Black Dragon of Amber Book Two: The Road to Amber

by Barbara Bretana

  “Yes, sire,” Murphy acknowledged. “I was created from the soil and magic of Ireland to protect and guard Raven Murphy-Sines, the son of King Merlin of Chaos. I seek him here.”

  “He’s not here,” Luke stated. “Is Random on his way to Khafra?”

  “I am not privy to the workings of King Random’s Army, sire,” Murphy shrugged. “My aegis is the Prince. He is headed this way.”

  “Are you sure?” All three questioned.

  “As the spell that created me bound me to him, I can still sense his presence.”

  “You’re a gargoyle? From Ireland? What next, a leprechaun?” Luke snorted and Murphy snarled.

  “Why should I stretch your imagination, sire? Are we not looking for a Black Dragon?”

  “True,” Luke said and waved his hands at the soldiers. Grumbling in protest, all of them departed save for his bodyguard. They all came inside the bedroom and the gargoyle told them of his search and of the Red Witch’s troop movements which were current news. Luke sent the information to his generals with the comment that he wished Cathorian was there to make strategy.

  “He’s on his way,” Murphy said.

  “But I sent him with a squad after the Dragon,” Luke said.

  “He, Prince Corwin and Sgt. Pire, are heading this way and should be in Khafra by the morning,” Murphy said calmly.

  Luke’s face turned red with anger and he gritted his teeth. “Is he the advance scout for Random’s Army?”

  “If you do not bring back my Dragon, Random will be your last concern,” the gargoyle said flatly. “Raven is Merlin’s son, and Corwin’s grandson. So far, Lord Merlin is unaware of the events surrounding his son. Do you want to drag him into this fracas with Amber as an ally of the Courts of Chaos?” Luke didn’t answer. “Random will not interfere if you step back.”

  “And my mother?” The king asked.

  “If you do not address the situation, I will,” the gargoyle returned and both King and bodyguard shivered as the stone beast’s eyes flared blood red.

  “Whoa, Murphy,” Marcus said. “King Luke has helped us, given us access to his archives and housed, clothed and fed us. He’s not interested in Raven, just stopping his mother. He asked Raven to help and Raven agreed.”

  “Without coercion or spells?” The gargoyle demanded and Luke agreed.

  “You have my support and my army backing you,” the King added.

  “Let’s hope that’s enough. I will find Prince Corwin and have him come straight to the palace.”

  “Better make it the War Room so we can get straight down to business. My spies aren’t painting a very good picture.”

  “So I’ve seen,” the gargoyle leapt for the window was gone before they could say or do anything.

  *****

  I couldn’t stop shivering; the fire in my chest burned so icy hot that it seemed to be freezing my body from the inside out. I was rolling from side to side and the motion made me sick to my stomach. I started to complain and it turned into a bout of coughing that ended with me puking. This made the motion stop from side to side and become an up-and-down with a sudden stop on the ground. It was bumpy and cold on my butt and back, hurting my shoulder so that I cried out.

  “Raven, hush. You have to be quiet. There are men everywhere,” a woman’s voice said near my ear but as I looked, I saw only two very dirty men or a young boy and an older man both with sea green eyes and fair hair.

  “Tegan? Linz?” I whispered. “Where are we?”

  “About an hour from the Trenton marshes. Another day’s march from Khafra’s borders. We’re dodging refugees from everywhere,” she said.

  I heard screaming off to our right, struggled to sit up and saw mounted troops of armed men marching down from the mountain led by the Red Witch, no less. She wore red body armor and rode a blood red horse with Secrest at her side. His guard, all handpicked soldiers from Earth’s Shadow rode behind him and the air shimmered as their protection spell flared around them. She gave us not a second glance, merely rode past us with a sneer not even sparing a curse for what she thought were peasants.

  The ground was hard packed pan and the dust they stirred up lingered long after they were gone although she had so many troops that it took an hour for them to pass us. Some kicked at us, sending both Tegan and Lyndseye sprawling, knocked my travois over and spilled me to the ground. Several kicked me until little Leos braved their wrath, grabbed me by my cloak and dragged me into a ditch where he covered me with his body.

