The knight, the dragon and the necromancer. Daert dilogy-1

Her right hand still wouldn't listen. Rosa pressed the hilt of the knife with her wrist, pressed her chest, feeling the blade pierce the steppe man's dressing gown, enter the flesh... She could not pull it out. Picking up the amulet, the young sorceress straightened up and looked around. The Toad was roaring, struggling to get to her feet. Don Marius was thrusting and thrusting his sword into the body of a steppe warrior at his feet, three more dead men were lying nearby. And from the river a dozen horsemen galloped towards them at full speed. A group of a dozen warriors had broken away from the others and were close behind. Rose spread her feet shoulder-width apart, as if shooting a crossbow, and raised her hand with the amulet. She touched the power that infused the wood and metal. A strong mage had charged the amulet for many days. The lightning the late steppe man had released was definitely not from this one — but it was the same. Rose sighed convulsively and recited the activation formula in full voice.

— Bzoom! — A blinding white discharge, branching and sprawling, burst from the copper claws of the "bird's paw", struck the ground in front of the steppe vanguard, sweeping away three horsemen, sweeping them to smoking shreds along with their horses. The others tightened their reins, shouting fearfully. Behind the girl, Toad roared, and the ground shook with the dragoness' footsteps. Even without turning round, the young sorceress knew that Marius's pet was running into the attack, gathering speed. The nomadic formation broke, a hundred riders jumped to the sides, ducking into the manes of their horses. Only the bravest of them launched arrows at the dragon — ordinary arrows, not enchanted ones.

— Huh. Oh. Done, — Rosa said to herself, dropping the empty amulet. Without any warning, a hot lump came to her throat, and she bent down in a fit of vomiting. She threw up on the steppe mage's corpse, but by an incredible effort of will she managed to wipe her lips with the edge of her glove before she began to fall. Rosa's last thought that day was almost joyful — she realised that she wasn't falling face down, and on clean grass. The impact with the ground finally knocked the girl unconscious.

Chapter 4

When Rosa opened her eyes, she saw a mishmash of white, blue and green spots above her. At first she was frightened, but other senses came to the rescue of her helpless vision. The rustling of leaves, the creaking of wood, the touch of the breeze on her face, the smell of grass. Rose was lying under the tree. Without her glasses, of course. That made the crown above her head and the sky, visible through the leaves, merge into a blurred three-colour panel. The young sorceress' head was resting on something soft, her bare feet were covered with a rough cloth — obviously not a blanket.

— Sir! Sir, she's awake! — exclaimed someone nearby. The voice belonged to one of the peasant women who had crossed the river with Rose on Toad's back, so that the girl finally calmed down. Feeling weak and stiff all over, she raised herself on her elbows and yawned. The objects at arm's length were already taking on a clear shape, and the student saw her things very close to her — belt with scabbard, glasses, gloves, jacket, boots, neatly placed heel to heel. Of course, the girl grabbed the glasses first. She pressed her lips together annoyingly. Her glasses had been taken off by a person who didn't know how to do it properly — there were fingerprints on the thin lenses. Rosf touched the right wishbone where she saw the magic glow — tapering transparent rings ran from the edges of the lenses to the centre, wiping away the imprints, shaking off dust and tiny lumps of earth, caught on the glass in the heat of battle.

— You're feeling better, I can see that. — A shadow fell on Rosa's hands. — I'm glad for you, master.

The girl hastily put on her glasses and raised her head. But Sergeant Bernard, who came up to her, knelt down on one knee in front of the young sorceress. Looking around, she realised that she was lying on a makeshift bed made of a rag bag, a piece of cloth as a mattress, and her own cloak as a bedspread. The river was babbling nearby, and Toad's green body could be seen by the bank. The dragoness seemed to be drinking.

— Does anything hurt, Madam Mage? — The sergeant asked sympathetically.

— All of it, to be honest. — To avoid upsetting the warrior, Rose tried to smile. — But I've had worse.

— Don Marius was torn between you and his dragon. — Bernard didn't smile back, but his eyes sparkled. — It was agreed that anyone could look after you, but only the rider could look after the dragon.

— Where are the others? — The girl reached for her jacket. She was uncomfortable sitting in front of a man she didn't know wearing only trousers and a thin blouse.

