The Captain's Dragon

by Bianca D’Arc

  “Villains who fell off their mounts when Skelaroth scared them into panic?” Liam mused.

  “It’s likely,” Trent said, holding out his hand for a businesslike shake. “Pleased to meet you, Captain O’Dare. I’ve heard good things about the help you’ve been to the kingdom in the south.”

  Liam did his best not to let his eyebrows rise in surprise, returning the strong grasp of the prince. “I’m glad to be of service to my homeland and the crown,” he replied politely.

  “I’m going to send the others out after the straggler pirates,” Trent said. “Might as well stop them while we can.”

  “That would be wise,” Rivka agreed. “I only saw the one mage. Such creatures are rare, even in foreign lands. He is likely far ahead with Fisk and the artifact. If we can cut off the stragglers from rejoining the main group, it could help us in the long run.”

  Trent looked upward at the three dragons and knights still circling and sent them off with a thought. Liam realized all of them could speak silently with each other and their dragons. One of the mysteries of knighthood became apparent. It was said that only men who could communicate with dragons were considered for the job. There were other qualities, as well. They had to be good fighters or able to train to become good fighters. They had to be clever enough to dispense the king’s justice and act as judge whenever the need arose.

  Liam had not thought much about it before now, having spent most of his life on the sea. He admitted inwardly that he’d probably been short-sighted not to at least consider the qualifications and character of the men who had seduced his daughter into becoming their mate. Perhaps he’d have to rethink the whole situation. When there was time, of course. Right now, there were more urgent matters to focus on.

  Prince Trent refocused his attention on the prone dragon. “There was a hole in his wing?” Trent asked of Liam, who drew closer to the prince’s side when the royal beckoned.

  “Yes, just there. You can see the faint outline of the new skin,” Liam pointed out the spot, and Trent looked pained.

  “A grievous wound. No wonder he continues to sleep.” Trent looked down the length of Skelaroth’s neck to his head. “But we need him to rouse so he can continue his quest. It would be a shame to come so far, only to miss the final resolution.” Trent walked purposefully toward Skelaroth’s head, and everyone, it seemed, followed.

  “I was going to try to wake him when I got up but your party arrived before I’d even gotten out of my bedroll,” Rivka said with a smile that took the sting out of her words.

  “Your pardon, milady,” Trent said, grinning back at her. “We flew through the night to get here and didn’t consider the fact that saner folk would be sleeping in.”

  They both chuckled at his words but grew serious as they took up positions on either side of Skelaroth’s head. Liam would have followed, but Rivka shot a look at him that he interpreted as a request to stand back. Trent wasn’t so subtle. He waved his hands at the knights and motioned the dragons to come up behind him. Liam noted that they left room for Trent to shift into his dragon form, which he did with a nod toward Rivka as she did the same. Liam stood a short distance behind her, backing her up as the bigger dragons were backing up the prince.

  What could he could do if Skelaroth woke violently, Liam had no idea. But he felt it was important to stand ready. Perhaps, if Skelaroth saw friendly faces rather than those of strangers, it would help him wake more peacefully. It was worth a try.

  The smaller black dragons stood on either side of the sea dragon’s massive head. Each laid a clawed forehand on one of the horns on Skelaroth’s head. Then, the black dragons closed their eyes, and a rumbling hum sounded from deep within their chests. The sound was soon echoed by the dragons behind the prince. Liam noticed that the two knights had taken up guard positions some distance from the dragon gathering. Only Liam, it seemed, was fool enough to stand close to whatever was happening around Skelaroth.

  Smoke rose from the nostrils of all four dragons as the humming increased. The sensations were so thick, Liam could feel them vibrating through his chest. A bass thrum that shook the very earth beneath his feet.

  And then, a delicate descant pierced the bass rumble as Ella appeared, her little tummy swollen from her recent kill. She fluttered above Skelaroth’s head, apparently feeling no fear of the black dragons as she flew right between them. She sang against the rumble of the much larger dragons, and Liam could see little swirls of sparkling color where her wings traced through the air. He had no doubt that she was adding her own—not inconsiderable—magic to the effort.

