Deelind and The Icefire

by Lance Dempster

  ‘No,’ said Deelind, going half-dragon. ‘It is time Sergeant Sam and I settled this feud once and for all.’

  ‘I understand you are angry,’ Captain Roeland said carefully.

  ‘Me, yes and Zara is furious. Sergeant Sam is the traitor. It was her that I saw in the town hall with Blackthorn.’

  ‘Did you see the traitor’s face?’ said Captain Roeland, watching her closely.

  ‘No, but she was wearing a Black Sister Hood dress!’ she said.

  ‘We need to do our debrief as soon as possible. Regardless, that does not mean it was Sergeant Sam or even a woman. Why do you think it is Sergeant Sam?’

  ‘I have seen her secretly passing notes to some rough-looking molers.’

  ‘She has been using the Molerscouts to help look for Dragonscout Rudy. There are many more Molerscouts and they have access to a large moler network. We are spread too thin here in the Upper house to effectively look for Rudy.’

  ‘Then why would she be interested in scout clothing? Unless she was wanting to disguise herself when she slips out to see Blackthorn. And why did she try to gatecrash the council meeting. She is not part of a squad and has full access to all areas of the Upper house. She is the best person to steal the rotviper’s body and get it back to Blackthorn.’ On seeing Captain Roeland’s eyes narrow slightly. Deelind realised she needed to tread lightly.

  ‘Like you, Sergeant Sam is not a patient person. When she received news that molers in the far north had sightings of a dragon, she wanted to go and investigate immediately. I was in the council meeting at the time and she did not know how long the meeting was going to take. It is not unheard of for our meetings to go on for days. When the meeting finished, I instructed her to go and investigate but as it was a long journey and I did not want to lose another Dragonknight, I told her to take Dragonscout Wilson with her. It was Wilson who suggested she get some scout clothing for their journey. Sergeant Sam could not have stolen the rotviper body as she and Wilson have been searching the far north for a couple of months now. Sergeant Sam is just as dedicated to finding Rudy as you are.’

  ‘Why?’ she said, finding it hard to accept the captain’s explanation.

  Captain Roeland studied her before replying, ‘Have you considered that you and Sergeant Sam might not be that different? You are both loyal, passionate, focused and stubborn. You both jump to conclusions and act impulsively.’

  Deelind opened her mouth to argue and then closed it. She didn’t like it, but Captain Roeland might have a point.

  As if reading her understanding in her eyes, Captain Roeland smiled slightly, ‘As to why Sergeant Sam is so dedicated to finding Rudy, few people know, and you are not to tell anyone. Sergeant Sam and Rudy are Dragon Bonded.’

  ‘Dragon Bonded?’

  ‘In human terms, they are married. However, it is so much more because their dragons have bonded, too.’ Deelind was stunned.

  ‘She must be worried sick, and it explains so much. Perhaps it will help her to know that Rudy was alive and well when I last saw him. We had quite an adventure together.’

  Captain Roeland looked at Deelind. Surprise, relief and delight flew across his face as he said, ‘Sergeant Sam will be pleased to hear it, as am I. Thank you for that.’

  Deelind gave him a small smile and then sighed in despair, hanging her head. ‘That means there is still a traitor amongst us.’

  ‘Please come with me and we can have some food and talk about what happened to you in the town. Like all of us, Miss Tibi has been worried about you. She needs to see you’re okay,’ repeated Captain Roeland, stepping aside to allow Deelind to leave the cell block if she so chose. She went human and stepped out the cell.

  ‘How long have I been gone?’

  ‘Just over four and a half months. All of autumn and half of winter. It is mid February now. You missed Christmas and New Year.’

  Deelind paused and Captain Roeland stopped to look at her as she said, ‘Four and half months! I had no idea it was that long. I completely lost track of time when I was with the Grimplins and they’re not ones for tracking time either. I don’t even know what day of the week it is.’

  Captain Roeland nodded in understanding and began walking, saying, ‘It’s Wednesday, if that makes anything clearer for you.’ It did. She knew what the rhythms of the manor house were on this day. Nodding at Captain Roeland, she continued walking back to the kitchen.

