Dragon Undone Read online

  His eyes gleamed, and he nodded. “Right. I am going to shift and grab you. Don’t let the others get a hold of you. I promise to keep you safe if you trust me.”

  She nodded, and he stood, changing shape into a dragon with a gleaming gold hide and eyes of a rich sapphire blue.

  She was scooped up in his right front claw, and he took flight, holding her carefully against his chest. She was stunned by the events and the bizarre inclusion of herself in the banishment.

  Aeli wanted to ask her father what had gone wrong, but she couldn’t. The spell wasn’t going to let any of the banished back into Rekker as long as the energy burned, and it would burn for centuries if no equilibrium between dragons and mages was agreed to.

  * * * *

  Norman Warrok felt the impact of the magic that he had designed decades earlier. “Oh, no.”

  He ran to Aelemilial’s workshop and saw the bits of familiar herbs in the bin. The suspension field was still out, and the notebook was tucked under her workbench.

  He lifted his head and searched the city for his daughter. He was not surprised to find that she was gone, but his heart was breaking.

  Norman grabbed his cloak and headed for the council hall. If the spell hadn’t gained traction, he might be able to undo it. Across the landscape, dragons were being ripped through their roofs and thrown out of the city.

  A cynical part of his mind admired the precision of the spell. Aelemilial had done wonderful work.

  He skidded to a halt in the doorway of the hall and looked up. The hole was huge, and in the centre of the space was the glowing orb, pulsing with energy. It was fully expanded, and he wasn’t going to be able to simply unravel the spell. His daughter had done a helluva job.

  Master Mage Josia Dorm came to stand next to him. “So, someone found your old book, eh, Norman?”

  Norman scowled. “I noticed.”

  “The workmanship is master quality. Are you sure it wasn’t you?”

  He felt a surge of pride, but then, he muttered, “It was my daughter.”

  “Really? Well, where is she? She deserves a commendation for this.”

  Norman winced. He was going to have to explain a few things, but he hated that his child was not the first to know. “She is gone. Swept away by the spell.”

  “I thought it only worked on dragons.”

  Norman gave him a morose look. “It does.”

  Josia blinked slowly. “Oh. Ohhh. She’s adopted.”

  Norman sighed. “Yes.”

  “No wonder you didn’t use the spell. It is a wonder that you didn’t destroy it.”

  Norman growled. “I thought I had.”

  “Ah. Well, magic tomes do defend themselves. So, what shall we do with our new city?”

  Norman blinked. “What?”

  “Well, we have the control we wanted; we can make Rekker a truly great haven for magic and a force to be reckoned with.”

  Norman stood and listened as more mages arrived and began to plan defensive weapons and then offensive weapons, and he finally understood what he had done when he had crafted that spell. He had set modern mages loose on the world.

  With whatever happened in the next few days, he was desperate to know that Aelemilial was safe. She was his world and had been since that day on the mountainside when he had found a newborn infant exposed to the elements and wailing for help. She didn’t ask, she demanded, and from that moment on, she had been his life.

  He had learned of her dragon nature when she was a toddler. A few easy tests had confirmed it. The rest of his life was spent hiding the signs from her. At this particular moment, he was regretting that decision.

  He started formulating the reversing spell in his mind, but Aelemilial would have to cast it. She was banished from the city, so finding a way for her to defy her nature to get back to the hall was going to require a solution on her part. She was smart. If she could figure out how to blow the dragons out of the city, she could get herself back in. He would create the spell to blow the original banishment apart, but she would have to administer it.

  His daughter was a clever girl. She would manage whatever she had to. He was sure of it. He headed home with that focus in his mind. She would fix it. She had to.

  * * * *

  Aeli was getting cold, even covered by Kreelo’s large and rough-skinned claws.

  She couldn’t see out, so she worked on a slow heat spell to keep herself awake. When the familiar sense of magic worked, she sighed in relief. Her fingers warmed, and the heat moved through her limbs, bringing the feeling back to her cheeks.

  Aeli had stopped crying. It had been difficult. Once she had figured out why her father had never carried out the spell, it was obvious, she was, at least partially, a dragon. How it was set up was not her concern, it was a fact born by the magic. It only banished dragons. Her mother must have been a dragon. There were other possibilities, but she wanted to hang onto the most normal of them.

  The look in the eyes of the dragons still flared when she closed her eyes. They had been furious, and she was facing a savage end if they had gotten hold of her. She swallowed. Having to face her victims had never occurred to her.

  She felt the deep guilt of those who had suddenly gotten caught. The shame was something she was steeping in. The consequences beyond the moment of action had never occurred to her. She had just wanted to give her father what he was unable to give himself.

  Kreelo was lowering their altitude, and she wished she could see out from behind his clutching claws.

  The sensation of falling made her distinctly unwell because she couldn’t see where she was going. An anti-nausea spell stopped her from making the close confines unbearable, and she turned off the heating spell.

