him time to react, he walked away.
‘Contrary to appearances, he didn’t mean any harm.’ Noah sighed heavily, as if lamenting his fate. ‘From what those two said, you need to remember that what you did was bloody dangerous, and the danger doesn’t just go away just because you’re feeling better.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘No magic until tomorrow. Your left hand’s in for a visit to the Tower of Water. Oh… I really do hope I won’t have to patch you up again today.’
‘We’re both in the same boat on that last point,’ Draco grumbled, testing whether the movement would provoke a physical reaction. ‘What happened in the meantime? I mean, the last thing I clearly remember is you controlling the tree, and after that… everything gets a bit hazy.’ The change of subject may not have been seamless and might have seemed forced, but for the dragon, the only thing that mattered was occupying his mind with something other than his current condition.
‘No one thought our opponents would just sit in the tower amidst the rubble endlessly.’ Parthir watched as the reptile tried to get to his feet. ‘The noise must have lured them out. They fired a flare and raised the alarm. Afterwards, it seems they tried to retreat and head towards the lake, but as luck would have it, they walked straight into one of Liam’s traps.’ He spat with distaste to one side. ‘This time, I have to admit, he’s outdone himself. I’ve no idea how much or what he packed in there, but the explosion left a crater about a metre deep.’
‘An unpleasant surprise.’
‘That’s an understatement,’ Parthir snorted. ‘Of the five who were passing through there, three were taken out. The remaining two didn’t put up a fight… I mean, they weren’t able to. Cedric interrogated them first, then activated their medallions.’
‘So half of them down?’
‘Not yet, but we’re close…’
‘But we’ve lost some of our own too?’ the dragon asked, standing up somewhat unsteadily and bracing himself against the wall.
‘Well, we’re six short.’ Noah tried
