Dragon Talker (43 page)

Henryk scratched his beard, “Wise for your age, aren’t you? And you’ll have to tell me if this involves your dragon.” Before Yuri could say anything, he continued, “Our dragon talker, Yuri, is not a good man, not like you. He doesn’t put the village first. I was amazed to even see him here for the battle, and that I bet was more for our dragon’s benefit than for the people.”

Rubbing his neck, Yuri frowned, “I’m no friend of your talker, either. I thought he was mad when I first met him and nothing has happened that would change my opinion on that.” Yuri looked to the ground as he thought before going any further.

“I’m new to being a dragon talker, and I can tell you this, there are no directions, only the will of the dragon. Still, I can do two things.”

Henryk stood a little taller as he exhaled the breath he had been holding.

“I’ll circle back on my own once we leave and visit him, let him know how I feel about him and how he acts. Make a few suggestions and remind him that my village isn’t that far away. I’m not sure how much weight it will carry, but I do know my dragon is a lot more powerful than his, so maybe that will give me some clout. The other thing I can do is talk to Samora and try to get her impression of the situation, but the one thing I know about that is that I have no idea what her response might be. The mind of a dragon is a mysterious place.”

“Thank you, Yuri. I don’t know how much longer this village can survive with our invisible talker.” Henryk looked around in fear, realizing he could be around them right now and he wouldn’t know it.

Yuri noticed the change in him, “Don’t worry, I don’t think he’s around. When he is, I get twitchy.”

Henryk relaxed some. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you are a good man, Yuri. Let’s get you back to your wagon so you can go home.” Henryk placed his arm around Yuri’s shoulders as they walked back to the wagon.

“Boys,” he shouted to Stone and Bernard in the back of the wagon, “listen to Yuri, watch his example, and you’ll become good men.”

Bernard looked at Yuri with a little awe in his eyes and nodded his head. Stone shrugged his shoulders and turned back to move another basket around in the wagon.

Samantha cut off the merchant before he could continue, “I know, good man, lucky woman.” She smiled as she said it, making Henryk laugh.

“All right, all right, I’m just proud of this young man who fought with us to save my village. You always have a place at the hearth in our village.”

Yuri climbed up on the wagon and took the reins from Samantha. He waved to everyone around them, saying, “Our villages are blood now. I expect to see a lot of you at our spring festival next year.”

A few cheers erupted from the crowd around the wagon. Mandan’s festivals were well known, and not just for their sweet wine.

“And ours, Yuri the Defender,” someone shouted from the crowd.

He nodded and snapped the reins, smiling as the wagon lurched forward.
Yuri the Defender
, he repeated in his mind.
I like that
.

***

Half a mile outside the village, Yuri stopped the wagon. The boys lay quietly in back in silent protest against Samantha for putting them to sleep. Samantha looked around to see if there was something in the woods or road to make him stop. Not seeing anything, she turned to Yuri and raised an eyebrow.

“There’s something I have to do,” he answered her unspoken question.

“And what’s that?”

“Their talker isn’t right in the head, and I need to set him straight before I leave.”

“If he isn’t right in the head, how are you going to ‘set him straight’?” she asked.

“I’m not sure, but I have to at least try. I owe the village that much, and the first time we met…well, there’s some unfinished business of my own I’d like to settle.”

Samantha shook her head, saying only, “Men.”

“Ah, we’re worth it,” Yuri said over his shoulder as he jumped off the wagon. “Keep going, but don’t rush. I should be able to catch up with you before the sun sets.”

“Be careful, Yuri.”

“I will, and don’t forget, I’m a dragon talker.” Yuri paused as flashes of the morning’s actions ran through his mind, then added, “Samora’s talker.”

***

Unlike the first time Yuri walked up to the dragon talker’s hut, Yuri knew what to expect. Smoke rose from the hut’s chimney, giving him the hope that he might catch him inside. He had no idea how he would catch him if he went invisible and ran off. Yuri was counting on him being tired and having his guard down after all that happened today.

A light snow started to fall as he approached the hut.
This will help if he’s outside
, he thought, then he crouched low as he approached the window to the right of the door. Peering in, he saw Roger sitting in a chair in front of the fire. It looked like he was asleep. Now or never, he told himself as he stood up and reached for the door.