  When they finally set down, her brain didn’t acknowledge it for a moment, so when he opened his claws and she tumbled loose, she was completely disoriented.

  Aeli lay on the soft green grass and caught the scent of salt in the air. They had flown to the coast. Kreelo resumed his human form and extended his hand to her. “Come along, we need to get in touch with your father.”

  She stumbled to her feet and swayed against him. She jerked back, appalled that she had made contact. “I am sorry.”

  He continued to hold her hand. “No apologies for contact necessary. Come inside, and we will make that call.”

  She nodded and took a few steps before her legs steadied. “Let’s see if he is answering.”

  “I am fairly sure that he will be waiting for contact if he has any idea what has transpired.”

  Aeli walked with him into a huge house that appeared to be completely empty. “Whose house is this?”

  “My family’s. My mother, father, and sister are currently in the capitol to meet the new diamond dragon.” His smile was slight, but there was a friendly expression on his face.

  “I have heard of that. She wasn’t supposed to be a dragon.”

  He grinned. “Not really, but she is. She is also a very open and frank person.”

  “Have you met?”

  “We have. Trin is a lovely woman, very much in love with her fiancé.”

  He led the way to a study, and he pressed a carving on the ornate desk. The monitor and dialling unit emerged, and it was state-of-the-art.

  He let her hand go, and she took the seat, dialling her home number and waiting. The pulse hadn’t even completed the first ring when her father’s face filled the screen.

  Her father’s hair was ragged and sticking out from the left side of his head. “Aelemilial, are you all right?”

  “I am fine, Father. Well, I am rather confused. What am I? Why did I get propelled outward with the dragons?”

  He looked at the man behind her. “I don’t want to tell you with him there.”

  “Father, he rescued me, and if anyone needs to know what he is dealing with, it is Councillor Kreelo.”

  Her father ran his hand through his hair again. “Fine. You would be able to find out on your own anyway. You are ado
pted.”

  She sat back and blinked. “What?”

  “I found you when you were a baby. You had been left for dead, just a few hours old.”

  She swallowed. “Who is the woman in the portrait?”

  “Mage Teiatha Moradu. She was the base for the portrait, and I altered the image to resemble you.”

  She closed her eyes and reset her reality. “So, you stopped trying to drive out the dragons...”

  “You were two, and I ran some tests when you exhibited strange energy. I taught you magic to focus those energies, and you took to it like a naturally born mage. I decided that not having the mages in charge might actually be a good thing. After what happened today, I agree.”

  Kreelo asked, “What happened?”

  “The mages went drunk with power. First, they are planning defenses then they are going to work on offensive weapons. I was so stupid to not destroy that book.”

  Kreelo nodded. “I would have to agree, but how can the barrier be broken?”

  “Aelemilial has to do it. She set the magic in motion, only she can stop it.”

  Kreelo hissed. “Damn. She is going to have to do her first transformation before then.”

  Her father’s tone was plaintive. “Must she?”

  “If you want her to break through that much magic, yes, she must.”

  Aeli watched her father think his way through it.

  He answered grudgingly. “Fine, but find the strongest dragon you can for this. If it is like the mages, the power of the teacher helps bring through the power of the student.”

  “I will do the best I can. We will be in touch.”

  “Don’t drag your heels. The rest of the mages here are not particularly skilled, but they are determined, and they are holding the humans in the city. No one can leave.”

  Aeli covered her eyes. “I never meant...”

  Kreelo squeezed her shoulders. “I know. I just have to hide you.”

  She waved to her father, and it ended the call.

  Kreelo moved her aside, so she was standing and he was dialling. “Now, I need to find a female dragon to call your dragon out. This might take some time. Feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

  She knew a dismissal when she heard one, and when she found the correct hallway, she made her way into the gadget-laden area.

  Chapter Five

  Figuring out the coffeemaker took some doing, but she replayed watching Kreelo move and arrange the cup before pressing the button. Once that was done, she found the cooler and got some cream. A quick sniff let her know that it was still fine.

  While she was looking for the sugar, she noted that there were enough plates for at least twenty people. This was a house built for company.

  She located the sugar and went to fix her coffee, spending three minutes in search of a teaspoon.

  Aeli stirred her coffee and took a sip, raising her brows at the mellow taste. The coffee that was grown near Rekker was quite a bit more bitter.

  She sat at the kitchen table and tried to figure out how to pull her contribution from the orb from this distance. She grimaced. There was no way to do it.

  She looked around for something to draw with, and when she couldn’t find anything, she got a handful of flour and dusted it across the surface of the table. With a clean finger, she started to draw a spell that she might be able to use if she could get close enough. It would take some doing to get the ingredients together, but if she could get this right, her father could assemble them, and she would just have to find a way to crack her own repulsion spell.

  Kreelo entered the room and paused. “You have been busy.”

  She shrugged. “I am used to action, so this was all I could do to stop screaming at myself for being an idiot.”

