Love in the Time of Dragons

Chapter Twelve

The day was as dark and damp as my mood, the smell of snow heavy in the air. Bright Star, my mare, moved restlessly beneath me as we waited at the foot of the hill, watching as a line of men and horses wound its way in and out of the woods, moving toward us like a massive centipede.

Baltic rode at the lead, as he always did, without a helm, his hair lank from the misty rain, straggling over his mail like inky fingers.

“What are you doing out of the keep?” he yelled when he emerged from the last of the forest that surrounded Dauva.

“I came to greet you.” My gaze passed from him to count the number of dragons who followed. It was a much smaller number than had set off, no more than a quarter returning. Sorrow, these days a constant companion in my belly, gripped me painfully. “You did not stop Constantine?” “No.” It was just one word, but in it was the full measure of despair that bound Baltic so tightly. His eyes were as bleak as his expression, flat, and without any hope. His shoulders were bowed, as if he were yoked to a great weight. “He comes for you, chérie. He is only a day behind me, less if he did not rest at night.” I shook my head, unable to believe it. “Why is he doing this? He knows I love you. He knows I want only you. I would never remain with him even should he take me from you.” He reached me, his stallion’s head hanging as low as my spirits. The horses and men looked exhausted, clearly at their limit of strength. I knew Baltic would have pushed both hard.

“Why?” Baltic gave a hoarse bark of laughter. “He believes he can sway you, turn you against me.” “He’s wrong,” I said, urging my mare around so that we rode into the bailey together.

“He has sworn that if he cannot have you, I shall not.” I glanced at him, startled by the pain lacing his voice.

“Yes, my love,” he said, taking my hand in his. His gauntlets and bracers were stained brown with blood. “He has threatened to kill you if he cannot steal you from me, this one who professes his great love for you.” “He is a fool,” I said grimly, the dull thud of hooves on the dirt the only sound.

Baltic noticed the silence. He lifted his head, glancing around. “Where is everyone?” “I sent them away.”

He looked at me for a moment, his eyes so stricken I wanted to crush him to my bosom and comfort him. Slowly, he nodded. “Why let others suffer for my folly?” I said nothing until I had him inside, arranging for the two remaining maids to bring water for a bath. Pavel, silent and filthy with blood and dirt, helped me remove Baltic’s armor.

“I’ll send one of the maids to help you,” I told Pavel as he gathered up the discarded mail.

His lips twisted in a wry half smile as he bowed and closed the door quietly behind him.

“It’s over, chérie,” Baltic said, slumping into the chair before the fire. “Constantine will win. He will take Dauva, take you, and I will die.” I knelt before him, my hands on his knees, sliding up his legs to take his hands in mine. “Then I will die, too. For I will belong to no one but you.” “I would rather you lived,” he said, a faint smile coming to his lips, but there was no humor in it. “I would rather we both lived.” “There has to be a way we can stop this, stop Constantine. He has all but destroyed this sept.” “There are only eighteen of us left,” Baltic said in a voice stripped of emotion.

“Dauva is strong. We will survive,” I said, refusing to give in to the despair that tainted the air around us.

“It is strong, but with time, Constantine will find a way in. We can hold it only so long with only a handful of men.” Suddenly, he lifted his head and looked about the chamber. “Where is Kostya?” “Er… about that.” I rose and opened the door for the maids, who lugged in four leathers of water. I waited until they were gone before continuing. “I realize that now is not the best moment to break this news to you, but… well… I’m carrying… that is to say—” “You’re with child again?” Hope flared to life for a moment in his eyes. “Chérie, how can you think I would not be pleased with that news?” “No, I’m not going to have a child. It’s something else I’m carrying,” I said, sick with the knowledge of what I had to say. I took a deep breath and said quickly, “While you were fighting Constantine, I went to Paris. There I met with Kostya and a green and a blue dragon. I told you that I was going to use the phylacteries to re-form the dragon heart, and so I did, only… I failed. It wouldn’t allow me to re-form it, and when it broke into the shards again, instead of going into the Choate Phylactery, it… it went into me. Into my body.” Baltic stared at me as if he’d never seen me. “You would use the dragon heart against me?” I marched over to him and slapped him, not hard, but shocking him enough that he leaped to his feet. “That is for even thinking that I would do such a thing.” Fury roared through him in the form of his dragon fire, a fury that spilled out onto me, twining around my legs, climbing higher and higher until I was alight with a spiral blaze. I welcomed the heat from it, merging it with my own, taking it into me and burying it deep into my soul.

