A Castle for Dragons

by Julie Wetzel

  Daniel chuckled at him. “If you can help him back to his men, I’ll get his shield.” Stepping on the edge of the shield, he popped it up and grabbed the handle without touching the hot metal.

  ***

  Kathryn watched in amazement. Apparently, that skill wasn’t just to look good. She held Patrick up as Daniel took the shield away. The new lord looked a little green. “Come on.” She shifted to his side and pulled his arm over her shoulder.

  He leaned on her and stumbled back towards the town. “Thanks.”

  Wrapping her arm around his back, she found that his leather armor was now dry. She pondered this as they walked. Had he not been wet, that flame might very well have cooked him. “You had your men soak their leathers before coming down this morning.”

  Patrick gave her a considering look before answering. “Wet leather is the last line of defense when dealing with a dragon.” He sighed before going on. “Although, facing off with a dragon with anything can be folly if his fire is hot enough.”

  Kathryn shook her head. “Yet you went out with just a shield.”

  Patrick shrugged. “I had my smoke packs.”

  “Those were impressive, but they didn’t kill it.”

  “I would rather not kill him if I didn’t have to.”

  This statement made Kathryn stop, jarring Patrick to a halt. “What?” she snapped indignantly. After the dragon had killed so many, the lord didn’t want to destroy the thing? Kathryn nearly dropped the man where they stood.

  Patrick groaned in pain and raised his hand up to his head. “I wanted to give him the chance to surrender,” he explained. “Rouge dragons are hard to take down.”

  Kathryn stared at him openmouthed. She couldn’t believe her ears. He spoke as if he had fought with dragons before.

  Pulling on her, Patrick tried to get her moving again.

  Taking him in her arms again, she helped him to his men. He wasn’t looking very good at all. “Can you kill this thing?” she asked.

  “Yes.” Patrick sounded confident. “We will stop this dragon.”

  Kathryn mentally tacked the words ‘or die trying’ on the end for him.

  The line of men now stood loose as they watched her approach with their leader.

  “Douglas. Mathew.” Patrick tried to yell, but it ended on more of a whimper.

  Two men stepped forward.

  His voice was quieter as he went on. “Go back to the castle and change. Head out to the scouts and call any that aren’t chasing the dragon home. It went south. Send a few to search that way in case any of our men ran into trouble. And stay out of sight. Remember, we are scouting, not confronting.”

  The two men clasped their fists to their chests and bowed before taking off towards the castle.

  Patrick stood up away from Kathryn, but he still wobbled on his feet and was a little pale. Kathryn was reluctant to let the poor man go. He was still looking mighty shaken.

  “Daniel.” Patrick looked around for his friend.

  Kathryn looked around and found the man coming towards them. He had just finished sending Patrick’s damaged shield off with a group of men heading towards the castle.

  “I’ve picked five to remain in the village in case the dragon comes back,” Daniel informed them.

  Patrick gave him a shallow nod. “If he feels anything like I do, I don’t think he’ll be back today.”

  Both Daniel and Kathryn reached out to grab Patrick as he wobbled on his feet again.

  “Shouldn’t they change out of their wet leathers?” Kathryn asked, concerned for the men. They would catch a terrible chill if they remained soaking wet.

  Patrick tried to shake his head, but stopped. The color in his face went a little green, and he swallowed hard before he spoke. “It’s best if they remain ready in case it does.”

  Daniel pulled Patrick’s arm over his shoulder, taking his weight. “I think we should get you back so you can rest.” He turned slightly to look at Kathryn. “We have turned your dragon and will continue to hunt it.”

  Kathryn gave him a slow, acknowledging nod.

  “You are safe now, My Lady.” With that, Daniel turned and half-dragged Patrick’s stumbling form back to the castle.

  “He did it,” Eustace said as he stepped up next to Kathryn and watched the men stagger away.

  “Yes,” she answered him, deep in thought. He did turn the dragon today, but how was he going to defeat it?

