The Last Dragon: Book One

CHAPTER FIVE

Elizabeth was waiting for me when I returned to our apartment. Kendra was not in sight, which I found strange, but I heard her rustling around in Elizabeth’s bedroom. My expression didn’t have the glee of the one I’d worn earlier, but this time I believed I understood more of the situation. One question had nagged since I’d watched Avery ride away: How far behind him would I be?

“Did you confirm the mages traveled to Mercia?” she asked.

“I did.” She didn’t bother to ask how or if I’d managed to spread more rumors, which could mean she was lost deep in thought.

The information, at least to my addled mind, was similar to a tangle of blackberry vines, twisting and turning back on each other in unpredictable ways, yet a solid mass. Elizabeth was normally one of the quickest to follow one of those vines to reach the ripe berries at the ends. My impression was that the blackberry patch was too large and tangled for any but the most astute.

Instead of her moving on to follow the tendrils of another palace intrigue, she would plunge deeper into this one because that was her way. When her eyes drifted in my direction, I cringed inside, fearing what was to come.

“We have all the answers, but one, and it is not here in the palace.”

Those were words I dreaded hearing. Only a fool would not understand what she meant—and why my sister sounded so busy in the bedroom. Kendra was already packing for a long trip.

“There are still things we might learn,” I said, trying to head her off. “Here in the palace. There are other ways to find the information.”

While shaking her head slowly from side to side, she muttered barely loud enough to hear, “No, the answer we seek resides in Mercia.”

There was no changing her mind. She still stood there as I entered her bedroom and met the eyes of Kendra. My voice was soft, “You wanted to talk to me in private?”

“That seems like a full day ago. Why didn’t you meet with me sooner? I wanted to warn you that if you did not solve this whole damn thing, we would travel across the kingdom on foul-smelling horses.” She threw a shirt at a travel bag and missed. Not for the first time. Worse, she didn’t attempt to retrieve it. She threw another, barely missing me.

Explaining none of this was my fault would only increase her anger. Attempting to appease her was no easier than opposing Elizabeth. “Perhaps we’ll find out something before we leave. We can go snoop around.”

“No. Any more unexpected appearances by you will have half the tongues in the east wing wagging. Our only hope is Princess Anna. Elizabeth has already requested they meet here for an informal conversation.”

“Lord Kent?” I asked, expecting Kendra had also managed to locate another thread to pull. “Has she agreed to meet with him again?”

“It seems he has taken ill and will not be attending the upcoming dance two nights from now, and only the gods above know how he can be so certain he will not be well by then. And yes, that was intended as a pun, so wipe that smirk off your face. In the meantime, his manservant has requested an unusual selection of food be sent to his quarters.”

“Unusual?” She might refuse to share the information. She had become ornery like that in the last few years. Besides, the manservant, Pallor, was peculiar in himself. Still, I liked the man and wondered what the concern about food was.

“Yes, you’d expect him to eat only soup or broth and perhaps dry bread. Instead, according to the kitchen, he is to be eating an assortment of nuts, raisins, dried figs, and smoked meats and fish. At least, that is what my sources tell me.”

“Also, the same food to eat while traveling.” I digested the information. Had Kendra been in a better mood, I’d have shared my pun but wisely kept it to myself.

“You think so?” she asked in a lilting tone of scorn. “Let me guess. Lord Kent is going on a trip of his own. Care to venture where?”

She was my sister, and therefore we had daily spats. Kendra seldom approved of my small-magic and often suggested for me to cease its use. Her opinion was that someday others would find out about my powers and the mages and sorceresses would certainly take me away for some undisclosed reason. To where, I had no idea, and no idea of why she believed that, but her feelings couldn’t be changed. She insisted on some things remaining between only the three of us.

While not fully sharing her beliefs, I was absolutely convinced that if even a hint of my abilities became known, everyone we encountered from then on would suspect I was trying to draw them into something or force them to reveal secrets with magic. She was right.

