“Pryllan? What are you doing up there? Better yet, what am I doing down here?”
“Do you remember anything, my friend?”
Two clear silver eyes regarded her from the water.
“One moment I’m resting comfortably in my cave and the next I’m here. What has happened?”
“You were bewitched by a wizard. You attacked Syrreth and Ferreth, presumably to stop us from telling the human king about the existence of a diabolical wizard.”
“What the blazes do I care about a human wizard?” Anghorus spat out. “And how am I supposed to get out of the water? I cannot fly!”
The blue waters of the Koralis churned and splashed around the partially submerged dragon as an unknown force latched on to Anghorus and dragged him to the closest shore.
“Right about there will do,” Sarah decided as she instructed her jhorun to pull Anghorus almost out of the water and up onto the rocky beach.
Pryllan made the necessary introductions. She watched, bemused, as one of her oldest friends tried to shake the excess water off his hide. However, Anghorus’ half-hearted attempts to shake the water off were less than successful. Anghorus noticed the two humans and lowered his head for a cursory sniff.
“Would you like some help with that?” Steve asked, never missing the chance to make friends with another dragon.
“How, exactly?” the huge gray dragon inquired.
Steve ignited both hands and generated a chaser to toss back and forth a few times before spinning it on his index finger. Anghorus snorted with surprise.
“I would be grateful,” the gray dragon decided.
A few minutes later, after Steve had gently blasted small jets of fire all over Anghorus’ body, Pryllan voiced that which was concerning her the most.
“Does this mean that any of us who have fallen victim to this curse could potentially be possessed by this wizard?”
“Anghorus is larger than you,” Steve observed, frowning. “If the wizard could overpower him then I’d have to guess that he probably could. Why try to kill Syrreth and Ferreth? He’s already cursed the dragons and obviously it is working. What’s he trying to accomplish now?”
“I’d say he’s trying to keep his identity secret,” Sarah mused. “He’s lived in Lentari for who knows how long. I’d say he wants to keep it that way and if we tell the king about him then he’d be exposed. Shardwyn would eventually find him.”
“All the more reason to get ourselves to R’Tal,” Steve reminded everyone. “The sooner we can let the king know the better.”
Pryllan nodded. “Agreed. Anghorus, are you capable of returning back to the valley?”
“That’s at least three hours of solid flying,” Anghorus grumped. “I’m going to miss my pre-lunch nap. How distressing.”
“Nap once you’re safe and sound back home,” Sarah told the gray dragon. “Don’t let your guard down. I don’t know how you were overpowered and I don’t know if he’ll try again. I’d rather he didn’t.”
Anghorus nodded. He extended his long, leathery wings and began flapping as hard as he could. No matter how hard his wings beat the air he was unable to lift off from the ground. After a few minutes of the grueling workout, Anghorus gave up.
“It would appear I am still grounded.”
Steve was scowling. “So the wizard can temporarily restore your fire and the ability to fly, and yet just as quickly take them away again? That’s just great.”
“What do I do now?” the sleepy gray dragon inquired. Fatigue was setting in and threatening to send the grounded dragon into a deep sleep.
“Head towards the castle,” Steve told the dragon. “There’s a cave north of the castle that was built specifically for dragons. You can curl up there and wait this curse out.”
Satisfied, Anghorus rose to his feet and trudged off towards the distant castle. The two dragons that could still fly took to the air and headed northeast towards the tiny multi-turreted castle they could see in the distance.
“What happens if the wizard takes control again when poor Anghorus is sleeping?” Sarah wanted to know.
Pryllan was silent; she was much more concerned about Kahvel being used as a pawn without his knowledge or consent. She could only hope he was strong enough to resist should the wizard try.
Steve leaned out over Pryllan’s huge palm and watched as they flew over Anghorus. The grounded dragon briefly looked up before dropping his gaze back down and continuing to plod on towards the castle.
