The Roar of a Dragon (23 page)

The magical projectile continued its course, and collided with the magical barrier containing the souls of everyone in Delmar.

There was a brilliant flash of light, and a gentle
whooshing
sound that slowly got louder and louder, until there was a bright explosion of light…

The force of the explosion sent me flying, knocking me to the ground, and I collided with the walls of the cathedral, doing visible damage to the structure, which was beginning to collapse.

I looked up the platform, but Sirak was gone.

Thousands of glowing white orbs, the souls of the people of Delmar, floated all over, and then flew through the crumbling walls of the cathedral, seeking their true homes.

One of them found the body of Garridan.

Regaining my bearings quickly, I rushed over to my former mentor, the man who had become my father after my real father had died. His torso was a shredded, bloody mess, but I could only stare at Garridan’s face, undamaged by my powers.

The skin changed from obsidian to pale white, the eyes from crimson red to piercing blue once again.

Garridan was
human
again. I had saved him…and killed him.

I knew it as certain as I had ever known anything in my entire life. There was no way he could recover from those wounds — wounds that I had inflicted upon him.

Garridan turned his eyes toward me. ‘Aidan…’ His voice was weak.

My vision was suddenly dimmed with tears. ‘How did you know?’

‘Who else would try to save me?’ he smiled lightly.

I was overcome with sorrow. ‘I haven’t saved you, Garridan…I’ve killed you.’

Garridan weakly put his hand on mine. ‘No, Aidan…you saved me from that horrible existence. Thanks to you, I will die a human, with my soul, and not one of those…
things.’

I began to cry, wracking sobs shaking my body. I held his hand in both of mine, my forehead resting on my hands.

I’m losing another father…

‘Forgive me…’ my voice cracked.

‘There is nothing to forgive, Aidan,’ I heard Garridan whisper. ‘You have saved Delmar…be proud.’

Garridan suddenly fell silent. I lifted my head to look at him. His head had slightly tilted to the side, his eyes staring sightlessly toward the ceiling.

Garridan was dead.

As I stared hopelessly at the corpse of my former mentor in deep sorrow, the ceiling of the cathedral began to collapse. There was no way for me to escape in time, and even if I could, I wouldn’t leave Garridan’s body behind…

Roaring in pain and defiance, I planted both of my hands on the ground, summoning my strength once again, forming a shield around me that protected both myself and Garridan. As pieces of the cathedral’s ceiling crashed into the shield, I felt the impact on my body, more in my mind than anything else, an increasing, torturous burden. I had to maintain the shield, protect his body for as long as I could…

I could feel my strength fading, my powers collapsing.

At least,
I thought,
I’ll die right alongside him
.

The last thing I heard, before my powers gave out, and the shield disappeared, was…

The roar of a dragon.

‘Aidan… Aidan, wake up.’

I slowly opened my eyes…and found nothing around me but white light. I thought I would be lying down, but I was already standing somehow
.

Garridan was standing in front of me, a proud look in his eyes
.

I looked around, at the blank, white environment. ‘Are we…dead?’

Garridan smiled. ‘I am, Aidan…you are not.’

I closed my eyes, my spirits sinking. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘You have already apologized, Aidan, and still, there’s nothing to be sorry for. I am at peace.’

‘It should have been my life that was taken,’ I said meekly, lowering my head
.

Garridan shook his head. ‘No. There’s more for you left to accomplish, Aidan. The threat of Sirak still remains.’

I raised my head, looking at Garridan intently. ‘Is Delmar saved?’

Garridan smiled again, proudly. ‘Yes, Aidan. You succeeded…but Sirak escaped. There is King Marion as well; he will remain a threat for as long as he lives.’

I was silent for a moment, thinking. ‘Is everyone else okay?’

Garridan’s face was solemn. ‘All will be revealed to you, when you wake up. Someone is waiting for you.’

I looked away for a moment. ‘Mirabelle…’

Garridan smiled again. ‘You have good people around you, Aidan. If you ask, they will follow you — help you to eradicate the evil in this world.’

Something suddenly occurred to me, and fear gripped my heart. ‘Is this a dream?’

‘In a way, yes,’ Garridan answered. ‘The gods have allowed me to speak to you — they knew that what happened in Delmar would haunt you, torture you mentally. They felt that you deserved to be at peace with yourself…they are very proud of us both.’ I was quiet again, so Garridan continued. ‘Even the gods do not know why or how you were given the powers that you have. No one knows the origins of dragons — they are outside the creation of the gods, as is Sirak’s treachery and the creation of the Ther-lor. To that end, the gods want you to stop him, and his evil.’

I looked into Garridan’s eyes, still absorbing his words
—
and I felt this new determination, a driving force to do everything I could to give the gods what they wanted
.

‘I will do my best.’

Garridan nodded. ‘I know you will. And now, Aidan, it is time to go back.’

I was instantly overcome with a sense of sadness — I was leaving my mentor behind, whose life I had failed to save, perhaps never to see him again
.

‘Thank you, Garridan,’I said, my voice breaking. ‘Thank you for everything.’

