The other garment was black and loose like a long scarf. I tangled it around my head like I’d seen some of the visitors at the gate do. It covered my face except for my eyes. Perfect. No one could tell who I was beneath this.
Now, the cloak. If I left it here it would be a dead giveaway ...
With a flash of inspiration, I backtracked, dropping the cloak over the sleeper in the other crevice. He could use it. Sleeping outside in this cold couldn’t be easy. And if someone was looking for that cloak, he’d make a good distraction.
I hurried further down the alley. That flying rug would be here any minute and before it arrived, I needed to get further away. No ... wait. They would just expand the search farther. What I needed was a place to hide. Then I could hunker down until dark and give them the slip under the cover of night.
But this was a foreign city and I didn’t know the back ways yet. Going down would be easier than going up. I should drop down a level.
Don’t drop down.
Why not?
We are dealing with our own situation here and I can’t allow you to bring trouble back with you.
She had to be kidding me! Was I not in trouble, too?
You’re on your own, kid. Hold them off. Don’t die. I’ll let you know when you can come back.
Rejection and betrayal filled me as I hurried up the alley, looking both ways in the street beyond.
Don’t take it personally. I have a lot of responsibilities to juggle here.
The problem with compassionate people was that sometimes they were so busy being compassionate to strangers that they made bad friends.
Ouch.
I almost didn’t see the green embroidered sleeves of the guard at the end of the alley. I drew in a deep breath when it finally registered. His back was to me, standing guard over the alley. There was no way to slip around him.
I stumbled backward, wincing as I hit my heel on a stone. I didn’t dare make a sound. I wasn’t going to have anyone to save me if I messed this up. Those traitors!
Get over yourself. Zyla and I were betrayed. Since then, we’ve changed locations, changed disguises, and found a friend. We’ve been a bit busy. But we’re still being hunted, and we need to find a safe place before we’re discovered. Do you know how hard it is to hide when you’re a dragon?
Didn’t Zyla say there would be dragons here? Why didn’t she go hide in a dragon cote? She could pretend to be a purple. They were notoriously reclusive. Zyla could be her rider and they could tuck Zin and Bataar into the saddlebags until things settled down.
That’s actually a very good idea.
I was known to have those. I eased myself along the wall of the building behind me. It smelled like rat. Why was my stomach rumbling? I had better not have developed a taste for rat. That would be awful.
Why didn’t you suggest this plan before?
I’m running for my life, remember?
I leaned back and took a second step backward, back brushing the wall. My footing felt spongy – and then suddenly I was falling. I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming as the ground gave out beneath me. I must have stepped on rotten wood. Skies and stars!
Terror shot through me as visions of falling forever filled my mind, but I landed before I could flesh them out.
Ngh!
I clenched my whole body against the impact. My hip throbbed like I’d bruised it, but I pulled myself to my feet.
I was in a cellar, or maybe a storeroom. Crates and barrels were scattered around the room with old sacking and straw strewn untidily about. Someone wasn’t keen on housework. Not that I minded too much. I hadn’t slept in almost two days and even then, I’d been unconscious. Maybe this was a good place to lay low. No one was going to find me here.
I gathered the loose sacking and straw, found a dark corner and wrapped the old red cloak around me. I already missed the black one. I had a bad feeling I wasn’t going to be able to replace it any time soon.
The axe dug into my side as I settled in, but I didn’t adjust it. I liked the reminder that I had a weapon now – even if I had no idea how to use it.
Sleep came quickly.
Chapter Fifteen
WAKE UP! WAKE UP!
Skies and stars, she could keep the flaming yelling to herself!
Your enemies are upon you!
I scrambled up from the cellar floor, my heart leaping into my throat at the scurrying sounds around me until my brain supplied me with a reminder – rats.
I stood still and silent, listening. It was strangely quiet for a city, no sound of bustle or business outside.
You slept the day away. Darkness falls.
The barest glimmer of light worked its way down from the rotten wood I’d fallen through. Could I climb back up through it? Yes, if I used the barrel. I heard a scrape from further into the room. Maybe Saboraak was right. There might be someone coming down here.
Of course, I’m right.
I grabbed one of the barrels, rolling it toward the hole. The movement sounded loud in the silence. Are you nearby, Saboraak? Can you hear that? There was a knot forming in my belly.
Hardly. We followed your plan. We’re in the dragon cotes three levels below you. Zyla is trying to sort out Zin and Bataar without a healer. We really could have used one.
You wouldn’t have wanted me to send the one I met ...
I climbed up on the barrel, steadying myself and ready to climb through the hole. Why was it so silent out there? Sweat formed along my brow. The scarf wrapped around my face wasn’t helping with that.
The Cantata is about to begin.
Cantata?
Cantata of Lights. It’s part of the Festival.
And that made the whole city silent? If I climbed through here, it was going to be noisy enough in all that silence that I would certainly draw attention.
It won’t be silent for long. Move.
Light flared into the room as a door opened. I hadn’t even realized there was a door there. A guard held a bright lantern up.
“There he is!”
