Yletta laid a hand gently on the King’s arm to get his attention.
“We are going to try and fix that your Majesty. Is there anywhere in Boronia with good hunting and an extensive cave system?”
“Funny you should mention that Yletta, I was just thinking to myself what the drakons would need for a hive. Further inland it’s quite mountainous and I know there are cave systems in some of those mountains. Your drakons have permission to go and look.”
Vistala gave a squeal of delight and punched the air. The King looked on with a puzzled expression until Yletta addressed him again.
“She is particularly friendly with the male drakon and has their best interests firmly to heart. Please the drakons and it will please Vistala, harm her and the drakons will eat you alive.”
Georgio shuddered and looked on the slim young girl with new respect. In fact all of those present at his table were deserving of respect. He endeavoured to find out more about them and started to question Yletta. From that moment on, first when they retired to the drawing room then during the banquet that evening, he learned much of them and was truly amazed at the collection of people he had under his roof. He called in a servant and gave an order. The servant left to have it carried out immediately.
Imagine Vistala’s surprise when by the middle of the following morning, an ornate coach pulled up in front of the palace and out stepped her elder sister, Bromala, every inch a lady in her beautiful gown. When Bromala saw Vistala she gave a choked cry and ran to hug her little sister, the guilt at causing all the problems for them leaching away by the minute. King Georgio observed silently from an upstairs window. Being King was its own reward sometimes.
Bromala and Vistala spent hours closeted together and Bromala explained her decision to stay on with her Aunt and Uncle in Senmouth rather than remain at home. Vigano was now engaged to his sweetheart Marista and the marriage was to be in the spring. This and much more passed between the sisters before they retired for the night.
Two days later, after studying maps and examining many written accounts, Vistala packed enough food and supplies for herself alone and made her farewells. She took off with the drakons, riding Traginal. They were going to look for hive sites.
“Will she be alright?” Bromala asked.
Septican patted her hand as he showed her back to her coach.
“With two drakons for bodyguards? I think she will.”
19. Kidnapped
“Well,” snapped Duke Erkhart, “what have you to report?”
Alesander sat back in his seat. The diminutive and nondescript spy slowly twirled the goblet of chilled wine by its stem, savouring its icy cold flavour. The Duke was on edge, had been since his return from Balfour’s Keep. Duke Erkhart did not like being thwarted. Still, there was interesting information to feed him and there might be some reward in it. He sat back comfortably.
“The pigeons arrived this morning. It takes them three or four days to fly here from Harrington. My spies there report two drakons arriving carrying those who escaped from Balfour’s Keep plus a flying carpet bearing an unknown young man and an older woman.”
The Duke barely believed his ears. What sort of nonsense was this?
“What do you mean a flying carpet? Has your spy in Harrington been drinking too heavily or taking drugs?”
“Actually Duke, although it’s hard to believe, two of my men saw this strange phenomenon. The carpet actually flew. It came in behind the drakons and besides the people on it, it was also loaded with packs.”
The Duke paced back and forth, nervous energy exuding from every pore. There had to be an explanation.
“What do think about this information?” he asked his trusty Chief of Intelligence.
“I don’t think, I know. It’s magic. One or the other of the two on the carpet is capable of some powerful magic. If I had to say, I would guess the woman because my men indicated the man seemed too young to possess that ability.”
The Duke was worried. Serkahn was not yet ready to help him invade Boronia. The drakon Spawn only numbered a hundred or so and although they were part drakon and very powerful, they could still be killed. Serkahn himself could wreak a lot of damage but as yet he hadn’t managed to wrest control of the hive from his queen so there would be no assistance from the hive drones. To top it off, Serkahn would not risk himself or any of his Spawn to help in Melintana’s problems until he had control of the hive. Any conflict without Serkahn would thus be more like conventional warfare and that didn’t offer enough certainty. The odds were too even.
“So, we don’t know what they want but one could suspect some action to place Prince Lermond on the throne of Melintana. He’s past his eighteenth birthday now and could become King by right of succession. I would be deposed as Regent and any dream of being the rightful King of Melintana and Boronia quashed. Can you kill the Prince?”
Alesander considered for a few moments, chin cupped in his hand, forefinger stroking his cheek, a habit he had when deep in thought. Finally, he raised his gaze to the Duke.
“From what I can gather from the reports, he is watched carefully by those who accompany him as well as by the surreptitious guardians Georgio has assigned to look out for his welfare. I could possibly get to him but the men I have in Harrington, although they are good at what they do, wouldn’t stand a chance. It would take me a week to ten day to get to Harrington myself by which time the game will have changed.”
The Duke was becoming angry with the frustration of his plans. He approached the chair his chief spy was sitting in and placing a hand on each arm of it, leaned over the little man, glaring as he snarled.
“Is there nothing you can think of?”
Alesander stared up into the Duke’s eyes. The man would never harm him and he could well protect himself but when the Duke was happy, more rewards flowed. At the moment, the Duke was the angriest Alesander had ever seen him. He grasped at any possible action in an effort to placate the Duke.
