“No, as it happens, I’m going flying on a dragon.”
The cook didn’t flinch. “I see. How long are you going for?”
“I’m not sure,” said Shayla.
“I’ll see if I can find a large backpack. Something that can carry an appropriate amount of supplies.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Trevor. I appreciate it. Oh, and can you make sure there is a fillet knife and a frying pan. I’ll be at the coast and I’m told dragons are excellent fishermen.”
“I’ll make sure you have some lemons and butter as well, and I’ll add some herbs.”
“Perfect. You’re the best.”
“Lady Finch? Is the dragon on the property now?”
“She’s in the courtyard. If you’d like to meet her, bring the backpack to the courtyard when it is ready.”
“I…. Yes, I think I would like that. Thank you, Lady Finch.”
Shayla smiled and left the kitchen. It had been a long time since she’d been in this good of mood and it showed in the way the cook interacted with her. He’d been uncomfortable with her being friendly and complimentary. He’d probably never seen her in good mood and was used to her being more of a bitch. She’d have to make sure she treated the staff better in the future. They’d been loyal to her father and were good people. She’d hate to have to bring in new people just because she had never bother to show a little kindness. Her father had been adept at managing the house staff, knowing them all by name and asking them about their families. She’d always thought he was too friendly with them, but now she was realizing how fortunate she was to live in house where her father had nurtured those relationships.
In the library, she found Salus.
“How did you meeting with the dragon go?” asked Salus.
Shayla smiled. “Salus, old friend. All I can say is you haven’t lived until you’ve flown on the back of a dragon.”
Salus’s eyes went wide. “Really? You went flying? What a glorious experience that must have been. I’d be too afraid to look down.”
Shayla laughed. “I had my eyes clenched shut for the first thirty seconds. My knuckles were white and I was terrified, but Caritha convinced me to open them. After that I was hooked. The view was glorious, you can see all the way to Riversend, and we weren’t that high yet. When we went higher I would see even farther. I was so enthralled with what I could see that I forgot to be afraid.”
“Did you learn anything new about dragons?”
“Plenty.” For a moment, Shayla’s smile disappeared. “Caritha won’t help me hunt the Sacred Blood. The dragons are worried about another war breaking out between humans and dragons. Apophis, the alpha dragon, had forbidden all dragons from hunting hunts or human livestock.”
“That is reassuring. From the history books, the great war was a bloody time for Partha.”
“Yes. I understand the logic, but it is frustrating. The Sacred Blood can hunt dragonbloods but dragons won’t retaliate?”
“Perhaps they feel dragonbloods have the powers to retaliate on their own. You have dragon fire. That is powerful magic. And you aren’t without other magical abilities, although you never bothered to learn.”
“For as long as I can remember I wanted to be Queen. I was going to be a ruler and a Queen doesn’t use magic. I was going to have my dragons do my bidding. Gods, what a misguided child I was.”
“It is never too late to learn,” said Salus.
“Exactly,” said Shayla. “That is why I am leaving for a trip to see Apophis. Caritha and I are leaving soon.”
“Caritha is here?”
“If you looked out your window you’d probably see her.”
Salus closed his book, stood up and walked to the window. “Seven hells, she’s magnificent. I’ve seen drawings and paintings of dragons, but nothing does her justice.”
“I agree,” said Shayla with pride. Her dragon was beautiful.
“I’d love to speak to her sometime. I have so many questions about our history. It would be incredible to get the dragon perspective.”
“I’m sure you’ll get to one day,” said Shayla. “On a related topic. How are the Finch coffers these days?”
“Your father was an astute business man. Why?”
“I’d like to add a tower to the west wing. Something big enough to host a dragon. If Caritha lived here you’d have plenty of access to her.” Shayla knew her last comment was the nudge Salus would need to agree to her suggestion.
“I’ll go to Riversend in the morning. The local stoneworkers are skilled. They could build it in a few months. What would Caritha need for a living space?”
