by Scott Baron
“But Leila. You spoke to the animals without a konus.”
“Of course. That’s my thing. The lowest of the barely powered on the estate, and all I am able to do is tell the stupid yertzi to get lost,” she said with a little chuckle. “A shaker of worlds, I am not.”
“Well, I find it impressive,” Charlie said.
She blushed slightly, a little red coming to her green-tinged cheeks.
“Thanks for saying so, but it’s really nothing. Now, my mother, she was rumored to have some real power in her veins. Unfortunately, she was sold when I was very young, so I never got to discuss it with her. But Father said she was a woman of considerable gifts.”
They reached the end of the wooded trail, the path opening to a large, protected clearing with a number of enclosures of varying sizes containing all manner of animal. Some Charlie recognized from his travels to distant worlds, while others were completely novel to him.
His attention was drawn to the sturdy gate leading into the largest of the holding enclosures. Something was making his whole body tingle. Something familiar. Inside those walls was a Zomoki. His Zomoki, though he’d never dream of claiming ownership over her. But whatever their connection, he knew who was behind the gate without having to look. He sensed her.
“Mind if I take a peek?”
Chapter Thirteen
“Why, hello again, beautiful,” Charlie said, carefully stepping up to the barred gate of the large holding pen. A large, golden eye glanced his way, but nothing more.
“Its scales and hide are rough and worn,” Leila commented.
“She’s still beautiful to me,” he replied, scanning the enclosure.
It was a low wall spanning an area roughly one hundred meters across, but there was no roof, nor were there chains securing the Zomoki. Just a thick, faintly glowing band around her neck, much heavier than the one she’d previously been wearing.
“Don’t worry,” Leila said, watching him take in the openness of the enclosure. “Visla Maktan set the containment spells himself. With his power, and the new collar he affixed on the Zomoki, there’s no possibility of it harming you.”
“I’m not worried about her harming me,” he said. “Now, would you mind opening the gate?”
“I’m sorry, you want to go in? I told you, it won’t let anyone near, even with the restraining spells. She’s an exceptionally powerful one.”
“Just open the gate, please. I’ll be fine. Promise.”
Leila looked him over a moment. He seemed a nice enough fellow, and it would be a shame for the visla’s new gladiator to be eaten on her watch.
“I don’t know––”
“She won’t hurt me. Will you?” he called to the resting beast.
The enormous dragon lazily turned her head, lounging in the sun much like a cat. Only a cat that could breathe fire. But the dragon made no sign of aggression.
“I’ll probably regret this,” Leila said, opening the gate with a quiet spell.
“It’ll be fine. And if you hand me those bandages and water, I’ll see about cleaning her up while I’m at it.”
“Don’t let her blood touch your skin, or you’ll be dead before you hit the ground.”
Charlie had already had more than a little of this dragon’s blood on his skin, but despite a week of miserable fever, it had most certainly not killed him. He decided to keep that fact to himself, for the time being. He had a good feeling about the groundskeeper’s daughter, but he had been mistaken about people before.
He picked up the supplies and walked into the enclosure, the enormity of the dragon making a small, primitive part of his brain scream, “Get out! Run!” as he approached her. With a deep breath, he forced the fear from his mind.
“Hello!” he called out as he cautiously moved closer. “I am here to clean your injuries. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t eat me.”
The dragon shifted position to better see him.
“Eating you would be rude,” she noted, her voice coming through clear as a bell inside his head. “You know, we don’t have to talk out loud, right? In fact, it’s probably a much better idea if you don’t let anyone know we are able to communicate at all.”
“So, you read my thoughts?”
“Not so much read your thoughts as you and I are linked and can choose to communicate in this manner, if we so desire.”
“Whoa.”
She chuckled in his mind.
“Yes, I suppose that would sum the experience up for a Boroki.”
“A what?”
“Boroki. Pink people from a few systems away.”
“Oh, I’m not a Boroki. I’m a human. From Earth.”
“Earth? Never heard of it.”
“You wouldn’t have. It’s in another galaxy.”
“Impossible. There is no magic in existence that can convey people across the vast blackness beyond the galaxy, and I’ve managed some rather long trips between systems over the years. But another galaxy? It simply can’t be done.”
“Funny you say that. I was of pretty much the same belief until a wormhole sucked in my ship and spat it out in another part of the universe. Then, to make things worse, here we are, the first of my kind ever to leave our own solar system, and we crash all the way out in some desolate wasteland. And just our luck, too. Out of a whole green planet, we had to wind up in the desert ruins of some old battlefield.”
At this the dragon perked up.
“A battlefield, you say? But it was a wasteland? It wouldn’t have been the Balamar Wastelands, by any chance, would it?”
“Yeah, that’s what they called it. Said there was some massive war against a powerful visla a long time ago.”
The massive Zomoki sat up, filled with curiosity, though, unlike a cat, she didn’t need nine lives, as she had already lived centuries.
