Dragon Clan #3: Fleet's Story

by LeRoy Clary

  Nothing happened. The reason for the deer’s exit may have been something else, but Fleet had watched the deer carefully, and it had turned and looked right at the path they had taken. Somebody was there, probably examining the entire meadow before venturing out into the open.

  Then two men eased forward, knees bent as they searched the ground for footprints that didn’t exist. In their desire to remain hidden in the shadows, the men moved along the perimeter of the clearing, in the direction of the willow tree.

  Neither Fleet nor Camilla moved. They stood in deep shadow while the men were in the bright sunlight. If they stayed still, the men would not notice them. However, the two men looked to the far side of the clearing, and not behind. Camilla leaped forward.

  Her action took Fleet by as much surprise as the other two. He charged after, screaming a war cry to freeze his opponents. Camilla screamed too, her cry higher pitched and more fearsome. Her staff swung low, the end striking the nearest man on the side of his knee with an almost hollow sound. The other end of her staff swung higher, then she shoved it into the stomach of the man who was turning to face her, his hand already reaching for the hilt of a long knife.

  He made a sound of oomph, as he bent forward and sank to his knees before collapsing face down beside the other man who held his leg and wailed as he rolled back and forth.

  Fleet stood over them and said to Camilla, “I’m glad I could help.”

  Her face was flushed, and her breathing came in gasps that belied the minimal exertion of her attack. She was angry. She rolled the first man to his side with the end of her staff jabbing until he showed his face.

  “You!” she spat.

  Fleet said, “Who is it?”

  She ignored him. She spat. “You want to sell me for money? Well, I am going to take what you have instead. That might teach you a lesson.”

  She used her foot to turn the head of the other man so she could see his face. “I know you, also.”

  Camilla spun and headed for the path with Fleet at her heels. Back on the King’ Highway again, she said, “I didn’t want to talk in front of them. They think I may be Dragon Clan, but do not know for sure. I look like the boy who lived there, and that was good enough for them to throw me in a dungeon as long as they get paid.”

  Fleet said, “One of them will not walk right for a long time, if ever. The other may have more serious injuries.”

  “Or, both may heal by this evening. They’re brothers. When I lived here, they once sent their dogs after me and laughed as they attacked. I have a scar on one leg. If those dogs had brought me down, I’d be dead. They often threw rocks at me. One followed me, trying to find the cave where I slept.”

  “What did you do to make them hurt you like that?”

  She shrugged, then said in a smaller voice, “One rock hit me on my shoulder. The blacksmith came from nowhere and slapped them both. From then on they hated me. There were boys at the military school who chased me, too. But those men are mean and crazy.”

  They walked in the direction of Nettleton again, retracing their steps. She pointed to a farm in the lowlands below the town. A small farmhouse stood beside a barn. The house leaned while the barn looked strong and was probably a better place to live.

  Camilla turned down the lane and marched to the house, a reluctant Fleet at her heels. She threw the door open and found a young woman inside, who dived into a corner and huddled while watching the intruders with far more fear than was normal.

  Fleet reached out and took Camilla by her upper arm. “Look.”

  The fallen woman was little more than a girl. Her face wore bruises. She held her arms protectively in front of her.

  “Who are you?” Camilla demanded.

  She covered her face and trembled. Fleet pulled Camilla to the door and pointed outside. Then he went to her and knelt and said softly, “We’re not here to hurt you. We didn’t even know you were here.”

  “What do you want?”

  “The men who live here have done us wrong.”

  She turned away.

  Fleet said, “Who are you and why are you here?”

  “Mari. They bought me.”

  Camilla stepped back inside. She snapped, “Do you like it here?”

  Mari stared wide-eyed, then shook her head.

  “Who knows you’re here?” Fleet asked. She shook her head but didn’t answer.

  “Do you have a family?” Camilla asked.

  Another shake of her head.

  Camilla asked gently, “Would you leave if you could?”

  The girl whimpered, “I have no place to go.”

  Camilla drew in a deep breath and said, “I know a place. Come with us.”

  “They’ll kill me.”

  “They will never touch you again. Stand and come walk with me.” Camilla placed an arm around her frail shoulder and helped her stand.

  They walked outside and towards the road, Camilla comforting her every step. At the edge of the road, Camilla raised her eyes to Fleet. “We’ll meet you at the inn. Burn it. Burn everything to the ground.”

  Fleet watched them walk away, then turned and looked in the other direction where the path to the meadow lay. He didn’t take orders from Camilla. He acted on his own. Tinder and kindling lay beside the fireplace. His own flint sparked it to life.

  When one wall of the house had caught fire, he used a few sticks to head for the hay stored in the barn. Four men and a woman raced from the next farm, buckets, and shovels in hand. Fleet paused, then walked to meet them and said, “Stand back. I have more work to do.”

  They came to a halt.

  He held up the burning sticks. “This is for the barn. Do not get in my way. The two brothers attacked and tried to kill us.”

  After making sure no animals were in the barn, he set it afire to the amazement of the growing crowd of people. Not one attempted to stop him. When the barn blazed so hot they all stepped back, he turned to them in anger.

