Rise of the Fire Tamer (The Wordwick Games #1) (14 page)

Chapter 15

T
here was no sign of anybody as the dragon landed, the thud of its impact with the ground shaking through Gem. She stared around at the village with its stone houses spread out in an unplanned scatter. There was washing left on lines, and livestock left out in pens. Even a bucket of water stood in the middle of a patch of grass near a well, clearly having been abandoned in the rush to get inside.

Gem sighed and slid down from the dragon’s back, taking care not to damage the egg she held. She should have expected this. The dragon had spent years killing and burning in villages like this. People were hardly going to rush out to meet her with cakes, were they? Well, not unless they happened to be particularly fire proof cakes, anyway. Even so, Gem couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed by it. How was she supposed to talk to people if all they would do was hide?

Briefly, Gem considered using the “orator” ruler word to bring people out. She was almost certain that it would work. Was it the right thing to do, though? People would hardly trust her if the first thing she did was use magic on them as they hid. No, she would simply have to be patient. People would come out eventually. More theatrically than she needed to, Gem sat down, resting her head on the dragon’s flank like it was some huge, scaly pillow. It made a rumbling sound and Gem started, only to realize that the creature was purring like a cat. Gem rubbed a hand along its scales.

“At least you like me.”

It took almost fifteen minutes before anyone dared to show their faces. Even then, it was the small children who came, running too quickly for hands that tried to pull them back inside. They gathered round in a small circle, their mothers edging out after them cautiously. There didn’t seem to be any men around, except for a couple of very elderly ones. Then again, all the men of fighting age would probably have gone over to the castle.

One of the children, a boy who couldn’t have been more than two or three, toddled forward when his mother wasn’t looking. He stopped in front of Gem, giving her that too-serious look that small children sometimes manage before reaching out to take hold of her sleeve. Gem did her best to steady him, and the little boy smiled, reaching up to touch her hair. Gem smiled back, letting him.

That seemed to be the signal for about half the other children, who crowded close, trying to touch either Gem or the dragon. The older ones fired off strings of questions that Gem hardly had time to take in, let alone answer, before the next one came.

“Are you a princess?”

“Why are you holding that egg?”

“Is this your dragon?”

“How big is it?”

forWhat does it eat?”

Gem half expected the mothers of Spurious to rush forward to reclaim their children, but most of them seemed to be smiling, even if it was a little nervously. The idea of letting their children get so close to a dragon obviously worried them, but since it wasn’t eating anyone so far, and since Gem hadn’t been anything but gentle with the children, they seemed content enough to let things be.

Eventually though, Gem knew that she would have to get up and try talking to the children’s parents too, so she disengaged the children’s hands from her dress as carefully as she could, making her way over to the watching crowd.

“Hi,” she tried. “I’m Gem.”

The gathered women didn’t answer, but they did step aside to leave a path to one of the huts. The door was open, and silhouetted in it was a woman who was easily older than all the others. Possibly put together. Her gray hair hung loosely to her waist, while her features were even more wrinkled than the long black dress she wore. If she had said she was a hundred, Gem might have believed her. She lent on a stick as she walked over to Gem, though something about the way the woman did it suggested that the stick was more there for hitting the shins of people who got in the way than because she actually needed it.

If so, the stick probably didn’t see much use. The other women looked on her with a level of veneration and respect that made it clear who was in charge in the village with the men gone. Probably while they were there, too. The elderly woman looked Gem up and down, and then stared past her at the dragon for a second before nodding.

Her wrinkled and liver spotted hand snaked out with surprising speed to settle over Gem’s. It pressed into the ring Goolrick had given her, and Gem braced herself to see another heart’s desire. This one was simple. The elderly woman wanted peace. No more killing. Prosperity for all of Anachronia, not just those bits of it that could fight the hardest. It came through so clearly that seeing the desires of the dragon had been like staring through mud by comparison.

Well yes. It’s a dragon.

It took Gem a moment to realize that the words had sounded in her mind. Instinctively, she tried to snatch her hand back, but the woman had a grip that made rock look forgiving.

You don’t need to fear me, girl.

