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XXIV

Jack ran panting back to the barracks at full tilt. It was real! There were dragons and he had been the first to see them! He barged into the mess hall and up to the where the other novices were eating.

"It's true!" he gasped out to the suddenly silent novices as they sat around the table.

He pulled out a chair and sat down. "It's a big silver dragoness and she can talk too!"

Eric looked at the ebullient novice "Don't be stupid, dragons can't talk" he said with a sneer in his voice.

Jack shook his head "Yes she can and she is tame too. She hugged James and gave him a lick"

Eric laughed "She probably just tastes him now and then to see if he's improved his flavour"

Jack sat down in his chair and looked at Eric "I don't see you going down and looking at her. You're not scared of her are you?"

Eric went a little pale. He remembered the taunts he had leveled at James and feared he would be made to look like a fool in front of the others.

"Course not!" he exclaimed while beads of sweat formed on his brow. "I'm just following Joe's orders not to interfere with it"

Jack grinned "I think that was more to keep folks from finding out she can talk."

Terry leaned over "So where does it sleep?" he asked, curiosity lighting his face.

"She had a huge bed in the main room. James said she gets uneasy when he is too far from her so he sleeps near her"

There was silence at this comment as several novices reached the same conclusion at roughly the same time.

"You don't think?..." one began then went silent "nah....it wouldn't be possible"

There were raucous laughs around the table. But the seed of rumour had already been sown. It was a female after all and he was sleeping with it.

James kissed Cill on the snout as he headed out to the market "are you hungry dear?'

Cill shook her head slowly "No, those geese were enough for a day or so. Don't forget to be ready at midday as Marre will be upset if we are late"

James nodded and closed the door with a grin. He walked slowly to the market as he fondled the string in his pocket.

"Master Marlowe" he said as he drew close to the peddlers wagon "how have you done on that little commission for me?"

"Ahh Sir James!" the fat merchant smiled broadly "It is done though the jeweler still has to close it properly. Do you have the measurement?"

"Right here" James said triumphantly bringing out the knotted string and handing it to the bewildered man "Can you have it ready tomorrow morning at the latest?"

Marlowe looked at the string and nodded "It's a little larger than I thought but yes we can seal and polish it this afternoon. It's to be a wristlet of some sort?" he asked curiously.

"You shall find out soon enough Master Merchant" James chuckled "Its for a lady and has cost me the remainder of my funds for some time so no trying to extort more"

Marlowe looked offended "My lord I'd sooner sell one of my five daughters than attempt to defraud you"

"It was six daughters last time"

"I've been a lucky man my lord" Marlowe said with a wide grin that displayed his atrocious dentition "you shall have your item this time tomorrow and of good quality gold too"

James nodded "the lady in question is very particular, has a good eye for metals and would be most put out if bronze were mixed with the gold"

Marlowe gulped, his throat bobbing like a float in a stream "I shall make sure the jeweler knows this sir"

James grinned and nodded "Just so long as we understand one another"

He saluted the merchant and made his way down towards the mess.

Nokala and Marre sat dejectedly on their loungers. Each had a tankard of strong wine beside them.

"So the Clanmaster is upset?" asked Marre once more.

"I'd go so far as to say he was livid with rage" Nokala sighed taking a deep draught from his tankard. "He gave me a migraine that lasted an hour"

Marre's talon scraped along the surface of the lounger "We have a day to prepare James for the ceremony. Do you think he will fear the bonding?"

Nokala grimaced and stroked his chin with a paw "It is hard to say what will happen as we know little of human's and how they will react in any situation" he shrugged slowly.

"All we know that is soon as he is ... injured his magic will reveal itself to the clan and then we will really see sparks fly"

Marre shuddered and took a swallow "I have also run into a quandary" he admitted slowly "I hesitate to test James too soon as I have no idea of his reactions. We shall have to be very very careful. I want you here to help damp down any adverse responses that may develop"

Nokala coughed as some wine went down the wrong way "Me? You think you can't cope with it?"

The old blue dragon shrugged offhandedly "I don't know yet. Better safe than sorry. I have to show him how to read runes and put him to work and learn his mind before we can take the next step. Does he know of the exchange of gifts?"

Nokala nodded "Yes. I believe he has something in mind. What are we going to give him in return if he isn't ready for the scale yet?"

