Draka

“Draka, careful, please!” Herald said urgently as I pounced on Barro.

“Douse the torches,” I growled as I looked into Barro’s staring eyes. He lay still and limp beneath me, not making the slightest attempt to break free as my weight pinned him to the stone floor. Without saying a word Mak picked up Barro’s torch from where he had dropped it, and smothered both that and Herald’s, plunging the chamber back into absolute darkness. A heartbeat later I saw the glow of magic as Mak used her darkvision spell, first on herself, then on Herald and Ardek in turn.

“There,” I said, blinking my own vision over to my shadow sight. “Much better.”

With no light there was no point in keeping Barro pinned, and I stepped off him, watching him look around blindly in the sudden darkness. “Come on,” I told him. “Speak. Since you were so eager to talk to me that you’d defy my command to never return here, I’m very curious to hear what you have to say.”

“What… what are you?” Barro said, his voice quavering. He’d sat up, supporting himself on one hand as the other one groped around in the darkness like he was trying to touch me.

“Come on. You got a good enough look, didn’t you? Take a guess.”

“A dragon,” he whispered. “A dragon on Mallin. It shouldn’t be possible.”

“And why not?”

“There hasn’t been a dragon sighted around the Sareyan sea for decades. No one has reported a dragon on Mallin since the Collapse!”

“But here I am.”

“Here you are. Talking to me, instead of tearing me apart. Why?”

“That’s easy,” I said, circling him. He turned where he sat, tracking the sound of my claws on the stone. “I promised someone that I’d give you a chance, and I haven’t made my mind up yet. You should thank her.”

“Is it Miss Makanna I should thank, or Miss Herald?”

“Herald. Though… Mak, what do you think? Should I kill him?”

“No,” she answered quickly. “I don’t see any reason why you would… or should, rather.”

“There. You can thank both of them.”

“Then, thank you, Miss Makanna. Miss Herald,” Barro said, looking around in the dark. “Thank you for giving me this chance.”

“I really am sorry,” Herald said. “I am sorry for luring you in here under false pretences. But we have to be sure.”

“Who are you, then? Besides adventurers of excellent repute? Are you part of the dragon’s cult?”

Mak snorted, and Herald looked thoughtful.

“Nobody here worships me, I can tell you that much,” I scoffed. “If they’re a little overprotective it’s because we care about each other. I guess Ardek could qualify as an employee. Or, I don’t know. What do you think, Ardek? Do you worship me?”

“Sorry to say, boss, not at all. Fear, and respect, yeah. But you’re too solid and present to worship.”

“There we are. Not a cult. Herald and Mak are here because we’ve fought and bled together, and Ardek because he made some unfortunate life choices. That’s it. But we are here to decide about you. I heard your explanation for what you’re doing here. From what you said I can’t really blame you, but I hope you understand why I need to be sure about you.”

“You’re a dragon. They’d kill you.”

“Yeah. For money or out of a misplaced sense of heroism or just to say that they did it. And what usually happens to dragon cults, or anyone suspected of belonging to one? The people close to me?”

“They’d be rooted out. Exterminated.”

“And since I plan for me and my friends to live a long and happy life, I need to be sure that anyone who knows about me won’t be spreading any rumours. So, I will tell you this. I played it up pretty hard when I scared you and the scholars away from here, but I was very serious about not wanting anyone to know about this place. Other than to protect myself and my friends, I don’t want to hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it. I don’t want to rob anyone, or extort anyone. I don’t want to lay waste to any villages or steal away any young women, or young men or anyone else for that matter. Anyone who isn’t a monster and who leaves me alone has nothing to worry about. I hope that you still being alive is enough to convince you of that. Do you believe me?”

Barro paused before saying, “I do.”

“That’s nice to hear, but I doubt that you’d say anything else. Mak, Herald, what do you think? Is he being honest?”

“He is,” Mak said, followed by Herald’s, “I agree.”

“Well. Congratulations, Barro. I guess that means that you get to live, so long as you swear on your life that you will keep my secrets.”

Barro didn’t hesitate. “I swear it.”

“Mak?”

