Dragons and Mages: A Limited Edition Anthology

by Pauline Creeden

  Patrick punched his fist into his open palm. “If I’d been uncertain before, that little display of terrible manners just sealed the deal. It’s about time those other domes knew their place. I hope she does enter so that she can draw the banishment card from the Dragon’s Dare when she loses. I’m in.”

  I cringed. Just as Ryker had pointed out, this idea of mine might cause more of a division between the domes. I shook my head, and Alyssa grabbed my arm to stop me from speaking. He jumped up and walked away to join his regular group of friends who were just leaving.

  Angrily, I turned to confront Alyssa. “Why’d you stop me? I don’t want people to think Dome 2 is better. I just want us to win the whole tournament.”

  “Look, Kat; it doesn’t matter why he wants to join us. Just be happy he agreed. We can work out the semantics later.”

  Even as I sat on my bed that night, my mind kept going over Alyssa’s words. I should have corrected Patrick right then. Hopefully, my momentary indecision wouldn’t come back to haunt me.

  Ten minutes. I had to get an idea of what Ryker wanted me to read before Mom announced dinner. Kicking off my shoes, I leaned against my headboard, knees raised to rest the book upright, and I opened it to the first page.

  Of course, the phone rang. I’d only read two sentences. Mom refused to answer while preparing dinner, which meant it became my duty. Sighing, I reached over and grabbed the phone. Whoever it was, I’d get rid of them. “Hello?”

  Drew’s cheerful voice caught me off guard. “Hey, Kat. Just the person I wanted to talk to.”

  “What’s up, Drew?”

  “First off, Grandma’s friend got sick, so we won’t be having storytime at our house tonight. You could still come over, though, if you want.”

  I could have cried with relief at this unexpected reprieve. “I’ve got a lot to catch up on. I think I’ll be staying in for the night. This might actually work out for the best.”

  “Oh. Well, that sucks.”

  “What was the other thing?”

  “Other thing?”

  “Yeah, you started with the words ‘first off’ which tells me there’s something else you wanted to share.” My fingers impatiently tapped the bedspread, and my eyes wandered back to the terrible scrawl Ryker called handwriting.

  “Oh, right. Um, yeah. Violet and I noticed how unhappy you were with Patrick’s idea about Dome 2 being better, and we decided to make sure he knew where you stood on the matter.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t scare him off!” I clutched the phone tighter, dreading his answer.

  “Not at all. We’re all set. Patrick said he didn’t really feel that way; he just hated the way Leanne spoke to us.”

  My muscles relaxed, and I could allow myself to exhale. “Thanks for doing that, Drew. You’re the best.”

  “Anything for my favorite girl.”

  Mom announced dinnertime loud enough for Drew to hear.

  “See you tomorrow.” Drew hung up.

  Sighing, I put the book down on my nightstand, and cradled the phone receiver. Ryker’s story would have to wait a little longer. Besides, I still had questions for my dad. Jumping off my bed, I rushed to the kitchen to take my place at the side of the table.

  “How’s your gladio practice going, Kat?”

  I hastily swallowed, thankful that my dad had brought up the conversation. “Great! I think I’m going to win it this year.”

  Mom lowered her spoon but didn’t look at me. “I heard you’re organizing a win over the whole tournament.”

  “It’s just a thought.” How could everyone have heard about it so fast? I mean, I could understand the kids at school, but my mom, too?

  “Dad, what’s it like holding the gladio trophy?”

  He set down his spoon to clasp his hands together and then stare up at the ceiling. A grin spread across his face before he looked back over to me, his eyes shining brightly.

  He sighed. “Oh! It was the best feeling in the world. As soon as they put the trophy in my hands, I felt like I could defeat the world, the universe even. I know it sounds silly, but it almost felt like the trophy was feeding me even more energy than I already had from winning.”

  “That’s what I thought it’d be like.” So, it was true. The trophy had more importance than anyone knew. I just had to figure it out…and soon!

