Realm of Light - Deborah Chester [86]
And as though his mind had suddenly cleared, he realized he was too much in the habit of fighting for show in the arena, stretching out the contest for the enjoyment of the audience, of using weapon, brute strength, and heart.
Severing more deeply, feeling the sweet, icy cold plunge into the void, Caelan reached for their threads of life.
Suddenly, Lea stood before him.
Without warning, without movement, she was suddenly there. Less than four strides away, she stared at him with disappointment in her blue eyes.
Defiantly he stared back. She did not understand that sometimes killing was necessary.
“And sometimes it is not,” she said in his mind. “Think, Caelan. Reach beyond the simple thoughts of a warrior and use the mind you were given. See in new ways. Use the opportunity before you.”
The men attacked him. The heightened perceptions of severance made them appear to move slowly. Caelan shifted aside to avoid them.
“Would you have me stand here and be killed?” he said to Lea in exasperation.
“Think, Caelan! Look at what you have.”
“I have two dragon riders ready to cut me into ribbons.”
“Dragon riders,” she said. “Think!”
An image filled his mind of the strong beasts sweeping across the sky, used as swift messengers and dispatch carriers. He thought of long distances to cross, of too little time.
The Thyzarenes lifted their weapons to strike. From far away, distorted and slow, came their attack cries.
Caelan glared at Lea. “Get out of the way.”
“Don’t—”
“Get out of the way!”
She retreated, and Caelan reached for the Thyzarenes’ threads of life, grabbing them and jerking them hard.
He did not cut them, and when he jolted back from severance and stood blinking in the sunshine, he found both men lying unconscious at his feet. Swiftly he disarmed them.
“Caelan!” Elandra called. “I can’t hold this much longer.”
He saw her still standing with her jewel held aloft, while the dragon hovered and moaned, dipping and bobbing now as its strong wings faltered.
“Let the dragon go,” he said. “Let it go. It won’t attack without its rider. But stay out of reach of its tail, just in case.”
Elandra lowered her arms, covering the topaz in her palm, and ran backward away from the dragon.
It landed on the ground with a thud and stood on its short, awkward legs, heaving for air, its wings trembling, its head down. The other one had stopped rubbing its burns in the snow and now stood glaring at Caelan, its tail whipping angrily back and forth.
Prudently, he stepped away from the unconscious men, and the burned dragon calmed down slightly.
Caelan hurried to collect his sword and cloak. Wiping the blade dry, he slid it back into its scabbard and looked around.
“Lea!” he called aloud, letting his voice echo into the trees. “Lea, come here!”
His sister did not appear. All he heard was the sound of jackdaws in the distance and the uneasy moans of the dragons. Caelan frowned in annoyance. Why did she have to be so stubborn?
Elandra came to him, and he slung his arm around her to draw her close. “I thought they would kill you,” she said.
“You did not follow orders,” he replied mildly.
She tilted back her head to look up at him. “Would you be alive if I had?”
He did not feel up to arguing, so he kissed her nose instead.
She smiled at him, then looked at the unconscious men. “Are they dead?”
“No.” Caelan frowned. “If I had rope, I could truss them.”
“There are tethers and hobble ropes on the dragons’ harnesses.”
He met the glowering iridescent eye of the burned dragon and shook his head. “We’ll find another way.”
“What do you intend to do?”
A groan from one of the men told him they were starting to wake up. He gave her a brief smile. “Have you ever flown in the air before, my beloved?”
Her eyes widened, and she gasped. “You mean, ride the dragons?”
“Yes. It is very high above the ground and frightening at first, but you