Soandel had already tried abduction and plain old murder, but that didn’t mean he, or whoever he might be in cahoots with, wouldn't try character assassination. Considering what I was and my people’s reputation, that probably wouldn’t be too hard if they put their minds to it. Thus, I decided to set out to look as helpful and generally benign as possible.
I got off to a good start. As we were talking in the cellar about what I could possibly do to become a beloved fixture in the city, the cry of “Dragon! Dragon!” went up in the common room above us, loud enough that we already had the cellar doors open when Sana threw the upstairs door open and shouted down, “The dragon! The giant bloody—”
She looked at me in horror and blurted, “I mean the other dragon’s here and I’m so sorry Lady Draka!”
“She is bloody giant! You’re good!” I called back to her as I squeezed out the doors and threw myself skyward like a missile.
There she was, circling the city at two or three thousand feet; she was big enough that it was hard to tell. She was relaxed, waiting for me in absolutely no hurry — that was easy enough to see from the way she beat her wings. Easy enough for me, that was; the poor humans only saw a bloody great dragon circling them and did what humans always do. In various combinations some screamed, some ran for cover, and some stood still and pointed and Oooh’d and Aaah’d.
But! Here came the friendly local dragon, taking to the sky in their defense! I gave them my best roar as I clawed myself higher and higher, climbing at an angle that was really more effort than it was worth, but which I hoped would look good.
I’d already planned to use my mother checking in on me as an opportunity to work on my image. I knew that she would; I had no doubt that she followed through on everything she said she’d do. I’d expected her to take a little longer than three days, but I couldn’t fault the old girl for worrying about her fiercely independent daughter. Besides, arriving when she did was great timing on her part, especially the time of day. It was a few hours after sunrise; the streets were still busy, the markets crowded, and with the rains only a few days gone, people were enjoying the sunshine that they’d been missing for the past three to four weeks. We had quite an audience.
Embers saw me coming, casually banking and spilling some wind to intercept me. “Greetings, Mother!” I called in my best Draconic. As we got close I felt Instinct tugging at the mental reins. I shared them with her, and we continued past Mother and did a wingover, diving on her as she continued at a placid pace. “Chase me!”
We swooped on her, close enough to have been suicide if she didn’t care for me so much, and she juked out of the way. “What are you doing?” she asked. She sounded annoyed, but when I caught a glimpse, her eyes were laughing.
“Amusing the humans,” we said as we harried her. “All is well. Chase me north! I will explain once we are away!”
We didn’t wait for an answer. We took off north, sure that she’d follow, heading in the direction of the lake and making sure to pass over the Parvions’ farming estate. With any luck, Onur would look up and remember what we represented, and how badly he’d fucked up.
We could have talked to Embers in the air and returned to the city quickly, but decided to enjoy the clear sky for a bit. We continued all the way to the lake, setting down in the campground, which was thankfully unused; Instinct didn’t care one whit, but I’d’ve felt a little bad if someone lost their gear or horses when we and our mother scared the piss out of them.
“You promised an explanation, daughter,” Embers said, walking down toward the water. We followed at a trot to keep up with her.
“It is nothing complicated. Some of the Council have taken a dislike to me. I want to make it hard for them to do anything against me.”
“Ah. And so you will save them from the awesome newcomer?” she asked, eyes narrowing shrewdly. “Better the dragon you know than the dragon you do not?”
At the water’s edge she stuck half her face below the surface, and we watched in barely disguised horror as she drank the mucky stuff in great gulps. Even Instinct had too refined of a palate for that except in emergencies. “Right…” we choked out, forcing down our distaste. Lake water? Disgusting! There were things living in it, doing all kinds of things! “That was the idea. I considered asking you to let me chase you off—”
She cut me off with a chuffing laugh.
