We bowed, then I stepped aside to let him walk through the door I opened. The prince greeted his nervous aunt warmly. She peeked behind him to get my expression. I wore a mask of composed contentment to mollify her.
Due to present company, conferring with my friends had to wait a couple of hours after the lunch hour. We were finally alone inside a carriage heading back to the palace. Gerard, Clarissa, and I huddled our faces at the center of the transport while I whispered everything to them. Ghevont wasn’t interested enough to lean in and catch every detail. Once I finished with what I had to say, a moment of silent contemplation ensued.
Breaking the silence, Clarissa asked, “Do you believe him?”
“I don’t know. Nothing sticks out as an obvious lie, and I want to believe him, but it complicates things. My word and Taxa’s testimony can implicate him, but what then? He’ll be condemned as a traitor.”
“And a dead prince does us no good,” said Gerard. “If he’s telling the truth.”
“I mean, it should be easy to know if he’s telling the truth,” said Clarissa. “Let’s put him in front of the Advent and see what happens.”
“I’m inclined to agree. Until then, all we can do is continue to be on guard against any attempts on our lives. Nothing’s changed in that respect.”
I leaned back. “But even if he proves himself, do I keep his secret?”
“If he’s really not with the Advent, then there’s no reason to involve yourself in Wregor’s personal affairs. Besides, I say it’s best to have a prince and future emperor in your pocket.”
“Maybe. His father hasn’t exactly endeared himself to me or his neighbors. It still feels wrong, and I’m not so sure a man distraught enough to assassinate his father with the help of outsiders is exactly what this empire needs.”
“It’s not your empire to worry about,” said Clarissa. “You can’t try solving every problem you bump into.”
“You sound like my father… Ghevont? Do you have any thoughts on the matter?” He grabbed his chin with two fingers and angled his pondering eyes up at the carriage’s ceiling for a minute. “Take your time.”
“Oh, excuse me. Unless they’re already in a history tome, political machinations are not exactly my specialty. And if I’ve learned anything from those tomes, it’s that there are too many accounts that contradict one another for my liking. For instance, a pirate captain chasing the Light of Devotion claims she purposely dumped her silver overboard a day before the tempest sank her. Whereas the recovered journal of the Draceran captain implies that they never possessed the silver in the first place. So which is it? I tend to think…”
I shook my head at Gerard, who looked ready to interrupt Ghevont. I wasn’t going to put that much weight on the scholar’s answer anyway, so listening to another of his commentaries did more to improve my mood than whatever real answer he ultimately reached.
The wheels soon stopped in front of the palace gates. Except for the guardsmen, I walked through a garden devoid of visitors, the fine weather making that an abnormal sight. Ikumi stated the same sentiment out loud. We found where everyone went when we entered the palace’s great hall. It would have been a trial to shove through the crowd that had gathered near the emperor’s throne were it not for Satiko’s soldiers forcing open a lane for her. Our curiosity had Ikumi and my group trailing her.
A line of spear-wielding palace guards prohibited the mass of bodies from encroaching too closely to the throne, giving me a clear view of the backs of four people meeting with the emperor. Two women and one of the men aroused no sense of familiarity, but the ruffled hair, dirty black cloak, and Clarissa’s excited shriek gave me the hints I needed to guess the second man’s identity. The vampire ran to Mercer the instant he looked back to search for the origin of the shriek. She tackled him in a hug the very next instant.
I too wished to embrace my long-lost friend, but I preserved my self-control as I strode toward him. In the interval between restarting my walk and replacing Clarissa, I gave studious glances at his companions. The first, a hatted man with a drenindru standing by his legs, appeared a genial soul and not quite a warrior. The young, knotted-haired girl also didn’t strike me as someone who could defend herself.
In contrast, the adult woman startled me. Her exterior gave the impression that she was the most ordinary woman in Orda. However, the fancifully pernicious smirk she flashed me expressed something far different. It was as though she expected that I would strike her down were not for an impenetrable ward standing in the way. The smirk lasted for such a nothing amount of time that I could not eliminate the possibility that I had imagined it.
