The Last Dragon: Book One

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Kendra said, “You’re scared of what we will face ahead, so you want the dragon to fly and land on the road ahead as if I can order it to protect us? At my demand? Do you believe the dragon is like some great stray dog that can be trained to sit and roll over on command?”

“Can you do it?”

Her anger flared, then diminished almost as fast. “You cannot understand what I feel and how I’m expressing unfamiliar impressions into words to explain when there are no words to properly convey my feelings.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

She pulled her horse to a halt, her face turning a shade of red that usually appeared just before she exploded at one of my shortcomings. To my surprise, she dismounted and held out her reins to me. “You had better take the horses off a distance and tie them well. She’s coming, and the horses will panic.”

What had I done? The horses would panic, sure. But what about me? I leaped off and ran them a few hundred paces off the road where a thorny bush looked tough enough to hold them. I triple-tied the knots and ran back to the road.

Kendra stood alone, eyes closed, arms slightly lifted from her sides. Travelers walked wide to either side to move past her. She pointed ahead on the road. People broke and ran. Wagons filled with cargo pulled to the side of the road as the drivers abandoned them.

I heard the air passing over the wings before turning to look. The dragon flew so low over us, I could have reached up and touched a dangling foot. Well, that was more an impression than reality, but it was low enough to see the claws on each toe.

The dragon spread her wings and lifted the front of them, so its speed decreased, and it settled on all four feet as light as a butterfly on a daisy. It turned to face us. I wanted to smile, but before I could, it roared. The sound came from a gaping open mouth pointed at me, full of jagged teeth. The rush of wind from the roar brushed our hair back, and the foul stench of rotted meat gagged us.

It was not a warning or angry roar. It didn’t scare me other than to disgust me with the rank smell. Her actions said the roar was a greeting if we ignored the still-wet sheep’s blood running down her chin and chest, and the red-stained fleece stuck between the teeth.

For the first time, we got a good look at her, the last dragon. My head reached the top of her legs, no higher. Her pebbled skin was grayish-black, with lighter browns on her underside. Her tail was not long and pointed like the wyvern’s, but stubby. The four massive legs gave her a squat sort of look as if she would be slow to move on the ground.

Kendra walked forward.

“Kendra, stop!”

She ignored me. The dragon watched her, and only her. When Kendra was close enough for the dragon to snap her up for lunch, it bent at the knees and rested its chest on the ground. The dragon lowered her chin and placed it on the road.

My sister placed a hand on the side of the dragon’s cheek, and to me, it was similar to when the orange had exploded from the Blue Lady’s touch. One touch from my sister and the dragon’s expression changed to one of a stray dog when someone scratches its belly. The dragon adored her.

Yes, that was the right word that slipped into my mind from an unknown recess. Not love, not affection. Adore. Respect, admire, and worship all were close but lacked a certain something that adore held. A rumble came from deep within the dragon.

Kendra turned to me. “It’s purring.”

Until that moment, I’d have sworn that dragons do not purr. Nothing I’d ever heard indicated they might. Maybe others do not. This one did.

Nothing told me to move closer and try to touch it. Everything in my life warned against that, and only my sister’s presence prevented me from turning and sprinting away. A single glance revealed the road ahead now stood empty. Even the wagons had managed to leave the road and were in the soft sand far to the sides. Not even a seagull flew nearby.

Our horses had calmed and were no longer rearing and bucking, but their eyes never left the dragon. Kendra kept stroking the dragon’s cheek, despite the blood and gore, and she was speaking softly to it, although I couldn’t hear the words.

She finally stepped back and waited. The dragon stood and extended its wings and flew with powerful strokes that raised whirlwinds of dust under it. Kendra stood and watched, never moving.

I fetched the horses and walked them back to her. When we reached about twenty paces from her, both horses balked. No matter what I tried, they would not go closer. Their noses flared, and they bucked nervously.

Kendra said, “Never mind, I’ll walk for a while.”

She walked. We followed at a distance. When we crossed a wide stream, she washed. In the distance to either side, there were stunned people who had been on the road and now remained fearful and stayed away. We had the road to ourselves. But they watched. There would be tales told later this day. Tales of the Dragon Queen.

Kendra finally managed to mount her horse, but it took a while to get it calm enough. We rode again for the port. We didn’t talk. The dragon was again out of sight, but it could return at Kendra’s call. The people were again on the road.

At mid-day, the tips of the tall masts of sailing ships came into view. We were nearing the port. The horses were now used to the smell of the dragon on Kendra, or maybe it had faded. I waited for her to speak first.

“Three mages are here,” she said. “They are strong blips, but now there are also tiny flashes that are partially lost in the buzzing of the wyverns. I think they are the spirits.”

While she spoke, my eyes had been searching the people milling around the decorative stone gate that marked the entrance to the port. Both Lord Kent and Princess Anna waited in the shade the tall gate provided. Both were watching the road as if waiting for us.

