The Dragondain (2 page)

CHARACTERS

Earth

Lily Vervain Winter
, thirteen-year-old sister of Jasper, expert liar, trying to reform

Jasper Milfoil Winter,
fourteen-year-old, would rather die than break a pinky-promise

Tay and Linnea Winter
, father and mother of
Lily and Jasper
, owners of Treling Tree Nursery

Ebb Autumn, Linnea’s
brother, lives in the mansion on The Egg

Bruford,
big black shaggy dog

Tarzanna
, gray tabby, great mouser

Hello Kitty, Lily’s
horse

Gwen Madsen,
geriatric botanist, works at Treling Tree Nursery, lives with her brother
Myrddin
in a cabin next to The Wald

Myrddin Madsen,
geriatric botanist,
Gwen’s
older brother, good in a pinch

Isla Gorpmarch
, do not judge her by her size,
Lily’s
best friend

The Electrimals

Oscar
, bright red-plumed flying seahorse, unique among the birdfish

Mr. Phixit,
more than just two arms mounted to a tall dresser with exactly ninety-nine drawers

Mr. Clippers,
eight-legged, solar-paneled lawnmower, lives on The Egg

Finder
, teddy bear-sized and -shaped, good at finding things

Bounder,
larger, slower version of
Finder
, good at carrying heavy objects

The Moon Realm

The Moon of Dain

The Dragondain, their children, and others

The Glaive
, Dragondain, father of
Dubb
, sees all weaknesses, current Royal Master-at-Arms at the Royal Court of Dain

Dubb
, Dragondain, Captain, master swordsman and tactician

Lady Mairwen
, wife of
Dubb
and a Lady of the Court

Darce
, swordswoman-in-training, daughter, a chip off the old
Glaive
block

Teague
, swordsman-in-training, son, uncomfortably following in the footsteps of
Darce

Tavin
, Ex-Captain, Ex-Dragondain, cursed

Ember
, lunamancer, amateur Dain historian

Quib
, Dragondain, cook, man of many talents, wicked good with a whip

Cora
, lunamancer, wife of
Quib,
bakes a mean cherry muffin

Annora
, lunamancer, daughter, never met a spell she couldn’t improve

Bree
, lunamancer, daughter, good at dissipating the spells of others

Ridley
, lunamancer-in-training, son, studies lunarithmancy (crossover prediciton)

Merri, Min, and Jin
, the triplets

Keegan Hoarfrost
, very old healer

Nima
, healer, one of
Keegan’s
many granddaughters

Raewyn
, healer, daughter of
Keegan
, good at keeping things alive

Marred
, Dragondain, tracker, dragonologist, husband of
Raewyn

Nye
, Dragondain-in-training, healer, son, takes after his mother and father

Luna
, daughter, still deciding

Andros
, Dragondain, mountain of a man, bearer of Balherk’s shield

Jemma
, Dragondain, wife of
Andros

Falin
, Dragondain-in-training, swordsman, son

Grimm
, Dragondain-in-training, swordsman, son

Andra
, Dragondain-in-training, swordswoman, daughter

Boots
, Dragondain, archer, rarely misses his mark, never stumbles, good with maps

Bel
, farmer, archer

Byrne
, Dragondain-in-training, archer, son, has a hunting bow with a real draw

Alasdair
, Dragondain-in-training, archer, son

Penryn
, Dragondain-in-training, archer, son, once shot the pit out of a cherry at twenty paces

Arric
, lunamancer, good with wards, better with peerins

Linn
, archer, wife of
Arric

Ren
, lunamancer, archer, daughter

Prin
, lunamancer, archer, daughter

Einar Mardanc
, lunamancer, a respected leader within the healers’ collective

Dyre Fellbard
, lunamancer, highly placed within the Royal Court of Dain

Beck and Newlin Lintel
, lunamancers, brothers, longtime rivals of
Annora and Bree

