Warlords Rising (19 page)

Trev’nor started to roll up to his knees probably intending
to escape, but Garth caught him around the waist and held him fast, tail
pinning him down. The dragon’s head never turned as he spoke one-on-one with
Nolan but the way he reacted made it clear that he had at least one eye on
Trev’nor.

Becca had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from
laughing as Trev’nor’s expression clearly said,
busted buckets.

Nolan got a disturbed frown on his face and turned to look
at the white dragon. “She’s really that ostracized? I mean, I knew that no one
tried to speak to her, but…”

“Can’t you fix the problem, whatever it is?” Resigned to
being pinned in place, Trev’nor gave his dragon a dirty look.

“To be perfectly honest with you, I have no idea how it
works,” Nolan confessed, palms spreading outward. “This is one of those ‘magic
follows intents’ moments. Not even the dragons have been able to explain to me
how it works. It’s almost telepathy, but with body language and certain tones
from their vocal chords all blended together. Something in her mind is blocked,
I think, so that she can only communicate with body language effectively. Even
her vocal chords don’t seem to work the same way theirs do.”

This confused Trev’nor. “But it works well enough for human
speech?”

“Our sounds are short, compact,” Nolan explained. “Theirs
are long, deep, sustained. She can’t do sounds for more than about three
seconds before her voice fails her. I took a look at her almost as soon as we
arrived, as the dragon chief is worried about her, but I honestly can’t point a
finger and say ‘this is the problem.’ I don’t understand enough about dragon
anatomy to begin with. It will take a lot of time and in-depth study before I
can figure out the cause and how to correct it.”

“So to the dragons, she’s essentially mute.”

“Worse,” Nolan sighed. “She’s basically deaf, too, as she
can’t hear what they’re saying on most levels. They’re kind to her, but they
don’t know how to deal with her.”

No wonder she had been glued to Nolan since his arrival,
then. It was probably the first time she had been able to speak to someone
since her birth. “What is she like, personality wise? I mean from what I saw
she seemed nice.”

“Absolute sweetheart.” Nolan drew a leg up so that he could
prop his chin on his knee. “Really, I think she’d be easy to live with. I’m
just not sure I should offer a partnership because she needs my help. That
seems a little….”

“She needs Nolan,” Garth maintained firmly.

Nolan fell to conferring with Garth in Dragonese again, so
whatever they spoke of went over both Becca’s and Trev’nor’s head. After
several minutes, Nolan looked away, toward the ground.

“What did he say?” Becca prompted, voice quiet.

“That she won’t ask.” Nolan looked sightlessly forward, not
meeting any of their eyes. “She thinks that she’s abnormal, strange, and so
doesn’t deserve to be my partner.”

Ouch. Well, the low self-esteem made sense, really. Becca
felt even more sorry for her now.

“Do you remember?” Nolan asked, voice so small that it could
barely be heard. “When we were told that we were mages, and that we could no
longer live with our families, that we had to go somewhere else. Do you
remember what you thought?”

Becca did. Vividly. Even being eight years old hadn’t dimmed
that memory. “That I was strange, and that’s why they didn’t want me anymore.
It took a long time before I understood why they had made the choice to send me
off on my own.”

“It took me years to dispel that idea,” Nolan admitted
sadly. “I felt wholly abandoned, no matter what anyone said to me, as I only
understood that it was my magic that made me unwanted. I was always so glad
when I could play with you,” he glanced up at Trev’nor with a small smile, “because
I knew that I wasn’t alone. I think our situation might be similar to hers, but
it’s different too. We eventually were put into a place where magic was normal,
where everyone had a type of magic, and we grew up with them. She has no future
like that.”

“That’s just too heartbreaking.” Becca got that look on her
face, the one that said she was going to get her way and destroy anything that
tried to stop her. “Nolan. You talk to her. If she doesn’t want to go with you,
then I’ll take her.”

Nolan threw up a hand. “No. You know which dragon should be
your partner. It’ll break
her
heart if you choose someone else. In
fact,” Nolan’s tone went dry, “put me out of my misery and go ask her, will
you? She’s driving me crazy.”