“Hey, Anghorus!” Steve called back. “Try to stay awake, would you? It’d probably be safer!”
They all heard Anghorus’ deep, rumbling response: “I’ll risk it.”
Chapter 8 – When It Rains, It Pours
Her eyes were closed and the tip of her tail was clamped firmly in her teeth. Pryllan had claimed the far corner of the underground lair and had deliberately positioned herself so that she could keep an eye on the one and only egress to the surface above. The Zweigelan was curled up asleep fairly close to her. Clearly the two-headed dragon was enjoying its new-found camaraderie with another dragon and had no intention of being left alone again while another attack was possible.
Pryllan felt her respiration slow as her body relaxed. Activating her wyverian senses, she sought out, and found, her human rider’s mind and accessed his senses just like he would have accessed hers. She still marveled at the clumsy bipedal locomotion that all humans used as clearly a four legged gait would be a much more effective and stable means of moving about.
“This is going to require a little bit of finesse,” Pryllan heard Steve tell Sarah. The two humans were now approaching the north gate and were eyeing the guards who were speculatively eyeing them back. “We’re going to have to explain what we’re looking for to the king without really telling him what we’re doing. Any ideas?”
Sarah nodded. “Just one. Let me do the talking.”
“Excuse me?”
“You said it yourself. We’re going to need some finesse. Therefore I should be the one talking.”
“Hmmmph.”
Making their way past the guard station and after being waved through the gate, the two former bodyguards to the prince whispered quietly amongst themselves as they approached the castle. Steve and Sarah were so involved in trying to determine how to proceed that they didn’t notice an elderly gentleman, dressed in black robes from head to toe, come up behind them and start to trail them. Just before husband and wife walked across the heavy wooden drawbridge into the vast castle a wrinkled hand suddenly latched on to Steve’s left shoulder while simultaneously plopping down on Sarah’s right.
Steve bellowed with surprise and whirled around, ready to ignite his hands. Staring back at him was the wrinkled, smiling countenance of the resident castle wizard. Shardwyn was laughing so hard he had tears streaming down his face.
“Good day to you, Sir Steve. Lady Sarah. If only you could see your faces right now. Must have scared ten years of life off of you! If I didn’t know better I’d say you were trying to sneak into the castle. That wouldn’t be so, would it?”
Enhance your calm, Pryllan thought to Steve. There’s no need to appear so agitated. You’ll only draw unwanted attention to yourselves.
“Right,” Steve quietly mumbled.
Take several deep breaths. Go on, do it.
Steve drew a deep breath and slowly let it out. He forced a smile on his face.
“Hello, Shardwyn. It’s good to see you! You know what? Now that I think about it, you’re just the person we need to see.”
He hooked an arm through the wizard’s and guided him deeper into the castle.
Where are you taking him?
I don’t know, Steve thought back to the dragon. Somewhere private. We don’t want the king to learn what we’re doing here. The Queen’s jhorun makes you tell the truth in her presence. It’d be best to avoid the both of them. Rinbok’s request, remember?
I do. I appreciate your discretion.
And sh
e did. She was grateful. She could feel Steve’s fervent desire to help any and all dragons. She couldn’t have found two humans who were more dedicated than these two to helping her cause.
Thanks. I’ll be sure to tell Sarah that.
Embarrassment washed through the dragon, startling her. She had forgotten – again – that their linked minds shared everything, including unhindered thoughts. She resolved herself to tighten her control over her thoughts and emotions. She felt, and heard, Steve laugh.
Yeah, right. Good luck with that.
“So where are we going?” Shardwyn good-naturedly asked.
“Somewhere where we can talk in private,” Steve answered, walking past the kitchens and into the main service corridor behind it. “There has to be someplace we can have a private conversation around here.”
“You’ll find no more secure of a locale than that of the Antechamber,” Shardwyn told him.
Sarah shook her head. “That’s more than likely where the king is.”
Shardwyn shrugged. “It’s possible. Is that a problem?”
