Chapter Twenty-Four
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“Is your snout working, ogre?” Selene shouted.
Morgan ignored him.
“How can there be so many tracks in the middle of no-man’s land?” Selene grumbled.
I assumed the question was intended to voice frustration, not draw an answer. Because if pressured on the matter, I’d have to admit my own surprise at the number of horse tracks and the long lines of wagon wheels we passed. But maybe it shouldn’t’ have been a shock. Why would Northerners on the way to the Wildes bother trekkin’ over the tall rises in the Range? If a traveler ensured he carried enough water, the edge of the eastern desert wouldn’t be much out of the way, but three times as fast.
As long as a band of rogue goblins didn’t resent the trespass.
And any human headin’ for the Wildes better not be overly fearful of bein’ descended upon by strangers. That’s all they were gonna find in the Wildes. And more goblins, orcs and daemons, besides an odd, cantankerous dragon that considered all lesser bein’s nothin’ but a potential snack.
Morgan stamped to a stop, and Selene reined the mare, thrustin’ me hard against the back of the saddle. “Ohh.” I won’t be able to walk or pee for a week.
Morgan tilted his head back a tetch, lookin’ slowly from the east, southerly, to the west behind us.
“What are you thinking?” Selene asked.
The mare stomped at the ground and blew impatiently. Selene patted her shoulder.
“No tracks for a bit. I’m certain we’re as far east as any south-to-north travelers would wander. We haven’t missed them. If ya’re right about them enterin’ the Range from the south.”
While they talked, I decided I had to reintroduce each of my hips to the other or I’d never walk again. I leaned over and slid off the horse, fallin’ flat on my back in the process. I lay where I fell in the sand, unable to move my legs.
Selene peered down at me, brows drawn into a pitiful expression.
“It’s just yar heels a hurtin’!” I shouted. “Everythin’ from my neck down feels like it’s been bludgeoned by a club-totin’ daemon.”
Morgan walked around the back of the horse, which shied away from him of course, makin’ me roll hard to get away from her hooves. I spit to get dust out of my mouth, grimaced at the shovel-full of grit rippin’ at my eyeballs.
“Worried ya were dyin’ for a moment,” Morgan said. “But looks ya got life in ya yet.”
“I’m not ridin’ that horse anymore today,” I said.
Morgan grinned. The ogre feigned his humor though, because I could sense the sympathy. His kind have no love for horses, which pleases horses fine.
“Most girls would struggle with the pace we made,” Selene said.
“Ohhhh,” I hissed, risin’ to a sittin’ position. “Just wait until ya fall asleep tonight.”
“I’ll set a protective ward.”
Morgan looked back to the south. “Can we decide what we’re gonna do before Blake passes by to our west, hidden in the trees?”
“I see we have three or four options,” Selene said, “and I veto headin’ south. Serve no purpose.”
Morgan spit into the sand and kicked at an imaginary foe, swingin’ around in a circle. He was clearly gettin’ tired of Selene’s constant resistance to strike out directly for Blake. The man was sold on the concept of lettin’ the Northerners come to us—only once we were well away from the Range.
Rollin’ onto my knees to stand up, I said, “I agree with that. Too many miles of open country to keep our eye on.”
Morgan growled. “Should have followed their tracks. This was wrong.”
“So we can camp somewhere and wait for them to come to us,” Selene said as though Morgan hadn’t spoken. “But I figure they’ll sense us, work their way west of us in the trees unseen. I say our best bet is to stay north of them. Let them feel confident, that they’ve gotten away, while we draw them into a bottleneck.”
“In the meantime,” Morgan bellowed, “they’ll be treatin’ Louisa like an animal.”
Selene took a visible breath. “Last option, you and I fight to the death now and save them a lot of effort.”
“Don’t tempt me, human.”
