Chapter Twenty-Four
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The idea of ridin’ Iza again without Lucas was frightenin’ as well as exhilaratin’. The dragon’s glare as Delia and I approached her was less than welcomin’.
“If Aedwin and Asr were not such kind bein’s, I would never consider this,” Iza hissed.
Her head swung toward me like the killin’ arm of a trebuchet. I couldn’t help but flinch, which drew back the dragon’s teeth in a smile that made her look a thousand times more menacin’.
“If ya cannot help them, I may drop ya both into a crevasse somewhere on the way back.”
Lucas slapped her neck which drew a deep-chested growl, but the dragon didn’t appear overly animated by the human’s reprimand. “Stop it, or they’ll think ya’re a horrid thin’,” he said.
“They should know I’m capable of doin’ what I promise.”
A smile creased Lucas’ lips, but it didn’t ease my mind. I remembered her threat to snap me in two. Wasn’t the kind of thin’ anyone could enjoy imaginin’, or quickly forget. But the dragon had to have redeemin’ qualities, or the human wouldn’t have accepted her—surely.
“Forget the ogre,” Iza said. “I’ll take the witch.”
Lucas shoved the monstrous head of the creature. It was evidently a teasin’ game between the two. “I’ll watch Ike. Aedwin and Asr need the both of ’em.”
Iza growled softly as I climbed up her shoulder. Extended my hand to help Delia up. She was givin’ the dragon her own version of a glare. Maybe sharper than the dragon’s.
I held Delia’s arm tightly as she shifted to settle between two neck ridges in front of me. Iza and Taiz’lin love launchin’ when I’m not ready. But the dragon evidently offered human women a reprieve from that kind of treatment.
“Have ya heard from Syl yet?” Lucas asked Iza.
“He and Kyn are still tourin’ the outlyin’ settlements and clans to find if the illness has spread.”
Lucas handed the bag of herbs up to me. I tensed every muscle expectin’ the dragon to go to the air the moment I leaned over. I snatched the shoulder strap and lurched back to my position of safety. Iza hissed a deep rumble of satisfaction. Evil creature.
“Give ’em my best wishes,” Lucas said.
He patted the dragon’s shoulder one last time and backed away. Iza shifted her weight, but hesitated. I know it was just to tease me. She’s a sinister creature.
“Why do ya hate me so much?”
The dragon trumpeted with amusement as she launched.
After a few moments I relaxed. The dragon took long strokes that provided a much more comfortable ride than I’d experienced atop Taiz’lin. There was no screech of terror from Delia. There was no need for terror. I wouldn’t have screamed that first time either, if the dragon had been as gentle. Even though Iza was forced to leap sternly vertical to stay out of the trees, she angled up gradually from there. I found myself lookin’ over Iza’s shoulder at the ground, enjoyin’ the view.
Leanin’ forward to see, my shoulder pressed against Delia’s back. The human’s contact sent shivers through my body. If only she was an ogre hen. There’s no future between us, but I could appreciate her friendship, though she’s a quarrelsome sort. Almost as ornery as Iza. Must be a female thin’.
I couldn’t reconcile the jealousy I felt over Lucas before. He showed interest in Delia, but not overly so. Delia watched over the man with diligence when he was sick, but didn’t show any particular fancy for him either. They would nonetheless make a better couple. Both small, even in human proportions. Fairly tranquil of spirit.
“Lucas is a fine sort, isn’t he?” Delia said.
My heart sank, despite the eastern slip of Black Lake comin’ into view. The early sun shined off its breeze-roughened surface. The glimmer between the waves looked like an artist’s fancy. Focusin’ on the beauty didn’t help. Lucas and Delia were of the same race, I reminded myself. Natural way of thin’s for her to be attracted to another with no proper snout.
“I suppose he is. Cares about his people.”
“Ike is dedicated to him,” she said.
“And he’s a good judge of character it seems.”
“Comes on a bit strong. A sarcastic mouth on him.”
“Humans do have a lip on ’em,” I said.
“I meant Ike,” she snapped.
“Well, Lucas and Ike are a bit two of one kind.”
“Lucas has always been perfectly polite around me,” she said.
The conversation was not goin’ any direction I wanted to follow. I leaned back as though some sight had caught my eye, hopin’ she’d let the topic end there. Ten minutes later I wished I hadn’t encouraged the interruption, for I missed her voice. Not a melodious one—a little too high, but I guess about right for such a delicate creature. But hearin’ her speak her mind gladdened my heart in an odd way. She could have been raised by ogres. Almost. Just natural orneriness, I suppose.
The minutes passed. We crossed the western edge of the Hamlet, which drew Delia’s excitement. I sensed questions, but she kept them to herself. I grappled with a way to restart our conversation. Between me and a cold stone, the stone had a better chance of amusin’ the human hen—woman.
The enormous peaks north of the Hamlet rose dramatically. Iza winged hard to ascend, and the air turned bitterly cold. It nipped at my toes and ears, so I know it had to be hard on Delia, but she remained quiet. Such a stoic creature.
The northern cliffs fell straight down. Subsequent peaks were older, rounded, less majestic, but held a beauty of their own. I knew we neared Ike and Lucas’ lair, where we would find our next two patients. Iza stopped even her occasional thrusts and soared, until dippin’ her wings and divin’. I searched the granite peaks.
Iza circled in an ever-tightenin’ spiral when I finally caught sight of the broad sunnin’ platform. A brown and a tan dragon, Aedwin’s Tae, and Asr’s Tir, waddled out from a crease in the stone. Their heads swung back and forth. I could imagine them trumpetin’ a welcome, but the sound was lost across the mountain tops.
“Bulls worry too much,” Iza said.
I sensed her disdain. But her siblings are no more emotional than the queen. She just channels her emotion into anger. It must give her an outlet, blamin’ me and Ike for Lucas’ illness. The thought made me smile. She’s ornery enough without an excuse to be more cross.
The dragon thrust downward. Delia emitted somethin’ between an eek and squawk, which in some way, made me feel better about my own dragon-ridin’ reticence.
The bulls’ trumpetin’ below reached us, as did the echoes from the gorges below. It created quite a stir. If there was anyone within tryin’ to sleep, it woulda become a frustratin’ undertakin’.
Iza still glided forward with considerable velocity when she touched down on the flat granite. I gripped the neck ridge in front of me tightly and dug my knees into her hide. I fell forward against Delia with enough force to worry about hurtin’ her. She screeched. The sound of claws grindin’ across stone filled my consciousness. The dragon slid across the granite face until she slammed into the two bulls, knockin’ them into a swirl of wings and tails.
I looked out across the sea of fur-covered sails, and barked a laugh I didn’t expect. The two dragon bulls scrambled to right themselves. The queen fluttered, strugglin’ to gain her composure. So the elegant queen dragon isn’t too good to err durin’ a landin’.
Wind cuffed my vest, thrust my dreads across my face, and blowin’ grit made it into an eye. So she had another kind of excuse. The crosswinds in the peaks are murder.
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