Pelya walked around and glanced in some of the open crates and barrels. One barrel had some water in it and she used it to clean the snot off as well as possible. She managed to find a box of moth-eaten shirts in another corner and used one to dry off after making sure nothing inhabited it.
Another box had some crackers in it so she grabbed a few, sat on another crate and began munching. She had been down there for a few hours and no one had come to fetch her. It upset her that Kally was taking so long, but Pelya decided to take the time to consider everything she had seen.
It was somewhat nice in the basement. The cool darkness felt good with the way she had been feeling lately. A rat came nearby to inspect her crackers and she held one out to it. “Here you are, friend. I don’t mind sharing.” It sniffed the air with initial distrust, but finally decided Pelya was one of them. It snatched the cracker and moved a short distance away to begin eating.
For the next hour or so, Pelya debated the fate of the dragon, the decision Kally had made, the death of Bobbell, the academy below Lady Pallon’s manor, her friendship with Ebudae and various other thoughts that came and went.
The verdict by the weaponmaster that she learn about life outside of the guard had drastically changed Pelya’s life in just a couple of short weeks. She shifted into a cross-legged position on the crate, crossed her arms on top of the bigger crate next to her and rested her chin. Pelya was already more mature, but also much more sad at the same time. She didn’t need to experience suffering to know that life was hard. She believed everyone when they told her, but now she felt that pain on a very personal level.
Her heart ached for the people that suffered. Bobbell’s disappointment in his eyes when he realized he was going to die hurt her almost as much as losing him. Kally’s shock when Lord Uylvich demanded sex for favors made Pelya feel sick to her stomach. Ebudae’s neglect at the hands of her grandmother weakened her faith in humanity, if humanity deserved such a thing.
Pelya felt sad for her father suddenly. He had spent the last eleven years raising a child after losing his wife. He still mourned Sheela. Pelya could see unbearable sorrow in his eyes whenever he spoke of her mother and how happy they were together.
Guilt rubbed Pelya’s heart raw that she had caused her mother’s death. Pelya didn’t know how her father forgave her for that. Her daddy always smiled at her and comforted her when she was down, but she didn’t understand why he didn’t show how much he must hate her.
Pelya cried silent tears while the rats sat quietly, showing respect for their miserable friend. She fell asleep that way. In an odd measure of respect, the rats left her alone. Perhaps they realized that she had left them alone and were returning the gesture.
“Pelya?” Are you down here?” Kally’s voice came to her ears along with the sound of boot steps coming down the stairs. Pelya’s head jerked up and she wiped the sleep from her eyes as she stood. When her muscles protested, Pelya groaned.
“There you are.” Kally came toward her with a smile. She was walking oddly and her hair was matted with sweat. At some point, she had tried to brush it, but it didn’t turn out too well. “I see you fell asleep. I’m sorry it took so long,” she said remorsefully. Pelya ran to her and hugged tightly. “Here now, what’s this?”
“Are you alright, Aunt Kally?” Pelya asked, looking up. “I’ve been so worried about you. Did he hurt you?” she asked, sliding her hand to the hilt of her longknife, ready to kill her first person for Aunt Kally’s honor.
“Here now. There’ll be none of that,” Kally said while gently taking Pelya’s hand away from her weapon. “Lord Uylvich is a master with the sword and in any case, he treated me wonderfully.”
“He did?” Pelya asked suspiciously, not believing her.
“Yes. Come now, let’s go to turn in whatever rats you killed to the cook and then go to the park.” She took Pelya’s hand and led her to the stairs.
“I didn’t kill any rats,” Pelya admitted in embarrassment.
Kally stopped. “You didn’t? You have plenty of skill for it I would think.”
“I kind of like rats and they didn’t bother me while I slept. Plus I didn’t want to get blood on my outfit.”
Kally laughed loudly and happily. “I like that. It was a very wise decision.” They went up the stairs and through the door at the top. The cook was berating another person, so Kally put a finger to her lips and they quietly left the kitchen.
