“I understand what I must do,” she replied, “and while it frightens me, I am willing to do it to try and save the people of this city.”
“I wouldn’t have asked it of you,” Delno said, “but since you have offered, I am happy to accept your assistance, and I thank you and applaud your actions. If you would be willing to fly with us to our camp, I will write a letter to Nat so that he will be assured that this isn’t some trick of our enemies.”
In camp later that day, Nassari asked, “How long will it take for her to return with the healer?”
“The same amount of time as it would take the last three times you asked that,” Rita answered, obviously annoyed.
“Well,” he retorted, “perhaps it is easy for you to sit idly and wait; you have no relatives or friends in Larimar.”
As Rita was about to make a heated reply, Delno intervened, “Peace, both of you. Nassari, I know you want to go and help our people. However, we are not healers. I might be able to help one person at a time magically, but that is a slow, drawn out process and would be a drop in the bucket. We need Nat’s skills. Hopefully, he will be able to come up with some herbal remedy that can be widely distributed.”
“And what if he can’t find a cure?” Nassari asked irritably.
“Then the delay won’t make that much difference either way,” Delno responded. Then he put his hand on his friend’s shoulder and said, “Nassari, I have family and friends there, too. I find myself in the unique situation of having to leave those who are already at risk in their current position to bring aid that might save the greater number. Also, I can’t take you to Larimar because unlike us Riders, you don’t have any special immunity to this plague. If you hadn’t refused to go so adamantly, I would have happily sent you back to Palamore with Marlo to keep you safe.”
“It just seems like it will take so long to get help here,” Nassari complained. “It took us days to get here; how long will it take for one dragon to return?”
“I know,” Delno replied. “However, without a passenger to slow her, Marlo can soar on the winds without stopping. She doesn’t even have to stop for nightfall the way we did. She will reach Palamore sometime toward early morning. When she finds Nat, who will be at the palace where she will land, she will explain the situation and give him the letter I wrote. I included things in the letter that only he and I know, so he should have no problem trusting Marlo. They should be on their way back no later than the day after tomorrow and here within two days of that.” Then he gave Nassari a sad smile and added, “It’s the best we can do, my friend.”
Delno needed a break, both from the monotony of waiting in camp and from Nassari. He went to Geneva. “How are you holding up, Dear Heart?” he asked.
“I am less impatient than your friend,” she responded. “If he doesn’t stop pacing around the camp like that, he will wear a rut in the ground.”
“He is anxious to go and help our people in Larimar. I can’t really blame him; I would like to rush there and do something myself.”
“You aren’t worrying everyone else with your impatience, Love,” she replied.
“Unfortunately, Love, I’m a veteran of enough military campaigns that I’ve learned to hide such anxiety, even when people are dying while I have to wait. I have to say, there are times I wish I had never learned that lesson.”
“I know, Dear One, and I would change that if I could, but it is part of what makes you who you are.”
He leaned against her side and just let the feeling of closeness take away some of the anger, guilt, and helplessness that he felt.
After a few moments, she asked, “Did you learn anything from Paul when you questioned him?”
“Concerning his knowledge of this plague or his knowledge of Warrick’s failed attempts to control the wild dragons?” He answered her question with questions of his own.
“Either,” she replied. “Does he know anything?”
“Well, he claims that he only knows that Warrick sent emissaries to the wild dragons twice. He also claims that those emissaries were flamed without provocation at the second meeting. It’s more likely the wild dragons took the attempted use of magic to coerce them as an attack and rightfully defended themselves.” He sighed and took a moment before he continued. “As to the plague, he says that he has no knowledge of that at all. I actually tend to believe him; not because he is trustworthy, but because Warrick wouldn’t trust such information to him knowing that he would most likely be questioned by us once he had been captured.”
“Well, I have been thinking about how Warrick gets the dragons to work with the Roracks, and I have a theory,” she said. “I have questioned Mariah about this and she says that, although it went against her inner feelings, she did so. She and the others simply did as their Bond-mates desired, but now that she has been away from Horne for a few days, she again feels the hatred my race has for the Roracks. I believe that Warrick uses that stone he mentioned on the dragons. I think that he tried to use it on the wild dragons, and it failed because we are so resistant to magic. However, he can use it on the bonded dragons of the Riders who follow him because the Riders' compliance to his will makes the difference.”
“That does make sense,” he responded. “Now that she is no longer under the direct influence of the compelling stone, and her contact with Paul is limited, she has reverted back to her inborn enmity toward the beast-men. Perhaps the stone has range limits as well, and that played a part in why it failed to control the wild dragons. Warrick sent emissaries, but he didn’t go himself, and he isn’t likely to let that stone out of his possession. All of this is conjecture, but it is probably close to the mark and could be helpful.” Then he shook his head, “There are still too many ‘maybes’ involved when the fate of so many is at stake. I wish we knew more about this compelling stone that he uses.”
“You will put it all together when the time comes, Love,” she said. “But for now, you are tired and distraught. Rest while you can; I have a feeling that you will be very busy in Larimar.”
