by T R Kerby
"What would it benefit them?" Randir asked.
"Nothing as far as I can see."
"They want something from us. We're safe until they get it, or don't."
"Agreed. If any of you don't want to go, there's no shame."
They looked at one another. "We're going," Bronwyn said. "I plan to kill him."
Tegedir took Lalaith's hand. "I want you to stay."
She laid her palm on his cheek. "I know you do."
Tegedir bowed to her. "Shall we go?"
Chapter 3
Tegedir led them across the stream and stopped before the woman.
A maroon and gold cloak covered her head. A fine sword adorned her hip with a matching dagger in the belt. She appraised him from boots to head. "The dark boy takes after you, except for the eyes." Her attention flitted to Randir. "Those are his. An older son perhaps?"
"No," Tegedir said. "Old blood,"
"Hmm." She studied Bronwyn. "The littlest one is yours."
"My grandson."
The woman flicked a graceful hand at Randir and Trinn. "But these are not the parents."
"No."
"Why are they here?"
"My eldest son and his mate."
Thera peeked around her mother. "I'm her daughter."
"Take us to Murdoc," Tegedir said. "Enough discussing family lines."
"It will be enough when I decide it is," the woman said. "Leave your weapons."
Tegedir unbuckled his sword and lowered it to the grass. The others followed.
"Daggers, too." More blades clattered onto the pile. Still the woman stood fast. She cocked her head to the side. "Introduce me to your mate, Dragonlord."
Tegedir stiffened. He should have held onto his sword another few minutes.
"I mean her no harm."
Lalaith stepped from behind Tegedir and lifted her cloak hood away from her face. "I am Lalaith. It's clear you already know what we are, so can we get on with it? What do you want?"
The corner of the woman's lip lifted. "Never thought I'd actually see a Zinotti. You'll forgive me if I stare. Everyone said it was a legend, but I knew there had to be truth in it."
Tegedir fought the desire to grab the woman's thin neck. The bones and vessels would crush so easily.
Her icy gaze shifted to him as if she read his mind. "What happened to your ears?"
"A sharp knife and skilled hand."
She smiled, her teeth perfect and white. "The same as your twins? Of course. Hide in plain sight. Blend in." She stepped into the woods. "You'll be gone overnight. If anyone follows, everyone dies. I hope you told your soldiers to be patient."
Tegedir signaled Narthan and received a response. No one would attempt to follow. Narthan would be unhappy, but there was no helping it. They moved into the darkness of the forest. The woman traveled like a cat, agile and sure, as skilled in the woods as his best scout. The moon rose and still they walked.
A granite cliff towered into the sky and blocked the stars. The woman stopped and gave an abrupt whistle, which was answered from somewhere ahead.
Woodsmoke scented the still air and a faint glow was visible through the trees. No one sat near the low burning fire as they passed, but Tegedir sensed eyes on his back.
The woman pushed aside a screen of brush and entered a cave. Randir halted so abruptly Trinn bumped into him. Tegedir understood the reluctance. Caves were cages. They'd had their fill of them not many years ago.
This cave might be the last one they ever enter. No better ambush spot existed. His whole family could be wiped out at one pass. He looked at Randir, who shook his head.
The woman peered out. "Coming or not?"
"Show us the kids, then we'll decide," Tegedir said.
She snapped her fingers over her shoulder. A few seconds later a man appeared with Neva on his hip. Her hair was disheveled and she rubbed at her sleepy eyes.
Lalaith crushed his mail into his bicep.
"Now are you coming in to talk, or are we standing outside the rest of the night?" the woman asked.
Tegedir shoved through the brush. Ten men lined the chamber walls. Was this the full force? Ten? Firelight cast twisted shadows on the stone walls and smoke filtered along the low ceiling and through the door. Woven pine sleeping mats lay around the fire. A quick count. Ten.
"Where are the boys?" Lalaith asked.
The man set Neva on her feet and she yawned. He disappeared behind a hanging blanket and returned with Deru.
