The Dragonslayer Series: Books 1-4: The Dragonslayer Series Box Set

by Resa Nelson

  “Don't give up hope,” Astrid told Kikita. “Even if the lizard has bitten her, she may still yet live.”

  Kikita shook her head. “From all I know about dragons, that's impossible.”

  Wrapping a hand around the pouch that held the stone of darkness, Astrid said, “I was bitten by a lizard weeks ago, and yet I still live. I believe I can save her.”

  CHAPTER 48

  Under Astrid's instruction, the Iron Maidens created a makeshift camp at the intersection of the road to the lake and the narrow path that Banshi had taken of her own accord. They gathered bare branches knocked to the ground by past storms and built a simple shelter around Banshi. They used their weapons to cut pine branches and place them on the shelter to cover it. Sap from the pine branches dripped onto their hands and left them sticky.

  Astrid chose to butcher the lizard herself. She'd watched Donel carve up many a beast in Guell, and he'd told her what he'd learned from his father to make the process easy. After borrowing an ax from one of the Iron Maidens, Astrid hesitated, feeling sick to her stomach at the thought of cutting into the lizard.

  This thing almost killed Banshi. This is my chance to show it how I feel about that, even if it is already dead.

  She felt as if a cold, wintry blast of air rushed through her, chilling her heart and head. Her desire for mercy evaporated. She would not allow anyone or anything to harm the Iron Maidens. And now she had the opportunity to provide them with a feast that would shore up their souls.

  With cool determination, Astrid struck the dead lizard across the back of its neck with her borrowed ax. As a matter of habit, she cupped one hand to catch the blood and drink it.

  Few people outside the Northlands ate lizard meat, which meant they never consumed lizard blood and could not shift shape. She'd been surprised to learn that in other countries people could only see themselves and others as they truly were, not as they wished to be seen. And since drinking Norah's water offering at Limru last year, Astrid's shape had locked into place so that everyone saw the smooth skin and whole body she now possessed.

  She no longer needed to shapeshift or to be around shapeshifters. Even so, she still drank lizard blood. DiStephan had been right when she'd first met him so many years ago: drinking it did make a dragonslayer stronger.

  When the Iron Maidens eat this meat, will the lizard's blood let them shift their shape?

  Once Astrid had cut all the meat she believed they could use, she recruited most of the Iron Maidens to help her drag the carcass far down the narrow path. She was happy to let the night predators help themselves to the remains far from camp.

  When the Iron Maidens walked away from the carcass and back down the path, Astrid pulled Kikita aside to ask a question that had nagged at her all day. Speaking softly so no one else would hear, Astrid said, “Why did Banshi run away?”

  Kikita looked calmly into Astrid's eyes. “I am as astonished as you. She shared nothing about her decision with me.”

  “But did she say anything after it happened?”

  “I heard nothing but screams.”

  Astrid gazed in Kikita's eyes and sensed she told the truth. At the same time, Astrid wondered if the Far Easterner might be holding something back. “Is there anything else I should know?”

  Kikita shrugged. “I think not.”

  “Would you speak with her after she has a chance to recover? Maybe tomorrow?”

  Kikita smiled. “Of course.”

  Toward the end of the day, Astrid showed the Iron Maidens how to make the same kind of trench fire she used to forge swords. But instead of creating the trench on a table, they dug it down the middle of the path and then filled the entire trench with fire. She explained this would allow them all to sleep near it and stay warm during the chilly night after roasting and eating all the lizard meat they wanted.

  While the meat cooked, Astrid took a few of the Maidens into the woods to search for root vegetables, finding only a handful. Back at the camp, she cut up the vegetables and mashed them, which yielded heavy liquids. Adding lizard blood to the mixture, she created a soup and fed it to Banshi while the other Maidens ate their fill of meat. The same healing broth had once helped Astrid regain her strength, and she hoped it would have the same effect on Banshi.

