The Black Egg
Page 19
“Thank you for the loan.”
“Not just for giving the knife back, but for coming to get me. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I don’t know what might have happened. I thought that dragon was going to tear me limb from limb. Then you show up and they act like well-trained hounds.”
“They’re more like semi-domesticated wolves. Soto was probably hoping you’d give her something to eat. The dragons associate humans with being fed so she wasn’t likely to hurt you unless someone she recognized gave her the kill command. Did you find any sign of your parents?”
Brigid shook her head. “You?”
“No. The whole village is empty as far as I can tell. I suspect all the farms will be the same. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to find my parents. Damned if I know how, but I’m going to try.”
“I’m with you no matter what. I bet Silas will help too. What about the dragons?”
“That’s the tricky part. After everything I fed them, they’ll probably sleep for a few days. There are plenty of sheep, but like I said, they don’t really know how to hunt. I’ll probably have to catch and butcher enough sheep to last them for a couple months. After that they’ll have to figure it out on their own. Hopefully we’ll be back before that becomes a problem.
“Why don’t we head back and search for clues,” Brigid said. “Who knows, maybe Silas already found something.”
“That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” Yaz grinned and Brigid’s heart melted a little. She had always liked him, but when he stepped in front of that dragon to protect her, she knew it was more than that. Whether he felt the same she didn’t know. With everyone gone the gods only knew where, now probably wasn’t the best time to explore what she felt, but that time would come. She knew it.
Silas got back to town a little less than an hour after leaving his new friends behind with the dragon. He shook his head and nudged his mount toward the inn’s hitching rail. He’d seen some crazy things but when that kid ran in front of the dragon without a moment’s hesitation then talked it down and even petted it like an oversized dog he about fainted. Granted he wasn’t used to dealing with dragons, but still, a single bite would have cut him in half.
He dismounted and tied up all three horses in Wicked’s dim light. Something flashed and Silas bent down. There was a silver coin on the ground, not an imperial scale, but an older design. One side had a mountain and the other the bust of a man wearing a crown. He didn’t recognize the king, but like he told Yaz earlier, he was no scholar. Maybe the kid would know who it was, he seemed to know everything else.
“I shouldn’t think of him as a kid,” Silas said. “Those two can’t be more than a few years younger than me.”
Wicked just floated in front of him. Silas doubted his familiar understood much beyond simple commands, but they’d been traveling alone together for so long Silas had gotten in the habit of talking to the little undead like it was a real person. It felt strange having actual companions. Companions he could trust.
He shuddered to think what might’ve happened if he tried to explore that ruin without Yaz to guide him around the traps. He’d have died in ten minutes. The three of them made a good team. Silas suspected the offer of sanctuary wasn’t much good now that all the people had vanished.
And where could they have gone? There had to be magic involved, but he’d never heard of magic capable of kidnapping an entire village. Even the Five Elemental Dragons, the most powerful wizards in the world, couldn’t do something like this. Silas wasn’t sure he wanted to know who could.
Silas wandered around the empty village, looking for clues and trying without much luck to come up with a theory that fit what had happened. People didn’t just disappear into thin air.
“Silas!”
Sounded like Yaz and Brigid had returned. He turned toward the north gate, emerging from between the inn and general store just as his companions reached the horses out front. They appeared unharmed.
“So you didn’t get eaten,” Silas said. “Congratulations.”
Yaz grinned, looking far younger than his true age. “Thanks. Did you find anything interesting?”
“As a matter of fact…” Silas pulled the coin out of his pocket and flipped it to Yaz. “Ever seen one like this before?”
Yaz snatched it out of the air and studied the coin. “It’s pre-imperial for sure, but I don’t recognize the style. Not Kingdom of Aqua. I don’t know.”
“Wow,” Brigid said. “Never thought I’d see something you didn’t know.”
Yaz handed the coin back to Silas. If her comment bothered him, Yaz controlled his reaction perfectly. “There’s a vast sea of knowledge out there and what I know is only the smallest drop. That coin may be an important clue, or some visiting merchant might’ve dropped it on his way to supper. I simply can’t say.”
Silas and Brigid fell in behind Yaz as he walked down the street. After a moment of silence Silas asked, “Where are we going?”
“The aviary. I only glanced in before I noticed the dragons were out. I want to see if they broke out or were released.”
“Why does that matter?” Brigid asked.
“If they were released it means someone did it before they vanished. If they broke out because they were hungry then whatever happened, happened so fast no one had a chance to reach the dragons. None of them had their saddles on and we never let them out until they’re saddled. That means if they were released it wasn’t by Dad or the other riders and probably not Master Robotham.”
“Then who were they released by?” Brigid asked.
“Exactly. Soto wouldn’t be as friendly to a stranger as she was to me.”
“I’ll vouch for that.” Brigid shivered.
