He scrambled up, laughing, and dusted himself off. “At least now I know the girls will be ganging up on me.” He had to jog to catch up to the dragon. “So, Lana, why are you going to find the Rimers?”
She could hear a hint of mocking in his voice and made the conscious decision to ignore it. “I am going to enlist their help to take out Aito.”
“Enlist? Enlist their help? Do they even exist?” His disbelief was solid this time.
“Yes, they do.”
He sighed and shook his head. “What have I gotten myself into?”
She turned in her seat and Neth came to a stop, turning her own head in his direction. Lana opened her mouth to speak, but Neth held up a hand. “I realize you helped rescue me, and for that I am grateful. And you asked me to come with you and Lana, and I am happy to be here. I have spent all my life in cages. I do not want to be trapped any longer. If that means I go on an adventure to find a mythical band of dragons that may not exist, I’ll do it. But Lana is not stupid. And I trust her judgment. If she believes they exist, then I do, too.”
Neth’s words set Dixon on his heels and his hands were raised in defeat. “Fair enough. You ladies lead, and I will follow. You’re the queens. I’m just the lowly servant.”
He affected a deep bow that was difficult to do in his thick winter gear and heavy pack. Lana rolled her eyes as Neth began moving again. “Well, at least we’ve been upgraded from princesses.”
“He’ll learn. It’ll just take time.”
Neth turned her head and shot Lana a grin.
They both laughed, and Dixon allowed himself a secret smile. They would be alright in the end, he knew. It would just take time, which was something they had in spades.
***
They walked on through the day. The sun was high overhead, cutting through some of the chill when they finally stopped for a small lunch. Neth left Lana and Dixon in the woods as she went to hunt, a pleasure she had rarely experienced during her time in captivity. Lana watched the pale green reptile fade through the trees as she pulled her pack from her back and sank down next to a thick evergreen.
“How’s your leg?” Dixon kept his eyes on his own bundle, trying not to look at Lana, but she could see the concern on his face.
She smiled at him, though she knew he didn’t see it. “It’s fine. A little sore, but I’ll live.”
“That’s good. I’d hate to have to cart your butt back to camp.”
That earned a glare from the young woman and he laughed. “Calm down. You’re so high-strung. You need a sense of humor.”
She frowned, pulling out some bread and cheese. “I had a sense of humor, but I lost it during the war.”
Dixon gritted his teeth, kicking himself for his insensitivity.
He settled next to Lana at the tree and handed her a piece of dried meat from his own pack. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
She nodded, but said nothing. Instead, she handed him half of her bread and cheese. He smiled at her and she returned it with her own shy turn of the lips.
“So, tell me more about this plan of yours.”
Lana tensed, wondering if Dixon was teasing her once again. When she saw sincerity on his face, she relaxed slightly. “Aito has a firm hold in the north, as you know. There are still many slave villages that are under his control. That means hundreds of dragons. I thought about enlisting the help of the Gypsies, but most aren’t interested in more war. They just want to go back to the way things were before. Ania doesn’t have the power for an attack as big as I’m planning. And I don’t think she would be up for it, anyway.”
“Probably not. She has her own agenda, I think. She is an excellent leader, but her focus is a bit skewed. She only seems to pick targets she knows she can overwhelm easily, lately. The last few months, her drive has faded, too. She’s not as angry as she used to be. She seems tired.”
Dixon paused and Lana looked at him as she shoved a chunk of cheese into her mouth. He was eyeing her as if he wanted to say something.
“What?”
He cleared his throat and straightened his back. “You seem tired, too.” His voice was quiet and careful.
Lana bit back the nasty reply that came naturally to her tongue and took a deep breath. “You’re right. I am tired. But I can’t stop. I can’t stop until Aito is dead.”
“And what then? When Aito is dead, what will you achieve? Where will you be? Where will you go?” Dixon’s questions were not intended to hurt. He was truly curious about what Lana’s plans were after she accomplished her overriding goal.
