Zoran Chronicles Volume 1 A Dragon in Our Town (58 page)

            
“Absolutely,” replied Jarka. “I’ve killed several of his assassins and some of his
Mages. You will be safe at our tower in Brn.”

            
“Okay, I will trust you to be who you say, but you must take Jan too.”

            
“Of course, I wouldn’t dream of leaving him behind,” Zoran replied honestly.

            
“And train him in magic too,” she added.

            
“Not everyone can learn magic; however, we will do our best with Jan. I cannot
guarantee that he will be able to learn magic. With Zuza, once she becomes a Duska,
there is no doubt that she can learn magic,” Zoran tried to soften what must be a blow to
Hana and Jan. After all, only one in ten had any ability to learn magic.

            
She hesitated a moment, as if resolving something in her mind. “Okay. I can
accept that for now. Do you mean for us to leave now? This very minute?”

            
“Yes, with Kazimir’s men around, it really isn’t safe for Zuza here. I don’t want
anything bad to happen to my little sister,” Zoran replied.

            
“What about the barkeeper?”

            
“Forget him. Pack your things and let’s get you safe in Brn,” Zoran replied.

            
It took all of two minutes for them to pack. She had stowed away twenty coppers
and had only one other dress. The children had even less. Holding hands, the group
teleported to the main street of Brn, just before the Tower. As they arrived, Aldrick and
Sofie were flying around the tower, on their way back from feeding.

            
“Mommy, look! Dragons! Real dragons!” exclaimed Jan and Zuza nearly in
unison.

            
“Then it is true — all the rumors that we’ve heard about dragons coming to
Adapazan and burning up the Baron’s army in Sholov are true,” Hana said wildly excited
with the sight of the two dragons.

            
“Yes, they are my friends. Emil here is their son.”

            
“You are a
real
dragon?” exclaimed Jan, completely in awe of Emil.

            
“Yes, want to see?” he said, unable to resist the boy’s enthusiasm. He changed
into his true form and took flight around the Tower before landing in the street and
changing back into his human Emil form once more.

            
Hana then said what she had been holding back. “Jan is Zuza’s twin brother. I
never told anyone, not even the Baron’s men when they came around last week. I knew
that the Baron would take him away from me if he knew about Jan. Please, you must do
the same for Jan, please. He is your half-brother.”

            
“Incredible! Put her there, Jan,” Zoran offered the lad his hand. The boy took it
and they shook. “Absolutely. Both will be allowed to become Duskas and learn all the
magic that they can.”

            
“Well, they don’t know how to read or write. I don’t either,” Hana admitted.

            
“Not a problem. We will have to teach them to read and write first thing,” Zoran
replied.

            
“Mommy, when I can read, I will read all the books to you,” Zuza promised. Hana
smiled.

            
“Come on; let’s go inside and meet my wife, Archmage Zdenka. She’s our magic
teacher here. This is her tower,” Zoran suggested.

            
Awe. That is the best way to describe the three’s tour of the Archmage Tower and
the new construction site. Zdenka, of course, tested the two children and found that they
were suitable for her training. Out of curiosity, she also tested Hana.

            
Hana hesitated, and then sighed. “Well, my first impulse is to grab the gold; my
children are desperate, but he’s bleeding to death. I have to set a good example, so I will
see if I can help him and then ask him for some of the gold for my children.” Zdenka
suspected this might be her answer and smiled.

            
“Okay, Hana. How about you? Have you ever thought about seeing if you can
learn magic?”

            
Hana was startled. “No. I mean I have always had to work constantly to stay alive.
Then, with the twins, it became even more difficult to manage. Do you really think it is
possible?”

            
Zdenka replied. “First things first. We get you three some descent clothes. Then, I
am going to twin you three up with two teenagers who are also learning how to read and
write. They can help you get started.”

            
“But we have no money for clothes,” Hana objected.

            
“Don’t worry. Zoran will be helping to look after his little brother and sister. We
could use some additional hands with maid and serving duty around the tower. What
say I put you to work part of the time, when you are not studying. That way, you can
help out too.” Hana agreed eagerly. Hence, Zdenka sent the three off with Jarka to find
the seamstress. Her orders: get them each three new outfits and pitch these old ones!
She gave Zoran the task of finding lodgings for the new guests.

            
Since he also planned to see if the other sister and mother would move here, he
set to work on the fifth floor. He consolidated the “observation of the sky” room with
several others, making two smaller rooms available for the new families. “I am rapidly
running out of quarters here,” he jested.

            
After the new arrivals had gone shopping and had a bath, Zoran showed them
their new room. Hana had never had such luxury, and Jan and Zuza were very happy
with this fine new bedroom. At last, Zdenka took them to the first floor study area and
introduce them to Chika and Akira, who took charge of them, eager to help others, who
like themselves, did not know how to read and write. Of course they now could do both
somewhat.

            
The next day, Zoran repeated the process, this time heading into Toky to look for
the fifteen year old girl called Kamila Lota and her mother, Eva. He found them both
working at an inn. Eva, wiped her hands on her apron, and offered him a cup of tea there
in the kitchen. She was around thirty-five, but still had an attractive air about her. In her
youth, she must have been a rose in this village. Kamila, tall and thin, was working as a
waitress, serving tables.

            
“Well, you are the second person in the last week to come here asking about
Kamila. I thought I said everything the last time they were here,” Eva began, rather
annoyed at having to stop her cooking. Kamila, with her long brown hair, sat beside her
mother, curious about this tall man and why he wanted to speak to them.

