Dragon Talker (15 page)

“Okay boys, let’s go.” As they left, he could tell Bernard was crying again. Stone walked by his side. No one said a thing.

Chapter 23

It was a three-quarter moon night, but cloud cover kept the evening dark as Tadeus and Hental walked around the hut towards the chicken coop. Hental was close behind his father, who had his bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. He had a quiver of arrows strapped to his back.

Even in the dark, both immediately saw the white and grey chicken feathers floating in the air. “Damn it,” Tadeus cursed. Looking down at his son and in a less angry tone, he told Hental, “I think we have a fox.” Just then, the clouds parted and the chicken coop was bathed in moonlight.

“There!” shouted Hental, pointing at a fox looking back at them with a chicken hanging from its mouth.

Hental watched his dad raise the bow, pull back the string, and load an arrow all in one smooth motion. Just as quickly, his father aimed and released the arrow even as the fox turned its head back towards the woods in the distance and started to make its escape. The arrow crossed the distance to the fox in a flash, catching the fox in the side. The arrow pierced the fox’s heart, killing it instantly.

Tadeus voice sounded tired as he said, “Go tell mother it was just a fox, but we lost a lot of birds. Then come back out to help me…and bring a candle. ” Hental didn’t want to leave his father, but he knew this wouldn’t be a time to argue. He ran back to the front of the hut.

Bursting through the door, Hental yelled, “It was just a fox…dad got him with one shot…gotta go help!” He grabbed a lit candle and left before he could hear his mother’s reply. She only murmured to herself, “Boys and doors,” as she went to fully close the door Hental left open in his haste to leave. She could hear him calling to his father as she closed the door.

“Tatush, tatush!” Hental looked around quickly in the moonlight and saw his father kneeling over the fox. He ran to him, cupping his hand around the flame so it would not go out, and arrived just as Tadeus removed the head of the arrow that had passed through the fox and then pulled out the arrow. The blood was thick on the shaft of the arrow and looked black in the moonlight.

Tadeus put his hand on the fox’s body briefly. “We’ll leave him for the morning unless any of his competitors take him in the night. Let’s go see the damage.”

Feathers were everywhere. In addition to the chicken the fox had in its mouth, two more were lying outside the chicken coop. “Let me see that candle, Henti.” Tadeus entered the small wooden coop with the candle. Inside, it was worse. The coop only started with six chickens to begin with. One was dead outside with the fox and the two out front meant three where still inside. It looked like ten chickens had been slaughtered. Blood, offal, and feathers were everywhere. Tadeus walked with his arm outstretched, searching every corner of the coop. The rooster was dead by the door and a chicken laid next to it. Its neck was obviously broken.

“Well, I’ll be freshly baked.” As Hental watched, Tadeus set down the candle and reached behind the nesting shelf, pulling out a live chicken. “This chicken is now called lucky. She’s probably scared out of her little mind. Take her carefully. It would be nice to salvage at least one of our flock.”

He gently handed the chicken to Hental, making sure Hental had the wings secured before letting go. “Go on in and I’ll be right behind you.” Hental left the coop as Tadeus checked the nests. Most of the eggs had been broken in the attack, but he did find six that were still in one piece. He loaded them in the one nest that wasn’t a mess and picked up the nest, following Hental into the hut.

“Well,” he said as he entered the hut, “I don’t think we’ll be having any eggs anytime soon. I think we’ll see if Lucky can get these to hatch and start us up another set. I’ll ask around and see who’s got a spare rooster.”

“Still have the touch, I hear.” Agardia made the motion of pulling back the string of a bow for the benefit of the boys. “Your father is quite the archer.”

Tadeus shook his head, “Don’t be putting ideas in their heads. I’m good, but there are plenty better.”

“Name one,” Agardia challenged.

“That’s easy. Lennoneck. He could knock a bit of dust out of the air.”

“He doesn’t count. He lives in another village. Name one person who is better with the bow than you in this village - and don’t lie.” Agardia winked at the boys.

After a long pause, Tadeus smiled and raised his hands in surrender. “All right, I’m the best in the village, but I don’t have to go around shouting it from the rooftops.”

