by LeRoy Clary
“Not fully developed, but yes.”
“Tell me.”
“After what we found in the Marlstone Islands, I have ideas. Remember Breslau had bought all the businesses and refused to sell cargo or supplied to ships. I need to sail to Breslau. The answers are there.”
“You’re speaking about the change in the attitude of everyone in the port when Gray mentioned ‘Anterra’ at the Inn in Marlstone City?”
“They were going to hang him. At least they were going to beat him, just for mentioning it. He was lucky to have a good ship’s captain who managed to get him away.”
“The same tale says that there is only one ship that goes beyond The Marlstones to Breslau,” Grandma Emma said. “It rarely takes passengers. It will never take you.”
“I know. But it did take Stinson there, and that’s a problem for all of us. Stinson and his bragging mouth will sell out our entire family for a few words of praise, and there is little about us that he does not know.”
“He’s not as bad as all that.” Grandma Emma said. “Just a little headstrong.”
“You’re wrong. He traveled on that ship as a crewman,” Anna said. “That says he is one of them, or he’s selling his soul to them.”
“I believe part of what you say may be accurate, but it is hard to believe a child from this family would do such a terrible thing. While he may have worked on the ship as a crewman, that was not the primary reason for why he was on the ship. He was there because The others wanted him in Breslau. Hiring him onto the ship was merely a method to get him there willingly and to force him to talk. I could not imagine they couldn’t have found a better-qualified crewman if they had looked at three other sailors. When the ship eventually tied up to the pier in Breslau, he was probably taken off and questioned. At least, that’s my belief.”
“Questioned like a spy?” Anna asked.
“Or worse. He may even have been treated like royalty, and then he willingly told all, but at the very least I assume he was tortured and in the end told them everything he knows about the Dragon Clan and where we are located.”
“They probably didn’t have to torture him is my guess.”
“Anna, pay attention to your bobber. A fish is playing with your bait. Be careful of what you say about Stinson. He still has family living here that your words may hurt them. We need to be understanding for their sake.”
“He is a traitor to this family and the Dragon Clan,” she spat.
Grandma Emma lifted her bait from the water and replaced it with a worm from the container the girls brought. She thanked them, and after they had run off, she tossed her line, so her bobber sat right beside Anna’s. It went under almost immediately.
Grandma Emma pulled in a perch, held it up and examined the size and judged it too small to keep, so she tossed it back. She rebaited her hook and cast her line back beside Anna’s again. Grandma Emma soon pulled in another. It was a keeper, but she also tossed it back into the lake. She glanced at Anna. “Using the right bait always produces better results. I’m done fishing and talking today.”
Anna watched her grandmother stroll up the dock and climb the hillside to the small houses, never once looking back. Anna knew something profound had just happened but couldn’t figure it out. Not yet. But she had time, and three days to think.
She pulled her line in and replaced the wool with a worm. When the bobber went under she didn’t notice until the fish almost pulled her pole into the water.
Her life was about to change in ways she didn’t understand. In later years, if she lived, she would recall this day as the one that set her on the path to whatever destination lay in her future. The thought was profound, fearsome, and exciting.
But, she simply wished to leave the Drylands Family. Soon.
CHAPTER TWO
Anna hugged all who had come to wish her well, which was everyone in the Drylands Family, men, women, and children. Despite her best efforts to hurry events along, it had taken three days to meet with each council member and the interested people who had suggestions or advice. She had spent a full morning with Gray, and almost a full day with Tessa at the watchtower. Both had shared their thoughts and ideas in depth.
In the end, she admitted to herself that it had been well worth the wait. She had used the time to fill her backpack with essential items, empty it, and refill it again with different essentials. She had sewn coins into so many seams that the straps of her pack felt heavier, not just the contents of the pack, but the straps themselves held coins.
Grandma Emma had monopolized her evenings, filling them with guidelines, goals, and warnings. While she had allowed Anna to take on the responsibility of the trip, it was clear that her grandmother wished Anna would let another go in her place.
Finally, it was time to leave. The entire Drylands Family watch her as she walked beside Tessa in the direction of the mouth of the box canyon that helped conceal the village, Tessa said, “I’ll walk with you a little farther if you don’t mind.”
“That would be nice,” Anna said, grateful for the company and yet fearful of cutting the last tie to her family and friends for another venture into the unknown. The feelings had become uncomfortable with all the well-wishers delaying her as they offered advice and wisdom, but the morning sun was well above the horizon, and she had a very long walk ahead of her.
After navigating the wall of cacti and juniper, they reached the flat of the desert and walked within the high walls of the canyon looming over them to either side. Anna was conscious of the watcher on duty on the mesa above even if she couldn’t see who it was. She knew a friend or relative was there watching out for the safety of all, as she had done a hundred times.
Tessa said, “I wanted to stress a few things before you go. Your Grandmother and I discussed them, and we are in complete agreement.”
“I thought we’d already decided everything.”
