Dragon Clan #4: Gray's Story

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The idea that food is easier to drug if you control all the food in the town was easy to accept. Food Gray had already eaten. Fortunately, it had been mixed with food they brought with them, and they had consumed only a little in any case.

Kelby. He had to warn her. If it was the water, she could avoid it by drinking wine or ale. But if it was food? She couldn’t go without eating. People in Shrewsbury were no better than slaves, with only a few strong arms needed to keep them working.

He couldn’t approach her at night. Tomorrow he would. She should only eat fresh vegetables and fruit until leaving. His head swirled with fears for her and more unanswered questions.

Anna put him back on track. “We have to get away from here. I think they supplied this room so we could fall under the spell of their drugs. It could be something in the air we breathe, for the sake of six gods dancing. They could have filled this room with strange dried mushrooms from across the sea. When we wake up, we may be like the others.”

“Now,” he decided, reaching for his pack.

Anna finished packing at the same time. She followed him from the room. They took the road they’d come in on, climbing a long, low hill until they could look over their shoulders and see the entire bay spread out in the dim light.

Ahead, a figure appeared from the side of the road, hands on hips. “Where do the two of you think you’re going?”

Startled, they moved closer. It was a large man; a long blade flashed as he held it next to his leg.

Anna recovered her wits first, “And what business is it of yours where we go?”

“It’s the middle of the night. I don’t want you to get hurt out here.”

“You don’t even know me so why do you care? I think you’re a highwayman trying to rob us. Maybe kill us.” Anna moves to her left, putting distance between herself and Gray as she pulled her knife and waving it threateningly. It would have been funny under other circumstances.

“I said to go back,” he growled, his eyes shifting to her knife, not seeing the humor at all.

Gray pulled his knife, wishing he had a staff to fight with. A staff is often a single clean strike, little or no blood. Blades are messy. He doubted he could grab his bow, string it, and pull an arrow before the other attacked. Keeping his voice steady and calm, he said, “I was cut on the arm in my last knife fight I was in. Bled all over and ruined a good shirt, but the other guy didn’t live.”

Anna said, “He was a big man too. And you were fighting him all alone, but not this time.”

Doubt flashed across the man’s face, and then he shouted louder, “I said, go back.”

Anna held her knife in a fighting stance as she eased further to his side until she faced Gray. “Want me to go high while you go low?”

“Take your pick,” Gray said. “I’ll take the other. Slash, don’t stab. One or two slices like I taught you, and he’ll quit. Or you can back off while I keep him busy and use that little bow of yours to place an arrow in his leg. Don’t kill him, he’s just doing his job.”

Anna slipped the bow from her shoulder and in one motion had the string set. She reached for an arrow.

The knife fell from his hand as he spun and leaped from the road to the bushes at the side. They could hear him crashing through the forest for a long time. They didn’t laugh. Gray said, “We have to come back this way to catch the ship. He’ll tell them we left so that might help.”

“So we report to the constable that a highwayman tried to rob us.” Anna slipped her knife into her scabbard and picked up the one the guard had dropped. She tested the blade with her thumb and made a disgusted sound. “We were perfectly safe with this in his hand.”

“Dull?”

“Dull, chips on the cutting edge, rusted blade, and poorly made, to begin with. Sort of like that stupid guard, if you ask me.”

Gray said, “He was put here to keep us in town where we’d either drink the water or eat the food is my guess.”

“Or breathe the air in that room, if they put something in it. What do we do now?”

“I think we find a place to hide, a place where we can watch the bay for ships. When ours arrives, we sneak into town and to the ship. I doubt if the Captain is under their thumb like the rest of the people.” Gray started walking, wanting to be out of sight of the guard posted on top of the hill long before the sun came up. He also expected more guards to hunt for them, if not tonight, certainly in the morning.

Anna said, “They expect us to go this way. What if we double back and move further up the bay instead?”

