Stunned Ammon stammered. “Fulgid…It’s me! Ammon!”
His heart beat against his chest and he scarcely dared to breathe as Fulgid lowered his head until his nose touched Ammon’s cheek. With a faint snort, the dragon lay down on top of Ammon and pushed his head close to Ammon’s face and…sighed. The fierce white glow in his eyes faded to amber.
Ammon threw his arms around Fulgid and hugged him. Loose scales moved beneath his hands and rattled when he touched them. Shane shouted from his cell across the hall.
“Ammon? Are you all right? What is going on over there?”
Ammon smiled down at the dragon clinging to the front of his leather shirt and got to his feet. Carefully he stepped over the broken door and crossed the corridor. A thick iron lock hung from Shane’s door and he pulled on it uselessly.
“I’ll have you out in a moment Shane!”
He hurried up the hall and cautiously peered around the corner and saw a pair of boots lying beside the guards’ station. Swallowing hard, he walked towards them to see the man they were attached too. Unmoving, the guard lay face down as a dark crimson pool gathering beneath him.
He looked away. He didn’t want to know if the man were alive or dead; the very thought sickened his stomach. He reached over the desk and pulled a large set of keys from the hook and rushed back to Shane’s cell. Fumbling, he tried each key in the lock until it popped open. He dropped it to the floor and pulled the heavy door open.
Blinking, the old man gingerly stepped into the hallway and looked at the remains of Ammon’s cell door, then at Ammon, and then at the dragon clinging to Ammon’s chest. Rubbing his eyes he bent over to look closer at Fulgid and whistled through his teeth.
“Incredible! I never would believe this if I wasn’t seeing it with my own eyes!”
The sound of distant shouts and a horn blowing snapped him from his stare. “Quickly, lad, we need to get out of here now if we’re to escape!”
They hurried down the hall past the guard station, and through the remains of the door to the main hallway. Wordlessly, Shane directed Ammon through the hall and down a stairway. As they rounded a corner into a wide corridor, the old man pointed towards a set of wide doors.
“Hurry, in there!”
They burst through the doors into a large kitchen. Fireplaces lined the walls on both sides, and pots and kettles bubbled and boiled over the fires. Four women wearing wide greasy aprons looked up in surprise. One of the cooks, a short, stout woman with gray hair and a round face placed her plump hands on each hip and eyed each of them suspiciously.
“Well, Knight Shane, I declare it’s been a number of years since I had the pleasure of throwing you out of my kitchen!”
Shoving Ammon ahead, the old man spoke quickly. “No time to chat, Maise, if you were ever loyal to King Erik you’ll let us pass!”
The cook raised an eyebrow. “You know I’m a loyal subject of the king, or was until he died! Now if you’ve caused Tirate grief and he’s set his men after you, then you’re an even better man than I thought! That scoundrel deserves the worst! Isn’t that right girls?” The other three cooks nodded enthusiastically.
“Now if you need to get out of the palace, follow me.” Spinning on her heel, the large woman moved with surprising speed.
She opened a small door in the rear of the kitchen and motioned them inside. “This is where the workmen haul the firewood for the ovens. It leads down to the street below the palace. Go to the inn at the bottom of the hill called The Silver Dragon and ask to see Kyle the innkeeper. Tell him I sent you. He’ll help you out of the city. Now wait a minute.”
She disappeared into the kitchen and came back a minute later with two warm sacks filled with food and a large empty sackcloth. “You won’t get far with that shiny thing sticking out of your belly!” She wrapped the cloth around Ammon and Fulgid and tied it into place, then stood back to look at her handiwork. “Well, I’d say you look like a rather plump little fellow this way!”
Ammon grinned. Being plump wasn’t something he’d ever been accused of. One of the younger cooks peeked around the corner, smiled and winked at him. Ammon felt his face redden. Maise threw back her head, laughed, and pinched his cheek with a fat thumb and forefinger, then turned to Shane.
“You best take care of this one, with a face like that he’ll get himself into trouble right quick. Reminds me of someone else I knew at his age.” Grabbing Shane by his collar, she gave him a peck on the cheek. “Now off with you. Go, go!”
They fumbled down the dark stairway and pushed open the heavy door that lead into the street below. As they stepped into the sunshine, Shane mumbled under his breath. “Blasted interfering women never let you forget anything!”
Ammon followed Shane to the Silver Dragon Inn and stood hidden in the alleyway while Shane went in to talk to the innkeeper. A moment later he leaned around the corner and motioned him to go to the back of the building. Ammon nodded and hurried down the alley and waited until Shane opened the back door.
Kyle, the innkeeper stuck his head out behind Shane and looked around nervously. “Quickly! Upstairs!”
Ammon climbed the narrow stairwell as fast as his ankle would allow. Kyle unlocked a door on the top floor and led them inside. A balding middle-aged man, the innkeeper was shorter than Ammon, but with wide shoulders and a broad back.
Mopping the sweat from his face, he sat down on a stool in the corner. “Maise sent you to see me? You must be trying to escape Lord Tirate?” he whispered hoarsely.
Ammon nodded. “Yes we are.”
