The Dragon on The Border

A change suddenly came over his face.

  "And the Hollow Men—" he said anxiously. "Are they all dead?"

  "Yes," said Jim. "They, too. Dafydd put an arrow through their leader, Eshan, while I was fighting the Worm; and he was the last Hollow Man alive. Dafydd and I watched him finally die, a little later. They will not rise again."

  "Well, we must celebrate. We really must celebrate!" Brian turned to Liseth. "How can you delay ordering someone down to the kitchen, m'Lady, on such an occasion as this?"

  But Liseth had already turned to the servants.

  "You, Humbert," she said. "Down to the kitchen with you; and back with a pitcher of wine and cups, plus bread and meat for Sir Brian."

  She did not have to add "run." Humbert left the room with the suddenness of an arrow discharged from Dafydd's bow. It may have been, Jim thought, that he was just as eager to carry the news to the kitchen as he was to perform the service. But all that would matter to Brian was that he went and came back with the necessary items as fast as possible.

  When he did come back, Brian helped himself hugely to the wine, meat and bread; meanwhile asking Jim further questions about his encounter with the Worm.

  "… And you remembered my instructions, all the time, didn't you?" Brian interrupted when Jim was describing his attack with his lance, after circling the creature until he was in a good position to make that attack.

  "A wise move, that circling," said Brian thoughtfully, over the rim of his wine cup. "I own freely I would not have thought of it, myself."

  But he went on to question Jim closely about his techniques of using the weapon.

  "You kept your point low as you went in?" he asked. "The way I've showed you? A lancepoint cannot simply be aimed directly at its target, the way a bowman aims his arrow at a stationary mark. It must be kept pointed loosely, in balance with the horse's movements. Only at the last moment do you grip it tightly. But you did keep the point low?"

  "Yes," said Jim.

  Then Brian began to question Jim about his use of sword and shield when he was in close to the Worm. Brian was interested in the fact that Jim had been battered by the forepart of the creature, even though it was blind with its two eyestalks cut off.

  "My Worm did that to me," he said. "Somehow the damned thing knows, at least, about where you are."

  "Not surprising," said Jim. "Close your eyes and see if you can touch the tip of your nose with the tip of your left thumb."

  Brian tried it. And, somewhat to his own surprise, succeeded.

  "There's something in all our bodies that lets us know where the rest of the body parts are," said Jim. "It must be no different with the Worm."

  "Well, well," said Brian. "No doubt you're right—"

  He interrupted himself to yawn hugely.

  "I know not what it is," he said, "but I am of a sudden very tired and sleep-hungry."

  Jim thought to himself that this was not surprising, seeing that Brian had been exhausted to start off with; and now was undoubtedly being hit by fatigue like an avalanche, with the alcohol in the wine, and the food and meat inside him. Brian would need a lot of sleep before he was ready to get back on his feet again.

  "Best we let you rest," said Jim. He looked at Liseth, who nodded. Brian was already settling down in the bed; and, as they watched, his eyes closed and he was asleep.

  "Watch him carefully now!" said Liseth to the servants, sharply, as she and Jim went out the door into the corridor.

  The door closed behind them and they started off down the corridor toward the stairs and returned to the Great Hall below. For the first time Jim noticed how drawn and unhappy her face looked, now that they were away from Brian.

  "Is there something wrong, Liseth?" he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  She stopped, he stopped with her; and she suddenly clung to him, burying her face in his chest and bursting into tears.

  "Oh, Sir James!" she sobbed. "I love him so!"

  Jim's heart sank. All that was needed to complete Brian's awkward falling in love with Liseth, was for Liseth to fall back in love with Brian. But Liseth was going on talking.

  "—And it is fated that I must marry Ewen MacDougall, whom I detest. Really detest!"

  Her words came out chokingly.

  Jim, who had put his arms comfortingly around her out of pure reflex, suddenly started and looked down at the flaxen hair on the crown of her bowed head still against his chest.

  "Marry MacDougall?" he said. "You? Why?"

  She lifted her head, wiped her eyes with her fingers, and stood back from him.