The idea was perfect. He should have realized it, too. He said, “Look for a place where we can get off the road without leaving any sign.”

A hundred steps further a small stream cut across the road. They grinned at each other in the darkness and headed upstream, in the direction of the Bay, but at the narrow end. Anna suggested, “We might want to camp higher up on the hillside to avoid part of the damp. I’m tired of being damp and wet like when we watched the dragons.”

“But close enough to the water to find shellfish to eat.”

Anna tossed her head back and flashed a big smile. “You’re from the desert. What do you know about finding shellfish? Have you ever eaten any?”

He smiled back, “Read about them in a book. You’re not the only one to read.”

“Did that book tell you which is safe to eat or how to prepare shellfish?”

Gray continued up the stream until a fallen tree provided a bridge to climb the bank. He said, “Ever do any trapping?”

“A rabbit here and there. What do you propose to cook it over? Just make a smoky old fire and if they don’t see the smoke, they’ll see the light it makes.”

“Anna, I foresee a day when you’ll sit at the head of the family council if you don’t take over for old King Ember.” He waited until she grinned. “That is if you manage to avoid being murdered for that long. If you ask me, those are long odds.”

He pushed aside undergrowth in the dark. When they had traveled half the night, far enough from the road to ensure they would not be followed or discovered by accident, Gray suggested they sleep under a pine tree. The accumulation of years of fallen pine needles made a soft bed.

Before falling to sleep, he said, “Feel any effects of drugs? Is your mind sluggish?”

Anna said, “No. And you?”

“Maybe all this walking got it out of our system.”

“If it was ever there. Your friend Kelby didn’t look half-asleep when we were in the bookstore.”

Anna was right. Kelby had been in Shrewsbury two days or more than them. How come she was not drugged? Why had that guard on the road refused to allow them to leave Shrewsbury? First, they didn’t want them there, then they tried to prevent them from leaving. Why were all the people drugged in the first place? What was the town preparing for? The questions tumbled over each other. Questions without answers.

They slept late. When he woke, Anna was sitting beside him, picking through a handful of food. He watched her select a few items and toss them aside. She ate others.

“Throwing out anything we got in Shrewsbury?” he asked.

“There’s still quite a lot that we brought with us. Hungry?” she held out a cloth sack.

“I have plenty. What’s the plan for today?”

“We go down near the bay and watch for ships while we find a good place to stay, and we find a feast for a meal.” She had it all figured out, as usual.

He said, “I was thinking of sending you back last night to tell the family what we’ve found. But there isn’t really all that much. Each of the items is not conclusive of anything. We’re just guessing for most of it, and we have questions but no answers.”

“What’s happening here is not natural.”

“And not completely proven that the others have anything to do with any of it.”

She sulked for a moment, then asked, “Do you feel that?”

He did. As soon as she mentioned the red dragon, he felt the familiar warm tingle on his back. “I’ll bet it came near here last night when we were going to fight that man. My temper was pretty high.”

Anna said, “I didn’t know he had a dull knife to match his dull mind. Also, I didn’t appreciate you telling me to back off and use my bow. That warning tipped him off to what I was going to do. I just needed a little space and time to string it and notch an arrow.”

Gray nodded. “I didn’t know you were going to do that. Sorry. Listen, I want to try and send that dragon a message. I don’t want it flying here to rescue me and find two or three greens waiting to attack it. You might want to try it too.”

“Do you think I am more responsive to it?” She was almost beaming.

“No, but it won’t hurt. And your silence will let me concentrate.”

She didn’t speak for quite a while, either in deference to his request or because she was angry. Finally, she stood and said, “We need to find a place to camp.”

Gray stood, too. She was right, but the tone of her voice said they needed to walk instead of talk. Anna took the lead, generally moving down the slope in the direction of the water. Quicker than expected, they found a semi-flat area devoid of trees and shrubs beside a stream. It looked out over the bay, including the town and breakwater. The distance was so great that they couldn’t see individuals.

