by Marc Johnson
“Are you worried you might die too?”
Cynder snorted. “Hardly.” He put a talon to his chest and said, “I'm not one of you soft creatures. Don't worry, little Hellsfire, the master and I won't let you die. If anyone is going to kill you, it's going to be me.” Cynder grinned, showing off his rows of pointy teeth.
“Thanks for the advice, Cynder. I appreciate it.”
“I am a dragon. There's no wiser creature. Even wizards bow to our wisdom.” Cynder raised his tail and swung at me. The massive armored tail could have killed me, but he slowed it at the last second and gently tapped me on the head with the diamond-shaped tip. “Tag. You're it.” Cynder took off and flew over my head, heading into the other parts of the caves.
I smiled, pushing aside the thought that this might be the last time we got to play together, and chased after him.
I reached the entrance of the caves, letting the cold air wash over me. I bent over with my hands on my knees, gasping for air. That oversized dragon was faster than he appeared.
Cynder had his back to me, staring at the landscape below. He craned his long neck towards Alexandria. As soon as I recovered, I tip-toed across the snowy ground, sneaking closer to him. I had to be careful. I’d done this before and he always moved at the last second. If he did that this time, I could go falling right off the mountain. I was just about to touch his swaying tail when I was interrupted.
“Are you two ready?” Master Stradus asked. I froze. “Hellsfire, come here and take some of these potions.”
I nodded, taking the potions from him and putting them in my purse.
“Looks like today is going to be a nice day,” I said to myself, peering past the constant winter storm of the White Mountain.
“Whenever there’s warfare, it’s never a nice day,” Master Stradus said as he climbed on top of Cynder.
“Agreed,” Cynder said. “Prepare yourself, Hellsfire. Today, you will see how your race really is.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Cynder, enough,” Master Stradus said. “Let him be. I’m sure you remember what it was like the first time you went to war.”
Cynder said in a sad and quiet voice. “A dragon never forgets.”
My joy and lightheartedness from playing with Cynder disappeared. I couldn't help but imagine the fallen bodies of elves, dwarves, and humans, covered in bloody wounds. Limbs broken and twisted. Premier stood on top of the bodies, cradling the Book of Shazul in one hand. He laughed while the incredible power he held wrapped around him.
I didn't know how much of a chance my master and I stood, but I wasn't going to let my fears come true.
“Let me help you up, my son,” said Master Stradus. I took his hand, and he pulled me onto Cynder’s back. “Come now, Cynder. Take flight and lead us to Alexandria.”
“Yes, Master.”
It was time for my final lesson—war.
CHAPTER 21
Cynder raised his great wings and, with one swoop, took to the sky. He lit up like the sun, his body blazing red in the early morning light. It felt marvelous being in the sky, the wind flowing through my hair. From up here, everything seemed so much smaller. It was as if everyone on the ground was a tiny ant, oblivious to the greater world. It was no wonder Cynder was arrogant. With his power armored body looking down from this perspective, who wouldn’t be?
The plain south of Alexandria was littered with troops. Thousands upon thousands of elves and dwarves had gathered, and now they marveled at Cynder as if he were a god of some sort. In ancient times, some people had actually worshipped dragons as gods. Cynder said he always got a kick out of that. The elves’ encampment was different shades of green—a forest moving and shifting with the breeze. The dwarves’ earth tones of browns, reds, and grays made them look like tiny pebbles.
“Over there!” Master Stradus said, his voice piercing the wind. He pointed at an empty space in between the two great armies. “Land right there!”
Cynder nodded and dove. He must have looked like a great red fireball about to crash into the ground. Just before he touched down, he backwinged and landed gently, right between two very large tents. A far cry from what he’d do if it were only me riding him. Both armies closed in on us. I hopped off of Cynder. Some friendly faces came into view.
I took a moment to look around at all my new friends: Prastian, Demay, Behast, and Jastillian. I had never had many friends growing up in Sedah. Now I did. I was surprised that, in such a short time, I had met so many people I could trust and who were willing to lay their lives on the line for me, as I would for them.
While I could tell by my friends’ faces that they were both relieved to see my master, and a bit in awe of him, they were even more so of Cynder. Cynder basked in all the attention. Master Stradus told Cynder to stay in the landing area and not let it all go to his head.
“Please come inside the command tent,” Prastian said, after introductions were made. “We're working on some final details and could use your expertise, Wizard Stradus.”
My master nodded, and we followed Prastian to the tent. Just outside stood King Sharald and Lenora Rammalong. “Who is that old man with the unusual crutch?” King Sharald asked loudly.
Master Stradus’s face brightened when he recognized Sharald. “Old? Why, I hardly feel a day over two hundred. Besides, you don’t look too youthful yourself, little Sharald.”
“That may be true, but compared to you, I’m still a baby.” Sharald gave Master Stradus a hug. As soon as I saw those two side by side, I knew Master Stradus was the one in the portrait I had seen in Sharald's palace. “Stradus, this is Lenora from the Rammalong House, leader of the dwarves of Erlam.”
Master Stradus grasped Lenora’s forearm. She said, “I’m honored to go into battle with you, Wizard Stradus.”
