While the other guides eventually surrounded themselves with family, Kenzo basked in the glory of adoration. Acting the social butterfly, he whipped from group to group.
Musicians filled the Meadow with flute and fiddle tunes, and most trotted, flapped, or jigged around the lively band. Cullen danced Lyra among the taller flowers in the Meadow, stealing kisses when they were hidden a bit. Each attempt drew a wave of cheers from those nearby. “This is tricky. We’ll have to try dancing again when we’re alone.”
After he twirled her away and then pulled her tight, she teased, “That reminds me, you were going to show me some special romantic place here.”
He grinned slyly. “I haven’t forgotten.”
“I’ll look forward to that.” She smiled at him. “What time is it outside Dragonspeir? I need to be leaving for Aunt Jean soon. This is wonderful fun, but I’m concerned about her.”
“It’s just before three o’clock.”
“I don’t see Eburscon.”
“Didn’t miss him at all,” Cullen said.
“I know that, but I want to get Yasqu back before I leave.”
“Yes. I’ll summon him.” He collected his staff, gave it a brisk twirl and called out, “Exorior alchemist!”
Within a couple minutes, Eburscon’s cloud of purple smoke whipped into view, then receded to reveal his form, without Yasqu along. “You’ve returned. What may I help you with, Sire Drake?”
Lyra bristled.
“We would like the hatching returned to our care.”
“I’m sorry, that is not possible.”
Lyra stepped up to face the alchemist. “You promised he would come back to my care once I returned from my journey. I intend to keep him with me until I leave in August to resume my teaching position.” Her stern manner brought silence to much of the crowd.
“He will grow large and be discovered and in danger in your world,” he said in a smooth and condescending voice.
“Not so much in a month’s time. You promised before many witnesses. I expect you to keep your word. I assure you, he will be safe.” Her tone, now loud, drew an audience.
Cullen stepped next to her, to show his support.
“I will not allow that,” Eburscon demanded.
A craftsman yelled, “Let her keep the baby dragon! She’s only done good for us.” Whispered accusations came from all directions.
“Give her the babe!” a woman called out.
Eburscon fidgeted with his curved fingernails, apparently not expecting a hostile crowd.
The Imperial Dragon’s huge frame parted the crowd. Towering above the alchemist, he proclaimed, “Give her the baby. It is my wish.”
The alchemist gave a stiff bow and through gritted teeth said, “As you wish, Master.” He drew his cloak about him in a swirl of smoke. “I’ll return with him momentarily. Meet me at the Gatekeeper’s post.”
After he vanished, a brief awkward silence hung in the air before musicians took up their fiddles once again.
Lyra and Cullen gathered packs laden with many gifts from friends, an array of canned delicacies and fine handiwork from the villagers, and said their goodbyes. He beckoned to Noba.
The familiar landed on his wristlet to keep from being stepped on. “Noba will help Lady Lyra in the human world?”
She reached up and gave him a quick pat and a smile. “You sure can.”
With many waves, they left the Meadow. They hadn’t gone far when the tiger owl whooshed past them, narrowly missing a sapling and obviously giddy from all the attention. “Hold up! Is there some work to be done? Mustn’t shirk my duties.”
Both Cullen and Lyra suppressed laughs. “We’re only going to meet Eburscon to get the baby dragon, then leave. You can return to your fans,” she suggested.
“Try to hold off the mead or you’ll not dodge the next trunk,” Cullen joked.
Kenzo snapped his beak in a chuckle, blinking one eye and then the other. “Will do. See you soon, Lyra.” He circled around and sailed back to the party.
***
As the pair rounded the bend, Lyra became aware of the aches and tiredness in her body from the demanding adventure with little rest. “I’m ready to sleep a long night.”
“Me too,” Cullen added. “I won’t return here tonight, even though the party will go on much longer. Kenzo can certainly entertain for me.”
She was glad they beat Eburscon to the gate because she wished to talk with Cranewort before the alchemist arrived.
“Hello there, Adalyra!” the gnarly old tree boomed out as soon as they came into sight on the trail. “You did it! Come give me a hug.”
