by Lola Ford
Graith knew extraordinarily little about the politics of the world. Doreen and the man about his age, Barry, had explained that while Lutesia, Situra, and Etria - the southernmost country and Zel’s home - each had their own booming economic systems, there was little to no trade between the countries. The Market however, had tendrils outreaching into each country, but the movement of goods was slow.
Due to the lack of trade, little was known about the other countries. The Market, as well as Graith and Zel, were quite puzzled over the fact that Oron would send the eggs away. They thought perhaps it was an attempt to keep Zel away from the capitol. Other than that, the king’s motives were unclear.
***
Graith cracked his eyes open. Light now streamed into the room. Alix was up and about fidgeting with his new bags and clothing. Graith didn’t remember falling asleep, but he must have. Exhaustion still oozed out of every pore of his being.
Sitting up with a groan, Alix’s attention was pulled to him.
“Morning Graith! What time did you get to bed? It’s nearly noon, and we have so much more to do!” Alix was nearly bouncing in his excitement.
“You have no idea lad. We have a lead.”
Graith was still trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes.
“We do? That’s amazing!”
Alix started shoving things back into the bag.
“Aye. But it came with quite the price tag.”
“What do you mean?”
Alix’s motions slowed as he waited for Graith to continue.
“Do you want the news, the bad news, or the worse news first?” Graith asked him.
“Well, just tell me everything.”
“Seems Doreen and Kade - who has a twin sister Kali by the way - are part of an underground organization, The Market. They found out the eggs are about to be moved. But in exchange for the information they wanted something.” Graith took a deep breath, “They wanted you, lad.”
Alix’s eyes went wide in fear, and tears sprang up.
“I… I see. Anything to get Zel’s eggs back. Plus, they don’t seem like horrible people…”
“Oh, knock it off. I told you, we’re family now. Neither Zel nor I would ever give you up. We told them that. So instead, they asked for Zel to smuggle for them. Want her to carry some dragon scales across the border. So that’s our payment for information.”
Alix issued a small hiccup as he tried to stifle the flow of tears. “Oh. I… I would have stayed. For Zel.”
“I know you would have lad. But I wouldn’t have let you. I won’t let you.” Graith got up and stiffly walked across the room to ruffle Alix’s hair.
“So, what’s the worst news then?” he asked quietly.
“We are going to be accompanied by Kade and Kali. We’ll have little to no notice before we have to leave. We don’t know for sure which ship will have the eggs. There are a lot of unknowns right now.”
Graith was pacing as he spoke. The sleep fog had finally retreated, and he was collecting the things he needed to prepare for the day. He needed a bath and a shave. He hoped they would get Alix’s boots before it was time to leave.
Heading downstairs, Doreen was waiting with a table full of food, smiling.
“Late morning for you Graith. I hope you slept well!” The persona of a simple innkeeper was ruined for him now.
The sharp look in her eyes, the smile that was icy - she’d gotten what she wanted for the most part and now they were no longer her patrons.
They were her employees.
“Yes, well, got business to do today -” Graith started, before Doreen cut him off.
“I do hope that you take Kade and Kali with you.”
Gritting his teeth, he said quietly, “Of course. Couldn’t navigate the city without Kade.”
“Kali is quite talented as well,” Doreen said with wink and a smile.
Graith shuddered. How could people act one way, then flip completely and act another? For the first time in a while, he missed being all alone on his little farm.
Oh, but you would miss me! Zel joked weakly and he could tell she was still nearby.
You, Alix, the eggs. That’s my family. We just don’t have a home yet.
Graith - you do know that I want to return to Etria after we retrieve the eggs? Zel’s voice was soft, as if she was afraid of what he might say. Maybe wait for them to hatch, but eventually I would like to return. It’s my home.
I did not know that. I thought you were banished? Graith was surprised, he hadn’t had any idea that was what she wanted - but then again, he didn’t really know what she wanted past getting her eggs back.
No, I was just told to leave by my father, but he can’t keep me away.
Well, I’ll have to ask Alix, but I would be fine going home with you. He hesitated before saying, If that’s what you want?
Of course. You’re my family too Graith.
After eating a late brunch, Graith and Alix went to bathe. Afterwards they decided to stop and check on Mero.
Even though it had only been a couple of days since they arrived, he looked like a new horse. His coat was brushed, his mane was braided, his hooves had been trimmed and shod. His halter even had sparkling brass pins that contrasted nicely with the pale leather.
He had also put on more weight than he had lost on the way here.
Seeing Graith and Alix, Mero flipped his head happily and perked his ears up. A light neigh, and he was standing with his chest to the half wall that kept him in the stall.
“What a good boy!” Alix said, climbing the wall and onto Mero’s back. “We missed you!”
Graith proffered the large horse an apple, while Alix had stowed away several carrots. They were enjoying their time with the large gelding when Kade entered the small stable.
“Hey Kade!” Alix greeted him from the back of the horse.
“Hello Alix,” Kade said lightly, as if he hadn’t been backing Doreen the night before in taking the boy.
“I heard we are moving again soon.”
