The Last Dragon [Book One]

by LeRoy Clary

  We were servants. If they expected to see Princess Elizabeth, that wouldn’t happen for a few more days, at the earliest, and she would lead an army.

  “I see them,” Kendra said without turning her head.

  We rode on, ignoring them. I looked for Avery but didn’t see him. As we reached the gate, Lord Kent stepped to the middle of the road, as if that action was enough to stop us. Kendra said, “Ride on past.”

  We didn’t look at him and didn’t slow. His face turned crimson. He called at our backs, “Hey, stop.”

  We rode on.

  Kendra said, “Turn left at the next street.”

  We’d entered a shabby cluster of wood-framed buildings turned gray by age and the sea. All were one story, but nearer the river stood warehouses and larger buildings. Signs for goods and services hung over nearly every door. I wondered where people lived before noticing most businesses had living quarters at the rear.

  “Stop, I said,” came another shout from behind.

  “A mage up ahead?”

  She nodded, and we rode on, the horses walking faster than the flow of people, and Lord Kent was far too proud and foppish to run after us. I was surprised that he even shouted. The street we turned on held taverns, bars, dancehalls, and gaming rooms. Barkers stood outside trying to lure victims inside with promises of all earthly pleasures, most of which sounded too good to be true, but a young man of my age should not accept what others say—he should investigate for himself.

  Kendra seemed almost as interested as me, but we rode on. The river lay ahead, a wide bend with piers and docks on the inside of the bend where the current was less. Dock after dock lined the left side of the street, while pleasure houses of every sort the other. Ahead sprawled staging areas, warehouses, sheds, and storage.

  Everything being unloaded seemed to go there for disposition, while everything leaving Dire waited for loading, as well as ship supplies, food, barrels of water, and kegs of ale waited in haphazard piles. Stacks of ropes, poles, boards, sails and a thousand other items were ready for loading, presumably after being purchased and brought from the warehouses.

  Men shouted donkeys brayed, and women of all ages called for my attention. The noise deafened. People walked, jogged, and ran. Winches lifted cargo either to the decks or from them to the docks. More than thirty ships of all sizes were at the docks and piers, and not all the spaces were filled.

  Kendra rode directly to a pier where cargo was being carried onto the ship by a line of men, each with a heavy sack over his shoulder. She climbed down and handed her reins to a young man who appeared eager to help—for a coin. I dismounted and did the same, as I said, “I will pay another to watch you. If you try to steal from us, you will never see another sunset.”

  The idea I could now say things like that, and mean them, scared me. A glance behind revealed Lord Kent must have given up chasing us—for now.

  Kendra said, “Loosen your sword.”

  I followed behind and did as told. She walked across the loading area as if she owned it, and then out on the pier beside a ship. It sat alongside the pier, tied in several places. It was wide and round-bottomed. Only two masts stood on the deck, and great open hatches allowed the men to descend ladders with their heavy sacks.

  A uniformed man stood at the end of a short ramp that connected the ship to the pier. Kendra motioned to the men with the sacks to slow while she stepped ahead, with me at her heels. The ramp bounced as we walked across to where a heavy-set man held a clipboard.

  Kendra went directly to him. “Your captain?”

  “That’s him,” he grunted and flicked his eyes to the stern, before making another mark on the clipboard.

  Kendra headed for the captain, and he watched her approach with squinted eyes. He didn’t even glance my way. She reached out to shake his hand. He smirked and kept his hands to himself, an affront and insult in any language. He shouldn’t have done that to my sister.

  She lowered her hand as he snorted in cruel amusement. She didn’t take her eyes off him as she spoke in a soft voice for my ears alone. “Put the tip of your sword to his neck and wait for my direction.”

  He didn’t know her or me. Nor did he know that I had expected something like that from her and had been prepared from when first insulted by him. My sword was already whipping out and my wrist turning up, in the thrust position. The pommel came to my chin, the point touched the base of his throat. If he moved, he would die.

