Dragon Stones (Book One in the Dragon Stone Saga) (6 page)

Sela patted Brinsop’s side. “They are alive.
Let us be thankful for that. They may be the only two black dragons
left in the kingdom. We are lucky to have them.”

“Don’t misunderstand me—I am thankful. I
just wish we could do more. There are so few of us, and the ones
who survive are all… impaired in some way. The emperor has
decimated my kin. How many survive in the wild? A dozen? Maybe
less. There are fewer mating females every year.”

“I know it is discouraging, Brinsop. But we
must continue to fight. We will save as many as we can.” Sela
talked soothingly to her dragon. Then her stomach growled.

“You are hungry; let us
stop this depressing talk and eat. We have dawdled long
enough.”
Brinsop grabbed a few live
chickens and swallowed them whole. The king kept live chickens on
the fortress walls mainly to feed the dragons. They were cheap to
raise and also laid eggs, so it was a good trade-off. Sela found
two eggs hidden in a crevice and cracked them onto a flat stone.
Solar cooking was easy in the desert, and it saved precious fuel.
The eggs bubbled up and cooked quickly. She scraped the steaming
eggs off the stone with a knife and ate them. Then she filled her
waterskin at the spigot, and rested in the shade for a few
minutes.

Just then, King Mitca walked up to the roof.
Sela and Brinsop gave slight bows. Before the war, Dragon Riders
bowed to no one, not even the emperor. But now most dragons and
their riders bowed to King Mitca as a sign of fealty and respect.
His kingdom was the last refuge for dragons and their riders—the
only place they could live in relative safety. More than anyone
else, he was responsible for the dragons’ survival. Without Mitca,
it is likely that every dragon would have been killed by the
emperor.

“Sela, Brinsop.” He nodded, acknowledging
their gesture of respect. “I have news that I must share with all
the riders privately. Call the others back to the city. This is
important for everyone to hear.”

“Yes, my lord,” Sela responded. Sela closed
her eyes and touched Brinsop to augment her power. Telepathic
communication was not one of her strengths, especially at long
distances. She focused, reaching out with her mind to all the
dragons in the realm. There were six dragons in Parthos, only four
of which had riders. Sela and Brinsop had been bound together the
longest.

Charlight and Hanko were next. Charlight was
also a carnelian dragon; a female. Hanko was a human rider. Then
there was Duskeye and Tallin, the wild pair. Duskeye was a male
sapphire dragon, and his rider, Tallin, was a rare dwarf half-ling.
Tallin was half dwarf and half human. The youngest rider was an elf
half-ling—a female named Riona. Her male dragon was called
Stormshard. Stormshard was also a carnelian dragon.

Sela instinctively grasped the dragon stone
around her neck. Her mind reached out; tendrils of thought streaked
across the desert. She stood, trance-like, while searching for the
minds of the others. It was always difficult to find the other
riders, mainly because their minds were so guarded. They had
learned to protect themselves from magical attacks. Sela found
Riona and Stormshard first, sparring on one of the rocky
outcroppings near the city.

“Riona, Stormshard—please
return to the castle. The king has called us all back for an urgent
meeting.
Do you know where the others
are?”
Sela’s neck veins bulged under the
strain. Although she had decades of magical training, she could
only communicate telepathically with difficulty. The farther the
distance, the greater the exertion. Even with Brinsop’s
considerable assistance, it was a struggle for her.

“We hear and obey, mistress. Charlight and
Hanko are in the north, searching for wild dragons. Duskeye and
Tallin flew south, hunting ostrich with the black fledglings. We
saw them pass some time ago; they invited us to hunt with
them.”

“Please contact them and tell them to return
to the city at once.”

“As you command,
mistress.”
Riona and Stormshard broke
contact abruptly. It was jarring, but Sela and Brinsop were used to
it. Riona and Stormshard were both young and inexperienced, but
Riona was a powerful telepath. Contacting the other dragon riders
would be easy for her. Eventually, Riona could become the most
powerful of all the Dragon Riders in Parthos. Sela exhaled and sat
down for a moment to gather her strength. “Whew!” Her head was
pounding from the effort.

