After the five holders were made and the stones with their flames safely positioned, Sammy told them the story of the Count’s last night and the end of the curse. From there, each of the other children told her about their homes and families. They lived on farms that did the best they could with the cursed land resisting their attempts at cultivation.

“We need to get back,” Mafu said suddenly. “Your uncle will be home in a couple hours, but he might send someone home early to check on you. You know how he doesn’t like you meeting with your friends like this, since you might get hurt.” He said the last in a tone implying a quotation.

Melete grimaced and said with a sullen voice, “I suppose.”

“Be careful,” Nephele said to her friend. “I still don’t trust that man.”

“I know, I know,” Melete placated. “You’ve been saying that forever.”

Nephele crossed her arms and grumbled at her friend. “Nothing’s changed.”

“Hey, are you feeling better?” Conall demanded, stepping up to Melete and giving her a careful look. “You’ve been running around and playing for hours now.”

“We were sitting right here telling stories for hours,” Melete said, laughing as their concern mellowed her mood. “But, yes, I feel just fine now. Sammy says it’s one of the benefits of a Common Flame.”

Conall nodded and grinned. “Good, then that fuddy-duddy won’t be able to use that as an excuse for keeping us apart anymore.”

Melete held up a finger. “Actually, could you keep this quiet for now? Please don’t tell anyone. Let me deal with my uncle without outside hoopla.”

“But will you?” Gareth said under his breath, the words probably not meant to be heard.

“Yes, I will.” Melete declared to him. She turned to Sammy. “My lady,” she said, and Sammy glared at her, “Would you please come spend the night at my house tonight?”

Sammy made a face. “Don’t call me that. It sounds stupid noblish. I guess, but I don’t know what I can do.”

Melete smiled at the girl and then pounced. Before the startled girl could react, Melete had her arms wrapped around her waist. “Tickle fest,” she cried out.

“What?!” Sammy squeaked as the other children converged. She squirmed and burst into laughter as they attacked, finally managing to twist free. Squatting on a branch sixty feet away and fifteen up, gasping for breath. She could not believe she had let her guard down that much. “What do you think you’re doing,” she demanded.

Melete grinned up at her. “You’re our friend, right? We were tickling you.”

Sammy stared at her open mouthed for a moment. Did friends do stuff like that? If that was so, then friends were more dangerous than she had realized. Not that she had any real experience with it. She never let anyone get close enough to be called a friend, though Geo might have been pretty close. But he would never have dared tickle her. Sammy frowned and said, “Well, don’t do that.”

Melete put hands on hips and shook her head. “That is never going to happen. You are a fair target forever. We promised to be friend and friends get to tickle each other.”

“Since when?” Sammy demanded with a squeak.

“Since forever,” all of the children chorused together, even using the same emphases. They then burst into laughter.

Sammy’s frown intensified, but she had a queer feeling in her stomach. She was not sure if she liked that feeling or not. She thought she might, and that unnerved her all the more. She decided to change the subject, “Well, whatever. Anyway, doesn’t Melete have to go home or something?”

Melete nodded. “True. Come down here so everyone can hug you goodbye.”

Sammy blinked and then shook her head. “No.” She dropped to the ground and vanished into the trees.

The children exchanged glances and then grins. “Looks like you have your work cut out for you this time, Melete,” Prium said.

“Can’t be any worse than Conall was,” Nephele said, winking at the boy in question.

Conall snorted and shook his head. “Shut up, Nephele.”

With that the group broke up, each going in a different direction. Sammy followed Melete and Mafu cautiously, a shadow in the shadows. Soon they left the darkness of the wood and entered a bright field, the sun barely an hour past noon. Sammy ended up walking about twenty feet to the left of her two escorts.

A homestead came into view as they crested a rise in the ground, a large house, a couple barns and some other structures Sammy did not recognize. A number of men came riding out from the distant house. Sammy frowned. The land trembled at their approach, and not from hooves. She crouched and drew her knives, holding them so her arm and sleeve hid them from casual view.

The three continued to walk, so the men rode up in a low spot, the homestead no longer visible. One of the men cast a pointed glance at Sammy, but then leaned toward the two. “Mafu, I thought I made it clear Melete was not well enough to go out.”

“Sir,” Mafu began, but Melete interrupted him.

“But I am quite fine, Uncle. There was no reason for him to stop me and he couldn’t have if he had tried.”

