Heir of the Dragon

by Anna Logan

  He rubbed his hand down her arm. “You’re shaking. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, I just…” She let out her breath slowly, as a wave of weakness traveled through her.

  “Your leg,” he put his hand on her thigh again, applying enough pressure to make her grimace, “you’ve lost too much blood.”

  “That, and it’s freezing out here.” She didn’t object when he adjusted positions to put his arm around her shoulders to offer some body heat. “Aren’t you cold?”

  “Not too bad. I suppose it’ll be a cold night though, without the rest of our stuff.”

  Blast. All it took was one kiss—well, two—and she’d completely forgotten all the important details of the Tarragon having overtaken their camp, leaving them in the middle of the woods with nothing but the shirts on their backs and their celiths. No food, limited medical supplies, and no extra clothing as the temperature dropped.

  Still...it was nice to forget, for at least a moment.

  Skyve and Terindi returned after a few minutes with some envrig, and a little bit of some other herb Skyve said would suffice as a disinfectant, since they didn’t have any. He eyed Rikky, perhaps expecting more hostility, but seemed to assess that there no longer was. She hoped he didn’t suspect why. He probably didn’t, otherwise he would have been gagging.

  “Alright, I’ll stitch your leg up best I can,” he good-naturedly swatted Rikky’s hand off her leg so that he could see it, “and then...we should look into finding some water. Anyone have some?”

  Terindi had most of a canteen. The rest of them didn’t have any.

  Skyve sighed as he began poking the needle in and out of her skin. She tried not to recoil each time. “Definitely going to need water. And food would be good. And warmth, but we’re unlikely to get that.”

  Riding bareback, they wandered about the woods without any luck finding water that was safe to drink. They did catch a barbsit and built a small fire to cook it over. It was enough to satisfy their hunger at least temporarily. By that time, it was growing dark...and cold. They were all shivering, shoulders hunched, leaning against their celiths’ necks for a little extra warmth.

  Everything was dark. Ember kept plodding on, on, on...Talea just tried to stay awake. At some point Skyve’s voice snapped her to attention. “Over there. Let’s try to get a little sleep.”

  It was an alcove between two large boulders, that would at least offer some protection from the wind. At Skyve’s insistence, they gathered leaves and grass to act as padding to hold in some of their body heat. Exhausted and freezing, none of them so much as squirmed when Skyve suggested that they curl up together. He told Talea and Terindi to take the middle, while he and Rikky lay down on either side. Tucking her hands where they wouldn’t freeze, she let her eyes close and tried to relax.

  Talea woke cold, damp, and surrounded by white. Finally, it was morning.

  She blinked, trying to dispel the grogginess of a long, miserable night with minimal sleep. Snow. There was two inches of it on everything. She was tangled up with arms and legs, some Terindi’s, some Rikky’s. Carefully, she got up without disturbing them too much and limped to the celiths. The movement brought the ache in her thigh back to life. Her head was pounding too, probably from the elbow to the face she’d taken.

  The celiths were huddled together, their coats damp with snow. Talea slid her hands under Ember’s belly, where there was a little bit of warmth to be had. Shivering, she rested her head against the mare’s back and closed her eyes again, lacking the motivation to do something to warm herself up.

  After a few minutes, however, she began pacing, rubbing her arms. Jogging would have been more effective, but she didn’t have the energy for it.

  Rikky startled her when he touched her shoulder. “Your leg is bleeding again.” Sure enough, there were drops of crimson in the snow where she’d been walking.

  It took effort not to curse. If she moved, her leg bled. If she didn’t move, she froze.

  “Here.” Without warning, he picked her up and carried her to a rock where he sat down. She snuggled into his lap and he wrapped his arms around her.

  Talea woke again, confused, at Skyve’s voice and the prick of a needle. Rikky was still holding her just as tightly, while Skyve was trying to stitch her leg up again with stiff fingers. He saw her awake and twitched the corner of his mouth in a pitiful imitation of a smile. There was a hint of cheer in his tone. “Thought I told you not to move and reopen this.”

