The Sorceress and her Lovers Read online

  Hsrandtuss slapped his knee and hissed.

  “What an idiot. He brought coal.”

  He turned toward his second wife, expecting her to ask why coal was not an acceptable gift, but she was busy avoiding Sszaxxanna’s fist. He looked around for someone to address and found his sixth wife, Kendra.

  “The humans want coal, but the amount he could bring in that box can’t be worth more than a few copper coins.”

  Kendra nodded knowingly.

  “This is just a sample, Great Yessonar,” shouted Tokkentott, as if he had heard his rival. “I have brought the equivalent of 500 of these boxes.”

  Hsrandtuss sucked in air at the extravagance, but Yessonar did not seem impressed. If anything he looked bored. His tail whipped around and he reached up a clawed hand to scratch his whiskers.

  “Uh… that’s not all either,” said Tokkentott. “We will bring you more. You shall have all the black rock you want.”

  “That is very nice. That really is splendid,” said the dragon without enthusiasm. “Thank you.”

  The king of Hiikhuu slumped his shoulders and led his warriors back up to the rest of the embassy from his village. His place was taken by Szisz. The king of Suusiss was painted in his war paint and was decorated with utahraptor feathers. He crossed his arms and looked up the huge dragon.

  “I have brought you no gift,” he said with a sneer in his voice. “You are a false god.”

  “How dare you!” shouted Hsrandtuss.

  Tistakha jumped to his feet. “I will kill you with my bare hands!” His warriors jumped up and down, baring their claws.

  Both Zsackass and Tokkentott were equally enraged. Only Hakheekh remained calm, though some of his people certainly looked uncomfortable.

  “Silence,” said the god, his demeanor sedate, though his voice still boomed through the open air. When relative calm returned, he looked at Szisz and spoke. “Go in peace.”

  With a sneer, Szisz turned and marched up the steps to the exit. His warriors fell in line behind him.

  “Have him followed,” whispered Hsrandtuss to Sszaxxanna. “I want to know everywhere that offspring of an addled egg goes and everything he does.”

  “Tistakha, come forward,” said Yessonar. “How good it is to see you again.”

  Tistakha waited until the last of those from Suusiss were out of sight before he stepped down in front of Yessonar.

  “Hail, God of the Sky.”

  “You have come quite a distance, Tistakha.”

  “All for your glory, Yessonar, and I have brought gifts.”

  He waved to his gathered people and three warriors brought forth a large bundle. Laying it on the ground, they began unfolding a huge skin. It was flat black and almost large enough for the dragon to wear as a coat. It was a tyrannosaurus skin that had been tanned and then prepared by having females, probably a dozen or more, of them chew on it until it was soft and supple.

  Hsrandtuss let out a low whistle.

  “A great gift,” said Tokkenoht.

  The dragon lifted his long serpentine neck and moved his head over the skin, examining it carefully. Every so often, his forked tongue shot out to touch it.

  “This is very well done,” he said. “What shall I do with it, do you suppose?”

  “Anything you wish,” said Tistakha quickly. “I have several females who can cut and stitch it if you wish. It can be made into clothing. It can be mounted on a wall. It can be cut into squares, stitched together, and filled with feathers.”

  “Pillows,” said the dragon. “Yes, I could use some of those. And maybe a satchel, so I can carry things with me. Wonderful. Wonderful.”

  “It shall be done, God of the Sky,” said Tistakha, waving for his warriors to roll the skin back up.

  He turned and marched back up to join his people, his dewlap flushing bright with pride.

  Hsrandtuss didn’t wait to be invited down. He immediately marched to stand directly in front of the steel dragon’s massive head.

  “Great Yessonar, I have come…”

  Suddenly the great shining body rose to its feet. Two massive wings spread out wide enough to blot out the sun. The tail, tipped with a razor-sharp barb, whipped through the air. A great mouth opened and a few sparks shot out, floating to the ground before dying on the stone floor. Then just as suddenly, the dragon plopped back down. He closed his mouth and ran his huge, clawed fingers through his whiskers. Then suddenly his attention was back on the king of Hiissierra.

