“Zahara and I could,” Anders began, but Nadir cut him off.
“It’s not necessary to push ourselves. It’s late. What we need now is rest and to calm our emotions. I’ll post lookouts to keep watch while we sleep. In the morning, I’ll send Bronson and the redshirts to the Bays. They’ll take our ships and retrieve the dwarfs. I promised Remli we’d return for them.”
“What of your soldiers?” Anders asked.
“We’ll bring an end to the invading kurr. With your help from above, we can locate and hunt them down. We took care of one group this afternoon. We tracked them down just outside the south gate.”
“That was you?” Anders said questioningly.
“You were there?” Nadir asked.
“Maija heard them coming, when I sensed the killing. I assumed whatever was taking them out was worse than those creatures, so we flew to the rider’s entrance.”
Nadir cocked his head, “We missed a reunion by just that much. Funny how that worked.”
Anders grinned and checked to see whether Maija had been listening to their conversation. Remembering she could probably have heard them even from the back of the pack, his gaze fell on Zorna. Nodding toward her, he asked Nadir, “And what do we do with her?”
“As far as I’m concerned, she’s a free woman. She kept her word in helping us with the crystals,” Nadir said.
“How do we know it worked?” Anders asked.
“The mirror,” he answered, motioning to the leather pouch clasped to his belt. “Natalia tried to make contact before, but I couldn’t respond. I’ll try again in the morning.”
Anders nodded. Eyeing Zorna, he said, “Perhaps you can teach me the ancient language, that is before you go north.”
“What makes you think I’ll do that?” she asked.
“You said yourself you wanted the knowledge to spread to as many willing minds as possible,” Anders stated.
“What I meant to say was, what makes you think I’ll go back north?”
Anders watched a grin curl the youthful elder’s lips and he understood that she really did want to see them succeed. “Very well,” he said turning to Nadir. “Until morning.” He walked a short distance from the others, finding a cleared patch of grass near the path to lie on for the remainder of the night.
As he unpacked his bedding from Zahara’s saddle, Maija and Raffa joined them. Maija helped him gather enough wood for a small fire to keep them warm while they slept. Using magic to ignite the wood, he and Maija shared a flask of water and sat close to the fire. Zorna joined them, quietly sitting down and folding her legs as she held her ankles. She stared at them through the flames.
Anders felt her gaze fix on him, “I sense something in you, boy.”
“Is it greatness?” he asked somewhat sarcastically, thinking Max would’ve appreciated the humor.
She shrugged, “Greatness in conflict, yes. I can feel a pain in you that’s subdued by your responsibility.”
“What responsibility?” Maija asked.
“To fulfill a Prophecy,” she said, her eyes looking over Maija momentarily as if she’d missed something, then trained again on Anders.
“How can you possibly know so much and have been held in seclusion, locked away from the outside world?”
“I can see with my mind’s eye,” she said, tapping her forehead. “I can see the desires and struggles that afflict you.”
“And what would you recommend I do? Or do you just point out the flaws and weaknesses in people?” he asked.
Maija elbowed him and he lurched, “Anders, be respectful. She didn’t point out any flaws or weaknesses and she might actually be trying to help.”
“I can offer you guidance, a way to ease your suffering,” Zorna said.
He narrowed his eyes, “You’ll teach me how to control the sapphire?”
She nodded, spreading her hands. To his amazement, Anders saw a trail of light curl up from her palm and he thought back to when he first tapped into Lazuran’s power. Anders watched intently as the growing wisps of blue-hued light rose from the Norfolk woman’s skin.
In a flash, the light returned into her body. “I can show you how to control it.”
Anders nodded, silently agreeing to listen to what the old woman had to say. She had already hinted that to access the crystal’s power he must speak the correct word in the ancient language.
“My people believe that all riders have the ability to access the ancient dialect of dragons from the moment they’re first bonded. You have this ability, Anders, and I can show you how to use it. You see, when the right combination of emotion and magical energies are directed at the true nature of an object, that object, whatever it is, will reveal its name. Speak the name of the crystal and its energy will be yours to command. As long as the magic flows within the sapphire, you can control it.”
“But there isn’t anything left inside the crystal,” Anders said.
Zorna raised her eyebrow at him and smiled, “Are you sure about that, boy?”
Anders frowned. The crystal had whispered to him, so it had to hold energy, but how did she know? “How do I know when I’ve used the right amount of magic? I’ve tried putting energy into Lazuran’s sapphire before. I wanted it to accept my energy with every ounce of my being, but it didn’t work. How do I know what the right combination is?”
“Why don’t you try it now, so I can see for myself,” she said, motioning to his elven sword.
Anders picked up the blade in its scabbard and stared at the crystal fused to its pommel. The ornament hadn’t glowed with magic since he’d used it to transport Zahara and himself away from Merglan. Focusing on the sapphire, Anders opened his mind and used his senses to probe the rough-cut crystal. He held its presence in his thoughts and attempted to search for its meaning, not sure if he would recognize the word if it came to him.
He envisioned glory, the sword helping to champion in battle. Keeping the image in his mind, he sent a steady stream of energy from his hand onto the sword’s pommel. He held the flow for several deep breaths, truly wanting the sword to accept his magic and reveal its true name.
Ending his spell, Anders looked at the crystal. Its rough-cut center remained dull, without light. He slouched with a sigh.
