Warlords Rising (16 page)

“You’re the one that needs to talk to the head, not us.”
Trev’nor waved him on. “Go for it.”

“Right. First, though, let’s eat lunch and drink lots of
water. The dragons are hungry and thirsty too; it would be best to do all of
that before we leave here.”

“I think we need to do more than that,” Trev’nor disagreed.
“Let’s take care of the worst of the damage, erect a ward around the town to
protect it from scavengers and anyone else that gets the notion to conquer the
place.
Then
we can go.”

“I agree completely. Trev, if you’ll start repairing
buildings? There’s large watering troughs over there,” Becca suggested,
pointing in the right direction. “I saw them while I was up high. I can lead
them that direction if you can find them something to eat?”

“They’ll do their own hunting, but the water is a good idea.
I’ll find us humans something to eat instead. Maybe pack a few things for us
too considering there probably won’t be much available in their home grounds.”

Erk. That wasn’t a comforting thought. “Trev’nor?”

Trev’nor looked discomfited by this idea too. “Krys never
did tell us details like that, when he went back with Kaya. I think Nolan’s
right, let’s prepare for the worst. Nol, you go for the market. I’ll start
repairing some buildings.”

They split up easily, each going their own way. Becca was
slightly in awe that she had three overgrown dragons following her like
obedient dogs toward the troughs. They were meant for large herds of cattle and
dragoos, so they were long and deep, serviceable enough for the dragons to use.
She used their aqueducts to refresh the water and offer something that was
cooler and hadn’t been sitting in the hot suns all morning.

The dragons drank deeply and all of them gently touched
noses to her side in thanks. Not sure if it was appropriate, but not able to
resist the urge, she patted them in between their nostrils and smiled up at
them. Were all dragons like this? They were as kind and gentle as Kaya was.

Perhaps they were as intelligent as Kaya too? Willing to
test the theory, she pointed toward herself and said, “Becca.”

The elder dragon’s eyes narrowed and zeroed in on her.

“Becca,” she repeated again, enunciating clearly.

“Be-ca?” he repeated, tone rumbling.

“Right. Becca.” Oh good, they were just as intelligent.

The two younger ones crowded in, heads jostling against each
other. For their sake, she repeated her name, and was delighted when they both
picked up on it quickly.

It was a rare chance, so she dipped her hand into one of the
troughs and said clearly, “Water.”

“Wa…” the elder dragon’s head cocked. She had the distinct
impression that was a way of frowning and asking for a repeat.

“Water.”

“Wa-ta.”

“Wa
ter
.”

“Water.” He blew out a breath and flipped his tail, happy
that he got it right.

“Right, water.”

“Water,” the blue dragon repeated, interest rising. She
clawed at the ground and cocked her head.

Now asking for words? “Ground.”

“Groud.”

Oh, right, dragons struggled with ‘n’ sounds. “Ground.”

“Grouund.”

Close enough. “You’re all very smart. I wonder if I can
learn to speak your language too, or if it’s something that a human body can’t
really duplicate?”

“It’s not something you can duplicate,” Nolan said, coming
around the three dragons to stand at her side. “I have to cheat and use magic
in order to get my full point across. But that said, you can say a few words
and phrases to them. They’d be delighted if you did. Dragons like to learn
things. They hoard knowledge as much as they hoard gold.”

“Really?” Trev’nor joined them with two huge sacks in his
hands. “I thought it was just Kaya that was like that.”

“Oh no. Her brood is just as insatiably curious.” Nolan
jerked a thumb at the bags. “We have enough food to last us about four days. I
think that’s enough. Are we good to go here?”

“I don’t know.” Becca lifted both shoulders in a shrug.
“They only drank water here.”

Nolan tilted his face up and switched to dragon-speak. He
got a response that made him blink. “They said there’s not enough game here but
not to worry about it as they had a large feast last night. They stumbled into
a flock of nekons, it sounds like.”

Becca knew that was the favored food of dragoos, but dragons
too? “Oh. Then they’re not really hungry?”

