“Zedock, that’s not how it works. You have to choose your son’s name.”
Was she just making up these rules? Why was it necessary that he come up with the name? If he came up with something awful would she be forced to pick it? He knew she was going to stick to that rule. That gave the black dragon a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. If he selected a bad name both him and his son would have to live with it. Delta had a nice ring to it. Was it a girl’s name? What if he combined fire and dragon? Firagon? Firagon, stop burning your sister! Dragonfire? Vincent? Cinder? Maybe. Ash? “What do you think of Ash?”
“I like it. Ash it is.”
It had only been a suggestion but because she liked it the pressure was off. He was going to leave it at that. Anyway, Ash was pretty good. Perhaps he would turn out to be the great Ash? Was it too close to ass? It was best not to think about it. She liked it and was all that mattered. He now wondered what she would call the girls, but he would wait patiently. It had been hard enough for him to pick a single name and she had to pick two. Females were better at those things. In general, they were more creative he thought.
Ella scrunched her face as she thought about names for the girls. She had gone over multiple names in the past, so it wasn’t really a difficult decision. She had several nice ones to choose from “I got it. I’m gonna call one Cinder-Ella and the other Firestorm. What do you think?”
Zedock nodded. “I like them both. Cinder-Ella and Firestorm. Nice. You are both smart and beautiful. I am fantastic at picking a mate.” She could have called them just about anything, and he would have pretended to like them, but he did genuinely like them. “Let’s try it out. Firestorm, stop biting your brother’s tail! Cinder-Ella put that down! Yup, it works pretty well.” And again he snuggled up to Ella.
The red dragon suddenly had a peculiar look on her face, something was tickling her bottom; she got off her eggs and examined them, and, sure enough, a purple swirl of small particles of light was swirling over the eggs. She smelled them, and the sparkles made her sneeze fire at the ceiling. Ella’s eyebrows tightened. It couldn’t be could it? What an irrational thought. A dragon wizard was so rare that it wasn’t even worth mentioning as a possibility. “Oh no! I know it can’t be but what if it is?” She would have never believed it if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes. Couldn’t anything go smoothly?
“What is it?” Sunfire asked, hoping that there wasn’t something seriously wrong with the eggs. “What’s wrong?” Now she stared at the purple swirl as she had never seen such a thing.
“I don’t believe it! The boy is a wizard!” Ella gave Zedock a stern look and continued to stare at him. “There are no wizards in my background that I know about! Zedock? Tell me that there are no sorcerers in your background?”
The black dragon felt like digging a hole and crawling in. He only had one wizard dragon in his background, and that was generations ago but of course, she was going to blame him. She was already accusing him with her eyes. Should he admit or deny it? Life just seemed to get more and more complicated. Less than one-half of one percent of dragons were wizards, or so it was thought. It was unlikely that they were going to have one. The dragon that turned out to be a wizard would not only be feared by all other dragons but highly respected as well. “There was one wizard in our family a long, long, long time ago. Ella, what makes you think the boy is a wizard?”
She pointed down at the eggs. “See the purple haze? He’s already trying to conjure up a spell.”
“How do you know it’s the boy?”
“Oh, I don’t know maybe because wizards are always boys!”
“Oh.”
Sunfire smiled as she imagined a sorcerer in the family. “Ella, having a wizard baby is a special gift. You are so lucky. I can’t believe we’re gonna have a wizard in the family. If only we could tell father. How are we going to keep this secret?”
Ella watched as the purple mist turned blue. “Do you know how hard it is to raise a little wizard? Don’t you remember the old tales of parents turned into chickens and rocks? Zedock, do you want to be a rock?”
What if he had fathered a wizard? Everyone would end up knowing his name and Zedock’s too. “I’d rather not. Isn’t that just a myth? There are as many myths out there. Aren’t there?”
“How are we going to discipline a baby dragon that can turn us both into rocks?”