  “Did any of you know they kept a young girl? She’s hurt and covered with bruises.” Blank looks and fearful expressions answered. “My friend is taking her to the inn. Maybe a few of you should have prevented this.”

  He watched them closely to see if any flinched from his accusations. None did. He believed they had no idea.

  “I’m going to the inn and see if I can help.” He started walking.

  An older woman quick-stepped to his side. “I’ll go with you if you don’t mind. Believe me, we had nothing to do with this. Those brothers are so cruel we all stay away.”

  Fleet didn’t answer. He kept walking, his jaw set. He turned at a noise behind and found, at least, ten people followed. Word was spreading, even as the pall of smoke from the burning farm rose. He glanced down the valley and saw the barn falling in on itself, but he may have been the only one to see it. Everyone else had turned their backs to the fires as they heard the tale from their neighbors.

  As he entered the inn, Camilla said to him, “Give me your purse.”

  The innkeeper and the young serving woman huddled with the girl and Camilla. The innkeeper shook his head, “No, I need nothing to help her. She’ll work here until we find a proper home.”

  Camilla pulled her own purse and spilled several coins on the table. “Refusing will insult me.”

  The innkeeper made no move to scoop them into his hand. He looked at Camilla and said, “You need to go. Travel safe.”

  She stood, gathered her things and nodded to Fleet. They felt several hands pat their shoulders and brush their arms as they slipped through the gathering crowd. A few whispered well wishes. Then they were again walking beside each other on the king’s road.

  Later, Camilla pointed off to her right. “Copper Mountain. Where I lived.”

  “Want to go see it?”

  She hesitated, then shook her head.

  “You’re upset about that girl.”

  “It could have been me, you know. She was no older than I was when I went to live with our family. Th
ey could have taken me at any time.”

  “They thought you were a boy.”

  “And that is all that saved me from being her.”

  “Your mountain has almost no trees. It looks dead from here.”

  She allowed a faint smile, knowing he changed the subject and allowing it. “There used to be mines up there. Pits. Holes in the ground where they dug copper until it was all gone, but the ground is dead. You can’t grow anything.”

  “So why live there?”

  “Nobody goes up there to hunt or forage. It’s where they can’t find you, or so I thought. It turned out too many people knew I lived there.”

  Fleet awoke beside her and swung his staff so it raised high up and fell back onto his hands, ready to defend. He let it fall back into the carry position and did it again, careful to keep his fingers from wrapping around the shaft.

  He asked, “Where to, now?”

  “You’re the leader of this trip.”

  “I didn’t feel like the leader back there at the meadow. One minute I was teaching you how to handle your staff and the first time we find trouble you do all the fighting.”

  She grinned at him. “So that’s how you see it?”

  “I do.”

  “Well then, I suggest we make our way to the king’s Summer Palace before those men looking to collect a reward for my head find us. We should have never gone to Nettleton. I’m sorry.”

  Fleet walked several steps before saying, “I’m not.”

  “It put the king’s men are on alert that members of the Dragon Clan may be near.”

  “That’s not good, but what you did today was. There are people who should not be allowed to walk this earth, and today you made that clear. Those two brothers will not be welcome in Nettleton, and the girl will heal and have a future. I’d call that a good day.”

  She said, “May tomorrow be better.”

  They continued walking until midday. Fleet said, “Scuff your footprints and follow me.”

  She turned and left the road in two short hops, leaving no sign behind. Fleet continued away from the road, up a slight rise above the side of the road. He pulled to a stop and knelt, Camilla at his side.

  A wagon filled with straw pulled by a mule came into view. The mule didn’t hurry, and the driver allowed it set the pace. After it passed Camilla commented, “The wheels and mule will probably destroy most of our tracks. This is a good place to leave the road.”

  Exactly what he’d been thinking. Fleet was about to tell her so when he saw more movement. Two men came to a halt on the road and knelt, examining the dirt. One shook his head, and the other pointed back towards Nettleton.

  They stood as one and continued on the road. When they came to the place where Fleet and Camilla left the road, they halted again. One looked into the forest right where they crouched. They might just be curious, but they might talk of the footprints that left the road, too.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Fleet and Camilla held still as the two men look into the forest for whoever had left the road. Neither man wore a sword. Their clothing looked tired and dirty. Both were as alike as brothers, but the smaller one was obviously the leader. He placed a hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist and faced away as he spoke to the other.

  “Should we run?” Fleet whispered.

  Camilla pointed to the trees behind Fleet and motioned with her hand for him to scoot back. She moved the opposite way slowly. A waist-high shrub grew there, and she knelt on one knee to hide.

  Fleet settled behind a thick oak trunk that was hidden in the shadows of the canopy above. If he held still, the men would pass only steps away but never see him. Camilla was the same, but her stance looked more threatening. Her crouch was as a starting position people took in a foot race. They could have continued on the road, and all would have been fine, but they decided to investigate.

  The two men left the road, one behind the other. They watched the ground on the path for a sign, never looking up until the second one was a few steps by Fleet. Camilla sprang from her spot, landing on both feet in front of them, her staff held at the ready despite the limited space. Trees, shrubs, and bushes prevented full use of her staff, but her attitude stilled both men.