She opened her mouth to speak, then slowly closed it. Tears rose to her eyes as she searched furiously for a response. When she looked at him, she felt a sense of confusion and loss. “I don’t know.”
Her chin sank to her chest and she rested her forehead on a hand. “I don’t know what I’ll do. Everything I knew before the war is gone. My home is no longer my home. All I was ever trained to do was raise dragons. I have no other skills. Even after Ychthorn’s birth, all I really did was raise him. I just don’t know.”
Dixon laid a hand on her back and moved it in slow circles. “That’s not true. You have other skills. You’re a great hunter, or so I’ve heard. I haven’t actually seen it yet, but there was a lot of talk about you at the camp.”
“What can I do with hunting? Nothing.”
“Butchers need hunters. They can’t go out and get wild game all the time. And when you have a family, you can provide for them. They’ll eat very well.”
“I’ll never have a family.” Her voice cracked in the middle of the sentence and she could barely finish it. She had kept the thought from her mind for months, refusing to think or give in to the fear. Her admission sent her into convulsing sobs.
Startled, Dixon could not react for a moment. Then his compassion kicked in and he pulled Lana close, wrapping his arms around her. Her scarf had fallen from her hair and he stroked her brown locks with a rough hand.
“Shhh. Don’t say that, Lana. You’re a beautiful girl. You have your whole life ahead of you. You’ll have a family one day. And you will raise your children in a world of peace and love. They will know dragons as friends, not servants. They will have choices we never did.”
Lana leaned into his embrace, resting against his chest. His lips pressed against her hair and he brushed her cheek, wiping away some of the tears. Several minutes passed before she could compose herself. When she did, she did not pull away immediately. She kept her face buried in his overcoat, and his grip on her did not lessen.
They stayed in that position until they heard a rustling in the trees. A burst of pale green told them Neth had returned. She knocked over a small, snow-covered sapling as she pushed into the tiny clearing, licking fresh blood from her mouth. She smacked her lips and groaned in pleasure as she settled down next to the pair.
As she focused on Lana, her eyes narrowed and she shot a glare at Dixon. He raised his hands in defense, but Lana put her own hand on his arm. “It wasn’t his fault. I just had a momentary breakdown. He was actually very nice about it.”
She offered him a weak smile and he returned it with his eyes.
Neth nodded. “That’ll happen. Are we ready to go?”
They packed up their bags and Dixon helped Lana into the saddle. Together, they set off to find their destiny.
Chapter 12
Veni’s dreams were laced with strange occurrences and vile creatures. Undead beings clutched at her skirts and ripped at her hair while Rul desperately fought to keep her safe. He was not undead in her mind. He was strong, bold, and beautiful. His sword sliced through the attackers and pieces of them tumbled to the ground, but they wouldn’t stop. He turned to her and a smile broke across his handsome face even as his flesh was ripped from his bones.
A heavy knock at the door woke Veni from the fitful night of sleep. They had not been summoned and Rivanna had paced the room, mumbling, well into the early hours of the morning. When sleep finally came,
it was not without consequence and the girl awoke feeling more tired than she had when she lay down.
Groaning, she stretched, loosening up her tight muscles. The knock came again and she rose. Rul was standing beside the door, hands clenched. Rivanna lay in bed still. Her face was covered with a blanket and she waved an arm toward Veni.
“Get the door, girl,” she mumbled through the sheets.
Veni rolled her eyes, drawing a faint smile from the undead man. She moved toward the door. He tensed beside her and she put a hand on his arm, forcing him to relax. She lifted the latch and cracked it open. A servant was on the other side, holding a tray.
“Breakfast, miss.” The girl was no older than Veni.
Veni opened the door all the way. “Please, come in.”
The servant placed the tray on the desk and bowed as she left. Rivanna had gone back to snoring, so Veni took the only chair and tucked into the meal. It consisted of two bowls of gruel, a plate of some meat Veni had never seen before, and some freshly baked bread. She ripped off a slice of bread and held it out to Rul.
