A Portal for Your Thoughts Read online

  Cecil belched again as they rose to their feet. Torya, busy tending the fire in the hearth which still had half the roast spitted across it, paused to look back at them.

  “Is it time, then?”

  Selwyn nodded. “Aye. I will go fetch Aislinn.”

  “I will help you prepare her,” Torya informed him. She handed the poker to Steve as she walked by him. “Can you be certain the fire doesn’t burn the meat? I’m going to make a lovely stew with it for later today.”

  “I personally guarantee those flames won’t get any higher,” Steve assured her. He cast a speculative eye at the fire that was starting to creep up towards the haunch of meat. Seconds later the flames shied away from the spitted roast as though it was afraid of it and settled back down.

  Selwyn appeared in the doorway leading to the back of the house. He was cradling a large bundle of blankets in his arms. Torya appeared and started fussing with the blankets.

  “You’ll need to rest every thirty minutes,” she told her husband. “Aislinn mustn’t over exert herself. She really shouldn’t be out of bed.”

  “We’ve been over this,” Selwyn told her curtly. “She’ll be fine. She’s going to have the time of her life.”

  “Perhaps I should accompany you to –”

  “That would arouse suspicion,” Selwyn told her as he shook his head. “If all of us are seen leaving this house at the same time then people are going to wonder what’s going on. Our neighbors know Aislinn is unwell. No, we must be discreet.”

  “Then give her to me.”

  Surprised, Selwyn and Torya turned to Cecil, who was holding out his arms.

  “Give her to me,” Cecil repeated. “If Selwyn goes outside like that then people will think he’s holding his daughter. They’re never going to believe that a complete stranger would be holding her. It would arouse less suspicion this way.”

  Selwyn hesitated.

  “It would only be until we’re away from here,” Steve softly added. “Then you could take her back.”

  Selwyn nodded. “Very well. Cecil, is it? Do be careful. Try not to move the blankets. She cannot maintain her body heat the way we can.”

  Steve approached the blankets.

  “She’s cold? May I?”

  “May you what?” Torya wanted to know.

  Steve leaned over Selwyn’s shoulder and peered into the depths of the blankets. He saw an elfin face looking back at him with wide, alert eyes. The tiny thin girl was shivering but at least she smiled at him. Steve returned the smile.

  “Aislinn, would you like to be warmer?”

  The girl gave a perceptible nod.

  “Remove most of those blankets,” Steve told Aislinn’s parents.

  “But she’ll freeze!” Torya protested. She looked to her husband for support. Selwyn had a curious look on his face as he studied the tall human.

  “Let’s get some of these blankets off of her.”

  Torya frowned, but complied. Once all but two of the blankets had been removed Steve laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder and ordered his jhorun to warm the blankets and to maintain the heat. Selwyn grunted with surprise as it suddenly felt like the blankets he was holding had been warming by the fire for hours.

  Steve leaned back over to see how Aislinn was faring. The girl was all smiles and, most importantly, not shivering.

  “Better?”

  He heard the faintest of whispers.

  “Aye. Thank you.”

  Selwyn gingerly handed his daughter to Cecil, who smiled down at the tiny girl. He held her to his chest and nodded his readiness. Selwyn picked up his battle axe and flipped it neatly around his back to hook it in its holder. He slid several daggers into place, slung his water bag across his chest, and then turned to see if everyone else was ready, which they were.

  Once they had made it away from the city’s center and were approaching Borahgg’s outskirts Selwyn finally asked Cecil to return his daughter to him. Only when they were all climbing the stairs leading Topside did Selwyn start to speak.

  “You’re going to love this,” Selwyn was telling his daughter. “No dwarf has ever ridden on the back of a dragon. You are going to be the first, little princess.”

  “What is the dragon’s name?” Aislinn asked. “I must know what to call her.”

  “Her name is Pryllan,” Steve answered as he turned to look down at the small girl in Selwyn’s arms.

  “Doesn’t that hurt?” Aislinn’s soft voice asked.

