Master Wizard

by James Eggebeen

  "Drink," Du'ala said.

  "What's in this?" Lorit asked lifting his cup. He was wary of what she might give him after his last visit.

  "Tea."

  "Just tea?" Lorit asked.

  Du'ala smiled at him. "Just tea."

  "You can change into a dragon at will." Lorit thought Du'ala was bound to Arda'um form by Zhimosom's spell. If she was able to change at will, Zhimosom's spell was broken and Du'ala would be subject to Sulrad's magic.

  "True," Du'ala said.

  "Zhimosom said that Sulrad has the Charm that can make you do his bidding. Is that also true?"

  "True," Du'ala nodded once more.

  "How can we stop him?"

  "Kill him." Du'ala made a motion with her hand to symbolize beheading the priest.

  "Zhimosom says that is hard to do." Lorit had been warned by Zhimosom not to take Sulrad on directly. He stressed that Lorit's involvement in a war with the temple would end badly for all concerned.

  "Not hard for you." Du'ala pointed her scaly finger at Lorit's chest.

  "For me? I have no magic." Lorit was keenly aware that his magic was gone. He desperately wished it were otherwise, but until they solved Chihon's problem, he was no wizard.

  "You have our magic."

  "Only the barest taste." Lorit felt the power, but it was weak and distant.

  Du'ala extended her hand and placed her palm against Lorit's chest. It was small and scaly as she pressed it over his heart. A warm glow rose up where she touched him. It was as if her hand were vibrating so fast the friction heated his shirt. Deep down inside, the power awoke in Lorit. What he had felt only distantly was now open to him. It was pure and clean and gold.

  "See?" Du'ala withdrew her hand. "Magic."

  Lorit basked in the warmth of his newfound magic. His first instinct was to reach out for Chihon. She was there, but not in the way that Lorit had become accustomed to. The connection they shared was gone. She was open to communication with him, but the intimate knowledge of her was missing.

  "What do you think?" Lorit asked her in his mind.

  "I think they need our help," she answered him in kind.

  "Hey, what are you two talking about?" Kedrik interrupted.

  "Nothing, just sharing our ideas," Lorit said.

  "Come. Time for action." Du'ala rose and gestured toward the door of the hut.

  Lorit followed her outside and back to the center of the compound where the claw marks of her earlier dragon form were still visible. Du'ala turned as they stepped off the path and onto the black dirt.

  "You stay here." She pointed to Kedrik and then Chihon. "Egg Mother, we go fetch the egg. You wait here."

  Chihon started to speak, but Du'ala raised her hand. "We return shortly."

  Du'ala walked to the claw marks and stood looking back at Lorit. She smiled at some private thought and extended her arms. The short squat woman shimmered and the golden flecks of magic appeared in the air around her. They swirled about her like drunken fireflies. The light grew stronger and Du'ala faded within their brightness.

  The flecks of magic took on the form of the massive dragon Lorit witnessed landing not long before. The glow faded and Du'ala the dragon stood before them once more.

  "Get on," she rumbled in a deep dragon's voice that somehow still conveyed the same tone as the Du'ala they knew.

  She lowered her head and Lorit scrambled on. Her scales were the size of dinner plates and as thick as his thumb. They felt like interlocking plates of iron armor that any knight would have been proud to wear.

  Du'ala took several steps and launched them into the sky. Lorit was grateful for the vision of the dragon Du'ala had granted him earlier. Without that, he feared that the heights and beating of her wings would have terrified him. Lorit relaxed and enjoyed the view as they circled ever higher.

  The Plains spread out to the horizon. Waves of wind swept the grass, leaving temporary impressions that sped across the sword grass as if it were an ocean of green. The compound was clearly visible in the midst of all that. A brown, almost black circle dotted with dark green huts was all he could make out from this height.

  "Where are we going?" Lorit had to shout to make himself heard over the whistling of the wind in his ears.

  "Veldwaite. That's where the egg is." Du'ala didn't look back to converse. She stayed focused on her flight as they rose ever higher into the sky. Soon, all that was visible of the Plains of Grass was the cloud-studded sky beneath them as the waves of sword grass broke against the foot of the Swion Mountain range.