He could imagine that raising such a dragon would be problematic. If he transformed into a rock would he be aware of it or would he just be a rock? “Just let him do whatever the hell he wants to do. Or don’t tell him he’s a wizard. It could take him years to figure it out. We’ll keep it from him as long as we can.”
Ella shook her head. “Zedock, he’s already trying to do a spell. Don’t you see the haze?”
He smiled. “Oh yeah. Look, he’s turned his egg purple. Isn’t that cute? And now it’s blue.” And then he noticed it, but he wasn’t about to tell Ella that her bottom was now also purple. As he stared at her rear, he was happy to see it return to its normal red color.
Ella crossed her arms and thought about it. There was nothing that they could do about it. Certain things just couldn’t be changed. It was probably going to make life a little more difficult but a lot more interesting; they would have to adjust and make the best of it. She couldn’t believe that she had given birth to a wizard. And when he was old enough he would have to go off on an adventure of his own to perfect his craft. She imagined throwing Zedock out of the den, but it was only the frustration of the discovery. “Zedock, you know what will happen as the parents of a wizard?”
“What?”
“We’ll go down in history as the parents of a wizard.”
“So.”
“Black and red parents of a wizard.”
“Oh.”
Ella turned and saw her father flying toward them in the distance. The situation was already too much to take, and now her father would be added to the stew. She couldn’t think of anything else that would make their lot in life worse.
Ella’s father Krandar flew into the den. “Ella, what is going on here?”
She turned to Zedock with a stern look. “If I could faint I would!”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
THREE HOURS AFTER SUNDOWN King Chromos sat on his outside throne as a shooting star passed overhead seemingly amongst the stars. He thought that it was most likely a sign that he was meant to conquer the world, approval from the great beyond. Covered in the bear hide, he looked like a bear from a distance sitting on the oversized stone throne. The monarch, surrounded by eight burning torches, one for each warrior that was to be made a captain to replace the others that were killed. Freesia bulbs had been placed in the fire of each torch to scent the area.
Achakos and Adela made their way through the crowd, a little like fighting against strong ocean waves. Neither had managed much sleep last night, and they both felt the pressure. Since they didn’t have the numbers for a revolution assassination was the only option. Remove the king and perhaps all would change or maybe nothing. They knew their actions had the potential to amend the history of their people and perhaps even the history of the world. Time now felt more like an enemy than a friend.
Two dozen women dancers stomped in unison around the large bonfire that sent embers up into the night. The smell of hickory and strong coffee permeated the air. The men approached the spirit rock that was roughly in the shape of a warrior although a little larger. Each one caressed its rough surface before piercing their hands on one of its sharp edges, mixing their blood with all the others that had done so in the past, believing that parts of their spirit now resided within. Then the eight knelt in front of the king awaiting the carved wood skull necklaces to be placed over them to make them captains.
The simultaneous stomping continued as the chanting commenced, a uniting of incredible female voices that were so beautiful that it sent shivers up the spines of some. Not a single one off key. The song praised the strong with jus
tification for war, survival of the strong and the bold; the song also vilified the weak.
Dragon fire from two different directions came together over their heads and lit up the night sky, so close that they could feel the warmth from it, which was a new part of the ceremony that King Chromos had recently added. It was impressive to see the enchanted red dragons flying so low over them. Then the dragons hovered and released another fiery blast, creating an X in the sky as the flames crossed.
Achakos was nervous. He was the initiator of the plot; he had molded it after many years of discontent. The night had arrived like an impatient dragon. The time was upon them, and all he had to do was turn to his left and nod, and then he was sure that all hell would break loose. Would the night be kind and aid them in their attempt to change or side with the king and reveal their true hearts? As the king stood up to approach the eight, Achakos nodded. In the crowd to the king’s right, a fight erupted, making him smile. A fight to Chromos was simply warriors perfecting their battle skills, and if one perished then, he lacked heart or skill or both. A man exited the crowd and attacked the king with a battle ax, but the king saw it coming at the last second and dodged it, and one of the guards took the fellow’s head with a single swing of his sword.
