The Dragon Caller

by Pauline M. Ross

  Ruell pulled his knees up to his chin, lowered his head and tried very hard not to cry.

  ~~~~~

  When darkness fell, the ship dropped anchor for an hour or two until the moon came up, and apart from a skeleton crew on deck, everyone went below for the first decent meal of the voyage.

  Ruell was starving, having eaten nothing since the sickness had hit him, and worked his way steadily through everything that was offered, and then a second round of most dishes.

  “You’re feeling better,” Garrett said, amused.

  “It was the dragons,” Ruell mumbled, his mouth full of bread. “I felt better as soon as they arrived.”

  “And you still feel better?”

  “Mmm.”

  “Interesting.”

  Ruell laughed, and washed the bread down with ale. “When you say‘interesting’ in that tone of voice, it usually means you see something significant.”

  “Well, don’t you? Think about it – being near to the dragons made you feel better, you still feel better, so…?”

  “Oh.” Ruell set down his beaker in sudden guilt. “You mean they’re still close by?”

  “Can’t you tell?”

  Ruell scanned with his mind. The three dragon stars glowed intensely, but were they still somewhere near? He knew the answer, for there was no fog in his mind, no seeping, corroding bad magic from the homeland. And there was worse.

  “There’s more of them,” he said miserably. “Six now.”

  “Tell them to go away,” Garrett said. “Further away, anyway. We can’t have them hovering nearby the whole time. They’ll bring all the adults down on our heads, and we’re horribly vulnerable out here at sea. Even if we survive the dragon fire, the ship won’t and I’m not keen on the idea of drowning.”

  “I’ll try,” Ruell said.“Yannali? I know you’re still nearby.”

  A burst of guilt washed through him, so like the human variety that he almost laughed.

  “Sorry, Ruell.”

  “You must go away. Far away.”

  “Yes, Ruell.”

  And they went, flying steadily to the southwest, back to the island. Before long, the little stars were swallowed up by the fog in his mind, and his stomach lurched. He pushed away the rest of his meal.

  “Oh dear,” Garrett said.

  “I’m all right for now, at least until the ship gets moving again. Why have we stopped, anyway? I thought we were in a tearing hurry?”

  “Awkward navigation coming up. Underwater rocks on one side, strong currents on the other trying to drag us into Tre’annatha territory. Got to get it just right, so we’ll wait till the moon’s up.”

  As some of the sailors left to get back to their duties, Elestra slid down the bench to sit next to Ruell.

  “May I ask about your dragons? You’re solucky to be able to talk to them like that, and touch them. Such beautiful creatures! I’ve never seen one so close before, just sometimes far away in the sky. But oh, when that green one puts its head on your knee! I was so jealous! If they come that close again, may I stroke one? Please?”

  Ruell laughed at her enthusiasm, her face alight with excitement.

  “I’m trying to get them to go away,” he said. “The little ones won’t hurt anyone, but the adults will come looking for them.”

  “Oh, I know, Garrett explained it all, but it’s a shame, isn’t it? They’re so beautiful! The way their scales glow, and those eyes!”

  Amused, Ruell let her rattle away until one of the sailors came to claim her to blow the ship onwards. The captain had been deep in a serious conversation with Garrett, leaving him looking solemn and thoughtful.

  “Trouble?” Ruell said.

  “Not sure,” Garrett said. “Apparently the Tre’annatha had some kind of a tracker with them. They come from the Thar-briana hills, where there’s a greenish mineral that they’re highly sensitive to. You can make tattoo ink with it, and then the trackers can find you wherever you are.”

  Ruell shivered. “How horrible! So they were looking for someone?”

  “Someone with a green tattoo.”

  “Lucky none of us has one, then.”

  ~~~~~

  Ruell could see why the captain wanted to pass the Teeth in decent light. There were marker buoys to show the danger zone, but they were spaced well apart, and it was hard to see the next one even by the light of the almost full moon. Wander too far from the Teeth and the ship could be swallowed up by the mists around the homeland. And then because of the narrowness of the safe channel, there were other ships to be avoided. It was difficult work.

