“Hey!” Aeron blustered, “I’m fifteen! I bet that’s not much younger than you!”
“True enough,” Fillion replied. He glanced at Millinith and then looked back at Aeron. “You’re not trying to pull my leg, then?”
Aeron shook his head. “No.”
“Not in the least,” Millinith said.
“Why didn’t you ride, or, fly her to Cotter’s Grove?”
“We didn’t want to have her be a distraction as we investigated the recent attack,” Millinith explained. “I know how difficult it is to get information from people as it is, much less if they are scared or concerned about a dragon landing in their vicinity.”
“Hmm,” Fillion said, and they rode on in silence.
The homestead was quite nice, Aeron thought later, as they rode up to the farmhouse. Though bigger, it reminded him of his old house. Why exactly, he couldn’t say. It just seemed . . . homey. To the left of the house was a barn with two large doors that opened on a fenced-in area out front. The large doors were closed, keeping the winter cold out.
“Here we are,” Fillion said, dismounting. “Gurt should be inside. I’m not sure whether Etran will be here or out and about the holding.”
Aeron gratefully dismounted and rubbed his backside and thighs. Millinith easily dismounted and stood by Aeron while Fillion tied up the horses at the water trough. He broke the layer of ice in the trough with a dagger before he joined them.
“We can leave the horses tied there for maybe an hour,” Fillion said. “They’re still warm from the ride. But if we’re going to stay longer, we should move them to the barn where they will be more comfortable.”
“Let’s get started, then,” Millinith said.
They made their way up the steps and knocked on the farmhouse door. From inside came a shout, which they could just make out. “Come on in!”
After stomping off the snow from their shoes, they walked in, quickly closing the door behind them. Aeron noted that the furnishings around the main room were plain, but sturdy. There were a few chairs, a couch, some small tables and a bookcase filled with books. Those would be a good way to pass many a winter evening.
“I’m back here,” came the voice from down a hallway. Gurt’s, Aeron guessed.
Fillion lead the way and said, “Gurt, it’s Fillion from Cotter’s Grove. I brought some folks who want to ask you about the attack.”
The room was large, with a wardrobe in a corner and a table and chairs to the side. In the middle of the back wall was a large bed upon which Gurt lay. He was a big, well-built young man, maybe eighteen or twenty years old. His roughly cut medium-length brown hair was mussed and partly covered with a bandage. His hazel eyes were bloodshot and puffy. Aeron noticed a sword leaning against the wall next to the bed.
“Hello, Gurt, my name is Millinith, and this is Aeron. We’re from Caer Baronel and are here at Lord Baronel’s request.” She removed a notebook from her satchel while she talked. “As you may know, Lord Baronel is very concerned, as is Elder Cayo,” she added with a nod to Fillion, “about the nahual attacks. We are tasked with finding out all we can about nahual in hopes of being able to better defend against them.”
“Caer Baronel? How did you get here so fast?”
Aeron glanced at Millinith before saying, “We have a very fast mount. Is it alright if we ask you some questions? We don’t want to disturb you if you are not up for it yet.” Despite his earlier pronouncement about Anaya, he wanted to get to the questions and not have a discussion about her divert them from what they were there for.
“What is it you want to know?” Gurt asked. He was sitting up in the bed, the large bandage on his head covered his left cheek. His left arm, which, like his right, was lying atop the blankets, was also bound in bandages.
“I think to start,” Millinith said, “it might be best if you could just recount what happened last night?”
“Alright.” Gurt’s eyes darkened as he thought back. “It was our own fault, truth be told,” he began. “We know not to be out alone at night, what with the recent attack and all. But Val, he is so taken with the idea of the dressers—” Gurt stopped and stared at the blanket that covered him to his waist, clenching his teeth. A tear ran down his cheek, and he wiped it away awkwardly with his right hand. “I’m sorry. I still can’t believe he’s . . . gone.”
Aeron realized that the reason Gurt’s eyes were puffy and red was because he had been crying.
“Please, take your time.” Millinith watched the young man, sympathy in her eyes.
