“But dragons breathe fire,” Runa says. “Aren’t they immune to it? Do their scales protect them?”
“Yes,” I say. “That’s why they live near the volcanoes. They like fire.”
“Then why burn them out?” Runa asks, and she makes a good point. Lilja snarls as another Vondur tries to approach us, and the fire-dragon overhead lets out another burst of flame. Luckily, the Vondur seem more focused on controlling their fiery creation than on us.
“I think they’re trying to smoke the dragons out of the dens,” Ari says. “I don’t know why, but they’ve been trying to get the dragons to come out.”
The fire-dragon lets out a sudden, booming roar. The sound fills the valley, and for a second I think it’s just the echo—but no.
The dragons of the Realm are responding.
As smoke fills the air, I catch sight of one dragon emerging from the caves—then another, and another. Gleaming yellow eyes peer down from gaping holes in the rock walls surrounding us. Vin emerges, red scales gleaming, looking around with his spikes raised and letting out his own attempt at a threatening roar, which comes out more like a squeak. The valley is filled with heat and smoke. I wipe the sweat from my brow.
The Vondur have grouped together in the center of the valley, all except the one riding the green dragon, who is watching like a sentinel at the far end, blocking the only wide escape point. The Vondur are chanting something, and I can practically taste their magic on my tongue, as thick as the smoke in the air.
As the chanting continues, the Vondur form a rough circle, and suddenly I realize where they’re standing and gasp.
“What is it?” Ari asks, following my gaze.
“The water. They poisoned the water. They’re using the plague!”
Ari and Runa both follow my gaze, and Ari’s eyes widen in understanding. “They’re beside the water,” he says.
Sure enough, the Vondur have grouped themselves around the large, warm pool that bubbles up from the fissure beneath the easternmost mountain. It’s the primary source of water for the dragons when they’re in their dens, and probably the main reason they haven’t gotten sick from the plague yet. This pool doesn’t connect to the stream I found before that was contaminated by the plague. This water is clean… or was clean, until now.
“They poisoned the water, and now they’re forcing the dragons to drink it,” I say, and Ari nods.
“Why would the dragons drink it?” Runa asks, looking from me to Ari and back again.
“They may be immune to fire,” I say, “but even dragons get thirsty when exposed to a lot of smoke. The Vondur are trying to smoke them out of their dens and lure them to the water.”
“What do we do?” Runa asks. Both she and Ari are looking at me.
I take a deep breath and regret it, nearly choking on the smoke. I cough to clear my throat.
“Okay,” I say. “On the count of three, we need to steer Lilja toward Vin. Once we reach him, Runa, you can jump on Vin’s back. Then Ari and I will charge the Vondur together on Lilja. If we distract them long enough, we can at least keep them from chanting and get them away from the water. Then we’ll try to set a boundary spell around it to keep the dragons from drinking. In the meantime, Runa, you need to fly Vin out of here. Go to Dragon’s Point, then run to the chapel and ring the bells. That will call the other Seekers to us.”
“But I don’t know how to fly a dragon!” Runa protests.
“You’ve seen me do it now,” I say. “Did you see how I used my gift to direct Vin before?”
“Yeah…,” Runa says slowly.
“You can do it. I know you can.”
“Don’t overthink it,” Ari adds. “It’s all about instinct.”
“Why can’t you fly Vin?” Runa asks, looking at him.
“Because only the two of us know how to set boundary spells,” I say, “and if something should happen to one of us while we fend off the Vondur… well, the other might need to set boundary spells alone,” I say grimly. “You’ve got this, Runa!”
She doesn’t look sure, but we don’t have time for any more arguing. I tighten my grip on Lilja and summon more of my gift. Ari’s magic joins me in circling Lilja’s energy. “One,” he says.
“Two,” I say.
We move our gifts at the same time and speak in unison. “Three!”
Lilja charges forward, roaring. Her claws scrape against the blackened, rocky ground. As she moves, the fire-dragon suddenly dives toward us, heat filling the air. For a second I think the flame is going to rain down on us, but a burst of blue light suddenly fills the air, emanating from Runa. Her gift must startle the Vondur controlling the dragon, because it stops its attack for a moment—and a moment is all Lilja needs. She tears across the valley, heading straight for Vin, who rushes out to meet her.
