Dragons' Bane

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 by Melody Jackson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system—other than for review purposes—without permission in writing from the author.

Cover Design: Anna E. LaBatt

Map drawn by Renee Hougey

Printed in the United States of America

2016—First Edition

ISBN-10: 1546902627

ISBN-13: 9781546902621

melodyjackson.weebly.com

facebook.com/melodyjacksonauthor

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To Nikala Nowack, for helping me believe in the impossible

Acknowledgements

Writing a book takes a lot more than just putting a story down on a page, and I wouldn’t have been able to complete this without help from these wonderful, talented people.

Thank you to Miranda Marie, for being my official editor and heroic word-conquering buddy.

To Laura Sakowski and Ashton Hoffman, for letting me ramble about my story and brainstorming with me despite the time (or time zones), and to my beta readers, for all your help and encouragement.

To my brother Ross, for reading the first draft aloud in a Scottish accent.

And to you, the reader, for taking time to pick this book. I hope it makes you smile as much as I have while writing it.

I

Lena

Whatever they tell you, I didn’t mean to steal a dragon. I just wanted to find my dad, who I hadn't seen in over eight years, if you didn’t know. And, yes, taking my new friend's bag seemed like the best way to accomplish that, at the time. I just didn't expect there to be a dragon in it. Who would have assumed a conscientious person like Dailen could bring himself to steal anything, let alone a dragon?

Besides, I practically saved the guy’s life, so he should’ve been grateful, right?

"So, ah….th-those guys aren’t dead, are they?"

I threw a quick glance over at Dailen as we ran down the dark street, my silver earrings jangling against my face. Does it matter?

Dailen bit his lip several times in succession, his brow creasing in worried folds. Well…ah...

"No, they’re not. They’re only resting. I reached up to loosen my updo with a deft twist, frowning as my boot splashed muddy water and who-knew-what-else on the edges of my dress. Didn’t anyone ever clean up around here? Which is why we need to get out of here before they wake up."

O-Oh. Right. I knew that. Silence reigned for a moment, save for the sound of our pounding boots on the stone. So, can I have my bag back?

I instinctively pulled the strap of the bag in question closer to my body, hiding the crease in my brow at the weight inside. I hadn’t had a chance to look in it yet – what with running for my life and all – but my curiosity was starting to burn as much as my shoulder muscles were.

Not yet. When you tell me everything you know about Kaiden Dyran, then I’ll give it back to you.

He hesitated for a moment, his fingers fidgeting with each other. Well, he…

Not now, idiot. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his naivety. I want to actually listen to that part. Which means we need to find somewhere to hide first. I threw him a pointed look, hoping that he’d get the hint. I wasn’t very familiar with this country yet, let alone this town. And it wasn’t like there was any deviance in color to distinguish each dirty street from the next, unlike in Galdania. Seriously, was there anything here that wasn’t brown or gray?

Realization finally flickered in Dailen’s eyes, like a match that took two strikes to catch fire. Oh! Yeah, um...this way?

The question in his voice wasn’t very reassuring, but I didn’t have much choice otherwise. I followed him as he turned down a side street, weaving through the alleys as if he knew what he was doing.

Well, he’d better.

There’s...There’s a place I always go… His brow furrowed in confusion as he stopped, looking around. When I did the same, I wanted to scowl.

You led us to a dead end?

No! I mean, I...I didn’t think it was…

I frowned, scanning the area quickly. I knew our pursuers were probably not far behind us – I’d had prior experience with them – so going back wasn’t really an option. It looked like there had been some buildings here at some point, but all that was left now was a heap of bricks and rubble piled up against the alley wall. With nothing else in sight and nowhere else to go, I strode towards it, lifting a foot and grimacing at how dirty the edge of my dress now was. It would take hours to scrub the filth out, if I could even find any clean water in this town.

Dailen’s eyes widened as he watched me. You shouldn’t do that!

Before a sarcastic response could leave my mouth, an unfamiliar laugh cut through the air.

Well, well, what have we here? Got yourself a girlfriend, Shale?

I turned around with a frown to see a rather tall redhead standing in front of Dailen, a triumphant smile on his face as he looked me over, then raised an eyebrow at Dailen. And a gifted one at that. My, my, you’ve turned into quite the rebel, haven’t you?

