“Are you Marron? And is this your mother Pinda?” he asked. The boy nodded, staring at him with huge, terrified eyes.
Tallin cut the ropes on their wrists in a single stroke and offered the boy his hand. Marron stood up, almost hitting his head on the low beams. Tallin estimated that he was little more than a teenager, but he was already so tall that his head almost touched the ceiling. Tallin pulled the unconscious woman off the floor and flung her limp body over his good shoulder. “Follow me, we’re leaving.”
The bounty hunter with the injured leg stood up for a moment, pointing at the exit. “Stop! I wouldn’t do that if I were you. We’re Druknor Theoric’s men, and those two are our prisoners!”
“Thanks for the advice, but I don't scare easily,” replied Tallin matter-of-factly.
“Druknor will skewer your head on a pike for this!”
“I seriously doubt that. I’m not afraid of you—or Druknor.” As Tallin exited the house, he glanced back at the men. “Don’t follow us. If I see so much as a shadow behind me, I’ll kill you both.”
Marron followed Tallin into the forest. In the dim light, Tallin could see the boy was still very afraid. Tallin touched the boy’s shoulder, and whispered reassuringly, “Marron, you can trust me. I’m a friend of your father’s.”
"You know my pap?” Marron asked, his voice anxious.
“Yes, Endrell asked me to come find you. Just follow me and keep quiet, all right? Everything is going to be fine.”
“Okay,” said the boy, nodding timidly. They walked swiftly, and were soon far enough from the settlement that Tallin felt safe enough to stop. He placed the unconscious woman on the ground and reached out with his mind.
Duskeye’s gravelly voice reverberated in Tallin’s thoughts, through their mental telepathic link. "Are you all right, friend? I felt a stabbing pain."
“I was injured by one of Druknor’s men, but I’ll be fine. Fly toward the village, but remain hidden in shadow. Use our dragon stone link to find me; I’m waiting in the woods nearby.”
Duskeye arrived shortly, his blue chest heaving.
"I flew as swiftly as I could," he said, landing with a thump.
Marron pointed at the dragon with a trembling finger. “Och! What in bloody ‘ell is that?”
“Don’t yell boy. You’ll wake the whole village!”
The boy’s head shook back and forth with terror. He screamed even louder. “It’s a monster! It’s gonna eat us!”
Tallin shook his head with exasperation. “For goodness sake. I didn’t want to have to do this, but… Sofna-fuggl.”
Marron paused, and his face lost its terrified expression. Seconds later, his body relaxed and he sat down, a dazed smile on his face. “Silly boy,” Tallin murmured. He turned his attention back to Duskeye. “Well, I found the boy and his mother.”
"I can see that," Duskeye replied. "That big one seems rather skittish."
“He may look huge, but he’s just a frightened child. I must stabilize the woman before we go—she isn’t well. I can make her comfortable for the journey, but I can’t help her beyond that, I’m afraid. She’s very sick. The lad is fine, though. Other than a few bumps and bruises, he’ll be okay.”
"And what about Druknor? What if he sends out more bounty hunters to search for us?"
“I’m betting he won’t. Druknor’s men had no reason to suspect that I’m a mage—I was careful not to use any obvious spells.”
"But what about all that blood on your shirt—you healed your injured shoulder. Did they notice?"
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t think they knew how badly I was injured.” A hint of roguishness crept onto his face. “They’ll just assume I’m a good swordsman—and a scoundrel brave enough to steal their take.”
"So where are we taking these two?"
“None of the human cities are safe for them at the moment. We’re going to take them to the Elder Willow. Let’s go visit our old friends Chua and Starclaw.”
She-Dragons
Tallin and Duskeye left for the Elder Willow right away, with Pinda and Marron in tow. The two snored happily, slung across Duskeye’s saddle like sacks of potatoes. Tallin kept them mildly sedated for most of the trip. They stopped frequently along the way, allowing Duskeye to rest. The boy was incredibly heavy.
They reached their destination the following day. The Elder Willow was a magical place. Chua, a retired dragon rider, lived there quietly with his companion, the dragon Starclaw.
