A Storm in the Desert: Dragonlinked Chronicles Voume 3 (6 page)

Fillion frowned. “I could have sworn . . .”

An unhappy expression on her own face, Master Gella said, “Me too.” She glanced at the bottom of the candle. “Although, this wax looks—” She whipped a dagger out of some hidden sheath and started jabbing it into the base of the candle. Two pokes later, a dull clink issued forth. Her gaze shot to Fillion and a slow smile spread across her lips.

A small key sat on the table, freed after a bit of digging.

Master Gella glanced at Fillion. She appeared to be reconsidering him. “Not bad.” Looking back at the key, she said, “It’s for a safe deposit box, by the looks of it.”

“Safe deposit box?” Fillion looked at the key. Several tiny numerals were stamped into it.

“Small boxes at the bank that can be rented. People store valuables in them that they’d rather not keep at home. Banks tend to be more secure than a home that you may have to leave on occasion.”

Guildmaster Millinith said, “There’s your answer. He did leave something for you to find.”

“Let’s go see what he left.” Gregor stood. “The bank’s in Delcimaar?”

Master Gella pulled a small chronometer from a pocket. “It’s too late, now. Acquiring the documents I’ll need to get the bank to let us into his safe deposit box will take at least two hours, even with my, ah, status. By then the bank will be closed for the day.”

Fillion turned to her. “They close that early?”

She shrugged. “It’s half past one.”

In shock, Fillion stood. “What? How—” He turned to the Guildmaster. “My shift starts at three, which, at Caer Baronel, is only half an hour from now.”

Master Gella turned to Guildmaster Millinith. “I’ll get the documents arranged today and will visit the bank first thing in the morning. I’d like you to be there, and especially you.” She looked at Fillion. “I wouldn’t want to miss anything.” She glanced at the body near the door. “He and I were occasionally a bit more than just investigators, at least to each other. My thinking is a little . . . off right now.”

Fillion stared at her. Was that why she had seemed so short with everyone at first? How would he feel if something were to happen to—

He cut off that thought, not wanting to even consider it a possibility.

“Should we meet you in Delcimaar in the morning?” Guildmaster Millinith said.

“I can open a portal to the plaza at the back of the Bureau of Guilds,” Fillion noted. “That’s the only place I remember from there, unfortunately.”

Gella glanced at Fillion. “Open a portal?” She shook her head. “Never mind. That should be fine. If you can arrive at the plaza, I can meet you there and the three of us can visit the bank. Your dragon, Coatl you said his name was?”

Fillion nodded.

“He’ll have to stay there. I’d prefer we keep this investigation as quiet as possible. Having an enormous dragon flying around, as magnificent as he may be, would work against that.”

She thinks I am magnificent?

Your head is big enough. Don’t let it swell too much or it’ll explode. How would I get around, then?

Coatl’s rumbling chuckles couldn’t be heard, but Fillion could feel his mirth through the link.

“Contact me via Lord Baronel,” Guildmaster Millinith said, “and we’ll meet you there.”

“I will.”

Later, when he finished the enchanting shift, Fillion came to the conclusion that he actually felt like
two
wet towels wrung much too tightly, which were then stomped on by horses, and then trampled by dragons. Several dragons.

Let’s make these trips quick, big guy.

Coatl didn’t rise from the ground. Instead, he stared at Fillion.

Fillion stared back. If his bond-mate tried to tell him that he was too tired for two trips, he’d punch him in his big dragon belly. He wanted to see Gregor and Kisa. And he wanted to eat dinner, too. Then he would go pass out in bed.

Big lids blinked slowly over amber-gold eyes, and Coatl stood.
As you wish.

Letting out a quiet breath, Fillion climbed into the saddle and they lifted into the air.

Less than two minutes had elapsed by the time they were walking down the rocky passage that led to the cavern. The clipped barks that were dragon giggles came from ahead.

I do not want to go to sleep yet.

I will tickle you some more, if you don’t go to sleep!
Gregor’s voice was easily recognizable, even when he spoke in group.

Liara was laughing as they walked into the large cavern.
You can barely keep your eyes open, Kisa. Look at Mia, she’s already asleep.

Kisa lay on the ground, struggling to keep her eyes open. Her head kept listing to the side.
I want to play . . .
Her eyes closed once more and her head slowly sank to the ground.

Gregor shot a smile at Fillion, then carefully lifted up his slumbering dragon and carried her to where her sister lay asleep, at the forepaws of Tozi. With a final stroke of her cheek, he walked over to Fillion and Coatl.

