by Bianca D’Arc
“Not to worry. Livia and I discussed this. If you can drop me off close to her boat, she’ll pick me up, and I can continue to watch the battle from the deck. That way, you can still see what’s going on above water.”
“That will put Livia in danger,” Hrardorr complained.
“A bit. But it’s the best we could come up with,” Seth told him. “She can’t very well dock her boat in the middle of a battle anyway. You end the fighting, and I’ll keep watch over Livia’s safety. If I stay close enough, you can still see what the enemy is doing while you’re underwater.”
“We should have practiced this,” was Hrardorr’s terse reply.
Seth agreed, but didn’t want to say anything negative when Hrardorr was about to engage the enemy. Seth only wished there was some way he could stay with Hrardorr and fight at his side, but Hrardorr’s very nature as part sea dragon, in this particular situation—a water battle—made it difficult, if not impossible.
“I will fly close to the boat, and you let me know when you are ready to jump off. I’m sorry. You’re going to get wet.” Hrardorr’s sense of humor seemed to have returned a bit.
“Good thing I’m a strong swimmer,” Seth agreed.
When he was ready, Seth slid off Hrardorr’s back into the drink. He was a bit higher up than he’d anticipated, and it took him a moment to get to the surface.
“Is that how you humans see underwater?” Hrardorr’s voice came to him, and Seth realized the dragon had kept his eyes open and was still seeing what Seth saw as he swam to the surface. “It’s a wonder you do as well as you do, with such limitations.”
“I like to think we have other, more positive attributes,” Seth told the dragon. “Sure, we may not see as well as a dragon, or an eagle for that matter, but we do all right.”
“Of course you do,” Hrardorr was quick to respond. “Forgive me, Seth. I meant no disrespect. I’m just amazed at how you see things. It’s quite different, I can assure you, from what I remember.”
“I bet. I can’t even imagine how you and the sea dragons discern things underwater. Gryffid tried to explain it, as best he understood it, but I think it’s something one has to experience.”
“After seeing through your eyes, I would agree. I could never have anticipated or imagined this.” Hrardorr agreed.
Seth was almost to the boat, and Livia threw a rope ladder over the side so he could climb aboard. Soaking wet, Seth clung to the side of the boat for a little while, allowing the water to drip off him as best he could before he climbed onto the small deck. He didn’t want to soak everything around him, if he could help it.
Livia coaxed him aboard as the wind caught the sail once more and the boat surged forward, toward the smoke on the horizon. Luckily, Seth had left his packs aboard Livia’s boat, unwilling to burden Hrardorr with anything other than himself, just in case he needed to dive into the sea. Seth only had what he could carry, which included a satchel he wore over one shoulder that he’d wrapped in oilcloth, hoping to keep the things inside as dry as possible.
When he got aboard, Seth handed the satchel to Livia. He couldn’t look himself—he had to keep his eye on the horizon so Hrardorr could see where he was going. Livia went through the bag, reporting that the things inside were mostly dry, except for some bread he’d packed as a snack that was decidedly soggy.
The spyglass, being made of wood, metal and glass, had come through its dunking well. Seth wasted no time holding it up to his eye and scanning the horizon. He tried to formulate a plan for how this would work best.
“I think perhaps you should fly near us, Hrardorr, until we’re nearer. If you overshoot my ability to see, you could end up in a bad situation.”
“Agreed. I’ll fall back and fly nearer your position for a bit.”
As they approached the shore, the scene became clearer. Hrardorr held back, keeping pace with Livia’s boat, so as not to overrun Seth’s ability to discern details. Human eyesight was quite a limitation, but at least with the spyglass, Seth had augmented his vision somewhat.
Still, it was a decidedly odd thing to watch one’s own self flying above or in front of your point of reference. And when Seth looked down at something in the boat, or at Livia, it threw Hrardorr off. He’d learned quickly to shut his eyes the moment Seth focused on something in his near-vision.