  “Who knows? Maybe by this time next week, you’ll be holding it yourself. After all, you’ve been trained by the best. And even if you are my daughter, I’m a big enough man to admit that you’re more skilled with the sword than I ever was at your age. You’ll make me proud; I’m sure of it.”

  “Hugh, don’t put that kind of pressure on her. She’s got enough on her plate without you adding that on.”

  Dad pointed his spoon at Mom. “I’m not pressuring her. We know how much winning changed our lives. If I hadn’t won, I would never have moved to Dome 2 and married you. Plus, I know how badly Kat wants to get into the space program, and this win would guarantee her getting it.”

  “It’s okay, Mom. I know what Dad means. I’m going to do my best, and that’s all you’ve both ever taught me. Besides, even if I didn’t win, my grades would most likely advance me.” I scraped up the last of my gruel. Two more bites until I could get back to my reading.

  “But, if you don’t win, then you’ll have to take the Dragon’s Dare. I can’t lose another daughter.” Mom clutched her napkin. “If you don’t think you’ll win, maybe you should reconsider entering at all.”

  I should have kept my mouth shut. Mom didn’t need this kind of stress. Quickly turning, I silently pled for Dad to do something.

  “I’ve got an hour or so this evening, Kat. What do you say we head out back and spar a little?” Dad’s eyes lit up.

  How could I refuse? He’d just saved me from Mom’s outburst. I nodded. “I’ll get my sword.”

  Another stinging bead of sweat dropped into my eye. Dad did not relent for a moment. My body weakened, although my defensive moves remained strong. I had to change tactics. “Do you think there’s anything special about the trophies awarded at the Tatsu tournament?”

  “Of course.” He wasn’t even out of breath.

  His sword thrusts kept coming, three strikes to the right before attempting a slice down on my head. I saw the moves coming before they even began their motion toward me, and my sword moved to block of its own accord. I couldn’t go on much longer. With Mom watching from the side-lines, I had to prove that I could win.

  With renewed determination, I let my vision relax to allow me to see everything around me all at once. My mind started playing tricks on me. I swear a spark of light showed me where to strike next.

  With nothing to lose, I followed the direction, catching Dad off guard. He backed up a step, his eyebrows rose. Immediately, I followed up with another thrust at the next point of light, not allowing Dad to catch on to what I planned.

  With each arc of my blade, light began to spark in the outline as I moved faster and faster. I felt lighter than air as I let the blade move on its own, powerless to stop the motion, and eager to see where it would take me. My offense ramped up a few more notches.

  “Excellent!” Dad’s grin morphed into a grimace.

  By now, we had moved away from the center of the yard until Dad’s back hit the fence. He no longer had any place to go but forward, and he tried to shift his stance, but I saw it first. I pressed forward until my sword rested against Dad’s throat. “You’re dead!”

  “I yield.” He grinned broadly. As soon as my sword dropped from him, he stepped away from the fence and clapped me hard on the shoulder. “That was brilliant! Who taught you those moves? I haven’t seen anything like that since Brekke…never mind.”

  Feeling the same emotion about my sister, I basked in his praise. It took me a second to compose myself. “I guess you did.”

  “Not possible.”

  “Really?” Seeing him shake his head, I replayed the match in my mind. “I don’t know. It’s al
most like I saw these lights showing me where to aim next and I didn’t hesitate. I hope it happens again during the gladio games.”

  “Me, too! Nobody’ll be able to withstand that onslaught. For a while there, I thought I was going to have the win.”

  I chuckled, not wanting to admit how close he’d come. No, something had shifted inside me. I had a new awareness of what it meant to be a sword dancer. Hopefully, I could replicate it when it truly counted. “Let’s not tell anyone about this. Okay?”

  “Secret weapon, huh? Smart!”

  We entered the house to head in separate directions to get cleaned up from our exertions. After a quick sonic shower, I wearily pulled on my pajamas. I needed to stay awake long enough to get in some reading, but I didn’t hold out too much hope.

