A Dragon's Betrayal

by C L Patterson

  “I swore on my blood. That’s the end of it,” Maerek said shortly, his face flushing with sudden anger.

  “Forgive me,” Keane said softly. “I didn’t mean to belittle your integrity. The question came out wrong.” Keane paused and scratched his head, searching for the right words. “What I mean is, if it wasn’t for the intent of taking Ledría for your own, why rescue her, someone you didn’t know?”

  “Forgive me Keane,” Maerek replied, placing his hand over his heart. “I see now what you ask.” Maerek checked himself quickly. First it was the eating of the fish without thought, and now the sudden anger. I should’ve known what he was really asking. Something was still off and the Instinct, though still subdued, was ebbing out quicker than it should. Maerek looked up at the trees and the grey clouds slowly crawling across the sky. “I suppose part of is that we’re similar.” Maerek looked back at Keane. “We were less than prisoners to the hunters. We were treated like rare commodities, and that didn’t sit right with me. Something else, though, there was something, some reason in my gut screamed that I needed to rescue her. I didn’t know then why, but I think I understand now.”

  Maerek hadn’t thought of why he needed to rescue her since the escape, but the reason was clear now. Those who drank the tainted blood were impervious, to a point, to physical harm. And if Simmons, or others, started to track and attempt to kill Maerek, or the band of traders, having a healer would be a great asset. Considering that Maerek had been asleep for three days, and then camping across with the traders for another night meant that if they were being hunted down, whatever lead Maerek gained in his flight was lessening, if not completely gone.

  “Then why did you save her?”

  “Insurance,” Maerek said softly, and then he paused. “I knew I would have to cross the Blades. And if she was to survive and be free, she would have to come with me, or risk being caught by the hunters again. It was a relationship of mutual benefit. I keep her safe, she heals me of any injury. In no way would she be bound to me as a captive.”

  “That makes sense,” Keane said, nodding in agreement. “One last piece of advice,” Keane continued, placing a hand on Maerek’s shoulder. “You… you need to… appear more human on this trip.” Keane shook his head. “That isn’t right either.”

  “Show the strength of a human, I think is what you mean,” Maerek said.

  “Yes!” Keane pointed a finger at Maerek. “Exactly. That stunt you pulled with the wagon, pushing it back onto the ground, with hardly any footing, on an uphill slope, was too much. The others looked passed it because you saved their cargo, but it was obvious to me.”

  “Are you telling me it would’ve been better to let your cargo fall? I reacted!” There was the anger again. Something was wrong.

  “No, no,” Keane said softly. “Think about how much it took for us humans to hike up this hill? I’m saying, try to show a little fatigue when the rest of the group is getting weary.”

  [][][]

  The gray cloud cover thickened and rolled as the day wore on. By the afternoon, the clouds broke in a torrent. Small muddy streams of water cascaded down the trail in tracks of wheels. The path and group turned away from the river a way back and was heading for a small hill.

  “The trail heads to the top of that hill,” Keane said, pointing up ahead and holding his hood around his face. “And then it cuts back down and south to rejoin with the river. There are five switchbacks before the path evens out again. At the top of the hill, there is a clearing and we’ll camp there.” Maerek nodded in understanding.

  When they reached the hill, the trail was a muddy mess. Naeru called for help halfway up the first leg. The suon was pulling hard, and with each step, the suon and wagon would slide back slightly. The giant lizard fumed great billows of steamy breath from its nostrils, while slimy strands of heavy saliva foamed and congealed around its lips and lower jaw. The slope and slickness of the trail was almost too much for the beast alone.

  As Maerek walked up to the cart, the suon snorted in disapproval. Maerek looked the suon in the eye and flared his musk enough so only the suon could smell it. The suon flicked its tongue in the air and looked ahead as Maerek placed his hands on the cart. The rest of the crew braced themselves against the wagon, giving the suon a moment to catch its breath.