A minute later, they were heading toward the park. Pelya studied her aunt out the side of her vision while they walked. “Aunt Kally?”
“Yes, Pelya?”
“You look really happy. Did he really treat you decently then?” Pelya asked.
“He did. I was nervous at first, but he understood me so well,” Kally said thoughtfully. “Enric did things I enjoyed . . .” She blushed as she realized what she was saying out loud. Kally looked down at Pelya sternly. “That’s none of your business, young lady.”
“Alright,” Pelya agreed. “But you’re going to break your face if you smile any bigger.”
She laughed. “You little brat! Come along. I’ll buy you a nice sticky sweet treat that will hopefully stick your mouth shut,” Kally told her playfully as they entered the park and made their way to a vendor selling said treats.
They stayed in the park for a few hours. Neither of them said much, being lost in their own thoughts. It was nice to sit awhile before walking around the large lake. They bought bread to feed the ducks and laughed when one tried to bite their feet.
After eating dinner, they headed back to the Guard District in silence, still lost in their own thoughts. Pelya decided to ask her father if she could go to visit Ebudae for the next week. Part of her reasoning was that she didn’t want to deal with any more aunts and uncles making side trips, but the biggest reason was that she wanted to ask Ebudae about dragons. Between the two of them, maybe they could sneak back into Lord Uylvich’s manor and rescue the forlorn creature.
She asked her father that night. When he asked why, Pelya told him that she missed her friend and thought it would help her get back to normal. She didn’t tell him that she also wanted to give him a break from her so that he wouldn’t have to think about how Pelya’s birth had killed her mother.
Chapter 20
The sun blasted down, signaling that summer was happy to arrive. Pelya was extremely grateful that she would get to spend the week in Lady Pallon’s cool manor. The walk was uneventful and the only conversation was when Frath asked four separate times if she was alright. “I’m fine, Daddy,” she reassured him each time.
Lady Pallon met them at the door and invited Frath to breakfast while Pelya went straight up to Ebudae’s room. Since they weren’t expected, she figured Ebudae would still be in bed. She ran up the stairs two at a time before slowing down and taking them one at a time to see what it would be like. After four steps, she concluded that it was boring, so continued at her normal breakneck speed.
At the door to Ebudae’s sleeping chambers, Pelya stopped and slowly went in. As suspected, the young wizardess was under the covers of the enormous bed that engulfed her pleasantly. Instead of waking her up, Pelya went to the drawer of nightgowns Ebudae had given her, put one on and slid into bed.
Ebudae woke up enough to recognize her presence and smiled happily. They held onto each other and both went back to sleep. Pelya was exhausted from lack of sleep since Bobbell’s death. Ebudae’s bed was comfortable, like sleeping on a cloud, and it was the first time she slept without a nightmare.
Frath came up to say goodbye after eating breakfast. He stood there for a few minutes watching them sleep. With a rare smile, he whispered, “I’m so grateful for you, my beautiful daughter. You are the only wonderful thing I have.” Then he turned and went to work.
***
“What do you know about dragons?” Pelya asked when they were in Ebudae’s secret room later that night. She was sitting on the one bench in the room after having moved some magical items that w
ere on it to the floor.
Ebudae was working on laying out ingredients for a new rune ball. She loved making them. Over her shoulder, she replied, “Dragons? Not much. They’re the most powerful, magical creatures in the world, extremely dangerous and they fly. Why?”
“I met one,” Pelya answered.
The wizardess froze and then slowly turned around. “What do you mean by ‘you met one’?” she challenged.
“Promise not to tell,” Pelya insisted worriedly even though she knew it wasn’t necessary.
Ebudae took out her knife and made a small nick in her arm. “I promise not to tell.” Then she licked the blood from the cut.
“Eww,” Pelya stated. “That’s a really bad habit.” Ebudae shrugged and tapped her foot with hands on hips, waiting for the answer. Pelya grinned. “I think it was a baby dragon because it was only as big as a cart. It was in a cage with magical orbs draining its energy.”
