The Guardians

Chapter 59

The entire group had decided to rest and recuperate in Atevora. They had been using it as a home base since liberating it from Arlan's forces. Arlan hadn't bothered to try to retake it but they all knew when he was finished dealing with Sari he would turn his attention back to the town. Little by little, walls were being built around it to prepare for that day and Alondo and Erin were training every man and woman who could hold a sword how to use them. Refugees would stop there on the way out of Veloce. So many were fleeing the kingdom and Lyra wondered how long the neighboring kingdoms would allow the refugees into their lands. She, Aiden, Will, Shara, and Daylen had all gone into the tavern to hear the latest news and gossip.

"Do I look like a liar?!" a man asked.

"Do I look like I should answer that question?" another asked, his companions laughing.

"Let him tell his tale," a woman with the look of a seasoned warrior said. The other men quickly silenced themselves. "Are you sure it was Deandra?"

The name caught Shara's attention and she all but froze.

"As sure as I'm standing here. I would know the Matriarch anywhere. She came from the north, looking as pissed as a wet cat. She took out Arlan's supply line like a small child having a tantrum. The sellswords tried to fight her off but she destroyed them. No one was left alive when she flew east."

Lyra was frowning. She didn't like the sound of that. Deandra was her own dragon, the Matriarch of a large brood. She had never been known to attack without provocation.

"What was odd was there was something about her neck. I couldn't quite catch what it was."

Lyra hoped the sudden intake of breath through her nose wasn't noticeable to the others.

"Too busy hauling ass?"

"Yes! I was. I'm no match for a dragon let alone the Matriarch of the dragons. I'm not that insane!"

Shara's knuckles were white from gripping the handle of her mug. Lyra was disturbed. Had Alora enslaved the Matriarch herself?

"I've heard she's been terrorizing villages throughout Veloce."

"Lyra?" Aiden asked, worry in his voice. "What is it?"

"Something isn't right. Deandra is a Dragon Matriarch. She has a large brood to look after. She'd never willingly attack without provocation."

"What are you saying?"

Lyra lowered her voice. "The only way that she would attack unprovoked would be if she were being commanded."

"I thought that dragons couldn't be tamed."

"They can if they have a binding spell on them."

Shara spit her drink.

"Thanks, Shara, I needed a spit and mead bath," Daylen said, wiping mead off his arm.

The mercenary didn't seem to hear him. "How would you know that?!"

"I don't wish to say. And there is only one sorceress that knows a binding spell that powerful." She hesitated a moment as she looked at the others' faces. "Alora."

Shara gaped at her while the others only stared at her. They all knew the bounty that was on her head. But Lyra was the only one who knew what she could do.

"If you're thinking about facing her...," Aiden started.

Shara slammed her mug down. "No one can face her and hope to live!" she said. "She will kill you! She will have a kill spell ready for you and cast it before you can even think to defend!"

"I know, Shara."

Shara's mouth closed and she gave her an odd look. "You know?"

"I know. She's not someone that can be easily dispatched. Many Paladins have tried and died for their attempt." Something told Lyra that Shara knew personally what Alora could do. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so quick, or try so passionately, to dissuade her from facing the sorceress.

When they left the tavern, Lyra pulled Shara aside.

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked in a low voice.

Shara's heart raced. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know an awful lot about Alora and her doings."

The mercenary just looked at her. "Is that an accusation?"

Those emerald eyes held a knowing look. Then it hit her. Lyra knew Alora! It was why she would touch her throat.

"You've seen what she can do," Shara said. "That's why the gods think you can defeat her."

"Were you bound?"

Shara looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear them. "For six years. She made me take her to Deandra's caverns. She bound the dragon because of me."

"Did she send you after me?"

The mercenary motioned to her throat. "Does it look like I have a collar?"

Lyra frowned.

"She said she didn't need two slaves."

The Paladin's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "She freed you?"

"I was surprised, too. Trust me."

Lyra looked disturbed.

"She sent Deandra to destroy my village. I think she thought I'd be there. She never meant for me to live."

"She never meant for either of us to, I think."

"So you were bound, too?"

Lyra turned away.

"I answered your questions!"

"I was bound once. I have been hiding from her for sixteen years." Lyra walked away, leaving Shara to stare gaping after her. Who was Lyra?