Dragon Fate

by J. D. Hallowell

  The two prisoners presented no problem: they were still in shock, partly from being snatched up by dragons and flown down off the ridge, but mostly from the horror they had just witnessed.

  Chapter 46

  Palamore was the name of both the country and the capital city. The city itself was huge: bigger than Larimar by at least half. The streets were crowded with all manner of people, including soldiers. Delno wondered that the city guard could keep order with so many people about. Of course, the soldiers weren’t on leave, or even pass. The country was at a state of declared war and all of the soldiers were busy with preparations for such.

  It had only taken four more days to reach the city once they had gotten through the pass. The four Riders had decided that they would send word of their presence, but would bivouac with the Troop until summoned to the palace, which was at the heart of the city. Technically, they shouldn’t have to do so, but it was a courteous gesture.

  They soon found out that it was also prudent. Two other Riders had shown up earlier in the week and declared that they, and the entire group from Orlean, had been destroyed at the pass, and the pass to Ondar was now held by men from Llorn. Apparently, they had neglected to check on their men, and didn’t know that the only two survivors of the troops that had been sent to ambush the Ondarians were now guests of the very people they were supposed to have killed, and both men were being quite forthcoming about everything they knew concerning the preparations for war in Llorn; unfortunately, what they knew wasn’t much. However, the two Dragon Riders, both younger men who had trained under Simcha, informed the rightful rulers of Palamore that Simcha was now regent of the entire area, and that they should prepare to either be ruled or destroyed by dragon fire.

  If Delno, Geneva, and their companions had simply flown to the palace, they might have gotten arrows through the chests before they could have been identified.

  Brock was nearly beside himself with anger at Simcha, but Delno had expected as much. Simcha was most likely working with, or for, the person, or persons, responsible for the trouble in Horne. What they didn’t know, and needed to know quite badly, was how many other Riders had joined the plot. Also, it would be nice to know the number and strength of any magic users they had working with them. They would have to have at least one powerful mage working nearby; most likely in Llorn. After all, those cat-men hadn’t evolved on their own in the last few years.

  Delno was interrupted in his musings by a messenger from the palace. The presence of the Riders was requested at once. He put on his best shirt and pants and joined the others in front of the large command tent Winston had been given when he’d arrived, just after the Captain had received his letter of promotion and been placed in command of four full companies of men.

  Colonel Winston Eriksson grasped Delno’s arm and said, “We may not see each other again before this is over, so, good luck to you, my friend.” Then he turned to the other Riders and said, “My men and I owe you our lives; good luck and good fortune to you all.”

  Because the Palace was in the middle of the city, and the courtyard there was adequate to hold at least two dragons comfortably with room for the others on the walls, and since they felt it would be foolish to be away from the dragons, they had decided to fly to the meeting. As they mounted up and took off, all of the men of Ondar, but especially those from Orlean, cheered them. It was only about a mile and half to the palace, so the flight was quite short. Delno had Jason land first since he was well known here. As Gina flew up onto the wall to make way for the next dragon, Brock had Leera land, since he was also familiar with the palace and its inhabitants. Rita was next, and Delno couldn’t help but notice how stunning she looked in her red tunic and black pants sitting astride the neck of the red dragon.

  Once Fahwn was perched on the wall with the others, he and Geneva landed. It was an impressive show of dragon power with the leader landing last, and the locals were suitably awed by the spectacle. It also served another function: as the last to land, Geneva was the only dragon on the ground, with the others perched on the palace walls. This put her in a protective ring of dragons who could breathe fire if any hostile dragons showed up while they were here.

  As Delno joined the others, a group of five people came out to meet them. At their lead was a tall, beautiful woman who he guessed was in her mid-forties; Delno thought it safe to assume she was the queen. He shouldn’t have been surprised, but walking right behind her and to her left was Nassari. There were two soldiers for each member of the other party. The three soldiers in the lead stopped out of reach of swords, but close enough to use the spears they were carrying. The queen looked annoyed at the soldiers and simply elbowed her way through them and walked right up to Brock.

