Dragon Rise (The Dragonwalker Book 3)

by D. K. Holmberg

  Fes took a deep breath. He focused on the sense within him, that connection to the anger. He would use that. He had to to continue fighting.

  Could he be strong enough? Would he be fast enough? He needed to be both to fight. He looked at the other Deshazl, most of them too young to participate, and most of them with no experience in fighting at all. They deserved help. They deserved his willingness to do everything that he could.

  Strangely, they reminded him of Indra. She hadn’t been helpless. She had her own magic, the dragon blessing that had allowed her to animate her totems, and because of that, she hadn’t been entirely helpless, and he didn’t think that these rescued Deshazl were entirely helpless, either. They had risked much and fought, and despite everything they had gone through, they still survived.

  He would fight for them. He would do everything that he could to help them.

  Fes took a deep breath, turning his attention to the soldiers, and started off.

  He ran, and with each step, the anger and rage that filled him began to build, growing stronger and stronger. He controlled that rage, but as a Calling began to fill him, Fes released that control.

  It might be the only thing that would save him.

  He threw himself at the nearest of the soldiers. Two of them carried swords but were unprepared for an attack, and certainly unprepared for someone like Fes, who came at them with little more than a flurry of violence.

  They fell back under Fes’s attack. He carved them down, one after another, striking two men in a single blow. Somewhere, he had the sense of Nick fighting alongside him, and he worried that the Calling that was building within him was overwhelming him, but he ignored it, focusing only on what he could control. Several men were preventing him from reaching his goal. He slashed, cutting them down, and twisted, turning to the next. One after another, they fell. Blood sprayed, hot and violent, and the stink of it filled the air. He refused to acknowledge it. He refused to acknowledge anything other than the fight.

  And then it was done.

  He looked around. How many of the Deshazl were missing?

  Blood coated Nick’s hands, and he looked at Fes with a strange expression on his face. Was it fear?

  “What is it?” Fes asked.

  “You.”

  “What about me?”

  “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

  “I’m just happy that the Calling didn’t overwhelm you.”

  “I felt it, but it was brief, and it seemed as if something were burning it off, as if it were fighting on my behalf.”

  What could that have been? Could the rage that he had felt be enough to help the others? Could that power that flowed through him have somehow protected the rest of the Deshazl?

  And why did it have to be anger?

  When Fes thought about it, he didn’t know that it had to be anger. Could it be that what he felt was simply a connection to the dragons? Could it be that sensation was the same fire that he shared with the dragons?

  They untied horses and the Deshazl quickly climbed into the saddle, Nina taking the lead. Were there a different circumstance, Fes would smile at the change in her demeanor since her rescue. She had grown, taking charge, and he was pleased to see that though they had been through as much as they had, there was something almost fearless about her. And here she had worried about freezing when attacked.

  Commotion caught his attention, and Fes turned to see several of the others appearing from one of the buildings.

  “Go,” he urged.

  “Where will we go?” Dobrah asked.

  Fes look at her, worried for a moment that her pregnant belly wouldn’t tolerate riding a horse, and certainly not at speed. They would need to gallop, riding quickly.

  They didn’t have much choice. She would have to stay with them.

  “We’re heading west. The capital.”

  They started off, Nina leading the charge, and Fes kept his horse toward the rear of the procession. Nick joined him.

  “How long do you think we’ll have?” Nick asked.

  “I don’t know,” Fes said. “It’s possible that we won’t be able to stay ahead of them.”

  “They’re trained soldiers,” Nick said. “I don’t have any misconception that we can stay ahead of them indefinitely.”

  “They might be trained, but we only have to get far enough ahead to reach empire troops.”

  “What if the empire can’t help us?”

  “They can help,” Fes said.

  “But you were caught by the rebellion. What happens if the rebellion gets involved and intercedes?”

  Fes frowned, the horse jostling him as it galloped. He glanced over his shoulder. Already the others had managed to get seated and were heading their way. They rode quickly, guiding their horses with more skill than Fes could manage.

  It might not even matter. He wanted to stay ahead of the Damhur, but Nick was right. None of the Deshazl were soldiers, and they would struggle to stay ahead.

  He wouldn’t let them get caught. If it came down to it, he would turn back and throw himself into the line of soldiers.

  The rolling hillside undulated before them, and each time they topped a rise, Fes glanced back, looking to see whether there would be any sign of pursuit. It seemed as if ages had passed since he had come this way, but it hadn’t been that long. In that time, his desire to get to Jayell had remained. What danger was she in? The fire mages might force her to assist them, but what else would they do?

  Fes kept his eyes facing forward, staring at the landscape, looking for someplace that might be able to offer protection. As they went, and with every hill they topped, he began to think that any chance of finding shelter would be limited.

  Even if they came across a village, there wouldn’t likely be any way for them to get safety. They needed soldiers, fighters, and not merely another village that the Damhur could destroy.

  Fes stared into the distance, trying to keep track of where they were heading, and keeping them steered to the west.