My senses went on high alert at that. How did he know about my gifts?

Dailen, meanwhile, looked back and forth between the two of us with his mouth hanging open rather unattractively, as if he couldn’t decide which issue was more important. Leave her alone, Blaze. And she’s not my girlfriend.

Blaze laughed, throwing a wink in my direction, then a smirk at Dailen. Sure, whatever you say. Though it’s not important anyway. He glanced back over at me, his gaze settling on the bag slung over my shoulder. I didn’t think you’d go for such a priss, though. You know that’s what she is, right? The smile he gave Dailen made me want to smack him across the face. Just give me the bag back and I’ll let her go, ‘kay? We can pretend like this never happened.

I could see that, despite Blaze’s obvious fakery, Dailen was considering it. I stashed my annoyance for later, looking for a way back down the pile that wouldn’t have me covered in dirt.

B-But…

A chunk of brick shifted beneath me and I nearly lost my footing, a curse slipping out under my breath – the type of word that would have given my mother a heart attack were she able to hear it. The noise caught the attention of both boys; Dailen’s eyes went wide as saucers, Blaze’s narrowed in a frown. Luckily, my feet found purchase beneath the brick, meeting what sounded like metal as I regained my balance. But my relief was quickly shattered by Blaze’s harsh voice.

"Get down from there!"

I felt annoyance prick at me again. Seriously, what did everyone have against me climbing this scrap pile? Yes, I was in a dress, and yes, I wasn’t sure the dirt would ever clean out of the delicate fabric, but I could still handle myself.

As if to prove me wrong, the heap of metal shifted again, and I hopped down to the ground just in time to see a large, beady eye blink open from below where I had just been standing.

Blaze swore under his breath and drew his sword, shoving Dailen behind him as he eyed the pile. Take your girlfriend and go hide. Now.

Dailen glanced over at me nervously, but I gave him a hard look, jumping back as a rock crashed to the ground at my feet. Dull, yellow metal glinted through the gaps in the rubble, overlapping in thin teardrop shapes like...scales. Dailen gasped and nearly stumbled backward as he watched the creature, wide-eyed. I simply found myself fascinated.

As the creature stood up, I caught sight of leathery folds, like translucent canvas, peeking through the top of the mound. The creature swung its heavy head around to look at us all, shedding bits of rocks and dirt as it did. Its ember orange eyes settled on me with a glare. I suppose I couldn’t blame it for being unhappy: I wouldn’t want to be woken from my nap by a bunch of little pests climbing on me and shouting, either.

Blaze wasted little time in acting as his eyes took in the dragon, noting where its gaze was and settling his own on its feet. Its gleaming silver claws rested on the stone like curved needles. I could practically see the gears in his head turning as he moved behind it, keeping one eye on me and the dragon as he raised his sword.

The dragon lifted its upper lip in a cranky snarl, showing its long, very sharp teeth, the tips stained red with blood. I probably should have been afraid at that point, but I wasn’t. If anything, I was just...curious. I’d never seen a dragon up close that wasn’t fat and lazing around a pen, adorned with jewels and other such things. This one was lean, muscular, and looked like it could kill me with one swipe of its claw.

And yet…I didn’t think it would.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Blaze poised with his sword to strike. Without thinking about what might happen, I yelled. "What are you doing?"

The dragon whipped its head around just as Blaze plunged his blade into its foot. It let out an enraged roar, nostrils flaring as it swiped at Blaze with its claw. He pulled his blade out, dodging out of the way, but wasn’t fast enough. The dragon’s claw caught his sleeve, tearing through it and his skin with a sickening rip that made my stomach turn. He scowled. Clapping his free hand over the wound, he backed away from the dragon, giving me a rather hateful glare. "Are you trying to get me killed?"

I don’t know! I shot back, too frustrated to think about what I was saying. Is there some reason I shouldn’t be?

A deeper frown spread across his face at that, and he ducked down to avoid a pass of the dragon’s spiked tail. Well, considering that I’m your only chance of getting out of here alive, yes, I think there is!

