Dragon Trials (Return of the Darkening Book 1) (6 page)

“When it’s all go, I and the others look through those. They’re like really good optics that make the far away seem closer. We use a system of flags and hand signals to then tell the riders and others what’s happening.”

“Oh. I see,” I didn’t, but it was fun hearing him talk with such excitement in his voice. For once, the learning felt right. I had no doubt I would pick up all the meanings and master them faster than the others. A flare of real hope warmed my chest and belly. I might be really good at something dragon-related after all.

“You see this?” he picked up a small, red flag on a stick and waved it in a looping pattern in front of him. “This is a general warning to say something’s up, trouble, look out.”

“And then there’s this,” he held the stick-flag straight up. “That means important information, hang on, I’ve got something for you to know.” Merik laughed and I knew he must be seeing the frown on my face as I tried to keep all this in mind. “There’s hundreds of them, all different colored flags.”

“But what if the riders are too far to see the observation tower?” I asked.

Merik grinned. “Well, that’s the good news. You’ll all have your own telescopes and if you are even too far away with them, then I wave to one of our scouts. Or other towers, and they repeat the gesture you see, all the way down the line.”

“Wow, okay.”

“But really, that’s just a mechanism for controlling dragon traffic around Torvald and the nearby realms. When you’re out there in the deep wilds you’re on your own,” Merik said and gave a firm nod.

“No, I won’t be.” I met his stare. “I will have Thea and our dragon.” I felt proud of my fellow rider. She was strong and brave and even though she looked down at me at times and whacked me with a staff, I knew she would always do her best.

“Ah. Agathea Flamma?” Merik nodded. “You’ve got a tall order there, haven’t you?”

“What do you mean?” I felt strangely defensive about my other rider, even though I could guess what he was about to say.

“Well, she’s a Flamma, isn’t she? They’re like, the best Dragon Riders ever. Her brother is navigator to Prince Justin, by the first dragon’s breath! And Reynalt Flamma, he captain’s his own squadron for the throne. Not many of his age could say they have such an honor.”

“Yeah,” I said my voice dropping low. “Thanks for reminding me, as if I don’t have enough to worry about with all the stuff in my head and the training and the like!”

“What? You’re a Dragon Rider, by all that’s above us and below, and that’s not enough for you?” Merik looked at me like I was crazy. “What have you got to worry about?”

“I’m just… so bad at fighting. And I’m always near the back when we runs.” I slapped my legs. “I wasn’t made for fast. Every time I look at Thea, she’s looking back at me like I’m a big failure, and I just know that I’m letting her down!”

“She’s stuck-up, just like all the other Flammas,” Merik grumbled.

“No, she’s not. She’s hard-working. She wants to do the best she can.” I heard my voice come out a little angry, so I bit off the words. It just didn’t seem fair that this…this Merik could have such quick opinions of my partner.
Well, maybe she is a little stuck-up, but she did come right to my side that first day
. I knew she was trying to help me, even if she did so on the end of a stick that kept slapping me.

“No, okay, I’m sorry.” Merik put a hand on my shoulder and shook hard. “It’s a good sign you’re jumping to the defense of your other rider. Just remember, you’ve got to trust in your own instincts as well. And I think you’re good at this.” He stabbed a long, stick-like finger down on the table surface between us. I smiled. He was right—I could be good at this. Now I just had to prove it to everyone.

I tried not to think about Sebastian too much. My days fitted into a pattern of up early every morning, go for a quick run, get washed, have breakfast and hit the practice yards. I wanted to stay focused, but that was harder than sounded. As the days slipped past, he was getting better, but not as quickly as he should. Compared with Beris and Jensen and others, he was so far behind in the fighting skills that I feared he would never catch up.

Added to this, he had started to go off on his own. I followed him one day and saw him head up into the observation tower. I knew some skinny kid—one of the scribes or scholars or someone called Merik or Erik or something—hung out there in the Map Room. And Sebastian started to talk about how this map sign meant one thing and that wave of a flag meant whatever else. I had to press my lips tight to tell him that wasn’t what he needed to learn.