“We could kidnap the Mage. She and the young man move about unprotected, not even together at times. I’m sure my men could knock out the woman and quickly tie her up. Maybe force a sleeping draught into her. If they keep her drugged for the time it takes to get here, they might be able to get away with it. If she does wake and weave a spell on them, its no loss to us, I just have to hire and instruct a couple more spies. An inconvenience is all.”
The Duke stood back, an evil expression on his face.
“We could use her to bargain with. I wonder if she’s important enough to swap for the Prince?”
Alesander shook his head.
“I doubt it but maybe we can swap the woman for that magic-wielding traitor, Septican Mycindun.”
“Yes, yes! I knew I employed you for a good reason Alesander,” the Duke exclaimed. “It’s an excellent plan. We shall win through this yet.”
The mighty Serkahn stood and shook himself, the ripple passing from tip of his nose to the end of his very long tail, dislodging dust and dirt as it passed. He opened his wings and allowed a couple of the domestic Spawn to inspect them for parasites. The Spawn. He could feel every one of them in his mind, grown from his seed as they were. He could also feel the remains of the human females they had grown from, every one. Sometimes the portion of his brain that received these communications was quite clamorous. He hadn’t told the Duke this but not every one of the Spawn was a success. Some still had too much of the human left in them. It very nearly controlled the drakon side. These he kept to do the mundane tasks of running the caverns for the rest of his brood, providing meals from the game that was hunted, cleaning up after the rest of the Spawn, caring for the last crop of younglings and tending to his own needs. Generally he preferred they stay out of the way. The apportionment of labour seemed to work alright and he kept a close eye on those half dozen individuals who cared for the rest.
The leader of his Spawn stood before him now, the oldest and most dangerous of them. Her human side had been the offspring of hu
nters in a hill village and she’d taken well to becoming Spawn. His communication with her was non verbal but he asked she reply in Common tongue. Spawn may have need to talk to humans when they eventually helped the Duke with his plans. First off though, he needed to wrest control of the drakon hive from his Queen. There lay the true power.
“So Bergit, what have you to report?” he mentally asked.
The Spawn before him squared her shoulders and stood straight, confident in herself. Her speech was not easy due to the elongation of her face, part of the drakon heritage.
“I have thpent the morning drilling thoth under my command in the artth of combat. They fight well and I can find no fault in their ability. We are ready for your orderth Great One.”
Serkahn was pleased. Bergit was his favourite, the first success and the best of them. Soon he would march on the hive and demand control of it. The Duke would be pleased; for as soon as that task was accomplished, they could get down to the Duke’s business. They made a good team, he and the Duke. He gazed down at Bergit.
“Excellent. Make sure your weapons are sharp. We will be moving toward our goal soon.”
Bergit raised her stabbing spear in salute and turned away but not before Serkahn saw the satisfaction on her face. He was glad he’d learned how to make Spawn. In some ways they were more his family than all the bronze workers he’d sired for the hive.
That evening Serkahn flew from the cavern complex he now inhabited at the very edge of the Duke’s lands to the Duke’s manor house, landing well away from it to access the underground cave system which ran deep beneath the buildings. It was once his original home until the Spawn became too numerous. Serkahn entered the familiar caverns and walked to the main one beneath the cellars, seeing the torch light before entering. The Duke was sat comfortably in his arm chair as he waited for their weekly meeting, a jug of wine sat on a low table beside it. He took a sip from a goblet held in his hand as he observed the huge drakon enter the cavern and settle before him.
“Well met Serkahn. I trust you are well and that your plans are progressing smoothly.”
The response slid easily into the Duke’s mind.
“Thank you Duke. Everything is in motion. Soon I will be able to assist you in acquiring Boronia. Any news?”
“Yes. The Prince was spotted at King Georgio’s palace. He’d arrived with his friends on drakon back. Two drakons actually. One golden and a smaller black.”
Serkahn’s roar reverberated throughout the caverns as he gave vent to his fury. As the sound died away his words insinuated themselves into the Duke’s mind.
“Zaldara had a purpose in making another queen and I have no idea where the other male has come from. I will kill it if I can then if my own queen does not allow me to control the hive, I will kill her and take the other queen as my own. What do you plan Duke?”
“The Prince is guarded too well to kill now but there was a powerful Mage with the drakons, riding on a flying carpet. As you are unable to help me at the moment, I intend capturing the Mage and seeing what use I can make of her. If I can’t persuade her to work for me, mayhap I can trade her for Septican, the Healer I told you of. He seems to crop up everywhere there are problems for me.”
Serkahn lowered his head until he was looking at the Duke over the tip of his long, scaly snout.
“My plans will be going into action soon. Find out as much as you can of these two drakons in Boronia. It seems as though I’ll have to deal with them personally. The more I know, the easier it will be.”
The Duke was gazing up into Serkahn’s huge eyes as the great beast communicated with him, each nostril large enough to accommodate his fist. Warm, musty air flowed over him as the drakon breathed. Truly a formidable enemy. Who could stand against something so magnificent? A tremor ran through the Duke’s body as his brain registered the danger of his position. Serkahn must have felt it as he pulled his great head back and resumed his normal stance. Duke Erkhart drew in a breath and replied.
