by Mike Shelton
Yes, you are worthy, Cholena said to Alli. And you may bring the others also. Cholena kneeled down on the ground so that the group could climb up onto her back more easily.
Alli mounted and then motioned for the others to climb aboard.
They hesitated a moment, as if unsure of flying on a dragon.
Cholena growled, Tell them to hurry. We must save my rider.
“Hurry,” Alli said.
Soon Alli and the three men were sitting in a line on Cholena’s back. Before lifting up into the air, the young dragon unfurled her wings and stretched them out to each side. Then, with a few great flaps, they took off, high into the sky, and raced across the short distance, toward the city.
The dragon took them up very high in the air—higher than normal eyesight would notice. They flew over the city and then landed on the top of a flat building, to be away from prying eyes. Alli dismounted and moved to the edge of the building and looked down.
A crowd had gathered in the courtyard of the castle. Alli spotted a hooded figure in black being escorted toward a platform. She inhaled sharply as she realized it was the woman who had replaced her in the dungeon cell. The guards that had taken her from the cell obviously hadn’t known what Alli looked like. They must have assumed she was Alli and just escorted the woman to her impending death.
“I can’t let her die for me,” Alli said out loud.
“She knew the risks,” Kaspar whispered from behind her. Alli hadn’t heard him dismount from the dragon.
“No, Kas. No one dies for me,” Alli said. Looking over the rest of the crowd, she spied Jaimon up on a stand next to the Wolf, the false commander, and a man that, she knew instantly, had to be the king of Quentis. He was an older version of Kaspar and his father. Same olive skin and dark hair, but the man’s face looked thin and sickly, and his body appeared to be frail.
Then Alli felt someone’s attention on her, and she peered down into the upturned eyes of the Wolf. She felt him push against her mind with thoughts of relief. Alli decided to send her thoughts out. She didn’t know for sure if the Wolf could understand, but she tried anyway.
You hide behind layers and layers of secrecy and play a dangerous game here, Alli thought.
I am the Wolf.
This was the only reply back. It made Alli smile for some reason. Then the Wolf moved over closer to Jaimon.
Alli! Jaimon’s voice said to Alli through their current mutual connection to the dragon. The rider still kept his eyes forward, watching the procession, so as to not give away the presence of the dragon or Alli.
“It’s up to you and the dragon, Alli,” Kaspar said. “I can’t get involved—at least, not yet. There is a precarious balance right now.”
Alli understood. As long as the Chameleon pulled the strings in Quentis, Kaspar and his father would have to be careful.
The two guards joined Kaspar, and they moved to the back of the building while Alli remounted.
Ready? she asked Cholena.
They timed their appearance to the perfect moment to save the woman that had taken Alli’s place, lifting up off the roof again and flying above the crowd. The hooded figure now stood on top of a platform, and one of the executioners moved forward to remove her hood.
At the exact moment the hood was removed, Cholena flew low over her, and Alli reached down and with the strength of a Battlemaster wizard picked the woman up, throwing her back behind her. The dragon emitted a loud roar and spewed fire from her mouth, blocking the guards from reaching them.
Careful, my friend. There are also good people down there, Alli cautioned the dragon.
My Rider! Cholena roared and flew toward Jaimon.
On the way there, Cholena stopped quickly to allow Alli to drop off the woman at the side of the crowd.
Flying back up into the air, Cholena soared over the group. Alli stood up on the back of the dragon, her cloak floating out behind her, and removed both of her swords from her side. She jumped through the air and landed on a dais where the dignitaries sat. Cholena continued to her rider, and Jaimon grabbed hold of her neck, swinging up to take Alli’s place on the dragon’s back.
“Protect the king,” Alli yelled to the Wolf.
The Wolf nodded at her. This was her way of keeping them both safe and of keeping his other allegiances secret. He grabbed the king and pulled him back to the castle.
“Kill her!” the Chameleon commander yelled at the guards.
