The Dragon of Summer

by Patricia White

  Tessa stopped just inside the door, stared at the guards, seven in all. Each wore a helm, had a shield strapped to his left arm, and carried a naked saber in his right. And every single one of them wore the smothering stench of wards, tokens, and various other smelly bits of magic gimmickry intended, no doubt, to protect them from the wrath of the mighty wizard Tessa was thought to be.

  Their leader, a burly man with fear plain in his eyes, stepped toward her, started to lift his weapon.

  Fear snarling in her stomach, drying her mouth, Tessa, with a boldness that surprised even her, forestalled him. A wizard at her most arrogant, she said, “Ah, yes, I assume you will be an adequate escort. I had expected better, but time is . ” She pointed a forefinger at Luther. “You, bring the female slave and the magecats. After I instruct the king as to my needs, I will have work for you.”

  Luther’s broken face held questions she did not dare to answer directly, so Tessa ignored the Guard leader’s attempt to speak, glared him into silence, and made further demands. “Must I do something arcane to make you move your laggard feet? I am ready to rid this fair land of the ravening beast. I would see your king, and I would see him now. Do you understand me? Or must I make my meaning clearer?”

  “N-no, ma’am. At once, ma’am.”

  The guard leader readied his troop to obey her command. Luther’s face lit with understanding. He didn’t pause or even hesitate when he bent and lifted three of the magecats, cradling them in his massive arms after nodding to Ima to take the others. The old woman’s face betrayed nothing of her feelings as she did as she was told.

  Accompanied as it was by the loud tramp of marching feet, naked sabers, and a host of worries, the trip to the great hall was almost beyond Tessa’s doing. But, even if her legs were shaking, her hands sweating, and her confidence ebbing like the tide, she didn’t dare show a hint of weakness. That would surely be the death of them all—and she wasn’t ready to accept that as their only future.

  Still, they reached the closed doors of the great hall all too soon to suit her. She took a deep breath when one of the guards flung the doors wide. She was ready to speak when the red-clad official banged his staff of office on the stone floor and started his official speech. “What miscreants do you . ”

  Her chin high, her face well-hidden within the shadows of her hood, Tessa paced smoothly forward, stepped around the sputtering official, and addressed the king directly. “I am ready to name my reward and to do battle with the fierce and mighty beast that holds Summer in thrall.”

  King Mythorne straightened on his throne of ebon stone, peered down at her, and pursed his lips. Wheezing just a little, he nodded. It seemed pleasant enough until Tessa notice the same nod that greeted her also brought the archers to the ready, with every nocked arrow pointing directly at her body.

  She wasn’t sure which she wanted most: to faint dead away or to run as fast and as far as her trembling legs would take her. But, she wouldn’t even allow herself to flinch. She just stood there, her stance arrogant and proud, her silence demanding an answer.

  It wasn’t long in coming. He coughed, cleared his throat, and said, “I am king, and I will name the reward for riding my kingdom of the fiery dragon.” He coughed again. “And this I say to you, Wizard Prin, that reward will be no more or no less than the Outer Isles Kingdom, which is mine to confer.”

  Tessa bowed, just a quick inclination of her head, to show that she accepted his terms. But, there was something more she needed, and if she had to achieve it by trickery, that roused no sense of guilt in her. Her voice was firm when she said, “The dragon is a mighty adversary. She will battle fiercely. To lessen the death and carnage in your fair land, I would prefer to do battle with wits and magery from the deck of a ship. Since I do not have that option, I must ask that the village be emptied and as much of the castle as is . ”

  King Mythorne interrupted. “There is a small ship in the harbor. It brought the Midsummer Sacrifice from the Outer Isles.”

  Joy leaped in her veins at how easily he had taken the bait, but she had to continue the pretense. She stood silent for a long moment, hoping she looked as if she were pondering the suitability of his offering. Then she nodded.

  The king gave further orders, the very orders she would have given if that were possible.

  “See the ship be made ready before this days dies. Man it with slaves that fool Harl sold us. I will not have my own subject maimed by the beast’s fire when Wizard Prin fails in her boast.” He smiled before he added, “A prideful boast that will see her dead at full dark on the morrow when she fails to rid Summer of the fell beast.”