  On entering the kitchen, she saw Geoff preparing vegetables and as the smells and warmth enveloped her, she felt herself relax a little. She was still angry with the way she had been treated, but more and more this strange world was starting to feel like home.

  ‘Deelind! Deelind!’ yelled Dreki, as he bounced from the table where he was chopping carrots and ran to her. Dreki had grown a little and even his body’s bark had turned a slight shade of brown. He looked so grown up in his chef’s hat. Scooping him up, she put him on her shoulder where he snuggled into her hair. ‘I missed you. Please never leave me behind again,’ he whimpered, tears dropping onto her shoulder. Overcome with emotion, she swallowed hard, blinking back tears.

  ‘Never again,’ she whispered.

  ‘Deelind!’ cried Miss Tibi, coming in from the vegetable garden. She ran over and hugged her hard.

  ‘You tell Sergeant Sam I will skin her alive if she ever, ever behaves like that again,’ she said, while waving a large, metal spoon at Captain Roeland, who leaned back slightly from it. ‘Good gracious, what on earth happened to the two of you? You are both filthy!’

  Deelind and Captain Roeland’s eyes met. Clearing his throat, Captain Roeland said, ‘Deelind just showed us our cell weaknesses. It was dirty work.’

  Seeing Deelind grin, Miss Tibi said, ‘Hmph. Well, go wash up at the sink quickly and then everyone to the dining room.’

  They washed up quickly, their stomachs rumbling. Deelind couldn’t remember when she last ate.

  ‘Come dear, I will stay with you. Geoff, food please!’ Hooking Deelind’s arm into hers, Miss Tibi led them to the dining room where they found Jack sitting there on his own. He stood up and went to give Deelind a big hug.

  ‘Thank you for saving Tom’s life. I do not know what I would do if I lost him,’ said Jack thickly as if swallowing around a lump in his throat.

  Deelind squeezed him back and said, ‘I seem to recall you rescuing me with a broken arm. I think that might be our thing that your family and I do for each other. Let’s not forget Ivan’s heroic part in all this.’

  Jack blew out a breath, laughing. ‘You might be right with that!’

  ‘Deelind, please come and sit,’ said Captain Roeland, taking a seat at the dining room table. Deelind sat opposite him and Miss Tibi sat next to Deelind with a hand on her arm. Hearing Deelind’s loud stomach rumbles, he said, ‘Let’s eat and then Deelind can tell us about her adventures.’

  Laying his hand on her shoulder, Geoff gave her a quick squeeze and said quietly, ‘I’m glad to have you back safe and sound. We’ve missed you. I don’t think I’ve made a single good meal since you went missing.’ Deelind raised her hand to cover his and squeezed lightly. Leaning over her shoulder, Geoff placed in front of her a family-sized steak and ale pie and a huge portion of hot chips. Deelind ate heartily. The drilling had been hard work. All too soon, she pushed her plate away and rested her hands on her full stomach. Looking around, she realised that everyone else had finished eating sometime ago and had been waiting for her.

  ‘Please tell us what happened to you and what you discovered,’ said Captain Roeland, looking her in the eye. ‘Try not to leave anything out.’

  Breathing out slowly to try to settle her nerves, she began her story from the moment Spike threw IceFire dust into her face, her imprisonment by Blackthorn, finding Rudy and their escape, all the way to rescuing Tom in the Dragon Valley where he broke his leg. Geoff kept the food coming because no sooner was Deelind full than she found herself hungry again. She seemed to be catching up on weeks of erratic eating.r />
  It was late evening when she had finished recounting her story. She felt better for having shared her adventure with the others, but she had been careful not to share everything. If they ever knew that she was training the wild dragons, they might stop her returning to them.

  ‘Can we go and rescue Rudy?’ asked Deelind. ‘He saved my life.’

  ‘And you saved his, for which I am very grateful. However, we can’t do anything just yet. Soon, though. It is good to know what happened to him and both of you have set Blackthorn back. We need to hit Blackthorn hard the next time we clash. I would like to take the battle to him. You’ve given us a lot to think about,’ replied Captain Roeland.