Ebudae came and sat down on Pelya’s left and pulled up her right leg. “You really did see a dragon?” she asked incredulously.
“Yes.” Pelya turned toward her and pulled up her left leg so their knees were touching. “Aunt Kally had to make a stop at Lord Uylvich’s house in the Noble District. I think she had sex or something.” They both made faces of disgust. “The cook told me to go down to the basement and kill rats. I don’t have a problem with rats, so I explored instead, even going down to a sub-basement. Then I used that rune ball for finding secret passages.”
“Neat! You found one?” Ebudae was clearly excited.
“Yeah! There was a hidden door that led to a well-used passage.”
“Interesting. Go on.”
“There were stairs going up on the left,” Pelya explained. “I didn’t want to go up, so I went to the right and found steps going down. It went down six flights of stairs and to another passage.”
“Aha! That’s how they got it into the city. They didn’t,” Ebudae exclaimed. At Pelya’s confused look, she grinned and explained the contradiction. “Dragons can’t get into Dralin. They can’t even be brought into the city by someone else. When you first told me you saw one, I wondered how. But you went down far enough that you passed the wards underneath the city. It must have been smuggled below somehow.”
“There was another secret passage in the room with the dragon. There wasn’t a trigger that I could see,” Pelya stated excitedly. “It was easily wide enough for a dragon though.”
“Maybe it has a magical trigger. Did you see any runes on it?”
“There were runes all over the walls and floor, a lot like here.” Pelya gestured at the markings in the lab. “Some of them were on the secret entrance too.”
“Then we just need to figure out which ones open it,” Ebudae said eagerly.
Pelya grinned. “Does that mean you’re going to help me rescue the dragon?”
Ebudae’s face fell. “I want to, but I don’t think we can.” She leaned forward. “I probably know more about magic than any other eleven-year-old girl, but if someone can capture a dragon, then they’re much more powerful than me,” she said sadly.
“Yeah,” Pelya admitted miserably. “I couldn’t figure it out. I was hoping you could tell me something though. The other problem is that you can’t leave the manor without your grandmother and I can’t leave the Guard District without an escort, so I don’t know how we would get back there. Even if we did, getting past everyone would be difficult, then there’s the chance we might get caught.” She exhaled in frustration.
“Then there’s the fact that the dragon might kill us. They are dangerous, you know,” Ebudae pointed out.
“It wouldn’t hurt us,” Pelya stated confidently. “It understood what I said and wanted to be rescued. It did sneeze on me though,” she said, still irritated by the fact. Even a bath the night before hadn’t completely gotten rid of the musky smell of the creature.
Ebudae laughed and Pelya joined her. “I think there were a couple of books about dragons in the academy library. Maybe we can figure out some things,” the wizardess suggested.
“Let’s go!” Pelya stood and rushed over to the table where their supplies were. Ebudae was right there and, within a few minutes, they were on their way down. Both girls were excited and Pelya filled her friend in on many of the details about the adventure in the basement and the death of Uncle Bobbell. Ebudae hugged her warrior friend fiercely when they reached the staging room and it helped Pelya to feel a little bit better.
When the wizardess lit a second lantern, Pelya asked, “Why does a breeze ruffle your hair every time you cast a spell, but I don’t feel anything?”
Ebudae answered as though reciting a lesson learned from a book. “When an individual casts a spell, they collect energy around them. It creates a magical gust only the caster can feel. When releasing the energy, it blows past the user from behind the spell. The more it looks like the caster is being hit by wind, the stronger the spell will be.”
“Oh, alright. I remember hearing some of my aunts and uncles talking about magic wind in battle,” Pelya stated.
Ebudae nodded. “It’s a good way to tell when magic is coming. If you see wind whipping the wizard’s hair, get out of their way as fast as possible.”
