Dralin (38 page)

She looked at the two girls sitting under
the tree with their mouths open. “Take your tunic off and lay on
your stomach, Pelya child. Take your dress off and do the same,
Ebudae child,” she told them. Instead of obeying, the girls held
onto each other and stared wide-eyed. Hezzena snorted. “Do not be
foolish. There is no impropriety. Now do as you’re told.”

Neither had any intention of doing so. The
disobedience upset the dragon. Pelya watched as Hezzena lifted a
claw and made intricate designs. Words of power hissed through the
air and the girls found themselves frozen. With a few more
gestures, Ebudae’s dress flew off, leaving her in just leggings.
The pendant of invisibility also came off and Hezzena took
possession of it. Then the wizardess was rolled onto her stomach.
Pelya wanted to help, but couldn’t move.

What happened next terrified Pelya. She
watched as the dragon pinned Ebudae with the left claw and touched
her spine just below the neck with a talon of the right claw. The
talon glowed orange. Ebudae began to whimper and cry as the
dragon’s talon slid down the length of the spine, making a cut that
glowed the same orange. It was just the beginning.

Hezzena made intricate designs along the
base of Ebudae’s back from hip to hip and then moved upward and
along each rib to the sides, making more intricate designs. Pelya
realized it was some sort of tattoo and the designs looked like
feathered runes of some sort. By the time Hezzena was done,
Ebudae’s back looked like it had wings from base to neck. The girl
lay there crying, but unable to move even after the claw
lifted.

Then the silver eyes turned their attention
on Pelya, who didn’t wait for the claw’s touch to start crying. She
felt her tunic pulled off magically and her body rolled onto the
stomach. Her pendant was taken too. Pelya whimpered just like
Ebudae when she felt one claw pin her down and the other begin
cutting into her back. It didn’t touch the bones in the spine, but
she could feel heat coming from it.

Through the burning pain, Pelya became aware
that hers was different from Ebudae’s. Only her left side was being
tattooed. Then Hezzena turned her over and continued the tattoo
along the ribs to Pelya’s breastbone. More intricate designs were
carved into the skin while Pelya stared at the leaves of the tree
above her through eyes blurry with tears.

The talon finally stopped moving. Pelya
struggled to breathe. Her entire body burned, but the hottest fire
was where the tattoo was. It hurt more than any physical pain she
had ever imagined. The talon touched them each in the middle of the
forehead. “Stand up and put your tunic back on, Pelya child. Stand
up and put your dress back on, Ebudae child.”

Pelya did as commanded. Somehow, the dragon
was controlling her. Ebudae was back in her dress and came to stand
next to Pelya who had her tunic and belt in place.

Hezzena lowered her head and looked deep
into their minds. “Grab your packs, walk back to the manor where
Ebudae child lives and then go to sleep. No one will disturb you or
notice you.”

The girls immediately turned and grabbed
their packs, knowing that the instructions were complete. They
walked past Hezzena toward the dirt road by the sewer river.
Neither of them looked back or up when the dragon put Rizzith on
her neck and leapt into the sky, although they could feel the
massive gust of wind from her wings as she flew away.

When Pelya and Ebudae reached the road, they
turned north. For hours, they walked the miles back to Dralin.
Their exhausted bodies protested and the heat from the tattoos
caused them to sweat terribly, but it made no difference. It was
well past midnight, when Dralin was most dangerous, before they
reached the Tannery District. It smelled worse than the sewers, but
the girls paid no attention to that. They spent nearly a full hour
walking through it because it was one of the largest districts in
Dralin.

Pelya was able to realize that no one was
paying attention to two young girls walking alone through the
streets. At some point, they should have been kidnapped, yelled at
or at least noticed. Something the dragon had done was protecting
them. She also noticed that the pain from the tattoo was still
fierce, but it didn’t slow either of them down.

They finally reached the Merchant District
just before sunrise. The shadows moved alongside Pelya, concerned
for her safety. She wanted to reassure them that she was alright,
but couldn’t speak.

They entered the secret entrance from the
alley and went down the stairs in the wall to the passage. A few
minutes later, they were back in Ebudae’s lab. Instead of
collapsing, they dropped the packs and continued until they were in
Ebudae’s bedroom. Both girls changed into nightgowns. As they got
under the covers and clung to each other for dear life, Pelya
wished they could take a bath and eat. The thought faded as they
closed their eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

***

They woke after sunset that night. Both
their stomachs growled from neglect. Before the noisy bellies could
be satisfied, the girls grabbed each other tightly and drowned
themselves in tears. Everything they had been through finally
caught up to them. It seemed like the obvious thing to do.

When the tears died down, they got their
aching bodies out of bed. Pelya’s tattoo still felt like it was on
fire. She looked underneath the nightgown and saw the lines glowing
a dim orange. Ebudae put an arm on Pelya’s shoulder and opened her
mouth to say something. When no words came out, she frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Pelya asked. Ebudae opened
her mouth again, but the words refused to come forth. Pelya opened
her mouth to ask if it was about the tattoo, but suddenly she was
silenced. They both tried to talk, but when it came to the tattoos,
neither of them could say a single word about it. Eventually, Pelya
asked, “Shall we get some food?” As long as it was about anything
else, the words came forth.

Ebudae nodded miserably. “Yes. I’ll have
Tina run us a bath after she gets our food.” It looked like she was
going to say more, but nothing came out. The wizardess hit her
thigh in frustration. Pelya took her hand and gave her an
understanding look and then they headed downstairs.

