She lowered her gaze. “There’s a trick to it. If one isn’t careful, the clothing might not appear when one turns human again.”
He tried not to think how she would look sky clad. “Can all dragons take human form?”
She nodded as she perched on the bench. “They sometimes find it convenient, though it becomes more difficult as they get larger and older. A dragon in his own form has great strength and magic, but human hands are useful.”
“So you are a dragon.” He studied her, seeing a mysterious, provocative quality he had never observed in another woman. “I hadn’t known dragons were so beautiful.”
She blushed. “I am only a quarter dragon. My mother was Lord Magnus’s daughter. Her mother, Lord Magnus’s mate, was human.”
“Yet you have the dragon magic.”
“Only a little. I cannot fly.” For a moment, sadness showed in her eyes. Then she continued with determined cheer, “I will live the normal span of humankind rather than a long dragon life. But I have a bit of domestic magic, which is most useful when one lives in a cave.”
“You have made this place very comfortable.” He glanced around him, and was startled to realize that the light came not from candles in sconces, as he’d thought, but from globes of pure light set against the walls. “You created the lights?”
“Yes, light balls aren’t smoky like candles, and they don’t burn out.” She sipped from her goblet.
He hadn’t noticed the goblet earlier, either. He suspected she had made it appear. “Your grandfather killed the earlier knights in self-defense?”
“He didn’t kill them,” she said tartly. “As I said, he causes no harm. Even with the knights who attacked when he was sleeping, Grandfather disarmed the brutes most carefully and carried them away to Southern France. None have returned here. I think they are too ashamed to admit their defeat.”
“So no one has died at Dragon Island?”
“Only the bandits you killed, and they were no great loss. You would have died, too, if Grandfather hadn’t caught you in midair. After I told him that you rescued me, he brought you here for healing rather than flying you to France. You might not have survived the journey in your condition.” She frowned. “It isn’t easy to catch a falling person. Lord Magnus pulled a muscle in one wing.”
Kenrick wondered if his cracked ribs came from being held in those fierce dragon claws. “Then I am grateful to him. I thought I was doomed.” He cocked his head curiously. “Why didn’t you change to dragon form when you were attacked? With your teeth and claws, you might have been able to fight them off.”
“They caught me by surprise and forced an iron torque around my neck. ‘Tis not widely known, but iron makes it impossible to change to dragon form.” Lines formed between her brows. “Somehow, they knew that.”
“So they not only knew about dragons in general, but they knew that you had dragon blood and could be subdued with iron,” he said slowly.
“Yes, and that’s worrisome.” She rose and took the empty tankard from his hands. “Sleep now, Sir Kenrick. You’ll be stronger when you awake.”
She was right, he was barely able to keep his eyes open. “How long have I been here?” he asked drowsily.
“Almost a week.”
“A week!” He tried to struggle up in the bed. “My squire and Lord William will think I am dead!”
“Very likely.” Ariane placed a hand in the middle of the chest and firmly pressed him back to the bed. “But there is naught to be done just now.”
“Could you send a message?”
“We do not send messages to Penruth,” she said dryly.
“No, I suppose not.” Not when the baron was doing his best to have the dragon—Lord Magnus—killed.
He let himself slide into sleep. Perhaps this strange world would make more sense in the morning.
Chapter 5
Ariane watched until the knight’s breathing was slow and regular. Then she tucked the blankets around him, resisting the temptation to caress that dark hair or trace the pale scar that slashed down his face. She wondered how he had received that wound. Surely it must have come close to blinding or killing him.
She escaped outdoors, grateful for the brisk sea breeze that cooled her heated body. Blessed Mother, she had behaved like a silly girl with Sir Kenrick!
The reason why was obvious. Living out here with Lord Magnus, she had no opportunities to meet young men. She has seen the other knights only briefly, and they had all been angry and bad-tempered from being captured. One had even called her a dragon slut. She had been tempted to ask her grandfather to drop that one in the ocean, but she had controlled the impulse.
