King's Dragon: Chronicles of the Dragon-Bound: Book 2

by William Culbertson

  The Ugori welcomed Dax, Treyhorn, and the dragons back with a party. It was only Third Night, but they declared his return a good enough reason for a new cycle to start. That was not common, but Dax had seen it before. The Ugori responded eagerly to any good excuse for a celebration.

  Once Dax and Treyhorn had reassured the Ugori that the two dragons were thinking animals who could understand speech, the Ugori welcomed them to the party as well. Markadamous ordered two additional cows slaughtered out and added to the roasting pit. During the evening’s eating and drinking, both Kahshect and Namkafnir reclined at the edge of camp, eating from the generous servings of beef provided them. A few of the more adventuresome Ugori even introduced themselves to the dragons—especially after Markadamous had presented himself and his family early in the evening.

  Dax was happy to be back among the Ugori. In a way they reminded him of his own plight. They were stuck out here next to, but not in, the power center of East Landly—a place none of them really belonged. He let that thought die and did not follow it. He especially avoided the next question trembling to be asked: Where did he belong? Instead, he forced himself to relax and appreciate what was happening around him.

  He took a small sip from his mug and looked over at Kahshect. The dragon was flicking and twitching the tip of his tail in front of a boy. The entranced lad tried to catch the wiggling member. The dragon teased the child like one might tease a dog with a piece of rope. Time and again, the youngster tried to sneak up on the trembling tip of flesh, only to have Kahshect jerk it away when he grabbed for it. Soon, the boy’s mother looked around for her child. She gasped in horror when she saw what he was doing. Her husband, seeing her react, turned to see what was happening. In a moment the husband recognized the playful nature of what the dragon was doing. He put a hand on his wife’s arm to calm her. He looked up and nodded to Dax with a smile. Dax smiled back, and the boy continued his fruitless pursuit.

  After a minute Dax got up and tapped the child on the shoulder. “Why don’t you climb up on his back and slide down his side.”

  “He’d let me do that?” The boy was wide-eyed with excitement.

  “Sure.” Dax nodded. “He likes youngsters like you.”

  “Because they remind me of you.” Kahshect’s thought made Dax smile. “I suppose you mean to let the rest of them crawl on me as well.”

  “Only if you want them to,” Dax chuckled. “But I know you do.”

  Once the other youngsters saw what was going on, they joined in the fun as well. Kahshect was soon the center of attention, with a dozen or so boys and girls climbing, sliding, and whooping as they played on the dragon. The adults in the area watched the children entertain themselves. Dax was amused when Namkafnir quietly got up and removed himself from the area. Treyhorn looked at Dax with a smile and spread her hands in resignation. Her bondmate liked people well enough, but he did not have the same sense of play as Kahshect.

  Eventually the party wound down. The children wore themselves out with Kahshect and tottered off to bed. Markadamous sat with Dax for a long time, but he finally left to find Pulchra and turn in for the evening. Dax was ready to head for his own tent when Pulla came over and sat down in the seat Markadamous had vacated.

  “Commander Dax, can I speak with you for a moment?”

  Dax smiled. “Sure, Pulla. It’s good to see you. I haven’t had a chance to ask you yet, but did Scarlet behave himself while I was gone?”

  The light was dim, but Dax thought he saw her blush. “Actually I wanted to talk to you about Scarlet.”

  Dax had a sinking feeling in his stomach. What now? he thought to himself. Out loud he said, “Please. Sit down. What’s on your mind?”

  For a moment she sat staring at the fire, then she looked at him. “Sir, I know Scarlet doesn’t have any kin nearby to ask about this.”

  She hesitated, and Dax encouraged her. “Yes, his mother lives up near Timberlake.”

  “He told me that.” She nodded. “What I want to do is talk to someone who is close to him.” She paused.

  “I’ve known him for years.” Dax nodded. “We trained together at Iron Moor.”

