78. Southern Trouble (Patreon)

Happy New Year, dear readers! Hope your morning of New Year's Day isn't too rough on you!

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Six days after Barro had come and gone, late in the afternoon, I was gliding in, low over the trees, to land. I’d been looking at how the trees were turning yellow in spots. Summer couldn’t last forever, and I’d been wondering what fall and winter would be like here when I saw a thin smudge of smoke rising from the campsite by the gate.

I landed a short distance from the clearing, like I usually did, and sneaked the rest of the way in the cover of the trees, but my stealth turned out to be unnecessary. By the fire, grilling what looked like a rabbit or hare, sat Garal. Melon was wandering a couple dozen feet away from him, grazing on the thin grass. I grinned. He looked completely focused on his dinner, so I silently crept closer, circling around to approach him from behind. I left the trees. Closer, and he didn’t react. Closer. I was only a few feet away. I gathered myself to–

“Koh-ahp!”

Something small, though not very hard, bounced off my back. I whirled and looked at the pine cone on the ground next to me, then up in the trees where Rib was loudly laughing her butt off, then back to Garal who was grinning at me.

“If it helps,” he said, “I didn’t notice you until you were right behind me.”

I waited for Rib to climb down from her tree. She approached us with her arms wide, the same shit-eating grin I’d gotten used to plastered across her face as she said, “I win again!”

“Did you not see me pull a man’s head off?” I asked flatly.

“Yeah, but you like me.”

I snorted. It wasn’t like she was wrong. Something about her irreverence amused me.

“Where are the others?” Garal asked. “I was hoping to meet them.”

“Wait here. I’ll get them.”

I descended the grade, Rib coming with me despite what I told them, and willed the heavy double doors of the gate open with a touch. They had barely begun opening when I heard a choked, “Oh, gods!” and Ardek practically flew out the opening, running off into the trees with a hurried, “Good morning, Draka!”

“Poor guy has been about to piss himself for half an hour,” Herald said, strolling out after him and blinking in the sunlight. “Good afternoon, Draka.” she said, then looked past me and waved happily. “Rib!”

“Hey, Herald!”

Mak came out behind her sister. “Hello, Draka. Rib, any news from the city?”

“Yeah, but I’m just along to see where you all live. I’ll let Garal tell you. He’s busy burning a rabbit I shot,” she said, raising her voice loud enough for Garal to hear.

“I’m not burning it!” he called back from up the grade. “You just like them nearly raw!”

“I get that,” I said, turning to give Rib a nod. “Doesn’t that make you sick, though?”

She shrugged, and we all turned and started up. “Hasn’t so far. And meat tastes better rare.”

I nodded agreeably. “I like some char on the outside. Should be nice and bloody on the inside though.”

“Hah! Thought you might think so, dragon.”

I let the humans eat and catch up before we got down to the meat of it. For the Wolves it had been mostly business as usual, though they'd had to increase their patrols south because of increased bandit activity.

"That's one of the things we need to talk to you about," Garal told me before moving on.

Rallon's traitorous interrogator had been found floating in the harbour shortly after we'd left the city. The assumption was that the Blossom or one of her men decided that his past services didn't outweigh the risk of him getting nervous. The other guy who'd gone with him was still unaccounted for, but no one really expected him to be captured. If he was alive, and smart, he may not even be in the city any more.

Herald and Mak were of course disappointed that there was no message from Tam and Val. Garal and Lalia had checked at the inn, but the innkeeper denied that anything had arrived. Still, they all agreed that it was too early to worry, with the men being overseas.

"Did a guy named Barro come by this week?" I asked. It was early, if he even intended to help me, but it was worth a shot.

"Barro? The same Barro that Val used to run with? Haven't seen him for months. He used to come by, has some friends among the men, but Rallon doesn't allow outsiders in the barracks anymore. Uh, barring special circumstances, I suppose. Why?"

"He may or may not have a message for me. Don't worry about it."

"So you've decided to trust someone new?"

"It was that or kill him."

"I'm glad you didn't go with that option. Val will probably be, too."

"Yeah, that was part of it. That and he seemed genuinely trustworthy. Or at least the others said so." I nodded to Herald and Mak.

