Great and Mighty’s mouth hung open. She looked as if she’d been slapped, if not flamed. Hazel breathed hard trying to re-fire her flame stomach, but she didn’t have the energy. Her paws shook. She reached for the crystal ball. It was scorching hot!
“Let me out!” the cat yowled.
Hazel held up the crystal and stared at the Jinn, but she couldn’t make her brain function. Hazel’s head hurt with the shooting hot pains of betrayal and the fear that her brother would die. Worse, she didn’t have the strength to help him.
“You’ve got it wrong! Don’t!” Great and Mighty yelled.
Ready to tell her she didn’t believe her, Hazel whipped her gaze to the traitor, but Great and Mighty wasn’t yelling at Hazel. She faced the empty spot where Jeschen had been a moment before. The spoon still spun in the pot, and the contents bubbled, but the fluffy old lady was gone.
“Now what do we do?” Great and Mighty hissed. Hazel had never seen the little wizard look so mad.
Unable to think of anything that didn’t start with “Traitor, I’ll kill you,” Hazel gripped the crystal ball and got ready to ask Silkkie to find Jeschen. But what would she do with Great and Mighty?
Great and Mighty stared at the crystal. Her eyes became slits, and she pointed at the ball and Silkkie who was still dancing around as if her feet were touching fire. Great and Mighty swiped her arm up while still pointing at the ball.
It cooled in Hazel’s paw, as did her anger.
“You made your ball burn. Why?” Great and Mighty asked.
But Silkkie, her fur standing on end like some crazed creature, shouted, “It wasn’t me. It was your Jeschen. She fooled you both and got away. And you! You betrayed Cl’rnce! Hazel should turn you to ashes!”
Great and Mighty and Hazel said at the same time, “Shut it!”
Great and Mighty paced up to Hazel. There was nothing but fierceness in her face. The little wizard had always seemed to keep her distance from Cl’rnce’s imposing and intimidating Big Sister. Which Hazel liked, but now Great and Mighty stood unafraid and angry like she’d be spitting flames if she was a Dr’gon.
“Do you know what you’ve done? Jeschen is gone. She was mixing a cure,” Great and Mighty said slowly.
“She’s the one who poisoned him in the first place,” Hazel said. Her anger had settled to a simmer. Great and Mighty had a lot to explain, and so far, she hadn’t done the job.
Great and Mighty shook her head. “You are so wrong!”
“I know what’s wrong. I know how to cure your bro-ther,” Silkkie said, tapping on the inside of the crystal.
Great and Mighty and Hazel looked at her.
“Gaelyn never mentioned that. I don’t trust you,” Hazel said.
“Fine,” Silkkie said. “Don’t trust me, but you’re the one who said your brother was dying fast or something. But take your time.”
Usually Hazel knew without thinking what was the right thing to do, but she was unsure this time. Why hadn’t Gaelyn said Silkkie would cure Cl’rnce if that was true? But why would Gaelyn’s Jinn lie?
Hazel hesitated and let Great and Mighty speak.
“You do know you can trust me?” Her eyes were pinned on Hazel.
Hazel took a deep breath, “I don’t know who I can trust anymore. What I see is the poisoner being helped by you, and I don’t understand.” When those words were out of her mouth, she knew she did understand a little. The Wizard Partner she had trusted for years had turned out to be hiding secrets and could be the Queen the Prophecy accused of wanting to harm the Primus. It wasn’t that hard anymore to believe another Wizard Partner could betray her Dr’gon Partner. But to be fair, why would Great and Mighty do that? She had nothing to gain. She was only Co-Primus as long as Cl’rnce lived. There was nothing about Great and Mighty that said she’d ever craved power. No, this didn’t make sense.
Great and Mighty said, “You didn’t see what you think you saw. Jeschen was truly trying to save Cl’rnce. She didn’t do anything to him. I would never ever do anything to hurt Cl’rnce. Give me a chance to prove it.”
Hazel nodded once. “I’ll listen.” She bit her lips. It hurt to even start to admit she might have been wrong. All her life she’d always been certain of herself, never doubting. But if she was wrong about Great and Mighty, could she be wrong about Jeschen, about Gaelyn? Couldn’t that be a good thing? No. That didn’t explain Jeschen, the self-proclaimed spy, or Cl’rnce being poisoned.
