BDArc-HiddenDragons Page 2

“It is no imposition. We have plenty of food to share and unless I am much mistaken, our partners approach with some fresh meat. There will be enough for all five of us, and then some. Please stay.”

  She was about to answer when Tildeth and Bear stepped into the clearing…and Isabelle was entranced. Robert had to smile. Tildeth often had that effect on people. She was the most delightful shade of pale crystal blue. Together, she and Growloranth were a sight to behold. Light and dark. Bright day and shadowy night.

  “Lady Isabelle,” Growloranth said into the minds of all those present, “please allow me to introduce my mate, Lady Tildeth.”

  The stunning blue dragon walked up to stand beside Growloranth and rubbed her neck scales along his in greeting, while eyeing Isabelle. Bowing low, Isabelle returned the greeting mind-to-mind, making Tildeth blink.

  “Lady Tildeth, it is my honor to meet you. And may I say, you are lovely.” Robert could hear the genuine awe in Isabelle’s tone as she broadcast her delicate voice for all those with the ability to hear.

  Tildeth preened. She wasn’t a vain dragon, though she had every right to be. She was one of the most graceful, well-formed female dragons of her generation. And her coloration was rare. She matched the sky almost perfectly, and was the next best thing to invisible during the day.

  And her mate, Growloranth, was the exact color of a twilight forest. Between the two, they made a great team for stealth maneuvers.

  “Thank you, Isabelle. It has been a long time since I spoke with one of your kind,” Tildeth surprised them all by saying. Including, it seemed, Isabelle.

  “Sorry. My kind?” Isabelle’s head tilted in puzzlement.

  “You may not look it, and it’s probably dilute, but you have the blood of the Fair Folk in you, do you not?” Tildeth too, tilted her great head as if in question.

  Understanding and a bit of shock dawned over Isabelle’s features. “My mother was fair in complexion and face, but she never really spoke of her origins.”

  “It would make sense, though,” Growloranth added. “There is a flavor of magic about you that is completely benign, yet unfamiliar to me. I have never met a Fair One.”

  “Trust me, the flavor of her magic is of the Fair Folk. I knew a few of them in my youth,” Tildeth said. “Can you not hear the musical note in her voice? The fey have the most musical of all voices.”

  “Mama used to sing to me,” Isabelle said softly, as if remembering, and her eyes took on a sad, faraway look.

  Silence reigned in the clearing for a moment, the only sound that of the rushing water behind them. Bear chose that moment to step forward.

  “I am Sir Bernard,” he pronounced, his voice gruff, but a welcome distraction from the serious turn of their conversation. He offered his hand in greeting and Isabelle took it, allowing him to raise her small hand to his lips for a tender salute.

  Robert cursed himself for not doing the same sooner. As it was, Bear had already touched the woman—even kissed her hand—and Robert had done nothing more than talk her ears off. He wasn’t going to get anywhere in figuring out if she was their mate this way.

  Sir Bernard—known as Bear to his friends—marveled at the beauty his partner had somehow found in the woods. Her skin was soft, even if she did have hands roughened from hard work. That was no sin. In fact, it showed just how much this gentle woman did to make her way in the world. He could not find fault with that. Not in the least.

  Bernard might be gruff on the outside, but he had been raised in a family that respected hard work and honesty above all else. He had partnered with one of the loveliest dragons of their time and many had thought it a mismatch when Tildeth chose him, but Bear knew the truth. Tilly chose him for what was on the inside. Although pretty to look at, she saw straight to the heart of him, as he saw beneath her pretty shell to the heart of the warrioress that lay beneath her sky blue hide.

  They were perfect for each other. The only thing that would make their partnership complete was if Bear could find a mate. And any mate Bear found would be shared with Robert because Tildeth and Growloranth were mates of long standing. Each had partnered at least one knight before Robert and Bear. They had lived for many centuries already and had two fully grown children. They had not been able to be together as mates since choosing Robert and Bear.

