Chapter 14
Cerridwen was out of sorts. Elizabeth could tell by how the dragon tossed her head - and by the fact that she was sitting in the drawing room instead of going back to the Nest.
Of course, William was out of sorts, too, and had been ever since hearing that the French Nest had fallen.
It was terrible news, of course. He had been the first to bear Coquelicot's pain over it, not that anyone could have missed her cries, but why was he acting as if he had lost his closest friend?
And, once again, he would not talk about it.
Or about why his lynx, who had never been in the house apart from one time when she was deathly ill, had suddenly reappeared two days ago, staying close to Darcy’s side through most of the daylight hours. Yet another sign that something was not right.
Now it was dark, and the lynx was off on its nocturnal activities, so William had joined her in the drawing room to write his letters, rather than remaining in his study or working with his steward. And he kept glancing at her, as if afraid she would disappear.
Tired of the oppressive silence, she said to Cerridwen, “It seems very quiet today. Do you suppose Frederica might join us?” she asked. Her friend had cloistered herself in her room yet again, no doubt still out of sorts over Roderick’s departure.
Cerridwen huffed, stretching her wings until they practically touched the walls. “How would I know? No one ever tells me anything.”
Oh, yes, definitely out of sorts. “At the Nest?” Elizabeth could not think of anything of significance she had kept from her dragon.
“Where else? They wish I had never come here, that they had never been cursed with a Seer.” The dragon settled on the floor, plopping her head on her extended forelegs disconsolately.
Elizabeth dropped her needlework and went to sit beside her dragon, stroking the scales of her neck. “Surely that cannot be true. Quickthorn and Rowan seem to value you greatly.” In truth, though, she had no idea what might be in the minds of the more senior dragons of the Nest.
“But not the others. Or why would they ask whether I Foresee anything about a course of action and then exclude me from the Conclave to discuss it?”
“They are in a Conclave?” Elizabeth had not expected that. Those meetings of all the dragons were a major event which could last days to weeks. Cerridwen would not welcome being questioned about the reason for it, but it must be about the fall of the French Nest.
“Even Coquelicot is there, though she said she wanted to come back here instead. And she has not even been welcomed into the Nest!”
That must have caught William's attention, for he came to crouch by Cerridwen's head with a worried look. “I thought they must have accepted her already.”
The dragon released an annoyed puff of smoke from her nostrils. “They do not like her, either.”
Now William frowned. “Why not?”
“Because she is too different. She prefers healing mortals to philosophy or creating art, and she likes humans better than dragons.”
“Healing is a noble art,” William argued, seeming annoyed that anyone would dare to criticize his Coquelicot.
“It is abnormal, at least the way she does it,” Cerridwen said. “Most dragons can heal, but it hurts us. Badly. It is painful, and we must expend life force on it, which means we will not live as long.”
Elizabeth nodded slowly. That explained why Rana Akshaya acted as if she was bestowing a great gift when she healed Jenny. And if she had indeed taken time off her life to do so, they owed her a great debt.
“Coquelicot says it does not hurt, and she loves to do it.” William was digging his heels in on the dragon's behalf.
“I am not criticizing her,” Cerridwen said fretfully. “Just explaining why they find her odd. I cannot blame her for it; they think me strange, too, because I am a Seer and I grew up far from my Nest.”
Elizabeth hated the idea of the other dragons looking down on her beloved Cerridwen. “That only shows your courage and your great Talent. They would all be in grave danger without your gift.”
Cerridwen laid her head in Elizabeth's lap, which was not as comfortable as it had been when she was smaller. Elizabeth stroked her scales anyway.
But Darcy's brow was still furrowed. “When Coquelicot does her healings, does it cut her life short, too?”
Cerridwen closed her eyes, as if tired of this discussion. “I cannot say. Perhaps not, if it does not hurt her.”
Elizabeth was tired of questions with no answers.
Darcy hurried to the ballroom as soon as he heard Coquelicot’s call, and just barely arrived before Elizabeth and Frederica. Their three dragons were already there, along with Rowan, who had been otherwise absent since Roderick’s departure.
The tip of Quickthorn's tail was twitching back and forth, as if staying still was a battle. “We failed. There was no agreement,” she growled. “The Great Covenant of Concealment still stands.”
