A Dragon From the Desert, page 13
“It’s an orphan,” I said. I felt suddenly sorry for the small creature. He was all alone in this world with no one to look out for him.
“He’s lovely.”
“He just bit me.”
“He must be hungry.”
“It doesn’t mean he can feed on my blood.”
“We can find him other food. He must eat something.”
I thought about that. “Dragonling are predators. He’ll need meat.”
“I have some jerky. Try and give him some.” She produced a small stick of dried meat and shrugged. “I was keeping it to eat as a snack.”
I tried to give it to the beast, but he chewed it and then spat it right out as if it were too tough for him. “Nope,” I said. “Not working.”
“Wait a minute.” She popped some of the meat into her mouth and began to chew. “Give him to me.”
I felt oddly reluctant to do so but I stretched out my hand and offered the tiny dragonling to her. It refused to get off my hand and when I forced it into her hand, it fluttered its little wings and tried to curl back into my hand. All the while it made horrible, high-pitched mewling sounds.
I let it rest in my hands and it immediately calmed down. The mewling ceased and it purred. Ruth shrugged and spat the chewed meat into her hand. She pushed a tiny amount towards the little monster and this time he gulped it down. She fed him the rest of the meat and he devoured it greedily. No sooner was he done than he gave a tiny belch and his eyes closed and he was asleep. I felt his little heart beating beneath my fingers and his small chest expand and contract like a tiny bellows.
“Nice trick with the meat,” I said.
“I read about something like that once,” she said.
“You can read?”
“Yes, of course. Can’t you?”
I shook my head.
“You really ought to learn.” She said it as if things were really that simple, as if all I had to do was decide to learn and it would be so.
“Who will teach me?”
“I will,” she said. “Providing you take good care of this little fellow.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Can I borrow your dagger?”
I produced it from within my shirt with a flourish, curious as to what she intended to do. She unsheathed it, bent over and cut a long irregular strip of cloth from the hem of her skirt. She made it into a sling and handed it to me. I hung it around my neck and placed the little dragonling in it. It snuggled down there, breathing quietly and lay in an exhausted sleep.
“What are you going to call him?” Ruth asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “He’s a bit small to have a dramatic name like Flametongue or Reaver.”
I used the names of dragons that the storytellers always talked about. She looked at me sidelong. “You really have no idea.”
“Well he is red– so I think that’s what I’ll call him to begin with.”
“It’ll do,” she said.
“Do you have a better idea?”
She shook her head. “We’d best be getting back.”
Neither of us suggested collecting any of the unhatched eggs to eat. After we had picked up Red, it just would not have seemed right.
I was sorry when we reached the camp and went our separate ways, she to the tent of her sick employer, me to the tent outside which Mistress Iliana sat reading.
Her eyes widened when she saw my small burden. “Where have you been and what do you have there?”
Chapter Fourteen
“A dragonling, mistress,” I said. Her eyes narrowed. The familiar frown crinkled her brow.
“A dragonling? Where did you find it?”
“Out in the barrens, mistress. We were looking for eggs and one of them hatched.”
“Just like that? It hatched. You found it and it hatched?”
“More or less, mistress.”
“Who was we?”
“Lady Alysia’s maidservant, Ruth and me, mistress.”
She fell silent and stared at me for what felt like a very long time. “Where did you find her?”
“She had gone for a walk in the scrub.”
“Oh, she had, had she?” There was an edge of annoyance and concern to her voice that I did not understand.
Why was my mistress sounded so displeased? What did it matter to her what a servant did? She did not strike me as one who would cast judgement on a girl for going walking unchaperoned with a boy. Or was she? After all what did I really know of Mistress Iliana and her views?
“Suppose you tell me what happened, starting from the beginning.”
I did. She listened carefully, nodding her head sometimes. She was a good listener when she wanted to be.
“So let me get this clear– the dragon hatched when you picked up the egg?”
“Yes, mistress.”
“And then it bit you and lapped up your blood?” She frowned very hard, as if she considered this point extremely important. I wondered if I had done something wrong without knowing it. I wandered whether baby dragonlings were poisonous or carried some terrible disease. I looked down at the little beast huddled down in the sling. It had wrapped its tail around the narrowest part of the cloth as if to hold itself in place. It looked tiny and vulnerable.
“Indeed, mistress.”
“And you say you felt something– a tingling, a surge of energy such as you sense when a spell is cast.”
“I did feel it, mistress.” I wondered if Ruth was undergoing a similar inquisition at this moment. I doubted it. Life was not fair that way.
“There is no need to sound so sullen. I just want to be absolutely certain that what you say is the case and that I understand it correctly.”
“Why, mistress?”
“Because you may have done something that has not been done in a very long time.”
“What would that be, mistress?”
“Hand-hatched a dragonling.”
“I don’t understand, mistress.”
“Clearly.”
“Are you perchance going to explain it to me?”