“Sounds like it. Alright, well, in that case let’s sit down
and eat a quick lunch and go. I found the fixings for flatbread and cheese. We
have some vegetables and fruits that were ripe enough to pick, too, but not
much. Whoever came in here cleaned the place of anything good.” Nolan led the
way to a shaded table off on the side as he spoke.

She had eaten far too much flat bread since entering this
country but it was true they wouldn’t have a lot of ready-made options in this
twice-conquered city. Resigned, she followed Nolan to the table and prepared a
quick lunch, consuming it while guzzling water. It was easy to dehydrate in
this desert land.

Nolan spoke to the dragons as he ate, sometimes smiling,
sometimes teaching them words. They lapped up the attention, enjoying the
learning process.

Trev’nor wrapped up the rest of the food, tying it securely
in large squares of cloth. “Nolan, did you ask them how long of a flight this
is going to be?”

“They said almost two days, and we’ll probably arrive in the
wee hours of the morning.”

“Is it safe to fly at night?” Becca couldn’t help but
wonder.

“Sure. They have eyes like a cat’s. Krys avoids doing it
just because he can’t navigate in the dark. However, we will stop at some point
for a rest.” Nolan turned back to the dragons, speaking to them, then
instructed, “Trev, go with the white dragon, Becca go with the blue one. Don’t
worry about hanging onto them, they know how to grip you without hurting. Just
try to be still as much as possible to make it easier on them.”

Becca said a prayer that this would go smoothly as she
climbed into the proffered claw, one of the sacks of food in her lap. As she
settled, she caught a glimpse of Trev’nor’s face. His eyes were scrunched tight
and he had the bag in an iron clutch like it was a lifeline. “Trev?”

Without opening his eyes, he responded, “I’ll be fine. I
just won’t look down.”

Said the boy who wanted a dragon.

They really had to do something about his nervousness when
it came to heights.

Trev’nor had been fine with heights up until he was nearly
thirteen. He’d been on a scaffold, five stories up, helping to fix a particularly
tricky part of Strae Academy, when the scaffold was jarred and it lurched
sideways. It knocked him off his feet, although thanks to Garth’s quick
reflexes, not off the scaffold entirely. Still, he’d come
this close
to
taking a head dive toward the ground, and the incident had somewhat scarred
him.

If he were on a wide platform, or in a place where he knew
he absolutely couldn’t fall off, then he was able to tolerate it just fine. A
dragon’s claws weren’t quite the stability he needed, and it took steady
breathing and whole-hearted concentration on his part to make sure he didn’t
lose the contents of his stomach.

Most of the flight was sensations for him more than visual
as he refused to look down, just up. The air whipped around his face, often
pulling strands out of his braid so that hair got into eyes and mouth. He now
understood why Krys kept his hair short. It felt good up here, though,
exhilarating in a stomach-dropping sort of way. He was torn between wanting his
feet on the ground and staying up here for a little longer.

The dragon that carried him often tilted her head so that
she could peek down, checking on him. It relieved him to know that she was
keeping a careful eye on his wellbeing. In the long history of the world, the
dragons had always been good friends to the magicians of every type and in
every age. Their loss had been keenly felt when they migrated to the far north,
out of the range of human civilizations. That was why Kaya had been such a joy
to all of them when she adopted Krys.

They went through a cycle of hot air, cool, hot, and cool
again as they went from day to night and back to day, continuing to fly steadily
for their destination. Downright cold, actually. Part of that was the season,
part of it was being this far off the ground, but another factor was that they
were much further north now than they had been. Trev’nor couldn’t see much as
it was pitch black and the thin crescent moon wasn’t able to illuminate much.
There were mountains. He gathered that much. Maybe big trees too.

His dragon carrier banked a hard right, descending rapidly
enough to make his cheeks flap out. He felt like holding on for dear life, only
there was nothing really to hold onto. His dragon’s claws were like an iron
cage around him—he definitely wasn’t going anywhere—although he slid backward
into her grip from the force of the descent.

Trev’nor’s head snapped back as she abruptly back-flapped,
braking hard in midair before touching down with only one front paw and two
back feet. Trev’nor opened his eyes and found that she had turned her head
around to peer at him intently.

