The Dragon Caller

by Pauline M. Ross

  “What is going on here?” she said, in the sort of tones that would inspire instant obedience in anyone more biddable than Garrett.

  “Are you in charge here?” he said sweetly.

  “I am the Director, yes.”

  “Excellent. I want to hire a guild sail-master. Kindly instruct your juniors to arrange it.”

  She looked him up and down as if he were pond slime, but Garrett wasn’t easily intimidated. She wasn’t tall, either, so he could look her in the eye, and with dagger and axe on his belt, and one hand resting easily on the hilt of his sword, she could be in no doubt of the sort of man she was dealing with.

  Mikah left his two men to keep watch over the guards and their batons, and wandered back to Garrett’s side. Faced with two men bristling with weaponry, and obviously willing to use it, any normal person would apply some discretion, but clearly the Director believed her position would protect her.

  “Impossible. There are none to be had, not for you.”

  “I disagree.”

  “Then you would be rude, and you would still not have your sail-master.” She looked at the male official, still clutching his neck, and then down at his trousers before turning without haste back to Garrett. “They said you were barbarians and they were absolutely right.”

  Garrett moved so fast, that the Director was whipped round and hurled against the wall before the crowd had time to do more than gasp. She emitted a very satisfactory scream, then froze when she saw that Garrett’s knife was in his hand, resting a finger’s breadth from her neck. The baton-wielders were scuffling ineffectually with Mikah’s men, but no one else in the crowd stepped forward to help.

  “Barbarians, are we? Well, if that’s what you think, Mistress Director, then I’m very happy to oblige you. Mikah, grab one of her hands. Now, lady, which finger are you least fond of? We’ll start with that one, shall we?”

  “Very well, very well!” she squeaked. “Do not hurt me. I… I cannot take pain, I just… Please, I feel faint.”

  “Ruell, a chair for the lady, if you please,” Garrett said, although taking great care not to release her. Ruell pushed a chair forward, and she collapsed into it, her breathing fast. Garrett leaned over her. “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it? Cowardice is always wise in such situations. Now, if you give us that sail-master, you won’t lose any fingers or anything more vital, and that’s good, isn’t it? Everybody will be happy. And intact.”

  She nodded, and Ruell thought she was completely cowed. But when she raised her head, there was a gleam in her eye. “You may take Elestra as your sail-master.” The two officials exchanged glances, but neither spoke. “You! Take his money.”

  “How much, Estimable Director?”

  “Two hundred silvers.”

  “That’s twice the usual price,” Garrett said, eyes narrowing.

  “Elestra is… very special. There are no constraints. You may take her all the way to Mesanthia, if you wish. She will fit in very well with you and your kind.”

  Garrett leaned on the arms of the chair, so that his face was a handspan from hers. She shrank away from him, shaking, her face colourless.

  “Mesanthia,” Garrett said softly. “Now who mentioned Mesanthia? Not me, that’s for sure. But at least I know now where your orders come from. Well, I wish you joy of your Tre’annatha masters, Mistress Director. Better to be a barbarian than a slave.” His knife hovered near her cheek, and she whimpered in fear. But then, abruptly, he drew back. “No, there’s no need to give you any reminder of this. You’ll suffer enough in the coming days, I suspect. I will pay your price for this Elestra, lady, but I give you fair warning – if she turns out to be useless to me, I shall be back for my money, andthen you may expect retribution.”

  The knife passed very slowly across her vision, before Garrett sheathed it with a flourish.

  “Ruell, pay the two hundred.”

  The money was handed over, and the female official gave them a token with marks on it. “Through the door over there,” she said. Her hand shook as she pointed.

  Ruell hadn’t noticed any doors, but when he looked where she pointed, he saw a small office tucked into one corner.

  “Thank you,” Garrett said. “See? That wasn’t so difficult, was it? If you’d all had better manners, we could have got this settled without the least inconvenience. I hope your trousers clean up well, my friend.”

