Dragon Fate

by J. D. Hallowell

  Delno yelled to him, “Connor, wait!”

  Just before the dragon could launch, Fahwn buzzed her, looking like a large red blur. The gold dragon ducked quickly and lost her positioning for launch. Geneva jumped and pumped her wings resulting in a somewhat clumsy hop that covered about half the distance between them. Again Delno called out to the boy, but before he could tell the youngster that he was sent by Brock, flame erupted from the gold dragon’s mouth. The flame came close enough to be uncomfortably hot, but passed harmlessly to Geneva’s left. Geneva roared and tried to advance but wasn’t quick enough.

  The boy yelled, “I’m not going back!” and his dragon launched herself skyward.

  At Delno’s direction, Geneva was off the ground right behind them. She pumped hard, gaining altitude quickly. She was slightly larger than the gold dragon, and she was gaining fast. Again the gold dragon twisted her head and flamed. Geneva was below her to the right but she had flamed on the left side.

  Geneva roared in anger and made ready to pounce. Delno said, “Calm yourself, Dear Heart, we don’t want to hurt them.”

  “Tell that to them; she’s the one trying to burn us to ashes.”

  “No, love,” he replied, “if she had actually wanted to burn us, we would have been dead on the ground; she’s just trying to scare us off. Try to relay that we are friends and just want to talk.”

  Geneva calmed down, but she did get above the gold dragon while concentrating on trying to contact her. “It’s no good, Love; she has shut down and won’t listen. They are determined not to let us catch them.”

  They were both flying at top speed and the gold dragon suddenly pulled up hard, pointing herself almost straight up. Geneva was ready for the maneuver and matched it. Unfortunately, they had forgotten about Fahwn. As they went into a stall and rolled to reverse their direction, Fahwn, whose speed had been unchecked since she hadn’t joined them in the stall, passed between them at full speed. Geneva’s talons came within inches of Fahwn’s right wing, while Fahwn’s talons came within inches of the boy’s head.

  “A little less luck and they’d both be dead; maybe that will put some sense into that boy, and he’ll land,” Delno remarked.

  “I wouldn’t count on it, Love,” Geneva replied. “Look!”

  Fahwn had turned quickly and caught up with the pair, but she came at them from underneath. Delno thought he could see Rita trying to shout at them, but doubted if they could hear. The gold dragon again turned to flame on the wrong side, however, Fahwn panicked and swerved almost directly into the blast.

  “They nearly got crisped that time,” Delno shouted both aloud and mentally. “This has got to end. Get above them, Love.”

  “Delno.” He knew Geneva was worried when she used his given name. “What are you planning to do?”

  “I plan to stop them before any of us get killed in this ridiculous game. Get me over them, Geneva.”

  She wasn’t happy about it, but she quickly complied. Fortunately, both the boy and the dragon were so engrossed in watching Fahwn and Rita that they didn’t notice Delno and Geneva approaching them. Delno unhooked his safety straps and Geneva hissed.

  “I know what you are doing; DON’T!” Her words were nearly a scream inside his head.

  “Dear Heart, I need you to contact Fahwn; if this goes badly, one of you catch me.”

  Fahwn had gotten much closer to the gold dragon by then, and he could see Rita’s face quite clearly. He smiled at her, and then, before Geneva could take it upon herself to slow down and thwart him, he launched himself out of the saddle and down toward the fleeing pair. Rita was so close that he actually hard her scream as he left his seat, but that was quickly drowned out by Geneva’s roar.

  The boy looked over his shoulder in the direction of the roar and stared wide-eyed as Delno plummeted towards him. Connor didn’t have enough time to react. Delno got within reach and grabbed the boy’s collar with his left hand and pulled himself forward. He quickly twisted his body so that he landed heavily on his butt on the hump behind the saddle. Then he slid down directly behind the youth and grabbed him in a bear hug, pinning the boy’s arms to his sides.