  She took both of his hands in hers and said, “It’s good to see you, my old friend. It’s been far too long since you were last here.”

  Brock smiled and said, “Events of the world have conspired to keep me away. Even now my stay here will be brief, I’m afraid.”

  “So it would seem,” she replied.

  Brock turned to the rest of the Riders, “This is my former student, Rita. You already know Jason, since you sent him to find me.” He allowed just the barest hint of annoyance into his voice when he said that, but Delno noticed the Queen raised one eyebrow almost imperceptibly in acknowledgement of the rebuke. “And this,” he went on as if no subtle communication had occurred between them, “is the leader of our group, Delno Okonan of Corice.”

  Then he turned to the group and said, “This is Carol Lark Moreland Glenmore, Queen of Palamore.”

  Brock had told Delno to watch very closely while interacting with these people because the slightest shift in facial expression would speak louder than their words. If that were the case, the shocked look on the Queen’s face when Brock introduced him as their leader was like shouting. She quickly got herself under control and said, “Most people just call me Lark.”

  They were quickly hustled into the palace and escorted to a room where they would have privacy for their meeting. Nassari managed to place himself at Delno’s side. He whispered to him, “See me when this meeting is over; I have a letter for you from your mother.” The Queen cast a subtle look their way and Nassari quickly resumed the place assigned to him.

  The guards left the room, and they sat quietly while several servants poured drinks for everyone. Then the servants left the pitchers on the table, and closed the doors behind them as they left.

  The Queen was interested in all of the events that had led up to them coming to Palamore. Delno was just glad that she didn’t want to hear the story of him bonding with Geneva. Once they had told her their story, she sat back for a few minutes and simply digested the information.

  Finally she said, “Things have not gone so well here in the capitol city. The betrayal of Simcha and those Riders who follow him has the whole advisory staff in an uproar. Some have already called for a no-confidence vote in the council.”

  At Delno’s look of confusion, Brock added, “In Palamore the throne is passed on through lineage, but the council of advisors has the right to a no-confidence vote that would force the king and queen to pass the throne on to their successors.”

  Lark sighed heavily; for a member of the Palamore royal line, it was the equivalent of weeping uncontrollably. She said, “I might even be tempted to step down, except that there is no clear successor. Stepping down would put the succession up to another vote of the council. With everything else that is going on right now, the country would be thrown into anarchy and our enemies would simply walk in and take over. By the time those fools wake up and realize what they are doing to themselves, it will be too late.”

  Delno was about to ask how many advisors were still loyal, but he was interrupted by the sound of dragons roaring and bells pealing out a warning. The Riders expressions went blank for a few seconds and then Delno announced, “There are dragons and Riders flying in.” To the Queen he said, “I would like to talk with them; make s
ure your men don’t precipitate any aggression.” To Brock and the other Riders he said, “I guess it’s time to earn our keep; let’s get into the air.”

  Delno had gotten used to being obeyed, so he didn’t wait for anyone to confirm his orders; he simply got up and strode toward the door of the chamber. The Queen was unused to taking orders from anyone, but his abrupt departure left little else for her to do.

  As he walked back to the courtyard, he contacted Geneva. “How many are there, Love?”

  “Three, and the harsh Rider is not with them. The others in our group and myself have all taken flight; we will land one at a time and collect you so that the ones in the air can provide cover.”

  “I would much prefer to get their riders on the ground,” he replied. “It is just too easy for this to get out of control if we are all mounted and ready for a fight.”

  “They do not appear to be interested in landing,” she responded. “They are confused at finding us here, but they are ready for a fight; they have filled their flame bladders already.”

  “Damn,” he looked at Brock walking beside him, “Geneva says the newcomers have already prepared their flame.”

  “Leera relayed the same message to me,” he replied. “How do you want to handle this?”

  “I’d prefer to talk with them before we all start killing each other.”

  “I hope they are agreeable to that,” Brock answered.