After a moment, Gurt continued. “Valin was taken so much by the idea of dressers.” He looked up at Millinith. “You see, we’ve been here at the homestead for two years, getting it going. Just recently, we felt it was well along enough that we could start looking for spouses. Val already had a sweetheart.” He paused and sighed, looking at his hands. After a moment he looked at Millinith and continued. “Valin, he had it in his head that no bedroom would be complete without a dresser, with a mirror and everything. He was set on us making three, one for each of our rooms. We were starting on the first dresser.”
Millinith wrote quietly in her notebook while Aeron stood to the side. Fillion stood in the doorway, watching Gurt as he told his story.
“Well, last night about an hour after nightfall, Etran and I decided to call it a night and head in to start dinner. I was tired of working on the dresser all evening as was Etran. Valin stayed behind, though, wanting to finish the drawer, the last one for the dresser.”
“Where was it that you were working, the barn?” Millinith asked, still jotting notes down.
“Yes. We have three riding horses and two plow horses stabled in there, along with a milk cow, and the barn is big enough that we have room to spare. We use one of the empty stalls as a work area.”
“I see, thank you,” Millinith said. “You said Valin had stayed behind to work on a drawer?”
“To finish it,” Gurt said, nodding. “We were going to stain all the drawers the next day, today. Etran and I, meanwhile, had started making dinner. Etran started on some stew, and I started making some biscuits. I love biscuits with stew.” He had a faint smile on his lips. After a moment, his expression grew dark. “About fifteen minutes later, Etran had the stew in the pot, cooking, and I had just finished with the biscuit dough, letting it proof while the stew cooked. That’s when we heard some commotion from the barn. The horses were whinnying and squealing.”
“And what did you do then?” Millinith asked.
“Well, we weren’t sure what was going on. ‘What in all hells is Valin doing?’ Etran had said. I told him I would go see. So I put on my coat and made for the door. I could hear the horses snorting and stomping. They were very agitated. Lilly, our cow, was lowing too. I couldn’t imagine why they were so upset. Maybe Valin had started a fire by accident, or maybe wolves were nearby? I didn’t know.”
Gurt looked back down at the patchwork blanket, fussing with it, absently smoothing it with his right hand and tracing the stitch lines with a finger. “I stood on the porch a bit, to let my eyes adjust. It was a clear night. And even though neither moon was up yet, there was plenty of starlight, so it didn’t take too long. Everything was covered with a soft blue glow, starlight reflected on snow, almost like a dream. Except for the sound of the nervous animals. I started for the barn.
“When I rounded the corner of the house, I could see the top of the side door of the barn. It was open. But I couldn’t see anything else, the angle wasn’t right for it. The barn is on a rise, you see, and there is a big berry bush next to the door that blocked my view as well. The sounds of the animals, their distress, was starting to scare me, though, so I picked up my pace, half jogging, half running. There was also another sound, a weird sound. I had no idea what it was. I kept my eyes on the door. Why was it open? It was very cold outside, so I couldn’t understand why Val, Valin, left it open. When I got closer, I saw them.
“The light from inside the barn spilled out th
e door onto the ground. It lit up Val and something else. There was something, a creature, hovering near him, its back to me. The weird sound was coming from the beast. Val lay on his side in the open doorway, legs inside the barn, his upper body in the muddy snow outside. He had a hand clenched to his chest and it looked like his eyes were open. He was awfully still.
“The thing hadn’t noticed me. All the noise from the animals probably masked any sounds I was making. Then I saw it slowly start to move closer to Val. It moved funny. Not normal. And it terrified me. What was it going to do to Val? I looked around for something, anything I could use to keep it away from Val. To the side, near the woodpile, I saw the ax we use to chop wood, stuck in a large stump we use as a base for splitting. I had left it there that afternoon and I thought about how Etran was going to be so chapped at me for leaving it out. It could get rusty.”
Gurt paused again, eyes unfocused. “I grabbed the ax as quietly as I could and moved toward the creature. I could feel it was evil. I knew I had to kill it before it got to Val.” Another tear ran down his cheek. “Val was so still. I remember thinking, why isn’t he moving, why isn’t he trying to get away?”
