Warlords Rising (18 page)

“I don’t take sucker bets.”

The green dragon laid down next to Trev’nor and put his head
squarely on Trev’s lap. Only Trev’nor’s feet poked out the other side. Used to
this, he obligingly scratched, sending the dragon into rumbling purrs.

“Speaking of pairings…” Nolan drawled. “You do realize by
now, I hope, that this particular dragon likes you?”

Trev’nor froze, head creaking around to stare at Nolan with
wide eyes. “Come again?”

“Our options of pairings are not just the young ones,” Nolan
chided, eyes laughing. “Is that what you thought? Some of the elder dragons, like
this one, don’t have mates and so are willing to go into Khobunter.”

Actually, no, Trev’nor hadn’t realized any of that at all.
He could barely tell ages when it came to the dragons. He only knew this one
was older because he was bigger than most of the adolescents and Nolan had told
him he was an elder. Otherwise there was nothing about his range of motion or
actions to indicate his age. But it was true, in the time he’d known the
dragon, he’d followed Trev’nor around like an oversized puppy. And he could
admit that he’d grown rather attached.

A dark gold eye opened and locked onto Trev’nor’s. “Like
Trev,” he rumbled in a voice deeper than mountains.

Trev’nor had a moment where it was honestly hard to breathe.
There was this sense of hovering on a thin line, as if his future could go
either direction. It was a little scary. He felt a surge of anticipation shoot
up his spine and he had to wet his lips twice before he could speak. “Do you
really? I mean, we’ve known each other four days. Are you sure?”

“Sure,” the dragon answered promptly.

“They don’t need to think like we do, Trev,” Nolan inserted
quietly. “Their instincts are a lot better than ours when it comes to others.
Remember, Kaya knew Krys all of five minutes before attaching herself to him.”

That was a very valid point. In fact, that threw the
situation into an entirely new light, as it had been watching the bond between
Kaya and Krys that made Trev’nor want a dragon to begin with. They were such
amazing friends, such good partners, that it would make anyone want a dragon.

For the first time, Trev’nor decided to trust in another’s
instincts more than his own doubts. If this dragon thought they would be a good
pairing, then he wanted to believe that, and work to make it true. So he took a
deep breath for courage, or maybe just to fight down the butterflies in his
stomach. “Then, want to partner up with me?”

That considerable tail flicked back and forth in a happy
wag, and he raised his head long enough to give a very human-like nod.
“Partner. My partner.”

Trev’nor sat up enough to lean against that massive head and
breathe deeply. “Good,” he whispered against warm skin.

“Your habit of making snap decisions is going to scare ten
years off of me,” Nolan complained to him.

Not worried, Trev’nor just laughed and sat back. “It was the
right snap decision.”

“It usually is,” Nolan allowed, making a face, “but still.
Alright. I guess we need to think of a name for him?” Nolan confessed to the
dragon, “I have no idea how to translate your name into Chahirese. It’s very
long and complicated.”

This was the first Trev’nor had heard about him having a
name. Well, of course he did, the dragons’ had their own sense of naming.
“Really? How complicated?”

“Seriously, I have no idea how to even try. It has to deal with
a certain feeling of wind and air and sky that only Becca would probably
understand.”

The dragon’s eyes bounced between the two of them, only
partially following all of this. There was no way he had the right vocabulary
to understand. Trev’nor tried to break it down into simple terms for him.
“Can’t say your name. Too long. Can I give you one?”

Head canted, his dragon looked at him for a moment before
declaring. “Garth.”

Trev’nor blinked at him, not following. What did Garth have
to do with any of this?

“Name me Garth,” the dragon stated, then blew out a breath,
satisfied with his own words.

“Ahhh…” Trev’nor looked to Nolan, lost on why his dragon
wanted Garth’s name.

Nolan looked just as confused, so fell to Dragonese to ask
for an explanation. It must have been a good one, as he got that look on his
face that said he was going to start laughing any second.

“Nol?” Trev’nor prompted impatiently.

“This is good.” Nolan bit his lip but even so a chuckle
escaped. “Right, so, we’ve been mentioning Garth on and off for days, right?
Apparently he’s figured out that Garth is an older person that is wise, or at
least has a lot of authority back home. I explained Garth as a mentor and
teacher, but he’s taken his understanding past that. So, to him, Garth is a powerful
name and one that is suitable for him.”

