“Just like you said. We come out to Redfall. You tell your father we are having a girl’s day.”
“Actually, I’m not worried about my father. He won’t mind. He’s come to accept that I’m not what he might call a proper lady. I think he is secretly proud that I beat so many lords in the tournament. Also, he’s concerned about what is happening in the south. He won’t mind us training. I can have Sir Robert help us. He’s an amazing trainer.”
“Perfect. That just leaves my father and Arria’s to worry about. And both will be quite happy to have us at Redfall more often. It’s the safest place in the region.”
Robert James, one of Sibylle’s friends, and one of the only boys who’d stuck up for Lyric when he first arrived in Middale, walked over. “Would one of you ladies care to dance?”
Haylee replied by pushing Sibylle into Robert’s arms.
Sibylle gave a fake groan. “You brute,” she said to Haylee. She turned to Robert. “I guess she is suggesting I dance.”
Robert grinned. “Yes, it seems so.”
Sibylle danced the next two songs with Robert, who was then replaced by Brynn, an enthusiastic dancer, notorious for stepping on ladies’ feet. After dancing with Brynn, Sibylle danced with Sir Chestmire and a few other local men before she needed another break. The evening was growing late, and many of the guests had left, but Sibylle was not one to leave a dance early, and Sir Robert, her protector never pushed her to leave early. He understood how rare these nights were and patiently waited. It didn’t hurt that more than a few single women from the village insisted he dance with them.
Returning to Haylee, Sibylle accepted a mug of ale. She wiped her brow. I’m almost done in.”
Haylee laughed. “Well at least your feet survived. I’m not brave enough to dance with Brynn.”
“He’s not that bad.”
Haylee scrunched her nose.
“Okay, maybe he is,” said Sibylle with a chuckle. “But he tries, half the lads don’t dance, they just stand around drinking and telling lies.”
“True enough. What about Sir Chestmire? I saw you dancing with him. He’s very attractive.”
“Allan? Yes, he’s rather good looking and a good dancer,” said Sibylle. “But I wouldn’t waste my time thinking about him if I were you.”
“What do you mean? He’s not that old.”
“No, but he’s smitten. Watch.” Sibylle nodded towards Allan, who was walking up to Izzy to escort her onto the dance floor. Izzy accepted and Sibylle and Haylee watched as the two of them danced.
“I don’t think I’ve noticed how beautiful your aunt is,” said Haylee. “She’s gorgeous, and yes he is totally smitten. He can’t take his eyes off her.”
“Yes. She is beautiful. I am very happy that she had found someone. Allan is wonderful.”
“He was almost your husband,” said Haylee with a grin.
Sibylle laughed. “Wouldn’t that have been a scandal. Man marries girl, falls in love with the temptress aunt.”
“Any less scandalous than a foreign born dragonblood winning the tournament, or you being caught entering your own tournament? How would that have worked anyways? Would you have married yourself?”
“Better than marrying some of the toads who entered the tournament. I’d marry you before I married them.”
Haylee wrinkled her nose. “Who says I’d marry a skinny little thing like you?”
“You were drooling over my magnificent belly and bottom earlier,” retorted Sibylle.
“That was clearly the ale talking.”
Sibylle laughed. “It looks like Allan and Aunt Izzy are getting ready to leave. I should gather Sir Robert and make my way home.”
“Oh, stay for one more song. You can be my dance partner,” begged Haylee.
“Fine, one more song,” said Sibylle. She and Sir Robert should catch the others by the time they reached Middale.
…
Joran sat on top of the covered bridge and waited. All night he and his men had waited in the trees a safe distance from the road waiting and watching as party goers left the barn dance and returned to Middale. After the last couple that had rode across the bridge they received word. Jamison had given the signal. Sibylle Lamar was done at the dance and was traveling home.
Soon the sounds of horses trotting caught his ear. He wondered if they were trying to catch up to the couple who had passed by minutes earlier. Sorry, he thought. You won’t be catching up with your friends tonight.