Tegedir's heart beat against his ribs and sweat beaded on his lip. Where was his son?
A second man came from another tunnel with Brannon in tow.
"Da!" Brannon bolted toward Tegedir, only to be stopped with a sword dropped like a gate across his path. The joy fell from his son's face.
Tegedir took a step toward the man, but Randir caught his elbow. "Are you hurt?" Tegedir asked Brannon.
"No. Can we go home now?" Brannon took Neva's hand and faint silver light formed around the twin's entwined fingers.
Tegedir's hair rose and he glanced at Lalaith as energy built in the cavern. He had the distinct sensation lightning was about to strike.
The woman swept Neva up and the light died away. She glared at the man behind them. "What have I told you about keeping them apart?"
"Sorry, Cap'. Forgot."
"Forget again and you get the lash."
"You're Murdoc," Tegedir said.
The woman smiled at Neva. "Want to play the game again?"
Neva hugged Murdoc's neck and peeked at her parents. "The game is fun. The pieces are so beautiful."
Lalaith choked back a sob. "Why are you doing this?"
Neva slid to the floor and ran behind the curtain.
"You see?" Murdoc said. "They're not hurt."
"Want to see my new sword, Gran?" Deru asked.
Bronwyn wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Very much."
Tegedir ground his teeth and clenched his fist at his side. "What do you want?"
"The Zinotti lovebirds come with me," Murdoc said. "You others wait here." She ducked behind the hanging blanket.
Tegedir eased forward, conscious of Randir and Trinn behind him, shielding Lalaith between them. He lifted the curtain. Candles burned around the room. Neva sat on the floor, rolling carved gemstone balls on a tigerwood board. The ruby, emerald, sapphire, and citrine stones sparkled with the candlelight. A diamond the size of Neva's fist sat in the middle. She grinned at him. "It's a strategy game. I'll teach you how to play."
Murdoc waited behind a pallet on the floor watching him. Her cloak hood was down, exposing her features. Brown hair, cropped short. High cheekbones accented a finely chiseled face, a full mouth, and small nose. A thin white scar traveled from her right eyebrow to her left cheek.
On the pallet at her feet lay a girl, wrapped in a bundle of blankets. Frail as a whisper of candle smoke and just as pale. Was she dead? Her chest slowly rose and fell.
Lalaith came around him and went to her knees next to the girl. She laid her palm on the girl's forehead. "How long has she been like this?"
"Two years, getting steadily worse. All the best healers have examined her. And all the worst salve hawkers. I've canvassed the known world, ventured into the unknown, and been to places I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies. No one has helped her."
"How old is she?"
"Thirteen."
"Your daughter?"
Murdoc sighed. "Yes."
"What's her name?"
"Zila."
"If you wanted our help, why not ask?" Tegedir let the curtain fall behind him.
Murdoc snorted. "People don't help without the proper motivation."
"Abducting children? Is that your motivational tool?"
Neva stopped rolling the gemstones. "Da, are you mad?"
Scaring his daughter would not help matters. Tegedir settled the anger to use later. "No, my love."
Murdoc lifted Neva to her feet. "Go play with Deru, beautiful girl, while I talk to your pa
rents."
"Why not Bran?"
"Not yet. Later. Go on now."
Tegedir went to a knee in the doorway and Neva hugged his neck. He rose with her on his arm.
"I know where your thoughts are, Dragonlord," Murdoc said. "Hold her and never let her go. I relate, believe me. Before you make your heroic move, know this. One whistle and the boys meet blades. Is it worth the risk? You're unarmed and outnumbered. Who would really win? No one."
They stared at one another over her daughter's death bed, pitted will against will. Better they die together, than leave his children at her mercy.
"Tegedir," Lalaith said. "Don't."
Neva kissed his cheek, her breath warm and sweet against his skin. He couldn't risk it. He set her on the floor and she skipped from the room.
"Wise choice, Commander," Murdoc said.
"How'd you get them to go with you?" Tegedir asked.
