Master Wizard (Book 4)

by James Eggebeen

  Zhimosom stopped Lorit short of the dais. "We wait here."

  Lorit turned and looked back across the sea of people. The brilliant red carpet was clear of guests as it stretched to the massive doors of the Keep. The band played on, and the doors swung open. Everyone turned as one to face the entryway as the brilliant sunlight streamed in through the doorway, but it was soon blocked as Du'ala, in her dragon form, walked in through the arch, her head and horns barely clearing the door frame.

  The dragon walked slowly to the front and stepped off to the side of the dais. She curled herself up, sat gently on the floor and sang. It was a beautiful and unearthly melody, similar to the one that the dragons sang at the hatching of the egg.

  From outside the doorway, a voice answered. It was Chihon, singing along with Du'ala. Her voice blended well with the deep melody that the dragon sang and all eyes turned back to the entryway. Chihon stood framed in the sunlight, singing a song of love and devotion. It touched Lorit's heart and he had to blink back tears at the beauty of it.

  The song ended and Chihon stepped into the doorway. All Lorit could see was a shadow of the girl who had stood by him through so many trials. The sunlight blinded him to all but her white gown and flowing veil as she walked slowly towards him. He felt Zhimosom's hand on his arm, steadying him.

  Two young girls scampered onto the red carpet ahead of Chihon, carrying baskets of flowers. They spread petals down the center of the carpet until they reached Lorit and then spilled the rest at his feet.

  The band struck up a new tune and Lorit followed the trail of flower petals back to Chihon, who slowly walked the trail of fresh petals towards him. Behind Chihon, a young girl carried the train of her dress. Chihon was radiant and beautiful and shone with an inner light all her own.

  Lorit smiled. He had survived the trials from apprentice to master and along the way he had met this amazing woman who had promised to spend the rest of her days with him. Today, he was the luckiest man in the world.

  As Chihon walked up the carpet, Lorit saw her face. Her hair was done in braids of dark brown intertwined with gold and silver threads. Her cheeks had just a touch of red and she wore both a smile and tears. Lorit knew she was just as happy as he was. They could finally settle down and start their lives as normal folks ... well, as normal as any Wizard couple could.

  Lorit raised his magic and released the spell he'd prepared. The plants that climbed the pillars and hung from the rafters burst into flower, filling the chamber with the sweet smell of their nectar. He smiled and extended his hand as Chihon approached. Taking her hand in his, he escorted her up the stairs to stand before the crowd. Zhimosom stood behind the podium and addressed the assembled crowd.

  "Today, we are here to bear witness to the union of these two Wizards ..."

  Zhimosom went on for a while, but Lorit didn't see or hear any of it. All he saw was Chihon in her white dress. Nothing else mattered.

  "You may kiss the bride," Zhimosom said, shaking Lorit from his thoughts.

  Chihon stood there smiling, with tears streaming down her face, as Lorit gently took her face in his hands, leaned in and kissed her. He felt a surge in his magic as their lips touched and the room burst into a loud cheer.

  The wedding was a whirlwind of activity that had Lorit's head spinning. They ate and drank and danced and sang and visited with friends until, exhausted, Lorit and Chihon had retired to their room. It was several days before they emerged, but when they did, a messenger came to them. "You're needed in the courtyard," he said.

  "I wonder what this is all about," Lorit said.

  "Let's go see." Chihon rushed out and Lorit had to hurry to keep up with her. In the courtyard they found Du'ala in her dragon form. It was rare these days to see her in the guise of the short Arda'um woman, as she preferred her natural form. Beside her, Zhimosom and Rotiaqua stood side by side. The Wizard and Sorceress looked even more ancient than they did before. Lorit could see they were fading.

  "The time has come," Du'ala said.

  "For what?" Lorit asked.

  "For the dragons to return home. We are leaving the realm of man for a time."

  "Will you be back soon?" Lorit asked. He was going to miss Du'ala the dragon.

  "No. We are tired and homesick. We want to go home and rest."

  "Does this mean we won't see you again?" Chihon asked.