For a moment, I thought Baltic was going to explode with anger, but amazingly, his fire banked and his lips quirked. “Ah, my love, what would I do without you?” “Be wholly and utterly miserable,” I said, pleased to see the life come back into his eyes. “And probably rut with every woman with two legs.” His hands slid around my waist. “You are the only woman I know who would dare greet her wyvern with the news that she now bears a piece of the dragon heart. We shall have to give you a name, now.” “I have a name,” I protested.

“Phylacteries are always given names. If you are now the phylactery for the Choate shard, then it shall have to take a different name.” “We’ll worry about that another time. What I need to know is how to get it out of me.” He shrugged, watching as the maids made another trip in with more water. “That I do not know. No dragon has ever been a phylactery before.” “Wonderful.” I wondered if there was some learned person I could speak with, someone familiar with the dragon shards and heart.

“You did not say where Kostya is. He came back with you, did he not?” Baltic asked as he pulled off his thin linen shirt.

I knelt again and helped him with the crossties on his leggings. “Actually, he didn’t.” “He left you to travel from Paris to Dauva alone?” he asked, frowning down at me.

I gestured toward the bath and went to a chest for the soap. “I wasn’t alone. My personal guard went with me.” “So I should hope.” Water splashed as he got into the tub. “Where is he if he is not here?” I took a deep breath, watching as the maids poured in the last of the hot water. When they were done and we were alone again, I dampened a sea sponge and swirled it around on the soap I made especially for Baltic. It was scented with frankincense and myrrh, his favorite. He watched me closely as I knelt next to the tub and began washing him.

“My mother would never let me wash anyone,” I said, wishing to avoid the pain I knew was coming. “I see now why she did so. It’s very sensual, this spreading of soap on a man’s body.” Baltic, distracted by the feeling of my fingers stroking across his skin, slippery little trails following each of my fingers as I lathered up the soft hair of his chest, glanced downward. “I am filthy, and riddled with fleas and lice, chérie. If you continue to stroke me that way, you will end up sharing the bath, and will not thank me for allowing my vermin to visit you.” I smiled, enjoying the hard muscles that lay in smooth ropes beneath his satiny flesh. Reluctantly, admitting the truth to his statement, I soaped up the sponge again and handed it to him, rising to fetch clean clothing as he briskly washed himself.

“Now you will tell me what you have wished to avoid,” he said, washing the long ebony lengths of his hair, leaning forward so I could rinse the soap off with one of the remaining leathers of water.

“Kostya has forsaken you,” I said simply, grabbing a linen cloth when he leaped to his feet, wincing as soapy water streamed down into his eyes. I mopped off his face, toweling his hair, and saying quickly, “He believes what all black dragons believe — that you seek to control the weyr. He refuses to be a part of it any longer. It was he who summoned me to Paris. I told him of my plan to use the dragon heart to stop the war, and he arranged for the other septs to loan me the shards so that it could be done.” “I wondered how you had arranged that,” he said in a deceptively mild voice. I wasn’t fooled — he was beyond angry, beyond furious, his fire barely contained.

“Sit back down and finish bathing. I do not wish to share my bed with your friends any more than I would a bath,” I said wearily, pouring him a cup of wine.

