Secrets of Yden (33 page)

To his relief, Dorsit was breathing, but he'd suffered dozens of bites and claw marks underneath his thick fur. "Dorsit, can you hear me? I'm going to heal you."

In response, Dorsit swiveled his ears toward the sound of Jon's voice and his whiskers twitched. With a low growl, Dorsit transformed himself back into human shape. Jon winced at his condition. His elegant clothes were in bloody ribbons, as if he'd been dragged through an overgrown briar patch with iron nails for thorns. Jon closed his eyes and concentrated on healing his friend. A flash of light later, his wounds had mostly knitted together, except for one thin scar on Dorsit's cheekbone. Jon touched it with his fingertips, wondering if he could make it disappear with a little extra effort.
It would be a shame to let that cut mess up Dorsit's model-perfect looks.

"Let me see if I can fix up this scar," Jon said.

Dorsit grabbed his wrist and shook his head. "Leave it for now," he murmured. "I saw
Immortal Soule
. Chicks dig scars."

Jon laughed. "Now I know you're feeling better. Come on." He pulled Dorsit to his feet. "There's something you should see."

He transported Dorsit to the top of the arena, where they had a view of the jungle below. The Leopard Clan wizard stared at the ring of dragons surrounding the arena. There were hundreds of them in all different colors. The dragons had extended their area of protection to the transporter pad, and people were now calmly queued up for their return trip to Castle Ytherium. Jon raised his arm to wave at Kira, and she waved back.

"Did you call these dragons to you, Jon Hansen?" Dorsit asked, in awe.

"I don't know. Maybe I did somehow. If they hadn't shown up, we wouldn't have made it."

The danger over at last, Jon began to feel the cumulative effects of the morning. His clothes were stiff with dried blood; he was thirsty and exhausted from healing himself and Dorsit. Jon didn't realize he was swaying toward the edge of the arena wall until Dorsit grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"You should rest, young wizard."

Dorsit said something else, but it was difficult for Jon to hear with weird black fairy floss circling his head. When the arena wall rushed up to meet him, he didn't care anymore.

Into the Future

The atmosphere on Dragon Isle that night was one of giddy relief, particularly on Jon's part. Sela stuck to her brother like a shadow and his mother hugged him every chance she got. Dinner became a last-minute party, with lots of people Jon knew, including Dorsit, Nedd, Ure, Wele, and Lady Marla, along with the nymphs who'd guarded the arena. He also met wizards from both Earth and Yden whom he'd never met before, and had a lengthy conversation with Wheel Merritt. Max was thrilled to discover Wheel was a Unicorn Clan wizard like himself, and Lora and Linda made Wheel autograph a basketball.

Everybody had a different story to share and a different perspective on the duel and its aftermath. Cressidia's food was hot and plentiful, and Quixoran brought out the Goblet of Ubbliton for the adults. There were a lot of different desserts, too, including chocolate-drizzled, custard-filled pastry puffs. As a wizard, Jon did his best to make them "disappear" off his plate the old fashioned way.

His father told Jon that Homa had survived, but would have a long recuperation period. Several older wizards at the party confirmed Homa had a longstanding grudge against Quixoran, stemming from their apprenticeship days. Apparently the Shark Clan wizard had never gotten over the fact Quixoran was better than he was at everything.

"Well, I'm not going to bring Homa flowers or send him a get-well card," Jon said. "He used a bullwhip on me, knowing it would draw blood and bring predators. And by setting up a transporter platform to encourage non-magical people to attend, he made sure the arena was filled with potential victims."

"I think Homa figured public opinion would blame the Dragon Clan afterward for issuing the Mortal Challenge in the first place," his father said.

"I'm sure he counted on all the wizards transporting themselves to safety and leaving everyone else there to die," Jon said. "I'm happy to say he was wrong."

Wheel called for a toast. "It's been a long while since I was on Yden. I'd almost forgotten what real wizardry looked like. So here's to the young champion."

Everyone cheered and drank, and then it was Jon's turn to propose a toast. Feeling awkward, he stood. "As you know, I didn't grow up as a wizard. I've often acquired magic the hard way, and my grandfather will be the first to tell you I still have a lot to learn."

Laughter followed his comment, especially from Quixoran.

"But there are some things that can't be taught, like bravery and courage. Homa told me that wizards seldom cooperate with one another, and I'll admit up until now history has been on his side. The way I saw wizards and nymphs working together today to save lives makes me incredibly proud to know all of you and proud to be a Dragon Clan wizard. So here's to you." Jon raised his cup. "The future of Yden is in your hands."

As he drank, Jon was glad the suns had set so nobody could see the sheen of moisture in his eyes. When he sat down, he noticed he wasn't the only one affected by the speech. Ronny had her arm around a weeping Fred and Casey was patting him on the shoulder.

"What's wrong with him?" Jon whispered to Casey.

"Fred had a hard day," Casey murmured. "He tried to jump into the arena a couple of times during the challenge to throttle Homa. Ian had to use a binding spell to stop him and Fred got a little… frustrated."

Quixoran cleared his throat. "Well put, Jon. I admit I wasn't altogether happy about your involvement in this Mortal Challenge. Your instinct for attracting trouble is without equal and you were not truly ready for a match against a wizard of Homa's experience. As is often the case, you were too hasty to speak and didn't consider the consequences."

Jon's heart fell at his grandfather's words. Sitting to his right, Kira reached for his hand under the table and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Nevertheless," Quixoran continued, "as I look around tonight, I realize you've accomplished what no one has been able to do since the days of ancient magic. Never before have so many clans come together for a single purpose. Nymphs and female wizards have added to the strength of the magical community. Your methods and execution may be unorthodox, but you've shown many times your willingness to make the noble sacrifices necessary for the common good. I don't understand how a crusty old wizard like me could be so fortunate to have such a wonderful grandson. I thank you, and Yden thanks you, Jon Hansen of the Dragon Clan. I believe I speak for all of us when I say you've shown us the way."

Accompanied by whistles, stomps and cheers, Quixoran came over to envelop Jon in his arms. There was more than a little moisture in Jon's eyes at that point, but he didn't care who saw it. Privately, he felt he deserved his grandfather's criticism more than his praise, and he suspected some of the more flowery sentiments might have had something to do with an excess of Ubbliton ale.
But I know my grandfather's love for me is sincere, and nothing else matters.