Skyrider of Renegade Point

by Erik Christensen

  “How long will the Library be closed?” asked Jack.

  The guard peered over to Jack. “Don’t know. ‘Until further notice’ is all they told me.”

  “What now?” asked Jack as the door closed behind them with a thud.

  “Let’s go see if he’s home,” said William.

  A short ride later, they arrived at a modest house in a small fenced yard in a tightly packed neighborhood. William rarely came here, and even cringed at arriving uninvited as Cairns preferred not to entertain at home. Still, he slid off his horse and tossed the reins to Oz. “Wait here,” he said. Getting no answer from his knock, he peered through the shuttered windows.

  “Mr. Cairns hasn’t been here for several days.” William spun around to find a woman watching him from across the fence. “Never saw him leave,” she continued. “Someone said he was visiting family. That’s a funny looking dog you got there.”

  “He’s a dragon,” said William. “Did they say where Cairns went? I know his family is in Ibyca, but that’s so far to travel.”

  “No one knows for sure,” she answered, eying Clyde warily. “Do you think he’d mind if I used his garden while he’s gone? I could use the extra space for potatoes.”

  William turned away without answering, his mind filled with apprehension. “This is getting strange,” he said to Jack and Oz. “I don’t even know where to look next.”

  “Maybe the Inn?” suggested Jack.

  William shook his head. “He never went there as far as I know. Cooks his own food, boils his own tea. If he isn’t working or playing poker, he’s here reading.”

  “Maybe he really is visiting family,” said Jack. “In Ibyca, like you said.”

  “I doubt it. He never once mentioned family in all the time I worked for him. I didn’t even know he was married once until Jessica told me.”

  “Cairns was married? Really?”

  “A long time ago,” said William, nodding. “Not a good marriage, apparently. Left her behind when he moved to Marshland.”

  “Please don’t tell me you’re planning to look for him in Ibyca,” said Jack.

  William shot him an annoyed glance. “Of course not. But I still want to get my marriage license, and there’s one more person who can vouch for me. He’s one of the last people I want to talk to, but it’ll give us a chance to see if the Guard is still working normally.”

  “Sir Hendrick?” asked Jack as they mounted their horses.

  William nodded, and led the way back through town and up the path to Administration Hill. The Guard complex had expanded since William last visited, swallowing the only remaining empty space on the crowded plateau. A tall fence now surrounded the expanded area, with a single gate controlling access to the barracks and main office. Where William once entered Sir Hendrick’s office unchallenged, he now had to be announced at the gate.

  Oz stepped up to address the Guard on duty. “Lord William Whitehall to see…uh, what’s his name again, sir?”

  “Sir Hendrick Mattice,” said William with an audible sigh.

  “Sorry, my lord,” said the duty Guard, who, unlike the clerk at the earl’s office, actually looked apologetic. “Sir Hendrick is away on extended patrol. He’s not due back for a couple of weeks at least.”

  William gazed at the guard with a puzzled look. “Are you telling me the Captain of the Guard is performing patrol duty? Since when does a ranking officer leave his command post for anything but an emergency?”

  Again, the guard seemed contrite. “Apologies, my lord, but they don’t explain stuff like that to grunts like me. His orders were to let no one into the Guard complex in his absence, except on direct order by the earl himself.”

  William shared a momentary look of bewilderment with Jack before turning back to the guard. “How long have you been posted to Marshland, corporal?”

  “About three months, sir.”

  “And the other men—are they mostly new as well?”

  “Oh, a few old guys are still around, but lots of veterans were promoted and transferred away. With all the new baronies opening up, that left a lot of empty posts. Half my class at the Guard Academy in Faywater were posted here as replacements.” The guard smiled. “It’s like being back in class…only the barracks are nicer, and the food is better.”

  “I see,” said William. “Could you have Sir Hendrick send me a message when he returns? My barony is east of here, about—”

  “Oh, I know where your lands are, sir. You’re famous here. All the old-timers talk about what happened at Rebel Falls. Those of us who can read love to—”

  “Yes, I’m sure you do,” said William with an annoyed grumble.

