There had been the merest suggestion it was a young mind, untrained but incredibly powerful. There had also been insane evil in that brief mental touch. Evil tinged with anger. When he tried to covertly reach out and gently touch the mind again, it was gone as if it had never been there.
CHAPTER TWO
Sara said to Gareth, “I fear these are the last peaceful days we’ll ever enjoy on our beautiful island.”
“Your premonitions and fears don’t always come true.”
“Enough do, and you know that very well. But plans and lives can change quickly. I guess we should be satisfied with all of the years we’ve had together. But don’t deceive me with the idea that it will all be right Gareth, because it won’t.”
“I would never deceive you.”
“Too many people are still searching for you on the mainland. Only a dozen days ago the sailor who unloaded supplies at our dock said that there are new rewards posted for information about you and Blackie. He said handbills on the same pole were placed there by both the Brotherhood and King Alfred the Great, each attempting to offer more for you than the other.”
“Did he say how much?”
“Yes, but all sailors are liars so what difference does it make?”
A wide smile eased the pain evident on Gareth’s face. The joke about sailors was old, but still funny because of the truth it held. The reputation of sailors and their tall tales had helped keep his island secret because few believed their tales of mermaids, and giant beasts from the depths that dragged down ships whole, or that a black dragon lived on a tropical island.
He settled back into his chair and touched minds with his dragon again. His point of view shifted as he saw the water flashing past far below. He felt the power in each stroke of the wings, the faster beat of the heart with the energy used from flying so fast, and the anger still within the mind.
A ship below sailed roughly in the direction of Bitters Island, alone and flying full sails. It had the shape of a man of war, one of the king’s warships. Gareth calmly made a mental suggestion to the captain and crew that the sky looked like a tropical storm approaching, and if they turned away fast enough, the ship might make safe harbor before it struck.
It was not the first ship nor the last to search these waters for him. He’d worry about the ship later. Of course, Blackie could swoop down and spit globs of dragon spit, a substance similar to that of spitting cobras, but far more caustic. Any globs on the wooden deck of the ship would eat through the wood deck and fall through to the decks below, leaving gaping holes in the hull, sinking the ship in not much more time than it takes to tell about it.
But killing those innocent people on the ship, even if they were sailors in service of the King was not Gareth’s way. On the other hand, if their intent were to destroy his peaceful life he wouldn’t allow that, either. Best to simply misdirect them. If he had time, he’d convince each crewman that they had already patrolled the waters around Bitters Island and found nothing but rock, poor harbors, and disagreeable natives.
He turned his attention and the eyes of the dragon back to the open sky in front of him, and the few puffy clouds in the distance. As usual, no birds were sharing the air with the dragon. They fled at first sight, usually to the nearest landing place they could find. But in truth, Blackie seldom ate birds. They were far too small for an animal his size to bother with, but it seemed the birds didn’t know that.
Due to his still growing body, Blackie demanded, at least, two large animals for a satisfying meal every day or two. Cows, horses, and sheep were easy to catch, but Gareth tried to prevent him from taking too many. Farmers got upset and complained. The complaints often reached the same ears that offered rewards for information about the dragon. Elk, moose, and deer were also easy prey for a dragon with exceptional eyesight, especially a black dragon, the largest and smartest of them all.
Blackie flew on. Gareth checked on him several times, but the dragon was intent on his destination, which was fine because they shared the same one. Gareth and Sara discussed the few options they could find for Tad, but the more Gareth thought and talked, the more the only answer that made sense was to keep Tad close at his side.
The problem was, Gareth planned to leave the island on a dangerous job. How could he take a six-year-old on such a mission? Or as Sara put it, how could he even think of it? They discussed it all day and late into the night. Before they were done, Gareth had emptied a full bottle of Cavendish wine and a few mugs of warm ale.
As dawn broke, Blackie alerted him of the mainland in sight. Gareth expected Blackie to want a roost and food, but the black dragon powered on as if those things were of no consequence. It had more important things to do. It flew directly at the coast and then turned slightly north. It flew inland until reaching the mountains and then turned again to fly directly over them, his eyes searching for the other black dragon and the valley where it lived.
Near mid-morning of the second day, a sharp point of irritation in Gareth’s mind drew his attention to Blackie, and to what it saw that generated the dragon’s interest. Off to the left, and far ahead against the bleak peaks of mountains rising sharply into the sky like the white teeth of a giant creature, was a large patch of lighter colored vegetation. Below the timberline grew the normal pine, cedar, and spruce, all darker shades of green. The area Blackie veered to investigate was a shade of lighter green color than the surrounding area, the color of valleys thousands of feet lower in elevation.
“Sara, Blackie is getting close.” The excitement trembled in his voice, but he didn’t bother to control it. They sat on the porch again, side by side in the chairs. She sipped weak herbal tea and ate slices of cheese and smoked beef that came from the mainland on the supply ships. A mug of fruit juice and one of hard cider sat on the table between them. He reached for the cider.
“What does he see?”
“Right now, he’s still far off, but there’s the color of the valley that matches my father’s valley. It has been thirty years since I’ve visited there, but, I’m sure it’s the right one. I never thought Blackie would arrive so fast.”
“Any sign of Cinder? If he is there, will you bring another dragon to live with us?”
Gareth closed his eyes to better concentrate on what Blackie saw through his eyes. The distance to the valley was closing fast. “Sara, I don’t know any answers.”
“You need me to be quiet and let you do your work. I’ll take the children and start an early lunch.”
“Send Paul to me.”
“Big Paul or little Paul?”
“My son. I need someone here to watch me while my mind is away with Blackie. Fill him in on what you know, please. But tell him not to talk to me unless I speak first.” Gareth’s eyes were squeezed closed, and then he heard nothing else of the sounds near his body.
He heard the soft hiss of wind passing over Blackie’s leather wings, and his eyes were focused on the green valley fast approaching, now taking on detail.
There were plants and trees that normally only grew at lower elevations, apple, and cherry, but also others in an orchard of trees in neat rows. Only the warmth generated by a nearby slumbering volcano allowed them to flourish so high in the mountains. Not all that slumbering, if the ground is so warm.