Mentored in Fire by K.F. Breene

Fourteen

The buggy ridewas mostly quiet as we traveled past the neighboring sects and into the wilds behind the castle. The landscape changed from various Brink scenes—rolling hills, rocky mountains, or serene meadows—into ones that would be more fitting for the Realm, like puffy trees and manufactured flowers and golden cobblestones. At one point I’d looked down and asked, “Is that real gold?”

“Why do you want to know, so you can steal some bricks?” Lucifer had laughed. “It is real, and most of it has already been stolen once. I took them from the elves many years ago. I wanted to prove how easy it was to take their things. They weren’t pleased.”

It was like talking to myself. I could not believe I could be so like this man, whom I had not known growing up. The lesson in genetics was pretty intense.

The various landscapes were apparently his trials. He tested out designs back here, where most people didn’t travel on foot or even in buggies. Only the more powerful demons dealt with dragons, and they could alter their shape. Basically, they could fly.

“What do I have to look forward to?” I asked as the landscape subtly morphed into rolling fields of purple and blue. Above, a great winged beast soared through the sky, its aqua scales glittering in the faux-sun. I watched it pump its mighty wings before it dove, zooming down toward the ground and then turning over and climbing back up, enjoying the day.

My heart pumped harder. Excitement curled through me. Forcing Cahal to go was the right decision. I knew he’d want to see these things. He’d just been messing with me earlier, and in the end, he’d be thankful for this.

“Dragons do not like strangers,” Lucifer said. “They do not like people interrupting their territory, and they can become quite violent about it. I’ll be with you, and if we stay on the path, it negates much of the risk. But the second you approach a dragon, it won’t care about me. It will only care about you, and it’ll want you to prove your worth in battle.”

No problem. I’d been proving my worth in battle my whole adult life.

“How do you coax one to bond you?” I asked.

“After you prove your worth, it will connect with your mind and let you ride. From there, your friendship will begin. The bond is like any bond—you learn about each other, begin to feel mutual trust, and that trust develops into a partnership.”

“But…what if, when you’re learning about each other, you realize that one of you is an asshole?”

“Their magic gives them a sort of…emotional Sight, is the only way to describe it. They can feel your magic, and you through it. If they cannot handle an asshole, they will not engage with you.”

“Ah. So if I try to battle a dragon that doesn’t want to battle…”

“It’ll fly away. Or it will resist, and the other dragons nearby will join with it to kill you to stop unwanted advances.”

“Gotcha.”

“Dragons are loyal like no other creatures in the world. Once they find someone worthy, they will stick with that creature until the end of time, to their own detriment, if need be.”

“Can they only bond demons? Are demons the only ones they find worthy?”

“Not at all. It’s just the only option they have. They are loyal to the Underworld, and given I had to cut us off from the Realm, they remain here with us.”

“Like the unicorns remain in the Realm?”

“Yes. Unicorns are very similar to dragons, though they tend to be a herd animal. They will work with another creature, but they aren’t as fiercely loyal. Great in battle, though.”

“And Vlad will help you use them to your benefit?”

He didn’t comment, but his ghost of a grin gave him away.

I took a deep breath, and everything within me wobbled again. What Cahal had said hit me. Not having Darius here to chat about strategy was gnawing away at my heart. I wanted to see Penny meet the dragons, because her magical thievery would give them a run for their money, I just knew it. And Emery would fall all over himself to ride one of those great beasts. It was a fitting battle companion for a rogue natural.

I shook my head sadly, staring out the window.

“You’re in a black place,” Lucifer said quietly. “Can I help?”

“No.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him nod. He looked away. And that made it just a little harder.

A truckload of minutes later,the buggy turned and slowed. I blinked, having been staring at nothing for some time, my thoughts churning. Huge black gates, currently opened, rose into the sky, topped with sharp spikes. Thorny bushes crowded the space at the bottom of the gates and ivy trailed along the top. A thunderous rumble shook my bones but settled down quickly. What sounded like, and probably were, enormous wings beat at the air.

