Gareth kept his eyes closed and slumped himself against a stump, but watched intently through the eyes of the Blackie as he hung on every word. Blackie really is a stupid name. He couldn’t determine what Tom was up to, except to delay and give him time to formulate an escape, but his trust of Tom had fled long ago. Tom wanted the glory and reward from the king for himself. He wouldn’t want a young Field Lieutenant half his age grabbing the credit.
Gareth’s best course of action seemed to be waiting and attempting escape from all of them, including Tom if the opportunity presented itself. Then he could make up his own mind about what was best for him and Blackie.
*A wise choice.*
Gareth sat bolt upright at the remark. He fully opened his eyes, looking at each man nearby to determine who spoke so clear in his mind, with a voice so loud it almost echoed. The guards reacted to his change in posture with hands placed on weapons, but none had the intention of attacking. They looked at him in alarm, as if he intended to leap to his feet and flee, or as if they were scared of him, which may have been closer to the truth. The guards knew nothing except what little the officers shared, and the officers were scared.
Their minds must have heard the same fear and surprise he felt and sent to them almost as a physical blow. His mind had probably shouted the fear so everyone felt it. Gareth realized his mistake and shut down his mind, then quickly fell backward onto the ground and laid still, eyes closed.
*Quick thinking, my boy. Relax your mind or they may attack.*
The voice boomed and rattled inside his mind so loud he wanted to wince in pain, but his ears heard nothing. It was a male voice, deep in tone, slow to pronounce each word, and it was too ‘loud’, yet oddly familiar. Gareth lay still and tried to remember if he’d ever heard of such a thing, and realized he had. This must be what the teachers in the Brotherhood did when they “talked” to each other in mind speech. The one “listening” must experience the same sensations as he now heard. He had spoken to the dragon, but it had never spoken back. His mind raced.
There was so much he didn’t know.
*I’ve been observing and waiting for the right time to speak with you, Gareth. It seems that everyone intends to use you for his or her own purposes. None of them is a true friend, as I believe you now understand.*
“You’re the night whisperer,” Gareth said the words in his mind without moving his lips or sound issuing from his mouth. The same way he talked to himself when alone.
*Yes, I am your night whisperer. I could not make full contact with you until you bonded with your dragon, a beautiful specimen if I may say so. But I could whisper through the veils of darkness and sleep, and suggest you leave Dun Mare before the Brotherhood took complete control of you.*
“Why would they do that?”
*When you were newborn, you cried out and notified those with the power to sense you with the understanding of your presence. It was the loudest cry heard in generations. The king sent an army to take you into custody, the sisters sent women to ‘mother” and teach you. But the Brotherhood arrived first, and they stole you from your family. They hid you in the mountains where they used a drug in your food to prevent your mind from reaching out. They educated and raised you in secret, and always had brothers nearby to shut down your thinking so no others could locate you. The brothers intended for you to serve only them.*
Gareth responded. “A man should choose his way in life.”
*I agree. However, as it now stands, if you serve the king, the Brotherhood and Sisterhood will kill you. If you choose the Brotherhood or Sisterhood, the outcast pair will see to your death. Understand the problem? You cannot choose any of them.*
“I have three sides fighting over me. I cannot win.”
*Yes, fighting over you and your dragon, of course. You’re a pair. A pair that eventually combines as one into extreme power, but you don’t know or understand how, yet. The important fact to consider this day is that two of the three opposing sides must lose, and they will not allow you to survive to serve the third.*
Gareth paused and then allowed the truth to speak for itself. “It seems like there are now four sides if I include you.”
*What? You don’t trust me?*
Gareth sensed humor in the question but answered it truthfully. “No, I do not.”
*Good for you, Gareth. Trust only yourself. Now you may ask me who I am, and how I might help you.*
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Gareth spoke under his breath, in a normal tone. “Okay, who are you?”
*I am you, many, many years ago.*
The words appeared inside his mind, booming and echoing, sounding amused. Gareth said, “That doesn’t make sense. Do you have a name?”
*I have had many names, but I have not had people living around me in such a long time that they’re almost forgotten. You may call me whatever you wish. It makes no matter to an old man like me.*
“Your voice is so loud in my head it’s like somebody shouting to me in a cave when I’m standing nearby.”
*Is this better?*
Gareth snatched a peek at the six men standing guard around him, finding them standing, weapons in hand, in a circle. They were at attention. Not looking alarmed as a short while ago. He used his mind to speak, “Yes, that’s much better. Now, what do you mean, you are me?”
*Poorly stated, I’m afraid, and for that, I do apologize. One day soon you will understand. When I was about your age, they came for me, too. For me and my young dragon, Cinder. The king’s men, the brothers, and a few women of what would become the Sisterhood. The women had not formed an alliance back then, so it was only a few who acted on their own. Therefore, I understand your feelings and confusion.*
“Well, I don’t.”
*Allow me to enlighten you about a few interesting facts. Cinder is my dragon. My black dragon. We talk to each other as you and your Blackie, but you are the first to share our abilities in so many years I cannot remember specifics. There was once a very old man who had paired with a black called Amadeus. A very large and short-tempered black dragon, as I remember. He didn’t like me so we never communicated. I believe they lived way down south, somewhere near the Gates of Huron.*
Gareth felt himself begin to shake in excitement, and he fought to control it before the guards around him thought he suffered a seizure and interrupted his conversation. “You speak to your dragon with your mind?”
*Cinder. A fine, intelligent specimen of a black, if I say so. You have a young male, far too young to breed, however when the time comes he will give you fits, but this is not the time when we should be discussing that topic. They grow up so fast. Speaking is not a precise term for our interaction, but I haven’t another better-suited word. Have you looked through the eyes of your dragon, yet?*
“Yes, for the first time, today. I thought I was sick or something.”
*That is the true test of lifelong bonding. You have so much to look forward to in your life; however, for now, you must escape those around you and come to me. Alternatively, you may go off to some distant location on your own, but it is imperative that you escape the clutches of everyone who determines to have their claws into you.*