Gurt wiped his nose. “I got within striking distance and raised the ax. But somehow, it sensed me. It turned to me, and when I saw its face, its mouth, I froze for a second. I could only stare at it. Suddenly, it lashed out at my head, and I tried turning my face and swinging at the same time. It was fast, but I managed to hit it somewhere. It let out a terrifying scream like nothing I’ve heard before. It had got me too, though, here on my face.” He reached up and gingerly touched the bandages. “I could feel blood running down my cheek and neck, but I ignored the pain and swung again, hitting it. It screamed again and attacked, this time getting my arm. I swung one last time and was able to land a solid blow. It fell to the ground, the ax stuck in its skull.”
Aeron stared at Gurt. He couldn’t imagine fighting a nahual. Gurt was so much bigger than him. How would he be able to defeat one? Worried that Anaya might sense what he was hearing, sense his feelings, he checked the link. Thankfully, she was still asleep.
“I fell to my knees,” Gurt said. “I was weak. And in the cold, my blood was like warm fingers down my face and neck, down my arm. I crawled on my hands and knees through the muddy slush to Val. He just lay there, eyes open, with an expression of pain. I reached out and touched his face. He was warm, alive. I started dragging him into the barn, out of the cold. I heard Etran yelling something, so I knew he was coming. He must have heard the thing screaming. But I was tired, so very tired. Once inside, I lay back against something, Val’s head in my lap. Just before I passed out, I saw Etran by the door.”
Gurt drew his brows together and said, “Val died less than an hour later, Etran told me. He never came back. He lay in bed, eyes open, the same expression of pain on his face. He just . . . stopped breathing.” Gurt sighed. He looked around the room at the sympathetic faces around him and continued. “Etran had tended to my wounds as best he could, and after Val was gone, he rode hard to Cotter’s Grove to let them know. Elder Cayo sent a healer back with him.” Gurt looked at Fillion. “You must thank Elder Cayo for me.”
Eyes wide, Fillion nodded, and with a rough voice, said, “I will.”
They heard the front door open. “Gurt?”
“I’m fine, Etran,” Gurt said, loudly. “We have visitors.” He wiped his eyes and sniffled.
They heard quick steps down the hall.
“Fillion,” Etran said, in greeting.
Fillion nodded to him as he entered the room.
“My name is Millinith, and this is Aeron,” she said to Etran as she pointed to Aeron. “We’re here investigating the attack for Lord Baronel and Elder Cayo.”
“You’re the girl who came a few months ago after the other attack?”
Millinith nodded. “Yes. We’re trying to learn all we can about nahual to hopefully find a better way to fight them, or defend against them.”
“If it means a better way to kill those gods-cursed creatures, you can have my time for as long as you need.” Etran had a fierce look in his eye.
“Thank you. Gurt just finished recounting his experience from last night for us. But let me ask you, where is the nahual now?”
“I dragged it off, away from the barn, and piled snow atop it. I thought you might be back in a few days, and the snow would help preserve it for you.”
“Which was exactly the right thing to do. I was not prepared for that, however. Most of the time, people burn nahual corpses or otherwise destroy them or leave them exposed to the elements.” She turned to Aeron and asked, “Can you get Anaya to join us here? Though I brought most of what I will need, I left some of my dissection tools with her. I suspect the corpse will be well-preserved, the first I have come across. I want to learn as much as I possibly can from it.”
“Sure,” Aeron replied. He checked the link. Anaya was still napping. Can you wake up, dear-heart?
I can, came the sleepy reply.
Sorry to wake you, but we need you to fly to us. Millinith needs some tools she left in the saddlebags.
I am on my way. He felt her eagerness to be with him through the link. And after the terrible events Gurt had recounted, he wanted her with him just as much.
Thank you, love. He looked at Millinith. “She’s on her way.”
“Excellent. You and Fillion should probably move the horses to the barn, so they do not take fright.”