  Once he was sitting behind the lad, he said matter-of-factly in the boy’s ear, “It’s time to stop this nonsense and land before someone gets hurt, Son.”

  The boy hissed through clenched teeth, “I won’t go back and work with Simcha, and you can’t make me.”

  “Boy,” he said, “do you honestly think I would go to all of this trouble just to take you back to that self-righteous ass? Your father needs your help and asked me to find you. Now get this dragon to land; I’m losing my patience.”

  As the gold dragon angled toward the clearing they had vacated only moments before, Delno relaxed his grip on the boy. When they landed, he and Connor hopped down. He was just about to introduce himself when Rita and Geneva both caught up with him. Rita was still wide-eyed and drained of color. She stood looking at him for a moment, than she swung her right hand around and hit him on the left shoulder with her fist.

  “What the hell did you think you were doing up there?! You could have been killed. You’re a great one to go on telling me and Brock to be careful and not take chances, and then you go and pull a damn fool stunt like that.”

  Delno looked at Geneva, who snorted loudly and said, “Don’t look at me to help you out of this one; you’re just lucky it was her who hit you and not me.”

  Fahwn had come up behind Rita; he looked at her and she said, “If you’re looking here for support, you won’t find it. You scared all of us nearly to death with that stunt.”

  Connor smiled at him and said, “For what it’s worth, I was really impressed.”

  Delno turned back to Rita, her color was closer to normal now that she had vented her fear and anger. He moved closer and just stood looking at her until she finally relented. She shook her head and said, “Don’t ever scare me like that again.” Then she leaned into him and actually cried for several moments.

  Rita, red-eyed, rounded on Connor, “What were you thinking? You know me, and you know how I feel about Simcha. Why didn’t you stop when I told you to land?”

  The boy merely shrugged his shoulders and looked at his feet.

  “All right,” Delno said softly, “it’s over, let’s get something to drink and discuss why we’re here.”

  “So, my father wants me and Jenka to go to Orlean for martial arts study?” Connor asked when they had explained that they had come to take him back with them.

  “Well, that’s the cover we will use, and you will study; the men of the garrison there are very good, and they’ve agreed to teach you. However, you will also be housed with a friend we have there in case you are needed by either of us.”

  “Why do I have to be the one to stay in Orlean? You’re the one with the immature dragon: how come you are going off adventuring and not staying and training at the garrison?”

  “Partly because I will be looking for something. I may be able to use my talent to find it, like I found you.”

  “You said partly. That doesn’t explain why I have to stay and spend my mornings on a practice pitch while you get to sleep in.”

  “Tell me, Connor, how many fights have you been in?” Before the boy could answer, Delno lowered his voice almost to a whisper; a dangerous whisper, “I’m not talking about boyhood scraps where your nursemaid pulls the two of you apart and makes you shake hands and say you’re sorry. I mean real fights where the most likely outcome is that someone will end up lying face down in his own blood. Real fights, where there’s three or four of them and you have to use every dirty trick in the book to make sure it’s their entrails that are spilled out on the floor or the ground and not yours.”

  Connor looked Delno in the eyes and realized the man was serious, and backed away slightly.

  “You see, boy,” Delno continued, “I may be a new Rider, and Geneva may be young, but I was a blooded warrior before you were ever even a candidate for an egg.” />
  Rita laid her hand on Connor’s arm and said, “He’s not just trying to scare you or impress you, Connor, he’s telling you the truth. He was an officer in the army in Corice during two years of bloody fighting, and he’s already proven himself against every man at the garrison, and against Simcha, though that last isn’t really saying much.”

  Connor thought about it for a few moments and then said, “You said there was also work I could do there. What is it?”

  Delno laughed a little and said, “Well, if nothing else got his attention, the chance to earn some coins did. The garrison is there to keep the bandits who operate in the area from preying on travelers. One thing they’ve found over the last couple of weeks is that just having dragons flying overhead makes most of the bandits look for greener pastures. What they want you to do is fly patrols. They don’t even really care if you actually do patrol so long as it looks like you do. Of course, if you really want to earn your money, you can watch for any indications of bandit activity and report them to the garrison commander.”

