Dragon and Herdsman

CHAPTER 20

Jack had hit the ground exhausted, almost too tired to even care that the mercenaries hadn't attacked the camp. He was therefore not particularly surprised when he woke to find sunlight already filtering through the trees and the Phookas in the middle of their morning dance.

Stifling a groan, he worked his way up into a sitting position against a tree, glancing down into his shirt as he did so. Pure reflex; he already knew from the feel of his skin that Draycos was gone. Running the perimeter, no doubt, and Jack grimaced at the thought. No matter how much he tried to help out, the heaviest burden always seemed to fall squarely on the K'da's shoulders.

But he could only do what he could do. Taking a few deep breaths, working the kinks out of his muscles, he watched the Phookas with half an eye while he pulled a ration bar from his pack. Alison had thoughtfully included a variety of flavors, but after three days he was starting to get roundly sick of them. Still, it was better than starving.

He was halfway through his breakfast when he spotted Draycos through the trees, working his way around the dancing Phookas. A minute later, he was at Jack's side. "Good morning, Jack," the K'da said. "I trust you slept well?"

"The sleep of the dead," Jack agreed, peeling back the wrapping of another ration bar and holding it out. "How about you? You get any sleep at all?"

"I had enough," Draycos assured him. Taking the ration bar delicately between his teeth, he flipped his head sharply, and the food disappeared into his jaws. A half-dozen quick chews and it was gone. "I have been around the perimeter," he went on. "There's no scent of the mercenaries anywhere nearby."

"Unless they're sneaking up from downwind," Jack warned, blinking a little as the light westwardly breeze drifted across his eyes.

"No." Draycos was quietly positive. "It would take a much stronger wind than this to keep their scent from me."

"We'll just have to watch out for windstorms, then," Jack said. "Is it my imagination, or are you getting better at sniffing out these guys?"

"It is not your imagination," Draycos confirmed. "In fact, all my senses appear to be growing sharper."

"Good." Jack paused, eyeing the other. There'd been something in the K'da's voice just then. "It is good, isn't it?"

"I don't know," Draycos said. "There is . . . but that is certainly only a myth."

"What is?"

"It's nothing," Draycos said firmly. "I should not even have mentioned it . . ."

"Well, you did," Jack said. "And you're sure not going to back out of it now. Come on, symby, give."

Abruptly, Draycos's neck arched, his crest stiffening. "What did you call me?" he demanded.

"Uh . . ." Jack found himself pressing his back hard against his tree. What had he said? "Just . . . symby. Kind of a shorthand for symbiont. I'm sorry—shouldn't I have called you that?"

"No, not at all," Draycos said, his body relaxing again, a troubled look in his eyes. "It was just that Polphir, my last Shontine host, used to call me that. Had I ever mentioned that to you?"

"Not that I remember," Jack said, frowning now himself. "It just sort of popped into my head."

"I see," Draycos said, his tail tip making slow, thoughtful circles. "At any rate, I apologize greatly for my reaction."

"That's okay," Jack said. "My heart needed a little restart anyway. So tell me about this myth."

Draycos turned his head to look at the Phookas as they finished their dance. "There's an ancient legend that suggests that a K'da approaching death sometimes experiences heightened senses."

Jack felt his stomach tighten around his breakfast. He'd already been wondering if his body might be rejecting Draycos. "Uh-oh."

"But as I say, it is only a myth," Draycos hastened to add. "Recall that back aboard the Havenseeker I was very near death. Yet I experienced nothing like that."

"But in the last month you've taken to falling off my back straight through walls," Jack reminded him. "That's definitely not normal K'da behavior."

"Yet I also feel better than I have in years," Draycos countered. "Whatever is happening, I do not believe I am dying."

"I hope not," Jack said. "I wonder what that might mean for . . ."

He trailed off, looking around as a thought suddenly struck him. Every other morning during this trek Alison had been the first one up and ready to go. Usually she'd been right in his face when he opened his eyes, in fact, nagging him to get his butt in gear.

But this morning, she hadn't yet even made an appearance. "Have you seen Alison?" he asked, getting to his feet.

"She was over there," Draycos said, flicking his tongue toward some of the red-berry bushes where Hren and the other Erassvas were chowing down. "Just past the Erassvas."

"Come on," Jack said, picking up his borrowed machine gun/tangler and looping its strap over his shoulder.

They found Alison lying on the ground on her back, her head partially propped up on a thick tree root. Her eyes were closed, but Jack could see her chest rising and falling rhythmically with her breathing. At least she wasn't dead. "Alison?" he called as he and Draycos approached.

There was no response. "Alison?" he repeated, crouching down beside her and shaking her shoulder. "Come on, girl. Time to wake up."

To his relief, she opened her eyes. But only halfway. "Jack?" she croaked.

"I'm here," Jack said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," she said, closing her eyes again. "Just sleeping."