— The convoy has travelled further south on the road, — explained the merchant's guard. — We lost the wagons, but we took some captured horses. We are here with you, the dragon and the don, and a couple of refugee girls to look after you. For now, however, no nomads are to be seen beyond the river. The One will grant, and they will not appear. Lord rider says after such losses, the chief will look for another target to assert his authority. Away from us.

— That's good. — The gloves were damp and clean — they had recently been thoroughly washed to remove traces of vomit and dirt. The boots were almost shiny, too. Rose began to pull them on, fighting the dizziness. When the sergeant noticed her staggering, he held her by the shoulder. He said suddenly:

— Master Rosa, we couldn't see much from the islet, but Don Marius told us a lot. You're the bravest girl I've ever seen, I'll be damned.

— Thank you, Sergeant. — The young sorceress blushed against her will. However, her voice did not waver. With a touch of irony, the girl continued: — I'm just a magician. Do you know the magic's first rule?

— No, master.

— "You must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer", — Rose quoted, pulling up the cuffs of her gloves. Feeling the tight leather around her fingers, the weight of the boots on her feet, the scabbard at her hip, the young sorceress perked up a little. The dizziness and lethargy receded. — A mage controls great powers with his mind. He must always remain cool-headed. A coward will not graduate from the Academy.

"It's true, I haven't graduated from the Academy yet either", she added mentally in fairness.

— If I don't call Don Marus now, he'll feed me to the dragon, — the sergeant decided, rising. Rosa held out her hand to him:

— I'll go to him myself. Help me, please.

The warrior didn't argue. He helped her up and gave her a flask, her own. Rosa sipped the warm, unpleasant-tasting water, clipped the flask to her belt, picked up her cloak from the ground, and headed for the shore. Don Marius, of course, found himself near Toad. The dragoness had already drunk and was now looking for something in the water, perhaps a large fish. The knight was glumly studying the foreleg of his pet. When he saw Rose, the young man brightened up:

— Signora! How are you feeling?

— Excellent, — the girl lied. Marius was not a seasoned sergeant, he would definitely worry. — Just overstretched in battle. It's almost normal for mages. How are you and Toad?

— I'm fine, Toad... I think so too. — The knight gloomed again. — I'm afraid Toad and I have become pampered and are relying on your knowledge more than we should.

— I want to look at it, — Rosa said. — May I?

— If it doesn't hurt you...

Without delay, the sorceress got to work. She used magic and her delicate, sensitive fingers to search for bruises and cracks in the dragoness's bones. The knight, who was watching her actions, reported guiltily:

— I'm afraid, signora, I couldn't get all your things from the other side of the river. The cloak, beret and knife I took, but the crossbow... I think Toad stepped on it. I'll buy you a new one.

— It's no big deal. Though hunting will become difficult... ahem... — It struck Rose. — Did you bring me from the other side, too?

— Yeah. Me and Toad.

The girl bumped her nose against the dragoness's scaly side. She controlled her voice well, but the colour of her face... Images flashed before her mind's eye — a young man finding her senseless body near the corpse of a steppe mage, throwing her on his shoulder... Well, no, it couldn't be like that. Of course, Marius took her in his arms, like in romantic books. And then threw her across the saddle on Toad's back. And strapped her down. Because there is no romantic way to carry a fainting girl on a dragon. To dispel the horrible visions, the student mumbled rather loudly:

— No tears in the hide... lost scales... no big deal. Contusion in the abdominal area... no big deal. Ribs are intact. Paws. Mm-hmm.

— What's wrong with her paws? — The knight was worried.

— Nothing, — Rosa assured him. — Toad hadn't put her sore paw out when she fell. She's a clever girl, isn't she?

The girl affectionately patted the dragoness on the shoulder just above the elbow. Dragoness didn't react to it — she was too engrossed in her "fishing".

— So...

— Well, she and I are in about the same position, — the girl smiled. — Bruises and weakness. Sleep will cure it all. And a hearty supper. I can't get you any big game without a crossbow, but you've managed so far.

— We'll take one captured horse from the sergeant, — Marius decided. — It will be enough to... my goal. I have breadcrumbs and dried meat for you and me.

— One more thing. — Rose leaned back against Toad's side, folded her arms across her chest. She looked earnestly into the young man's face. — Your transformation...

— Oh, you've seen it. — The knight bit his lip. — Not a pretty sight, was it?