  After deciding to keep the stone of darkness her secret, Astrid refused to leave Banshi's side. Astrid remembered how her own pouch had rested by her bedside when she'd fallen ill from a lizard bite and kept that same pouch near Banshi. Although Astrid had failed to learn the nature of the stone, it obviously had healing powers. The presence of the stone of darkness must be the explanation for Astrid's recovery. If it worked for Astrid, surely it would work for Banshi, too.

  After eating the soup, Banshi fell into a deep sleep, making Astrid feel hopeful. As the other women ate around the trench fire, she watched carefully for signs that they might develop a sudden ability to shift shape but saw only the way the firelight warmed their faces. Although subdued, the Iron Maidens seemed to regain some strength from the meal, making Astrid feel more confident about the journey ahead of them. She relaxed, happy to listen to their light chatter.

  Sometime later, Astrid glanced up to see a startled look cross Kikita's face. Following her gaze, Astrid looked at Banshi.

  Astrid frowned, not believing what she saw at first. She shook her head and looked away for a moment. Surely, it had to be a trick of the firelight.

  But when Astrid looked back, she realized the flickering light played no tricks. Banshi's skin had turned blue.

  CHAPTER 49

  “Banshi!” Astrid cried, recognizing the color of death. With little hope, Astrid grabbed the woman's arm as if she could shake the maiden back to life.

  Banshi murmured and shifted, her eyelids fluttering slightly.

  Shocked, Astrid let go and scooted away from her in fear. When people died, their color would go very pale at first and eventually take on a bluish hue.

  “Astrid?” Thorda said, rising from where she sat with the other Maidens. “Are you well?”

  Astrid rubbed her fingers together. Banshi's skin had been warm to the touch. But if Banshi hadn't died, why did her skin look blue?

  “Look!” Astrid said, pointing at Banshi. “Look at her!”

  The Iron Maidens who understood the Northlander language turned and stared at the resting Banshi while the others looked about in confusion.

  “She rests,” Thorda said evenly. “She is the same.”

  “No! Look at her skin!”

  The camp fell silent except for the crackling fire. Thorda's face softened with concern. “You rest. Sleep now.”

  Astrid crawled back to Banshi's side and placed her bare forearm next to the maiden's face. “Look at the color of my skin and look at the color of hers.”

  Kikita stood and walked behind Thorda, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder until Thorda resumed her seat by the fire. “Astrid has faced many difficulties today,” Kikita said in a soothing voice.

  Astrid drew back her arm, feeling anger bubble up. Kikita saw the truth as easily as Astrid. Why wouldn't she admit it?

  Kikita squeezed her way behind the Iron Maidens until she could kneel by Astrid's side. “They don't have your ability,” Kikita whispered to her.

  “We've all had lizard meat tonight.” Surely Kikita knew that consuming lizard meat and the blood it contained gave people the ability to change how they looked. If Banshi wasn't dead, either she changed her skin color despite being barely awake—or one of the Iron Maidens changed it by the way they perceived her. And because none of the Maidens had shown any sign of change after eating, it seemed none of them had the power to change anyone.

  But Kikita had looked at Banshi in a peculiar way before Astrid brought attention to her condition.

  “You see it as plainly as I do,” Astrid said.

  “Like the Northlands, the Far East practices the consumption of dragon meat.”

  “But they've just eaten lizard meat. Why don't they s
ee the change?”

  “Outside of your Northlands, only those who taste dragon blood in childhood can change. Once adulthood is entered, consuming it has no effect.”

  Astrid felt her understanding of the world tremble, as if she were caught in an earthquake. “How is that possible?”

  “How is it possible for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly? For glow worms to light up like stars at night? For a lizard that has lost its tail to grow a new one? It is the nature of the world.”

  The light from the trench fire danced in Kikita's eyes. A piece of burning wood cracked loudly, and an ember in the heart of the fire burst, sending sparks shooting up toward the sky. The floating bits of ember glowed bright yellow and floated in an arc toward her.

  The sparks spiraled around Kikita's head and nestled in her hair. Their glow softened from yellow to orange. Although her hair emitted wisps of curling smoke, it did not catch on fire.

  I know you. Why do you seem so familiar to me? Why do I feel I remember you?