The man glared at her for a brief fraction of a second, but then covered the scowl with a condescending smile. “Melete, you just don’t realize how sick you are. It was the same with your parents, and they both died.”

Melete returned a cold smile of her own. “That is because the poison wasn’t counteracted for them, Uncle. But I am quite healthy now, so there’s no problem with me going out.”

The man’s face twitched and his smile became more fake than before.

Sammy wondered what happened to the “don’t tell anyone just yet” of a few minutes ago. This was turning into a full-blown confrontation. Sammy didn’t like this kind of thing at all.

“What are you talking about, Melete?” her uncle asked.

“I am saying my parents were not sick, they were poisoned. Murdered. I am saying I was not sick. I was being poisoned. And I will say it to the king’s advocates too. I cannot say you did it personally, but I can say I strongly suspect you of being part of it all, Uncle.”

While everyone’s attention was on Melete, Sammy slipped out of sight behind a rock in the field. What was Melete thinking, provoking her uncle like this? Don’t provoke someone unless you’re strong enough to deal with the consequences, she thought fiercely at the reckless girl. If those men all attacked, they would make short work of murdering them and disposing of their bodies without witnesses. Sammy concentrated on being as invisible as possible.

Melete’s uncle let out an exaggerated sigh of distress. “Melete, Melete, you are over wrought. Mafu, this is what happens when you let her over exert herself.”

“Uncle, I forgot to mention, but I didn’t finish the last meal Sandy sent over yesterday. Maybe that’s why I feel so much better. I wonder what would happen if I sent it over to the apothecary lab in Laston. Do your contacts extend that far?” Melete flicked her hair behind her, even though it was all already there. “Well, it’s a moot point, since I already did it.”

“Melete, that is enough,” her uncle snapped. He then softened his voice, “Your parents started losing touch with reality just before they passed. You are much worse off than even I thought.”

Melete put her hands on her hips in a defiant pose. “Rastan Norvel, Senior Apothecary, Seventeen Dawnstone Road. You can check it out for yourself.”

Something changed, the land darkening. Sammy moved low from behind her rock. The horses had spread into a semi-circle. Sammy was somewhat surprised, since they seemed to be completely ignoring her, even though they had obviously seen her earlier. One of the men had his gun drawn already. Sammy moved quickly and quietly up behind the last horse so that she was obscured from view.

“Melete, Melete, do you know what you’ve done?” the uncle said, though he did not sound very put out really. “I won’t allow you to stop him now. It is unfortunate that you found out, but his plan isn’t so shallow as to be derailed so easily. That package will never get out of the area, let alone to Laston. It is unfortunate, but apparently you tried to make friends with the hounds, but they attacked you for some unknown reason. I put them all down, but . . . .” He held his hands out in a what-can-you-do gesture.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“So you’re abandoning the game?” Melete said. “Do you think I would do something like this without making precautions? Did you know that Prince Jerome is in the country right now? I have also sent a message to him requesting an investigation. I wonder what the good prince will do if I were mysteriously to turn up dead, especially after what I told him about my suspicions.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder. “I would think at the very least you will be removed from the line of inheritance.”

The man leaned over his horse’s neck and laughed. “Me? Of course I’m not in the line girl. You didn’t see as far as you thought.” He raised his hand and glanced around. “Where did that boy go?”

The other men looked around. “There he is, behind Disqua.”

“Good. Take them to the dog kennels.”

A feeling of relief swept through Sammy as she bolted away from the group. Since they weren’t going to kill them right away, she had time to come up with a plan.

Two of the horsemen gave chase. One of them shot at her and a force knock her forward. Sammy stumbled, but regained her balance. Her sense of relief vanished though. While her constant use of stapha made her tough, that had been a strong nerve shock. She doubted she could resist a second shot without at least a minute to recover.

Melete’s uncle and his other two men moved to surround Melete and Mafu, the two men with guns drawn. Without warning, the earth heaved and a mighty wind laid the plains flat. The three horses around Melete and Mafu reared, while the two chasing Sammy braked hard, and then all of the horses burst into a fit of violent bucking. The gunman chasing Sammy lost his grip, but managed to control his dismount to land on his feet. Melete’s uncle and one other of his men also managed to dismount successfully.

Distant roars ripped through the day. Birds burst from the woods and the plains both. A second earth shudder and mighty burst of wind struck the area, staggering man and beast.

