by J. R. Castle
‘Alysa is a tracker dragon,’ Ignus said. ‘She has superb tracking skills.’
‘I can find anything and anyone,’ she declared proudly. ‘I even helped us find Ignus. That way we’ve managed to stay unbound.’
Quinn looked at Thea in amazement: a whole new generation of dragonbloods! They hadn’t died out. He wondered how many more there might be out there. He felt a fierce delight burning up inside him. The Black Guard weren’t being as successful as they thought.
‘And now you, too. Sorry about the unfriendly reception,’ Ignus said, looking rueful. ‘I thought you must be spies from the Black Guard. No one’s supposed to know I’m a flame dragon.’ He glanced balefully at Alysa and Areck. ‘Not that I’m much of one these days.’
‘What happened to you?’ Quinn asked.
‘Well,’ Ignus began, ‘after the battle for the Imperial Castle the Dragon Knights went their separate ways: there was no use for us any more, Vayn’s magic was too strong. I came to Yaross, as far away as I could get from his brutal power. The others spread out across the Islands, to live with the loss of their powers the best they could.’
‘Was there nothing you could do?’ Thea asked.
‘I had no power …’ He pulled up his trouser leg to show a dull copper band clamped tight around his ankle. Thousands of tiny marks had been carved into the metal.
‘Spells!’ Thea leaned closer. ‘I’ve never seen anything like them.’
‘Vayn’s dark magic,’ Ignus explained. ‘All the time we were protecting Emperor Marek, his own brother was learning the dark arts.’ He shook his head. ‘I knew he was resentful, but I never guessed he hated his own family so much.’ He flicked the copper band with one enormous finger. A sickly purple light swirled over the surface then faded. ‘These bands take away our ability to transform. I’ve tried everything I can to get it off, but it’s impossible. No weapon can scratch it and no fire can scorch it. I’ve consulted every back-alley magician in the Twelve Islands, but none can break the enchantment.’
‘Let me take a look,’ Thea said.
Ignus shrugged. ‘If you want.’ He extended his leg.
Thea began to chant. Quinn felt magic gather and the air seemed to bend and shift. Purple, yellow and green sparks flickered around the copper band. Thea looked closely, then she shook her head and the magic faded.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘It’s far more advanced than anything I can deal with.’
Quinn stared at the band. Thea’s magic was so much more powerful than Aunt Marta’s, and this was beyond even her. He shuddered, thinking about Vayn. The man had defeated even the Dragon Knights with his dark magic. Quinn could hardly imagine how much power the Emperor must have.
‘You two,’ Ignus said, jerking his head towards Areck and Alysa. ‘Go and check the perimeter. From what Thea has said, the Black Guard will be looking for them.’
When the twins had gone, Ignus leaned close in to Quinn. ‘I understand you’re a dragonblood. I can smell it on you, and my nose never lies. I understand you’re fleeing the Black Guard. But I just have one question for you, boy.’ His fiery eyes bored into Quinn’s. ‘What exactly are you doing with the Emperor Marek’s sword?’
Quinn looked down to where the golden sword lay beside him on the bed.
‘My aunt gave it to me. She said it was my father’s.’
Thea peered at the sword, frowning. ‘You know, there’s some half-complete magic on this sword. Maybe if we can finish the spell, it’ll give us some answers.’ She looked up at Quinn. ‘Is that all right?’
‘I guess,’ Quinn said. Marta had been hiding stuff from him all his life, and the Black Guard had taken him before she could start to tell him the truth. There was just too much he didn’t know.
‘Good.’ Thea sat up. ‘Let me try something Telemus once showed me – but it might not be pretty.’
‘OK,’ Quinn said, ‘whatever it takes.’
‘In that case, give me the sword.’
‘What are you going to do with it?’ Quinn said, passing it to her.
‘This.’ She dropped the sword in the fire. The metal hissed and sang.
‘What the —?’ Quinn started.
‘Shh,’ Thea interrupted. ‘We’re looking into the sword’s past …’
Quinn looked on as Thea began chanting a spell under her breath. The smoke from the fire began to churn and the flames spat multi-coloured sparks that swirled in ever-changing patterns. Slowly, a scene formed in the smoke. Ignus leaned over Quinn’s shoulder, squinting at the emerging picture.
