“Ah. If you are free then you can leave his service at anytime.”
“I suppose. But…”
“But?”
“I don’t know where I would go.”
“Ah.” Pet nodded. “That is a problem, isn’t it? He has you bound by ignorance of the world. This shackles you far more effectively than iron.”
Jandra thought about Vendevorex’s revelation of lands beyond the kingdom. Had he kept her in the dark to limit her possibilities? Who knew what lay beyond the mountains? Perhaps there were places where humans ruled dragons. That would certainly explain his reluctance to discuss them.
“I won’t say that Vendevorex has me in shackles,” she said. “But it bothers me the way he’s always keeping quiet about his plans. He just announces our next move and expects me to follow. He never consults me.”
“It’s the way of dragons,” said Pet. “They can never consider humans as equals. Asking a human for advice is as absurd to them as us asking a dog what the weather will be like.”
Jandra nodded. “I must admit, you surprise me. You seemed so subservient to Chakthalla. I just assumed you let her do all your thinking for you.”
“I make her think she does all my thinking for me. In truth, I’m the sole master of my fate, fair Jandra. Humans are dealt a very bad hand. In the villages, men struggle to survive. Some become comfortable but none may become wealthy. The only humans to gain a semblance of power are the prophets that seem to grow like mushrooms after floods and plagues. But what do prophets do with their prestige? Wage war against the non-believers in the next village who are following their own prophet. In the end, there is little profit in prophecy.”
“No,” she said. “I suppose not.”
“But to live among dragons is a far different fate,” Pet said. “As a favorite of a dragon I am showered with jewels. I sleep on sheets of silk; I drink from cups of gold. All Chakthalla asks in exchange are a few tricks and a sympathetic ear.”
“It sounds attractive when you put it that way,” Jandra said. “But still, to be a pet… Have you no pride?”
“I take pride in a job well done,” Pet said with a slight bow. “I’m an actor, a singer, an acrobat, a poet, a master of diverse arts and talents. I think of Chakthalla as my patron rather than my keeper.”
“But Chakthalla owns you,” Jandra said. “You don’t have freedom.”
He shrugged. “A vastly overrated commodity. Do I want the freedom to be poor? Do I want the freedom to tear my food from the hard earth, to struggle daily to endure? No. This way is better. As Petar I could pursue nothing but daily toil. As Pet I can pursue the finer things in life. Beautiful women such as yourself, for instance, are found only in the courts of dragons.”
“Please,” Jandra said, rolling her eyes. “I’m not beautiful.”
“Oh dear. He doesn’t tell you, does he?”
“Doesn’t tell me what?”
“Vendevorex never tells you how lovely you are.”
Jandra lowered her head. “No. He doesn’t.”
“Dragons know nothing of human hearts. The loveliest woman never sees her own beauty with her eyes until she sees it with her heart.”
Jandra sat quietly, contemplating his words. Beautiful? Pet was beautiful. Bodiel had been beautiful. She was just plain. Wasn’t she? She felt slightly dizzy at the possibility.
“I think,” she said, “I should go back to my chambers.”
“Why?” Pet asked.
“I’m tired,” she said though she wasn’t. She was nervous for reasons she didn’t quite understand, but she couldn’t tell him that. “It’s been a long day.”
“Vendevorex will expect you to sleep in his quarters?” Pet asked.
“I suppose,” she said. “I normally do.”
“Do you always do what he wants you to do?”
“I don’t sleep there because he wants me to. I sleep there because we’re on the run. Where else am I to sleep?”
“My chambers. I have the most wonderful bed. The moment your body touches it, I guarantee you will be in ecstasy.”
“Oh,” she said. “I, um…”
“There are many areas in which a person may be shackled by a lack of knowledge,” Pet said slyly. “I have a key. I can teach you many things. Open doors to worlds you haven’t even dreamed of.”
Pet’s gaze met hers and held it for a long moment. She found his stare most unsettling.
“I should… should go now,” she said. Yet her body didn’t seem to agree. It remained frozen on the window ledge, her lips parted, her eyes fixed on his deep emerald eyes. With effort, she turned away, looking back over the fields. The moving mass she had seen in the distance was much closer now, practically at the castle walls. It no longer looked like a herd of cattle. What was going on? Then she noticed a score of lights in the sky, moving more erratically than stars. She focused upon them and could see the dark shapes of sky-dragons above. They swooped closer and she saw that the lights came from small iron pots dangling from chains.
“Oh no,” she said.
She spun around and jumped from the window. She landed, to her surprise, in Pet’s arms. He lowered her to her feet, his face only inches from her own. Then, without warning, he lowered his lips to hers. She’d never been kissed before. She stood there, stunned, all but paralyzed with the shock of it. He smelled wonderful. Pet wrapped his arms around her. She noticed how well her body fit against his. Could this really be happening?
A voice in the back of her head kept yelling that she had more important things to attend to at the moment, and at last she listened to this voice. She summoned the strength to push Pet away.
“There isn’t time for this! I’ve got to get to Vendevorex!” she said.
“That’s your fear speaking, fair one,” he said, his voice a gentle coo. “It’s not the voice of your heart.”
“No! You don’t understand!”
Pet grabbed her by the arms and kissed her again. She struggled but his strength was far greater that hers. This time it wasn’t even mildly pleasant. She beat at his back with her clenched fists.
At last he broke the kiss, pushing her away, but not letting go of her arms, “I apologize. Your beauty has caused me to lose all caution. I’ve pushed you too far, too fast. You’re scared. You’re young, confused by the stirrings in your body, confused by the burning in your soul.”
“It’s not my soul I’m worried about!” she snapped, but her words were drowned by the beating of wings. Light bright as day flashed through the window. A burning cauldron crashed against the far wall then clattered as it bounced around the room, throwing flames in all directions.
CHAPTER TEN: WAR
The flames spread across the far wall as the iron pot rolled to rest. A river of flames spilled down the steps, cutting off their exit. The stone stairs hissed and popped as the flames ate at them.
“Don’t breathe the smoke!” Jandra shouted, grabbing Pet’s arm and pulling away from the flames. “It’s poisonous!”
“It’s burning the rocks in the walls!” Pet yelped.
“It’s called the Vengeance of the Ancestors,” Jandra said, letting go of Pet. She studied her surroundings. “It burns rock, wood, even water. Everything but iron.” The only way out was the window. She leapt up to grab the ledge then scrambled quickly up the rough stone. Once perched in the window she leaned down and extended a hand to Pet.
“How do you know about this?” Pet asked, taking her hand.
“Vendevorex invented it,” Jandra said as she helped Pet climb onto the ledge next to her. “At least the wind is blowing in our favor. We’ll be safe from the smoke in here. You know this castle better than me. Isn’t there another window below us? Maybe twenty feet?”
“Y-yes,” he said, not taking his eyes from the flames.
Jandra studied the flames as well, trying to guess how much time they had. The Vengeance burned thoroughly but it burned slowly when dense materials like stone were its fuel. Even though it had splashed over half of the room, it would take a long time to spread to this wall. Unfortunately, the Vengeance had ignited the wooden roof beams that now burned with conventional flames. The breeze from the open window that kept the worst of the smoke away also fueled the fire that devoured the beams. The thick wooden shafts supported the tall, thin metal spires that topped the towers. It wouldn’t take long before it all collapsed on top of them.