by Martha Carr
“What can I say? I’ve had a good morning.”
He dragged a leather saddle at his side. “I have to take this into the barn. Follow me. Why was your morning so great?”
“I got to play around with fire. Grandpa taught me a new skill—the manipulation of a flame. I still need to improve, but it felt amazing.”
“Burned a little grass, did you?”
“Like I was an angry dragon.” Gravel crunched under her feet as they passed the apple orchards. The trees were starting to show buds and signs of the approaching spring.
“That’s impressive too,” he said, nodding.
“Throwing fire made me realize I might be able to do this. No, I can do this. I can make peace with Leander, train him to listen, and learn spells.”
When they reached the barn, William hoisted the oversized saddle onto a wide workbench. “Well, you’re going to need all the positive energy you can muster today. Leander isn’t in any better mood than he was the last time you were here.” He glanced at Raven and went back to looking for tools.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us.” He grabbed a wrench and tightened a few bolts on the side of the saddle, tugging on the straps to make sure they were secure. “Give me another five minutes, and we can walk over to Leander’s pen.”
Raven wandered over to the barn where Teo was resting. His silver wings fluttered when he saw her. “Good morning, Teo.”
“Hello, Raven.” He rose to his feet and craned his neck. “Coming to work with Leander today?”
“That’s the plan.”
“I heard he did a number on you.” Teo shook his head, spewing steam and baring a long row of sharp teeth.
“He did, and I have the bruises to prove it. I’m not giving up, though. There’s something there. I can feel it,” she said, tapping her chest. “We’ll get there.” She reached through the bars of the pen and patted Teo on the snout. “They can’t all be as nice as you.”
Teo laughed and let out a purr that sounded more like a rumble. “Decide what you want, Raven Alby, and the dragon will know and respond.”
“I know what I want. I have all along. To be a war mage.”
The dragon’s heavy lids shrouded his eyes. “Feel it in your heart, war mage. Let go of any doubts.”
Raven headed for the door. “That’s what everyone keeps saying.”
Teo bobbed his large head, letting out a snort and a laugh. “When you’re ready. You’re not trying to learn something new. This is something you need to remember.”
“Well, now you’ve lost me.”
Teo stood and circled in the nest of hay, settling down for a nap. “In time it will become clear, young war mage. I have faith in you.”
Raven watched the dragon for a moment. I hope he’s right. The dragon lifted his head and stared at her without saying a word. I suppose now you’re reading my mind.
The dragon snorted a shot of steam, bobbed his head, and settled down, shutting his eyes.
“Okay, not creepy at all,” she muttered as she walked away.
Raven wandered back past William, who was still working on the saddle. “I’m going to go talk to Leander. At least test the waters.”
“Be there in a second. He’s got a training harness on.” William grunted as he yanked as hard as he could on the straps. “There. That’s not coming loose now.” He walked across the barn to hang up the saddle.
He walked past Teo’s pen, knocking gently on the side. “Ride tonight?”
“As you wish.” Teo opened his eyes slowly. “She’s still pretty green, isn’t she?”
“That she is.” William hung up the saddle and rubbed his hands together. “I’m trying to get through to her, but she’s as stubborn as Leander.”
“That is their asset, young William.” Teo lifted his head enough to catch sight of Raven walking to the other side of the ranch. “If they can find their way to mutual trust, they will be a force that hasn’t been seen in a long time.”
William rubbed his chin. “You mean the Wizard Riders, don’t you? That’s quite the compliment. I hope she doesn’t get killed before they realize it.” He winked at Teo and followed the girl.
Raven stepped over roots in the ground, muttering to herself, “Keep your cool. Be patient, build trust.”
Listen to what William says. He knows what he’s talking about. You, Raven Elizabeth Alby, are a war mage in training. Like your grandfather...and your mother. “Sarah Alby.” She rubbed the pin that was always with her.
This is what you were built to do. Don’t get discouraged just because it’s hard and can beat the crap out of you.
At the pen, Leander lifted his head and stared down his nose at Raven. “We’re doing this again?”
Raven climbed the tall fence so she could be at eye level with the beast. “We’re doing this every day until we figure it out. We’re going out to the field to train some more.”
Leander grunted. “Why aren’t you in school?”
“No school today. I’m all yours for the day.”
“Oh, lucky me.”
William caught up, watching with amusement. “Come down here for a second.” She climbed down the fence and dropped next to him. “We need to leash him and get him out to the field. You ready?”
“Let’s do it.” She clapped and grabbed the thick leather straps out of his hands, bounding with enthusiasm as she marched into the pen to face the dragon.
Leander looked at her skeptically. “What do you think you’re doing with those?”
She lifted them up to show him. “Like I said, we’re going out to the field. It’s time to get to work. Come on.” Raven attached the straps to the side of the harness and gave a small tug. “Follow me.”
Leander stiffened his neck and remained motionless. “I don’t want to. The last time I followed you, I was yelled at and treated like a common dog.”
Raven’s heels dug into the dirt as she pulled harder. “I was wrong, and I told you that. This time will be different, I promise.”