She nodded.

“Great!” I said. “That settles that. You’re here, you know, and you’re still alive. Couldn’t have gone better for you.”

A long breath left him, and he lay back on the stone. “Of all the things I imagined might happen if I returned here,” he said after a long silence, “nothing was close to this.” He paused, then said, “Does that mean I can have some light again?”

“Oh. Right. Mak, would you…?”

“Sure.” Mak undid her spell on Herald and Ardek, then took out one of the light balls from a bag. We hadn’t needed them since Ardek had become fully aware of what Mak could do. Since Barro had no idea about any of Mak’s abilities she charged the ball inside the bag, making it look as though she’d only uncovered it.

“There,” she said, placing the ball on a bag, then doing the same with the second ball to light up a larger area.

“Those are amazing,” Barro said, his face going from relief to almost childish wonder as he looked at the stones. “Light without a flame! Where did you get these?”

“Loot from killing valkin,” Mak answered. “You could say that Draka got them for us. No idea what they’re worth. Lots, I assume. Too useful to sell, though. Besides, they need to be charged with magic, so that limits them somewhat.”

"Draka, that's…" He looked at me.

"That would be me, yes. The dragon has a name," I said, looking down at him. I could look down at almost anyone except Herald now. It felt weirdly good. "Did I hurt you?"

"Hurt me? Ah, no. No, you didn't."

"Good. It would have been embarrassing if you'd knocked your head open on the floor or something."

"Learning to fall is part of learning to fight." He looked a little out of it, though it was probably from the fast turns of the situation rather than anything else.

I could use that.

"Now that we're getting along so nicely," I said, "how do you feel about helping me with something?"

"I can hardly refuse, can I? But whether I can do it depends on what you want."

"I want to get in touch with the two scholars you came here with." I could see him immediately start to think about how to refuse me safely. Or, considering that he’d said outright that I was in his head, perhaps he was trying to justify helping me despite his professional duty to keep his previous employers safe and confidential.

I pressed on. "I need to know what they know. How they found this place, what they know about its history. I can promise you that I don't intend to harm them. I don't even intend to meet them directly if I can avoid it. But I need to know."

Barro relaxed visibly. He was either not even trying to hide his emotions, or he was not very good at it.

"Well…" he said, "I might be able to get a message to them. But they're very secretive with their studies from what I've pieced together, and I don't know what their heads are like right now. No guarantee they'll answer me, or give the answer you want. Once we got back to the city they went their own way, and me and the guys I'd contracted got our pay by messenger. I haven't heard from them since."

"If you do get in touch with them I'd be very appreciative. I take care of the people who help me."

"I won't be coy here. That sounds like a good position to be in."

"Much better than the opposite. Which brings me to something else I'd like your help with, if you're willing."

He looked at me with a mix of apprehension and interest.

"What do you know about the Night Blossom?"

“Not much. It’s a false name for some rich woman, I think. Runs a bunch of brothels and gambling halls. Some bars. Seedy, but nothing illegal as far as I know. Why?”

“Since you’ve been so open with me I’ll be honest with you. She captured two of my friends and tortured them. Then she captured me, and I think that she intended to sell me, alive or in parts. I’m going to kill her, and I need help gathering information.”

Barro blanched. “And you want my help with this?”

“I do. Does any of this bother you? My plans and your potential place in them?”

“If what you say is right, then you certainly sound justified. I doubt that you or your friends could get justice through the court. But I don’t know what I could do to help. I’m no investigator.”

He didn’t say that he didn’t want to help. He had no reason to. I had threatened and attacked him, and the kindest thing I had done to him was to spare his life. But he didn’t say that he didn’t want to help me, he said that he didn’t think that he could. Of course, that could be him just being careful and trying not to anger me, but the guileless way that he said it, the open expression on his face as he looked at me… I doubted it. I was in his head, just like he’d said.

I had no idea how, and I wished that I did.

No matter how it had happened, I was going to exploit this man as much as I could without putting him in clear and present danger.

