The Drache Girl

by Wesley Allison

“Where did that come from?”

  “You know. If you had a wife, then she could fix you tea every day.” Eamon filled in the conversational introduction that his wife had skipped. “Dot doesn’t like to use a whole lot of words, because she thinks her voice sounds funny.”

  Dot slapped him on the shoulder.

  “I didn’t say I think it sounds funny. I think it’s sweet.”

  “Wife or girlfriend,” said Dot, looking back at Saba.

  “Just who did you have in mind for me, then?”

  “Mattie Beaten.”

  “Doesn’t she have a boyfriend?”

  “Shaydon Gyffington is courting her, but Dot doesn’t like him.”

  “He smells like cat pee,” said Dot. “Maybe Cady Gertz.”

  “We had lunch together again the other day. If I married her though, I’d have to convert to Zaeri and my mother would die of a heart attack.”

  “Hey guys!” shouted Graham. “There’s a fire!

  Graham was sitting with his back toward the front door, so that he was looking out the small window above the sink. Both Saba and Eamon turned to have a look. Flames could clearly be seen a short distance away. Dot turned around to look behind her, and see what her three guests were looking at, just as those three guests jumped up and headed out the door. Of the three, only Saba remembered to grab his coat off the peg.

  Racing around the house through two feet of snow, they hopped the fence in the backyard and raced through the trees toward the closest neighbor on the western side. The little cottage, the same size as the Shrubb home, though not nearly as kept up looking, now had flames covering the roof. It would be only a matter of moments before it collapsed. Graham made it to the house first and ran to the front door, which from their point of view, was on the left hand side. Then he stopped, unsure what to do next. Eamon and Saba reached him a second later.

  “It’s too late,” said Eamon.

  “One quick look,” said Saba, and kicked the door open.

  He stuck his head inside, and then stepped away from the burning building. Eamon had to drag away Graham, who was all for jumping in to save somebody. The three had just reached the edge of the street when the roof on the little house collapsed, sending flames shooting out and up.

  “Is this Mrs. Yembrick’s house?” asked Saba.

  “That’s right,” replied Eamon.

  “She’s not in there, right?” asked Graham, his eyes round.

  “I’m afraid she was,” said Saba. “There was somebody in the bed.”

  “Why didn’t we go in and get her?” Graham’s body, full of adrenaline, was starting to make his voice squeak.

  “The bed was completely afire,” said Saba. “I couldn’t tell who it was, only that someone was there. I think it must have started in the bed.”

  “Mrs. Yembrick must have knocked over her bedside lamp,” offered Eamon.

  “Maybe.”

  An alarm in the distance signaled the fire wagon, though it seemed there would be little more than ash by the time it got there. At least it didn’t appear the fire would spread into the snow-covered trees. Saba motioned Eamon to take Graham away from Mrs. Yembrick’s yard, while he took a walk around the perimeter, just in case there was someone else around who might be injured. The snow in most of the yard had melted away from the heat of the fire, even though it was only a few minutes from the time Graham had spotted it until the roof collapsed. However in the back left corner of the yard, furthest from the structure, the snow was still on the ground, and Saba noticed something strange. Several large four toed tracks were pressed into the snow. A lizardman, perhaps more than one had been here, and it had only been a short time ago.

  Chapter Eight: The Return

  Stepping out of the S.S. Arrow’s mid-deck hatch and onto the gangplank, Radley Staff looked around at the peninsula on which Port Dechantagne was built. He was amazed at the growth of the little colony. When he had left, a little more than three years ago, it was nothing but a few barracks buildings in a clearing in the woods. Now it was a real town. From where he stood, he could see hundreds of buildings, warehouses, apartment blocks, businesses, and the rooftops of more building off between the redwoods. A large, dark cloud hung amid the white clouds, formed by hundreds of fireplaces and stoves. The smell of wood smoke overcame the smell of the seashore. He stopped for a moment and enjoyed the scene. Someone behind him cleared her throat. He turned around to find Miss Jindra, in a shimmering white and teal day dress with waves of white ruffles down the front. She wore a matching teal hat with a lace veil and carried a parasol, though she seemed unlikely to need one.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to hold you up.”