  Tessa allowed herself a small answering smile as she bowed again, a little lower, this time. The king dismissed her with a wave of his wasted hand. As she started toward the door to the courtyard, with Luther and Ima following, she heard King Mythorne giving other commands.

  “Empty the village at once!” He said something more, something dealing with his own need to travel, but Tessa didn’t have time to stop and listen. Her plan required time, and she had none to spare.

  Stopping in the courtyard, she motioned Luther close, told him what needed to be done if they were the save the dragon, the princesses, the Silvafells, Ima, and themselves. She wasn’t fearful of being overheard, because all around them was chaos. Men were running, shouting, moving objects, and generally acting like men frightened out of their wits.

  Luther seemed not to hear the guards, drudges, and slaves as they hurried around, rushing to obey whatever orders were given by those in command. Orders they obviously hoped would keep them safe in the coming battle between the mighty wizard and the terrible dragon. The huge man had other concerns and he wasn’t shy about advancing them. When she had finished, he said, “You cannot do that. You are just a scarce-grown chit of a girl. What you propose is too dangerous for . ”

  She knew she was being cruel when she interrupted with, “Does that mean you are willing to do it?”

  His voice was sad when he answered. “I could go in, but you know full well that I can’t walk back out through the tunnel.”

  She hadn’t meant to demean him, make him sadder than he already was, but certain things had to be done and done quickly. Things like taking the Pearl of Knowing to the dragon and rescuing the princesses. Still, Luther was her friend, possibly her only friend with any power. Besides that, she admired and trusted him more than she could say. Tessa put her hand on his shoulder, leaned closer still, and said what needed saying. “I’m sorry. When we get out of this mess, I will apologize properly and crown you King of the Outer Isles. But, for now, take Ima and the cats to the ship. Everyone is afraid to stop me, so I can go into the tunnel soon. But I must wait until the village is empty and darkness comes before I can start bringing the princesses out.”

  He tried to smile when he said, “So be it, Wizard Prin. I will be waiting at the tunnel mouth for your return.”

  Tessa’s hand dropped down from his shoulder to the head of one of the magecats he was holding. She swallowed hard, rubbed the small head, and was finally able to say what was foremost in her mind. “Walk with care. The king has no love for me and mine. I fear he fears magic so much that would almost rather see me dead than rid his land of . ”

  Luther voice was soft when he said, “I will protect these small ones and the woman, Ima, with my life.” He leaned down, touched his cheek to her own, and whispered his own farewell. “Be care, my dearest princess, we will carry you in our hearts. And bid Herself a safe journey. I will miss her with every breath I take, but . ”

  Tessa whispered, “She knows. She loves you, too.”

  Burdened with two of the Silvafells, Ima huddled close to Luther’s other side, and it was her terrified whisper that brought them back to the present. Made them ready themselves to face a future that held no guarantees of any kind.

  The old woman said, “Keep you face hidden, My Lady. They are bringing out the slaves from home to man the ship. They have been treated
very badly since Harl sold them into slavery. They do not hold those of our Royal House in high regard.”

  ~

  The sound of her hurrying steps chased her, surrounded her, ran ahead of her down the tunnel, but she was in too big a rush to give the noise any heed. The tunnel itself seemed shorter than she remembered it being, but Tessa was only puffing slightly when she reached the black walled valley and bounded up the stair to the dragon’s cave.

  She hadn’t been away from the valley long, but even in that short span of days, the dragon had grown in strength and health. Possibly because of the nourishing meals the magic kettle had given the cave dwellers, but more likely because now she had hope of ending her long exile, finding her way home.

  Seeing the magical creature again made Tessa’s heart beat a little faster, her breath catch in her throat, but despite that brief moment of fear, she was almost calm when she approached the dragon’s bed, made a real curtsy, and extended the huge Pearl.

  The dragon’s voice was no less beautiful when she said, “Princess Tessa, thee hast made me whole with thy courage and thy wit. I give thee my full thanks.” She looked at Tessa with great silver eyes, eyes that held nothing but caring and respect, and bowed her crested head. “I would be honored if thee would replace it in the golden net on the chain around my neck. That wast its home in the beginning.”