"We can see that," Jack said, easing her open collar back a couple of inches. There was no sign of the gray dragon on her neck or shoulder. "Where's Taneem? Alison, where's Taneem?"

"Over there," Alison said, lifting her hand from her lap and pointing vaguely around her. "Hungry. Went for breakfast."

"I'll find her," Draycos said. Turning away, he ducked around the milling Erassvas and disappeared.

"Are you feeling all right?" Jack asked, looking down at Alison again.

"I'm fine," she said. But there was no particular life in her voice, and the words were noticeably slurred. "Just tired. Already told you." With obvious effort, she opened her eyes again. "Anything wrong?"

"Aside from you, no, everything seems fine," Jack said. "Draycos has been around the camp, and says no one's sniffing around."

"Good," Alison said, closing her eyes again. "Maybe we scared them off."

"Hardly," Jack growled. Even in the middle of a conversation she was starting to slip away again. What had Taneem done to her, anyway? "No, they've just switched tactics. Alison?"

"Good," she muttered. "Sure you and Draycos can figure it out."

"Alison?" Jack shook her shoulder again. "Alison!"

But she was asleep again. This time, no amount of shaking would rouse her.

"Blast," Jack bit out, getting back to his feet and looking around for Draycos. The K'da was nowhere to be seen. "Draycos?" he called. "Draycos!"

A couple of the Erassvas looked up, then returned to their berry picking. "Come on, dragon," Jack muttered, looking around. His gaze fell on one of the matted vine meshes— "You," he said, stepping over to the nearest Phooka. "Yes, you," he said as the animal looked up. "Come here."

He hooked a pair of fingers behind its crest and pulled it over to the vine mesh. "Here—cut this," he ordered, pointing to the vines at the edge of the mesh. "Right here. Understand?"

The Phooka looked quizzically up at him. "Cut," Jack repeated, lifting one of the Phooka's forepaws and making slashing motions across the vines. "Cut. Come on, you stupid—"

"I can do that," Draycos's voice put in from behind him.

Jack looked over as the dragon loped up to him. "There you are," he said accusingly. "Where have you been?"

"Looking for Taneem," Draycos said. "I can smell her, but I don't see her anywhere. She must have gone farther away than usual."

"That's Taneem for you," Jack gritted. "Come on, get this cut, will you? We need something to carry Alison with."

"Can you tell what is wrong with her?" Draycos asked, slashing his claws through the vines at the points Jack had indicated.

"All I know is that I can't get her to stay awake," Jack said. "We're going to need the Essenay's medical diagnostics to get anything more than that."

"You intend to use this vine mesh to carry her?"

"The mesh, and a couple of Phookas," Jack said. "We'll tie it between them with pieces of rope and lay her on it."

"That should work," Draycos said. "Shall I select the Phookas?"

"I'll do that," Jack said. "You go get the rope from my pack."

"Are you certain you are up to the task?" Draycos asked.

"What, picking out a couple of stretcher carriers?" Jack scoffed. "I could do it in my sleep." He looked down at Alison. "No offense," he added sarcastically.

"I meant, are you certain you wish to deal with the Phookas?" Draycos said. "You seem less patient with them this morning."

Jack curled a hand into a fist, a flood of anger and disgust rising chokingly into his throat. Sternly, he forced it back down. "I'm frustrated, that's all," he said.

"With the Phookas?"

"With everything." Jack eyed Draycos. "Well, not with you," he amended. "But with everything else."

"I'm sorry," Draycos said, ducking his head in apology.

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry," Jack said, grimacing. "Everyone's doing the best they can. Even the Erassvas and Phookas. I'm just . . . we've got a whole platoon of K'da here, or we should. Only they aren't good for anything."

"They still have life," Draycos reminded him. "A few days ago that was enough for you to consider them worth saving, even at the risk of your own."

"Maybe I've changed my mind."

"Have you?" Draycos countered. "Or have your thoughts merely been colored by fatigue and fear?"

Jack sighed. "Uncle Virge would have a field day with that one," he said. "But I'm too tired to argue. Which probably proves your point."

"I make no point," Draycos said. "I merely caution against making decisions when one is tired or fearful or angry."

"I know," Jack said. "I just forget sometimes." He took a deep breath. "And things aren't going all that badly right now, anyway, are they?"

"No, they are not," Draycos agreed cautiously. "But at the same time, they are perhaps going less well than you think. While searching for Taneem, I heard the Malison Ring floater moving around somewhere to the west."

Taking up guard position between them and the cave area? Probably. "That's fine," Jack said. "We were planning to change course today anyway. I guess this means we're angling east instead of west. Go get the rope, will you? I'll grab a couple of stretcher carriers."

"Very well." Turning, Draycos trotted back toward where Jack had left his pack.

