Dragon Clan #4: Gray's Story Read online

  “Not if you can prevent it. I know that.”

  Gray stood. “Maybe one more stop. Then we can rest until morning.”

  They found the water trickling from the crack in the stone and spent the night huddled in the shallow cave. No fire to be seen if another triad had moved into the area. The following day they walked and camped dry with little shelter. The next afternoon they found the stream.

  Anna wanted to take a side trip and see where the black had fought the red dragon. There was plenty of daylight left, so Gray led the way. They returned to the stream before dark and drank their fill again.

  It was too close to the road for a camp fire, although it was a half day walk. Fire can be seen from vast distances on dark nights in the desert.

  Sitting in the starlight before sleeping, Anna asked, “Feel it?”

  Now that she had mentioned it, he did feel a small tingling on his back, just the lightest touch. It had not been there earlier. “Just a little.”

  “I think it’s staying out there right at the limits of where we can feel it. It hasn’t gotten stronger all day, but it has been there.”

  Either she was more sensitive, or he hadn’t paid attention. The idea of the red dragon remaining out there comforted him. If he needed it, the dragon would come. He felt sure. Dragons protected their humans.

  In the morning, he led the way to the road, or at least near it. He intended to turn south to reach Shrewsbury, but remembering last time he had walked out on the road, Prater had soon joined him. Prater or another might be out there watching. To the south was a ridge, not high, but enough to watch the road, and the broken lands across it. A hundred shallow draws formed from water flooding and running off gave at least that many places to hide.

  He told Anna of his plan. Together, they kept out of sight of anyone watching from the other side of the road as they climbed the back side of the ridge and positioned themselves, much like when they performed their watcher duties at home.

  They wriggled beneath a sage, as much for the shade as to prevent someone from seeing them. They lay in the shade and watched for the latter part of the morning until Anna said, “There.”

  Gray followed her eyes and watched a spot high on a hill, a place where the road could be seen in either direction. There were a hundred places to do that, but only the one Anna watched also provided a view into the drylands. It was where Tessa had directed him to look. The person over there was watching for Dragon Clan. He had no doubt.

  He suspected it was Prater, but was not going anywhere near to find out. His first instinct had been to try and slip up on the watcher, but then what? He’d either be spotted or have to kill someone.

  Instead, he and Anna eased back over the crest of the ridge. They hiked parallel to the road until both agreed the watcher could not see them. The found a gully to follow that took them almost to the road; then they watched the sparse traffic until they were out of sight of all other travelers, although there were few.

  Once on the road, Anna said, “My grandmother said we’ll need to think of a story before we get to Shrewsbury.”

  “Okay. The trick is to keep it simple. When we meet people let them do the talking. That way we won’t get caught in a lie.”

  She said, pointing at him and then her, “Brother and sister. We’re from near King Ember’s Summer Palace, which is sort of true. We both know what it looks like. But why are we going to Shrewsbury?”

  “We can’t say we’re related to anyone there because from what I understand, it’s a small town. Everyone will know each other.”

  Anna said, “Then we’re traveling. Shrewsbury is only a place to stop.”

  They walked for a while in silence. Gray said, “I can’t seem to come up with a story that will hold water.”

  “Well, you said to keep it almost true, but simple. What if we tell people our older brother was in Shrewsbury a year ago, and we think he took a ship to the Marlstone Islands. We’re trying to find if that’s true because we haven’t heard from him in all that time. Our mother is sick and wishes to see him one more time.”

  Gray considered the story and saw the fallacy. “Then why are you with me? Why send a man and his little sister on such a trip?”

  “Oh, you silly man! Because you are mentally slow and since I am very intelligent I have to care for you.”

  Her giggle was that of a little girl who had pulled one over on an adult. But there were parts they could use. Gray said, “Try this. Our father died last year. He was a soldier for the king for many years before buying a farm. Our mother died a long time ago, from a sickness. There are just the three of us children now, but the taxman took our house, and we have nowhere to live. Billy went to earn a fortune so we can buy it back. We have to find him.”

  “Only a few ships go to the Marlstone Islands, you know.”

  “Who said that?”

  “When Tessa and I were on watcher duty together she told me all about her trip with Fleet. The Lady Marion makes port there, Fleming, Shrewsbury, and Breslau. And according to you, it loses money on every trip.”

  “You listened well. Okay, let me think about the entire story. So far, I like it.”

  She skipped along and clapped her hands together, singing her words. “This is the first road I’ve walked on. I’ll see lots of new things. La la la.”

  “I hope you’re playing with me.”

  Anna calmed and walked at his side again, smiling up at him. “I was just acting like the little girl you think I am.”

  Gray didn’t answer. She was right. He needed to treat her as a partner, not a child. “We have to sleep outside again tonight, but late tomorrow we would get to Shrewsbury if we went directly there. But I have a stop to make, first.”

  “A place where you’ve never been either, so we’re on sort of equal footing.”

  “Sort of is the phrase I’m hearing. Remember that I’m in charge.” He walked a few steps before relenting. “Okay, you’re right. I need to think of you as my partner so I’ll try.”

