The Last Dragon [Book One] Read online

  Of course, Princess Elizabeth had given me the horse the year before she studied classical history and heard the story. A year later my life almost became forfeit when Elizabeth finally figured out the reason for the horse’s name. We were about fifteen, equal in stature and weight as that was before the summer my height shot up to present. Now I towered over her, but not then.

  Others had thought the name Alexis was cute, funny, and even disrespectful. Some thought my mare properly named but didn’t say so aloud if they knew the old stories. All of us understood that the day would arrive when Elizabeth discovered the joke. When she did, I found myself in front of the stablemen, the horse-apple cleaners, the trainers, and a portion of the mounted military. She had charged into the stables, and quickly had me pinned to the floor on the straw, her arm locked around my head as she ordered me to capitulate in front of everyone.

  I didn’t know the meaning of the word capitulate and refused. She also refused—to let me up. We rolled around in the muck and straw, me kicking and her screaming, until the King’s Weapons-Master entered the barn and grabbed her collar to pull her off me. She twisted around and stuck like a snake, and he suffered her headlock. She led him around in circles to the shocked expressions of the others watching, as well as mine.

  She was a royal. He couldn’t use any of his skills to break her hold or punch or stab her. She held on for longer than the tale takes to tell, and then he slipped out and backed away faster than she could move. The rumors spread around the palace for weeks, and many involved his retirement and her taking over his position as Weapons-Master and trainer for the fighting men of the King’s Army.

  It was about three years before I learned the entire incident had been staged between her and the Weapons-Master. Everyone else in the palace knew the joke played on me. Elizabeth had the last laugh, as always.

  The older stableman’s eyes now located me while walking across the barn, and he whistled a sharp, piercing sound. Within a small herd crowded into one corner of the corral a single horse’s head lifted, her ears perked and twitching. Alexis spotted me and trotted her way to me. There are those who would swear she wore a grin, but everyone knows horses can’t smile.

  “Saddle?” the stableman asked as he came my way, an apple hidden in his palm. He slipped it to me.

  “Not today, but I have a question.” This was where care needed to be used and the questions directed at the same time. “Princess Anna arrived here in a carriage.”

  “That’s true,” he readily agreed.

  “Well, I met her briefly and heard she is from Mercia where dragons fly and kill deer and eat them.”

  “More’n just deer. They kill sheep, elk, and yes, even horses. In the old days, dragons enjoyed a good meal of horsemeat.”

  My eyes shifted to the small herd. Three mages were missing. They might be connected. “Are we short a few horses?”

  “Nope.”

  Odd. There seemed to be no deception in his eyes, so there must be something I missed or asked my question incorrectly. Powerful mages do not walk anywhere. The horses in sight were only part of the herd kept at the palace, so there must be another way to ask my question.

  The stableman then relented with a chuckle and said, “You might have thought that because you missed seeing a few of the saddle horses. There are five new ones here that we’ve just brought over from Fleming to replace those the mages and others required. Speaking of Mercia, that’s where all of them were heading, you know. Mercia, different days, same destination. None mentioned why, but all the subterfuge got me to wonder.”

  To distract him and the direction the conversation was heading, and to make sure he didn’t know of my interest, I asked quickly, “But what about the dragons there? Won’t they eat the horses?”

  “My words, exactly. Damon, I’ll tell you one thing, no damn dragon had better eat one of my horses, or a mage might find out he isn’t as powerful as he thinks.”

  Alexis demanded my attention now that the apple was gone. She nuzzled me, and my hand reached for a halter. She always enjoyed going outside where she could run and walk. While I formed the loop, she leaned close and stuck her head through. Alexis knew what was coming and enjoyed the time we spent together. We had more than enough time for a long walk because I already had all the answers needed, all freely supplied by the stableman without any questions being asked. Nothing beats having talkative friends.