"You’re the only reason I’m in danger now!"

Blaze scowled but didn’t respond, jumping back to avoid another swipe from the dragon’s claw. He was running out of room between the dragon and the wall, and the dragon didn’t seem like it was going to stop until he was dead. As much as the guy infuriated me, I really didn’t want to see someone killed tonight. Besides, now that he’d angered it, who knew if it’d come back after me once it was done?

But what exactly could I do against a dragon? I didn’t have a sword, and it’s not like I could just ask the dragon to back off like I could back home. Or...could I?

It seemed like a long shot but, hey, a long shot was better than no shot, right? I’d not used my gifts much before, but I’d been told quite often before that I was ‘persuasive’, almost to an eerie extent. I once convinced Marcel to let me ‘borrow’ one of the Viyer’s horses by planting the thought in his head that I’d been given permission. Of course, he’d gotten in quite a bit of trouble afterward, and I can’t say I didn’t feel guilty, but maybe that same tactic would work now.

I closed my eyes, reaching out to the dragon’s mind and cautiously brushing the fringes of its thoughts. The cold, sinister corruption of its mind sent a shudder down my spine that I tried hard to suppress. It was darker than any mind I’d ever reached out to, and I nearly pulled out on instinct. But Blaze was keeping the dragon distracted, so I pushed away the urge and focused on sending my thoughts to the dragon– calming things, like images of it peacefully sleeping as before in its nice little pile of rubble. The dragon resisted, trying to shake my thoughts off, but I pushed harder, insisting as soothingly as I could that this wasn’t worth all its trouble. Blaze was little more than a silly nuisance anyway, so why should it let him ruin its lovely rest?

I opened my eyes and looked over at the dragon. Blaze still stood tense, watching the dragon, but it was no longer attacking him, which was good. I released a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding and closed my eyes again. Now that the dragon was calm, I focused on sending one simple command to its mind. Sleep.

It took a moment, but with one final growl, the dragon curled back up where it had first been sleeping, yawning and closing its eyes. Blaze stared at the dragon, a tense and suspicious frown still drawing his brow together. I raised an eyebrow at him.

What, no thank you?

He swung his gaze toward me, briefly back to the dragon, then at me again. How did you do that?

I scoffed. Well, excuse me for saving your life, Grumpy. A simple thank you would be nice.

No. Blaze shook his head, looking back down at his wound and frowning, his gaze tense like he was thinking something through. He glanced up at me again, his gaze piercing and almost accusatory. "How did you do that?"

I was about to reply when a different voice cut me off, much softer and calmer than Blaze’s. Need some help, dear?

Geez, what was with all the people dropping in? Was this some sort of party I wasn’t aware of? And where had Dailen gotten to, anyway?

When I turned around, though, I found myself staring at a woman who made all my annoyed thoughts stop. She looked so graceful and calm that she may have been a river spirit, for those who believed in those old stories. Her skin was a rich, deep color like the dark woods of the forests back home, a strong contrast to the bright blue garments flowing down to nearly touch her sandaled feet. Her smile was as warm as her eyes, as she took everything in calmly, as if this sort of thing was entirely normal to her.

Blaze simply looked her up and down briefly, almost annoyed. Took you long enough. He waved his hand in my direction, rather dismissively. Now, will you please get her out of here?

The woman glanced between the two of us, noting the dragon as well as Blaze’s wound. You should get that looked at. Take Dailen and the girl; I will take care of this.

Whoa, whoa. Take me where? I mean, yeah, the guy had at least been trying to ‘save’ me, but that didn’t mean I was going anywhere with him. The only things I needed was this bag I was still carrying – which was still making my arm burn from the weight – and Dailen. Maybe I could slip away while these two talked.

Before I could get very far, however, a sharp pain exploded in my temple. Darkness swam in waves through my vision and I hissed in a breath, my head pounding like it’d been trampled by a thousand horses. My hands went numb, my feet unsteady as the ground started tilting up toward me. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Blaze’s incorrigible smirk.

You’re not getting away that easily, Priss.

