A Blade and a Ring by D.K. Holmberg

Author:D.K. Holmberg [Holmberg, D.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-02-24T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Soaring above the ground was almost peaceful. If they didn’t have such a sense of urgency, Gavin might have tried to enjoy it. Brandon laughed behind him and Rayena remained motionless, seated to the right of Gavin.

He had ridden atop the paper dragon several times. The exquisitely made enchantment was formed from stiff paper, as if it were truly a dragon’s leathery hide. There were no scales, like dragons supposedly had in stories he’d read as a child, and this one didn’t breathe fire, which Gavin suspected would destroy it. But still there was something quite magical about it. Flying like this was freeing in a way that he would never have expected. He loved this enchantment more than any others he had used before.

They soared above the dark volcano that loomed over Hester, which had an odd haze surrounding it. As they circled, Gavin guided the paper dragon toward it and saw that parts of the volcano had started to crumble. Rock had sheared and separated, covering some of the sacred artisan buildings and leaving them in piles of rubble.

A troubling thought came to him. Could that be why the people of Hester didn’t care for the El’aras? What if these nihilar had used their power to destroy parts of the city, much like they had with the temple? What would be their reason for doing so, though? The place was sacred to the people here, but as far as he knew, there wasn’t any power in it.

The answer had to be in the book.

As they traveled, Gavin looked over the side of the dragon. The landscape below was a dark blur, though there were occasional dots of lantern light far below him that marked villages, distant cities, and even isolated homes here and there. Wind swirled around him, and he sucked in a deep breath and pulled at his cloak as the gusts whipped through his hair.

“What are you expecting to find?” Brandon hollered, leaning toward him.

“We know they’re still out there.”

“But do you think you can see them? Gods, I had a hard enough time seeing them when I was facing them in the tunnel.”

Gavin couldn’t necessarily see them, but he was curious if he could let his core reserves guide him. If he felt some pressure against him, he would know that he was getting close.

As the dragon flew high overhead, he held onto his core reserves.

“Why didn’t we take this the first time?” Brandon shouted.

“Because I don’t know how much power it has,” Gavin replied. “The person who made it is what we call an enchanter. Not a sorcerer. Not El’aras.”

Despite that, Alana was incredibly powerful. She was gifted in ways that few were. The same was also true of Mekel, who had made the stone creatures they had ridden. He was more powerful than most of the enchanters.

“You can always add more of your magic to it,” Rayena said.

Gavin glanced back at her. She was gripping the dragon tightly and looking straight ahead. There was a stiffness to her, though it had been there ever since the attack in Arashil.

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