  "Some of us may return from time to time, just to see how you are doing."

  "But you won't." Lorit's heart sank at the thought of not getting to spend time with Du'ala. The dragon had demonstrated her wisdom and was a good counselor. Lorit had hoped to learn from her and planned to seek her advice as he took up the duties of the head of the Wizards' Council.

  "I will not return," Du'ala said. "I am tired and old and just want to see my home again. And ... I will not be alone."

  "Of course not. There are lots of dragons now." Lorit recalled the entire clan of dragons that had attended the hatching of the egg.

  "Not the dragons ... My friends." Du'ala nodded at Zhimosom and Rotiaqua. "They will be going with us."

  "They will live in the dragon realm? I thought there were no men in the realm of the dragons."

  "There are none ... and there will not be."

  "How will they accompany you, then?" Lorit wasn't sure he understood. Du'ala had told him that men could not live in the dragon realm, so how were Zhimosom and Rotiaqua going to survive there?

  "They will not come as men, but as dragons."

  "What?" Lorit was shocked. Dragons? How could Zhimosom and Ritiaqua become dragons?

  "My boy," Zhimosom said. "I have lived over four hundred summers with the magic of the dragons in my bones. Rotiaqua and I share that magic. We will leave these bodies behind and take the dragon form. It is not unlike the transformation spells. It will make us young again. We will live productive, peaceful lives as dragons."

  "When will you go?"

  "Now." Zhimosom glowed with a golden light that bent around him until he was wrapped in a cocoon of shimmering gold. Rotiaqua, too, took on a shining cocoon of light that grew brighter and brighter until Lorit couldn't look at it. He backed away, holding tightly to Chihon's hand.

  Lorit covered his eyes. The light and heat were almost too much to bear, but quickly faded. When the heat died away and the light lessened, Lorit was able to see once more. Instead of the Wizard and Sorceress, a pair of mid-sized dragons stood beside Du'ala.

  They were gray, almost white, reminiscent of Zhimosom's hair. Somehow, Lorit still felt the essence of the Wizard and Sorceress in the dragons.

  "Rule well," the female dragon who used to be Rotiaqua said.

  "Will there be no dragons here, then?" Lorit asked.

  The dragon that was Zhimosom turned its head and nodded at Kedrik and the hatchling. "Sul'ing will stay here with you. She will become a valuable ally and counselor when she matures. Treat her as a friend. She will be our ambassador to you from the dragon realm."

  Overhead, shimmering curtains of light rippled in the sky. Lorit knew that this was the end. The dragons were going home. "Farewell, old friends," he called to the dragons.

  Du'ala snorted and sat back on her hind legs, ready to leap for the sky. "Thank you for all your help. We will hear tales of you for summers yet to be."

  With that, she launched herself into the sky, spread her wings, and flew off into the bright morning. Zhimosom and Rotiaqua followed her on their new wings as if they had been born to them.

  Lorit looked up into the sky until the curtains of light faded, then kept staring at the spot as if they would return.

  "I don't think they're coming back." Chihon squeezed his hand and pulled him towards the Keep. "Come on. We have a Council to run."

  Epilog

  The royal wedding was a grand affair. Queen Ukina was radiant in her wedding gown and the ceremony was more opulent and regal than her coronation had been. The wedding not only bound the Queen and her husband the Knight, Sir Adane, together, it also bound t
he Nobles and merchants to the royal couple, reaffirming their oath to the pair as they had sworn to the Queen.

  Some were absent, others looked ashamed for their part in the uprising, but all who were there pledged their undying devotion to the royal couple and their descendants after them. When the official ceremony was over, the guests were invited to the royal table. Lorit and Chihon sat together now, not separated as they had been when they first arrived in Veldwaite so long ago. No longer was Ukina the insecure young woman who hung on Chihon's every word. She was the Queen and a powerful ruler in her own right, one who had just put down a rebellion with almost no bloodshed.

  When it came time for the guests to leave, Queen Ukina pushed her way through the crowd and guards to find Lorit and Chihon. She threw herself into a chair beside Chihon and heaved a heavy sigh. Her carefully constructed hairdo had long since deteriorated into its usual rat's nest of unruliness.

