“Yes, Pantagria. I want to help you.”
“That’s not how it works though,” she smiled without humor. “You don’t get to help me. I’m here to help you. I always have been. I took care of you when you were sad.” Her voice turned mocking. “I took care of you when you were lonely. I took care of you when you were too afraid to live in the real world.
“I wouldn’t have been afraid of the real world!” she screamed. “I would have been ruling that world by now!”
“Pantagria, I love you. I can help you.”
“You love me!” she hissed. “I was at your beck and call. I made you feel better again and again and again. I taught you to live. I taught you to love. Without me, you were nothing! Then what did you do? You left me here! Here! There’s nothing here! There’s no one here! And for how long? For years! Where was my help then? Do you know how boring it was? Do you know how lonely it was? Do you know how hard it was for me to keep from going insane?”
She punched him in the face. He started to say something and she punched him again. Then she began to rain blow after blow down on him. He threw his arms up over his face and tried to protect himself from the pummeling, but he did nothing to fight back. Just as he was starting to feel as though he was going to lose consciousness, she stopped and got up. He watched her walk away in the faint glow of the coming morning and the light of the many tiny scattered fires left over from the explosion. Her body was still tall and thin and perfectly formed, and she moved with a grace that a cat would envy. On her back, where once wide, proud, snowy white wings had stood, now all that remained were two jagged shafts of bone. The flesh through which they protruded was scabbed and swollen and angry.
Chapter Thirteen: Birmisia
It was chilly and wisps of mist hung in the air. On the distant shore, beyond the wall formed by impossibly tall redwood trees, large spruces, massive maple and bay trees, filled in between by thick huckleberry and azalea bushes and wave upon wave of rhododendron, some giant and no doubt frightening monster roared out a challenge. From its tiny animal carrier on deck, the little dragon answered.
“Gawp!”
Senta stepped onto the deck and knelt down by the box. Zurfina had dressed her in another weird outfit, this one a floor length black dress with a white collar. A black ceramic rose right in the front of her neck that made it difficult to look down at the high-heeled black sandals on her feet. Of course Zurfina had on a matching dress, and cut a striking figure standing along the railing of the forward deck with the Captain, Miss Dechantagne, the Dechantagne brothers, and other notables, all of whom were dressed in light summer clothing, as they surveyed the coastline.
“Pet!” said the dragon.
“Yep, it’s me,” said Senta. “I’m going to take you out, but you have to have your leash on.”
The dragon hissed. She opened the door of the carrier and the dragon climbed out onto the top. He turned his head and pointedly looked the other direction as she snapped the little chain onto the ring around his ankle. Once the little clip had snapped shut, Senta attached the other end of the chain to a bracelet on her right wrist.
“See there. We’re both chained by the wrist. Nobody’s the boss.”
“Gawp,” said the dragon, and then spreading its wings to balance, it climbed up her arm and onto her shoulder. It slithered down to lie across her shoulders, one hand and one foot holding onto her dress and one hand and one foot holding onto her hair. Senta stood up. The little dragon was now over four feet long from nose to tip of tail, but he was only about six inches thick across the belly and he was surprisingly light.
“What do you want to do?”
“Gawp.”
“Me too. This is sooo boring.”
The ship had been sailing parallel to the coast for the past four days and Senta was getting tired of it. What was the point of sailing all the way to Mallon, if you didn’t get out and walk around on it? Twenty days was more than enough time to explore every square inch of the largest battleship and Senta had spent more than three times that length of time on the Minotaur. Not even murders, gunfights, and drinking wine until you threw up could take away the boredom forever.
“Fina,” said the dragon.
“All right.”
Senta walked toward the front of the ship. She had gone only about halfway to where Zurfina and the others stood watching the coastline roll past, when a figure stepped out of the shadows. A freckled face and striped shirt quickly identified the shady figure.
“Hey Graham,” said Senta.
“Hi Senta. What’ya doing?”
