"The Dragon Isles Chapter 09 Southern Isles" by Katherine Bates

 “Steady!” Fabian shouted over the roar of the waves as they struggled to stay upright in the waist deep water with its swirling, tugging currents. “Steady! Wait for it!”

The waves surged up onto the beach and Fabian started pushing against the boat. “Now! Now! Push!”

They braced against the shifting floor and suddenly the bottom of the boat lifted from the shingle, bobbing up onto the waves.

“Keep pushing! We’re not there yet!”

The boat lurched forwards onto the open sea and they scrambled forwards, grasping at the edge of the boat. Fabian was first over the side, lending a hand down to Marn and Alec. They scrambled over the edge of the boat, spitting out sea water.

“Tehal?” Marn turned, dashed to the side and searched the black sea frantically, trying to make himself heard above the roar of the waves and the wind. “Tehal?”

Fabian grabbed his jacket as Marn made to go over the side.

“Don’t do it! You’ll never survive!”

“I have to find her! Keep my bag!”

Fabian was left standing on the boat, clutching the side as the small fishing vessel rocked precariously. They watched the dark water, waiting for the two to emerge.

Marn cast about in the water, having to rely on magic to see; yet the night was black, the waves high. The water washed over him and he struggled to the surface, gasping for breath.

“Tehal!”

There she was, he black hair floating on the waves. He struck out for her, felt the currents drag him back. A wave crashed over his head and found himself deep under the surface, white moonlight playing on the black sea. He fought his way back to the surface.

A hand touched his shoulder and he span in the water, greeted only by the dark waves as they washed over him again.

He sunk as a stone, powerless to fight and rise once more. Magic forgotten he struggled to keep his breath. Bubbles floated up, big and shinning, and then he knew no more.

#

“Are you alright, boy?”

Marn groaned and opened his eyes slowly. “Don’t call me boy.”

A hand slapped him on the back and he doubled forwards, coughing loudly. “You’ll be fine, you had us worried there for a moment.”

Marn looked up and recognised Fabian staring down at him, smiling gently. Marn turned away and wrapped the cloak around him tighter, feeling it grow damp and cold. He was not happy: Fabian had refused to elaborate on his thoughts for their hunter. He looked out the cabin window and sighed slightly, feeling Tehal’s magic calling to the winds and the water. Odd that he could feel her magic, but not know where she was. He turned back to Fabian, “Where’s Tehal?”

“Safe, she’s helping Alec guide the boat. Boy?”

“Don’t…”

“Sorry. When you’re my age everyone is young. There’s one thing I’ve got to ask you: What… what do you remember about when… you know?”

Marn shook his head, “Very little, I blacked out.”

Fabian frowned, “Marn? Are you sure? Because…”

“Of course I’m sure!” he snapped back, and then he frowned, “Why?”

“Because when we got you back on board you were both out cold, and… Alec and I could have sworn that it was you holding Tehal out of the water.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“I know, but…”
                “Fabian! Quickly! We’ve got company!”

They turned as one, clattering out onto the cold deck. Marn moved close to Tehal and put a hand on her shoulder, “Who is it?”

“Orion.”

Marn sighed, never had he been so happy to hear that name, at least Orion wasn’t going to attack them. “Come inside, it’s cold out here.”

She turned to look at him, “Your blanket is wet.”

#

“You are welcome here,” Orion told them as he led them through the rough edged, twisting corridors of the island fortress, Teleram, “the Kin will appreciate your skills.”

I’m sure. Thought Marn and Tehal gave him a sharp look. Orion stopped, and looked carefully and Marn and Tehal’s entwined hands. “Your rooms are just down this hall. Marn, Tehal, I would wish to see you in my rooms this evening, after you’ve had a chance to wash and eat. He stepped back into the shadows and melted away. Fabian smiled, “We’ll take the left hand door, shall we?”

“If you like.” His daughter replied and led Marn down the hall by the hand. Closing the door behind them she brought him close to her and kissed him once on the lips.

“What was that for?”

“Thank-you, for going in after me, even if you did manage to get yourself knocked out.” She slipped from his hold and traced her fingers across the polished wooden furniture. She turned back when she reached the bed, her eyes dark and heavily shadowed; Marn watched her.

“What are you looking at?”

“You, you look different.”

He grinned, “No I don’t.”

“Come here, I’ll show you.”

