The Lost Dragon (Cycle of Dragons Book 3) Dan Michaelson (free novels .TXT) 📖

“I don’t know Thomas well enough to know. He hasn’t really told me where he goes. I only that when he’s back, he’s willing to work with me.”

“Yes, well, I suppose that’s typical of Thomas. Over the years, he’s often been gone for days and weeks at a time. I think the longest he was gone was for the better part of a year, and when he returned, the king brought him into his trust. It was then that he became the chief dragon mage.”

“Did that bother others?”

Eleanor looked behind me before shaking her head. I turned, but I didn’t see anything. Movement, maybe, but that may have been my imagination. “There are very few who really have interest in being the chief dragon mage. It carries a bit of danger with it. Did you know that most of the chief dragon mages have died after only a few years of serving?”

“I didn’t,” I said.

“Well, unfortunately, they have. Many go off and face the Vard, then find that they are tormented, twisted, and something happens to them.”

My dreams flashed back to me, but so too did the memory of what I’d felt returning from the Vard lands. I’d felt something pulling on me. “I don’t understand.”

Eleanor turned her attention to me and frowned, rubbing her hands together slightly. “To be honest, I don’t really understand either. The only thing I know is that we have been watching, trying to understand whether the Vard have any influence on the chief dragon mages. They have been protected. At least, as protected as we could make them. Unfortunately, not all of them could be as protected as necessary. Some have been lost, but I suspect that is the nature of the type of work they do; the fact that they bring themselves into such danger, dealing with the Vard the way they do, jeopardizes their lives.”

“Thomas will be around for a bit longer this time,” I said.

She arched a brow at me, smiling slightly. “Why should this time be any different than others? When it comes to Thomas, I think it’s more about looking at his past to understand what he will do in the present. He has certainly shown he is willing to serve, but it is how he serves.”

“How exactly do you think he serves?”

“In his own way,” she said.

I didn’t want to argue. Thomas wanted to protect the kingdom. That much I believed. “Why were you looking for me earlier today?” I asked.

She shook her head and her demeanor suddenly changed. “I’ve not had an opportunity to work with you the way I think I should. I would very much like to see if I can demonstrate connections to the dragons with you.”

“Is this about my testing for dragon mage?” She nodded, and I relaxed. If I could pass whatever test she and the other instructors had for me, I could become independent. That was what I wanted. “Walter has done the same recently,” I said.

“Of course he has,” she said, waving her hand as if dismissing the idea. “Walter thinks he can get through many of the promising dragon mage students and that they can learn his techniques as if they will be able to carry them out. As you undoubtedly know, it is considered a mark of honor within the Academy for an instructor to demonstrate the techniques to promising dragon mages before they are put up for final testing. Given your . . . demonstrations . . . you likely will not be in the Academy much longer, though of course you know that.”

I wasn’t sure what these lessons meant for my future at the Academy, but I suspected they were important somehow. “What might you be able to teach me?”

I still didn’t know how I was going to be tested by the instructors, only that there would be some sort of testing. That was what Thomas had explained. Maybe learning from Eleanor would teach me something necessary to pass this test—and I needed to pass it to gain autonomy as a dragon mage. If nothing else, I could use the opportunity to learn from her. Now that I had an understanding of my connection to the dragons, I didn’t have to feel as if I were wasting time with an instructor if they couldn’t help me accomplish that.

“You have shown some potential with Thomas, and that tells me you’re prone to using the kind of power he prefers.”

“And what type of power is that?”

“Well, when it comes to Thomas, he does tend to use more of an attacking type of magic. As a chief dragon mage, such a thing is not surprising, and I’d expect you would have learned many of those same skills.” She waited, and I nodded. “As I suspected. There are ways of manipulating it and creating useful patterns. I think I could help you with that.”

“That’s what you wanted to find me for?”

“There is no time but the present to start.”

I glanced behind her, looking out into the brightness of the day. Despite that, I felt exhausted, and I wanted nothing more than to sleep, but I had a feeling Eleanor wouldn’t give me that opportunity.

Even if she did, it was far too bright, and until it was night, or until I knew Thomas had returned safely, I didn’t know if I’d be able to sleep.

I might as well continue to work on learning various patterns from other masters.

It seemed to me there was more going on than what Eleanor wanted me to know, but that was just one more thing I’d have to ask Thomas about when he returned.

“Where would you have us go? To the training chamber beneath the Academy?”

She waved her hand again. “Nothing quite so dramatic as that. I know there are some who like it for its austerity, but I always found it too dimly lit.”

“Considering that we’re using dragon magic, I don’t know if the lighting in the room makes much of a