Dragon!: Book Two: Revenge

by LeRoy Clary

  Gareth waited for more. So far he had learned very little. But he noticed the twitch of an eye on a young woman and a tear at the edge of another’s eye. He suspected he would not like what he was about to hear.

  The Brother said, “There were other boys of various ages living here, all with powers similar to yours. You are sitting with their mothers. It is our hope and prayer that you might be able to return all the boys to the mothers.”

  That had not been expected. Gareth felt Ann’s eyes on him. He was going to make one of them very unhappy but saw no choice. “Who is the mother of Ramos?”

  A woman three chairs away raised a limp hand. She said, “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

  “Belcher made him remove his coat and blanket while we slept in the snow at the top of the mountains. I’m sorry. I was trying to take care of him and protect him, but he froze to death.”

  She slowly stood and went to the great door and slipped outside. The room echoed the thud of the door closing.

  Gareth saw the expressions on the faces of other women. He quickly said, “I wish that I could tell you all the other boys are alive, but Belcher killed two and another died of illness. I cannot confirm that in any way, but it is what I believe. Of the three left, I think he will kill at least one more, soon.”

  “Which are alive?” A woman sitting across from him asked.

  Lying wouldn’t help. “Alive. That is a sour subject. Poor Ramos was dressed in filthy rags and had sores all over. He hadn’t eaten in days when we took him. From our brief conversations, I suspect the other are much the same.”

  One woman said in a trembling voice, “We expected no less, but we hoped.”

  Gareth said, “I will try to rescue them and send them here.”

  “Belcher will kill you. It’s his mind. As he learns how to use his powers he grows more insane,” The Brother said. “We were unaware of the monster he became. He hid it from us for all those years until one day he just snapped.”

  Ann perked up. “Over what?”

  A woman who had spoken earlier said, “Each boy had chores. One of Belcher’s was to take the trash out and feed the animals the scraps. He did it every other day. I mixed up my days and demanded he carry the scraps out on the wrong day, and he went crazy, accusing us of hating him.”

  She paused, but Ann said, “Then what?”

  “He made us all go to sleep with his mind. When we woke the scraps of garbage were spread all over me, and the boys were gone. All of them who were old enough to walk.”

  Gareth’s eyes fell on the goblet of water sitting in front of him. Suddenly his mouth was dry. But he didn’t reach for the water. Instead, he said, “We have to leave.”

  The Brother said, “There is more to tell you. Each woman has a story.”

  “Will any of them help me kill Belcher?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  The intense silence of two opposing groups filled the room again. If none held information that would help Gareth kill Belcher, his reason for being in the desert community with the glowing water was at an end. Feeling betrayed that they had given them the water without warning, and also feeling that if he didn’t leave the village immediately, he might slay everyone in the room but Ann and Tad, he gave the room one last disgusted look.

  Ann asked the room at large, “My mother drank water from that pool before I was born?”

  Several women nodded. One looked away as if ashamed. Another said, “All of our mothers did.”

  Gareth stood, and as he did, so did Tad and Ann. Together they walked across the fieldstone floor and opened the door to face the brilliant desert sun. In their cabin, they quickly gathered their belongings and went outside where all the women and the old Brother waited in a tight group. Gareth walked in a wide circle around them instead of speaking to them, and began the long, hot, dry walk up the long hill that led to the mountains in the west.

  It would be a thirsty walk until the first waterhole, which they wouldn’t reach until morning unless they walked all night. That was better than drinking water that glowed and somehow changed babies into something more—or less.

  Tad, his voice chipper and as if to punctuate the statement he spun in a circle as she said, “I’m glad we’re leaving that place.”

  Ann said, “Me too, but what of Belcher? What are we going to do about him?”

  “I think I know how to resolve it. The Brother back there gave me what information I needed, along with a few clues Ramos provided. I don’t believe Belcher is stronger than me, but his twisted mind makes him far more dangerous.”

  “I know he’s dangerous, but how are you going to defeat him? Or do you plan to talk him into a compromise or something else equally stupid?” Ann didn’t withhold the anger from her voice.

  The slow climb up the path that would take them to the mountains slowly made the backs of their legs ache, but all kept walking. Gareth finally said, “I have a plan.”

  Ann continued walking in silence except for a few soft words urging Tad to keep up. Finally, she said, “Listen here. I’ve traveled with you, risked my life in this desert, swallowed water that glows in the dark, and a hundred other things. I expect a better answer that that.”

  The bright setting sun was directly in their eyes and made walking difficult. Gareth felt his stomach twist in hunger and said, “Let’s sit and talk a while. We can travel later when it's cooler, and we don’t face the sun.”

  They sat on a blanket spread near the side of the path, and when they turned and looked back at the floor of the desert, the buildings were in still sight in the distance, too far off to see individual people. The small community was already fading into the landscape with only the green of the fields, pastures, and orchards standing out. Soon, they too would vanish behind the hill.