“No one is asking you too. I just didn’t want the boys to get the wrong impression of me. I’m not just going to marry the first good-looking man I see. He needs to have some skills! Now, who’s going to go out and get me those chickens and some water? No reason for those chickens to go to waste.”

Lared stayed on the bed and looking away from his mother and the request. Hental, who had been standing by and admiring his father’s simple bow, said, “I’ll do it.” Looking from his mother to the bow and then to his father, he added, “Can I take the bow with me… for protection?”

“It’s going to be more trouble than its worth, but I suppose so. I know how many arrows are in the quiver, Hental, so make sure you come back with the same number.” Hental’s face dropped until his father added, “almost the same number, and don’t forget the rules. I don’t want an arrow coming through the wall and knocking my head off.” He fell onto the bed as if he was hit in the head. Both boys laughed.

Once outside, Hental went straight to the wood pile and searched for a split log that was about the same size as the fox. The clouds had left, leaving the moonlight free to give him just enough light to recreate the shot. He stood the log up where the fox had been killed and then walked back to where he figured his father had been.

Inside, Agardia asked, “What do you think our little archer is doing?”

“Recreating the shot…that’s what I would be doing if I was his age.”

“Fathers and sons. The four of you will wear me out.” Agardia shook her head. “Does he stand a chance of doing it?”

Lared looked at his father, just in case he was about to hear something he could use against his older brother later.

“Hental is good for his age.” Lared frowned - nothing to hold against him here. “But I don’t think he will make it. It was a pretty good shot and I wasn’t thinking in the moment, just doing. Those ones are usually the best and the hardest to reproduce.”

Outside, Hental pulled an arrow from his quiver, slapped it against the bow, pulled it back and let it fly. It was fastest he had put all those motions together, but he didn’t aim. The arrow went sailing over the piece of wood by a good four feet above it and five feet to the right, almost hitting the back of the chicken coop.
I’ll find it in the morning
, he told himself. He slowed down with his second arrow, pausing to aim like his father taught him. The wood looked black and silver in the moonlight. His second arrow flew two feet over the piece of wood and a little to the left.
Okay,
he told himself,
that one counts as lost.

Hental put two arrows into the ground 3 feet in front of the “fox” and two more flew over it. Looking into the quiver, he knew he was pushing his luck. Almost half of the arrows where now gone.
Last one
, he told himself, as he pulled out another arrow. This time, though, he took five steps forward. Five giant steps, leaping from foot to foot until he was only a ten feet from the piece of wood.
I’ve got you now, you crafty fox.

Hental pulled back the arrow slowly, aiming carefully at his target. When he was sure he would hit it, he let go. The arrow buried itself in front of the ground a foot in front of the target. “Ahhhhgh!” Hental stomped up to the arrow, pulled it out of the ground, took two steps back, and aimed at the piece of wood, now only a few feet away. The arrow sailed straight and clipped the top of the log, chipping off a piece of bark. Hental stared at it a moment before saying, “Got you!”

He picked up the two arrows in front of the target and found the arrow he just shot only a few feet past the wood. He loaded all three back into the quiver and walked back home. He puffed out his chest as he told himself,
I could have got it if I needed to. I just would have got a little closer than Tatush, that’s all.

When he entered without the water, his father pointed at the door. Hental smiled sheepishly, set the bow against the wall, and went back out.

Chapter 24

Thanala, Illnox taught Xeron, was the source of everything, from the wind one could feel but not touch, to the boulders in the ground. Thanala was the source for all magic in the world, and there was more magic in the world than anyone could ever catalog or hope to control. Magic, Illnox explained, is fire, but if fire is thought of as a candle, magic is the sun. It can be harnessed, like a farmer planting his seeds in the right season or a builder placing windows to get the most sun.

Capturing magic, though, was like capturing a cougar - there is nothing to do but watch it, because if you take your eyes off it for a second, assuming you found it in the first place, it can and will kill you.
Here
, thought Xeron,
Perante is trying to capture a dragon. He really is crazy
. He returned his attention to the old lessons.

