Chapter 9
3027 Words
9
The night was long and the drink flowed like small waterfalls into the gullets of many present at the camp. I myself watched with a mixture of fascination and disgust as barrel after barrel fell before the thirst of the the revelers, my own dragon lord among them.
Darda and I sat on a log at the edge of the fire light. Clasped in our hands were two untouched mugs of the fine wine. Before us danced many of the drunken celebrators, most of them very badly. They stumbled over their own feet and that of the others as they went around and around the bonfire. Xander and Spiros were a part of the bunch, and no less steady on their feet as the others.
Tillit plopped himself down on the log beside Darda. There was a mug in one hand and a smile on his face. His cheeks were flushed as he leaned toward Darda. "Didn't I tell you you'd have fun?"
She leaned away from him and sneered. "I fail to see the 'fun' in such foolish behavior."
He hiccuped and sat straight. "That's because you don't know what it means. Here, I'll show you." He stumbled to his feet and grabbed her hand.
Darda yelped as she was dragged off the log. Tillit tripped over his own feet, and together they were pulled by gravity onto the soft sand. Mugs went flying and limbs were tangled together as they thrashed on the ground.
Tillit raised his head and blinked. "What happened?"
"You fell, you oaf, and took me with you!" Darda snarled.
He grinned. "Did I?"
Darda shoved him away. "Get off me!"
"I would, but I-hiccup-can't seem to get up," he replied.
The pair pulled and yanked, but they were stuck together. I set my mug in the sand at my feet and stood. "I think I'll let you two play this out alone while I go to the bathroom."
Darda tried to free herself, but Tillit's legs caught hers. "You should not go alone, Miriam!"
I didn't turn around as I gave a wave over my shoulder. "I'll stay in the oasis and be back in a minute."
I wandered away from the firelight and into the darkness beyond the tents. Small bushes and the tall palm trees cast darker shadows behind them and offered a place for privacy for me to relieve myself. I stepped up to a particularly large bush and was assessing its usability when something beyond the shrub caught my attention.
Over the top of the bush I spotted a strange light. It appeared four feet off the ground, but it wasn't the glow of a torch. The light was too consistent. It swung back and forth like a lantern, but there was no flicker of a candle or burning oil. It almost looked like-
"A flashlight?" I whispered.
My muffled words made the light pause, and I caught a glimpse of a beam on the sandy ground. There was a soft click and the beam vanished. I heard footsteps hurry away from me. I moved to follow it, but a hand grabbed my arm.
I yelped as I was spun around. Xander's shadow-cloaked face looked into mine. There was no hint of intoxication as he spoke. "You have been gone far too long."
I arched an eyebrow. "Have you been pretending to be drunk?"
"Perhaps," he commented as he looked over my head in the direction I'd been looking. "What caught your attention so thoroughly?"
I looked back at the spot over the bush. "I thought I saw something like a flashlight over there."
"A 'flashlight?'" he repeated.
I nodded. "Yeah, it's something from my old world that uses electricity to shine a light. Kind of like a lantern, but without oil."
Xander grasped my hand and guided me around the bush. "Let us see what we might find."
Together we strode over to the spot where I'd seen the light. I nodded at our feet. "I think the light was here."
He stooped and scanned the ground before he shook his head. "There are too many footprints to follow a single one." He stood and turned to me. "You are sure of what you saw?"
I frowned. "Of course I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?"
He glanced around at the deep darkness. "Because such technology should not exist in this world. It is forbidden to bring any such items through the Portal."
I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes. "I know what I saw."
Xander pursed his lips as he grasped my upper arms. "Then we must keep our eyes open for more lights, but let us return. The others may be worried."
The revelry continued long through the night, but Xander and I retired. We slept in one of the pillow-filled tents, and in the morning I woke up with rumpled hair and a slight touch of hangover. I sat up and groaned as my head swam.
Xander rolled over beside me on the clump of pillows and wrapped his arms around my waist. He buried his head into my side and smiled. "You smell of the desert."
I snorted. "So like fermented desert berries?"
He nuzzled me. His soft words trembled against my side. "You smell of the sweet desert grass mixed with the cool breeze across the hot sands."
I raised an arm and sniffed myself. The scent made me wrinkle my nose before I looked down at him. "Are we smelling the same me?"
He drew me down onto the pillows and leaned above me. A devilish smile slipped onto his lips. "I would like to do more than smell you." A soft scratch against the front flap of our tent caught our attention. Xander's shoulders drooped, but he looked over his shoulder at the entrance. "Yes?"
Spiros's voice floated through the flap. "We must leave soon, My Lord, or we will not make the city before the heat."
Xander frowned. "Prepare the hadab. We will be out in a short while."
There was a ring of bemusement in Spiros's reply. "They are already prepared."
My dragon lord sighed and lifted himself off me. "Very well. We will be out directly."
