Dragon Legends (Return of the Darkening Book 2) (5 page)

Beside me, Thea dropped her saddle and stared at me. I could still sense something odd about Erufon—there was something wrong with his belly.

Bad fish
,
Kalax thought at me. I was inclined to agree.

I said the same to Thea and told her, “We’ll have to tell the commander about Erufon when we get back.” Kalax dropped her shoulder to allow us to attach the saddles. On the other side of the enclosure, Erufon turned over onto his side and opened a lazy eye to stare at us.

“Is he going to be alright?” Thea asked.

“I think so.” I cast my mind over Erufon once again, and could find nothing else wrong except for that vague discomfort. “Maybe he’s not used to the simple, wild food they have here,” I said. I whistled to Kalax, who stuck her head up and gave back a rumble.

The Leviathan Mountains.
“Yep, that’s it Kalax—that’s where we’re going.”

*

The Leviathan Mountains ran down the world like a scar. On one side, extending right down past the end, stood the Middle Kingdom of Torvald. Beyond the mountains lay the southern reaches, the pirate islands, the archipelago, and the hot and burnt lands. On the north-western side of the mountains, the wild lands stretched out, home to bandits, tribes, and the fierce, wild black dragons that raided our crops and fields every summer.

They were the largest mountains in the world, or so Merik had told me, and he would know. The foothills spread out for leagues. The mountain-tops were almost always dusted with snow, and a bluish haze spread out from the constant cooling winds that came off the hills.

Kalax did a flyover of the full range, and then we headed to the highest, sharpest, conical peak. To one side stood Winter’s Pass, a deep cut that was one of the only routes for wagons and caravans. It looked a natural site for a battle. Large armies could have met in the pass, and dragons could have found shelter on the slopes or up in the sky.

I tried to imagine what it must have been like back in the time of heroes, when the sky was split by flights of dragons, the peal of their war-horns, their banners fluttering in the air above, and the Darkening forces rising up, only to be struck down by the Dragon Riders and the Dragon Stones.

Behind me, I heard Thea laugh. I looked back to see her spread her arms out, and I knew she was feeling the same thing I was. To fly like the heroes of legend, deep down that was what every Dragon Rider longed for.

Kalax, too, seemed to be enjoying herself. She called to the winds and soared over the mountains below, her head twisting as she scanned the landscape. We could make out the occasional shepherd’s hut. Flocks of hardy sheep scattered, terrified, over the green grass as Kalax flew over them.

Mutton,
Kalax thought at me. She tasted the air with her tongue, then caught the warm updrafts that buffeted the side of a mountain, using them to fly even higher. The air started to get colder, to burn my lungs and sting my cheeks, but I wasn’t afraid. Kalax knew what she was doing. And dragons have wild hearts that need the open sky.

Flying up even higher, it seemed as if I could see to the very ends of the earth. I pulled in a ragged breath. We were almost level with the highest, icicle-sharp peak. Before long, my head started to spin. Ice caked Kalax’s wings. She screeched a triumphant call at the top of the world and dove downwards. The ice patches shattered from her wings, flying behind us in a dazzling, crystal haze. The wind caught at my face, pulling at my helmets and goggles, rattling and pulling on my jacket as we swept like a bolt of lightning toward the sloping mountains.

“The battle between the Dragon Riders of old and the Darkening must have been fought here,” Thea shouted.

I shrugged. I hadn’t grown up hearing all the old stories that she had. I knew most of them now, but to me, it just looked like lots of rocks and snow and more rocks. I couldn’t help but think some of those old stories had been made up. How could anyone find anything here? And why hadn’t someone been here to search before now? But I knew the answer to that—the only way to reach this spot was by dragon. There was no way to climb up, and no way to climb down from the top of the peak, even if you could get there to start with. This one spot seemed surrounded by sheer drops.

Leaning over to one side on Kalax, Thea kept scanning the mountain as if she knew just what she was looking for. She swung out an arm, pointed and waved at one slightly flatter set of rocks that looked almost like giants. “Goblin Rocks. My family has an old painting of the battle, and it was said to have ended here.”