Instinct bristled, but we tried not to be too offended. “I thought you might not go for that. And you are probably right to laugh. It would not have been believable. But they have seen me lead you away before, so I figure I can tell them I tired you out or something similar. It does not really matter. All I need is for the people to see the small, friendly dragon go up and make the big, scary dragon go away.”
She looked at us directly, searching for something. I wondered if we’d messed up, if we’d been too human and stoked her worries again or made her suspicious. But then her eyes laughed. “You are strange,” she said fondly, “but shrewd. You think in strange ways, and I cannot say that I do not think it will serve you. At least with the humans. You still need to learn how to behave around dragons, or you will not see your second century—”
“I would not have swooped on anyone but you the way I did!” we protested.
“I should hope not! I could have killed you four different ways on your first pass! But no, I think you are clever enough not to put yourself at risk like that. It is your speech, and your other behavior that worries me.”
Our heart sank. We expected her to demand that we come with her back to Old Mallin for another few days of lessons. But then she lowered her head and nuzzled us then said, “But we have plenty of time for that. It is good to see you well, daughter. I shall go now, and search for a place to rest closer to your father’s lair. Expect me again in a few days, or fly over the mountains to the west of here if you wish me to find you earlier.”
“Oh!” we said, rubbing our head on her neck as we recovered from the pleasant surprise. “I will. I’ll… see you in a few days, then?”
“Yes, you will,” she said, leaving no room whatsoever for any doubt. No matter where we were, we would be seeing her in a few days. It might as well have been written in stone at that point. And we could use that.
We decided to push our luck. “Mother?”
“Hrrm?”
“Maybe next time, could you roar a little? Maybe breathe some fire in my general direction?”
She gave another huffing laugh. “Perhaps! If I am not too tired. It is amusing to terrify the humans, after all. They frighten so easily. Be well, now!”
With those somewhat ominous parting words, she took off, leaving us to hope that we hadn’t made a terrible mistake.
We took a long time returning to the city. It wouldn’t do for the humans to think our chase only lasted an hour, and I saw no reason not to let Instinct enjoy herself flying. Once back, we spent a while circling and roaring triumphantly, announcing ourselves, hoping to really sell our “victory” to the people. Then I took back full control, with only minimal grumbling from Instinct, and did what any self-respecting hero would do: I landed in the Forum and made an announcement.
Sitting before the Palace steps, I raised my voice — and with my size and my advancements, I could get loud. “Good people of Karakan! Do not fear! I have led the dragon Sower of Embers, Reaper of Flames away to the mountains, exhausting her and forcing her to return to her lair to rest. And I will do the same anytime she returns! So long as I am here, Karakan shall not join the cities she has laid to ruin!”
Perhaps I laid it on a little thick with the theatrics. I put on my best heroic bearing and tried to sound serious and dramatic, using all my considerable experience from two school plays. The response from the small crowd was mixed: some fearful stares, some confusion, a decent bit of scattered cheering. It was all fine. People had seen me get rid of the dragon, and word would spread. Whatever Soandel and his cronies might say, there would always be those who said, “But she got rid of the Reaper, though!” Combined with the rumors the Council had spread on my behalf, and their public endorsement, I should be able to stay ahead of any potential defamation campaign. And if they didn’t even try, so much the better! I wouldn’t mind being respected or adored by the general public.
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I didn’t sit around and wait for the Palace to respond. Once I’d made my declaration, I took to the sky again to a smattering of applause. It left me feeling all warm and fuzzy, despite everything; stories about terrible dragons were a mainstay around the Sarey, but they were just that: stories. When faced with a choice between living in fear of a creature you can’t do anything about, or cheering that same creature when she tells you that she’ll keep you safe, plenty of people preferred the latter.