“Nothing. He wants to go up by the grown-ups.” She indicated the dragon with her thumb.
“Can I come?”
“Sure. Just don’t get too close, ‘cause he’ll bite you.”
“I thought he was tame.”
“You can’t tame a dragon. Zurfina says you can’t tame anything that’s smarter than you are.”
“Who says he’s smarter than me?” Graham was indignant.
“Not just you, stupid. Dragons are super smart. When he gets big, he’ll be able to talk and do magic and all kinds of cool stuff.”
“Brill,” said the boy.
Senta and Graham walked forward, the boy keeping several paces behind her at all times, until they reached the group of adults. Miss Dechantage was wearing a yellow dress with lots of lace and a matching hat, tied below her chin with a lace ribbon. Her dress was almost the same color as the suit Professor Calliere was wearing. It made him look like a very large banana. Mr. Korlann was much more dignified. His grey suit was so light that it would have seemed white, had he not been standing next to Miss Lusk in her white day dress. Senta saw Miss Lusk reach over discretely and touch Mr. Korlann’s hand. Wizard Labrith was wearing a light brown suit and Wizard Kesi, for once not in colorful silks, was dressed the same. They both stood near the back of the group, all four of their eyes boring holes into the back of Zurfina’s black dress. The two Dechantagne brothers were both wearing khaki safari clothes and pith helmets. The older brother looked like he was sick. Finally Father Ian had eschewed his traditional robes for a more modern suit with a clerical collar.
“This is it just ahead,” said Lieutenant Dechantagne, pointing. “You see the bay just here, and this land just beyond is the peninsula.”
“Children are limited to the aft deck of the ship,” said Miss Dechantagne, noticing Senta and Graham for the first time and looking down her nose at them.
“Children with dragons may go wherever they wish,” said Zurfina, without turning around.
Miss Dechantagne made a clicking sound with her tongue. Miss Lusk gave Senta a wink. Senta and Graham walked to the side, out of the way of the adults and looked at the forest moving past.
“Would you look at that!” shouted Father Ian.
A monstrous creature had stepped out of the trees and onto the shore. It was reptilian, and looked to be more than thirty feet long from its strange beak-like snout to the tip of its long thick, waving tail. It had a bulky body and though it walked on two stocky back legs, only sometimes using its lighter forelegs, it did so completely hunched over, using the long tail for balance. It was an olive color overall, but had yellowish vertical stripes down its back. No sooner had the creature presented itself than another and then another of the beasts stepped from the forest to walk along the beach. Soon an entire herd of nearly fifty of the monsters was tramping across the rocks and gravel. Most were as large as the original, but some were smaller and some were only half as big.
“What the devil are those?” asked Mr. Korlann
“They are a type of reptile common in Mallon,” said Professor Calliere. “They’re called dinosaurs.”
“They’re quite large,” said Miss Lusk.
“I’ve seen bigger,” said Lieutenant Dechantagne.
“There are hundreds of varieties,” continued Calliere. “They are related to dragons, in the same way that lemurs and monkeys are related to human beings.”
Both Fa
ther Ian and Zurfina made the same derisive sound.
“According to Mormont, this particular variety is called the Iguanodon,” said Calliere. “They take the place in the food chain here of antelope, goats, or sheep.”
“Bloody big sheep,” said Captain Dechantagne.
The leaders of the expedition headed off in a variety of directions. Senta and Graham stayed near the railing to watch the iguanodon herd. They could feel the ship turning into the bay, and since the dinosaurs were walking in that direction they could keep observing them from where they were. Some of the younger beasts were playing, tucking their forelegs up and running on their two back legs.
“Well, I don’t think they look anything like dragons,” said Graham.
“I don’t either,” said Senta. “But you do kind of look like a monkey.”
“Ha!” said Graham. “Your face looks like a monkey, monkey face.”
“Gawp!” said the dragon.
“He’s hungry,” said Senta. “I have to feed him.”
