Marie let out a heavy sigh. A fog had rolled in, covering up the woods beyond the fields in a white veil. Usually, anyone coming from the road would be seen from a long way off, but now they could practically reach the front porch before being spotted. It paired well with the cloudy sky, giving off an eerie feeling of isolation and dread of the unknown world beyond. The silence also didn’t help matters. On cool nights, the noises of wildlife surrounded the area. She remembered how it took some getting used to on her first night. Now, even the crickets, who were restless just the night before, were silent.

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. The last few days she had felt uneasy. It had been too long since William’s last message. But if something had gone wrong, surely, someone from the Scale Guild would have come to inform her.

That was how it should work in theory anyway. In practice, she knew that William’s work often involved a degree of secrecy. Chances were she wouldn’t be informed until after the coverup had been taken care of. Even then she likely wouldn’t get the full story.

“This situation wouldn’t be so unbearable if it weren’t for the waiting,” she mumbled. “I can’t even send him letters. I just want to know if you’re all right.”

The wind blew, making her shudder.

“I should have put on a sweater. The nights are sure to be cold at this time of year.”

Rather than sit outside and catch a cold, she decided to head in for the night. The instant she stood, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. At first, she thought it was Caius but the number of steps was too many even for a four-legged creature.

She snatched up the shotgun resting beside her chair. She was no fool. William had warned her that someone may come for them and she was taking no chances. Being out in the middle of nowhere, there was no shortage of means to protect herself. Crouching behind the chair, she raised the gun and waited.

It didn’t take long before the shapes of two men came around the corner of the house. She would have fired immediately if the men didn’t have their arms over their heads. Not long after, the red-gold form of Caius appeared. Even with only the gloom of the lantern on the porch to light the area, the red-gold scales of the dragon stood out.

Marie cautiously left her hiding spot. “Caius, do you know these—”

The men entered the light. One was Lance, the other was Omar. Their faces were covered in dirt and shallow cuts. Omar wore bandages on his exposed arms. Neither looked as if they hadn’t had much sleep or a change of clothes in weeks.

Marie lowered her weapon. “Lance? Omar?” She rushed over and hugged both of them. “How did you--? Is William…?” She left the end of the sentence unsaid, unable to form the words constricting her throat.

Lance shook his head. “He’s alive as far as I know. Now could you please tell your bodyguard that we can be trusted?”

“I…Yes, it’s all right, Caius. You’ve met Lance before, he can be trusted. And Omar is…a family friend.”

“Then why’d they come alone?” Caius asked.

“That’s why we’re here,” Omar said, wincing as he lowered his arms. “We can talk later. You need to pack your things.”

Before Marie could ask why, Lance interrupted. “We received word the Scale Guild suspects William of treason. They even sent two men to abduct you in the hopes of drawing him out.”

“And he called me ‘hotheaded’,” Omar said with a grumble. “If this is how the Scale Guild rewards loyalty, I feel sorry for your enemies.”

“What?” Marie asked. “William is not a traitor. Are you sure--?”

“The men we intercepted told us as much before Caius interrupted us,” Lance said. “Now, please, Lady Delcatt. We cannot delay. There is no telling who else is coming for you.”

Before she could move, Caius cut her off. He fixed Lance with a steely gaze.

“You said you intercepted them,” the drake said with a low growl. “Until they figure out something went wrong, who else would be coming?”

Lance stood his ground. “There is no telling how deep Cutter’s grudge runs, especially after her treatment at the prison. She may attempt to harm Layd Delcatt out of spite.”

“Prison? What happened at this prison?” Marie asked.

“Please, Lady Delcatt, I will answer all of your questions once we are on the road. We cannot linger here. Every moment we waste puts your family in danger.”

It was enough for her. Marie had more questions but she also knew when urgency was required. She and William had run several drills on what to do in the event they needed to leave in a hurry. A small suitcase with spare clothes and blankets plus a secret compartment with extra money inside was hidden under the bed. The pantry contained an emergency ration pack with extra food that would keep for a while. Their home had a hidden passage that led to the sewers for quick escapes. She was thankful such a passage didn’t exist here.