"You trust their judgement?"

"I mean, yeah? I haven't known them for all that long, but I don’t think they’ll steer me wrong. Not again."

I don't know if anyone else caught the look I shot Mak, but she looked away and wouldn't meet my eyes for a long time.

“I’m glad for that, too. You were… unsettling, back at the barracks. You seem better now.”

“What he means is you scared the piss out of my cousin and everyone else there,” Rib added seriously. “It didn’t get much better after you left, either. We know some people in the guard. We’ve heard what they found in that house on Cloud Street. That started with you chained up, did it? And you just butchered everyone inside.”

“Ardek and the housekeeper are still alive,” I protested.

“Yeah, well, I think cousin Rallon was worried that you’d gone feral. He was relieved after we all talked, but I don’t think he relaxed until he heard that you were out of the city.”

“But now he wants something, right?”

“Right,” Garal said. “He wanted me to be clear that he knows that it’s bad manners to call in a favour so soon after it’s been offered, but that’s what he wants to do.”

“And he sent us because he’s pretty sure you like us enough not to eat us if you felt insulted,” Rib added. “He might have sent Lalia instead of me, but…”

Garal grimaced. “I’d prefer if you didn’t suggest that my… friend?” He looked at me.

“Yeah, I guess,” I said.

“That my friend would kill and eat my sweetheart.”

“Nah, I wouldn’t do that. As long as she keeps her damn head cool.” I paused. “And anyway, I wouldn’t eat her.”

Garal frowned. “Well, it’s reassuring to hear that if you did kill my sweetheart, you’d at least leave something for me and her family to bury.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Fine, I’ll stop joking about killing Lalia. You know I wouldn’t. She says something without thinking, I threaten her, she backs off. That’s as far as it goes, alright? It’s our thing.”

“See, I keep believing that, but then you say something like, ‘I wouldn’t eat her,’ and the emphasis makes me uneasy.”

“Yeah, okay.” I sighed. “You have my solemn promise that I won’t kill, or even harm, Lalia. As long as she’s not actually trying to harm me or mine. Does that make you feel better?”

“A solemn promise from a dragon?” Garal looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled. “You know, yes! It does!”

“If we are done talking about my two closest friends killing each other,” Herald said impatiently, “what does Rallon need Draka for?”

“Well.” Garal leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “The bandit trouble in the south actually started about two weeks before the awful things that happened to you all. At first it was just reports from the far south, but it gradually crept north until our patrols began to find raided villages. These last two weeks, though, it’s gotten much worse. We’ve found several burned out hamlets and villages in just the last ten days, but we haven’t found any sign of who’s behind it. We’ve had some luck, though. Some of the survivors of one of the latest villages to be raided were retired soldiers, and according to them the raiders seemed far too organised and disciplined for common bandits. We suspect that is also why they’ve been so successful at avoiding our patrols and covering their tracks.”

“I’m guessing Rallon wants my help finding them.”

“That’s right. Rallon hopes that you, flying at night, may be able to find their camp, or camps, without being detected. Then we could strike them in force and wipe them out.”

“You say they’re too disciplined,” Mak said. “Do you think that they’re not actually bandits?”

“That’s the fear. Nothing has happened on the southern border yet, but the rhetoric is getting hotter and hotter. Lots of sabre rattling going on. Rallon and the council suspect that the Duke is using his cavalry, professional or irregular, to raid deep into Karakan’s territory. To weaken the city by disrupting the harvest or lower morale, most likely, since there’s little of value for them to take.”

I looked at my humans, then back at Garal. “Could you take in my people while I’m away? I don’t like the idea of leaving them out here.”

“Are we your people, now?” Herald asked. The words sounded like an accusation, but the tone didn’t match, and she looked pleased at the idea.

“If I have any people here, you’re it,” I told her, and she smiled.

“If they want to come, I’m sure that we can take them. And with you away there’s no reason for any real secrecy either.”

I looked at Ardek. “Can I trust you to stay put with the others?”

“I’m pretty sure that I was last seen leaving the Wolves’ barracks with two Tekereteki women. If I go back to the Blossom I’m a dead man.” He said it calmly, and with absolute certainty. “It’s only a question of how long my dying would take. I’ll keep well inside and away from any windows, don’t you worry about that, boss.”

