“Do you realize that you’ve probably been seen by now?”

  “I know.”

  “And you’re okay with that?”

  “Aye.”

  “Let me rephrase that. Would Rinbok Intherer be okay with that?”

  “I am not attacking the city. I am not a threat. He wouldn’t care.”

  “What about the humans?” Steve insisted.

  “What about them?”

  “Aren’t you worried about what they think?”

  “No.”

  It didn’t really matter, Steve finally decided. Several minutes later, as Pryllan began pumping her wings to slow their descent, Steve watched a flurry of activity near the northern gate. Several contingents of armed soldiers were massing on the city’s side of the gate. He even thought he saw the king in their midst. Was Sarah back? Could she have told them where they would most likely land?

  They touched down in the clearing that would eventually be turned into a temporary lair for visiting dragons. Steve climbed down Pryllan’s back and approached her closed left claw. The dragon slowly opened the claw to reveal Melvyn, hands bound behind his back and a blindfold over his eyes. A few seconds later Sarah appeared in the clearing, near a row of jansa trees. She rushed forward to embrace Steve.

  “You found him a lot quicker than I had expected.”

  Steve grasped Melvyn by his right arm and pulled him to his feet.

  “I forgot we were chasing a pathetic old man,” Steve said with a grin. “He was wheezing so bad I thought he was having an asthma attack.”

  “You are gonna rue this day, partner,” Melvyn vowed, his face already red with rage. “You’ll never be able to have a good night’s sleep again. No one crosses me. Do you hear me??”

  “Pipe down, idiot,” Steve angrily told the ex-sheriff.

  Sarah stepped directly in front of Melvyn and held out a hand. Steve pulled Melvyn to a stop.

  “There’s someone here that wants to talk to you.”

  “It’s the teleporter, ain’t it? I can smell her.”

  “Where is it?” Sarah demanded.

  “Where’s what?” Melvyn asked, curious in spite of himself.

  “Our portal key. We want it back.”

  “I’m sure you do,” Melvyn sneered.

  “Give it back,” Sarah ordered.

  Melvyn gave her an evil laugh. “Would you like to know where I stashed it?”

  Sarah closed her eyes. The green crystal key appeared on her open hand.

  “You hid it in your boot? You’d think you could’ve come up with a better place to hide it than that.”

  Melvyn was silent as he fumed with rage.

  “Getting the key back was never in question,” Sarah explained. “All I have to do is close my eyes and I can see it. Better luck next time.”

  “There will be a next time,” Melvyn snarled. “Can you hear me??”

  “We all can hear you,” an authoritative voice declared.

  The sheriff gave a tiny cry of pain as Steve flash burned the blindfold off his eyes. Melvyn slowly turned to face the king and three squads of armed men. Steve appeared by his side and gave the sputtering sheriff a hearty slap on his back, which caused Melvyn to stumble forward a few steps.

  “Kri’Calin, may I present Melvyn, former sheriff of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and prior to that, resident of Capily.”

  “Secure the prisoner,” Kri’Calin ordered.

  Two men rushed to Melvyn’s side. One produced a set of manacles and clapped them on the sheriff’s wrists. Two additional guards were called over as Melvyn began struggling against his bonds.

  “You should have killed me when you had the chance!” Melvyn all but screamed, sending flecks of spittle everywhere. “You’ll never be safe again, fire thrower! Do you really think they’ll be able to hold me here? Hah!!”

  Steve tore a thin strip of fabric off the bottom of his tunic. He approached Melvyn and cocked a fist, as though he was going to strike him again. The sheriff flinched. In the split second Melvyn had taken his attention off of him Steve whipped the fabric around the sheriff’s head and quickly gagged him.

  Melvyn glared angrily at him.

  “I don’t know exactly what jhorun you have,” Steve told him, giving him a patronizing pat on the shoulder, “but I do know it has something to do with short term memory. Best to keep your trap shut, dontcha think?”

  Melyvn ceased his struggles and looked away. Steve looked back at the king.

