by L J Andrews
“Don’t touch me,” he snapped, backing behind me as though I would protect him.
“Frenrir,” Sapphire called over his shoulder “Dispose of it.” Frenrir shook his great head and unhinged his jaws. The fire engulfed the dead serpent. The smell of flesh burned my nose yet again. Mitch looked pale, and off balance when Sapphire clapped his strong hand on his shoulder. Mitch shuddered beneath his touch, but didn’t back away. Most likely because Sapphire was much stronger, and he seemed frozen in fear. “Come on, Mitch. Let’s get back to the house. We won’t hurt you.”
“Don’t erase my memory,” Mitch shouted to all our surprise. “Or, whatever it is you do. Please, I just want…to know the truth for once. I’ve lived a dishonest life, everyone around me lies, either to hurt me or protect me. For once, please tell me the truth. Even if you’re going to kill me, tell me the truth.”
Sapphire glanced at me, his blue robe already caked in snow as the dawn brought a gray storm. I leaned more on Jade as my energy continued to seep from my system and shrugged. “We’re not going to kill you, Mitch,” I said. “Don’t you think we would have done it by now?”
“I didn’t see your secret before,” he muttered.
I smiled, and shoved his arm, though it tugged awkwardly on my skin. “We won’t. I promise. Let’s just get out of here, or I might pass out.”
Jade strengthened her hold on me and helped me mount onto the back of Frenrir. Mitch shook his head, but finally took his place behind me on Frenrir’s ridged spine after Sapphire practically tossed him on. Jade and Sapphire joined Frenrir in flight as we shot toward the reform house. The entire way, I heard Mitch muttering prayers under his breath. My mind was foggy, and I had no idea how I would explain any of this, or how much danger knowing the truth would bring for really my only human friend.
Chapter 7
Awkward silence was one of my least favorite things. I hated the way it thickened in the room like smoke. I’d lived through my share of awkward pauses, most with Aunt Liz and someone from my old school talking about my latest screw up. I knew how Mitch felt, not long ago I’d been alone with Jade hearing the truth of it all for the first time. Though I had an inkling this would be even harder for Mitch to swallow. At least I was a mage and had discovered powers. Mitch didn’t have anything impossible to make the truth probable. Only our word.
My ribs were burning, I didn’t even care that I’d stripped my shirt, nor that Jade had her palms on either side of my body. Her power, the connection between us sent a surge of warmth through my skin, until it dripped deep into my muscles, my blood, and started healing my fractured, bruised body. Mitch watched with curiosity and though Jade’s back was toward him, she smirked up at me.
“He has so many questions,” she whispered.
“Yes, I do,” Mitch muttered. “First being, what is that on your back? I’m starting to think those aren’t normal tattoos.”
I chuckled, though it ended in a wince against my ribs. Jade scowled at me and focused more attention on my wounds. Squinting at Mitch while Jade pressed harder against me, I nodded. “You’re right. They aren’t normal.”
Mitch swallowed the steaming drink Sapphire had made for us all. It wasn’t coffee or tea, and I’d meant to ask what it was—but the wyverns gulped the bittersweet drink like it was their life source. I’d come to love the smooth taste as well. Regular coffee didn’t quite cut it now. Mitch was already on his second serving. Eisha was there, she poured him a drink casually though Mitch eyed her with caution.
“Ms. Drake…are you…” he couldn’t even finish.
Eisha smiled, though I sensed her hesitation toward bringing another outsider into the fold. It was hard enough for her to accept that mages had returned. Humans knowing the truth didn’t have the most peaceful history. Eisha nodded and Mitch paled watching her find a place near Frenrir on the window bench. The other students were at school thankfully, and the night staff at the house wouldn’t arrive until three this afternoon. We were alone for several hours.
“I don’t know if this is wise. We should consult he council,” Frenrir muttered.
“What council! No, I won’t tell anyone,” Mitch begged, seeming to sense the danger of the wyvern elders. “Really, I…just want you to tell me what I saw today.”
