What healed magic? More magic.
And who had magic around here? Magikas – which were a definite ‘no.’ Those Oak Order guys. I shuddered at the memory of their ‘healing house.’ No, thank you.
So where else did you get magic from?
Remember those guys with the magic items? Like that spider you had. Maybe one of them could heal a person.
But how would I know which one and how would I find a place where magical items were stored?
I hate to say this, I really do...
Spit it out. No need to be shy when you frequently read my mind.
Wouldn’t those Magikas sneaking into the city have more magical items?
They would.
And we know where they are sneaking in ...
I nearly dropped an egg.
Saboraak! You surprise me. I thought you didn’t want me going in there.
That was when I thought it was a needless risk. Helping Bataar is different.
I changed the simple circle I was juggling into a more complicated backcross and I let my thoughts drift on it. It was a risk and I was no hero – but I was willing to take a gamble when I needed to. And I actually didn’t want Bataar to die. Mostly for Zyla, but also because I was beginning to feel just a little responsible for him. After all, if I hadn’t tried to grab that spider I might have run to Saboraak quicker and maybe we would have launched into the air before he was hit.
The thought of that responsibility made me shudder and one of the boiled eggs flew out of my hand, hitting a table full of papers and knocking them over. I grabbed the other eggs hurriedly, left them on the tray and rushed over to hide what I’d done.
Bits of egg were scattered over the fallen papers and an open book was smeared with egg where it sat on the table. I gathered up the cooked yolk from the book, my face flushing at the waste of good food.
As I cleaned the book, a sketched image caught my eye. It was like a crossbar with wings suspended from a chain. Beside it, someone had scrawled the words, ‘increased luck, heightened fortitude.’ Below that was a sketch of a fan with a strange bird etched on it. Beside that were the words, ‘creates an impenetrable box.’
Wait. Was this book a list of items of magic? The next entry made my blood freeze. A bracelet of metal feathers was drawn and beside it were the words, ‘heals magical wounds, lost.’
Hurriedly, I brushed the egg off the book and flipped through it. There must be a hundred entries here. I looked around and listened carefully.
There was no one around.
Good.
I stripped off my cloak, turned the coat with Apeq’s sigil on it inside out so that the sigil was hidden and then put my clothing back on, shoving the book in the back of my pants where it was hidden by both jacket and cloak.
With this book, I could find a healing object. I knew where to look and I could compare anything I found to the rest of the notations.
But there are guards everywhere looking for you.
There were guards everywhere looking for a man with marked arms and mine were bare.
I found a catch on one of the paned glass windows and eased it open on stiff hinges. Time to go save Bataar.
I think you should wait for Apeq and Zyla.
If I did that, they’d send me to a corner somewhere to eat eggs while they had all the fun.
I thought you weren’t a hero.
I wasn’t. But couldn’t a regular guy find a magic item, save the life of a friend, and count on his dragon for help?
Sounds pretty heroic to me.
Don’t drag me into this hero nonsense.
Chapter Eight
IT TOOK MOST OF THE rest of the day to maneuver through the packed streets and roadblocks to find the warehouse. The task was even harder since I had only seen it from below. Fortunately, Saboraak was guiding me.
So close! I can see you every now and then when you pop into view between the buildings.
The walkway I was on now was narrower than many of the others, only allowing the traffic to be two people wide. We were nearing a very large red building with four different peaked roofs at various heights. In front of it, a large sign depicting a glowing gem hung over the walkway. It read Bright Redemption.
I think that’s the place.
Really? It was hard to tell from here ...
Try it.
I thought that you disapproved of me doing this alone?
Well, now that we are here ...
There was a shadowed nook between the Bright Redemption and the next building. I snuck into that space to gather myself.
“Boo.”
I jumped, my heart leaping into my throat before a hand slammed over my mouth.
“Shh!” In the darkness, Zyla’s golden eyes seemed to almost glow.
“Zyla?” I gasped. “How are you here?”
Her expression was wry as she pulled me deeper into the shadow. I couldn’t help the stab of enjoyment I felt at our close quarters. She could pull me into a shadow any time.
Focus.
“You left egg everywhere at Apeq’s house,” she scolded, her fists on her hips to emphasize her point. My eyes trailed down to them and she sighed. “Eyes up, Tor. You aren’t the only one with half a brain! Apeq and I already knew we were going to need magical items to help Bataar. We came into the observatory to look for you and found that mess you made. Seriously, do you need to be house trained?”
Well, that just took the cake! Here I was risking myself to help someone else and she was scolding me?
“If you could just learn to talk to us and stop running off on your own, Tor Winespring. I swear, you are going to be the death of me! I was so worried about you that I had to leave everyone with Apeq and chase after you!”
“Worried about me?” Why did I like the sound of that?
“Of course, I was worried about you! You don’t know what you’re doing!” she hissed. “You don’t know who these people are. You should have left this to Apeq!”
Apeq? The sound of his name on her lips made my teeth clench. Apeq, was it?
