by Nathan Roden
“In my youth, I lay at death’s door. Only the good heart of my friend saved me to fight another day. My life is no longer my own. I owe an immense debt.”
“The people of this kingdom deserve more than the rule of a vicious tyrant. They deserve a king who provides them safety and protection. To ally with me is to ally with the way things should be. This virtue is not only mine—it lives in the hearts of those I call my friends.”
Lamont and Finn knelt.
“If I risk my life,” Lamont said. “I will do so fighting at your side, Simon of Morgenwraithe—the true King!”
“I pledge my life, and my sword,” Finn said. “And I would follow you into Valhalla, even without My Lord’s order!”
Lamont grabbed Finn by the shoulder.
Nine
A large cloud covered the sun. Nicolas Lamont looked into the sky.
“We should be getting home,” he said. “We will meet again, in a matter of—”
Lamont was interrupted when someone—or something—sneezed. The noise came from directly behind Simon. Lamont drew his sword. Finn grabbed his bow and reached for an arrow. Boone jumped for his bow, but Helena beat him to it. She notched an arrow and drew down alongside Finn and Lamont.
Simon spread his wings, protecting them all.
“Let’s not be hasty,” he whispered.
He spoke into the forest.
“Show yourself, at once! Or you will die like a dog!”
His assessment was accurate.
The wolf stepped slowly out of the trees. She sneezed again.
Helena’s eyes bulged. She lowered her bow until she noticed Boone shaking his head slightly.
“Stand aside, My King,” Finn said. “The beast is ill, and likely to attack. I will put him down.”
“It is a ‘her’”, Boone said without thinking.
Lamont and Finn stared at him.
“It’s…it is too small to be a male,” Boone stammered.
“It does not matter,” Finn said. “A sick animal is a sick animal. The gods know that we have enough illness among us without allowing beasts to bring more.”
Simon turned around. He spread his wings, protecting the wolf.
“Please, lower your weapons, Lord Lamont,” Simon said quietly.
Lamont shifted on his feet.
“I do not understand.”
“I have to ask you to trust me,” Simon said. “I have lived many more days as a dragon than as a man. Most other beasts fear me. I cherish the few who do not.”
Lamont nodded at Finn. They put away their weapons.
“Please, promise me one thing, Simon Smyth of Morgenwraithe,” Lamont said.
“Whatever you wish, My Lord,” Simon said.
“When we enter the Southlands, let us not mention this episode to anyone.”
Lamont and Finn turned to go.
Lamont turned back around.
“I trust you, Simon. But you have not told me everything yet, have you?”
Simon said nothing.
Lamont smiled.
“I did not think so.”
Boone snickered. Helena punched him in the side.
“Godspeed, Lord Lamont,” Simon said.
“We will leave you to your preparations,” Lamont said. He bowed his head.
“Until we meet again, in seven days’ time.”
“Seven days?” Helena asked. “Why must you wait so long?”
Lamont sighed.
“There is no other way. It is three days until Jaclyn’s name day celebration. It would be much too—”
Simon opened his mouth to speak.
Boone jumped forward. He shook his finger.
“No!” he barked. “Do not even think about it! Do not say another word!”
Simon closed his mouth and looked away.
Lamont cleared his throat.
“Very well, then. We meet in seven days. From that day forward, we will concentrate our efforts to the south. Good day.”
Lamont looked past Simon, at the wolf. She stood in the same place. She sneezed again.
Lamont looked into Simon’s eyes, and then those of Boone and Helena.
“Most peculiar,” Lamont said.
Lamont and Finn started down the mountain.
Ten
Magdalena kept her eyes cast to the ground as she smoothed her black gown.
“Die like a dog?” she said.
Boone and Helena laughed.
“It was the first thing that came to mind,” Simon said. “If you intend to play the role of ‘spy’ as a stealth creature, you have much to learn.”
Magdalena wiped her nose.
“How was I to know the air would be full of…whatever this is—?”
She sneezed again.
“How did you learn to shift between species?” Boone asked. “And yet never learn how to defend yourself against plants?”
Magdalena glared at Boone, and then at Simon.
“I told you. I learned from my Gram. She knew transfiguration. It was the first thing she taught me, but it was not without danger. Many in the village distrusted her. And so they distrusted me as well. She would teach me nothing further until I mastered the ability to become a wolf. Many times she told me it could save my life. And it has.”
“Forgive me if do not share in the sentimentality of your memories, My Lady,” Simon snarled. “Lamont or Finn could have killed you! All because of a sneeze!”
“Point taken, Prince Morgenwraithe,” Magdalena bowed.
Helena stepped forward.
“Prince is a show of disrespect for the rightful King, Sorceress!”
“We must practice the proper respect, My Lady,” Boone said. “Others will be watching and listening. There must be no doubt about who is king.”
Magdalena held up her hands.