  “That’s quite all right, Mr. Staff. I’m surprised you haven’t debarked yet.”

  “I waited to avoid the rush.”

  “I’m afraid I was expecting more,” she said, looking with a raised brow at the nearby buildings.

  He followed her gaze.

  “Really? I was thinking just the opposite.”

  He turned back around to face her and started. Miss Jindra was just where she had been, but a second woman stood directly behind her—a woman who hadn’t been there only a second before. Though her hairstyle was different, Staff remembered the charcoal circled grey eyes and the wry smile. He had thought he remembered her scandalous dress too, but what she had on now went beyond the bounds of decency. Black leather covered only the lower half of her breasts, leaving her two star tattoos clearly visible. The dress reached down only to the top of her thighs. Two thick straps attached to a tight leather collar, which seemed to be holding the whole thing up. Forget fitting a corset beneath this ensemble. One would have been hard pressed to fit a piece of lace in there.

  “Well, Lieutenant Staff, I do declare,” said Zurfina in her unforgettable sultry voice.

  “That’s Mr. Staff,” he corrected.

  Miss Jindra spun around, getting a piece of her voluminous dress caught on a spur of the railing. There was a loud ripping sound as a four-inch tear was opened in the beautiful teal cloth.

  “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” said Zurfina, placing a hand on each of Miss Jindra’s shoulders. Looking around the olive-skinned woman’s head, she said in a loud whisper. “Too long a dress. Bound to happen sooner or later.”

  “What exactly do you want, Zurfina?” asked Staff. “I’m flattered, but surprised that you came to meet me.”

  “Oh you are a pretty boy, but it’s your friend I’m here for.”

  “Miss Jindra?”

  Miss Jindra started to speak. “I don’t…”

  “Don’t spoil the moment,” said Zurfina, placing a finger on the woman’s mouth.

  “Perhaps I could bring her around to your home later,” said Staff.

  Zurfina flashed him a smile that was only slightly more than a smirk. Then suddenly she was gone. Miss Jindra, her voluminous white and teal dress with matching teal hat and her parasol, were gone too. There was nothing to indicate that anyone had ever stood on the gangplank behind him, except for a single teal colored thread, clinging to a spur in the railing.

  For a moment, Staff thought about finding Miss Jindra and rescuing her. On the other hand, she had never expressed a need or a desire for his protection. He didn’t really know her all that well. She was only a dinner companion, assigned by the ship’s purser at that. And it was not as if he had any knowledge of how to deal with a sorceress or knew Zurfina’s address. So he shrugged and continued down the gangplank, across the dock, and into the street beyond.

  It was cold and snow clung to the ground, the roofs of buildings, and the branches of trees, but the street had been cleared by the heavy traffic. People were moving up and down the street. Some of them he recognized from the ship. Others must have been locals. People were buying food, hot drinks, and scarves and mittens, from vendor’s stalls. He was mildly surprised to see a green-skinned lizardman moving slowly along among the crowd of humans.

  “Been a long time
since you saw one of them, huh,” said a small voice.

  Staff looked to the edge of the street and saw a blond girl seated on a crate. She wore a very fancy blue dress and a wide blue hat. She was much older than he remembered, though he did remember her well.

  “Senta, isn’t it?”

  The girl nodded.

  “Are you waiting for someone?”

  She nodded again. “Captain Dechantagne. I’ve been sitting here all morning waiting for him, but he hasn’t come off the ship yet.”

  “Did someone send you to meet him?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think anyone else knows he’s here.”

  “How did you know?”

  She shrugged.

  “And you just decided to meet him?”

  “Yes. When you make a long journey by yourself, somebody should be there to meet you when you arrive.”

  Staff grunted, and then changed the subject. “Zurfina took a young woman off the ship.”

  “She was a magic user, I expect.”

  “Yes. Where do you think she took her?”