"I can be persuasive. Brannon was suspicious. Clever boy, your son. He required some magic dust. That's what I call it. The other two were easy to convince. They're trusting. The result of a safe life." Murdoc dragged a stool next to the bed and sat. "We were discussing my daughter. In my travels, rumors flew of a cure, but no one could provide it. You will get it for me."
"What cure?" Lalaith asked.
"The yolk of a dragon's egg mixed with the blood of a Drakuri lord."
Lalaith raised her eyebrows. "That's preposterous."
"Is it?"
"The last dragon died when I was a child. I saw it. A poor, scarred beast, chained by the neck to a stone pillar. No bigger than a horse and twice as helpless."
"Ancient texts tell of dragons, far in the north, in a land of ice and fire. Drakuri dragons."
"The Drakuri disappeared centuries ago, after the first war with Lord Cardew."
Murdoc gestured to Tegedir. "Apparently not. You birthed twins from one."
Lalaith pinched her lips together until they formed a white line.
Murdoc grinned. "Can't deny that one, can you? He can't be the last of those handsome devils, right? Someone had to conceive him, deliver him, bring him to you. Who did that?"
Tegedir wanted the answer as much as Murdoc. "What have you found?"
"Curious, are you? Can't help wonder where you came from? We all wonder that, don't we?" She went to a chest and removed a thick, leather bound book. "I stole this from a religious order across the sea. Funny how much information those types accumulate. Anyway, most of it is genealogy. Bloodlines. Boring, until I noticed the pattern."
"What pattern?"
"Twins. House Drakur's noble lines always produce twins. Without fail."
Tegedir's knees faltered and he braced against the wall to steady himself. Twins. Did he have a twin somewhere? Was he noble born? Who brought him to the woman who raised him? Who was he? "I've studied every text we have on the Drakur. Nowhere are twins mentioned."
"She's right," Lalaith said. "Only in House Drakur was it the case. I'd forgotten. Our library holds what House Caletha saved after the first war. There are certainly holes in our knowledge."
"So you see, Dragonlord," Murdoc said. "I followed loose tongues to your door."
"I'll give you my blood, if you let them go."
Murdoc snorted. "I know that, silly." She passed the book to Lalaith. "What you're going to do, is get me a dragon egg."
Chapter 4
"A dragon egg?" Tegedir raked his hand through his hair. He didn't even know what a dragon looked like, let alone an egg.
"According to my research, the Drakuri commune with dragons. If anyone can find one, you can," Murdoc said.
"They don't exist anymore." He gestured to Lalaith. "You heard her. The last one died when she was a child."
"I also heard her say the Drakuri had disappeared, yet here you stand."
Lalaith brushed a strand of hair from Zila's forehead. "No dragon egg will save your daughter. Nor any Drakuri blood. What ails her cannot be cured."
Murdoc raised her chin and her body stiffened. "You'll get me the egg, or you will lose your children. That simple. Succeed, or they die."
Tegedir pushed away from the wall. He could practically feel the crush of her throat in his fist.
Lalaith looked at Murdoc. "I understand your pain."
"No. You don't. You have two healthy babies. How far would you go to save them?"
"I wouldn't steal another mother's child and put her through the same pain."
"Hmmph. We'll see." Murdoc rose from the stool. "You should make plans, Dragonlord. You haven't much time and it's a long way. Take the book. Judging by my maps, it will take you the entire summer, if things go well. In the book are notes regarding the dragons. It should be enough."
"Your daughter will die before the end of summer," Lalaith said. "The time frame is not possible."
"Then you should get started."
Lalaith got to her feet and reached out to Murdoc. "You don't have to threaten our children to earn our help."
"Really? Would your mate take his warriors and search for something he doesn't believe in, risk their lives and his, when you say it won't work even if he succeeds?"
Lalaith was quiet.
"Didn't think so." Murdoc turned her gaze on Tegedir. "Your people will provision mine while we wait. No attempts will be made to regain the children. You may send one of your women to check on them every day. Any slip and I open the throats of your offspring." She knelt on the pallet next to her daughter. "Now get out."
