by LeRoy Clary
“If that’s what it takes. If I lose, you will have to leave me here as his slave.” I saw the rebuke coming from her and shook my head. “Sorry, I gave my word.” Then, I turned my attention back to the game. He won several small pots; I won a few larger. The distribution of the coins remained the same until well into the afternoon when he adjusted his position, and I noticed the tell again. He had a strong hand and intended to play it hard. He stood a chance of earning back half the coins on the table in one hand.
However, as luck often provides, I had four fives. Only four sixes in his hand could defeat me, and I held one of those sixes along with my fives. In short, there was no hand that could defeat mine. His hand might be strong in normal circumstances, but mine was better. He wagered conservatively, hoping to draw me in so he could later increase the wager and take more of my money.
I did not know his hand, only that mine couldn’t be beaten, so his didn’t matter. I let him bet to match my wager while fighting to keep my face placid. Even the hint of a smile would warn him, and he would throw in his hand. He raised again, and I hesitated theatrically before finally and hopefully appearing reluctant to match his wager. As I wished, he pushed all of his remaining money to the center, nearly half of everything we played for was now there. I matched his bet. He displayed a very good hand with a confident smile. His tiles would win nine out of ten hands.
I showed mine. The blood drained from his face, He stood and stretched his legs. When his voice finally sounded, it was almost a reluctant grunt. “You are free.”
“Thank you,” I said while fighting the smile that threatened to fill my face. “Half the coins are yours to repay the generous loan. The rest are yours to buy my freedom. You are an honorable man, and I assume you will not attempt to capture me again.”
He scowled as his eyes fell to the bodyguard trussed up near the edge of the clearing, “Am I also free to leave?”
“Soon. We may keep you and your guard here for a short while, just to make sure there are no problems. And to ask a few friendly questions. Just conversation between old friends.”
The Slave-Master spat in the direction of his guard. “You can keep that worthless scum for yourself. He’s no good to me letting a slip of a girl like her to take him prisoner.”
The guard hung his head in shame. His eyes were damp.
I said, “Sir, there are two things you should know. First, is that my sister can probably defeat any two of your men in a fair fight, she can defeat any three of them in one unfair. Second, she has unseen help at hand when she requires it, which is not often. Kendra, will you call your backup?”
She smiled. I heard the sound of leather wings before the Slave-Master, but when he did, his head tilted upward, and he watched the dragon approach. It made a dainty landing at the other end of the clearing if the weight of ten cows smashing the earth can be dainty. The ground shook. The leaves and dust from the great wings took a while to settle. When it did, the dragon stood on all four legs peering at us. It sniffed, then snorted as if it didn’t like what it smelled. I didn’t like the smell of it, either.
“I stood no chance at winning, did I?” the Slave-Master asked dejectedly, while his eyes remained locked on the dragon. That was not a criticism, but just good sense. He’d never seen a dragon, probably didn’t believe in them, and to his credit, he hadn’t run off in panic at her appearance.
“The game of blocks was played fair, sir. Only how I left your caravan was at risk.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he growled.
I watched his face again, looking for the same tell as in the game. When I didn’t see he was bluffing, I said, “You had no intention of allowing me to buy my freedom.”
“I did,” he wailed, but it didn’t ring true.
But the facial tic was back. He was lying and expected me to believe him. He was not done playing with me, yet.
I said, “Here is what’s going to happen. You will send word with your trussed-up guard to release the slave called Flier, and he will be escorted back to where we are. Unharmed. I will purchase his freedom at a fair price that you decide.”
“In return for what?” he said, the slyness in him returning.
Kendra stepped forward. “In return, you will not be the evening snack for my dragon today. You will also answer our questions fully, and we will release you unharmed. When we are ready.”
“She’s right,” I agreed. “We don’t care about your slavery or where you’re taking these wretched people. At least, not yet. We do want to know more about that, and other information about your homeland and the rulers. And mages. When we’ve educated ourselves to our satisfaction, you are free to join your people. You have my word.”
“If I don’t cooperate?”
Kendra must have communicated with the dragon in the way we were slowly becoming used to. It stood on its hind legs and roared, then stomped the ground, its forefeet landing uncomfortably close to me—and to the Slave-Master. The nearby bodyguard strained to roll away and break free, his face pale and scared as the feet landed.
“Send him to get your friend. I agree to do as you ask,” The Slave-Master drawled as if agreeing to do as we asked. He was lying again.
I didn’t believe the Slave-Master at all. However, Kendra cut the ropes free from the bodyguard, all but those on his feet. She replaced the knife in her scabbard and said to him, “I can kill you a dozen ways before you take a single step. Do you believe that? I am a Dragon Tamer.”
Her use of the term was not the first time I’d heard it from her. Others had briefly called her the Dragon Queen, but that didn’t sit well. She decided ‘tamer’ better suited her relationship. I knew she didn’t know what either meant any more than me, but it sounded more ominous. It was one of the many things we needed to know and understand—but not today, at least not yet.
