“You’re back,” the woman said, her voice flat. The children glanced up, then returned to their game. Matthew’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Yes, wife, I’m back. Now get us some food. We’re hungry. And take the brats with you.”
The woman stared at him for a moment then glanced at the others before turning away. She said something low to the children, and they followed her from the room.
“Your children?” Callaway asked.
“Yes. They take after their mother,” Matthew said.
“How fortunate,” Callaway murmured. Lleland coughed.
“Sit down,” Matthew said, waving his hand expansively. “The woman may not be good for much, but she can cook.” Callaway smiled sardonically as they sat down on a long bench drawn up to a table. Scott looked embarrassed.
“How far to Drake’s residence from here?” Elliott asked.
“Thirty miles, or so I’m told. I haven’t been there myself.”
“You said the lair is at the castle. How do we reach it?” Scott asked.
Matthew shifted uncomfortably. “We have to find it. But it’s just below the castle.”
“There’s no lair,” Lleland said mildly. “I would’ve found it when I was at Storbrook. I spent plenty of time exploring the mountains.”
“That Drake bitch made sure you didn’t find it,” Matthew said.
Lleland felt the heat rising, but he smiled blandly. “There were no limits to my explorations,” he said. “I spent many hours on my own.”
“Then where do you suggest we look, Seaton?” Callaway said.
“I suggest you give up this mission. Go back home. You’ve heard people say the dragons aren’t a threat.”
“Do you really think we came all this way, only to abandon the mission?” Elliott was incredulous. “You – who’ve killed three dragons! I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but we’ll find the lair and kill every last dragon before we leave this place.”
“And do you really think you can kill a dragon in the mountains? They probably already know we’re here.”
Matthew glanced at Callaway, then reached into his pocket and withdrew a small vial. “We’ll kill them with this,” he said with a smirk, holding the bottle up to the light. Lleland felt his chest tighten.
“What is it?” Scott asked.
“Wolfsbane. Enough to kill a dragon.”
Elliott whistled through his teeth. “Smart thinking, Hobbes. Cover the arrows with the poison and let it do the rest.”
“Exactly,” Matthew said, placing the bottle back in his pocket as his wife returned to the hall with wooden bowls clutched in each hand. Lleland rose to relieve her of the load, and she cast him a surprised glance. “What’s this, woman,” Matthew said as a bowl was slid before him. He sniffed the contents. “It smells burnt.”
“We have nothing else,” the woman said wearily. “I had no warning of your return and did not expect visitors, since no one else has ever graced our hall before. I had to scrape the bottom of the pot.”
“Stupid whore,” Matthew snarled as he rose from the table. He flung the bowl at her feet, and the contents splattered across the floor. “You offer this to me and my friends? Give it to the brats. We’ll take our meal at the tavern.” He marched from the room, and the others followed with varying degrees of embarrassment.
“Thank God,” the woman muttered under her breath. Lleland smiled in amusement as he retrieved the fallen bowl.
“Thank you, Mistress Hobbes,” he said, handing it to her. “Please forgive our unannounced arrival and the inconvenience we’ve caused.”
“Thank you, Master.” She met his gaze, her eyes wide, and an uncertain smile tugged the side of her mouth. She was pretty, once, Lleland thought to himself before turning to follow the others.
It was a short distance back to the tavern, and Lleland’s eyes swept the dark interior as he followed the others to a large table. His heart sank when he saw Richard Carver glance up at him.
“Master Seaton! What are you doing back here?” Lleland could hear the suspicion in his tone.
“He traveled with me.” Matthew came to stand beside Lleland, and Richard’s eyes narrowed. Matthew gestured to the other men. “Them as well. They’re all dragon hunters.”
Richard’s eyes flew back to Lleland. “You came here with him?” he snarled. “And brought hunters with you? What kind of monster are you?”
“I’m not –” Lleland began, but Richard cut him short.
“You’re with him,” he said, nodding at Matthew. “I hope the dragon takes his time killing you.” He turned and stormed out of the room.
