Drinking Destiny

by Pippa Amberwine

  Ypalde looked around the room as she sipped on her drink.

  “Yes. I will. I just need to pack some clothes and bring my sewing. There’s no reason why I can’t do that too while I’m there, and I wouldn’t want to let anyone down.”

  Katie jumped up, clapping her hands in excitement.

  I couldn’t help thinking how desperate Ypalde must have been to swap what she had for an uncertain time with someone she didn’t know doing all manner of experiments on her blood, but I was still glad she had decided. If she hadn’t, I was going to suggest to Katie that they ask Ypalde to come and join our little group rather than live like a character from a particularly sad fairy tale.

  It took only a few minutes for her to pack her things in an old backpack and tie up her sewing with some string in a couple of bundles. I volunteered to carry them while Katie got to carry the sewing box. It was the only possession, besides clothes, that Ypalde opted to take. She spent a minute out in the backyard, putting out the fire and bringing her kettle indoors, and then she was ready to go.

  When she took a few moments to look around before we left, I wondered if she was going to change her mind, but eventually, she turned, her eyes shining even more than they had before, and walked straight out the front door without looking back.

  I closed it behind me on the way out.

  As soon as we got outside, something seemed off. We had been walking for no more than a few minutes when Katie elbowed me gently.

  “We’re being followed,” she whispered. I was about to look around when she said sharply, “Don’t look.”

  “How will I see if we’re being followed?”

  “You won’t. Just take it from me. When we came out, I noticed Cole was across the road talking to some other guy, a military-looking type. He’s the one following us.”

  “Seems odd,” I said. “I mean Nindock’s town isn’t so big that he couldn’t find us whenever he wanted to, and if he’s interested in where we’re taking Ypalde, it’s only a question of him going to Carol’s. He’ll see her there anyway.”

  “So why follow us?”

  “I have no idea. I’d suggest we just keep going. Oscar will be on guard at Carol’s anyway, so Ypalde should be safe if we make sure to tell him to keep a close eye on Cole and his friend.”

  “And not to drink coffee that Cole supplies.” Katie laughed a little. “He’s got to be slipping something into the coffee he gives to Oscar.”

  “Yeah, that too. You don’t think we should try to lose him in the marketplace before we get to Carol’s? At least it would keep her arrival there a secret a little bit longer.”

  “Well, we could, I suppose, but I can’t see how it will help much.”

  “It’ll let Cole know we’re onto him. That might persuade him to back off.”

  “I guess it would be worth it for that. How are we going to do this?” Katie asked.

  “I know a couple of the stallholders. When we get there, I’ll lead us to a stall. You buy something, it doesn’t matter what, and I’ll set things up with the stallholder. I need to get a look at the guy first though, so I can describe him.” I stopped to look at some plants that were laid out on a table outside one of the houses near the market.

  Katie caught on quickly, talking to Ypalde while I managed to get a good look at the man following us who had stopped farther back along the road, leaning against a wall nonchalantly.

  Once I had his appearance fixed in my mind, I nodded at Katie and we carried on.

  At the market, we mingled among the crowds until I reached the stall I had in mind. The baker was someone I’d helped out a couple of times with little things, and it was time for me to call in a favor. One he rapidly agreed to.

  “Sounds like the most fun I’ll have all week,” he said.

  Katie made a couple of small purchases, and the baker wrapped them up and handed them over. Before we set back off, I checked that the man was still behind us. He was. In fact, he was closer to us, obviously concerned he might lose us in the crowd.

  If I had my way, that was exactly what was about to happen.

  “You okay?” I asked Katie.

  “Yep. What’s going to happen?”

  “You’ll know when it does. By the way, we owe the baker a day’s takings.”

  “A whole day? How much—”

  Katie was interrupted by a sudden upsurge in noise. Screams, shouts, and general chaos erupted. I twisted around at the same time as Katie to see the baker’s stand completely upended. People were trapped underneath it. Women were screaming and yelling. Men were shouting and trying to lift the stand while the baker charged around telling them to leave it where it was as he tried to salvage his stock. Arguments between the men broke out with them pushing and shoving each other.

