Dragon Trials (Return of the Darkening Book 1) (13 page)

Thea pushed forward, nudging my arm. “It wasn’t all Seb’s fault. And how can you tell us we should learn everything we can and then yell at us for trying to learn?”

Mordecai’s eyes narrowed. He looked from Thea to me and back again. “So you’re defending him? You’re defending each other?” His mouth curved. “Maybe you will make riders, yet. I admire your loyalty to your each other. But this cannot go unpunished. You both will be cleaning out the pony stables for the rest of the month. I want to see you there every morning before breakfast. This is also your second mark against you—one more and both of you will be up before the Academy to be sent down.” Mordecai stabbed a finger at me. “And since you value night learning so much, you will spend the hours between dinner and bed in the Map Room studying until I see fit to release you or you graduate. Do you understand?”

Relief washed over me. One more mark was bad, but it wasn’t two marks, and us getting thrown out. Still, I wanted to argue with him. Why were we getting a mark against us if we also had to clean out the pony stables and spend hours in the Map Room—not that I minded that part of it—but I thought it was unfair to have all of that piled on us.

Before I could say anything, Thea put her hand on my arm. “Yes, Instructor. Thank you, Instructor. You’ve been very just.”

I glared at Thea, but she had on her best smile. That seemed to soften Mordecai a little. He gave a nod and stood away from the door. “Off to bed. And if this ever happens again, or your performance is damaged tomorrow by all your late-night antics, remember…you are one mark away from being expelled.”

We hurried out of the door. In the main keep, I turned for my room. Thea paused on the steps up to her room and said, her voice quiet, “Seb?”

I glanced at her and nodded. I knew what she was going to say, and it was almost like with Kalax where I knew her thoughts, too, but I only gave a nod and headed for my room. I wasn’t willing to face any more duties or punishments added onto my already growing list. One more mark, and both of us were facing the end of our days as cadets—and the loss of ever riding a dragon again.

By the time I slipped into my room high in the keep, the matron had already gone to bed. Varla had come back from visiting her folks. She had the lantern burning on the small table between our beds, and she looked up from the book she was reading in bed.

Varla was a curious case at the Academy. She was one of the few girls who had ever been chosen by a dragon, but we all knew that her parents didn’t want her to fly. They were constantly petitioning the king to free her from duty, and every time she went home she came back looking thin and pale. I could only think her parents were trying to convince her to quit. I’d heard from Ryan that she had performed well at her trials, and she should have graduated into being a fully-fledged Dragon Rider. But then her partner, Ty, broke his leg, and poor Varla was being held in a sort of limbo as the Academy and the King’s council negotiated with the family over her status. She rarely joined the other cadets in any flying training, and her dragon—a green—was getting fat from not enough exercise.

Every time I saw her, it struck a shiver of fear into my heart. What would happen if the same thing happened to me? My parents, so far, had supported my becoming a Dragon Rider. But what if something happened to Seb? Would that be excuse enough for others to decide the Academy was no place for a girl?

Varla shoved a strand of red hair back. She always had it tied back in a braid. She frowned at me like she wasn’t sure she liked me any more than I liked her. I nodded, shouldering off the cloak and skirt and blouse I’d borrowed. I could feel Varla’s eyes on me, but she never asked where I’d been. Her eyes looked rimmed by red, and her freckles stood out on her pale skin. I wondered if her parents had been after her to leave the Academy again.

I also wondered if I was now on Instructor Mordecai’s personal hit-list. Maybe I’d end up like Varla, a permanent cadet.

Putting down her book, Varla gestured to the skirt I’d left on the floor. “What’s up with that? Doesn’t your family give you nice things to wear?”

I sat down on my bed and stared at her. It seemed to be a night to tear down walls, first with Seb and now with Varla. I’d taken Seb’s side against an instructor—and Mordecai had approved of that. Maybe it was time for me to stop trying to be the best and start trying to be one with my fellow cadets.

Besides, what could it hurt?

I told her about how I’d gone to hear the gypsy stories, how I feared there was something terribly wrong, that a danger might be approaching and I had gone to find answers but had only managed to get into trouble for it. At the end of it all, I admitted, “I’m afraid I’ll never become a Dragon Rider if Instructor Mordecai has his way.”

Varla sniffed and rubbed her nose. “Sounds like maybe you shouldn’t be so hard on your partner. He sounds like one of the good ones to me.” Her shoulders slumped and her eyes—they were green I noticed—took on a haunted look. I suddenly wondered if maybe her dragon had dumped Ty for a reason—maybe he wasn’t one of the good partners.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Sounds like Seb puts you ahead of the rules. Not many will do that. Maybe it’s because he’s your navigator—he’s trying to help you find your way, even on the ground, isn’t he?”