That was as good as any place to start. I steered Kalax to the site, which was like a low cliff, its walls like fingers of rock sticking up. If you squinted and were wearing goggles, they did look a little like goblins peering down the slopes. It was also sheltered from the cold wind, and one of the few places on the mountain where you could hold a duel—as the legends said had happened.

Kalax circled the site and dropped down onto the cliff.

“Thank you, Kalax.” I unclipped my harness and dismounted. Pulling one of the meat pies from my bag, I threw it to Kalax. She snapped it up and tipped her head to one side, asking for more. I shook my head.

Thea had already jumped down, and was lifting her pack off the back of her saddle. She’d had the sense to bring a few tools—a pick and a trowel. “Right, we’d better get started then,” she said.

The ground looked as though it had been used by wild dragons—only dragon claws could dig that deep into rock, leaving deep ruts. Old sheep bones, a horse’s skull, and a collection of scales, half burnished, lay scattered over the uneven rock as well. All signs of dragons. No wonder everyone left this spot alone—wild dragons usually didn’t eat people, but they had been known to defend their territory. Often that meant picking someone up and dropping them back onto the ground from a great height.

Kalax sniffed the air and I could sense she was on alert, but she was also certain the site hadn’t been used recently.

After a few hours of searching and finding nothing but rocks, Thea crouched down. Her voice lifted with excitement. “Seb! Look!”

I turned to see her pull up a rusted lump of metal. It was worn by time, but you could still make out faint designs of whorls and lines. This wasn’t a naturally occurring metal. I took it from her. “It’s an axe head. But any wild man could have dropped this up here.” I ran my thumb over the blade and wondered what smithy had made it. I also pointed to the marks on the blade. “It was well-made at one time.” Sunlight glinted on the dull metal. I bent down and found a rusted shard with the shape of an arrow point. Before long we even found a scrap of metal from a ruined breastplate.

But no Armor Stone—nothing that even came close to a dragon’s egg.

Thea kicked at a rock. It didn’t move. “Okay, so a battle was fought here. But the legend said that the king offered a duel, and it was the power of the Armor Stone that saved his life.” She huffed out a breath. “It’s just…I don’t feel it’s here.” She looked at me, her mouth pulled down and a hard expression in her eyes, almost as if she was daring me not to believe her. “It’s hard to explain.”

“Well, you’re the one who wanted to come here.” I kicked at the dirt and a faintly irregular black stone tumbled free. Grabbing it, I saw it had a crack on one side and was slightly larger than any dragon’s egg that I’d ever seen. “What about this?”

“Too big, isn’t it?” Thea pointed to where similar bits of black obsidian lay. “That looks like the other rock you can find here.”

Large and small bits of the shiny, black stone—some roughly egg-shaped and others no bigger than a thumbnail—littered the ground. I collected any that were both black and more or less egg-shaped, but I wasn’t sure I had found anything.

“What did the Healing Stone look like?” I asked. I was trying to think back to it myself. I remembered the light, spilling out of Commander Hegarty’s hands, and I remembered the tingle of power and energy that had flowing over me. “The light—it was so bright it blinded me. I don’t even remember its outline. The Memory Stone—all I remember about that was that Lord Vincent wore it around his neck on a chain.”

Thea turned away and mumbled, “Don’t know.”

“You didn’t see the Healing Stone at all?”

“I said no,” she snapped, her voice flat. She sounded so lost. She also shivered.

Looking up, I saw that we’d been here most of the day. Striding back to where Kalax sat in the sun, trying to catch any warmth, I told her, “Come on. Let’s go.”

I couldn’t help but feel this had been a wasted journey.

We flew back in silence, my saddle-bags full of clinking, egg-shaped rocks.

*

“They’re just a big old bunch of rocks!” I looked at Seb and then at Merik and finally at Varla.

