The Stone Wolf (The Chain Breaker Book 4) by D.K. Holmberg (digital book reader TXT) 📕

“I won’t,” Gavin said, returning her smile.

“I like my protectors better. They’re prettier, don’t you think?”

“I think so. I especially liked the dragon you made.”

“You recognized it?” Alana asked.

“I’ve seen other ones, though none quite so skillfully made.”

“You’ve seen dragons?” She set down the enchantment and settled both hands on the table, looking across it at Gavin. “I didn’t know that anybody had seen any dragons.”

“Not quite like that,” he said. “But I’ve seen other carvings.”

“Oh. Enchantments.”

“That’s all dragons are.”

“There have to be real ones,” she said. “I’ve seen them in books.”

Gavin shrugged. “Sometimes things are nothing more than stories.”

“Not everything, though,” she insisted. “Some things that people think are stories are real. And they are even better than we believed.”

Gavin just smiled. He wasn’t going to argue with Alana and tell her that in all of his travels, he had never even come close to seeing a dragon. And he wasn’t going to tell her that there were stories of dragons in different lands, but in each place, the dragons looked different. In some, dragons looked like the paper shape she had made—something like a bird, though more massive, and supposedly able to breathe fire. In others, dragons slithered along the ground, and whether they had stunted wings or no wings at all didn’t change the fact that they were little more than serpents. There were other places that claimed that dragons were a kind of magic, and that was one Gavin found easier to believe.

“What are you doing in here?” Zella asked, stepping into the room and looking over to Alana. “You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

“I felt you down here,” Alana said.

“You felt my presence?” Gavin asked.

“Not you. Well, maybe you,” she said with a giggle. “I felt both of you. I wanted to make sure it was safe.”

“You know you don’t have to protect this place.” Zella leaned down and wiggled a finger at her. “Now get to bed before I have to make you.”

Alana giggled again. “I’m sorry, Zella. I’ll try to get some sleep, but knowing you’re down here is too exciting.”

“Why is it exciting?” Gavin asked.

“Because she let somebody else come.” She started to turn but paused, pulling the paper dragon out of her pocket and handing it to Gavin. “Take this. If you’re our protector, then this can be your protector.”

Gavin smiled. The dragon fit in the palm of his hand, and she had folded it up so that it could be flattened outward. Was this an enchantment at all? Maybe it was just her way of entertaining herself.

“Thank you,” he said.

She flashed a grin and hurried off down the hall.

Zella shook her head. “That one is going to be trouble. Especially as her magic develops.”

“She’s still working on it?”

Zella’s brow darkened for just a moment. “It’s sort of like what is happening with Mekel. It’s strange that he’s growing stronger, whereas Alana has found that her magic is developing in ways we don’t even understand.”

“Why do you think that is?”

She sighed. “We don’t know, and I don’t know that we really can. All we can do is try to support her as she progresses with her magic and try to help her understand what it means for her.”

Gavin held the paper dragon, turning it in his hand. “It’s skillfully made.”

“Most of hers are. She works with paper, similar to how Mekel works with stone. That’s why I’ve tried to keep them together.”

“You think she can learn from him?”

“I know she can. It’s a matter of whether or not he’s willing to teach. Unfortunately, he tends to be stubborn, and though we tried to encourage him to be willing to work with her, it’s not always easy. He’s one of those who’s had a difficult time with his connection to magic, along with his understanding of his place in the city. But then, even though that’s changed now, he finds he’s still struggling, much like many of our people are. That’s the challenge I have bringing them back together.”

“It seems you’re dealing with quite a tough situation.”

“I am.” Zella pulled a leather satchel out and began to set the enchantments inside. “You’ll need to organize these so that you can reach for them however is most convenient for you. I can’t tell you how you will need to use them, but I can assure you that all of these will work the way you want them to.”

“There’s still one more I need,” he said.

She paused. “That’s right. You did promise to return to the city if needed.”

Zella handed him a small ring, which he took and examined. It appeared to be some sort of communication enchantment, but he didn’t know how it worked. It only needed to permit her to reach him, though.

“If your enchantments aren’t enough”—and given what he’d seen of them, he had a hard time thinking that could be the case—“go to Davel Chan,” Gavin said, and the corners of her mouth twitched. “I know you don’t necessarily want to work with him, but he understands how to maximize the enchantments. He can work with them well enough to ensure your people are safe if the Toral returns.”

She took a deep breath, nodding slowly. “I suppose I can do that. I would prefer not to, though.”

She motioned for him to follow, and Gavin walked with her out of the room of enchantments, the door closing quickly behind them. They returned to the room with the hearth, the table, and the stone wolf.

Gavin nodded to the wolf. “Are you ready to go on a journey?”

The wolf stretched, lowering his head slightly. It looked almost alive.

Had he not known it was an enchantment, he could imagine it howling at him. Maybe because it was enchanted it could speak to him, though probably not. At this point, he had to be thankful that the wolf would even come with him.

Zella stood in the doorway. “Travel safe, Gavin. Find your friend. Then please return to the city. We will keep the egg protected