“Why don’t we go down and ask her? Then you can make a plan for the tower”
Salus stroked his chin. “Yes, that does seem the prudent plan. Let me grab parchment and a quill.” He then wasted little time getting ready. He looked at Shayla. “Why you still standing there? Lead me to your dragon.”
Shayla chuckled. Salus was like a little child with a new toy. Not that she blamed him. She felt the same way about flying. With a nod, she turned and started heading back down to the stairs. When they reached the courtyard, she found Caritha talking with Trevor, the cook.
“No, I’ve never had pheasant. I’ve tried seagull, is that similar? Oh, hello, Shayla. Trevor and I were just discussing different foods.”
“I can see that. Caritha, I would like you to meet Salus. Salus belongs to an order that has been keeping knowledge of the history of dragons and men and he’d love to meet you.”
“Greetings, Salus,” said Caritha.
“Hello, Caritha,” said Salus before standing there frozen.
Shayla waited for Salus to say something but he seemed in a daze. “Caritha, Salus and would like to know what you need for a living space. I am thinking of having a tower added.”
“I have a nice cave on the coast,” said Caritha. “It’s probably thirty feet wide by twenty feet deep and the roof is sixteen, but it could’ve been built higher. I’ve hit my head a few times on the ceiling.”
Salus started scribbling rapidly before looking up at Caritha. “You know our measuring system?”
“Of course, it has been around for hundreds of years. All the dragons on the isle learned it. You are about five and half feet tall if my understanding of feet is correct.”
“I’m five foot five,” said Salus. “So, I would say your measurements are excellent. Accommodating your size will be no issue now that I know the size of your cave. Is there anything else that you would like to see in the tower?”
“I enjoy sitting in the sun,” said Caritha.
Salus’s head nodded as he scribbled notes and talked to himself. “A balcony. A really well reinforced balcony.”
Shayla accepted the backpack from Trevor and climbed onto Caritha’s back. “Get the tower started as soon as you can, Salus. I trust your judgement for the plans. Trevor, why don’t you go to Riversend tomorrow, see if you can find a few men that you’d trust in your kitchen and in a fight. It should be safe without Caritha and I here, but I don’t want to take any chances.”
Trevor nodded.
Shayla leaned forward. “Alright Caritha, let’s fly.” As Caritha launched herself from the ground, Shayla could hear the gasps of Salus and Trevor. She smiled to herself. She wasn’t the only one who found such a large beast as Caritha taking off to be an impressive sight.
As they flew east Shayla wondered how high they could fly before they would be in danger.
“The air thins out when you go really high. It also is much colder. I’m not a fan of cold.”
Shayla nodded, then paused. “Wait. I didn’t say anything. How did you know what I was thinking?”
“It is our bond. As our bond grows we’ll be able to communicate through our minds. A mindlink is what some humans used to call it, others called it a telepathic link.”
“A mind link, interesting,” said Shayla. “And I can hear your thoughts?”
Yes
“Woah! That is
cool. Does that mean we are fully bonded?”
“Our bond grows strong,” said Caritha. “I’ve never bonded before so I don’t know if it is complete or not.”
Well, it is very cool, Shayla mindlinked.
I agree.
28
Talon looked at his platoon. Fifty of the King’s most experienced soldiers, many of whom had extensive battle experience. Fifty hard men who wouldn’t get squeamish about killing or run away at the first sign of a dragon, fifty killers. It was the perfect group for this hunt.
General Jacomus was a man Talon knew from tournaments. He was a fearsome warrior with a vicious streak. Talon’s kind of man. Talon turned to the General. “What is the latest report?”
“The scouts lost the trail in the pass to the west of Middale. They left soldiers there in case he returns.
Talon nodded. He didn’t think Lyric would return to the village. He’d headed west for a reason. He could’ve easily gone east into the wild mountains surrounding the Finch lands. However, most of the dragon sightings had occurred to the west. Lyric was heading towards the dragons. “We leave immediately.”
“Where to?” asked the general.
