“I did… I do,” Hasley amended.
Amic turned around and held his hands wide to the two seated fateless teens.
“I think we’ll make a good team. I have a lot to show you both.”
His smile spoke of promises and secrets, Hasley was not reassured.
Seven
The Ocean
The days that followed held bumpy roads, but warm beds. The province of Borderain was only a few days away from Firetop, where Hasley and Ember had resided. Hasley traveled with Amic and James in silence for the first two days. Amic did not give many details about what he was working on, suggesting that they had to see it for themselves. A few weeks ago that would have bothered Hasley, but at this moment there was more on her mind.
When they were only a few hours from his province, he began to inquire deeper about their lives. Most of all, he asked Hasley about her time with Ember.
“Did you know she was the Dragon Daughter?” Amic asked as they rode in the carriage.
There was enough space for Hasley, James, and Amic to sit comfortably across the two benches. Hasley sat on one side to herself, leaning against the window.
“No, I didn’t,” Hasley answered. She wished she could have helped her friend carry that secret, but Ember didn’t give her that opportunity.
“How long have you known each other?” Unlike the first leg of the journey, Amic and James watched her instead of the changing scenery outside the carriage windows.
“For a year in elementary education, then just this past year.”
“Why not in between?” Amic asked. Hasley asked herself that same question when her friend had came back after all those years.
“She moved away. Her moms didn’t stay in one province for too long. I’m sure they’ve lived in your province too.”
He paused at that, the thought hadn’t crossed his mind prior.
“Did she make any other friends during these moves?”
“No, just me.” Hasley didn't know that for sure, but Ember never brought up other people, or sent letters to friends she met along the way. She only ever spoke about her moms, or Hasley herself.
“Why was that?”
Hasley barely kept in a groan of annoyance. She may not know why the voice suggested she go with Amic Keyholder, but she knew it wouldn’t be to conduct a long interview about fresh wounds. Hasley counted to three in her head and focused on Amic’s voice. It wouldn’t be much longer until they reached his home and she could rest. Maybe then, what she was seeing with her eyes would match up with the ambient sounds of the carriage on the road. Amic would be her anchor in the cabin, for now.
“Why was that?” Amic repeated. James continued to watch, looking back and forth between them as they spoke. Amic had far fewer questions to ask James than Hasley. Maybe that bothered him, but as of yet he hadn’t expressed it. Instead, he followed the conversation in silence.
“She was keeping secrets, of course. She couldn’t get close to others. We only became friends because I pursued it,” Hasley admitted.
Her persistence had paid off then. Little did she know at the time, Ember would also become the only friend in her life. All other connections seemed to fall away from Hasley, she wasn’t sure why. Given what was going on with her now, that was for the best.
“What did she tell you about her life?”
Hasley wondered if she should be saying anything at all. Even with what little she knew, Hasley had more knowledge about the heir to the throne than almost everyone in Ashkadance. The voice within her remained silent.
“She said her moms died, that’s all she ever told me for a long time. We didn’t talk about her personal life often.”
The angry part of Hasley simmered, thinking again about how she could have done better by her friend. Hasley closed her eyes in pain, but the conflicting images assaulted her instead. She did not see the inside of the carriage or the darkness between her lids, instead dark waters and the smell of salt was in the air.
“Didn’t you think that was odd and press her?” Amic asked, pushing in his own way.
He too wanted to know what Aaleia and Mutrien supposedly needed to impart on him through Hasley. His thoughts were more impatient than her own.
That question set Hasley’s mood successfully over to the dark.
She snapped her eyes open again and positioned herself in the direction of his voice. He flickered in her vision.
“Look, I don’t know how many friends you have, but when they are clearly traumatized and private about something, yeah you occasionally push. If they freeze up, freak out, stop answering, and ignore you for a few days every time you ask then you stop asking. Flaming stars! You are irritating me. I am flaming losing my mind over here, trying to keep my eyes focused so that I am not drifting off into the ocean. Okay?”
She let out an exasperated breath and closed her eyes. The images resurfaced, and she opened them again. It was pointless, if the gods were telling her something, she couldn’t stop it. She steadied herself and straightened her posture. This was not the time to let go of all manners and decorum.
Hasley had too much at stake and the stubborn part of her that got her in this carriage was going to see this mission through. Preferably with her mind intact.
She opened her mouth to apologize and start the conversation over again, but he spoke before she had the chance.
“You aren’t old enough to have seen or at least, remember, the ocean. What do you see?”
She realized her slip and her heart beat faster. James was looking at her as well, rapt in attention.
"Is this one of your visions?" James asked. Hasley wouldn't call them visions, but she nodded as it was close enough.
“I haven’t seen the ocean in person, but I recognize it… Ever since we got in the carriage today I’ve been seeing water, a large body of it, the blue sky, and sand. It comes in and out of my vision…” Hasley admitted. The small sliver of the ocean she had seen above the wall when standing at the higher points of Mount Pietan did not compare to this.
“There is a reason you were told to come on this mission with us,” James said, speaking again. He patted her shoulder from across the space and said, “we’ll figure out what it is soon enough.”
