Aewyn removed a small box from his satchel; after he opened it he dipped his index finger in and flicked the ingredients in the direction of Leeander. Three lines of color emerged from the box and swirled together before heading off toward the kingdom, the streaks of blue, green and yellow added color and light to the night, a degree of prettiness to it. The light returned several minutes later making its way back into the small container. Aewyn stared down into it with his left eye, counting the small sections of light.
“So how far is it from here?” Kapano asked.
“It looks like it’s a little over a league distant.” Aewyn placed a white cloth on the ground as they all commenced to take out magical elements, creating a ball of purple fire that increased in size as they added to it, now a bit larger than the size of a person’s head. They tossed in chunks of metal that they had sharpened into the mix. When one burning sphere was finished they pushed it aside and started another.
After they had made three of the purple spheres Asher cried out. “I’m out of Boysenberry crystals.”
“As am I,” said Kapano.
Aewyn had only the tiniest amount remaining. “I don’t have enough either, hopefully three will be sufficient to accomplish the task at hand.”
Asher’s toe continued to throb. “We’ll have to dig more up later.” He took out a small piece of glass and looked into it but it was blank. “I can only see the boy in daylight. I hate it when spells don’t go exactly the way they’re supposed to.”
Kapano giggled as Asher hit his toe once again.
“You wouldn’t laugh if you knew how much this hurts!”
Aewyn nodded. “Let’s get on with it before we’re spotted.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
ASH OPENED HIS EYES as the sun was halfway over the horizon, giving light to the dark and expansive cave high up on the cliff, there was a fair amount of light into the main cave with lesser light into the offshoots where the family slept. As Ash opened his eyes fully he saw his mother staring down at him because she had been watching him sleep. He was such a cute baby dragon, the result of the union of a black and red dragon. Ash had taken color from both parents; a mixture of black and red but it looked fine on him, with areas of black that delicately merged to red, some of his scales were both red and black. In fact his mother thought that he was one of the most attractive dragon’s that she had ever seen and she didn’t think he would have a problem finding a mate when the time came, and even if he wasn’t a wizard he’d have the ladies pounding on the cave wall. Oh but he was a very rare dragon wizard.
Ash got up and stretched, making a funny yawning sound much like a puppy might. “Mother what are you doing?”
“Just watching you sleep. Mother’s do that sometimes.” Ella smiled at her son and waddled toward the main chamber.
Ash followed his mother out. “What’s for breakfast?”
Zedock flew in with a dead pterocrit, a huge flying beast that dragons found delicious. He had it by the neck and flung it onto the floor and everyone dug in, including Ash’s two sisters Firestorm and Cinder-Ella. Ash tore off one of its legs and went in the corner to eat, consuming bones and all with loud crunches, scorching parts of it to his taste.
His mother smiled at him. “Ash, close your mouth when you eat.”
“If I close my mouth how am I going to get the food in?”
Zedock laughed. “He’s got you there.”
“Father, why does this pterocrit taste different than the others?” Cinder-Ella asked. “It tastes sweet. Wherever you got this one you should get more.”
“It was tearing into one of the monster honey hives in the Sorcerer’s Grove,” said Zedock. “I guess it probably ate lots of honey, perhaps it was even living on it. Maybe I’ll bring some honey back this afternoon.” Sorcerer’s Grove was believed to have been created by a sorcerer long ago although there was no genuine information on whom or what had really made it. The bees there were the size of small dragons and they didn’t bother anyone, even when their honey was being taken. They never stung anyone.
A purple streak flew by the cave entrance making Ash turn his head to the right. “I’m going out to play.” And then he whispered to his sisters. “Looked like a purple dragon.” Ash flew out and his sisters followed.
Ella snuggled up to Zedock now that they had the cave to themselves. Zedock licked her neck several times thinking that she tasted wonderful.
Outside Ash tried hard to catch up to the violet dragon but it was no use; it was a full grown and too far ahead for him to catch up. His sisters caught up to Ash and Firestorm bumped into him. “Hey, watch where you’re going.”
“Sorry,” said Firestorm. “It really is a purple dragon isn’t it? I like purple.”
Cinder-Ella bumped into her sister playfully. “You won’t like it if a bunch of them come here and they eat up all the pterocrits.”
“There’s too many pterocrits for them to all get eaten up,” said Firestorm.
Cinder-Ella turned to see that Ash was heading back towards the cave. “Probably.”
Back in the cave Ash found his parents in a side chamber looking guilty for some reason. “What do you guys know about purple dragons?”
“Purple dragons?” said Ella. “You saw a purple dragon.”
“Yup.”
Zedock could see the look on Ella’s face. “Why what’s bad about purple dragons?”
Ella cleared her throat. “Well they carry diseases. They come from way down south where the atmosphere is really hot. I guess there are a lot of things that can make you sick there but they don’t get sick because they’re used to it. But in this part of the world we are not used to their diseases so I don’t want you guys even going close to one.”
