Gloria Oliver (28 page)

He tapped the envelope softly against his chin. “Seems he’s finally realized he’s been pushing too hard.

Must admit he’s not shown it before. We took all his hard work for granted, if you know what I mean.

Guess even he’s got limits, though he’d never admit it. Wait,” he said grinning and holding up the letter, “I guess he just did.”

Talia shook her head not understanding the old man at all. “So you’re not angry?”

“Angry? What for? I’ve needed something to pump some adrenaline through me for a while. This backwater is occasionally a little too sedate for me. Not enough challenge, but still nice enough in its way.

And Lareen does keep me amused on occasion. Finding out what she’s up to is harder than discovering most countries’ best-kept secrets.” He laughed. “She has her plans for Kel and Clarence. This much I know. We all try to help as we can, and I like the boy. He has potential. Shoot, if he’d been even half-inclined I’d have made him part of my guild. But he’s too honest for his own good really.” He laughed again and plopped down on the chair behind the loaded desk. Digging through a couple of drawers, he finally found a blank sheet of paper. Dipping a pen in a half-dried inkwell, he quickly wrote down a few lines.

While he did so, Talia continued to look around the room and all the papers strewn about. “The silver and bronze positions aren’t really empty as they say, are they?”

Nertak looked up, a bright gleam in his eye. “Ah, caught that did you? Well, let’s just say it’s more beneficial not to have it advertised. Besides, Lareen works hard as a mule, though anyone not in the know wouldn’t think so.” He left her to think about this as he finished his letter.

She just couldn’t understand how so many things were not as they seemed.

“Ah, here you go. If you wouldn’t mind delivering this to him next time you see him I’d be much obliged.”

He took a ring from a hidden pocket and placed it over the overlap of the folded paper. After a moment, he lifted it off, leaving a thin wax seal on the letter. “Just in case you do decide to get curious.” He smiled.

“Think you can find a way around it?”

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t open it.”

Nertak’s head drooped, looking disappointed. “Why she’s perpetually picking honest ones to be taught here is beyond me.”

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TALIA LEFT NERTAK’S office, her mind full of questions and half-troubling thoughts. Was Nertak being honest when he said Lareen picked the ones to be taught at the school? Though a number of the guilds did test prospective apprentices before signing the final paperwork, nothing akin to that happened for her to come here. If anything, she was only tested once all that was done. She assumed part of it was due to the fact they had all sorts of positions to fill, but Nertak’s words seemed to imply otherwise. But if this was true, how or what did Lareen do to decide she was worthy to come here? More magic?

Not getting many answers only more questions, she entered her room and closed the door. She put the pouch of jewels Kel gave her in a drawer, not looking at the contents inside. She set the sealed letter on top of her dresser.

When Talia reached Clarence’s stall the next morning with his breakfast, the dragon barely stirred. By the time she returned with the second barrel, however, the first was empty. As she set the second one down, Clarence roused himself enough to unenthusiastically reach over and consume its contents after bidding her good morning.

As the dragon ate and she fixed the dolly to the empty barrel, she peeked through the slats of the stall door to get a look inside. Against the far corner she spotted four large chests made of a dark wood and bound in iron. Three shelves sat a few feet above them, holding big jugs as well as a number of jars and folded cloths. Rather than inquire about them, she said nothing, deciding for the time being to keep to herself the knowledge of the task she’d agreed to. Leaving the dragon, she took the barrel back to where it belonged.

She dropped off Nertak’s letter to Kel with his breakfast. But though she was curious as to what it said, she didn’t linger other than to note his look of surprise as she handed it to him.

As on the day before, her class took the ten o’clock shift to clean Nertak’s cave. Being there reminded her again of the things Clarence told her about the old man. She still found it hard to reconcile the information with what she’d seen of the man himself, though the visit the night before revealed a side of him she was sure most never saw. Maybe it was part of what made him good at his job.

Walking into the cave with buckets, mops, and brushes, it was immediately obvious the place was cleaner than when they left it the day before. She was only too glad to see it. By the time they were done, it was cleaner still.

