Dragon Guarding

by Sloane Meyers

  Once they had flown several miles into Black Pines Forest airspace, Abby started searching for the magically charged river. She raised her magic ring in the air, and spoke the words of a spell Stan had never heard before. Her hand moved back and forth in a slow motion, and she kept repeating the spell. He realized this must be the spell that helped her search for the magically charged river, and he watched in quiet fascination as she worked. She was managing quite a few magic spells at once, a feat that impressed Stan. As a dragon shifter, he was no expert in magic, but he knew enough to know that keeping multiple spells going at once wasn’t easy. Right now, Abby had a flying spell on the broom, an invisibility spell, a shield spell, and a magic detecting spell, all going at once. And she didn’t appear to be breaking a sweat.

  “This way,” she finally said, more to herself than to him. She turned the broomstick a little to the left, and flew a little lower so that they were skimming the treetops. Now and then, when they passed over a tree that was slightly taller than the rest, Stan felt his feet brushing against branches and leaves.

  Abby had slowed her pace now, so that at times the broomstick seemed to be almost hovering in place rather than standing still. She made several course adjustments, and continued to perform the magic detecting spell over and over as they crept along. Finally, she let out a small whoop and dove downward into the treetops. The movement was so sudden that Stan was caught off balance and had to grab tightly onto Abby to avoid falling from the broomstick. He winced, knowing that she probably realized he’d been unprepared for the sudden shift in direction. He wouldn’t be surprised if she used that little detail as ammo against him later. A bodyguard should always be prepared, and he’d been so fascinated with watching her work that he’d shirked his main responsibility of staying alert.

  Vowing not to do that again, he sat up straight and kept his keen eyes on the forest in front of them. Abby flew expertly through the tree branches, until she came out into an open area along a river bank. She’d found the river they were seeking even quicker than she’d planned, but Stan wasn’t surprised. She seemed to do everything just a little bit better than expected.

  Now, she flew above the river, following its winding path at top speed. Her right hand, with its magic ring, was extended in front of her as she flew, and Stan knew she was sensing the magic charge in the river as it grew stronger. He had no doubts that she was flying in the right direction. She seemed to have no doubts, either. She flew confidently, barely slowing when there was a sharp curve in the river.

  Stan grinned. He liked her strong spirit. She might be a bit naïve when it came to thinking she could handle everything on her own, and that she didn’t need to pack emergency supplies for a mission, but no one could say she wasn’t courageous. With her in charge of the flight, they made good time. Not even ten minutes later, the river curved sharply again, and around that sharp curve a giant cave came into view. Abby brought the broomstick to an abrupt halt, nearly knocking Stan off again, even though he’d been paying attention this time.

  “There it is,” she announced. “The cursed objects should be in there.”

  She slowly guided the broomstick to the front of the cave, then lowered it until their feet were touching the ground. Stan hopped off and approached the cave’s mouth cautiously. His senses were all on high alert, and he sniffed the air deeply, trying to see whether there were any enemies around. Abby laughed at him.

  “There’s nothing to fear out here,” she said. “The only thing you have to worry about is not touching anything inside that cave. Trust me, you don’t want to accidentally come in contact with a cursed object, especially not these ones. I can see why the High Council wanted to send out an ancient magic expert to deal with these. They’re giving off an abnormally high amount of magic, which means that not only are they cursed, but that the curse is going haywire.”

  Stan frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Abby, for once, didn’t answer him in a belittling or snide tone. She seemed genuinely excited to be dealing with haywire curses. “I mean that the cursed objects are unstable. Kind of like a bomb that might detonate at any moment. Either the curse was cast improperly, or it’s too old now to do its job correctly. In any case, I’d stay away from the inside of that cave. This is going to be a delicate job.”

  Stan found himself strangely gripped with fear for Abby’s safety. He barely knew her, so he shouldn’t care quite this much. Still, the thought of anything happening to her made his heart twist up in a funny way. “Just be careful,” he said.