Amic was quiet for a moment, looking at Hasley closely.
“You see sand?” He asked, grabbing that detail.
Hasley nodded.
Amic’s mouth thinned and his posture tightened. That little detail meant something. Hasley would find out herself soon enough.
Eight
It's Easy
The carriage dropped them off in front of Amic Keyholder’s home, but that was not their destination. Hasley stopped to admire its unique architecture, so unlike the keyholder’s residence in Firetop. The peiradoone stone walls were painstakingly painted a rich tan not unlike her vision of the beach. As it was a difficult material to work with, this was already a surprise. Other than that, it had a domed roof.
“You can get settled in later,” Amic said as he gestured for her and James to follow them.
The coachman went about taking their bags into the house. Amic’s hands twitched at his side as he led them through the surrounding forest, the path they needed distinguished only by two clay pots upon entering. They did not have to walk long before it was clear they had arrived.
Beyond the thicket of trees was the pure white of the wall. A wraith flew down from atop of the trees and landed on Amic’s shoulder as if it had been waiting. It’s leg stuck out and Amic reached for the tiny scrawl of paper attached there.
"This is what I have to show you," Amic said as he unfurled the note.
"A wraith?" Hasley asked as she took in makeshift camp, and the uncharacteristically affectionate wraith on his shoulder.
"No," he said with a laugh.
"Over there," he gestured beyond the trees on the left, "is an elaborate tubing system for sending synthetic dragon blood over the wall. This, on the other hand," he scratched the wraith's chi
n, "is a message from my son from beyond the wall."
Amic barreled through his explanation despite Hasley's shocked expression. James seemed to latch on to the dragon blood, inching closer to where Amic had gestured. Between the trees, she could make out people carrying large objects.
“My son came from Faeinto to find me and we’ve been sending letters to each other by wraith over the wall. He brought the synthetic dragon blood, so the resistance can create weapons of blood fire.”
Blood fire in small doses could be snuffed out, but left unchecked and in large doses would burn eternally. It could not be drowned by water. It wasn't uncommon in older inns to have one or two blood fire torches that they used to fuel their hearth. Otherwise, blood fire was reserved for the two palaces. One palace was in Azororion where Ember now lived, the other in Cruelindime where typically the Dragon Matron lived.
As far as Ashkadance knew, there were no pure full-sized dragons left. The blood of the wraiths and anchoris didn’t have the same effect.
Men and women pushed carts full of barrels across the clearing. They disappeared down the path that led back to the keyholder’s house. James turned to follow, already asking questions of the people he didn’t know. His eyes were alight with excitement, feeling his purpose in these dangerous materials. Hasley felt jealous of his confidence.
How did Amic’s son get barrels of dragon’s blood? Synthetic or otherwise, she didn't see how that was possible.
“And that’s it, it’s that easy to talk to someone over the wall and bring objects over to?” Hasley asked in disbelief.
How could it be so simple to contact people outside the wall? Sending wraiths shouldn't work with how tall the wall was. Amic pulled out writing supplies from a fallen down log before them and wrote two short words. Amic patted the small wraith, scratching behind its ear. The demi-dragon chirped and left with the short scribbled note. The note read:
I’m here.
The wall was so steep that the wraith grew small in their sights before they saw it turn over to the other side.
“No, it’s not that easy,” Amic said wryly as he watched the wraith fly away. “The person has to already be waiting on a boat or the small coastline right outside the wall when you send the wraith. You can’t send a wraith over blindly. Wraiths can’t fly far enough to reach the other kingdoms across the water.”
“And the blood?” Hasley asked, looking to the shimmering barrels men and women were loading into the back of a carriage.
“It’s not real blood from dragons, of course, it’s created to mimic it. My son left and came back a few times over the year, but four months ago he brought someone else with him. This man told us how to make a pump that brings the fake dragon blood over the wall safely. It took several attempts to get the tubing the right length. Over a thousand feet of it to reach the other side with enough slack to connect to the matching pump they have on the coast…” he paused in thought, “We almost have enough of the blood.”
“Enough for what? This isn't enough?” Hasley asked. Those few barrels were already more than she had ever seen.
Amic ignored the question, or didn’t hear her, it was unclear as he shook thoughts from his head.
“Many people died putting this together, including the man who helped my son, before we got the process correct. I thank Aaleia and Mutrien every day that I hear from my son and know that he is safe.”
“How did you know he was there?” She asked.
“He docked outside first and then sent the wraith over. Like his mother used to,” Amic said.
The docks… Her subconscious whispered.
“How does the royal family not know?” Hasley asked.
“The closest guard towers can’t see beyond this area of the wall, it’s a blind spot.”
“That’s lucky,” Hasley commented.
“No, it’s intentional. My pair… when she was alive, she was a friend of Karwyn’s, and by association knew the Queen. I moved our community home and meeting area as close to the wall as possible when it was under construction. My pair was pregnant and on the other side visiting family in Faeinto when the wall was completed. They didn’t let her back in, but she would travel to the wall to visit and we’d speak to each other this way in secret. Her foresight in telling me about the blindspots and that we should be close to it felt like divine intervention."