  Lorit struggled to breathe as they ascended toward the jutting peaks of the mountains. He recalled the city of Mistwind where the monks worshiped the dragons and wondered if he could pick it out from this height. But soon, the mountains broke and Veldwaite appeared in the distance.

  The castle nestled against the mountains that encroached it. It was tall and dark gray, built of the same stone as the nearby crags. The city sprawled out around the castle like porridge spilled from a bowl and smoke curled from innumerable chimneys to blend into the overall gray haze that hung over the city.

  Inside the walls, the tallest structure to challenge the heights of the castle was the Temple of Ran. Lorit shuddered at the memory of it. When he still had his power, it had been a close call to defeat the priest who tried to take his magic. He felt the power of the dragon grow in him as they flew, but he was not sure he was ready to face the temple yet.

  "Where is it?" Lorit shouted.

  "In the temple." Du'ala banked hard and dropped toward the tall spire that jutted up from the temple. Her leather wings spread wide, flapping in the wind of her passage. Lorit was relieved that she had not folded them and dropped as she had done on the Plains. He wasn't sure he could have held the contents of his stomach in their proper place if she'd done that.

  The faintest touch of a laugh reached Lorit. Du'ala the dragon had a sense of humor that Du'ala the Arda'um did not.

  Du'ala banked harder and Lorit felt his weight increase as if he were made of stone. They spiraled tighter and tighter around the spire until they were close to the rooftops.

  Du'ala altered her glide and came to an abrupt halt on the empty street. Her claws skidded on the slippery cobblestones, but they quickly came to a halt.

  With hardly a show of magic, the dragon shimmered and quickly took on the form of Du'ala the Arda'um. "Come." She took Lorit's hand and headed for the temple.

  Lorit found the side door and reached out for the lock with his newfound magic. It was nowhere near as powerful as his native magic, but he was able to trouble the lock open. They stepped inside.

  Lorit tried to raise fire, but all he managed to do was make a tiny flame the size of a candle flame. It was enough.

  "Do you know where the egg is?" Lorit asked.

  "Feel it."

  Lorit reached out with his magic. He wasn't sure what to expect. The altar with its stolen magic appeared off to one side. It was a jumble of colors, swirling and twisting together to form the overall impression of a fetid swamp being stirred.

  A gentle golden glow came from another room off to the side of the altar room. It was faint, but now that Lorit knew what to look for, he could tell it was definitely the egg.

  Lorit placed his hand on the door that led to the egg. He probed inside the room. It was empty, and the egg sat alone on the desk. The door creaked lightly as he pushed it open, but not enough to alert anyone to his presence. He felt Du'ala behind him as he entered the room.

  The egg sat on the desk. In the dim light of his tiny flame, it looked like a large light-gray stone covered in dull gold lace with tarnished jewels inset at irregular intervals. To Lorit's magical sense, it was a gently glowing orb that emitted a golden light.

  "That's it." Lorit stepped toward the desk.

  Before he reached the egg, a blinding light flashed between Lorit and the desk. He tried to blink away the afterimage, but all he could see was the purple light that bore witness to whatever had app
eared in the room.

  "Well, well. I guess I was just in time." A voice came from the darkness.

  "Who are you?" Lorit squinted. The afterimage was fading and his vision returned.

  "I should ask who you are." The man spoke with a silky-smooth voice. "This is my temple. You are the interlopers."

  The man raised a fireball and held it in his hand. He was tall and thin, with a birdlike nose. His robes were black, piped in gold.

  It was Sulrad.

  "Leave the egg alone," Lorit cried out.

  "Too late." Sulrad threw the fireball at Lorit. It struck him square in the chest, burning like flaming pitch as it stuck there, flaring in the darkness.

  There was a shudder and the magic of the egg was gone.

  Lorit grabbed his chest. His hands exploded in pain as they came in contact with the fireball.

