Sword Bearer (Return of the Dragons 1)

With words, not thoughts.

I had one reply for him. Leave. Me. Alone. This was his fault as much as mine, and had he helped any? I wanted no one in my mind, not now.

I stood up slowly, and turned.

Woltan stood looking at me. There was pain in his face, and compassion too, but I wanted none of it. It wasn’t his parents who lay there cold and rigid like statues, was it? What did he know about what I was feeling?

“Anders?”

“What?”

It came angrier than I’d meant, but what did he want, anyway? Had anyone ever asked me if I wanted to be a prince, to have my parents turned to stone and a whole army of dark forces looking for me?

“We have to probe them, Anders. Now, before any more damage is done.”

I was angry now. Woltan wasn’t worried about my parents. Had he ever worried about them? He just wanted to make sure they weren’t carrying any spies. “You

just care about your lost city,” I told him.

Woltan shrugged. “Anders, you’re angry now. That’s normal. I would be too, in your situation.”

“Don’t talk to me about my situation, Woltan — you have no idea. All you care about is your forgotten city. If I hadn’t passed your test, I probably would be as dead to the world as my parents.”

I kicked my foot out, knocking over a chair. It hurt. But the pain felt good. I needed to feel pain, right then. It gave me a reason for the tears I felt welling up in my eyes. I wanted to knock Woltan out of the room and pummel my parents until they woke up. How could they leave me alone to deal with their problems, with my problems?

“We don’t believe in killing anyone except those who want to kill us. Listen, Anders, I care about my city, my people, my friends — about you too. Everything connects. Remember if we are destroyed, then your parents will not longer be of any use to the Dark Lord, and he will destroy them too.”

“Woltan, just shut up and leave, okay? I really don’t want to hear it right now.”

I shook my head. Maybe it was childish to react like this. But how else could I react? These were my parents. Parents who drove me crazy. Parents who slapped me in anger. Parents who locked me in my room so I would study. Parents who made me study with a horrible tutor and never once asked me what I wanted. Parents I loved.

I felt tears begin to flow. But I was too angry to be embarrassed. I turned my head. My face felt hot and wet with tears and I wanted to be alone then, more than anything else. But I knew that Woltan would probably deny me that pleasure.

Woltan looked away. “Although I don’t think it’s for the best, I will respect your wishes. I will leave you alone for a minute, and then I will need your help.”

“Thanks you,” I said, surprised.

Woltan left.

A small skylight in the ceiling lit the room, and sunlight filtered in through its colored glass. My parents lay on two long cots, separated by several feet. I barely suppressed a bitter chuckle. My parents had slept in separate rooms as long as I could remember. Now they slept together, if not in the same bed. And now Woltan said they needed to be probed. That maybe there were spies inside them, put there by the dark lord.

It was just a pack of lies. It had to be. What did he know?

Suddenly I felt a tingling on my face, a strange electricity in the air. I looked around, but there was no one.

Just my parents.

I looked at my father.

His eyes were open.

But they were strange, not the eyes I knew. Perhaps it was all part of this great trick on me. They were glowing, and staring at me, and suddenly my mind went blank. I felt dizzy. I backed up and found myself against a wall, cold and hard. That steadied me, and I looked away from my father.

Tell no one, Anders. We are safe. Woltan lies. The lost city is a city of illusion. You are surrounded by people who exploit your fears and weaknesses. We can help you.

What if there was some truth in it?

It made as much sense as what Woltan had told me.