“Was it Apeq who rescued you out of that camp?” I asked. “Was it Apeq who took your sister along, too, when the dragon didn’t even have room for her? Apeq who found the arch and flew us through? Apeq who risked his life looking for a healer for Bataar? I don’t remember Apeq doing those things!”
“Are you so self-centered, Tor Winespring, that you expect a thank you for every single thing you do? You can’t just do good things for the sake of doing good?”
She kept using my full name like it was some kind of weapon.
“You can’t show a hint of gratitude?” I countered. I just couldn’t stop thinking about her practically throwing herself at Apeq with all those sultry-eyed smiles.
“If you hate helping so much, what are you doing here?” Her expression sharpened, like she thought she was scoring a point.
“Well, I can’t leave these things to you. You’d waste the day away smiling at Apeq instead of doing anything to help. Someone had to get up off their comfortable backside and find a solution.”
She smirked. “You have a comfortable backside?”
“Don’t twist my words, woman!” I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks. Why did girls always manage to make a fellow look like a fool? “If you want my help – and trust me, you need my help! – then stop pestering me and join in. Maybe you don’t realize this, but this building has magical artifacts in it – like the kind that might heal Bataar.”
She rolled her eyes, but her smile seemed genuinely amused. “Yes, I can read signs, Tor.”
“Signs?”
“Bright Redemption? Apeq told me that it buys and sells ancient items and that some might have some magical power to them.”
“Oh.”
So, Apeq had known where to look, too. My face felt even hotter. Just when I thought I’d gotten ahead of him, it turned out he was ahead of me.
“Don’t scowl, Tor. He’s helping us! We should be grateful, not tru
culent.”
I wasn’t ... whatever that was. I was here to help a friend. She might make me feel knee high, but I could still help. I took a step toward the daylight, but I was pulled back by my cloak. There was amusement in Zyla’s eyes combined with ... what? A softness of some kind.
Could it be compassion? It’s foreign to you, but she might know what it is.
“Tor?” she said in that husky voice. My breath caught in my throat.
“Yes?”
“Let me do the talking, okay?”
“Why? I’m good at talking.” I flashed her my charming grin, though it wobbled a bit under her intense gaze.
“Because I need you to watch my back. Apeq warned me about this place. He said he was worried that there might be some sort of ... deception going on. Things aren’t precisely what they seem.”
I wasn’t going to promise not to talk. That wasn’t my style.
“I’ll watch out,” I agreed, turning.
“And Tor?”
I turned back again.
She took a deep breath, like it was hard to say the next words. “I am thankful.”
Women were the most confusing creatures on the planet. They were even worse than dragons.
I heard that.
Chapter Nine
THE INSIDE OF THE BUILDING was not at all what I expected. For such a huge building, the anteroom was tiny. A long counter ran across the small room and four women in maroon livery, with silver embroidery on the fronts of their jackets and multiple necklaces and bracelets of every style and metal and gemstone I could imagine, stood behind the counter.
A pair of braziers filled with glowing embers warmed the room and people lined up for a chance to speak to the women behind the counters. Some held items in their arms that they clearly hoped to sell. Others had empty hands, likely here to buy.
I stood nervously in line with Zyla. She kept her face in a bright open expression, but her lips were pressed firmly together, a sign that she was nervous, too. With no open shelves and nothing on display, it was going to be much harder to find what we needed. We couldn’t just sift through items looking for something that matched what was in the book.
It was my job to watch. I watched and listened carefully to the people bargaining.
“It’s here or nowhere,” the woman behind the counter told the man in front of us. “If you want any price for your item, it will be the price we offer.”
“I’m certain it has value, lady,” he said, his voice gaining a shrillness with his desperation. “I think it may be magical.”
“You know such items are rare,” the woman said with a dry look.
“Yes! Rare! It should fetch a good price!”
They continued to barter, but I already knew he would lose. There was a spark in her eye like a silver coin. Maybe I was just seeing things.
I was watching an older woman ghosting behind the women at the counter. She whispered a word in one woman’s ear while slipping something under her part of the counter, raised an eyebrow at another who jumped as if she had seen a ghost and proceeded to drive the hardest bargain yet.
The older woman must run this place. I wished I could hear her voice. I had a feeling that I might recognize it as the voice from below.
She had eagle sharp eyes and they drifted often to me, and to my arms. I scratched my forearm whenever she looked, needing to remind myself that they were covered by my sleeves. Not that it mattered, the signs were gone.
I felt like I saw sparks of silver in her eyes, too. I was seeing silver everywhere. I needed to stop thinking about it and maybe I’d stop seeing it in the eyes of every person I encountered.
The room gave nothing else away. There was no décor. Nothing on display. A harsh room full of harsh bargains.
Our turn was next, and I watched the woman with the hard eyes as we stepped forward. She was watching me just as intently, her dark eyes narrowing over her hawkish nose. A face that tolerated no nonsense.
“We’re looking for an item,” Zyla said confidently.
“What sort-” the woman behind the counter began, but she stopped, ducking her head respectfully when the hawk-nosed woman came to the counter. That really was a swirl of silver in her eyes, wasn’t it?
It was. A sense of foreboding flooded over me, immersing me in a sudden almost panicked fear. Was Saboraak safe?
