“No, we should kill them. It’s too risky,” Tony said. Several others around them shouted in agreement. Others disagreed.

While the soldiers debated amongst themselves, Kirsten summoned her courage and pushed through the shield wall. She walked out toward the strange dragonrider. As she got closer to the large purple-scaled dragon where the armored rider stood at its side, she began to see more dragons standing in the darkness behind this first pair. Kirsten hoped that she could trust the rider, that she actually did want to talk rather than attack.

***

Merglan sat on a downed tree, resting in empty space that had once been the elven court. With his energy stores replenishing more quickly now that he’d managed to harness a portion of the ancient city’s magic, the dark sorcerer didn’t need to wait long. The source of pure magic that he’d been so committed to gaining control over still eluded his total control.

I just need a little more time, he said to himself, not letting his thoughts be transmitted to Killdoor who lay in the shadows nearby. The dragon’s loyalty to him had never wavered in the many years they’d been bonded. Even when Merglan chose to kill their master and doom the Norfolk by sealing off the only breach in a magical barrier separating them from the rest of Kartania, Killdoor had not questioned Merglan’s motives.

Once I have the true source under my control, no prophecy can stop me from complete domination, he assured himself.

As he relished the tingling warmth of magic returning to his wells of storage, Merglan’s mind flashed with the faces of those he’d killed; those who he’d hated the most and who’d deserved what he’d given them. He saw his father, the sorceress of the north who had prophesied his doom, the copious riders who’d tried to stop him. One face seemed to be missing, a face that he wished he’d seen among all the others.

“I should’ve killed her,” he said aloud.

Killdoor’s thoughts spoke into Merglan’s mind now, She died.

But not by my hand, he replied.

It may as well have been by our doing, she was trapped, unable to return.

If William weren’t stupid enough to think he could’ve stopped it…

She’d dead and has been for decades, Killdoor said.

Merglan rose from the log and said, “Come. We have work to do.”

Chapter 88

Burning in Aquina

Anders sat tall in his saddle and searched the expansive plains before them. Focusing his magical abilities to spot and locate anything out of the ordinary had become as routine as making sure his saddle was fitted right on Zahara. The most recent attack on Brookside, however, reminded Anders that he didn’t catch everything. Whether Merglan had learned a new way to mask his minions, or Anders had slipped up, both Anders and Zahara were determined to ensure nothing snuck under their noses again. With the City of Aquina two day’s march away, Anders and Maija had to keep themselves at attention. Merglan had already sent agents of evil to disrupt them and, from what Anders could gather, Aquina was the first target on Merglan’s westward expansion.  

Why couldn’t we have kept some of the smaller crystals and given a few of these larger ones to Nadir or Natalia? Zahara asked him. 

Because they couldn’t carry them as easily as we can, Anders said. 

But they have their own saddlebags, Zahara said. 

Those are travel packs; they won’t have them when the fighting starts, Anders said. 

I don’t want to fly into battle with my saddlebags loaded with rocks. 

I’m still trying to figure out the best way to do that. We might just need to keep them somewhere safe and retrieve a few at a time as we need them, Anders suggested. 

That is not a good idea, I would rather carry them all in these uncomfortable bags than see them back in the hands of Merglan. 

He was able to use them at a long distance. If I could figure out how he did that, we wouldn’t need to carry them with us. 

You had better figure that out quickly. We’re getting awfully close and I can sense a strange scent in the air.  

What do you mean? 

I mean, we are coming up on the first major population Merglan would come across to get to us. We’re going to have to face him again soon and I don’t like the smell of it. 

We escaped once, Anders said, trying to reassure her.  

With Ivan taking the brunt of the attack. And the second time Merglan let us go to get into the elven city. The next time will be the last. No running, no surrender. One of us will die. 

Anders knew she was right. The next time they faced Merglan would be the last. 

We could give out more crystals to the people in the Army? Your cousin was impressed by Inama’s ability. 

If there were more like her, we would, but those willing to touch the crystals among her people didn’t show the same aptitude and the others could take too much time to train. If we gave them away and they couldn’t defend themselves properly, the best chance we have at having enough energy to fight Merglan head on would go right back to him, Anders explained. Anders felt her annoyance at having to cart the heavy, bulky crystals and said, If you need to, we can use some of the energy to lighten the load?  

No, if we can’t share these tools with all of those deserving people down there, then we can’t waste any of the energy on making ourselves more comfortable.  

I know it doesn’t seem fair to everyone else, but what would you have me do?  

I don’t know. Maybe if you had told everyone you were their true King, they would’ve listened and we could’ve had more time.  

That wouldn’t have given us more time and you know I don’t want to be King. Ruling over people is what Merglan wants, not me.  

What about when it’s over? Will you claim the throne then? 

Let’s focus on now and trying to defeat Merglan; we’ll think about what comes afterward if we make it. 

What about Maija and Raffa? 

If we all make it through this, we’ll stick together no matter what. 

Good.  

But that can’t happen if we don’t beat Merglan first, he said. Anders felt Zahara distance her emotions from him and he no longer could tell what she was thinking about. If I were to become King after all this, I would give each person the chance to have magic. I would promote having schools in every city and major town that would teach normal people how to use the crystals’ powers. Tasks that require back-breaking labor would become easier to handle. If we could combine this energy with a strong focus on morality and philosophy, the world would change.  

Those are the ideals the ancient order of dragonriders was striving to achieve, Tarron’s voice cut through into Anders’ thoughts.  

If Merglan hadn’t killed off anyone who still practiced the order’s philosophies, equality in magic’s uses might’ve had a chance to thrive in Kartania, Zahara said. 

The order of the dragonriders faced obstacles of their own. Like Merglan, there were those among them who believed the gift of magic should stay a weapon available only to those who’d bonded. Finding a way to make magic accessible to others and using it for the betterment of society led to the crumbling of their influential power. Several riders and many dragons outside the order believed access to magic shouldn’t be distributed so broadly, Tarron said. 

But the order wanted magic to be used as a tool not a weapon? Anders asked. 

In those days, they hadn’t discovered the use of inhabitance crystals yet, but they envisioned a world where dragons and dragonriders would use their magic as a trade skill, not to start and end wars.  

But with such a superior power, it doesn’t take a genius to see its potential to be misused for domination, Zahara said. 

The order had very strict rules about what dragonriders could do. They policed themselves with a strict code of conduct. Abuse of one’s power could result in an unbonding and, as a dragonrider and wielder of the one great power, one could never become a ruler of a nation or kingdom.