“I’d like to, but…” Becca trailed off uncertainly, giving
the white dragon a glance.

“I’ll speak with her.” Nolan pushed up to his feet and
walked to the white dragon, determination ringing with every step.

Trev’nor watched him go, chewing on the edge of his
thumbnail. “Are we all sure about this?”

“Likes Nolan,” Garth assured him confidently.

“And I think Nolan likes her,” Becca chimed in, taking the
soup pot off the fire and giving it another good stir. “Really, I think the
main reason why he’s been hesitating to choose a partner is because he knows
that the dragon will be like Kaya, cut off from the clan. Even with this
dragon, who can barely communicate with everyone, that’s going to be hard
emotionally.”

“Well, sure, but she’s partnering with the future King of
Chahir. I mean, you know she’s going to be spoiled.”

“Rotten,” Becca agreed cheerfully. “Which is why I think
this is a good idea. She’ll have a much better future with Nolan, and I
honestly think she adores him.”

The tableau held its breath as they watched Nolan talk to
the other dragon. She had crouched down so that their eyes were more or less on
the same level. Becca knew the moment that Nolan had gotten the full question
across, as the dragon literally pounced on him. Wings, head, tail, all of it
wrapped around the Life Mage in the most all-encompassing embrace the world had
ever witnessed. Not a hair of Nolan could be seen.

“I think that’s a yes,” Becca laughed, her heart warming at
the sight.

Trev’nor chuckled. “Look at them. She’s practically glowing
with happiness.” He went taut for a moment. “Ah, Garth? The other dragons won’t
pick on her because Nolan chose her, right?”

“Pick?” Garth parroted, obviously not understanding.

“Tease?” Becca offered.

“Be mean?” Trev’nor waited for a beat, but when his dragon
didn’t show any signs of comprehension, he rephrased again, “Not nice?”

Garth shook his head (he was really adopting human
mannerisms) in reassurance. “Stay nice.”

Oh good. Dragons apparently weren’t the type to bully.
Relieved, Trev’nor sank back against his dragon chair and watched as Nolan came
back to the cookfire, this time with his own dragon in tow. Nolan had a smile
bright enough to be a third sun, so happy that he couldn’t contain it. “So, as
I’m sure you saw, she agreed to be my partner.”

“We saw,” Becca assured him, giggling. Standing, she made
her way to the white dragon and stroked her nose. “Welcome, pretty one. We are
glad you are coming with us. Garth says you’re strong and fast, which is good.
We leave Nolan in your care.”

Someone, either Garth or Nolan, was translating Becca’s
words as their newest addition was able to follow this seamlessly. She pushed
into Becca’s touch, the tip of her tail thumping in a happy rhythm.
“Becca-friend nice.”

“Oh? I didn’t know you knew my name.”

“She made sure she knew before coming over here,” Nolan
explained.

Becca understood what Nolan had said before, now that she
was paying proper attention. Most dragons when they said words had a kind of
echo effect to their voice. But not this one. She spoke the way a human would
speak.

Trev’nor rose up to greet her as well. “You know my name
too?”

“Trev’nor,” she responded promptly.

“Wow.” He sounded sincerely impressed. “I have yet to meet a
dragon that can pronounce the ‘n’ sound so well. You speak like a human would.”

He got hugged for that, a wing and arm gathering him up into
her chest. With an oomph, he settled against her, hugging her back. “I take it
that made her happy?”

“Like you would not believe,” Nolan said, amused.

It was probably rare for her to be praised, after all.

“We haven’t settled on a name for her yet. I thought we
could throw some out over dinner, see if we can’t come up with something she
likes.” Nolan sounded hopeful about this request. Actually, it was more like a
demand. Didn’t want to think up all those names himself, eh?

“Sounds fine to me.” Becca went back to the soup pot,
rustling up the bowls from their bags. “It’s all ready. But Nolan, don’t you
need to report to the chief that you’re partnered with her?”

“I will after dinner,” Nolan answered, diving for his dinner
bowl. “I’m too hungry to wait, for one thing, but he’s out hunting right now
anyway.”