  It hurt Bear to know that his single status kept his fighting partner from her mate. He would do just about anything for Tilly. She was part of him—bonded on a soul-deep level. But the mate bond could not be forced. Not just any woman would do. The woman that bonded with them and completed their family unit had to be just right. Destined for them by the Mother of All Herself.

  “Do you think she could be the one?” Tilly asked Bear privately. “Growloranth thinks she might be.” Bear noted the eager tone in his fighting partner’s voice. He couldn’t help but feel a bit of eagerness himself.

  “I can’t be sure yet. It is too soon. But I will say that she is lovely. I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of my days with a creature as beautiful as Isabelle,” Bear answered Tilly honestly. “But outward appearances—as you well know—are not enough to base something so important on. We need to get to know her.”

  “We need to get her to come back to the Lair with us,” Tilly replied.

  “I agree. Let me work on it. We will make this happen. I promise you.”

  “Nice to meet you, Sir Bernard,” Isabelle replied to his kiss on her hand.

  Reluctantly, he let her go and tried to smile. He had to be charming, which was difficult for a homely fellow like himself.

  “Please, call me Bear,” he offered, pleasure streaking through him when she smiled.

  “Do people call you that because you’re as big as a bear?” He liked the teasing, playful tone in her voice.

  “That, and he usually growls like one,” Robert put in. “And don’t get me started on his snoring. We share a suite in the Lair and I can hear him all the way in my bedchamber, on the other side of the sand pit.”

  “That’s a lie,” Bear defended himself, even as he chuckled, used to Robert’s easy manner. The Mother of All had given him a good match in the fun loving, mischievous knight. They might look like opposites, but they complemented each other.

  Bear helped Robert focus and Robert helped Bear see the humor in life. They had become good friends—more like brothers—since being chosen by Tildeth and Growloranth a dozen years ago.

  “So you two live together?” Isabelle asked, looking from Bear to Robert and back.

  “All four of us share quarters, in fact,” Tilly put in, craning her neck downward as her mate, Growloranth, removed the buck she had taken down from where Bear had put it over her back.

  Growloranth moved away with his prize, using his sharp talons to skin and cut up the meat that the humans would eat. Bear watched Isabelle, who watched the dragons with rapt attention. When Growloranth shot a pinpoint of flame at his own forelimb, she jumped back a little, right into Bear. He put out his hands to steady her, caressing her shoulders.

  “It’s okay. He’s cooking our dinner. See?” Bear whispered near her ear. He nodded toward Robert, sending a private message into his partner’s mind. “Go get the meat from your dragon. She’s trembling. We have to prove our dragon friends are not dangerous to her.”

  “Don’t think I’m not taking note of how many times you’ve managed to put your hands on her,” Robert growled back into Bear’s mind, but he went anyway.

  Robert collected the three steaks Growloranth had speared on one talon, using an old dragon scale as a platter. They kept a few of the dragons’ shed scales with them for just such instances. The scales were incredibly strong and impervious to just about anything. They also didn’t transfer heat. The steaks were sizzling on top of the scale when Robert brought them back to where Isabelle stood with Bear.

  “I hope you like your venison well done,” Robert said, grinning as he presented the makeshift platter for Isabelle’s inspection.

  “That’s amazing. T
hank you, Sir Growloranth,” she said, turning to look at the dragons. They stood closer to the river, side by side. Bear knew they would share the rest of the deer as a snack. When they were done, there would be little left for the forest scavengers.

  “You are very welcome, Lady Isabelle,” Growloranth replied, preening a little.

  “Come, let’s sit and eat,” Bear invited, escorting her to the flat rocks by the small waterfall.

  “She was sitting here, crying, when we found her,” Robert imparted directly to Bear’s mind, filling him in on what he’d missed while he and Tilly were hunting.

  Robert also brought the bag of sweets and other provisions with him, and they set up an impromptu picnic on a large, flat boulder that peered out over the water’s edge. It had been Robert’s turn to make camp while Tilly and Bear hunted. The dragons enjoyed a good hunt, as did the knights, so they took it in turns to provide meat for the proverbial table while they were on extended patrols or special missions.