“So he has acted at last,” Baltic said, slowly sitting down, absently washing his body as I retrieved a fine comb and a paste made from white bryony and honey that would kill the head lice. “I suspected he would, although I had not thought he would involve you.” I said nothing for a few minutes, rubbing the paste into his hair, then combing it over and over again until I was satisfied.

“You do not leap to his defense?” Baltic asked as I washed the paste out of his hair.

“What is there to say that I haven’t already said?” I asked, pouring the last leather of water over his head. “He believes you to be a madman, willing to throw away the lives of everyone in the sept in order that you might rule supreme over the weyr. I don’t blame him for leaving you — if I were he, I would do the same.” He shot me a look that sought reassurance. I leaned forward and gently kissed him, taking his breath into my mouth as my lips caressed his. “I am not Kostya, my love. I will never leave you.” “If I can’t stop Constantine, you will not be left with the choice.” “There is always a choice,” I said, holding up a cloth for him. “We just need to find it.” The heat of the fire melted away, easing into a different sort of warmth. Sunlight poured over me as I sat on the stone front steps of Baltic’s house. I blinked as my mind was once again returned to the present, no longer disconcerted by the ease with which I slipped in and out of the visions.

“Whatcha doing?”

I looked up from where I had been hugging my legs, my chin resting on my knees, and moved the pad of paper upon which I’d been making a list before I’d slipped into the vision.

Jim plopped its big butt down next to me.

“Making a to-do list. I thought you were out with Brom.” The demon made a face. “He found a dead mouse and is looking it over to see if it’s too far gone to mummify or not. Kid’s a little weird, Soldy — you have to admit it.” “ ‘Eccentric’ is, I believe, the term you meant to use,” I said with a gimlet glance. “He is very intelligent. He has interests beyond those of lesser children.” “Whatever. What’s on your list?” It peered at the tablet. “ ‘Call Aisling.’ You better put on a pair of asbestos earplugs, ’cause she’s going to be Miss Pottymouth of 2010 when she hears what you did to me.” “She seems like a reasonable person,” I said with complacence I did not feel. “I’m sure I will be able to explain.” Jim snorted. “That’s not a word that’s often applied to her, but you’re just going to have to find that out for yourself. What’s next on the list? ‘Call May and apologize for disappearance.’ I like May. She feeds me.” “That is an excellent pointed look, but it is wasted on me. I’m sure you already had breakfast, and it’s not lunchtime yet.” “You think this fabulous form stays looking this way without any help? Nuh-uh! I gotta give it all sorts of vitamins and minerals and fresh, lightly grilled cuts of beef.” “I’m sure you’ll survive until lunch.” “I wouldn’t count on it. Number three… oooh. That’s going to be a doozy.” “Yes, it is.”

Jim’s face screwed up as it thought. “If I was you, I’d try and find a neutral place to meet the wyverns. Because if you just march into a sárkány with Baltic, they’ll grab you both.” I gave the demon a long look. “Why are you being helpful?” Its eyes opened wide. “Me? Helpful? Not on your shiny pink ass. I’m a demon, remember?” “Yes, but you’re being helpful. That is totally against the norm so far as demons go.” “Yeah, well.” It paused to suck a tooth. “I’m more than just a normal demon. I’m like Demon Plus with super whitening power. How’re you going to get Baltic to agree to meet with the other wyverns?” “What makes you think he wouldn’t?” I asked, quelling a feeling of worry about that very subject.

It rolled its eyes at me. “He’s the dread wyvern Baltic! The big kahuna during the Endless War. He’s probably killed more dragons than everyone else put together.” “Oh, he has not!” I said, shifting uneasily.