“Get ready!” I shout to Runa. “Jump!”
Lilja pulls up beside Vin, and Runa leaps, flying through the air and landing on Vin’s back. She nearly slides off, but at the last second she manages to grab hold of one of his spikes and hauls herself up. The blue light of her gift fills the air again, and within moments Vin darts away, spreading his wings and preparing for takeoff. I can only hope Vin has enough energy to get Runa all the way to the Point and that she understands how to steer him—
“Look out!” Ari yells, and I duck as Lilja spins around, dodging a blast of flame. The fire-dragon is overhead, pouring fire down on us.
“Why couldn’t I have been a defender?” Ari mutters. “I could so use a shield right now!”
“Ari, that’s brilliant!” I say. “Can you make a boundary around us to keep the flames out?”
“You’re the naturalist!” he shouts back as Vin takes to the air at the far end of the valley, narrowly dodging the green dragon still waiting there and soaring into the sky. “Isn’t fire supposed to be your thing?”
I sigh. “All right. You steer Lilja toward the water, and I’ll work on it!”
I close my eyes, anchor my gift in the life sparks of the dragons around us, and picture what we need. I imagine the flames shooting toward us from all directions—and I imagine a burst of water dousing anything that comes close. I try to pull the water from the air, which is no easy task. The fire-dragon has nearly sucked the air dry. But it’s the only thing I can think of. Any water in the ground might be poisoned with the plague, and I have no idea how that might affect it.
I can feel Lilja running and keep my hands wrapped tightly around her spike, but I don’t open my eyes. One of the Vondur shouts, so we must be getting close, but I can’t peek. I have to focus. I need more water from the air, more and more and more—
“Now, Lil!” Ari shouts. I picture the boundary spell one final time, and when it feels right, I open my eyes. Lilja is bearing down on a Vondur, swiping in his direction with her claws. He ducks, and she spins around, heading for the water. A burst of flame heads straight toward us from the fire-dragon overhead.
“Did you do it?” Ari shouts.
“I hope so!” I yell back, watching the flames descend.
Just before they reach us, my water shield works. It bursts over our heads, maintaining a steady stream that gradually douses the flame. Real fire wouldn’t go out so quickly, but this is a test of magic, and the water is stronger.
Lilja leaps past one of the Vondur and reaches the edge of the bubbling pool, snapping her jaws at anyone who tries to get close.
“I’ll do the spell this time,” Ari volunteers, and I nod.
“I’ll hold them off. Just keep the dragons away from the water—including Lilja!”
“Is she…? Did you cure her?” he asks.
“Oh, yeah. Runa made a potion, and it worked. Tell you about it later!”
I turn my attention to the Vondur magicians closing in on us. Lilja does a pretty good job of fending them off on her own, but I help direct her attention, making sure she’s aware of the ones who try to creep up from the side.
Their fire doesn’t reach us anymore, bu
t it doesn’t stop them from trying—my water spell is constantly extinguishing the flames. They’re testing the limits of the spell, trying to see if it’ll give out eventually, and they might be right. There’s only so much water, and my energy will be spent sooner or later—
“Got it!” Ari shouts. “Spell’s done.”
“Are you sure it will work?”
“No!”
“I trust you,” I say. “Help me with Lil!”
For a moment we fend off the Vondur silently, directing Lilja’s attention here and there as the Vondur try to approach. She swipes with her claws, bares her teeth, and shoots wave after wave of fire in their direction. They give up on directing flames toward us, and my water vanishes from above. But the fire-dragon is still shooting flames into the dens, and more and more dragons are emerging all around us. I reach for their energy to replenish my gift, which is fading from using the water shield.
“What are they doing now?” I ask Ari, ducking as Lilja spins around, knocking a torchbearer off their feet with a quick lash of her tail.
“Either they don’t know my spell’s protecting the water, or they’ve got a different plan to hurt the dragons,” he says.
I glance up at the sky. No sign of Runa or the other Seekers.