  “I did not change her,” Kikita said. “Therefore, she must have changed herself.”

  Astrid shook her head. How could that be possible? “But Banshi sleeps. How can anyone change when they sleep?”

  “I do not believe she changed knowingly or with purpose.”

  Astrid grew more confused by the moment. “Then what does this change mean? Why would her skin turn blue?”

  “I've been wondering why Banshi felt so compelled for us to ride toward Hagentown. And then once we stopped her, why she broke away from us. Could she have planned to go into Hagentown? I cannot imagine where else she would have gone had the dragon not stopped her.”

  “Hagentown? But I saw Mandulane's women—” Astrid stopped as a new realization chilled her to the bone. “They have blue skin.”

  Kikita nodded. “The same blue skin that Banshi now exhibits.” She sighed heavily. “I believe her current state and the dragon blood she consumed have made it possible for the truth to surface through her appearance. I believe she must be one of them.”

  “Ask her.”

  Kikita hesitated as she considered the sleeping woman and then cleared her throat. “Banshi.”

  When she didn't respond, Astrid said, “Banshi, wake up,” and then shook her gently.

  Still, Banshi failed to open her eyes.

  Frowning, Kikita laid a hand on Banshi's forehead. Her face creased with concern, Kikita held her fingers next to Banshi's nostrils.

  Looking up at Astrid, Kikita whispered, “She's dead.”

  CHAPTER 50

  “She can't be dead,” Astrid said, staring at Banshi's still form in disbelief.

  I gave her the healing soup of dragonslayers with lizard meat and blood. It should have made her stronger. I kept the stone of darkness near her. If it saved my life, it will save hers.

  “Banshi!” Astrid shook her by the shoulders, but the woman weighed limp and heavy in her hands.

  Still seated around the trench fire they'd made in the middle of the narrow path, the Iron Maidens' conversations faltered as they looked up at Astrid's outcry.

  Kikita placed a gentle hand along Banshi's neck. “She's cold. Her skin is cold.”

  Frantic, Astrid tried to prop up the unresponsive woman in her arms, but gravity pulled her back to the ground. “You can't be cold! You can't be dead!”

  “Dead?” Thorda repeated. The Iron Maidens who spoke the Northlander language translated the single word for those who didn't. All of them stared at Astrid in disbelief.

  “No, she's not dead,” Astrid murmured while she took Banshi's face in her hands and forced the woman's eyes open.

  Banshi's dark eyes held nothing but emptiness.

  Taking her by the shoulders again, Astrid felt anger rush through her veins. Shaking the unresponsive body, Astrid cried, “Wake up!”

  She looked up in surprise when Kikita placed her hand on top of Astrid's.

  “It is too late,” Kikita said. “We will gather stones for her in the morning and then ride to the lake. Everyone should try to sleep or at least rest. We must put distance between ourselves and Mandulane's men while we can.” She gently pried Astrid's hands from Banshi's body.

  Unable to sleep, Astrid tended the trench fire all night, feeling stunned and confused. How could it be possible that she let Banshi die? Why had nothing worked?

  Kikita said lizard blood had no effect on anyone who tasted it only in adulthood. Apparently, once someone completed the passage from child to adult, the opportunity to gain the ability to shift shape had passed.

  That's why giving her lizard meat and the blood it contained couldn't help her. If Banshi didn't eat lizard meat before she became a woman, it couldn't help her. And the healing soup ... if it's meant especially for dragonslayers, then the same thing is true. The healing soup is meant for anyone who can shift their shape because all dragonslayers are shapeshifters.

  Astrid sighed. Before now she'd never realized all the advantages she enjoyed simply because she'd consumed lizard meat and blood in childhood.

  She'd never seen anyone die so quickly from a lizard bite, although she'd heard of it: DiStephan had seen children die very quickly from a bite, while large men could take up to three days. The Far Eastern women were about the size of a Northlander girl on the threshold of womanhood. That would explain why Banshi's death came so quickly.

  But when clouds gathered and blocked the stars and moon from view, one question still haunted Astrid.