The scene unfolded as they neared, and Hrardorr was able to piece together what was happening from Seth’s viewpoint and his knowledge of what they were looking at. Hrardorr had never seen the coastline he’d been swimming along for the past months. Not really. So the sight of it was heartwarming and oddly familiar, even though he’d never actually seen it before himself. Not with eyesight, anyway.
“Over to the right is the harbor proper, but this battle seems to be taking place away from the gun batteries, farther down the coast,” Seth told him as he trained the spyglass all along the coast. He concentrated on the harbor and the gun placements he could just make out from this distance, then followed the blowing smoke down the beach to where the pirates were attacking.
“What is there that is worth fighting for?” Hrardorr asked. “It’s just empty beach, right?”
“Not entirely. There’s a deeper portion by those rocks. See?” Seth moved the focus of the spyglass a little farther to the left. “There’s a pier there and docking facilities that would just fit some of those pirate vessels. That’s where the Stuarts live. Leo’s parents and siblings.”
Hrardorr remembered the beach Livia had said was near the Stuart’s new home, but he’d never actually seen any of it. He was surprised that such a place had come under attack, but as he thought through the situation, it became clear why.
“The enemy can dock and go ashore there, away from the guns of the harbor,” Hrardorr said. “Very sneaky.”
There were at least a half dozen ships that were still intact. A few had been damaged—their sails set alight by the pair of dragons that had been attempting to stop them from docking. One of the dragons was down, on the beach, obviously bleeding while his knight tried to first help his dragon partner, and second, be ready to defend the beach should any of the pirate ships be successful in docking.
Seth saw a small group of defenders rushing to the beach, weapons in hand, but there weren’t enough. A dozen armed men, most of whom were not professional soldiers, would be no match for the blooded crew of a pirate vessel. Each one of the ships that was trying to reach the dock held easily double that number of trained killers.
CHAPTER TEN
“I will harry them from below,” Hrardorr said. “It’s clear at least one of those ships has dragon killing weaponry. I’ll search out which one and try to poke some holes in its hold. Then, the remaining dragon and I can flame the rest of them without fear and either destroy their ships or run them off.”
“If you destroy the ships, the men will still come ashore. We have to get word to Dragonscove to send more men.” Seth put in.
“Already done. Help is on its way, but Jirel tells me they are stretched very thin.”
Since when was Hrardorr on such good terms with Jirel? He and his knight, Sir Horace, were relatively new to the Lair. Sir Horace was an older man who had seen a great deal of fighting action on the Northern border. They had both been seriously injured several months back and had come here to recuperate. Seth didn’t know them very well, but he’d helped Bronwyn with Jirel’s treatment once or twice when he had first arrived.
“So that’s Horace and Jirel who are uninjured,” Seth took stock of this situation. “Who are the pair on the beach, and do you know how seriously the dragon is injured?”
“Sir Logan and Trevalian,” Hrardorr answered briefly. “Trev says he took a hit through the wing. He can’t fly for now, but he’s had this kind of injury before and is confident that he will fly again in time, given the proper treatment. His wing needs to be sewn up. It’s a bad gash, he says. Logan has already stopped the bleeding, and Trev is on his feet, ready to flame at anyone who dares se
t foot on the beach from the pirate ships.”
“Well, that’s something. A wall of flame will deter them, I’d think.”
“I’m going to dive and approach them from below before they see us. I think we still have the element of surprise.”
“Agreed. This boat is too small for anyone to notice without a powerful spyglass, and they’d have to be scanning the open sea to find us. I’m guessing that, even if one of them did see us, they wouldn’t think us much of a threat in this boat with no weapons.” Seth looked over the shoreline once more. “I think the safest place for us would be between the Stuarts’ beach and the harbor entrance. The pirates have learned to be wary of the harbor guns, and if any turn on us, we can make for the harbor proper. If they don’t, we can sit in a good position to observe the battle, so you can see what they get up to.”
“Sounds like a good plan. I’m going below now. Stay in touch.” Hrardorr put action to words and dove seamlessly into the rolling waves. Not even a splash betrayed his presence. He’d definitely learned a few tricks from the sea dragons.
