The Dragon Legion Collection 9 (12 page)

Pelias breathed steadily and Katina saw Alexander begin to stir in his sleep. Beside her, Lysander watched the older man with wide eyes. There was a faint shimmer of blue around Pelias, a glow that brightened steadily and grew to make an uninterrupted outline of his supine figure. When the glow enclosed him totally, he exhaled with one last great breath.

The blue light faded.

Pelias didn’t inhale again.

Katina fought her tears. She reached out and smoothed the strain from the older man’s features, then murmured a prayer. Lysander looked between her and Pelias, his expression stricken.

“It was a noble gift Pelias gave,” Katina managed to say. “An honorable sacrifice.”

Before she could say more, Alexander cleared his throat. Katina watched in amazement as he opened his eyes. He managed to brace himself on his elbows, seeming disoriented. His gaze danced to Katina and lit with joy. He looked at Theo and appeared to be cautiously relieved. When he saw Lysander, his delight was clear.

Whatever he might have said died on his lips, because his gaze fell upon Pelias. Alexander gave a cry and stumbled to kneel beside the older soldier, checking his breath and his heart.

“It’s too late. He gave his last to you,” Katina said, tears in her eyes. “With his dragonsmoke.”

Katina had never seen Alexander lose his composure, but he lost it in this moment. He gasped in anguish and his tears fell. He bowed over the fallen soldier and touched his forehead to Pelias’ chest, weeping silently. Katina held Lysander’s hand tightly. She knew that Alexander was overwhelmed, for otherwise he would have remained stoic.

Or maybe the fact that she knew his secret meant he could share all of his emotions with her. If he didn’t feel he had to hide behind impassivity to protect his secret, then they could be as one all the time. Their marriage could be potent and passionate.

“He should never have done it,” Alexander murmured. “He could have been healed. He could have lived.”

“No,” Katina corrected gently. “His wounds were too great. He would never have healed.” She reached out and touched her husband’s hand. “He chose, Alexander, and he didn’t regret it.”

Alexander’s mouth worked in silence as he fought for composure. He bent and kissed the older man’s cheeks, his last tears falling as he did so. Then he pushed to his feet and walked a short distance, his hands running over the closed wounds on his chest as if he couldn’t believe his own state either.

He turned to look at his fallen mentor again. “I would have talked to him again,” he said softly. “I would have told him what I have seen.”

“He said he was content to have seen you returned,” Lysander said. “He said he knew you would return. How did he know that?”

Alexander looked at his son. “I don’t know.”

“Because your father gave his word,” Katina said, rising to her feet. “And a man of honor always keeps his word. I’m sorry, Alexander, that I doubted you would come back to me.”

He looked at her then, his anguish and his love mingled in his gaze, and once again, Katina had the sense that she could see straight to his heart. She might have stood there forever, simply basking in the warmth of his regard, but she knew they couldn’t linger.

“I meant to die for both of you,” Alexander admitted. “I meant to give my life to see you safe from Jorge. It would have been an honorable deed.”

“You nearly did, but Pelias gave his for you instead.”

“Is the yellow dragon gone, Papa?”

Alexander frowned. “Did you see blue-green light when he disappeared?

Lysander nodded.

“Then the darkfire has cast him back.” Alexander inhaled deeply, narrowing his eyes as if he assessed the scent with care. “I believe he may be gone.”

Katina remembered his sense that the
Slayer
could hide and reveal his scent, and knew he wasn’t positive. He was being protective, shielding her from his doubts. “Lysander said the yellow dragon had a plan to capture all the sons of the soldiers in your company.”

“Yes,” Alexander said, recovering himself. He looked hard at their son. “You heard that?”

Lysander nodded proudly. Katina noticed that the pieces of scale had disappeared from the ground and knew that her son had put them safely away. They must be in the small pouch he kept tied to his belt for carrying treasures. “Mama heard only thunder.”

“That’s old-speak that you heard,” Alexander explained. “It’s too deep for any other than our own kind to hear, and we can hear it at a great distance. There are those who can whisper old-speak into the thoughts of others, so that it mingles with their thoughts.”

“So I am
Pyr
?”

Alexander smiled. “You are the son of a
Pyr
, Lysander. There never was any doubt.”

“Pelias said he was going to watch me.”

“As he watched me. But now that you have heard old-speak and seen dragonsmoke, our path is clear.” He nodded at Katina. “We go to Delphi, for your training will be there.”

And to ask the counsel of the Pythia. Katina hoped with all her heart that Alexander would be allowed to stay.

“What training?” Lysander asked. “I thought I was going to the
agoge
.”

Alexander smiled. “I’ll explain it all to you on the way.”

“Will we fly?” Lysander demanded with enthusiasm, but Katina saw the weariness in Alexander’s expression.

“Your father has just fought a battle and nearly died defending you,” she chided gently. “We can walk while he recovers his strength.”

Lysander nodded agreement to this, his excitement at being in his father’s presence clear.

“Don’t ask too many questions just yet,” Katina said. “Let your father catch his breath.”

“Yes, Mama.”

“You should take Pelias’ armor and his cloak,” she told Alexander. “Your clothing is too strange, and it would be best if we drew less attention.”

Alexander frowned as he considered the older man. “I can’t leave him here, not like this.”

That hadn’t been Katina’s intention. “Of course not. How do you honor the dead of your kind?”

Alexander glanced up in surprise. “Pelias was not
Pyr
.”

“Then how did he breathe dragonsmoke? And why did he glimmer blue just before he died, exactly as you do before you change shape?”