“Yes. As soon as our source inside the castle lets us know.”
Kade seemed surprised that Graith had told the boy, eying the older man slightly before smiling at the boy.
“Hear that Mero? We get to travel together again!” Alix pet the horse’s forelock as he spoke.
“Unfortunately, not with Mero. We’ll be taking a ship to Alluvia. Once there, we will be moving with Azelia.”
Kade’s voice was light, but an undertone made Graith think that not everything was right in his world either.
“We can’t leave Mero behind!” Alix threw his arms around the horse’s wide neck.
“Alix, Mero will be safe here,” Kade reassured the boy. “Anyways, I came looking for you two for a reason. While we don’t know exactly when they’ll be leaving, we need to be prepared. Doreen owns a boat. Of course, the hag had to name it The Running Ship. But we need to make sure its stocked and ready to launch as soon as we get the word.”
What Graith heard was that they had more running around to do. He wasn’t old but he wasn’t a spring chicken either. He wanted to rest and work on a plan - or he told himself that’s what he wanted - but that had never been his thing before, so shrugging he followed Kade to see this ship.
***
They reached the docks, and Graith was surprised to see that the original ship that had carried the eggs was gone. Other ships had filled its place, and security while not lax, was lowered. At the far end of the pier a small ship awaited them. A single mast stood tall and the flag flying was a duplicate of the sign which hung outside of the inn. A ship - this ship? Graith wondered - on a field of waves. It read Running Ship, and the name was also emblazoned on the rear of the ship.
A plank was lowered from the high deck to the lower pier. Alix raced his way up the board, but immediately back paddled when he came face to face with Kali. Graith had only seen her across the room the night before, and Alix hadn’t seen her at all. Up close, the resemblance to her br
other was apparent. Had they had the same haircut and loose wardrobe, Graith doubted he would be able to tell them apart.
“Nice to meet you, you must be Kali! I’m Alix!”
He enthusiastically shoved his hand out towards her. She met him halfway, but her hand was limp and the shake nonexistent.
“Yes. I will be traveling with you to guarantee the client’s acquisition of their goods. I am the guard of this operation.”
“Really? Not Kade?” Alix asked, his eyes flickering between the siblings.
“My brother doesn’t have the - ah - taste for blood that I do.”
She grinned wickedly, and Alix paled slightly.
“No, I prefer to work with people who will still be alive in an hour,” Kade chuckled.
Kade showed Alix around the ship while Kali and Graith spoke. Graith could hear joyful cheers from the boy as he was shown how to tie knots and learn a few sailing basics.
“Now that those two have gone, let me reiterate the terms of this agreement per Doreen,” Kali started, brushing her long hair out of her eyes. “We are currently keeping the scales on board. We believe that the ship will take the eggs soon. Our client is in Alluvia - he is the lord of the city. Once we get one day out from shore your dragon will land on board, retrieve the scales, and fly them, you, and me to the meeting location.”
She had been pointedly leading him around the ship thus far, showing him the crate with the scales, the space Zel would land in, and the quarters they would sleep in. Graith stopped to peer over the railing into the dark waters below.
“Why couldn’t this be done without Zel? She seems… over the top,” Graith asked, trying to carefully word his question.
“There are only two entrances to Situra from our country. One is through Alluvia, the other through Veles to Cian. All things brought into either city are searched thoroughly. The ship itself will nearly be pulled apart board by board. Same goes for anything carried into Cian from Veles. She will allow us to bypass that.”
“How long does it take to get across the sea?” Graith asked, worried about Zel flying for an extended period of time.
“Without a storm? A week. With a storm? It depends on how lost we get.”
They both looked up at the currently dark sky. Graith wished they could go by land instead but knew that wouldn’t happen. He hoped that whatever storm was brewing would blow over before they had to set sail.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Graith
News came quicker than Graith expected. A Market runner came to the ship two days after they started preparing for their voyage. He told them that their castle sources said that the eggs would be moved that night.
Kali immediately started rushing the loading of supplies onto the ship, while Kade yelled that he would be right back and sprinted off into the distance.
Graith found himself carrying barrels and boxes as Kali directed him where to put them. Alix was told to climb the mast and sit in the crow’s nest to keep an eye out for the arrival of the last of the goods that they were waiting on. While helping Graith and Alix follow the eggs, this was also a trading mission for the crew and the ship would be filled to the brim before they set sail.
Hours rolled by, and Graith started to ache. In the days that they had stayed at the Running ship in, he’d put on more weight than he’d lost, and become accustomed to sleeping in a soft bed once again. His body was protesting this sudden change in activity. At some point, the storm that had been brewing for the last few days started to set in. A small patter of rain hit the deck as they finished putting everything in place and were ready to go.
Kade had returned shortly after he had left and Graith was surprised to see him carrying boots tied together and tossed over his shoulders. He’d gone to Rand’s shop for Alix’s boots. With him were several members of the Market, including both Berry and Doreen.
Doreen pulled out an inventory list and was triple checking her wares before they could set sail. Including her precious cargo of scales.
The scales were in a hatch directly below the deck and instructions were given for Zel to retrieve them a day out from the Situran shore.