  The moment Ella flew past Skelaroth’s nose, the dragon sneezed, propelling her into a bit of a tumble that ended when Liam caught her in his arms. Everybody stilled as Skelaroth’s eyes opened. His mighty sneeze had made all the dragons back off a bit.

  “Excuse me,” Skelaroth said in his silent way, speaking to Ella so everyone could hear. “My apologies for disturbing your flight, Mistress Ella.”

  “Was fun!” Ella replied in her playful way. “Glad you’re back, Skel.”

  “I am grateful to be back,” the mighty sea dragon agreed with the little virkin. His eyelids opened farther, and he looked around, seemingly surprised to see the new dragons on his right side, while Rivka, Liam and Ella stood on his left. “What happened? Did Fisk get away?”

  “Fisk got away for now, but not for long,” Liam said, stepping closer. “May I introduce Prince Trent,” Liam said formally, knowing how dragons, in general, felt about manners. “And his companions, Lord Klathenor and his mate, Lady Wyndimira, and their knights, Trevor and Boros. They are newly arrived. You’ve been asleep for a single night since our attempt to stop Fisk and his men.”

  “My wing?” Skelaroth asked, sounding a bit afraid of the answer.

  “Healing nicely,” Liam told him immediately, wanting to calm any fears the sea dragon might have about his future infirmity. “Lady Rivka and yourself did some kind of magic last night, and Ella did her part, too. There is new skin where the hole was, and though I’m no expert, it looks good as new to me.”

  Rivka shifted back to her human form. “The real test will be flying, but it looks very promising,” she told the sea dragon. “Prince Trent brought reinforcements, and some of them are rounding up stragglers from Fisk’s crew right this minute. You succeeded in removing a portion of his men from the equation, but none of us counted on that mage.”

  “Is that what it was?” Skelaroth asked, clearly still tired from his ordeal.

  “I flew in after you got hit and hit him with a blast of flame. He had some sort of shield around himself and those with him. My fire hit it, and went around it,” she told Skelaroth and the others together. “I couldn’t hit him. He had to be a mage.”

  “Was that Fisk?” Trent asked, having also shifted back to his human form.

  Liam stepped closer, standing right next to Rivka. “No. Fisk is the leader of the group, but he’s no mage. I’ve been chasing him for a long time, and if he had that kind of power or skills, I would have known about it a long time ago. It was always said he hired mages who would sell their services to the highest bidder. Fisk has been successful at his chosen trade of piracy for many years, and it’s not inconceivable to me that a mage with low morals and a desire for a share of the booty would sell his services to a man such as Fisk.”

  “But what about the book?” Trent asked, then corrected himself. “The page from the book? Would the pirate captain entrust that to his pet mage? Or would he still have it on his own person?”

  “Knowing Fisk, he would never entrust an underling with it. Fisk wants the glory and the credit if they manage to evade us and awaken the wizards imprisoned in the Citadel. He would not chance letting the page of Gryffid’s book out of his sight,” Liam said, knowing in his heart he was speaking no less than the truth.

  Liam noticed the two knights shifting uncomfortably on their feet at mention of the Citadel. Had they not known the stakes for which they fought? Pe
rhaps not. Perhaps it had been enough that their king had asked them to risk their lives and safety to protect someone they didn’t know. Perhaps Liam had misjudged the entire knight breed.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Rivka was so relieved that Skelaroth had woken up with no obvious problems. She was even more grateful that their message had gotten through to the king, and he’d taken them seriously enough to send not only a contingent of knights and dragons, but one of his brothers, as well. That was a sign of respect and concern that Rivka appreciated.

  Trent was a handsome young man, but she found herself comparing him to Liam and finding him wanting. She shouldn’t. Trent was a dragon, after all, like herself, but Liam was… Well… Liam was something special.

  “We must find a way to deal with this mage,” Prince Trent said to Rivka and Liam.