The voice sounded younger than Gem would have expected, rich and honeyed.

Of course. If you could sound like anything, would you sound like an old woman? I am Serena. Sebold, the leader of our Spurious tribe, is my son. Are you the one who has come to bring us the peace we have hoped for?

Gem didn’t know why she did it, but it seemed obvious to think back at Serena rather than speaking aloud.

If I can pass the tasks, I will be
, she thought. Serena nodded again, stealing another look at the dragon.

It occurs to me that someone with a dragon like that could rule many ways, not all of them very nice.
The older woman’s hand tightened almost painfully on Gem’s for a moment.
How will you rule, little one? Choose the words that will describe your rule, and choose well. I may not have much, but I guard well what is mine to protect.

The grip on Gem’s hand felt worryingly like a threat now, or was she imagining it? Maybe all Serena meant was that she wouldn’t support Gem if she gave the wrong answer. Somehow, looking into the old woman’s eyes, Gem didn’t believe it. She also didn’t think that Serena would react well if she tried to lie. Worse, Gem got the feeling that the old woman wanted something specific from her. Gem tried to think. Finally, she spoke aloud, so that all the women of the Spurious tribe could hear.

“I will rule with sagacity and reverence for both the Spurious and Perfidious cultures. I will bring about a reconciliation between the tribes.”

Serena nodded, but Gem wasn’t done.

“I plan to bring prosperity and jubilation to Anachronia. Anachronia will become a sanctuary for all those who wish to live freely, work diligently to pursue a better life, and collaborate on matters of state for the best of Anachronia.”

Gem took a breath, watching Serena. The other women looked quietly pleased by what she had said, but Gem knew that it would be the reaction of the old woman that would seal things. Would she accept what Gem had said, or would she turn her back on her? The seconds stretched out as Serena appeared to think, and Gem couldn’t help thinking about one of her teachers, who had the annoying habit of making everyone in her class wait for test results until their nerves were stretched to breaking point.

Finally, with a flourish, Serena thrust Gem’s hand skyward clutched in her own. It was enough for the women around them. They clustered closer, laughing and congratulating Gem.

“Serena likes you, by the looks of it. That’s good enough for me.”

“Anyone who can control that dragon has to be doing something right.”

“You’ll make a good ruler. Just look how you were with the children.”

The hubbub of voices bubbled around her, and Gem did her best to thank people, make sensible comments, and generally keep up with the tide of words. Things went on like that for several minutes, until suddenly Serena held up a hand, then strode back towards her hut with surprising speed.

“What is it?” Gem asked the people around her. “Did I do something wrong?”

There was a wave of shrugs around her, which made Gem feel faintly seasick, but no one seemed to have an answer. Finally, one dark haired young woman shook her head.

“It’s just Serena. She can be a little… odd, sometimes.”

The others shushed her, but Gem had already heard enough to worry her. Had the old woman changed her mind? Would she demand that Gem abdicate all claims to the throne after all? Had Gem inadvertently done something to upset her?

Gem decided to go after her and try to find out. At the very least, she could try apologizing for whatever it was she had done. She hurried in the footsteps of the old woman, and made it as far as the door to the stone hut before Serena appeared there. Gem had to stop suddenly to avoid colliding with her, and barely managed to avoid falling over in the process. The old woman grinned skeletally at that, reaching out a hand for Gem’s arm.

So much for any hope of our new ruler being graceful. Still, I have some gifts for you. First, hold out your hand.

Gem did as she was told, and Serena dropped two reddish objects onto her palm. She was surprised to see a pair of redly glowing rings identical to the one on her left hand, the one that she suspected was her way home.

My son took these from your friends. He can be a foolish man sometimes. I can’t say that I found them worthy to rule, watching quietly. The boy is too nervous, and the girl…well, maybe she will change with time. Still, they should have these back.

Gem thanked her, putting the rings away to keep them safe. She could guess how glad the others would be.

I also want you to have this,
Serena thought her way. She brought a golden bundle out from behind her back, shaking it out in a shimmer of light. It took Gem a moment to realize that it was a cloak.

