War of Dragons (16 page)

Daisy was incapable of a smug smile as a dragon, but managed to convey her feelings with the tone of her thoughts.
Arthur, what do you say now?

I say well done; you have proved me wrong in something that I couldn't care less about. Can we get on with the flight?

Fine. Mark, what did you think I was going to ask you about?

John's health,
Arthur replied when Mark hesitated.
And if you want to know about his visit to the doctor you should ask John, not Mark.

Well said, Arthur,
Mark agreed.

You're just irritable because I was right,
Daisy replied.
And I will ask John. Again.

But Daisy didn't have a chance to ask John anything during the flight; they didn’t see him again, even when they approached their destination. Mark pointed out the meeting place as soon as it was visible; a mountain with a remarkably flat top, as if it had been deliberately levelled for the purpose of occasions such as this. Waiting on the mountain top was the delegation of Brown Dragons, twenty of them still as dragons, all sat waiting motionless, with a further ten circling in the air above them. Daisy gasped when she saw them, suddenly a little nervous, but her brother didn't seem worried at all. The Brown Dragons were about the same size as the Golden Dragons, with slighter thinner wings and a longer tail and neck, but other than the difference in colour they were very similar in appearance.

As they descended she noticed that there were two that had transformed on the ground; a colourfully-dressed old man with dark brown skin and grey hair, who must be the Brown Dragon representative, and Abel, who was to be the only Golden Dragon other than Mark who was to accompany them. Ahead of the gathering was a large tent and Mark directed them to land in front of it and use it to transform. Daisy transformed as quickly as she could and dressed, glad that she had chosen a conservative outfit rather than having listened to Jenna's advice on what to wear. She glanced at Arthur, who was waiting for her, and realised that he was as nervous as her.

"Ready, Arthur?" she asked, placing her hand on his arm.

He nodded without replying and let her take his arm as they left the tent. They approached the Brown Dragons cautiously, allowing Mark and Abel to begin the introductions. The Brown Dragon who had transformed was the only one who was there to talk, a dragon called Gul, who looked to be at least as old as her parents, if not quite a bit older. Daisy noticed that he glanced up and down at her appreciatively, but she just smiled back politely. The introductions and formalities took quite some time, before they were allowed to sit down on some grand-looking chairs, which looked out of place on top of the rocky mountain-top. Then Gul got straight down to business, asking for the twins' accounts before beginning the discussion.

"We have read your proposed treaty and I am sympathetic to your plight. However, it will be difficult to persuade our leaders of the benefits of helping you," Gul stated flatly. "I do not predict success."

"Surely the benefits are clear. Doing nothing will guarantee the Blues have an easy war. If they destroy the Reds now, you'll have a much stronger enemy to face in twenty years' time," Abel argued.

"Yes, in twenty years' time, but not now. No, now we'll have a weakened enemy ripe for attacking, once the war with you is finished, and we'll lose far less lives that way. They'll gain territory to the west only to lose some to the south-east. I doubt they'll be much stronger, but we will be. It's what the Reds would do if our positions were reversed. It's the way it has always been."

Mark spoke up. "That's a big risk you're taking. Unless you capture a lot of land, they'll grow much more than you. Far better to strike early to prevent them gaining any land."

Gul shook his head. "I'm sorry, but unless it could be demonstrated that it was in some way advantageous to us to attack now, I can't see this happening. I am sorry, my lady. I truly am," he said, nodding courteously to Daisy.

"Perhaps you could see a way in which it would be to your advantage to attack now?" Daisy asked with the sweetest smile she could, sensing that Gul was angling for something in return.

Gul smiled at her sadly, but shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. Well, there is one, but it seems unlikely. It's hardly worth mentioning."

Abel smiled. "Come, we are friends, are we not? Please, tell us of this possibility."