Starclaw preened her emerald scales while Chua sat nearby, meditating under a tree. Chua’s legs had been amputated at the knee during the war, and Starclaw was missing her right wing. They were both blind.
Despite these injuries, they lived independently in this sacred place, and Chua’s prophetic abilities drew frequent visitors.
Duskeye landed heavily, struggling under the load of his extra passengers. Tallin hopped from the saddle and greeted Chua and Starclaw warmly.
Duskeye placed Marron and Pinda gently on the ground, where they continued to slumber. Tallin described his fight with the outlanders to Chua before deactivating the spell that held his charges in a daze.
Once he released them, Marron and Pinda sat up, yawned, and rubbed their eyes. They were a bit bewildered, but none the worse for wear.
Marron grabbed his mother’s hand. “Where are we, Mum?” Then he noticed the dragons. “Look at those giant lizards! There’s two of ‘em now!”
Pinda regarded the dragons with curiosity rather than fear. Then she noticed the dragon stone on Tallin’s chest. “These are dragon riders, son. They won’t hurt us. They’re our friends.” She patted her son’s hand comfortingly.
Marron wiped his nose with his sleeve, puffing out his round cheeks. “Are you sure? Those bloody beasts look hungry…”
Pinda smacked his ear. “Don’t use that saucy language around me, young man! I raised you better than that. Those aren’t beasts or lizards—they’re dragons. They don’t eat people.”
Despite the boy’s colossal size, his voice was that of a child, not a grown man. The outlanders had really roughed him up, as well as his ailing mother.
“Don’t be afraid, Marron,” Tallin said, “I won’t hurt you or your mother. You’re safe here.”
Marron huddled closer to his mother, trying to hide behind her tiny frame. It would be almost comical if he hadn’t been so terrified. “B-but…”
“Come now, Marron, stop being so daft,” said Pinda. “We’ve been invited to a little forest picnic. So there’s no need for you to be scared. Now apologize to our friends for your impolite language.”
Marron hung his head, embarrassed. “Ah’m sorry, sirs,” he mumbled. “Ah didn’t mean to poke fun at your dragons.”
“That’s much better,” she said. “Now stand up and help me greet our new friends properly; it’s bad manners to sit when your guests are standing.”
Marron rose up, offering his arm to his pale mother. She placed her frail hand in his and tottered over to Tallin. “We haven’t been officially introduced. I’m Pinda and this is my son, Marron. We’re pleased to meet you.”
“Likewise,” said Tallin, accepting her delicate handshake. “This is my companion, Duskeye, and that’s Chua and Starclaw over there.”
Chua raised his hand in greeting, and Starclaw nodded politely.
“I know who you are,” said Pinda. “My body might be broken down, but my memory’s as sharp as ever. Dragons aren’t legends to me. I remember seeing them before the war. My father told us stories about the dragon riders when I was a girl.”
“Indeed,” said Tallin. “It’s been a long time since the sky was filled with dragon riders.”
“It’s so nice to see a dragon up close. How many dragon riders are there now?”
“Fewer than a dozen remain,” Chua said, answering the question in his gentle voice. “Six dragon riders serve the whole continent. It’s a meager number, and that includes Starclaw and me. Obviously we are unable to fly anymore, but
we do what we can to help those who come to us for guidance. The other dragon riders are unable to serve as many people as they would like. There are also a handful of dragons living among the elves.”
“It’s a shame there’s so few of them now,” she said. “People never stopped talking about them, you know. I played dragons with my siblings. I grew up in Faerroe and liked exploring the countryside a lot. When I was a girl, I discovered caves a few leagues outside the city. My curiosity got the best of me, and I scaled the hill to explore them. I found a dragon’s nest filled with eggs. A little female nested there.”
Tallin could not hide his shock. “You found a dragon’s nest near Faerroe?”
Duskeye’s head shot up, and he stared at Tallin—they were both thinking the same thing. I never imagined there were she-dragons this far south.
This was the second time on their journey that they had heard stories about wild dragons.
