by JA Andrews
“Do not speak.” Killien’s voice was thin. He glanced toward the slave. “Do you know this to be true?”
“I stood beside the Torch that night,” the man said. “Like I have every night. He waited in ambush for your father and killed him from his hiding place. Like a coward. And the order to burn your grasses and kill you were from his very lips less than a fortnight ago.”
Killien stood utterly still. A thin line of red dribbled down Ohan’s throat under the sword. Killien drew in a long, trembling breath and took a step back, dropping the sword to his side.
“If you’d only told the truth, my gift to you would have been a quick death.” Killien nodded to Lukas and shoved his sword back into his sheath. “You should have told the truth.”
Will leaned forward, the rocky wall rough against his palms. In front of the dragon’s enormous body, Killien looked small, but his posture was as vicious as the dragon’s.
Lukas pulled an amber colored burning stone out of his shirt, dangling from a thick silver chain. He lifted it up over Ohan’s head and Vatche yanked his hands off the man, stepping away. Lukas dropped the necklace over Ohan’s head and stepped back, watching.
A strange glow formed in front of the man like wisps of fire. Tendrils of light slid out of his clothes and his neck, snaking out of his face.
“No.” Alaric drew back from the rock, his breath jagged.
Evangeline drew in a sharp breath, then pressed her hands to her face, her fingers white.
“No, no, no, no,” Alaric whispered, his eyes fixed on the man down in the cave.
“What is he doing?” Will asked.
Alaric pinched his mouth shut and shook his head. “That’s an absorption stone—or a reservoir stone.”
“It’s pulling out his vitalle,” Evangeline whispered, between her fingers, her voice pained.
Will stared at her. “Like Alaric did to you?”
Ohan screamed and Alaric flinched, turning toward Evangeline and crushing her to his chest. Ohan’s screams rose, echoing through the chamber. He clawed at the necklace, trying to pull it off, but the gem stayed fixed to his chest. His screams changed to a shriek, feral and savage as he dropped to his knees.
Swirls of orange-bronze light tore out of his body and spun around the gem, sinking into it, mixing with the amber color of the stone, glowing like rusted honey.
Ohan’s screams pierced into Will like daggers. Alaric clamped shaking hands over Evangeline’s ears. Sora grabbed Will’s arm, her face horrified.
With a final thin cry, Ohan tumbled sideways onto the ground.
His body was utterly still and the gem at his chest glowed with swirling light.
Chapter Forty-Three
The enclave was silent.
Lukas knelt down next to the body and dragged the stone off Ohan’s head. Standing, he offered it to Killien.
Killien held up the stone, watching the orange light for a long moment. “It is a shame that the Sweep has turned into this. Clan killing clan. Roven fighting amongst ourselves when we could be banding together.”
Evangeline dropped her hands and looked into the cavern, flinching when she saw the body of Ohan sprawled out on the floor. Hal’s eyes were fixed on Killien, horrified.
“We should be gathering our strength to fight the real enemies.” Killien’s words carried throughout the cavern. “Those who live across the Scales.”
“That’s unsettling,” Alaric muttered.
Killien stepped away from Ohan’s body with a disgusted look. The slave who had betrayed him stepped forward. Grabbing Ohan’s arms he dragged the body out of the smaller cave and tossed it along the wall of the main cavern.
Killien nodded to the man and climbed up next to Anguine. He hooked the swirling orange stone over a thin spike on the dragon’s neck. “Nothing is ever accomplished on the Sweep without bloodshed. And today is no exception. We have never come together in peace. Every change in our land, every bit of progress comes from pouring the blood of our people into the grass.
“But let today be the last.” Killien toyed with the gem for a breath before turning away from it. “Let us purge the hatred out of our clans today so that tomorrow can dawn a new age for our people.”
Lukas still stood where Ohan had fallen. All semblance of servitude was gone, and he stood with arms folded across his chest, eyes fixed coldly on Killien. The Torch met his gaze for a long moment, then nodded. A vicious smile lifted Lukas's mouth and he strode away, his steps echoing as he passed through the silent cavern and into a tunnel near the mouth of the cave.
