Blood of Dragons

‘I’ve, well, not with me, no, but … say it again. I can memorize it, or come close enough as will make no difference. The Duke? Sweet Sa, the Duke of Chalced! Oh, Hest, that is a high connection indeed! We do tread a fine line here, and now I understand all your calls for discretion. I won’t fail you, my friend. I truly will not fail you in this! Oh, sweet Sa, my heart is pounding to think of it! But where will you be? Cannot you simply remain here and be the one to give the message?’

Hest cocked his head at him. ‘But I’ve told you, the meeting was to be highly confidential. They are expecting one man to be here, not two. I will step out for a time, find a hot cup of tea for myself or some sort of amusement while you conduct this bit of business.’ He paused and then asked abruptly, ‘Surely that was what you wanted?’

‘Well, no, I never meant to drive you away from your own—’

‘No, none of that now, no!’ Hest interrupted Redding’s apologetic stuttering. ‘No regrets! You’ve drawn a line with me, and I respect you for that. I’ll just step out, and give you some time to try your wings with this. But before I go, I’ll repeat the message one more time for you.’

They spotted the first dragon when Leftrin knew they were still at least three days from Kelsingra. The ship had alerted him to it, not in any overt way, but as a sudden shivering that ran up Leftrin’s spine and ended in a prickling on his scalp. He’d scratched his head, turned his eyes skyward to see if Tarman were warning him of an approaching squall, and seen instead a tiny chip of sapphire floating against the grey cloud cover.

It vanished and for a moment he thought it had been an illusion. Then it appeared again, first as a pale-blue opal, winking at him through a haze of cloud, and then abruptly as a sparkling blue …

‘Dragon!’ he shouted, startling everyone, as he pointed skyward.

Hennesey was suddenly beside him. All knew he was the keenest-eyed of the crew and he proved it when he asserted, ‘It’s Sintara! See the gold-and-white tracery on her wings? She’s learned to fly!’

‘I’m lucky I can make out it’s a dragon,’ Leftrin grumbled good-naturedly. He could not keep the grin from his face. So. The dragons were flying now, or at least one was. The elation he felt surprised him; he was as proud as a father watching a child’s first steps. ‘I wonder if the others are flying, too.’

Hennesey had no chance to reply.

‘Can you call to her? Signal to her that we need her?’ Reyn shouted the question as he pounded down the deck to Leftrin’s side. Terrible hope lit his face.

‘No.’ Leftrin offered him no lies. ‘And even if we could, there’s no place along this stretch where she could alight. Still, it’s good to see her, Khuprus. Take heart from that. We’re only a few days out from Kelsingra now. Soon, very soon, we’ll be where there are dragons, and perhaps we can get the help your boy needs.’

‘You are sure that Tarman can go no faster?’

It was another familiar question, and much as the captain sympathized with the young man, he was tired of answering it. ‘The ship has his heart in what he’s doing. Neither of us can ask more of him than that.’

Reyn looked as if he might say more, but was interrupted by faint shouts from downriver. Both men turned and looked aft.

The vessel from Bingtown still pursued them. Their lookout had just spotted the dragon, probably after wondering what the crew of the Tarman was pointing and shouting about. Leftrin sighed. He was tired of seeing the ‘impervious’ ship off his stern. Time after time, Tarman had outdistanced them by travelling at night, only to have them catch up with them a day or so later. The speed the narrow vessel could maintain was uncanny. Leftrin suspected that the crew were risking their lives by rowing day and night to keep up with him. Someone had paid them very well indeed. Or perhaps they were treasure hunters, dreaming of making a fortune. That would account for their tireless efforts. He wished with all his heart that they would give up and go back. Now that they’d seen a dragon in flight, it was a forlorn hope.

If Sintara was aware of any of them, she gave no sign of it. She was hunting, ranging far to either side of the river in slow arcs. Leftrin made a mental note to add that to his growing collection of notes, charts and sketches of the river. If a dragon was hunting here, he suspected that it meant that there was solid ground back there some place. He could not imagine Sintara diving on anything that would require her crashing through layers of trees and ending in a swamp, nor that she would willingly dive on prey in the river. No. Back behind those layers of tall trees, there must be low meadows or perhaps even rolling foothills, precursors to the meadows and hills of Kelsingra. That would bear more exploring. Some day.

‘Is she coming? Was it Tintaglia?’