The Dragon King (The Alaris Chronicles Book 3) Read online

  “I…I didn’t mean to,” Bakari stuttered, trying to stay conscious. He was having a hard time concentrating. Echoes from the dark cavern filled his mind. The power there had felt like the Chameleon’s—but so much more powerful. Bakari felt unclean after being in its presence.

  The captain moved forward with Bakari in tow. “You will be taken to the dungeon until a meeting with the governor can be arranged. Magic is too dangerous to be flinging around the city without any regard.”

  “No! Let me go!” Bakari struggled free. “I have to go after my dragon. He needs me!” He brought his hand up to form a ball of fire, and a few of the guards stepped back.

  The captain wasn’t frightened so easily. Before Bakari could react, the captain had brought his fist back and slugged Bakari in the side of his face. Blackness spread across his vision, and he felt his legs weaken.

  “Oh, Abylar,” Bakari muttered and then everything went dark.

  CHAPTER SIX

  On their way south, to Quentis, on the back of Cholena, Jaimon’s dragon, Alli and Jaimon stopped in Cassian to inform Mericus deGrande, the new king, of what had transpired in Elvyn. They were escorted into this capital city of Alaris by an honor guard. Upon entering the castle, the king himself greeted them.

  Dressed in his signature black clothes, his cape swirling around him, and his dark hair slicked back on his head, the king took Alli’s right hand softly in his. Bringing her hand to his lips, he locked eyes with her.

  Alli blinked twice, trying not to be mesmerized by his dark and brooding eyes. Mericus had earned Alli’s respect by the end of the war, but he seemed to want more from her.

  “Battlemaster, good to see you again,” the king said, his slick words rolling off his tongue.

  Alli pulled her hand away from his and gave a short bow as she said, “My king.”

  Mericus laughed. “No need to be so formal, Alli.”

  “But you are the king of Alaris now, Mericus,” Alli said with a grin.

  Kanzar, the former leader of the wizards, had instigated a rebellion against the Chief Judge of Alaris—attacking a system of leadership that had reigned since the barrier around Alaris had first gone up. The man had meant to set himself up as king. In the end, however, Kanzar had been killed, and the choice was put to the people for a vote.

  Ultimately, Mericus, a wizard and a former judge, had been elected as the first king of Alaris. And, now that the barrier had been down for the past few months, Alaris was once again establishing relationships with its neighbors.

  “Come join me, and tell me why the Battlemaster and a dragon rider honor us with a visit this day.” Mericus led them to a group of chairs and had refreshments brought in.

  Jaimon sat down tentatively. He was so young and was the newest dragon rider. And Alli knew he was still nervous in the presence of wizards and magic.

  Turning to Jaimon, Mericus asked, “And, how is your dragon master?”

  As Jaimon blushed at the attention and stumbled on his words, Mericus seemed to be enjoying himself.

  “Bakari bids us here today,” Jaimon finally said. “There has been trouble in Elvyn.”

  Alli let Jaimon tell the story. Among the dragon riders and wizards, they were still trying to figure out who ranked higher. The dragon riders were beholden to Bakari and were gathered from multiple kingdoms. The Citadel in Alaris, ruled now by Roland, also called apprentices and wizards from all lands and also had sworn allegiance to Bakari. As a wizard himself, Mericus, even though he was king of Alaris, was tied to Bakari too.

  After Jaimon recounted what had happened at King Lanwaithian’s coronation, Mericus sat back and put his finger on his lips.

  “And you say your powers were taken away?” Mericus asked, turning to Alli.

  For some reason, Alli had to control her blushing in Mericus’s presence. The man was insufferable, flirting almost as bad as Roland.

  “They were,” Alli finally said. “But they are slowly returning.”

  Mericus nodded. “It wouldn’t do to have our esteemed High Wizard be without his powers. What kind of a leader would he be then?”

  “He will be fine,” Alli said, tightening her lips.

  “Ah, you and he have developed feelings for each other, I see.” Mericus gave a short laugh.

  Alli jumped up, her reflexes moving her hands toward the two swords at her sides. Jaimon stood and moved next to her.

