by Cyn Bagley
It was the remembering and thinking that had hurt. Michael gasped and grabbed his head with his hands and groaned.
Davi stirred the campfire and coaxed the coals into a small flame. He fed the small fire kindling and small sticks. Davi pulled out a tin teapot from the saddlebags, and then put the pot on the fire. Michael kept his eyes closed and tried to soothe his roiling stomach. It didn't help. He rolled back over and vomited again. The smell of the vomit made his stomach gurgle. Once his stomach emptied, the claws stabbed deep in his mind. He tried to open his eyes, but all he could see were little spots superimposed on the trees. The light hurt.
Michael heard Davi's footsteps. They sounded like thunder, as Davi walked to the stream and back. Davi placed a cold cloth on his head. It soothed his headache a little. It was the sensation of cold in contrast to the heat generated from the fire that soothed the pain.
Once the water heated, and the tea steeped, Davi helped Michael to sit. "Here," Davi said as he put the mug into Michael's hands. "Drink," he said "you'll feel better."
Michael sipped the brew, wishing that he had some honey or something sweet to take away the bitterness. Davi encouraged him to drink it all. As Michael sipped the brew, he kept his eyes closed.
As the pain dissipated, Michael remembered that this little routine of vomiting and healing tea had been happening since they left the tainted village. Sometimes Michael had not be able to sleep at night so Davi would load the horse, give Michael a boost so that he lay in the saddle over the horse's neck. Then after a few miles, Davi would stop at a new campsite. Michael would fall asleep. In the morning they would start the routine again of Michael trying to remember, vomiting, and then healing brew.
It shamed Michael that this child was caring for him. It was Michael's responsibility to to take care of the child, not the other way around. Every time he came out of the headache and feverish dreams, he noticed that Davi had grown an inch or two. No human child could grow this fast. Before he could reason out what Davi could be, he would fall asleep or vomit again.
While Michael was trying not to think, Davi had finished packing the bags and loading the horse. He rinsed out Michael's cup, and then used the water to kill the fire. The fire was small that it didn't give off much smoke when doused.
Michael still had his blanket wrapped around his shoulders. In his weakened state, he could feel the village's taint. It was fading, but it would affect the land for the next few years. Maybe in a century or so, the land would rest, the animals would go feral, and some brave souls who had never heard of the taint, would come to claim the land. By then the festering sore would be filtered and cleansed. If he ever made it to Hilda's, he would let his guild know that this land and people had been raped.
Davi helped him mount the horse after a lot of pushing. It had been a long time since Michael had felt so weak. Without Davi, he would not survive. In the back of his mind he felt the geas, pushing him to hurry. But in his fore mind, he couldn't seem to remember why he needed to hurry. As long as they continued towards the coast, Michael was satisfied.
Black Forest north of Delhaven
Davi Dracson
As Davi lifted Michael on the horse, Michael slipped and almost landed on Davi. Davi grunted then pushed again until Michael was seated haphazardly on the horse. Michael was not getting better. His mind had been ripped wide open by the Grimoire when it had tried to take possession of Michael after the little black mage had died. The mother dragon had only been able to give superficial healing. Michael's body should have continued the healing.
After drinking the tea Davie prepared each night, Michael's brain became lucid for a few moments, but the Grimoire taint pushed Michael back into pain and hallucinations. Davi needed to find a healer who could cleanse the taint. If not, Michael would wither away and die.
Just like the last three days, Michael slumped over the saddle horn, almost falling from the horse. If the horse hadn't been sure-footed and feeling for the slide caused by an unconscious body, Michael would have fallen hard.
Davi stopped the horse and tied him to a tree. The gelding gave him a look that said, why not take all these heavy things off my back. Davi ignored the horse and sat down, closed his eyes, and called. He could hear the sounds of dragons far in the distant reaches of his mind. He kept calling until he heard the one sound he was waiting for.