“Only a little more unpleasantness.” Killien stepped away from the dragon and walked toward the back of the room where the other Roven still stood pressed against the wall. He reached the farthest table and swung his legs over the bench.
“Come join me at the tables, and let us dream of what the Sweep can be.” His words echoed more with a note of command than invitation.
The other Roven shifted.
“If any of you are concerned that troops or stonesteeps from the camp below will disturb our talks, let me assure you that they will not. The Roven below have their problems and we have ours. They will fight for today, but we must sit together and fight for the whole future of the Sweep.
“Come.” Killien snapped across the room.
Torch Vatche stepped forward and sat at the table across from Killien. The two warriors with him sat as well. One by one the others sat until the only Torches that stood along the wall were Noy and Albrech.
“Do you not want a say in the future of the Sweep?” Killien spoke quietly enough Will could barely hear it. “Today you lose all the power you’ve had. Albrech, you will lose many of your warriors. Noy, you have already lost your dragon, and your stonesteeps will soon fall. A new era is dawning.”
“What have you done?” Albrech demanded. “Do you dare attack my army with your pitiful handful of warriors?”
“My warriors are safe at home with their families. It is only yours who are in danger.”
A horn rang out from the Sweep. Then another. Distant shouts and clashes echoed feebly through the cavern.
“The frost goblins,” Sora whispered.
The Torches shoved themselves up from the table.
“Sit.” Killien’s voice cracked like a whip. A threatening growl rumbled in Anguine’s chest. “The way to help your clans is to sit here, at this enclave, and discuss the future of the Sweep.”
With a ripple of scarlet light, Anguine raised his head until it hung high in the air over the tables. The Roven sank back down in their seats.
“Now, if you would all hand your weapons to the good people who used to be your slaves,” Killien continued, “we can get this discussion underway.” The slaves stepped closer, taking swords and knives. “If you wouldn’t mind staying close by,” Killien asked them, “you might help the conversation to stay civil.”
In moments a ring of grey shirts encircled the table, knives and swords held in their hands.
“Very good. Now, let us begin. Anguine will root out any who would disturb us.”
The dragon’s head curved around and the enormous creature’s claws scratched against the floor as it crawled back toward the sunshine.
“If we’re going to find Ilsa,” Hal said, his face set in hard lines, “we need to do it now.”
“Agreed,” Will said, stepping back from the gash in the wall.
Hal led them back out into the original tunnel.
After only a few minutes they came to a hole in the floor. Following Hal, they descended a ladder, reaching another tunnel that wound forward with a hint of brightness. A handful of doors were set on either side.
“Storage rooms,” Hal whispered. “This will lead us to the main cavern. Usually the Torches clear out this area when the enclave starts, sending everyone else down to the Sweep. So it should be empty. Let’s hope Killien keeps them all back in that cave, because we’re going to have to walk across the cave mouth to get to the living quarte
rs.”
Will nodded for him to continue, and they walked quietly down the dim corridor. Douglon and Patlon kept their axes out. Sora held a long knife in her hand. The tunnel brightened measurably around each turn until they could see an arched doorway where it spilled out into the bright main cavern. Hal motioned them forward, and they crept toward it.
A flash of red glittered in the sunlight and Sora drew in a sharp breath. A crushing weight of emotions flooded into Will. Anger, impatience, hunger. Sora grabbed Will’s arm just as the dragon’s head filled the arch. With a growl the dragon drew in a breath and the group scrambled backwards.
Anguine shot out a stream of flame that filled the tunnel with a stunning burst of energy. An answering burst of vitalle rushed past the other direction from Alaric, and they sprinted toward the turn. Will and Hal were the last to reach it, diving around just as a wall of flickering orange flame rushed by.
“Against the wall,” Alaric hissed, holding his hand toward the fire. The flames flickered along an invisible boundary that angled out from the corner, pushing the fire back from where they huddled.
