Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

'Here.' He handed a candle to me.

I held it up, squinting to see down the corridor. Another metal door was only a few lengths away

'Doesn't look locked,' Ryko said, knocking the spent powder onto the floor. With one hand, he deftly wrapped a square of leather around the clay dish and pushed it back into his waist pouch. 'I'll go first.'

'What if there's more dragon power.'

He hesitated, eyeing the door warily. The line of his jaw tightened. 'I'll still go first.'

We both stood, our shadows flickering up the rough stone of the wall. Ryko edged forwards. I followed, watching him for any ill effects. Nothing. The dragon's protection must have ended outside.

We stopped at the inner door, our candlelight picking out the raised edges of a large design on the metal. Twelve spheres linked together in a circle, the two top spheres larger and scored with a swirling shape.

'What is it?' he asked. 'Some kind of Dragoneye charm?'

i don't know. I've never seen it before.'

Ryko reached out and pressed the door lever. The latch slid smoothly out of its groove. He glanced back at me.

'Ready?'

I nodded.

With a push, the door swung open. Our candlelight reached across a rich blue carpet and gleamed over shelves stacked with polished wooden scroll boxes. I could make out the legs and edge of a large reading table further inside, its dimensions lost in the shadows. The space seemed to stretch on forever.

It looked like my master's library Smelled like it too: dusty parchment and the pungency of ink blocks. But there was something different. A sense of power that rose through my feet and pressed on the base of my skull.

Ryko walked into the room, raising his candle to maximise its throw. 'It's huge.' He turned in a circle. 'So many scrolls.' He moved further in. 'Close the door behind you, lord, and we can light a lamp and have a proper look for your folio.'

I stepped inside and pushed the door shut as Ryko held his flame to the wick of a large bronze lamp on a side bench. Immediately, the space brightened, the endless shadows solidifying into the walls and ceiling of a long room. I felt myself drawn towards the wooden reading table that stretched down the centre, its sloping surface covered with open scrolls, their corners held down by small brass weights. Along the higher edge

of the table, a series of small lamps were fixed in place — the oil safely enclosed behind tiny panes of glass. How easy it would be to study a scroll with such bright light.

'Oh ho!' Ryko exclaimed. 'Now that explains a few things.'

I looked around. He was standing at the side bench holding a leather pouch.

'What is it?' I asked.

He poked his finger inside the pouch then withdrew it. The tip was covered in grey powder.

He pressed it against his tongue. 'Sun drug.' He weighed the pouch in his hand. About four months' supply No wonder Lord Ido is so well muscled for a Dragoneye. And so unpredictable.'

'What does it do?'

Ryko tied off the pouch. 'It kindles the Sun energy in a man. Builds muscle and increases the fighting spirit. It is meant only for the Shadow Men of the Imperial guard. Lord Ido must be bribing someone to get it.'

'You take it?'

He nodded. 'Every day It is given to us in our morning meal to keep us from declining into a womanly shape and thoughts. Have you noticed the older Shadow Men who serve as Imperial servants?'

I nodded.

'Then you will have noticed their round shapes and high voices.'

I eyed the pouch. 'You think Lord Ido takes it to stop the weakening that comes from being a Dragoneye?'

Ryko tossed it back onto the bench. 'I am sure of it. And his sudden angers tell me he is taking too much of it.'

If this powder strengthened the Sun energy, would it also strengthen a Dragoneye's bond with his dragon? Could it help me reach the Mirror Dragon?

'How much are you supposed to take?'

'Only a fingertip a day. Otherwise the Sun energy rises too high and anything can set you off into a mad fury Or, if you are of

a melancholic nature, a darkness that cannot be shaken off.' His voice lowered. 'There are other effects as well. Dark marks on the skin, like the pox, and all your hair can drop out, even on your privates.'

'Dark marks? Like a rash?'

Ryko nodded. 'Yes. You've seen it?'

'I think Lord Ido may be giving this drug to Dillon,' I said. 'He has the rash. And his nature has changed.' Did Dillon know he was taking the drug, or was Lord Ido feeding it to him without his knowledge?

'If Ido is not careful, he will kill your friend. Too much can be lethal'

My eyes found the pouch again.

'Come, let's look for the folio,' Ryko said. 'We cannot stay here much longer. We still have to find a way out without raising the guards.'

I turned back to the reading table and slowly walked its length, catching words here and there from the open scrolls: myth, forbidden, death. But no red folio. I rubbed the base of my skull; the pressure had deepened. Was it the Rat Dragon? I held up my candle. At the very end of the room, something reflected my light. A few more strides and I was in front of a wooden case topped with a flat piece of glass the size of an open scroll. How much had such a precious thing cost?

But all wonder at the workmanship was gone when I leaned over and saw two small leather folios about the size of my hand — one red and bound by a string of black pearls, the other black and bound by white pearls.

'It's here!' A surge of exhilaration and relief caught me in the chest.

Ryko was beside me in a moment.

'Is that glass?' He tapped the top. 'Beautiful!' Then he saw what was inside. 'Two folios?

What's the other one?'

I studied the case. There were two hinges on the back — it would open like a box. 'Here, hold my candle,' I said, passing it to him.

Gingerly, I hooked my fingers under the lip of the glass and lifted. It opened easily and rested back on the sturdy hinges.

Ryko moved the candles closer. 'Look, the black one has the same design on it as the door.'

Although half hidden under the wrap of white pearls, the leather had been tooled with the circle of twelve spheres.

The red folio had no design on the front, but three deep gouges marked the smooth leather as though someone had tried to slice through the tight binding of black pearls. Had Lord Ido been unable to open it?

I reached for the folio.

It suddenly heaved. Before I could snatch back my hand, the string of black pearls had unravelled and snaked up my hand, wrapping itself tightly around my wrist. I yelped, pulling my hand and the folio out of the case. The taste of metal flooded my mouth as a familiar rage scoured my body. The same rage I had felt in my swords.

Ryko dropped the candles and lunged towards me. 'I'll pull it off!'

'No,' I snarled. The last loop of pearls had bound the folio against my palm. I pulled the text up to my chest, protecting it from Ryko. The rage receded just as quickly as it had risen, leaving a quiet sense of completeness.

'No, it's all right,' I said, cradling the folio against my body. 'It's all right.'

Ryko eyed me uncertainly. 'If you say so.' He looked down at the black folio. 'Will the same thing happen with the other one?'

'I will not touch it!' I snapped, the rage surging again.

Ryko stepped back. Are you sure you are all right?'

I massaged my forehead, trying to dislodge the anger. 'We should go.' I wanted to get as far away from the black folio as possible. I did not understand it, but the feeling was as strong and as sharp as a nail through my hand.

'You don't want to take the black folio?'