The Dragon's Apprentice

by Linda McNabb

CHAPTER ELEVEN

  DRAGON HUNTING

  For the rest of the day Toby watched through the eyeglass as chaos erupted down at the castle. He saw Healer Chilton come back to his wagon and stamp off when he found his horse was missing. Several times whole contingents of guards left the castle, heading north where they had flown off to.

  Later in the day he could see through the windows that every room was being searched. Obviously something smaller than a dragon by the way they were shaking out sheets and tipping out drawers. Princess Kaylene had probably admitted that the necklace was real and now they were looking for it.

  Then mounted guards arrived in great numbers from all different directions. Some from each of the three other kingdoms, by the colour of their banners. Something big was going on, but what?

  Klel had taken his duties as Toby’s master seriously and he had already shown Toby over a dozen runes. Some worked but others didn’t. Klel told him that it would take time for his magic to grow enough to be able to invoke any rune he wished to. It was exhausting work and Toby felt that chasing horses in the snow would seem easy now.

  “We can’t stay up here much longer,” Sanelle commented that night as the lamplight flickered and then winked out. “The moon is getting fuller.”

  Klel cast a small glowing sphere up towards the ceiling and it hung there, bathing them all in a soft yellow light. Toby had tried the same rune earlier but it had only lasted a few seconds before disappearing.

  Klel go home, Klel said wistfully with a deep sigh that echoed around the room.

  “Maybe we could try to find your home without the neckband?” Toby suggested, eager to see his master happy.

  No, not possible. Need band. Klel looked sad. Must stay.

  Klel slowly nodded off to sleep and the ball of light faded. Sanelle pulled Toby out of the room and lit up a ball of her own.

  “His magic is not recovering well,” Sanelle told him. She looked and sounded worried. “He needs his neckband, and to go home.”

  “He does,” Toby nodded in agreement.

  “If he goes home you’ll no longer have a master,” Sanelle pointed out and looked keenly at him for his response.

  “He deserves to go home,” Toby said quietly. “You could show me the runes. Will my word still work even if Klel goes away?”

  “Your word will work…” Sanelle paused, looking as if she didn’t want to continue. “But I won’t be around to help. As soon as I’ve got the talisman I’ll have to return to my own family. I have a father and a little sister to look after, and a mother to set free. As my magic won’t work near the talisman I’m going to have to find another sorcerer to do it for me, a very powerful one.”

  “Oh.” Toby didn’t know why but he thought Sanelle would be around for some time to come. He liked and trusted her now and he knew he would miss her when she was gone. “He still deserves to go home.”

  “And you think the neckband is somewhere in the castle?” Sanelle looked pleased that he had wanted her to be around.

  “I can’t see King Herat selling or giving away anything that important,” Toby assured her. “I’ll go down and have a look for it tomorrow.”

  “I’ll come with you. I can feel gems easier than you,” Sanelle said in a tone that said she would hear no arguments on the subject. “Besides, I must get the talisman soon. The moon will be full in less than a week.”

  Activity down at the castle was even busier the next morning with mounted guards all over the courtyard. They appeared to be getting ready to leave and Toby was pleased. The commotion would make it easier to search the castle unnoticed. They left Klel resting and walked along the tunnel in silence. Sanelle’s ball of light followed them almost all the way and then faded as they reached the storeroom. Blaise was obviously nearby.

  “Where to first?” Toby asked and Sanelle shrugged her shoulders.

  “I don’t feel a thing yet,” she said and they headed away from the kitchen as Toby didn’t want to run into Aggie.

  Angry voices drew them towards the back entrance to the castle. They made their way closer, trying to see why there were so many angry townspeople crowded into the delivery entrance.

  Vern was there and he looked nervous. Toby and Sanelle stepped into the crowd. They didn’t need to use magic here as they blended in easily.

  “But why won’t the healer come?” One very angry woman shook a small bag of coins at the chief clerk. “I can pay!”