Cinder-Ella flew back into the cave with a purple dragon close behind. “Come on in and meet my parents.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
RYXA FLEW TOWARD THE ENTRANCE of her lair and couldn’t wait to see her babies, when all ten eggs hatched her home was going to be full of life and laughter. Her mate had flown off at the sight of so many offspring and had never returned, but if he had no desire to be with her then she didn’t want him there. Fuega was a black female dragon friend that was happy to watch her eggs while she went out to stretch her wings; she was beside herself as Ryxa flew back into her cave high up on the cliff and was mortified to see that six of her ten eggs had simply collapsed; the shells had practically turned to dust.
“Fuega what happened to my little ones?”
“Ryxa I don’t know what happened! They just fell apart and there was nothing inside, no babies. I am so sorry. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Fuega was crying, her steamy tears dropping to the cave floor, one after the other.
Ryxa didn’t know what to think. She studied her four remaining eggs and realized that at least two of them looked like they might suffer the same fate. She touched one gently with her claw and gasped as it also collapsed, a hot tear sliding down her face and dropping into her nest. The dragon was sure that she had felt life within the eggs. Was it someone’s evil spell cast upon her?
“Oh my poor babies! I don’t understand I just don’t understand.”
And then another egg collapsed and made her gasp. Why hadn’t they collapsed under her weight earlier if they had been so fragile? She had never heard of such a thing. Her spirits were lifted somewhat as she sniffed the two remaining eggs and realized that they did indeed contain baby dragons but her joy was short lived because those shells looked awfully fragile as well and they would not survive if they hatched now. Ryxa needed to sit on them but she couldn’t. It was a nightmare that she couldn’t awake from.
Ryxa fell against the wall and started to cry. The wailing of both dragons could be heard miles away.
CHAPTER NINE
BAYLE WAS SLOWLY GETTING ACCUSTOMED to not being a dog although he was still having dog dreams and loved to chew on bones for hours but human teeth were not as strong as his canine’s had been. He was on the castle wal
l talking to king Darius, discussing the good old days; he had ceased to age all those years that he had been in dog form and now Darius, who had been his best friend all those years ago looked like an old man in comparison, especially in contrast to the still 16-year-old.
“Oh good it looks like Marcus is coming for a visit,” said king Darius. “I miss him much.”
They heard the sound of the knights walking at a good pace and looking down saw Marcus and Raina in the horseless carriage with more than two dozen knights walking behind him. The horseless carriage was moving by magic and Bayle wasn’t sure if the horses were invisible or what exactly was going on.
In the courtyard the king welcomed his son as Bayle’s eyes almost fell out of his head at the sight of Raina, struck by her beauty. He had seen pretty girls in the past but never quite so lovely. She both looked and smelled exceptional. His reaction did not go unnoticed by Marcus and was not appreciated. Was the beast of jealousy rearing its ugly head?
The knight Stone appeared with Cyrus, a young lad that Stone was putting a lot of time into because of his potential, to not only become a knight but to perhaps become a champion. Stone was the king’s champion, a handsome and well-rounded knight with plenty of skill and experience. Being a champion came with many privileges and Stone had ended up with the princess, quite an accomplishment for a knight. Many wanted to be knights but few had all the talents necessary to actually become a great knight, for one’s name to have the possibility to go down in history. Stone knew it was too soon to say that Cyrus was going to be an exceptional knight but even at his young age his talent with a sword was already impressive. There were warriors that were adept with a sword but didn’t have much common sense and would lead all his men to a senseless death. One had to know when to attack, when to retreat and when to go down fighting. What was surprising to Stone was that Cyrus was both solid and remarkably fast, looked heavy on his feet but wasn’t. The lad was big for his age, broad back with dirty blonde hair that danced on his shoulders when he rode and a handsome face, a square chin and mesmerizing blue eyes.
“Cyrus, overconfidence is to your opponent’s advantage. No matter how skilled you are there will always be someone that can best you and when that time comes to prevail you will have to use your head as well as your sword.”
“Surely no one can best you.”
“Cyrus what did I just say? Two knights that are equal, one month one vanquishes the other but the next month the other one comes out on top. Why? There can be many reasons. Skill and desire are only two. If you underestimate your enemy his sword will end up with your blood on it. It is to your benefit to be both pleasant and polite but when the time comes to fight you battle like each and every blow saves the king, because in a fashion it does. There are more ways than one to have chinks in one’s armour.”
Marcus ran up to Stone and hugged him. “Stone how I have missed you.”
Bayle stuck his hand out and they grasped forearms. “Hello Marcus.”
“Hello to you Bayle. Cyrus, you know I’m jealous of you.”
Cyrus wondered if he was making a jest. “Why would you be jealous of me? You’re a powerful wizard that flies on the back of a dragon. I don’t know anyone that can best that.”
Marcus nodded supposing it was true. “Because you have sought and received favor from Stone and not too long ago I believed that I would be where you are now. I’m on a different path but I’m still not sure if I like it.”
Princess Alexa emerged from the stable with her sword in hand in a full suit of armour and she was happy to see Marcus, her daughter Abbey followed close behind in the form of a donkey. The toddler thought it was still great fun to be able to change from a child into a donkey and back of one of Marcus’s errant spells. “It’s nice to see you little brother but you’re not so little anymore.”
