Dragon Legends (Return of the Darkening Book 2) (15 page)

Smell magic,
Kalax growled at me with her mind.

“The Memory Stone,” I gasped. My head was pounding, but not so hard I couldn’t think. Turning to where Seb stood, I reaching out a hand and put it on his arm. It felt even better to touch him—to have a connection that made this world real.

Seb looked pale and shaken, too, and I knew Kalax had been mentally yelling at him, too. Pulling me away from Lord Westerforth and his boys who were now blankly staring at nothing, Seb said, “Kalax warned me. She told me you were hurt.”

I remembered feeling the pain again of a blow meant to kill me. With Kalax helping me now, I could remember again. “Lord Vincent. It
was
him! I saw him—he was here.”

“Where?” Seb glanced around us, his face going dark and tight.

“Jodreth said the Memory Stone was commandeered by the king. Lord Vincent must have tricked him out of it—or used magic. He has it again. Had someone take it for him and he’s been using it—he’s been her amusing himself. Playing with our minds.”

Seb shook his head. “But why?”

Kalax was huffing and growling. I could hear her and other dragons now, starting to raise an alarm. The dragons had sensed something. We didn’t have to wait long before we, too, knew what it was.

An almighty thump shook the room, breaking glass windows, shattering the crystals in the chandeliers. Flaming candles fell. Women screamed, the music stopped at once as did all talk. A sound like nails across a tutor’s slate raked the roof above us. The ceiling rippled and cracked, the lines spreading out over the plasterwork as dust fell.

“Take cover,”
Seb shouted.

He and I ducked under a serving table.

The next thump hit and the ceiling burst apart. A dragon’s tail, black and studded with spikes, crashed into the room. Deadly shards of glass, entire chandeliers, and splintered wooden beams fell on screaming nobles. And I knew we were under attack.

Lord Vincent had come here not to dance or to amuse himself by playing with our minds, but to deliver a death blow to Torvald.

*

Holding Thea close, I stayed under what little protection the table offered us.

The roar of the black dragon above almost drowned out the screams as the nobles here woke from whatever mists the Memory Stone had woven around them. Pieces of masonry as large as my head struck and shattered on the floor. Terrified shrieks filled the night. I heard Kalax call to us as she rose into the sky and flew to our aid. I could almost feel the wind across her face as she raced toward the palace.

“Thea, we have to get the people out of here!” Holding onto her hand, I ducked out from where we’d been hiding and pulled her with me toward the doors.

“Mother!” Thea yelled. She pulled free of my grip, ripping the sleeve of her dress and jumped over a cowering man.

I shouted her name and followed into the press of people trying to escape.

Above us, the black tail of the wild dragon flashed again. The wicked spines along its curving edge slashed through the room. Dragons had to attack in waves if they wanted to remain airborne, and I knew this one couldn’t sit on the roof—that wouldn’t hold the dragon’s weight. We’d have a few moments before it could sweep down and attack again.

Cupping my hands around my mouth, I yelled, “Everyone! To the walls!” I pushed ladies and lords in now dusty and bloody, bloodied finery toward safety. Some of them managed to hear me—the brain fog created by the Memory Stone had been released. But Lord Vincent’s plan had been almost perfect.

I was certain he’d used the Memory Stone to convince the prince to send the dragon squadrons away so this attack could be made at the exact moment that most of the important people in Torvald would be in one place. He’d used the Memory Stone here to confuse the guards—perhaps to do more. And then he’d let go of his control so that everyone would panic—and die.

“Seb!” Thea shouted. I looked up and saw a pane of glass shatter. Jumping, I launched myself away from it, hit and rolled. The glass shattered in the spot where I’d been standing. The black dragon roared and rose up into the night to ready for another attack. I could sense the wild dragon’s anger. Something, Lord Vincent probably, was making it think the palace was an enemy to kill. The copper smell of blood, of burning wood and candles, and the stink of fear filled the room. I could hear moans now—those trapped by wooden beams. Arms and feet stuck up out of stone rubble. There would be many deaths this night.

I told Kalax:
the academy. We have to rouse all the dragons and any riders we have.

Thea stumbled to my side and pulled me to my feet. Her mother stood next to Thea, her face pale, her hair tipped to one side. “Take her,” Thea said, pushing me toward her mother. “I have to help the king.”

I nodded even as Thea pushed past me and headed to where she must have last seen the king.

“Agathea?” Lady Flamma looked up, confusion in her eyes. Her gown had been torn on one side and her hand shook as she put it to her head.

