Dragon Blade Read online

  “It’s less than a league away, only a few minutes if we hurry, why?”

  “I want to be alone with you. I’ve worked hard today, and I want to just be together for a few minutes where no one will bother us, but I also have something that must be done here in less than two hours.”

  They were interrupted as Rhonna vacated the courtyard so that Beth and Adamus could visit.

  “Well,” she observed, “we won’t get there any faster if we just stand here talking about it.”

  He mounted; he wasn’t accustomed to riding without a saddle but the position was nearly made for it, and they would not be doing any aerobatic maneuvers. Gina landed on another section of wall, apparently summoned by Geneva to take over watching the “prisoner’s” visitation.

  Flying without a saddle made him feel even more strongly bonded with Geneva, and he was doubly glad they had decided to take a little time for themselves. It was also exhilarating being three hundred feet off the ground with no security straps; not exactly dangerous, but still thrilling.

  After a few minutes, Geneva landed lightly by the water’s edge. Delno had been carrying a bundle, and he showed her the contents. He had stopped briefly at his quarters and now carried a brush and oil and even a large bar of soap.

  “I figured it was time to own up to my debt and wash your back, Love,” he said.

  “I was beginning to wonder if you even remembered that promise you made to me in Llorn,” she replied.

  “I always remember promises I make to ladies in jailhouses, Dear Heart.”

  They both laughed as she waded into the lake and began rolling to wet herself all over. Then he stripped down to just his trousers and literally climbed up on her back and bent to the task of applying soap and brush to her scales and hide. They talked and joked while he scrubbed. Though he worked quickly, it was still over an hour before he was satisfied he had gotten her whole back. Then he used the oil to smooth out a couple of flaky spots where she had recently shed some scales. Finally, he just lay down on her back between her wings and held her as best he could for several moments.

  Geneva sighed contentedly and then said, “Dear One, I could stay just like this the rest of the night, but you said you had something to attend to, and you may already be late.”

  “Damn,” he said, “I had actually forgotten, but I have to meet Nat at Jhren’s apartment.”

  “I suddenly wish I were much smaller; I’d like to go to that meeting,” she said sarcastically. Then she added, “You’d better take a shield with you.”

  He grabbed the clean pants he had used to bundle the brush and other supplies in and changed quickly. Then he threw on his tunic and the slippers he had taken to wearing around the palace. Once the other items were bundled up in his damp trousers, he mounted up and Geneva flew him back to the palace. Since the courtyard was now empty, he had her land there. Once down, he threw the bundle in the direction of the nearest servant saying, “Take these to my apartment,” as he turned and ran in the direction of the mage’s quarters.

  As he skidded to a halt outside the mage’s door, he could hear Jhren’s angry voice coming from inside. “Damn it, I said I don’t want you here, you pointy-eared meddler.”

  “Well, I certainly didn’t want to come and listen to your verbal abuse either, you cantankerous windbag,” Nat’s voice shot back.

  “You can just leave,” Jhren replied.

  “I could,” Nat responded, “but I promised Delno that I would try and see you.”

  “You’ve seen me; now go; your promise is fulfilled.”

  “I promised to see you as a healer.”

  “I don’t want any of your elven magic practiced on me,” Jhren shouted.

  “I don’t practice elven magic; I practice medicine by scientific methods.” Nat retorted just as loudly. Delno had never heard the half-elf raise his voice like this.

  “Really,” Jhren spat out, “what do you know about scientific method?”

  “I have been studying and practicing medicine by scientific method most of my life,” Nat responded.

  “When you pass your ninetieth birthday we can talk about how long that is,” Jhren retorted.

  Nat laughed out loud.

  “What’s so funny?” the mage demanded.

  “I passed my ninetieth birthday nearly fifty years ago,” Nat replied. “Furthermore, I have been studying medicine since before you were even a twinkle in your father’s eye, old wizard.”