“We head south. We’ll leave groups of men on the outskirts of the mountains, starting at Landcaster and working our way down to Timeston. From Timeston, we’ll meet up with our trackers and head into the mountains. Once the trackers find the trail we’ll send word to our troops and have them close in. We’ll start with a wide net and close it around him.”
“There is a lot of ground to cover,” said the general.
“Too much,” said Talon in agreement. “But at least the mountains aren’t far from the coast. We only need worry about three sides, and by leaving men in Landcaster, we can quickly cut him off if he works his way too far north. It will take longer separating our men like this, but it will make trapping him easier.”
The general nodded. “Understood.”
“Have everyone mounted and ready to leave in twenty. Two week’s rations. We can have additional supplies sent to us one we have a trail to follow.”
As the general relayed his orders to his lieutenants, Talon prepared his own horse. They could only ride part way. Once they were in the mountains they would have to walk. The area where Lyric had left the mountain pass was rough terrain and trying to keep the horses with them would only slow down the pursuit.
After a few minutes, the general rejoined Talon. “We’re ready.”
“Let’s go hunting,” said Talon.
…
When they arrived in Timeston, Talon headed directly west of the village into the mountains with the general. They left the men to gather supplies.
They arrived at a wooden shack, and a bearded man with a wide scar running down his face from his forehead across his right eye and all the way down to his neck. His scarred eye was completely white.
“Talon. You going hunting?” asked the bearded man.
“Man hunt,” replied Talon. “Possibly dragons.”
The man grinned. I’ll get the puppies ready. Give me a few minutes to get organized.”
Talon nodded.
The bearded man nodded and headed into his shack.
“Puppies?” asked General Jacomus when the man was out of sight.
“Deormod breeds wolves with bloodhounds.”
“Normal bloodhounds aren’t better?” asked the general.
“Depends on the type of hunting you do. Bloodhounds listen better but the wolf crosses are bigger and tougher. They’ll fight corca cats and bears. I have no doubt they will attack a dragon if we encounter one.”
Talon smiled as Deormod returned with a half dozen of the dogs. His horse stepped back nervously as the animals growled.
“Vicious looking beasts,” said the general.
“They are more dangerous than they look,” said Deormod with a wide grin. “I wouldn’t get too near them if I were you.”
Talon turned his horse and started back towards the pass. Now they were truly ready to hunt down Lyric Finch.
29
The dragon sliced through the air, then disappeared. Lyric smiled and closed his eyes, he could sense that Kemoth had shifted to the other side of the mountain. Lyric quickly shifted to the mountain top, and as soon as he spotted Kemoth he shifted again to tag the purple-gold dragon, but Kemoth shifted again just before Lyric could tag him. Lyric quickly shifted back to the ground. During his practice with Kemoth he discovered that he could shift into the sky. Which allowed him to chase Kemoth anywhere. The downside was that gravity always brought him crashing down towards the ground. If he shifted again right away he wouldn’t have a hard landing. But he also had to think about his landing spots. When he shifted from mid-air he needed to shift a foot or two about the ground. The shifting seemed to reset his momentum, but if he was falling when he shifted he was falling when he landed. The first couple times he shifted from the air had ended in crash landings.
Kemoth flew in a lazy circle about Lyric, tauntingly slow. Lyric grinned and shifted again. He just missed the dragon as it shifted twenty feet to the left. Lyric shifted right behind him.
So, intent on catching Kemoth, Lyric didn’t notice the large dragon flying overhead until it landed with a thud on top of the mountain. Kemoth almost hit the dragon as it shifted away from Lyric. When he spotted the dragon, Kemoth flew down to the ground and landed beside it. Lyric shifted to the ground beside Kemoth.
The large brown dragon looked at Kemoth and then at Lyric then back at Kemoth. “I’m assuming you have a good explanation as to what was just going on?’
“Hello, Rythin. It’s good to see you,” said Kemoth with a grin.
Lyric chuckled. Watching a dragon grin was something to get used to. It reminded him of watching a dog baring its teeth. It looked aggressive, but really Kemoth was being friendly.