  Delno lengthened his stride. The other two men did the same, and Rita had to almost trot to keep up.

  Once in the courtyard, Geneva was the last to land. The others circled in a pattern that prevented the newcomers from getting close enough to be a threat. Delno deliberately took his time, double checking his saddle and the security straps as if this were just another scouting patrol, and he had all the time in the world.

  “What is he doing?” one of the Queen’s advisors asked.

  “Making them wait, obviously.” The reply had come from Nassari, who had also followed them to the courtyard. “Those other Riders have shown up here like they are in charge. They expect us to hop-to-it and attend to what they have to say. Delno is deliberately taking his time to show them that he is the one in charge here.” Nassari was obviously impressed with his friend.

  The Queen said nothing but allowed just the barest trace of a smile to show on her lips.

  Delno finished checking his equipment and then untied his Dragon Blade from where it was secured on the saddle. He fastened it to his belt and then drew the blade and checked it also. The soldiers in and around the central courtyard took immediate notice. Someone whistled appreciatively. Delno then put the blade back in the scabbard and mounted Geneva with slow deliberate movements.

  Though the other three dragons wouldn’t let the newcomers close enough to be dangerous, Delno had relayed to them through Geneva to let the hostile Riders watch the show.

  “Sure you don’t want to go to the privy before we leave? Perhaps you could take a little nap so that you will be fresh for the negotiations?” she asked sarcastically.

  “You know perfectly well why I took so long to mount up.”

  “Yes, you explained it to me. I just hope it doesn’t have the opposite effect from what you were looking for.” She pushed off, and the palace quickly fell away behind them. As she leveled off, she continued her thought, “We are facing three fully mature dragons, and I have no flame. I don’t like being the weak link in the chain.”

  He reached in front of the saddle and patted her neck, “You aren’t, Love, you definitely aren’t.”

  “They are already trying to contact me, Dear One. Should I answer?”

  “No,” he responded. “We will answer in our own time. Tell Brock to back off a bit; he’s supposed to protect us, but I don’t want it to look like he’s protecting us.”

  After surveying his Riders and adjusting their positions relative to himself, he told Geneva to tell the leader of the other Riders to land.

  “Besides calling you several unkind names, he has refused to land. He says that we are trespassing, and if we do not leave immediately, they will attack us.” Geneva sounded nervous.

  “Tell him that if he wishes to talk, he is to land in the field to the south. If he wishes to attack, he should shut up and do so.” Then he added, “Once you have relayed that message, refuse to relay any further communication. If he wants to talk to me, he will do it on the ground.”

  The other Rider’s face turned bright pink as his dragon relayed the message. He stared into Delno’s eyes as their dragons circled. After several moments, the other Rider looked at the field Delno had indicated as a landing place. Delno knew he had scored a point even before the man gave the signal to fly there.

  Once over the field, the other Rider’s dragon tried to relay another message, but Delno had Geneva block her out. He then signaled that the newcomers were to land first. Again, they circled while the other Rider tried to get Delno’s party to land. Again, Delno won the contest, as the man and his companions spiraled down to the field.

  Delno landed next, over Brock’s objections. The leader of the other Riders started to walk toward him. At a signal from Delno, Geneva bellowed a warning and the man stopped and waited. Delno deliberately kept them waiting while the rest of his group landed and dismounted, one at a time.

  Then, with the other riders standing about forty yards away, Delno and his group advanced until they were half way between the dragons on either side; only then did he signal for the newcomers to advance. Without hesitating, the other three Riders obeyed.

  Delno said to Brock and Rita, through the dragons, “Good, we’ve established who is in charge here.” They all nodded agreement. Rita was smiling brightly. Knowing her attitude toward anything that Simcha might have his hand in, Delno had Geneva relay to her, “We haven’t won any real victories yet. Please remain discreet.” Her lips puffed as she pouted, but she nodded.

  As the other Riders got close, their leader said, “Simcha, the Regent of this territory, has demanded. . . .”

