The Dragon Liberator: Escapee
-24-

POV: Fendrel

Ember cantered back into the room with a stone slab in one of her claws, a contagious smile on her face.

“I have to thank you for trying to teach me how to write using the humans’ language. I was mapping out the outskirts of the desert when I saw a human in metal clothes talking with someone. So, I hid behind a dune and eavesdropped on them. I was only able to grab bits and pieces, though.” Ember handed the stone slab to Fendrel. “I wrote down as much as I could understand.”

Cassius came up beside Fendrel.

Fendrel read the note aloud. “—plan is in motion… Be ready in two days. Make sure that…”

“That was the other guy. The writing just below it is what your suspect said.” Ember waved a claw at the section Fendrel had just read.

“… don’t need to worry, say done. I’ll see if… She’s still under. I doubt she’ll come out of it soon.” Fendrel turned the note over to the backside and scrunched his brow. “That’s it?”

“Mhm.” Ember nodded. “The rest of what they said was them just saying goodbye.”

“What did he mean by ‘say done?’” Fendrel lifted his head up.

“I don’t know, but they both smelled like they had been near dragons recently.” Ember gave him a knowing smile.

“He couldn’t have been talking to one of the other knights because no ‘unimportant’ people have enough influence to expose them. They were in the desert, so they obviously didn’t want anyone to know what they were planning.” Fendrel stared intently at the slab.

Cassius nodded. “He’s never had a problem with talking to the other knights about scandals while in the palace. There’s no reason why he would change that now. So this person must be someone he’s not supposed to be talking to.”

Fendrel reread the note. He looked at Ember. “What did this other human look like?”

Ember drummed her talons on the stone. “He was tall, by human standards, with blue eyes.” Her eyes lit up. “I saw him grabbing his shoulder like it was injured.”

Fendrel stared at Cassius with wide eyes. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I’ve caught glimpses of him early in the morning when the traffic isn’t high. If you’re thinking that Zoricus said ‘Sadon’ rather than ‘say done,’ then yes.” Cassius rolled his eyes. “Of course Zoricus would be working with Sadon.”

Fendrel crossed his arms. “As if your cousin couldn’t get any worse.”

Cassius’s fist clenched. “We have to get rid of him.”

“Not only that, we can’t let them go through with whatever they were planning.” Fendrel shook his head. “How are we even going to prove he had this conversation with Sadon. All we have is a note, he could easily disprove this by saying we made it up. What if he has an alibi?”

The prince winced. “I know a way, but you’re probably not going to like it.”

“What is it?” Fendrel leaned toward him.

Cassius gestured at Ember. “Well, she’d have to come with us. The royal family has its own mage, and sometimes we bring him out during trials so he can discern whether you’re telling the truth or not, but from what I’ve heard it seems a little painful. If she comes with us, she can testify.”

Ember shook her head. “I have to stay here with my tribe, for the festivities and just in case those dragon hunters from the Stronghold decide to attack. My citizens need to think that everything is fine until we figure out what to do with the Stronghold. And I don’t think your family will take too kindly to a dragon in their midst.”

Fendrel sighed. “So we’ll have to use something else for evidence.”

“And we have nothing else to prove it.” Cassius hung his head.

“Do you have anything else to use against Zoricus?” Fendrel asked Cassius.

Cassius bit his lip. “It doesn’t relate to the dragon hunter thing, but I got a death threat on my bed just before I left.”

Thea almost dropped her bowl. “Geez, what is wrong with your family?”

“It’s his handwriting, I think, but…” Cassius looked away.

“But what?” Fendrel stepped into Cassius’ line of sight.

“It’s still in my room, hopefully.” The prince met his eyes. “And I don’t think anyone’s very happy with the fact that I ran away without an explanation. They’ll be looking for me everywhere. I can’t go get the note without being noticed.”

Fendrel grinned slyly. “Do you want me to sneak in and grab it?”

Cassius laughed. Then, his face fell. “Oh, you’re serious.”

“It’ll be tricky but with a big enough distraction, I’ll be able to get the note without being spotted.” Fendrel maintained his grin.

“I don’t know of anything that could distract the guards for that long. I’m not very witty.” Cassius looked down at his shoes.

“I have an idea.”

Cassius narrowed his eyes at Fendrel. “What?”

“Your wedding.” Fendrel smirked.

“What?” Cassius’ eyes widened.

“You’re supposed to get married soon, aren’t you? Just walk in there, apologize for running away, say you’re ready to get married, tell the guards to focus on guarding you and your fiancé, then we’ll go from there once I have the note.” Fendrel shrugged.

“You want me to help you crash my own wedding?” Confusion laced Cassius’s words.

“It’ll work, won’t it?” Fendrel gave him an encouraging look.

