The Tomes Of Magic (21 page)

“What brings you to Alamor?” the woman asked.

“Our people seek refuge,” Elena answered.

“Your people wouldn’t happen to be the army that come from the north, would they?”

“Yes, but not all of them are warriors. You have my word that our army will march within the week. There is no need for their families to have to fend for themselves while we fight for their freedom.”

“I suppose there can’t be much harm in letting you stay for the week. We are home to the Wielders and the Warlocks though. They will be happy to send you packing or worse if you cause trouble.”

“We have no quarrel with either of them. Our fight is with the dragon King,” James said.

“You are even more foolish than we first realize. Do not cause any trouble and you will always have a place here,” the guard replied.

Lethos landed in a near crash atop the tower. Rolin had to hold on tightly not to fall off. They surveyed the situation, expecting the dragons to be in their council. The dragon King was the only one present. He was in his usual position where the council would normally meet. Rolin looked to Lethos to see if the dragon could give him any insight into the King’s emotions. Lethos pulled back and Rolin could feel the fear coming from his companion. The Archwizard grabbed his staff from off the pack on Lethos’ back. He walked toward the dragon King, gripping the staff tightly. The dragon King sat motionless as he approached. Rolin stopped right in front of the dragon’s face. The dragon snorted, but Rolin refused to move.

“What do you want, human?” the King asked.

“What happened here? Where are the other dragons?” Rolin asked.

“We incorrectly anticipated what would happen after the death of your colleagues. Her dragon went insane and began attacking the others. I knew it would be best if I let the others roam while I fixed things. We lost a good dragon.”

“You murdered one of my friends?” The Archwizard asked, raising his staff at the dragon King.

“Melissa was of no consequence. One of my dragons is dead. He will be missed. Now, leave me.”

Rolin dropped his staff and fell to his knees. The shock over hearing of Melissa’s death overcame him. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he dug his head into his hands. Sorrow mingled with hatred as he grabbed hold of his staff. Lethos backed away from the two as the Archwizard rose to his feet. Rolin’s footing was still wobbly as he stepped closer to the dragon King. The massive dragon looked at him with no small measure of contempt. He viewed the Wizard as pathetic and not worth the effect. As to whether he knew Rolin’s intentions, the Archwizard could not tell. They stared at one another for what felt like an eternity. The Wizard’s mind was desperately searching for answers. He forced the questions aside and raised his staff into the air. The dragon King pulled back up onto his back legs and let out a roar. Rolin thrust his staff forward and bombarded the dragon with a blast of wind. A lightning bolt shot out of his staff as he stepped closer. His free hand shot forward and an icicle flew at his massive opponent. The dragon King laughed at the Wizard’s feeble attempts before shooting up into the air. He propelled himself up into the sky before whipping around and diving down toward Rolin.

Lethos grabbed hold of his mindmeld partner and leaped off of the dragon tower. His actions were met with a near deafening roar from his former master. The dragon knew that his life and Rolin’s life depended on moving fast. Lethos was slower than the dragon King, but he had a small head start. If he were able to convince Rolin to assist him in flight, there would be no chance for their opponent to catch them. The Archwizard refused as he climbed out of the dragon’s clawed hand and up onto his back.
Come face your death
, Rolin thought as he whipped his staff back around to face the dragon King. He unleashed a massive fireball at the trailing dragon, causing him to veer to the side. Again the dragon King surged toward them and again Rolin tried to kill him with a spell. Though it was not what Lethos had wanted, it was still working to keep the King at distance. The pair danced through the skies in their perilous routine. Rolin continued to launch fireballs, icicles, and lightning bolts at the pursuing dragon King, but none of his spells hit their mark.

You need to cut his pursuit,
Lethos contacted Rolin through the mindmeld.

He deserves death
, Rolin replied.

This will never end in his death
.

It may take both of us to manage, but we can do him in!

Rolin, your mind is clouded with pain and hatred. The dragon King is far too powerful for us.

I will kill him.

And I will help you, but now is not the time. We need to seek your allies so we can field a stronger force. His minions will be on us soon.

