Burned: Dragons' Trust Book 2 Read online

  "We'll need the bandages," Lainey mumbled, half to herself. Then she stood up straight and headed for an alley between two houses.

  "Where are you—"

  "Just come on."

  He followed her to the back of the alley, where they were out of sight. Lainey had one hand wrapped tightly around the amber stone that hung on a simple chain around her neck. Only the two of them, and their friend Thane, knew what that stone really was: the heart stone of a dragon and the original source of Lainey's magic. She had worn the necklace around her neck almost constantly since the stone finished transferring its power to her.

  "Lainey," Renick said, a warning in his voice. "You can't—people will see."

  "No one will see." She waved her hand to dismiss the thought and held her free hand out to him.

  Renick did not move.

  "Please, Renick. I spent all night tending wounds I couldn't heal for fear of being discovered. Just give me this." Her eyes were sad and tired. In that moment she looked older than thirteen.

  Renick thought of May and his helplessness. He understood a little of what Lainey must be feeling. He stepped close to her and held out his sore arm.

  "Hold still," she whispered. Lainey laid her hand gently on his arm just above the elbow. A yellow light, which carried with it a soothing warmth, spread out from her fingers. The light spread across his arm and then slowly faded. "Done," Lainey said with a smile.

  "That was quite … discrete." Renick examined his arm, still a little amazed. Lainey's earlier attempts at using her new healing magic usually resulted in large blasts of light and wind.

  "Wrytha's been helping me. Apparently I have some control over the, um, visibility of the magic. But it's hard. I have to think about it just as much as the healing part." She linked arms with him and started leading him back to the main road. "Just imagine if I could get my magic to be as undetectable as Wrytha's. Then I could help people and not be worried about who might see. I'd still have to be careful though, you know, because if a serious wound healed too quickly it would draw attention. But I could do small things, little things that would make a big difference."

  Renick had always been impressed with how many words Lainey could fit between breaths.

  "Do you think Thane is okay?" Lainey's light tone suddenly turned serious. She was looking toward the center of Trevinni, where the dragon knight barracks and training grounds were.

  "I don't think the dragon got that far." When she didn't respond or even move her head, Renick added, "We could go check on him, if you'd like."

  Lainey shook her head. "No. He's probably busy, and I don't want to be a nuisance."

  Renick looked ahead. He could see the sign for the West Gate Inn swinging slightly in the breeze.

  "Shouldn't you say, 'Lainey, you're never a nuisance,' or something to that effect?" Lainey admonished him.

  Renick shrugged and Lainey hit his arm. "Don't you shrug at me. You're a dismal friend."

  "I know." He smiled at her. They had arrived at the inn, but before Lainey could step through the doors, he pulled on her arm. "I need to talk to you and Thane. Meet me at the usual spot tonight after you're done with your duties."

  Lainey nodded. "I'll see you then."

  Chapter 3: Fiery Rumors

  It turned out to be late in the evening before Renick was able to slip away from his work helping repair his uncle's stable. Lainey was not at the well next to the eastern gate, so he trudged along to her aunt's house. A harried-looking Lainey answered the door.

  "Renick, sorry. Still not done yet." She moved aside to let him in.

  Melatheen's house was not like a normal one. The front room was not for receiving guests, it was for tending to the sick and wounded. Filled beds lined one wall, cupboards the other. There was a table with a few chairs around it, and behind that was the kitchen. Lainey and Melatheen slept on the second floor, where there were also several rooms filled with more beds. Off the back of the front room was what Lainey called the quiet room, where people who needed rest could stay. Renick could see Melatheen tending to a few people back there.

  "May's in the yard, if you want to see her," Melatheen called, never looking up from her work.

  "I'll meet you there." Lainey ushered him out the back door and disappeared to assist her aunt.

  Crossing the little yard through a flock of chickens and past a goat, Renick found May lying under an awning, resting peacefully. May was improving, no doubt due to Melatheen's attentive care. Her color looked better and her breathing was no longer raspy. He sat next to the dragon and stroked her neck while he waited for Lainey. He did not have to wait long.

