Kate was abashed.
“I am sorry, sir. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Dalgren was willing to give his own life for the honor of the Brigade, but then he was wounded and nearly killed by his own comrades. Where is the honor in that?”
“I know that this seems very complicated,” Stephano said. “I have done some things in my life that were not so honorable. The aforementioned smuggling was my way of lashing out at the country that had wronged me. I am still trying to make up for my misdeeds, restore my own honor.”
Kate looked at Dalgren, who was talking with Lord Haelgrund.
“When will he have to leave for Below, sir?”
“His Grace, the Duke of Talwin, will make that determination. He will likely assign a dragon such as Lord Haelgrund to escort Dalgren to Capione and the floating fortress. From there, he can fly down through the Breath to reach the city of Dunlow.”
“He could die making that flight, couldn’t he, sir?” Kate said.
“He could,” said Stephano. He followed her gaze. “My guess would be that he and Lord Haelgrund are discussing that right now. You can go join them, if you would like.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Kate. “I especially appreciate what you did for Dalgren. You and Mistress Miri saved his life. I also thank you for keeping my secret.”
“I could not let Dalgren suffer for my sins, could I?” said Stephano with a wry smile. “A word of advice, Captain. Do not remain in Rosia long.”
“I don’t plan to, sir,” said Kate.
Lord Haelgrund was offering advice about flying below the Breath. He spoke in serious tones and Dalgren was listening, but Kate wondered how much he was really comprehending. He seemed in a daze, as though he had been inhaling burley smoke, a dragon form of intoxicant. His head bobbed, his eyes glistened, his tail twitched.
Lord Haelgrund noticed Kate approaching and broke off the conversation.
“I will leave you two to celebrate in private. I need to talk to the Duke of Talwin.”
“Thank you for everything, my lord,” said Kate.
Lord Haelgrund looked grim. “Your friend has no idea of the danger he faces, not only traveling Below but once he arrives there. The Bottom Dwellers have no love for dragons. I tried to tell him, but he won’t listen. Perhaps you can convince him. Being Banished trumps being dead.”
Lord Haelgrund lumbered off, rumbling to himself.
Dalgren grinned at her, baring his fangs. “I am away to the Bottom of the world. Perhaps Akiel could cast one of his warming spells on me.”
Kate rested her hand on his foreleg. “Oh, Dalgren—”
Dalgren closed his jaws, lowered his head.
“You must not call me by that name, Kate,” he said. “I no longer have a name.”
“The hell you don’t! I’ll call you whatever I damn well please!” Kate returned angrily.
Dalgren stubbornly shook his head. Kate sighed and rubbed his scaly skin.
“Are you sure about this decision you’ve made? Did you even listen to what Lord Haelgrund was trying to tell you?”
“I am as sure as I have ever been of anything in my life,” said Dalgren. He spoke with dignity, and his eyes were clear. “Lord Haelgrund thinks I do not understand the danger. Perhaps I don’t, for I have never been to the Bottom of the world and he has. But that doesn’t matter. What if you had to go through the rest of your life never talking to another human being? Never again seeing your family or your friends?”
“You would have me,” said Kate quietly.
Dalgren lowered his head to look at her in the eyes.
“I know I have you, Kate, and I am grateful. You are a true friend. But we must both face the truth. One day you will leave me and where you go, I cannot follow.”
Kate knew what he meant. She might live to a ripe old age; she had heard of humans who had lived eighty or even ninety years. But those years were the blink of an eye to the long-lived dragons. When she was dead, Dalgren would be alone and without his kind, he would live alone, in unending silence. A living death.
“I do understand,” said Kate. “And I am going with you.”
Dalgren reared up with a bellow. “Like hell you are!”
Heads turned, conversations stopped. Humans and dragons were staring at them. Kate remembered a little late she should not be drawing attention to herself.
“Calm down! People are staring. How do you propose to stop me?” Kate asked.
“I won’t have to,” Dalgren muttered, glowering. “How do you propose to travel to the bottom of the world?”