Leander lowered his head and faced Raven, blowing smoke at her. She stumbled backward, her eyes filling with tears.
“Hey, Raven? Over here. Follow my voice.” William waited until she’d made her way to the side of the pen. “What was your plan today?”
Blinking tears out of her eyes, Raven shook her head.
He frowned. “No, I know why you’re here. What was your specific plan? How did you expect to get him to listen to you? Because last time you were here, he threw you around while you barked orders at him until you gave up and apologized. Nice touch, but not much of a plan.”
Raven glanced at Leander, who stretched his neck, pawing at the ground. “Teo said I’m not supposed to be learning anything. I need to remember. What do you suppose that means?”
“Get out of there for a minute. Leave the leads hooked up to him. He’s not going anywhere.”
As she pulled the gate open, Leander growled, “Something we can all agree on. She’s not to be trusted.” Steam filled his pen as he snarled and stomped through the hay, dragging the leads behind him.
“Just hang tight. I’m not done with you yet.”
William grasped Raven’s hands and looked deep into her eyes. He didn’t say a word.
She squirmed. “What are you doing? If you ask me my sign, I’ll know someone has put a spell on you. Blink twice if you’re in there and need rescuing.”
“Why do we get along so well, Raven? What makes us such good friends?”
Raven furrowed her brow. “More puzzles. Why is everyone talking to me in riddles?” she muttered. “We get along well because I know what you’re thinking most of the time. I don’t know.”
William gave her a knowing smile. “There you go. You and I don’t get along because we tell each other what to do all the time. It’s because we have a connection that we’ve built over the years. That’s what’s missing between you two.”
Raven stared at him, looked at Leander, and then back at William. “That c
omes from the inside. It’s not something you learn.”
William smiled and nodded. “Yes, you’re getting it. Go deeper to a new level of trust. I call it the ‘mind-meld.’ It’s what makes a dragon and a trainer get along so well. You’re struggling with him because you’re still trying to be the authority. You two are equals.”
Raven’s eyes flashed. “With a dragon?”
“Yes, with a mighty and noble dragon. Find some lasting humility and learn you are equal partners, and then you will train a dragon.”
Raven ran her tongue over her teeth, staring at the ground. “If I spend all my time trying to be buddies with him, how are we going to get any training done? We’re running out of time.”
“This isn’t a game of time, it’s a game of trust. If you can’t get his trust, all the time in the world won’t be enough. And there’s but one way to gain a dragon’s trust.”
“I won’t like this answer, am I?”
William laughed. “That’s up to you.” He pointed to the pen. “Trust the dragon first. You have a clear connection with Leander. If you didn’t, you’d be dead already. He’s been pulling his punches.”
Raven lifted just enough of her shirt to show the mottled skin underneath.
William winced, still smiling. “Yeah, that’s a dragon playing nice. Leander needs to know you trust the connection. You’re not his boss, you’re his companion. His teammate. Stop trying to think three steps ahead of him.”
Raven’s eyes widened, and she stood up straighter. “I can’t control any of this!”
A smile grew across William’s face. “Now you’re getting it. Some of the toughest problems we have, we can’t find a solution for until we surrender to them. I’ve got stuff to do, and I’m trusting you to go in there and take the time it needs. Give in to it. Promise?”
“I still don’t have a plan.”
“Okay, start with that idea, and go talk to the dragon.” William started back to the barn while Raven returned to Leander’s pen. She braided long red hair and tied it off.
Neither dragon or girl said anything as Raven walked into the pen and shut the gate behind her. She maintained eye contact with him until she stood a few feet away.
Neither blinked.
“Do you believe in destiny, Leander?” she said. “Or do you even know what that is?”
He scoffed, a low rumble in his throat. “I know what destiny is. And yes, I believe in it.”
“Okay.” She folded her hands behind her back. “What’s your destiny? Or what do you think it is?”
Leander reached up with one of his massive red claws and scratched an itch on the side of his scaly face. “It’s not sitting in a cage and getting barked at. I need not be told what to do.”
“Again, I was wrong.” She stared him down. “I’m new to this.”
“It’s not just you. Everyone here is doing that. I get threatened and shouted at daily. Everyone insists I do things their way. I need not be chided like some puppy.”
From the barn, William stuck his head out the door and smiled, watching the two of them talking.
Leander went to the edge of the pen and pressed his head out through the opening, looking at the sky. “There are a lot of dragons here who don’t mind being told what to do. They like boundaries, and they want to please people. I’d rather make my own decisions, not be some dumb animal that needs instruction all the time. I think for myself.”
Raven looked at the training harness. “If I took off the harness, would you be more willing to listen to me?”
The leads dragged through the dirt as he turned his head. “I’m not here to be trained.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Leander dipped his nose, looking down at the straps. “These leads insult me. If you want to get my attention, that isn’t the way to do it.”
“Fair enough. I know a little about people trying to tell me who I am and what I ought to be doing.” Raven approached him and ran her hand down his back, unlatching each part of the harness while looking into the large eye nearest to her. She slid the harness off, dragged it to the corner of the pen, and left it there. “Better?”