  Pulla nodded in return. “And you are our commander. That’s why I came to you.” Her message was coming in fits and starts. Dax sat and waited for her to find the words. “I . . .” Pulla hesitated then blurted out, “I want to know if you think it would be all right if I asked Scarlet to marry me?”

  Her question caught him by surprise. Of all the possible concerns that might have prompted her to come to him, this was not one Dax had expected. He knew Ugori women were strong and independent, but he had not considered their marriage customs.

  “Oh, my goodness!”

  Dax sensed Kahshect’s amused reaction to Pulla’s question, but he ignored it. “Have you talked with Scarlet about this?” he asked.

  “Well, not directly.” She looked at her feet for a moment. “We’ve talked some about being together.” Her eyes got distant. “I think he would like to, but he’s afraid.”

  “I didn’t think Scarlet was afraid to take on any challenger with his sword.” There was a leer of double meaning in the dragon’s comment.

  “Quiet, please,” Dax thought. “This is important.” He sensed a little contrition from the dragon, but there was still a layer of amusement in Kahshect’s mind.

  Dax sat and thought before he answered. Scarlet was his best friend. They had been through many experiences together. But was his friend ready for something like this? Finally he ordered his thoughts. “Scarlet’s a good man. One of the best I know. Now you are asking me if he would be a good husband?” He paused and thought about his own question. Eventually he nodded. “Yes, I think he would be an excellent husband for the right woman. I know he has taken an unusual interest in you.”

  Pulla smiled at him. “I hear a warning there. You’re saying that Scarlet likes the ladies, aren’t you?”

  “He does,” agreed Dax. “That would be my only reservation to giving you my blessing.” He pondered the idea for a while longer. “Tell you what. I’m going to try to get the Dark Horse Rangers approved for field maneuvers. You and most of the rest of the camp will go along. How about if you two see how things work out while we are on the move? If you are still speaking to Scarlet after the stress and strain of being on campaign as well as training, I think you two might have a future together.”

  Pulla smiled broadly. She leaned forward and gave Dax a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you so much, sir.”

  “I wish you both the best, Pulla. Good night.”

  Dax turned around to look at Kahshect. “I could feel you laughing through that whole conversation,” he thought to the dragon. “The poor girl is serious.”

  “So do you think Scarlet is serious?”

  The dragon’s skepticism was obvious, and he had gone straight to the heart of the problem. Dax was uncertain. “Scarlet seems different this time. Maybe there is something between them. In the next couple of weeks, we . . . rather, he and she, should know more. I’ll be interested to see where this takes Scarlet.”

  “Markadamous would make an interesting father-in-law.” After a meaningful pause, the dragon continued. “If Scarlet breaks her heart, he would also make an interesting enemy.”

  Dax cringed at that thought. “That’s why I’ve got my fingers crossed. I need to have a chat with Scarlet.”

  #

  Dax had trouble falling asleep that night. His head was filled with thoughts of their trip to the Dragon Lands. Something was behind the recent intrusions by human voyagers, but he could think of nothing plausible.

  Rolling over on his back, he put his hands behind his head. Being back with the Ugori was comfortable. At the same time, it reminded him that although they had accepted him as their leader, he really did not fit in with them.

  He stuck a foot out from underneath his blanket. But Scarlet. Had Scarlet found someone to love? Would they be happy together? He thought about Scarlet, but his thoughts wand
ered back to his own happiness—his own future.

  Uncomfortable alone, Dax rolled out of bed. He picked up a heavy blanket and went out to find the dragons. Kahshect was curled up for the night in a nearby pasture. As Dax approached, Kahshect made room for him at his side. Dax spent the rest of the night sleeping and thinking beside his bondmate.

  Chapter 10

  Colonel Lindure, head of personnel for the Frohliem City regional lancer divisions, was up to his neck in work and worry. Recruiting season had not gone well for the second year in a row, and now shortages of soldiers had started to show up in several battalions. In the last few months, eight different officers had resigned their commissions. He had refused each of them, but now his refusals had come up on appeal. They could lose some key people.