“I am not sure I understand it fully myself.” She did not say this as if confessing a weakness as many people would have done. She was simply stating a fact.
“I would appreciate anything you can tell me.”
“I am sure you would, boy.” I wondered if she enjoyed mystifying me. I clamped my mouth shut determined not to give her the satisfaction of forcing me to ask any more foolish questions.
“Dragonlings are strange creatures. There is a great deal of magic in them. Their eggs only hatch in the presence of it which normally means an adult dragonling has to be present.”
I thought about that for a moment. “Its mother was dead, I think. You are saying it responded to my magic.”
“To your aura, yes. Then it drank your blood and you fed it.”
I considered the implications of what she was saying for a moment then they struck me. “Red thinks I am his mother.”
She laughed out loud then. It was not the mad mirth she simulated when pretending to be an insane wizard. It was a rich throaty sound. “That’s about the size of it,” she said.
“What am I going to do?”
“That’s entirely up to you. Are you ready to look after the thing, to take responsibility for it?”
I looked down at the tiny beast that had drunk my blood. He looked harmless and alone. I could just put him down or wring his neck– it would probably be less cruel to do so. He stirred in his sleep and whimpered as if he sensed the direction of my thoughts. Perhaps he did. If my mistress was correct there might be some sort of link between us.
“You mean feed him, look after him, mistress?”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“I don’t know how and where I would find his food. Would the cook give me some of his meat?”
“I am sure he would give you scraps if you asked.” She seemed to be prodding me in the direction of keeping Red. I did not need much.
“Of course, I want to keep him,” I said. “With your permission.”
“Oh that you most definitely have,” she laughed again as if at some jest only she understood.
“Why do you laugh, mistress?”
“I did not realise I was recruiting a potential dragon lord when I took you as my apprentice.”
At the time, I thought she was joking.
As I walked through the camp that evening I got a lot of strange looks. Red’s head poked out of the sling around my neck and he made an odd trilling cry every so often that made folk stare.
Ghoran walked up to me and extended a finger towards the dragonling’s mouth. Red nipped at his finger playfully but every time he did so Ghoran pulled his finger away. It amused the big Northlander and it goaded the little dragonling into a frenzy.
“Him hungry,” Ghoran said.
“Always,” I said. I took a small stick of beef jerky and chewed it before feeding it to the little monster. That calmed Red down immediately. He swallowed and belched and then returned to chasing the tormenting finger. He was a lot less angry about it this time.
“Where you get him?”
“In the barrens. I found an egg just as it hatched.”
Ghoran frowned. “What are chances?”
I forced a smile. “Whatever they were, they happened.”
“Apparently so.”
“My mistress says I can keep him,” I said.
“I not surprised. Dragonling valuable. And cute in vicious sort of way.”
“I think he likes you.”
“Of course, he do. What not to like? What you going to do with him when he get big?”
“I’ll use him as a horse,” I said. I meant it as a joke but Ghoran appeared to take it seriously.
“Might be difficult. He have wings. He run fast then take off.”
“Then I will have a flying steed.” I looked down at the little dragonling snapping at my potential friend’s finger. It was impossible to imagine him ever being other than the size he was. He looked very tiny and very vulnerable for all his aggressive temper.
A circle of soldiers gathered around about us and extended their fingers towards Red as well. Soon he was overwhelmed by the amount of potential prey and withdrew inside the sling when he closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep. Ghoran laughed and went to tickle him under the chin. As he did so, Red opened his mouth and finally managed to bite the finger.
“Cunning brute,” Ghoran said. He withdrew his slightly bitten finger and placed it in his own mouth. “He got my axe hand. I may not be able to use it for hours.”
“Do you want to sell that creature?” A soldier asked. I shook my head.
“He wants to keep until he have riding beast,” Ghoran said. “I no blame him. Will make very fast mount.”
The hulking figure of Todd appeared on the edge of the crowd. He had his friends with him as always. “What has the servant boy found?” Todd asked. “What are you so interested in?”
“He has a dragonling,” said the soldier who had asked about buying Red. “He found it in the desert.”
Todd shouldered his way through the crowd. He loomed over me massive as a castle tower. His huge hand reached out as if to grab Red by the neck. Instinctively I pulled away, twisting around so that my shoulder was presented to the big man and my body was between him and Red. Something told me he would harm the little animal if he could.
“What’s your problem, boy?” Todd asked. “I just want to see the thing.”
“You can see it from where you are,” I said.
“Are you disrespecting me, boy?”
“He just scared your breath slay dragonling,” Ghoran said.
“I’m getting tired of your cheek,” Todd said.
“I surprised you understand it.”
“I understand it well enough and I think I’m going to teach a lesson.”
“Only thing you teach is how to look like troll. I no want to learn. Also I not sure I was right. Maybe he scared that your face scare little dragonling to death.”
Todd flexed his fingers and cracked his knuckles and I felt sure he was getting ready to swing at Ghoran. The Northlander studied the performance as if it amused him. That seemed to disconcert Todd. I guessed he was not used to be taken so lightly. It was a strategy I could see blowing up in Ghoran’s face if he kept it up.