“We need to keep the king out of this.” Steve told him.
“May I inquire why, Sir Steve?” Shardwyn asked, frowning. “Whatever concerns me concerns him.”
Steve tried to give the wizard his friendliest, most disarming smile he could come up with. “Will you please just trust us? We need your help.”
Shardwyn shrugged again. “As you wish. Oh! Does this have something to do with that mysterious wizard the king has me searching for?”
Steve dropped Shardwyn’s arm and clapped a hand over his mouth while Sarah held a finger to her lips and shushed them both.
“Yes, it’s about that,” she whispered. “We’ll tell you what we can but it has to be done so in private. Is the Antechamber being used for anything right now?”
“Worried about the king, are you? Then you’re in luck. The Kri’yans left to go horseback riding some time ago. As far as I’m aware, they have yet to return.”
Steve nodded. “That’s perfect. If we’re lucky we can be in and out of there before the king knows anything about it. Come on.”
As they approached the king’s private study, commonly referred to as the Antechamber, the guards standing on either side of the entrance snapped to attention and held the door open, closing it only after the three of them were safely inside. Steve and Sarah drew up short. The king was sitting at his desk.
“Dude, you said he wouldn’t be here,” Steve hissed angrily to Shardwyn.
“I didn’t see him return. Then again, it isn’t surprising. I was running an experiment in my workshop all day and I really wasn’t paying attention.”
Kri’Entu rose to his feet.
“Sir Steve, Lady Sarah. Is all well?”
Pryllan growled her irritation at the human wizard. Her annoyance rivaled Steve’s, who was doing his best not to scowl.
I don’t know how, Pryllan, Steve thought to her, but you and I are going to get even with him for that.
Agreed.
“Good afternoon, your majesty,” Steve began, giving the king a small bow. “We didn’t know you’d be in here. We don’t want to disturb you so we’ll just take our leave.”
Kri’Entu looked quizzically at the fire thrower. He glanced over at Sarah, who curtsied once eye contact was made. Then the king’s eyes fell upon Shardwyn.
“Ah. Don’t mind me. I’ll just return to my work.”
The king promptly sat back down at his desk and pulled a small bundle of fabric from one of his desk drawers. Whistling merrily, the king removed several daggers from his belt and began to rub polishing compounds on them, being careful not to miss any exposed surface of either blade.
“I see what he’s doing,” Sarah whispered to Steve. Confused, Pryllan listened intently. “He’s pretending to be doing something else while he’s listening to us. That way he’ll be able to know what’s going on without us directly telling him.”
“You really think he can hear us all the way over there?” Steve whispered back.
Sarah nodded. “Yes, I do. I’ll prove it. Watch this.” She turned away from the king and angled herself so that she was facing her husband. “If we discuss things in here that aren’t meant to be discussed at all since certain parties wish to prevent certain actions from becoming known, could we trust whoever is listening to keep it a secret?”
Steve stared at her as though she was a complete stranger.
“What are you doing? Where are you going with this?”
Patience. Let’s see what Sarah’s intentions are.
“We all would like to know what you’re doing,” Steve told his wife.
Shardwyn held up a hand. “So would I, Sir Steve.”
Sarah patted the air and continued in a hushed tone. “Just a moment. I’m proving a point.” She raised her voice a little. “So, if those that might be listening would favor me with a small tap, or a knock, we would know whether or not we could discuss our business freely without fear of us breaking our oath to certain individuals who must not be named.”
There was a loud clatter as the dagger Kri’Entu was holding slipped out of his hands and fell onto his desk. The king hastily retrieved his knife.
“Oops. How clumsy of me.”
Steve turned to give the king a suspicious look. Kri’Entu, meanwhile, had resumed his soft whistling and was continuing to polish his daggers.
Pryllan, I think I see what Sarah is doing. The king wants to know what is going on, but we can’t openly tell him. But if he happens to eavesdrop and hears it for himself, then we wouldn’t have broken our promise to Rinbok. We can trust the king to keep his mouth shut. Besides, isn’t the time for discretion over? We really need to ask them about this renegade wizard.