It was a grumpy grumbling sound that gathered from a large chest and dispersed through a throat that was several feet long. Davi looked up into the green-gold eyes of a dragon. Davi calmed the horse before it started to panic. Then he put his full attention onto the large green dragon. Her scales glittered in the weakening sun dulled by clouds.
He could feel the amusement coming from the dragon as he showed his appreciation of her beauty. "Oh well," he heard in his mind. "Come with me." It was a grunt of resignation. Davi followed her through the brush until she had some room to take to the skies.
She circled a few times and then went north. He untied the horse and pulled the reluctant horse after the guide in the sky. Not many of the races knew about dragon powers. Michael was very lucky to have Davi with him. Not that Michael would ever know his true luck. Taints and poisons were routinely healed by dragons. The folktale that dragon saliva could heal poison was true. They didn't want that little gem out because the healers were more tenacious and sometimes more vicious than warriors. The healers would kill dragons just for one healing power.
It was a little unsettling that the dragon had not waited to hear Davi's story. She could have healed Michael there on the trail. But he let his questions fester, knowing she wouldn't answer them until they reached her cave or if she was really grumbly, wouldn't answer at all.
The land went from the soft valleys filled with softer plants to the harder land of volcanic rocks. If Davi had been truly human, he would have thought that they were traveling quite rapidly for a boy and a horse carrying such a heavy load.
Davi kept checking Michael, but the mage was still alive. His skin was extremely pale with that clammy feel that a human sometimes gets when he has a high fever. Michael kept breathing although he was hoarse and sometimes moved like he was in the middle of a nightmare. Davi had had to tie Michael's hands and feet. His movements made it hard for the horse to keep him seated.
By the time they reached the small cave that was the beginning of a mine shaft, the horse was shaking from the long climb. Davi wanted to sit down and sleep. They moved a few more feet and the cave widened to accommodate Davi and the horse.
"Mice," he heard the she-dragon say to him in his mind. "An opening for small ones. Mice."
"Oh humans may look like mice, but they are much bigger – great one."
"Bring the sick one through there," a hole opened up. "Your mouse will be safe in the cave."
Davi grunted as he pulled Michael off the horse. He pulled the rest of the load off and set it near one of the cave's walls. He rubbed the horse down and put the last of the oats for the horse to eat. In the corner was a cart that was just big enough to put Michael into. By this time Michael was conscious enough to climb into the cart. He stumbled and Davi had to balance him.
"Where we going?" asked Michael. Davi could see that Michael was there for just an instant and then he was gone, back to the nightmare of fighting the Grimoire. If they couldn't help him, they would have to kill him. He was too talented to become a puppet of that book. And, Davi was sure that Michael would want it that way.
If either of them were claustrophobic, the next fifteen minutes would have scared the bejesus out of them. The walls and top of the dug tunnel were shored by large timber that was hundreds of years old. The timber had aged and was cracking in places. It would still hold the tons of rock and dirt, but one day it would give and slide into the rat holes made my miners, Davi suspected dwarfs except he had never heard of collaborations with dragons and dwarfs. Humans mined as well. Usually they mined in open-pit mining that scarred the land. The other creatures were not sure why they would
do it this way. Maybe humans were scared of the pressing dark. Davi was sure that this hole had to have been made by dwarfs.
He was able to pull Michael's cart easily through the cave system until he reached a huge door. It was ten times taller and five times wider than a man. Down near his height there was a knocker. He could feel the sound through his feet as he knocked. Bang, bang, bang.
A small door in the huge one opened. A dwarf, it is hard to tell the difference between a male and female because they both have beards, opened the door. "You are expected," he said. "Come."
Davi dragged the cart through the door. His arms hurt from the exertion. He could feel the relief overwhelm him.
Three dwarves met him at the door. They picked up Michael, who was murmuring as the high fever kicked in, and carried him to a small bed near the large form of the green she-dragon. She didn't smile at Davi even though his thoughts amused her. One dwarf stirred a concoction of smelly green goo in a cauldron.
