Dragonstone (Eligium Series Book 3) Read online

  Things came to a head for Krystelle late in the afternoon their third day on the beach. Tightening a line to hold the next piece of their makeshift craft together, she crashed backward when the rope broke. Sitting in the sand for a moment she looked at the little raft. Lunging toward it, she grabbed the pieces she had been working on and hurled them into the surf.

  “Krystelle!” Sebastian cried, rushing to collect what she had tossed away.

  “Damn this island!”

  “What is wrong with you?” he said, pulling the piece of wreckage to safety from tides.

  “Can you not feel it?” Krystelle sat back down in the sand.

  “Feel what?”

  “Everything we do turns against us. We must get to Uriasz and yet we are stuck here on this forsaken little island!” She kicked at the sand beneath her, “We are running out of time!”

  “It could be a lot worse.”

  She gave him a scathing look, “Worse than being stranded on an island when we have important business to attend to?”

  He refused to wither under that gaze. “Yes, worse than that. We could be dead. We could be without food or water, or supplies to build ourselves a way of escape. As it is, we have ample resources to keep us alive for some time. At least until we can finish this raft.”

  “Yes, but even if we can get off this island there is nothing to say we will be able to find Cale Uriasz.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that and I have an idea. That last day on the ship I overheard the Captain talking to his mate that we were only about another day from the Cale. Even with the storm, we must be close and the winds are still blowing in the right direction. If we can find enough sailcloth, we will be able to let the winds carry us right into port.”

  “That is risky, Sebastian. If we miss the Cale, there is not another place to make landfall until we reach Grueniarch. Even if our supplies lasted that long that is not a shore I care to visit.”

  Even growing up in his little town, Sebastian had heard the tales of Grueniarch. It was supposed to be a wild place, without the rule of a king or the protection of the wizards. Warrior tribes roamed that rocky country and even in Taleros he heard tales of stray seafarers washed up on its shores never to be heard from again. Nevertheless, he was convinced he could guide them to Cale Uriasz. He knew he could do it and it was the kind of knowing that had never failed him before. It was also not something he was comfortable explaining.

  He tried another tack. “This is not like you, Krystelle,” he said. “I have never heard you talk like this. You are the one always telling me that a way will be made for us. That I need to have faith. That I need to stand up for what I know to be true and press on. Are we in trouble here? Yes, of course we are. I’d not try to deny that. But we will reach Uriasz. We have to. And I need you and your strength to find it. I am doing all I know to do, which is build us a way off this island. If you know a better way, then speak your mind. But don’t you DARE give up on me now!”

  She blinked as the onslaught washed over her. “You are right,” she said once Sebastian had wound down. “I was beginning to despair.” She reached her hand out. “Will you forgive me?” He pulled her to her feet in answer and the two turned back to their work. However, Krystelle couldn’t shake the feeling they were running out of time.

  Returning to their camp that evening, Sebastian recovered a trio of the large rodents that populated their forest in abundance from his snares. He skinned them with the expertise of one who had grown up around such tasks while Krystelle looked on in disgust. “Rats again?”

  “Oh put your nose down m’lady. It’s a fair sight better than the alternative.”

  “If you say so!”

  Within a few moments, he had the meat roasting over his crackling fire, the juices trickling down and making the flames jump up to kiss the meat. They made quick work of their meal, supplemented by a pair of the green fruits endemic to their part of the jungle. Once finished eating, Sebastian turned back to worrying over Gerhard’s trunk.

  “Still no luck getting that open?” Krystelle asked from her repose on the far side of the fire.

  “Hmmm?” all his attention focused on the case.

  “Gerhard’s trunk. Any progress?” she repeated.

  “Oh. No. Nothing yet. I’m not ready to give up though. There may well be something inside that will help us.” He had spent every evening after their meal trying to open the trunk. So far, he had not been able to so much as make the latch quiver.