Frowning, the man moved forward in jerky steps. The sight made Veni sad. She thought his mobility would improve, but he was still very unstable on his feet at times. She worried about how he would be tested when they were finally called, and she wondered what he really could offer to Aito and his team. She had spoken rashly and did not truly know the man’s capabilities. Would he be able to think quickly in battle? Or would he be ripped to shreds? Though he was not the most logical companion or the most talkative, Veni had found herself growing attached to him in their shared struggles.
He took the offering in a clumsy hand and stared at it for several moments before bringing it to his nose to sniff. Veni laughed inwardly, realizing neither she nor Rivanna had ever offered the creature food before. They did not know what such nourishment would do to or for him. All they knew was that he could subsist without it.
As Veni dipped a spoon into her gruel, she watched Rul put the bread into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully, slowly. A smile brightened his face, one that Veni had not seen before. It held the same life that she sometimes saw in his dull eyes.
“You like that?” she whispered to him as he drew closer.
He nodded and she handed him a piece of the meat. He ate it, savoring it for a very long time before he swallowed. She laughed softly and finished her porridge and a slice of bread. She cut another slice for Rivanna and gave the rest of the bread and meat to Rul.
Standing up, she moved over to the window. When he walked over to join her, she noticed his movements were less stiff and more fluid and natural. “Are you feeling ok?” she whispered, leaning over to the man. He nodded and smiled again.
Moments later, another knock sounded at the door. Rivanna snorted and rolled over, covering her head once more. Veni smirked before going to greet their newest visitor. It was Jase. His face was stern and his arms were stiff at his sides.
“Let’s go,” he said, stepping back to let them through.
“Rivanna’s still sleeping.” Veni beckoned toward the lump on the bed.
An irritated growl escaped the soldier before he could compose himself. “Fine. Let her sleep. You two come with me.”
Veni looked to Rul and shrugged. He grinned at her and she smiled. “Alright.”
Together, they followed Jase through the halls and out into a smaller courtyard behind the castle. Veni could see the soldiers' barracks and a small armory with the doors flung wide. The stone-paved area was littered with discarded training swords, broken arrows, and various pieces of armor. Two rows of battered, straw-stuffed dummies offered targets.
“What is his weapon?”
Veni paused and looked toward her undead companion. “Sword? He’s been practicing with a sword.”
Rul grunted and shook his head. Jase watched the exchange. “You don’t know what his weapon of choice is?”
“Well, he’s not very communicative yet. And we don’t have access to a lot of stuff, you know.”
Jase sighed. “Fine. We will test him with several weapons and see how he fares before throwing him into combat.”
“Wait, what do you mean ‘throwing him into combat’?”
“Listen, girl. Commander Aito does not trust that Gypsy woman as far as he can throw her.”
“Smart idea.”
“You do not speak highly of your mistress.” Jase held a small smile that fell just shy of a smirk. Veni decided it was more conspiratorial than mean.
“Let’s just say I didn’t have much choice where I ended up.”
He laughed softly. “At least you’re honest.” He pointed at Rul. “Can he do what you said he could?”
“I think so. He hasn’t done much aside from training in the cave with a sword we picked up when we were gathering bodies. But I know he doesn’t bleed, and he doesn’t sleep, so that’s already two advantages that regular people don’t have.”
“Alright. Let us see what he can do, then.”
Jase picked up a blunt sword and handed it to Rul, then pointed toward one of the training dummies. Silently, the big man walked toward the stuffed sack, swinging the sword gently in his hands. He took a couple of test swings, the sword barely bouncing off the burlap. Jase started tapping his foot, waiting for something more.
Rul took two steps back, then lunged forward, piercing the dummy through the middle. He tore the sword out, twirled once, and sliced the top off the top of the post. Then he flung the sword to the ground, an uninterested look on his face.