  “I don’t know.” Senta placed her elbows on her knees and cupped her chin in her hands. “Maybe they’re at our place having tea.”

  “It’s too early for tea.”

  “Lunch, then.”

  “How did you know she was a sorceress… a magic user… whatever?”

  “Zurfina comes down to the dock for the first time in more than a year, to snatch a woman off a ship?” Senta shrugged again. “Besides, I can feel the magic. And if I can feel it, you know Zurfina can.”

  Staff stood looking at the girl in silence for a long moment.

  “You still have your little dragon?” he asked at last.

  “Yes. He’s around here somewhere.”

  Another long moment passed.

  “Which way is the city hall?”

  “Haven’t built it yet. Temporary is up in the barracks though.”

  “Thanks.”

  Staff left the girl where she sat and walked up the gravel road toward the barracks buildings. Though the barracks were familiar enough, looking the same, other than a thick coating of snow on the roof, than the last time he had seen them, the many structures that lined either side of the road in between the barracks and the dock were all new. One particularly large structure sat beside a huge pine tree. Noticing a small sign on the door, he veered over to that side of the street while maintaining his same general direction. The sign read “Governor’s Storehouse”. He continued up the hill and passed a small gate in the wooden fence surrounding the militia base buildings.

  The temporary city hall was easily found, though it looked just like the many other barracks sitting next to it. It too had a small sign on the door. Staff stepped inside and found, seated at a desk in a twenty by twenty-five foot room, a young woman in a brown gingham dress with horn-rimmed glasses and her hair pulled back into a severe bun. She looked up inquiringly from a mechanical typewriter.

  “Radley Staff to see the mayor,” he said.

  “Lieutenant Staff,” greeted Zeah Korlann, when he had been notified by the young woman of his visitor. “How truly wonderful to see you.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Mayor. It’s just Mr. Staff now.”

  “Out of the navy? What brings you back here?”

  “Business.”

  “Yes, well, this really is a land of opportunity. I’m glad you’re up to the challenge. I think a man like you can go far here in Birmisia.”

  When Staff left a little more than an hour later, quite a few things had been worked out. The mayor had promised to put him in contact with the owner of the newest building in Port Dechantagne, a two-story office at number six Pine Street. According to Korlann it would be the best building available for the headquarters of M&S Coal. The apartments in the first story up would allow Staff and perhaps some of his employees to have lodging close to work. The mayor had also given him the names of four local residents who might have rooms to let, though he made no promises. The influx of colonists had been so great that rooms were hard to come by, the apartment buildings were overflowing, and Staff noticed for the first time as he exited the temporary city hall, that there were quite a few tents set up in the snow around the barracks buildings. As he stood outside the door, deciding what he should do next, he heard unmistakably female voices approaching.

  “I swear that woman is driving me to drink.”

  “More so than otherwise, you mean?”

  A second later, around the corner stepped Iolanthe Dechantagne and Yuah Korlann. Iolanthe Calliere and Yuah Dechantagne, Staff mentally corrected himself. Iolanthe was wearing a green velvet dress with at least seven ornately ruffled layers, and a white lace collar with a black bow. Yuah wore a gold dress with a broad band of blue at the knees and a waterfall of lace draping from the shoulders and down over the bustle. Both women wore hats covered in flowers that matched each of their dresses and carried matching muffs. The two women saw Staff at the same moment and both stopped dead in their tracks.

  “Radley,” gasped Iolanthe.

  Then the three of them stood silently gaping at each other. At last Yuah stepped forward.

  “Mr. Staff, how lovely to see you again,” she said, removing one hand from her muff and offering it to him.

  “Mrs. Dechantagne, you look more lovely that I remember.”

  “Oh, pish-posh. I’m getting to be an old lady.”

  “That, madam, is sacrilege.”

  She smiled.

  Iolanthe still stood where she was. Her face had gone from the pale of alabaster to the pale of ash. Her mouth was agape, and she looked as though she was unable to breathe. Staff stepped forward, taking her right wrist in his hands, pulling her hand from her muff, and enfolding it in his own.

