by Resa Nelson
Listening to the dragon god casually describe how mortals were killed scared Pingzi. Her voice quivered when she said, “I quell demons. I don’t kill them.”
The look inside Taddeo’s eyes hardened. “The Scaldings are demons that can’t be quelled. Would you be troubled to see them killed by dragon gods?”
“I respect my dragon gods and will abide by their decisions, as always.”
Taddeo’s eyes softened. “Good.”
“Kikita said I should ask you for help.”
“She’s right. If we invade Tower Island, we’ll need all claws and sharp teeth to help.”
Pingzi knew Taddeo spoke of his fellow gods in their dragon forms. “But the children will be safe? Benzel’s children?”
“Of course,” Taddeo said. “When Benzel helped us regain our home, he gained good favor among the dragon gods despite being a Northlander. It wasn’t his fault that the Scaldings later took Tower Island back. We’ve considered waiting for the Scaldings to die out. Tangling with them once convinced me they weren’t worth the bother of confronting again. But instead of dying, the Scaldings grow in numbers. If we don’t challenge them, the task will become more difficult with every year that passes.”
“And Benzel’s children,” Pingzi said. She wanted to make sure the dragon god knew her priorities even if his were different.
“The children are another matter,” Taddeo said. “It is time to consult my fellow water dragons. We’ll decide the best way to approach Tower Island and take the Scaldings by surprise. But I cannot promise these decisions can be made soon. Mortals have a short lifespan and act with haste. Dragon gods do not.”
“But the children need help now,” Pingzi said. “If the dragon gods can’t decide to help the children when they need help, then I’ll have the fisherman take me to Tower Island and do it myself.”
Taddeo clucked his tongue in disapproval. “You belong to the Far East, not the Northlands. Should I doubt your loyalty to your own gods?”
For a moment, Pingzi remembered the last time she’d been taken to the realm of the Northlander gods, where she’d spoken with the All-Father, their highest deity. She remembered what he’d said.
If mortals refuse to worship or even acknowledge their gods, what is the point of allowing them to continue to live?
The All-Father had spoken of Northlanders but considered wiping the world clear of all mortals.
The Far Eastern goddess of fire, Fiera, had taken Pingzi to the realm of the Northlander gods and argued that mortals should be allowed to live.
Later, Fiera had failed to answer Pingzi’s pleas to save her husband’s life. Pingzi now wondered if she’d made a mistake in rejecting Fiera and turning to other dragon gods instead.
They don’t know what Fiera and I know. And if I tell them about the All-Father, they might not help me. The dragon gods might think I meddled behind their backs by talking to the Northlander gods. What if they don’t understand that I was helping Benzel? What if they don’t care that he broke his promise to his own gods and I chose to help him because he was my friend?
“If you want the dragon gods to help you,” Taddeo said, “you must accept that we do things in our own way and our own time for our own reasons. If you go to Tower Island and try to resolve the problem with the Scaldings alone, it will be taken as an affront to your own gods.”
Pingzi’s mind raced, trying to find a solution but seeing none. Once she returned to the surface, Tower Island would be easy to reach. But if she asked the fisherman to take her there, what would happen? How could she remove the children from the island when faced with the Scaldings determined to keep them? “You’re asking me to let those children die at the hands of the Scaldings.”
“That won’t happen,” Taddeo said. “Not in the near future. Those on Tower Island consider the children to be their own kind, even if they don’t share the same blood.”
“Do you promise?” Weighing all the gods and the problems faced by mortals because of them, Pingzi felt hope for the first time. “Do you guarantee the children will be safe until we can sort things out?”
“I know for a fact that the children will be safe for years to come.” Taddeo stared at Pingzi. “Do you agree to seek the counsel of the water dragons?”
Years to come.
Did that mean it would take years to gain the help of the water dragons?