  “I think this new lord may be worth the tithing he’s asked.” Eustace patted her on the arm and turned to go report to the other elders.

  She let out a long breath before heading to her own home. Maybe her initial impression of him was wrong. Maybe he was a kind and caring man. He had seemed genuinely worried about his men. Then again, he could just be rattled by that explosion. He had been rather close to it.

  Kathryn nodded her head, accepting that as the answer. No caring man would ride into a town and demand one tenth of the village’s earnings. She clenched her jaw, setting her heart and mind against him. He was a tyrant, there to bend them to his will, not a handsome man who had just risked his life to protect her. The first she could handle; the second might endanger her heart.

  ***

  “Are you sure you should head out in your condition?” Daniel asked, trying to change Patrick’s mind. “I could take the report to the prince.”

  Pushing the bedding back, Patrick got up. He knew he shouldn’t travel after his encounter with the dragon, but he had a duty to see to. “I don’t need to shirk my responsibilities onto you.” His headache was much better now that he’d rested. As he prepared to leave, Patrick didn’t bother with his clothing draped over the foot of the bed. Christian and his grandmother would be in the kitchen, and the rest of the men understood. “I promised the prince an update when we confronted the dragon, and I will take it to him.”

  “I don’t think he meant for you to fly if you were injured.”

  Patrick looked down at his left arm. The skin was blistered from his fingers clear up to his elbow on the outer edge, and the rest of his arm was red.

  “I didn’t realize you were hurt that badly. You’re lucky you didn’t shift.”

  An ironic laugh slipped out of Patrick. “His fire was hotter than I expected, and that smoke pack had quite a punch.” He looked up at his friend. “But there was nothing to worry about. I don’t usually shift when injured.” He paused as the events of the day passed through his mind. “You did make sure to tell everyone to keep those things away from heat?”

  “After watching yours go up, I think they got the idea.” The corner of Daniel’s mouth turned up. “I’ve heard a few of the men writing limericks about it already.”

  Patrick hung his head. “Oh dear.” For as long as he had been training, the short rhymes had been the men’s way of immortalizing heroic acts of idiocy. It had been a point of pride that he could claim he’d managed to avoid the honor so far. “And what are they saying?” he asked, not really wanting to know.

  “It’s not as bad as you think.” Daniel cleared his throat and recited the rhyme. “When faced with a dragon of black, Patrick took a gift from his sack. When faced with the flame, he calmly took aim, and thwarted the critter’s attack.”

  “That’s not bad at all.” His first limerick, and it told of something good he’d done.

  “That’s the best of the ones I heard.” Daniel grinned. “There were a few others that were more amusing, but they lacked the right cadence to be any good. Would you like me to recite them?”

  Patrick shook his head. “No, I think that one is more than enough.” He looked towards the window. The light of day was waning. “Dusk is drawing near. I should get ready to head out.”

  “Will you be able to find your way in the dark?”

  Waving the older man’s worries away, Patrick reassured him. “I’ve made my way to the prince many times in the dark. I’ll make it just fine. It’s finding my way back here that might be the issue.” Patrick had gotten ver
y used to night flights since the king had banned dragons from flying in the day around humans. It was easier to keep their presence secret if there weren’t dragon sightings all the time.

  Daniel nodded.

  “Once I’ve gone, put a caldron up on the tallest tower. That should help.”

  Daniel glanced towards the window at the fading light. “Here’s a thought. Why don’t you go ahead and shift into your lesser form and circle the castle a few times so you can recognize it? That way, you’ll be less likely to miss it on your way back.”

  “Excellent idea.” Patrick closed his eyes and relaxed. Magic tingled over his skin as red scales shimmered down his side. He stretched his wings before folding them back. Patrick’s lesser form was slightly larger than his human form.

  Daniel eyed him. “Geez, you’re big.”