The shoreline was further away than he wanted, but otherwise, it fit his requirements. However, most importantly, the view was clear, and if there had been a ship at the pier or anchor, they would have seen it from the first. “I think this is good.”

Anna pointed to the side of the clearing closest to the village. “If we dig a hole and maybe bank some rocks around the top, we can build a small fire after dark where they can’t see the smoke.”

“We can do that. The ship should be here within a couple of days.”

She sat on the grass and said, “Let’s talk. Once it gets here, what are your plans? Just march right into town as big as life?”

“No, of course not. We’ll go through the woods and come out behind the shipping company. Then we’ll try to get inside the building so the agent can escort to the ship. For some reason, I don’t think anyone will prevent us from sailing once we’re on the ship.”

“I don’t like it. You’re leaving out too many things. What if they watch the shipping office? Or what if they do have men to capture us when we come out of the shipping office? I do not want to be walking around that town unprotected.”

“Your ideas?”

She hesitated, then said, “I believe we should slip into town at the waterfront, near the piers. We can run up onto the pier and run to the ship. We can tell the Captain to send one of his men to fetch the agent.”

“You really are smarter than me, you know,” he laughed.

She didn’t even smile. She said, “Another thing. When are you going to tell me about Stinson?”

The suddenness of the request took him by surprise, but at some point, he should have expected that she would ask. He had told the basic story that Stinson had died in the drylands, but for the sake of his family, he brushed over all the problems. “He fought me from the start. Actually, he threatened me at the door to my house before we ever left. He said he’d get even with me, or something like that. He said he was smarter, could run faster, and that he was stronger. All true, but threats.”

“You should have told the council.”

“I did. Or tried. They were way ahead of me and manipulated the situation. They told me I could handle him if anyone could. It was also made clear that he was not to put the family or me in danger, and if I needed to return alone, they would understand.”

“Gods above and below! They as much as told you to kill him.”

She was getting too far ahead. He said, “Now, wait up. Their exact word, their intent, and how I understood them may be different. Don’t go off spreading gossip or lies.”

“Stinson was a bad man. His brain was different. I can see their point. I can’t see why they put him with you.”

“Because I’m weak? I believe their hopeful intent was to strengthen me while correcting some of Stinson’s attitude.”

Anna thought about what Gray had said before speaking. “They knew what they were doing. They set it up. If Stinson had managed to get you killed, or killed you himself, they would have the excuse to execute him. They made you their bait if you haven’t realized it.”

Again Anna had put her finger right on something he’d missed. He had been set up. It had almost been a kill or be killed situation. His temper rose, a taste of bile in his mouth. His jaw was set.

She continued, “You never found his body, they said.”

“No. I went back to where I’d left him, but he must have tried to return to the family or make it on his own. I’m sure he ran out of water in the drylands. A sad and hard death for anyone, especially for someone who grew up with me.”

“He never grew up. His whole life was only about him, so don’t feel bad.” She used a stick to begin digging a hole for the fire.

Gray said, “I’m going to scout around.” He’d had enough talking for one morning to turn his mood angry and foul. He stormed off down the side of the hill in the direction of the water. Once away from Anna he paused to let his mind, try to control his emotions. She had not blamed him in any manner, but her questions were the same he’d asked himself. The girl was often too insightful. Worse, she didn’t hesitate to speak her mind.

The trees were mostly small hardwoods, the underbrush thin. The smells of pine and cedar filled the warm air. Ducks and geese flew. If a dragon came near, the birds would land and hide despite the fact that dragons seldom dined on them. It was as if ducks and geese didn’t wish to share the sky with dragons. None had ever nested at the lake at Oasis, although now and then a few migrating made a quick stop.

He could still feel the dragon at the edge of his abilities to sense it. As he had many times before, he sat on a boulder and reached out. Nothing came in return. Someday it would. He knew it.

