Page 7 of The Magic of Pemberley (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Mage #2)

Chapter 7

D arcy’s sleep had been troubled by dreams of Austrian soldiers being cut down by dragons, but he forced those images away as he descended the steps of the portico towards the coach waiting to take Lady Amelia and her party to London. It helped to have his hand entwined with Elizabeth’s, a necessary precaution with Frederica’s presence. It was almost a pity that his cousin was leaving. It would take away his ready excuse to hold his wife’s hand in public.

Not that he would have many more opportunities to do so, with Napoleon likely already heading to Paris.

Elizabeth embraced Lady Amelia, at least as well as she could while holding Darcy’s hand. “I wish you did not have to leave so quickly.”

“No choice,” said Lady Amelia. “I must be gone before the Nest can interfere.”

Elizabeth held up a finger. “I almost forgot. There is a woman in London, Rana Akshaya, an Indian mage. She recognized that Cerridwen was a dragon when I met her there, though I did not know it until later. My maid, Chandrika, used to be in service to her, so I asked her last night if she wanted to go to London with you. She declined, but said it was important that you should call on Rana Akshaya. Frederica can tell you more about her. ”

Lady Amelia cocked her head. “An Indian mage who can recognize a dragon in disguise? I wonder if she might be a dragon companion, too. I will indeed want to meet her.”

“I hope your journey will be an easy one. I will miss you.” Elizabeth’s voice trembled. Was she thinking of how unlikely it was that her great-grandmother would live long enough to see her again?

“We will come to visit you, Lady Amelia, whether in Wales or London.” The words came out of Darcy’s mouth without forethought.

Elizabeth gave him an odd look, and he suddenly realized it would not be possible. He would be gone on his mission in a matter of days.

“See that you do. One day you might even break down and call me Granny,” said Lady Amelia briskly. “Now give me your arm, young man, and help me up into this abominably high vehicle.”

As Elizabeth gripped his shoulder, he used both hands to support Lady Amelia’s elbows, bearing most of her slight weight as she stepped into the carriage. When she was seated, he said, “This is the best sprung carriage I own, and you will have four outriders to fetch you anything that will make you more comfortable.” It was the least he could do. Every instinct still shrieked that he should escort the old lady to London himself, even though she had flatly refused his offer, saying she did not want to draw any attention to Elizabeth or Cerridwen.

Inside the carriage, Roderick spread a blanket over Lady Amelia’s lap. After some protest, she had agreed to allow the Welshman to accompany her, although she planned to send him back immediately, claiming he would only harm her ability to portray herself as an English aristocrat.

Darcy stepped back from the carriage as Frederica came forward, a small satchel in her hand. Nodding to her, he said, “I thank you for undertaking this journey and making the introductions in Town. I know you were in no hurry to return to the King’s Mage.”

She winked at him. “Yes, but to have three days in a coach where I can pester Granny with all my questions? It is entirely my pleasure.”

Lady Amelia’s amused voice drifted from the carriage. “The King’s Mage may not recognize the apprentice I will return to her. ”

The coachman shook his reins, and the carriage moved down the gravel drive, first slowly, and then picking up speed, in keeping with his instructions to make the ride as smooth as possible.

Elizabeth squeezed Darcy’s hand, although she could have released it now that Frederica was gone, taking the risk of repulsion with her. “It will seem quiet here with all of them away!” She did not sound displeased, though.

“I, for one, am looking forward to having you to myself.”

“And Georgiana, and Cerridwen, and your French tutors,” she teased.

He matched her tone. “Perhaps we should hide in the cottage in the oak grove. Let them all think we have left.” But she was right; there was still work to do, and Georgiana deserved some of his attention, too. While Elizabeth was by his side, he could tolerate anything. And he refused to think about how short a time they might still have together.

The reprieve was short-lived, though. Late that afternoon, as Elizabeth sat with Darcy in his study, Cerridwen returned in kestrel form, dropping a small pouch on her lap.

A gift of some sort? “What is this?” she asked the bird.

“You shall see,” Cerridwen chirped with a sense of great satisfaction.

Elizabeth laughed as she picked up the pouch. “A mystery, then. How was the Conclave?”

Cerridwen perched on the desk and danced from leg to leg. “Open it, and it will answer your questions.” How strange it was to hear her speak aloud in her kestrel form!

