I watched her walk. She didn’t hit the ground like a child but more like a dancer, surefooted and deliberate. She moved her body not like an awkward kid unsure of her legs and arms but more as an athlete. Her eyes too, held a worldly sadness that told me she was far older than a ten-year-old child. I wished I could see her in a long dress with her hair down on her shoulders dancing in the warm glow of a thousand candles.
At the fire, Tegan looked up and smiled. “Eat your fill, Raitt? We’ll be going on in a quarter of an hour.”
I wondered how they told time here. I had so many questions and couldn’t ask any of them. I wanted to know if she would let me be a Dragon at night so I could speak or was I forced to remain an ass until she decided to release me. I wondered what would happen if I needed to become the Dragon and how she could release the spell if she was hurt, unconscious or we were separated.
I pawed the ground and drew lines in it, brayed until I caught their attention. The novelty of me attempting to write my questions in the dirt amused them. And it took a long time to dig it out. My main question was how I got back if I needed to.
“Go back where?”
My Dragon form. I pawed the letters on top of the other ones making a jumbled mess but she understood.
“In an emergency, the spell will revert so you’ll be back to your normal form or one of us can cancel it with a special word. Tegan knows it but you can’t or it won’t work. Don’t worry, you’ll be okay and so will we. Tegan and I have managed to stay out of the witch’s way for a while.”
Where? I wrote.
“We’re heading for Alameth, a port city that is far enough away from the war to be little affected. We can contact a friend of Tegan’s and get passage to Khafra. I will present myself to the King and ask for assistance.”
How far?
“Several days ride if we push it but if we’re in a hurry, there will be those who will want to know why. Don’t worry, Raitt. Tegan knows what he’s doing. He was a bandit before he became my bodyguard.”
They let me eat for another twenty minutes before they repacked and mounted. Truth was, I nearly cropped all the grass in the little meadow by then anyway.
*****
Tegan put my hoof down and stared at the Princess. “If this keeps up, he’ll have to be shod, Linz. His hooves are splitting and cracking. He’ll go lame. Especially on these rocky lanes.”
We had traveled nearly a week and were deep into the rocky outcrops of the Highlands. I could smell the faint tang of salt water and knew the sea was close, perhaps another day’s journey. We had climbed mountains and valleys, skirted sand dunes and burned villages, bypassed centers of city living making do with their hunting skills rather than entering and purchasing food. In all our time on the road, we’d seen only a few other travelers and their message was all the same. Flee, for the Red Witch was killing everyone in her path with the power of the Dragon’s Flame.
At night, I heard them talk around their small campfire. They talked about the port we were headed towards, how bright and beautiful a city it was, a neighboring state to her father’s kingdom with a world-class wizard and Council protecting it. She wanted to stop and seek aid, Tegan said it was too dangerous and too close to Minsk. They told stories, mostly for me, I thought. I learned about her great-great to the tenth or whatever, that he had braved the depths of Fear Lake to rescue the Talisman. I had suspicions that it might’ve been a comet from Amber’s influence and possessed some of the Pattern’s power. Now, that power was inside me but I had no idea how to use it.
It wasn’t until we actually stepped foot on the first paved road I had seen in our travels that we encountered a veritable crowd of travelers. Coming down out of the forest, we came up over a small rise and saw it–an arrow straight highway with carts, wagons and fancy vehicles all pulled by various beasts from horses to things that looked like hippos but with extra-long legs. And people! So many of them and so many different, odd humans. I saw the usual varieties but also some I had never dreamed could exist. But then, I was a Dragon and had seen Unicorns.
Guards accompanied some, and ringed what was clearly caravan of goods. Linz and Tegan paused on the crest and studied the passing congestion. Clearly more were going to the city than out of it. I raised my head and stared towards the end of the highway. I could barely see the amber glow of a large city complex lighting the twilight sky. At least we’d have light from the other traffic to guide us, Lyndseye’s Wyche balls were running low and torches were a pain to keep lit.
