by Mike Shelton
Bakari nodded and took a few bites and had a drink. “I need to go back in. One down, two to go,” he said, then smiled and reached for the magic stream again. “Be careful.” Liam whispered.
This time, Bakari pulled himself northward, to the wizard school on White Island.
He found himself standing in the office of the headmaster there. Two men were standing by the headmaster, trying to hold him up, as Bakari had suddenly burst into the room in physical form.
The two men gasped, and the headmaster lifted his head up. Then the two men brought up their other hands and threw fire at Bakari. But it was a measly attempt. Bakari moved a few fingers, and the two men went flying, twenty feet across the room, landing in a heap on the floor.
The headmaster stood up straighter and snarled at Bakari as he said, “Coming for me now, boy?”
The comment confirmed Bakari’s suspicions that the Sentinel was possessing Headmaster Penrose’s body.
“Leave this man’s body alone,” Bakari commanded. “He has done nothing to deserve this.”
“Ahh, but he has,” the Sentinel said. “All men have. All you wizards think you are better than everyone else. But you took my father’s throne from him and—”
“Your father is dead now,” Bakari said to cut him off. “Leave this man’s body—by command of the Dragon King!”
Power shook the room and reverberated through the entire magic stream. Then Bakari sensed the presence of Danijela, Mezar, Darius, and other powerful wizards, with him, inside the magic stream. In front of Bakari, a black spirit separated itself from Headmaster Penrose’s body, leaving the headmaster himself to slump down onto his chair, looking barely conscious.
The spirit of the Sentinel reached his hands forward, sending a black tendril of power toward Bakari. This time, Bakari immediately drew power from Liam and his dragon, Ryker, and a red dragon of fire came forth from Bakari’s hand. The dragon opened its mouth wide and roared a deafening sound that rocked the building. Into its jaws it sucked in all the power of the Sentinel, leaving only the spirit to dissipate and disappear right in front of Bakari.
The headmaster sat up and nodded to Bakari, saying, “Thank you, Son. I don’t know who you are, but thank you.”
“I am Bakari, the Dragon King,” Bakari said, his voice loud and strong.
Then, bringing the red dragon back to himself, Bakari pulled himself away from the wizard school and back into the magic stream. The spirit manifestations of many wizards stood around him there. They bowed their allegiance and gave him power, and Bakari nodded his thanks.
Feeling the dragons and his riders up in the mountains of Mahli still, he took a deep breath. This one would be the hardest, for he would have to confront Breelyn.
Finding he could now travel with only a thought to where he needed to go, Bakari raced south and eastward, to the border of Alaris and Solshi. As he pulled on the spark of a nearby wizard, he found himself looking at a battlefield. Evening was now falling, and men were setting up camp for the night. He could see two armies settling across the Mahli River from each other. And bridges and barges were being erected on the Solshi side.
Then he saw her! Breelyn Mier, Elvyn protector, dragon rider, and the Elvyn king’s betrothed. Dressed in black leather, she sat atop a dark horse, her jet-black hair blowing in the wind. Breelyn barked orders to the men around her. Next to her, on an even larger black horse, sat a man. Bakari recognized his visage from the magic stream battle earlier. The General.
Bakari brought himself out of the magic stream directly in front of the General. With the two of them up on the horses and Bakari standing on the ground, the effect was not as great as Bakari would have hoped. But still they were surprised.
“Bakari!” Breelyn said with apparent astonishment.
“Dragon Rider.” Bakari nodded to her.
“Not anymore,” Breelyn said and lowered her head, refusing to meet Bakari’s eyes.
“She is mine now,” the General said from beside her. “I am her master.”
Bakari shook his head. “Not for long, General.”
Bakari gathered the dragons’ power to him once again and used it to rise up into the air. He now stood level with the General and Breelyn, and green, blue, yellow, and red—the colors of the dragons—flowed around his body, swirling in the air.
Breelyn looked up and opened her eyes wide, but she stayed silent.
