Toby Neighbors - Crying Havoc

The dragon had made three fiery passes and now Offendorl was calling the beast back. He fully expected King Felix to reject his offer. Perhaps he did not have Zollin after all. Offendorl could no longer feel the young wizard. Somehow the boy had learned to shut himself off from other magic users. But if King Felix didn’t have the boy yet, he would move mountains to get him. That was all that mattered.

* * *

Zollin ran to Quinn. His father was still alive, but just barely. The knife had come down just below the heart, but it had punctured Quinn’s left lung, and the bleeding was on the verge of causing heart failure.

“He’s alive!” Zollin shouted.

Then his mind dove into his father. He rerouted the blood that was filling his father’s lungs. Slowly he drew out the knife and began healing as much of the damage as he could.

“The dragon!” came a terrified shout.

Even inside the stable they could hear the beast roaring. It shook the ground like thunder and then followed the screams of panic. The horse reared in the stall, kicking against the wooden door.

“What the devil is it now!” cried Hausey as he and Corlis ran outside.

Zollin stayed focused on his father, but it was only seconds before Hausey was back at his side.

“It’s the dragon, Zollin. The beast is here. Come quick!”

“I can’t, my father could die.”

“It’s breathing fire on the walls,” Commander Corlis shouted. “Get the men off those walls!”

“This is why the King sent for you, Zollin,” Hausey said. “I’ll see to your father, but you have to stop the beast.”

“I just have to get him stable,” said Zollin.

“It’s coming round again!” Corlis shouted. “It’s hitting the north wall this time.”

Zollin was having trouble concentrating. He knew he was doing only a mediocre job on his father, but it would be enough to buy him some time.

“Zollin!” Hausey shouted. “We can’t wait any longer.”

“Move him into the castle!” Zollin shouted. He had pulled the knife completely out and sealed up the wound, but Quinn’s lungs were still in bad shape and he was bleeding from gashes in his hand, face, and shoulder, too.

“He’s stable for the moment, but I want someone with him all the time.”

“I’ll see to it personally,” Hausey said. “You have to stop the dragon.”

“It’s heading for the east wall,” shouted Corlis.

“I need someone to stop Mansel. I want him alive.”

“I can do that,” said Corlis. “What’s he look like?”

“He’s a big warrior with shaggy hair,” Hausey said.

“The innkeeper should be able to point you to him,” Zollin said. “But be careful. He’s skilled in combat.”

“As am I,” Corlis said with a smile. “I won’t let you down.”

Corlis rushed off as Zollin tore down a stall door to use as a stretcher for his father. He levitated his father onto the board and then levitated it up and out of the stable. Hausey had to run to the castle to get men. They came rushing to Zollin and took hold of the corners of the door his father was laying on.

“Get him inside and safe, Hausey.”

“You have my word,” said the commander.

Zollin rushed back into the castle and levitated himself to the top of the watchtower. The guards there were terrified, but Zollin explained who he was.

“The dragon’s veered off,” said one of the lookouts.

Zollin let his magic flow out. It was as if he had unlocked a dam. The magic rushed out forcefully, and Zollin could feel the beast circling high over head.

“All right, it’s going to take me a while, but tell the King I’m working on the dragon problem.”

“Yes, sir,” said one of the lookouts, before running down through the trap door with the news.

There were already clouds high in the sky, blocking some of the starlight. There wasn’t enough that rain would be an issue, but Zollin didn’t care. He didn’t need rain, he needed electricity. He sent his magic into the clouds and began to focus on the tiny particles of water in the clouds. He pushed them with his magic and swirled them. It was like waving his hand through smoke, but he knew almost immediately that his plan was working.

The tiny water particles were made up of two different forms of gas that were stuck together to form the water. Each of those gas particles had an electrical charge. It was like rubbing his hair and then touching a metal spoon. As a kid he had loved to build up static electricity and give Todrek a shock by touching him. Now the cloud was charging up, and the amount of movement within the cloud’s trillions of particles was creating an electrical power that was stronger than Zollin could produce using magic. He knew that when the dragon came again, he could, if his theory was correct, at least drive the beast away. The dragon may have iron-like scales that most steel could not penetrate, and it might be impervious to fire, but lightning was a different matter.

“What the blazes are you doing?” King Felix said angrily.

“I’m brewing up a storm for the dragon,” Zollin said, trying to maintain his concentration.

“Where were you? I knew something like this was going to happen. Do you know how many people were killed because you shirked your duty?”

Zollin spun on the King then and stared at him angrily.

“This is not my fault,” he shouted. “Don’t blame me. I didn’t send the dragon. If you were afraid of this, why did you station men on those walls? I was seeing to my father, who was almost killed. Don’t you dare speak to me as if I’m your slave. I am here now. That is all that matters.”

“And what will you do if the dragon comes back?”

“I’m going to hit it with lightning,” Zollin said. “If you’ll leave me in peace long enough to prepare it.”

“Sire, there’s a messenger coming from the enemy,” came a voice from down below. “He’s coming to the city gates.”

“Are you sure you can deal with the dragon?” King Felix said to Zollin.

“Absolutely,” Zollin said, sounding more confident than he felt.

“Generals, with me,” King Felix said.

Zollin went back to stirring his storm cloud.

* * *

It took less than half an hour for the messenger to return. Offendorl was on top of his wagon, while King Belphan and King Zorlan waited anxiously below.

“Well?” King Belphan said when the messenger bowed before him.

“King Felix’s response to your demand for the boy wizard was, ‘Hell no.’”

“Good,” Offendorl said. “We can have some more fun.”

“Shall we send in troops?” Zorlan asked.

“No need for that,” Offendorl replied. “We’ll just continue to soften them up. By dawn they’ll be begging to surrender.”

He levitated the heavy, gold crown onto his head and felt the instant connection with the dragon. The beast was high in the night sky, circling just as Offendorl had instructed him to do. He sent the mental order to strike again, this time directly at the castle. Offendorl wanted King Felix to feel the heat personally.

He watched with the eagerness of a school boy waiting to see a shooting star. His hands were clasped in front of him, and his body was leaning forward. The dragon dropped, diving like a falcon toward its prey. Then suddenly, a bolt of white-hot lightning erupted from the night sky. It was there and gone in an instant, but Offendorl felt the shock of fear from the dragon. Then the thunder boomed. It wasn’t a rolling wall of sound, but a sharp crack, followed by a massive slap that shook the ground.

The dragon veered away from the city, but another bolt of lightning surged out toward it. Once again the beast felt fear, but this time the lightning was close enough that it shocked the dragon, burning its tail. Offendorl felt fear, then pain, then panic, as a thunderclap once more shook the ground.