Silas rode off and Brigid said, “I think your friend makes him nervous.”
Yaz smiled and patted the dragon’s neck. “They do take some getting used to. Once they know you there shouldn’t be any trouble, unless they get really hungry.”
They started walking back to Brigid’s farm. She was careful to keep Yaz between her and the dragon. Now that he was here, the beast seemed content to trot along beside them the same as Rum, who was keeping a good hundred yards away. Yaz held a hand on the dragon’s neck, murmuring nonsense to it every so often.
After a tense walk, they reached the farm. Yaz frowned. “I don’t have my butcher knife.”
“Dad keeps one in the shed. You can use that.” Brigid edged around Yaz and the dragon, making her way to the little shed where they kept their tools and retrieved a long straight knife they only brought out during harvest time. “Will this work?”
“It’s perfect, thanks.” Yaz accepted the knife and led the dragon to the sheep paddock.
He went through the gate and started cutting up the nearest carcass. One leg then another went down the dragon’s gullet and soon the entire sheep had been consumed. As he started on the second sheep rustling came from the north. Five pairs of glowing eyes appeared in the dark and soon enough the remaining dragons came trotting up. Probably smelled the sheep blood.
They ignored Brigid and ran up to Yaz, who smiled and patted each of them before handing out more treats. For most of an hour he cut up sheep and fed the dragons until each of them had eaten two full carcasses and only a handful remained in the paddock. With their meal finished the dragons curled into balls like a bunch of cats and went to sleep.
Yaz cleaned the knife on some grass and left the paddock. “Is there somewhere I can clean up?”
“The well’s this way.” Brigid led him to the pump and worked it while he scrubbed the blood from his hands and the knife. He dried the blade on his shirt and handed it back to her. “Thanks.”
“Thank you for the loan.”
“Not just for giving the knife back, but for coming to get me. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I don’t know what might have happened. I thought that dragon was going to tear me limb from limb. Then you show up and they act like well-trained hounds.”
“They’re more like semi-domesticated wolves. Soto was probably hoping you’d give her something to eat. The dragons associate humans with being fed so she wasn’t likely to hurt you unless someone she recognized gave her the kill command. Did you find any sign of your parents?”
Brigid shook her head. “You?”
“No. The whole village is empty as far as I can tell. I suspect all the farms will be the same. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to find my parents. Damned if I know how, but I’m going to try.”
“I’m with you no matter what. I bet Silas will help too. What about the dragons?”
“That’s the tricky part. After everything I fed them, they’ll probably sleep for a few days. There are plenty of sheep, but like I said, they don’t really know how to hunt. I’ll probably have to catch and butcher enough sheep to last them for a couple months. After that they’ll have to figure it out on their own. Hopefully we’ll be back before that becomes a problem.
“Why don’t we head back and search for clues,” Brigid said. “Who knows, maybe Silas already found something.”
“That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” Yaz grinned and Brigid’s heart melted a little. She had always liked him, but when he stepped in front of that dragon to protect her, she knew it was more than that. Whether he felt the same she didn’t know. With everyone gone the gods only knew where, now probably wasn’t the best time to explore what she felt, but that time would come. She knew it.
Silas got back to town a little less than an hour after leaving his new friends behind with the dragon. He shook his head and nudged his mount toward the inn’s hitching rail. He’d seen some crazy things but when that kid ran in front of the dragon without a moment’s hesitation then talked it down and even petted it like an oversized dog he about fainted. Granted he wasn’t used to dealing with dragons, but still, a single bite would have cut him in half.
He dismounted and tied up all three horses in Wicked’s dim light. Something flashed and Silas bent down. There was a silver coin on the ground, not an imperial scale, but an older design. One side had a mountain and the other the bust of a man wearing a crown. He didn’t recognize the king, but like he told Yaz earlier, he was no scholar. Maybe the kid would know who it was, he seemed to know everything else.
