The Bond (Book 2) (42 page)

“
No.”

Willem looked up. Aeron lay on his back, awake and watching him.

“You’re sleeping with me tonight. I saw how your hands shook while you told us of the nahual. It wasn’t from the cold.”

A tiny sound escaped Willem before he could stop it. He nodded and stood. Aeron held open the blankets and he climbed in. Turning over on his stomach, he lay partly atop Aeron, cheek to warm chest.

Eventually, the sound of Aeron’s even breathing and his steady heartbeat made Willem drowsy. He fell asleep, Aeron’s arms around him.

+ + + + +

Lord Eldin needed to control his anger or his writing would become illegible. Being wakened in the middle of the night because of an incoming message on his private ether-writer made that difficult.

You do realize what part of the night it is here? ~

Of course. I wouldn’t wake you for no reason. Keep in mind, it’s even later here.
~

Why Lady Helena couldn’t wait until the morrow to contact him, he had no idea.

Well, get on with it. I’d like to at least try to get back to sleep soon. ~

I just received word that Lord Baronel has more than one dragon.
~

I know.
~

You know? Why didn’t you inform us?
~

He only has three. There isn’t much he can do with three. Remember, it has taken him over a year to acquire those. When I learned of them I sent someone to the Investigation Guild. We have Baronel’s business applications under control. We will continue to address anything he comes up with.
~

He’d worried about what his partners’ reaction might be when they discovered Baronel had three dragons. He would never admit it, but he was nervous as he watched Lady Helena’s response appear, word by word.

Lord Baronel has more than three dragons! He used them to assist with some sort of package delivery in his region. Out-delivered horses by an incredible margin, too. ~

Lord Eldin was stunned. He hadn’t heard anything of the sort.

How did you learn this? ~

I sent a contact of my own to Caer Baronel a few weeks ago who arrived yesterday. Many eyes see more than two, after all. I received a ‘writer message from the contact with the information only moments ago.
~

I see. What do you suppose Baronel’s ploy is with this? Why help with delivering packages? It only shows his hand.
~

His motives are unclear.
~

Still, this could helps us. Now the threat that dragons pose to horses and businesses that use them is in the open for all to see.
~

True. And what’s more, apparently one of the children that use the dragons was injured while making a delivery.
~

And?
~

It’s a terrible business, no? Putting children in danger like that. I wonder what people would think?
~

Lord Eldin smiled. How utterly devious Lady Helena could be.

I see. Yes. It would be a pity if there were a public scandal just before the business approval meeting. I’ll see what I can do. ~ ~

Lord Eldin knew exactly who to contact. It seemed he wouldn’t be getting any more sleep this morning after all. It would be well worth it.

Someone was shaking her shoulder.

“Xochi,” Renata mumbled, “I will beat your dragon butt if you don’t let me sleep.”

“Wake up!”

Xochi could speak aloud?

Cracking her eyes open revealed Sharrah and Liara standing over her.

“What is it? A nahual?” Renata sat up quickly and rubbed sleep from her eyes.

“No, no.” Sharrah laughed. “We have to get ready for the trade fair!”

Liara nodded. “Let’s get to the showers before they are overrun.”

“Oh, right.” Renata got up and grabbed a change of clothes from the wardrobe while the other two waited.

The fair had been the topic of many a conversation the past few weeks. Trade caravans had occasionally visited the villages, but there hadn’t been a fair to go with their arrival. People had just stopped by the colorful tents at the traders’ camp, bought what they needed, and gone about their lives. Renata much preferred the festival-like atmosphere of the trade fairs here in the north.

The girls were in luck. The bathing room was nearly empty, and the few who were there were bathing in tubs. All the showers were available. Sharrah and Liara’s plan was a good one. They found a bench nearby and quickly undressed.

The showers were one of Renata’s favorite things at Caer Baronel. It was much easier to control the temperature of the water, and showers were so much faster than a bath. They used much less water, too. The abundance of water up here was one of the differences she’d had to get used to. Another was the idea of separate bathing areas for men and women.

At Bataan-Mok, bathing areas were separated by position, not by gender. If you were a Pesan, boy or girl, you used the Pesan bathing room. Crusani? They all used the one Crusan bathing room. It saved on rooms. Of course, if the Order wasn’t so slavish about rank, only one, large bathing room would have been needed.

Renata shook her head and adjusted the water temperature to her liking. Everyone had their own type of weirdness, she supposed.

The three finished quickly and met up with the boys at breakfast.

Jessip smiled at her as they walked over. She really, really wanted to touch his freckles, see if they rubbed off. Of course, they probably didn’t. Either that, or he was a terrible bather. Which was doubtful as he never stank. In fact, it was the complete opposite. He smelled good. Too good. Why was that? There was much she would like to have the courage to find out about him.