The General brought forth his dark and mighty powers quicker than Bakari had anticipated, and he threw a black thunderbolt at him. Bakari tried to dodge the thunderbolt in the air, but a black tendril hit his arm and sent him skidding backward in the air.
He righted himself and pushed forward. Using the powers of the dragons, Bakari drove any effects of the General’s evil tendril out of himself.
“Attack him!” the General yelled out, and his guards drew their swords. But Bakari was too far away for them to reach. Then a group of archers stepped to the side, drew their bows, and fired at him.
Bakari put his arms up, and a shield formed around him, knocking each arrow down in turn. After two earlier battles, though, Bakari was getting tired and needed to end this soon. He floated back to the ground, landing with a gentle step, then walked up in front of Breelyn. He had to try to reach her.
“Breelyn,” Bakari said softly. “What happened?”
As she peered down at him, a tear slid down her cheek.
“You don’t owe him an explanation,” the General said.
From the side, three men tried to attack Bakari. With a slight wave of his hand, first their swords and then the men themselves were thrown through the air.
“I did it for Lan!” Breelyn said. “I did it to save him.”
“The General cares nothing for Lan,” Bakari said.
“He said he would save the elves and save Lan.”
The General laughed out loud, his deep voice filling the air. “See, Dragon King, your precious dragon rider is mine now.”
“You have no intention of saving the elves,” Bakari yelled at the man.
Breelyn looked over at the General with a question in her eyes.
The General laughed. “Whether I do or don’t doesn’t really matter now, does it?”
“But you promised,” Breelyn said, her face contorting in pain. “You promised you would save him.”
“I make all sorts of promises.” The General shrugged. “Some I keep, and others I don’t. We shall see.”
Bakari’s shield dropped as he paid attention to Breelyn and the General - and he suddenly felt pain in his shoulder. He yelled out, and, for a moment, he could feel himself in Mahli, in the magic stream, and on the Alaris border—all at the same time. His physical form wavered briefly, then he brought it back more solidly. An arrow’s shaft stuck out from his shoulder blade.
As Bakari clapped his hands together, a loud sound filled the air, and in front of him formed a beautiful yellow and gold dragon. He had formed it into as close of a replica as he could make of Miriel, Breelyn’s dragon.
“No!” Breelyn yelled. “Don’t do this to me, Bakari. I can’t come back now!”
“Yes, you can, Breelyn!” Bakari yelled at her as the fire dragon grew in size. “The General will not help you.”
“Either way, it is too late,” Breelyn said. “I’ve done too much evil. I pushed Miriel away from me.” Tears streamed down Breelyn’s face.
But Bakari noticed something that the elf maiden had not—the blackness in Breelyn’s hair had receded a few inches. He was reaching her!
“No!” Breelyn yelled, and she flung out her own powerful mage powers at Bakari. The attack surprised him, and he yelled out in pain as her fire had singed his arm. “I am dark now, Bakari. That’s who I am. Leave here now.”
The General laughed. “Looks like you lose, Dragon King.”
Bakari wasn’t going to let himself lose. He didn’t fly across the Western Continent, destroy the ancient king and two of his sons, and watch his own best friend die just to be stop
ped here.
Bakari felt the other wizards at his side within the magic stream, while the other dragon riders’ and the dragons’ powers poured into him from Mahli. He gathered all the powers inside of himself—the powers of the mind, heart, and earth, together with the power of the spirit—and pulled them all into one. As he did so, the yellow fire dragon grew to the size of the real dragon in front of the army.
“Come forth, Miriel. Come to your master!” Bakari ordered the dragon in Mahli. With this command from the Dragon King, the dragon herself went into the magic stream and then came back out and appeared in the air as part of the fire dragon. The apparition and the real dragon merged together and breathed down fire from the sky.
The General brought forth a stream of black fire and threw it at Bakari, but Miriel intervened and swallowed the black fire. With a loud roar, she headed toward the General.
“Breelyn, Dragon Rider,” Bakari said, his voice like the roar of a dragon. “Who is your master?” These last few words came out with such power and force that the soldiers nearby fell to the ground and covered their ears.