Another day Selene might have smiled. But his insides were gripped as tight as granite, fearin’ what bein’ wrong might mean for Louisa, and the three of us. Every hour the past day, the man’s emotions flooded evermore freely into me. It was way-more irritatin’ than the jolt when one of them exploded forth some bit of majic.
Selene pointed to a pimple of a rise to the northeast. “How far you suppose that is?”
“Deceivin’ down here on flat land, and this dry air,” Morgan said. “Maybe a mile or so, but I’d wager it’s closer to five. Why?”
They both looked west to find the sun, prolly havin’ the same thought. Maybe had two hours of light left. Morgan could make the rise before dark, so surely Selene could, ridin’. But I stuck to my decision there was no gettin’ back on that horse.
“Give us a good view for—” Morgan’s face turned sour and he swung around, searchin’ the sky. “Uh oh.”
“What?”
Selene and I followed Morgan’s gaze. Way, as in no way in hell way, that was a vulture. I groaned at the same time as Morgan.
“Dragon?” Selene asked.
Could be good. Could be disastrous. Depended upon which dragon, and whether they’ve found Louisa yet. Prolly wouldn’t be out here, if they had.
I pressed my hand against my brow to block the glare. The dragon got bigger and bigger, fast. It worked its wings hard. Could it get any bigger?
“Gotta be the queen,” I said simultaneously with Morgan.
“That good or bad?” Selene asked.
“Depends,” we both croaked.
Morgan mumbled, “At least our decision makin’ is easier now.”
A wave of anxiety not my own, made me stumble sideways. Just wasn’t fair. Besides havin’ to deal with my own angst, now I had to cope with the worries of an over-opinionated ogre and a brainy wizard whose mind never calmed.
“She’s comin’ in hard,” I mumbled.
“Get off the horse,” Morgan shouted.
Selene slipped down and Morgan gripped his shoulder, pullin’ him near, stayin’ in front of him. Taiz’lin’s comments about how much the Lake queen disliked Morgan flooded me. Would she hesitate to go through Morgan to kill the wizard?
The whoosh of compacted air from the descendin’ dragon spooked the mare. Her reins flicked out of Selene’s hand and she struck off due north, hooves kickin’ sand at us. The way her head was down, she might not stop until she smelled the grass of Nador.
I caught Lucas’ glare over Iza’s shoulder. The ethereal roar of anger from the dragon took me to the ground, even with the ogre grabbin’ for my shoulder. The thrump of my backside hittin’ the ground partially drew me from the dragon’s swell of thoughts. An ear-splittin’ wop beat down at the three of us, as Iza struck hard to curl into an arc just over our heads, comin’ around for another pass.
“Oh geez,” escaped from my lips.
But the dragon swept down hard and slowed to a near hover a mere ten yards in front of us. Her talons stabbed to meet the Earth.
“Where’s Louisa!” the queen screamed before trumpetin’ in anger.
The blast forced Morgan hard into Selene and they tumbled to the ground together. I blinked at the swirlin’ dust to see, only wishin’ I couldn’t, as the enormous maw came to a stop inches above the three of us. Remained there, loomin’. The heavy breath soaked us. Her teeth slowly parted, two rows of twelve-inch-long fangs, jaws powerful enough to snap all three of us in two without tryin’, even if she were toothless.
A shhhhh klunk, Lucas slidin’ off the dragon, interrupted Iza’s hiss.
Lucas walked toward us, stopped and leaned against Iza’s chin, and crossed his ankles. He wore an expression like he was considerin’ pie versus cake for dessert.
“We’re searchin’ for her ourselves, dragon,” Morgan shouted. “Mind givin’ us some air?”
“That’s what I suggested,” Lucas said. “I believe she likes thinkin’ the worst of ya, Morgan. So ya’re a wizard?” Didn’t sound like a question. Lucas’ eyes were on Selene.
The Hamlet folk must not have heard yet that me and Morgan must also be wizard-born.
“Must not help ya much against a dragon.” Lucas brushed a mop of blond hair out of his face. “Don’t appear that special. Spose ya look different inside? Might be interestin’ to find out.”