Livia had been in on the latter part of their conversation, included in the mind-to-mind discussion. She had already turned the boat toward the midway point between the battle and the harbor, even before Seth asked. She was good to have as a partner in this endeavor, even though Seth would have preferred she stay safely somewhere out of the danger zone.
Things happened rapidly from that point. Hrardorr’s below-the-water action became apparent when one of the larger ships listed heavily to one side. The pirates suddenly became more preoccupied with saving their own lives than with firing diamond-tipped bolts at the empty sky. Both land dragons were on the beach, laying down a wall of fire to prevent any of the pirates from coming ashore.
Oh, they’d let the pirates onto the beach eventually, but only under surrender conditions. They would be taken prisoner as soon as the militia from Dragonscove set up a proper holding area and had enough people in place to man it. Sadly, they were becoming very good at processing and holding prisoners. The villains from all the pirate ships that had attacked recently made for good practice.
A lot of the men, Seth had heard from his parents, had been put to work. They were treated well and even paid a small sum for their labor, but they were slowly repairing the damage done to the town, the harbor, and the surrounding area that they had caused by attacking.
As soon as the lead ship went down, sinking rapidly, about half the small fleet turned around to flee. That was the signal the remaining dragon, Jirel, and his knight, Sir Horace, had been waiting for. They took to the air but hadn’t even positioned themselves for a good attack run when, with a whoosh of water, Hrardorr rose from the depths, dripping water off his massive wings and shooting unrelenting flames from his mouth.
He set fire to half the undamaged sails on his first pass. Jirel took care of the rest as they both circled the doomed pirate ships. A few arrows were lobbed skyward, but none had the diamond tips that were needed to pierce dragon scale.
It was all over in a matter of minutes. The reinforcements from town had arrived to set up an area in which to hold the prisoners, and Hrardorr set about dismantling the rest of the ships, collecting the diamond blades and putting them someplace safe. In this case, the safe place would be underwater—under the dock, in fact—just for now.
Once Hrardorr had cleared the dock, and one special lane to it, he guided Livia’s boat in from beneath the waves. When Mr. Stuart saw her, he came right over, and they began an earnest discussion. Seth left them to it after greeting Mr. Stuart and went to help the injured dragon, Sir Trevalian, while Hrardorr finished up in the water.
Seth sewed the dragon’s wing while his knight, Logan, assisted. They talked of the battle and of news from the shore while Hrardorr did his thing in the water. Seth knew Hrardorr was giving Seth a little extra time to work on Trevalian’s wound before he’d come out and need to borrow Seth’s eyes again. They would have to work on a better system, Seth thought, and he hoped they’d have time to do so. Right now, Hrardorr had only talked of the spell being temporary, and Seth wasn’t brave enough just yet to bring up a more permanent solution.
“The gash is straight and luckily missed anything vital. It’ll hurt for a while, but it’ll heal clean,” Seth assured Trevalian and Logan. The knight looked relieved, and the dragon was pleased, as well. “You won’t be able to fly for a fortnight at least.”
“I understand. I’ve had this kind of injury before,” Trevalian assured Seth, deciding to speak to him only after the wound had been treated. Seth tried not to take offense. Some dragons were like that.
“Well then.” Seth stood and put away his tools, turning to scan the beach. Hrardorr had come ashore a few minutes ago, but he had not moved much, needing Seth’s eyes to see what was around him. “We must go.”
Seth held out his hand to Logan and was relieved when the knight shook his hand in a companionable way. He thanked Seth for his help, but Seth didn’t hold his breath waiting for Trevalian’s thanks.
Seth approached Hrardorr, his feelings in turmoil. He’d encountered rude dragons before, of course, but somehow, it hurt more now, after all he’d done. After all he’d seen on Gryphon Isle. To be treated with disdain by those he’d sworn his life to help… It just rankled.
“Pay him no heed,” Hrardorr’s deep voice came into Seth’s mind. “I’ve just told him he’s an ass.”