Roger turned at the sound of the opening door as Yuri stepped in.

“What are you doing here?” Roger asked.

“I’m ….” Roger started to disappear in front of Yuri, but this time Yuri leaped at him, grabbing his shimmering form as Roger tried to leave the chair.

Yuri lifted him up and pinned him to the wall next to the fire place. “I’m here…” Roger was totally invisible by the time he reached the wall. “Stop that,” Yuri said as he shook him. “I’ll bounce you off your own fireplace if you don’t stop.”

Yuri waited as Roger slowly became visible again. “That’s better.”

“Are we good then?” Roger asked, clearly irritated but doing nothing to get out of Yuri’s grasp. “Will you let go of me?”

“Absolutely…when I’m done. You are crazy and this village deserves more from you.”

Roger interrupted, “What are you talking about, I was out there risking my life.”

Yuri lifted him a little higher. “You were out there, yeah, but you were probably the safest, for sure the slowest, person ‘out there.’ Stop messing with this village.”

Roger grabbed at Yuri’s hands and tried to pry them off. “Who are you to tell me, a dragon talker, what to do?”

“I’m Samora’s talker. That’s who I am, so when I speak you better listen. You and this village are now on my list of things to watch over. Samora has made it so. I will be back. You won’t know when, you might not even see me, but you can bet your crazy life I’ll hear how you have been behaving. I better like what I hear. Do you understand?”

Yuri dropped his voice, trying for firm and threatening, “Do you understand?”

Roger looked into Yuri’s face, but his eyes moved to the dark blue scales on Yuri’s neck. Looking back up at his face, he would later swear to himself Yuri had dragon eyes. “I get it… Let me go already.”

Yuri waited a moment before setting him down. “Good. My vision and hearing are as good as they come, so make sure I hear and see good things about you.” Yuri stepped backwards, touched his pointer finger to his forehead in a comradely salute. “Good things, Roger.” He turned and walked out the hut. He didn’t look back, but he did listen carefully on the off chance Roger tried to leave the hut for another sneak attack.

Yuri walked on in silence, hoping Roger wouldn’t figure out he was lying about Samora’s interest in the village. He also hoped Samora wouldn’t be angry when he told her what he did. No, he decided, angry he could handle. He hoped she wouldn’t disown him. That thought sent a chill through his spine. He shrugged it off since he decided there was nothing else he could do about it and started running to catch back up with the wagon.

Yuri let his mind wander as he ran down the trail after the wagon. It felt good not to think, breathing in the cold night air. Even with the moon behind the clouds, Yuri had no problem seeing in the dark.
One more benefit of being a talker
, he thought. He caught up with the wagon in under an hour.

“That was fast,” Samantha said quietly, not wanting to wake the boys, when Yuri suddenly appeared next to her on the right side of the wagon, keeping pace with the wagon.

Yuri liked that she didn’t startle easily. “It didn’t take long,” he said as he grabbed the side of the wagon with his left hand and pulled himself up onto the seat next to Samantha in one smooth motion.

“Do you want a break?” he asked.

“No, I like the peacefulness of a night ride. I don’t know the next time I’m going to sleep.”

“Me neither, I may not sleep ‘til we’ve been home for a week, but then I’ll sleep for a week. If I have any say in the matter.” Yuri looked back at the boys, leaning against each other and asleep in the back of the wagon. “Have you ever taken care of kids before?”

“Family, sure, but not orphans. That’s different.” Samantha also looked back at the boys. “What’s your village going to think?”

“You know, I hadn’t thought of that, just my family, and they take care of kids who need help.”

Samantha looked at Yuri, “Can I meet them?”

“Sure, why wouldn’t…”

Samantha interrupted, “I can meet them, Yuri, if they meet me as a simple young woman. If anyone knew of my magic, I would be in grave danger.”

“Samora,” was Yuri’s one word response.

“What?”

“Samora is the only one who I will tell.” Yuri continued when he saw the look on her face that said, do you have to tell the dragon. “We’re connected inside here.” He pointed to his temple. “I have no idea how much of my mind she can see into, but I doubt I have any secrets.”

“A dragon, Yuri?” Samantha sounded disappointed.

