Dragon Fate

by J. D. Hallowell

  The last of the original three newcomers had just flown between Brock and Jason. Leera, being more maneuverable, had avoided any injury, but Gina had been hit on the wing and dropped. The attacker immediately turned his whole attention to catching Brock. Leera had other ideas. She was smaller than her foes, and they mistook that to be a disadvantage. They soon discovered their mistake. Leera was capable of flying circles around the larger dragon. With their whole attention focused on catching Leera and Brock, they had also overlooked one other small fact. Gina wasn’t hurt that badly; she was flying a little more slowly because of the pain in her wing, but she was still airborne and dangerous. Leera turned back the way she had come, and her attacker followed. Leera flew about twenty feet under Gina and the newcomers didn’t notice what they were flying into until it was too late; then they did the worst thing they could have done. They tried to slow down to avoid Gina’s flame. If they had maintained their speed, they might have gotten scorched and lived. However, because they slowed down, they were caught in the blast long enough that the dragon’s left wing membrane was burned away almost completely. The dragon and rider spiraled down several hundred feet. As if to remove any doubt about their fate, the stored gas exploded when the flame bladder ruptured as they hit the ground.

  Delno told Jason to return to the palace and ordered Rita and Brock to cover his retreat. Gina was hurt, and he didn’t want to lose one of his own. Jason relayed that they would be fine, but Geneva bellowed, and Gina complied whether her Rider wanted to or not.

  The other two Riders were now close enough that Delno could clearly see Simcha’s face. The man was enraged by the scene; clearly, he had thought the battle would go differently. Delno had Geneva relay to Simcha that he wanted to land and talk. Simcha pulled a Dragon Blade from a scabbard strapped to his back. They now knew the whereabouts of the blade that had been stolen from Palamore.

  Geneva said, “He says that he has the Dragon Blade that is the symbol of the rulers of this kingdom. He also says that we are trespassing, and therefore our lives are forfeit.”

  “Relay this to him. Saying it is one thing; making it happen will be something else entirely.”

  Delno kept his senses completely open so when the other Rider, this one older than the first three, began to draw energy, he was aware of it. He reached out himself and pushed the man the way he had pushed Brock on the practice ground. While the action didn’t unseat the Rider, it distracted him while Brock tried to move in. The other Rider wasn’t to be taken so easily, though. He avoided Leera’s flame and rounded on his attacker.

  Simcha had not been idle while Delno was distracted. He charged from above, and Janna tried to flame them. There was no time to avoid the flame, but Delno was able to get a shield up. The flame broke on the shield and curled around them slightly. Geneva pumped her wings harder and gained speed and altitude; having been burned once, she wasn’t about to allow her antagonist to get another chance.

  Rita and Fahwn made a reckless dive at Simcha trying to score a hit on Janna’s wings, but the pair avoided the attack easily, and Janna turned at the last second and nearly got Fahwn instead.

  Delno quickly ordered Rita and Fahwn to help Brock and stay out from between him and Simcha. They reluctantly withdrew as Simcha taunted them. Rita almost turned, but Geneva bellowed and Fahwn obeyed. Ever since the Riders had made Delno the leader, Geneva’s orders were obeyed by the other dragons.

  Simcha appeared disappointed at her withdrawal and began to chase the pair, unwilling to give up a chance to strike out at Rita. It was almost his downfall. As he and Janna turned to chase Rita and Fahwn, Delno and Geneva attacked from above. Janna realized that they were being attacked a second too late. As Janna tried to roll away, both dragons struck out with both front feet and their legs became entangled. Neither of the dragons could use her wings effectively, and they both went into a spin together.

  Janna brought her head around as Delno pulled his blade. He had intended to slash at her as she tried to bite Geneva, but then he realized that he was her intended target. She tried to bite him and he shoved the point of his saber into the roof of her mouth. She screamed as the blade bit painfully into her palate. He twisted and wrenched the blade around, feeling it grate against the bone. She screamed again and pulled her head back safely out of reach of his saber.

  Geneva used the distraction to get her hind feet up and into her opponent’s belly. She knew she would only have one shot at this since the ground was so close. She raked her claws down as she dug her left front claws into the underside flight muscles. Then she pushed off with all of the strength she had in her back legs. She gasped in pain as Janna’s claws ripped a two-foot-long gash in her right wing.

  Both dragons were able to arrest their fall, but they were only about a hundred and fifty feet off the ground. Since Geneva had severed the muscles on the underside, Janna could not stroke down on that side. The gash that Geneva had torn in her belly was bleeding profusely. She began to glide toward the field below.

  Delno could see the injury to Geneva’s wing and was able to heal it while remaining in the air. He looked for Brock and Rita and saw that they had done a good bit of damage to the other rider and were forcing him down several hundred yards away.

  Delno had Geneva land a little more than fifty yards from Janna. Simcha was dismounted and was desperately trying to heal Janna. Delno could tell that he had closed the gaping hole in her belly, but he was unable to heal the internal damage. He closed enough distance that he could be heard if he shouted, but he still stayed far enough back to be out of range of Janna’s flame.