“Hrardorr! You shouldn’t have. Not on my account.” Seth was at first surprised that Hrardorr would chastise a fellow dragon, but then, his thoughts turned more buoyant. Hrardorr had chastised the other dragon because of his treatment of Seth. Hrardorr had come to Seth’s defense. It was a positive sign, and it sent a warm feeling through Seth, displacing the hurt of moments ago. “But thank you, Hrardorr,” Seth said quietly. “It means a great deal to me to have your support.”
“He needed to be taught the error of his ways. Humans are our partners. Not just the knights, but all humans. We coexist peacefully in this land by design of Draneth the Wise. Meeting Gryffid reminded me of the ancient lore. It seems some of my brethren could use the reminder, as well. Now, hop on my back, and let’s get out of here.”
“As you wish, my friend. And can I state for the record, I just knew you dragons had secret teachings of your own. Ever since that meeting where you met the gryphon scribe, I’ve been wondering, and you just confirmed it.” Seth couldn’t help the teasing note of triumph in his tone.
Hrardorr snorted a dragonish laugh, smoke coming out of his nostrils to spiral into the sky.
“Well played, Seth. Well played.”
Seth climbed aboard Hrardorr’s back, and they took to the sky with a graceful leaping bound. Hrardorr really was a fantastic flier. Now that he could see, all tentativeness was gone from his movements, and Seth began to get an idea of how he must have moved before he lost his vision.
There was a joy to his flying. A freedom Seth could appreciate. They circled the beach once to make sure Livia and the others would be all right. It looked like Livia was already unpacking the hold of her boat with Mr. Stuart’s help. Seth would ask her what that was all about later. For now, he and Hrardorr had things to do, but he couldn’t leave without saying goodbye.
Now that they were back on the mainland, things were going to be different. He knew that and accepted it, but he would always remember those idyllic days on Gryphon Isle.
“Will you be all right, Livia?” Seth sent to her as Hrardorr winged away toward the town and the Lair beyond.
“I’m fine. Mr. Stuart is going to help me unload and get the trade goods to market. Plus, there are a couple of things I’ve decided are going to stay right here. Did you know I’d brought back two cannons in the hold?”
Livia shocked him with that disclosure. He could hardly believe even one cannon could fit inside the hull of her vessel. Furthermore, he hadn’t realized the fair folk would be trading in such devices.
“How in the world did you manage
that?” he sent back to her.
“Well, they are not terribly big cannons. Not as large as the harbor defenses, but they should do nicely to deter it anymore pirate ships from trying to land at this dock.”
Seth had to shake his head at her ingenuity. Livia always kept him guessing in the best possible way.
“I can come back and make a more permanent underwater navigation hazard,” Hrardorr put in, having been part of the communication from the start. “That way, only boats that know the path will be able to get in to dock there.”
“I’ll talk to Mr. Stuart about it, but I think that’s a wonderful idea, Hrardorr,” Livia enthused. “When you have time for such things, I bet we’ll be asking you to do quite a bit of that sort of thing. Thank you!”
“Oh, and if anyone cares to retrieve them, there’s a fortune in diamond blades under the dock. I put them there for safekeeping. Don’t tell anyone you don’t have to.”
“I won’t. Thank you again, Hrardorr,” Livia said with enthusiasm. “We’ll get them out of there and cut down to harmless gem-rough before the day is done.”
They said their farewells then because Hrardorr was quickly approaching the Lair and coming in for a landing. The other dragons stood back, used to the blind dragon’s lack of grace, but they were much mistaken if they thought Hrardorr was going to make a poor showing this time. No, this time, he could see.
As luck would have it, Seth’s fathers and their dragon partners were on the landing ledge when they got there. Paton came right over and made his greetings, followed by Gerard. Both wore puzzled looks on their faces.
“What goes on here?” Gerard finally asked. “Are you a knight now? Can Hrardorr see?”
“No to the first, and yes on the second, but only for a while,” Seth answered.
He didn’t like seeing the hope in his fathers’ eyes. The hope that their son had been chosen and the disappointment when they realized he hadn’t. And probably never would.