Maddie remembered a particular greenhide. It had been sitting amid the carnage, eating the remains of one of the Rats, oblivious to both the missiles falling around it, and the six bolts that were already studding its thick, armoured back. Its hideous face was smeared in red blood, its long claws dripping entrails and gore, and Maddie had experienced nightmares about it for years.
She cursed her luck. Why couldn’t she have been born a Roser? She would even be happy being an Evader, rather than be forced to join the Rat Company. Then she could have lived her life in blissful ignorance of the daily war that raged along the walls of the Bulwark. What did those stupid civilians know about the struggles of the Blades, or the sacrifices they made so that the rest of the City could enjoy their lives in peace? Cowards, the lot of them.
None of it was fair; was she the only Blade to see that?
A noise came from the end of the passageway, and her eyes flickered up. A young lieutenant appeared outside the bars of her cell, accompanied by two wardens. Maddie got to her feet.
‘Private Maddie Jackdaw?’ the officer said.
‘Yeah.’
‘The colonel has reached a decision regarding your future…’
‘Then why isn’t she here to tell me herself?’
The lieutenant frowned. ‘The colonel has more important things to be attending to than one insubordinate soldier. Now, if you’ll allow me to continue, Private?’
‘Just get it over with. I’m being pushed into the Rats, aren’t I?’
He stared at her. ‘You have no idea how lucky you are; no idea at all. Jackdaws have served in the Blades for generations; dozens have given their lives to defend the Bulwark over that time.’
‘I’m an embarrassment to my family, I know. My dad’s always saying that he’d rather…’
‘Shut up for one minute, Private. Due to the honour in which your family is held among the lower orders, the colonel has decided that it would be detrimental to morale if you were to be assigned to the Auxiliary Work Company.’
‘Wait, I’m not going to the Rats?’
‘Let me finish, Private!’ the young officer cried. ‘By Malik’s breath, I can now see why the other officers smirked at me when I was told to deliver this message; you’re incapable of closing that big mouth of yours.’
Maddie put her hands on her hips, but said nothing.
‘Good. Right, you’ve been re-assigned, effective immediately, to the Fourteenth Support Battalion based in Arrowhead. They have a vacancy that they’ve been finding difficult to fill, and the colonel has arranged that you be transferred there. It’s a trial position, and the officers of the Fourteenth have been briefed on your record.’ He nodded to the jailer, who had been lurking in the shadows to the left of the cell. ‘Release her.’
‘Is that it?’ Maddie said as the gate was unlocked. ‘No punishment, just a transfer?’
‘This really is your last chance, Private,’ the lieutenant said. ‘The name of Jackdaw isn’t as well known in Arrowhead, and if you mess up there, then the officers of the Fourteenth will have no problem sending you to the Rats. Understand?’
‘Yeah, I get it,’ she said as she walked from the cell.
‘The Fourteenth are expecting you there today,’ the lieutenant said, ‘so go home and pack a bag, then make your way to Arrowhead and report to the gatehouse.’
‘Pack a bag?’
‘It’s a live-in position; you’ll be quartered there. Dismissed.’
Maddie frowned at the officer, then turned and walked past the other cells to the main door. She stepped outside and scanned the sky. The sun was approaching noon, and the sky was almost blue. It was a six-mile walk from her house by the Sixth Plaza to Arrowhead Fort, which meant that if she hurried home, then she would have time for something to eat before she had to leave again. Even better, her mother would be at work, and her sister at school, so she would have the house to herself. She wondered how she would break the news to her parents.
A note, she thought. She’d leave them a note.
The sun was setting by the time she reached the gatehouse of Arrowhead Fort. She had been in the fort several times, but as a native of Sector Six, she had always seen Stormshield as her true home. Arrowhead felt like the competition to her, and the rivalry between the forts was intense. She passed under the entrance arch and turned left at a door in the gatehouse. She hefted the bag on her shoulder, took a breath, and opened the door.
She walked into a small chamber, with wooden benches and a long desk. Two soldiers were talking by the slit window, and they turned to glance as she approached.
‘Can I help you, Private?’ said one.
‘My name’s Maddie Jackdaw, Sergeant.’
