The Wizard And The Dragon (19 page)

The
thought of the room’s size made me turn around and panic. I took a few steps
too many and I couldn’t see the tunnel in Candle’s light. I all but leaped back
in its direction until I could see it again. I suddenly wished I had brought a
vial of enchanted water with me to mark the entrance. I shook my head at that.
The light might attract attention.

It
was unnerving to do, but I placed a barrier over the tunnel. I didn’t like the
thought of being blocked out if I had to run, but I liked the thought of being
ambushed in the tunnel even less. Afterwards, I took another gem and held it
loosely in my right hand. As I walked I scored the floor with a magic line as I
had the wall. The line was lost in the darkness as I moved away but as long as
I maintained the effect all I had to do was look down to know how to get home.

I
tried to keep moving forward in the same direction as much as possible, but the
floor often rose and fell in ways I wasn’t ready to trust in the dark. Some of
the shadows in the floor were so deep that I couldn’t see the bottom even after
bringing Candle near them. I kept my distance from those as I walked around
them.

When
I judged that I was a fair distance from the tunnel, I withdrew several more
gems and clutched them tightly in my right hand. I ceased my marking on the
floor and stopped, concentrating on flowing the energy in the gems through my
body. I held Candle above my head in my other hand and let that energy flow
into him.

My
familiar flourished above my head. The brilliance of the light that shot out of
him made me wish I could watch him revel in it. I was too busy scanning our
surroundings, not sure how long I might have to maintain the illumination of
the room.

I
could see the tunnel clearly. I hadn’t walked as far as I thought and that was
the only wall I could see. The top of the cavern was higher than I expected and
as rough as the floor. Stalactites hung from the ceiling and I saw that there
were even a few stalagmites amongst the floor around me.

Candle
popped and crackled in my hand and it was only then that I saw the movement.
The light was powerful but the farren’s skin could easily blend in with the
rocks and shadows of the underground. The light had done nothing to disturb
them but a crackling fire was easy for them to hear.

There
were three of them together. They looked like they had been eating something
and turned from it to face me. One of them was easily double the size of the
other two and it launched off its feet toward me. It had been at the edge of
Candle’s light when it jumped and it had halved that distance when it landed.

Stupidly,
I closed my hand around Candle’s core and extinguished his fire. That only gave
the farren more of advantage; I had blinded only myself. I swore again and
backed away while I quickly brought Candle back to life. He spat a protest at
me but I ignored it. I shoved the handful of gems I had been using into his
fire and sat him on my shoulder.

One
of the smaller ones rushed at me first. It sprinted into the ring of light
around me and I used its own momentum against it. My focus locked onto its legs
and swept them out from under it. It was the barest use of magic but it sent
the monster face down into the stone floor.

The
large farren came next and I snatched at one of the bags at my belt. It was
only my second fight and I was clumsy. I got a handful of gems but spilled the
bag on the floor in the process. The sound of dozens of gems bouncing along the
stone rattled out in to the cavern and all three of my attackers roared out in
response.

The
monster dove and swiped its claws at my head. I ducked from the blow instead of
stopping it with the fistful of magic I was holding. I narrowly dodged it and
rolled to the side away from it. Another bag opened up as I moved and emptied
out more gems onto the floor.

Candle
jumped from my shoulder and started running to all of the scattered stones.
Each one he absorbed into his fire and it joined the other floating near his
core. His light grew each time and I could soon see all of the farren. The
first small one was still reeling on the floor. The second was waiting behind
the large one that was coming in for another attack.

I
had planned to mimic Tower’s kill and had practiced the fire with Candle. The
flames burst around my hand and spread up my arm. It crossed my shoulders and I
felt the power of it jolt down my spine. It was as if my body was vibrating
with the strain of focusing so much energy.

The
fire erupted out of my other hand and filled the air in front of me like a
focused explosion. The large monster was already close and was caught in the
flames. It shrieked in pain but kept coming. Tower’s fire had stopped his
attacker in its tracks. Mine charged through my magic and tore one of its claws
along my stomach.

The
pain was immense and burned hotter than the fire I was channeling. Still the
large farren kept lashing out at me as I jumped back, keeping my flames burning
away its body. Its shrieks turned into a gurgling sound when it finally fell to
the ground. I stopped the spell and released both of my hands. The gemstones I
had been clutching were tiny specks of color as they left my hand.

The
two smaller farren were attacking Candle and I stumbled forward to them. Each
time they ran their claws through his fire, they would recoil back in pain.
They attacked his fire harmlessly instead of bashing at his core. If my stomach
wasn’t screaming at me I might have been amused.

I
went for the gems in my pocket this time and stirred the energy up into
shackles for the two of them. Their ankles clamped together and they dropped to
the ground. I focused around the neck of one of them and broke it easily.

The
second one struggled against me. It screamed as it flailed its legs free and I
felt the gem I had been using shatter in my hand as it broke the magic. I was
stunned by it and suddenly understood why I had been so hurt when the farren
had done the same to me in the cellar. The gem was a jagged mess of pieces in my
palm.

Candle
dived at the last monster. He had so many gems floating in his fire now that I
couldn’t count them. He had grown greatly in size with each magic source that
he had found. He was easily as tall as my chest. His core was bright even
amongst his fire, as if an even hotter flame burned within him. He swarmed the
farren’s head and burned it in seconds. Its body twitched as its head was
roasted. It looked red and raw by the end.

Candle
stood in front of me and spluttered the gems out, one by one. He shrunk in size
as each one fell to the floor. I lifted my shirt in the light and groaned as
the cloth peeled away from the slices on my stomach. The shirt was bloodied
around that area but the wounds weren’t deep. The skin around the torn flesh
had only just started to swell up and turn red.

