Daughter of the Dragon

Chapter 27: The Covenant (NEW)

Darya sat on a broad branch with the gnarly oak's trunk at her back, watching the sun slowly sink toward the forest on the far side of the graveyard. The silver beech towered over the rest of the forest, a sentinel standing vigil over the entrance to the underworld.

The hillside dropped steeply fifty paces from where she was sitting, down toward the river, and, beyond that, the cemetery, still blanketed in thick mist. The revenants were still down there, hidden from view. Darya was sure of it. Never in a thousand years was she going through that damned place again. Better to remain up high and keep an eye on the fog. Just in case it started spreading uphill. Darya used to dream that it did and sometimes woke in the middle of the night, scared out of her mind. But thankfully, the white blanket hadn't moved one inch, and Jakov said it never would. The dark energies that fueled the foul mist grew weak above ground and were held in check by the wizard's own magics.

Her left ankle hurt like crazy, an insistent throbbing that reverberated through Darya's body, punctuated by flashes of intense pain whenever she dared shift position. She had plenty of other aches and bruises—and a bleeding cut on her head that Meika had closed—but these injuries were no more than a background murmur.

Would her leg heal as quickly as Meika hoped, or would Draya be stuck at Deepwod for longer than planned? Darya wasn't sure. She knew too little about her powers to account for them. Jakov had promised to help them explore their divine gifts—if they stayed long enough—but thus far, he had wasted his and Darya's time on magic lessons instead.

But now things were going to be different. The same energies that Ela wielded were under Darya's control. Well, maybe not controlled, but it was there. The very notion was preposterous. She, a farmer's daughter from Stelmond, had been chosen by the Gods, given divine power, and was going to become a sorceress. If someone had told Darya that two weeks ago, she would have called them insane.

"I can do magic," Draya said out loud, giggling a little but remaining perfectly still.

Divine power. Magic. And, equally out of nowhere, a girlfriend.

"Meika and Draya, sitting in a tree, kissing," she hummed to the tune of an old bedtime rhyme. "One fell down, the other flew. Kissed more, one, two, three. Set the world on fire. All it took was a K.I.S.S."

Darya laughed out loud, vividly recalling the burning sensation of Meika's lips on her own and how it had unlocked her magical potential. The intoxicating feeling when she could finally channel the magical energies that had thus far eluded her control. She wanted to do it again. Kiss Meika. And make fire.

But Meika had run for help, and Darya didn't dare cast fire spells while trapped in a tree with a broken leg.

High above, a bird of prey screeched a warning. "Danger, danger," it called out. "Armed men on the road. Many, many."

Darya's surprise made her move her leg, and pain shot through her body. "Damn," she swore. "Double damn," she added as she struggled to find a better position without falling down again.

Unlike her brother, Darya had never been big on swearing. The odd 'damn' and that was it. She briefly wondered how Haran was doing. And Agneyz and her little siblings. Darya hoped they were safe and sound.

A wordless screech from the bird brought Darya back to reality.

A bolt of flame shot up from the ground, aiming for the distant speck that was the talking bird. The creature immediately dove toward the ground, growing larger as it sped toward Darya, but the flame adjusted curse in midair. No arrow, flaming or not, could do that; only a mage had that ability.

Darya was sure the fiery bolt would hit, but the bird, now going tremendously fast, dodged at the last minute. The burning projectile exploded, sending a shower of burning debris toward the orchard below. Darya looked up just in time to see a magnificent golden eagle shoot over the treetops.