"Very good, My Lord." His footsteps retreated from the flap.
Xander sat beside me and ran a hand through his hair as he shook his head. "He takes great pleasure in vexing me."
I sat up and patted him on the shoulder. "Friends are like that."
He glanced over his shoulder at me. "You have felt the same?"
I nodded. "Oh yeah. There's this one friend back where I came from who was real pushy. She's kind of the reason I got here, too."
Xander smiled. "Then I will thank her in my prayers once we reach the Temple. Let us prepare."
We exited the tent a short while later and found the small village alive with activity. Packed hadab waited beside tents as servants and masters prepared for the final leg of the journey. The classy clientele of the oasis were assisted onto their animals and sat atop the hadab's like sacks of flour.
Spiros stood nearby watching the scene, and we joined him at his side. He glanced to his right at Xander. His lips were pursed tightly. "We may have trouble with this group."
Xander arched an eyebrow. "Why?"
Spiros nodded at the sacks of flour and their heavy-laden hadabs. "They are inexperienced with their animals, and many of them brought enough gold to attract every bandit in the desert."
I leaned forward to look across Xander at Spiros. "But isn't this supposed to be some sort of a holy trip or something? People aren't supposed to attack people right now, right?"
"Greed would rob its own grandmother, and the bandits of the desert are followers of such a principal," Spiros told me.
"Then we will help speed them along as well as we might," Xander commented.
"My friends!" the jolly voice of Alzalam called to us. He came over from the packing with a smile on his face. "Did you sleep well?"
Xander bowed his head. "Yes, we thank you. The renowned comfort of your tents still holds true."
"Excellent! And now you shall be off with the others to finish the Jame. I hope you like our ancient city," he mused.
"Even though it is filled with the symbols of its ancient capture," a voice spoke up. We turned to see Tifl come our way and he joined us with a smile on his face. "Still, there is much pride among its people."
Alzalam frowned at his son. "It is not polite to insult guests."
Xander held up his hand and shook his head. "It is quite all right, my good host. I would not like to see Alexandria ever occupied by transgressors."
Tifl bowed his head to Xander. "I am glad you agree with me, Your Lordship, especially as I have come to wish you a safe journey."
"That is a journey we must now commence or the worst of the heat will be upon us before we reach the city," Xander agreed.
Our hadab were brought to us and we mounted the beasts. The others guests were specks on the horizon as we waved to our hosts and left the green land among the white sands.
I glanced at Xander. "So how far is it to the city again?"
"Not more than half a day's ride. If my letter has reached Apuleius I hope that a fine lunch awaits us," he replied.
We traveled across the hot sands for several hours. The other former guests of the oasis, laden as they were by their treasures, were slower and we gained ground on them until they were scarcely fifty yards ahead of us.
The desert stretched out on all sides of us. Nothing stirred save for the occasional dust devil that swept past us. I was ready to ask how far the city was when I caught sight of movement on the horizon.
I leaned forward and squinted. "What's that?"
Xander smiled. "It is the creatures of blessing."
I perked up. "Unicorns?"
He nodded as he pulled his animal to the left. "Yes, but they will not grant a blessing to us as we are."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked my dragon lord as we followed him to the left. The group ahead of us also steered leftward.
"The naqia travel from oasis to oasis within the safety of their self-made sandstorm," Xander explained as we stopped some fifty yards from where we pulled off. We turned to face the oncoming sandstorm. The wall of dust was twice the size as the one that had pushed the sails in the race. "Though they are beasts of virtue, they are not beneath stampeding over anything that stands in the way of their travels."
"So they'd squish anything that they ran over?" I guessed.
"Precisely."
I looked back to the sandstorm and frowned. "Not very nice, are they?"
"It is a matter of survival," Spiros spoke up. "Rare creatures attract poachers, and poachers will not hesitate to harm the beasts."
I snorted and pointed at the sandstorm that came within a hundred yards of us. "How are they going to harm anything in that storm?"
"They must stop for water at some point, and it is at that time where they are most vulnerable," Spiros told me.
Darda set her hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. "Are they the less beautiful for their protection?"
I shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't put more than one in a petting zoo."
The sandstorm picked up the dust around us. My hair whipped my face as the hadab beneath me reared back its head and pulled at the reins.
"Whoa there, old-um, thing," I soothed as the creature snorted and pawed at the sand. I glanced at Darda. "What's the matter with this thing? Hasn't it seen a sandstorm before?"
Darda tightened her hold on her own reins as her beast caused the same trouble. "There is something amiss here. They should have no fear of the sandstorm."
My heart skipped a beat as I looked down at the sands. "Maybe it's not the storm they're afraid of."