Taking a step back, Great and Mighty said, “Oh. I feel your confusion. It’s taking over.” She held up her left hand, her heart hand. “You need to be perfectly clear that you can always trust me. Bind me.”
Hazel shook her head. “I can’t.”
Great and Mighty grabbed Hazel’s paw and stuffed her small hand between Hazel’s claws. “Do it now. Use the Dr’gon Magick to bind me to you as I am bound to Cl’rnce,” she ordered. “Do it!”
“I can’t bind you in the Wizard and Dr’gon Partners Oath. We aren’t partners, but I can bind you and me in our own way.” Hazel pressed her digits to the little wizard’s wrist, leaving a bright burn circle. Before Hazel could back away, Great and Mighty grabbed her paw and smacked her own burned left wrist down on the back of Hazel’s paw. “I bind you to me as well, Hazel!” Hazel felt the shot of extreme heat that Great and Mighty had just felt. She had a burn in the shape of the little wizard’s left hand on the back of her left paw.
For a moment doubt made her shake her head. She and Gaelyn had taken the Oath of Wizard and Dr’gon Partners, but did it mean anything to Gaelyn? As Elm Queen, maybe now she couldn’t be bound to any but her Court. Hazel closed her eyes, then opened them when something prickled her memory, something about an Ancient Dr’gon word that meant wizard or … what? She couldn’t quite grab the memory. The sudden vision of trees dancing around made her dizzy.
“Good?” Great and Mighty asked, her eyes still fierce, but her face had the earnest honesty she’d always had when she worked so hard for Cl’rnce.
Hazel felt ashamed of doubting Great and Mighty when Hazel was really hurt and angry with Gaelyn. It wasn’t fair, and she tried to be fair.
Silkkie sighed. “Do you want to save stupid Cl’rnce or not?”
“What do you know?” Hazel asked worn out with all the distractions. Maybe the little Jinn was really going to help.
“I know the Dr’gon’s Fang will cure anything,” the cat said.
Hazel felt herself freeze. How did Silkkie know so much about the Fang? Had Gaelyn told her? Why? To help or was this another trick? It didn’t matter. Hazel felt the possibilities. She’d only heard that it would poison and was a huge magickal power. Cure?
She asked Great and Mighty. “Do you know what the Dr’gon Fang is?”
Great and Mighty smiled and made hand motions like she was opening a book. “I read about it a while ago. But it’s a myth. Cl’rnce brought me a dirty old tooth months ago, but I knew he was making it up. I was right because he said he put it back. Which probably means he lost it.”
Hazel thought of her failure with the Fang. “It’s real. Cl’rnce handled it? Months ago? Before … I warded the room. Has he been sick for months? I didn’t see anything wrong with him. But if the Fang is a slow acting poison to a Primus …. The Fang is so old and who knows what we don’t know about it? We have to save him. And failure is not an option. You will help me.” She looked at Silkkie. “And you!”
“Ian, assure the guard I will help them regain their energy in a short while. First I’ll search for our enemies. Do you think all of them are Jinn?” Gaelyn didn’t look at him for the answer. Instead she peered through the wavering purple air above the wall of Dr’gon Fire guarding the circle.
“I think they must all be Jinn,” Ian said, standing next to her, his eyes also searching for danger. “It was all chaos when the attacks began. We’d been trying to move the children out of harm’s way while some of the Guard fought. But why would an army of Jinn attack? They wouldn’t.”
Ian shrugged. “We moved the fight from the Chambers to out here. I haven’t been back.”
Gaelyn sent out the Wave, a surge of psychic energy that should bring back echoes from living Elm Fae. The echoes were slow in returning; Gaelyn grew more anxious. The echoes were so weak, she couldn’t be sure she still detected survivors, even hidden ones, any longer.
Keeping her perceptions open as far as she could spare the energy, she examined the fighters here, male and female. She recognized many of them as among the warriors her uncle most valued. But there were so few, only the dozen. Gaelyn wanted to renew her psychic search, but her energy stores were fading. Because she had a difficult and complex spell ahead of her in order to give this tiny army the strength to stand up to the Jinn, she let the scan go.