  Her fingers holding only the faintest of tremors, Tessa did as the dragon had asked. When the Pearl of Knowing was safely back where it belonged, Tessa sighed in relief before she sneezed, quite loudly, when the spice-scented smoke in the dragon’s exhaled breath tickled her nostrils. She retreated with some haste when the dragon began to glow almost as if she were lit from within. Rose-gold and beautiful beyond human expectation, she mantled her translucent wings and then settled down in the hollow her body had formed during her long years in the cave.

  And even her melodious voice held a warm glow when the great dragon spoke of her other concerns. “The poor princesses needs must be dowered, wed to kind and caring husbands.”

  Tessa nodded an agreement, but she didn’t speak because she didn’t know where the dragon’s thoughts were taking her.

  “I have treasure beyond counting.”

  It sounded as if the dragon were speaking to herself, or perhaps just thinking aloud. Once again Tessa waited in silence.

  The dragon spoke again. “My princess, the Pearl hast relayed thy talk with Luther. I knowest well thy plan to save us all. After we stage our mock battle and I fly away in defeat, this place wilt, mayhap, be deserted. Men wilt come, at the king’s command, too loot and pillage. I wouldst, by choice, leave nothing of value for the coffers of that evil and greedy king.”

  Tessa knew she had to speak, but she didn’t know what she could do to fulfill the dragon’s wish. It would be difficult enough to get the other princesses back through the tunnel without worrying about the treasure. Still, if she was going to keep her promise to care for the princesses, crown Luther king, and rebuild the Outer Isles, she would need what the dragon seemed to be offering. She knew the need, but the “how” to bring it about escaped her.

  As far as that went, she didn’t even know how she was going to manage getting the princesses to through a magic-haunted maze that was so frightening it had turned Luther into a craven with its force.

  Almost as if she could read Tessa’s thought—and now that she had her Pearl of Knowing back, maybe she could—the dragon solved several of Tessa’s problems with only a few words. But, when that was done, she added another worry, only a small one. Or, at least, Tessa hoped it was.

  “The other princesses art bespelled,” the dragon said. “They wilt gladly goest wither thou leadest, all the while thinking ‘tis only a dream. Each one is bedecked in gems and gold. Each wilt carry her own dower price from the treasure. But, Princess Tessa, I fearest thou needs must make more trips than one with them in tow. Thou canst not manage them otherwise.”

  Tessa thought she should ask why, but she didn’t. She just accepted the dragon’s words as truth and nodded. “It shall be as you wish, Your Grace.”

  The dragon stirred restlessly, dribbled small puffs of smoke from her mouth, and then nodded her own head. “‘Tis safer so, but thou must hurry them on their way as soon as darkness falls. A storm of light and noise comes, and its killing light wilt surely betray thee and the others.”

  The dragon voice held an unmistakable warning. The day was rapidly drawing to a close, and Tessa thought it would be full dark before she got the first group through the tunnel and delivered them into Luther capable hands. When she had said as much and started to turn away, to go to the princesses’ bower and bring some of them forth to begin their journey out of the labyrinth, the dragon stopped her.

  “Thou hast done me a great service, Tessa, Princess Royal of the Outer Isle, and I wouldst repay thee in some small measure. The remaining treasure is great. What wilt thy take as thine own?”

  Tessa didn’t want to think of treasure. She wanted only to get the princesses to the ship, send the dragon on her way, and go home to the Outer Isles. But just thinking of her homeland made her know what she needed to make that land complete.

  “Your Grace, when all is the, the Outer Isles Kingdom is mine again, but I can never reign because, as you told me, I am dead, eaten by a dragon. But, to survive, a kingdom must have a king and . ”

  The dragon’s voice was soft with wonder. “Art thou truly asking for a crown to place on the head of my dear one?”

  “Luther will make a wise and noble king, Your Grace, and will govern the kingdom far better than it has been governed for a very long time.”

  “And what of thee, my dearest princess? What wilt thou do?”