The heat reached them, though. A wave of scalding heat washed over Will, and he ducked away from it.
The flames stopped and the group stood frozen. The hallway was silent, but Will could still feel the crushing hunger of the dragon. The drive to kill.
Alaric shook out his hand, wincing. “There’s nothing to draw vitalle from in here,” he whispered. “I won’t be able to make another shield.”
“Is there any other way out?” Will asked Hal.
“Just back to where we came from. Or down into some storage cellars.”
“The dragon isn’t going to stop if Killien’s commanded it to root out intruders,” Douglon pointed out. “I think we need to consider retreating.”
“We can’t leave.” Will shoved against Anguine’s emotions, but he couldn’t push them out. They pressed down, smothering him. “Ilsa’s here. And the slaves. We can’t leave.”
Hal’s expression clearly agreed with Douglon.
Will cast out. The huge head of the dragon was pressing into the end of the tunnel.
“We need a new plan, Will,” Alaric said. “We’re not getting past a dragon. And Douglon’s right. As long as Killien controls him, I don’t think he’s going to stop.
Evangeline stepped up next to them. “Maybe we can get him out from Killien’s control.” She bit her lip and looked at Alaric. “It’s going to be alright.”
Then she stepped around the corner into view of the dragon.
Alaric made a strangled noise and grabbed for her but she moved out of his reach. She held her hands away from herself, palms spread to show she held no weapon.
“Hello, Anguine.” Her voice was small and thin in the tunnel.
Will felt a spark of interest flare to life in Anguine and heard the dragon draw in a breath.
“My name is Evangeline,” she said, “and even though you and I have never met, I…know you.”
Curiosity from the dragon bloomed in Will’s chest. The hunger receded slightly and the flames didn’t come.
Alaric stepped into the tunnel behind her, but Douglon grabbed his arm to hold him back. “Give her a chance,” the dwarf said quietly.
“It’s alright,” Will whispered to Alaric. “Anguine is just curious about her.”
“It is not alright,” Alaric hissed back.
Will leaned forward to see around the corner, but Hal grabbed him and pulled him back away from the door. “You stay back. He may still want to kill you.”
Will nodded and moved until he could barely see around the corner. The dragon’s head filled the end of the narrow tunnel, his yellow, reptilian eyes fixed on Evangeline.
Anguine slid his head forward into the corridor, his jaw inches above the ground until his snout was within reach of her arm. She stood woodenly, but didn’t back away. Alaric strained against Douglon’s grip, his face white. The dragon’s nostrils flared and he breathed in. From deep in his chest came a low rumble.
The elf. The words rolled through Will’s mind like a wave crashing over the surf. Everyone in the group flinched.
“Yes.” Evangeline let out a relieved breath. “Ayda, the elf.”
You smell of her.
“I…I do?”
Alaric still leaned toward his wife, but his eyes tightened in curiosity. Anguine drew in a breath again and Evangeline was pulled a half step forward down the tunnel, her hair whipping out in front of her face.
Your life, your…being. It smells like her.
“Well, that makes sense.” Evangeline nodded shakily. “You see, Ayda was a friend of my husband. And she…” The tunnel fell silent for a moment. “She sacrificed her own life to save mine. Now I know things that she knew. And I recognize you.”
The dragon considered Evangeline with emotionless eyes.
What would you and your companions lurking down the hall ask of me, Evangeline Elf Scent?
“We would like—um…Elf Scent?”
It is fitting.
“Yes, but…”
Anguine stared at her, unmoving. He let out a long, slow breath and Evangeline’s hair fluttered backwards.
She stepped back. “We would like to get out of the tunnel and cross the cavern behind you.”
That is not something I’m willing to allow.
“I think you might.”
The dragon growled and Alaric flinched. Will felt a spark of irritation wriggle through Anguine’s emotions.
“I mean,” Evangeline said quickly, “I don’t think it’s you who doesn’t want us to cross. I—we think that you’re being controlled.”