  He strode across the room towards the designated door. Silently, the crowd parted for him. Ruell couldn’t quite suppress a smile. Garrett was quiet enough these days, but when he was unleashed and not killing children, he was magnificent. Ruell was very thankful that Garrett was on his side.

  The door led to a dingy office boasting a high counter with a worn rug in front of it, and a few mismatched chairs. It was empty, but a cluster of people squeezed in behind them, eyes glittering with excitement. Mikah was instantly alarmed.

  “Outside, unless you have business in here,” he yelled.

  Two well-rounded middle-aged women, their drab uniforms straining across ample breasts, emerged from the midst of the crowd. “We’ll deal with your papers,” one of them said.

  “Fine,” Mikah said. “The rest of you – out!”

  Most of them turned away, disappointed not to be able to watch the spectacle, should the barbarian take offence again. Only one stood her ground, a young woman of about Mikah’s age, dressed in the same sort of expensive clothes as the Director. She made no attempt to leave, the crowd flowing around her and out of the door.

  “You too, Mistress,” Mikah said, more gently.

  “But—”

  “No exceptions. Only those with business here.”

  “But I—”

  “Out!”

  She laughed. “As you wish.” And finally she turned and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

  The two officials watched silently, then reached for papers and pens. There was a tedious amount of paperwork to be completed, and terms to be explained, and signatures to be provided. Garrett and Mikah pored over it, but the only question Garrett asked was, “This is the standard contract, yes? The usual terms?”

  “Oh, absolutely,” they said, almost in unison. “Everyone signs the same contract.”

  And Garrett had grunted, and not made an issue of it. Still, there was something about the two women that jangled in Ruell’s mind. They were obviously afraid of Garrett, and who wouldn’t be? But somehow he felt they were also amused about something, and he couldn’t work out what.

  “So, where do we find this Elestra?” Garrett said.

  The two women sniggered. “You threw her out.”

  Garrett’s face clouded with anger, and the women shrank back in sudden fear. But then he smiled. “Very amusing. But now you’ve put yourselves on my list of people to take care of if this Elestra doesn’t do the job.” He fingered the hilt of his dagger. “Hmmm, shall I remove your fingers or something more… substantial?” His eyes drifted downwards to their full breasts, then back up. “Good day to you, ladies. I trust we won’t need to meet again.” The grin widened as he turned away from their terrified expressions.

  Outside the office door, the woman they’d thrown out of the office waited, a huge smile on her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but Garrett said curtly, “Elestra? Come on, then,” and strode across the hall, people jumping aside to let him by.

  Once he’d escaped from the building, Garrett stopped and took a deep breath, as if savouring the clean air. Ruell followed him out, glad himself to have escaped without worse trouble. And they had their sail-master!

  Elestra bounced round to stand in front of them and swirled round. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won’t regret it, I promise you!”

  Ruell looked her up and down, taking in her expensively fashionable clothes, and the white, manicured hands that had never seen a day’s work in their lives. Pretty, but useless, he suspected. But Garrett seemed to be thinking deeply, eyes unfocused. Looking through Elestra’s eyes
, no doubt, to see if she had magic. After a moment he nodded, as if satisfied.

  “Good,” Garrett said. “Boat’s over here.”

  “I just need to collect a few things.”

  “Fine. We can give you a quarter of an hour.”

  She laughed. “A half. You can’t leave without me, can you?”

  “A half, then. No longer.”

  “See the tavern over there?” she said. “You’ll be comfortable waiting for me there. Tell Mallora that Elestra sent you.” Without waiting for a reply, she skipped away.

  Ruell was tempted to laugh at the bemusement on Garrett’s face. “Well, I’m thirsty, even if you’re not,” he said.

  Mikah grinned. “Women always take for ever, no matter what, so we might as well make the most of it.”

  Without another word, he set off for the tavern, the others following in his wake with varying degrees of enthusiasm. But finding the place respectable, the beer palatable and the barkeeper friendly, providing them with fried dough balls at no charge when Elestra’s name was mentioned, even Garrett’s face showed some enthusiasm.

  “So how did you get friendly with Elestra?” the barkeeper asked, when she brought a second round of ale.

