Broken by Magic: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (Dragon Gate Book 3), page 3
“I can’t leave him.” Alarm surged through Jak at the thought. “He needs me. I’ll make a sling so I can carry him.”
Jak had brought the hatchling into this world, so he felt responsible for him. Not only that, but he still worried that one of the ambitious mages would get ahold of Shikari—why did Rivlen’s face come to mind?—and try to shape him into some loyal minion, a future servant.
“He might be a hindrance,” Malek said. “Or be killed if we end up in battle.”
“I’ll take care of him. I know I can. And he won’t be any trouble.”
Shikari, having rejected the bootlace, looked expectantly up at Jak again.
“I think he wants more insects,” Jak said, hoping to change the subject.
Maybe if Jak showed up at the portal with Shikari in a sling, Malek would simply accept that he was coming along.
“Yes. And you’ll provide them.” Malek pointed at the trees. “The net is intricate, as far as magic goes, and it may be beyond your skills at this time. You can either try it or come up with your own solution.”
It had looked intricate. As much as Jak would have preferred to show off his vast abilities by perfectly making a magical net on his first try, he doubted he could. Even having watched and sensed how Malek had done it, it was a daunting task that he would prefer to first practice in private, especially since a number of mages on their ship and on others were watching. They probably cared more about the dragon than Jak’s magic lessons, but if he failed utterly in front of them, he would feel like a fool.
Maybe Jak could eschew the net and simply create the same kind of wind that Malek had. If he struck the insects hard enough, it might stun them, and he could sweep them onto the deck of the yacht. Shikari could use his killer instincts to pounce on them and devour them before they regained consciousness.
Thus far, he’d had most success performing magic when he could relate what he wanted to do with a cartographical feature on one of his maps. Mountains for defense. Rivers for funneling some of his power into other people to use. And a geyser to levitate someone upward into the sky.
He envisioned the kind of harsh hurricane winds that drove storms off the sea and to shore, battering the beaches hard enough to erode land and reshape the coastline. He willed such a blast of wind to gust through the treetops, knocking free any insects loitering on leaves and funneling them up to land on the yacht’s deck.
But wind was a dubious cartographical feature, even if it shaped the terrain of the world over time, and his power seemed to sniff disdainfully at this notion. Long seconds passed as he concentrated, sweat pricking at his armpits, and nothing happened beyond the natural breezes whispering through the trees.
Though Malek didn’t say anything, he watched Jak. That made Jak feel self-conscious, and heat rose to his cheeks. He wanted Malek to believe he was worth teaching, that this wasn’t a waste of his time. Maybe the other mages around had sensed that Jak was trying to do something—trying ineffectually to do something—for many of them had paused to watch too.
If Jak couldn’t even catch flies, would Uthari realize he was useless and forbid Malek to teach him? Or decide that it wasn’t worth letting a wild one like Jak live?
Feeling like a clock was ticking toward a deadline, Jak gave up on the wind. He’d used water imagery effectively before. Frustrated, he envisioned storm waves crashing to the shore. They shaped coastlines far more quickly and dramatically than wind did.
Snapping and rustling rose up from below as a wall of water—no, of the magical force that Jak was creating by envisioning water—rushed through the treetops. The tops of trunks snapped off, branches tore free, and thousands of leaves flew into the air.
Realizing he’d used too much force—and nothing like the finesse of Malek’s net—Jak released his concentration. But the wave of magic kept rolling along. Like a real wave, it couldn’t be stopped until it crashed to the shore. In this case, it crashed to Uthari’s yacht, bearing a deluge of leaves and broken branches and tree trunks on it. The wave slammed into the ship, making the entire vessel quake as it dumped most of the debris onto the deck.
“What in all the caves in the slavemasters’ Hell was that?” the yacht’s captain bellowed, rushing out on deck with other officers on his heels.
“Are we under attack?”
“What the—” They stopped and gaped at the knee-deep layer of foliage, branches, and treetops blanketing the deck.
Jak buried his face in his hand, wishing he could disappear. If his cheeks had been warm before, they flamed like a sun now.
“Hm,” Malek said.
Uthari strode out, frowning around at the mess before his gaze settled on Jak. The officers might have been confused, but he seemed to know exactly what had happened.
“We’re not under attack,” Uthari told the captain. “At least not by enemy fire.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The captain glared at Jak. He was one of many doing so.
Only the hatchling appeared pleased by this mistake. He hopped among the debris, poking his snout under leaves. A cricket that the magic had indeed stunned tried to hop away, but he caught it and chomped it down.
“What is going on, Malek?” Uthari walked up to them, branches crunching underfoot.
Jak lowered his hand, wondering if Uthari would punish him. And if so, would Malek stand by and watch? Numerous things that he’d said within Jak’s hearing implied Malek believed a zidarr who didn’t perform adequately deserved to be punished. Would he feel the same about a young pupil?
“Feeding time,” Malek said.
Did he sound amused?
Jak couldn’t tell, but he hoped so. Unfortunately, Uthari didn’t look amused, not in the least.
Shikari’s tail swished as he searched for more insects.
“It eats leaves?” Uthari asked.