I pawed and pulled at my lead which by now was merely scraps of thread. “Whoa there, Raitt,” Tegan said and laid his hand on my neck. “Now’s the dangerous part. Just because we’re among a crowd doesn’t make us less of fugitives.”
He did something to his cloak and was suddenly a feeble old lady and Linz became a pus ridden, ugly old man with warts and a set of dewlaps that flopped as he spat. I sat back in alarm and nearly fell on my…ass.
She laughed and her voice was the same, pure as a castrato. “Oh, the look on your face, my Prince! Priceless! Don’t worry, no one looks at tinkers.”
My back suddenly grew heavier and I grunted as Tegan climbed up between the little bit of our remaining gear. She took my lead and led me down the slope to wait for a gap in the flow of traffic.
We slipped in behind a fancy barouche pulled by four massive animals that looked like Friesians but were shocking pink. They sneered at me and tried to lash out with a hind foot but their driver popped a whip. Hit me on the shoulder and I jumped sideways, nearly falling.
“Keep your damn mule away, tinker!” the driver bellowed. “And your leprous bitch!”
I opened my mouth to roar and spout flames but was greeted with a bray instead.
“Easy, Raitt. Serafins are very aggressive beasts. They’ll mangle you if you press them. See how everyone gives them a wide berth?”
I did. There was a bubble around the carriage as well as several guards gathered close to the vehicle. Queasy, my stomach lurched as I recognized them as Thrids, the ugly, apelike creatures that my former master had used as bodyguards and shock troops. My legs trembled under me and he felt it. He used his voice and hands to soothe me. “Linz, his eye?”
“Rolling, stark terror, Tegan.” She gripped the sides of my jaw and pulled my head into her chest, murmuring wards to me that eased the terror I was experiencing. She smelled of sweat and dirt, of old campfires not like a pampered Princess but she smelled real, honest and faithful. I relaxed my gritted lips and teeth to nuzzle at her shirtfront as she scratched the bony part between my eyes and tugged my forelock.
“It’s okay, Raitt. It’s just the Sheriff of Ryemoor seeking refuge, too. He won’t hurt us, we’re beneath his notice. Ready?”
We entered the city through the West Gate and were not surprised to see that it was heavily guarded and fortified yet no one stopped to question the refugees.
The City of Alameth set on a hill overlooking a bay shaped like a dog’s bite with fierce cliffs and jagged headlands being the teeth. The entrance was its tongue. Beyond the breakwaters, the green of the oceans were as mysterious and changing as any ocean I’d ever seen. The smell of salt, the cries of the sea birds, tall ships masts and the buildings reminded me of Boston. There was even a capitol dome and a huge magistry shaped like the buildings on the Green. Steeples, too of the many churches that catered to the religion of magic and witchcraft.
Even though we weren’t checked for papers and ID, we were funneled by the guards towards the poorer section of town. High, narrow brick shelters with close, winding alleys. Little light made it down here and the sun was almost gone.
Tegan had dismounted and walked close to both of us, his cloak swept back and his hand on his sword. In these tight alleys, her bow and arrows were at a disadvantage.
I knew that my senses were more acute than their so when I smelled men up ahead and could not see them, I stopped. Instantly, they did also. The next big flutter of my nostrils triggered a
low grumbling whicker. I smelled oil and steel, faint sweat and eager anticipation. There was an ambush planned ahead for whomever came this way and were easy pickings.
I didn’t know if an old Tinker man and wife with an obviously fine mule would justify the effort and expense but then, I didn’t want to find out.
I charged, taking them both by surprise and the moment I reached the cross alley, four men in cloaks and blades flew out at me. Lunging for my lead line, one leaped and caught it only to fall flat on his face as the fragile rag disintegrated in his grip. I whirled on my hind feet in a perfect rollback, kicked with both heels and brained him. He died without a word.
Tegan and Linz joined us and before I had the chance to do any more, were engaged in a sword fight with the other three.
She was no ten year old, she fought with the grace and skill of a warrior. Under her rags, she had concealed a slim blade like a foil and it glowed very much like the flame from my dragon breath.