  The sound of their marching feet and pounding hoof beats echoed in my head long after they were gone. It wasn’t until the dust settled that the people crept out of their hiding spots. One man leaned over and pulled the child off me. I saw his eyes were open and dust caked his corneas. He didn’t blink, not even when the man tossed him aside as if he were trash.

  “This one’s dead,” he said callously. “And this other one looks close. Stabbed in the chest, broken ribs and shoulder. He’s only wearing homespun trousers.” I felt him tugging at my pants pocket to turn them inside out only to find nothing. “No coin. Nothing,” he grumbled and his eye caught the leather thong of my neck. “Hey. What’s this?”

  He pulled and the star stone with Mallei’s gold band glimmered into view. I could see the sun setting behind him and the glow of burning fires on the horizon like Devil’s Tears.

  “No!” I cried and he laughed as he jerked the thong breaking it and snapping my head back into the dirt. I heard Tegan shout and as I tried to rise, the man kicked me back to turn away as the sun set and the bodyguard charged. My head whirled and everything dimmed, my heart kicked in my chest and I could barely breathe. I sucked in air, coughed and red flashes burst in my vision.

  Suddenly, I was standing above all of them, looking down on a gravel road that bisected the marshes wandering between giant clusters of Bluestone outcrops. I roared and flames spewed out to devour the man in front of me as if he were made of paper. All that remained was the necklace and I snatched it out of the air as I burst into flight. I had one thought and that was to destroy–I was going after those that had killed the child and hurt my friends.

  “Raven!” Lyndseye shrieked. “Come back! We need you!” Tegan added his cries to hers and it broke through my insanity of rage so that I slowly turned, circled and landed.

  Lyndseye got up from checking the boy and shook her head. “He’s gone. His ribs are crushed. What kind of soldiers would kill a child?” she asked sadly, tears streaming down her face.

  “The other child?” I asked in a whisper.

  “Bryn? He ran after a villager he met, said he knew her.” They both stared at me. “You’re back in the Dragon form.”

  “Yes and I’m afraid it’s not permanent. I have the same wounds, they haven’t healed, it’s just that this body and the rage I felt made the pain seem insignificant,” I returned. I held up the star stone and Mallei’s ring. “Put these back on me, please.”

  “Jasra will sense you this close,” Lyndseye said worriedly as she took the thong and re-knotted it around my neck. The minute she was done, I was sprawling, screaming in pain as contact with the ground touched my back. I was human again, and naked. Tegan whipped off his cloak and wrapped me in it before she could see much in the darkness.

  “Take it off him, Tegan,” she ordered as he carefully moved me to a position that eased both my chest and my shoulder.

  “Lyndseye!” He protested, truly shocked.

  “No, you idiot. The necklace, take the necklace off.” He did and abruptly, he was holding the wings of the Dragon. “So the stone facilitates the change. But only at night for I’ve seen you remove it during the daytime and there was no effect,” she mused. Carefully she placed it back on my long neck and hugged me so that when I changed back, I was in her arms, my naked body minus Tegan’s cloak pressed up against her slim female body. And there was no doubt that she was female. Gently, Tegan pulled me away from her wrapping me back in his cloak.

  “You’re going
to be hard on clothes, boy,” he laughed gently. “Linz, can you spell him something that follows when he converts?”

  “Shorts on a Dragon would look silly,” I protested, my head doing strange things. It felt like everything was falling away from my eyes as a hot flush started in my belly. I heard their voices from far away and a swooping sensation as Tegan’s arms tightened on me. Then, nothing.

  Chapter 37

  People jostled each other in the never ending stream that flowed into the city following in the tracks left by others as they ran from Jasra’s Army. She and her troops had turned off to attack the port city of Gates Cove, one of the leading centers of distribution for Khafra’s products and of strategic importance. It was the last barrier to Khafra in the province of Tethys and one of the ways she could launch an attack on Amber.

  The two men in old rags staggered along with the rest of the refugees, the taller one carrying a nearly naked younger man on his back. His face was glazed with concentration as he stumbled along with the double weight. How he managed being so old and infirm himself to carry the other man was a miracle. The younger boy with him helped to shore him up and gave encouragement so often that it sounded rote. “Linz,” the old man gasped. “I have to sit down.”

