The Rage of Dragons

by Evan Winter

  The rest of the morning went by in a blur. Oyibo’s body was taken from the battlefield and prepped for burning as the umqondisi from the citadel suggested punishing Tau with death, or at least whipping. In skirmishes, men were injured and sometimes killed, but the citadel umqondisi argued that Tau had forfeited his right to protection under skirmish rules when he ignored the Noble’s calls for mercy.

  Jayyed and several other umqondisi protested this, begged even. They claimed Tau had become emotional at the death of a sword brother. They claimed he had not heard or, at least, had not understood the calls for mercy from the Noble’s mangled mouth.

  The citadel had not liked that but stopped short of calling the claims lies. Instead, they focused on the Indlovu’s condition—a mangled face, a broken arm and leg!

  Things that happen in a skirmish, Jayyed told them. He asked, who among them had not broken limbs or received a lump or two? They were warriors, not farmers. Besides, was it not an Ihashe initiate they had to burn this day?

  A Lesser, a Common, the citadel umqondisi had replied, as if they spoke of grains of sand on a beach, all the same and easily replaced.

  A man who would have fought for the Goddess and the Omehi against the hedeni, Jayyed told them, his anger beginning to show. It all flowed over and beyond Tau, as he tried to understand Oyibo’s death.

  Tau had begun to treat the world of the isikolo and citadels as a game. Fighting with dull swords, playing at battle. He had let himself forget that everything they did, they did to be better at real war, at actual killing. Oyibo had looked up to him, and Tau, forgetting the nature of their world, had let Oyibo down, just as he had let his father down.

  Jayyed suggested they cancel the second skirmish. The citadel umqondisi refused. Had they not given enough by agreeing to spare the Common from a whipping, from a hanging? So, a second Ihashe scale took the field and lost.

  Anan proposed they leave. The other aqondise and umqondisi disagreed. They shouldn’t break with tradition, not on a day like this.

  They wanted the men to be able to go into the city, drink some of their sorrows away, if they must. Maybe they would also remember a victory had been won today. Though the price, set at a man’s life, had been too dear.

  Tau remained numb. Scale Jayyed intended to stay with him in the Crags, but he remembered Zuri would be waiting, and feeling more than ever that he needed to see her, Tau said they should go to the city. They should drink to Oyibo’s life and memory. So, Jayyed’s six, once again Jayyed’s five, went with the rest of the scale and the two isikolo to celebrate a victory and mourn a brother.

  Tau drank one jug and left. His sword brothers let him go. They knew him to be solitary. He walked to the circle, not expecting to see Zuri there. It was too early, and that was fine. He’d take the time to sit and think. Maybe offer a prayer for Oyibo’s soul.

  But Zuri was waiting; rather, she was pacing. When she saw him, she let out a cry and ran into his arms. “I heard someone was killed. I thought… By the Goddess, I was so frightened.”

  “I’m well,” Tau mumbled.

  Zuri knew he wasn’t. “You knew him?”

  “My sword brother. He fought beside me. I didn’t save him.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “You said the same thing when my father died, and here we are again. Me, alive, and the man who came to my aid, dead.”

  Zuri opened her mouth to try a response, then closed it.

  “How did you hear?” Tau asked.

  “A friend, a small and bold Gifted initiate who always seems to know more than she should. You’d like her. I wish you could meet…” Zuri looked down and Tau was reminded of the great distance their world sought to keep between men like him and women like her. “She knows about you and came running to tell me that there was…” Zuri didn’t seem to want to say the rest. “There was an accident in the morning’s first skirmish. A man went to the Goddess.”

  “Went? Oyibo was murdered. He asked for mercy. The Noble killed him anyway.”

  “Tau,” Zuri said, reaching for him. He felt her delicate fingers tracing the hardened calluses on his palms. She looked around. They were alone in the circle, but it was early enough that others could come by at any moment. She wanted to hold him. He could see that. Propriety held her back.

  Tau rejected propriety. He wrapped her up in his arms. She didn’t hesitate then. She put her arms around him, pulling him tight to her body.

  Tau’s eyes grew damp. He hated himself for being so weak. He squeezed them shut to quell the tears and leaned against Zuri, drawing comfort from her presence.

