I reached the bottom and started digging, my treasure sense pinging loudly now. Jackpot, I cheered silently as I pulled an oyster out of the sand. It was giant, dwarfing my hand. Tucking it under my arm, I dug around for a few more. My hand closed around a hard and bumpy rock, and I tugged on it.
A huge creature reared out of the sand, the eyes I had taken for pebbles flying wide open. I screamed, losing half my air in the process, and let go of its snout. It was enormous, twelve feet long and covered in fish scales, but with a reptilian body and short, stubby legs. The thing lunged for me, and I dodged, barely escaping its sharp teeth.
“Zara!” Lessie’s alarmed voice rang out in my head. “What’s happening?”
I didn't answer her—I was too busy fighting for my life. I kicked for the surface, pumping my arms and legs as fast as I could. Teeth closed around my calf, sending a sharp pain through the limb, and I yanked my knife from my improvised thigh sheath and lashed out angrily. The creature reared back, its snout slashed open. Clouds of blood spewed from both of our wounds, muddling the waters and giving everything a reddish haze. My lungs were desperate for air and I felt dizzy.
Ignoring the pain, I struggled upward again, hoping against hope that the creature wouldn’t follow. Just as I neared the surface, a clawed hand reached into the water and scooped me up out of the ocean.
“Lessie!” I gasped, gratefully gulping in the fresh air. The wind rushed past me as we flew away from the beach, chilling my wet skin.
“What were you doing down there by yourself?” she snapped. “You could have gotten killed!”
“I was searching for treasure!” Forlornly, I looked back at the cove. I’d dropped the oyster while fleeing, and I sure as hell wasn’t going back for it. “My treasure sense told me there were pearls down there.”
Lessie huffed. “And what good will they do you here? I know you must be bored, Zara, especially since there aren’t any books on the island, but at least bring Muza with you next time if I’m not around.”
I sighed. I wasn’t used to the idea of having a babysitter, but Lessie was right, and I couldn’t afford to risk my life so carelessly. All the more reason for us to sever the soul bond, right?
Serpol used his magic to heal my leg wound, and, for the rest of the week, I stayed out of trouble. Yalora took pity on me and brought me to the nursery island—a smaller island toward the outskirts of the archipelago that the dragons vigorously guarded—and allowed me to play with the baby dragons. Unlike Lessie at their age, most of them were too young to have fully developed language, and their mental skills weren't strong enough to hold conversations with me. Of course, they had spent a much shorter time inside their eggs. Still, it was great fun to run around in the fields with them, playing tag and tickling their warm, scaly bellies.
Finally, on my eighth day since waking up in the treehouse, Yalora and Serpol declared that the spell was ready to be performed. Lessie and I joined them along with Muza and Roocian on the beach at sunset. The other dragons stood in a half-circle, their gazes solemn as they waited for us to land.
“Thank you for doing this,” Roocian said to me, inclining her head. "It means a lot to my mate and me."
Muza huffed out a breath through his nostrils.
“He says he still isn’t sure he wants to do this ritual himself, even if it does work,” Lessie translated, “but if it can help other dragons and riders, he thinks it is worth trying.”
“I think you will want to do it,” I told Muza gently, placing a hand on his snout. But he only sighed, nudging my hand, and I stood at the spot in the sand that Yalora indicated, Lessie at my side.
“Are you ready?” Serpol asked.
The two of us nodded. “We are,” I said.
“Good. Then we shall begin.”
The two dragon mages sprinkled strange herbs and rocks around us, enclosing us in a fragrant circle. “Close your eyes,” Yalora said, her voice soothing, almost hypnotic. I allowed my eyelids to drift shut, breathing in the scents of the sea and the herbs, taking in the sounds of the dragons breathing, the waves crashing against the surf, gulls crying out as they flew over the sea, searching for their next meal.
