The Last Dragon: Book Three

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Damon

I listened to the conclusion, almost an accusation, that Fielding was the crown prince of Vin. It seemed a coincidence too great to ignore. However, Vin was a small province within Kondor, and Fielding was sure to be recognized at some point. Since Flier was from a wealthy family that interacted often, the coincidence seemed less strange and might be explained because their families moved in the same small circles.

The singing of the swords had brought us together, or I may have slain him and went on about my business without ever knowing. Then, my mind went to work on those facts as the others continued their discussion, which in retrospect might be considered odd, but somewhere in the tangle in information was more to be discovered.

It was the swords that held my attention. My mind went back to them. I reviewed the battle in the desert again and the idea that any of the twelve or thirteen of us in Slacker’s band could have crossed swords with Fielding, but it had been me. Like we had been drawn to each other. He could have charged at any of us yet had come at me as if I was alone.

That was what my mind was telling me. The coincidence of that the encounter was too incredible to believe—or to be chance. A single pair of matched swords had come together as if preordained, and the keening vibrations as we neared each other prevented us from fighting. Nobody else had heard the sound or felt the vibration.

Even odder was another fact. When we had been angry and ready to battle, the swords sang so loud it hurt our ears as we got closer. Now, we walked beside each other without any of the sounds. I wondered if I drew my sword and threatened him, what would happen.

He was also the crown prince of Vin. I was working on a diplomatic mission for my princess and king. Again, the set of coincidences was too great to believe our meeting had been accidental.

Anna’s voice entered my head. *He’s as surprised as you, and wondering if you somehow set this meeting up between you two.*

*Thank you for your help, Anna. Now let me alone for a while.* I went to stand before Fielding. On impulse, pulled my sword, slapped the flat of the blade in my left hand and presented it out to him.

“What?” He asked, unmoving, his eyes wary.

“Would you care to examine my sword? I certainly would like a closer look at yours.” The high-pitched keening returned, but at a lower volume, that only we heard. It drew our attention, and I watched for others to react. None did. He pulled his sword and handed it to me, hilt first. I lowered my blade and held my hilt to him in a similar fashion.

Each of us took a step back, and the high-pitched sound quieted to nothing. His blade was just like mine, a twin. The handle was wrapped in the same coarse skin of a sea creature so it wouldn’t become slippery from sweat or blood. I searched for differences and found only one. The edge of his blade had no nicks. It was perfectly smooth the entire length.

Other than those small imperfections caused by my careless use, the blades were identical. Not similar. Prior to me nicking mine, if the pair had been placed together and I was told to recover mine, I couldn’t have. That may not seem like so great a discovery to many.

To me, with a blade I believed to be the only one in our kingdom from the forges where it emerged, to find another would have amazed me. To find one similar astounded me. However, to find one exactly the same, undoubtedly made by the same hands was beyond belief.

It appeared Fielding felt the same.

He said, “Your edge can be repaired?”

“Why do they sing?” I asked, more concerned with that than getting mine fixed. “But that is a question I can’t answer yet. After this is over, I will travel to Malawi to find out. All I know is Malawi lies more to the south, but it is a trip I need to take. The singing must be a spell of some sort, placed on both of our swords at the same time. Perhaps the swords were gifts to brothers and the spell to keep them from ever fighting.”

“There might be more swords that sing with ours?”

I grinned. Without any foundation for the singing swords, he had devised a glorious story that would refuse to leave my thinking because it fit the story of our swords so well. “Romantic,” I accused him.

“What of it?” he smiled lopsidedly.

“Where did your sword come from? Not where it was made, but who gave it to you? Your father, you said. The man who should be King of Vin, I suppose. Mine was presented by the King of Dire. Does it strike you odd that two kings owned these?”

Fielding said, continuing my thoughts, “Where did each of them get the swords, to begin with? Probably from their fathers, but there is a story we have to know.”

“I think both of us will agree that the swords were made together, of the same metal, and somehow a mage cast a spell that they never cross blades in battle. That only makes them more special.”

Fielding handed mine back to me, as I gave him his. “There is one other thing to note. As we attacked you, I had my choice of opponents. When I saw you, there was no one else. You?”

