Jarryd: Chapter 1

The inn was busy that evening, leaving Kath no time to talk. She ran food and drinks, cleaned tables, exchanged banter with the customers. Jarryd didn’t mind. He didn’t know what to say, really. After all he’d been through in the last year and half, he needed time to adjust back to his old life. It was enough to sit quietly in the corner and watch.

He watched Kath the most. She seemed different, no longer a girl but a woman. It was clear she was in charge. The staff deferred to her. The customers didn’t give her any problems. The place ran smoothly.

He remembered Kath as being pretty, but his memory didn’t compare to how beautiful she was in person. There was a glow about her. It was hard not to stare at her. Her red hair was lustrous in the lamplight. Several times she looked over and caught him staring. Every time he felt his cheeks grow warm. Every time her whole face lit up in a smile. He forced himself to look around.

He knew almost everyone that came and went. They looked older, more worn. The shadow of the dragon attack still hung over them. There were other signs of the attack too. Terince, who owned the general store down on the main square, had a bad limp that he didn’t have before. Driana, there with her husband, Tom, had a long, livid scar down the side of her face.

Then Charl came in. He worked as a teamster, hauling goods between Creekside and the other nearby towns. He was missing his left hand. Jarryd winced inwardly each time he saw an injured resident, wondering if he’d caused their wounds.

Though he tried to remain unnoticed, it wasn’t really possible. Creekside was small. New people were always noticed. Everyone sooner or later looked over at him or called out a greeting. Many didn’t seem to realize who he was. But there were a few whose eyes suddenly widened in realization. He’d changed a lot—he was taller, broader, his hair was a lot longer and his beard was coming in well—but they could still see the kid he’d been.

Word of who he was really spread once Pearon came in. He took a spot by the hearth and started loudly telling anyone who would listen what had just happened with the Rector.

“It was young Jarryd, Hennah and Teeran’s son. He’s back in town. But he sure looks different. The Rector started in on him and he calmly told him to pound sand. Told him he wasn’t wanted around here anymore.” He laughed. “I don’t think the Rector will be around too much longer. You should have seen his face.”

He stopped to take a drink of his ale, and his eyes fell on Jarryd. “Well, there you are!” he cried. He raised his mug. “Welcome home, son.”

Then everybody was looking at Jarryd. He raised his cider. “Thank you. It’s great to be back.”

People began moving closer. Jarryd started to feel trapped.

“Where have you been?” Charl asked. He started to reach for his cup of wine with his missing hand but caught himself.

“What happened that night?” another asked. Jarryd couldn’t see who. He decided to answer the second one first.

“It was Imperial assassins.” He had to stop and gather himself. The pain of his parents’ death flared anew now that he was home. Somehow, with everything going on, he’d managed to mostly stay ahead of the grief. “They were hunting me.”

“Why you?” Pearon came over and sat at Jarryd’s table. “What did they want with you?” Others chimed in with similar questions.

Jarryd was already thinking he shouldn’t have added that last part. But he was going to get questions, and he was going to have to figure out how much he wanted to tell.

“I went to the Keep of the Dragonwatch Knights.”

“Wait,” Terince said. “They’re real?”

“They are. Their Keep isn’t that many days from here. While I was there, the Emperor noticed. He sent assassins after me, but they got here before I did.” He could feel that awful night so clearly right then, the smell of smoke, his parents lying there bloody.

He took a drink of cider and steadied himself. “I had to leave. They were still hunting me.”

“Tinker said the dragon that attacked Creekside was a minion of the Emperor. Is that true?”

“It is.” Something occurred to Jarryd. “You said a dragon attacked the town. Just one? What did it look like?”

“It was a white dragon,” Terince said. “Just one was enough.”

Jarryd sagged with relief. He hadn’t attacked his home after all. That was a huge relief.

Jurgin pushed his way closer then. He was a barrel-chested man who owned the mill. “So you fled the assassins and now you’re back. How far behind you are they now? Are they going to start killing again?” His words were sharp, accusing. He’d never particularly liked Jarryd. Jarryd remembered that he was a devout follower of the Rector.

“There won’t be any assassins.”

Jurgin pressed harder. “How do you know?”

“I know because the Emperor has been defeated. We won’t see any more dragons, either.”

Jurgin crossed his arms. “That still don’t tell me how you know.”

Jarryd sighed. He’d been hoping to avoid this, or at least delay it. “I was there. When the Emperor was defeated. I saw it.”

