Free Dragonvein Book Four by Brian D. Anderson

started. Though Martok didn’t know what time it was, given that his father was always an early riser, especially when away from their home, he guessed it must be still several hours before dawn.
    The smiling face of Heather lingered in his memory. It was a face he could never forget. Neither would the feelings she'd brought out in him ever fade. Even now he could close his eyes and imagine himself wrapped in her loving embrace. All was well. The painful sorrow of losing his mother was now gone. He no longer worried over how she had died. When his father thought he should know, he would tell him, just as Heather had explained.
    As quietly as he could, he sat down beside his father’s sleeping form. It looked like he was having another of his bad dreams. Every few seconds his face twitched and he moaned softly. These dreams happened quite often at home, too. Martok had heard the screams in the night, and seen the scratches on his father’s face the next morning. Naturally, he would have them healed before the house staff could see them. But why did he continue to suffer so much? Heather could help him; Martok was sure of this. She could take away his pain and banish his nightmares if he asked her to. But this would not happen. She had told him so.
    “Ralmar loves me,” she had said when he asked if he could go back up and fetch his father. “As do all of my children. But he also fears me. He would not want to come.”
    “Why? You’re not scary.”
    Heather laughed softly. “Not to you. But you are different.”
    “Different how?”
    “One day you will see. For now, though, it’s enough for you to be a little boy. Let the troubles of adulthood wait. There will be time enough for them later. Besides, if your father was here, I would not have all of your attention. And right now I do not feel like sharing your love with anyone.”
    He ran into her arms. “I love you the most. More than any of your other children.”
    “Yes. I know you do.”
    Placing this memory aside, Martok touched his father’s arm. “Wake up. I’m back.”
    He had barely finished speaking when, in a flurry of motion, Ralmar shot bolt upright. His head immediately darted from side to side and his breaths came in short rapid gulps. Clutched in his right hand was a green ball of energy that sizzled and sparked wildly.
    Martok scurried back, eyes wide with fear. “It’s me, father. It’s Martok.”
    Only after a tense moment did recognition come to Ralmar’s face. The magical energy vanished. “I…I’m sorry son. I was –”
    “Having a bad dream,” Martok said, completing his father’s sentence. “Was it about mother?”
    Take no notice of the question, Ralmar reached out and pulled his son close in a firm embrace. “I was so worried about you.”
    He waited until his father had released him before speaking. “Why were you worried? I was with Heather. She wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me.”
    Ralmar forced a smile. “I know she wouldn’t. But you were gone for so long. I almost came down after you.”
    Martok gave him a curious look. “I was only down there for a few hours. It’s not even dawn yet.”
    “No. You left here in the evening the day before yesterday,” he said. The tremor in his father's voice told of just how afraid he had been. “I watched you as you climbed up onto the platform. Then, after a few minutes, you disappeared from sight.”
    “Disappeared? No, I was there the whole time. Honestly I was. But...well...I suppose it might not have looked like that. Heather used magic to make it seem as if we were in all sorts of wonderful places. It was amazing. I wish you could have been there. But we never really went anywhere. At least, that’s what she told me.”
    Ralmar scrutinized his son for a time. A warm smile then formed. “As long as you’re safe, that's all that matters to me.” Pushing himself to his feet, he gathered up his blanket and pillow before heading toward the cabin. “Come. You can