Vorster and some of his fellow knights strode up. Clearly, they had noticed the fuss near the infantry campfires and were curious, but just as clearly they could not be seen to be too interested in what the lower orders were up to. I confess I flinched when I saw him. My nose gave a twinge. He smiled when he saw that. It was no doubt what he had been hoping for.
“Why are you all gaping at a silly lizard?” Vorster asked.
“It no lizard. It dragonling,” said Ghoran.
“I was talking about the dragonling’s owner,” said Vorster, which got a laugh, particularly from Todd. He moved across to hulk near Vorster.
I wanted to say something, but my mouth felt frozen shut and my tongue huge. It’s hard to be witty when you know the result will most likely be broken bones. Vorster stared at me as if waiting for me to put my foot in it. He seemed almost disappointed when I said nothing. He strode contemptuously off, Todd following him like a well-trained dog.
The group around me broke up and I was surprised to discover I missed being the centre of attention. Ghoran watched the knight and his hanger’s on depart. “Asshole,” he said loud enough to be heard. Vorster ignored him.
Ghoran looked angry for a moment then shook his head and laughed. Jay strode up looked at us and said, “What did I miss?”
“Raif found dragon,” Ghoran said.
“It’s a dragonling, you stupid northern bastard,” said Jay.
“Dragon, dragonling, no difference.”
“Big difference,” said Jay, leaning forward to inspect Red. He kept his fingers well away from my pet’s maw. He had more sense than the Northerner.
“No difference,” said Ghoran. He sounded utterly confident. “Same thing.”
“Maybe up there in the icy wastes, down here they are two different things.”
“We see.”
Jay laughed. I asked a question that had been troubling me. “What’s the connection between Vorster and Todd?”
“Todd’s a family retainer of Vorster’s clan,” said Jay. “He’s here to keep an eye on Vorster and back him up. There’s a few like him about. They keep themselves apart from the rest of us. Vorster’s daddy wants to make sure his little boy comes home in one piece. Just in case big brother dies and he needs a new heir.”
Mistress Iliana strode up. She beckoned me with an imperious gesture as she went by. I fell into step behind her. The others did not say goodnight. They were silent. She had that effect on people.
The next day was warm and pleasant, and my duties were light. I brought food for my mistress, struck the tent when it was time to leave camp and then travelled on the wagon. I kept my eyes open for Ruth but was disappointed. I wondered if Mistress Iliana had said something to her. It was strange. She had been there all along, but I had not known. Now that I did know she was there, I wondered what she was doing and where she was. Did she ride with Lady Alysia and the lady in waiting or with the servants?
Red stuck his head out of the sling and studied our surroundings lazily. His eyes were bright with curiosity. Occasionally I saw my mistress glance at him out of the corner of her eye. She frowned sometimes as if some disturbing thought had occurred to her. When her hand strayed to her drum, I noticed that Red would duck his head inside the sling and hide until she moved her fingers away from it. Whatever was in there, Red was disturbed by it.
He sometimes mewled for food, and I was glad I had stored some sausage and dried meat against this eventuality. Clarin the cook had been glad to give it to me. He liked the little dragon. If the sight of me hand-feeding the dragonling disturbed my mistress she gave no sign of it. She made no attempt to help and unlike almost everyone else in the camp, showed no sign of interest in Red. He in turn seemed afraid of her in a way he was not afraid of anyone else.
The land grew hotter and dryer and I knew we were entering the Bleak Lands proper. Sources of water were fewer here, and such animals as we saw were a lean and desperate lot. And yet there were still ruins even this dry inhospitable land. They lay tumbled near the road. Abandoned forts and monasteries brooded over the dusty wastes, providing nests for vultures and dragonling and other things.
There were old farmhouses and what might once have been an inn. It looked dry as bleaching bones, and I wondered what had become of the people who had once lived there.
Red slept, and my mistress had been quiet for a long time. I cleared me throat.
“What is it?” she said.
“May I ask a question, mistress?”
She nodded but did not look at me.
“Where did all the people go?”
“What people?”
“The ones who lived here. The people who built these towers and houses and farms. Why did they build out here in the desert?”
“Because it was not always desert. Once this was fertile land.”
“How do you know that?” I glanced at her sidelong, expecting some mystical answer.
“Because people once lived here and because people need to eat and drink. And because I read of those times in a book.”
“You read of them?”
“There are several histories of south Umbrea, written from both the Sunlander and the Lunar point of view. All of them tell the same story, that once this was fertile land. Long ago, it was the breadbasket of the Solari Empire.”
I looked at the wastes. “That is hard to believe, mistress. It is desert now.”
“Things change,” she said, as if that explained everything. “Once there were endless cornfields here, and cattle ranches, and dairy farms.”
“How could this have all been farmland, mistress? There is no water.”
