The Serpent Cult (Heroes of Ravenford Book 2)

by F. P. Spirit

  “How may we be of service?” Seth continued.

  “I am looking for three... girls,” the dragon rumbled its reply. “They are in my care, but I have... lost them.”

  Seth responded without batting an eye. “Can you describe them?”

  “They would be... blonde... and young. They are sisters.”

  Seth put his hand to his chin, making a great show of contemplating the matter. “Hmmm... three young, blonde sisters, you say?”

  “Yes,” the copper creature rumbled, its massive head turning to regard the small being.

  Seth cocked his head and tapped his foot on the top of the crate. Finally, he shook his head. “I don’t believe so. Let me ask my friends.”

  Seth spun on his heel, knelt down, and whispered to Lloyd. The young warrior sat on the crate next to him, his expression one of deep concentration. Seth spoke so softly that Glo only caught two of the words, “sisters” and “truth”. Glo did his best to keep his expression impassive. He was not certain if the dragon would be familiar with the facial expressions of other races, but he decided not to take the chance. Finally, Seth sat back. Lloyd, still blinded, lifted his head and peered in the direction of the dragon. He cried out in the common tongue, “I am sorry, but I have not seen the girls you are asking about.”

  Glo nearly choked. That was brilliant! Lloyd currently could not see anything, so of course, he was telling the truth. The dragon was quiet for a long moment. Glo began to wonder if it understood common, when it finally responded in that tongue.

  “I thank you then for you time. I must be off now and continue my search.”

  With a great flap of its large wings, the copper dragon propelled itself forward. It shot ahead of the Endurance like a missile. A few hundred yards out, it shifted its huge frame and gracefully banked away. Abruptly something went wrong—the maneuver must have somehow thrown the dragon off balance. The dragon flapped its great wings wildly, only making things worse. Glo watched in horror as the great creature spiraled out of control. It plummeted downward and crashed into the bay, sending a tall spray of water in all directions!

  “What just happened?” Lloyd cried in dismay.

  “The dragon just dovetailed into the bay!” Seth responded incredulously.

  Glo barely heard them, already on the move. He rushed across the deck toward the opposite rail. On reaching it, he leaned far over the side. What he saw made him sigh with relief. The dragon had resurfaced about a hundred yards ahead of them.

  “It’s oka...” Glo started to say then halted. He had spoken too soon. The dragon was floundering in the water. It couldn’t swim! Glo reacted instinctively, reaching into his pouch and pulling out a small strip of leather. Moving his arms in concentric circles, he brought them together above his head. As his hands touched, he incanted a single word. “Subvolo.”

  In the waters ahead, the dragon stopped thrashing about. Its large form lifted partially out of the bay. It sputtered water out of its huge mouth and took in a deep breath, yet its wings were still submerged.

  It’s not enough, Glo realized. Without another thought, the elf vaulted for the nearest ladder.

  “Glo! Where are you going?” he heard Aksel’s cry behind him.

  “For a swim!” he yelled over his shoulder without stopping. The Endurance was at full sail and would quickly pass the drowning creature. Glo needed to hurry. He swiftly reached the top of the ladder, vaulted over the side and grabbed the rungs, half climbing, half skidding down. The entire time Glo kept an eye on the dragon. They were nearly on top of it now. He cried out to the creature in its own language, “Please stay still!”

  The dragon swiveled its large head around and looked directly at him. “Did you make me float?”

  “Yes! And if you hold still, I may be able to get you out!”

  “I will try,” the dragon rumbled back. It turned its large head forward and did its best not to move.

  Glo was only halfway down the ladder, but if he waited any longer, they would pass the creature by. He realized he had no choice—he had to risk a jump. Before he could talk himself out of it, Glo launched himself off the ladder. He went flying through the air toward the dragon’s back. Time slowed and Glo felt as if he hung there forever, suspended between the dragon and the ship. Glo’s stomach tied into knots. Seth makes this look so easy.

  Time suddenly sped up again, and he plummeted onto the dragon’s back. Glo landed hard, the impact nearly knocking the wind out of him.