I do not like running away
, Rolin’s thoughts were on the verge of begging.

You have courage, but you also have wisdom. Use them both and we will return victorious.

“I will have your head!” Rolin yelled as he looked back at the dragon King.

*

Leniya stopped when she saw the city of the fairies. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Caitlyn was mystified by their surroundings, so much so that she ran into Leniya. They both laughed before looking back at the fairies’ handiwork. The trees and rocks had rearranged themselves to form houses, chairs, tables, meeting chambers, and even walls. Fairies flitted to and fro, going about their daily business. Large white horses with single horns extended out of their heads, Caitlyn called them unicorns, grazed in the meadows surrounding the fairies’ city. The trees moved to make room for Caitlyn and Leniya as they approach a small ring made of some unknown material in the center of the miniature town.
How are we going to fit?
Leniya wondered as they got closer to the ring. Many of the fairies began to laugh as though they could hear her thoughts. The ring seemed to grow in size as they got closer to it. There was a small table at the center of the ring.

“Is it growing?” Caitlyn asked.

“In a manner of speaking,” A half man, half horse, referred to as a centaur, answered.

“What does that mean?”

“It isn’t growing so much as we are shrinking.”

Both of the visitors looked at one another in shock. They looked back at the fairy city around them and, as the centaur had said, it was much larger than before. The table in the center of the ring was now large enough for fifteen people to sit comfortably. It was surrounded by a handful of magical
creatures, some of which they recognized. Two centaurs, one unicorn, a satyr, three trees of varying sizes, and several fairies all gathered at the table and waved in the newcomers. Caitlyn whispered to Leniya about the different creatures gathered, though she knew little of the moving trees. Some of them retained their tree shape, but others were humanoid in shape. As they got closer, they realized that not all of the fairies were the same either. The centaur that had answered Caitlyn’s question led them to their places at the table.

“There is much that needs to be discussed, but for now we should stick to introductions. These two are Leniya and Caitlyn. They have already met Ilyania and have requested our assistance against the dragons and the Holy Order,” the centaur addressed those gathered.

“Do we really need to waste time on introductions? Is it that important to these two that they know our names?” One of the fairies asked.

“I don’t suppose it is entirely important, but they should know some of us for who we truly are.

“Does that not endanger our people more than is necessary?”

“They will
need to know the names of our Generals. I would prefer they know the names of all our leaders, but it is not a necessity. Perhaps we should take a vote?”

The others nodded and then they began speaking in a language that neither Leniya nor Caitlyn could identify. They went back and forth for several minutes, which bored both of their guests. Without knowing the language, they had no way of telling what was being said. However, they were able to deduce that both of the centaurs, all three trees, and a few of the fairies were in favor of sharing names. The unicorn ignored the bickering and walked in between the two. They both marveled at the beauty of the creature. She shone with a silvery light, giving the creature a most regal look. Her mane varied from dark purple to light blue with streaks of silver. She had a pure white coat that was completely unblemished. Both Caitlyn and Leniya felt a sort of kinship with the creature.

I am Queen Rania of the unicorns. We welcome your people to our ancestral home
, the creature’s thoughts flooded both of their minds.

“You speak out of line, Rania,” the satyr said.

“This is her island, Quaroth. You would do well to remember that,” the largest of the trees spoke with a voice that sounded like the rush of wind through leaves.

“How is that possible? I heard no words, but I knew exactly what he was trying to say,” Caitlyn asked.

“The elder trees are a mystery to all, but the unicorns. Not even the fairies or dryads are entirely certain how it works. They are similar to dryads in many ways, but they have their difference,” one of the centaurs replied.

“This is all very interesting, but we are here to forge an alliance,” Leniya said.

“All in due time, young one. We mustn’t rush the process. The intricacies of these meetings are far more complicated than you know,” Quaroth said.

“My apologies, we are just worried about the state of things on the mainland. We need to move against the dragons and we don’t have a lot of time to do so.”

“We will not be moving against the dragons. That is neither our battle nor yours. We will, however, help you against the Holy Order. Our combined forces should be able to drive them back should they dare to invade,” Ilyania said.

