Henry and the Dragon: Chapter Eight

“Are you well, Dmitra?”

“I am,” she said from behind him. “I am unused to being on a horse, though.”

Henry chuckled. “I have bruised flesh from riding. I am sorry I couldn’t make the trip easier on you.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just…I never expected to leave my town. I thought I would be like my mother, and her mother before her. I would live there, raise a family, and die there. It’s….”

“What is it? Please, tell me.”

She squeezed a little tighter. “Mama had the sight, and I think I might too. I would dream of a life outside of that which I thought I would have. If I’m honest, I thought it was only fancy. Now? My stomach is in knots over what lies ahead for me. My gift isn’t nearly as good as my mother’s.”

“You’re young. Like all things, it will take practice and patience. I learned herbalism from watching and trying different mixtures. Some worked, others did not. If you do indeed possess the gift of sight, it will grow as you do, I would think.”

She hummed. “Tell me about yourself, please.”

It made sense for her to ask. She didn’t know him at all, and yet her mother had sent her off with a stranger. It wasn’t much different than Henry and Neron.

“My name is Henry Cabot. I come from a town called Innernook, far to the east. My father died after the war, and my mother raised my sister Meredith and me by herself. It was a hard life, but she was a good provider. When I was much younger, even more than you, Merry got sick. She was frail and weak, barely able to get out of bed. Mother fed her broth, as it was the only thing she could keep down, plus she cared for me, and did her best to keep our farm going. It didn’t work. Then a man called Neron, who ran the apothecary, came to them and said he had medicine which would make her better.”

This part still stirred rage in Henry, especially now that he knew the truth.

“In exchange, he wanted me to be his apprentice. My parents refused, but I said I would do it if it would save my sister. My father was already ill after he returned from battle, and it made life even harder. I thought if I could relieve my mother of this burden, then at least her life would be better. Just before I left to live with Neron, my father died. Mother was bereft, and begged me not to go, but Merry was getting sicker, and I felt I had no choice. I went with Neron, leaving my mother crying, and started my new life.”

“But it wasn’t a good life,” Dmitra said, her tone certain.

“No. Neron told me he was sending medicine to Merry, and that I should be grateful, because he was saving my sister’s life. And I was, believe me. I did everything I could to pay him back for keeping Merry safe. For years I toiled in his shop, doing the cooking, the cleaning, the chores he didn’t want to do. And I was okay with that, because it was saving Merry’s life. When I asked if he was going to teach me, he scoffed and said I needed to learn patience. It wasn’t until recently I realized everything he told me was a lie. Merry got better, and hadn’t gotten medicine from Neron for years. He kept my mother’s letters from me. He—he—“

Tears of anger and frustration streamed down Henry’s cheeks as he relived the things he’d lost. Dmitra ran her small hand over his back, murmuring that it was okay. It wasn’t though. Henry had murdered Neron, sure as the day is long. He didn’t regret what he’d done, but he realized if Dmitra came with him, she would be in danger too.

“You should know that I killed him. I will understand if you want me to find someone else to take you.”

It was a harsh thing to say to a child, but Henry wouldn’t lie about what he’d done. At least not to the girl who he’d adopted as his own.

“I think he deserved what happened to him,” Dmitra said with a sigh. “I can’t imagine how you must feel.”

“I wanted him to pay for what he did. Not to me, but to my mother and my sister. He told them lies, he took me from them, even though he knew Merry would heal. For two and twenty years, I was bonded to him, and he kept everyone who loved me away with deceit.”

And possibly killing Kai, though now that Constance said he lived….

“Dmitra, do you see the man your mother said was in the cave?”

“No,” she said, a hint of sadness creeping in. “When Mother told me of him, I asked why I couldn’t see him. She said it was because a swirl of possibilities surrounded him, and my gift wasn’t sharp enough to discern between them. I do know she found him fascinating, though. She said she could see why you cared so much for him.”

Heat rose up Henry’s cheeks at the thought Constance had seen them together. And as Dmitra was unable to tell him anything further, Henry opted to once again change the subject.

“When this is over, and Kai is safe, I would like to take you to live on my mother’s farm, if Kai is willing. My sister has children of her own, and I think you would do well with people to play with.”

She giggled. “That would be wonderful. In our village, people were afraid of my family, so I had no friends.” She placed her head on Henry’s back. “You won’t leave me there, will you?”

Henry could understand her question. Many was the night he hoped his mother would come for him, even though Henry had chosen to go with Neron. As the years passed, he matured and understood her need to care for Merry. Or, at least he thought that was what she was doing.

“No. Where I go, my daughter will go with me.”

“I never knew my father,” she told him. “Mother said he too died in the war, but I don’t think that was the truth. When I asked about him, I thought she was sad, but not for his loss. It was odd.”

Henry knew of many women who’d been taken by soldiers, and some of them had been with child. He wondered if that could have happened to Constance, but it wasn’t something to discuss.

“I’m sure your mother had her reasons. Perhaps she didn’t want you to be sad as well.”

Dmitra said nothing, but Henry noticed she seemed to be drifting off. He could understand. The sun was directly overhead now, and the day was getting too hot to continue riding. Henry directed the horse to a small stream, then helped Dmitra down, before he followed behind her. The horse slaked its thirst in the clear water, while Henry lay out the blanket they’d sat on, and set a few skins with some of the food. He and Dmitra supped quietly, each seemingly lost in their own thoughts.