  “My old friend Hsrandtuss. It is good to see you again.”

  “Great Yessonar.”

  “Is it true that you have six wives and that you’ve brought them all with you to see me?” asked the dragon. “I should have expected something like that from you, but still… six seems quite excessive.”

  “It’s not excessive. Khassna had fifty wives and mated with hundreds of females.”

  “You see yourself as another Khassna?”

  Hsrandtuss stopped for a moment, then continued, carefully choosing his words. “Khassna was evil. He was on the wrong side of things. He was a poor king. But he was a great warrior and he was loyal to his god.”

  “Well said,” commented Yessonar. “Well, let me see your wives then.”

  The king waved his wives toward him without looking back. They formed a line to his left.

  “This is Sszaxxanna and Ssu and…”

  “Yes, I remember these two from my visit to your village.”

  “My third wife is Szakhandu. She is from great Tsahloose, from a noble house.”

  “Did you buy her, or was it part of an alliance?” asked the dragon.

  “Both,” replied Hsrandtuss. “Her family is well connected in their city but are not as wealthy as they once were. They were happy to have her married to a wild male, so long as he had trade relations with the humans. Next to her is Tokkenoht. I stole her from Hiikhuu.”

  He looked over his shoulder at Tokkentott, who was silently fuming.

  “A female witch-doctor?” wondered the dragon. “Curious.”

  “Then there is Sirris. She comes from Tserich and knows much trade and speaks many lizzie dialects. Finally, there is Kendra.”

  “Oh, I know her too, don’t I?” Then Yessonar broke into the musical language of the humans. Kendra replied and they spoke back and forth. Hsrandtuss leaned over so that Sszaxxanna could translate for him.

  “He asks her how she comes to be in Hiissierra. She says she leaves the human city before the war and doesn’t want to go back. He asks if you are a good husband. She says you are a good husband and a good king.”

  “I see you are a wily one, Hsrandtuss,” said the dragon, once again speaking the lizzie tongue. “Among your wives you have trade connections north and south, an alliance with the largest city-state, a magic-user, a hunter, and a translator.”

  “Yes, God of the Sky.”

  “So, just one more question. If I were to eat one of your females, which one should I choose?”

  “I am sure that Ssu would taste the best,” said Hsrandtuss, and Sszaxxanna shoved Ssu forward. Ssu looked too terrified to move.

  The dragon laughed a deep rumbling laugh.

  “Relax, he will not eat you,” the king told his second wife.

  “I am glad you are here, Hsrandtuss,” said Yessonar. “We will talk later.”

  “Wait, Great God of the Sky. I have a gift for you too.”

  He held out his hand and Sirris placed a small bundle in it. Carefully unwrapping the cloth covering revealed what the humans called a “book.” He held up the grey and black volume with the gold lettering facing upwards.

  “Power and Guilt: The Crimes of Klaus II of Freedonia by Isaak Wissinger,” read Yessonar. “I’ve been meaning to read this one. Can you open it for me?

  Hsrandtuss didn’t really know how a book was supposed to be used, but he held it as steady as he could and lifted the top cover back.

  “Yes, the title. McCoort and McCoort Publishing. Yes. Turn the page p
lease.”

  Hsrandtuss carefully lifted the first thin white leaf.

  “Ah, there it is: the dedication. For Zurfina.” The dragon’s voice became smaller than Hsrandtuss thought possible. “It’s dedicated to my mother.”

  “What is this word—nother?” Hsrandtuss asked Szaxxanna in a whisper.

  Sxaxxanna shrugged, but Kendra leaned toward him.

  “The female that laid his egg.”

  Chapter Three: Iolana

  “Keep both eyes open and look carefully through the telescopic sight. Place the little intersecting lines directly in front of the creature’s breast.”

  “Yes Father,” said eleven-year-old Iolana Livonia Dechantagne Staff, pressing her face against the cool wood of the rifle stock.

  “How many do you count, dear?”

  “I see six, Father. How many should I shoot?”