“And you want to save these monsters?” Scott said. He had come to stand next to Lleland during the exchange. “From the sounds of it, they’ll rip you apart limb by limb.”
“The dragons won’t hurt me,” Lleland replied. Scott snorted and walked away.
By the end of the evening Elliott and Matthew had decided that the best way to proceed was with as much stealth as possible, in the hopes that the dragons would not become aware of their presence. Callaway listened in silence, but Lleland had laughed. “Think you can hide from a dragon?” he said. “They can smell a man from miles away, and can see like an eagle.”
“You seem to know an awful lot about dragons,” Matthew snapped.
“I’ve hunted dragons for years, Master Hobbes,” Lleland said. “And as you know, I spent many weeks with the Drakes, who are very familiar with dragons.”
“You think you know everything,” Matthew retorted angrily. “But dragons are not as clever as you suppose.” Callaway raised an eyebrow and glanced at Lleland, who met his gaze with a shrug. Callaway turned away after a moment, but remained silent.
Matthew remained at the inn with the others that night, and early the next morning they followed him behind the church and onto the mountain path. It was late November and frost was thick on the ground, crunching beneath the horses’ hooves as they rode silently in single file. A cold wind blew from the mountains, whipping the men’s hair about their faces and tugging their cloaks, and their breath hung in the air. They left the open field behind the church and passed into the shelter of the forest. Lleland rode at the back of the group. Through the heavy, wet smell of the forest he could pick out Lydia’s light summer scent. He could feel her presence in the air, and knew she wasn’t far away. But when he searched the sky he found no sign of her.
The sun rose behind a blanket of cloud, and after a few hours Matthew ordered a stop. “The path gets much rougher ahead,” he said. “We must rest the horses.” Scott glanced at Lleland, and he nodded his agreement. Lleland slipped from the saddle and tied his horse to a branch. Again he searched the skies but saw no sign of Lydia. She was close by, though. He left the path and pushed his way through the trees, towards the sound of running water.
“Lydia, where are you?” he whispered under his breath as he pushed his way between the trees towards the stream. There was a soft rustling behind him, and Lleland breathed in the sweet scent of berries as he turned to look at Lydia. She wore a white diaphanous robe that hung loosely from her shoulders in long, flowing swathes, ending at her bare feet. Her golden hair rippled over her bare back. She stood with her arms crossed, but even so, Lleland could see she wore nothing beneath the robe. He swallowed hard.
“So it’s true,” she said. “You’ve brought hunters to the mountains. I didn’t want to believe it when I received word from my grandfather, but you’re a traitor to your own kind. Is this your revenge for what happened?”
“Lydia, please, you know better than that.”
“You’re here with Matthew Hobbes. Even if I hadn’t seen him, I can smell his disgusting scent.”
“I only traveled with them to try and stop them.”
Lydia looked away. “I wish I could believe you,” she said. “You think I’m a monster. A monster worthy of death.”
“No. That’s not true.” Lleland stepped closer, and her eyes snapped back to him
.
“Stop! Go now, before I’m forced to kill you.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I’m a monster, Lleland, or have you forgotten?” She pushed the robe from her shoulders, and it fell in soft folds at her feet. He stared at her standing naked before him. “Or maybe it’s you that’s the monster,” she said as she spread her wings and flung herself into the sky. There was a flash of light, and the sleek, beautiful dragon rose higher in the air.
“You’re wrong,” he shouted.
There was a loud roar and flames filled the air. He started pulling his tunic over his head, but paused when he heard the sound of feet crashing through the undergrowth.
“What was that?” Scott asked panting as he came closer. “Who were you shouting at?”
Lleland yanked the tunic back on, and picked up the heap of white fabric at his feet. “No one,” he said.
“You were speaking to someone. And then I heard a roar. Was it a dragon?”
“No.” Lleland turned away, but Scott caught him by the arm.
“I heard something, Lleland. What are you hiding?”
Lleland shrugged off the hand and glanced at the robe. “It was Lydia,” he said.