  “You ought to tell Zevern that if he wants to redeem himself then he ought to find a way to neutralize Melvyn here. I just don’t know how.”

  Melvyn smirked as his defiant eyes flicked over to the king, as if daring him to try and stop him.

  “As a matter of fact,” the king slowly began, “I’ve already tasked Zevern with solving this very problem. A solution has already been formulated and is ready to be administered.”

  Curious, Steve took a few steps closer to the king.

  “Can you tell me what it is?”

  It was Kri’Calin’s turn to smile.

  “You believe our punishment will not be sufficient?”

  Steve shook his head. “On the contrary, I want to make sure you aren’t taking on more that you can handle by keeping him here. Otherwise as soon as we figure out how to get home I’ll come back to get him.”

  “I know you have a low opinion of Zevern, but believe it or not he is quite gifted. Especially with certain spells. He’s already written a few new ones in anticipation of meeting Mr. Melvyn here.”

  “Zevern is going to cast some spells on Melvyn? Color me intrigued! What’s he planning on doing?”

  “The last I heard,” Kri’Calin companionably said as he turned about to walk back to the castle, “Zevern had perfected a spell which will cause someone to detest all manner of weapons. He tried it on a few guards. It worked beautifully.”

  Steve laughed out loud. “Perfect.”

  “And,” the king continued, “earlier today, he finished his most recent spell.”

  “What does it do?”

  “It renders people afraid of the outdoors.”

  “Nice. In all honesty, what do you plan to do with him?”

  The king sighed. “I have never been a fan of throwing people in the dungeon. There’s no doubt in my mind that Melvyn here deserves to live out his remaining days clapped in irons. However, I prefer atonement over incarceration. We’ll see to it Mr. Melvyn here lives out the remainder of his life performing some type of service.”

  “What about his jhorun?” Steve asked as he fell into step beside the king. The armed phalanx of guards followed behind them with Melvyn surrounded on all sides.

  “Zevern is working on it as we speak. He assures me he has found a way to make our friend here forget he even has a jhorun. What of you? What are your plans now?”

  “We’re heading back to Idaho. We still have that oh-so-minor problem to figure out, namely how to get home.”

  “If ever there is anything I can do for you,” Kri’Calin told him, laying a friendly hand on his shoulder, “you have but to ask. I am honored to have met you and your lovely wife.”

  Steve looked at the king and smiled.

  “You know what? There is something you can do for me. It would be a huge help.”

  “Of course. I will help in whatever way I can. You have my word.”

  Steve cleared his throat. “I’m going to hold you to that. Here’s what I need…”

  Chapter 12 – One for the Books

  “So he admitted he had one after all, huh? I’m still curious how the joriis are made. Or if someone creates them for him. Has he let you in on their secret yet?”

  Steve shook his head no. He and Sarah had bid their farewells to the king and queen and were taking one last look at the castle and its grounds before they teleported back to Idaho. Sarah wanted to go, surprise surprise, shopping so she was therefore guiding the two of them to a busy street packed with vendors.

  “The castle really hasn’t changed much from our time,” Steve had told Sarah when she asked if they’d like to take a final walk around. “It’s not like we won’t be seeing any of this again.”

  “Much of the city will be different.” Sarah pointed toward the closest street, which happened to be packed full of buyers and sellers. “Take that street, for example. It was in part of the city that burned down during the fight with Celestia. It has vendors now but in our time I believe it houses the barracks.”

  Steve nodded. “That’s right. Twin barracks, one on either side of the street if memory serves.” He pulled Sarah to a stop. “All of this is fine and dandy, but don’t you want to go home now? Why did you say you wanted to go for a walk?”

  Sarah clutched his hand tighter. “We’ve gone through so much in the last couple of days. It’s been crazy. I know when we get back to Coeur d’Alene the craziness will continue. I just wanted to take a little time for ourselves.”

  Steve shrugged. “It’s to be expected. We’re finally starting to check things off our To Do list. However, there’s still a big one that remains.”