“Did you find them all?” asked the king.

“Yes. They are all nearby. Riona will call
the rest of them back. They will all be here within the hour.”

“Excellent. Come with me. We have much to
discuss.”

“What about the aerial watch?” asked
Sela.

“I will double the palace guards in the
towers and put everyone on high alert. This news cannot wait. I
need to pick up a scroll in my private quarters, and then I will
meet all of you in the fortress cathedral.” The king turned and
walked briskly down the stairs.

“I wonder what this is all
about,”
said Brinsop.

“Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe the
scouts found something interesting.” Sela mounted Brinsop for the
short flight to the cathedral.

“It’s been months since
King Mitca has called a meeting like this, so the news must be
important. He’s smart enough not to bother us with little
particulars,”
said Brinsop.

The cathedral was on the lowest level of the
city. It was dedicated to Golka, the goddess of war and defense. A
statue of the black-skinned goddess stood at the entrance. She had
a flaming sword in each hand. Two of her eyes were in the front,
but Golka also had an eye in the back, so that no one could ever
attack her from behind.

The cathedral was usually filled with
worshippers. The cathedral was one of the only places in the
cramped city that was spacious enough for all the dragons and their
riders. Mitca’s guards had emptied the building and searched it
hours before in preparation for the king and his riders. For this
and other sensitive tasks, the king always used his private guard.
They would all meet discreetly.

Sela and Brinsop arrived first, and entered
the church gates without opposition. Seven heavily armed guards
stood at the entrance. They nodded to the rider and her dragon, but
otherwise did not move. Sela marveled at these men. Their full-body
tattoos identified them as members of the king’s personal honor
guard. The ornate tattoos were not merely for decoration; they were
comprised of ancient symbols—protective inscriptions to ward off
hexes, curses, and other evil spells.

Mitca’s private sentinels were all
descendants or relatives of Fivan, the soldier that had saved him
as a child. Fivan guarded Mitca throughout his life, and even
helped build and design the city of Parthos. The tale of Fivan’s
death was well-known throughout the city. Mitca never let anyone
forget it.

Fivan insisted in sampling all of Mitca’s
food before the king would eat it, in order to prevent a poisoning
attempt. Mitca was impetuous and brash, and, like many young
princes, he thought Fivan was too cautious. Mitca playfully called
him “mother hen”—even clucking when he came into the room.

But Fivan’s caution was well-founded. He
knew that the Vosper’s treachery was boundless. In the end, Fivan
died protecting his master.

Starfruit was a rare treat; it perished
quickly and had to be smuggled in from Southern Durn. It was
prohibitively expensive, and Mitca craved the fruit often. Fivan
insisted on eating part of the starfruit.

“My king, you must wait. I will taste the
starfruit first. Then you may eat the rest.”

“Fivan, you are too cautious! I don’t want
to share this with you. I only get starfruit once a year and I want
this all to myself.”

“That is all the more reason for us to be
vigilant. My lord, please agree, or I will be forced to throw the
entire plate out the window.” Fivan smiled, but Mitca could tell
that he was serious.

Mitca sighed. “Fine! I don’t know why I let
you intimidate me. I’m the king!”

Fivan laugh quietly, and took a bite from
the costly fruit. A few minutes later, Fivan collapsed to the floor
in convulsions. The starfruit had been laced with kudu oil, a
powerful poison made from the kuduare plant. Kudu was called the
“death berry” because ingesting a minute amount was enough to kill
a grown man.

Mitca, impatient, had also eaten a piece of
the fruit, but was able to vomit in time to save his own life. Even
so, Mitca spent weeks between life and death. Healing mages
attended his bedside day and night. Eventually, Mitca recovered,
but the experience made him a changed man. The oil caused permanent
damage to Mitca’s esophagus, and he never ate starfruit again.

The king mourned Fivan for a year, and
buried his body in an ornate tomb in the cathedral. He never
forgave himself for Fivan’s death, and he vowed to treat Fivan’s
family as his own. Shortly after the funeral, Mitca took all of
Fivan’s children and his widow and moved them into a private wing
in the castle. Fivan’s nine sons became his private guard. It has
been so ever since.