‘And?’
She frowned. ‘I’ve been sent over, I mean transferred, from the Seventh to the Fourteenth Support Battalion.’
‘Ahhh,’ said the man. ‘You’re the lass from Stormshield?’
‘Yeah, that’s me.’
The sergeant chuckled.
‘What’s so funny?’ said his colleague.
‘She’s been assigned to the old lady.’
The soldier’s eyes widened.
‘The who?’ said Maddie.
The sergeant grinned. ‘You’ll see.’ He turned to the other soldier. ‘You stay here, and I’ll take the lass over to the Fourteenth.’
‘Sure, boss.’
The sergeant gestured towards the door, then he and Maddie walked back out into the entrance tunnel of the gatehouse. He led her into a large forecourt, and the noise from the loosing catapults and mangonels rang through her ears. Dozens of machines were up on the wide walls of the fortress, while Buckler was flying high above, circling over the battlements. His lair was somewhere in the fortress, she knew, though she had never seen it. Atop the wall to the right, however, a great wooden platform had been erected, which served as the dragon’s perch, where he could sit and look out over the waves of greenhides assailing the walls. The two sides of the fort met at an angle, and the point they created jutted out from the Great Walls; the shape giving the fortress its name. Next to where the walls met was a large, thick tower, the home of the Wolfpack. Seeing it reminded her of something she had heard the day before.
‘You got new champions yesterday, yeah?’
The sergeant glanced at her. ‘The news reached Stormshield, did it?’
‘My brother told me.’
‘Oh yeah? Did he tell you the rumours as well?’
‘What rumours?’
‘It’s a load of nonsense, but you’re bound to hear it. Apparently, one of the new champions, who to all appearances is a mortal like you and me, though he is a little on the tall side; anyway, apparently, this man has battle-vision.’
‘What? That’s impossible.’
‘I know. Unfortunately, the Bulwark has its fair share of the gullible, the superstitious, and the downright stupid, and you can only imagine what the Redemptionists have to say about it.’
‘He’s not fought yet, I take it?’
‘No, they’re giving him a day or two to settle in first, but the sooner the better, in my opinion. Let them all see that he’s just a mortal, and hopefully that’ll put the rumours and the mystic nonsense to bed.’
‘Sounds like you want him to get killed.’
‘Better a dead champion than a fort full of religious zealots.’
‘Is it that bad? Stormshield only has a handful of Redemptionists, and no one listens to anything they say.’
‘It used to be the same here, lass,’ he said, glancing up at the sky, ‘but Buckler draws them to Arrowhead. Many folk thought he might be the one they’ve been waiting for; some still do. I’d say we have about a dozen genuine dragon-worshippers in the fort now, and plenty of others who just want to be in the same vicinity as the beast.’
‘Weirdoes. He’s just a flying snake, basically.’
The sergeant took a sideways glance at her. ‘I’d be careful mouthing opinions like that in Arrowhead, espe
cially in front of Buckler, and even more especially…’ He tailed off into silence.
‘Even more especially what?’
He shrugged. ‘Nothing.’
She squinted at him, but thought better of prying. Officers were fair game, but she always felt a little intimidated by sergeants.
They passed a massive barracks block to their left.
‘Is that where I’ll be staying?’
‘No,’ he said; ‘just a little further.’
To the left and right of the Wolfpack tower were long rows of arches opening into the huge outer walls of the fortress. The sergeant led her through one and they came to a door set in the wall. He knocked on it.
‘Delivery,’ he shouted through the closed entrance. ‘Fresh meat.’
The door opened before Maddie could respond and a middle-aged woman peered out.
‘Evening, Hilde,’ said the sergeant. ‘I’ve brought the lass from Stormshield.’
The woman eyed Maddie. ‘Does she know what she’s going to be doing?’
The sergeant chuckled. ‘Nah. I thought it would be better coming from you.’
‘Is this supposed to be a joke?’ said Maddie. ‘What will I be doing? Are you the old lady? You don’t seem that old to me. My mother looks older than you, and if you called her an old lady, she’d punch you in the face.’
The woman frowned at her. ‘Is this why they sent you?’
‘Eh?’
