Hatchling (Tameron and the Dragon) (37 page)

I wish I had!
"I only got a mouthful," he complained. Then he touched his forehead in feigned respect, and led the two mounts away.

That had been a close call! Maybe it was a good thing he'd fallen the way he had and gotten dirt on his face. Or perhaps the night groom was only pretending to let him go, and was even now calling the alarm. He took the horse and the pony around a building so the man couldn't tell which way he really meant to go. Now he welcomed the thick snow that filled the court yard with a white curtain.
Randor must have sent the wine. But how did know I was going to leave tonight?

Fortunately he knew his way around well enough to keep heading north, towards the Guardian's Gate. It led directly to the small dock that held her boat, which sailed to and from Neyarmie Isle whenever his aunt wished it to.

The sound of lapping water lured him onward. The potion now burned within him with renewed power.
How would I feel now if I hadn't thrown up?
he wondered fearfully. It seemed to be helping him now, though.

A hooded figure stepped out of the blowing snow right at the Gate itself. Tam loosened his sword in its sheath, just in case,
and relaxed when he saw a friendly face. "Lorin! It's me!" he said, and let go of the hilt.

His friend's face went white, and he drew his blade. "You must not pass."

Tameron quickly wrapped the leading reins of the horse and pony around a nearby post and went for his own weapon. "What?"

"How can you desert us?" Lorin advanced on him, and attacked, though with nothing Tam couldn't defend himself against.

"You don't know! My father has seen my death in his glass. And what good can I do anyone as a prisoner of Dever Tower?" He parried one blow just barely in time.

"Did he tell you the truth? Maybe he just wants to keep you from your destiny," Lorin said contemptuously. "Even death can
be glorious in the right cause."

"If I thought it'd accomplish something, maybe you're right! But he put the Red Cup in my own dinner to make me do what he wants. If I don't leave tonight, I'll be no good to anyone!" He was embarrassed to hear so much fear in his own voice. He tried a different tack. "I don't see
you
up in the hills!"

"Who do you think it was that saved your life in Loch
il last fall?" Lorin asked. He rushed forward and tried to disarm Tameron.

Tam blocked it,
and attempted the same thing. "I wondered about that. They use white fletching on their arrows, don't they? I met someone this winter who knows more about it than you do, and he said I'd be a fool to join them."

"Not if they had a true leader. If you call, half the country will join you."

And then Stine will die, and my father will be forced to kill me. Would he lie to his own sister, Lorin?
He was amazed that his friend had been able to say so much. Perhaps being around so many dragons for the last few days had eased the spell the Protector had put on him.

As their swords clashed again, Tam said, "Lorin, all the dragons in Fiallyn Mor will fly the day I sit on the throne of the Last King in Kelemath. That's how likely it i
s. My father's enemies will kill me long before then, unless I'm safe in Dever Tower--but then I'll never be allowed to leave it as long as I live. Can your friends help me there? There is no place for me this side of the Wall." Only death, or a life worse than death, waited for him here.

He moved forward, anxious to end this now and be on his way before it was too late. "Lorin, don't you see? I can't be your Silver Dragon...if they
find me I'll be their whore for the rest of my life. If my father's plans succeed, there won't
be
any ordinary people, just mages. Who will worship the dragons then?"

His friend suddenly lowered his sword and stared upward at something. Tameron wasn't going to be fooled by that old trick. "Look, remember the story of the Littlest Dragon? If he'd gone with all his friends, he would have been captured, too! He wouldn't have been able to rescue anybody."

Lorin's eyes were still wide as he kept on looking at whatever it was. Then he knelt, and laid his weapon down on the hard packed snow.

Tam moved aside, so he could keep an eye on his friend, and then glanced back to see what impressed Lorin so much.

He gasped for breath when he raised his eyes to the wall of the Guardian's palace. Every dragon facing them glowed with light. The mystery grew deeper as he realized that he was giving off a glimmer through the gap between his gloves and his sleeves.

"Your face...blessed Lord and Lady,
now
I understand!" Lorin said, struggling to get the words out. "You-- you really
are
the Dragon!" Then he choked and fell on the ground.

Tameron approached Lorin warily. Stine had taught him well that an enemy was just as dangerous when he was down. He calmed down as soon as he realized that his friend was truly unconscious and not shamming.

He sheathed his sword and hauled the limp body over to a sheltered area. Shift change wasn't for several hours, and Lorin might die if left out in the weather that long.

It didn't matter that his father would have his friend's knowledge of where he escaped, likely before dawn. That was why he'd brought the horse. No matter how soon Lorin was forced to tell where he'd been, the searchers would still have to split their forces.

He was just about to step away when his friend sat up. "I can't stay here!" Lorin said. "He'll make me tell him that you went this way!" He rubbed his eyes. Then he slowly drew out his dagger and turned the point towards his chest.

Tam rushed forward and seized his friend's arm. "Wait! Don't do this! It's not worth it!"

"But you're right. You have to escape. I can't be here for them to find out which way you went."

He
suddenly realized a better way out. "You don't have to be here! I brought a horse and a pony. If you ride the horse west to Warding, and keep ahead of them, they won't know which of us went where."

Lorin sighed, and resheathed his blade. Tam helped him stand. "You can't stay here. You were right about that. Stine would find out that you let me through and didn't report it. Do you think she'd believe you about those dragons lighting up?"

His friend laughed hollowly. "I'll be on punishment detail for the rest of my life! But I can't betray you. I
can't
!"