“Take fright?” Etran asked, looking from Millinith to Aeron and back. “Who is Anaya, and how did you speak to her? How will she even know how to get here?”
Millinith sighed. “Anaya is our mount.”
“She’s a dragon,” Aeron said, looking at Millinith. He then looked back to Etran and said, “She and I are linked. We can speak to each other across great distances. She will be able to find me.”
“Linked?” Etran asked while Gurt blurted, “A dragon?”
“Aye,” Fillion said, looking at Aeron. “They’ve been trying to convince me they flew here on a dragon.”
“There was tell of a dragon at Caer Baronel,” Etran allowed, looking from Millinith to Aeron. “I had wondered how they got here so soon. No horse I know can get here from Caer Baronel so quickly.”
“A dragon,” Gurt repeated, quietly.
“You’ll all see soon enough,” Millinith said, somewhat annoyed at the distraction. “Now, while I finish with my questions for Gurt and Etran, you two,” and she pointed to Aeron and Fillion, “get out there and move the horses before Anaya arrives and scares them into the hills. And do not go by the barn side door. I don’t want anything disturbed there before I get a chance to see it!”
Aeron nodded and made his way from the room.
Fillion turned and followed him down the hallway. “Is she always so fussy?” he asked as they made their way to the front door.
“She wants to keep the focus on the investigation,” Aeron replied. “It’s terrible what happened to these people. We’ve been researching nahual attacks to figure out how to prevent this kind of thing.”
Fillion nodded. “It does make you think.”
“Gurt,” came Millinith’s quiet voice down the hallway, “you didn’t mention whether the creature stopped making the unusual noise you heard when you two started fight—” The rest of her question was not audible by the time they reached the font door. Aeron closed it behind Fillion and himself.
“Makes you think?” Aeron asked as they walked down the steps. “About what?”
“About things. Your life could be over in a snap, you know? And what do you have to show for it? What’ve you done, who’ve you spent your time with?” Fillion stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked out across the snow-covered trees a moment before he continued to the horses. “How big is she?” he asked, as they untied the mounts.
“Anaya? She’s pretty big. Though she wasn’t when she hatched.” Aeron paused, thinking back, and then smiled. “Then, she was
a little bigger than a very large dog. With a long tail and wings, of course.”
Fillion grunted and grabbed the reigns of two horses. “If you aren’t pulling my leg, you’re the luckiest person in the world, you know?”
Aeron, with a faint smile, nodded. He took the horse he had ridden and a fourth horse, which must be Etran’s, and followed Fillion. They lead the horses away, through the fenced-in area and into the large doors of the barn, sliding them closed again once inside. They stayed clear of the side of the barn, even though Aeron was very interested in seeing the place where Gurt had been attacked. Fillion picked stalls near other horses for the mounts and they left them with water and some feed.
“Should we wait outside for your,” and there was only the faintest of pauses before Fillion continued, “dragon?”
“No,” Aeron replied, somewhat amused by the other boy’s slow acceptance. “Let’s wait in here where it’s warm. I’ll know when she gets here.”
“Okay.”
They sat near the stalls, on top of hay bales, to await her arrival. Fillion pulled out a piece of hay and tossed it away. He pulled out another and did the same, apparently trying to see how far he could throw the thin pieces of dried grass. Aeron lay back with his hands behind his head on the bale next to Fillion’s and stared up at the ceiling of the barn. A beam of sunlight was streaming in a window, marked by faint traces of dust in the air. He watched as one particularly large mote of dust slowly made it’s way down, and by some odd chance of the faint air currents, along the angle of the beam of light.
I’m like that little bit of dust, Aeron thought, blown about by the winds of chance. He wasn’t sure he liked that idea.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
The question from Fillion threw Aeron for a moment. “No, I don’t.”
“A boyfriend, then?”
Aeron sat up and looked at Fillion. “Nope.”
“Oh. Why aren’t you seeing someone? You’re good-looking enough.”
Aeron blushed. Good-looking? He’d never really thought about that. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I’m not sure. And you? Are you seeing anyone?”
Dragonlinked Page 51