Yalora and Serpol began to chant in a melodic language, strange words flowing through my head that didn’t sound like any language I’d ever heard. I tried not to worry about their meaning, and instead let the sounds ebb and flow through my mind, taking me farther and farther away…
Suddenly, I wasn’t standing on the beach anymore. I was on a hillside, standing next to a strange man. He was solidly built, with salt and pepper hair and striking violet eyes that scanned the skies as he crouched in the tall grass. As I studied him, I noticed that he wore dark purple mage robes, and clutched a thick tome in his hand. His other hand was buried in the dirt, and when I inched closer to get a better look, I saw that it was glowing, the light muffled by the earth and grass around him. Power crackled through the air, and I shivered, the hairs on my arms rising in warning.
“Hello?” I crouched down next to him. “Can you hear me?”
The man didn’t respond, not even when I waved a hand in front of his face. Frowning, I debated kicking dirt at him to see what would happen when a roar split the sky. My heart drummed in my chest as I looked skyward to see a golden dragon emerge from the clouds, its snout pointed toward the lake nestled at the bottom of the hillside.
"That's it," the man shouted, his violet eyes sparkling with anticipation. "Come on, you great big beast!" He jumped up, waving his arms, and my heart leaped into my throat as the dragon altered course. I jumped out of the way, not wanting to become barbecue, but a huge purple disc flared into existence right above the man’s head. The dragon’s snout struck the disc, and the magical energy began to unravel into what looked like a giant, glowing net.
“Gotcha!” the mage crowed, and I stared open-mouthed as the dragon thrashed, trying to escape the net. But the magical ropes snapped into place before she could find an opening, and the dragon crashed into the hillside and rolled all the way to the base of the lake.
Dragon’s balls. My knees gave out, and I collapsed into the dirt as the mage sprinted down the hillside. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he opened up the tome he was holding, and his entire body trembled as he closed his hand around one of the magical ropes. This was probably the closest he’d ever been to a dragon in his life, and judging by the murderous look in the captive dragon’s eyes, he had every right to be afraid.
Holding tight to the rope, the mage used his other hand to flip through the book’s pages until he came to one that had been dog eared and marked up so many times the original writing was barely visible. “Come on, Akron,” he panted, his eyes wild with fear and excitement. “You can do this.”
Akron the Defender. The mage who had bound a dragon to himself, and created the dragon rider race. My mind went numb as I struggled to process this. I’d thought I was dreaming, but this dream was more real than anything I’d ever conjured in my mind before. Had I traveled back in time? Was I witnessing a piece of history?
The dragon roared, and I expected Akron to scamper away with his tail between his legs, like any sensible person would have done. But the display of rage only seemed to strengthen his resolve, and he straightened his spine and began chanting in an ancient tongue. With each word he spoke, the rope in his hand seemed to grow longer, and he sucked in a sharp breath as it slowly inched up his arm, twisting round and round the limb, past his shoulder and beyond. The dragon struggled mightily against the binding, but Akron held firm, his voice growing louder and louder as the glowing ropes twisted around his entire body. At the same time, the net continued to tighten around the dragon, until I could no longer see either of them.
Akron the Defender shouted one last word, and a thunderclap rent the sky. Light exploded from them both, knocking me back—
I gasped, my eyes flying wide open to take in the beach once more. It was full dark now, the sunset long gone, replaced by inky skies and twinkling
stars. Yalora and Serpol sat directly in front of us, their shoulders slumped, while Muza and Roocian stood off to the side.
Lessie jerked next to me, as if she’d woken from a dream as well. “What happened?” she cried. “Has the soul bond been undone?”
“I’m afraid not,” Yalora said sadly. “Serpol and I tried to undo it, but the connection between you two is too strong. Severing it would have killed you both.”
“Damn.” I leaned my forehead against Lessie’s shoulder, my heart still racing. Part of me was relieved that nothing had changed—the bond between us was as strong as ever, and I could feel the emotions rushing through Lessie: elation, relief, guilt, disappointment. The same emotions I was feeling. But I was also sad that the ritual had failed. I had warmed up to the idea of not being soul-bound anymore—had almost been looking forward to it, in fact.
