dragon archives 02 - pursued by a dragon

by Linda K Hopkins

  Chapter 26

  Cathryn was up early the next morning, eager to get on the road before the sun was too far above the horizon. She entered the warm and noisy hall, where the men in her retinue were pulling on boots and leather jerkins. Calder had ordered food to be ready for them to take and enjoy on the road, and hunks of warm, yeasty bread lay on the table. As she picked her way through the men, Cathryn spotted Oliver Calder watching her closely. He smiled when she met his gaze, and made his way towards her.

  “I’m afraid my other guest had to leave even earlier than you this morning,” he said.

  “Your other guest?” she said, proud at the even tone of her voice. “Oh, you mean Master, eh, Drake.”

  “Well done,” said Oliver with a grin, but she kept her expression bland. “He left at first light, but I’m sure you will see him again soon.” He gave her a sly wink before leaning towards her, his tone suddenly serious. “Look to the heart, Mistress Cathryn, when judging a person’s character. That is where you will see the truth of an individual.” Cathryn stared at him as he took a step back, giving her a shallow bow before turning away.

  Cathryn grabbed a hunk of bread and headed out the hall towards the stables, where the stable boy was tightening the straps under Morana’s belly. Opening the saddle bag, she glanced inside as she packed the bread. Favian’s tunic and breeches had been placed at the bottom, and Cathryn reached in to stroke the fabric. The scent of Favian rose to her nose, and she closed her eyes for a brief moment, remembering the way he had kissed her the night before. She felt a flare of heat rush through her at the memory, before opening her eyes and pulling the saddle bag closed. A glint of light made her pause, and she lifted the cover again to peer back inside. Something red sparkled against the fabric of Favian’s clothes, and wrapping her fingers around it, Cathryn carefully pulled it into the sunlight. From a chain of silver hung a pendant the size of a large coin. The center of the pendant was a bright, shiny red, and turning it over, Cathryn could see that it was very thin and light. The whole piece had been edged in silver, and it lay warm in her hands. It took a moment for her to realize what it was she was looking at; but when she did, she gasped, for lying in her palm was the scale of a dragon. It glinted in her hands, and she stroked her thumb over the smooth surface, remembering how his scales had felt beneath her hand. Lifting the chain around her neck, she secured the clasp. She could feel the warmth of the scale as it settled on her chest, gleaming against the fabric of her gown.

  The convoy of travelers had grown smaller over the weeks, which made for faster progress, but even so it was late when the group reached the next town, and after a brief dinner and an even briefer consultation with Felix, Cathryn collapsed into the hard, lumpy bed of yet another wayside inn and quickly fell asleep.

  They were on the road early again the next morning, and by the end of the day Cathryn felt she had reason to be satisfied. Not only had they met with the owner of another large estate with whom she had not previously done business, but she had also reached the next town while the sun was still above the horizon. With only two more estates to visit, Cathryn felt like her time on the road was almost at an end. The fair spring weeks were starting to give way to the heat of summer, and although the hard baked roads were easier to travel, it also meant days spent in the sun.

  Cathryn glanced up at the sky, watching the dragon as it flew through the air above her. She knew a decision needed to be made, but why did the man she loved have to be a wild monster?

  The dragon had dropped below a small hill covered in trees, and after wetting her palate with a glass of wine, Cathryn made her way in that direction, stopping first to grab Favian’s clothes from her saddle bag. She made quick progress through the trees, pausing at the summit of a small hillock to look down at the clearing below where the large, red dragon lay, his eyes fixed on her. She smiled and headed down the slope, grabbing onto the tree trunks as her steps hastened towards the beast. She had just reached the edge of the clearing when the dragon leaped forward with a snarl, and Cathryn fell back with a look of shock.

  “Favian?”

  “Geoffrey has followed you. Quick, hide the clothes.” With a sigh of relief, she quickly did as she was bade, pushing the clothes under a small bush before moving to stand next to the creature.

  “You were scared of me,” he said, his eyes on the trees in front of him.