Jack headed toward the nearest group of Phookas, studying them as he walked. Though all of them had a tendency to wander away from the herd, he knew which ones were the steadier and more obedient of the group. He spotted two of the latter digging at the base of a bush near Hren, and changed direction toward them.

"What now, young Jack?" Hren asked as Jack walked up. Hren's lips and chin were stained with berry juice, but there was nothing comical about his expression. It was about as stiff and angry as Jack had ever seen it. "Do you bring us to yet more danger?"

"There may possibly be more danger, yes," Jack had to admit. "But we'll do everything we can to keep you as safe as possible."

"You will keep us safe?" Hren countered. "You, who brought us into these dangers, now say you will keep us safe?"

"I'm sorry, Hren," Jack said. "If I'd known the bad men behind us would be so persistent . . . look, if we'd left you behind, all the Phookas would be dead. The bad men would have killed them. This was the only way I knew to save them."

"Yet out here they may die anyway."

"But at least now they have a chance," Jack said. "You do care what happens to them, don't you?"

"We care, yes," Hren said. "Do you?"

Jack grimaced. Stupid, useless, pain-in-the-neck animals . . . but Draycos was right. A few days ago, in a better state of mind than he was in right now, he'd considered them worth saving.

More to the point, Draycos considered them worth saving right now. "Yes," he told Hren. "I do."

Hren was silent for a moment. "Then we will continue on," he said. "Even if you have brought us here to die, far from our people and the berries we most love."

"You're not going to die," Jack assured him, wishing he really believed that. "We're not going to abandon you."

"It would seem young Alison has already done so," Hren countered. "Yet hear me: We will not give up our lives easily. Not for any creature."

"I know you won't," Jack said. "You're a strong people, Hren, despite your casual ways. As for Alison, she hasn't abandoned anyone. She's just tired. We'll let her sleep, and she'll be fine." He looked back over toward her.

And as he did so, a flicker of gray caught his eye. Taneem was back from her hunt, strolling casually toward the rest of the group. "There she is," he said with relief. "Taneem! Taneem, come here!"

The gray Phooka didn't answer but kept padding her way through the milling crowd. Jack opened his mouth to call her again.

And stiffened. She wasn't just coming to rejoin the herd.

She was heading straight toward Alison.

"Taneem!" Jack called again, dashing toward her. Whatever the Phooka was doing to Alison, she had to be doing it while she was on the girl's skin. If she got back on—"Taneem! Draycos!"

To his left, he caught a flash of gold scales through the trees as Draycos bounded toward the girl and the gray dragon.

But they were both too late. Taneem got to Alison first and set her paw almost delicately on the side of Alison's neck. An instant later, the Phooka was gone, sliding beneath the collar.

"Blast!" Jack snarled as he braked to a halt at Alison's side. "Can you get her off?"

"No," Draycos said, his voice grim as he peered down into Alison's collar. "Not without Taneem's permission. I am sorry. I should not have left her."

"Don't blame yourself," Jack growled. "I'm the one who sent you away in the first place." He took a deep breath. "Whatever's happening, we'll just have to see it through. Let's get this stretcher rigged and get out of here."

They gathered the Erassvas and Phookas together, and with Alison nestled into her vine hammock between the green bellwether and a dark blue-green Phooka, they headed off.

Draycos didn't have many opportunities to see how things were going at the front. With Jack now having to lead, he had to cover both flanks of the group, watching for trouble as well as keeping the Phookas from wandering too far away.

But even with the bulk of his attention outward, it was quickly apparent that there was less herding necessary than there had been on previous days. On his third great circle around the travelers he made a point of moving in close enough to see what exactly was going on.

And was greeted by an extraordinary sight. The ten Erassvas were all walking closely together just behind Jack and Greenie, playing follow-the-leader as they'd been doing since Alison first set up this particular marching order. What was new was the fact that the Phookas, too, were mostly staying close to both the Erassvas and Jack himself.

Draycos wondered about it as he returned to his outward sweep. Were the Phookas still leery about predators after the previous day's Kodiak attack? That might explain why they were staying close to the boy carrying the guns.

But it hadn't been anyone with a gun who had chased the Kodiak away. Draycos had done that. Yet there was no indication that the Phookas had even registered that fact, let alone were acting on it. It wasn't because of the bellwether, either, the one Jack called Greenie. While the Phookas had always followed him, they had never shown any particular interest in staying close by as they did so.

No, there could be only one reason the Phookas were staying so close to Jack. Somehow, in their dim and undeveloped minds, they had latched onto him as their leader. Their guide.

Their herdsman.

Jack might not think he had the patience to be a herdsman. He might not particularly like the task. But there was no denying that he had a talent for it.

You have many talents, Jack, Draycos had assured the boy earlier. When the time comes, you will find the job that best fits you.

It would be Draycos's job to make sure the boy lived until that time came.