Seb and I had returned from the Leviathan Mountains cold and tired. I wasn’t hungry, but Seb brought me up a hot drink from the kitchen. I hadn’t wanted it, but once I had it in my hands, I’d drunk it down. I had hoped that Merik and Varla would at least return from Wynchwood with better news. But they’d brought back their own collection of cracked, worn, and roughened black stones even more useless than Seb’s collection.

We’d gathered in my room—boys weren’t supposed to be here, but Matron wouldn’t do a room check until after dinner. Varla had pulled in a low table from another room, and everyone had spread out their rocks.

Nothing on the low table looked like any kind of stone of power.

Seb’s rocks looked like they’d come out of a volcano at some point—they were rough and sharp-edged. Merik and Varla’s rocks looked like darkened river rocks—they were smooth and looked more like what I thought the Armor Stone should look like, but nothing…nothing felt right.

Seb stared at me, his arms folded across his chest. “How do you know? How do any of us know what the Armor Stone is going to look like?”

Getting up, I stared out the window. How could I tell him I was certain I’d know it the instant I saw it? Why did I even think that? I bit my lip. It was like with Seb and his dragon affinity—it was just something he knew how to do. No one had taught him. I felt like I’d recognize the Armor Stone. Perhaps I was just fooling myself. But I’d seen and touched the Memory Stone—I’d had the Healing Stone used on me to save my life. Those weren’t things you ever forgot.

I cleared my throat and turned to face Seb—and the others. They were all looking at me with worried frowns. “There’s a feeling. Like…well, like I get whenever I remember what happened. I’ve been getting that same feeling whenever I see Commander Hegarty—so I think it must be from his connection to the Healing Stone. And maybe also the Memory Stone that we took from Lord Vincent.”

An image flashed—a pale face flashing above mine: empty, dark eyes, a mouth pulled down and tight.

I shook my head and pushed it away. I didn’t want to think about Lord Vincent or that awful sensation of falling into darkness I’d had after he’d struck me down. Blinking, I focused again on Seb, Varla, and Merik.

Merik stood with his shoulders against the door, looking serious. Seb had his legs braced wide and his arms crossed. Varla sat cross-legged on her bed, her braid pulled over one shoulder. All of them looked worried for me—and I hated that.

Don’t feel sorry for me!

Annoyance flash through me. I wasn’t weak. I wasn’t crazy. “Stop it,” I said and stared at them. “Stop thinking I’m making this up.”

Seb let his arms drop to his sides. “Thea, I think you’re right. I think that there is something about the stones.” He nodded at Merik, and told me about the old scroll Merik had found.

“So…they used to keep all of the people who had used a Dragon Stone together? Like they were—special?” I asked.

Seb nodded. “What if you can sense the other stones? What if you have…well, a stone affinity now?”

I nodded. “But how does it help us? It didn’t help today.”

“We just need to get you close to the stone.” Varla tapped a finger on her chin. “You said that you got an odd feeling around Commander Hegarty? Maybe we should try to ask him about the stones?”

Seb gave a snort. “Commander Hegarty swore us all to secrecy. He said the stones can do good, but they’ve caused a lot of trouble. Any Dragon Rider trusted with the secret that the stones even exist is supposed to swear an oath not to talk about them, so I think if we start asking about them, he’s going to want to throw us into the darkest hole he can find.”

“But what has he has done with the Memory Stone? Could we use the two stones the commander has to find the Armor Stone?” Merik asked.

I pushed out a breath. “Maybe that is what he’s doing with the patrol he’s been sending out. But he said the stones were too powerful to be used all together. That’s why they were split up. So he might not want them together. And he said the one Dragon Stone—all of them together as one or one that could control them all—was an impossible myth.”

Varla pulled out a box of books from under her bed. “I can tell you for certain that the Dragon Stone—the one that has all of the powers, there’s evidence it really exists.” She leafed through the books until she found the page she was looking for. She spread out the book on our low table of rocks.

On the page a drawing of all of the dragon egg stones jumped out at us, all looking exactly like eggs, but with different colors.