Lunchtime came and went and she rushed through it to go and feed her charges. Though she half hoped he would, Kel didn’t mention the contents of his letter, though he did seem in high spirits. In the evening, she took Kel and Clarence their dinners and then returned to the dragon dormitory to fulfill her promise to Kel.

Globe lights lit the wide interior, making it seem as bright as day. Quietly walking down the hay-strewn path, she hoped Kel was right and Clarence would let her help him.

“Good evening, Clarence,” she said.

Surprised by her voice, the cross-eyed dragon lifted his head from where he was lying and stared at her curiously.
Talia
?

“Are you ready to get your skin oiled?” she asked him. She made no move to open the stall door, knowing it wouldn’t be up to her.

What
? His large eyes blinked at her several times. She’d not seen the dragon caught so off guard before.
How would you know about that? You’ve not been here long enough for those lessons
.

It was hard to keep from smiling. “I do have a scroll the Administrator gave me during my entry interview, and Kel told me as well. He asked if I would do this for him.”

He did, did he
? An undercurrent of doubt colored his tone.

“Yes,” she told him. “He was very concerned about it. And he also said you were too full of pride to ask for it to be done.”

Humph
! Dark smoke snorted out of his nostrils.
I wouldn’t go quite so far. And if anyone here were
full of pride, he’d do well to look at himself. I’m actually quite surprised he’d ask anyone for help
.

His askew gaze sharpened.
He is compensating you for this, yes
?

She thought of telling him no, but from his tone she could tell he’d be offended if Kel didn’t. “I told him he didn’t have to, but he insisted.”

Clarence nodded with satisfaction.
Good
.

“Is it all right for me to do it then?” She found herself a little excited at the prospect.

Yes, by all means. Please come in
. With one large, taloned claw, Clarence opened the gate to his stall so she could slip inside.
I presume you haven’t done this before
.

Talia was forced to look up, not having been this close to the dragon in some time. It was amazing, and a little frightening, that he could be so large. “No, I haven’t. But I learn fast.”

All right. If you’ll go to the shelves in the back, you’ll find a stack of cloths. Beneath them you’ll
find a strange looking mitten. You’ll want to take it
. He pointed at the shelves and then at the chest on the far left.
In that chest, you’ll find a rose-colored bottle. There should also be a shallow metal
basin there. You’ll need to pour some of the contents of the bottle into the basin and then dip the
mitten into it. It’s not the typical oil I use, but I deserve a treat
, he mused.

Nodding, she hurried to the back of the stall and retrieved everything he’d mentioned. The rose-colored bottle sat in the chest, surrounded by other strange looking bottles. It was large and heavy, but at the same time appeared delicate. With great care, she poured some of its contents into the basin. The soft scent of wild flowers tickled her nose as a heavy liquid poured out.

After setting the bottle back and closing the chest, she grabbed the mitten and dipped it into the sweet-smelling liquid. Though the outside of the mitten absorbed the scented oil, her hand stayed dry inside it.

All right, start with my left and work your way up
. Clarence stretched out his front left claw and placed it out before her.
What you want to do is lift each scale, carefully, and apply the oil from the
root over the skin, covering everything thoroughly before going on to the next
.

She nodded; the procedure sounded simple enough, and it coincided nicely with what she’d read in her paper. Stepping forward, she studied his relaxed claws and gently touched the cuticle of one of them with the mitten. After thoroughly covering them all with the oil, she gingerly lifted the small scales around each deadly nail and worked on the skin beneath.

Though he stared at her work intently, Clarence said nothing as she toiled on. As she lifted some of the larger scales, she saw that what Kel said was true—Clarence’s skin did look incredibly dry. In many places, she found it was the texture of old parchment and drank up whatever oil she spread on it like wood. She wondered why it would be this way, and even more what had the dragons done about it before their pact with the humans, but didn’t dare ask.