Whenever possible, I avoided using it. But there are times when magic controls me instead of the other way around. Those are the times we feared.

Aside from me and my abilities, there was still a central question unanswered. What could be so damned important that would force Princess Anna to travel all the way here and insist on speaking only with the ill king? And even more strange was that his trusted advisers had actually agreed to the meeting. That added to the importance of the message. My first thought was a possible invasion by another kingdom. That didn’t work for several reasons, not the least was that the army generals still paraded around the palace in their fancy uniforms filled with a chest of ribbons instead of charging into the field of battle with raised swords. Their men still marched daily and practiced with their weapons.

An outbreak of plague, the death of someone important, or a usurper intending to replace our good king were all discarded. Yet, what else could it be? My mind switched from disasters to the possibility of good news. The unexpected birth of a high royal, a trove of hidden gold discovered, or a person with magic skills so important he couldn’t be denied were all thrust away almost as quickly.

The latter idea of magic being involved might need reconsideration since three mages were heading to the same place. We didn’t see why the king or his advisers would consider that so significant, but the idea held more credence than any other I’d come up with.

Kendra snapped at me in the way only sisters can, “Why are you just standing there?”

The ignorant portion of my mind considered responding that she had told me not to leave the apartment or others might become suspicious and more rumors would spread. The intelligent part, admittedly smaller, made me keep my mouth shut. I was getting good at that.

She stopped filling luggage with clothing and stood erect, ready to continue when Elizabeth called me from the sitting room. I spun and ran to her side. The needs of the princess outweighed those of my sister—and least for now. Still, I’d have to face Kendra again.

“Tell me if I’m wrong in my assumptions and conclusions.”

My response was to merely nod as if capable of doing that, knowing that unless I used a tactful method of answering, I’d again keep my mouth shut.

Elizabeth continued, “Is there any occurrence you can conceive of that would meet all the criteria we know.”

For once, we were in complete agreement in our line of reasoning, and that we didn’t know something critical. Not that we were often opposed, but to think we always agreed would be an error. However, it didn’t matter what I thought. She was Elizabeth, and a princess.

She closed her eyes and allowed her head to flop back as she thought and gazed up at the ceiling. She was probably imagining scenarios and trying to make them fit the circumstances. When she refocused her eyes, she turned them directly on me. “If there is no emergency imaginable that will fit our known information, then there are only two alternatives.”

“We have something erroneous, or we have assigned evidence to the problem that belongs to another.”

“Precisely,” she agreed. “Which is it?”

After only a moment’s hesitation, “I believe the information is accurate.”

“Me too,” Elizabeth said. “Listen, you will . . . carry a message from me to my cousin, Carol. Carry it in your hand where all can see you are about your task. If anyone asks, feel free to tell them your destination.”

“Carol is visiting her sister at the Temple of the Doves today. That’s a full day’s travel from here.”

“So, it is your task to pretend you’re going to her with a message. Say that I must have forgotten she is away. It gives you the excuse to wander the most distant parts of the palace. While you roam there, listen to rumors, do not speak.”

“To better serve you, Elizabeth,” My tone was respectful, careful to keep any hint of a smile from appearing in my voice. “As you wish.”

Elizabeth reached for the pillow behind her and flung it playfully in my direction, but I’d already ducked and moved to the desk. I returned with paper, pen, and ink. She accepted them and quickly jotted a note asking when she and Carol could get together to discuss which colors were best for the coming summer. I watched over her shoulder as she penned the note and rolled it to tie with a slip of blue ribbon before handing it to me.

She said, “Perhaps you will hear someone say something interesting, an overheard whisper or hint of gossip. Again, listen, don’t talk.”

I accepted the scroll and slithered out the door, leaving Elizabeth still sedentary in the same place, her eyes again unfocused. If she had not been so distracted, she wouldn’t have given me the detailed directives of how to listen, and what to look for, as if we were both still children.