“Very well.” Elizabeth opened the pouch and took out a heavy, intricately engraved globe of silver.

As it touched her skin, an illusion rose from it, a glowing miniature dragon, and a voice resonated throughout the room. “I am the Eldest, the voice of the Nest. Companion Elizabeth, we seek information on recent events. We request you to present yourself at the Nest that we may pool our knowledge. I particularly encourage you to bring your mate, whose insights would be much valued. He would be required to submit either to a blindfold or binding to avoid revealing the Nest’s location. I await your reply via your companion. I am the Eldest, the voice of the Nest.”

The illusory dragon vanished, leaving only a prickle of magic on Elizabeth’s skin and a heavy, inert ball in her hand. Astonishing!

In a strangled voice, Darcy said, “Dragons seem to have a truly remarkable supply of Artifacts.”

“We create them,” chirped Cerridwen. “The Eldest of this Nest is very skilled at it.”

“And is the voice of the Nest,” Elizabeth added, amused.

“That phrasing means this is a formal request of the highest priority. It was the decision of the Conclave to speak to you.” Cerridwen stretched her kestrel wings, flapped them a few times, and then looked around curiously. “Where is Sycamore? I cannot feel him.”

Oh, dear. Elizabeth hated to disappoint Cerridwen, especially when she was so pleased with the invitation to the Nest. “Granny and Sycamore left for London while you were in the Conclave.”

“London? Why would they go there?”

Elizabeth was still trying to come up with a way to explain it gently when Darcy spoke for her. “They went to speak to the government about dragons.”

The kestrel stilled. “But that violates the Covenant of Concealment.” Betrayal radiated off her.

“That was their intention,” Elizabeth said softly. “They chose to do it during the Conclave so the Nest could not stop them.” She would not lie to her dragon, not even for Granny.

“I must tell the Nest at once.” Cerridwen took wing and flew out the window.

Elizabeth looked after her, but there was nothing she could do to help. Instead she wrapped her arms around Darcy’s waist, drinking in the warmth and steadiness of his muscular form. What did he think of this invitation? He had seemed much calmer about dragons recently, but an invitation to walk straight into the lair of the Eldest, the most powerful dragon of the Nest, might give anyone pause. “I will go, but your attendance is up to you.”

Darcy frowned. “I dislike the idea of being blindfolded, but any further mental binding is out of the question. I have quite enough of that already.”

“I understand. I was blindfolded the first time I came near this Nest, and I cannot say I cared for the experience. The binding is actually much less trouble, and it is safer.”

He stiffened. “You think I cannot be trusted with the knowledge?”

She released him, picked up the sphere, and handed it to him. “Tell me, if the government knew of the existence of these Artifacts, how forcefully would they question you as to the location of the Nest? Or suppose the French capture you, and want to find our Nest to create more killer dragons who will ravage England? I feel safer knowing I cannot tell anyone.”

He turned the ball over in his hand. “Very well, I will consent to a blindfold, but only because I think it necessary that we share information. I would not want you going there alone, either, in these unsettled times.”

She hugged him tightly. “There is no cause for worry, but I thank you.” Then she kissed him.

The light from Darcy’s lantern reflected from damp stone walls and stalactites hanging from the ceiling. After all his expectations, this dragon Nest was nothing more than a simple cave, not unlike half a dozen others in these hills. He played in a similar one as a child, imagining it to be a fortress, but even then, he would have thought a dragon’s lair to be something grander. Apparently he had been wrong.

“Cerridwen says it is this way,” said Elizabeth, pointing to an alcove. She had been looking around with every evidence of pleasure. Perhaps caves were a rarity in Hertfordshire .

Darcy held up his lantern. “That is a dead end.”

“No, it is not,” she said absently as she walked forward –

…Into the cave wall. And disappeared.

“Elizabeth!” he cried. “Where are you?”

Her voice sounded only a few feet away. “Right here. What is the matter?”

“Kee-kee-kee!” It was obviously laughter – and directed at him.

Illusion. It had to be. When Darcy reached out to touch the wall, his hand went straight through.

But the illusion was perfect. Even knowing it was not real, he had to brace himself to step through, half-expecting his nose to smash into the stone.

Instead, he found himself in a palace.

