But what place did she occupy in Vendevorex’s heart? Vendevorex never discussed emotion. He treated her kindly and was often smotheringly protective, but it wasn’t quite the same as affection. Did he think of her as his daughter? His apprentice? Or merely his pet?
Vendevorex asked, “Have you received any word, my lady, from your friends?”
“Not as yet. Be patient. These are delicate matters we inquire about.”
“Of course,” Vendevorex said.
“I’m sure things will turn in our favor,” Chakthalla said. “Albekizan has made many enemies over the years. If what you say is true and Albekizan does plan to kill all humans, we shall not want for allies. Thinning out the village rabble is one thing, but there are many others who feel as strongly about their darlings as I do about Pet. You, of course, understand the bond between a dragon and her best friend.”
“Of course,” Vendevorex said.
“My messengers will mention your name in their queries,” Chakthalla said, a tone of pride in her voice. “Vendevorex is a name that carries a great deal of weight.”
“And a great deal of liability. I am sure, my lady, that you use extreme caution as you speak my name. If Albekizan learns I am here, it will endanger your life and destroy our plans.”
“I assure you, I know who to trust,” Chakthalla said.
As Jandra looked away from Chakthalla, she saw that Pet had his gaze fixed squarely upon her. She looked down at her plate and stirred the spiced potatoes with her fork. She had little experience dealing with human males, but she had a strong suspicion of what Pet’s stare meant. Many dragons who kept humans as pets bred them. Pet certainly looked like a thoroughbred. Jandra felt relieved that she didn’t have a pedigree. No sense in giving Chakthalla ideas, especially since she wasn’t sure what Vendevorex would say to such a proposal.
After dinner, Vendevorex walked the halls of Chakthalla’s palace, lost in thought. Jandra followed close behind but he was barely aware of her. He was thinking of the solid stone walls of Albekizan’s abode. The king’s home was built for defense with high, solid walls, slits for windows, and guard towers in all directions. Chakthalla’s home was a much more open space. The elegant ceilings were roofed with wooden arches which would fall beneath the first catapult assault. Huge, decorative windows filled with tinted glass panes lined the upper halves of the rooms. When war came, the glass would fall like deadly rain. Chakthalla’s home was built for beauty, not for war.
“How much longer will we have to stay here, Ven?” Jandra asked.
Vendevorex’s brow furrowed at the question. He faced her and said, “For weeks, you’ve only expressed impatience at the slow crawl of the negotiations that brought us here. Don’t tell me you are in a hurry to leave.”
“I’m not,” she said. “But it’s been almost two months since Albekizan decided to wipe out the human race. I want to tackle our problems head on, take action.”
“Action and problems will seek us out. It’s foolish to invite them before their time.”
“You’ve been training me to fight,” Jandra said. She tightened her jaw and threw back her shoulders, looking as fierce as her five-foot tall, slender frame could manage. “I’m tired of sitting around waiting on all this letter-writing and spy games.”
“The history of the world is shaped as much by the exchange of letters as it is by the waging of war,” Vendevorex said.
“But there will be war, won’t there? Someone has to stand up to Albekizan.”
Vendevorex paused, contemplating her words. He found it difficult to believe Jandra was so hungry for war. He suspected she might have another motivation for wanting to know how long they would stay here.
“You seemed ill at ease tonight at dinner,” Vendevorex said.
Jandra shrugged. “Something about this place disturbs me.”
Vendevorex nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. But I need a safe place to gather my thoughts. We can count on Chakthalla’s loyalty. She despises Albekizan.”
“I don’t trust her,” said Jandra. “It sounds like she’s bragging to her friends that she’s sheltering you.”
“We can only have faith that her words will reach the right ears.”
“I think you trust her too far,” Jandra said.
Vendevorex analyzed the edge in Jandra’s voice. Annoyance? Jealousy? He wished he were better at understanding her moods. He knew that humans experienced a stage of development in the years following puberty characterized by unpredictable emotional swings. He tried not to think about it. There were more important worries.
“Well?” Jandra asked.
“What? Do I trust her too far? Obviously, I don’t believe so. That could prove suicidal. There are many, many secrets I keep from her-and from everyone.”
“Even me?”
“Even you,” Vendevorex said. He thought again of the ultimate secret he kept from her, then chased it quickly from his mind. She would never learn the truth of her origins. “But I see no reason to keep you in the dark,” he said. “My decision to come here was one made in weakness. I doubt that our paths will intermingle with Chakthalla’s for long.”
“What do you mean?”
“Now that I’ve spent time in Chakthalla’s company, I see that turning to her was a futile hope. Chakthalla is planning a rebellion the way she would plan a holiday picnic. It’s something she’ll invite a few close friends to for an afternoon’s diversion. None who stand with her have the wits to know what they are up against, or the strength of will to make their rebellion work.”
“But you stand with them,” Jandra said. “You have the wits and the will.”
“No,” Vendevorex said, shaking his head. “The situation has spun beyond my control. For too many years I’ve watched Albekizan in his ruthless quest for power. Indeed, I’ve helped him gain that power. I’ve killed for our king, Jandra. I’ve used my abilities to eliminate the very dragons who would now have the greatest chance of success against Albekizan.”
“You couldn’t know this day would come,” Jandra said. “You did what you thought was best at the time. You told me it was good for the dragons to be united under a strong king.”
“So I believed. It was certainly to my advantage.”
“How so?”
Vendevorex contemplated his answer. There were still many, many things he didn’t wish to reveal.
“No one in this kingdom knows of my past. I arrived seventeen years ago, a stranger to all. I used my status as an outsider to cultivate an air of mystery. I eventually made my way into Albekizan’s court. I was given respect, power, wealth: all things that had eluded me in my former homeland. As Albekizan’s power increased, so did mine. I always spoke freely with him, told him whenever I felt he grew too ruthless or cruel. This appeased my conscience. But I never made any move to stop him, nor did I ever refuse a share of the bounty of his conquests.”
Jandra looked confused. “Your former homeland… Where was it?” she asked. “How could it lie outside of Albekizan’s kingdom?”
“Ah, to be as innocent as you are now.” Vendevorex placed his fore-talon on Jandra’s shoulder. “Let’s just say the world was once a much larger place.”
“What do you mean?”
“Albekizan controls only a small sliver of this world, isolated geographically by mountains to the west and an ocean to the east. But beyond the mountains there are other lands. I was born in one of these faraway kingdoms. Sky-dragons there form families in much the way that sun-dragons do here. I was the youngest of seven brothers. I had little chance of ever inheriting land or power, and less chance of taking it forcefully. So I left, seeking my fortunes in the frontier beyond. It was the beginning of a journey that is now rather difficult to explain.”
“I can’t believe it,” Jandra said. “A whole world beyond the mountains? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“It never seemed important. I have good reasons for not discussing my homeland. But now, it seems, I have even better reasons to return to it.”