I reached the corridor, and slipped into it silently. Maybe tonight I would sleep somewhere outside the terrarium. Maybe not. It was safe, and I had already upset the order of things with the damn cushion. I carried the books into the ever-present light and moisture. I couldn’t keep them here long. I’d developed a theory about the Library. The clean walls, the shelves and bins… it was all set up to preserve the books. The stream in here would do bad things to ancient ink and vellum, I was afraid.
I set the books aside and went through my little ritual of making a small fire. Having that bit of cooked food made life a little better. And it was one of the few things I had control over right now. It wasn’t much, a bit of stew, but after a day with only pemmican it tasted good. I resisted looking at the Charter until I had done my housekeeping: put out the fire, put away leftover food (well, a little to the birds, who were becoming quite tame), and made a new cathole. I’d been keeping track of where I put them, so I wasn’t overburdening the soil in one place.
Then I sat cross-legged on my bedding, the book open on my lap, and a little elf-globe hovering just at head-level for a reading light. Much of what it laid out, in remarkably clear language, I had already known. No king or queen was to be a direct descendent of the previous one. The selection process was largely the Council, but weighted by certain things.
Now, that was interesting. Of the princesses who had come to Court to be seen, three of them had never been eligible at all. It wasn’t age, but experience the founding Council had wanted to see. Dill, the little girl Bella was so taken with, had nothing to show them. I wondered how altered the Charter copies were.
My eyes were tired, and my head throbbing after squinting at the faded ink. I resisted the urge to use a spell to enhance it. Anything I left a trace on, could be used against Bella. I tucked the books into nospace to protect them from the terrarium environment, and curled up to try and sleep.
I dozed, awakened, and dozed again. With the unchanging light, passage of time was impossible to calculate. I could go look out into the corridor, which did have a day cycle, but I wasn’t quite awake enough. I drifted back off. The second time my sleep was interrupted, I got up and relieved myself. This time, I did go to the corridor door. I reached out to open it, and then stopped, alerted by the little birds.
They flew up into the trees, just like they had when I first started invading their space. I couldn’t hear what they could, but I trusted their instincts. I risked a bubble.
I didn’t go anywhere, though, I just pulled it up and thinned a window enough to see, but not be seen. The door swing open partway, then a darkly scaled foot hooked it the rest of the way open. Bella had found me. She slid awkwardly through the door, her head swinging to and fro as she paced into the terrarium. I knew she would find the bed, and signs of my habitation.
I took advantage of the trees and ornamental plants as she leapt over the stream and vanished into them. Dropping the bubble, I ran into the hall, leaving the door open. I needed to find another hidey-hole. And where was Alger, dammit! I couldn’t keep this up much longer now that she was looking for me.
Three Dragons
It was still night. I didn’t think I was getting any more sleep, though. I sprinted up the corridor and into a hall where there had been no Bella tracks. She didn’t seem interested in very early human history. Then again, I didn’t think she could read runes or hieroglyphs. I was heading for the room where I’d first blundered out of my bubble. With all the bins, it would be a good place to hide. For a while.
With no hope of success, I sent a message to Alger. I may have sounded a little testy. I was beyond caring about that. Then I hunkered and made myself think small and silent. I couldn’t hear anything. After several minutes of this, I relaxed and slumped to the floor. It was cold and uncomfortable.
Well, shit. I’d gotten cocky, and it had bitten me. Whether it was the cushion, or moving the books, she was after me now. I’d lost my bedding, and that I didn’t carry back-ups for. I pulled a long coat out of my stash, which was significantly smaller, and wrapped up in it. It was going to be a long time until morning.
By morning’s first gray dim, I was cold, stiff, and had an idea. I got up and worked out the kinks, before munching survival rations – that was how low I’d gotten, down to the sardines packed in mustard sauce – and washing it down with cold water. Coffee was not an option. Once I was fueled up, I headed for the statuary hall, ignoring the other pressure.