No one said anything about them having been
gone. In fact, they didn’t seem to have noticed. After eating, they
took the bath and scrubbed the grime and stench off furiously. They
stared at each other’s tattoos, but when they reached out to touch
them, they always lost interest and did something else instead.
Realization sunk in that they would never be able to discuss them.
Every time Pelya wondered about what they did, she quickly lost
interest. It was upsetting her to the point of tears, but she
couldn’t help it.

They went back to bed after the bath and
fell asleep immediately between fresh clean sheets Tina had put on.
The next night, they woke up, ate, bathed and fell back asleep. The
glowing lines had almost disappeared by that point although the
girls could still feel them in their skin and bones. For the rest
of the week they rested in bed or in the gardens. Neither of them
had any desire to go on another adventure.

The tattoos were invisible when Frath came
to pick up Pelya. Lady Pallon and Frath had to peel the girls apart
because they were holding onto each other fiercely. Both girls
cried miserably when the tall man put his daughter over a shoulder
and carried her off.

***

Things eventually settled back to routine.
Pelya was allowed to go back to training, but on a limited basis.
She could still study and read as much as possible and even began
to work on learning extra languages as well as memorizing every
detail of the sewers.

Ebudae continued learning magic. Even though
she was still too young, it was no longer having harmful effects on
her body. She was able to handle more powerful spells than ever
before. The young wizardess also continued to study, delving into
the books and learning more and more ancient writings.

Every chance possible, the two of them got
together. Ebudae started teaching Pelya some basics of magic while
Pelya taught the wizardess self defense and basic exercises that
would help keep her fit in order to better handle magical energies
flowing through her body. They didn’t go into the secret passages
for the next few months before eventually working up the courage.
Within a couple of years, they had explored the entire academy as
well as some of the tunnels under the buildings in the backyard.
They didn’t venture out into the ancient city though. The thought
of running into anything else that rumbled in the darkness was too
much for them.

They remembered the dragon tattoos every
once in a while, but only briefly and never told anyone about them.
They couldn’t have done so if they tried.

###

***

About the
Author

John H. Carroll was the youngest of seven
children and was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1970 where he was kept
in a dresser drawer with the clean socks. Luckily, he wasn’t kept
with the dirty socks or else he might have grown up to become
slightly warped.

As a child, John spent most of his time
wandering through the Mojave Desert in an attempt to avoid people.
He would stare at the sky, imagining what it would be like to
explore different worlds. One of his favorite memories is watching
his dad build the fuselage of Evel Kneivel’s skycycle in their
garage. One of his least favorite moments was watching that
skycycle fall into the Snake River. (Not his dad’s fault and he has
documentation to prove it, so nyah)

As a teenager, John spent most of his time
driving wherever he could in an attempt to avoid people. He would
stare at the road, imagining what it would be like to explore
different worlds. He was the captain of the chess team, lettered in
golf and band while in high school, and wasn’t beaten up anywhere
near as much as one might imagine.

As an adult, John spends most of his time
staring at a computer screen in an attempt to avoid people. He
stares at the monitor for hours, imagining what it would be like to
explore different worlds. He has been married to his wonderful wife
for sixteen years and they have three obnoxio . . . wonderful
children who always behave . . . when they’re asleep.

Emo bunny minions surround John at most
times. He is their imaginary friend and they look to him for
guidance. At one point, they took over the world. No one noticed
because they left everything exactly as it was. They gave the world
back after a week because it was depressing.

The Willden Trilogy is his first endeavor
into the field of writing. Other series and standalone works will
be forthcoming. In addition, John has written a number of short
stories that can be found at most eBook sites. He writes in the
evenings and weekends whenever possible. Regrettably, the family
mentioned in a previous paragraph desires food and shelter,
requiring the author to possess a full time job until his writing
makes him rich.

You can follow his blog where he discusses
writing, emo bunnies, family and various other topics of
insanity.

http://www.ryallon.blogspot.com/

Follow him on twitter if you like insane
ramblings and random comments.

http://twitter.com/kookoo88

Find him on Facebook where he discusses
current projects and writing in general:
http://www.facebook.com/John.H.Carroll.Author

His Goodreads Page:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4479427.John_H_Carroll

New!
The Emo Bunny
that Should - Illustrated Edition:
With beautiful illustrations
by Arlene Rose. You can get it at the store where you found this
one.

Emo the Bunny was a sad bunny. He
preferred gloomy days, walks over a cliff and misery of any sort.
One day he saw something very unusual. Normally he'd take a nap and
try to forget about it, but for some reason he took an interest.
Then things happened. Emo the Bunny hated it when things happened.
Caution: This story is not for normal children.

“
A Collection of Stories for Demented
Children”
You can get it at the store where you found this
one.

Five short stories combined into one,
written for demented children and adults too. Text versions of
these stories can be found for free individually. I am charging for
the compilation in the hopes of earning a living from my writing in
order to support my own demented children. Some content may be
disturbing for younger, or sane, children.

My full-length novels are set in the world
of Ryallon. They are high fantasy with rogues, knights, dragons and
flower children. You can get them at the store where you found this
one.

Willden Trilogy
(Written first)

Ryallon

Anilyia

Kethril

Dralin Trilogy
(Set in time before
the Willden trilogy)

Dralin

Ebudae

Pelya

Stand-alone Novella

Rain Glade

Coming soon:

The Crazed Trilogy
(Set in time after
the Willden Trilogy)

The Morhain Trilogy
(Set in time
after the Willden Trilogy)