Amic paused as he recalled the memory of his lost pair. His eyes grew misty.
"The fact that I was able to talk to her again, despite the odds put against us, astonishes me every day. I’ll always be grateful for that additional time with her.”
Hasley couldn’t help but wonder if it was an intervention, like the priestess said her messages were. It felt miraculous, with purpose, that they continued to see each other despite the wall. Yet, Hasley’s message was still unclear.
“When she stopped visiting and sending letters, that’s when I truly committed to the resistance, assuming the worst. I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t even know what happened until a year ago when my son showed up old enough to sail his own boat and send me a letter. She died when he was ten.”
The memory hurt him, he moved back and forth on his feet and looked away.
Hasley did not know what it was like to experience the loss of a pair, but she could imagine the pain. This situation was different from a natural death, however, as Amic and his pair had been physically separated for years before it happened. It seemed out of the realm of possibility, yet it was true. There was a lot about life that she had thought she knew.
She was wrong about so much.
Nine
Gold
Hasley’s energy began to drain and she almost sat down on the log before Amic, but decided against it. It was worse enough that she had told him about the voices and her visions. She didn’t need another reason to seem weak or out of control. While here, she would be poised and take back any sense of dignity she had. His son was on the other side of the wall and his pair dead, he deserved her attention.
She looked up at the wall and its insurmountable height. It was so tall that no tree could reach it, no ladder could be made long enough. She could imagine it, the danger of the explosive blood going over the wall. One mistake and it would douse the resistance members below it. She could almost smell the burnt flesh of those lost.
While they waited for the reply from his son, Amic showed her how the tubing worked. He opened an empty barrel to show her the lining that was supposed to keep the blood more stable. He used special silver lined gloves when examining it before depositing the gloves back into his pocket.
“The resistance have been surveying the wall for weaknesses we can exploit. It’s just about finding how and who can tie the plan and the people together around the idea. Many of the resistors are wary of taking a big step like this, but the right push will help them come around to the idea.”
Hasley nodded, feeling similar qualms. Wanting the wall to come down and actually making it happen was a very different matter. Seeing the blood ominously slush in the barrels made her head swim. It was such a deep red it looked more black in tone. It glittered, but not like a jewel would have. This didn’t feel like her purpose.
Hasley’s eyes followed the sway of the trees. She stared up into their canopies, the moving leaves calming her thoughts. It felt harder to keep her mind focused.
The wraith chirped again, sounding far away, and before Hasley could pinpoint where it came from, it soared down at her through the same trees.
He smiled, used to the sight of the creature coming with news from his son. Hasley had, of course, seen many wraiths before, but none that used its body in such a way to reach peak speed. Its wings were tucked in, face down at an angle that made it look like a shooting star. She supposed that wraiths that needed to send messages from each side of the wall would have better learned speed then the local wraiths she was used to.
The voice spoke softly, whispering in her mind to pay attention to what was happe
ning.
He is yours. He is yours.
Who, the wraith?
Its small slim body tightened to go faster as it plummeted towards the ground. It pulled back the last second and spread its wings with another chirp, as if having fun, and landed on Amic’s shoulders. The wraith stuck out its leg for Amic to take the letter before hopping onto Hasley’s shoulder.
“Ah!” Hasley was startled as she felt the sharpness of its claws on her skin. The wraith wiggled and smelled her hair curiously. She must have imagined that, why would a wraith be that friendly?
“I’ve gotten used to wearing thicker shirts,” Amic said by way of apology as he unfurled the letter. It was longer than the quick notes Hasley would send to Ember. He skimmed the page before starting from the beginning to re-read the first few lines. Hasley felt curious, wanting to know more about the man that set up camp on the other side of the wall. He was someone who already seemed to defy what most people were capable of.
It’s him. It’s him. It’s him. The voice told her and her heart quickened.
“Can I see?” Hasley asked. She didn’t wait for the answer and her impulses forced her to abruptly take the letter from his hands.
“Hey!” Amic protested. Before he could take it back from her, she set eyes on his son’s wide looping handwriting. She read the letter hungrily, feeling his simple words as if they were written for her.
Hi Dad,
How was your trip? What did the priestesses want to show you?
The water has started to get colder, I find myself sticking my feet in almost daily. Sitting on the sand instead of the boat, I’m better able to focus my thoughts, as if being closer to the wall were medicine. I wonder if this has to do with exposure to the synthetic blood. Maybe being close to it for too long has impacted me.
Do you think that could be it? I don’t know how Faeinto puts the blood together, it’s a guarded secret, but maybe there are compounds in it that could impact the mind. Of course the secrecy is expected. As a trader, I understand the power of knowing something other people don’t and being able to set a higher price, but I sometimes wonder what their goals are. Why give it to Ashkadance for free when they charge Grydagia a premium that is so steep that only the royal family can afford it?
Royalty Fantasy Boxset: Ember Dragon Daughter & Hasley Fateless (Fated Tales Series 1 & 1.5) (The Fated Tales Series: YA Royalty Fantasy) Page 30