  Even under the circumstances, Skyve had some of his morning perkiness.

  She had none. “We can’t stay out here like this. We have to go back to the camp.”

  “They’ll be guarding it.” Terindi joined them, moving sluggishly. “And I don’t think we stand a chance in another fight with them.”

  Talea closed her eyes. No, they didn’t stand a chance, and she never wanted to fight again. Rando’s face came to the forefront of her mind...he was frowning at her, with his puppy-dog eyes, asking her why she had killed him, why she had killed all of them…

  “But we won’t survive another night out here without our gear.” Skyve had finished his stitching. It was a much sloppier job than the last and she doubted it would hold long. There wasn’t any more bandaging to wrap it with, either. “We need to at least try, make sure they’re guarding it...it’s not likely, but maybe they had to leave, or at least some of them did, or something. And we need to go now, before we get any weaker from the cold and dehydration.”

  Rikky gestured at the ground. “Well, there’s snow now, so we have water.”

  Skyve shook his head. “No, it would make us colder for very little reward, and we don’t have anything to melt it in.”

  “Oh.”

  She was nodding, mindlessly. “Yeah. Let’s go back.” Whether it was the cold, or the blood loss, or both, she almost fell as soon as she tried to get up.

  Skyve gave her a look like he’d give a lamed celith. “You should ride with Rikky. And stop moving, for goodness’ sake.”

  Rikky picked her up again and got her onto his celith, mounting behind her. Bareback, it was easier for two people to fit. And his new celith was a rather massive gelding that could easily handle the extra weight.

  Sitting down, with the gelding’s warmth underneath and Rikky’s behind her, she couldn’t keep her eyes open. The trip came and went between periods of alertness, straightening, nodding off, shaking her head, giving in to Rikky pulling her against his chest, drifting…

  “Lea.”

  She woke to Rikky’s kiss on her forehead. Sitting up, she took a moment to gain her bearings. Woods, on Rikky’s celith, riding back to camp...camp. She recognized the spot—their campsite was just out of sight.

  Skyve was returning on foot. He must have been scouting it out. “They’re still there,” he whispered, putting his hands on his celith’s neck for warmth. “All of them. And they’re patrolling the whole area—we have a few minutes tops before we get spotted.”

  Her spirits plummeted. Every bone in her body was weary and aching and cold. What was the point of all this? Would it be death by the Tarragon’s swords, or by winter’s elements? She tried to think it through...maybe they could find a messenger, or some Elikwai, before nightfall...unlikely but maybe…

  “Hey!” Ht was Zoper’s voice, muffled by the distance. “I just saw them, two miles east, riding that way! Let’s go!”

  They weren’t east, or two miles, or moving. What was he talking about?

  “Wait,” it was the man with the girlish voice. “I thought we were staying with the camp.”

  “Well if we know where they are and they’re getting away...that no longer applies! Mac, I want you to lead. Hurry up and go or they’ll get away. I’ll catch up once I get anything valuable from their supplies.”

  “Are you sure we—”

  “Soul of a deadman, hurry up!”

  She could hear the scrambling of the men mounting, then the fading thunder of their celiths’ hooves.
<
br />   It had to be a trap.

  Except...why bother setting a trap? The Tarragon could win a fight either way.

  Skyve gave her a raised eyebrow. “What do you say?”

  What better choice did they have? “Let’s go. Be ready.”

  When they rode into the camp, Zoper was waiting for them, his hands in the air, cutlasses thrown aside in the snow. “Hello wizards and witches, I surrender! Slay me not with your magic, I—”

  “Shut up!” Rikky left Talea on his celith and was at Zoper’s throat with his sword in seconds. “I don’t believe you for one second, you—”

  “Rikky!” She dismounted, but didn’t dare relinquish her grip on the gelding’s mane. Her legs were still wobbly. “Zoper...why would you surrender?”

  Zoper glanced at the blade against his neck, then looked at her, long and hard. “I’ve never believed in this war. I’ve always been more on your side than my own...and I can’t keep fighting you. That’s the truth. Kill me if you want, but I think I’d be more useful to you alive. Okay so don’t really kill me, please, I just felt obligated to say it…”

  She moved closer, taking the celith with her for support. “And if we believe you…?”