Shane shot him a fierce warning look and turned to the innkeeper. “We need to get out of the city, quickly and discreetly.”
Kyle tapped his pudgy nose with a thick finger. “It can be done, but you’ll have to wait until after the change of the guard around midnight. Tonight the guard in charge of the East Gate is my nephew Derek. You might have seen him; he used work here at the tavern. Real handy to have around when the drunks get out of hand. He’s nearly the size of a house and bright as a dark cellar.” He chuckled. “He’s a right ugly boy with a face only a dragon could love, but he’s a good-hearted soul. Tirate thought he was one of the mercenaries and hired him as a guard, and Derek took the job for the extra money. Puts on a good act as a toughie but he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Shane nodded impatiently. “As long as he can get us out of the city. We don’t want to cause a commotion.”
“I also have a man for you to meet.” Kyle continued. “You’ll want to talk to him, I’ll wager. I’m sure he’ll be willing to help. In the meantime make yourself at home; you’ll be safe here.”
After the innkeeper left, Ammon unwrapped the sackcloth from around his stomach. Fulgid still clung tightly to his shirt with his eyes closed. Shane leaned closer to have a better look.
Reaching out his hand, he looked up at Ammon. “May I?”
Ammon nodded, and Shane gently stroked the little dragon’s neck as he studied him carefully. “Ammon, how many times has he shed since Hatch?”
Ammon shrugged. “I don’t think he has, why?”
Shane pinched the loose skin on his neck and several scales clinked as they fell to the floor. “See how loose this is? It’s his old skin peeling off. This should’ve shed two or three days after he hatched, and it doesn’t usually happen again until they’re about six months of age. If this is his first shed, it’s a wonder he lived this long. His body would have continued to grow beneath these hard scales. He must have been nearly crushed by his own flesh!”
Ammon scratched Fulgid behind the ear and a few more tiny scales fell to the floor, rattling like coins. “So is that why I felt my own skin was squeezing me? Because of the link?”
Shane nodded. “If a dragon can’t shed, it dies. I’ve known knights that tried cutting the first skin off when this happened to their hatchling, but a simple knife won’t cut through dragon scales. Something must’ve started it for him, something hard!”
Ammon gently pulled Fulgid o
ff the front of his leather shirt and cradled him in his arms belly up. Shiny new scales glistened and sparkled across his belly and a few more old ones fell to the floor. One by one he began peeling them off and placing them in a small pile.
Shane shook his head and smiled. “It’s always good to see a dragon survive its first shed.” He stood up and walked to the window and stared out into the street.
Ammon leaned back in the chair with Fulgid still laying on his lap. It suddenly struck him that his throbbing headache had dulled, and in its place was something different nestled in the back of his mind. Like a tiny transparent bubble, he could feel the fierce determination coming from the little dragon, and he wondered why he hadn’t felt it before. He closed his eyes and gently stroked behind Fulgid’s ear. The bubble rippled as a gentle golden voice whispered from within. “Ammon!”
***
Theo sat quietly in the rear of a tavern sipping water from an ale mug. Since he had arrived the previous day, he had spent most of his time trying to find a set of rooms before he finally settled at The Silver Dragon Inn. Once a favorite gathering place for the King’s Guard, it was now mostly empty but for the occasional traveler. Kyle the innkeeper was a friendly man with an impressive girth and a ready smile who kept the inn clean and neat despite the lack of patrons.
Theo drained the mug and placed it gently on the table. So far, the first part of his plan had gone well. He had already made contact with the palace page that had informed him of King Erik’s escape. The boy would be an invaluable resource and could be his key to getting inside the palace. The page knew who was loyal, and Theo had instructed him to send every one of them to the inn to meet with him. Now he just waited as they trickled in one by one.
Kyle collected the empty mug and wiped the polished table with a rag. “Would you like a tankard of ale?”
Theo shook his head. “No, thank you.”
Kyle shrugged. “I never had much use for it either, but my patrons demand it.” He jerked a fat thumb at the door. “Those louts out there that call themselves the new Guard drink it by the bucket! In my day we were never allowed to touch the stuff or our captain would have broken us down to a street sweeper!”
Theo raised his eyebrows. “You were in the Guard?”
“Aye, I was. A foot soldier in the barbarian war. Caught an arrow in my knee in the Battle of Coulee. Almost killed me and worse, ended my career.”
Theo let out a low whistle. “I’ve read about that one. Why didn’t you stay on? Certainly you could have worked elsewhere for the king?”
The big man sat down heavily beside Theo. “I wanted to be a Dragon Knight. After the injury I was only suitable to sit behind a desk.” He spread his hands and gestured around the room. “This is the closest I’ll ever get to a dragon, so I make the best of it.” A sudden sadness swept over the innkeepers face and he shook his head. “I suppose it’s time to sell this place and move on. Gaul will be no place for an honest man with Tirate as the new king.”
Theo smiled. This was exactly the kind of connections he needed to make. A retired Guard still loyal to Erik would be a valuable ally. He pulled his knight’s ring from his pocket and slid it across the table. The man’s jaw dropped and he gaped in astonishment. “How did you come by this?”