He laughed nervously and wandered over to her, letting her push him back onto the covers. “Here.” She told him, touching his nose.

“Hey, my nose is the same as it always was.”

“Here as well.” She put a finger to his lips. He grinned, took her hand and rolled them over.

“You are not very nice.”

“I am.”
                “Prove it.”

She kissed him, “There, does that prove… Marn?” He shuddered violently under the influence of dragon magic as he struggled to control it, and pushed away from her. She rose after him, reaching out a hand. “What’s wrong?”

He shrugged her hand away and a moment later he heard her stand, and, leaning down, she told she would be on the balcony. There was no disappointment in her voice, just worry. For a moment he was injured at being left, but it passed quickly; she knew him better than he did. He sniffed loudly and struggled to his feet, joining her outside on the balcony.

For a long time nothing was said between them, they simply looked out over the gardens of Teleram. Below them lay a pool, fed by a small waterfall off to their left; beyond lay a collection of fruit trees, they had to be controlled by magic for they were all at different stages of their cycle.

Marn turned his head and opened his mouth.

“Don’t say you are sorry, Marn.”

He shut it again and looked away, “But I am.”

“I know, but you needn’t be, you can’t control your dragon blood.”

“I almost killed you, aren’t you even a little angry?”

“No, it’s not your fault.”

“I wish it was.”

She turned to him, turned his head with her hand. He knew he must look a sight with his red-rimmed eyes and ragged hair; whilst she, she was perfect. He looked away.

“I’m sorry, sorry for what I am.”

“Don’t be, you should be proud of what you are. Now at least we know why your magic forces the change.”

He looked back to her, half smiling, “That we do.”

#

Alec left the dining hall and hurried back to the rooms where his father was sleeping in a chair, breathing badly with a book open on his lap. Alec relaxed, unclenching his hands; the dining hall had unnerved him, the noise and the quick talk crowding his mind; but worst had been the girls.

Back home Alec had found it easy to talk to anyone, he could flirt with girls easily and had received fluttering eyelashes and blushes in return. He had flirted here as well, and they had been interested, almost too interested. Then they had asked a question he hadn’t understood: “What’s the name of yours then?” They had giggled when his face remained blank and pushed each other jokingly.

“Male.” One had said, “I hope it’s a male.”

“You’ve got your pick already, I think female from the look of him.”

His face had remained blank. One of the girls, blonde with pretty eyes, had frowned.

“You don’t know what we’re talking about, do you?”

Alec had shaken his head slowly and the rest of the girls had walked off, looking disappointed. The blonde had smiled in pity,

“It’s alright, it wasn’t you. They’re just looking for someone with a  dragon that will match theirs. I don’t think the men will talk to you either, they might be the same age in years, but most of them have met battle at least once already; you look… innocent. I sort of like that.”

She had smiled again, kissed his cheek and walked away.

Still confused by the whole episode, he stepped out onto the balcony and caught sight of Marn and Tehal strolling hand in hand under the cherry blossom and turned away, the colour rising in his cheeks.

Alec had mixed emotions about her. She had brought the Temple Guard’s attention on him, and who knew who else’s attention, and yet she was his adopted his sister; then there was that kiss that he could still remember. Her magic was strong, it was sort of exciting, it was earthy, that mixture of new life and rotting old. He always wondered why his father had never taken her home, now he knew. After the incident with the wild magic he saw that whilst living at the temple her magic, gift, Talent, whatever you called it, had had no room to expand and so she had been protected from the wild elements; it had been much safer.

He turned back to the garden and caught just a glimpse of the two of them kissing. The colour in his cheeks turned bright red. He should have gone back inside when he first saw them.

“Pretty, isn’t it?”

Alec whirled, to find the balcony was empty and his father still asleep.

“Up here, boy.”

Squinting against the light he spotted Orion, as a man, hidden in the white marble statues. Alec frowned, “What do you mean by that?”

The dragon leapt down, landing perfectly on the railing on his tiptoes. He smiled, “Everything. The Garden, the flowers,” he fixed Alec with a hard stare, “… the young lovers…”

Alec glanced back to the garden but they had gone. Turning to Orion, he noticed a small cut under the eye. His brow creased,

“Where did you get that?”

“Get what?” But Orion’s hand had already reached the exact pot. He smiled quickly, as if embarrassed, and waved it off. “Even dragon’s aren’t indestructible, it’s just a scratch. Now, what I really came here for was to ask you a question. I suppose it’s not really a question, it’s more of a proposal, a job offer…”

Alec turned his head and Orion smiled slightly, a wide, perfect, hypnotic smile.

