Deadly

by Craig Halloran

  “Yes, I know.”

  “I’m sorry, Nath,” Maefon added. “But given who and what you are, it’s probably best not to get too attached to people.”

  Darkken turned toward Maefon. “I beg your pardon. Should you not be too attached to me?”

  “In your case, I just can’t help it.”

  “Ha. Good recovery, my sweet.” Darkken kissed her lips. “Very sweet. Now, let’s just move on. We have much to discuss about our upcoming journey. I haven’t noticed anything out of place here in Advent, but with some sniffing around, something will turn up. After all, there are elves about. We’ll just have to introduce ourselves.”

  “There’s something I would like to look into,” Nath said.

  “What’s that?” Darkken replied.

  “I met a merchant yesterday in the marketplace. He was selling dragon parts. I don’t want to get away from the mission, but it’s been eating at me all night. If these men are hunting and killing dragons, I need to do something about it. I have to.”

  Maefon reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Nath, we can’t stop all that is wrong in the world. We need to stop what we can. That’s Chazzan. He’s the bigger picture, with a long-term goal of hurting all dragons. We must focus on the bigger fish.”

  “I know,” he said.

  “I’ll tell you what. Nath, why don’t you and I go visit this merchant and shake his bones a little,” Darkken suggested. “It couldn’t hurt to dig for a little more information.”

  “I’ve been considering paying him another visit, but I didn’t want to jeopardize anything because of my personal feelings.”

  Darkken got up and said, “You lead. I’ll follow. And it will give the ladies time to get to know each other better.”

  Maefon and Calypsa exchanged scornful looks.

  Nath and Darkken walked away laughing.

  CHAPTER 40

  Maefon and Calypsa sat across from one another with eyes that could burn holes in the other’s face. Calypsa had her arms crossed over her chest. Her legs were crossed, with the top leg kicking under the table.

  Maefon’s fingernails drummed on the table. “What are you, exactly?”

  “I am Nath’s woman. That is what I am, exactly,” Calypsa replied.

  Maefon laughed. “I don’t think so. He’s no more yours than he is mine, whatever you are.”

  “You are clearly jealous of what I am, elf. You are just a normal person. That’s all. Normal.”

  “And you aren’t a person at all,” Maefon fired back. “You are a thing, born in a tree of all things.”

  “You, an elf, have disdain for that? I think you are envious. You are born of a contaminated race, and I am born of something innocent and blessed.”

  The corner of one side of Maefon’s mouth turned up. “But aren’t you a half dryad?”

  Calypsa’s lips tightened.

  Maefon leaned back and rested one arm on the back of her chair. “I’ve known Nath for fifty years—since he was a boy. We played in the dragon king’s throne room and soaked in Dragon Home’s hot springs together. I know him better than anyone that ever lived. And didn’t you rob him the moment you met him? And not to mention that you consort with a bugbear, whose kind is notorious for eating people.”

  “You are full of venom!” Calypsa said.

  A bird darted down out of the sky and clipped Maefon’s head. The elf screeched.

  The dryad started laughing. “Did the little birdy scare you?”

  “Try a trick like that again, and I’ll rip your eyes out.” Maefon checked the sky as she fixed her hair. “You are no match for me.” Seeing a clear blue sky, she looked back down. A score of field mice had crawled onto the table and were nibbling on the food. Other patrons saw the rodents and all at once hustled away, screaming and kicking, as a wave of rodents scurried onto the terrace. As the panicked crowd cleared, Maefon grabbed a fork and stuck it into a field mouse. She wagged it in Calypsa’s wide-eyed face. “Keep it up, and this could be you!”

  “You are a horrible person. I can feel it in my guts,” Calypsa fired back.

  Maefon leaned forward. “You won’t be feeling anything if you keep this up.”

  Calypsa let out a sighing breath. The rodents scurried out of sight, just as quick as they came. She pulled her hair over her shoulder and combed her fingers through it. “I will not leave Nath’s side. I am for him, and he is for me.”