  "There is no choice," she said. "Otherwise he will tell the Scottish King how it was my father and brothers with your help who put an end to the Hollow Men, and made his attack into England probably impossible. We must either let him go or slay him; and bad as it is, it is better to let him return to Scotland than to kill him; and have that traced to us."

  "But what's this about him telling the Scottish King?" said Jim.

  "What's to stop him?" answered Liseth despairingly. "He must excuse himself for losing the French gold, and allowing the use of the Hollow Men to become impossible. The King will hold him to blame, else. Far better from his point of view that he puts that blame on us. If he does, the King will send an army against the Castle de Mer. It shall be destroyed; and perhaps we shall all be captured before we can escape to the sea, and killed, if not in the battle—then afterwards and in more painful ways. And all because Ewen MacDougall will tell the truth and put the blame on us—though heaven knows he is adept enough at lying to do otherwise!"

  "Oh he will, will he?" said Jim. His mind was working. His magic account had to have been replenished by his killing of the Worm. "I think I know a way of putting a stop to that!"

  "How?" She backed out of his grasp and stared at him. "There is some magic you can use, Sir James—?"

  "As a matter of fact, yes," said Jim. "But not quite in the way you think. I must be alone with him in the courtyard for a little while, that is all. I'd like all the rest of you to stay away, and make sure the servants cannot see me or hear me either. I'll have a little private talk with MacDougall."

  "Can't you give me some idea?" she asked, staring at him. "Some idea of what you plan to do?"

  "I'd rather not," said Jim, "since I don't know how well it'll work." He took her arm and started them both forward again down the corridor. "For now, let's get down to the Great Hall. The others will be along in a matter of hours."

  But he was wrong about the time factor. Carolinus had brought them all back magically. Jim winced at the thought of what the Accounting Office would say to the elderly magician about all this wholesale transporting of people and horses.

  When he and Liseth reached the Hall, there were voices from the courtyard; and, going there, they found not only Carolinus himself, afoot, but Dafydd, as well as Herrac and his sons, dismounting from their horses.

  Ewen MacDougall was also there in the courtyard with them.

  MacDougall had a slight smirk on his face; and a horse was evidently waiting for him, with a pack of provisions behind it. Clearly he was about to be turned loose. The smirk faded, rather abruptly, giving way to a look of concern, as Carolinus suddenly appeared and cast a baleful glance at him. Unlike Jim, Carolinus only needed to be looked at, to be known as a magician.

  "James?" barked Carolinus. "Where's James?"

  "Right here," said Jim, advancing from the doorway with Liseth beside him. The bulks of Herrac and his sons had screened him from Carolinus's gaze at first. But now these moved aside to let him come up to the older magic worker.

  "Ah," said Carolinus, "just where you should be. Fine."

  He turned to the others.

  "Now," he commanded, "all of you gather around. I have something to say to the Accounting Office—"

  "Could it wait a moment, Carolinus?" Jim interrupted him. "I have to have a small private talk with this gentleman here—"

  He pointed at MacDougall.

  "
Is it important, James?" said Carolinus. "Because what I have to say is very important."

  "This is too," said Jim. "Also I'd like a private word with you before I have the talk. If you don't mind, Carolinus. This is really extremely important."

  "Well, well, I can wait a few moments more, I suppose," said Carolinus.

  He beckoned Jim to follow him and led him off far enough from the others so that their low voices could not be overheard.

  "What is it, boy?" Carolinus asked testily, stopping and turning to face Jim. Jim also stopped.

  "Ewen MacDougall seems to be blackmailing the de Mers," said Jim. "Unfortunately he's blackmailing them with the truth. But the price is Liseth…"

  Jim filled Carolinus in on the details of Ewen's demands and Herrac's delay and reluctant final agreement just before their attack on the Hollow Men.

  "… I think I can change MacDougall's mind," Jim said. "But I wanted to check with you first. Do you think my magical account now has something in it? Since I killed the Worm and the Hollow Men are no longer a threat; pretty well blunting the idea of a Scottish invasion of England?"