  “A very satisfying conclusion,” I said and turned back. Ypalde was seemingly unperturbed by the hubbub and was serenely wandering her way through the stands, touching and stroking fabric, admiring a stand full of sewing goods, and gazing longingly at the range of foodstuffs available.

  It was gratifying to think she might be able to afford a few small things for herself soon.

  We didn’t need to run to lose the tail, whoever he was, and when I saw Cole again, I would make sure he was aware that we knew the man was following us—without being too obvious about it of course—and that we had dealt with it.

  I actually felt really good about it. Sorry for the baker, although I was sure Katie would compensate him because he would lose a day’s trade, but glad that I’d been able to think on my feet quickly to change an annoying situation into one that suited us.

  The rest of the walk to Carol’s was uneventful—and unfollowed—as evidenced by nobody being behind us as we took a roundabout route, switching from left to right turns when we could have carried straight on.

  I was pretty sure Ypalde knew something was going on.

  “I’ll be safe here, won’t I?” she asked as we took the last turn to Carol’s place.

  “You will. I promise,” I said. “And I’ll come to see you often to make sure everything is okay.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Just one thing I should tell you,” Katie said, hesitating.

  “Go on.”

  “Carol, she’s the scientist, is a little disorganized. Her place is a bit of a mess.”

  “I get the feeling it’s more than a bit of a mess,” Ypalde said. “How bad is it?”

  “Well, you’ll see for yourself now because we’re here.”

  We stepped onto the porch. Oscar looked up, eyed Ypalde up and down, and then went back to reading his book.

  I opened the door, held it open for Katie and Ypalde to step in, and then closed it behind me.

  The main room was as bad as ever, and Ypalde looked around at the mess, wide-eyed. When we headed to the kitchen, Carol was working on an experiment and jumped when she saw Ypalde.

  “That’s not my daughter, Katie,” Carol said, and then her face broke out into a grin. It was good to see she had kept a sense of humor through all this.

  “This is Ypalde, Carol. She’s your sun dragon.”

  “Really? That’s fantastic that you found her so soon.” Carol held out her hand from the other side of the table at Ypalde, who looked at it suspiciously. “I’m really pleased to meet you.” Katie showed Ypalde how to shake hands, and eventually Ypalde gripped and shook Carol’s hand.

  “We were wondering,” I said, “if it made sense for Ypalde to live here with you. If you have space.”

  Carol looked at Ypalde’s stick-thin figure. “I have two spare rooms upstairs. If you want to stay, you can.”

  Ypalde gave Carol a beautiful smile of gratitude. “Yes, please.”

  “You need to make sure she comes to no harm, Carol, which includes being very careful about letting Cole in too. We’re not sure what he’s up to.”

  “I’ll make sure. Listen, Ypalde, you look like you need a good meal. I have some sandwiches in the fridge, which you are welco
me to. They should tide you over until dinner.”

  I was quick to jump in and say, “Maybe when we’re done here.” I thought Ypalde would run out of the room screaming if she had to have one of Carol’s odious concoctions.

  “While you’re all here, maybe, Katie, I could take a sample of your blood? It’ll be useful to gauge against Ypalde’s to see how effective it is.”

  “Sure,” Katie said.

  The sample was taken quickly, and Katie rolled down her sleeve.

  I was ready to go. Ypalde needed to settle in, and I wanted to get back in time for our guard-duty slot.

  As I made my way to the door, the air began to shimmer and swirl. A rift was opening right in front of me.

  It could mean only one thing.

  Chapter Seven

  Katie

  Pathya, Dracos

  WHEN I SAW the rift opening in front of Jevyn, my first thought was that Lynnette was going to put in an appearance, but once it cleared, a messenger from Dracos stepped through. The swirling of the air upset Carol greatly, and she and Ypalde ended up chasing after sheets of paper as they flew up and around the room.

