The Dragon's Apprentice

Chapter One

Magic makes the world go round.

So does spinning in place really fast.

--Bianca of Skael

More soon! Bianca had written, but that was the last entry in her thousand-year-old journal. Ciara flipped through the rest of the book, just like she’d done every time she’d read it, hoping she was missing something, but every other page was blank. What had happened to Bianca after that? What did the Dragon Mage have in mind for the dragons? And most importantly, why hadn’t everyone learned mag-ic like the Dragon Mage had promised?

She leaned back from the book, lost in thought, which the book didn’t seem to ap-preciate. It closed its brown leather cover and floated up to her eye level, looking for attention. She smiled in spite of herself and reached out to pet it, and the book began to purr like a cat.

Were all magic books this needy, or was it just Bianca’s journal? It’d been this way ever since Ciara had found it five years ago--though it was probably more accurate to say the book had found her. A boy in Skael had dared Ciara and her best friend, Meg, to spend a night in the tower near the mountain pass, which had terrified Ciara and excited Meg. If Ciara had known at the time that the tower had once be-longed to the Dragon Mage, then she probably would have been just as eager as her friend.

Unfortunately, Ciara and Meg had gotten separated as they’d wandered around an upper floor, and Ciara had ended up in a room she’d never seen in the daylight. There she discovered Bianca’s journal sitting on a broken shelf, somehow looking completely brand-new, especially compared with the ruins of the rest of the tower. She’d reached out nervously to take it, only for the book to float out to her, flap-ping its pages to say hello.

Needless to say, she’d screamed in terror and run for her life, but the book had just floated along behind her. Meg heard her screaming and eventually found Ciara on the ground a few yards from the tower, the book dancing happily in the air over her. So Meg did what any good friend would do: she punched the book.

Only, the book punched her back. It hadn’t ever liked Meg after that.

Even then, the book hadn’t given Ciara a choice, as it followed them all the way back to Skael. Fortunately, it was dark, so no one saw Ciara and Meg sneak with it into Ciara’s barn, where Ciara finally got brave enough to open it.

It wasn’t like she’d seen magic before, since it basically didn’t exist in Skael any-more, not since Bianca’s time. Only the Emperor and his son could use magic now, as it was strictly forbidden for anyone else. But according to Bianca, that wasn’t how things were supposed to happen. No, they were all supposed to know magic, not just the rulers of the Draconic Empire.

Bianca had been just a random kid from Skael when she was chosen by the Dragon Mage at twelve, the same age Ciara was now, and Ciara had pictured herself in Bianca’s place a million times since she’d found the book. After all, if she knew magic, there were so many things she could fix.

First, she’d cure everyone in the village of the Skael Cough, which had returned in spite of Bianca’s best efforts. No one would starve anymore, or have to pay the Warden the mandatory “donations” that took everything they had, especially not once Ciara magicked the Warden out of Skael forever.

And then, finally, Ciara might have made up for having caused all of those things in the first place. When the Warden arrived in Skael looking for Bianca’s journal a year after Ciara found it, she could have turned it over, and he would have re-turned to the capital immediately. But the Warden had said the book was evil, for-bidden by the Emperor, and at the time, it seemed a lot safer just to keep the book hidden.

And because of that, everything had gone wrong.

A hacking cough from outside the barn pulled Ciara’s attention back to reality. “Get back in the bag, okay?” she told the book, and it ruffled its pages in a way that always sounded like a sigh, but slowly floated into one of the empty brown sacks on the barn floor. Ciara shoved her second tunic, the one with all the holes in it, on top of the book to cover it, and that was it, everything she owned in one bag.

“Packed yet?” her mother said as she reached the barn door. Her pink skin was more flushed than usual, and her reddish-brown hair was plastered to her face. Even her brown tunic and pants looked damp with sweat. As Ciara watched, her mom half leaned, half fell against the barn’s doorframe, trying to look casual, not like she needed the support to stay upright.