Marre grinned and leaned over "Moona!" Nokala twitched as his ears still rang a little.

The elf ran swiftly over to the pair of relaxing dragons "Master?"

"Ahh good... glad to see you have gotten over your little fit of pique" Marre chuckled as he looked over the elf "Go and get me the locater medallion"

Moona flushed at the comment then nodded and raced off into the huge storeroom. The two dragons sipped their drinks and waited until he returned with the medallion in question "here you are master. It needs a bit of a clean."

Marre looked down at the dusty amulet "Then give it a good polish lad" he rumbled. "That will do as a gift. As well as being attractive it will let us keep an eye on our latest clan member. He seems to have a knack for getting into trouble"

Moona nodded "He sure does Master." The elf grinned and ran out of the room before he got into trouble for being cheeky.

Nokala hid a smile at Marre's expression "If you think Moona is bad. How will James do as a famulus?"

Marre took a deep drink from the tankard, draining it. "You have to keep reminding me don't you".

James walked into the mess and the buzz of conversation died off rapidly as he stood there. He shook his head walked over to the nearest table to sit next to Jack.

"So, Jack. What did you think of Cill?" he asked with a grin.

Jack blinked "She is impressive" he said with a grin "How did you catch and tame her though?"

James coughed "Um... it's a long story".

The others at the table leaned in eagerly wanting to hear as well.

Flushing James told a carefully edited version of how he had met her and what had happened. He watched their expressions as he told of Nokala and the startled glances as they realized that the dragons could look like humans too.

"So she's not tame? One voice piped up from the other end of the table.

"I'll answer questions later on when you've all had time to think on the facts. Anyone who wants to meet Cill can do so when they want to. She wants to get to know other humans as well"

James looked over at Eric as he said this. The novice hunched sullenly over his meal.

"She wont harm or eat anyone "He assured them as he slowly stood up.

It was almost midday and he wanted to be ready for his first lesson with Marre. He wasn't sure what to expect as his magic hadn't made an appearance since the night he was tortured.

"I'll bring her out later on as well. She wants to look round the keep and learn what goes on" he added to the ring of pale faces staring up at him

"What...like out in the bailey?" the nervous glances were obvious now.

James nodded "She can't stay cooped up all day you know... it makes her nervous"

He favoured the group with a broad grin and walked out the door. Only one more thing to do before leaving for Marre's

Walking slowly down the hill he was aware of the stares and hushed comments from the merchants and workers. Rumour obviously went through the keep like prunes through an elderly grandmother. He would have to deal with it.

He looked up at his destination. The small chapel had its door closed and he pushed gently on it. It gave under the pressure and walking in quietly he looked around. He felt this wasn't going to be pleasant but it had to be done.

Walking to the rear of the chapel he found a small door that looked like it was attached to a room. Gathering his courage he gave a tentative knock.

"Who's there?' came the faint voice of the priest. James fought off the urge to say 'the man you tortured the other night" and instead coughed and said "It's me father, James"

There was an abiding, deep silence from the door and James fancied he could hear the clatter of icons and amulets.

"Father I mean no harm. May I come and talk?"

The silence deepened for a moment and then a quavering sigh came through "I suppose so. I can't stop you it seems"

James rolled his eyes at this and pushed the door open. The pale form of the priest was buried under a warm pile of bedclothes and surrounded by amulets and crosses.

The man clasped a cross to his breast as if he expected James to sprout horns and a tail in front of him. "So you come to gloat at me then? The evil power that you unleashed on me has left me weak as a kitten"

James sighed and sat on the edge of the bed "No father, I would remind you that you were the one who attacked me first though"

"What have you done to Duncan? He has said you wish to mate with a beast in our chapel in an unholy union"

James sighed "Cill is not a beast" he got the impression he would be repeating that a lot soon. "She is a dragoness and intelligent and proud. As for the mating, well... you're a little late there"

The priest's knuckles went white round the cross he gripped "you have coupled with the beast already?" his eyes wide and staring.

"Yes father... and more than once I might add. Her father has given his blessings and her mother seems to have accepted it too though there was initial reluctance on her part"

James strangely felt no reluctance in telling the priest the news of his mating with Cill. The man needed to be jolted out of his stupor and the sooner the better.

