Free Jake's War, Book Two of Wizards by John Booth

save a Dragon without thought of his own survival and that a Dragon would return the favor out of love. ]
    “Fluffy, I mean Retnor is my friend. That's what friends do.”
    [ So it seems. But it has never happened before. Between Riders and Dragons, yes. Wizards, however, care for nothing except themselves. ]
    [Did you bring us here? And is this all of our kind?]
    Spurts of flame shot from many of the dragons' mouths as they laughed good naturedly.
    [ We did not bring you here. It was prophesized that you would come and we have waited for you many months. And yes, this is all the dragons of the multiverse. We will leave now. ]
    That was ridiculous. I finally managed to get my tee-shirt over my head and addressed the assembly bare footed. If I waited until I found my socks they'd probably all be gone.
    “Can I ask why what we do is important to you?”
    There was a long silence and I wondered if I had offended them. I was about to apologize when I got my reply.
    [ There is something coming. Not soon by your measure of time, but short as we count it. The Dragons will stand by you when it happens, though it might well destroy us all. For such a sacrifice we had to be sure you were worthy. ]
    [Thank you.]
    Fluffy bowed low and I took the hint and joined in. When I looked up every single dragon had gone and we were alone. The dragonfire above our heads began to fade and I put my socks and shoes on quickly before we were back in darkness.
    [Any idea how to find our way back?]
    I sighed with relief. “I take it you've lost contact with Jenny? Thank the Lord for that.”
    [Oh yes, I can follow her mind-trail. I should have thought of that. Jenny says to tell you, 'Dignity at all times. You should have just covered it with a sock.' You must explain to me what she means when we get back.]

 
    Chapter Thirteen: Confusion
     
     
     
     
    We all gathered the following morning on the lawn in the center of the cloisters. Jenny had insisted on sleeping in another room to keep her vow to Esmeralda and as a result I hardly slept at all. The look she gave me when I got back spoke volumes on how much information Fluffy had passed to her. I would have to have a word with him about the role of best friends and what the word discretion means.
    Esmeralda waited for us, sitting cross-legged on the grass with Urda and Wenna on either side of her. Urda smiled at me and then looked away while Wenna's face lay hidden behind her long straight hair, and she had her head down. Jenny and I sat on the grass on either side of Fluffy facing the others. Esmeralda gave me one of her usual looks, the one halfway between despair and happiness.
    “I'm glad you're back safe,” Urda blurted out, her face flushing.
    “As are we all, Urda,” Esmeralda added briskly. “It would be slightly more comforting if we didn't have to feel that way about Jake quite so often.”
    I have noticed a tendency for Esmeralda to take charge in all our meetings. I was about to put a stop to it with some well-chosen words about who was top Wizard in Salice when I noticed she had gone silent. She looked beyond me in surprise and hurriedly got to her feet, as did Urda and Wenna.
    “No need to get up for me,” the King said as he stepped into my view. “I don't plan to stay long.”
    I've had a few conversations with the King of Salice and was dreading the one we would have when I attempted to apologize for getting his daughter pregnant.
    What I can tell you for a fact is that he's nobody's fool. He likes to stay in the background and let others, especially his daughter, do the talking for him. But she doesn't do anything he hasn't already approved. That would probably include getting pregnant, if I was to be honest about it. The King and Esmeralda have been playing me like a violin since the day we first met.
    The King gave me a kindly smile. I started to get to my feet but he waved me back down.
    “Some of my advisers think Salice would be better off without you, Jake. They