As Miriel raced toward the General, Breelyn sat by his side and glanced from Bakari to Miriel and back. Suddenly, with an inhuman quickness, Breelyn pulled a dagger from her belt, stood up in her stirrups, and using her magical powers jumped over to the General’s horse, plunging the black dagger into the General’s heart.
“You are my master, Bakari. The Dragon King is my master,” Breelyn screamed, and her voice filled the battlefield.
The General wailed, his black tendrils swirling around him. Miriel reached him and opened her jaws wide. Breelyn jumped to the ground as the merged dragon let out a stream of yellow fire that disintegrated the General in front of his own army.
Miriel flew up into the air and roared, shaking the air around her with a mighty force. Then she disappeared, flying back into the magic stream to return to the plateau in Mahli.
Bakari collapsed to the ground, breathing hard. After a moment, he looked up and saw Breelyn standing back up. Her quick gaze seemed to take in the entire battlefield.
“Go home,” she yelled at the soldiers. “This battle is over.”
As she walked slowly toward Bakari, the blackness receded from her hair and clothes, shifting not back to white but to a soft silver. Reaching Bakari, Breelyn bent down and pulled him up to stand next to her. Tears fell down her face.
Bakari smiled through his own tears. “Welcome back, Breelyn.”
She hugged him fiercely and wept. Then she turned Bakari around and pulled the arrow out of his back. He winced with the pain but Breelyn moved her hand over the wound.
Bakari felt a soft warmth on his shoulder. Then Breelyn removed her hands and it was healed.
“My powers are back again,” Breelyn said. “My true powers. Maybe that means that I can heal Lan also.” She smiled, then brought her head down low as she added, “Though, I doubt he even wants to see me, after what I have done.”
Bakari flickered briefly, his body needed to get back to his physical form. “Oh, I don’t know. I think that man loves you fiercely, Breelyn.” He paused a moment, to concentrate on holding his body there for a minute longer. “I have to go now. My power is weakening. Go to the Citadel. They will provide you an escort back to Elvyn.”
Breelyn only nodded. Then, before Bakari left, she knelt down and uttered, “Hail the Dragon King.”
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
Bakari found himself back in the magic stream, and Danijela and the others stood next to him.
“You did it!” Danijela smiled at Bakari.
He nodded and then smiled. “I did!”
“Truly a dragon king,” Mezar said. “I look forward to meeting you in person someday.” With that, he left the group.
“Take care of my son,” Darius said and then smiled. “I am happy that Liam has found a purpose in life.” He spread his arms out wide as he began to dissipate also.
Bakari gasped and looked at Danijela. “The joy Darius feels!”
“King Darius does have a flair for giving his heart to people,” Danijela said.
After a moment, Bakari said, “Now what?”
The High Wizard of Arc smiled widely. “I have something to show you before you return to Mahli. Come with me.”
She motioned for Bakari to follow her, and they flew through the magic stream, stopping in front of a significant group of lights.
Still holding the powers of the dragons, Bakari knew whose lights these were. They were all the wizards in the Citadel: The first home that he could remember having. Where he had been trained as a scholar wizard. Where he had first begun to read all the books he could.
“Who could have ever known that a five-year-old orphan boy would end up here today?”
Danijela nodded toward the lights. “You need to go inside.”
Bakari felt torn. He knew that Kharlia was there. He craved to hold her again and feel her comfort and love for him. But he would also have to face the fact that Roland was gone.
“I don’t know if I can right now, Danijela. I’m exhausted. I need time. I just can’t…” Tears filled the corners of his eyes.
Danijela reached up and put a hand on his shoulder. “My boy,” she said in a comforting but demanding tone, “you need to see this.”
Bakari took a deep breath and then said, “All right.” He grabbed onto a light—the one he knew was Alli’s—and found himself inside Roland’s sitting room. Grief almost overwhelmed Bakari once more.
“How is he?” Kharlia asked Alli.
“As stubborn as ever,” Alli said with a laugh. “He wants to get up and run around already.”
