Dragon Bonds (Return of the Darkening Series Book 3) (19 page)

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A
spectral
, blue glow lit the chamber head of me. Crystals or fungus gave off an unearthly light. I couldn’t be sure which, but the glow reminded me of the rare catch-crystals I’d once seen in the ancient mines near King’s Village. The crystals could take any small amount of energy and create this vivid, blue light.

The tunnel ahead looked short and wide and opened into a wide, teardrop-shaped chamber. At the center sat a simple, stone sarcophagus and a rough-hewn rock statue. The light grew brighter, showing a carving of a winged creature on the stone sarcophagus.

“Torvald?” I breathed out the word.

I didn’t have to be told to whisper or to tread carefully. This was indeed a holy site. I wondered what this king, the first to ever ride a dragon, had been like. Had there been a Flamma at his side as there was always a Flamma at the sides of the rulers of the Middle Kingdom? Had he had the same love for his dragon that Seb and I shared with Kalax?

Very lightly, I brushed my fingers over the lid of the coffin, hoping I wouldn’t have to open it. “Sleep well, my king. You have earned your rest.” I turned to the statue.

It looked very much like the standing stone we had come upon—a straight, tall stone. However, the shape of a man stood out. He was rough-carved, by axes I would guess. And I could make out a strong, square face with flows that suggested a short beard. Lines cut into the rock formed long hair. But this was no statue of some Wildman noble or god.

Whoever had carved the statue had formed the rough leathers and armor a dragon rider would need.

The man had been carved with one stone hand on the hilt of a sword at his side and the other hand held close to his chest. In that hand sat a large, dull-colored, rounded stone a little smaller than a dragon egg and a little bigger than my hand.

A tremble of excitement spread over my skin. My heart gave a hard lurch, thudding into my ribs. To be honest, the stone seemed oddly dark and faintly blue as if it was reflecting the light from the catch-crystals.

Reaching out a hand to touch it with one finger, I wondered if this was the King’s Dragon Stone. Or had whoever fashioned this statue carved a likeness of the stone?

I couldn’t sense anything from the stone—not as I had from the other stones of power. Was the stone sleeping? Or perhaps the First Rider had used all its power.

Touching the stone, it seemed cold to me—just another rock.

Something like lightning flashed up my arm, jolting into my heart.

Distantly, I heard the worried roar of a dragon. But I had no time for that. The stone was changing color. Red and orange glowed in the depths, pulling me closer.

Fire…fire in the sky and in the heart.

Thea!

I heard Kalax’s thought mix with Seb’s. But they sounded so very distant. Stepping closer, I closed my hand over the stone, feeling its colors swirl and bleed into me, watching my hand change color and form.

Fire in the depths of the earth.

Fire in the heart of the sky.

All things come back to the fire that begat them.

I had no idea where the words came from. They were just there…in my mind, falling from my mouth. They painted the walls of the cave in blue and yellow and greens so vivid I wanted to cry for the sheer beauty. The words fell into me, painted me with red, orange, green and blue flames. I suddenly knew I could feel the world the same way a dragon could—I was a dragon…and the mountain and the lake and the stones and the light that lived in all things.

For a heartbeat, I could sense them all—they were within me. The spark of that cosmic fire at the heart of creation was my heart—and the heart of every dragon.

Thea!

This time, Kalax’s thought pushed aside the brilliant colors.

In a flash, I was Agathea Flamma, Dragon Rider. I was also kneeling on a dirt floor, a stone that seemed both icy and hot in my hand.

My head pounded, and my stomach gave a lurch. I put a hand over my mouth. How long had I been here?

Boots pounded down the tunnel behind me and Seb called my name.

I tried to stand, but couldn’t. I also tried to call back to him, but only managed to open my mouth—words wouldn’t seem to come out.

Seb bent over me. His hand on my shoulder made the world steady around me. Looking up at him, I thought I saw shadows of fear, worry and envy cross his features. “Kalax couldn’t feel you for a moment. We thought something had happened to you.”