<><><>

Blaze

Blaze ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. Not only had questioning Dailen yielded little but confusing, stuttered results, but the priss was still asleep, so he couldn’t get answers from her yet either. He looked over at her unconscious form, the same disgust rising up inside of him as the last ten times he’d checked on her. Uppers thought they were so much better than everyone else, with their fancy clothes and expensive jewelry. The number of people selling just one of her earrings could feed…

She shifted in her sleep, as if she could hear him thinking about her. If not for the fact that it might damage her mind, he would’ve woken her already. Instead, he had to wait.

His hand brushed across the bandage on his arm as he folded his arms across his chest. Elle had assured him it wasn’t infected – and patched it up for him, despite his insistence that it didn’t hurt – but it still brought memories to the front of his mind that he’d rather leave hidden. Better to think about the girl, and how annoyed she made him.

His eyes went to the door as Sari entered, her footsteps hardly making a sound as she moved gracefully over to him. The dragon has been safely contained.

He nodded, his mind grateful for a distraction. And no one got hurt?

A slight smile touched her lips. Everyone is fine.

He nodded, releasing a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He ran a hand through his hair again, looking back over at Lena.

You seem very tense, dear.

He let out a short laugh. Oh, really? He gave her a sardonic smile. No clue why that would be.

Lena will be fine. Sari copied his smile, though hers was still gentler, even holding a note of teasing to it.

He threw her an annoyed look. I’m not worried about her. Not in that way. He blew out a breath, frowning. I just want answers.

You’ll get them, dear. And the mission will work out. Chan has been going over possible locations of the Bane, yes?

He nodded, but the frown stayed on his face. Yes, but Damien seems more...impatient lately. I don’t like it. He folded his arms to keep himself from messing up his hair again. He’s planning something.

Isn’t he always? We just have to stay a step ahead of him.

He scowled at that, feeling a fire spark to life in his chest. "Yes, but this time it’s different. And I will not be pushed into going through with this before we’re ready. Damien can do whatever the dag he likes."

Mm. Well, I will keep a closer eye on him, if it will put your mind at ease.

He rubbed his forehead, not wanting to answer, but nodded. Sure, whatever. It doesn’t really matter anyway. Just have to be smarter about everything.

Sari looked thoughtful for a moment. The Empress has planned a visit to Calest soon. Perhaps that’s why Damien wishes haste on the mission.

His shoulders tensed at that. "She’s coming in person?"

Sari nodded. It’s been mentioned among the Council for a short while now. There is word that she has another proposal for the trade agreements.

A harsh laugh escaped his throat. Yeah, because those aren’t unfair enough already.

And perhaps it will be better this time, or a new proposal altogether.

He couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice. "No deal with Galdanians is ever ‘fair’, Sari, You think they give a dag about our wellbeing? All they want is our mines, and willing slaves who’ll sell their lives to work them. If it wasn’t for that, they would have declared war already. He shook his head. We need to fight back before they force us to. I just need more time."

Sari remained quiet for a moment. I will do my best to procure more for you. In the meantime, perhaps you should take a walk. I can watch Lena for now.

No. I want to be here the moment she wakes up. And I’m fine, anyway.

Sari didn’t seem to agree, but didn’t argue, either. Very well. I will be with Chan if you need me.

He rolled his eyes, listening as the door closed softly behind her. Yeah. Whatever.

II

Lena

Fuzzy voices faded in and out of my hearing, my head throbbing as I tried to force my heavy eyelids open. I made out two blurry forms that I assumed to be Blaze and the mysterious woman. It sounded like they were arguing, or rather, that Blaze was arguing while she responded calmly. Her tones were light and airy, while his were punctuated with a much sharper, more urgent edge.

I blinked to try to clear my vision, glancing around at my surroundings. The ground beneath me was cold and hard, and the walls appeared to be made of some reddish, stone-like material. I shifted to attempt sitting up and instantly regretted it. My stomach did flips like one of those performers I’d seen at the festivals back home, twisting and turning with dizzying speed.

I let out a quiet groan and dropped my head, closing my eyes in hopes that it would make the room stop spinning. The voices reduced to murmurs, eventually dying out as fading footsteps signaled departure. Or so I thought.

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up."