  “Sir,” she said in the sweetest of voices, “perhaps we should begin again.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “There is a man on your ship that I would very much like to speak with. I believe he is immediately below us.”

  “The mage?” he grunted.

  “That’s him.”

  “Go on down and talk to him,” he growled, his eyes turning piggish as he held his anger inside. The instant my sword was lowered, his men would attack. Several were already edging closer.

  I said, “Sir, it would be more convenient if you would have one of the eager young men who is getting too close to us fetch him for us. As for the others, you might want to tell them how sharp the tip of my blade feels and that they should give us some space. Just the slightest pressure would send this through your neck, and in case you haven’t noticed, my sister also has a blade held ready to gut you.”

  His eyes dropped to the blade. Kendra held the sharp edge up, ready to slice across his stomach. He raised his voice, “Dom, go below and get that damn mage up here. The rest of you, who told you to stop working?”

  They grumbled but backed off. A few didn’t return to work, and he shouted at them again. Then he looked at me. “Son, you can put that away. If you’re that serious about talking to the damn mage, you must have a good reason. I won’t stand in your way. I don’t like sailing with them, anyway.”

  His eyes told me he told the truth. I placed my sword away.

  He said, “Besides, he’s already paid me, and I don’t give refunds.”

  I said, “I’m sure you won’t mind standing where you are until we’re finished?”

  “I was here when you arrived and will be when you leave. Take your time.”

  An older man stumbled from a small door, pushed by someone behind. His hair was gray, almost white, his clothing was a long, blue robe that drug the deck, and he was more than angry. He was ready to explode. If he had access to essence, I believe someone would have exploded in a ball of lightning.

  It occurred to me that the rudeness shown to him indicated the others on the ship knew he had lost his powers. That came as a surprise. The dragon had barely flown away, so how did they know? And if they did, it seemed reasonable that everyone did.

  On second thought, people hate mages. That’s why I hid my abilities. They love rumors of those people who have fallen from grace, no matter what their station. Mages without powers would be the fastest rumor to ever fly across the kingdom—or sail across the sea.

  The old man straightened himself and tried to walk in a regal manner in our direction. We waited. He said, “Do you know who I am?”

  It was not one of the royal mages from Crestfallen, so we did not. Kendra stepped in front of him. “Not who, but what. You are a mage.”

  He pointed a finger at her. “Would you like to turn into a cinder?”

  She hesitated, but I noticed a twitch of humor at the corner of her lips. She was waiting for something. “A few days ago, that would have scared me. Now, it does not. But speaking of threats, would you like to meet my dragon?”

  She pointed. All eyes turned to the sky and the dragon flying to her. She said, “Damon, we really need to give it a name, don’t you think?”

  He said in a flat tone, “You are the Dragon Queen.”

  The captain backed off a few steps in sudden fear. I let him go.

  She said, “Where were you going on this ship?”

  He didn’t answer. His expression said he hated her and blamed her for his loss of power, all true.


  Kendra said, “Captain, what are the ports of call for your ship?”

  “Palmyra and back here. A regular run.”

  “Palmyra? I don’t recognize that,” she said.

  The captain said, “The largest port on the northern shore of Kondor.”

  The last word said enough. The mage didn’t have the same features as us, but a quick look at several of the ship’s crew told a different story. She waved an arm, and the dragon changed directions and flew directly at us, losing altitude as it did.

  She said, “Speak quickly or you will feed my dragon her noon meal. Why were you going to Kondor?”

  The old mage was watching the dragon. In defiance, he spat at Kendra. The dragon roared as it believed Kendra attacked. It veered to avoid the ship's masts, and as it flew past the stern of the ship, it’s left rear leg shot out, and the talons speared the mage. It flew on, the mage twisted and skewered by the talons as long as my arm.

