Dragon-Ridden

by T. A. White

  Danny dumped the gems back into their bag and held them out to her. Tate didn’t immediately reach for them and stared at the bag. Danny shook it at her in exasperation.

  “These are barrier stones,” he finally told her. He grabbed her hand and dropped the bag into it. It was either catch them or let them fall. She caught them. It was more reflex than choice.

  “Is that supposed to be an explanation?”

  “For most people, yes, it would be an explanation,” he said, striving for patience. Usually he didn’t have to explain things like this. People just knew. In some ways Tate understood things few only vaguely grasped. At times though, it was as if she was a child discovering the world for the first time. “They can create a barrier which prevents others from entering.”

  “Like magic?” Tate asked incredulous. “You gave me magic stones.” Something in her voice must have hinted at her disbelief.

  “Tate, magic exists.”

  “Really? Because Trent’s experience would suggest otherwise.”

  Danny rolled his eyes. “All that suggests is that he has poor judgment and should never be let off the ship un-chaperoned. I don’t know what it was like where you were, but magic is real. I’ve seen it. Furthermore, Aurelia has an academy of mages. So you’d best start believing before you inadvertently insult one and end up an experiment.”

  Tate eyed the stones doubtfully. Magic? She’d heard the crew talk about it before. She’d even been accused a witch. She’d thought it was just superstition, though.

  “This is the part where you say ‘oh thank you Danny, how thoughtful.’ Those are expensive, you know.”

  “Ah. Right. Thank you ever so much,” she said in a sugary sweet voice. More sincerely she said, “Really, thank you, but if I get that weird creepy crawly feeling every time I use them, I probably won’t get much use out of them.”

  Danny gave her a strange look. She thought it might be because she’d appeared ungrateful for the crew’s gift, but touching the stones had been unpleasant. It felt like it’d left a fine coating of gunk on her hand. She wiped her hand against the bedspread again.

  “I’m told that once keyed to the stones you shouldn’t feel anything when you pass through the barrier,” he said, choosing his words carefully.

  “You’re told? You haven’t used them before?”

  “I have, but I’ve never felt what you just described.” Seeing her quizzical look, he explained, “Most people don’t feel anything when keyed to the stones. Only people who are sensitive to magic would.”

  Tate frowned up at him, tilting her head carefully to the side. Preposterous. Before this morning, she hadn’t even fully believed in the possibility of magic. There was no way she could sense it.

  Seeing that he wasn’t going to be able to convince her, he rolled his eyes and kissed her on the forehead. She was startled when he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Hesitant at first she hugged him back. Her throat tightened, and so did her arms.

  “Thanks, Danny, for everything,” she whispered.

  He pulled back and stepped away. For a moment she thought she saw tears, but then the moment passed, and he cleared his throat gruffly.

  “Anyways use those from now on. At least you’ll be able to feel safe when you sleep.”

  That had been a few hours ago. Now she wrestled with what she needed to do and what she wanted to do. The attack had made one thing abundantly clear. Staying on the Marauder was not an option.

  Her heart broke a little bit. Leaving would be tough, but there was no other way.

  Tate rolled onto her side and watched as light slowly trickled into the world. No matter how much pain she was in she could always count on the sun rising to bring in a new day. There was a strange comfort in that. She sighed and threw her arm over her eyes.

  The Marauder would leave this morning.

  In her mind’s eye, she could see the midshipmen slithering up ropes and tying off sails, preparing the ship for voyage while the rest of the crew stored cargo down in the hold. Jost would be at his customary place on the fore deck observing his domain as a king would his subjects. The engineers would be preparing the sun engine for use should the ship need a quick burst of speed in case of attack.

  Tate sighed and rolled onto her back. She held her arm above her head and examined her tattoo. She traced the body with one fingertip. It was so lifelike she could almost imagine she felt scales under her finger pad. It really was a beautiful piece of art. It had to have been painful to get. She’d watched others on the ship get rougher, simpler versions of tattoos, nothing as intricate as hers. The whole business had looked uncomfortable, being jabbed with a needle over and over to work the ink into the skin. She couldn’t imagine sitting still for the hours it would take to do all the intricate detailing required for her tattoo. It just wasn’t in her personality.