  “Does what hurt?” Steve asked as he glanced back down at the tiny underling.

  “Your hands. They’re burning. Does it hurt?”

  “Nope. I could make it look as though my hair was on fire and it wouldn’t hurt me. I can control fire.”

  “Can you walk through fire?”

  Steve grinned. “Yes.”

  “Can you hold a burning log and not be hurt?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you spit fire?”

  “Like a dragon? No.”

  “Can you stick your hand in a burning fire and –”

  “Aislinn,” Selwyn groaned. “You don’t need to pester him with all these questions.”

  “It’s okay,” Steve assured the dwarf as he looked down at the girl. He winked at her. Aislinn smiled and winked back.

  Once they were all standing Topside Steve called for Pryllan. When she failed to acknowledge his call he started to worry. Had she changed her mind? Had Kahvel decreed that she couldn’t carry the dwarf child?

  Pryllan? Can you hear me?

  “What’s going on?” Cecil wanted to know.

  “I’m calling her and she isn’t responding. I don’t know what’s happened to her.”

  “Perhaps she’s already here?” a female voice suggested.

  Steve smiled as he turned to survey the area. He knew that voice. It was Pryllan! What was she disguised as this time?

  Nearby a large grass covered hill began shimmering, as though it was throwing off massive heat waves. Steve shook his head. It still amazed him to see how flawlessly a dragon could camouflage itself. The grassy hill, Steve noted, had blended seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. It actually looked like the extra hill belonged there.

  The hill shimmered a few more times before the illusion was dropped. Pryllan had been curled up in an almost fetal position. No doubt she had been napping while she was waiting. She stretched out her forelegs while simultaneously extending her wings to give them a good stretch. She gave her head a final shake before she eyed the four of them.

  Cecil whistled with admiration. Pryllan was a vibrant emerald green color. Every one of her scales practically glowed in the bright sunshine. Two spiraled horns protruded from her skull and were trained on them as the dragon studied their small group. Steve grinned as he looked at Cecil’s shocked face. He knew full well what it felt like to see a live dragon for the first time. The sight had taken his breath away. He shot a quick glance over at Selwyn. The dwarf was no different.

  Pryllan was only marginally smaller than the last time he had seen her, back in his own time. However, that didn’t make her any less formidable. She was, as far as Lentarian dragons go, huge in comparison to a human. Her talons were easily two feet long and he could sit comfortably on her palm. When on all fours Pryllan stood nearly twenty feet high and if she were to rear up on her hind legs and stretch out her neck she could easily triple that height. Each wing, when extended, was at least twenty five feet long, making her more than sixty feet wide from wingtip to wingtip. Steve knew there were many dragons much larger that she was, but he also knew there were dragons much smaller, such as the two-headed zweigelans.

  Pryllan brought her long graceful neck down to the ground so that she could see them up close. She moved to each person and gave them a cursory sniff. Her eyes remained on Selwyn longer than the others as she gently nudged the bundle he was holding with the tip of her nose.

  Aislinn extended a thin arm out of her blankets and held it away from her father. Pryllan f
licked her tongue, barely grazing the child’s skin. The dwarf girl squealed with delight when she had felt the dragon’s hot tongue briefly make contact with her own skin.

  “Welcome, young one,” Pryllan began as she raised her neck back up to a comfortable level. “I understand you wish to go for a ride?”

  The bundle Selwyn was holding gently shook as Aislinn nodded her head as strongly as she could. Pryllan’s gaze shifted to Selwyn. The dwarf gently laid his daughter down on the grass and turned to face the dragon. He reverently dropped to one knee.

  “I know not why you agreed to this, dragon,” Selwyn began.

  “Her name is Pryllan,” Steve reminded him.

  “My apologies. Pryllan, I don’t know why you agreed to this but I hereby swear, in front of you and these witnesses, that I will do whatever I can to repay your kindness. I am forever indebted to you for making this happen.”

  Noticing that the bright sunlight was shining directly into Aislinn’s face Pryllan extended her wings and provided some shade.