  Every eye on the ship, pier, and probably port, watched the dragon pump its wings to fly higher and higher until it appeared no bigger than a crow. A smaller spot detached from the dragon’s foot and fell, and fell, tumbling and turning. Finally, it struck the water of the river with a splash of white.

  It was as if everyone in the city had held their breaths and let them out at the same time. What they had witnessed would be told and retold for generations. Kendra turned to the captain. “Sir, we will take our leave, now. If you wish to book another passenger for his cabin, he won’t object.”

  “His belongings?”

  “None of my concern. Come, Damon.” She turned and walked to the gangplank without a backward glance.

  The young man holding our horses handed us the reins. When I reached for my purse, he waved me off. “It’s good,” he said.

  I flipped him a full copper coin and mounted. No cargoes were being loaded or unloaded, no wagons filled with freight were moving, and pedestrians stood in their tracks. All watched us.

  “Where to?” I asked.

  She pointed to where the sailors gathered when ashore, a run-down part of the port where people woke daily to find throats cut, the music was too loud, the wine too thin. The activity behind us didn’t resume until we’d turned a corner. We didn’t go far.

  A pair of women with most of their breasts exposed stood outside and invited men to join them. Both women probably were more successful long after dark, when the light was poor, and the men had several drinks in them. Kendra and I tied our horses to a hitching ring. She said to the nearest, “Did you watch the dragon?”

  The woman nodded solemnly.

  “Do you know who I am?”

  She nodded again.

  “Good. If anything happens to my horses, you will meet my dragon personally. Do we understand each other?”

  For the third time, the woman made the same nod. I didn’t think there would be any misunderstanding or problem with thieves and our horses. Kendra walked directly to the double-door and pushed. I followed.

  Inside we found a room crowded with mismatched tables and chairs pushed almost together, so there was left only a little space for walking. The proprietor understood that the more people, the more he earned, and he must have been greedy. All the tables were empty, but one. At that one sat Princess Anna in yellow again, Lord Kent wearing a pale blue jacket that matched his pants, and a mage who was instantly recognizable from years of living in the palace. All were smiling as if sharing a joke as we walked nearer.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  K endra had walked a few paces into the room but pulled to a stop long before reaching the proffered chair an insolent young Lord Kent indicated. He appeared the same high-born, overbearing boy Elizabeth had walked with in the gardens, and the same I’d placed a wet spot at his groin to rid her of his presence.

  Her eyes roamed the room and rested on a closed door. The three of them avoided looking at it. She smiled back at them, but spoke to me, “Damon pull your sword and kill whoever is lurking behind that door, should he or they emerge. Then run outside to protect yourself. My dragon is about to do to this building what it did to the city of Mercia.”

  My sword was in my hand. I was only a few steps away. Lord Kent and the mage stood to object. “Sit or die,” I barked, my sword ready to speak for me.

  They sat.

  She said to them, “Do you know me?”

  “The servant who spies for Princess Elizabeth,” Lord Kent said with a curl of his lip. “A homeless orphan.”

  Princess Anna said, “I believe you served me tea once, but perhaps not. I do not keep track of palace servants.”

  The mage looked worried.

  My sister paced as they spoke and pulled to a stop near the door we’d entered. She said softly, “I am all of those things.” Her focus was on the mage. “I am also the one who ordered a mage trying to sail to Kondor today grabbed by my dragon and flown into the sky. Then dropped. He twisted and turned, and I could swear I heard his screams for the longest time as he fell to his death.”

  “You’re her,” the mage said, his voice hushed.

  “Who?” Lord Kent bellowed.

  The eyes of the mage never left Kendra, but he answered, “The Dragon Queen.”

  “This is all her fault?” Lord Kent asked, confused. “A servant?”

  The building shook as if a boulder had rolled down a hill and struck it, or a dragon had landed on the roof, none too gently. My guess was the dragon. The closed door the three had avoided looking at still drew my attention. Sword still in hand I crabbed sideways closer. Now they watched me instead of Kendra, which told me something important was beyond the door.