“I shouldn’t think of him as a kid,” Silas said. “Those two can’t be more than a few years younger than me.”
Wicked just floated in front of him. Silas doubted his familiar understood much beyond simple commands, but they’d been traveling alone together for so long Silas had gotten in the habit of talking to the little undead like it was a real person. It felt strange having actual companions. Companions he could trust.
He shuddered to think what might’ve happened if he tried to explore that ruin without Yaz to guide him around the traps. He’d have died in ten minutes. The three of them made a good team. Silas suspected the offer of sanctuary wasn’t much good now that all the people had vanished.
And where could they have gone? There had to be magic involved, but he’d never heard of magic capable of kidnapping an entire village. Even the Five Elemental Dragons, the most powerful wizards in the world, couldn’t do something like this. Silas wasn’t sure he wanted to know who could.
Silas wandered around the empty village, looking for clues and trying without much luck to come up with a theory that fit what had happened. People didn’t just disappear into thin air.
“Silas!”
Sounded like Yaz and Brigid had returned. He turned toward the north gate, emerging from between the inn and general store just as his companions reached the horses out front. They appeared unharmed.
“So you didn’t get eaten,” Silas said. “Congratulations.”
Yaz grinned, looking far younger than his true age. “Thanks. Did you find anything interesting?”
“As a matter of fact…” Silas pulled the coin out of his pocket and flipped it to Yaz. “Ever seen one like this before?”
Yaz snatched it out of the air and studied the coin. “It’s pre-imperial for sure, but I don’t recognize the style. Not Kingdom of Aqua. I don’t know.”
“Wow,” Brigid said. “Never thought I’d see something you didn’t know.”
Yaz handed the coin back to Silas. If her comment bothered him, Yaz controlled his reaction perfectly. “There’s a vast sea of knowledge out there and what I know is only the smallest drop. That coin may be an important clue, or some visiting merchant might’ve dropped it on his way to supper. I simply can’t say.”
Silas and Brigid fell in behind Yaz as he walked down the street. After a moment of silence Silas asked, “Where are we going?”
“The aviary. I only glanced in before I noticed the dragons were out. I want to see if they broke out or were released.”
“Why does that matter?” Brigid asked.
“If they were released it means someone did it before they vanished. If they broke out because they were hungry then whatever happened, happened so fast no one had a chance to reach the dragons. None of them had their saddles on and we never let them out until they’re saddled. That means if they were released it wasn’t by Dad or the other riders and probably not Master Robotham.”
“Then who were they released by?” Brigid asked.
“Exactly. Soto wouldn’t be as friendly to a stranger as she was to me.”
“I’ll vouch for that.” Brigid shivered.
Yaz glanced back. “I think she liked you. Soto has excellent instincts.”
Silas smiled at the sideways compliment. He might be a genius, but Yaz wasn’t very good with girls.
They reached the aviary and Silas sent a little power through his link to Wicked and conjured more light. Inside, th
e gates were intact and wide open. Clearly the dragons had been released by someone.
Yaz went into the first stall, sniffed like a hunting dog, and picked something up off the floor. It looked like a sprig of grass. He tasted it and spat.
“Dragon’s Bane. Someone poisoned them. That’s why Soto and the other dragons didn’t try to protect the village.”
“I thought you said dragons could eat anything without getting sick,” Brigid said.
“Dragon’s Bane is the one thing they’re vulnerable to.”
“Yet whoever poisoned them didn’t kill them,” Silas said.
“You can’t kill a dragon by feeding them Dragon’s Bane. They’ll fall unconscious before they eat enough to be fatal. Someone just wanted them out of the way.”
Yaz kicked the wall of the stall. It was the first real sign of emotion Silas had seen from him. Somehow it made him feel better about Yaz, like he was a real person.
“It might not be much,” Silas said. “But I know someone who might be able to tell us more about the coin. He’s a dealer I’ve sold to in the past.”