Pingzi saw this as her best chance to guarantee the safety of Skallagrim’s children for the long term. She believed she could trust Taddeo. Even if it took years to convince the water dragons to confront the Scaldings, Pingzi believed the children would survive.
If Pingzi rejected Taddeo’s offer and went to Tower Island right now, she could be putting far more than the lives of two children at risk.
If she offended the dragon gods, she could be risking the safety of the people of the Far East. If she didn’t navigate her way with care, Pingzi risked offending the Northlander gods, which could inspire them to act on their frustration with all of the people in this world. She could be risking the lives of all mortals.
Pingzi forced a smile and willed herself to remain calm. “I agree.”
CHAPTER 13
It wasn’t until the middle of dragon season that Seph had any reason to worry about his wife Bruni. The last time he heard from her, Seph had received word from Gott that Bruni had left that city and headed to Tower Island. The message said Bruni meant to inform Sven and Snip that one of their sons had killed the other and then died himself of causes that no one understood.
Seph knew Bruni would make a brief stop on Tower Island and then return to the Northlands to resume her dragonslayer route. Seph didn’t expect to see Bruni until late fall, after the dragons migrated and she came back to their home in the Southlands.
Although disappointed in his fellow dragonslayers’ refusal to search for Mandulane, Seph realized he shouldn’t have been surprised. The best dragonslayers went to the Northlands every year to protect its people from dragons. Only the least skilled dragonslayers stayed behind in the Midlands to be on hand in case any dragons lagging behind threatened its people or villages or crops.
Until now, staying in the Midlands while his wife went off to slay dragons never bothered Seph. He had spent a few years patrolling his own Northern route before the birth of their son.
Seph had a clear eye for the truth, and he knew Bruni’s skills made her one of the best dragonslayers. He considered his skills average. Once she recovered from giving birth, Bruni was like a horse chomping at the bit, anxious to get back to her route in the Northlands when the season began.
It had come as a surprise to Seph that her desire meshed with his longing to stay behind and care for their son. For that reason, their past several years had been harmonious and happy. Seph took great joy in raising their son, while Bruni’s spirits were lifted by protecting a nation from harm.
When his fellow dragonslayers assigned to the Midlands refused to help search for Mandulane, Seph decided to conduct his own search. He knew Bruni would be busy in the Northlands. In case something unexpected caused her to come home early, Seph left word of his plans with the keeper of the Red Bird tavern where all dragonslayers met.
Despite having spent time in the Midlands, Seph had seen little of the country until now. He knew more about the Northlands from having covered more ground there. He looked forward to exploring the Midlands with his young son in tow.
Although the other dragonslayers working the Midlands searched the port city that served as their home base, they did so half-heartedly and gave up after one day that turned up no results.
Seph spent the next several days scouring the city. After days of talking to the best sources of information—the tavern keepers and merchants—Seph found one tavern keeper who had let a room to Mandulane and his mother for a few days. The keeper remembered when they left but didn’t know where they planned to go next.
Unable to learn more from anyone else, Seph studied a map of the Midlands an
d plotted his course. He thought it best to investigate all the port cities first, because the tavern keeper said Mandulane’s mother had previous experience as a milkmaid and needed work. All port cities needed a constant supply of milk and were surrounded on all sides by farms that could provide it, along with meat and produce.
It made sense to travel to the large port cities and the farms nearby. Seph’s map, like all others he had ever seen, showed only the largest areas of population. He’d heard stories from the merchants that tiny villages permeated the Midlands, although often so small that they were easy to miss unless one knew exactly where to look for them.
After scouring the current port city and nearby farms, Seph packed up a few belongings, hired a horse large enough to carry himself and his son, and kept his dragonslayer sword strapped in plain sight across his back. He knew from experience that being a dragonslayer would open many doors.
Everyone loved a dragonslayer.
In his travels, Seph stopped at every small village he encountered between the port cities that dotted the coasts surrounding the Midlands on the west, north, and east. He believed in turning over every stone he encountered.