I held the scroll prominently in my left hand. My sword was still buckled in place. It might be a good idea to wear it until this situation ended. I’d changed the scabbard to the plain utilitarian one, but the sword remained the same.

Elizabeth’s cousin Carol conveniently lived about as far from Elizabeth as possible and still be within the palace—if she was home. No doubt, those were the reasons why Elizabeth had selected her. Rushing would draw attention. However, a few brief minutes were spent in the kitchen would be acceptable because to do otherwise was unlike me. When I arrived there, the cooks were busy and talkative, but not of things we were interested in hearing.

The new wing I entered that was under seemingly permanent construction. It had been worked on since before my birth. I passed a few of the bakery sweets I’d snitched from the cooks to carpenters and a stonemason who had treated me well in the past. While friendly, their conversations were well afield of what we were searching for—although I didn’t know what it was until I heard it.

Near the central fountain, where the palace transitioned from our wing to the north wing, a voice called my name. I turned to find a royal of such a low ranking she was hardly above me on the rolls. A few years younger, she had professed a crush on me one dark night when we’d found ourselves alone and under the stars with the music of the spring dance filling the night.

“Tam,” I cried, putting as much surprise and joy into the single syllable as possible. She was pretty, in an understated sort of way. Tam didn’t wear the latest fashions, fix her hair in trendy styles, or other outward appearances. She was pretty enough without those things. Still, it was her personality that sparkled and made her beautiful and dangerous. Her laughter made me want to laugh with her. She was unmarried, although the last few years she attracted more and more young men.

I liked her, but my first thought was the fake delivery of the pretend message of Elizabeth’s. That would be my excuse to quickly leave Tam. Then, common sense took control. Carol was a ruse and Tam a talker of the first magnitude. She lacked the inborne insights and understanding that Elizabeth had, but people trusted Tam and told her things. Talking to her might be beneficial.

The only drawback was that night when we were alone. I’d told Elizabeth about it, of course, and Elizabeth had spent days and days dressing me down over the innocent encounter. No matter how far Tam was away from the throne, she was a royal.

If I ever located and fell in love with the right woman of my station, Elizabeth would be my biggest supporter. If she discovered me in a tryst with a royal, she might have me whipped or exiled. Not because she would want to, but because it was her duty. There are rules to flaunt and others to live by.

“Damon!” Tam called again as she rushed up to me and took both of my hands in hers.

There was no way to extract them without offending her, so I half-turned, made sure we were alone and pulled my right hand free. With it, I pointed to a stone bench. Using a tone that hopefully relayed my pleasure at the encounter and that there were always a few moments to sit with her and talk.

Her smile grew more intense if that was possible. She turned to stroll over to the bench with me, and as she did, my other hand slipped from hers. As any good servant would do, I rushed ahead and wiped the bench free of leaves for her royal bottom to sit upon. She appreciated the attention.

A pair of young royal males emerged from the depths of the garden. They had been out of my sight, hidden by a spreading red rose growing shoulder high. Above that, a weeping willow drooped, concealing them from sight, for whatever nefarious deeds they were up to. It didn’t take the intelligence of any sort to read their guilty expressions. They fled the garden as if the fountain belched fire at them.

While standing innocently beside the stone bench, Tam sat primly and patted the seat beside her. The boys wouldn’t cause us any problems because they were too anxious to get out of our sight. As for me, I knew both their names, their parents, and their royal positions, and knew to avoid sitting beside Tam. Who else might enter to enjoy the fountain and find us?

“What are you doing here?” Tam asked with a giggle.

“Elizabeth needs me to deliver a message to her cousin, Carol. It’s not critical, and there is a little time to spend with you before I have to leave.”

“Wonderful. It has been so long since we’ve talked. What, with everyone departing the palace, there is nobody to talk with. Not to be close to, like you.”

I keyed in on the part about everyone leaving the palace. “Where are they going?”