  “Then we can get your gear and get out of here before my men realize I lied.”

  Terindi’s demeanor was almost as threatening as Rikky’s. “We?”

  “Well…” He fidgeted. “I mean...if that would be okay. Now that I’ve betrayed Kaydor I figure I’m better off with you guys than them, and I could help you, you know, with information and everything...like about your friends! Yhkon and his crew? And the other four like you guys?”

  Skyve, oblivious to the sword Rikky held to Zoper’s throat or the general tension, moved closer for an easier conversation. “What do you know about them?”

  “That the four like you are being chased to no end by a bunch of Kaydorians. Otherwise they would be here. And the Yhkon-gang are up against about fifteen Asyjgon warriors, very elite, very elite, not a good bunch to cross.”

  Terindi crossed her arms, unimpressed. “We already knew most of that.”

  “Okay…” He gulped, clearly racking his brain. “Well! I can tell you that if you do let me come with you, and we get out of here, Kaydor will redirect the Tarragon to go after the other four, and he’ll hit you—or us—with brute force. Lots of brute force. We’ll want to get to your other teams as soon as possible, both for our sake and theirs. Really, I know how he thinks! So even if I don’t have anything new to tell you now, I can help.”

  Skyve was nodding. “He would be useful.”

  Zoper brightened. “I would! At least get yourselves some food and warm clothing, while you decide. We probably have thirty minutes before my men come back.”

  Food and warmth was too good to pass up. “Come on,” she said to Terindi, the only one still mounted. Terindi climbed down and they helped each other to their tent. Rikky was still guarding Zoper doggedly, so they wasted no time in stripping out of their damp clothing and putting on warmer, dry layers. When they came back out, Skyve had done the same, and only when he promised to watch Zoper did Rikky disappear into their shelter for a couple minutes.

  “So…” Talea edged closer to Zoper. He was standing by the fire, and the appeal of the heat was greater than any apprehension she felt toward him. “You just want to...join us? Like, completely—you want to be on the San Quawr’s side? You know if you do get caught…”

  “I know.” He cringed. For a moment, she thought his resolve was wavering. “But yes, I want to join you.”

  Terindi crossed her arms. “Why the sudden change? If you’ve ‘always’ been more on our side...why just now?”

  His conspicuous discomfort was almost pitiful. “Well I...perhaps it’s that…” He glanced at Talea, as if he expected her to somehow pitch in and help him. “The longer this goes on...the worse my uncle gets. I had to choose between doing as he said and bringing you in, or joining you. If I stay on his side and continue failing to obey, there would be further consequences.”

  “Further?” It probably shouldn’t have been surprising that Kaydor would punish his own nephew in some way.

  “Well...I don’t know what they would have been, I suppose,” he rubbed his hand up and down his arm absentmindedly, “but...I have two younger siblings. If he got angry enough, I was worried he would take it out on them.”

  Skyve’s brow wrinkled. “Um…and what makes you think he won’t still, now that you’ve shown the ultimate disobedience by betraying him?”

  Zoper raked his hands through his hair, pacing a little. Rikky, having returned in dry clothing, straightened as if ready for the Tarragon captain to make a move, but Zoper was too distressed to even notice his suspicion. “I know...it’s all wrong, I should never have left them...but he won’t hurt them, surely he won’t hurt them, he loves them you know…” He wasn’t even talking to them anymore. “He would hurt me but he won’t hurt them. I have to believe that. I do believe it. It’s just, that prison...and I left her there...I couldn’t do it anymore! I had to...I had to—”

  “Zoper.” Talea abandoned the safe gap between them and put her hand on the young man’s shoulder. Rikky hissed an objection at her, while Zoper just looked at her with terrified, confused, almost childish innocence. “I think you made the right choice. And I believe you, enough to let you come with us, but we will be keeping an eye on you until we’re sure. So let’s get out of here, okay?”