“Your dragon is huge, right?” I asked, my teeth just about to chatter. I wasn’t cold—the temperature here was as perfect as the Realm—but I was suddenly nervous. I remembered fighting that rainbow dragon at the circus. That thing had been crazy.

Then again, I’d been trying to conceal my magic at the time. I wouldn’t have to worry about that here.

“Very. One of the largest,” he said, and I heard a little smugness in his voice.

“And it chose you?”

“Yes. As did several others. But hers was the battle offer I accepted.”

“Oh.” I climbed from the buggy, seeing the second buggy behind us, black instead of gold, probably matching Cahal’s mood. He made no move to get out. “More than one can pick you?”

“Not usually. But…” He pushed his hand against his chest. “I’m the king of the Underworld. There is status in being bonded to me. Many of them wanted to reap the rewards of carrying me on their back. It happens every time I need to bond a new dragon. They are not immortal.”

“What rewards?”

“She is the queen of the dragons—she has the choicest nest, gets carcasses brought to her—”

“Carcasses of…?”

“Of various Underworld animals. Once you are thoroughly trained, we can travel the wilds. Many areas are incredibly dangerous. I know you’d be fine, but some of the creatures are important to the ecosystem, and I can’t risk you killing the wrong thing.”

It took me a moment to unpack all of that. It was entirely clear there was a good deal of the Underworld I had yet to learn. It was like scratching the surface and then falling down a huge well.

“Anyway, when she is heavily pregnant or with new life, I hunt out the choicest hides and bring them to her. It is something any dragon rider would do, but…”

“You’re the most powerful, and therefore can wrangle the best…hide. Hides.”

“Exactly, yes. Plus treats and baths and…”

I shook my head, not even able to imagine what it took to bathe such an enormous beast. I let it go for now.

“And why don’t the other dragons get those things? Money?”

“No.” He shrugged and walked to the center of the gate. “I take care of what is mine. She is my responsibility, and so she will have whatever she needs. She repays me by marching into battle if I need, or taking me for a pleasure cruise.”

“Or hunting down the latest disturbance in your kingdom.”

He smiled. “Not going to let that go, are you?”

“Not likely, no. She killed innocents.”

“No one in the Edges is innocent, and you let her do it so as not to reveal your magic.”

A grin wrestled with my lips, and I had to stop from laughing. “You have me there.”

“Yes. Trying to act high and mighty when you are no better than me…” He tsked.

I did laugh this time. “I should be better than you. Everyone agrees.”

“Everyone? Who, the druid? Your vampire? They turn you against me when they don’t know me?”

He had me there, too. “So the other dragon owners don’t do as much for their dragons?”

“It depends, but largely no. I am overbearing in the extreme when it comes to taking care of what’s mine. If only your mother were here—she would back me up on that.”

My gut twisted and longing stole over me. I knew she would. I’d heard stories. More stories than I cared to, even. The sexier ones on her deathbed had made me want to pour bleach in my ears.

“And yet I am trapped down here,” I murmured, because I had to. I was torn—so torn—and I needed some sign that he was terrible. That I was trapped, which would make him the bad guy. Which would make the choice to leave easier.

Lucifer waved his hand, and Cahal came floating out of the buggy, arms firmly crossed over his chest.

“You are learning right now, and hopefully shedding some of the untrue stories you’ve been fed. After I am sure you know me—really know me—and are leaving for the right reasons, I will let you go. It will break my heart, but I will let you go, hoping you will come back.”

I stared into his eyes, looking for the lie. Looking for the flat expression that would indicate he was holding something back. I only saw earnestness, and a shadow of worry.

I blew out a breath, apparently the way I dealt with things beyond my control, which was this whole endeavor. I turned toward the gate. “What happens now?”

“We enter the dragons’ territory and see what comes.”

Somethingflowered in my middle. “See what comes” was exactly the way I liked doing things. No planning, no strategizing, just walking in and rolling with the punches.

“No sweat.” I sliced through Lucifer’s magic on Cahal, dropping the druid to the ground. He staggered but caught himself before falling on his face. Lucifer’s expression flattened. “He’s my pet. I should hold the leash.”

