Dragon Trials (Return of the Darkening Book 1) (15 page)

“What about the trial? The mountain?” Merik shook his head. “We’ll be disqualified for sure. And…and I don’t want to go back without Feradima.”

I glanced from him to Varla and let out a breath. I hoped they would trust me. “There might be another way.”

Varla and Merik swapped a look—they were getting to be better partners than Thea and me, and then Varla asked, “What? We’ll try anything.”

I wet my lips. “I…I can sense the thoughts of dragons—their feelings. I think that I can use that to help Feradima...”

Merik started to shake his head. With his eyes narrowed, he looked like he didn’t believe me. Varla looked from me to Thea. “Can he really do that?” she asked.

Thea shrugged. “He has got a way with animals.”

Animals? No! Dragons!
Kalax’s voice appeared in my mind.

I glanced at Kalax, who was searching the sky now, snuffling softly. That gave me an idea. I held out a hand. “Give me a piece of your clothes, each of you…something I can use to remind Feradima that she really did choose you. “Thea, can you help them get their saddles and harnesses down from the trees, ready for when we come back.”

Reluctantly, Merik pulled off his jerkin then shrugged off his tunic. He put his torn jerkin back on. Varla gave me the scarf she had been waving. I tied each garment to my belt with a leather thong. Kalax, I knew could find Feradima’s scent—dragons often used scent to hunt. Once we found her, both Kalax and I could reach out to her with calming and reassuring thoughts, and we’d use the clothing to remind her how she had chosen her riders by their scent.

Or she might just try to rip my head off.

Kalax huffed a breath at that thought.
I will not allow.

I smiled and turned to Thea. “If I’m not back by evening, make camp here and try to get back to the Academy in the morning when the light is good.” Thea put a hand on my arm. “Seb, we could fly back to the Academy for help—right now.” I shook my head. “The longer Feradima stays on her own, the harder it’s going to be to get her to shake the sickness. She needs our help, or Varla and Merik might lose her forever. I’ve got to go after her.”

Kalax chirruped her agreement. I gave Thea a nod and a smile. She stepped back. “I just hope you’re doing the right thing,”

I climbed up into my saddle. “I do, too.”

I watched Seb and Kalax rise up into the sky. I didn’t know if I would ever do this—ride off after a dragon with the sickness like that. His bravery shocked me, and left me feeling embarrassed for the way I had once treated him, as if he was weak. He clearly wasn’t. Turning away from where he and Kalax had been in the river, I headed back to Varla and Merik.

With her face pale and her freckles standing out, and her mouth pressed into a flat line, Varla looked upset. She seemed to be trying to hide it. Merik was limping a little and watching the sky, his eyes dark and worried behind his huge, odd goggles. I felt for both of them. If Feradima rejected them as her riders, they wouldn’t get another chance.

My throat tightened and my stomach knotted. If I’d been here, brushed off by my dragon, I didn’t think I’d be as calm as either of these two. It was important to
do
something with my life, to show my father and everyone else that I was born to be a Dragon Rider.

“Can he really do it?” Varla said, picking up a stone to skip across the surface of the river.

“You haven’t seen him with Kalax. He’s got a gift that I don’t understand.” I nudged her arm. “Come on, let’s go get your saddles and harness.”

I started for the trees. Merik fell into step next to me. “What do you mean—a gift?”

I looked up at the clouded sky and tried to find the words. It wasn’t something that Reynalt or Ryan my brothers had ever talked about, but then again, they also weren’t many navigators like Seb. “Sebastian has a connection with Kalax, Sometimes he can hear Kalax speak. He’s even taught me how to hear Kalax.”

I looked over at Varla, expecting her to be rolling her eyes. Instead, she nodded. “It’s the dragon affinity. About one out of every hundred navigators has it, and even then it might only happen once a generation. I read about it in one of the older books.”

Merik nodded as if it was no big deal. “Usually, you hear your dragon’s name after months of closely working. Or an older navigator will divine it for you. There are scrolls that talk about protectors and riders waiting years to hear their dragon’s name.”

I blinked at the two of them. They sounded like this was no big deal—and they believed me.

“The fact that Seb heard your dragon so quickly means he must have the affinity. It’s probably why he was so bad to start with, he was always feeling all this stuff from everyone.” Varla gave another nod.

We’d reached the tree where their saddles and harnesses hung. I told them to stay put and I climbed up to untangle the straps. Most of them had been broken, but every rider carried spare leather and rope and I was sure we could at least get the saddles repaired.

As I struggled with the harness I thought how impressed Varla had sounded—and Merik—when they were talking about Seb having dragon affinity—and how I’d thought so little of him. It was odd to think of him as being more special than anyone—and not just a commoner. He was a lot more than a drunken blacksmith’s son. Back on the ground, Merik got busy pulling out spare leather and rope and trying to straighten out the harness. Varla was helping him, but she looked up at me and said, “You should tell Commander Hegarty about Seb. It might help you graduate.”

I shook my head. “Not the way that our rankings are going at the moment!” I didn’t even want to think about how we were failing right now in the advanced trials. Our flag had probably been captured and we’d show up with no great record of any shots made.

