“I’m back.”
“You know we can stop when you need to do that.”
He was twenty years older than her, but she still treated him like a twenty-year-old as would everyone he’d meet for the rest of his life. She would grow older and still treat him the same way, but he would never experience the same with others, except in his imagination. Oddly, the turn of events last night had invigorated him.
In his heart, he’d known that charging into a confrontation with Belcher had been foolish and dangerous. Only his stubbornness and the lack of an alternative plan kept him heading for the valley. The idea of crossing the mountains gave him new hope and if nothing else, it was not what Belcher wanted, so he had to be the better choice.
Ann said, “What will we find over there?”
“Do you know anyone who has ever crossed those mountains?”
“Nobody. I didn’t even know of the pass until you mentioned it. I’d heard a rumor or two, but that was it.”
They trudged ahead, all of them getting hungry and tired as they trudged onward. The roadbed had turned from packed dirt to a rocky path strewn with fallen trees, large rocks, and holes large enough to swallow a foot and part of a leg. The thinner air made breathing harder, and the chill was notably colder despite the bright sunlight.
Gareth tensed as he felt the approach of Blackie. The dragon was still too far away to see, but Gareth decided to watch the others for their reactions if any. First, Tad began looking up. A short time later Ramos tilted his head as if confused. Ann didn’t react at all.
“Fly ahead of us and drop the package you’re carrying. No, wait.” Gareth had the image of the contents scattered all over the road as the strings the bound it burst. “Land on the road ahead where it looks safe, and wait for us.”
Blackie didn’t respond in words. Dragons were far too stupid to speak, but he did generate positive feelings that Gareth understood. Gareth also understood that his dragon often misunderstood the most basic instructions, and he would have to keep a close eye to make sure the delivery was made as he wanted.
It was not Blackie’s fault. The creature was incapable of complex directions, and even simple ones were often misunderstood or ignored. The way to get a dragon to do as you wished was to offer food or other rewards, much like you would do to a growing puppy. Gareth would tell it that a delicious goat was the reward. Blackie loved eating goat over all other animals.
Gareth could also offer affection, which was what he now did. Blackie wanted to be near him. They had been apart the last few days unlike any since their bonding and Blackie was confused and wanted Gareth’s attention.
A long dry stick lying beside the road drew his attention. He picked it up and used it as a staff, but his intention was to scratch places on Blackie’s skin that were hard to reach. Ann cast a look but then ignored him, using her energy to suck in gasps of the thin, cold mountain air, but she never complained.
Tad was now actively searching the sky for Blackie, which was not unexpected since the dragon had been close by him since long before his birth. However, Ramos showed signs of being agitated and fearful. He also looked at the sky several times, but the tension in his body said he was ready to flee.
Gareth said, loud enough for all to hear, “Blackie will fly over us soon. He will land ahead on the road, and he has supplies, including food. There’s no reason to be scared.”
Ann, still walking at his side nodded. Tad said, “I know.”
Ramos pulled to a stop, causing them all to halt. He turned and spotted the black dot in the sky that was Blackie. The boy was near panic.
Gareth reached out with his mind, issuing calming, safe emotions. When Ramos began to feel serene, Gareth changed his thoughts to welcoming and friendly. When the dragon was flying over them, the feelings were happy anticipation. Ramos watched and smiled.
It was not often that Gareth could change the basic ways of someone’s thinking, not that he’d tried very often. In the young mind of Ramos, he found a hidden kindness and affection for animals that is usually present only in farmers and animal trainers.
Gareth was congratulating himself when the mind of Belcher struck like the waves on a tropical beach before a storm. Huge waves of mental power attacked one after the other, waves without words, but filled with hate and anger. Closing down his mind prevented harm from Belcher, but also caused him to use part of his energy to partially pull back from Ramos and Tad.
A single thought exploded in his mind.
*You’re crossing the mountains!*
CHAPTER NINETEEN
*You’re crossing the mountains. You’re crossing the mountains.*
The phrase was repeated over and over, like a mantra of hate and accusation. There were no other words, images, or ideas conveyed to Gareth. Just that one single spew of filth containing all the hate possible. It sounded as if Belcher could not believe Gareth would cross them, and he certainly didn’t want Gareth to do so. That made it all the more necessary to do so.
Gareth closed his mind to listening to Belcher, to where not even the slightest hint of him crept into his thoughts, and he opened his eyes. Blackie had veered off and fought to fly higher and faster, his wings pumping frantically as his head turned and twisted, searching for the threat it felt in Belcher’s mental broadcast. Both Tan and Ramos were on their knees, palms covering their ears as if that would stop the pain. Ann had her mouth held open, her eyes wide, tears streaming down her cheeks.
They had all heard Belcher’s threats, his wails of protests, and every sensitive on this side of the mountains heard him in their own way, again. As suddenly as it began, it turned to silence. Tad and Ramos exchanged a relieved look and waited in anticipation of another outburst.
Ann shook herself and turned to Gareth. “Well, that was intense. I don’t think he wants us to cross the mountains.”
“I’m sorry,” Gareth began.
“No, you did nothing. But Belcher’s wailing told the entire world of his powers and evilness. It also told you that crossing the mountains is the right course of action.”
“How did it do that?” Gareth asked, wanting to confirm his own ideas.
“Because he does not want you to go there. He wants you were he can control the circumstances, and where he can defeat you, but crossing these mountains was completely unexpected. The intensity of his anger is reason enough to go.”
Blackie circled high above, still wary. Gareth reached out and calmed his mind by providing soothing images of Bitters Island and seals swimming below in the water. The dragon was scared and upset without knowing why and the familiar things entering its mind put the fear Belcher had spread to rest. It finally allowed itself to fly lower and land on the road ahead of them. It released the package it carried.
Blackie watched them approach. He would have smiled it he could. As they neared, he hopped from one foot to another, then rushed at Gareth. Gareth stepped in front of the others and talked soothingly to the dragon. An upset and cranky dragon is not for most to approach. One snap of the tooth-filled mouth could kill two or three of them.
The boys, both of them, were excited and wanted to race closer. Ann held back, but she was an adult and knew what she faced, even if she had never been closer to a dragon than to watch it fly high overhead.
Tad pulled to a stop a respectful distance away and welcomed Blackie. The dragon had known the boy his whole life, and Blackie instantly recognized the scent. Ramos, despite the medicine to keep his mind calm, ran closer. Blackie’s head suddenly spun and the red eyes fixed on the boy. Blackie snorted deep inside his chest. The rumble was enough of a warning to make Ramos stop in fear at the creature peering at him with red eyes the size of melons.