  “All you have to do is practice your swordsmanship and fly maneuvers on Jenka and be ready should we need you,” Rita said. “For that you get food, a nice soft bed, and some money in your pockets. Not a bad deal for you, if you ask me.”

  “All right, I’ll do it,” Connor replied.

  ‘Good,” Delno remarked, “We can get going right after lunch.”

  After what Connor had pulled earlier, Rita had been all for taking him back to Orlean bound and gagged, but Delno quickly relayed through their dragons, a good way to keep a conversation completely private even if it did require the inconvenience of relaying everything through two extra individuals, that he and Brock had agreed that it would be best if the boy went as a willing participant rather than a sulky, rebellious adolescent.

  After lunch, they mounted up and headed back to Orlean. This time they took it a little easier; after the morning’s exertions, they didn’t want to push the dragons too hard. Delno called a halt after about four hours, and they landed and made camp for the night. The boy had his own tent, so sleeping arrangements weren’t a problem, though Connor was a bit scandalized when he found out that Delno and Rita were sharing one tent rather than sleeping separately.

  Delno was working on a carving and Connor was practicing the fingering of a tune on the flute that Delno had made so many weeks ago. Rita walked back to the fire and remarked, “There is something to be said for cooking over an open fire, watching the stars, and going to sleep listening to the crickets chirping, but I sure miss indoor plumbing.”

  Delno laughed and said, “Yes, all of the storytellers tell us tales of honor, glory and adventure, but they never mention having to dig latrines in the wilderness.” Connor blushed.

  As they sat, Rita began humming a tune. She had a very pretty voice, and soon Delno was more interested in the music than in his carving. Connor had laid the flute down when Rita had started humming, so he didn’t interrupt her. Delno held his hand out and silently motioned to Connor for the instrument.

  He put it to his lips and softly played along to her humming, picking up the tune easily. He played very softly so as not to disturb her, and harmonized with her. For a while she continued to hum, apparently unaware that she was even doing so.

  Soon she began to sing softly:

  Hush now child, the night is warm,

  Daddy’s safe, the sea is calm,

  Tomorrow’s sun will bring no harm,

  Hush now chi-l-d and Sleeeeep.

  Sleep my dar-lll-ing, Sleeeeep.

  Now the moon is riding high,

  The fish swim on the rising tide,

  So Daddy’s gone to-night,

  Hush now chi-l-d and Sleeeeep.

  Sleep my dar-lll-ing, Sleeeeep.

  She stopped and looked around as he softly repeated the last bar on the flute. She hadn’t even realized that she had been singing out loud. She blushed deeply.

  “Please don’t stop,” Delno said, “You have a beautiful voice; it’s pleasure to play along with you.”

  “Oh, it’s just a silly tune from my childhood.” She was near to tears.

  Suddenly she got up and headed for the bushes. Connor scrunched up his face and looked at Delno and whispered “Again?” in an astonished voice.

  Delno had the feeling that this time her departure had nothing to do with plumbing. He gave her a few moments to herself and then followed. She wasn’t exactly hiding, but she had gone quite a ways into the darkness. Of course, with his magical ability to look for her life energy, he found her easily enough.

  She was still crying softly when he reached her. He put his hand on her shoulder, and this time she pulled away angrily.

  “We can’t continue like this,” she said.

  He had a feeling he knew what she meant, but wanted her to talk it out, so he feigned ignorance. “Like what? We’re taking the boy back, doing exactly what we have set out to do.”

  “Don’t play the fool, Delno, I know you’re not that thick.” She stepped even farther away from him.

  “Rita, we are just trying to take some happiness in each other’s company while we can. Tomorrow may bring death to either one of us; aren’t we entitled to something?”