Sapphire cleared his throat and inched closer to Mitch. It was progress when Mitch didn’t shy away.
“Mitch you saw Teagan kill something called a lindworm. Teagan has powers, powers I didn’t know about until he arrived here. The lindworms are a type of wyvern.” Mitch narrowed his gaze, his expression clearly showing he wasn’t following—not yet. Sapphire scooted closer and smiled. “Dragons, Mitch.”
Mitch found my eye across the room and I nodded, slowly slipping my shirt over my head. “You’re…all dragons?”
“Not Teagan,” Jade whispered. “We used to exist with another race, a magical race called the mage. He is a very powerful mage.”
I rolled my eyes. “You tend to embellish.”
“I do not,” Jade chuckled. “You are the High Priest are you not?”
I sighed, meeting Mitch’s eye. “Look, Mitch. I’m new to all this too. I had no idea any of this was possible until I came here. Honestly, I don’t know how much to say without overwhelming you.”
“Everything,” Mitch insisted with more strength than before.
I glanced at Sapphire. He seemed impressed. Eisha was stern, but nodded. Frenrir was the only one who seemed sickened at the idea, but he didn’t protest.
“Fine,” Sapphire said, pulling a wooden chair and sitting directly in front of Mitch. “We’ll tell you everything and then we’ll decide if it’s safe to allow you to keep the truth.”
Mitch didn’t argue, though I sensed his fear toward Sapphire. I didn’t blame him. I remember the shock at seeing the shift for the first time. Now, it was one of my most favorite things to witness. With all Mitch’s questions the conversation took nearly three hours. At the end, my energy was restored yet I was still exhausted.
Mitch gulped his fourth helping of the drink and rubbed the sides of his head before his eyes bounced between me and Jade. “So, you’re…her mage?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I will protect Jade with my life, and she will do the same.”
“And you can’t help it?”
“Well, I can’t speak for Teagan, but I don’t want to help it,” Jade said through one of her sly smiles. Frenrir rolled his eyes, but the easiness of her tone seemed to help Mitch relax even more.
“We are all learning regarding Teagan’s power and the strange bond between them, just like you, Mitch,” Sapphire said, his voice sad. Sapphire had mentioned Mini during the tell-all. Hearing the man speak of his friend and mage with such reverence had unavoidably cast the room in somber remembrance for a time.
“Interesting,” Mitch replied quickly. His eyes brightened and I watched him scoot forward on his cushioned chair. Fear was seeping away, and curiosity was in its place. “But, this guy…this Bron guy…he’s going to come back? He’s, like your dad right, Teagan?”
“We don’t know for sure,” I muttered.
I didn’t want to talk about Bron so when Athika burst into the room, I welcomed the distraction. Mitch startled back, his eyes locking onto Athika’s exposed arms with the crimson markings along her skin.
“Wait… who is this?” Mitch gasped. “She has the same…the same things on her arms.”
Athika glared at Mitch before stomping toward Sapphire. “Ruby is awake,” she said, her eyes scanning around the room before landing on Jade whose hand was clasped tight in mine. “If you aren’t so busy telling a human all the secrets of our world, she would like to see you and Queen Jade.”
“There was a lindworm, Athika,” I said, catching her by surprise. “Mitch witnessed me killing it. We figured that would take some explaining”
“How did it get in? I thought you banished them with the blades? And why didn’t you call for me?”
“W
ell, it didn’t happen within shouting distance and you were a little busy with Ruby anyway.” The edge in my voice was from my need for sleep, I wasn’t really annoyed with Athika’s demanding questions, though the untrusting expression on Jade’s face told me she felt a little different than me.
“You can connect our powers, and channel a summons for help. Don’t you know anything about being the High Priest?”
Jades’ grip tightened around my hand, but with a quick smile I did my best to calm her temper. “Athika, you must be tired. You know full well how much I know about being the High Priest.”
She rolled her eyes, though there was a flood of crimson in her cheeks that matched the color on her armor. “Well, for future notice, we should connect our powers as soon as possible. What of the banishment?”
