The Hearts of Dragons

by Josh VanBrakle

  Rondel took a deep breath. Tears soaked her cheeks. She looked at Minawë, and she was crying too. “Minawë,” Rondel said, “my daughter, I never meant to burden you with all this. I wanted only for you to be happy. The Kodamas have suffered so much. I didn’t want to hurt you more than I already had.”

  “No,” Minawë replied. She reached in and embraced Rondel. “I’m grateful, truly. All of you—Father, Mother, and you—fought to protect me. All of you sacrificed yourselves for me. The least I can do is love you in return.”

  Rondel pulled back from the hug. She’d expected Minawë to rage at her mother’s deceit. Instead, her daughter’s words stole Rondel’s breath. “You . . .” she whispered, “you lo. . .”

  Minawë smiled and kissed Rondel on the cheek. Then she walked to the door. “I don’t see any reason why someone can’t have two mothers,” she said. “If anything, it makes me more fortunate than most, including Iren Saitosan. So, Mother, that only makes it all the more important that we help him. You’d better recover your strength soon, because I won’t stop until we rescue him.” She left before Rondel could reply.

  For several minutes Rondel sat in her bed and stared at the door. At last she laid down to rest. When she fell asleep, she dreamed, and for the first time that she could remember, the dreams were good.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  Winter Comes

  Five weeks later, Minawë, Rondel, Narunë, and a troop of Kodamas stood on Aokigahara’s southern edge. Minawë was at once elated and dismayed. After so many months, she had reached Shikari, the place where Iren was. That said, they still had to journey through this harsh land of jutting peaks and deep crevasses. All the while, they would be exposed to attack. Shikari was Maantec territory after all.

  Minawë ran a nervous hand through her long green hair. In Lodia it just stood out; here, it marked her as an enemy.

  “I wish we could go with you,” Narunë said.

  Minawë fought back tears. She’d only known him for a few months, but she would miss her uncle.

  “You’ve already done more for us than we could have hoped for,” Rondel said.

  “I suppose,” Narunë admitted, “but I wish my niece had better protection than a decrepit Maantec.”

  Rondel laughed. “Your niece doesn’t need protecting. It’s the other way around. She’s protecting me. If you have any doubts, ask Azar!”

  Narunë joined the old woman in her laughter, but Minawë kept silent. Sometimes even the strongest person needed a little protection.

  “You’d best be on your way then,” Narunë said after he’d calmed down. “You might have reached Shikari, but it’s a hike to reach Hiabi on the other end.”

  Minawë threw her arms around Narunë, heedless of everyone watching. “Goodbye, Uncle.”

  He stroked her hair. “Journey well, Minawë.”

  Rondel smiled. “Narunë, my best to all of you. With luck we’ll see you shortly, and with a Maantec in tow.”

  “Not another one!” Narunë cried. “One of you causes enough trouble!”

  They all laughed, and then Rondel and Minawë left the forest. Minawë shuddered when she stepped beyond the tree line. Compared to the vibrancy of Aokigahara, Shikari was desolate. Minawë reached out to the plants, but they were scraggly and poor. She frowned. She had needed the forest’s energy to defeat the Fire Dragon Knight. That wasn’t an option out here.

  If Rondel had any worries about traipsing through enemy territory, she didn’t show them. Instead, she talked amiably, like she was giving a tour. She pointed out the various mountains, caverns, and distant terraced farms.

  They camped that night in one of the innumerable caves that filled this broken country. After they’d eaten, Rondel looked seriously at Minawë. “Make sure to sleep enough tonight,” the old Maantec said. “We don’t know what we’ll face tomorrow.”

  Minawë gulped. “Will we reach Hiabi tomorrow? Is Shikari that small?”

  Rondel shook her head. “It would take weeks to traverse on foot at regular speed. We don’t have that long. I wanted to go slowly today so you could get a feel for the landscape. Starting tomorrow, though, you will fly, and I will run. I’ve been to Hiabi before, so I know the way. We’ll meet up outside the city. Assuming I’m recalling the distance correctly, we should arrive by midafternoon.”

  “How will I know which city is Hiabi?”