As the horses grew nearer, Joran stretched and readied himself. Joran knew Sir Robert’s reputation and had no intention of getting into a fight with the man. He also knew that the girl was nearly as skilled with a weapon as her guardian. He certainly didn’t want to get into a fight with either of them. But if things went smoothly he wouldn’t have to lift a finger.
When the two horses started across the bridge, Joran raised his arm high, signally to start the attack. From the other side of the bridge Leon stepped out from behind a tree and fired a rock at the back of Sir Robert’s head. The rock struck the man perfectly and sent him falling to the ground.
Joran grabbed the edge of the bridge roof and flipped himself down onto the bridge as silently as a cat. As he’d planned the girl had stopped her horse on the bridge and was jumping down to see why her companion had fallen off his horse so suddenly. Joran moved fast coming up behind the girl as she leaned over her fallen friend. He tackled her hard, they went crashing into the bridge deck. Behind him Marion came up and grabbed the reins of the started horses while Alphonso came up and gagged Sibylle while Joran kept her pinned down. They then tied her hands and feet while she struggled.
“You can quit struggling now,” said Joran.
The girl glared up at him and struggle some more.
Joran took out his knife and put it in front of her face. “Your friend got hit in the back of the head with a rock. He’s likely not dead, but if you don’t stop struggling I am going to go finish him off instead of pulling his body off the road like I’d planned. The choice is yours.”
Sibylle quit struggling.
“Smart girl,” said Joran.
Alphonso and Leon pulled Sir Robert’s body off the road. They had no intentions of killing the man unless necessary. The king still hoped that Lord Lamar would renounce the claim of independence. Killing Sir Robert would complicate that effort. With luck the man would wake up in a few hours and make his way home to report the kidnapping.
Victim in tow, Joran and the men started heading west. Alphonso rode ahead to make sure no other guests from the party would surprise them on the road. A mile from the Benson they came to another road that went north. They followed it for miles, until it started they reached a spot in the road they had marked the night before. From there they took a trail that led them up into the hills. Jamison’s uncle had lived here in a large cabin, hunting the woods, and trading his pelts in Middale. After his death during a hunting accident, the family had moved into Middale and the cabin had been abandoned. It was a perfect place to hide out while they waited for Lyric and his dragons. It had a large storage shed and a stable. Joran took Sibylle to the storage shed and locked her in it. Two guards would remain with her at all times.
Leaving Sibylle in the shed, Joran went to the cabin.
“Is it done?” asked Talon Horne.
Joran nodded. He looked around the room. The rest of the dragon hunters were with their leader. Half were sprawled out sleeping, while a dozen were in full armor. From now until the Lyric and his dragon arrived men would be ready. Now that they had the bait, the trap was complete. “Yes, Prince Horne. It is done.”
44
The pile of rocks was massive. Lyric was amazed how many rocks the three dragons had managed to move in such a brief time. It had been going well with Leomaris using the net and Kemoth shifting, but then Ovalia had Tripp build another smaller net for her to use and it became a game for the dragons. They hustled to outdo one another. Leomaris taking as big as loads as his net could manage, whi
le Ovalia took smaller more modest loads but she could load her smaller net faster and was taking two trips for everyone that Leomaris made. And Kemoth, by shifting was taking huge rocks half his body size. By the end of the day they had accumulated an enormous supply of rocks. Everyone was surprised by the pile when they returned to the estate that evening.
“I don’t know what we are going to do with all this rock,” said Marsden. “We only needed a fraction of it to make repairs.”
Lyric smiled. “I can think of worse problems to have than too many supplies.”
“True enough,” agreed Marsden. “Have you given thought about what to do with them?”
“Yes. But I would like everyone’s input. I don’t claim to have any knowledge about these sorts of things.”
“Tripp, you remember that fortress in Northern Mandilla?” asked Jarvis Hayes.
“The one with that little village on the south end? That little blonde you almost got us killed over?”
“That is the one. Focus on the fortress, not the girls.”
