by K J Taylor
Rutger tensed. ‘Why not?’
Syn looked away. ‘No, not now. Listen to me, please. Let us forget this. Forget that there was anything that could come between us, just for a little while. There isn’t much time left, and I don’t know if any of us will survive the Drachengott’s death. So until then, can we simply love each other for who we are now, and not who we were?’
‘I want to, but—’
‘I will make you a promise,’ said Syn. ‘A promise to all of you. On the last day, I will tell you the truth. All of it, no matter what the consequences are. And after that I will never lie to any of you again. Can you accept that from me?’
After a pause, Rutger said, ‘Yes — but only if you do one other thing for me, Swanhild.’
‘And what’s that?’ She smiled at him.
‘When you leave to find the last of us, I’m going with you,’ said Rutger. ‘I want you to promise you won’t disappear again.’
‘I—’ Syn began.
‘He’s right.’ Elynor stepped in. ‘Enough is enough, Vanya. You’ve done all this by yourself so far, but now that you’ve found us it’s time we did more than what you push us into. We all want to see the Drachengott dead, and if it needs four of us, then so be it. I will go with you as well.’
‘And so will I,’ said Nils. ‘And we’ll find the last person and the last weapon together. We can’t just sit here in Ketzergard waiting for something to happen. I already wasted years in Zauberwald when I could have been fighting back.’
‘So we’re going with you,’ Rutger concluded. ‘Whether you want us to or not.’
Syn’s eyes grew bright. ‘But the Gottlosen – they need you to protect them.’
‘The Ketzer can do that,’ said Rutger. ‘And anyway, we stole some of the Drachengott’s gemstones. We have more than enough. And you know the secret . . .’ He looked appealingly at her.
‘Ah.’ She smiled. ‘The gift of magic, for Gottlosen. Of course.’
‘Can you teach us how?’ asked Elynor. ‘I for one don’t object to Gottlosen being given magic, but Tanja told me that the only one in Ketzergard who knew how is dead.’ She sounded slightly accusing as she said that.
Syn relaxed into her pillow. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Rutger, I’ll teach you. Later, when I feel stronger.’
‘And what about the last of us?’ asked Nils. ‘The last one we need to find? Do you know . . . ?’
Syn’s eyes closed. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Yes, I know where to find her now.’
‘Where?’ asked Nils. ‘Do you know her name?’
Syn’s eyes stayed closed, but she answered clearly enough. ‘Her name is Karmain, and we will find her in Espan.’
Chapter Seventeen
After that Syn’s recovery was slow but steady. Nils visited her every day, and Rutger stayed with her as before. Nils often came in to find her sitting up while Rutger helped her to eat, since she was still very weak. It made him smile to see them together, especially since his father seemed to have forgiven her. They talked constantly, and Nils saw how animated his normally stoic father became. It made him think that this was what Rutger Dragonsbane had once been like, before he had left Gothendorf and become the man he was now. Nils joined them and simply listened. He was starting to feel more at ease with them now — more at ease than he felt with anyone else, in fact. He said nothing about what he knew of Syn’s secrets, and avoided asking her questions which might make her reveal more than she wanted to. But it was Rutger who asked one such question himself.
‘Elynor thinks you’re a shapeshifter,’ he said. ‘And that’s why our son was born one. Are you?’
Syn paused. ‘Yes, I am.’
‘What’s your other shape, then?’ asked Rutger. Nils winced.
‘On the last day, I will show you,’ said Syn. ‘But I heard you have a second shape now, my love.’
‘He does, but I still don’t know what it is,’ said Nils. ‘It’s not a mink, is it?’ he added, remembering his father’s personal emblem.
Rutger laughed. ‘I was afraid it might be before Elynor gave me the gift — but no, it isn’t.’
‘Then what is it?’ asked Syn.
Rutger laughed again. ‘I don’t know if I should show you when you won’t do the same for me.’
‘Will you show me, then?’ asked Nils. ‘You said you would.’
‘That’s fair enough.’ Rutger drew the Magic Taker and put it down by Syn’s side. Then he got up off his chair and moved away from the bed. Nils watched with interest.
Rutger stood still for a moment, and then he changed. His outline grew confused for a moment, and then he was standing there in his other shape.
