by Lisa Daniels
She reached the building at the edge of the town and immediately stopped. Elian was standing with a group of soldiers, giving instructions. Moving in closer, the young woman wanted to determine just what it was they were doing. The war had been over for a few years, but somehow the threat of the next one was always on the horizon. Perhaps she could learn about places to avoid. There was nothing as terrible for her business as war because people often mistook her for a mercenary. Killing humans was no real challenge, so it was only something she did when circumstances forced it.
Slipping into the shadows, Annora moved in close so that she could hear what they were discussing.
“Sir, what should we do if we find her?” Leonides’ voice was clear and to the point. Annora recognized it immediately, but she had no idea what they were talking about. They were out hunting someone. Leaning a little closer, she wanted to make sure she heard Elian’s response.
“I still think there is a chance to save her, so get back to me. I will take responsibility for whatever happens, but I cannot possibly authorize killing her without knowing that she is beyond redemption.”
Annora placed her hand on her chest. Had they already discovered she was gone? Where they talking about killing her?
Leonides pressed, “Sir, I understand your point, but she has already caused-”
Elian’s voice was cold and dangerous. “I know what she has done. But I will not kill her without knowing there is no other choice. If she can be persuaded to return, if she can be brought back to some kind of sense of who she was, I will risk anything.”
Annora pushed herself against the building and was considering fleeing when Leonides spoke again.
“Sir, we are running out of time – please let me finish,” he cut across his commander’s interruption. There was an audible sigh. “I ran into Dux Calixto – yes, I know we are not supposed to fraternize with his clan, but he felt compelled to mention in passing that King Salmon hired a dragon slayer.”
There was silence as everyone froze. Annora desperately wanted to look at the faces of the men, but she was too stunned by what she heard to see what their reaction was. The gasps were enough. One thing was clear – they had not been talking about her up until now.
Elian’s voice was controlled and emotionless as he said, “Anyone can call themselves that, it means nothing.”
“Sir,” Leonides’ voice was calm and measured, “they didn’t hire just anyone. They hired The Fiend. Dux Calixto didn’t have any details, but apparently this man has killed more than a dozen dragons. We’ve already lost a week, which means that you may not get the chance to try to bring her back if we don’t move now.” There was pity in his voice.
There was silence as the men waited for Elian’s directions.
“Sir,” Leonides pressed him. “I can look after the woman until she heals. Lilou needs you now.”
This seemed to shake the man out of his thoughts. “Yes, you are right. Thank you Leonides. I leave her in your care.” He then began giving orders to the others before he and Leonides headed back to the inn.
There wasn’t much time now. They were about to find out that she had escaped, and even if they had some pressing matters, Annora doubted that they were simply going to let her go. For whatever reason, Elian seemed to feel responsible for her and some woman named Lilou. Their conversation had been strange. What did the woman have to do with King Salmon? Dragon slayers didn’t track women, even if they were mages. Particularly if they were mages. Magical creatures and horrific beasts were far less cruel than humans who wielded magic.
There was one thing that was unmistakable – they were very concerned about her tracking the dragon. Her heart sank as she realized they were on opposing sides after all. The only real benefit was that they did not realize that their competition was a woman. If she could take care of it quickly enough, maybe they would never need to know.
Perhaps there is a mage controlling the dragon. However unlikely, it was not impossible, in which case she was about to face something far more dangerous than a small dragon. It did make sense, though. Small dragons would be easier to control because they didn’t have the strength or magic markings that protected the larger species of lizard. That created a whole new dilemma. If the dragon had not destroyed King Salmon and Marked Tree by choice, then it seemed wrong to simply slaughter it because of a human. Dragons rarely interacted with humans, which was why they were largely left alone. The few people crazy enough to go dragon hunting for sport rarely survived as fighting more than one dragon at a time was pretty much impossible, no matter how many men you brought. And when you attacked a dragon in its home without provocation, any dragons in the area would answer the call to help. Despite their cruel reputation, dragon society was no less civilized than humans. It was one of the first things Annora had learned in her training. Real dragon slayers refused to kill for sport, and that made them wildly unpopular among people who did not understand the difference between trophies and threat elimination.
With this in mind, Annora waited until she heard the men heading away from the building. Two were left to guard the door. Her heart went out to the one standing closest to her. Oswald, his name went through her mind. There was no way she could injure these men, not after everything these people had done to help her recover. Yes, it had been against her will, but it had allowed the dragon slayer to get better. Even if they were in some capacity competing against her, she wasn’t going to show her gratitude for the assistance by knocking two of them unconscious. Oswald deserved better.
Though it was certainly more difficult, Annora looked for an alternate entrance. Her ankle was still a bit swollen and sore, but with the current wrapping on it, she could jump as long as she landed more heavily on the other leg. After a couple of tries, she was able to grab a small window on the wall opposite to the men. Pulling herself up carefully, Annora slipped into the makeshift armory.