  Just as Delno was about to intervene, Jhren said, “Since before I was born, huh?” The old man sounded skeptical but not nearly so angry. Delno decided to wait to interrupt.

  “I am one-hundred-thirty-seven years old; I started studying medicine at my father’s side when I was four. I didn’t take up the profession formally until I was twelve, so, technically, I have been practicing medicine for 125 years.”

  Jhren was silent so long that Delno feared the old man had just discounted what Nat had told him and simply turned his back on the physician. Then Jhren said, “Well, I guess it would be a shame to waste all of that time practicing. Let’s move over here and see if you’ve practiced long enough to have gotten any of it right.”

  Delno decided that Nat had the situation well in hand, so he moved on without letting them know he had even been there.

  Chapter 2

  All conversation stopped at the dinner table as Jhren and Nat walked in together and took seats next to each other as if they had been good friends for years. Up until this evening, the mage had opted to take his meals in his own apartment because he had refused to sit at the same table with the half-elf. Even the Queen hadn’t been able to persuade him to join them.

  “What are you all staring at?” Jhren demanded.

  There was no immediate reply from anyone. Finally the Queen said simply, “It’s good of you to join us, Jhren; we have missed your company at the table these past weeks.”

  “Well, I can’t stay in my room forever,” Jhren replied, “and the healer here has helped me get some of my energy back, so I thought I would join you all tonight.”

  “Just don’t overdo,” Nat said.

  “Don’t get fussy over me,” Jhren replied, “I said you could be my healer; I didn’t marry you.”

  Most of the people were able to contain their laughter, but Brock had to cover his by pretending to cough, while Rita nearly choked on her wine.

  “Of course, my friend,” Nat responded. He looked across the table at Delno and winked.

  Jhren said, “This man has quite a bag of tricks.” He looked at Brock and asked, “Did you know that he can tell how your bowels are doing by feeling your pulse?” Jhren had a habit of simply saying whatever was on his mind.

  “I haven’t had the opportunity to observe him while he’s practicing,” Brock replied, while Rita tried desperately not to fall out of her chair laughing. Delno was doing only slightly better than she.

  Fortunately for all concerned, the main course arrived and everyone was silent, as was the custom in the palace while the servants were present. By the time dinner was served and the servants had withdrawn, Jhren was happily eating, since this evening was the first time he’d actually felt hungry since his rescue.

  Once they had eaten, Delno waited only as long as politely necessary before excusing himself and asking Rita to join him for a stroll in the palace garden. They left quietly as the others around the large table continued their conversations. The garden was really a large atrium in the same wing as their quarters. It had been converted some time in the past when one of the rulers had decided to take up horticulture as a hobby. There were many different kinds of plants from all over the known world, some of which, from the coastal marshes in the extreme southwest, actually digested insects that they lured in with various strategies.

  As they walked among the plants, Delno said, “I’ve noticed that our presence is becoming the accepted norm here in Palamore rather than the novelty it should be.”

  “Yes,” she replied, “I
’ve noticed that same thing. I’ve been asked to do everything from settle disputes between craftsmen to oversee the opening of a new trade hall. Those aren’t Riders’ responsibilities.”

  “You’re right: I know that the Queen is tired and would like to put the place in order and retire, but I’m beginning to fear she may have plans to put us in charge in her place. I found myself helping her decide the fate of a soldier who had gone home without leave because his wife was having their first child. While I’ve been a soldier and I could sympathize with the man, I shouldn’t have been the one to decide his fate.” Then he added, almost as an afterthought, “I docked the man two weeks’ pay, and then had two week’s food and some cloth sent to his wife.”

  She kissed him and said, “You’re pretty soft-hearted for a tough old campaigner.”

