Sword Bearer (Return of the Dragons 1)

Gerard was looking at me, and there was a glint in his eye.

I really thought at that point the game was up. Whatever game we had been playing. Because there was that evil glint in Gerard’s eyes, and he opened his mouth.

“Let her go, Anders,” Gerard said.

How could he recognize me, with my face covered with clay?

I felt the power of the Gerard’s sixth level wizardry in his words. My grip loosened. My hands had to obey, I had no choice — I was going to let her go. But then the girl did something that no one had ever done before. She squeezed my hand. And her hand was so warm. Still I felt my fingers loosening, against my will.

“Hilfe,” she said.

Her word of power must have balanced his words of command. Suddenly I had control of my hands again.

I pulled with all my might, and I opened my mouth. My ancestors spoke through me, my mouth stretching, my throat tightening, and the word rolled out and smashed into Gerard, who was opening his mouth to speak again. The word was: “Feuer.”

Flames hit Gerard then, wizard flames that formed in my stomach and flew through my body. My own hair and skin burned, as the fire coursed through me into Gerard. I leaned back, pulled at the girl again with all my strength and we fell together in a tumble to the floor.

Talk about embarrassing.

But the gateway was still open.

We looked at each other. We looked at Gerard in flames, opening his mouth once again.

The girl was quicker.

“Schluss,” she said.

And where the gateway had been there was wall.

The girl felt warm and smelled of flowers.

Perfume. I hadn’t seen a girl my age for quite a while. Her face was beautiful, her skin a perfectly smooth light brown. I held her with my hands and she grinned at me with white even teeth.

She kissed me on the lips and I let her go in surprise.

Her lips were warm and tasted like strawberries. Or maybe that was her perfume. It was all very confusing.

She giggled. “You don’t get kissed much, do you?” she asked, still holding my hand.

I shook my head, feeling even more embarrassed.

“What’s with the green face?” she asked.

“It’s for my skin,” I said.

I didn’t want to tell her more. Maybe it was better to be covered with the green stuff, than have her see my face. But how it itched.

“Oh,” she said. “Well that’s interesting.” She stared at me for a moment. “Have you tried charcoal soap?”

I shook my head in confusion.

She looked around then, serious once more. “Come now, wizardling, no time now for beauty secrets,” she said. “Let’s get out of here. Gerard will be looking for a way through.”

Her face looked very serious now.

“And we need to get out of here before he finds one,” she added.

Chapter IV