I couldn’t leave the Library. Bella might kill me, but the monsters outside would certainly eat me, and I didn’t think I’d be able to access Lavendar’s dome. But if my theory was correct, there were two more wings of the Library. Bella was in one. The other I could access through the vast entrance gallery. I was hoping for another garden.
The hall was still. I sneaked from statue to statue, keeping them between me and the doorway where Bella’s nest was. I kept stopping to listen. Something was bothering me. It wasn’t a noise, really. It was more a vibration.
I made my way around a familiar Medusa head, and almost smacked into a wall. That wasn’t right. I couldn’t light anything to see what it was… I stretched out a hand and touched it. Warm, and covered in dinner-plate sized scales. Not Bella, her scales were smaller, more feathery.
I risked a tiny light. The wall was a metallic red, with a bit of gold just visible. Now, why hadn’t I thought of this before? I got my bearings from how the scales were laid out, and started toward Beaker’s head. He was fast asleep, wound around several statues delicately, like a cat on a shelf. I got to his head, feeling the soft vibration of his snores, and resisted the absurd urge to throw my arms around his muzzle in a hug like Bella did when she greeted him.
I did slide to the floor in the crook of his neck, feeling his warm bulk. He grunted in his sleep and angled his head a little, wrapping me up in his jaw folds. Beaker knew me, and he was more than Bella’s match. Also, if he was here, had been here for who knew how long… although not more than a couple of days, or I would have seen him with the bird. She knew he was here, and had accepted him.
I slept. I hadn’t realized how badly being alone was affecting me. Having Beaker as massive backup meant I could rest for the first time in who knew how long. I was awakened by a low rumbling growl. I rubbed my eyes and sat up, trying to interpret this noise. I froze when I saw Bella in front of me. She was crouched, her tail lashing like a cat, her wings partly spread. Beaker was growling at her.
The huge rainbow eyes shifted back and forth between us.
“Mreep. Meep. Mememe…”
That last came out like an opera singer warming up. I didn’t know he could make sounds that high. She rocked back on her haunches and shrieked at him. I stayed put. Beaker’s jaws were between the two of us. He stretched out his neck and…
Booped her in the belly with his nose. She batted at his face, hard, but he had closed his eyes. He snorted. She backed up.
I was torn between laughter at his tactics, and indignation that he was tickling my wife’s belly. Bella dropped to all fours, glared at both of us, and then turned away. She rapidly retreated in the direction of her nest. I looked up at Beaker.
“She’s thinking ‘men!’ so loudly I can practically hear it.”
He blinked at me amiably.
“I’d stay here, but the bathroom, and something beside the floor, not to mention food…” I sighed. I was talking to a dragon. I patted him on the muzzle, and he purred. It always astonished me how catlike the giant lizard was.
“I should be more worried about you, old boy. How are you going to eat?”
He looked at the vast doors.
“I suppose that’s how you got in, too. Although you do have a knack for showing up in the oddest places.”
He nodded, his eyes squinched, and moved for the doorway. I backed up and gave him space. Beaker nosed open the vast doors, and swam out, a foot or two above the ground. I rarely saw him use his almost vestigial legs for locomotion, he preferre
d to fly. The doors closed behind him, and I beat a hasty retreat. Without him as a buffer, I’d prefer not to encounter my wife.
The message spell took me by surprise. I had just spent a couple of hours exploring oddly empty rooms. I hadn’t found anything like the terrarium. The spell broke my focus, and almost my nose. I rubbed my stinging face while I listened to Alger’s voice.
“Sorry for the delay, m’boy. I’d no idea how far you were sending me for help.”
Of course he would complain about that. I shook my head, still listening. “We are at the gates. Wanted to see you before we entered, better hurry.”
I hurried. I could only hope Beaker was back from hunting. I ran into the hall without practicing my usual caution, relying on speed to carry me through to the small door before Bella caught up with me. I didn’t see her, and could only spare a quick glance upward to confirm she wasn’t in the air, before I started having to watch out for statues. Weaving in and out of them slowed me down a bit, and I could hear pounding at the small door before I reached it.