I winced. A stab of guilt churned in my stomach. It had been my idea to go out of the Academy. Tonight was my fault. But Seb had been trying to find a path for both of us. “Uh, yeah,” I said.

“Well, then, maybe you should think about that. Maybe he’s just really trying to help you.” Varla put her book on the table, turned over and said, “Turn off the light when you’re ready.”

I did. But I lay there, staring at the darkness, thinking about how I had acted toward both Varla and Seb. I’d wanted them to be what I wanted—what I needed. I’d wanted them to stay out of my way. I hadn’t thought about how I could be helping them. That left me with a lot to think about. And for some reason the darkness tonight seemed to press down on me with extra fears.

*

The next day I dragged myself to meet Seb in the stables so we could muck out the stalls of the mountain ponies. Seb, however, was already up, and whistling cheerfully as he moved from stall to stall, tossing out wet straw and picking through the clean bits.

“You have a way with animals,” I told him, yawning and grabbing a pitchfork to use on the straw. I didn’t mind the smell. Dragons smelled like fire—like some kind of incense you might burn. Or at least Kalax did. The ponies had an earthy smell, and I liked how they nosed my pockets for treats. But they loved Seb—they nudged him with their heads, and stood next to him, like he was their best friend ever.

Seb stopped and looked at me. “I never thought about it that way. I thought that maybe it was just that I got along with Kalax.”

I could see why Sebastian had been born a navigator. I watched him as he worked and saw that he had a way of talking to the ponies that made them feel at ease. It was the same kind of thing he had with Kalax, something that he had taught me to sense, but I knew I would never be able to replicate it in full. It was a strange gift, and something I told myself to think about, because the other navigators didn’t seem to be on such easy and intimate terms with their mounts. I also kept thinking about the gypsy’s stories.

Once I’d fallen asleep, I’d had bad dreams of a darkness that smothered me, sucking the warmth and light from inside me, leaving nothing behind—not even a memory of who I’d been. The dreams had left me tired, and by the time we’d finished the stalls, I was almost wishing I could go back to bed.

But training today was a synchronized flying mission where we had to fly with the other cadets and find specific locations that had been flagged. I found that things went better than I expected.

For once, I didn’t feel the gut-crunching panic I usually did in the air. Seb was almost anticipating every turn I asked for. I used the telescope to spot directions and gave instructions, but Seb was already ready before I’d asked. It was like the little time we’d had last night in the woods had bonded us. Or maybe it was just sharing a punishment. But Kalax too, seemed to fly much more smoothly for us both. If we did as well as Jensen and Wil, we’d be in the top of the class along with those two.

We finished the training and turned back for home. As we came in to land on our platform, my good mood plummeted. Instructor Mordecai stood on the nearest tower, unmistakably staring and scowling at us. I knew then that it might not matter how good we did if Mordecai was determined to see us fail. I sighed heavily as I helped Seb dismount and started to unhook our harnesses.

“Hey, now,” Beris called out, stepping up to our platform with a big grin. “Don’t go trading roles with your navigator, Thea.” He waved at the links and straps of Kalax’s harness.

My face heated. It was usually the navigator’s job to clean the gear, but there was no reason a protector couldn’t help.

Beris’ grin widened. “Who knows what might happen next—you might start forgetting to wash your hair.” Beris nudged Syl, who started to grin, too. I shouldered my way past Beris, carrying the harness while Seb carried the saddle. I kept wishing Beris and Syl would go away.

“Look, I’m helping my navigator,” I said, tired and irritable. Beris was my friend, but the way that he constantly went after Seb was starting to annoy me. “Maybe you should help your navigator, too, so maybe Syl won’t have your dragon flying like a drunk hedgehog all the time!” I snapped. Syl, Will and Jensen, who all stood nearby now, laughed.

Beris just flushed a deep shade of crimson.

Moving up next to me, Seb said, his voice soft, “Thanks.” I glanced at him, annoyed with him, too, and feeling a little awkward for taking his side. “It’s not about you, it’s just about flying. We’ve got to be able to fly well.” I gave him a firm nod.

“Yeah.” Seb’s smile faded as we put away the dragon saddle and harnesses. He looked up at me and said, “If things ever get bad, I mean like in the stories we heard the other night,” he waved a hand, “I’ll look after you, Thea.”

I shook my head and started out of the saddle room. “Dummy, I’m the protector. It’ll be me looking after you.” I headed out into the sunshine. I didn’t want to think about dark things or trouble brewing, or anything but trying to keep my focus on graduating. But warmth spread through me when I thought of Seb’s words, and a chill when I thought of those stories about the Darkening.