His hands shook, and his voice trembled as his eyes remained on those of the dragon that looked back. He was so close the stench of the dragon had to be overpowering. Rotted meat and a reptilian body that hadn’t been washed since last rain, whenever that was. He stammered, “Y-yes.”
She continued speaking to the guard, “The Slave-Master requires the presence of the slave known as Flier. You will find him and return him here. Treat him well. Now, I’m sure you’re an honest man and all that, but just in case there are any problems, my dragon is going to fly above as your escort. She will protect you. She will also tell me if there are any problems or if you betray me, in which case, I’ll allow her to snack on as many of you slavers as she wants. But you will be first.”
His trembling increased.
Kendra was not finished. “My dragon now has your scent. It knows you. There is no place in Kondor or the Brownlands where you can hide that she cannot sniff you out. I want you to know that. If I order her to kill you, she will find you. If I were you, I’d cut my throat—however, my dragon also enjoys food that has been dead a day or two. She will eat you one way or another.”
“If I send your friend back?”
“You will not send him back because if he is attacked or harmed in any manner, you forfeit your life. Being a reasonable man, you will return with him to see that he arrives here safely, and I will then release you from this bond. If he is unharmed and arrives here alone and promptly, I give you my word to allow you to live. I will have no reason to be upset with you, and I may even toss a coin or two your way.” Kendra talked in a businesslike manner as if negotiating for the purchase of a wooden bowl in a public market. The directness of her discussion intimidated the bodyguard far more than if she had shouted and brandished a knife.
The guard’s eyes were still on the dragon. He nodded once. That was enough. Kendra cut the remaining ropes on his legs with a slash of her knife and stepped away. The guard backed off, then turned and ran. My sister looked at me and then at her dragon. It unfurled its wings and flew.
The Slave-Master said, “Gods, what have I done to deserve this?”
Kendra turned to fa
ce him.
He scooted back, putting a little distance between them.
She advanced and asked in a reasonable voice as if speaking over a friendly dinner, “Do you like children?”
“I-I suppose so.”
She looked at me. “Ask Anna to bring Emma here.”
*Anna, bring your sister and join us.* The mental touch was unreciprocated, although I believed Emma could have heard me as well if she allowed me to touch her mind. However, I couldn’t blame her for being reluctant to touch my mind.
They emerged from the edge of the forest, wearing their backpacks, and smiling. They rushed me as if we hadn’t seen each other for weeks.
Kendra sat facing the Slave-Master. “Do you ever think about the lives you ruin?”
“Farmers in my homeland need field-hands to work the crops. Cities need cleaners and servers, so they don’t live in filth. The army needs slaves to advance as the first line in battle.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” she persisted. “We agreed you would be honest with us or face my wrath. Tell me, do you ever think about the lives you ruin?”
“No. Never.”
“What about the lives of those who miss them? A wife? His children? Parents? Friends? What you do affects them as much as the men you take for slaves.” Kendra was growing angry.
He curled a lip and said, “I take women, too. Those are not my problems. I supply laborers. Nothing more.”
Kendra scooted so near to him he drew back again. Her voice grew so soft it caressed the air, “Do you realize how very lucky you are today?”
“Right, I’m a prisoner, I lost at blocks and had to turn a valuable slave loose, so I’m lucky,” he snarled the words as he spoke while trying to intimidate her.
For me, it was a test of wills between them. I was standing with the girls at the side of the clearing and watched their interplay, knowing the Slave-Master would lose the contest—but he wasn’t aware of it. Not yet, but soon.
Kendra said, “Yes, you are lucky because my stupid brother gave you his word. However, you need to consider this: You accepted his word about not harming or killing you. I led you to believe I gave mine too, but I didn’t, did I? And beyond that, my two little sorceresses who are now playing games with my brother promised nor implied anything.”
He spun to look at them, their sweetness and innocence clear.
However, she said before he gathered his thoughts, “Do you know that the small one, the one with the impish expression, once faced down my dragon? And another time, just using the power of her mind, she struck at the mind of a full-grown man so hard he was unconscious for a full afternoon?”
“That little girl?” the Slave-Master asked. His voice didn’t tremble or break with fear because he clearly didn’t believe her. He was interested.
“It’s true. She struck a blow inside his mind so hard that he woke up stupid and remains so to this day.”
I snorted in both humor and amazement at the tall tale she told about me until she spun to face me. She snapped, “Is there any part of that story that is not true?”
I simply shook my head in wonder at her turn of a word. Worse, maybe I had woken up stupid after Emma’s mental attack. The humor in the situation evaporated. The Slave-Master turned to Kendra and said, “Ask me anything. I’ll tell you the truth if you give me your word I’ll be set free if I satisfy you. Do we have a deal? You can go your way. I’ll go mine.”
She threw her hands into the air in disgust. “You are also a very stupid man, has anyone told you that?”
He shook his head in denial, his eyes narrowed, but said aloud, “Nobody has ever told me that who is still alive.”
Kendra climbed slowly to her feet. “Allow me to explain how you are stupid. You are so arrogant you do not listen. You think you can use brute force to have your way. Two can play that game, and you will be the loser.”