Garridan smiled one last time. ‘You always had the talent, Aidan. I merely gave you the opportunity, and helped you shape that talent. Go back, be at peace, and move forward with your life.’

With that, the white light began to dim, becoming darker and darker. The image of Garridan began to fade. I don’t know why, but I was overcome with a sense of anxiety, and I suddenly felt like I had more questions, more things to say
.

But it was too late…Garridan disappeared, and I sank into darkness
.

***

I have no idea how long I lay in darkness, but suddenly, I felt very cold. I opened my eyes, and my heart suddenly stopped — I would have sworn, with my life, that an angel was standing over me.

But it wasn’t an angel; I was staring into the violet eyes of Lady Mirabelle.

I was wrong…it
was
an angel.

‘Welcome back,’ she whispered.

I smiled at her. ‘I’m glad I’m still alive and all, but are they trying to freeze me to death in here?’

She smiled back, and disappeared for a few moments. While she was gone, I glanced up at the ceiling, and I knew immediately where I was — in one of the healing rooms in the White Castle.

Mirabelle returned a moment later, pulling a blanket over me. ‘Here, that should help.’

‘Thanks,’ I said appreciatively. I knew then that there was no point in meaningless conversation. It was time for answers. ‘Did we succeed?’

‘
You
succeeded, Aidan,’ Mirabelle said simply. ‘The people of Delmar are safe…most of them, anyway.’

I glanced at her apprehensively. ‘“Most of them?”’

Mirabelle took a breath before she answered. ‘We were forced to kill some of them, in self-defense.’ She took another breath, suddenly looking very depressed.

I reached for her hand, grasped it firmly. ‘There was nothing you could do, Mirabelle.’ I thought for a moment about how to phrase the next question, scared of the answer. ‘The children…’

Mirabelle nodded reassuringly. ‘They’re fine. Sirak kept them in the holding cells in the dungeons. There was no damage done to them.’

I was very happy to hear that — it was the first time it actually felt like I succeeded at anything in this whole mess. I then looked away from a moment, memories of what had happened, and my conversation with Garridan flooding my mind. ‘I failed as well. I may have saved the people of Delmar, but I failed to save Garridan.’

She looked down at me, her eyes clouded with sorrow. ‘We know. Everyone knows what you did, using your powers to protect his body from the collapsing cathedral. That was very heroic, Aidan.’

I didn’t really agree, but I didn’t respond to the compliment, one way or the other. Another thought sprang up in my mind. ‘How did I survive?’

Mirabelle smiled, and glanced behind her, to a blue-robed figure sitting at the foot of my bed. ‘Iskandor saved you.’

I was still confused. ‘How?’ I asked, glancing at both of them.

Iskandor stood up, and came to stand next to me, on my left side. ‘When you destroyed the barrier, containing the souls, the impact fractured the structure of the cathedral. It was hard to miss it, from my vantage point. I knew immediately that that was where you were. I kept waiting for you to escape, but you never came out, and I knew that something else was going on — whether you were dead, injured, I didn’t know. Scared, I flew straight for the cathedral as it began to collapse, and I could see you using your shield to protect yourself, as well as the body of Sir Garridan. I flew in, and threw all of the debris off of you, and covered you with my body as your shield disappeared, and you fell unconscious.’

I was suddenly alarmed. ‘Are you hurt?’

Iskandor shrugged. ‘The building was puny compared to me. I fear I did more damage to the building than it did to me.’

‘All for a good cause,’ Mirabelle added. ‘Iskandor saved you, and recovered the body of Sir Garridan as well.’

Tears flooded my eyes. ‘Thank you, my friend,’ I whispered, and meant it. Once again, Iskandor had sacrificed himself for me. Though I was very grateful for him to have saved my life, it meant much more to me that he had recovered Garridan’s body, spared from further desecration. I knew Iskandor did it because he knew that was what I wanted. Then I noticed something else — that Iskandor was still here.

‘Um…does everyone in Delmar know that you’re actually the dragon?’ I asked apprehensively.

Iskandor smiled and nodded once. ‘Yes…it seems the attitude about dragons has changed since everything has transpired.’

I was filled with pride, happy for Iskandor, and for all dragons.

I recovered myself, knowing there was more to learn about what had transpired. ‘Are the rest of us okay? Are we all still alive?’

Mirabelle smile faded, and her eyes narrowed in sorrow. She looked over her shoulder, at the bed next to mine, and the body that lay there.

Timor lay there, unconscious.

I struggled to try to sit up, alarmed, but pain shot through my leg. I groaned.

‘Lie easy, Aidan,’ Iskandor said soothingly. ‘You didn’t escape unscathed. Your leg is broken, but with your healing ability, I would think that you will just fine in no time.’

A little shocked that my leg was broken (though I didn’t need to know how — when a building collapses on you, you should be happy if you escape with only a broken leg), I lay gently back down. Mirabelle put another pillow under my head so I could sit up a little better. Then I turned my attention back to Timor.

‘What happened?’