Nils took one look at it and burst out laughing. ‘Of course! No wonder Elynor wasn’t happy!’
Rutger sat on his haunches, tail wagging, and gave them both a canine grin.
Syn chuckled. ‘A deerhound — of course. Elynor was right; the other shape does reflect the self within.’
The big, shaggy-coated dog padded over to the bed, and Syn petted his ears.
Nils laughed again. ‘So Rutger Dragonsbane is really a big cuddly dog,’ he said. ‘I bet the Jüngen would love to know that!’
Rutger’s lip curled, and he growled.
‘Clearly, you’ve never seen a pack of deerhounds take down a bear,’ said Syn.
Nils only laughed again. ‘I’m a dragon; dogs don’t scare me — you should have turned into a dragonhound instead, Rutger.’
Rutger changed back. ‘I probably would have if there was any such thing,’ he said. ‘Anyway,’ he paused and sniffed the air, then turned toward the door as it opened. ‘Hello, Spurling.’
Spurling came in, wearing his human shape. Elynor was with him.
‘Hello, Vanya,’ said Elynor. ‘Are you feeling well? Spurling wants to speak with you.’
‘I’m well enough,’ said Syn. ‘Hello again, Spurling. I can guess what you want.’
Spurling was holding a small bundle, and he looked tense. ‘It is time,’ he said.
‘It is,’ Syn agreed. ‘Rutger, are you ready?’
‘Ready for what?’
Syn held out a hand. ‘Give it to me, Spurling.’
He gave it to her, and she unwrapped the cloth to reveal a large dark blue gemstone.
‘Oh!’ said Nils. ‘Of course!’
‘I want my fire back,’ said Spurling, with some gravity.
‘And you will have it back, Spurling,’ said Syn. ‘But Rutger will be the one to give it to you.’
Rutger picked up the Magic Taker and put it back into its sheath. ‘Are you sure? I mean, if I make a mistake . . .’
‘I don’t have the strength for it now,’ Syn said simply. ‘But I can instruct you, and you can do it well enough once you know. But, Spurling, are you willing to take the risk?’
‘I am,’ he said at once.
‘Very well, then.’ Syn handed the stone to Rutger. ‘Do you still want to learn?’
‘Yes — tell me what to do.’
Nils stood up, watching closely. Spurling pulled his grey robe open, exposing his chest, and Rutger summoned water from the air to clean his skin. Then he pressed the stone against his breastbone. But he turned his head toward Syn, and listened intently while she explained what he must do. She went over it several times, and Rutger asked a few questions before he finally said he was ready. Elynor and Nils took Spurling by the shoulders and held him still.
‘Are you ready?’ Rutger asked him.
Spurling’s jaw was visibly clenched. ‘Do it.’
Rutger gritted his own teeth, and began. A moment later Spurling jerked and cried out, and Nils heard a faint, ugly crunching sound. But immediately afterward he felt a great surge of magical energy, moving through Spurling’s lean human body — so powerful it made Nils start.
Rutger quickly moved back. ‘I did it!’
Spurling stood very still. His eyes were wide with wonder. And then, without a word, he lifted his head and blew a stream of d
ark blue fire at the ceiling.
Elynor yelped. ‘It worked!’
Nils let the dragon go, and a moment later Spurling suddenly started to laugh. His laugh was loud and wild with joy. He spat a fireball and laughed even harder. ‘My fire! My fire!’
Syn was smiling. ‘Yes, Spurling. Elynor promised you would have it back, and now you have it — and so much more. The gift of magic is yours.’
Spurling abruptly slipped into his dragon’s shape, and blew more fire. Nils felt the temptation to do the same, but he resisted it — this was Spurling’s moment.
Blue eyes blazing, Spurling turned on Rutger. You must do this for the others, he said. They must have this gift.
‘Well—’ Rutger began.
You must! Spurling said again, fiercely. You who have killed so many dragons will repay our kind, Dragonsbane.
‘I will,’ said Rutger. He was starting to grin. ‘And I can give magic to Gottlosen . . .’
Syn was watching them with a satisfied expression. ‘This is how it will be one day,’ she said. ‘This will be the future. One day all of us will have magic — man and dragon alike. And we will use it as we please, without the Drachengott’s tyranny.’
