If the banshee continued to wail, who knew what might happen.
She opened her mouth again, and Koll raced forward, broken blade outstretched, ready to stab her or maybe slice her throat or her mouth. Just before he could strike her, the banshee brought up her hand, and somehow, her fingers were able to stop the blade. Her fingers were more like claws, and the blade did not cut them.
What in the world was she? Clearly, she was more than just a typical banshee.
Koll shifted to the right until he could see both the undead warrior and the banshee. His head was throbbing, the wound bleeding badly again, and his ears…
I’m going to die here. I never should have come. I’m not brave. I’m terribly foolish.
The undead warrior climbed to his feet from where he had landed after Koll kicked him in the chest. He lumbered toward Koll, and the banshee backed up slightly. To give the undead warrior room? It certainly seemed that way.
Koll thought about using the sword more, but then he came up with another idea. He waited for the undead warrior to advance toward him. Since the foe still lacked his head, Koll didn’t have to worry about being bitten. When the undead warrior reached out to grab Koll, he ducked, dropped the broken-bladed sword, and used both hands to grip the underside of the chest plate. From his squat, he exploded upward, and the chest plate flew off the undead warrior. The ribs were broken, but for the most part, they were fused together.
That didn’t matter. With the chest plate removed, Koll knew what to do. He retrieved the sword, but before he could stab underneath the ribs at where the heart would be, if it were still there, the undead warrior seized Koll, hugging him tightly, forcing his arms down by his side. Koll struggled and squirmed, but try as he might, he could not break free.
“Let me go!” Koll screamed, the first two words hardly audible to his ringing ears, the last word hardly coming out at all as the undead warrior squeezed Koll so tightly he couldn’t even breathe. The undead warrior was going to kill him even without a head!
“I can’t believe you came here alone,” a familiar voice called from above him, the words slightly muffled through his aching ears.
Koll glanced up to see Ivna soaring high. She swooped down low, and her tail wrapped around Koll’s midsection. With a slight tug, she freed him from the undead warrior’s grasp. The dragon released him, seized the undead warrior in her tail instead, and flicked him into the air. Ivna twisted her long neck and belched fire, burning the undead warrior to a crisp. The burning carcass fell to the ground, the flames still licking the body.
Ivna landed. Koll raced over, but then the banshee unleashed a scream so deafeningly loud that Koll collapsed to the ground. The banshee raced over to him, running without moving her legs somehow, almost gliding about the ground. In seconds, before he could recover, she was on top of him. She inhaled deeply, clearly intent on screaming again. From this close of a distance, Koll was certain a wail would kill him.
Suddenly, a blast of hot air blew above Koll, followed by fire right above him. The banshee caught on fire from Ivna's breath, and Koll bucked his hips and threw the banshee up over his shoulder. He rolled over far more than he needed to in order to avoid the fire, but when he tried to push himself up, he couldn't manage. He was far too tired and weak. Honestly, he was probably half-dead.
And if it hadn’t been for Ivna, he would have been completely dead.
Koll tried to lift his head, tried to open his mouth, tried to thank her, but he failed.
Chapter 10
The feeling of being lifted into the air jerked Koll back to awareness. He had been asleep? He wasn’t certain, but the realization that the ground was becoming farther and farther away with each second had him looking around. He was in claws. Ivna was carrying him.
“You… You saved me,” he mumbled. The gust of wind from her flight probably prevented her from hearing him.
“I did,” she answered.
“How did you find me?”
“I might have been following you.”
“Following me?” He gasped and then shook his head. A bad idea. His head’s throbbing only grew worse. “I, ah, I didn’t see you.”
“Dragons can be rather clever creatures,” Ivna said smugly. “And besides, I can follow without following.”
“I don’t understand,” he grumbled.
“Don’t you worry about that,” Ivna said.
Koll relented, but watching the mountains beneath him pass by quickly had his stomach churning. He was dizzy. Not from the height. Not that at all. It must be from his head and his injury.
To distract him from his growing nausea, Koll asked, “Please just tell me?”
“But I might like to have some secrets.”
“I’ll share a secret.” Koll hesitated, trying his hardest not to be sick.
“What’s your secret?”
“I thought I was going to die,” he admitted.
“You probably would have if I hadn’t shown up.”
“Yes. Thank you.” He closed his eyes, hoping that would make the dizziness go away. Instead, that only worsened his vertigo, so he opened them again but tried to keep his gaze on the underside of the dragon instead of the ground speeding by far below.
“You’re welcome,” the dragon said.
“Want to know another secret?” he asked.
“Go ahead.”
“That wasn’t brave of me. It was foolish. It was the worst decision in my entire life.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Did you see… Didn’t you see…” Now that his life wasn’t in danger, the grief and sorrow over losing his horse brought tears to Koll’s eyes, and he wasn’t ashamed at all when he sobbed. “My horse. I got my horse killed. I… I’m sorry, Promise. I’m so very sorry.”
Ivna flew on in silence. When they flew over a batch of open grassland, she started to descend.
Koll sniffed and tried to regain his bearings. “What are you doing?”