  She rolled her eyes at him, the snark returning in an instant.

  Fair enough, he thought. He should know better than to tell an ancient magic expert that she needed to be careful around cursed artifacts. He couldn’t help himself, though. He told himself he was only so worried because it would be horribly embarrassing if anything happened to his mission partner on their first “easy” mission. But he knew it was deeper than that. He cared about her on a deeper level than he wanted to admit.

  Damn it, I’m falling for her.

  Stan turned his back on the cave, and on Abby, troubled by the realization that his little crush on her was only growing as the day wore on. He tried to focus on his guard duties, but that didn’t provide very much distraction. Abby was right: the only thing they really had to fear out here was the magical curses, and he was no help against those. He could provide plenty of assistance against enemy dark wizards, or angry shifters who wanted to attack. But there were no other wizards and shifters out here. The forest was silent except for the occasional birdsong.

  Still, Stan did his best to stay alert. He was here to guard Abby, and so that’s what he would do. The odds of anything or anyone attacking were low, but Stan knew that the moment you let down your guard was often the moment when everything went wrong. He took up his post, and continuously scanned the forest as Abby made her way into the cave. Her ringed hand was raised in front of her, and she was speaking the words of yet another spell, likely some sort of shield spell, although Stan couldn’t be sure. She had pulled a special sack from her small bag that Stan recognized as a sack often used by the Wizard Advocates to keep magical objects contained. The sack was specially treated to block magic. It would not block the strongest spells, he knew, but it would at least diminish them. Abby’s instructions were to deactivate the curse, and then put the cursed objects into the special sack for safekeeping, just in case any magical energy remained on them.

  Stan wondered how long it would take Abby to deactivate the curses. She seemed confident, but he knew that sometimes these things took a long time, even when you were good at it like Abby. This wasn’t the kind of task you wanted to make a mistake on, after all. Stan sat on a large rock. He continued to watch the forest, his ears, eyes, and nose all on high alert. But he might be here for a long time, so he figured he should get comfortable.

  Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be going on in the forest, though. Stan watched and waited as the sun rose higher and higher, and he grew more bored with each passing minute. His eyelids started drooping, and he finally stood when he realized that if he kept sitting he was liable to fall asleep. His stomach was growling, and he eventually decided to go get a protein bar from his backpack. He’d packed a generous amount of snacks, and just because Abby was still in the cave and not eating, that didn’t mean he had to sit out here miserable and starving, too.

  He had just pulled out a protein bar when he looked up to see that Abby had emerged from the cave, a giant grin on her face. She held her right hand high above her head, and in that hand she held the magic containment sack, which now appeared to be full.

  “I did it,” she said proudly. “I deactivated the curse and I put all the rocks in this bag. That’s what the objects were. Rocks.”

  Stan nodded and was about to make a congratulatory comment of some sort when he froze. Behind Abby, a wolf had appeared out of nowhere. In the minute or two Stan had let his guard down just a bit to come find a protein
bar, a wolf had managed to creep up to the rock where he’d been sitting. And now, it had its teeth bared and looked like it was about to attack Abby. Stan felt his heart pounding, but Abby was completely oblivious to the danger. She was still holding up the bag and talking about how she’d deactivated the curses, but Stan couldn’t concentrate on what she was saying. He wanted to figure out a way to warn her of the danger, but he didn’t want to make any sudden, alarmed moves.

  From the wolf’s scent, he could tell it was a full wolf, not a wolf shifter. That would make it easier to deal with, but he still had to be careful. He would have to fight this thing with his bare hands—there was no time for him to shift into a dragon. If he tried to shift, the wolf would likely freak out from the power surge caused by the shift, and would attack Abby before Stan had a chance to finish shifting.

