I carefully followed him towards the servants' path that ran behind the apartments, holding my breath as pebbles crunched and clinked under our weight. We both sighed when we finally stepped onto the rough dirt track.
'We will go out by the Gate of Good Service,' Ryko said as we hurried along the path. I ignored the ache already starting in my
hip from the speed and uneven surface. 'Two friends are on duty tonight. They will pass us with a little encouragement.'
The Gate of Good Service was used mainly in the day for the delivery of the vast amounts of food that the Imperial kitchens prepared for the royal family and its huge staff. At night, Ryko told me, it was quieter and much sought after by guards wanting an easy watch.
As we approached the gateway, two well-built figures stepped out from their positions, the enthusiastic demand for our names hinting at their boredom.
Ryko identified himself then bowed towards me. 'Here also is Lord Eon.'
The smaller of the two leaned closer, the brim of a stiff leather helmet shadowing his eyes. He studied me then drew back and bowed, obviously satisfied. His partner quickly followed suit.
'I am taking Lord Eon to the Avenue of Blossoms,' Ryko said, and I heard the chink of coins in his hand.
A glance passed between the two guards. The Avenue of Blossoms was in the Ward of Pleasure.
'He would not want his passage through this gate to be common knowledge.' Ryko opened his hand to show the gleam of silver.
The larger guard licked his lips.
'Our discretion is guaranteed, Ryko. You know that,' he said.
Ryko stared at them. 'You know what will happen if I hear this in the guard rooms.'
They were both big men, but Ryko stood taller and broader. The guards nodded and Ryko tossed them the coins, ushering me through the gate.
'Do they really think you are taking me to the pleasure houses?' I asked as Ryko led me off the main road onto the Emperor's riding track. What use would a Moon Shadow have for the Blossom women?
'Of course they do,' he said, and I heard the amusement in his voice. 'They know there is more than one way to skin a cat.'
I felt heat rush to my face and was glad for the cover of night.
Suddenly, Ryko pulled me behind some bushes. A dung-man had rounded a curve in the track and was wheeling his barrow towards us. We both crouched and I peered through the foliage, watching as he stopped in front of us and shovelled up a heap of horse manure. He banged it into the barrow, his vigour sending a foul stench into the air. I clamped my hand over my nose, my eyes watering. Finally, he walked on. I moved to stand, but Ryko pulled me down again, his hand on my arm until we heard the guards jeering as the man pushed his barrow past their gate.
'We will need to cut through the gardens and avoid the paths, my lord,' Ryko said softly. 'It will be quicker if I carry you.'
Before long I was perched on his back and we were striding through the extravagant band of gardens that separated the Dragon Halls from the palace precinct. The Emperor called them his Emerald Ring and allowed only his favourites to walk the paths and enjoy the cool groves.
At this time of night they were deserted, eerily quiet of even night noises, with only the main paths lit with large red festival lanterns strung on ropes between poles. I pressed myself closer against Ryko's solid shoulders as we ran past gilded pavilions and skirted around glades and ponds spanned by elegant bridges. Part of me was exhilarated by our speed, another part breathless with fear at what lay ahead. What if we did not find the folio? What if we were discovered? As we rounded a stand of ghostly beech trees, a shadow darted forwards. I flinched, sending Ryko into a half crouch that rocked me against his back. The inky shape of a fox slipped into the cover of some bushes.
Ryko blew out a breath. 'Hara,' he murmured, using the island name for the messenger fox god. He straightened, shifting me up into his waist.
'A bad omen?' T whispered uneasily.
Under my arms, his shoulders lifted in a shrug. 'Hara warns that a message is near, not if it is good or bad.'
Hopefully Hara was foretelling the return of the folio. Ryko tightened his grip and we started running again. There was a strange sense of comfort in being held so closely to the body of another. Perhaps it was the faint memory of my father carrying me in the same way.
Emboldened by the sense of unity, I pressed myself closer to his ear.
'Thank you for helping me,' I said. 'You are a good friend.'
He turned his head slightly, his cheek brushing mine.
'It is my honour,' he said warmly. His voice deepened with urgency. And we must protect the Emperor and his line.'