The Moon of Barreth

The Rinn

Greydor Goldenclif
, of the clan Foamchaser, Lord of the Valley Rinn

Nimlinn Goldenclif,
of the clan Broadpaw, Queen of the Valley Rinn

Roan
, warrior, head of his clutter

Mowra
, Court lunamancer

The Wyflings

Witcoil Lightfoot
, Lancespeed First Class, Royal Guard to the Queen

Snerliff,
attendant to
Nimlinn
, stouthearted when not panicked

Twizbang,
attendant to
Nimlinn
, a bit twitchy

The Moon of Taw

Aleron,
head of Heron Peck

The Moon of Darwyth

The various names of
Wrengfoul

Rengtiscura
, as he is known on the moon Barreth

Werfryht
, as he is known on the moon Taw

Wergmyrk
, as he in known on the moon Dik Dek

Writhrong
, as he is known on the moon Rel’ Kah

Wrengfoul
, as he is known on the moon Dain

Others

Faerathil
, the Faerie Queen of Rel’ Kah

Morgoroth the Devourer,
Keeper of the Magic Flame, greatest dragon in all the Moon Realm

Curse,
nasty piece of work, inhabits a slag heap of a sword, likes to be oiled regularly

PART TWO

THE RINN OF BARRETH

Nine Moons Make a Realm

Conjured Rinnjinn in Fangdelve keep,

the Rinn of Barreth making.

Pearl of Dik Dek in oceans deep,

mer-made all for the taking.

Kormor’s work, hammer and anvil,

giants of Min Tar she forged.

Terrible beauty Faerathil,

in Rel’ Kah her dreams she poured.

Three hearts bejewel the crown of Dain

Dragon, King, and Naramay.

Lazy lives the long life in twain,

keying a lone memory.

From grove to bird did language fly,

fluttering from Taw to Realm.

Tinker’s Secret? None to tell.

Darwyth’s rising—a wellspring dell.

Chapter One

Return to Barreth

J
asper
understood nightmares. Drowning, tumbling about in darkness, not being able to breathe—or just being
afraid
to breathe—these were all fair game in the realm of nightmares. The weirdest thing about this dream, though, was that he
really
thought he was wide awake. Of course, he’d had those before, too: the lucid ones—dreams so real they were
just
like being awake.

And he was pretty sure he was having one of them right now.

Wasn’t Lily in this dream earlier? She was going on about something. . . .

With a crash of snapping twigs, Jasper came to rest. He had landed flat on his back, woozy and blinded.

Did I sleepwalk out of my window?

A grayness crept into his vision. Odd, muffled noises like birds and deeper sounds you might expect to hear at a zoo surrounded him. Something was thumping on his chest. In his head, Jasper heard voices.

“It’s definitely not she,” said an aristocratic voice.

“Are you sure? It looked an awful lot like her to me,” came a deeper, rumbling voice.

And there were other voices, in the background, but also inside his head.

“Shorter hair, different clothes. And if I’m not mistaken, this one is a male Dain cub.”

“I find it very hard to tell those Dain cubs apart, especially after they change their coats. And we’ve been in this swamp so long, my nose has become useless.”

Blurry, swirling lights appeared on the gray background. Jasper turned onto his side and groped around.
I’m definitely not in the yard
, he thought. He was lying in what felt like a giant bird’s nest. His vision cleared a bit more, and he realized that the blurry lights were actually intensely bright stars. The top edge of the nest flickered with the red glow of a nearby fire—a big one, from the sound of it. All of a sudden, an enormous bird’s head popped over the rim of the nest and peeked down at him, chattering something . . .
birdish
.

“Are you all right?” he heard in English, followed again by the strange thumping—or was it more like a pulsing?—echoing in time upon his chest.

The huge head pivoted as if to look nearby. “Is it possible it doesn’t understand me?” asked the bird.

“Nonsense,” said the deep rumbling voice, sounding much closer than it had just a moment before. “Lily understood us just—”

Something leaned over the nest, blotting out the stars. It was a great head—full of teeth and whiskers—wreathed by a blazing mane of fire. Two luminous, amber eyes the size of dinner plates stared down at him.

Jasper fell back and screamed, instinctively raising his arms for protection.

The fiery head retreated quickly, uncloaking the bright stars.

“Oh, I see your point,” conceded the deep voice.

After his initial fright subsided, Jasper began to think that what he had just seen was one of Uncle Ebb’s Rinn, who in the bedtime tales had always come off as rather friendly.

