Race Riders (The Hidden Quest- Book One) (14 page)

Faazen was emphatic. “He came back home and is in the stable now. I am more concerned about you boys. Those Ivey louts are a dangerous sort. Do you both understand to keep away from those people? I don’t like to judge them, but they make it easy when they attack those closest to me.”

Zach looked at the wizard solemnly. “I understand Faazen, you have my word,” and then he nudged Dredd, who just nodded.

“Well at least you looked out for Zach” Faazen patted Dredd on the back.

“It couldn’t be helped. He followed me… you know.”

“Yes I know. I suppose he did.”

“What about me? I’m right here guys. Stop talking about me.” Zach said.

Dredd spoke up. “Hey look, it’s over now. Let’s forget about it. It is late and I’m going home. See ya.”

Zach started walking away. “Yeah, me too. Goodnight.”

The wizard threw his hands up in the air “As it should be.”

Thomas came running out of the castle “Where was Zach? I just saw him grab a few cookies from your cupboard and a milk bottle. He looked terrible.”

“He and Dredd went out for a bit. They were discussing the upcoming race.”

Thomas relaxed. “All right then, possibly, he could give my boy a few pointers.”

“That is exactly what I was thinking,” Faazen said keeping his voice light. “We should call it an evening because everyone is tired. I could use some sleep myself, It has been a long day.”

Andi walked out to the gates with Dredd. “Thank you for a lovely time gentlemen.”

“It was very nice my dear and do come again. You and Dredd are always welcome at Dragmar.”

She leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Thank you for bringing him back safely.”

Faazen nodded. The two black horses trotted up and Dredd opened the door to the carriage for his sister to enter.

“A safe ride home and sleep well” the wizard called. The horses rode into the night and Thomas waved goodbye until the carriage was out of view.

When Andi and Dredd arrived home, they were both very tired. Dredd had an apologetic look on his face. “Sorry I left when I did sis.”

“Its alright brother, but Zachary came after you and it could have been dangerous for him.”

“No one told him to go. I guess he’s okay though.”

“That’s good to hear Dredd because he is Faazen’s guest.”

“Yeah whatever, I’m going to bed, night” he said sleepily.

“See you in the morning.” Andi prepared a warm glass of milk and sprinkled in some cinnamon. “Mmm,” she said as she carried the cup into the bedroom. Andi pulled on her favorite warm nightgown and folded down her cozy quilts. Crawling sleepily into her bed she plumped the pillows, took a few more sips of her spice- scented milk and lying down, fell fast asleep.

Faazen took a few minutes to obtain a book from his study before turning in for the night.

Zach went to his room earlier and Thomas followed him not much later. The wizard was not as tired as he thought and was slightly puzzled. Late at night when he was alone seemed to be a good time to think quietly. Ideas would come to him and answers to questions he did not know he even had. Overall, it was rather peaceful. He always looked forward to this time. Bergouhy appeared with his usual thimbleful of sweet almond nightcap, which helped.. The halls were so quiet he could hear his tiny dragon Pelsa alight on his shoulder. “Hello little girl, How is my Pelsa tonight?” She was as a little peacock, with plum colored wings and a bluish lavender body. At her throat was a jeweled necklace and she seemed to be singing to the wizard in her melodic voice. “Yes, you have a lovely song tonight dear.” The dragon stopped her singing, rubbed her master’s cheek, and flew off to another part of the castle. Faazen had many pets and small dragons that roamed around the castle. He was kind to all of them. His greatest riches were his kindness and big heart. No one had anything bad to say about the wizard. He was well liked by everyone and esteemed. The wizard had immense wealth but he shared with those he loved and those in need as well. Ready for his wisdom sleep, Faazen entered his sleep chamber. Something jolted him and he practically ran to the gates knowing something was wrong.

Eleven - The Uninvited Guest

There stood Rianor next to his black beast, Rore. He was well over six feet and had an imposing stature. His eyes, the coldest and iciest blue, could pierce through to one’s soul. Long dark hair whipped about his face. The ice wizard wore a dark blue cloak and to his hip was strapped a blue dragon- jeweled dagger. He wore leather gloves finished in silver spikes, and his dark boots had the same treatment.

