took his hand in hers. He was not afraid to die, but he did not want to leave her even in death. He wanted them to be together forever. There was only one way.
“Mammon,” Conraydin said before it blew flame, “I have heard that bondings performed by dragons are the most sacred because they unite the souls of the lovers forever. I have also heard that dragons will tell the tale of that love till the end of time, keeping the spirit of the bond alive even when the lovers’ bodies are dust. Is that true?”
“Of course,” it sniffed.
“Will you bind us?” he asked.
“You and this Eastaphalian Warrior?” Mammon asked, its fleshy eyebrows rising.
“Yes,” Evangel said, staring at Conraydin with joy in her eyes.
The dragon bowed, its crinkled face becoming suddenly serious. “It does not offend me to illumine what already is.”
It cleared its throat, lowered its head, so they could all be eye to eye. “You of one heart. You of one soul,” it murmured, and both the man and woman could feel its breath filled with earth, mushrooms, and magic. Their armor blew away in that endless exhalation. Conraydin watched as Evangel’s hair fell upon her dark shoulders, revealing her smooth, bare body. Then his clothes slipped away. Conraydin laid her upon the earth stones, and they became a bed, softer than down.
“Are one flesh, are one word.”
Without thought Conraydin entered her as a weary man comes home. Easily, Evangel took him in as if she had been waiting all her life.
“On this your day of binding, in this, your moment of truth, I recall to you the beginning. I raise in you the call, from the Creater to the Being. I set alive in you the knowledge, and set that knowledge free!”
Conraydin and Evangel opened their eyes to see the dragon flame blue fire. Before they could fear, the soul sword emerged from its cracked chrysalis and danced free against the light. Its ebony blade consumed the fire in a penumbra of glory.
“You never broke your vow, Evangel,” Mammon proclaimed, bowing. “You have only just fulfilled it.” It pointed to the scars on their chests. They were identical. The dragon tossed the talisman to Conraydin and turned away.
“Congratulations,” it said over its shoulder, as they began to fade.
In an instant, Conraydin and Evangel found themselves standing, dressed, before the wizard and his sister. Conraydin turned to Evangel. They had succeeded. They hugged each other. The wizard cleared his throat and held out his ghostly hand. Conraydin gladly gave him the little gold locket. He opened it to reveal pictures of themselves inside then tossed it to his sister who put it around her neck.
“I’ve given you your heart’s desire have I not, Conraydin?” the wizard asked, “and you have given me life.”
He stepped forward to place his hand on Evangel’s belly, but she blocked him. The wizard pulled back his hood and Conraydin found himself staring at his water reflection but for the green eyes that sparkled at him.
“Father,” the young woman said, “remember to tell us the story of how the dark wizard and his beautiful sister brought you together again. We loved to hear it over and over.”
She clapped her hands thrice, and Conraydin and Evangel found themselves outside the ale house. Moonlight held everything still. The road lay glittering before them full of promises. Evangel turned to her beloved, touched his cheek.
“We can tell the people of the plague and end the war between them and my sisters. We will bring peace to the land. Our children will be the ones to keep magic safe for all time. I am truly free,” she said, as he pulled her into his arms.
“We are free,” he murmured.
Hand in hand, they walked into the future they had made.
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