The Dragon King (The Alaris Chronicles Book 3)

by Mike Shelton

  “Magic flows around us like a stream,” he explained. “And, just like a real stream of water, some places are wider or deeper than others. So, if we can get ourselves into the deepest part of the stream, we will have more power to use.”

  Breanna just nodded.

  “And, if we can join our powers together…” Liam continued.

  “Which we have been doing since we were born,” Breanna added.

  Liam nodded. “Yes. But, if we use my powers to guide us to the stream and then your powers to shoot us forward, I think we can expand the reach of our powers. I also think we might be able to direct our powers between the water and the clouds to reach out into the storm.”

  “Oh, Liam.” Breanna clapped. “That sounds wonderful. Do you actually think it could work?”

  Liam grew more excited with his sister’s enthusiasm. “Well, it is a big ocean out there, but we can try. Once we find the ship, you can use your power over the wind to push its sails our way.”

  “And the Cremelinos?” Breanna asked.

  “That’s what binds our powers all together. Their power augments ours. But, more than just increasing the power, the Cremelinos’ powers help us work together better.”

  Getting so wise now, young wizard, thought Liam’s Cremelino.

  Liberty, will you help us? Liam asked.

  Of course, Liam. We are always here for you.

  Liam turned his head toward Breanna, who was listening through her Cremelino, Crystal.

  “Why is it that, most of the time, I think they already know what is going on but are just waiting for us to ask?” Liam said.

  Both Cremelinos snorted, but Crystal answered, How would you learn otherwise?

  Breanna reached for Liam’s hands. Hers felt much warmer than his own. They had done this many times in the past. They had learned as young children that, by touching each other, their powers worked better. But Liam didn’t know if this was the case with all wizards or only because they were twins.

  Liam closed his eyes, helping himself to concentrate better. Initially, there was only darkness. But, reaching inside himself, he felt the familiar magic burst from his mind. It blossomed, bright and blue. Then, soon afterward, he saw his sister’s power—the power of the earth. This grew more rapidly and was dark green in color. Then the soft touch of the Cremelinos’ magic wrapped around theirs in a soft white layer.

  Still being shielded from the storm by Breanna’s barrier, the twins stayed seated on the wet ground and faced the sea. Liam reached his mind outward, trying to find the currents in the magic around them. With the wizard school so close, eddies of magic swarmed all around. Then a bright stream erupted in the corner of his mind, and Liam found the stream of magic—the stream that gives all magic users their abilities but that only a few wizards could actually see or touch with their minds.

  Liam guessed that, due to his physical limitations, he had pushed his mind further than others had. Or, maybe it was his connection to his twin. Or, possibly, that he was the son of one of the most powerful wizards in the western lands.

  Whatever the reason, Liam had always been able to find this source of his powers. It had annoyed his teachers and made other wizards jealous. Still, he would trade it all to be able to walk normally and to train his physical abilities like others. For, even as the son of the king, he had been teased mercilessly his entire life. Even adults would sometimes give him a look of disgust when they thought he wasn’t watching. But he was always watching.

  Liam felt Breanna’s magic touch his own, urging him on. She flew with him through the spiritual, magical stream. Their vision expanded and raced through the building storm. The farther out they went, the worse the storm got. Thunder boomed around Liam, and flashes of lightning seared his vision, but still he pushed on—trying to find one lone ship in the huge sea.

  After an hour of searching, Liam’s strength began to ebb. His Cremelino, Liberty, strengthened him, and he continued his search. He finally felt a small, but specific prick of magic. It was not from his sister or their Cremelinos but someone else. Someone out in the water. Liam narrowed his magical focus with his mind and pulled Breanna along with him.

  Is it him? Breanna said to Liam through their bond with the Cremelinos.

  It’s someone with magic, Liam answered back. But it’s faint.

  He pushed himself to the limits of where he had ever gone before. He felt Breanna’s magic weaken, and the barrier blocking the storm from them fell. As rain pelted their faces, they both struggled to keep their magic intact.