She handed her packs to Cullen and raced to accept his embrace. Wrapped in those stiff, creaking limbs, she relaxed and connected to her childhood.
“My little girl really did it. I’m very proud of you.”
Tears welled into her eyes, and she felt silly being so sentimental. She looked up and his craggy eyes misted over.
“Stop that.” The old tree patted her shoulder. “No need for tears from either of us.”
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Then, she unfastened the jadestone brooch and held it up to show him, the opal ring dangling alongside her heliodor. “One of your cranes brought me this ring, just steps away from the Black Dragon’s lair.”
The bark on his trunk crackled and rearranged into a pleased smile. “I know. I have the gift of clairvoyance and saw everything you did.”
“Everything?” She turned to Cullen and lifted her eyebrows. Heat rose in her cheeks.
The ancient one chuckled. “I closed my vision that first night.”
Cullen winked and chimed in. “Good thing, or I might have to alter your powers a tad.”
“Lyra, you were very brave in the lair. I’m glad I did get to see that.”
“Can you tell me who sent me this ring?” She twirled it on the post of the brooch.
“You know I cannot. I can only tell you the individual loves you and will never bring you harm.”
“It was such a valuable and rare gift. Can’t I know more?”
“Hmm. Well, like when you were a girl, I’ll grant you two yes or no questions. That is all. Fair?”
She nodded and thought carefully about what questions to ask. Finally, she said, “I know from the note, the being is a female. First question—did she know Brigid?”
“You’re better at this as an adult. Yes, she did.”
A female who’s old enough to have known Brigid, and she’s extremely grateful for a great favor I did for her. She ticked through faces in her mind. So many things she wanted to know. Was the female dragon, animal, or human? Had she met this being? As a child or recently? She sighed and asked, “Number two—is the being human?”
“No, she’s not. That’s all. No more questions.”
“A female animal or dragon who’s old enough to know Brigid. Hmm. I’ll have to give this some thought.”
“You should get home and rest, so you can start writing.”
“Yes, she should,” Cullen agreed.
“We’re waiting for the alchemist to bring Yasqu. I don’t want to leave without him.”
“I foresee someone transporting here soon. Maybe it’s him.”
A swirl of purple grew into a whirling cloud and then receded to reveal Eburscon holding the hatchling. He’d grown nearly a foot in length in the past two days.
Lyra bent down and opened her arms. “Come to me, Yasqu. We’ll go to my house and play with Noba.” She didn’t even get the words out before he’d leapt into her arms, tail whipping wildly. She laughed. “Easy with the tail; your spines are hardening.”
“He needs to do more than play. He has lessons to learn,” Eburscon scoffed.
Lyra secured the dragon in her arms and stood, glaring at the alchemist.
Before she could open her mouth, Cullen interceded. “She’s modeling fine character qualities—good lessons for a future aide to the Head Guardian and ones he won’t get from you.
”
The alchemist smirked.
A large branch moved up behind him, urging him on his way.
Luckily, he took the hint and whipped his purple cloak around him, creating a puff of smoke, which soon billowed into a cloud and masked his disappearance.
“Glad that’s over with.” Lyra sighed.
Cullen put a hand on her back. “Let’s be going. We’re all tired.”
“Yes. Good evening, Cranewort.” She waved.
“Goodnight, Adalyra. If I can be of help to you in any way, just ask.”
She smiled over her shoulder as they started down the path. “Thank you, I will.”
***
Crossing the portal, tiredness hit Lyra hard. “When we get home, since I don’t know incantations, you’ll have to cast a sleeping spell on these two. I’m exhausted and don’t want them waking me early.”
“Good idea. I’m spent as well. Sleep will be welcome.” He located the towels dropped on his desk they used two days before to cover the dragons for transport and tossed one to Lyra. “It’s a good feeling to have the most difficult part of your quest completed. Don’t you think?”