  Chapter 6

  EVEN THOUGH MY weariness almost wore me down, an irresistible compulsion to read the journal would not let me go. Most likely, I would fall asleep with it in my lap, but I had to know Ryker’s insights. Getting comfortable again, I pulled the book up onto my raised knees. Adjusting my nightlight to illuminate the haphazard scrawl fully, it still took several minutes before I began to recognize the patterns of his letters.

  The first part of the journal merely contained mind-numbing details of Ryker’s days back when he was a teenager himself. I wondered if he had done this on purpose to discourage anyone from reading too much. If I hadn’t agreed to read it all the way through, I would’ve put it away and gone to sleep.

  Luckily, about fifteen pages in, an entry changed my mind.

  I started my job today in the archives. Who knew so many documents needed to be digitized and categorized! At first, I thought it would be boring, but then I started to find some interesting tidbits.

  One of them was a journal from a family using the last name of Tinley. The word ‘dragon’ kept appearing throughout the text, which caught my attention. After spending so many evenings with Grandma Talya, I’d always dreamed of having my very own dragon and becoming a dragon rider. Yet, I’d always known the stories were just entertaining fantasies made up by an old woman.

  Yet, this document was almost 200 years old, and it spoke of the very same dragons as Grandma Talya. These people actually remembered standing next to the dragons, marveling at their size, and many of their family members had been riders themselves. How could I refute the evidence in my hand?

  So, what’s a young man to do when he discovers his dream is more than just a childhood fantasy? Of course, I took the journal home so I could read it all the way through. With the book in the back waistband of my pants, hiding under my jacket, guilt almost caused me to give up the plan altogether when I jumped at everything.

  Hiding in my room at home, I learned about five families of dragon riders who agreed to keep the dream alive even though the government did everything in their power to erase the memory of the dragons. They saw the planet itself beginning to deteriorate. The government insisted that the differences in weather and crop fertility were simply due to a cyclical change in seasons.

  The families knew better; the dragons had kept the planet alive. Once the dragons had been driven away, they needed a plan for bringing them back.

  The last queen dragon, Aaliyah, gave them the hope they sought just before she left Heliok. She used her special magic to create five artifacts for the people to remember them by. She told them to bring together the five champions when they wanted to reunite with the dragons.

  Aaliyah warned them they would only have one opportunity to activate the magic. Once they began the quest, if even one champion failed, then all would be lost forever.

  When I saw this entry, I immediately thought of the five games in the Tatsu tournament. It was the one thing that made sense, but I have no way to know sure, and I don’t want to be the one to screw it all up for the world.

  I flipped the page over, eagerly anticipating more details. Unfortunately, Ryker’s writings moved on to some other random subject. Talk about disappointing. I thought I was onto the answer, but then it just left me hanging.

  Even though the time on the clock told me I should have fallen asleep long before, I didn’t feel tired. What if the next sentence revealed something so profound that I could change my world? Page after page described dull descriptions of Ryker’s archival duties.

  Finally, an almost random comment caught my attention:

  I discovered another journal today. This one belonged to the Harmon family, which I’ve come to realize was one of the five original families with magical objects.

  In this journal, I read how Aaliyah said the champions would have a spark of recognition, which will set them apart. Not only will they be the best of friends, but they’ll also have the compassion needed to heal the broken bonds. This is just the beginning of their perilous journey, but the end will justify the means if they persevere.

  I know this passage rules me out as being one of the champions. I don’t have four really good friends who could win the tourney with me. Heck, I don’t even have the skill to get past the second elimination round in the games.

  My mouth dropped open in disbelief, and my feet slipped down the mattress until my legs flattened. While digesting this prophecy, the book fell from my limp fingers. The hairs on my arms stood on end, and I shivered with excitement.

  Could this really be meant for us? The spark of recognition could be what I’d experienced while sparring earlier with Dad. I’d never had the light show up like that before, but it made all the difference in my ability to beat my father.

