The Anvil (13 page)

Chapter
6

             
The
Wyvern
Riders
were
sometimes
the
elite
bodyguards
of
the
King
and
had
most
the
same
duties
as
a
Dragon
Guardian
.
Becoming
a
Rider
was
about
as
hard
as
becoming
a
Guardian
.
Zack
looked
at
John
and
said
“
I
will
become
your
apprentice
.”
John
smiled
then
whistled
,
a
giant
shadow
came
over
them
and
the
two
boys
looked
up
.
Descending
towards
them
was
a
large
dark
blue
wyvern
.

John
said
to
Zack
“
I
think
you
should
tell
your
family
.
You
will
live
with
me
now
.”
John
'
s
wyvern
landed
and
John
said
to
Zack
“
Hop
on
I
will
take
you
to
town
then
we
will
tell
your
family
that
you
are
my
apprentice
.”
Tom
watched
as
they
circled
higher
and
then
flew
to
town
.
Turning
to
Alex
he
said
“
So
if
John
is
a
Rider
then
why
was
he
stealing
from
that
shop
?”
Alex
said
to
Tom
“
He
was
seeing
if
there
was
anyone
in
the
town
that
would
try
to
stop
him
.
Sometimes
Riders
do
that
to
find
apprentices
.”
Realization
dawned
on
his
face
and
he
felt
happy
for
his
friend
.

Alex
and
Tom
went
back
to
the
cabin
and
went
to
bed
.
The
next
day
Tom
went
into
the
kitchen
and
saw
Alex
,
John
and
Zack
sitting
around
the
table
eating
breakfast
.
Tom
wondered
why
he
seemed
to
always
be
the
last
person
awake
.
Tom
said
“
Hello
everyone
.”
They
all
muttered
greetings
and
Tom
got
his
food
and
sat
down
to
eat
.

Alex
and
John
were
talking
about
what
John
and
Zack
were
going
to
do
. “
Well
there
aren
'
t
enough
rooms
for
everyone
to
have
their
own
room
if
you
stay
,”
said
Alex
then
he
added
“
But
I
guess
Tom
and
Zack
could
share
a
room
if
you
stay
.”
John
thought
for
a
moment
then
said
“
Well
if
we
stay
then
it
would
be
easier
to
train
them
both
,
because
they
could
practice
together
.
But
living
with
a
friend
might
also
distract
them
from
learning
.
I
don
'
t
know
what
to
do
.”
The
brothers
talked
for
a
while
then
finally
decided
that
John
and
Zack
would
stay
,
Zack
and
Tom
would
share
one
of
the
larger
rooms
and
John
would
stay
in
the
smallest
room
.

They
would
build
a
shelter
for
the
wyverns
.
Then
the
training
started
.
Tom
and
Zack
followed
Tom
'
s
old
schedule
with
one
variation
Zack
would
spent
the
time
Tom
learned
about
transforming
things
learning
to
care
for
his
wyvern
.
The
wyvern
'
s
shelter
was
a
large
pavilion
with
water
,
meat
and
a
bed
for
each
wyvern
.

The
wyverns
themselves
looked
like
dragons
but
instead
of
breathing
fire
they
spit
acid
.
Also
they
had
horns
like
a
bull
on
their
head
and
their
colors
were
duller
.
The
rest
was
the
same
four
legs
,
wings
,
size
and
tail
.

The
schedule
kept
going
until
a
month
after
Zack
became
John
'
s
apprentice
,
Alex
and
John
told
their
apprentices
that
they
could
take
a
break
and
visit
friends
and
family
.
Zack
had
been
visiting
his
family
often
because
they
were
so
close
but
Tom
had
not
visited
his
family
for
over
six
weeks
.
The
boys
would
get
a
week
off
,
so
Tom
hurried
and
backed
his
bags
.

Zack
came
into
the
room
the
boys
shared
and
asked
“
Mind
if
I
come
along
with
you
?
I
have
lived
most
my
life
here
and
I
want
to
see
some
other
places
.”
Tom
looked
up
from
his
packing
and
said
“
Sure
it
will
be
fun
to
show
you
around
Pine
Grove
and
I
will
have
someone
to
train
with
.”.
The
boys
both
smiled
and
Zack
started
packing
.

They
were
done
packing
a
few
minutes
later
and
they
went
to
the
canoes
.
Zack
had
gotten
his
own
when
he
became
John
'
s
apprentice
,
but
they
both
hopped
in
Tom
'
s
because
they
were
going
to
the
same
place
.
They
got
to
the
dock
and
tied
the
canoe
to
it
.
They
got
out
and
grabbed
their
packs
then
started
walking
south
to
Pine
Grove
.
They
reached
the
town
a
bit
after
noon
.