Yaz glanced back. “I think she liked you. Soto has excellent instincts.”
Silas smiled at the sideways compliment. He might be a genius, but Yaz wasn’t very good with girls.
They reached the aviary and Silas sent a little power through his link to Wicked and conjured more light. Inside, the gates were intact and wide open. Clearly the dragons had been released by someone.
Yaz went into the first stall, sniffed like a hunting dog, and picked something up off the floor. It looked like a sprig of grass. He tasted it and spat.
“Dragon’s Bane. Someone poisoned them. That’s why Soto and the other dragons didn’t try to protect the village.”
“I thought you said dragons could eat anything without getting sick,” Brigid said.
“Dragon’s Bane is the one thing they’re vulnerable to.”
“Yet whoever poisoned them didn’t kill them,” Silas said.
“You can’t kill a dragon by feeding them Dragon’s Bane. They’ll fall unconscious before they eat enough to be fatal. Someone just wanted them out of the way.”
Yaz kicked the wall of the stall. It was the first real sign of emotion Silas had seen from him. Somehow it made him feel better about Yaz, like he was a real person.
“It might not be much,” Silas said. “But I know someone who might be able to tell us more about the coin. He’s a dealer I’ve sold to in the past.”
Yaz left the stall and stopped in front of Silas. “So you’ll help us find our families?”
“You two saved my life. I owe you.”
“You saved us at least twice before that.” Yaz held out his hand. “And I don’t keep score with friends.”
Silas hesitated. During his training and while he was on the run, he’d never had much use for friends. Or maybe he just didn’t trust anyone not to turn him in.
Finally, he grasped the outstretched hand. Brigid put her hand on top of theirs, smiling a bright smile. Maybe having a couple friends wouldn’t be so bad.
Chapter 26
For two days, from sunup to sundown, Yaz and Brigid rode through the valley, visiting every farm and setting livestock free of their pens. Yaz brought troughs to the sleeping dragons and filled them with the meat of nearly a hundred sheep and goats. He figured that should
keep Soto and the other dragons well fed for three months. When Brigid asked about wolves stealing the meat from the sleeping dragons, Yaz had grinned and asked if she’d ever seen a wolf brave enough to approach even sleeping dragons.
While they were riding, Silas settled down with a platinum coin he scrounged up in the inn. He intended to make himself a proper catalyst and Yaz wished him luck. A wizard that couldn’t use his magic without collapsing wasn’t a great deal of help in a fight.
At last, on the morning of the third day, Yaz, Brigid, and Silas gathered at the tower. Yaz had left the dormant dragon egg inside where it would be safe.
“So where does your friend the coin merchant live?” Yaz asked.
“I wouldn’t call Carnack a friend. He’s a grasping, greedy little man that cares only for coins. He’s also a coward too afraid of me to call the bounty hunters. He lives in the City of Bells to the east.”
Yaz had read about the city but lacked any firsthand knowledge. Since it was their only lead, he was content to follow Silas’s directions.
“How long will it take to get there?” Brigid asked. She’d made her distaste for her mercenary disguise clear earlier, but it really was a much safer way to travel given their circumstances.
“If all goes well, a couple weeks.” Silas shrugged. “When you’re on the road anything can happen.”
Brigid sighed. “Don’t we know it.”
Yaz looked from Brigid to Silas. With such fine companions he had no doubt they’d succeed in figuring out what happened to their families. Whether they’d like what they learned was another matter, one to be dealt with later.
“Let’s go.”
Afterword
Dear Readers,
* * *
I hope you enjoyed The Black Egg. The adventure continues in Book 2 of the series, The Mysterious Coin. I hope you’ll check it out.
* * *
Thanks for reading,
* * *
James
Also by James E Wisher
The Dragonspire Chronicles
The Black Egg
* * *
Soul Force Saga
Disciples of the Horned One Trilogy:
Darkness Rising
Raging Sea and Trembling Earth
Harvest of Souls
Disciples of the Horned One Omnibus
Chains of the Fallen Arc:
Dreaming in the Dark
On Blackened Wings
Chains of the Fallen Omnibus
The Aegis of Merlin:
The Impossible Wizard
The Awakening
The Chimera Jar
The Raven’s Shadow
Escape From the Dragon Czar
Wrath of the Dragon Czar
The Four Nations Tournament
Death Incarnate
Aegis of Merlin Omnibus Vol 1.
Aegis of Merlin Omnibus Vol 2.
Other Fantasy Novels:
The Squire
Death and Honor Omnibus
The Rogue Star Series:
Children of Darkness
Children of the Void
Children of Junk
Rogue Star Omnibus Vol. 1
Children of the Black Ship
About the Author
James E. Wisher is a writer of science fiction and fantasy novels. He’s been writing since high school and reading everything he could get his hands on for as long as he can remember.
To learn more:
www.jamesewisher.com
james@jamesewisher.com