Hatch (The Dragons Of Laton) (34 page)

Ammon’s mouth snapped shut. When agitated, the woman could make Kala-Azar seem cute and cuddly.

The Hold doors were open now, and as they stepped out into the sunlight, Ammon could see the courtyard was completely blackened with soot. He looked at Theo questioningly.

“A few hours after you went to sleep all of the dragons had the fire. As soon as that happened we decided to go on the offensive. We threw open the doors and blasted our way out. There were hundreds of slugs across the courtyard descending on the Hold, all of them screaming at once. As soon as the first dragons could break through, we took to the air and burned them from above. By the time night fell, not a single one made it across the courtyard alive. I’m sure there are more hiding throughout the city and in the hills, but now the tables have turned and we’re hunting them instead. We’re combing the streets the best we can, trying to draw them out.”

He looked quizzically down at Fulgid trotting beside Ammon. “You may be interested to know none of the dragons, regardless of age or size, have matched Fulgid’s ability to breathe fire, at least not yet. We’re hoping their abilities increase the longer they take the calentar.”

As the three of them climbed the steps to the palace, a shadow flew overhead as several dragons circled. Theo shaded his eyes and watched them land in the courtyard. “Those must be the Laton dragons coming in from the countryside. Sasha asked Erik to send out riders with satchels of calentar and maps. Apparently she knows exactly where every one of them is. If what she says is true, in a few weeks there will be more dragons assembled here than the world has seen in many, many years!”

El sniffed indignantly. “It’s true. You’ll soon see!”

Ammon rolled his eyes and followed them wordlessly up the stairs to the palace. If this is how she was going to act, it was going to be a long day.

The palace interior looked much the same as it had before. They searched room to room and found two Kala-Azar hiding in Ammon’s chambers. Fulgid made quick work of eliminating them, destroying the rugs in the process, but otherwise the only damage was a layer of soot covering everything. Another slug was waiting in Erik’s chambers, and scrolls of paper and a good portion of the table were burned when Fulgid destroyed it. As they worked their way through, Ammon noticed that it was the places that Fulgid frequented where they found slugs waiting. Everywhere else seemed undisturbed, but to be safe, they decided to search it anyway.

As large as the palace was, there were places that had not yet been explored, and in one area they stumbled upon an armory. Ammon stared in wonder at the row after row of armor, shields, and swords. Theo walked down one of the rows and called out to Ammon and El. Holding his torch up to the dust-covered sword hanging on the wall, he pointed to the one Ammon wore.

“Look, it’s the same odd style as the one you have, Ammon. I had thought perhaps your sword was one of a kind, but it appears quite common here judging from the number of them on these walls.”

El snorted. “Common? Hardly!” She turned to Ammon and frowned. “I told you before it was an Honor Blade!”

Ammon shrugged. “Yes, I remember you saying that now. I was a bit…distracted…at the time though. So what does it mean?”

El squinted her eyes at him mischievously and smirked. “If you’d read that book you’d know.” Embarrassed, Ammon looked away and she continued. “An Honor Blade is given only to royalty and to those knights who earn the right to carry one through great acts of courage or personal sacrifice. With it comes the responsibility to act as an authority figure. If there is a dispute, the bearer of the Blade acts as judge.”

Theo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “How do you know all this if the city was abandoned long before you were born?”

El shrugged. “Grandmother Sasha insisted I learn the laws, titles, customs, and traditions of the country for the day the dragons return. I always thought it was foolish because the dragons would never come back. I guess I was wrong.”

A loud crash from behind startled them and they all spun around. Theo held the torch high over his head to cast the light further into the room. At the end of the row, Fulgid stood innocently next to a shield he pulled down from a suit of armor. They breathed a sigh of relief, and El picked the shield up and placed it back on its stand next to the armor as Ammon scolded the little dragon. Theo gasped and stood still as a stone with his mouth open. Ammon and El looked up at him, then at each other.

El jerked her thumb at Theo and whispered to Ammon. “What’s wrong with him?”

Ammon stood up from where he’d been kneeling next to Fulgid. “Theo? What’s the matter?”

Theo pointed at the wall behind them. Ammon turned and felt his heart skip a beat. A large portrait hung on the wall of a young man with bright blue eyes and shoulder length blond hair. The resemblance was so close that Ammon could have been looking in a mirror. Theo brought the torch closer as El dusted the name plaque.

Coughing from the dust, she read it out loud. “King Halos, House of Les.” She stepped back, tilting her head at the painting. “It’s definitely a striking resemblance to you, Ammon. Ammon? Now you look like you’ve seen the ghost!”

Ammon was staring down at the shield El had carefully hung back on the stand. He held up his bandaged hand and unwrapped his finger to expose the ring he wore. In the firelight, El could see the engraving was identical to the gold dragon insignia on the face of the shield.

El shook her head in confusion. “I don’t understand. This is impossible, King Halos died over fifty years ago!”

Ammon felt sick. Whatever these coincidences meant, he felt sure it wouldn’t lead to anything good. Despite his argument that they should leave things where they were, Theo insisted they bring them downstairs to the Hold where Erik had set up his temporary chambers. Ammon reluctantly carried the shield while Theo carefully hefted the large portrait down the hallway in front of them. El walked beside Ammon and Fulgid lost in thought.