‘No one knows the full story,’ Mirabelle explained. ‘Only Timor could tell us, but Derrick said that he had stayed behind because you asked him to heal the king. And,’ she stopped, hesitant to continue, ‘the Rod of Therl is missing.’

I closed my eyes in disappointment, no further explanation necessary — I had no doubt in my mind that Sirak had retaken the Rod of Therl. I sighed deeply. ‘Is he alive?’ I asked, nodding toward Timor.

‘Yes,’ Mirabelle answered. ‘He wasn’t doing too well in the beginning, but his heartbeat has been getting stronger the last day or so. I believe that he’ll be fine.’

I frowned. ‘How long have I been out?’

‘Five days,’ Mirabelle answered.

I breathed heavily at that. Mirabelle frowned down at me. ‘You’re beginning to look pale, Aidan. You need to rest. As soon as you’re able, the king wants to hold a ceremony praising all of us.’

I groaned a little at that; I didn’t want or need any more attention than what I was already getting. But I only nodded meekly, and Iskandor and Mirabelle left. It wasn’t long before I was fast asleep.

***

The next couple of days went by in a daze for me. The first day I spent in bed, continuing to get as much rest as possible. Not only was this necessary, but I was also loathe to leave the room; I knew that people would be waiting to get a look at me, and I mostly wanted to be left alone. My companions all came to see me during that time, which I welcomed; it was good to see that they were alive and mostly okay, although, like me, most of them hadn’t escaped unscathed. Derrick, in particular, had had a very close call — he had suffered a stab wound to his ribs, but had continued fighting. After it had been examined, it was revealed that the wound, thankfully, wasn’t serious and that the big jokester would be just fine. In typical Derrick fashion, he was (mockingly) jealous because of all the attention I was getting. But after finishing that particular bit, he gave me a proud smack to the chest (so hard it left a large hand print) and told me he was proud of me.

The day after I had initially woken from unconsciousness, I woke from a night of sleep to find Timor’s bed empty. Startled, I asked the healer what had happened to him, and she told me that he had awoken and, against the healer’s orders, had risen from his bed abruptly and left without another word. I was distressed this news, but my inquiries as to his whereabouts to my companions had yielded no results.

On the third day, the healer declared that I could get up and move around, as long as I used crutches. She told me that under no circumstances was I to put any pressure on my fractured right leg, and then helped me get dressed (including my black cloak and hood, of course). She gave me a potion for me to sip in case I was in pain. The crutches were very awkward to use at first, but it didn’t take very long for me to get the hang of using them. Then, as soon as I was ready (or thought I was), I left the recovery room.

My prediction that I was going to be swamped with attention by the citizens of Delmar was well-founded; I had barely stepped outside of the room before people (who had crowded inside the infirmary) gasped, cheered, and began to crowd around me. I kept moving, said a few polite things here and there, thanked them for their concern, and made my way outside.

Lo and behold, the crowd wasn’t only limited to
inside
the infirmary; the amount of people outside the infirmary was enormous. I sighed very deeply, exasperated. It took me a half-hour (constantly moving) just to get through all of those people, and eventually, I ceased my polite lines here and there and just kept moving forward, until finally the crowd was behind me. It pleased me that the people were so appreciative, but I just wanted to be left alone.

Eventually, the people who were following me realized that there wasn’t going to be a response to their thanks, so they finally filtered away. I was glad to have saved their lives, glad that they were free from Sirak’s horrible existence, but honestly, I would have liked nothing more than to leave the city right afterward.

Only one thing stopped me: Iskandor.

The fact that Delmar, a dragon-hating country, was finally seeing the light, in my eyes, and giving dragons the credit they so richly deserved was enough for me to stick around, at least for a little while longer.

In my past life in Delmar, I had one place that I used to get away from everything when I sought solitude. The walls of Delmar were built so soldiers could stand on them and defend the city if needed, and on the southern end, the walls of the city butted up against Lake Apera. Beyond the lake was a forest, set in the hills. On that spot on the wall, I had spent many hours thinking and contemplating my life. That was my destination now.

I made my way up the stairs of one of the wall towers (it took a very long time, with the crutches) and began to make my way east, along the wall. But it wasn’t long before I realized that someone had already found my private sanctuary — someone in forest green robes.

I hesitated before I approached Timor; no one had seen or heard from him in a couple of days, and I was certain that he didn’t want to be bothered. But, at the same time, he clearly needed someone to talk to.

Perhaps I did too.

Timor didn’t turn his head as I approached, didn’t even acknowledge my existence. I decided not to bother with any words either, I just hobbled up next to him and leaned against the stone railing.

We were both quiet for a while, so I looked out across Lake Apera, across Delmar — as I had even a year ago (from this time — for me, it was an eternity). It was a bright, beautiful day; the sun shone brightly overhead, the water blue and calm. It was one of those beautiful days that you dream about…a perfect day.

Perfect, except I was currently in my home city (where I didn’t want to be), and except for the disconsolate young wizard standing next to me.

Finally, Timor broke the silence. ‘I lost the Rod of Therl.’