Kate had to admit she had no idea. She had not given any thought to how she would travel or how this journey would disrupt her life. She would be leaving behind her dreams of working for Sir Henry, restoring Barwich Manor, perhaps of rounding a corner of the street one day and running into Thomas …
“I’ll find a way,” said Kate, smiling.
“You have no idea what dangers you will be facing!” Dalgren said angrily.
“Neither do you,” said Kate. “So I guess we should face them together.”
Dalgren snorted two gouts of flame from his nose, then he saw someone approaching and his demeanor abruptly changed. He lowered his head in respect.
Kate turned to see the Trundler woman, Miri.
“Master,” Dalgren said, his voice trembling. “I cannot thank you enough. You have given me back my life.”
“You may not thank me once you are Below,” said Miri, smiling. She paused, then turned to Kate. “Forgive me, Mistress. I could not help overhearing your conversation. I admire your loyalty to your friend. If you are serious about accompanying Dalgren to Dunlow, you can sail with me and Gythe. We are leaving soon to carry supplies to Father Jacob.”
“Thank you so much,” said Kate. “But … well … a Trundler houseboat…”
Miri laughed. “Have no fear! We do not sail Below in our houseboat. We have a small ship that is specially equipped to make the journey.”
“Then, yes, I accept,” Kate said, casting Dalgren a look of defiance. “It will be an adventure.”
Miri regarded Kate with earnest gravity. “Dalgren is right. You should understand the dangers you will face, Mistress. You will be in a strange and desolate land with people who have no love for you and will resent you for trying to help them. You will often be alone. A day in the world Below can seem a year. A year can seem forever.”
“Whatever the danger, I will face it with my friend,” said Kate.
Dalgren snorted again and rolled his eyes. But he shifted his forefoot closer to her, pressing against her. Kate rested her hand on his claw and gave him a pat.
“Good,” said Miri. “Then that’s settled. I came to tell Dalgren that His Grace has granted permission for you to go hunting, since you have already given your parole that you will return.”
“Please thank His Grace,” said Dalgren. “I haven’t had much appetite lately and I am famished. But you should not use my name, Mistress—”
“Folderol!” said Miri. “You should use your own name for the sake of practicality, if nothing else. Believe me, Father Jacob will not want to constantly have to refer to you as ‘Nameless Dragon.’”
She turned to Kate. “I am to remind you that you have an audience with the duke.”
“Go find something to eat,” Kate told Dalgren. “I have to say good-bye to Captain de Guichen and Her Highness and the others. I will come talk to you when you have returned. I have lots to tell you.”
“I’ll just bet you do,” Dalgren growled.
Kate walked with Miri back down to Grayhollow. Miri introduced Kate to her sister, Gythe, who was talking with Stephano and Sophia and the Countess de Marjolaine. Kate noticed that although Gythe sometimes spoke, her words were shy and halting, and that she was more comfortable using her hands to express her thoughts.
The group ceased their conversation when Miri and Kate arrived. Miri caused a sensation with her announcement.
“Mistress Katherine i
s sailing with Gythe and me when we go Below.”
Sophia gasped and turned deathly pale. Cecile reached out to grasp her hand. Kate seemed to see the countess age, lines of sorrow and remembered fear rippling across the smooth complexion as though a pebble had been thrown into a still and placid pond.
Gythe gave her sister a reproachful look and punched her in the arm.
Miri flushed deeply. “I am so sorry, Your Highness. I should have realized that such news would upset you.”
“I am fine, Miri,” said Sophia. “Please don’t worry. I think you are very brave, Mistress Katherine. The countess and I have been Below, you see. We know the dangers you and your friend will face. I am glad you will not let your friend go alone, though I will worry about you. You must come to visit me the moment you are back and tell me you are safe.”
Hearing her voice tremble as she spoke, Kate recalled the princess saying how the countess had rescued her from the Bottom Dwellers. She had not realized they had carried her Below.
“I do understand the dangers,” said Kate. “I have no love for the Bottom Dwellers. I saw some of the terrible atrocities they committed in the Aligoes. Friends of mine died during the war. But I want to be with Dalgren.”
