Victor shook me and I cracked an eye open slowly. “What?” I yawned and sat up, stretching my arms out in the process.
“Zavier, its Market Day today! We came just in time, there’s going to be a celebration at noon in the town square, and an all food you can eat banquet!”
I perked up at the mention of food and pulled on my clothes, still tired and yawning.
“Here, look for yourself.”
He unfurled a small poster and thrust it in my face. I choked. Earl’s bright eyes and chubby cheeks shone as the bewitched poster portrayed him waving cheerily to me. I read the poster dreading every word.
Mage Earl James Hunter Dragon Slayer Shelza Bearer blared out from the top of the page followed by the announcement of Earl's accomplishments, his future plans involving education, and then going on to describe the buffet and celebration that would be taking place this afternoon in the Market Square.
I stared at the title, Mage Earl James Hunter Dragon Slayer Shelza Bearer. They’d already pronounced him a Mage! James was his middle name after our Father and our last name was Hunter. Obviously he was a dragon slayer and the name of his ruby sword must have been Shelza.
I sat the notice down and wondered where father had gotten all the money to afford such a costly occasion, all we’d ever been given for our Birthdays was a special meal and a new pair of clothing for the year to come. Of course he’d chosen Wayd to have the party at, since it was the nearest town to the castle and also one of the largest around.
“Well what do you think? Five silvers isn’t that bad for a buffet!”
Victor really wanted to go, I could tell. I realized that there was a slight chance that Father would bring my sisters along for the trip and my mood brightened. Only the thought of maybe being able to see Dal and let her know I was alright prevented me from telling Victor that I was sick and for him to go without me.
“Alright. I suppose we can go. . .” I complied lowly. Victor beamed as he sat down on the edge of the bed across from me.
“So how much do you know about this kid?” He tapped the poster and my insides churned, he didn’t need to know Earl was my brother. He took my silence to mean I didn’t know a thing, so he spoke.
“Well, his dad brought him to our school once; he wanted to speak to the Master of the school about letting Earl be admitted. The Master refused and the guy was outraged and stormed off with his son. The master mentioned something about the kid not being completely human and that some evil thing festered inside him-” I snorted and then covered my disgust with a cough. At least I hadn’t been the only one to see how evil Earl was, but the inhuman part? I wasn’t sure I’d go that far.
“Anyways,” Victor continued, “Earl was the talk of the hallways for the next few weeks. Everyone thought he had potential; the display he’d shown the Master was a complex magical rite. I don’t know though, I think the Master was right, there was definitely something unreal about the way his magic felt. It’s not right for a seven year old boy to be able to do such complex magic. . .it was unnatural.”
I wasn’t too surprised to hear of this school visit. Father never spoke of the market days, and sometimes they didn’t even bring anything back from these exclusive shopping days. His excuse was always that the products had been either too pricey or not good enough for his liking. I’d always known they were up to something, now I knew what.
“Wow, no wonder they’re throwing a celebration, he sounds pretty special. . .” I murmured, hating the fact I was lying to my only friend. I stuffed Valsephony on my back, hidden by the binding spell and my traveling cloak. “Come on, let’s go check it out and get some breakfast.” I spoke softly, my mind a million miles away.
Victor was in good spirits and as he started downstairs he almost fell headlong down the spiral stair case but I managed to grab his cloak and he fell on his butt instead.
“Thanks, Zavier.” He brushed me off, obviously embarrassed, then slowly descended the stairs. The clerk was a haggish old lady and she denied us the guaranteed free breakfast saying it had been offered two hours ago. Victor quarreled with her a while but I ended up paying the full price anyway, knowing it was useless to argue.
We wandered the town, window shopping and admiring all the early venders along the streets. The town square where they normally set up had been reserved for the celebration but no one complained, hoping the celebration would bring more business to their small carts.
I ended up buying Victor and myself each a new rucksack since his was fraying and I was in desperate need of one. They were made of tooled troll hide, not the prettiest, but by far the sturdiest on the market. I also purchased a pair of indigo blue earrings for Zora and a doll for Farah. Victor raised his eyebrows as he saw what I’d decided to buy and I quickly explained that they were for my sisters.
I was contemplating what to get for Dal when I saw a small variety shop. I’d been rummaging around for a while when I finally found something that would work. It was a small oval rock, when petted though, it opened up to reveal a sleeping fairy kitten that would only wake when the rock was opened and could last in the rock basically forever, since it became dormant when closed. I knew she would love it.
I ended up tracing back and buying a smaller troll skin bag which I filled with my small gifts. Victor tapped me on the shoulder then led me over to a booth. The streets were now crowded to overflowing with groups of excited customers and it made the going tough.
“Look, Zavier!” he encourage excitedly. My heart sank. The booth was selling crystallized fairies. Fairies were relatively easy to catch and some people, obsessed by their miniature beauty, would capture them and crystallize them so they could admire the small beings forever.
“That’s horrible!” I argued, shaking my head in disgust. Victor looked at me then back at the fairies.