To me trying to keep Sebastian’s thoughts on learning what he should be learning was like trying to keep a crowd of bees in one place. All of the facts he kept telling me overflowed. As soon as I remembered a couple of things, I would lose the third! It made me happy to see he was finally getting some of his training, but I just wished he was better at the fighting and physical stuff. He was a guy, after all. Everyone, including me, expected he would become the protector. To be honest, if the commander announced tomorrow that Sebastian was going to be my protector, I’d be tempted to turn around and punch Sebastian for failing me and his dragon.

I heard a grunt of pain from across the courtyard and sighed. I was trading practice blows with others, and doing fairly well, I had to admit. That yelp, however, had unmistakably come from Sebastian as he sparred with Jensen.

I was fighting Wil who was not that great with a staff. He had a few more tricks than some I had sparred against in the noble schools, but he was no real match for me. I had to focus on trying not to defeat him too easily, giving myself the challenge of seeing how many of his strikes I could parry or dodge without returning them. The game I was playing gave me a chance to slide a quick glance over to where Sebastian was being helped up by Jensen, and they were both smirking at each other.

Just like Sebastian, making friends with the person he’s supposed to be attacking.
A smile curled my lips.

I parried another blow that flew toward my ear, turning on my heel to present a different stance to my opponent. Sebastian was a nice guy, but nice was not going to make him into a Dragon Rider.

My staff rattled in my hands as I parried another blow.

He was easy to like, was Sebastian. He had an open manner and a quick laugh, and treated everyone the same. He was already getting an extra bowl of meat broth or a fresh bread roll from the kitchens. I knew the cooks thought he looked half-starved, and Sebastian shared his extras with me. It was easy to be nice to him.

I ducked a wild swing from Wil, noting he was starting to pant and sweat from the exertion and putting out too much effort. If he wasn’t careful, Wil would spend all of his energy trying to attack and have none left for any defense when I moved against him.

That thought left me frowning and thinking about Sebastian—Seb, he kept saying I should call him. He put out so much effort to try and be my friend, but I blocked every effort as if it was a blow meant to hit. The problem was that I was too aware of how well my brothers had done in the Academy. The Flammas were all supposed to be not just excellent Dragon Riders but the best of the best. I was putting all the pressure that I felt onto Seb, too. I thought he should be the best, too.

Shame for how I’d been acting made me bite my lip. This was not how a Flamma or a Dragon Rider should act.

A hard jolt hit my on the side of my thigh, and I realized I had allowed my worries to distract me from the fight.

“Ha!” Wil said, stepping back and smiling. “A point to me.” He raised his staff to wave it at Beris and Shakasta.

Oh, no you don’t!
I rapped my staff on the ground, drawing his attention back to the fact that I was still standing, armed and dangerous. I even gave him time to assume a defensive posture before I easily parried his first jab, leaned in and neatly hooked him behind the knee and levered him to the ground.

He hit the sand like a sack of potatoes.

I prodded him not too gently on the chest. “Point to me, and you’re incapacitated,” I said, not really feeling any joy in the win. I should have kept my mind on the fight instead of wondering about Seb…Sebastian.

Wil made a disgruntled noise. Reaching down, I helped him up. “Why do I get the impression you could have done that sooner?” he muttered. We walked back to the benches for cold water and a towel for Wil’s sweating face.

I was halfway through telling him what I could have done when I heard the
thock-thock
of wooden staves against each other. Turning, I saw Sebastian and Jensen were still fighting. I turned to watch the two of them.

After me, Jensen was probably the best fighter. Either Jensen or Beris maybe. It was more than clear that Sebastian who hadn’t had any real training. He was still slow to react, still moved cautiously when he should be fast. He was too quick to drop his staff instead of hanging onto it, and he was too easily distracted by other things.

Jensen was definitely winning, but I saw Sebastian pull off the across the body defensive movement I had taught him. A little surge of pride lifted inside me.
Seb is getting better.
I watched as Jensen grinned fiercely, prodding and swiping. Sebastian parried, and parried again.

A small hope started to flare like a candle.
Go on, Seb!
I silently urged him. He made a few tentative stabs back at Jensen. His attacks were faint though and ill-timed. He didn’t give everything to them. Jensen waited for the next sweep of Sebastian’s staff. He batted Sebastian’s staff aside with a powerful blow and delivered a hard prod to Sebastian’s stomach. Seb dropped his staff and sat down hard.