It had. They had thought I had died, again—I wasn’t certain that I hadn’t.

Tuck away,
Kalax growled at me. I knew at once what she was talking about.
Too powerful.

I nodded, although I knew she couldn’t see me. Head muzzy, the colors still lurking inside my mind, ready to burst loose the instant I closed my eyes, I slipped the stone into a side pouch. I slumped against Seb. My mind cleared a little, but I felt exhausted, as if I’d been through a battle.

“Thea?” Seb’s face hovered over me, eyebrows pulled flat and his skin such an odd color in the blue light. “Can you understand me?”

“Of course.” I frowned. The words had come out a groaning, sighing noise as if my lips spoke some other language. Tingles ran over my skin. My body did not seem my own. I should be standing tall, facing my red dragon, ready to do battle, to protect my realm.

Seb slipped an arm around me, helping me to stand. We hobbled back to the entrance.

Outside, the moon washed silver down on us. The lake sparkled. Kalax swept down and grabbed us both, carrying us up into the dark, cold sky.

“I’m tired…so tired. Can I sleep, Seb, and dream of flames and flying?” Seb didn’t answer me. Looking down, I stared at the snow. I looked up again, but I couldn’t tell if one dragon flew above me or if two red dragons sailed across the sky.

“
A
re
you sure she will recover?” I demanded once again. The old woman sitting beside Thea, who lay on a stack of furs, made a clicking noise in the back of her throat.

The Wildman healer looked to be older than both her Thea and me put together. She dressed in a motley collection of rabbit and fox skins, with bones and feathers woven into lank, gray hair. She and her tribe lived in a tiny, secluded village on the edge of the high mountain pass that we had come through. Thorri knew of her and had said this woman was a good healer.

The healer’s hut seemed far too simple to me, made as it was of reeds woven together. At least Thea was still breathing. She hadn’t woken in three days.

“Whatever magic Thea touched, it still has her.” Standing near the door, Thorri frowned. Her eyes had darkened with a troubled look.

I wanted to snarl and hit something. What was worse—if that was possible—than seeing Thea so still upon the furs was that this had happened before. I had carried her still-warm body to Commander Hegarty after Thea had been struck down. I should have found a way to prevent this—but how?

Coming over to me, Thorri tugged on my sleeve. “You have kept watch over her for days now. If you do not get some rest, you will collapse and pull the healer’s attention away from where it should be—on her.” She gestured to Thea.

I didn’t want to leave, but Thorri was right.

Heading to the door, I gave a last look at Thea and then stepped from the hut.

The air outside seemed cold and clean after the smoke of the healer’s hut. Varla had been hovering outside and now she looked over at me, clutching one ancient, thick book to her chest. “How is she? Any better?”

I shook my head. Merik, Beris and Syl had taken over training the Wildmen to ride the blacks. I was glad of that—and also that the wild dragons needed less and less of my attention. Right now I wasn’t sure I could control myself, let alone a dragon. Kalax was also helping, taking the wild dragons with her to fish in any nearby lakes with good waters.

“Walk with me,” Varla said. She took two steps, stopped and glanced back at me.

I didn’t have the heart to resist—or the energy.

The village was just a collection of small, reed huts. From the sky, it wouldn’t even look like a village. No wonder the Darkening had left it alone. Varla led the way through the narrow paths between the huts. Most of the villages—and the other Wildmen—were out hunting game.

At the farthest hut, Varla pulled aside a leather hide that served as a door. This hut was like the others—one room, no windows, furs upon the floor and a small fire burning in the center. The place smelled of smoke and goats, for the villagers kept a few scrappy herds.

Sinking down on the furs, Varla kept her book on her lap and said, “I think…I think we did the right thing. Thea would say that.”

I could only stand there and stare at her.

“Getting the King’s Dragon Stone, despite what happened.”

I glanced over at Thea’s leather pouch. It once again held the King’s Dragon Stone. I’d glanced at it earlier. It had gone dark gray again—it had turned into just a stone again, cold and hard.