Delno didn’t argue, or even comment; he simply lay down with his shoulders and head resting against her front leg, closed his eyes, and let sleep take him.
Chapter 7
It was a good thing that dragons could go for several days without sleep. Marlo had not stopped to rest since the Rider had given her the letter to carry to Palamore. As the sun was coming up the next morning, she glided down toward the city. She had been warned that she might be feared when she showed up at the palace without a rider, but she would be patient and would not make sudden moves. She also resisted the urge to fill her flame bladder. She did not intend to show any aggression when she landed.
As she touched down in the central courtyard, several servants at first looked for her Rider. Seeing that she not only bore no human, but didn’t even wear a saddle, they hurriedly ran to get someone in authority. It wasn’t long before nearly a dozen humans approached in a group. Some were armed with spears, which she had been told to expect. The armed guards seemed to be especially protective of the female human in the group. They stood in front of her with their weapons ready.
Everyone stood stock still and waited. Neither the dragon nor the people even spoke; they just watched each other. The men with spears held them ready but didn’t overtly threaten the dragon with them. The dragon was careful not to show her teeth or click her claws nervously on the paving stones. Several minutes passed.
Finally the woman said sharply, “This is ridiculous. If this dragon meant me harm, we would all be dead by now. Stand aside so that I can talk with her and see what she wants.”
Marlo was impressed with this female; she showed good sense. The men reluctantly lowered their weapons and let her through.
“Are you the Queen of Palamore?” Marlo asked.
“I am,” the woman replied. “Do you bring message from your Rider? I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize you.”
“I am a friend of the pair you call Delno and Geneva. I
am what you refer to as a wild dragon; I have no rider.”
Marlo could sense the human’s confusion, but she was pleased that the Queen didn’t react badly to her being un-bonded.
“I have a message for one called Nathaniel,” Marlo said, using Nat’s proper name to show respect. “If he is present, I will give it to him.”
“He is in his quarters,” the Queen replied. “I will send for him.”
The humans were obviously confused, but sent for the physician. Marlo waited patiently. After several moments, a man came into the courtyard who matched the image of Nat that Geneva had put into her mind. “I am Nathaniel,” he said as he approached.
“I have a letter from the one you call Delno,” she responded. “It is tied to my wrist; you will have to cut the cord to retrieve it. Approach slowly, and I will not harm you.”
Marlo quickly decided that she liked this man; he approached her without fear, and she had a sense that he liked dragons as much as she liked humans. That was good, since they would be traveling together for a time. Nat used his sickle-shaped herb blade to cut the cord, and then he stood right next to the dragon while he unrolled the letter as if doing so was the most natural thing in the world.
Nat noticed the Captain of the Palace guards trying desperately to get his attention. “What is it, Captain?” His annoyance at being kept from the communication was obvious in his voice.
“That’s a wild dragon; you should come back over here,” the man said, then looked ridiculously scared because he realized that the dragon could hear and understand every word he’d just said.
“Really, Captain,” Nat said, still annoyed, “if this person wanted me dead, I’d either be a pile of ashes or a mushy spot on the pavement by now; a few more feet one way or the other wouldn’t make much difference. Now, if I may do so in peace, I will read this letter from Delno.” Then he turned his back dismissively on the rest of the humans assembled in the court yard: the whole interaction impressed Marlo with Nat’s good sense and his courage.
To put the humans more at ease, Marlo had laid down on the paving stones so that she wasn’t standing as if ready to fight. This put her front legs out in front of her. Nat, as was typical for him, was so engrossed in reading Delno’s letter that he simply sat down on the nearest thing that was even close to being high enough to use for the purpose. That thing just happened to be Marlo’s foreleg. He settled down right at the crook of her elbow and finished reading the letter. Marlo wasn’t sure what to make of this contact. It wasn’t offensive, so she just let him stay there.
The rest of the people all gasped when the physician sat on the leg of the wild dragon. They had heard stories of people being attacked by wild dragons. It was said that wild dragons were wild by choice and had little tolerance for people. Of course, it was also said that wild dragons kept to themselves and avoided human areas as well.
Nat finished reading the letter. It was certainly authentic; it contained information that only he and Delno knew about their first few days in each other’s company. Since it was authentic, he had to conclude that the call for him to come was equally genuine. He looked around thoughtfully and suddenly realized where this nice couch had come from.
He stood and turned to face the dragon. “I am sorry for taking the liberty, my dear, but I get distracted when something catches my attention. I hope I didn’t offend you by sitting on your leg.”
While his apology was real, he still showed no fear. Marlo found that rather refreshing for some reason and said, “It’s all right. I took no offense.”
The two stood regarding each other for several moments, and then Marlo said, “Since you have read the letter, you know that Delno wants you to accompany me. How long will it take you to be ready?”
“At least a couple of hours, I’m afraid,” Nat replied. “How much weight can you safely carry? I have some supplies I would like to bring.”
“I can easily carry your weight plus that much again in supplies if you have some way to rig them in place. It may be hard to fly if the weight shifts around much.”