It is the same color. It must be.

Xochi!

Cheeks warming, she sat next to Jessip.

Anyway, I want to see the fair this time.
Her bond-mate sounded petulant.

She placed a napkin in her lap and said, “Xochi wants to see the fair. She’s upset she hasn’t been able to before.”

“Hmm.” Aeron’s eyes grew distant as he spoke to his bond-mate. He turned to Renata. “Anaya wants to as well. I don’t see why they can’t all gather in the clear area south of the fair, near the trees.”

“I’d have them wait until we got there, though.” Willem chewed on a piece of bacon. “I don’t want people crowding in on Balam without me there to supervise.”

Aeron  nodded. “Good point. Tell your dragons they can go to the fair with us, if they want. But not before!”

Xochi was very happy when she found out.

Eat faster!

Renata laughed.
Hush, sweetling, and have patience. We are almost done.

Her bond-mate wasn’t the only one excited about the fair. Everyone talked about what they wanted to do, wanted to see, and items they wanted to purchase.

There were many things that were provided by the Caer and many things that could be purchased from the various craft halls, too. But they did not match the variety of items available from the traders in the caravan.

“I’m going to stop by the dragon stables on the way,” Willem said, “to talk with Master Millinith, let her know the dragons will be going to the fair. I don’t think I’ll have too much trouble convincing her to let at least one of the stable guards stand watch over the dragons while they are there.”

“Good idea,” Aeron said. “That’ll let us wander around the fair instead of having to constantly keep an eye on our dragons.”

As they made their way to the fairgrounds, people filled the streets, chatting excitedly and smiling. Most were heading the same direction as them, toward South Gate. Once through the enormous arch, the wide valley became visible. Swaths of grass gave way to trees, and in the distance, purple-tinted hills formed a ragged line against the sky.

The sun was warm on her face as Renata walked along the cobbled road past the colorful tents. They were going to get the dragons settled in before anything else.

Willem says we can follow him and Balam to the fair!

That’s right, sweetling. We’ll meet you all here.

The fairgrounds, which sat about a hundred yards south of the Caer, were a roughly square area cleared of trees. The grounds were bounded on the west by the cobbled road and to the southeast by what was left of trees near the Caer. Renata waited with the others there, near the corner formed by the tree-lines.

Hawkers shouted their wares, people chatted and laughed, jugglers and minstrels wandered about, and at a few tables, fair-goers occasionally broke out in song, waving tankards and glasses in the air as they did so. All combined for the happy sounds of the trade fair.

A hush fell as dragons glided overhead.

Renata grew concerned. Was this a bad idea? But excited whispers, murmuring, and the rest of the festive din took up again as soon as Xochi and the others landed.

A guard hopped off Balam, followed by Willem.

“Yrdra’s tits, but that was amazing.” The guard turned, saw them, and his eyes grew large. “My apologies, ladies, for my crudeness.”

Renata laughed. “Not to worry. Anyone would be out of sorts after their first ride on a dragon.”

So many people!
Xochi and the other dragons looked about with keen interest, heads turning this way and that, eyes taking everything in.

That’s right, love.
Renata walked over and patted her neck.
There are a lot of people. So you all have to behave. We don’t want to scare anyone, right?

The guard turned to Willem. “So, just like at the stables, then? People can watch from a distance, but no getting too close?”

“That’s correct. We’ll be near, though, and our dragons will let us know if anything should come up.”

The guard nodded and took up a position between the nearest walkway and the dragons.

“Alright,” Sharrah said. “First things first.”

“You want to visit Trader Delia and Trader Methon.” Aeron smiled at her.

Sharrah grinned. “Of course.” She turned to Renata. “You just have to see her jewelry. It’s fantastic.”

“Jewelry?” Before Jessip could say more, his attention was drawn by Fillion, who’d loudly cleared his throat. The boy made odd motions with his head, eyes locked with Jessip’s. Jessip must have somehow interpreted whatever Fillion was doing, because he nodded and turned back to Sharrah.

Renata, completely baffled by the odd exchange, noted that Sharrah looked just as confused.

“Uh,” she said, with a quick glance at Renata, “yes, jewelry.”

“Excellent. I, ah, I’d like to go see that, too.”

“Well, we can’t all fit in their tent at once,” Willem said, “so you go and see them. I need to go check the leather traders, anyway. But give them my regards and let them know I’ll drop by later.”

“Me too,” Aeron said. “I’ll definitely stop by to see if she has anything new that’s amazing.” He touched the gold dragon pin he always wore on his collar. “And Methon’s tables, too. I want to see what he has.”