Thea stood up for me against Beris and Syl and Shakasta.
I kept thinking about that as I crossed the chilly training area to the observation tower door and started up the stairs.

I almost didn’t mind that I had to spend the hours after dinner up in the Map Room at the top of observatory tower. I guess that I was still riding high on the events of the day.

Did Thea taking my side mean something? Was she starting to believe in me? Did she have some trust in me? My steps slowed as I climbed the stairs, one after the other after the endless other. Everything in me was exhausted, from my toes to the ends of my hair. I thought back to the way Thea had so fearlessly crossed the ridge with me, the warmth of Arkady and Sansha’s fire, and how she had stood with me. But I wasn’t sure this change was going to last.

Reaching the top, I stepped inside to see Merik, collecting scrolls and maps and sorting them out. Like always, the room smelled like paper and dust. I was surprised to see Merik here this late, but I didn’t usually see him down in the training area either. He glanced up, adjusted his optics and asked, “Hey, Seb, what brings you up here so late?”

“Work duty from Mordecai.” I groaned and flopped into a chair. The wood groaned under my weight.

Merik laughed. “Ah, well, best of luck to you. He’s a stickler for his work duties.” Merik went back to his work, humming a cheery tune.

Getting up, I went to help him and asked how he was doing with training. He shrugged. ”Actually, Commander Hegarty said my progress was looking good. But…well, Hegarty is nice most of the time. I’m still hoping that maybe a dragon will choose me again. Hegarty said they won’t give me my place—not protector or navigator—until I have a dragon pick me again.”

“What about your eyesight?” I asked.

Merik reached out and tapped one of the telescopes that was only as large as a handheld dagger. “I’ve got an idea to alter a pair of these into the goggles. Then I just need to find a fellow rider, one who doesn’t have a navigator—and a dragon who will take me.”

“I thought a dragon will only choose once?”

Merik shook his head. “It’s not common, but, well, Hegarty told me about a dragon he knew who dumped its riders—both of them. The dragon decided he didn’t like its riders, and wouldn’t stay in the enclosure, either, to breed, but went out and chose new riders. Two of them. The Academy had to take them on—the dragon wouldn’t let them not do so—and they became two of the best. You’ve heard of Hollis and Hollis—brothers, the dragon chose that second time. So…I’ve got hope. Now can you go get me that map over there.”

Merik started up a ladder to put away some scrolls. I headed over to the table and saw that Merik had spread out a map of the mountains to the north. I glanced at him. “Is there a reason you have this out?”

Merik came down the ladder. “No reason…just…” He put a finger to push his optics back in place. “Well, the mountains have never been mapped completely accurately because there are so many passes and trails, and…well, it’s just I’ve started to hear stories.”

My skin chilled. “Of trouble?”

He glanced at me and nodded. “You too? They sound like just stories, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at what’s out there, and since I can’t fly…”

“You can see what we know from maps.” I nodded. Spreading out the map, I could see my friend was right—a lot of the mountain areas in both elevation maps and action maps were little more than white blobs with dotted lines of trails. I was willing to bet the storms kept most Dragon Riders from being able to get a good look at those northern mountain.

I glanced at the maps again. “I’m not seeing any villages. I thought folks lived in the north.”

Merik nodded. “Of course they do.”

“So why don’t we have maps of those places?” I stared at one map after the next, none of them had any villages marked.

“Yes, there’s got to be one here,” Merik said, pulling out another map.

But there was nothing. No great passes marked. No settlements. No major towns or villages. I stared at the empty maps and I wondered why anyone would even want to attack this area—there was nothing here of worth.

“Wait a minute…” Merik leaned over the map he’d pulled out. “You see that?” He pointed to a different color marked onto the map of the mountains.

“Yeah? What is it?”

“That’s the mark for a mine. Look, they’re scattered over these mountains.”

“And where you have mines…there should be people to work them. And villages.” I stared at the map. “It’s like the Dragon Riders who mapped this area couldn’t see them.” My voice dropped low. “Or couldn’t recall what they’d seen. But what’s so special about rock and ore? Why would anyone want these mines?” I glanced at Merik, eyebrows lifted high.

“Gold and silver? Copper? Riches?” Merik asked. He shook his head. “But I’ve seen one of the old scrolls that said there weren’t any precious metals up in the north mountains. Just tin.”

“Merik, have you ever heard of magic stones?”

He grinned. “You mean the Dragon Egg stories? Sure, everyone knows those.”

I shook my head. “No, I mean have you heard they’re real—that the Dragon Riders ever used magic.”

