This didn’t go down well with Baine at all. “I’m as good in the air as you are,” he protested. “Faster too.”
“Calm yourself, friend,” Ramonda replied. “I didn’t say I was the better fighter. Besides, I am not going alone really. I’m taking some of the dragonets with me for one thing. And for another, I will be taking a group to get the prisoners at Wyvern’s Peak to safety.”
She turned to Talon and Natooka. “Namely you two. Natooka, your brother Gandon says there’s no one better at finding their way around unfamiliar environments, and Talon, your sister Lorial tells me you’re as good a fighter as one could hope to find. So your job will be to protect Natooka while she does hers, which is finding and freeing the prisoners. And then you can help her get everyone to safety.”
“And the Angdar?” Tal asked, feeling as though they’d been brushed over.
Beside him, Morgiana placed her hand on his knee. “I wouldn’t worry about them,” she answered before Ramonda did. “They won’t do anything to help Savenya’s crowd. I imagine they probably hate them more than we do.”
“But they’ve got no love for us either,” Tal pointed out.
“Maybe not,” Talon said, stepping in. “But without their new masters to protect them, I doubt they’ll be any danger.”
Tal frowned and turned to Ramonda. “You are going to destroy the Angdar, aren’t you?”
“Should we destroy them?” Ramonda asked.
“They’re not a natural species,” Tal said. “And they’re bred to be violent and aggressive from the cradle. There’s no saving them.”
Ramonda nodded. “We’ll think the matter over and do what’s best. However, I can’t say I’m comfortable with destroying an entire species, no matter how violent it may be. And I understand they’re dying out anyway. Perhaps we should just let them be.”
Karafae surveyed his domain with an air of boredom. It was a beautiful place, and even if he had claimed lordship over all of Drach’nsvoiya, he could never have had anything like it. So he wondered why it no longer satisfied him.
“It was too easy,” he said to himself.
Beside him, his subordinate Araestae stirred. “What was that?”
“This was too easy,” Karafae repeated. “It’s why there’s no joy in it. We moved in and took over and no one had the strength to defy us. We denied them the strength to defy us.”
Araestae shrugged. “You need some sport then. That’s natural enough. Those women we’re keeping here would make good sport for a while, if that’s all you need.”
Those women... Queen Heptapshu and Queen Isabelle. No longer in the flower of their youth but nonetheless still desirable. The idea had merit, and despite what Savenya had told them all about behaving in a ‘civilized manner’, he was beginning to tire of it. If prancing around in velvet and exchanging banter with Lady Kaolin amused her, then that was great. However, such things held little interest for him. He wanted something rawer. He wanted someone to challenge him, someone he could best to prove his strength.
“Wage war on Drach’nsvoiya?” he mused.
“Could be fun,” Araestae said, although neither of them were serious about the suggestion. “Maybe take down Savenya.”
Karafae laughed. “Now, that would be good sport, wouldn’t it?”
He then saw Nera walking down the hill, casting off a loose dress and watching as it blew away in the breeze.
“Pretty,” she said.
“Going somewhere, Nera?” Karafae asked. “Or are you just tiring of all this fancy civilization?”
“It’s nice,” Nera told him. “But yes, I thought I might go exploring for a little while.”
Karafae shrugged. “Don’t let me stop you.”
“I wasn’t planning to,” Nera replied, daring to be a little more casual with him than she usually was.
However, he didn’t seem to notice. She jogged down the slope and leaped as it dropped off, stretching her arms as her wings sprouted, and in an instant she was in her dragon form, soaring low over the city of Kalishar and then out along the coast heading south.
She flew for a little while, over an hour, maybe two. Then she crossed the strait and passed over the forests of Hellesa, enjoying the peace of this country where there seemed to be very few people and even fewer dragons. Then she came out over great plains and she knew she had reached the land of Khalahi.
As she was enjoying the view of the land stretching away to the horizon, she was jarred out of her dreamlike state. Ahead of her, there were other dragons. Four of them. Two bronzes, one slender gold and one gold that appeared to be as large as any of the emerald males of Drach’nsvoiya. And then she realized that they were heading towards her. She’d been spotted.
Turning around, she propelled herself the way she had come but the other dragons soon gained on her and she was exhausted by the sheer effort that she needed to keep ahead.
“Catch her, Baine!” Ramonda shouted, trying in vain to keep up. Haitarus was doing a good job of matching the emerald’s speed but Baine seemed to be the only one who could push himself beyond it.
“She’s nearing the strait!” Baine called back.
“Then catch her, you wretched thing!” Ramonda cried out.
“You’re flying into a headwind from the sea. Climb and you’ll have her.”
For a moment, Baine couldn’t place the voice and then he realized that it was Karn speaking to him. The bastard could somehow see what he was seeing at that very moment. It wasn’t a comfortable thought but right then he was glad of it. Pushing down with his wings, he climbed and found that the headwind was not as strong higher up and he could fly faster.
“Get ahead before you drop,” Karn told him. “Then fold your wings, just like you do when you’re training.”
Baine pushed himself as hard as he could and watched as the emerald dragon sank behind him. Then he folded his wings, bringing himself right down on top of her and gripped his claws into her shoulders, crushing them.
