Relying on the Dragon

CHAPTER TWO

Clarion Keep

Kala

    Kala stumbled trying to keep up with Thomas, as he dragged her into the keep. He was angry, and couldn't wait to deliver her to her uncle. As they entered the keep, she tried to see the condition of her uncle and his men. To see what effects her herbal blend had done to them, that had enabled her to get as far as she did. As Thomas dragged her down the aisle that had tables lined up on either side, she saw some men were still passed out. She wondered how much they had drank before the herbs took over. This was important information for her next attempt, because next time, she would make it to the forest and to the mountains. She looked at her uncle and saw that he was holding his head in his hands. He seemed out of sorts. Thomas had slowed down, as he took in the scene himself. 

    "What have you done, you stupid wench?" He demanded, pulling her close so that he was whispering in her ear. His breath made her gag again, but she just glared at him. 

    "My Grace! I found this one making a break for it." He announced, shoving her towards her uncle, who looked up, he winced at them. Kala was sure he had one hell of a headache happening right now. She was glad he was suffering, it barely scratched the surface of the pain he caused her every day. She stumbled but caught herself before she hit the table. 

    "Thomas, must you shout?" He asked with a groan. Kala hid the smirk on her lips. She was surprised that her uncle was awake so soon, but was not surprised at the headache he was enduring. She had needed them out of commission to give her enough time to get far enough away. If only she had remembered Thomas and his celebration in the village. Her plan had almost been perfect, next time she would not make the same mistake, she promised herself. 

    "I'm sorry my lord," Thomas apologized, a bit confused. Kala saw him almost wilt, he was expecting a huge celebration at his returning her, a victory no less, but he had been left disappointed. She wanted to laugh at him, but stifled it. She knew once her uncle gained his senses, her own victory would be short lived. In the meantime, she would enjoy this interaction between the two men. 

    Short lived it definitely was as her uncle's bird like eyes settled on her and his grimace turned into rage. He stood slowly, careful not to set his headache off again, and she straightened to meet him eye to eye. She refused to show him defeat. She refused to bow down to him. 

    "You did this to us." Her uncle growled at her, leaning over the table. She stared him down, with no response. She saw him look at Thomas, and was taken aback by Thomas's appearance. "What the hell happened to your face?" 

    "When we caught her, she attacked us sire. She's a little harpy, that one! She broke one of my men's knee and another's nose." Thomas said, Kala smirked at the damage she had done. She also didn't miss the shame and embarrassment in Thomas's voice, three men injured by the likes of her. Her uncle looked at her shocked.

    "You've become a dangerous one, now haven't you?" Her uncle asked her, his voice was suddenly soft, and this caused her to worry. She had learned to worry when her uncle softened his voice, it always predicted he was planning something hostile. "You seem to have forgotten your place, little mouse." 

    Kala lifted her chin in the air, and stood straight. "No, I haven't forgotten, you seem to have though. I am the heiress of Clarion, and I am of the rightful age to take over now. You do not control me, and you do not control my people." She finally spoke. Her voice was calm, and she was glad that it didn't crack under her fear. She had turned eighteen two months ago, and hoped that her uncle had forgotten her birthday. He had never inquired as to how old she was when he had come and taken over. So she had laid low, and bided her time. 

    He walked around the head table, where her parents used to sit. Where she used to sit at their side. He had replaced their chairs with his huge throne, she was sure it was more extravagant than the one the King had. 

    She continued on with her speech. "I am of marrying age now, and I will make sure that the man I take as husband will rule over this land with a fair and gentle hand. The people will love him like I hope to. My people will not fear my husband like they do you. My people will thrive again." This rewarded her with a slap that made her ears ring, causing her head to spin. 

    "If it hadn't been for that worthless man getting the way, you should have died the day that villager announced your presence. I should have made sure you died that day. Women don't deserve to rule, they are too weak." He spat at her, punching her in the stomach. This caused her to drop to her knees. She looked up at him. Cedrick was a stocky built man, strong, and short. He had bird-like features that didn't match the rest of him. His face was narrow and sharp. His thin lips and pointed nose reminded her of a bird. He looked down at her, and a sneer like smile spread across his face. "You don't look much like a heiress right now, little mouse. You are such a pathetic little thing." He landed a kick to her ribs, causing all the breath to leave her body. She fell on her side, curling up into a ball. She knew she should have kept her mouth shut, the fight going out of her. 

    There was a gasp, Kala looked towards the door, and through Thomas's legs she saw four, exceptionally tall men were standing in the door. One had his hand up to his mouth, he looked really young. They were all dressed in black, and the other three had an air of danger about them. Everyone who was conscious, turned to look at the newcomers who had interrupted their lord.

    "Um, my lord, I forgot to mention, the dragons are in the area, and it looks like they are here." Thomas said, sheepishly. "I had meant to tell you." Cedrick punched him in the face. 

    "You didn't think you should have said something sooner, you moron? f*****g useless!!" He screamed at his captain, who was clutching his face, as blood flowed from his nose. Cedrick turned back to his niece.

    Kala stared in awe at the four strangers. Why had Thomas referred to these men as dragons? The creature who had flown over them earlier, that was a dragon. These men were not dragons, they couldn't be. Her thoughts were interrupted when her uncle landed another blow, and her world went dark.

            ********************

Drake

    Drake and his brothers had walked right into Clarion, there was no one to stop them this time. Had the usurper gotten that comfortable in his stolen position that he felt there was no need to protect his stolen land? Foolish man! Drake thought. It worked for them though. They walked through the village, seeing nobody around. 