Frustrated that she had used up energy to find Elm Fae that she hoped were hiding and safe instead of restoring energy to the Fae Guard who must still fight, she berated herself. “Wrong! I did it wrong!”
Ian turned to her, eyebrows lifted in question. The rest of the Elm kept their soldier stares focused outward from the circle. “I should have restored energy and then searched for the enemy instead of looking for Elm survivors. I can’t think. I’m too tired to do two more spells.” She slumped to her knees and dug her hands into the mossy dirt.
Around her, the guards turned. While showing much emotion was rare for most Fae, there was concern in most of their furrowed brows. Ian knelt and put his arm around her. “Don’t worry. You’re fine. We’re here. Take the time you need.”
Ian had always been this way. Faithful and true. It was why he stood firm, defending Elm Court. Ironically it was also part of why Winter Queen’s jealousy had been so extreme that she had forced her sister Summer to be rid of him or face an all-out attack. Not having a son and one day consort for a future Queen, Winter could not stand that her sister had this special advantage. Winter threatened a long and bloody war if Summer did not rid herself of her son. But in an unusually sentimental move, Summer had decided Queen’s Justice could be satisfied by handing him over to Elm rather than putting him to death as Winter had demanded.
All his days Ian had been Elm’s most stalwart defender. Why hadn’t he called her during the first attack, before Uncle Firth was slain? As the Elm, she should have been there.
The memories of her childhood with Ian were fresher at this moment than her memories of Wiz-Tech. She thought back to when she and Ian had been young. A sunny day, like most of them here in Elm Court.
She and Ian had ventured outside Elm territory. The sequoia wood that lay between Elm Court and Summer Court was an enchanting place filled with bird song and peaceful shadows. Ian, the Summer princeling, and Gaelyn, an orphaned princess whose parents had died in a battle against Winter, were more like siblings than distant cousins. They grew up under the sometimes forgetful eye of her Uncle Firth.
Her uncle was a busy ruler. So, it was easy enough for Ian and Gaelyn to slip away from their tutors for the adventures they craved. In the middle of a race between the two of them, Ian had tripped over a log covered in slippery wet moss. He was on his back silent with embarrassment. Mad at himself, Gaelyn knew.
She trotted carefully up to the log, stopping short so that he did not see her or she him. To save his dignity, she asked, “Ian, are you hiding in the shadows again?”
She heard his breath, as she always did, but then a heavier sound came from behind her. She whirled around. Never before had she seen anything but birds and small creatures in this forest.
“What?” was all Gaelyn managed when the pearly unicorn stepped from behind a tree. It was the most beautiful creature Gaelyn had ever seen.
She held out a hand to the turquoise-eyed unicorn. The unicorn stepped close, sniffing at her.
“Aren’t you a pretty! Do you want to come home with me?” Gaelyn dropped her left hand into a pocket in her tunic. She’d saved an apple from lunch. Pulling it out, she held it toward the unicorn. Stepping a pace closer, Gaelyn reached her other hand to touch the unicorn’s glowing white hide.
The beast was as smooth as the pearl she resembled. When Gaelyn touched the unicorn’s hide, her heart beat a little faster. She wanted nothing more than to get on the unicorn and ride. The unicorn had no wings, but she was sure the beast could run on the wind.
The unicorn munched on the apple as Gaelyn ran her hands over its back. Leaning close to the velvety muzzle, Gaelyn whispered, “Will you take me for a ride?”
The unicorn stopped chewing. Its eye rolled back to Gaelyn, and for a second there was a spark of red in the green and blue. “You want me to ride, don’t you?” She grabbed the unicorn’s mane and got ready to pull herself up. As she flexed her knees to jump up, she thought she heard a heartbeat—one that sounded familiar, but she couldn’t think why. She stopped, but all around her there was silence except for a low hum from the unicorn.
Springing onto the unicorn’s back, Gaelyn leaned down to tell the creature to run, but as she did, an arm grabbed hers and pulled her back off. She landed on her back, the breath knocked out of her.
Facing the unicorn, Ian stood between her and the creature. He shouted, “Get away. Get away from my cousin!” He waved the dagger Uncle Firth had given him for his last birthday. It seemed a small weapon in front of a creature who now looked much larger and fiercer than a moment before.