  "You can count on that," said Carolinus. He grinned a dangerous grin. "But it may be nothing to what's to come."

  "Oh, yes?" answered Jim, not paying this latter statement a great deal of attention. What he had wanted to know was whether he had magic to use or not and the beginning of Carolinus's answer had told him that he had.

  "Then it's just a matter of talking with MacDougall privately," said Jim. "Let's go back to the others."

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  They started back, but Herrac met them before they had gone halfway. He drew Jim aside.

  "Liseth's been telling me that she told you of her and MacDougall," said Herrac, towering over Jim but lowering his voice to keep the conversation private. "I'm not sure that I'd approve, ordinarily… but, do you really think you might be able to do something about the MacDougall?"

  "I'm sure I can—given a private place here in the courtyard," said Jim.

  "Liseth spoke of that too," said Herrac. "I have the very spot for you. In fact I've already had MacDougall taken over to it. Come with me."

  He led Jim—not outward in the courtyard, as Jim had expected, but back around the curve of the tower that was the heart of the castle. They finally reached a point where they were out of sight of everyone else still standing and talking there, Carolinus included. It was also a spot where the tower backed up against the curtain wall that surrounded the courtyard. The result was a small triangular-shaped comer, in the very point of which MacDougall was standing, looking not at all pleased with the situation.

  Since an expression of displeasure was common among people of this place and time when they wished to cover up uncertainty, fear or any of the other emotions that might betray them, Jim felt encouraged. He stopped about twenty feet from MacDougall, and Herrac stopped with him.

  "Now, Sir Herrac," said Jim, turning to the man beside him, "if you'd leave us too? All that's necessary now is that we not be disturbed or overheard or seen for perhaps ten or fifteen minutes—maybe less."

  "Gladly," said Herrac, glaring for a second at MacDougall. He turned about and left the two of them.

  "And what is this mummery or nonsense you've had me brought here for?" demanded MacDougall, drawing himself up.

  "I can promise you," said Jim, beginning to take off his clothes, "it's neither mummery nor nonsense."

  "If you think to make an attack on me here, after the fashion of some naked highland cateran like Lachlan MacGreggor," said MacDougall, putting his hand on the hilt of his sword, which had now been returned to him and hung from his belt, "remember that I am once again armed."

  "Nothing like that," said Jim. He finished disrobing. On the inside of his forehead he wrote the spell he had been thinking about ever since Liseth had told him of her being pledged to marry MacDougall.

  ME→DRAGON

  As usual he felt nothing as the change was made that gave him a dragon's body. Only, he suddenly found himself looking down at MacDougall from a somewhat greater height.

  But the change in MacDougall himself was more of a sign that his becoming a dragon had been successful. Abandoning all pretense of contempt or indignation, MacDougall dropped his sword, fell to his knees, and signed the cross on himself; then closed his hands together, pleadingly, looking up at Jim.

  "If we are to fight, cannot you at least fight like a man?" he cried. "I will fight you even as you are now, for that I am a man, myself, and a MacDougall. But what kind of coward are you that you will not come at me man-to-man?"

  "There's not going to be any fighting," said Jim.

  His deep and powerful dragon's voice, muted as it was, bounced off the stone walls of the small space where they stood; and, he could see, clearly further frightened the man before him.

  MacDougall got shakily to his feet and picked up his sword.

  "Enough of words!" he said shakily. "Come and see how Ewen MacDougall can die!"

  "Put your weapon away," said Jim, in an even more sepulchral tone. "I only want to charge you with a message, which you will give to the King of the Scots."

  "Message?" MacDougall stared at him. The swordpoint wavered.

  "Yes. Listen and remember," went on Jim grimly. "You will tell him the truth, that you were robbed of your gold and that all the Hollow Men have been killed off by some Borderers; men you did not see and do not know. To this you will add a special message from me, James Eckert, Baron de Bois de Malencontri, the DRAGON KNIGHT. Tell him that if he, or his, attempt any move against the Castle de Mer and those within it, I will bring all the dragons of England and Scotland against him. He and all his court will be destroyed as if they had never been. I charge you, tell him that!"