All the anxiety and planning was for naught. The attempt was over within seconds. There were hearts in the crowd that sunk as the king laughed, then demanded that the family of the would-be assassin is killed instantly. A scuffle ensued with death cries taking to the night air, and then the ceremony proceeded as if nothing had happened. The King wasn’t about to let an assassination attempt interfere with the proceedings, besides by doing so made him appear unconcerned.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
WITH THE MORNING SUN BEHIND THEM and heaviness in their hearts they slowly walked toward the wizard’s hut. They all knew that approaching an unknown wizard was always a dangerous undertaking, but the quest had already cost them two lives, and they were determined to move forward. Perhaps with another couple of steps, they would all be blasted into oblivion. The fact that the sorcerer was way out here in the middle of nowhere might mean that he was deliberately staying away from the Yurrosy. No matter what happened, there was too much at stake to turn back. Time for courage and a mindset that couldn’t diverge, just as a hungry bear’s mind wouldn’t change from a river full of salmon. God only knew what was going on back in Leeander. It was certainly possible that they had already run out of time.
An eagle screeched from high overhead as Alexa glanced up at it. They all felt uneasy but Merrill especially; he sensed a tingling in his bones. He was sensitive to magic and hoped that he was detecting the wizard from inside the hut, but he didn’t think so. It was never known to be anything positive when he felt it so deep inside. Perhaps an enchantment was already coming down upon them. Whatever it was it wasn’t a good feeling. Merrill had been told to follow his instincts, but that was easier said than accomplished. He certainly couldn’t just turn and run even though his intuition was telling him to do so. As a boy, Merrill had had a reading from a gypsy that told him that he could become a minor wizard if he applied himself, that his powers weren’t mighty but that they could be made a bit stronger.
Stone’s sword often gave him comfort before a battle and that he had forged it himself was satisfying, hammered it into the beautiful and deadly thing that it now was, but with a wizard involved he felt no such reassurance. They would attempt to knock him out with the spell obtained from Adorok if necessary, but there was no guarantee that it would work. It might only serve to aggravate the wizard. It wasn’t a good feeling not knowing if one was going to survive the day or not. No matter how adept a sword it was no match for a powerful wizard.
Merrill cocked his head. “I feel something; I think we’re spelled.”
They all halted to see if anything was going to happen; it was like waiting to be shot by an unseen arrow. After a minute, Stone shrugged and as he moved forward so did the others. No sign of the wizard but that just made them wonder what he was doing. Some wizards are known for creating monsters, and if that turned out to be the case what would they have to fight? Stone remembered having to battle a Cyclops and barely survived the encounter while its mighty sword had killed a fellow knight.
Alexa was anxious to talk to the wizard, and she sensed nothing. “Merrill, I think your nerves are getting to you.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Let’s just get this over with,” said Brent. “Time is moving faster than a dragon flies.”
Obed felt like he was shrinking. “I feel strange.”
As Alexa stared at Obed, he shrank down and was not only the size of a mouse but was, in fact, a mouse. His perspective on things had changed dramatically. It was frightening staring through the eyes of a rodent and he was immediately aware of his tail. His weapons were now as useless as a glass of water in a forest fire.
“Holy crap,” said the princess now also a mouse.
They were all mice as Stone squeaked the loudest as he was furious, but his anger soon turned to fear as the Eagle touched down in front of them. With no holes nearby and nowhere to run to escape those deadly talons and beak, Stone figured that the first one to run would be the first eaten. The reason he despised magic. Stone looked at his mouse reflection in his now monster sword and had a sickening feeling because now it was impossible to protect the princess. He hoped that there was a special hell for wizards.