  He sat back to consider the trunk, leaning against the stone wall behind him. There had to be a way. If only he could remember the incantation Gerhard had used to open it back on the Gull. Unfortunately the raging storm had drowned out the old wizard’s spell, leaving Sebastian with no real idea of how to get it open. The second night he had tried creating a picture in his mind of the straps opening like he had done with the fire on the boat, but consciously trying to make the vision appear had only resulted in another spark arcing out from the trunk. He hated to admit it, but he was out of ideas.

  Peering out above the dark forest the expanse of stars above took his breath away for a moment. At home, he had never thought about the night sky and in all his travels he had always been too exhausted by the end of the day to spend any time stargazing. It was beautiful. Thousands—no millions—of stars, each its own pinpoint of light hung in the sky above him. It was dizzying in its magnitude.

  He settled back, just staring and taking it all in. Bathing himself in the immensity of the night sky, he lost track of time. Periodically, one would lose its place in the expanse and come rocketing down to the earth, leaving a red streak to mark its passage. After a time, Sebastian dozed. Losing track of what was real and what was dream, he…drifted.

  One of the bright dots zig-zagged across his field of vision. There was no red streak like the shooting stars. It continued to burn, traversing the sky first one way then another. Back and forth it flew and Sebastian clawed his way back to consciousness. The light was getting closer now.

  “Krystelle!” he hissed. “Wake up.”

  “What?” she brushed a stray lock of hair back from her face.

  “Something’s coming. Look there, in the sky.”

  Drowsily, she squinted toward where he pointed. With effort, she focused on the speck of light and sat straight upright, fully awake now. “What in the world is that?”

  “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s coming straight at us!” The two scrambled to retrieve the weapons they had scavenged from the wreckage and prepared to receive their nocturnal visitor. They did not have long to wait before the speck of light came crashing down into their fire, sending sparks flying across the clearing and lighting up the waterfall beside their camp. Krystelle and Sebastian leapt back from the fire, weapons at the ready. There, in the center, they could see a rounded stone glowing with an internal fire of orange and red. As they watched, the heat in the stone dimmed. Within minutes it had faded to a dark black.

  Sebastian reached out with his staff and nudged the rock. With a sharp crack that echoed from the stone wall of the cave behind them, the rock split down the center and the two halves fell away to reveal a living creature curled up inside. The reptilian form unfurled itself and coughed weakly. Clawing its way out of the fire, the little dragon made its way to Sebastian’s feet and let out a pathetic keening cry as it collapsed. “Is that?” he whispered reverently, not able to complete his thought.

  “Yes. That’s a baby dragon.” She motioned him back. “It could be dangerous.”

  He knelt down to take a closer look. “Dangerous? It’s not any bigger than a cat.”

  “Yes, but even a cat can have claws,” she said as he reached out to pick it up. “That is not a very good idea.”

  Ignoring her, Sebastian picked up the creature, “Come on, what harm can it do just to see the little guy through the night?” The dragon burrowed into his shoulder. “See, it’s just glad to have found someone. Hand me that piece of cloth there.�
�� Shaking her head, Krystelle picked up the cloth and held it out to him, keeping a safe distance between herself and the reptile.

  “I wonder how it came to be here,” she said. “There has not been a dragon this far south since the Dragon Wars, and I do not know of any records of a baby dragon appearing like this.”

  Sebastian shrugged, “I think he’s cold. I’m going to lay him here by the fire to keep him warm. I’ll stay up a while with him.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Sebastian woke the next morning with the dawn, dreams of life on his uncle’s farm fresh on his mind. He had not had a dream about his father since Ha’vehl’on. At times he mourned the loss of those dreams as the last connection to his dead father. “No time for that now. I’ve a raft to finish today,” he whispered to himself to keep from waking Krystelle. Growing up in a castle with torches and fireplaces meant she was not fond of mornings. He stretched his arms to work out some of the kinks from sleeping on the ground.