The sergeant laughed and raised his hands. ‘See you later, Hilde, and good luck.’
The woman watched the sergeant walk back through the archway into the courtyard, then she levelled her gaze on Maddie.
‘When you address me, you will call me ma’am; do you understand?’
Maddie stood to attention. ‘Yes, ma’am.’
The woman sighed. ‘Fine. Well, I suppose you should come in.’ She opened the door wider, and Maddie walked through the entrance into a low-ceilinged chamber, lit by an oil lamp burning from the wall. ‘Welcome to the Fourteenth Support Battalion, Auxiliary Detachment Number Three.’
Maddie glanced around. ‘Where’s everyone else? I mean, ma’am, sorry.’
The woman stuck her hand out. ‘It’s just me and you.’
‘Oh.’
The woman glanced down at her hand, and Maddie shook it.
‘My name is Captain Hilde, and I’ve been looking after this detachment for nearly ten years. In that time I’ve gone through over twenty assistants, and have spent more days working alone than I have with any assistance at all. As my new assistant, forgive me, but I’m not going to bother learning your name until you’ve lasted at least a few days.’
‘It’s Maddie Jackdaw, ma’am.’
‘Do you ever listen to what you’re told?’
‘Oh, I listen, ma’am, but I often feel compelled to disagree.’
A hint of a smile appeared on Hilde’s lips for a second. ‘Come with me,’ she said, ‘and I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.’
She led Maddie through a door and into a long hallway. Hilde began pointing at side entrances as they passed them. ‘Office, stores, kitchen, stores, my quarters; never go in them without my express permission; stores, stores, and here we are.’ She stopped at a door and opened it. ‘Your room.’
‘That was a lot of stores,’ Maddie said as she glanced into the chamber. It had a bed, not a straw mattress, for which she felt immediate gratitude. There was also a table with a candlestick, a chair, and a trunk. She slung her bag off her shoulder and threw it onto the bed.
‘Don’t unpack,’ said Hilde; ‘not just yet.’
‘Am I finally going to be told what I’ll be doing?’
Hilde smiled. ‘What do you know about dragons?’
‘What? Buckler?’ she cried, letting out an involuntary yelp. ‘I’m going to be working with Buckler?’
‘No,’ said Hilde; ‘not Buckler.’
‘Eh? But we only have one… dragon… don’t we?’
‘Follow me.’
Hilde turned and opened a door at the end of the hallway. They passed into a large cavern, where an earthy animal stench assaulted Maddie’s nostrils. Opposite was a huge red door, barred and padlocked, while an equally wide and high tunnel led off to the left.
‘Did you know,’ said Hilde as she led Maddie towards the tunnel, ‘that the fortress of Arrowhead was chosen for Buckler because the walls here are thicker than at any other fort? We could tunnel out a lair for him, so he could live in the fashion he prefers. It took over a year to finish it.’ She pointed at a massive red-painted door that spanned the side of the tunnel. ‘That gate leads to Buckler’s lair. He has a score of Blades attending to his every need and desire; they scurry around like servants in the court of a demigod.’ She glanced at Maddie. ‘In this lair, there’s only me, and now you.’
Maddie swallowed. ‘What happened to all of the other assistants?’
Hilde approached a huge, black-painted gate. A smaller door had been cut through it and she put her hand up and unbolted it.
‘About half left and refused to come back.’
‘And the other half?’
Hilde pushed open the door. ‘It’s me,’ she called out into the darkness. ‘I’ve brought someone new to help out. Do not, I beg you, incinerate her before you have a chance to get to know her. You might like this one.’
A low rumble echoed out from the darkness behind the gate. ‘The taste of her flesh in my jaws would be the greatest service she could offer me. Send her in if that’s your intention; otherwise I promise nothing.’
Hilde glanced back at Maddie. ‘I’ve had less favourable responses. Come on.’
She stepped through the small door and disappeared into the gloom. Maddie stared at the dark opening. There was another dragon in Arrowhead? How did she not know this? Why would it be a secret? A hundred questions rolled through her mind, fighting against the base fear that was churning her stomach. If she stepped through the door, she might find out the answers, or she might be reduced to ashes; but what was the alternative? The Rats?