  “You’ll be lucky to hit even the one.” Radley Staff bent down and kissed the top of his daughter’s head. “Achillobators are very fast.”

  “Beautiful too.”

  “Yes, beautiful too.”

  “It seems a shame to shoot them.”

  “Well perhaps, but they are very dangerous. You wouldn’t want them coming around our house when your little cousins are outside, would you?”

  “No, Father.”

  “Alright, let’s see if you can shoot one. Squeeze the trigger. Don’t pull.”

  “I know, Father.” The girl jerked as the high-powered rifle let out a deafening report. Then she quickly worked the action, bringing another round into the chamber. She fired again, and cocking the weapon, fired a third time. Then she stopped and looked up at her father, who was beside her, on his knees, peering through a pair of binoculars. “I’m sorry Father. The rest have fled.”

  “No, no. You did very well.”

  He stood up and then reached down to help her up. Once back on her feet, Iolana carefully smoothed out her dress. Though not burdened with the bustles and corsets of grown women, she was nevertheless covered from chin to ankle in the fashion appropriate to a girl of her age. Plenty of white lace and brocade accented the light gold poplin. One of the lizzies picked up the rifle, while another rolled up the mat upon which the girl had been lying.

  “Can we go gather some feathers, Father? I would like some of them for a new hat.”

  “Whatever you want.”

  Staff waved his hands toward the lizzies, who quickly gathered up the rest of their gear. Staff, his daughter, and the six reptilians were soon stalking through the brown grass of the vast open meadow. He kept looking toward the girl to see if she needed any help, but the few times her dress became caught on a thorn, one of the lizzies jumped forward to unhook it before it tore the material. At last they reached their destination.

  Achillobators were feathered dinosaurs about the same size as utahraptors. The latter, covered in bright blue and turquoise feathers and hunting in pairs, had been common along the coastline when humans had arrived. They were becoming increasingly scarce though as civilization spread into their habitat. On the other hand, achillobators were becoming more and more common. Covered in bright crimson with a black breast, they hunted in packs of eight or more.

  The three dead creatures were grouped close together. One was as large a specimen as Staff had ever seen, more than twenty feet from nose to end of tail, over seven feet tall when it had stood. The other two were slightly smaller. All three were clean kills.

  “Good hunt,” said Teska, the old lizzie hunter who usually accompanied Staff when he went out shooting. A couple of the others hissed in agreement.

  “Keep an eye out,” Staff told Teska. “I don’t think the others will come back, but you never know.”

  He wasn’t too worried. Even five achillobators would have hesitated to attack six lizzies, though they wouldn’t have thought twice about taking on a similar number of humans. The lizzies were powerful creatures in their own right, with thick powerful claws on their five-fingered hands and tough leathery hides. They were cold-blooded, and so slower than the dinosaurs, but they were highly intelligent, a fact that far too many humans forgot.

  “Can we gather the feathers now, Father?”

  “Show Esther which ones you want, and have her pluck them for you.”

  Esther, a young female reptilian, jumped at hearing her name, but then hurried over to the human girl and followed her to the largest dead dinosaur. “Hsst ss, hsst stt,” said Iolana, pointing. The sounds she made were the lizzie language equivalents of “this one and that one.” She spoke their language better than any human that her father knew, with the sole exception of her younger cousin. She certainly spoke it better than any lizzie could speak Brech. In a few minutes, Iolana had all the feathers that she wanted.

  “Should we harvest some of the meat?” she asked. “It seems such a waste not to.”

  “Not today,” said her father. “But don’t worry. I doubt it will go to waste.”

  He pointed to a spot a hundred yards away, where a large group of velociraptors was forming.

  Taking his daughter’s hand, he led her across the open ground, following the game trails. The six lizzies fell in behind them. Two miles away, they found the small train waiting exactly where they had left it, steam still puffing from its funnel stack. The train was nothing but an engine with a single rail coach. It belonged to M&S Coal Co. and since Mr. Staff was the president of that firm, he had it at his disposal. A little more than an hour after killing the achillobators, all eight members of the party were seated in the coach. Iolana and her father sat in comfortable chairs near the center of the room. Esther sat on a chair immediately behind the human girl, sideways so that she could accommodate her tail. The other lizzies occupied a place on the floor near the back.