  Gods, its scales are tough! He felt as if he had slammed into a stone wall. His body ached, but somehow he managed to grasp the scales and hold on. Glo took a few moments to catch his breath then tried to sit up. The Endurance had passed them, and they were being buffeted by its wake. Up on deck, he could see Aksel, Seth, Martan, and Rochino. They were all staring down at him.

  “Are you alright?” Aksel cried.

  “I think so!” Glo yelled. He turned his attention back to the dragon. It remained stationary, but the waves rocked the creature mercilessly. “Hang on, friend,” he said in Draconic.

  “You do the same,” the creature rumbled in response.

  Glo waited until the rocking died down then carefully sat up. He gingerly reached behind his back and into his pack. Rummaging around, he grasped the end of a length of rope. Thank you, Elladan, he thought silently. The elven bard had insisted they all have ropes, lanterns, and the like whenever they set off to travel. At the time, Glo thought the other elf silly, but right now, he could kiss him. Glo laid out the rope on the dragon’s back and began casting another spell. His arms ached as he moved them around, but he forced himself to finish the motion. He ended the spell with the words, “Funem Dolum.”

  The effect was instantaneous. The rope in front of Glo snaked straight up as if it were alive. When it was done, it hung there suspended in mid-air, reaching a good fifty feet above them. His arms were sore, but Glo could not stop now. He needed to get out of the way so that the dragon would be free to use the rope. He grasped on and slowly pulled himself until he could also clamp his feet onto the cord—then Glo began to climb. Hand over hand he shimmied upward. It was slow going, and his arms still ached, but Glo continued to climb. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he reached the end of the rope. At the top, Glo saw what appeared to be a fluffy cloud. There was an empty space inside, large enough for a number of people. Glo reached forward and touched the cloud. It felt solid. Intrinsically, he knew it was supposed to be—it was part of the spell, but part of him just wanted to be sure. Glo pulled himself up and into the cloud. He then spun around and peered down. The dragon still floated in the water some fifty feet below. Its head and back were above the water line, but its wings were still mostly submerged.

  “Grab the rope!” he yelled to the large creature.

  “Are you certain?” the dragon responded.

  If Glo did not know any better, he would think the creature sounded nervous. “Trust me! Grab the rope!”

  “Very well,” the dragon rumbled. “I hope this works.”

  Glo raised an eyebrow. The dragon indeed sounded nervous. He watched in fascination as the copper dragon attempted to lift its front legs over its head. It tried to grasp the rope, but could not quite reach it. It tried twice more with the same result. On the last attempt, the dragon apparently overstretched itself. It suddenly wobbled and then flipped completely over. The creature submerged itself, sending spray splashing all the way up to Glo!

  Glo wiped the spray from his face with the sleeve of his robe. When he looked once more, the great head was above the water again. The dragon forcefully sputtered water from its snout. When it was done, it focused on the rope once more. Two large legs reached up out of the water and firmly grasped hold of the rope. The copper dragon then slowly, but surely, pulled itself up out of the water. Miraculously, the thin rope held the heavy dragon’s weight
. It wouldn’t have normally, but luckily that was also part of the spell. Finally, the dragon was out of the water; only the end of its long tail was still submerged. The creature unfolded its great wings as it continued to grasp the rope and beat them back and forth, shaking the water off of them. The dragon hung there until its wings were dry, then peered up at the waiting wizard.

  “Thank you,” it said simply.

  “You are most welcome, noble one,” Glo replied.

  “I owe you my life,” the dragon said gravely. “It is not a debt I take lightly. How may I repay you?”

  Glo was not certain how to respond. He hesitated before replying. “We are headed to Ravenford. Meet us there tomorrow.”

  He was not sure what kind of favor to ask from a dragon, however, he was extremely curious about the creature. He wanted to see it again under better circumstances. He had not forgotten the sisters, either. If the dragon returned tomorrow, that would give them ample time to hide if they wanted.

