Dragon Master (Dragon Collector Book 2)

by Simon Archer

  There were seven dragons in total. Ffamran was my main Merkin. He was a purplish color, with shaggy white hair that he couldn’t stand anyone touching. Maximus was the largest of the group and blazed a fiery red with piercing yellow eyes. Kolo, the smallest, was black and orange with a spectacular array of horns that stretched above her head like antlers. Sayles was a grayish-white, with webbed feet and jellyfish-like skin. Ninji was a blushing pink with unicorn-like horns. The last two were Jin, a navy blue so dark it was almost midnight, and then Johan, who was forest green with bright sapphire eyes.

  Besides my three friends and myself, the other humans were Zensa and Korey, two guards who served under Diana, my chambermaid Mora, and the captain of the guard herself, Rebekah Ko’aning. Her Merkin was a firebird, Altair, that floated overhead, scouring the skies for anyone who might be listening in. The other Merkins were bonded to the other three humans, were a jaguar, a pigeon, and a palomino horse.

  We made quite the motley crew.

  “Why would Hennar do this?” Diana asked. “Why would he play with Martin this way?”

  I thought the same thing and wished I had any sign of an answer.

  “He wants something specifically from you,” Rebekah replied, her tactical knowledge coming through. “My guess? Your power.”

  “He wants my power more than he wants to destroy the world?” I said skeptically. “Last time we met, Hennar told me he wanted to create the world he wanted to rule over.”

  “Maybe he needs your gift to do it,” Bailey-Sue offered.

  “Like I need another target on my back,” I said with a sigh. I ran my hand through my hair and paced back and forth along the grass line. “Okay, but why doesn’t he just take my power? Or something more drastic than this silly game?”

  “You have to give it to him willingly,” Maximus explained. He lowered his head a little and softened his voice. “You have to be willing to give it to him, and he knows he could not get you to give it to him all at once.”

  “So, he created a plan where he could take it, little by little,” Jin finished. “It must have annoyed him that you beat him. Though from the sound of it… he didn’t try very hard to win.” She picked at a spot on her skin using one of her large claws, looking utterly bored. Her disinterest in the situation bothered me, but I didn’t comment on it because I didn’t think now was the time.

  “It is not as though he is going to run out of subjects to corrupt,” the navy blue dragon continued, oozing apathy with every word. “He is manipulating you into saving people so that you will play with him and lose your power to him.”

  “It’s not like I can just let those people die,” I argued back, my irritation growing.

  “Exactly, so you will end up doing what he wants anyway,” Jin explained with the shrug of one shoulder. She proceeded to look away from me and go off into her own little world. “It is multilayered, certainly, but rather ingenious.”

  I clenched my fist to restrain myself from saying something I would regret later.

  “In all honesty, that is my greatest concern,” Rebekah said, stepping in between Jin and me as if she knew I needed a physical barrier from her. “It would appear that Hennar is poised and ready to attack the city. The corruption is getting closer, but we cannot let it reach the city proper or the court.”

  “It is already in the city proper,” Bailey-Sue argued. “It was in the honeysuckle, right behind the Dyers’ house.”

  “It is good that we know that so we can contain it,” Rebekah said, “but we must prevent it from spreading further into the main population’s food and drink. We are lucky it has only hit the Dye Master's shop. What if it had hit the baker or one of the traveling fish merchants? There would be more city folk ill right now than a little boy.”

  “Right now, the corruption is manageable,” Diana jumped in. She sat on the edge of the platform that held King Garham’s statue and marked the true center of the maze. “We are able to travel to the outer towns and contain it or kill it off completely. But if it were to strike the city, the infection would spread faster. I am not sure we would be able to keep up.”

  To her credit, Diana did not put all that burden on me, even though it was one hundred percent mine. I was the only one who could destroy any traces of the corruption, and Diana was right. If it hit the city, I wouldn’t be able to keep up. People would die before I could get to them, and I couldn’t let that happen.