  Kendra realized I was up to a game of my own and kept the dragon quiet, although we heard hundreds of running feet in the street outside and screams as people fled the area. I placed a hand on the door latch and yanked. The door flew open, and a single huge soldier wearing a burgundy breastplate bolted out, already lifting his heavy broadsword as he ran at me. It took both hands to raise the sword that was longer than he was tall, and it weighed as much as a large child.

  Mine was already in hand, and as I’d argued with Elizabeth about, reflexes slashed the blade across his breastplate, doing him no harm at all. However, on my return swing, I adjusted the height to below his waist, which was unprotected by the breastplate. He wore stiff leather leg protectors for his thighs, but as his arms were raising his sword, his bare lower abdomen was exposed. I cut across it, so deeply I felt my blade strike bone.

  My third slash was higher and removed his left hand at the wrist. It fell to the floor with a solid-sounding thump. The unbelieving eyes of the massive soldier watched his own hand roll across the floor after his foot kicked it. He fell. He was not dead, but from the amount of blood, he soon would be.

  But it was not him that concerned me. Still in the small room was another man. “Come out,” I ordered.

  He hesitantly did.

  Kendra drew in a deep breath of recognition.

  I didn’t know what to do. The man who strolled regally out of the room and callously stepped over the fallen man was a man we knew well. It was the king. He was healthy. It was Elizabeth’s father.

  Then it wasn’t.

  “Stop it,” Kendra screamed at the mage. “He’s drawing essence from the dragon!”

  The building shook again. The dragon roared as if in response to Kendra.

  The man who had looked like our king for a time was still similar, the same nose, hair, and height, but how I had confused them was beyond me—unless it was magic. I’d met, talked, and performed tasks for the real king a hundred times. No, a thousand. This was not him, but a cousin? Perhaps. However, it had not been a trick of the light or my mind. The man had been the king.

  The mage smiled at me, unworried and confident.

  Lord Kent said, “How would both of you like to be elevated to become royals? Live on a par like me? The image of our king standing before you will have that power to grant, and more. Perhaps you wish to be an
earl? Or duke? Duchess for your sister?”

  Princess Anna said in an earnest, convincing way, “Together, we who are in this room today can rule Dire. Imagine what your lives can become with our help.”

  “And we won’t have to wait half a lifetime to do those things, either,” Lord Kent said with a grin that continued to grow as he believed the bait he fished with couldn’t be resisted.

  The man who had briefly appeared as our king said with a wave of his arm, “Name your titles, and I’ll make it so as soon as I rule Dire.”

  Kendra said coldly, pulling me away from the conversation, “Damon, is there a back door?”

  “There must be one for the people to reach the outhouses.”

  Puzzlement crossed Princess Anna’s face. Lord Kent’s smile slipped.

  Kendra said to me, “Go out back. Stand well away from the building. Kill anyone who leaves by that door, and none will enter.”

  When I didn’t move fast enough, she screamed, “Damon!”

  My feet carried me at a sprint, dodging chairs and tables as I ran. The door crashed open as my shoulder struck it, and I turned, ready to defend it as she told me, but without any idea of what was happening. A timber lay in the dirt for walking on after the rains, and I propped it against the door so it wouldn’t open. The dragon sat on the roof and eyed me as I did what she asked. From the ground, I couldn’t see her folded wings, and from down on the ground, she resembled a huge, hungry frog.

  “Hey, girl, remember me?”

  She didn’t seem to. Then she reared up and screamed as she brought her forefeet down on the roof, splintering wood and caving in a section. Someone inside pounded on the door I’d barred, but the dragon tore aside a section of roof and disappeared inside the building, like a rat scurrying down a hole. There were more screams and cries, but none lasted more than a few seconds. The side-wall of the building crashed outward, then the entire building fell into a pile of rubble, the dragon standing in the middle.