  Sebastian crouched down next to the little dragon that had prison,fallen into their laps the night before to see how it had faired. In the daylight, he could see that its scales were more greenish in color than the black they had appeared to be the previous night. Not an emerald green, but rather a grayish green with a hint of red. A row of thicker scales formed a ridge down the back of its spine and he supposed it would be about two feet long if you stretched it out from head to the tip of its spiky tail. Not that he had any intention of trying that!

  There was an ashen pallor to the little beast this morning and Sebastian realized that it wasn’t moving. “Did it die?” he wondered aloud. Grabbing a stick, he poked the creature in its side. Its eye popped open, sending Sebastian falling backward. It raised its head and stretched out those leathery wings, fluttering them like Sebastian had his own arms.

  “I think I’ll call you Stretch,” he said to the creature as it crawled its way over to him. Now that the dragon was awake, the pallor he had noticed seemed to fade. “Looks like you made it through the night little Stretch.” Sebastian froze as the dragon reached him and clawed onto the boy’s shoulder, draping his tail down Sebastian’s chest, and letting out a croak.

  Not knowing what else to do, Sebastian reached for the extra rat he’d caught the day before and offered it to Stretch. With great care, the dragon picked the rat out from between Sebastian’s fingers and gulped it down. His tail curled up in satisfaction at the treat.

  “What do you think you are doing?” whispered Krystelle, drawing back from Sebastian and the dragon. Stretch hissed at her movement.

  “Well I thought he might be hungry.”

  “Hungry? Of course he is hungry. In case you hadn’t noticed, you have a dragon draped around your neck. They are ALWAYS hungry. You will become the main course if you’re not careful.” Picking up on the mood, Stretch narrowed his eyes at the girl and tightened his grip on Sebastian.

  “Would you stop! You are making him nervous. He is just a baby, what harm can come of it?”

  Krystelle tried to keep her tone even, “A baby dragon. Baby dragons grow up to be big dragons,” she said. “And then they burn down villages and eat people.”

  “He wouldn’t do that. Would you, Stretch?” the dragon eased his grip and nuzzled in closer. “Yeah, that’s better.”

  “You are insane. A dragon is not a pet!”

  “I know I can’t keep him. For now, it’s nice to have a companion that seems to appreciate me.” Rising he set off for the beach, leaving Krystelle fuming in his wake.

  Sebastian spent that day with only Stretch for company. Periodically, he saw Krystelle in the distance going about her normal search for new building materials. It was apparent she wanted nothing to do with the dragon, regardless of how small he was. As for Stretch, he spent the day sunning himself in the sand. Occasionally he would dart off into the nearby forest and come back with some prize to gulp down. He offered none of his game to Sebastian, who was content with that. It made him happy to see the dragon faring so well.

  Sebastian felt an affinity for the dragon that grew stronger the more time he spent with Stretch. It was nothing Sebastian could define, but it was there nonetheless. Even with his back turned, he sensed what Stretch was doing and even how the dragon was feeling.

  At mid-day, Sebastian made his way over to a bit of shade and watched as Stretch frolicked in the surf. The dragon was careful not to get more than his claws and the tip of his tail wet, but seemed to enjoy his game. Sebastian could see that the tide was coming in and watched as a higher than normal wave threatened to wash over the dragon. Rather than calling out, he waited to see what Stretch would do if the wave crashed over him.

  Stretch was drenched. Extending his wings, he shook his whole body and looked back at Sebastian, reproach evident in his glare. Then, the little dragon’s entire body convulsed. Sebastian bolted up in alarm. Before he took two steps, Stretch started hacking and coughing, and moved off away from Sebastian in fits and starts, disappearing into the forest.

  Sebastian tried to follow the creature, but for all his lurching around Stretch was moving fast. The sound of his coughing fit faded into the distance and Sebastian turned back to the beach when it became clear he could not keep up with his dragon. “That’s that I suppose. Krystelle will be happy,” he said as he slinked back to the beach. Sebastian mourned the departure of his friend the rest of the afternoon, hoping the creature was all right and that the wave had triggered some dragonish aversion to water. Perhaps the little guy would be back in the morning. In the back of his mind he continued to feel a bond with Stretch, but it was distant, more like an itch in the back of his awareness.