“We don’t have time to wait for help,” I say finally, turning to face Ari. “We need to capture the Vondur ourselves before they hurt the dragons.”
“Any ideas?” he asks, his gift swirling around his fingers as we direct Lilja toward the nearest Vondur, who narrowly manages to escape her claws.
“One,” I say, “but it’s ridiculous.”
“When aren’t your ideas ridiculous?” he says with a grin.
“I’m serious.”
Ari meets my gaze. “I trust you, Bryn.”
I swallow hard. “You shouldn’t. You were right about everything. I shouldn’t have exposed Lilja. I—”
“Doesn’t matter now. You cured her. You were right about being able to do that. We’ve fought the Vondur together before, and we can do it again. What do you need me to do?”
I smile. “I need you to make all of the dragons feel really, really angry.”
Ari grins back. “This does sound like a terrible plan,” he says. “But I can do it.”
“Okay. You make them angry, and I’ll direct them. Got it?”
Ari nods. Above us, the fire-dragon lets out another roar as it blasts a cavern with flames. The earth trembles beneath us, and ash tumbles from the sky.
We close our eyes and cast our gifts out wide.
TWENTY-FOUR
The dragons’ life sparks are easy to find, surrounding us on all sides. I can’t read their emotions the way Ari can, but I can sense the effect of whatever he’s doing with his gift—their energy is moving fiercely, roiling like waves on a stormy sea. I let my gift bleed into them all, letting them sense my intentions. Vondur magic is in the air too, but mine and Ari’s is familiar to them. They accept us even as they push the Vondur away and resist their magic.
One by one, I bond my gift with the dragons of the Realm. One by one, I guide them forward.
And they respond.
Dragons swoop down from the caves, filling the air with wild roars and the frantic drumbeats of their wings. Plumes of fire rain down on the Vondur, and the fire-dragon above loses its form as the Vondur magicians shift their focus. Two of the magicians run toward the caves, seeking shelter, only to be stopped by a majestic blue dragon whose roar sends them to their knees.
Suddenly a shout rises up, and I follow their gaze to the sky. Four dragons are racing toward the valley, coming from the direction of Dragon’s Point.
Runa brought reinforcements.
Seeker Larus, flying his golden dragon, lands first, directly beside Lilja. Seeker Ludvik and Seeker Freyr, both on their own dragons, land on the other side of the Vondur, strengthening the barricade. Lastly, Vin arrives, a smiling Runa on his back, and lands on Lilja’s other side. Vin tosses his neck and snorts happily, like he’s proud of himself.
The rest of the Vondur run toward the far end of the valley, where their moss-green dragon is still waiting. Ludvik and Freyr immediately begin casting boundary spells, preventing the Vondur from leaving the valley.
Suddenly the moss-green dragon leaps into the air, the rider on its back directing it. The dragon passes over the group of Vondur and lands directly in front of Gulldrik and Seeker Larus. Now that the green dragon has come closer, its rider is finally visible.
Agnar.
“It doesn’t have to be this way, Larus,” Agnar says, like he’s negotiating.
“You’re right,” Larus says, and his voice sounds sad. “It didn’t.”
Without warning, the red light of Agnar’s gift flares toward Seeker Larus.
“Look out!” I shout, and Seeker Larus ducks.
Ari glances at me, and I nod. We coordinate without needing to speak, reaching for the green dragon with our gifts. Agnar is distracted by attacking Seeker Larus and is not paying attention to his dragon. Vondur magic is all tangled into the dragon’s life source, but he’s watching the chaos with wide, confused eyes.
Ari and I flood the moss-green dragon with our gifts, drawing strength from the rest of the dragons, and Agnar’s hold on him breaks. The dragon rears up, sending Agnar tumbling from his back. The dragon snarls and leaps into the air, out of Agnar’s reach.
There’s no escape now. Agnar and the Vondur will never make it far on foot, and they need a dragon to get out of the Realm.
“We’ve done it!” I shout to Ari, but he shakes his head.
“We can’t let them leave the valley! What if they contaminate more of the water?”
