Knights of the Dragon (of Knights and Wizards Book 1) Read online

  They went at it for quite a while, with no one being able to take advantage of the other, even though Stone was bigger and stronger. Rather than be intimidated by a woman able to match his skill, Stone was most impressed. There was no one else that he’d rather fight with than Alexa. Even though he was Leeander’s first knight he had always appreciated Alexa’s skills with a sword; Stone had taught her well from the age of twelve when he was seventeen. Stone had resisted teaching her all those years ago, but she had insisted, attacking him whenever she got the opportunity, forcing him to instruct her. He had always admired her mettle.

  The battle fought with such precision that it had beauty to it. Parry, slice, evade and chop. A crowd was beginning to gather as they always did when their swords met; it was great entertainment. She jumped off her feet, and almost side kicked him in the face; he managed to get out of her way but just barely. He loved it when she came up with such unusual moves; intelligence was, of course, a large part of the battle. A fight was much more than brute force, and he had taken advantage of a warrior’s overconfidence many times, but that was never the case with the princess. She was always looking to improve her skills.

  Stone suddenly went flying, hit from behind, landing on top of Alexa as Ryxa had nudged him with her head. The princess had wanted to tell Stone to get off her, but he had caught her eyes, and they were both transfixed. So close that a kiss appeared to be inevitable, trapped in those captivating brown eyes. Several people had gathered to stare at Stone on top of the princess. Time had stopped for both of them; nothing else existed. They had become close friends over the years and now their time in proximity was awkward because of the attraction that neither wanted to admit. Stuck in a moment in time that had caught the attention of both souls and for that short period, it was as if they were alone. Stone had decided to go in for the kiss.

  “Are you two going to make a baby right here in public?” Marcus laughed at his big sister even though he knew she would be furious at the comment. Seeing her in that compromising position was too much to resist.

  Her brother’s annoying voice had snapped her out of it, releasing her as she pushed Stone off and ran to give Marcus a good hit, but the dragon put her massive head in the way. Ryxa snorted at Alexa. “That stupid dragon is not going to be here forever. Just you wait!” The princess grabbed the book from Lance and marched off in a huff.

  “Just you wait!” Ryxa mocked. “She’s a feisty one, but I like her. Don’t tell her I said that.”

  Stone got up with his sword over his shoulder, his eyes fixed on Alexa until she disappeared into the entrance of the Great Hall, and then he turned to face Ryxa. It had been an unexpected situation, and because he couldn’t explain it away, he didn’t try. “Dragon, why did you hit me?”

  “Oh, sorry about that. I was talking to Marcus and not watching where I was going.”

  Stone studied the dragon, but his mind remained on Alexa. How would he have explained a knight kissing the princess? “Marcus, don’t you think it’s time to get that damn dragon out of here?”

  “No. Mind your own business.”

  “Marcus, don’t be disrespectful.”

  “I wouldn’t try it if I were you.”

  Ryxa studied the knight.

  Marcus pulled his sword and showed it to Stone. “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. What do you think of my sword?”

  Stone knew where the boy was going as he had previously approached him about it. “I know. You’ve grown, and it hasn’t. It’s a little too short for you. Why don’t you get the swordsmith to make you another?”

  Marcus needed to think of something so that Stone wouldn’t refuse his request. “Tell you what Stone. You make me a new sword, and I’ll get the dragon to fly us both over to the kingdom of the Yurrosy, and you can see for yourself how much bigger they are now. Father says that you make the best swords. He says your skill is nothing short of magical. Is it a deal?”

  Although Stone had never told anyone about his fear of heights, the opportunity to see the kingdom of the Yurrosy was too much to resist. As one of the knights to the king, he really shouldn’t refuse. He would have to hide his fear and suck it up. Being brave didn’t mean not having fear, it meant battling through it. That little brat had him, and they both knew it. He did wonder what he was getting himself into and how frightening it would be up there. “You have yourself an agreement boy.”

  “Climb then.”

  “Now?” Stone was a bit surprised at the suddenness of it all, but perhaps it was best just to get it over with, that way he wouldn’t have time to dwell on it. Otherwise, it would have been a sleepless night.

  Ryxa could hear Stone’s heart beating a little too fast, and she guessed that he was scared but decided not to say anything to the boy. It could be fun. She considered that the brave knight might just soil himself. Not many got to fly on the back of a dragon and so she thought that he should feel privileged rather than frightened. Stone climbed on wondering how much he was going to regret this; it felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. After Marcus had climbed on, the dragon ran a couple of steps before taking to the sky with the sound of her huge wings cutting through the air. Stone felt his stomach drop.

  Although he didn’t think he would scream, Stone did so and then tried hard to pretend that it was a scream of exhilaration. The boy’s smile was a knowing one. The knight managed to hold in another scream as they went higher and higher, all the while he thought that it was so unnatural for humans to fly. The dragon let herself free fall and giggled when he cursed her.

  “Dragon, what the hell are you doing?”