  “There it is. I got the ship!” Liam yelled with delight. He directed his magic toward one man in particular and locked on to his magic.

  Breanna followed Liam in.

  “Now bring the ship in, Breanna. Hurry, before our power weakens any more.”

  As Liam felt his sister gather her growing earth powers, the ground shook where they stood and the wind went out from her fingertips, traveling at a tremendous speed miles out into the Blue Sea, until she grabbed hold of the ship. She wrapped her powers around the ship too hard at first, and it lurched even more dangerously in the mammoth waves. Then, drawing power from the earth deep below the ocean’s surface, Breanna steadied the ship and began to pull it toward them, out of the storm.

  Liam extended all the powers he could afford to give to his sister and almost giggled with delight. They were doing something that none of his teachers could teach them. The power was intoxicating—and real. Liam gripped Breanna’s hand and let her pull the ship to safety.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Bakari woke up on the wet floor of the ship’s deck. The barrier he had built over the ship to block the storm had collapsed, and he didn’t have the physical or magical strength at the moment to reestablish it. The sails had all been brought down, and now they were at the mercy of the crew’s experience to get safely through the storm. The captain was barking orders as the crew slid across the ship, trying to keep the boat’s mast from collapsing.

  “We need to get back inside,” the governor said. “Can you stand?”

  Bakari nodded and sat up. Kelln stood and then had to put his hand against a railing to keep himself from falling back down. The two helped each other up and toward the stairs. But walking down the steps to the rooms below was difficult. The rocking of the boat continued to throw them from side to side. Lightning lit the sky around them with an almost simultaneous boom of thunder. Slipping down the last few steps, they landed on the wet floor.

  “Can’t you do anything more?” Kelln asked. He was drenched himself, and his red hair was plastered to his thin face.

  Bakari had been thinking the same thing himself. He was so tired, but he reached inside himself nonetheless, trying to find his magic. In so doing, he felt another touch of magic—as if a slight breeze of power flitted across his mind—and he dove deeper.

  Bakari didn’t know whose power it was, but it felt safe and familiar. As he focused on it, it grew stronger. Then Bakari saw the blurred face of a young man, not much younger than himself. It filled his mind, and he smiled inside. Once again, Bakari had been led to the next dragon rider.

  The young man’s power shifted, and a larger force enveloped his. Then the boat leaned perilously to the starboard side.

  The governor yelled out and grabbed hold of a railing. Then the rocking diminished, and Bakari felt the ship being pulled away from the brunt of the storm. He sensed a powerful magic at work and wondered whose it was. Was it from the woman he had seen in the stream of magic? He wasn’t sure—but it was from someone with power over the elements.

  The rocking slowed, and Bakari and Kelln went back out onto the deck. The captain glared expectantly at Bakari.

  “It’s not me, sir,” Bakari said. “Someone else is helping us.”

  “I hope they are helping,” the captain said in a gruff voice. “I don’t like having the control of my ship taken from me.”

  The governor frowned at the captain. “Sir, have some respect for the drag
on rider. He is doing all he can.”

  The captain nodded his head, obviously feeling chastised, but turned back to his crew.

  Bakari and Kelln moved to the front railing. Peering through the dark clouds and rolling water, Bakari could see the sky light up ahead. It was still raining, but they were leaving the worst of the storm behind them. Bakari opened up his mind to his magic and reached out.

  Up ahead through the storm was land: an island. And on that island, Bakari sensed a lot of magic—magic so powerful and deep that it felt similar to the dragons’ magic. This brief thought made Bakari’s stomach churn. He was still coming to grips with not being with Abylar. But he pushed that thought aside for now. He needed to focus.

  Among all the magic he sensed, there were two humans with their powers directed at his ship. They were pulling the ship to safety. Bakari’s magic touched theirs. A boy and a girl of tremendous power!

  The captain yelled out, “We are coming in too fast! If you want to help us out, Rider—now is the time.”

  Opening his eyes, Bakari now saw the outline of land. The captain was right. The looming white cliffs of the island were growing closer—too close.