I bite my lip. “We have a cure for the plague now…,” I start, but then I glance at the sky, noticing how quickly the moon is descending. “But I don’t know for sure if it will work after dawn.”
“What?” Ari shouts, but I don’t have time to explain about the Fairy’s Gold.
“You’re right. We have to stop them before they infect any more creatures!”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he asks, looking up at the angry dragons around us.
“I think so,” I say, wiping an ashy lock of hair from my face. “Let’s do it.”
Agnar is down but not out. He’s still using his gift to attack Seeker Larus, who continues to fend him off. Seeker Ludvik and Seeker Freyr are at the far end of the valley, blocking the exit. But the Vondur outnumber them, and casting boundary spells is time-consuming. They need help.
Together, Ari and I use our gifts to guide the dragons into the air. The blue dragon and a plum-colored one go first, circling the valley and landing in a line in front of the Vondur, cutting off their escape. At the same time, Ari and I move Lilja to cut them off from behind, and Runa steers Vin beside us. Stretching my gift as much as I can, I reach for two more dragons to follow us, flanking Lilja and Vin on either side.
Without Ari, I don’t know if I could handle this many dragons at once. Their life sources give me more strength than I would’ve thought possible, but spreading my gift across the whole valley leaves me feeling stretched thin, my attention drawn to a hundred places at once. But Ari helps fill in the gaps, nudging dragons forward when my control slips, and I do the same for him, noticing where his gift is weakest. We work together. As a team.
We guide the army of dragons across the valley, trapping the Vondur on all sides.
A few of them are trying spells, I think, though I don’t understand the words of their enchantments. But most of them have stopped trying to fight. They’re watching the dragons with wide eyes, searching for any possible escape. Even the moss-green dragon remains on our side, roaring at any Vondur who dares to get too close.
When Lilja gets within speaking range, I bring her to a halt and stand up on her back, showing the Vondur that I’m in complete control of her.
“We are Seekers of the Wild Realm,” I yell, “and we will defend it.”
; One of the Vondur sends a spiral of flame toward us, but my boundary spell bursts into life again, dousing it. The Vondur murmur among themselves, but I don’t think they’re casting spells this time. They’re trying to find a way out.
I glance behind us. Seeker Larus finally seems to have gotten the best of Agnar, who’s now trapped behind a glowing boundary spell. Seeker Larus slides down from Gulldrik’s back and approaches the remaining Vondur, drawing himself up to his full height. “What brings you to our lands?” he says. One of the Vondur responds, but his voice is so low I can’t hear it. Seeker Larus says something else, his tone harsher, and several of the Vondur call out responses, seemingly defending themselves. After a moment, Seeker Larus declares, “You were exiled from this land a few months ago after attempting to take it from us. Then, we let you go freely. But now you have poisoned our lands and tried to kill our creatures. We cannot be so lenient.”
Around us, the dragons are shifting restlessly. They’re probably still worked up after Ari stoked their emotions. He seems to be thinking the same thing and leans toward me to whisper, “Should I start calming them down?”
“Seems like a good idea,” I whisper back, not wanting to interrupt the grand speech Seeker Larus is now giving the Vondur. “Why don’t you try to calm them, and I’ll start leading them back to their dens? The boundary spell should contain the Vondur, and I’m sure Seeker Larus has them under control.”
Then I turn to Runa, who’s waiting patiently on Vin’s back. “How was your flight?” I ask, grinning at her.
“Fast,” she grumbles. “I’m never doing any favors for you ever again. You owe me times one million.”
“I’m about to owe you one million more,” I say. “We still have a job to do. It’s almost dawn.”
She nods. “I don’t know if we have enough time for the potion to work.”
“We have to try. Just let me lead these dragons back to their homes, and then we’ll start giving out the potion as fast as we can.”
Ari and I quickly start calming the dragons and leading them to their dens. Fortunately, the Vondur flames seem to have died down now that they’re not actively using their magic, and the boundary spell around the contaminated water seems to be holding, for none of them approach it. Meanwhile, the older Seekers converse with each other and the Vondur, making some sort of arrangement.
Legend of the Realm Page 19