Three guards approached her, and she backed up—as if afraid of them—until her back hit a railing on the dais. Then one of the guards lunged for her, and Alli jumped up, balancing on the railing with her right foot as she leaped into the air, kicking the guard away with her left foot and landing back on the platform.
As the other two guards rushed forward, Alli brought her two swords up in the air and began spinning them faster and faster, infusing them with magic. Flames spewed forth, forcing the guards back.
Behind her, she heard a swooshing sound and turned just in time to see a ball of wizard fire racing toward her. Leaning quickly back, almost parallel to the ground, the young Battlemaster let the fireball scream over her stomach and into the two guards that had been attacking her.
Hearing a grunt behind her, Alli turned to see Jaimon and his dragon knocking down the wizard who had unleashed his power at Alli. The dragon was also clearing the courtyard quickly.
Alli looked around the dais for the Chameleon and couldn’t find him. She yelled in frustration. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed another man racing toward her. He was the biggest giant Alli had ever seen—over seven feet tall. The man was swinging a ball of spikes around his head, with black tendrils of power flaring out from it. Looking into the giant’s eyes, Alli saw the Chameleon looking back at her.
“I told you that you would die today,” the Chameleon bellowed as he advanced on Alli.
Alli couldn’t let the black tendrils touch her. She had seen what they had done to Breelyn and to the Elvyn king. Somehow, Roland had used that power without damaging himself, but he was special—a thought Alli would never admit to that arrogant man.
She dug deep inside of herself and pulled up all the magic she could gather, flinging it in one hot stream of fire at the Chameleon. His body was engulfed in flames, but he walked out of them unscathed.
“Your powers are puny compared to my father’s.” The Chameleon was still swinging the ball of spikes and its chain, faster and faster, the black tendrils moving around it with an increasing speed. “He gives me power from the other side. Dark powers of death.”
Alli shook her head and tried not to get distracted by the Chameleon’s rantings. Then she remembered the figurine. She had moved it into the pocket of the new clothes that Kaspar had given her.
Dropping one sword onto the ground, Alli grabbed the figurine with that free hand and concentrated on it. Power flared up inside her.
Alli! said Cholena’s voice.
Now that Alli had her own wizard powers back, she could pull more power from the figurine—a new power, a different power, the power of dragons.
Be careful, Battlemaster, Cholena warned Alli.
Alli could hear the dragon and Jaimon finishing up the rest of the fighting behind her. So it was now down to her and the Chameleon.
“Die!” the Chameleon yelled as he jumped forward, spinning the spiked ball and chain, its black tendrils reaching like fingers toward Alli.
Time slowed down for Alli as she pulled more power from the jade dragon carving in her hand, moving past the power of just Cholena.
Who pulls my power? said another voice from afar. Another dragon.
I am the Battlemaster, Alli said. I need power to fight the Chameleon.
Take it, the voice replied. I am Miriel.
Alli heard the roar of the second dragon in her mind. Using her own power and that of both Cholena and Miriel, Alli struck out and time resolved itself.
Black tendrils clashed with the pure white light emanating from Alli’s
outstretched hand. Then the white light formed the visage of the jade dragon Alli held. It grew in size until it was almost double Alli’s height and then opened its mouth, consuming the dark tendrils by sucking them into the white-hot magic.
“No!” the Chameleon yelled and then slumped over, the visage of the commander leaving his face and returning it to his normal self..
Alli advanced on the Chameleon. But, with all the distractions around her, she had not seen the figure now racing toward them. Turning, she saw the real commander, a crazed look in his eyes, his manacled hands outstretched. He had no magic power and very little physical strength left. Alli didn’t know how he had even escaped.
“He is mine. All mine,” the real commander said as he raced toward the Chameleon, who now stood back up, resuming the guise of the commander as his own face.
“You cannot kill me—I am you,” the Chameleon taunted.
“I will die trying then,” the real commander said. He seemed to pause for a moment and tried to gather in his strength. Alli supposed that, as commander of the Sanctuary, he had been very powerful once.