“I’m not asking you to go out and ask dangerous questions, but you’re an adventurer. I’m sure that you’re resourceful.” I told him. “Just keep your eyes and ears open. Maybe press a little if someone brings up the subject of the Night Blossom, or maybe try to find out who owns a house on… Cloud Street?” I looked at Herald and Mak, who both nodded. “Right. A house on Cloud Street that was torn up by some kind of wild animal.”

“That was you, I guess.”

I grinned, showing plenty of teeth. “They tried to cage a dragon.”

Barro leaned back just a bit, his lips thinning as he pressed them tightly together. “Right,” he said. “What did they expect to happen?”

“What, indeed. But, Barro, I don’t want you to put yourself in any danger. Just let me know if you hear anything, or find anything, and I’ll compensate you for your time. That’s all I ask.”

“Alright. Say I do find something, or I get in touch with the scholars. Should I come back here? What if the gate is closed?”

“No need. Are you familiar with the Grey Wolves mercenary company and their headquarters?”

“Oh, sure! Their company hall is down near the harbour. I have some buddies there.”

“Right. Just go there, and tell them that you have a message for Garal or Lalia from Makanna and Herald’s friend. That’s all.”

“Garal and Lalia. Alright. I can do that.”

“You have all the right answers, don’t you, Barro? But you’re surprisingly willing to help someone who threatened to murder you not long ago. You’re not concerned about that?”

“Well, no? Should I be? Something brought me here, you or the gods, and I can only assume that it was to help you. And I’m not committing to anything, or promising to do anything illegal, or immoral… Thank you for your concern, but I’m not worried, no. If anything I feel much more at ease now that I’ve spoken to you than I did when I walked in here.”

In other words, I thought, he was completely whammied. That, or just a really steady guy. Good to know.

“In that case I think we’re done here. You’re welcome to stay, but to be honest we were all up all night hunting and taking care of that deer, so we all need some sleep.”

“Right. Well, I’ve done what I came out here for. I don’t suppose I could have some company back to the gate?” Barro looked back into the darkness, where the tunnel back to the outside was barely visible to me as a deeper black. I doubt he saw anything at all, in which case he must have been very good at orienting himself.

“We’re all going,” I told him. “They all sleep there anyway.”

“Not you?”

“Have you not been paying attention? I’m a dragon. I have a lair.”

“Oh. Of course.”

The walk back to the entrance was much less tense than the one in. Mak and Barro especially got along well, talking shop and swapping short anecdotes about Val. There was a somewhat uncomfortable moment when we reached the gate and Barro realised that it was closed.

“Had to be sure about me, right?” he said, giving me a look.

“Nothing personal, you know?”

“I should have known. It’s just a little disheartening to know that even if I could have outrun you through the tunnel it wouldn’t have mattered.”

“I can see how it might be, yes. Now everybody back up. If there’s anyone outside I don’t need them seeing you all before I run them off.”

I put my hand on the gate and willed it open. The afternoon sun spilled in causing us all to blink painfully, but there was no one there. I waited for my humans to run off into the bushes if they needed and said my good-days while Barro brought his few things out. Then I closed the gate on them.

“So.” I said to Barro. I stayed silent and just looked down at him until he squirmed on his feet. “You are welcome back if you want, as long as you don’t lead anyone here. The others seem to like you well enough, and between Herald and Mak’s opinions of you and your acquaintance with Val, I think I can trust you. And I will be thankful for any help you can give me. Make yourself my friend and I will treat you as one, and I look after my friends. Or simply leave me and mine in peace, and I will leave you alone. Alright?”

“I like the sound of that,” he said with a wary smile. “I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming, though.”

“But. Betray me in any way, or cause harm to anyone I care for, and there is no place on this island where you can hide from me. No matter where you go I will find you, and you won’t even know that I’m there until you meet a very messy end. Understood?”

“There it is,” he said hoarsely, the smile, more fearful than wary, still on his face. “I understand you just fine, uh, Madam?”

“Draka is fine.”

I sniffed the air and waved a hand. “Your donkey’s over that way, I think. Hard to say from this distance, but I don’t want to risk scaring it off.”

“Thanks. I knew she wouldn’t wander off, good girl that she is. Never gave me any trouble the whole way out.”