  "I'm so glad you could make it," she said. "The Wizarding business is not too strenuous?"

  "Not too strenuous," Chihon said.

  "Then you've had some time to enjoy life?" Ukina smiled at them.

  "We have." Chihon guided Ukina's hand to her belly, where the bulge was just starting to show.

  "It looks like you'll have yourself quite a handful," Ukina said.

  "How about you?" Chihon asked. "Are there children in your future? I'm sure the crown needs an heir as soon as possible."

  Ukina smiled at Chihon. "Soon. And several." She laughed. "You can never be too careful."

  Chihon placed her hand on her belly and felt the magic that was growing inside of her. She smiled. Life was good. Everything was perfect.

  About the Author

  James Eggebeen is a serial entrepreneur repeatedly taking high tech companies through the growing pains of converting from a garage shop into a sustainable and profitable mature business. He learned the value of hard work on a farm in Wisconsin where he learned auto mechanics from his saintly grandfather who patiently tolerated him and his siblings always under foot.

  He confounded his teachers and most grown-ups at a young age writing incredibly powerful algorithms for phenomenally underpowered machines at the dawn of the computer age. This is a skill he has employed throughout his professional career and still takes great pride in (the confounding part mostly).

  At 17years of age, he made a deal with the US Navy to “Teach me about airplanes and computers. Take me anywhere it doesn't snow and I’m all yours.” They kept their part of the bargain and started him on a world traveling adventure that has continued far beyond his six-year enlistment.

  He has continued hopping about the globe as a businessman, frequently logging one fourth of his time out of the country. He feels as comfortable abroad as he does at home and has developed an appreciation for a wide range of cultures and cuisines.

  He settled in Southern California after his service was complete and studied Engineering, Business, and Finance at night while working at a series of start-up firms by day. He claims that growing up on the farm and his time in the Navy have ruined his ability to sleep late and now habitually gets up well before the sane portion of population starts their day.

  He lives in Southern California with his wife of twenty-five years who puts up with all his bizarre habits and unusual hours, where he has a better computer infrastructure at home than most small companies have at the office.

  Other books by this author

  Foundling Wizard

  (Book #1 in the Apprentice to Master Series)

  Wizard's Education

  (Book #2 in the Apprentice to Master Series)

  Wizard Pair

  (Book #3 in the Apprentice to Master Series)

  Hatchling

  Coming Early 2014

  Having reached his fifteenth summer, Kedrik could have been a wandering minstrel, or a migrant farm worker, or a peddler, or a young merchant out to seek his fortune. The only thing that set this sandy-haired youth apart from any other was the Wizard's staff he carried and the way he calmly stood watching the white dragon overhead.

  The dragon folded its wings and dropped from the twilight sky like a stone. At the last moment, wide leather wigs snapped open with a crack, and the dragon swooped over the field, plucking a kine from the herd not a dozen rods from where Kedrik stood.

  The cattle scattered in fright as the dragon vanished in the distance, its prey struggling in its powerful claws. They needn't fear, Sul'ing only took one animal at time, and then only every ten days or so.

  Kedrik continued walking until he came upon a place near the road where a large, flat boulder sat beneath a shade tree. He unpacked his belongings, made a small fire and settled in to watch the sun set. The stars were just starting to show when a screech split the air and something dropped to the ground near the tree.

  Kedrik scrambled to it. It was the hind leg of the kine Sul'ing had pilfered, savagely torn from the body of her victim. He brushed the grass from it and carried it back to the fire. There was enough meat on it to last Kedrik several days if he prepared it properly.

  He sliced and cooked some of the meat to make himself a meal, and then prepared the rest of it for preservation. He sliced the remaining meat into thin strips and laid them carefully on the face of the rock. He took his time. He knew Sul'ing was washing away the blood of her latest feast, and would not be back for a while. She was a fastidious dragon, and not only in her human form.