Woven from the wool of the sacred golden lamb. Only leaders, true leaders, can wear it. My Sebold never could. You will. With it, we of Spurious recognize you as our ruler.

Gem had gotten used to the ways of Anachronia by now, to the magic and the strangeness. Running her hand along the smooth weave of the golden cloak, she smiled at the old woman.

“Thank you. What does the cloak do?”

Keeps you warm, mostly.
Serena let out a laugh.
Oh, your face. You expected something a little more magical? There are those who’d say that stopping you from freezing in the cold air on the back of that dragon of yours is magic enough. Still, with a cloak like this, it’s mostly what you make of it. Maybe there will be more than enough magic once people see you wearing it. Now put it on and make an old woman happy.

Gem did as she was told, fastening the cloak at her throat so that it billowed out behind her. Serena nodded.

Yes, very nice. Now run along. You need to get back to the castle, I’ll warrant. Anyway, one of the little ones is trying to use your dragon’s tail for a slide, and I’m sure it won’t like it.

Gem looked round and saw that it was true. With a sigh, she plucked the small child from the dragon and handed him back to his mother before climbing onto it herself.

“Thank you all so much,” she said, as the dragon spread its wings. “Um… you might want to stand back.”

They did, and with a powerful beat of its wings the dragon took Gem from the village as quickly as it had brought her there.

Sparks
sat and stared upwards, waiting for some sign. It made him ache to just sit there and do nothing, but he had to trust that Gem would come back eventually…

Kat had found a quiet corner to sit with Rio. He’d been happy to let her lead him off. Now if only his eyes wouldn’t glance occasionally to the window and the waiting sky…

Rio sat, his hand in Kat’s, trying to focus just on the girl in front of him. It wasn’t easy though. He suspected it would never be easy…

Jack had found more books on dragons with Goolrick’s help. Now, how far did they fly?

Chapter 16

T
he golden cloak flapped behind Gem as the dragon beneath her soared over Anachronia. She couldn’t help thinking about Serena’s comment on it, that keeping someone warm was magic enough. The simple practicality of it caught at the edge of Gem’s thoughts like an itch she couldn’t scratch. She had been so busy with the magical stuff, the seemingly impossible stuff, that she had forgotten about the simple things.

At her urging, the dragon flew a wide sweep over Anachronia. Gem’s eyes scoured the land below as they flew over the villages, the woods, and finally into the space beyond them. It was only then that Gem nodded to herself and ordered the dragon back towards the castle. The great beast turned in a rush of wind and powered its way back there with a speed that made Gem half-suspect that it knew what she had in mind.

The dragon landed before the castle, and a crowd was waiting for them. Gem guessed that people tended to notice when you showed up on a giant flying lizard. Gem leapt down from its back, and found herself faced by the man in layers of gray who’d led the Spurious men in battle; Sebold, Gem guessed.

“You wear the gold,” he said, and then bowed low with a speed that was mirrored by the few Spurious men around him. “How did you get it?”

“Your mother gave it to me. She also gave me back what you took from my friends, Sebold.”

Gem couldn’t see the man’s face properly, because he seemed to be working on the assumption that the longer a bow went on, the better it was. Even so, Gem thought she saw him redden with embarrassment.

“Forgive me, my lady. I am but your humble servant. I and my tribe both. I have seen the signs, and we will support you.”

Gem wasn’t entirely sure she believed it, but her attention was caught by the sight of Goolrick and Sparks emerging from the castle. Sparks’ eyes widened at the sight of her. For his part, Goolrick looked closely at Gem, then over to where Sebold was just straightening up.

“You wear the gold cloak of royalty,” he observed levelly. Gem smiled.

“Yes.” She nodded to the young wizard’s ostentatious robe. “We almost match.”

Goolrick returned her smile.

“So we do. Still, I fear that my people will not be as quick as the Spurious to accept you.” Goolrick almost spat the name of the other tribe. Having a dragon land in the middle of them might have stopped them fighting, but no one could get rid of the dislike between them that quickly. “There is one more thing you must do if you want to rule, Gem. You know what it is?”

