Kendra didn’t speak as she absorbed the last few statements. When she did, her words were gentle, “Sir, you have provided what I asked for, and you will not die at our hands unless you force it. However, you also present us with a problem. What shall we do with you?”
He either refused to answer or didn’t have an answer.
For me, his candor had purchased his life, but I didn’t wish to face him as an enemy again, especially if he regained part of his powers. But he almost seemed reluctant in his mage duties. That resolved one problem that had been in the back of my mind all the while. Neither Kendra nor myself were capable of killing him—despite our recent rash of doing exactly that.
I looked at Kendra for an answer. She looked back.
We were not going to take him with us. Leaving him here to face a slow and painful death was worse than using my sword, and it would be kinder. “She asked you a question. What do you recommend?”
Hanging his head, he said, “If the situation was reversed, I’d kill you and go on about my business.”
Again, that streak of honesty.
Kendra said, “We are trying to find another way to resolve this. Help us, please.”
“You have no reason to trust me.”
“Still, I’m offering you a chance to live, and you’re not taking it,” she said. “We did kill your two friends today, and tomorrow we are going after more, so don’t think us children who are not capable of doing what we say.”
He squirmed into a better sitting position and leaned as close as possible. “I know my chances of living are slim. There is little to offer you but one thing. If you free me, I will depart for the hills of Brennen and never return to this cursed land.”
“That’s your home?” she asked.
“It is. The ship that brought me here sailed for nearly a month on an angry sea. I have the coin saved to buy passage home. What more can I promise but that you will never see me again?”
Kendra gave me a small nod. It gave us a way out, and if we saw him again, we could kill him then. I noticed how easily thinking of killing now came to me. Yet, I believed myself able to do it without concern. The mage gave us his word in trade for him disappearing, and if that failed to happen, his death was on him, not me.
“Deal,” Kendra said.
She made no threats, no promises, and leaving it that way was more frightening. I said, “Time for me to sleep. We’ll free you in the morning, and you can walk back to Andover, but stay there in the city at least ten days. We are going to the port of Mercia, and if we see you there, we have no choice.”
“If you see me on the road in ten days?”
A fair question. “If you are making haste to a ship I may shake your hand and wish you well. If you are walking in any other direction—well, it is time for me to go to sleep, like I said. Good night.”
However, I didn’t sleep. I lay awake and listened to the breathing of the other two, trying to decide if the mage was asleep or pretending, then the events of the trip overwhelmed me. Kendra now had a dragon for a friend, and I killed men while having no magic powers at all.
I mentally followed our route from the palace and realized Elizabeth, and Tater would arrive back at Crestfallen late tomorrow. I wondered if she would find her father had taken a turn for the better. Without mages to keep him ill, he might be hunting and dancing again. No, once he spoke with Elizabeth, he would probably roust his entire army and march this way if he was half the man he was.
How much can you trust a mage who has lost his powers? Can you believe he will sail to a faraway home? What if he is able to restore his magic in some fashion? All good questions for keeping a man awake.
I dozed in the early morning, after moving Alexia closer to me. She would snort and warn me of anything unusual. My hand grasped my sword before sleeping, and when I woke, it was still ready for use. My stomach growled in anticipation of more fried meat pies for breakfast.
Kendra awoke and spoke softly, “Has he been asleep all night?”
I nodded.
“Don’t say anything. Just be quiet.”
Whatever her game was, she didn’t sound like she was teasing or playing. I remained still and so did she, the difference being she had her eyes closed in concentration. We remained like that for so long the memories of the meat pies were slipping away.
The mage woke with a start. His body stiffened, and his mouth opened in fright, as his face twisted into a mask. The ropes held his wrists and feet, but he rolled to one side, his body strained to break free of the bindings.
Other than Kendra telling me to stay where I was, I’d have gone to him and made sure they were secure. He moaned. Then he rolled again, ending up face to the sky.
I heard the soft rustle of wings long before I recognized the sound. A spot of darkness increased until it took the shape of a bird, then later to a dragon. It flew right at us. Kendra remained still, and I knew she was guiding it.
The nameless mage broke his bindings. He turned to me, a wild expression on his face. He shouted, “You promised.”
“Did you draw enough essence from the dragon to break the ropes?” Kendra asked.
“Yes, what’d you expect?”
I peered at him as I used my magic to retie the ropes. In a soothing, non-threatening tone, I continued, “That was just a question. We still have our deal. I wondered if there was some special process you used.”
“You’re a mage?”
I shook my head. He calmed when no further action was taken, but his eyes kept nervously going to the sky where the dragon had flown. It had passed right by us, and as I looked at Kendra again, her intent became clear. The dragon had flown over the road leading from Andover to the seaport of Mercia, and now it flew along the road where we had been. It was looking for enemies on the only road in this part of Dire.
He reluctantly talked, his eyes still averted. “A mage remained with the dragon at all times. They . . . we drew the power from the dragon and made it available to all.”
I had suspected the answer, or something similar. “You weakened the dragon until it was barely alive and kept it that way.”
“I only did it for about ten years and hated it the whole time.”
The excuse sounded weak. If not for Kendra, he would still be stealing the life’s energy from the creature, only leaving it enough for it to exist. “What happened with my sister?”
The mage turned to her, then back away. “A few months ago, we detected huge drains on the essence, far more than all the mages drawing on it at the same time. We suspected the dragon was ill at first, then discovered a new entity. Her.”
“You didn’t know who she was, or where?”
“And had no way to find out. About a month ago, she drew a vast amount and held it a few minutes, then released it back in the dragon in a burst that almost allowed it to break free of its chains.”
“Chains?” Kendra spat, “You chained it?”
“How else could we be sure it didn’t escape? Are you going to kill me, now?”
A flat silence consisting of three people staring at each other on a cold morning took hold. Finally, she said, “No. We asked for the truth and cannot punish you for that. But also know this. I hate chains and if I’d have known that last night, we never would have made the agreement.”
The silence continued until she stood and walked to her horse. “Damon. Untie him and catch up with me.”
She rode away.
I went to the mage and said as I cut his bindings, “If I was you, I’d do exactly what she told you. I wouldn’t even go into town until mid-day in case she gets delayed.”
Instead of leaping to his feet in freedom, he remained seated, his eyes downcast. I walked to Alexia and mounted, also riding away without looking back.