Gul shrugged. "I suppose it can do no harm. The Blues have taken many of our women from us over the years. We had no way of knowing where they were, or whether they were alive. Then recently, a woman came back to us. She had escaped and walked all the way home, following the shoreline south and managing to avoid her captors by only travelling at night. It was quite an astonishing escape."

Daisy dreaded to think why the Blues wanted to take their women as prisoners, but Abel was clearly intrigued by this news. "What did this escapee tell you? Was she able to shed light on the whereabouts of the rest of the missing women?"

"Not enough to find them, but enough to desperately
want
to find them. She confirmed our suspicions regarding what the Blues want them for. They're all being kept in a huge camp, along with Reds and many other races. If we find it, we could rescue them all. That would be a reason to attack, one that I would have no difficulty selling to my people, but alas, we don't know where to look."

Abel nodded, smiling in amusement. "Would this be a matter where you would welcome assistance from your friends?"

Gul nodded earnestly, smiling back at him. "We always welcome assistance from friends such as you, Abel. If you were to help locate this camp, I think I would find it much easier to persuade my superiors that we should come to the aid of the Red Dragons. In fact, I suspect that you would find it difficult to hold them back from attacking."

"That would be very much appreciated by the Red Dragons, I am sure," Abel assured him.

"Of course," Arthur confirmed, nodding enthusiastically. "It would be something that we wouldn't forget."

"There may be some hurdles to providing this help," Abel continued. "I am just a humble servant of my government and cannot promise anything other than the reasoned and generous consideration of any proposal, but I do see two obstacles that may prevent us providing this assistance. Not insurmountable problems, but ones that would require your assurances."

Gul frowned, and Daisy wondered what Abel was after. "Please, tell me the nature of these obstacles."

"Firstly, we do not share a border with the Blue Dragons. We would need to be guaranteed safe passage across your territory to perform this task."

Gul smiled broadly. "That would be easily obtained."

"The second obstacle may be more challenging. My government would want guarantees that all captives are freed and treated kindly and with respect. Once we return with the location of the camp, we would require permission to allow representatives from the other countries that have prisoners in the camp to accompany the rescue force—sufficient to ferry all of the captives to safety. That would include safe passage through your territory."

"Yes, that would be more challenging," Gul agreed. "My government would not take too kindly to enemy forces passing over our territory. I suspect that this may not be permitted."

"Perhaps they need not be seen as enemies. Surely you could make a temporary alliance against a common and overly powerful enemy? Is there no compromise you could persuade them to accept?"

Gul rubbed his chin, as if thinking it over. "Perhaps. With your help. Maybe conditions could be attached to our agreement that would allow this—"

"Name them," Abel demanded.

"Firstly, your people will accompany the representatives, matching them dragon for dragon in number while they cross our territory. Secondly, they cross at the shortest point, from the point near the coast, to the south-east edge of the Blue Border. Thirdly, you will send accompanying forces with us to attack the Blues."

Abel shook his head. "The first two may be achievable, although not dragon for dragon, but you know I cannot promise the third. It is contrary to our laws. No official force can ever be sent. We're forbidden from attacking another nation unless they have attacked us first."

"What about an unofficial force?" Daisy asked quickly, remembering something John had told her.

"What do you mean, young princess?" Gul asked.

"Ask for volunteers, see who wants to go. That can't be against your laws. It's a rescue mission, not a land grab, and will bind together your neighbours, so surely some will be willing to go."

Abel paused to reflect for a moment. "Technically it would still be illegal, but I could probably find a way of presenting it in a more acceptable light. Our dragons would be there as peacekeepers, officially, to stop any fighting between the three groups. I could not guarantee any numbers—"

"I would go," Mark volunteered quickly. "I can guarantee my brother would go as well."

"I was thinking of more than just a couple of dragons," Gul said with a polite laugh.

"You would get them," Mark replied confidently. "Abel, Daisy is right; this would be a rescue mission. Plenty would volunteer. The laws that force us to remain neutral are not universally popular. Many think we should have intervened to prevent the Greens being wiped out, to stop the Blues getting this powerful in the first place. You will get volunteers."

