Phoenix Gift

Chapter Fifteen

The old man laughed, then said, “Quite right, little one. I am a jester by trade and a very good one at that. Our band makes a living entertaining others. How clever of you to notice.”

As if to prove his talent, the old man produced three wooden balls: a red one with black stars, a blue and green marbled one and a blue and teal spiral one. He threw the three balls into the air and juggled them. Then he placed one on top of his head, balancing it as he tossed the others in the air.

Alexis giggled and clapped her hands. As yet unseen, Cadmus woke. His ruby eyes glinted as he watched the spheres. Suddenly, springing from his hiding place under her cloak, he snatched the red ball from the old man’s head as he rose into the air. The old man caught the other two balls as they watched the little dragon soar.

“Cadmus, you come back here!” Alexis called. “It is not nice to steal.”

The dragon returned, circling wide to land on the stallion’s neck. Still clutching the ball in his jaws, the dragon crawled back to her. She patted the mischievous creature’s head.

“Good boy, Cadmus. Now give it back to Guyon samir.”

Cadmus leapt to the ground. He stretched his wings and folded them before he stepped toward the old man and set the ball at the man’s feet. Squeaking, the dragon nosed the ball toward him then stepped back, sitting with his tail wrapped around his feet. The old man stooped to pick up the ball, joints cracking. Cadmus chirped and inclined his head to one side.

“Cadmus says he is sorry,” Alexis said.

“That’s quite all right, no harm done. He would be a great performer, with a little training. I don’t suppose I could interest you in a trade?”

“No! Cadmus doesn’t want to be traded, do you?” Alexis asked the little dragon.

Cadmus screeched, spun and leapt onto the stallion’s neck. Used to the dragon, the stallion did not shy away as Cadmus folded his wings and crawled toward Alexis. The dragon curled up in her lap. Snorting smoke at the old man, he dared the feeble codger to take him from her.

“I didn’t think so,” the old man smiled. “Please join us by the fire and share a story or two.”

“We would be honored,” Xavier nodded. To refuse was an insult, and he was eager for news. The best information, he knew, came from travelers.

He dismounted, then lifted Alexis, still clutching the dragon, out of the saddle and set her on the ground. The old man smiled, gesturing for them to follow. Xavier nodded to the others.

Dismounting, they led their horses off the dusty road onto the grass. They tethered their equines near the river before gathering around the campfire. The travelers made room for Xavier’s group, smiling at Alexis and the playful dragons.

After a brief meal, Alexis wandered away from the campfire while her father and the adults talked. Cadmus and Eja followed her to the river. She crouched on the riverbank, dropping blades of grass into the water and watching them float toward and pass the herd. The dragons pawed the damp earth in search of worms and insects.

Gradually, Alexis became aware of the sound of a lute. Standing, she saw a boy sitting in the shadow of a tree. Near him, a gray stallion with a white mane, tail and legs grazed, listening to the music. Alexis settled a short distance from the boy to listen, watching him strum the lute’s strings. The two dragons sat on either side of her, though the boy did not notice his growing audience.

The stallion raised its head to look at the newcomers. There seemed to be something very unhorse-like gleaming from the stallion’s bright eyes. It stepped closer to the trio and lowered its head to study the young Princess. Alexis raised her hand, palm forward, for the horse to sniff. After a moment of consideration, the equine pressed its soft muzzle against her hand.

Immediately, there was a change in the stallion as a strange, yet familiar, energy coursed through it. The stallion’s gray coat deepened to vivid primrose though its mane and tail remained brilliant white. It grew a silky beard and longer hair along its lower legs, like unicorn accents. For a brief moment, the golden glow of a spiral horn sprouted from the stallion’s forehead. Then it passed. The stallion appeared as it had been: gray, beardless and hornless, though a bit of longer hair still clung to its heels.

“Biervenido, bian arien,” Alexis smiled, petting the horse while the lute continued to play its airy melody.[1]

The stallion huffed and twitched its ears. As the wind gusted, the stallion raised its head, catching a faint smell in the air. The scent roused the dragons from their sleep. Growling, they ran to the tree.

“Ah!” the boy yelled as the dragons ran past him and scurried up the tree. The boy rolled away, watching the two dragons disappear into the green foliage.

Alexis ran to the base of the tree scolding, “Cadmus, Eja, that’s not very nice.”

The boy looked at her. He was only five years her elder, but his dark eyes hinted of long-hidden pain. A handsome enough boy, his long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Alexis knelt beside him and studied his face. She sensed something special about him but was too unpracticed with her gift to identify it.

“What are those things?” the boy demanded.

“Cadmus, little dragons,” Alexis answered. “Cadmus is my friend and Eja belongs to Tavel.”

The boy stared at her.

Alexis called to the dragons in the tree, “Cadmus, Eja, stop chasing shadows and come say you’re sorry for scaring him.”

“I wasn’t scared,” the boy muttered. “They just surprised me.”

A moment later, the dragon pair crawled out of the tree, down the trunk and came to sit in front of the two children. The smell they had chased was gone.

“The green one is Cadmus. The other is Eja,” Alexis introduced.

The dragons chirped.

“My name is Alexis. What’s yours?”

“Jaron. Hey!” the boy shouted as the stallion butted him, knocking him to the ground again. Snorting, the stallion shook its head and stomped its foot.

“I think he wants to be introduced too,” Alexis giggled.

“His name’s Gambler,” the boy answered as he checked the lute for damage.

“Choncey Bian Arien,” Alexis looked up at the gray stallion. “He’s very nice.” [2]

“What? He’s just a horse.”

“That’s what you think.”

The boy stared at her, brow furrowing in annoyance.

“Alexis, time to go!” her father called from the road where their group gathered.

“Coming abu,” Alexis stood and paused. “Nice to meet you. I hope we meet again.”

“Sure,” Jaron shook his head. He watched Alexis run to a man astride a golden stallion, the dragons at her heels. If he was lucky, they never would.

Hidden in the foliage, a watcher sat as the group continued their journey. Below him, the boy settled in the shade of the tree to play the lute again. He knew many things and, like Alexis, sensed something special about the boy.

Snorting, the gray stallion raised its head and stared at the watcher’s perch. Alexis was correct about the stallion as well. Without a sound, the watcher departed. His duty was to watch over the Princess.