“You don’t trust Brianna?”
“I’m not even sure that is Brianna. Did you see the way she came down out of the sky? It was like she was a bird or something. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“I have,” Zollin said. “She was jumping and flipping like an acrobat before the dragon took her.”
“Well, what do you think of her new friends? How can we know they aren’t using her to get to you?”
“I don’t know,” Zollin said. “I guess I’ve just got to trust Brianna.”
“Your funeral, pal,” Mansel said. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you when one of those beasts cooks you for its next meal.”
Zollin laughed and gave Mansel’s arm a reassuring squeeze before walking away. He was pretending that the dragons didn’t bother him, but the truth was, he didn’t like dragons. They were vicious and cruel. He wished more than ever that he had killed the big black dragon in the Highlands, but he hadn’t. Brianna had convinced him not too, and now she was with a whole group of them. It made him feel sick to this stomach, but he remembered the power that Brianna had discovered in the caves of the dwarves and how she seemed to embrace that power completely. It made him feel like a hypocrite to judge Brianna after she had given up everything to support him when he revealed his own magic.
He walked back out into the clearing and found Brianna all alone.
“Where are the dragons?” he asked.
“I sent them to hunt,” she said, her irritation showing. “We’ve been tracking Bartoom for days now and they haven’t had the time to feed the way they should.”
“I’m sorry,” Zollin said. “I know I’m being a bit skeptical, but I thought you were dead.”
“Why?” Brianna asked. “Bartoom didn’t take me by force. If he wanted to kill me, why wouldn’t he have done it in the valley instead of taking me away?”
“Come on, what was I supposed to think? Our plan was to kill the dragon, remember? Not heal it, and certainly not to take off with it. I was worried sick. I tried desperately to find you, but you were just gone. And then…” he let his voice trail off.
“And then what?” Brianna said.
“And then things just went from bad to worse. We lost Kelvich, and we almost lost my dad. I didn’t know what had happened to you, but the way things were going I couldn’t help but think you were dead. When I saw the dragon, I fought hard hoping to find a clue as to what happened to you, but he slipped past me. You know he’s working for Offendorl, the master wizard of the Torr, don’t you?”
“Yes, but it isn’t Bartoom’s fault. The wizard has found a way to enslave Bartoom. It doesn’t have a choice but to obey.”
“You’re saying the dragon doesn’t want to do bad things?”
“No, it really doesn’t,” Brianna said. “It didn’t kill me, and it could have.”
“It killed a lot of people, though-hundreds of them. It burned villages, and it even fought with Offendorl, attacking the Orrock city walls. It even carried Offendorl away, just when I almost had him.”
“I’m sorry for that,” Brianna said. “And honestly, I think Bartoom is too. It’s hundreds of years old and has survived countless atrocities, most of them at the hands of people. It’s no wonder that it acted so viciously. Look, I’m not excusing what Bartoom did, but I have a different perspective now. I can relate to how they feel.”
Zollin took Brianna’s hand and they walked to the far side of the tree from where the horse carcasses were burning. The poor animals had died instantly from the dragon’s fiery breath, and Zollin was a little embarrassed that his stomach was growling from the smell of the roasting horse flesh. They sat down on the grass, facing each other.
“Well, I am very happy that you are alive,” he said.
“Did you miss me?” she asked.
“Of course I did. I wanted to curl up in a ball and die. If I wasn’t forced to fight armies and chase down evil wizards, I probably would have.”
“You could have come looking for me,” she said.
“I would have,” Zollin said. “I would have spent the rest of my life searching for you.”
She smiled and squeezed his hand.
“My pride can help you,” she said. “The dragons are powerful, Zollin. They almost killed Bartoom less than a week ago.”
“I wish they would have,” Zollin said.
“Bartoom is returning to the wizard that enslaved it.”
“Not without taking a shot at me every chance it gets,” Zollin said. “And the wizard’s name is Offendorl. He’s old and powerful, but I’ve got to stop him. He led an army to attack Yelsia and used the dragon against us.”
“I know,” Brianna said sadly.
“And the army that invaded Yelsia is now on its way to Osla. Rumor has it that King Belphan was killed during the battle of Orrock. And there’s a witch too-have you heard about her?”
“Yes, your father mentioned something about a witch,” Brianna said, fear stirring in her heart again.
“You’ve seen him?” Zollin asked. “Was he with Miriam?”
“Yes, they seem very happy, although he’s worried about you.”
Zollin nodded, happy that his father had found a place to call home.
“I think the witch is actually a sorceress, but apparently she has some sort of magical control over men,” Zollin said. “She bewitched Mansel and Quinn. Mansel tried to kill Quinn twice, and he did kill Kelvich.”
“What? No, Zollin, that can’t be true.”
“It is, but he wasn’t acting on his own. That’s why he’s been with me. He feels like he owes me something. He met Nycoll on his way down to Osla with Quinn. They got separated and he ran into trouble. She patched him back up and now he’s in love with her.”
“Well,” Brianna said, raising her eyebrows in disbelief. “Of all the things I’ve seen, that’s the hardest to believe. Who would have ever thought that Mansel could fall in love?”
“Not me, but it’s true. In fact, it’s obvious. We’ve been on a mad dash to get here before the army that’s marching south, but we were too late. They had already burned down her cottage. Lucky for her she hid, but even then she almost didn’t make it. We were waiting here for Eustice and getting a little rest. I hope he shows up soon. We don’t have any supplies left now,” he said, waving at the tree.
“Who is Eustice?” Brianna asked.
“He was a servant of Offendorl’s, but the coward left Eustice behind when he fled. The poor man was so grateful that we let him live that he’s been following us ever since. He’s a eunuch, and Offendorl cuts out their tongues too. It’s horrible.”
Brianna wasn’t sure what to say. She had heard of eunuchs in stories from long ago. There was a time when people were enslaved, their bodies mutilated because of some insane belief that without the normal desires of men they would work harder and be more subservient. She shuddered at the thought.
“So, tell me what happened after you were carried away by the black dragon.”
“Bartoom,” Brianna said. “We went high into the southern range of mountains and found a cave. I stayed with Bartoom and learned as much as I could of dragons. They are really incredibly creatures. I tried to get Bartoom to stay with me, but the wizard’s call was too strong to resist. After Bartoom left, I had an overwhelming urge to create more dragons.”
“How?” Zollin asked. “Did the dragon…do something to you?” he asked quietly, partly ashamed for asking and partly afraid of the answer.
“What? You mean sexually? No,” she said sternly. “That’s not even possible. Dragons don’t reproduce. They’re not even male of female, Zollin. How could you ask that?”
“I don’t know,” Zollin said. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know how else you could create dragons.”
“With fire,” Brianna said, letting tongues of flame dance on her palms. “I did things I didn’t know I could do. It was amazing. I got so hot, Zollin, that I was literally swimming through solid rock.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I was like one of those fire worm things the dwarves fought. I melted the rock, turned it into lava and swam down into the mountain. Then I used the molten rock to form the dragons. I worked for days, maybe even weeks-I’m not sure. I couldn’t stop. I just kept making them, molding their bodies and wings. Then I added gold to form their hearts and breathed life into them with my fire.”