“Oh, yes. I’m amazed we pulled it off. But, I kind of feel sad too. I had to leave behind so many new friends and fun times. I learned magic…and experienced real magic between you and I.” As she wrapped Yasqu in a towel, she noticed he seemed more brown or bronze than the golden color she remembered.
Cullen placed his free hand around the side of her waist. “You won’t be alone in the coming days. I’ll visit. And if you make some real progress with your writing, we might take a short trip back into Dragonspeir.”
She looked into his eyes and smiled. “You mean that special, romantic place you wanted to take me?”
His lips curled into a devilish grin.
“Encouraging me to get my writing done?”
“And a few other things.” He leaned toward her for a kiss, soon interrupted by wiggling dragons. He laughed. “I’ll have to work on finding a babysitter.”
She chuckled and headed for the door.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: House Guests for Auntie
A boat horn tooted through her open window, waking Lyra to begin a new day. The two dragons still slept peacefully, so she hurried out of bed, found her slippers, and padded down the steps to Aunt Jean’s room. After Cullen dropped Lyra and the dragons off last evening, although it was before dinner hour, she’d fallen asleep, exhausted. During the early evening, she sat beside her aunt for a long while, content to hold her frail hand and study her kind face, now worn haggard from the cancer treatment. Lyra hoped to find her awake this morning. She wanted to share her adventures.
She opened one of the blinds and lifted a window a bit to let in some fresh morning air.
Her aunt called in a raspy voice, “Lyra, you’re back.”
Lyra smiled at the sound of the voice behind her. She turned and stood at the foot of the bed. “Yes, I’m glad to be back. We got in before dinner last night, so I could relieve Nancy. I sure wanted to talk with you, but you were asleep.”
“Darned medicine. I do a lot of that nowadays.” Jean struggled to sit up against her pillows. Lyra stepped near and assisted. “Thanks, dear. Tell me all about your visit to Dragonspeir. I want to hear everything.”
“First you. Tell me how you feel. You’re much more important than a fantasy world.”
“Hmm.” She gathered her glasses from the bedside table and put them on. “That nice young man, Cullen, looked pretty real to me.” She grinned.
Lyra put her hands on her hips and returned the smile, insisting, “You first.”
“Treatment has left me weak and my stomach feels awful. I sleep too much, but it’s a darned sight better than listening to Nancy ramble on forever.”
At least the old lady still kept the gritty humor Lyra loved. “Would you like some tea or coffee?”
“Yes, some tea would be nice, dear.”
“Be right back.” Lyra went to the kitchen, microwaved two mugs of water, and added herbal teabags. Footsteps sounded in the hall. She poked her head out the kitchen doorway, but saw nothing.
Then, Aunt Jean let out a yelp, “Lyra! What is this in my room?”
Leaving the tea, she ran into the master suite. There, in the middle of the rose trellis rug stood Noba, tail tucked under him like he knew he’d done something wrong.
“What is that?” Jean peered over the edge of her bed. Her eyes opened wide, she pulled the cover up cautiously.
He scurried to Lyra’s side. “Noba didn’t mean to scare old lady.”
She stooped and picked up the trembling pseudodragon. Her aunt calmed a little once Lyra held him. She patted his side. “It’s okay. This is Noba, a loyal servant of Cullen’s. He’s here to help me for a few days.”
“What is he exactly?” Jean asked with a shaky voice, the covers still clutched at her chin.
“A pseudodragon, fully grown. He’s very friendly. The tip of his tail is poisonous, but used for defense only.”
“Noba only uses tail when attacked by mean demons.” He raised up from his front legs to perch on Lyra’s arm and look at Jean. “Won’t hurt Lady Lyra or Auntie.”
“Would you like to touch him?”
Her aunt straightened her glasses upon her face. “I guess…if you’re sure he won’t bite. You keep a hold of him.”
Lyra slowly stepped closer to present him. “He won’t bite.”
“Noba likes Auntie.” He bowed his head.
“Where he comes from they bow to say hello, rather than shaking hands.”
His gesture helped Jean relax and she bowed her head, but was too weak to bend her torso forward. She raised her arm, took hold of his front foot, and moved it up and down. “Then, Noba, let me teach you our greeting. We clasp right hands and gently shake them together like this—called shaking hands.”
