The Dragon’s Treasure (3 page)

With that thought, she began to hurry through the wide deserted streets of Nuer. She had been born in this small city and knew the twists and turns of these roads as easily as she knew the ones in the small palace she shared with her brothers and the man that currently sat on the throne in her father’s stead, her uncle, the brother of Andrew’s mother.

Though Andrew’s uncle was neither royalty nor her blood relation, he still expected her to do some of what he asked of her. She barely suppressed an eye roll at this. Whenever the man tried to inflict his ideas on her, it took much of her willpower not to attack him openly. Even Andrew could barely stand the man, though he did hold him in higher esteem than she did.

The city was quiet and seemingly deserted as she made her way further outside of the palace walls. She knew being out this late without the company of at least one guard was dangerous, especially as she left the small section of town that the noblemen lived in.

She had visited the healer’s home once before when her mother had sent her and a few guards to fetch him for an ailing friend when she had been only a small child and although it had been many years since that day, Isabelle was sure that she would have no trouble finding the small wooden building once again.

A narrow alleyway crowded with beggars, thieves and streetwalkers seemed a forbidding place, but she knew that his house lay just beyond. Back when her mother had been alive this alley was a row of quaint shops, but those merchants had left shortly after her father vanished and that man took over his throne. A lot had changed since then, none of it for the better as far as she was concerned. But dwelling in that dark past would do her no good now and she knew of only one route to get to the healer’s house and so she took a deep breath and walked on. The door, small and unassuming blended in neatly with the rest of the brown-colored house. Isabelle pulled her cloak tighter around her shivering frame as she rapped on the door. Minutes passed before it opened slightly. She could just barely make out the man still hovering in the shadows within.

“Sir?” Isabelle asked cautiously.

He leaned forward and his eyes, clouded with age, looked her over before deciding to open the door slightly. “Isabelle?”

She gulped nervously as she felt the eyes of those in the alley on her back. “Salus, sir, may I come in?” Without another word he ushered her inside.

Isabelle hardly waited for the heavy wood door to close before she turned on him, her eyes blazing with unanswered questions and barely restrained accusations. “Why did you leave us? Couldn’t you see that Caden still needs you?”

“Leave? Dear child, I did not leave. Your brother kicked me out!” he returned with just as much anger as she had thrown at him.

She was instantly quieted as she considered his words. “Andrew? Why would he do such a thing?”

Salus crossed his arms over his chest and leveled his gaze at her. “Can you think of no reason?”

Isabelle looked away, realization burning through her. She would deal with Andrew later though, Caden was who mattered now. “Isn’t there some way to help him?”

“Not in this city, not with your brother so quick to see him buried,” Salus shook his head sadly.

Isabelle would not be discouraged so quickly. “What about outside of the city then? The mountain people?” she asked as she took a step toward him and placed a pleading hand on his forearm.

He shook her hand off angrily and took a step away from her. “The mountain people? Have you any idea of what you are saying you stupid, stupid child?”

“Could they help him? If there is a chance that they could help him…” She was begging him, pleading for him to give her some small snippet of hope. Perhaps this sight of her, so beautiful and young like her mother was at her age, was what made him decide to help her.

“They could, I believe. But realize this, those people do not grant favors lightly. The price they would ask for in return for saving your brother may well be too great for you to bear.” He sounded as if he was cautioning her and while Isabelle appreciated his concern, she could not let that stop her.

“No price is too great in exchange for Caden’s life.” Isabelle was determined. She had hope now, however small. Caden had to get better. If it took everything she had, she would see him well again. If only for a day.

“I hope you don’t live to regret those words. Now, come closer, I will tell you how to get to the mountains. And you had better pay attention and not make this old man repeat himself all night.”

Isabelle nodded quickly and leaned forward, her pale lips forming a thin line as she stared eagerly at the man. He looked her over, satisfied that he had her rapt attention and then began to speak.