Cassius tapped his foot. “It might, but we still need more evidence. Just as a backup”

“There are a few hunters that Sadon has very close ties to. Maybe we can get some information out of them.” Fendrel looked at the others. “And after we interrogate them about Zoricus, we can interrogate them about where Mist might be.”

Venom made a thoughtful noise. “That’s assuming they took her. Mist might have run away.”

“Yeah, remember that older vapor dragon from the cliff base? He said he’s been their only vapor dragon for a really long time.” Fog’s wings sank. “Mist has to be somewhere else.”

Fendrel gave her a reassuring look. “We’ll replace her. We’ll storm the major bases, just in case, until we replace something.” He looked around the room. “Are we all in agreement?”

Slow nods passed around the room.

“Perhaps storming in isn’t exactly the right approach for all the bases.” Venom poked Fendrel’s chest. “But I agree with the rest of the plan.”

Ember glanced out of the room. “The festivities will begin soon. If you want to leave, you better do it soon before the skies are taken up by celebrating dragons.”

Venom nodded. “Thank you for your help, Ember.” He started out of the room. The others followed.

Fendrel waved at Ember as he left. “Yes, thank you for your help. And don’t worry, I still think you’re fun.” He smiled.

She chuckled. “Go finish your mission, Liberator.”

<~><~><~>

POV: Charles

Oliver, droopy-eyed, sat by a pond in one of the Sanctuaries, poking lily pads with a stick. A few dusk dragon hatchlings were curled up sleeping on either side of him.

Viper tumbled in a ball of other hatchlings. They chased each other, squealing with laughter and splashing through the pond.

Adder, Viper’s mother kept a watchful eye over all the young ones. “The boy is yours?”

“No.” Charles shook his head as he kept his gaze on Oliver. “His parents couldn’t take care of him anymore, and his uncle refused to treat him well, so I tried to be his caretaker.”

“Tried?” Adder glanced at him. “If you take care of him, then you’re his caretaker. It doesn’t matter if someone did a better or worse job than you as long as you are doing well, and you’re the one currently caring for him.”

Charles pursed his lips. “I suppose so. He’s only recently started trusting me.”

“Hmmm. That’s unfortunate.” Adder tickled Viper’s side as the hatchlings ran past. “You were a stranger to him?”

“Hardly.” Charles gave a short laugh. “He’s known me for years, but he was afraid of anyone unfamiliar. It was only a few months ago that I could carry a conversation with him.”

There was a long pause.

Adder waited for the hatchlings to run to the other side of the Sanctuary, where the pond was. “Is it true you were a dragon hunter?”

Charles stiffened. “How did you replace out about that?”

“Your clothes, the scent of dragons clings to them, and everyone knows the Liberator primarily works alone, so you couldn’t be a traveling partner of his. And you couldn’t still be a dragon hunter because Venom might have killed you as soon as he saw you.” Adder smiled. “At least, that’s what everyone has been talking about since you arrived.”

Charles clucked his tongue. “Good to know.” He caught Oliver chance a quick glance over his shoulder at him. He waved at the boy.

Oliver gave a small smile and went back to toying with the lily pads.

I’ll make sure you can freely trust people again. I’ll make all those years up to you.

<~><~><~>

POV: Fendrel

Fendrel surveyed the shifting dunes as they left the Twin Oases. “If Ember said the Stronghold has more activity, that must mean the dragon hunters have picked up new recruits.”

“How does that help us?” Venom angled his head to see Fendrel.

“The instructors will be busy dealing with their students, so it’s less likely they’ll be patrolling the halls.” Fendrel squinted his eyes, trying to see the Stronghold.

“But if Ember’s guards went missing, won’t it be more dangerous for us?” Fog stared at Fendrel. Her pupils were tiny slits.

Fendrel nodded. “It will be, but we have no idea how her guards approached the Stronghold. You need a good diversion to get in without suspicion, and they were dragons, so that definitely didn’t help their situation.”

Birch pumped his wings to fly beside Venom, flakes of dead crimson scales drifting from his wings. “I’ve heard of those cacti before.” He pointed at a cluster of cacti that dotted the dunes below. “They’re perfect for dyeing things. Maybe we could use the juice to make ourselves look like rogues.”

“Hmm.” Venom stared at the cacti.

The floral dragon lowered his head a bit. “Or not, if you have a better idea, sir.”

“No, I think that’s a great plan.” Venom banked toward the desert vegetation. He landed, kicking up a spray of baking hot sand.

Birch landed beside him and dug his talons into the sand. He sighed with relief.

As soon as Fog landed, she let out a gasp and stamped her feet, keeping her tail off the ground. “Why is the ground so much hotter here than at the Twin Oases?”

Venom approached a cactus and ripped a chunk of its arm off. Juice dripped into the sand. The spines pressed harmlessly against his scales.

Fendrel slid off Venom’s shoulders and frowned.