  “Well, yes, but you did snarl at me.”

  “Not at you, my love. Never at you. That snarl was intended for Geoffrey.” He turned to look at her, dropping his gaze to the pendant around her neck. “You carry a part of me when you wear that,” he said softly.

  “I know.” She lifted her hand to it, feeling the warmth of the scale against her skin.

  The sound of heavy footsteps broke upon them as Geoffrey suddenly appeared through the trees. At the sight of the dragon, he paused, before turning his attention to Cathryn.

  “Geoffrey,” she said. “You followed me. Why?”

  “I wanted to see if you were meeting a secret lover?”

  “Felix?” she demanded. He shook his head.

  “No, I quickly realized how foolish it was to think it could be Felix.”

  “Really? This entire line of thinking is foolish, Geoffrey.” Beside her Cathryn could feel the dragon shift restlessly, and Geoffrey gave it a quick, nervous glance, before looking at Cathryn again.

  “No, I don’t believe it is. I gave it some further thought, and realized there was only one person that you would be meeting.”

  “Oh, and who is that? The innkeeper?”

  “No. Favian Drake.” Cathryn felt the color drain from her face as she stared at Geoffrey. Beside her the dragon turned to look at her, but she refused to meet his gaze.

  “Favian Drake?” she faltered. “How do you come to that conclusion?”

  “I think he went to the Calder Estate to meet you, and has been following us, unnoticed on the road.”

  “That’s ridiculous!”

  “Is it? I have seen the way he watches you, and the way you carefully avoid looking at him. Admit it. You’ve been meeting him, whoring yourself at every opportunity.”

  “How dare you?” she cried, but her words were swallowed by the roar that sounded from the dragon as flames spewed from his mouth. Before Cathryn could even register what was happening, the dragon was in the air, Geoffrey clasped in his talons.

  “No,” Cathryn shouted. “Let him go!” The air around her pulsed at the beat of the dragon’s wings as he paused in the air, before slowly twisting his neck and glaring down at her. “Let him go,” she said again. “This is my fight, not yours.” The dragon shook his head, turning back towards the sky. “Please,” she whispered. With a sigh of flame, the dragon opened his claws, releasing Geoffrey from his grasp. Screaming as he fell, Geoffrey landed with a heavy thud, and Cathryn winced as she heard a bone snap. She watched dispassionately as Geoffrey slowly pushed himself up from the ground, grimacing as he straightened his leg.

  “Help me up,” he groaned.

  “No,” she said. “This is your own doing. You were very rude.”

  “Unconscionably rude,” he agreed, “even if it was true.” He grimaced again as he straightened himself, dragging himself over to a tree where he leaned his weight. “I didn’t realize your pet dragon was so protective.” He glanced up, but the dragon in question was no longer in sight. “Please don’t bring him into my house after we are married,” he said. Cathryn gave a dry, humorless laugh.

  “What makes you think I still want to marry you?”

  “Why wouldn’t you?” he asked, a look of surprise crossing his features.

  “Because you are the most self-serving person I have ever met,” she retorted.

  “Ah,” he said, with a pained grin, “but what serves my interests also serves yours. Besides, we do have a written agreement.” He placed his broken leg on the ground, tentatively testing his weight before grimacing once more.

  “Agreements can be broken,
” she said, watching him.

  “But what would that serve?” he asked, glancing at her. “Have your little affairs, by all means, but keep them discreet, and do not — ever — try and keep knowledge of them from me.”

  “Tell me,” she said, her eyes narrowing, “do you see Favian Drake waiting to meet me?”

  “No,” he replied, “it appears I was incorrect about the reason for your assignation this evening. You were checking on your pet.”

  “You are wrong about my relationship with Favian Drake. I have never slept with him.”

  “No? Well then, my apologies for the slur upon your character. Now are you going to help me back to the inn or not?”

  “No,” she replied. “You got yourself into this trouble, and you can get yourself out.”

  “At least walk with me,” he said.