Gul sneered at the mention of the Greens, but said nothing. Daisy knew from John that the Browns hated the Greens and had welcomed their demise.

"Would that be enough, Gul?" Abel asked. "I can't guarantee anything in terms of numbers—not for the escort or for the volunteers—but you would have the location of the camp. With that you can get your people back."

Gul nodded. "I think we are agreed. I will obtain approval from my superiors, and you will do the same?"

Abel nodded and extended his hand. "As always, it is a pleasure, Gul. War is never a cause for celebration, but at least we will achieve some good out of this mess. We will need details from your escaped prisoner of where to start looking. When can we meet her?"

"As fortune would have it, she is already here. You can meet her now."

Abel smiled. "How fortunate. Your Highnesses, these details need not concern you. Mark and I will meet with her alone. John can take you home."

"John? But where is he?"

"Where do you think?" Mark asked, looking up to the clouds. "Flying directly above us, watching you like a hawk…."

Chapter 10 - The Report

Jerome landed near the top of the hill where the trees were thinner. It had been quite a long flight, and an unnerving one, having to stay low to try and avoid being noticed and having to explain where he was going. Or rather,
lie
about where he was going. The whole country was in the midst of preparations for the expected invasion and he would have found it difficult to explain why he was heading to, rather away from the border with their enemies.

"Well, what do you have for me?" Perak asked, emerging from behind a tree after Jerome transformed. He was wearing a cloak that hid his blue hair and skin, but removed it as he approached Jerome.

"I'm honoured by your presence, Colonel," Jerome replied sarcastically, noticing that Perak wore a new uniform indicating his rank. He wondered when that promotion had happened. Such arrogance to wear it here as well; it was a remote location, but wearing a military uniform and not bothering to cover his hair and skin was asking for trouble. It explained the new location, having Perak himself visit. He wouldn't risk flying so close to Furnace; although of course, it probably wasn't sensible for anyone to fly that far from the border at this time. "Why haven't you sent one of your minions?"

"You know why," Perak snapped. "We are about to launch the biggest invasion in our history and your information could be of critical importance. This is too important for me to delegate to any underling. So, I repeat my question: what news do you have?"

Jerome sighed, knowing that it would not be taken well. "Bad news I am afraid. They know of your preparations. They have begun to prepare their defences."

"What!" Perak said angrily. "How could this happen?"

Jerome shrugged. "By sheer luck on their part, it would seem. Four of my classmates were blown over the border in a storm and hid at the top of a mountain while they waited for it to pass. By pure chance, they witnessed a military demonstration dropping metal objects onto targets, and along with the numbers of our troops that were present they realised what the purpose of the exercise was. They were pursued back across the border but managed to get back safely and told their story to the Council. Two of them were grandchildren of the Western Prince, so their word was not likely to be questioned. Preparations started immediately."

Perak paced up and down as Jerome spoke, not bothering to conceal his anger. "Wait, you said that they were pursued. This was not reported back to me. Did none of the pursuers escape?"

Jerome shook his head. "No, none made it back. There is one other thing. There was some stories of a strange dragon that saved them. Apparently a small, gold coloured dragon appeared from nowhere, flying incredibly fast, and attacked and killed most of our dragons. No one really believes it and they didn't repeat this bit to the Council, but the story spread anyway. I know it sounds far-fetched, but you'd asked me to tell you everything."

Perak's eyes narrowed. "Golden Dragons. That's a worrying development."

"They're real?" Jerome asked in surprise. "What are they doing in the Red Dragon kingdom?"

"What are you doing there? They're doing the same thing: spying, but for what purpose is anyone's guess. One thing we do know is that they're no friends of ours. I'll have to report this to General Zygar. What about their Military Council? What actions are they taking to defend the Kingdom? You said that preparations started immediately."