Dragon Legends (Return of the Darkening Book 2) (21 page)

Falling into step with Seb, we made for the outskirts of the camp. Seb glanced back over his shoulder. “Do you think Hegarty gave the Healing Stone to his brother?”

I nodded, then shrugged. “It would make sense. If Jodreth knows how to slip away from a dragon, well…he’s not an ordinary person, is he. One way or another, we need help.”

Seb nodded and looked up into the sky. “Then let’s go find Cripple Creek.”

*

Thea and I waited for Kalax on the edge of the Dragon Rider camp. Once Kalax returned for us, she couldn’t get away from the rider camp fast enough. It was as if she wanted to wash her whole body with the clean air. I could sense the tiny sliver of fear she kept trying to bury at what she had seen and felt down there.

From my seat behind her neck, I told her,
that won’t happen to you. Ever. And we’ll find a way to help the others.

Kalax remained stubbornly silent. She focused on flying faster, heading toward the line of tall mountains that split the Middle Kingdom almost in two and which bounded the fiercer, wild lands to the north. Kalax had seen in my mind the name Cripple Creek on the maps I had once studied in the now-destroyed map room. It was the name of a narrow, winding creek that ran through the mountains. It was spring-fed and year-round water, so it was a good place to water a dragon. I remembered Merik telling me that and the memory made me wonder how he was doing. Was he with the others from Torvald? Was he okay? Was he with Varla and…

I cut off the thoughts. If I kept thinking about those I missed, those I worried about, I’d only worry more.

It took us almost to midday to get to the thin mountain stream that cut deeply through the foothills.

Kalax landed. We dismounted and stared at the splashing creek.

“No house,” Thea said. She put her hands on her hips and swept her stare up and down the length of the visible creek. “The commander got it wrong—or did we get it wrong?”

It was my worst fear—that whatever magic had been laid upon the commander had mixed up his memories about his brother and the Healing Stone. Despair hovered over me, dark, and starting to drag at me.

Tucking one hand into my belt, I turned and stared at Kalax. She stared back at me. Thea nudged me in the side. “What is it?”

“Kalax,” I said.

Stepping in front of me, Thea put her hands on my shoulders. “I need words. Stop thinking at her and talk to me.”

I waved a hand at our dragon. “Kalax took us to Jodreth. She liked him. Maybe she’d be able to smell his scent.”

Dropping her hands, Thea gave me a sideways look.

“It’s true. Kalax could even smell the spices of the Southern Realm. And dragons seem to have a connection to…to more.”

Thea waved a hand. “It sounds like we’re clutching at straws, but if that’s the best option that we have, let’s try it.”

I reached out to Kalax.
Can you find the commander’s brother—the one we met in the cabin we watched?

Salted fish!
Kalax purred happily at the memory.
Dragons never forget who has fed them.

That set me wondering. Were dragons connected to everyone they liked, no matter the distance? That opened up new possibilities.

I held my breath and sensed Kalax reaching out with her own mind. A distant pressure built inside my head and chest. It was as if somewhere in the depths of Kalax’s mind and soul a fine harp string had been plucked and was vibrating. I followed that thread, but Kalax pushed me—a gentle nudge—and the sensation vanished.

Humans aren’t ready for that. Back to your own body.

Kalax nudged me again, closing our connection.

Frustrated, with nothing better to do, I mounted the saddle again. Thea did as well. Kalax remained on the ground.

“Has she got it? Has she got the scent of him?” Thea asked.

The answer was Kalax launching us into the air again.

*

Dragons!

Kalax’s warning sounded in my mind just as I sensed the other dragons too.

We were flying low over the tall pines. Kalax shifted and landed just under an overhang in cliffs above the trees. It was late in the day and we had been flying long enough for my legs and back to be tired. Kalax’s enthusiasm, however, was unmistakable. She kept thinking about salted fish and it was making me hungry.

“What is it?” Thea asked, leaning forward to scan the skies.