Upon his arrival in a village outside a large port city on the eastern coast, Seph grinned in delight at the sight of a familiar face. After dismounting, Seph tied his horse to a post and lifted his son from where he’d ridden in front of Seph. Taking his son’s hand, Seph waved at a man who displayed rolls of beautiful cloth on the back of his cart. “TeaTree!”
The cloth merchant looked up and gave a peculiar sad smile. “Seph. What are you doing so far east?” TeaTree tipped an imaginary cap at Seph’s son. “Good to see you again, young man.”
The boy stood straight but clung to his father’s hand. “And you, sir!”
TeaTree’s eyes watered, and he threw his arms wide to embrace them both at once. “I don’t know what to say.”
Seph gave a nervous laugh and patted the merchant’s shoulder to signal an end to the embrace. “Since when are you at a loss for words?”
TeaTree took an awkward step back and looked at him with wide eyes.
Seph felt his son’s grip on his hand tighten. Still holding his son’s hand, Seph placed his free hand on the boy’s shoulder to steady him. “What’s wrong, TeaTree?”
TeaTree glanced at the boy and then gave his head a slight shake as if warning Seph to speak no more.
A chill ran through Seph’s bones. He knelt and picked his son up in his arms, aware the day would soon come when the weight would be too much to bear. “You’re scaring me, TeaTree. Speak the truth and speak it fast. If something has gone wrong, it will be the kindest thing to do.”
“Madam Po had a portent,” TeaTree said in a quiet voice. “Months ago, when dragon season began. She saw Bruni on Tower Island.”
Seph relaxed. “There is nothing wrong with that. Bruni went there to tell Sven and Snip about the deaths of their sons.”
The color drained from TeaTree’s face. “You don’t understand. Madam Po saw her ghost.”
“Ghost?” the boy said. “Whose ghost?”
Seph balanced his son’s heavy weight on his hip. “That’s impossible. Bruni only went there to tell them what happened. She went directly to the Northlands after that.”
TeaTree averted his gaze and stuttered when he spoke. “Madam Po saw her. Madam Po saw the ghosts of Sven and Snip, as well.”
This time, Seph laughed. “You must have misunderstood. How could it be that any of them—much less all of them—died? There were no storms at the time. The weather was perfect for sailing. Bruni wouldn’t have had any problems going to Tower Island or leaving it. And Sven and Snip? What could possibly happen to them?”
TeaTree’s paled skin and fallen expression made Seph nervous.
“It’s impossible,” Seph said. His son’s weight made his back hurt, and Seph slid the boy back to the ground. “Madam Po is wrong.”
TeaTree stared at the ground and whispered. “When have you ever known Madam Po to be wrong?”
Never.
Despite the cool breeze across his face, Seph felt sweat bead on his forehead. “Or maybe Madam Po misinterpreted what she saw in her portent. Surely that’s happened before.”
TeaTree didn’t respond.
Seph felt his son’s desperate grip as he clung to his father’s side. “Someone would have sent word.”
But as soon as Seph spoke the words, he knew the fallacy in them.
If something had happened to Bruni, weeks would pass before anyone could send word of her absence to the Midlands.
Word of Bruni’s death must have come after I left the city.
Instead of traveling with her fellow dragonslayers to begin the new season in the Northlands, she’d gone to Tower Island. That meant Bruni would then sail from Tower Island to the Northlands on her own. No other dragonslayer would know if or when Bruni began her route, because she missed the customary gathering of all dragonslayers the night they arrived in the Northlands. All of her fellow dragonslayers would have started their routes the next morning.
Bruni would have arrived in the Northlands a day later, after all of her colleagues had already left the port city of Gott on their individual routes.
Considering that Bruni’s route went through no villages during the first week after leaving Gott, it would have taken time for anyone to notice her absence and send word back to Gott, much less to the Midlands.