  “For the last time. There will be no more healing sessions!” The chief clerk looked as if he had repeated it many times. “Please leave.”

  The room was suddenly full of guards, and the sick were herded back out into the snow. Toby invoked the first rune he had learnt and they stood back out of the way while the room was cleared.

  “Any sign of them yet?” Vern asked one of the guards with a sigh as the outside doors were shut and barred. The guard shook his head and Vern sighed again. “If we don’t find the healer’s scales soon we’ll have an epidemic of that flu on our hands.”

  Vern and the guards left the delivery area and Toby cancelled his spell.

  “The scales are missing.” Toby stated the obvious, more to himself than to Sanelle. “I wonder who took them?”

  “Healer Chilton?” Sanelle guessed shrewdly, “He probably figured if he couldn’t have a dragon he’d get the scales instead.”

  “Makes sense, and after seeing how easily he nearly stole Klel I don’t think he’d have had much trouble,” Toby agreed and frowned as Sanelle didn’t seem to be listening. He could hear some music far off in the distance. “What’s wrong?”

  “I feel them,” she replied.

  “The scales?” Toby queried.

  “No, gems. But it’s a different feeling, not like I had near Princess Kaylene’s necklace but stronger, vibrating.” Sanelle looked surprised and Toby tried hard to see if he could feel it too but there was only the far off music.

  “This way,” Sanelle headed for the stairs that led to the throne room and Toby caught up quickly. He made himself invisible and grabbed Sanelle just before they reached the top of the stairs where they almost ran straight into a pair of guards.

  They went into the throne room while the guards stared at the door that opened and closed itself. The music Toby heard was getting louder but there were definitely no musicians or singers in here.

  “Who’s there?” King Herat turned, almost guiltily, but seeing nobody he turned back to a small trunk on the table. Blaise and Prince Rory were also in the room and they were peering into the ornate trunk.

  “And this will lead us to a dragon?” Blaise looked greedily at what King Herat lifted from the trunk.

  Toby and Sanelle couldn’t see what it was from where they were and they moved quietly around the room. Toby stifled a gasp when he saw what it was and Sanelle nearly choked. King Herat was holding the biggest necklace Toby had ever seen. Massive gems of different colours, all cut in different styles, were linked together with huge circles of gold chain. They were mounted on a large gold band and in the centre of all of the gems was one so clear the gold could be seen through it.

  No wonder Klel wanted it back, it was beautiful. But how had the king kept it hidden from Klel for so long? The music was so loud now that Toby wanted to cover his ears and he realised it was coming from the neckband.

  “It is said to glow near a dragon,” King Herat said and carefully laid it back in the trunk then shut the lid. Instantly the music was gone and by Sanelle’s expression she had lost her vibrations as well.

  “We’ll surely be first to find a dragon with this to guide us,” Blaise said, giggling with glee but Prince Rory was frowning.

  “Why should we try to catch another one? It’s not fair to keep a dragon chained up,” Prince Rory argued but backed away a step when his father glared at him.

  “Because all the other kings are going off in search of a dragon. And if they find one they will have the richest kingdom in the land, not me! So I intend to find
one before they do and with the help of this ‘thing’ we will be first!” King Herat shouted every word then jabbed his youngest son in the chest with his finger. “And you will help us!”

  “Perhaps we should just leave him behind. He’d treat it like a pet if he could.” Blaise spoke to his father as if he were discussing a naughty child and turned his back to Prince Rory.

  “I’m coming… if only to make sure you don’t find another dragon,” Prince Rory muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Blaise to hear as their father strode across the room to stare out the window. Blaise turned to stare at Prince Rory and after a few seconds Prince Rory dropped his eyes to the floor, withering under Blaise’s stare. Blaise sneered and turned away.

  “The experience will toughen him up. The thrill of the chase will bring out the fighting spirit... he will come.” King Herat glared furiously at his youngest son.

  “Which direction do we start looking in?” Blaise asked with a serious expression.

  “Many years ago I was brought a report that a dragon had been seen further west near the mountains called Dragon’s Ridge. We’ll start there.”