  Surprisingly, it was Ella who piped up, flitting from Liam’s shoulder to land on Skelaroth’s horn. “Can help,” she said to them all. “Can break bubble.”

  “Do you mean to say that you can break through the shield that the mage uses to protect himself and the others with him?” Trent asked in a gentle voice, leaning closer to the virkin.

  Ella nodded. “Silly mage from home. All virkin know their tricks.”

  “The man was dressed in the style of Elderland, from what little I saw,” Liam confirmed. “I got a good look at him when he was lobbing that fireball toward Skelaroth.”

  “I break bubble. You toast him good. Teach lesson,” Ella added, looking lovingly at Rivka. Ella coughed up a little wisp of smoke as if she was trying to summon the fire that Rivka had breathed so easily. Rivka was charmed, all over again, by the pretty virkin.

  “We can do that,” Rivka told Ella. “But I want to be sure you won’t be in too much danger. Are you sure about this plan, Ella?”

  Ella nodded her little head up and down. “Am too small. Too fast. Won’t get caught. Fun game.”

  Rivka felt her stomach clench. How could she explain to the small creature that this wasn’t a game? Ella’s life and the lives of all those who were now gathered in aid of this quest were on the line. Rivka wouldn’t want to see Ella harmed for all the world.

  “This is serious, sweetheart,” Liam stepped in, talking to the virkin that he had traveled with for longer than any of them. “You could get hurt.”

  “Won’t. Got bubble. See?” Ella assured him and rose in the air a foot or two above Skelaroth’s head. A shimmering transparent globe surrounded the virkin, and Rivka thought she recognized Ella’s version of magical protection.

  “She’s got her own shield,” Trent breathed, clearly as surprised as Rivka.

  “That’s pretty amazing, El,” Liam said. “But are you certain it will protect you?”

  Ella chuckled in her own way, her little body jerking in the air as her eyes squinted shut and tiny wisps of colorful smoke rose from her nostrils. She flew to Liam and settled on his shoulder, the shell still around her, and now reaching down around Liam’s chest. He raised his other hand to try to touch Ella through the bubble, as she called it, and he couldn’t get past the transparent shell.

  Liam’s eyes widened as he looked up at Rivka. “I can’t get through.”

  “And I bet that where she’s extended her bubble of protection over you, nothing could get through to harm you either,” Rivka said, walking closer. “Liam, she’s on your left shoulder. She’s protecting your heart.” Tears rose to Rivka’s eyes, but she refused to let them fall as she looked at Ella. “You’ve been looking out for him all along, haven’t you, little one?”

  “Leem special,” Ella said, nodding and rubbing her head against Liam’s hair.

  “Yes, he is, isn’t he?” Rivka sent to the virkin alone, silently. “He’s very special.”

  *

  Skelaroth flew steadier the farther he went. Liam had struck camp, and they had been back on the hunt more quickly than he’d expected. They made a quick stop to check in with the knights and dragons who had rounded up the stray pirates and their horses. They’d already questioned the men and were able to pass along surprisingly little information. The pirates weren’t talking, and it wasn’t the way of Draconians to torture anyone. They were able to confirm that there was only the one mage with Fisk’s party—if his henchmen could be believed.

  Liam would still operate with the utmost caution. He’d learned to take nothing for granted when dealing with Fisk and his agents. Still, Fisk’s men seemed to hold the mage in disdain and mentioned how he would watch from a safe distance while the rest of them did the real work during any fighting that took place. That sounded viable to Liam, though the mage had been the one fighting during their last encounter.

  Skelaroth was feeling almost as good as new, which amazed Liam every time he thought about it. Ella was nestled safely in her carry bag, securely around Liam’s chest, sleeping as Skelaroth flew. Rivka was in the lead, flying next to Prince Trent. They paused to land every few miles and examine the road.

  The trail was very obvious from the place where the battle had been fought the day before. Scorched earth and bloodshed had stained the packed dirt of the road, and those who had escaped hadn’t bothered to even try to hide evidence of their passage for quite some distance. They were running their horses into the ground.