Then I got to doing what I’d initially planned for my PR-campaign, if you could even call it a plan. All I did was fly around the city, staying visible. I wanted people to get used to me. I wanted it to be a normal thing to see a dragon fly past above your home or your shop. Every so often I’d land somewhere, at the docks, or in a square or market, somewhere with lots of people, and I’d just… be there. I didn’t approach anyone or make any declarations. I didn’t offer anything or make any demands. I mostly looked at things, really. Market stalls and statues and architecture, that sort of thing. It was nice. I hadn’t really had a chance to do that before. I’d snuck around, and I’d flown openly above the city, but I hadn’t ever just looked at things like a normal goddamn person. I hadn’t interacted with the city and its people.
They had takeout! Big wok-like things full of stirfry that they served out a long window with a raised shutter in wooden bowls, with your choice of grains or some kind of short noodles. Months in the city, and I’d had no idea.
Not that I did much interacting now, either. One benefit of being a giant bloody murder-lizard is that no one tells you to piss off, but it also doesn’t lend itself to casual conversation. Most people kept their distance, backing off or getting out of my way or even abandoning their stalls as I approached. One of the stir-fry guys looked like he was in shock and offered me a bowl.
I told him that I was watching my figure, and he took it back with a silent nod. Someone behind me laughed. I counted it as a small win.
I kept at it all day. Then I went home and spent the evening with my family, and the next day I did it all over again. I had more time, so I visited some new places in between going back to ones I’d already been.
This time, a few people actually dared to greet me. I greeted them back.
Up in the sky, where no one could see my face, I might have been tempted to have a little cry. A happy one. I didn’t, but it was a close thing.
When I got back to the inn that afternoon, Barro was waiting for me, long hair and rugged good looks and all.
“Lady Draka,” he said, smiling hugely. “They told me you’d grown in the few weeks since last, but I hardly believed them. That’ll teach me to doubt Val’s word, I suppose.”
“Barro, good to see you. Have a seat.” I laid down, so I was only looking down on him a little when he sat. Turning to Mak, who’d let me in, I said, “I assume you’ve all filled him in?”
“We have,” Mak confirmed.
“And I’ve accepted,” Barro continued. “‘Head of security,’ eh? I like the sound of that. Though from what I’ve been told, you want me doing mostly what I’ve already been doing for you, just on a more permanent basis.”
“Right,” I said. “Helping with security will be a part of it, sure, but I’d want you working with Ardek to gather intelligence, too. Looking into public and less public records, things like that. And the title, whatever it is, would be informal. We don’t want you officially connected to the House, just in case.”
“No problem, no problem at all. So far as anyone will know, I’m just an old adventuring buddy of Val’s, who frequents his inn for the food, ale, and companionship. I’m sure people will catch on sooner or later, but I won’t admit to anything.”
“I know you won’t,” I said with a nod. “So, how much have they told you?”
“Well,” he said, his smile dropping in favor of a more serious, professional expression. “A sitting councilman has hired thugs to attack your people in the street and here in the inn, and you need to know everything about him so you can do something about it — speaking of which, I was told they had keys. I’d start with the maids.”
Mak looked at him then nodded thoughtfully.
“You also need some security on hand, which Ardek is taking care of, but I can help with that as well. You need a safe-house for the human part of the House; doesn’t need to be big enough for yourself. But you’re also in the market for a proper estate, which would need to have room for a growing dragon. Does that about sum it up?”
I blinked. “That’s… yeah. And we have some guests coming, but that about sums it up. Mak really filled you in, didn’t she?”
“And Val, and Tam, and Herald. But only after Makanna here interrogated me for a good two hours and judged me fit for service.” He gave her a respectful nod, which she returned.
“Great! Welcome to the team! Mak’s in charge of…” I thought about it, and concluded, “pretty much everything except buying wine, so talk to her if there’s anything you need. Otherwise, feel free to come down for a chat whenever I’m around. Just don’t be too obvious about it.”
“I’m honored by the invitation,” he said. “Now, is there anything you want me to do immediately?”
“You’ll find that I’m a rather hands-off boss. But if you could get a message to Ramban, the scholar, that I would like to meet him in the next two or three days, I’d appreciate it. Do you know about Jekrie?”