“Good. Herald, Mak, would you be okay with it? Going back to the city and being cooped up in the Wolves’ barracks until I’m back?”

“I sure wouldn’t mind it,” Mak said. “As… nice as this all has been, I look forward to talking to some new people. Maybe playing some cards and having a chance to take an actual bath.”

Herald nodded along to her words. “I agree with Mak. I’ve enjoyed these two weeks, for the most part. But going back to Karakan, even for a few days, would be good.”

“Alright, that’s settled,” I said. “We can start packing up now if you two don’t mind travelling in the dark. Otherwise we’ll leave early as.”

“Night’s fine,” Rib said. “I’ve got my little helpers!” She pulled out one of her little vials and wiggled it eagerly, while Garal grimaced but ultimately agreed. I suspected that she was happy for any excuse to use those things.

“We’ll rest the animals while you pack up,” Garal said. “We have two horses but they’re lightly loaded, so if we walk them it shouldn’t be a problem.”

We didn't bring everything. Herald and Mak decided to just leave much of the camping gear, figuring they could afford to replace it if they had to and only taking favourite pieces, like a small pot that was 'just the right size.' For what, I didn't know. Then we were on our way.

Garal and Rib had only had a couple hours’ rest, having arrived a little after noon, so it was rough on them and their horses and we stopped frequently. In the end it was well after midnight when we arrived at the Wolves' headquarters, with me following the group in the shadows from half a mile before the city gates. Instead of going through the whole song and dance of clearing the bottom floor, where there were always people no matter the time of day, I was let into the same upstairs room as the first time.

Garal offered to send for Rallon immediately, but I asked him not to. Since I'd unsettled him so badly the last time we met, I figured some humility was in order. Of course, it probably didn't count as humility if it was a calculated attempt to manipulate him, but at least it would look good and he'd meet me after a full night's sleep.

I didn't expect my humans to come and keep me company, so I resigned myself to a boring rest of the night. Fortunately I was fantastic at napping, so I settled in on the floor, strategically placing myself behind the door in case someone tried to come in. I had barely closed my eyes when someone knocked on the door, opened it a sliver, and hesitantly whispered my name.

"Come in, Lalia," I grumbled, moving so that she could open the door and slip inside. Her hair was loose and she was unarmed and wearing only simple linen nightclothes, looking the most vulnerable and uncertain that I had ever seen her.

I sat up straight and looked down at her, waiting for her to speak. She slowly looked looked me up and down, then muttered, "Gods, you're fucking big now."

"You should have seen my father," I said dryly. I could vaguely remember him now, an impression of something black and sleek and so big that he seemed to fill the whole world. I'd probably been tiny then, though. Maybe the size of a cat.

As though she'd heard my thoughts, Lalia said, "The first time I saw you. When you… saved Garal. And, you know. Thank you for that, by the way. I don't know what I would have done if I lost him. You were about the size of a dog back then. You must be half again as big now, and it's been what, four months?"

"Something like that."

"How the hell are you growing so fast?"

"You want to know a secret?" I'm not sure what inspired me. Maybe it was her uncharacteristic lack of hostility, or maybe it was that I had actually heard the words 'Thank you' out of her mouth, but I felt an urge to be a little more open with her. Give and take, that kind of thing.

"It's not something you'll have to kill me over, is it?" she asked with a laugh that almost hid the seriousness of her question.

"Nah. Not unless you try to use it against me. But I don't think you will."

"So… what is it?"

I leaned in. She stood her ground admirably, and I whispered, “I’m not even close to full grown.” I pulled back with a grin.

"Mercies preserve us all…" she whispered back, and I saw fear and something like awe on her face as she imagined what the future might hold.

I let her think about that for a while, before saying, "Lalia. Why did you come here tonight? Did Garal ask you to?"

“Huh?” she said, still lost in her own imagination. Then she blinked once and said, "Garal, the sweet, protective ass that he is, didn't even tell me that you were here. But it wasn't exactly hard to figure out, with him and Rib returning with your little cult in tow."

"Not a cult."