  “On the count of three,” Maerek called above the rain. The men pushed, digging deep into the muddy trail, feet sliding backwards inches at a time as the cart slowly moved forward. At first, Maerek only looked like he was pushing. Instead, he felt the combined strength of the traders pushing against the wood. Feeling the effort, and seeing the little progress, even with the suon pulling, Maerek knew how hard he needed to push to move the cart along, but not draw attention to himself.

  Keane moved from the back of the cart to the left wheel and pulled forward on the spokes. Little by little, Maerek added more power in his push until the cart moved steadily up the hill. The suon growled and stomped on the corners, seeing Maerek in its periphery vision. Maerek flared his scent again to calm the beast.

  “Do you smell that?” Thomas asked the group. “Smells like fresh apples.”

  “Quit looking for plants and help push!” Japeth scolded. Keane shot a quick and subtle look at Maerek and shook his head slightly. That was too much, was the unsaid phrase behind the glare. Maerek kept his head down and pushed, breathing in time with the traders beside him.

  The remainder of the climb was a combination of slogging through mud, keeping eyes out of the rain, and brutish effort from the traders and the suon to navigate the cart to the top of the hill. The campsite appeared to be one that was well used by others on the trail. Still green and tender saplings and brush were strewn on the outskirts of the camp. The fire pit was constructed of large stones from the area, and undisturbed grey ash with wet charcoal layered the bottom of it. All of this was evidence that the site was used recently.

  The traders hurriedly set up their tent and tarps while other went into the woods in search of remotely dry kindling and fuel for a fire. Maerek was about to volunteer to find dried wood when the wind changed direction. It had been blowing steadily from the south, bringing with it the rain and cold. Now it gusted from the east and carried with it a slightly rotten smell. Maerek took another deep breath and shuddered. There was a cockatrice a few miles ahead, and another man, who smelled faintly like a forest fire and sweat.

  “Can’t be,” Maerek said.

  “You hear something, Maerek?” Aelex asked above the rain as he struggled to tie off a cord for the tent.

  “I’ll go up ahead and scout things out and be back in about a half hour. Keane!” Maerek called. Keane ran up to him close and turned away from the traders.

  “What’s going on.”

  “There is a cockatrice up ahead, and someone else. If I’m not back in an hour, don’t come looking for me. If I’m right, and I am sure I am, there is more trouble ahead than a slick trail.”

  Keane nodded and went back to help finish setting up the camp.

  “What was that about?” Japeth asked.

  “He’s scouting ahead, just to make sure the trail is passable. All of this rain and such like,” Keane said dismissively.

  Maerek continued down the trail until the traders were both out of earshot. He paused to disrobe, and then shift into his true form, but stopped. Stealth and secrecy would be better suited at this point than speed and brute force. He was also downwind. If he was right, and Simmons and cockatrice were up ahead, he wanted to dismember them on his own terms.

  The light was fading but the rain continued. Maerek walked down the trail, pausing every now and again to smell for his quarry. Where ever they were, they were stationary. He kept focused for any sudden movements in the woods. The constant hissing of falling rain dampened sound and made visibility, even with Maerek’s superb night vision, difficult.

  He continued for about a mile and then the trail turned slightly to the south. Around the turn was a sudden drop. He stood at
the precipice of a huge landslide. Even in the twilight, the expanse of the horizon seemed to flatten out. Muddy rivers flowed down the gash in the earth, bending around, under, and over portions of half buried trees. The slide continued on down, damning the river, pushing back more mud and water, with more trees up rooted and cemented in place like crooked pins in a pin cushion.

  A few vines and briar bushes jockeying for position suggested that the slide was a little more than a month hold. Most of the trees lay halfway down the hill while the section where the trail was supposed to be, was open to bare earth. Maerek looked toward the Broken Blades, and then down again at the slide. Something wasn’t quite right with it.

  As far as he knew, landslides occurred when a section of ground became unstable, losing its grip with underlying layers of rock or roots. The path of debris followed the flow of the slope of the hill side, much like water, and would, if the surface of the hillside was even, fan out, or flow like a river, taking the path of least resistance. The starting point was up toward a larger higher peak. The flow would have had to come down the larger hill with such force as to continue its initial course instead of flowing down stream, come up the hill the traders were camping on, and then barrel down the hill with even more force as to leave a gouging wake. Maerek scanned the mountain toward the point of origin. From what he could tell, the origin point wasn’t crater like as it should have been, but a distinctive point that was no more than the width of a man.