“Garth,” the dragon maintained, growing stubborn.

“He won’t hear about any other name,” Nolan tacked on,
finally losing the battle and laughing outright.

“But that’s going to get really confusing,” Trev’nor
complained, although even he saw the humor in it. “I mean, how do we keep the
two separate? Magus-Garth, Dragon-Garth? My Garth, the other Garth?”

“I guess so.” Nolan shrugged, looking innocent, but he was
still laughing on some internal level. It was clear in his expression. “Either
way, he’s not changing his stance on this. You’re stuck with Garth the Dragon.”

It looked like he was at that. Well, Garth would likely get
a kick out of this later, when they finally did call home. Resigned, more than
a little amused, he faced his dragon and said, “Garth it is.”

Garth gave a contented purr and settled back down for more
scratches.

The man really was a legend in his own time. Even dragons
wanted to be named after him. Trev’nor looked forward to the day when he could
spring this surprise on his old teacher. “Nol, you are hereby banned from
telling Garth this over mirror.”

“And miss his reaction? Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Becca descended from the blue dragon’s claws with a small
sigh of relief. She truly enjoyed flying, no doubt about that, but her hair
kept flying into her face and there was only so much of that a girl could take.
She really had to come up with a method of keeping her hair secured that worked
more than five minutes. She patted the dragon on the leg as she descended.
“Thank you. Good flight.”

The dragon purred back at her, bumped her gently with her
nose, then took several steps back before taking off again. She was no doubt
hungry, after having carted Becca around for a good portion of the day. Becca
certainly was, as she’d skipped lunch entirely. They were coming up short on
foods to eat, but with a Life Mage in tow, she was certain that it wouldn’t be
a problem for long. All she had to do was find Nolan.

Due to common sense, she did not cook up in any of the
trees. For one thing, she didn’t want to set the whole forest on fire. For
another, she needed a ready source of water. After asking, the dragons pointed
her in the direction of a shallow depression near the water that shielded her
cookfire from the wind, while at the same time giving her the space she needed.
It wasn’t perfect, but no campfire ever was. It worked and that was all she
cared about.

Before leaving this morning, she had put several lines into
the river in the hopes of catching something. Really, the situation called for
a net, but she didn’t have one to use. She went there first to check but not
only was every line empty, there were a few that looked frayed at the end. She
eyed one of them suspiciously. “I think something is amok.”

“You would be correct,” Nolan answered, coming to squat down
next to her. “The fledglings figured it out this morning that fish could be
found here. The adults tried, but they’re sneaky when it comes to food. By the
time they caught them, they already had the fish in their mouths.”

She let out an aggravated growl. “Scamps.”

“You know, that’s exactly what the chief said?” Nolan
chuckled and shrugged. “The young don’t always do what they’re told. It’s part
of growing up.”

“The older ones don’t do it either.”

“Like us?”

“Like us,” she agreed. “Well, Nol, since you’re here, catch
me some fish.”

“That I can do.” He turned an intent gaze into the water.

Now that she thought of it… “Does this bother you? Luring in
animals to eat them.”

“It did once, when I was about six and I figured out where
the yummy meat on the table was coming from,” he answered almost absently. “But
really, to a Life Mage, plants have as much life force as any animal. Eating
vegetables and fruits only doesn’t make it any better for me. I had to learn to
be alright with eating both plants and animals because I couldn’t really
differentiate between the two. To do otherwise is a path to madness.”

“And starvation,” she observed practically. “How much of a
struggle was it?”

“I couldn’t hold anything down for about three days. But,
well, I got over it.” He shot her a quick grin. “For a six year old, cookies
can be a powerful motivating tool.”

That made her laugh. “I think that’s true at any age.”

“How many fish?”

“With Trev? Better give me six.”

“Six it—” Nolan cut himself off and glanced up. “Huh. It
looks like you didn’t need me after all.”

Before she could ask what he meant by that, her blue dragon
friend returned, settling gently some feet away from them. In her claw was a
fish the size of a man’s torso. She hopped forward and gently laid it in front
of Becca.

Becca was no fool. She knew good and well what this meant.
Still, she had to ask, “Nol, any particular reason why she’s feeding me?”