Slowly, she brought her other claw forward. For the first time, he realized she was carrying more than just Koll. In her other claw was his horse.
Koll sputtered, trying to formulate words, but he couldn’t say anything.
Ivna landed lightly, and she gently placed Promise on the ground first and then Koll. He rushed over to his dead horse, fell to his knees, and sobbed over his friend. His words might not have been coherent, but he kept trying to ask for forgiveness.
Dimly, he realized that Ivna wasn’t just witnessing him and his goodbye. She was digging a grave for Promise.
Wordlessly, Koll came over and helped. He only had his hands, which hardly did anything at all compared to her claws, but he still did what he could. Ivna lowered Promise into the grave, and Koll hung his head.
“You were so loyal and true. I… I fought and tried to help you get away. I failed you. I’m sorry. I won’t ever forget you, Promise. No other horse will mean as much to me as you did. As you do. I should’ve just let you stay back in Burning Havens. I shouldn’t have had you climb over the mountains. If I could go back… I wish I could go back. I miss you. I…”
Koll stepped back and shook his head. He couldn’t say anything else.
Ivna was lowered to the ground, as low as she could be. It would actually be quite easy for him to climb onto her back, but he didn’t. He just stood there until he felt so dizzy again that he had to sit down. Ivna gently took to the air and picked him up in her claw again. Koll must have lost consciousness because the next time he woke, they were over halfway back toward the middle of Burning Havens.
“You should eat,” Ivna said.
“I…”
“I killed a hare for you. I might have burnt it a little. I’m sorry.”
Koll blinked a few times to try to orient himself. He sniffed. Yes, the scent of something overcooked filled the air, but Koll was too hungry to care. The meat was a little tough, and all things considering, it filled his belly just fine.
After eating, Koll struggled to remai
n awake, but he couldn’t. His body was too worn out. Moments before slumber overwhelmed him, Ivna picked him up in her claw again.
When he next opened his eyes, Ivna was lowering them just before the castle. He gaped at the sight.
Ivna landed with her claw lifted high. She placed Koll on the ground and nodded to the two guards behind him.
Koll whirled around to face them and promptly fell over. His balance was still off.
“You have healers at the castle, don’t you?” Ivna asked. “He needs medical attention immediately.”
Koll wasn’t about to argue with that.
The guards eyed each other.
“The castle healers are only for…”
“Dragon riders,” Koll muttered.
“Well, aren’t you two ignorant,” Ivna snapped. “Do you think I don’t realize that. I am his dragon. He is my rider. Now, take him to the castle healers!”
The guards scrambled to help Koll to his feet. He glanced over his shoulder at Ivna, who nodded and smiled at him.
“But… But… I’m not…” he started to say, but the guards were already leading him inside the castle.
“You are.” The dragon’s reply came to him despite their distance, and Koll almost smiled.
Chapter 11
The bed Koll had been given was almost too soft for him after all of the nights he had spent sleeping on the grass or beneath trees. A few of the castle healers came in and talked to him, but he couldn’t keep straight who he had told what, and he worried he was repeating himself.
“How are you this morning?” a woman dressed in the robes of a healer asked.
“I’m all right,” Koll said.
She crossed over to the stained glass windows before looking over her shoulder at him. “Do you remember my name?”
He shook his head.
“Do you remember your name?”
“Of course. I’m Koll.”
“Koll…” she prompted.
“Koll Hawk, rider of Ivna.”
"Yes, you are." She smiled warmly as she crossed over to stand beside him. Her fingers gently touched around his temple. "You're almost entirely healed now."
“Oh, good.” His shoulders slumped as relief flooded him.
“Do you recall being healed?”
“Not really,” he admitted. “Yesterday was a blur.”
“You were brought in two days ago,” she murmured.
“Oh.”
The healer nodded. “You not only had the open wound, but your head was a mess.”
"My stomach, too," he muttered.
"Not so much your stomach, in truth. Your head was merely making you nauseous." She paused, eyeing him critically before gently asking, "Do you care to tell me what caused your injury?"
“I… I would rather not,” he said, trying to stare at the wall, unable to meet her gaze.
“If there is a creature out in the kingdom that is dangerous—”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
The healer narrowed her eyes.
“Ivna took care of me,” Koll mumbled.
She nodded slowly. “If you say so. You mentioned your stomach. How is your appetite? Would you like something to eat?”
"Yes, please."
The healer crossed over to the open door, popped her head into the hallway, and asked a guard to have a meal brought to the room.
She lingered in the room as a maid brought in a tray for Koll. Once he devoured everything on it, the healer stated, “In a few days, you should be feeling well enough to leave. You can resume your training at that time.”
“Not resume,” Koll blurted out. “Start.”
The healer lifted her eyebrows. “You haven’t started your training yet?”
Koll shook his head. “I haven’t even sat on my dragon yet.”
“You haven’t?”
He held out his hands and shrugged. “No. She carried me in her claws.”
"Well, isn't that… interesting. Does that mean you don't have a staff yet?"
“I do not. I don’t have a sword either.”