  “You were carrying out a family vendetta. It is understandable. However, now that the family member you wanted to avenge has come out on the side of the dragons, I am glad you are with us on this.”

  She blinked. “You are not counting me as a dragon?”

  “You were raised as a mage, and a mage should not have been able to use magic. So, I am going to reserve comment on your dragon status until your instructor arrives to attempt to wake your dragon.”

  Aeli stared at him. “My instructor?”

  “Yes. You need a female to help you into your first transformation and back again.”

  She scowled. “Who will it be?”

  He went and prepared his own coffee. “I called someone I recently met in the capitol, and she recommended that I contact the museum and speak to the curator. She was very helpful and will be here within the hour.”

  “The curator?”

  “That is how she wishes to be known. Trin swears that she is a powerful dragon, and the curator stated that she can help you summon your dragon, so it should work out well.”

  She looked at him, and he seemed tense. “You are worried.”

  His golden good looks were marred by a frown. “The mages are holding the people of Rekker and not allowing anyone to leave. It is like they have been waiting for this moment.”

  She covered her face in her hands. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. My father was supposed to step up, but now, he is worried about me, and everything is getting worse.”

  “We will get into the city if it is the last thing we do.” He was grim as he swallowed his hot coffee.

  She looked at him and the determined set of his chin, and she nodded. “We will. Now, do you think any of the other dragons will figure out we are here?”

  His eyes widened. “Maybe. Why?”

  Aeli got to her feet and fought to find the way to the nearest exit. The back door was on the other side of the cooler, and she sprinted outside.

  She hadn’t done a ward against hostility since she was a teenager, but this seemed like the best time.

  “How big is the house? How wide and deep is the yard around it?”

  “Three hundred feet from this point in any direction.”

  She exhaled. She hadn’t covered that large an area in a while. “Right. Okay.”

  She drew the runes in light and kept a bright focus. Smiling, she set the line of runes spinning until they were a blurry cylinder, and then, she set them loose, expanding the cylinder up and out. She sealed the top as best she could and widened the base. It would be strong enough to repel a few attacks, but after that, she would be vulnerable, and the only other magic she would use against a dragon would really hurt them or her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Defensive spell. If anyone tries to come through with hostile intent, it should stop them.”

  He blinked. “Interesting.”

  She laughed. “Not really, but it will give us a warning if anyone approaches.”

  “What will the effect be?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “It is a repulsion spell, but it should be harmless. It will merely make them turn around and leave.”

  Kreelo exhaled. “Good.”

  “I don’t want to injure the dragons of Rekker any more than I already have. At least the expulsion spell let them down easily.”

  “That is a good thing. There were women and children in the city. Hopefully, the families have all been reunited.”

  She felt another pang of guilt. “I did not mean—”

  “I know. It is just that I am worried for the folk who were ejected, and I am hoping that the children who have not yet transformed are with them.”

  Aeli perked up. “I haven’t transformed yet, and I was ejected.”

  He smiled. “It gives me hope.”

  She nodded. “Well, no one can approach with hostility while this barrier is up. That is something, at least.”

  “How did you learn all of this? Did your father train you?”

  Aeli looked skyward. “Yes and no. He taught me to read the spells. I found a way to make them work.”

  Kreelo looked at her with confusion. “I thought spell work was an absolute.”

  �
�It is, and it isn’t. There is always room for interpretation. I use that room to get my work done, spells cast, and herbs growing.”

  “Well, let’s get back inside and get some food before your instructor arrives. From what I remember, the first shift burns a lot of calories.”

  She nodded and asked softly as they walked back into his family home, “Why are you helping me?”

  He blinked and turned to look her in the eye. “I thought you knew.”

  “Knew what?”

  “In my own slow and awkward way, I have been courting you for the last three years.” He smiled. “I just got tips on how to move things along, so I have been trying them out. How am I doing?”

  She stared at him in surprise. “Um... good. I think.”

  Kreelo’s grin was infectious. She laughed and smiled as they returned to the kitchen.

  “Why is there fresh food here?”

  He moved around the kitchen with ease. “My family comes and goes. We keep food here for when we drop in or if friends of the family come by.”

  “Who does the shopping?”

  “The staff is local, and they keep us stocked up. We are only twenty minutes from the city, but our two hundred acres feels a world away.”

  “That is quite the property.”

  He chuckled. “Dragons tend to like open spaces, and the magic that shifts us attracts wealth. We can’t control it; we are just gifted in that particular manner.”

  She snorted. “It is that gift that irritates the mages. They are constantly spending everything they can get their hands on to buy more and more exotic ingredients for their spell work and enchantments. A wealthy mage is usually one that is either killing with magic or is defrauding with it. Can I help?”

  “I have this. I have been raiding the cooler here since I was a child. It used to be my grandmother’s home.”

  “What happened to your grandmother, if I may ask?”

  He smiled at her before returning to his assembling of a variety of ingredients. “She and my grandfather are enjoying the open beaches and bright seas off the southern continent.”