The growl from Anguine’s throat was louder this time and Alaric took a step forward. Douglon’s face was stony hard as he held the man back.
“Did you know there’s a stone on your back? Right between your wings? It’s blue.”
Anguine’s eyes slid shut and the dragon was perfectly still for a long breath.
I had…forgotten that was there. His voice held a low, roiling anger. The Torch.
“Yes, the Torch. We think he’s using it to control you. Just like he sent you before to kill someone.”
The Keeper. The words were hard as granite. Will felt a spike of hatred. I want to kill the Keeper.
“Well, the Torch wants you to kill the Keeper. I think if you took the stone off, you might not care either way about the man.” She took a tentative step forward. “If you don’t mind, um, with your permission, I mean, I could climb up on your back and take it off for you.”
Anguine considered her for a long time. You know the Keeper.
Evangeline stiffened. “I do. And it would be good for him if we took the stone off of you. But it would be good for you, too. You’ll know which thoughts are yours, and which are…not.”
The dragon’s anger and suspicion swirled in Will’s chest.
I will not be controlled. Take it off.
Anguine stretched his clawed foot toward Evangeline and she flinched back. Alaric let out a pained gasp. When the dragon didn’t move again, she put one hand out slowly to touch it. The claws pressed into the floor with knife-sharp points. The tops of his scaled foot sat at Evangeline’s waist. She climbed up onto it, then scrambled on her hands and knees onto his back. She kept her head low so she didn’t hit the ceiling.
“It’s right here,” she said, peering down at Anguine’s back. “It’s been tied in place with leather straps around three scales.” She leaned forward and tugged at something Will couldn’t see. “These knots are tight.”
She yanked on something and Anguine hissed and snapped his huge jaw at her.
“Sorry,” she said, holding her hands up. “I think that loosened it, though.”
Anguine’s head drew back slightly. With a little more fidgeting, she lifted something into the air with a glint of blue. Anguine closed his eyes and shook his head as though he were shaking off water.
That is…
A deep gro
wl vibrated the floor under Will’s feet.
That is better. His words flowed smoothly into Will’s mind. You are right, I care nothing for the Keeper.
Evangeline slid down off Anguine’s side and climbed down off his foot. She slung the gem over her shoulder by the long strips of leather and stood uncertainly in front of the huge creature.
My mind clears. Thank you, Evangeline Elf Scent. He breathed in and his scales rippled waves of red light along his side. I owe you a debt. What would you ask of me?
“Well, aside from a different title than Elf Scent, we would still like to pass. We have business across that big cavern.”
Anguine turned his reptilian head toward the others. Will felt a mild curiosity form in his chest. You may pass.
Evangeline nodded, then motioned to the others to come. Alaric let out a long breath. Slowly the group stepped into the tunnel and moved toward the dragon. Anguine’s emotions were infinitely calmer now, a cross between boredom and vague curiosity. They were only a few steps away when he felt a flicker of recognition from the dragon.
I have met the black-robed one before.
“Yes, that is my husband,” Evangeline said. “He was a friend of Ayda’s. He was there the night you met her.”
Will felt a low wave of anger. I remember.
There was a sudden spike of hatred and Will grabbed for Alaric’s arm to pull him back. But Anguine continued to stare at them with an indecipherable gaze.
Will was still watching the dragon when Evangeline shifted, blocking his view. Her face twisted into a snarl and she lunged for Will, wrapping her hands around his neck and crushing his throat.
Chapter Forty-Four
Alaric grabbed at Evangeline’s arms, hissing words in her ear and pulling at her fingers as they dug into Will’s neck.
Will’s mouth stretched open, trying to draw in air. His chest burned. He shoved at Evangeline, but she leaned close to him, her face murderous, her breath hot on his face.
Black spots flashed at the edges of his vision and crept inward. Dimly, Sora’s face appeared behind Evangeline with her knife raised behind Evangeline’s shoulder. She sliced down and yanked the stone off Evangeline’s shoulder, tossing it away.