  “Stone, I didn’t know you were afraid of heights?” The boy laughed. “Pretty wild up here isn’t it? But look how far we can see! Isn’t it amazing? I was scared too at first.”

  Other words were going through Stone’s head besides amazing, and none of them were pretty. “I don’t like heights! And if you want that sword you’ll keep your mouth shut!”

  “I won’t tell anyone. Everyone is scared of something.”

  Stone kept his eyes closed for some time until the boy gave him a whack. They hovered as Ryxa pumped her wings to hold herself in place, scanning the skies for approaching dragons. It took some time, but they finally reached the kingdom; Stone forgot himself as he stared down at the Yurrosy. He couldn’t believe how big they had grown in a few years. It looked like they might be a million strong down there, impossible odds to fight without magic. Where there had been miles and miles of fields it was now a sea of dwellings of all different shapes and sizes, including several more armories. In fact, he could faintly hear a swordsmith pounding out a sword.

  Stone could see many fires burning and hundreds of soldiers trained inside a large walled area. Where there had been one huge castle now, there were two, joined by a beautiful walkway that led from one to the other. Why would one king need or want two castles? It was an impressive sight, and he guessed that was the point.

  “Oh no, here we go again! Hold on!”

  “Marcus, what’s the dragon talking abouuuuuuuuuuuuut!”

  Ryxa flew her fastest as a red dragon was right on her tail, dodging several bursts of fire. She couldn’t turn to face the dragon as doing so would have been deadly to her two occupants; she had to concentrate on evasive maneuvers until she could manage to turn safely. A battle of dragons with fragile humans on her back was no fun. She had to consider their safety as well, tricky business.

  Stone’s vomit hit the pursuing red dragon in its left eye, and the acidity from it stung the big male, making it shake its head and his eye water. The beast caught up to Ryxa and tried to claw her right through her two passengers; Stone pulled his sword and cut off part of the dragon’s claw; it screamed and called off the attack as blood dripped from his right foot. Sometimes a spell would break when a dragon felt sufficient pain. The red dragon was now confused as it flew off back towards its cave, trying to remember how it had come to be fighting another dragon.

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nbsp; Ryxa’s mother swooped down from above. “Ryxa, what did I tell you about this area?” said Inara.

  “Mother you scared me! The boy wanted to show the knight how big the Yurrosy have become.”

  Inara wasn’t impressed with the people on her daughter’s back, and neither at her recklessness. “Bring the humans home and get back to the cave.”

  “Yes, mother.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE VALLEY OF CUBES had been there as long as anyone could recall, resembling huge blocks that reached for the sky. There were twelve of them, and all looked identical. They formed a square in the Etherian desert, surrounded by golden mounds of drifted sand, and thought separate they were tight against one another. People had painted on them, scenes of dragons, knights, shields and animals. They were over a hundred humans high and had been explored by many but only from the exterior. The cubes were one of the great mysteries of the world. No human had ever found their way in though many had tried. Some postulated that the cubes were the remnants of a long-lost civilization, but no one seemed to know for sure. Some nights an eerie pink glow emanated from them.

  There was a myriad of stories of the Valley of Cubes, great entertainment for many, and even contests for the best tale of how the cubes came to be with the winner receiving a newly forged sword. There were stories of hidden treasures and imaginary beasts within and yarns about dragons and ghosts and long-dead knights. The story of the ghouls that only came out after sunset was a popular one, dragging kids into the cubes never seen again; it had given children many restless nights and did manage to keep some away from the area.

  Wizards had attempted to penetrate them with magic over the years but failed to gain entry. People had even climbed them thinking that the way in was most likely from on top, but up there it was identical to all the other sides, no way in, and what looked like claw marks on every surface. They were a mystery that had tickled just about everyone’s imagination at one time or another. Many treks had been made to the Valley of the Cubes just to stare at them in wonder.

  The cubes surrounded the most beautiful flower garden, sustained by magic in the hot desert sand. The flora was pink and red and yellow in perfect balance, often its scent traveled for miles, lifting spirits like a mother’s hug. Most had different ideas of what the flowers smelled like; some thought that the scent depended upon a person’s personal taste as if the magic gave everyone the particular smell they adored. The flowers spiraled in an exceptional balance of beauty and tint, some said they were hypnotic, but many said a lot of things about the Valley of Cubes. The flowers shined yellow under the light of the full moon with dancing sparkles of light. They were anchored so well by an enchantment that they were impossible to pick; the memory of their beautiful scent could stay with a person for weeks. Some said that the flowers whispered to one another as if they were haunted things, ghosts of flowers. But it wasn’t easy to get over the cubes to get into the garden.