  Maerek sniffed the air again and stood guard, listening and watching for any sign of Simmons and his vile bird. Boshk had killed him, hadn’t he? His scent lingered on the air, slowly dissipating with the rain and wind. Maerek debated between shifting into his true form and scanning the slide in more detail, but then decided against it. If Simmons wanted a direct confrontation, he would have had one by now. “He wants me alone,” Maerek realized, and was again tempted to provide such an opportunity. “The time will come,” Maerek thought as he turned away from the slide. Getting the traders back on the trail to the Blades was a more important problem to solve.

  Back at camp, the canvas was set up differently than the previous night. Instead of forming a wedge shape between two logs, the shelter was an enclosed cone. A smaller area was cleared on the edge of the wood between four large trees about an arm-span wide with sturdy branches that were just within arm’s reach. Within the clearing, four smaller trees, were staked into the ground and leaning against each other to form a pyramid scaffold. The canvas was wrapped tight around the exterior with rope weaving through the rivets and tied fast and tied fast to the logs. To add to stability, each of the smaller trees was lashed to a taller tree as an extra precaution to prevent the enclosure from collapsing. The shelter, as well as the much larger trees, provided protection from the cold wind and rain. More surprisingly, somehow, in all of the wet, Keane was able to get a fire started and tended to it by gently blowing on the growing flames.

  Dinner for the evening was going to be dried brisket atop a bed of fried potatoes prepared by Naeru. Thomas complimented the meal with wild green onions, salmon berries, huckleberries and a few stalks of wild asparagus, all of which he found and during the day’s hike.

  A dollop of lard was placed into the into a large cast iron pan, and when it began to melt and sizzle, Naeru carefully sliced up the potatoes and added them individually onto the pan. The lard hissed and popped as the starchy vegetable cooked. Next, he placed the asparagus off to one side of the pan. Maerek watched intently as the potatoes began to change shape and color.

  “When the potatoes have browned, we will turn them over and put the meat on top,” Naeru said. “That way the meat doesn’t burn. Usually, I’ll add a sprig of rosemary off to the side to add an aromatic flare to the dish, but since we are without, we’ll use the wild onions instead.” Naeru unsheathed a wooden handled, single-edged knife from his belt without taking attention away from the cooking and handed it to Maerek handle first. “Take the onions and chop them up. There should be a cutting board in the cart.”

  Maerek put the knife in his belt and walked over to the cart. The suon stood nearby chewing on ferns, thorns, and other nearby shrubs. The suon hissed and moved so that he was facing Maerek, and then continued to munch on its dinner.

  Maerek looked in the cart, and every few seconds, looked over his shoulder at the suon. The suon laid down and began to chew its cud as it watched Maerek, swallowed its mouthful, bit off another mouthful of greenery, and let out a low grumble. To Maerek, it sounded like a sound of contentment, but he was not familiar enough with the beasts to be sure.

  Under the canvas of the cart, there were long, thin crates that were well boarded and labeled with various symbols. One was of two snakes with intertwined tails, facing one another with barred fangs. Another was of two swords, crossed low and a black ribbon flying above them. There were barrels for what Maerek guessed to be water, and other boxes and sealed lockers. The cooking supplies was in an open locker, mixed with knives, some smaller pans, cloths, cups, salt, a pungent pepper of some kind, and various eating utensils. Maerek grabbed the cutting board, and then stacked some plates, and also took a few extra forks with him before walking quickly back into the enclosure. Naeru was squatting down and turning the potatoes with a long fork.