  He sighed and stared out his office window. At this rate, he would be forced to recommend to the commanding general that they start conscripting men into the lancers again. He really did not want to do that. When the general had given Lindure the office, Lindure had promised him he would use all his ability to make sure the lancers did not have to resort to the hated conscriptions. The last time they had called a class of conscripts, the city of Falls Meadow had come close to rising in open revolt.

  No, he could not recommend conscriptions. That was out of the question. Looking at the pile of paperwork on the appeals, he had a devious thought. Could they increase the period of enlistment? He mulled the idea for a minute or two. The current enlistment period was four years. Raising it to a full five years might cause even more problems with recruiting, but what about adding a few extra months? Recruiters could still call it four years, a rounded figure, if not a precise one. Would it make enough difference to matter?

  He pushed the appeal papers to the side of his desk and got up to pace. The awards and medals he had won were displayed on his office walls. They were a welcome reminder of his success as a young officer. He sighed. Now he was what? A paper shuffler. How had that happened?

  Oh, yes. Sirrella. She had been such a sweet little thing, and her father was a general. Once they were married, her father had arranged a job at headquarters for him. “Wouldn’t do to have my daughter’s husband out in the field instead of at home, keeping her company,” he had said. “Besides, who knows when some unenlightened wild man might put a spear in you?”

  After three children, Sirrella was no longer sweet—nor little for that matter. Her father, his mentor, was dead. Now he was stuck with a desk job with no one to champion his advancement in a corps where promotions to the top ranks needed supporters at the highest levels. Unless, of course, one managed to cover oneself in glory on the field of battle—not something he could do sitting in an office. Besides, there had been nothing but minor skirmishes on East Landly’s borders for years. He would shuffle papers for the rest of his service.

  His aide knocked on Lindure’s office door, interrupting his bitter, well-practiced career review. The aide did not wait, but stuck his head in and announced, “Your appointment is here, sir.”

  Lindure looked at him uncomprehendingly before he remembered the favor he had promised Montevy. “Oh, the mercenary from Iron Moor who’s been working with the Ugori?” He sighed. Here was a distraction from the manpower problem. On the other hand, he was in no hurry to deal with anything related to the Ugori either. With a twinge of pique, Lindure looked back at his desk. “Have him wait another quarter hour before you show him in.”

  Back at his desk, Lindure started a rebuttal to the first appeal of the refusal of resignation. He had worked up a fair feeling of indignation by the time his aide popped his head in one more time. “Sir? Are you ready to see your appointment?”

  With a sigh Lindure nodded and laid down his pen. He remained seated when the officer walked through the door. The fellow was tall and well-built, a person who obviously spent much time out of doors. The scar down the left side of his face marked him as battle tested he thought a little enviously. The officer’s eyes were dark and commanding. Pity the recruit who finds himself up for disciplinary charges in front of this one, he thought with amusement. Not that that would impress any of the Ugori. Lindure had trouble meeting the man’s eyes, and that added to his irritation.

  “Commander Gard Daxdendraig, sir.” The man gave the proper indoor nod of recognition to a superior officer.

  Yes, yes.” Lindure nodded. “What is it that you want?” At the risk of encouraging him to stay, he gestured for the commander to take a seat.

  It only took a moment for him to understand the gist of the request. The man wanted to take the detachment of Ugori on some sort of training exercise up to the Gemmick hill country near their home territory. Train the Ugori? Why was he even bothering with the pack of hooligans?

  “The timing is awkward.” Daxdendraig looked abashed. “I hope you can overlook one difficulty.” He hesitated and looked down. “The Dark Horse Rangers would not be available to show the unity of East Landly in three months at the military reception for the ambassador from Thara and his party.”

  Lindure’s devious mind leaped ahead. After the Ugori’s rude display at the jubilee ceremony, getting the unmanageable louts away from the city would be ideal. They would be serving the kingdom at the same time they were out of the crown’s sight.