*

Janessa straightened her coat before entering the council chambers. Each town in the Gloomvale Isles had a mayoral council that acted as their main ruling body. All of the towns had their own set of laws that they enforced along with the laws of the isles. Since the Archwizard’s promotion, the mayoral council’s had lost a significant amount of power. Janessa knew that it would likely factor into how things went in her meeting with them. She pushed open the door and surveyed the room. Alonshire’s mayoral council was the smallest of all the towns. There were only three members including the mayor himself. They were already seated at the table. It was situated so that the three council members were on one side and whoever was meeting with them was alone on the other side. Janessa took her seat graciously and waited for Mayor Chadwick to begin. Tradition mandated that the mayor start each of the meetings with a short welcome for their guest.

“Queen Janessa, it is good to see you. I speak for Rosalin and Padraig when I say that we are behind you one-hundred percent. To what do we owe the honor of your presence?” Chadwick asked.

“I am afraid that I have come here because of treason. Rodric has attempted to wrest the kingdom from my hands and I need all the help I can muster,” Janessa replied.

“This is outrageous. He has no right to do that!” Rosalin said.

“Whether he has the right or not, he has done so. I’ve already been quietly telling my supporters to meet here. My best option is to contact my Uncle, would it be possible to secure a ship to one of the isles?” Janessa asked.

“You won’t need to. Tarick is joining us here. It was his idea. He felt that it would make it easier on you if he brought his army here. It seems that he was more right than he realized,” Chadwick answered.

“We were supposed to gather the troops so we could face the dragon King and ended these taxes he keeps trying to force us to pay, but now we need to deal with Rodric first.”

“Perhaps we should revisit the situation when the armies have arrived? There is little we can do for you now. It would be our pleasure to assist you in any way that you need. Do you have a place to stay?”

“Not as of yet, I do not. I was hoping one of the local inns would have a room.”

“The council chambers are equipped with a guest room, you can stay here. That should be for the best. We don’t know if there are any of Rodric’s supporters in town and you would be safer here. Our guards will keep you safe.”

“That isn’t necessary. I am sure that one of the inns will be perfectly fine. Would it be all right to use the council chambers to meet with my uncle and our Captains?” Janessa asked.

“I think that would be acceptable.”

Janessa thanked the council before leaving the chambers. The streets were nearly empty as she made her way toward the nearest inn. Growing up, her hometown had always been one of the sleepier towns on the isles and that had not changed. There was something calming about how almost everyone was in their houses by the time the sun was down. It was a far cry from how she had been living since Arcantos and his Knights of Doom had declared war on the Wizards.
When will things quiet down?
she wondered as she walked the near empty streets. The sign for the Gloomtown tavern creaked in the wind. She smiled as she pushed the door open. The inn was louder than the streets, but not overly so. They had a man in jester clothing performing on a small stage on the other side of the room. Janessa ignored the performance and found the innkeeper. She paid him up front for over a week’s worth of food and lodging. The innkeeper thanked her and pointed out an empty table that was in the corner. She nodded and made her way over to the table. The server arrived with her food within a minute or two. Janessa took up her food and settled in so she could pay attention to the entertainment.
Perhaps I will get a night of calm
, she thought.

*

Talia shivered as the winds picked up. Neither Septimus nor Thanos seemed to care about the low temperature or the water that splashed up over the sides of the ship. They were singularly determined to get back to Canai as fast as they could. The magicians pushed the ship to its limit. There was a certain thrill to traveling on the high seas in such a way, but Talia didn’t think she could ever get used to it. Thanos had become an expert at using magic to propel the ship onward and Septimus was learning. They mostly took turns propelling the ship, but for an hour or so every day they both used their magic to drive the ship even faster. Talia stood at the front of the ship, watching the water and sky. Septimus walked up and stood next to her as Thanos took control of the ship. The Warlock leaned against the railing and looked down into the water. He held the Tomes of Magic in a satchel at his side. Talia watched as he took one out and looked at it. She took his hand and pushed the book back into the pack.