“I will make them all pay,” he was shouting now.
“Please!” the innkeeper screamed. “Stop, please. You’re killing me.”
“I will kill everyone who bows a knee to that witch,” Offendorl shouted.
There was a loud crack and the innkeeper died instantly, his back broken. His bowels released, soiling the rug the poor man had been writhing on. Offendorl slumped back into his chair, his anger spent and a wave of weakness washing over him. Then fear breathed a whisper into his ear. Was he strong enough? He was sure he could best Gwendolyn, but by now she would be linked to the other magic-users. There were other warlocks in the Torr, and Gwendolyn could tap into the power of almost any magic-user. Offendorl alone knew how to control and resist her, but he wasn’t sure if he could in his weakened state. Plus, she had an entire army.
Fear began to gnaw at his resolve. He realized that word would soon reach Gwendolyn that he was here, less than a day’s ride from the Torr. He was alone, weakened by his ordeal in Yelsia and the subsequent trek across the sea. If he was to defeat Gwendolyn and regain his home, he would need help and a safe place to wait until the moment was right. He didn’t want to spring into action at the wrong time.
He ate his meal, ignoring the dead innkeeper, whose body was growing fouler by the minute. Once he’d eaten his fill, he cast a spell of darkness around himself and became like a living shadow. He moved slowly out into the hallway outside of the rooms he’d rented. There was no light in the hallway, and he was certain no one could see him. He slipped into a room at the far end of the hallway and secured the door. Then he slept, his plan for the days ahead simmering in his mind and slowly taking shape.
Chapter 13
Brianna continued her journey, traveling only at night even though she had to fight her impulse to rush to Zollin. Quinn had said he expected his son to travel by sea from the southern coast of Yelsia all the way down to Osla. Brianna’s only experience traveling by sea was with the Torr wizard Branock, who had kidnapped her and sailed from the Great Valley to Orrock. It had not been a pleasurable trip and gave Brianna no real indication of just how far ahead of her Zollin really was.
Still, there was no sense in looking for Zollin at sea. Even if they found him, they couldn’t land to make contact as long as he was on board a ship. She decided instead to fly down the long Western coast. It would be easy to miss Zollin, she knew that, but if he was going south she wanted to be nearby. She would keep looking until she found him.
Her pride was growing stronger. They took turns hunting. The twin dragons Tig and Torc often scouted ahead, finding good places to hunt and isolated areas where they could take shelter and rest during the day. The dragons liked to lie out in the sunshine whenever possible, their scales growing darker and harder from the sunlight.
They made good time, flying over the Rejee desert and then turning west to find the coast. They reached the Walheta Mountains in just three days. The dragons preferred the high mountain peaks of the Northern Highlands, but they all felt safer in the mountains than on the rolling hills of Yelsia. The Walheta Mountains were covered in thick evergreen forests and rugged bluffs, and jagged peaks were softened by thick carpets of bright green moss. From there they could see the coast, which was much more densely populated than the open countryside they had been passing through, which was mainly farmland and large tracks of forest.
“We should rest here,” Brianna said. “I feel like there is something here, something familiar.”
The image of the cave where she had created the dragons flashed into her mind.
“No, Selix, not just a lair. I think there is someone here,” she said, trying to place the sense of familiarity. “I know it will come to me. Go and hunt. You will be safe among the mountains.”
Brianna knew that the Walheta were too rugged to be populated. Even as the sun began to rise, she didn’t worry about her pride the way she would have before. If they were spotted, so be it. They didn’t need to hide in forest groves or abandoned farms. No one could reach them among the high peaks of the mountains-certainly not enough people to threaten her pride. She sat alone on a high bluff, looking out to the sea. The ocean was beautiful in the dawn light, reflecting the pink and orange hues of the morning sky.
Brianna was tired, as was Selix, who had carried her most of the night and was now staying with her while the rest of the pride hunted. She sat, gazing far out to sea, letting her thoughts wander in hopes that the nagging sense of familiarity would rise to the surface. She thought of Zollin. He was never far from her mind. She wondered what he was doing? Did he miss her? Had he moved on? The questions had frightened Brianna ever since Quinn had told her that Zollin believed she had died. She honestly didn’t know why Zollin would think that. If Bartoom had wanted her dead it could have killed her in the mountains. Instead, the ancient black dragon had taken her to a new lair, where it could find out more about her. She had healed the dragon’s wounds and done her best to convince the dragon to stay with her, but in the end Bartoom was pulled away by someone else, someone whose voice was too alluring for the dragon to resist. Brianna guessed it was the wizard from the Torr, the same wizard Zollin had fought. She wondered how many magic-users would come for him before they could find peace.
Suddenly, she realized what was familiar. It was the sense that Bartoom was near. She had felt the same way in the mountains as the wounded black dragon had approached. She rose quickly to her feet. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she knew that sooner or later Bartoom would appear.
“Don’t be afraid,” she told Selix. “Another of our kind is coming. An old dragon. But he will not harm us.”
The image of Brianna and Selix flying away from the mountains appeared in Brianna’s mind, but she shook her head.
“No, we can’t flee,” Brianna said. “It is better if we stay. I need to know what has happened to Bartoom.”
Brianna pictured the dragon in her mind and willed it to connect to Selix. Fire erupted from the dragon’s partially opened mouth. Brianna moved back, not because she feared the fire, but because she did not want her clothes to be singed or burned. She had other clothes for warmer weather in her pack, but it was chilly high up on the mountaintop.
“We will wait,” she said patiently. “We must learn from our brother. He will not harm us.”
Brianna suddenly felt uncertain, and she put her hand on the side of Selix’s large head.
“Do not fear,” she said. “Bartoom is enslaved, but still one of us. We must help and learn, so that we can find and help Zollin.”
Brianna settled in beside Selix, the dragon curling its body so that Brianna was surrounded. They watched the sea for nearly an hour before the pride returned. They brought back a small deer. Brianna cut a small section of meat out of the deer’s hind leg, then Selix ate the rest. Brianna roasted the meat in her hands, relishing the heat. Then she ate the venison along with some bread and cheese from her pack, washing it down with water from her canteen while Selix went to drink from a stream the other dragons had found on their hunt.
She was inundated with images and emotions of happiness and wonder. The dragons were beginning to like the Walheta Mountains. There was game aplenty, although most of it was smaller animals rather than the large rams and elk of the Northern Highlands. And the Walheta were warmer than the mountains in the north, more alive with foliage. She knew they could stay there, make the mountains their home if she didn’t have to go in search of Zollin. But she couldn’t rest until she found him. She had no idea what they would do-perhaps make a home together near her pride. Or perhaps the pride would go on without her, she didn’t know. It made her sad to think of the dragons leaving, but she knew they needed a life of their own, like children who have come of age. Soon, she thought, they will move on. Still, she was glad they were with her now.