“Your question?”
“How much control do you have over the dragon?”
She looked at me with a blank expression that told me she didn’t know.
I said, “There are not too many people on the road ahead of us, and they will move at her approach. The wagons will also move. Have the dragon fly here and land.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Kendra said, “You’re scared of what we will face ahead, so you want the dragon to fly and land on the road ahead as if I can order it to protect us? At my demand? Do you believe the dragon is like some great stray dog that can be trained to sit and roll over on command?”
“Can you do it?”
Her anger flared, then diminished almost as fast. “You cannot understand what I feel and how I’m expressing unfamiliar impressions into words to explain when there are no words to properly convey my feelings.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
She pulled her horse to a halt, her face turning a shade of red that usually appeared just before she exploded at one of my shortcomings. To my surprise, she dismounted and held out her reins to me. “You had better take the horses off a distance and tie them well. She’s coming, and the horses will panic.”
What had I done? The horses would panic, sure. But what about me? I leaped off and ran them a few hundred paces off the road where a thorny bush looked tough enough to hold them. I triple-tied the knots and ran back to the road.
Kendra stood alone, eyes closed, arms slightly lifted from her sides. Travelers walked wide to either side to move past her. She pointed ahead on the road. People broke and ran. Wagons filled with cargo pulled to the side of the road as the drivers abandoned them.
I heard the air passing over the wings before turning to look. The dragon flew so low over us, I could have reached up and touched a dangling foot. Well, that was more an impression than reality, but it was low enough to see the claws on each toe.
The dragon spread her wings and lifted the front of them, so its speed decreased, and it settled on all four feet as light as a butterfly on a daisy. It turned to face us. I wanted to smile, but before I could, it roared. The sound came from a gaping open mouth pointed at me, full of jagged teeth. The rush of wind from the roar brushed our hair back, and the foul stench of rotted meat gagged us.
It was not a warning or angry roar. It didn’t scare me other than to disgust me with the rank smell. Her actions said the roar was a greeting if we ignored the still-wet sheep’s blood running down her chin and chest, and the red-stained fleece stuck between the teeth.
For the first time, we got a good look at her, the last dragon. My head reached the top of her legs, no higher. Her pebbled skin was grayish-black, with lighter browns on her underside. Her tail was not long and pointed like the wyvern’s, but stubby. The four massive legs gave her a squat sort of look as if she would be slow to move on the ground.
Kendra walked forward.
“Kendra, stop!”
She ignored me. The dragon watched her, and only her. When Kendra was close enough for the dragon to snap her up for lunch, it bent at the knees and rested its chest on the ground. The dragon lowered her chin and placed it on the road.
My sister placed a hand on the side of the dragon’s cheek, and to me, it was similar to when the orange had exploded from the Blue Lady’s touch. One touch from my sister and the dragon’s expression changed to one of a stray dog when someone scratches its belly. The dragon adored her.
Yes, that was the right word that slipped into my mind from an unknown recess. Not love, not affection. Adore. Respect, admire, and worship all were close but lacked a certain something that adore held. A rumble came from deep within the dragon.
Kendra turned to me. “It’s purring.”
Until that moment, I’d have sworn that dragons do not purr. Nothing I’d ever heard indicated they might. Maybe others do not. This one did.
Nothing told me to move closer and try to touch it. Everything in my life warned against that, and only my sister’s presence prevented me from turning and sprinting away. A single glance revealed the road ahead now stood empty. Even the wagons had managed to leave the road and were in the soft sand far to the sides. Not even a seagull flew nearby.
Our horses had calmed and were no longer rearing and bucking, but their eyes never left the dragon. Kendra kept stroking the dragon’s cheek, despite the blood and gore, and she was speaking softly to it, although I couldn’t hear the words.
She finally stepped back and waited. The dragon stood and extended its wings and flew with powerful strokes that raised whirlwinds of dust under it. Kendra stood and watched, never moving.
I fetched the horses and walked them back to her. When we reached about twenty paces from her, both horses balked. No matter what I tried, they would not go closer. Their noses flared, and they bucked nervously.
Kendra said, “Never mind, I’ll walk for a while.”
She walked. We followed at a distance. When we crossed a wide stream, she washed. In the distance to either side, there were stunned people who had been on the road and now remained fearful and stayed away. We had the road to ourselves. But they watched. There would be tales told later this day. Tales of the Dragon Queen.
Kendra finally managed to mount her horse, but it took a while to get it calm enough. We rode again for the port. We didn’t talk. The dragon was again out of sight, but it could return at Kendra’s call. The people were again on the road.
At mid-day, the tips of the tall masts of sailing ships came into view. We were nearing the port. The horses were now used to the smell of the dragon on Kendra, or maybe it had faded. I waited for her to speak first.
“Three mages are here,” she said. “They are strong blips, but now there are also tiny flashes that are partially lost in the buzzing of the wyverns. I think they are the spirits.”
While she spoke, my eyes had been searching the people milling around the decorative stone gate that marked the entrance to the port. Both Lord Kent and Princess Anna waited in the shade the tall gate provided. Both were watching the road as if waiting for us.
We were servants. If they expected to see Princess Elizabeth, that wouldn’t happen for a few more days, at the earliest, and she would lead an army.
“I see them,” Kendra said without turning her head.
We rode on, ignoring them. I looked for Avery but didn’t see him. As we reached the gate, Lord Kent stepped to the middle of the road, as if that action was enough to stop us. Kendra said, “Ride on past.”
We didn’t look at him and didn’t slow. His face turned crimson. He called at our backs, “Hey, stop.”
We rode on.
Kendra said, “Turn left at the next street.”
We’d entered a shabby cluster of wood-framed buildings turned gray by age and the sea. All were one story, but nearer the river stood warehouses and larger buildings. Signs for goods and services hung over nearly every door. I wondered where people lived before noticing most businesses had living quarters at the rear.
“Stop, I said,” came another shout from behind.
“A mage up ahead?”
She nodded, and we rode on, the horses walking faster than the flow of people, and Lord Kent was far too proud and foppish to run after us. I was surprised that he even shouted. The street we turned on held taverns, bars, dancehalls, and gaming rooms. Barkers stood outside trying to lure victims inside with promises of all earthly pleasures, most of which sounded too good to be true, but a young man of my age should not accept what others say—he should investigate for himself.