  What had started as panicked flight on the part of the horses—as well as the men—had turned into an ordeal for the animals who were being driven as hard as possible with kicks and whips. Occasionally, flecks of blood and horse hide would be found on the road, which made Liam grimace at the thought of how Fisk and his people were torturing the poor beasts, but it also made it handy for tracking. They could judge how close they were getting by how fresh the blood was, sad as it was to do so.

  In addition to Prince Trent, their party also now included the pair of knights and their dragons who had interacted with them the most. The others were either seeing to the prisoners or had been sent off on various missions of their own.

  They were making good progress catching up with Fisk by later in the day. They stopped so the dragons could rest and have a drink from a stream and eat as many fish as they could catch. Ella came out of her satchel nest to go fishing, as well. She was recovered from her healing work and had fun chasing the smaller fish around in a little pool that formed off to one side of the larger stream where the dragons were trying their luck.

  Liam went over to Rivka, who had reclaimed her human form, and offered her an apple from the provision bag, which was markedly lighter and would need refilling sooner rather than later. She took it gladly and bit into it before starting a conversation.

  “The prince says we’re coming close to the City of Oler. I keep thinking about Waymeet, but I don’t think Fisk would dare try anything like that, again. He’s lost a good third of his men, and Oler would have been too big to take on, even if he had doubled the number of men he’d started out with,” Rivka said.

  Liam nodded. “Makes sense. But he could get lost in such a large place and confuse the trail,” Liam pointed out, unhappily.

  Rivka frowned. “There is that.” She finished crunching on her apple as the knights joined them. Trevor and Boros had been talking with the prince, but Trent had shifted back to his dragon form and was fishing with the others.

  “Do you have any insight, Captain, into what the man we’re chasing might do?” Trevor asked Liam politely.

  “If I were a betting man, I’d wager on Fisk splitting what’s left of his group into several smaller ones and sending them out in different directions at the same time. That might’ve been his intention from the beginning, and why he took so many of his crew with him when he rode North. Perhaps Skelaroth’s intervention helped narrow the field some,” Liam said, his brow rising in speculation.

  “At least his injury wasn’t for nothing,” Rivka said quietly, looking hard at the big sea dragon teaching the land dragons a thing or two about how to stalk fish.

  After the larger members of their party had eaten a light re
past of wriggling fish, and the human contingent had depleted a good portion of their supplies in anticipation of restocking in Oler, they were flying again. Ella was nestled in her satchel, but she had opened the flap with her nose and was watching where they were going with eager eyes.

  Liam hadn’t forgotten what Rivka had said about Ella protecting his heart. Truth be told, he’d been so touched by the idea, in that moment, he hadn’t known what to say. He’d enjoyed the virkin’s company when they were at sea, but in the last few days, he’d really come to appreciate her companionship—not just for the amazing feats of healing she had performed, but because she was a kind spirit, and it made him feel good to have her around. Ella had called him special, but he truly felt it was Ella that was the special one.

  “Do you like flying with the big dragon, Ella?” he asked her.

  “Yes!” she replied at once. “Fly so fast!”

  “I just wanted to thank you for before,” he said, hoping she could hear him over the rushing wind. “I think you’re special too, Ella, and I’m honored you chose to come with me on my ship, and on this quest.”

  She turned her head and looked up at him. Her eyes were so wide, then she blinked. “Honor is mine,” she said, mysteriously, and left it at that. She returned to watching where they were headed and said no more, leaving Liam to puzzle over her response for the next little while.

  Rivka and Trent took turns landing and examining the trail, leading them ever faster down the road toward the city of Oler. They had hoped to catch up with Fisk’s party before entering the city, but it looked like they were going to be out of luck.

  Still, cities had their advantages, and Liam suspected Rivka could use her Jinn contacts to learn of their quarry. Maybe they’d be able to get to Fisk before he split his men—which Liam thought for certain Fisk would do on his way out of town, to confuse the trail.