“Leathers?” Fillion looked at Willem. “I think I’ll go check on those, too.”

“I may as well tag along,” Cheddar said. “I’m not that interested in jewelry. Though I would like to check on the paper trader, later.”

“We can do that,” Aeron said as they headed off. “Sure.”

The food smells delicious.

Renata turned to her.
Don’t you dare go wandering off into the fair! Besides, you do remember what happened when you ate chocolate, right? You can’t eat just anything. There’s no telling what else is bad for dragons.

I know.
Xochi sounded sullen.
That man is throwing balls in the air and catching them.
A sense of wonder came through the link.
How does he keep them flying around in a circle like that?

It wasn’t difficult to find who Xochi meant.
A juggler. And I don’t know how they do that. It just might be magic.

“Well, as they seem to have abandoned us,” Sharrah said with a smile and a shake of her head, “let’s go meet Traders Delia and Methon.”

Be good!
Renata sent as they left.

A young man stood before a large tent just off the cobbled road. He smiled and lifted the tent flap, motioning them inside. “Thank you for visiting.”

Renata hadn’t even had time to take in everything inside the tent before a deep, booming voice nearly made her jump.

“Sharrah!” A man walked from behind a table on the right and took Sharrah’s hand, shaking it gently. “It is good to see you.” He turned to the back of the tent. “Delia, Sharrah is here!”

A woman, a little darker of skin than Renata, joined them from behind a series of standing screens. “Sharrah. Of course you would visit on the first day.” She smiled. “What of Aeron and Willem?”

“They’ll be by later,” Sharrah said. “They didn’t want to over-crowd your tent.”

“So considerate. Who are your new friends?”

After introductions, Trader Methon motioned them to join Trader Delia, his wife, at her side of the tent. “Go, go. I know why you visit, Sharrah.” He chuckled and returned to his chair and book.

Renata, Sharrah, Liara, and Jessip sat upon very comfortable pillows in front of Trader Delia’s display table. Much lower than Trader Methon’s, the solid-looking, carved stand made for a more intimate atmosphere for potential buyers.

“Do you have anything new, or unusual?” Sharrah sat forward on her pillow.

The jewelry that Trader Delia brought out for them was just as amazing as promised. Renata had no idea how such delicate and detailed pieces could be made. Most of the jewelry was just too elaborate for her, however. She could imagine a highborn lady wearing the pieces, looking regal, and feminine, and perfect. But that wasn’t her. Gods, no, that wasn’t her.

They spent several minutes looking over Trader Delia’s wares, not all of which were actual jewelry. She had miniatures of various cityscapes, animals, objects, and people, too. But then another customer entered the tent. The young man stood a respectful distance away, waiting for Trader Delia’s current business to be completed.

Sharrah glanced at the newcomer and, with a speculative look on her face, turned to the master jeweler. “Trader Delia, have you ever been commissioned to make trade craft pins?”

“I did have a commission, once. But I was underbid by another jeweler who had learned to mold pieces using only sorcery. It is more efficient for certain pieces in time and expense, allowing for lower prices. I’ve since learned the skill myself and trained my journeymen in it as well. But I have not attempted to win back the commission, as I was upset at how easily it was bid away from me.”

Liara looked around the tent. “You have journeymen jewelers working for you?”

Trader Delia laughed. “I can see how you’d be confused. Though we travel most of the year, I have a studio near our winter home where much of my jewelry is created.” She turned to Sharrah. “Why do you ask?”

“I was just curious. Incidentally, if I wanted to contact you later, how would I go about it?”

They exchanged information, and then the four made their farewells.

“Enjoy the fair,” the young man said as they left the tent.

“So,” Sharrah said, “did anyone else have something they wanted to see or buy?”

“I could use a new paper knife,” Liara said. “The handle  broke on my old one.”

“The smiths undoubtedly have some of those for sale,” Jessip said. “Let’s go check.”

The smiths had four airy booths, open on all sides. One booth offered various bladed items, one blunt items, one armor, and the fourth offered tools, rings, cotter pins, nails, and the like. Liara stood with the rest of them at the blade booth, looking over the paper knife choices.

Out of the seven different letter openers Renata counted on display, Liara eventually narrowed her selection down to two: one had a cherry handle, and the other a rosewood handle. As Liara tried to decide, Renata browsed around.

The booth had everything from paper knives to broadswords on display. All were well-crafted, at least to her eye. She walked over to the daggers. Part of the training she’d completed as a Manis had been with knives. She’d left before being issued weapons, however. All the daggers looked decent enough, but none caught her fancy.