El stopped and looked back in confusion as Ammon screamed at her to get away from the door. Before she could take a step, the thick wooden door behind her shuddered violently. With a loud creak, the bottom of the door began to fold inwards until, with a horrifying crack, it burst open. A fat bulbous body slipped past and started slithering over the firewood barrier.
Ammon yelled to the guard as he ran. “Light it! Light the fire!”
The guard grabbed a torch from the wall and hurled it onto the oil soaked wood. In seconds the entire barrier burst into a wall of smoky flames. El stood frozen a few paces away, watching in horror as the slug writhed in the inferno. Squirming back and forth, it lurched headfirst into the barrier and broke through, tumbling over the burning logs and rolling onto the floor at El’s feet. Fulgid skidded to a stop in front of the slug and stood up on his rear feet with his head back. Ammon raced past at a dead run and flung himself at El, knocking her to the floor. As they slid to a stop he pulled her beneath him and shielded her as a tremendous blast roared behind them. When he looked up again the slug was disintegrated, leaving nothing but blackened scorch marks on the stone floor.
Ammon rolled over and jumped to his feet as he patted at the smoldering bits of his shirt with his bandaged hands. The guards had gathered and were working to shut the door while others pulled the burning logs apart and smothered them with wet blankets. Ammon quickly checked the other doors and instructed the guards to rearrange the firewood barriers so they couldn’t be knocked over so easily.
Satisfied that the doors were secure, he walked back to the table. It seemed Fulgid had the ability to sense when the slugs approached, and at the moment, the little dragon was relaxed. He eased himself into the chair and picked up the mug Theo had brought him earlier and took a long sip. The bitter drink was barely lukewarm but he didn’t care, he needed to do something with his hands to keep them from shaking. After he drained the mug, he pulled one of the books closer and flipped it open. Black specks of burnt bandage flaked off his hands onto the pages.
He didn’t look up when El sat down at the table. She reached across and carefully began to unwind the burnt bandages on his left hand. Neither said a word, and Ammon stared blankly at the book, occasionally flipping a page. When she finished, she started on his right hand. She worked silently as she applied the ointment and wrapped it with fresh bandages.
When she was done there was a long pause, then she spoke in a voice so soft it was barely audible. “I could teach you, if you want.”
Ammon turned another page. “What are you talking about?”
With a tiny giggle, she reached over and tapped the book with a slender finger. “You have it upside down.”
Ammon felt his ears grow hot, but before he could say anything, El got up and walked behind him.
“Let’s get that armor off so I can look at your back. I’m sure the bandages need changing and you probably have new burns as well.”
Ammon sighed reluctantly as she helped him slip the vest over his head and charred bits of cloth fell to the floor. El gently plucked the burnt threads from his back and spread the soothing ointment over blistered skin.
Softly, and very faintly he heard her whisper. “Thank you.”
He gritted his teeth against the pain as she placed bandages against the blisters. “You’re welcome.”
Later that night Fulgid alerted him just before another slug burst through one of the doors, but the guards had the barrier burning before he got there. Each day the number of attacks increased and by the fifth day Ammon had completely run out of shirts. El replaced the burned bandages several times each day, and as the sixth day approached, she threw down the last piece of burnt bandage from his back in exasperation.
“You don’t even need a shirt now, you’re completely covered in bandages! The other dragons had better start breathing fire soon or this will never heal. I’m afraid you’ll be covered in scars as it is!”
The worst of the attacks always happened after nightfall. Again and again the slugs pushed their way through the doors, sometimes two or three at a time. Frustrated, Ammon watched the fires roar almost constantly with the wood they’d worked so hard to gather for the winter. The screams of slugs echoed through the smoke-filled Hold long into the night as Ammon and Fulgid blasted fireballs at any that managed to get past the barriers. An excited Theo came during one of the few lulls just as Ammon downed a fourth cup of the black liquid mixed with honey and cream that El had brought to him.
“Ebony just blew her first breath of fire! It wasn’t nearly as impressive as Fulgid’s, but it will be effective! Until now, the dragons have been sullen and quiet in the back. An hour ago Ebony started getting antsy, so I brought her up front. Since then two more have started acting the same way. By breakfast we will have enough help so you can rest!”
A wave of relief washed over Ammon. He was so tired that every bone in his body ached and each burn screamed against his skin. Even Fulgid looked miserable. His eyes were still bright, but he no longer bounded so quickly from spot to spot. Ammon knew they wouldn’t have been able to keep going much longer. Theo’s timing couldn’t have been better.
He positioned Ebony and the two other dragons by the doors, and an hour later three more came to the front ready to fight. By the time El had brought Ammon and Fulgid their meal, there were enough dragons to man every gate. Ammon collapsed face down in his bed for the first time in days, and Fulgid crawled onto the pillow beside his head. Within minutes both of them were snoring in a deep sleep. He didn’t even wake when El changed his bandages.
***
Ammon awoke to see Theo looking down at him. Blinking his eyes as he sat up and stretched gingerly, he winced against the pain as the bandages on his back pulled his skin.