Forgetting his new acquaintances for the moment, I wrapped my arms around the knight of dragon fire. All the eyes on us made me too self-conscious about drawing out an embrace more appropriate for the occasion, so I let go rather quickly.
“Welcome back,” I said.
His face conveyed a shrug of lighthearted skepticism. “Did I miss anything?”
“Eh, nothing important. I just had a baby or two.” That was dumb to say.
Mercer rose an eyebrow that was equal parts amused and bemused as he and Gerard clasped forearms. Ghevont’s shoulder received a hearty slap, which I imagined was the friendliest greeting the scholar was comfortable with. Not caring that she already went, Clarissa snuck in another hug. I hadn’t smiled so wide in a long time.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Mercer
Not many experiences in life topped wearing a clean set of clothes after a long, hot bath. Temporarily supplanting my dirty outfit, they gave me black trousers and a long white shirt that was tied shut with four golden strings. My chain-teeth would have ripped the delicate sleeves were it not for the wrappings I kept on, even if it made my left arm look comically bigger than the other.
After a late dinner, I told Ujin, Kiku, and Masai to go in their respective quarters while I caught up with the others in Gerard’s room. Despite what they went through and envisioning myself in their scenarios, laying upright on a bed tempted my eyelids to close for longer and longer intervals. They noticed my weariness and told me to take a quick nap, but sharing everything we knew had to come first.
The most immediate concern was the recent revelation concerning the prince. They wanted my take on it, of course. It sounded as though they thought things through, so I could only agree that we should wait until the royal proved his allegiance on the battlefield, especially since he had never made a move to threaten their lives or impede their work here. There was still a chance I was his main target, but if that turned out to be the case, I knew his window to kill me was a narrow one.
My truncated account had to come with a lie. Odet and Gerard would not approve of a strife worshiper in our midst, so I told them what I already told the Wregor royalty—that she was an Uratama priestess instead. I enjoyed the fact that the fake identity annoyed the unholy Kiku. It’s the little pleasures that made life bearable.
When a period of quiet signaled that we had finished exchanging our accounts, Gerard asked, “So what’s next?”
“Summoning Aranath,” I said.
Picking up on my assertive tone, Clarissa said, “It sounds like you think you can do it.”
“Aye. It’s actually Kiku’s idea. She thinks she knows of a way to restore my prana, but she needs to go over some details with Ghevont first. We’ll also need a private space to perform the technique. I already asked the emperor for that space before you returned.”
“I wouldn’t count on the emperor approving of that anytime soon.”
“And what do you know of this technique?” asked a dubious Odet.
Shutting my eyes, I answered, “That it may not be enough. And that I’ve accepted whatever risks come with it.”
I heard Odet’s frown when she said, “There’s no reason to take needless risks, Mercer. We can beat the Advent without a dragon so long as we gain the support of Efios.”
“Support we can more easily attain if a true
dragon knight calls upon them, and I’d rather not retreat the next time we see a nismerdon. So unless you can summon Mytariss right now, nothing you say will change my mind.”
“It’s okay, Odet,” said Clarissa. “We’ll make sure Mercer doesn’t take this mysterious technique too far.”
“Except only Ghevont and Kiku will be with me.”
“What?! Why?”
“Because I want it that way.”
“That’s an answer parents say to their children!”
“And you trust this Kiku person to help you through this risky technique?” asked Odet.
“Even if I didn’t, I trust Ghevont and myself. That’d be two against one.”
“Open your eyes, Mercer, literally and not. I’m thankful Kiku helped you escape Jegeru, but you can’t just carry out the first plan you hear from someone you barely know. Blinding chasing power is how many great warriors and rulers have fallen.”