  “Okay, give him to me,” she said and looked around. The road dipped down a series of hills and towards a copse of woods–hawthorns, lindens and some oaks. It had a flat rock in front shaped almost like a seat and had caught the meager sun all day.

  “Can you make it to the trees?” She asked. He nodded, hoisted the boy higher on his back and grimly continued on. It took them a quarter hour to reach the spot and the trees almost seemed to enfold them in their grasp. Carefully, Tegan rolled the Prince onto the stone which was blissfully warm from the sun and covered him with both of their tattered cloaks. He sat down against the rock, his hands on his knees and his head hanging between them as he sucked in a lungful of air.

  “Any water, Linz?” He gasped when he could speak.

  “I’ll go look,” she offered and disappeared into the trees finding a small stream no more than ten paces in. She filled the water skin and looked around. The trees here were all giants with branches way above her head and crowns so thick that they blocked the light from reaching the forest floor. So, little undergrowth could succeed but she found berries and fruit that she knew were edible. She used the bottom of her tunic as a pouch and carried all back to the little cove that hid them from the road.

  When she reached the spot where she’d left them, Tegan was asleep and Raven was awake. He looked horrible, his face yellow, his eyes sunken and black shadows under them. His lips were an unhealthy gray and his mouth pinched in pain. He gripped the cloak with his good hand and was shivering. Sweat beaded his brow.

  “Linz,” he whispered. “Is there any water?”

  “Yes, Raitt,” she held the water skin to his lips and he swallowed painfully. She could feel the fever heat come off his body. Digging through their meager supplies, she found it almost empty and nothing she could use to boil water. She did start a small campfire and slowly, made her way down to the road waiting for the next group of refugees to pass along.

  She waited an hour before a family group of farmers came pushing an ox and a few sheep. Begging, she bartered for a pot and food, exchanging a few coins for bread, millet and some rather off meat. The old mother threw in a tattered set of clothes and a moth eaten blanket when Lyndseye gave them a ward to protect them from dangers of sickness and an old Wyche globe.

  She waited until they had moved off before she returned to the others. Moving quickly and economically, she made tea and a thin soup that she could spoon-feed to the boy. Once he had taken some hot tea made of blackberry leaves, a pink flush reached his cheeks. He seemed more alert and pointed out a few plants he said would help him. His voice was a bare whisper and he seemed to be having trouble breathing.

  “That’s marsh rose, Linz, good for fever. Also, the bark of an aspen or willow tree. You can crush the rose to make a poultice.”

  “How do you know so much, Raitt?”

  “Roelle taught me herbs and potions. Like Marcus taught me how to light Wyche globes and fires. Is Tegan all right?” He tried to lean forward and touch the bodyguard but any movement caused him instant pain.

  “He’s asleep. Exhausted. He’s carried you for the last few miles.”

  “Where are we?” He asked.

  “Tethys, I think we’re not very far. All the people are heading this way.”

  “Lyndseye, if I die, will you tell my father and grandfather what happened? I don’t expect you to save my body but bury me so he can come back and get me.”

  She rounded on him in fierce anger. “You’re not going to die, Raven!”

  “Actually,” he laughed gently. “I think I have several times. The problem is, I don’t stay dead.” He closed his one eye and sat silently, only his chest moving to prove he was still with them.

  She woke Tegan to feed him, he ate an entire bowl of the beef soup and a hunk of saturated bread while she and the Prince finished off the second pot full. His eye still had a feverish glitter and he seemed too animated for someone with the wounds he did. “How do you feel, Raitt?” The weary Princess asked.

  “Pretty good, Ro,” he smiled and it was ghastly to see. A thin trickle of blood stained the corner of his mouth and a blank look crossed his face. “Master!” He cried out, startling her. “Please, don’t use the flagellum on me! Please, I swear on the blood of my mother, I won’t disobey you!”

  Tegan woke, his arms on his blade in a defensive move before he realized where he was. He put the knife back in a sheath under his tunic and touched the prince’s face. “Gods!” He exclaimed. “He’s burning up! Raven, can you hear me?”