Lalaith preceded Tegedir through the doorway. The others surrounded them. "Outside," Tegedir said. They walked into the trees beyond earshot of the cave.
"What happened?" Bronwyn asked.
Tegedir filled them in. "Appears we're headed north."
"She's insane," Trinn said.
"She's desperate," Lalaith said. "Her child is dying."
"We'll take a small group, all volunteer, and try to be back before fall," Tegedir said.
"Can we get the kids back by force? Or stealth?" Randir asked.
"I don't see how," Tegedir said. "She always has them close by. The odds are too strong she'd kill at least one, probably all three, before we could get them."
"Is she bluffing?" Bronwyn asked.
"No."
Lalaith gripped Tegedir's mail. "I'm staying with them."
"No. Not happening. I won't have you become another hostage. Thinking clearly with our children held captive is already challenge enough. If she has you, too, I'll never make it." His voice took on a tremble that was not leaderly at all. "If we have any hope of success, you must come with us. Your knowledge, skills. We'll need you."
"The children need someone they know."
"I'll stay," Bronwyn said. "Deru is my blood."
Thera nudged her way between her mother and Trinn. "I'll do it."
"You're not even of age," Tegedir said. "Your training is incomplete."
"Which is why I'm perfect. On this mission, you need skilled, trained warriors, not green half-grown girls. You won't miss my sword because I barely know how to use it."
"Wish I'd had her clarity at that age," Trinn said with audible admiration.
Randir took his sister by the elbow. "You're not staying with these people."
She unclamped his fingers from her sleeve. "Think about it, brother. I can help. Deru won't be scared with me there. I can be a distraction. Someone to play with, to hold them. Someone will bring provisions every day. They will know if I'm alright." She smiled. "I'll be fine."
Bronwyn blinked away tears and hugged her daughter. "When did you get so brave?"
"I watched you." Thera pleaded with Tegedir. "Let me do this, Commander."
At that moment, he didn't want to be their Commander. Didn't want to be the one to make choices with people's lives, with other people's children. They waited, hanging on his decision. He raised his face to the sky and hoped for some deliverance. None came.
"Thera," he said. "You could die. Those men could rape you. No one can
protect you. Once you're in there, you're at their mercy. You're another hostage. The chances they'd let you walk away are zero."
"I choose to do this. I'm nineteen. In two years, I take my Oath. There isn't much difference between risking my life now, and risking it then."
"In two years, you'll have more training, be better prepared," Randir said.
"In two years, I'll go on these missions with you, instead of staying behind to babysit."
"This is far more than babysitting," Tegedir said.
"Let me do it. For Deru, and Brannon, and Neva."
He held her gaze for a moment, her green eyes sparkled with fear and excitement, and determination. He dipped his head and she hugged him.
Randir rolled his eyes. "Alimarae, deliver us."
"I pray she does," Tegedir said.
A drawn sword met him at the cavern entrance. He held his hand away from his side. "I request another audience with Murdoc."
A minute later, she joined him in the doorway. "What?"
"I'll see you're provisioned and undisturbed, but I have one request. Since we may not survive this journey, give us one night with our children. And since they may never see us again, let Deru's aunt Thera stay. Consider her another hostage if you must, but let her be here as a comfort to them. She is no threat to you."
Murdoc studied him, eyebrows drawing together above her glacial eyes. "The twins stay apart."
"Fine."
She stepped aside and they reentered the cavern. "Your mate stays with me and Neva. The rest of your party stays with the boys." She indicated the second passage.
Lalaith ducked behind the hanging curtain.
Tegedir led the others along the narrow tunnel to a large chamber. Several sleeping mats encircled a fire burning in the center.
Brannon and Deru shot to their feet and ran to their family.
Brannon leaped and Tegedir caught him. He buried his face against his father's neck. "I want to go home."
Tegedir inhaled his boyish scent of dirt, sweat, and the sweetness of youth. "I know." Next to them, Deru's voice rose in excitement as he showed Randir his new wooden sword, scaled to the perfect size.