Yuri pulled open his collar, exposing both his armored scales and pendant, a pendant he washed three times after bringing it back up after he swallowed it. “Hello, Dragon Talker. The dragon connection is right there in my title.”

“Sorry, Yuri. I think I’m more tired than I realize. Of course, Samora. Any idea what she thinks of me?” Samantha figured it was worth asking, but was startled when Yuri laughed.

“Samantha,” Yuri shook his head, “I don’t even know what she thinks of me, besides wanting me to be alive. I could be her pet human for all I know.”

“I don’t know about that. I’ve never heard of any dragon giving up its scales.”

They both sat in silence for a while before Yuri started up the conversation again. “I think Samora likes the boys, or somehow claimed a connection.” He told her of the village burial and Samora blessing the boys with her breath. “So I think you helping the boys might carry some weight with Samora. At least enough that I don’t think she’d eat you for no reason.”

“And I don’t want to give her one, Yuri. We’ve kept a low profile forever, and I don’t plan on being the one who blows it.”

“There are no thousand-year secrets,” Yuri countered.

“Have you ever heard of a female mage?”

“….okay, yours is a good one. How many…” Yuri stopped when he saw the look on her face. “Right, no questions you can’t answer.”

Samantha knew the lack of sleep and the ordeal in the village had been clouding her thinking. “I can’t do it, Yuri. I can’t come to your village. It’s too dangerous. I’ll take you within a day’s walk, but then I have to go my own way.”

“But…I want you to meet my…”

“And what, settle down in a dragon village?”

“I don’t know. Can’t you just meet my parents and stay a day or two, see how Samora reacts?”

Samantha put her hand on Yuri’s thigh, which sent his heart racing. “I’d love to meet your parents and see your village, but I can’t risk…No one, Yuri…No one knows as much as you. That’s bad enough. I can’t risk compounding it.”

She lifted her hand off his thigh and looked forward. Yuri’s heart slowed down. He hadn’t thought much about Samantha with all that was going on, but the idea of not seeing her anymore bothered him. They rode in silence for miles before Yuri finally said, “Well that’s a deep down muddy feeling.”

Samantha laughed. “That’s one way to put it. You’re a good young man, Yuri, and I’m glad I got to meet you and the boys. I think you will be a great dragon talker for Mandan, too, but it is time for this girl to get back on her own. You’re not the only one with a purpose, you know.”

Yuri hadn’t thought about that. The realization that she could be on her own search hit him in the forehead. He smiled at his own naiveté. “I won’t ask, but I’d love to know what that is.”

“Embracing the unknown will make you a great poet.”

Yuri looked behind them. “What are you going to tell the boys?”

“That’s easy. I have to continue my travels and wish them the best.”

Yuri started laughing, causing Samantha to ask, “What’s so funny?”

“Me.” Yuri shook his head. “When young men leave Mandan, and this goes double for those that almost get swallowed by a dragon, they come back with a wife, not two boys…I’m not saying I expected you to marry me. I just didn’t think this is how my journey would go.”

Samantha looked at Yuri and smiled, looking and sounding suddenly older to Yuri. “Looks like you learned life lesson number one, Yuri. It never goes the way you expect it to.”

“There is so much I don’t know about you, isn’t there?”

Now it was Samantha’s turn to laugh. “What you don’t know about me would fill books.”

“And I can’t read.”

They both laughed at that.

Chapter 60

It was midday when Mandan came into view. Yuri was carrying Bernard, who was sitting half on his shoulders and half on his pack. A surge of pride washed over Yuri as he said, “There she is boys, Mandan. Best village in the valley.”

Bernard snapped his head around, “Where?”

“Yeah,” Stone added, “I don’t see anything.”

“Um…” Yuri kept forgetting about his increased sight. “Well, it’s there, that way.” He pointed in front on him. “You’ll start to see it soon.”

“Good,” Stone said, “I’m tired of walking.”

“I’m not,” Bernard replied, sticking his tongue out at Stone. Stone punched his dangling leg, and Bernard grabbed it, saying “Ouch” as he rubbed it.

Thirty minutes later, Stone said, “I see it.”

“Me too,” Bernard shouted, even though he didn’t.