Draconis' Bane by David Temrick Read Free Book Online

said.
    The door opened and
shut with a metal clang as the handle swung back and tapped against
the locking plate. The room began to come into focus as he slowly
turned his head to the side. The man he took to be his father,
looking exactly how he remembered Father Downing, had his hands on
the shoulders of a regal looking woman with dark hair and green
eyes filled with tears. This was his mother he assumed, the other
male voice must have been his brother, the little arms painfully
synched around his stomach must be his sister, he placed his hand
on her back and rubbed her reassuringly.
    “I’m fine Euri…I’m
fi….”
    “He remembers me!”
She squealed as she released her hold on his middle and wrapped her
arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
    Tristan hesitated, he
didn’t know how he knew her name, couldn’t remember seeing her ever
before and was confused by the intense feeling of protection and
affection for this small child. He held onto her, sat up and turned
so that he could hang his feet over the side of the bed. Eurydice
slowly released her stranglehold on his neck and sat down on his
lap, her arms circling around him again as she buried her head in
his chest.
    He tried to focus his
eyes on the room again, this time taking in his surroundings. There
was a large stone fireplace off to his right. At the foot of his
bed was a large stained glass window in the shape of a bright blue
dragon belching green and purple flames, to his left he saw the
same large wooden dresser he remembered from his room…or…his
nightmare’s room…or…he sighed, it was still so confusing.
    The door opened again
as an impossibly large man walked in with two servants trailing
behind him. They placed a tray of fruit, cheese and some rye bread
on his bedside table and bowed their way out of the room. Much like
the other furniture in the room, this table was made of the same
weathered looking black wood. On the table they had also placed a
pitcher of crystal clear water and a decanter of what looked to be
wine.
    Eurydice slowly and
reluctantly released her grip on him as her mother came over and
gently lifted her off of Tristan. He took a deep breath. He noticed
the faint humidity in the air and the fresh smell of a recent
spring rain. Reaching over he grabbed a metal platter and put some
fruit, a chunk of cheese and a slice of the rye on it. He poured
himself a glass of water and guzzled it down his dry throat. He
poured another and placed it on the table as close to him as
possible.
    He bit into a peach
as he watched other servants quickly make their way out of the
room. Too quickly, the focus of everyone was back on him. The
little girl was smiling at him from her mother’s lap; the older
woman still had tears in her eyes. His father was clearly exhausted
but relieved and the huge stranger had the strangest look on his
face for someone his size. He looked to be torn between tears and
joy. Tristan was always taught that only babies and women
cry…surely this goliath knew that!
    Resentment, always so
close to the surface, reared its ugly head again as Tristan tore
apart the piece of rye with his teeth. Everyone seemed to be
waiting for him to have his fill, another foreign concept; people
waiting on him. Selfishly he took his time, eating the peach and
then an apple, a couple large chunks of cheese and another piece of
bread before guzzling down another glass of water. By the time he
put the plate and the glass back down on the night stand, he was
ready for some answers.
    “What happened to
me?” He asked quietly.
    Everyone in the room
looked at one another, unsure of how to answer or what to say he
was sure. His father spoke first.
    “What is your
earliest memory son?”
     
    Fighting off
irritation, Tristan thought back to his earliest recollection. He
had been five years old, playing on the carpet in the living room,
his father watching the evening news on television as he played
with his toy cars making engine