  Chapter 38

  Tass was angry. Angry at herself for falling for Sulrad's tricks. Angry at Sulrad for being himself. He was as arrogant and self-centered as he'd always been. Why would he change now? She should have expected the worst from him. It had been many summers since her indoctrination into the temple. She had not felt pain like this in recent memory, and she didn't like it. She tried to spend her time thinking of creative ways to kill Sulrad, but the pain was distracting.

  Just when she thought she was going to lose her mind, a shower of sparkles appeared. Sulrad had returned cradling the dragon's egg in his arms.

  "See the pretty?" he asked.

  "Will you, for Ran's sake, take this knife out of me?" she begged.

  "If you promise to behave." Sulrad set the egg on her desk and sat beside her on the bed. He grasped the handle of the knife and jerked it just a tiny bit, but that was enough to send fresh waves of pain up her back and into her brain.

  Sulrad pulled the knife free. Tass reached for the wound with her magic and tried to staunch the flow of blood. She was able to slow it down but not stop it entirely. "What have you done?"

  "I left you a little reminder." Sulrad wiped the knife on her bedding and replaced it in the sheath up his sleeve.

  "A reminder?" A low burning pain remained in Tass's back where the knife had been.

  "The tip of the knife. In case you change your mind about cooperation. Remember, the only thing keeping that blade from taking your magic is me. If anything happens to me, you will not survive the last of my heartbeats."

  Sulrad extended his hand. "Now, in the spirit of cooperation, would you like to come with me and see what this is really all about?"

  Sulrad led her out of the temple to a large expanse of grass. The day was warm and the breeze was just enough to offset the heat of the sun. It felt good on her skin as the memory of the pain faded, all but the tiny prick of heat centered in her back, where the fragment of the knife blade remained like a stone in her shoe.

  Sulrad tucked the egg inside his robe and withdrew the Charm of the Joiner. He held the Charm before him and chanted a spell. It sounded like a summoning. Tass was vaguely familiar with summoning spells.

  "What are you doing?" Tass asked.

  Sulrad paused his chanting just long enough to answer her. "Summoning a dragon."

  "It's not working." Tass didn't believe there were any dragons left. She had been taught that they'd left the realm of man long before and never returned. What was he really doing?

  "It's working." Sulrad released the Charm and pointed to the light blue sky. Off in the west, a tiny dot appeared bobbing up and down. The dot grew until it was apparent that it was a dragon.

  The dragon circled overhead and landed near Sulrad. Its wings beat hard to break its fall as it craned its neck and looked at the High Priest. "Summoning and control are not the same thing," it rumbled.

  "I know the spells for each," Sulrad said calmly.

  "You knew them. No more. We are not the same. Your power is weak."

  "No matter. You are here. You will do as I say."

  The dragon craned its neck and took a deep breath. Tass cringed. Even temple magic was no match for a dragon's. Sulrad would be burned to a crisp in a heartbeat, but he just laughed, reached inside his robe, and pulled out the egg at the moment the dragon released its fire.

  The dragon's fire was sucked into the egg as if it were a deep hole and the fire a stream of water. Sulrad held it before him, shielding himself from the blast, exposing the egg to the heat of the fire.

  When the dragon ceased its fire, it saw that Sulrad held the egg. It roared a deep-throated roar that sounded as if the beast were in physical pain. "Where did you get that?" it demanded.

  Sulrad laughed. He placed the egg back into his robe. "So, you recognize it? It's my leverage. I may not have the spell to command you, but I do have something you want. When I call, you come." Sulrad extended the Charm toward the screaming dragon. "If not, this Charm will hold the power of yet another dragon...an unborn dragon."

  The dragon roared and shot fire, swinging its head wildly until a large part of the surrounding grass was burned black.

  "That's it. Rage in your impotence. When I call you, you come. Now you go," Sulrad shouted.

  The dragon reared up on its hind legs and bellowed once more before launching itself into the sky to disappear.

  After the dragon vanished, Sulrad turned for the temple.

  "I thought you could control it," Tass sneered at Sulrad.

  Sulrad raised his hand and pain flared in her back. Tass bit her tongue and followed him back into the temple. He motioned her into his study, where she took up her seat. The only chair in the study beside Sulrad's own. He preferred his guests to stand before him. Tass was one of the few ever to sit in his presence, but he rarely allowed her the privilege.