  He nibbled nervously at the knuckle of his right thumb. How could he let the king know, casually of course, that this was his doing? The planning meeting. That would do it. Next week he had to attend the first meeting to plan the reception for the Tharan diplomats, and the king would read out his goals for the event. Lindure pictured himself asking if his permission for the Ugori training mission was a problem. The timing would work. If the king wanted the Ugori to march, unlikely as that seemed, there would still be time to order their return . . .

  The commander cleared his throat, interrupting his thoughts. Lindure looked up and saw the man watching him. “Yes, Commander?”

  “Sir,” Daxdendraig said, “I have prepared a list of supplies we would need if you were to approve the exercise. We would require at most two supply trains from the quartermaster’s corps to rendezvous with us. We shouldn’t need additional supplies, just men and wagons to move the material. Perhaps a training mission in itself?”

  Lindure smiled to himself as he realized what was happening. The man was playing him. His proposal offered Lindure a tempting solution to a problem others had yet to recognize—a strong incentive to approve the request. This was no accident. Daxdendraig was good. Very good. No doubt about that.

  However, Lindure was also good. A cautious bureaucrat would not strike too rapidly, no matter how tempting the bait. His first thought had been to give the commander what he wanted and say, “Why should I care what you do with the miserable whoresons? Take them out. Train them. Lose them. They are more trouble than they are worth.”

  No, restraint was better. Less chance of error. “Tell you what I’ll do.” He steepled his fingers and touched them to the bottom of his chin. “Give me a day or two to think about it. I’ll look over your estimates of the logistics required and discuss it with my superiors.”

  “Shall I return tomorrow, sir?”

  The man was annoyingly demanding for a subordinate. Lindure scowled, and waved his hand. “Set something up with my aide for the second day. I should have an answer ready for you by then.”

  The commander stood and once again gave the proper indoor recognition to a superior. “I will look forward to our meeting.” Daxdendraig turned smartly on his heel and left the office.

  Go kiss the king’s backside, Lindure thought bitterly at the closed door. He resented how the man had intimidated and manipulated him. Of course he was going to give the commander what he wanted, but the officer had led him along by his nose.

  He sighed and looked at the stack of appeals he had yet to process. It was a good thing the man was only a mercenary. A man with his ability could easily have gained the command of the lancers if he had been among the wellborn of East Landly.


  Chapter 11

  The column of Ugori stretched out in front of Dax, not as ragged as it had been the first few days, but still lacking the organization it should have. The Ugori had been encamped near Frohliem City for too long. Now they had to relearn day-to-day routine discipline to coordinate all elements of their forces and supplies while traveling. Dax was busy from morning to night with an endless stream of questions, orders, and admonishments.

  I must have been out of my mind, he thought. Kahshect would have had a cutting reply, but the dragon was off in the Dragon Lands again. Dax had gotten used to having him around during their trip to Conclave, and now he found himself carrying on both sides of an imagined mental conversation.

  The Ugori marched under a new banner. The East Landly flag was at the fore as usual. Now, however, the Ugori’s long curling, silky black pennants carried a stylized, meandering portrayal of a silver dragon on the black background. Kahshect had visited the encampment just before they marched and had immediately seen the dragon emblem as flattering in the extreme. He had preened unmercifully. Kahshect also made sure Dax noted that it was a dragon portrayed on their banners and not the commander’s portrait. The dragon’s pride had amused Dax, and the Ugori’s esprit de corps had pleased him.

  The purpose of Kahshect’s visit had been to escort a pair of messenger dragus to accompany Dax. Treyhorn and Renshau both agreed that Dax had to be in closer contact with the dragon-bound while Kahshect was gone. While in the Dragon Lands, Kahshect was so distant Dax could feel the dragon’s emotions, and vice versa, but they could not communicate. Now the dragu Skit and his hatch brother Skat would relay messages while the dragon-bound tried to sort out what was behind the human incursions that had stirred up the Dragon Lands.