“The weapon will come later,” she said dryly. “For now, you just need to rest and recover. You will be able to ride and have your staff and start your training soon enough.”
Not soon enough, in Koll’s mind. He was anxious and eager to get started, especially after he slept and dreamed the entire time that he was riding on Promise’s back. The horse somehow sprouted wings and flew Koll around every which way. Eventually, the winged horse touched down. Right as Koll was about to hug Promise, Koll woke.
Perhaps it was his guilt, but Koll took longer to recover than the healers anticipated, but that was all right by Koll. On the day he was to leave the castle, he was instructed to go to the courtyard first. There, he found Ivna, as well as several other dragons and also a man with dark brown hair tied back with a leather thong.
“Go on,” the guard who had led Koll here urged.
Koll strolled up to the man. After facing the undead warrior and the banshee and the ogre, Koll wasn’t afraid of much, except maybe losing Ivna. Oh, and having to tell his parents about Promise. A pang struck his chest, and Koll rubbed there.
“Hello,” he said. “I’m Koll.”
“The newest dragon rider. I know.” The man scrutinized him critically. “Are you ready to be trained?”
“Of course I am!”
“Call your dragon over,” he instructed.
Koll did one better and walked over to Ivna. “A man is going to help train us,” he explained. “Will you come over with me?”
Ivna tilted her head to the side. “Are you all better now?”
“Yes.”
“All better?” Ivna stressed.
Koll swallowed hard. “As good as I can be. I…”
“I know you miss him,” Ivna said softly. “I feel responsible.”
Shocked, he furrowed his brow. “Why would you feel guilty? You did nothing wrong?”
“I caused his death as much as you did by leading him there,” Ivna said softly.
“No. I brought him—”
“You took him there because you wanted to prove yourself brave and worthy of being my rider,” Ivna said. “If not for me, you never would have gone there, and then Promise would still be alive.”
Koll said nothing.
“What’s worse is that I knew immediately that you would be my rider,” Ivna continued.
“You did?” Koll gaped at the dragon.
“You weren’t the first to come to me,” Ivna said. “Others had, but I just knew they weren’t the right one for me. I… Don’t ask me to explain it, and at first, I didn’t realize you were my rider either, but the more we talked… I just knew.”
“Does that mean we’re bonded?” Koll asked, trying not to think about the fact that if Ivna had just agreed to be his rider from the start, Promise would be alive right now. “I thought… I don’t know. That I would feel different.”
“I think that man is to help with that,” Ivna said, nodding behind Koll.
He glanced over his shoulder at the man wearing an amused expression.
“Oh, ah, yes. Let’s go talk to him.”
"Let's, rider," Ivna said.
“You can call me Koll.”
“Oh, I know, and I might eventually.” Ivna laughed.
Koll smiled for maybe a half-second.
Chapter 12
The rider and his dragon approached the man.
“This is Ivna,” Koll said proudly. “My dragon.”
The man nodded deeply to her, almost bowing his head. “It is an honor to meet you, Ivna.”
Koll grinned at the man. “Ah, sir? We’re bonded.”
The man made a scoffing sound, but his eyes were kind. “Not exactly, not just yet.”
The ten-year-old wrinkled his brow in confusion. “I… I don’t understand.”
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Callor Farrest, and I am one of the trainers for riders and their dragons.”<
br />
Koll glanced at Ivna. He couldn’t help growing nervous.
All of this time, the man had his hands clasped behind his back. He brought them forward now to reveal a staff.
Forget nervousness. Excitement rushed through Koll, and he started forward without thinking. “A staff! Magic!”
“Indeed,” Callor said, his amusement plain in that singular word. “But the magic can only be accessed once your bond is complete.”
He held out the staff, and Koll accepted it. It felt rather heavier than Koll anticipated, but he supposed with training, it would soon feel as if it weighed nothing at all. Also, it’s diameter made it feel cumbersome to hold in one hand, but as he grew older and bigger, he figured it would eventually fit in his hand just right.
How had Nicai, as little as she had been, wielded her staff in the beginning? He blinked away the thought.
“How do we complete the bond?” Ivna asked.
“Ah, I am glad you asked.” Callor rubbed his hands together. “If you would please back up, Ivna?”
The dragon complied.
“And you, Koll, stand here. Hold the staff out like this. Yes, well, turn it so it is parallel with the ground. Perfect. Ivna…” Callor backed off to the side a considerable distance. “Breathe fire onto the staff.”
“But I will burn Koll!” The dragon shook her head.
“Not if your bond is complete.”
“But…”
“Has a dragon ever burnt the human?” Koll asked nervously.
“Not in recent memory,” Callor said to assure Koll.
That announcement did just the opposite. That meant in past memory, humans had been charred.
“If you do not think—” the trainer started.
“We can do this,” Ivna said firmly.
Koll hesitated. Maybe he should have gone to see his parents first. Why hadn’t he sent word to them that he had returned when he had first reached the castle? Well, he had been close to death. That first few hours here, he couldn’t recall much, but he did clearly hear some of the healers comment on that fact. He had just been about to leave when he had been told to come here. If he had come all of this way only to die now…
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