Quinn had seen this before. It was the Imperial Castle just after the dragons had fallen. Vayn’s magical fog billowed up to engulf the Dragon Knights and send them crashing down to the earth. Quinn heard Ignus suck in a pained breath. But the scene didn’t stay focused on the dragons. This time it swept past and around the castle to a small door in the wall which now stood open and through which people were fleeing. A woman came running out, a baby in her arms tightly wrapped in blankets. In one of her hands she was carrying the golden sword.
As she fled the castle, the woman muttered a spell. The golden sword shrank until it was no more than an emerald-handled knife. She dropped it into a pouch, and then shoved the pouch deep into the baby’s blankets.
‘One day, you can use this to return to your rightful place, Your Majesty,’ the woman whispered to the sleeping baby.
Then she looked up and Quinn rocked back in shock. She was younger and she didn’t look so frail, but the woman was Marta, without a doubt.
‘Th-that’s my aunt,’ Quinn stuttered. ‘That’s Marta.’ He turned to stare at the others in amazement. ‘She was the one who brought me to Yaross. She gave me the sword.’
Quinn’s mind whirred. If Marta had been the one fleeing the castle, that must make me … the baby?
Ignus dropped to his knees. ‘Your Imperial Highness,’ he boomed, bowing his head. ‘You have returned.’
CHAPTER 14
A NEW ERA
Quinn couldn’t help himself. His eyes bulged and his jaw hung open.
That probably wasn’t what the rightful Emperor of Alariss was supposed to do, but then only a few days ago he’d been an orphan being raised by a washerwoman. Now Ignus was telling him he was the true Emperor.
‘What are you talking about?’ Quinn gasped.
Ignus couldn’t contain his excitement. He stomped around the small cottage, almost shaking the roof with his footsteps.
‘You are the true son of Emperor Marek, the great Earth Dragon!’ he cried. ‘You are the one I swore to serve and protect! I failed you then, but I will not fail you again!’ He slapped a hand against the wall, causing a cup to fall from a shelf. ‘Ha! Now Vayn will see! Now he will regret it!’ He grabbed Quinn and shook him so hard his teeth rattled. ‘You are the heir to the throne. You are the Emperor!’
The heir to the throne? How can I be?
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Quinn cried, his mind whirring. Just because he had the Emperor’s sword, surely that couldn’t make him the son of the Emperor. ‘But my father was a fisherman. He and my mother drowned at sea,’ Quinn said desperately. His skin began to feel hot, just like it had done when the Black Guard had burned down Marta’s house. A wisp of smoke rose from his tunic.
Ignus looked at him gravely. ‘Emperor Marek and Empress Isaria drowned at sea too, and it was no accident. Vayn was behind it.’
Thea was staring at him with a glint in her eyes. ‘I think it’s all beginning to make sense, Your Majesty.’
Quinn blushed. ‘Don’t do that,’ he said. He couldn’t cope with Thea of all people treating him like an emperor. He wasn’t the Emperor, even if his father had been. He was just a boy hiding from the Black Guard.
‘That’s why the sword came to life in your hand,’ Thea said thoughtfully, looking at the golden blade. ‘This is the sword the real Emperor used – it must only work with the rightful heir.’
‘In fact,’ Thea continued, ‘that sword would
have been used to knight the Dragon Knights. It bound them to him.’
‘And to his heirs,’ Ignus said.
‘I wonder …’ Thea said, with the sparkle of an idea in her eye. ‘Maybe we could use it to bind the Dragon Knights to you again. That might undo Vayn’s spell and release them.’
‘I’m supposed to free the Dragon Knights?’ Quinn cried, unable to believe what he was hearing.
At that moment, the door burst open. Ignus swung around, his gigantic hands clenching to fists. He dropped them as Areck and Alysa ran in.
‘There are Black Guard approaching the village!’ Alysa said. ‘Lots of them. They’re looking for you two.’
Quinn stared at Thea. ‘How did they know we were here?’
‘The farmer who gave us a lift,’ she said. ‘He must have given us away!’
‘Whoever told them, we have to hide you. Right away,’ said Areck.