I grabbed the handle and pulled, and Lavendar tumbled in, closely followed by Byrne. “Good god, man, took you long enough!” Byrne scrambled up, his face red.
I ignored him and looked through the open door. Bob, a long rifle in hand, was firing from the hip while Alger sent fire downrange from his staff. A crowd of the weird monstrosities was pressing toward the Library gates.
“This is getting old.” I commented. I braced, and let out a piercing whistle. Alger glanced back at me, quickly.
I had no idea how far away Beaker was. “Get in here!” I bellowed.
Alger slid past me, and Bob fell back, firing once more before he too entered the Library. I really hoped Alger had warned him about the effect it had on dragons. I slammed the door shut and dropped the heavy bar down, just as something heavy thudded into it.
The door didn’t even quiver in its frame. The Library had defenses. I turned around just in time to see Bob hand his rifle to Lavendar.
“How long do you think I have?” he asked me.
I shook my head. “A few minutes. Not more, if it works like it did on her. I don’t even know if it will, she was… She’d never shifted, and you have.”
He nodded. “Excuse me, then, I do prefer privacy.” He looked straight at me, “Last time was for her, you understand.”
I did. He walked away, his silver hair gleaming, and vanished behind a statue. I looked at the rest of the party.
“And a fine hello to all of you, as well. I’m afraid I can’t offer refreshments…”
Lavendar broke into a hearty laugh. “I’m just glad to find you alive, after how these two were describing…”
She broke off, her face twisting a little. I looked over my shoulder. Bob was in his dragon form. He dipped his head to us, then glided away among the statues, his wings tucked back and out of the way.
“I have only seen him in that form once before.” Lavender spoke so softly I could barely hear her.
“He is aware.” I assured her.
She shivered a little, and looked at me, as though she had forgotten my presence for a moment. “Oh, yes, he is aware.”
“Then this shouldn’t take too long.” Alger rubbed his hands together. “And I can get to work.”
“I don’t understand what happened to her.” Lavendar ignored Alger. I wished I could accomplish that feat.
“I think it’s the Library. It’s saturated with magic. Spells here go awry, or work rather better than they ought.” I was thinking of my flights with the little birds. Which reminded me that I could go check on them, now.
“Would you like to see something?” I asked her, and looked at Byrne. “You will like it as well.”
Alger harrumphed. He knew I was irritated with him. Behind us, the doors slid silently open. Alger thrust his staff forward, and I parried it upward with my forearm.
“Beaker!” I shouted at him.
The dragon snuffled at my back and almost knocked me off my feet with a nuzzle. He sniffed a discomfited Alger at length.
“This is Bella’s pet.” I introduced him to Lavendar and Byrne. “Well, not sure pet is the right word. But he’s to be found wherever she is. I didn’t think he’d follow her here, but then…”
I thumped Beaker’s cheek, hard, the way I usually did. He sighed and broke into his low rumble of a purr, then finished entering the big room. I could see past his tail that the crowd of monsters had been reduced to shreds. Some of them quivered slightly. I grinned. This was how he’d been eating, and Bella as well, most likely.
The trip home ought to be easier, for one thing. When the doors were closed, I turned back to Lavendar, who had a funny look on her face. Amused, maybe.
“Shall we?”
Walking through the statues with no stress was a great deal more enjoyable. With Beaker on guard, I could relax. I pointed out a few things I’d noted in passing. I might have gone through quickly, but I was trained to note details. Byrne and I chatted while Lavendar stood staring at the statues. She would look silently for a moment, then walk to the next one.
“I looked after the goats.” Byrne told me cheerfully. “Lavendar wouldn’t leave them, but I proved that I could do it…”
Lavendar broke from her reverie. “He is quite a handy milker. Surprising, really.”
“It was a pleasant pastoral interlude.” Byrne chuckled.
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” I felt a little grumpy, considering.
“Through here.” I pointed. “It’s a bit of a walk.”
