Dragon Fire

by Randal Sloan

  They stayed like that for some time. Finally, Jailyn straightened herself. “We best be finding our bedrolls, I suspect. Tomorrow we must once more resume our quest; a quest that I suspect has many dangers remaining, some of which we cannot fully comprehend yet.”

  “Of that I’ve no doubt,” Gavriel told her. “See you in the Dream World.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Desert of Despair

  AFTER A QUICK break of their fast, the small group now consisted of seven instead of six with the joining of the group by Gavriel, but to Jailyn the group just felt right. They hurried down the last section of the pass. Once again it was a forested area, but the trees on this side were much more sparsely populated.

  The dry side of the mountains had a beauty of their own and the group paused to take a look ahead from an overhang that looked over the remainder of the trail. Already they could see the edge of the desert approaching and it looked entirely barren of life. It wasn’t, Jailyn knew, her newfound abilities allowing her to sense the scattered flora and fauna below them.

  That was the thing she was surprised the most by the binding. All that extra ability she had experienced while fighting that magic infection had been exhilarating despite the fight against the terrible hunger. That magic was now bound to the dragon half of her soul and she could control it! It was amazing. After her experience flying in the Dream World last night, she felt like she could do anything.

  Jailyn could sense the assassins and the Dark Sorcerer on the other side of the desert. They had momentarily stopped their forward progress, probably because they had felt the explosion of magic during the binding ceremony. Jailyn knew without a doubt they wouldn’t give up on their intentions to kill their small group and for the assassins she would show no mercy. But the dark sorcerer in charge was an entirely different affair.

  Jailyn hoped to capture him alive, because she had some questions for him. She suspected he was still just a lackey sent to do the bidding of his master. She needed to know who they really faced on the other side of the Middle Sea, the man behind the assassins and Lord Vipero. That man didn’t know it yet, but his days were numbered.

  Jailyn had reluctantly accepted the role which she and her future mate were to take over the land. That meant it was her responsibility to deal with groups that would oppose their reign, and she knew without a doubt the Dark Sorcerers would have to be dealt with. But that was a job for another day.

  Standing beside her, Gavriel felt his love for the one he was bound to and his pride in her abilities to wield magic. As a dragon, magic had just been a part of his being, but now in this human body, he had to work to access it. Yet his love was somehow able to combine the two halves of her soul much more quickly than he. He was quite proud of her.

  He remembered the time in the dream world. She was awesome in her dragon form, taking the form of a rare golden dragon—much like the golden color of her hair as a human—indicating the ability to wield all the dragon magic. Some of that she’d already had naturally as one who would have become one of the most powerful human wizards, but as her dragon form told him, she would have that same ability as a dragon.

  Very few dragons in the history of dragonkin had shown such color. His father had been one. He wished he had had the chance to meet him; he must have been quite an amazing dragon.

  Jailyn gave a sigh and turned to follow Kynin, who had started forward down the trail, so Gavriel knew it was time to end his musing and go forward. He would be keeping very close to his love.

  Desperare Desert literally meant Desert of Despair, and after only a few minutes travel the group rapidly came to know what it meant. Once they passed over the first of the dunes so that their way back became obscured, everything looked the same. Without their magic to guide them, they would have quickly become lost.

  The group had completed a brief travel meal at the end of their trip down from the pass, one last time looking out over the edge of the desert. Everyone had filled their canteens, both sets of them, at the small stream Kynin had warned would be the last they saw for a while, and they had thought they were prepared for the journey. Then they’d set forth, determined to reach the first oasis before making camp.

  They quickly realized just how different traveling in the desert was going to be. The sand was everywhere, getting into their sandals and into their clothes and without the ability to remove it with magic, it would have been a mad affair indeed. Even with the magic they had been given to keep them cool in the heat of the desert, the heat was quite oppressive.

  Included in their travel kit had been eye protection, glasses with a darkened color to protect against the sun, and they quickly donned them to protect their eyes against the much too bright sunlight reflecting off the sand. When the wind picked up, they discovered another problem and had to use the scarves in their packs to wrap around their heads.

  Jailyn couldn’t believe that people lived in this desert area, but a couple of times she felt someone watching them. But no one came forth to challenge them, so they could only trudge forward, one step at a time. Everyone had begun to despair that they would ever reach the oasis, despite more than one member of the party finding themselves rushing forward to reach a pool of water in front of them, only to find it was merely a mirage.

  Finally, the oasis came within sight, the trees surrounding the water a dead giveaway. They had all rushed forward, heedless of the danger, to reach that wonderful area of relief from their travels across that desert. Despair indeed!

  Kynin had at least had the sense to verify that everything was safe beforehand. He needn’t have worried; Jailyn could now sense the path in front of them and would have warned if there were anything dangerous awaiting them. After splashing around in the water like a bunch of kids, the group had gradually become aware of themselves again and had sheepishly stopped to fill their canteens at a spot a little away from where they’d been just splashing around. Finally, they gathered again at the edge of the oasis to plan their next move.