“You’re no tinker!” their leader gasped as she pulled the blade out of his lungs. He collapsed at her feet next to the one Tegan had massacred. His dying eyes locked on mine. “Dragon spawn!” he whispered and the third man gasped and ran.
I ran after him, ignoring their shouts to return. He ducked and twisted down alleyways and although I was as fast as a TB racehorse, I couldn’t get up any speed. He managed to outturn me on the slippery cobblestones and I lost him.
Lost myself, wandering down lanes and alleys as complicated as the market streets of the old bazaars. Had to resort to my nose to track the spoor back. When I returned to the ambush site, even the bodies were gone. No sign of Lyndseye or Tegan. I brayed and the echo mocked me.
Chapter 27
Retracing my steps back to the front gates wasn’t an idea I ruminated on. I knew that a loose animal in the city limits wouldn’t remain so for long. Someone would attempt to catch or claim me. In fact, several street urchins had run after me trying to corner or catch me. So far, I’d managed to stay out of their reach. Clever little devils, though. Some of their traps had been ingenious.
I followed my nose which eventually led me to a park where I could at least eat. I kept an eye on the other park goers but they were busy with their pursuits. The Park was huge---nearly the size of Central Park and had the same layout. A Zoo, Sheep Meadows and rocks, fountains, jogging and bridle paths. Even the same rock sculptures of animals only these were straight out of the fantasy library and not real life. At least not real life on Shadow earth. I wandered, amazed that it was almost a mirror image of a place I knew well enough to hide in.
Luckily, I could eat grass. It might have been more of a problem finding food if I were still a dragon.
“Mummy, look!” a bright-eyed youngster screeched. I looked up from a mouthful of clover to stare at the smartly dressed girl and her mother or nanny. “It’s a horsey.”
“Loose. Some peasant must have turned it loose to graze free,” the upper class woman sneered. “We should call the Watch and have them haul it away before it dumps on the grass. Filthy beast.”
I turned my ass’s ass and dumped a load at her feet. She squealed and slashed at me with her belt. I threw her a disgusted slobbery snort and trotted off into the bushes to hide.
I’d searched for the pair as far as the scent trail had lasted losing it about halfway back towards the Gates. So many other people and animals had overladen it with their effluvia that it became a muddled mess I could not read.
I had no clue where to go to find them or meet up with the pair. All I knew was that Tegan’s friend could get us passage to Khafra so must have something to do with the docks. A mule wandering on the wharves alone would attract too much attention. I was bound to wind up in someone’s stable. All I could think of to do was hang around the ambush site in the hopes that they would come back to the same spot to wait for me.
So that’s what I did. I stayed in the Park grazing until dark and then sneaked back hiding in dark corners when I spotted any people.
It was a well-traveled alley, leading to a neighborhood of garrets and inns that catered to poorer farmers coming in for market and broke sailors off the ships. There were several hostelries and stables at the near end of the lane which continued out of the city to what were fields and pastures for livestock.
Finding something to drink was no problem either. There were drinking fountains and water troughs for the working draft animals and a few streams in the Park. Also, I found drinking stands where either children or adults could bend over, push a lever and drink. Having seen water fountains before, I knew how to use them. Unfortunately, I could push the lever down with my lips but I had nothing to hold it down while I drank.
Looking around, I spotted a pile of stacked bricks and picked one up to lay it carefully on the lever to wedge it down. Water flowed continuously, filled the basin but I still had to wait as I drained it faster than it could refill. When I was done, I removed the brick replacing it on the pile.
Wandered around this small square just off the alley where we’d been separated. There was a green grocer on the right corner next to a laundress, she had huge vats boiling away out front and every so often would stir the mess of clothing. Next to her was a fishmongers and the smells of each cancelled the other out. Urchins were everywhere, on the street, hanging off the second story balconies. I saw pickpockets everywhere and managed to blend in as long as I stood next to another tied up animal. No one noticed unless I was the last one left at the hitching post and I made sure I was gone before then.
I slept in fitful snatches during the daytime, hidden in the bushes or behind the rocks in the Park. I’d tried to hide near the Zoo but mule meat must have been a delicacy to the carnivores because they screamed bloody murder the entire time I remained down wind. Some of them could have given the dragon a fight.