I glanced at Varla, who stared back with a stubborn tilt to her chin. “How can you say such a thing?”

“I’ve been doing some reading.” She tapped the book in her lap. “There was a reason for the stories why many thought the Dragon Stones and your Dragon Affinity were bad news. The old magic is said to steal energy, to—”

“I don’t need to hear this!” I scrubbed a hand into my hair.

Varla stiffened. “Yes, you do. We need to know as much as we can. If something happens to Thea, you know she would want us to keep going.” Turning away from her, I shook my head, but Varla kept talking, her voice firm. “Thea is my friend, too, and I know her at least as well as you. She would want us to take the King’s Dragon Stone to our king and use it against Lord Vincent. Despite the cost.”

“So if she doesn’t wake, another must take up the stone and use it? It killed the First Rider, didn’t it? That’s the legend. He fought the Darkening and he won—and it cost him his life, the life of his dragon, and all the other riders with him. Is that the price we have to pay? We’ll use the stone’s magic and all die. What kind of victory is that?”

Varla thumped a hand on the book in her lap. I glanced at her. In the firelight, her face seemed very pale and her long braid of red hair hung over one shoulder. “From what you described about what happened to Thea, I think the King’s Dragon Stone must act like…like Dragon Affinity. You said Kalax told you that she felt Thea’s mind disappear—and then appear again, but that it felt for a moment as if Thea was connected with all dragons. If it unites the powers of the other Dragon Stones together—and maybe even the power of dragons—it might not have any power of its own. It could be something that just pulls in power.”

“We’ve seen what it did to Thea.” I shook my head. “It almost killed her. It almost killed all of us!”

“And our other choice? We just let the Darkening cover the land? Kill or enslave everyone?”

Rubbing my eyes, I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten. My head ached and I felt hollow—and as if a wind could blow me away. “When I took it from Thea, it was just a stone. I wouldn’t do anything for me.”

Varla put down her book. Standing, she came over to my side. “If the King’s Dragon Stone is
like the affinity…well, we know you bonded with Kalax. Your affinity works better with her than any other dragon. It seems that Thea has bonding with the King’s Dragon Stone. I’m also pretty sure she’ll recover—the stone would have connected to you if Thea’s injuries were fatal. And if the stone’s power really is like the affinity, that means Thea can use its power and if she’s careful, she’ll be fine.”

I nodded. It was true that if I tried to command too many of dragons at once, I’d start to have headaches and blackout. But the affinity had grown stronger in me, and so had my tolerance to the pain. I could command far more dragons now than I could a year ago. But still I worried.

Glancing at Varla, I asked. “You’re sure about this?”

Varla nodded. “Pretty sure. I think Thea just needs some time to grow into her powers.”

“Time isn’t something we have a lot of.”
She will survive,
Kalax said in my mind.

I could feel Kalax was nearby and had caught the scent of a mountain goat. She was wondering whether anyone would notice if she took just one.

First fire calls to Thea, but we guard her.

I wondered if all the dragons were helping Thea. I could sense Kalax’s connection to Thea, but worry for Thea made it hard for me to focus on the other dragons. I was just happy to hope that what Kalax and Varla had said might be true.

Every moment Thea comes back toward Thea.

I wasn’t sure what Kalax meant by that.

Glancing at Varla and with my shoulders slumping, I told her. “We’ll fly south—after Thea awakes.”

Varla shook her head. “That would be after you get some sleep and eat something…and then after Thea wakes. There’s stew Merik made and skins to sleep on. I’ll go sit with Thea.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Varla pushed on my chest. My legs buckled and I sat down on the furs covering part of the hut’s floor. “Sleep…eat. If Thea wakes and finds you’ve collapsed and I let it happen, she’ll have my skin.”

With a tired smile, I had to nod. At least that was one thing I knew Varla was completely right about.

* * *

T
hea awoke at first light
. I knew that because Kalax told me. I wanted to go to Thea at once, but our dragon was far wiser, saying I should give Thea some time to eat and dress. I could do the same and then we would saddle up and be ready to fly.