"I am to be joined with her clan tomorrow evening and soon after that I would like to have a ceremony here"

The priest tried to sit up but coughed and slumped back

"Never... I shall not allow it. The coupling of a demon and a dragon in my church? No .." he coughed again and fumbled for the water at the side of the bed.

James leant over and held the tankard to the priests lips "I'm not a demon Father and Cill is no ordinary dragoness. I do have power now but I am learning to control it and use it for good. How can I prove this to you?"

The priest drank deeply and fell back into his pillow, his rheumy eyes fastened on James face. "It's not too late lad. I can still save you if you mortify the flesh and renounce the devil"

James sighed and gently pried the cross from the priest's fingers. "Very well"

He held the cross to his chest and leaned down so the priest could see "I swear I shall use my power for good only and renounce Satan and his agents. I so swear I am no demon and the union of the dragons and humans shall be to the benefit of all"

The priests face went slack as he heard the honesty in James's voice and raising a weak hand, laid it on his shoulder "thank you my son. I shall think on this. Please ...forgive my earlier overzealousness."

The hand fell away as the priest slipped into sleep. James covered him with a blanket and tiptoed out with a grin on his face.

* * * * *

Cill was getting impatient and pacing the room as James walked back in.

"Don't wear a track in the floor" he chuckled as he walked up to her and hugged round her neck.

Cill purred and licked him tenderly "I don't want Marre thinking you are always going to be late. Many dragons would give their upper fangs to be taught by him"

James grinned evilly and let his fingers tease her breasts "I can always say you held me up" he gave the nipples a gentle tweak.

Cill gasped and her ruffs flushed with heat "you wouldn't!" her talons were suddenly pricking at his rump.

"Mmmaybe..." murred James as he nipped her neck before ducking out of her grasp and running towards the travel portal.

"Well... aren't you coming?" he said standing on the circle with a raised eyebrow.

Cill growled and ran towards him with her paws outstretched "Not yet...But I'd better later on"

James gasped as he found himself lifted up to look her in the eye "behave yourself with Marre or he'll turn you into a pig for a few days"

James leaned forward and kissed her on the snout "Can he really do that?"

Cill nodded "Easily"

James swallowed "how easy is he to annoy"

Cill smirked "you'll find that out when you find yourself with four legs in the mud"

She put him down gently and after a brief yellow flash the room was empty.

Moona polished the amulet slowly, removing the years of grime. He shouldn't have to put up with this but the arrangement with the dragons went back many centuries. He was an elf prince though and all they seemed to want to do was humiliate him. He was bright enough to realize this had a purpose as elves did have a high opinion of themselves. The amulet shone nicely and the ruby in the centre glowed brightly as he admired it.

A shame to waste it on a human he thought then felt ashamed. James had shown himself to have honor and courage, it wasn't their fault they only lived short lives. He buffed the gold mounting and checked the spell was still functioning properly. They would be able to trace the human anywhere with this amulet as well as being able to talk from a greater distance as it acted as an amplifier.

Feeling the travel spell charge in the main room he dropped the amulet down his front and walked in just in time to see Cill and the human appear. Cill grinned broadly and walked over to hug the elf warmly "Hello Moona!"

James looked surprised as his mate hugged the diminutive being "Hello Moona" he said "I think you made a nice horse"

Moona grinned and walked over to shake James's hand "I hate being a horse... carrots make me sick now"

"You never used to eat them before anyway" an amused thought came from above as Marre and Nokala both entered the room.

"How'd you know that?" said an indignant Moona as he stared up at them.

"Your mother told me" Marre smirked. "She said you never liked your vegetables and that I was to make sure you ate plenty of them"

Moona flushed and muttered to himself quietly

"What was that?" said Marre sharply, the dragon's ears straining forward.

"Nothing master" the chastened elf said and looked to Cill for help.

Cill took the hint and spoke up "have you had any idea of the extent of James's power Elder Marre?"

Marre harrumphed and let his gaze slide from Moona to Cill "not yet, has it manifested again since that night?"

James shook his head "nothing Elder Marre. I've no idea how to use it"

Marre leant down and cocked his head in front of James "As you are to be my apprentice from now on you shall refer to me as Master or Master Marre. Do you understand?"

James swallowed "Yes Master Marre"

Marre nodded appreciatively "Good, the cleaning equipment is in the closet. Moona can show you where" he turned to Cill "let us go and see about your runes while your mate cleans"

James took a breath but caught Moona's eye and almost imperceptible headshake. Cill also seemed to ignore him as the dragons went into the workshop.

