Dragon Legends (Return of the Darkening Book 2) (23 page)

I reached for it, but the wild, black dragon swooped down on me, and I froze as I stared up into the narrow, pale and gloating face of Lord Vincent.

*

“She’s okay!” I called to Kalax.

I’d seen Thea lying flat on the ground and for an instant my heart seemed to stop. It was as if my worst dreams had come true—Thea had fallen from the saddle. That was the fear of every rider—that we’d fall and our dragon would be unable to save us. I had felt the dragon slam into Kalax and had known another dragon must have hit us, but I was having trouble focusing. It was as if my mind was split between my own thoughts and those of the panic-stricken dragons below us. Their fear was mine. My heart thudded fast like theirs. My breaths came in shallow gasps. I wanted to fly—to run. But then Thea fell and I could only think of her.

She moved and I let out a long breath. The Armor Stone had saved her from a deadly fall. A roar put both me and Kalax on alert. I looked up to see the monster-dragon from the mountain swing around, its two tails sweeping over the hills and scattering anything it touched. Kalax had to veer and bank out of the way. Air rushed past us, pushed by that huge dragon’s movements. Below me, dragons launched into the sky with their riders. The monster-dragon’s tail swept down into the camp, smashing tents flat. I heard some screams then the dust rose up, hiding the destruction below. I needed to get back to Thea.

I could hear riders still on the ground, calling to their dragons, and dragons answering with shrill cries that sounded on the verge of all-out panic. How many would get away? How many would be caught by the thing that had exploded from the hillside?

The monster-dragon was now flapping its many wings, still testing its strength and skills as would any young dragon. It lifted up on its haunches and bellowed, and fire shot from its mouth. This beast was not like our dragons. I could sense only evil from it—an urge not to hunt for food, but to spill blood and destroy. It was a mindless thing, a pure beast with nothing more to it.

Our dragons had at least been given brief moments of clarity thanks to the Armor Stone—those that were not already in the sky and flying were screeching as they picked up their riders in their claws and launched themselves into the air and to safety. Once they were away, I knew they’d gain in strength. Maybe I could give them just a little more time.

The dust from the mountain’s destruction was making it hard to see, but Kalax swung around and rode the air currents back to where Thea had fallen. I’d need her help if we were going to distract the huge dragon from our riders.

A terrible screech pulled my stare, and I saw the wild, black dragon again. This time I glimpsed Lord Vincent in the saddle. He had swept down from the clouds. I should have known he would follow us here—or had he set this trap for all of us?

Haven’t we been here before, boy?

I heard his voice in my head—a dark sneer. The air around him pulsed and shimmered—the Darkening and the ancient prince working through him. Now I could see them like a black shadow that clung to Lord Vincent in an almost transparent cape. I shivered and called to Kalax for more speed.

I would not allow him near Thea.

But the wild black dragon Lord Vincent rode was fast.

His laugh echoed in my head, and I thought back to him,
that monster is your doing…and I’ll see you die with it.

His wild dragon darted down, wings folded tight in a dive. My heart stopped as the dragon headed for Thea. But it swerved up again, and Lord Vincent lifted a hand to me—he held the Armor Stone itself. He had snatched it from Thea—or from where it had fallen from her grip.

I could see into his thoughts and I knew he now intended to see his giant dragon kill us all.

“No!”
I shouted.

Kalax bellowed beside me, joining in my efforts.

I’ll never see Thea fall again—not to you.

Closing my eyes, I gave myself utterly to my dragon affinity. I had no choice. It was that, or perish. I slipped into Kalax’s mind and then into our dragons’. I pushed out and caught the thoughts of the wild black dragon—who hated the beast Lord Vincent had created as much as did our dragons.

Sweat popped on my brow and slicked my shirt to my back. My head felt as if it would explode, but I had to go on. I focused on our dragons—and then turned my thoughts to the monstrous beast Lord Vincent had created.

I screamed—and so did the dragons.