Coughing, Sebastian clutched his middle. That flicker of hope turned into a cold grip of worry.
Is he hurt?
I started toward them, but heard Seb give a wheezing laugh. Jensen offered him a hand to pull him up. They were both slapping each other on the back.

“By the first dragon, I thought you were going to disembowel me!” Sebastian said with a wry smile.

“Not with a stave, you idiot.” Jensen laughed. “You lasted longer than the others.”

“Thanks.” Sebastian’s smile faded as I walk up to him. “Thea, did you see that? Last to die…almost.” He smiled at me.

I found myself smiling at his enthusiasm despite the fact that I knew I should yell at him for missing that last parry he should have made. I shook my head and turned, so he wouldn’t see that I was secretly pleased for him. “Come on. You might be dead, but you smell like you need a wash.”

“Oh, thanks,” Seb protested.

Walking ahead of him, I thought Prince Justin might have been right. The dragon had chosen Sebastian—Seb. The dragon had seen not just strength in him, but also something more. I was starting to see it too. He was getting better—there might just be a chance than we could do well at the trials that were almost on us.

The morning of the trials I woke early from bad dreams, certain I was going to fail Thea. Fail everyone, my dragon included. My stomach hurt as if I had eaten too many green apples and my head felt like it was going to pop off of my shoulders at any moment.

I’m going to fail. I’m going to fail. Everyone is going to hate me—especially Thea.

Despite the fact that I had been training as hard as I could, even doing extra running practice every morning before breakfast, and then running up the stairs of the observation tower to eat lunch with Merik and practice map-reading, I still felt I was the worst trainee in the Academy.

Every single day had turned into a long slog, worse than anything I’d had to go through with the smithy. I did hours of running, climbing and painful weapons practice. And trying to teach Thea all the basic flag movements and their meanings was even worse. She no sooner figured out one thing than she forgot the previous one. But every scrap of praise or encouragement she gave me felt like gold dust in my hand. But I knew it was not enough. I could tell from how Thea watched me, shaking her head at times and disappointment in her eyes, she thought I would fail at everything related to fighting skills. I thought it, too.

The teachers kept saying it wasn’t about winning or failing, it was about finding out what we could do. I knew differently. If I did the worst, if I came last at everything, the other Dragon Riders would never respect me. Worse still, Thea would never respect me. She would never trust me, and how could we ever be riders together if that was the case?

I have to do well. I just have to!

The best of us, or so I heard as the trainees talked at meals, was either Thea or Beris. Beris was stronger, but Thea was faster. They were both gifted with stamina and it showed that they had been preparing for this their whole lives. When it came to the sword, they both knew moves I could never copy. Beris was a little better at the staff, but Thea was better with the bow and arrow. The rest of us could only try to be as good.

If it was working out how much iron ore you needed for a plough, I could win that test. For the rest, I was sure I would fail my dragon and be sent home in shame. Shaking my head, I slipped from my bunk and headed for the kitchens to get breakfast. But I knew the knots tying up my insides would leave me unable to eat so much as a spoonful of porridge.

The others who shared a room with me were already up and gone. I dressed quickly and headed to the hall where we dined. “I hope you are ready to buy me a celebratory flagon of ale down at the Troll’s Head later.” Beris skewered several pieces of bacon from the serving tray and heaped his plate. He did this every morning, and I hated how he announced to everyone just how great he was and terrible they all were. It was one thing to believe in yourself, but Beris loved to rub it in how great he was. As if no one else mattered.

“I’m ready to pour a flagon of ale over your head,” Shakasta said and tucked into his own meat sandwich.

“Why waste it?” Syl saw me slink and nodded my direction. “Unless, of course, someone could do with washing their hair.”

Snickers followed me to the tables. I tried to ignore them. I wasn’t dirty, I bathed more often now than anyone else apart from Thea. Years of working in a forge and foundry had taught me to clean when you could. But the fact that I’d grown up in the poorest part of town had turned into a running joke. Today, I didn’t care what they said. What I did would be all that mattered. By tonight, everything would be different, one way or another.

“Easy, Syl.” Thea had come into the room, her hair wet and dark from water. It knew she had already been up, swimming in the crystal clear lake on the other side of the ridge, training hard to make sure she performed well today.