  “Lesser!” a man yelled. “What in the Goddess’s name!”

  Zuri jerked back. Tau opened his eyes. Three Indlovu, first cycles, by the look of them, were striding over.

  “Get away from her, you disgusting nceku! What do you think you’re—”

  The Indlovu did not finish his sentence. In a single, unbroken motion, Tau drew one of his two practice swords and struck the man on the temple. He was unconscious before his body hit the floor.

  “Ukufa’s tongue!” yelped the second Indlovu, drawing his blade, its sharp edge hissing on the scabbard as it was pulled free.

  “Stop this! Stop it now!” Zuri ordered.

  The third Indlovu looked at her, and Tau drew his second practice sword. That ended the man’s internal argument and, seeing little else for it, he drew his very real sword, readying himself.

  “Put them away. My name is Gifted Zuri and I order it.”

  Both Indlovu looked uncertain. By rights they should accept Zuri’s authority. Tau decided the case for them. He attacked. “Tau!” Zuri called, but he’d already bled and dropped the second Indlovu and was working on the third, whom, he could tell, he’d overwhelm in moments.

  “Stand down!” called another Indlovu from across the circle. Tau slapped the man he was fighting across the face with the flat of his blade, sending the Noble reeling. That one dispatched, he turned, eyes blazing and heart on fire, seeking out the speaker.

  Tau recognized him immediately. How could he not? Barely a dozen strides distant stood a third-cycle Indlovu of the citadel, guardian dagger recipient, and murderer. Barely a dozen strides distant stood Kellan Okar.

  DUEL

  Somewhere in another realm, it seemed to Tau, he saw more men run into the circle. He heard Hadith shout something, turned, and saw that he was with Uduak.

  As he moved his gaze back to Kellan, a small part of Tau wondered why his sword brothers had come, but that part was drowned out. He was reliving the day his father died.

  Tau remembered Kellan standing over his father, watching Aren, hand cut from his body, scream and writhe in helpless pain, and every fiber in Tau’s being roared at him. His hate burned hot enough to immolate, his body shook with rage, and his thoughts were loud enough to be the voices of those around him.

  Rip Kellan apart, they said. Wipe his evil from the world, they urged, and Tau listened.

  “Who started this?” Kellan asked. He was with two Indlovu, and, bolstered by their presence, the Noble whom Tau had slapped with his sword answered the question by pointing.

  Tau paid no attention to him or the two other Indlovu. They were nothing more than ghosts. The only thing of substance was Okar.

  “Your name, Initiate?” Kellan asked him.

  “Death,” said Tau, moving to kill the man who helped murder his father.

  Kellan was surprised, Tau could see that, and it made the next breath even more astonishing. Kellan drew his sword and blocked Tau’s first and second strike in less time than it took to blink. Tau pressed on, heard more swords come free of their scabbards, and heard one of the Indlovu saying, “Hold. Let Kellan have him. It’ll be over soon.”

  Tau let the full force of his fury loose, raging against Kellan, his dual blades whipping in and out like the skin-slicing sands of a desert whirlwind. He moved faster than the eye could track, every attack meant to wound, maim, or kill, but every attack
met Kellan’s sword.

  From the corner of his eye, Tau saw Zuri, hand over her mouth, run from the circle, and then he had no time to see more. Kellan had dashed forward, engaging him.

  Okar had no shield. It didn’t matter. His sword played offense and defense both.

  Tau took a cut to the arm that bled furiously. Kellan was not using a practice sword, and his blade slit flesh like it had kissed a whetstone that same day. Tau increased his pace, eyes focused, teeth clenched, and Kellan met him, matched him, surpassed him, until, in awe, Tau realized that Kellan was better. Much better.

  Tau tried to stay in each moment, living alongside the ebb and flow of the fight, but his doubts grew, pulling at him, dragging his mind out of the swordplay, worrying at him. The voices of hate had gone quiet and he was left with the thought that he would die here and that his father’s murderers would live. His worries whispered that justice would not be done and it was because he was not good enough to take it.

  Tau yelled in frustration. Kellan looked calm, fresh, as if he could fight at this impossible pace for an entire sun span. Tau was already near his limit, past it, in fact. His arms were heavy, his footwork clumsy, and he could no longer keep track of Kellan’s darting blade.