She followed a path through the rocky landscape till she reached her favorite thinking and dreaming spot. Wryly she thought how her years on Dragon Island had made her agile as a mountain goat. It was unspeakably stupid of her to have been caught by those horrible bandits. She had been daydreaming, and almost paid a terrible price.
She reached her destination and sat down on a stone set against a boulder to form a seat. This little meadow faced south and caught the sun’s warmth even in winter.
The bandits had taken her by surprise because she had been thinking about her aloneness. Her grandfather was good company when his thoughts weren’t elsewhere, and sometimes she visited the fishing village of Tregarth to buy supplies at the weekly market. The villagers knew she came from Dragon Island, and they looked out for her.
But most of her days were spent in solitude. As a mixed blood dragon child, she would always be alone. Not dragon enough to fly, not human enough that any sane man would want to wed her. She could lie and pretend to be fully human. That would be easy, since few people believed in dragons. But every fiber of her being revolted at the thought of living a lie for the rest of her life. It wouldn’t work, either. Someday she would lose her temper and turn into a dragon, and then where would she be?
Nor did she wish to marry a dragon even if there was one who wanted her. She was too human in her tastes to want the detached, intellectual life that was usual among dragonkind. It sometimes amazed her that her grandfather had ever managed to fall in love with her human grandmother.
Frowning, she drew up her knees and linked her arms around them. Sir Kenrick’s arrival underlined her isolation. She hadn’t expected him to be so…reasonable. That he was brave was obvious—even a knight must think twice about attacking four armed men. That he was fit and muscular was expected, or he wouldn’t have challenged a dragon. And it was honorable to protect a woman of no rank.
But honor and courage were expected of knights, and those traits were usually accompanied by pride and arrogance. Instead, Sir Kenrick had been good-natured. Even in the midst of his bafflement, he had struggled to understand rather exploding into anger. It didn’t hurt that he was amazingly handsome.
No, not handsome, even though his intense blue eyes had stunned her. He was too craggy, too fierce looking, to be called handsome. Instead, he was compelling. A man who drew the eye, and the spirit.
She grinned, thinking she would forever remember his shocked expression when she changed shape. The change had been a test, and he had passed. He had spoken to her when she was in dragon form, and not drawn back in revulsion when she had become human again.
A shadow fell across her. A moment later Lord Magnus gracefully landed on the wide ledge a few feet away. Dragons were as fond of sunshine as humans. He stretched out his long body with a shimmer of bright scales, then settled on the hollowed stone and spread his wings to catch the warm sun. “What do you think of our knight?”
Because there were just the two them, he used mind talk, and she replied the same way. “He might do, Grandfather. He is quite flexible of mind, for a knight.” She glanced away, hoping the canny old dragon couldn’t read her feelings along with her thoughts. “He is Sir Kenrick of Rathbourne, and he seemed willing to believe you were not a monster who ate humans. I changed into dragon form, and while he was startled, he coped wit
h the shock rather well.”
“I hope so, for we need human help.” Magnus used his back leg to absently scratch at a sore spot along his ribs. The eleventh knight had wounded Magnus with an arrow there, and it hadn’t healed properly despite her best efforts.
He had other scars from the recent campaign to slay him. Though dragons were not easily killed, Ariane still worried when her grandfather was away for very long. If enough soldiers attacked all at once, they might manage to inflict mortal injuries. Weapons made of iron were the worst, for the wounds they made were slow to heal.
Something must be done, and perhaps Sir Kenrick was the man to do it.
The next time Kenrick woke, he felt almost himself, with only the normal number of aches and pains apart from his splinted right calf and ankle. He sat up and cautiously swung his legs from the bed. Though his right ankle hurt, he didn’t have the feeling that attempting to walk would cause further damage. Ariane was a talented healer. After the injuries he’d suffered, he shouldn’t feel this well this soon.