  Bobbing his head emphatically, he gave a feeble smile. “Thanks. And you’re right, we should leave. Given the opportunity, Mac would have my head about now as he realizes what I did.”

  “Mac?”

  “Macquinn, my marshal. The squeaky fellow?”

  “Oh.”

  They gathered up all their gear, saddling and packing the celiths. Talea gulped down some water as they worked. Between that and being warm, she was able to help, though she still felt dizzy by the time she mounted Ember and they rode away.

  Skyve must have noticed. “We still need to get that properly stitched and bandaged.”

  Zoper saw the wound they were referring to and winced. “Ah, sorry about that...is it bad?”

  “You should know,” Rikky glowered at him, “you gave it to her!”

  “Hmm.” Zoper recoiled a little and gave Talea a sort of knowing frown. “He’s not very hospitable, is he?”

  “Oh I’ll show you hospitable.” Every muscle was rigid. “The first wrong move you make and you’ll see just how hospitable I can be, you—”

  “Rikky, please.” Talea shook her head at him imploringly. Despite his cool reaction, she thought Zoper seemed genuinely upset by Rikky’s hostility. “Anyway.” She looked at both of them for confirmation that the feud was over for the time being. “Let’s ride awhile at least before we stop, I don’t want your Tarragon catching up to us.”

  “And long term?” Terindi asked. “How does this affect our...plans?”

  Ha, good question. If only she could give Skyve these sorts of decisions—he was better at them. But no, this was a Aysa matter and for some reason, she was the Aysa. “Um...I don’t think we can continue with our previous plan, under the circumstances. At least not until we’ve heard from someone and know what’s going on with everyone else. So...let’s go find Wylan’s team, or the Wardens, to help them.” Which meant dragging the war out even longer.

  “Would the Wardens be Yhkon’s group?”

  She nodded, and Zoper gave an approving nod in return. “Intimidating name. Good, it fits. That Yhkon fellow is terrifying.”

  Talea laughed dryly. “You haven’t even seen him at his worst.”

  18

  Asyjgon

  W ALK a few steps, turn, walk those same steps back, turn, take the steps again.

  “Quit worrying.” Resh approached to punch his shoulder. “It won’t help anything, and she’s going to be fine. It’s just some sort of flu.”

  Yhkon crossed his arms. “It is not. The flu doesn’t come
and go like this.” She had been sick on and off ever since their first encounter with the Asyjgon, two weeks ago.

  “Sure it could, maybe, we don’t know much about—”

  “Resh,” Gustor took Resh by either arm and gave him a shove, “off with you. Unless you’ve something for him to drink, I imagine your usefulness is limited.” When Resh had shrugged and sauntered off, Gustor gave Yhkon a disinterested sort of survey, in his usual fashion of showing concern. “We’re not going anywhere this late in the day, you might as well join her.”

  He wanted to check on her again, anyway. “Fine.” He quit his pacing and ducked into his and Jaylee’s tent. She was asleep in the blankets, her forehead still puckered in a grimace. Yhkon quietly got down beside her, pulling the blankets up around her shoulders better. He’d only just closed his eyes when she drew in a deep breath, waking. He set his hand against her forehead—no fever. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  Jaylee shook her head, her grimace replaced with a smile. “I’m feeling much better, so I’m glad you did.” She wiggled her way across the gap he’d left between them and snuggled up against him. “Ooh, and you’re warm, too. Were you pacing?”

  “Maybe…”

  “Mm-hmm.” She kissed his neck, the easiest part of him to reach. “How long has it been? Should we be going?”

  “No,” he wrapped his arm around her lest she try to get up, “it’s almost sundown. I think they’re making some supper, are you hungry?”

  “Starving. But nope,” she squirmed even closer, “you’re too warm. Food can wait. It’s cold out there.”

  That was true—it would be heating up in Calcaria, which meant Zentyre’s temperature was steadily dropping. So he held her and closed his eyes again, quite content with the arrangement.

  Larak’s thunderous voice split the stillness of the camp. “They’re two miles out! Let’s go!”