            
Zoran introduced himself and gave an almost identical speech as he had to Hana
yesterday. “So Kamila is my sister and I want only the very best for her.”

            
“Well, it’s about time that someone recognizes her for her worth! Honestly, I was
totally aghast at the Baron’s conduct. Do you realize that until last week he didn’t even
acknowledge her existence? Lord knows that I’ve tried. Sent him letters at least twice a
year about her. Nothing until last week. Then, nothing even came of that.” She rattled on
and asked pertinent questions about how she and her daughter would be
accommodated, how well she would be treated, and so on. He did his best to satisfy
Eva’s curiosity.

            
At last, Eva agreed, but they would need time to pack their few things and arrange
for another cook to come finish up the stew for the evening crowd. Around noon, Zoran
was finally able to teleport the two, along with his friends, back to Brn. Zoran found that
Eva and Kamila were slightly better off than the Vavrin’s, at least their clothes were
acceptable. As a cook, she’d earned just enough to keep them alive, not much more,
though. However, Eva proved to be an excellent cook; their cook at the Tower greatly
appreciated her help in the kitchen. The number of mouths to feed continued to grow.

            
Both Eva and Kamila joined the others on the first floor, since they needed to
learn to read and write as well. That night, Zoran contacted Priestess Anezka once more.
Via telepathy, he sent,
Got three more for you to give the Ceremony of Ascension to, my
half-brother and two half-sisters!

            
On Friday, Priestess Anezka performed all three ceremonies, which activated
their special gland. Now they had their birthright, true Duskas. Lengthy education
would now commence in earnest. Zoran took a sense of pride in what he had done. True,
the two twins were a little young for the Ceremony of Ascension, but times dictated the
need.

            
On Wednesday, Duke John Witherspoon and Dusana Matous arrived. He was a
tall, thin lad, but quite handsome. Dusana looked much like her mother, with curly
brown hair and charming eyes. While their dress was more suitable for a court than an
Archmage tower, they merrily began to make friends and did not seem troubled by their
relatively Spartan accommodations. Their first request was to meet and see the dragons.
Next, they wanted a complete tour of the new construction site.

            
After lunch, both began to tackle his trading situation, outlining what planet
offered the best deals on what commodity. Zoran took copious notes. All this was totally
new to him. By Friday, they had worked out the best trade on such short notice. The
following week, they began accompanying Zoran, as one by one, the other warlords
began requesting that he come and setup their trading arrangements. Their work
occupied them for all of July and into August.

            
During this time, Dusana and Chika became friends, and Dusana discovered that
Chika was a whizz at math and a keen observer of the value of things. Thus one
afternoon, Dusana approached Zoran, “You know that you need a shrewd business
person here don’t you?” He nodded. “Well, unless you have other plans, I have the
perfect candidate for you, Chika. She is a natural at it. True, she has tons to learn and all
her magic training ahead of her, but seriously, Zoran, you ought to allow her to be your
business advisor.” He agreed and Chika was very pleased with this. From that day on,
Dusana and Duke John took her under their wing, teaching her all that they knew about
business dealings and trades. In the middle of August, the two finally departed, having
handled all ten warlord trades. They had Shadow Walked the goods and funds between
worlds, with Chika accompanying them. No one would allow Zoran to do it — far too
dangerous for him, what with all the assassins gunning for him.

            
By the time that Chika finished her magic training, reaching Mage level at twenty-two years old, she was the best business trader in the Federation of Planets. No one
struck a better bargain than she. Always, she knew just when and how hard to press
another. Zoran suspected it came from her Duska senses.

            
Also, in late July, Lida and Rayna both came for a short visit. They wanted to
meet their younger brother and two sisters. After they had returned to their planets,
both women sent their siblings an extensive wardrobe of court dresses and suits. Zuza,
Jan, and Kamila were incredible pleased with this, naturally.

            
Additionally, Jan wanted to learn to fight as any young boy his age did. Hence, an
hour each day was devoted to learning to handle a sword. General Janos was given the
charge of training Jan. Additionally, Zoran insisted that Chika, Akira, Zuza, and Kamila
also learn to defend themselves from attackers. Assassinations were common place and
he wanted to give them the best chance of survival. He owed it to them, even if Kazimir
did not.

            
Finally, late one night in the middle of July, Zoran was awakened by his inner
senses. His Circle notified him that someone was attempting to Shadow Walk, arriving
outside the Tower. Again, he found himself automatically in the Shadows observing who
was coming. No mistake, Baron Kazimir himself was probing his defenses! However, the
Baron was being cautious. The instant that he detected Zoran’s presence, he fled,
returning to his Circle in Castle Dorumova. Unknown to Zoran, Kazimir was now more
than ever convinced that there was some Shadow Assassin lying in wait in the Shadows
looking for him!

Chapter 26 Fall High Council

As the 1
^st
of September drew close, Zoran and friends began their preparations to
journey to Terra, an agrarian world, home of Baron Tom Witherspoon and Baroness
Abigail, close allies of Zoran. This time, the chances of assassination were drastically
lessened. Once more, the men would need their finest suits, while the ladies, their finest
ball gowns and highest heels. As before, Karel would act as his advisor, with Bernard and
Jarka behind him. General Janos decided that he ought to remain and safeguard the
construction and Tower. Instead, Emil and Renata went in his place as their security
personnel.