“This is the last of them,” I panted. “I didn’t see any more up there.” The surrounding gangers watched me warily—none spoke. I mentally chuckled as I thought about what I probably looked like, burned all over, covered in sand, dripping with blood.
Karen lowered her bow, a confused expression on her face. She looked up at the sky and waved her weapon around a few times. Then she turned and said, “I don’t feel anything moving up there. I think she might be right.”
In the relative quiet, I could hear the moans of nearby wounded and the crackle of campfires. At the edges of the light, Serpents began emerging form the darkness, cautiously watching the skies, and staring at me. One younger ganger swallowed so loudly I could hear it from where I was standing.
Anippe also showed up and asked, “That green explosion in the distance, was that you?” The older woman had received a nasty cut on her forehead and it looked like half her face was running with blood.
“Yes,” I answered.
I began walking to the command building, but Anippe moved, acting like she was going to block my way. “You should wait, report to Beem.”
“Fuck that. Get out of the way. I do not have the rotting patience for this right now.” Anippe looked like she might say something, but closed her mouth and stepped aside instead. “Good answer,” I growled.
My steps were slow and my boots felt like they were full of lead as I walked back to the command building, or the conference center, or whatever the Serpents called the place I’d been before. “I am so rotting tired,” I muttered, and yanked open the door.
I made my way back to the table and slouched in my old chair, getting blood and filth everywhere. After leaning my head back, I rested my eyes, taking time to think. My mind raced, keeping me wide awake even as my body wanted nothing but oblivion. When I heard the others coming back, I stifled a regretful sigh, resting my elbows on the table and my chin in my hands.
The Serpents’ leaders, minus Trevor, all made their way around the table, taking their seats silently. Guards stood by the doors like they had before, but I caught one of them staring at me, nervously fingering her sword. I smiled at her, and she took a step back.
Finally, after an awkward silence, Beem cleared her throat and said, “Trevor won’t be joining us. He is working in the medical tent.” She paused and continued, “Thank you for your help out there, Nora. Could you tell us what happened?”
I noted that the Areva woman’s tone had grown more respectful. “You first,” I said. She nodded, and gave me an overview of how the defenders had acted. Then I nodded and filled everyone in on what I’d done, and about the true-demons I’d killed on the beach.
“So that’s what was making that green trash,” muttered Anippe.
Frederick, the old logistics manager, finally spoke, surprising me. I’d thought he was mute or something. “Dear Creator,” he whispered. “A few more of those things and we would have had no chance. So many died already…” He looked like he was close to crying, and I wondered if he’d lost family tonight.
“So on that subject,” I said, “you dealt with the flying things before. This was a more serious attack, or at least took more resources, but why didn’t they wait for more of those thrower things? At first I thought it was because of me, but I am not even sure the cultists know I’m on the island here. In fact, since I think we killed all the flying things, they still might not know. Do you have anything to tell me? Why did they attack now—why didn’t they wait until they could wipe you out?”
Some of the leaders glanced at each other. Beem finally said, “We captured a Jackal yesterday. We usually aren’t able to win any fights, much less take one alive. The rotting fanatics will usually kill anyone from their side that surrenders too. There was one time that they killed a girl we bagged with some sort of long-range attack. It’s possible that they came for you, but the fact they were attacking buildings makes it more likely they were trying to kill our prisoner.”
“Why?”
Some of Beem’s old attitude came back and she looked down her nose at me. “Serpent secrets. This is not your war, right? You want to just kill a person or two and leave, so why do you care?”
“Fucking Areva,” I muttered.
“What?”
I looked the Serpent leader in the eye. “Look, bitch, I am exhausted. I just had to fight nightmares—living nightmares in the rotting dark. There is no time anymore to measure claws with you, so just tell me what the fuck is going on.”
She stared at me, but didn’t really react. Anippe put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Boss, we should probably just tell her. It’s not like she can hurt us with it. Also...she fought tonight.”
“Fine. Alright, Nora, you want to be part of this war? We have somehow prevented the captive from killing herself, but she just keeps repeating that the day of reckoning is in two days. Trying to get more information out of her has been...problematic. We believe that something actually is happening in two days, though.”
“What?” I asked.
“We don’t know.”
I was so tired, I couldn’t figure out what to say at first, but after a few seconds I just shook my head. “So your little war just got a lot more serious, but you don’t know enough yet to even plan. You are not nearly as safe as you thought you were on this island, and it’s only a matter of time until the cultists wipe you out, even if this thing in two days doesn’t already do that. If it weren’t for these rotting letters written by rotting Enheduanna, I wouldn’t even be here right now. I definitely wouldn’t be covered in blood and demon guts.”
The table was silent as I slowly stood with a chuckle. “Rotting wonderful. It’s the blind leading the blind. You didn’t help me, you need me to help you, but it sounds like you can’t find your ass with both hands. It also sounds like you were just an annoyance to the cultists before, but now that you might be a threat, they’re going to crush you for sure. Meanwhile, you and Duanna have put me right in the middle—like usual.”