Alexander stared at his old mentor, clearly shaken by the idea. “He always insisted otherwise,” he said. “He always said he simply watched for the signs, but you’re right. He couldn’t have done that otherwise.” His voice dropped in awe, becoming almost a whisper. “I thought I could smell his nature, but he told me I was wrong.”

“How could you be wrong about his scent?” Lysander demanded.

Alexander smiled. “I believed my mentor, instead of my nose.”

“Didn’t you ever see him as a dragon?” Lysander asked and Alexander shook his head.

“Nor did he ever see me as one. He always encouraged discretion, but I didn’t realize how much he showed himself.” Alexander frowned, then turned to Lysander. “When the power comes to you, you must learn to manage it. They will teach you how at Delphi, but you must treat it as a secret. You must not show many people or tell them of it. You must trust your instincts, then hone them.”

“Because then I will know my fellow
Pyr
by their scent.”

Alexander nodded and took the boy’s hand. “Come here and draw deeply of this scent. That yellow dragon was a
Slayer
, the most evil of our kind. Learn the smell of them, that you might be warned of their presence.”

Lysander did as he was instructed, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. The sight of Alexander teaching his son, something Katina feared she would never see, brought tears to her eyes. She bent to remove Pelias’ helmet and his greaves, blinking back her tears.

“You’re upset,” Alexander said suddenly from beside her. His hand was warm on her elbow and there was a lump in her throat when she met his gaze. Lysander was still breathing and memorizing the
Slayer
’s scent.

“I liked Pelias, though I didn’t know him well.”

“That’s not all of it.”

She forced a smile. “You’re so good with Lysander. I’m just glad to see you together.”

“I’m sure he had no lack in your care.”

“I sometimes lose patience with all his questions.”

“I shouldn’t have left you to raise him alone.”

She eyed him, hearing what he didn’t say.

Alexander frowned and stepped away, once again putting an invisible barrier between them. “We expose our dead to the four elements, so that their bodies can’t be violated,” he said to Lysander, his tone practical.

Katina remembered that the
Pyr
were the defenders of the four elements.

“There is air and earth here,” Lysander said.

“And there will be fire,” Alexander said quietly. “I think you won’t want to watch.”

The boy’s eyes widened in understanding for an instant. “But what about water?”

Alexander winced. He surveyed the arid land that spread in all directions from the rocky hill where they stood. He tipped his head back to consider the sky, which was devoid of clouds.

Katina finally understood why she had been granted the gift she had.

It was time for her to share her secret with Alexander.

“I will give you water,” she said with quiet confidence. Alexander turned to her with open surprise but she smiled. “You’re not the only one with a secret, husband,” she said, then lifted her hands to the sky.

* * *

Alexander was incredulous.

He watched as Katina lifted her hands over her head and closed her eyes. She was as graceful and elegant as ever, but to his amazement, her figure began to ripple. He thought his eyes deceived him, but the rippling grew more emphatic. She was murmuring some chant that sounded like the dancing of a brook over stones and with every passing moment, her figure looked more fluid.

More silvery.

More ethereal.

Her hair seemed to flow around her body like a dark river, one that ran far past her hips. As he watched, her form became disguised by a column of water, a pillar that bubbled at its top and stretched toward the sky. Or had she become the water? Alexander couldn’t tell, but he saw the water pooling on the ground where Katina’s feet had been. It ran over the dry soil. He heard the distant rumble of thunder and watched dark clouds conjure themselves from the clear sky. They rolled closer with remarkable speed, converging from every direction in a way that wasn’t natural at all. The storm clouds collided overhead, tumbling into each other where the pillar of water reached into the sky.

There was a crack of lightning and the first drops of rain fell.

Alexander quickly bent to strip Pelias of his armor and set it aside. He lifted Theo gently and nestled him in Pelias’ red cloak, the signature garment of the Spartans. He would take care of Drake’s son with as much care as his own, and was glad that the boy just seemed weakened. Alexander indicated that Lysander should stay with Theo, then summoned the change.

He was well aware of his son watching him closely, of his wife making it possible for him to do right by his mentor, and his heart filled to bursting with the gifts he had been given. He ached with the loss of Pelias, but already he came to respect that man’s choice. He understood it, because he would have made the same one. He was honored by it, because he’d never expected it. He was glad his son had witnessed this powerful lesson. Meanwhile, the change rolled through Alexander’s body, firing through every muscle and tendon, making him feel powerful and invincible.

This was the gift of Pelias. Just moments ago, he’d been at death’s door, and now he was healed. He tipped back his head and uttered a prayer of gratitude. As he turned the first breath of his dragonfire on the fallen warrior, Alexander admitted that he would be proud to pass from this world in the same way.

Alexander would never forget this legacy.

And he would serve Pelias’ memory with honor for all his days.

* * *

Lysander was enthralled with his new adventure. It had been exciting enough to leave Cetos’ house to go with Pelias for the
agoge
, but even better to learn that he would be like his father. He was fascinated by the
Pyr
’s powers.

He was surprised by his mother’s abilities, too, but becoming a pillar of water and attracting rain wasn’t nearly as interesting as turning into a dragon at will. Lysander hadn’t had the chance to choose, but he would have chosen the very power that he hoped he’d get.

And now, he’d have a new friend, too. Theo looked very ill, but Lysander knew that the other boy would get better and would be his best friend in the world. They’d grow up and be
Pyr
warriors together, fighting back-to-back like their fathers, defending the four elements and the treasure of the earth. Unlike the
Slayers
, they would defend the human race as one of those treasures. He wanted to know everything about being
Pyr
, the sooner the better. He was going to be the best
Pyr
ever. He’d make his father proud and kill evil
Slayers
wherever he went.