Tanner waited. He knew better to interrupt. The eyes of Carrion looking through those of the dragon could see more of the landscape in a few moments than Tanner could in a ten-day period.
Carrion’s eyes returned to normal, and he said, “Ahead is a small valley. Beyond that is the road to Racine. We’ll camp there tonight. I still have work to do.”
Tanner nodded. “How far?”
“We’ll be there long before dark.”
Carrion moved through the forest like a blade cutting water. He deviated little and left no evidence of his passing. Tanner tried to emulate him, but the man was a master. The best he could manage was to use his youth and stamina to keep up.
They reached a small crest and through the trees spread a small valley with no signs of habitation. A stream cut down the near side. Carrion unerringly guided them to a small clearing where the water flowed over rocks and instantly soothed Tanner. The day had been one excitement after another. He unrolled his blanket and started to lie down.
“Not yet,” Carrion said. “Gather firewood for tonight. I’d help, but I have to work.”
Tanner watched with a bit of jealously as Carrion closed his eyes as he reached out for his dragon. Tanner moved around, gathering first rocks from the edge of the stream to bank a fire pit, then enough wood for a fire. He kept a close watch on Carrion.
There were ripe huckleberries. Tanner picked them, gathering them into a makeshift basket from one of the pennants.
Carrion sat up. “The monastery is burning. The red had to spit on that great door you barred, and then it pushed in part of a wall. A torch ignited the door. The wood on the crates caught as soon as the dragon spat on them. Then the whole building went up in flames when the roof beams caught.”
“They’ll bring in more supplies. This will only delay them.”
“We’re not done, yet. The red is on his way to Shrewsbury.”
“I’d forgot that.” He handed Carrion the berries.
“Always liked these. Tart and sweet at the same time. Like me.”
“You’ll be careful at Shrewsbury, right?” Tanner hung his head and continued, “Never mind that I said that. I know you will.”
CHAPTER SIX
Carrion directed his attention through the eyes of the dragon again while Tanner built a fire. They didn’t talk. Tanner watched closely, wondering what it must be like to see the ground from so high up. Not like standing on a mountain because everything below must move. The perspective would change. Did dragons really have the eyesight people said? Could they see the smallest creatures from so high up?
The questions kept coming. Did Carrion feel cold if the dragon did? He didn’t know, but decided to ask about that and several other things. Did they feel hungry together? If so, Carrion should weigh twice as much because dragons are hungry all the time. A fly landed on Carrion’s cheek. Tanner casually brushed it away instead of trying to kill it.
The fire burned cheerfully, and Tanner warmed his hands. He sat near a campfire enjoying himself and the warmth while a dragon was about to burn an entire town to the ground. His hands withdrew from the fire as if of their own accord.
Carrion said in a monotone, his eyes still blank, “The red just made his first pass over the pier. There are no ships in port and nobody on the pier. There’s a lantern burning at the foot of the pier. Before anyone can move it, we’re going to start the fire and then spread it.”
Tanner waited. There was no need to distract Carrion by responding.
“My red dragon spat onto the foot of the pier and missed the lantern. It’s circling around for another pass. Okay, it hit the flame that time. The pier is on fire. People with buckets of water are rushing to put it out. They’re too late. The red just spat again, and the fire moved like an explosion, expanding to the middle of the pier in flames higher than the tops of houses. Now the red’s flying to the other pier.”
Tanner held his breath, imagining what was happening. The people must be wondering why the dragon would attack the pier. He was thinking of what would happen if one of the nearby green dragons showed up to investigate. They needed to burn the town and leave the area.
Carrion said in his monotone voice, “The red flew low and fast right at the crowd of people. They scattered. It spat at four buildings on that pass. One is already burning. The red’s coming around again. Now there are three buildings in flames and everyone is running away from the waterfront.”
“Good,” Tanner muttered.
“It looks like the rest of the buildings are catching fire one at a time. I think everyone in the whole town is gathered in a group near the road. That is, everyone but those who are in the buildings down near the breakwater. I have not seen any of them. We’re going down there now.”
A longer silence ensued. Then, just as Tanner was going to ask what was happening, Carrion said, “All three buildings down there are burning. The people that were in them are moving up the hillside, but they’re going slow. They must have been drugged more than the others. One of those buildings had over fifty people, like a military barracks. They are so drugged; they don’t even understand they’re in trouble if they don’t get clear of the flames.”
Tanner held his breath. They wanted everyone to get clear, but knew from the beginning that might be impossible.
Carrion continued, “Okay, they turned and headed into the forest and made it out. Now we’re flying over Shrewsbury again. Nothing across the road is burning yet, so we’re going down and take care of that.”
Carrion suddenly twisted and turned, grabbing his lower leg as he howled in pain.
Tanner said, “What is it?”
“An arrow. It hurts. Don’t worry, the rest of the town is on fire, but I’m bringing the red here.”
“Here?” Tanner sat straight up.
“We have to get the arrow out, or it’ll fester. It hurts. ”
Tanner didn’t know what to do. First Carrion reacted as if he had an arrow in his leg. That told the extent of the mental contact. Carrion did feel whatever the dragon did. “Should I put the fire out so he can land?”
“No. We’re going to use it to guide us to this place. By the time we arrive, it’ll be dark, and he can’t see well in the dark.”
A dragon flying into his campsite. Tanner had seen dragons from a distance, usually when they flew over, but the total number of dragons he had seen up close in his life could be counted on one hand. He glanced at the small clearing. There was not room for a dragon to land. The wings would hit the trees.
He leaped to his feet and searched the surroundings. Nor far downstream a wide open area stood at a bend in the stream. Only a few trees stood, all of them small. Tanner pulled his knife, wishing he had brought one of the short swords from the monastery with him. Still, the blade of his knife was longer than his hand.
He ran to the nearest of the trees, pine, and used the blade to slice downward as one hand held the handle, and the other pushed the blade. The soft wood cut in a long slice. He cut another slice and another, then reached up and took the top of the tree in his hand and pulled. The trunk snapped and fell to one side.
He went to the next tree and repeated the process. He didn’t need to cut the trunks all the way through, only enough to break when he used his weight to bend them. The few trees turned into ten, and the area was still not clear enough for a dragon to safely land. He cut ten more and surveyed the area.
Dragons were not that large, but their wingspan needed a clear area, and they were huge. He worked on clearing more, despite fatigue. The sun was down and darkness falling fast. He glanced up to find Carrion on the other side of the clearing cutting down more trees. I guess it was not big enough.