  “Maybe they won’t know where we’re going,” Nick said after they’d been riding for several hours. The horses had slowed considerably, and there was a limit to how hard they could push them. They needed the horses, and it was possible that as hard as the Damhur had ridden them, they wouldn’t be able to last much longer.

  “I’m not so sure that it’s a matter of them knowing where we’re going. I’m more concerned with the fact that they are willing to push so far inland.”

  “Why?”

  “They shouldn’t have been willing to come this far. The fact that they are, the fact that they don’t fear repercussions, tells me that either they don’t fear the empire’s weapons—including the fire mages”—Nick’s face darkened—“or they were granted access.”

  That worried him most of all. If they were granted access, then it was possible that he and the Deshazl he led were heading straight into danger.

  Fes tried not to think about that. He tried not to let himself get caught up in the possibility that going this way, and trusting that the empire would protect them, was the right direction.

  He still worried.

  Daylight began to fade, and still, Fes didn’t want to rest. When he’d come this way before, he had done so on foot, and traveling by horse was faster.

  “There might be another way,” he said to himself.

  “What other way?” Nick asked.

  Fes ignored him and kicked the horse faster, catching up to Nina in the lead. “We need to veer slightly north.”

  “Why? I thought you wanted us to head to the capital.”

  “I do, but I think we need to take a detour. The horses won’t last, and neither will we. Besides, I don’t think we can outrun them.”

  Nina’s eyes twitched. “That’s been my fear, as well.”

  “There’s another possibility.”

  “And what is that?”

  Fes looked back to see Nick remaining near the rear of the procession. “Some wo
n’t like it,” Fes said.

  “Why?” she asked carefully.

  “Because it means that we will rely upon the fire mages for protection.”

  Nina watched him, no emotion in her dark eyes, and finally nodded.

  They continued riding, and in the distance, Fes began to see lights glowing faintly.

  “There,” Fes said.

  “What is it?” Nina asked.

  “That will be the city of Dragash.” He watched Nina and saw recognition dawn on her face.

  “That means—”

  “Yes. That means that we will be risking going to the fire mage temple.”

  But if it worked, maybe they would be able to keep his people safe. It was a risk for all of them, but Fes most of all. The fire mages were angry with him, and the moment he appeared in the city, he suspected they would be aware of it. It was a fact that he counted on.

  Hopefully, if it went well, not only would they recognize that he was in the city, but they would come to him.

  “Fes—I don’t like it.”

  He watched the fire mage temple rise up before him. It was nothing more than a finger of darkness against the night, with occasional lights glowing within. The last time he’d been here, he had nearly been caught. This time, not only did he intend to get caught, but he intended to use the fire mages.

  Would they allow him to use them?

  So far, they had been lucky. They couldn’t count on their luck maintaining indefinitely. Eventually, luck would fail.

  “I don’t like it, either.”

  When they reached the city, they slowed their horses. The pressure that Fes attributed to the fire mages built around him, a steady and growing sense. He intentionally used the dragonglass sword, cutting through that tension.

  Nina watched him.

  “I’m cutting through the protections the fire mages have placed.”

  “You can do that?”

  “I suspect you could, too.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t do anything like that. I’m not like you.”

  “No. You’re better than me. I’ve seen the way that you handled the people. When we attract the attention of the fire mages, I want you to lead everyone into the middle of the city. You’ll find shops and taverns and places for you to stay. Get a room, or many of them, and bunker down.”

  “Just us? Not you?”

  The sense of the fire mage magic began to build again. He watched Nina, curious as to whether or not she could feel it or not. From the look of it, she couldn’t.

  That wasn’t entirely surprising. Fes thought about how long it had been before he had begun to be aware of the sense of fire mage magic. When he had first started detecting it, it had taken him a while to know what it was. Even now, he was still surprised that he could detect it. They might be Deshazl, but they were still inexperienced, though Fes was inexperienced, too.

  “The fire mages will come for me. We need them to come for me.”

  “You can’t mean that,” she said.

  “I don’t know that we have much choice.”

  He looked back. There were people on the hillside, the Damhur sitting atop their horses. The sense of the Calling built, but surprisingly, it was mitigated here. What did it mean that the power of the fire mages would mitigate the effect of the Calling?

  “Go,” he said.

  Nina watched him for a while before nodding. “What happens if we don’t meet up with you again?”

  “Wait until it’s safe, and find your way back home or to the capital. You were from Salina, and I know there were others from your village who headed this way. Find them, get to safety, and—”

  Nina shook her head. “What if I don’t want to get to safety? What if I don’t want to return to that life?” She held his gaze for a long moment. “There’s something about us. I can feel it. I want to know what that is and what it means.”

  Fes looked at the line of people. “Take anyone who will go with you and look for a woman named Arudis. Don’t ask me how you will find her, but there would be fifty or so with her, all from that village.”

  “The village we were just in?”