Merik and Varla got their saddles sorted out. They only had a little bit of harness, but it would be enough to get them home—if Feradima came back. I helped them carry everything back to the riverbank. I’d just started to think about gathering wood for a fire when Merik pointed to a spot in the sky.

“He’s more than good with dragons, I’ll say that much,” Merik said.

I looked up. The afternoon was fading as the sun drifted low on the horizon. I could see the distinct form of two spots getting larger. Two dragons, one flying much more erratically than the other.

Seb and Kalax were leading Feradima. The spots got larger, formed into dragons. Kalax swooped over the trees and landed with a graceful spray on the river. Feradima landed, too, but on the opposite river bank from us.

Grinning, I didn’t wait for Kalax to step out of the river, but splashed over to her and Seb. “You did it!”

Slipping down from his saddle, Seb still looked worried.

He nodded to Merik and Varla, and then to Feradima. “She’s better. But she’s still not feeling the best. She got confused—she thought Ty should be on her, not Merik and what with her not feeling right and that, well, she’s sorry now, but she needs some rest. You’ll all have to climb onto Kalax for the flight back.”

We left Merik and Varla’s mended saddles and harness on the riverbank. Someone could come and get them later. Seb helped me into my harness and turned to give Varla and Merik a helping hand. Varla would ride with me, and Merik would ride behind Seb. It would be tight, but we were all light and small.

I saw something unusual sticking out from under our harness, two long, thin rods with golden material wrapped around the end.

Staring at Seb, I asked, “Gold team’s flags? From the mountaintop?”

He grinned. “Well, no one was looking out for us—I think they figured Kalax had crashed along with Feradima. So, I stopped off on the way back. I thought we might as well finish the challenge.” He settled into his saddle, Merik behind him. I stared at Seb, my mouth hanging open.

As we lifted back up into the air, I started to grin. Even if we came last in this challenge, to me it felt like we had achieved more than any other team in the advanced trials. Maybe Seb and I really could be partners. Slowly, my grin faded. I kept thinking that it wasn’t any good to have these skills—and be a Dragon Rider—if we didn’t put to use what we knew.

Somehow, I had to convince Seb that he and Kalax needed to fly north to see what was really going on up there. But I had no idea how I could change Seb’s mind about now wanting to be the perfect cadet who never broke or bent any rules. Varla hung onto me as we flew, and I made up my mind.

If Seb wouldn’t come north with me, I’d go on my own.

The week after the advanced trials, the instructors kept us busy with extra drills and training, and I though it strange that Thea started taking my side on things a lot more often. Almost as if she was starting to trust me. She let me make the decisions about flying and followed my lead…well, sometimes. She also wasn’t hanging out the Beris and Syl as much, but that could be because the instructors were giving us almost too much work. The only ones with any time to spare were Varla and Merik.

Feradima was slow to get over her sickness. We all started to worry for her. Commander Hegarty kept Feradima on her own, in a special stall at the Academy, where Varla and Merik could visit her every day. She couldn’t fly, and I could tell she didn’t like that. But Varla snuck her treats of roast lamb and Merik would sit with her, reading her stories as if she understood every word, and she liked that.

Today was one of our few afternoons off. Commander Hegarty had ordered us some rest now that we were approaching graduation so we had time to study.

Today, Instructor Mordecai also posted a leader board next to the wooden equipment shed. I was the first to see it, and reading down the names I sighed heavily. It was only an indication of whether we would graduate, but it was showed what sort of place we might be offered if we made it to the ranks of being a Dragon Rider. Anyone right at the bottom might not even be offered a spot—the instructors could retire the riders’ dragon to breeding and the cadets would leave. Or if there was a spot open for courier duties, those riders might be given that task. Riders at the top of the lists might get a spot like Thea’s brother Reynalt, had and be personal Dragon Riders to the king.

I looked unhappily at the mid-list ranking for Cadet Sebastian Smith and Cadet Agathea Flamma. She had lost a lot of points coming in last in the advanced trials.

Well, we’re not at the top, Kalax.
I sent a sliver of thought to our red, dimly sensing that she was snoozing in the enclosure in her own cozy cave. It was after lunch and she had feasted on lake fish. I could feel the tight warmth of her belly.

Our bond had grown stronger and it was almost easy to share feelings and thoughts with Kalax. I didn’t quite know how much she could sense about me, but it seemed like a lot.

Kalax stirred.
Tired. Full. Who cares about lists.
I smiled, but it couldn’t be further from the truth that no one should care about the list. I cared, and I knew Thea did, too.

Were we still being punished by Mordecai? If Feradima hadn’t become ill and we had performed well in the advanced trials—and if Mordecai had never caught us—we might be in the top three teams along with Jensen and Wil, and Beris and Syl.

Head down and boots dragging, I headed to the keep. Thea would want to know and I didn’t want her to find out by Beris or one of the others being mean about it.

I wondered if we were becoming friends, and real partners. For a moment, a memory flashed of how the fire glowed on her cheeks and the light in her hair as we sat around Arkady’s campfire. My stomach did a little flutter.