“You kidding? Mr. ‘We use his name to scare little dragons into being good’ Baltic? He’s like Genghis Khan and Vlad the Impaler and Stalin all rolled into one scaly package.” “Baltic is not scaly! Almost never!” It cocked a furry eyebrow at me. “Face it, Soldums — you don’t get the kind of reputation Baltic has by working well with others, and that’s what number three on your list is asking him to do.” I looked down at my list, sighing to myself as I admitted the truth. “He used to be scary. Now he’s different.” “A kinder, gentler maniac is still a maniac, chicky. Tell you what — you send me back to Ash, and I’ll tell her and Drake that Baltic isn’t the hyperderanged, mass-murdering psycho bastard they think he is, OK?” “No,” I said firmly, putting a little tick mark next to item number three. “We’re not going to tell them that. We’re going to prove it, and the only way we can do that is to get everyone together, the wyverns and Baltic and me, so we can work things out in a civilized manner.” The demon eyed me curiously as I stood up, filled with determination. “You think you got a way to make all that happen?” “I think I have a way to make Baltic understand that he will have to speak with the wyverns, yes. You forget there’s a death sentence hanging over my head. He may be adorably arrogant, but I doubt very much if he will allow the weyr to kill me. I’ll simply point out that if he wants that sentence lifted, he’s going to have to go with me to speak to the wyverns.” “Uh-huh. That’s just part of it, though, the Baltic side. How are you going to get the wyverns to talk to him?” “That’s the easiest part of all,” I said, patting it on its head.

“Yeah? What do you have up your sleeve? A magic mongoose or something?” “Nope.” I paused at the door and tossed the demon a smile. “I have you.” I closed the door gently on the sound of its sputtering.

The phone calls, as I suspected, weren’t the most pleasant ones of my life.

“Ysolde!” Aisling gasped when I got through to her. “Are you all right? We just got home. May’s here, and she said you’ve been kidnapped. Did you get away from Baltic? Has he hurt you? If he has, you just let me know. I’m a professional — I’ll take care of him. I’ll just summon Jim from Paris, and we’ll—” “Er… I appreciate that offer, but it’s not necessary,” I interrupted. “About Jim… Aisling, Jim is with me.” “It’s what? Why is it with you? Oh my god! Baltic kidnapped Jim when he grabbed you, didn’t he? That bastard! That fire-breathing bastard! He had just better watch out the next time I see him, because I will do all sorts of evil things to him. He won’t ever have children, for a start. And I think I know of someone who can curse him—” “I would really appreciate if you didn’t do any of that,” I said, laughing. I could feel her surprise at the laughter, which, I admit, died quickly as I confessed, “Baltic didn’t kidnap Jim — I did.” The silence that followed the statement was broken only by the noise of another receiver being picked up. “Ysolde? It’s May. You’re all right? Are you hurt in any way?” “She said she took Jim,” Aisling said, breathing somewhat heavily into the phone.

“She did? I thought it went to Paris.” “It was supposed to.”

“Then why did Ysolde kidnap it?”

I sighed. “Because it saw that Baltic was with me. Look, this is going to be impossible to explain over the phone. I just didn’t want you thinking that Jim was in any danger. It’s here with us—” “With you and Baltic? What the hell?” Aisling said, her voice rising.

“Oh, knock it off,” I said irritably. Although I knew I had committed the wrong, I had expected that they would understand why I had done it.

“Did she just tell you to knock it off?” May asked Aisling.

“Yes, she did,” Aisling answered, sounding rather bewildered.

“I’m sorry for my rudeness, but honestly! I thought if anyone would understand what’s been happening, two wyverns’ mates would,” I said firmly. “Surely you two understand the strength of the bonds that tie you to your particular dragon. The same applies to me, no matter if I am in human form or not.” “But—” Aisling started to protest.

“No, there are no buts. You’re the ones who were so bent on insisting that I’m Baltic’s mate! For the love of all that’s holy, you were ready to condemn me to death because of that!” My own voice was rising now. I made an effort to stem my growing anger.

“I never wanted you to die,” May said quietly.

“Well, me either! I may be a demon lord, but I’m not a bad demon lord,” Aisling said quickly.