  Ewen MacDougall's sword and carefully shaven jaw both dropped.

  "Why… you—you can do that?" he stammered.

  It was an outrageous lie, of course. Jim could no more bring all the dragons in England and Scotland against the King of Scotland just because he wanted to, than he could probably recruit a single dragon—with the exception of the mere-dragon Secoh, who hero-worshipped him—to attack anyone.

  He had even failed to rouse the English dragons of the nearest eyrie to his own castle, to support him and the English forces the year before; when, finally, he had managed to blackmail the French dragons into putting in an appearance over the battlefield at Poitiers, France. It had been only by sending the French dragons a message hinting that they would merely have to make a sort of aerial demonstration over the battlefield—as if they were going to attack. They would not even have considered doing anything like this if he had not got them into a very tight situation, indeed.

  But, the fourteenth-century mind—Jim had discovered—was willing to credit almost anything that was out of the ordinary. Particularly, anything that was tinged by the supernatural; as dragons—quite simple and ordinary, if large, animals, really—were so tinged in the imagination of most humans.

  Jim let his voice rise a bit in volume and rolled the words threateningly at Ewen MacDougall.

  "Let him make one move toward the Castle de Mer and find out!" he said. "Now go! And do not fail to deliver the message I have sent with you!"

  "I won't, m'Lord," said MacDougall. "I won't fail! I assure you I will not forget."

  "Then go!" said Jim, moving aside slightly, so that MacDougall could leave the little corner in which he was pinned, to get past Jim in his dragon body.

  MacDougall put his sword back in its sheath, and did his best to straighten up from the unconscious semicringe into which his back had curled. He walked past Jim, keeping his eyes on him until he was safely by, then turned the corner of the building and disappeared. A few moments later, Jim heard the sound of a horse being ridden rapidly out of the courtyard, through the front gate and away.

  Jim changed back from his dragon body into his ordinary one, and redressed himself. Then he went back out to the others in the courtyard. H
e was met by Herrac before he reached the rest, however. The Lord of the Castle de Mer drew him aside and spoke to him in a low voice.

  "That was well done," Herrac said.

  "You heard?" asked Jim.

  "I heard the stronger voice of two people in conversation," murmured Herrac. "I thought it could not be anything but you; using some magic to present yourself powerfully to him. He left as if the edge of his cloak had been set afire."

  "Essentially, you're right," said Jim. "Might as well admit it now, I suppose."

  He was annoyed with himself. He should have remembered the tremendous penetrating power of a dragon's voice, even when it was lowered. It was hard for a dragon not to be overheard. He decided he might as well tell the rest of it.

  "I turned myself into a dragon," he told Herrac in a low voice. "—keep that to yourself, if you please—and told him to tell the King of Scotland that if he moved against the Castle de Mer or any of you that belong to it, I would bring all the dragons of England and Scotland against him and his court; and there would be nothing left after they had finished."

  He was surprised to see Herrac's face blanch.

  "And you can do this?" said Herrac after a moment in a shaky whisper.

  "No," muttered Jim disgustedly, in answer. "That's the trouble. But if he believes it and the Scottish King believes it, you're safe. It was the best I could do."

  "None could have done more!" said Herrac, in a stronger voice. "Let us return to the others, now. I'll say nothing of what you've told me; not even within the circle of my own family."

  They went out together to join the others; who were still standing clustered in the courtyard, all of the de Mer family and Dafydd, plus Lachlan MacGreggor. Liseth had her arm linked through that of Lachlan, and as Jim came up she was just in the process of hugging herself against that arm, which puzzled Jim slightly. Perhaps Lachlan was leaving also, and she was giving him a warm, old-friend, type of goodbye.

  "I think I talked Ewen MacDougall into telling the Scottish King that the Hollow Men robbed him of the gold—don't ask me how—" Jim said to them, "and it's not to be recovered. Because since then a band of English Borderers he didn't see wiped out the Hollow Men to the last one, and took the gold. So that none of the Hollow Men will be coming back to life again, now."