“Oh well.” Lessie shrugged, her tone very matter-of-fact. “It was still worth trying anyway. And now that this is over with, you and I can get back to Polyba. It is past time we were reunited with our friends.”
“Will you come with us?” I asked Muza. We needed all the help we could get, and I knew how happy Tavarian would be to have Muza by his side again.
Muza nodded his great head. “We discussed it last night,” Roocian told me. “I am not happy about him leaving, but it is clear that this war needs to end before it is brought to our shores. From what I hear about the Zallabarians, they are like a disease, spreading to all corners of our world—it is only a matter of time before they infect us as well, and I would see that stopped.”
“As would I,” Serpol said. “Which is why I will come with you, too.”
“You will?” I gaped up at him. “I mean, that’s great and all—we could really use another dragon, and especially one who’s a mage.” Though I had no idea how we’d explain that to the others—or would we? Could we even keep Serpol’s status as a ‘free dragon’ a secret? People would be wondering who his rider was. With such a small community, it was only a matter of time before the others figured out he didn’t have one.
“Of course. Like Roocian said, we need to end this war. Besides, I want to study the situation of the captive dragons and riders more closely. Perhaps I will be able to pinpoint the issue with our spell.”
Lessie bristled. Naturally, she hated the idea of being referred to as captive. But I put a hand on her shoulder, willing her to keep silent. Regardless of Serpol’s reasoning for coming, he was a good asset to have. And if he could figure out how to make the spell work, so much the better for us.
4
The next night, Lessie and I left with Muza and Serpol. I felt a pang of regret as I watched the archipelago shrink into the distance behind us—this past week had been peaceful, almost carefree, and I had enjoyed getting to know the free dragons better. I wondered if we would ever come back here…if Lessie and I survived the war, that was.
“It will not take us nearly as long to get to Polyba as it took you to come all the way out here,” Serpol told us as we flew. “Muza knows the best route to Elantia and says we should be able to make it back to the island within a week.”
“That’s a relief.” I was anxious to get back to my friends—Tavarian, Rhia, Halldor, Jallis. Rhia and Halldor would have told the others I was dead, and I couldn’t bear the thought of them grieving needlessly. Not to mention there was still so much to be done.
We flew over the ocean, heading for the mainland, which Muza said was the faster route, contrary to what I had thought. Apparently, he had regular camping spots and knew all the best hunting grounds, too. As I glanced down at the waves, which were tinged silver by the moonlight, I noticed three ships in the distance, their prows pointed straight toward the dragons’ archipelago.
“Aren’t those warships?” Lessie asked, a suspicious note entering her voice.
I pulled my goggles over my eyes and zoomed in on the ships. “They’re not flying their nation’s flag,” I said, an uneasy pit forming in my stomach. “Could mean they’re pirates, except there’s nothing out here except for the archipelago.”
“Let’s take a closer look,” Serpol suggested. “Find out what they’re up to.”
“How? It’s not like we’ll be able to hear anything unless we get close enough for them to spot us.”
Serpol gave me a toothy grin. “Watch and learn.”
A silvery glow enveloped Serpol’s body, and he beat his wings a few extra times. Silver dust swirled all around us, and I shivered as the power caressed my skin, covering me in a fine film. I thought it would settle there, but the magic disappeared quickly, absorbed by my body.
I gasped as my skin turned translucent, revealing the open ocean beneath me. No, not just my skin. Lessie’s too! All four of us had become transparent. If I looked closely, I could see the outlines of the dragons who flew beside us, but only because they were right next to me. If Muza or Serpol flew away, I would never be able to follow them.
“Neat trick, isn’t it?” Serpol winked at me. “Now we can get as close as we like.”
“No kidding.” This was ten times better than Tavarian’s camouflage spell, which only worked at certain distances.
The four of us dipped lower, each dragon flying around a different ship. The crash of the waves and the wind whistling in my ears still meant that I couldn’t hear anything the sailors on the deck were saying, but the dragons had superior hearing and were able to eavesdrop easily.