“Very well, I will make arrangements and see what can be found to use to rig my supplies to your satisfaction, if you don’t mind waiting here while I go get everything taken care of,” Nat said and turned back to the group of people who were watching in amazement.
Nearly two hours later, Nat was ready to go. They had found an old dragon saddle in the livery. The straps were a bit dry rotted, but it only took the livery’s leather worker a little over an hour to make it serviceable. With Nat strapped on and his supplies tied in place, Marlo was ready to fly. Nat had asked Marlo if she would be bothered by him carrying his long knives on his back and she had said that she would not mind.
“I haven’t ever flown before,” he said.
“Does the prospect scare you?” Marlo asked.
“Certainly not! I’m thrilled with the very idea of it. I am sure that I will enjoy this immensely,” he said with a huge smile on his face.
“Very well,” she replied, “here we go.”
She crouched down and launched in typical dragon fashion. Nat was absolutely thrilled with the sensation of flight and the feel of the dragon beneath him. He had remembered what Delno had said about the temperature at higher altitudes and had dressed accordingly.
It was difficult to talk with the dragon while flying, and, since they weren’t bonded, she didn’t speak directly in his mind. Therefore, there wasn’t much to do except enjoy the ride. After about three hours, he began to feel the urgency of nature’s call and shouted to Marlo to land. She obliged and began gliding down in a spiral toward a small clearing.
Once in the clearing, Nat didn’t take time to walk out into the bush. As is typical of elves and physicians, he was not shy about his bodily functions, which is what saved his life. He was just finishing when Marlo said, “There are two creatures sneaking up on us. They have separated and appear to be hunting us.”
Nat had just drawn his long knives when one of the cat-men leaped at him from the edge of the bush. If he had been bashful and gone further away from Marlo, he would have been killed. The initial attack was fierce, but the creature misjudged the distance slightly, so Nat was easily able to use his left blade to block the heavy weapon that the cat-man was trying to decapitate him with while he slashed out with his other long knife. Nat’s right blade found its mark and opened a long, deep gash in the cat-man’s side that began just below the armpit and continued all the way to the creature’s waist. The beast screamed in agony but rolled back to a fighting crouch as it hit the ground.
Nat barely noticed the movement to his left and slightly behind him. He needn’t have worried though; Marlo plucked the second cat-man out of the air mid-leap and slammed it to the ground hard enough to break nearly every bone in its body. The creature didn’t have a chance to scream as the air was knocked from its lungs by the force of the impact. It tried feebly to rise, but Marlo slammed her front foot down on the beast, piercing its torso with her claws and pinning it to the ground. It was quite dead.
The first cat-man, despite the terrible wound Nat had given it, recovered and attacked. The attack was clumsy though, and Nat simply blocked the roundhouse swing with one blade while using the other to stab directly into the creature’s throat; then he twisted the blade and slashed to one side, severing the major vessels on that side of its neck. It stumbled for a moment trying desperately to continue the fight, but its struggles only made it bleed to death faster.
Nat made sure both creatures were dead, and then examined Marlo to ensure that she had taken no hurt. Then he examined himself to ensure that he was also still completely intact.
“Can’t you feel it if you have been wounded?” Marlo asked.
“Usually, but the body produces substances that help give humans a burst of energy in such situations; sometimes those same chemicals cause a reduction in the ability to feel pain. I’ve seen men who were grievously wounded but didn’t know it because their bodies had secr
eted so much of the chemicals that they could not feel the pain of their injuries. So, it’s always best to check and make sure rather than assume.”
“And you checked me first,” she replied. “I thank you.”
“What? Oh, sorry; I was looking at the creatures, I’m afraid. They are quite an abomination, but that doesn’t make them any less fascinating,” he responded, and then added, “Now then, what were you saying?”
“I was thanking you for making sure that I wasn’t harmed,” she said smiling at him.
“Oh, yes, well, you’re quite welcome, my dear; it’s the least I could do, since you saved my life, and, thank you, by the way.”
Marlo chuckled at Nat’s mannerisms and said, “Well, if you are through, we should probably get back into the air. We still have a long way to go.”
“Yes, I’m quite through, and I could happily spend the rest of my life flying with you. It is such a wonderful sensation. I do thank you so very much for carrying me. I must admit, as enamored with dragons as I am, I never dreamed that I would actually get to fly with one.”
Within a few moments they were airborne. This time they didn’t stop until Marlo felt Nat lying forward on her neck and realized that the man was asleep. She was mildly surprised that he hadn’t asked her to set down for a rest break. She glided in and landed near a large stream. Nat woke only long enough to disengage all of the gear so that Marlo could be comfortable. Then he couched himself with his head resting on her foot and slept.
When they woke, Nat quickly prepared a meal and hot beverage. He added herbs to his drink that would help his immune system keep him from catching this plague he was going to treat. Marlo was curious about all of his doings, so he explained everything to her. She expressed her amazement that he would put himself at such risk to treat people he didn’t even know, and he simply explained that sometimes healers did that. She was still impressed with his courage.
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