Frantic, she spun this way and that until she spotted Trev’nor on the ground two streets over. Drawing air into her lungs, she shouted as loudly as she could, “TREV!”
His head snapped around and he yelled something back, so faint at this distance she could barely hear it.
She energetically pointed toward the sky with both fingers.
Turning, he looked up in that direction and even from here she could see him stagger a step backward as he realized what was coming their direction. Fighting a few squadrons of soldiers? It would be tough, but doable. Fighting three dragons? No way. Becca wasn’t sure they’d come out with their skins intact.
They didn’t have long before the dragons came over their heads. Becca’s primary fear was for Nolan, still in dragon form. They would probably make a beeline straight for him and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. They would either view him as an interloper on their territory and get huffy about it, or they’d be welcoming. It was a coin toss on which reaction it would be.
Nolan either noticed them or sensed them because he climbed half-up onto a building, letting his front legs balance there, and stretched his neck toward the sky. A long, almost haunting sound came from his throat as he called out to them.
He was the Life Mage, not her, so she had to believe that he knew what he was doing, but…wouldn’t it have been better to go un-dragon and see if they would just pass by?
All three dragons dropped sharply toward the ground. They came in close enough for her to get a good look at them. Two of them were small, dainty like Kaya was, one a deep sapphire blue and the other a muted cream. The third was huge in comparison, an earthen green, and looked much older.
It was the oldest dragon that responded, voice low and rumbling. If an earthquake could be given a voice, it would have sounded like that.
Trev’nor abruptly popped up next to her, snagged Becca around the waist, and took them quickly back down to solid earth. “We do not want to be up high when they come in for a landing,” he said as much to himself as to her. “The backdraft will likely knock us down.”
Oh, true, it would. Becca paid little attention to where Trev’nor put her, as her eyes were glued to the dragons. The daintier ones settled along the rooftops near Nolan, but the largest one circled around until he could settle in a clear spot. Afraid that the buildings wouldn’t hold up to this weight? Becca certainly would be, if she was that size.
Even with them on the ground, with buildings in between them, the backdraft was enough to send her skirt and hair flying. She felt buffeted by them, although not enough to upset her balance. Thank heavens Trev’nor had thought of it, though, as she would have fallen off her perch if he hadn’t reacted so quickly.
Nolan didn’t seem the least bit afraid of them, turning his head to greet each one in turn, body relaxed. He didn’t look like he was expecting a fight.
Trev’nor was tense against her side, also staring hard in their direction. “I vote we stay right here until Nolan says otherwise.”
“Why?” She managed around a tight throat. “Because humans are crunchy?”
“And we taste good with barbecue sauce, yup, that sums it up.” He managed a brief, fleeting smile.
They waited edgily as Nolan spoke, which seemed to involve a lot of nose touching, as he was constantly craning his neck this way or that to bump noses. The tip of his tail twitched sometimes too in what Becca recognized as a pleased manner. Kaya did that same thing when she was happy about something.
Minutes dragged, and the day warmed up enough that sweat started pouring in a thin line down her spine. Becca began to think that they would be safer sidling into a building and waiting this out when Nolan looked at them and gave a beckoning wave of his hand. Claws. Whatever.
“If he says its fine, then…” Trev’nor took in a breath and strode confidently that direction.
Becca prayed that Nolan knew what he was doing and followed suit.
As they walked, they lost sight of Nolan briefly, and when they rounded the corner and came into the marketplace courtyard, they found that he had shifted back to human form. The dragons didn’t seem upset about this change or surprised, so they must have realized at some point that he was not a dragon like they were.
“Hey.” Nolan greeted them with a boyish smile. “So, you’re not going to believe this, but they’re from a far northern clan of dragons. They said they heard me down here going into battle mode when we escaped, and they were worried, so three of them were dispatched to see what was going on.”
“They heard you?” Trev’nor demanded incredulously. “Nolan, do you realize how much distance is between here and the northern dragon lands?!”
“A lot,” Nolan answered, tone awed. “But it apparently doesn’t matter to dragons. They can communicate with each other no matter the distance.”
“You don’t say,” Becca breathed, regarding the pretty blue dragon near her with open wonder. “I wonder how?”
“It’s not something they question, as the ability is innate, so I’ll have to study to figure it out.” Nolan’s tone said plainly that he would figure it out. “Anyway. They heard ‘young male dragon in trouble’ and came over as quickly as they could, but when they got here, I was of course no longer in dragon mode, so they couldn’t find me. They’ve been circling this general area for the past few days, not knowing what to do, until they heard me again just now.”
Hence why they’d come in at such blazing speed. “And now what?”
“Hold on, you came in mid-conversation.” Nolan turned back to them, neck stretched, mimicking their movements as closely as human anatomy would let him.
Becca watched and found that she couldn’t follow what they were saying at all, and yet she could, somehow. They seemed to speak in some combination of body language, and sounds, and something else that she was missing. Telepathy? Although it wasn’t the type that a human could pick up on, not like a nreesce’s. The sounds were growls, or snorts, or soft wuffs of air, like and unlike nonverbal communication that a human might employ.