  Lainey came skipping up to him and said, "We can go now." Tilting her head, she held out a wedge of cheese. "Have you eaten?"

  Renick shook his head and accepted the cheese. "Thanks!"

  "Come on." She pulled him to his feet. "Let's go find Thane."

  All the way to the dragon knight training barracks Lainey explained the goings-on of her day, only pausing now and then to pull in a quick breath. Renick liked listening to her ramble, mostly because it did not require him to respond. She and her aunt had spent the better part of the day visiting the various locations where the wounded were staying.

  "A few inns and houses have opened their doors for those injured in the attack. Our house and the houses of all the other healers are full. So many were hurt." Lainey did not come right out and say it, but Renick could tell from little bits and pieces here and there that the damage was really bad. The dark circles under her eyes and the pinched corners of her lips gave away her worry.

  "So tomorrow we get to do it all over again. We'll probably be making our rounds once or twice a day for a while. At least until everyone's better," Lainey said just as they arrived at the porter's station.

  Renick knocked on the door. A section of it, just large enough for the porter to look out of, slid open. "Who goes there?" the porter asked in a gruff voice. His eyes twinkled. This was a game they played, his pretending not to know who they were, despite the fact that Lainey and Renick showed up at his door almost every day.

  "Renick and Lainey. We'd like to see Thane, if he isn't busy," Renick responded.

  The man chuckled then went back to looking stern. "You wait here. I'll check on him." With a click the door section slid closed.

  It took a while. Renick and Lainey ended up sitting next to each other on the steps outside the porter's station chatting about the weather. The door opened behind them.

  "What're you two chattering away about?" Thane's voice asked them.

  They both stood and turned around. Thane was fifteen, one year older than Renick, but they stood at close to the same height. Lainey was far shorter—but sometimes more intimidating.

  "Whatever topics we can think of to pass the time while we wait for you all day," Lainey teased.

  Thane's mouth twitched in amusement. "Come in. We can talk in my room."

  Though probably small in comparison to what Thane was used to as the son of a nobleman, his room was still larger than Renick's was. There were two cots and a table with a few chairs. A wardrobe was pushed into one corner.

  "Where's Grahm?" Renick asked when they found the room empty.

  "Consulting with the dragon knights." Thane flopped down on his bed. Lainey climbed on the other cot, where Grahm slept, and tucked her feet under her. Renick chose to sit on one of the chairs, which he turned to face into the room.

  "Have they … " Lainey started to ask, stopping when her voice started to quiver.

  "Found the dragon?" Thane narrowed his brown eyes. "Not yet. They are organizing a hunt."

  Renick and Lainey exchanged looks. "We have to warn Wrytha and Plyth," Renick said.

  Thane nodded.

  "Renick needs to talk to Wrytha anyway." Lainey was picking at an unraveling bit of her sleeve. She usually fiddled with her clothes around Thane. The difference in their station was clear by their dress. Lainey's clothes were neat but threadbare, whil
e Thane's always seemed to look new.

  Running a hand through his black hair, Thane asked, "Why?"

  "The dragon last night." Renick looked down at his hands and shrugged. "I think I recognized him."

  Thane sat up and leaned forward. "Really?"

  "From the mines," Renick added.

  "Not the crazy one, the …" Thane paused, a far-off look in his eyes like he was remembering. "Oh. This could be bad."

  Renick cleared his throat. "I heard him."

  "What?" Thane and Lainey said together.

  "Right before the attack I was trying to talk to May, you know the way we do with Wrytha and Plyth." Renick knew without looking what expression Lainey had on her face. She had been trying to get him to give up on talking to the domestic dragons for weeks now. "And instead of reaching her, I got him."

  "And?" Thane pressed.

  "He's seeking revenge for something. Something that hurt him very deeply."

