Hatch (The Dragons Of Laton) (33 page)

Ammon threw his head back and barked a laugh. “Me? A rich boy? What in the world would make you think that?”

She slammed one of the little pots down onto the table so hard the lid popped off. Crossing her arms she sneered at him. “Oh I don’t know, let me think. Perhaps because we’re about the same age and you’ve already linked a dragon, although it’s one unlike anything I’ve ever seen or heard about. Then there is the fact that every person I’ve met, including the knights call you sire. You’re king drops in to visit you in your own chambers and talks as if you are an equal! You strut around here in that gaudy golden armor with an Honor blade on your side that you couldn’t possibly have earned already. What else could you be but a rich boy? Am I supposed to think you are just an ordinary peasant?”

Ammon felt his temples starting to throb as his stomach started to boil. Irritated, he raised a bandaged hand and pointed a blistered finger at El as he leaned forward in his chair. “A bare two months ago I was an orphan working in a nest with no more than a handful of copper talons in my pocket!” He thumped his fist against his armored vest. “As for this? I accidentally linked to the dragon that was supposed to belong to the heir of the throne! He wanted to use Fulgid to overthrow King Erik, but I got him instead! Now he wants me dead! He already sent an assassin to kill me but failed, then chased us into the tunnel with an army, killing my friend and his dragon! I didn’t ask for any of this, but it’s mine to deal with and I’m going to make the best of it.”

He nodded at Fulgid who lay curled on the pillow of the cot. “He’s the closest thing to family I have, and now I wouldn’t change it if I could. Whether you believe I’m a knight or a peasant doesn’t really matter to me because it changes nothing! So why don’t you just leave me alone? Go away, go spend your time with that old woman, or alone, or make friends with a Kala-Azar for all I care!” Ammon stood up and looked her in the eye. “Just leave me alone.”

El slid off the table and scrubbed her palms against her breeches as she looked down at the small pile of jars. Suddenly she turned on her heel and stalked off, fists clenched at her sides. Ammon sat down with folded arms over his chest and watched her walk towards the small side entrance door of the Hold where Sasha was giving a guard a small jar of ointment. Fulgid lifted his head from the pillow and gave a low growl.

Ammon snorted. “I agree! That girl could drive the patience out of a rock.” For some reason El easily irritated him, but he didn’t know why.

Fulgid growled again, this time much louder, and Ammon peered over his shoulder at him. He was now standing on the pillow, head down and the golden eyes were starting to glow white. Ammon jumped to his feet and followed Fulgid’s gaze. He was staring at the small door near Sasha and the guard. El was still walking towards them and was now directly in front of the door. Leaping from the chair he drew his sword and shouted as he ran. Fulgid streaked past him.

“Slugs! Slugs at the door!”

El stopped and looked back in confusion as Ammon screamed at her to get away from the door. Before she could take a step, the thick wooden door behind her shuddered violently. With a loud creak, the bottom of the door began to fold inwards until, with a horrifying crack, it burst open. A fat bulbous body slipped past and started slithering over the firewood barrier.

Ammon yelled to the guard as he ran. “Light it! Light the fire!”

The guard grabbed a torch from the wall and hurled it onto the oil soaked wood. In seconds the entire barrier burst into a wall of smoky flames. El stood frozen a few paces away, watching in horror as the slug writhed in the inferno. Squirming back and forth, it lurched headfirst into the barrier and broke through, tumbling over the burning logs and rolling onto the floor at El’s feet. Fulgid skidded to a stop in front of the slug and stood up on his rear feet with his head back. Ammon raced past at a dead run and flung himself at El, knocking her to the floor. As they slid to a stop he pulled her beneath him and shielded her as a tremendous blast roared behind them. When he looked up again the slug was disintegrated, leaving nothing but blackened scorch marks on the stone floor.

Ammon rolled over and jumped to his feet as he patted at the smoldering bits of his shirt with his bandaged hands. The guards had gathered and were working to shut the door while others pulled the burning logs apart and smothered them with wet blankets. Ammon quickly checked the other doors and instructed the guards to rearrange the firewood barriers so they couldn’t be knocked over so easily.

Satisfied that the doors were secure, he walked back to the table. It seemed Fulgid had the ability to sense when the slugs approached, and at the moment, the little dragon was relaxed. He eased himself into the chair and picked up the mug Theo had brought him earlier and took a long sip. The bitter drink was barely lukewarm but he didn’t care, he needed to do something with his hands to keep them from shaking. After he drained the mug, he pulled one of the books closer and flipped it open. Black specks of burnt bandage flaked off his hands onto the pages.

He didn’t look up when El sat down at the table. She reached across and carefully began to unwind the burnt bandages on his left hand. Neither said a word, and Ammon stared blankly at the book, occasionally flipping a page. When she finished, she started on his right hand. She worked silently as she applied the ointment and wrapped it with fresh bandages.

When she was done there was a long pause, then she spoke in a voice so soft it was barely audible. “I could teach you, if you want.”

Ammon turned another page. “What are you talking about?”

With a tiny giggle, she reached over and tapped the book with a slender finger. “You have it upside down.”

Ammon felt his ears grow hot, but before he could say anything, El got up and walked behind him.

“Let’s get that armor off so I can look at your back. I’m sure the bandages need changing and you probably have new burns as well.”

