The Dragon Caller

by Pauline M. Ross

  A door at the top of the stairs opened as they approached.

  “Garrett! How delightful!” A woman of forty or so, wearing a widow’s ribbon round her neck, her gown sober enough for a Sorrowing at the temple. “And who this is? Not your boy?” Her accent was strong, but Ruell couldn’t place it.

  “This is Ruell,” Garrett said, not correcting her mistake. “He’s new to this, so be kind to him. Ruell, this is Dran’alarris.”

  She chuckled throatily. “Oh, the new ones, we love them, not to be worrying. Welcome, Ruell. Come in.”

  She stood back to admit them. Ruell’s first reaction was disappointment. He hadn’t formed much impression in his mind of what a women’s house would be like, but this wasn’t it. The room was small and dark and empty, with nondescript furniture lining the walls – sofas and chairs and small tables. It reminded him of the sitting room in Master Yammar’s apartment, everything serviceable but no more than that. Still, there were rugs on the floor and what light there was came from decent wax candles.

  “Now, I explain,” Dran’alarris said. “You see these pictures painted on walls? Show what on offer.”

  Ruell hadn’t noticed, but now that they were pointed out, he could see that a frieze all round the walls depicted erotic images. He blushed, despite himself.

  Dran’alarris laughed again. “Oh, you very sweet! You look at pictures, you decide what you like, then sit on chair beneath picture. Girls come in and see you. You like, you ask her to sit by you. You talk, maybe, or not talk, maybe. Can touch here, or here, nowhere else. You decide, you kiss her. Then you pay and go off to do it. Understand?”

  He nodded, and it was a miracle he managed even that much, for he was quite incapable of speech.

  “You want ale to refresh while you decide?” she said. “Or wine?”

  Ruell was mesmerised by the images, so it was Garrett who said, “No, we’re plenty refreshed already, I think.”

  “Then I let you look at pictures.” In a swish of skirts, she disappeared through an inner door.

  Garrett walked round the room, explaining the details and the most enjoyable aspects of each of the options depicted, as calmly as if he were reading from a menu, not in the least embarrassed. Ruell, on the other hand, blushed and blushed again, his trousers uncomfortably tight as he followed.

  “What do you think?” Garrett said, then laughed. “Too much, eh? How about starting with something simple – like this one?”

  Ruell nodded. At that moment, anything involving a woman sounded good.

  “Right, sit there then. I’m going to sit over here, and we’ll see what offers we get. I’m betting you do better than I do.”

  “Oh. They choose? I thought we get to choose.”

  “They choose first. Ah, here they come.”

  The inner door opened and several girls came in. It was obvious that they’d been watching somehow, because they all came straight towards Ruell, and clustered round him, giggling, like a flock of colourful geese. Unlike Dran’alarris, they wore vivid colours, ruby and emerald and jade, silk trousers with tight tops and delicate shawls wrapped around. One by one they unfastened their tops to expose their breasts, jiggling and bouncing and stroking themselves. He thought his trousers would burst.

  A tall, blonde girl leaned close to him, her breasts almost in his face. Another was small, with short dark hair that curled around her face and luscious breasts with dark nipples. Gods, he’d like to get his hands round those!

  “If you like one, you can touch her,” Garrett called from across the room.

  He reached out one hand towards the dark-haired girl, and stroked a finger gently down one breast. Oh Gods, he was hurting, he wanted her so much. So warm, so soft, so unbearably desirable. She giggled, and pressed herself closer so that her breast rubbed against his hand. Gods, how could he wait a moment longer…

  The others drifted away, a chattering gaggle, but he barely noticed. The girl sat down beside him, rubbing her breasts against him, her lips nuzzling his neck, his chin, his cheeks and finally – oh, such warm sweetness! – his lips. Then she stood up and took his hand, pulling him to his feet, leading him through the inner door. A dark corridor, an awkward fumble in a pocket for coins and then – oh bliss, a room with a bed.

  He couldn’t wait. He wanted her instantly, that very moment, and she laughed as he pulled her to him and kissed her with trembling lips, his hands shaking as they roamed all over her. So soft under his hands, her breasts warm and wobbly and wonderful. When she pushed his trousers down and touched himthere he groaned. Closing his eyes, he surrendered to the joy of it.