“It’s something. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She crossed her arms “How can I get you to the training field? How can we move forward without you feeling disrespected?”
Leander looked across the ranch at the free-range pasture where other clans of dragons milled about. “I’ve seen what happens when soldiers get their hands on dragons. They ride them into the ground. They treat them like mere vehicles, something to be used. It disgusts me. I’m not interested in training because I’m not interested in spending the rest of my life as some expendable, interchangeable weapon for some soldier. I have more self-respect than that.”
An idea came to Raven. “I’m not a soldier. And I’m not a trainer.”
“Yes, you’ve made that clear.”
She took a few steps back, climbed the fence, and resumed sitting at eye level with the dragon. “I come from a long line of wizard riders and one great war mage. Powerful wizards who rode dragons into battle, and a war mage who fought bravely with magic and a bow and sword.”
“I know their stories well. My mother fought with a wizard rider who retired a long time ago.” He looked at Raven more closely. “You are from a line of war mages? Who is your mother?”
The smile dropped from Raven’s face. “Who was. She’s been dead for a long time. Her name was Sarah Alby. I was really small when she was killed in an accident with my father.”
“You’re an orphan.”
Raven bristled. “I have family! I have my grandfather, Connor Alby.”
Leander stood on all four legs, rising to his full height, stomping the ground. “The wizard rider, Connor! All dragons know his name, and I’ve heard tales of his daughter. You have a lot to live up to, starting with knowing how to treat a dragon.”
Raven gasped, her hands on her cheeks. “You know stories about my mother?”
The large dragon swung his tail back and forth, curling it in the air. “A mage who wants to ride a dragon,” he growled. “You dare to change old traditions.”
“I dare to follow my dreams.”
Leander shifted so he could get a better look at the girl, studying her more closely. “We are here to work together, agreed?”
Raven suppressed a smile. “Agreed.”
Leander leaned back, then rose to his feet again. “No harness, no leads.”
“Nothing at all. But that means I’m trusting you not to try to break the spell over the ranch and fly off. You’re going to stay here and work with me. You got it? Can I trust you?”
William walked out of the barn and held his breath in shock. Raven had opened the pen and was waving to Leander to follow her without any sort of leash to keep him under control. But before he could sprint across the ranch and stop them, Leander walked right behind her, his wings tucked down on his back.
William stopped and marveled at how the formerly uncontrollable creature was following the rash, stubborn mage in training’s lead. Together, they walked out to the training field, and Leander did not attempt to escape.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
When they reached the wide-open field, Leander wandered in a circle, dragging his tail in the dirt. He lifted his chin and inhaled deeply. “It always feels nice to walk around in the open, not in that damn pen.” A cool breeze shook the tall yellow grass in the distance.
“I’m sure.” Raven stepped over to the makeshift wall William had built. “Now, about this obstacle course…”
The dragon lowered his head. “It’s funny. I could fly off right now and set half of Brighton on fire. You wouldn’t be able to do a thing to stop me.” He leaned and nudged her shoulder with his nose, his voice almost a whisper. “Carnage. Death. Destruction. And it would all be your fault. Imagine how angry William would be.”
Unfazed, Raven gave Leander a stiff slap on the snout, just hard enough to sting.
“That would be a massive betrayal of trust. The way I understand it, a dragon wouldn’t dare go back on his word. Right?”
Leander raised his head and turned his back to the girl, dropping to the ground and sprawling in the sunshine. “It’s a beautiful day.”
Raven clapped her hands and pointed to the wall. “Hey! All right, you got out of your pen. We agreed I wouldn’t leash you, and you would come out here and train with me.”
He rested his head on the ground. “Did I agree to that? I believe the agreement was I would come out here and not fly away. I didn’t say I would train.”
“You have to be kidding me.”
“You need to be more careful about your wording. I stand by my word. You just didn’t understand the agreement.” He closed his eyes, letting the warmth of the sunshine heat his scaly red skin, which shimmered as he stretched out his legs. “Such great weather.”
Raven grabbed two handfuls of her hair and tugged in frustration.
“Pulling your hair out, eh?” William chuckled as he approached. “Been there. Can I speak to you for a moment?”
“Fine.” She walked past Leander and patted him on the back. “Don’t go anywhere.”
The dragon sighed. “Gave you my word,” he murmured.
William and Raven stepped a few yards away from the dozing dragon. William couldn’t take his eyes off him. “You let him come all the way out here without any leash? You didn’t even bring one?”
“You said we needed to trust each other. He’s not going anywhere. But now he’s not doing anything, either. I didn’t quite think this through. I should’ve gotten him to agree to do at least a little training.” She stomped her foot. “I thought I had this.”
He laughed. “I’m sorry, I know this is frustrating for you.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, lowering his voice so the dragon wouldn’t hear. “You’re making progress, but you’re still thinking too short-term.”
Raven was caught off-guard by the warmth of his breath on her neck. Her mouth felt dry, but she tried not to let it distract her. “What are you talking about?”
