Firedrake

by Bianca D'Arc

  And she’d fallen in with their plans, meekly accepting their kisses and even enjoying them. Had her brains taken a holiday? What was she thinking?

  Obviously she wasn’t thinking, or she would’ve kneed them both in the balls and have done with it. She wasn’t any man’s plaything. Sure, she’d already bedded Mace, so he’d probably expected a kiss, but that…assault…he’d just made on her person was far from a good morning peck. And Drake—well, she didn’t know where the ballsy bard got the notion he could kiss her like his last breath depended on it, but being honest with herself, she admitted she’d enjoyed every last minute of it. The man knew how to kiss. As did Mace. Dammit.

  It was annoying to find they’d only been kissing her to prove some kind of manly point to each other. She grabbed her ration of food and ate breakfast quickly, saying not a word.

  She mounted Nellin with Mace, still not speaking to anyone, but over the hours of flight, her anger mellowed. After a while, she found she could actually laugh at their theatrics. They were such men. Competing over the silliest things. This morning it had been her. She shrugged inwardly. She had to forgive them. After all, they were only living up to their nature.

  She wasn’t quite sure when it had happened, but Krysta came to the startling revelation that she was well and truly in love with Mace. Drake too, though she hadn’t let him close enough to seal their growing attraction with lovemaking yet. It was a romantic kind of love, but it was also the kind of love that endured long after the heat of passion burned to an ember.

  She respected them both, admired their courage, their skills, the different way they approached life. The two men complemented each other so well, yet they went about things in completely different ways. Mace was a planner, Drake a seat-of-the-pants improviser. Yet they both were incredibly effective in whatever they set out to do. This journey had only raised them both in her estimation.

  They could easily have become rivals—even enemies—but the way they worked together and complemented each other’s skills was something rare and remarkable. The way they both set about wooing her also made her chuckle. Mace was deliberate and yet surprisingly spontaneous, able to plan on the fly and roll with the punches. He’d surprised her by inviting her on the spur of the moment flight and she’d challenged him, she knew, by making love to him so soon.

  But she couldn’t have waited. She’d wanted him too much. She still did, as a matter of fact. Oddly, she found the same want within her when Drake smiled in that charming way at her. She wanted Drake too, and respected him just as much. He’d proven an able warrior and a man of deep integrity, contrary to all her expectations and experiences with rogues. Oh, he had a rogue’s reputation and way with the ladies, to be sure, but Krysta knew deep down, the reputation wasn’t earned. Drake wasn’t a cad. He’d never lied to her or played her false. True, they’d known each other only a short time, but she recognized the light in his soul and the fire in his being. He was a good man. As good as Mace, in his own way.

  They were well matched and if the dragons had their way, they’d be fighting partners one day, sharing a mate between them. Somehow Krysta thought Jenet wouldn’t give up until Drake was her knight. Which left Krysta with only one startling thought—did she really want to be the woman for them both?

  In order to keep Mace in her life, Krysta would eventually have to accept Jenet’s knight as well. Right now, Drake was the less encumbered of the two men, but Krysta suspected he wouldn’t be for long. Jenet was as cunning as any woman, and Krysta had deep respect for the dragon who had waited on the stubborn bard for so many years.

  So if she chose Drake, in order to keep him, sooner or later, Mace would come into the relationship again. She really had no choice. It was either both of them or neither. The question remained, did she believe herself up to sharing her life with two knights…and two dragons?

  Krysta wasn’t sure, and for the first time in her life, she agonized over her future. She didn’t want to give up Mace or Drake, but how could she commit to such a strange relationship? Worse, would they even ask her? Neither man had spoken of love. So far, it seemed, only her heart was on the line. Krysta prayed to the Mother of All she wouldn’t be the one to walk away from this with a heartbreak she doubted would ever mend.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mace called a halt later in the day, his hand signal clear enough to Drake, though he’d never trained with knights. They were to land and proceed with caution.