  “Very well,” the copper dragon responded, its tone solemn. The creature then launched itself off the rope, and with a great beat of its wings, shot off over the water and out of sight.

  Glo stuck his head out of the cloud and saw the dragon wing its way high up into the sky. It made a wide circle and then headed off swiftly to the north.

  Runaways

  You see, I haven’t exactly been honest with you

  Ashort while later the Endurance returned to pick him up. The large vessel drew up directly beneath him, the main deck only twenty feet below his cloudy perch.

  “Nice going, lad!” a gruff voice called out. Rochino stood by the ship’s wheel, smiling broadly up at him.

  Glo gave him a short wave then shimmied down the rope. He was back on the main deck a minute or so later. Aksel waited there for him there.

  “That was quite a stunt you pulled.”

  A wan smile spread across Glo’s lips, his elbows and knees still aching. “Trust me, it’s decidedly less impressive when you realize that I almost missed.”

  “We can fix that.” Aksel motioned for him to follow. He led them back to the Ravenford cargo, where Lloyd, Seth, and Martan waited.

  Seth shook his head at Glo. “You’re such an amateur.”

  “Looked pretty good to me,” Lloyd said genially.

  Glo cocked his head to one side. “Ummm, Lloyd, aren’t you still blind?”

  Seth smirked. “Exactly.”

  Aksel let out a heavy sigh. “Glo, do us all a favor, never do something like that again.”

  Glo grinned sheepishly. “Trust me. I’ll leave the heroics to Lloyd and Seth from now on.”

  The sounds of footfalls on the deck caused them to spin around. Ves and Maya ran across the deck toward them, with Ruka trailing slowly behind. The two sisters reached Glo first and threw their arms around him. Ves stood up on her toes, pulled him down, and kissed him on the cheek. Glo was taken completely off-guard. It was the second time Ves had been this close to him. This time there were no dust clouds, though, and he could smell the scent of her hair. It was like a fresh ocean breeze. Glo felt the blood rush to his cheeks as she hung on to him. He was going to ask her what that was for, but he lost his train of thought as he gazed into her sparkling blue-green eyes.

  “Thank you for saving Cal,” she said in a soft voice.

  Glo opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. Then he felt his waist being squeezed. Gazing, down he saw Maya’s sweet face grinning up at him.

  “Yes, thank you for saving Cal!” she cried.

  He managed to smile back at her, but still felt confused. He shifted his gaze from Maya to Ves and finally managed to speak. “Who’s Cal?”

  Ves pulled back a bit, a look of surprise across her face. Yet her arms remained draped around his neck. “Why our dragon friend, of course,” she replied as if it were obvious. “That was very brave of you to come to his rescue.”

  “Personally, I thought you were going to totally miss and fall into the ocean,” Ruka said from behind her sister.

  Seth snickered. Lloyd and Aksel chuckled.

  “I almost did,” Glo admitted. “I’m not exactly an acrobat.”

  “Either way, you saved our friend’s life, and we are all grateful.” Ves gave him another peck on the cheek and then pulled away. Maya followed her sister’s lead and let go of him.

  Glo was still bemused by the sudden display of affection. He gazed around and saw Aksel trying to suppress a smile. Seth still smirked at him. Lloyd, though he could not see, had an amused expression. Only Martan seemed unhappy. The archer stood on the other side of Lloyd, glaring at Glo, but turned away when he saw the elf staring back at him. That brought Glo to his senses. He understood how Martan felt. He, too, had experienced a touch of jealousy when he had first seen Martan with Ves. There was nothing he could do about it right now—there were more important matters to discuss. Glo pulled himself together. It was time to have a serious talk with the sisters. He spoke to them as politely as possible. “Ves, Ruka, Maya, may I please have a word with you—alone?”

  Without waiting for a response, he headed toward the rear deck. A glance over his shoulder showed that Ves and Maya followed him, with Ruka trailing not far behind. Glo led them up the stairs and over to a stack of crates and barrels. It was the same spot where Ves had changed into a giant eagle earlier that day. Glo stopped and faced the trio. Ves looked like a young girl who had been called to the schoolmaster’s office. Ruka stood there with her arms folded, staring at him suspiciously. Maya just smiled sweetly as she twirled around on deck.