“Not funny,” Morgan muttered. “Tell her to let us up.”
A rumble rose from Iza’s chest. Dragons evidently don’t like the suggestion they can be commanded to do anythin’. Made sense to me.
A half-bucket of spit oozed off her lip and fell onto my shoulder, makin’ my stomach tighten. The slobber burned, like a soup just off the fire. I groaned.
“Yuck,” Lucas muttered. “So why are ya way out here if ya’re searchin’ for Louisa?”
I felt as though I was suffocatin’, and wiggled to my right, rolled to get out from under the dragon and stood. My face ended up three inches from the dragon’s nostril, and I backed up until I could see into Iza’s eyes.
“What,” I shouted, “have we ever done to make ya think we would ever hurt Louisa?”
“Less that than wonder, why ya didn’t come to us for help,” Lucas drawled. “We’re pretty adept at searchin’ for folk.”
What did adept mean? I figgered the young man wouldn’t insult himself. “We’re dept at searchin’ too,” I answered. “Nothin’, uh—”
“Nefarious?” Lucas offered.
Another stinkin’ word I didn’t understand. So I stamped my foot. “Back off, Iza!” Here I am, tellin’ a dragon to do somethin’. Gotta question my own wisdom.
The dragon eased forward until all I could see was her sinuses. The smell was gonna make me retch in ten seconds. I concentrated on Giba, repeatin’ her name five times. The tingle rippled up my back, and I reached out and slapped Iza across the rim of her nose. The explosion of majic thrust me back two steps. The dragon roared, the air forcin’ me back another three steps.
I closed my eyes against the thought that maybe strikin’ a dragon isn’t the smartest thin’ I’d ever done in my life, and prepared for death. After a six-count I realized the hot breath no longer wrapped around me, and opened my eyes.
Iza’s head swayed fifteen feet in the sky. Her eyes whirled in the dragon fashion, but in shades of black and gray. So she wasn’t happy. But maybe I wasn’t about to die. I turned to Lucas, who wore a smirk.
“Why should I not kill ya?” slammed against my temples.
Had she spoken directly to me?
“Ow.” I gave my head a shake, which didn’t help. Who knew.
“Ya’re a brave one,” the young man said. “Or very stupid.”
“She was bein’ rude,” I said in my defense.
Selene and Morgan stood, wearin’ opposite expressions. Morgan was miffed, appeared ready to rip my head off.
“Maybe I’ll snack on ya, yet,” she said
I had to grin. While dragons couldn’t manage the myriad of expressions humans and such could, her brimmin’ teeth implied danger. However, I could get to like my new ability to sense emotions, because Iza radiated much more embarrassment than she did anger.
“What’s so funny, lad?” Lucas asked.
Lad? Ya’re, what, three years older than me, maybe.
I wiped my smile off quickly, and looked to Morgan to get the conversation goin’. The ogre blinked, as though he didn’t really want to. So I stiffened my resolve, swallowed hard, and faced the dragon. Only my mind remained empty.
“Speak before I tire and snack on ya after all,” Iza said.
“Because—because of dragon kind’s history with the northern wizards—”
Iza’s chest rumbled.
“We decided,” I continued, “this was somethin’ we needed to fix ourselves, lest the situation—uh—”
“Escalate?” Lucas suggested.
Another big word I didn’t know. But I said, “Yes. We barely avoided war mere weeks ago. If dragons were heard attackin’—”
Iza’s muzzle lowered and she displayed more fang. “Get to Louisa before I rip ya in half.”
The voice in my head struck me like a stiletto sinkin’ into my temple. “The three wizards are holdin’ her hostage, so they can get us north where they can kill us without yar interference.”
Iza drew back.
Huh. I was startled she took that so well.
“Was that so hard, lad—Morgan?” Lucas glared at the ogre. “So what’s the plan?”
~
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