Ammon sighed reluctantly as she helped him slip the vest over his head and charred bits of cloth fell to the floor. El gently plucked the burnt threads from his back and spread the soothing ointment over blistered skin.

Softly, and very faintly he heard her whisper. “Thank you.”

He gritted his teeth against the pain as she placed bandages against the blisters. “You’re welcome.”

Later that night Fulgid alerted him just before another slug burst through one of the doors, but the guards had the barrier burning before he got there. Each day the number of attacks increased and by the fifth day Ammon had completely run out of shirts. El replaced the burned bandages several times each day, and as the sixth day approached, she threw down the last piece of burnt bandage from his back in exasperation.

“You don’t even need a shirt now, you’re completely covered in bandages! The other dragons had better start breathing fire soon or this will never heal. I’m afraid you’ll be covered in scars as it is!”

The worst of the attacks always happened after nightfall. Again and again the slugs pushed their way through the doors, sometimes two or three at a time. Frustrated, Ammon watched the fires roar almost constantly with the wood they’d worked so hard to gather for the winter. The screams of slugs echoed through the smoke-filled Hold long into the night as Ammon and Fulgid blasted fireballs at any that managed to get past the barriers. An excited Theo came during one of the few lulls just as Ammon downed a fourth cup of the black liquid mixed with honey and cream that El had brought to him.

“Ebony just blew her first breath of fire! It wasn’t nearly as impressive as Fulgid’s, but it will be effective! Until now, the dragons have been sullen and quiet in the back. An hour ago Ebony started getting antsy, so I brought her up front. Since then two more have started acting the same way. By breakfast we will have enough help so you can rest!”

A wave of relief washed over Ammon. He was so tired that every bone in his body ached and each burn screamed against his skin. Even Fulgid looked miserable. His eyes were still bright, but he no longer bounded so quickly from spot to spot. Ammon knew they wouldn’t have been able to keep going much longer. Theo’s timing couldn’t have been better.

He positioned Ebony and the two other dragons by the doors, and an hour later three more came to the front ready to fight. By the time El had brought Ammon and Fulgid their meal, there were enough dragons to man every gate. Ammon collapsed face down in his bed for the first time in days, and Fulgid crawled onto the pillow beside his head. Within minutes both of them were snoring in a deep sleep. He didn’t even wake when El changed his bandages.

***

Ammon awoke to see Theo looking down at him. Blinking his eyes as he sat up and stretched gingerly, he winced against the pain as the bandages on his back pulled his skin.

Theo shoved a steaming cup into his hands and smiled. “It’s about time you woke up. You’ve been asleep for two days. I was beginning to get concerned!”

Ammon’s jaw cracked as he yawned and he took a sip from the mug. “I’ve been asleep for two days?”

Theo nodded. “I would have awoken you sooner but that girl El wouldn’t let anyone near you. She threatened to personally feed anyone to the slugs if they bothered you.” He chuckled and pointed at something behind Ammon. “And I believe her! I’d watch out for that one if I were you, Ammon.”

Ammon turned and felt his jaw drop. El sat at a table on the far side of the room talking with Kyle. Fulgid was stretched out on her lap with his feet in the air. She was casually rubbing his belly and he was obviously enjoying it.

Theo tilted his head in wonder. “He woke up the next morning but you were still asleep and he wouldn’t leave your side. El figured he was probably hungry and got him to eat some dried pork. You know it’s rare that a dragon allows anyone else to feed it when it’s guarding its link?”

Ammon shook his head in disbelief. Leave it to Fulgid to accept a woman who hated him.

Theo refilled Ammon’s cup. “Anyway, we all would have been glad to let you sleep, but the Hold isn’t exactly comfortable quarters for five hundred or so people and two hundred dragons. No one dares explore the palace in case there are slugs hiding inside and our dragons can’t fit through the doors. None of the hatchlings that are small enough to go inside have been able to produce a fireball much bigger than your hand.”

Ammon sighed. “So you need Fulgid to sniff them out.” He jerked his thumb at El. “Maybe she could’ve got him to do it.”

Theo put his mug down and looked across the room at them. “No, Ammon, she couldn’t. Nobody could. A dragon’s instinct is to protect its link. That is the only important thing to a dragon and nothing else matters to them. Don’t let yourself be fooled into thinking otherwise.”

Theo pushed the chair back and stood up. “Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll go with you. I don’t think it’ll take long, as dragons seem to have an ability to sense when the slugs are near. Fulgid should be able to lead us right to them.”

Ammon yawned once more. “We can go now I guess. Then I’ll get something to eat.”

He steadied himself against the table as he stood. Every muscle and bone throbbed and his head ached. The two of them walked slowly across the room as Ammon worked the stiffness from his legs.

El looked up as they came close and gave Theo a dark frown. “Couldn’t let him sleep a while longer eh? The palace has been here for thousands of years, it wasn’t going anywhere.” Theo shrugged his shoulders but said nothing.

El stood up and slung a sack over her shoulder. “Lets get this over with then, so he can get some rest.” She turned to face the two of them before they could utter a word. “Yes, I’m going with you. I haven’t been slopping goo and bandages on your hide just to have it burned off again. Besides, Sasha has asked me to stay near you. She seems to think there is something important about that gold dragon of yours.” Ammon opened his mouth to protest, but she held up her hand and cut him off. “I will slap you if I have to.”