  Only then did I realize my father had let it slip about Brekke fighting with the same skill I’d just displayed. Was she supposed to be the one to make this happen, but she had died too soon? No, that couldn’t be; otherwise, she would’ve arranged to win the whole Tatsu tourney herself. Maybe her circumstances mirrored Ryker’s, and that’s why she made me promise to win the tourney when my time came.

  Had my friends ever noticed any strange lights while they practiced their games? I wanted to call them right now, but it was the middle of the night. Nobody would appreciate my call at this time.

  Besides, maybe I was reading too much into this. I didn’t think so. If this had any truth, then we could save Heliok by bringing the dragons back.

  Yet, Aaliyah had said it would be a perilous journey. Could I risk putting any of us in danger? Brekke had already paid the ultimate price. I swiped at the tear rolling down my cheek. If only Brekke still lived, she’d know what to do.

  Even though Brekke, Alyssa, and I had always talked about getting our own dragons, I’m not sure the fabled animals were worth risking our lives over. Boy, that sounded selfish. We had to do something; otherwise, our world and everyone left on it will die anyway. Then Brekke’s death would have been for nothing and I couldn’t live with that.

  Walking to school, I tried to separate what I’d read in Ryker’s journal and what I’d dreamed of. It could all point to the same thing. Maybe, I just needed to embrace the idea that the prophecy foretold of my friends and me.

  “What’s got you so quiet?” Alyssa playfully bumped her elbow into my side.

  I guiltily glanced over to her and shrugged offhandedly. “Just a dream I had last night. Hey, I wanted to ask you something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Do you ever see anything unusual when you’re practicing giostra?” I didn’t want to put any ideas in her head.

  Alyssa frowned. “What do you mean? Like, have I noticed anybody suspicious hanging around watching?”

  “No. I mean inside yourself. Have you noticed any changes in how you play the game?”

  Violet came up beside me at this moment, hearing the last thing I said. “I’d like to know about your practices as well.”

  Both girls shook their heads. I didn’t want to press the issue until I’d had a chance to speak with Ryker. What if my questions caused us to fail? I refused to allow my impatience to ruin this opportunity.

  We stepped onto the campus, and
I’d made my decision to visit with Ryker before first period. I made my escape from the group despite Alyssa’s suspicious glare. She must suspect I’d learned something from Ryker’s journal. But I’d made a promise.

  Even if I hurried, I’d only have a couple of minutes with Ryker before the first bell rang. Luckily, I made great time since the hallways leading to the ‘ponics lab had few students. As soon as I stepped through the airlock, I spotted Ryker sitting at his desk.

  His grin broadened at my arrival, probably suspecting I’d learned something. I didn’t want to get my hopes up or get let thoughts of grandeur cloud my ideas. I needed to remain objective and treat this as an experiment.

  “I thought I’d see you this morning,” Ryker announced, standing up from his chair and walking around his desk to greet me. Crossing his arms, he rested one hip on the edge of the table.

  “I can see why. Although I didn’t get all the way through. I did find some interesting things to discuss with you.”

  “Like what?”

  Setting my bag down at my feet, I stood in front of Ryker with my hands holding the back of the visitor’s chair while I composed my thoughts. Did I want to share with Ryker the new fighting ability? I couldn’t decide. “Did you find out anything more about the part where Aaliyah spoke of the spark of recognition?”

  Ryker’s brows furrowed comically. Clearly, I’d asked something unexpected. He lifted his hand and tapped his lips with his fingers while he tilted his head to the side. “I don’t actually recall that passage at all, let alone anything connected to it. Obviously, it meant something to you, though. What’re you thinking?”

  Nothing ventured, nothing gained. That’s what Grandma Talya always said. “I don’t know if it’s important, but I need you to promise me to keep this between us.” I glanced fearfully around the empty room. With the lengths the leaders of our world had already gone to, I wouldn’t put it past them to try to thwart any attempt to fulfill the prophecy. After all, they had clearly tried to hide it in the depths of the archives so long ago.