  “Mrs.… It’s very nice to see you again.”

  “Commander Staff,” said Iolanthe, at last, taking an audible breath. “I didn’t realize you were in the country.”

  “I had always planned to return.”

  Iolanthe bit her lip.

  “I’m here on business,” he said, releasing her hand and turning back to Yuah. “I just spoke to your father and he was very helpful in offering me advice on how to get everything off the ground now that I’m here.”

  “He does excel at giving advice,” conceded Yuah. “What business will you be running?”

  “Coal.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, I have some very wealthy backers and a complete staff ready to go to work. I will need the colonial governor’s office for all the permits and tax papers and what not, but I’m sure you may offer me some insight into the governor’s state of mind.”

  “I… Oh, I….permits…” Iolanthe swayed just for a moment. Yuah took her by the shoulder and held her upright.

  “I’m sure that my sister-in-law will be able to offer you all the assistance that you need. What do you require first?”

  “Your father has pointed me in the direction of an office building with apartments, though I may need somewhere to live until I secure it.”

  “Well, that’s easily settled,” said Yuah. “You simply must come and stay at the Dechantagne home.”

  Iolanthe moved with what seemed like hesitation toward the front steps of the temporary city hall and sat down on the wooden planks so hard that it appeared she might fall back.

  “The Dechantagne home,” said Staff. “Your home, you mean?”

  “Yes. Well, technically it’s Terrence’s home because he is head of the household, but we all live there—me and my son and Iolanthe’s family, the servants—and a few extended family members.”

  “Are you sure you would have room for me?”

  “Oh, there are plenty of rooms. You will scarcely be noticed at all. And you would be more than welcome.”

  At this, Iolanthe could simply take no more. Her strangely beautiful aquamarine eyes rolled up into her head and she flopped back so hard that her skull smacked against the wall of the building, knocking
her seemingly unconscious. Then she rolled over and off the steps to land face first in the snowdrift just to the right of the door.

  Both Yuah and Staff rushed over to help her. Staff rolled her body over and lifted her at the shoulders. Yuah brushed the snow from her face.

  “I should take her to see the doctor. Her corset is probably just too tight, but you never know.” Yuah suddenly remembered that she was speaking to a man and covered her mouth with her hand. “I mean… oh bloody hell, I don’t know what I mean.”

  “I have her,” he said. “I’ll take her inside. They can send for medical attention.”

  “That’s fine, but I can’t leave her with you,” said Yuah. “I mean I shouldn’t leave her… alone… without me.”

  “I promise she’ll be fine, and you really should go down to the dock to receive your husband.”

  “Terrence is here?” Yuah suddenly turned the same pale color that afflicted Iolanthe. “He’s home?”

  “Yes, he arrived on the Arrow with me. I think he’s been waiting for someone to show up and welcome him, before he steps ashore.”

  “I’ve got to…. What should I…”

  “You already know what you should do,” said Staff, looking into the beautiful young woman’s chocolate brown eyes. “Go and meet your husband. It’s been a long, long time. Go meet him.”

  “Yes, it’s been too long.” Yuah stood up and grabbed her dress around the knees with her left hand and raising it above her ankles, she tucked the muff under her arm and took off with determination through the snowdrifts.

  Staff scooped up Iolanthe into his arms. He stood up and opened the door in front of him, and stepped through. The young woman with the severe hair in the outer office jumped to her feet. While she ran to get Mayor Korlann, Staff set his charge down in one of the waiting chairs along the left wall. Iolanthe blinked a few times then opened her eyes, just as the mayor came rushing in.

  “I’ll go and get the doctor,” he said. “Miss Gertz, get the governor some water.”

  “I’m fine,” said Iolanthe.

  “We will let the doctor decide that,” said Mayor Korlann, and throwing on his coat, he rushed out the door. The young office woman followed suit, leaving Staff alone with the woman who had occupied so many thousands of hours of thought over the past four years. He was kneeling beside her chair, just as he had been since he had deposited her there.