“Yes. It’s good to see you too, Kemoth. Now tell me why there is a human here and why you were shifting.”
“We were practicing of course. This is Lyric. He’s my bonded dragonblood.”
“I see,” said Rythin. “I thought Apophis said not to leave the mountains.”
“I didn’t,” said Kemoth. “He came here. Well, he almost made it here. He was attacked by corca cats on the next mountain over. I helped him.”
Rythin frowned.
“It’s true,” said Lyric. “It’s not Kemoth’s fault. I came looking for him. I’m being hunted for being dragonblood. I didn’t know where else to go.”
“I see,” said Rythin. “What else do you have to tell me?”
Kemoth nervously scratched at the ground. “Well, Lyric brought a friend with him. Ovalia flew her back to her home to find out what to do about Lyric’s magic. Without Apophis here we needed guidance. I believe the witch is one of the Sisters of Garron.”
Lyric frowned. He’d never heard that before. “Wait. I’m confused. I thought you said Garron hated dragons. Azina doesn’t hate dragons.”
“No, she wouldn’t hate us. Not if she is a Sister of Garron. The name doesn’t reflect allegiance. During the reign of dragons, witches were not treated like slaves. They were given preferential treatment by most dragons. They viewed witches as magic users and above other humans. When Garron led the revolt against us most of the witches stayed neutral and didn’t help Garron. They spoke on behalf of the humans, tried to convince the dragon leaders to free the humans, but they didn’t kill dragons. But as Garron rose he needed power to defeat dragons. He turned to the witches for help. Some of the witches broke off into a new coven: The Brides of Garron. The Brides of Garron agreed to help try destroy all dragons.”
“Why call them the Sisters of Garron then?”
“It is a reminded. Dragons ignored the advice of the witches and it caused the rise of Garron and his followers, and subsequently the death of many dragons. If dragons had treated humans with respect instead of as cattle things might’ve been much different. The witches we call the Sisters of Garron have always sought
balance between men and dragons. When dragonbloods started emerging the Sisters searched for them and trained them and gave them the knowledge to understand dragons. Ever since the rise of Garron the Sisters have acted like a bridge between man and dragon.”
“So, you’re not mad?” asked Kemoth.
“No. Ovalia leaving is dangerous. But considering the situation, visiting one of the Sisters would be an acceptable choice. Neither you or Ovalia will be punished.”
Lyric could see that Kemoth was visibly relieved, and he could feel it too. “Punished?”
“If Rythin or Apophis felt that we made an unwise decision by disobeying our orders we would’ve been banished to the mystic isle, or worse.,” said Kemoth.
Rythin nodded. “Now that that is settled. I must say I was shocked to see you two space shifting. I’ve heard of the talent but never witnessed it. What other magics have you discovered?”
“Lyric can create aura orbs,” said Kemoth with pride in his voice.
Rythin blinked. “I’ve always wondered what would happen if a purple dragon bonded with a human. But a human shifting, that is something I thought I’d never see. And to have aura orbs as well. You have powerful magic, Lyric. You will be among the most powerful mages in the world. How long have you been studying magic?”
Kemoth chuckled.
Rythin gave Kemoth a stern look.
“Actually, I’ve only studied magic a few months. And I never did get to use magic. I was poisoned as a child with broggins bark so that my magic wouldn’t start randomly appearing. They wanted to keep my identity hidden if possible. Only a few days ago I drank the antidote that allowed my magic to be unsuppressed. But it was being close to Kemoth that finally triggered my abilities.”
Rythin shook his head. “No magic until a few days ago? And now you can shift and create aura orbs? Ovalia was right to take the girl to see the witch. You are going to need guidance.”
“What about Apophis? Can she teach Lyric?” asked Kemoth.
“Apophis is training another dragonblood from Partha. She needs Apophis’s guidance right now.”
“That’s probably my sister,” said Lyric. “Well, half-sister. I’ve never met her, but Salus said I had a sister and she was also dragonblood.”
Dragon Magic: Lyric's Curse 2 (Dragonblood Sagas Book 4) Page 16