“Insects. Jak is experimenting with ways to retrieve them.”
Uthari looked at the mounds of jungle debris layering his deck. “A net wouldn’t have sufficed?”
“The net looked daunting,” Jak muttered.
Uthari frowned at him. “The net looked daunting, Your Majesty. If you’re going to make a mess of someone’s personal yacht, the least you can do is address him respectfully afterward.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And clean it up.” Uthari turned a frank look on Malek. “I trust you can teach him to do that without overly daunting him.”
“Possibly.” Malek did look amused. His eyes were glinting.
Uthari squinted suspiciously at him, then shook his head and stalked away.
“Worse than the water-tank incident,” Uthari muttered, then called over his shoulder, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten that, Malek.”
“I was sure you hadn’t, Your Majesty,” Malek called after him.
Shikari found a clump of leaves afflicted with foliage-munching worms and proceeded to devour them while ripping the foliage to shreds.
“Water-tank incident?” Jak asked.
“During the first year of my training,” Malek said, “I knocked a water tank off the roof and flooded the castle courtyard.”
“Oh?” Jak allowed himself to feel hope that such incidents might be common among mages in training and that he wasn’t a total dolt. “What were you trying to do?”
“Catch a butterfly.”
“Really?”
Malek nodded. “Raw power comes first and finesse later, though you have to work for it. Some mages never get past using their power like a bludgeon. They don’t make it far and usually get killed in battle early on by someone more subtle.”
“Ah. I likely should have tried the net then.”
“Likely.” Malek smiled slightly, then waved to the mess. “Let’s separate the insects from the debris and toss everything that isn’t supposed to go down a dragon’s gullet over the side. I’ll show you, and you try emulating me this time. You can be creative later, ideally when you’re alone without anyone around who might be injured.”
“Funny.”
“Yes. Zidarr are known for their wit.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
“No? Distressing.”
Jak grinned and nodded that he was ready to learn and try to do exactly what Malek did.
As they worked together, Malek proved a surprisingly patient teacher. It reminded Jak of when his father had taught him about excavations and stratigraphy and how one did not, contrary to Jak’s original belief, simply dig holes to search for artifacts.
A pang of nostalgia came over him, along with the realization that he appreciated having someone to teach him again. It wasn’t as if he needed another father, or that anyone could replace the father he’d lost—he would never want that—but having a mentor was… nice.
But, as they used magic to sweep the debris off the deck, Jak reminded himself that Malek wanted him to swear loyalty and use his power to help Uthari. That had to be the only reason he was teaching Jak, not out of the goodness of his heart. As all the stories assured him, zidarr no more had hearts than they had wit.
Still, Jak couldn’t help but think that everything would be much easier if he went along with Malek’s desires. He hated the idea of becoming some wizard ruler’s loyal minion, but if he did, could he make sure his mother and grandfather were safe? If so, that would be worth a lot. Maybe even his freedom.
On the other hand, if Jak learned from Malek only to later turn on him and Uthari, they would try to kill him. To kill him and his family. Even if all Jak did was try to escape them, would they forgive him for that? For learning the secrets of mage powers and running back to the world of terrene humans?
He worried that neither Uthari nor Malek would allow that.
“Interesting,” Jadora murmured, turning the knob on the microscope. “Extremely interesting.”
She was in one of the many tents that had been erected around the waterfall-fed pool by both Uthari’s people and mages from the other fleets. Uthari had sent her down that morning, promising she would like what she found, which had included the microscope and all manner of laboratory equipment he must have brought along, hoping his team would find the longevity-inducing plant he sought.
During the last few days, she’d been hard at work translating the stories in the centuries-old tome the druids had lent her, and it was a worthwhile project, but this was her passion. She was examining some of the specimens she’d amassed during her journey, plant samples collected from all over, including the tunnels underneath Uthari’s sky city, the druid monuments in the jungle, and beside the pool here—the spot where the magical dragon portal had chosen to have itself placed. The plants she’d gathered here had particularly intrigued her, and she was glad for the chance to examine them under a microscope, but she wouldn’t admit it to Uthari or any of his people.
Even though she wasn’t bound by shackles, Jadora and Jak were his prisoners. Even worse, Uthari now also held her father prisoner on his yacht. To ensure her compliance.
“Is she talking about the green smudge on the rectangle of glass?” Sergeant Tinder asked from the entrance to the tent.
“I believe so,” Captain Ferroki said.
They were Jadora’s two guards today. She didn’t quite understand how the Thorn Company mercenaries had come to be working for King Uthari, when less than a week ago, they’d been employed against him by another alliance, but from what she’d heard, it had to do with their previous employers being killed and them being given an ultimatum. Work for Uthari or be abandoned in the jungle, a thousand miles from the coast and civilization.
They weren’t the only mercenaries that Uthari had gathered that way—numerous tattooed roamers strode the decks of several ships in his fleet—and Jadora had no doubt he would throw them away as cannon fodder should fighting break out again. Since the battle with the worm, the various fleets had been holding an uneasy truce, but she had little doubt that every commander longed to claim the portal—and whatever wonders the other worlds might hold—for their masters. Further, some of the other fleets had brought mercenaries of their own, who were also camped in the area, and tensions were high whenever the different groups of soldiers crossed paths.