Doreen pulled Kade and Kali into the small captain’s quarters while Graith repeated the instructions to Zel. A few minutes later, Doreen and Berry left the ship, leaving Kali, Kade, Alix, and Graith along with a few sailors on board.
Graith was told to stay out of the way, and the ship was launched from the pier. Alix stayed in the crow’s nest, watching the city of Tesia vanish into the distance. Graith, after checking that he was no longer needed headed down to the sailor’s bunk where he and Alix would be staying.
The motion of the ship set his hammock rocking. Between the constant motion, and the sound of the rain on the hull of the ship Graith was lulled to sleep.
***
The rain had continued late into the night, and one particularly loud peal of thunder woke Graith with a start. He was disoriented and tired, and only a single lantern by the stairs illuminated the large sleeping quarters. He could feel Zel and was surprised by how close she felt. Her mood, like the ship, was turbulent and dark.
Graith, I’m coming aboard, she said.
That was all the warning he got before the ship rocked violently as if swept up in a tidal wave.
He hastily climbed out of the net suspending him in the air and ran out to see the dragon. It was still raining, and only the brief flashes of lightning illuminated the deck. Zel’s eyes glowed with a strange inner light, and her body had regained some of its dark blue coloring.
That had been two days ago. The following morning had been quite a surprise to Kade and Kali, both neither had ever actually seen a dragon before. Screams from crew members had awoken Graith who had ended up falling asleep under Zel’s wing. Emerging from under her large leathery wing had made one of the sailors pass out from shock.
Kade and Kali had formally introduced themselves to Zel. They referred to her only as The Mighty Dragoness or Azelia. To Graith it seemed like it was going to her head. She kept her head up and preened at her wings or tail whenever she saw someone look at her. Alix hadn’t left her side - laying on her back, under her wings or climbing along her tail constantly.
The light rain - which Graith hadn’t thought very light - had finally turned into a full-blown storm. Lightning was striking around them several times a minute and large swell of water rocked the ship. The crew managed to bring down the mainsail before everyone, even Alix who had been reluctant to leave Zel’s side, retreated to the lower levels of the ship.
Zel was the only one to remain on the deck - and she was restless.
Graith, I want to fly close enough to the ship carrying my eggs to make sure they are safe, Zel’s voice filled his mind as his body swung back and forth in his hammock. The motion was making him dizzy, and worried about Zel he tried to sit up, only to have to lay back down immediately.
Is it the storm? he asked, as he could feel her head turning side to side, as if looking through the darkness for the other ships.
Yes. No. I… I’m not sure. Something feels wrong, she said, shifting uneasily.
He knew what she was talking about, as she’d been feeling uneasy ever since she landed on the ship. She’d been able to sense her eggs less and less the first day, until she couldn’t sense them at all.
Are you sure that’s the best idea? What if your struck by lightning? Or if they see you? he asked, wishing that he could go up to her, but between the ships motion and the raging storm, he thought he might fall off the ship.
Lightning can’t hurt a dragon. And I just need to get close enough to sense my eggs. I’ll be right back, she said, even as she stood.
I can’t really stop you, now can I?
Sometimes Graith wondered why she even bothered telling him.
I tell you because you are important to me. But no, you can’t stop me.
In the turmoil that was the sea currently, Graith was unable to feel when Zel launched herself from the
ship.
However, moments later, he was there, flying with her.
You can come with me though.
She sounded excited to be flying again. She’d been unhappy on the ship, but she couldn’t stay in touch with Graith any other way. The sea was too large for her to comfortably fly across while following the ship. Graith supposed that lying still on a ship for two days was not her idea of fun.
Looking around, he was surprised to see that Zel was able to see clearly even through the rain and lightning. He could sense that she also knew which direction they should be heading, and within moments they were racing towards an unknown point. The rain cold on her scales, but the wind firm beneath her wings.
Flying with her was exhilarating.
Feeling the wind on her wings, and her using her tail as a rudder, was amazing. It was completely natural to her. There was no thought in the how of flying, just where. The current destination slowly came into sight. The Lutesian Armada that they were following.
Three ships easily as large as the Running Ship, and a fourth that dwarfed the others. All of them were of high craftsmanship, but only the largest really stood out. It was the most ornamental ship that Graith had ever seen. Gold trim, large glass windows on the rear of the ship, and flags flying even in the monstrous storm.
Graith was busy looking at it bob like a cork in the water, not realizing that they were getting much closer than Zel had initially said.
When they made their first pass above it Graith realized they were too close. He went to say something to Zel but found himself surrounded by the blue white aura of sheer panic that always related to her clutch.
Zel? What’s going on?
I can’t sense them Graith. I should be able to feel them from here.
They made a second pass. Then a third.
On the third pass, Graith could see Sir Braylin standing on deck, clear as day.
Braylin was yelling at Zel, but she couldn’t hear him. When she tried to listen to what he was saying in his mind, she found she could not. She could sense him - but none of his thoughts.
She wheeled in the air, bring herself to hover over the ship, her large wings beating in time to the pounding of Graith’s heart.