A Time of Darkness (The Circle of Talia) (26 page)

Sander pulled out a chair for Bronwyn. “Oh, thank you.” She hesitated before sitting: no one had ever pulled out a chair for her before. One dimple appeared on Blayke’s cheek as he gave in to a small smile. He’d have to have a word with Sander later. Bronwyn was also happy to discover
Sander was a vegetarian too; then she thought of Sinjenasta. Last time they’d met, they both thought Sander had killed the panther. “Sander, do you remember the last time I was here, you shot my panther?”

He blushed and looked at her, guilt in his eyes. “Yes
. How could I forget? I’m truly sorry.”

“It’s ok
ay. When I got back to the First Realm, he was alive. I don’t think everything that happens here, happens there. Don’t ask me how or why, but Sinjenasta was fine.” She smiled.

“I’m so glad to hear it. That panther must mean the world to you.”

“He does. If anything happened to him, I don’t know what I’d do.” Sander grinned, and Bronwyn thought he must be relieved he didn’t have to feel guilty anymore. After lunch, which passed in jovial banter, Korden took them to the local saleyards and they picked out two stallions. Blayke rode the black one, Bronwyn the bay.

Shortly after leaving the town, Blayke rode alongside Sander while Bronwyn chatted
with Korden. Blayke cleared his throat, not used to having conversations like the one he was about to have. “I couldn’t help noticing, Sander, that you have an interest in my sister.” Sander looked across at him but said nothing. “I just want you to know that she’s a good kid and doesn’t have a lot of experience with men. Do anything to hurt her and I’ll kill you. Understood?”

Blayke
straightened in his seat and scowled, trying to look as menacing as possible.

Sander
kept the smile from his face, knowing Blayke was trying to be a good brother. He might have told Bronwyn he was only twenty-four but he had lived a lot longer than that and had many secrets, most of which he hoped to tell Bronwyn one day. He knew they would be together, and until that time, he would be patient. “Understood.” Sander shouted over to Korden. “I think we’d better pick up the pace. It will be dark in three hours and we want to be there before Vertem is in the sky.”

“Vertem?” asked Bronwyn.

“A blue planet that rises two hours after the sun sets. It’s at this time that the dragon has the least power.” Bronwyn opened her mouth to speak. “Don’t ask me why; it just is. If you have any plans to finalize, I suggest you do it while we ride. You will face Devorum soon.” He drew his sword out of its scabbard and thrust it above his head.

“To war!” he shouted and dug his
heels in. Bronwyn and Blayke followed, galloping towards their fates.

***

The sun slipped below the horizon to their left, the last slanting rays piercing the dusty air and coloring their horses’ hooves with bloody light. A dark mass of mountains rose in front of them, rocky outcrops a jagged black outline against the dusk sky. The trees and grass were thicker here, although there was still not as much protection from above as Bronwyn would have liked. She shivered and breathed the damp night air.

Blayke dismounted. “Korden, what are you two going to do after you blow the whistle? Have you got somewhere to hide?”

“We’re not going to run away like cowards. You’ll need our help.”

“I hate to say this, but if we have to protect you with our power, it will be more of a distraction than a help. I’m thinking this dragon will be breathing fire and trying to get into your heads. What if it talked you into killing one of us?”

Korden swung off his horse, his feet thumping on the ground. “Sander and I have dueled with this dragon before and out of two hundred soldiers, we were two of the eleven survivors. We are immune to its mind speak.”

“How?”

“There is a trial our soldiers endure when they wish to enter the top three ranks of the King’s Army. During the trial, which some do not survive, we are bestowed with a gift from Drakon, god of the dragons.”

Bronwyn butted in. “Oh, we know him. He’s the reason we’re in this mess now.”

“Don’t blaspheme against a god.” Korden shot a look to the heavens and from left to right. “They’re always listening. You don’t want to invite their wrath.”

“I wouldn’t worry, Korden,” said Bronwyn
. “Drakon needs us alive if we’re to help save his precious dragons. I daresay he’ll keep us alive until we’re not needed anymore.”