We were servants. If they expected to see Princess Elizabeth, that wouldn’t happen for a few more days, at the earliest, and she would lead an army.

“I see them,” Kendra said without turning her head.

We rode on, ignoring them. I looked for Avery but didn’t see him. As we reached the gate, Lord Kent stepped to the middle of the road, as if that action was enough to stop us. Kendra said, “Ride on past.”

We didn’t look at him and didn’t slow. His face turned crimson. He called at our backs, “Hey, stop.”

We rode on.

Kendra said, “Turn left at the next street.”

We’d entered a shabby cluster of wood-framed buildings turned gray by age and the sea. All were one story, but nearer the river stood warehouses and larger buildings. Signs for goods and services hung over nearly every door. I wondered where people lived before noticing most businesses had living quarters at the rear.

“Stop, I said,” came another shout from behind.

“A mage up ahead?”

She nodded, and we rode on, the horses walking faster than the flow of people, and Lord Kent was far too proud and foppish to run after us. I was surprised that he even shouted. The street we turned on held taverns, bars, dancehalls, and gaming rooms. Barkers stood outside trying to lure victims inside with promises of all earthly pleasures, most of which sounded too good to be true, but a young man of my age should not accept what others say—he should investigate for himself.

Kendra seemed almost as interested as me, but we rode on. The river lay ahead, a wide bend with piers and docks on the inside of the bend where the current was less. Dock after dock lined the left side of the street, while pleasure houses of every sort the other. Ahead sprawled staging areas, warehouses, sheds, and storage.

Everything being unloaded seemed to go there for disposition, while everything leaving Dire waited for loading, as well as ship supplies, food, barrels of water, and kegs of ale waited in haphazard piles. Stacks of ropes, poles, boards, sails and a thousand other items were ready for loading, presumably after being purchased and brought from the warehouses.

Men shouted donkeys brayed, and women of all ages called for my attention. The noise deafened. People walked, jogged, and ran. Winches lifted cargo either to the decks or from them to the docks. More than thirty ships of all sizes were at the docks and piers, and not all the spaces were filled.

Kendra rode directly to a pier where cargo was being carried onto the ship by a line of men, each with a heavy sack over his shoulder. She climbed down and handed her reins to a young man who appeared eager to help—for a coin. I dismounted and did the same, as I said, “I will pay another to watch you. If you try to steal from us, you will never see another sunset.”

The idea I could now say things like that, and mean them, scared me. A glance behind revealed Lord Kent must have given up chasing us—for now.

Kendra said, “Loosen your sword.”

I followed behind and did as told. She walked across the loading area as if she owned it, and then out on the pier beside a ship. It sat alongside the pier, tied in several places. It was wide and round-bottomed. Only two masts stood on the deck, and great open hatches allowed the men to descend ladders with their heavy sacks.

A uniformed man stood at the end of a short ramp that connected the ship to the pier. Kendra motioned to the men with the sacks to slow while she stepped ahead, with me at her heels. The ramp bounced as we walked across to where a heavy-set man held a clipboard.

Kendra went directly to him. “Your captain?”

“That’s him,” he grunted and flicked his eyes to the stern, before making another mark on the clipboard.

Kendra headed for the captain, and he watched her approach with squinted eyes. He didn’t even glance my way. She reached out to shake his hand. He smirked and kept his hands to himself, an affront and insult in any language. He shouldn’t have done that to my sister.

She lowered her hand as he snorted in cruel amusement. She didn’t take her eyes off him as she spoke in a soft voice for my ears alone. “Put the tip of your sword to his neck and wait for my direction.”

He didn’t know her or me. Nor did he know that I had expected something like that from her and had been prepared from when first insulted by him. My sword was already whipping out and my wrist turning up, in the thrust position. The pommel came to my chin, the point touched the base of his throat. If he moved, he would die.

“Sir,” she said in the sweetest of voices, “perhaps we should begin again.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“There is a man on your ship that I would very much like to speak with. I believe he is immediately below us.”

“The mage?” he grunted.

“That’s him.”

“Go on down and talk to him,” he growled, his eyes turning piggish as he held his anger inside. The instant my sword was lowered, his men would attack. Several were already edging closer.

I said, “Sir, it would be more convenient if you would have one of the eager young men who is getting too close to us fetch him for us. As for the others, you might want to tell them how sharp the tip of my blade feels and that they should give us some space. Just the slightest pressure would send this through your neck, and in case you haven’t noticed, my sister also has a blade held ready to gut you.”

His eyes dropped to the blade. Kendra held the sharp edge up, ready to slice across his stomach. He raised his voice, “Dom, go below and get that damn mage up here. The rest of you, who told you to stop working?”

