Draconis' Bane (34 page)

Her hair was shoulder
length when she chose to wear it down, but it often irritated her
by falling into her eyes as she read tome after tome looking for
answers to questions only she had. At a distance her eyes appeared
to be blue, but upon closer inspection they were actually a shade
of purple. The contours of her body were masked by the long black
robes she usually wore.

“Rossi, you are
trusted to a point, but don’t attempt to seduce me with your mystic
ways.” She warned. “I too have no small amount of skill; it would
be unwise for you to push too much.”

He bowed lowly as he
replied; “Of course m’lady.” He sidled out of the room as quickly
as he could without bursting into a sprint. Rossi had known it was
a bold push, he hoped however that he had sewn some small seed of
doubt.

He was anxious to
keep his station after all.

~

It was a ragged band
that approached Irudin on the Southern Road a day later. The
survivors were exhausted, but in good spirits. The battle had
lasted on for hours; their attackers had been much more skilled
than the rabble that had attacked him in Guis. This time Tristan
was fortunate to have been wearing his unusual armor. Twice, arrows
struck his breast plate only to bounce off.

The young Prince
counted himself lucky that he had such protection. It saddened him
that the last of his
Shroud
had been killed in the battle
and only a handful of guards had survived. As always,
Knight-Captain Robertson had been the calm in the eye of the storm.
The wily old soldier knew exactly when to offer suggestions and
when to simply start shouting orders. Tristan found him an
indispensable soldier, and grudgingly, a good friend.

The last of the
attackers had chosen to sneak in on foot, discarding their bows and
unsheathing swords. Tristan had met the first man who leapt over
the overturned carriage, bashing him in the face with his shield
and slicing off his arm between the elbow and wrist while he was
reeling backwards. He spun around and caught the next attackers
blow on his shield as he drove his sword right down to the hilt
into the first man.

He pulled his blade
loose, flipped his grip and drove it into the stomach of the second
attacker. Euri screamed as another man leaped from his perch on top
of the carriage at Tristan. The Prince rolled to his left and
thrust his sword out, taking the attacker in the neck as he hit the
ground and spun to face Tristan. His sword was pulled from his hand
as the attackers hands reached up and grasped at his throat.

An arrow thudded into
his shield, which he always kept aloft out of habit rather than
anything else. He reached into the shield and drew the dagger,
flipping it over and grasping it by the blade. He pulled it back
and threw it almost blindly; the bowman fell from the carriage. He
drew the dagger his sister had given him from his belt as another
man stalked around the carriage. The attacker waited, gauging the
young Prince. He feigned forward and Tristan slapped aside his
sword with the dagger. The man smiled sadistically at the young man
facing him, with only a dagger and shield. He came in high and
rather than block, Tristan ducked low and drove his dagger into the
man’s chin. The Prince kicked his dead opponent backwards into the
carriage and tried to catch his breath.

A large group of
eight men leapt onto the top of the carriage and lifted their bows,
taking aim. Robertson yelled for the men to form a shield wall,
everyone snapped over and stood around the old war veteran as a
volley of arrows thudded against their shields.

“Anyone have a bow?”
The Knight-Captain yelled.

No one answered.
Robertson swore.

“A spear then?”
Another volley of arrows striking their shields was his only
answer.

“How about a bloody
tooth pick!?” He bellowed.

A lightning bolt
lashed out from behind them and struck the carriage, blowing it off
the ground and sending it tumbling end over end killing not only
the bowmen, but the attackers using the carriage as shelter.
Tristan spun in place and looked in shock at his little sister.
Euri was lowering her arms, her face pale and drawn. She smiled
slightly and then fell backwards.

Panicking, Tristan
rushed forward and felt her neck for a pulse, hoping that the young
girl hadn’t died to save them. He found her pulse slow and steady
as a calm lake and sighed in relief. The men lowered their shields
slowly as Tristan looked out at the carnage. More than one body was
torn in two by the speed and violent rolling of the carriage. In
spite of the shocking display, Tristan found himself chuckling and
shaking his head.