“We have arrived,” announced Riona as she
appeared with Stormshard at the cathedral doors. “The others should
be here in a few minutes.”

Charlight and Hanko appeared next, and then
Duskeye and Tallin a few minutes later.

“Where are the fledglings?” asked
Charlight.

“We left them at the fortress. I told them
to watch the gates. It gives them something to do, and makes them
feel useful,” replied Tallin, his red curls bobbing as he spoke.
Tallin was handsome, fine-featured, but short and stocky. A thick
scar ran from his cheek down to his shoulder, and disappeared below
his tunic. Tallin’s dragon, Duskeye, also bore evidence of grievous
wounds, including a pronounced limp and a cloudy right eye, which
was sightless. Neither one ever talked about the source of their
injuries.

Tallin never spoke of his upbringing or his
childhood. The others only knew that he had been born in the Mount
Velik, along with other dwarves. Once Tallin discovered his magical
gift, his life changed. He was spirited away from Mount Velik to
Aonach Tower, where he thrived under the tutelage of the
Masters.

When Duskeye accepted him as a rider, Tallin
was overjoyed. Rider and dragon were inseparable. Tallin and
Duskeye ate together, slept together, hunted together. They
survived the emperor’s butchery because of their fierce bond. When
the emperor started hunting dragons, Duskeye and Tallin left for
the desert and lived in hiding for decades.

Sela eventually found them by chance. Tallin
almost killed Sela out of panic at being discovered. Sela and
Brinsop tried to convince them to come out of hiding, but it still
took many months of careful persuading for them to agree to come to
Parthos. Even now, they refused to remain within the city’s walls
for any extended period, preferring to live in the desert.

“All of you are here—good.” Mitca walked
into the cathedral. As usual, all of the dragons and their riders
offered slight bows to the king, except for Tallin and Duskeye.
They never bowed to anyone.

“Everyone, I have news from the east.” Mitca
pulled a scroll from his waistband and unrolled it. “I received an
urgent message from one of my informants last night. An emerald
Dragon Stone has been found in Darkmouth Forest. This scroll bears
a rubbing of the engraving. It is a rider’s stone—I suspect the
stone was Chua’s.”

“Chua? That’s impossible,” said Sela. “Chua
and his dragon, Starclaw, were killed years ago. They fell from the
sky during the Great War. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“I know it sounds implausible, but who else
could it be?” replied Mitca. “It is a rider’s emerald. Green
dragons are rare, almost as rare as white dragons. But if the
dragon stone is intact, then it is likely one of them is still
alive. Perhaps both of them are.”

Charlight shook her great
head.
“Chua cannot still be alive. It
would be insanity for him to remain near the capital city. Even if
he was alive, the Dragon Hunters would have found him by now. And
even if the hunters couldn’t find him, the emperor’s necromancers
would have.”

Sela communicated Charlight’s comment to the
king, while nodding in agreement. “I agree with Charlight. The
stone must be a forgery.”

Tallin cleared his throat and then spoke
quietly. “A forgery is unlikely. Mitca is right. If the Dragon
Stone is intact, then they are probably alive. Chua may be in
stasis, and Starclaw may be in hibernation. It is possible to stay
alive in this way, and expend very little energy. It even helps
repair injuries. Duskeye and I know from experience.”

Duskeye dropped his snout
and touched Tallin.
“If both of them had
died, the stone would have splintered. A strong cloaking spell
would conceal them, even in the east.”

“This is foolishness. Who has the power to
maintain a cloaking spell for that long? It is impossible!” scoffed
Riona.

“We can,” replied Tallin. “Duskeye and I
learned how to sustain our cloaking spells for months at a
time.”

“B-but that’s impossible! Cloaking spells
are exhausting—how can you possibly endure the strain for so long?
Even while you sleep?” Riona sputtered.

Tallin turned to Riona
with steely eyes and said, “To underestimate our powers would be a
mistake,
elf
. Do
not forget that I have dwarvish blood. I am much stronger than I
look. The more one practices the magical arts, the stronger one
becomes. Duskeye and I concentrated our studies on concealment
spells. There is not a mage in the kingdom who could find us if I
did not want them to.”