  "Right. We need to talk to Wrytha and Plyth as soon as possible. Do you think you two could get away tomorrow morning?" Thane passed a questioning look back and forth between Renick and Lainey.

  They both shook their heads.

  "What about the day after?"

  "Maybe. I could convince Aunt Melatheen to let me slip away and take a break. I can tell she's already worried about me." Lainey added quietly to herself. "She shouldn't worry. She has enough to look after."

  Although he did not know the whole story, Renick knew Melatheen had rescued her orphaned niece and brought her to Trevinni as an apprentice. Between caring for Lainey and serving as a healer, Melatheen probably did have a lot on her plate.

  "What about you, Renick?" Thane asked.

  Renick shrugged. "Not sure. We need to get the stables fixed and back to normal as soon as possible. Plus, my uncles' house was damaged. And I'm sure we'll help repair all the other buildings in the square. Uncle Loren might not let me go."

  "I could go alone, but that would be suspicious. I never leave the city without you two or Grahm." Thane started drumming his fingers on his knee. "Could you fake being sick? And Lainey says you need fresh air?"

  "No." Lainey shook her head. "Loren would see right through that."

  "A twisted ankle?" Thane puckered his lips and held out his hand. Renick stifled a laugh which earned him a glare from the older boy.

  "Then I couldn't go hiking around in the forest."

  Lainey leaned over and patted Renick's shoulder. "You can say my aunt needs you to drag me away from my work."

  Renick nodded. "That might do it."

  "Good. It's only a matter of time before they close down the city and don't let people wander around outside." Thane stood.

  "A matter of time? So why not just do it now?" Lainey asked.

  "They're trying to avoid panic. If they let things continue as normal," Thane paused, pressing his lips together, "they appear to be in control."

  Lainey smiled. "Ah."

  "Are they not?" Renick felt a pit form in his stomach. The dragon knights were the only ones capable of dealing with a dangerous dragon like this. Sure, when the odd dragon went mad at his father's ranch, the locals had been able to handle it. But those dragons had not attacked the village. This was different.

  "Dragons don't usually attack towns, at least ones as large as Trevinni," Thane said. "Add to that the fact that this dragon apparently is one of the Dragon Kind, and therefore much more cunning."

  "But they don't know that," Lainey interjected.

  Thane shook his head. "Which worries me. They can't effectively mount an attack on this dragon if they treat it like any other dragon, like an animal."

  "Thane don't—" Renick started to warn him. Thane sliced his hand through the air to silence him.

  "We took an oath, Renick. I'd never break that."

  Renick rubbed at his dragon mark, invisible on the skin on his left arm, just below his shoulder. Only the three of them knew about the Dragon Kind—wise dragons that could speak and reason. The ancestors of the mute, domestic dragons they all had grown up with.

  "Who's hungry?" Thane asked, breaking the tension in the room.

  Renick and Lainey both raised their hands.

  "I'll treat you." Thane grabbed his sword and strapped it on. Lainey gave him a funny look, to which he responded, "Just in case!"

  Lainey rolled her eyes, slid off the bed, and sauntered past Thane out into the hall. "Are you coming?"

  Renick and Thane followed after her, stomachs growling.

  Chapter 4: Lonely Song

  The next evening, Renick knocked on the door to Melatheen's house and then stepped back to stand next to his uncle. The door opened and Melatheen let them in.

  "We're here to get May," Uncle Loren said. The stable was almost finished, so they could move her back now. And it gave Renick and Lainey a chance to see if they could get away to talk to Wrytha and Plyth.

  Lainey waved to Renick from the stairs and he returned the gesture.

  "Out back. Let me check her one more time." Melatheen and Uncle Loren headed for the yard. Renick hung back and waited for Lainey. She skipped up to him.

  "I have it all planned. Just follow my lead, okay?" There was a mischievous twinkle in her eye that Renick was not used to seeing.

  He nodded slowly, a little unsure. "Okay."