  “Nellin sees something,” Jenet told Drake as they circled and dropped altitude. “The trail ends abruptly. Mace sees it now too and Nellin says he’s upset.”

  “Upset how?” Drake asked as they neared the ground. He braced himself for landing as he’d been taught as a youngster in the Lair.

  “He’s furious!”

  They hit the ground with a jarring thump and Mace jumped off Nellin’s back before he’d even come to a full stop. Krysta was left to scramble down as best she could, but Drake vaulted from Jenet’s back and caught Krysta when she jumped down from Nellin’s tall knee.

  “What’s wrong with him? He started grumbling about traitors and took off.” Krysta’s tone was both curious and concerned. “I’ve never seen him like this. He’s livid.”

  Drake looked to where the knight was stomping around the edges of the trail, kicking at stones, though he was careful to aim his irritation away from the signs he studied. Drake shook his head.

  “I have. Mace is normally the steadiest of men, but when something pushes him past his limits, watch out. He sees something about this trail that has him in an uproar and we need to find out what it is.”

  Drake approached Mace cautiously. He could hear the knight almost growling under his breath. A habit he’d probably picked up from his dragon, Drake thought. Nellin didn’t look all that happy either, come to think of it.

  “Mace?” Krysta approached him with sure steps, though her voice was calm in the face of his obvious fury. “What is it?”

  The knight whirled on them. “What is it? Damn it to the nine hells! This is beyond anything I’ve ever seen!”

  “What, brother?” Drake asked quietly, hoping to calm his friend. “What did you see from the air that we didn’t?”

  Mace walked briskly off, pointing to the ground. “This!” He cursed viciously. “The trail ends here.”

  “Ends?” Drake met Mace and looked at the ground. Seeing things from this vantage point, the tracks started to make sense. “I see. They left by air.”

  “Dragons?” Krysta asked, incredulous. “Dragons participated in Prince Wil’s kidnapping? How could this be?”

  “It could not. No dragon would harm a royal black. It goes against everything we are.” Nellin spoke as he moved forward with Jenet beside him. She nodded as well, though her expression was sad and more than a little confused.

  “It wasn’t a dragon,” Drake said into the tense silence. He moved off to stand beside a large print in the sandy soil. “See this?” The rest of them came near to view the depression in the earth. “This is no dragon claw. This is a paw. See the pads? Like a cat’s paw, but on a grand scale.”

  He walked forward a few feet, his entourage following. “And this?” He pointed out a deep scratch in the surface of the land. “This is not a dragon mark either. It’s a bird’s claw.”

  “What bird could grow to such a size?” Mace wanted to know.

  “In all the lands the Jinn roam, I’ve never heard of a bird that would carry people on its back. Or even in its grasp,” Krysta said quietly. “Or a giant flying cat that would do the same.”

  “But I have,” Drake insisted. “This creature is neither bird nor cat. It’s both. And neither.” Drake stepped back to view the two sets of prints together. “We’re dealing with a gryphon. Probably more than one.”

  “Gryphons!” Nellin roared. “By the Mother, they shall pay for this!”

  “But they’re very rare, aren’t they? And not inclined to deal with humans, or so I’ve heard,” Krysta questio
ned.

  Drake nodded. “Not usually. But I knew two gryphons who dealt quite well with people in the court of the Doge of Helios. They were bound protectors of the royal line and had lived among people for many generations. I knew them well, which is why I recognize these prints beyond the shadow of a doubt.” Drake nodded with grim confidence. “Somehow gryphons have been enlisted to aid in the kidnapping of a royal prince of Draconia.”

  “It makes sense in a sinister sort of way,” Nellin said. “Only their great magic could even hope to stop a black dragon in human form from changing and flying away. If Prince William somehow managed to change, the gryphons could always fly him down, but their brand of magic could probably prevent him from shifting form at all. They are very potent against humans, but have little impact on dragons.”

  “Their magic and ours negate each other. At least that’s what the elders say,” Jenet agreed. “But they are said to be powerful indeed.”