  As we walked, I anticipated Elizabeth’s next move. She would arrange to be alone with Princess Anna, and they would have a discussion. We now knew who went where, and when. But not, why. Lord Kent might know, and he also would find himself answering Elizabeth’s indirect questions.

  I walked to the side gate of the corral and outside, taking Alexis through another gate and down a winding pathway. We went through a portion of the new forest that had sprung up after the forest fire that occurred before my birth. Usually, I rode Alexis. Today my mind was lost in thought, as we walked.

  Something unusual and important had taken place at the other end of the kingdom or was going to. It was important enough to disturb an ailing king in the middle of the night and to force, not just one, but three royal mages to travel to the most distant part of the kingdom, a trip of days in length. My imaginative mind couldn’t create a scenario to fulfill the known facts.

  My mind was so lost in thought that I didn’t even look up at the sounds of an approaching horse. When I did, Avery sat upon a horse with bulging bags across the rump, the sort of bags a traveler taking off on a long trip uses. His surprised eyes locked on mine. He was surprised because he was taking the back way out of the stables where there shouldn’t be anyone to see him, yet he had stumbled upon me.

  It was the second time today my presence had been unknown to him. For the briefest moment, he appeared as if he might demand my silence, but that passed. Wordlessly, he rode by, while I noticed the heavy cloak he wore was sturdy and without ornamentation. The sword he wore was functional, a version of those the army used. His clothing suggested he might be a farmer more than an important servant to the second most powerful man in the kingdom. Even the horse he rode was not the usual Andalusian or Fairmont. Today he rode an animal more suited for pulling a plow.

  He rode down the old road behind Crestfallen, hunched over in response to the awkward gait of the animal. By the time he reached Mercia on that horse, others might feel pity for Avery, for I was certain that was his destination.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  E lizabeth was waiting for me when I returned to our apartment. Kendra was not in sight, which I found strange, but I heard her rustling around in Elizabeth’s bedroom. My expression didn’t have the glee of the one I’d worn earlier, but this time I believed I understood more of the situation. One question had nagged since I’d watched Avery ride away: How far behind him would I be?

  “Did you confirm the mages traveled to Mercia?” she asked.

  “I did.” She didn’t bother to ask how or if I’d managed to spread more rumors, which could mean she was lost deep in thought.

  The information, at least to my addled mind, was similar to a tangle of blackberry vines, twisting and turning back on each other in unpredictable ways, yet a solid mass. Elizabeth was normally one of the quickest to follow one of those vines to reach the ripe berries at the ends. My impression was that the blackberry patch was too large and tangled for any but the most astute.

  Instead of her moving on to follow the tendrils of another palace intrigue, she would plunge deeper into this one because that was her way. When her eyes drifted in my direction, I cringed inside, fearing what was to come.

  “We have all the answers, but one, and it is not here in the palace.”

  Those were words I dreaded hearing. Only a fool would not understand what she meant—and why my sister sounded so busy in the bedroom. Kendra was already packing for a long trip.

  “There are still things we might learn,” I said, trying to head her off. “Here in the palace. There are other
ways to find the information.”

  While shaking her head slowly from side to side, she muttered barely loud enough to hear, “No, the answer we seek resides in Mercia.”

  There was no changing her mind. She still stood there as I entered her bedroom and met the eyes of Kendra. My voice was soft, “You wanted to talk to me in private?”

  “That seems like a full day ago. Why didn’t you meet with me sooner? I wanted to warn you that if you did not solve this whole damn thing, we would travel across the kingdom on foul-smelling horses.” She threw a shirt at a travel bag and missed. Not for the first time. Worse, she didn’t attempt to retrieve it. She threw another, barely missing me.

  Explaining none of this was my fault would only increase her anger. Attempting to appease her was no easier than opposing Elizabeth. “Perhaps we’ll find out something before we leave. We can go snoop around.”

  “No. Any more unexpected appearances by you will have half the tongues in the east wing wagging. Our only hope is Princess Anna. Elizabeth has already requested they meet here for an informal conversation.”

