A Balance Broken (Dragonsoul Saga) (30 page)

C
ool night breezes, full of salty sea air, swept up from the Bay of Hope during their walk back to the Palace. Tallen could not help but jump at every shadow that moved along the thoroughfare, despite the satisfaction of his full stomach.

“Fear not, lad.” Tomas nodded to him with confidence. “I assure you, no danger hovers nearby. I would sense any threat.”

The towers of the Ivory Palace danced like ghosts in the moonlight under the shadow of thin clouds scudding through the night sky. Tallen saw only the brightest stars shining through the penumbra glow of the city lights. The scent of lilac bushes hung in the air as he walked onto the grounds.

The bulk of Garrison Tower cast a shadow over Tallen and his companions as they approached the gated yard. Within the tower, two hallways ran off to wings full of officer’s quarters. As guests of Earl Boris Mourne, Tallen and Maddi stayed in rooms several flights up along the stone-carved staircase.

Tomas Harte turned the key to his room. “I will keep watch for the night with my paladin senses, so rest with ease.” He nodded goodnight before closing the door behind him.

Merl burbled on Dorias’ shoulder. The wizard turned to look at Tallen. “You can trust that. Many’s the night on the road I awoke at dawn to find him still in his trance, the campfire still glowing.” He stood there for an annoying moment, a strange smile on his face, until a caw from his raven echoed up the spiral tower. Dorias started as if woken from a nap. “Ah, yes. Fair enough, Merl. Goodnight to you both.” He left them alone in the hall.

Tallen turned. “Well…I guess this is—”

Maddi’s soft, sweet lips found his. He fumbled to put his arms around her and returned her kiss with passion. She held him for only a moment before pushing back, faced flushed and her breath quick.

“I…” she stammered, putting a hand to her mouth and a smile forming behind her fingers. “I should go to bed. I don’t mean to tease, but I wanted you to know how I felt before you leave. Fires, I don’t even know how I feel.” Her nose wrinkled in that cute way, and a cloud of emotions crossed her face. She squeezed his hand. “Goodnight, Tallen.”

Maddi scratched at the door with her key, having difficulty finding the lock. Even in the dim light, Tallen could see the crimson blossoming on the tips of her ears.

When the door at last opened, she looked at him. “Breakfast before your ship leaves?”

“Of course.”

With a soft wave, Maddi closed the door behind her, leaving Tallen alone in the corridor, frustrated and elated in equal measure. Huffing a confused sigh, he turned toward the comfort of his lonely bed.

F
ew words passed among the four while they broke their fast. Tallen found no flavor in the eggs and the sausage too rich for his stomach. He drank his tea and ate a handful of rolled oats, hoping to settle the nervous movement in his gut. Dorias and Tomas ate their meal with haste, before excusing themselves to wait out in the sunshine. Merl cocked his head at Maddi and clacked his beak. She waved a soft farewell.

“My ship leaves in just over an hour.” Tallen moved his eggs back and forth across the plate with a fork. “I will write you if I can.”

Maddi nodded, her eyes fixed on her own untouched breakfast. “Please do. I promise I will write back.”

Tallen tossed the fork down and rose to his feet. “I suppose I should go. It might take a while to find this ship.”

Setting down her fork, Maddi shrugged and said in a spooky tone, “The paladin can probably
sense
it nearby.” She fluttered her fingers around her face while she spoke.

Tallen laughed and held out his arms for a hug. Maddi hopped up into them, wrapping her own around his chest.

“Don’t forget me when you are a wizard,” she whispered into his ear. Her lips brushed his cheek before she stepped back.

“How could I?” He held her at arm’s length. “You’re amazing.”

Maddi’s eyes popped open. “I almost forgot…” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a little piece of gold, handing it to him. It was wrought in the shape of a noble’s cup, but no bigger than a thimble. It sparkled when he spun it between his fingers. “It is Greal, the Fifth Talisman. The Talismans are important to the folk of the Free Cities, especially Greal. It is a symbol of peace between the races, as it was in the Elder Days…before the Dragon Wars came and the Cataclysm destroyed it all.” She bit her lip. “I have had it for a very long time.”

“It’s beautiful.” Tallen examined the intricate scrollwork surrounding the cup, stem, and base. “Thank you, Maddi.”

She cleared her throat. “They also say that the Talismans and the Aspects are connected, and that Greal is tied to Psoul. Since you are a Dreamer I thought it appropriate.”

Tallen gazed upon the tiny cup with more reverence.
There is so much I must learn.

When she looked at Tallen, tears floated between her eyelids. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips, reminding him of their moment alone last night. This time she ducked away even faster.

“Goodbye, Tallen,” she croaked, turning and dashing from the mess hall.

Watching her go left his throat dry and a heavy pressure behind his eyes. He swallowed and hoisted his rucksack. Dabbing his cheeks upon a sleeve, he left the hall in the opposite direction, following the wizard and his paladin friend.

“I see things were not easy,” Dorias said when Tallen joined them in the courtyard of Garrison Tower. “They seldom are with women.”

He forced a smile. “Exceptionally so with me.”

Dorias patted him on the back. “Well, on the Isle, you will have little time to think about it. I remember my first few months…a long time ago. I hardly slept, ate everything I could get my hands on, and learned almost as much as I’ve learned since.” Merl fluttered his wings, and the wizard reached up to scratch under the raven’s beak. “Almost.”

They passed beneath the main gate of the Ivory Palace and entered the twist of city streets. Tallen watched the bird closely. “Merl is a special raven, isn’t he?”