“Noba likes human world shaking hands.” He flashed her a toothy grin.
Jean’s face lit up, reacting to his sweet and innocent manner. “What else do you like about this world? Is the food different?”
“Human food tastes good. Like playing on Lyra’s bed and listening when she reads her new stories.”
“Well, sometime I could read you a story, if you’d like? While Lyra’s busy writing.”
“Oh, yes! Noba would love that.” He wiggled with excitement.
Lyra looked down at him. “Was Yasqu awake yet when you left the room?”
Jean’s eyebrows raised, looking past them toward the doorway. “Who? Another one? Is that him there?”
The baby gave a snert and leaped up onto the foot of the bed to join in. He began to bounce, like he usually did on Lyra’s.
Jean screamed, “No! Stop!” She jerked her feet aside, under the covers.
The familiar jumped from Lyra’s arms onto the bed, and with wings extended, slowed the motion. “Sit.” He modeled the behavior and Yasqu did the same.
“That’s why I have Noba here. He teaches the baby dragon. I’ve been asked to keep the hatchling here with me, safe from evil forces in Dragonspeir.” She leaned against the foot of the bed and stroked the bronze scales of the young one.
Her aunt caught her breath. “Trying to give a poor old woman heart failure? As if this dreadful cancer wasn’t enough?” She exhaled into a laugh. “You sure do make life fun, Lyra, just like you always did, even as a child.”
She smiled. “Do you still want that tea?”
“Yes, I sure do.”
When she returned, the two dragons snuggled up near her, one on either side of her hips. Jean listened attentively to some long tale Noba told while Yasqu watched her with his big eyes, blue with contentment.
“Here’s your tea, heated up a bit.” She held the mug steady for the elderly lady to accept it. “I also brought along your morning meds that Nancy put out for me to give you.”
“After I enjoy my tea and company, dear.”
“Noba can help Auntie put cup back on table,” he
said eagerly.
Lyra shook her head and grinned; no wonder Cullen risked his life for the little guy. He entertained Jean with his experiences while Yasqu made noises almost like English syllables. Clearly, he was mimicking the speech he heard. Dragons seemed to learn language fast. After Noba proudly removed the empty mug, Lyra gave Jean her pills with water.
“Those pills will make me sleepy soon, but I’m tuckered out already from all this excitement.”
“Noba, Yasqu, time for you to get down and let her rest,” Lyra said, as she rearranged the covers.
“Nice to meet you both. Come visit me again.” Jean lowered her voice to a whisper. “You better get them safe upstairs before my nurse, or you’ll have a time.”
She nodded with a smile and kissed her aunt’s forehead. “Sleep well.”
She laid a hand on top of her niece’s. “Lyra, you look happy. I can see you had a good time and I’m sure you will tell me all about it, but knowing it went well is enough for me to rest easy now.”
As Lyra closed the bedroom door, she heard a car pull into the drive. She scooted the dragons to her room, grabbed a tray full of fruit, and headed up herself.
When she turned at the landing, the nurse called up to her, “Morning! Lovely day outside with a bright blue sky. You should see Mrs. Kendall’s flowerbeds in full bloom down the street; quite a show at this time of year, mid-summer when most wilt and look beaten down, but she has a real way with them, always has and even offers bouquets to the local nursing home, at least she has since her husband died, if I remember right…”
“Hello, Nancy! Yes, I’ll be sure and take a break in my writing to go pay her a visit. Thank you.” She stepped quickly through her door before the nurse started again. After sharing a few bananas, apples, and a large bunch of grapes with her charges, she took a shower, then settled at her computer to write while they played with toys.
***
Through midday, Lyra’s writing came smoothly and quickly.
Noba and Yasqu spread out a huge tub of interconnecting blocks and busied themselves building houses and cars.
She leaned against her ladderback chair and smiled at the irony. Creatures, who most people dreamed about as characters in a fantasy world, sat engrossed creating their own imaginary worlds.
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