Elizabeth said, “Henry, can you take what you need for the night and give us some privacy?”
He leaped to his feet and almost fled the cabin.
She called after him, “We wouldn’t ask, but . . . never mind. Damon, I wanted to speak to you with nobody else around. Are you up to it?”
“I-I, no.” The answer spilled from my mouth before thinking.
“There will be time later. But, tell me this. Is the kingdom in any danger from that beast?”
“There is no way for me to know. Kendra might.”
“But there are things I do not know.”
That was a tricky question. I wouldn’t lie to Elizabeth. There were times when the entire truth didn’t pass my lips, but even then, guilt devoured me. Only on this trip had it seemed necessary to withhold information. “There are things neither of us knows, none intentionally held back. Not to spite you or keep you unaware, just privacy.”
“Where did the wyverns disappear to? And why?” She asked.
“Kendra might know that, too. But if you ask me, they were scared of something, maybe the dragon, and flew away.”
We sat in silence as the fire burned down. My head was beside Kendra’s, so when she woke with a start, she woke me. When she screamed long and loud, I leaped to my feet and reached for my sword.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The sword was unnecessary. Kendra sat up, and her eyes were wide in the firelight. Elizabeth rushed from a chair to join us, and Tater barged inside ready to fight. My sister sat on the sleeping mat in confusion. Tater tossed wood on the fire, and we all huddled closer to hear what she had to say. Her eyes fell on me.
She said, “I’m hungry.”
We laughed as Elizabeth scooped stew into a bowl. I helped her to her feet and to the chair. We watched her eat. As the last of the eggs and ham were devoured, Elizabeth said, “Tell us.”
She didn’t have to ask for more or explain what she wished to hear. Kendra knew what she wanted. She said, “The mages kept the dragon imprisoned. It’s not the first.”
The subject seemed so disgusting, Kendra hesitated. She swallowed and drew herself up.
Tater said, “If they don’t like dragons, why not just kill them? It’s not like it was going anywhere until you came along and freed it.”
“It’s not like that. They wanted it alive.”
“Why?” Elizabeth asked after another pause.
Kendra’s eyes found mine. I nodded and whispered, “Tell it all. The four of us should have no more secrets.”
Her eyes held mine as she said, “Use your magic. Push that bowl on the table to the edge.”
She never wanted me to use my magic. This was different. I reached out and pushed. The bowl didn’t move. I concentrated harder and pushed again. The bowl remained.
She said, “It’s the dragon essence—or lack of it. The mages captured the dragon and used it, as they’ve done for thousands of years. They even use the dragon’s magic powers on itself to keep it restrained. They learned how to concentrate essence and use it for themselves.”
“Where is my magic?” I demanded, more upset than I’d known.
“The mages kept their dragons isolated where only they could access essence. Oh, there were a few people like Damon who would reach out for a small portion, and they allowed it to leak to soothsayers and fortunetellers when it suited them. Even to a few gamblers and other people who are of little consequence. Their words, not mine.”
“What about mages?” Elizabeth asked, keying in on the central point and keeping her tone neutral.
“Mages have no more power with the dragon released. Neither do sorceresses and all those others who shared a fraction of the magic. There is essence lingering near here and will be for some time, but it will fade as if it never existed.” Kendra didn’t sound tired or sleepy but almost energized. “The mages will not exist without a dragon.”
“They’ll die?” Tater asked, sounding hopeful.
“No, their powers will shrink and be gone by morning. Each time one of them accesses the little remaining essence, the supply grows less.”
“Me?” I asked.
“You never really accessed the core of the essence. You were like a little boy pinching off a piece of crust from a large pie. Your pie is gone.”
The discussion was not making me feel better. My only distinction in life had departed. I’d turned ordinary. My abilities to manipulate small magic had given me a leg up on everything from spying on royals to making bakers like me enough to slip me meat pies. Now it was gone, and I already felt empty.
The feelings of others who accessed essence must be worse. Mages and sorceresses lived in a world where they were revered, and now that was absent. Fortunetellers, gamblers, soldiers, and a hundred other occupations where some survive because of better luck or fortune would find their lives changed. A warrior who gained an advantage by unknowingly changing the direction of a spear would now die. Old ladies who predicted the fortunes some would gain would find themselves guessing wrong half the time. Because it would now be a guess instead of creating circumstances where their predictions came true.
Kendra’s face went taught. Her eyes widened as she said, “We have to leave. Now.”
Tater was already reaching for the door. Elizabeth and I were too stunned to move. Kendra leaped to her feet and followed Tater. We grabbed our few things and ran into the yard where Henry helped Tater saddle the horses.
Elizabeth slipped a pair of silver coins into his hand. Kendra said, “Give him two more. Gold. And the packhorse.”
Henry started to object the pay was far too much.
Kendra said as she pointed to where Mercia had been, and tiny twinkles of light flickered from torches carried down the road in our direction, “They are coming here and will burn your house and barn. They will kill your stock and try to hunt you down. Take the gold, ride our spare horse as far as it will take you and buy a good piece of land in a fertile valley to farm.”
“Sorry,” Elizabeth said as she fumbled for another gold coin. “We didn’t know. Take the horse and go across country. They will probably follow us but know this, they will return here. Do not be in this place, Henry. If you need anything, send word to Crestfallen, and I’ll provide help.”
With each word, the farmer had become more scared. He stripped the packs from the horse. Then he went to the barn and called his two dogs, both of which went to him, with wary looks in Springer’s way. Without another word, the farmer was trotting off across the landscape into the darkness.
Kendra said, “We need to keep ahead of them until dawn.”
“What then?” I asked as I followed the others onto the road.
“They will face the vengeance of the dragon they abused all those years.” She sat straight in her saddle and refused to look at me.
The other two were already a few hundred paces ahead, moving as if their lives depended on it. I looked over my shoulder and found the torches appeared larger, or closer if you will. I touched my heels to Alexis, and she picked up the pace.
The torches gained on us. No matter how hard we pushed our horses, the torches grew closer until we could hear faint shouts and threats. There were probably twenty torches and four of us. Not all of them might carry torches so there might be more of them, far too many to fight.
Later I could hear the clomping of their hooves. How could all of their horses be faster than ours? Alexis was one of the fastest in the kingdom, and the horses Elisabeth and Kendra rode belonged to the king. They were the best stock in the land. I’d long ago conceded that Tater’s matched ours in all but looks. Yet we steadily lost ground.