Kenrick gave a half bow and Ariane inclined her head, dragon style.
“’Tiss pleassed I am to meet you,” the other dragon said politely, though he looked surprised to see a human. “I am Carthach of Donegal from across the Irish Ssea. I did not know these villagess were under dragon protection.”
“They are indeed,” Magnus said sternly. “You have raided other villages in the area, I think?”
“Aye, every full moon for the last year.” Carthach shrugged. “A sstrange business. The human lord of this demesne told me to fire the thatch of a different village on each vissit, and very particular he iss about which village iss burned. I cannot ssee the point of it, but who can undersstand human thinking, assuming they are capable of true thought?” Remembering his audience, he glanced at Kenrick. “No offensse intended.”
Looking amused, Kenrick said, “None taken, sir.”
Ariane frowned. “Lord Carthach, why do you obey the bidding of a human? Particularly when the flight from western Ireland iss sso long and tiring.”
“I do no man’ss bidding!” the Irish dragon retorted. “This Lord William sought me out and begged for my servicess. I agreed because there hass been famine in the landss I protect, and I will not let my people sstarve. The human payss me in grain and livesstock.” He shrugged his massive shoulders. “Perhapss he thinkss that burning down the cottagess will force the peasantss to build better next time. It makess no ssense to me, but I harm no one, and the human paid me well.”
“So you set the fires, then fly away?” Kenrick asked.
“Aye. It doessn’t take long to set cottagess burning. I make sure the villagers ssee me before I leave. I can usually be home by dawn.”
“Once a village is burning, armed mercenaries arrive and kill anyone who hasn’t run away,” Kenrick said harshly. “As news of the raids spread, villagers have learned to flee as soon as the fires have been set, taking their aged and infirm family members with them. They see you and blame all the destruction on a dragon attack. No one who sees the murderers who come in your wake survives to bear witness. You may think that you hurt no one, Lord Carthach, but your actions have lead to many deaths."
“Thiss iss outrageouss!” Carthach exclaimed, appalled. “To ruin the good name of all dragonss! How do the mercenariess know where I will sstrike?”
“Lord William tells them. That’s why he was so particular about which villages you burn. He is destroying his own land and people.”
Carthach bellowed furiously in the dragon tongue, then threw his head back and blasted fire into the sky. “How dare the human do ssuch a thing! We are forbidden to kill humanss except to defend oursselves, but I shall make an exception in this casse.”
“No!” Lord Magnus boomed. “You know the law as well as I do. Only by our peace can we ssurvive in the landss of men until we are ready to fly into the wesst. If you break the law, you rissk harming all dragon kind. The lie that a dragon hass attacked humanss endangerss uss all. Your raidss have caussed a dozen knightss errant to come to my lair and try to kill me, and a dreadful nuissance it hass been.”
Carthach’s claws tightened, sinking into the earth. “Can I at least frighten him?”
“I undersstand the temptation,” Magnus said, “but this iss a human problem, and besst ssolved by humanss.” He inclined his head to Kenrick.
“Lord Carthach, will you ceasse burning villagess?” Ariane asked. “Surely there are other ssourcess of provisionss for your people.”
Carthach sighed. “Yess, and all require more effort. But I can not ally mysself with a villain who betrayss his own people.”
“An honorable decission,” Magnus said gravely. Ariane sensed the younger dragon’s pleasure in her grandfather’s approval.
“The mercenaries must be near,” Kenrick said. “They would have positioned themselves not far from the village and waited for the fires to start. We must stop them before they decide to move into the village and slaughter everyone, then set the cottages on fire themselves.”
Ariane was chilled by the thought, but when she remembered the men who had attacked her on Dragon Island, she didn’t doubt that the mercenaries were capable of such brutality. “We musst kill them all?”
“If necessary,” Kenrick said coolly. “But perhaps they can be disarmed and captured. If that happens, could they be carried to a location far from here?”
The nets! No wonder he had suggested bringing them.
Magnus nodded his great head approvingly. “I can do that.”