  “So, what do we do?” Zensa asked.

  My eyes shifted from face to face as they looked to me for answers. I tried to explain to them all on multiple occasions that this was a democracy. That had proven difficult to do for a group of people who had only ever lived under a monarchy. The entire concept of democracy was alien to them. I wanted someone like Rebekah to be in charge of this operation, but because I was the one with the glowing, all-healing powers, that role defaulted to me.

  I avoided their gazes and stared at the ground. I thought my way through the scenarios, trying to assess the most prevalent to the least. Rebekah must have seen me struggling because she kindly inserted herself into the conversation.

  “May I suggest something, Martin?”

  “Please do,” I said, my voice perhaps too eager for her advice.

  “We need to destroy the current source of the corruption and keep a vigilant watch over the city. We can talk to King Atlus about increasing guard patrols in the city, on the lookout for anyone who might show signs of illness.” Rebekah put her hands on her hips. She looked so authoritative in that stance that everyone was nodding along with her plan, ready to take action.

  “In the meantime,” Rebekah continued, “I believe you need to study some game theory. There are books from King Garham’s personal library that would be of use to you.”

  “King Garham played chess?” I asked, though as I ventured the question out loud, I realized I wasn’t surprised by this information.

  “Played chess?” Zensa laughed at my apparent ignorance. “He invented the game.”

  My face crumpled into a confused expression, and I held up a single finger, preparing to contradict her. “I’m sorry. You’re telling me that King Garham invented one of the most complex and intricate games in the known universe. I don’t believe that.”

  “It is true,” Rebekah confirmed. Skepticism blanketed my face, and Rebekah shrugged, relenting. “You can read about it yourself.”

  “Do you plan to tell the king about any of this?” Ffamran asked gingerly.

  I huffed out a breath, hard enough to make my lips flutter. “I really don’t want to, but I feel like I should warn him at least that the corruption is getting closer to the city.”

  “Maybe he will actually enact that policy you created,” Alona suggested.

  “Which one?” I chuckled. The king had an annoying habit of shooting down nearly every suggestion I ever made. To top it off, he would work the idea around to make it seem like it was his in the first place.

  “The one about marking and checking all items, particularly food and drink, that enter the court,” Alona said.

  “Yeah, he’s not going to do that,” I groused. “He always makes up some excuse about manpower or whatever.”

  “However,” Mora said, holding up her hand, “all of the king’s food is now exclusively made in the court kitchens. They do not outsource anything if they can help it.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen, privilege at its finest,” I announced sarcastically. “I will request an audience with him tomorrow morning. Is everyone clear on the plan for now?”

  “What would you like to do about the scouting mission scheduled for tonight?” Korey questioned from her spot by one of the entrances. She leaned casually into the hedge with her arms crossed.

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Which one was that again?”

  “We were headed out after sunset to explore Sooman,” Korey informed me. “We received reports of several of their livestock falling ill.”

  “Right, uh,” I muttered
. Everyone waited for my response, and instead of answering right away, I thought about what to do so I could answer Korey confidently.

  “Yeah, you all can go ahead. If the cows are contaminated, send word back, and I’ll head out as soon as I can.”

  Korey accepted the order with a solid nod. The pressure of all this new information and being the one to make all the choices suffocated me.

  “Are we good?” I asked the group, not giving them much time to answer. Quickly, I barreled on. “Great. We’ve got a plan, and we’ll meet again next week. Goodnight, all, and safe travels, Korey.”

  I tried to send a smile her way, but she did nothing but scoff in response. She turned and walked into the hedge maze without another word. Several of the dragons lifted into the air, one another the other until only Maximus and Ffamran remained. Predictably, Jin was the first one to launch.

  Bailey-Sue gave me a hug before heading out, which I half-heartedly accepted. “You are doing great,” she whispered in my ear. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

  “Okay,” I whispered back. She squeezed me tightly and then let me go. She waited at the south entrance for Alona, who approached me after Bailey-Sue stepped away.