Spreading my wings, I would soar with them, and I told them,
free—we will be free!

Freedom of flight—freedom to hunt as we wish, to have the friends we want. The sky, I called to them. Fly. We must fly!

I heard the shriek from the wild dragon Lord Vincent was riding. He might hold the Armor Stone, but his dragon was no longer his. I cut the ties between the Darkening—pushed myself between it and all dragons.

The huge dragon from the mountain stopped and stared at the sky.

Fly
…

Wind whipped past my face. I soared and spun.

The huge beast blinked and I opened my eyes. For an instant, our stares met. I looked into dark eyes that seemed to be endless. It wanted to destroy—to kill. It was made to be a tool of the Darkening, but somewhere in there was a dragon’s heart. I reached for that small part of it that was still a dragon—the part that had to be there.

It gave a rumbling roar, and I thought it would reach out and swat Kalax and myself from the sky.

Dragon friend, I thought at it. Dragons…not the Darkening.

I severed the last ties to myself and fell utterly into the dragon’s mind—for Thea, I thought. For all Dragon Riders. For Torvald.

At first, darkness swallowed me. Hate. Evil. Destroy. I wound myself deeper, pushing into that beast’s mind, putting myself there. No…not destroy. Be a dragon. Be free of Darkening. It’s not my ruler. It’s not my kin. It’s not me!

I was free…I was a dragon so mighty none could stop me.

A roar echoed from my throat, vast and shaking the earth. I lifted up into the sky, spread my wings and turned toward the warm south—to the vast heat of the ground, to the open wind. I would fly. I was a dragon.

Seb?

No Seb…dragon!

“Seb?” The word echoed not just in my head but in my ears. I blinked open my eyes. I lay on the ground, staring up at blue sky. Kalax lay curled around me, holding me with her tail. Had she just called my name?

Thea’s hand tightened on my arm. “Seb?” she said again.

I blinked—for an instant I knew I could stay as a dragon.

I could live inside that huge dragon’s mind, and be one with it. I could soar forever. I could hunt and live as a dragon. I’d
be the ruler of the skies—a dragon so mighty none could harm me.

Something wet splashed on my face. I looked up to see tears spilling from Thea’s eyes. Reluctantly, I let my connection with the dragons slip—first from the huge dragon now flying south, then from our dragons who seemed to be scattered everywhere, and then from the wild, black dragon that had thrown Lord Vincent. I couldn’t sense Lord Vincent near—but I knew he had the stones. I could feel that power pulsing around me, and I shut down even that thread of connection.

Good
, Kalax thought at me.
Seb dragon friend, not dragon.

Just before the connection vanished, Lord Vincent’s thoughts swept into mine—dark and swirling and angry. I knew he’s used the powers of the Darkening to make his escape. But he sent me one gloating thought.

The Memory Stone, the Healing Stone, and the Armor Stone—the perfect tools to take apart your entire, wretched world.

*

I didn’t remember much of what happened after that. I had some memories of how Kalax had flown me back to Thea. I knew I’d managed to save her—and the Dragon Riders—but I wasn’t sure how, except I’d been a dragon. I’d been all dragons—for a brief time. And I’d left a small part of myself in that huge dragon that the Darkening had created—it was no longer a mindless thing meant to kill. It had in it somewhere deep a connection to us—but I wasn’t sure that would be enough if we ever had to face it again.

I also wasn’t sure I could ever do that—become a dragon—again and come back to being just myself. Thinking about it left me cold inside.

Thea, however, hovered next to me.

The Dragon Rider camp was a mess—utterly destroyed by that monster-dragon. Tents had been knocked over and dragged over the sand. Some riders had been buried—I could hear the keening of the dragons that had lost riders. A few dragons and riders had gotten away, and a few had stayed to try and fight.

But I worried we were in a bad spot still—at least the one good thing was that the illness that had affected everyone was gone.