  A grumbling reply met him. Patrick disliked that about his lesser form. Most of the other dragons were small in their lesser forms. They ranged from the size of house cats to large dogs. It made it easier to slip out in scales and relax, but Patrick couldn’t get out as often. The real kicker was, his grand form was only slightly larger. He was too big to do anything stealthy, yet too small to do any heavy work.

  Daniel held the door open for him. “You’d better go out the front. I don’t think you’ll fit through the trap door to the tower.”

  Great… another disadvantage to his size. Patrick huffed and headed out. He paused in the hall long enough to make sure no one was around before slinking along the corridor. His passing in the great hall turned a few heads, but they simply nodded at him.

  “My Lord.”

  The voice stopped Patrick before he could reach the main door. He turned around as Douglas jogged up to him.

  “I’m glad I caught you before you left.”

  Curling his tail around his feet, Patrick sat up. “Did you find him?” he chirped in dragon.

  Douglas shook his head. “No, My Lord. We followed it south, but lost it in the forest.” The man looked downcast and weary. “He must have shifted to human.”

  Patrick nodded. “At least we know where to start our search tomorrow.” He turned his gaze to Daniel. “We should probably keep men in the village until he’s caught.” Pausing, he thought for a moment. Being in dragon form brought him closer to his instincts, and something was nagging at them. He just couldn’t place what it was. “If he comes back, use the smoke packs to drive him off, and send the scouts to follow. I want to understand this dragon before we have to kill it.”

  “We should take the opportunity to kill it if we can,” Daniel objected.

  “True,” Patrick agreed, “but something doesn’t sit right in here.” The fringy end of his tail came up and patted him in the chest. “I don’t know how to explain it, but I get the feeling there’s more going on.”

  Daniel just cocked his head and shrugged.

  Patrick turned his attention back to Douglas. “Anyway, thank you for the update. I must be off.” Uncurling, he headed for the door. He still had a long night ahead of him if he planned to be home before dawn.

  ***

  Mmmm. Patrick sighed as he slipped into the cool water of the lake. It had taken most of the night to get to the prince and give his report. Kyle had insisted on having someone look at his wound before letting him leave again. After a nice meal and some rest, the prince had finally let Patrick making the flight back. With dawn quickly approaching, he should have just gone straight back to the castle, but the burn on his front leg stung, and the water from the lake looked so cool.

  Tucking his wings in, Patrick dove deeper into the lake. It had been some time since he had last been out in scales, and even longer since his last swim. Lashing his tail back and forth, he zipped through the water. He loved the way the water swished over his hide. He could do this all day.

  A flash of silver to his left set off his hunting instincts, and he snapped at the fish. He missed, and the thing flashed away into the murky waters of the lake. Patrick let it go; he wasn’t hungry at the moment, although the thought of fresh fish for dinner did sound like a wonderful idea. For a moment, he considered just staying there for a while. Cool water to soothe his hurt, sunlight to warm his scales, and plenty of fish to eat. He could see why some dragons went feral. Letting out a long breath, he burst from the surface and flapped hard, shedding water as he gained height. The sun was almost up, and he needed to get back before the village woke up.

  ***

  Clothing spilt across the ground from the basket Kathryn had dropped. The two other girls who had come to do their washing also stood in silence as horror stole over them. A red dragon had just burst from the lake and taken flight. There was another dragon in the area!

  Kathryn turned around and grabbed her companions, pushing them towards the village. It only took the shocked girls a second to abandon their loads and retreat as fast as they could. Thankfully, they hadn’t screamed when the creature broke the water’s surface. Had they drawn its attention, they might not have made it out alive.

  4

  “Patrick.” Daniel’s voice echoed through the darkened room.

  A growl rumbled back in response.

  “Wake up, Patrick.”

  Patrick cracked his eye and glared at the man disturbing him. “What?” he grumbled. Last night had been taxing, and he hadn't been sleeping for very long.

  “The villagers have arrived with your tithing.” There was a smile in the man's voice.

