Dragon's Mage (An Advent Mage Novel), The - Raconteur, Honor Read Online Free Page A

waiting.”
    “ Good. I’ll tell him. If we need to, we’ll call Sallah from Coven Ordan to come get you. Just sit tight for another day or so until Garth can come .”
    “Right.” I put the mirror down, feeling a little anxious. Roughly two years ago, King Guin of Hain had assembled a special team to go in and rescue the emerging magicians of Chahir. The team had been formed of a mercenary group, the Red Hand, of Ascalon and two magicians—Garth and Chatta. Along the way, or so I was told, they’d rescued Shad from being trapped in a two hundred year old crystal in northern Jarrell. The captain had joined the team and helped them until they’d finished their mission a year ago. One of the last people they’d brought out of Chahir was me. I was friends with all of the original team that’d rescued me out of Chahir. Shad especially was a fun guy to be around. I didn’t like the idea of him in trouble. I hoped whatever it was, wasn’t too serious.
    I didn’t really know what to do at this point. Walking further south would be useless if an Earth Mage really did come get me. At the same time, I didn’t have anything else to do. With the sun steadily setting, the day’s heat waned slightly, making it more bearable to walk.
    Perhaps I should just stick with my original plan. It didn’t hurt anything to be further south when my ride arrived. So I got back up, shouldered my pack, and went back to walking. To my complete lack of surprise, my dragon stalker kept pace with me, hovering ten feet or so to the side and behind.
    How had I gotten into this ridiculous situation, anyway?
    I walked and walked, time passing slowly as I steadily went over the flat terrain. Somewhere after midnight, I got tired of stumbling over my own feet and called it quits. I felt drained of all energy, dehydrated, and more than ready to be horizontal for a while. I sat down in the middle of this open space, pulled out my bedroll, and fell into it without even bothering to take my boots off. I probably should have pulled out the tent and set it up, but honestly, I didn’t want to. Too tired. I did put the fire barrier back up, not for protection (as the dragon obviously had no ill intent) but to keep me warmer. The desert nights could be bitterly cold. With a sigh, I let my eyes fall shut and went fast to sleep.
    I woke up the next morning to another surprise. At some point in the night, my visitor had moved until she half-wrapped around my campsite, just avoiding touching my shields. Stretched out like she was, she could nearly touch the tip of her nose to her tail. Just how long was she? Twenty feet? Twenty-five?
    The more I looked at her position, the clearer it became to me that there was nothing threatening about it. She was protecting me. There was no other explanation for why she was acting as a living barrier between me and the outside world.
    I called Cora again. “Cora?” there was a long pause before I ventured again, “Cora?”
    From the mirror, I heard the sound of some light thumps, like someone fumbling for something, and then a grumpy voice, “ Krys, do you know what time it is ?”
    “Morning,” I answered dryly.
    “ Argh. What is it now ?”
    “She’s wrapped around me.”
    “ …What ?!”
    “She’s wrapped around me,” I repeated a little uneasily. “Well, she’s actually wrapped around the perimeter of my shield, as it’s still up, but you get the idea.”
    “ Krys, do you know what that means ?”
    “I’m hoping I don’t, actually, as I can only think of one reason why she’s acting like this.”
    “ She’s adopted you .”
    I slumped dejectedly. “I hate it when I’m right.”
    Cora sounded like she was trying not to laugh, but not doing a very good job, because I could hear her clearly. “ Well, Krys, congratulations. You have found a splendid familiar. ”
    “Not funny, Cora.”
    “ I know this isn’t what you had in mind, but think about it !” she encouraged, still laughing. “ What