  A roaring in his ears, a heavy rumble like a waterfall. Then – a pop.

  ~~~~~

  ‘What’s this? Where am I? This is curious. Oh, a human! What a racket it’s making, its mouth open so wide I can see inside it. Shall I eat it? Or just bite its head off to shut it up. Stop screaming, little human! Wait a moment – I’m human too! What the—? No, this isn’t right. Ah, I get it. Let me see… aha! Ruell?’

  ‘You know my name?’ Ruell said, although the words were in his head, somehow.

  A rumble of laughter. ‘Of course I do! You know mine, too, I expect.’

  ‘No. Oh – Haanish? I… don’t understand.’

  ‘Are you a caller? Is that it?’Anger, great flames of rage boiled through him. ‘Never! We shall never be ruled by humans again, we have sworn it! I shall destroy you, human, you hear me? I, Haanish Laar Ghorsht, shall destroy you. Fear me! Fear me! Fear me!’

  Pain shot through him so hard, so fast he couldn’t catch his breath. He bunched his muscles, crouching ready to launch himself and spread his wings—

  ~~~~~

  The floor hit Ruell with a heavy thump on the side of his head. For a moment he was too dazed to move. Someone was screaming – was it him? No, he didn’t think it was. The girl… he’d been with the girl, and now she was screaming.

  Shaking, he rolled over onto his back. His trousers were round his knees, so he pulled them up to cover himself. Not that there was much to cover now. Gods, what had happened?

  The girl had stopped screaming, but now she was staring at him, panting heavily, terror written all over her face.

  “I’m all right. It’s all right,” he said. At least, he tried to, but it sounded all wrong, somehow.

  She screamed again, and fled the room.

  4: The Women's House (Garrett)

  Garrett chose Larissa this time. She was one of the older women, perhaps thirty or a little more, and the years had hardened her youthful prettiness, but it never felt right to him to take his pleasure with a girl young enough to be his granddaughter. Besides, she knew his ways, she knew he liked to take his time and talk a bit, so it felt more like a pleasant evening with a friend instead of a business transaction.

  So they hadn’t even begun to undress when they heard distant screams, and then voices, running feet, more voices.

  “Somethin’s up,” Larissa said. “One o’ those nights.” She laughed, not concerned. A women’s house above an inn was used to the occasional disruption.

  Then, a sharp rapping on the door. “Garrett?” Dran’alarris’s voice. “So sorry for interruption, Garrett, but your boy needs you.”

  Garrett sighed. Couldn’t the lad even manage to fuck a whore without problems? No, that wasn’t fair. Ruell was different from most boys, and maybe he’d pushed him into this. He’d seemed ready, but—

  “Garrett?

  “On my way.”

  They’d taken Ruell back to the inn room he shared with Garrett. He sat on the edge of the bed, leaning on his knees, head bowed, the picture of dejection.

  “Ruell?” No response. Garrett strode across the floor and knelt in front of Ruell, so that he could look into his face. “Are you all right? Not hurt? Tell me you’re all right.” Still no response. “Answer me,right now, or by all the Gods, I’ll wring yourfucking neck, so help me.”

  “All right.” Still the head hung low.

&
nbsp; “Good.” He shifted himself to sit on the other bed opposite Ruell. It wasn’t much of a room, just two low beds, a box, a ewer of water and a night pot behind a screen. Bare floorboards, the walls painted some indeterminate colour between brown and grey. There were better rooms, but Garrett had never seen the point of paying extra for a rug on the floor.

  “You want something?” Dran’alarris said from the door. “Wine maybe? I send for healer?”

  “No need.”

  “You want I stay?”

  “No, it’s fine. I’ll look after him now.”

  “I tell Larissa to wait?”

  He shook his head. The door snicked shut behind her, and there was no sound in the room but Ruell’s ragged breathing. From somewhere on the ground floor below them came a burst of male laughter, and in the yard outside the sounds of barrels being rolled about.