“Could you understand him?”
“Sure. He said ‘Gawp’, stupid-head.”
“Monkey face.”
“Stupid head.”
“Monkey monkey monkey.”
“Are you going to come with me, or not?” she asked.
“I’ve got to go do my bloody chores,” said Graham. “Ma says we got to get ready to get off the ship. There’s going to be lots to do then.”
Senta nodded in sympathy.
“Someday I’m going to ride one of those,” he said, looking wistfully at the iguanodon herd. Then he walked toward the nearest hatch, and was gone.
Senta headed back toward the aft deck of the ship. She stopped several times along the way. The ship was passing the edge of the bay’s mouth and the dinosaurs had reached the closest tip of the land. Now only a hundred yards away, the beasts were watching the massive battleship sail past, crying out in honking calls.
“I don’t think they look anything like you either,” she said.
“Gawp,” agreed the dragon.
Breakfast had already been served, but Senta was able to find several dozen sausages left over, which she began feeding to the little steel dragon, by tossing them and letting him snatch them from the air. He ate far more than any similar sized animal that the girl had ever heard of. Mrs. Gantonin had owned both a cat, smaller than the dragon though just as big around the middle, and a dog, which was pound for pound at least twice as big as the dragon. The dragon ate more than twice as much as the two of them put together. As if reading her mind, the dragon let the last sausage sail past his head and land on the deck.
“Full?” she asked.
The dragon leapt back up to her shoulder and curled once again around her neck like a chain mail scarf. The ship had come to a stop in the middle of the crescent-shaped bay, and for the first time since they had left the Thiss River in Greater Brechalon, it was surrounded on all sides by something besides water—in this case redwood forest. The sound of chains clanking bounced off the great trees all around, as the ship lowered its anchor. Senta picked up the sausage off the deck and heaved it into the air and over the side. She walked back to the animal carrier and found Zurfina lounging in a folding wooden chair.
“I want to know more about dragons,” said Senta.
“Of course you do,” said Zurfina. “Dragons are an interesting subject.”
Senta waited a few moments, and when the sorceress said nothing more, she prodded. “Where do dragons live?”
“Dragons are found everywhere in the world, on all twelve continents. They are seldom seen today in Sumir, but they are still there. There are probably dragons around here, and I don’t mean the things on the shore.”
“Do they all look like this one?”
“There are many subspecies of dragon. They come in different colors and there is some variation in appearance, though they are all structurally similar. They all live to be extremely old, grow extremely large, and are extremely smart. Even the dumbest of dragons is smarter than the average human being, not that that’s saying much. Dragons have a natural affinity for magic, though some never learn to use it properly.”
“Where did you get him?” Senta didn’t need to point to the dragon around her neck. Zurfina knew what she was talking about.
“I hatched him from an egg. In fact he hatched the day before I found you in Brech,” said the sorceress. “Now I don’t know which of you it is.”
“Which what is?”
“Never mind.”
“Where did you get his egg?”
“I bought it from a magister, a purveyor of magical artifacts,” said Zurfina. “I knew it was a dragon egg… well so did he, because he charged me an arm and a leg for it. I knew it was a dragon egg, but I didn’t know what type of dragon it was. The shell was a pearlescent color. When he hatched, I naturally tried to find out to which subspecies he belonged. At first, I thought he was a Silver, but they are supposed to be blue-grey when young, and he has no hint of a crest on his head. His little whiskers and spikes make him look more like a Gold, but his coloring is all wrong. I couldn’t figure out what he was.”
“So what did you do?”
“I had to consult some very ancient books. According to legend, Morizu, the great-grandfather of King Magnus fought a dragon thousands of years ago. He called this dragon a Mirlughth Dragon. I of course didn’t know what mirlughth was, but it seems it was steel. Steel was only invented in Brechalon fifty years ago, but apparently a few ancient swordsmiths learned how to make it by folding their iron over on itself again and again. Morizu related the strength and color of the dragon he fought to these swords. But to my knowledge, nobody has seen or heard of a steel dragon since, until now.”