  As she traced the tattoo, the skin rippled and the feet of the dragon flexed against her arm, its nails pricking her.

  She gasped and sat straight up in bed. Either she’d drunk bad alcohol and was now hallucinating or the damn dragon had moved.

  She ran her fingers along its flank. Nothing.

  She had felt it move, though. She could have sworn she had. It wasn’t possible. It simply wasn’t.

  She dismissed the stray thought of the dragon-ridden. Women couldn’t become one, and she had no real idea what one was anyway. Granted, she’d heard tales in her journey about mages and magic and things unexplainable in the normal sense of the word, but she’d never credited them as real. She had seen the magic pushers in the markets, the ones who sold elixirs guaranteed to win a person their true love and bring bad luck to ones worst enemy. It wasn’t real though.

  Trent had bought a love potion once and given it to his crush of the moment. She’d slapped him so hard when he tried to kiss her that he lost a tooth, and then she’d called for her brothers. Three strong lads with limbs the size of trees. They’d picked Trent up and taught him the hard way never to trust a magic man selling potions.

  The dragon failed to move even when Tate slapped and pinched at it, twisting the skin. It was as still as a portrait.

  Arg. She didn’t have time for this nonsense. It was time to go. She’d waited until the others had slipped off to sleep, but with dawn’s fingers already spreading across the sky she needed to move.

  Tate rolled to her feet and gathered the few belongings she had. Her hand hesitated over the gift Danny had given her last night. She shook her head firmly. Now wasn’t the time for weakness or flights of fancy.

  Already she could hear the others as they stirred in the room next to her. The inn had thin walls separating each room so it wasn’t difficult to hear what others were doing.

  On catlike feet she moved to the window. Her satchel slung over her back, she swung her legs out and wedged her fingers in a slight dip in the wall. It was a simple task to scale the wall. It was more difficult when she had to reach up and back to grab the eave of the roof. Her heart was in her throat the entire time she worked on getting up and over.

  Not a moment too soon. Jost and a couple of his men came out of the inn moments later. Tate ducked and then chanced a peek over the edge. He was already striding off towards the harbor and his ship.

  She breathed a sigh of relief and ran over the roof in the opposite direction, leaping easily to the next building. The roofs were close enough to create a road over the city if one was limber enough.

  The sky was a deep blue, just one shade lighter than the black that usually preceded dawn. The air was light and crisp against Tate’s face and she shivered, grateful for her long sleeves. Though fall wasn’t fully here, the temperature was significantly lower in the early morning hours.

  The city was peaceful now. The rumble and movement of the previous afternoon was a forgotten dream on the empty slate roofs. Even the birds were asleep in their nests.

  Tate’s sky path came to an end when the next roof proved too far to jump. She back tracked to one of the talle
r buildings and climbed up its walls using man made handholds such as pipes, bricks and ledges.

  By this time the sun had peeked over the horizon, reaching its arms out to the world.

  Tate crouched on the roof and shaded her eyes from the morning sun. She could just make out the sleek shape of the Marauder as its crew scurried about on its decks. Her legs swung back and forth over nothingness while she sat on the edge of the building.

  Gulls screamed a greeting to the new day as she watched the anchor being raised. Slowly, the ship turned towards the mouth of the harbor. The sails unfurled and billowed out as they caught the slight breeze coming off the water. Tate heaved a sigh as she watched it go, her heart aching as one chapter in her life closed.

  When the Marauder had faded from the horizon, Tate leaned back and watched the sky.

  What should she do now? It felt odd not to have a purpose in the day. On ship, there were so many tasks that needed to be done that you never ran out of things to do. There was always someone telling you what needed to be done and how to do it.