“Relax—servants of the true king. I would not be here if I did not accept Simon’s claim to the throne. Do you want to see a sign of my allegiance? Then you shall have it.”
Magdalena knelt in front of Boone and Helena.
“Twelve years ago, I was blind with fury and vengeance. I did not believe I would survive the day. And I did not care. My daughter was dead—and nothing else mattered.”
“What the Queen and I conspired to do tortures me every day of my life. Now, I care about nothing other than putting things right again.”
“But I will tell you this—without the curse that keeps Simon a dragon, our cause will die. Without the power he possesses, any rebellion would be crushed within a matter of hours. I believe this with all my heart. If you do not believe this is so, then strike me down.”
“I am tired, and weary. And there is only one cause that I have the strength to fight.”
Boone and Helena clenched and then unclenched their fists.
“We have planning to do,” Boone said.
Helena nodded. She offered Magdalena her hand.
“Sterling has intensified his efforts to find you,” Magdalena said to Simon.
“I did not think that was possible,” Simon said.
“On these shores, no,” Magdalena said. “But he has brought a powerful wizard here from a distant land. He has greater magic than I have ever seen. He is a monster.”
“Can his magic stop dragon-fire?” Helena asked.
“The teeth of twenty dead dragons hang around his neck,” Magdalena said.
The others were silent.
“Don’t let defeat overtake you,” Simon said. “We know that our time to build an army is short. But this does not change what we must do.”
“Are you sure you can find us?” Simon asked Magdalena. “We can only hope that the army has not explored the area. The cave is well hidden on a mountainside, but it is dangerously close to the camp of the Border Guard. It is easily accessible from the north side of the mountain for those with wings. But you have none—unless you have more secrets I have not heard of.”
Magdalena tapped the side of her nose.
“If you h
ave been there before, I can find it. The nose of the wolf.”
“Ah,” Simon said. “Maybe one day, when my days as a dragon come to an end, you can teach me the wolf transfiguration.”
Magdalena glared at Simon.
“When that day comes, it will be my pleasure.”
The wolf made her way down the mountain path.
Moments later, Boone and Helena climbed onto Simon’s back. Simon launched them into the air and across the sea. They soared above the waves for an hour, and then Simon flew higher and turned inland, over a mountain crest. He would fly past one of his other cave sanctuaries on the way to their destination.
The other cave site was plain to see, even in the dead of night.
It burned with a blazing beacon of fire.
“What is that?” Boone screamed against the wind.
“Hold on!” Simon yelled. “I’m going to land!”
Boone and Helena slipped from Simon’s back.
“I don’t like this,” Simon said, as he stared at the fire that lit the sky.
“I’ll go and take a closer look,” Boone said.
“I’m coming with you,” Helena said.
Boone started to object, but said nothing. They ran through the woods together. They returned half an hour later.
“Someone has built a tower—a beacon of fire—near the mouth of a cave,” Boone said. “I’ve heard that armies have done this, to send warnings to distant outposts. The cave is one of ours. Our beds are still inside—unmolested. There is no one there, but this cannot be a good sign.”
“No,” Simon said. “It is not.”
Boone and Helena climbed back onto Simon’s back. When Simon flew over the top of the next mountain range, his heart sank.
In front of their next destination stood another newly constructed tower.
Simon shuddered and Helena screamed. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he forgot he had passengers.
Lord Sterling and King Lucien were stepping up their efforts to find him. By marking the locations of all his caves, he and his friends would soon have no place to rest. And no place to hide.
Simon scanned the ground for a place to land.
“What are we going to do?” Helena asked.
“They will not be building theses beacons without stationing men to fuel them,” Boone said. “If Sterling or Raynard catch Lord Lamont near one, he will have no excuse.”
“We will have to go back to Islemar,” Helena said. “We have no other choice.”
“Lamont may not be going home,” Simon said. “He may ride straight for Morgenwraithe.”
Boone stood in front of Simon and shook his finger.
“That’s what you’re hoping for, isn’t it? Another opportunity to—!”
“No!” Simon snapped. “How many times must I confess that trying to see Jaclyn was a mistake? I know it was! The thought never leaves me—my selfishness could have gotten them killed…”
Simon turned away.
“I would rather die alone. And friendless—than have any harm come to her or her family.”
“You will never be without friends, Simon,” Helena said.
“We’ll have to get word to Lamont, somehow,” Boone said.
Helena pushed Boone’s shoulder.
“Tell Simon that you are still his friend!”
Boone smiled, but only briefly. He did not meet Simon’s eyes.
“Of course, we’re still friends. But there’s a kingdom full of girls he could have fallen for. He’s fallen for the one he cannot have.”
Eleven
The wolf descended the mountainside, staying well behind Lamont and Finn.
The trail became wider and smoother near the base of the mountain. Magdalena’s thoughts wandered, and she almost walked right upon the two men. The glare from torches was the only thing that stopped her.
“Who goes there?” said a gruff voice.