Yaz left the stall and stopped in front of Silas. “So you’ll help us find our families?”
“You two saved my life. I owe you.”
“You saved us at least twice before that.” Yaz held out his hand. “And I don’t keep score with friends.”
Silas hesitated. During his training and while he was on the run, he’d never had much use for friends. Or maybe he just didn’t trust anyone not to turn him in.
Finally, he grasped the outstretched hand. Brigid put her hand on top of theirs, smiling a bright smile. Maybe having a couple friends wouldn’t be so bad.
Chapter 26
For two days, from sunup to sundown, Yaz and Brigid rode through the valley, visiting every farm and setting livestock free of their pens. Yaz brought troughs to the sleeping dragons and filled them with the meat of nearly a hundred sheep and goats. He figured that should keep Soto and the other dragons well fed for three months. When Brigid asked about wolves stealing the meat from the sleeping dragons, Yaz had grinned and asked if she’d ever seen a wolf brave enough to approach even sleeping dragons.
While they were riding, Silas settled down with a platinum coin he scrounged up in the inn. He intended to make himself a proper catalyst and Yaz wished him luck. A wizard that couldn’t use his magic without collapsing wasn’t a great deal of help in a fight.
At last, on the morning of the third day, Yaz, Brigid, and Silas gathered at the tower. Yaz had left the dormant dragon egg inside where it would be safe.
“So where does your friend the coin merchant live?” Yaz asked.
“I wouldn’t call Carnack a friend. He’s a grasping, greedy little man that cares only for coins. He’s also a coward too afraid of me to call the bounty hunters. He lives in the City of Bells to the east.”
Yaz had read about the city but lacked any firsthand knowledge. Since it was their only lead, he was content to follow Silas’s directions.
“How long will it take to get there?” Brigid asked. She’d made her distaste for her mercenary disguise clear earlier, but it really was a much safer way to travel given their circumstances.
“If all goes well, a couple weeks.” Silas shrugged. “When you’re on the road anything can happen.”
Brigid sighed. “Don’t we know it.”
Yaz looked from Brigid to Silas. With such fine companions he had no doubt they’d succeed in figuring out what happened to their families. Whether they’d like what they learned was another matter, one to be dealt with later.
“Let’s go.”
The Mysterious Coin
Chapter 1
Eighteen days after leaving Dragonspire Village, Yaz, Brigid, and Silas reached the outskirts of The City of Bells. Their mercenary disguises had held up so far, sparing them from any more fights with bounty hunters. It also spared them any unnecessary conversations. People took one look at their rough exterior and went the other way.
Though he regretted it, Yaz and Brigid had left their ironwood staves in the village armory in exchange for spears. Not an ideal swap, but the best they could manage. They had also left Rum behind. There was plenty of game and water so the dog should be fine. Brigid had cried a little but accepted the necessity.
Yaz had never visited a city. Even from a distance it was clear the place dwarfed Dragonspire Village. Dense forest surrounded the city on three sides, but it had been cut back far enough to give archers a clear shot at any approaching force. Not that anyone would be approaching from the north or east, a sheer cliff protected the city on those sides. It would take a highly skilled climber to make it up that face then over the wall above.
Smoke filled the sky and a handful of buildings rose high enough to look over the massive stone wall. Silas didn’t look especially impressed, but he’d been here before. A helm with a full-face mask hid Brigid’s expression, but he assumed it was as amazed as Yaz’s own.
A slum of shacks and hovels constructed out of little more than sticks and torn canvas had been built outside the walls. Figures in rags lined the road to beg passing visitors for a spare scale. Yaz clenched his jaw and kept a tight grip on his coin pouch. They had plenty of money now, but he didn’t know how long it would have to last so he ignored the beggars’ pitiful cries for alms.
Noon was fast approaching and under his battered leather armor sweat drenched Yaz, sticking his underclothes to his body and making him itch. As he guided his horse through the hovels it took no great effort to twist his expression into a savage snarl to dissuade the beggars.