  Kedrik had just finished laying out the meat when Sul'ing returned. She landed with a rush of wind and waddled over to where Kedrik sat.

  The white dragon was taller than Kedrik, but she was still so young that her horns had not grown out. They were nothing more than tiny buds atop her massive head, but all too soon they would sprout razor sharp points. Then Kedrik would have to be more careful when they played.

  Kedrik pointed to the sliced meat carefully arranged on the rock face. "Do you mind?"

  "Do I have to do everything for you?" Sul'ing asked. "I caught it didn't I?"

  "Not much of a challenge was it? A herd of cattle grazing on farm land?"

  "I was hungry. Rabbits and coyote aren't very satisfying."

  "Too bad you can't eat jerky." Kedrik pointed to the strips of meat sitting ready on the rock.

  "I don't know how you can stomach that."

  "It keeps me going." Kedrik nodded at the strips of meat again. "Please?"

  Sul'ing drew a deep breath and shot fire. The meat dried quickly under her flame as she carefully dried the beef for Kedrik. As she finished, she focused a thin stream of fire on one slice of meat. She held the flame there until the meat was nothing but ash.

  "Thanks." Kedrik brushed away the ash and collected the dried meat. "Did you have enough to eat?"

  "I did." Sul'ing tucked her wings in and sat back on her haunches. Her head brushed the branches and she twisted her neck to keep her face free of the leaves. She had grown to half the size of an adult dragon in the few seasons since she'd hatched, but she had the sense of humor of a youngster. Kedrik wasn't sure she would outgrow that no matter how old she got.

  Sul'ing shimmered as if she were vibrating quickly, taking on a pronounced golden glow. Sparks lit the air surrounding her body and spun about her like a whirlwind. She shrunk down in size, twisting and contorting into the shape of a young girl. In her new form, she matched Kedrik's height. Her skin was still comprised of scales, although now they were tiny, more like a snake's than those of the dragon. Her sparkling golden eyes were still there though, full of mischief, vertical slits and all.

  She wore a heavy brown hooded cloak that masked her face and hands. It made her look almost human, except for the tail that stretched out on the ground behind her.

  Kedrik stood and walked around her. When he reached the tail, he gave it a quick gentle kick. "Humans don't have tails," he reminded her.

  The tail shimmered and then silently disappeared into her cloak. Without the tail, she looked like the young girl, of fifteen summers that
they had practiced. In the form of the girl, she was less conspicuous as she accompanied Kedrik into the towns along their way.

  She was getting better at it, but people still became suspicious when they caught a glimpse of her skin or eyes. That was what had caused their hasty departure from the town of Jaden earlier that day.

  "You're getting better, but it still needs work," Kedrik said. "It would be nice to stay in one town for more than a few days without the locals getting upset. I was starting to like that place."

  Sul'ing hit him hard on the shoulder. She was powerful even in her human guise. "You just wanted to see more of that girl."

  "What's wrong with that?" Kedrik sat down and Sul'ing took a seat beside him. He extended a piece of roasted meat to her. She made a face and pushed it away. Kedrik shrugged and ate in silence.

  By the time he was done eating, the sky was dark and clear. The stars shone brightly as there was no moon to compete with them. There were more stars out than Kedrik could possibly count. The belt of the maiden crossed the sky, her thin veil made of stars in such number that it was beyond comprehension.

  Kedrik lay back and stared up at the sky.

  "I don't know why you find the stars so fascinating," Sul'ing said. "They're just lights in the sky."

  Kedrik pointed to one particularly bright star. "Is it that one?"

  "No. It's none of them. You can't see it from here."

  "How do you know?" Sul'ing always told him that the dragon realm was so far away that you couldn't see it. Kedrik wasn't sure he believed her.

  "Because I know where it is, and it's not there."

  "When are you going to take me there?" Kedrik knew that she could take him to the dragon realm any time she wanted. They discussed it openly, how she would one day wish to go home. Kedrik knew that someday Sul'ing would want to be with the rest of the dragon clan. When that day came, surely she would take him along with her. She had to. They were bonded. She couldn't leave him behind.