  “Are you fully aware of what’s going to happen once you place your daughter on my back?”

  “If you’re asking me if I was aware of this life debt then no, I wasn’t. This is Aislinn’s wish, not mine.”

  “And now that you are?”

  “I have spoken with my wife about this. Until you have a child and see her in pain then you can never imagine what it’s like to sit idly by, like an underling, and be able to do nothing. Now there’s a chance. I don’t like the idea of Aislinn having any type of debt hanging over her head but I also will say that I have faith in my new friends here. We will find a way to absolve this debt, isn’t that right Steve? Cecil?”

  Steve cringed at the same time Cecil gulped noisily. They eyed each other and both approached the dragon.

  “I promised you before, Pryllan, that we will do whatever it takes to absolve this shachar thingamajig. I meant it.”

  Pryllan looked down at the girl wrapped in the blankets before returning her attention to Selwyn.

  “What does your daughter have to say about this? Is this something that she wants?”

  Steve turned to look down at the frail girl who was now struggling to sit upright. With her father’s help she shrugged off the blankets and looked up, adoringly, at Pryllan.

  “Father explained it. I would gladly agree to this. I love all dragons.”

  Well? Steve mentally asked Pryllan. Satisfied?

  I do hope you know what you’re doing. I was unable to find any additional details about how to break a shachar without repaying the debt. There just haven’t been enough recorded shachars and the circumstances surrounding their creation. There was no mention of any shachar being broken, let alone absolved.

  And you’re certain one is about to be created?

  Look at the child. She is weak; frail. Her condition will not allow her to survive another season.

  Then let’s do this.

  Very well.

  How soon before Aislinn will be cured?

  Unknown. I have never done this before. Will you put her on my back?

  Sure.

  Steve walked over to where the little dwarf girl sat on the grass. He knelt down and smiled at her.

  “Ready to make a dream come true?”

  Aislinn enthusiastically nodded. Steve blinked a few times. Did it look as though Selwyn’s daughter was getting her strength back? He seemed to recall that she had struggled to even smile at him when he had first met her. Now she couldn’t stop smiling as she gazed adoringly up at Pryllan. She was sitting upright, unattended, and didn’t appear to be in any pain. Steve smiled. The dwarf girl’s smile was contagious.

  “Selwyn, would you help her up onto Pryllan’s back?”

  Aislinn’s father started to move the blankets off of his daughter when he gripped one tightly and looked up at Steve.

  “The blankets are still warm. How is that possible?”

  Steve snapped his fingers.

  “Right. I forgot about that. I’ll let them cool off now.”

  Within seconds the blankets’ warmth receded. Selwyn shook his head.

  “Incredible.”

  He gently picked his daughter up and turned to face Pryllan. Selwyn paused. He looked up at the dragon’s imposing figure and looked over at Steve.

  “I, er, uh… I don’t think I can climb up there while holding my daughter.”

  “Would you like me to place her up there?”

  “Please.”

  Steve approached Selwyn and held out his arms.

  “Aislinn, would you allow me to carry you?”

  The dwarf girl shyly nodded. Selwyn passed her to him and then stepped back. Steve straightened. He could barely feel he was holding anything as the little girl was so light in his arms. He stepped up onto Pryllan’s tail and carefully picked his way along her back until he was at the large flat scale at the junction of her two wings near the base of her neck that had served as his seat in the past. Future. Whatever.

  Steve paused. He had placed Aislinn down onto the scale and had immediately noticed that her legs were swinging freely. She couldn’t touch Pryllan’s back. Steve eyed the mass of scales on either side of where Aislinn was sitting and frowned. There was no way this girl would have the strength to hold on while Pryllan was in flight. Someone was going to have to go with her. He felt Pryllan’s concern.

  What’s the matter?

  This girl is tiny. There’s no way she’s going to be able to hold on while you’re flying. She barely had the strength to hold on to me while I was carrying her.

  Someone will have to accompany her. Perhaps her father?