  But Stan wasn’t too worried. He was strong, and even in human form he was a good fighter. He knew how to hit this wolf where it counted. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to lunge for the wolf, which was creeping ever closer to Abby. Abby suddenly stopped talking and seemed to notice the concerned look on Stan’s face.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Before Stan could reply, he saw the wolf tense up and begin to leap. And then, even though things were happening at lightning speed, Stan felt like he was watching it all in slow motion. He ran forward, screaming at the wolf and thrusting his hands out to catch the wolf by its neck and stop it from attacking Abby. But before he could reach the wolf, Abby had turned around and sunk low to the ground in one swift movement. She stuck her fist out and screamed out a shield spell and an attack spell in rapid succession.

  Stan had no idea how Abby had managed to react so quickly, but she managed to get her shield up a split-second before the wolf hit her. Then, her attack spell followed so quickly that the wolf had no time to gather its wits and dart out of the way. A howl of pain rose from the animal’s lips, and he raced off into the forest.

  The whole thing must have taken less than a second or two, but Stan had seen every detail. Abby’s reflexes were undeniably quick.

  He grinned at her and shrugged. “Wolf. That’s what was wrong. Nice job on the attack spell. I could have taken care of it for you, though.”

  Abby crossed her arms and did not smile back at him. “The point that everyone, including you, seems to be missing is that I don’t need you to take care of it for me. I took care of the wolf myself. Just like I’d take care of a Dark Warrior attack. I don’t need you to watch out for me.”

  Stan’s smile faded. “You didn’t need me today. But you’re not invincible, you know. It’s okay to be proud of your abilities without using every accomplishment as proof that you’d never need help. Even you couldn’t take on a whole army yourself.”

  Abby frowned at him. “You don’t know that. You’ve never seen me try. And it has been done before.”

  She had a point there. Jasper, one of Torch Lake’s other dragon shifters, had singlehandedly defended his whole clan against an attack by the evil wizards and shifters during the last war. This feat had made him quite famous, and Abby was right: it proved that it could be done. But it was unlikely, and, as strong as Abby was, Stan didn’t think she was strong enough to hold her own against an entire army of evil. He was getting tired of arguing with her by this point, though, so he just shrugged and let it go.

  “Come on. If you’ve got the cursed objects then let’s get going. The sooner we get home, the sooner you’ll be rid of me for the day.”

  He tried to keep his voice light and joking, but she didn’t crack a smile. Wordlessly, she picked up her broomstick and magic bag of cursed objects, and turned away from him.

  “Magicae Volant,” she said, the flying spell for her broomstick. With a sigh, Stan climbed on behind her. So much for a day of working together easing tensions between them. Abby seemed more determined than ever that she didn’t need a dragon around.

  Stan was going to find a way to prove her wrong.

  Chapter Four

  “Another round?” the bartender asked, eyeing Abby’s empty glass. She hesitated. She’d already had three Charmed Star ales, and she could feel the world starting to blur a little around the edges. But she didn’t want to go home yet, and she would feel ridiculous sitting here at the Winking Wizard Pub without a drink in her hand. So she nodded to the bartender, and a minute later he placed another of the smoking, purple ales in front of her.

  She watched the smoke curl upward from the purple beer, wondering for the thousandth time what spell was behind the smoke. The company that owned the recipe for Charmed Star Ale kept it a tight secret, and no one except the owner and his son knew the spell that made the beer smoke. For a while, Abby had been determined to figure it out, but after trying for a year she’d given up. Now, she just enjoyed the smoke, and the delicious, slightly fruity taste of the ale.

  She glanced up, looking around the room to see if there were any familiar faces here. So far tonight, she hadn’t recognized anyone, which was just fine with her. The Winking Wizard was close to the Academy of Ancient Magic, so during the school year there was almost always a group of students in here. But now that school was out for the summer, most of the students were probably venturing off to the more trendy downtown bars. Abby didn’t have the energy to go downtown tonight. She wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone, but she was dog tired.