  “She’s an employee, not a friend,” Garrett said.

  The tankards hovered in mid-air. “Employee? Really?” Her face creased in confusion. “As what?”

  “Sail-master.”

  The tankards almost fell, slapping onto the table so hard that swooshes of beer foamed over the sides. “As asail-master?”

  Garrett swooped one up and took a long draught. “Yes. Why is that so surprising?”

  “Oh, no reason… except—” He pulled a cloth from his belt and mopped the spilt beer. “It’s just… I never thought it would happen, that’s all. She’ll be right pleased, she will.”

  Garrett carefully set his tankard on the table. Ruell knew him well enough to see the anger brewing beneath the surface, but he controlled it well. When he spoke, his voice sounded perfectly natural.

  “Why did you think it would never happen?”

  “Oh… the Director… you know…” She laughed, but there was a distinctly nervous edge to it.

  “We’re strangers here, so no, we don’t know,” Garrett said in a harder tone. “Enlighten us.”

  The barkeeper began to move backwards, recognising a threat when she heard it.

  Ruell put one hand on Garrett’s arm, and he subsided. Ruell said calmly, “We know nothing of these matters. We asked for a sail-master, and the Director assigned us Elestra, so—”

  “TheDirector did?”

  “Yes, why?” Ruell said. “Is there some problem with Elestra? She’s guild, isn’t she?”

  “Guild?” She laughed. “No, they won’t have her.”

  “So she’s not fully trained, then?” Ruell said.

  “Erm…”

  “Has she had any training at all?”

  The barkeeper shook her head. “Never even been on a ship before. But you needn’t worry. She knows how to do it. She’s a natural, she says. It’s just moving the sails, isn’t it? Nothing to it.”

  20: Questions (Garrett)

  Garrett swallowed his anger. Ruell was right, he couldn’t get quarrelsome with everyone who thwarted him, or told him what he didn’t want to hear. Besides, Ruell’s softer ways had got the information out of the woman, without any blood spilt or trousers soiled. So he sipped the beer and, when Elestra was longer than her allotted half hour, he ordered food for them, and sent Mikah’s two henchmen to watch the little boat, while the boatmen took some refreshments too.

  So he was, if not relaxed, certainly mellower when Elestra finally reappeared, her smiling face peering round the tavern’s door, to a big cheer from the boatmen.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting, it took longer than I thought.”

  She looked so contrite that he couldn’t be cross with her. “At least we’re fed and watered,” Garrett said. “The others are just finishing their ale. Where’s your bag?”

  “Bag? Oh, my things? Outside.”

  He followed her through the door, to find a line of carts, each laden with a large wooden box of richly polished and inlaid wood, engraved with the initials‘EMgH’. “All this? Did you leave anything in your house? A chair or two, maybe?”

  “Very funny,” she said, her sunny smile back in place. “I didn’t know what I might need, so I brought everything.”

  “I can see that. Where are we supposed to put all this lot?” But there was no anger in him, merely amused curiosity.

  “Isn’t there a place for cargo? The hold, or something?”

  “TheSundancer isn’t a cargo vessel, and there’s no hold.”

  “Well, they’ll have to go in my cabin, then.”

  That made him laugh. “Well, you could try that, I suppose. Look, Elestra, let’s talk frankly. Your friend in the taproom told us you’ve never had any training for this and you’ve never seen the inside of a ship before. Is that true?”

  “Oh yes! This is my first time out. It’s so exciting! I can’t wait to get going. Oh, are you worried that I can’t do it? You needn’t be. I’m a natural.”

  He looked at her doubtfully. “So you can keep the ship moving, even without training?”

  “Oh yes! It’s easy. Come on, let’s get up the hill and find a decent vantage point, then I can show you.” She took his hand, quite unselfconsciously, and towed him up a narrow alley between the tavern and the adjoining baker’s shop, to a path that wound back and forth across the steep hill at the back. Now they could look down on the little harbour and the bay beyond. “Oh, is that your ship?” she said, seeing theSundancer. “It’s beautiful. I shall like living on board it, I think. Right, let me prove my skill to you. Look, you see that small fishing boat? I’ll spin it round in a circle – watch.”