  “It’s not safe to camp right here at the oasis,” Kynin explained to them. “As evening starts to draw nigh in the next few moments, the animals will begin to come in to drink the water, meaning the predators will be hidden among them. We wouldn’t be in any grave danger with Jailyn and her hellhounds, but it’s just prudent to take precautions.”

  He indicated a ridge they could see just ahead, a ridge with sections of rock revealed underneath. Several areas looked like they would make a good campsite. After looking it over momentarily, Kynin picked out a spot that would make an easily defensible position, with a rock overhang that gave sufficient shelter yet provided quick access to higher ground if necessary. A rock pillar off to one side would make an excellent spot for their overwatch.

  He indicated his chosen location. “Jailyn, would you get your hellhounds to sweep that area to be sure it’s clear?”

  She shook her head. “No need. They don’t much like the desert. I can tell you now that everything is clear. The few small animals that were around have gone to ground; they’ll be no problem. The desert cats over there—” she pointed to a ridge to the right “—have already decided to leave us alone as long as we stay away from their den, and I strongly suggest we do so. The desert people have also decided to leave us alone for now.”

  She smiled. “I suspect they’re waiting to see if we survive the next day or so before they bother to make contact. I think they are quite shy.”

  Everyone had been staring at her. “You can see all that from here,” Kynin finally asked.

  Jailyn nodded. “That much and more. Our assassin team on the other side of the desert has once more begun to move forward toward us. It appears that we will meet somewhere in the middle of this Desperare Desert. I intend to make it their despair.

  “You guys need to understand something. I’m still the Jailyn you all know and I hope love,” she told them with a smile, “but I’m also now bound to the dragons and to their Empire. When I most reluctantly accepte
d my part of what that binding meant, I knew I was accepting the role of Queen. With it has come a tremendous amount of magic, but also with it has come a tremendous responsibility. I intend to face down those assassins and I have no remorse in killing them all, evil group of killers that they are, but their leader we need to capture for questioning.

  “It’s now my responsibility to go after their Dark Council and rid our land of their dark stain. Our responsibility,” she said as Gavriel came up to put his arm around her.

  “Our quest has not changed. We need to retrieve the Talismans of Power so that Jesse can assume his rightful place as King of Callidore, but my role has become somewhat different. Once we’ve completed our part of the quest, it will be up to the five of you to complete that task. I don’t know what’s in store for me next, but I sense it will be something else entirely.”

  “Four of them,” Kynin told her. “My task has always been to accompany you, if you will accept me.”

  Jailyn smiled. “Of course. I should have seen that.” She turned to the others. “Don’t worry. It’s not like you’re being abandoned. You’ll have the wizards to help you and Gavriel’s brothers and sisters have volunteered to fly you all back to the island once you’ve completed your quest.”

  She turned to Jesse. “That means you’re going to be in charge after I leave. It’ll be good practice for when you become king. I know you’ll be up to it.”

  Jesse gave her a slight nod. “I guess I always knew it was going to happen; I just thought it was going to be a long time off…” His voice trailed off as he tried to understand what it all meant. Finally, he shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll ever be ready, but I’ll just have to do my best.”

  Jailyn nodded. “That’s all any of us can do.”

  She could tell she’d shocked most of her friends other than Kynin, who’d known all along what was happening. Gavriel, of course, was already a part of it. “Let’s get the camp set up and then we can talk. It’s not like I’m leaving today.”

  Following Kynin’s directions, it didn’t take them long to set the camp up, making the few changes to their normal camp that Kynin knew made more sense here in the desert. They also eschewed building a fire, their location still close enough to the oasis they wanted to avoid that indication of their presence.

  Afterwards, Jailyn found herself a spot a little away from the camp to sit and think. She also anticipated more than one member of the group would be coming to see her and she wanted to have a little privacy for those conversations.

  She wasn’t wrong; she just hadn’t expected to see them all.

  Kelsey was the first to come see her. Jailyn should have known that was coming. After all, Kelsey was the first on the island to become her friend and in some ways she was closest to her. Jailyn knew Kelsey didn’t want to part company with her, but she also knew the girl had feelings for Jesse.

  “What will I do without you?” Kelsey asked as she gave her a hug. “We’ve been friends for all of a few weeks, but I feel like I’ve known you for a lifetime. And now you say you’re leaving.”

  Jailyn smiled at her. “Well, assuming your relationship with Jesse continues to grow, he’ll ask you to marry him and you’ll become Queen of Callidore. Then you wouldn’t have had time for me anyway, running a kingdom and all.”

  She tried to give her friend a hard look, but she knew she didn’t pull it off. “You’re going to be taking over my job of watching after the boy, so you’d better do it right.” She laughed, “I should warn you. He snores at night, or at least he used to when we were little and shared a sleep area.”

  Kelsey laughed. “But what of you? You’re going to become a Queen yourself, or more of an Empress it sounds like to me. I’ll probably have to visit you as a head of state and then bow to your Royal Highness.”