Just before nightfall, I got out of bed, dressed and stepped out of the tent.

The camp was getting ready to move. Dragon Riders were taking down tents and saddling dragons and packing up anything that was still worth taking—food, weapons and water. Dragons were calling with impatient cries to their riders—they didn’t want to stay here and I didn’t blame them. I resisted dipping into any dragon’s thoughts.

In the light of a rising, full moon, the ruined mountain was now just a scarred hunk of land—it looked as if the top had been wrenched off by a giant hand.

With the giant dragon no longer here—and Kalax told me that dragon had been pulling at everyone’s life force just by being here—riders were now acting like riders again and the dragons all sounded by their calls eager to get into the skies.

I knew we were going to need to be strong for whatever came next. The Darkening and Lord Vincent had all the Dragon Stones—but we had one, thin hope left.

Cold now, I knew I should go in and put on a cloak. We would be in the skies soon. Thea came over to me and slapped my arm. “About time you woke.”

I nodded.

She kept staring at me. “Any dreams?”

I shrugged and lifted a hand. They weren’t anything I would ever tell her. How did you tell someone you knew what it was to soar above clouds—that you longed to have the wind on your face again and the power of huge wings? “I’m hungry.”

She grinned and led me over to friends she had made who shared the fish they’d just caught. It was the only campfire burning, and it was soon put out and the order came to assemble and fly.

We were, I thought, a poor collection of Dragon Riders. Some of the riders had borrowed dead friends’ armor. Others were missing helmets. Some of the dragon harnesses had been mended with ropes. But the faces were all set and the weapons gleamed in the moonlight.

Kalax bellowed a roar and as soon as the order came, she lifted into the air faster than any other dragon. I clung to the saddle and let her do the flying. With all the other dragons, we couldn’t get lost.

But where were we going?

We flew north—or that’s what I started to notice. I couldn’t help it. I was a navigator, and the stars told the story of the direction we set. Glancing around, I saw fewer dragons than I would have wished for—the squadrons had been scattered. I knew that Thea had been looking for her brothers and the king, but we hadn’t seen them. My hope was that they’d gotten away early.

It grew chill as the night deepened, but I welcomed the cold. I was done with desert heat—a faint bit of it lurked in my mind. The huge dragon from the mountain had found a toasty spot in the Southern Realm. I cut off the connection and tried to focus more on the stars.

And then I saw it.

A flash. A faint one on the horizon. It looked like the reflection of light on a pane of glass. I tried to ignore it, thinking it must be one of the roaming bands of Wildmen or bandits setting alight to another village. The Darkening at work in other parts of the kingdom. But the flashes settled into a regular order. My heart lifted and I called out to Thea, “Signals!”

The flashes were the signaling code of the Dragon Riders—the one that every navigator knew by heart. Whoever was signaling had to be up very high for us to see them. And just one word repeated over and over again.

Gather.

No one needed to give the order. All the dragons shifted and headed for that light.

We flew, all of us, in a ragged group. I realized then that I hadn’t seen Commander Hegarty, and I hoped he’d made it out early, too.

We followed the signals to the eastern part of the Leviathan Mountains. In the bright moonlight, I glimpsed a secluded valley edged by deep trees, with a waterfall that gleamed silver and what looked like inky, deep pools on the other side of the falls. And I saw the best thing I could have seen.

The valley opened out, safe and green and sheltered—and there were campfires and dragons.

I saw Feradima first, so I figured Merik and Varla had made it here. That meant his tiny valley sheltered those from Torvald, too—my folks might be here. My heart leaped, but I told myself not to hope too much or too hard.

A dragon swept down at us, both taking a closer look and welcoming us. Jensen and Wil waved and shouted at us from Dellos—they’d been flying patrol.

Kalax landed us down in the valley. We tried to keep some order to our scrappy group, but soon everyone split up in the search for friends and family. I gave a nod to Thea, and she slipped away, no doubt looking for her parents. I went looking for my folks.