  “Aren’t I famous?” asked Jack. “I’m in those books too, you know.”

  “I’m sorry, sir,” said the guard, his brows furrowed. “I’m not sure who you are.”

  “Never mind,” said Jack with a laugh. “I’m happy to remain anonymous.”

  “Am I famous enough to come in and grab a bite with my old friends?” asked William. “Your comment about food reminded me I haven’t eaten recently.”

  “Oh, I’m afraid not, my lord,” said the guard. “The boys would love to see that dragon of yours, but Sir Hendrick’s orders were clear.”

  William fumed as they left the barracks. “This isn’t normal,” he said as they descended the path into town. “We can’t find a single official who’s been here for more than a few months. They can’t all have quit and left town without telling anyone.”

  Jack scratched his head. “It’s odd, that’s for sure. But what can we do about it? We can’t start busting doors and fighting guards. You’ll just have to wait.”

  “And when they knock down my door for unpaid taxes, what then? Should I still wait? And what about getting married? How is waiting going to solve that? I still need the license, right?”

  Jack smiled. “Yes, but that’ll be easier than you think.”

  “What? Why?”

  Jack could barely contain himself. “You don’t need the earl to sign it…you need AN earl to sign it.”

  William kicked his mare forward and blocked Jack’s path, facing him with an angry glare. “You mean any earl will do? Like the father of my best friend who waited until now to tell me this?”

  “I mean exactly that,” said Jack, his eyes shining with glee.

  William rolled his eyes and rode away with a grumble. “King’s ears, Jack…do you really enjoy making fun of me that much?”

  “Aw, don’t be like that, Will,” said Jack. “Look, you said you were using it as an excuse to get into the earl’s office. I didn’t realize until now that you didn’t know my dad could sign it.”

  “Fine, I accept your apology, even though you haven’t made one yet. Yes, I used it as an excuse—at first. But I don’t like what’s happening in Marshland, and I want the wedding to happen sooner rather than later. How fast can I get a license from your dad?”

  Jack paused a moment before answering. “Look, Will. Go talk to Melissa and decide what you want to do. I’m going to Deacon’s Inn since you won’t let me watch you make a fool of yourself with her—which, I have to say, would be much more entertaining than those games you held—and I’ll ask Dan and Lucy what they’ve heard. If anyone has details, they will.”

  William pointed an accusatory finger at Jack. “Don’t you go paying for my rooms again.”

  “Come off it, Will. How long have I been your guest? I can afford to do you a favor every now and then.”

  William departed without answering. He spent the ride to Melissa’s house in silent contemplation, wracking his brain to figure out why none of Marshland’s officials could be found. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice he’d passed the house until Oz told him.

  “Should I announce you now?” asked Oz as they dismounted.

  William tied his reins to the fence and gave Oz a sidelong glance. “Can you try to get it right this time?”

  Oz let out a big sigh and looked glum.
“I keep trying, sir. Honest, I do. ‘Lord William Whitehall to see Miss Melissa Reid.’ See? I can do it now, but when I try to do it for real I get confused.”

  “How come?” asked William. “They’re just words.”

  “Because Ruskin says it’s important, and that scares me.”

  William squeezed Oz’s meaty shoulder. “It’s not that important. Relax and do the best you can.”

  Oz tied his own horse and approached the door, William following a few steps behind. Oz took a deep breath and knocked. Melissa answered.

  “Miss William…I mean White Williamhall…oh, darn. I had it a second ago. Sir William—”

  Melissa covered her mouth and giggled. “Oz, I’m still sore at you for all the pain you and your friends caused Will—and me. But that may be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Will, wasn’t that cute?”

  William hid his face in his hands. “So cute I can’t describe it. Can Clyde and I come in?”

  “Of course. Oz you can come in too. You should go talk with Katie—she has a crush on you.”

  “I do not!” came the muffled reply from somewhere inside.

  Melissa led William to the sitting room and patted the spot on the couch next to her as she sat. “I didn’t know you were coming into town today.”