  “Please, master, don’t fuck me,” he wailed and tried to cover himself. Tegan’s face turned white and he carefully gathered the boy into his arms.

  “Oh my poor child,” he murmured. “What have you lived through?” After a moment of stiffness, the boy relaxed and Tegan realized he had slipped into a coma. “Princess,” he said sharply. “We have no more time. What spells have you left to aid us?”

  “Light at night, the masking spell and a message spell globe I was saving for when we reach near enough the palace to ask for aid from the King,” she answered. “No healing spells or weapon spells. No food spells.”

  “Will the message spell reach from here?”

  “It has a limited range of a hundred miles. How far are we?”

  “Twice that. Have you seen any of the refugees with horses and carts?”

  “Some. They won’t sell them. I tried. That’s how I bought the bowl, food and blankets. All I have left are the florins. If you or I bring those out, we’ll be robbed or hung as thieves.”

  “I have a star stone or two. We can trade them. They’re small, maybe a carat or two. Should be worth a horse.”

  “No,” she said sharply. “We need those. For Raven.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. I just have this feeling.” She held her hand out and he dug through his pockets to pull out a small knotted bundle with hard lumps in it. Placed it in her palm.

  “You’d best call now, Princess,” he said simply, one arm still around the Dragon Prince. She opened the pouch, pulled out the four stones that glittered with an eerie radiance sending rays back to the larger one on Raven’s neck. It too, began to glow. Lyndseye, Princess of Minsk chanted and a glowing raven the color of the stone appeared out of the ether to hover in front of them.

  “Your Majesty,” she spoke and now she was every inch the Princess even though she wore rags. “I beseech you, I am Caldor’s Crown Prince, and I beg your aid. We are where this sign will lead you on the marshes with a wounded companion. I ask you to honor the age old treaties my great-great-grandfather made with the house of Khafra. Yours, Princess Lyndseye Caldor.” She paused as the bird bobbed its head. “Go now and seek the King of Topaz.”

  The
bird fluttered up in their eyes could not track its flight nor see its body against the blue of the sky. “We go or stay, Tegan?”

  “I think we should go on,” he said and tried to hide the weariness in his voice. “Travel through the night, also. There are enough people on the road to guide us and there’s protection in a crowd.”

  “Can you carry him?”

  “I have to.” Carefully, he wrapped the burning, delirious prince in the cloak and eased him onto his back using the spare blanket to make a sort of sling. The prince’s breath fluttered against the side of his throat, a heated whisper in which were traces of pleading murmurs. Lyndseye packed their meager belongings and slowly with leaden steps, the pair rejoined the stragglers on the road.

  They hadn’t gone more than a mile when a wagon drawn by a sorry mule and an old woman came upon them from the rear. She stopped her beast with a single word and addressed them. She had pale blue tinted hair, short sharp pointed ears and eyes of a pale witch light that were razor-sharp. She could have been fifty or over a hundred but she was anything but infirm. Her cart was loaded with a bed of straw and plants. “You need a ride,” she said and both stared dumbly up at her. “Well, come on, lass. Commander, bring the boy up before he croaks.”

  Tegan didn’t know whether to obey or draw his sword. The woman had seen through their masking spell. “Oh, don’t worry, Princess. I know who you are. I’ve seen both of you at Court. I was Caldor’s nanny. Get in. You’re safe with me.”

  Tegan gently slid the prince off into the bed of the cart, pushing the potted plants aside to make room. The smell made his head clear suddenly. “Annaliese,” he said. “I’ve heard the King speak fondly of you.”

  “He was a mischievous child, always in trouble. Rest his soul. He told me you had escaped.”

  “You saw him?” She gaped. “Is he alive?”

  “No, Princess. That bitch tortured him to the point of death and was going to behead him. I gave him and your mother the means to end it before it reached that point. I would’ve tried to rescue them but I couldn’t get into the palace so I sent a messenger with poison.

  “Now, who is this young man?”

  “Raitt,” she answered as Annaliese gently undid the cloak to study his wounds. Traced the scars on his body, faint images of whip marks, knife wounds and others that made a pattern of a coiling Dragon.