I opened my eyelids halfway, choosing not to respond. Nothing I said could convince her that this was a good idea. To be sure, I didn’t exactly think this was a good idea, but my mind was made up. I needed to fly again. I needed to look someone in the eyes and tell them I could summon a damn dragon without fucking lying about it.
Not enjoying anyone’s silence, Odet said, “Gerard! Don’t just stand there! Help us knock some sense into Mercer!”
Arms crossed, the green knight said, “It’s not something I’d chance, but it’s your life, Mercer.”
“Ugh, that’s the opposite of what I wanted.”
Gerard shrugged. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know the magic combination of words that will change his mind. He’s no child. He doesn’t need our permission.”
“I’m in the same camp, I think,” said Ghevont.
“You hush!” said Clarissa. “You just want to know what the technique is.”
“Hmm? Was I that obvious?”
“You’re always obvious.”
“Mercer,” said a mellower Odet. “You won’t at least take Clarissa with you?”
“I don’t want her leaving your side when you may not be out of the woods yet here. Besides, I know that conceding anything to you will only make it harder to resist future appeals.”
Returning to a stricter tone, the princess said, “Acting stubborn is not like you. Yet another sign this is the wrong path. We just got you back and you want to risk the unknown alone.”
“I’d be with him,” said Ghevont matter-of-factly.
“I know you’ll try limiting the danger, scholar, but your willingness to go through with it at all is of no comfort to me.” She sat down in a huff. “Well, we have time to discuss this yet. Go to your room and get your rest, Mercer. You too, Ghevont. We’ll get answers from your new friends once all our heads benefit from a little sleep.”
Like a guilty boy listening to his cross mother, I slinked off to my room. In the meantime, I told Ghevont to visit with Kiku and begin conferring with her regarding the technique, which was not to be revealed to Odet no matter what she said. He would quickly understand why that was. Not being as upset as the princess, Clarissa joined me in my room and helped me feel relaxed enough to not dwell on Odet’s disapproval and get some much needed sleep.
It was the vampire’s turn to get her rest when I awoke early in the morning. I told a servant in the hall to bring me a breakfast bowl of fruit slices and cold juice. A few minutes after receiving the requested meal, a knock prompted me to open my door. The man on the other side of the crack bowed and introduced himself as Prince Wuhen Ashina. I threw a piece of fruit at Clarissa’s face to wake her up. I let the prince in and closed the door.
“I heard you were supposed to be on some sort of mission by now,” I said.
“Meeting a dragon knight takes precedence, especially in times such as these. I also heard you needed help.”
“Ah, and you want to be as helpful as possible.”
“I take it the Alslana princess informed you of her reservations about me.”
“I wouldn’t take it personally. Odet just has a different idea of what family dysfunction is than you do.”
A dismissive grunt. “And what is your idea of it?”
“If you don’t really belong to the Advent, then I’d rather not get involved in family affairs. Of course, if one Wregor royal helps me more than the other…”
“Yes, that’s why I’m here. My father may someday grant your request for a piece of private land to borrow, but not without taking the time to assess your character first, and perhaps not without getting you to assure him a measure of allegiance. To put it simply, he’ll ask something in return. Meanwhile, I have a squad of griffins ready to fly you and your companions to an uninhabited island at this very moment.”
“Uh, this act won’t actually help endear you to Odet,” said Clarissa.
“But it will endear the shit out of me,” I said. “Only the scholar and Kiku will be going with me. Please get one of your servants to wake them up so we can go.”
The prince bowed and left the room.
Clarissa’s arms grappled my right arm. “Take me with you, Mercer. I don’t think Odet is in danger here.”
“But you might be if you go with me.”
She let go of my arm to get her stark eyes to meet mine. The mind behind her stirring pupils made the connections. “Gods, you want to corrupt yourself again, don’t you?”
“A little.”
“Mercer! You could barely handle corruption when it was sealed away! How do you expect to gain any kind of control with half your soul gone?”
“That’s where Ghevont and Kiku come in.”