  “Right. How to get home.”

  Steve patted his chest. “Thanks to this fully-charged jorii the king gave us we at least have a chance now.”

  “What did the king say when you asked him if he had extra jorii lying around?” Sarah asked. “He said before that he didn’t have any extras. What was his excuse for holding out on you?”

  “Just what we surmised,” Steve answered. He gently pulled Sarah around and started walking back to the castle. “He had one left in case of any emergencies that might arise. I told him that our predicament definitely qualified and explained what Luther wanted to do with it. I could tell he was reluctant to part with it but he finally admitted that we needed it more than he did. He did tell me, though, that the next batch of joriis should be ready by early next year.”

  Sarah hesitated. “Was he worried about not having access to a jorii should he need one?”

  “A little. Again, he could tell that we needed it more.”

  “So there will be more jorii available next year? I don’t know about you but I am really curious how those things are made.”

  Steve chuckled. “What if they aren’t made but instead some type of natural phenomena?”

  “Like what?” Sarah wanted to know.

  “No clue. I was just mentioning it as a possible suggestion.”

  They were nearing the castle. Just as they stepped foot onto the drawbridge they saw a familiar face come rushing towards them. It was Captain Sauer. He looked wildly around before a look of relief appeared on his face as he spotted the two of them.

  “There you are! I was hoping to catch you two before you left.”

  “We’re heading back in,” Steve told him as he pointed across the drawbridge to the castle. “The king is letting us take the portal back. Why waste Sarah’s jhorun if we don’t have to?”

  “You’re getting ready to leave?” Sauer asked as a note of worry appeared in his voice.

  “Yeah. We already told the king we’re heading back. We need to get the jorii into Luther’s hands and hope that he’ll be able to modify the portal to send us back through time.”

  “Yes, yes, I caught all of that from before. I need you to hold that thought and come with me.”

  “Why?” Steve demanded, growing alarmed. “What’s the matter?”

  “The king needs to speak with the two of you right away.”

  Steve looked at his wife incredulously. Hadn’t they just seen the king less than fifteen minutes ago?

  “Something has come up,” Sauer confided as he lowered his voice to a whisper.

  “In the last fifteen minutes?” Steve sputtered. “Tell me you’re joking.”

  “Let’s go see what he wants,” Sarah suggested. She tugged him towards the castle. “It’s the least we can do.”

  Husband and wife followed the captain as he led them back through the castle. Sauer lead them straight to the Great Hall, where Kri’Calin was found pacing in front of his throne. The queen was absent. The king’s head jerked up as he spied Sauer approaching with Steve and Sarah in tow. He nodded his head in the direction of the Antechamber. Steve’s eyes narrowed. It looked as though he wanted a private meeting.

  “I’m so glad the captain managed to find you before you two departed,” Kri’Calin began as they entered the enchanted chamber. Instead of sitting at his desk, as he was wont to do, he remained standing, staring fixedly at the two of them. Or, more specifically, at Sarah.

  “Care to tell us what’s going on?” Steve nonchalantly asked.

  “Did you perhaps forget to tell me anything about what happened up north?” Kri’Calin asked anxiously.

  Steve cocked his head as he stared at the king. Kri’Calin was excited, he decided; antsy. What was on his mind?

  “Not that I’m aware of,” Steve slowly answered.

  “Perhaps regarding our dwarf allies and their winged neighbors?”

  Steve worriedly looked at Sarah. How much did the king know? What did he suspect? More importantly, what should they tell him? There was no point in confessing to anything until he knew what he was being accused of.

  “Er, what about them?”

  The king gave him a fleeting smile.

  “When two species forge an alliance for the first time ever news of the historic event will undoubtedly filter down to everyone. Myself included.”

  “Okayyy…” Steve was still unsure where the king was going with this.

  “Level with me. Have the wyverians opened dialogue with the dwarves in order to facilitate peace?”

  Steve nodded. “You’re close. It’s the dwarves who are reaching out to the dragons.”