Scott glanced around. “Drake’s daughter? Where?”
“She’s gone.”
“Gone where?”
Lleland laughed dryly. “She flew away with a dragon.”
He stepped past Scott and walked back to where the others were still gathered. Callaway was rolling the small vial of poison in his hand. “Did you see the monster?” Elliott said.
“Yes. We should turn back now.”
Elliott looked thoughtful. “Clearly we’ve lost the element of surprise.”
“We never had it to begin with,” Lleland said.
“We just keep going,” Matthew said. “There’re five of us.”
“Four,” said Lleland. “I didn’t come to fight the dragon.”
“Well, that doesn’t surprise me,” Matthew sneered. “I always doubted you were up for the task.”
Scott glanced at Lleland then back at Matthew. “I’m sorry, Lleland,” he said. “I know you don’t believe we should hunt the creatures, but I came here to kill a dragon.”
“Besides, Lleland,” Elliott said, “you made an oath. An oath to rid the world of monsters!”
“I made an oath to rid the world of a threat. From all I’ve seen and heard, there is none!”
“Then you’re a traitor to the cause.”
Callaway looked at Lleland. “Of everyone in the League, Seaton, you and I are the ones who know what it’s like to lose someone to a dragon. And now that victory is within our grasp,” he held up the vial of poison, “you cower away?”
“You’re wrong, Baric,” Lleland said. “I’m not a coward, and the creature you saw is not the monster that killed your brother.”
“They all deserve death,” Callaway said bitterly.
“Are you sure?”
Callaway’s face hardened. “Yes!” He swung himself into his saddle. “I’m going to kill a dragon.”
“Yes, let’s go kill that monster!” Elliott said. He glanced at Lleland with disgust. “You can do what you want, but nothing you say can stop us! Let’s go, boys!”
“Come on, then,” Matthew said, swinging himself into his saddle. “We’ve wasted enough time!” He kicked the steed forward as Elliott and Callaway did the same.
“I’m sorry,” said Scott, before mounting his horse and following the others.
Lleland watched as they rode away, then mounting his horse, trailed the path behind them.
Matthew called another stop later that day near a patch of dead grass where they hobbled the horses and let them graze. A wall of mountain rose on the other side of the path. Matthew scowled at Lleland when he joined the group, but the others merely glanced at him as Scott passed over the wine and a hunk of bread.
The fragrance of berries and sunshine filled the cold air, and Lleland glanced around trying to see Lydia, but she remained hidden. That she was close by, he knew without a doubt. The cliff above the path was fifteen feet of sheer rock, but a short distance away a rock fall provided an easy means to gain the height. Leaving the others, Lleland headed over to it, and within moments was staring down at his companions from the rocky cliff. It was a narrow plateau, only a dozen feet wide, and the side away from the path dropped hundreds of feet into a deep valley, presenting a panoramic vista of the mountains. He could see Storbrook Castle above the trees, gleaming at the apex of the next peak. The huge windows in the vast wall of yellow stared back blankly, hiding the castle’s mysteries from prying eyes. He stared at them, wondering whether Lydia was standing in the shadows, watching the hunters draw closer.
A wave of heat crashed into his back, and he spun around to see Lydia hovering in the air, her enormous body casting a huge shadow on the ground. Her attention was on the men on the ground, who were scrambling with their weapons.
“No! Get away,” Lleland shouted at her. Callaway was stringing his bow, while Matthew held an open vial in his hand. Callaway dipped the arrow into the poison and lifted the bow to his cheek. “They’ll kill you!”
She roared and started diving towards the men as Callaway notched the arrow. She was close enough for Callaway to make the shot. Callaway pulled back the string as heat ripped through Lleland. He saw nothing but Lydia as flames blazed around him. There was an explosion of light, and he flung himself off the cliff, soaring into the air towards Lydia, his tail streaming behind him. Dimly he heard someone shout his name. Callaway released the string and the arrow sped through the air as Lleland raced towards Lydia. He reached her moments before the arrow, and pushed her aside as the barb sank into his hide and buried itself deep within his flesh. He heard Lydia cry his name, while below, men were yelling and shouting – but already the sounds were fading. The arrow had penetrated deep into his chest, and he could feel the poison spilling through his veins as he started to fall. He pushed his wings against the air, but his strength was failing. Lydia’s claws sank into his flesh, halting his descent.