Sadon used the juices to dye normal dragons and trick the students into thinking they’re rogues.

“So, you will be our distraction?” Venom glanced at Birch.

Birch jumped Sand spilled off of him. His wings dropped like weights and his ears flattened against his head. “Y-yes, sir.”

Venom handed the cactus to Birch, who dipped his claws inside and smeared the juice on his chest, staining the scales a light blue.

As Birch arched his neck to let the sun bake the juice onto his chest, Fendrel shook his head. “The ground surrounding the Stronghold is flat sandstone. Even if you draw some of them away, they never leave anything completely vulnerable, especially when it’s just one dragon. Not to mention they’ll recognize me as soon as they see me close enough.”

A strong gust of wind picked up sand a few miles away. It looked like a low brown cloud over the dunes.

“Do the hunters leave the Stronghold often?” Venom eyed the sand cloud.

Fendrel nodded. “Yes, they leave in groups of about four near the end of every week to take the students out to observe a hunt or abduct dragons for inside training.”

“Do those sand clouds ever get bigger?” Venom jutted his chin at the small storm.

“Yes. Why?”

“Because those would be hard to breathe in if you’re traveling through them.”

Fendrel raised his head with a smile. “Ah, I see where you’re going with this.”

“What is it?” Thea came up to stand beside Fendrel.

“The hunters have scarves that cover the bottom halves of their faces so they can breathe easier if they have to ride through a sandstorm, and those can pop up at any moment without warning.” Fendrel pointed at the sand cloud growing as it passed more dunes.

“We can lead a small group of hunters here and take one of their scarves.” Venom looked at Birch. “I can go with you to lead the hunters back here.”

“No!” Fendrel held his hand out toward Venom. “Dusk dragons are the most dangerous to dragon hunters, and they’re in high demand because it’s hard to catch them. If they see you, they’ll send out more hunters than we can handle.”

“W-we can’t just send me out by myself, though, right?” Birch stepped away from the group. He scooped a paw full of sand and began rubbing it on his other shedding paws.

The only other option is Fog.

Venom glanced at the vapor dragon, then looked away.

Fendrel’s eyes drifted to her metal-donned talons.

Those won’t be able to save her from dragon hunters’ arrows or clamps.

“It will have to be me.” Fog’s tail curled and uncurled rhythmically. Shaking, she reached into the cactus and marked up the feathers on the undersides of her wings.

“You’re sure I can’t go without endangering us all?” Venom lowered his head so he was eye-level with Fendrel.

Fendrel put his hands on his hips and sighed. He nodded. “Fog, you’re a vapor dragon so they’re not going to see you as much of a threat. They’ll probably only release two hunters at the most to go after you.” He turned to Birch. “And you’re a very young floral dragon who doesn’t look very dangerous, not to mention you’ll be out of your element while flying. I think you’ll have about two hunters following you too.”

Venom looked the smaller dragons in their eyes. “If they get too close to you, we’ll try to intervene.”

“We will intervene.” Fendrel shot a look at Venom. “Even if it means the other hunters see us. We’ll just have to go to another base for our information if that happens.”

Thea paced beside Fendrel. “Ugh, this is making me nervous!”

Cassius nodded in agreement. “And what are we going to do—” he pointed between himself and Thea “—once you lead the hunters here?”

“You will stay back while I take them out.” Venom stared down at the prince.

“Works for me.” Cassius took a knee.

Thea crossed her arms. “I could help. I brought so many spells with me. Let me check what I have!” She knelt down in the sand and started taking out small, labeled vials from the folds in her dress. She lined them up, then picked up the first one. With a groan, she tossed it behind her back. Several more vials were discarded before she found one that caused a wide grin to take over her face. “Yes!”

“What is it?” Fendrel crouched beside her.

Fog stepped closer and peered at the small vial’s contents.

“I knew this would come in handy. I haven’t put a spell on this one yet. See? No label.” Thea pointed at the vial. She placed it off to the side and scooped the unchosen ones into her hands, distributing them to her dress folds once more. Thea snatched the vial and stood. “I can do practically anything with this.”

Venom stared at her with curiosity. “Hmm…Surprise me.”

Thea smiled. “I will.”

“Is that the Stronghold?”

The group turned to see the floral dragon pointing at a large, lone stone-brick building, hazy from the dust far away.

“That’s the Stronghold.” Fendrel’s body felt cold with dread despite the heat.

Fog flexed her talons and stared at the imposing structure. “I’ll see you all soon.” She gave them an unconvincing smile.

Birch took a deep breath, shook out his flaking wings, and ran. He launched himself into the sky.

“Be safe and remember to act like rogues.” Fendrel unbuckled Fog’s saddle and placed it on the ground.

“I’ll do my best.” Fog followed Birch’s lead, winging away toward the Stronghold.