There was no other word for it. It was throbbing with magic and full of extraordinary art, elaborate carvings, giant swirling mosaics that formed dizzying images, and more silver than he had ever imagined seeing in his entire life. Sculpted faces, human, fae, and draconic, peered out from nooks and crannies, drawing him in, making him want to come closer, to examine them, to learn their expressions. The floor was a mosaic of tightly fitted tiles of differing hues, making a giant pattern he could not comprehend.

And he had wondered if the creators of this had the mental capacity to read a newspaper!

Cerridwen transformed into her true form and led them through an archway and down a long tunnel, a vast corridor sized for dragons, and every inch of it decorated. How long had it taken the dragons to create this massive work of art? Centuries, at the very least. It sang of ancient power.

Finally they reached another chamber, one of even more mammoth proportions. Darcy stifled a gasp at the sight of the creature inhabiting it. He had thought the dragon who read him was mythic in size, but this one was almost twice as big, as long as three horses standing in line. The beast was awe-inspiring by that alone, but the intensity of magic shrouding her raised the hair on his neck. If anything in the world was invincible, surely it was this dragon.

He glanced at Elizabeth. Did she feel it, too?

Cerridwen crossed her forelegs in a supplicant’s position. “Honored Eldest, I present to you Companion Elizabeth and her mate, Darcy.”

“I appreciate your prompt attendance.” The Eldest’s voice reverberated through the chamber, so resonant that Darcy felt it in his bones.

“I am at your service,” Elizabeth said. “Both my husband and I are eager to do anything we can to stop these attacks.”

The dragon’s enormous golden eyes focused in on her. “Companion Elizabeth, will you share your knowledge with me?”

“Yes.” And without hesitation, she stepped forward and laid her hands on the Eldest’s talons, apparently without fear. Her fingers were tiny compared to the massive claw they rested on, but her face showed no distress.

The two stayed frozen, as if in a trance, apart from a small twitching of the tip of the Eldest’s tail. But it would be wrong to say they were silent, since the dragon’s aura shifted abruptly, almost violently, turning from initial curiosity and trepidation to deep pain.

Darcy swallowed hard, his chest tight. It was a struggle to watch Elizabeth engage with the dragon in a way that excluded him so completely.

After a few minutes, Elizabeth withdrew. “I am sorry,” she whispered, her lips trembling. “I know it must pain you greatly, as it does me.” She reached out her hand blindly towards Darcy, and he took it gladly, wishing he could pour his love for her through that connection.

The great dragon’s head shifted quickly from side to side, as if she were shaking herself. “The truth is often painful.” Turning those giant eyes towards him, she continued, “And you, Darcy. My nestmate Juniper has told me of what you shared with him about interviewing soldiers and sailors, but he would not allow me to see it for myself, since you had not given him permission to do so. He acknowledged not looking deeply, out of a belief that the attacks were illusions. Would you be prepared to let me see those memories, or do you prefer to answer verbal questions? ”

Darcy straightened his shoulders. He was Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley, mage and landed Talent. He could face another dragon peering into his thoughts. “I will share, but first I would like to hear what you have learned of these attacks.”

The dragon seemed undisturbed by this challenge. “I am embarrassed by how little we know. You have already heard, I believe, of the dragon who sacrificed herself to save the hatchlings. Because of that tragedy, we have broken our long-standing rules and sent dragons from nearby Nests to the Silent ones, both in Austria and Spain.” Her head sank down, and she lapsed into silence, the chamber filling with an aura of deep distress.

Darcy drew in a deep breath. “May I ask what they found?”

“It is a sign of our deep alarm that we have done this. It is one of our core beliefs that dragons may choose Silence. To visit a Silent Nest uninvited is a violation.” The rest of her answer came as a sending so powerful it almost knocked him off his feet.

A giant cavern, as decorated as this one, but with signs of conflagration everywhere – scorch marks marring the artwork, ash, and melted glass. Empty. And an arch, which he somehow knew was the entrance to the breeding grounds in Faerie, demolished. Aloud, the Eldest said, “That is the one in Austria.”

The visions were certainly not what anyone would expect from dragons voluntarily fighting for Napoleon. How had the Eldest received those images in the first place? More incomprehensible dragon magic, no doubt. “And in Spain?” His mouth was dry.