“Not yet. Listen to me, Anna. This may seem like an adventure to you, and someday I hope you tell your grandchildren about it, but today it is a dangerous mission. So listen to me with all the attention you would as if your life is at stake . . .”
“Okay, I will.”
“Your grandmother and I are changing your destination. Instead of going to the Raging Mountains and searching for the Dragon Clan that lives there, we want you do go directly to Castle Warrington. We have information that Raymer will be there helping Quint and his father, the Earl. If he is, you will ask him to accompany you to Breslau.”
“Raymer? The Raymer?”
“Yes, the one who was held in the dungeon and defeated King Ember’s sneak attack against the Northwoods over a year ago. The advantages of traveling to Breslau are simple. He’s experienced in living with people other than Dragon Clan, and he has bonded with a red dragon. He is smart, strong, and clever. Raymer will be your first choice. If you cannot locate him at Castle Warrington, you will travel to the Raging Mountains and seek out his family, which may take time. They are hidden as well as our family is, but you will find the way.”
“Why didn’t you tell me all this earlier?”
Tessa walked a few more steps before answering as if considering if she should tell the truth or a lie.We suspected you would balk at going on this venture with a bonded Dragon Clan member. You would fight against it. He will naturally take the lead, and you will do as he says.”
The change irritated Anna. It was another swipe at her young age, but she knew fifteen was not all that young. Her mother had died in childbirth while only a year older. She took a single step away from Tessa and placed her arms crossed over her chest. “Traveling all the way to Castle Warrington and then on to the Raging Mountains and back again will add twenty days to my journey.”
“However, if Raymer can be located at the castle, your trip will be shorter and more productive, as well as safer.”
“Only if he agrees to go with me.”
Tessa chuckled. “We believe he will leap at the chance. If not, we default to the orig
inal plan, and we only lose travel time.”
We! Anna didn’t know where the ‘we’ came from, but she didn’t like the last minute change. She suspected it was anything but a last minute change, but she saw the wisdom and advantages without having them spelled out. However, this was her venture and nobody, not even Raymer was going to take it away from her. She said, using her sour tone while pursing her lips and squinting, “Anything else?”
“I want a hug before I let you continue.”
Anna held onto Tessa longer than she intended, then abruptly spun and marched away. She was finally alone, and nobody could see the tears. However, the tears dried as she trudged ahead in the soft sand and her steps became longer with each stride.
She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. While on the mission with Gray, he had been in charge and he had done a credible job, but this was her time. She intended to perform better than anyone else. Her skills in fighting with the staff were unparalleled, even if she didn’t carry one. Any branch, broomstick, or shovel handle might replace the staff.
But lately the staff had become too closely identified with the Dragon Clan to risk carrying one, and besides, not many twelve-year-old girls carried them. Of course, she was fifteen now, and she had wrapped a wide strip of cloth around her chest to hide her breasts. She would talk in a higher pitch. Her only problem lay in the lack of a story she would tell to those encountered while traveling.
The instructions Tessa had provided would help. They had devised a story to explain why she was traveling alone. She would tell anyone that she was traveling with her brother and his best friend, a warrior in the King’s army. They had split up and gone ahead to hunt. She expected them to return before dark because she was scared to sleep in the wilds alone. After all, Anna was only a twelve-year-old girl and almost helpless.
The hefty knife at her waist was mostly for show. It was almost too large for her small hands. Strapped inside of her thigh was another knife, smaller and far more deadly. The knife was thin, sharp, pointed, and the handle was almost nonexistent, so there was no telltale bulge in her clothing. The blade was small but could slide between ribs without hesitation.
Who would search the thigh of a twelve-year-old girl for a hidden weapon? Nobody, she hoped. But her most powerful weapon was her snarky mouth, followed by her eye-rolls, smirks, and hands-on-hips of protest. She would use them before the dagger and in most cases her attitude managed to scare men. It had served her well on her trip with Gray and she was now more experienced, had trained harder, and she was a little older.
As she walked, the floor of the desert grew hotter, the sand burning her feet right through her boots, yet she couldn’t stop or slow. It took two full days to journey north to where the forests grew. Between her and the forest, there was no water, and travel at night was dangerous. The landscape was black, jagged lava, broken by brown patches where sand blew to fill in depressions, but some lava outcrops were too big and lay exposed. Within sight of her, there were a hundred places ready to trap or break a leg, or trip her forward to strike her head on bare lava.
At night, it would be a hundred times worse to walk. The dips, cracks, exposed rock, and jagged protrusions lurked in every shadow. She had to continue moving today, moving fast while her body still had water. Despite the four water bottles slung around her neck, by tomorrow afternoon they would be empty, and she would be thirsty. The warm water of a shallow stream would appear first, but it was dangerous to stop there because so many thieves and outlaws inhabited the edge of the drylands. They watched the stream for victims and for their drinking water.
Beyond that stream would be a small ridge of low mountains. Cold, clear streams flowed through the forests on the slopes. That would be her goal for the end of the second day. If possible, she would bypass the warm water and those who watched for unwary travelers.