“And I with you, ma'am. It's been ages since I last fought alongside your people. It was an honorable experience.”
“Thank you. Come inside, and we’ll fill you in on our battle plan.”
I was the last to walk into the tent. When I got inside, my stomach clenched and my heart stopped. Krystal stood next to a map-filled table. Here! I couldn't believe the princess was alive and safe. Seeing her banished one fear—that Premier would hurt her when we attacked. My first impulse was to rush to her and throw my arms around her. I held myself in check.
“I’m so glad to see you’re all right, Your Highness,” I said, walking closer. “I was afraid something might have happened to you.”
The princess gave me a small smile. “You came, and brought help, as you said you would.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but as she moved her head, I saw the bruise that covered the left side of her face. She saw me staring and moved her hair to cover it.
“What happened to you, Princess?”
“Now’s not the time.”
“Premier.” I said, feeling my anger rise. I stared at the bruise, imagining what other things he might have done to her. She wore loose peasant clothes, so I couldn’t see if she was wounded anywhere else. I thought of Master Stradus's story and of how Premier used to love the ladies. My anger exploded. All the candles in the tent went out.
“Hellsfire!” Master Stradus said, his stern gaze resting on me. I couldn't believe I had let my emotions get the best of me. I was glad the tent had darkened so no one would see how embarrassed I was.
“Forgive me, everyone,” I said, and reignited the candles.
“It’s quite all right,” Krystal said. The others didn’t seem to think anything of it, except for my master, who frowned at me. “You’re the one who trained Hellsfire?” Krystal said to my master. “On behalf of Alexandria, it is an honor to meet you. I appreciate your coming here. We can use all the help we can get.”
“I'm glad to be of service, Your Highness. I'm Stradus. We'll do all we can to stop Premier.”
“Thank you.” The princess took a seat at the table, and every
one else followed suit. She looked around the table. “Thank you all for coming. Alexandria is in your debt. Wizard Stradus, since you are here and you brought a dragon, we may need to change our plans a bit.”
“That's fine, but first, may I ask how you escaped Premier, Your Highness? I had thought you were taken with the city.”
“I was.” The princess looked at the others. “I know you've heard this before, so forgive me.”
“It's quite all right, Highness,” Lenora said. “The two wizards should know.”
“Very well, but I'll try to make it short.” Krystal took a deep breath before starting. “A week after Hellsfire's departure, Premier's army of Wasteland creatures came to Alexandria. There were too few soldiers to resist, and Premier used his magic on those who stood against him. He quickly seized the city and promised no one would get hurt if we did what he wanted.”
My master stroked his beard and asked, “What did he want, Princess?”
“Knowledge.”
“Knowledge?” I asked. What could a thousand-year-old wizard with the Book of Shazul want with any knowledge Alexandria could have? I looked at my master and could tell he was thinking the same thing.
Krystal nodded. “Over the centuries, Alexandria has acquired certain…items.”
“Items?” I asked.
“I can't get into what they are, Hellsfire. Some of the items are from the War of the Wizards—others have been found in the Wastelands. A few are dangerous, especially if they fall into the wrong hands. Premier wanted these, and only those with Alexander's bloodline have access to them.”
“Did you give these to him, Princess?” Stradus asked.
She shook her head. “When Premier first came to power and began to influence my father, I took and hid those items I deemed the most valuable—or dangerous.” Her strong violet eyes met my master’s, and for a second, they wavered. “When Premier finally showed his true colors and took over the city, he came to me and demanded to know where I had hidden the items he sought. I held out for as long as I could. He threatened to hurt my father, but I knew my father would give his life to protect Alexandria, and I didn't give in. Premier then had one of his minions beat me.”
Krystal's eyes shimmered on the verge of tears, even though the rest of her face was stoic. Her bodily wounds must have been worse than I thought. I had to control myself not to let my rage take over my body and unleash my fire.
“It was only when he started executing my people, did I finally relent,” she said. “Premier was cold in his executions. He didn't care about the people he slaughtered. To him, they were merely a means to an end. So, I gave him what he wanted.”
Stradus bowed his head. “You did what you had to do, Princess,” my master said.
Krystal gave a small, satisfied smile. “I gave him worthless scrolls and artifacts. Things that once had power, but didn’t any longer. I knew I had to be gone before he realized what I had done. As much as it pained me to leave my people at his mercy, I couldn’t let him have anything that would increase his power.”
I tried to read her face, but it was impossible to break through that royal mask. I wondered what would happen to her people now—if, in his anger at her escape, Premier would kill more of them. I didn’t want to make her feel worse by bringing it up, but Krystal seemed to read the question in my eyes.
“I can't let any of those items fall into Premier's hands. If I did, he would be unstoppable and none of Northern Shala would be safe.” She paused. “You must understand,” she said carefully. “For centuries, Alexandria has dedicated itself to protecting Northern Shala from the consequences of Renak’s evil. That includes not just fighting the Wasteland creatures, but collecting objects of power and making sure that they never again fall into the hands of wizards who might use them for harm. Every citizen of Alexandria would give his or her life to keep that from happening. And, if necessary, it is my responsibility to decide when to risk those lives.”