  Tessa laughed softly, even if it was a private joke, one that only a few would ever know, it still tickled her fancy. “I shall be the king’s mighty wizard.”

  The dragon chuckled at the jest, sending out small spurts of fire-laced smoke.

  “And, Your Grace, I will be the Royal Matchmaker for a bevy of beautiful and mysterious princesses. All sent from foreign land for the sole purpose of me seeing them most suitably wed.”

  A moment of silence followed, and the dragon was no longer laughing when she broke it. “And thou wilt do just that, wilt thee not, my princess?”

  It was a question Tessa could ask with fierce and total sincerity. “Yes, Your Grace. They deserve no less.”

  They spoke briefly of the coming battle, made a few plans, and then darkness came in, began to veil the mouth of the cave. The dragon still had a need, one that only Tessa could fill. “Princess, thou has done so much that I . ” she hesitated, sighed a smoky sigh, and then, speaking very softly, she confessed to a final secret, one that carried a request nestled in its heart.

  “Thou doest not know the whole truth concerning my maiden flight. My people call it a Name Search. I have no name, Princess Tessa, and I canst not go home without one.”

  Tessa didn’t know what the dragon wanted from her. She had told King Mythorne she knew the dragon’s name, but that had been nothing less than a full-fledged lie. “Your Grace, I . ”

  Interrupting her, the dragon said, “The Pearl of Knowing says thee and only thee knowest my true soul name. Wilt thou give it into my keeping?”

  One name shone bright in Tessa’s mind, and it wasn’t the name of a dragon. Her mother had told her a story about a wonderfully wise woman who valued honor and love more than her own life. The dragon surely did that, but . ”

  “Yes, my princess, the Pearl says that is the one. I beg thee come close, whisper it in my ear.”

  Tessa wanted to do just that, but she had one question to ask first, one that had to be answered before the mock battle they were to stage on the morrow. “I would not have others know if . Will knowing your true name give anyone power over you?”

  Chuckling softly, the dragon said, “No, child. Thee canst shout it to all and none wilt gain any power.”

  Thunder rolled in the distan
ce. Night had come, bringing with it a summer storm. Time was running out. That thought took hold in Tessa’s mind, and all else fled. She knew she had to get the other princesses through the tunnel and to the ship before the storm broke. If not, she might not be able to conceal their presence from the soldiers of Summer. She turned away from the magical beast and started toward the princesses’ bower, but the dragon’s sad question halted her.

  “I have waited long and with utmost patience, but now excitement claws at me. Dear Princess, I canst not rest until I know. Wilt thee don give me my true name before thee hurry forth?”

  Feeling an instant shame for making the dragon suffer more and needlessly, Tessa went back, rested her hand on the iridescent scales of the dragon’s neck, leaned close, and whispered the name.

  “My thanks, sweet princess, thee hast gifted me with a treasure beyond gold and gems. I am eternally in thy debt and will come at thy hour of need no matter the distance between us.”

  It was a vow given in honor and respect. Tessa did not lessen its value by refusing to accept it. She said, “You are most kind, Your Grace. And know that as long as Luther is King of the Outer Isles and I am wizard, you will always find welcome and shelter in that land.”

  “I give thee thanks, child, now hurry.”

  Tessa was herding half of the jewel-ladened, sleepy-eyed princesses toward the outside before the great dragon spoke again. ““The spell is strong, it will hold until they step upon the shore of the Outer Isles. That is the final gift I can give them, but for thee there is nothing, no sleep, no rest, no magic, but I wilt have food awaiting thy return. Travel quickly, the storm grows in strength and wilt soon unleash its fury against the Land of Summer.”

  Giving her a quick smile, Tessa took her charges out of the cave, down the stair, and into the tunnel. It was a journey made without incident, but it was far too slow to suit Tessa. She was relieved to find Luther waiting at the tunnel exit, but could bare take time to exchange the news, tell him she had to go back for the others, and to watch the lightning dance across the western sky. From the sound of the thunder, the storm was definitely closer. And it looked to be a bad one. Impatient to get the job done, she turned, but Luther detained her with one more worry.