“Wolfsbane,” he whispered, “the arrow was poisoned.” He struggled to keep his head up, but darkness was clouding his vision and his strength was fading away.
He awoke a few minutes later as an intense pain shot through him. He roared, then arched in agony as another stabbing pain followed. “Keep still.” Lydia sounded far away. There was a wet, ripping sound and he ground his teeth as the pain intensified then dulled to a throb. “I think I have it all,” Lydia said.
He opened his eyes cautiously to see Lydia standing over him. Blood was splattered over her jaws and down her chest.
“What were you doing?” he rasped.
“Getting the poison. I had to rip out the flesh before it spread any further.”
“You could have been poisoned in the process,” he said.
“I burned it,” she said. He glanced down to see a hole in his chest. “It will heal.”
“Where are we?” he rasped.
“Not far from where you were shot. Why did you do it?”
“It was my turn to save you.”
She snorted dryly. “Why?”
“Because I love you.”
She laughed bitterly. “I’m a monster, remember.”
“No, you’re not. You’re the most beautiful creature in the world.”
“I’m …” She glanced around. “Someone’s coming.”
Chapter 37
Scott was scrambling up the hill. His breath was shallow, and the smell of his sweat was sharp despite the cold day.
“We must go,” Lydia said. “Can you fly?”
Lleland stretched his wings tentatively and flexed them. The pain in his chest throbbed, but did not impede his movement. He nodded. “Let’s go,” he said. He spread his wings wider and rose into the air, wincing slightly.
Scott reached the summit and glared at the rising figure. “Hey,” he yelled. “Is that the only thanks I get
after helping you?”
Lleland circled through the air, close on Lydia’s tail.
“Lleland!” Scott shouted. “Come back here.” Shock shot through Lleland as he glanced down at Scott. “I know it’s you!” he yelled.
“How does he know?” Lydia hissed.
“I don’t know.” He dropped back to the hill and Lydia landed a moment later. Lleland cocked his head and stared at Scott, who stared back, eyebrows raised.
“You’re incredibly frightening,” he said. “Are you going to eat me?”
“How do you know?” Lleland finally said.
“I saw what happened. I was climbing the rock when there was a bright explosion of light. I had to cover my eyes, but when I opened them, instead of you, there was a huge black monster.” He glanced at Lydia. “I mean, er, a dragon. Either the dragon had magically appeared and eaten you, or you were the dragon. I went with the latter.”
Lleland groaned. “You cannot tell anyone,” he said.
Scott rolled his eyes with a snort. “You have more important things to worry about at the moment,” he said. “The others didn’t see what I saw, but they were very excited when a huge black dragon appeared from nowhere. They are hoping to find your lifeless form very soon. By the way, I’m very glad to see that the poison didn’t do you in. I sent them on a wild goose chase.”
“Why do you care?” Lydia said.
Scott turned to her. “First off, Lleland Seaton is my friend” – he shot Lleland a glance – “despite what he looks like now. I’ll admit it’s all rather a shock, and it took me a few minutes to grasp all that had happened. But suddenly it all made sense – your newfound taste for raw flesh. Your unwillingness to hunt anymore. And I don’t really want to kill you, Lleland.”
“That’s a relief,” Lleland said dryly.
He looked at Lydia. “And this dragon’s too lovely to kill!”
Lydia lifted her eyebrows. “What do you hope to gain by flattering a dragon?”
“My life.”
“It was never in danger.”
“All the more reason to tell you how beautiful you are!” Scott said, and Lydia snorted as he turned back to Lleland. “How did this happen? Should I be worried about turning into a beast?”
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