Bakari wondered who they were talking about.
“It wouldn’t hurt him to get some fresh air,” Kharlia said. “The healing worked well, but the rest will come from his own body.”
Bakari looked back and forth between the two. What were they talking about? What healing? His heart leapt with the possibility that he only dared hope for.
From the other room came a male voice, saying, “Are you two ladies talking about me again?”
“Not everything is about you, Roland Tyre,” Alli said with a laugh. “But, yes, we were.”
Roland! But, how? Bakari thought. Could it really be him?
Drawing more magic to himself once again—it came easier now—Bakari popped into the room in his physical form. Knocking over a chair and a water basin, but, without missing a step, he ran into Roland’s bedchamber, a surprised Kharlia and Alli on his heels.
Sitting up in the bed in front of Bakari was none other than his best friend.
“Roland!” Bakari yelled and ran over to him. He leaned over and gave the man a hug. “But, how? I saw you die. You saw you die.”
Roland laughed and hugged Bakari back. “Where did you pop in from, Bakari? What kind of wizardry is this?”
“Dragon power!” Bakari said.
Kharlia grabbed Bakari from behind and turned him around, into her arms. “Oh, Bak!” She planted a long kiss on his lips.
“All right, you two!” Roland said.
Bakari smiled as he turned his head back to Roland, but he kept his arm around Kharlia. As he breathed in her scent, it filled and lifted his soul.
“Alli!” Bakari said and then nodded to her. She came over and hugged him too. Tears fell from Bakari’s eyes, and he noticed that he wasn’t the only one. “So, tell me what happened, Roland,” Bakari said, “and none of your games, now, straight and honest.”
“Me, play games?” Roland laughed. He brought his hand up and pointed to Kharlia. “It was all her, Bak. Kharlia saved my life. After we killed the evil king, she healed me, and then my spirit was able to come back.”
Bakari looked down at Kharlia by his side. “How?”
She smiled up at him, her brown eyes holding his with her gaze. “I am an Elvyn healer, Bak.” She laughed through her own tears. “Can you believe it? A real healer.”
Bakari laughed with joy. H
e couldn’t believe it! This was all more than he could ever have hoped for. Turning back to Roland, Bakari said, “I think the women here were talking about getting you outside for a bit. Seems like it might be time for you to get back to running things here.”
Roland nodded and smiled. “I think they like having me here in bed and taking care of me. Makes them feel useful.”
“Get up, you lazy wizard!” Alli said as she grabbed his arm roughly and pulled him up out of bed.
Roland stood on his feet, looking a little wobbly at first. But he steadied himself after a few moments and said, “So, Bak, what about the three brothers?”
“Gone,” Bakari said. “It is finished. And Breelyn should be here in a few days. She will need some friends to help escort her back to Elvyn.”
Roland opened his eyes wide. “Seems like I might have underestimated one skinny, young scholar wizard.”
“Me, too,” Bakari said and then laughed. Turning to all three, he said his goodbyes and then added, “I have to go back now. I need to go to Mahli briefly.” He kissed Kharlia again and promised, “I will be back here soon.”
“Don’t stay away for so long this time,” she said.
“Only a day or two. Abylar is fast.” Bakari smiled and began to fade.
Then Roland reached his hand out and grabbed Bakari’s arm. “Thank you for all you have done, Bak—I mean Dragon King.” Roland knelt down on his unsteady knees and said, “I am still yours.”
After only a brief disorientation, Bakari found himself in the magic stream once again, standing next to Danijela.
“Thank you,” he said to her.
“I didn’t do it.”
“No,” Bakari said, “but you helped me get there.”
She nodded her head. “We are all here together for you, Dragon King. I will see you soon.”
With those words, Danijela left, and Bakari jumped out of the magic stream altogether, going back to the other riders and the dragons in the mountains of Mahli.
As Bakari slumped to the ground, Jaimon and Liam came over to him. Bakari let go of all the dragons’ magic and let the dragon figurine fall from his grasp.