“We should tell grandmother. She would understand more about this than anyone. She knew King Halos. He was the last ruler of DoTaria before the fall of the city.”

Ammon only nodded, there wasn't much else he could do. He had a bad feeling about this. The look on his face must have been obvious because El patted his arm reassuringly before she left to find Sasha.

When they got to Erik’s quarters, it was so crowded with people there was standing room only. Ammon held the door open, and Theo shuffled in with the portrait and they looked around curiously. Erik was in the far end of the room facing them with a broad smile across his face. Behind him, Shane was leaning against the wall and laughing hysterically. Ammon stood on his toes and strained to see over the shoulders of the people in front of him. He could just see the top of a bald headed man sitting in a chair facing Erik. Standing off to the side were four knights with strange looking armor. Although obviously still made from dragon scales, the overlapping design swirled in a whimsical fashion rather than in straight neat rows like typical armor.

Erik noticed Ammon and Theo in the back of the room and gestured for them to come closer. “You two are just in time! Not a quarter of an hour has past since these four honorable DoTarian Knights arrived carrying a rather large payload between their dragons. Perhaps you'd like to say hello to one of their passengers?”

The bald man turned in his chair. His face was covered with partially healed scratches and the remnants of a large bruise above his left eye still colored his forehead. One arm hung limp in a sling, and Ammon could see his leg was wrapped and braced with saplings. Despite all the injuries, there was no mistaking the familiar smile on the man’s face. Stunned, Ammon let the shield slip from his hands and it rattled loudly on the floor. Fulgid suddenly bounded across the room and leapt excitedly onto Boris’ lap.

"Aye! As happy as I am to see you, could you get this confounded oversized lapdog of a gilded dragon off of me before he breaks my other leg?" With his good arm he reached up and scratched Fulgid behind the ears.

Ammon plucked Fulgid from Boris’ lap and placed the little dragon on the floor, then embraced his friend warmly as he struggled for words. “I...I thought you were dead! I saw you and Ellis fall, and I tried to get to you...I tried but I couldn't!” Ammon looked down at Fulgid as the words caught in his throat. “We tried, but the water pulled you away before we could get there!”

Boris reached up and grabbed Ammon's shoulder. Despite his injuries, the man still had a grip like iron. “I know, I saw what you did. Even if you had reached me there was nothing to be done. Ellis took a horrible hit, and when we fell my leg was tangled in the stirrup and pinned beneath him. Even if you'd have gotten me free, I wouldn't have left him there to the mercies of Tirate and his men.”

Ammon felt the blood drain from his face. He wasn't sure how to ask about Ellis, but Boris just smiled.

“Yes, he's alive. The water swept us down the river and through that blasted hole in the the mountain.” He shook his head. “Once you go into that hole it's complete darkness. The two of us were tossed and dragged over the rocks like rag dolls until we went over the falls. Once we hit the bottom of that, the water was much calmer and we floated out the other side of the mountains. Neither one of us were able to do much of anything but keep our heads above water. We were fortunate a couple of these lads were fishing on the banks and managed to pull us ashore.”

He patted his heavily bandaged leg. “They doctored me up pretty well, but Ellis was in bad shape. It's a good thing they had some fair knowledge about dragons, or he wouldn’t have made it. Who would have thought there were still people around with dragons on this side?” He looked up at Erik. “More dragons than we ever could have imagined! Although they'd never seen one as big as my Ellis!" he chuckled.

One of the knights rolled his eyes as he tore his gaze away from Fulgid. “And he won't let us forget it either! It took four dragons and a sling and carry the wounded beast here.”

Boris nodded. “One of the roughest landings I've ever experienced too!”

The seamstress woman that had stitched Boris’ face suddenly stepped through the doorway. “Here you are with a broken arm and leg and you complain about their landings? I've sewed you up enough times to know just how rough some of your touchdowns have been!” The woman stood glowering down at Boris, hands on her hips.

Shane buried his face with his hands as he tried to stifle a laugh, but Erik slapped his knee heartily. “Ha! She's got you there Boris! She's probably seen more of your insides than of your outer skin!”

Ammon was chuckling until the seamstress suddenly turned on him and poked a finger at his chest.

“And you young man! The way you go through shirts, it's obvious you take after him! Mind you I'm too old to be following the both of you around like a forsaken puppy, so you'd best start looking for someone with a needle to sew that pretty face of yours back up when you get cut shaving!” Ammon’s jaw dropped and the room erupted in laughter.

Theo placed a hand on his shoulder. “I wouldn't let your man Kyle at you with a needle if I were you. He may be a decent man for taking care of your daily meals, but I've seen his stitching and it's nothing to brag about.”

Laughter filled the room again and Kyle, who sat on a chair near the back, laughed the loudest as he pointed to the crude stitching on his shirt.

With his good hand, Boris gently plucked the bandages on Ammon's hands. “They told me you've been busy but it looks to me like you've been playing with fire! So it's true? The dragons really can breathe fire with these crystals?”

Ammon nodded, but before he could say anymore, Sasha entered the room followed by El. All four of the DoTarian knights bowed with a fist to their chest. Her voice creaked like a rusty hinge as she impatiently waved her hand at them. “Yes, yes, none of that now. Theo, El tells me you have found something of interest to show us?”