Chronicles of the Dragon Pirate Read Online Free Page A

what will happen: Tomas will go with Alfonzo tonight to the Mission at San Sebastian, where the healing is to take place. There he will have Tiger remove the black pox from the chief’s son, lulling the suspicions of the Draco Dominus, and in the morning, everything will return to the way it was before.”
    “Now who’s the fool,” Belle-M’ere threw back at him as she burst into tears.

    The night sky was ablaze with stars as I rode behind Alfonzo, both of us on the back of his horse as we made our way out of St. Augustine. The mission of San Sebastian was only a short distance away, being the place where the natives lived who labored in and around the town, and we rode along the beach rather than take the normal path, since the light from the moon was better. The sea was never quiet but tonight she was gentle, her waves making a soft sound as they lapped at the shore we rode along, the night itself quiet as I remembered making the same ride during happier times.
    Alfonzo had been the governor’s eyes and ears for several years, often riding the circuit between the Spanish missions, strung up and down the coast like sea-pearls in a necklace. Belle-M’ere and I had often travelled with him, my foster-mother ignoring the scandal it caused, for we had found a good trade among the natives with both our herbs and Smoke’s healing. The royal governor, in turn, was pleased, for the goodwill we fostered helped reinforce the peace between the Spanish colonists and the native tribes, who were mostly of the Timucua, but others as well. Gran-Pere was also pleased, for the foodstuffs we traded for helped us through times of want.
    It was during those trips that Belle-M’ere and Alfonzo had grown close to each other, while I had made friends with the Timucua boys. Their tribe had a game involving two teams using thin clubs to hit a leather ball across the field where a wooden stake was driven into the ground at either end, a point given every time the ball hit the stake of the opposing team. Most of the game, though, was spent hitting each other with clubs. Afterwards, Smoke had spent much of my remaining strength healing broken bones, and I’d always ended those days bruised, exhausted...and happy.
    Alfonzo brought me back from my thoughts. “You’re quiet tonight.”
    “I was just thinking about the days when Belle-M’ere and I rode with you on the circuit of the missions.”
    “Those were happy times,” he quietly replied.
    “We won’t see them again, will we? Whatever Gran-Pere says, nothing will remain the same after tonight.”
    Alfonzo was silent for a few moments. Finally, he said, “There’s no possible way we can fool the Draco Dominus, not completely. However,” he added more hopefully, “I believe they won’t try anything until we return to St. Augustine. This afternoon I had a long talk with the governor, and he’s with us.”
    “Will the governor go against Draco Dominus?”
    “Not unless his hand is forced. I do know he’s sent off a message to Lord Tiberius in secret, and he plans to bog down the order in legal maneuverings if they try to take you. But he believes they won’t go that far...provided they have no reason to believe you to be valuable.”
    “I know,” I grumbled, “pretend to be timid.”
    Alfonzo looked back at me and raised his eyebrows. “Would you prefer to be one of their Wolves instead?” At my confused look, he added, “That’s what they call their Dragons.”
    Smoke spoke up from behind me. “I think a wolf’s an excellent animal.”
    “No doubt,” Alfonzo replied, looking forward again then pulling back on his horse’s reins, bringing her to a stop. “But there’s nothing excellent about these wolves. They rape and plunder as bad as any pirate, under a captain answerable only to the abbot of the order, and Tomas needs to rein in his boldness so they don’t take him away from us.” He looked around. “Smoke, I think this is a good place to have you wait. Will