  “The worst part of this, though—” Drake bent to examine the earth, finding the tracks many hours old to his trained eye, “—is that we have no hope of catching them before they reach the sea now. If they fly as fast as a dragon, they’re already at the coast.”

  “We fly faster,” Nellin said with determination.

  “But probably not by much.” Jenet was more honest, craning her neck over so she could touch her head comfortingly against Drake’s chest. “Drake,” she said quietly, “how are we going to get Wil back now?”

  The lost tone touched his heart. Drake knew Jenet was closer perhaps than any dragon to the young prince, and she worried for him. Drake reached out and stroked her head, hugging her for a short moment as he tried to reassure her.

  “The gryphons didn’t bother to hide their sign.” Mace had calmed considerably and was now stalking around the area, looking for clues.

  Jenet straightened, and Drake joined the knight, nodding as he went. “And they’re well within Draconia’s borders. They knew someone would come after them on dragonback. It’s like they wanted us to know who and what they were…and follow behind.”

  “Do you think it’s some kind of trap?” Krysta asked astutely, coming up beside the men.

  “Even if it is, we have no choice but to follow,” Mace said, turning to her. “Securing Prince William’s return is paramount. We can’t turn back just because we fear a trap. But we go in with our eyes wide open and plan as best we can to avoid whatever the enemy may have in store.”

  “The other possibility is that they want us to find them so they can make their demands. They may still want to negotiate for Prince Wil’s return.” Drake sifted some of the sandy soil through his hands as he studied the tracks and thought.

  “Then why make us run the length of the land to find them?” Krysta wanted to know.

  Drake looked up at her. “To bargain from their place of strength. They may have some sort of stronghold they believe sufficient to contain a royal black dragon. You must admit, there are few places that could hold him if he didn’t want to be held. Mace and I both ran with Nico and Roland when they were about Wil’s age and they already had the strength of ten men and magic to go along with it.”

  Mace nodded. “The gryphons are probably part of the reason we had to come south. They would have been seen and remarked upon had they ventured farther into Draconia than this. As it is, they probably flew at night to avoid detection. This is about as far inland as they could get in one night’s work.”

  “But where did they come from?”

  “Gryphon Isle.” The dragons spoke in unison as the men turned to regard them with surprise.

  Jenet stepped forward. “It’s a place of legend that the elders speak of only rarely, but we’ve heard the stories. It is part of every dragon’s training to learn the history of what came before. Gryphon Isle is the place where Gryffid, one of the last of the wizards, fled when the end came for their race. It was he who created and nurtured the gryphons in the days before, and he retreated with his children to his island when the end drew near for wizard kind.”

  “Where, exactly, is this island supposed to be? And why have we never heard of it? Or this wizard Gryffid?” Drake stepped forward, curious. Apparently there were things dragons were taught that humans no longer knew—if they ever had.

  Nellin moved next to Jenet protectively as Drake confronted them both. “It is not for humans to remember the distant past, but we dragons must keep the memories alive against the coming days. That’s what we’ve been taught. It is our role.”

  “And why is this the first I’ve ever heard of it?” Mace moved to stand beside Drake. “I thought there were no secrets between us, Nellin.”

  Nellin’s head shook. “Not a secret, exactly. Just something you didn’t need to know. Now you do.”

  “There’s more, but it’s not our place to tell,” Jenet said with quiet respect.

  Drake grew intrigued. He’d had no idea the dragons were keeping—if not secrets—then their own counsel on certain things. Drake’s eyebrow rose as he regarded the dragon he’d known all his life. He knew her…and trusted her. Yet it was strangely unsettling to find out there were things about her kind, unknown even to a knight.

  He sighed deeply and made a quick decision, hoping he was right to trust his instincts—to trust her.

  “Keep your secrets for now, sweetheart. I believe you would never withhold anything that could harm either Mace, Krysta or myself.”

  Jenet sighed in smoky relief. “That means more than I can say, Drake. And it’s the truth. Dragonkind is mankind’s ally in this. If we have longer memories than you, do not fault us. It will be for your benefit in the long run.”