“It’s fading,” Eisha was the one to speak.
“I must go to Ruby,” Jade said. Reluctantly I untangled my fingers from hers and leaned against the arm of the sofa now that her buoying power left my system. Together Sapphire and Jade slowly drifted out of the room with Eisha. Frenrir stayed, eyeing Mitch as though he’d become the single greatest risk to his royals than even King Nag.
Athika sauntered across the room, taking Jade’s place next to me on the sofa. “We must fight then. If the banishment power is already fading we cannot wait here for Nag or Bron to come again. I say we find them and bring the fight to them.”
“Two mages against the king of lindworms and the dark High Priest. Doesn’t sound promising,” I admitted.
“What is the matter with you? Your face is so pale when it wasn’t just now,” she asked, her voice a little softer.
“I expended a lot of energy killing the lindworm. Broke a few ribs. Jade’s energy helps heal and energize me.”
“Well, here, she’s not the only one who can help. We share the same power. It will be even stronger,” Athika said.
“Nothing is as strong—”
But Athika didn’t wait for me to finish my protest before one of her palms was pressed against my shoulder. Instantly heat bubbled through my blood and filled me with a palpable rejuvenation. It wasn’t stronger than Jade’s energy, nor was it weaker. Just different. Athika smirked when I sighed a breath of relief.
“See, connections between mage are just as strong—if not more natural,” she whispered, her eyes penetrating mine. The temperature seemed to shift in the room and after a few moments of contact too long I drew my shoulder away.
“Thanks,” I said. “That feels better. I’m good now.”
Athika sneered and leaned against the sofa. “Next time you should just come to me.” Frenrir nodded his approval, and for a moment I wanted to snap his sniveling nose. Athika ran a hand through her wavy hair before continuing. She seemed at ease without the royals. She certainly was a strange mage. I trusted her—though I wasn’t sure why—but it didn’t hide the truth that I was nearly positive there was something she was keeping inside. “You said you wanted to find the High Priestess. I might know where to begin. She will surely have mage support.”
“Yes, and what if she still supports Bron?”
“I don’t believe that. I have a few memories of the night the elemental kingdom fell. The High Priestess battled against Bron. He was her husband, I cannot imagine the pain she experienced.”
“Please explain what you’re talking about,” Mitch grumbled.
With a sigh and an exasperated glance at Athika I leaned closer to my friend. “Nothing important to today, Mitch. Athika is wanting to find other lost mages to fight against the lindworms. But she’s forgetting we don’t know who we can trust. We can’t just rush in.”
“Rush in? We’ve been waiting for this for nearly one hundred years,” Athika argued. “The war never ended, and it’s time to finish it once and for all. Nag already has the fire stone and we must learn about the weapon.”
“What weapon?” Mitch asked.
Frenrir cleared his throat and trudged with an arrogant air toward the lowly human. “There are weapons beyond your understanding. There are powers beyond what your mind can comprehend. That is what you should know.”
“Frenrir, Bron is looking for this weapon,” Athika said. “I heard him shout about it to Ruby when I arrived. This is even more reason to find the High Priestess, she would certainly know what Bron is after.”
“Teagan, don’t you want to find her?”
I’d drifted into a haze of thoughts as the others talked about me that I hardly heard Mitch speaking to me.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“I asked you if you didn’t want to find the High Priestess. Mr. Sapphire believes she’s…your mother.”
Clearing the ball of vinegar in my throat I shrugged and stood. “I don’t know. I have questions, and I think we need to find out what her connection is with Bron, but she’s not my mother either way. If she gave birth to me, then in my mind her abandoning me sort of forfeited any say she has in my life.”
“Teagan,” Athika interjected with surprising softness. “There could be many reasons if it is true. We can’t be certain of all that happened during the divide.”
Jade peered around the corner of the door, her arm wrapped firmly around Ruby’s waist. Now that the royal of the fire stone was standing she was surprisingly tall—at least a full head over Jade. Her eyes were like smoldering embers, and her complexion surely made living in Egypt simple. Athika quickly took the other half of Ruby, wrapping her arm over her shoulders.
