Rainbow Magic (Dragon Rider #1) {EDITING}

Prologue: A Night of Gold and Silver

Everyone could feel it.

Whether they were mages, dragon riders or ordinary citizens going about their daily routine. Everyone knew of magic... Everyone could feel it too when it swept through the lands, and it came from the North, spreading like a plague. The air came to life, crackling here and there with sparks of stray magic, and dark clouds rumbled overhead. Wind whistled, trees shook, a loud rumble of thunder breaking the tense silence that had fallen. Then...

Nothing.

Nobody was fooled. It wasn't over. It hadn't even begun yet.

It was just the calm before the storm.

"He's coming," the man said, his voice low and gravelly as he waited atop the battlements. His black robes fluttered in the wind, teeth biting down on his lip when he stared down at the city below them. It wouldn't be spared from the chaos looming on the horizon. In fact, it'd be its first target. Which was how he'd ended up there, waiting on an old friend and an idiot with a reckless plan. "You know what he wants, don't you?" He turned, a set of eerie glowing green eyes staring intently at the figure concealed by the shadows of the castle wall.

"Me."

"You don't have to go through with this, you know," the third member of their trio spoke, sitting on the edge of the gigantic drop down the side of the mountain. "We can hold him off."

"The last time you tried that, most of your squadron didn't come back." Shadowed shoulders slumped, eyes darting to the stump of the man's left arm. It had been ripped off by the very same man coming for him that night. "There's no other option. I won't let him get his hands on me, not like... her."

"You can free her."

"But at what cost?" the shadowy figure asked. "This way is better."

"You're only delaying it," the third said, his own black coat whipping about in the wind that snarled through the mountains. "Passing the responsibility onto another..."

"If that's what it takes, then that's what I'll do."

The third shook his head, running a hand through his inky black hair as he sighed in exasperation. He knew the other far too well. Once he had his mind set on something that was it. "I won't train another self-sacrificing idiot. You know that, don't you?"

Shadowed features twitched into a smirk. "Whoever comes in your place next will need your guidance... besides, they'll probably be an adorable miniature version of you... and you won't be able to resist training them up."

"Then I suppose I'll just have to hope no one else inherits the curse I had to bear," he said, staring down at the dim lights twinkling in the city below them. They were barely visible through the light misting of clouds, the moonlight casting light on what looked to be a necropolis.

A city of the dead.

They all only prayed it wouldn't actually be one by the time dawn came around.

"I suppose we'll leave our fates to the next generation then..." He faced the black-robed figure. "Are the preparations complete?"

His eyes closed, the expression on his face completely concealed by his black hood, as he nodded grimly. "They are."

"Then let's get this over with," he said, vanishing into the shadows, not bothering to wait for the two of them to follow him. He knew they would.

They followed in his wake, walking down the thick carpet rolled down the middle of the stone hallway, passing by the thick heavy drapes and tapestries adorning the walls which held years of their history... and soon, one of their number would no doubt become part of it as well.

Together they entered what looked to be a disused ballroom, barely paying attention to the figure sprawled on the tiles, instead focusing on their companion as he strode into the unoccupied black circle drawn on the floor.

"We'll see you on the other side, won't we?"

He smiled, his golden eyes crinkling up as they fell over on the mop of silvery hair across the room from him. "Of course."