When
I looked to Candle he was his normal size again. He tilted his head at me.

“I’m
hurt, we need to go back,” I said.

He
tilted his head again and then jumped in place, as if suddenly figuring out
what I said. He sucked all of the gems back into his fire and did slow circles
around me as I walked back to the tunnel. I smiled at how protective he was and
then scowled. I hadn’t realized how much my body moved, stomach included, when
walking. Each step brought a new jab of pain.

I
forced myself to stop and put up multiple barriers as we climbed the tunnels
back up to the cellar. It didn’t take as long to walk back since we didn’t have
to go as quietly and carefully as possible. Still, I had enough time to feel
foolish that I hadn’t prepared any healing spells. I had fumbled my way through
another fight, one I purposely went out to find, and learned only that I knew
next to nothing.

I
healed over a period of weeks after discovering the complexities of healing
spells. Tower had been able to weave magic and knit cuts closed and relieve
bruises. I stared at the techniques in the books as if I was learning to read
for the first time all over again.

I
didn’t go back into the tunnels again for months but it was not out of fear. I
recognized that I had only lived through the fight because of luck. If I had
been hurt more severely I would not have been able to climb back out. I hadn’t
even realized the nuances of some of the spells even Tower had shown me.

When
he had used fire against the farren, he had interwoven an additional blast of
kinetic energy, something I had just taken for granted. He was able to hold the
enemy in place while he spewed forth his fire, not allowing it to mindlessly
charge in and slash at him.

I
knew that I also needed to learn more spells, some that could protect me if I
was overwhelmed. I needed a better way to light up the caverns without causing
loud noises. I needed to learn more about what kind of monsters lived in the
underground. The list seemed inexhaustible.

Once
again I dove into the study’s book collection. I resumed working magic on the
roof, especially when there was a storm to challenge my concentration. I taught
myself how to hold lightning, both to cut through the darkness and to crash out
from my hand. I remember how impossible that had seemed when my village wizard
had sent it toward the dragon. I was capable of doing the same before I turned
twenty.

Candle
became my sparring partner. I would fill him with gems and he would roll around
the roof and dodge my attacks. I only used fire against him and whenever I
landed a hit, he would simply engulf the fire into his own form. He seemed to
love those mock fights.

I
would often read to him and sometimes he would sit and listen intently. I read him
the books on familiars and he would nod along, as if confirming what was being
said. Some books on spells would bore him but he would stay when I was reading
from the beastiary.

The
version Tower had given me was a copy. It must have been one of the first books
he copied from the old, leather bound originals. I held those books as if they
were fragile and could crumple at any moment, even if the tower had done its
job of preserving them.

“The
Farren,” I began.

“A
species of underground dwellers that share several key characteristics with
trolls. Due to these similarities, it is widely believed they are related and
share a common ancestor.

“Farren
are blind and rely on their sense of smell and hearing in order to survive.
Their hearing is particularly sensitive and can be utilized not unlike the way
a bat navigates dark caverns while in flight. Although they have lost a
functioning eyeball and socket over time, they still do retain some ability to
register light. Experiments have shown that an extremely bright light source
applied directly will sometimes cause a reaction.

“The
farren, like trolls, have no ability to resist magic. As such, they are
commonly referred to as the ‘vermin’ of the underground. They serve the role of
rats, likely as that is mostly all they can overpower and eat. Most other
creatures have built up tolerances for magical energy and benefit from it. As
such, the farren are commonly hunted by the larger inhabitants of the
underground.

“The
size and strength of farren wildly varies. They share the same potential for
growth and regeneration as trolls; however, unlike the trolls that flourish in
woodland areas, the growth of the farren are stunted by their inability to find
sufficient food sources. It is not uncommon to see packs of the creatures with
each individual sporting a different size.

“The
ability to regenerate allows farren to recover from a surprising amount of
damage. The only ways to permanently kill one of the creatures is to decapitate
it, starve it, sufficiently burn it, or cause enough damage that the farren
lacks the required muscle tissue and fat stores to regenerate. It is
recommended...”

I
put the book down and was very still. I was suddenly thankful for the gory mess
the spider had made in the cellar two years ago. I had only broken that
farren’s neck and I was then unconscious for so long afterwards. If the spider
hadn’t consumed the body it may have regenerated and came for me. The
realization was sobering and drove home once again how lucky I had been. I
pressed on in my efforts to learn.

My
return to the underground was a meticulous endeavor. Each time I went back into
the tunnels I did so with a specific purpose. I kept a smaller amount of gems
in fewer, better secured bags on my belt. I portioned out enough for the spells
I wanted to practice and a few extra for emergencies.

I
used a black gem to cover the entrance to the tunnel in the chamber where I had
fought the three farren. The barrier blended in easily with the rock around it
and allowed me to leave a beacon of light as a way to escape quickly. The light
was pooled around a gemstone to sustain itself and left levitating a few meters
above the tunnel. It was a cold, harsh light in the darkness amongst the stone.

I
kept Candle with me, but I fed him no magic. Stirring up his fire caused too
much noise to be used safely. I held a light in my hand instead, and its
silent, pale blue glow guided our way.

The
first few months I searched for farren. I avoided the larger packs of them as
best as I could. I intended to restrain one each trip to bring back to the
cellar with me, and that wasn’t always possible when I was outnumbered.

Those
I did capture I used to teach myself healing. I would break their necks and
then cut into them before they regenerated—I had no wish to cause them pain,
and that was the most humane way I could think to do it.

I
fumbled through the procedures at first, sometimes creating horrific mistakes.
Pouring too much energy into tissue could cause rampant growth. Drawing too
greatly on sources close to the wound themselves could kill nearby flesh in the
process.