In a whisper, he said, “Let’s go now that they are both finally asleep.”

“Honestly,” Liara whispered, “I’ve never seen someone fight so hard against sleep.”

Coatl dipped his head at Tozi and they chirped quietly at each other. The dragonlinked raised hands to the mother dragon in farewell.

As he led them outside, Fillion said, “I wish I’d been able to spend some time with Kisa before she fell asleep. Maybe we can come back after dinner and I can—”

“That’s not going to happen.” Gregor eyed him. “You look almost as tired as Kisa did. If I didn’t trust Coatl to make sure the portal remains steady, I’d not let you take us back to Caer Baronel for dinner. Even so, that’s the last portal you will open tonight.”

Fillion sighed but couldn’t argue. He was tired. When the enchanting shifts were done, when the Guildhall was complete, he’d be very happy. With a wry smile, he said, “As you say, Adept Healer.”

Chuckling, Gregor put an arm across Fillion’s shoulders. “I even picked up a skin of wine for tonight, to celebrate my bonding Kisa. But you’d fall asleep after one cup. Hells, the way you look, you’ll probably fall asleep right after dinner even without drink.”

Fillion elbowed him in the ribs. “You save that wine. We can celebrate tomorrow night.”

Kisa and Mia were talked about over dinner, but most conversations were about Polandra and Ikan. Aeron, Willem and Jessip were amazed that another had come all this way—members of the Order were pretty tenacious! Everyone seemed to have questions for her. Liara stared at the new girl all through dinner, only asking one or two things of her.

Renata and Master Doronal had Polandra moved into the third dragon stable, the one across from Aeron and Willem’s. A cot had been moved into the fourth stable so Jessip could vacate the third one, and Fillion was back in the second stable. Master Doronal had lamented the slow speed with which the living quarters at the Guildhall were being completed. Fillion heard that once the clutching room was done, those people would be added to the number working on expanding the housing area.

“You should have seen Ikan when he met Anaya,” Aeron said. “He was so awed by her. He called her mother!”

“Well,” Willem said, “she does kind of act like a mother to them all.”

“If I remember what she told us before, some of the positions in the dragon hierarchy are named after family members,” Sharrah noted.

“And,” Cheddar said, “I’ve noticed that all our dragons look up to Anaya.”

“She was the first bonded,” Gregor said.

Aeron nodded. “You know, I asked her once if our group was its own House.” He shrugged. “She wasn’t sure.”

“I’ll have to ask Zolin about how a House is formed.” Jessip took a bite of chicken. “We should learn more about how the little things work in a dragon House.”

“That’s actually a good idea,” Renata said. “We’ve worked so much on how the guild will work for us, but what about the dragons? How do they fit into the organization? And should what we learn be part of official guild procedures?” She looked thoughtful. “I’ll speak to Guildmaster Millinith about this.”

“Speaking of dragons,” Fillion said, “Coatl told me that they’ve all been interested in Ikan. He’s the only one, so far, that didn’t bond right after hatching.” He turned to Polandra. “How did that come about, anyway?”

She seemed nervous. He couldn’t blame her, really. She’d been the focus of a great deal of attention since her arrival.

“Before Renata left to come north,” Polandra glanced at the raven-haired girl, “she told me I should speak to Isandath. I eventually did and learned the truth about the Order. He told me I needed to meet someone in the desert. But as Observer activity was much heightened since Renata’s departure, it could not be a month-long visit like hers had been. He said I was to meet Nayra only a few miles away.” She smiled. “Needless to say, it was an incredible and shocking experience. It made me want to leave the Order right there and then, as I was a manis.”

Renata put her hand on Polandra’s.

“Fortunately, I realized that would be a mistake. I decided to learn as much as I could about the exact nature of manisi and how the Order used them. That kind of knowledge, I figured, could be invaluable after I left.”

“Smart.” Sharrah nodded.

Fillion agreed. Know your enemy. He’d read that somewhere.

“I spent the next few months training with them, learning all I could. During that time, the Order began to change. You could feel it. Something was coming. When all the things I talked about before came to pass, especially the manisi disappearing, I realized the time for me to leave was close. It took a while longer, Nayra only checked in every two weeks, but eventually a night was chosen for me to meet her children.”