Lucifer didn’t comment, and I didn’t wait for him to. I was a little surprised myself, actually, though I wouldn’t allow myself to dwell. I’d just chopped through his magic like I usually chopped through that of mages. Without thinking, I’d learned to counteract him. Was it the godly magic infusing me? Or could he do the same with me and hadn’t mentioned it?

“Stop sulking. You want this,” I told Cahal as I marched toward the open gate.

He followed me like a shadow. “It is not up to you to determine what I do and do not want.”

“No, it isn’t. Which is why I relied on what you said about dragons. Remember when you were whining about wanting to see them? I remember. Which is why you are here. You’re welcome.”

“This is extremely dangerous.”

“Yes. All of this is extremely dangerous, and you must be up for it because you followed my unconscious ass down into the Underworld. Seriously, stop sulking. I don’t want to have to fight on your behalf.”

“You’re going to have to. I don’t have a sword.”

I hesitated as I crested the territory and glanced back. Dang. He was right—I’d forgotten about his sword.

“It’s fine.” I started walking again. “You’ll improvise.”

“You sound just like your father.”

That was supposed to be a dig. Given I liked my old man—what I knew of him, anyway—I ignored it. So did Lucifer, who was trailing us.

I’d always figured dragons would live in caves under buildings, the way they did in Brink stories, and sleep on piles of gold or hoarded treasure. And I supposed that was partially true here, since this place was an enormous cave. But Lucifer had done up the illusion to make it seem like there was nothing but limitless sky.

The fence stretched into the distance on both sides, and I couldn’t see the back of it. Vast tracks of green lands spread out in front of me with rolling hills, tended bushes, and various tufts of brightly colored flowers. A soft orange sky held a few puffy white clouds, the faux-sun shedding warm lighting.

To my distant right, a shedlike structure held a sleeping beast, curled up in the soft grasses, its nose sending up tendrils of smoke. Nearer to us, on the left, a dragon lay in a ramshackle barn. Regardless of their shantylike dwellings, these dragons were magnificent, their scales glittering, their wings tucked in, and their great heads nestled against their bodies.

“These have the weaker…handlers, then?” I asked, continuing on.

“You don’t handle a dragon,” Cahal whispered. “You are a team with them. You are their ally.”

“These have the weaker allies, then?”

“Yes,” Lucifer said, not stepping to my side as he would usually do. He wanted me to meet this head-on, by myself. It was almost certainly a rite of passage. “Usually bonded dragons nest in the sects of their riders. But some of the weaker riders aren’t given enough space in their sect, or they simply don’t have permission because larger, more powerful dragons are occupying the available space. Because of that, their dragons stay here with what provisions they are given. Dragons can hunt for themselves, and the weather is always perfect, so it isn’t a hardship for them by any means.”

“So the dragons that live here are mostly riderless dragons or weaker ones?”

“Basically, yes, though bonded dragons do come to stay in their old nests from time to time. They visit each other, like demons or humans do.”

“And the stronger dragons…”

“Typically reside to the rear right of the territory,” Lucifer supplied.

I headed back that way. There was something new in his eyes now. A soft light had taken over the cunning gleam. An openness had diluted the analytical intelligence, giving the illusion that one could look down into his soul. Love glistened in his gaze. Adoration.

He noticed my assessing stare, my slowing gait, and glanced off in the direction I assumed his dragon resided. “I enjoy seeing her. She’s been with me a long time. No one else in the worlds knows me better.”

“You have a soft spot for your dragon.” I continued on, my heart warming. “That is a vulnerability, no?”

“Vulnerabilities aren’t something to be afraid of. They make us stronger in the end. You cannot really hate unless you know how to love. And you cannot revel in rage if you don’t know great passion. You cannot claim true vengeance unless you’ve felt the rush of fear that something you love has been hurt or lost. You will never know your true strength unless you give in to your greatest weaknesses. I enjoy vulnerabilities. I enjoy feeling the edge of my comfortability. I enjoy the rage that comes from fear. A rage I will unleash on the elves when the time is right.”