  William sat next to her and took her hands as Clyde lay by his feet. “I didn’t have time to send a message. We only decided yesterday. There’s been trouble.” He explained about Alred’s visit, and his attempt to see Earl Bradford. When he told her he couldn’t find Cairns, the worry was evident in her face.

  Her hair brushed against his cheek as she shook her head in dismay. “The Library isn’t what it used to be. First you left, then me, and then a few months ago Jessica and her husband left town to retire. Poor Lester’s been working alone since then.”

  “I never did ask—why did you leave the Library?”

  Melissa raised an eyebrow at him. “Because I expected to be the Lady of Whitehall Manor by now.”

  “You said you’d stop teasing me about that,” he said as his cheeks turned crimson.

  She merely smiled at his discomfort. “And you thought you knew me well. No, the truth is I wanted to work on my art, and the Library kept me too busy to do that. Speaking of which, where do you think Lester is?”

  William shook his head. “I don’t know. And Sir Hendrick is supposedly away for two weeks or more on patrol. Guard captains don’t go on patrol, which means someone is covering something up.”

  “But what?”

  “I wish I knew,” he said, throwing his hands up in frustration. “But I think we need to get married soon instead of waiting for the summer.”

  Melissa’s head jerked back in surprise. “Will, darling, that may be the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

  He reached for her hands again and held her gaze. “Look, I appreciate your sense of sarcasm as much as anyone—probably more—but I’m serious. Call it a hunch, call it instinct, but something strange is happening in Marshland, and I want us to get married sooner rather than later.”

  She stared at him, weighing his words. “Okay,” she said after a moment. “If it means that much to you, I’ll go along with it. I want to be married just as much as you do. But we’ve got a lot to do first, like inviting your friends in Faywater Port. Rachel too. Do you even know where she is?”

  “No, but Jack does. He won’t say where exactly, but I’ll ask him how long it will take her to get here, and I’ll ask Dan Deacon how fast we can get a message to Maya and Charlie. But even if they can’t get here, I don’t think we should wait too long.”

  She stroked his cheek, the worry returning to her face. “Something’s really got you frightened. What is it?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, his jaw clenched. “But I plan to find out.”

  Chapter 12

  “Did she agree to it?” Jack pushed his plate away and looked at William with a curious gaze.

  William shoveled fried potatoes into his mouth and nodded. “She’s not thrilled, but she went along with it.” Oz sat silently at the end of the table, his nose buried in a book, his mouth moving silently as he read and his untouched meal growing cold in front of him. Clyde lay beside them in the corner, gently snoring as the nearby patrons craned their necks to catch their first glimpse of a dragon. William ignored them all and carried on. “Melissa would rather spend the next few months contriving elaborate plans that I have no say in—and I’d be happy to let her—but something tells me waiting is a bad idea.”

  “You don’t need to convince me,” said Jack. “I’ll be there whenever you decide it’s happening.”

  “What about Rachel?” asked William as he reached for another piece of chicken. “I know you can’t tell me where she is, but can you reach her? How soon could she get here?”

  Jack refused to meet his gaze, staring instead at his plate. “I could get word to her. Can’t say how soon she can get here though.”

  William decided not to press Jack for more information, knowing he wouldn’t budge. He turned instead to his other concern. “What about Maya and Charlie? I’d love for them to be here, but it’ll take the mail a week or two to reach them, and a month for them to travel upriver.”

  Jack didn’t answer. Instead, he waved to Dan Deacon, who was chatting with customers at a table across the room. Dan sauntered over with a big smile on his face.

  “What can I get for you, boys? Another beer?”

  “Will needs another chicken,” said Jack as he nodded at William’s empty plate. “But we need advice first. If we wanted to send an urgent message to somebody in Faywater Port, how would we go about it?”

  Dan scratched his chin and slowly nodded. “If you’re not too worried about privacy, I might have something for you. Otherwise, the Royal Mail is still your best bet.”

