The Dragon Hunter and the Mage Read Free Page B

restock somewhere south and asked the price of hiding in the potato carts of a couple of farmers from a neighboring village. She discovered there were spice caravans headed for Saggad within two days, and eventually arrived at the Fyrian square from where people could climb the Mage Street, the one that led to the school of magic. Flara was scared out of her mind and stayed by the entrance to an inn, but Eliran walked right up to the center of the square.
    At first, she pretended to examine the statue at its center, where five Dragon Hunters defeated a colossal Eastern Short-tail. Then she found the courage to approach the exit to Mage Street. Even at that distance, it was very obvious not much of the majestic building was left. Only one of its five towers was still standing, and even that one was missing a third of its original height. From the ruin columns of smoke still rose, and what had once been the main gate was now dust beneath the boots of a dozen Legionaries. They were formed rigidly, blocking the access to the smoldering building.
    Eliran wanted to see it, to search the building for survivors. What if there were people trapped in the basement or the underground tunnels? She could go around the back, use some distraction spell, or maybe wait for night to fall….
    Her planning was interrupted by a panicking Flara.
    “Please, let’s get out of here,” the little girl begged.
    Sighing, Eliran did as she asked. The two of them talked with a couple of other potential rides out of Niveh and finally decided to join the other girls. They were exactly as Eliran had left them, and it was as if they were even more scared than the night before. Eliran wondered if that wasn’t her case as well. After all, what was she was going to do? Where could she go? Was it safe to return to her family in Ragara? What if the Emperor had arrested them for being the parents of a girl with the Talent? What would she live off if she really was alone? How was she going to hide the fact that she was a Mage for the rest of her life?
    “Where are we going?” Eliran asked the girls.
    By the looks on their faces, the question hadn’t occurred to them yet. They had been all too happy to let Eliran make all the decisions for them. Shouldn’t she decide that as well?
    “I can’t decide where each of us goes,” she explained.
    “But… aren’t we going to stay together?” asked Rissa.
    “We can’t,” said Flara. “I want to go home, to my parents. We should all find our families.”
    Sarina agreed.
    “My family was arrested,” said Tajiha, staring at the ground.
    “We should head west,” said Lassira. “They say the school in Awam is still functioning.”
    “That’s a lie,” Flara replied. “No school survived.”
    The twelve apprentices broke into a discussion over whether there were any schools left or not until Eliran silenced them with a yell.
    “We’re going north. To avoid the Legions, the best way out of the city is through the river, and the river goes either to the north or to the Shamissai Mountains, so we’re going north. After that, anyone who wants to go a different way can go. Anyone who wants to finds their parents can look for them. Anyone who wants to find the school in Awam can do that as well.”
    Everyone agreed and shortly after they were headed for the docks. There was a boatman who intended to transport wine barrels to Augusta, and whose barge had more than enough room for all of them.
    “Twenty-five golden crowns, here you are.”
    The boatman took the coins and felt their weight.
    “Yes, but now it’s fifty.”
    “Fifty?” Eliran couldn’t believe it. “We agreed twenty-four, two for each person, and I’m offering you an extra coin.”
    “Yes, but that was before I knew you were all children.”
    Eliran felt her stomach turn and her face became as red as a pepper. “What difference does that make?”
    “It makes all the difference,” the boatman replied. “I don’t know if, for some