“Hello,” Ruby said, her voice beautifully accented. Mitch shot to his feet and offered the padded chair for Ruby to sit. “Thank you. I had to get off that table. I couldn’t help but overhearing what you said about finding the High Priestess. Although I agree with you Athika, I must say there is something more pressing I must tell you.” Ruby leaned forward, allowing me the glimpse of the scars from her battle for the first time. There was a scabbed gash along the side of her neck, and along the back of her neck was an angry wound. It would seem Bron struck her from behind at some point—like a coward. “When Bron thought he’d finished me he foolishly admitted plans of King Nag. I fear King Nag isn’t our only concern, nor the dark High Priest.”
I sighed, and ran a hand through my hair, gripping the strands at the roots for a full three heartbeats before I looked at Ruby once more. “What else is there that we need to worry about?”
“King Nag has many sons, but one in particular. He is known as the Prince of Night. Nag will do anything to have his line reign supreme over the wyvern race.”
“We have heard of no son that would have more power over night energy than, Nag,” Frenrir hissed.
“Well, obviously Nag doesn’t want it be common knowledge. Lindworms control the darkest energy we simply call night energy. What king would want to admit they may have an heir with greater power?” Ruby snarled with more energy than she’d entered with. “Bron spoke of the prince, explained his growing power, and how alliances were the answer to victory.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, unable to explain the sudden tightening in my chest. “What is he talking about, alliances?”
Ruby glanced at Jade and I wished she had looked anywhere in the room but at her. The tightening mounted, as though my ribs were crumbling all over again. “I fear Nag and Bron will not be after the jade stone by violent measures. The other royals are in grave danger, for if the lindworms took four of the stones it will leave you powerless to stand against them and their…plans, my queen.”
“Ruby what are you talking about?” Jade asked.
I was on my feet now and a rush of anger filled my veins, though I didn’t know when I’d grown so angry. “Yes, what are you talking about?”
Ruby sighed, her forehead beginning to bead with perspiration. “King Nag wishes to align the queen of the elementals with his heir to the lindworms. The stones will naturally belong to the lindworms with their alliance, and the wyvern race will be united.”
“No, you’re not saying what I think
you are,” I growled. Jade was pale and I had the frightening desire to run with her, to hide her away before any of Nag’s twisted schemes could come down on her.
“But Bron tried to kill me,” Jade whispered.
“Yes, and when he failed it would seem Nag realized your strength. The dark king seeks power, and there is power in your bloodline, Jade,” Ruby said. “Imagine the heir of the elementals in his palm. He would be unstoppable.”
“So, this prince…is going to try and…” Mitch stammered, though I’d honestly forgotten he was there.
“Take Jade as his mate, yes,” Ruby snapped.
My fists balled at my sides. I didn’t see how the glass in the front window fissured in a web of cracks as my anger—and fear—grew heavier on my heart. One thing was for certain the pathetic, cowardly, lindworm prince would have to do much more than steal elemental stones. I would never allow him to touch Jade. Never. If it happened, it would certainly mean I was dead.
Chapter 8
The sound of clashing metal was one I’d come to love. Each strike powered my body onward, bringing more strength, more energy into each blow. The jade swords gleamed beneath the brilliant sun. The winter air was frigid, but I was shirtless in the large training yard Raffi had created shortly after I’d discovered the truth of being a mage.
I spun on my heel, one blade held in a reverse grip close to my waist. The other I rolled easily in my other hand. The sound of metal cutting along the edge of Raffi’s blade brought a smile to my lips. I didn’t let him hold me in the block for long. Raffi growled, holding tight to a blade with a pommel in the shape of an open-mouthed black dragon. There were rivers of gold carving through the grains of metal. It was a stunning weapon.
“This was given to me by a powerful wyvern warrior,” Raffi explained with a sense of pride. “He helped end the attack of Nag so many years ago and became the lead warrior that night.”