  Fes nodded. “That’s where I met her. She’s Deshazl, and if anyone can help you, it would be her. Find her, and anyone who wants to go with you can learn what it means for you to be Deshazl. I suspect that she can teach you how to use that connection.”

  “I hope we see you again, Fes.”

  He hoped for the same. He watched her, feeling the power of the fire mage magic building. As it did, he motioned for her to go.

  The Deshazl followed Nina, not questioning her leadership. When the end of the procession and Nick reached him, Fes looked at his friend. “I’m sorry that we brought you here. I don’t know what the fire mages did to you, but with that,” he said, motioning to the dragonglass sword strapped to his waist, “you don’t have to fear them. You never have to fear their spells.”

  “They… They took my sister.”

  “Then your sister likely was able to be a fire mage.”

  Nick shook his head. “What if she wasn’t? What if she was like us?”

  Fes didn’t have the answer. Rather than saying something that would be meaningless to Nick, he patted him on the arm. “Stay with Nina. I’ve given her instructions on where to go, and if anyone wants to learn what it means for you to be Deshazl, I think that she can help you figure it out.”

  “Thank you,” Nick said.

  “I haven’t done anything.”

  “You rescued us. You kept us safe. You risked yourself to do so. I think you could have just gotten away and gone on to your life, but you didn’t.” Nick looked at the Deshazl departing before turning back to Fes. “And… I think I’m going to stay with you.”

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen to me. The fire mages are angry with me. The last time I was here, I broke into their temple.”

  Nick barked out a laugh. “You did what?”

  “I broke into the temple. We were looking for dragon relics, and I wanted to take as many of them as I could to help a friend.”

  “Why would you need dragon relics… Your friend is a fire mage?”

  “She was a fire mage. She became a Priest of the Flame and didn’t want to use those abilities.”

  “But she did for you?”

  “We were looking for someone who had been taken from us.”

  With everything that he’d learned, he didn’t know what that meant for Azithan. Who did he really serve?

  Azithan had his own motivations, and Fes had never believed otherwise, but there had always been a part of him that thought Azithan had good in him. He could have harmed Fes dozens of times over, but he never did. He might have used him, but he never used him in a way that Fes hadn’t allowed.

  “Was it someone else like us?” Nick asked.

  The Deshazl had disappeared, and he wondered if he should have warned Nina that Nick had stayed with him. What would she do? With her newfound leadership, it was possible that she would try to come after Nick, thinking to rescue him. Doing so might put her in danger.

  Then again, Nina was smart. She would stay with the rest of the Deshazl, those who she could help, and wouldn’t endanger anyone unnecessarily. He didn’t need to worry that she would make a mistake like that.

  The power from the fire mages continued to build. As it did, Fes brought the dragonglass sword through it, splitting the spell.

  As he did, there came a faint sense of the Calling. He had been able to ignore it with the fire mage spell pushing outward, but the moment that he cut through the spell, the effect of the Calling began to push in on him.

  “Oh,” Nick said with a gasp.

  “Fight it,” Fes said.

  “What happened?”

  “Something unexpected,” Fes said.

  He looked along the street, searching for signs of any fire mage, but he saw none.

  The fire mage spell continued to build, and it helped suppress the effect of the Calling.
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  He didn’t dare cut through the spell again, not wanting to disrupt whatever it was the fire mages managed to do that kept him protected. The rest of the Deshazl needed that protection.

  The line of others on the hillside remained. They hadn’t moved, staying just at the edge of the city. Could they feel the power from the fire mage spell?

  If they could, then they were waiting, holding out. Until what?

  That was what troubled Fes the most. There had to be some reason for them to be sitting there, quietly watching, waiting. What was it?

  “What are we going to do?” Nick asked.

  Fes considered joining Nina and the others wherever they had gone, but doing so would attract the wrong kind of attention. If he did intend for the Deshazl to get to safety—whether to Arudis or back to their homes—he needed to leave them. He should have taken longer to say his goodbyes. Not only to Nina, but to Dobrah and Joey and Sarah and Celine and so many of the others.

  Doing so would only have given them doubt. How many others would have, like Nick, stayed with him? He didn’t doubt the bravery of Sarah or Celine or Joey. For that matter, he didn’t question the bravery of Nina.

  No. He needed to let them go, and that meant that he headed someplace that terrified him. He couldn’t stay where he was.

  “I think we need to go there,” he nodded, pointing toward the center of the city.

  Nick tore his gaze off the line of others. What thoughts were going through his head? Was he feeling the effect of the Calling or did the fire mage spell protect him? Hopefully, whatever it was that the fire mages were able to do, whatever magic that came from the old dragon bones, protected them enough to prevent the rest of the Deshazl from leaving the city and returning to the others.

  “There?” Nick asked. His voice trembled as he looked to the tower rising at the center of the city. The fire mage magic emanated from it. It was the source of the spells. And it was the one place Fes had not expected to return.

  Fes nodded. “The temple. I think we need to go to the temple.”

  Chapter Twenty