It’s cryptic, but if I had to guess, I’d say it means he is the one wing who failed.  

And the rest.  

You know as well as I that ‘the one’ is Merglan. So Merglan is coming with many more like him; that’s my guess.  

But we saw Merglan, he was alone.  

We don’t know who we saw, Tarron countered. 

Who else could it have been? Anders asked. 

The dragon I smelled tonight was different than the stench of Killdoor, Zahara acknowledged.  

You could smell him? 

Yes. He smelled unlike the dragons I have met in Nagano or the Everlight Kingdom.  

Could Killdoor’s scent have changed? 

It’s possible, if he underwent some kind of transformation or dawned new magic, Tarron added.  

How can we be sure that it wasn’t Merglan? Anders asked. 

We can’t, but why would Merglan come all this way and then send a spy demon to do his dirty work? I never sensed Merglan or Killdoor.  

So, what? You think these two rare incidences are in no way related? Anders asked pointing at the dead demon. 

I don’t know.  

Anders’ thoughts were interrupted as Rune entered the clearing. He jogged up to them, sword in hand. He looked from the dead demon to them and asked, “Is that what I think it is?” 

“Demon,” Anders answered.  

Rune combed his hand through his hair, “Damnation, I thought they were make believe, created to scare kids into behaving.”  

“We should get back. You can ride on Zahara with me.”

Rune hesitated. Anders eyed him, adding, “Speed is necessary, Rune.”  

“I should take this back with us, to examine it,” Rune said, motioning to the dead creature.  

Anders could feel that Zahara didn’t want the awful dead creature on her back, but reluctantly agreed if it could help them in some way. “Alright,” Anders said. “Let’s make this quick.”  

He and Rune approached the dead demon. As they reached down to pick it up, it burst into flames. They jumped back, Anders narrowly avoiding the red flames.  

“What are you doing?” Rune asked, surprised.  

“I didn’t do that,” Anders said.  

“You’re not using your magic?”  

“No,” Anders said shaking his head. The demon’s black body fell to ash as the red flames quickly burnt it away. Seeing there wasn’t anything they could do and fearing that Merglan might still be in the area, Anders called to Rune, “We can’t do anything about it now; others could still be in danger.”  

Rune backed away from the charred remains and silently climbed onto Zahara. She took flight and flew them to town. 

*** 

Passing over town again with a mental sweep, Anders asked Zahara to drop them off on the street where the demon had attacked. People had gathered around one of the homes on the street where Thomas and Kirsten were staying. Wary of the death he sensed, Anders dismounted with caution. He could feel that someone of importance had been killed.  

The people parted to allow Rune and Anders to walk through the crowd to the front of a brick house. The shattered window seemed to be the demon’s point of entry. The two walked up the steps to the open front door and Anders followed Rune inside. Mangled bodies on the floor provided a clear enough picture of what transpired when the demon attacked. Anders recognized one of the fallen as Mott, the silver-haired elder who had sided with Tony in the meeting of the Revolution’s leaders. 

“What is that rat doing here?” Anders heard someone growl.  

He looked up to see Tony pointing at him. While Anders knew earlier that Tony would look for any reason to blame him if something went wrong, he hadn’t anticipated trouble this soon. He could see that Mott’s death by the demon’s attack, while sad and disturbing, would also be trouble for him.  

Rune stepped in front of Anders before Tony could reach him and said, “Tony, I know what you are going to say, and before you do, I can assure you that Anders had nothing to do with this.” 

“And why should I believe you, eh?” Tony asked. “You two have been buddy-buddy since he arrived. How do I know you weren’t in on it, too, Rune? One less person to disagree with among the leaders?” 

Anders stepped around Rune to say, “You have more motive than he does to do this. You’re the one who was slighted when Mott decided to have me stay.” He knew it would be counter-productive to their cause to accuse Tony, especially when he knew it wasn’t Tony who’d caused this brutal slaying, but something about the man made Anders’ skin crawl. 

Tony flared his nostrils, then launched himself at Anders and Rune. Anders could have stopped him with magic but didn’t. He let Tony come at him full force. Anders twisted out of the way, dodging Tony’s grasp, pushing him as he sailed by. Tony’s momentum, combined with Anders’ push, sent him running out of control through the front door and out onto the street. Those closest among the crowd caught the older man as he spilled onto them.  

Anders rushed out after him, with Rune on his heels. He stopped at the edge of the front steps. Seeing the crowd brought him to his senses. Instead of pursuing Tony further, Anders decided to address the crowd.    

“An hour ago, Zahara and I saw a dragonrider flying along the edge of town. We chased them but lost them in the growing darkness. We returned to find that a demon had attacked this home and killed two men, one of them was among the Revolution’s leadership.” 

A hush fell over the crowd until Tony spat, “You lie!” The crowd appeared too stunned to react, but Max had time to jump in between Anders and his foster father. Max’s presence gave Tony pause, but Anders saw the hatred boiling in his eyes.  

“What Anders says is the truth,” Max barked to all who bore witness.  

“Don’t believe a word of it!” Tony shouted. “They’re in league with the dark rider. They brought death into our town. These two are responsible for Mott’s death.” 

“Shut up, Tony!” Rune barked, stepping up alongside Anders on the stoop. “Anders is clearly trying to help us. I was with him the moment he returned from seeing the rider. We came here because we heard a struggle and then saw the demon flee. We chased it into the forest and Anders and his dragon, Zahara, were able to kill it, though it was difficult. We’re just sorry we didn’t get here sooner.”  

Tony gritted his teeth and looked as though he was considering taking on Rune when Max spoke up, “The problem Tony has with Anders lies with me. I’m the one he really wants to attack.” Max took off his sword belt and tossed it to the side. “If he wants to come at me, let him do it now.”  

Max’s foster father balled his hands into fists and growled, “I’d be delighted to, boy.”  

Rune rushed between them, grabbing hold of Tony, “Now is not the time for your rivalry.”  

Anders pulled Max back, shaking his head as he whispered to his friend, “Not here, not now.” 

“What chance do we have against the evil sorcerer without help from Anders?” a voice shouted from the middle of the crowd. 

“Let go of me!” Tony shouted. Wrenching free from Rune’s grip, he grunted, “Get your hands off!” Stepping away from them and backing into the crowd, he pointed at Max and said, “I’ll deal with you later.” 

Max flexed, trying to pull away from Anders’ grip. Anders held him tightly, “Let him go, Max. He's not in the right state of mind to think clearly. He’s just lost a colleague to a brutal murderer.”