  Her face changed, the smile replaced by a more serious look as she concentrated. At first nothing happened, but then the boom lurched, the sail flapped loosely and then filled with wind. Gradually the boat began to turn, and those on board could be seen scrambling to correct it.

  “You’re a wind-blower,” he said softly.

  “That’s a nice way to put it,” she said, tipping her head to one side in a way that might have been provocative in someone more self-aware, but in her it meant nothing. “A wind-blower – I like your name for it!”

  “Not mine,” he said, gruffly. “It was… a friend who called them that. The people in the fishing boat seem to be panicking a bit,” he went on conversationally. “That might be because they seem to be heading straight for those rocks over there. Perhaps you should let them go the way they want to go now.”

  She laughed gaily. “I wouldn’t let them be dashed to pieces.”

  “I’m sure you wouldn’t,” he said gently, “but they don’t know that.”

  “Oh. Yes, good point. There – they have control again. How about something else… I know, the flag on your mast is drooping. I’ll make it fly out.”

  And almost at once it flapped and then billowed out, flying proudly above the masts.

  She grinned at him, and made him a mocking bow, before spinning on the spot in sheer exuberance. “See? It’s easy – nothing to it. And nobody knows I’m doing it. Except you, of course.”

  “Then why haven’t you been trained?” he said. “If you’re this good without any training at all, why not get yourself properly trained and into the guild?”

  “They won’t have me,” she said cheerfully. “No one will have me, no one will employ me – except you! Thank you!”

  It was impossible to be cross with her. She was almost tall enough to look him in the eye, and with her softly waving hair and hazel eyes, pretty enough to make him wish he was twenty years younger. And her irrepressible good humour bubbled up around him and drew him into her cocoon of happiness.

  “But why?” he said. “Why would they ignore you?”

  “Oh, because of the Director. She won’t let anyone near
me. She hates me!” And she laughed again, a gurgle of pure merriment. “She’s my step-mother, you see, and she thinks I’m useless. She only let you have me because she thinks I can’t do it.” Another peal of laughter. “She thinks I’ll come crawling back like a beaten dog, a failure. But I shan’t! I may not be a qualified sail-master, but Iam a wind-blower! Just don’t tell her that, all right? It’s more fun if she doesn’t know.”

  ~~~~~

  It took some time to get Elestra and all her boxes onto the ship and stowed away, with a great deal of rearrangement of cabins and storage lockers, to accommodate all her various possessions. In the end, the captain gave up her own more commodious cabin to Elestra, and Garrett’s was given over to those of her boxes which Elestra felt might be needed at any moment.

  “Well, this vessel is more cramped than I’d supposed,” she said. “I’m very sorry, Garrett. Where will you sleep?”

  “With the guards,” he said with a shrug. “That’s what I am, when all’s said and done, so it’s appropriate.”

  Ruell, as the owner of the ship, was not asked to surrender his own quarters, and Mikah, too, had not volunteered to move. His cabin was now next door to Elestra’s and although Garrett could think of no good reason to object to the arrangement, still it niggled him. He’d seen how Mikah had unconsciously straightened his spine whenever he talked to Elestra, and the way his gaze lingered. His reasonable self told him there was nothing unexpected in that and, after all, they were much of an age. But regret seeped through him, corroding his heart just a little. Had he been just a few years younger, maybe he’d have given Mikah a real fight for her.

  It was almost sunset before they were ready to sail.

  “The moon will be up in an hour or so,” the captain said. “Do you want to take advantage of it while we’re so close to brightmoon?”

  “Yes, and let’s use the sail-master, if she’s agreeable,” Garrett said, still driven by a sense of urgency. “The more distance we can put between ourselves and the Windblown Isle, the better.” Or between themselves and the dragons, but he didn’t mention that. He didn’t need to. It was the unspoken fear that lurked at the back of every mind.