The Lost Dragon (Cycle of Dragons Book 3) by Dan Michaelson (good summer reads .txt) 📗

ever had before, and thankfully I had mastered this one during my training. It was one that had permitted me to pass to my instructor level.”

I had to believe he was referring to the same time and events Manuel had mentioned, but why wouldn’t Walter talk about it?

“I heard the king suppressed a Vard insurrection out in the eastern part of the country many years ago,” I said.

“Yes,” he said, his face drawn, eyes taking on a hint of darkness. He didn’t want to talk about it. “That is where this was.”

“What was it like?”

He regarded me for a long moment. “What was it like? Dangerous. Bloody. I have never seen anything quite like it before.”

“The Vard were violent?” Maybe they were behind more than I realized.

“They were. They stirred up anger at the kingdom, and the people . . .” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. At this point, all that matters is that we continue to protect the peace.” He nodded. “Since you have mastered this early weave, I suggest we try an alternative. It is no less complex, but you might find more value in it.”

The sudden change of topic left me reeling for a moment. Why didn’t he want to talk about what had happened in the eastern part of the country?

Maybe for the same reason Manuel didn’t want to talk about it. Something had happened there that troubled him. From what Manuel had said, it had been violent, and then with the destruction of the cities themselves, it would’ve been difficult for anybody, especially somebody like Walter who had made it quite clear he didn’t want to be involved in such violence.

I needed to be a full dragon mage to learn what I wanted.

He stood in the center of the room and continued to pull upon power, shooting it up from his shoulders, sending it streaking over his head. When he did, the weave that formed was different from the others. It started slowly, and this time, rather than building up and over itself, it seemed as if he formed one layer, then began to slip the other around it and through it. The weave left the air sizzling, a strange energy that continued to build, and then he pushed it out.

Rather than forming a cage around him, this one created a sphere that circled outward and radiated away from him. It seemed to create some sort of barrier that pressed farther and farther away. I had to step back, uncertain what would happen when he pushed that toward me, and as he continued to push it, I found myself forming a barrier to try to react to what he did.

Walter smiled tightly. “You will see this one is both defensive and offensive. It is similar to the other one, in that the weave itself is critical, but it is not nearly as powerful a defensive measure. It has its uses though.”

“Did you use this one out east as well?” I wasn’t sure if he’d answer, but if he did, I wanted to know what else he had experienced.

“We were tasked with clearing the streets,” he said.

“And then what?”

“I was not there.”

“I heard the dragons were used to decimate the city.”

Walter released his barrier. “Perhaps they were,” he said. “Given what the Vard had done, it was necessary, I should think. They turned the entire populace against the king, and that is something that simply cannot be tolerated, especially given how much the king had done for these people.”

“Has he done anything similar anywhere else?”

“The Vard haven’t taken hold nearly so much anywhere else.”

“What if they did?”

“Then I wouldn’t be surprised if the king decided that he needed to intervene.” Walter shrugged, as if it didn’t matter to him. “The king has an obligation to his people to ensure they are protected. He doesn’t do them any favors by allowing the Vard access to the kingdom to continue to stir up problems for the king.”

The only thing I could think of was Berestal. What would happen if he believed the Vard had taken hold there? What would happen to my sister, my mother, and my brother? What would happen to Joran and his family? Would they be destroyed? If the king believed the Vard were moving, then it seemed to me that it would be dangerous.

“Thomas has returned,” I said.

“I understand he did,” Walter said. “And you told me he remarked upon your progress.”

I nodded. “He did. He said you had other patterns you could teach me.”

“I do, but I think you should start with these two. They are similar enough that working on one will help you work on another, but different enough that they have other uses for you. The more you practice them, the more your skill will improve. You need to get to the point where they become second nature to you, where instinct drives you in how you pull upon the pattern. It should become habit, little more than muscle memory. You should be able to create if you were to be attacked.”

“You can do that?”

“As quickly as needed,” Walter said.

I wondered if that were true. I thought about pulling upon an offensive technique, and debated it for a moment before deciding against it. If I were to attack Walter, then it might not be fast enough. With my connection to the dragons, with the cycle I had, it posed a danger, but perhaps not so much as what I believed. Maybe Walter really was better protected than what I’d given him credit for, despite his unassuming nature.

I decided to take the opportunity to see if I might discover anything about those who’d infiltrated the Academy. It didn’t feel like others were as concerned as me.

“How long have you been a teacher at the Academy?” I asked.

“Many years.”

“Why aren’t there as many dragon mages as there are riders?”

Walter frowned. “That is something the king has studied over the years. Well, not the king, but the Academy has studied it.