  Tau skipped back, desperate for room and a moment to breathe. He glanced around. The circle was filling up. There were Indlovu, the ones who had come with Kellan and others.

  There were also the men from his scale. Hadith had a sword in hand; so did Uduak. They looked like they wanted to help, but the Indlovu accompanying Kellan had their blades out as well, and the two groups were at a standoff. More to the point, all eyes were on the battle between him and Okar, and Tau saw his doubts reflected in the sorrowed faces of his brothers.

  Tau blocked three, then four and five more attacks. He was a full step behind Kellan’s pace now and had no chance for offense. It wouldn’t be long until Kellan pierced his lackluster defense and killed him. Tau made space again, thought of calling for help, and rejected it. If he had to die, he’d do it like a man.

  Then he saw Zuri running back into the circle. She had Jayyed with her. Tau felt shame, deep shame, because he was so grateful Zuri had found and brought him. Maybe Jayyed could stop this before Kellan killed him.

  It wasn’t Jayyed who saved him, though.

  “I said stop!” Zuri yelled, her hands aimed at Kellan. Tau saw her and leapt back as she doused Okar with enervation. Kellan had enough time to see Zuri and gawped at her. He had that much time, and then he was on his knees, caught in Isihogo and defenseless.

  This was not how Tau had wanted it, but he’d take it. He ran for Kellan and lifted his blade for a blow that would, dull or no, take Okar’s head from his shoulders.

  “No!” It was Zuri. She cut her enervating blast, Tau swung down, and, impossibly, Kellan had his sword up, blocking Tau’s cut. The Indlovu in the circle erupted in outrage.

  “He’s trying to kill him!”

  “The Lesser is insane!”

  “Hang him!”

  The surrounding Indlovu closed in. Scale Jayyed came to Tau’s defense, and Jayyed was there too. He got to Tau first, took him by the neck, and yanked him back and off his feet.

  “Enough!” he roared. “Enough, damn you all. Enough!”

  The Indlovu were howling for blood, their outrage mixed with disbelief. It shattered their worldview to think a Lesser would try to kill one of their own.

  Tau struggled to get back to his feet but Jayyed had him.

  “I said enough.” Jayyed squeezed Tau’s neck. “Was this a challenge? Blood-duels are not permitted between initiates.”

  Kellan, still on his knees, was trying to shake off the vestiges of Isihogo. “Of course not,” he said. “I don’t even know this Lesser.”

  Tau growled at that and Jayyed squeezed his neck tighter.

  “Do you wish to press charges for the attack?” Jayyed asked Kellan.

  Zuri gasped, and the Nobles who were close enough to hear raised their voices in a chorus of assent.

  “What?” asked Kellan.

  “Will you lay charges, nkosi?” Jayyed said again.

  “Don’t. Don’t do this.” Zuri was facing Kellan.

  Kellan looked at her like she was mad, but he schooled his features. “Are you ordering me to forfeit justice, Lady Gifted? How have I given such great offense that you would attack me and deprive me of my natural rights to restitution? Whatever it is I have done, tell me how I may make amends.”

  “Don’t do this,” Zuri said, imploring Kellan more than instructing him.

  “Remind me, Umqondisi,” Kellan said to Jayyed. “What is justice in this case?”

  Jayyed answered in perfect monotone. “The offending Lesser will be hung, nkosi.”

  “I see,” said Kellan to Jayyed, but looking at Zuri the whole time. “Then, you deal with him in whatever way you see fit. I’ve had enough madness for one day.” The Indlovu with Kellan protested, but he raised a hand, silencing them. “Are we done here?” Kellan asked.

  Jayyed bobbed his head. “I believe we are, nkosi.”

  Kellan gave Tau a strange look, turned, and sketched an unsteady bow to Zuri, his head still spinning from the underworld. “I beg forgiveness for any offense I have given you, Lady Gifted.” That done and with his back straight, he left the circle with all but one of his Indlovu entourage following.

  The one who stayed behind spat in the dirt beside Tau. “Death? Death?” the Noble said, throwing Tau’s words back at him. “Nceku, stay in the dirt where your kind belong.”

