“What’s taking so long?” Ivan shouted. “Whatever it is, you can discuss it when we get back to Cedarbridge.”
Anders smiled at Maija, knowing he wouldn’t see her again for a long time. Because of his bond with Zahara, his duty was to Kartania and stopping Merglan from taking control of their world. He was the chosen one. Maija’s fate lay in the hands of a dragon, roaming the wilds of Nagano. He knew she had to answer its call.
He pulled her in close and embraced her as he’d never done before. He held her tight as tears welled in his eyes, too. “I’ll miss you,” he whispered.
“I’ll miss you more,” she replied.
“Come on you two; someone’s life is at stake here!” Ivan shouted.
When Anders pulled away from their embrace, tears flowed down Maija’s face. Anders kissed her through their tears of separation. He pulled himself away from her soft lips, his beginning to quiver as he choked out a quiet, “Goodbye.”
She held his hand until he climbed onto Zahara’s saddle, tears streaming down her face.
Zahara rose from the ground, lifting Anders and Ivan high into the air. Anders looked back and saw the two elven sisters holding each other in a long embrace before Natalia turned and ran down the mountainside.
Anders rode in silence on Zahara’s back, trying to hide his tears from Ivan. Zahara felt the emotional toll Maija’s sudden departure had on him. She shielded his mind from Ivan, granting him the silence he needed.
After several long hours of flying, Anders began to feel more like himself again, though he already missed Maija greatly. The time they’d spent together, although brief, was some of the happiest of his life. Attempting to distract himself, Anders asked Ivan, “Do you think I’m ready to fight Merglan and his dragon?”
Anders was beginning to think Ivan hadn’t heard him when the older sorcerer responded, “You have to be ready. The time has come. There isn’t anything more we can do to prepare.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m ready,” he said.
“No. But you will have help from Natalia and me. Our strengths combined with the skills you’ve learned with that sword you carry will certainly be a match for Merglan and his dragon.”
Hearing this gave him confidence when suddenly Anders recalled the entry he’d read in Merglan’s diary. “I discovered something in Merglan’s diary, something that wasn’t there before,” he said.
Ivan paused again before responding; Anders once again felt as though he was going unheard. He repeated more loudly over the rushing wind of flight, “I found something interesting in Merglan’s diary.”
“Is it about William?” Ivan asked.
Taken by surprise, Anders said, “No, it was a diagram. Why did you assume it was about William?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, not important. So, what about this diagram? It wasn’t there before?” Ivan asked steering the conversation away from his comment.
“Yeah, anyway I was reading through the journal again and while I was flipping through the pages, they suddenly went blank, except for one. It was a drawing.”
“A drawing of a diagram?” Ivan asked.
“Of a crystal,” Anders said.
Ivan paused, clearly mulling over the information before responding. “Was there anything written about it?” he asked.
“Yes,” Anders continued. “Aside from the labeling, which I couldn’t read because it was in a different language, there was a message written at the bottom of the page.”
“What did it say?”
“It read like a warning, but spoke like the prophecy,” he said.
“Did you happen to save this diagram?” Ivan asked.
“I thought it might disappear if I ripped the page out, so I drew it on one of the blanks in the back of the journal.”
“Good. We’ll take a look at it after we land,” Ivan said.
After a time, Anders asked, “What was it that you were wondering about William?”
“It was nothing, forget I said anything about it,” Ivan said quickly rejecting the attempt at a conversation.
Anders opened his mouth to ask him what he knew about him but thought it better to keep his thoughts to himself. When Maija, Kirsten and Thomas told him of the prophecy they’d heard Merglan speak of, the chosen one to defeat him was the son of a king. Anders didn’t know who his father was, but he was beginning to think William fit the bill, and Ivan did speak very highly of his father. That would explain Merglan’s hatred for him and desire to kill him, well that and the prophecy, of course.
Zahara flew until nightfall before they saw the lights of the elven city glowing in the forest. Landing softly in the grassy area outside the dragonrider training facility, Ivan hopped off.
“Why did we stop here again?” Anders asked, following Ivan as he rushed inside the building.
“I need to grab something I left behind. After we tell Asmond about his wife’s betrayal, we may need to capture Lageena. If things really go south, we’ll need to break Nadir out of his cell.”
“After he sees the letter, I’m sure Asmond will at least hold his wife in contempt until he digs deeper to reveal the truth,” Anders said.
“We don’t know how Asmond will react. And we don’t know how deep this conspiracy goes. For all we know, Asmond is in on it as well,” Ivan said as he reached the door to his room.
Pulling the door open, Ivan began to rummage through his personal items. Anders wasn’t able to see what he grabbed, but Ivan hastily pocketed it. Turning to leave he said, “I got it. Let’s go.”
Anders hesitated for a half second before Ivan nodded toward the door. He led them back out into the hall and down the stairs. Exiting the building, Anders saw Natalia waiting with Zahara.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