“One Nest abandoned and burned, and the other with only three young nestlings, their minds so knotted with bindings they could tell us nothing.” Sadness, deepest sadness.

So bindings could be dangerous, as he had suspected. At least in some circumstances. “Where do you think the dragons went?”

The Eldest bowed her head. “How much humans have forgotten! Dragons cannot survive without their Nest. Only those young dragons with companions can leave it for more than a day or two. The dragons in Spain and Austria are gone. Three Nests, lost forever! All that knowledge, all the lore, all those lives. That we should live to see such a day!”

Her sorrow was overwhelming, making the very air seem thick and unwieldy. Somehow Darcy made himself say, “Your grief is mine as well. My apologies for my ignorance.”

The dragon raised her enormous head. “A grief shared is halved. This is why we must learn everything we can. We must discover how a mortal has learned to make dragons turn to killing.”

“I will do everything in my power to stop it.” Including risking his own life to help kill said mortal, but the dragon would not want to hear that.

“The Wicked King has the ability to force dragons to do his will. He created a mechanism for it when he made the first dragons to be his most fearsome warriors, and it is our greatest weakness. That a mortal can do this is an untold disaster.”

No wonder the dragons were suddenly ready to work with humans. Darcy said, “A tragedy indeed, one which must be stopped.” Then he deliberately placed his hands on the dragon’s rough talons.

The reading was less of a shock this time, apart from gazing into eyes that were the size of his head. As instructed, Darcy brought his knowledge to the forefront of his memory, as if he were preparing to speak about these things. She seemed most interested in the reports of the wounded from Salamanca, although it clearly pained her.

Finally she withdrew from his mind. “I am grieved that mortals have suffered so at the hands of dragons. We must put an end to this.”

And he could tell that she meant it with every part of her being. “If I receive any further information, would you like me to send word?”

“I would be grateful for that. You have sources which we lack. If you tell Cerridwen, she will pass it along to me,” said the Eldest.

Then Elizabeth stepped forward to stand at his side, just as it should be. With great determination, she said, “There is one more thing. I wish to take my final vows as soon as possible. It is overdue, and this is a time when the Nest may benefit from its companions.”

“We can do it at this moment, if you wish it,” said the dragon .

Her lips parted. “Yes, I do wish it. I want to be a full partner to Cerridwen.”

“Then let it be done. It will be a cause for celebration during this bleak time. We cannot gather the entire Nest, as many of us are busy shoring up our defenses and planning new ones, but those who have met you will be glad to take a break for this auspicious event.”

Darcy drew in a sharp breath. “Defenses? Against Napoleon and his dragons?”

“Eventually, perhaps, but also from uninvited mortals. Since Companion Amelia has decided to expose us all, we must prepare for the worst. We trust you as an individual, but not your leaders.”

“I understand. Will your defenses harm the local people?”

“Not unless they decide to be foolish. We use no weapons, but if I create a wall of fire between the two of us, and you choose to run through it and are burned to death, that is on your conscience, not mine. We may create a rockslide to stop anyone from reaching the Nest, or employ illusion, glamour, or confusion spells. There are many ways to defend ourselves while hurting no one.”

Lady Amelia had spoken of the dragon defenses in Wales. With the power of their magic and Artifacts, the dragons could make things very difficult for an invading army – if they so chose. If the government treated them as allies instead of enemies.

And now he, too, was unexpectedly in a position to be an ambassador of sorts, at least while he remained alive. “That shows great wisdom.”

“We do what we must.” The Eldest paused, then asked with seeming reluctance, “Have you any word from Companion Amelia?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “Only a brief note from a lady traveling with her to say that the journey was going well. I expect she is in London now.”

“A terribly risky business. Companion Amelia has always been headstrong, but to decide on her own to break the Great Covenant of Concealment is beyond that. I cannot understand why her dragon agreed to such a step without consulting the Nest. This will impact all of us.” Anger throbbed in her aura .

Darcy would not want that wrath directed at him. He could understand it, though, having seen this Nest. It now seemed outrageous that Lady Amelia had chosen to expose the dragons against their wishes.

At the time, though, he had only been grateful that she was putting England’s needs first. Just as he had originally done, and only now he saw his error. There were so many aspects to this.

And more than anything, he needed Elizabeth by his side.