  For one thing, she hadn’t slept well last night, even though she’d finally been done with exams. She’d been too nervous about the mission today. It had been an easy mission, and she had known she wouldn’t encounter any trouble. Still, she had tossed and turned, thinking of all the possible “what-ifs” that could go wrong. She desperately wanted to impress the High Council, and this summer internship was the perfect way to do that.

  If only she didn’t have to bring that obnoxious dragon shifter along with her. Stan was nice, but he was nothing but a distraction. Abby had to admit that he was handsome. She’d met a few of the dragon shifters, and they were all good-looking, but Stan was by far the handsomest of the bunch. He also had a good sense of humor. He had a knack for cracking a joke at just the right moment, but this only angered Abby. She didn’t want to laugh at him. She didn’t want to have a good time with him. Doing so would break down the wall she’d put up between them, and make him think that Abby actually needed him.

  Abby didn’t need anyone. She had vowed, after she lost everything in the Great Dark War, that she would become completely self-sufficient. And who could blame her, when everyone she’d trusted in had failed her? Her clan had been threatened by the army of evil many times, but she hadn’t been worried. Her father had promised to keep her safe, and so had her boyfriend. She had trusted both of them. Why wouldn’t she have? They were both known as experts in magical defense, and they both assured her that her clan’s defenses were strong enough to withstand anything the enemy could throw at them.

  They’d been wrong.

  Abby had let down her guard, comforted by the knowledge that two strong wizards were looking out for her, and had assured her that the clan was safe. But when the enemy attacked in the middle of the night, she had barely escaped with her life. Her father and her boyfriend were not so lucky. Despite their assurances that all was well, they had not been strong enough to fight off the dark magic.

  Abby had become a refugee in the city of Falcon Cross. She’d immediately enrolled in the university there, which offered one of the top programs in magical defense in the country. She was determined to be the best in her class, and she had graduated with highest honors. She’d taken a job in the up-and-coming wizard-shifter town of Torch Lake, which had been a fortuitous choice, since not long after she moved here the Academy of Ancient Magic had opened. Admission to the Academy was competitive, but Abby hadn’t had any trouble getting in. No one could deny that she had exceptional magical talent.

  Which is why she couldn’t understand the High Council’s insistence that she take along a dragon bodyguard on he
r missions this summer. She had proven herself capable. She had proven that she didn’t need anyone else. She wanted a chance to complete these missions alone, so she could show everyone once and for all that she, Abby Fullmer, was the wizard to call when Torch Lake was in trouble.

  “I didn’t peg you for the girly beer type.”

  Abby jumped as the familiar voice broke into her thoughts. She looked over at Stan and frowned. “It’s not a girly beer. It’s a marvel of modern spell casting. Any of the magic spells that produce smoke should automatically ruin the taste of the beer, but this beer maintains its flavor. Whoever figured out how to do this is a magical genius.”

  “Kind of like you?”

  The jab was lighthearted, but Abby still bristled.

  “I have my moments. Which is why I don’t need a bodyguard. And I especially don’t need a bodyguard while I’m at the Winking Wizard trying to enjoy a beer. We’re off the clock right now, so please just leave me alone.”

  “Look, I didn’t come over here to bother you. I just saw you from across the room and wanted to say hi. And also to tell you that you did a really great job today.”

  Abby was pleased by the praise, but she kept her face neutral. “Thank you. Now can I get back to my beer?”

  “You really aren’t the social type, are you?”

  Abby bristled again. “I thought you said you didn’t come over here to bother me. But since you’re wondering, I am the social type. I just like to hang out with people who understand that I don’t need babysitting.”

  Stan sighed and sat down. He waved at the bartender who brought him a Dragon’s Breath lager without even asking what he wanted. “Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. I saw you perform for your final exam, Abby. I know you don’t need a babysitter. But the High Council wants me to go along on the missions, and I can’t say no to the High Council. Neither can you, so we’re stuck working together this summer whether we like it or not. Instead of treating me like a barnacle, why don’t you give me a chance? I think we could be friends. We have a lot in common.”