I pondered that as we traveled a path laid with small white-yellow stones. The area had ample space but little magic, most of the beasts sleeping right now, curled up tightly and not bothering with me at all. I’d expected a little more alarm at the stranger in their midst. I said as much.

“Dragons hunt in the night or early morning, when the wilds are most active. The larger, more powerful dragons usually make the first and largest kills. The smaller, weaker dragons go out after they do. As such, the weaker dragons make it to their nests later. The more powerful ones should be rousing now, at their height of energy.”

“You didn’t plan to make it easy on me, huh?”

“What would be the fun in that?”

The dragons were getting larger now, some glittering with multiple colors and others more monochrome. A few lifted their heads now, peering at us as we passed. Their acute stares, intelligence behind those slitted eyes, made my stomach churn with equal parts fear and excitement.

“They sense your magic,” Lucifer said quietly. “They wouldn’t bother looking up at me, knowing I have already bonded. But you are just as powerful in a different way, I am sure of it. It is rousing their interest. You will have your pick of the best today, mark my words. You will make a good match. A noble match.”

I preened. He’d said “noble.”

“We are coming up on the larger dragons now,” he murmured. “Most of these have not been bonded, to my knowledge.”

Pushed off from the path, none of these had shelter, unless they’d created a sort of burrow between the trees. They lifted their mighty heads to watch us as we made our way past, their wings fluttering at their sides. One’s tail lifted, the end spiked like a dinosaur. That would put a few holes in my middle.

“They are regal creatures, and they don’t settle,” Lucifer said. “They are pure of heart and intent. If they choose you, it means they believe in you. They will never let you down, not if they can help it. They will fight with you to the death. Once they choose someone, that’s it for them, for life. It’s a decision they do not make lightly.”

A strange sort of tension wormed through me as one of the dragons pushed to its feet, the motion shaking the tall grouping of trees next to its bed. It didn’t move forward, though, and it wasn’t looking at me. Its focus was on Cahal behind me, who was watching it with wary eyes tinged with excitement. We were clearly entering the territory of dragons of the level that would take notice of him.

Great trees rose into the sky, much denser the farther in we got. Bushes grew in size, too, covering more of the land. Shapes moved within the shadows, looking out at us through the cover of foliage. Some dragons stepped out now, watching us pass.

“Those have riders,” Lucifer said, noticing them. “They are taking an interest, though. I have never escorted someone through here, not even my staff. I always come alone. These dragons are wondering why the change. Soon everyone will know of my heir.”

“Because they’ll sense my magic?” I asked, my voice unnaturally subdued. Anxiety ran through me as I witnessed the raw power of these creatures pushing up to their feet, moving toward and around us.

“Yes.” He left it at that.

A pastel-pink dragon roared, the sound infused with magic, and a wave of darkness swept over me. Depression rose and tried to pull me under, dragging tears from my eyes, until the last echoes faded away. The beast stomped out through the trees. Wood cracked and branches swayed, leaves raining down. Into the clearing it went, its great wings snapping out to either side, the ends sporting wicked claws. It huffed, and smoke billowed out of its nostrils.

“That’s yours, obviously,” I said to Cahal.

“Dragons don’t belong—”

“Yes, yes, I know.” I fashioned a sword out of air and stepped in front of him, blocking the way. “It’s your favorite color, though. Match made in heaven.”

His large, strong hand covered my shoulder, and he gently pushed me to the side. “I would rather die by the efforts of this mighty creature than watch you slowly lose your mind and eventually give in to madness and kill me. I will take what comes, sword or no.”

“Its roar especially suits you, Mr. Downer.”

The dragon lumbered closer, at least twelve feet high, its broad chest filling before it blew out a blast of blistering fire, spraying the area in front of us. I threw up an ice shield immediately, keeping the heat from washing over Cahal and rendering him crispy.

I sent a blast of icy air to push the beast back until we sorted this out. It trumpeted, surprised, before crashing through the trees behind it and lowering its head, focused on me now. It crouched there, waiting.