Theo shoved a steaming cup into his hands and smiled. “It’s about time you woke up. You’ve been asleep for two days. I was beginning to get concerned!”
Ammon’s jaw cracked as he yawned and he took a sip from the mug. “I’ve been asleep for two days?”
Theo nodded. “I would have awoken you sooner but that girl El wouldn’t let anyone near you. She threatened to personally feed anyone to the slugs if they bothered you.” He chuckled and pointed at something behind Ammon. “And I believe her! I’d watch out for that one if I were you, Ammon.”
Ammon turned and felt his jaw drop. El sat at a table on the far side of the room talking with Kyle. Fulgid was stretched out on her lap with his feet in the air. She was casually rubbing his belly and he was obviously enjoying it.
Theo tilted his head in wonder. “He woke up the next morning but you were still asleep and he wouldn’t leave your side. El figured he was probably hungry and got him to eat some dried pork. You know it’s rare that a dragon allows anyone else to feed it when it’s guarding its link?”
Ammon shook his head in disbelief. Leave it to Fulgid to accept a woman who hated him.
Theo refilled Ammon’s cup. “Anyway, we all would have been glad to let you sleep, but the Hold isn’t exactly comfortable quarters for five hundred or so people and two hundred dragons. No one dares explore the palace in case there are slugs hiding inside and our dragons can’t fit through the doors. None of the hatchlings that are small enough to go inside have been able to produce a fireball much bigger than your hand.”
Ammon sighed. “So you need Fulgid to sniff them out.” He jerked his thumb at El. “Maybe she could’ve got him to do it.”
Theo put his mug down and looked across the room at them. “No, Ammon, she couldn’t. Nobody could. A dragon’s instinct is to protect its link. That is the only important thing to a dragon and nothing else matters to them. Don’t let yourself be fooled into thinking otherwise.”
Theo pushed the chair back and stood up. “Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll go with you. I don’t think it’ll take long, as dragons seem to have an ability to sense when the slugs are near. Fulgid should be able to lead us right to them.”
Ammon yawned once m
ore. “We can go now I guess. Then I’ll get something to eat.”
He steadied himself against the table as he stood. Every muscle and bone throbbed and his head ached. The two of them walked slowly across the room as Ammon worked the stiffness from his legs.
El looked up as they came close and gave Theo a dark frown. “Couldn’t let him sleep a while longer eh? The palace has been here for thousands of years, it wasn’t going anywhere.” Theo shrugged his shoulders but said nothing.
El stood up and slung a sack over her shoulder. “Lets get this over with then, so he can get some rest.” She turned to face the two of them before they could utter a word. “Yes, I’m going with you. I haven’t been slopping goo and bandages on your hide just to have it burned off again. Besides, Sasha has asked me to stay near you. She seems to think there is something important about that gold dragon of yours.” Ammon opened his mouth to protest, but she held up her hand and cut him off. “I will slap you if I have to.”
Ammon’s mouth snapped shut. When agitated, the woman could make Kala-Azar seem cute and cuddly.
The Hold doors were open now, and as they stepped out into the sunlight, Ammon could see the courtyard was completely blackened with soot. He looked at Theo questioningly.
“A few hours after you went to sleep all of the dragons had the fire. As soon as that happened we decided to go on the offensive. We threw open the doors and blasted our way out. There were hundreds of slugs across the courtyard descending on the Hold, all of them screaming at once. As soon as the first dragons could break through, we took to the air and burned them from above. By the time night fell, not a single one made it across the courtyard alive. I’m sure there are more hiding throughout the city and in the hills, but now the tables have turned and we’re hunting them instead. We’re combing the streets the best we can, trying to draw them out.”
He looked quizzically down at Fulgid trotting beside Ammon. “You may be interested to know none of the dragons, regardless of age or size, have matched Fulgid’s ability to breathe fire, at least not yet. We’re hoping their abilities increase the longer they take the calentar.”
As the three of them climbed the steps to the palace, a shadow flew overhead as several dragons circled. Theo shaded his eyes and watched them land in the courtyard. “Those must be the Laton dragons coming in from the countryside. Sasha asked Erik to send out riders with satchels of calentar and maps. Apparently she knows exactly where every one of them is. If what she says is true, in a few weeks there will be more dragons assembled here than the world has seen in many, many years!”
El sniffed indignantly. “It’s true. You’ll soon see!”
Ammon rolled his eyes and followed them wordlessly up the stairs to the palace. If this is how she was going to act, it was going to be a long day.
The palace interior looked much the same as it had before. They searched room to room and found two Kala-Azar hiding in Ammon’s chambers. Fulgid made quick work of eliminating them, destroying the rugs in the process, but otherwise the only damage was a layer of soot covering everything. Another slug was waiting in Erik’s chambers, and scrolls of paper and a good portion of the table were burned when Fulgid destroyed it. As they worked their way through, Ammon noticed that it was the places that Fulgid frequented where they found slugs waiting. Everywhere else seemed undisturbed, but to be safe, they decided to search it anyway.
As large as the palace was, there were places that had not yet been explored, and in one area they stumbled upon an armory. Ammon stared in wonder at the row after row of armor, shields, and swords. Theo walked down one of the rows and called out to Ammon and El. Holding his torch up to the dust-covered sword hanging on the wall, he pointed to the one Ammon wore.