  Maerek passed out the plates and flatware, then sat cross-legged on the ground, set his plate and fork next to him, and set the cutting board in his lap. The board was very light and built by multiple pieces of light-weight wood being pegged and cemented together with some type of pitch or tar. The surface was then sanded smooth with small grooves carved length wise of the board. As Maerek wiped the board clean of the rain water, the water drained into the grooves and then dripped off the sides. Maerek grabbed the onions, placed them on the cutting board lengthwise, pulled the knife from his belt and chopped off top inch of the plant. Just as he was to make a second cut, Naeru stopped him.

  “They need to be about a quarter of that size,” Naeru said softly as he stirred the potatoes. Ledría chuckled softly, hiding a smile with her hand and Maerek flushed in embarrassment. Maerek thought how absurd it must look for a dragon to be cooking. Maerek took the onions again, and slowly cut the first piece down to a more acceptable length. Maerek was slow to make each cut, carefully measuring out each length of onion.

  “You don’t have that much experience cooking, do you?” Naeru asked. Maerek shrugged. Naeru sighed and took the knife and board. “Like this, a rocking motion, thin, quick slices, see? Now you try.” He handed the cutting board and knife back and Maerek sliced as he was shown. When instructed, Maerek scrapped the onions off of the cutting board and onto the potatoes. Next, Naeru placed the dried brisket onto the potatoes and onions and let the mixture simmer.

  The dinner was divided out and the group ate in silence. The dinner, though simple, was hearty and flavorful. The dried brisket, absorbed the taste of onion, lard, and potatoes. After a hard day of pushing a wagon in the mud and winter rain, a hot meal and warm fire in a dry place made the wintery evening feel as sweet as summer. The canteen of mead was passed around when the food was finished.

  “Maerek, you scouted up ahead. Anything worth reporting?” Japeth asked. Maerek spoke about the slide in general terms, leaving out the scent of Simmons and how the slide didn’t appear to be caused by natural forces.

  “With the evening light and rain, it was hard to make out what the rest of the slide looked like, but from what I could tell, it wasn’t good. I don’t think it is safe to try through the debris. So many of the logs are intertwined and stacked on each other that if one goes, I fear that they all might go.”

  “I see,” Japeth said. “We’ll head back down in the morning and follow the river then.”

  “Why do you need to follow the river?” Maerek asked.

  “There is a waterfall not far from the pass that flows into the river. If you follow the river up far enough, you can see the pass. The route is much longer, and the river meanders in places, but it is impor
tant that we follow it, if it is the route we need to take.”

  The evening passed in peaceful conversation and one by one, the traders headed to bed until only Japeth and Maerek remained. Maerek stared at the fire, the embers slowly pulsing red and orange.

  “It isn’t the best of news,” Japeth whispered. “But what can we do. Don’t let it get to you.” He bent down and picked a stick off the ground. Japeth stirred the coals with it and then handed the stick to Maerek. “It helps pass the time,” he said. Maerek took the stick but didn’t say anything.

  “You’ve got first watch then?” Japeth asked. Maerek nodded.

  Maerek poked at the coals, spreading them around in their black bed of ash until the red coals looked like tiny sparkling rubies. The wind kicked up, flapping the canvas of the tent, and then shifted south. Maerek sniffed instinctively, but smelled nothing more than the sleeping traders, and the muddy earth.

  As the coals started to fade and burn out, he thought back to his promise to save Mearto, and the urgency of that mission. The singular point where the landslide started was strange, as well as how it flowed, too much against how it should. It smelled too much like Simmons, too much not to give it another look. Maerek thought about shifting into his true form and removing the logs from the air, but that would leave the group defenseless in case another predator came into the camp.

  He stood and walked just outside the tent. Maerek snorted and sniffed to clear his nose and throat. There was an acrid taste on the wind and it was growing slowly stronger. It was the same cockatrice from the slide, and it was coming closer, but there was another smell on the wind too. That same acrid, man-smell from the slide had undertones of poison, steel and jasmine perfume. Boshk hadn’t succeeded in killing Simmons. Maerek took off his cloak, clothes, and boots, and snuck over to the cart, looking against the black sky for any dark silhouette of the bird. Seeing nothing, he placed his clothes and boots into the cart and crept down the trail, toward the slide. He sniffed the air constantly. The cockatrice was coming closer.