“Cahrdyarein is no guaranteed safe haven from the Tyrant’s men,” Jaax countered.
“It’s better than out here in the wilderness, where the roads are crawling with the Red Flange.”
Jaax gritted his teeth so tightly together Jahrra thought they might break. She refused to stand down, but Jaax was just a stubborn as her, if not more so.
“Fine,” he hissed in the common tongue, his breath tinged with smoke. “But, he will be under your care, and he’ll not come anywhere near me.”
Jahrra nodded, then turned and looked at Dervit. He appeared frightened once again, and she couldn’t blame him. She had just had an argument with an angry dragon in an all but extinct language. She would have been frightened, too.
“You can travel with us,” she said to him. “But only to Cahrdyarein. From there, you’ll have to make your own way.”
Dervit’s eyes grew round and, for the first time since being dragged into the clearing, he smiled. Jahrra thought it improved his demeanor immensely, but she said nothing about it.
“Good,” Ellyesce piped cheerfully. “It will be nice having a third player for Astral cards.”
Jahrra smiled at that. She was enjoying the elf’s improved mood of late. She glanced over at Dervit and upon seeing his puzzled look, she added, “It’s a card game. We’ll teach you tonight, if we have the opportunity to build a fire.”
Dervit stepped forward and lifted up the empty bowl. “Thank you,” he said, almost shyly. “I promise I won’t be a burden. And, I’ll find a way to repay you.”
Jahrra only shook her head. “No repayment needed. Just having another friend to travel with who doesn’t constantly glare at me or go days without uttering a single word will be quite a treat. Those two get to be very boring after a while.”
She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, pointing out Ellyesce and Jaax.
Dervit looked nervous and actually gathered up the end of his tail, like a toddler finding comfort in his blanket. Jahrra had to stifle a laugh.
“How do you find the courage to talk to a dragon like that?” he whispered when Jaax turned away. “Aren’t you afraid he’ll set you on fire?”
Jahrra stood up straight again and placed her hands on her hips. She lifted one eyebrow and gave the limbit a withering look.
“Jaax? Scare me? Goodness no. Perhaps when I was younger and didn’t know any better.”
“What do you mean?” Dervit asked nervously.
Jahrra bent down, resting her hands on her knees this time.
“I mean that Jaax is not nearly as terrifying as he may seem. He wears that prickly exterior to keep people from getting too close.”
“And how can you get him to be nice to you?”
“By proving to him that you are strong enough to stand up to a dragon,” she answered quietly.
Dervit swallowed. “That’s impossible.”
“No, it isn’t,” Jahrra replied, straightening once again. “It can be done. Take it from someone who has succeeded in such an impossible task.”
As she turned and walked away, she absently pulled at a thin chain around her neck and proceeded to play with a narrow pendant hanging from the end.
-Chapter Six-
Second Chances
The limbit stood there for a few moments, contemplating what she had said to him. He had no idea what she meant by her words, but clearly, she had found a way to show bravery before the cantankerous dragon. Dervit narrowed his eyes and watched them as the elf busied himself with cleaning the porridge bowls and small cauldron. There was respect between the young woman and the dragon, despite their strange argument. The way he listened to what she had to say, and the way he moved ever so slightly to give her room to pass. He wondered how a dragon, an elf and a Nesnan had teamed up in the first place, but it was obvious the dragon and the girl had been together longer.
Shaking his head and trying to clear it of its usual wandering thoughts, Dervit moved forward, wanting to offer his help to the elf.
Your family is gone, Dervit, he reminded himself. Time to find your place in this world.
He was sad about the demise of his village, but he wouldn’t miss anyone too terribly. They had, after all, made an effort to avoid him, so it wasn’t as if he was close to anyone. Only when he thought about his four younger sisters did tears threaten to spill free.
I do regret that you didn’t get to see much of life, he thought to himself. I will have to live it for you, then.
“Dervit!” Jahrra called out. “You’ll ride on Rumble, the pack horse, for now.”
Dervit glanced up to find Jahrra sitting atop the marble grey semequin he remembered from that horrible encounter at the crossroads. He shuddered. Now that was a memory he didn’t want to relive.
Ellyesce stepped forward then on his own white mount, leading the large bay horse toward a half-fallen tree. Dervit had always been afraid of horses, even though he had not seen too many of them. During his younger years, when his adventures stretched only to the road that brought merchants and travelers in and out of the higher mountain cities, he had seen horses. Huge, nervous beasts that threatened to step on him on more than one occasion. Now, he would have to ride atop one.
The limbit’s heart fluttered like a bird trapped within his ribcage, and the instinct to bolt was strong. But he remembered what Jahrra had said to him about earning the respect of a dragon. If he wanted Jaax’s respect, or at the least, if he wished to stand before him without fear, how would he ever accomplish such a goal if he was too frightened to approach a docile pack horse?
You can do this, Dervit, he chanted to himself. Breathe in, breathe out …
Making an effort not to look at the horse, Dervit climbed up the tree limb until he was even with the softest looking bag strapped to the animal’s back. As carefully as he could, he stepped onto the pack and got comfortable, grabbing onto a few ropes in case the beast decided to take off down the road with him on board.
“Relax,” the elf chuckled. “He’s quite meek, and I’ve got the lead rope. He goes where I go and at the pace of my choosing.”
Ellyesce shook the rope in front of Dervit so the limbit could see he had a good hold on him.
Dervit swallowed and nodded vigorously. Okay. He had passed the first challenge. He was on a horse. A very large horse. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to shout for joy or burst into tears. Before he could decide which, the elf let out a sharp whistle, and the horse jolted forward.
Dervit cried out and slammed himself against the bag, squeezing it as tightly as he could. The horse lifted and turned its head, fixed one brown eye on him, then stretched his neck to sniff at his new rider.
Dervit whimpered again, sending up prayer after prayer to his ancestors.
Ellyesce laughed, Jahrra asked what was going on and Jaax announced that they could afford no more delays.
Dervit didn’t think any of it was funny, but since he had promised not to be a burden, he continued to cling to the bag and hoped the horse didn’t bite him.
“He likes you,” Ellyesce said cheerily.
Dervit didn’t believe it, but after several minutes of holding on for dear life with his eyes squeezed shut, he relaxed a little. He had grown used to the horse’s ambling gate, and he thought that if the huge animal didn’t make any sudden movements, he might actually enjoy the ride.
For the next several hours, the group traveled up the winding mountain road. Dervit still held tightly to the pack horse, but at some point, he managed to sit up and discover that it wasn’t too hard to stay aboard after all. A half an hour into their ride, Jahrra dropped back with Phrym to ride beside him.