I heard rumors and gossip. It was amazing what people would talk about when they thought they were alone. I learned that the king or head Premier of Alameth was called Jasprene, a Duranian merchant Lord by nature and not inclined to warfare. He had ruled in an uneasy alliance simply by being so far from other kingdoms who might covet their trade routes. His army was small though deadly, each and every one a wizard as well as a warrior. They were called the Knights of the Broken Sea, were able to call up wind and wave, sea creatures and demons of the deep. With them at his command, not many had dared to challenge him and those that had were quickly defeated.
I danced around the fountains, my heart heavy. I had no idea what to do, I couldn’t even unspell myself so I could turn back to Dragon and fly home. I heard a whistle and stood still, my thin tail brushing against my flanks. It wasn’t much use on flies but thankfully, this realm didn’t have that blasted torment.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a line fly through the air and ducked just as three lassos hit me. I screamed. Darted away to hit the end of the rope and flipped onto my neck, rolling over. I lay there stunned as six sets of people came from all different directions and at the other ends of the rope.
I’d seen the ones on my left but my right had been blindsided. Making it to my feet I kicked, nailing two of them. I chewed on rope and parted one more before another set landed on my rear feet snagging them together. I fell down, struggling to rise with my front ones.
“Holy Hells!” One of the men sputtered. “You were right, Hennan. He is a devil. Uncut, I’ll wager. Looks like racing blood bred. Smart creature, too.”
They approached me with a halter and I fought desperately, one hind coming free just as they flipped the rope around my front. I fell again only this time I landed awkwardly against the pile of bricks and the sound of my hind leg cracking hit like a pistol shot. I collapsed in shock, barely felt my heavy head hit the ground.
“Shit!” All six of them stood around me, looking down at my trembling and heaving body. “Well, look at the bright side,” one of them drawled. “We can sell him for meat.”
“You idiot!” The taller spat. “This mule was the f
astest thing to enter the city in a hundred years. Polydon saw it running and clocked it. Also, it’s as smart as a man. You saw it figure out how to open the water fountain. How bad is the break?”
Another leaned down and touched the dangling leg. “Broke clean in two, Elvan. No blood but I doubt it can get up. Kinder to cut its throat.”
I groaned, trying to move but between the shock and the ropes, couldn’t. The man who had said I was meat slipped the halter on my head and tightened it. “He’s blind in one eye, Elvan. That’s the only reason we trapped him like we did. Shall I put him down?”
The leader hesitated and stroked my sweat dampened neck. Made a decision. “No. Go get Mallei and tell her to bring her potions. Renn, you go get Avram’s cart and his gelding. Hurry. Jens, give me your cloak.”
“What are you going to do, Elvan?”
“We’re going to see if he can get up. Does anyone have a staff?” He took the proffered wood and broke it in two, wrapped my leg and splinted it. Had them untie me, flipped me over so that I was on my good side and pulled on my halter. I lay there, refusing to move.
“Come on,” he encouraged. “Get up, Prince of Mules or I’ll cut your throat right here. I’m giving you a chance.”
“Broken legs in horses don’t have a chance,” one of them muttered.
“This is no ordinary mule,” he shook his head. “There hasn’t been a mule like this in a hundred years. Not since before Khafra fell. Come on, my beauty. Get up or it’s the stewpot for you.”
I heard the swish of a woman’s skirts and she was there. Took one look at the scene and squatted near my head stroking, her fingers exploring the swelling bones that were clearly snapped in half below my hock. She lifted my lip and pressed my gums, looked at the men and ordered them about. “Renn, hold his neck straight. I’m going to give him a shot of painkiller and then put him down. Elvan, he might fight when the needle goes in. If you have to, twitch his ear.”
“I doubt he’ll move an inch, Mallei. This is no ordinary mule. Please, don’t put him down, can you try to save him?”
She looked up astonished. “Elvan, his leg is in two! I can’t save that!”
Black Dragon of Amber Book Two: The Road to Amber Page 16