Eyes alight, Polandra clasped Renata’s hand in both of hers. “The Bond,” she almost whispered. “What an incredible, soul-stirring event.” She closed her eyes. “I can feel him, right now. His heartbeat, the sun on his back and wings, and sometimes, I can even sense his very thoughts.” Eyes open, she said, “I can’t even remember what it was like before him. How could I have lived without Ikan?”

Fillion smiled at the remembered experience. He glanced around at the others, seeing similar expressions on their faces. Sharrah, however, looked thoughtful, and perhaps a touch worried.

Polandra sat back and took a deep breath, releasing it shortly after. “Isandath gave me some money and some clothing he’d gathered in preparation.” A wry smile twisted her lips. “I wish he’d been able to obtain a thicker coat.”

Fillion smiled. “Well, we helped you with that.”

She nodded. “And now I am here, hoping you will go back so that we may learn what Isandath has discovered.” Her brows drew together. “Something
is
happening within the Order.”

“Maybe she’s right,” Liara said, staring at her. “If anyone has plans to hurt Mia . . .”

Fillion yawned.

“And there it is.” Gregor started loading Fillion’s dinner dishes back on the tray.

“Hey,” Fillion protested.

Gregor glanced at him as he added his own dishes. “You’ve been fighting yawns all through dinner. You opened four portals today and had an enchanting shift. You need to get to sleep.”

Sharrah smiled at him. “You do look beat.”

Fillion wanted to argue, but he didn’t have the energy. With a half-smile he said, “I guess this is goodnight everybody.”

As he walked back to the stables with Gregor, Fillion thought about the Order. Would they still try something now that there was a dragon guild? Were they that set on killing dragons? And what remedies were available to a guild should a member be harmed? Was there anything beyond the normal laws against hurting or killing someone?

Sharrah breathed deep of the dawn air. There wasn’t much to it. Cold and clean and missing any of the perfumed scents that would come with spring, it was at least bracing. And she wasn’t the only one who enjoyed it. Copper, the stallion was named after his coloration, champed at the bit, eager for the morning run. His breath clouded as he snorted, excited, and he nearly danced while trotting along the cobblestone road, horseshoes clicking.

Once they reached the end of the cobbles outside North Gate, Sharrah leaned down and patted his neck. “Alright, boy, let’s see what you’ve got in you today.”

She sat up, flicked the reins, and shouted, “Hee-yah!”

Her heels hadn’t even bounced against him and he was off, galloping along the road away from Caer Baronel. Laughing at the sheer joy of wind whipping hair, Copper’s powerful form below, and the sun shining in her face, Sharrah didn’t know how anything could get better than this. She leaned low in the saddle and closed her eyes.

As they continued along the road that eventually led to the Guildhall, the sound of Copper’s hooves was almost hypnotic in its perfectly timed repetition.

Pa-da-dump! Pa-da-dump! Pa-da-dump! Pa-da-dump!

The insanely quick beats matched the pounding of her heart as they raced north.
Each gallop bounced her in the saddle, pulsed through thighs, crotch and butt, and up her spine to breasts, shoulders, neck and head. Every part of her body felt the energy and the pure, physical joy of Copper running free.

Through closed eyes, she caught the red-tinted flicker of light and dark as Copper galloped through the long shadows cast by trees in the low, morning sun.

Pa-da-dump! Pa-da-dump! Pa-da-dump! Pa-da-dump!

This, she could do forever. This, she couldn’t imagine existed anywhere else, with anything else. It was her and Copper, just the two of them in this world of exhilaration and excitement.

Pa-da-dump! Pa-da-dump! Pa-da-dump! Pa-da-dump!

He began to tire. The hoof beats came farther apart. Not by much, but she could tell by comparing them to the pulsing of her heart. She sat back a little, opened her eyes, and gave him the subtle cues that it was time to slow down. Once he was at a walk, she turned him back to Caer Baronel.

Leaning down to stroke his neck, Sharrah said, “You’re the best, Copper.”

He gave out a happy nicker.

She sat back and listened to the gait, felt it. There was no uneven swaying, no off-sounding hoof beats. Good. All seemed well. She’d hate for the beautiful creature to have been injured.

‘I can’t even remember what it was like before him. How could I have lived without Ikan?’