I was so very tired. My muscles screamed as I picked up my pack from where I’d left it and tottered to the door, leaning on Eneus to walk. I turned and scanned the table. “I am going to find somewhere to sleep. Wake me up if you figure something out or if more true-demons come to kill us all. For as long as your goals are the same as mine, I will fight with you, but you are whacked on the head if you think I’m going to take orders. Get it?”
The people around the table nodded, and I met Beem’s eyes again. “Good. Unless the rotting world starts ending or something blows up again, I will see you tomorrow.”
I left the room, shaking my head, and groaned, “Why do I keep landing in these things?” I felt so awful I could cry, from exhaustion, pain, and the jitters from almost dying earlier. Just the thought of walking somewhere to find a place to sleep filled me with dread. “I’m never using three shots of Pewpew again at once. No rotting way.”
After I left the building, the Serpents outside turned to watch me. Some of them whispered to each other, but I didn’t use Vibration to understand what they were saying. More of the gangers showed up, lit by dancing firelight and magelight torches. When the first of them began clapping, it startled me so badly I almost pissed myself. I looked around wildly, wondering what was happening as more of the gangers began clapping. One silly woman was even crying.
I growled as I slowly wandered off, wondering why they were all soft in the brain. Maybe I could find some trees somewhere to cover me while I slept. Clapping followed me, and I muttered, “I just did what I had to do. They are acting like I am a rotting hero or something.”
Luckily, I found a good-looking patch of sand to lie down on before I completely ran out of fuel. As I collapsed, I thought, Fools, all of them. I was glad that no more buildings had been destroyed, though. The Serpents had been my enemies for many years, but the thought of some demon nightmare-thing killing children touched on something dark in me, a rage that hadn’t surfaced since the battle of Soron.
/> “White Darkness,” I whispered as I drifted off into sleep. “Still a stupid name.”
Scales of Truth
I woke up suddenly, keeping my eyes closed and breathing regular by instinct. When I cracked an eyelid, the morning light was mostly blocked by a huge, scaly head. Jadanak’s reptilian eye rotated down—he’d somehow noticed me wake up.
With a quick flex of Vibration power, I vib-punched, and the drake grunted as his head was knocked up. I rolled back, succeeding in getting sand in all of my clothes, and crouched with a hand on Vistvis.
“Good morning to you too,” grumbled Jadanak, clawing at his snout.
I blinked, halfway between hyper-alert and groggy. “What the hell were you doing?”
“I was guarding you.”
“Why?”
“Because we are friends and I wanted you to be safe.” The drake’s face was neutral and I wasn’t sure, but it seemed he was moving his lips less so I couldn’t see his teeth. Maybe this was his way of looking less threatening.
“Are you sure you weren’t...looking at me?” I asked with a frown.
“No, no! I would never…”
“Just stop, nevermind,” I sighed. “What do you want?”
Jadanak’s eyes grew shifty. “What makes you think I want something?”
“So you came to find me after you left Dingeramat—after being in there for hundreds of years—came to find me, didn’t react to insults, and fought true-demons...all for friendship? Then you just randomly decided to watch me sleep so you’d be the first thing I’d see after waking up?”
“Well, I may have something I need to discuss with you,” he admitted.
I groaned. Looking at the fearsome drake with fresh eyes, I still respected his power, but I could barely remember what it felt like to be so afraid of him. He could probably still kill me if he really wanted, like if he’d decided to try eating me while I’d been sleeping, but I practically always wore my armor and I could react really fast these days. Without Eneus, things would be different, but now in a straight fight, I was confident I would win. No wonder Enheduanna had kicked him around so easily. Size and strength were not the only ways to be dangerous, especially on Ludus.
“What do you want to talk about?” I asked.
“It is a little...sensitive. Can we go somewhere else?” He turned his head meaningfully, and for the first time, I noticed that there were Serpents everywhere. Some of them pretended not to be watching as they sharpened knives or cooked, but a few openly watched. All of them had weapons close at hand.
Actually, maybe even trying to surprise-eat me would have been hard for him, I thought. I had guards. My muscles protested as I stretched and watched the drake, wondering how much I should humor him. Eventually, I decided it was better to have an ally than an enemy, and he had helped out the night before, after all. I said, “Fine, but let me clean up and get something to eat first. I need a bath or a shower before I do anything.”
If I hadn’t been watching for it, I wouldn’t have noticed the huge lizard’s eyes light up before hiding the reaction. I ran a hand over my face and ordered, “Just wait here. Don’t molest anyone or peep on any women.”
“I would never—”
“Do you want me to call Enheduanna?” I bluffed.
The drake’s mouth shut with a snap. I gave him one last stern look and walked off to find a bathroom.
***
An hour later, I stood near the beach where I’d killed the true-demons the night before. Jadanak was curled up, resting his head on a boulder. We’d walked out here in relative silence, but now it was time to find out what he was here for. “Okay, we’re alone. Start talking.”
Jadanak’s huge eyes studied me for a moment. “You know, you talk differently now than when we first met.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are still rough around the edges but you carry yourself and talk with—” He paused, seeming to search for the words. “Confidence, I guess, maybe even authority. Nobility, maybe?”
“Nobility?” I scoffed. “Well, it’s been a few years and I’ve seen some of the world. I don’t think I’ll ever stop saying rot, though.”