  This time, it was the latter. Bear and his nearly invisible-in-daylight dragon would be flying forays over the border with Skithdron, doing reconnaissance. They were particularly interested in troop movements or, even worse, skith sightings along the border with Draconia. Not too long ago, the crazed king of Skithdron had tried to herd an army of the vile, venomous monsters over the border as a first wave of attack on the people of Draconia.

  Dragons were the only real threat to the giant, snake-like skiths. Given enough concentrated flame, skiths could be turned to ash. And only dragons had that kind of firepower.

  Skiths could spit their highly acidic venom for twenty feet or more. Only dragons had nearly-impenetrable scales that could withstand the acid long enough to fight the snake-like creatures. Many dragons and knights had been injured in battles on this border in recent years, and it was prudent to keep a close watch on the enemy forces positioned just over the rocky division between the two lands.

  Tilly and Bear had been sent to the Border Lair for just that purpose. When it came to daylight flying, nobody was better suited to stealth with Tilly’s almost reflective, sky blue hide. Bear wore specially-made light-colored leathers on their secret flights and took careful notes of whatever they saw.

  Oddly enough, Growloranth and Robert were well suited to another kind of stealth. They could blend in with almost any forest. Growloranth’s bronze-green hue adapted really well to the dark part of a loamy forest. He also was almost as good as the royal black dragons at night flying.

  “Do you live in the village we flew over, just to the west?” Robert asked Isabelle as they all settled on the large boulder and began to eat.

  “Halley’s Well. That’s the name of the village,” she answered as she accepted the smaller dragon scale upon which Bear had placed a portion of the meat and some of the other items they had with them. “I live on the outskirts, in the old healer’s hut. Mama and I fixed it up as best we could since nobody else was using it. It’s not far from here, through the woods. I come up here every day to fetch water.”

  “But isn’t the village named for a well?” Bear asked, perplexed. If there was truly a well in Halley’s Well, then why did Isabelle have to fetch water from the river?

  “It is, but the villagers can be…difficult sometimes,” she admitted. “Ever since Mama died, it’s just easier to stay away from them when I can. I keep to myself for the most part.”

  “That doesn’t sound very neighborly,” Robert observed. Bear knew his partner was just as angry as he was about the way Isabelle seemed to have been treated by the villagers. They would have to investigate. There was no way around it.

  “They are an…insular folk. They don’t like outsiders and they never really accepted Mama and me. It’s okay. I manage.” She shrugged quietly and went about eating the meal they had provided.

  The poor mite looked like she hadn’t had a truly good meal in a long time. She savored every bite and seemed especially enraptured by the sweets. Bear unobtrusively put another portion of the sweet breads—his own portion, though he was careful to be sure she didn’t realize it—on her dragon scale plate. She tried to demur, but he politely insisted and she smiled in thanks.

  Her smile could light a room, he decided, stunned for a moment by the way her eyes seemed to glow with happiness at his small kindness. They talked of the river and how it was high for this time of year. They talked of the weather and of the wildlife in the area. Slowly, Bear came to realize that his canny partner was probing for just the sort of information they had been assigned to discover, among other things.

  Bear suddenly realized that they could kill two birds with one stone. They could use Isabelle’s knowledge of the surrounding area to their advantage, if she was willing. And by doing so, they could stay close to her for a few days.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Bear sent to Robert privately.

  “If you’re thinking we’re going to camp near Isabelle’s house, I’m way ahead of you, partner,” came the dry reply.

  “Milady Isabelle,” Robert began, broaching the subject delicately. It wouldn’t do to scare her off. “We have been dispatched from the Border Lair to do an in-depth survey of these lands. It was our intention to camp in the area for a few days and make our study, but we’ve never been here before and we could benefit from your knowledge. Would you be willing to aid us in our mission?”