“The Bottom Dwellers are strong and resilient and they are working hard to survive and to make up for their misdeeds in their past,” said Cecile. “You and Lord Dalgren could both learn from them.”
Kate understood her meaning and flushed. While it was true she had misdeeds of her own to repair, she didn’t need reminding.
Carriages had begun arriving to take the humans back to Cieleterre. Several of the dragons had already departed, taking to the sky, returning to their homes. Kate thought about the Countess Faltihure. She must remember to tell Dalgren to let his mother know the glad outcome. As for his father, Kate hoped he choked on his own flaming bile.
“Our carriage is here, Your Highness,” Cecile said, placing her hand on Sophia’s arm. “We should return to Lord Haelgrund’s. I am half-frozen.”
“And I am certain Bandit is causing all sorts of trouble for Lady Haelgrund,” said Sophia. “Will you travel with us, Mistress Katherine? We can take you back to the inn.”
“Thank you, Your Highness, but I would like to stay to talk with Dalgren for a while,” said Kate.
“Mistress Katherine has a meeting with the Duke of Talwin,” Cecile added.
“You can spend the night with us in the Dragon Song, Mistress Kate,” Miri offered. “We are staying late. I want to speak to the duke myself, as well as Countess Anasi. You can return with us to Cieleterre. Our other boat is in Capione, which is where Dalgren needs to go. We can travel together.”
Sophia smiled at Kate and impulsively kissed her on the cheek. “Promise you will visit me!”
“I promise, Your Highness,” said Kate.
Cecile gave Kate her hand, which was long-fingered, cool, and smooth. “Please give Father Jacob my best regards.”
“I will, my lady,” said Kate.
Cecile cast Stephano a cool glance. “You and Lord Haelgrund are not to stay too long reminiscing with your friends, my son. We cannot sit down to dinner without you.”
“We will be along shortly, Mother,” said Stephano.
The countess and the princess entered the carriage. Sophia leaned out the window to wave. “Good-bye, Miri! Good-bye, Gythe! Give Doctor Ellington a kiss for me!”
As the carriage rolled away, Sophia called out to Miri, “And take care of Kate!”
“We will!” Miri called back.
Kate wondered about Doctor Ellington. “Do you travel with a physician?”
Gythe laughed and shook her head. She shaped her fingers into claws. Kate looked at her in perplexity.
“You must forgive my sister, Mistress Kate,” said Miri. “Gythe is capable of speech, but she prefers to talk with her hands. Doctor Ellington is a cat.”
“I hope you like cats,” said Gythe, her words halting and soft.
Olaf had kept a cat around the Parrot to deal with rodents, but it had been a business-minded cat, not inclined to make friends. Kate did not know if she liked cats or not, although she did think that if a cat could travel safely Below, the journey couldn’t be all that bad.
She assured Gythe that she would be fine traveling with a cat; then Miri and Gythe and Stephano excused themselves and left to go speak to Countess Anasi. Lord Haelgrund lumbered up to Kate.
“His Grace, the Duke of Talwin, will see you now, Mistress.”
The duke was talking with Countess Anasi and several of the other dragons, discussing something in their own language. Seeing Kate approach, the dragons broke off their conversation and turned their heads in her direction.
“The Countess de Marjolaine said you had something of importance to tell us, Mistress,” said the duke. “You may speak.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” said Kate. “Have you heard of a dragon named Coreg?”
The dragons had been gently fanning the air with their wings, bobbing their heads. At the sound of Coreg’s name, however, they stilled their wings, and their heads snapped around to fix Kate with unblinking eyes.
“We have heard of Coreg,” said the duke. His tongue flicked over his fangs, as though he were ridding himself of a bad taste. “What about him?”
“I knew him, Your Grace,” said Kate. “He was foul and corrupt. He was involved in all manner of criminal activities throughout the world. He murdered others, so perhaps it is just that he himself was murdered. But that is not what I came to tell you.”