Not being one to cower, least of all in dreams, and convinced there was no way out but up, Jasper decided the best thing to do was face these creatures. Standing, however, he realized all he had on were an old t-shirt and some underwear.

Typical nightmare clothes
, he thought wryly.
I’m surprised I don’t have to pee.

And then he noticed the jacket bundled up in his arms. How convenient! He held the jacket close, wondering just how much control he had over this dream. As an experiment, Jasper closed his eyes and willed the lump inside the jacket to become clothes and shoes. Unrolling it, he found pants, shirt, belt, socks and shoes. There were even snacks in the pockets.

“Nice,” he whispered.

As he leaned over to place the open bundle at his feet, something snake-like swung away from his chest. Instinctively, he batted it away. But to his surprise, his hand connected with something hard and metallic. What happened next happened fast. The thing he’d hit seem to be attached to him as though by a chain around his neck. As it spun around from the force of his blow, he felt it wrapping around his head, first across his cheek, then around the back of his head, then—whomp!—it connected with his opposite temple. There was an explosion of stars before his eyes and he fell backwards, stunned like a stoned rabbit.

For a moment, all was quiet. Then Jasper popped into a sitting position swatting away at unseen enemies until the throbbing pain in his temple brought him back to reality. Tentatively, he probed the area and found an angry lump.

“Is everything all right in there?” came the aristocratic voice. “Do you require assistance?” said the voice slowly, in the way a person might talk to a small child who didn’t speak the local dialect.

“Um. No. Not necessary,” shouted Jasper, reaching for clothes and pulling them on. “All good here. No need to send in assistance.”

Moving fast, Jasper shot an arm through his jacket, tucked what he now surmised was his uncle’s necklace under his shirt, and double-knotted his sneaker’s laces because, even though he had no idea what was going on, he was really sure he didn’t want to end up running around with one sneaker.

The larger branches made good handholds. “Be right—”

Jasper’s head crested the rim of the nest. He was in the center of a large encampment. A dozen bonfires burned brightly, hissing and spitting as though they’d been constructed of damp wood, illuminating vast stands of cypress trees, pools of brackish water, and . . . Rinn, hundreds of Rinn.

“—there.” Jasper gulped.

Forest Rinn, to be more precise, with their short, golden fur and the gigantic bows strapped to their long backs. All, that is, but two long-furred Valley Rinn, if his guess was right.

There were also creatures he didn’t recognize, like the two oversized otter-looking things standing at attention by the long-furred orange Rinn who had peeked over the edge of the nest. There was something strange about that Rinn. Its fur and eyes were more like the color of Forest Rinn, but its coat was long and exceedingly well kept, as though it had been combed that morning. It was also the only Rinn there, Forest or Valley, wearing a war saddle.

The other Valley Rinn sported what his sister would call a red chestnut coat. Its emerald eyes darted about, as it avidly followed the progress of a huge moth circling one of the bonfires. The Rinn’s rear end was hunkered down, and every time the moth circled, its haunches would sway side to side as though readying to launch. It was a very house cat-like behavior and Jasper couldn’t help but snicker. The big Rinn must have heard this, though, because after Jasper snickered it sat bolt upright, suddenly looking very dignified, though its eyes continued to dart excitedly and whiskers twitch as the moth made its next pass.

Jasper spotted a horrific, snoring pile of teeth, legs, and ears near one of the crackling fires. There appeared to be a superabundance of legs. Jasper considered his internal Moon Realm bestiary to be quite complete, but he had no good guess at to what was in that pile-up.

The tall bird with the bright blue plumage tilted its head, staring at him with one fiery orange eye the size of a fist. It couldn’t have been more than a foot away from the nest and had been standing so still that Jasper hadn’t even noticed it until it moved. It was then that Jasper noticed all the other birds, hundreds of them, all shapes and sizes perched within and around the trees.

“I don’t believe we have met,” stated the great bird. “My name is Aleron.” Aleron flexed his great blue wings and bowed his head. “And this is Her Majesty, Nimlinn Goldenclif, of the clan Broadpaw, Queen of the Valley Rinn,” he continued, nodding to the great orange Rinn wearing the saddle, “and Roan,” he finished, nodding to the chestnut Rinn.