#

Orion sat back into his chair and watched with interest as Tehal and Marn chose the chaise-long opposite and sat very close together. He smiled openly.

“I’m glad you two ignored me and followed your own paths. I chose well in you, Tehal; and Marn, you have courage to against me.

Tehal looked up at Marn and smiled. Orion looked at the two of them, and though the half dragon trusted Tehal, Marn still wouldn’t trust him.

“I’m sorry you took a dislike to me. How old do you think I am? Late thirties at most, people say, but I’ve been around twenty thousand years. I’ve seen young dragons find a human, become a dragon who is not afraid to die; but I have waited and waited. When I found you, Tehal, I was so conscious that you could refuse me, that I would die without a guide through the afterlife.”

Marn nodded slightly, understanding what the dragon meant and offered Tehal an arm. She slid close, tucking her feet up and leaning into his hold. Looking at her and Orion he could tell that this was going to be a conversation in which he would be an observer. Not that he disliked that; a listener could learn many things.

“I can understand all of that,” Tehal told the white dragon, “but I don’t understand why you should use the Temple Guards and Arguls, we were almost killed; and then there was that dragon.”

Orion sat up sharply, his eyes narrowing, Marn could almost see his ears pricking up. “What dragon?”

Tehal looked to Marn, who sighed. “A red one, he asked for Tehal and killed Aaebow.”

“True?”

Tehal nodded and Orion frowned, leaning back once more. “I think you had best tell me everything, both of you and leave nothing out.”

Marn listened as Tehal explained her side of it all, suddenly feeling glad that he hadn’t told her about his reflection back at Fabian’s house. When Orion turned to Marn, he said not a word of it and simply collaborated Tehal’s version of events, adding an extra detail here and there.

Orion listened thoughtfully, elbows on the arm of the chair and fingertips tapping together rhythmically. There was silence for a long while after Marn finished, and though Orion’s eyes looked exactly the same Marn had the feeling that the gaze was very far away.

“The dragon I have no explanation for,” he said at last, “but I gather it was a… trigger for you, Marn.”

The half dragon did not reply to the comment and Tehal bit her lip. If Orion noticed, he showed no sign.

“The Temple Guards are another matter. For several years they have done as I asked, I thought they would obey me, bring you back unharmed; instead they had their own ideas.” His head dropped slightly, “I’m sorry.”

Marn watched as Tehal sat up, leaning towards Orion,

“No one paid true allegiance to you, not even the centaurs, did they?”

Orion looked up. “I wanted to explain… everything; about the Dragon Isles, my history, my reasons, the Kin, the Blood Kin. Every time I tried I just seemed to drive you away.” He turned to Marn, “I wanted to explain to you as well.”

Marn frowned thoughtfully. Before, Orion had seemed pompous, self righteous, thinking he knew best; that was probably the result of twenty thousand years. Now, he seemed young, younger than Tehal; immature even in his approach towards others, it was as if he had spoken to anyone for half his life. Despite his former dislike, Marn found himself trusting the white dragon.

He nodded curtly to Orion, “I believe you. The Blood Kin? You’ve mentioned it before now, what is it?”

The dragon twitched as if physically struck and looked away. “The Law of the Kin forbids me from saying, I shouldn’t have even mentioned it.”

Tehal took Orion’s hand and Marn shifted, quickly closing off the channel between their minds.

“You could show me.” She said softly.

Orion shook his head, he seemed to be stuck in that gesture. Marn had the feeling that he really shouldn’t be here, that this was a matter between dragon and rider, that he was the spare part not needed for the moment.

“No!” The dragon whispered harshly, leaning forwards to bring their faces close together. “I wouldn’t want to show you those things. They are evil! I shouldn’t trouble you.”

“Orion, I am you rider, you’ve shown me everything else. I must know.”

He stood, exasperated with her. “Why? Why must you know?” Leave it be! Let it lie!”

For a moment she was silent as her hand searched for Marn’s. He gripped it tightly, urging her on.

“It’s what me father told me, he knows Heselra. He said that on the reverse of the note left wit me as a child was a dialect of Heselra; he couldn’t translate it all, but he gathered it was written by me mother. It wasn’t Kin or Centaur; if the Blood Kin is a lead then I must follow it.”