Nils tried to picture it. ‘One day all cities could be like Zauberwald,’ he said. ‘It’s a beautiful place, you know.’
‘So it is,’ his mother said with a smile.
And we will fight to make it so, said Spurling.
Nils began to get excited. ‘When?’ he asked Syn. ‘When can we go? When will you be strong enough?’
She smiled again at the look on his face. ‘Soon enough,’ she said. ‘But I think your father has some work to do first.’
***
The next few weeks passed in a blur. A few days after Spurling’s fire had been returned to him Syn was strong enough to leave her bed, and she and Nils went with Rutger out into Ketzergard, where he began the long process of putting gemstones into Spurling’s dragons, and a number of Gottlosen who he carefully chose. One of those was Peter von Jarlsberg, who as the son of the ruler of Jarlsberg was an important ally to have. Another was Lady Mathilde, ruler of Eidelstadt. With some help from Nils and Syn, Rutger taught them some basic magic — enough to defend themselves if it came to a fight.
Finally, with over a hundred dragons now endowed with magic, Rutger and Elynor called a meeting. It was held in the open air and attended by Spurling’s dragons, Mathilde and Peter, and the other Gottlosen who had been given magic, most of them fighters from Drucht Valley.
Rutger addressed them all, with Syn standing quietly at his side. ‘The Jüngen have been defeated, but they aren’t finished yet,’ he said. ‘Soon enough the Drachengott will send them back into Drucht Valley, to try to retake Drachenburg and then every other city beyond it, I would guess.’
‘But you can defend us, Dragonsbane,’ said Peter, who kept fingering the scar on his chest. ‘They won’t dare come after us when they know you’re there.’
‘I know,’ said Rutger. ‘But unfortunately I won’t be there. I’ll be leaving soon — leaving Wendland. And Elynor Überketzer will be coming with me.’
Groans rose from the crowd.
‘Why?’ someone shouted. ‘Are you running away?’
‘No,’ Rutger said sharply. ‘I’m leaving because there is someone I must find — someone who can help us destroy the Drachengott once and for all. That’s why I have given magic to some of you — so you can fight back. And I’ll be travelling to the other cities and giving that same gift to plenty more.’
Not only that, Spurling put in, but I will send my dragons with you. They will defend your cities from the air.
‘Ketzer,’ said Elynor, ‘you, too, will help defend the valley. While I’m away, Alberich will be your leader in my place. Together, you will hold back the Jüngen. And when we return we will challenge the Drachengott again — and this time we will win.’
But you challenged him before and lost, a dragon objected. How will the second time be different?
‘Listen,’ said Rutger, ‘we can’t give up just because we lost the first time. When we fought him before, we came close to winning. Our weapons worked, and they injured him. But we failed because there were only three of us. Three weapons. There is a fourth, and a person to wield it, and once we’ve found it, and her, we’ll be ready.’
How can you be so certain?
‘I’m not certain,’ said Rutger. ‘None of us are. But what other choice do we have? Surrender? Run away? No — we have to try.’
‘He’s right,’ said Nils. ‘I’m not going to give up — are you?’
Nobody answered him.
‘Then so be it,’ said Elynor. ‘We will prepare ourselves here, and Alberich and I will choose the people who will go into the valley. Rutger Dragonsbane will go ahead and visit the Gottlosen cities, and some dragons of Spurling’s choosing will go with him.’
But I myself will go with Elynor, said Spurling. Birch, you will lead the dragons for me while I am gone.
Rutger held up the Magic Taker. ‘For the Gottlosen!’
‘For the Ketzer!’ said Elynor.
For the dragons! said Spurling.
‘For Wendland!’ said Nils, and the crowd cheered.
‘You look after your mother, Theodor,’ Rutger said aside to him, once the meeting had broken up. ‘I’ll come back as soon as I can, but . . .’
Nils caught the worry in his voice, and smiled. ‘I won’t let her disappear again, don’t worry.’
Rutger embraced Syn, and the two of them shared a passionate kiss. ‘You won’t disappear again,’ he asked her sternly, ‘will you?’