“Don’t kill her,” Karn told him. “She’s not one of the bad ones and she might be useful. Bring her down.”
“Get out of my head,” Baine told him. Then he pushed down against the emerald’s back, forcing her to arch it and at the same time lift her wings too high to keep herself moving forward. He was bringing her down, just as Karn had wanted. In the back of his mind, he sensed the other dragons catching up with them.
“Change,” Baine told the emerald. “And you can keep your life.”
For a moment, the emerald dragon struggled. Baine dug his claws in deeper, making her cry out. Then as they came to the ground, she relented, changing back into a woman and stumbling into the lush grass of the northern plains of Hellesa. Her shoulders were bruised where he had gripped her, and there were pin pricks near her spine where he had dug his claws in at the end, but other than that, she was unharmed. She was weeping and terrified. But she was unharmed.
Baine grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. “Now, don’t get any stupid ideas about trying to change back and fly away. It’s dangerous to change on the flat ground and I’m better at it than any dragon you can name.”
“You got her,” Ramonda said cheerfully as she walked over to them. Helina and Haitarus were still in the air.
“Of course I got her,” Baine replied. “Now find something to bind her wrists with.”
“She’s not going anywhere,” Ramonda told him, taking his hand from her arm and lifting the woman’s face. She looked into her frightened eyes with sympathy in her own. “She’s too exhausted to change.”
She brushed her hair and turned back to Baine. “It seems Karn was right. She’s a servant, not a master. He was right to spare her.”
“I spared her,” Baine reminded him.
This made Ramonda smile. “You did. Now, let’s get her back to Saharei and then we can decide what to do about this.”
“I think we should take care of her companions before they realize she’s missing,” Baine said
.
“We could,” Ramonda agreed. “However, then we’d force ourselves to go after the other groups as well. We’d have to be ready for that.”
Baine sighed. “Well, maybe there are other ways.”
Ramonda smiled again. “Indeed. Let’s see what the others have to say about this. We’ll get Helina or Haitarus to take our guest back first and then you can give me a ride off the ground. After all, you’re better at changing on the ground than any dragon one could name.”
Baine shook his head. “Oh, shut up.”
XIV. The First Strike
“What’s your name?”
Nera looked at the faces around the room. The dragon called Baine was standing by a wall, his arms folded and with a suspicious gaze, although the woman sitting across from her looked friendly enough. However, that also bothered her because she couldn’t understand why she was being friendly.
“There’s no need to be nervous,” the woman assured her. “No one wants to hurt you, Nera.”
Nera frowned, wondering how the woman knew her name. It wasn’t as though she were well known. Savenya, Elenskaer and Karafae... they were well known. But she was a nobody.
“We don’t want you, Nera,” the woman said. “You’re just a servant. It’s all right. I know. I can sense these things in you. Fear... hope... promises broken...”
“They weren’t broken,” Nera murmured. “Karafae and the others offered me a chance to escape from Drach’nsvoiya, to be free.”
“They did, didn’t they?” the woman replied, nodding. “But you can never be free with Karafae, can you? He needs you to maintain his rule. And he must be in charge.”
Nera gazed at the stranger. “Who are you?”
“I’m Shaala,” she replied.
“What do you want with me?” Nera asked. “You didn’t capture me to exact revenge for my part in Savenya’s plans?”
Shaala shook her head. “No, no, no. Nera, we don’t want revenge. We want to free the Greater Realms. And we can tell the difference between those of you who orchestrated this petty scheme of Savenya’s, those who relished in taking part in it, and those who were just caught up in it. And you’re the latter.” She paused for a moment. “You suffered on Drach’nsvoiya, didn’t you?”
“I was desperate,” Nera confessed. She felt as though she were on trial.
“How old are you, Nera?” Shaala asked.
Nera took a deep breath before she answered. “Thirty three.”
There was a murmur of shock in the room and Shaala shook her head. “They manipulated you, Nera. Was it Karafae?”
Nera nodded, tears coming to her eyes. “Karafae and another dragon he has in his service... Araestae.”
“And Karafae and Araestae are in the mountains above Kalishar now?”
“Yes.”
Shaala rose to her feet. “Nera, we can right the wrongs that have been done here, but to do so, we need your trust and we need to be able to trust you in return. Will you help us if we ask you to?”
“What choice do I have?”
“If you want another choice, I’m afraid it’s a prison,” Shaala replied. “But we don’t want that for you.”
“But if you cannot succeed,” Nera started. “If you cannot subdue Karafae and Savenya, then my life will be in danger.”
“Your life’s in danger now,” Baine told her.
“Thank you, Baine,” Ramonda said from the other side of the room. She turned to Nera. “You’ll have to excuse Baine. That was quite a chase you led him on.”
“He spared me,” Nera murmured, gazing down.
“Anyway,” Shaala told her, “we believe it’s possible to subdue Karafae and Savenya. However, I’m curious about something. You said if we ‘cannot subdue Karafae and Savenya’, but you didn’t say anything about Elenskaer. Was that deliberate?”