Eurydice came around
after a few moments, groggy and extremely tired but otherwise in
good spirits. Tristan sighed in relief which made her laugh.
Eventually, the men found the leader of the attackers with his legs
pinned under what was left of the smoldering carriage with a deep
gash across his forehead.

He coughed blood as
Tristan approached, his eyes going wide in shock and anger. The
Prince knelt down next to the man, taking note of the dragon
pendant and looking over his injuries with obvious pride.

“Who are you?”
Tristan asked calmly.

The man tried to
spit, but was so injured all he could accomplish was to drool blood
out of the corner of his mouth.

“Who are you?”
Tristan said with a smirk.

Again the man refused
to reply, content to die painfully pinned under a large
carriage.

“Mind if I give it a
try?” Euri asked as she slowly approached.

Tristan looked over
at her, torn between sparing her the sight of a dying man and
learning more about the
Bane
. He struggled with his
responsibility for her, and finally relented as she pushed her way
through the guards and knelt down, placing the leaders head on her
lap. She placed her palms on each side of his head and closed her
eyes.

“What do you need to
know?” She asked with a serious tone in her voice that Tristan had
never heard from her before.

“Who is he?” He
asked.

Her brow furrowed and
the leader’s teeth clenched. “He’s the Spy Master for the
Bane
!” Her eyes shot open as she looked her brother in the
eyes. “His name is Paul Blandis.”

“We need to know what
they’re up to Euri.” Tristan prodded her.

Once again Eurydice
concentrated, piercing deeper and deeper into his mind. Blandis’
teeth continued to clench and grind against themselves as he fought
to keep her out. Finally he began convulsing, coughing blood
uncontrollably. Euri broke physical contact with him as he
died.

“The Master Dragon
Slayer is in Vallius somewhere.” She blurted as tears began to roll
down her face. “She’s going to kill mother.”

Tristan stood and
lifted his sister into his arms as she began to cry. He wasn’t sure
what else she’d seen. If it was enough to bring her to tears, it
was enough to make him get back on the road to Irudin this
instant.

Tristan rested his
hands on the parapets, looking off to the north completely lost in
his thoughts. He relished the fact that he finally had the time to
do so. His resignation of his post as Duke of Durshire had been met
with a less than enthusiastic response.

“Over my dead body!”
Gerald yelled. “Your father pulled me out of retirement for this
thankless job of babysitting a bunch of rich merchants!” He ranted.
“You’ll do as you’re told and like it!” He finished completely red
in the face and gasping for air.

The young Prince knew
better than to argue with his Dana, he simply turned on his heel
and walked out of the dining hall. Gerald had sent a fast rider
north to beg the King to intercede with Tristan, but it would take
days for his father to arrive. So, he stared off into the north as
the sun set to his left.

Three days ago seemed
like an eternity. Tristan and his men were being slowly overwhelmed
and there seemed no end to the flood of men who came pouring over
and around the overturned carriage.

Coming out of his
reverie, Tristan mused that tomorrow his father was due to arrive.
He chuckled to himself. In spite of the old man’s anger with him,
Tristan knew Gerald would be even more upset if he learned
why
Tristan was stepping down.

Being cast as the
spoiled royal brat was far better than everyone making a fuss over
the task he’d chosen to complete. While everyone had come to expect
the worst from his behavior prior to the damage inflicted by the
Nightmare Spell
, Tristan knew they would be less than
enthusiastic about his choice to hunt down his attackers and their
compatriots. A quiet cough from behind him drew his attention.

“Yes?” He asked
softly.

The young woman in
front of him was short, perhaps a foot shorter than he was. She had
long brown hair with streaks of gold in it, her eyes were deep
blue, her skin was deeply tanned and she was dressed in the
strangest fashion; a long golden dress that glittered with small
jewels. She smiled as he looked at her, revealing startling white
teeth. All in all, Tristan was inexplicably attracted to her. He
couldn’t really fathom why, she had a strange look to her.

