Page 32 of Dragon Fire

“Ahoy!” the bosun called back, acknowledging the hail.

“Permission to come aboard?” the knight shouted on his next pass.

O’Dare didn’t believe the cheek of the youngster. How in the world did he expect to board? They were under full sail. If he splashed into the water, they’d have to stop and turn around to get him. There was also no place his dragon could land aboard the ship by the captain’s judgment. And if he tried to jump onto the deck, he’d go splat more likely than not. What was the young pup thinking?

“Captain?” the bosun looked up at O’Dare, seeking how to reply.

“If he can manage it without killing himself, he’s welcome aboard,” O’Dare said, wanting to shrug, but resisting the impulse. Fleet captains did not shrug.

“Permission granted!” the bosun shouted upward to the circling dragon.

The bosun was in charge of the men in the rigging and on the deck. This particular officer—a fellow named Penwith—had the most penetrating voice in O’Dare’s crew, so he was also the one who answered hails. He was fourth in line for the captain’s job should something happen to O’Dare and his other officers, so he had quite a bit of authority on the vessel.

What followed was the craziest thing O’Dare had ever seen. First, the dragon matched pace with the ship, gliding between wing beats until he was traveling at the same speed as the ship. O’Dare watched between the sheets of the sails, which were fully extended, as did everyone else who could spare a glance in the entire fleet.

Then, the dragon maneuvered lower…and lower still…until he was so close to the masts and the crow’s nest he could reach out and touch them. Which he did, much to everyone’s surprise. The dragon reached out to touch the tallest mast, on which the crow’s nest sat, and O’Dare held his breath. If the dragon exerted too much pressure, the mast could snap, and they’d all be done for.

But the massive dragon had more finesse than O’Dare would have credited. He merely touched the mast, still matching speed with the fast-moving ship. And then, the knight sprang into action, in the most daring move yet.

Sir Leo stood on the back of his dragon partner, then began to walk, calm as you please, down over the dragon’s shoulder and onto his outstretched forearm. He fairly danced across the dragon’s slick scales, right to his talons and then dropped, light as a feather, into the crow’s nest, next to a startled young crewman.

The dragon let go and veered away from the ship, but didn’t go too far, still keeping pace, while he also kept a watchful eye on his knight. The knight didn’t stop in the crow’s nest, but worked his way down the rigging as if he’d been doing it all his life. Perhaps he had. O’Dare would have to ask Leo’s father where the young man had apprenticed before being chosen as a knight. He’d bet the youngster had gone out on at least one sea voyage, judging by the way he climbed down the rigging.

The crew was stunned by what they’d just seen, and several nodded to Leo as he passed them when he finally made it to the deck. They knew talent when they saw it, and who didn’t appreciate such a show of daring and bravery? Not to mention the absolute trust between knight and dragon. O’Dare hazarded a guess that he’d never see the like again.

“Welcome aboard, Sir,” Penwith said to Leo as he arrived below the quarterdeck.

Only a select few were allowed on the quarterdeck with the captain when the ship was under sail. O’Dare noticed that Sir Leo hesitated, looking to the captain to give him the nod. He was sure of it now. The lad had been aboard a sailing ship before.

O’Dare gave him the signal, and Sir Leo bounded up the steps to the quarterdeck, making a slight bow of respect when he greeted the captain and his officers. O’Dare returned the gesture. Leo might be young, but he was a knight and deserved respect on that basis alone. Dragons did not choose their knights lightly and Leo must’ve had something special in him to make the magnificent blue beast still flying above pick him.

CHAPTER TEN

“Captain O’Dare, sir, I was sent to make sure it really was you on approach. The gryphons spotted you a while back and were concerned your ships might be more pirates,” Leo reported in a rush as he faced the famous Captain O’Dare.

“What news of my daughter?” O’Dare got to the heart of the matter first. Everything else could wait.

“We left her on the far side of the island with Sir Flurrthith. She is accompanying him over land to the wizard’s keep.” Leo was surprised the captain, who had a reputation for being hard as nails and somewhat neglectful of his family, chose to ask after Miss Livia first.

O’Dare merely nodded, giving nothing away of his reaction to the news. “How goes the battle?”

“Sir Hrardorr is destroying the pirate ships with the unexpected aid of a group of sea dragons,” Leo reported, still stunned by the idea himself. He and Xander both wanted to get a look at a real sea dragon, but they were very hard to spot, swimming so deep. “The fair folk and Sir Gowan and Seth are battling on the beaches while the gryphons are seeing to the prisoners, staying out of range of any potential diamond-bladed arrows or spears. Which is why they ordered Xanderanth and me to come out here. No fliers are being let within range of the dragon killers.”

“A wise precaution,” O’Dare agreed stiffly. He’d twitched one eye—perhaps involuntarily—when Gowan and Seth were mentioned. Leo didn’t really know why, but the captain seemed to hold them in dislike. “What of the wizard?”

“He coordinates the battle in his keep,” Seth answered. “Though his gryphon general oversees his own forces, as the Captains of the Guard have charge over their troops. The main force is on the beach you see before you. It is the largest swath of shore that is able to land ships. There are, however, several smaller incursions on other parts of the shoreline. Once Sir Hrardorr and his new friends finish with the main portion of the fleet, I believe they intend to do the same in the other areas. If I might suggest, sir, your ships could be of help in those areas, if you have come to join the fight.”

The cheeky puppy. Sir Leo was nothing like the timid child O’Dare remembered meeting on occasion when he dealt with his father. He was growing into his knighthood well. His father must be beaming with pride.

O’Dare was inclined to like the young knight, if for no other reason than his feat of acrobatics and the courage he’d demonstrated just coming aboard. After talking with him a bit, he was even more disposed to befriend the young man.

Why couldn’t Livia find a nice boy like this to get involved with instead of those two imbeciles? One was a soldier thug, it was plain to see, and the other a wimp who had chosen the safe healer’s path instead of what he should have been doing all along—fighting to protect his homeland, like young Leo here.

Of course, Leo was probably a few years younger than Livia, come to think of it, so that probably wouldn’t work out. It still seemed strange to O’Dare to have left his daughter a child and come back to find her a young woman, bred in the image of her mother…and with all of her father’s character faults, apparently.

“It shall be as you suggest, Sir Leonhardt. Will you communicate with the others on land and find where best to place us? We will sail at the wizard’s command.”

Leo really shouldn’t have been so surprised. Or, if he was, he should have hidden it better. But that would come in time, O’Dare supposed. The young knight had many years—if he didn’t fall in battle—to learn his craft. The fine art of diplomacy would be among the things his elders, and time, would teach him.

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