“But –” Cerridwen began.
“I know! They are fools, and they did not want you there because they knew you would have a vision and force them to face their idiocy.”
Coquelicot added gently, “No one likes change. We have lived in hiding our entire lives, and it is hard to think of doing anything else. Even when it is clear we must do so or perish.” A wave of grief rolled through her aura. “As my Nest already has learned.”
“That is why we must change,” Quickthorn snapped.
“Your Nest tried so many ways to defend themselves against the Evil Emperor, and still they fell. Even with our help; we made suggestions and sent all the supplies we could spare. The same will happen to us when Napoleon invades - unless we make a different choice.” Her words had the resonance of an old argument oft repeated.
“Sycamore and Companion Amelia knew that, which is why they broke the Covenant on their own. But no one has had the courage to follow them!”
“What choice?” Darcy asked. “Do you mean to fight?”
Quickthorn bridled, as did the other dragons. “Of course not. But we could do more to keep his army away, to stop them at the natural borders, as your soldier friend suggested.”
Puzzled, Darcy glanced at Elizabeth. She said, “Colonel Fitzwilliam spent time with the dragons here while you were in France.”
That was... an interesting turn of events. She had told him of Richard's visit earlier, but not that he had designed a defense strategy for the Nest. Then again, it was completely in character. “What did he recommend that you do?”
“Not that it matters, since they will not do it! But I took his map, and no one stopped me.” Quickthorn produced a large rolled-up paper from nowhere and tossed it to him.
Darcy took it to one of the side tables and spread it out.
He leaned forward to examine it, Elizabeth joining him on one side and Frederica on the other.
It was an artfully inked representation of the general area, the sparsely populated Dark Peak and the valleys below it that included the Pemberley lands and many of the neighboring estates and villages.
And certain hilltops and peaks were marked with crosses.
Quickthorn indicated with a sharp talon the roads that entered the area.
“He said we should ward those, with guards to determine who should be allowed to enter. Any foreigners could be subject to spells of confusion and misleading. We could also set up watchtowers on hill-tops and peaks, so that we would have warning of anyone approaching on other routes. And we could prepare defenses along these borders.” She snorted, a few sparks emerging from her nostrils.
“Or we could do nothing, and wait for the mad dragon to destroy us!”
“How could you manage that?” Frederica asked. “Only three of your dragons have companions, and you would need dozens to do all that.”
Not to mention that Elizabeth could not drop everything to keep patrol with Cerridwen.
Rowan spoke, although sounding reluctant. “We found several mortals suitable for the lesser bond, which would allow more of our dragons to leave the Nest. We could hire others to serve as watchmen, as our ancestors did in the days of yore. At least that is what we proposed.”
It was not a bad plan, and likely the best possible one, since Richard had produced it. But the fact remained, the one that only Darcy truly understood. It did not matter how many humans or dragons stood guard if Napoleon himself came. All of them would fall victim to his ability to control minds.
Still, if the dragons' plans were enough to slow the invasion in their small section of Derbyshire, it could save many lives.
If only the other dragons had supported them.
Cerridwen said plaintively, “Did no one see the danger?”
“Oh, they saw it well enough! The Eldest did her best to be neutral, as she must, but I could tell she is frightened. And Juniper! He spoke so eloquently in our favor, of the danger of being enslaved, and he even threatened to leave the Nest if we chose not to defend ourselves. But the rest of the older dragons saw us as foolish youngsters who are enamored of humans, and they would have nothing to do with it.”
“What will you do?” Elizabeth asked in a hushed voice.
There was silence, and then Rowan replied. “I will be gone to Wales before Napoleon comes here. But we will stand by our companions, as we have ever done.”
Frederica said to Quickthorn, “If you wish me to take you to another Nest, one farther away from the danger, I will do it. I want you to be safe.”
Quickthorn's tail twitched again. “I hope it will not come to that. I must do what I see best, even if the Nest does not agree. I will keep training with dragonfire, and I intend to explore each of these defenses on the map. If we cannot defend the entire territory, let us prepare to protect the area around Pemberley.”
Rowan said softly, “You are coming close to mutiny against the Nest, you know.” There was no disagreement in his voice, simply a statement of fact.