I finally voiced something that had puzzled me. 'Why do you support the Emperor, Ryko? He gelded the Trang men — your people — and forced them into slavery'
Ryko grunted. 'The Emperor did not order the gelding. The uprising came at the same time as Her Majesty's death. The Heavenly Master placed all military decisions into Sethon's hands. It was Sethon who ordered it.' I felt his pace slow. 'Quiet now, we approach the road.'
He stopped in the cover of a small copse of trees and studied the gentle slope in front of us.
We were at the far corner of the Ox Dragoneye burial ground that stood opposite the Ox Dragon Hall. The carefully placed tombs clustered under an auspicious rise in the land, their curved marble altars like a crooked set of teeth. Beyond it was a stretch of the Dragon Circle, the wide paved avenue that lay between the edge of the gardens and the ring of Dragon Halls.
It was reserved for the use of the high ranks and, at this time of night, was clear. Alone figure in the neat livery of a servant walked along the rough track beside it.
'This is the best place to cross,' Ryko said softly, pointing across the road to the ragged edge of a thick wood. Its dark shadows looked impenetrable. 'The Ox Hall keeps a hunting forest that stretches the entire length behind it. We'll go through and come up beside the Rat Hall.'
But first we had to make it across the exposed width of the road. We watched the servant disappear from view. All clear. Ryko tapped my leg, a signal to hang on tightly. I pressed myself against him as he ran, my back itching from the gaze of a thousand eyes that did not exist. We both sighed in relief as we gained the cover of the trees.
It seemed to take forever to work our way through the small, dense forest. The tracks were narrow and ill defined in the dim light and I could feel Ryko's shortened breaths against my chest as he weaved around trees and pushed through undergrowth. Every now and again a night animal skittered away, a flash of silvered fur becoming shadow. Above, the half moon was rising towards its zenith — the midnight bell would soon ring. And I could do nothing to help our progress except sit against Ryko as lightly as possible.
Finally, the trees began to thin out. Ryko slowed, his shoulders heaving with effort. Ahead of us, across a wide space empty of any cover, was the immense stone bulwark of the Rat Dragon Hall. We stopped in the shadows of the last patch of growth, Ryko taking in deep breaths as he scanned the top of the thick wall.
'We'll wait,' he panted, shifting me more firmly against his back and adjusting the bulky pouch tied at his waist. 'Guards may be walking the rampart.'
We watched, but no dark helmeted figures appeared along the edge.
Ryko turned his head and I saw the corner of a smile. 'Time to go.' I felt my heartbeat quicken as we crossed the clearing. Could he feel my fear against his back? Keeping in the shadow cast by the wall, we slowly crept towards the front of the hall. Halfway along, we came to a metal gate. I looked up and saw the six gilded spikes that Dillon had described to me.
'This is it,' I breathed in Ryko's ear.
He nodded and released his grip on my legs. I had only just touched the ground when the midnight bell sounded. A cracking boom suddenly punched into my ears and whistling fire arced across the far wall, bursting into a flower of falling light. I felt something drag at me and then I was flat on the ground, Ryko's body across mine, his weight pres
sing dirt into my mouth. Voices — screaming, yelling, commanding — erupted from the hall. I shifted my shoulders and bucked, trying to find some room to draw breath.
The weight lifted, releasing my chest. I gasped in air as Ryko rolled onto his knees beside me.
'My lord, are you all right?'
We both heard the scrape of a lock opening and looked up. Dillon peered around the edge of the gateway, his eyes round with fear.
'Eon?' He shook his head. 'I mean, Lord Eon, is that you?' He saw Ryko loom up beside him.
'Holy gods.' He ducked inside the gate, but Ryko was faster. He caught Dillon's arm, pulling him back out.
'Be easy I am Lord Eon's bodyguard,' he growled.
Dillon cast a wild look down at me.
'It's all right,' I said soothingly, nodding at Ryko to let him go. I spat out some grit. 'Did you do that? The explosion?'
Dillon nodded. A couple of Twelfth Day fireworks. We won't have long, though.'
Ryko hauled me to my feet. 'Your leg, my lord? Is it all right?'
