Kendra drew closer and slowed. Her face was tight, her horse lathered. I sat taller and gently tugged the reins. Alexis reacted as if reading my mind. She slowed and without instruction from me, pulled to a stop beside my sister. We both panted from the exertion required to ride at speed, especially over such distances. The emotional drain affected us no less.
“You are in a hurry,” she said, still trying to catch her breath. “Why?”
“To catch up with you. We’ve made a mistake.”
Despite her panting, she managed a slight smile before saying, “I know. That’s why I’m here. Tater is taking Elizabeth to Crestfallen where she is going to convene a council of the king’s advisors. She wants to form a temporary ruling body and appoint Prince James as Prince Regent until his father either dies or recovers.”
That information came as a total surprise. The king had been able to continue his rule if only because all was well in the Kingdom of Dire and little direct intervention by him was required. The revelation indicated Elizabeth now believed otherwise. “Then what?”
“The Prince Regent will be informed of everything we know.”
“Even us?” I asked.
“Everything.”
“I don’t understand what’s changed.”
“Ten mages are what. Three from our own palace. While they were supposed to be helping us, they were helping themselves.”
Kendra and I were regaining our normal breathing, although my mind hadn’t quite recovered, yet. There were so many variables, so much new information—aside from the fact that only the day before I’d watched an entire city destroyed by a creature most didn’t believe had ever existed. It was too much to take in at once.
Kendra leaned closer as if to keep anyone nearby from overhearing her, despite that there were no others in sight. “Answer this. What if the king’s sickness was caused by the mages?”
All the ideas I’d had while riding to warn them flooded back. I’d been right, but only just. Kendra’s question revealed so much more. When coupled with what my thinking had determined, we had not finished anything—we’d forced a volcano to erupt.
We climbed off our horses and walked towards Mercia as we talked. Kendra was taking the lead, and it somehow became my duty to follow and listen. It was not a reversal of roles, but never before had she acted in such a strong manner.
“There is more,” she said, sounding excited and apprehensive at the same time. “Now that the dragon is free, the others cannot draw her essence. I’m not sure how it worked, but it somehow depended on them preventing her from depleting her energy.”
“Her?”
“It is a she. The dragon normally keeps that energy to herself, and essence is the wrong word. There isn’t a perfect name, but life-force is closer. It is sort of like our spirit, our consciousness. All that was drawn from the dragon while a prisoner made her weaker. Too much drawn from her and she would have died.”
“That’s why the Blue Woman was so concerned.”
“And why the mages went to Mercia. The dragon’s life-force was diminishing because of an unknown being drawing it away. Me. I was drawing it away without even knowing. The mages and others didn’t know what was happening, so they called an emergency gathering and somehow discovered it was a person but didn’t know who I was. They set traps all over because they knew I’d come to Mercia. The trap with the Kondor in the mountains was only one of many.”
A sense of strangeness and jealousy filled me. I had my small magic, and it only seemed right they would search for me. Kendra had none of my powers. The situation was reversed in a way that confused me. I’d hidden my powers to prevent just such a discovery, but instead, it was Kendra they wanted—and she flaunted her newly acquired powers.
We passed a few people on the road and warned them, but all already knew something was happening, even if they didn’t know specifics. Bad news travels fast.
I asked, “Elizabeth has other plans?”
“She wants to lead an army to Mercia and the port. Prince Regent James will order it because he will need to know what is happening and that there is no danger to the kingdom.”
“How long will that take?”
“You’re asking for a reason to stall?” she asked.
“Three days for her to get back, two for the conference to appoint the Prince Regent, at least two more for the army to prepare to march, and four to reach Mercia. That is eleven days,” I told her.
“What is the significance of that?”
“You and I have to survive eleven days with none of my magic, against ten mages and probably spirits, ghosts, sorceresses, and witches—and all they command.”
We reached a stream that flowed across the road, no more than ankle-deep. Over the years, locals had gathered small stones and gravel to make a firm crossing for wagons. We knelt and drank our fill while the horses did the same. They ate tall grass beside the stream while Kendra was distracted, lost in her own ideas. I said nothing. She was lost in thought and would work out whatever bothered her.
She finally turned to me, her face pale. A twitch had developed in her left eye. “I’m going to try something. Don’t be alarmed.”
Her eyes closed. The twitch was still there, but she ignored it. She drew in a deep breath and knitted her eyebrows. She stiffened with a jolt, and her eyes flew open. Her head tilted back a little, and she stared at the sky.
The dragon flew into sight.
“You called it?” I asked.
“Yes. I didn’t know if it would work.”
“Tell it to change directions a little to the right,” I suggested.
The dragon turned to the left. She said, “Like that?”
“I said to the right, but maybe dragons don’t know their directions.”
“Not her,” Kendra snorted. “My right or hers? I assumed you meant hers.”
“So, you can control it?”
“Control her? No, not really. She seems to obey my suggestions, but it’s not like we’re talking or anything like that. Don’t ask more questions right now because I’m scared enough to pee myself. A dragon just did what I told it. Damn.”
Not being able to hold back my ideas, I grinned.
“What?” she snapped at me.
“Just thinking. There are ten mages and who knows what all sort of spirits and nasty things against us. Just the two of us—and one great big nasty dragon that tears apart whole cities.”
“Not funny.”
“Is too,” I said then dropped the subject before she hurt me. Still, the core of my joke was true. It appeared the dragon was always near Kendra and always ready to defend or protect her. Perhaps it understood that she had freed it. Four hundred years gave it a long time to think. The dragon continued to fly until out of sight. I would bet it remained close to Kendra, even if we couldn’t see it.
A woman carrying a heavy sling made of a quilt walked rapidly in our direction. She had to bend at the waist to walk because of her load, and when her eyes raised to find us, she veered off across a pasture at a walk-run, which was as fast as she could move. Kendra drew her horse to a halt and turned to watch. When the woman saw her do that, she dropped the quilt, and whatever was inside, then she sprinted for the trees.
“Scared,” my voice so soft it was not intended for my sister.
“Of us,” Kendra responded.
Why? The answer came easily. There was fighting ahead. Well, perhaps not fighting so much as killing. I turned and looked behind at the vacant road, and then ahead to find the same. The few people who had been traveling earlier were gone.
“We need weapons. I only have my sword.”