I pried my eyes open again to see Blaze standing in front of me with his arms crossed. A row of thin, icicle-like structures reached from the ceiling down into the floor, separating us. They ranged from about half a hand to a full hand’s width apart, all bumpy and rough like rocks. I blinked to clear my foggy head, shifting my hand to at least partially support my weight. The woman must’ve left the room while I was trying not to lose what little lunch I’d eaten, as she was nowhere in sight.

Why did you steal that dragon?

I blinked up at him, not even fully taking in what was going on, and gave the most intelligent answer I could think of. ...What?

He frowned, shifting his weight and staring down at me with narrowed eyes. I think he said something else in response, but my mind was too focused on other things to hear it. Like why Blaze was in a prison cell. Or…

Wait. I followed the row of icicle bars with my eyes down to my left, where they wrapped around and connected to a rock wall behind me. On the right, they did the same. But that meant I was in the prison cell, right?

I snapped my gaze back to Blaze, whose eyes were rather stormy by now. I asked you a question, Priss.

Lena. I coughed, rubbing my throat lightly with a frown. My name is Lena.

That just seemed to irritate him more. Stop dodging the question. I want to know what you were planning to do with that dragon.

I blinked at him again, the words finally seeming to register in my mind. Except, wait...steal a dragon?

I didn’t… My forehead furrowed in a frown as I thought things over, as if maybe I could’ve been confused somewhere. I just put it to sleep.

Blaze almost looked confused for a moment at that, then shook it off. "Not that dragon. The other one. The one you stole from Shale."

I was beginning to think that I had missed some very important puzzle piece here. What…?

He rubbed his forehead lightly, each word said slowly and clearly as if to prevent any confusion. The bag you took from Shale. The one that started this whole thing. Why did you want it?

Oh. That’s what he meant? I shifted my position so I was slightly more comfortable, then took a quick scan of my cell. Where was the bag? That was my biggest key to finding Kaiden at this point, and if Blaze had taken it from me…

My thoughts were interrupted by Blaze’s smirk. Yes, I confiscated it, princess. Now why did you want it in the first place?

I rubbed the inside of my wrist to alleviate my agitation, stopping as my fingers brushed cold metal. My breath hitched, a surge of memories making my heart pound in irregular beats. I fought down the panic clawing at my mind and forced a sweet smile. I don’t see why I should tell you.

I could tell Blaze was doing his best not to scowl again at me, pacing in front of the bars. You had to know there was a dragon in there. But what did you want with it?

Actually, I hadn’t, but I wasn’t about to volunteer that information to him. I just sat there, watching him. If this was the way he expected to interrogate me, then silence was about the best he was going to get.

He scowled, but decided to switch tactics. Why did you help him, after you’d already stolen from him? What else did you need? He looked me over carefully, as if scrutinizing me for some hidden answer.

I raised an eyebrow, but figured a snarky response probably wasn't the wisest at the moment, considering my current situation. Him?

That still earned me a growl. "Yes, him. Shale. Dailen. Whatever the dag you want to call him."

I coughed to hide a laugh at his word choice. Dag? Did he even know what that meant?

He gave me an annoyed look, which just amused me, really. What’s so funny?

I tilted my head thoughtfully, as if thinking it over. I wondered if he knew how ridiculous he sounded, swearing with the word cake.

Why should I tell you?

Blaze stopped just long enough to throw a glare at me, his mouth curving into some sort of twisted, angry smile. He stepped closer to the bars, so we were just inches apart – close enough for me to see the spark in his dark, blue eyes. "I could have you hung for this, you know. Associating with dragons is a very high offense here."

But you won't, because you need me.

The smile turned into a snarl, but I'd seen the truth in his eyes.

Perhaps that was why I was able to stay so calm.

You aren't the only one who can be punished.

I nearly raised an eyebrow at that, but stopped myself. Surely he had seen – and yes, there it was in his eyes – that I didn't care what he did to anyone else.  He would not use that as leverage against me.

My silence must have infuriated him further, or at least his continual failures had. I could see the muscles in his jaw tense up. Interesting. Why was this so important to him? Surely he was just one of the lackeys of whoever ran this place. Yet, I didn't have to be a mind reader to see how personal this was for him.

"You know, for an interrogator, you're not