  Tau tried to go for him, but Jayyed wrenched him back in place.

  “If you please, nkosi.” Jayyed said to the man by way of dismissal, his words respectful, his tone anything but.

  The Indlovu smirked and left.

  Jayyed turned to Zuri. “My thanks, Lady Gifted. We all thank you.” He dragged Tau to his feet and pulled him from the circle, shouting for the rest of the scale to follow. When they turned the first corner, Jayyed picked up the pace, almost running. “Scale Jayyed, we are leaving, now!”

  JAYYED AYIM

  “Don’t look back, don’t slow down,” Jayyed told his men. He didn’t want to admit it, even to himself, but he was scared. He forced his voice to sound neutral, like he was mentioning the heat. “Tau, if the citadel umqondisi hear about the duel before we get out of the city, I won’t be able to save you.”

  “I don’t need saving,” the scarred young man said, trying to be tough but sounding petulant.

  Jayyed clamped tighter on his neck. It had to hurt, but the initiate bore it, walking tall. Jayyed wanted to squeeze harder, force Tau to bend. “You’re a fool,” he told him. “A damned fool!”

  Jayyed had rushed to the circle when word came that a fight had broken out between Lessers and Nobles. On his way, he’d almost run over a Gifted initiate. She’d come looking for Lessers and, finding Jayyed, had told him to follow her.

  He’d known that tensions were high after Oyibo’s death, but he hadn’t expected things to go so far. He’d come into the city with his men, ignoring common sense because he was also burning for a fight, and that was stupid.

  “You have no idea how close to death you came,” Jayyed told Tau, struggling to keep his voice calm, a man commenting on the heat. “Dueling an Indlovu? Attacking a Greater Noble!”

  And the Gifted had blasted Kellan Okar with enervation. Jayyed hadn’t believed his eyes, and that was before Tau tried to kill the man.

  “If it had been anyone but him, you’d already be strung up,” Jayyed said.

  “I will kill that man.”

  “That man? Do you know—”

  “You don’t know—”

  “I do!” he screamed at Tau, losing patience and having to wrestle it back. “I know exactly what Okar did, and I know what he didn’t.” Jayyed could feel the vein in his neck throbbing and Tau shook himself free from his pinching fingers.

  “My father—”

  “Kellan Okar didn’t kill y
ou father!”

  “He attacked—”

  “Under orders! Under direct orders by the chairman of the Guardian Council and perfectly in his right to kill him. Can’t you see? Okar did everything he could to follow orders and still spare him.”

  “You think I’ll accept that?”

  “You fought Okar today. Don’t you think that, if he’d wanted to kill your father, your father would have died by his hand?”

  Tau was silent. Jayyed knew why. He might not want to face the truth about Kellan, but Tau couldn’t pretend he wasn’t already a better swordsman than his father had ever been.

  Tau’s efforts, without benefit of birth or natural talent, had allowed him to surpass the skills of his peers and many of his betters. Still, there were limits. Tau could not have held Okar for much longer, and his father could not have held Okar at all.

  The brash initiate simmered like a pot ready to boil over, and the roil of emotions on his face reminded Jayyed of the moment he’d recognized him at the testing. At the time, it had been only a few days since he’d watched Dejen Olujimi ram a blade through Tau’s father’s chest. Only a few days, and Tau had changed.

  The boy, with his angry and weeping wound, had looked like a savage in the fighting circle against Uduak. Jayyed had wondered how Tau managed to get cut so badly. He remembered thinking the wound would fester. It could kill the boy, and as the match began, he remembered thinking that when Uduak was through with him, the scratch wouldn’t matter at all.

  Jayyed had heard about Uduak half a cycle before the testing. He’d had him watched, and, as expected, Uduak was exactly what Jayyed was looking for. Jayyed found more like him, but Uduak was the first choice for his new scale, and at the testing, the brute did not disappoint. He’d smashed his way through everyone he faced, and then he faced Tau.

  The boy was small, even for a Lesser, and it should have been a slaughter, but Tau fought Uduak for the full two hundred count. It seemed impossible. It wasn’t, and that challenged Jayyed’s thinking in ways that worried him.