He glanced at the water of the bay again. Movement caught his eye. He raised his head and found a ship sailing around the end of the breakwater. He couldn’t tell if it was the Pearl, but assumed it was. It was the only ship due. As he stood to go tell Anna of the ship, his back tingled more, stung, and then burned.

The intense pain dropped him to the ground, face first. He rolled over and the pain increased a hundred times. Gray howled as if he’d fallen into the campfire.

Then it increased even more as a green dragon flew overhead, fast and low. The dragon turned its head, and the red eyes searched for, then found Gray. The beat of the wings faltered. But it flew on, twisting and turning to look again at Gray.

The pain diminished as the beast flew on, and Gray managed to stand on weak legs. He stumbled up the side of the hill, trying to run, but falling over and over. His back still hurt. So did his knees and elbows where he’d skinned them in the many falls, but he had to check on Anna.

Breaking free of the underbrush, he ran into the clearing. Anna lay on the grass, face down, knees pulled to her chest, moaning softly. He ran to her side.

“It hurts,” she said. “Lift my shirt and look at my back.”

Gray gently lifted her shirt and exposed her dragon tattoo. Unlike most, hers held only the head of a dragon, face ready to leap and bite the observer. It was red, detailed and almost savage in appearance in normal times. It now appeared inflamed. Each line of the image too red.

He gently placed his fingertips on the image of the dragon. Each line was now raised, looked raw, and painful. She winced. He withdrew his hand and reached for the corner of a blanket and a water jar. He dampened it and patted her back. The pain of watery blood spread wherever he touched.

She sat, tears still flowing down her cheeks, and said, “Did it affect you?”

He nodded.

“Turn around.” She lifted his shirt and sucked in a gasp of air. “Dancing gods above, I’ve never seen or heard of this.”

“The lines of my dragon are welts?”

“Like you’ve been whipped, and it somehow made a picture.” Her voice held fear and awe as she touched him. “I wish I had some salve or knew which medicinal plants to gather.”

“Your dragon is the same.”

“No wonder it hurts so much. What happened?” She asked.

“Did you see that green fly over us?”

“The greens are not supposed to sense us. We can’t feel them, either.”

Gray said, “Well, I think that information is wrong. I can’t explain it, but we can definitely feel the touch of at least one dragon.”

“I still feel the red. It’s nearby.”

“Me too,” Gray agreed. “The touch feels completely different. The red stings, but is a warm, friendly sort of feeling despite that. Just an itch most of the time. The green was hatred and anger. Mean.”

“I agree.”

“I was lying in the open down there. It flew over me and turned its head to find me. When it did, it missed a beat with its wings. I was sure it would turn and attack, but instead, it looked away and flew on.” Gray pulled down his shirt and tried to stand, but gave up and remained sitting.

Anna said, “I watched it look at you. It acted confused.”

“I don’t care how it acts as long as it stays away.”

“The Pearl arrived. We have to get onto the ship where the Captain will protect us from the constable and townspeople. Tonight.” Her voice trembled with each word.

“I’ve heard most sea captains consider their ships as their own property and he can keep them away, but he can also decide to turn us over to them. We can’t know what reception we’ll get.”

Anna took the water jug from him and drank heavily. “I say we get on the ship and take our chances. He has a duty to protect passengers, and we’ve paid our way. My books say that captains are usually honorable men.”

“I have to warn Kelby.”

“You have the coin. Pay the Captain to carry a message to her and purchase her passage.”

Gray said, “We are making decisions with a lack of information. At least, ten things can go wrong with our plan. Maybe I should go on alone and send you back to the family with what’s happened so far.”

Anna snorted, suddenly turning back into a twelve-year-old girl who knows everything. “Nothing to tell them. Just a lot of your guesses and some of them are bound to be wrong. Maybe I should send you back, and I’ll go to the Marlstones.”

Gray knew when he was beaten. “We’ll go together.”