He had an enigmatic smile on his face as he answered, “I
think you know the answer to that.”

Yes, so she did. She didn’t really know what to do with it,
though. Swallowing hard, she did not give the verbal thanks that she normally
would have given but instead tried to emulate the dragon equivalent, one where
she cocked her head and peered upwards with a soft sigh.

This delighted the blue dragon to no end, her tail thumping
hard enough to leave cracks in the top of the rock. She stretched forward to
nuzzle against the top of Becca’s hair before bouncing once and taking off in a
flurry of wings.

Becca felt more than a little battered but she stayed her
ground, somehow, and regarded the fish with open amazement.

“You can’t find a better partner than her,” Nolan stated
quietly, still resting on his heels. “I asked around, and spoke to her several
times, and she’s one of the best fighters they have. She’s also one of the more
intelligent. If you’re looking for a partner that can watch your back, Bec, I
think you found her.”

She’d had a feeling for the past two days about this dragon
but still, the idea was a bit much to take in all at once. “I’m cooking dinner
and sleeping on this.”

“That’s fair. I’m glad at least one of you isn’t impulsive.”

That was an odd statement. She gingerly picked up the fish
and took it to the river to clean. “What do you mean?”

“Trev’nor partnered with a dragon about an hour ago.”

She nearly dropped the fish in the river. “He did what?!”

Nolan gave an eloquent shrug as if to say he had no part in
any of it, he was just the messenger. “I’ll let him explain it.”

“You talking about me?” Trev’nor sauntered up and viewed the
situation. “That is a huge fish. Good, I’m starving.”

“Trev, put your stomach aside for a moment and tell me how
this happened,” Becca demanded. “How did it happen? Your partnering?”

“First, what are we doing with this?”

“Fish stew and jerky. Only way to keep it all from
spoiling.”

“I’ll handle jerky if you handle stew,” Trev’nor offered.

“Deal. Now start talking.”

“Nolan flat out told me that Garth was hoping to partner
with me. And I realized that I had grown to like him over the past few days.
Honestly, Bec, we really can’t spend weeks and weeks getting to know every
dragon before picking one. I mean, human judgment isn’t always right in
choosing relationships. The dragons are better at it than we are. I chose to
trust his instincts.”

“You always make these snap decisions,” Nolan muttered to
the air in general. He took over the cleanup, which was only fair, as they were
the ones doing most of the cooking.

With her hands finally free, Becca looked at Trev’nor
squarely.

“You named your dragon Garth?”

“I didn’t name him that,” Trev’nor corrected her, “
he
named himself that. We tried to talk him out of it, honest, as it’s bound to
get confusing. But he’s adamant. He likes that name, and it’s the only one
he’ll answer to.”

Becca sat back and roared with laughter. “You are
not
allowed to tell Garth this without me present. The look on his face is going to
be priceless.”

“I bet it is,” Trev’nor agreed, rubbing his hands in
anticipation. “I swore Nolan to secrecy until we can see Garth face to face.
It’s going to be a complete waste to tell him this over mirror.”

“Truly.” Becca leaned over to stir the soup, but idly, as
the fire wasn’t hot enough to make the soup instantly burn. Putting the spoon
aside, she turned and crossed her legs, getting more comfortable. A thoughtful
frown tugged at her forehead. “I do admit, though, you make a valid point. I’ve
been struggling with the question myself because we have so many dragons that
want to go. But it’s the blue dragon that I’m the most comfortable with.”

“It’s been obvious to me and Nolan for a day now that you
two are a good match,” Trev’nor offered. “I don’t understand why you’re
hesitating, to be honest.”

“It’s more like, I need a little time for the idea to settle
before leaping.”

Nolan’s head came up and he said, “Be back in a few
minutes.” He promptly got up and left, heading for a cluster of dragons that
were staring hard at the Life Mage.

The newly partnered dragon swooped in and landed as
delicately as a feather touching to ground, which considering his size, was
amazing. He then went directly to Trev’nor and bumped him with his nose,
arranging it so that he was curled up with his human ensconced against his side.
Trev’nor indulged this selfishness without even a twitch and leaned back
against Garth.