  Tad curled into a ball and fell asleep with his head on Gareth’s lap, which was well because Gareth hesitated to speak of killing a person in front of the boy. Wiping the hair from the boy’s forehead, he said, “If an enemy is strong enough to kill a mature dragon in his prime, he is a foe that I must be wary of, at the very least. The rage we all heard in our minds sounded as if an ancient god had returned from the heavens to throw balls of lightning and thunder at us. It killed my father and his dragon. I admit I was scared.”

  Ann chuckled, “There are no balls of thunder.”

  “Okay, I’m just trying to express myself.”

  “You were scared with good reason,” she said softly, settling back to listen.

  “It was all bluster by Belcher. The insane ravings of a childlike mind in a fit of temper. A mind we cannot control, but one that will hurt thousands of others if not stopped. I cannot allow that to happen.” He closed his eyes and drew in a mouthful of the dry desert air before speaking in a firm voice. “I won’t let that happen. But I now know that Belcher cannot kill dragons in some mystical fashion, and he is no more powerful than me.”

  Ann said, “When the time comes to kill that young man, or boy, or whatever he is, do you believe you will be able to do it? Kill him, I mean. It’s not like you to kill.”

  “No, of course not.”

  “So you admit you cannot kill him, and you cannot allow him to live. Gareth, so far I don’t think much of your stupid plan.”

  He smiled and said, “There is one more piece of it. Well, actually several. However, while I deal with Belcher, I want you to take Tad to my family in Vespa and If I win, bring them all to the valley where my father lived. It’s the perfect location for them to start over and make a new home.”

  “Belcher is waiting for you there, or he was the last we knew of him. It’s also there that he has his trap set for you. Remember?”

  “I hope he is there. That’s part of my plan.”

  Oh, Gareth, you’re really not going there to face him, are you?”

  “Not exactly.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Two days later they crossed the mountain pass again and found the main road where the small path over the mo
untains intersected. It was an exhausting trip, with the specter of Belcher hanging over all, and his repeated attempts to attack them. Finally, Gareth placed a protective shield over all three of them so intense that it exhausted him mentally. But it did prevent Belcher from any access, or him even making dire threats.

  Ann and Tad agreed to travel on to the nearest seaport where they could find a ship to carry them to Vespa. While it was not all that far, a ship was much easier and faster. Ann assured Gareth she would stay with Tad and guard him as her own until they reached Gareth’s family. They had contacted Amy, Tad’s mother, and of course, Sara. The family was expecting them.

  The Brotherhood was waiting there at the crossroads to meet him, twelve of them, in all, along with a hundred troops sent by the King. One Brother stood out in front of the crowd and advanced at a run. Instead of the normal featureless expression, he wore a smile that twisted his features into an almost human face. It was Gareth’s old mentor.

  After hugs and greeting all around, the Brotherhood agreed to escort Ann and Tad to the docks. The general of the army requested orders as if Gareth was his commander. After consideration, Gareth said in private where no others could overhear, “I wish you to draw all of the troops you can command in this place. Do it quietly. I’ll give you several days. Then, I will provide a timetable for an attack that I hope will not take place.”

  “Sir,” the general said, “I do not understand. What army will we attack?”

  “I’m going to fight my own battle, first. If I’m successful, you will dismiss your troops.”

  “If you’re not successful?”

  “Then I want you to use every man you have and charge to the location I will provide. You will surround it and kill every man, woman, child, otter, squirrel, and deer. Then you will burn it. Every tree, bush, shrub, and stalk of grass.”

  The general’s face had gone ashen, but Gareth continued, “You will confirm these orders with the King by your fastest messengers. Are we clear?”

  He swallowed, “I’m not sure ‘clear’ is the precise word I’d use, but I understand your orders and will obey. The King has ordered me to follow your every command as if he said it with his own lips.”

  A hundred times during the trek back over the mountains Ann had tried to squeeze information of his plan from him, but Gareth had remained stoic. He’d told her nothing. The plan was going to work, he felt certain, but Belcher had already surprised him when he killed Ramos, and Gareth insisted the details remain only in his head. One slip of his plan and Belcher might ‘hear’ it and escape. The one way to prevent that was to withhold the details of his plan from everyone.

  “I’m depending on you,” Gareth told Ann and Tad as they stood together before departing with the Brotherhood. “While you take Tad to his mother, I’ll be near my father’s valley, watching, but I promise you that I will not enter it.”

  “Do not even get too close. That boy is mad.”

  Gareth shrugged off the tone in her voice, but seeing fear in Ann’s eyes, he gently tried calming her.

  “Listen, Ramos gave me the idea when he told us they had killed Cinder by feeding him animals they poisoned. That was the information that I needed most of all. If Belcher had found another way to defeat dragons, I needed to know and protect my dragon.”

  “You’re sure Belcher can’t hurt Blackie with his mind?”

  “Nobody but me, and maybe Tad, can communicate with him.”

  She turned and placed an arm around Tad’s shoulders as they walked down the road, in the company of twelve of the Brothers, half ahead and half following. Only the Brother who was his old friend remained. A squad of soldiers also accompanied them. Before the bend in the road, Tad turned and gave him another wave.

  The general stood at his side. “Your orders, sir?”

  Wiping away a tear, Gareth said, “You already have your orders. It’s time for me to try and end this.”