They grumbled but backed off. A few didn’t return to work, and he shouted at them again. Then he looked at me. “Son, you can put that away. If you’re that serious about talking to the damn mage, you must have a good reason. I won’t stand in your way. I don’t like sailing with them, anyway.”

His eyes told me he told the truth. I placed my sword away.

He said, “Besides, he’s already paid me, and I don’t give refunds.”

I said, “I’m sure you won’t mind standing where you are until we’re finished?”

“I was here when you arrived and will be when you leave. Take your time.”

An older man stumbled from a small door, pushed by someone behind. His hair was gray, almost white, his clothing was a long, blue robe that drug the deck, and he was more than angry. He was ready to explode. If he had access to essence, I believe someone would have exploded in a ball of lightning.

It occurred to me that the rudeness shown to him indicated the others on the ship knew he had lost his powers. That came as a surprise. The dragon had barely flown away, so how did they know? And if they did, it seemed reasonable that everyone did.

On second thought, people hate mages. That’s why I hid my abilities. They love rumors of those people who have fallen from grace, no matter what their station. Mages without powers would be the fastest rumor to ever fly across the kingdom—or sail across the sea.

The old man straightened himself and tried to walk in a regal manner in our direction. We waited. He said, “Do you know who I am?”

It was not one of the royal mages from Crestfallen, so we did not. Kendra stepped in front of him. “Not who, but what. You are a mage.”

He pointed a finger at her. “Would you like to turn into a cinder?”

She hesitated, but I noticed a twitch of humor at the corner of her lips. She was waiting for something. “A few days ago, that would have scared me. Now, it does not. But speaking of threats, would you like to meet my dragon?”

She pointed. All eyes turned to the sky and the dragon flying to her. She said, “Damon, we really need to give it a name, don’t you think?”

He said in a flat tone, “You are the Dragon Queen.”

The captain backed off a few steps in sudden fear. I let him go.

She said, “Where were you going on this ship?”

He didn’t answer. His expression said he hated her and blamed her for his loss of power, all true.

Kendra said, “Captain, what are the ports of call for your ship?”

“Palmyra and back here. A regular run.”

“Palmyra? I don’t recognize that,” she said.

The captain said, “The largest port on the northern shore of Kondor.”

The last word said enough. The mage didn’t have the same features as us, but a quick look at several of the ship’s crew told a different story. She waved an arm, and the dragon changed directions and flew directly at us, losing altitude as it did.

She said, “Speak quickly or you will feed my dragon her noon meal. Why were you going to Kondor?”

The old mage was watching the dragon. In defiance, he spat at Kendra. The dragon roared as it believed Kendra attacked. It veered to avoid the ship's masts, and as it flew past the stern of the ship, it’s left rear leg shot out, and the talons speared the mage. It flew on, the mage twisted and skewered by the talons as long as my arm.

Every eye on the ship, pier, and probably port, watched the dragon pump its wings to fly higher and higher until it appeared no bigger than a crow. A smaller spot detached from the dragon’s foot and fell, and fell, tumbling and turning. Finally, it struck the water of the river with a splash of white.

It was as if everyone in the city had held their breaths and let them out at the same time. What they had witnessed would be told and retold for generations. Kendra turned to the captain. “Sir, we will take our leave, now. If you wish to book another passenger for his cabin, he won’t object.”

“His belongings?”

“None of my concern. Come, Damon.” She turned and walked to the gangplank without a backward glance.

The young man holding our horses handed us the reins. When I reached for my purse, he waved me off. “It’s good,” he said.

I flipped him a full copper coin and mounted. No cargoes were being loaded or unloaded, no wagons filled with freight were moving, and pedestrians stood in their tracks. All watched us.

“Where to?” I asked.

She pointed to where the sailors gathered when ashore, a run-down part of the port where people woke daily to find throats cut, the music was too loud, the wine too thin. The activity behind us didn’t resume until we’d turned a corner. We didn’t go far.

A pair of women with most of their breasts exposed stood outside and invited men to join them. Both women probably were more successful long after dark, when the light was poor, and the men had several drinks in them. Kendra and I tied our horses to a hitching ring. She said to the nearest, “Did you watch the dragon?”

The woman nodded solemnly.

“Do you know who I am?”

She nodded again.

“Good. If anything happens to my horses, you will meet my dragon personally. Do we understand each other?”

For the third time, the woman made the same nod. I didn’t think there would be any misunderstanding or problem with thieves and our horses. Kendra walked directly to the double-door and pushed. I followed.

Inside we found a room crowded with mismatched tables and chairs pushed almost together, so there was left only a little space for walking. The proprietor understood that the more people, the more he earned, and he must have been greedy. All the tables were empty, but one. At that one sat Princess Anna in yellow again, Lord Kent wearing a pale blue jacket that matched his pants, and a mage who was instantly recognizable from years of living in the palace. All were smiling as if sharing a joke as we walked nearer.