    This isn't right. Thorne's thought entered and echoed Drake's exact thoughts. Drake nodded. Two years ago when they had come to Clarion, the villagers were still active, they were fearful but were trying to live their lives like nothing was wrong. A lot had changed in two years, and Drake wondered if maybe they were too late and had missed the signal they had waited so long for.

    They reached the second wall that surrounded Clarion's Keep, a fortress type structure, this time they were stopped at the gates that opened into the courtyard that led to the Keep. This time they were stopped, but not for long. 

    "Nobody's allowed past these gates." A small man yelled, stepping in front of them. Drake came to a stop, and looked him up and down. The man was scared, Drake could smell it on him. He was sweating and Drake thought with a little more effort his knees would be shaking. They seemed to have that effect on humans. It suited him just fine. Drake looked back at his brother, and Thorne grinned as he moved forward. Drake, Kargeth and Tolan pushed by the man, leaving him with Thorne. 

    Walking into the courtyard, Drake looked around, the last time he had been here was eighteen years ago, Darwin had talked him and Kargeth into going to the celebration Oceana was putting on for their visit and for the birth of their daughter, Kala. Back then, the courtyard had been lively with men and horses. It used to be a happy place, very active. Now Drake saw a courtyard that had been long neglected, the stones that used to be white and seemed to shine in the sun, where now yellowed and cracked, giving the place a run down look. It felt like the place itself was mourning the loss of its Baron and Baroness. The three brother's continued on ignoring the screaming coming from behind them. Thorne despite being a brute did love his torture, though Drake wished he would just end it already, they had more pressing manners to attend to. 

    They reached the keep, in a matter of minutes, afraid that they were too late to get to the heiress. They had spent so much time disputing the best way of getting to her, he was concerned with what kind of condition they would find her in now. They pushed their way into the keep, through the heavy oaken doors that lead into the great hall of Clarion's Keep. Drake was shocked by what he saw.

    There were tables strewn with men, some were unconscious,  others were seeming to just awaken and were groaning, while others were watching intently at the spectacle that was occurring in front of what Drake thought was the head table, by the huge chair that was stationed behind it. Damn, that chair was grander than any throne he'd seen a king sit on. What had happened here that over half of the men were passed out, it was only the midday meal by human standards. Surely these men had not drunk them into a stupor so early in the day. They focused on the group in front of the table. Two men were standing over a woman who was curled up in a ball. One of those men had bird-like features, from his silk dark blue tunic, and his sharp features that made him look very bird like, Drake knew that was the usurper, and he was kicking the woman on the ground. Shouting at her as he did it. The other man was more than likely the one she had fought with, the one of three injured men that made it out of that meadow. 

    "You don't look much like a heiress right now, little mouse. You are such a pathetic little thing." The usurper had yelled at her as he landed another blow on her rib cage, and Kargeth gasped. Drake glared at him, as it drew all attention on them. The usurper and his man turned to see who had interrupted them, showing that indeed the second man was the one that Kala had scratched up in her attempt to escape.

     "Um, my lord, I forgot to mention, the dragons are in the area, and it looks like they are here." The one with the scratched up face said, his tone was sheepish "I had meant to tell you." Drake watched the usurper punch him in the face. 

     "You didn't think you should have said something sooner, you moron? f*****g useless!!" He screamed at his captain. He then turned back to Kala, and delivered one final blow that knocked the girl unconscious. Drake did everything in his power to control the urge to charge at him and kill him then and there. He had to be smart about this, he needed to figure out what was going on here, and how to get to the heiress, and help her. He watched as the usurper motioned to two men, who came and gathered the girl up and disappeared with her. He needed to find out where they had taken her. The usurper then turned his attention on them. 

    "You are not welcome here, dragon." He sneered at them. Drake crossed his arms over his chest, and stood fast. 

    "Neither are you." Drake stated. 

    "Get out." The usurper said, "or we'll make you leave." 

    "Love to see you try, but your men don't seem quite up to taking on four of us." Drake said, "as it is, we have a standing invitation here. We are more welcome here than you are and we have business with the heiress." This clearly angered the man, and Drake was hoping it would be enough for him to attack first, but it didn't happen.  

    "The heiress died with her parents, you have no business here." The man lied. Drake wondered if the man realized they had just heard him call the girl the heiress before Kargeth announced their presence, he could hear his brother's in his head, objecting to the lie, he hushed them and let it stand. If the man wanted to believe they were that stupid, he was willing to let it stand if it meant it would keep them within the keep. 

    "Then we have business with you." Drake stated. 

    "I don't deal with demons." Drake heard Tolan growl behind him, and he glared back at him. 

    "You do now if you want to be able to keep your seat here in Clarion." Drake said, cryptically. This caused the usurper to stall, Drake knew he had him. He now had a way of getting to the heiress. "Give us a few days reprieve here, and I will share what information I have on your enemies." This seemed to intrigue the usurper, and he nodded. His men seemed to relax, as the usurper turned his back on them and returned to his throne. It also seemed to make him forget about the girl he had been beating. Drake wondered where she had been taken, and most importantly would they be seeing her any time soon. 

    What the hell are you doing, Drake? Thorne demanded. 

    Relax, we need a way to stay here and get eyes on our lady, we need to have access to this place. I will do anything to make sure that it happens. I have a plan. Drake said, not looking back at his brother. While I am the guest of this usurper, all of you are to get to know his men, the people working here, and figure out where they keep Kala. We only have a few days to figure out how we can help her, and get her out of here if need be. 

    The brother's nodded. The sooner they can get their hands on the heiress, the sooner they could leave. Drake hated the fact that he would need to act friendly with the swine sitting at the head table.