As if on cue Michael began to jerk and shake. The dwarfs holding him, dropped him on the bed, and tied him down. One of the dwarfs held Michael's head and pinched his nose as one of them poured the liquid down his throat. Davi was afraid that Michael would choke on the liquid, but Michael quieted down for a moment, and then came the convulsions.
Davi could hear the she-dragon murmur and speak an ancient language. It shook the room and parts of the bed Michael was lying on crumbled to rock. Michael convulsed. The she-dragon chanted again and again as Michael convulsed in time to her words. The words rung through Davi's head and ears as the tones changed between high and low notes.
The world around him shook and convulsed. As the words peaked, Davi thought that the world around him would never be calm again. It seemed to last for hours, the chanting and the convulsions. At one point, Michael started to turn to stone. The dragon hit a high note and held it. Davi felt himself shatter and scatter through the cave as Michael's color turned to flesh again.
Time stretched and Davie stretched with it. At the end of the note, time snapped back. Davi heard nothing, not even the heartbeat of the cave. When he looked at himself, he was a young man and not a boy any longer.
The dwarfs held Michael in his last convulsion. The sound from the she-dragon bubbled from her mouth. Another snap and Davi was back in real time. Michael's eyes were wide open, although no one was home yet. The dwarfs were cleaning up the rubble and bowing to the she-dragon.
The she-dragon's eyes glinted. "My name is Jewel not she-dragon," there was a laugh in the mental voice. Jewel's head rested on the ground near Davi's feet. Davi was sprawled on the ground. He didn't remember when he sat down or fell. He felt the stirrings of a man as he gazed into her perfect eyes. He tried to stand up so that he could bow to her. Jewel had captured him with her magic and her song.
Jewel blew a bubble. "Time-traveler," she said. "You will need training. Once you have finished your time with the humans, come back to me."
He admired her scales as she waddled through a doorway leading away from them. "Dragons don't waddle," he heard in his head as she left with a particular fine swish. He yearned for a moment and then remembered – he would be coming back when he had finished his human training.
It took a few days until Michael was back on his feet. The fever left him weak. The dwarfs took care of Michael and when it was time to leave, all of Davi's and Michael's clothes had been patched. The dwarfs even supplied them with enough food for the rest of their journey.
They walked through the same tunnel, upwards to the world. Michael, still weak, stumbled and leaned against him during much of the trip. The horse was in the opening of the cave, well fed and groomed. And very talkative. The connection between Davi and the horse had widened from Jewel's magic, so when the horse told Davi that the smelly little people were nice and he was ready to leave for greener pastures, Davi patted the horse and saddled him.
Davi led the horse down the path, using dragon travel magic. "Thank you," Michael said. He still clutched the saddle horn when the horse moved quickly.
"Where are we going," asked Davi. The horse put its head on his shoulder. He listened as Michael explained that he must see his sister, who owned an Inn on the coast. He had news she needed to hear, but he had been traveling so long that the news might be too late.
Davi could hear the concern in Michael's mind. When Michael remembered him last he was the size of a small boy. Now he was a young man. Still Michael trusted him. Michael was too tired to figure out which supernatural creature spawned Davi. Once he was well, Michael would realize he was a dragon.
He could trust Michael. He knew he could trust Michael. There was a little seed of doubt because humans used dragonlings in magic potions. Every part of his body was valuable for magic.
Michael owed a debt to Jewel, but he was also owed a debt from the dragons. He had saved twenty-nine spawnlings from a taint that would have changed dragonhood forever. The transformation of these children from human to dragon saved dragonkind. However, the dragons had the resources to raise one or two dragons in a century, but twenty-nine? The she-dragons would be overwhelmed with these spawnlings.
Plus the Grimoire may still have tainted the changed ones. They would have to be watched for taint. It would be a long time. Having humans changed to dragons also shook up the knowledge that dragons had of their creation history. If this could happen, then dragons and humans were close on the creation tree. It was a harrowing thought to a dragon, who had been hunted and killed by humans for centuries.