Moona came over and took him by the arm "Don't worry... he is always like this. Just remember to ask questions when he is teaching you as he loves to test others"

James followed the elf to the supply room where he was presented with a broom "he hates dust in the corners and spiders... though save the live ones as he can use them in his potions"

James looked at the broom with distaste but he would play along. "How long have you been an apprentice Moona" he asked while sweeping along the flagstones

"About twenty years or so "the elf replied as he went back to sorting scrolls "I'm almost finished though and that's where you come in"

James looked at the broom "I'm going to be doing this for twenty years?"

He felt a cold shiver at the thought.

"Perhaps, maybe longer if you can't learn fast. You do need to learn though. The power isn't to be trifled with and you can end up doing serious damage if it unleashed with no control"

James swept slowly along the floor, sniffling at the dust, scales and debris "so the elves are born with the power like the dragons?"

Moona nodded "Yes. We don't know how a human is going to cope. Especially with your short life spans"

James nodded "That is going to be a problem... I may get twenty or thirty years with Cill before I'm too old to prevent her from being taken away from me by another dragon" he gave a sigh.

Moona grinned "That is far more than any other human has ever experienced. Though I must warn you that a few dragons are very unhappy and they will probably try to kill you"

James nodded "So I hear, though Nokala said they don't know where to find us and that is all that is keeping us safe for now"

Moona tried to keep the sudden look of horror from showing on his face as he realized he had compromised not only James's life but Cill's as well. He had to warn Shalla quickly lest she tell the wrong dragon and endanger them all.

"I-I'll be back in a bit...just don't touch anything you don't know about ok?" he stammered and ran out the small door towards his quarters.

James shrugged and went back to sweeping the floor as he waited for Marre to return.

* * * *

Cill wandered with Marre and her father through the workshop wondering what he had in mind "What are you up to Marre?" she asked somewhat timidly.

"I have to find out how much power your mate has Cill. He needs to understand how to call on it and control it and that's where you come in. how good are you at acting?"

"What do you mean?" Cill asked curiously as they reached the far wall of the workshop.

"I need him to think you are in peril as I'm hoping it will trigger his power. The lad has already been through enough himself of late"

Cill frowned "You want me to pretend to be in danger so you can see him panic and how he reacts? That's not fair on him Marre"

Marre made shushing motions with his paws "I know. But if he can't release the power himself I can see no other way!"

Cill looked at him doubtfully; her eye ridges furrowed "Have you even asked him to try?"

Marre looked dubious "Well, I did have one other idea..."

Cill looked at her father, he shrugged and went to sit in the far corner where he could watch patiently.

* * * *

Moona slammed the door after him as he ran into his room, the elf frantically trying to reach Shalla to warn her.

"Oh what is it?" she demanded after he had finally managed to reach her.

"Who have you told about Cill's new home?" he asked bluntly.

Back in her home Shalla jerked upright. What did he suspect? She pretended nonchalance and examined her claws as she responded.

"Oh a couple of others... why?"

Moona groaned loudly and Shalla suddenly felt a twinge of concern "Why do you want to know?"

"It's a secret" Moona said as he paced round his room "You might have compromised her safety and that of her mate"

"Oh pooh, she can look after herself" Shalla snorted, contempt in her tone.

"Not when several dragons have made it clear they will kill them once they find them Shalla" Moona replied quietly.

"But she's a dragon!" exclaimed the shocked dragoness "They wouldn't dare"

"They would Shalla. Go and find those you've told and swear them to secrecy with the most powerful oath you can think of. If it's not already too late"

By now Shalla was getting scared. It was one thing to sneak out and look at humans but getting involved in a possible clan war was something she most dearly wanted to avoid.

"All right, I'll do it. But I want to meet this human sometime and see what all the fuss is about"

Shalla kept the thoughts of visiting the keep out of her thoughtstream though... that wouldn't hurt anyone surely.

Moona nodded with relief "thank you Shalla, James will be working here most afternoons. Why don't you drop in? Preferably when Cill isn't around. She is very protective of him" Moona sweated at the thought of the spoilt dragoness showing up at the wrong time.

Shalla took the hint "That's a good idea. I'm curious as to what it is she sees in him"

Moona broke the contact and leaned against the wall in relief. Perhaps he had managed to stop the calamity after all.