I glanced around. “Kalax sensed other dragons, but she wouldn’t hide unless…there!” I pointed to where, far to the south of us, a dozen dragons flew. They were not like the wild, black dragons, but seemed to be a sandy-orange color with long tails and very wide wings. “Southern dragons?” I was guessing I knew, but the description matched some of what I’d read in the books at the academy. “What are they doing up here?”

“Do you think they’ve come to the aid of King Justin?” Thea asked hopefully. It was good to see her looking on the bright side of things again.

I shook my head. “I don’t think so—you saw how the king and the others were. How could they have sent word all the way to the Southern Realm, and even if they had, why wouldn’t the dragons be flying to him? But…the commander had maps in his study. I think he was searching for southern dragons. It could be that Lord Vincent took advantage of what he knew?”

Thea shook her head and pushed up her flying goggles so they sat on her helmet. “It feels too much like a slice of good luck for dragons to suddenly appear out of the south at just the time that our own have been scattered.”

I agreed, and we watched the orange dragons disappear across the horizon. A longing lifted in my chest to fly off with them—to ask them were they were going and go with them. I was so focused on the orange dragons that I didn’t notice the wild, black dragons overhead until the air filled with their screaming and shrill cries.

“Watch out!” Thea called out.

A flight of the smaller, wild dragons—barely half the size of Kalax—screamed off in the same direction as the southern dragons. Another, much larger wild black, bigger than Kalax, with a mane of spines all around her neck and a multiple-barbed tail, followed.

“A brood mother,” I breathed.

I could feel Kalax’s nervous jitters. She was eager to be away from so many dragons, and so was I, but I willed her to be still.
Let them pass. Let them pass.
I breathed at her, but it was no good.

The brood dragon shrieked, jerking her head to stare at where we were hidden. I was afraid she’d caught me talking to Kalax.

There was no time to think. Kalax let go of the cliff overhang. She dropped down low, skimming the treetops. With three, powerful bursts of her wings, she soared upwards toward clouds that were gathering around the mountain top.

The brood dragon bellowed a challenge, followed by the smaller yips and shrieks of her children.

Thea drew her bow and notched an arrow, twisting to look back at the blacks.

“Wait, Thea, wait,” I yelled. “We’ll use the clouds as cover, maybe sneak away from the whole pack without having to fight.”

Something hit Kalax’s side, and we tumbled through the clouds. It was the wild, brood dragon. She had emerged like a mountain through the clouds, and had scraped a claw over Kalax’s side. The blow was meant to gut Kalax, but she seemed unharmed. The Armor Stone was still working for us.

“Thea, hold on!” I shouted. I urged Kalax into a tumbling fall. At the last moment, she spread her wings to slow her descent. The brood dragon fell almost on top of us, and Kalax flared out her legs in a vicious, scratching frenzy. Kalax drew blood from the black. The brood dragon backed off, but the smaller dragons swarmed around us.

“Seb,” Thea shouted, standing up in her saddle to throw a short javelin at the nearest black dragon, where it tangled with the dragon’s wings, sending it spiraling to the ground. That left three more, closing in on us, and the wounded mother still circling.

Leaning back in my harness and saddle, I threw my arms wide, closed my eyes and opened myself to the dragons.

The thoughts of the wild dragons filled me, full of hate and anger.

Beyond the steadier thoughts of their brood mother I sensed something else. A feeling that didn’t feel like it came from a dragon’s mind.

I could hear the summons Lord Vincent had sent out, an awkward command that had annoyed the dragons, even though they couldn’t resist. I could see a pale man—Lord Vincent—but he was surrounded, consumed by a dark cloud, something evil and rank. The blackness behind him was not just a thing—it had intelligence, I knew. I could feel it returning my curiosity. The dragons shrank in fear from that presence, as did I.

The world shifted as I saw the world from the eyes of the smaller dragons. Kalax was swiping her tail and claws to keep them at bay. Because of the Armor Stone, they wouldn’t be able to harm us, but they were delaying us.

Reaching out, I told them,
Find Rest. Tired. Sleep. This dragon is too big for you.

The wild dragons shuddered as if hit by a wave of cold, but were still coming.

