By the time Anders and Zahara returned to the battlefield, it was over. The elves and Rollo warriors had made sure the enemy’s armies were no longer a threat by forcing their retreat. Anders could see the last of the orcs and kurr running away across the valley as they flew in for a landing. The host of the Rollo warriors cheered victoriously when Anders and Zahara returned to them.
“Ivan, Nadir,” Anders said as he ran to them and hugged them tightly; happy to see they were alive. “We need your help. My cousins and many others are locked in the fortress. The magic binding the gates is too powerful for us on our own.”
Ivan understood the haste required by the situation. Combining his dwindling magical abilities with their untrained energy, they might be able to break down the gates to free the trapped prisoners inside.
“Zahara, can you carry us both?” Anders asked out loud so Ivan could hear.
Of course I can. I’m not a weakling, she replied.
“Okay, I just wanted to make sure,” Anders said. I’m new to this and didn’t know if you’d be offended by letting Ivan ride you as well, he said to her with his mind again.
I appreciate you asking, but in this time of urgency I don’t need to toil on proper customs and all that nonsense.
Anders led as he and Ivan hoisted themselves onto Zahara and she returned to the sky. Within short order, Zahara was landing just outside the main gates to the fortress.
“You and Zahara try to focus your energy as best you can. Summon all you are able and I’ll help you to control it,” Ivan told them once in front of the gate.
Anders and Zahara drew on their powers and the well of magical energy within them bubbled to the surface before they let the full store of magic loose. Anders couldn’t control it, it came from his mind in wild flashes, but suddenly, he could feel Ivan’s presence. Like standing in the eye of a hurricane, Anders suddenly felt the calming sense of control he’d been lacking. Ivan allowed them the control they needed to focus on bringing down the gates. The three of them pried open the lock that held the two iron gates in the center. With a slow creak they began to open. The crack turned into a gap, and then a wide space. Then suddenly the spell holding them broke and the gates rocked open, slamming into the dark stone walls of the fortress.
By the time the gates fell, both human and elf armies had gathered outside the fortress. The newly freed prisoners rushed out as soon as the gates opened. Anders watched as Rolloan families began to reunite all around them.
Anders scanned the faces of the freed prisoners as they flooded out from the fortress. Anders’ eye caught a familiar face and watched as Bo saw his older brother for the first time since being taken captive. His gangly, dark-haired friend ran to Bo and hugged him tightly. It gave Anders great satisfaction to witness the two brothers reunite after the long struggle to free those taken captive from Grandwoods shores.
Pulling himself away from his brother’s grip and holding him at arm’s length, Anders overheard Max say through tears of joy, “You smell like crap. Have you been locked in a prison cell for the last month or something?”
Anders burst out laughing at the insensitive joke he’d grown to expect from his dark-haired friend. At that moment, he felt an overwhelming sense of pride.
As he chuckled off Max’s insensitive joke, Anders saw Kirsten and Thomas come running out through the gates with the crowd. He shouted their names and ran to meet them. With their second reunion, Anders composed himself. He laughed and hugged his cousins again.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” he said, as he looked them over.
“We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long, I thought it would never come,” Thomas said.
Getting a second look at them, Anders became more aware of Kirsten and Thomas’ ragged appearance. Their clothes were haggard and worn. Their skin bruised and scabbed from weeks of rough treatment.
Kirsten must have noticed Anders’ stare at their wounds and asked, “How did you manage to find us?”
“If it weren’t for Ivan’s help, I wouldn’t have had a chance of finding you,” Anders motioned to Ivan who stood near Zahara’s side.
“I’ll need to thank him for helping you,” Kirsten said.
“And Zahara,” Anders added.
“That’s your dragon?” Thomas asked.
Anders nodded and looked over to Zahara, “She’s a lot more than just a dragon. She’s family.” He knew Thomas and Kirsten wouldn’t understand what he meant by it, but soon he’d explain everything. Before he could, though, there was another person who he’d been longing to see and talk to. Anders had noticed that Maija was standing awkwardly behind them, unsure if she should interrupt their family moment. He excused himself from his cousins and jogged the short way to where she stood. Coming near, Anders wrapped his arms around her and she gladly held his embrace.
After a long moment of holding each other tightly, Maija said, “Well Anders, it would seem that I am, once again, in your debt.”
He smiled, “That may be, but I think there is still one more thing I must repay you with.”
“Really. And what might that be?” Maija asked playfully.
“This…” Anders leaned in close to Maija. Her full lips locked with his and for a moment, he forgot all about the war, the magic, and the hardships he’d endured to get there. It was just the two of them, kissing beneath the morning sun.
A combined group of cheers and whistles brought them back to reality. He turned to see Thomas, Kirsten, Max, Bo, and Ivan all shouting for them. Even Zahara was roaring loudly to join in the cheering. He felt his cheeks burn and saw Maija was blushing too. The two held each other close; one arm wrapped around one another as they joined in with the group of friends and family.
Anders watched as everyone around them hugged and smiled, happy to be reunited with one another. As he looked at the familiar faces surrounding him, he knew everyone in the world who he cared about was right in front of him, and he was happy. Though the threat of Merglan’s return still loomed over their heads, Anders didn’t allow it to bother him for the moment. He looked to see Ivan place a gentle hand on Zahara’s neck and give a meaningful nod to Nadir, the elf prince. The look he gave Nadir told him that Anders and Zahara had fulfilled the prophecy Merglan had been attempting to prevent; at least for now.
