Free A Dragon Born by Jordan Baker Page A

case."
    "What would you do, Sten? What would an escort do, except cause more problems. If you were to fight these pirates, they would win for they outnumber us by many. No, I will greet them alone. Do not fear. Nothing will happen to me."
    "Well, we've come all this way on your say so," Sten said as he scratched his head.
    "Thank you, Sten," Ehlena said and smiled at him then walked over to the heavy wooden plank that had been extended over to the raised dock.
    Ehlena took a deep breath and stepped out onto the notched wood of the gangplank and walked toward the motley group of pirates assembled on the other side, their swords gleaming sharp and the points of their daggers at the ready.
    "Maybe Sten is right," Ehlena said in her mind. "Look at those pirates."
    "I am with you," the Lady replied. "They will know this, as do the crew who have faithfully brought you to this place."
    "If you're sure. But they look very dangerous."
    "I am sure. I am a goddess, after all, as are you."
    The pirates stepped back as the wind stilled and the cloudy skies above parted and Ehlena walked toward them, a vision of light, almost glowing in the blinding light that shone from above. Ehlena felt the power of the goddess fill her to the brim, as though her radiant light might overflow and spill out of her. It was a strange and overwhelming feeling but not in a terrible way. She could not help but smile at them, for she felt free like the wind in the sky, the kind of strong and goodly wind that would fill the sails of ships and make for perfect seas. The pirates felt it too and they knew that the young woman who walked toward them was more than just a girl. They put away their swords and daggers and parted way for her, all except their leader, Lanos, who struggled to stand his ground, even though something deep within him responded to the young woman the same way as the men and women he commanded.
    "You are Lanos-Meer," Ehlena said, her voice like a warm breeze, powerful yet playful.
    "Aye," Lanos replied.
    "I ask that you and your people afford safe harbor to the crew of the Al-Andor for they have come at my request and hold no ill will toward you."
    "Aye, milady," Lanos found himself saying, though he knew not why he did so. The young woman who stood before him was barely a slip of a girl, yet she had the presence of a woman, the likes of which he had never before encountered. Something about her made him feel as though he could fly, or sail the world with perfect winds forever. He tried to shake off the feeling but found himself enthralled by the girl.
    "Thank you, Lanos-Meer," Ehlena said. "There is a storm coming. In the times ahead, if the seas turn against you, call upon me and I will do what I can to gentle them."
    "Thank you, milady," he said and then he stepped aside as she walked past him and made her way down from the platform and up into the streets of the town.
    The sky returned to grey but the winds stayed gentle in the island port as the crew of the Al-Andor worked with the pirates at the docks to secure the ship safely to its moorings. Sten walked over the gangplank to greet the man named Lanos, who he understood from the second part of his name to mean that he was the leader of pirate island.
    "She's quite the lass," he said.
    Lanos shook his head and blinked his eyes as though waking from a dream.
    "It's been a strange time here," he said then he looked at the first mate of the Aghlar ship, his gaze regaining its former skepticism. "I can't say I'm pleased about it, but you've got safe harbor."
    "And we're grateful," Sten said. "It was a raging storm we passed through a few days past, with fearsome tides, though the winds were fair to us, despite the rolling seas. We've the luck of the Lady with us, to be sure."
    "Some kind of magic," Lanos muttered. "I've had my fill of it of late. I'll be glad when all these mages and wizard women are gone. Nothing good can come of all of it."
    "You still do not know," Sten observed. "'Twere a