The Dragon of Despair

by Jane Lindskold

  Violet's mouth drew into a little wrinkle of disapproval. It was quite clear that she did not precisely believe what she had been told about how Blind Seer and Firekeeper had tracked Citrine to the gates of Thendulla Lypella, nor about Bee Biter's report.

  Or maybe, Elise thought with sudden insight, she fears this as any sane person wouldùas hints of magic beyond the honest talents. It is good that she isn't intended to learn what Melina can do.

  Elise had been prepared for the ambassador's protest, though not for the rather breezy way in which it was presented. She wondered if Violet was frightened. Certainly the attacks on her residence and her servants gave reason, and it might explain her sudden fondness for quantities of wine.

  "It is not a matter of Citrine's happiness," Elise said rather haughtily. "It is a matter of right. Consolor Melina was exiled from Hawk Haven, declared a traitor, and had all her property stripped from her. That includes her right to her children. Citrine does not belong to her. Citrine belongs to the family that is now headed by her older brother, Jet Shield.

  "Moreover," Elise went on, continuing through the ambassador's attempted interruption, "Citrine was given into my custody, and, should something happen to me, to the custody of my companions in order of precedence. Therefore, my rights have been violated. The girl may have foolishly run away, but if she is kept after I request her return then it is no longer a case of a runaway child. It is kidnapping."

  Elise finished with a flat finality that jolted Violet Redbriar out of whatever comfortable haze the wine had cast over her. She looked quite grim, reached for her glass, reconsidered, and poured herself some of the chilled tea that had been brought for Elise.

  "The matter is quite serious," Violet admitted, "when presented in that fashion. What do you wish me to do?"

  "I have drafted a letter requesting my charge's return to me," Elise replied promptly.

  She put out a hand and Derian placed in it the final draft of the missive that they had labored over for several hours the night before. It had been essential that the request be firm, but not so firm that making Citrine disappear permanently would be the easiest way to eliminate any uncomfortable situation between the two kingdoms.

  "I would like you to review this," Elise said. "Offer suggestions as to how it could be rephrased, have it recopied onto better paper, and then arrange for the signed document to be delivered to the appropriate person in Thendulla Lypella."

  Violet fumbled in a side pocket of her chair, removed a spectacle case, and perched a round-lensed pair of glasses on her nose.

  "The letter is admirable," she said when she had concluded her perusal. "I suggest a few minor changes to make certain that there is no room for misinterpretationùa matter of schematics, nothing more. I would also like your permission to include a copy in New Kelvinese. I can do the translation myselfùI would insist on doing so, given the sensitivity of the matter. I simply do not wish to leave the choice of which word to use for certain technical terms to some clerk in Thendulla Lypella, especially one who might be prompted to shift the tone to make us seem more aggressive than we areùor less."

  "That sounds wise," Elise agreed with a crisp nod. "Derian and I will wait so that I can sign both copies."

  And in that way I can assure myself that you're not slipping anything into the text. I hate not being able to trust even one of my own king's sworn representatives!

  Violet Redbriar gave a slight smile that hinted she knew precisely the drift of Elise's thoughtsùand approved of them.

  "Since security is to our interest," she said, "and I hate to think what might happen if the word that Consolor Melina's birth daughter has joined her reached the street, I will also do the scribe's copy myself. I write a good hand."

  Elise nodded her acceptance, and was surprised when Derian spoke up. He'd kept his silence to this point, serving as witness now that the need to bodyguard her through the streets wasùuntil they headed back to Hasamemorri'sùended.

  "I wonder if that very information is what has stirred up the people," he said thoughtfully. "It would match. Firekeeper did not meet any but the usual hostility…"

  "Not uncommon for someone who travels about with a huge wolf, I suspect," Violet said, rising from her chair.

  "Not," Derian agreed, "though less here than in Hawk Haven. The New Kelvinese seem to take the peculiar in stride. However, what I was thinking is that Firekeeper and Wendee both searched for Citrine and didn't have any difficulties. Elise, coming home a few hours later, met some. That would be enough time for some loose-tongued clerkùsay the one at the Petitioner's Gate Firekeeper mentionedùto spread a few delicious stories."