  He stood near Elestra at the back of the ship, as the captain and several of her senior officers supervised the steering. At first Elestra had been relaxed, finding it easy, but now her face was serious, closed down, as she concentrated. The sails were no longer a steady, reassuring billow, but flapped back and forth from time to time.

  “Mistress Sail-Master?” the captain said gently. “We’re drifting a little too far to the west. Can you bring us closer to the next buoy?”

  “Trying,” she muttered. “There are too many cross-winds.”

  Ruell sidled closer to Garrett. “Problem?”

  “Not sure.”

  “I thought she was so good at this,” he whispered. “She really seems to be finding it difficult now, though.”

  “The other ships aren’t having any trouble with cross-winds,” Garrett said, frowning.

  Elestra turned a pale face towards them. “It’s as if… there’s another wind-blower… working against me.”

  Garrett immediately spun round, scanning the horizon. “Is that possible? On another ship, maybe?”

  “Has to be close,” she said, breathing heavily with effort. “But not on this ship, anyway. Further off.”

  “What about that one over there?” he said, pointing to a slow-moving cargo ship they’d just passed.

  She shook her head. “Wrong direction. That way.” With a bob of the head, she indicated the homeland.

  “Can’t see anything for that weird mist,” Garrett said.

  Ruell strained his eyes, wishing now that he could call on dragon vision to cut through the fog. Was that a dark blur? Gone again… no, there was definitely something there, off the coast of the homeland. “There,” he said, pointing. “A small boat, no sails.”

  “I don’t see it,” Garrett said. “Still, it must be there, and there must be a wind-blower on board.”

  “Three,” Elestra said, collapsing onto hands and knees. “Three of them… too strong… and the current…”

  The ship was still moving quite fast, but the distance from the main shipping lane grew every moment. The mist reached out wispy tendrils towards them, as they came steadily closer. Below them, the current pulled at the ship, dragging it ever faster towards the one place none of them wanted to be.

  “What will happen if we get drawn into the mist?” Ruell said.

  The captain said grimly, “No one’s ever returned to tell us.”

  “Let’s not wait to find out,” Garrett said. “Captain, take down the sails! Right now!”

  She nodded, and gave brisk orders, the words echoing down the ship from sailor to sailor, and the agile juniors scrambled up the rigging to begin furling the great canvas sails.

  “Not enough…” Elestra gasped, her face contorted with effort. “Still blowing us… pulling us… too strong…”

  And then the mist enveloped them, cold and damp, and the moon, the other ships, the Golden Coast, and the very sea itself was gone, and there was only the ship, ghostly in the fog, and the steady pull of the current, dragging them towards the homeland.

  22: Proposition (Garrett)

  “To the oars!” Garrett yelled.

  More orders, booted feet running down the deck, Mikah ordering his troops down below to help out, everyone racing to get the ship out of the strange mist, out of the pull of the current, away from the rival wind-blowers. The captain and her officers had gone tearing off t
o supervise the oars. Only the phlegmatic woman at the helm remained nearby.

  Even so, Garrett cautiously moved out of her sight behind a locker before pulling out his glass ball.

  “Ball, get rid of this mist.” The ball flared briefly with golden light, then died back to inertness. The fog flowed around him as thickly as ever. “Hmm. I wonder why that didn’t work. Ball, stop these other wind-blowers from affecting us.” Again, a brief flare and then nothing. “Why isn’t it doing what I ask?”

  Ruell had followed him, and was watching with interest. “Maybe it only does certain types of things? Protecting you, healing, positive things. Or maybe their magic is stronger.”

  “I don’t know. The ball’s magic is pretty powerful stuff, strong enough to protect me from dragon fire,” Garrett said.

  “It can protect, but seemingly it can’t – or won’t – counter other kinds of magic. It might be able to augment it, though.”

  “Augment – how?”

  “Add its power to Elestra’s.”

  “Ah! Ball, make Elestra a stronger wind-blower.” That produced a brighter flare that lasted for several heartbeats and lit Elestra in an ethereal glow. Her head lifted, and the ship lurched and shifted direction.