“Welcome, Garth,” Becca said to him with the appropriate
dragon gesture to accompany. Or as close as a human could emulate. “We are glad
to have you with us.”

He of course didn’t know all of the words she said but the
sincerity came across just fine. Garth gave a happy snort. “My Trev.”

Becca nodded sagely. “Yup, just as bad as Kaya.”

Trev’nor rolled his eyes but didn’t deny it.

As they waited for dinner to finish cooking, they all
watched as Nolan tried and failed to extract himself from the group for the
umpteenth time. “You think you have it rough picking a dragon partner? Put
yourself in his shoes.”

Garth stirred and pointed with his nose dead ahead. “Her.”

Becca looked to where he pointed, but there was at least a
half dozen dragons that Garth could mean. “Which one? White, black, green?”

“White.”

“What about her, Garth?” Trev’nor lifted a hand to shield
his eyes from the setting suns.

“Nolan needs her.” Garth canted his head, thinking, then
rephrased. “She needs Nolan.”

Now that was interesting. Garth, of course, had been in
charge of the fledglings up until this afternoon, when he partnered with
Trev’nor. He would know the younger dragons very well, being one of the
guardians that raised them.

“Why?” Trev’nor pressed.

Garth hummed, thinking, probably trying to figure out how to
use what words he knew to explain. Finally, he offered, “No words.”

“No words?” Becca repeated slowly. “Do you mean she can’t
speak?”

“Speak?” Garth’s tone suggested he had an idea of what this
word meant but wanted to be sure.

“Words from me,” Trev’nor pointed to his own nose before
pointing to Garth, “Words from you. Speak.”

Garth’s head bobbed up and down a fraction. “No speak.”

“A mute dragon. Wait.” Becca twisted to get a better look at
her. “But I swear I heard her say Nolan’s name earlier.”

“She has,” Trev’nor confirmed, staring hard at the dragon in
question. “She hangs around Nolan often. In fact, I think this is the first
time I’ve seen her not at his side. She repeats his name all the time. Garth,
what do you mean ‘no speak?’ We heard her say words.”

“No dragon speak,” Garth explained patiently.

“Ahhh,” Becca breathed, enlightened. “She can’t speak the
way dragons can speak, so they consider her to be mute. But her vocal chords
work fine, obviously, so she can speak with Nolan easily. That’s why you think
he should pick her? Because she can’t talk with them anyway, so living in
Chahir will be easier for her.”

It made a great deal of sense. The dragons here understood
that Nolan would only be in Khobunter temporarily, that he would be spending
most of his life in Chahir. It had dismayed quite a few of them, as they realized
that they would rarely get to see a member of their own kind if they chose the
Life Mage. But with the white dragon, it wouldn’t be as much of a struggle for
her, as she could communicate better with humans anyway. It would also be a
bonus for her because if she did miss flying with other dragons, Nolan would
likely just go dragon and play with her. After all, Nolan looked for excuses to
go dragon all of the time.

“Likes Nolan,” Garth informed them.

“Good to hear.” Part of the mystery was solved, but… “What
do you mean by Nolan needs her?”

“Strong.” Garth opened his mouth, paused, and let out a
frustrated huff. Lifting his head, he turned to Nolan and asked a question in Dragonese.
“Ah. Strong fighter. Fast.”

True, out of all the mages, the Life Mages had the lowest
combat skill. That didn’t mean Nolan was defenseless, not by any means, but he
had to physically fight while the rest of the mages could do ranged fighting. It
put him into danger that led to injuries more often than not. To have a dragon
fighting at his side that was strong and fast would be a blessing for Nolan.
“That’s a good argument, Garth. You think Nolan will pick her?”

Garth got this look in his eye that said ‘
He’d better.’
 

Right. Becca and Trev’nor exchanged a look and silently
agreed right then and there that they were going to stay out of that little
discussion. Neither of them wanted to put themselves between a rock and a hard
place, no sir.

Nolan finally won free of his adoring crowd and plopped
himself down next to Trev’nor. “Becca, tell me dinner’s almost done.”

“Almost,” she agreed. “Meat’s not quite there, it needs
another few minutes. You starving?”

“Completely.” Wiggling about, Nolan looked at Garth from the
corner of his eyes. “Why are we talking about a certain dragon, hmmm?”