them stand straighter.
“The Dragon Legion it shall be,” Drake said with authority.
The light flared brighter and pulsed more quickly, silencing them all.
Thaddeus swore softly under his breath, then began to pray. Thad was both the most likely to find a practical solution to a problem and the most likely to invoke divine assistance. Alexander wondered, not for the first time, whether the combination was responsible for his consistent success.
“Any chance we can control it?” Orion asked. Orion preferred to take action, and was inclined to be impulsive and outspoken. “Maybe direct ourselves back to the others?”
Drake shook his head. “Any key lies in understanding what the darkfire is doing.”
“And maybe why,” Alexander added.
“It’s a primal force,” Peter complained. “It has no logic or reason.”
“Then maybe we should toss it away,” Orion suggested. “We could set ourselves free of its power.”
“And be trapped wherever it left us,” Ashe retorted. “Where are we even now?”
No one knew the answer to that.
“It is our responsibility to bear the darkfire crystal!” Drake said, his tone imperious. “That we do not know the detail of our mission is no reason to abandon it.”
“How do we know it is a mission?” Peter asked, and Alexander wished the other man would leave it be. Sowing dissent never aided a cause or a company of warriors.
The light flashed with sudden brilliance, and Alexander gritted his teeth as he was momentarily blinded. He felt the shift in the air around him and guessed it was happening again. Thad swore once more, then prayed with greater fervor.
Abruptly Alexander was swept up by a warm wind, one that swirled around him with savage force. As had happened three other times, he was filled with terror at his powerlessness. He reached out and snatched at Thad, who had been beside him, but his hand closed on empty air. He didn’t dare to breathe, for he didn’t know what surrounded him. It seemed that he was swept in a whirlwind and buffeted by changing winds for an eternity. He couldn’t hear or sense the others and the sense of solitude was even more frightening than having no control.
Just when Alexander was certain he couldn’t hold his breath any longer, he was flung downward. He felt discarded by some superior force, though he shared Peter’s doubt that there was intelligence behind the mystery of the darkfire. He landed with a thud on his hands and knees, then greedily took a gulp of hot, dry air. He knew he’d have bruises on his knees, but the dirt beneath his hands was sandy and arid, with no vegetation. He opened his eyes warily, then quickly counted his companions.
Still twelve. They’d mastered that detail, at least.
Then Alexander glanced around to see where they were. He couldn’t believe that he recognized the hills.
“Merciful Zeus,” he whispered, easing to his feet to stare.
“Zeus is anything but merciful,” Drake muttered, but Alexander ignored him.
It couldn’t be.
He knew this village, knew it as surely as he knew the lines on his own palm. He knew the hills of Boeotia, the curve of the road, the fact that that the sea was just beyond the lip of that hill. He knew the village spread at his feet, the names of the occupants of each house, that a potter’s wheel stood in the courtyard of the one house that drew his eye.
Home!
Maybe there was intelligence guiding the sorcery of the darkfire crystal. Alexander had yearned to return to this place almost since his departure, all those years before, and here it was before his very eyes.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes, but the sight before him didn’t change.
“We’re home,” Alexander said with awe, gesturing to the village. His voice rose higher in jubilation and his heart clenched with unexpected joy. Katina would be here! “We’re home!”
The rest of the men turned to look and Alexander saw wonder dawn in their expressions.
“It can’t be,” Iggy
“The Dragon Legion it shall be,” Drake said with authority.
The light flared brighter and pulsed more quickly, silencing them all.
Thaddeus swore softly under his breath, then began to pray. Thad was both the most likely to find a practical solution to a problem and the most likely to invoke divine assistance. Alexander wondered, not for the first time, whether the combination was responsible for his consistent success.
“Any chance we can control it?” Orion asked. Orion preferred to take action, and was inclined to be impulsive and outspoken. “Maybe direct ourselves back to the others?”
Drake shook his head. “Any key lies in understanding what the darkfire is doing.”
“And maybe why,” Alexander added.
“It’s a primal force,” Peter complained. “It has no logic or reason.”
“Then maybe we should toss it away,” Orion suggested. “We could set ourselves free of its power.”
“And be trapped wherever it left us,” Ashe retorted. “Where are we even now?”
No one knew the answer to that.
“It is our responsibility to bear the darkfire crystal!” Drake said, his tone imperious. “That we do not know the detail of our mission is no reason to abandon it.”
“How do we know it is a mission?” Peter asked, and Alexander wished the other man would leave it be. Sowing dissent never aided a cause or a company of warriors.
The light flashed with sudden brilliance, and Alexander gritted his teeth as he was momentarily blinded. He felt the shift in the air around him and guessed it was happening again. Thad swore once more, then prayed with greater fervor.
Abruptly Alexander was swept up by a warm wind, one that swirled around him with savage force. As had happened three other times, he was filled with terror at his powerlessness. He reached out and snatched at Thad, who had been beside him, but his hand closed on empty air. He didn’t dare to breathe, for he didn’t know what surrounded him. It seemed that he was swept in a whirlwind and buffeted by changing winds for an eternity. He couldn’t hear or sense the others and the sense of solitude was even more frightening than having no control.
Just when Alexander was certain he couldn’t hold his breath any longer, he was flung downward. He felt discarded by some superior force, though he shared Peter’s doubt that there was intelligence behind the mystery of the darkfire. He landed with a thud on his hands and knees, then greedily took a gulp of hot, dry air. He knew he’d have bruises on his knees, but the dirt beneath his hands was sandy and arid, with no vegetation. He opened his eyes warily, then quickly counted his companions.
Still twelve. They’d mastered that detail, at least.
Then Alexander glanced around to see where they were. He couldn’t believe that he recognized the hills.
“Merciful Zeus,” he whispered, easing to his feet to stare.
“Zeus is anything but merciful,” Drake muttered, but Alexander ignored him.
It couldn’t be.
He knew this village, knew it as surely as he knew the lines on his own palm. He knew the hills of Boeotia, the curve of the road, the fact that that the sea was just beyond the lip of that hill. He knew the village spread at his feet, the names of the occupants of each house, that a potter’s wheel stood in the courtyard of the one house that drew his eye.
Home!
Maybe there was intelligence guiding the sorcery of the darkfire crystal. Alexander had yearned to return to this place almost since his departure, all those years before, and here it was before his very eyes.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes, but the sight before him didn’t change.
“We’re home,” Alexander said with awe, gesturing to the village. His voice rose higher in jubilation and his heart clenched with unexpected joy. Katina would be here! “We’re home!”
The rest of the men turned to look and Alexander saw wonder dawn in their expressions.
“It can’t be,” Iggy
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