  What the hell could make him that cheery this early in the morning? “Fine,” Patrick muttered as he rolled over. “Put it away, and I'll check it out later.” He snuggled back down into his blankets.

  “Oh, no.” Daniel had the nerve to come in and rip the covers off. “You need to see this.”

  Sitting up, Patrick glared at him. “I've had no sleep, and I'm hurt. Can't it wait until later?”

  “No. Now, come on.” Daniel threw Patrick's clothing at him.

  Growling, Patrick pulled them on and followed his friend down to the main hall. Running his hand through his sleep-mussed hair, Patrick's brain couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

  Ten woman, ranging from about twelve to around twenty, stood in the main hall. Each held a basket of what looked to be linens. Several of the men stood around the edges of the room, staring at them. Patrick rubbed his eye with a knuckle as he walked through the girls towards the town elder standing near the door.

  The girls curtsied as he passed.

  “Good morrow, My Lord,” Eustace greeted Patrick.

  It was good to see the man was accepting him as his lord. “Good morrow,” Patrick returned the greeting. “What's this?” He waved to the women standing around.

  Eustace bowed to him. “I apologize for waking you up, My Lord. I've brought part of your tithing.”

  Patrick stood up as if someone had splashed him with water. The note in the old man's voice was grave. “And the ladies?” Surely, they could not be part of the tithing.

  “These are the few maidens left in the village,” Eustace explained. “I humbly request that you take them in.”

  Now that really sent Patrick’s brain reeling. His brow furrowed in confusion.

  The village elder went on. “A dragon was spotted today at the lake. Not the black dragon you drove off—a red dragon. Much smaller.”

  The color bled from Patrick's face. Hell. Someone had seen him take his morning swim.

  “And Justin claims to have seen a baby dragon to the south. The thing was so small that he wasn't sure what it was at first. But where there are babies, there must be a momma.”

  Oh hell! If they were basing the size of dragons off the black dragon, both he and whatever scout was seen would look like juveniles. “The maidens are safe in the village,” Patrick reassured them. “My men and I will protect you from the dragons.” How was he supposed to tell them they were the dragons?

  “Please,” Eustace begged, “there is no one to defend these ladies should one attack.”

&n
bsp; Letting out a forlorn sigh, Patrick nodded. It was his only choice. Having offered these people his protection, he couldn’t turn them away without dealing with the perceived danger. That was not a good way to get started as their lord. He turned to Daniel, standing with a gleam in his eye. At least the man kept the ear-to-ear grin from his face. “Clear the men from the castle and find rooms for the maidens,” Patrick ordered. “If any of them want to leave the castle grounds, please make sure they have an escort.”

  The smile moved from his eyes to his mouth as Daniel nodded and left to carry out the orders.

  Patrick turned back to the town elder. “Your ladies are safe. Daniel will sort them out.” He closed his eyes as weariness over took him. “If you'll excuse me, I'm still recovering from yesterday's activities.”

  “Of course, My Lord.” Eustace bowed as Patrick retreated to the safety of his chambers.

  Maidens! What was he going to do with a castle full of maidens?

  ***

  Kathryn looked at the back of the retreating man. He looked awful. He was as pale as sun-bleached linen, with dark bags under his eyes. His left arm was so badly wrapped that part of the burn was exposed. The clothes he’d hastily pulled on and his sleep-rumpled hair made him look like a child. She just wanted to pull him into her arms and soothe away his pains.

  Shaking this thought away, she turned to the girls around her. As the oldest among them, she would have to take care of the rest.

  “Now remember,” Eustace's voice cut through the whispers that had started, “you are guests here. These men will protect you, but please do your best to make their lives easier.”

  An affirmative murmur slid through the women.

  “Kathryn,” he turned his attention to her, “make sure everyone is taken care of.” He looked around at the men standing uneasily along the walls of the room.

  Kathryn caught the warning in his voice and nodded her head. She would make sure that the girls' virtues were defended if need be.