  “He is a dragon. He is not for either one of us. You should go back to your tree stump and wait for the next bugbear to come along.” Maefon flicked the fork and critter over the terrace. “You are out of your element, dryad, and you know it. You should go away.”

  “He needs me. I will not go.”

  Maefon rolled her eyes. “Nath doesn’t need a starry-eyed woman to distract him.” She softened her tone and decided to change tactics. “Listen, I care deeply for Nath. I want him to return to Dragon Home and avenge those that were lost. I was there. But to do that, he has to be focused, because this is very dangerous.” She gave Calypsa a thorough once-over. “And in truth, I am jealous. I’m an elf, and I’m not used to seeing one as fair as I am.”

  Calypsa leaned her chest over the table. “Fairer.”

  “Yes, well, there is more to you than that striking figure, but nevertheless, you are a distraction. You have to ask yourself, do you want what is best for Nath or what is best for you?”

  Calypsa’s lip quivered. “He is special. I want to be with him. I gave my life for him.”

  “And he would give his life for you. Don’t you see what a distraction that is? Calypsa, we rescued you for him. It was a risk we didn’t need to take, but we did it for Nath. He means that much to us. And me especially, because I feel so guilty for the harm that I caused. I want to make it right. So, maybe my jealousy is a mix of guilt too. I don’t know. But what I do know is that I truly want what is best for Nath. And if you do too, then you need to think about that.”

  CHAPTER 41

  In the marketplace, Nath and Darkken didn’t have any luck finding Aric. The chubby peddler’s cart was nowhere to be found. They asked around, but no one had seen him all morning.

  “Maybe he sets up later,” Darkken said to Nath as he was checking out some fresh fruit. “Purple plums. I like these. I think I’ll buy one. Now, if I can just find one that isn’t bruised.”

  “I don’t understand where he could be.” Nath’s gaze swept the marketplace for the hundredth time. “He was a real hustler. I don’t think he’d miss an opportunity to make money.”

  “Perhaps you scared him.”

  “Maybe.” Nath felt the light fingers of a child cross over his waist. Halfling children snaked their way through the crowd, touching everything they passed. Nath snatched one of the little fellas by the wrist and lifted him off the ground. The tiny halfling appeared to be about ten years old but was so small, standing barely above Nath’s knee. Nath had seen the same boy yesterday. “Listen, you little thief, I’ll give you a coin if you can show me where the chubby man in purple is.”

  The grinning halfling child held up two fingers.

  “Show me the way,” Nath said, agreeing. The little halfling pointed through the marketplace. Nath tucked the boy under his arm like a bedroll and went where he pointed. He led them out of the marketplace, down a single block to where more merchants and peddlers were spread out in the streets and corners. He saw Aric chatting up everyone that passed by his cart. His back side faced an alley. Nath placed two coppers in the halfling’s tiny hand.

  The boy frowned and said, “Blecht,” before he hustled away.

  “I wouldn’t have paid him.” Darkken was eating a purple plum. Juice ran down his chin. “Do you want a bite?”

  Nath shook his head.

  “So, that is our merchant,” Darkken continued. “An interesting array of clothing. It’s plum. Plum purple.”

  Together, Nath and Darkken crossed the street, and when Aric wasn’t looking, they grabbed him and dragged him
back into the alley. Hooking the merchant underneath the arms, they pinned him against the wall. Darkken clamped his hand over the squirming man’s mouth. Nath did the talking.

  “Aric, I want to know where you got those dragon scales. And I want details,” Nath said. “Do you understand me?”

  The merchant’s eyes slid side to side. He broke out in a profuse sweat. He shook his head and made muffled sounds.

  Darkken said, “Let me see if I can convince him. You see, Aric, the longer we hold you in this alley, the more likely the guilds will pluck you clean. You know as well as I that those halflings have their eyes on everything. Why, you’ll be cleaned out in a minute.”

  Nath peeked outside of the alley. “I think I see them. Yes, they are juggling and dancing through the street.”

  Aric strained against his captors. He let out loud, strenuous grunts.