  She reached out as if to touch my shoulder, but hesitated and let her arm fall back down at her side.

  “You can take the day off tomorrow if you need to,” Alona offered. “I know these days kind of take it out of you, so if you need--”

  “No,” I interrupted her. “I need the distraction. I’ll be there.”

  Alona’s face instantly brightened. “Great, then I will see you in the morning.”

  “See you in the morning.” I pointed both fingers at Alona, trying and failing to be cool because the action was lost in translation. Alona’s eyes twitched in confusion, but she just smiled and joined Bailey-Sue at the hedge’s exit.

  Finally, it was just me and the two dragons left at the center of the maze. Disappointment hit me square in the stomach that Diana hadn’t said goodbye. Despite our private meetings over the last couple of months, Diana had been more distant in public. It was as if she was afraid to act natural, and that if she got close to me, then everyone would know we were hooking up.

  I swallowed my disappointment and looked at the dragons. “So, be honest with me, how bad did that go?”

  “It accomplished something,” Maximus said pleasantly. “There is a plan in place, however temporary it might be.”

  “You’re just being nice,” I countered, not believing the red dragon’s positivity for one moment.

  “Being a leader is a learned skill,” Maximus said, with a teacher-like voice. “It takes time, just like your other training.”

  Frustration bubbled inside me. I looked away from Maximus and glanced at the statue of King Garham. He stood stoic and tall, with a small crown atop his head. He held a book in one hand, and his other hand was held up like he was swearing an oath. Engraved upon his palm was a symbol I had come to associate with him. It was a circle with a jagged line, like a lightning bolt, running through the center of it.

  Depending on the day, that symbol and I were both friends and enemies. It helped me uncover my gift, it helped me find my way, and pretty much always indicated that some shit was about to go down. For better or worse, I was never really sure.

  Right now, the symbol felt like a taunt. It felt like an example of a leader I would never be.

  As if he could read my thoughts, Maximus said, “He had to learn it too. Granted, he had a lifetime of preparation, but it did not happen instantly for the young king either.”

  “Sure,” I said doubtfully.

  Maximus gazed down at me, blocking my view of the statue with his large, red snout. “Hear me when I say, my lord, you will grow into your role. It is a journey like so many of you have been on before.”

  “I hear you, Maximus,” I said.

  The dragon sighed, and I felt the hot air on my face, pushing my hair back. He lifted his head, righting it above his body. He spoke then to Ffamran.

  “Maybe you will have more success than I.”

  He nodded to each of us in turn before spreading his wings and flying away into the air.

  “I am not going to be able to say anything to ease your anxiety right now, am I?” Ffamran asked.

  “Probably not, if I’m being honest,” I answered with a gloomy look.

  “Alright then, Martin.” Ffamran stretched out his own wings. “I wish you goodnight. Maybe you will feel better after a night with one of your guards.”

  My neck cracked as I whipped it around to face Ffamran. It was the first time I looked away from the statue in a solid minute. “Diana is waiting for me? Or is it Rebekah?”

  Ffamran released an exasperated eye roll. “You’ll find out when you go to your quarters. Go to her, relax a little.” My dragon flashed me a coy smile. “I will see you tomorrow, yes?”

  “Yes,” I confirmed, “you and the rest of the clan.”

  “Goodnight. Martin,” Ffamran said.

  “Goodnight. Ffamran.” I smiled at him and watched my Merkin fly, full of glory and beauty against the multicolored sky. I waited until he was a small speck before I dashed off toward the castle, toward my room where I suspected that Diana awaited.

  6

  I slipped into my bedroom and locked the door behind me. There, leaning against one of the bedposts, stood Diana. She looked casual, albeit a little ruffled, with her hair tousled and her arms across her chest.

  I waited in the doorway and smiled at her. “Hi.”

  “Hello,” she responded with a closed-lipped smile of her own. “How are you?”