  Things certainly had been busy down here in the last day. They probably hadn’t even bothered looking for him or Sanelle.

  “We’ve got to get that neckband,” Sanelle whispered as Toby pulled her behind a curtain.

  “My magic won’t last much longer,” he explained quietly and cancelled his spell. It had seemed much easier to hold the spell while the neckband was out of its trunk but now he was tiring quickly.

  “We’ll wait until they’ve left the room and then take it,” Sanelle said as she peered around the curtain.

  “They’re leaving now,” Toby said and then he realised something was wrong, really wrong. The king and the two princes weren’t dressed as they usually were, they were wearing travelling clothes, huge cloaks designed to keep out the cold and large boots that came up to their knees. The king and Blaise picked up the trunk between them and headed for the door.

  “We must follow them!” Sanelle hissed and Toby quickly drew in the air, grabbed her hand, and carefully extracted them both from the curtains. He wasn’t shy about holding her hand at all now, he didn’t have time for that luxury any more.

  They followed the three royals out into the courtyard where there seemed to be more people than Toby had ever seen. No wonder they had not met many people on their way through the castle earlier, they were all out here. The other three kings, their queens and daughters were all gathered at the main gate. The kings were mounted on very regal looking horses and the queens stood to the side saying their goodbyes.

  “And when you find that errant child, have her sent immediately on to Cousin Paulo’s farm,” King Robet told his queen forcefully. “It’s just like Kaylene to go missing at a time like this.”

  Toby was sure Princess Kaylene wouldn’t go far from the comforts she was used to. No doubt she was hiding in a wardrobe somewhere and would come out when she got hungry. He pulled Sanelle into a corner of the courtyard where there was a small recess, just in case his magic failed again. Now would not be a good time to appear.

  King Herat and Blaise put the chest in a wagon, assigning two guards to watch it with their lives, and then moved to the head of the column.

  Toby frowned as he realised that behind the wagon there were nearly two dozen of the castle’s servants, most of the guards and archers, and Aggie was sitting in the driving seat of the wagon. Who was going to be left at the castle?

  “Forward!” Came the cry from the front of the West Kingdom’s party and King Herat led off out the gate.

  One by one, the kings of each kingdom led their processions out the gate and down the road. Toby couldn’t tell if they were all heading in the same direction but he doubted it. King Herat would probably lay a false trail and then double back. At least that would give them some time to figure out what to do.

  Within half an hour the courtyard was empty which was just as well because Toby’s magic was completely gone.

  “What now?” he asked, feeling very tired and deflated that they had been so close to the neckband and now it was out of their reach. The clouds had turned dark as the snow began to fall heavily.

  “We follow them,” Sanelle said determinedly. “Where Blaise goes, so do I.”

  With Blaise gone Sanelle was able to hide their trip back to the ruins. Klel was waiting anxiously for them, desire clear in his eyes.

  Felt it. Short time. Gone. Klel’s speech seemed to get shorter the more excited he got and he didn’t look like he could get more excited.

  “Can you fly?” Sanelle asked with a worried frown.

  Toby looked at Klel and saw that even though he looked happy, he wasn’t a good colour.

  Gems not strong. All gone. Klel pushed the necklace away from him. Klel not fly.

  That made it more difficult. If Klel couldn’t fly then how were they going to follow King Herat? The wagon!

  Toby rushed to where the wall was missing and looked down at the castle wall. He peered out through the heavily falling snow and could just make out the healer’s wagon. Snow was piled up around it, almost hiding it from view.

  “We could use the healer’s wagon,” Toby told them as he came back into the room.

  Sanelle and Klel agreed, so it was shortly after dark that she and Toby led the horse down to collect the wagon.

  They hooked up the wagon in the dark and trundled quietly up the hill to the ruins. Klel managed to glide down to the ground and they helped him into the back of the wagon.

  Collecting their meagre belongings together, they headed west with Klel fast asleep in the back.