He shook his head. “Just in the old legends I’ve heard. I don’t think—well, my old gran used to say magic has a cost, and for every bit of good it can do, it can do bad as well. But Dragon Rider history—at least the written history—doesn’t have any mention of magic. It’s all just text books about dragons and training. No one seemed to have thought to write anything down about the other riders, or even the history of the Academy. We just have the stories and songs of past feats of bravery.”

“And that’s enough to make sure no one would go to war with the Dragon Riders of Torvald, especially over something as worthless as tin, but if there really were magic stones…?” I let the words trail off. If there were such stones, why didn’t the Dragon Riders still have them? Why didn’t anyone know of them? I shook my head and put a hand on the maps. I might not be able to find the answers, but I knew where to start. “We should find out where the most northern village or town is located. There’s got to be a record of it.” I scanned the maps, but Merik headed over to one of the shelves and pulled out a heavy book.

He put the book on the table with a thud. “King’s Village.” He turned to a page that listed villages and nearby mineral deposits, written out by some long-dead scholar of Torvald.

I leaned over the book and read from the page. “It says here the township known as King’s Village was actually a little bit bigger than a village. It was one of the first villages the monarchy of Torvald set up outside the mountain citadel. It was to the north, but only two days by horse and five by foot. The village mined raw ore, but mostly tin.” I glanced at Merik. “Have you ever heard of King’s Village?”

Merik shook his head. “No. But then…I don’t know much about the north. It’s always just called that—the north. Do you think all of this has something to do with the mines there?”

I shook my head. I could sense something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t quite see what. There still had to be a piece missing. “We need to tell Thea. She should tell the prince about this.” I waved at the maps.

“Tell the prince what?” said a voice from the doorway. Both Merik and I spun. Commander Hegarty stood in the doorway, filling the space and frowning as he smoothed his moustache. He could move very quietly when he wanted to because I certainly hadn’t heard him coming.

I was struck dumb suddenly, my mouth dried and my breathing hitched. Who was I to presume that I had found out some important secret or threat. I pulled in a breath. “The maps—they…they’re not showing any villages.” I winced. That sounded a lame reason to speak to the prince even to me.

The commander put his stare on me, his eyes stern. “I heard from Instructor Mordecai that you had been causing some problems, Sebastian. I wanted to come up here and talk to you, and I fear he may have been right after all? Are you here looking to make trouble?”

“No, sir,” I stiffened. “It was just, ah, you see…we’re worried about rumors of villages in the mountains…” I let the words trail. I sounded an idiot, babbling and making up ridiculous stories. A child chasing after legends, not a cadet out to become a Dragon Rider.

The commander’s eyebrows lifted high. He shook his head. “I see how it must be a big change, coming up from Mongers Lane to the Academy.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “Your excitement is admirable, cadet, and I understand wanting to make a name for yourself. But perhaps you need to concentrate on your studies a bit more and focus on just learning how to be a cadet. Learn how to fly first, and then you may think up plans to save the realm.”

“Yes, sir.” I blushed hot and stared down at the toes of my boot.

He put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw a smile ease his face. “Although, that does not mean all legends are false, nor that all passions are stupid. What are we doing here, if not trying to live a fantasy of riding dragons? Best sometimes to let trouble find you instead of you looking for it,” Hegarty said, giving me an odd look.

Is he trying to tell me I might be right about my worries?
I thought maybe the commander couldn’t say that he believed in rumors of trouble. He was Commander of the Academy. He had a responsibility to see to it the Academy ran smoothly. And I was just a lowly cadet. He might even be sworn to secrecy about certain matters.

“But there is also good news, for Merik, at least.” Hegarty turned to Merik. “It has been decided to see if Feradima will accept you as a rider.”

“Feradima!” Merik said. He blinked. “But isn’t she…isn’t she Ty’s dragon? And Varla’s?”

Hegarty huffed out a breath. “Ty will not be returning to the Academy. It was discovered he was not treating his dragon well. That was why Feradima put him on the ground. But we do not know if Feradima will accept you, and if she does, well…we will see about what comes next then.”

“Varla,” I said, repeating the name. That was the girl who roomed with Thea. I remembered Thea saying Varla was a navigator—so was Merik. How could a dragon go out with two navigators and no protector?

The commander slapped Merik’s shoulder. “Congratulations. Report tomorrow to the platforms and we’ll see if Feradima will have you and Varla or not.”

He turned, but before he left, the commander put a hard stare on me. “Cadet, I’m hoping you will prove to everyone how good a Dragon Rider you will be. But I caution you, have a care with your rides. You’ll soon be able to take longer flights, and perhaps you’ll be able to help Merik get used to the skies.” He gave a nod and left.

“And I wondered if he had been telling me in his own way—and without coming out and saying it outright—that I should go ahead and continue looking into the rumors of troubles in the north.