The golden eagled walked a completely around them biding his time, which of course was not normal behavior for a bird of prey. Alexa was surprised that they could talk to one another, though now in tiny voices. A human would have to place his ear close to them to hear their words. “This is just great.” “What do we do now?” “Father will never know what happened to us, never guess spelled into mice and eaten.” “I hate wizards.”
The eagle put its attention onto the princess. He spread his huge wings, grabbed the princess with his talons and took to the air, and of course, it was impossible to stop the bird from doing whatever it wanted to do. The bird seemed to be the size of the largest dragon to their transformed and diminished bodies.
Stone could think of nothing else but to try and approach the sorcerer. “Come on; let’s see if we can talk to that damn wizard.”
Although the round hut that the wizard had conjured up wasn’t too far off, for mice, it was like ten miles or more, and being out in the open they were exposed to other threats. They ran as fast as their little legs would take them, with Stone quite a bit in front of the others, determined to give that sorcerer a piece of his mind. As he approached the hut, it now looked like biggest dwelling in the world, as big as a mountain. A hawk in the area commenced its dive as Stone made it under the crack of the door, but the others lagged behind. They all made it to the seemingly monster door except for Obed, who was scooped up by the hawk.
Stone discovered the princess back in human form sitting at a fancy round wooden table across from the wizard Gabriel. With a wave of his hand they were all returned to human form, even Obed, who had been fifty feet in the air and climbing in the talons of the hawk, and luckily his transformation had been sufficiently slow to enable him to survive the fall. The bird took several attempts before it could extricate itself from his armor, and then finally flew off confused.
Obed kicked the door open. “What the hell is going on here?”
Stone was glad to see Obed still alive. “Obed, relax, Gabriel has agreed to help us.”
“Has he now?”
Alexa looked up at Obed. “What a story I now have to tell. He thought we were the Yurrosy coming for him, and he was going to eat us.”
“I could have done without that little detail. That stupid hawk almost ate me.” Obed showed them his hand that was still shaking. The life of a knight was turning out to be more complicated than it should be.
Gabriel was a tall skinny fellow with red hair, though not as tall as Obed. He had a scar that went all the way from the corner of h
is left eye to his chin, and he had the curliest hair that Alexa had ever seen. She thought that he was not bad looking although his face was too thin.
“I am sorry about the aggravation of being transformed into mice, but I escaped from those bastards, and I have no intention of going back. I didn’t know who else would be seeking me.” And with that, he pounded his fist on the oak table. “I am what they call a minor wizard; my powers are exhaustible unlike some. There’s a certain mineral under this ground if you know what it is fine, if not I’m not going to tell you. There’s enough of it that it augments my power. That’s why I’m out here in the middle of nowhere. But as I move away my energy diminishes significantly. I will help you power up your crystal, but you should know that they are hot on my trail, and Leeander is a ways away from here. I have my doubts that you’ll make it there alive with me tagging along.”
Stone nodded. “But you would be able to power up our shield?”
“Yes, I believe so although it might take a couple of days. I might have to do it in increments.”
Alexa touched the wizard on the shoulder to thank him for his assistance; after all, they were strangers to him. She suspected that he would do anything to get back at the Yurrosy. “I thank you and King Darius will reward you handsomely for the effort.”
“Yes, of course. Just give me an hour or so to gather some things and then we’ll be off.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
KING CHROMOS WALKED DOWN THE CASTLE HALL with heavy feet. The castle’s torches released strong fumes, but he was accustomed to it and didn’t even notice. His shadow moved along with him on the stone and mortar walls. He had brought about a dozen more guards into the castle because the recent attempt on his life had him a little uneasy though he would never admit it. It was best to show an assertive exterior no matter what. Chromos was a formidable fighter, but anyone could be killed by surreptitious vermin. An unknown enemy with a bow was also a worry. Just over a month ago an arrow had landed several feet away from him, and he never did find out from where it had originated.
Knights of the Dragon (of Knights and Wizards Book 1) Page 15