Before answering, I remembered them rushing over that sand hill. My eyes had locked on Fielding from the first instant as if there were no others. “The same.”

I allowed my mind shift to my sister and how she knew where the dragon, mages, and sorceresses were at any moment. I turned my back on him. “Step away move quietly to either side.”

He did as I asked without question. Without hearing, I knew precisely where he was. I didn’t have to turn and look. I said, “Turn your back to me.”

He did, and I moved silently to my right then back again.

“I know exactly where you are. Move away from me a hundred paces and let’s do it again.”

We repeated the experiment with the same results, then moved to face each other. He said, “We are linked.”

“Now what?” I asked.

He said, “I will pledge my loyalty to your leader. The two of us must advance together.”

I called, “Slacker, can you come here for a moment?”

Slacker had been sitting with a water jug, surrounded by those of his men who were not on watch. He rose and came to our side. “Yes?”

I turned to Fielding. “Who are these men?”

“Outlaws. Thieves and murderers, if you want a truthful answer.” He didn’t attempt to lie or conceal his beliefs.

Then I turned to Slacker and his suddenly red and angry face. “Is that true?”

“No. We are loyal to our king, not a council of people from Dagger the mages brought here to rule. We were the King’s Army. While we might not look like it now, we fight for Vin.”

Fielding was smiling. He looked at me. “I didn’t know.”

I said to Slacker, “Meet the rightful heir to the throne of Vin.”

Slacker didn’t seem impressed . . . at first. His mouth was trying to deny my words while his eyes took in the measure of Fielding. He slowly fell to one knee, his head bowed.

“Stand and be recognized,” Fielding said, sounding every bit as much a royal as any I’d heard.

The eyes of all were on us. Flier said to Slacker, “While we never spoke, our families attended several functions together. I recognize him and vouch for who he says he is.”

Fielding said, “Those in my family who would rule have all been killed, murdered, or died. I am alone.”

“Not anymore.” Slacker said. “With you as our head, I can draw from hundreds of loyal fighters. We can raise an army and defeat the scum the council sends after us.”

Kendra had come closer and heard most of what was said. She waved an arm to indicate the four of us, which included Flier. “My people have a princess we need to save. Her ship was due in Vin with the morning tide, and we know she is in danger of being double-crossed by the Council of Nine. We were heading there to help when we met Slacker and his band.”

I said, “And now we have to get to Vin as fast as possible. We should have circled around and avoided the battle but couldn’t do that to our new friends. However, we must leave right away and do what we can to help Elizabeth.”

“We will all go,” Slacker said.

“No,” Kendra corrected. “Princess Elizabeth came in hopes of forming a treaty between Kondor and Dire. If you retake the throne, Fielding will remember and send a diplomat to us. But for now, our small band has more chance of success of going quietly and secretly than entering Vin with a squad of soldiers.”

Flier said, “She’s right. I will take them. There are a few back ways, and I know the city.”

We gathered our belongings and readied ourselves. Fielding approached, and my sword on my hip sang. There was no need to turn around to know he stood there.

“You feel it?” He asked.

“Yes.” I turned.

He clasped my hand in his. “We are not finished with this. Your sword needs repair, and we need an explanation for why they sing. There is only one place to find a suitable craftsman and answers. I expect you will go there and stop at Vin to see me as you return to your home?”

I told him of my intention of going to Malawi and wished him to travel with me, but as the words fell from my lips, I knew they were lies, and so did he. We both laughed.

He said, “If we resolve this trouble, I will accompany you. Send word, and if possible, we will make it a trip to remember.”

We departed, Flier again at our head. Each of the five of us carried a pair of jugs of water. Anna forced her way to my side. I hadn’t spoken to her all day. She was becoming attached to me and seemed to wish to spend more time at my side that with her sister.

“Is there a reason you are walking with me?” I asked.

“I miss talking with you.”

“Why?”

“Because you are so smart—and so stupid.”

At that, I laughed, then realized she was honest in her assessment. “And why am I so stupid?”