“Let me. I wish to make amendss for what I have unwittingly done.” Carthach smiled, his pale fangs lethally long in the darkness. “There are placess in Ireland where the humans never sstop fighting. The mercenariess will be too busy trying to survive to ever come this way again.”
Ariane thought that sounded like a fine idea. “To lure the mercenariess closse, we need dragon fire. Could you burn a tree or two, Grandfather?”
“Good thinking,” Kenrick said approvingly. “Those two trees look more dead than alive and they aren’t near anything else that might burn.”
“It will be my pleassure,” Carthach boomed. He turned and flamed the nearer tree while Magnus did the same to the other.
Despite the dampness of winter, it wasn’t hard to set the trees aflame. Ariane drew close enough to the fire to warm herself. She felt the cold more than a full-blood dragon, even when she was in dragon form herself.
Kenrick untied the nets from Lord Magnus’s back and laid them out so they could be handled easily. Then he moved to stand beside her, not talking but pleasantly close. The fires were beginning to fade when he held up a hand, his face intent. “Men are coming this way, and from the sounds they’re making, they may be Lord William’s mercenaries.” He pulled the hood of his hauberk up over his head. “I shall see if I can capture one for questioning before we engage the group.”
“Yes!” Ariane reared up, clawing the air in anticipation.
He frowned at her. “I will go scout this band. Wait here.”
“I will come with you,” Ariane said, bounding to his side. “If needed, I can reach Lord Magnus and Lord Carthach by mind talk.”
“That could be useful,” Kenrick agreed. “Very well, come along, but be careful.”
“Dragons are not easily destroyed,” she said as they headed into a sunken lane. “Even a mixed blood like me is tougher than most humans.”
“That’s true. But fighting begins in the mind, and if you are not used to fighting, you might hesitate at a critical moment.” He took long strides, moving very quietly for a man wearing heavy chain mail.
Ariane hadn’t thought of that. So he wasn’t protecting her just because she was female, but because she was not a trained warrior. That made sense. He seemed to see her as she was, a woman, a dragon, and an individual. Had any human ever done that? None that she could think of. Human men might desire her human body, but they had no use for her dragon side.
No other man had accepted her as a companion in battle. Perhaps this one special man might even accept her tainted blood.
Chapter 10
They both fell silent as they neared the noisy group of mercenaries. Since the adversaries were advancing along the lane, Kenrick motioned for Ariane to scramble up the edges of the lane and through a gap in the hedgerow that topped the small ridge. She crouched on all fours while Kenrick knelt beside her.
No more than a minute passed before the mercenaries started to pass them. He counted ten. Enough to wreak havoc in a small village full of sleeping, unarmed people.
“Where’s that God cursed village?” one man growled.
“It has to be this way, Hob. I saw a blast of flame that could only be from a dragon,” said an authoritative voice. Ariane guessed that it was the leader of the group.
“There should be more fire if the damned lizard did his job right, Drogo,” the first one said. “Told you I don’t like working with lizards!"
Ariane’s wings flared at the comment. Kenrick u
nderstood her fury at the idea of a magnificent dragon being called a lizard, but now was not the time for rage. He laid a calming hand on her back, between her shoulder blades. She folded her wings again, but the mercenaries had done themselves no favors by insulting dragon kind in front of her.
“Your lizard did his job well on the other raids,” Drogo said. “He should be gone before we reach Tenholm.”
“He better be,” Hob grumbled. “No telling how hungry he is!”
After a pause, a third voice said uneasily, “Do you think Rafe and his lads were eaten when they went to Dragon Island?”
“Maybe,” Drogo said brusquely. “I told them not to go there, but no, the bloody fools had to go treasure hunting. And now they’re gone, and his lordship won’t pay for replacements.”
“No matter. Ten swords can handle a village full of stupid peasants,” the third man said.
“Aye, we’ll have good sport tonight.” The leader peered into the darkness. “There, up ahead. I see the flames of the village burning.”
The third voice said, “I thought the village was south of here.”