Sa
nder said quietly, “He’s not as bad as you think. He has his faults, but he wouldn’t kill you without a good reason.”

Bronwyn wanted to ask why, but Kalden held the whistle up.

“In approximately one hour, I will blow this. What’s your plan?” Bronwyn and Blayke looked at each other and shrugged.
You tell them
, Bronwyn spoke into Blayke’s mind.
I need to go relieve myself. I’ll be back in a minute
.

That’s right
: leave the hard work to me. Go on. Go pee. I’ll still be here when you get back
. He laughed.

Thanks
, Brother; I knew I could count on you
. She giggled and went to find a large tree to hide behind.

Sander
listened to Blayke. Their scheme was simple, and even though they would likely fail, it had its merits, and nothing he had run through his head had been as good as what Blayke had just suggested. He watched Bronwyn’s dark shape emerge from the trees. He hadn’t been in love for a very long time, and as much as he wanted to sweep her into his arms, she could do without the distraction before facing Devorum. If they lived after this night, maybe he would tell her his secret … if he had the courage.

Bronwyn returned to the men. Their silence was solemn, almost defeated. “Are we all ready?” When she realized no answers were forthcoming, she continued
, “There’s one dragon and four of us. They’re quite good odds. You guys haven’t seen what Blayke and I can do. Seriously, you want us on your side.” They looked at her, and although she couldn’t see their expressions, she could feel them. “Oh, for goodness sake, ladies, work with me here. Every day, for the past few months, I wake up wondering if today is the day I die, or tomorrow, or when the gormons get to Talia. I’m sick of stressing about it. I’m going into this with the belief that we’ll win, because I don’t like the alternative.”

“Who are you calling a lady?” asked
Sander. He turned to Blayke. “Can we throw her to the dragon as a distraction?”

“I have a feeling if the dragon ate my sister, he would end up with a severe case of indigestion.”

“That’s the spirit.” Bronwyn laughed; then a blue glint caught her eye. She caught her breath. “Is that Vertem?”

Korden mounted his horse
; the others did the same. “It’s time. Ready?”

They answered
“yes” in unison. Sander’s sword hissed as he released it from his scabbard. Blayke had already reached the Second Realm and was searching for their symbols. Thankfully they were in a remote, unpopulated area. Any symbols that came near them would stand out—it was an early-warning beacon Blayke was happy to have.

Bronwyn rode her horse to a nearby tree, dismounted
, and placed her palms on the trunk, drawing power from the rivers beneath the ground. She carefully wove a net with the power, which stayed in the trunk of the tree and could not be seen unless one was touching the tree. If she had made the net out of Second-Realm power, it would have been visible to the dragon, or so she assumed. They were leaving nothing to chance.

When the dragon flew above the tree, she would release the net
—to shoot up and, hopefully, snag the dragon. Once the dragon was safely secured in the net, Blayke would release a containment spell, which would stop the dragon from accessing the Second Realm or breathing fire on anyone. It sounded simple, but the dragon would have to fly where they wanted it to, and Bronwyn’s timing would have to be perfect. Setting a trap was something she had never done before.

Korden put the whistle to his lips and blew. Blayke sat
on his horse, watching in the Second Realm. Sander, unwilling to observe from a distance, rode to Bronwyn’s side, ready to protect her if a mere sword was needed. She looked up and was about to say something when an echoing shriek rent the night, and another, then another. Blayke yelled into Bronwyn’s mind,
There are four symbols. It looks like Korden’s whistle called all dragons within hearing distance! One looks bigger than the rest, so he’s our target, but we may need to kill the rest. Try not to die, Bronny
.

I’ll do my best. Good luck. I love you
. She felt strange saying it, but now might be the only time she got.

I … love you too. I know I haven’t said it before, but you’re an awesome sister. I couldn’t have asked for better
.

Thanks. You’re the best too
. They cut off the connection, and Bronwyn relayed the information to Sander.