I’d slept without any dreams, but I had little appetite for the stew the healer brought to me. It tasted bitter, and when her back was turned, I threw most of it away. Kalax sent me unhappy thoughts about that, but I couldn’t force down anything.

Heading out of the hut where I’d spent the night, I found news of the plan to fly south had spread through the village. The Wildmen were letting out excited whoops and some were chanting. They’d daubed themselves in blue woad made from crushed leaves.

Coming over to me, Beris crossed his arms. “They’re preparing for battle. They’re acting like we’re going to ride out and destroy the Darkening with the power of the First Rider.”

“Aren’t we?” I asked, trying to project more confidence than I felt.

“You and whose army?” Beris nodded at the two dozen Wildmen and our eleven dragons—that wasn’t even a full squadron of riders. “This one?”

I kicked at the dirt. “We’re going to find the king, and we’ll give him the King’s Dragon Stone and then we’ll make our plans.”

Beris gave a snort. “And that would be the same king who lost the city of Torvald?”

Turning to him, I said, “I don’t know what’s gotten into you—maybe you just don’t have much faith in the magic we’ve found. But if you—”

I broke off my words for Thea had stepped out of her hut. Beris and I both turned to stare at her as she walked over to us, nodded and offered a shadow of a smile. She looked pale still, but she wore her dragon armor of a leather jerkin, metal breastplate and a metal, horned helmet. Her sword hung from her hip, and she had slung her bow and quiver of arrows on her back.

I looked her over, and said, “You don’t have to fly, if you’re not feeling up to it. You can travel with Thorri.”

Thea rolled her eye. “I haven’t flown for three days, Seb!” She headed for where Kalax sat on nearby boulders. I fell into step with her. She glanced at me and straightened her shoulders a little. “How would you feel if you hadn’t ridden for so long?”

“I know, but—”

“But nothing, Sebastian Smith.” Thea frowned. It was like seeing a shadow of her old self coming back. She punched my arm. “You use your Dragon Affinity all the time and you’ve blacked out on me, had nosebleeds and could barely walk at times. And still you flew. Give me the same respect, huh?”

“I, uh, of course. I’m…it’s just…well, this is new. We don’t know what the King’s Dragon Stone did.”

“It knocked me down, but I got back up. Now give me a hand with getting the saddles on Kalax.”

When we were both strapped in and waiting for the other riders to give their signal that they were ready, Thea glanced me. “So we’re going to take this to the king?”

I nodded. “But Varla reckons the stone’s a lot like the affinity—you know how that bonds me more with Kalax than any other dragon. When I touched it, it was just a stone. It stopped sending out anything.” I didn’t add the other thing I was thinking—that it would stay bonded until that person was dead.

Thea gave a small laugh. “Come on, Seb. You can use your affinity with other dragons. If the King’s Dragon Stone is like that, someone else must be able to use it. Maybe it takes time to recharge.”

I wasn’t sure about that. The Dragon Affinity seemed to work against me every time I stretched it too far.

It should have been me—at least I know how to cope with the Dragon Affinity.

A dry, mental chuckle came to me.

Do you? Or would magic use your thirst for connections?

Kalax had never been so blatantly honest with me. Had it been this obvious to her all this time? Was I addicted to using the affinity?

Thea was sorting out her harness and just said, her voice casual as if we had magic in our lives every day, “If we don’t take this to the king, what was the point of all of this?”

I shrugged. But wasn’t the point to defeat Lord Vincent and the Darkening? And did we have something that would let us do that—or would it kill us all?

I kept thinking about the First Rider—how he’d ended after his battle with the Darkening. It wasn’t a happy thought.

“Ready!” Merik shouted.

Syl gave the same call. The Wildmen riders—we had three now, and two black dragons who still needed training. The dragons raised their heads and two of the blacks gave a roar. They were ready.

“Forward!” I called.

Kalax leapt into the air, spreading her wings to catch the air currents from the mountains. We were flying south—but I didn’t know what might await us.