  “And I’ll do my best to obey your every command. But when others are around I should act younger. People ignore children.”

  The evil-sounding giggle after her prim statement made him join in the laughter. He watched the terrain change again, becoming hilly. Small trees grew on the slopes. They crossed a stream and paused to drink. Off to the east, the hills turned to mountains, not the largest he’d seen, but angular and rugged. They began almost at the road and continued until they disappeared into the distance.

  They were the mountains that made up the peninsula that jutted into the sea between Fleming and Shrewsbury. They were where the map in the bookstore suggested the green dragons might roost.

  At the thought of them, his focus turned to the tingling on his back that had been there all morning. “Anna, we talked about bows. I’m not the best with one, but do you feel the red that’s still with us?”

  “I do.” No trace of impudence or humor in her tone.

  “I think the greens that belong to the others are in those mountains over there. I want to go take a look.”

  “You’re worried they might spot us?”

  “Yes, but more than that. They kill other dragons. If that red comes too close, they’ll fight. If I can, I’ll join in with my bow.”

  “You’re not really going to tell me to hide or run from the fight, are you?”

  “If it comes to that, I don’t think you’ll have a chance to do either. If they fight, and if we’re in a position to help, I expect you to put as many arrows into any green dragon you can. Don’t stop.”

  She was breathing deeply, and her cheeks were pink. Her eyes betrayed her excitement, but her voice remained calm. “You can count on me.”

  “I am. So is the red.”

  “Raymer could tell it to stay away. I wish I were bonded like him.”

  “He’s not here. But, nobody knows how much a dragon understands. That red keeps pace with us, and if we get into a fight, I expect it to try and joi
n in. Maybe if both of us try to send the red a message to stay away from those mountains, it will understand.”

  Anna said, “That might work. We know it’s following us, so it is touching our minds, or, at least, yours. It followed you before, right?”

  “I think it knows both of us. It has been around us our whole lives. While we’re walking, think of it staying away.”

  “We’re going into those mountains?”

  There seemed to be no easy way to tell her. “Yes.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Anna turned her head to the jagged peaks and watched them as they walked the road. She stumbled, but caught herself, her eyes focused on the mountains to her left. She missed nothing.

  Gray noticed the road had grown narrower than it had been near Fleming, and not as well maintained. Fleming was a large city with much traffic. Shrewsbury, a small port town, didn’t need a large road because fewer feet and wagons traveled it. He had not seen one person all afternoon.

  Glancing down at the surface of the road showed it was covered in wild grass, not the gravel of the road near Fleming. He didn’t see where a single wagon had passed, and as he searched, he didn’t see footprints from today, yesterday, or the day before. It was as if the road was unused.

  “If you look close, it is like there are two rows of peaks,” Anna said, pointing to the mountains.

  He looked. She was right. Almost parallel ridges of peaks leading out into the sea. They turned from the road and crossed a flat area covered with knee-high marsh grass that had sharp ends. The spines were like needles and penetrated their pants to stab their legs, but the end of the grassland was in sight. They continued.

  Anna hadn’t spoken since the comment about twin rows of peaks. She said, “No scat, hoofprints or footprints of large animals since we left the road. Dragons probably ate them all.”

  Another thing he might not have noticed, but Anna did. Already she was proving her worth. Where the grass with the needle points ended, the ground rose slightly, and the hills rose so sharply and rocky that plants only grew in the shallow valleys between them.

  Movement caught his eye. “Halt!”

  Above, far away, flew a dragon so small it looked like a bird. A trace of green glinted. It was flying away from the peaks ahead, not in their direction. He said, “Feel anything?”

  “Yes, the red.”

  Again she was right. He could sense the presence of the same dragon that had accompanied him for the last six or seven days, but with a green dragon as close as the one that had flown in front of him, the sensations should have increased from a tingling to a sting. Instead, he had felt no change.

  “I want to move closer. I’m not sure if we want to feel the greens or not. If we sense them they will sense us, so be aware. Let me know if you feel any change, no matter how small. One of us might be more sensitive.”

  Anna nodded. “How close are we going to get?”

  Another good question. “I can’t answer. Assuming we do not sense them, and if they are roosting out there, we’ll only go close enough to observe and to make certain they can’t tell if we’re there.”

  “If we can’t feel them, how exactly will we know?”

  Gray pushed ahead, keeping to the cover of black lava and the shrubs that grew from cracks and crevasses. Plants grew from any low spot that collected dirt, but none was large. He moved from one to another in dashes of movement, often pausing to observe what lay ahead.

  Anna was directly behind. She said, “Know what? I feel like one of the men in that triad, moving like this.”

  Her observation brought a smile, but also the acceptance that she noticed things, a valuable skill. She seemed to be more acutely aware of their surroundings than him. Gray felt more comfortable than at the beginning of the jagged mountains because of her keen eyes. He picked up the pace, although he still paused every few steps to make sure nothing was watching their progress.