I’m not the only one nervous about today’s trials, then.

“So, the trials,” Thea announced to everyone. “Anyone know what we’ve got?”

Beris looked up, eager as always to show how much he knew. “I hear there are tests all the way through the morning with experienced Dragon Riders assessing us. We’ll be fighting—we have to show we are fit enough to stay on a dragon.” He flexed his arms. “And it’ll be lots of me winning every test!”

The first horn of the morning rang, signaling we had to finish our meal and get ourselves washed and ready. The second horn would signal the beginning of the tests. My stomach knotted. I stared at the platter of meat, bread and fruit on the table, and I wanted to run from the room.

From next to me, her voice low, Thea said, “Eat. You’ll need it.”

“Thanks.”
She probably just doesn’t want me to faint in front of everyone.
I picked up a slab of bread. I started to turn, but a hand fell on my arm.

“And Seb?” Thea said. She stared up at me, her eyes huge and blue.

“Yeah?” I dreaded what was going to come next. She would tell me to be faster, to be stronger, and not ruin this for her.

“Good luck. You’ve improved a lot.” She gave a faint smile. I pushed out my chest. She’d never talked so well toward me. I knew she was probably just trying to boost my confidence, but I didn’t mind. It was working. For her I would try to do the impossible—I would try not to fail.

Following Thea, I ate my bread and headed for the training grounds. We would assemble there. The bread tasted dry in my mouth, and I only managed to get two bites down. I fed the rest to one of the kitchen cats, who took it and hunched over it as if I had fed it a treat. The second Dragon Horn reverberated through the chill morning air of the Academy.

We had already assembled in a long line along one side, and the sun was still below the palisade walls where it would creep up over the next few hours to turn this cool, shady area into a furnace. It would shimmer with dust and sand, reflecting the bowl of the sky above. I could hear the chirrups and caws of the dragons over the ridge in their enclosure, greeting the sun and waking to the sound of the horns. They, too, were going to be readied for the next stage of training, fitted with harnesses and saddles. At the end of the tests, trainees—scrubs—would be presented again to the dragons, and we would see if we could start training as a team and as cadets.

I was surprised to see Merik standing with the rest of the trainees, his thin body taller than most and leaner. Walking over to him, I gave him a smile. “Merik, I thought that you couldn’t, um, you know.” I waved at his face and his optics.

“Fly?” he grinned and nodded at the instructors who had assembled on the platform above us. “The commander said he would give me another try. See if I can make it this time, and then I just need a dragon to pick me.” He sighed. “The dragon who chose me that first time—the sickness took her.”

I shivered. Dragon sickness wasn’t common, but when it hit, I knew it almost always killed. No wonder the Academy had felt bad for Merik and let him stay on—any rider would mourn the loss of a dragon, particular a young one who never had a chance to prove itself. I slapped Merik’s shoulder. “Good luck!” I said to him. The training ground had fallen silent and a wave of tension seemed to sweep over all of us.

“You too,” he whispered back.

Commander Hegarty’s voice rang out over the clear morning air. He was standing atop one of the landing platforms, calling down to us. “Trainees of the Academy! Students of Torvald! Today is a great day in your training! Today you shall be tested and we will assign you your roles. Either you will become protector or navigator. We will also find out what sort of person you are, and what sort of rider you will become. Or you are someone who might die all too soon in service to the king.”

I gulped. I knew I could end up being sent home. Or maybe even end up with a lifetime of scaring cattle rustlers around Mount Hammal, or perhaps I would get to explore the distant wilds, even going as far as the Great Western Archipelago, or flying further than any Dragon Rider had ever gone before. I swallowed the dryness in my mouth.

“But today is about more than that! Today is about
you.
It is about you showing your fellow rider what you can do. It is about you reaching beyond your limits and proving you are worthy to sit in a dragon’s saddle. It is about you becoming ready to ride your dragons!”

All of us opened our mouth in a throaty roar of celebration. We wanted to prove ourselves. We wanted to be the best.

“With me here there are some of the best Dragon Riders, past and present, in the King’s service. They will help me make my decisions. Good luck, trainees! May the winds guide you forward and the sun warm your backs!” he raised a hand in a salute, signaling for the trials to begin.