“So, you say. But you have not faced my anger.” His voice rose near the end and his face contorted.
“Tell me the truth, and I’ll set you free. I give my word. Those were your words to me. Your requirements. Is that still the deal you offer? Is that the best you can do? Because I will readily agree to it, however, an instant after I set you free as agreed upon, I will order my dragon to stomp on you into mush with one of her great feet. If you somehow remain alive, will you then agree that I was honorable and kept my word that I set you free but did not specify a time before recapturing you?” She flashed an evil grin his way. “Perhaps you want to reconsider.”
He smiled in the same way. “I would expect no less from you—and I have done what you suggest a hundred times. I lie, cheat, steal, and collect men to sell into slavery. I fight, swear, drink too much, sleep with other men’s wives, and once bit off the ear of a man and swallowed it to make him angrier. That’s the difference in us, little girl. You threaten me with violence. I have lived it.”
He was right.
I stepped closer to them. I looked at the Slave-Master. “Hear me well. You and I already have a bargain, and I will keep my part. After Flier is delivered here, you will be set free by me. What that agreement has not stated but you will understand now, is that after your release, should you return with men to attack us, or if you accidentally stumble across us at a stream crossing, or we spy each other across the vastness of a busy city market, you will die.”
Emma stepped beside me. She screwed up her little face, pointed her index finger between his eyes for so long sweat beaded on his forehead. Then, without an utterance, she shifted her finger to point at a small pile of dried leaves between his feet. It burst into flames, rising to his knees in an instant—and threatened to burn higher.
The Slave-Master leaped aside; his face drained of blood. Emma moved her finger and pointed it at his left eye. I held my breath, too scared for him to order her to lower the finger while knowing full well her finger had nothing to do with the flames she created with magic. I’d never used my magic in that way, which was to deflect reality and suggest my finger was a weapon. I wondered what else I’d learn from the little girl.
“Stop her! Ask me what you will,” he cried. “But get that finger away from me.”
Kendra glanced at me. Her worst threats, anger, and all the rest hadn’t scared the Slave-Master. He would have betrayed me, but in a way that kept his reputation intact. The easiest way would have been to kill me and leave my body for the ravens to peck and worms to eat.
However, now he stood and watched the last of the few leaves burn, and he said, “What do you want to know? Ask me anything.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Princess Elizabeth
Even a princess of Dire can feel lonely. I found myself thinking as I stood and watched the restless sea to the south. The ship rolled over or through the gentle waves with little movement of the deck. I felt my throat constrict, not from any physical force, nor from magic. It was all in my mind. The fear of failing as a princess. Failing myself, my father, and my people. There was also the fear of a storm at sea. With Damon and Kendra off the ship, for the first time, I felt totally alone with an overwhelming task in front of me.
Despite my personal feelings, I held my chin higher, as any princess learned to do as a child. Life as a noblewoman often meant putting aside my wishes in favor of the needs of my kingdom. Aside from the endless food, expensive clothing, and luxury apartment, there were barriers to my life—some as difficult to navigate as the ship through the coming storm.
Will stepped quietly to my side as if appearing out of thin air and paused beside me as if innocently brushing a piece of lint off his jacket in case anyone watched the two of us. He stood far enough away that it didn’t look like we were together, but just two travelers who are leaning on the same railing. From the side of his mouth, he said, “Are you feeling well, Princess?”
That question further depressed me. I’d thought my feelings were hidden and snapped at him, “Do I look ill?”
“Yes, you do.”
There h
ad been no equivocation in his response. He spoke softly, and the ring of truth had angered me. But an odd thing happened. That small exchange raised my spirits, if only because he had the good sense to tell me the truth when I asked him a question. As a princess, people had always told me what they believed I wanted to hear my entire life. Will stood at my side and spoke the truth, as only Damon and Kendra normally did. I gratefully said, “Not ill, just scared.”
He moved aside without answering as if he understood my needs, and I believed he did. The next time I looked around, he had disappeared again, but I felt his eyes on me. It wouldn’t do to pick my nose or scratch my behind even if either needed it. However, I stood at the railing knowing he was watching over me like a mother duck over her ducklings.
That idea of being watched might have insulted another. For me, it was reassuring. While traveling with a small royal entourage, Will was the exception. He did not owe allegiance to any but my father, and thus to me in a secondary fashion. He didn’t travel as one of us, didn’t wish to advance himself in any way, or impress anybody, and as a result, he was the only one aboard I totally trusted. Aside from Damon and Kendra, of course, but they were ashore and headed for Dagger via a land route if such existed.
The Gallant did not sail out of the Trager Bay and turn south as it would normally have done to reach the small city of Vin, the next port of call. Instead, it continued to sail directly east, away from Trager and also away from Vin. The captain knew and had already faced the endless storm to the south that lay between the ship and Vin. No headway would be made attempting to sail in that direction.
A man, a salesman of rare spices, stopped at the rail and watched the same storm from a few steps away. “I’m glad the captain has the good sense to search for a way around. I’ve never been so ill as the last time we sailed into that.”
“He’s a good man,” I muttered.
“Some call him a coward.”