“My spies are observing the situation as we speak. I will be able to tell you more in a day or so. Return here in five days at the same time and I should be able to give you more news.”
Duke Erkhart felt satisfaction through their bond as Serkahn rumbled deep in his innards and moved off to return to the caverns his Spawn occupied.
King Georgio and Prince Lermond had spent much time closeted away together. Although the king was short and plump and gave the impression that he was a ruler given to enjoyment rather than governance, nothing could be further from the truth. Georgio was an astute king. Boronia was a well run country but because the king didn’t interfere with things that were working well, his touch was light and relatively unnoticed and the kingdom prospered. The only fly in the ointment were the raids of the Drakon Reavers. Georgio had armed companies stationed at various locations along the coast but the Reavers seemed to know where to raid with impunity, long gone by the time the soldiers arrived to defend. The king desired the safety patrolling drakons would give to the coast, just like in Melintana.
“So Prince, do you think the two drakons that were here could eventually help us?”
The Prince wasn’t overly familiar with the arrangement between the drakon queen, Zaldara, her mate Serkahn and Duke Erkhart, Regent of Melintana, although he knew the basics. He considered his answer.
“The basis of the relationship is that the drakons protect the coastline while we provide cattle, sheep and goats as a tithe for all the patrolling drakons to take back to the hive when their turn at patrol finishes. Essentially, those drones on patrol, which are always bronzes by the way, are relieved from finding food for the hive while they protect us yet the hive still has a secure food source. The other agreement Serkahn made with Duke Erkhart is reprehensible but Serkahn made the protection of Melintana’s coast contingent with the deal he made. We have to tithe young women to him each year by a certain date. He takes over thirty a year and no one knows what happens to them.”
Georgio shook his head.
“Bad business that. The sooner we can put you on the throne in your rightful position as King, the better. Do you think the Duke will try to kill you once you are declared King?”
Prince Lermond looked saddened at the thought of the intrigues surrounding him.
“I think the Duke desires power above all else. If he kills me, it will be with a subtle drakon poison that none except the drakons can detect and he will claim sickness on my part. Then after I die he will carry on where he left off.”
Georgio tried to reassure the young man.
“Don’t worry. You’re well guarded here and I’ll work toward helping you take back your throne. Then we can be good neighbours, each with a drakon hive. Worry not young Lermond. All will be well.”
Secretly, in his heart, the Prince was at the stage of doubting it would ever be. Only Kristen could lift his spirits which she did often, sitting in their private suite, chatting with him easily about ruling and what was fair for working people and how to keep his subjects happy. Lermond took it all in, his infatuation with Kristen making him an avid listener. It was therapeutic.
Right then trumpets blew and Georgio moved rapidly to the window. Just in time to see the golden and black drakons swoop over the wall and land in front of the mansion. They had been gone for two weeks with Vistala and now they were back. Georgio motioned to Lermond and headed for the stairs down to the entry hall with the Prince in hot pursuit. Vistala burst through the front doors as people came running and Georgio’s House Master had the presence of mind to usher everyone into the large drawing room and send servants for refreshments.
Vistala was pacing, breathless with excitement as she waited for everyone to arrive so she could tell her story. It didn’t take long and soon they were all there. She looked from one to the other, finally focusing on Georgio, her King and dropping a small curtsy.
“Sire. We found a wonderful place for a hive. Not too far away and somewhat to the north. It’s close enough to the
coast that drakons could patrol your far northern seacoast and swarm if there was a possibility of attack from Reavers. It’s a valley in a circle of hills which are peppered with caverns and there’s plenty of game. We checked all around and there are no people in the area whatsoever. It’s ideal. Zirca found herself the perfect cavern there and Traginal named the whole place Skyring. I’ll show you on a map Sire but the drakons requested its location remain secret.”
As everyone started talking at once and congratulating Vistala on her good work, no one noticed one of the servants, newly hired, slip out of the room.
After the excitement of Vistala’s return, the daily routine of the palace quickly returned. King Georgio had official business to attend to and was absent at times. Septican sat down with Cringle and Yletta as often as possible to try and work out what, if anything, could be done about the threat posed by Duke Erkhart and the drakon Serkahn. It seemed there was no easy solution and every plan put forward had some flaw in it. When he had time King Georgio sat in with them, involving Prince Lermond as much as possible. They could reach no consensus, although time was rapidly slipping away.
Yletta stood in front of the mirror. She hadn’t been able to bring many clothes with her and those that she had brought appeared dowdy and foreign in Harrington. It gave her an exotic appeal she supposed but apart from being a curiosity, she stood out wherever they went. It was hard to blend in. One day she announced she was going shopping for clothes.
Georgio heard her and took her to one side.
“There’s no need for you to go to the stores. I can have them bring their wares here. It saves you having to go into the city.”
“Thank you Sire but I’m not sure what I want and there are so many materials and styles to choose from that I feel it’s necessary for me to go to a number of retail establishments.”
The King was a little out of his depth. Unmarried yet and not very knowledgeable in the ways of women, he didn’t know how to deal with Yletta’s response.
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