“Where did you find this?” Merik grinned like a fool.

“You’re not the only one who’s good in a library.” Varla pointed to the drawings. “As we know, the gray is for memory, black for armor and white for healing. That—the one with a rainbow of swirling colors is the Dragon Stone. It’s supposed to be slightly larger than the others, with inscriptions around the sides. And why would anyone bother to go into this much detail for a myth?” Varla folded her arms.

Cold trickled down my spine. “We have to make sure Lord Vincent and the Darkening don’t get the Dragon Stone.”

Seb nodded. “One thing at a time. We have no clue about the whereabouts of the Dragon Stone, but we know one thing—the Armor Stone wasn’t at the Leviathan Mountains or in Wychwood, so the last story of the wandering monk must be true.”

“There’s a map of the old monastery networks in the map room,” Merik said. “We studied it a few years ago. Even the academy used to be a monastery at one time—an order of monks that communed with the dragons. So we have a few maps of the other ruins of monasteries of his order.”

I nodded. “Tomorrow, you two find the monastery map.” I grimaced at the thought of what I had to do. “Varla and I…well, we’ll try to talk to Commander Hegarty about the stones.”

“Good luck with that.” Merik murmured.

A voice sounded from outside the door. “What’s going on up there?”

As there were only a few girls who became Dragon Riders, Varla and I shared separate rooms to the boys and were watched over by the ever-vigilant Matron in her black skirts and pulled-back hair. Her iron-shod boots clattered on the stairs. “I heard someone.”

“Boys aren’t allowed!” Varla hissed.

We’d all be put on cleaning duties for a month if Seb and Merik were found here.

I nodded to the window. Ivy ran up one side of the keep, and the boys would have to use it to climb down.

Seb went out first, then Merik. Matron rapped on the door with her cane. I heard a rustle and a garbled shout as the boys slipped out. The door burst open and Matron swept in. “What is going on in here? And why on earth do you have a collection of dirty old rocks on your table?”

I stood next to Varla. “Why, Matron, don’t you know? It’s part of our new strategic study of better flight tactics.” Varla and I both pasted on stiff smiles.

*

The next day we didn’t have a chance to carry out our plans. The blare of the Dragon Horns woke us at dawn, the clear sound echoing against the mountains and vibrating in my chest. I rolled from bed and gave a yelp when my feet hit the cold floor.

“What is it?” Varla asked, mumbling the words and poking her head out of her covers.

I put my head out of the window to see message flags already being hoisted. “Another practice. The commander wasn’t joking when he said that he was going to push our training hard now.”

Yawning, Varla got out of bed. “It’s still evaluations. Let’s hope Matron doesn’t mention our rocks.”

I tried not to think about that as we dressed and headed to the keep. I had the feeling that if someone knew we were trying to find the Armor Stone, it might be bad for us—they were supposed to be a secret. But I was starting to wonder if Lord Vincent already knew—or had—the Armor Stone.

In the keep, everyone was grabbing rolls and a fast bite of porridge.

“Plan’s off for now,” I whispered to Seb.

He nodded.

Instead of Commander Hegarty, Instructor Mordecai came into the keep, scowling like always and looking even more stooped today. “That’s a slow start you’ve had. Just how will you respond to an attack if the enemy hits before dawn?”

“The enemy?” I jabbed an elbow into Seb’s side and mouthed, “The Darkening.”

Jensen stood, washed and dressed, his tunic, pants and boots perfect, just his hair a little too long. His bowl of porridge was steaming. “Which enemy, sir?”

“It doesn’t matter which,” Mordecai barked. “Just know they are out there and that one day you will have to fight them. Double-time to the practice fields. Breakfast is cancelled.”

Beside me, Seb groaned. He grabbed a roll and stuffed it in his mouth. I copied him and jogged to the chilly practice yard, and I saw we had a special visitor on the battlements—Prince Justin.