  How could the ability to change shape make any difference to a stone? If the stone of darkness saved my life, why couldn't it save hers? And if it wasn't the stone that saved my life, why am I still alive after getting a lizard bite that would kill anyone else?

  Astrid cast a casual glance at the Iron Maidens sleeping around the trench fire, making sure no one's eyes were open. She opened the pouch hanging from her belt and felt inside until she found the familiar shape of the stone. Drawing it out of the pouch, she held it up to the firelight and gazed into its depths for answers.

  But the stone remained as dark and distant as the clouded skies above.

  CHAPTER 51

  The next morning they gathered stones and laid them around and on top of Banshi's body to keep it safe from predators. At Kikita's suggestion, they worked quickly.

  The morning dew made every rock's surface slippery and difficult to grasp. Even the stones resting on top of dry, brown leaves revealed wriggling insects when overturned. The wet earth stank of hard minerals and chalk.

  Astrid dawdled, searching for stones that looked worthy of protecting an Iron Maiden. Finally, she found a pile of fist-size round stones seemingly polished by the constant fall of water. The stones rested in what appeared to be a dried-up stream. Bits that sparkled in the sunlight were embedded in the stones.

  By the time she returned, a large stack of stones covered Banshi's body. Astrid arranged her contribution on a flat rock covering the dead woman’s feet, wishing for the Iron Maiden's soul to find its way quickly to the spirit world.

  The women rode for the rest of the morning, thankful to reach the lake's shore when the sun reached its peak. They tied their horses at a tree line near the shore and set about to collect any sand creatures they could eat or use to lure fish swimming close to the lake’s edge.

  Still shaken by Banshi's death, Astrid took off her shoes, rolled up her pants legs, and waded into the clear rippling lake. The water’s icy chill made her catch her breath, but she felt grateful for the sudden sense of coming awake.

  She turned at the sound of sloshing water to see Kikita wading toward her.

  “Should we tell the others?” Astrid said.

  “Tell them what?”

  “What we saw. Banshi's skin turned blue.”

  Kikita shrugged. “When people die, their skin pales to blue.”

  “Not that quickly.” Astrid gave Kikita a knowing look. “I've seen people die from all sorts of causes, including lizard bites. It takes time for their skin to chan
ge color. Banshi was alive one minute and dead the next. No one's skin can change color that fast.”

  Kikita nodded. “What good would it do?”

  “To let them know Banshi may have belonged to Mandulane?” Astrid paused. It seemed there should be an obvious answer, but she could think of none.

  “To let them know that one of us turned to betrayal? That a traitor fooled all of us and Vinchi? From the first day of training, we have all stayed together or in small groups. I've seen no opportunity for any of us to be alone with outsiders. If Banshi betrayed us, she did so before she met us.”

  Astrid shook her head in dismay. “How could anyone do such a thing?”

  Kikita stared across the lake. “People are capable of a great many atrocities.”

  The sudden cries of the Iron Maidens pierced the air. Astrid and Kikita turned to see the Iron Maidens draw their weapons. The women kept their backs to the lake as a dozen armed men stepped from the tree line, ready to fight.

  CHAPTER 52

  For a moment, Astrid, Kikita, and the other Iron Maidens stared in surprise at the men walking toward them. They wore small animal pelts over their simple pants and shirts, as if the chill of spring were too much for them to bear. Each man held an ax or knife in hand.

  “Together!” Thorda yelled.

  Before Astrid could take another breath, all of the Iron Maidens dashed into an arcing formation. The women stood side by side within an arm's length of each other and kept the lake at their backs.

  Kikita ran forward to join the formation, leaving Astrid standing behind it. Immediately, each woman aimed her weapon, ready to fight.

  The armed men hesitated when their leader stepped forward and shouted at the women.

  “Does anyone know his language?” Thorda called out in Northlander then in Midlander. A few other Maidens translated Thorda's words for those who didn't speak those languages.

  Astrid walked forward to join the Maidens' rank, easing her way between Thorda and Kikita. Astrid kept Starlight in its sheath. “They aren't Krystr soldiers,” she said. “Look at how they're dressed. Look at the way they regard us.”