Melete stumbled to her knees, covering her head with her arms as hooves pawed the air and tore up the ground around her. Mafu threw his body over hers, knocking the girl flat.

Crows and doves, pheasants and sparrows swarmed around the horsemen, claws snagging in hair and clothing, beaks pecking at exposed skin. The horses plunged, bucking, twisting, turning until the last of the men fell from their saddles. One of the horses stopped bucking and simply laid down.

More roars trembled the air, closer now. A flock of wild vishap appeared over the trees of the grove. A pack of hounds came bounding from the farmstead. A number of bears burst from the grove. Other animals came from both grove and the surrounding plains, herds of majestic elk and deer, tusked boar, packs of wolves and coyotes, owls and eagles and other birds of prey, ferrets and badgers, squirrels and field mice.

A third time the air shuddered and split with mighty roars , staggering human and animal alike with the thunderous proclamation. The air over the plains to the south shivered and a flock-pack of drey-drakes appeared, those massive creatures part mammal, part reptile who could spit a stream of explosively flammable acid over two hundred yards. Another scream sounded, and the air to the east shimmered to reveal two full grown mountain dragons.

In all and by all, every creature converged upon the scene. And then there was silence. One of the dragons landed, a single massive paw securing Melete’s uncle to the ground. The legs of men stuck out from under its massive haunches. Vishap stood among the bloody parts of two other men. Two of the drey-drakes sat amidst the remains of the man who had shot Sammy. The last man lay on his back, three wolves and two hounds snarling at him.

Sammy stared wide eyed at the mass of creatures. “W, wait,” she stammered. “Don’t kill him.” The creatures, every single one of them without exception, turned to stare at her. Sammy’s heart almost stopped. Dragons? Drey-drakes? She had only read about those kinds of creatures in books. And those field mice had some creepy eyes. Sammy shuddered.

The wolves and hounds backed off of the man, crouching with hackles raised. Their lips remained pulled back revealing fangs. If the man made a move, they would kill him anyway. Sammy understood the snarling as if it were spoken in human language and answered before it dawned on her how strange it was to actually understand animals that clearly.

“Don’t let him go anywhere, of course. I leave it to you guys.” She blinked and then sighed, the thought of how strange it all was finally catching up with her. The dragon with Melete’s uncle trapped under his claw blinked, the motion capturing Sammy’s attention.

>Highly Honored Beritha, what shall be done to this blighted one who desecrates the esse, distressing the real?”<

Sammy’s swallowed as the creature’s words echoed with weird resonance in her mind. She suddenly found it hard to speak aloud, though tried her best anyway. “Um, doe, don’t kill him, I think.” Sammy’s mouth dried out, a cottony muck coating it in an instant. “Er, um, sir dra, dragon, sir, I think he’s just a fr, front man and we, we’ll need to interrogate him to find out who the real vill, villains are.” She tried to swallow again, but didn’t have anything to do it with. She glanced around, keenly aware that there were more animals and strange creatures around her than she could count.

The silence deepened, the air settling. A gentle rustling came from the plains as plants began to stand back up. Mafu rose to his knees but froze as he found himself staring into a single eye as large as his torso.

Laying on her back, Melete took in the jowls under that massive eye from her vantage. The dragon’s head shifted and the eye looked at her. It blinked again. Melete thought in a strangely active part of her numbed brain, what a beautiful color of green.

>Honored of the Beritha, you may stand< the dragon’s powerful voice resonated in her mind.

Melete swallowed and nodded. “Mafu, pl, please help me stand.”

The big man didn’t move and she pushed on the knee between her legs. She complained, “Mafu, I cannot stand with you straddling my leg like that.”

In a shaky voice barely audible, the man said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, ma’am.” It dawned on him that the creature had to be half the size of a barn, maybe even bigger.

Melete pouted and said in a quarrelsome tone. “He just told me to stand, Mafu. Didn’t you hear?”

The man blinked but didn’t stop looking at the dragon. His mouth barely moved as he whispered, “No, no, it didn’t say anything.”

Sammy appeared in the man’s view, standing next to the eye. “Melete, I don’t think he can hear them. It might be because of the Flame. Anyway, Mafu, please stand up.”

The dragon lowered its head and gazed intently at the unconscious man under his claw. Sammy was starting to get accustomed to the presence of the mass of dangerous creatures and she was slightly questioning her mental stability.