Tripp chuckled. “That would be a first for you.” He paused for a moment. “Okay, I remember now. It had been a smaller fortress to start, then they kept expanding the outer walls, making it almost like a labyrinth.”
“Exactly. We could expand the outer walls. Obviously, we can’t expand along the cliff sides, but we could easily extend the walls on the southern and western sides, especially the western.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” said Marsden. “We could build proper stables, and a second wall along the western gates would increase our security.”
“It’s too bad Leomaris and Ovalia left. We could’ve used their help building the walls,” said Jarvis.
Marsden shook his head. “You need to lift a rock or two. You’re getting soft.”
Jarvis grinned. “You can blame Carvel for that. That man can cook!”
“So, what do you need me to do?” asked Lyric.
“Nothing. It will take Tripp and Jarvis a while to sort out the stones they want to build the base of the wall with, and Carvel and I will mark off where we want to build the wall. It will take at least the day before we have anything ready for your approval.”
“You should go to the lake. It is mighty pretty,” said Tripp. “Explore your new estate a bit while we plan the new wall.”
Lyric turned to Celine. “What do you think?”
“You and I should do some magic practice today, but a walk to the lake would be nice. You can practice there without destroying anything.”
Marsden looked at Lyric curiously.
Lyric just shrugged. “Like I told you before, my magical abilities were repressed since I was a baby. I don’t know what I am capable of other than the dragonblood magic I’ve learned from Kemoth.”
“Interesting,” said Marsden. “I’m no mage, but practicing at the lake doesn’t sound like a terrible idea.”
“I’ll pack you a picnic launch,” said Carvel.
Kemoth, what are you doing? mindlinked Lyric.
Sleeping and sunning myself on the beach!
Lyric smiled. Kemoth seemed very emphatic about his plans for the day. Shifting with all those heavy rocks had probably drained him more than he was willing to admit. Celine and I are going to the lake, you could come see if the fishing is any good.
Tiny little lake trout? I’ll eat at the sea today, thank you very much.
With a chuckle, Lyric turned to Celine. “Looks like it is just you and me today. Kemoth has his own plans.”
“Come on brother, let’s get started organizing this damn pile of rocks,” said Tripp.
Tell the brothers I will lift the heavy rocks for them tomorrow, mindlinked Kemoth.
“Kemoth says he’ll move the heavy stuff tomorrow,” said Lyric, relaying the dragons message.
“Thank the gods for dragons,” said Jarvis. My back was hurting just looking at the pile.”
“You lazy sod,” swore Tripp.
As the brothers started bickering Carvel returned with a small sack. “There ye be.”
“Thank you, Carvel,” said Celine. Leaning in and giving the man a kiss on the cheek.
Carvel blushed profusely and lowered his head.
Lyric grabbed Celine’s hand and they started walking. The western gates were already open as the men had the horses picketed out in the grass. As they walked Lyric thought about Ovalia and Leomaris. He hoped their flight back to the western mountains had gone well. There wasn’t much to fear for dragons, but strange things seemed to happen when you least expected it.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Celine as they walked.
“I was just thinking about how weird life is. You never know when something crazy is going to happen.”
“Like meeting a dragon, or fighting off a pack of vicious beasts?”
“Or being rescued by a witch and falling under the spell of her enchantress niece.”
“Enchantress? I like that,” said Celine with a wink.
“What about you? What is on your mind?”
“I was thinking about Azina and Valeria. They should be here. And I worry about the Lamars. Not knowing what is going on in Middale is aggravating.”
“I could go to Redfall Estates. I could shift there. It would be safe. No one could track me, and we trust everyone there.”
“I would like that. Sibylle could go to my aunts and have them brought here.”
“Wouldn’t people look for them?”
“No, we witches travel. Before you came it was rare for all three of us to be in one place for such a long time. We don’t tell people where to find us, and to be honest they don’t come looking.”
“Perfect. No one will be likely to follow them then.”
“They won’t let anyone follow them. They know about the king’s men watching the house. They can give them the slip any time they want.”