“I do. I need to find a way to bring Anachronia prosperity.”

The young wizard raised an eyebrow.

“And have you?”

“Maybe. Could you see that Jack and Kat get these, please?” Gem handed their rings to Goolrick before turning her attention to Sparks. “Would you like to go on a dragon ride with me? I could use your help with something.”

Sparks stepped forward confidently, though when he got close to the dragon, he gave it a nervous look.

“Worried?” Gem asked.

“I just remember what happened last time I was on this thing with you,” Sparks replied, too softly for the others to hear. “I don’t fancy another broken leg.”

“It’s fine. She’s not going to hurt you. Well, probably not, anyway.”

Gem leapt lightly onto the dragon’s back to illustrate her point, and Sparks followed. She had to admire his bravery in that, or at least the trust he was willing to show in her, though he did cling to her tightly as the dragon took to the air.

“Where are we heading, anyway?” Sparks asked after a few minutes. Gem shook her head.

“That would spoil the surprise. I think you’ll like it though.”

“Well, you’ll be there, so wherever it is it won’t be too bad.”

Gem didn’t answer that one, though she had to admit she was pretty glad to hear it. She was too busy keeping her eye on the ground as the dragon flew onwards, trying to make sure that they were going the right way. She needn’t have bothered. The dragon seemed to know where it was going, like a particularly scaly homing pigeon. It flew on, over the woods and further still, until green spread beneath them, split only by a ribbon of silvery water that frothed to white further along. Gem urged the dragon downwards, aiming for a spot close beside it.

Gem hopped down, and Sparks did the same. Gem spread her arms.

“What do you think?”

Gem knew what
she
thought, and that was that the land around her was simply beautiful. Untamed meadow stretched away in every direction, strewn with wild flowers. The edges of the woods boasted fruit trees whose fruit beckoned in inviting flashes of color. The stream fell quickly over a small waterfall in white foam, while here and there in the water flashes of silver pointed to the presence of fish.

It was also fairly clear what the dragon thought. The huge reptile stomped over to the river and thrust two of its three heads into it, slurping up water thirstily. Steam rose from the corners of its mouths.

“What am I supposed to be seeing?” Sparks asked Gem. Clearly, he hadn’t got it yet.

“The future, hopefully,” Gem replied. “You live on a ranch. Would all this be any good for farming?”

It was like a light went on in Sparks’ eyes. It was clear to Gem he wasn’t just seeing another set of fields then, he was looking at it with a practiced eye, working out where things would fit and how they would work. He walked to the edge of the woods, then back again, taking the time to look at the stream and the cascading flow of the waterfall. Finally, he sat down on the grass. Gem sat down beside him, spreading out her cloak like a blanket.

“It’s perfect,” he said at last. “The land is obviously fertile. The Anachronians could plant acres of food here and still have room to graze animals. The stream can give them water for growing and for keeping livestock…”

The dragon took another huge gulp of water as if to punctuate that point.

“…and the water over the falls can provide power. Did medieval societies have water mills?”

“I’m pretty sure they did,” Gem said. “For grinding corn, at least. We can always ask Jack when we get back.”

“Even if the Anachronians don’t have them, I can show them how to make them. Maybe they could even use them to generate electricity. That way, they could run all sorts of things. They might need a little help making that work, but once they understand it would work, and they would know how to do the rest of it. After all, farming is probably what most of them do anyway.”

Gem took another look around, seeing things the same way Sparks did. There was so much potential here.

“Until they get set up, there’s always the fruit from those trees,” she suggested, “and they could use wood from them to build.”

Sparks nodded his agreement.

“The only thing I don’t get is why they haven’t done it already. You’d think people would have taken land this good.”

“It’s the other side of the woods,” Gem pointed out. “They were probably too scared of the dragon to try. Besides, they wouldn’t have been able to get past the troll’s gate before we destroyed it.”

“Before you destroyed it, you mean.” Sparks looked at her intently then, and for a moment Gem thought that he might kiss her, but he didn’t. “You’ve managed so much here, Gem. You tamed the dragon, you destroyed the roadblock, you talked round the tribes. You’re certainly not the dumb cheerleader I thought you were.”