“I didn’t bring you here to see you get killed,” I said. “What’s the plan? You wanted to see them, but you didn’t say anything about choosing one. You don’t have your sword, remember?”

“What would a sword do against a dragon? Let me by.” His hand was on my shoulder again. His gaze was on the dragon watching us. “You’ve scared her. Let me by.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Lucifer said softly behind us. “And I was.”

I glanced back at him.

“By the angels, those bastards,” he supplied, winking. He jerked his head at Cahal, who was walking forward slowly, his arms out. The dragon shook itself, still crouching, and ruffled its wings. “He’s hearing the call. The dragon has offered to spar with him—to see if he is worthy of a bond.”

“I mean.” I held out my hand. “It’s his favorite color.”

“Yes, it’s a hideous color for a hideous man. I hate pastel. There’s no life in it.”

I had to agree with him there, except for the bit about Cahal.

“Just so we’re clear.” I put up my hands and walked forward a little, speaking to the dragon. “I will not let you kill him. Beat the ever-loving shit out of him if you must, but do not kill him. Do you understand?”

The dragon rose slowly to its full height, the leaves sliding off its scaled back.

“Leave me. It’ll be fine.” Cahal waved me away before stepping toward it, his boots lost to sight amidst the dense greenery off the path.

I gritted my teeth but moved back slowly, stopping when I felt Lucifer’s hand on my other shoulder.

“I regret bringing him now,” I mumbled as the dragon lunged forward, its fangs reaching down from its open mouth.

Cahal dodged to the side easily before punching it in the side of the face. His whole body went taut, and he gracefully darted backward. He shook out his hand. Dragon scales were like armor. Now he knew.

“He should have his sword,” I mumbled, hands on my hips, adrenaline running through me.

“You really care for that druid,” Lucifer said.

“He’s a pain in my ass, but he’s my responsibility. I don’t want him killed.”

Cahal grunted as the dragon turned and whipped its tail around, lashing out. But he was already rolling to the side, still so graceful even while taking on a dragon single-handedly, with no weapons. He did have magic, though.

Shadows pooled and coalesced around him, blurring his form and making him all but invisible. The dragon roared, and the depression pushed on me like a weight, hard to carry.

On my first trip through the Underworld, a dragon’s roar had spread fear. Panic. Clearly they each had a different magic, and this one was just as effective. On me, anyway.

Cahal ran under the dragon, bending to do so, before punching upward and hitting it in the stomach.

The dragon belched out fire and hopped, trying to look under it, missing him running out to one side. His magic clearly worked on these creatures.

The dragon roared again, frustrated, I could tell, before stomping all around. Cahal started back in, launching onto the lowered head and scaling its neck to its shoulders.

“He should’ve tried for a larger dragon,” Lucifer said, a little bit of awe in his voice.

“It isn’t about the size; it’s about the motion in the ocean,” I said without thinking.

“I am thankful I’ve never had to give that excuse to a woman.”

“Ew.”

“You brought it up.”

The dragon trumpeted, surprised again, and its wings beat the air. Its body lifted into the air, and it was off and away, Cahal hanging on for dear life.

“Dang it,” I said, wanting to jog forward, to trap it in the air and lift Cahal to safety. But in a moment it was beyond my reach, soaring into the orange sky.

“And there you go.” Lucifer started forward. “The druid is powerful enough to attract a dragon.”

I jogged after him, watching the dragon continue to climb. “Are they going to keep battling in the air? We should stay here to make sure he doesn’t get bucked off.”

“The dragon would’ve thrown him immediately if she didn’t want him on her back. They will get to know each other now.”

“So that’s it?” I held on to his arm while I watched the dragon soar through the sky, my adrenaline still firing, my excitement growing, and a little jealousy soaking through the other emotions. I hoped I got to soar like that. That a dragon would choose me.

With my luck, the one I tried to bond with would stomp on me and then get its dragon buddies to help kick me out of their territory. I doubted my father would be very proud if that came to pass.

“That’s it for him, yes. For you? I doubt it. The higher-level dragons are this way, and I have a feeling you won’t be satisfied until you pick the most fearsome one you come across.”