“That’s brill. We’ve got the only steel dragon in the world.”
Lieutenant Staff stepped out of the nearby hatch and marched across the deck to stand in front of Zurfina.
“The landing party is preparing to leave, madam,” he said. “Your presence is requested and required.”
“Come on, Pet,” said Zurfina. “Let’s go take a look at our new home, shall we?”
“The child’s presence is not required,” said Lieutenant Staff. “We haven’t scouted the area yet. We don’t know how safe it is.”
“She is going.” Zurfina stood up and walked toward the passageway that led to the other side of the ship. Senta followed at her heels with the steel dragon around her shoulders.
On the port side of the vessel a launch was already in the water. Captain Dechantagne, Lieutenant Dechantagne, or Augie as Senta thought of him, and Lieutenant Baxter sat waiting along with a dozen soldiers in khaki uniforms with rifles slung over their back, and a dozen sailors dressed in white to man the oars. A temporary staircase had been erected on the side of the ship, which led from the upper deck, down six flights, with landings at the four lower hatchways, and terminating just above the waves. Once Zurfina and Senta had descended the stairs and stepped into the launch, the boat was pushed away from the ship, and the sailors lowered their oars into the water. The sorceress and her apprentice were the only females in the party.
The bay was calm and the water was still, reflecting the many clouds in the sky like a picture. Even the oar strokes of the sailors did not disturb the smooth surface for long. None of the men spoke, and the honking of the iguanodons could be heard in the distance, along with an occasional loud bellowing roar.
“Gawp,” said the dragon.
It didn’t take long for the boat to reach the shore, a twenty-foot wide band of rocks and gravel separating the water from the thick redwood forest. The sailors raised their oars straight up and Captain Dechantagne and several of the soldiers jumped out and pulled the boat up onto the gravel. Then everyone else climbed onto the land.
“What do you think Baxter?” asked Augie. “This looks like a good place for a dock right here. We can use the wood growing all around, build the dock and extend it straight out into the water thirty or
forty feet, and build a couple of warehouses right up here.
“We’ll have to check the depth, but it seems fine,” replied Baxter.
Leaving six of the sailors with the boat, the rest of the party moved past the shore and into the woods. The redwoods were enormous. Some of them were twenty feet or more in diameter at the base. Senta thought it would be ace if one could be hollowed out and made into a house. There were plenty of small plants growing beneath the massive trees, but not so many that it was impossible to tramp through. Once away from the shoreline, the land rose up quickly.
“It’s hard to tell with all these trees, but it looks as though the initial survey was right on,” said Augie. “This ridge runs right out on the peninsula. We can build the lighthouse at the tip, and the fort on that hill to the right.”
“The peninsula is what, about four miles long and a mile wide?” asked Terrence.
“Yes, though there is a narrow spot in the middle of the peninsula, where it’s only as wide as the ridge, maybe a half a mile.”
“How far is the river?”
“About six miles east.”
“Why not build closer to the river,” wondered Lieutenant Baxter.
“The Manzanian isn’t like the Thiss or the Green River in Mallontah. It’s not navigable even around the mouth. Twelve miles upstream you find the first of a half dozen known cataracts. In the short term at least, this little bay will be much more valuable to the colony than the river would be. There are several small streams around here for water and we can pipe in more as needed.”
When they had walked up a few hundred feet, the land flattened out and opened into a clearing. Here was another great group of iguanodons, with several members of another species of dinosaur meandering along with them. This was a low, heavily built, mottled brown creature about twenty feet long, covered with thick plates of boney armor. Its beaked head resembled a horned lizard, with short, thick horns arranged around its face. At the end of its long tail, it sported an enormous two-lobed club.
“I wonder what the Mormont called this one,” wondered Captain Dechantagne. “Clubadon?”
The Voyage of the Minotaur Page 19