The Dragon Horn blew for a third time. Heart pounding, I walked with the others to where we were directed. Two Dragon Riders stood before the main gates. They motioned us into a line and said we would start with a simple race to get us warmed up. I almost groaned. I hated running. Back home, I’d never had to run more than up the street to fetch wood, and now I had to run and run and run. The gates were cranked open, and we were told to complete a circuit out to the ridge and back again.

With the beat of a drum, we shot off across the arena. I was grateful now for my boots. They bite into the gravel and dust and stone and I told myself I would at least keep up with the others.

Within seconds, we had run past the thick stone walls. The early morning air of Mount Hammal stung my face and my lungs. The terraces of the city spread out below and the winding, stone lane that ran from the Academy down to the city below stood out in contrast within the grey morning shadows. We were taking a different path than we usually did. The path had been marked with flags. The lane narrowed to a goat track with barely room for two abreast. We had to skitter between boulders and mountain streams, running up to the ridge.

My legs were still cold and from how others staggered I knew they felt the same. Everyone bunched in a large gaggle at first. Shakasta was the first to break away, using his longer, limber frame to leap past the rocks as gracefully as any mountain sheep. I struggled along, feet pounding hard on the ground, trying to remember how to breathe, and looking for openings that I could exploit.

My calves and thighs burned as we ran, but I was having no trouble keeping pace with the others. I’d had always had to move, push, haul, but I hated running.

“Pace yourself,” said a voice beside me. I glanced back to see Thea running just behind me. After a moment, I realized she wasn’t pushing herself and I caught her meaning.
Save something for the return.

I slowed down and matched her speed. We reached the long, thin ridge with the two of us near the back of the pack. Touching the capstone rock, I let myself go as I sped back downhill. The energy I had saved made it easy for me to pass a half dozen others. I was closing on the ones in front. Surprisingly, I saw Merik in the lead, his long and lean frame—and doubtless all that running up and down the observation tower—giving him an advantage in this trial.

I thought I might be top five, but then Thea passed by my side like a flash. She juggled with Beris for a second at third position and then she moved ahead of him. Beris was sweating hard.

We were almost down to the palisade again and heading in for a sprinting finish.

Beris looked back, saw me gaining on him. He frowned. Just as I was nearing him, he lashed out with an elbow, catching me in the ribs and sending me tumbling. My shin caught a boulder on the side of the track and I went down with pain lacing up my leg.

With a cry, I pushed myself up, forcing myself to run to catch up. Already the front runners were crossing back through the main gate. I rejoined the race in the middle of the other runners.

The Dragon Horn sounded and I heaved to a panting stop. Dragon Riders came forward with water buckets for us. Looking down, I saw a nasty graze that covered about half the length of my lower leg. It stung like blazes. I scowled at Beris, but he wouldn’t look at me.

Merik had come first, then Jensen. Thea had beaten Beris at least, and I was happy for Merik and Thea.

I was angry now—at myself for letting Beris cheat me out of doing better and at myself for not ducking his blow. I would not let that happen again. I would stay away from him.

The next challenge started at once, and I had barely gained my breath back. It was another physical challenge. We were each issued a quarter staff and told to line up. We would be fighting in duels and would go on with the duels until one clear winner had fought to the defeat of everyone else.

I gulped. Staff fighting wasn’t my best skill, even with the extra practice I had put in. My leg was also beginning to throb.
Do it for your dragon, and your family!
I pulled in a deep breath and tried to ready myself. The staff ends were wrapped in leather strips, cushioning them a little but still, I knew this was going to hurt.

Our first set of challenges pitted me against a boy named Tenzer. He was younger than me and from a minor noble family. We were about the same size, yet he used his staff much quicker than I. Next to us, I could hear the grunts and cracks of wood on wood as all other trainees fought. I tried to block that out. Thea was always telling me I was too easily distracted—I had to pay attention to my own duel.

Tenzer’s staff whirled around. I managed to pull mine across my body, knocking his to one side. No sooner had I done that than another blow came overhead at me from him. I parried it again. Maybe I was starting to get the hang of this. I managed to block and parry each blow, but I found it hard to attack. I knew Tenzer. He had never been mean to me, so I didn’t feel any real drive to attack and it showed in my moves. His next blow snaked forward and caught me on the knees, making me step backward.