“You accepted Baltic as your mate?” May asked.

I rubbed my forehead. Another headache was blossoming. “Yes, I did. And because of that, I want to call a sárkány.” “Um… all right,” Aisling said. “I guess since you’re a member of the silver sept, you can do that.” I didn’t correct the incorrect assumption. “I want to discuss with the weyr these deaths of the blue dragons. Baltic and I will attend the sárkány together.” An intake of breath greeted that statement, but it was impossible to tell which woman made it.

“Since I know the weyr believes Baltic to be guilty of those deaths, and I believe he’s innocent, we must have the opportunity to discuss the situation with everyone. For that reason, Jim will remain in my custody until it’s over.” “You do realize that all I have to do is summon it, right?” Aisling asked.

“Oh, yes, I know you could summon it in a heartbeat.” I crossed my fingers. “But you won’t.” “I won’t? Why not?”

“Because you are a woman of honor,” I said firmly, praying my assessment of her character was sound. “In addition, you realize that Baltic needs to meet with the wyverns, and you know that they won’t mind their manners unless they have a compelling reason to do so, and you, as a fellow wyvern’s mate, understand the importance of making them act reasonably. For that reason, you’ll allow Jim to be a hostage for the wyverns’ good behavior.” “I’ll do all that?” she asked, but I heard amusement in her voice, and I knew I had her support.

“You will. Jim will stay in my protection until Baltic has met with the weyr and been given safe passage out. I will not allow anyone to railroad him.” “Railroad him?” Aisling’s voice lost the amusement.

May spoke softly, with no real inflection to her voice. “You have to understand that we have experience with Baltic, and although I realize you are his mate, and thus you want to protect him, he is not innocent of the blue dragons’ deaths. Gabriel was there. He saw the bodies. He questioned the two survivors.” “I have always heard that dragons valued their honor, which is why I will ask the wyverns to agree to allow us safe passage to and from the sárkány. Jim will be returned to you safe and sound once we are away.” Aisling was silent for a minute. “All right. I will trust you. But so help me, if Jim is harmed in any way—” “It won’t be. I just want the same guarantee for Baltic.” Aisling snorted.

I gave her my cell phone number and told her to call me when a time for the sárkány had been set.

“Ysolde…” May’s voice stopped me as I was about to hang up.

“Yes?” I asked, somewhat wearily. I didn’t like having to be the bad guy, but someone had to end the conflict between Baltic and the weyr, and instinctively I knew he would not take any steps to do so on his own.

“Baltic… forgive me for asking, but you don’t think he’s using some sort of a thrall on you? We haven’t known you long, but you don’t seem like the sort of person who would tolerate, much less protect, a man who murders in cold blood.” I smiled sadly at my feet. “No, he hasn’t enthralled me. That would involve sex, and… well… we haven’t.” “Baltic didn’t jump you the second he could?” Aisling asked, clearly agog at the notion.

“No. He might have wanted to — all right, he did want to — but I’m married. He understands that until I can talk with my husband and inform him that I wish to have a divorce, I don’t feel it’s morally right to do all the things we’d like to do.” Silence greeted that pronouncement. I was about to hang up again when May said, “That’s very interesting.” “I’m glad my lack of a sex life is fascinating to you,” I said dryly.

“I’m sorry, that sounded rude, didn’t it? It wasn’t intended that way. Ysolde… you said you had memories of the past. You must remember that dragons are very dominant when it comes to claiming their mates physically. That goes double for wyverns,” May said.

“Oh, yes,” Aisling added with a little chuckle.

“Yes, but this is different. That was in the past. This is now, today, in the present,” I explained.

“Just the fact that you accepted him as a mate and he hasn’t… well! I think that says something,” Aisling added. “I think that says a lot of something.” “Yes, it says he has restraint. Call me when you have the time and day for the sárkány,” I said, and hung up the phone, relieved it was over. “I just hope the rest of my plans go so well.”