Unfortunately, Ciara knew the truth, but she wasn’t going to force the issue, not now that she’d finally convinced her mother to sell everything they had to buy medicine, then leave Skael behind to try to find a village the Empire hadn’t yet reached, where they could start a new life. How they’d get there without any food, she didn’t know, but the medicine was the most important thing. Without it, her mother wouldn’t last another month.

Ciara brushed some dirt off her olive-green tunic and tan pants, then pushed some stray hairs the same color as her mom’s out of her face. “I was born packed!” she said with a shrug, picking up her bag. Even through the bag, the book gave her a warm, comforting feeling that definitely helped on days like today. “Took a few hours, but I managed to get my old tunic into a bag, so I’m ready. How did it go with Niall?”

Her mother winced. “He couldn’t pay as much as I’d hoped, but he did buy the farmhouse and barn, so that should give us all the coin we need for the medicine.” She shook her head. “I really hate that we’re left with nothing when I’ll probably get better without it, though.”

Ciara let that one go, holding back from replying that the Warden had claimed that same thing when her father and others had caught the Cough, which returned after the Warden reopened the Skael mines and forced the villagers to work in them. It was only when no one recovered and the illness proved fatal that the Warden had asked the Emperor for enough medicine to cure the entire village . . . if they could pay. Selling everything they owned was the only way to get enough to cover the cost.

“You’re right, what was I thinking?” Ciara said, rolling her eyes. “Hand over that money, I’m going to go buy a third shirt. The Emperor will probably invite me to court, I’ll look so fancy!”

Her mother smiled, but even that was weak. “I just wish the Warden had found that horrible book when he first arrived, and turned right around,” she said softly. “If he’d just gone back to the capital, everything would have been fine, and your father would still be here with us.”

A flush rose up Ciara’s face, and she tried to ignore the purring coming from the bag on her back. “We don’t even know if the book exists,” she said, trying not to wince as the book started pinching her through the sack with its covers, already getting antsy from having to hide. This was the problem with magical books; they just couldn’t stay quiet for even a minute, which made hiding them from the entire village so much tougher. “It’s not like the Warden even looked that hard.”

Her mother began coughing again before she could respond, and Ciara turned away, trying not to think about how her father had sounded much the same just before he’d died. We’ll get you medicine today, Mom, and then leave Skael and the Warden behind forever. It’ll all get better then. It has to.

The coughing eased for a moment, and her mother straightened back up. “We should get over to the Sanctuary to buy the medicine, or we’ll lose more daylight for our trip,” she said, her voice raspy from the coughing. She started to walk out the door, then paused, swaying slightly, only to grab the doorframe again.

“No, you should go sit in the cart, while I take the money to the Sanctuary for the medicine,” Ciara said, hoping her mother wouldn’t notice how worried she was. “Don’t move, I’m going to help you.”

“Since when are you in charge?” her mother asked as Ciara moved to help her mother back outside.

“Since I was born,” Ciara told her, slowly walking her mom over to the rickety cart nearby. “I just let you and Dad think otherwise ’cause it seemed to make you hap-py.”

“You’re pretty rude, for someone I raised,” her mother said.

“Well, yeah, I had a great teacher.”

Ciara helped her mother into the empty cart, which was a bit of a struggle, but her mom eventually managed to settle herself in, then sat back up in alarm. “Some-one’s coming,” she said, staring in the direction of the village, then gasped, turning back to Ciara, her eyes wide with panic. “It’s the Drakes. Into the barn, hurry!”

Ciara took off before her mother even finished, sprinting through the barn doors and closing them behind her, leaving one open just enough so she could see what was happening. She had to squint, but even from a distance, she could see the sun glinting off shining helmets, which she knew were molded into the shape of dragon heads. What were the Warden’s personal guard doing here?

“Delia!” someone shouted, and Ciara felt a cold chill go down her spine as she recognized the Warden’s voice. “Going somewhere?”

Ciara pushed her head against the crack in the door, glaring with hatred at the pale-skinned man in the white robe riding in the middle of the group. The Warden was smiling, which he only did when making people’s lives miserable, and his white hair and beard gleamed in the sunlight.