  Mericus waved his hand back and forth in the air and then stood to join them. “Don’t get all angry now, my dear. I just wanted to make sure the High Wizard had things under control. The Citadel does sit in my kingdom.”

  “But Roland does not report to you.”

  Mericus frowned at that. “Either way, I do have concerns about it. Many of my citizens live around there and work there.”

  “He is fine, I am sure,” Alli said. “Be careful where you set your sights, Mericus. Is being a king not enough for you?”

  “Oh, Alli, my dear. You misunderstand me.” Mericus reached for his goblet and, while taking a long sip of wine, moved up very close to Alli and said, “I would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship.”

  The man was so arrogant. Alli had helped Mericus to secure the throne of Alaris, but only because there wasn’t a better alternative. She had found herself admitting, many times over the last few months, that Mericus had indeed done a fair job at ruling. After narrowly avoiding an all-out civil war, the people needed a strong king to rally behind. Mericus’s flashy ways had provided them that. He was also fair and a strong administrator. But he had been trying to court Alli the entire time—and she was not interested.

  “We do not have a relationship, Mericus.” Alli flipped her hair behind her and turned to Jaimon. “Dragon Rider, it’s time we left.”

  Jaimon nodded and began to walk to the door. But before Alli could move, Mericus put his hand on her arm.

  She felt its warmth and glanced up into his eyes. The man was at least fifteen years older than her, but a fire seemed to burn behind his eyes when he looked at her. She couldn’t help but be flattered—to some degree.

  “A king needs a strong queen by his side,” Mericus said, leaning in with a breathy whisper.

  Alli’s eyes went wide. What was this man saying? It was scandalous. She was too young to be married.

  “Just think about it,” Mericus said as he removed his hand. Turning to Jaimon, he said, “Tell Bakari that we will watch out for any trouble here in Alaris and will let the dragon riders know if we see signs of this Chameleon. You have my full support.”

  Jaimon nodded his thanks.

  Alli headed to the door and began to turn around to look at him one last time before exiting. She knew that she shouldn’t. It would show Mericus that she was interested in his proposition. So, halfway around, she turned her head back toward the door instead and continued out with Jaimon.

  But she heard a small chuckle in the background as the door closed behind them.

  Men!

  * * *

  A few hours later, Cholena, Jaimon’s dragon, took the two riders across the southern divide toward Quentis. Plains of early spring grass greeted them as they flew farther south toward the Bay of Ghazi. As the sun set to their right, they saw the beautiful ocean city of Margarid rising in front of them on the Quentis side of the bay—a city that Jaimon said was known as the Pearl of the Coast. Its white-domed buildings rose multiple stories into the air, a bright contrast to the Blue Sea behind them.

  Over time, the city itself had spread from the coast, along the bay, and up next to where the Mahli River fed into the water. Leafy palms were the predominate plants, growing high above all the buildings. Rolling meadows of grass blew in gentle waves along the river’s banks, leading into the city.

  This is where Jaimon landed his green dragon. Her red eyes took in their surroundings, and then she turned her head to her rider.

  A silent conversation ensued, during which Alli took out a waterskin and drank deeply. It was warmer dow
n south—and humid.

  Jaimon walked down to the edge of the river and crouched down, his long hair hanging in a ponytail behind him. After washing his face, he stood back up and walked over to Alli.

  “The Chameleon is here somewhere,” Jaimon said. “I can feel him closer now.”

  Alli gave him a questioning look. “Do you know where here? It’s a big city.”

  Jaimon shook his head. “Sorry.”

  Alli let out a deep breath. “I know this is all new to you, Jaimon. I’m sorry. Not having my full powers has made me feel cranky. But, the farther we have flown from Elvyn, the better I am.” She closed her eyes, reached inside, and smiled. “My wizard powers have almost fully returned.”

  “That’s good,” Jaimon said. “I’m still not much for fighting.”

  “You’ll do all right if it comes to that,” Alli reassured him. “Your training is going well. I’ve heard you are quite good with a staff.”

  A broad grin spread across Jaimon’s tanned face. “I’m all right, I guess.”