  She hadn’t been this rudderless since living alone on her beach.

  Sleep tugged at her. She’d gotten little of it in the past few nights. Although she could go for long periods with little to no sleep, even Tate had her limits. Now that the tension of her decision had drained away with the sailing of the Marauder, her eyes slid closed with a will of their own. She barely had the strength to find a flat service away from the roof’s edge before she was spiraling down into her dreams.

  The sun hot on her face woke her. The shade she’d found had long since disappeared. Her skin felt hot and her throat dry; sweat collected under her clothes. She estimated she’d been sleeping for no more than two hours.

  Tate stretched and groaned. Sleeping on a hard roof did not make for a comfortable rest. A pair of pigeons cooed next to her. At least they hadn’t pooped on her or attacked her in her sleep.

  Her stomach rumbled reminding her she hadn’t eaten breakfast. She put one hand against it and grimaced. When was the last time she’d eaten? Last night? Before the drinking. Maybe. Throwing up later probably hadn’t helped. With reluctance to give up her safe spot amid the birds, Tate climbed down to the street level.

  It was time to face the city.

  She looked around. None of this was familiar. Great. She was lost. She hadn’t really been paying attention to where she was going while running across the rooftops and had no idea where she was. Her stomach growled again. Though she’d hoped to find her way back to yesterday’s marketplace, she’d settle for any food seller.

  If she walked long enough she’d find something to eat eventually, she told herself. Might as well get moving and see what she could find. She started by heading back to the harbor. It was the easiest place in the city to find because you just had to walk down hill until you reached the docks. She hoped if she started from a place she recognized, she’d be able to retrace some of her steps.

  Distracted by hunger, she didn’t notice that she’d picked up a shadow until it was almost too late. Her first thought was Jost had found her. She wrinkled her nose. That couldn’t be. She’d watched him and his crew leave on the Marauder.

  Ryu was still here, though. Perhaps he’d managed to follow her from the inn. That didn’t seem right either. He could have attacked when she was vulnerable and sleeping.

  Nobody else in the city knew her well enough to care who she was. Jost was the only person she could think of who could mean her harm.

  A quick touch to the knives at her side reassured her she was still armed. She rounded a corner and found herself on the docks. Pretending to admire the view, she used peripheral vision to monitor her shadows.

  She’d picked up a few more.

  Coming to the waterfront had been a mistake. With it at her back there were only so many routes she could take to escape, and all of them could be easily blocked. If she’d noticed them sooner she never would have brought them here.

  The decision to move to a better location was taken out of her hands when a pair of footsteps pounded down the dock towards her.

  Tate waited until they were almost upon her before sliding out of the way, helping their owners into the ocean with a tiny little push. Dewdrop hit the water face first after Tate tangled her feet with his. Bones fell in backwards when Tate planted her fist in his chest.

  She surveyed them with her hands on her hips as they sputtered after surfacing. Of all the people she’d been expecting, these two babies weren’t them. She felt like laughing over how anxious she’d been when she’d noticed she was being followed.

  Relief swept over her. Jost wouldn’t send babies to tangle with her. No, he’d send hardened men capable of killing her. She frowned. Hm, not a comforting thought after all.

  The two babies thrashed about attempting to tread water. Tate’s grim mood lightened as she watched Dewdrop go under for a third time. Really, he was kind of pathetic.

  Relenting, she knelt down grabbing an arm and hoisting him up. He landed in a wet puddle, gasping for air. Bones had had the sense to grab the dock and hauled himself out.

  “What is it you were trying to accomplish?” Tate asked.

  “Get bent,” Bones gasped, kneeling by his friend.

  Tate rolled her eyes and shoved him back into the water. These guys really weren’t quick learners. Dewdrop stared at her wide-eyed. Perhaps there was hope for one of them.

  “Now, Dewdrop, I’ll ask again. What exactly were you trying to do?”

  “You’re wasting your time flappin’ your jaws at him,” a voice said behind Tate. “I’m the one you’re wantin’ to speak to.”