Five Drakes rode around him, their scaled armor matching the dragon helmets to honor the Dragon Mage. At the back of the group rode the Captain of the Drakes, and Ciara actually felt slightly relieved, as the Captain was the father of her best friend and had looked out for Ciara and her mother whenever he could.

Only, as the group drew closer, she quickly realized that the Captain didn’t look happy. That wasn’t a good sign, especially not when the other Drakes were all grinning smugly.

Her mother began coughing again before she could answer, which gave the War-den and the Drakes enough time to surround the cart with their horses. “I was ac-tually coming to see you, Warden,” her mother said finally, wiping a sleeve over her mouth. “We gathered together enough money to pay the donation for some medicine.”

The Warden’s eyebrows shot up. “Did you, now! And how exactly did you manage that? Nothing illegal, I hope?”

“We sold the farm, and everything else,” her mother said, glaring at him. “You sound surprised that we could afford it, though. Didn’t the Emperor send enough medicine for the village?”

“Of course, of course,” the Warden said, brushing away her words with a wave. “But the Emperor has to use magic to make it himself, so I refuse to let people waste it. A larger donation to the Sanctuary proves you really must need it.” His smile widened. “Unfortunately, though, I can’t sell you any medicine.”

Ciara’s heart almost stopped. What? He couldn’t be serious!

“What do you mean?” her mother asked, coughing again. “We have the money--”

“Oh, I’m sure you do,” the Warden said. “But those who break the Emperor’s laws don’t deserve his mercy.” He leaned forward now, just inches from her mother. “Tell me, Delia, exactly how long have you been hiding the forbidden book that the Emperor himself sent me here to find?”

Chapter Two

Real magic isn’t the friends we made along the way. It’s much more about shoot-ing giant fireballs from your fingers.

--Bianca of Skael

No! How could the Warden know Ciara had the book? It wasn’t possible! She’d kept it hidden from everyone other than Meg!

“What?” her mother shouted as the Drakes dismounted, then grabbed her arms and pulled her out of the cart. “Stop, let me go! I don’t have Bianca’s journal!”

“Never speak that foul name in my presence,” the Warden spat as the Drakes neared the door Ciara was hiding behind. “And I know you’re lying, Delia. We have a witness. Someone saw your daughter with the book.” He glanced around the farm as Ciara felt the blood drain from her face. “Is Ciara around somewhere? It’d be so much simpler to arrest you both together, rather than force my Drakes to search for the child.”

This couldn’t be happening. She’d been so careful, always keeping the book in her room except for at night, when she’d read it in the barn. How could the Warden have found out she had Bianca’s journal?

Something growled at her side, and she glanced over to find the bag with the book floating in midair, rumbling dangerously. “You, keep quiet!” she hissed at the book, grabbing the bag and clutching it to her chest. “Don’t move, don’t fly, don’t do anything, okay?”

The book ruffled its pages again, making a pbfft noise, but then went silent.

As she looked back outside, she saw the Captain of the Drakes turned in his saddle to talk to a girl Ciara’s age sitting behind him, and suddenly the mystery of how the Warden had found out was revealed--to Ciara’s horror. The girl’s skin was the same rich brown as her father’s, but while his hair was cut short, hers lay in braids down her back, just like Ciara’s. That, and the girl wore leather armor instead of the steel scales of the Drakes, having trained with her father for years.

It was Meg.

But . . . but how? How could she turn Ciara in to the man, betray her like this? It didn’t make any sense!

But why else would she be here with the Captain? And Meg had known about the book from the start, unlike the rest of the villagers, who couldn’t even be sure it existed. And while Meg hated the Warden as much as anyone did, considering how horribly he treated her father, maybe that was the reason she’d done this, to give the Warden what he wanted so he’d just leave Skael forever.

Ciara squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head, wishing it hadn’t taken her so long to convince her mother to sell everything and leave. If only they’d gotten away from the village before the Warden had learned she had the book, they might have been far enough away to avoid him and his Drakes.