  The king’s eyes widened. “The dwarves are making first contact? Are you sure?”

  “That’s what they told me they were going to do,” Steve confirmed. “Why? What’s the big deal?”

  “Do you know what precipitated this monumental gesture from the dwarves?”

  “They witnessed several acts of kindness from the dragons,” Sarah answered.

  Kri’Calin nodded thoughtfully. “Ah, yes. Of course, you’re referring to the ride given to a young dwarf child by a green dragon, are you not?”

  Steve choked. Sarah gasped with alarm.

  “How in the world could you possibly know that?”

  “I am not without some secrets of my own,” Kri’Calin admitted with a smile. “Listen, the reason I ask is that I believe your wyverian friend may be in peril.”

  That got Steve’s attention. He stiffened with alarm.

  “What? Are you sure?”

  “What do you think will happen once the Dragon Lord asks the dwarves what is responsible for this sudden change or heart? Are you not concerned that your dragon friend will tell the Dragon Lord everything that has happened to her?”

  Steve confidently shook his head no. “You’d have to understand Pryllan, your majesty. She knows full well that she’d get into trouble if her willingness to allow a rider, namely a dwarven rider, would ever become known. To answer your question, no, I’m not worried about Pryllan letting anything slip.”

  “What about the dwarves?” Kri’Calin insisted. “Can you be certain they will hold their tongues about your involvement?”

  Steve was silent as he stared at the king. There was something he was missing here. Why was the king so concerned about what was happening up north?

  “Selwyn is there,” Steve immediately responded. “He knows what the ramifications would be if our involvement became known. In fact, the other dwarves wouldn’t ever say anything derogatory, either. They know what’s at stake here. Trust me; we can be certain that neither of them will mention our involvement.”

  “Are you sure?

  “Stop beating around the bush and just tell us what’s on your mind!” Steve demanded, growing angry. “You clearly have some type of motive for this. Why are you asking us all these questions?”

  The king sighed and his shoulders slumped. Whatever he was hoping to hear clearly hadn’t been said. More confused than ever, Steve continued to suspiciously stare at the king. Both he and Sarah waited for an explanation. Steve then caught sight of Sauer suppressing a smile.

  Sarah finally smiled. She looked into Steve’s eyes and winked at him. She slowly turned to the king and cleared her throat.

  “I think I have it.”

  “By all means, please share,” Steve grumbled.

  “Something historic is happening up north,” Sarah began. She smiled at the king. “The dwarves are asking for a cessation of hostilities between their two species. I think the king is looking for an excuse to go up there. Am I right?”

  Steve began to smile. A flush was starting to creep up Kri’Calin’s face.

  “You don’t need our permission to go up there. You’re the king. I should think you would have been invited to attend whatever ceremony is taking place. Is it taking place now?”

  The king shook his head. “It begins at sunset. Tonight, in the dragon’s valley. I may not have been invited, but I also wasn’t told to stay away.”

  “Which, of course, means the same thing as being invited,” Steve dryly observed. Sarah swatted his arm. “Rinbok Intherer isn’t going to be mad that you’ll be there, will he?”

  “If the Dragon Lord didn’t want people to witness the event then he shouldn’t have let the news slip,” Kri’Calin stated matter-of-factly. “Representatives from the Kla Guur, Kla Chanus, and a few other clans will be there. There should be a human presence there. The dwarves are our allies after all.”

  “I’m surprised Rinbok Intherer agreed to meet with the dwarves out in the open,” Steve remarked. “I would have thought he’d prefer to carry out his business affairs in private.”

  “Where would you suggest they meet?” Sarah teased. “In one of the dwarf cities?”

  “Hardy ha ha. You know what I mean. The Dragon Lord has gone on record quite a few times stating how he doesn’t want the dragons’ private matters becoming known.”

  The king shook his head. “You speak as though you’ve met the Dragon Lord.”

  “We have. Several times.”

  Sauer, who up until this point in time had been content to stand idly by, gaped in undisguised wonder.

 

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