  “Lord Kent?” I asked, expecting Kendra had also managed to locate another thread to pull. “Has she agreed to meet with him again?”

  “It seems he has taken ill and will not be attending the upcoming dance two nights from now, and only the gods above know how he can be so certain he will not be well by then. And yes, that was intended as a pun, so wipe that smirk off your face. In the meantime, his manservant has requested an unusual selection of food be sent to his quarters.”

  “Unusual?” She might refuse to share the information. She had become ornery like that in the last few years. Besides, the manservant, Pallor, was peculiar in himself. Still, I liked the man and wondered what the concern about food was.

  “Yes, you’d expect him to eat only soup or broth and perhaps dry bread. Instead, according to the kitchen, he is to be eating an assortment of nuts, raisins, dried figs, and smoked meats and fish. At least, that is what my sources tell me.”

  “Also, the same food to eat while traveling.” I digested the information. Had Kendra been in a better mood, I’d have shared my pun but wisely kept it to myself.

  “You think so?” she asked in a lilting tone of scorn. “Let me guess. Lord Kent is going on a trip of his own. Care to venture where?”

  She was my sister, and therefore we had daily spats. Kendra seldom approved of my small-magic and often suggested for me to cease its use. Her opinion was that someday others would find out about my powers and the mages and sorceresses would certainly take me away for some undisclosed reason. To where, I had no idea, and no idea of why she believed that, but her feelings couldn’t be changed. She insisted on some things remaining between only the three of us.

  While not fully sharing her beliefs, I was absolutely convinced that if even a hint of my abilities became known, everyone we encountered from then on would suspect I was trying to draw them into something or force them to reveal secrets with magic. She was right.

  Whenever possible, I avoided using it. But there are times when magic controls me instead of the other way around. Those are the times we feared.

  Aside from me and my abilities, there was still a central question unanswered. What could be so damned important that would force Princess Anna to travel all the way here and insist on speaking only with the ill king? And even more strange was that his trusted advisers had actually agreed to the meeting. That added to the importance of the message. My first thought was a possible invasion by another kingdom. That didn’t work for several reasons, not the least was that the army generals still paraded around the palace in their fancy uniforms filled with a chest of ribbons instead of charging into the field of battle with raised swords. Their men still marched daily and practiced with their weapons.

  An outbreak of plague, the death of someone important, or a usurper intending to replace our good king were all discarded. Yet, what else could it be? My mind switched from disasters to the possibility of good news. The unexpected birth of a high royal, a trove of hidden gold discovered, or a person with magic skills so important he couldn’t be denied were all thrust away almost as quickly.

  The latter idea of magic being involved might need reconsideration since three mages were heading to the same place. We didn’t see why the king or his advisers would consider that so significant, but the idea held more credence than any other I’d come up with.

  Kendra snapped at me in the way only sisters can, “Why are you just standing there?”

  The ignorant portion of my mind considered responding that she had told me not to leave the apartment or others might become suspicious and more rumors would spread. The intelligent part, admittedly smaller, made me keep my mouth shut. I was getting good at that.

  She stopped filling luggage with clothing and stood erect, ready to continue when Elizabeth called me from the sitting room. I spun and ran to her side. The needs of the princess outweighed those of my sister—and least for now. Still, I’d have to face Kendra again.

  “Tell me if I’m wrong in my assumptions and conclusions.”

  My response was to merely nod as if capable of doing that, knowing that unless I used a tactful method of answering, I’d again keep my mouth shut.

  Elizabeth continued, “Is there any occurrence you can conceive of that would meet all the criteria we know.”

  For once, we were in complete agreement in our line of reasoning, and that we didn’t know something critical. Not that we were often opposed, but to think we always agreed would be an error. However, it didn’t matter what I thought. She was Elizabeth, and a princess.