Nera shrugged. “I don’t know. She just doesn’t seem as dangerous. I don’t think she really wants to be a part of Savenya’s scheme either. I can’t explain it.”
“No need,” Shaala told her. “Anyway, I think you’d better get some rest. We’ll make sure you’re properly looked after. Are you in pain?”
Nera’s back was killing her but she couldn’t impose on these people. She felt too overwhelmed as it was. They’d shown her more mercy than she had any right to expect. She shook her head. “No. I’m all right.”
“I’ll have some healers look at your back,” Shaala told her, seeing through her words. “They make some good ointments in Khalahi. We’ll take care of you.”
“So what shall we do about this?” Shaala asked the others once they had returned to the main hall.
King Nabahar shook his head. “Your hand’s been forced. You’ll have to do something soon. Karafae and the other dragon with him will have be dealt with before they have an opportunity to alert Savenya and Elenskaer.”
“Then won’t we just put ourselves in the same predicament we’re in now?” Helina asked.
King Nabahar smiled. “Not exactly. I have my eyes and ears in the north too, and they tell me that the three orchestrators behind this are not in close contact now. Occasionally, one or two of the dragons are seen traveling, presumably to meet with the others, but this isn’t a frequent occurrence. It could be weeks or months before Savenya or Elenskaer find out about anything you do at Kalishar. And even then, you could still fool them.”
“A decoy?” Karn asked, following him.
“Exactly,” the king said, smiling. “Nera could remain there and if one of the dragons came, she could tell them that Karafae and his companion are out exploring – just as she was – and that they intend to be a while.”
“Someone would have to remain with her though,” Karn said.
At this, Baine spoke up. “I could do that.”
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
“Then you wouldn’t be able to fight the other dragons,” Helina told him.
“I’ll get my fight with Karafae or his remaining companion,” Baine said, glancing at Ramonda. “Our wise leader can give me that much satisfaction at least.”
“It’s not about pride and satisfaction,” Ramonda told him, mock weariness in her voice. “However, if you want Karafae, he’s yours.”
“There is one problem though,” came a new voice. Tal, who had also been listening in on the meeting, had decided to intervene. “The Angdar. Once you’ve taken care of Karafae, you’ll still have to decide what to do about them.”
“Do you think they’ll try to fight us?” Baine asked, frowning.
Tal shook his head. “I don’t know what they would do. However, it’s something you’ll have to think about.”
“We’ll deal with them when the time comes,” Ramonda said. “In whatever way seems best. But we’ll keep your suggestions about them in mind.”
“All right,” Karn said, stepping in. “We’ll all deal with Karafae first. Then Baine can remain near Kalishar with Nera. After that, Shaala and Helina can go to Issalia. And then I can go with you, Ramonda, to Wyvern’s Peak along with Haitarus, Talon and Natooka.”
“I agree with most of that,” Ramonda said, “except I think it would be better if you went with Shaala to Issalia. That way, although there would only be one dragon going, there’d be two mages. That would spread our strength a little more evenly, I feel.”
Karn nodded. “All right. Let’s go.”
Shaala turned to him. “Right now?”
“There’s no reason to wait,” Karn replied.
As it turned out, there was not a lot to do to prepare. The group gathered some supplies, as it wasn’t Ramonda’ intent to return to Saharei after removing Karafae. Then they were more or less ready to leave.
There was however a slight change to the plans as Ishtvan asked if he could accompany them as well. Lorial was somewhat opposed to her son’s request but Talon vouched for him and so it was agreed to.
After that, there was only the matter of getting everyone into the air.
“Well,” R
amonda said, a little embarrassed. “I haven’t thought about this.”
“What’s the problem?” Talon asked.
“The problem is it isn’t easy to change into dragon form while on these flat plains,” Ramonda replied.
“But you’ve done it four days in a row now.”
“Yes, but it’s not easy. Baine’s the only one who can really do it well, so he carries us until we’re high enough to leap out and change in the air. The problem is going to be moving you people. Even Baine wouldn’t be able to launch himself off the ground in his dragon form with people on his back. We’re not like sparrows or eagles... or even the dragonets. It’s very difficult for us to launch ourselves into the air unless we’re on a slope or a cliff somewhere.”
“There are mountains to the east of here,” Talon said.
“Yes, I’ve seen them. But they look like they’re thirty or forty miles away. By the time it takes you all to get there... Why, we may as well just wait until tomorrow afternoon to go to Kalishar.”
Talon smiled. “Not necessarily. You say Baine can pick you up and carry you, right?”
“Well...”
“It’s not the same thing as you climbing onto his back, is it?”
“No. He lowers a leg and we climb on.”
“Then after Baine gets you all in the air and you change, you could carry us in the same way. Then you could take us to the mountains and we could climb onto your backs there.”
Ramonda thought about it. “That’s a good idea. Although it would be a little hair–raising for you.”
“You can fly low to the ground though,” Talon pointed out.
Ramonda shook her head with a grin. “I don’t understand you people sometimes. You could still hurt yourselves falling off close to the ground – even kill yourselves if you landed the wrong way – but you don’t seem to mind.”
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