  “No,” she answered. “We’re Riders. I am preparing to go off to war, and you’ve got me singing lullabies from my childhood. I should keep my mind on the task at hand. What would Brock say?”

  “The task at hand is to bring Connor back to his father. We are doing that. What ever else we do, providing that it doesn’t interfere with our duties as Riders, is our business and no one else’s, not even Brock’s,” he replied.

  “You don’t know anything about me, and you want some kind of commitment?” She demanded.

  “I haven’t asked for any more commitment than right now. I have no idea where our relationship might go, but I won’t simply turn away from you because duty calls you elsewhere,” he responded.

  “I don’t know for sure what you expect from a relationship, but I can guarantee that I can’t give it to you,” she nearly screamed at him.

  “Rita, stop. Before you say anything else, I have to tell you. Brock told me your whole story; I know all of it.”

  She didn’t need to say anything: the look of horror on her face was enough.

  “I’m sorry. He didn’t want to tell me, but he felt that I had some right to know since I had ended up in the middle between you and Simcha.”

  “Then you understand that I am not whole and can never be a real woman.”

  “Not a real woman? Rita, in the culture I come from, women are not defined by how many babies they can bear. To me, you are more real and whole than any woman I’ve ever met. You are exciting, alluring, and more importantly, you are all of that and intelligent enough to have a real conversation with. You’re like having a lover and a best friend all wrapped up in one lovely, petite package. I would rather be with you than any woman I have ever met. I couldn’t fantasize about a better woman than you.”

  She looked into his eyes, looking for any sign that he was simply saying what she wanted to hear and not speaking the truth. Then she said, “I don’t know. I want to believe what you say, but. . . .”

  “Rita, do you remember what I said about lying in Nat’s sitting room?”

  She nodded her head, but couldn’t quite speak past the lump in her throat.

  “Well, I meant everything I said,’ he continued, “I don’t lie: that’s plain fact. Not only do I find it abhorrent, I’m simply no good at it. I’ve never been able to lie successfully in my life, even as a child, my parents always caught me if I tried. I am just not made that way.”

  “Then you need to know this,” she said. “When I awoke from the fever and found out that I would never have children, I wanted to die. My only hold on life was my connection to Fahwn. I don’t want to have to deal with that again, ever. If you aren’t absolutely sure of what you are saying, then, please walk away now.”

  As an a
nswer, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers kissing her soundly. Then he picked her up and carried her all the way back to camp.

  Chapter 41

  “Well, we’re home, Love,” Geneva said to him as she angled her flight towards the large field near the city gates. The remainder of the trip had been blissfully uneventful. Rita and Fahwn flew near, and Rita held up her fist to signal a job well done as they glided in for a landing.

  Brock ran to meet them on the field. He, of course, had been alerted to their approach by Leera. When Connor dismounted, Brock picked him up off the ground in a bear hug. Then, still holding his son to him, he extended his arm and clasped hands with each of the two riders, thanking them for bringing his boy home.

  Then Delno noticed a fifth dragon standing apart from the others. She was green and quite large. He turned to Brock and said, “I see we have another visitor.”

  Brock frowned, “Yes, more bad news, this time from Palamore, I’m afraid.” Delno raised his eyebrow in inquiry, and Brock said, “Come, it’s best we talk inside.” He led the way back to the physician’s house.

  When they arrived, Missus Gentry met them at the door and said, “Mister Brock, sir, your friend hasn’t returned yet, so I couldn’t give him the message you left.” She handed Brock a folded piece of paper. “Both of the healers are with patients. Make yourselves at home, and I’ll fetch you some food and drink.”

  He smiled and said, “Thank you, Missus Gentry.” He put the note in his pocket and said to Delno, “Our newest arrival needed his saddle repaired, and I sent him to Brandon. He had just left when Leera told me of your approach. Since he has only given me the barest bones of the message he carries, I think it best if we wait for him to return.”