Very well. Inform the wizard in this manner. No direct communication with the king. That way we will all be protected from Rinbok Intherer’s wrath once he learns how the humans learned of our predicament.
You got it.
Steve deliberately turned his back on the king and guided Shardwyn to one of the plush armchairs surrounding a nearby table. Sinking deeper into the heavily cushioned chair than he would have liked, Steve interlaced his fingers together and rested them on the table. Glancing quickly at his wife, he leaned forward and stared at the wizard.
“Okay, Shardwyn, here’s the thing. I wasn’t sure before if there was an unknown wizard plotting against us, but I sure as hell think there is now.”
Shardwyn’s brow wrinkled with a frown.
“What has happened, Sir Steve?”
“A dragon friend of ours was bewitched and sent to attack us.”
The wizard’s bushy gray eyebrows shot up.
“You don’t say? A full sized dragon was bewitched? How did he do that?”
“Hey, you’re the wizard here, remember? I was hoping that you could tell us how that happened.”
“It is troublesome to me that someone with this much power has remained hidden from me for so long.” Shardwyn slipped the black felt cap he was wearing off and scratched the top of his head. “What am I going to tell the king?”
There was another loud clatter as, from across the room, Kri’Entu dropped the dagger again. The king shook his head and retrieved the knife.
“Pardon me. Apparently I was polishing a little too aggressively.”
“Oh, I’d say he knows,” Steve continued, giving Shardwyn a patronizing smile. “Anyway, we figured he was trying to stop us from revealing his existence. Since that didn’t succeed we’re not too sure what else he might try. So consider this a warning.”
Shardwyn smiled and leaned back in his chair.
“Every so often a villager is brought to my attention that possesses a powerful jhorun. Their fellow villagers always say the same thing: they’re afraid of them. Almost always it’s harmless.”
Sarah cleared her throat.
“You said ‘almost always’. What about those times that weren’t harmless?”
“An unplea
sant confrontation would become necessary,” Shardwyn admitted.
“Were any of them strong enough to be considered a wizard?” Steve asked.
Excellent question.
Steve smiled.
Thanks!
Shardwyn shook his head no.
What does he think we should do next?
“What should we do, Shardwyn? I personally don’t like knowing there’s a ticked off wizard out there somewhere that’s able to do as he pleases. He’s going to be angry with us.”
“What you need to do is get him to expend more of his jhorun,” the wizard told him matter-of-factly.
Excuse me?
Steve’s shock mirrored Pryllan’s.
“What was that? It sounded like you wanted him to attack us again.”
Observe. The king is not happy with that suggestion.
Steve glanced over at Kri’Entu, who had temporarily paused in his attempts at cleaning the dagger.
Are you sure?
Indubitably. I could hear him scowl with impatience the moment the human wizard suggested it.
How? I can’t even hear him. You can hear the same things I can, right?
Perhaps you couldn’t hear him above the sounds of your own breathing?
Are you saying I breathe too loud? Spoken like a true smartass! I think I’m starting to rub off on you.
Pryllan fell silent and continued to watch the proceedings through Steve’s eyes.
“The more this wizard uses his jhorun,” Shardwyn patiently explained, “the more I am able to determine his present location. I have many devices and instruments at my disposal, but unless there is jhorun for them to detect, I will never be able to track him down.”
Steve looked worriedly at his wife. “Can you believe this?”
Sarah nodded. “I can see the logical sense of what he’s trying to say only I’m not happy about putting ourselves into danger again.”
I concur.
Steve looked at his wife. “We are all in agreement.”
Catching the emphasis on ‘all’, Sarah nodded.
“I do have something that might help,” Shardwyn told them. He rose to his feet and headed towards the door. “I’ll be right back.”
Something Wyverian This Way Comes Page 16