Not knowing exactly what was proper, Jasper lowered his head to each of them in turn, bowing most deeply to Nimlinn. Although Roan returned his bow with a slight nod, Nimlinn remained erect, looking regal and eyeing him with what Jasper correctly guessed was suspicion.

“Where is Lily?” said Nimlinn.

“Nimlinn!” interrupted Aleron. “All in due time.”

Aleron’s voice had been the aristocratic one, and Jasper could tell—somehow—that the voice was male. When he thought about it, he realized that it was through this same means that Jasper now knew Nimlinn’s voice had a definite female quality.

The bird settled a great blinking eye on Jasper. “And your name would be?” he asked very pleasantly.

Jasper eyed them all again, marveling at how real everything seemed.

“My name—” Jasper placed a hand to his oddly constricting throat, which was no longer speaking English. “My name—” he placed his other hand over the pendant, pulsing on his chest “—is Jasper Milfoil Winter.”

Jasper turned to address Nimlinn, one hand still to his throat, which felt funny every time he spoke. “Lily is my younger sister,” he choked. “But how do you know her name?”

Nimlinn leaned back, standing slightly taller, and her eyes grew wider. “What! Did she tell you nothing?!”

Jasper scrunched up his eyes in thought. “She said somethin’ . . . I don’t know . . . Does it matter?”

With that, Jasper climbed over the edge of the nest and leapt to the ground, which was soft and damp. When he straightened back up, he noticed that Roan had placed an enormous paw over one eye and was slowly shaking his head. It was a very human expression that somehow didn’t seem so out of place. Nimlinn was speechless. But Aleron was not.

“I see,” he said matter-of-factly. “Then we have much to do. Nimlinn, you should get back to Sea Denn—immediately. Your forest kin will keep you safe along the ocean road and through the pass. Roan’s clutter can protect you as well. My flock, for the time that we occupy your lands, are, of course, at Your Majesty’s service.”

Distracted, Nimlinn nodded to Aleron, muttering what might have been a thank you. But her outraged gaze quickly returned to Jasper, and she found her tongue.

“What
did
Lily tell you?” she demanded.

Jasper pursed his lips. “I don’t know. Somethin’ about . . .” Jasper thought hard, trying to remember the dreamy conversation in his room. “. . . about . . . going back somewhere.”

Nimlinn narrowed her eyes, sweeping her ears back in what would be, for Tarzanna, a very angry manner. “Tell me,” she said slowly, “exactly what transpired.”

“Well . . . I was sleeping in my bed, and Lily was shaking me.”

“So you were asleep?”

“Yeah, and I was dreamin’ something. I don’t know what, but it wasn’t as good as this—”

“Wait!” interrupted Nimlinn, and now her voice took on a new menace and her gigantic whiskers began to twitch. “Am I to understand that . . . you think me a dream?” she roared.

“Nimlinn!” said Aleron. “Control yourself!”

Jasper took an involuntary step backwards and felt his shoulder brush up against the nest. Roan leapt from his post behind Nimlinn and positioned himself so he could interpose between Nimlinn and Jasper.

Nimlinn bent down on her front paws, and her tail, as thick as a fire hose, twitched from side to side. Her long fur puffed out, and she seemed to grow in size. “What else did she say?” Nimlinn pressed.

With the thumb and index finger of his right hand, Jasper pinched a big piece of flesh on his left forearm.

Sure seems real
, he thought.

Jasper tried to remember, but it was all very foggy. “I . . . I think I threw her out of the room. Then I went back to sleep.”

Nimlinn closed her eyes and bowed her head, her anger seeping away.

“Aleron,” she said more calmly. “Explain to him what you understand of the coin. Be
certain
he knows where
not
to set it.”

Nimlinn turned to her otter-like servants. “Wyflings!” They leapt to attention.

“Snerliff, inform Roan the wirtles are now his charge. Twizbang, prepare to depart!”

Twizbang’s eyes widened and appeared to get stuck that way. “But Your Majesty, Roan is standing right over there. I’m sure he heard—WE’RE GOING
THROUGH
THE MOUNTAINS!” he said, and his whiskers appeared to freeze in place, sticking out at odd angles around his gaping mouth.

“We will take the pass to Armashen so as to keep close to the forest Rinn. Their bows are the best match for the dragonflies.”