Garments were folded on the bench and a crutch leaned against it. Not his own clothing, which was designed to be worn with armor, but a long tunic and a hooded over-tunic that were easy to don despite his splinted leg. There were also soft leather shoes that fit fairly well. The tunic was a little short, but it felt good to be clothed and upright again. The layered wool was welcome since the cave had become rather chilly.
He lifted the crutch and tucked it under his right arm. The length wasn’t bad, and using it reduced the strain on his splinted leg. He was experimenting with hobbling across the room when the entrance curtain was pushed aside and a huge dragon head thrust into the room. Kenrick almost leaped from his skin.
The dragon swung his head from side to side, as if sniffing the air. Then the enormous mouth opened and a narrow, fiercely hot flame blasted out.
The flame arrowed across the room and struck a large stone tucked into a corner. The dragon scorched the rock for the space of three dozen heartbeats. The temperature of the cave rose. Kenrick half expected the rock to start glowing, like coals in a blacksmith’s forge.
The flame stopped as the dragon turned his head toward the other corner, which spared Kenrick from being set ablaze. Another stone was warmed by dragon fire. By the time the flame vanished, Kenrick had regained some of his composure. “So that is how the cave is heated! Thank you, Lord Magnus. It was cool in here.”
The dragon turned his head toward Kenrick. He had the same sea-shimmer eyes as Ariane, and they were mesmerizing pools of deep, ancient wisdom. A man could lose himself in those eyes, forgetting to fight….
Magnus rumbled a deep chuckle that rattled the furniture in the room. “Yess, this iss how the cavess are warmed. The sstoness hold the heat, gradually releassing it into the room.” His voice held a similar sibilance to Ariane’s.
Ariane squeezed her lithe body past her grandfather’s head, which blocked much of the doorway. “Dragon fire builds up and must be discharged regularly, or it causes indigestion,” she explained. “Heating hearth stones is a good use of the fire.”
The need to expend the flame might explain the charred spots Kenrick had noted as he climbed the path to the island. “I have much to learn of dragon kind!”
“There are few of uss left in your land,” Magnus said. “Ssoon there will be none. But for now, we need your help, Ssir Kenrick.”
“Me? What can I do that might aid such a powerful creature?” Since he was tiring, he sat down on the side of the bed.
Ariane perched on the bench. “William of Penruth is trying to destroy my grandfather,” she said bluntly. “He is too much a coward to attack himself, so in the last year he has spread the story of a rampaging dragon. All lies, of course, but because of the reward he is offering, ambitious knights have been willing to try their arms against Lord Magnus. Penruth doesn’t care how many knights are killed as long as there’s a chance that eventually one will succeed.”
“I saw burned villages on my ride down here.” Kenrick kept his voice level and unaccusing. The last thing he wanted was to offend a dragon whose fangs were only a few feet away. “An alewife in one of the villages told me she had seen the dragon with her own eyes, his great wings flapping in the night like a demon.”
“Villagess have been burned, but not by me,” Magnus said flatly.
“Could a dragon from a more distant place be the raider?”
“It iss possible. A dragon will kill a human only in sself-defense and I can’t imagine any of the English dragonss I know doing such a thing.” Lord Magnus looked a little embarrassed. “Though there have been occassional unfortunate incidentss.”
Needing to understand, Kenrick asked, “You said that Lord William wishes to destroy Lord Magnus. Why would he want to do that if you are causing no harm?”
“Because he believes Grandfather has a great treasure,” Ariane said, her voice edged. “Lord William is a greedy man. He would kill anyone if he might win gold.”
“He did mention treasure when I talked to him,” Kenrick said. “He was quite emphatic that any treasure found was his, though I thought little of his comment at the time. I thought that treasure was as much legend as dragons themselves.”
“But dragonss are not legend. Now, ssurely, you are wondering if I have a treasure trove.” Magnus’s silvery eyes looked cynical.
“I am curious,” Kenrick admitted. “But any treasure you might possess belongs to you, and Ariane is your heir. It has nothing to do with me.”