“This way, my lady.” I seized Lady Flamma’s elbow, trying to shelter her as much as I could as we made our way over the rubble and toward the doors.

“But—but who would attack?” She sounded confused, and I wondered if the Memory Stone had left almost everyone like this. The palace guards wouldn’t even be able to mount a defense if that was so.

“The Darkening, my lady,” I told her.

Above us, the black dragon roared as it made another attacking dive. I could hear the howls and shrieks of Wildmen, the mountain tribes that Lord Vincent had previously forced to serve him, and the rougher shouts of bandits—men from the south.

Waving my arm, I yelled “Get to the walls, away from the glass and ceiling!”

Seb!
Kalax shouted in my head.
Many dragons come!

“Thea?” Looking around, I spotted Thea pushing at a knot of men. They all looked to be elderly lords—all of them dusty from the debris. I caught a glimpse of King Durance, his gold crown glinting, as they pushed him out one of the side doors.

“Out of my way!” Thea yelled. “I’m a Dragon Rider. The dragons can protect the king.”

I had no time to decide, but had to act. Pulling Lady Flamma with me, I crossed the dance floor. The large black dragon overhead was approaching at speed, and I was sure that Kalax wouldn’t make it in time.

“This isn’t the job for a girl,” one of the men told her.

“Oh, stuff this!” Thea growled. Leaning down, she pulled something from her sleeve. I saw the flash of a knife blade and she ripped off the bottom of her skirt, freeing her legs. Moving fast, she darting in, seizing one of the older lords by the wrist and twisting. He squealed in pain and moved out of her way.

“Hands off the duke!” A man shouted the words. Thea let go of the man she had and thumped the man who’d shouted at in the center of the chest, propelling him out of the way. By the time I reached Thea with Lady Flamma, Thea had cleared the door.

Thea waved the lords away. “Go save who you can. Get everyone out—get them to the dragon enclosure or to the woods.” She turned to me. “Come on. The king was taken this way, and we must be certain he was not taken by the wrong hands.” She gave her mother a quick glance. “If it is any consolation, mother, I’m a much better fighter than I am a dancer.”

Lady Flamma didn’t have a response, but managed to keep pace with us as we ran through the palace. Kalax could get King Durance to safety, but first we had to get to the king.

Near a turning that opened into three more passageways, I stopped to catch a breath and braced my hands on my knees. Thea wasn’t even winded. She still held her knife in one hand, and looked behind us to make sure no one was after us.

Straightening her back and her hair, Lady Flamma said, “The Eastern Gate. The old kings kept it as an escape route in times of danger.”

She pointed the way, and we pounded across marble floors and deep carpets, bursting through rich studies and running up grand stairwells. I was glad Lady Flamma knew where to go, for I lost track of all the turns and the doors we threw open. Terrified servants darted out of our way and the palace guards seemed to not know what to do as they ran past. The sounds of the black dragon’s attack had faded behind us, and I hoped that meant it was over, but it had been replaced by the whoops of Wildmen warriors and so I worried that only another part of the battle had begun. We needed to see the king safe so we could come back to fight.

“How much more of this?” I asked, my breath ragged and my lungs burning.

“Not much—not much!” Lady Flamma pointed to a long gallery, one side edged with statues, at the end of which was a grand set of double doors. Two men stood in front of the doors, and one of them was King Durance.

“That’s the watch captain with the king,” Thea gasped, as we ran down the corridor toward them.

The captain swung around and pulled his sword from his sheath.

Lady Flamma stopped before him and said, “My daughter and her navigator—they have a dragon overhead.”

The king nodded. He looked older now, and smaller than he had in the ballroom. His hands shook. He had lost his crown and he glanced around us as if he wasn’t certain what was happening around him. “But—but…the ball?”

“Don’t you worry about that, Your Majesty.” The watch captain turned to the doors. Taking out the keys from his belt, he unlocked a smaller door set into the bigger ones. He eased open the door and cold air flowed into the room. The captain glanced back at us. “Wait until I make certain it’s safe.”

He ducked out into the night, and we heard a gargled cry. The captain fell back in through the open doorway, an arrow lodged in his throat. From outside came the hoots and calls of Wildmen.

“Thea, his sword!” I shouted.

She gave a nod, knelt and drew the dead captain’s saber. Spinning around, she held the blade up, her eyes glittering. I knew just how dangerous she could be when she was in a fighting mood like this. The only other blade we had was a thin one that the king wore—it looked more for show to me, but it was better than nothing. “Sire, may I?” I asked. He didn’t answer.