  Darkken looked at Nath. “I don’t think he wants to cooperate. Should I knock him out while you turn his cart over to the halflings?”

  “At this point, I don’t care. All I wanted was a little bit of information, but if I can’t get it, I’ll just have to try something else.” Nath nodded at Darkken. “So, to knock him out, do you hit him in the face or use some other means?”

  “There’s a variety of chokeholds, mostly painful.”

  Aric screamed into Nath’s hand. In a muffled voice, he managed to say, “No! No! I’ll talk.”

  Darkken got nose to nose with Aric. “Don’t you dare start screaming for the Alliance. Nod if you understand me.”

  Aric nodded.

  Nath took his hand away.

  Aric said, “Shew! You didn’t have to suffocate me, you know. And what is with all of the rough-handedness? If you want information, you don’t have to jostle one’s senses. Just pay for it.”

  “We don’t have any money,” Darkken said.

  Aric looked him up and down. “Sure you don’t.” He peeked out of the alley. “Do you mind if I man my cart while we talk? I don’t want those halflings pinching me.” He looked at Nath. “I’ll tell you what you want, but you can’t ever admit that you heard it from me.” He waddled toward his cart and slipped in behind it. “And what is your issue with dragon scales and the sort? Why did you have a child’s fit on me?”

  “Just tell me where you got them,” Nath said.

  Twisting one end of his handlebar moustache, Aric said, “All of the dragon supplies come from poachers. I think everyone knows that. It’s hardly secret information. Well, it’s a secret but not a secret.”

  “So, you bought those items from the poachers?” Darkken asked.

  “Well no, not directly. Don’t you know anything about trading? I never pay a dime for anything, I trade. But I sell to make money, which I’m not doing now because the both of you are stopping me.” Aric watched a troupe of women walk by. He wiggled his fingers and said, “Come back and see me! Anyway, you are costing me money. So, I got the dragon parts through my supplier, who owed me a debt. She said she got them from her supplier that owed her, but I know better.” He dabbed his glistening forehead with a napkin. “She got them from those black-eared elves that pass through. They are shady, those ones.”

  “What do you mean, black-eared elves?” Darkken asked.

  “They have onyx pins in their ears. They come in small bushels, dressed really nice, quiet, but polite, and they always have something different to offer.” Aric lifted a box of scarves up onto the cart. “Elven silk. A splendid array of colors woven into the fabric. They traded with me once for them. I gave them fabrics from Quintuklen, no, Narnum. Yes, Narnum. They don’t really like the larger kingdoms, they said.”

  Nath shook his head. “Why would they have dragon parts, though?”

  Wagging his stubby little fingers, Aric said, “Now, that’s an interesting thing. You see, I get around Advent, and I see and listen in on conversations. Everyone knows who the dragon hunters are, at least we do. Well, I see the elves talking to them from time to time. Very discreetly. In other words, they do business, and the Alliance doesn’t frown upon it.”

  “Why would they frown upon it?” Darkken asked.

  “The dragon hunters are a jaded sort. The leadership doesn’t like them hanging around. They make people nervous.” Aric started reorganizing his cart. “And they don’t like the dragon parts much, either. These aren’t elk or bear skins we’re dealing with but items from creatures of magic. It draws the wrong type of people too. Plus, many of the city lords are superstitious and fear the wrath of the dragons will come upon us one day. But I never see enough that warrants worry. Will you leave me alone now? You’ve cost me enough business today.”

  Darkken laid a hand on the merchant’s forearm and squeezed it. “One more question: where do the poachers frequent?”

  “They have hideouts all over. But the westward hills are nearest.”

  “Where is that?” Nath asked.

  “I don’t know. I never go there. It’s just what I hear. West, I suppose.” Aric held out a hand.

  “We aren’t paying you,” Darkken said. “Let’s go.”

  “And a good day to you too, kind customers!” Aric shouted after them.

  “Do you think those black-eared elves are Caligin?” Nath asked.

  “I don’t want to jump to conclusions just because an elf is wearing black, but the jewelry in the ear is a unique touch. The ones I’ve seen do show some onyx from time to time.”