  Putting the dragon out of his mind, he took a step back to evaluate the progress he had made. Looking over all he had accomplished, Sebastian realized that the raft was nearly finished. They could leave the island the next day if they got an early start. Hopefully, that news would smooth the waters with Krystelle when he got back to camp.

  Wiping his brow, he looked up at the setting sun. “Stretch!” he shouted. The little dragon was there, flying toward him. As the dragon grew closer, Sebastian realized that he had doubled in size in just a single day. He was not so little anymore. Apprehensive, Sebastian took a harder look. It was Stretch all right. The markings and coloring were the same. The dragon’s presence flooded back into Sebastian’s awareness through the bond between them. In moments the dragon crashed onto the shore, flopping around Sebastian. He might have learned to fly, but the dragon still had work to do on his landings.

  Thrilled that the dragon had survived his dousing, Sebastian was wary of the sudden increase in size. Dragon-lore had not been part of his education on the farm. The dragon seemed very interested in the raft and walked over to it, investigating it from every side. “Stretch?” Sebastian said after a time.

  Hearing his name the dragon perked his head up, looking over at the boy. He ruffled his wings and then returned to his assessment of the raft. Apparently satisfied, he turned back to Sebastian. “I suppose that raft has your approval then?” he asked, not expecting any response.

  Even though he didn’t expect a response, he got one. Stretch’s eyes squinched for a moment and then the dragon let out what could only be described as a sneeze. What does one say to a sneezing dragon? That thought set Sebastian to laughing. Walking over to where the dragon sat, he was glad his friend had returned.

  Stretch sneezed again. This time a little burst of flame came out of both nostrils, stopping Sebastian in his tracks. Then another sneeze, larger this time and with more flame. The dragon’s body shook once more and Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief. Drawing near, Sebastian realized that Stretch was still quivering from his bout of sneezes. “You all right?” he wondered.

  The dragon just looked at him, head cocked, body continuing to vibrate. Sebastian watched as the creatures nostrils clenched and his head reared back. Realizing what was coming, he threw himself to one side as the dragon let out a sneeze that dwarfed all the rest, a
nd with it a flame that extended twice the length of the dragon himself.

  Unfortunately, just at that moment the dragon was facing the raft Sebastian had worked so hard to build over the last three days. With the intensity of the dragon fire, the raft was caught up immediately. Surprised by that last sneeze, Stretch shook his head side to side and looked from the burning raft to Sebastian and back again. With no further warning, the dragon stretched out his wings again and flew off out across the ocean, leaving Sebastian standing there with the smoking remains of their escape.

  Krystelle would not be happy.

  Sebastian stood there for a while just watching the raft burn. There was nothing he could do. He didn’t have a bucket to collect sand or water, and there was so much flame that trying to throw sand on it would have little effect. All he could do was watch his raft burn. Dejected, he turned to head back to their camp, wondering what he would say to Krystelle.

  She was standing there at the tree-line, watching with arms folded across her chest. She did not have to say a single word. It was all there, in her glare. I told you so. Krystelle pivoted away from the burning raft and stalked off into the woods. Sebastian trailed after her, struggling to come up with something to say when he reached the camp. He suspected that “You were right” was not going to appease her. Even at twilight it was simple to find his way back to their waterfall. Traversing back and forth over the last few days had left a clear pathway to follow. He wished that the trail was not so clear. Anything to avoid what was coming next.

  Entering the clearing he found that Krystelle had already cleared his traps and was busy cleaning the day’s catch. “What’s on the menu? More rat?” he said to bypass the inevitable tension. She skewered him with her glare for a moment and resumed her work. It would be even worse than he had expected. Taking up position next to his favorite rock, he considered his options. He wished he could get inside her head and know what she was thinking. His optimism from the previous day that he was about to get them off this island seemed foolish in light of today’s misstep. In his own defense, how was he to know the dragon would sneeze fire?