  Violet nodded approvingly.

  "That could well be the case, and such rumors would spread to his peers among the working classesùcommon clerks are not members of the sodalitiesùfaster than among their betters. However, this does not answer all our problems. My embassy had been troubled before any word of Citrine's disappearance could have been known."

  Derian looked disappointed.

  "I guess I'm wrong then. Kind of you to listen to my wanderings."

  Violet smiled.

  As Elise had nothing to add, she studied the titles of various books Ambassador Redbriar was removing from her shelves, all of which proved to be guides to etiquette and language.

  "I hadn't realized there were so many," Elise said, picking up one, "and so varied."

  "There are more than these," Violet said, moving over to her desk and pulling out a clean sheet of paper. "These are simply my favorites. I am rather surprised that you didn't translate your letter yourself. Your command of the language is good."

  "Better spoken than in composition," Elise admitted promptly. "Though I do well enough with the written material when I have dictionaries to hand."

  They waited while Ambassador Redbriar made both her translation and her copy. Elise found herself a fairly simply written textbook that proved to contain stories that were almost familiar, for many of them had been adapted into Wendee's beloved plays. Derian amused himself with a book relating local history and legends, translated and annotated for the foreigner by none other than their host.

  "All done but the direction," Ambassador Redbriar announced some time later. "To whom do you wish this sent? Consolor Melina herself?"

  Elise frowned.

  "It would be too easy for her to ignore it," she said. "This must become a public matter. Who do you recommend? The Dragon Speaker, perhaps?"

  "Once perhaps," Violet said slowly, "but these days… Apheros has not seemed himself, and as we have discussed, his policies seem so closely linked to those of Consolor Melina. If you wish the information to become public, then I would suggest Xarxius."

  "The Dragon's Claw?" Elise asked.

  "That's right," Ambassador Redbriar said. "Such would be quite within proper etiquette. Xarxius is in charge of foreign trade and this could be seenùespecially in a slaveholding stateùas a matter of goods misappropriated."

  Elise choked slightly at the concept, but she couldn't disagree. Derian, too, was nodding, clearly pleased to have Xarxius brought into the matter.

  "Xarxius, then," Elise said.

  She bent over the letters the ambassador had finished dusting with sand, scanned them, and found them accurate to a fault.

  "Beautiful," she said, speaking louder than she meant in her admiration.

  Derian was looking over Elise's shoulderùthough, of course, the New Kelvinese script meant nothing to him.

  "I'm not surprised," he said. "I've been reading your book, ma'am, and it's wonderful. Where could I get a copy? I like to take one home to my family."

  The ambassador surprised them all by flushing with pleasure.

  "I have a few spares," Violet said, "and would be pleased to make a gift of one to the king's newest counselor."

  Elise and Derian left the embassy after witnessing the packet containing the letter and its copy being handed to a messenger. Hours had passed and the streets were m
uch quieter than when they had arrived. Even so, Elise thought she could feel hundreds of pairs of angry eyes watching them from the shadows. Despite herself, she shivered.

  NORTHWEST WAS NOT THE ONLY Beast agitating for going after the humans during the several days the settlers continued their rooting in the earth to retrieve bones and dead bodies. In some cases, the settlers consigned these bodies to fires, then inexplicably shifted wood from ash and carefully packed up the ash.

  "They've been bitten by rabid squirrels!" Northwest exclaimed during one particularly odd interlude involving the hauling of boxes of bones to one of the wagons and lots of wailing on the part of the humans. "We would be doing their own kind a favor by slaughtering them, for surely the madness is contagious. Look how even some of those new come here are dripping water from their eyes and howling like the rest."

  A bear rose on his hind legs to get a clearer look and dropped heavily down again, waggling his heavy head in consternation.

  "They do seem out of their wits," he agreed. "I can understand digging up dead meat. The maggots and worms are sweet and flavorful, but they're burning the ripest carcasses. Madness indeed!"