“No sword, then.” Jase stepped over to a wooden table that was laid with weapons and picked up a bow and three arrows. He handed them to Rul.
Clumsily, Rul nocked the bow and took aim. The first arrow went wide, sinking into the dirt behind the dummy. The second hit the target low, and the last hit a dummy two posts down from the one he had aimed at.
“No bow.” Jase went back to the table and picked up a spear.
“No.”
The guttural voice made the soldier cringe, but he turned toward the creature. “No spear? Why don’t we ask you what weapon you would prefer? That might save us some time.”
He stepped back and beckoned to the table. Rul hesitantly stepped forward and looked over the array of weapons. His eyes were drawn to the far left, where a thickly spiked ball attached to a handle lay silently. A smile pulled at the corners of his lips. He reached for it, his hand settling comfortably around the leather-wrapped grip.
He picked up the mace and swung it experimentally, the smile on his face continuing to grow. He hefted it over his shoulder and walked toward the dummies. One swing brought the first dummy in line to the ground when the mace crashed through the post beneath the bag. Straw flew when the second dummy was ripped to shreds with two swipes of the spiked ball. Rul spun and smashed through the third, ripping the burlap sack in two.
Jase grinned and clapped. “Mace it is, then.”
When Rul turned back, Veni’s eyes were wide. She had never seen such energy from him before. He looked happy, a strange expression on his pale face.
Rul joined them back by the table. He went to put the mace back, but Jase stopped him. “That’s yours. Keep it.”
Rul nodded a thank you.
“Now that we’ve found your weapon, let’s put you to the real test.”
Veni’s teeth clenched as Jase whistled and half a dozen armored soldiers came from the barracks. They all carried various weapons and looked prepared for battle. “What are you doing?”
“I told you before. Testing him.”
“Against real weapons?”
“Of course. How else am I to know if your claims are true?”
“But…” Veni’s arguments faded on her lips. What could she say? Rul was not supposed to be her friend. He was someone her mistress raised from the dead. But her affection for the man had grown. She saw him as almost a brother. Together they had suffered greatly, and they shared something no one could touch.
“Bu
t?” Jase was waiting for her protests. She could see his eyes dance and knew he was testing her.
“Nothing. Let’s see what he can do.” She stood back, arms crossed over her stomach.
Rul looked into her eyes and smiled, then stepped out into the clear area in the courtyard. The six men arrayed themselves around him, all prepared to attack.
“One at a time first, please,” Jase called out.
A man with a sword advanced on Rul first. He swung at the undead man’s head, but Rul ducked and twirled away from the weapon. As the blade whistled over his head, he drove the mace at the man’s knees.
Veni cupped a hand over her mouth, stifling a shout as she feared for the soldier. At the last possible moment, Rul changed his course and brought the handle of the weapon around, sweeping his opponent’s legs out from under him. The man toppled to the ground and Rul brought the mace down, stopping just before it crushed the man’s breastbone.
Jase’s grin grew. “Very nice. Thank you, Milton. Let’s try both Andros and Fendon now.”
As two more men stepped forward, Jase leaned toward Veni. “Milton is our best swordsman. Your man did very well.”
Veni did not respond. She couldn’t respond. She was holding her breath as two more men advanced on Rul from opposite sides. One carried a pike while the other kept his distance and nocked a bow. The pikeman circled Rul warily, feinting several times with the tip of his weapon.
Rul and the man with the pike circled in perfect unison and soon his back was to the bowman. Without warning, the bow string was released and an arrow sailed through the air. Rul grunted as the point sank into his flesh and stumbled momentarily, but he did not take his attention off the pikeman.
Veni bit down on a scream and turned away, refusing to watch her friend suffer. Jase put a hand on her shoulder and forced her to turn around, pointing toward the battle. Rul had the man with the pike on the ground and was rushing toward the bowman. The soldier held up his hands in defeat and stepped back.
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