“It’s a secret,” she whispered with a conspiratorial smile.

Good. Her actions indicated she would share the secret with me, but bad because then I’d be in her debt. That wouldn’t do at all. However, knowing her, her immediate family, and her friends, provided other names to seek out, if needed. Reducing the circle of people who might tell her something in confidence eliminated to a few, and from those few, we could find who is absent from the palace and why. She might also mention a dragon which would draw my full attention.

The idea of a dragon seemed key to what we searched for. Not the dragon itself, but the location, one which I did not wish to visit.

“Nobody who truly likes you would ever ask you to break a confidence,” I said, egging her on.

Her eyes twinkled. “If you really want to know.”

The truth was, I didn’t. Obligations to share secrets are always to be avoided unless they are obligations owed to me. “Listen, if I don’t hurry and find Carol, Elizabeth will be upset. That’s how it is with us servants. It was good to talk to you again.”

She smiled, but her eyes told a different story. She wanted me to stay. Turning to wave after hurrying away brought another smile to her, and the notice of a woman watching from a second-floor window. She was the dour wife of a fur trader. The woman spoke only to upset others with her tales and lies. Before I entered the building, she would be spreading her tales of Tam and me meeting in a secret tryst.

My feet carried me to the door of the apartment on the second floor with the window that overlooked the fountain, one of the better suites of rooms for those who are not royal. An alcove across from the door provided a convenient place to sit and wait.

It didn’t take long. The nasty woman pulled her door open and emerged like a snail from a shell, oozing, and slimy. She eased the door closed before she noticed me.

“Hello,” I said pleasantly.

“I saw you two,” she said, pointing in the direction of where the fountain was located. It was an accusation, plain and simple.

I smiled but refused to object or deny.

“I saw you meeting that royal girl who’s so fond of you. Tam is her name. You did it when there were no others around like it was planned.” She could have been pleasant but chose a different path to follow. “So, don’t tell me what these eyes saw and what they didn’t.”

That was like poking a sharp stick at me and sure to hurt Tam. My eyes fell on the note to Carol clutched in my hand. A little magic had shifted the ink around using a minimal amount of effort, reforming the letters until I was satisfied. Then my eyes raised to meet hers again, ignoring the defiant stance. “I am here to speak with your husband, not you, and before you ask, not about what you saw or didn’t see.”

“Why do you want him?” She moved as if to block the doorway.

“Princess Elizabeth wishes me to speak to him about his royal concession for trading furs in the kingdom. Is he here?” I raised the scroll and indicated my desire to enter.

“Why would she want you to talk with him?”

“Elizabeth’s duties about the palace are ever-expanding, and she has me gathering information on several royal concessions, and who we will choose to operate them in the coming years. Of course, she is far too busy to do the groundwork, so that lowly task is assigned to me and she will certainly follow my recommendations. Now, I really must speak to your husband.” My voice and general tone hadn’t taken on an angry edge, at least not yet. Telling this woman not to spread tales wouldn’t work. She needed a reason. Losing a comfortable living would qualify.

The woman’s jaw rested on her ample chest in shock and fear. She threw the door open and attempted to smile as she waved me inside. A large man sat on a stool, three stacks of furs before him. He was examining one under the bright light streaming in through the window, and when satisfied, placed it on the stack to his left. He was probably sorting them according to quality.

The woman barked, “Princess Elizabeth sent him here to see you. Get up and treat him well.”

The tall man shivered at her tone and stood until the top of his head nearly touched the beams of the ceiling. He reached his paw of a hand to envelop mine as he jovially said, “Big Henry, most call me. Can’t think of a single good reason why.” He chuckled at a joke he’d probably repeated a thousand times. “What can an old fur trader like myself do for you, son?”

The woman raced to the serving table and poured two glasses of red wine, my least favorite. “Call me Damon. I have come to discuss the royal concession for furs, as instructed by Princess Elizabeth.”