"Father saw my body down at the bottom of the Anchor Pool, but he never said anything about yours. If you don't want to go to Warding, then go to Bogatay and find a man named Jarrett. He wears a dragon tattoo on his wrist, and spent some time up in the hills. He probably can't speak about it any more since the Protector found
out, but he'll find a way to help you."

Lorin nodded. "I obey the Dragon as I would my own father," he said.

They both walked out the gate, Lorin leading the horse while Tam handled the pack-pony. He began dividing the rations.

Lorin shook his head.
"No, my lord, I'll go far enough without anything tonight, and lie up in the morning. I have friends in places you don't know about, either. If you mean to beard the Giant in His den, your journey may be longer than you think."

Tam nodded. "Too bad we don't have Mauric with us! I bet he'd like to go back to Athlath after tonight."

"I heard about him going after you this afternoon. He just found out they'd been feeding him childbane for the last few weeks, and was furious."

"I hope he finds Kiliane and they can both go away together," Tameron said.
Then who will be my father's heir?
he wondered uneasily. For a moment he wished that he could stay. A wave of longing swept through him, as he suddenly realized that he really didn't want to leave.
But I have to. I'm not the only one who will be hurt if I don't run. And the Council will be glad to have me gone anyway. That should make my father's life easier. I have to keep going.

They walked silently through the gate.
He latched it, and looked back one last time. The dragons' light was beginning to fade. If only they were real! He spoke to them anyway. "I will come back. I promise."

He stepped forward. High bushes, just beginning to bud even in this weather, stood on either side of the path to the lake shore where the ground sloped downward. "This is where we have to split up," he said.

Lorin nodded, and mounted the chestnut mare. "Even if it snows a lot more tonight, they'll find two sets of tracks going in different directions eventually. I'll head west and south as long as I can before they catch me. Don't worry about me. At most I'll have to go back to my family. Stine's hard, but she's fair."

Tameron hoped his friend was right. He could think of all sorts of hideous alternatives, now that it was too late to back out. "Be careful," he said. "The Guardian can search through the eyes of other people, and maybe she can do it through animals, too."

Lorin looked down at the horse, and laughed. "Then we'd better both go as fast as we can!" he said, and urged the mare forward to the shore ahead. "I'm stronger than I look, Lord Tameron. I won't fail you!" He rode ahead, and turned to the left once he reached the end of the path. He soon lost sight of his friend and the mare in the falling snow.

He took a strip of cloth from one of the saddlebags and covered Mujuk's eyes. Why take chances? If the Guardian wanted to follow him by using the pony's mind, she could, but now she'd have to work at figuring out where he was. Lorin was giving up his whole life in the guards just to help him escape, a sacrifice he'd better not waste.

Mist rose from the lake and mingled with the snowflakes as he approached the water. He heard little save for the clink of the pony's hooves against rocks hidden in the thin winter grass, and his own quick breathing. The dwindling flakes of snow felt cool and pleasant on his hot face. The drug his father had given him was still working, or so he guessed from the pain in his groin.
How sick would I be now if I hadn't thrown up some of it?
As long as it gave him strength now, he'd take the bad with the good. He'd never have such a chance again.

The pony stopped for a moment, then refused to move no matter how Tam urged her on. Surely the Guardian couldn't have found him so soon? "My lady," he said out loud, though in a soft voice. "I have to leave or I'll die." He felt ridiculous talking to the little beast this way, but at least nobody was watching. "My father's enemies will destroy me, a second dose of the Red Cup will drive me mad, or I'll become...I'll become the slave of Dever Tower, too cowardly to take the only way out." He nearly puked again at that possibility. "Even Marysa was braver than that. She ran away before Tigran could turn her into a
whore despite knowing what he was going to do to her. Let me go, I beg of you!" He tugged forcefully on the halter-reins. This time Mujuk came willingly. Tam didn't know if he’d talked to the Guardian or to the pack-pony, but at least he was on his way.

Chapter 18

After walking a short while longer, he stepped into the water of the lake. Tameron rubbed his eyes. How could he feel so tense and still long for sleep? He must stay awake. The mist was so thick here at the shoreline he could barely see. His tiny light, hidden in his pack wouldn’t do any good here. He put his hand in the water and wiped his face. That helped him concentrate.

He couldn't take the Guardian's boat. For one thing, it had no oars. Only her magic move
d it from here to the island. But there was another route, and one he could take Mujuk on with him. Kadramas Lake was shallow between the spit of land that jutted into the lake less than half a mile east of here and the tiny dock on the shore of Neyarmie Isle.

He had to find that spit of land. The lake was too deep to ford anywhere else. Tam turned right and began walking as quickly as he could w
ith the pony to lead. He felt water seeping through the bottom of his boots, but he had to stay close to the shore. It was so hard to see!

Suddenly he realized that he was on the gravel bar leading out towards the island. How far did it go? It didn't take long till both he and Mujuk were at the end. He bent down and picked up a few stones, and tossed them. He had to go in the right direction, or face the possibility of drowning if he stepped out of the shallow portion into the deep. It was still too
dim to see the direct route.

Tam threw one stone, and listened to its silent fall. He should have heard a splash, but didn't. He turned one small fraction to the right, and threw again. That time he definitely heard it fall into water. One more turn, one more throw, and
that
time he heard a satisfying solid sound. He dug a line in the gravel under his feet, then turned and threw a few more times to the left. The first couple of throws also landed heavily, while the next three fell into the water. He split the difference down the middle, and headed in that direction.

He began leading the pony into the water. The island's outline now began to loom as a darker shadow in the gloom.
It must be getting lighter
. He shivered as cold water slopped over the top of his boots. Mujuk balked, but responded to his pull.