The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

illegally tapping a ley line, what could he do other than give his mother a little strength? Even when he’d gathered a full portion of dragon magic, he had trouble joining with the other magicians to increase the power of the joint spell by orders of magnitude. Lately he’d had trouble gathering any dragon magic at all, almost as if there wasn’t enough left to go around.
    He’d give M’ma all of his strength if he could. That had to be enough until he could summon a healer. She couldn’t die. Not yet. Not until he’d made peace with her, made certain she knew that he blamed only his father for his estrangement.
    “You’ll keep your filthy magic away from her!” Maydon roared, slapping Bessel’s hand away. “Let her die in peace and pass to her next existence without interference.”
    Bessel stared at his left hand a moment, the one his father had slapped away. A dominant left hand had marked him as a potential magician from earliest childhood. Deliberately he closed the offending hand into a fist and drove it into Maydon’s jaw.
    Maydon reared back. His crutches fell to the slate floor. He flailed clumsily as his body joined the crutches.
    “Fewer than half of all left-handers are magicians and less than half of all magicians are left-handed. You condemned me as a magician before you had any true evidence,” Bessel said quietly. “And I will help my mother if I can.”
    “Bessel, your father is a cripple. He can’t defend himself. He can’t work the mines anymore. You should have compassion.” Baarben rushed to help her brother stand.
    “He’s so crippled he made a small fortune keeping the accounts for the mines after the accident. He’s so crippled he fathered five more children on my mother, each one diminishing her strength a little more, making her vulnerable to this hideous disease. Look at her! She’s pregnant again. That’s why she hasn’t the strength to fight it.” Bessel returned his attention to what little he knew about healing.
    If only he had some Tambootie leaves in his pouch . . . He’d heard rumors that Queen Maarie Kaathliin’s father needed the Tambootie to cure a plague in his homeland.
    Was this the same plague? The disease caused by machines? He hoped not, but he recalled a grove of Tambootie that grew nearby. He’d stolen some of the leaves as a child and experimented with them until his father had exiled him from the family. Once he eased the fever and strengthened his mother a little, he’d fetch the leaves of the tree of magic.
    If he tapped a ley line, he could effect some repairs to her body to buy him more time.
    No. The Commune had valid reasons for outlawing rogue magic.
    He inhaled deeply on three counts, held it three counts, and exhaled on the same rhythm. His body relaxed. He repeated the exercise, and his mind drifted away from the confines of bone and flesh. A third deep breath brought him within reach of the void between the planes of existence.
    (There are lessons to be learned in the void. Do not enter unless you are prepared to expose the truth,) a voice whispered into the back of his mind.
    As he hesitated to join with the allure of the void, a ley line filled with magical energy pulsed beneath the ground near the center of the village.
    He reached out to tap the line, let it flood him with strength.
    Revulsion replaced the magical energy. NO! He couldn’t use ley lines and he couldn’t access the void. Powwell had had to leave the protection of the Commune in order to use rogue magic in his search for Kalen. Bessel couldn’t risk his membership in the Commune.
    Dragon magic had limitations, especially when a magician worked alone. But when the Commune worked in concert, their magnified spells could overpower any solitary magician. They could impose rules and regulations, ethics and honor, on all magicians. Rogue magicians had perpetuated civil war in Coronnan for three generations, all in their quest for power, until Nimbulan had discovered dragon magic and created a lasting peace with King Quinnault’s help.
    Bessel risked the wrath of the Commune and the dragons if he violated their most sacred law. He had to help his mother using only legal magic, no matter how limited.
    Breathe in, one, two, three. Hold, one, two, three. Breathe out, one, two, three. This time he concentrated on remaining in contact with the flow of dragon energies within his body. Power tingled in his fingertips. He ran his hand down the length of his mother’s