‘Too late,’ Ignus growled. ‘The Guard know that Quinn and Thea are here.’ He dropped to his knees in front of Quinn and bowed his head. ‘There’s only one thing that will save us. You must knight me!’
Quinn stumbled back. ‘What?’
‘Knight me! Swear me to service and free me.’
Quinn glanced at Thea. ‘But how are you supposed to knight someone?’
‘I don’t know; you’re the heir!’ Thea said. ‘Maybe put your sword across his shoulders and say he’s your knight? And try not to slice him in two …’
‘There’s got to be more to it than that,’ Quinn said. ‘Shouldn’t there be a whole lot of vows and promises, and a whopping great ceremony?’
‘Please, Your Majesty!’ Ignus said. ‘Hurry.’
Quinn cleared his throat – he couldn’t help feeling how ridiculous this was. He was just a kid from an insignificant village on the poorest of the Twelve Islands. There had to be some mistake. He couldn’t go around knighting people.
However, if the Black Guard were on their way, there might not be another choice. He took a deep breath and laid the flat of the blade across Ignus’s shoulder. For a second, nothing happened; Quinn felt like an idiot, standing there pretending to be an emperor.
But then, the sword began to glow, just gently at first, but then with a more powerful light. Golden rays spilled from the blade, illuminating the small cottage like an otherworldly forge. Quinn raised a hand to shield his eyes, but then grew used to the strange light. Something seemed to stir inside him, just like when the dragon scales had appeared on his chest. From nowhere, words rushed from his lips in a language he’d never heard before. Somehow, he knew it was the ancient language of the dragons.
‘By the power of dragonblood and in the sight of the gods,’ the words rang out, ‘I bind you to protect the Twelve Islands against all threat and I bind your loyalty to the true Emperor. Advance, Ignus, Dragon Knight of the Twelve Islands.’
With a crack, the manacle fell from Ignus’s ankle and clanged to the ground. Ignus snatched it up and tossed it angrily into the fire. It sizzled and blazed with a magical purple flame. Streamers of heat lashed up the chimney like whips. Quinn backed away.
‘At last!’ Ignus bellowed. ‘After all this time. Free!’
He rolled his mighty shoulders and roared. The air shimmered around him, blurring his hair and skin and clothes.
‘Uh-oh,’ Quinn muttered.
Ignus seemed to stretch and grow. Inside the flickering air, his limbs twisted. Flashes of red lightning cascaded over his body. His head pressed against the roof and his shoulders pushed against the walls. Beams creaked. Dust rained down.
‘You might want to get out of here,’ Areck cried.
Quinn grasped Thea. ‘Let’s go!’
He shoved her towards the door and raced after her.
A thick tail erupted from Ignus’s back as he leaned forward. It smacked into Quinn, knocking his legs away and throwing him to the floor. His head bounced off the flagstones. He gritted his teeth and stumbled to his feet. Thea grabbed him and hauled him through the doorway, right after Areck and Alysa.
Just in time.
Wings burst from Ignus’s scaled body. His back arched up. Plaster crumbled from the walls. The iron bars that secured the door and windows popped suddenly, spinning across the village street. Timbers snapped.
Quinn threw himself down, dragging Thea with him, as the small house exploded behind them. Debris rained down and over them.
Quinn rolled onto his back and stared at what was left of the house. A gigantic red dragon reared up, shrugging off the last remnants of wood, mud and straw. Its wings spread out over the neighbouring houses. The dragon’s neck stretched up above the village, reaching at least three storeys high. Burning eyes stared down. Great claws pawed at the hard earth. The wings flapped once, and the wind almost sent Quinn and Thea tumbling across the ground.
Ignus the Flame Dragon tipped back his head and roared. A stream of fire burned hundreds of yards up into the air. The enormous dragon launched itself upwards, trailing smoke and dirt behind him.
‘The Flame Dragon,’ Quinn gasped. ‘He’s returned!’
CHAPTER 15
THE RETURN OF THE DRAGONS
Quinn stared in wonder as Ignus soared into the air. The only time he’d seen a dragon was in the mists of Marta’s spell. He’d had no way of knowing just how enormous and terrifying a real Dragon Knight would be. The dragon twisted and turned in the air; he flapped his leathery wings like a bird released from its cage, soaring higher and higher until he disappeared into a bank of cloud.