“Alexa I see that you are still playing the game of knights.” Marcus was proud that his sister was the only female knight around and maybe he would even tell her one day, then again maybe not.
Alexa looked at Raina. “Raina I see that he hasn’t transformed you into a donkey yet.”
“His magic is a lot more stable now that he has a wand,” said Raina. “But I’m sure he still has lots to learn.”
Alexa thought that they made a nice looking couple. “So that stick somehow makes you a better wizard? Marcus are you back to stay? Are you safe to be around?”
Marcus shook his head as the donkey bumped into him and knocked him down. He laughed as he got up and hugged Abbey. “No I think I’m going to build my own castle and live there, not too far from here I guess. The castle I’m in now is pretty nice but it should be fun to build my own and to enchant it with spells to keep out anyone that I don’t want in.”
His sister smiled at him. “Remind me never to go to that castle. Is it true you two are engaged?”
“Yes we are,” said Raina.
“Thinking about it,” Marcus said simultaneously.
That statement both annoyed and angered Raina. “I can’t believe that you would embarrass me like that.” She jumped in the horseless wagon and told it to head back to the other castle as Marcus looked at his father.
“If you don’t want her I’ll take her,” said Cyrus.
Stone grabbed Cyrus and moved him aside. “Have you lost your mind? That is the prince that you insult and not only the prince but a powerful sorcerer. I believed that you had more sense than god gave a chicken. Do you want to spend the rest of your existence as a snail?”
Cyrus became silent. It wasn’t at all pleasant to be chastised, especially in front of others.
“Father what should I do?” Marcus was unsure of his next move.
“If you love her,” said the king, “you best get after her. If you don’t let her go.”
Marcus chased after Raina on foot, hit the wagon with a ball of green light from his wand making it halt. When he finally reached her he was out of breath, could barely speak as she had crossed her arms waiting for him to do so. “Raina please forgive me I do love you. I didn’t want my sister to belittle me; she thinks of me as a child.”
Raina wouldn’t look at him. “I don’t like feeling that I want you more than you want me. If you don’t want to be with me just say so and I’ll be off. I’ve been through a lot and oh I don’t know anymore.”
Marcus rubbed his forehead from the stress. “I do want to marry you but at the same time it scares me. You are the very first girl that has taken an interest in me, no that’s not what I meant to say. I’m young and, no we’re both young and, I don’t know. I’m a fairly new wizard and I have that to think about and all the responsibility that comes with it and? And what if I don’t live very long, you’ve been through so much already Raina.”
Finally he had said something that touched her heart. “See Marcus the truth is always the best way to go.” She wiggled to the end of the wagon, got off and kissed him and he returned the affection. “So are we engaged or not?”
Marcus nodded. “We’re engaged.”
“And how long is the engagement?”
Marcus thought about that. How long could he get away with? He thought that females were much more complicated than males. “Five years,” he joked. The truth was that he wanted to get to know her better but he surely didn’t want to risk losing her, he liked just about everything about her.
“How long?”
“Four years?”
Raina crossed her arms and then noticed two black dragons pursuing one another overhead. “Keep going.”
“How about three years. That’s not really all that long.” He smiled and raised his eyebrows but could see that she wasn’t happy with that response either.
Raina stared at him and didn’t say a word though making him uncomfortable nonetheless. As the silence lengthened he felt even more uneasy, women and their feminine wiles, her gaze made him look away.
“How about two years. Two years sounds good don’t you think?”
“Okay Marcus
I guess I can live with two years, if you want to risk someone else coming along and stealing me away from you in the meantime.”
That angered Marcus just a little. “With me being a wizard he would have to be awful stupid; I’d turn him into a bug and squash him. Transform him into a bird and give him to a cat to play with.”
“Really?”
He hated to admit that he really wouldn’t do it. “Maybe.”
“Okay then let’s go back.” And she appeared to be perfectly happy now.
Back with the king and the others Marcus went over to Adorok and whispered something to him as his father watched.
Adorok raised his visor.
“Oh my,” said king Darius. “There’s a skeleton in this one.”
Marcus took Adorok by the hand and brought him over to his father as everyone watched. “Father it’s Adorok! I brought him back from purgatory.”
Darius didn’t like the sound of that at all, sounded a little too much like black magic though he knew Marcus didn’t practice in the dark arts. But the repercussions might be costly for Adorok. “Adorok is it really you?”
“It is I your majesty.”
The king stared at the ugly skull inside the armour. “You look terrible.”
“Yes I’ve lost some weight. I can’t eat in this condition thank goodness I don’t desire any food.”
Darius looked at Marcus who shrugged. “Well let’s head inside and you can tell me all about it. I’d like to hear what it’s like to be dead.”
A large fireball passed over the castle and landed just beyond its walls. Leeander was under attack.
CHAPTER TEN
ELLA ALMOST FAINTED at the sight of the spotted purple dragon, believing that her entire family was at risk from the diseases that it carried and because of it she snapped, atypical for the usually mild mannered red dragon. “You get the hell out of here!” she screamed at the purple dragon. “Out! Out!”
Knight of the Sword (of Knights and Wizards Book 3) Page 4