  “Fine,” I answered, trying to be nonchalant.

  Diana eyed me suspiciously. “You are merely fine? After the day we have had, you are fine?”

  I cracked my neck from side to side. “Yes, I am fine.”

  “I do not believe you,” Diana said with a shake of her head.

  “You don’t have to,” I shot back, not knowing why I was so irritated all of a sudden.

  “I am not your enemy, remember?” Diana said.

  “Not anymore, you’re not,” I quipped.

  Diana scoffed. “I never really was.”

  “Could have fooled me,” I said as I mimicked her posture by leaning on the protruding door frame and crossing my arms. “I would have bet so much money that you hated me.”

  “You would have bet incorrectly,” Diana pronounced. “I never hated you.”

  “You didn’t trust me, though,” I countered.

  “That I will admit,” Diana said with a dismissive nod, “but that is in the past.”

  I swallowed my next sentence. I didn’t believe that she fully trusted me. Yes, she trusted me to heal the land. She trusted me with the information she obtained. She trusted me with her body regularly. However, there was something about Diana that I didn’t know and that she never offered to share. It bothered me since I had been here so long, and we had grown close.

  I didn’t know what Diana’s gift was.

  When humans bond with their creatures, they become Merkins to one another. The creatures are gifted with intelligence and language, and humans get a supernatural ability often related to the creature in some way. It was like how the light within me matched the color of Ffamran’s fire, or how Bailey-Sue could see in the dark because her Merkin was a bat.

  I knew many people’s gifts. In fact, most of the court was proud of their gifts and liked to show them off. I could rattle off all the Dyers children’s gifts, as well as many of the citizens of the city I had met. Normally, it wasn’t kept a secret.

  Diana, on the other hand, was tight-lipped about her gift. Consequently, so was everyone else around her. After I had struck out asking Diana directly, I asked Rebekah.

  “That is her business, Martin,” Rebekah warned. “She will tell you if she wishes to.”

  So far, she hadn’t. And whenever I thought about it, which was admittedly a lot, it wounded me. To me, that inform
ation was a sign of trust, and while Diana trusted me, she didn’t trust me completely.

  I could have easily brought it up again. I could have held my information at bay until she relinquished her secret. Though, something told me I would get nowhere with it.

  And honestly, I wanted her. I wanted her right now, and I knew that bringing up any sort of secret-keeping was not a good way to get her to take off her clothes.

  “Do you really want to know how I’m doing, or are you just asking to be polite?” I asked, daring to take a step forward.

  “I really want to know,” Diana said as she pushed herself off the bedpost and took a step towards me. “We can talk about it if you wish.”

  “I don’t really want to do much talking if I’m honest,” I challenged with another step forward.

  I held out my arms, and Diana stepped into them. Wrapping my arms around her, I breathed in her scent as her hair tickled my face. Her own face was pressed into the crook of my neck, her breathing letting me know she was taking in my scent as well.

  Familiar scents of pine and wildflowers wafted to my nose, and I couldn’t get enough. I inhaled again, deeper this time, and consciously released the tension in my body.

  I turned my face slightly so I could give her a quick kiss behind her ear. I hadn’t meant it to be such a sensual gesture, but taking in her scent made my lower body jump excitedly. My lips buzzed from the contact with her skin. So, I did it again, this time lingering close to her.

  Diana responded in kind, bringing her mouth to my neck and nuzzling me there. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sweetness of her kisses. I leaned into the sensations radiating from where she touched me, letting them take me far away from the stress of the day.

  The soldier’s lips traveled down my neck, along my collarbone. She tugged at my shirt and pulled it up. I helped her along as I tugged it over my head until I was bare-chested. Diana continued the kisses along my shoulder, nibbling with her teeth every so often.

  Meanwhile, her other hand roamed along my back and slid that hand up my spine. A small groan escaped from my lips. It made Diana look up and meet my eyes with the slyest of smiles.