One day I’ll be like that … Quinn thought.
‘So much for hiding,’ Thea said. ‘They’ll have seen that ten miles away …’
Footsteps and shouts sounded. A crowd of villagers emerged from the houses and the streets and came running towards Ignus’s ruined cottage, congregating in Hillshade’s main square.
‘What did I tell you?’ Thea laughed.
Suddenly Quinn was snapped back to reality. What was Ignus thinking?
‘The Guard’s horses are stationed at a tavern just a mile up the road,’ Areck cried.
‘They’re coming for us!’ Quinn shouted.
There was no way Goric and the Black Guard could have missed that show. Thea and Quinn would be hauled back to the garrison – or worse.
‘What happened?’ one of the villagers demanded. ‘Where’s Ignus?’
‘We saw the cottage explode!’ another said.
Quinn looked desperately around. If news got back to Emperor Vayn he’d send more than just Yaross Garrison after him. Ignus couldn’t defeat Vayn on his own, and Quinn had no idea how to use his own dragon powers. He didn’t even know what his powers were.
‘Um … the sun …’ Quinn tried. ‘There were these red flares and …’
But he didn’t get to finish. Enormous wings beat the air above him, like the giant rattle of thunder in a storm. Ignus dived from the air and landed in the village square, right next to Quinn. The ground underneath shook like an earthquake.
‘Or, you know, a dragon,’ Quinn muttered. Great.
He looked up at Ignus; he didn’t even come up to the dragon’s knee. Ignus could have leaned over and squashed him flat. He wouldn’t need the fire or those claws that could cut a bear in half.
Then the dragon lowered his scaly head and bowed to the villagers, smoke drifting down over them. Ignus’s head was as big as a cart, and his teeth could have crunched through an oak tree, but, surprisingly, none of the villagers seemed scared. None of them were backing away or running off to report Ignus to the Black Guard. One of the men even laughed. He stepped forward and clapped Ignus soundly on the neck.
‘At last!’ the villager shouted.
‘I apologise,’ Ignus said, seriously. His deep voice sounded like he was chewing on gravel. ‘I got carried away. It has been too long since I was a dragon.’ He stretched out his wings and the crowd cheered.
‘We never believed the Dragon Knights killed the Emperor Marek,’ another villager said. ‘We
know Ignus. He’d never do something like that.’
Thea stepped forward. ‘It’s true. The Dragon Knights didn’t betray the Imperial Family. Vayn did. He killed the Emperor and Empress and took the Twelve Islands of Alariss for himself. He said the Dragon Knights had murdered the whole Imperial Family so that people would turn against them, but he lied. And he lied about the true heir being killed.’ She turned to Quinn. ‘This is your Emperor. This is Marek’s true heir!’
The villagers stared at Quinn in complete disbelief. Quinn didn’t blame them. He knew he didn’t look like an emperor. He looked like a peasant in a shabby, torn version of the Black Guard’s tunic and trousers. He wouldn’t have believed it either. He still wasn’t sure he did. He felt his body burn with heat again, but this time it was because he was blushing all the way from his feet up to the roots of his hair.
‘This boy?’ a villager shouted, mockingly.
‘Show them the sword,’ Thea whispered.
Quinn gulped, but he pulled out his father’s sword and held it up in the air. Golden light blazed from it again.
Gasps sounded from the crowd – some people even bowed before him. Quinn felt himself blush even more. It felt weird that people were bowing to him. He was the one who spent his life bowing to other people. He’d spent so much time with his head pressed into the dirt he almost had a permanently black mark on his forehead. Suddenly the thought of being back with Marta in their little cottage didn’t seem so bad. All he had to complain about there was damp laundry.
Except Marta had given up everything for him, and the Black Guard were trying to kill him. They treated everyone like scum. It’s not right, he thought. Someone needs to do something. He gathered up his courage.
‘Stand up,’ he called to the villagers. Slowly, nervously, they got to their feet. ‘You’ve bowed to other people for too long,’ he said. ‘The Black Guard might want you to put your faces in the dirt, but I don’t.’ He lifted the sword again. ‘Ignus, Thea and I will take the Empire back from Vayn again,’ he shouted. ‘We will lift this evil from you!’