She gathered both things and was ready to leave in less than 10 minutes. The rest of her family were asleep, so she left them a note informing them that something had come up that required her to return to Diamus immediately. They had no clue the real reason for her visit and the less they knew, the better.

Marie didn’t like the idea of having her family dragged into this, but there was nothing to do about it now. She had hoped that these distant relatives who had never ventured beyond their farm would allow them to remain hidden. It was still a mystery how the Scale Guild knew about them in the first place.

They set off immediately. Caius clearly didn’t fully trust her new escorts as he purposely put himself between Marie and the others.

Marie had other things on her mind and had no intention of waiting until they reached their destination to voice them. “You said you would explain what has happened. I need to know. Where is William? Why didn’t he come for me himself? What happened?”

“We took Cutter to Osharese Fortress,” Lance explained. “However, it was a trap. Cutter wanted us to take her there. As soon as the opportunity arose, she caused a riot.”

“Then--?” Marie began.

“William was sighted in Diamus,” Lance interjected. “He is alive, Marie.”

She fell silent and wiped the tears from her eyes. It should be good news but then why couldn’t she shake this feeling of dread?

“And what about you?” Caius asked. “How did you get out?”

“I wasn’t there,” Lance said. “Or rather, we weren’t there. We suspected the warden to be plotting against us so I was outside inspecting the grounds when the attack started. I had Omar accompany me in fear for his life.”

“I wouldn’t even have been there if that damn dragon hadn’t attacked me on the way out,” Omar said seemingly to himself. He had always been more of the strong silent type, but Marie wished he talked more. His silence was making her uneasy. With the fear of an imminent ambush from the darkness, she needed something to ease the tension.

“Regardless, after the attack, Cutter had the area under very tight guard,” Lance continued. “I witnessed her caravan’s departure and suspected William was among them. There was one carriage in particular she seemed protective of. Unfortunately, the caravan was attacked and one of the carriages stolen. Omar was in no condition to travel on his own so we were forced to choose one. We decided to follow Cutter only to learn that William was not with her.” He paused for several moments as if to let his words sink in. Marie just wanted him to continue with the explanation. “We followed her to Diamus before losing her. That is also when we learned that Lord Delcatt was named a traitor by the Scale Guild.”

“But why?” Marie asked, trying to keep her voice even. “And what of our home?”

“Officially, they can’t seize your home or anything of that nature,” Lance replied. “I do suspect that your servants have been interrogated—”

“Tortured you mean,” Omar said.

“—and there have been sentries placed outside to watch for your return,” Lance continued in a nettled tone. “Don’t worry, Lady Delcatt, your home and belongings are safe.”

“But why are they doing this to us? William has been nothing but loyal. He loves that city more than anyone!”

“I suspect this is merely political maneuvering,” Lance replied. “After all, William was informed that he would be alone in his fight against Cutter. Once news spreads about the destruction of Osharese Fortress, people are going to demand answers.”

“So they throw away one of their own to save their asses,” Omar said before spitting into a ditch. “Typical.”

“Then we have to find William first!” Marie cried. “If they find him—”

“First we get you somewhere safe,” Omar said.

“And where is that?” Caius asked.

Omar was the one to respond. “Peridan. There’s a private safe house there. William and I used it when we worked together. The Scale Guild doesn’t know about it.”

“And you’re certain of this?” Lance asked.

“We made a point of hiding it from them.”

Marie thought about asking why but decided against it. This sounded like something she shouldn’t know, but then Caius asked for her.

“I thought you worked for them,” the drake said.

“Yeah, worked. I knew even then not to trust them completely.”

Nothing else was said for the rest of the night. At first light, Omar suggested they get off the road and find a place to rest. No one objected and they found a suitable spot out of view from the road where they could rest in peace. Marie was no stranger to roughing it—she enjoyed camping—but this was no leisure weekend in the woods. There were too many unknowns and ways things could go wrong. It left her stomach in knots.

When it was time to move again, she felt so nauseous, she spent several minutes throwing up behind a tree. She returned to the group after emptying her stomach and realized that one of them was missing.

“Where’s Lance?” she asked.

“Said he needed to take a leak,”. Caius replied.

Omar stood up from leaning against a nearby tree, his face full of concern. “He’s been gone too long, Can you track him?”