If she-dragons nested this far south, it was possible there were wild dragons anywhere on the continent, Tallin thought. The realization was like a bolt of lightning, and he felt overwhelmed by guilt. I should have searched outside the desert. Instead, I remained isolated, never imagining that there might be survivors hiding anywhere else. I am a fool.
“Please, go on,” he urged. “Can you describe the location of the nest?”
Pinda nodded. “Yes, I remember it well. The cave had a very narrow entrance, covered by prickle-shrubs. The first time I climbed up there, the shrubs scratched me up something fierce! The welts on my arms didn’t go away for a long time. I found the cave by accident—I never would have guessed that there was room for a dragon, at least from afar. The female must have really squeezed herself in there. The entrance was small, and there wasn’t much space inside.”
“Did you see hatchlings in the nest?”
Pinda nodded. “Yes, a few times! They gave me the fright of my life! Those babies screamed bloody murder when they saw me. It frightened me nearly out of my wits, and I ran out of there. Thankfully, the mother wasn’t in the cave. My curiosity got the better of me, though—I came back a few days later and counted twelve hatchlings! They were so tiny, only a few days old.”
“Twelve hatchlings is a large clutch of eggs,” said Tallin.
A nesting female could bear over a dozen eggs, or as few as one, depending on her health and a few other factors. The smaller clutches were usually comprised of the rarer dragon colors. White dragons were the rarest of the species, and white hatchlings were enormous. Because of the voracious appetite of the hatchlings, a female would usually lay only one egg if it was a white dragon. Conversely, a female might have upwards of a dozen carnelian hatchlings, since red dragons were the smallest and took the least amount of energy to feed. It was simple biology.
“Did you ever see the female?”
“Once,” Pinda nodded. “I peeked inside and she was there, sleeping. I held my breath and watched her for a few moments from the entrance, and then I left. I didn’t want to disturb her. After that year, I never saw her again. She was such a pretty thing, bright scales with a silver underbelly. She seemed so small, too—stunted almost.”
She looked up at the sky, and her expression became wistful. “I still remember that little dragon. Do you think it’s possible she survived? I never told anyone else about her, even my own parents. And she seemed so smart, hiding in that poky little cave away from everyone else. I took a bit of broken eggshell as a souvenir, but lost it when my husband and I moved to Starryford.”
“Can you remember when you last saw her?” asked Tallin.
“Let me think,” Pinda replied. “I’m not sure of the year—it was so long ago… I was a young woman then.” She tipped her head back and sighed.
“Did you ever return to the cave?” asked Tallin.
“No—I was too afraid to go back, and a few years later, we moved to Starryford.” She shook her head sadly. “I wish I could see dragons flying in the sky again.”
“The dragon hunters killed so many. Very few survived the war.”
“It’s a silly notion, but I like to imagine that somehow that little female survived. I always hoped she made it through the war. Some of them did, at least.”
Pinda walked up to Starclaw and caressed her good wing, feeling the leathery skin underneath her fingers. “It’s amazing to see a dragon up close. Tsk! You’re such a beauty. It’s a shame about your other wing.” Her voice was soft. Starclaw sniffed Pinda and nuzzled her gently. “Oh my!” She giggled, stepping back. “Forgive me for asking, but now that the war is over, how come the dragons don’t start mating again?”
Tallin paused, taken aback by the question. “It’s a complex problem. During the war, dragon hunters targeted nesting females and their hatchlings. Precious few survived to reproduce. There are only a handful of females on the entire continent.”
“But there’s still a few!” Pinda continued. “Times have changed—it’s mostly peaceful these days. No one would dare harm a dragon now. They could start laying eggs right away, and soon there would be dozens of dragons.”
“It’s not that simple,” Tallin explained. “It’s impossible to force a female dragon to mate. So many newborns were slaughtered during the war—the remaining females became too afraid to nest. Dragon fertility is a mystery, even to the dragons themselves.”
“Well, how about the dragons living with the elves? What’s stopping them? They’re safe over there. Those females could start laying eggs.”
“No, unfortunately, they can’t. Elf magic suppresses dragon fertility. A she-dragon will be unable to produce any eggs while she remains within Brighthollow’s borders.”