Gem laughed at that, and caught hold of Sparks’ hand, twining her fingers through his.

“And you’re not exactly a dumb jock. In fact, you’re probably one of the smartest guys I’ve met.”

Gem wasn’t sure how long they sat like that, just looking at each other and the surrounding land, enjoying the perfection of the moment. After a while the dragon nudged her with its head. Gem unwrapped the egg and gave it to the creature, which curled around it and went to sleep, making a low, rumbling sound that sounded worryingly like snoring.

“You know, I never thought I’d think of that thing as sweet,” Sparks said, “but it is. Well, kind of.”

“Kind of,” Gem agreed. There was another pause, though it wasn’t awkward. It was simply that both of them were happy to sit there, enjoying the moment as the dragon rumbled like a resting steam train behind them. It was Gem who finally broke the silence.

“This whole Anachronian adventure has been pretty crazy, hasn’t it?”

“Definitely. Ogres, and tribes, and magical words. It’s definitely been different. Fun though.”

“Finding out that we could be hurt wasn’t exactly fun.”

“No, but even then, we came through all right.” Sparks gave her another long look. “Mostly thanks to you, Gem. You deserve to be the ruler here. You really do.”

“You know, Sparks, even though everybody’s going on about me ruling, you’d make a pretty good ruler here yourself.”

“Really?” Sparks seemed almost surprised to hear it.

“Definitely.” Gem squeezed his hand tighter, gesturing to the land around them with her other hand. “You’re the one with the knowledge to make all this work. You could bring the Anachronians technology that they have never had before. The things you know could really help them. All I have done is pass a few tests. If they somehow don’t pick me to rule them, they should definitely think about you.”

Sparks shook his head, though Gem could see that he was smiling.

“I don’t think that there’s much chance of that now. Not unless you’ve got a sudden urge to abdicate?”

Gem shook her head quickly, and Sparks gave a short laugh.

“I’m kidding. Those tests weren’t exactly easy, in any case. I was too busy hitting the dragon to think about taming it.” The dragon’s tail twitched in its sleep, as though hearing the reference to it. “Only you would have thought of doing that, Gem.” He paused, and Gem could see that something had occurred to him.

“What is it?”

“I was just thinking that you reminded me of someone.”

“Who?”

“This will sound silly…”

“Who?” Gem insisted.

“Well, from everything I’ve heard of him, and from what we saw in the great hall, the way you lead people reminds me a lot of Henry Word. Who knows, maybe you’re
meant
to win.”

Gem laughed then, but Sparks didn’t. She shook her head.

“If it were that straightforward, I wouldn’t have spent half my time here nearly getting eaten by things.”

“Nearly doesn’t count.”

Gem laughed again then, and this time Sparks joined her. She made to stand up, pulling the boy up with her.

“We should get back. I want to tell people about what we’ve found.”

Sparks hesitated, not letting go of her hand.

“Gem,” he said, his voice suddenly earnest, “can I ask you two things?”

“Sure.”

“Well, first, after all this is over, do you think that we could maybe… you know… see some more of each other?”

Gem wasn’t sure how it would work, given how far apart they lived, but she certainly
wanted
to see more of Sparks. She nodded.

“What’s the second thing?”

Sparks grinned.

“Can you be the one to wake the dragon up? I think it will probably eat me if I try it.”

Goolrick
sat and thought for the longest time, and the one thing he couldn’t drive from his thoughts was Gem. With a push, he drove himself to his feet and strode to the nearest door, seeking out the guards who waited outside.

“I have a task for you…”

Kat and Rio were still ensconced together when the guard came. Rio had actually been enjoying it. There was something about Kat’s constant chatter that was almost restful. Now though, one of Goolrick’s men stood over them expectantly.

“Lord Goolrick would like to see you…”

Jack had read almost everything in the library by the time the guards arrived.

“Lord Goolrick requires your presence,” one said.

“Um… I should put these back first,” Jack replied, glancing to the mess of books he’d left scattered around. The guards shook their heads.

“Lord Goolrick needs to see you
urgently
…