Sharrah sighed at the remembered words. They’d brought a concern of hers to the forefront. Dragons were amazing, but they worried her, too. Once people were bonded, it seemed as if their entire world revolved around their dragon. She frowned. Alright, that wasn’t
exactly
right, but people were powerfully affected by their dragons. Their feelings for each other were very strong. But were they real, or fabricated by the spell? It was an incredibly complex and intricate enchantment from what they’d been able to determine. And it wasn’t exactly cast by the dragon, more like triggered by the dragon. So, who cast it? Or was each dragon enchanted somehow with the spell, like a moving chest was enchanted to float at the touch of a button? If so, who enchanted the dragon? Its mother? The mysterious creator Anaya mentioned all that time ago? And speaking of him, were dragons even natural creatures?

In his stall at the east loading stables, Sharrah removed Copper’s tack. Then, she ran her hands along his legs, checking for cuts or swelling or hot spots. She checked each hoof, too, making sure there were no stones, that the frog and sole were uninjured, and that the shoes were still secure. As she stroked his side, she noted that his temperature was now back to normal, as well it should be. They’d been out nearly an hour. Seeing no hay inside, the person on morning chores hadn’t completed that one yet, she headed to the stacked bales outside the north end of the loading stables.

As she carried a large flake of hay back inside to Copper, she continued to ponder the questions about dragons. But instead of getting answers, more questions kept popping up. If she were to bond with a dragon, would she have time for Copper? She watched him as he ate. Could she leave this gorgeous creature’s care solely to the Animal Craft Guild? Would anyone take him out for morning runs like she did? And what of Cheddar? Would she feel the same for him after she was bonded?

“Hey, how was your ride today?” Cheddar walked up next to her and watched Copper eat. He nudged her shoulder with his. “He’s your favorite, isn’t he?”

She smiled and turned to him. As usual, his long, straight hair was pulled into a ponytail with a leather strap. Her brows drew together. Ponytail was an appropriate name, actually. It kind of did look like a horse’s tail. Was that why she’d first been attracted to him?

He turned to her, a grin twisting his lips. “He’s going to make me jealous.”

She chuckled. No, it had been his personality. “Yes, he is my favorite. My favorite
horse
.” She reached up and touched Cheddar’s long lashes and stroked his cheek. “But you are my favorite everything.”

He blushed! That was indeed a rare event and it made Sharrah’s heart leap in her chest.

Leaning in, touching his forehead to hers, he whispered, “And you are mine.”

She could see her face reflected in his bright eyes and it made her smile.

“Come on,” he grabbed her hand. “We’re going to be late for breakfast and class if we don’t hurry.” The sly grin was back on his face.

She gave his hand a squeeze and they left for the Dining Hall.

+ + + + +

Aeron wished Polandra would give up already. How often would she bring it up? This conversation had started near the end of breakfast, and now that they were back at the dragon stables, she was still talking about it.

She feels strongly about this. It is not a whim.

I know, dear-heart. I just can’t believe the Order would try anything so brazen.

“I’m telling you, something is going on and we need to find out what it—” Polandra’s gaze snapped down to Willem, who’d pulled the measure tape up to the top of her inner thigh. Her face flushed red.

“Alright,” Willem said, “that’s all the measurements. I can get started on riding gear for you, along with Liara and Gregor.”

“Not that I’ll be needing mine soon,” Gregor said. “You should probably work on Polandra’s first.”

“Yeah,” Jessip said. “She could use riding gear right now.”

Willem nodded. “True enough.”

“Polandra’s right.” Liara crossed her arms. “We should at least find out what’s going on there. Renata told us about them months ago. Isn’t it time we did something? The Corpus Order was formed to kill dragons, you will recall.”

Aeron turned to Polandra and frowned. “Do you really think they’d try something against a guild? It just seems inconceivable.”

“They’ve never ventured far from Bataan-Mok,” Renata noted. “What makes you think they’d send manisi here?”

Polandra looked at Renata. “I’m not sure. A gut feeling, I guess. You don’t know how strange things have been there recently. The mood is dark. It got worse when the existence of the dragon guild became common knowledge.”

“Listen,” Aeron said, “Guildmaster Millinith gave us a free study morning because she and Fillion had to go back to Delcimaar, but I’d rather not spend all of it arguing.” He stared at Polandra. “Now, if the Order does, in fact, send someone here, it will likely be a manis, right?”

Polandra stared back at him. She looked suspicious. “Yeah.”

He nodded. “Alright. Then why don’t we spend the morning in training. Manisi training. You show us how they fight and teach us how to defend against their attacks.” He shrugged. “We may as well do that because the decision on whether or not to do something about the Order is up to the Guildmaster, and she’s not here right now.”