End of Book One
Secrets of the Sapphire Soul
Book Two
Chapter 18
A Newly Bonded Rider
Anders groaned with frustration in having to trot yet again after another fearful warrior. His muscles strained with fatigue as he jogged through the battle’s aftermath. Bodies of orcs, kurr, and humans lay scattered along the valley floor, a sight Anders hated having to return to. Though he and Zahara attempted to aid those wounded in the battle beneath Merglan’s fortress, the young rider quickly grew frustrated as each Rollo Islander fled upon seeing his dragon. Anders thought he would’ve felt a deep sense of fulfillment in using the simple healing spells his mentor, Ivan, had hastily taught him before returning to the battlefield. Each conscious patient, however, met Anders with hostility toward his association with elves and his bond with his dragon, Zahara.
The injured Rollo warrior glanced frantically over his shoulder as he attempted to flee, his mangled arm flapping uselessly at his side. The warrior, still looking back at Anders, tripped over an orc’s corpse, falling to the ground. Rolling onto his back, the warrior held out his uninjured arm, motioning for Anders to stay back. Shaking furiously and muttering in native Rolloan, the warrior kicked, shuffling through the dirt on his back as Anders knelt to examine the disfigured arm.
Speaking clearly, Anders attempted to calm the warrior as he reached for the limp arm. A glint of steel flashed in his peripheral vision; Anders moved deftly to block the warrior’s blade. With a backhanded punch, he knocked the panicked warrior’s right arm aside, forcing him to drop the dagger. Anders pounced on the man, holding him still while Zahara quickly came to his aid.
Growling at the warrior, Zahara flared her nostrils and bared her teeth causing the man to cease squirming instantly. With her large head looming over the Rollo warrior, Anders could release his grip on the man, seamlessly reaching down and tossing the dagger out of arm’s reach. With his dragon ensuring the warrior couldn’t escape, Anders was finally able to examine the warrior’s arm before deciding which spell to use to attempt to heal him.
Anders closed his eyes, feeling the surge of energy Zahara gifted him rising through his body. With his hand hovering over the fractured arm, the warmth of the magic pulsed as it emitted from his palm, washing over the wounded Rollo Island warrior’s skin. He ignored the shouts from the warrior as Zahara kept him from escaping as Anders worked the spell. Anders opened his eyes, watching the angle of the man’s arm move slightly and then snap back into place. The exposed bone that just a moment before had protruded from the warrior’s forearm slid under the skin, the fibers of his muscle tissue slowly stitching themselves back together. Anders shook briefly with a chill as he ended the spell, the bone healed and the gash now closed, a faint scratch the only evidence of the injury. Stepping back, Anders allowed Zahara to release her grip on the man. The warrior scurried to his feet, scrambling to get away. For an instant, the warrior hadn’t noticed he was using his injured arm to push himself up. Stopping only for a moment, the warrior examined his healed arm, awed and confused. The islander glanced once more at Anders and Zahara before fleeing toward camp. Anders shuddered, slumping to his knees in exhaustion.
Careful Anders, Zahara’s voice entered his mind. Remember what Ivan said. The elves have more skilled healers among their camp. We only learned how to use this spell a few hours ago. Ivan warned us how it draws energy. If we try to heal everyone’s broken bones, we’ll die of exhaustion before supper.
Anders rubbed his hands together, trying to rid himself of the chill left behind from using the spell. Shivering, he said, I’m being careful.
You need to rest before we continue. There are more wounded returning from the battle. If you use up all of your energy now, we won’t be able to help anyone, Zahara warned, sensing his fatigue.
Anders rose, leaning against Zahara’s sturdy front leg as he observed groups of warriors hobbling their way to camp from the battlefield. At the moment, drained from battle and then performing magic, he felt significantly older than his nineteen years. I’ll rest once everyone’s back, Anders said, looking up at the iridescent green and blue dragon. I at least owe them that much. These people fought with us to free my family.
Zahara shifted, glancing to the sky as Anders pushed off her leg and began trotting toward the warriors making their way back. Ruffling her wings, she wondered when the two riders that left Cedarbridge with her and the elves would be returning. As she peered toward the mountains, a surge of fear suddenly wrenched her insides. Her gut pained with the thought of what Merglan could’ve done to them. Allowing her gaze to linger on the peaked horizon, she forced the unhappy thoughts from her mind and bounded after Anders. Just promise me you won’t take this healing too far, she said catching up with him.
I promise. I won’t become a liability, Anders said, heat returning to his body as he walked.
Campfires burned along the valley floor as the Rollo Island warriors gathered close to the recently rescued people of their tribe. Joyous sounds of the reunion of long-lost loved ones rang throughout camp as those who fought through the night to victory celebrated.
Completely exhausted, physically and emotionally, Anders followed the last of the wounded into the temporary camp the victors had established on the grassy plain at the base of Merglan’s fortress following the battle.
Anders and Zahara walked numbly as they made their way toward the medical station near the edge of the encampment. The smell of roasting lamb, pork and gamebird filled the air as Anders stumbled wearily past fires scattered throughout the sea of tents near Merglan’s fortress. After the gate had been destroyed, the warriors had located Merglan’s food supplies, ravaging them and sharing the wealth throughout their newly established camp. Rolloans, elves and the small miscellaneous band of those who’d been attacked at the Grandwood Games had lit campfires to cook meals and warm themselves in the daylight after a night’s battle.