  “I’m glad you came with me today, dear,” said Staff. “I know you don’t like to be away from your studies.”

  “I’m always happy to go hunting with you, Father. I wonder that you asked me instead of Augie. Isn’t he your usual companion?”

  “I wanted to spend some time with my daughter,” he said, slightly chastened. “You don’t mind that I take Augie hunting, do you? After all, he is a boy, and since he’s without a father, it naturally falls to me to step in.”

  “Of course I don’t mind, Father. Perhaps next time we can all go together. We can take Terra too.”

  “She’s just a little girl.”

  “I think you’ll find she’s both capable and intelligent,” said Iolana. “I have her on the fourth level primer already.”

  “I don’t know if I could handle three children, well… two. You’re not really a child anymore, are you?”

  “Nonsense, it can’t be any harder than controlling a ship full of sailors.”

  “You know you sound just like your mother?”

  “Father, I can only hope that you intended that as a compliment,” she said, and then looking over her shoulder. “Esther, fix us some tea please.”

  The little lizzie jumped up and rushed to the stove, where she began pouring water from the kettle into a small teapot.

  “How is she working out then?” Staff asked his daughter. “She’s quite jumpy, isn’t she?”

  “She’s fine. She already understands just about everything said to her and I think she can speak passably well, though I have the devil’s own time getting her to do it.”

  “Well if she bites you, don’t say that I didn’t warn you. It’s one thing to take a grown lizzie and expect him to work as a servant. It’s another to take a wild juvenile and attempt to raise it yourself.”

  Iolana turned and accepted two cups of tea from the returning lizzie, handing one to her father.

  “I will blame no one but myself, I can assure you Father.”

  By teatime, the travelers had returned home and had taken their places at the great table in the Dechantagne Staff dining room. Every seat was filled, though the table was large enough that four or more place settings could have been added without discomfor
ting anyone. Radley Staff sat at the head of the table and his wife Colonial Governor Iolanthe Dechantagne-Staff sat in her usual spot immediately to his right. To accommodate company, Iolana had moved to the other side of the table from her usual seat—something that suited her just fine. She was immediately to her father’s left and therefore directly across from her mother, but out of her reach. Mrs. Colbshallow, who though not related, seemed very much to the children a beloved aunt, was visiting today. Though she no longer lived in the house, she was a frequent diner. Then there was Iolana’s youngest cousin, Terra, and Terra’s older brother Augie. Near them sat their mother, Iolana’s Auntie Yuah. Arrayed across the other side of the table were Auntie Yuah’s best friend Honor McCoort, her husband Geert McCoort, and her brother-in-law Maro McCoort.

  A column of ten lizzies marched out of the kitchen, snaked around the table, and in one swift motion, sat a bowl of soup in front of each diner. The one serving Augie leaned down and hissed into his ear.

  “I hope everyone is ready to tuck in,” said Iolana’s father.

  “I for one, am starving,” said Maro McCoort.

  Iolana looked at him. He was so handsome. Since she had seen him last, he had started growing a mustache. Sadly it was much thicker on one side than the other, but in her opinion, that didn’t make him any less handsome.

  “Sit up, Iolana,” said a harsh voice from across the table.

  The girl shot daggers back at her mother with her aquamarine eyes.

  “This soup is wonderful,” said Honor McCoort from the far end of the table. “Did you organize the menu, Mrs. Colbshallow? I think I detect your hand at this.”

  “Thank you, my dear. I did offer Rinna some of my experience. The summer vegetables looked so good, I couldn’t help but put my two pfennigs in.”

  “Squash, parsnips, and mint?”

  “Quite right you are,” said Mrs. C. “Some green peppers too and a little early onion.”

  “I can’t wait to see what’s next,” said Maro, his bowl already halfway empty.

  “I’m sorry. All we have today is soup.” But she started laughing before the words were out of her mouth. Mr. Staff laughed heartily.