  She closed her eyes and allowed her head to flop back as she thought and gazed up at the ceiling. She was probably imagining scenarios and trying to make them fit the circumstances. When she refocused her eyes, she turned them directly on me. “If there is no emergency imaginable that will fit our known information, then there are only two alternatives.”

  “We have something erroneous, or we have assigned evidence to the problem that belongs to another.”

  “Precisely,” she agreed. “Which is it?”

  After only a moment’s hesitation, “I believe the information is accurate.”

  “Me too,” Elizabeth said. “Listen, you will . . . carry a message from me to my cousin, Carol. Carry it in your hand where all can see you are about your task. If anyone asks, feel free to tell them your destination.”

  “Carol is visiting her sister at the Temple of the Doves today. That’s a full day’s travel from here.”

  “So, it is your task to pretend you’re going to her with a message. Say that I must have forgotten she is away. It gives you the excuse to wander the most distant parts of the palace. While you roam there, listen to rumors, do not speak.”

  “To better serve you, Elizabeth,” My tone was respectful, careful to keep any hint of a smile from appearing in my voice. “As you wish.”

  Elizabeth reached for the pillow behind her and flung it playfully in my direction, but I’d already ducked and moved to the desk. I returned with paper, pen, and ink. She accepted them and quickly jotted a note asking when she and Carol could get together to discuss which colors were best for the coming summer. I watched over her shoulder as she penned the note and rolled it to tie with a slip of blue ribbon before handing it to me.

  She said, “Perhaps you will hear someone say something interesting, an overheard whisper or hint of gossip. Again, listen, don’t talk.”

  I accepted the scroll and slithered out the door, leaving Elizabeth still sedentary in the same place, her eyes again unfocused. If she had not been so distracted, she wouldn’t have given me the detailed directives of how to listen, and what to look for, as if we were both still children.

  I held the scroll prominently in my left hand. My sword was still buckled in place. It might be a good idea to wear it until this situation ended. I’d changed the scabbard to the plain utilitarian one, but the sword remained the same.
r />   Elizabeth’s cousin Carol conveniently lived about as far from Elizabeth as possible and still be within the palace—if she was home. No doubt, those were the reasons why Elizabeth had selected her. Rushing would draw attention. However, a few brief minutes were spent in the kitchen would be acceptable because to do otherwise was unlike me. When I arrived there, the cooks were busy and talkative, but not of things we were interested in hearing.

  The new wing I entered that was under seemingly permanent construction. It had been worked on since before my birth. I passed a few of the bakery sweets I’d snitched from the cooks to carpenters and a stonemason who had treated me well in the past. While friendly, their conversations were well afield of what we were searching for—although I didn’t know what it was until I heard it.

  Near the central fountain, where the palace transitioned from our wing to the north wing, a voice called my name. I turned to find a royal of such a low ranking she was hardly above me on the rolls. A few years younger, she had professed a crush on me one dark night when we’d found ourselves alone and under the stars with the music of the spring dance filling the night.

  “Tam,” I cried, putting as much surprise and joy into the single syllable as possible. She was pretty, in an understated sort of way. Tam didn’t wear the latest fashions, fix her hair in trendy styles, or other outward appearances. She was pretty enough without those things. Still, it was her personality that sparkled and made her beautiful and dangerous. Her laughter made me want to laugh with her. She was unmarried, although the last few years she attracted more and more young men.

  I liked her, but my first thought was the fake delivery of the pretend message of Elizabeth’s. That would be my excuse to quickly leave Tam. Then, common sense took control. Carol was a ruse and Tam a talker of the first magnitude. She lacked the inborne insights and understanding that Elizabeth had, but people trusted Tam and told her things. Talking to her might be beneficial.

  The only drawback was that night when we were alone. I’d told Elizabeth about it, of course, and Elizabeth had spent days and days dressing me down over the innocent encounter. No matter how far Tam was away from the throne, she was a royal.