  William and Jack exchanged glances. “The Royal Mail still takes two or three weeks by boat, right?” asked Jack.

  “Downstream, yes,” said Dan. “Over a month coming back. But it’s locked in a chest the whole time, and barring a major theft, you can count on it getting there unopened. Safer and cheaper than delivery by carriage, but nowhere near as fast.”

  William shook his head. “I can’t wait three weeks. We’re trying to get my friends here in time for my wedding, and they’d still have three hundred miles to travel once they get my message.”

  “Why a rushed wedding, Lord William, if you don’t mind my asking? I know you well enough to know it’s not the usual reason.”

  William looked around to check for eavesdroppers. Aside from the gawkers staring at Clyde, no one paid them any attention. “Something odd is happening in Marshland, Dan. I tried to visit Earl Bradford today and was told he’s away. I didn’t recognize the clerk, and he told me the regular clerks were all absent. I got the same answer at the barracks: Sir Hendrick is away on extended patrol, and I’m not allowed inside to visit the people I know. And worse, the Library was locked, and Cairns gone, with a guard inside to tell people to get lost. All the town officials I know are gone.”

  Dan snorted. “You aren’t the first person to tell me that. What does it say about a town’s administration that they can all disappear and hardly anything changes? But people come and go every day, chasing new opportunities you and your friends opened up with the dragon trade. Perhaps the rest all decided to take vacations at the same time.”

  “No, it feels more sinister than that,” said William. “The people I spoke to seem to be hiding something. But I have no proof, so what can I do? Anyway, I’m not sure what to expect next, so I want to get Melissa out of town, and the best way is to have the wedding as soon as we can.”

  Dan put a comforting hand on William’s shoulder and nodded. “I’m not sure I share your worry, but that’s as noble a reason as I’ve ever heard for rushing a wedding. Once your friends in Faywater Port get your message, they can ride the stagecoach to Marshland and hire a carriage for the rest of the trip. Not the most comfor
table way to travel, but they’ll be here in six days.”

  “Six days?” said William. “That’s impossible!”

  Jack laughed at him. “Will, the roads have been paved from here to Faywater for nearly two years, and they’re patrolled daily. The stagecoach is faster and safer than ever. Why are you always the last to know?”

  “Okay, fine. I’m a little behind the times,” said William as he tried to hide his embarrassment. “But that doesn’t solve the problem. How do I get a message to them fast enough to make traveling by stagecoach worthwhile?”

  The innkeeper tapped his nose with a grin. “Leave it to me, my good lord. The less I say now, the better, but be prepared to come out with me after breakfast tomorrow.”

  “That’s rather cryptic,” said Jack. “What sort of shenanigans are you leading us into?”

  The innkeeper bellowed with laughter. “Only the best sort, I promise you. I have to mix with the crowd now, but I’ll send Lucy over with fresh beers for you, and a chicken for the hungry lord.”

  William went to sleep with mixed feelings. Knowing there might be a way to get Maya and Charlie to Marshland in time for a quick wedding gave him relief, but the missing officials—especially Cairns—still troubled him. Dan’s unexplained promise to help get a message delivered added a touch of mystery, and without a book to distract his busy mind, sleep came late.

  It took three tries for Oz to rouse him in the morning, and a bleary-eyed William dragged himself into the common room for breakfast, leaving Oz to pack their bags.

  Dan was waiting for them by the fireplace, coaxing the embers from the night before with fresh wood. “I took the liberty of preparing something for Clyde,” said Dan as he greeted them. “We have plenty of root vegetables left from the winter, but I didn’t know if he’d prefer raw or roasted, so I brought both.” Clyde tore through the raw ones immediately, but hesitated at the cooked ones. After a tentative taste, those disappeared quickly as well.

  Breakfast for the humans followed soon after, and with full bellies the party left on foot. “I haven’t known this fellow long,” explained Dan as they left the outer edges of Marshland Crossing and entered the surrounding farmland. “He’s a little odd, but I trust him. He’s sent a few messages for me without any problems, but I’ll let you decide for yourself.”