  He chuckled and replied, “Soft-hearted? Probably more soft headed. I hope my leniency because of the situation that precipitated the event doesn’t make every damn fool out there think he can take an unauthorized vacation.” Then he looked her in the eye and added, “The point is though, I shouldn’t have been the one to make the call. The commanding officer should have, but since they all credit me for sending Llorn packing, they’ve been bringing me this day to day nonsense for the last three weeks. I almost wish I had stabbed that idiot commander from Llorn for handing me that blade and all but surrendering to me on the spot; now everyone believes I run the army as well as half the rest of the kingdom.”

  “What does Brock think about all of this?” she asked.

  “Brock has been busy with duties of his own and hasn’t noticed it yet. I’ve kept him running quite a bit trying to gather intelligence about the situation in Horne because I have to devote so much time to training and can’t do it myself. Also, the Queen is very subtle; I think she purposely keeps him at a distance from all of this. I have a feeling that she is using our relative youth, and my sense of family duty to manipulate us.”

  “Well, Handsome, this is usually the point when you come up with some plan to extricate us from the jaws of peril. What do you have up your sleeve?”

  “Well, I certainly don’t want to do anything to jeopardize our position here.” As she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, he explained. “I don’t think the Queen is doing these things out of malice; I think she is just tired of running the country and would like a break. Unfortunately, we have other duties ourselves. The problem is that I need the Queen’s continued good will so that we keep our living quarters while I continue to study under Jhren, and Geneva matures.”

  “So, your big plan is to just keep letting her put more and more of her duties off on us? I have to tell you, Handsome, I’d come to expect more out of you up until now.”

  He shook his head and smiled, “Relax, Beautiful. Have I let you down yet? I have a plan in the works, but I need to talk to Nat and Jhren first. If all goes well, you and I will be taking a trip soon.”

  No matter how much she pleaded or threatened, he wouldn’t tell her any more as they walked to their apartment. Finally, she said, “If you don’t tell me, you can sleep somewhere besides the bed tonight.”

  “If you impose that, you can wash your own hair and back,” he retorted.

  “That’s not fair,” she responded.

  “A fair is a carnival with lots of make believe. This, Beautiful, is real life.” She began to pout, which Delno was now sure she did because she knew he found it so attractive, and he added, “I’ll tell you what. You draw the bath and get in to soak while I go find Nat and Jhren. If all goes well with that meeting, I’ll come back and join you in the tub and explain it while we scrub each other’s backs.”

  Chapter 3

  “We’ve made it to Orlean, Love,” Geneva said as she began to glide down toward the city gates.

  “It seems like we left it so long ago,” he responded. “Has it really only been a month?”

  “Give or take a few days.”

  “Hold tight, Nassari,” Delno told his friend, who was riding with him at the moment.

  She landed gently; Rita and Fahwn landed a few seconds later and Adamus and Beth were right behind them. Nassari grunted and muttered under his breath. The Riders were taking turns carrying him as a passenger, and Delno got the honors on the third part of the trip from Palamore. It was early afternoon, and between Nassari’s constant chatter and his nearly constant complaining about flying, Delno was beginning to wonder about the wisdom of bringing the man along.

  Since Delno’s magic lessons had reached the point that he needed to practice what he’d learned before he could move on, and since Nat had felt that Jhren needed to do nothing more strenuous than walk in the garden and drink the herbal tea he had prescribed for the mage, Delno had organized the Riders into two groups. Brock, Jason and Lawrence were to go south and gather information about enemy activity and try to recruit more Riders to their cause. Delno and his group would head north with the same mission. Granted, there were few if any Riders north of Trent, and none north of Orlean, but the potential to add Corice to their list of allies was a possibility that needed to be explored. That was why they had decided to carry the extra burden of a passenger; Nassari’s political connections should be quite helpful if they could put up with him until they reached Larimar.

  Delno and the others dismounted, and he led the way to the garrison. They would go and see Pearce and Connor after they had seen Robbie and delivered Winston’s message. The message wasn’t really all that important; Delno knew the exact contents since he had been right there when Winston had dictated it: just an account of what had taken place since their departure.