  “No,” she said, “now go.”

  His eyes narrowed for a moment. “Is Favian Drake hiding in the trees?”

  “Argh! Enough of this! Just go!” She watched as he slowly hobbled away, and when he finally disappeared through the trees, she sat down on a log to await the dragon’s return. She peered through the gathering gloom of dusk and saw a shadow high in the sky. It circled around slowly, but made no effort to drop lower. Slipping onto the cold ground, Cathryn leaned her back against the log where she had been sitting, and closed her eyes. She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew it was dark. She glanced around in confusion before her eyes fell on Favian, sitting a few feet away. His face was in shadow, but she could see that he was dressed in the clothes she had brought.

  “You came back,” she said with a sleepy smile. “I was hoping to see your wings.”

  Favian smiled, rising to his feet and walking over to her. He reached down a hand and pulled her up, holding her close when she fell against his chest.

  “You can still see my wings,” he whispered.

  “How?” she asked.

  “Like this,” he said, pulling away from her, and in one swift movement, he pulled the tunic over his head. She gaped at the sight of him standing half-naked before her in the pale moonlight, then gasped when she saw wings spread above his shoulders. With eyes wide, she walked around him, looking at the wings as they spread from his back. They were huge, stretching to points more than ten feet on either side of him. The bottom of the wings trailed on the ground, while the tips stretched up high above his head. They were the most magnificent things she had ever seen.

  “Can I touch them?” she whispered.

  “Yes,” he said, his voice low as he looked over his shoulder at her. She lifted her hand to the smooth surface, running her fingers over the taut membranes which stretched like silk across a bony frame. They quivered slightly at her touch, the movement making the warm air stir around her. She walked along the outside of one wing to the point, before turning around and running her hand along the side facing his back. As she drew near to him, he reached out a hand, and gently wrapped it around her waist, drawing her closer. She looked at him, and his eyes were no longer a deep blue, but were burning flames of yellow and gold. He lifted his other hand and brushed it through her hair, his eyes following the movement before looking back into her eyes. She opened her lips and he claimed them with his own. She twisted herself so her body pressed close to his, while her hands slid up his back, feeling the ridges of bone and sinew that held the weight of his wings. She felt her feet leave the ground as his arms wound around her, and she tangled her feet in his. His wings pulsed through the air as they hovered together a few inches above the ground. The heat from his skin spun around her, caressing her, and she wrapped herself tighter around him. He pulled away from her mouth and buried his face in her hair as she looked over his shoulder, watching the powerful wings move through the air.

  “They are so beautiful,” she murmured. He pulled away to look at her, a smile on his face.

  “Does that mean you are no longer scared of me?”

  “Scared of a big, fire-breathing, flesh-eating, spiky-tailed monster like you?” she laughed. “Never!”

  “So when are you going to give the news to Geoffrey?” he asked as he gently brought them back to the ground. She looked to him in confusion.

  “Why does Geoffrey need to know that I don’t fear a dragon?”

  “Not that you don’t fear the dragon, but that you love the dragon.”

  “Oh,” she said, pulling away and turning around, gazing into the distance. He watched her for a moment.

  “You haven’t decided to break the contract, have you?” he said.

  “Favian … I …”

  “No,” he said, holding up his hand, “do not say anything. I do not wish to hear excuses from you. Even Geoffrey knows you care for me. I heard what he said earlier, about having your little affairs, but let me be very clear — I will not be part of a secret liaison that has me slinking around, unable to acknowledge my love for you. It is all or nothing, Cathryn, and I am starting to think it will be nothing. I have followed you for weeks, waiting patiently for you to come to terms with what I am, but no more. I am leaving. If you have a change of heart, you know where to find me, but I suspect that day will never come.” Cathryn turned to stare at him in horror as he strode away from her, but before he had gone very far, he turned on his heel and stalked back to where she was standing, stopping less than a foot away.