The unicorn reared back and tried to stomp Ian, but he dodged. The unicorn pivoted and aimed its hooves at Gaelyn. She was still too winded to move. Ian rushed over and again got between Gaelyn and the unicorn before the beast could land on Gaelyn. The unicorn knocked Ian down, but he scrambled to his feet. This time the unicorn backed up, lowered its horn and charged the pair.
Gaelyn finally stood and tried to think of a spell from her small store of Earth Magick. Anything to stop the unicorn, to save them both from being gored or stomped. Remembering how Ian had slipped on the moss, Gaelyn conjured up wet moss under the unicorn’s feet. It worked, and the creature struggled, its hooves slipping out until it fell to the ground.
Ian stood over the beast as its eyes rolled at him. “I’ll kill you!” he yelled.
“No!” Gaelyn shouted. “We trespassed. We’re the ones who shouldn’t be here. Let’s just go home.”
“The beast will chase us and get one or both of us,” Ian said, his knife held firmly over the unicorn’s chest.
Gaelyn thought of the tall trees and the creeping vines that made swings for the pair to play on. “No. I’ll bind its legs in vines. It’ll take a while to get free, but we’ll be gone, and ... no harm will be done.”
Ian agreed reluctantly, and Gaelyn cast the spell. The unicorn watched without moving. When the binding was enough, they ran toward home swearing to each other never to let anyone know what had happened. Especially her uncle.
But of course when they got home, Uncle Firth knew. He’d known all along about their excursions and had sent guards in secret to keep a watchful eye. This time the guards had gotten lost. Perhaps the thick redwood trees had confused them. Perhaps it was the doing of the unicorn. This time Uncle Firth decided to do something besides keep watch on them. This time he had to do something drastic to make sure Gaelyn was safe.
He declared Gaelyn needed Dr’gon Magick to enhance her Earth Magick. He refused to discuss why the unicorn had wanted Gaelyn, but she heard rumors that it was an old, old enemy of Elm Court. She wondered if what had killed her parents was not a battle with Winter Queen, as she had always assumed, but with this unicorn.
Uncle Firth’s final words before she left had been, “You must be where that unicorn will never find you.” That made Wiz-Tech on the Dr’gon plane the perfect place. No one, not the Summer or Winter Queens, not a unicorn, would guess she’d be someplace where Fae were banned. No one would know she was there learning to be a strong Queen complete with Dr’gon
Magick to protect her Court.
It had been so long since Gaelyn had thought about any of that.
She looked around her at the small group of Elm warriors who had survived. They faced a different enemy than the ones Uncle Firth had expected.
She took a deep breath and smiled. “I know what to do.”
“So let’s go get the Fang to cure Cl’rnce!” Silkkie demanded. For once she wasn’t bathing a private area or otherwise grooming. No longer excited, she looked calmly serious. “Let me out.” The Jinn butted her head against the glass. “We’re running out of time. We need to help your brother, and I need to get back to Gaelyn.”
Great and Mighty looked at Hazel. “Well? Are you going to stand there looking crabby? The Jinn is right. We have to help Cl’rnce!”
For a second Hazel wanted to snap back, but they were right. Besides, Great and Mighty was half of the Wizard and Dr’gon Partners that should make the Fang work. This time there would be no failure.
It hurt a little to be the big sister who couldn’t be the one to save Cl’rnce all by herself, but that wasn’t important now. “I will lead the way,” Hazel said. “First I want to check on Cl’rnce.”
Great and Mighty nodded, but Silkkie growled. “You waste time and energy. He’s fine. Let’s get going.”
Hazel shook the ball once. “You are not getting out. Be quiet while I see for myself. You show me. Do it now.”
Growling and muttering, Silkkie disappeared in a cloud of something furry, thick, and swirling. When the ball cleared, Hazel saw Cl’rnce still on his back. He didn’t move and he didn’t make a sound. At least his color seemed no paler than before.
Great and Mighty started to say something, but Silkkie reappeared. “Get us going! And let me out.”
“No to letting you out.” Hazel tucked the ball in her neck pouch. “Coming, Great and Mighty? Or should you stay here or go and be with Cl’rnce and keep him safe?” Hazel waited for the slightest clue that Great and Mighty was a traitor and would use this opportunity to do something dire.
Dragon Bonded: A Bumblespells Novel Page 8