Rianor exuded fierceness, with his rugged good looks and powerful physique. It was easy for any woman to fall under his spell and he knew this, using it to his advantage. With smooth speech and cunning ways, he was intelligent with a dangerous twist. This made him quite unpredictable and hard to deal with in any situation. Rianor eyed the wizard coldly, watching him approach.

Faazen illuminated light when he stood face to face against his nemesis. It was almost blinding, shining from within. This happened at times, so it was not really a concern to the ice wizard. Rianor remembered when he was the wizard’s young apprentice. To him it was just a trick, nothing denoting of true magical abilities, more like a smoke and mirrors effect.

Still he clapped.” Faazen, ever the good wizard, and the wise souls light still shield you, I see.”

“They are always with me in one way or another. Their presence cannot be ignored. They have warned me of a night such as this. Have you come for blood Rianor?”

“No, not really old man, more like a quest. I believe you have the answer to my puzzle.”

Now Faazen found that interesting because he also had a puzzle, and sleep had eluded him for several days as he wrapped his mind around its clues and meanings. Then the prophecy is true and you might be one of the clues he thought. “Does this have anything to do with the silver leaf?”

Rianor acted coy “Maybe yes and maybe no.”

“One thing I don’t have time for is you being elusive. Speak your mind wizard! What do you want?” Faazen was clearly angry now and his facial muscles started to twitch.

“I see your temper is still intact. You really should try to stay calm Faazen.” Rianor stood arrogantly with his arms folded, taunting the wizard.

“I will not be calm when you show up unannounced disturbing my wisdom sleep and not answering my questions. Goodnight Rianor you are not welcome at Dragmar, or many other places I am sure.”

“Do not be so sure wizard, I will not leave until I’m ready. Don’t make me show you how serious I can be if needed. Right now I am still amused by you Faazen.”

“Amused! Why did Rore come after my guest? He does not mean anything to you.”

“This may be true; there is something about him and his grandson. I may need to know more. I’m thinking they might be the missing piece of the puzzle.”

Faazen’s voice was very low. “They are visitors to our kingdom, nothing more.”

Rianor weighed his words. “Daksha seems to think otherwise.”

This got Faazen’s attention. “What form of torture have you exacted on her? I have heard she is becoming fearful, and might say anything to avoid your fury.”

Rianor’s mouth curled in a sneer. “Why I love that woman, I could never hurt her. I only show my Daksha tenderness and kindness.”

“Ice wizard you have a twisted mind, leave now! As you must know here in the Seia Woods, your powers have no effect. My patience with you is wearing thin.”

“Yes I know about your shield, old wizard. It is not as powerful as you seem to think it is. I could destroy this place just like that if I so inclined.” He snapped his fingers for effect.

At that moment, Faazen raised his arms and a crackling white-hot light enveloped him shooting out towards Rianor’s dragon, Rore. The beast rocketed off in flight until he was a blur in the sky.

“Oh, I see you scared old Rore with your parlor tricks again.”

Faazen spoke quietly again. “Leave now or you will see my full wrath! “

“The wrath of Faazen! Oh now I’m really frightened.”

“The one thing that was starting to unnerve him was the eerie calm that Rianor portrayed this evening. It was quite chilling and it made him wonder what the ice wizard would do next. “Do you still have Medrith ?”

“No I became bored with that old beast. Daksha had become quite the nursemaid taking care of her and

the hatchling. I am thinking she probably let her escape. Varthon was very un-cooperative and I never trusted that dragon anyway. “

This surprised Faazen. He would have known if Medrith was released. Varthon and Lorthax would have informed him, something was wrong. Rianor planned everything down to the smallest detail; it was highly unlike him to let his prisoners escape and not even care about it. Why did he have her there in the first place? Too many questions and nothing even resembling an answer. Something else had the ice wizard’s attention, something more valuable to him.