I poured all my strength through the link, becoming a dragon myself, calling to them with a dragon’s mind.

The brood dragon called out, gathering her smaller dragons and turning tail. Kalax snarled at them—as did I.

For a moment, my mind held with the black dragons. I would fly with them—go with them. Rest. Sleep.

The slap of Thea’s hand on my shoulder shook me from the link.

I opened my eyes, but I was dizzy and exhausted.

Found your Jodreth,
Kalax told me.

Glancing down, I saw a foothill with scrubby mountain grass and goats that were scattering, running from Kalax. A small, stone-block house was built half into the side of the hill itself. From afar, it looked another pile of rocks, but a lone figure with a dirty gray cloak stood outside the door, leaning on a staff.

“You found him, Kalax! It’s Jodreth!” Thea said and slapped my shoulder enthusiastically.

The sorcerer—that’s what the wild, brood dragon had called him.

I caught that last bit of memory from my connection to the wild dragons. So they knew him as well. That was odd. Slumping in my saddle, I was almost too tired to even fly Kalax. She swooped down to land on her own, folding her wings around the small stone-built goat shed for warmth as Thea jumped from the saddle and I climbed down like an old man.

“Seb, Agathea.” Jodreth nodded at us. “The skies are thick with the enemy.” He shot me a curious look, but waved us inside.

I hesitated. “But what about Kalax? We…I mean she can’t just sit out here!”

“No,” Thea agreed. “The Darkening will spot her.”

Jodreth bowed his head. “A little patience, please. Now go inside!” He gave us a push inside with his staff.

On the other side of the simple wooden door we found a tiny cottage very similar to the cabin, except this cabin seemed made more of stone and dirt.

Leaning over to Thea, I said, “I wonder how many of these little bolt-holes he has.” She shrugged and moved away to run her fingers over a shelf of scrolls what looked like potions in glass bottles, and a lot of what looked like junk to me, but Merik would have loved it. Stubs of waxy candles had dripped all over the wooden workbenches. Dried herbs hung from the hooks in the walls and from the ceiling, giving the room a faintly spicy smell. I didn’t see a bed, but fire burned low in a small hearth and an iron kettle sat bubbling over the flames.

“Seb, is that normal?” Thea pointing out of the one, deep window that looked out from the rock house. The world seemed to have disappeared into a milky-white fog.

Jodreth came back into the cottage, throwing back his hood. “It won’t last for long, but will give us enough time for a short chat. You are both in grave danger.” He turned to us.

“I think we guessed that already.” Thea faced him, her arms crossed over her chest.

One eyebrow arched high, Jodreth shook his head. “I don’t think you understand. It’s cost me greatly to gain such news—and no, I will not tell you my means—but I’ve learned that Lord Vincent has gone further than any of us thought. He is not only just using the Memory Stone to control the wild dragons and has awakened not just the Darkening, but he has called up the ancient prince himself.”

My stomach lurched. “The old king of the north?” I asked, remembering that dark presence I’d felt behind the dragon’s mind just earlier.

“Yes.” Jodreth looked at me again, his gaze steady and unsettling. It felt as if he could see more than I wanted him to know. “You’ve felt it, haven’t you?” He took a sudden step toward me and I thought he was about to seize me by the neck. “You—you have it, don’t you?”

It took everything not to step back, away from him. His eyes sparked and I wasn’t certain if it was anger or something else in his eyes. Was he speaking of the Armor Stone? I resisted looking at Thea and kept my stare on Jodreth. “Have what?”

“The affinity.” Jodreth threw his arms wide. Overhead, the herbs swayed. “You are what they call a dragon friend—one of those of the old blood, just as he was.”

My throat tightened. I had to swallow hard, then I asked, even though I knew what he was speaking of, “He?”

“The ancient prince. He inherited his blood from his mother, and with it came a connection to the dragons—the ability to link human and dragon minds. That was the gate that he used to grow stronger and to allow darkness into the world.” Jodreth was visibly paler. He stepped back and stroked his beard. “I knew it. When I saw what you did earlier—with the wild dragon—I knew.”