Why should I feel nervous about seeing Thea?
But my mouth went dry anyway and my heart kicked up fast, like in a dive that Kalax was taking. I shook my head to clear it and stepped into the great hall.

Most everyone was grabbing some water or wine or having a rare lunch, since we usually didn’t eat much if we had afternoon training. I glanced around, but I didn’t see Thea. But Varla sat alone at a table, bent over a book, so I walked over to her. “Have you seen Thea?”

Varla looked up and blinked. “Uh…I think she went off about a half hour ago to get in some extra practice, or so she told me.” She shrugged and turned back to her book—a thick one with an old, leather binding.

But we don’t have afternoon practice today.
I stood staring at great hall, hearing the noise of quiet talk and the scrape of wooden benches on the stone floor.

Why would Thea tell Varla she was going to get in extra practice, and why wouldn’t she tell me
?

Then it hit me—flying north.

Thea had been desperate to do something about the trouble we’d been hearing about. She’d talked to me every day this past week, trying to convince me that we needed to take a look because no one else would.

Fear gripped my belly. I couldn’t let her do this alone, but what if she’d already left? What if she was going by pony? Or what if…?

I cut off the thought. I ran to the stables to catch up with her, but all the mountain ponies were in their stalls, munching on hay or snoozing, one hind-hoof cocked.

Where could she be?

What?
Kalax was groggy from sleep, but she was also annoyed. Something had woken her up. I felt something brush Kalax’s mind, on the other side of mine—Thea! She was trying to communicate with Kalax as I did, but she was talking to Kalax as if Kalax was only a baby.

What does she want?
Kalax’s irritation slipped into amusement, and I was glad of that. I didn’t want Kalax to be angry with Thea.

Don’t worry—it’s just that we’re going flying, Kalax.
I got back a flash of excitement from Kalax.

Returning to the great hall and scribbled a quick note that I handed to Varla. “Give that to the commander this afternoon, will you?” I didn’t wait for an answer but headed for the equipment sheds. I picked up our saddles and harness, glad they were light enough that I could carry them, and headed for the dragon enclosure.

The dragon enclosure sat in the central crater of Mount Hammal. Merik had told me about it, and then had to explain what a volcano was. It was hot like the hottest forge. Natural vents had been widened into caverns and a honeycomb-like system of caves where the dragons slept. At the very bottom, hot springs still bubbled making it humid, green and warm for the dragons.

There were a number of ways to get into the enclosure, most left unguarded because who would want to break into a place guarded by dragons? Still, I tried to be as careful as possible—Dragon Riders or instructors from the Academy might be there.

The crater was mostly the playground of the youngest dragons, baby wyrms and hatchlings—any of which could kill you with a bite. The old brood mothers like Heclaxia also spent their days here, lazing on the heated slabs of rock that poked out of the vegetation, fat as well-fed kitchen cats, and just as grumpy.

I tried to send calming thoughts to every dragon around me as I edged the crater and followed a little track up to what I knew was Kalax’s cavern.

A hiss had me turning to see an angry-looking green dragon on the rocks above me. She looked a big, brood mother and she stared at a small figure on the inside of the crater.
Thea!
She stood outside Kalax’s cavern, her arms raised as if she was trying to contact Kalax or the big green. I could sense the green brood mother didn’t like the intrusion into what she thought of as her space. She wasn’t going to back down unless Thea disappeared. Someone else knew this, too.

With a sharp roar, Kalax poured herself out of her cavern, doing her best to both puff out her chest and spit flame into the air.

The brood green backed up a few paces, looking from Kalax to Thea. Kalax was a lot smaller than the green, but fight between dragons who knew each other well was never something either of them wanted. The brood green seemed to be weighing up the pros and cons of attacking both Thea and Kalax. A long, sonorous, hooting call from the crater floor interrupted—Heclaxia was announcing her dominance.

The brood green huffed out a puff of smoke and stomped back to her cave, making the ground shake.

I rushed over to where Thea stood. She looked pale-faced and shaky. “You shouldn’t have done that,” I told her. I mentally sent warm thoughts of congratulations to Kalax.

“Seb!” She turned and blinked. “I…I needed to try.”

“What? Getting yourself killed? Look, I know you’re going to head north. What makes you think I’d let you?” I put myself between her and Kalax’s cave.

Her chin lifted. “You don’t have to come with me.” She glanced at the saddles in my hands. “And I don’t have to fly there.” She crossed her arms.

Shaking my head, I told her, “I can’t let you go on your own. I won’t.” The feelings that rose in me surprised me. I knew then that it didn’t matter what Thea did—she was my partner and I wasn’t going to let her get in trouble on her own—not ever.

Head tipped to the side, she seemed to be looking at me in a new way, her eyes a little narrowed but with a look I’d almost call admiring. Without thinking about it, I stepped in and kissed her on the cheek.

I didn’t know why I did it, I just knew I had to. I stepped back, unsure of what she was going to say, or if she was going to hit me now.

Next to us, Kalax snorted and a small burst of flame warmed in the air. I turned the same time as Thea and we both laughed. Without saying a word, Thea took one of the saddles from me.

Stomach knotted, I knew we were going to north—and heading into whatever trouble was brewing.