Excerpt: A Short Tapestry (working title)

an excerpt from somewhere in the middle:
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Take them to headquarters. Two other dragons, not as large as the first but wearing the same leather strap vests and star appeared from the tree cover, each picking up an elf in it’s forearms and, with a single beat of wing, and push of mighty hind legs, flew straight up through the tree canopy and into the sunlit sky.

Who are you? The dragon lowered its head to stare directly at Merga.

It was mesmerizing. Merga swayed and thought that she had to tell him everything she had ever done wrong in her life. When the dragon lifted his head, her thoughts stopped swirling and she coughed; mainly to clear her lungs from the fumes, but also to clear her head.

“I am Merga, a witch of NeitherHereNorThere.” She glanced up at the dragon’s mighty head. “I can hear your words, and I didn’t even have a channel open. That is amazing.”

It is against the Law for a witch of NeitherHereNorThere to be in Magic.

“I know and I do not mean to be here. You see…” Merga needed to talk fast before he grabbed her up and carried her off to prison. “I was driving a cart along the coast road in Evarian, on my way to Brevenza and the Witches Council chambers when the two elves ran across the road in the dense fog headed toward the bluff overlooking the ocean and I thought certain death. I didn’t know they were elves at the time or I wouldn’t have tried to interfere with their suicide plans. As it is, though, I followed and, unfortunately, followed them directly into the portal to Magic. The portal closed before I could leave and here I am.” Merga smiled and crinkled her eyes. She hoped that gesture would help.

The dragon snorted and Merga coughed and wiped the tears from her eyes. Around gasps for breaths, she thought to try to make the member of the Dragon Patrol see that it was a good thing she accidentally found her way to Magic. “Uh…actually, I was on my way to the Witches Council to plead to open a communication with Magic as friends of mine have found a horse that belongs here. Her name is Water Lily and her mistress is Hanwyn, I think.” She cocked her head to one side, “Do you know of someone named Hanwyn who knows Larkin Short of the Short Family Finders?”

Climb into my palm. The dragon turned a front leg so his palm faced up.

Merga gulped, gave her shoulders a twist and gingerly climbed onto the rough scales of the dragon’s palm. Shaking, she sat stiff legged and tried not to breathe the stench in too deeply. She quaked yet resolved to bravely be this dragon’s meal.

Hold on to one of my digits.

To do that she needed to pull her legs up and turn so both arms reached the crooked digit. She straightened her spine and took hold of massive digit with its talon ends. She couldn’t wrap her arms around it, but she could use it as a brace. Before she took her next shallow breath a flap of wind shook the trees and the dragon pushed off the ground at such speed her eyes watered. Thank goodness I’m me and not Tabby. She would have been wearing one of her fancy hats and it would surely be lost to the wind. Merga giggled a bit at her silly thought of an organza and lace bit of froth flying off to who knows where. Nerves, that’s what it is…nerves.

Merga closed her eyes and breathed in short gasps. She couldn’t see where they were heading, but they were going there very fast. She sought to open her mind’s eye, to take a peek, but it wouldn’t open. This must be like the Short’s saying their channels won’t open in Magic. The powers of NeitherHereNorThere were void here.

Her stomach lurched upward as she experienced a falling sensation. They were going down; but where? Was the dragon taking her to headquarters where she would be jailed along side the two elves? It was hard to mentally prepare a defense when her insides wouldn’t stay in their proper place. An enormous thud and jolt followed. They had landed. Merga opened her eyes in time to see that the dragon opened his palm. She tumbled to the ground losing dignity in the process and found that she lay in a field with a bright blue sky above her. “Where are we?”

On land belonging to the elf Lord of Flowers. Isn’t that where you wanted to be?

“Of course.” Merga staggered to her feet and stumbled away from the dragon. “Thank you.” She scanned the horizon. “Now where do I go?”

Wait and someone will find you. The dragon from the Dragon Patrol leapt into the air, its gold star blazing in the brilliant sunlight.