  “Who are you?” she demanded.

  The man in front turned his head to pass a signal to the other. They tensed, ready to attack.

  Camilla snapped the end of her staff and struck him on his elbow just as his knife came free of the scabbard. It fell to the ground as he howled in pain. The second man reached for his knife. He hadn’t seen Fleet.

  Fleet silently stepped behind him, pausing only two paces away. In his soft voice, he said, “I wouldn’t do that.”

  The second man halted, standing still as if he was made of stone.

  Camilla put the end of her staff near the stomach of the first man. A jab would drop him to his knees. “I asked who you are.”

  “Jeb, and my cousin Winthrop.”

  Camilla shook her head. “I don’t care about your names. Why are you following us?”

  “We aren’t. We’re just going the same way.”

  Camilla waited, watched the insolent grin he wore, then without warning shoved the end of her staff as hard as she could into the man’s stomach. He folded and slowly fell to the ground, holding his middle and trying to breathe. She moved ahead to the other. “You have one chance to tell me.”

  “The reward. We don’t have nothing against you, but if somebody is getting rich, it might as well be us.” His words spilled from him as if exhaling after holding his breath for a long time. “That don’t mean you have to call a dragon from the sky to burn us. You’re not going to do that, right? We meant no harm, missy.”

  She raised the staff in a threatening manner. “Shut up. Now.”

  “Not another word, like my old daddy used to say. He thought I talked too much, but he was just like you. Ask me a question and get mad when I answer.”

  “Shut up!” Camilla tapped him on his shoulder.

  “You don’t gotta do that. All you gotta do is ask and I’ll . . .”

  Fleet reached a hand around the man’s head and covered his mouth with his hand. “What do you want to do with these two?”

  “Turn this one loose so he can join our pursuers and we’ll always know where they are,” she snorted. “He’s the opposite of you, and now I can see how much I appreciate your quiet.”

  “Kill them?” Fleet asked, winking at her.

  “Maybe. Or what if we can get them to promise not to talk about us going to Castle Warrington?”

  Fleet half-turned the man’s head so they looked at each other eye to eye. The broken teeth and foul breath made him wish he’d have taken the man at his word. He asked, “Will you promise not to tell?”

  “Course I will. What do you take me for? I can keep a secret as well as you.”

  “We’ll have to tie you up so nobody thinks you’re working with us, and that you’re telling the truth,” Fleet said.

  “Sure. Sure, we got no rope, but you could rip his shirt,” he pointed to the other man, who was struggling to stand and looking at him with pure venom, “and use the strips to tie both of us. Somebody will come along the road sooner or later and get us free.”

  Camilla smiled and spoke as if they were all the best of friends, “We have to talk. But if you use your knife to help rip his shirt into strips, we’d appreciate it. Can you also tie him for us?”

  The knife was already in his hand. He reached for the other’s shirt. He resisted. They whispered back and forth and finally the shirt came off. Camilla and Fleet had moved off a few steps and watched, fascinated. The talker ripped the shirt and tied the other, hands and feet.

  Camilla said, “Check the knots before we leave.”

  “Okay, but I’ll bet they’re tight.”

  “Is anybody going to believe we went to Castle Warrington?” she asked.

  “Probably not. But maybe. It might cause a little confusion.”

  Ca
milla said, “Tie the other one and let’s go.”

  Fleet knelt and started tying the talker, threatening to gag him if he didn’t shut up. A quick check of the other’s knots made him want to loosen some of the strips, but he resisted. Camilla was already heading away, and he jogged to catch up with her.

  She said, “The Summer Palace is east and north of here. Warrington northwest.”

  “Why are you so upset?”

  “Because I made the mistake. I thought since I was familiar with Nettleton we should go there and practice our roles. At the Summer Palace, a wrong word might cost us our lives, or chase our quarry into hiding. We should have gone somewhere else. A place where both of us are unknown.”

  “How could you anticipate they’d think you were related to the boy who lived there years ago?”

  “Those two back there on the road won’t be the only ones chasing a fortune in the reward the king has on our heads. That’s the second try, and we were not there a full day.”

  Fleet decided to shut up about it. Going to Nettleton had been a mistake. Not he, nor the council, nor she had foreseen the danger, but in retrospect, they should have. Even Robin, who had lived in Nettleton, hadn’t anticipated the problem. It happened. Go on, and continue the quest as best as possible.

  He said, “Nettleton is behind us. Forget it. We made it out of there alive and with any luck we’re about to disappear.”

  She trudged on, forcing him to follow at his best speed, however as the day wore on her shoulders straightened and her demeanor improved. Fleet struggled to keep pace with the young woman, yet maintained a cautious distance, physical and mental.

  The trees had new pale green leaves that would turn in the fall, then cover the ground in shades of yellows, reds, and browns. Last year’s leaves still littered the ground. Pine and spruce grew higher up on the slopes. Above those trees it was almost barren, the tree line often visible in the larger mountains. Some still had snow at the peaks. The air tasted of spring.

  She asked, “Do you think those men got themselves free yet?”