  Alli laughed. She had been training and fighting since she was ten. As a battle wizard, fighting was second nature to her now. Alli had recruited a young apprentice to help train Jaimon over the past few months, and this young rider, two years younger than her sixteen years, had done well enough.

  They stayed at the river’s edge until it was fully dark, eating a small meal they had packed with them.

  Alli set a small piece of meat down for Cholena. She gobbled it up in mere seconds.

  You have a hungry dragon here, Alli said with a laugh.

  At mention of her, Cholena turned her head toward Jaimon and gave a small roar of agreement.

  Alli stood up and patted Cholena. “We girls can take care of any danger, right?”

  Jaimon joined Alli by his dragon and asked, “So, what now?”

  Before Alli could answer, Jaimon frowned, and then his expression turned into a blank stare. His dragon’s expression did the same.

  Alli reached over and shook him. “Jaimon, what’s wrong?”

  Jaimon groaned and scrunched up his face, putting his hand up, but he didn’t say anything else for a solid two minutes. Then he fell to the ground. He held his face in his hands and took deep breaths. After another minute, he looked up at Alli with pain in his light blue eyes.

  “It’s Abylar,” he groaned.

  “What? What’s wrong? Is Bak all right?” Alli said, rushing him for an answer.

  Jaimon shook his head. “I don’t know. Abylar went into a trance. I could feel Bakari calling him, but he couldn’t get through. Then I felt something evil through the bond—a power that broke the bond between Abylar and the dragon master.”

  Alli paced for a few minutes.

  “We must go and help him,” Jaimon said, standing back up. “On Cholena, we can find them. They went northward.”

  “No, Jaimon,” Alli said, though she too wished they could leave and go to help her friend. “The mission here is too critical. Bakari would want us to continue. Maybe it’s connected. All of this.”

  Jaimon’s expression grew dark. “He is my master, not you.”

  Alli understood Jaimon’s allegiance, but Bakari would have to take care of himself for now.

  “Your master sent us here on a mission—your first real mission, Jaimon—to find this Chameleon. You saw what that man did in Elvyn.” Alli paused and then lowered her voice. “I know that you want to help Bakari. I do too. But I think the best thing we can do is to help him here.”

  Jaimon put his hand on Cholena and stood quietly for a moment. Finally, he sighed and said, “You’re right, Alli. I’m sorry.”

  “don’t worry, Jaimon. Let’s go find this Chameleon and take care of things here. Then we can go and help Bakari and Abylar.”

  Jaimon smiled again, and they began walking closer to the city.

  “So, did Cholena convince you to stay?” Alli asked, glancing at Jaimon from the corner of her eye.

  “Maybe.” The young man smiled, looked over at Alli, and then laughed.

  “Well, I told you we girls can take care of things.”

  Soon they approached the city walls. The people of Margarid had seen Jaimon and his dragon before on prior visits, but, as they arrived, people still pointed and cried out for others to come and see. Cholena would stay outside of the walls, as the streets of the city were too narrow for her to walk in.

  Upon reaching the gates, they met a local guard, who gave a bow to Jaimon and then yelled out to some other men, “Escort the dragon rider and his beautiful friend wherever they need to go.”

  Alli blushed at the compliment, and Jaimon laughed.

  “Ever been to the bay before?” Jaimon asked her.

  “No,” Alli said, wrinkling up her nose. “Smells different here.”

  Jaimon took in a deep breath. “I know. Isn’t it great? I remember my first time here a few months ago. Margarid is so much bigger than the small town where I grew up, in the hills to the north.”

  Alli didn’t know whether the smell was all that great, but she couldn’t help getting caught up in Jaimon’s enthusiasm. This would be her first time outside of Alaris or Elvyn. After being locked behind the barrier in Alaris for almost her entire life, it was hard for Alli to imagine an entire world out there.

  She would like to see more of it, but she didn’t know if the Citadel could do without her for long. There, she was the Battlemaster and had trained other battle wizards. And Roland needed looking after too. The man had become more moody lately and was spending more time in the basement with the old magic artifacts. Alli hoped his powers were coming back like hers.