The first Wildman burst through the door, his long hair braided and flapping, his upper body crossed with leather straps, studded with foul-looking barbs. Thea’s blade cut true and the Wildman fell with a strangled cry.

The king shook his head as if he couldn’t quite remember why he was here. I seized his blade, sliding it from the scabbard with a hiss. Turning to Thea’s mother, I said, “Lady Flamma, please stay with the king.” I stepped up next to Thea.

Three more Wildmen were heading for the open doorway. I wanted to shut it and lock it, but we needed to be outside to get to Kalax.

Above us, I heard a dragon’s roar, and then Kalax thought to me,
Seb…danger!

Take care of yourself,
I thought back at her, worried the wild black dragon would attack Kalax. Around us, we could hear screams and the war cries of the battle—the palace guards were doing what they could.

There was no time to stop and think. We just had to fight.

Thea stepped outside the doorway, becoming a deadly whirlwind. I held back, doing what I could to protect her from any attack she couldn’t see.

In her ruined blue dress, she spun and slashed, her blade cutting the night. The Wildmen darted in, trying to get at her with their short blades.

In a few savage moments, we had four dead Wildmen at our feet and three more coming out of the dark. I struck at the knee of one on the left. Thea darted left, then ran through the one on the right. The Wildman I’d injured threw his axe at me. I ducked and Thea finished him.

I heard a shout and turned to see a Wildmen running at the king with a knife raised.

“No, you don’t!” Lady Flamma seized one of the marble urns that stood in the gallery behind and smashed it over the Wildman’s head. He staggered and fell, bleeding from the head.

Thea grinned at me. “Not bad for a navigator.” She stepped to her mother’s side. “Like I said—I’m a much better fighter.”

Lady Flamma swallowed and offered a tight, nervous smile. “I can see that, dear. I always said you could succeed at anything you put your mind to.”

The night was growing warm from fire. Ash floated in the air and I could smell acrid burning. A shadow cut in front of the flames and smoke—a smaller black dragon that was rocketing into the night air. We helped the king step into the night. Two towers had been set ablaze and I could hear the ringing clash of steel on steel.

I pointed to where stairs ran up to the high outer wall at the back of the palace. “Kalax can land there, we can get the king to the academy.”

“What good will that do?” Lady Flamma muttered.

I glanced at her. “The dragons can protect the king.”

We hurried across the courtyard to the stairs, keeping King Durance between Thea and myself, trying our best to shield his body with ours as we clattered up the steps.

“We need help,” I told Thea.

Before I could say more, sparks landed on the outer wall next to our heads. Below us, dark shapes raced from the palace, heading toward us, firing black arrows from short, wicked bows.

“Wildmen,” Thea yelled. Arrows fell on us, the heads sparking off the stone walls. “Protect the king.”

Thea and Lady Flamma pressed closer to the king, but we kept on running. The curve of the stairs helped us, giving us some shelter. We crawled up the steps, trying to stay as low as we could. At the top, I peeked over the wall and saw the terraces of Torvald stretch out. It was burning.

The city of Torvald was burning.

My throat tightened and my eyes burned, too, and not just from the smoke thickening the air. I had no idea if my folks were safe or not, but I could do nothing to help them. Small fires had sprouted all along the outer tier of the city—Monger’s Lane and other poorer parts of the city were bright spots of orange. I could see small rivers of light which must be from bandits from the south or Wildmen who were closing on Torvald. We were being attacked by land and—from the roars above—by air.

Looking up, I searched for Kalax. I could feel her anger as she chased off the wild black she had been fighting. Turning, she spread her wings and headed toward us.

And then I realized something. “Thea?” I called out. “There are four of us.” Thea frowned for a moment, then nodded. A dragon had four legs—two in back and two in front. And we needed to catch a ride.

Starting to run down the top of the wall, I yelled, “Run!”

Arrows flitted past us—deadly and sharp.

Next to me Thea was shouting at her mother and the king to move faster. More arrows rained down, randomly shot at us by the Wildmen who were chasing up the stairs after us. Ahead, a shadow detached itself from the sky, racing toward us like a dart. I ran faster. Dragon wings glinted in the reflection of the fires below, more light shone on teeth, talons, and claws.

Kalax—ready?
I threw all of my mental energy at her, letting her know what had to be done. She swept low, straight over my head and Thea’s.

The king screamed, but Kalax had him. Kalax grabbed Lady Flamma in the other front claw. Kalax flashed over us. We had run out of wall. Thea jumped. I saw Kalax catch Then, and then suddenly, my body was squeezed by dragon claws.