I was stiff and every bit of me felt bruised, but complaining would not change it. And if I did, Ryko would probably try to make me stav outside.
'I'm fine,' I said. 'Let's get going.'
Dillon beckoned us through the archway then carefully closed the gate. We were in a long alley between two buildings.
'How many guards are there?' Ryko demanded.
Dillon flinched at his tone. 'Only eight. The rest have gone with Lord Ido.' He pointed to the left. 'The library is that way, in the formal garden. Built into the hill.'
'Into the hill?' I asked.
Dillon nodded. 'I heard Lord Ido say it is on a ley line. To maximise the power.'
For some reason, his words made me shiver.
We walked along the narrow path, Dillon leading, me in the middle, Ryko guarding the rear.
Somewhere in the front carriage yard, a voice was shouting orders. Dillon paused at the mouth of the alley Over his shoulder, I saw the inner courtyard where I had waited with my master for the Council meeting. Large bronze lamps hung at each corner, and in their yellow light the border of cumquat trees looked eerily like soldiers standing at attention. A servant hurried along the far colonnade and disappeared into a dark passage. Dillon nodded at me then slipped around the corner.
Bending low behind the cover of the cumquats, I followed him to the back archway, every step of my limping jog frustratingly slow. I had just reached the shadowy interior of the arch when a doorway halfway along the left building opened and a servant girl eased her way through it. Beside me, Dillon sucked in a breath. Ryko, caught between the cumquats and the arch, dropped to the ground. I pressed myself back against the stone wall. The girl paused, pulled a heel of bread out of her skirt pocket, and crossed the yard. Straight for us.
I saw Ryko gather himself into an animal crouch. He drew the knives, the action smooth and soundless. What was he going to do? She was just a servant stealing an extra crust. Leaning forwards, he readied the blades, angling them for a throat slash and heart thrust. Quick and quiet. I looked across at Dillon. He had flattened himself against the wall too. I jerked my head towards the girl. 'Stop her!' I mouthed. He gave a tiny shake of his head and closed his eyes. I clenched my fists to stop myself from pushing him out into the yard.
Suddenly, the door behind her slid open, cracking against its stop. A squat figure stood silhouetted in the bright light.
'Gallia. Get back here. You haven't finished these pots.'
The girl thrust the bread deep into her skirt and quickly retraced her steps. Dillon sighed as she entered the kitchen and closed the door, muffling the shrill voice of her superior.
Keeping low, Ryko ran the last few lengths into the shadows beside us. I watched him slip the knives back into their sheaths with practised ease. Our gazes met: a jarring moment of re-evaluation.
'Would you rather we were discovered?' he said.
The steel was not only strapped to his arms.
'I'm not going any further,' Dillon said, edging back along the wall. 'I'm not going near the library Go through this passage — it will take you to the garden. The library is in the Rat Dragon corner.'
'Wait.' I grabbed his sleeve.
'No.' He wrenched himself free and rounded the archway corner, his receding footsteps a sharp staccato of fear.
'His decoy won't last much longer,' Ryko said, heading towards the end of the passageway.
'We've got to move fast. The guards will be checking every area.'
The sounds from the carriage yard had already quietened. We stood for a moment in the safety of the passage and studied the large space we had to cross. A long paved path curved and climbed across a bridge, beside a pond and around a small pavilion in the traditional tranquillity formation. Red Twelfth Day festival lamps hung in blossom trees. A night perfume — jasmine — flavoured the air with a soft honey It should have been a beautiful garden, but the whole effect was ruined by the squat hill in the north-northwest corner. I could already sense the menacing power that hung over it.
'It's clear,' Ryko murmured. 'Come on.'
We cut across the manicured grass, weaving between the blossom trees. Ryko moved fast, the space between us
lengthening as my bad leg jarred against hidden dips in the ground. He became a shadow ahead of me, flickering between the trees, the glow of a festival lamp briefly highlighting the sheen of his skin or a glint of metal. I checked the archway; it was still quiet. Ryko had gone from view. I passed the pavilion, its walls curtained with trailing wisteria. Not far to the library now. I dug my fist into my hip to stop the ache, my jog slowing into a limping walk.
The path was in front of me. Just a few more steps.