"If you say so," she said, but her tone told me that what she meant was 'Keep telling yourself that.'

"Garal doesn't know that I'm here. I waited for him to fall asleep. He'd either try to stop me or come with, and I wanted to talk to you alone."

"Here we are. What did you want to talk about?"

“You. Me.” She sighed. “Mak and Herald.”

“So everything, then.”

“Pretty much,” she said, then went and sat in the only chair in the room, by the desk. “Two of my dear friends were taken and tortured because of their association with you, BUT–” she raised her voice a little and pressed on as I angrily started to protest, “–that is not your fault, and I admit that. They chose to be part of that mission. And you rescued them. Besides that, thanks to you they’ve made more money in these couple of months than they’ve done in the last few years.”

As nice as that was to hear, she clearly had more to say. I waited, not quite staring her down but waiting expectantly.

“So, alright, good and bad, yeah? But the thing is, it doesn’t matter how much I want… or maybe wanted, you gone. I think we’re stuck together. We have some people in common that neither of us is going to give up on. Herald fucking worships you and I know, not a cult! You know what I mean. She loves you, adores you, whatever. She’d be glued to your backside if you’d allow it. And Mak…” She frowned. “Whatever happened between Mak and you, she seems to think that she deserves it. I know that she’s not perfect, and I know that she’s had some worries about you, so maybe she did something properly dumb. It wouldn’t be the first time. But she’s firmly in your pocket, yeah? Or… you have no clothes, but on your team, at least. So that means that we, you and me, we’re gonna see a lot of each other. Especially since Rallon clearly wants to keep working with you.”

“Looks like.”

“Look, I’m sorry, alright? I get protective. There used to be two brothers and a sister between me and Lahnie, yeah? They’re gone. I don’t want to lose anyone else and I act without thinking. I know. It’s a problem. It gets me into trouble. And I’ve heard a lot of nasty stories about dragons, which don’t really match up to anything you’ve done. I’m sorry, yeah? That I gave you shit when maybe you didn’t deserve it. Just… keep them safe. Please? And I’ll try to be better.”

The first thing out of my mouth was, “Shit, you’re scared of losing people, and you fell in love with a merc?” which I immediately regretted as Lalia's face scrunched in anger. “Sorry! Sorry!” I said before she could open her mouth. “You’re reaching out and I’m being a big scaly bitch. You… probably don’t deserve that.”

I lay down on the floor instead of sitting up, so that we were more face to face. “Let me be clear. Herald is the most important person or thing in this world to me. I will sacrifice anyone or anything to protect her. That’s not something you want to hear. I understand that. But I think you deserve the truth. Other than that, I will defend Mak, Tam, Val, Garal… Hell, you, maybe even Ardek, as far as I can. Good enough?”

“I mean, yeah. Same for me, with Garal or Lahnie. If I have to choose, you know? I’d hate myself, but yeah, I get it.” She sighed. “Probably rather die, though, to be honest.”

I believed her. She had a record of putting herself between me and people she loved, and I had no doubt that she’d continue to put herself in harm's way if necessary.

“Alright. Here’s what we’ll do. You promise to try and be less of a bitch to me, and I’ll promise to do my best to keep Herald and Mak safe. And I’ll count to ten before I do anything if you do say something hot-headed, so you can walk it back. Does that sound good to you?”

She snorted softly. “That’ll work, yeah. But I didn’t miss that it looks like I’m the only one in the wrong here.”

“I mean…”

“Alright. Yeah, maybe.”

“For what it’s worth, I think I would actually like you if you just chilled out a little. So, you know. Do that. And I’ll keep in mind that it’s not me. You’re just being protective, and I can respect that.”

She smiled. “That sounds better. Do you want to, uh, shake on it?”

She looked doubtfully at my clawed hands on the floor. Just to see what she’d do, I held one out, claws carefully in, and after a moment’s hesitation she stood, walked up, and hooked her thumb and closed her hand around mine. I carefully closed my hand, and she closed her free hand over our clasped ones, then released her grip.

“I’ll go back to bed, then. But, you know, I’m glad I did this. Good talk.”

“Yeah, me too. Good night, Lalia.”

“Good night, Draka.”