Theo leaned forward. “How would you like to once again serve King Erik?”
Kyle sadly slid the ring back across the table. “Good King Erik is dead.”
“What if I told you he wasn’t? Would you be interested?”
Kyle gasped. “Alive? The King is still alive?”
Theo nodded. “Are you interested?”
Kyle studied Theo’s face a moment then extended a large hand. “I’d be honored if you’d let me sire!”
***
By the next day Theo had added a fair number of supporters to his list, some were friends of Kyle but most were servants from the palace. One of them was a large, boisterous cook who insisted her entire staff wanted to see Tirate thrown to the dragons. He couldn’t help but smile as he sat in the back of the tavern sipping water and waiting for the next meeting. It seemed Tirate wasn’t very popular with most of the palace staff and was apparently unaware that he needed them for things to run smoothly. Without staff, life in a palace that size could be quite uncomfortable.
Kyle came out of the kitchen and smiled. “I just brought two more visitors upstairs to the room adjacent to yours. They were sent from the cook.”
Theo nodded and headed up the stairs. As a precautionary measure everyone was sent to the room next to his where he could listen to their conversation through the walls. It was far too dangerous now to take a chance on being caught when he was so close to finding the dragon.
He slipped into his room and pressed an ear against the wall. As the voices drifted through he could tell one was an older man, the other a boy or perhaps a young man. The older man was talking, something about shedding and, dragons? He continued to listen but the two men had gone quiet. He waited a few more minutes and decided to take a chance. He tucked a knife in his belt behind his back as a precaution. There was no way to be absolutely sure which side they were on, so it was better to be prepared.
Silently he slipped into the hallway and threw open the door of their room. With one quick step he entered and slammed the door shut behind him. He barely had time to recognize Shane’s startled face before a golden bolt struck him hard in the chest and sent him reeling. He dropped to his knees and gasped as he tried to force air back into his lungs. Within moments Shane was helping him to his feet and laughing in near hysterics.
Theo collapsed into a chair still wheezing and gasping and found himself staring face to face with the dragon he’d thought dead and the two men he’d come to rescue. Between gasps he started to chuckle.
Shane pulled a chair up beside him and heartily pounded his back.
“He may be small, but he’s fast! Unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”
Theo nodded in agreement. “Me neither.” He rubbed his chest with one hand and grimaced. There would be quite a bruise there. “I came back to steal it from Tirate and, if possible, free you and the boy. This however, is not what I expected!”
Shane grinned and winked at Ammon. “Well, we’re certainly grateful for all your efforts, but as you can see, we already have things well in hand.”
***
Tirate awoke with a screaming headache. He forced his swollen eyes open and brought his hand to his temples to find his head tightly wrapped in bandages. Several attendants hovered over him and protested when he tried to sit up. Searing pain enveloped him from head to toe, and he gingerly lay back down again with a muffled groan.
He snarled. “What happened? Tell me now, or I’ll have you flogged! I'll have all of you flogged!”
The attendants backed up meekly, and Tirate’s personal guard stepped forward.
“Sire, you were alone in the room when we heard you scream. By the time we entered, we found you lying on the floor with most of your clothes in tatters. Beside you was your sword…what was left of your sword that is. We found only a few shards of metal and the pommel. The dragon…uh, your dragon, was still in the room after it attacked you. Sire, it…shredded…all of your armor and everything in the room! We tried catching the beast, but I'm afraid it got past us. It put five men in the infirmary; at least one isn’t likely to pull through. I have doubts the others will be returning to service…ever.”
Tirate’s bloodshot eyes nearly bulged out of his head. “Where is it now? Where is my dragon?”
The guard lowered his eyes. “It broke through the prison doors and attacked the guards there. It appears to have released the boy and one other prisoner escaped with him. We’ve secured the gates and are searching the city now. Sire, how are we to stop such a creature?”
Tirate started to grit his teeth only to find several missing, had the dragon spared any part of him? “Give me a mirror!”
An attendant handed him a small mirror and he grabbed it
impatiently. He looked at his reflection and gasped. His nose was broken and both eyes were swollen and black. Most of his hair was gone, and his ears were bandaged. He threw the mirror violently, and it crashed against the wall sending splinters of glass everywhere. In anger, he slammed his fist into the bed and a flurry of feathers shot into the air. As the feathers drifted down like snowflakes, he suddenly realized the condition of his quarters. The mattress was shredded, as were the pillows. Every curtain, rug, and piece of furniture he could see lay tattered or in pieces. The dragon had completely destroyed his entire chambers; every stitch of clothing and every personal object he owned!
***
It wasn’t going to be easy getting to the city gate with Tirate’s men looking for them, and neither Theo nor Shane could agree on the best plan. Ammon quietly contented himself by plucking loose scales from Fulgid while the two men talked. Suddenly the little dragon’s head popped up and focused his attention on the door. Theo motioned for them to be silent as he slipped the knife out from his belt and moved beside the door. There was a soft tap at the door, and it opened just wide enough for the bald head of the innkeeper to cautiously peer into the room.
Hatch (The Dragons Of Laton) Page 12