  "And it would be so simple," hissed a young puma, sleek in her young strength and half-mad herself from the proximity of easy hunting in the form of the well-fed horses. "Drop from above and a quick biteùeven a whack from a paw would be enough. These two-legs are so frail."

  Elation beat her wings in frantic disapproval.

  "I tell you, they are not madùnot as two-legs goùand you might find their hides tougher and their teeth sharper than you imagine. Those newcomers are rated great killers among their own kind."

  Her protest alone wouldn't have been enough, but Shining Coat and Rip, supported by an old raven and a more temperate puma, reminded the others that the greater will of the Beasts was not to move against the humansùat least not at this time and in this place.

  The bear alone had the seniority to disagreeùat least on the part of his own peopleùbut was by nature a calm creature unless angered. Moreover, he was not at all certain that dining on meat from clearly mad creatures would be healthy, and argued against the attack on the grounds that the Beasts might become infected.

  "We have enough to contend with," he grumbled, "fattening for winter, without having our eyes run with water and our throats fill with meaningless howls."

  So the humans were permitted to depart unharmed, never realizing how close they had come to not departing at all. When their long line of wagons and burdened beasts had crossed the gap and made the descent far enough that all the Beasts were sure they were well and truly gone there was much celebrating.

  Watch would be kept on the keep being constructed to guard the gap, but as a good deal of time must pass before the wooden structure now being erected could be fully replaced by a more impregnable one of stone, the Beasts felt content that their territory was their own again, unthreatened by two-legged presence.

  Elation was among those delegated to watch the remaining humans, a task she was flattered to accept but for one thing.

  "We should send word to Firekeeper," she said, decisive in her awareness of her new importance as an expert on humanity. "She will be worrying lest the promise made to her by King Tedric not be kept."

  Shining Coat looked up from the punishing tongue-lashing she was giving to an overadventurous pup, and considered.

  "Falcon, your wisdom shames me," she replied. "Little Two-legs was my pup for many seasons, and I have seen the changes in her since she went among the humans. You are right. She will worry."

  Rip added, "Let the wolves handle the matterùat least to a point. We can howl the news north in relays. Our people venture farther east in the lands to which Firekeeper has gone because there are mountains to hide our traces. It should be easy enough to contact one of the winged folk who nest in that area."

  "I can give you a sign from the Mothers that will assure cooperation from all in that region," Elation said, delighted with this plan. Wings were good when distance must be traveled in person, but wolf howls were even faster than flight. "I learned them when Bee Biter was being counseled before he accompanied Firekeeper north."

  "Good then." Shining Coat let the puppy go, ignoring the indignant growls that asserted its summer maturity. "We can start the calls tonight. They will ripple through the rocky reaches. Firekeeper will know before many more sunsets that faith has been keptùon both sides of the mountain."

  THE SUN HAD JUST FILLED THE MORNING SKY when Bee Biter came to where Blind Seer and Firekeeper were wrestling in the hayloft of the stable.

  "News!" the little kestrel shrieked.

  "Of Citrine?" Firekeeper asked, rolling over and brushing straw from her hair.

  "No," squawked Bee Biter, somewhat annoyed, "from home!"

  "Even better," Firekeeper said. "Tell!"

  "Three days ago, the humans in New Bardenville left. West of the Iron Mountains is ours again, but for a small flock left to act as watchers against their own kind in the gapùand those watchers are watched carefully lest they become too bold and forget their place."

  Firekeeper and Blind Seer howled their pleasureùcompletely outraging the much put-upon horses and bringing Derian from the kitchen at a run.

  "What are you up to?" Derian shouted angrily, soothing Roanne as best he could. Being who he was, his best was enough.

  "News from home," Firekeeper said, somewhat contritely. "New Bardenville is no more. King Tedric has kept his promise."

  "Did you ever doubt him?" Derian asked, moving among the rest of the horses and assuring them that mad wolves were not about to eat them.