“Every magician,” Illnox liked to say, “starts with fire and lightning. Who isn’t impressed by someone controlling it?  Lightning is speed and then we move to fire. Fire is destructive power. Watch a mage’s chest inflate with pride with that first puff of a fireball, as if the mage were harnessing the power of a dragon.

“I’ve never seen a dragon show off. Have you?” He didn’t wait for a reply. “Of course not, you might see one angry, or in a foul mood, or doing something no one understands in one of their damn jokes, but you don’t see them puff for puffing’s sake. That is a sign of deep power. Dragons know what they are, my boy, and when you know who you are, you’ll be ready to tap deep power yourself.”

“Deep power comes from the Thanala, and Thanala is everyone, including you. But we cover it up, claim if for ourselves. In doing that, we block its power with our own vanity.” Xeron felt a weight drop into him. It didn’t really drop in, he realized, but had been there all along. Instead, he realized, he had opened a path inside him to channel Thanala.

Perante noticed the change and sat up in his chair.
This is new
, he thought to himself.
Xeron is even better than I thought. Time to hedge my bet before he acts.

“Xeron, as I have said before, I do have a reward for surviving all this. If you do survive.”

Xeron didn’t reply but kept his eyes on Perante.

“There are books, books a magical nature that only a few mages have seen it this world. I will give you access to one, if you make it.”

Xeron heard the words, but he wasn’t listening. He felt power, great power.
Deep power moves mountains
, he thought.
I wonder about castles?
There was a spell, an early spell, that Xeron had used to move small objects. He pushed away or pulled towards him everything from a bowl to a person. A person had seemed the limit. That was before today.

Xeron breathed deeply and “pushed” the wall of the keep. For a moment, nothing happened. Slowly, though, the wall started to creak. Cracks formed at the corners and ran down the wall, out of sight as they headed down towards ground level. Perante’s head spun behind him at the sound of the masonry cracking. “Xeron,” he asked in wonder, “is that you?”

He didn’t answer, only pushing harder. He felt the magic channel through him, as if a direct line of power were coming from the center of the earth, running through him, pushing the wall. Light started to shine between the cracks, lighting up parts of the room and reflecting off the dust floating in the air.

With a rumble, the wall exploded outward. The room was instantly flooded with sunlight. Though he couldn’t see it because he had to squint against the light, Xeron knew the stones in the wall were raining down on the courtyard. Timber attached to the wall was falling as well, leaving a splintered edge to all the floors on that side of the inner keep.

When the wall collapsed, Xeron had no intention or desire to relinquish the power. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw the next castle wall through the dust and haze.
That too
, he thought, and reached out with his new found power. A smile spread across Xeron’s face as that wall started to crack. He tried to step forward to get a better view but was reminded of the sphere, which still held him in place.

His smile turned to a frown. He wondered,
How can I have all this power and still be stuck in this sphere?
He stopped focusing on the wall, which was showing significant cracks throughout the mortar. He brought both hands to his side, fingers up and palms facing outward, and pushed. The sphere moved, carrying him forward a few feet. The smile returned to his face.

“Well done, Xeron.” Perante’s voice snapped him out of his focus. There was a magical quality to it, forcing him to pay attention. “Moving a sphere is no small task, nor taking down one of my walls. I’ll have to fix that. But I have a question for you.” He paused, “Where will you go, wrapped in sphere?”

Xeron hadn’t thought about that, but he felt too powerful to be shaken by Perante. “Maybe I will move around like a cannon ball and bring your entire castle down?”

Perante feigned shock, “Oh no, please don’t do that…Xeron, you have impressed me, shown more power than I thought you had, but do not think for a moment that you have enough power to face me.”

Xeron felt himself and the sphere begin to rotate. He was trapped, like a fly in amber. Slowly, he was spun around until he was facing the floor. His body was held stiff prone and three feet off the floor. Without warning, Xeron was deafened by the sound of thunder and the sphere crashed through the floor. He watched the metal buckle and heard the wood splinter even as it exploded downward. The sphere didn’t stop until it went through the two upper floors and into the sub-basement. Xeron and the sphere were hovering inches above the stone floor.