  While keeping his eyes open, to help himself focus on the land, Bakari reached for his magic. The intensity of his need brought his magic quicker and clearer this time. He felt the others’ powers and how these were wrapped around the ship and were pulling them in.

  Powerful indeed, but untrained, Bakari thought and almost laughed. Wasn’t he just as untrained?

  Even though Abylar was far away and Bakari couldn’t feel the bond, Bakari still had been given significant tutoring and power while he had been with Abylar. Reaching out into the stream of his power, he pulled it into himself.

  He heard a gasp through the stream as a person on the other end fought Bakari for a moment before realizing what he was trying to do.

  Grabbing the power of the earth that was pulling the ship, Bakari thought about how to refocus it to keep them all safe. Then another mind popped up by his—a mind like his own. This mind began using the knowledge in their minds to diminish the raging power of the wind around the ship. Then the sails of the ship seemed to rise up of their own volition. The crew and captain gasped, but the action had its intended outcome, and the ship began to slow down.

  Bakari, however, realized that this would not be enough. There was only a small beach and then the looming white cliffs behind it. Bakari now did close his eyes to concentrate more as he summoned creatures in the sea beneath them.

  A dozen dolphins and giant sea turtles swam up next to the ship. Bakari directed them to come closer. His ability to touch their minds had grown since his bonding with the dragon. Doing this wasn’t wrong or evil—as had been taught for so long—it was natural, and the creatures had a desire to help. Touching the sides of the ship, they used their bodies to begin to slow it down.

  “Bakari, it’s working,” Kelln yelled out. So Bakari opened his eyes.

  “Never seen anything like this in my life.” The captain’s eyes grew round.

  “It’s beautiful,” said another crew member.

  The wind had died down, the storm moving away behind the ship, and, with the gentle nudging of the animals, the ship floated slower and slower across the water, until coming to a standstill a few hundred feet from the shore of the island.

  As the crew cheered, the captain slapped Bakari on the back and said, “No one will ever believe me, Dragon Rider. Forgive me for my outburst earlier.” The captain shook his head before yelling orders to his crew, to navigate around the island to a proper port.

  “Sir,” Bakari called back to the captain. “We would like to get out here.”

  “What do you mean, Bakari?” Kelln turned in surprise. “They have a port on the other side of the island.”

  “I need to meet the people that helped us.”

  Kelln gave a hard glance at Bakari for a moment. Then, turning to the captain, he ordered, “Do as the young wizard commands, Captain. I will go with him.”

  The captain’s eyes bulged. “But, Governor, you can’t. This isn’t proper for you. Who will greet you here?”

  Kelln laughed, and a bright gleam lit his eyes. “I will be fine, Captain. I will meet you at the harbor tomorrow. I have a great wizard to protect me.” He slapped Bakari on the back, and the two of them headed to the side of the ship.

  Soon the crew had lowered a smaller boat down into the water. Bakari and Kelln jumped inside. Then the two oarsmen began to take them in to the shore.

  Bakari wondered what kind of man the governor was. He couldn’t imagine any of the governors or judges in Alaris traipsing around like this—without all the usual pomp and circumstance.

  As they approached the shore, Bakari noticed two people standing up on the cliffs and looking down at them. The two seemed to be about his same age. The young woman turned to the young man, and what appeared to be a brief argument ensued with the shaking of heads. The young woman disappeared, and then, as the boat neared the shore, she appeared again, climbing down a steep path from the cliff to the sand.

  The small boat took them right up to the shoreline. Bakari stepped out ahead of the governor. He breathed in deeply. It felt good to be on land again. Though, he still felt like he was rocking.

  Saying goodbye to the oarsmen, Bakari bade them give his thanks once again to the captain. Bakari took a few steps forward on the wet sand, then he gazed straight up. The white cliffs stood about seventy-five feet high above them, rainwater still dripping down their rocky surface.

  “Amazing!” Bakari said.

  “They certainly are,” Kelln agreed. “I never get tired of seeing them.”

