The Last Dragon

Chapter 11 - A Spy in Our Midst

Ilia stopped in the doorway. Her gaze flitted from crystal ball to water bowl to mirror, watching the mages standing over them and scrying or listening. Eri took her hand and pulled her inside. The door swung closed behind her, clicking shut quietly.

The woman stood beside the large mirror, her hand on the frame. The big knight nodded.

Something moved beside her. Ilia stopped and stared at a crystal ball on a pedestal. She peered at it, her face moving closer. Something was moving inside it. A tiny dragon poked its nose through the eggshell and crawled out. It flapped its stubby little wings. A young woman reached down and picked up the little dragon. She held it out to an incredibly old woman.

"Ilia?"

She glanced up at Knight-Master Brannon. "Huh?" Her gaze flicked to the mirror, where the King and the council mages stared down at her. She glanced back at the crystal ball, but the images were gone. The ball reflected the stand underneath.

"I've told them what happened. Tell them what you saw and experienced, starting from approaching the dragon." The big knight reached out and pulled her in front of him, facing the mirror. "Can you show them?"

"Show them?" She tilted her head back to look up at him.

"The armour."

She stared, open-mouthed. "I don't know." Her neck ached. Ilia straightened her neck and rubbed the muscles.

"Speak, child. What happened?" The King crossed his arms over his chest.

Everyone in the mirror stared at her. Ilia opened her mouth. The words got stuck in her throat. It was hard to draw a breath.

The big knight placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "Take a breath. Just go over it slowly, from when we saw the dragon."

She closed her eyes and nodded. Breathing was easier when she didn't see everyone staring at her. "I stayed hidden, away from the fighting. I could see her, though, the dragon, I mean. She called to me. Something in her eyes pulled at me. I snuck over to her." Ilia shivered. Those eyes, they were so full of pain.

"You're doing great. What happened next?" The big knight squeezed her shoulder lightly.

"I tried to help her. My healing magic wasn't enough. She was so powerful. I'd never have been enough. The black knight came. I stood between him and her. He tried to run me through with a spear. The armour appeared. His spear bounced off." Ilia wiped a tear from her cheek.

Keep my eggs a secret. It's still not safe. Someone listening is a threat.

"She was gone, just like that."

"Was there anything else you wanted to say?" the big knight prompted.

Ilia shook her head. She kept her eyes closed.

"Do you still have the armour?" Ilia knew Master Dinoc's voice.

Ilia nodded.

"You're telling me the armour was given to a girl, a student even, and not my Knight-Master in charge of my Elite Guard?"

Ilia squeezed her eyes shut. Don't cry. Please don't cry in front of everyone.

I'm with you.

"The dragons choose for their own reasons. She would know things we do not, and sense things we cannot." How does Master Dinoc know all these things? Has he read every book and scroll in the library?

"Ilia."

She knew that voice. Ilia opened her eyes. "Yes, Champion?"

The lady knight stepped closer to the mirror. "Did you get a sword with the armour? A shield?"