In an instant, day became night as an immense shadow passed over them. Far above came a cry so loud, Dmitra dropped her jerky and covered her ears. Then a wind was whipped up that blew away the food and threatened to knock down trees. The horse whinnied nervously. Henry peered into the sky, and it was there he saw it. When he’d seen the dragon by the woods, he’d thought it large, but now in the clear light of day, it was monstrous. Easily big enough that it could destroy most of the buildings in Innernook simply by landing there. Dmitra threw herself into Henry’s arms, and buried her face against his chest. He stroked her hair, murmuring she was safe, but not truly believing it.

When the dragon disappeared over the horizon, Henry feared for Kai’s safety. Surely something that large must have a huge appetite. He grabbed Dmitra’s shoulders.

“Dmitra, I must journey forth.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew the remainder of the gold and handed it to her. “If I do not return, travel on and find a village. Tell them to use this money to provide for you until you can—“

She crossed her tiny arms over her chest, her lower lip jutted out. “No.”

“What?”

“You said you wouldn’t leave me. You promised,” she cried, sounding terrified.

“I have to go where the dragon is,” he insisted. “You would not be safe.”

“Nor would you!” She clutched his hand. “Please, don’t leave me.”

Whether he took her with him or left her on her own, Dmitra wasn’t safe. If she ran into bandits, they would kill her for the gold without a thought as to her age. Or they could do far worse. Henry needed to find Kai, but he also had to protect Dmitra. In the end, there really wasn’t a choice.

“Promise me you will do exactly as I tell you.”

“I will,” she vowed, eagerly nodding her head.

“Then let’s go. The dragon flew toward the setting sun, so that’s where we have to go.” He lifted her into his arms. “Dmitra, you mustn’t fail to do as you’re told. If something happens to me, you have to run. Do you understand?”

Her eyes widened. “But—“

“No. You must run as far and fast as your legs will carry you. Come to the horse, and see if you can get on him to ride away.”

She shook her head. “He’s too big.”

“Then stay on him, and I’ll go myself.”

“You said—“

He reached out and took her trembling hand in his. “I know what I said, my darling, but Kai needs me right now, and I need you to be safe. I cannot decide a way to ensure both happens, so you will have to work with me. If something happens, you must go.”

“No, I won’t,” she said, a stubbornness crossing her features. “Mama put me with you for a reason, and I know it’s because I can help you.”

Henry was further torn. Did Constance foresee Dmitra as helping him? If he sent her away, would Kai die? It was so maddening, because no matter which path he took, it held darkness. There was no lesser problem here, because he couldn’t lose Kai, and he wouldn’t lose his new daughter.

“Please, don’t go without me,” Dmitra begged.

He’d once heard the phrase stuck between a rock and a hard place. That was where he was at now. It was better for him to keep Dmitra with him, instead of trusting her chances in the world on her own. “Very well. We shall face our destiny together.”

Her smile showed Henry that bit of light he’d been seeking, and it emboldened his heart. They got up onto the horse, and directed it the way the dragon had flown. He could sense the nervous energy coming from Dmitra, but it steeled Henry, and drove him on. One way or another, they would find Kai, and the three of them would return to Mother’s farm and they’d all be a family once more.

“Henry?”

It warmed him to hear her call his name. He’d never thought of having a child, and though this wasn’t the way he would have wished for one, it still sent a thrill through him that he was now responsible for guiding Dmitra. “Yes, little one?”

She was quiet for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. “I realize you don’t know me, but I’ve dreamed of you.”

That was news. “Oh?”

“I couldn’t see your face, but I could feel you in my mind and in my heart. Mama said she knew you would be the one who’d keep me safe. I didn’t know at the time she was…” She fell silent.

Going to die. Henry understood what Dmitra was saying. “Your mother was an amazing woman. I wish I could have known her better.”

“She was the best. We didn’t have much, but Mama always took care of me. She taught me to read, which made others jealous. She offered to teach others, but their parents refused. They shunned my mother, and the other children thought me a witch, because I could do things they couldn’t. That was even without them knowing I have my mother’s gift of sight. At night, when she told me bedtime tales, she would say that my future would be unlike any other. It would be filled with wonders no one even dreamed existed.”

It was a high bar to set, but Henry would do his best to give that life to his daughter. It struck him. What would Kai say? Would he balk at being responsible for a child? Would he want to continue his wandering life? Henry shook his head. That was something for a future conversation. First they had to find him and save him from the dragon.

Henry pushed the horse, moving faster than they had earlier. He knew the heat of the day would take a toll on the noble steed, but they needed to reach the cave that Constance told him of. It was an imperative now, because there was a growing dread within Henry that told him if they did not find Kai now, it would be too late.

They rode nearly half the day. The sun had slipped beneath the horizon, and now the night enfolded them in its embrace. Dmitra clung to Henry, not speaking. He wished he had the power of a wizard, so he could send her to his mother, but that wasn’t to be. Though he put up a brave front, it still worried him that Dmitra would be in danger, and from a dragon no less.

Dragons were seldom seen, but phenomenally powerful beasts, who ravaged towns and claimed treasures as their own. They rarely left anyone alive, though those who managed to survive all told the same tale. A great beast that plunged down from the sky, belching fire that engulfed everything, reducing even stone to ash. Unlucky victims were snatched and tossed into the beast’s maw, swallowed whole, armor and all.

Henry reached for his sword and gripped the pommel. “Father, I beg thee to guide my hand so that I might save Kai and keep Dmitra safe,” he whispered. In return Henry felt nothing. Did spirits sleep? Henry hoped that he’d been heard, because they were approaching a large wooded area, with spires of rock reaching high into the sky. Peering up, hope infused Henry. He could sense Kai. He knew it was there he would have to climb and find Kai.

To save him. Or to avenge him.