As for Michael and his suspicions? Humans were really good at deceiving themselves. Already Michael was thinking that Davi was older than he thought. Michael's memories had changed enough that Davi was sure he would be safe for a time.
Davi led the horse down the side of the mountain. The horse swiped a few blades of grass until Davi gave a small jerk to let the horse know he couldn't eat. Michael held onto the saddle horn. He took a deep breath of clean air. Flakes of snow on the ground glittered.
Davi looked to see if the dragon was anywhere in his mind. Jewel was gone.
He looked at Michael tied to the saddle and was amused. Yes, Michael was blessed of dragons, but still all too human.
Chapter Ten
Delhaven, port city
Hilda Brant
The public room in the Inn was louder and more frenetic than ever. The maid and drudge carried three to six pints of ale to the men as they pounded back the ale and signaled for more by banging the mugs on the wooden tables. To Hilda's ears there was desperation in the sound.
Mary Rose's explanation that Lord Barton's need to acquire her Inn just didn't make sense. The well was no use to Lord Barton, unless he was able to use magic. If he had magic, Hilda would have known. The world would have known. It was not easily hidden.
Still he had to have some magic to send her a letter through a gateway. She shivered. The only explanation was that Lord Barton was readying the city for war. Most of the lordlings she had the misfortune to meet in other wars were power-hungry. She had seen the results to the farmers and farm land when it was ripped to the point of no return because some lordling wanted more wealth. It wasn't pretty.
Hilda pushed the hair from her eyes. She rinsed out the beer mugs and poured more ale for the customers. The sun had set, and the night showed signs of early winter. The air was crisp outside and the smell of rain was in the air. Most of the mercenaries and retired soldiers would come in to ask for food at the back door. They would need that extra warmth.
She dished up the stew in bowls. It was warm and the scent of meat in the vegetables made one or two of the men lift their heads and sniff.
In the public room, a group of men were singing in the far corner. Her usual four, Rooso, Oscar, Just Andy, and Annie were setting up a game at their usual table. After her meeting with Mary Rose, Hilda was sure that Annie was Mary Rose's eyes and ears. Also, Rooso and his two friends seemed pretty familiar with her sister, considering Rooso had led her to Mistress Mary,
Mary Rose' ship.
The drunken singers sang of a girl who waited for her lover as he went to find his fortune when she found her not-so-true love, a thief. When her lover came home, she had already had two children and was more than willing to help him spend his money. He left her for a brothel maid and found true love. Each verse was rowdier than the last and it made a few of the older mercenaries clap and sing with gusto.
A fiddler tuned his lute and the singers quieted as he started to play. One of the customers grabbed the drudge and spun her down between the tables. Another customer grabbed her and spun her back. The drudge ran to the kitchen to get her breath back, but she was laughing instead of cringing. Any woman left in the public room was twirled around while an old man in the corner danced.
Several men, who were sitting and scowling, became noticeable amid the merriment. They weren't even tapping their feet, which made Hilda wary. Hilda signaled to Rooso to watch them.
The thugs' coats bulged and Hlida could tell there was large knives and swords hidden under their coats. If they became a problem, Rooso would signal her. Her customers had thrown out rough men before. She relaxed and listen to the player as he began a song telling of two lovers lost and dying.
In the middle of the song, the thugs stood up, smashed their mugs together and sang of king and country. Normally it wouldn't be a problem. Royalists sometimes came to the pub for an ale and the opportunity to rub shoulders with the lower classes. Hilda's Inn was safer than most, but-- they drowned lute player.
"Oh no," Hilda murmured. Rooso and Oscar started towards the men. She suspected it was a precursor to a brawl, and then an arson. It had been done in other Inns in the city.
Then guards rushed through the front door and surrounded Hilda, and blocked her from the inevitable riot. The cook, drudge, and other smarter souls like the lute player scuttled through a small door that went to the kitchen. She heard the cook barricade the door. If the rioters, cause she knew there were would be rioters, got to the kitchen, they could use the fires to burn the place down.