  “You want to tell me what happened?” Garrett said. No answer. “Well, let me tell you what Brialla reported. You were getting along fine, she said, but as soon as she touched you, you dropped to the floor, crawling round on all fours and growling and talking in some strange hissing language. Then you stood up and roared like an animal. Then you fell over. Then you hissed again. Is that accurate?” Still no answer. “I assume this is the thing that happened on a previous occasion, that I mistook for beginner’s fumbling. Is that right?”

  Ruell seemed incapable of speech, but a shudder rippled through him.

  Garrett slid backwards to rest his back against the wall, and crossed his legs. “Ruell, I hope you understand that I’m your friend. I just want to know what happened to you so that we can decide what to do. I’ve never pushed you to confide in me before, but you have to confide insomeone and better me than anyone else.”

  Ruell’s head shot up. “You’ll just tell me I’m being stupid!”

  “You’re confusing me with Kestimar. I’ve never said you’re stupid.”

  “But you think it! You despise me for reading books, and you think the dreams mean I’m crazy. Don’t you?”

  “I’ve no idea what the dreams mean, if you want the honest truth, and crazy is definitely one of the options. Or just obsessed, maybe. But I’ve seen some pretty weird things in my time, so I’m open to other ideas too. Why don’t you just tell me what happened?”

  “So that you can report back to Mother, I suppose? That’s your purpose, after all, isn’t it? You’re her spy, set to watch me and tell her everything I do. Spy and bodyguard.”

  “Is that what you think?” Garrett rolled the idea round in his mind. “I see why you might believe that, but I’m no spy, for Tella or anyone else. Bodyguard? I’ve allowed people to think that, and there’s some truth in it, maybe. But I’ve always liked to think of myself as…” He chose his words carefully. “…as a father-figure to you, someone to keep an affectionate eye on you as you were growing up.”

  “Pah!” Ruell said. “Why would you do that?Affectionate! Pah! You’re paid to watch me.”

  And Garrett snapped. Thirteen years of tiptoeing round, being there when needed but melting away in between times, of putting up with all the many difficulties of life on the Windblown Isle – it was too much. There was only so much self-effacement a man could take, after all.

  “Well,fuckyou, Ruell, for not seeing what’s right under your nose, and maybe youare stupid for not getting it years ago. Why do you think I came back to this Gods-benighted place? It wasn’t for money or my own comfort, that’s for sure. You think I enjoy being insulted by Kestimar ten times a day? You think it pleases me to see Tella screwing ignorant boys like Mikah when she could have me?”

  Ruell made a strangled noise in his throat.

  “Yes, Mikah and your mother. That’s been going on for moons, and I’ve no idea how you didn’t notice it.”

  “No! She loves Kestimar! She’s faithful to him!”

  “Ah, now you may be right that she loves him. She certainly never lovedme even when I was keeping her warm at night.”

  “You never—!”

  Ruell stopped abruptly, his face changing. Garrett watched as he worked it out, obviously wrestling with the idea, piecing together the clues, the timing, the odd moments that had never made sense before. Watched as the fantasy he’d built around himself came crashing down. All Garrett’s anger evaporated instantly, lost in pity for the boy, this strange son of his.

  “You’re my father,” Ruell whispered.

  Garrett nodded.

  “That’s what’s between you and Kestimar. That’s why—”

  “It’s part of it, certainly, but you’re not the only point of contention between the two of us, so don’t think it. I tried to kill him, once. Tossed him off a ship in mid-ocean and sailed away. Sadly, the sea-sprites didn’t want him, either, so they spat him out on a beach. He’s never quite forgiven me.”

  Ruell stared at him, appalled. “Oh, Gods, I never knew!” Then, hesitantly, “Are you truly my father? I mean, I’d heard rumours, but I never believed them.”

  “Well, your mother said so, and the timing’s right. I’m sure she’ll tell you if you ask.” Then he added gently, “Is it such a terrible thing?”

  “I thought you were jealous of him!”

  Garrett laughed. “No. He’s an annoyance, and a dangerous man to cross, even now, and we fell out spectacularly over your mother, but jealous? No, never.”

  His face lightened abruptly. “You’re really here because of me?” he breathed, eyes opening wide.