“Tell me more,” he said, pointing to an empty chair for me. “Is there a problem?”

I glanced at the woman who had now spilled the wine while pouring and attempted to wipe it up. Her hands were shaking. However, it was not fair to threaten Big Henry for his wife’s onerous actions. I handed him the scroll with the new phrases my magic had placed on it and allowed him a moment to read the few words. Nothing there was a lie, just careful phrasing that indicated Elizabeth wished me to safeguard all was well and proper with a variety of royal suppliers. If ever asked about it by the king or one of his ministers, she would readily admit she had followed up on a few unfounded rumors—all for the benefit of the kingdom and well within her province.

Big Henry said, “My prices are fair, my furs top-quality. There has never been a problem.”

“Elizabeth is concerned with the appearance of propriety. Those selling with the royal commission must be above reproach in product and quality, and they also must maintain the highest moral standards. She will not permit any hint of scandal or rumormongering.” Was there the flick of his eyes to meet those of his wife?

He turned back to me. “Have you any reason to suspect that may be the case?”

“No.” I carefully refused to make eye contact with the wife as she placed the wine beside me. Instead, I continued, “Please understand, this is not only investigating your commission but others as well. If there is found a reason for concern, you will personally and in confidence share my finding with Princess Elizabeth.”

He fingered a lynx fur that would cost a year’s salary for most people. He hefted it and stroked the softness. My heart pounded. If he offered it to me in any manner, I’d head directly for Elizabeth, and we would begin such an investigation as described.

Instead, he held it out and said, “Feel this one, Damon. Tell me what you think.”

I touched it briefly and warily, fearful of what was to come. The fur was as soft as any I’d ever encountered. Then he placed it aside as I waited for the ax to fall. The bribe.

“Damn shame,” he muttered. “A valuable animal. Yet, this pelt was cured to deceive. It was probably taken from an animal found dead. Acid was used on the inside of the skin to make it feel softer and pliable, but it won’t hold up and is no more than a fake. The coloring was dyed and will fade. Worse, after the single season, the fur will have all fallen out by the handful.” He callously tossed it to the pile on his right.

I breathed again. He was not bribing me but teaching a lesson for his trade. A quality fur should last a lifetime, not a single season. Representing that flawed fur in a sale to the royalty in the palace might cost him the right to do business there. The loss of the commission would mean his furs would sell for half of their present worth.

“If you had sold that one?” my voice sounded strained, as well it should.

“Never happen. But, to answer your question, if it somehow had been sold, my commission would be obligated to make it right. Another fur, or a refund, the customer’s choice. It’s bad business to steal small copper coins when there are gold ones to be earned.”

I enjoyed Big Henry. More than that, I liked him—and his honesty. Standing, intentionally without tasting the wine his wife poured for me, we shook hands. On another day I might have stood in the doorway and listened, for I believed the man would be having stern words with his wife. My pride didn’t need to hear them because she would never embarrass Tam with her foul rumors.

I could have headed back to tell Elizabeth of the absence of people. However, being so close to the royal wing where those closest to the king resided, I decided to venture there and observe. There might be more to learn. Perhaps something that would prevent the trip to Mercia.

No sooner had the door shut to the fur trader’s rooms than the door to another suite opened, as if by accident. I didn’t believe that for a second. A tall, thin young man shuffled out, his nose in a book. It was Twin, the newest of the palace mages, and the last person I wished to encounter. I’d avoided him since his arrival in the palace almost a year ago. If his magic powers discovered mine, all the levels of hell would burn.

I angled to the left side of the hallway and continued walking, allowing him to read his book without interruption or making eye contact. Speeding up would draw his attention, so my pace remained the same sedate stride, and I kept my head down.

“Damon, isn’t it?”

My ears burned. Not only had he noticed me, but he knew my name. “Y-yes, Damon.”

“Have you a moment to spare?”