  Glo admitted he had mixed feelings concerning them. Ves, although distant at times, was a selfless healer, Ruka, despite her gruffness, was a formidable ally, and Maya was an absolute joy. Still, their helpfulness had to be weighed against the risks they brought with them. The encounter with the dragon had been dangerous, although not in a usual way. The danger had been to the ship itself. If the dragon had crashed into the vessel, it would have snapped the masts like twigs, or worse, punched a hole in the side.

  Glo paused, searching for the right words. When he finally spoke, he tried to be polite. “I am glad that I was able to save your friend. However, you ladies must realize that your actions put this ship at risk.”

  Ves’s eyes dropped down toward the deck. “We’re sorry. We didn’t mean to cause any harm.”

  Glo felt a momentary pang of guilt. He hated to treat the young woman this way. Still, things had gotten too far out of hand. He steeled his resolve, trying to sound firm. “That’s all well and fine, but if you are to continue to associate with us, then you need to explain a bit more about yourselves.”

  Ruka opened her mouth to speak, but Glo cut her off. “I am not asking you to reveal your true nature. That is your business. I just want to avoid any further surprises.”

  Ves sighed, her eyes misting as she glanced back up at him. “You’re right. I guess that is only fair.” She took a deep breath. “The dragon you just saved is named Calipherous. He is a friend of our father’s. He has been watching out for us while he is away.” Ves hesitated, shifting from one foot to the other. “You see, I haven’t exactly been honest with you.”

  Glo arched an eyebrow. Something about this young woman tugged at his heartstrings. Still, he managed to maintain a firm expression.

  Ves attempted a wan smile, still shifting around uncomfortably. “When I told you we were on a pilgrimage, that was a lie. We actually snuck away from home without anyone knowing. That is why Calipherous is looking for us now.”

  Glo’s expression softened, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Why did you run away?”

  Ves must have noticed his change in demeanor—her face brightened a bit. “Well you already know our father is Rodric Greymantle, and that he was once a member of the Wizard’s council. I also told you that he
married our mother, and the two of them moved to the Glittering Isles.”

  She glanced at Ruka, the young girl staring back intently. Glo could swear a silent exchange took place between them again. Ruka finally nodded. Ves turned to Glo and moved closer, dropping her voice even more.

  “However, several months ago, Father was approached by some members of the council. They told him that several of their order had recently disappeared. They asked for his help in finding them. Dad agreed. He’s been gone for some three months without as much as a single message. Her voice cracked as she finished her explanation.

  Glo suddenly felt horrible. He had berated these girls when all they were doing was trying to find their lost father. “So you and your sisters decided to go looking for him yourselves.”

  “Yes,” Ves nodded, her expression lightening further, a thin smile spreading across her lips.

  Glo smiled in return. Everything was finally starting to make sense. If members of the Wizard’s Council were disappearing, it would follow that the other members might seek out help, and who better to turn to than the legendary Rodric Greymantle? The only thing that didn’t quite fit in all this was the copper dragon. “This Calipherous is a friend of your father’s?”

  Ves nodded, glancing down at the deck once more. She did not appear very comfortable with the question.

  Glo’s eyes narrowed. “Does your father have a lot of dragon friends?”

  Ves exchanged glances with Ruka yet again. The younger girl shook her head slightly. Ves turned back to Glo. “Many dragons... make their home on the Glittering Isles. It is sort of a...haven for them... away from the prying eyes of other races.”

  Glo nodded. He could understand that. His people had done the same thing, holing themselves up in the deep forest of the Ruanaiaith. It was obvious that Ves wasn’t telling him everything, but the rest was not important right now. She’d been honest enough. He smiled in earnest. “Thank you for your sharing with me as much as you could. I understand your plight. I am somewhat of a runaway myself. The only difference is that my parents knew that I left; they just didn’t approve of it.”