“I—” He cleared his throat and tried again, the words coming
out husky. “I’m good. Thanks. Nice flight?”

She didn’t know any of those words, but she understood
something from his tone as she bobbed her head in a pleased fashion and let him
all the way to the ground. Trev’nor was heartily glad to have both boots on
rock after being in the air most of the day. Looking around, he spied Becca and
hailed her softly.

Neither of them could see much in this place. Trev’nor felt
rock under him, but also a massive amount of trees—come to think of it, the
trees were unusually large. They made the ones around Q’atal look a little on
the small side, and he’d seen people carve houses out of those trees. But it
was only his earth sense that gave him any sense of navigation. Becca was
clearly uncertain about trying to move far as she had no light to see by.

He went to her, offering a hand to steady her. “How are your
legs?”

“A little shaky,” she admitted cheerfully. “But that was a fun
ride. How are you?”

“A little nauseous,” he responded, swallowing hard. “I’m
just glad it didn’t last any longer than it did. I wouldn’t suggest moving any
further than this without me guiding you. We’re on a rocky ledge with massive
trees all around us.”

“I can kind of see that,” she allowed, peering hard in all
direction. “My eyes adjusted enough to see silhouettes, at least. Nolan is way
above us, isn’t he?”

“On an entirely different ledge,” Trev’nor confirmed,
craning his neck to look up, although that was a futile gesture. He couldn’t
see a thing, not with his usual eyes. Magical sense just let him see Nolan
standing like a bright spot directly above him, and lots of rock and
vegetation. “I assume he’s talking to the dragon king. Do dragons have kings?”

“You’re asking me?”

Right, their animal expert was not with them. “Well, what do
you want to do?”

“Lead me to a place where I can take care of some private
business and then I guess we find somewhere to settle in while we wait for
Nolan. I am rather hungry, though, are you?”

“Not right this minute, but give my stomach a little time to
settle, and I will be.” Part of being a growing teenager was a perpetually
growling stomach.

Trev’nor played guide for Becca to make sure she maneuvered
around without falling off the ledge. They shifted around the dragons as they
moved, who seemed to be growing in number every time Trev’nor turned around.
Word must be spreading among the…herd?...of dragons that there were visitors
and they all wanted to come and take a look for themselves. The bolder ones
stretched out their noses to get a long sniff, and Trev’nor carefully did what
Nolan had instructed and laid out a flat palm so that they could do so.

The blue dragon, which had carried Becca, didn’t venture far
from their sides and seemed intent on being next to them at all times. After
Becca had eaten, the little dragon nudged the pair of them closer to her with a
tail and encouraged them to settle in against her side. Trev’nor was extremely
grateful for the offer as he hadn’t a clue where to lie down without
encroaching on someone else’s nest, and he didn’t want to offend his hosts. He
really, really didn’t want to do that.

“Oh, she’s warm,” Becca sighed in delight, curling in next
to that smooth hide. “I’m glad she’s snuggly like this. It’s rather cold out
here.”

“I thought dragons don’t like cold, like dragoos don’t.”
Trev’nor was rather sure of that, actually.

“They might be forced to deal with it in order to have a
source of food.” Becca sounded uncertain. “I think a lot of them are snuggling
up with each other to share warmth.”

“You can see that?”

“More like I can hear it. It’s the same sound as when Kaya’s
brood snuggled in with her.”

Ah, now that she said it, it was a sound he recognized.

Becca stroked a hand along the hide and leaned in. “You’re a
nice dragon. Thank you.”

He recognized that tone in her voice. “Are you seriously
going to sleep without waiting on Nolan?”

“He’ll wake us up when it’s time. And I’m tired. I didn’t
sleep last night.”

Trev’nor hadn’t either and he was absolutely exhausted, but
he found himself too on edge to think about sleeping. Becca had always been the
sort that could turn her mind off when she wanted to rest but he had never been
able to develop that talent. So he sat with his shoulder touching hers, soaking
in the warmth along his back, and waited with as much patience as he could
muster for Nolan to come down.