Safe and fine. The attendants here do not bring fresh straw often, though. I don’t like living in dirty quarters.
I think this woman is like the men with the silver in their eyes!
Have her eyes suddenly popped and let silver leak on the floor?
No.
Call me when they do. Until then, let’s take a moment to remember the squalor I am living in.
We’ll get out and fly soon – hopefully sooner than later. I’d just help Zyla get the item and make sure that Bataar was okay and then Saboraak and I would fly away from this place. Maybe if we went to Ko’Loska there would be some kind of instructions for us. Here, it just felt like I was getting into more and more trouble.
In all the excitement with Bataar, I hadn’t even remembered to ask Apeq if Hubric had left instructions for us. If he was our true contact, he would have those, wouldn’t he?
The woman looked past Zyla to me and I barely suppressed a flinch at the swirl of silver in her eyes when she said, “Buying or selling?”
“Buying,” Zyla said confidently, stepping between us to get the woman’s attention again. “Your name, please?”
The woman flicked a fingertip and as if she had shot an arrow into a crowded room, the atmosphere of the place changed. Along the counter the woman began to wrap up their business, suggesting their customers leave immediately. Protests were quashed with urgent whispers.
“I am Karema Lo’Torlan, Keeper of the Bright Redemption,” the woman replied. Her smile did not touch her eyes.
My hand drifted to my axe and I licked my lips as I watched the last customers being hustled out the door. Was this a trap? I put a hand on Zyla’s shoulder – a warning. She brushed it off, leaning forward as if she could intimidate this Karema Lo’Torlan.
“You are here for an item of healing for your friend.”
Zyla stiffened and I sucked in a breath. They knew who we were and why we were here. I could already envision Magikas pouring into this place.
Someone is here! They are entering my cote.
Saboraak sounded worried, but it was probably just an attendant freshening her straw.
“Healing items are extremely rare and valuable.” Karema smiled.
I was trying to keep my eye on the serving women. They had us surrounded in a loose circle. Skies and stars! I’d allowed us to get trapped in here! I should have watched this place before assuming it was safe to enter. This was all my fault.
I can’t get a good look at them. There’s more than one ...
“I require a great payment.” I didn’t like Karema’s smile at all.
“Whatever it takes,” Zyla said.
Good.
A show of confidence in a sticky situation was a good power move. No need to let them see you sweat – even if we had nothing of value to trade for this item. Maybe we could ‘borrow’ it later if we knew it was here.
“I want something equally rare and valuable,” Karema said.
“What do you want?” Zyla’s head was held high, her tone bold.
“You booked a dragon cote for a purple dragon – though there is a gold in there right now. A girl with two dragons should have one to spare, yes?”
My eyes popped open at her words. No way! Saboraak wasn’t for sale!
Skies and stars, they’re here for me!
Saboraak? Saboraak, get out of there!
There was a gleam in Karema’s eyes that had nothing to do with the silver swirls. Were those her people in Saboraak’s cote?
Her smile widened to a toothy grin. “The dragon for the item. Or no deal.”
Chapter Ten
SABORAAK? MY HEART w
as pounding and my breathing ragged. I really liked that old lizard. She’d better be okay. Why was she so quiet?
Karema pulled a bracelet of metal feathers out of her pocket and it was all I could do to keep my features from betraying me. That was the exact item we needed for Bataar! In the book, it had said it was lost.
“I have what you need here,” Karema said, showing the bracelet to Zyla. When Zyla reached for it she pulled it away. “We don’t let customers handle merchandise until we receive payment. This is not a charity.”
“So, you need the dragon first?” Zyla asked. Her confident front was beginning to waver. I saw her hands fidgeting with the hem of her short coat.
“It’s your lucky day today,” Karema said. I had a feeling that if Karema thought something was lucky for me then the opposite was probably true. “We already have a deposit. You can take the item with you – but to get your deposit back, you must bring us payment. You have two days. If we don’t receive payment by then, we will keep the deposit.”
Saboraak? They wouldn’t have taken her as a deposit, would they? If they took her, I’d tear them limb from limb. I’d pour that silver swirl in Karema’s eyes on the ground myself. I’d –
I had no idea you were so attached to me already. I am touched. Though you will not need to become a barbarian on my account. I’m safe.
I breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a false alarm.
Not exactly. I had to flee the city.
What?!
“What sort of deposit do you have?” Zyla asked warily.
“Do you mean, what sort have we taken?”
Zyla was so still as she watched Karema that I thought she might be magically frozen in place. Karema’s expression took on a deadly look.
“Bring out the deposit.”
From behind her, a pair of armed men came out of a single door. They were holding Zin by her upper arms. She was wearing a simple grey dress – a gift of Apeq’s most likely. Her eyes were blank, as if she wasn’t able to even see us here. But I noticed a small bulge in her dress pocket. She still had the book I’d lent her! Perhaps she was not as distant as we sometimes thought. My eyes narrowed as I tried to catch her gaze. Could she give us a sign? Any sign at all? There was nothing.
Dragon Chameleon: Episodes 1-4 Page 18