The dragons waited in silence. She had their undivided attention now.
Kate drew in a breath and forged on. “Coreg had many humans working for him. Most were flunkies who did his dirty work. They’re dead, as well. But one was special and he is alive and extremely dangerous. Coreg called him Trubgek. Dalgren taught me some of your language and I know that is the most insulting word a dragon can use for a human.”
“What makes this Trubgek special?” the duke asked.
“Coreg taught him dragon magic, Your Grace,” said Kate.
The dragons gazed at her, still not moving. Then the Duke of Talwin smiled, lips parting, showing his yellowed fangs. Some of the other dragons stretched their necks and shook out their manes in what for dragons was a laugh. Countess Anasi politely endeavored to hide her amusement, but did not quite succeed, for little tendrils of smoke escaped from the corners of her mouth.
Kate was annoyed. “I am telling the truth, Your Grace. I have seen this Trubgek perform powerful magicks, far beyond those of which any human is capable. I am a crafter myself, and I know magic.”
“He is likely nothing more than a talented savant, Mistress,” said the duke. He glanced at the others and asked casually, “Out of curiosity, where is this human now? Do you know?”
“The last I heard, he was sailing to Bheldem and that he might be working for some marquis … the Marquis of Cavanaugh. I don’t know more than that.”
“Thank you for coming to us with this information, Mistress, but I don’t believe there is any cause for alarm,” said the duke. “We understand you are traveling Below with your friend. We wish you both luck.”
The meeting was clearly at an end. Kate walked off, shrugging. She had warned them. If they chose not to believe her, that was their prerogative. She had done her duty.
The dragons strolled off in various directions. Miri and Gythe and Stephano began talking to Countess Anasi, laughing about something. Kate had no one and she felt isolated and alone. She went off in pursuit of Dalgren and found him hungrily devouring one deer with another carcass waiting.
Dalgren crunched bones, talking with his mouth full. “So tell me what happened to your hair and how you come to be in such exalted company, wearing fancy dresses and furs, hugging princesses and hobnobbing with dukes.”
Kate sat down on a boulder. “They were all very kind to me—the dukes and the countesses and the princesses. They are good people. But they are not ou
r people,” she added, thinking of Thomas. “We don’t fit into their world.”
“True,” Dalgren agreed somberly. “We belong at the Bottom.”
* * *
That night, the Countess de Marjolaine was alone in her room in Lord Haelgrund’s spacious palace. Like most dragon dwellings, the palace had been built with special rooms for humans, who prefer to sleep in warm beds with tapestries on the walls and cozy rugs on the floors as opposed to the cavelike rooms preferred by dragons.
Cecile sat before the mirror, brushing out her long hair, reflecting on the day’s events. Someone tapped on the door. Her maid answered and came back with a letter.
“This was just delivered, my lady.”
Cecile noted the paper, the type used by human scribes. The seal was that of the Duke of Talwin, a mountain peak wreathed with clouds.
Cecile broke the seal and opened the letter. It was brief.
The rumors regarding a human and dragon magic are true. The human is named Trubgek. He was last known to be sailing for Bheldem. Such information coincides with ours that he could be in the employ of the Marquis of Cavanaugh.
As Cecile read the brief missive her brow wrinkled. She began to pace the floor, her weariness forgotten. Arriving at a decision, she crumpled the letter and threw it into the flames, then sat down at her desk to write. Her first letter was to an old and dear friend.
My dear Lord Ander,
How pleased I am to write “Lord Ander” instead of “Sir Ander.” I know you find the accolades heaped upon you embarrassing, but you richly deserve them.
The last you wrote to me, you had retired from active duty to live upon the stipend given to you by His Majesty in return for your meritorious service. I would rejoice that you are at last able to rest after a long and glorious career, but, knowing you, I fear that you are already starting to find the life of a civilian frightfully dull.
If that is true, I was wondering if you could do me a great favor, the performance of which would certainly not be boring. I am returning to my son’s palace shortly. I would be pleased if you would call upon me.
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