Of Spellbooks and Thieves | SAMPLE

2 ~ Kase

Tobias's side ached and his legs screamed in protest. He was too slow—Eira had vanished in the direction of Floridus, the next town over, already. Tobias cursed, using words he knew his sister would hate. How could he have been so stupid? He let the book go from right under his nose; and if that weren't ridiculous enough, he had been oblivious to his missing sword for who knows how long. If she hadn't pointed it out, he may never have noticed.

He slowed to a stop in the middle of the road, resting his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. With a frustrated groan, he raked his fingers through his hair, pushing it out of his face. Talia will never let me hear the end of this.

Lifting his head, he only saw the empty road. No thief, just the town in the distance and a red dragon circling over it in the clear blue sky. The sun rested in the middle of the open expanse, marking the time as just past noon. A whole morning, wasted. He thought back to the documents waiting for him at home and their deadline looming over him. A grimace pulled sharply at the corners of his mouth. There were other things to get done.

But he had to get that book back. If it really was a spellbook, like Eira had said, then who knew what would happen if it landed in the wrong hands. And she was bringing it to someone. Each time he recalled the swirling gold in her eyes, a shudder passed through him. Something about it all wasn't right.

He gripped his sword hilt. What if she wanted to turn the spellbook over to the Draconic people? Their Golden Head Dragonborn, the strongest disciple of their most prominent goddess, was said to hunger for magic. Blood stained his hands and painted the runes of his spells. If the spellbook landed with him...

Tobias shook his head vigorously. She's a thief. She probably just wants to make money off of it." And Floridus has many places for her to sell it.

With another deep breath, he sped off down the road toward Floridus, shoving his other nagging questions and worries aside. He locked his gaze on the red dragon above. It beat its wings and circled again, gliding effortlessly through the air. Dragons were something he knew. The sight of it brought him back to normalcy, pulling him out of the confusion of spellbooks and thieves. It seemed strange to be so attached to dragons when the dragonborn and hybrids lingered in his worst memories.

"Dragons are much the same as the Draconic people," his sister would say. "They deserve the same caution, Tobias. Don't let your fascination and curiosity blind you, alright?"

He frowned at the memory.

The dragon was too far to see properly, but he could tell from the way it angled its head down that it was searching for something—or perhaps waiting. He swallowed thickly, momentarily wondering if his real concern should be the dragon and not the thief.

A shrill whistle pierced the air, echoing in the silence. The dragon snorted in response and flew downward, landing in a field outside the town. Tobias released the breath he had been holding. If it answered to a whistle, the dragon must belong to someone.

If it belonged to someone, perhaps there was a Dragon Rider in town. That thought straightened his back and renewed his motivation. He couldn't screw up while his sister had an ear to the ground.

The gravel road faded into cobblestone streets as he passed through the entrance to the town. Bustling as always, Floridus's marketplace presented itself with a myriad of people and sounds. He made a point of steering himself away from the print shop, where he knew he would be hounded for the editing he had yet to do. Instead, he followed the scent of freshly baked bread, foreign spices, and herbs to the opposite side of town's market.