Chronicles of Carnezia (Book 2): Wilderness

Chapter 27: Creeping Shadows

Chapter 27: Creeping Shadows

            The crowd slowly dispersed and I had to try and catch the crazy man before he fled the town. Waiting round the corner of a building, I kept an eye out to see if he would walk this way; fortunately, he did. I hopped out and went up over to him. ‘Excuse me.’ I had to act like I didn’t know anything at all. ‘What were you on about, it came in the night?’ I asked, hoping he wouldn’t start raging and shouting again.

            ‘I saw it, I did. Up there.’ He pointed dramatically at the sky. ‘It was late but I had forgotten to clear some stuff away in my stable. I only looked up to see what shape moon it was and then suddenly, a patch of stars disappeared.’ I was hoping he couldn’t pick out colours at that late time. ‘It was so black, not even the moon seemed to shine off its scales.’

            There was a sudden rush of worries around my head and I felt dizzy instantly. I stumbled backwards and leant against the nearest wall. ‘Are you sure?’ I asked, not able to stop myself.

            ‘Yes, the shape was clear until it darted across the sky out of sight.’ Without any notice, he walked off and left me there.

            I didn’t want to believe this but there were two reliable reasons as to what had happened; I couldn’t believe either one wholly as the other put considerable doubt on it. Frain surely wouldn’t risk his exposure, even at night coming that close to the town especially after what we had spoken about. If he was out then he wouldn’t be that close as to be spotted to be a dragon. The other explanation would be the same one that I had come up with back in Baedon whilst Seb had told me what had happened to the Harrisons’ shop.

            It would just not sink in; if I was going to believe there was a wild dragon roaming around these areas then I would have to see it for myself. Although, there was the question as to why it was only in the last couple of years that it had made itself known. There would have to be some investigating to be done but not yet and certainly not on my own. Pulling myself together, I stood up straight and made my way to the outskirts and further again back to the river. It was still daytime and I wasn’t expecting Frain to be anywhere near the river at this time of day; I was just going to get out of the town where I could think clearer.

            I walked along the bank, until I got tired of that and then I sat down on the grass and picked at the dark blades either side of me. What was I going to do? I knew I couldn’t just ignore the signs and leave it to chance that there was a dragon roaming around that could be the reason for two innocent deaths. As I thought of that, I thought that maybe it would risk further exposure once I left the area. I mean, after all, my luck couldn’t stay perfect or so high for too long without having a few dips.

            As my fingers brushed over the grass, they touched a loose stone. I picked it up, rolled it in my hand for a while and then threw it into the river. It gave a plop as it broke through the surface but then it did something that was impossible; it came flying back towards me, just missing my head. As I watched, something else broke the surface but this time coming up from below. At first I couldn’t tell but then a wide smile touched my lips as I realised it was Frain. He poked his head up and I saw his tail swishing around like a rudder; he did look a little like the Loch Ness Monster from those Scottish legend stories.

            ‘Frain! How did you get here?’ I meant to add ‘without being seen’ on the end but I was pretty sure he would know what I mean.

            He swam closer, hardly any sound coming from the water as it was pushed around him and lay his head on the bank near my feet. ‘I swam.’ I gave him a wide eyed look but he soon brushed my worries aside. ‘Do not worry. I flew near to the lake but landed so I could slide in without being seen. I swam all the way until I was far enough from the boats that they wouldn’t see me coming up for air.’

            I wondered. ‘How long can you hold your breath?’

            ‘Long enough and much longer than you ever could. I was hoping to find you here. So, tell me, why did you throw a stone at me?’ The hissing chuckles sounded almost like gurgling water.

            ‘How was I supposed to know you would be swimming?’ I asked back. ‘Could you pick me up from this spot tonight, just after sun down?’ I asked, not wanting to spend another night in any inn or hotel.

            ‘Of course. If I am not here when you are then just wait; I will come,’ he answered with his more softer voice.

            ‘And next time, I don’t want to ride on a wet harness,’ I hinted to him. Standing up, I stretched my legs and side and thought of going for a swim but with Frain there, watching, it would be a little strange. ‘Right, well, I’m going back now. Try to keep out of sight, and swim down river, you might be less likely to be seen.’ I wasn’t sure if that was entirely true or even if it would be too shallow for him to completely stay under the water. Either way, I left him to do as he pleased and headed back towards the town to see what else I could discover over this mysterious dragon.

            Even in the light of all the trouble that would inevitably occur, it seemed very unfair to him that Frain should have to spend all his time hiding, for as long as I decided we should stay. Maybe I was making the wrong decision and should have really headed straight back to Dracona with whatever news I had collected and tell someone (specifically Doran and Mya). There was, though, little I could conjure up in my imagination as to what anyone could do about it (human or dragon). Possibly Torrin and the elder dragons would be more successful with any outcome but, then again, I would hate to have to disturb them from their private lives. Nevertheless, I had made my mind up on staying here for as long as was necessary until something changed and Frain and I had to leave (whether to move on or head home).

            It wasn’t so late in the day, probably early afternoon, though there hadn’t been any whispers or further shout-outs, yet there was a very odd air about the place. I couldn’t think why but everyone was on two sides of a very thin fence; though the minority were about a handful of people who believed the raging man, the majority also sounded very stubborn about the possibility of dragons still existing. If I had the right to do so, I would have let Frain fly around as he would so freely back at home but no, I had no authority to do such a thing.

            Back in Baedon, if I had known the things I did now, I would never have let Frain openly lounge on my shoulders or trail behind me as he walked on the ground. The people there were overly shock and weren’t completely happy about it; they, unlike here, were willing to believe what they saw. In Fordem, I knew (from Doran) that it would tear the community apart, let alone anything else. So, silently and keeping to myself, I walked around the town, listening where I could and, sometimes, asking questions myself. It could have been that people wondered who I was or why I was asking the questions I did, but I didn’t care about that; none of what I said could have made someone realise what I really was.

            Through all of that, and looking inside some of the shops, there was something else trickling through my head. Although, currently, I was after as little attention as possible, I was missing the attention I had been getting from Seb back in Baedon. He didn’t just follow me round, giving me an extra thing to look over my shoulder about, but he seemed to do it in a way that made me want to make it hard for him. It had all been rather fun, thinking back now, and whilst he insisted on it, at least it gave me something to think on when I wasn’t figuring other stuff out. Here, however, I didn’t have any such thing and I most certainly wasn’t after another so-called ‘boyfriend’ somewhere amid this world; I mean, I didn’t even have one back in my old home and now, well I sort of had two.

            I did miss Ky as well, but not in the same way as I did Seb. He was more of a friend but there was still that subtle attraction that neither of us had really admitted to when we were together. However, with Ky, I could tell him nearly everything that I had been thinking about since we had last met and he wouldn’t judge me. Even if I felt down he would do his best to cheer me up or give me useful ideas. Ky’s presence was a warm one, and the two times I had spent sleeping in his house, I always felt at home when I was around him. On the other hand, being with Seb was that slightly more instinctive experience.