Puzzlement crossed Princess Anna’s face. Lord Kent’s smile slipped.
Kendra said to me, “Go out back. Stand well away from the building. Kill anyone who leaves by that door, and none will enter.”
When I didn’t move fast enough, she screamed, “Damon!”
My feet carried me at a sprint, dodging chairs and tables as I ran. The door crashed open as my shoulder struck it, and I turned, ready to defend it as she told me, but without any idea of what was happening. A timber lay in the dirt for walking on after the rains, and I propped it against the door so it wouldn’t open. The dragon sat on the roof and eyed me as I did what she asked. From the ground, I couldn’t see her folded wings, and from down on the ground, she resembled a huge, hungry frog.
“Hey, girl, remember me?”
She didn’t seem to. Then she reared up and screamed as she brought her forefeet down on the roof, splintering wood and caving in a section. Someone inside pounded on the door I’d barred, but the dragon tore aside a section of roof and disappeared inside the building, like a rat scurrying down a hole. There were more screams and cries, but none lasted more than a few seconds. The side-wall of the building crashed outward, then the entire building fell into a pile of rubble, the dragon standing in the middle.
I couldn’t see Kendra through the rubble and dust cloud. I raced forward. But she was safely on the street out front, waving to attract my attention. I pulled to a stop. The dragon stood taller and reared up on two hind feet again, bringing the front two down hard enough to pulverize the wood beneath them—as well as anything else under them. She used her mouth to tear apart boards and throw them to either side.
She nudged a pile away and snatched a pale blue mouthful, which was a dead Lord Kent and tossed him to join the other rubble she had discarded. Then she found the body of the mage. She shook her head back and forth violently, like a dog with a rabbit, and tossed it. The dragon returned to the patch of blue that had been Lord Kent and placed her right foot on it and shifted her weight until it flattened.
The dragon found the yellow that had been Princess Anna. I turned aside and allowed myself to spew sour vomit instead of watching. When I looked back again, the dragon lifted what was left of her limp body and threw it aside, too. The dragon roared in victory, and I covered my ears. It turned to Kendra, and my heart stopped as I thought it might attack her next, but it spread its wings and pumped them slowly a few times, almost hovering over the destroyed building, before flying higher and away.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Kendra stood alone in the center of the street and cried in the way a young girl who has seen her kitten torn apart by a pack of dogs might. There was nobody brave enough to go outside, yet, so the street was devoid of people. I charged across the broken boards and timbers that had been the building and wrapped my arms around her. She fell to her knees, dragging me down with her. And, as if her emotions were catching, I cried with her, long and hard.
When we stood, emotionally drained, a circle of quiet, respectful people surrounded us. A kindly woman handed me a white linen intended for a table. I dried my tears. Another came forward and placed her supporting hands on Kendra’s shoulders.
Not a word was spoken.
The crowd increased in size as more people ventured into the open.
Kendra stood on legs that seemed unable to walk and peered around. Our horses were safe, the other buildings in sight were intact, and now at least two hundred people stood in the street, many of them sailors, or dock workers. All were worried. Scared.
A few chairs and a table had been thrown into the street during the dragon’s rampage. Kendra pointed to the upturned table and motioned with her hand she wanted it upright. When a pair of men did it, she went to it and climbed onto it with her knees to get on top, then stood and made a full circle, looking at the faces, including mine. The crowd watched back, without any talking.
She said in a voice so soft it may have come from a child, “You all want to know what happened here. You deserve to.”
The crowd moved closer and more joined. We waited.
Her voice rose, carrying in the sea air, even to those in the rear, “Evil mages made our king sick. He was dying. The man inside that building looked like him and was probably a cousin or other relative. The mages used their magic to replace our king’s face on that man inside. He was going to pretend to be our king until Lord Kent sat on the throne in a few months, with Princess Anna, his queen. My brother and I were offered royal appointments to work with them.”
Grumbling grew in the crowd. They were angry with nobody and nothing to take it out on. Faces scowled, and more people arrived.
Kendra said, “Princess Elizabeth went to Crestfallen two days ago and will march here with an army at her back. She should arrive in three or four days. There are still mages who were involved in the attempt to kill your king, and there are spirits that exist out of physical bodies. I don’t know how to fight the spirits, but all the mages knew of this treachery and participated for their own gain. There is one more mage still in this city,” she pointed, “Off that way, three streets from here.”
Several angry people departed and headed in the direction she had pointed. Others edged closer to the table Kendra stood on.
One near the front cried out, “Who are you?”
“I am Kendra, a loyal servant of Princess Elizabeth’s. This is my brother, Damon.”
“People say you are the Dragon Queen,” another yelled.
She sighed heavily and shrugged. “You know what? People say I am, but I’d never heard of her until two days ago. And yes, it is true that the dragon that was here does crush buildings when I ask it to. I don’t know how or why.”
A few chuckled. A portly woman near the front asked, “Does the king live?”
“We don’t know. He was very ill six days ago, but I think that was because of the mages. He may be better, now. We will know when Princess Elizabeth arrives.”
“Are you going to kill all the mages?” a man asked as he held a fist into the air.
Kendra closed her eyes and staggered slightly. People moved to catch or support her if she fell, but her eyes opened again. “I hope the killing is finished.”
A seaman near the back shouted, “I saw mages boarding ships that sailed.”
That explained the four blips Kendra claimed had diminished. “Is there an inn?” She slumped to her knees before falling.
A man swooped her into his arms and carried her as if she weighed nothing. Another placed his arm around my shoulder and helped me stagger after them. Only a block away, we were taken inside a building and into a room at the rear. We were placed on the same sleeping mat and covered with a patched blanket.
I woke when Kendra moved. She asked, “Where are we?”
“An inn, I think. At the port.” After looking at the dark window, I said, “At night.”
She used most of the blanket to cover herself and went back to sleep. I gently tugged, pulled, and managed to get a third of it to my side before falling back to into a deep, exhausted sleep. When I awoke again, morning light streamed inside, and I was cold. Kendra had the entire blanket to herself.
However, I felt rested. Renewed. As the recent events swirled around in my head, a sense of pride overshadowed all. We’d accomplished remarkable things and perhaps saved a kingdom and a king. Now, if only I could manage to get partial ownership of an old blanket.
A gentle tap at the door alerted me. I opened it and found a round-faced woman with red cheeks grinning at me. She held a tray of freshly baked rolls and two mugs of milk still warm from the cow. Kendra woke to the scents and sat.