Caius tilted his head upward and flicked his tongue in the air then frowned. “I can’t get his scent.”

“Is something wrong?” Marie asked.

“Lance is somewhere downwind so it’s harder to catch his scent,” Omar replied. “He should know better than that.”

“You don’t think something happened to him, do you?”

“If it hasn’t, I’ll wring his neck..”

Marie hoped that wouldn’t happen but she hoped Lance was all right.

Omar drew his pistol. “Stay here. I’ll find him. If I’m not back in—”

“No, I’m coming with you,” Marie said. “Lance is a trusted friend, and now is not the best time for splitting up.”

“If this is a trap, they want us to come looking for him.”

“They could also want to split us up,” Caius said. “I’ll protect Marie.”

“Before you start to argue, we can’t afford to waste precious time bickering,” Marie pointed out as she pushed past them.

That put an end to the discussion. She almost wished it didn’t because now her mind was free to fill the silence. It was hard to ignore the images of Lance lying in the bush, bleeding and vulnerable.

Omar took the lead. Caius remained true to his work and practically circled Marie as they walked. She noticed he kept a watch on Omar. The drake had been very suspicious of them. From an outsider's point of view, it made sense, but these men could be trusted. William had known them for years and trusted them implicitly.

“I think I see him,” Omar said, pointing to a figure standing in the road. “Why’s he—wait!”

Marie ran towards the person. There was no mistaking it even with his back turned. The man standing in the middle of the road was Lance. He turned to her and smiled.

Caius bounded in front of her. Before she could question his actions, she saw movement in the bushes.

There was no way to warn him in time. Caius grunted in pain as a shot rang out. He stumbled sideways. Blood poured down his foreleg.

A man emerged from the brush, his rifle raised.  Dark weathered clothing hid most of his features and blended well with the surrounding foliage. “That was a warning shot, Mr. Wyrm,” the man said. “The next one will be fatal if you so much as twitch.”

Marie froze, unable to react to the sudden shift in circumstances.

“Do it, and you’ll join,” Omar said, leveling his pistol at the man.

The merc regarded him with a calm smile. “My guys are trained on you right now. Kill me, and everybody dies.”

“That’s enough,” Lance cried. “We agreed there would be no bloodshed.”

“It’s just a little warning to make sure that Mr. Wyrm here doesn’t try any heroics,” the merc replied. “As long as everyone plays nice, everyone gets to go home, right?” His question was directed at Caius who only glared in return. “Maybe I should take care of this one now. He’s only gonna come after us anyway.”

“No!” Marie threw herself on top of Caius. “Don’t hurt him! I’ll do whatever you want! Just don’t hurt anyone else!”

“Marie—” Caius began.

“No! No one has to die. Please, I’ll do anything.”

A sadistic, condescending grin that made Marie’s stomach churn crossed the man’s face. “Unfortunately for you, Miss, you’re coming with us regardless,” the man said. “My orders weren’t to bring your pet along.”

Caius growled but didn’t budge. Lance approached the mercenary and pushed his gun downward. “Leave the drake,” Lance said. “We need him to deliver the message.”

“I thought that was your job.”

“My job is to deliver Marie safely to our Matriarch. And yours is to deal with any obstacles in that regard.”

“It doesn’t take two men to deliver a message.”

“Omar is not fully recovered. I doubt he could survive the trip back to Diamus on his own.”

The merc shrugged. “Then we can shoot him then.”

The moment he raised his rifle, Marie was on her feet and standing between him and Omar. The merc rolled his eyes and quickly lowered his gun.

“We will not be killing anyone today,” Lance said. “Marie will be coming with us. You know the consequences if you attempt to follow us.”

“You know they’re just gonna come after us.”

“They won’t risk putting Marie in danger. And we have our orders. We were to retrieve Marie and leave a message for Lord Delcatt.” Turning to the others he added, “When you see William, tell him to meet us at the North Gate of Diamus in one month’s time. Our Matriarch will have a task for him.”

“And he has to show up alone, right?” Omar asked.

“We know he won’t. Tell him to bring an army if it pleases him. Our Matriarch will not mind.”