Everything was quiet except for the sound of their voices while they walked through the theatre and hallways. Ebudae was pulling out her ring of keys shortly before they reached the library when a shrieking roar blasted through the hallway.
Both girls froze as the shockwave hit them. Their bones turned to rubber, the hair on the back of their necks stood straight and their feet became planted to the ground. Pelya desperately wanted to get away from whatever had made that sound, but couldn’t control her body.
The sound died to a low rumble before fading away. Dust was crumbling from cracks between the stones in the ceiling, falling gently down upon them. Ebudae whimpered next to her. With all her might, Pelya forced her body to move and grabbed the wizardess’s arm to pull her toward the door, the nearest safe place they could get to.
Another supernatural roar ripped through the hall, weakening them further and causing them to drop their lanterns. It took all of Pelya’s strength to keep going. Ebudae was crying and Pelya realized tears were streaming down her own face as well when they reached the door. A flash appeared in the distance up the hall. She tried to get the keys from Ebudae, but was too weak to grab them.
Both girls screamed in terror when taloned hands grabbed their necks from behind and lifted them off their feet. Pelya’s remaining courage fled for its life, leaving her alone. She couldn’t breathe anymore and her body shivered uncontrollably.
Whatever was holding them snarled terribly before putting its face next to Pelya’s. It sniffed rapidly and flicked a long forked tongue all over her face. Ebudae’s keys dropped to the floor in a clatter, startling the creature. The wizardess drew in a strained breath. Pelya realized that spots were floating in her vision. She inhaled a rasping breath, concentrating on basic survival even though she knew they were about to die. In a corner of her mind, she realized the hallway was glowing orange.
The creature sniffed her again, a low rumbling sound coming from its throat. It was loud, vibrating through their bones and knocking more dust from everything. “Where is my child?” it asked in a hissing voice that slithered up and down the hallway.
Conversation was the last thing Pelya had expected. She wondered what the creature was talking about, but when she tried to speak, all that came out was a strangled sob. The creature turned them both to face it.
Pelya was shocked to see a muscular woman easily holding them up in the air. At least it was shaped like a woman, but there were distinct differences. Her hair was metallic orange, falling down her back. There seemed to be an orange tint to the skin, though it could have been the bubbles of orange lights floating along the ceiling. She wore silken black leggings and a short-sleeved orange shirt.
The most frightening part was rows of sharp teeth that didn’t se
em to fit in its mouth. But what really stuck out to Pelya were the swirling silver eyes that looked like the trapped dragon she met the day before. “Where is my child? I smell him on you,” it hissed at her again.
She wanted to tell the creature, but all that came out was a strangled whining sound. It looked back and forth between the two girls and suddenly seemed to realize they were so terrified that they couldn’t answer.
“Be calm,” it ordered, setting them down on their feet. Pelya’s knees buckled as did Ebudae’s and the creature had to hold them up. Then unexpected relief washed through Pelya and strengthened her bones once more as her knees found their strength. She felt peace in her mind and her breath came back to the way it was supposed to be. Ebudae stood on her own too. “Can you speak now?” the creature asked in an almost normal voice. It still had a hissing quality, but nowhere near as severe.
The girls nodded, but didn’t say anything. The peace Pelya was feeling didn’t seem quite right and somewhere in the back of her mind, she was still completely terrified. Ebudae took her hand and held on for dear life. The creature, or woman, or whatever it was, crossed its arms and studied them for a moment before slowly unfolding the right arm to point a talon-tipped finger directly at Pelya’s chest. “You have the smell of my child on you. Tell me where he is now.” The words were a command that became more threatening with each word.
If she hadn’t been under the false sense of calm, Pelya probably would have wet herself at that point. Instead, she answered as rapidly as possible in hope the creature would go away. “If your child is a dragon, then I think he’s in a secret lab underneath the manor of Lord Uylvich. I tried to rescue him, but couldn’t,” she added, praying it would have mercy on them. At no point did Pelya think she and Ebudae could fight or escape the creature.
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