Jasper looked sideways at one of the bows on the backs of the forest Rinn. The arrows were the length of spears.

Jasper spread his thumb and finger to the length of a dragonfly, furrowed his brow, then bounced his glance several times between the spear-sized arrows on the nearest Rinn’s back and his fingers. “Best . . . match, wait . . .” But just then the entire encampment of birds, as if on some unspoken signal, took to flight. The sound was deafening, and the wind was strong enough to tousle Jasper’s hair. In seconds, only Aleron was left.

“Jasper,” called Aleron, hopping nimbly before him. “Quickly! The moon coin, let me see it.”

“The moon what?” said Jasper.

“The coin! The coin at the end of your uncle’s necklace!” said Aleron.

And for the first time, Jasper seriously entertained the thought that this might not be a dream.

Leaning forward, hoping Nimlinn wouldn’t hear, Jasper said, “Aleron . . . I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“Would that you were, my friend. Now show me that coin.”

Jasper fished out the pendant from under his shirt and held it between them as Aleron explained how to open and close the fob; how to spin the inner circle of moons; and how the little circles on the coin represented all the other moons. He ticked off the names, but Jasper knew them well. He’d heard them many times before.

“Wait, you skipped this last circle,” said Jasper.

“Did I?” asked Aleron, his eyebrows raising inquisitively.

“Yeah. This one. With the little moon next to—”

“Yes?”

Jasper licked his lips. “Tell me more.”

“Quite. Nimlinn tells me it took a full day for the coin to recharge before sending Lily to Dain, which is a new detail to me. But do not use that as a hard and fast rule. It could be different going to other moons that are at opposite sides of the sphere, or back to . . .”

“Where I came from.”

“Precisely: the coin’s recharge time may very well be influenced by how close you are to your destination. We know that Dain was very close when Lily went there.”

As things became more and more complicated, Jasper became more and more nervous.

“Sphere?” asked Jasper.

“Yes. The sphere is the area within which the various moons of the Moon Realm travel.”

Suddenly, Jasper was transported to the bedtimes of his youth. Uncle Ebb was sitting on the bed, holding his hands in a sphere.

“And all of these moons,” Jasper began, in a dreamy voice, “circling and spinning around themselves, in turn circle one sun. And when a moon within the sphere is closest to the sun, we call that Sunward. And when a moon within the sphere is farthest from the sun, we call that Darkward, and in the middle . . . “ Jasper’s voice trailed off.

“The Middling,” finished Aleron. “Good, you
do
have some sense about where you are. Tell me—”

“Lily went to Dain,” said Jasper, more as a statement of fact than a question. “Wait . . . Lily was here on Barreth first? How long is a day here?”

“Nimlinn will tell you many things . . . I’m sure . . . maybe,” added Aleron, not sounding too confident. “I, however, must rejoin my flock. If what Nimlinn has said about that saddle is true, we will be hard pressed to keep up with her—although we will have the advantage of the straighter path.”

Jasper stared confusedly at Aleron. “But Aleron, you’ll be flying, right? In the air?”

“We will not be the only ones flying tonight, my friend.” Aleron leaned forward. “Hold tightly to that saddle.” Then Aleron spread his great wings, beating them against the air.

With the last of the fires doused, and the last of the forest Rinn departed, the darkened camp was nearly empty. Even the horrific pile of sleeping paws and teeth was gone.

A vague memory tugged at Jasper’s mind, one of Roan arguing with Nimlinn while Aleron was explaining the workings of the moon coin. Jasper watched the two wyflings busily attending to Nimlinn, who now lay on her long stomach so they could more easily climb up and down the handsomely tooled saddle resting on her back.

The deep of night was on them, but it was not dark. Looking up, Jasper noticed for the first time the great moons hanging in the sky: some full, some hiding behind others, and behind them all, a black background pierced by a teeming sea of bright stars.

“Oh my,” said Jasper to no one in particular.

He took up the pendant at the end of the necklace, studying its face by the moonlight.

Lily!
he thought.
This is your doing! And if this is no dream, and if I am truly in the Moon Realm, then Uncle Ebb’s bedtime tales were . . . not . . . just . . . stories.