  “It’s working!” Ruell said excitedly.

  Even with enhanced powers, Elestra struggled against the rival wind-blowers, and Garrett’s heart ached for her, seeing the effort as she strained to make some headway, knowing there was nothing more he could do to help her. He sat on the deck beside her in silent sympathy, and then, when even that wasn’t enough to satisfy him, he lifted her onto his lap and held her tight as she fought her invisible enemies. But gradually, with her greater strength and the oars, they began to break free of the homeland’s enchantment. The mist thinned and then abruptly vanished, the pull of the current receded and, inch by hard-won inch, they crawled back towards the marker buoys edging the Teeth.

  “We’re almost past the danger point,” the captain said, reappearing at Garrett’s side. “Shall we turn into the next bay and drop anchor for a while? She’s just about done in, poor girl.” She nodded her head towards Elestra, nestling in Garrett’s arms, her eyes closed, a look of fierce concentration on her face.

  “Good idea,” Garrett said. “We could all do with a rest.”

  As they turned towards the land, Elestra sighed, leaned her head back against Garrett’s arm and opened her eyes.

  “This is very nice,” she murmured.

  Garrett found himself entirely in agreement. He hadn’t intended it, and in other circumstances he’d never have dared, but it was indeed very nice to hold her in his arms – more than very nice, it was quite wonderful, and stirred all manner of inappropriate thoughts in him. He chuckled. “It is, isn’t it? Are you feeling better?”

  “A bit, yes. They’re out of range, now, whoever they were.”

  “Good. That was pretty scary, for a while. Do you want me to put you down?”

  “Not really. This is very cosy.” She sighed, and snuggled closer. “I might just go to sleep here.”