The commander’s manacles glowed bright, and sparks came forth.
As the Chameleon reached out his fingers toward the man he had replaced, the familiar black tendrils came forth and began to encircle the rightful commander.
“No. No.” The commander threw himself into the Chameleon, and they both fell over the railing and off the dais with a loud thud.
Alli raced over to that side and looked down the ten-foot drop. On the ground lay one man—only one. She could guess who that would be. She picked up the sound of footsteps, off to her right, and jumped off the platform herself, landing in a comfortable crouch. Then she stood up and raced after the running figure.
The crowd from the planned execution earlier had been pushed back, out of the square, but still hung around outside the castle walls. So Alli found herself looking into a sea of people. Trying to find something to give herself some height, she jumped up the side of a tree and clung to a low limb.
Surveying the crowd, Alli knew that she wouldn’t be able to find the Chameleon. He could be anyone by now: the guard at the corner, the merchant escorting his wife away, or one of the tradespeople, gathered together and talking.
Cholena flew over the receding crowd and landed next to Alli. She dropped down from the tree, and Jaimon jumped off of his dragon and joined her.
“I almost had him,” Alli spat.
“What did you do up there?” Jaimon said, pointing toward the dais. “Where did that white fire dragon come from?”
“I pulled from the powers of Cholena and Miriel, and I almost had him.” Alli stopped and thought for a moment. “If I could have pulled from more dragons, I could have done it. That’s it, Jaimon! That’s how we can defeat the Chameleon. We need to pull all the dragons’ powers together.”
Jaimon nodded, and his eyes sparkled with excitement. “Yes, that might work. The manacles and his powers earlier never blocked the power of the dragons!”
“The power of the spirit—the power to bind,” Alli said. “We need to let Bakari know!”
Alli heard quick footsteps and turned around. In the shadow of the castle appeared Kaspar and Gabby. Alli and Jaimon approached the pair carefully, making sure others didn’t notice.
“Are you all right?” Kaspar asked Alli.
Alli nodded. “I found out how to defeat the Chameleon’s evil. It’s the power of the dragons.”
Kaspar smiled. “That’s what we have been protecting for thousands of years, Alli. The Followers of the Dragon protect the power of the dragons, to be used only when there are no other choices. There are rumors of others that are searching for more artifacts. The histories do say that there used to be more. But the figurines are powerful—and could be devastating in the wrong hands.”
“I understand, Kaspar,” Alli said. “But we will need to take these few with us.”
Kaspar furrowed his eyebrows. “You have to be careful.” He looked away from Alli and said to Jaimon, “Dragon Rider, who will wield this power to defeat the darkness?”
Jaimon turned to Alli, and she gave him a small smile. They both knew who it had to be.
“The Dragon King,” Jaimon said. “Bakari, the Dragon King, will use the powers of the dragons. That is his right.”
Kaspar clapped his hands, and Gabby squealed in delight. Then they both turned and looked back at the castle. Deep in the shadows stood the Wolf and the king. The Wolf stood close to his father, holding the king up on his feet. They both nodded their heads to Kaspar and Gabby and then turned and retreated back into the castle.
Kaspar turned back to Alli and Jaimon. “The Dragon King it is. That is what we were hoping to hear. It is for him that we have protected the artifacts. Hail the Dragon.”
“Hail the Dragon,” whispered Gabby.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
Bakari and Liam had spent an afternoon in the twin cities, stocking up their supplies for their trek into the Gold Mountains. Bakari did not feel good about bringing the Cremelinos into that rough mountain terrain, but Liam couldn’t walk that far on his own. An urgency filled Bakari’s heart to the point that it was hard for him not to bolt away on his own toward the dragon egg, for they needed to be there before it hatched.
That morning, Bakari had felt something disturb his magic. He had reached out in his mind somewhat but hadn’t had time to go deeper. He thought he sensed the movement of dragon power—the power to bind—being used somewhere to the south. The only explanation he could think of was that someone needed power and was pulling it to them.