“Then you’re wrong,” Drogo snapped. “Come on, we want to get there in time to see if there’s anything worth stealing!”
“Not bloody likely with these peasants,” another man grumbled, but they all picked up their pace.
Mouth tight with anger, Kenrick waited until most of the group had passed before making his move. When the last man ambled by, some distance behind the others, Kenrick leaped through the gap in the hedge and brought him to the ground. He pinned the fellow down and clamped one hand over his mouth, using the other hand to hold his dagger at the mercenary’s throat. The man stopped struggling while his companions continued walking, not noticing the drama behind them.
Kenrick waited until the others were well away, then dragged his captive back through the hedge and rolled him onto his back. Dagger still at the man’s neck, he said, “I will take my hand away. If you shout, I’ll cut your throat. Is that clear?”
The scruffy mercenary looked belligerent, so Ariane thrust her scaled muzzle into his face and growled. His eyes widened with terror and he became very still.
Satisfied, Kenrick uncovered the man’s mouth. “Who has hired you to attack these villages?”
When the mercenary hesitated, Ariane growled again, louder. The man said hastily, “The local lord did! Don’t know why.”
“Do you mean Lord William of Penruth?”
“Aye, he’s the one.”
Kenrick glanced up at Ariane. “It's as we thought. Lord William must be challenged. I suppose we should keep one of the mercenaries as evidence.”
The man’s eyes widened. “You’re going to kill the lot of us? You want evidence, I’ll talk, as long as you spare my life!”
“We’ll consider it.” Kenrick frowned at his captive. “Ariane, in this other space, might you have some rope and a piece of fabric that can be used as a gag?”
Ariane nodded. “I can do that.” She shimmered into a ball of light for a moment, then solidified again, rope and cloth in her mouth.
Kenrick took the rope and fabric, his eyes warm. “You are amazing,” he murmured. “Can you ask Lord Magnus and Lord Carthach to draw back and ready the nets? They should be able to trap the mercenaries between them.”
“They will enjoy that.” She closed her eyes to send the message.
While she worked, he concentrated on tying and gagging his captive. He finished by lashing the man to the sturdy trunk of a nearby tree. Getting to his feet, he said, “The other mercenaries must be near the burning trees. Time for us to join them.”
Her open-jawed grin would have terrified anyone who didn’t know her. He grinned back. “You are the perfect partner for a night of mayhem.”
She tossed her head, looking adorable as the light of the full moon shimmered jewel-like across her scales. “Thiss is far more exciting than copying manusscriptss!”
Side by side, they proceeded swiftly down the lane. Ariane was bounding on all fours, eager to take on the villains.
The sounds of dragon roars and humans alerted them to the fact that they were almost to the burning trees. “Now!” Kenrick raced forward, his sword at the ready, with Ariane charging beside him.
They burst into the clearing and found the mercenaries huddled in terror between the two dragons. Magnus and Carthach were having a fine time shooting flames across the clearing to box the villains in. Kenrick grinned. “Let us administer justice, my lady dragon!”
He stepped into the clearing and donned his fiercest face and voice. “Drop your swords, and you may live!”
After a stunned silence while the mercenaries gaped at him, the familiar voice of the leader shouted, “I’ll not disarm myself so I can be eaten by these beasts!”
“You will not be eaten, only transported to a distant place where you will have a chance to survive,” Kenrick snapped. “You will get no better offer! Now drop your swords, or be roasted alive!” Carthach shot a flame so close to the leader that Drogo scrambled backwards, terrified, and threw down his sword.
Another man dropped his weapon, and then the others did as well. Terror of the dragons was great enough that they were willing to grasp at what might be a hope of survival. Kenrick ordered them. “Back a dozen steps away from your weapons.”
They obeyed, huddling into a tight knot. Kenrick glanced at Magnus. “Are you ready with the net?”
“Indeed we are, my boy,” Magnus boomed. He clasped one end of the net in his fore claws. Now that he looked closely, Kenrick saw that the net was stretched across the clearing behind the mercenaries, with Carthach at the opposite end.