Xander looked out on the sandstorm and frowned. "Everyone keep your guard-"
A loud trumpet broke the monotonous roar of the wind. The noise was a signal that called a dozen dark forms that flew out of the top of the sandstorm. They stretched their short wings and glided toward us. The sandstorm passed as they landed with a crunch on the sands between the lead group and our own. The dragons were all men, but they hid their features with loose tan clothing and scarves over the lower half of their faces. They drew curved swords from the sashes around their waists and broke into two groups. One went to the lead group and the other half stalked toward us. The group ahead of ours spurred on their beasts and raced across the desert with the swordsmen close behind them.
Spiros and Xander leapt from their hadabs and drew their swords. Our half of the attackers gave a battle shout and rushed them. The clash of steel against steel rang loudly across the quiet sands. The count was two against six as Xander and Spiros ducked and parried thrust after swing.
Spiros leapt back as one of his opponents made a wild swing across his chest. The blade of the sword sliced open his garb, but not his flesh. He blocked a blow from his other opponent and glanced at Xander. "They mean to kill us!"
"Then we have no choice but to return the privilege!" Xander called back.
The men dragon battled with their swords as Darda and I held back with Tillit beside us. Two of the attackers, one from each group, managed to slip around the men and hurry toward us.
Darda slipped from her hadab and grabbed my leg. She looked up at me and tugged. "Get down, Miriam!"
I shook myself and slid off the saddle just as the pair reached us. One of them gave a cry and swung their sword at us. Darda drew her blades from beneath her heavy garb and blocked the blow. Tillit grabbed the reins of our retreating hadab and placed himself out of harms way.
The other attacker stepped around her and lunged at me. I slipped around to the right side of my startled hadab. The creature brayed and stumbled to the right as the dragon man pushed it forward. I grabbed the swinging reins and pulled the beast back between us. My water bottle hit me in the face, but the knock gave me an idea.
I tore the bottle from my saddle and let go of the reins to open the cap. My hadab took off and left me without any cover. The masked dragon yelled and lifted his sword with both hands over his head to bring it down on mine.
I splashed some of my water on my hands and flung it at his face. The droplets combined to form a whip that lashed one of his cheeks. He spun in a circle and fell face-first into the sand. His sword dropped to the ground a few feet from him.
I grinned and looked at my comrades. I wish I hadn't.
Spiros and Xander dispatched their last foes with swift strokes of their swords across the chests of their attackers. Blood splattered the ground as the men dropped to their knees and fell onto their sides beside the first victims of the dragon men's sword skills.
Darda herself criss-crossed her dagger across the man's throat. He let out a garbled gasp before he, too, dropped to the ground dead. I covered my mouth and tried to tamp down the bile that rose in my throat.
Xander cleaned his sword with sand and turned to me as he sheathed it. His expression was severe as he walked over and grasped my hands. He looked into my eyes. "Are you unharmed?"
I swallowed the puke and nodded. "Y-yeah, but did you have to kill them?"
He pursed his lips. "There was no choice."
Spiros joined us and looked over the bodies. His eyes fell on mine. "One of them appears not to have had that choice." The man groaned.
Xander knelt beside him and rolled the man over. His face was covered in sand. The man's eyes fluttered open and fell on Xander. They widened and he tried to scurry backward, but Xander set his hand on the man's shoulder and pinned him to the sand.
"Why did you attack us?" Xander questioned him.
The man sneered at him. "Why do you think?"
Xander shook his head. "You were not after gold. Any fool could see that you and your companions purposefully landed behind them so they could have a chance to escape. Why then did you wish for no witnesses to the battle?"
He grinned at us. "Just ask Sinbad." The dragon bit down on one of his sharp teeth. A fine powder of dust flew from his mouth.
Xander grabbed the man's jaw and wrenched it open, but the man's eyes rolled back and his head lolled to one side. His body went limp upon the sand and his chest ceased to move.
Xander dropped the man and sneered at the corpse as he stood. "The coward has killed himself with poison."
Darda shook her head. "There is no honor among thieves."
Tillit stooped and picked up one of the blades. He stood and examined the curved sword. "This is a little strange. This blade's new."
Spiros glanced at the other weapons in the sand. "As are all the others."
"Maybe they robbed somebody else before us," I suggested as Xander took the blade from Tillit.
My dragon lord studied the new weapon and shook his head. "Refined metals are rare in the desert, and so the sand thieves cherish their weapons above all else. They would not all use a new blade unless they were given as gifts."
I arched an eyebrow. "So you're saying someone's sponsoring them?"
Xander slipped the sword between his sword scabbard and waist. "That is a possibility."
"He did mention Sinbad," Spiros reminded us.
Tillit frowned and shook his head. "And I don't believe it. He might be a kid, but he's not that kind of guy."
Xander glanced at the horizon. "We will need to investigate further, but for now we must continue on before night falls or more thieves come."
I nodded at the bodies. "What about them?"
"We will alert the authorities to their location, and if they choose not to retrieve them then the sands will take them."
- Writer