  “You’ll never. Well, except when in front of a big crowd, but I’ll know you’ll be standing up on the inside,” Jailyn told her with her own laugh. Then she grew serious. “Oh, Kels, I never wanted any of this, but it was do this or die. That was terrible, knowing I could turn on my friends and kill them at any time. It was the most terrible thing I’ve ever faced. And look at Gavriel. He had to give up being a dragon for me.”

  She laughed. “Well, except for in the Dream World. That’s so amazing, Kels. In the Dream World I can become a dragon and fly because I now have half a dragon soul. It’s one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever experienced.”

  Kelsey gave her another hug. “You’ll have to invite me in to visit, maybe give me a flight on your back. Once you learn how to become a Dream Master, we’ll be able to use that to at least visit with each other, won’t we?”

  “I hope so, Kels, I hope so, ‘cause I’m in this thing way over my head. All I ever wanted to do was to help people with my magic.”

  “Looks like you’ll be able to help even more with that magic than you imagined — Just sayin’, my friend…”

  Kelsey smiled as she walked away.

  Jesse was the next to come visit. Growing up, he’d considered her to be his big sister and he still felt that way.

  “Just look at you, sis. After all those years when we each believed we were no one, now we’re both going to be given such a huge responsibility.”

  He shook his head. “And neither one of us wants the job, but we have to do it because we never back away from our duty. You helped teach me that.”

  Jailyn nodded. “It’s not going to be easy, I know. We’re the last ones to want the job, so maybe that’s why Fate has chosen us for the task. Maybe we were hidden away like we were for a reason. I just don’t know; it’s not really our place to try to understand, but just to do, I guess.”

  She looked at Jesse. He seemed to have grown up a lot in the last few weeks. “Are you going to be alright without me? You’ll have Kels and the others and then the Masters should be a big help too. Make sure you pick good advisors and not just someone who tells you what you want to hear.”

  Jesse nodded. “You and Elder Radcliffe taught me well. Do you think he always knew?”

  “Yes, I think he knew about both of us, but he did a good job of protecting us.” She pushed her senses out a moment, making sure no one was near enough to hear. “Listen, Jesse, when I said I was going to be away, I meant really away. As in, I don’t think you’ll be able to reach me for a while. I have no idea what that means, but just know I care deeply and will miss you so very much while I’m gone. And promise me you’ll be careful.”

  Jesse nodded. “I will. You just make sure you come back to us.”

  “That I will. I’ll do whatever it takes to find my way back.”

  Jesse gave her his own hug. “I love you, sis.”

  “I love you too.”

  Jesse hadn’t been gone long when Carisa came up. “I guess it’s my turn. I just wanted to thank you so much for giving me a second chance like you did.”

  “Nonsense. I think you would have found your way no matter what. You were just being a little hard-headed. That goes with being a fire wizard, I think. Anyway, I’m glad we did become good friends.”

  “Me too. I would ask you to take me with you, but I guess that’s something that you don’t have any choice about.”

  “No, and I think your fire and null magic are going to be needed. Even with others to help and with the Talismans of Power, it’s not going to be easy. But I really believe you’ll prevail.”

  Carisa nodded. “It’s a good thing you were there to help me figure it all out. I really think we were meant to be together as a group for this quest.”

  “Yeah, me too. Something about you joining us just felt right and you’ve been a big part of it already.”

  It was her turn to hug Jailyn. “You be careful out there. Something tells me nothing is going to be easy.”

  Jailyn shook her head. “I think you’re right. But I have to believe I’ll see all of you again.”

  ”Hey, Jailyn,” Corrie told her as he came up to stand beside her.

&nbs
p; Glancing around to be sure none of the others were close enough to hear, he went on, “I want to thank you for including me in your group all this time. I’m not sure how much I bring to this group with such powerful wizards as the rest of you are. I bring almost nothing, other than my spidey sense.”

  “That of itself means a lot. I feel at least a little better knowing you’re watching out for us. After all this is over, you need to stay close to Jesse. There may come a time when his life will depend on your gift.”

  Corrie nodded. “Like the others, I worry abut how we’ll manage without you — you’ve been so much a part of all we’re doing, but I will do my best to protect him.”

  “That’s all anyone can ask. I can’t even explain how I know all this, but knowing you’ll be there means a lot to me.”

  She very carefully broached the next subject. “Listen, I’m glad we got a chance to talk. I know you and I thought, even after our rough start, that we might have the chance for something in the future, but that didn’t work out for us,” she held up her hand with the ring on it, “but I know there’s someone out there for you. You two just have to find each other.”

  Corrie knew she was right. “I think we both knew it wasn’t really there, or we’d have found a way to pursue it, even with all that we had going on. I still think I’m much better off for having known you. You just be careful, when you’re out on your own. A lot of us are depending on you to come back to us.”

  Jailyn just nodded. “I will. It’s not like I’m leaving today. I don’t even know what it means.”

  Corrie turned to leave. “I’m glad we had this talk. See you in the morning.”

  “Good night,” was her soft reply.

  She’d be careful, that was for sure, but she’d do whatever she had to do. That’s all any of them could do.