  Delno cut him off, “Simcha is in no position to demand anything. It is you who are trespassing on the sovereign soil of Palamore. If Simcha wishes to refute that, he should show his cowardly face and do so. If you throw your tiles with his, you are likely to find the stakes of the game to be more than you bargained for.”

  None of the three seemed to understand why this was going so badly for them. They were all young. Brock had told him that none of them had been riders for more than two decades.

  Delno continued, “You thought us destroyed between Palamore and Orlean, yet here we are. You also thought your little ambush had destroyed the soldiers we escorted, but if you fly back to that pass, you’ll find the ridges that overlook that canyon blackened and those of your force not completely turned to ash are food for the vultures and crows. I do not take to any cause lightly, and I don’t abandon my friends. As Simcha found out in Orlean, I am extremely hard to kill and full of surprises.”

  All three of the men looked as if they had been gut-punched. Finally, the leader spoke again. “There were over sixty men at that canyon,” he said.

  “Yes,” Delno replied before he could add more, “over sixty men. They didn’t die gloriously, or with honor; they simply burned alive. Many of them perished before they even had a chance to know what killed them; those who were missed by the dragon fire burned when the oil they had planned to pour down on our troops exploded from the heat. The mage you sent to deal with the dragons died just as quickly as the rest. It only took us about a quarter of an hour to secure the pass.”

  The three young Riders were stricken; one looked like he might actually be sick. Delno added, “That’s the reality of the war you have started, boy. Those men died the same way they had planned for our troops to die, horribly, by fire!”

  The young Riders looked confused. Delno was about to add more when the dragons again started roaring. At Geneva’s direction, he looked to the east and could see two more dragons flying t
owards them. They were a ways off still, but they would not be long getting there.

  “Now we’ll see who is the coward,” the young leader scoffed. “Simcha will put paid to your account, upstart.”

  Both groups turned and ran back to their dragons. Geneva did that same hopping-flying move as before and landed right in front of Delno, so he was the first one off the ground. Brock was second, but two of the newcomers took off together. Brock and Delno circled over Gina and Fahwn protectively while their Riders mounted.

  As Fahwn was gaining altitude, the young leader of the original three hostiles dove at her, obviously intent on attacking. They were less then thirty feet from their target and moving fast. Suddenly the attacking dragon’s head was whipped back and her whole body flipped forward, breaking her neck and crushing her rider. As the dragon fell, her flame bladder ruptured and a gout of flame shot out under pressure; however, once the pressure was low enough for the air to get inside it, the bladder exploded and blew the rider and saddle off and nearly decapitated the beast.

  They had run into the transparent but solid shield that Delno had put up to protect Rita and Fahwn. He had made the shield especially strong because he had expected the pair to use flame instead of trying to use the beast’s talons. Rita, realizing what had happened, looked over and blew him a kiss.

  “Tell her to be careful,” he told Geneva.

  “She says you should take your own advice. She also says that you had best keep your arse in that saddle, or she will personally beat you to within an inch of your life.”

  “Does she think she can do that with you protecting me, Love?”

  “I’ll hold you down so she can, Love,” Geneva replied.

  One of the other young Riders charged directly at him. This time the dragon was obviously trying to get above him to use flame. Geneva beat down furiously with her wings and gained altitude. The other dragon followed. The newcomer was quite fast, and she knew how to fly well. Geneva was just barely staying ahead of her attacker. Delno began to reach out with his magical senses to find a good power source. What he found was that the attacker was trying to do the same to him as he had done a few moments earlier. He warned Geneva, but had her fly as close to the invisible barrier as possible. Just when the other Rider thought he had fooled them, Geneva slowed and turned toward the other dragon. She then turned almost on her side and reached out with her front talons and raked the other dragon’s wing badly. The wounded dragon was able to stay aloft, but there was a hole ripped in her right wing starting just behind the leading edge and ending more than halfway back, and she was bleeding. She wouldn’t be able to do much more than land. Delno returned his attention to the rest of the dragons.