“Well, that’s a bunch of silly nonsense. Why don’t they just come back to the desert and lay their eggs there? They can always go back to Brighthollow later.”
Tallin pursed his lips and shot Duskeye a despairing look. Mating behavior was an unseemly topic to discuss around the dragons themselves, but Pinda carried on as though it was the most innocent conversation in the world.
Chua sensed his discomfort and spoke up. “Pinda, this is a delicate subject to discuss. Before a female will nest, she must choose a suitable male, and she-dragons are very particular about their mates. Dragon females must be courted first. Before the war, it was not unusual for a female to reject dozens of suitors before deciding on one. With so few males and females left, it makes all of this rather… challenging.”
“Why, they’re a lot like us women, then!” Pinda laughed. “Even when there’s nothing to choose from, we’re still a picky bunch. Maybe the easiest solution would be to encourage the she-dragons not to be so particular!”
Tallin smiled, despite himself. He liked this woman.
“Has anyone of you found any dragons recently?” asked Pinda.
“No, not for several years. Duskeye and I search the desert constantly, but we haven’t had much luck finding other survivors, I’m afraid,” Tallin said.
Pinda patted Tallin’s shoulder reassuringly, “Well, don’t lose hope. Those dragons are very clever. I’m certain there’s more, hidden out there somewhere! Maybe you just didn’t look hard enough.”
Tallin felt a dark flush creeping over his cheeks. Pinda continued to smile. She hadn’t intended for her words to sound condescending, but they did, and he cringed inwardly. “I assure you, Pinda, we’ve never stopped searching.”
A short distance away, Starclaw snorted loudly and jiggled her head. Tallin glanced over at the she-dragon curiously, waiting for her to speak, but she remained silent.
Pinda went on. “That’s good! Don’t give up! I’d so love to see the sky filled with dragons again... before I die.” She whispered the last part, but everyone heard. Pinda sniffed, dabbing her eyes with her tattered sweater.
Tallin cleared his throat. He knew it was a good time to change the subject. “Are either of you hungry? Chua set out fresh food for us.” He pointed to several bowls nearby. There was a variety of nuts, pears, plums, and plates of s
liced vegetables to choose from. “There’s no meat, but everything is quite fresh. It will strengthen you both.”
Marron, who had been silent until now, tugged anxiously at his mother’s sleeve. “Can I, Mum? I’m really hungry.”
“Go ahead,” she replied. Marron grabbed handfuls of food and ate ravenously. He paused for a moment, looking at his mother. “Aren’t ye gonna eat anythin’, Mum?”
Pinda regarded the bowls dejectedly. Nothing looked appetizing to her now. “I feel a bit dowly, but I’ll try to eat a little bit.” Pinda selected a small plum and sank down on the grass to eat. Despite her layered clothing, one could see that she was rail-thin. Pinda’s illness curbed her appetite, and she nibbled at the plum, taking only tiny bites.
“Pinda, I know that you don’t feel well, but I need to ask you about the kidnappers,” said Tallin.
“Just a moment, please.” She turned to her son. “Marron, see that firewood over there?” She pointed to a pile of uncut logs. “These nice folks need help splitting and stacking it. Now run along and make yourself useful.” She swatted him playfully.
“All right,” said Marron. He tucked a few plums into his pocket and jogged over, grabbing an axe jutting from a stump. He started chopping wood immediately, thankful for something to do.
Once Marron was out of earshot, Pinda nodded. “Go on, then. I knew this was coming sooner or later.”
“I’ve already questioned your husband. Tell us your version of what happened,” said Tallin.
Pinda inhaled deeply. “Please understand… Endrell, he’s not a bad man. I’m dying—you can see it. Endrell was desperate to find a cure. Marron’s a hard worker, and he never complains about anything, but his mind’s like a toddler’s and it isn’t ever going to get any better. I love my son, but I worry about his future, especially now that Endrell got himself in trouble.”
“So you know why we came to find you?” asked Tallin.
The Balborite Curse (Book 4) Page 11