Orion folded his arms and shook his head. “No, the Blood Kin use the Kin dialect, it’s nothing.”

She stood to meet him, and though he was several inches taller than her, she seemed to be his equal. “I must whether there is any possibility, I want to belong somewhere, I want to know my heritage.”

Silence fell across the room. Marn looked at Tehal, her begging eyes and set jaw. He had misjudged her, he had assumed that she felt that she belonged with him, with Orion, Fabian. He had never gone searching in her mind, he saw it as common courtesy not to pry; but she had not confided in him, she had never told him that she needed to belong. He felt betrayed that she had not felt enough trust to tell him.

Orion looked hurt as well. Marn did not blame him; but he did not blame Tehal either. Orion looked away from her and pointed out of the window.

“In that direction lies the Western Isles, where the Blood Kin live. Many people go there, it may be that your mother lived there, maybe in the outer reaches, but to find her would be impossible.” He paused for a moment. “Let me explain. The Tormdarian Empire has expanded from a single province to its present size in just less than fifty years. Impossible, I know. It has culture, history, things that occur over generations, but it has only ever had one leader.

“Disturbingly, the expansion of the Tormdarian Empire coincides with when we knew the Blood Kin ventured outside of the Western Isles. Around then we also noticed a lot of people going into the Western Isles by boat; no one comes out. Your mother may well have been among them, but I won’t be able to tell you anything, it won’t help. The Law of the Kin forbids from speaking directly of the Blood Kin, so I may not tell you anymore now.”

Tehal turned away from him and sat back on the chaise long, facing Marn. She looked him in the eye, lower jaw trembling slightly. She was asking for help he realised, but he couldn’t give it, he had no answer. He shook his head slowly,

“This is for you alone.”

She bowed her head, eyes closing. At last she raised her head, eyes watering slightly, and looked at Orion.

“Keep the knowledge.”

“Are you sure?”

“No, but I think it might be best, for now at least.” Her voice was quiet and frightened, Marn wanted to reach out and enclose her in his arms, shut out everything for her and keep her safe.

“Tehal?” Orion asked, laying a hand on her shoulder, “May I speak with you in private?”

Tehal looked to Marn, who nodded, and then rose to follow the white dragon.

 Later, when Orion had gone to hunt, Tehal made her way back to their rooms to find Marn asleep on top of the covers. She smiled to herself and crept over to him. She froze, shocked to see the white cotton stained a dark red near his feet. She glanced back at his face, he looked a pale.

“Marn?” She shook his as gently as possible and his eyes fluttered open in confusion.

“Umm…?”

“You’re bleeding.”

He closed his eyes again. “Sorry.”

She bent over to kiss his cheek. “Don’t be. Have you any medicines in your bag?”

“On the left.”

He let her treat and bandage the wound, watching her face crease with worry. She looked up after tying the bandage off, “When did this happen?”

“When we left the Temple Guards.”

 “You… you carried me? With your ankle like this? Why didn’t you say anything about this?”

“I didn’t want you to worry, I thought it was fine.”

Her eyes narrowed, “I’m worrying now. This is nowhere near fine, it’s open and weeping and… What do you think I thought with you lying there and blood on the sheets?”

“Tehal, I said I’m sorry.” He paused for a moment, “I don’t deserve you.”

She looked out from under her eyelashes, smiling. He frowned, something was different. “That’s debatable.” She said, a grin threatening the corners of her mouth.

“Tehal…?”

The grin spread and she lay back on the covers, showing off the two big blue eyes with their long, thick, black lashes. “Do you like them? I’ve been practising.”

Marn looked them over carefully, they were definitely her eyes, with that same piercing gaze, but Marn found them disturbing. “I’m not so sure. How do you do it? I didn’t know it was possible?”

She closed them, lashes returning to normal. “Orion said it might be useful one day. I didn’t understand, I still don’t, but I sort of like being able to do it.”

He looked closely at her face. “Something is bothering you.”

“My cousin,” she answered distantly, “I haven’t told Fabian or Alec, I’m not sure I can… I can’t help thinking that they will blame me; after all, the Temple was burnt to find me.”

“Fabian will understand.”

“What about Alec?”

They looked at each other, a flicker of understanding passing between them. Marn smiled warmly,

“Alec will be alright. Come on, we should go now.”

She frowned, kept her eyes closed, “I know.”