Nolan always seemed to know where all the dragons were at
any given time. It probably had something to do with his magical senses. Just
like Trev’nor could tell what the geography looked like.

Becca, not being a starving teenage boy, was the first to
offer a name before taking a bite. “Chellie?”

The white dragon settled in around Nolan, curling up like a
sphinx would, giving her human the perfect ‘chair’ to lounge against. “No,” she
said firmly. “N.”

“Something with an N in it, eh?” Becca shot Trev’nor an
amused glance. Apparently that little praise had gone directly to her head.

From the expression on Trev’nor’s face, he couldn’t think of
a single N name at the moment.

“Thanks, Trev.” Nolan rolled his eyes.

“This is not my fault. Besides, I just saved us time,
there’s only so many names with an N in it anyway.”

“I’ll remind you that you said that later, when we’re stuck
and can’t think of any other names.”

That might happen sooner rather than later. Becca seriously
couldn’t think of a single name that didn’t already belong to a person they
knew. One dragon doppelganger was enough. They really didn’t need two. Nolan
was right, this…might take a while.

They spent a total of five glorious days in dragon
territory. Becca turned into a teacher after she got done with her own
research. At any given time, she had at least twenty dragons sitting around her,
plaguing her for more words. Anticipating where they would go, Becca taught
them mostly Solish words and what Khobuntish she knew. Sometimes Nolan stepped
in, when she couldn’t figure out how to explain a new word, but most of the
time it was just her teaching. The dragons, in turn, taught each other so that
by the time they left everyone had a basic vocabulary of about three hundred
words. And growing.

An interesting part that was finally explained to Becca, now
that the dragons had the necessary vocabulary, was that distance didn’t matter
too much to them when they needed to speak to each other. As they explained it,
they could hear each other, just not full speech. Becca still puzzled over full
speech. She had an idea that dragon telepathy worked like a mirror broach. They
could hear voices, but the tone and body language were lost. Dragons relied on
all three to get a full message across. To them, just telepathy was a pale
imitation of true communication.

Becca’s dragon leaned her head down so that she could sniff
as Becca packed everything into her bag. She had to push the massive head away.
“Stop that. I can’t see what I’m doing.”

After a lifetime of traveling, Trev’nor was of course a pro
at packing, and he was relaxing against Garth’s side as he waited for the other
two. “She’s a curious one, your dragon.”

“Like a cat,” Becca responded, exasperated and amused in
turns. Ever since she had asked her dragon to partner yesterday, she’d been
faithfully followed around and rubbed up against at every opportunity. It was
clear to her that the blue dragon was so delighted that she seemed about to
burst from happiness. It had not prevented her from being picky about names
though. Becca had spent a good majority of yesterday trying to think of a name
and failing.

Nolan’s dragon nearly knocked Becca flat as she turned her
head about, nudging against the saddle strapped to her back. This earned a
scolding from Becca’s dragon, which had the other cringing back.

Reaching up, Becca caught her own dragon’s nose and brought
her back down. “Easy, easy, she didn’t realize she was that close.”

“It’s alright, Llona.” Nolan stopped packing and rocked up
to his feet, reassuring her. “You’ll get used to this. Is the saddle too
tight?”

Trev’nor, in a flash of creative genius, had used wood and
flax fiber to grow their saddles. The bulk of the hardware was all hard wood,
seamless in its craftsmanship, with tightly woven fiber in intricate braids
making up the rest of the harness. Becca had never seen anything else like it,
but Trev’nor said this was similar to how the Tonkowacon saddles were
fashioned, just adapted to fit a dragon form. He’d spent the majority of the
past two days making them so that they didn’t have to be carried in their
dragons’ claws anymore.

Of course when Nolan asked this, Trev’nor responded first,
as he was still making adjustments to make sure everything was perfect. “Is
it?”

Nolan touched a bottom ring. “She said this part is starting
to chaff.”

“That’s not good.” Trev’nor reacted immediately, going to
Llona’s side and bringing his magic to bear on the problem. “Tell me when
things don’t fit right,” he told the dragon as he worked. “Alright?”

“Alright,” she responded, voice mellow and happy.