“Bastards,” Lessie hissed as she relayed the information to me. “These ships are from the Zallabarian fleet! They are here to claim the ‘uninhabited’ islands out here as Zallabarian colonies.”
“They plan to use our forests for timber to build more ships,” Serpol added. “And they mentioned something about big new expansion plans for their navy.” He paused. “What is a navy?”
“It’s a section of a country’s armed forces, specially trained to fight battles at sea.” I gritted my teeth. So they wanted to come to the archipelago and steal its natural resources, did they? Not if I could help it.
“Ahh. So that is why they need to build more ships.” Serpol bared his teeth at the sails. "Well, I for one will not stand by and let them attack the island. We need to head them off."
“Agreed,” I said. “Let’s torch these assholes.”
The dragons were more than happy to do just that, and unleashed gouts of flame on the sails, masts, and decks. The sailors screamed in terror and confusion—all they saw were waves of fire, conjured out of thin air and rushing toward the ships. They probably thought they were being attacked by a rogue mage.
Which, in a way, was true.
As the scents of burning flesh and wood soured the evening air, I tried not to think about the fact that there were men on board, burning alive. While I wouldn’t wish such a death on anyone, this was war, and we couldn’t let these men reach the archipelago. The Zallabarians wouldn’t be able to tame the free dragons, which meant they would kill them. And though I had no doubt Yalora and her brethren could hold their own against the Zallabarians, word would spread. Other nations might team up in an effort to exterminate the dragons. After all, people hated and feared what they didn’t understand, and the world saw dragons as instruments of war and oppression. Not as a sentient species, intelligent, compassionate, and just as deserving of life as the rest of us.
Once the ships were reduced to flaming piles of wood, slowly sinking into the ocean, the four of us took to the skies again. Hidden by the clouds once more, Serpol released the spell.
“Why not just keep it on us?” I asked.
“It taxes my energy,” Serpol explained, “and since I am flying, I need as much strength as I can get.”
“Right.” Tavarian had held his invisibility spell for hours, but he’d merely been riding, not actually flying himself. Of course it would be harder on Serpol, who was expending constant physical effort. The fact that dragons could fly for hours on end, that they had such tremendous stamina, was amazing. Something I often
took for granted.
“Well, we are the superior species,” Lessie said smugly, and I laughed.
As we traveled, Lessie and I did our best to explain the war between Elantia and Zallabar, and the background of both nations to Serpol.
“What nonsense,” he said when we’d finished telling him about Zallabar’s plans. “I will never understand this human desire to steal territory. It is one thing to guard your own territory fiercely, but so long as your people have enough, why is there any reason to kill and steal from others?”
I sighed. “There are many reasons, but as far as I’m concerned, none of them are good.”
Serpol nodded. “In any case, I agree that you cannot allow Zallabar to take your country, and that the…bound…dragons—” he chose his words carefully this time, mindful of Lessie—“are at risk so long as they are in your lands. Since this autocrator was foolish enough to send his ships to our archipelago, it would seem we have a common enemy.”
Over the next ten days, Muza led us overland, past many countries and terrains I'd never seen before. We camped near bogs full of purple mist, in deserts slithering with snakes and other reptilian creatures, and in forests of towering trees with trunks as wide as airships. No matter where we stopped for the night, there was always game to hunt or fish to catch, as Muza had promised. And thanks to Serpol and his protective magic, I never had to worry about the elements or predators while we slept.
“Finally,” Lessie crowed as the island came into view. I never thought the sight of Polyba would fill me with such joy and relief. The place was made up of harsh terrain, mostly brush and rocks and thorns, with very little water or game to hunt—not to mention it was populated by hostile locals who, until recently, were trying to kill us. But we’d made peace with some of the locals and figured out how to make the land work for us. And now that we had an airship and dragons, it was all too easy to ferry supplies back and forth, turning the once forsaken island into an effective base of operations.
Secret of the Dragon Page 3