“To get to the mountains you must journey for quite a few days toward those distant peaks. The rivers will begin to dry up and the grass with turn brown and give way to the barren wasteland as you near the base of the mountains. The air will become hot and dry and it will become hard for you to breathe. Make sure you take enough food and water for you both. You’ll need it,” he said solemnly.

* * * *

Her eyes were wide as she listened to him, faithfully absorbing every word that fell from his lips. “Once I’m there what should I do?”

“Wait at the base of the mountains for them. Someone will come to escort you inside. No one is able to get into the mountain unless they belong there.”

“Have you ever been inside though, Salus?”

He nodded quickly. “Yes.”

“So why can’t you take us then?” she asked, her expression worried.

He leaned back, studying her, wondering if she could really do this or if he would end up being responsible for the deaths of these two young children in the end. “I do not belong there,” he told her slowly. “I am not one of them. I am a welcomed guest at the best of times, but I do not have the ability to bring in outsiders.”

“I’m a princess, not an outsider,” she scoffed.

Salus had to smile at her arrogance. “I highly doubt your position in society will matter. Neither will your gold or power. They do not value those trivialities.”

“What kind of people are they then if they can’t appreciate wealth?”

He chuckled dryly at her, causing her frown to deepen even further. “You will have to wait and see for yourself. Now, I think you’ve been out late enough for one night. Go back, get some rest, and head out tomorrow.”

“Very well. Goodnight, healer.”

“My dear, please call me, Salus.”

* * * *

She sucked on her lower lip, considering the informality of it all and finally nodded. “Thank you for your help. Goodbye.”

“Good luck to you, my dear. Goodnight,” he told her as he rose from the chair.

Isabelle closed the door to the healer’s home and heard a sharp click as the lock was pushed firmly back in place. She couldn’t blame himfor being cautious in times like these.

When she and Andrew had been barely more than children she remembered sneaking out of the palace with him on quiet nights like this and walking around the streets of Nuer as if they had been regular citizens and not held captive by the statutes of their birth. She thanked those nights with him now as she made her way silently back to the familiar gates of the palace and to the small opening off to the side where the ancient stone wall had crumbled just enough to allow her through without tearing any of the ivy vines that kept the hole hidden from the guard’s searching eyes.

Though the soft ground soiled her clothing and the ivy tore at her hair Isabelle much preferred it to the questions the guards would ask her at the gate before they would bring her to Andrew’s uncle to deal with. She was sure that the man wasn’t stupid enough not to realize that she got away with far more than her brother, but Andrew was always too dumb not to get caught when he dared to break the rules.

Hunched over and holding her cloak tightly against her, Isabelle dashed across the palace lawns until she was safe inside the marble walls. It always amused her how much harder getting back into the palace was after she had been out in the city. The man currently sitting in her father’s throne had taken a rather lazy approach to security though so she was almost certain she would have no problem walking right in if she had really wanted. Best not to risk it though. Only the minimum number of guards had been left to patrol the palace and surrounding grounds. The rest had been pulled for his personal guard and they followed him no matter where he went in Nuer. Except, of course, for the graveyard. Even that drunken arrogant fool could see the harm that thirty pairs of boots could cause there and for that Isabelle thanked him.

As she hoped, Isabelle saw no one as she hurried to her room. She quickly grabbed her father’s traveling pack from the trunk under her window and tossed a few pieces of clothing and a blanket inside. Although she knew horses would be faster and could carry more for her, Isabelle didn’t trust her poor skills with a horse at a time like this, especially not if she would have to guide the horse and hold Caden at the same time. As she saw it, traveling lightly on foot would be much safer.

A quick stop at the kitchen provided apples, salted meat, a loaf of bread and a flask of water, everything she thought she would need for the trip. Or at least that is what she hoped.

Finally she went to Caden. Slowly she opened the door and made her way inside the small room. She was sure that the mountain people could help him. They had to. He barely stirred as she scooped his small form into her arms and pulled her cloak around them both. Her mind was made up and really there was no turning back now. She would go to the mountains with him and he would become well someday.