  “Be my guest.” He tried not to smile too widely, ignoring the knowing grin on Ruell’s face.

  ~~~~~

  The ship rode at anchor a decent distance from land, while Garrett, Ruell, Mikah, Elestra and the captain tried to decide what to do. There weren’t many options.

  “We can’t continue in theSundancer,” Garrett said firmly. “The Tre’annatha have it marked as a target now, so they’ll continue to hamper our progress.”

  “We could switch to another ship,” Mikah said dubiously.

  “And that means negotiating at one of the ports,” Garrett said. “Andthat means we’ll be spotted by the Tre’annatha. They hold all the ports along the Golden Coast.”

  “What alternative do we have?” Mikah said crossly. “You’ve said no to every suggestion so far. Try to be positive, Garrett, for once in your life.”

  “It’s Ruell they’re after,” Garrett said, suppressing a strong urge to slap Mikah. “So my proposal is that Ruell and I go ashore, buy a couple of horses and make our way north by land. I’ve travelled this way before, so I know the back ways quite well.”

  “You can’t go alone,” Mikah objected. “You can have a couple of my best men to protect Ruell.”

  Garrett bit his tongue at the implication that he couldn’t protect Ruell himself. Increasing the party from two to four would make them a little more conspicuous, but two extra swordsmen would be useful. “Fine. We’ll pick up a ship at Drakk’alona. The rest of you can make your way back to Sand Eagle Bay. I’m sure Jonnor would be happy to have his ship back.”

  “Can’t do that, I’m afraid,” the captain said. “My terms of engagement are to take the ship to Mesanthia, so that’s what I’m obliged to do, whether you and Ruell are on it or not.”

  Garrett grunted, pondering that. It would certainly be more convenient to have the use of theSundanceronce they got to the north coast. “The Tre’annatha will be doing everything they can to stop you or at least slow you down. Safer to put in to a port for a few days, make sure the Tre’annatha know Ruell’s not on board any more, then head for home.” But her face told him that safety wasn’t an argument likely to sway her. “Hmpf. Can you get this tub through the straits with that lot nipping at your heels?”

  “Really, Garrett, what do you take me for?” she said huffily. “Of course we can! We can use the oars all the way, if need be, although it would be slow going. Or we can get a tow from a convoy. Either way, we’ll probably make it to Drakk’alona before you could get there on horseback. You’re better off staying with the ship.”

  “I’m still inclined to take Ruell there over land. That way, if there’s any problem from the Tre’annatha, you can let them search the ship to satisfy themselves that Ruell isn’t there, and, the way I’m planning on going, we’ll also shake off any of the dragons that might still be following him.”

  “As you wish,” she said. “That’s up to you. We can meet you in Drakk’alona, and carry on from there. We won’t need the sail-maker after that, so she can go south again, if she likes.”

  Elestra had said nothing so far, seeming to be half asleep, but now she lifted her head. “No, I’m going all the way to Mesanthia, too, and I have to go with Garrett.”

  “You’ll be needed on the ship,” Mikah put in quickly, before Garrett could speak. “That’s your job, to work on theSundancer. You don’t need to go traipsing through the Golden Coast.”

  “My role is to help Ruell get to Mesanthia,” she said. “If theSundancer doesn’t reach Drakk’alona for any reason, Garrett will have to hire a ship and I’ll be needed then.”

  “But you can ensure theSundancer makes it to Drakk’alona. What else is a sail-master for but to keep the ship moving in the right direction?”

  She smiled ruefully. “We’ve all seen just how useless I was at that. I failed just when I was most needed. No, don’t deny it, when you know it’s true. There are too many other powers at work in the straits. But I can be useful even on land, and once at the north coast, I can do my proper job again, on theSundancer, if she makes it, or on a different ship, if need be. It makes sense, Mikah.”

  Garrett didn’t think it did, but he could see that she was determined, and Mikah was obviously settling in for a long argument. Time to nip the protests in the bud. “I’m happy to have Elestra with us, if she wants,” he said.

  “Oh, I’m sure you are,” Mikah said with a sneer. “We can all see whyyou might like that idea.”

  Garrett raised a surprised eyebrow at the hostility in his tone. Was Mikah jealous of him? Maybe he’d seen him holding Elestra and mistaken his sympathy at her distress for something more? But he said nothing. No point fanning the flames.

  Mikah sniffed. “Well, since the party is increasing so much in size, and with a lady included too, I had better come along myself. I have a responsibility to Tella’s heir, after all, and I can at least ensure that Elestra isn’t importuned by unw
anted attentions.”

  “Oh, yes,” Elestra murmured. “I so hate being importuned by unwanted attentions.”

  Ruell sniggered.

  ~~~~~

  They were to leave as soon as it was full dark, hoping that their small shore boat would avoid notice. After a quick meal, they went down below to rest.

  Garrett waited until everything was quiet, then stepped silently in bare feet out of the bunk room and down the corridor to Elestra’s cabin. He tapped softly on the door, waited for her reply before entering, then closed the door quietly behind him.

  She was sitting cross-legged on the bed reading, a lantern swaying from a hook above her head. “Garrett!” Her face lit up, and his treacherous heart turned over in pleasure.

  He put a finger to his lips, and with his head indicated Mikah’s cabin next door.

  “He’s gone off somewhere,” she said, her smile widening. “Too important to rest, I daresay. Did you want another cuddle?” She raised an enquiring eyebrow. “Or…?” She waved a hand vaguely over the bed.

  Gods, but the temptation was almost overwhelming. She was so pretty, filled with energy and enthusiasm, soalive. He wanted to share some of that life within her, to be young and full of vigour again, to forget the weight of responsibilities for an hour. And yet…

  “That’s… a very attractive offer, but no,” he said with genuine regret. “I wanted to talk to you, that’s all.”

  “Oh.” Her face drooped a little. “You’re just being the conscientious leader. I see.”

  He took a deep breath, fighting the urge to sit beside her and cover her lovely face with passionate kisses. It was difficult to think straight when she was so close, and suggesting… actually offering him everything he dreamed of at night, when he was alone in his bunk. But it was impossible. He had to keep reminding himself of that.

  Sliding down to sit on the floor, his back to the door, he said, “This journey. We’re going to be riding hard for two or three days. I take it you can ride?”

  “Of course.”