Talon the Black (Dragonwall Series # 1)

Chapter 8 - A New Protector

She stood by for a little while, letting him have his moment. He would probably sit there all day if she let him. "All right. That's enough. Come lay down. You can watch from here."

She led him back to the couch to lie down.

Upstairs, she took a seat at her computer. Another day of tedious job applications. Today was technically her official day off, even though she'd skipped work all week. Keeping Leah and her boss off her back had become quite the task. She loved Leah. Her best friend meant everything to her, but she'd promised Cyrus that she would keep his existence a secret.

After he disappeared, she would tell Leah everything, but not until he was good and gone. She silently prayed that by gone, he would be rescued and not...She shook her head. Thinking about his death was too much.

When lunch rolled around, Cyrus was asleep on the couch, so she turned off the television and left him a sandwich on the coffee table. The fridge was nearly empty. Cyrus had eaten her out of house and home. She left him a quickly scribbled note and took off to the grocery store, but only after recovering her car, which sat unused on the side of the east field for the last five days. And since it was stuck in the dirt, she had to use the tractor to pull it out.

When she returned, she found Cyrus awake, feasting on the food she'd left. She quickly put away the groceries and took a seat in the arm chair to watch him. He didn't even look at her as he scarfed down the remainder of his sandwich. Then he stretched out once more on the sofa, sighing contentedly, and fell asleep.

Not a single word. Not one! She exhaled loudly, forced to push her annoyance away and remember that patience was a virtue.

It wasn't until the end of their dinnertime feast—and feast it was because she'd pulled out all the stops—that he finally addressed the question he promised to answer during breakfast. He began by telling her about a secret mission assigned to him by his king, and how it had gone terribly wrong. "King Talon believed the stones were threatened. He sent me to retrieve them before they fell into the wrong hands," he explained. "All along we believed this thief was merely a minor threat. We had no idea what he was capable of."

He spoke of his journey into the Gable Forest, an enchanted forest where the Stones were hidden for years beyond measure. The Gable Forest was a place where Sprites lived. These beings were considered mysterious because they never ventured beyond their forest. Cyrus's description made her think of elves.

After he obtained the Stones, Cyrus left the Sprite city of Esterpine and began his trip home. "I believed all was well," he said, frowning. "I believed my mission was a success." His lips pressed into a thin line. "I was not prepared for what happened next."

He was confronted by a thief. "His name is Kane."

Kane. Her skin prickled. She suppressed a shudder.

"He's old. Far older than any of my kind, and he is powerful—capable of summoning Vodar from the depths of Undirfold. In truth, I am lucky to be alive after facing him." He shook his head, clearly surprised to have escaped with his life. "Kane will do anything and stop at nothing to obtain these stones."

"But...why? Why does he need them to destroy your kingdom? How exactly do they work?" Part of her was afraid to know.

"There are five stones in total. I have two. If all five are brought together, my race will be finished. We will become nothing more than a memory and a monument to the landscape."

"You'll all die?! Cyrus, that's...that's horrible!"

"When the Dragon Stones are brought into contact with each other, every living being of draconic descent will turn back into the stone forms from whence we originated."