“That would explain it,” she mused. “And tell me. Did you happen to find any waters in that wasteland? A rivulet, perhaps? Or some dew on the rocks that seemed a bit more iridescent than it should be?”
“As a matter of fact, I did,” he replied. “Hey, do you mind if I clean up those cuts? She’s watching, and I told her you’d let me.”
“Ah, the young woman watching you so intently? She has a good heart.”
“You can tell that? Is it some kind of magic thing?”
“Nothing like that. I just see how she treats others.”
“So why won’t you let her help you?”
A pair of huge golden eyes stared deep into Charlie’s much smaller ones.
“Because, I was captured, harmed, forced into servitude, thrown into battle, then blasted with some accursed magic and taken here. I’ve been a little cross, but with good reason, I think.”
“I see your point,” Charlie said.
“But to answer your question, yes, you may tend my wounds.”
“Thank you,” he said, moving close and gently applying water to the scratches in her tough hide. “Hang on, did you say she was watching me intently? If anything, she should be watching you,” he said, turning to see if Leila was watching.
Indeed, she seemed to be staring at his treatment of the beast with rapt attention.
Again, the dragon laughed inside his head. “You people really are so predictable at times. Now, tell me. Did any of the water you discovered in the Balamar Wastelands touch your skin?”
“You could say that.”
“Ah. This explains it.”
“What?”
“How you survived touching my blood. Normally it kills men outright, but you were resistant.”
“I had a fever for a week. I nearly died!”
“But you did not. Those waters were thought lost long ago. So long that they’ve passed from history into legend. But those who touch them are granted a degree of restorative power. This is what saved you, though it is incredibly unusual for it to have granted you the connection we share.”
“Well, I was thinking about that,” Charlie said. “I figure, when your bloo
d got into my wound and mixed with mine, some sort of weird blood bond must have been formed.”
The Zomoki reared up in shock, towering above him, her restraint collar glowing bright.
“That is impossible! You would have died!”
“Charlie, are you okay?” Leila yelled in alarm. “I’ll trigger the stun spell, get clear!”
“No! Wait! It’s okay, just give me a minute,” he shouted back to her. “Don’t stun her! It’ll be all right.”
“You had best calm down before she knocks you out again,” he warned.
The Zomoki paced nervously, then settled back onto her haunches, flapping her wings once before sliding back to a relaxed pose. But she wasn’t relaxed. Charlie could feel the tension crackling between them.
“What’s the matter? You’re freaking out, here.”
“No one has formed a blood bond with a Zomoki for longer than I can remember. It should be impossible. Only the most powerful of all the vislas were foolish enough to even try.”
“Vislas like Balamar?”
“Yes.”
“And it was his waters I swam in?”
“Yes.” She spun abruptly, her massive head hovering in front of him. “Did you say swam?”
“Uh, yeah, about the waters. It was kind of more than a little trickle I found. More like a giant cistern, actually. But it was hidden underground. The war must have collapsed everything around it and buried it years ago. I found it with my med scanner.”
“Your what?”
“This,” he said, showing her the device slung across his shoulder. “A piece of tech that I tuned to follow the specific spectral and chemical signatures of the small pool of water we found. I used it to track down the source.”
“But this magic does not exist, and I sense no power in this little box you hold. Plus, the waters were protected in such a manner that no spell could find them.”
“Well, it wasn’t a spell. It was tech, like I told you,” he said, powering on the device. “See? I can scan your wounds and see how serious they are, for example. And they’re not bad at all, by the way.”
The dragon was beside herself. Stunned.
“If the cistern is intact––but you say you swam in it? My God, the waters––you must have healed so very quickly, for a time.”
“Still do, actually.”
“Still? But that shouldn’t be. How long ago was this?”
“A little less than three years.”
“That’s impossible. A few months at most, perhaps. Years? It has never been heard of.”
“Well, I did sort of drink a whole bunch of it, too.”
At that the dragon actually jumped back in shock.
“Don’t zap her! It’s okay!” he yelled to Leila.
“You really need to stop doing that.”
She sat back down and slowly lowered her head to eye-level. “All but a handful of creatures in the entire galaxy die if they consume those waters.”
“I’m not from this galaxy,” he reminded her. “Human. Different species and all that.”
Gears were churning in the wise old creature’s head. A man had ingested the waters and lived. The possibilities spread before her like pieces on a chessboard.
“You must not tell Visla Maktan any of this. If he realizes what you have done he will kill you at once, and likely me with you.”
“Why? It’s not like I’m a threat to anyone.”
“You drank the waters and can speak with Zomoki. More than that, you and I are bonded. There is no telling what you may be capable of. The very thought of Zomoki blood in a man’s veins would send any visla into panic. And a panicked visla is a very dangerous thing.”
Charlie didn’t know why he should trust the Zomoki, but here he was, actually speaking with a dragon. A dragon he was somehow linked to.
“Okay, I’ll keep this all a secret,” he said. “Now, let me dress those wounds so Leila doesn’t get in trouble.”