They at first seemed to be listening to Nolan more than anything, only occasionally making some sound that might have been a question or statement. Then all three flared up, wings snapping out, ridges on their necks going into sharp spikes, and steam coming out of their mouths. Becca flinched back in alarm, as she had never seen an angry dragon before. The sight of them would have given a guilty man heart failure.
Whatever Nolan said next, it made them even more angry, as the large green dragon let out a roar of sound that was nigh deafening and a short burst of flame.
Trev’nor put an arm around her waist, leaning in to murmur, “I’ll drop us onto the Earth Path if they start torching the city.”
Becca had intended to catch a strong gust of wind and ride it a short distance to the outside of the city. She’d learned the trick from one of her professors. But it would be vastly safer underground with Trev’nor, so she nodded adamant approval of this plan.
Their fears proved groundless as Nolan continued talking. The dragons simmered down into a cold anger, their wings came in to be half-furled, but the alarming steam disappeared.
Nolan stepped back and turned to them with an update. “Well, I explained to them the situation and what’s been happening to us. They’re very, very upset about it all. In their living memory, the magicians have always been their friends. Not all of them are willing to be paired up with magicians, of course, but they still like us fine. So to hear that this whole country is enslaving magicians has them…” Nolan paused here. “This doesn’t translate to human speech very well. They had a particular phrase for it. ‘Head in an egg’ I think is the best way to translate it.”
“Extremely frustrated?” Trev’nor offered.
“And angry, too, yeah that’s the kind of feeling. Anyway.” Nolan gestured very politely to the oldest dragon, using not an arm, but his whole torso to lean toward that direction. “He is an elder in the dragons, very old and resp
ected, and is in charge of younglings like these two. It’s part of the reason why he came, because I’m also a youngling, so I fall under his responsibilities. He said that he thinks the clan will be willing to help us.”
Becca felt the world tilt on her. She either hadn’t heard him right or she wasn’t understanding what Nolan said. “Help us. How?”
“Fight, protect, guard the magicians.” Nolan was bouncing on his toes in excitement. “Isn’t it great? We were wondering what to do, since we didn’t have an army, but if we ask it right then the dragons might be our army.”
“Because they’d be protecting magicians?” Trev’nor’s head was half-shaking, half-jerking back as if he couldn’t quite process this. “Nolan, how’d you convince them of that?”
“Well, I haven’t really, we need to go to their clan head directly to talk about this. But we’re invited to go now and speak to them.” Nolan blinked ingenious eyes at them, all innocence. “Want to go with me?”
Trev’nor response was immediate. “You bet your life I do.”
“You are so not leaving me behind,” Becca replied fervently.
“Then load up,” Nolan offered, hand outstretched. The Life Mage almost glowed in anticipation. “I’ll bring you with me.”
The green dragon lowered his head to where it was more eye level with them and gently bumped his nose against Nolan’s side. He blew out a long stream of warm air from his nostrils, eyes dipping and flaring open, revealing eyes of pure gold.
“Oh, really?” Nolan cocked his head and translated for them, “He says it’s better if we each ride a different dragon. It’s not that we’re heavy or anything, but they’re afraid that their hands will cramp up after a certain point if one of them tries to hold onto all three of us.”
That made sense. Becca knew, from Krys, that it was not feasible to ride a dragon’s back without a saddle first. Riding along in their claws was the only option. “I’m game?”
“Me too.”
The elder dragon blew out another stream of air, head inching in closer.
Nolan responded in kind, eyes flaring and narrowing, blowing out a breath, tilting his head. What it all meant was a mystery to Becca. “What’s he asking?”
“He wanted to know what kind of mages you two are. He also said it might be best if I ride in with him; that way he can set me down straight in front of the clan head.” Nolan rubbed at the back of his head before offering, “Sounds like there’s some sort of hierarchy in place and the two younger dragons can’t directly go to the clan head’s side without permission.”
“You’re the one that needs to talk to the head, not us.” Trev’nor waved him on. “Go for it.”
“Right. First, though, let’s eat lunch and drink lots of water. The dragons are hungry and thirsty too; it would be best to do all of that before we leave here.”
“I think we need to do more than that,” Trev’nor disagreed. “Let’s take care of the worst of the damage, erect a ward around the town to protect it from scavengers and anyone else that gets the notion to conquer the place. Then we can go.”
“I agree completely. Trev, if you’ll start repairing buildings? There’s large watering troughs over there,” Becca suggested, pointing in the right direction. “I saw them while I was up high. I can lead them that direction if you can find them something to eat?”
“They’ll do their own hunting, but the water is a good idea. I’ll find us humans something to eat instead. Maybe pack a few things for us too considering there probably won’t be much available in their home grounds.”
Erk. That wasn’t a comforting thought. “Trev’nor?”
Trev’nor looked discomfited by this idea too. “Krys never did tell us details like that, when he went back with Kaya. I think Nolan’s right, let’s prepare for the worst. Nol, you go for the market. I’ll start repairing some buildings.”