Shalla swiftly got into contact with Gergid and Eriga and made them swear not to tell any other dragon's of their knowledge. The pair agreed readily as they weren't going to tell their parents anything of where they would be going the following night.

Shalla leaned back in her bed and purred to herself. She would take a look at this monkey and then go and see the rest of them. Perhaps one would make a good pet.

* * * *

James heard his name called from the workshop and he dropped the broom to go and see what Eld... Master Marre wanted. He mentally corrected himself as he didn't think the dragon would take kindly to mistakes.

Walking into the workshop he saw Cill lying on a lounger in the corner and a nervous looking Marre by a large table "Well James, We need to try and see if you can use your power. Are you ready to give it a go?"

James looked round slowly "Yes Master. Though I don't know what you want me to do"

Marre pulled out a scroll and peered at it "first things first. I like my workshop and don't want you destroying it so we need to isolate you"

James didn't know what the word 'isolate' meant but it didn't sound fun. "Er...What shall I do?"

The old blue waved a hand at a cleared space in the middle of the room "Stand there and be still for now" unrolling the scroll he ran a talon down it until he found the spell he was looking for.

"Ah here we are... 'Inverse sphere of shielding' "he raised a paw and intoned several words that James found rasping and hard on the ears. Suddenly he was floating several inches above the floor in a bobbing transparent blue bubble.

"Er..." he began as he reached out to poke the wall of the bubble. It felt hard and slippery. "Is this supposed to happen?" he took a step and slid onto his knees, sending the bubble moving towards a wall where it rebounded slowly after striking

"Oh stay still" said Marre with impatience as he guided the bubble back to the center of the room "now...extend your hand and try and get out".

James curled his hand into a fist and punched the wall of the bubble. He achieved nothing more than painfully hurting his knuckles. Marre shook his head slowly "Not like that. Try and remember the feeling you had when you were hurt"

James paled at the memory of the red hot poker and felt a surge of anger towards the priest despite having forgiven the man. There was an imperceptible flicker of yellow around his hand. Marre looked at Cill and shared a quick mental shrug on a private channel.

"More" he urged the novice "Imagine yourself in danger...trapped and unable to help Cill as you run out of air"

James blinked and suddenly felt an angry rush of heat at this thought. He was trapped and couldn't get out! He pushed at the wall frantically and his hand burst into yellow flame, the gold reflecting from the wall as he struggled with it. He felt no pain but the bubble was not giving!

Marre watched him clinically. There was no denying the lad had power. He could feel it feeding back into the spell. He hoped it would hold as he urged the novice on.

"That's it James. Try and get out... Cill needs your help"

Feeling his other hand burst into light James pressed it against the bubble wall, bolts of mana crackled along the wall swiftly seeking the weak points in the spell construct.

"Gooood" Marre said appreciatively as he saw the human try and find the seam of the spell "remember the feeling of the power and learn it...you can shape it and command it"

James was sweating now in the bubble and rivulets ran into his eyes, making him squint as he pushed harder, there... he had it! A weakness in the crafting surely left due to the speed of its making. He felt it as a rip in the wall and using his glowing hands widened it until it the bubble sundered apart, dropping him to the floor gasping for breath.

Cill picked him up and hugged him as Marre applauded quietly "Well done Apprentice. I shall look forward to seeing how you learn"

Cill offered James a drink and he took it gratefully "I could feel it Master Marre. I don't understand it but I think I could do it again now"

He turned his hand palm up and thought about the feeling once more. The blast of energy flashed from his palm and incinerated several hanging skeletons and hundreds of resident spiders. He flushed and looked up at Marre, embarrassment on his face.

Marre shook his head and reached over to place his huge paw over James hand "and that... my apprentice is why you will only use it when instructed to" he let out a chuckle. "After fifty or sixty years I may trust you enough to let you try a few things out on your own"

Cill gave a giggle and licked James slowly on the neck "That's enough for one day I think" she murred "I hope you aren't too tired"

James leaned against her "I'll have to see...I know tomorrow will be busy as well..."

Cill purred "Uhuh...I'm going to show you off to the whole clan"

Marre covered his snout with a paw, trying not to let his expression show.

In the far corner the invisible Nokala also shook his head at the naiveté of the pair.