I stared at her, amazed and frightened by her words. I didn't know if I could make the same decision. I’d had a hard enough time leaving Alexandria without at least trying to warn her. She was braver than I.
“We'll avenge your people, Your Highness,” Jastillian said.
“We might not have to,” Sharald said. “Premier has not sent any messengers or shown us any bodies. Once the princess was gone, Premier might have decided it was unnecessary to kill anyone else.”
“Gentlemen, I thank you for your concern,” the princess said, “but right now we have more urgent things to worry about. Premier also let it slip that the bulk of his forces will arrive soon.”
I sighed at this news. Just how many more creatures could there be? My master wasn’t as surprised by the information as I was.
“How did you escape Premier, Your Highness?” Master Stradus asked.
“I was worried that Premier might have used a spell to bind or track me , but I had to risk it. I thought your arrival was more than enough to keep Premier occupied. He had imprisoned me in my chambers, with two ogres to guard me. However, he only gave my rooms a cursory search for weapons.” She gave a small smile. “He seemed to forget that I am the descendant of a thousand years of warrior kings and queens. All the royal chambers are fitted with numerous secret compartments where we keep hidden weapons.” The smile grew wider. “The ogres were very sorry that Premier had not searched more thoroughly. At least, they were when I killed them.”
I stared at her in awe. Having gone up against an ogre myself, I knew how tough they were—and I had magic. The princess had nothing but her wits and sword. And she was wounded.
“But how were you able to get past the castle walls and all the creatures?” I asked.
“Easily. There are secret passages throughout the castle and the city that only a few are privy to. I escaped through one of them and made my way here.”
“We'll need to work together to win back Alexandria,” Master Stradus said. “Princess, do you know if Premier’s creatures outnumber us?”
“Judging from what I’ve seen and been told, our forces roughly equal theirs,” Krystal said. “This includes all three armies, which means those in the city.”
“We must get those inside the city to attack,” Lenora said. “Premier is in the best defensive position. We don't have time to properly siege and storm the city before Premier's reinforcements come.”
“A direct attack would be foolhardy,” Sharald agreed. “Alexandria can withstand months of siege.”
“The problem isn’t numbers or defenses,” Krystal said. “The problem is that Premier has the creatures organized and disciplined.” She sighed. “As we’ve found out to our sorrow.”
I looked around at everyone. They all had more experience at this. No one wanted to fight a losing battle, and no one wanted to lose any more people than they had to without a good chance of success.
Lenora shifted the map of Alexandria on the table. It detailed the city, the castle, and the surrounding area. Different colored stones represented the three forces. The black stones were Premier's forces. There were far too many of his stones, and they were all inside Alexandria.
“Wizard Stradus,” Lenora said, “we were going to send a group inside Alexandria to help free the loyal guardsman locked in the dungeons and rally the people to fight. Tonight. The main attack begins at dawn. My people can see just as well as those foul creatures in the dark, and King Sharald’s people can compensate with their excellent hearing.
“That strike force is vital. We need one of you to go with them. We expect there to be little resistance, since we'll be keeping the bulk of Premier's forces busy on the southern walls. We need a wizard to boost their chances of success.”
My master's blue eyes gleamed while he played with his beard. “It's a good plan. I'm just not sure about one of us going into Alexandria.”
“What do you mean, Stradus?” Sharald asked.
“Neither of us would be able to use our magic once we reached the city—Prem
ier would detect it and pinpoint the location of the strike force immediately. We could only use our power to fight Premier himself, if we happened to stumble over him. Premier is much more likely to engage those attacking the city. My magic will be needed to counteract his. And even if that shining force of yours does run into Premier, I don’t know that having Hellsfire with them will save them.” He looked at me apologetically. “Hellsfire lacks the experience to fight Premier on his own.”
I clenched my fists. “That doesn't mean I won't try.”
“No,” Master Stradus said. A strong breeze filled the room. “You will remain with me on the battlefield: observing, learning, helping. I can't risk you confronting Premier again. There are still more important things for you to do.”
“Master, if we fail here, then what happens later won't matter.”
“I said no. The risk is too great.”
I wanted to argue with him, but held my tongue. It wouldn't do to argue in front of everyone. I would have to try to change his mind later.
“My old friend,” Sharald said, “we need one of you to help in this. Once we attack, Premier will be far too busy to detect magic inside the walls.”
Master Stradus's face softened. “I understand your position, but there are things I've seen that none of you could understand. We will beat Premier, but it must be together.” His ancient gaze moved to each of them in turn, and they gave up the debate.
“Then it's settled,” the princess said. She looked at the others. “We'll start the assault under cover of darkness. I'll join your troops later tonight, and we'll go into Alexandria.”
“You're going, Your Highness?” I asked.
“Someone has to lead the troops through the city. No one here knows the tunnels.”
Krystal's bravery and determination shamed me. She had been through so much and was still willing to put more on the line. Her father, her life, her people—there was no end to her sacrifices. I couldn't sit back and do nothing. I couldn’t let anything happen to her.