They split up easily, each going their own way. Becca was slightly in awe that she had three overgrown dragons following her like obedient dogs toward the troughs. They were meant for large herds of cattle and dragoos, so they were long and deep, serviceable enough for the dragons to use. She used their aqueducts to refresh the water and offer something that was cooler and hadn’t been sitting in the hot suns all morning.
The dragons drank deeply and all of them gently touched noses to her side in thanks. Not sure if it was appropriate, but not able to resist the urge, she patted them in between their nostrils and smiled up at them. Were all dragons like this? They were as kind and gentle as Kaya was.
Perhaps they were as intelligent as Kaya too? Willing to test the theory, she pointed toward herself and said, “Becca.”
The elder dragon’s eyes narrowed and zeroed in on her.
“Becca,” she repeated again, enunciating clearly.
“Be-ca?” he repeated, tone rumbling.
“Right. Becca.” Oh good, they were just as intelligent.
The two younger ones crowded in, heads jostling against each other. For their sake, she repeated her name, and was delighted when they both picked up on it quickly.
It was a rare chance, so she dipped her hand into one of the troughs and said clearly, “Water.”
“Wa…” the elder dragon’s head cocked. She had the distinct impression that was a way of frowning and asking for a repeat.
“Water.”
“Wa-ta.”
“Water.”
“Water.” He blew out a breath and flipped his tail, happy that he got it right.
“Right, water.”
“Water,” the blue dragon repeated, interest rising. She clawed at the ground and cocked her head.
Now asking for words? “Ground.”
“Groud.”
Oh, right, dragons struggled with ‘n’ sounds. “Ground.”
“Grouund.”
Close enough. “You’re all very smart. I wonder if I can learn to speak your language too, or if it’s something that a human body can’t really duplicate?”
“It’s not something you can duplicate,” Nolan said, coming around the three dragons to stand at her side. “I have to cheat and use magic in order to get my full point across. But that said, you can say a few words and phrases to them. They’d be delighted if you did. Dragons like to learn things. They hoard knowledge as much as they hoard gold.”
“Really?” Trev’nor joined them with two huge sacks in his hands. “I thought it was just Kaya that was like that.”
“Oh no. Her brood is just as insatiably curious.” Nolan jerked a thumb at the bags. “We have enough food to last us about four days. I think that’s enough. Are we good to go here?”
“I don’t know.” Becca lifted both shoulders in a shrug. “They only drank water here.”
Nolan tilted his face up and switched to dragon-speak. He got a response that made him blink. “They said there’s not enough game here but not to worry about it as they had a large feast last night. They stumbled into a flock of nekons, it sounds like.”
Becca knew that was the favored food of dragoos, but dragons too? “Oh. Then they’re not really hungry?”
“Sounds like it. Alright, well, in that case let’s sit down and eat a quick lunch and go. I found the fixings for flatbread and cheese. We have some vegetables and fruits that were ripe enough to pick, too, but not much. Whoever came in here cleaned the place of anything good.” Nolan led the way to a shaded table off on the side as he spoke.
She had eaten far too much flat bread since entering this country but it was true they wouldn’t have a lot of ready-made options in this twice-conquered city. Resigned, she followed Nolan to the table and prepared a quick lunch, consuming it while guzzling water. It was easy to dehydrate in this desert land.
Nolan spoke to the dragons as he ate, sometimes smiling, sometimes teaching them words. They lapped up the attention, enjoying the learning process.
Trev’nor wrapped up the rest of the food, tying it securely in large squares of cloth. “Nolan, did you ask them how long o
f a flight this is going to be?”
“They said almost two days, and we’ll probably arrive in the wee hours of the morning.”
“Is it safe to fly at night?” Becca couldn’t help but wonder.
“Sure. They have eyes like a cat’s. Krys avoids doing it just because he can’t navigate in the dark. However, we will stop at some point for a rest.” Nolan turned back to the dragons, speaking to them, then instructed, “Trev, go with the white dragon, Becca go with the blue one. Don’t worry about hanging onto them, they know how to grip you without hurting. Just try to be still as much as possible to make it easier on them.”
Becca said a prayer that this would go smoothly as she climbed into the proffered claw, one of the sacks of food in her lap. As she settled, she caught a glimpse of Trev’nor’s face. His eyes were scrunched tight and he had the bag in an iron clutch like it was a lifeline. “Trev?”
Without opening his eyes, he responded, “I’ll be fine. I just won’t look down.”
Said the boy who wanted a dragon.
They really had to do something about his nervousness when it came to heights.
Trev’nor had been fine with heights up until he was nearly thirteen. He’d been on a scaffold, five stories up, helping to fix a particularly tricky part of Strae Academy, when the scaffold was jarred and it lurched sideways. It knocked him off his feet, although thanks to Garth’s quick reflexes, not off the scaffold entirely. Still, he’d come this close to taking a head dive toward the ground, and the incident had somewhat scarred him.
If he were on a wide platform, or in a place where he knew he absolutely couldn’t fall off, then he was able to tolerate it just fine. A dragon’s claws weren’t quite the stability he needed, and it took steady breathing and whole-hearted concentration on his part to make sure he didn’t lose the contents of his stomach.
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