  Oh, that was very cleverly worded. Bear was glad yet again that he had been partnered with a knight who had a gift for oratory. Bear himself would have made a hash of it, he was sure, which was why he mostly kept quiet.

  “I’m not sure what help I can be, but I am willing to assist if I can,” she answered thoughtfully.

  “There would be payment for your services. And we would not expect anything but that you share your knowledge of the area with us,” Robert was sure to point out. “We can do surveys from the air—and of course, we will—but the trees often obscure what lies beneath. For that reason, Growloranth and I will be scouting on the ground each day while Bear and Tildeth take to the sky. Would you be willing to act as our guide on the ground? That is, if it doesn’t interfere with your own work too much.”

  Bear was jealous as hell that Robert would get her all to himself all day while Bear and Tilly scouted in the air over the border, but it couldn’t be helped. Bear trusted Robert to keep her safe and while it wasn’t necessarily their mission to scout this side of the border, it wouldn’t hurt.

  Nobody from the Lair had been this far north in a very long time. Rumors of enemy infiltration of border towns were flying lately, and this was as good a place to start their reconnaissance as any. In fact, from what Isabelle had already revealed of the villagers’ suspiciously bad attitudes, it was perhaps a very good place to begin.

  “The harvest is in and my preparations for winter, such as they are, have been mostly completed,” Isabelle said slowly. “I believe I could help you for a few hours each day. And…I’m not sure if you’re interested…but I do have a barn of sorts where you all could camp out under a roof at least. It looks like it might rain before the dawn and I hate to think of you all suffering in the cold and wet out here in the woods.”

  Robert smiled broadly and shot Bear a triumphant look. “That sounds like a grand idea, milady. Thank you for your generosity.”

  Chapter Two

  Robert and Bear, plus the dragons, followed Isabelle to her home on the edge of the woods. Her small dwelling was situated on a rise above the rest of the village. It was a good vantage point to see anyone coming up the path, and gave a view of most of the village.

  It was dark by the time they got to her place, and they could see the little dots of flame in the distance that marked the lights of people’s homes. There weren’t all that many. It was a very small village. But it was telling that they all clustered their houses together while Isabelle was sentenced to live up here on the edge of the wood, without the little protection afforded by clustering together with the rest of the inhabitants
of the area.

  Robert didn’t like that at all. To him it was like the villagers just left her out here to fend for herself. What kind of people did that to a young woman who had lost her mother?

  She showed them to the barn, located to the right of the house. The home itself was run-down, but the barn was even worse. Robert knew he would be making some repairs as soon as he was able. For now, at least, the place had a roof and enough space for the dragons and knights to shelter from the rain. It would do for the night. After all, they had intended to camp anyway. The roof and dry floor would be nice, since there was little doubt, as the night deepened, that it was going to rain by morning.

  “There is firewood for the old forge. Before the healer lived here, it was a smithy, though the lighter equipment was taken away long ago. The forge remains and can be used for a fire, if you wish,” Isabelle explained, showing them around. “I also have an oil lamp you can use for light.” She reached up to take the lamp down from a peg. It was of simple design and only had a small amount of oil left in its base. Robert took it from her with a smile, though inside he noted the sparse way she lived and the lack of proper supplies in the barn. “Will you be warm enough?” She seemed to worry over how to provide for them.

  “We will be fine, mistress,” Robert reassured her. “Our companions provide plenty of heat, and we have supplies of our own. We had intended to camp all along, so we came prepared. Do not fret about us. We’ll be all right. In fact, we’ll be far more comfortable here than we would have been out in the forest with rain coming. Now, you go inside and take care of yourself.”

  She seemed to hesitate, but Bear, bless him, stepped forward. “Is there anything we can do for you before we all seek our rest?” Bear was gruff at the best of times, but he didn’t seem to scare Isabelle, which was a very good sign.

  “Oh, no. I am fine. Thank you, Sir Bernard.” She looked at them all, the dragons standing behind their knights, every eye on Isabelle. “Good rest, then. I will see you all in the morning.” She blushed, curtsied and then hurried away.