Dragon and Herdsman

"At least we don't have anyone sniping at us," Jack puffed after fighting his way through a particularly unsociable row of reeds. "That's something, anyway."

"True," Draycos said. "And I find that fact ominous. The comm clip trick should not have fooled them nearly this long."

"Not unless they're really stupid," Jack admitted. "Maybe they decided to call it quits for the night."

"I don't know why they would," Draycos said. "They must certainly have equipment for seeing in the darkness. The disadvantage would be ours."

"Mine and Alison's, maybe, but not yours," Jack pointed out. "You do a lot better in the dark than we do. And personally, if I were them, I'd be a little leery about going up against a K'da poet-warrior at night."

"Perhaps," Draycos said, slashing through yet another stand of reeds. "We shall see when we rejoin the . . ." He trailed off.

"The herd?" Jack suggested quietly.

There was a sharp swishing noise through the reeds as Draycos twitched his tail. "I thought I could become used to the idea," the dragon said, a deep sadness in his voice. "But I cannot. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for," Jack assured him. "I've never run into any primitive humans myself, but there are supposed to be a few tribes of them still scattered through Earth's denser jungles. I'd probably be just as weirded out if I ran into one of them."

There was a moment of silence, and Jack winced to himself. The situations weren't really the same, and they both knew it. "At any rate, I appreciate all you are doing for them," Draycos said. "Taking their burden upon yourself. Quite literally, in this case."

"No problem," Jack said. "Besides, I was herded around pretty much the same way back in the Whinyard's Edge. About time I got to see how the other side lives."

"I trust it is to your liking?"

Jack hunched forward and got a fresh grip on his passenger. "Just great," he said, straightening up again and flinching as the leaves of a low-hanging branch brushed against his forehead. "I could do this all night."

"Let us hope you won't have to."

They continued on in silence. The ground didn't get any easier to navigate, but as his night vision slowly improved Jack began to get the knack of seeing and deciphering the various shades of gray around him. Draycos's gold scales appeared almost luminous in the faint starlight, providing him with a fairly clear view of the path the dragon was carving out.

Jack's improved vision undoubtedly saved him from a few stumbles over the next hour of travel. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything to help with the weight slowly crushing his shoulders.

But there was something else about his passenger, a growing feeling that Jack couldn't quite put his finger on. A kind of restlessness, along with an almost twitching that he couldn't exactly feel but somehow knew was there.

At first he assumed it had to do with the Phooka's double leg sprain. But adjusting his grip and trying to walk more smoothly didn't seem to affect the restlessness. The more he tried to ease the Phooka's ride, in fact, the more twitchy he became.

Jack had just decided it was time to ask Draycos about it when the Phooka's weight suddenly vanished. "Yowp!" Jack gasped.

"What?" Draycos demanded, twisting around.

"Sorry, sorry—I was just startled," Jack hastened to assure him, squirming a little as his former passenger twisted himself into place around Jack's chest, back, and legs. "I guess he decided he could use me as a host, after all."

"He is on you?" With a noisy bound, Draycos landed at Jack's side, his forepaws slipping into the gap in Jack's shirt. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Jack said, pushing the probing forepaws away. "Cut it out, will you? That tickles."

"I was merely concerned," Draycos said, reluctantly pulling back.

"I'm fine," Jack repeated, straightening his shirt collar. "And this is our chance to make some decent time. Let's get moving."

And with the injured animal now riding Jack's skin like a good K'da should, the trip did indeed become easier. There were still a few patches of dense vegetation that Draycos had to cut through, but everywhere else Jack was able to plow his way through on his own.

It took them another half hour to get around the hill Jack had pointed out to Alison. On the far side was a much gentler slope, and twenty minutes later they were back to the level they'd been on when the Phooka had fallen off the ridge. "There we go," Jack murmured, breathing hard. "Piece of cake."

"You will someday have to cook for me this cake you often speak of," Draycos said dryly. "Come—we must find Alison and the others."

"Go ahead," Jack said, pushing aside the reeds at the base of a thick tree and sitting down against the trunk. "I'll wait here."

"That may be dangerous," Draycos warned. "There are many night creatures around. Some are undoubtedly predators."

"I've got my tangler," Jack reminded him, pulling out the weapon and setting it on his lap. "I just need to rest for a few minutes."