  That was when I thought it might be a good idea to ship out; so when Jevyn said he had to go back to Dracos at the request of his mom, I insisted on leaving with him.

  That was how we ended up in Lalnu’s great chamber in the Pathya Palace, waiting for her to put in an appearance. Nothing much seemed to have changed since the last time we were there, including, when she arrived, the glare of ill feeling Lalnu gave me.

  The messenger had simply said there was an emergency in Dracos, and so far, that was all we’d been able to find out.

  When she sat on her throne, Jevyn inclined his head slightly. “Mother, your messenger said there was an emergency. I hope this wasn’t just a ploy to get me back here.”

  “No, my son. This was no ploy. There is an emergency, but I did not want to burden the messenger with the details in case he should happen to blurt it out to one of his acquaintances.”

  “Okay. So, what’s the problem?”

  I couldn’t help but notice the hint of irritation in his voice.

  “There has been an outbreak, as a result of your travels back and forth to Earth and the presence of that girl.” She pointed at me, which immediately got my hackles up. I was not some stupid little piece of fluff, and if she wasn’t careful, queen or not, she would feel the blunt end of one of my fists. “And, of course, the young man who was working with Famil.”

  Jevyn looked at me. I just shrugged. What else could I do? I couldn’t see how the virus could have crossed over or how it might be affecting the dragons. Carol had made no mention of it having any effect on dragon blood. In fact, quite the reverse.

  “Where is the outbreak?” Jevyn asked.

  “There are several, and the reports about what the people who have been infected are doing are absolutely terrifying.”

  “And this is in Pathya?”

  “Well, no. All of the reports so far have come in from Grayfair.”

  “Grayfair? But that is clear across the continent, three thousand miles away. Neither Katie or Nova have been anywhere near Grayfair.”

  “Be that as it may, son. They are the only humans from Earth who have been over here, so they must have spread the virus, maybe to a traveler who was here from Grayfair. My council and I wish to know, young lady, how you were able to spread the virus so widely and so quickly?” Lalnu fixed me with her narrow-eyed stare.

  “Show me?” I said.

  “I beg your pardon.” Lalnu’s eyes widened in shock.

  I got the feeling before that she didn’t like being ignored, and that was reinforced by her melodramatic overreaction to my question.

  I wasn’t about to give up though. “Show me where Grayfair is on a map?”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’d like to see. Knowing where it is on a map might help me explain, Your Majesty.” I added the last words as a nod to her position, even if she wasn’t my queen.

  “I’m not sure I can accept much more of your insolence, young lady,” Lalnu said, but after locking eyes for a few seconds and not looking away, she backed down. “Very well, Jevyn, could you please go and find a map?”

  Jevyn came back after an awkward minute of silence between Lalnu and me and laid the map out on a table that stood against one wall.

  It was the weirdest thing to see, because essentially it looked exactly like a map of Earth. My geography wasn’t the best, but Grayfair looked to me like it was exactly where New York was on Earth, and Pathya seemed to be somewhere between San Francisco and LA, so as Jevyn had said, clear across the country.

  “Does that help?” Lalnu asked haughtily.

  “Not really. As Jevyn said, I have had no real contact with anyone over here, and we’ve already established that the only way a dragon can get the virus is by drinking human blood. Nobody has had any of my blood, so unless Nova has been feeding a hungry dragon while he was over here, I don’t see how either of us could have anything to do with it.”

  “So, what do you think has happened if you two aren’t to blame?”

  “Is it just dragons on Pathya?” I asked, determined to shift the blame away from me and Nova.

  “There are other races, but no humans,” Jevyn said.

  “Well, the only thing I can think of is that somehow somebody slipped through a rift in New York and ended up at Grayfair.”

  “But you just said that a dragon would have to drink human blood. No right-minded dragon would do that,” Lalnu said with a look of disgust creasing her face.

  “Maybe, and this is just me guessing now, the virus has mutated and can be passed on differently. It has happened on Earth many times before.”