Concerned now, Becca looked at her own dragon. “Saddle still
fits fine?”

“Sure, sure,” the dragon assured her, head bobbing.

That was such a Trev’nor move. Now when had she picked up
that?

They’d had no chance to practice flying with their new
partners. Trev’nor had finished up Llona’s saddle this morning. They were
trusting Nolan to give whatever instructions needed to be said, and were going
to fly off by the seat of their pants. There was a sense of urgency pressing
down on all of them, a feeling that they had perhaps stayed too long as it was,
and needed to go. So even though it would be wiser to linger for a day or
three, learn how to fly with each other, none of them wished to do so.

This morning, they would leave for Khobunter.

Becca threw her pack on behind the brand new saddle,
strapped it in, and then paused and really looked around her. Part of her heart
ached at the idea of leaving this idyllic place. It had been so peaceful here,
so inviting, that she almost wished she could just stay forever. “We can come
back here, right?”

“I think we’ll have to,” Nolan opined, also strapping his
bag into place. “We didn’t do near the setup that we need to really carry our
plan into the future. This is totally a stop-gap measure.”

He did have a point there. “How does it feel, anyway, to
have completed your first international talk with dragons?”

“I really, really wanted a guide book. A manual. Something,”
Nolan informed her fervently.

Laughing, Trev’nor pointed out, “None of those would have
helped you. In fact, I don’t think a guide book exists.”

That was probably true. “In fact, Nolan, you’ll probably be
the one that has to write it.”

“Neither of you are helping,” Nolan moaned, which made them
laugh again. “Speaking of, I should probably pay my respects to the chief one
last time before we go.”

“Shouldn’t we all go?” Becca asked uncertainly. She hadn’t
actually spoken to him face to face the entire stay here.

“That…is a good point. Yes, we should all go. Trev, ready?”

“Ready.” Trev’nor patted Llona’s saddle. “That good? Good.
Nothing else chaffing or pinching, right? Glad to hear it. Tell me if that
changes.” Satisfied Llona was set, Trev’nor carefully climbed onto Garth’s
back, settling into his saddle with an air of caution.

Becca felt the same way about her new saddle, as she was not
convinced she had all of the straps tight enough yet. And she did
not
want to fall out, thank you very much. The only person that could safely fall
would be Nolan, who would likely transform into a dragon or bird or some such
thing and just merrily fly with everyone else after that. She double checked
everything to make sure that she had a little wiggle room, but not enough to
risk slipping out. It should be alright. Maybe.

Their dragons waited until the humans were settled before
taking off and doing a long, lazy turn to the upper ledge where their clan
chief liked to lounge. Krys had always claimed that dragons were more cat than
anything, and seeing the chief of this entire clan sunbathing made Becca think
he was right. Tail often did that exact same thing.

The chief raised his head, making the black scales gleam
dully in the sunlight as he spotted their approach. He sat up more properly as
they landed, looking far more massive than any other dragon present. Becca
hadn’t been told his age, but she had to wonder, did dragons just get bigger as
the years passed? It seemed to be a common theme. If that was the case, just
how big was hers going to get?

Like a parent seeing off a child, the chief leaned in and
touched noses with each dragon, lingering there for several moments in a tender
gesture of farewell. Then he pulled back and looked each mage squarely in the
eye.

“He asks that we take care of his children,” Nolan translated
quietly. “He knows we’re going into danger, that’s unavoidable, but try to not
enter into a situation where we know the odds are stacked against us. Don’t
hesitate to ask for more help, either. He doesn’t want us to feel that we only
have this much help from him and that we’re to manage the rest of it on our
own.”

Truly like a parent. Becca smiled at the realization. “Tell
him we will. We don’t want anyone hurt.”

Nolan lifted his head, expression softening as he conversed
with the giant clan chief. “He says, safe flight, and don’t try anything
reckless. Fly quickly. There’s a storm coming.”

Becca turned toward the sky, checking with her own magical
senses, and frowned when she realized the dragon was right. That storm had
moved faster than she’d predicted. She’d spotted it two nights ago but had
thought it would hit tonight, not sooner. Now, they would be lucky to get ahead
of it. “I’ll divert it some.”