  Grabbing his hand, she dragged him out back, where they found the adults. "Aunt Melatheen, Renick and Thane want to take me on a picnic tomorrow." The excitement in her voice made both Renick and his uncle smile. However, Melatheen just pursed her lips.

  "I don't know. Have they run this by you, Loren?" Melatheen squinted up at him.

  Uncle Loren shook his head. "No, but if they stick close to the city, I think it's fine," Uncle Loren said.

  "I still don't know."

  "They can take care of themselves, Melatheen. And we both know that Lainey especially could use the break," Renick's uncle said. He met her eyes and she relented.

  "Okay, but don't stay out too long."

  Renick looked over at Lainey and smiled.

  "How's May doing?" Uncle Loren asked.

  Melatheen stood and wiped her hands on her apron. "I think she'll be fine. She's responded really well to the green root treatment. Just make sure she stays warm and dry tonight."

  "Yes, ma'am." Renick bowed to her.

  Uncle Loren clicked his tongue and pulled on the lead rope tied around May's neck. Reluctantly the dragon climbed to her feet and lumbered after him. Renick waved good-bye to Lainey and then brought up the rear.

  Either May still could not move very fast, or she did not want to. She took her time walking along the cobble stone streets. Renick watched her closely, looking for signs of injury or pain. But it seemed that she was just tired and moving slowly. It was also difficult to navigate the streets with a full-grown domestic dragon. Though the streets were wide enough for several people to pass each other without touching, they were just barely wide enough for May to pass without knocking things over with her wings or her tail as she swished it back and forth. It did not help that she kept trying to unfold her wings. Uncle Loren and Renick took turns tapping her and clicking their tongues as a reminder to keep her wings flat.

  Renick smiled to himself as he imagined Wrytha, who was easily six times as big as May, trying to walk the streets of Trevinni. Human cities were built to accommodate domestic dragons—not the much larger Dragon Kind.

  The square that housed the stable had been transformed in the past day and a half. All its residents, and half of the rest of the town, had banded together to rebuild each building. Most of them were well on the way to completion. The homes had been done first, then the areas of business. The air smelled like sawdust and fresh whitewash. Renick's muscles ached from the extra work. Between doing his chores, helping to rebuild, and dealing with dragon matters, he was exhausted.

  Sunset was long gone by the time they reached the stable. One of the other dragonhands had already brought out a pile of blanket
s, a few water skins, and a bedroll for Renick. Uncle Loren guided May into her new stall. The roof over her original stall was still not repaired. Uncle Loren clicked his tongue again and pushed his hand down. May huffed in protest, so he repeated the command. She lowered herself to the ground with a thump. Renick helped his uncle cover her with the blankets. She was asleep before they finished.

  "You'll be all right out here?" Uncle Loren asked.

  Renick nodded. "I'm used to it." Growing up on his father's dragon ranch, he probably spent more nights in the stables or brooder than in his own bed.

  Loren smiled and ruffled his hair. "Good night."

  "'Night."

  Renick settled down into his bedroll. All the dragons were back. It was a clear, warm night, and he lay under one of the remaining gaps in the ceiling. Slowly the sky filled with stars.

  A slight hum filled his mind. It built slowly, like the winds before a storm. It started to move and shift until it formed itself into a song. Renick recognized the voice, if not the words. It was the dragon that had attacked. At first Renick wanted to pull away, but the loneliness in the dragon song resonated with him. Leaving home was hard; he missed his family and all the noise they created. He was making a new start here, but he still felt alone sometimes. The song changed, became more complex. Curious, he listened and tried to form words to go with the emotions.

  Alone. Pain. One. Alone.

  The results did not quite do the beautiful melancholy of the song justice. So Renick closed his eyes and started playing around with words in his head until he had something that fit. Much of his inspiration came from snippets of songs he had heard his mother, sisters, and Lainey sing. Renick was more of a story-teller than a poet.

  Loneliness,

  Deeper than the ocean.

  Emptiness,

  So vast it swallows all.

  Wounded,

  Beyond repair, torn, broken.