Fate of Dragons

Chapter Eleven

Derol breathed a sigh of relief as the wagons came within sight of Mr. Beetle's farm. The entire time they'd been on the wagons, he had not been able to stop himself from looking back every few minutes, just to assure himself that none of the Karume followed. The wagons passed the farm and pulled into a circle the field beyond the wet, marshy land that surrounded Rogelio's house. The Onami traders would rest their horses before heading west toward where the southern Arethian mountains turned into rolling hills. Then they would head south into Yennar Lei.

Derol hadn't even realized how worried he'd been until Astrid, Amina, and Eriya greeted him when he left the wagons and entered Rogelio's house. Astrid ran to embrace him.

"Where's Gypsy?" Derol asked, remembering Astrid's friendship with the small dragon. She hadn't wanted to be separated from her.

"In the barn, pretending to be a horse," Eriya said with a laugh. "It'll work as long as she doesn't scare the horses."

"Daisy was scared of Gypsy, but I told her it was okay," Astrid said.

"How did you get here?" Derol asked Amina.

"Amina's been helping her Senemi people escape the city for a few months now. Even before all this ruckus with the dragons." Mr. Beetle put an arm across her shoulder and beamed.

"The fens are the outlet for the city's water channels. They go underground, and Amina knows the way through all of them," Eriya said, her eyes alight. She looked to Fenn. "You should have been there. You would've loved it."

"Don't go giving away my secrets," Amina said. "The Senemi have known something was coming for quite some time now. We may not have known exactly what, but we sense when change is coming. We adapt. We have to. Too often we're the victims."

"So you won't be continuing on with us?" Derol was surprised to realize that he felt disappointed at this, though he'd known Amina for less than a day. Perhaps it was the security he'd felt at the way she took charge in their escape, and her obvious knowledge of the city and how it worked, when he had none.

"I will," she said. "My time to leave has come too, I fear. I only hope that I can help others when I arrive in Yennar Lei as I've done here."

"I'm sure you will," Derol said, and the smile he got in return made his heart warm. Their gazes met for a second longer, then Derol looked away.

At Mr. Beetle's urging, the group shifted into the main room of his house from the entry.

Derol shook his head to clear it and went to the window. He peered out across the marshy ground at the wagons that held their precious cargo. The mission to save the eggs was not his own, but he had become invested in their goal, too. What they did with the eggs would decide the fate of all of Arethia. In a matter of months, Arethia had changed. Derol had begun his journey in search of Tesa, and she had gone in search of dragons. How fitting would it be for Derol to arrive with the people who held the fate of dragons in their hands?

Mrs. Beetle called out that supper was ready, and Derol stepped away from the window and out of his reverie. He looked around for Astrid, but she was no longer in the room with him. Nor was she with Eriya and Amina. He called her name and looked into the kitchen, then the adjoining rooms. He walked through and checked each of the bunked beds, enough for more than twenty people.

"Have you seen Astrid?" he asked Eriya, catching her by the arm as he returned to the common room.

"No. Oh no. Where is she?" Eriya's hand went to her mouth and she ran through the rooms just as Derol had. Together they ran to the front door and pushed it open.

Her slight form topped the neighboring hill where the barn perched. She must have gone to see Gypsy. Now she was running down the slope, her arms waving like windmills. Derol ran down from the house as fast as he could to meet her. As he neared he could see she was crying.