Isabelle stumbled, righted herself, and then stumbled again. But she would not go down. She struggled through the thick brush, sharp branches stinging her arms and shoulders while sharply jutting roots threatened to make her fall at any moment. If not for the limp body of the boy clasped tightly in her arms she probably would have. What little strength she had left was spared on him. For days she had been running almost non-stop across this barren wasteland, her brother’s shallow breathing driving her ever onward.

Finally she found the base of the mountains. Three days’ journey had led her to this place where the charred stone met ancient rock. Bushes and trees had long since vanished with the grasses that had once stung her. In their wake lay nothingness for miles. Only stone, the deep red color of old blood, and the putrid smell of rotting meat met her in this place. Even in the absence of the giant creatures, she would know this land to belong to the dragons.

The deep gray clouds began to roll in, blocking out the afternoon sky and giving her some much needed shielding from the harsh sunlight. Moments later, thunder rocked through the stillness of the hot afternoon air. Isabelle collapsed to her knees, sending up a soft cloud of dust that covered her already filthy clothing. She slumped wearily forward until her long grime-covered hair brushed dry dirt. Exhausted and dehydrated, she soon slumped even further over until she collapsed into a haphazard heap on the hard, dry dirt with Caden still held tightly in her arms. Her eyes were heavy, barely able to stay open as the wind forced dust and grime onto her long eyelashes.

Before she finally succumbed to the fatigue, she heard the sound of wings and felt the ground shudder under a great weight. A large dark form in her blurring vision was the last thing she saw before her body finally gave in to the exhaustion.

Isabelle awoke shortly after dawn, her skin already sticky from the hot, dry heat. She grumbled and shut her eyes tightly against the already bright sunlight. She rolled onto her side, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her calves in the position she had used since she was two when Andrew would insist that she get up at the crack of dawn or else say that she was wasting the day away.

A sudden chill snaked across her spine and she instantly reached out for Caden, hoping to pull him closer to ward off the passing cold. But as her fingers touched only fine silk, the haze of sleep quickly sped away from her weary body. Bolting upright, she immediately scanned the large room. But her eyes saw none of the fine furnishings or lavish decorations as they searched frantically for the boy.

“Caden?” she called out. But only the sound of deafening silence met the pounding of the heart in her ears.

After calling to her brother again, Isabelle threw off the dark sheets and raced through the oversized double doors, pulling them frantically aside and causing them to bang loudly in her wake. The doors led to a wide hallway with warm stones and walls that seemed to be carved out of the inside of a mountain. Torches flickered along the walls, lighting her path as she ran down the hall with little regard to the thin nightgown flapping against her bare thighs.

Isabelle came to a fork in the road and, after sparing a moment for a frustrated growl, took the hallway to the right on sheer impulse. After hearing and finding no other doors except the one she came out of though, Isabelle was about to turn back and take the other hall when she felt a large fist clamp down on her bare upper arm. Isabelle twisted around in the man’s grasp, but his fingers only tightened around her. She glared up at him and brushed her long brown curls from her eyes.

“Let me go,” she growled at him. When his full lips curled into a dark smirk, she again demanded to be released. When he didn’t budge, Isabelle pulled back her arm and punched him hard in the jaw. Despite his head snapping to the side and the blossoming red blush on his cheeks, the man’s hand on her arm never relaxed.

Isabelle again reared back her hand, but was stopped in mid-swing as the man’s hard onyx eyes snapped to her, pinning her in his gaze.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he whispered.

Her eyes widened. Her mouth struggled to work, her lips parting repeatedly as she fought to speak. Finally she managed to say just two words, a name, “Zorin Danube,” she whispered. The name seemed to fall from her lips as if it had been there the whole time and had just now been set free through no will of her own. A chill snaked down her spine and she trembled under his gaze.