  Sulrad placed the egg on his desk. It appeared shinier than before. The shedding had stopped and the gold was now polished. Tass reached for it, but Sulrad held out his hand.

  "I just want to see it. What harm could I do? It looks different."

  "Remember..."

  "I remember." Tass picked up the egg and probed it with her magic. It was brighter than it used to be and heavier. Before, it had been muted, almost dull gold in color. Now the egg was smooth and brilliant. The surface glistened and the egg glowed with an internal light.

  "What's different?" Tass asked.

  "It's going to hatch soon."

  "Hatch?"

  "Yes. What do you think that little charade was all about?" Sulrad reached out, took the egg from her, and placed it back on the desk.

  "Part of the hatching process is to expose the egg to a dragon's fire," Sulrad said. "I had to get a dragon here to fire the egg. It had advanced to the point where fire was needed to move it along. Fortunately, when you unlocked the Charm it allowed me to summon the dragon."

  "It said you couldn't control it."

  Sulrad waved his hand in dismissal. "Soon, I won't need to control the dragons. When the egg hatches, I will have my own dragon that's bonded to me. We will share power with each other and it will be my faithful servant."

  Sulrad reached out and tapped the egg. "It won't be long now."

  Chapter 39

  Kedrik lay on the woven grass floor of Du'ala's hut trying to get some sleep. The mat was scratchy, smelled of lizard dung, and was not at all comfortable. How could the dragons sleep on these things? Or was he just anxious? Lorit and the dragon had flown off and left him and Chihon behind with vague admonitions to prepare for their return with the egg. Kedrik and Chihon had spent the night talking and pondering what was about to happen, until he thought he could no longer stay awake, but tired as he was, sleep eluded him.

  Chihon had heard from Lorit during the night. She said that he had checked in with her and he and Du'ala were still flying to Veldwaite. Kedrik was not surprised then when Chihon rushed back into the hut to wake him. He expected updates from Chihon, but this time she was in a panic.

  "Kedrik, I can't reach Lorit." Chihon shook him roughly.

  "What is it?" Kedrik rubbed sleep, or lack of s
leep, from his eyes as he focused on Chihon.

  "Lorit and Du'ala. They were in the temple. Now I can't raise Lorit and I can't reach Du'ala. I think something has happened to them."

  "What can I do?" Kedrik asked, finally sitting upright.

  "Go see what happened. You know where they are. They're in the temple in Veldwaite." She shoved him with her knee. "Go. Now."

  "Can't I at least get something to eat?" Kedrik was always hungry these days. His increased use of magic was taking a lot out of him and he needed to eat more often.

  "Eat when you get back. They're in trouble. I know it."

  Kedrik scrambled to his feet. He tried to communicate with Lorit, but he got no response. He wasn't sure it was because of Lorit's weakened magic, because Lorit was blocking him, or something worse. He did get a strong sense of where Lorit was.

  Kedrik groaned. "He's in the temple."

  "That's what I told you, but where in the temple?"

  "I don't know exactly where. It's not the altar room, and it's not the dungeon, but the room's not shielded."

  "Good. Go to him and see if he's all right." Chihon turned Kedrik toward the door and pushed him out.

  Kedrik let her shove him but focused in on Lorit. He summoned his magic and pulled himself across the void to Veldwaite.

  Kedrik materialized in a room that must have been a study. It was neat and orderly, with a large desk and wall hangings depicting priests performing various acts of magic. At his feet, Lorit lay on the floor curled in a ball. He held his hands to his chest, his knees drawn tight. Kedrik knelt down and checked to see that Lorit was breathing. He was. That was a good sign. He did a quick check for injuries and found nothing serious at first glance.

  Kedrik turned Lorit over to get a better look, but Lorit clutched his hands to him, protecting his chest. Kedrik pulled Lorit's hands away from his chest. A large burn had singed away Lorit's robe and charred the skin over his heart. Kedrik gasped. It was bad; the skin was crisp and black in a perfect circle in the center of Lorit's chest.