Seph placed a gentle hand on his son’s head, hoping to bring comfort to them both. He’d known Madam Po since his youthful days of training at Bellesguard.
He’d never known Madam Po to be wrong in her portents.
“She’s gone,” Seph whispered. “Bruni is gone.”
“It’s true,” TeaTree said. “But there’s more you need to know.”
CHAPTER 14
Seph and his son followed TeaTree away from the curious villagers to sit on boulders by a brook that ran nearby. Seph kept an eye on the boy, who appeared too stunned by hearing that his mother had disappeared and probably died to do more than sit quietly and stare into space. Seph kept a hand on the boy’s shoulder while he listened to the story TeaTree had to tell.
“It happened only last week,” TeaTree said. “I heard about it from another merchant who’d just come up from the Southlands. It’s Bellesguard. It’s gone.”
“Gone?” Seph felt as if he’d fallen and had the wind knocked out of his chest. He stared at TeaTree in disbelief. “How can Bellesguard be gone?”
TeaTree shifted his weight on the large stone on which he sat. “Not gone, exactly. The town of Bellesguard is still there, and your home there is safe. Master Antoni and his manor are still there. But the place where you trained is gone for good.”
“But the training grounds are on Master Antoni’s property. What happened?”
TeaTree’s eyes welled with tears. “It appears that the teacher was murdered in his sleep, before he had time to wake and reach for his sword. Then they did the same to all the young dragonslayers in training.”
Seph’s mind reeled. He felt his hand tremble on his son’s shoulder and glanced at him. The boy appeared to have heard nothing, because he continued staring into space.
If the teacher and his students have been murdered, that means an entire generation of dragonslayers has been destroyed. It will take years to find someone to replace the teacher and even longer to find new boys and girls with the potential to become dragonslayers.
Looking back at TeaTree, Seph said, “Who killed them? And why?”
“Witnesses say they were men in brown robes. Some people heard those men shout things about religion. It looks like they killed the teacher and his students in order to attack Master Antoni’s manor. I think they wanted to rob him.”
Seph understood but struggled to come to terms with the poor logic of the attackers. “Master Antoni may have great wealth, but dragons are dangerous. They can kill the followers of a new religion just as easily as they can kill us. W
ho do these followers think will protect them from dragon attacks?”
TeaTree shook his head in dismay. “I’ve heard there are regions in the Southlands and the Midlands so far from the route the dragons travel every year that the people who live there have never seen a dragon. Some people think they don’t exist.”
Seph knew TeaTree spoke the truth. Seph heard similar stories from other dragonslayers who encountered such people. They viewed dragonslayers as charlatans attempting to swindle naïve villagers. “The teacher and his students are dead. But you said Master Antoni and the village of Bellesguard survived.”
TeaTree offered a weak smile. “The men in brown robes didn’t know that Master Antoni keeps a few dragons on his property for the sake of the more advanced students. One of his servants was the first to wake when he heard a commotion outside. The servant raised an alarm to wake the household before he rushed out to the dragon’s pit to release it. The attackers saw the servant and ran after him, but the dragon surprised them. I heard it slaughtered several of them and the rest ran away. They tried seeking safety in the village, but the servant had already run to Bellesguard to wake everyone up and warn them. The dragon chased the attackers through the streets. There’s speculation that a few men might have escaped but not many. If the dragon didn’t kill them outright, it bit them.”
Seph understood. The bite of a dragon equaled a death sentence due to the many poisons contained in its spittle. When a bite broke mortal skin, the victim would die within hours or days. In the wild, a dragon often waited for its victim to die after the bite, pinning that person down if necessary. “Good for the dragon. What happened to it?”
TeaTree’s smiled brightened. “You know Master Antoni and his dragons. Most dragons can’t be trained, but that never stopped him from trying. This particular dragon is his most well behaved. Once all the attackers were killed or bitten or disappeared, the dragon lay down in the street with its head on its paws. The servant rounded it up and took it back home.”