  “You can still live through this, Simcha,” he called out.

  Simcha rounded on him. “I’ll kill you for all you’ve done to me,” he yelled as he began stalking forward. “I’ll kill you for what you have done to this world.”

  “I haven’t done this to you, Simcha,” he responded, “all that has happened is because of your machinations. These things are the direct consequences of your own actions. I am merely the vehicle through which those consequences operate.”

  “Do you think you are innocent in all of this?” Simcha asked.

  “No,” Delno replied, “not innocent, just caught up in events that you have precipitated.”

  Simcha continued to walk forward, blade drawn. “For over seven hundred years I’ve watched the moral decline of this civilization. I’ve watched as the rightful rulers have been turned into little more than puppets by parliamentary councils. I’ve watched the Riders decline from being the guiding force of the world to being little more than parasites who have to attend parties to sing for their suppers.”

  “Simcha, the Riders are still a guiding force,” Delno responded, “but times change, and we must change with them. People have the right to choose how they live.”

  “What would you know, pup?” Simcha demanded as he advanced another step. “You’re as caught up in the moral decline as the rest of these common-born bastards. You talk of honor and what’s right, but you’re no better than any of the rest of them, you and that little alley cat of yours.”

  “What is between Rita and me is none of your business. The fact that you are so concerned makes me wonder just what your real motivations are. Do you honestly think that she would be the least bit attracted to you after what you did to her? Those scars will never heal, Simcha; she will never forget, or forgive.”

  “She’ll never get the chance to, either; you’ve seen to that. Do you think that I’m the whole force behind this? Have you forgotten about what is happening in Horne? There is a storm coming, a firestorm, and it is going to sweep the land clean of all of the debauchery that is so rampant now.”

  “You can still walk away from this path. I can heal Janna as I’ve done before, if you will surrender. . . .” Delno didn’t get the chance to complete his thought.

  “Surrender,” Simcha sneered; he was less then ten feet away. “NEVER!” he shouted and, raising the stolen Dragon Blade above his head, he
charged.

  Delno waited until the last possible second and then simply side-stepped and swung his own blade with all of his strength. Simcha’s head left his shoulders so quickly that his body actually took another step before it fell. Janna screamed and tried to lunge at Delno, but Geneva was too quick for the wounded dragon; she jumped and landed on Janna’s back, breaking her spine just behind the flame bladder. The older dragon grunted and lay very still, breathing shallowly for a few moments, and then she died.

  Fahwn landed and Rita dismounted. She walked over and looked at Simcha’s body for several moments. She turned to Delno and said, “I thought I would be happy to see him dead.” She paused for a moment, and then added, “I’m not. His death doesn’t change anything, and it brings me no comfort, and the death of another dragon,” she looked at Janna’s body, “even one who has tried to kill us, is not a cause for celebration.”

  “Part of the reason I started this whole adventure was because I thought that losing a dragon was a tragedy. Geneva’s brother had already died before he got a chance to live; her mother wanted to die because she had lost her Rider, and Geneva’s egg was stuck inside her body. I remember that I thought that the loss of three dragons was too much tragedy for the world to bear.” He looked deep into her eyes and said, “Now I have caused the deaths of three dragons, and I have a feeling the world will not be the same again.”

  Chapter 47

  Janna and the other dragons were just too big to bury, so Rita, Brock, and Delno put Simcha’s body on top of hers and the remains of the others with them, and burned them all together. Their dragons had brought all the dead wood they could find in the area, and then Leera and Fahwn used their flame to set the pyre ablaze. They stood silently and watched it burn for a long time.

  Later, back at the Palace, they discussed the war with Llorn. The death of Simcha and the surrender of the two remaining Riders wasn’t the end of it. There was still a large force on the march toward them. According to the two Riders, they had been set to march three days before and were less than two days out. They thought they were coming to consolidate Simcha’s victory.

  It was decided that Delno, Rita, and Brock would accompany the army to meet the men of Llorn. Hopefully, when the force from Llorn found themselves out numbered, and also facing three dragons with no dragons of their own for support, they would be willing to talk rather than fight. Jason and Gina, although healed and able to come along, would stay and watch the prisoners as well as act as backup should anything get past Palamore’s main force.

  The only possible problem was the mage who traveled with the army of Llorn. According to the two Riders, the mage was rather full of himself and thought that he was more than a match for any Rider. They might have trouble with him.

  “That reminds me,” Delno said, “I am supposed to find Jhren and seek his help. That was my original reason for coming to Palamore.”

  The Queen looked at him and said, “Jhren? He disappeared the same time the Dragon Blade did. We had assumed that he was involved in getting it out of the palace. Why would you need to see him?”

  “Because he was a friend of Corolan, and Geneva’s mother told me I should find him and ask him to instruct me in the use of magic,” he replied.