“Now!” Magnus barked.
The two dragons swooped into the air while dragging the net forward to entangle the howling mercenaries into it. There was a wild scramble of limbs. Then the net full of men was raised high above the ground. Fifty feet above the clearing, Magnus transferred his end of the net to Carthach. Kenrick chuckled. “The men surely have daggers, but that far above the ground, they won’t try to cut their way out of the net.”
“Look!” Ariane exclaimed. “One of them escaped.”
Sure enough, in the confusion and darkness one of the men had managed to escape the net. Ariane and Kenrick raced after him, Ariane in the lead. As she closed in, she gave a marrow-chilling growl. The mercenary spun and yanked his dagger from a sheath. As he raised it to slash at her, Kenrick yelled, “’Ware, Ariane!”
He pulled out his own dagger and hurled it with all his strength. It caught the mercenary full in the throat. The man choked, fell, and died at Ariane’s feet.
She jerked to a halt, staring at the body in shock. “Th…thank you.”
“Mayhem isn’t always amusing.” He joined her, looking down into her face. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, a very human gesture. “I liked the chasse, but not the kill.”
“The chase is more enjoyable,” he agreed. “But sometimes the kill is necessary.”
Above their heads, Lord Carthach called, “Now that all iss well, I shall take these villainss to the wesst of Ireland. Farewell, Lord Magnuss. I will return your netss ssoon.” Carthach banked, his cargo net swaying beneath him, and headed west.
“Better him than me,” Lord Magnus observed as he landed beside Kenrick and Ariane. “It hass been a long time ssince I had sso much energy. Ssir Kenrick, what are your planss now that Lord William’ss guilt has been proved beyond doubt?”
Kenrick shrugged. “I shall take my witness, the mercenary I caught earlier, and ride to Penruth Castle to challenge Lord William to a trial by combat. He will probably send his guard out to kill me. If I am lucky, some of them will hesitate to obey their murderous lord.”
Ariane looked worried. “That sounds dangerous. What if you approach the castle at the head of a group of village folk demanding justice? Men armed with scythes and sickles and righteous anger.”
“That would make it much harder for Penruth to i
gnore me. Can such a group be organized?” Kenrick said, surprised. “I've never heard of laborers standing against armed warriors!”
“They will sstand if they are angry enough,” Lord Magnus said “We can sstart by waking the headman of Tenholm and turning over your captive, explaining what you have learned. They will hold the man prissoner while they sspread the word of Lord William’ss treachery. On our way home, we shall visit Master Arnulph, the bailiff of Tregarth Manor. He has influence and iss a friend.”
Kenrick was still doubtful, but it was worth trying. After he woke the headman of Tenholm and his strapping sons and explained the situation, he turned his captive, Hob, over to them. Their rage at the betrayal of their lord was swiftly followed by a pledge of support. Kenrick made them swear not to kill Hob because he was needed to bear witness to the lord’s crimes.
When he returned from the village, Ariane had resumed her human form. She wore a simple gown and a beautiful fur-lined mantle to protect herself against the cold. Though her human and dragon forms were similar in height and weight, she looked smaller and more delicate now.
She was now a demure lady, not the mischievous dragon who had fought at his side. The sleek scales of a dragon he could touch. With Ariane so cool and lovely, he kept his hands to himself except when he helped her onto Lord Magnus’s back.
The moon was setting as they took flight for Dragon Island. This time, the speed and height didn’t worry Kenrick. Like Ariane, he threw back his head and laughed. The future was uncertain, but tonight, they soared!
Chapter 11
When Kenrick and his companions landed beside the bailiff’s cottage at Tregarth Manor, Lord Magnus wakened the bailiff by banging his fore claws on the second story shutters. The bailiff threw open the shutters and thrust his night-capped head out the window. “What the devil? Ah, ‘tis you, Lord Magnus! You have not called in some time. I've been worried with so much outcry against dragons.”
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