“Shit.
Why do things have to get complicated?” He drew his bow and arrow. “Dragons are endangered, so I don’t want to kill them. Is there anything you can do to my arrow to make it put them to sleep for a while, instead of killing them?”

“Hmm, I’ve never done that before, but I’m sure it can be done. We don’t have much time. Maybe you should have thought of that before. Here, give me all your arrows.” Bronwyn took them and closed her eyes. She remembered a sleep intonation Avruellen had used on a horse. Farmer Smilton’s best breeding mare had broken her leg. Avruellen
had put her to sleep so she could mend the leg without the horse feeling pain. Bronwyn mouthed the words and directed fluorescent flows of power into the shafts. Sander saw the arrows glow then fade.

“Wow! That’s pretty impressive.”

“Thanks. I also added a little something to make the arrows more accurate and fly further.” Screams claimed the night, and Bronwyn ran from beneath the tree to see what was happening. Blayke and Korden galloped towards her, dark, winged shapes close behind. “Oh, gods, they’re coming. Get ready!”

Sander
walked his horse from beneath the protective canopy to get a clear shot. Bronwyn ran back to the tree and placed her palms on the cool bark. She sent to Blayke,
Tell me when to let it go
.

Adrenalin thrummed in tune with the power in her blood, and her breaths quickened, barely reaching her lungs before rushing out.

Bow in hand, arrow shaft between competent fingers, Sander inhaled the cool air. Blayke and Korden neared, but so did the dragons, one swooping low—mere feet from the men.

“Come on, come on.”
Sander breathed. He cocked an arrow, his aim following the dragon as it approached.

Blayke huddled over the neck of his horse, trying to make himself as streamlined as possible. The symbols were almost melded with his
, and the tree was so far away. He looked up and behind, confirming with his physical sight what his other sight told him: one of the dragons was almost upon them. His heartbeat raced in time to the pounding hooves on the hard-packed dirt. He faced forward again, and in the Second Realm, the symbol closest to his glowed—the dragon was drawing power. Blayke hastily formed a shield over himself and Korden, whose horse sprinted next to his.

A fireball descended, exploding as it contacted the shield. Both men flinched, and the horses rolled their eyes
, Blayke’s whinnying through labored breaths. “Come on, boy. Not much further now.” He sent a mental caress to his animal. A second fireball exploded on the ground, centimeters behind them. The part of Blayke’s mind drawing the power fatigued, like an overused muscle. He released the energy—a bright rope slipping rapidly through his symbol, back to the Second Realm. The shield disappeared.

Korden and Blayke were
one-hundred feet away. Sander had seen the fireballs exploding, relieved when one disintegrated in a shower of sparks above his friends’ heads. The next one barely missed its mark. He couldn’t watch from this distance any longer. His horse bucked when he kicked his heels to her flanks—she smelled fire and dragons. He kicked again, and she surged forward, tossing her head in protest. When the two groups were fifty-feet apart, Sander aimed, his arrow flying straighter and faster than he could have hoped. It pierced the dragon in the chest, flaring. The sizzle of contact reached his ears. One dragon dropped to the ground, narrowly missing Blayke and Korden.

Sander stopped his horse, her hooves skidding over scattered stones. He nocked another arrow
... aimed ... shot. Caressed by the wind of Blayke and Korden’s passing, he turned his horse and bolted for leafy shelter, trusting from the squeal and brief glow gracing the night that he had found his target.

Blayke reached Bronwyn and spoke into her mind
.
I’m exhausted. Shields take up more energy than I thought. I have enough to subdue the dragon, I hope, but there’s still two breathing fire at us. The dragon we want is staying too high. It’s assessing the situation, I would imagine. Do you know how high the net will fly?

I have absolutely no bloody idea. It would have been good to get some practice shots in first
.

Sander called out
, “Three of them left. They’re circling, probably planning the next attack. I’m going to stay here, and I’ll let you know when they’re coming.”