Not for long! I leapt up from the barrel, grabbed the lip of the hole where I fell through only hours ago and dragged myself up over the jagged wood. The edges of it bit into my belly as I wriggled across and I knew they would leave marks. But those guards with the axes would leave far worse marks.
What was with everyone and their axes around here? I hadn’t seen a decent tree in days.
The axes appear to be of ceremonial importance. Perhaps they think they can divide the lies they tell with such tools.
I was sprinting down the alley, not bothering to look behind me. I already knew what I would see. So much for sneaking out after they’d given up looking for me.
I’d need a different plan this time.
I adjusted the scarf around my head, making sure it covered my face. Okay. If there was still a guard at the end of the alley, I’d have to take action. Violence wasn’t really my thing, but neither was dying.
Yep, there he was, still standing at the mouth of the alley. I yanked the axe free from my belt. I didn’t want to do this.
Axes have two sides.
Why hadn’t I thought of that?
I turned the axe around, trying to be careful not to hit too hard as I struck the back of his head. The guard fell, and I bit my lip, trying not to look at him as I stuffed the axe back into my belt. I didn’t want to know if I’d accidentally killed him.
There was a shout behind me and I dashed out into the boardwalk only to draw up short. Wha - ?
The Cantata of Lights. I told you it was starting.
People lined the boardwalk, motionless, looking out into the sky beyond. From where I stood, I could see that every boardwalk, every staircase, every open window was filled with silent, statue-like people. Cold ice whirled around them in the black of the night and then, as if by magic, lights sprang up on the lower level, spreading one after another to light the entire city.
I almost jumped as a crackling sound started
over my head. A spark sped up a line above me, lighting each candle in blue lanterns above me as it ascended.
From below, a ghostly sound began. No time to listen. I edged my way up the line of people, sneaking behind them, hoping they were too absorbed in their silent celebration to notice. The sound was growing louder. Voices, I thought.
I dashed to a staircase, climbing behind the backs of the silent crowds.
Was that singing? Wordless – or with words I didn’t understand – the song grew. Layer upon layer of harmonies rose level upon level through the city.
Below me, the guards dashed out of the alley. I caught a glimpse of purple in the blue lights. Shabren.
He opened his mouth, but at that moment the people nearest me began to sing, their powerful voices drowning out whatever he had meant to shout.
I continued my climb, speeding up until the muscles in my legs burned from the effort and my lungs grew ragged from sucking in the icy air.
I didn’t have a plan. I was only running, running, running. I needed some burst of genius to help me, but nothing was coming to me as I rushed up the stairs.
What was this festival for? Between the eerie blue lights and the focused singers, the whole mountain seemed to be caught up in the drama of the moment. Across from our mountain peak, the other two cities lit up in a wave of blue just as ours had and my imagination made me think that I could hear their singers, too – though in reality, all I could hear was my own heart beating so hard it was going to rip my chest in half.
Zyla left me with the others. She is looking for a healer. You are still on your own.
Great. Just great.
The city grew more decadent the higher I climbed. Carved arches were spaced out across the boardwalks, both suspending them and adding beauty to the structures. The buildings on either side were carved out from the rock – likely there were few alleys here – and the skill involved in carving the intertwined knotwork that decorated them was something I’d never seen before. At this rate, I’d never seen it again.
Shabren was gaining on me. Every time I glanced behind me, he was closer, forcing his way through the well-dressed people on this level, their long vests and wide belts trimmed with ermine and fox. The women’s hair was elaborately dressed and some of the men wore scarves around their faces and heads just as I did. Good. That should make me blend in more – except for the threadbare cloak. When the time was right, I would need to slip that off.
Why hadn’t he brought his flying carpet?
Too conspicuous in the middle of the celebration. He would be seen, and such an offense would alienate any allies he has here. This day is sacred to Ko’Torenth.
I was looking desperately for an opportunity, now. I glanced down every walkway, into every window, dodging people like a fish dodged seaweed, but looking, looking, looking until my eyes streamed with tears from looking too hard. If he caught me, there would be no escape. Saboraak was stuck helping the others. Zyla didn’t even have the connections to help her sister. Bataar was a wanted man and Hubric didn’t know where we were. I was on my own and I didn’t know the city. This one, wild chase was my only remaining hope.
I was running out of time and running out of city. The crowds thinned as I gained another level, getting closer and closer to the apex of the city. Despite fewer people, the sound of their song filled every available space. It reverberated through me like I was a part of it, it was rushing into me – a waterfall into a basin.
At the very peak of the city, a strange structure loomed. It was like a great three-pronged arm that extended out over the mountain city. It rose in the center of the curve of the mountain so that anyone standing on the platform at the end of it would be standing over a drop that went all the way to the foothills below the mountain. How would you build a thing like that? What was it for?
You will have to ask Zyla. I do not know of this thing.
All three arms led to that circular platform. A pair of intersecting arches towered over the platform, serrated along their edges. Arches were interspersed all along the arms, a long beam running along the peaks of them as if it was part of the structural integrity of the network.