Marie could only stare in surprise. How did she not see it? How did William not see it? This man they invited into their home, shared meals, trusted with their lives, was nothing more than a liar. She offered no resistance when Lance took her by the arm and pulled her away. The person holding her was not the man who once made her feel safe. It wasn’t a familiar face giving her hope anymore. The person holding he rnow was a stranger. A stranger who was capable of anything. Resistance would surely get someone killed.

The mercenary whistled and several more gunmen emerged from the bushes. They followed, leaving Caius and Omar alone in the middle of the road.

Marie never spoke. She never tried to run. She was kept on a round-the-clock guard. Even going to pee in a bush she had no privacy. Lance especially treated her as if they were tied together and never let her out of his sight. It was humiliating. It was terrifying. Sleep came in spurts if at all. The fear of what she could wake up to—assuming she woke up at all—chased away most of the fatigue. Her guards always seemed on edge. They kept her fed and gave her a warm blanket at night, but they refused to speak about anything important within earshot.

A few times, she considered testing the waters. Trying to figure out a weakness in their routine that could be exploited. Unfortunately, there was none. Someone was always awake, always watching. If she moved to scratch her head, it drew attention.

Their dedication to their task was unsettling. Like an employee who was on their best behavior because their boss was looking over their shoulder. But they had mentioned a Matriarch which was a dragon title. They hadn’t seen another dragon since leaving the others behind.

They journeyed for three days but it felt like a month to her. It was then they encountered a pair of the largest Nightstalkers Marie had ever seen. Each one was the size of a moose if not larger. Very few words were exchanged but it was clear that they were to be her new escorts. Lance accompanied her, claiming it was his duty to see her safely to their Matriarch without fuss. She believed it was simply to keep an eye on her. He needn’t have bothered. With two dragons, they would easily catch her scent and even with a day’s headstart, they would track her down long before she reached any form of civilization.

She resigned herself to never getting away at this point. The two Nightstalkers carried them by air and only landed to rest which was every other day. Or maybe every two days, she couldn’t tell. The lack of sleep made things blur together and it became progressively harder to tell time.

Still, she refused to close her eyes for more than a few moments. If the opportunity to escape ever came up, she wanted to know where they were and which direction was safe to flee in.

It became moot when the Nightstalkers flew into an area she didn’t recognize. By her estimate, they were somewhere in the northeastern area of Geolga but it was hard to tell; she had never traveled this far before. Landing in a forest didn’t help matters. She didn’t recognize the trees, but they were larger than any she had ever seen. The vegetation also pressed together, blocking most of the sky and covering the ground below in shadow even in the middle of the day.

It was then the Nightstalkers walked the rest of the way. Marie didn’t bother trying to get down. Her back was sore but it still beat walking. There was nowhere to go anymore anyway. She couldn’t remember the last time they passed something man-made.

Eventually they entered a large settlement. Being in a clearing, the shift in light made Marie shield her eyes. The buildings looked sturdy and well-made but lacked a modern touch. Everything had been made out of whatever natural resources were available in the area, mostly wood and clay.

Marie wondered where they were but doubted she would receive an answer, so she kept to herself.

Lance suddenly spoke, startling her. “This is Zircesen. You may relax. You are safe here.”

Marie looked at the weathered faces of the humans and dragons they passed. Not one of them looked happy or the least bit curious to see a newcomer.

These people are no strangers to hard work, she thought. Not one person she passed wore fine linen or even something that looked new. It was patchwork, homemade—well crafted but still homemade. They favored practicality over appearance. She wasn’t a fan.

The Nightstalkers stopped in front of a large building. Just like everything else, it lacked any creative flourish but Marie had a feeling this was where the leader of this town stayed. It was the largest building she had seen so far.

Marie stumbled when she climbed down. All that time riding had left her sore and her legs weak. Paired with the lack of sleep and it was a miracle she could stand at all. But when Lance offered a helping hand, she swatted it away.

“I’d rather land face-first in a pile of shit than accept any form of help from you,” she spat as venomously as possible.

Lance made no remark and didn’t attempt to assist her further.

The inside of the building wasn’t anything like she expected. Instead of a near-empty room containing only the bare necessities, she stepped into a long narrow hall with grey stone walls. There were no windows and only a single door at the far end. Braziers had been strategically placed to provide enough light to see but that was it.