“Didn’t anyone tell
you?” She asked with a musical voice. “Looking at a woman like that
causes them to blush.” She laughed.

Her laughter
triggered an impulse in Tristans head. He knew this girl but
couldn’t remember how or when he would have met her.

“I’m sorry. Who are
you?” He asked slowly.

“I’ll give you a
hint.” She smiled coyly.

The girl lifted
herself onto the parapet and looked at the setting sun and sang in
his mind.

It was about this
time of day the last time we met,

Though the very next
day was anything but wet.

“Lesariu?” Tristan
blurted in shocked.

“You are getting
rather good at this surprise thing aren’t you?” She replied with a
chuckle as she turned to face him, smiling.

“Yes, well, as with
anything, practice makes perfect.” He replied with a smirk.

Lesariu laughed,
looking back towards the sunset. The golden dragon in human form
seemed to be enjoying the simplicity of the sunset. Tristan was
forced to agree, while it was beautiful, it also gave him time to
ponder and put the pieces of his broken mind back together.

“What you set out to
do, cannot be done alone.” She said straight faced as she scuttled
closer so that she was sitting on the parapet right in front of
Tristan.

“You’re going to need
three things.” She said with conviction. “First. You’re going to
need a friend and if I’m not much mistaken that’s him riding in
right now.” She said nodding her head to the side.

Tristan moved forward
and looked over her shoulder. An approaching cloaked man on
horseback rode quickly through the gates and into the keep. A large
bole strapped to his back, obviously containing a longbow. Where a
bow of that size was, his cousin William was sure to be attached to
it. The young Prince smiled as he pulled back from the wall,
looking Lesariu in the eyes again.

“Second.” She smiled.
“You’re going to need protection.” Her eyes flashed the natural
draconic red he remembered from their first meeting. Tristan was
reminded of her aid in taking the mercenary fort in Guis. The
columns of fire that set the walls themselves ablaze, tipping the
balance in favor of Tristan and his men.

“Finally.” She
continued, interrupting his thoughts. “You’re going to need
family.” She smirked as she looked over Tristans’ shoulder.

“Hello Lesa.”
Eurydice chuckled.

Tristan sighed
audibly as he turned around to find Euri standing at the top of the
stairs that led up from the courtyard. He chuckled, stepping away
from the parapet as Euri rushed forward and embraced the dragon in
human form.

Eurydice explained
that Lesa had been something of a secret teacher of hers, though
she’d assumed the woman in gold was just a magic user who’d taken
to a young Princess. It came as something of a shock to her that
she was indeed a dragon, a point driven home when she saw Lesariu
transform into her dragon form and back.

They spoke at length,
deciding on the best course of action. Shortly after they arrived
in Irudin, Euri had confided in Tristan numerous things she’d seen
in Blandis’ mind, which among other things included the location of
the
Bane’s
keep.

~

“I don’t like this.”
Dion said outright.

“Like it or not,
something has to be done father.” Tristan argued.

“I agree, but I’d
rather send an army.” The King replied.

The pair of them
argued at the end of the table while Annadora, Alison, Eurydice and
Hanna gossiped together. Kevin, William, Lance and Gerald watched
the two men argue, none of them knowing precisely what to say or
whom to support. Tristan’s plan seemed too bold and foolhardy;
Dion’s was too large scale and could potentially drag other
countries into a war.

Tristan wanted to
slip into the Great Expanse as a mercenary, Euri would be his mage
and William was his companion. They would take a force of fifty
with them to complete the illusion. In its simplest form the plan
was to infiltrate the
Bane
and replace Domiscus Kent’s
vacant mercenary commander spot.

From the inside
Tristan would learn everything he could about
Danconis’
Bane
, including how to destroy it once and for all. Even if
Dragon Magic had fled the world, that was no reason to hand over
all their lands to some power mad dictator. There was something
else at play, Tristan was certain of it and he wanted those answers
as well.