  Nath recalled the parchment that his brother, Slivver, the silver-shade dragon, had given him. It had a picture of an elf’s face carved in a black stone. “It sounds like them to me. Let’s ask Maefon.”

  They returned to the inn only to find Maefon sitting alone behind her table on the terrace. She was looking outward, facing the fields of farmland. Nath and Darkken blocked her light. Her head snapped around, and she said, “Oh, you startled me.”

  “So, where is Calypsa?” Nath asked as his eyes swept over the terrace.

  “I’m sorry, Nath, but she’s gone.”

  CHAPTER 42

  The easiest way home was to follow the river north, all the way from Advent to Quintuklen, and then take the main roads from there. Hacksaw did just that, riding his horse at a slow pace, stopping now and again to catch a drink of water. He puffed on his white, long-stemmed pipe and hummed a cheery song. The tune did very little to ease his restless spirit.

  The horse clomped over the reeds along the riverbank and down onto a sandy shoreline. The sky was gray, and the air became misty. He was still south, but he could see that the colder days of the north lay ahead as the wintertime brought an icy chill to the water.

  Hacksaw blew out smoke rings, one after the other, and the river’s breeze carried them away. A gnawing in his stomach hadn’t left him since he departed from Nath. He’d been talking to his horse about it. “Am I so set in my old ways that I am blinded by my pride?” he said.

  The horse shook its neck as it nickered.

  “Well, that’s what I thought. I’ve been around enough devious vicars and viceroys, lordships and kings to know that some people say all the right things, but that is not what is in their heart. They just want to win you over. That’s how I feel about Darkken and Maefon. And it’s driving me out of my skull.”

  The horse nickered again.

  “If you were me, what would you do?” Hacksaw asked.

  The horse kept walking, moving closer to the river’s edge, where its horseshoes made heavy prints.

  Hacksaw spied both sides of the river valley that he traversed. The trees on both sides sprouted toward the sky. There was a variety of every tree he’d come to know. Birch, oak, cedar, dogwood, and maple. They were huge, in some cases well over one hundred feet high. Birds of many colors flew from tree to tree. Squirrels and other varmints played in the branches. Nuts had fallen over the ground, and the critters took them away. He passed several deer that drank from the other side of the river. One of them was a buck with a rack of horns as big as he had ever seen. From over one h
undred feet on the other side of the river, the white-chested buck snorted at him.

  “Yes, well, hello to you too, big fella.” All at once, the deer pranced away up the riverbank and were gone. “Hmmm, something spooked them.”

  Hacksaw had gotten used to being back in the woodland again. The open air was nice and warm on his face, and he started to dread the cold that he would soon have to face. There was nothing better than a warm fireplace and Granda’s pumpkin cider to keep him company. He’d gotten used to it. But that wasn’t living, not like he was now. That was just sitting by a fire and dying. He still wanted adventure, and he worried about his friend.

  He rode on another half of a mile. The river surged over the rocks where natural shoals made for shallow spots along the water. Standing on the shoals were some fishermen. As he got closer to them, he realized by their pointed ears that they were elves. A chill went right through him. Four elves slung their fishing lines into the waters. One of the elves looked at him and waved. Hacksaw made a feeble gesture back. Something lurked in the elf’s dark eyes. It was a knowing look. It was the same look that the Brothers of the Wind gave him—a silent, deadly look.

  The elf nodded to the other elves, then the four of them were looking right at Hacksaw. All of them wore common traveling cloaks, but black-leather sleeves, swords, and dagger handles bulged beneath their cloaks.

  Hacksaw nodded at them. He blew more smoke from his pipe. In his heart of hearts, he knew these elves were Caligin, and they’d come to kill him.

  CHAPTER 43

  Nath left in a hurry, trying to track Calypsa down. Darkken pulled back a chair and sat down by Maefon. She was sitting with a smile on her face that she couldn’t help.

  Darkken said to her, “So, you managed to send the dryad away of her own freewill?”