“That’s not what I meant. Either way, it isn’t important.” The huge drake shook his head, his scales rasping on the rock underneath his neck. “What I came to ask is—” He hesitated. “Enheduanna told me I should find you,” he said, trailing off.
“Are you going to spit it out? The Serpent leaders will probably be looking for me soon. I bet they are in a hurry to sit around a table and stare at each other some more.”
“Yes, yes, so impatient,” muttered Jadanak. “I need you to help me—” He winced. “With Mensk.”
“With the capital city?” I cocked my head. “That doesn’t make any sense. In fact, you aren’t even from here, are you? Like this world? Why are you still on Ludus?”
“You aren’t making this easy, Nora.”
“That’s because for a huge, powerful not-dragon with a rotting weapon on your tail, you are acting like a sheep.” The drake seemed so pitiful right now I could almost forgive him for touching me inappropriately in the past. Almost.
“Alright,” he growled. “I want to find Tascany, but Enheduanna said she lives in Mensk and I cannot exactly just fly there and start asking around. I’d probably get shot out of the sky, and even if everyone didn’t panic, I wouldn’t even fit most places. I’m a drake, not a real dragon—I can’t shift my form.”
“Tascany, the woman who you trapped before and did...things with. Wait, dragons can change forms?”
The huge reptile chuffed. “True dragons have their own levels of existence, so lumping them all together as ‘dragons’ is not accurate, but many of them can change forms, yes. This is how most of them have survived in the current universe. Dragons are mighty, but the Host, and especially Areva, are feared.” He’d obviously ignored my first question, but what he said had gotten my attention.
“Areva?” I asked, aghast. “Feared? Are we talking about the same people? Kind of small? Pointed ears? Big rotting opinions of themselves?”
Jadanak’s expression was hard to read on his scaly face as he said, “There really are many things you don’t understand yet, Nora. Areva have interstellar ships that function as terrifying weapons. Orbital bombardment has been outlawed by the Host, but Areva have other ways to wage war. They are mostly fair in ruling their Quadrants, but they do demand a tax, and most true dragons have...issues with taxes. This has caused conflict in the past.”
I just blinked at that, I didn’t know what to say. What Jadanak had just said made me feel small and ignorant in ways that no spiteful Areva had ever been able to manage on purpose. If not for my education or my father’s lessons, I would not have even understood the words the drake had just said. But because I knew what “interstellar” meant and I knew about planets, and other stars, I could somewhat grasp the scale of what I’d just heard.
My lips pursed as I digested what Jadanak had said, and he let me stand in silence until I spoke again. “So you need me to find Tascany, again, your past lover.” I could remember Enheduanna talking about the woman in Dingeramat. My Mind orb-ability allowed me to recall past conversations easier than the average person. “She’s orb-Bonded, so she’s probably still alive, but what makes you think she still wants to talk to you, or even have anything to do with you? You kept her as a prisoner for years, right? Didn’t you molest that poor woman?”
“We were two consenting adults,” growled Jadanak.
I shook my head. “You were her jailer!”
“We had a wonderful time together!” he protested.
“Whatever. You gave her an orb so you’d better hope she thinks that way too. Anyway, you just want me to find her?”
“Find her and give her a message. A letter.”
“How did you manage to write a letter?” I asked, mildly surprised.
“I sharpened a claw and dipped the tip into ink,” he said. The pride in hi
s voice was obvious. “When my time at Dingeramat was almost done, I had to decide what I wanted to do, and this was important to me. I couldn’t give up on Tascany. It took me a few months to make this letter.” His tail lifted behind him, and he began manipulating the scales on his back with the tip. I couldn’t see what he did, but after a couple minutes, a thick, folded parchment slid along his body to flutter on the ground.
“Wow,” I said.
“It was a lot more difficult getting it up there than getting it out.” He flashed his teeth. “I have two layers of scales there, and I was able to keep it protected from air or water until now.”
“Yes, I suppose storage could be a problem if you are a big rotting lizard,” I said, walking to the parchment.
“You know that talking that way is offensive, right? But yes, this is why drakes and dragons have lairs.”
“Makes sense.” I picked up the parchment. “This smells like lizard.”
“Again, that is offensive.” Jadanak frowned. “And I don’t stink. That has been under my scales for close to a year now. How would something you kept in your armpit smell after a year? Probably a lot worse than that.”
I privately admitted he had a point. “This is still gross, though.” I folded the letter up smaller and dropped it in one of my waterproof pouches I wore.
“Don’t read that.” The drake tried to look menacing but I just stared him down and he eventually gave up. “You are a lot harder to deal with now.”
“You mean now that you can’t easily kill me and I am not trapped in a cave anymore with no privacy? Funny how that works.” Jadanak’s scales around his eyes moved, the drake version of looking sheepish. I said, “But don’t worry, I have no desire to read your note. There are things—many things I don’t want to know.”
“That works,” he mumbled.
“Now if this was all you wanted, I need to get back to the gang who so far has not tried to kill either of us, and has even given us food.” I turned to go but looked back over my shoulder. “You do know that you owe me a huge rotting favor, right?”
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