“Look, it’s the same odd style as the one you have, Ammon. I had thought perhaps your sword was one of a kind, but it appears quite common here judging from the number of them on these walls.”
El snorted. “Common? Hardly!” She turned to Ammon and frowned. “I told you before it was an Honor Blade!”
Ammon shrugged. “Yes, I remember you saying that now. I was a bit…distracted…at the time though. So what does it mean?”
El squinted her eyes at him mischievously and smirked. “If you’d read that book you’d know.” Embarrassed, Ammon looked away and she continued. “An Honor Blade is given only to royalty and to those knights who earn the right to carry one through great acts of courage or personal sacrifice. With it comes the responsibility to act as an authority figure. If there is a dispute, the bearer of the Blade acts as judge.”
Theo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “How do you know all this if the city was abandoned long before you were born?”
El shrugged. “Grandmother Sasha insisted I learn the laws, titles, customs, and traditions of the country for the day the dragons return. I always thought it was foolish because the dragons would never come back. I guess I was wrong.”
A loud crash from behind startled them and they all spun around. Theo held the torch high over his head to cast the light further into the room. At the end of the row, Fulgid stood innocently next to a shield he pulled down from a suit of armor. They breathed a sigh of relief, and El picked the shield up and placed it back on its stand next to the armor as Ammon scolded the little dragon. Theo gasped and stood still as a stone with his mouth open. Ammon and El looked up at him, then at each other.
El jerked her thumb at Theo and whispered to Ammon. “What’s wrong with him?”
Ammon stood up from where he’d been kneeling next to Fulgid. “Theo? What’s the matter?”
Theo pointed at the wall behind them. Ammon turned and felt his heart skip a beat. A large portrait hung on the wall of a young man with bright blue eyes and shoulder length blond hair. The resemblance was so close that Ammon could have been looking in a mirror. Theo brought the torch closer as El dusted the name plaque.
Coughing from the dust, she read it out loud. “King Halos, House of Les.” She stepped back, tilting her head at the painting. “It’s definitely a striking resemblance to you, Ammon. Ammon? Now you look like you’ve seen the ghost!”
Ammon was staring down at the shield El had carefully hung back on the stand. He held up his bandaged hand and unwrapped his finger to expose the ring he wore. In the firelight, El could see the engraving was identical to the gold dragon insignia on the face of the shield.
El shook her head in confusion. “I don’t understand. This is impossible, King Halos died over fifty years ago!”
Ammon felt sick. Whatever these coincidences meant, he felt sure it wouldn’t lead to anything good. Despite his argument that they should leave things where they were, Theo insisted they bring them downstairs to the Hold where Erik had set up his temporary chambers. Ammon reluctantly carried the shield while Theo carefully hefted the large portrait down the hallway in front of them. El walked beside Ammon and Fulgid lost in thought.
“We should tell grandmother. She would understand more about this than anyone. She knew King Halos. He was the last ruler of DoTaria before the fall of the city.”
Ammon only nodded, there wasn't much else he could do. He had a bad feeling about this. The look on his face must have been obvious because El patted his arm reassuringly before she left to find Sasha.
When they got to Erik’s quarters, it was so crowded with people there was standing room only. Ammon held the door open, and Theo shuffled in with the portrait and they looked around curiously. Erik was in the far end of the room facing them with a broad smile across his face. Behind him, Shane was leaning against the wall and laughing hysterically. Ammon stood on his toes and strained to see over the shoulders of the people in front of him. He could just see the top of a bald headed man sitting in a chair facing Erik. Standing off to the side were four knights with strange looking armor. Although obviously still made from dragon scales, the overlapping design swirled in a whimsical fashion rather than in straight neat rows like typical armor.
Erik noticed Ammon and Theo in t
he back of the room and gestured for them to come closer. “You two are just in time! Not a quarter of an hour has past since these four honorable DoTarian Knights arrived carrying a rather large payload between their dragons. Perhaps you'd like to say hello to one of their passengers?”
The bald man turned in his chair. His face was covered with partially healed scratches and the remnants of a large bruise above his left eye still colored his forehead. One arm hung limp in a sling, and Ammon could see his leg was wrapped and braced with saplings. Despite all the injuries, there was no mistaking the familiar smile on the man’s face. Stunned, Ammon let the shield slip from his hands and it rattled loudly on the floor. Fulgid suddenly bounded across the room and leapt excitedly onto Boris’ lap.
"Aye! As happy as I am to see you, could you get this confounded oversized lapdog of a gilded dragon off of me before he breaks my other leg?" With his good arm he reached up and scratched Fulgid behind the ears.
Ammon plucked Fulgid from Boris’ lap and placed the little dragon on the floor, then embraced his friend warmly as he struggled for words. “I...I thought you were dead! I saw you and Ellis fall, and I tried to get to you...I tried but I couldn't!” Ammon looked down at Fulgid as the words caught in his throat. “We tried, but the water pulled you away before we could get there!”
Hatch (The Dragons Of Laton) Page 24