  “And one more thing, Cathryn, in the interests of total honesty. I told you that we eat the same things, and that is true, but only to a point. I eat human flesh, Cathryn. In fact, I really enjoy it. And you are smelling quite good right now, so you may want to run for your life.”

  She gasped, stumbling back from him, and then turned on her heel when he laughed, flames pouring from his mouth.

  “That’s right, Cathryn,” he sneered, “run from the monster.”

  Chapter 27

  Cathryn did run, but only for a short time before coming to a complete standstill. She could still hear Favian’s laugh ringing in her ears, but another voice also whispered at the back of her mind. Look in the heart and you will see the real character, she heard Oliver’s voice say. No, she thought, Favian is not a monster. She knew him, knew his heart, and knew that despite his angry words he was the man she loved. Perhaps he did eat human flesh, but it was not because he was a monster, hunting down innocent prey, enjoying their terror. Slowly, she turned around and walked back to the clearing, but it was empty.

  “Favian,” she whispered, but there was no response. “Favian,” she said again, raising her voice to a call, and then yelling his name again when there was still no response. His clothes were lying on the ground, and she gathered them into her arms, bringing them to her face to breathe in the smell of him.

  He was right, she thought. They were meant to be together, but she had pushed him away, over and over again. He had been patient, and understanding, but she had kept her distance. The red pendant lay upon her chest, and she wrapped her hand around it, feeling the heat of it on her palm.

  “Oh, Favian,” she whispered. “I am so sorry. I will make this right, I promise.” She could feel the tears gathering in her eyes, but she scrubbed them away. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, she needed to take steps to set things to rights. She turned in the direction of the inn, determined to tell Geoffrey that she could not marry him, when a sudden thought brought her to a stop once again. He had tried to force himself on her once, and he could do so again. Perhaps, she decided, this was news better delivered once she was home.

  It was dark as she walked back through the trees, but she could see a shimmer of light in the distance and she followed it. It wasn’t until she grew closer that she saw the huge branch, pushed into the ground and set alight, a beacon for someone walking in the dark. She stared at it for a long moment before turning around slowly, searching the shadows for signs of a dragon. Or a man. But all around her it was quiet and dark. The light of the blaze fell on the bangle wrapped around her wrist, and slowly she pulled it off, holding it tig
ht in her hands. Favian had given her a part of himself, but all she had to give him in return was a memory. She kissed the bangle before laying it on the ground next to the burning branch. If Favian came back to snuff the torch, then he would find it. And if not … she shrugged, unwilling to think that he would be that careless.

  All was quiet at the inn when she returned, and she carefully made her way through the building and up the stairs to her room, where Hannah was waiting for her.

  “You were out late. I was growing worried,” she said.

  “I …uh… went for a walk.”

  “I saw Master Beaumont hobble into the inn. Is everything all right?”

  “Yes. He had a run-in with the dragon.” She paused. “I cannot marry him.”

  “Did he hurt you?”

  “No.”

  Hannah watched Cathryn for a moment.

  “Did you have a secret assignation with Master Drake?”

  Cathryn looked away, her cheeks flushing, but after a moment she turned and met Hannah’s gaze.

  “Not in the way you mean. But I do intend to marry him.”

  Cathryn was up at first light the next morning, and after assuring Hannah she would be back soon, she hurried towards the copse of trees, searching the sky for a sign of a dragon. There was none, and with a sigh she turned her attention to the ground. The branch was still planted into the earth, the wood black and cold as it stood starkly against the low morning light, but the bangle was gone.

  It was another five days before the little party straggled into town on a warm and sunny afternoon. Geoffrey rode in the wagon, grimacing at every bump and turn, his horse tied to the back. At the sight of her home, Cathryn felt the weariness of the past weeks lift, and she turned to Hannah with a smile.

  “Home at last. I’m looking forward to a good meal and a comfortable bed, and I’m sure you are too. Send one of the other maids to my chambers, and then take the rest of the week off.”

  The clatter of horses and wagon brought Father to the door, and he stepped outside to greet Cathryn.