The room went quiet, people thinking about this.

Jurgin was unmoved. “I don’t believe you. That’s a lot to chew. Last I heard, the Emperor was gobbling up every kingdom in sight. People figure it’s only a matter of time before he comes north. And now you’re saying he’s defeated. By who? Nobody can stand against his dragons.”

Jarryd realized then that he’d far outpaced the news. Word of the Emperor’s fall would spread, but it would take time to travel from Mocte’el to Creekside. They were so isolated here. They had no idea how close their world had come to utter destruction.

“I don’t know how to convince you.” Actually, a way to convince him occurred to Jarryd right then. All he had to do was drop the man through a shadow door and take him to Mocte’el. He smiled faintly at the thought. “You’ll have to take my word for it for now. But it’s true. Creekside is safe. We won’t see any dragons or assassins again.”

“Humpf.” Jurgin clearly still wasn’t convinced.

More questions came. Jarryd answered as best he could. He finished his cider, thinking it was time to leave. It had been a long day. He was afraid he’d give up too much of the truth by accident and regret it.

But when he stood to go, Kath appeared.

“Oh, no you don’t. I haven’t even had a chance to talk to you yet.”

He smiled at her. “You’re busy. I can come back another time.”

“But how much later will it be? Look, I brought you another cider. On the house. Most of these people will be going home soon.” She said the last part loudly and fixed a meaningful look on those who were crowded around Jarryd.

Patrons started shuffling their feet and finishing off drinks.

“It’s late and I have to deliver all the way to Ronope tomorrow,” Charl said, heading for the door.

Others chimed in, all with some variation of the same theme. Goodbyes were said to Jarryd. A number said how happy they were he was back. But not Jurgin. He gave Jarryd a gimlet eye before he left.

Soon there were only three people left. Kath called back into the kitchen. A boy appeared, and she told him to take care of their orders. She came and sat down next to Jarryd.

“Of course, the night you return is our busiest one in a month.”

“Doesn’t it always work that way?”

She stared at him, not saying anything for long moments. “I hoped you’d come back. Every day. But it’s been so long. I almost gave up on you.”

“Every day I wanted to come back. Believe me on that.”

She nodded. “I do believe you. At least I want to. I don’t know. You’ve always kept secrets. I never knew for sure who you were.”

Jarryd winced. “You’re right. I have kept secrets. Far too many of them. Hamisi was always on me about them. But I’ve changed now.” Even as he said the words, he knew there was much that had happened he would not share with the people of this town. Not if he ever hoped to fit in here again.

He reached over and put his hand over hers. “I promise you right now. I will never keep secrets from you. I will tell you everything.”

She stared into his eyes for long moments. “I believe you.”

“But maybe not all tonight. It’s an awfully long story.”

“Were you really there? Did you see the Emperor defeated?”

“I was. I even had something to do with it.”

“Sure. Tease me with that. You better not make me wait too long.”

“I won’t. Soon I’ll share it all with you.” He drank the rest of the cider. “I should probably get going too. I have a lot to do tomorrow. The house needs a bit of work.”

She stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Stay here tonight. We have an empty room. No charge.”

“That’s nice of you, but—”

“It’s not about being nice. I’m afraid if you walk out that door, you’ll disappear again.” He tried to scoff at this, but she continued. “Be reasonable, Jarryd. Your home is a wreck.”

“It’s not that bad,” he protested.

“I’ve seen it. It is.”

“You’ve been out there?”

“I went out when they buried your parents. Most of the town did. They were liked and respected here.”

“I…thank you.” He had to swallow hard at the tears that threatened.

“Stay here tonight. Sleep in a bed. It looks like you haven’t done that much lately. In the morning, I’ll go out with you.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“But I want to. I don’t think you should be alone. Not at first.”

When she said it, he realized he did want her to accompany him. He’d spent the afternoon there, working on the place. But he’d stayed busy, avoiding the memories that swirled around him everywhere. The thought of going out there alone was hard. Having Kath along would change everything.

“Unless you don’t want me to,” she added.

He took a deep breath. “I do, Kath. You’re right. It would be easier not to have to go alone.” He thought of Hamisi. Kathor. Ficken. He’d learned from them that carrying a burden alone was a sure way to get crushed by it.

“It’s settled then. Do you want something to eat?” Without waiting for a reply, she called out to the boy for food. She turned back to him. “Now. About this Hamisi. Is there something I should know about her?”