“Do as you will.”
“Thanks. Oh, and my name’s Charlie, by the way.”
“I am Aranzgrgghmunatharrgle,” she replied.
“Aranzgg… I’m sorry, what was that, again?”
The dragon laughed. “You can just call me Ara for short.”
Leila walked Charlie back to the palace, picking his brain with excitement the whole way. No one had ever had a Zomoki allow them to treat them without requiring excessive use of the restraint collar to quiet them. For the animalist, it was extraordinary.
“I want to continue this discussion later,” she said when they reached the servants’ entrance. “There’s so much more I want to ask.”
Her eyes were alive with energy and fire, and Charlie couldn’t help but be caught up in her enthusiasm.
“Okay, whenever you want, just ask. I’m pretty much hanging around until Maktan gets back.”
“Great. I’ll come get you in the morning. We have so much to talk about!”
Leila spun and almost skipped back to her duties.
Apparently, being a dragon whisperer is a real draw with the ladies, he chuckled to himself.
The weight of the scanner pressed on his hip, a reminder of home. One that gave him an idea.
“Thank you for allowing me to use this,” he said to the visla’s daughter when he was finally granted admittance to her receiving chamber. “I was able to help Hertzall track down what seems to be the source of the problems he was dealing with.”
“I am glad to have helped, Charlie,” Malalia said with a warm smile. “Please, if there is anything you need, just ask.”
“Well, I actually did have a thought, but I don’t know if you’ll approve of it.”
She laughed brightly. “There’s one way to find out.”
“The thing is, there are devices on my ship that might be of great use. Things that don’t work by magic. Things that could be made to help around the grounds. I have no means to get them, but if any of your people are ever near the Balamar Wastelands––”
“You landed there? Why would you ever do that?”
“We crashed. Trust me, it wasn’t intentional.”
“I see,” she said, intrigued. “That system is a fair distance from here, but if one of our craft is passing that way, I’ll inquire of the captain.”
“Thanks,” Charlie said. “I figure if I’m living under your roof, and since I don’t have any magic, maybe I can still find some way to be useful.”
“I’m sure I’ll find use for you,” she replied with a smile in her eyes that made his stomach twist ever so slightly.
Oh boy. This could get interesting, he mused as he walked back to his room.
Chapter Fourteen
“No, I said I need everyone,” Leila growled as she barged in through the kitchen, right past Magda and her assistants.
Tuktuk and Charlie were enjoying their coffee and pastry on the small landing outside, relaxing on what had, up until that moment, been a tranquil morning.
Charlie had desperately wanted to talk to someone about the events of the prior day, and the cheerful blue man was as close to a confidante as he had on this world. Nevertheless, he realized how dangerous it could be to let any details about his and Ara’s connection slip, even to a trusted friend. One loose lip or overheard comment and things could get very difficult for both of them.
“There you are,” Leila said, spotting Charlie sitting outside the adjacent door. “I need your help.”
“What’s up, Leila? You know Tuktuk, right?”
She cocked her head at him. “Of course I do, Charlie. You’re the new one here, remember?”
“Silly me, being polite.”
“Oh, please. You know what I meant,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Sorry, blue person is a little lost over here. What exactly is going on?” Tuktuk asked with a confused look.
Magda pushed her way past the groundskeeper’s daughter. “I’m sorry, Tuk. She just barged in, raving about the bundabist getting out and tearing up the place.�
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“Well, that would be a problem,” Tuktuk noted.
“I know it’s a problem. But that’s no reason to go running around in a frenzy.”
Leila’s patience was running thin. “Look, they got out, and they’re making a mess of the grounds. And they’ve already torn up some of the new bean crops. Now, if you don’t help me get this under control, Visla Maktan is going to be angry with all of us.”
That got Magda’s attention.
“Oh, all right. I’ll go see who is free to help you. But don’t expect much. We all have our own duties, you know.”
“Thank you, Magda. Anything helps. The more bodies out there, the easier it is to corral them and get them back in their pen. They’re not too bright, but they’re hell to catch once they get wound up.”
“Okay, I’m in,” Charlie said, finishing his coffee in a gulp and rising to his feet. “Now, what exactly are bundabist?”
“You’ll see. Now, come with me. But first we need to get you cleared to cross the perimeter with the others.”
Leila didn’t wait for a reply. Charlie hurried after her down the corridors of the sprawling estate.
“Where are we going?”
“You’re new here, so your collar limits you to the innermost grounds,” she replied. “Most of us are cleared to go beyond the first wall.”
“You mean there are more walls?”
“Oh, yeah. The visla owns the lands as far as you can see in all directions,” she said, quickly weaving through the hallways. “Azkan, there you are.”
A sturdily built man, carrying an assortment of weapons, both magical and conventional, nodded his greeting as she approached. “What is it this time, Leila?” he groaned. “Another false intruder alarm at the outer perimeter?”
“No. And I tell you, I saw someone.”