“He’s the leader of those people who settled at the campsite by the gate, right?”
“Right. He and most of his people are coming here in the next few days — to trade. I’d like Ramban to travel with them back to Lady’s Rest, if possible.”
“I’ll let him know,” he said. Then he grinned. “Lady’s Rest? They don’t shy from flattery, do they? Naming their home for you?”
“One of them suggested ‘Dragonhame.’”
“‘Dragonhame.’” He tasted the word. “I like it. But it's a bit obvious.”
“I’m heading south tomorrow,” I told Herald late that evening. “To the front. I was hoping you’d come.”
“Taking her to see your mother was bad enough, Draka,” Tam said, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. “Please don’t fly our little sister into the middle of a war.”
Herald was unfazed. “According to Embers, I am older than Draka,” she said with a bright smile, “so she is the baby sister now. And, yes, I would love to come along!”
The assembled crew looked at me skeptically. “How old are you, anyway, boss?” Ardek asked.
“Don’t know. Five? Twenty-six?” I said. Five was my best guess for my biological age, based on Instinct's gut feeling and a whole lot of nothing else. And twenty-six… one of all the days I’d spent here would have been my birthday. I was a September baby, so around when we were returning from the Old Mallinean villa with our treasure, maybe? Whenever it was, it had come and gone without me realizing until it was too late, and by then I was too busy with the aftermath of my sisters’ kidnapping to care.
I wondered if my family had marked it. My human family. Andrea would have. Whether I was missing or dead, it would have been only months past. They probably all lit candles and talked about me and cried together.
As I twisted my own guts into knots with those cheerful thoughts, the others unanimously rejected Herald’s claim of my being the baby sister, no matter how technically correct it might be. Only Herald and Mak knew about the whole used-to-be-a-human situation, but that had nothing to do with it.
“I refuse to believe that Draka is younger than me,” Ardek declared. “And I am older than Herald.”
“Shut up!” Herald threw a grape at him.
“Sorry, Kitten, I’m with Ardek on this,” Tam said. “Just accept that you have a new big sister and let us baby you.”
He received a grape as well, snatching it out of the air with his mouth.
“To get back to the topic—” I started, and Kira of all people interrupted me.
“See?” she said and pointed to me. “Adult in room.”
Herald threw a grape at her.
Once the noise had died down, and people had stopped hugging and making cooing noises at Herald, who found it increasingly hard to keep her laughter from breaking through her fake outrage, I finally managed to get everyone back on track. “We’ll be back before midnight, and I won’t put her in any danger,” I promised. “I won’t take her closer to the enemy than a thousand feet. And I really need her along. I want Herald for company, yeah, but for her eyes, too. I’m going to scout the Happaran lines, bring some intelligence to the general and his tribunes, and make sure that the soldiers know about it. Herald can see things from the sky that I can’t from ten feet away, and having her along would make me look more… human is the wrong word, but you know what I mean.”
“Friendly?” Val suggested. “Approachable? Stories are told in many ways of dragons abducting young women, but flying them around to improve morale? Not so much.”
“Please don’t phrase it like that,” I said under my breath and was met with a room full of confused faces. “Anyway,” I continued, “any further objections? I’m going. As long as Herald’s willing, I’m taking her along, but I’d rather not worry you all.”
Tam rested his chin on his clasped hands, looking up at me from under his brows. “A thousand feet?”
“No closer than a thousand feet,” I agreed.
“And you won’t land anywhere except behind friendly lines,” Mak said, more a statement of support for me than a question.
“Not unless it’s necessary.”
“Then…” Tam sighed. “Have fun, I suppose. Do some good, help the war effort. Maybe have a nice two minutes with Mag—”
The only reason he got the first syllable of Maglan’s name out was that the entire bunch of grapes that a crimson-faced Herald launched at him needed half a second to travel before hitting him in the face.
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