Jarryd laughed. “You should know that she’s the strongest, most stubborn person alive maybe. And that she saved my life—not just my life. She saved me. I hope you’ll meet her someday. You’ll love her.”

 

They left after breakfast the next morning. Kath had wrapped up some food for them for lunch. It was still cold, but the clear sky promised it would warm later.

“You heard about the dragon that attacked us,” she said when they were on the road to his farm.

“How bad was it?” In his mind he could see it happening all over again.

“It was bad. People were screaming. It seemed like everything was on fire. It was a strange fire, purple and black mixed in with the flames. It was almost impossible to put out. It felt like a nightmare. Fifteen people died. I didn’t even believe dragons were real.” She rubbed her arms and shivered. “Mother was injured. She still hasn’t healed all the way. I’m helping Father run the inn until she can get back on her feet.”

“I’m sorry. I really am.” Even though he hadn’t done it, Jarryd felt responsible. So many had suffered in the Dragon Queen’s attempt to turn him.

“It could have been so much worse. I don’t like to dwell on it. I try to stay grateful. I thought at first Mother had been killed. When I found out she was still alive, it all felt bearable. Still nightmarish, but bearable.” She looked at Jarryd. “Did the dragon think you were here? Is that why it attacked? I’ve thought about it a lot. Creekside is nowhere. This is the only town nearby that the dragon attacked.”

Jarryd didn’t want to say the words. He didn’t want to lose Kath. But he remembered his promise to his friends not to hide the truth. He didn’t plan to forget. “It was because of me, yes. But the Emperor knew I wasn’t here. He knew where I was the whole time. I’m so, so sorry.”

“That’s the second time you said that. Why would you be sorry?”

“The Emperor ordered the attack on Creekside because of me.”

Kath stopped and looked at him, concern in her green eyes. “Who are you, Jarryd?”

He tried to make light of it. “Just Jarryd. Plain old Jarryd.”

“Which perfectly explains why the Emperor was trying to get you. I can’t wait to hear the whole story.”

“You might find parts of it—or all of it—a little hard to believe.”

“I’m not so sure about that. You’ve changed, Jarryd. You’re not the same boy you were when you left.”

They walked in silence for a while. Jarryd’s emotions were rising up the closer they got to his childhood home. He’d been running ever since that night he found his parents murdered. Smashing his feelings down to focus on the war. Even yesterday, when he’d stopped by, he’d stayed busy, keeping his feelings at bay by staying busy. Still running.

But now? Now he was going to have to confront the reality of their deaths. He was going to live in the house they’d shared. The place where they’d made so many memories.

He was suddenly very glad he hadn’t come back out here alone last night.

“Thank you,” he told Kath.

“For what?”

“Coming out here with me. I’m…I’m glad I don’t have to do this alone.”

“You never had to.”

He found himself smiling a little. “You’re right.” He rubbed his face. “I always felt so alone growing up. I kept so many secrets. Even from my parents. It was so hard. But it didn’t have to be. If I would have just told them…” He trailed off. So many regrets.

“Even from your parents?” She sounded sad. “That must have been awful.”

“I thought there was something wrong with me. I thought I was evil. It was the only conclusion I could come to. I should have told my parents. Everything would have been different.”

She stopped him and took his hands in hers. “Why would you think such things as a child?”

“It started the day Rector Freckus burned Barney.”

Kath’s eyes brimmed suddenly. “That poor man. He didn’t deserve that. He was so sweet and gentle.”

“That night I had a vision. I saw the dragon queen.”

Realization dawned on her then. “And you thought that made you evil, because of the Rector.”

“Yeah.”

“No wonder you were so closed off. You thought if people found out, the Rector would come after you next.”

“Pretty much. The only thing I really had to hold onto was the Dragonwatch Knights. I thought that if I could be like them, do everything that they did, maybe the evil would go away.”

“But it didn’t.”

“No. It got worse as I got older.”

“That’s why you wouldn’t ask me to the Harvest Dance.”

“I wanted to. More than anything. But I was afraid you would suffer too.”

“And then you found out about the Dragonwatch Keep and went there to see if you could learn anything. Your mother must have been so worried.”

“She was. She didn’t understand. Not that I helped her to. I kept it all secret from my parents. My father understood some. He was the one who gave me the book on the Knights. I’m sure that frightened Mother too.”

“Why?”

“My parents worked at the Keep. After I was born, one of the Knights warned them that it was dangerous, and they fled here.”