  I don’t know about the dwarves in this time, Steve began dryly, but all of them from my time, save their kids, suffer from acrophobia. They’re afraid of heights. I’m pretty sure Selwyn is going to be the same.

  At least give him the benefit of the doubt.

  Alright, I will. Have you ever seen a dwarf’s face turn green? Watch this.

  “Hey Selwyn, we’re going to need you to come up here.”

  The dwarf’s eyes widened in shock.

  “Whatever for?”

  “Aislinn is too small to ride alone. She’s going to fall off if there isn’t someone here to hold on to her. That should be you. So come on up here so we can get you situated.”

  Selwyn’s face drained of color.

  “I, er, ride a dragon? Up in the sky?” His voice cracked and came out as a high pitched squeak when he said ‘sky’. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I, uh, don’t think I’d be the best person for that. Ummm…” He slapped a hand over his mouth and spoke no more.

  You’re right. It looks as though he’s about to be sick.

  Told you.

  Were you correct in your earlier assessment? Will the child fall off if she rides alone?

  Yes. She’s too weak. There’s no way she could hold on.

  Then you must ride with her.

  Me? It ought to be her father with her.

  I really don’t want him to soil my scales, which you and I both know will happen if we press the issue.

  Steve chuckled.

  Very well. I’ll ride behind her.

  Perhaps you should ask the father’s opinion?

  Right.

  “Selwyn, would you like me to accompany her? I can keep her safe.”

  The dwarf apparently didn’t feel he could trust what would come out of his mouth if he moved his hand away so he just gave him a quick nod of his head. Steve turned to look down at Aislinn, who looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

  “Would you mind some company for this ride? I guarantee you won’t be cold.”

  Again, the girl gave him a shy nod of her head. He gently lowered himself into position behind her and gently wrapped an arm around the girl. He could feel that the girl was growing cold so he increased his jhorun to help keep her warm for the duration of their flight. Steve leaned to his left and gave Pryllan’s back a friendly pat.

&nb
sp; “Ready when you are.”

  “Did you just pat me like you would a horse?”

  Steve smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”

  “Where will you be taking them?” Selwyn managed to ask.

  Steve twisted to his right to look down at the ground. Aislinn spotted her father and turned to wave at him.

  “Feeling alright there, buddy?” Steve asked. The dwarf still looked incredibly pale.

  “I’ll live. There’s a reason a dwarf’s legs are so short. We’re meant to be close to the ground.”

  “I think Aislinn would disagree with you.”

  “Where are you planning on taking them?” Selwyn asked again, addressing the dragon.

  Pryllan’s enormous head swung around until it was oriented on the lone dwarf standing in the grass.

  “Wherever the wind takes us.”

  With that her muscles bunched together and launched her straight up, over a hundred feet. Pryllan snapped her wings open and began pumping her wings, gaining altitude frighteningly fast. A few seconds later the dragon and her riders had disappeared into the clouds.

  Chapter 11 – An Ardent Admirer

  “Is the town much different in the future? Are there just as many people living in your time as there are now? What can you tell me about places to shop? I love to see what goods and services people have to offer. It’s my favorite pastime.”

  Sarah smiled. She had persuaded Cora to make a trip into town so that they could see for themselves how well their ruse had worked. Ever since Cora had learned she’d be going into town with another female she hadn’t stopped talking. She had barely paused to take a breath. Sarah had only wanted to know if the people were talking about the events of last night. Had they been properly frightened? What part scared them the most? Was it her ghosts? Were they planning on avoiding the manor in the future? She had to know!

  Sarah had offered to teleport the two of them into town but Cora had something else in mind. She then surprised Sarah by bridling one of their three horses and guiding the mare over to her and Luther’s buckboard. With Sarah’s help they pulled out the oval padded collar and gently placed it around the horse’s neck. Using skills she thought she’d never have but have since acquired after living in the old west for the past six months, Sarah helped Cora harness the horse to the wagon. Tying the animal to the hitching post rather than climbing up into the wagon to set the brake, Cora then retreated inside the manor and changed into her finest attire.