Something was lying on the paving stones. Something big.
I stopped. It took a moment to make sense of the contorted form. Ryko; his body twisted in agony. He rolled over to face me, the effort forcing out a muffled scream. His forehead and neck were straining with corded veins, his teeth bared.
'Stay back!' His words collapsed into a gasping moan as he writhed across the path, his head hitting the flags with a dull thud. I scrabbled across the paving, thrusting my hand under the back of his skull before it smashed against the stones again. The weight of his head ground my knuckles into the flags.
'They must have come out of the hill,' he panted. 'Run!'
He was holding his belly, dark blood seeping through his fingers. Had he been stabbed? I looked wildly around. The hill crouched above us, a curved black metal door set into its side like a screaming mouth. No one could have come out — the door had a huge padlock on it.
'Leave me. Get out,' Ryko said. 'Now!'
'No,' I said, a spark of anger burning across my fear. I couldn't leave him to die. At the edge of my sight, something shimmered. I swung around. For a moment, I saw huge opal talons crisscrossing the hill like a cage and an eye above it, as dark as an abyss.
The Rat Dragon.
Across the garden, the archway flickered with light. Torches. They were still in the inner courtyard, but it wouldn't be long before they checked the garden.
'Ryko, they're coming,' I whispered. 'We've got to hide.'
He nodded, his teeth clenched together. 'Trees?' he gasped.
They were too far away. Too evenly spaced for cover. I twisted around, searching for another option. The doorway? Would the Rat Dragon's power force the guards back too? If we hid in the shadow, maybe they wouldn't come close enough to see us.
Against the door,' I said.
I sat behind him and straddled his body with my legs, hooking my arms under his armpits.
'Come on. Help me.'
He dug his feet in and pushed as I hauled backwards. We crept across the paving, his weight grinding my bones into the stone and crushing my chest. Each heave forced a tiny moan from him and pressed my own breath out in rough gasps. Would the guards hear us? The stain on the front of his tunic was getting bigger, wetter, denser. So much blood. I pr
essed my palm against his stomach, trying to find the source of the bleeding.
The cloth wasn't wet.
I lifted my hand: no blood. No stain.
It wasn't real. None of it was real.
'Ryko, you're not bleeding. The Rat Dragon is doing it.'
I saw his eyes roll back.
'No!' I jabbed my fingers into the muscle behind his collarbone. If he passed out, I'd have no chance of moving him. 'Stay awake. It's not real.'
He grunted in pain, his eyes focusing. 'Leave me,' he breathed. 'Run. You mustn't be found.'
He pushed at my hands.
I hauled us backwards again. He scrabbled weakly, trying to help. Another heave and my shoulders hit something solid. The door. I wriggled out from under Ryko, crawling around to roll him into the shadows. He was still breathing, but in shallow gasps. I rocked back onto my heels. If the guards made it up as far as Ryko had, the shadow cast by the hill wouldn't hide us. We would be seen. I pulled myself back against the cold metal of the door. All that effort for nothing.
I looked up at the padlock. We had to get in. But Ryko was in no condition to pick it. I reached up and grabbed the heavy lock, hanging my weight from it. Solid. I shook it. Metal against metal. Immoveable.
I looked over my shoulder. Down the path, one of the lights was now a defined flame, outlining the man who carried it. Fear sobbed in my throat.
There was one last chance. The Rat Dragon. Could I call him? Tellon said it was impossible, but I knew I had some kind of connection. Groping desperately for my Hua, I drew it up through my seven centres of power. It was like picking up fine sand in my hands, the Hua slipping between the fingers of my control until only a small amount was left, pooled in the cup of my mind. Focusing every part of my being, I hurled it towards the Rat Dragon. A terrible dragging pain made me sway. For a moment, I was hollow. A husk. In my mind, I could see the blue dragon hunched over the hill, his claws intertwined around it. The huge head lifted, the unblinking eyes staring at me. Confusion. Reluctance. He lifted his head and shrieked; a scream of resentment. Then something roared through me, like the searing howl of a fire wind. Pure energy. With a crack, the padlock split, jerking me downwards.
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn e-1 Page 21