The wolf crept away from the path and into the thicker forest. She moved silently to a place where she could both hear and see.
“It is I, Lord Lamon—!”
Lamont’s voice trailed off when he saw the men in front of him.
Sterling, Raynard, eight strong men carrying heavy bundles of timber
And the biggest, most bizarre-looking robed man that Lamont had ever seen.
“Ah, Lord Lamont,” Sterling sneered. “What brings you here?”
Lamont looked to Finn to see if he might answer, but Finn was staring in disbelief at the hooded giant.
“We were hunting wolves,” Lamont said. “Several shepherds in this area have complained of losing sheep and goats. We thought this mountainside a likely place for wolves to breed and hunt.”
“This is troubling news, Lord Lamont,” Sterling said. “And a situation that could threaten the kingdom if not controlled. Captain Raynard, have a detachment sent here. It is in our best interests to eradicate this threat.”
“I will see to it, My Lord,” Raynard said.
“And speaking of threats,” Sterling said. “We will soon put an end to one that plagues us all!”
“What is that?” Lamont asked.
“The dragon, of course! It has become too bold to deal with any longer. It dares to show itself in our villages—”
“It has become an embarrassment,” Raynard said.
Sterling glared at Raynard.
“Spoken like a proud soldier,” Sterling sneered. “Naturally, professional pride is the least of our worries, Lord Lamont. Our concern is for the desperate measures the beast may take. There is more danger now that your daughter carries the Kingdom’s heir! The dragon must be destroyed, and the sooner the better.”
“What are you going to do with this timber? And who is this…this…man?”
The wizard, Dathien, pulled down the hood of his robe.
Lamont and Finn stared.
“This is Dathien,” Sterling said. “A powerful wizard from across the great sea—and slayer of more than twenty dragons.”
“What is your business in Islemar?” Lamont asked.
“I have come to slay the dragon—by any means possible!”
Dathien raised his head. He closed his eyes and looked toward the mountain’s summit.
“The dragon has been here—on this mountain. He may be here still.”
“Preposterous!” Lamont said.
“We have discovered many of its hideaways,” Sterling said. “They are now marked with torch beacons. Men are clearing pathways to each location as we speak. When we finish, we will station sentries at each location. This will enable us to signal the beast’s location in a matter of minutes. Soon, the beast will have nowhere to hide.”
“I have heard nothing about the dragon being on this mountain,” Lamont said.
“Are you a wizard?” Dathien’s voice boomed.
“Of course not.”
Dathien laughed.
“One does not slay a score of dragons without the ability to sense them…to feel their presence. To smell the stench of their fire on the air…”
“Have you come from the mountain’s summit, Lord Lamont?” Raynard asked.
“No. The climb becomes treacherous past a certain point. Any wolf dens beyond the midway point are no threat to our herds.”
“I see that you carry no skins,” Sterling said. “Did you see none of these…wolves?”
“Only one,” Finn said quickly. “But where there is one—”
“We will let you know if we find more,” Sterling said. “And soon you will have easy access to the mountain’s summit.”
“If you do indeed find a dragon’s lair up there,” Finn said.
Dathien glared at him.
Lamont shook his head.
“I must warn you. The mountain presents a difficult climb—even more so with the burden of timbers.”
Dathien parted his hands. He held a single finger toward one man and his load of timber.
The man screamed as his feet left the ground. Dathien raised
his hand until the man was ten feet in the air.
He lowered his hand slowly, and the man settled back to the ground. The laborers trembled in fear and mumbled prayers.
“This will not be our first difficult passage, Lamont,” Sterling said. “But it is worth it, to rid the Kingdom of the dragon, once and for all.”
“I do not see how lighting fires next to caves will help you locate the dragon,” Finn said.
“When we locate all the caves, the towers will be manned,” Dathien said. “The beast must rest sometime. The beacons can be seen for many miles.”
“This dragon is not about to lie down for a nap next to a tower of fire,” Finn said. “He may be a menace, but he is not stupid.”
“Ah, but they are creatures of habit,” Sterling said. “And he must seek shelter somewhere. After a few days without sleep, the beast may give himself up!”
“Or, he might just snuff out the fire,” Finn said. “And bite the heads off of your sentries.”
Lamont couldn’t hide his smile at Finn’s joke.
Dathien and Sterling were not amused.
“I would not be much of a wizard if I relied only on wood and fire,” Dathien said.
He took three tubes from the inside of his robe. He handed one to Sterling and one to Raynard.
Dathien held the other tube over his head. Sterling and Raynard did the same. Bursts of red and blue flame flew from the tubes. They exploded in a blinding display, high against the clouds.
Sterling and Raynard were the ones left smiling.
Lamont stared up at the magical display and swallowed hard.
We have precious little time, he thought.
Twelve
The wolf sprinted up the mountainside.
She had no doubt that Sterling and his men would find the cave, but that was not the most serious problem.