He would have normally guessed it to be Roland, but Bakari thought that Roland was probably still stuck in the magic stream and didn’t have the knowledge of how to pull on a dragon’s magic. That left Breelyn, Jaimon, or possibly Alli. Breelyn was in trouble the last time Bakari had seen her, and Jaimon didn’t have magic powers of his own. So, with a small smile, Bakari guessed that it was probably Alli.
“Why the smile, Bakari?” Liam mumbled. “These mountains look impossible to cross over, especially on our horses.”
“Oh, Liam, didn’t I tell you?” Bakari said with a grin. “We aren’t going over them; we are going under them!”
“Under?” Liam stood by his Cremelino and almost looked sick now. “You mean through the mines?”
“Yes. It’s the fastest way there.” Bakari mounted his horse. “I’ve asked a couple of the miners to lead us through.”
“I bet my father put you up to this, didn’t he?” Liam’s horse kneeled down for him to make mounting easier.
Bakari checked the straps on his packs and made sure they were secure next to him on the horse. “I don’t even know your father, Liam. I have never met him.”
Liam just growled, and Bakari motioned him and the two miners forward. It took all Bakari had not to lash out at Liam sometimes. He didn’t think he had ever been around someone who complained about and looked at things in such a negative light as Liam did.
Bakari tried to have compassion on Liam because Bakari knew it must have been hard to grow up in a royal household with a lame foot. But Liam was now at an age barely less than Bakari’s. And Liam needed to grow up. Bakari guessed that getting on a dragon would help with that, and he grinned again.
Liam’s horse trotted up next to his. “You’re smiling again, Bakari.”
“Maybe I’m just happy, Liam,” Bakari snapped at the young prince. “Did you ever think of that? Maybe some people are just happy and like smiling.”
Then Bakari noticed the looks that the miners were giving him. Liam was their prince, after all—and Bakari had just yelled at him. Bakari took a deep breath and steadied his mind.
Oh, seeing Liam fly on a dragon was going to be fun. Real fun!
Bakari tried to keep his face looking complacent, but he couldn’t. So, to not raise Liam’s ire any further, Bakari sent a mental image to his Cremelino and jumped out ahead of the group.
&nbs
p; Soon they entered the mouth of the mine. Bakari had been told by the mining captain that a tunnel lead all the way through the mountain and out on the other side, though not many had ventured so far. Rumors of wild animals and strange people being in the Forgotten Lands had kept many people away, except for the miners, who didn’t have time for such long expeditions.
One of the miners, Emory, turned to Bakari and said, “If you don’t mind, sir, my father said men looking like you came and worked these mines about sixteen years ago.”
Bakari almost fell off his horse. He turned to Emory and asked, “What did he say about them?” Bakari’s heartbeat picked up pace.
“They had braids like yours, sir, but longer,” Emory said. “And they worked hard but were looking for someone.”
They stopped for a moment as they reached a crossroads in the mine. Frederic, the other miner, motioned them to the right. The torches inside the mine were getting farther apart now. Bakari turned to Liam with questioning eyes, as if to ask if he or Bakari should bring forth a mage light. He would rather not draw any more attention to himself; though, riding a Cremelino probably already had the villagers thinking he was a wizard of some sort.
Liam brought forth a flame, then turned it into an oval mage light and pushed it out in front of the group a bit. The miners nodded their thanks.
Turning back to Emory, Bakari continued questioning him. “Do you know what they were looking for?”
Emory shook his head. “No, I don’t recall, though I know they helped in moving around our mining machinery and then would disappear, for days at a time, deep into the tunnels.”
“They were looking for some kind of king,” Frederic butted in. “Those were the days when King Darius, Liam’s father, first visited the mines—the day our lives became better.” Turning to Liam, Frederic continued, “Did you know I met your father?”
Liam raised his brows, and Emory mumbled, “We’ve heard this story before.”
“He saved me from being whipped or killed,” Frederick said.
