Then it bent and sniffed at the exposed opening. A roar followed, directed inside the cave penetrating solid rock.
“It came in response to Kendra,” Elizabeth said in a hushed voice. “To rescue her.”
The idea was absurd. The only reason I didn’t refute it was that it did seem the dragon was protecting her, and aside from the knowledge my sister had no magic powers, she was fighting a private war. Deep inside, I knew she must have powers, but it was hard to accept, especially since I’d always considered myself special if the truth were known.
Kendra’s magic outstripped mine in every way. She might even control a dragon, as I watched it tear into the hillside again and again. It was like a cat with a mouse cornered, but it couldn’t reach it.
“Don’t let me get on the wrong side of Kendra,” Tater punctuated the remark by spitting. Springer leaped out of the way and narrowly escaped. The dog would need to pay better attention.
But his statement brought a smile to my lips, and even more so when Springer sprang. It took the heat out of the air for all but Kendra. She still sat in the same position, eyes closed so tightly she squinted, but I wondered how she could be in danger with that animal wrecking an entire city. If anything, or anyone, approached us, I suspect the dragon would leap into the air and approach it as fast as it could fly.
Because my mind does not always work like those of others, it wondered how the dragon was going to handle the bickering between us. Even Elizabeth joined in. We couldn’t have that damn beast swooping in to settle an argument about the color of a scarf being red or ruby. Especially if it was going to take Kendra’s side.
“What do you see that’s so funny?” Elizabeth asked me.
Saving me the trouble of having to answer, Kendra threw her head back and howled, duplicating on a small scale the same action of the dragon at the same time. There could be no doubt the two were somehow connected. For the briefest instant, she looked similar to it.
“Kendra, what’s happening?” I asked as I knelt on her other side. When she didn’t answer, I peeled open an eyelid. She stared ahead with unseeing eyes.
“Should we wake her?” Elizabeth asked.
“No. Not yet. Look at how tense she is.” Kendra had also slowly curled her fingers, leaving the index and middle finger extended in our secret signal. She wanted to talk, but obviously not now. I think it was her way of telling me everything was fine. The dragon took flight and this time went higher up the side of the mountain, then as it reached the peak, it turned.
“It’s heading for the wyverns,” Elizabeth said.
Tater said, “It’s getting late. We need to find shelter and food.
“I’ll carry her,” I said. Elizabeth took her from my arms and waited until I was on Alexis then handed her to me. I gave the horse a touch of my heels, and we walked away from Mercia, a city I’d never been in and would never see. It lay broken, in ruins, no brick upon another.
Elizabeth and Tater rode behind, silent as the barren landscape around us. The soft sounds of the wind sounded more like moans coming across the emptiness. The dragon was out of sight, but Kendra stiffened now and then, her head came erect once, but her eyes remained closed.
Tater said, “There was a farm up ahead. It was the last one we passed.”
Elizabeth said, “We will stop there for the night. Kendra needs a place to rest, and we need food.”
Tater rode in silence for a while then I heard him whisper to Elizabeth, “What if they don’t invite us?”
Elizabeth didn’t hesitate. “They help us, or they are our enemies and will face Damon’s sword.”
That ended the matter to my eyes. The farm came in sight, a ramshackle cabin surrounded by a field with crops trying to survive between the rocks. A small herd of sheep grazed, pigs wallowed, and two dogs raced out to greet us.
When the dogs saw Springer, they charged him. Both were larger and wished to establish their territory. Springer’s one good ear went back on his head, and he waited, eyes locked on the two dogs charging him. Tater shouted, but Springer ignored him. The two dogs reached him, and for a few seconds I couldn’t tell if there was one dog or three, but for the snarling and snapping.
One of the farm dogs broke and ran—the smarter one of the pair. Springer leaped to the other and grabbed its neck, then hung there as the dog tried to get away, dragging Springer along with it. Tater had dismounted and chased both.
A farmer ran out from a dilapidated and leaning barn, carrying a pitchfork also while shouting and running at the dogs. Tater, the farmer, and the two dogs met in the middle. The pitchfork went flying. Tater grabbed Springer and stepped back.
The farmer knelt beside his dog, then shouted at Tater, “Look what he did.”
Tater spat, then said, “Shouldn’t let your dogs go on a public road and attack others.”
I looked around and couldn’t find the other dog, but confirmed Springer was half the size of the injured one. I moved Alexis forward and pulled to stop right in front of the farmer. “We need the use of your house.”
“And food,” Tater added.
The farmer noticed my sister for the first time. He said, “My house. I only invite friends inside.”
“My name is Damon. We can be friends. Invite us in.”
“If I don’t?”
“Tell him, Princess Elizabeth.” My words were chosen carefully, and he realized who she was, and that must have felt like being kicked by a mule. He backed off a step, then knelt with head bowed, as he should.
I carried Kendra inside where we found a small cabin, old, and clean. There were no signs of a woman or other occupant. The sleeping mat was for one, and Kendra was placed gently on it.
The ceiling beams were so old they had turned black from smoke that escaped from the fireplace. A cook pot hung from a swing-arm, and at the bottom was a warm stew, enough to feed two or three. There was a small table, two homemade chairs, and beside the fire a stump the right height for sitting.
“Your name?” Elizabeth asked.
“Henry,” he said with awe. “Just Henry.”
“Well, Just Henry, I will pay you well for the food and roof.”
“No need to pay, Princess. You are welcome.”
“Do you have what it takes to make more food? We are starving,” she asked.
Behind a curtain were shelves lined with wax-sealed jars. He said, “I can make more, easy. I got eggs and smoked meat outside, flour and the makings for flatbread.”
“That would be wonderful,” Elizabeth said.
He went outside. Tater followed as he said, “Not room to change my mind in here.”
My suspicion was he needed room to spit. He also was going to check on Henry’s dogs—that’s the way of Tater. Elizabeth turned to me. “Any change?”
“Not yet.” It was one of those questions where she already knew the answer. If there had been a change, she stood two steps away and would already know it. Still, the tone and question reminded me she cared as much as me.
Henry returned with eggs in a bowl and a ham tucked under his arm. Without hesitation, he worked at the small table and the pot, soon serving two portions in the only bowls he owned. He asked, “How’s the girl?”
“We think she will be fine,” Elizabeth said.
Henry sat on the stump and watched the flames for a while. Finally, he said, “Saw a dragon today. First ever.”
“We saw it too,” Elizabeth said with finality.
Tater came in and helped himself to a bowl of eggs and ham, then carried it outside. A good bet would be that Springer ate half. Henry and Tater were still on non-speaking terms. The barn would have Tater sleeping there, and a peek out the door told me he’d already taken care of the horses. I wanted Alexis under cover for the night—where no dragons would find her.