A chill went through Marie as she followed Lance down the hallway. She didn’t need to look back to know at least one of the dragons was following them. The further they walked, the more the walls pressed in on them. The air pressed in on them. The echoing steps pressed in on them. The hall became progressively smaller even when she knew that wasn’t the case as Lance continued walking unhindered.

This hall is perfect for an ambush. If I were suddenly trapped in here, I would have no way out.

Through the door at the end of the hall, Marie felt she could breathe again, if only briefly for the shift in ambiance left her speechless. The most noticeable, and likely most expensive, thing in the room was the large gem-studded chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It became of little importance as Marie was taking note of the rest of the room. The outer wall was lined with benches and shelves packed with random clutter. Most of the room’s light was directed to its center where multiple large, oddly shaped chairs had been placed in a circular formation. In the center of it all was a wide table. She couldn’t see what was on it but there were several figurines dotting its surface.

Those are chairs meant for dragons.

The seat furthest from the entrance was occupied. A dragon with celeste-colored  scales lifted their head and looked at them.

Marie froze in place. Once she looked into the dragon’s eyes, she felt a powerful impulse to run away. Even with a room between them, she felt vulnerable and exposed. A live rabbit placed into a den of wolves. The fear easily overpowered her fascination at seeing an unfamiliar dragon species.

The dragon stretched but continued to lounge in the chair. “I assume this is the woman I asked for?”

Lance dropped to one knee and lowered his head. “Yes, my Matriarch. This is Marie Delcatt.”

A grin spread across the dragonness’s face. “Good. Thank you for your service. You may leave us now.”

It took everything Marie had not to to protest. Traitor or not, she would welcome having anyone in the room with them. Surely, this dragon did not have her brought here just to be killed but the alternative didn’t seem much better.

“Did you have a nice trip?” the Matriarch asked. Her tone was gentle and lacked any traces of haughtiness or sarcasm. It did little to put Marie at ease. “They didn’t get rough with you did they? I made it explicitly clear that you were to be brought to me unharmed.”

Marie continued to stare. Mostly fear kept her gaze fixed on the dragon before her, not that it made a difference. She stood no chance should things turn violent.

The dragoness lazily rolled over and stood before stretching once again. “First, my name is Tamentri.” She smiled. If it was meant to be disarming, it had the opposite effect as all it did was show off an impressive set of fangs. “Of course, I know who you are, Marie. Welcome to Zircesen. Do you like the place? You must have had a long trip. Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can have something brought out before we begin.”

Marie couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. If the building suddenly caught fire, she wouldn’t be able to run for the exit. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out who this dragon was nor her connection to them. Who was she? Why did she send Lance to spy on them? What did she plan to do to her?

Tamentri’s smile fell and another chill went through Marie’s body. “I’m trying to be polite here. When someone speaks to you, you speak back. It’s called common courtesy. I could have you tied down and beat the answers out of you if you would prefer that.”

There was a shift in her voice. An icy chill bypassed all of Marie’s clothes and affected her bones directly. A pressure squeezed the back of her head. She knew there was no one there but she could swear she felt the pricks of a dragon’s claws pressing into her skull.

She could’t tell if it was primal instinct to preserve her life that suddenly took control of her mind or if she conventiently had overcome her fears at the moment, but she had regained control of her body and quickly bowed.

“I’m so sorry! I just…I have had a very long journey and I don’t understand why I’m here.”

The threatening pressure vanished, but Marie didn’t dare lift her head. Not looking at her captor made it easier to stay in control.

“Well that’s simple: you’re here because I need your husband to pay attention and I found others are more attentive when you have something they want.” The sound of approaching steps made her shiver. A blue paw gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look up. “With your help, he should play nice. I need his mind intact so I hope it won’t come to using more…direct tactics. Besides, mother always said followers of faith are much more reliable than followers of fear.”

“I don’t understand what that means.”

The dragoness grinned. There was no friendliness to it. This was the smile of one who knew something others didn’t and took great pride in it.

“You will. Everyone will.”

The story will continue in Where Dragons Rule: Extinction