“Because Kendra can tell if there are mages and sorceresses up ahead waiting for us. She can have her dragon kill them, and any Wyvern waiting for us, too. But you don’t even ask her.”

“I will. I was just waiting for the right time.”

Anna snorted and rolled her eyes again. “Look around, Damon. We’re in the middle of an empty desert. No trees, people, or dangerous animals. Nothing to do but walk. Can you think of a better time?”

I glanced at the diminutive girl and wondered how she’d gotten so smart in ten or eleven years. But not to be outwitted, I said to her, “Where is the dragon?”

She cocked her head and motioned behind us. “Still guarding our backs at the edge of the tree beside the river, I think.”

“Are there any mages ahead of us?”

She smirked. “If there are, I can’t tell.”

I smirked back, mocking her. “Have I mentioned how well you speak Common?”

“Because you barged into my head and taught me?”

“How else would you learn?”

“Mostly from you. I *listen* to what you are about to say, then hear the words and learn, but also from Kendra. I do not hear anything from Emma or Flier.”

“Does Emma know you *listen* to her?”

She gave me another of those eye-rolls.

I said, “We need some rules between us. All of us. No more *listening* without permission for any of us. You can speak in my mind, like talking within. and that is fine. Of course, I will do it with you too. But no snooping. For us, it’s like talking with our mouths, but we project it into the head of the other. No more than that.”

“I think there might be more, but it scares me, and like slapping a bug on my arm, I fight back when bitten.”

That was a reasonable answer. I took a few more steps then said, “If it scares you, don’t do it. I won’t, and I’ll tell Kendra of our decision. Maybe in time, we can all speak like that, but maybe not.”

She remained quiet for a while then said, “I think my mother could mind-speak.”

I said in my head, *Anna, could your mother speak with her mind like this?*

*A little. I’m not even sure she knew she was doing it because sometimes she would say things like “how did you know to do that?” and she’d told me in my head.*

*Your father?* I asked. *Now that we can talk, I need to ask about him.*

*I think he—we—lived in Dagger. Then one day he came home in the middle of the day, and we went to a ship without our things or even extra clothes. He got sick on the voyage. Mother thinks he was poisoned. He died on the ship.*

Out loud, I continued, “So, the three of you landed in Dire without a father, no money, and if I understand things unsaid, there were bad people chasing after you.”

Anna looked at me as if surprised. “Mother said not to talk about it.”

I exchanged a concerned look with Kendra but had learned so much all of a sudden; I couldn’t quit. “Listen, your mother was right in telling you that. But that was then. This is now. Your mother was taking you away from Kondor, we’re going back to it, so if there is anything else you can think of, we need to know. It may help us, and it may keep the bad people away.”

“I understand,” Anna said.

Flier waited until the conversation lagged, then said, “I’m taking us on a little longer route, not much, but it will pass by the Waystone I mentioned days ago. I thought you’d want to see it.”

“We do,” Kendra said before I could answer.

I had the feeling there was additional information she wanted from it that I was unaware of. With her new magic powers, who knows what she was after. I was not going to argue or hesitate to agree with her. “How far?”

“To the Waystone?” Flier asked. “Before nightfall. Vin in midmorning.”

“Are we just going to march right into Vin?” I asked.

He said, “So far, you and Kendra have done everything. I have a surprise or two, but no. We will sneak in.”

“I hate surprises.”

He laughed and said, “And they are usually dangerous in our circumstances. Okay, my family owns a farm not far from the Waystone. We have people who work it, and we share the profits. Once there at the farm, we can get food and clothing that blends in. Then we can walk right into Vin as if we live there, especially if we take a wagon of food to sell at the market.”

“And at the market, we can take a pulse on the city. Maybe even hear of a visiting princess?”

“If we get lucky and the farm is still in operation. But even the Council of Nine has to eat, so my guess is the farm will be there, along with our people.”

Things were looking up. My feet felt lighter. My mood improved. However, an old Dire saying told us to beware of a good time because bad ones always follow. The saying rang true. It filled my mind. I couldn’t make it stop creeping into my thinking.

The question was that things had been going too well for us. Were we due for some bad time ahead?