Maddie took a breath and entered the darkness, coming into a vast chamber. A dozen high slit-windows were letting in the red light of evening, and in their glow Maddie could see the great bulk of a creature. Scales gleamed a dull red, but that was the light, the dragon looked to be pure black; a beast formed of darkness. Its head was low, almost on the stone ground, but its eyes glistened a deep blood red. Maddie stepped forward to stand next to Hilde, who was waiting for her.
‘Good,’ the woman said; ‘you’ve made it this far. Who knows, you may even be the one I’ve been waiting for.’
‘She’s not the one I’ve been waiting for,’ growled the dragon, its voice causing Maddie’s knees to tremble. ‘She’s far too scrawny; I would barely get a bite out of her.’
‘Yes, very funny,’ said Hilde. She turned to Maddie and smiled. ‘Say hello to Blackrose. I may be your commanding officer, but she’s your new boss.’
Chapter 4
Graduation Day
Tara, Auldan, The City – 5th Mikalis 3419
Daniel sat alone in the small dressing room, the weight of three and a half thousand years on his shoulders. He had been spoiled as a boy, he knew that, but missed his youth; the freedom, the space, the innocence. He had always known that he was the last of the Aurelian line, but as a child that had made him feel special, rather than the sole hope of his family. His cousins had died young, or had grown old without bearing children, and for years he had listened to the plans his parents had made for him. He had been betrothed to the daughter of one of the other nobles lines of Tara since he had turned twelve, and they were due to be married in under two years, as soon as he had reached twenty-one. Clarine, her name was, and he had met her precisely three times since their engagement.
A soft knock at the door roused him from his thoughts.
‘Sir? The ceremony’s about to commence, and your noble mother is asking for you.’
Daniel put his head i
n his hands.
‘Sir?’
‘I heard you,’ he snapped.
There was silence for a moment, followed by shuffling footsteps outside the door. ‘Apologies, sir, but your noble mother was most insistent.’
‘I’m sure she was,’ he muttered.
‘Sorry, sir?’
‘Nothing. Go away. I’ll be out in a moment.’
Silence.
Daniel stood, and smoothed the front of his smart new uniform. He glanced into the six-foot mirror on the wall, and noticed the heavy lines around his eyes from lack of sleep. The other sons and daughters of the nobility would already be out on the grand podium in front of the Military Academy, and his mother was no doubt furious that he was taking so long to get ready.
Ready? He would never be ready for what was expected of him. For a fleeting moment, he wished he had been born a peasant. The Rosers were the elite of the City, and the Taran aristocracy were the elite of the Rosers; a tiny proportion of the smallest tribe out of the nine, who controlled much of the economy, and most of the wealth. Would he swap a life of luxury to be free of his responsibilities? He had never been in the vast slums of the Circuit, and had only the vaguest notion of how the poor conducted their miserable lives, but even so, he felt it would be a worthwhile trade.
He opened the door, and found the servant skulking close by.
‘I thought I told you to go away?’
‘Apologies, sir, but your mother… I was told…’
‘Forget it,’ Daniel said, sweeping past the old man as he walked along the marble passageway. He reached a large, empty hall, and walked out through the open doors into the sunlight. The sky was a deep shade of blue ahead of him, where the sun sat poised above the horizon. Noon was only a few minutes away, and he hurried down the wide, stone steps. A crowd had gathered by the forecourt of the academy, standing behind a row of Taran militia. Arranged on seats in front of the crowd were the parents and family members of the young graduates, and Daniel glimpsed his mother and father in the front row. His mother was glaring at him, and pointing at the high platform that had been erected by the grand entrance to the academy. He turned away from the crowd and hastened towards the platform. Wooden steps had been constructed at the rear of the structure, and he raced up them. Over two dozen other aristocratic youths were already seated, facing the crowds, and Daniel found the last free chair, hidden in the back row. His mother wouldn’t be pleased. She had told him to be early, so that he could be seated near the front, as befit a scion of the most ancient and noble family of Tara. He could already hear her complaints about the second-rate nobility blocking the view of her precious son, but he didn’t care. A small part of him was amazed that he had even turned up.
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