  They moved on. There were any number of walls, cracks, and slopes to hide beside. They offered minimal protection, but the damp air couldn’t be avoided. It hung over the mountains like a pall of dense smoke, leaving a wet feel to rocks and shrubs. The area was probably overcast with the fog most days. The footing was slick on bare rock.

  Anna didn’t protest or complain. She didn’t ask for a fire. Her blanket was wrapped around her shoulders and over her head like a hood. She sat with her back to a short wall of lava, her eyes excited.

  Gray sat next to her. “Stay close and keep warm.”

  In the afternoon, a soft breeze blew it away. They stood on a crest where they could see far ahead. A volcano smoked in the distance. Not all was fog. Even as he watched the volcano belched steam and smoke. Some rose into the sky while the rest drifted down to the ground.

  “We wait here,” he said.

  “For what?”

  “Until dark. The dragons at Bear Mountain roost up on the slopes because they like the warmth of the volcano rising up from the ground. I’m betting the greens roost on the volcano, too.”

  Anna said, “Then we have to get closer to see.”

  “Yes. I’ll be satisfied if I see one land or fly from there. This is not close enough. We have more important things to find out.”

  They spent the late afternoon watching through the swirling mists but saw no dragons. Near dusk, they moved closer. A slope across the valley between the two parallel rows of peaks provided a reasonable view of the volcano.

  After darkness had fallen, they gathered shrubs and limbs from stunted trees. They built a crude blind, not unlike the one on top of the ridge where they watched the desert at their home. A few larger limbs provided the ribs for a roof. Smaller branches and shrubs filled it in. More were placed in a ring around to conceal them and keep out some of the damp and cold.

  They spent a miserable, damp night together and watched with foggy eyes as the sun came up. Soon after, a green dragon took flight. Then another took to the air, both flying north, so there was no danger of them being spotted as long as they stayed under cover and remained still.

  “That confirms it. They roost on the slopes of that volcano,” Gray said.

  “Feel anything? I didn’t.”

  “Just the normal tingle of that red. I hope it stays where it is, and they don’t fight. Two or three against one will get ours killed.”

  Anna, still sitting with her blanket around her head and over her shoulders, said, “But if they do fight you’ll grab your bow and run to the rescue.”

  It was not a question. It didn’t sound like criticism. Just a simple statement of fact that reminded him of where his loyalties were. Would he protect the red and risk his life while doing it? The answer seemed simple when compared to another question. If one of the greens attacked him would the red risk its life to fly to his rescue? Yes, it would. Could he do less?

  They watched all day, huddled against the cold but determined to observe the dragons and their behaviors. They hoarded food and water, stretching it to last three full days.

  They found the dragons flew off every dawn, returning near dark. There were four of them. Three were similar in size, but the last was much larger. While they roosted together, they spent their days alone, or at least, they flew off alone and in different directions.

  The first day revealed nearly all, but Gray decided to spend a second night and day. Anna didn’t object. However, when he suggested a third day in the damp and cold, she remained silent, her eyes locked on his. Then she said, “One more day. Then I leave and wait for you near the road, if necessary.”

  She hadn’t argued. She stated a fact and by dawn on the third day Gray wished she had successfully talked him out of the third day. The dragons had flown off, and none returned all day, until dusk. He waited for the light to fail. Gray pulled his blanket tighter around his shoulders as he stood. “Let’s start back to the road and maybe we’ll get out of this damp, cold air.”

  “I’ve never been in a nasty place like this, and if I never am again, it will
be fine with me.” She stood and reached for her pack and bow. “I’m a desert dweller. Everything here is wet.”

  By the time they reached a place near the road again the air was clear, warmer, and the sky black, only stars providing the light. They passed a pile of jumbled rocks that would provide shelter but decided to continue on. A small clearing provided enough space to spread their blankets and get at least a little sleep.

  When morning came, they kept their blankets spread to dry, while they sat and absorbed the warmth of the sun. Both napped again, but finally stood and prepared to leave. They paused and watched the road ensuring it was clear, then they walked along it with determination to get as far as possible. If Gray had read the maps correctly, the trip was a day of fast walking. Two, if they slowed.

  The first stream filled the nearly empty water bottles. They traveled until almost dark, pausing only long enough to grab a handful to eat, or to again fill their water bottles. The number of streams crossing the road increased and the land turned greener, first with a few small trees, then larger ones. By the end of the day, they were passing through a sparse forest of oak, maple, and other hardwoods.

  Gray said, “I feel like I’m being closed in.”

  “This road is like walking into a tunnel. Anything can jump out from the sides of the road, and you’ll never even see it before it attacked.”

  A small river crossed the road. As they forded it, Anna said, “The bottom is covered with rocks. The rest is mud.”

  She was right. People had spent considerable time carrying rocks to the ford. However, the road was narrow compared to what it had been nearer Fleming, almost a wide path. They had again not passed a single traveler all day. A small meadow was on the bank of the river, a fire pit waiting for them.

  Anna said, “I want a fire tonight. A big one.”

  “Getting dark, anyhow. We stay here.”

  “My fire? I’m still damp, and so are my things.”

  “Gather wood before it gets too dark. We’re not doing anything others on this road don’t, so a fire is natural.”