  “Colonel Eriksson,” Robbie said after he had read the letter. “That will most likely mean that he will be moved to a larger posting.”

  “Well,” Delno replied, “I can’t say for sure, since I have no connection to the Ondarian military other than my friends from the garrison here, but it could mean that he will be moving men to Horne to assist the troops already down there.”

  “More men to Horne?” Robbie asked. “Nearly half our army is already down there. Are things really going so badly that we need to send more troops?”

  “All we have are vague reports and the continued call for more men and arms.” Delno answered. Then he brightened and said, “Cheer up though, man. Winston didn’t want to put it in writing since it’s not official, but he told me to tell you that he’s put you in to be captain of this post, and he believes that it will be confirmed.”

  “Captain,” he said softly. “That is good news, if it’s confirmed.” Then he smiled somewhat sheepishly and said, “Do you remember that young woman your friend introduced me to, Jennie?” At Delno’s nod, he went on, “Well, she is everything I’ve ever dreamed a woman should be; bright, pretty, considerate, just everything.” Then he looked Delno in the eye and said, “I’ve asked her to marry me, and she’s agreed. With this promotion, I’ll be able to set her up properly in a house without having to ask my father for an advance on my inheritance.”

  “That’s wonderful news, my friend; when is the wedding?”

  Robbie’s face fell slightly, “Well, that would depend on how soon the promotion goes through.”

  “I wouldn’t worry, Robbie,” Delno responded, “Winston seemed to think that we could have brought it with us if we had waited another few days to leave. He just sent the letter requesting your promotion two days ago.”

  “I’m afraid things don’t work quite that fast in the Ondarian army,” Robbie said. “It could take months before that goes through the proper channels and the actual orders are cut.”

  “Even with recommendations and requests to expedite the process signed by two Dragon Riders and the commanding general of the Ondarian Army?” Delno asked.

  Robbie was speechless. Rita walked up to him and said, “It’s all true; I was there when they got the general to sign the letters. It might be a bit early, but congratulations, Captain.” She stood up on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek.
/>
  Seeing the petite Dragon Rider kiss the young man, the senior sergeant said, “That’s confirmation enough for me. Congratulations, sir,” then he saluted.

  They stayed and exchanged news for about an hour before Delno said they had to find Pearce, and they all walked out of Robbie’s office. Connor was coming in the garrison gate as they were going through the door. Delno could tell the boy wanted to run up and greet them, but he restrained himself and reported to Robbie. Finally, after giving a full report about his morning patrol, he saluted and turned to them.

  After the Riders exchanged greetings, Robbie said, “I certainly hope that if they aren’t going to send me more men when they send that promotion letter, they authorize the funds to keep this young Rider here. He’s good at his job: it’s mainly due to him that travelers are safe on the roads; my men have had nearly all they can do keeping the city from falling to disorder.”

  Connor straightened at the praise. “I just do my job to the best of my ability, sir.”

  “Your best is quite impressive, young Rider,” Robbie replied. “Now, if you will all excuse me, I must see to patrols.”

  As Robbie walked away, Delno said to Connor, “Why don’t you stow your saddle and meet us at the healer’s house? We’ll catch you up on what has happened.”

  As Connor ran off to put his gear away, they walked slowly towards the gate of the garrison; by the time they reached it, the boy had rejoined them. Delno and Rita filled him in as they walked.

  Missus Gentry was pleasantly surprised when she opened the door and found them on the stoop. Pearce was treating a patient, so she showed them to the sitting room and went for refreshments. By the time she returned with drinks and cakes, the physician had joined them. They spent the next hour and a half bringing the man up to date on everything.

  “The thing Nat is finding a lack of in Palamore is a reliable supply of herbal ingredients,” Delno informed him. “That should pick up some now that the threat of impending war is no longer looming large, but he wants to be sure he has a good supply before we move on.”