The place was dark inside, but not nearly as bad as some of the places she had been. Giving her eyes a few seconds to adjust, the young woman began to make her way around the building. It was not nearly as cluttered as she had expected. The weapons were located in a very concentrated area of the facility. They filled up maybe three rooms. In a fourth, she finally found her own weapons. Like a mother running to her children, Annora rushed over and lifted them off of a table. The way the metal vibrated in her hands made her feel like she was finally whole again. Stopping just shy of kissing them, a huge grin covered her face as she placed them back on the table. With the movements of an expert, the dragon slayer buckled the sheaths, noticing how much more balanced she felt. Quietly slipping the weapons into their sheaths, she gave a satisfied sigh. Unconsciously, she closed her eyes and felt the comfort she had been missing for what seemed like forever.
A sound outside brought her back to her senses. There was a window in the room just above a table. Quickly and quietly she jumped on it and pressed out of the window. The woods were less than 100 feet away. As she ran off into them she could hear a familiar voice barking orders from the direction of the inn.
Well, they know I’m gone now. The thought made her smile as she quickened her pace and moved further into the woods. The best thing she could do now was to keep to the shadows of the woods. It would be virtually impossible to see her among the trees and surrounding area if she kept her silhouette indistinguishable from them. She felt almost like a teenager slipping out after curfew, and the thought caused her to let out a short giggle. It had been a long time since she had felt this alive.
Chapter 8
Prey and Hunter
There was no way to tell in the forest how long she had been traveling, so Annora continued to press forward. Isaac had given her a few provisions, but she doubted she would be needing them. Knowing that speed was going to be required, the dragon hunter had made sure to rest well and eat plenty before she had slipped out of her room at the inn.
As she reached a clearing, she looked up to see if she could tell by th
e stars how late it was. Apparently her luck had turned as she saw an unmistakable shape soar across her vision. All thoughts of the pursuers were at once erased from her mind and she took off in the direction of the dragon’s flight. Its path was still leading towards the Unforgiving Ridges, but based on the number of times it had appeared recently, Annora knew that its home was not that far away. Several smaller ranges were much closer, and a dragon of that size would be able to find a suitable cave among those. The larger dragons would likely find the caverns too small, which was what drew them to the larger range in a colder land.
Stopping only for a quick breakfast, Annora ran through the night and well into the day. The sun was well past its peak when she reached the base of the first set of small mountains. Calling them a range was a stretch as it was easy to walk around them. Even a dragon as small as the one she was chasing was going to be too big to fit any caverns within them. At best there would be wolves, bears, or bandits. She didn’t even have to stop to consider what was lurking there as her path veered left.
The sun had reached the horizon as she rounded the far end of the first set of mountains. With the light fading in front of her, Annora felt disappointment wash over her. There was no way she would find the dragon tonight.
The dragon hunter shook her head. Considering where she had been just the day before, it was amazing she had made it so far. Disappointment was a waste; she should be pleased that she had been able to get back on track so quickly. The best thing she could do at this point was find a place to rest. Finding the dragon now would be dangerous after pushing herself so far that day. If the dragon saw her, they would fight, and her body would not be in the best shape after a full day of running. Annora turned and listened for the sound of water. Washing up quickly would give her a chance to cool down and redress her wounds. It did not take long to find a small stream that led to a pond. Removing her clothes, the young woman waded into the cool water. The initial shock did not last long, and she relaxed as she found a warm place in the last bit of light.
As soon as she was done, the dragon slayer wrapped herself in a thin blanket and dried off. Tucking the edge of the blanket so that it would hold, she began dressing the wound on her arm. It had begun bleeding a little, but nothing too obvious. If she covered it well, it wouldn’t attract much attention in the woods. As soon as she was satisfied with it, the young woman felt her back to see how it was healing. The scab was large and felt tight as she dried, but that was a good sign. As carefully as she could, Annora wrapped a long bolt of cloth Isaac had given her around her waist, back, and stomach. Pulling it tight, she moved a little to make sure it would hold if she were to move suddenly. Next she got dressed in a new outfit. It was a bit tight, but she knew that sleeping in it would work out most of the tension that would cause discomfort. The fact that it was a little tighter around her waist was actually good as it would help keep the wrap in place. The last thing to take care of was her ankle. It was still tender, so the hunter did not want to risk reinjuring it (or worse). Carefully, she bandaged it before pulling back to inspect it. Taking several steps without her boots, she felt that it was sufficiently tight. Pulling her new boots on, the young woman jumped a few times to make sure it could handle a little extra pressure. There appeared to be no problems with it, so she packed up and looked for a place to rest for the night.
Now that she was on the other side of the mountains, she could see a couple of possibilities a little ways up. It didn’t take her long to reach the first few, and after a short exploration of the area, she selected one that was too small for most predators. Crawling into it for the last time, she immediately began to set it up as a temporary living place. Lighting a fire, she settled in and ate a light meal. When she felt the fire was set, Annora sat against the wall and allowed herself to drift off to sleep.
