Dragon Business, The (29 page)

I give him an innocent look. “What do you mean? That’s how it really happened.”

“I thought you were telling me how you married Mother and got your kingdom!”

“I didn’t say that—you just assumed. It was artful misdirection, the type of thing we learned how to do in the dragon business. I never claimed I married
that
particular princess, or that my kingdom once belonged to Queen Faria. You really should know your own mother’s name, and a bit more about your family history.”

As we walk through the chilly night air, we pull our black burlap cloaks tighter. We no longer need the disguise, just the warmth. “That wasn’t the end of our adventures, you know.”

Maurice follows me, deep in thought. During his days in the castle, he spends far too much time reading poetry about fairy princes, but tonight I engaged his attention with my tales. I consider that progress.

“But I feel dissatisfied,” he finally says. “The story’s not finished.”

“It seemed like a good stopping point.”

“But did you find your friends? At least tell me that part.”

“Ah, you mean the epilogue? Of course. Just let me catch my breath as we go up the steep path to the castle.”

Fortunately, Cullin knew that his friends intended to make their way to Outer Innermiddle. During the days of tedious wedding preparations, he had studied charts of the queendom and the surrounding lands, so he knew the general direction Dalbry, Reeger, and Affonyl would be heading.

Now, Cullin crept through the darkness toward the royal stables. A sign that hung on the door said “Closed. Will Return at—” A flat clock face had the hands pointing down toward “Dawn.”

He had no trouble jimmying open the lock and slipping inside. Pony saw him and nickered a greeting. The mule saw him and snorted, unimpressed. Both animals endured Cullin’s efforts to saddle them up and prepare them for a journey.

The mule let out a low groan, as if it had not expected this life of luxury to last long, while Pony seemed willing to be off to further adventures. Maybe being kept in the pampered stables had made him afraid that another kindly family with far too many rambunctious children would adopt him. Given the choices, Pony would much rather be on the road with a group of faux dragon slayers.

Cullin led the two mounts out of the stables and closed the door behind him. Then he rode away from the palace through the city’s darkened streets and off along the Queen’s Superhighway. Before dawn, he left the queendom behind, though he never saw any painted boundary lines across the landscape.

Now that he was back in his familiar traveling clothes, no one would recognize him as the dashing knight who had been betrothed to Princess Minima; few people would confuse him with a real dragon slayer at first glance.

Cullin traveled from town to town, stopping at inns and keeping his ears open for rumors. On the third night away, news about the missing prince-to-be caught up with his travels. The story was that a dragon had broken into Cullin’s tower chambers and stolen him away. He smiled.

Then, when he began to hear stories about alleged dragon depredations, he knew he was getting closer. The next night, he entered a cozy inn with a broad hearth, the smell of baking bread, the sounds of intent conversation.

He heard Reeger’s distinctive voice rise above the din. “It’s true, I tell you! Jaws wide enough to swallow a cow whole, neck like a serpent, green scales like armor.” He lifted his splinted arm. “I barely got out alive.”

Unable to contain his excitement, Cullin burst in. “He speaks the truth! I saw it with my own eyes—the monster breathed fire, destroyed an entire peasant village. All that remained were ashes and bones.” He sniffed. “And a little rag doll.”

Reeger’s grin was so broad that Cullin saw several more brown teeth he’d never noted before. From another table, he heard a delighted cry and found Affonyl rushing toward him. She wore a drab peasant girl’s dress now, and her hair was starting to grow longer. Cullin thought she still looked beautiful.

“You’re safe, Squirrel! We thought you were married by now.” The girl flung her arms around him and, in order to be gentlemanly, Cullin had no choice but to embrace her as well. It was a requirement of chivalrous behavior. He picked her up and swung her around. “Yes, I escaped, but I was almost devoured by . . . my circumstances.” He smiled at her. “Now I’m back.”

Sir Dalbry, wearing his reptilian cape, rose to his feet at a table of his own. “That dragon has caused enough pain and death. Someone has to slay it.”

The people at the inn murmured uneasily, turning gazes filled with hope and worry toward the knight. Cullin raised his voice, “We’re lucky to have brave Sir Dalbry, renowned dragon slayer, right here in this village.”

“You’re Sir Dalbry—like the one in the song?” said a tavern wench, almost dropping the tankards of ale she carried.

“Yes, that would be me, ma’am.”

“He will save us all,” Affonyl added.

Obviously overjoyed but trying to hide it, Dalbry went over to Cullin, slipped his arm around the young man’s shoulders, and gave him a brief, paternal hug. “We’ll all go together, lad.” He looked around at the customers and the obviously frightened innkeeper. “Tomorrow, we will offer our dragon-slaying services at the castle.”

The innkeeper poured them each a tankard of ale on the house. “Do you have experience slaying dragons, then?”

Cullin lifted his tankard and clanked it against Dalbry’s, Reeger’s, and Affonyl’s in a toast. “Absolutely,” he said. “And we’ve never had a disappointed customer.”

As we approach the castle gates, I clap a hand on my son’s shoulders. “We caused a lot more trouble, had more fun—and satisfaction—before I was forced to . . . er, I mean,
decided to
settle down. In these parts there are as many princesses as there are dragons.”

“But why didn’t you just skip to the end if you were trying to explain what happened?”

I chuckle. “Because if I told you everything, I would never get you to come with me to the Scabby Wench again. I’ve still got plenty of tales to entertain you for many more happy visits.”

I enjoyed this special evening with my boy, and I can count on doing it again and again. There needs to be a father/son bond, but it doesn’t happen automatically. Later on, if we are still enjoying ourselves as I near the end of my real adventures, well, I can always make up more.

“If we go to the tavern again,” Maurice suggests, “do I have to wash dishes?”

“Depends on how much of a story you want.” I feel warmth in my chest, pleased by his reaction. “I could help with some of the pots, I suppose. Reeger’s made me do far worse.”

We cross the moat and head through the gates of my castle—
King Cullin’s
castle in
King Cullin’s
kingdom, won by a little bit of prowess as a dragon slayer, a little bit of luck, and a lot of fast talking and sleight of hand.

Prince Maurice stares up at the impressive stone structure with a new interest in his eyes, as if he sees something he’s never noticed before. I am pleased—this is what I had hoped for. It’s a good start. He might turn out to be a decent king after all, and I won’t have to worry about him being scammed by some clever rogue . . . like me.

Spotting a single candle burning bright in one of the windows, I point it out to the prince. He smiles. The queen has left a light on for us.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Photo by Author Services Inc. 2010

K
EVIN J. ANDERSON
is the author of 120 books, fifty-one of which appeared on bestseller lists; he has twenty-three million copies in print in thirty languages.
Kevin
recently launched a hilarious new series featuring Dan Shamble, Zombie PI.
He also coauthored thirteen
Dune
novels with Brian Herbert, as well as their original Hellhole trilogy. He followed his epic Saga of Seven Suns series with his Terra Incognita fantasy trilogy, and wrote the novel
Clockwork Angels
based on the new Rush album. In addition to numerous
Star Wars
projects, he wrote three
X-Files
novels and collaborated with Dean Koontz on
Frankenstein: Prodigal Son
. He is the publisher of WordFire Press.

T
HIS BOOK WAS
originally released in Episodes as a Kindle Serial. Kindle Serials launched in 2012 as a new way to experience serialized books. Kindle Serials allow readers to enjoy the story as the author creates it, purchasing once and receiving all existing Episodes immediately, followed by future Episodes as they are published. To find out more about Kindle Serials and to see the current selection of Serials titles, visit
www.amazon.com/kindleserials
.