  “What does that mean for Pathya?” Lalnu asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m not a scientist. Until it’s established what the virus is, it’s impossible to work out where it originated. You need samples and laboratories working on it.” I didn’t like the sound of what I was saying. I remembered what it was like when the VAMP virus first re-emerged on Earth. I would hate that to happen to Pathya.

  Lalnu drew herself up, peering down at us. “The very first thing we need to do is completely close every rift permanently and stop travelers moving across. I told you some time ago that was my decree, but Jevyn, you seem determined to ignore it. Why?”

  Jevyn blushed slightly. I thought I knew the reason why, but I wasn’t going to say it in front of Lalnu. If Jevyn wanted to say, then fair enough, but if not, I’d back him up.

  “Because of Nindock and his people. We can’t just leave them over there. We are responsible for all dragons and have to ensure they are safe, and until then, rifts still need to be opened, and frankly, Mother, you can’t stop me.”

  “I see you’ve been taking lessons in etiquette from your little friend,” Lalnu said with a surreptitious glance at me.

  “I have learned a great deal from Katie, and from all the other people on Earth, and none of it had anything to do with etiquette or protocol.”

  The two of them locked eyes for a moment before Lalnu spoke again.

  “I have made my decree, and I have people working on closing all rifts. You have a week to get Nindock’s people back. After that, all rifts—whether made by dragons, humans, or by machine—will be closed, never to open again. Do you understand?”

  “Perfectly, Mother.”

  “Then go back to Earth and start to get them back here, and I will see you back here in a week’s time—alone.”

  Jevyn turned away, and I followed him out from the chamber of the wicked witch of the west.

  “Damn,” Jevyn said. “A week is not long.”

  “No, it isn’t.” My heart sank when I heard those words from Lalnu. It might mean that the week we had enjoyed at Nindock’s town could be the only time I would get to spend with Jevyn properly. I understood that he had a loyalty to Pathya and Dracos. My only chance was if his loyalty to me could possib
ly overcome the ingrained feelings he had for his home. If not, he would be gone in a week.

  I shook my head, determined to put the thoughts out of my mind.

  “I want to go see Famil,” I was curious if she had made any progress, and I knew Nova would appreciate an update.

  “Really?” Jevyn twisted his neck around to see my face. “Nova and Famil?”

  “Yeah, I think so. Nova’s not the type to say too much, but I think he developed some feelings for Famil while he was here.”

  “Oh, I can’t wait to rib her about that,” Jevyn said, his worried face looking less concerned.

  “Don’t you dare. Now,” I said, making sure no one was watching first, “out of your clothes and into your dragon form. Let’s get to Eastborne.”

  Jevyn looked around quickly, saw we were alone, and in a flash, he’d stripped and changed. Too quickly for my liking, but that wasn’t the right moment for thinking about the physical. We had two planets to try to save.

  Chapter Eight

  Katie

  Famil’s laboratory

  Eastborne, Dracos

  THE RIDE OVER to Eastborne on Jevyn’s back was as exhilarating as usual, even though I had a lot to think about.

  When we got up to Famil’s lab, the first thing that occurred to me was the comparison between her office and workstations and Carol’s chaotic arrangement. It wasn’t a fair comparison, but even so, it was very obvious.

  Famil greeted us both with warm hugs.

  “Katie, lovely to see you again. Tell me, how is Nova?”

  I glanced over at Jevyn and couldn’t help a small smile. It was cute that they had gotten along so well and clearly thought a lot of each other.

  “He’s good. He talks about you often.”

  I really liked the way she blushed at that piece of news. Something to store away and pass on to Nova whenever we got a quiet minute together.

  “So, Famil, any progress at your end?” I asked.

  Famil stood and walked over to the door to her lab, looked out of it both ways, and then gently closed it. “Best to avoid anyone overhearing,” she said quietly. “As you know, I’ve only been able to work on this in my spare time and without anyone knowing about it, so progress is limited. So far all I’ve really been able to do is confirm what I thought about the way the virus is transmitted.”