In the early hours of the day, she was woken by the sound of a roar. Her actions were quick as she gathered her things, put out the fire, and moved outside. The only creature that could shake a mountain just with its voice was the very thing she sought.
Annora moved like an arrow as she worked her way back to the forest, her eyes scanning the horizon for the very creature she had been seeking ever since leaving King Salmon. Finally, here was her chance to avenge Marked Tree, a way to allow them to rest in peace. Keeping in mind just how careless she had been, the dragon slayer moved cautiously once she got the dragon in sight. The creature was soaring around ahead, as if taunting her. There was no way to know if it had burned down more villages, killed more farmers, or destroyed the lives of anyone else, so it was with remorse that she looked up at it.
I should have found you sooner. If anyone else died since I started tracking you, their deaths are on my head. I will make sure you never again see the sun rise.
Her face was cold and emotionless as she tracked the lazy movements of the dragon. It was clear that the beast was close to its lair because they seldom were so relaxed when traveling. Dragons were paranoid by nature. It was understandable with the way they were received by any creature that chose to fight (not that they often won), but it meant that dragons had to stay on the defensive. Even the clumsiest human could get lucky enough to kill if the dragon did not remain constantly vigilant. Given where they lived, generally far from people, there was not much that threatened a dragon close to its home. When humans were looking for glory, they usually came in large enough groups that they were nearly impossible to miss. Dragons were not accustomed to being cautious at home because there was almost never anything for them to fear in their own domain. Dragon hunters were the only people who really understood this, and they never gave out that secret. It was how they were able to continue to not only perform their job, but to survive an encounter with a dragon.
Annora’s eyes followed the dragon as she stealthily made her way through the forest. Just because a dragon wasn’t wary didn’t mean she could be reckless. The best way to take on a dragon wasn’t in a head-on attack or with a battle cry after hiding in wait. The end result of those kinds of attacks was an excruciating death. Dragons could be very cruel, and were decidedly more so when someone tried to show them up during an attack. The best way to take down a dragon was to do it when they were unaware, like when they were sleeping. Explaining this to someone who had never stared down a weapon into a dragon’s eyes was impossible because it seemed too underhanded. But when it came to fighting dragons, it was nearly impossible to fight them for long and win. Humans were squishy, small, and very breakable. There were millions of ways for dragons to kill them, but only a handful of ways to kill a dragon.
Of course, sneaking up on a dragon was almost impossible as well. As long as a dragon hunter could close the gap quickly enough, that person stood a chance of winning. It was why most of them wielded two weapons instead of a shield. Shields either melted or grew too hot to use against most types of dragons. The only way a shield would help was if the hunter used it to repeatedly bash a single spot on the dragon. A pair of weapons was much more reliable.
Annora continued to easily track the creature as it ambled through the air, darting left and right, apparently enjoying the feel of the breeze on its face. Every time it seemed to be enjoying itself, the face of another villager in Marked Tree appeared in Annora’s mind, a person she would never see again. It helped her keep her resolve as she watched what could easily have been mistaken for a harmless creature that was simply enjoying life. The dragon hunter had lost too many people to such dangerous dragons. It had already badly damaged one town and decimated another – it was not the carefree spirit it appeared to be. If someone did not stop it, the beast would continue to plague human settlements.
Still, there was something tragic about killing a creature like that. If only there was a way to catch it and keep it from harming others. It was not the first time the idea had struck the young huntress. Seeing them in flight was almost heartbreaking in the elegance and grace the creatures displayed. She had no idea what drew the dragon to kill when
it was clearly so happy here. If only it had stayed here, far away from others…
Denying the thoughts that would make the kill that much more difficult, the dragon slayer continued to follow in silence. After tracking it for a few hours, the dragon finally landed and moved into a small, nearly invisible cave in the next range. It was considerably longer than the last one, so Annora was thankful that she would not have to find some way across it while trying to track the beast. It would have been impossible to circumvent this range. Still, she did not grin as she began to scan the rock face for a way to reach the lair unnoticed. With little else to do, the young woman sat down, ate, and prepared her weapons while waiting for the dragon to leave. Annora’s next move was to slip into the cave while the creature was gone, then strike when the best opportunity presented itself. It was risky because the dragon would be able to smell her upon entering, but the way the cave was positioned and the only available way up to it would make reaching the entrance just as much of a warning. Better to be on the ground ready to fight than hanging from a cliff face with little room to maneuver.
The wait seemed to take forever, and Annora was growing impatient as the sun lazily began to dip toward the trees. There were only a few hours of light left, and she wanted the deed done before the dragon could take any more lives. It was all she could do to keep herself from pacing outside of the forest. Annora was well practiced in patience, but it had been a long time since a kill had been so personal.
As she was beginning to wonder if she should go ahead and make the climb, the dragon’s head emerged from the cave. It let out a loud roar, flapped its wings, and took off. Gliding over the forest a few times, it rode the winds and rose above the mountains. Annora watched it, waiting for it to finally leave the area. At this hour it was not likely to go toward any human settlement; it was far more likely it would hunt in an area where it could find larger wildlife.