  Out of a crevice, a young woman emerged. Her light brown hair was long and wet, but her smile brightened up her heart-shaped face. She took a few steps toward them, seeming surprised.

  “Breanna!” Kelln yelled and then grabbed her into a full hug. She stood a few inches shorter than him.

  “Uncle Kelln, what are you doing here?” the young woman asked, her brown hair fluttering in the post-storm wind.

  Kelln laughed and turned to Bakari. “This is Breanna DarSan Williams, the daughter of the king.” He turned back to Breanna. “And this is Bakari.”

  Breanna opened her eyes wide, as if waiting for more of an explanation, but none followed.

  “Where is the other one?” Bakari asked.

  “Other one?” Kelln repeated, then laughed out loud. “You mean that scoundrel, Liam, is here too?”

  The young woman frowned slightly and pointed up above them as she said, “He is up there.”

  “Liam is also the king’s son—the two are twins,” Kelln explained to Bakari. “Both wizards.”

  Bakari wondered why the young man hadn’t come down to greet them also.

  Breanna seemed to have sensed his question, for she said, “He has a bad foot and can’t climb or walk well.”

  Her face held a serene sympathy that almost brought a tear to Bakari’s eyes. He could tell that she loved her brother very much.

  “But Liam is an amazing wizard,” Breanna added.

  Bakari smiled at that. “You are both quite amazing for your age; I felt your power.”

  “Our age?” Breanna smiled. “You aren’t that much older than us—and I felt your power. A type of power I haven’t felt before.”

  Bakari just shrugged. He wasn’t ready to explain anything else yet—especially about the dragons. So he looked up the cliff and said, “I would like to meet your brother.”

  Breanna opened her mouth, as if to ask more questions, but was polite enough not to push. “Y…yes. Of course,” she stuttered. “If you don’t mind the climb.”

  After surviving the ordeal on the ship, Bakari and Kelln were exhausted by the time they reached the top of the cliff.

  “I’m too old for this, Breanna,” Kelln complained.

  “Oh, Uncle Kelln, you need to get out more.” Breanna laughed.

  Nearing the top, Ba
kari noticed that the storm had continued blowing away and that the sun had begun to peek out around the receding clouds. Putting his hands on his knees at the top of the cliff, to catch his breath, he eventually stood back up. Then he noticed a young man, with dark hair and a brooding face, looking intently at him.

  “Liam!” Kelln said as he reached over and slapped the young man on the back. “You’ve grown taller since the last time we saw each other. Are you ever going to stop?”

  A smile lifted the corners of Liam’s mouth.

  “Liam, this is Bakari,” Breanna added, introducing them.

  Liam stared for a moment longer.

  Then Breanna nudged him and said, “Liam, where are your manners?”

  Bakari surveyed the two and marveled that they were twins. Then he took a step toward the young man and put his hand out. “Nice to meet you, Liam. Thank you for saving us. Your control was amazing.”

  The compliment had its desired effect, and Liam’s lips turned into a full smile. He brought his hand out to shake Bakari’s and said, “Well met, Bakari. What you did with those animals was staggering. Where did you learn that?”

  Bakari ignored this question for the moment and let himself feel Liam’s soul. A magical whispering told Bakari that this young man from the Realm was the one.

  Now, I just need to find Liam’s dragon, Bakari thought to himself.

  “Where are you from?” Breanna asked him.

  “Alaris, though my heritage is Mahlian.”

  “Alaris?” Breanna clapped her hands together. “So it is true. The barrier is down?”

  “Yes, it is.” Bakari nodded.

  “We need to tell my father that you are here,” Breanna said. “Emperor Alrishitar told us, but my father was somewhat skeptical about the news.”

  “I am on my way to see your father,” Kelln added. “Just had to get this young man here to White Island first.”

  “Tell him we are doing well,” Breanna said.

  “Are we?” Liam asked, brooding once again.

  “So, who is the oldest?” Bakari looked from one to the other and couldn’t tell.