‘No.’ Syn pressed her forehead against his. ‘The truth is, I wouldn’t have the strength for it even if I wanted to. But I don’t want to. You’re right: I’ve worked alone long enough, and I’m tired of it.’
‘You don’t have to be alone, Swanhild,’ said Rutger.
‘No, you don’t,’ Nils echoed. ‘We’re with you now.’
‘Yes, we are,’ said Elynor, with some reserve.
Lilith sidled over to them, with Tancred in tow. ‘Can we come with you?’
‘No,’ said Elynor.
‘But Papa’s going with you,’ said Tancred.
‘Your father isn’t a child,’ said Elynor.
‘He’s a child,’ Lilith pointed out, with a look toward Nils.
‘That’s different,’ said Nils. He lifted the Soul Thief. ‘I have this.’
‘So what?’ said Tancred. ‘Give us magic, Dragonsbane, and we can help you find this person.’
Rutger paused. ‘I can give them magic, Elynor, if you don’t mind . . .’
‘Of course you can,’ said Elynor. ‘But they are not coming with us.’
‘I wouldn’t mind if Lilith came with us,’ Nils piped up — and immediately felt himself blushing again.
Elynor gave him a look. ‘I didn’t think you would mind,’ she said, which made Lilith blush as well. Syn smirked behind her hand.
‘Let’s discuss it later,’ Rutger put in. ‘I’ll give you magic before I go, and you can start your training. When I get back, we can decide. How does that sound, Elynor?’
She sighed. ‘Very well.’
Ambrose was grinning. ‘Lilith, Tancred: you’d better go and choose your gemstones, yes?’
Chapter Eighteen
Rutger left shortly after the meeting, with Sunray and twenty other dragons, all endowed with magic. They departed from the same spot on the top of Ketzergard’s walls where they had first arrived, and Nils was there to see them off, with Elynor, Ambrose, Tancred and Lilith. Nils kept close to Lilith, who was grinning like an idiot, and looked away politely while his parents shared a last embrace. He could hear them whispering to each other, promising to see each other again soon, before Rutger suddenly called him over.
Nils went to him. ‘Will you be long?’ he asked, surprised to find that the idea of his father leaving troubled him.
‘A week or so, I think,’
said Rutger. ‘Long enough to give magic to a few people and teach them some basic spells. The Ketzer can teach them more.’
‘A week, then?’ said Nils, hearing the anxiety in his own voice.
Rutger caught it, and smiled. ‘A week.’ He gave Nils a hug, and murmured in his ear, ‘You take care of your mother, all right? She’s not as strong as she seems.’
‘I will,’ Nils murmured back.
Rutger let him go and gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. ‘You’re a good boy, Theodor. I’m proud of you.’
‘And . . . I’m proud that you’re my father,’ said Nils.
Rutger grinned at him, and finally turned away. Nils moved back and watched as he took off, the dragons flying around him.
‘Strange,’ Syn murmured. ‘The Dragonsbane, flying with dragons. And I thought he hated all their kind.’
Nils glanced sideways at her. ‘He has plenty of reason to.’
She caught his eye. ‘Yes, he does.’
Nils sensibly left it at that, and went back to join Lilith. ‘Your other shape’s a fox, isn’t it?’ he asked her. ‘Tancred told me.’
Lilith nodded. ‘And Tancred’s a cat, like our Mama. I wish I turned into a dragon like you.’
Nils grinned. ‘But you could still fly, you know. I can carry you, if you want.’
Lilith’s face lit up. ‘Really?’
He nodded. ‘Foxes aren’t very heavy — want to try it out?’
‘I don’t think that would be a good idea,’ Elynor interrupted.
Lilith scowled at her. ‘You never let me do anything. I trust Theodor.’
‘Trust won’t stop him from losing his grip,’ said Elynor. ‘Will it? And what then? Having magic now doesn’t make you invincible, and besides—’
‘Let them go, Elynor,’ said Syn. ‘In their way they’re adults, and you can’t protect your children forever.’
Elynor glared at her. ‘You may have dreams of the future, but don’t tell me how to look after my own children, Vanya.’
Syn didn’t flare up in response. ‘As one mother to another,’ she said, quite calmly, ‘I can tell you that they’ll do it anyway, whether you let them or not. I know enough to be certain of that.’