“That’s actually a good idea,” Renata said. “Hand-to-hand fighting skills can be used in many situations.”

Polandra twisted her lips. “Okay. That’s fair. And at least I’ll be doing something useful.” She trotted off to her rooms.

Renata took off her riding jacket, revealing the tight, short-sleeved cotton shirt they all wore underneath. It breathed and was thin, soft, and comfortable. It was also very flexible, which would serve well, Aeron supposed, as they practiced fight techniques.

Polandra returned carrying a wooden shaft maybe four feet long. Aeron wondered what it was. There were elaborate carvings on each end of the staff.

“You brought a bo?” Renata looked surprised.

“Of course. I brought all of my possessions that I could. They issued me the weapon, so it is mine.” She spun the staff in her hands and ended the blurred motion with it resting over her right shoulder, her left hand held off the side, ready. For what, Aeron had no idea.

“Wow, I could hardly see it as it spun,” Lira whispered, eyes wide.

A dagger appeared in Renata’s hand. Pitch-black, it looked deadly. It had been a present, if Aeron remembered right. “We’ll start by showing you some defensive moves.” She set the dagger down on top of her jacket.

Polandra set down her bo, then she and Renata moved to the center of the courtyard. They approached each other, and a surprisingly beautiful dance of moves, counter-moves, feints, and blocks, began. They carried out the motions slowly at first, to show them all what was happening, he guessed, and then their pace picked up. After about a minute of lightning-quick actions, grunts, and the sounds of body parts smacking against each other, they stopped. Both girls stood hunched over, hands on knees, panting.

“That . . . was amazing!” Sharrah stared at them in wide-eyed awe.

She wasn’t the only one impressed. Aeron’s mouth hung open as did a few others.

“I want to know how to do that.” Liara stared at Polandra.

Still leaning over, Renata tucked the hair on the left side of her face behind her ear and looked at Polandra. “You’re better than me.”

Polandra stood up and took a breath. “I’ve had more training, is all. You’re fast.”

“You’re
both
fast,” Cheddar said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“I do want to learn these techniques,” Gregor said, “but I need someone to take me to check on Kisa. We can come right back, after.”

“Me, too,” Liara said. “I need to check on Mia.”

“I can take you both,” Aeron said. “While we’re gone,” he looked at Renata,” why don’t you two work out a training schedule of what moves to teach us and in what order.”

The winded girls looked at each other and nodded.

He smiled. “That demonstration was amazing. Even if this doesn’t make it into official dragonlinked training, I want to learn how to do that, anyway. It could have its uses.”

+ + + + +

The hour difference between Caer Baronel and Delcimaar was a help when going to Delcimaar, Fillion realized. You could be an hour late by the Caer’s time, and still arrive when you needed to at Delcimaar.

While Coatl descended to land in the plaza, Fillion ended the portal spell, watching as it winked out above. Master Investigator Gella waited below for them to land.

Remember, if anyone gets too close, or bothers you at all, come find me. I don’t care what this Gella woman says.

As you wish.

Once on the ground, Guildmaster Millinith hopped down. “I assume you spoke to the Bureau of Guilds about us leaving Coatl here?”

“I did. Their guards will keep the curious away.”

“Good.” Fillion nodded once and dismounted.

“If you’ll come with me, I have a carriage waiting.” Master Gella headed for the gate at the rear of the plaza. She wore the same long leather jacket. Fillion liked the way it looked. Maybe he’d get one for himself. The satchel hanging from her shoulder bounced on her hip as she entered the carriage.

“The city is a lot bigger than I thought,” he said, head craning out the carriage window. They passed huge buildings along the way, and the streets, too, were outsized. Nearly double the width of those in Caer Baronel. “And there are so many people.”

“Indeed,” Master Gella said. “Keeping them all safe is not an easy task. Especially against those that my group investigates.”

“What do you mean?” Fillion sat back against the cushioned bench seat which he had all to himself. Buttons dimpled the padded leather cover. Guildmaster Millinith was seated across from him and Master Gella to her left.

“The city constables handle the normal day-to-day investigations. Petty crime, simple murders, robbery, that sort of thing.” Master Gella glanced at Guildmaster Millinith and then back to him. “Special investigators deal with more insidious problems.”

“Simple murders?” Fillion didn’t like how casually she’d said it. “How can anyone think of the killing of someone as simple?”

Master Gella’s expression softened for a moment. “Simple as far as their investigation. There are some that are not.” She looked away, out the window, and frowned.