“Is that typical for scientists?” Tinder asked.
“I believe it is,” Ferroki said. “We each have our own passions. To the anteater, ants are interesting.”
“Huh. The things I find interesting are combat bonuses, exotic foods, and new toys for the bedroom.”
“That’s because you’re typical for a mercenary.”
“Am I, Captain? I always thought my knowledge of explosives and love for constructing, throwing, and precisely placing them made me unique.”
“All mercenaries enjoy those things. You just excel at them.”
“Thank you for noticing, Captain.” Tinder opened the tent flap, peeked out, and frowned. “You know what else I excel at? Keeping rowdy soldiers in line.” She stalked out and started yelling at people who were apparently lounging on the flat rock alongside the pool and swimming in the water instead of taking their duties seriously.
Jadora’s current guards were chatty.
She opened a fresh journal that had been waiting on the table when she arrived and drew what were the most unique chloroplasts, if that was indeed what she was looking at, that she’d seen. Maybe later, she would ask Jak to peer into the microscope and do more accurate drawings. She didn’t have his deft touch with a pencil.
Outside, a tremendous splash sounded, followed by a man yelling for Tinder to get naked and join him. The last Jadora had seen, off-shift soldiers were climbing the cliff to the top of the waterfall, jumping into the river, and letting it carry them over the edge to plummet into the cool, deep pool.
Given the humidity that made sweat bead on her forehead, even here in the shade of the tent, she couldn’t blame the soldiers, but she had a feeling some of the stern mage crewmen would come down from their ships and put an end to anything that might be considered fun. Since another deadly predator might fly through the portal at any time, someone out there should be standing guard assiduously, ready for that possibility.
“I hope we aren’t distracting you from your work, Professor,” Ferroki said quietly. “Especially since I assume your work is at King Uthari’s behest. I don’t wish to draw his ire.”
“It’s fine. I was just thinking of collecting another specimen. It’s possible this plant represents a mutation.” Jadora didn’t think that was true, unless each of the plants in that patch was mutated, but she wanted to rule it out. She opened the flap, intending to walk to the portal for another sample, but one of the roamers was sprawled naked atop the green patch of plants, his hands behind his head, his bronze skin drying in the sun. “Perhaps I’ll wait.”
If the portal activated, and another giant man-eating worm flew out, he would be its first meal.
Ferroki looked out beside her. “What do you need?”
“Another sample from under that large fellow.”
“Tinder.” Ferroki waved to get her sergeant’s attention and pointed at the greenery. “Collect a plant from under that roamer for the professor.”
Tinder eyed the drowsing roamer. “From under him?”
Jadora shook her head. “Roamer-adjacent is fine.”
Tinder ambled over, eyed the fronds of the plant, and pulled out a dagger to cut off some of the foliage. The roamer opened his eyes, said something in a sultry tone, and fondled her calf. She stepped on his wrist, pointed her dagger at his genitals, and replied in a clipped tone. He chuckled and released her.
“At least our combined forces are getting along,” Ferroki said as Tinder walked away.
In Jadora’s academic world back at Sprungtown University, she wouldn’t have considered that getting along.
“And nobody has tried to kill our rookie for that axe yet,” Ferroki murmured, her gaze toward an open area where Tezi was sparring with two other female mercenaries. “I’ve been concerned about that. It’s garnered a lot of interest from mercenaries and mages.”
“Not surprising. Even weapons made from lesser dragon steel are rare and coveted.” Jadora thought of the blades Malek wielded. He’d admitted that he’d won them in battle against dangerous foes. “Their inherent magic gives them abilities beyond simple steel weapons, and dragon steel has even more power and magical properties. There are a handful of dragon-steel relics in museums and private collections around the world—and even a few monuments left in remote locations around Torvil—but neither smiths nor mages have ever learned how to smelt either material. The hottest heat we can make isn’t effective, nor is any kind of magic. The material is impervious to it.”
“So I’ve heard. One wonders how the tools were originally made.”
“The hypothesis is that dragons have the power to manipulate the magical alloy. Our methods of dating artifacts suggest that all the dragon steel and lesser dragon steel on Torvil comes from the time period they were known to be visitors to our world. It’s likely they made the weapons for the humans that befriended them—or served them. It was all more than ten thousand years ago, so the records are fuzzy on which it was. Perhaps some of both.”
“It seems like it would be wise to befriend a dragon if at all possible.”
Jadora shivered, remembering the brown-and-gray mottled dragon that had almost killed Malek. It had almost killed all of them. “I don’t think it’s always possible.”
Tinder delivered the plant sample.
“Thank you, Sergeant.” Jadora accepted it. “That was brave of you.”
“Nah, that one’s all right.” Tinder pointed her thumb toward the lounging roamer. “He was flirting with Sasko earlier and accepted her no when she gave it. They don’t always. I was a little surprised Sasko said no, to be honest. He’s all muscled and sexy, if you’re into that type. Which she is.” Tinder smirked. “She may be pining for the mage engineer that we lost last week.”