Mafu stood shakily to his feet and offered his hand to Melete. His eyes scanned the animals. “La,” he said, but his voice cracked and he had to clear it before trying again. “Lady, they are under your control, right?”

Sammy blinked at him and then shrugged. She understood they had come because she had been attacked and that they were definitely her allies, but . . . “They came of their own will. They can do what they want, though I did ask them not to kill Melete’s uncle and the other one that survived. They have kindly agreed as long as those guys don’t do anything stupid. I don’t think they’ll hurt you guys though, since you’re my friends.”

>Finished< the dragon declared, raising his head. Information passed from him to Sammy and Melete. Melete’s face paled.

“Thank you,” Sammy said, bowing. Melete did the same, though her whole body shook as she remained bowed much longer than needed. The information passed had not been pleasant or welcome, though needed.

Sammy took a step closer to the dragon, raising both of her hands a little hesitantly. “Um, I’ve never seen a dragon before, sir. Um, would it be okay if I touched . . . .” she fell silent, her face growing warm.

The dragon moved his head on its long neck and pressed his face against her hands. He felt as slick as silk, as soft as fluffed cotton and as hard as granite, the juxtaposition of sensations causing a strange tickling in Sammy’s palms. The second dragon, who had stayed in the background, moved forward, the other creatures scurrying out of its way.

A second voice resonated in Sammy’s mind, this one clearly female. >Bane of Darkening, Favored Beritha, the land has chosen well< She brushed against Sammy and then sprang into the air, the male dragon a moment later. A shimmering of the air hid them from sight, though the sound of their beating wings remained for several moments.

The drey-drakes moved forward then, eying their mortal enemy, the vishap, now apparently in truce. The drey-drakes were about the height of a bear, but looked like a cross between a wolf and gecko. Each had long hair that almost hung to the ground despite their long wolf like legs. Because of their gecko like torsos, they moved almost like snakes, zigging and zagging. Their snouts were also wolfish, but wider. Those snouts contained a mouth with three rows of teeth, the outer row sharp canines, the middle human like molars, the back jagged and hooked towards their throats. Each pressed towards her, each seeking her touch. And with her touch, each launched into the air, returning back from where they came. A concealing shield shimmered around them in the same manner as the dragons.

After the drey-drakes departed, the vishap moved forward, and with them the other creatures, all seeking the touch of the beritha, the contracted sovereign of the land. Sammy recognized many of the motley crowd, like the scary bears and wolves and the cute squirrels and ferrets, but others she hadn’t even seen in books. Animals and birds and things that might not be either pressed in on her, only to run away once she scratched this ear and that jowl. Finally, the humans remained with just a few animals, the horses and hounds from the farmstead, one black vishap that looked too young to carry a human, a large, ancient looking drey-drake full of battle scars.

Sammy blinked at those last two. “Why?” But the vishap squawked, informing her clearly that he wanted to serve her. He was not big enough yet, but he would be soon. The drey-drake growled that he would guard her from such malignant ones. None would harm her with him present.

Sammy let out a big sigh, ruffling her hair with one hand. “Um, th, thank you.” Privately, she ran through the massive disruption in her life of stealthy mayhem these two were going to cause her. “Oi,” she muttered.

Melete stood next to Sammy. “What’s going on?” she asked softly.

“These guys have decided to stay with me, I guess.” Sammy slumped her shoulders. “Anyway,” she glanced at the remains of the men. “Mafu? Can we get Mr. Uncle and Mr. Surviving Henchman onto the horses? I would rather not stand around here.”

“Yes ma’am,” Mafu said and he then spoke to the surviving man. “Beklun, help me.” The man began to stand, but then froze as the drey-drake shifted. Its growl-rumbled low, tickling ears.

“Let him help, Battlescar,” Sammy said. “Don’t let him do anything bad though.”

The drey-drake chirped, his head shifting slightly at the strange title Sammy gave him. He gave a chuff, deciding it pleased him. He sat on his haunches, looking much like a Kodiak sized dog with a serpentine body. A tan serpentine dog with green and black splotches covering it, in the possession of an unreasonable large number of teeth.

Sammy looked at the black vishap. “I’m naming you Shadow, Shadow.” He gave his own chirp. Fine with him. Sammy grinned. “If you’re going to serve me, we’ll have to find someone to train you properly. Train me too.” Sammy frowned, mostly because she didn’t know a lot of people that could help her with that, and she didn’t want to ask those she did know. Stupid Dista.