward, and when it had fully formed, she shoved it forward. It solidified over the opening. “Try again.”

  “Try what?”

  “Try whatever technique you think might be effective. If you would like to try to remove it, so be it. But unless the dragon you connected to in order to form the pattern is present, you will not be able to draw the pattern back. Perhaps Thomas hasn’t informed you of that.”

  “I’m not so sure it’s been necessary yet,” I said. “Most of the things I do have been different.”

  “I suppose,” she said. “Most of the things you have done have been a bit more destructive than what I prefer. In this case, I’d like you to see that destructive spells aren’t necessary. But if you’re to have a permanent outcome, you must make sure that the dragon you placed the pattern with is the same dragon you use to remove it.”

  “What happens if they’re not with me?”

  “Then you will find you’re unable to do so.”

  “I see.”

  I headed toward the pattern, and given that I had failed to withdraw the other one, I had no doubt that I’d fail at withdrawing this one. I attempted to add the heat back into the cycle, but that, too, failed.

  I didn’t think anything else would even work, though I had Eleanor watching me, and I had a feeling that she wanted—maybe even needed—for me to try to break through what she had placed. I didn’t have high hopes, but I was willing to try it.

  I took a step back and attempted to form a band of power between my hands, whipping it at the opening. The spiraling pattern held.

  I tried something different. I created two bands, weaving them together in a twist, knowing that power was strong enough to cause significant damage. I whipped it, then tensed, afraid I might cause some destruction of the stone.

  The spiral pattern—the Eleanor—remained in place.

  I tried again, this time twisting five bands together, braiding them in a way that created an incredible power. I was curious as to how strong her spiral pattern would be. As I whipped the twisted bands, the air sizzled, and the bands crackled when they struck, but the pattern still held.

  I glanced over to her and saw her watching me with a satisfied look on her face.

  “So you see,” she told me. “This one is far more effective. The key is the spiral. You need it to be an outward facing spiral.”

  “Outward facing?”

  “Exactly,” she said.

  “I’m afraid I don’t really know what that means.”

  “An outward facing spiral would be one that you loop away from you. It is much different from an inward facing spiral.”

  “What does an inward facing spiral do?”

  “An inward facing spiral is a bit more your speed. I didn’t show it to you because I figured you would learn it on your own, but perhaps it is something you should practice regardless.”

  “What do you mean it’s more my speed?”

  “I mean it is potentially dangerous. As you have seen, the spiral itself is incredibly powerful. As you will learn, the way you hold the spiral, and the power you put into it, creates something more than it would have been otherwise. You will find that the spiral seals things more powerfully.”

  “Seals?”

  “Indeed,” she said.

  “What would happen if I used a spiraling pattern with something like what Walter showed me?”

  “It would potentially work,” she said, shaking her head to tell me she wasn’t convinced, “but it wouldn’t be quite the same. Part of what Walter has succeeded in demonstrating is something a bit more personal. It is tied to the power that pours out of you, using the division your body naturally creates. You wouldn’t be able to do that . . . Well, perhaps you would be able to do that. I suppose I should say I wouldn’t be able to do that. Most dragon mages aren’t capable of splitting the strands out of their hands quite as elegantly as you have demonstrated.”

  “Thomas has,” I said.

  “Thomas wants us to think he has,” she said.

  She didn’t elaborate on what that meant, and I didn’t push.

  Instead, I focused on the opening. I created a spiraling outward pattern, creating a band from one hand to the next, and tried to push it off.

  It didn’t quite work that well.

  When I pushed it off, it struck her pattern then dissipated.

  “The control is the key,” she said.

  “I’m trying,” I said.

  “I can see you are. It is more a matter of holding on to the spiral as tightly as you can when you release it. Once you do, then you find that you can maintain that control.”

  I wasn’t sure I had the necessary control, but I saw the value in what she showed me. She stepped forward and removed the spiral over the opening.

  “Keep attempting to master this, Ashan. The more you practice, the more it is likely to be effective for you. This is not something that takes speed, not at all like what Walter demonstrated. That is something you may need speed for if you were to be attacked. This is something you can use to protect various items, should you need to do so. That is its benefit.” She nodded to me. “I will leave you to your practice. There’s no need for you to venture beyond here while you’re mastering this pattern. I will check in with you later today.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  She nodded, as if that were the only thing I should say to her.

  When she was gone, I turned my attention to the opening. It wasn’t the way I wanted to spend my day, but perhaps practicing, learning this pattern, and trying to uncover some other aspect of how I could use the magic was the right way to spend my day.

  I focused on the opening and started to create a spiral, using her pattern. As it struck, the spiral dissipated once again. That wasn’t quite right.

  I had to find the proper pattern and technique. I wasn’t at all sure what it was going to take, but I was determined to try. Besides, I had nothing else to do until Thomas returned but wait. I might as well prepare for my inevitable testing.

  I just hoped I was tested soon.

  It was time for me to have a bigger role in protecting the kingdom.

  12

  It was early evening, and my stomach still rumbled. Or maybe it had stopped for a while, but started again. I lost track of it, which was easy to do, given that I had been trying the same pattern over and over again throughout the day, never with much success.

  I still hadn’t managed to hold the same pattern Eleanor had, though I was getting closer. As I attempted it, I could feel the energy sizzling out, as if there were something about the way I he
ld on to the power that prevented it from solidifying.

  I suspected it was as she said—that I failed to maintain the pattern as I pushed it away from me—but knowing that didn’t make it any easier for me to do. I tried the same thing over and over again, attempting to find that pattern, to force it out from me, and to push it in a way that would allow me to hold it, but I could not.

  It would take more practice.

  I had time, but I was tired enough that I didn’t want to take the time. Instead, there was something else gnawing at me, a curiosity that had filled me while I was throwing flames at the opening. Even though I had formed the patterns, and had continued to push them out at the opening, I kept wondering what was on the other side of that opening.

  It was small, not large enough to fit a dragon, so it certainly wouldn’t have been the way the dragon was brought into the Academy before, but could I slide in there? Even if I could, what would I find?

  She had said this was a place of the Djarn.

  That would make it powerful.

  I wondered what else might be inside.

  Eleanor had made a point of saying I shouldn’t venture inside.

  In my mind, that meant I needed to know.

  I glanced behind me. Every so often, I had noticed the gardeners moving around the garden, though they had given me a wide berth, as if they were afraid of the uncontrolled nature of the power I threw at the opening. Of course they would be afraid of it. It made sense for them to fear something I didn’t yet have complete control over.

  There was no sign of them now. I figured it was as good a time as any to attempt to see what was inside. I crawled toward the opening. The stone was warm where the flames had struck it, though I had not damaged it, either. That made me think Eleanor had done something to the stone, either further solidifying it or trying to secure it, so there would be no impact to it. Either that, or the Djarn had done something to it.

  I crawled forward, and the darkness quickly swallowed me.

  As I moved forward, I held my hands in front of me and cycled power from the dragons from one hand to the next to create a narrow band of light to illuminate my passing.