  Tate planted a foot on Dewdrop’s chest, holding him in place while she focused on the men who’d gathered behind her. She hadn’t even heard them come up.

  There were three of them. The one in the middle was the one who had spoken. His thin brown hair was slicked back away from his face with a gold stud sparkling from one ear. His forearms were heavily muscled and sported several faded tattoos.

  The companion on his left was a few inches shorter than him but equally as intimidating. His jet-black hair was cut short and close to his scull. His features were as sharp as a knife and his eyes pure black. Like Umi’s eyes had been.

  This one, he was a killer. She’d bet everything she had on it. He put Tate in mind of a blade, lethally sharp and deadly silent.

  The last was a giant of a man. Taller than Danny, he was as wide as the other two put together. His pants ended at his anklebones and his shirt ended on his forearms.

  Tate named him Behemoth. She was on a B theme today. Blade, Behemoth, and well she couldn’t think of a name for the leader.

  These three were the types Jost would send after her. The question was did he have time to set the hounds on her before he sailed? She’d waited until the last minute to disappear for this very reason. It was slightly possible he’d sent someone after her. He had contacts everywhere.

  “And what business do you have with me?” she asked politely, not moving her foot from Dewdrop’s chest.

  The three had spread out making it impossible for Tate to slip past. Between Blade and Behemoth, it would be a tough fight. One Tate wasn’t entirely sure she could win. Add in the two kids as distraction and she was reasonably certain she wouldn’t make it far without being over powered.

  “You stopped the lads from completin’ their job yesterday, and we wanted to know why.”

  Jost hadn’t arranged this then. Thank the Saviors.

  Tate narrowed her eyes. She still was in trouble. Just a different kind than she had thought.

  She curled her lip. Figured these two were working with a crew. Most low-level pickpockets did. She hadn’t even considered that fact when she had interfered. Most times, she wasn’t in port long enough to have to think about the consequences of her actions.

  From the corner of her eye, she checked out the water. She could always take a morning swim. It’d be cold, but it’d be a better pro
spect than getting her ass kicked by a bunch of thugs.

  “Ah, before you go thinkin’ to take a swim, I’d best warn you that my boyo over there is a half,” the man said to the one she called Blade.

  Huh? She’d never heard the term before. “Half? Half what? Half brained? Half angry?”

  Blade’s lips twitched slightly, but other than that his expression remained smooth. The leader just looked baffled. He’d never before had to explain the meaning.

  “Half Kairi.”

  Ah. No wonder his eyes reminded Tate of Umi. Though Tate was still a little confused. What did that have to do with anything?

  “So?”

  Leader’s jaw dropped and he stared at her in dumb founded amazement. Blade looked a bit more interested in her. “So? So he’s practically half-fish. Don’t you know anythin’?” Leader waved his hands through the air cutting off Tate’s next response. “It doesn’t matter. You’re coming with us.”

  “Why?” Tate cocked her head to the side.

  She didn’t want to go with him. His way probably meant no food and she was hungry.

  “Doesn’t matter why,” Leader snapped. “Get movin’.”

  Tate turned her options over carefully. There weren’t many.

  No way she’d be able to get passed the three, not without taking a lot of damage. They knew what they were doing by paring Blade and Behemoth up. Focus on Blade’s quickness and Behemoth would clobber you. Try to do something about Behemoth and Blade could dart in and kill you. Leader could be bluffing about Blade’s quickness in water, but if he wasn’t, Tate would be out matched even more so there than she would be on land. The only real option was to do what they wanted and look for an opportunity to escape.

  Bones had made it back onto the dock while Tate decided what to do. He rubbed at his chest and glared at her as he edged past, keeping a careful distance between them. He joined the other three almost at a run.

  Tate sighed and removed her foot from Dewdrops chest. He hesitantly got to his feet. When she didn’t make any threatening moves, he straightened and walked speedily to join the others.