They hadn’t stopped at an inn or village once during their travels and the smell wafting off the three of them made his eyes water. Fugitives or not, they were getting rooms and taking baths tonight. No way could they show up on the coin merchant’s step looking like this.
Silas assured them that a glimpse of the rare coin he found would get them through the door and maybe it would, but Yaz feared Brigid might kill them both in their sleep if she didn’t get cleaned up soon. He might have even welcomed it after a couple more days.
The slum ran eight rows deep, but they finally made it to the city gate. The doors were wide open and the portcullis raised. A squad of six guards inspected each group and collected coins from them before stepping aside to let them through.
“I’ll handle the guards,” Silas said.
Neither Yaz nor Brigid argued. There were three parties ahead of them, a group of eight travelers, a pair of traders leading laden mules, and a farmer’s wagon filled with early vegetables.
Each group paid and was allowed to enter. When Yaz and the others stopped beside the lead guard, a grizzled veteran with a droopy mustache and tired green eyes, Silas said, “Good day, Sergeant.”
The sergeant grunted and looked them all over, including pawing at the supplies on Thunder’s back. Wicked, Silas’s undead familiar, hid in the bottom of one of the panniers. If the guard found a hatchling dragon’s skull with glowing red eyes, Yaz figured the questioning would be a sight tougher.
Fortunately, the search was only cursory, then the sergeant said, “A silver scale apiece and welcome to the City of Bells.”
As welcomes went, it wasn’t the most enthusiastic, but Yaz kept his opinions to himself as he urged his mount through the gate. They’d barely entered the city when scores of bells rang all around announcing the arrival of high sun. The cacophony set Yaz’s teeth on edge, but it ended soon enough.
“I hope they don’t do that at midnight as well,” Brigid said, just a little too loud.
“Don’t worry,” Silas said. “The bells are silent after sunset. I’m not certain why the city became obsessed with bells, but it’s been like this for years.”
Silas and Brigid both looked at Yaz who shrugged. There weren’t any books about the modern city in the tower library, only an old atlas that talked about it in imperial times, so he had nothing to add.
When they were out of earshot from the gate
Silas asked, “Do we want to go directly to Carnack’s place or find an inn?”
“An inn.” Brigid and Yaz spoke in unison.
“Okay. I know a place that isn’t too expensive and more to the point the owner has a complete lack of curiosity about his guests.”
“Sounds perfect for us,” Yaz said. “Lead on.”
The buildings weren’t that much different from the ones at home, but Yaz had never seen a cobblestone street before, except for drawings in books of course. It seemed like upkeep would be a nuisance, but it made for smooth traveling.
Silas kept well away from the city center, instead turning toward a crowded part of the city filled with two- and three-story buildings jammed in so tightly Yaz figured you could climb to the roof with your feet planted against one and your back against its neighbor. Not that he had any desire to attempt that feat.
A babble of voices filled the air from hundreds of open windows. A few haggard women sat on stoops, sweating and bouncing little kids on their knees. Everyone gave Yaz and his friends a long look, but when they made no aggressive moves the locals dismissed them.
At last they reached a two-story inn sporting clapboard siding, a wrap-around porch, and cloudy glass windows. There was no attached stable so Yaz wasn’t sure where they’d keep their mounts.
When he mentioned it to Silas, the wizard said, “Once we check in, we’ll have to take them down the street to the stable. Most people don’t ride in the city, so it’ll be less conspicuous if we don’t either.”
Yaz didn’t care much for leaving his horse behind. If they needed to get away fast, a good horse would be an advantage. On the other hand, given the narrowness of some of the alleys they’d passed, a mount might be more hindrance than help.
They tied their horses to the railing and marched up the steps. Inside, the common room had a good crowd. Two-thirds of the tables were full, keeping the trio of serving girls busy. The only other member of the staff was the bartender.
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