Dragon Seeker Read Free

married a human, however, he’d cast her off entirely and, as far as the count knew, had neither seen nor spoken to her since. It wasn’t, therefore, surprising that on her death, LadyMerial hadn’t returned the talisman to her father, nor given it to the witches who had cared for her when she’d arrived friendless in Scotland; she’d left it instead to a human child, her niece by marriage , Clara MacLean.
    Knowing that many people craved its power, her father included, Lady Merial had hidden the talisman, leaving Clara a riddle as a clue to its hiding place. Lord Jezail, furious and determined to get the talisman back, had then sent Count Vassili to Scotland to find it. At the thought, the count’s lips twisted in a wry smile for, despite the problems he’d faced, he’d enjoyed his stay in Scotland. Convinced that the talisman had been hidden somewhere in Netherfield, Clara’s school, he’d taken a post there as a German master and during the course of the term had grown to like both Clara and her brother, Neil. His loyalty, however, had always been to his master and, although he’d have much preferred Clara to keep the talisman, he knew where his duty lay and had taken it back with him to Ashgar.
    Even then, he mused sourly, things hadn’t turned out quite as he’d thought. Envisaging some sort of praise for a job well done, his lips tightened as he remembered how, when he’d returned to the citadel, Lord Jezail had casually slipped the talisman on his wrist with barely a word of thanks. No praise or recognition of all the dangers he’d been through! Nothing!
    Knowing Lord Jezail as he did, the count almost shrugged. It was, after all, a fairly typical reaction and, he supposed, to be expected; for by the time he’d returned to Ashgar, his master had heard that the fabled
Book of Spells
had been found and had been so full of excitement that he couldn’t think of anything else! Some said it was the witches who had started the rumour but the fact remained that word had quickly spread throughout the world of magic that the MacArthurs, the faeryfolk who lived in the depths of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, had somehow managed to lay their hands on it.
    The news was enough to send Jezail into raptures. The
Book of Spells
had been found; and, quite naturally,
he
wanted it! Indeed, the thought had occupied his mind ever since!
    Of course, Vassili thought, looking back on the matter, he should never have said anything about Clara; but the minute his master had mentioned the
Book of Spells
, he knew that it had been Clara who had found it. The spell she’d used to summon daemons (in the middle of the school concert, for goodness sake) had been uttered in the words of ancient magic. And she had obviously known the spell by heart, for she’d said it confidently, without hesitation. He wished now that he’d kept his mouth shut; for it was
that
particular piece of information that had given Lord Jezail his
big idea
. He knew perfectly well that there was little chance of his being able to steal the
Book of Spells
from the MacArthurs — there was, after all, their dragon to contend with — but if this child had memorized them…
    “I know what you’re thinking,” Lord Jezail growled suddenly from the depths of his chair, “but kidnapping this girl is the only way I can get my hands on the spells. She knows them all off by heart. You told me so, yourself.”
    The count looked at him warily. Did his feelings show as much as that? If Lord Jezail could read his thoughts with such accuracy, he’d certainly have to be a lot more careful. It wouldn’t do for him to discover the
real
reason for his presence in the citadel.
    Lord Jezail smiled sourly at the count’s expression of dismay. “After all,” he pointed out, “it won’t take her all that long to write the spells down, will it? She wouldn’t be my prisoner for long and …”
    A gentle tap on the door announced the arrival of a servantwho entered with a