  “Sir, I can have a company of my best men go with you.”

  “This is something I can do better on my own.” He turned and walked away, in the direction of the mountains again, and the old road that would lead to his father’s valley. He glanced back to give a last smile to the single Brother, who would remain at the general’s side. Gareth would recognize the Brother’s mind instantly, like seeing one red bird in a flock of yellow ones. The Brother was ready to pass on the information to the general if Gareth failed.

  He carried heavy blankets that were rolled around a few handfuls of dried food. It was all he would need. As he traveled the road, he paused and found no soldiers trying to sneak behind and protect him. It was still early afternoon, and he knew where he wanted to make camp; a place he had hunted once, years ago.

  Long before dark Gareth reached the banks of a fast flowing stream with a wide clearing of lush green grass. Tall trees circled the clearing, and it lay between two ridges of hills. The road to his father’s valley was beyond the ridge to the south, the natural route if Belcher left the valley, which Gareth doubted he would do. But if he ordered the other boys from the valley they would travel the road and never see the campfire, smell the smoke, or suspect Gareth was there.

  After gathering firewood and getting a long drink from the stream, he made himself comfortable, lying on a doubled folded blanket and covering himself with the other. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

  Blackie responded right away. The dragon was close, right where he was supposed to be. Instead of his usual roost on a cliff, he’d perched high up on the side of a slope before sunrise. He’d found a place where the lack of trees allowed him the room to take flight quickly, but instead, the dragon had walked on the ground and hidden behind a stand of pine, going without food for the day.

  Gareth didn’t believe Belcher would be an early riser. Gareth had watched down the slope to the valley floor so many times today that Ann had finally taken his arm and steadied him as he walked and watched his father’s valley through the eyes of the dragon.

  The burned main house was a black scar on the land. But lower down the slope were the other buildings, including the gazebo beside the lake. Two were barns for the animals or had been while others lived there. For years, they had stood empty. Still they were solid and probably better than most people lived in. Food and water were plentiful.

  Blackie’s eyes had spotted a plume of smoke rising near one of the barns at mid-day. Later he’d seen two figures depart the barn and run out onto the dock and jump into the water. The distance was too great to identify the boys, but the smoke and boys told Gareth that Belcher was still there in the valley. He didn’t dare use his mental touch to confirm it.

  What he didn’t know was which boy was which. Belcher still had two boys with him, perhaps three. Gareth needed to know the one called Belcher. That was his next task. His first had been to make sure of where in the valley Belcher lived. He gently reached out and found the mind he was learning to recognize. Gareth didn’t attempt to make contact. He simply made himself aware of Belcher, setting the tone for the following day.

  Gareth used Blackie’s eyes to examine the hills closer to the barns and lake for a place that would provide a closer vantage. He couldn’t move Blackie today, but again early in the morning, he felt safe. Besides, he was stuck in keeping Blackie on the ground until dark. They might see him, and that would take away the element of surprise.

  The dragon kept trying to close his eyes and nap, but Gareth was far from done for the day. He scouted every possible approach from the air. He found what he wanted at the upper end of the valley. Two small mountains stood beside each other; the gap between would allow the dragon to fly undetected. Blackie could fold his wings then dive between the mountains, skim the treetops and arrive near the burned house low enough to almost drag the ground with his rear talons.

  Satisfied, he allowed Blackie to sleep until dark. Gareth used the time to sit on his blanket and plan. He felt satisfied with the day’s progress but looked forward to the following day. So far the
plan was working. Before crossing the mountains, he’d repeated the scare about Belcher returning to the Sisters and Brother of the village of glowing water a dozen times. He wanted them scared.

  He’d started small, just making them mildly nervous, and gradually increasing the scare until he unloaded the whole image. Belcher was returning. And he was mad at them. Belcher was going to torture and kill them all.

  That may have been enough, but he needed to make sure they abandoned that place. Gareth used some of Belcher’s own tactics to help convince them. At night, he told them of Belcher’s ordering the boys to collect arsenic, including the illnesses they’d suffered. All true. He let his mind describe it in the details that Ramos used.

  He had allowed them to wake in the morning and discuss their horrible dreams about their sons gathering the poison and getting ill, but then Gareth started asking them to consider why he needed all that arsenic? What would he do with it? They discussed it the entire second day before Gareth hinted the answer, making sure the Brother and none of the Sisters became aware it was he who was putting the thoughts into their minds. He hinted that he was Belcher. Worse, Belcher was going to poison the glowing water. Anyone drinking it for the next hundred years would die a horrible death from the arsenic.

  The final straw was to convince them Belcher was close. He convinced two of the Sisters that they had spotted him in the village. One said he was seen slipping through the orchard; another saw him sneaking up on them from the desert to the west. Then Gareth was at the summit of the pass and the ability to send them images faded with each step.

  While Gareth couldn’t tell if all of them fled the village, he suspected they had. If they hadn’t left the village, he could do no more. The mental block over Tad prevented the boy from overhearing him.

  Pulling back to the clearing and present, he napped until dusk and woke long enough to build a small fire and then to help guide Blackie back into the air. Blackie flew to the designated place they had agreed upon and landed safely.