  "Until the prey is dead, the hunt may fail," Firekeeper said stiffly, not wanting to confess just how much she had worried, and how heavy her heart had been.

  Blind Seer asked Bee Biter, "Was anyone killed in this hunting?"

  Firekeeper froze, her joy trembling like an icicle in the wind.

  "No," Bee Biter replied. "The report does not go into details, but does say that two-legs and Beasts never met in open conflict. Rather, more two-legs came and took the other flock away."

  Firekeeper felt herself melt and knew from Derian's expression that he was aware of her distraction, if not the cause.

  "And no one was hurt or killed in the breaking of New Bardenville," she explained. "Not human, not Beast."

  "That's good news," Derian said sincerely, "good enough that I can forgive you for upsetting the horsesùand the neighbors. How'd the news get to you so quickly?"

  "Wolf howls and falcon wings," Firekeeper answered, her expression smug. "When the Beasts choose they are terribly strong."

  Only afterward did she regret her boast, for Derian went away very thoughtful and looking less happy than he had just a moment before.

  BY THE TENTH DAY of Hummingbird Moon, Lord Polr was certain that he would be able to get all the New Bardenville members safely away. They were over the mountains and already dissolving from a community into smaller groups looking toward their own advantage.

  He wrote King Tedric:

  Although the delay needed to deal with the settlement's dead was regrettable, I think it was for the best. The settlers departed with some dignity. They hope Your Majesty will accept the remains of the dead of the first Bardenville for respectable burial. The decision is, as I most humbly assert, your own and no other's, but I think acceptance of their request would go far toward bringing them back into the fold.

  We also brought away their own dead, most of them victims of the illness and accidents such a venture must be prone to, but some killed in rather sinister circumstances. This last I would prefer to report to you in person, when I have had more of an opportunity to collect information from as many of the settlers as possible and so to construct a complete picture.

  Cremation was necessary in the case of these more recent dead since we could not move partially decayed bodies without inviting the sicknesses that hover around them as a ward against disrespectful treatment
of the deceased. The settlers accepted this necessity with grace, but the rude facilities we could construct for the purpose meant that they were greatly shaken by the event. I regret the necessity, but saw no way to avoid it.

  The remaining garrison is constructing a keep from which they can view the surrounding area and prevent unwelcome passage west. Materials scavenged from New Bardenville, thanks to Your Majesty's foresight and preparation, will hasten the construction and the keep should be solidly in place well before winter. As you instructed, immediate work on stone sheathing for the base will begin when the first phase of construction is complete.

  A few of the settlers offered to remain and assist. I refused lest we end up with the rebels all using this excuse to remain. I am returning to Eagle's Nest as soon as the rebels are dispersed. Some have requested relocation, for they gave up everything they had to make this venture. I have written to my brother, Duke Gyrfalcon, to request that he take in some of these. I do not doubt that he will do so, for even the settlers' children are seasoned beyond their years by this experience. Perhaps other heads of houses can be convinced to do the same. I do not think that these people were so much rebels against your authority as they were ambitious beyond prudence.

  Upon my return, I hope to beg audience with Your Majesty. There are things I have learned that may be of interest to you and guide your future decisions regarding the western reaches of your kingdom.

  Polr considered writing more or saying less, but the fast rider was saddled and waiting. If he hurried, this missive could be relayed to the capital in a handful of days. He settled for signing and sealing the letter, but his heart was not easy as he posted it.

  Eyes once opened to what might live in the darkness do not close easily again in sleep.

  Chapter XXVIII

  IN THE DAYS that had passed since Citrine's arrival in Thendulla Lypella the girl discovered that life with her mother was not going to be anything like what she had dreamed.

  At first it was promising indeed. She was moved from her first room into a suite in Cloud Touching Spire. It was a lovely place, like a private palace, decorated all in pale shades of green and gold. The bed was huge and had a canopy with gauzy side curtains that could be drawn shut or left open. The sitting roomùor playroom, depending on Citrine's moodùwas quite elegant. One of the tall cabinets held about a hundred dolls. A big chest held puzzles and games that just one child could play alone.