“No, Zavier, not those! That!” He pointed past the booth and I saw the entrance to the walled town square had cleared and there was a huge uproar going on. Victor led me closer to the edge of the crowd and I gasped. A full grown dragon was being led towards the square. She was chained and shackled, smoke drooling from her nostrils as she lunged and jerked around, trying to desperately free herself from the large men who led her onward. I shuddered.
“That’s awful, Victor!” I could barley restrain my emotion as I saw the desperate creature, my love for Kimberlina awakening afresh.
He put a hand on my shoulder.
“I know. But there’s nothing we can do, she’s for the celebration.” He didn’t sound all that sorry. And then it struck me hard. They were going to sacrifice a live dragon then roast her for the banquet! My skin crawled.
“Victor, I don’t want to go anymore.” My stomach churned and I knew I was going to be sick. The men jabbed at her using their spears, taunting her, she could do nothing. Boiling hot blood poured from her wounds, sizzling as it dropped to the pavement.
“I guess, but, Zavier, this is going to be a great celebration!” He was begging me and the hopeless thought of maybe being able to help the dragon caught me off guard. I reluctantly gave in once again.
“Alright, Victor, but don’t ask me to eat any dragon meat, I can’t do it.” I glared at him and he looked relieved.
“Zavier, I don’t like this anymore than you do, the dragon torture I mean, but how can you pass up such a great time as this? We need a chance to relax anyways, we’ve been traveling for almost a week now without a break.” He patted my shoulder and turned toward the small side gate which was now allowing people in. I grabbed him and forced him to face me.
“Absolutely no drinking, Victor, I don’t want to have to deal with you drunk, alright?” I demanded. He shrugged me off and nodded.
“No problem.”
I passed him some money but stayed in the crowd, watching the dragon’s slow progress towards the open doors. Her eyes were sunken from lack of food and water and her attempts were weak. She’d obviously been captured for at a lengthy span of time by now.
A large caravan was being led behind her and I pulled my hood over my head as I recognized Earl and my father in the first carriage. They were dressed in fine silks and waved lazily to the crowd. The pride across my father’s face made me want to close my eyes and leave. Why he couldn’t be proud of his entire family, I did not know.
Three supply wagons followed behind him and a smaller wagon behind those. As it drew closer a smile crossed my face; they’d come. Mother sat in the back in a white lace dress holding Farah who I could see was crying. All three of my sisters were there; dressed in plain peasant dresses. Mother looked pained and I wished Father had let her stay at home, knowing how hard this would be on her health. Daldiana looked as pretty as ever as she patted Farah on the back then took her from Mother.
I realized that I would probably not be able to get to speak to them alone during the party so took my chance. I ran across the short distance to the carriage, yanked the door open, jumped in, and then pulled the curtains closed and locked the door behind me all in a matter of seconds.
Zora screamed and hit me with her hand bag.
“Shut up, Zora!” I turned and yanked my hood off and they gasped. The next second Daldiana was hugging me and mother was petting my head as Farah pulled on my sleeve and Zora finally closed her mouth.
“Zavier! You’re alright!” Mother was smiling and Farah had stopped crying.
“I have to be quick; I must leave before Father sees me. He mustn’t know I’m here.” The urgency in my voice startled the others and Daldiana glanced at Mother and they passed a worried glance.
“I just wanted you to know I was alive. Here take this.” I passed Dal the troll bag then hugged them each in turn.
“I missed you,” Dal whispered, hugging me back.
“And I you, you don’t know how many times I’ve almost returned. I’m sorry Father’s been so hard on you-”
“No,” she stopped me. “If you’d returned it would have been worse. Promise me you’ll be careful, Zavier. Father must not know you’re here,” she pleaded.
I nodded. “I’ll be careful.” Giving my family one last look of what I hoped appeared to be bravery, I turned and left quicker than I’d come.
I paid my fare and after entering, managed to find Victor by sheer luck.
“Good. You decided to come.” Victor chuckled hesitantly as he saw me approach. He was hanging out by a group of smiling and giggling peasant girls so I nodded and left quickly.
I wandered around a bit before locating the corner where they had the dragon chained to the wall. I slowly maneuvered my way towards her, my heart sinking in my chest as I examined the massive beast. Her eyes were closed and her breathing raspy as the chains cut across her neck. She clawed fruitlessly at the tight chains and I looked away.
“Like her, Zavier? Isn’t she something?” My heart stopped as I heard his smooth voice and found myself looking down on Earl. His golden curls were tied back in a ponytail and his bright silk shirt blew loosely around his body, a smug smile lingering on his baby face. “I was hoping you’d come, I trapped this one just for you.” He pointed at the dragon and I felt like hitting him.
“It was too easy. She was heartbroken after I killed her mother and so she didn’t even put up a fight as my magic captured her!” The excitement of the unfair battle played in Earl’s gaze.
“How much do you want?”I growled lowly, my anger burning me up inside. He snapped back to reality as I finally spoke.
“What?” he asked, slightly stunned.