  “Well,” she remarked, “since Simcha had the blade, and he had little love of mages, and even less of Jhren, I think it’s a fair bet that the man is dead. Now, if you will all excuse me, I must retire; this has been a very long day.”

  The King, Norton, had finally put in an appearance. He had been watching one of the serving girls and not paying attention to anything else. He barely noticed when the Queen rose to leave. Delno wasn’t impressed with the man. He seemed removed from all that had transpired, but Delno suspected that he was more simple-minded than aloof.

  Brock got up and excused himself a few minutes later. He left for his room, but Delno noticed that the direction to Brock’s room was the same direction that the Queen had taken.

  By that point, the assembly had broken down into little more than a cocktail party, so Delno decided that he would plead fatigue also. He looked for Rita, who had gone to look for food about a quarter hour before. He found her at a buffet table being chatted up by several men; one of them was Nassari.

  Rita was delighted to see Delno and immediately took both of his hands in hers and kissed him lightly. While their faces were so close together, she whispered, “The men of this kingdom are absolutely lecherous, and that friend of yours is the worst of them.”

  “Don’t worry, Beautiful,” he whispered, “I’ll save you. Come to my room.”

  She raised one eyebrow and looked at him. Then she shrugged and said, “You lead, Handsome, I’ll follow.”

  The men were quite disappointed, though Nassari did wink at him. Then Delno remembered, “Nassari, you still have a letter for me?”

  “Oh, yes,” Nassari responded, “it’s in my room. Since it’s in the same direction you are going, and you are taking the reason I was staying here away with you,” he indicated Rita, “I may as well walk along and fetch it.”

  Nassari’s room was actually only two doors down the hall from his own. He retrieved the letter and gave it to Delno, who thanked him and moved on quickly before Nassari could get him caught up in a conversation. He had missed his friend, but so much had happened, he just wanted to go to his room and hold Rita while they rested.

  Once inside the room, he put the letter down to take off his shirt, and then became totally engrossed in watching Rita peel off her clothing layer by layer. When she was naked, he almost wished there had been more layers; it had been fun to watch.

  It wasn’t until he woke up about an hour before dawn that he remembered the letter. He got out of bed and called up enough energy to light a candle. “Nice trick, Handsome. I knew you were a handy guy to have around,” Rita said.

  “I’m sorry,” he replied, “I didn’t mean to wake you. We have to leave in a few hours, but you still have time to rest a bit, if you like.”

  “No, when I’m finished with the call of nature I’m going to take a bath. I was hoping I could get you to wash my back.”

  The palace was well accoutered, so each main guest room had its own bathing room and toilet. Rita headed into theirs and he said, “I’ll be in as soon as I’ve read the letter from my mother.”

  “I would never get between a boy and his mother,” she said as she disappeared through the door.

  He opened the letter and read:

  My dearest son Delno,

  I am not sure why I am writing this letter, but there are things that I have come to feel that you should know, especially now that you have gone away south. It is interesting that this letter will find you in Palamore, since that is where my father’s family is originally from. I know that I have told you that I am an orphan, but that is not entirely true. My mother died while giving me life, but my father was still alive when I settled in Larimar.

  He couldn’t raise me alone, so he left me with his kin. They were vanners, and I was raised in a wagon on the caravan trails. I saw my father several times a year, and my life was actually pretty good, though the work was hard. I loved my father, and I loved my foster parents, but I wanted so much more for my children than the life of a vanner. When I met your father in Larimar the year I came of age, I married him. He has been good husband and you boys couldn’t ask for a better father.

  I feel though, that you have more of your grandfather in you than you have of anyone else. Even your good looks come from my father’s side of the family. You look so much like your grandfather, though your height, I believe, comes from my mother’s side.

  My son, I’ve always told you that my maiden name was Warden, but warden simply means guardian. I took the name to distance myself from that life; my original maiden name, the name of my father, was Moreland. The last time I saw your grandfather, you were three. He even came in and looked in on you. He was so proud of you. He wanted to get to know you, but he had to leave. H
e didn’t know when he would return, and I haven’t seen him since.

  You bear his grandfather’s name. You should look for him when you reach Palamore. Delno, I know this will be hard for you to believe, but it is the truth. Your grandfather is a Dragon Rider; his name is Corolan Delno Moreland.

  Delno, I should have told you all of this long ago, but I thought that none of it would ever have bearing on your life. Son, you’ve never been able to lie to me, and I know there is something you aren’t telling me about your reasons for leaving. I feel that you are heading south and will somehow find yourself a part of what I left behind.

  There is so much more I would like to tell you about your grandfather, but time is short. Your father will be home any minute, and your friend Nassari must leave with the letter anyway. Perhaps you will return to me soon, my dearest son, and we can actually talk about this.

  Your loving mother,

  Laura Moreland Okonan

  Delno sat dumbstruck for a long time, then he re-read the letter several times. The information just didn’t change. Rita called him from the other room, and he went to her. He had her read the letter while he washed her back. When she finished, she, too, was dumbstruck for several moments.