“We’re really glad you’re with us for things like this,”
Trev’nor informed her fervently. “I hate traveling in storms. Well, let’s go.
Thank him for the help and hospitality, Nol.”

“Sure.” Nolan said the last farewell and then tapped Llona
on the shoulder, signaling it was time to leave.

All of the dragons that had promised to come with them
lifted into the air at the same time, making the air swirl in chaotic patterns
as wings beat it back and forth. Becca had taken the precaution of tying her
hair firmly back in braids, then a bandana on top of it all, and even than a
few strands escaped to sneak into her eyes. Clawing them away, she blinked and
found that while she had been temporarily blinded, they had already gained
altitude and were flying away from dragon territory. Twisting a little, she
looked behind her, seeing a hundred dragons flying in her wake like a moving,
breathing rainbow. It was a breathtaking display. It was moments like this that
made her fervently wish she had some kind of talent in painting, as this would
be a scene well worth capturing on canvas.

Well, maybe she could put it into a crystal and commission
it done.

The flight back into Khobunter took just as long as the
journey out of it had been. Becca had taken the precaution of packing a few
snacks in a bag hanging off her front saddle rim, so she didn’t starve on the
almost two day-long trip. They had stopped for the night, but still, it was
late afternoon of the next day by the time that Rurick came into sight, and she
was beyond ready for real food at that point. Not to mention getting off her
dragon. The flight had been smooth, but Becca wasn’t used to riding anything at
all. She basically hadn’t really been on a horse since Shad had taken her to
Strae. Her inner thighs were
killing
her, the cramps were so bad.
Massaging them while sitting only helped a little. The minute she was off, she
was pestering Nolan for help.

The ward glimmered slightly in the afternoon suns. No one camped
near it, which rather surprised Becca. Surely they’d noticed by now the city
was claimed by magic? Or had they tried to get in, failed, and retreated for
the time being until they could figure out how to break through? The last was a
more real possibility.

Wards were strange things. Being developed by humans, with
human magic, they were easy to set and take down but they had odd limitations.
Most of the time, wards could only be made to keep out one of three things:
people, power, and everything. Becca understood this in theory, but watching
the dragons easily pass through the wards and settle in and around the city
walls felt a little nerve-wracking. She had to remind herself, several times,
that dragons were not humans. Human beings would not be able to go through the
ward like they had.

Their dragons settled near each other, in one of the open
marketplace courtyards. Trev’nor looked around as he hopped off, sliding out of
the saddle and easily to the ground. “Looks like they didn’t figure out how to
get through the ward while we were gone.”

“Odds are they didn’t even recognize what they were,” Nolan
observed, also sliding neatly out of the saddle. “Or, if they did, had no idea
what to do about it. Wards are somewhat complicated to build, magically
speaking. It’s not something intuitively obvious.”

Becca only half followed this as she struggled to get out of
her saddle. Undoing the straps was easy enough but her cramping legs wouldn’t
let her maneuver free. She hissed in a pained breath and stopped in an
undignified position, one leg over her dragon’s neck, the other dangling free
and throbbing.

Of course Trev’nor noticed and pointed it out to Nolan. “I
think she’s having trouble. What’s the matter, Bec?”

“I’m not used to riding,” she retorted acerbically. “I don’t
normally leave Strae, remember? And how can you just walk around like you
didn’t spent two days in the saddle?”

“Because I’m used to riding?” Trev’nor offered artlessly,
coming toward her with arms outstretched. “Uh-oh, I know that look. You hate me
right now, don’t you?”

“SO, so much,” she gritted out between clenched teeth.
“Riding a dragon and riding a horse are different.”

“Very different,” he soothed, motioning for Nolan to go
ahead of him. “Can you help with the cramps?”

“Sure, hang on.” Nolan reached up and grabbed a handle on
the saddle to pull himself even closer. Leaning into the dragon’s side, he put
both hands flat against her thighs and let out a thread of healing magic.
“Becca, getting mad at Trev’nor solves nothing.”

“Ridiculous. It makes me feel better.”

Trev’nor grinned widely. “Is that why you hit me all the
time?”