Dorias laughed, while the raven flapped over to settle on Tallen’s shoulder. Merl rested far lighter than he had guessed from the bird’s size. Noticing the soft grip of his talons, Tallen copied the wizard’s regular gesture and reached up to scratch the raven’s beak. Merl’s eyelids fluttered with pleasure, and he chortled with joy.

“He likes you, but you can probably tell.” A smile broadened the wizard’s sharp features. “Merl is my familiar, a bond only we Dreamers can create. What’s more, he is a friend. Wise beyond most humans–and fast…so fast.” He smacked his hands together, one shooting off toward the sky. “I saw him outrun a pair of wyverns once. Left one with a broken wing when he drew it too close to a baobob tree.”

Tomas nodded. “I remember that. Jahad is a vast land of beauty.” He sighed. “Perhaps I might retire there.”

The wizard smoothed a momentary frown, his steps quickening to join the paladin. “You will retire to Harte Castle, and I may join you there.”

Pursing his lips, Tomas watched the constant crowd of people travelling along the avenue toward the docks. Tallen’s eye followed the paladin’s as they descended from the palace to the sea. He watched a dozen children playing hayball with the help of a few excited dogs.

“I may never see the stones of Harte Castle again,” the paladin said with a sad tone, “or the beauty of Crystal Lake in summer. Arathan has taken from me what has been in my family since before his ancestors set foot upon these shores.” His thumb rubbed the hilt of his sword. “However, it would pass to some other house upon my death, regardless. I suppose it is for the best that it happen now.”

Dorias reached out and tapped the ruddy-bearded man’s shoulder. “You could get married and have children.”

Tomas shook his head again. “You know that the vows to my order forbid that.”

“Who cares?” Dorias barked. “Did you notice how that
order
treated you in the High Hall? The High Elder schemed with Chancellor Vyce to turn the king against you. Arathan has understood your position for years. He accepted that you would manage the lands of Harlong, but you would not sit in council. Why has that changed now?”

“Because it was convenient,” the paladin murmured. “Because the elder knows I oppose him. Because Arathan is losing his grip.”

Dorias hushed his friend, casting his hawkish eyes about. “You should not let anyone in this city hear you say that. You are not on good terms with the king as it is.”

His lips tight, Tomas nodded. “Fair enough. But I can sense it Dorias, as certainly as I could sense a broken arm. He is full of rage, sorrow, and regret – they all eat away at his sanity.” He looked at the wizard. “And the chancellor is full of hate. It is directed, though I could not tell at whom.”

Dorias hooked his thumbs behind the belt of his leather vest. “We have larger problems than the scheming of a royal court. That happens all the time. The darkness we have sensed, the shadow obscuring the Dreamrealm, these are things that have not happened before – at least, not since I began watching things.”

Tomas snorted. “And that was indeed a very long time ago.”

Dorias laughed heartily, and Tallen chanced a snicker. They turned a corner onto the main street lining the docks, crowded with carts and carters, horses and cargo.

The scent of horse crawled up Tallen’s nostrils, and a spark of memory popped in his brain. “Magus…Paladin…sirs…”

The wizard waggled a finger. “Now, Tallen, we told you, Dorias and Tomas. We are to be friends, and someday you are likely to be more powerful than either of us, I think.”

Tallen ducked his head. “I wonder, what of the horse I rode here? He’s been mine for some time, and I left him at the royal stable in the palace.”

“You show concern for lesser creatures,” Tomas noted. “That is a good sign.”

Dorias waved toward the top of the hill, where the towers of the palace peaked over the city buildings. “Earl Boris made me aware of this. My horse, Shade, stays in the same stable. I even made the point of introducing the two of them this morning. Shade will see that he is cared for.”

“My own steed is there as well,” Tomas added. “Fireheart and Shade are well acquainted.”

“Here we are,” the wizard said when they reached the pier. “It should be…oh, my.” He turned to look at Tomas. “She sent her own ship.”

Unfazed, Tomas strode forward. “Then we will arrive at the Isle all the faster.”

They led Tallen to a ship unlike any he had ever seen or read about in the Gryphon’s library. Its hull swooped in smooth lines like many of the other sea-going vessels in the harbor, but that was where the similarities ended. No masts rose from its deck, and no racks of oars lined its rails. A rainbow of color splashed along its hull, red, yellow, blue, green and silver – the colors of the five Aspects.

A short man with olive skin and dark eyes stood at the far end of the gangplank, his stare fixed on Dorias. Tallen sensed the power of a mage about the man, though he was not as strong as Dorias or Magus Britt. Tallen saw no other crew.

“I’ve come for the boy, Ravenhawke, not for you.” The man frowned, his heavy, black eyebrows knitting together. “The Lady did not say anything about returning a rogue to the Isle.”

Dorias spread his hands. “She could not have known, Yarro, and I will gladly pay for my passage. Otherwise, I could simply book a spot on the next cargo ship headed there. Either way, I intend to speak to Varana.” He gave the mage a knowing look. “You were there when we found Malcolm, hidden in the Jade Isles. You also know that I never desired power beyond my own, and that I never wished to harm the Circle.”

“I was there. I will not forget.” The ship’s captain shrugged. “And you might be surprised to know that I would like to have children myself some day.”

Dorias peaked an eyebrow, but Tallen frowned at the comment.
What is that about?

The ship captain smiled. “Don’t tell the Lady I said that, if you wouldn’t mind.” Yarro stood aside and gestured for them to cross. “Welcome onboard the Fair Aspect, lad. New students rarely arrive at the Isle on Lady Varana’s personal ship. You’ll want to thank her for the privilege.” Yarro turned to Tomas. “And you must be the Paladin Harte. Passage for paladins to the Isle is always offered freely and with respect. Your order resided there long before mine.”