“I asked, how much do you want for her?”
A cruel smile crossed his face and he shook his head.
“Oh no, Zavier, she is not for sale. She’ll be sacrificed for this celebration.” He smiled before he turned in his polished dragon scale boots and left. Anger ripped me up inside begging to be unleashed and I longed to do so.
And then I felt it; a current burning through my veins like liquid fire. It coursed through my body and I smiled. This was magic! Somehow I knew that it wasn’t my own though, it felt somehow foreign... borrowed.
I glanced at the dragon. She had opened her eyes and was watching me closely. My palm burned causing me to glance down. The dragon stone Kimberlina had given me four years ago gleamed brightly in my palm and I remembered what she had told me when giving it to me.
“A dragon has two special stones, Zavier. One in their heart which can only be taken by death and which embeds itself in the killer’s neck, and marks them as a dragon’s enemy and a slayer. The other resides in the spirit and can only be given away by choice of the dragon. When a dragon chooses to do this, the jewel becomes part of the person’s soul and only revels itself to other dragons. It marks the person as a friend to dragons and someone the dragons can trust. When a dragons two stones are taken they link the two wearers as sworn enemies forever.
“Zavier. I have chosen to give you my Spiritstone. You are a special boy, Zavier. Open your hand and take it.” She had stretched out her neck and placed a gleaming gold jewel in my hand and it had vanished.
“This stone will mark you as a friend of Dragons, Zavier. It will tell them you are to be trusted and indeed they will trust you. A dragon can see the desires of your heart Zavier, so never lie to one. It will be the last thing you ever do.”
So. You are the boy mother chose.
I looked up and realized the dragon had spoken to me. Kimberlina’s daughter. I nodded slowly as the strange magic pulsed in my body, the dragon’s voice humming through my skull. Was this Kimberlina’s magic? I did not know.
I took a step towards the chained dragon and a man clutching a spear and clad in heavy armor hurried over to me. “Now get away from it, you hear boy?” He grabbed my shoulder, instantly letting go as the magic burned him and he stared in horror at me.
“Let her go.” My voice sounded strange to me, yet forceful. By now a large crowd had gathered to watch this petty show of rebellion on my part. They’d see.
The armored man stared at me and I could feel my eyes burning though I felt little pain. The dragon’s eyes were glowing a bright blue-white and I smiled.
“He . . . he’s possessed! The dragon has possessed him!” The man ran from me and the crowd parted as Father and Earl raced towards me.
I turned to the dragon and directed the barely containable magic at the shackles around her front legs. She screamed in pain as the bewitched shackles began to melt. The hot metal poured onto her clawed feet, burning her.
Achingly slow, the metal melted from its form, losing its strength. The metal dripped from her face and her jaws came free at last. Roaring an ear splitting scream, the dragon blew a scorching but weak flame at the crowd.
I was untouched as the flame surrounded my body, all my concentration focused on the red hot metal. Finally the last shackle fell away from her charred body and she rose to her hind feet, letting out a furious roar. The crowd screamed in terror but I felt myself grimacing in triumph.
By now Earl and Father were there. Earl’s gaze was burning with hatred as he drew his sword and slammed it into the back of my legs using the blunt edge, knocking me to the ground.
The dragon stretched her huge leathery wings out and a mighty wind stirred as she tackled the wall of the town square and started to climb it. But she wasn’t quick enough. Earl ran toward her and she screamed in rage and pain as Shelza plunged deep into her flank. She fell backwards causing the ground to tremble and I rose to my feet. Earl pulled his sword from the deep gouge and the dragon turned on him.
“Go!” I yelled as I drew Valsephony and countered Earl’s blade as he attempted to pierce the dragon once again. She looked at me one last time then scaled the wall while I held Earl pinned to the ground, squirming in indignation.
Finally, after a seemingly unbearable length of time, she painfully reached the top of the wall and shoved off. I was sure she’d never make it but her wings didn’t fail her and in moments she was airborne, hurtling towards the open sky.
The magic was gone.
Earl shoved me off and raised Shelza high over his head in a killer strike. If a duel was what he wanted I’d show him just how pathetic he was. Valsephony met Shelza and Earl faltered at my fury.
“Earl no!” Father was there, pulling Earl away from me. I lowered my sword as the short lived duel ended. But I gasped and let out a hoarse scream as Earl wrenched himself from Fathers grasp. With lightning fast speed, Shelza turned and I watched as if an onlooker, not the prey, as he plunged the sword into my side. I felt myself fall to the plaza’s cobblestone ground, massive agony screaming through my body.
Earl was laughing madly and people were screaming. Then someone picked me up and they were running. Dal was screaming and nothing made sense until the darkness surrounded me. Forever.
His pain is mine and He is dying. Here I can help though. Slowly, I feed Him the magic that became His downfall at the Battle. She draws closer, She can still feel me. This is the time; it is now, while He sleeps. But if They come it will be hopeless and He will not listen to me any longer. Then. All of us. The Three. We will die.
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