Magnus’s gaze was piercing. “You have an honorable heart, Ssir Kenrick. Ariane, show our guesst the treasure room.”
“There is no need, Lord Magnus. Your treasure is none of my affair.”
“Curiossity is a good trait, Ssir Kenrick. Once you ssee my treasure, you will undersstand more of the ssituation.”
Ariane gave her grandfather a curious glance when he suggested taking Kenrick to see the treasure, but she got to her feet obligingly. “Follow me, Sir Kenrick. Take care with your footing. The path is rough.”
As Lord Magnus withdrew his head, Kenrick stood and adjusted the crutch under his arm. Though he was tired and his leg ached, he couldn’t resist the mystery of the treasure. “I shall manage, Ariane.”
Ariane pulled back the flap so he could hobble out of the chamber. A short passage led to another heavy flap, which explained why his bedroom hadn’t been drafty.
As he pushed the second tapestry flap aside, he tried to remember any tales he’d heard of dragon treasure. He had a vague memory of a troubadour’s song that described a fierce dragon lounging on a heap of glittering jewels, silver plate, and golden coins. A maiden was tethered to his foreleg with a silver chain. Lying about on cold metal didn’t sound like anything that would interest Lord Magnus, and Ariane certainly wasn’t tethered against her will.
In the song, the knight slew the dragon and rescued the maiden. Obviously the composer had never met a real dragon.
Nor a maiden like Ariane.
Chapter 6
Kenrick inhaled deeply when he got outside. The air was bitter cold, but intoxicatingly fresh. Magnus had disappeared. “Such a wild, beautiful place, Ariane. But lonely.”
“I have my grandfather. There is no one I would rather have as a companion,” she said, but her expression was wistful.
“Men and women are social creatures,” he said as he followed her along a path that ran parallel to the sea. “Do you not wish for other women to share your days with? Or children, or…” He didn’t quite dare say “a husband.”
“Enough, Sir Knight! My life is what it is,” she said sharply as she paused to look back at him. “I am more fortunate than most. Is your life so perfect?”
He was silent for a dozen limping steps. “No. I am a wanderer who wants nothing more than land, a home, a family. I meet young boys who think that being a tournament knight is a glamorous adventure. They are wrong.”
Ariane’s gaze could be as piercing as her grandfather’s. After a lon
g moment, she nodded and turned back to the path. A short walk brought them to a narrow, barely visible cleft between two slabs of rock. She slipped inside. He followed her cautiously, careful of the uneven ground. He found himself in a passageway not much wider than his shoulders. If he were any taller, he would have to stoop.
The passage was illuminated by the globes of light Ariane held in each hand. “Here.” She handed him one of the globes.
He expected the ball to vanish, but the cool light continued to glow, creating a faint tingling on his palm. “This is a really useful piece of magic,” he said admiringly.
“One of the best. Candles are messy.” She started along the tunnel. It twisted and turned, taking them deep into the stony heart of the island.
As he ducked below a rocky arch, he asked, “A full grown dragon couldn’t possibly fit in this tunnel. Does Lord Magnus visit his treasure only in human form?”
“There is a large entrance that opens in the middle of a sheer cliff face. Lord Magnus can fly in that way. This cavern is his den when he’s in dragon form.”
Her voice changed in timbre as she stepped into a larger space. She raised the globe of light, at the same time making it brighter. “Behold the dragon’s horde!”
He stepped up beside her and surveyed the huge chamber. To the right was a vast area that contained what looked like the world’s largest feather bed. It was covered with some tough fabric and imprinted by the shape of a huge body. In the corner was a pile of nets, while a large tunnel curved out of sight at the far end of the chamber. He guessed that led to the cliff entrance.
The other end of the cave was furnished in human style, with wooden shelves and racks of cubbyholes. The shelves and cubbies held….
Kenrick gasped. “Blessed Mother and all the saints! I have never seen so many scrolls and bound volumes in my life!”
DRAGON AND THE DARK KNIGHT, THE Page 3