Page 85 of His Greatest Treasure

“You should have taught him magic. He’s defenceless.”

My father drew himself up and looked out through the protections to the hag. “He is not.”

Around me, I felt a chill and then I realised that my father was using magic again. Our bond grew icy cold as he coaxed my power from me, and every one of our small clan. He was even taking from Mother, who was standing beside me in her silver dragon form, watching the attackers with sharp eyes.

Madame Trevellian pointed at the border and snapped, “Break it down. We’ll harvest them all.”

I didn’t do anything.

I wasn’t sure what Icoulddo. I was still trying to find a way of using magic.

Was it like moving? I twitched my new muscles, trying to find the one that controlled magic, but couldn’t locate it.

On my shoulders, Blaze was small and quiet. I could feel him there, soft and warm and scared.

Maybe I needed to ask for power from my dragon.

Except, Iwasa dragon. I was in my dragon form and if it was going to grant me magic, now would be the time. I cocked my head to the side, as though I could ask myself for magic. I didn’t give myself any, which was frustrating.

My father was still drawing power to him, building it up, and Madame Trevellian was hacking through the protection spells. It was taking her a while. She didn’t seem to be any nearer than she had been.

A little part of me puffed up with pride that my clan had done such a good job of protecting our territory. Glimmer’s spells were strong.

On the other side of them, the hag leered. I remembered the feeling of her acrid breath on me and shuddered.

“A few little dragons in a nest. I’ll have fun harvesting from you.”

Lord Somerville gave a roar of anger, raised his hands and blasted a spell through the protections. The spell came out in a hurricane of ice and wind.The protection spells disintegrated where the spell shot through them and the half-dozen people on the other side disintegrated along with them.

I’d never seen anyone use that much magic before.

I hadn’t known anyone was that powerful.

My instinct was to step forward, towards the gap in our protections, but my mother shoved in front of me, keeping me back and placing her body between me and the gap. It meant I missed the moment when the hag ran.

Somehow, she had survived that blast. She must also have been more powerful than I’d realised, but she gave a shriek and sped off into the distance and none of us could follow, not without leaving the protection of the territory.

I found myself shrinking back into my human form. Blaze slipped from my shoulders and I wrapped my arm around him, pulling him close to my side as I became human again. I was looking at the hole in our territory.

“She’s gone,” I said. I didn’t know what else to say.

My father rounded on me. For some reason, he seemed angry.

“She will be back. This was a test, and one which we have failed.”

“But- but you beat her and her friends.”

“They were expendable. She was using them to test how powerful you are. She wanted to see if you had the power to protect us, and you did not.”

I stammered, and hated that I did it. “I-I’m sorry. I tried to use magic. Maybe you can teach me quickly?”

“You are weak, Alphonse. Madame Trevellian knows that, and she will be back with an army to take us.”

“When?”

“Soon.”

“What can we do?” I looked around at the assembled people, my little clan. Someone had to know.

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