After she finished with his left forearm, Clarence presented his right without a word. By the time she finished it, as well as his two back legs, the dragon was no longer watching her but instead set his head down in the hay, his eyes closed. Talia decided to take it as a good sign.

While resoaking the mitten, she rested for a minute before carefully scrambling onto Clarence’s back.

The work was slow and tiring, but it excited her all the same. She was helping a dragon. Not only that, she was helping a friend, one whom she’d done a wrong to but who didn’t hold it against her.

Out of nowhere, a memory of her mother and how she hummed whenever she knit or did certain chores came to her. Her chest tightened at the remembrance. She missed her mother terribly. Before she knew it, Talia was humming, too, enjoying the bittersweet emotion of the recollection.

She faltered a few minutes later, when an unexpected thrum rumbled beneath her. Startled, she took hold of a couple of Clarence’s scales, not sure of what was happening. The thrumming rose and fell with Clarence’s breathing. After a few moments, she smiled as she realized this must be a dragon’s version of a cat’s contented purr. The thrumming coursed into her, vibrating through her body into her bones. Her smile grew bigger as she hummed to herself again and got back to work.

By the time she was through, her body ached everywhere, but she felt strangely at ease and satisfied.

Briefly, she wondered if Kel felt this way when he did this for Clarence. Slipping quietly off the scaled body, she cleaned up as silently as she could and then slipped out of the stall, leaving the dragon sleeping.

Talia stretched with a yawn as she made it outdoors, incredibly sleepy all of a sudden. The night sky was clear, the stars shining brightly within it. She watched them for a minute or two before going on her way.

She was heading for the entrance on the far right of the school when she realized the balconies above her were all dark. Frowning, she tried to guess what time it was, not having thought of it until now. It was probably quite late. How long had she been out here?

She quickened her pace, sure it was past curfew. She hoped they hadn’t locked the doors and she could still sneak back inside. If she was very lucky, maybe she could even make it to her room without being seen.

She was reaching for the door, not sure what she’d do if she found it locked, when a cowled figure stepped out of the shadows. Before she could say anything, a pale and bony hand reached out from within the deep folds of the dark robe, the palm up as if wanting something.

Talia stared at the silent figure with rising apprehension. This quickly turned to fear as she realized the hand before her wasn’t just unnaturally thin but held no flesh to it at all. She took an astonished step back, tripped, and fell.

The cowled figure said nothing even as it took a step forward, its hand outstretched.

Half terrified, her chest tight, she fought to make her brain work so she could attempt to figure out what the creature wanted. Was this the reason they instituted curfew here? But surely if it were dangerous to be outside after dark, someone would have mentioned it. Wouldn’t they?

The figure took another step, towering over her.

Going with the first thing which popped into her mind, Talia reached inside her pouch and took out one of her gems. Shakily, she tossed it toward the outstretched hand.

Her aim was off, but the hand reached out for it. Before the thin fingers could close over it, however, the gem bounced off the hand and fell into the grass.

“Damn, I never could grab anything with this thing.”

Talia felt goose bumps roll through her even as she felt suddenly giddy, easily recognizing the disgruntled voice.

Stooping to pick up the fallen gem, the figure pulled back the cloak’s deep cowl to reveal the Administrator’s face. Lareen glanced over at her and grinned. “Got you good, didn’t I?”

All Talia could do was nod. Her heart was still thumping as if a rushing waterfall were inside her.

After Lareen retrieved the fallen gem and hid it within her cloak, she reached down to help Talia to her feet. “You do realize it’s past curfew, don’t you?” Lareen asked her.

“Uh, yes, ma’am.” Talia answered the question, her eyes on the skeletal hand, which was connected to a set of wires the Administrator could manipulate to give it the semblance of life. “I got caught up in something and didn’t realize how late it was. It won’t happen again,” she added quickly.

Lareen nodded. “How are things going for you? Any problems with Clarence or Kel?”

“Everything’s fine.” She hoped Lareen wouldn’t notice how she answered her just a bit too quickly. She still felt she needed to keep the matter of the bribe over Kel’s food to herself.