  Alli recalled how she had been shocked to suddenly be without her powers. She was sure glad that the Chameleon’s spell was only temporary, and maybe that meant he wouldn’t be that hard to catch. She hadn’t been able to use her weapons in a while and was looking forward to a good fight.

  As Jaimon pointed down a broader thoroughfare, they turned, with guards trailing behind them. The city was quiet, with few people roaming the markets. Passing out of the market district, Alli noticed the smell of fish growing stronger, and she almost had to plug her nose. Oversized warehouses filled the street to either side.

  Looking up on a nearby hill, she could see larger homes and taller palm trees. Small palm bushes and ornamental grasses graced the front of each mostly white stucco home. Then the salty scent of the sea grew stronger, and they soon came to a grouping of docks. Going down to one that held small boats, Jaimon walked up to a thin but fit man.

  “Are you going to the Sanctuary, Dragon Rider?” asked the man.

  “The Sanctuary?” Alli frowned.

  The man gave her only a cursory glance, then turned back to Jaimon.

  So Jaimon said to Alli, “The Sanctuary is on a small island. It’s where the wizards of Quentis, Solshi, and Tillimot train. The island is not governed by any kingdom but by the Sanctuary commander.”

  Turning back to the man, Jaimon said, “Please prepare a boat for us.”

  The man led them to a bright, white boat. Its crew consisted of three men, including its captain. They hoisted the sails, tacked out of the bay, and soon were heading south, toward an island that Alli could see in the distance. It appeared lush and green, with its palms and other tropical plants waving in the ocean breeze.

  After tying up next to a small dock, they walked to the Sanctuary’s gates. From the inside, a man approached them at the iron gate. He had dark hair and wore a blue robe over his thin body. His blue eyes pierced theirs intently.

  “Welcome to the Sanctuary,” he said, his voice softer than Alli had expected.

  Jaimon bowed. “I am Jaimon Schafer, dragon rider, and this is Allison Stenos, Battlemaster of the Wizard Citadel of Alaris.”

  The man’s eyes widened as he looked Alli up and down, no doubt wondering what kind of battle wizards their northern neighbors might have, if some slip of a girl led them. So Alli gave him her most disarming smile and released so
me of her magic to glow around her—glad she had it back—and then nodded at the man. Having been raised to a level three wizard about four months earlier, Alli’s powers manifested themselves closer to a level four now.

  “I am Leopold, and I greet you on behalf of the Sanctuary,” the man said more formally. “You are both most welcome here. Would you like to see someone in particular?”

  Jaimon glanced at Alli, then turned back to the man. “For now, we would like a place to stay for the evening. And then, tomorrow, we would enjoy a tour of the grounds. I have heard that their beauty is unmatched.”

  Leopold nodded and took them to the housing quarters to get cleaned up before the evening meal. The main complex seemed eerily quiet, and Alli noticed people giving quick glances in their direction and then scattering off out of their way.

  Jaimon exchanged a worried glance with Alli. His look mirrored her own thoughts. Things did not seem right.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The next morning, Leopold woke Alli and Jaimon in their separate rooms. After a hurried breakfast of pastries and fruit, Leopold led them out to the gardens of the Sanctuary. The man’s hands continually fidgeted at his sides.

  Colorful tulips lined the walkways, and hundreds of flowering trees and bushes grew among fountains and statues of marble. Enormous palms spread their fronds like a canopy high over their heads. Walking to the edge of the Sanctuary’s grounds, they beheld the Blue Sea to the south. Cholena was flying up high in the sky and gave a short roar while tilting her wings at them. So Jaimon waved and smiled.

  Leopold glanced around and then said in a lowered voice, “I am glad you are here, Dragon Rider. Things have not been the same lately.” The lanky man rubbed his hands together and peered around him again. Then he pulled them down a short path to a more secluded area.

  Alli gave Jaimon a questioning look, but he just shrugged as if to say that he didn’t know what was going on either.

  “Lately, wizards have been sent out from the Sanctuary to other cities. Friends of mine have left, and I have not heard from them. A delegation was also sent, yesterday, to the king in the city. He hasn’t been seen in public lately, and there are rumors he is sick.”