“Well, I hope you have a good walk back. You might be able to make it before midnight if you set a good pace and don’t stop too often.”

“I just might. Mercies be with you, Draka.”

“Goodbye, Barro.”

With that I spread my wings. I leapt into the air and climbed, circled once for no other reason than to show off, and headed for my nest.

It was another six days before we heard from Karakan.

They passed uneventfully. Herald resumed her efforts at making me fully literate. While I could read fairly fluently I had barely bothered to practise my writing, and she was determined to use the days in the forest to correct that, scratching away in the dirt with a claw until my writing was at least somewhat legible.

Mak and Ardek went back almost to the way they’d been before Mak’s outburst, though Ardek still watched his words around her. I suspected that a big part of it was that I allowed Mak to take out her aggression on myself during our sparring sessions, which began the night after Barro’s visit. Mak had found herself a couple of poles the right length and thickness to make good substitutes for her spear, and I was badly mistaken if I’d thought that her fear and respect might make her go easy on me.

Fighting Mak was educational to say the least. What she lacked in raw strength she made up in speed, manoeuvrability, and just plain skill. It’s not like she was perfect, and I won an exchange every now and then, but usually I ended up getting poked, prodded, or simply popped on the head. She had some kind of mix of speed, reflexes and agility that allowed her to keep her ‘spear’ between herself and me however I tried, and when I tried to swat it away to make an opening she just swept her weapon out of the way without ever pointing it away from me. The first time I gave in to my frustration and tried to charge her she planted the butt end of her pole in the ground and the tip at the base of my throat, and I hit it hard enough to bend, then snap the pole. The force was enough that even with my Fortitude I was left coughing, and if it had been a real spear the damn thing probably would have come out the other end. Lesson learned.

Mak, meanwhile, had danced away and drawn the ‘sword’ she kept in her belt, giving me a solid whap on the nose with it while I was busy wheezing. “That’s a point to me, I think!” she said, grinning viciously.

“You know I’m supposed to be learning something, right?” I said once I could speak again. “I’m not just here for you to brutalise.”

“You did learn something. At least I hope so. Don’t charge right at someone who’s got a spear on you.”

“Any suggestions besides ‘don’t do that’?”

Mak looked at me thoughtfully for a while. “It’ll probably go against your instincts, but I think that what you need to do is to lead with your head. You’re too focused on getting your claws on me when your mouth is full of teeth. And it’s a moving target, so you should be able to get it under the point of the spear and then push the haft with your neck.”

I tried, and got jabbed in the throat for my effort. I tried again and got smacked on the side of the head. Mak, mercifully, didn’t gloat, though she wasn’t at all reluctant to criticise my attempts.

“It would have worked if you waited for me to be committed. I’m not sure what you were thinking, trying that when I was in a ready stance. Look, when I’m like this,” she took her regular stance, sideways to me, feet apart and the pole extended towards me, “if you come at me all I have to do is…” She drew her arms apart, sliding the pole back in her grip much faster than I could approach. At the same time she moved back, then slammed the point of the pole forward where my head or neck might have been if I’d been coming at her.

“You need to draw out an attack, then come at me.”

“What I need to do is spit venom in your face so that you choke and die,” I growled.

“And as much fun as I’m sure that would be, I know that you only have so much venom. Come on.”

I have no idea what the score stood, but her suggestion did work after several attempts and I called it quits there. Mak agreed cheerfully. “No point in you being too bruised to continue tomorrow.”

“I’m going to eat you one day,” I muttered, feeling thoroughly beaten.

“Promises, promises.”

Once she’d cooled down she became a little more careful, probably worried that she’d pushed me too far, but that didn’t stop her from going back to being cheerfully irreverent the next time she had a chance to knock me around. I just took my lumps and comforted myself with the knowledge that I was, at least, learning something. And that it seemed to do Mak some good, which felt a lot more important to me now than it had two weeks earlier.

I hadn’t forgiven her, but my trust for her was slowly returning, and I felt a responsibility for her, Herald, and Ardek. They were my humans, and I took care of what was mine.