Tessa and Grandma Emma had instructed her well. They had both traveled this way and knew the best routes and what to avoid. They had not held back on providing her with advice or details on the beginning of the trek. While begrudging it to a degree, she also knew it was important. The hours talking to them would help. It also accomplished the task of easing their minds.
Gray, in his typical big-brother role, had cautioned her to curb her sharp tongue, among other things. She intended to ignore that. Her conceited, spoiled, attitude of a twelve-year-old girl put adult men off. Women looked past it. Some even smiled as they remembered themselves at that age. But men reacted in ways that often gave her the upper hand.
A hot wind blew, raising sand and causing it to fly until her clothing was caked with a layer. Her feet hurt from the heated ground. They sank in at each step and seemed to pull back when she tried to lift her feet another step. Her calves started to hurt almost as much as her thighs. She paused at the top of a rise and slowly made a complete turn. Many people don’t look behind themselves when traveling. They only looked ahead. Grandma Emma had told her that, and a thousand other items of survival.
The sun beat down, causing ripples of airwaves just above the sand. The next shade she found, no matter how small, she intended to crawl under it and rest. The hottest part of the day was always late afternoon. She would rest until the shadows grew longer. Then, after that time, the air in the desert gave up its heat so fast that there might be frost by morning. She would continue into the late afternoon and even into the night if the moon and stars gave off enough light. The moon would be near full for a few more nights, and the sky was clear, so she was hopeful.
During her inspection, a slight movement on the slope of another rise in the distance drew her attention; just enough movement to attract her wary eyes. She fell to her knees but didn’t otherwise change positions. Just as she had seen a change, whoever, or whatever was out there in the desert probably watched for the same. She slowly lowered herself to the ground, her eyes pinned to the other slope.
There were few large animals in the drylands. A few wolves prowled near the edges, and now and then a large cat. But there were no bears, or other animals dangerous to humans. The largest and most dangerous were people. Outcasts or criminals, escaped convict or deserters, from the King’s army fled there to avoid the law. And of course, the King’s Triads, those groups of three highly trained scouts searching for the homes of the Dragon Clan.
She saw a flit of movement again. While she couldn’t make out details, she instantly determined it was a man, but obviously, it was not one trained for skulking in deserts. Being spotted so easily told of his ignorance, which did not mean he was not treacherous. Even the most inexperienced opponent might win in a chance encounter.
Might. She stressed that word in her mind as she moved slowly down the backside of the mound. She watched from behind a ledge of crumbling sandstone. Whoever was out there could have gone in any direction, but instead, the figure moved directly at her.
It was not a coincidence, then. Anna had few choices. She could run. The other person could follow. She could hide. The other might find her, and she’d be worse off. She could set a trap. A wary person might sense it and attack her instead of falling into the trap. In any of those situations, she could lose the encounter. In addition to any of them, the stranger following her might catch up while she slept tonight if she did nothing.
But she still had another option, one more suited to her training and skills. The rolling lay of the land, the broken cracks, and crevasses, and the sparse vegetation provided more than enough cover if one knew how to make use of it. She slipped off to one side, and when out of sight she stood and ran at an angle to the stranger, all the while keeping low where he couldn’t see her. When she determined she had gone far enough, she paused. Instead of turning away, she turned towards where she’d last seen the movement.
She used the natural cover and a small split of a canyon until she was sure she had circled around behind the follower. As Grandma Emma said, most people do not look behind. She found another small rise that provided a good view and waited.
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br /> It didn’t take long. She was closer to him than expected, but from the tan dust of the desert floor, a male figure stood and stumbled ahead, before pausing and shielding his eyes with the palm of his hand. He searched for her. There was no mistaking the action. He was moving carefully and searching.
There was only one reason to follow behind. He wanted something from her. She didn’t know what he wanted, but it made no difference. He was following her with malicious intent. She liked that word, malicious. She reached for her short bow. Whatever happened was his fault.
He was not too far off, but she wanted to be ready in case he turned and spotted her. Then was not the time to fumble for a bow that might get tangled in her backpack. The quiver at her hip provided an arrow. One quick and familiar move brought it from the quiver to the bow. She strung the bow and fitted an arrow before creeping forward.
The sand crunched under her feet, and she was sure he’d hear her, but the idea was silly. He was too far away to hear her footsteps unless she stumbled. Besides the constant wind made enough sound to shield any she made. But the idea jarred her. She was stalking another person without a single glance behind to see who stalked her. Only a short time ago she’d criticized the man out there for the same mistake.
She paused as if examining a footprint in the sand. As she bent, she peered back and found nobody there. Someone back there may have ducked when she stopped walking. She spun and looked behind. Nobody there. She would have to do better in the future, but her nerves were on edge. It was not the last time she turned to examine her back trail.
She moved quicker now, concentrating on being quiet but adding some speed to her stealth. Closing the distance, she moved to within twenty steps before he heard her. He turned, surprise clear on his dirt-streaked face. If his expression was any gauge, his surprise was quickly followed by a flash of fear as he found the bow in her hands.