Most thought him a handsome young man. He was just a few years older than me, with blond hair, high cheekbones, and I’d heard that every girl at court had a crush the size of a dragon on him. I remembered him as a boy who used to pull my hair and steal my sweets—the disadvantage of a noble house was that there were no illusions about royalty being perfect.

“Dragon Riders,” Prince Justin called out to the assembled riders. “I have come to announce that the Crown will be asking your instructors to begin placing you in squadrons and asking you to take forward duties.”

A ragged cheer swept up from across the riders in the yard. Finally, I thought. But it was also early for us to be assigned. Why was there a rush now?

Prince Justin nodded at us. “The king depends on you—on your courage, on your strength, but most of all on your skills. Because of this, new training will begin in the field. Nothing is wrong. The kingdom remains at peace and will continue to do so, thanks to your fine efforts in the skies!”

Another cheer went up, and Commander Hegarty took to the front of the stage. “Today, all protectors will be assessed as to their combat effectiveness and the navigators assessed for their orienteering readiness. To the training yards.” He clapped his hands. Cheers turned into groans and moans.

“See you on the other side, and good luck,” Seb said, hitting me playfully on the shoulder. I heard a disapproving grunt from Beris—he still didn’t approve of commoners fraternizing with those of the noble houses. I shot him a glare and collected my practice armor.

But I kept thinking—why had Prince Justin said nothing was wrong when he knew as well as the rest of us that the Darkening was coming again?

*

I kept thinking about the prince’s words. Jensen took another swing at me with the wooden practice staff, and I barely brought my own staff up in time to block it before he was returning with another blow. Ducking backwards, I lost my balance, tripped and fell. The instructor nearest me raised the flag to indicate my failure.

“Better luck next time, Thea,” Jensen grinned and offered me his hand.

I slapped it away. “I can get myself up, thank you very much!”

Jensen’s eyes narrowed. “It’s unlike you to go down so easily and so quickly. If you want to make the Black Claws, you have to do better.”

I knew he was only trying to look out for me, but I still felt like I was being judged and I didn’t like it. “I’ll be fine. But if I keep this up, we’ll be lucky if we get to even deliver packages.” Picking up my staff, I rolled my shoulders, and found myself looking into Beris’ small, dark eyes.

“Ah, Flamma,” Beris said. “You worrying too much about your pet peasant and how he’s doing on his tests?” I swung my quarterstaff at him in a jab, letting that be my answer. “Whoa! Testy!” Beris dodged, grinned and started to circle around me. “Some of your navigator’s rough habits are rubbing off on you. That’s what you get for hanging around a smith’s son.”

I jabbed again, moving forward, but Beris had been expecting my attack. He sidestepped, sticking out his quarterstaff to bang me on the shins, hoping to bring me down. I took the blow and stepped forward to ram my shoulder into his chest. Surprise bloomed on his face and he went down with a heavy thump.

“Beris lost to Flamma!” The instructor held up his flag.

I stood over Beris. “Don’t test me, Beris. Ever.”

“Let’s see you do that in the air then,” he said, staggering to his feet.

The wooden quarterstaff in my hand felt heavy and very useable all of a sudden. I wanted to wipe that smirk off of his face.

“Thea!”

I knew the voice. I turned as Beris bowed. “Prince Justin?” My heart was still pounding from the fight, and a tremor ran through me for the rage I had almost unleashed.

The prince looked at Beris, who’d gone red-faced. “Beris Veer, let us not keep you. And tell your father that Prince Justin is looking forward to seeing him at court.”

“Certainly, your highness.” Beris nodded again, before shooting me a poisonous glance as he strode away

The prince turned to me, and I bowed low. “Oh, you don’t have to do that, Thea, we’ve known each other long enough, haven’t we?” He smiled.

I straightened. “What brings you to speak with me?”

“Just to see how you are getting on.” His smile widened, and I had to admit it was hard to remember the little brat I had known. His smile made me want to smile back at him, and I had to resist that tug. It wasn’t that I couldn’t like him, but someday he was going to have to marry—and I wasn’t able to think of myself as ever being a princess. Or a queen.