— Why? — Rose raised her eyebrows. — That's not what this is about. You turned under the influence of emotion, my lord. Fear for Toad and anger. From everything I know about dragon knights, that's not the way to do it.

— Well... actually, yeah. — The young man rubbed the back of his head in a familiar boyish gesture. — But I would have turned anyway. There were four opponents. You didn't see me fight? Right now, I couldn't stop a saber blade with the palm of my hand.

— It's not about that... — Before Rosa could finish, Toad jerked her neck and stuck her head into the river. She snapped her jaws and grabbed something, swallowing it immediately with a large portion of river water. It grunted contentedly, squinting its yellow eyes at its master.

— Good girl, — Don Marius praised her with a broad smile. Rosa sighed, and decided to postpone the conversation until later. She was feeling sick herself — not a good time for serious talk. She smiled too:

— So are we going to continue on our way?

— Yes, and the sooner the better.

The sun had passed the centre of the sky, so breakfast was more like lunch for Rosa. The girl, used to loss of appetite after working with spells, ate heavily, despite her nausea and meagre food intake, and tidied up her equipment. She felt uncomfortable without her crossbow. Rosa didn't know any battle magic, the slingshot had been stolen from the camp by raiders, and with the loss of the crossbow she had only her trusty knife, which had saved the student from trouble Clay River lay the corpse of a steppe mage covered with amulets, but Don Marius had not taken any of them — he, like any warrior, had been taught not to touch unfamiliar magical objects on the battlefield.

— Don't be upset, signora, — Marius said to the sorceress, having understood the reason for her distress. — You already lead among us by the number of enemy heads.

— Is that so? — The girl didn't believe it.

— Well, look for yourself, — the knight began to curl his fingers. — You killed two raiders in the camp. Add to them the mage and three other riders — you burned them with the amulet. That makes six. I've only got the wizard's guards behind me, four in number. We're not competing with Toad, it's not fair. Six against four.

— Oh... — Rose froze, comprehending what the don had said.

— You know how to praise a girl, my lord, — Sergeant Bernard chuckled.

— Oops. I mean... — Don Marius clamped his mouth with the palm of his hand. — My sisters and cousins, they're knights too... almost all of them... I didn't think.....

— Nothing, — Rose said, coming out of her brief stupor. — Don't worry. It was nice to hear. From you, at least.

After the meal they bade farewell to their companions.

— We won't take the road, but you'd better stick to it, — the young knight told the sergeant. — You'll almost certainly meet the royal army's cavalry on the road, and they'll drive off the brigands and raiders. Perhaps you'll find other refugees and join them. King Auguste is trying to gain popularity, and he will hardly abandon the common people who are close to his army.

— Oh, let us hope so, — the merchant guard shook his head doubtfully. — If it were Octavia's army, I wouldn't doubt it, but this Auguste... He's not even a daertian. In any case, good journey, my lord. You too, master Rosa.

Bernard put the girls who were courting Rosa on the trophy horses, and soon they were out of sight. The young men and girl were alone on the river beach, except for Toad.

— You seem to have repaid me many times over for the rescue, signora, — the knight said to the girl when the dust from the hoofs had settled. — Now Toad and I owe you a debt of gratitude.

— We were in the same boat, my lord, and we all didn't want to drown, — the young sorceress said. A stray wavy strand fell on her nose. The girl sneezed involuntarily and fixed her hair. — You've worked just as hard.

— I should have done more, — the young man said. — But all I can do for now is get you to the royal army camp. You'll be safe there.

— You will not enter the camp yourself, milord? — Rose squinted. Her palms rested on her waist.

— No. My target is in those places, but not there.

— Your target is in the rebel camp, — the girl said slowly, looking Marius in the eyes.

— What... why... why would you think that? — the knight was confused.

— You don't want to meet the king's patrols on the road, — Rosa explained. — You were more interested in the movements of the rebels than the king's troops when you questioned the refugees, and you're obviously more concerned about their situation.

The knight did not answer at once. The silence lasted until Toad, slumbering in the sun, twitched her wing in her sleep.

— I'll still get you as close to Auguste's camp as I can, — the young man frowned. — Whatever happens next is my business.

— As you wish, milord, — the girl said. She ran her thumb under the strap of her shoulder bag. — In the meantime, shall we go on?