“Should we, er, watch for Bella?” Byrne asked, looking behind us nervously. He’d been a bit skittish since we left Alger with Beaker.
“No, between Bob and Beaker we will have plenty of warning.”
He looked down at the two guns I was wearing. “Would you have, ah…?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t have to. I might have, had it come to it. But it wouldn’t have hurt her too much. I know what dragon scale is like as armor.”
“Really?”
He really did want to know everything. “I shot at Beaker a few times, when we first met. Didn’t bother him a bit.”
“Oh, my.” Lavendar shook her head. “You really are a match for my girl, aren’t you?”
“I hope so, ma’am.”
I opened the terrarium door, and the birds fled in a twittering mass. Good. Bella hadn’t hurt them. I didn’t think she would, she wasn’t the person to lash out in anger when she didn’t get her way.
“Oh, how lovely.” Lavendar went to the stream and dabbled her fingers for the little fish to nibble.
“Now, this is interesting. Wonder how long this ecology has been developing?” Byrne was looking up at the trees and the bright light.
“I can tell you the light doesn’t change. Night and day, all the same.” I said drily.
“Oh, you stayed here?”
“This was the only place where Bella didn’t go, until last night.” I wondered if my bed was still there, but this wasn’t the time to check.
“I say, have you had a chance to look…?” He looked like an eager schoolboy.
Lavendar gave him a speaking glance. “I have to wonder how safe it really is to be roaming around until Bob has had a chance to talk to Bella.”
I felt like there was an undercurrent here, between the two of them, and I lacked context to put a name to it. Alger had known her, before, had Byrne? I made a mental note to ask Alger. I might even get an answer. I owed Byrne an answer.
“Yes, I have. It’s safe.”
“Oh, really.” He rubbed his hands together. “Might I see it?”
I shook my head. “Let’s wait. It’s not in the best of condition, and we are under time pressure, even though…”
“Waiting is difficult.” Lavendar was looking at the flow of the water. “How quickly do you think it will be until Bella returns to herself.”
Byrne shook his head. “This whole experience has been most odd.”
&nbs
p; “It’s this place. This whole plane is odd.” Lavendar walked briskly toward the door. “I would like to see my great-grandchildren.”
I intercepted her. “That is not a good idea.”
“If Bob has had a chance to talk to her…” She tilted her chin in a way I recognized. “Then I would like to, as well. I am not a delicate piece of china, young man.”
“As you said, waiting is difficult. But you have just arrived.”
“I’d like a comfortable chair, and tea, and rest for my old bones.” She frowned. “Age is not for the weak of heart, young man.”
“I haven’t got a chair. I do suggest we return to the entrance room and wait on Bob and Bella.”
She was distracted on the return, paying no attention to the statues. Byrne was still twitchy. I was beginning to feel that way, myself. Being alone was a lot less wear on the nerves than shepherding other people. I still hadn’t grasped at the cause of my unsettled feeling. Beaker greeted us, his body twisted around the plinths as I had seen him before. He didn’t seem at all uncomfortable. I thumped him on the jaw, and he sniffed at Lavendar and Byrne. Byrne shrank back a little.
“He won’t eat you. Well, unless Bella tells him too.”
Lavendar smiled tightly. “A pet fit for a queen, indeed.”
She walked away, and I let her go. Byrne looked at Beaker, who rolled his head slightly and sighed. The dragon’s sigh was enough to flutter clothes and smelled strongly of his last dinner. Not fish, as it had been when I first met him. I’d trust the beast with my life, had done so on my rescue from the kelpie.
“I think he likes you.” I told Byrne.
“How could you tell?” He looked as though he were torn between retreating and holding out his hand.
“He wants to be scratched. That’s why he just offered you his chin.”
I showed Byrne how to reach the sensitive spot among the golden whiskers. Beaker started to purr and closed his eyes. I chuckled. “Just like a very large cat. You have made a conquest, Byrne.”
Dragon Noir (Pixie for Hire Book 3) Page 16