She shook her head. “Your thought process sounds an awful lot like mine before I let myself become a vampire. The difference is that I had no one that truly cared for me, but you have friends that do, Mercer!”
“I know it, and I know this is dangerous, but I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think I could handle it. I made the mistake of trying to always resist the corruption, but as giving up half my soul showed me, that power was an intrinsic part of me, whether I liked it or not. And I liked it. Losing it felt a lot like being separated from you. This time I plan to embrace it.”
“While keeping sane, I hope.”
“I can’t promise it won’t go bad, but I know I can’t be very useful for very long if I only stick with half a normal soul. You and everyone else will be forced to protect a dragonless dragon knight. Do you know how much I hate that notion? Someone bred to fight being protected?” There was a knock on the door. “One second!”
Hugging me, Clarissa said, “I won’t forgive you if you fail.”
I kissed her cold forehead. “Do you believe I will?”
She gazed hard into my eyes. “No.”
I nodded and pulled away from her. Hand on the door’s handle, I said, “I suppose you can tell Odet everything once I’m gone. Also mention that I’m going to have to officially reject her sister’s proposal.”
“You should tell her yourself, you dragonless coward.”
“Er, no time, no time.”
As I left the room, she exclaimed, “Good luck!”
As Ghevont, Kiku, and I followed the prince down the hall, I asked the royal, “How far is this island?”
“Not far. About an hour as the griffin flies.”
“And why is it uninhabited?”
“It used to be a leper colony for any nobles that caught the affliction. One hasn’t set foot on the island in over thirty years, but the island still carries a strong stigma, so no one stops by there for long.”
“Charming. I’d like you to give us a day by ourselves. You or your men can check on us tomorrow morning.”
“As you wish.”
In a couple of minutes we found our way through the hall and garden to get to an open space outside the palace walls. I couldn’t resist looking behind me every few strides with the expectation that Odet would be chasing us down to stop the whole thing from happening. I was thus relieved to m
ount our respective griffins and take to the cloudless skies. We flew to the southwest, going far too slow to outfly the rising sun’s light. I hoped by the next morning I would have the power to fly myself out of the island.
We flew over a chain of islands in the span of an hour, most too small to support anything other than a handful of palm trees and huts. One of the larger ones was the one the griffins descended toward. It stretched out about two miles in every direction, giving it a uniform square shape. A large cluster of trees grew in the middle, and I could make out three or four dozen old huts built by the thin beaches that outlined the western and southern bounds of the isle. It was on the southern beach that we made our landing.
I thanked the prince for the ride and the privacy. Once he left with his men, I asked, “What did you two come up with?”
“We had a lovely talk,” said Kiku. “I think we fell in love.”
“She’s mistaken! At most we had a casual conversation on topics considered taboo by many. Refreshing, in that respect. She teases me too much for me to consider her a woman to love.”
“It’s just so easy!”
“I’m still waiting for an answer to my question,” I said. “Don’t tell me we’re here for nothing.”
“Of course not, darling. We would have stopped this little endeavor if we had not been productive last night. Master Rathmore has studied his father’s notes on corruption extensively and it has given him a couple of good ideas. For one, if you’re going to invite corruption back into your body, then it’s best we get you corruption your body is already familiar with.”
“She means we want to summon the fiend type that corrupted you in the first place,” said Ghevont. “We can steal its prana and use that to corrupt you. It should be easier for your body and spirit to acclimate to it if they recognize the power.”
“That sounds like a logical theory, but how are we going to summon it?” I asked. “None of us know what kind of fiend this thing on my arm came from.”
“Ah, but it’s that very thing on your arm that will lure the fiend. We can cut a few samples off the chain-teeth and they’ll help us create a better lure. Combining our knowledge, Kiku and I believe we have just the right rune to entice the fiend. Granted, there’s always the chance we don’t attract the right kind of fiend, but in that case we’ll either try again or take what we can get.”
The Dragon Knight and the Light Page 38