At some point, who knows when, he fell asleep. And dreamed.
They weren’t good dreams. In fact they were confusing and scary, dreams where
he was being chased and cornered, forced to turn and fight. It was like a
mashup of the last two battles he had been in, only he wasn’t against normal
soldiers this time, but some sort of demonic version of them. He fought and screamed
and tried to find Becca and Nolan in the madness, but no matter where he
turned, it all looked the same to him.

Something hard and warm settled on his lap, the weight of it
knocking the breath out of him just enough that he flailed awake in sheer panic.
He found himself staring at the elder green dragon dead in the eye, clear
golden that had warmth and sympathy for him.

Knowing he wouldn’t understand the words, but hoping he’d
understand the tone, Trev’nor breathed, “Thank you.”

“It looked like a bad dream,” Nolan said quietly, coming
around to stand at both their sides.

The green dragon had not budged, so Trev’nor was not able to
sit up like he wanted to. “It was a mix between memory and nightmare.”

That golden eye rolled toward Nolan, and he obviously said
something, as Nolan picked up the roll of translator. “‘You are afraid of
fighting?’ he asked.”

“No,” Trev’nor responded honestly, “but the weight of the
lives I took is heavy. And I’m scared of losing people dear to me in battle.”

Nolan dutifully translated, listened, and repeated, “You did
not choose to fight. You chose to survive. Anyone that enters a battle chooses
life and death. Their souls are not yours to carry.”

For days now, they had assuaged themselves by saying they
hadn’t had a choice—and they really hadn’t. They’d had to fight. They had to
survive. They’d had to rescue themselves. But this reasoning hadn’t helped
Trev’nor accept what had happened and he wasn’t sure why. Was it because they
honestly hadn’t been prepared for an all-out battle like that one and they kept
feeling that with their magic, they should have been able to win the conflict
with less bloodshed? Or some other reason entirely?

These words, given to him by someone from a different
species, who was who-knows-how-old, struck a chord in him when nothing else had
had any impact. “I’m not responsible for their lives.”

“You are not,” Nolan translated. “Only family and leaders
are responsible for the lives of others. You are not either.”

Trev’nor reached out and found the exact spot on the nose bridge
where Kaya always enjoyed being scratched. “You are wise. Thank you.”

The dragon’s eyes fell to half-mast in a sign of pleasure
and he heaved out a warm sigh, which felt very welcome in the cool morning air.

“He said you have wonderful hands and you can keep that up
until your arm falls off,” Nolan informed Trev’nor dryly.

“Kaya tells me the same thing.” Trev’nor found it relaxing,
soothing, to have such peaceful contact with another living being after that nightmare.
So he kept it up for longer than he normally would have. “What did the dragon
leader say?”

“Wait, let me get Becca up first so I don’t have to repeat
this.” Nolan bent down and nudged her in the side. “Bec. Wake up.”

Becca’s eyes sprang open, not unusually, as she wasn’t a
deep sleeper in unfamiliar places. Especially in a place like this, she would
be sleeping very lightly. She sat up and stretched her arms above her head,
taking in Trev’nor’s guest with a startled laugh. “Making friends, Trev?”

“This must be a universal spot for dragons.”

“Must be.” Turning to Nolan, she cocked her head. “What did
the dragon chief say?”

Nolan plopped down to the ground, crossing his feet, looking
beyond tired. Then again, he was the one that had stayed up all night. “First
off, he’s really mad. Like, steaming mad. I literally saw steam coming out.
According to dragon memory, the magicians have always been friends and allies,
and that’s proven true even in this generation after Krys visited with Kaya. So
the idea that we’ve become slaves? He’s ready to go tear the country apart
right now.”

Trev’nor felt a flash of panic. “You did explain to him
there are innocent people over there too? Not just bad guys?”

“He realized on his own, and he’s not going to, but he’s eager
to help us. He said, ‘Bad men must go squish.’ I’m not paraphrasing when I say
that, those were his exact words. We talked a good portion of last night on
how
he can help us. First off, he wants to let each of us partner with a dragon.”

Becca let out an unintended squeal, which got the attention
of every dragon around her. Trev’nor had to settle for a pump-fist of victory,
as his lap and other hand were still occupied.