  ‘But we cannot leave him there!’

  ‘We have no choice. He is my brother and I would dearly love to have him back safe and sound, but we must wait for now. He is well trained and a skilled scout, he will survive. Like you, I also suspect that he’s now causing problems for Blackthorn. In fact,’ Captain Roeland said, shaking his head, ‘I’ll bet he’s even having fun over there creating mayhem.’ As he stood to leave he said, ‘You are to come before the council tomorrow. Get some sleep and I will see you later.’

  ‘Why? I have told you everything.’

  ‘Yes, you have told me, but Princess Lee needs to hear it. She and Oakman have recovered, and she will be there. The council members will want to see if you are free of IceFire. I can see you are, but they need to see for themselves.

  ‘Just one more question, Deelind. Everything you’ve said points to the featherlite you met as being Rudy, but his magical signature will tell us for certain. What was it?’

  Deelind grinned. ‘That’s easy. He’s wind with a touch of crazy.’

  Captain Roeland snorted and smiled. ‘That’s a perfect description. I think Rudy must have liked you,’ he said, walking out of the dining room.

  ‘Bedtime,’ said Miss Tibi, speaking for the first time since Deelind had started her story.

  Miss Tibi walked with her up to her room and hugged her goodnight. Left alone in the quiet of her room she stood for a moment and looked around, feeling out of place. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since she had been in this room.

  ‘It’s strange, Zara, but this room doesn’t seem to fit me anymore.’

  ‘You have changed. It’s all for the good. This room is just a place to sleep but if we find one better suited, we can go there instead,’ Deelind agreed, although she was not certain there would be any place better than their cave in Dragon Valley.

  Seeing her en suite, she strode quickly to the shower. Oh, to feel clean again. Zara agreed. Hearing the crinkle of paper as she stripped off her dirty uniform, she paused and reached into a pocket and pulled out the folded page from her gran’s book. Her eyes widened. Miraculously it had survived all her adventures intact. Joy and sadness washed over her. Zara crooned in her head and warmth filled her as though she was being hugged. Later she would keep the page in her dresser drawer, but for now she unfolded the page carefully. Spreading it flat with her hand, she placed it on the bathroom counter and then stepped into the shower.

  The hot water was bliss and she allowed her mind to be still for a moment. She washed her hair twice and scrubbed her body. Fatigue washed over her. Switching off the water, she grabbed a towel from the rail and dried herself. Dressing in fresh pyjamas, she crawled under the bedcovers.

  She mused over Captain Roeland’s parting words. She would go in front of the council and answer their questions, but she wouldn’t be intimidated by them. They would likely underestimate her when they saw a teenage girl in front of them, forgetting she was a featherlite.

  Zara who had been following her thoughts, rumbled her agreement and said, ‘They might not forget so easily when news of the cell’s destruction gets around. Push these thoughts aside now. We’ve got some hard sleeping to do if I’m to restrain myself from eating rude council members.’ In her voice, the robin was back on its favourite winter perch. It tilted its head, tracking prey only it could see.

  Deelind nodded warily. She was tired, and Zara was right. Time to sleep. Spotting Dreki standing on her headboard she blew him a kiss and said, ‘Goodnight, my little friend.’

  Dreki beamed. Puffing up his chest, he said, ‘I will stand guard.’

  ‘Thank you. I’m glad to have you by my side. I know first-hand how fierce Elps can be.’

  Dreki blushed furiously, a pretty rose tint spreading down his light brown body.

  Zara chuckled softly as snow fell gently on a land shrouded in twilight. The robin fluffed itself up and settled down for the night, tucking its head under its wing. ‘Our friend has an idea there. While you sleep, I will stand guard, and while you are awake, I will sleep. No more shall we be taken by surprise. Through ice and fire we were joined, and through IceFire we were tested. It’s time to take the battle to those who cross us. For now, though, with Dreki guarding us, we can rest.’ Murmuring her agreement, Deelind allowed herself to fall asleep.