by LeRoy Clary
But, in reaching for his sword, he’d let go of the leash restraining Rage. The dragon leaped at the five men, talons slashing, jaw snapping. Thunder charged ahead, too, tearing the leash from Bender’s hand. Lucky stood aside and allowed the dragons to work alone. As the swords of Bender, Tyler, and the two guards finally cleared their scabbards, the dragons stood over five dead men, their bodies torn and ripped.
Thunder threw his head back and roared, and Rage joined in. It sounded like two high-pitched wolves in the wild, but it was the victory cry of dragons that raised the hair on the back of every neck, including those traveling with them. More lamps were lit in nearby buildings at their cries. Men rushed from doorways in their nightclothes. Windows were thrown open.
One of Girt’s guards said, “This way,” as he hurried down to the river.
A man stood in a doorway trying to see what was happening, an oil lamp held high to shed light on the street. Another guard snatched it from him as they ran past and onto the dock.
“There,” Bender shouted, as he pointed.
Boats emerged from the gloom, but Bender ran to one down the dock several more paces. It was wide, twice as long as any rowboat Tyler had ever seen, and without hesitation, Bender leaped inside. He turned and helped the others climb in. Lucky leaped inside and scuttled to the bow, where he curled up under the seat. Prim and Franklin took the stern seat, sitting beside each other.
Bender started untying the rope from the pier. He said to the pair of guards, “Tell Girt and Jenkins we got away and will contact them one day, not too far off. We owe them, and we’re not finished with the Cabots.”
“Yes, sir,” both responded in unison.
Franklin said, “Wait, we’re not ready.” He pulled his whistle and blew.
Rage and Thunder charged down the pier and pulled to a stop near the boat. Tyler said, “Rage always was faster.”
“Was not. Let me see you get them into the boat.” Bender kept working the knots in the rope.
Tyler looked to Franklin. “Get them aboard.”
“Getting dragons onto boats is have never been part of their training. At least, not yet.”
Prim stood. “Of for the love of seven gods, let me do it.” She reached into her pocket and pulled a small chunk of jerky and held it high. “First one into the boat gets this.”
The dragons leaped.
Bender had finished with the rope and turned to see them. “I figured my Thunder would get it first. He’s the fasted I’ve ever seen.”
“That was Rage,” Tyler said.
“Was not.”
Bender cast off the rope and took a seat on the bench beside Tyler. Each of them would row with one long oar while sitting side by side. Tyler glanced at the two guards.
One of the guards said, “I hope you survive each other.”
Tyler and Bender were still laughing as the current carried them so far down the river, they couldn’t see the guards anymore. The city that should be sleeping in the early morning had come alive with the ringing of bells, and glowing lamps. Hundreds of people were on the streets. Tyler had no doubt there were thousands more on the streets higher up the hillside, and indeed, as his gaze went up the hill, the city was ablaze with light.
There were new sounds, too. Orders were shouted, directions were given. It sounded as if the city constables, the palace guards, and the army had all turned out to locate the fugitives. Tyler knew that Judge and Helm had waited before following them to the river, and were probably safely rowing upstream by now. They were unknown to the Cabots and crown, so should be safe.
The four people in the boat didn’t speak for long periods. The dog slept. The dragons sniffed and climbed over every part of the boat, searching for anything interesting or that they could eat. Bender and Tyler worked at learning how to row in unison, so the boat didn’t twist and turn with every stroke. They managed to get it mid-river and gave up. The current would carry them to the next town, and the next.
As most of the lights of the city disappeared behind, Bender said, “Franklin, you ever been down below Aston?”
“No.”
“Ever hear what’s down there?” Bender persisted.
“No.”
“I guess that settles that,” Tyler said.
“What about asking me?” Prim said.
Bender said, “Prim do you have any idea of what lies ahead?”
“No. I just wanted to be asked.”
They all laughed, but Prim finally said, “That was not the whole truth. I do know some of what is ahead.”
Bender said, “Why do I feel like I’m about to fall into a verbal trap?”
Prim giggled the little-girl giggle they hadn’t heard nearly enough. She said, “Every so often another river joins this one. Each time one does there seems to be a town or city located there. All this water is going somewhere, we just don’t know where. We’ll go until we find a place to stop.”
Franklin said, “I heard all rivers flow into oceans sooner or later, oceans that are so big it takes days to row to the far side. There will be many towns and cities ahead, and we’ll find one to live in. Our dragons will continue to grow, so we need a place away from people until they fly off to live on their own if they do.”
“Our dragons?” Tyler asked, drawing another laugh. “So now they are Ours?”
Franklin said with a smile seen clearly in the moonlight, “Oh, don’t you worry. I’ll let them hang around you two now and then, but make no mistake, these magnificent beasts have four Dragon Masters.”
Tyler said, “Those oceans? Do they also have ships so large they have rooms built on them?”
All four laughed again at the absurd rumor. Tyler glanced at Bender as if asking if he’d heard almost the exact words days ago, but decided Bender would claim the words were his.
Prim said, “It’s silly. Boats that big would weigh so much they’d sink.”
Near dawn, Franklin and Prim were curled up asleep. The dragons were finally sleeping near Lucky in the bow. Bender looked at Tyler out of the corner of his eye and whispered, “Like you said back there, it’s not over.”
Tyler said, “Nope. There’s a lot still to come.”
“If my name was Cabot I’d change it and move far away.”
“Wouldn’t do you no good,” Tyler said, pulling on his oar to keep the boat moving steadily in the predawn.
The End
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LeRoy Clary
LeRoy Clary was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He spent much of his childhood traveling the United States from coast to coast, due to his father being in the Navy. LeRoy attended college in Oregon and Texas earning a bachelor’s degree in business. He then worked in the telecommunications industry and eventually owned his own telecom business. As a second career, LeRoy returned to college and acquired a degree in education and then taught math and special education for several years.
LeRoy currently lives in Washington State with his wife, youngest son, and dog named Molly. He spends his time doing what he loves the most: writing about an action-packed fantasy world of dragons, and magic. LeRoy spends his leisure time traveling and exploring the beautiful countryside in the Pacific Northwest from high desert to forests to coastal terrain.
Writing has always been one of LeRoy’s favorite past times and passion; mostly fantasy and science fiction. He’s been the member of several author critique groups, both in Texas and in Washington State. He collaborated on a project in Texas that produced
the book Quills and Crossroads, which includes two of his short stories.
In recent years, LeRoy has published over a dozen fantasy books, including a book called DRAGON! Stealing the Egg which began the idea of how to live and survive in a world where dragons are part of the landscape. The Dragon Clan Series is unique in that it introduces a new main character in each of the seven books of the series. The book entitled Blade of Lies: Mica Silverthorne Story was a finalist in an Amazon national novel writer’s contest in 2013.
Learn more about LeRoy at
Facebook: www.facebook.com/leroyclary
Website: www.leroyclary.com (join his email list)
Email: [email protected]