  “Yes. You’re the only child I’ve got – well, that I know about, anyway – and I wanted to watch you grow up.” He gave a bark of laughter. “I wanted you to know what a shit Kestimar is, but I failed there, didn’t I? It never seemed right to speak out against him directly, and perhaps that was a mistake. I thought you would see what he was for yourself.”

  “He’s still a great man!” Ruell shot back. “Even though he’s not very likable, he’s still the commander and he runs all these businesses that are so profitable.”

  “If theyare profitable, the way Jonnor spends money,” Garrett said with a lift of one shoulder. “But I’ve never denied Kestimar’s ability. I just wish he’d spend less time describing all the creative ways he’d like to terminate my existence. It gets tedious after a while. Let’s not talk about Kestimar, Ruell. You think of him however you like, and I won’t quarrel with you about it. But we do need to talk about what happened to you tonight.”

  “Do we? I mean… something happened and I made a fool of myself. Can’t we just leave it at that?”

  Garrett chewed his lip. “Well… we could. But the girls here will talk, and the story will be all over the Bay within days. Then it will get back to your mother and she’ll want answers, you can be sure.”

  “And Kestimar.”

  Garrett nodded. “And Kestimar, yes, and good luck tellinghim that you don’t want to talk about it.”

  Ruell hung his head. “I don’t know… I’ve never told anyone about… all this… what the dreams are really like, and the thing with women. It sounds crazy. Itis crazy, and I don’t want to be sent to the crazy island, Garrett, I don’t!”

  “That’s not going to happen, don’t worry. Look, there’s a lot of stuff in this world that we don’t understand. I’ve seen things that any halfway sensible person would call impossible, but they happened. Magic – that’s what it is. Maybe what’s inside you, this dragon thing, is magic too, some new kind of magic.”

  “Or an old kind,” Ruell said.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “It was something Haanish Laar Ghorsht said, about dragon callers, and not being ruled by humans again.”

  “Who’s Haanish… whatever?”

  “The dragon who was in me just now, when I was with Brialla. That’s his name, Haanish Laar Ghorsht. He knew my name, too. That’s different from the dreams. With those, I’m in the dragon, and it’s not usually aware of me. But with Haanish, and the previous time, the dragon was in me, and we were both fully conscious of each o
ther. Although I didn’t know the dragon’s name last time. That’s new, the talking and the names.”

  Garrett stared at him, his stomach churning. “Shit, Ruell, now you’re scaring me.”

  Ruell leaned forward, eyes glittering. “You wanted to know. So now you do.”

  He grunted. “I’m not sure that I do know. I think there’s a lot more to the story.”

  So Ruell told him, and Garrett listened in a gut-wrenching mix of fear and awe as it all poured out of him in a gush of words – about the dreams, mainly, since they’d been going on for five years now, always in the dead of night, always as real as any daylight experience.More real, in fact, for they were dragon real, with the eyesight to see a mouse move on the ground, the power of great muscles and wings under him, and the constant low thrum of magic.

  “Always flying?” Garrett said.

  “No, sometimes just sitting on a little rocky island, or curled up on the sand, half asleep.” He blushed. “Mating, once.”

  “Ah. So that’s how you know about that.” Garrett chuckled. “Fascinating! But these dreams don’t happen every night?”

  “No. There’s no pattern to it,” Ruell said. “Sometimes I can go for whole moons without a dream, and then it will be every night for five, six, seven nights. Then nothing again. I kept records of them all, to see if it related to darkmoon or brightmoon, or what I’d eaten, or if I was feeling particularly happy or sad, but I couldn’t see any logic to it. Nothing meaningful. Except…”

  “Except what?” Garrett said patiently.

  “Quite often when I was dreaming I could see islands down below, or parts of the coast, places I recognised, just as they are, not peculiar like things sometimes are in dreams. And do you remember that holding down south where the hay barn caught fire? I saw that! My dragon was curious and flew closer for a better look. And then two or three days later, the newsteller brought word of it, and that’s when I knew that the dreams were real, and that the dragons were nearby, not half a world away. So it’s not that I’m just making things up, or… or imagining things. You understand, don’t you?”