  On the top of one of the huge blocks, two ravens were screeching at one another, warning of the dragon that was flying up there. They could sense it flying overhead, though too high up to be visible, disturbing the air’s current. A third raven landed beside the others with a dead rat and commenced to eat while the other two looked on. A rare blue dragon flew onto one of the blocks across from the ravens. It was full grown, but only the size of a horse; its scales shimmered in the sun. It preened itself and took no notice of the birds, knowing that it was one of the most handsome dragons. It hit the birds with a burst of blue flame turning all three to ashes before they could take to the air. The dragon spread its wings and took to the air; it flew into the spiral of flowers and disappeared. Sparkles of white light expelled from the garden and then sucked right back down into the flowers.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The sun was just barely above the horizon. The morning came with a refreshing breeze, making the trees ebb and flow with nature’s dance. Yellow and red songbirds were welcoming the new day, taking turns as they sang their particular parts of the song that they had created long ago. When all the notes came together, they merged into a beautiful symphony that would warm anyone’s heart. They would continue until someone notice their lovely voices. People often whistled the tune that had become stuck in their heads.

  In spite of the beautiful morn the dark atmosphere that still hung over Leeander was creating restless nights for all. Everyone knew that the Yurrosy would be at Leeander’s border sooner or later, in fact, they had already captured several Yurrosy scouts that were now in Leeander’s dungeons under the castle. All the scouts would reveal was that the kingdom would be under Yurrosy rule sooner or later and that there was some trepidation of their wizard. Fear of Adorok might mean hesitation, but it was unlikely that they would be left alone for long.

  Against her father’s wishes, Alexa rounded up seven men and was preparing to venture out toward the Yurrosy in an attempt to capture one of their wizard’s. The men chosen weren’t knights but good fighters nonetheless. They were ready to take a chance, no matter how high the odds to save their homes and families. All were preparing to mount their horses when the king showed up with Stone; Alexa had just mounted her stallion. She was disappointed to observe her father’s arrival, but not quite as dissatisfied as the king. Darius shook his head disapprovingly.

  “Alexa, what did I tell you?”

  “Father, I refuse to wait for those bastards to show up outside the gates.”

  The king dismounted and approached Alexa. “Daughter, if you won’t listen to the king’s commands then who will? You weaken my power by disobeying me.”

  Everyone was silent as they waited for her response. He was deliberately making her feel a little disloyal. “I know father but--”

  “Did you finish going through the tome? That is more important than going out on a suicide mission at this point.”

  “I haven’t finished it yet.”

  The king placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword. “You men are dismissed. Alexa, get back to the book.”

  “Yes, father.”

  Lance approached on his horse. “Adorok is once again lucid your majesty.”

  “Quickly then before he slips off.”

  Inside Adorok’s house things were in shambles, but at least, his shelves of spells were still organized. It was if he had gone through the place in desperate search of something. The King, Stone, and Lance found the wizard at his desk with quill in hand; he stood as the king entered.

  “King Darius I understand that the Yurrosy are encroaching upon us.” He had come out of a state of confusion and was now in a worried state.

  The king was happy to be able to speak to his wizard once again. “They’re out to conquer the world as far as I can tell. They could decide to attack two or three other kingdoms before Leeander, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that they will march on us soon enough. They might wait because it is a well-known fact that we have a powerful wizard for protection.”

  The wizard smiled as he misunderstood. “You’ve found another sorcerer, your majesty?”

  “No Adorok, I was talking about you.”

  “Oh.”

  Stone thought the wizard looked so frail now compared to what he looked like just a few years ago; it was as if time had beaten him with a stick. It saddened him to think that one day time would pummel him as well if he were lucky enough to live long enough.

  “We’ve going to try and capture another wizard and force him to power up the shield. It might give us sufficient time to figure out something else. They are too numerous to defend against and so magic will have to be part of the solution. You know that Joshuar is no more.”

  “Unfortunately, I do. They had some great people there; some were friends of mine.”

  “Can you come up with a spell that will increase the chances of capturing a wizard? Or perhaps you already have something that would work?”

  Adorok nodded and looked pleased. He made his way over to where a lot of his enchantments we
re on small square shelves, although most of those spaces were now empty. He reached up high to the left and pulled off a small brown leather pouch. “You are in luck, your majesty. The contents of this bag will render a wizard unconscious for three days, but of course, there’s a problem. As I weaken so do all of my spells. How effective this will be I cannot say. Instead of knocking out a wizard for three days it might only knock him out for three hours although I suppose that you could tie and gag him. You would need to bind his fingers as well. And should I perish the spell will be rendered useless. And as I weaken so does the shield.”

  “Yes, we’ve figured that out. How does the enchantment work?” Stone asked.

  “The concept is very simple; as soon as the wizard is hit his magical energy will trigger the contents. But should he awaken ahead of time you would be in grave danger, and that is where you would end up, in a grave. It does also weaken his powers for a time but for how long I couldn’t say. And never let a wizard face you, bound or not, always keep his back to you.”

  The king took the pouch and thought it weighed much heavier than it should have; he gave it to Stone. “Take some knights and find us a wizard.”

  “What about Alexa your majesty?”

  The king thought hard on it as he knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would go after them, and then she would be out there all alone. There would be no keeping her from the wizard quest so why bother to try. “Take her with you. And Stone, make sure that she knows you are in charge.”