In my experience, strange things like that led to nothing good.
Except for the time you thought we should fly through one that was like a door.
I saved our lives, didn’t I?
Technically, that was me.
Fine. Then if you’re the savior around here, then get out of that dragon cote and come lend me a hand. I hadn’t wanted her in danger before, but now things were getting ... dire.
I turned a corner only to find my way blocked by guards. I pivoted at the last moment, rushing up a spiral staircase instead. Great. The guards had joined the chase again. I was like a prize fox in a hunt. Everyone wanted a piece of my hide.
Chapter Sixteen
I HAD A TERRIBLE FEELING that they were herding me upward. That, or they figured I would collapse if I kept climbing.
I was close to collapse already, my lungs heaving and the taste of blood in my mouth. I was no quitter. If they wanted me, they’d have to come and get me.
On my way.
Really? I breathed a sigh of relief as I turned the last spiral in the staircase and then gasped. If the level below had been rich, this level was palatial. The boardwalk wasn’t boards but woven metal strands in vine-like patterns. The rail along the edge was equally decadent and by the knot-and-scrollwork around every door and window and the carved friezes on the walls, I had a terrible feeling that this might be the kind of place where a king would live.
There were only about a hundred people standing around the railings on this level. Their song seemed to be almost a trance. But their guards were alert. They were charging towards me.
Nice work, fellas. Who said that guards were unobservant?
I turned. Better to take my chances below. Movement made me stop just in time. The pair of guards from below were rounding the last turn on the spiral staircase.
Skies and flaming stars! I was in trouble now!
Language!
She could say whatever she wanted, but she wasn’t here.
I told you I was coming, I just need to work on a great disguise, so no one recognizes me ...
Yeah, you work on disguises, I’ll work on not dying.
I was going so quickly now that my feet were slipping and skidding on the icy woven walkway. I nearly skidded into a girl with flowing golden hair and huge eyes. Her mouth formed a perfect ‘O’ but there was no time to admire pretty faces. I was surrounded.
The purple of Shabren’s robes rose over the lip of the staircase.
There was only one path left to me – the nearest arm leading to that center platform. I was already squirming inside as my feet hit the edge of it.
If you are going to die, do it spectacularly. Like everything in life, you have a better chance of pulling it off if you add the right level of drama.
What do you mean ‘pull it off’? We all die.
I mean that if I can, I’ll find a way to cheat death.
If that was possible, no one in Ko’Torenth would ever die. I feel like I should walk through this city blindfolded and with wool in my ears. No one is who they pretend to be!
I sped up, my lungs screaming in protest as I raced down the arm. Something was digging into my chest uncomfortably. What was that?
The spider! I’d forgotten about it in my hurry. I reached into my shirt, fumbling for it as I ran. There!
I pulled it out of my shirt. It was hot to the touch and glowing.
Uh oh. I never wanted to be in a place that made magic things start working again. That was for heroes and I was definitely not hero material.
I should throw it off the side of the arch. And yet, somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to do that. I knew this thing could shoot lightning. I’d seen it before, hadn’t I? Maybe it could shoot a little lightning for me.
Be careful! Things that are done remain done. You can’t un-kill some
one.
Oh, trust me. I won’t want to.
Have you ever killed?
I’d gotten pretty close.
You won’t like it. When you kill someone, it feels a bit like cheating.
I liked cheating. I did it at every conceivable opportunity.
And yet, here you are being faithful and loyal when you could just turn the rest of us in for the reward.
Shabren stepped onto the arm. I could finally hear him.
“I knew you’d be trouble,” he said. “The second I saw you, I knew you were a street curr.”
His flattery would get him nowhere. I backed up as I fumbled with the spider.
“You’re dipping your toes in pools that you have no business even knowing about. Hand me that artifact.”
Yeah, and I’d go ahead and give him the axe, too. Did he always deal with idiots or did he really think he could charm me out of my only weapons?
The tiger’s eye pendant on my chest vibrated.
“Do you know what it means to step on this walkway, boy? Do you know what will happen when your feet hit the Ko’tor’kaen?”
I didn’t even know what that word meant. Now, how did this thing work? You pointed it at your enemy ... I lifted the spider up, aiming the legs at Shabren.
“This is the seat of judgment, boy. This place was made to judge truth. And you are no son of truth.”
So, what? If I had to guess, I’d say that the only truthful person in this city was Saboraak and she was no one’s son.
Your acknowledgment means a lot to me.
Uh huh. Enough to fly up here and get me out of this mess?
I’m stuck here. I can’t leave until Zyla returns.
Just get me out of here before Shabren remembers he can do those lightning tricks.
“The Ko’tor’kaen judges the destiny of a soul. And on this day – the Festival of Lights – the day that Ko’Torenth celebrates how each person holds within him a spark of Truth – on this day, walking onto that platform has a special significance.”
“Did you know that you look smaller without your pet rug?” I asked. It wasn’t my best insult, but I was feeling a little out of my depths.
Dragon Chameleon: Episodes 1-4 Page 14