“Then it is settled. Tomorrow I will go to Redfall and arrange it. It would be good to see Sibylle and Allan.”
“You and Allan are getting chummy.”
“I like him. He’s someone I trust. He didn’t judge me at all for being dragonblood.”
“Good. It is important for you to have friends, people you can trust. Being dragonblood is going to be a burden, carrying it yourself all the time won’t be possible. You will have to rely on others sometimes.”
“I have you,” said Lyric.
“Yes, you do. But that won’t be enough. Being dragonblood won’t be easy. You will face challenges you never imagined; have enemies who hide in the shadows.”
“You don’t make it sound like a blessing.”
“It is a blessing, but not for you. People need dragonbloods, they need peace between men and dragons. But for you it is more a curse than a blessing. You have been gifted powers beyond what others can only dream about. Warriors would kill to have you speed and strength. Mages would give their souls to have a taste of the magic you can use. But the enemies you face will be even greater.”
Lyric knew the truth in her words. He’d heard them from Azina before as she’d explained the duality of his existence. The blessing and the curse, the power and the responsibility. More importantly he’d started to feel it. The choice to fight and kill the wolfhounds, the choice to run from Talon Horne. Every choice he made now had consequences, some life and death, some that impacted far more lives that his own. It was something that he had no choice but to accept. If he fought it, tried to pretend it didn’t exist it would drive him mad. The key wasn’t in accepting that he had great powers, or that he had great responsibilities. No, the key was understanding that he was still human and would make mistakes. He wanted to tell Celine this, tell her that he truly understood what it meant to be dragonblood, but he didn’t have the words, at least not yet. “Let’s discuss something else for a while. It’s far too pretty a day for such heavy thoughts.”
Celine smiled. “What would you like to discuss?”
“Our living quarters. They are far too stark
. They need some color,” said Lyric.
“Then let us pick some flowers. We can place arrangements around the quarters. Give them some color.”
“An excellent idea,” said Lyric with a grin. He then reached down and grabbed a tiny little purple flower.
Celine shook her head. “That is a weed. And it will stink something awful as it dries. I will teach you what flowers are best for arrangements. And what ones we can use for medicines.” She then started pointing at different flowers. The meadow was full of wildflowers and it didn’t take long before he had a handful of them. She then pointed to a large bush near the lake. “Star lilac, they will make the quarters smell nice. Grab a handful of the branches.”
Lyric went to the large shrub. He leaned down and smelled. She was right. The Star Lilac was like other lilacs yet it also had a hint of something else, something akin to cinnamon. It was a pleasant odor to be sure. He started breaking of branches.
Suddenly from behind the bush a great beast arose. With a roar, it charged.
“Troll,” yelled Celine, but they were too far from the fortress for the men to hear her, even if they were on the outside of the wall.
The troll was tall, easily seven feet and thick in the chest and legs. It stood like a man, but had had paws like a bear with long claws that curled out like short knives. Its body was covered in thick brown fur.
Lyric had only had his small dagger with him. His staff was back in his room. In one hand, he held his bouquet of flowers and in his other the dagger. He wasn’t sure his dagger was going to be much more use than the flowers against such a beast but it would have to do. “Run to the fortress, and lock the gates,” he yelled at Celine.
As Celine took off running, Lyric dove under the attacking troll. He felt the whiff of the beasts paw as it whipped by his ear. Lyric slashed out with his dagger, slicing the beasts leg. The blade barely broke the skin.
The troll whipped around, backhanding Lyric. He went crashing to the ground. The beast roared.
Lyric wiped his lip. The backhand had cut his mouth open and he could taste his own blood. He nodded at the creature. Despite Lyric landing the first strike, the troll had drawn first blood. Lyric stood up and readied himself. This time when the troll attacked, Lyric shifted behind it. He jabbed the troll in the lower back then shifted away to a safe spot out of the its reach.
Dragon Magic: Lyric's Curse 2 (Dragonblood Sagas Book 4) Page 25
