Page 55 of The Healing Dragon
This man didn’t just endure, but continued enduring in order to not allow evil to prosper. Yeah, Matias and I are nothing alike. He is brave.
“I couldn’t let him win. Whatever he had planned next would only be worse.”
“Matias,” his name falls from my lips in a soft tone.
Recalling the words he said while helping us escape, I ask, “In the cell you said the book wants revenge. What exactly did you mean?”
Santiago waves a hand between us, getting our attention. “Hold on, start from the beginning.”
Matias leans back and takes a deep breath.
“I was picked up at the edges of the Black Castle soon after the attack. The first time Lord Duelo tried to uncap my magic, it didn’t work, but I was still alive. Which hadn’t happened with his other test subjects.”
My heart aches for him.
Matias looks between us as if waiting for us to add anything. When we don’t, he continues, “After surviving, they zeroed in on me. They no longer tested on the others, deeming me strong enough for the process. They just needed to find the right spell, and then on the sixth attempt something happened.”
“What happened?” Santiago asks at the edge of his seat.
Matias looks down at his hands and this time he fiststhem tight. “I heard a voice inside my head. That was the first time I heard it but not the last. I hear it at night. It makes it hard to sleep. Amy Bee gave me herbs that help quiet the voice.”
“What does the voice say?” Santiago asks.
“At first, I only heard it while they attempted spells on me. Later on, I heard it even while alone in my cell. It started by encouraging me not to cave and give Lord Duelo what he wanted. It told me to hold on and fight the pain. The voice was angry, but not for what I was enduring…”
“Calaca called you its sire.” I pause mulling over all the details and implications. “The magic that created it is in you. The voice is the Red Book,” I say, concluding.
“I think it is,” Matias says, tilting his head.
“Books don’t talk.” Santiago looks at us like we lost our minds. “Did the voice ever identify itself?”
Matias looks pensive, as if he is thinking back to those days. “It told me it wanted to fight back. It said that before long, Lord Duelo would lose his patience and begin finding ways to completely destroy it.”
The book is right. I wouldn’t put it past my father to get to that point sooner rather than later. If Matias was the only soldier that survived his attempts, taking him away would bring my father to the edge. Unknowingly, I took his only hope.
But the thing is, the book shouldn’t be able to talk to him at such a long distance. “How does it still reach you if you are now so far away?”
“That’s what I want to know,” Matias says. His voice is stronger.
I recall his words to Amy Bee. He doesn’t want Bianca or anyone else to know until he has an idea what it is and how to fix it.
I cross my arms. “Why don’t you want Bianca and Brandonto know?”
Santiago leans back with a gasp. “Are you expecting me to keep something from my King?” His tone is stern.
Keeping things from his King and future Queen is not something he would willingly sign up for. I would’ve thought Matias made sure Santiago was on board first. Did they not talk about this before?
“I’m sick and tired of being a burden. I want to do it myself. Just let me figure it out first. I am not asking you to lie, just don't tell him until I can figure out what it is and how to fix it.”
I relate all too well to that feeling. Matias and I are alike in the broken and beaten parts of our soul. They have been bruised black and blue.
“Lying by omission.” Santiago shakes his head. “Also, you’re not doing it alone. We are here.” He gestures between us.
Santiago makes an obvious point. Even though he is not asking for aid from Bianca and Brandon, he is still asking for help.
“They’re looking for the Red Book, which should be their focus. I don’t want to distract them. I know the second Bianca learns of my problem, she will want to fix it. Brandon will drop everything else to do it to see her happy.”
Then it hits me. He is keeping his distance from them, not because he doesn’t feel like he belongs there or trusts them, it’s because he fears they will figure out his problem. Then they will focus on fixing it. I don’t know if Brandon would truly drop everything to help Matias. He is the King and has a duty to his people, but Matias was right about something. He would do anything for Bianca.