  Curiouser and curiouser, Drake thought, but he’d leave it for now. They had little time to waste.

  “We have to go.” He shot a look at Mace, and the knight nodded.

  “But how do we track them across the sky? There’s no trail to follow anymore.” Krysta followed Mace to Nellin’s side and mounted.

  “We don’t need a trail,” Drake called. “We know where they’re going. Or at least, I believe the dragons do. Don’t you, sweetheart?” Drake turned his words toward Jenet who hung her head almost bashfully. “You know where Gryphon Isle is, don’t you?”

  Slowly, she nodded. “I think so. At least, we’ve been taught the signs by which to find it.”

  Drake held her eye for a moment, then nodded. “All right then. Let’s fly as quick as we can for Gryphon Isle.” He mounted with a gentle leap and they set off almost before he was settled, Nellin, with Mace and Krysta, right behind.

  Sometime around dusk, they reached the coastline. This was the southern border of Draconia, a foamy turquoise sea and lovely wide beach. They’d passed a few villages and fishing huts on the way to this secluded spot, but the dragons were looking for signs only they knew and had brought them to a secluded cove between two large pillars of rock.

  Drake looked up at the walls surrounding the cove and realized it would be nearly impossible for humans to reach this area other than by boat. The steep walls were too barren to allow for easy climbing and the monolithic rocks guarding the mouth of the cove kept all but the most intrepid away.

  A few large caves were hidden on the inner walls, but none showed signs of human use. Still, there was something odd about the area…

  A moment later, the little hairs on the back of Drake’s neck stood to attention. Something was battering against him, but Jenet’s loud trumpeting roar blocked whatever it was. And then Drake knew.

  It was magic!

  Gryphon magic, to be precise. He’d felt its flavor only once before, but that was enough to remind him of his first meeting with Taldor and Rulith, the gryphon pair he’d known in that far-off land.

  Drake turned, and there they were. Two mighty gryphons emerging from the largest of the caves. Their stance was adversarial, and the dragons went immediately on guard. Mace and Nellin took point, having more experience training and fighting as a pair, but Jenet moved to mimic
Nellin’s motions and Drake tried to follow suit, though he didn’t carry a sword like Mace did.

  Mace’s sharp weapon was drawn and ready as he faced down the gryphons. Krysta, no doubt, knew enough to stay out of his way, her own hands occupied with weapons she’d had secreted on her person.

  But Drake knew human weapons would have little effect on creatures such as these. He slid off Jenet’s back and strode forward, facing the gryphon pair, his gaze steady and determined. He knew showing fear at such a crucial moment would spell his death. Gryphons were not to be trifled with, but luckily, he knew something of the creatures.

  Jenet screeched at him in the back of his mind, but Drake tuned her out. This moment was too important for distraction.

  Holding one hand up, palm facing the creature, he braced himself as he walked up to the female gryphon. She raised the blunt side of her front claw and he felt the jolt of her enormous strength against his hand. This was the moment.

  If she meant harm, she would kill him now. If she were willing to parley, she would temper her strength to match his own, taking his measure.

  Drake breathed an inward sigh of relief to find it was the latter.

  When the female pulled her foreleg back, Drake stood before her, as tall and strong as he could. These creatures valued strength, skill and bravery above all.

  “I am Drake of the Five Lands,” he said loudly. “Plume bearer of Taldor, in hereditary service to the Doge of Helios. I’ve come for Prince William of Draconia.”

  “We have heard of you, Drake of the Five Landss.” The female gryphon spoke with a clacking of her beak, her bird-like tongue making a hash of the letter s. Drake was used to it, though he hadn’t heard gryphon speech in a very long time. The ones he’d known rarely talked aloud. Drake supposed this one did in deference to Krysta. It was interesting to note the gryphon evidently wanted all to know what was said.

  Drake renewed his firm stance. “I’ve come for Prince William. Will you return him or must we battle?”