“You know I want both halves of the silver leaf to bring the two worlds together,” Rianor said pointedly.

“Knowing it would be disastrous, why even attempt it?” Faazen said angrily. The halves were kept apart for a reason. Who are you to tamper with such knowledge? The others and I were given the responsibility to keep the halves separate. Why can you not just be content to rule at Windsword? You were too young then and were not ready. I can see now we made the right decision.”

“Please Faazen, you make me laugh, I am not content with anything. Challenges make you grow, you taught that long ago. Isn’t that why you are grooming young Zachary to be a racerider?”

Faazen spun around. “You don’t know anything about it!”

“Don’t be so sure, you did the same thing with me. I did learn that from you. I do so like a good challenge Faazen.” With that last remark, Rianor disappeared into the night with hardly a flourish.

Faazen thought about this confrontation and wondered what Rianor was up to; it was all a game to the ice wizard. He liked playing it close to the vest, never to give away his hand so quickly. Faazen let his mind drift back many years ago, remembering the sad eyes of a young boy. Black matted hair and tattered clothes, leaning against the castle gates hoping for food. No, he did not want to think of such things, that child was no more. What had stood before him this evening personified evil. Preparations had to be made, and through it all, he had to ensure the safety of his guests. The prophecy depended on it. He was aware that Rianor would try another mode of attack towards Thomas or Zach, or possibly both. An astute eye was needed to safeguard their protection. The wizard decided to check on them before entering his sleep chamber. He tiptoed quietly to the door and it was slightly ajar. To his dismay, both beds were empty and the sashes were wide open with the cold air chilling the room. It was his fear that Rianor had engaged him in a confrontation and then had his minions kidnap grandfather and grandson. He shook his head and sadly lamented that he was not able to protect his friends. Well there was not a moment to waste. He summoned the battle dragon who quickly appeared with his tremendous wings outstretched.

“Xandar old friend, we need to go to Windsword. Rianor has captured Thomas and Zach. Are you ready?” Faazen pulled his hood up against the bitter winds they would soon encounter.

“I am willing to help in any way to bring them back safely.” Xandar spoke with concern.

He climbed onto the dragon and together they soared into the black night save for a few stars.

Xandar-Sym flew low over the mountains and inspected the places where they thought Rianor’s ice prisons could be located. They were nowhere to be found, and Faazen was concerned. Flying into a blinding snowstorm, visibility was near zero. The dragon descended among the snow-drifted rocks because they could only see a few hundred feet in front of them. Suddenly Faazen spoke. “I need to go back to Dragmar.” The wizard sensed he was missing something important.

Xandar snorted his disapproval but eventually nodded reluctantly “Go, I will wait here for your return.”

The wizard raised his arms and disappeared into the night. The dragon took position behind one of the icy drifts and kept watch.

Xandar-Sym heard a frozen tree branch crackle and looked to the right where he heard something moving towards him. It was silvery white in the moonlight and the battle dragon called out a low warning. “Go no further, until you identify yourself!”

“Xandar-Sym it is I, Varthon. No need for concern, I must ask you friend what are you doing here?”

“That is an interesting question Varthon. I am waiting for Faazen to return. Rianor has kidnapped Thomas and Zachary Wellington. We are trying to locate his ice prisons but to no avail my friend.”

“You are in luck battle dragon. I happen to know the locale quite well. Medrith was an unwilling guest as he held her and our small one captive. We will wait for Faazen and I will take you both there. We have no time to lose. “

Faazen arrived at the castle. Once there he went to the guest rooms. There he found what he was looking for. Amidst Zach’s clothing in a small box was half of the silver leaf on a thin chain. “Oh my, he did have it. No wonder I could not sleep. It was here under this roof the whole time.” He decided to leave it be. Within a minute, he transported himself back to Windsword. There where he left him was the battle dragon poised and ready for action. The ice dragon stood next to him and was quite majestic with his silver-tipped fur blowing in the cold winds.