  “It’s hard to miss. It’s the only city in the territory. Apart from the farmers who work the terraces, few Shikarians live outside it.”

  With that, the old woman curled up on the cave floor and made herself as comfortable as possible. She was snoring within minutes.

  Minawë knew she should rest too, yet she lay wide awake. Six months had passed since she’d seen Iren. Compared with her thousand-year life, it was nothing. Even so, she wondered about him, and how much he might have changed.

  * * *

  Balear Platarch woke to three inches of snow outside his tent. It caught him by surprise. He’d noticed the weather growing colder, but he hadn’t realized he’d spent so much time in the wild.

  Fear took him. Maybe it hadn’t been as long as it appeared. The Fubuki could change the weather and make it snow.

  Balear reached for the Auryozaki and held it aloft. His eyes surveyed the woods. The Fubuki had white fur; in the snow-covered forest, the beast would be almost invisible. His pulse hammered, and his breathing came so fast it made him dizzy. If the monster snuck up on him, he would die before he could swing his sword. He recalled the piercing pain of the Fubuki’s Ryokaiten as it stabbed him, and the cold numbness that spread through his body as the weapon worked its terrible magic. That had just been his arm. What if it thrust through his chest?

  He needed to calm down. Back in the summer, the Fubuki hadn’t bothered with stealth. It had announced its presence with a roar so terrifying it locked its enemy in place. That hadn’t happened here.

  Balear took a deep breath, visible in the frigid morning air. The Fubuki hadn’t come. This snow was natural. With a shiver as much from relief as from cold, Balear set to work on a larger fire and breakfast.

  The meat had just finished cooking when the realization hit him. The Fubuki had used magic to make its summertime blizzard. Balear didn’t know a lot about magic, but he imagined it must require a huge amount of it to manipulate the weather. That meant the Fubuki had been holding back during their fight, yet it had still proven an overwhelming foe. In the winter, when it didn’t have to waste magic chilling the air, its power would become incredible.

  Balear didn’t bother packing up his campsite. He threw some snow on the fire to quench it, and then he took off at a run toward Veliaf.

  He prayed he wasn’t too late.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  The Storm Dragon Knight’s Duty

  From the air, Hiabi was even more imposing than the rest of Shikari. The ancient city had escaped the Kodama-Maantec War, so it retained the splendor of the Maantec Empire. The buildings seemed endless, a mass of ceramic tile roofs that concealed thousands of Maantecs.

  The realization made Minawë’s eagle form tremble. The Kodamas were all but extinct, and Amroth’s war had decimated Lodia. If the Maantecs ever united, no nation on Raa could withstand them.

  A high wall encircled the city, and Minawë scanned it for sentries. She wanted to know the city’s defenses. According to Rondel, the plan was straightforward. The old Maantec would scale the wall, sneak inside, and make for the castle keep. That was where Iren would likely be held. Minawë would meet Rondel there, changing from bird to Kodama inside so Hiabi’s citizens wouldn’t see her green hair and raise the alarm.

  Minawë was about to head for the castle to wait for Rondel when she noticed something odd. Two people stood outside the city several hundred yards from the main gate. At this height, Minawë couldn’t make them out even with the eagle’s keen vision, so she descended in hopes of a better look.

  The first person was a woman with long black hair. He
r posture indicated absolute confidence. She was unarmed, which Minawë thought odd for a guard.

  Next to the woman stood a man. He had tan hair shorter than the woman’s, yet it was long enough that he had tied it back in a ponytail. His clothing looked like nothing Minawë had ever seen: a long-sleeved, sky-blue top above what appeared to be a pleated gray skirt.

  Minawë maneuvered so she could see the man’s face. The moment she did, she shrieked. Her cry echoed off the mountains north of the city. She plummeted as she briefly forgot she was in midair, but at the last moment she regained her wings and sped back to Rondel.

  “I saw Iren!” she said after returning to her Kodaman form.

  “Where?” Rondel asked. “In one of the castle courtyards?”

  “No, he’s outside the city! He’s with a woman with black hair.”

  Minawë thought this was the best news they’d received in a long time, but Rondel didn’t look happy about it. “You’re certain it was him?” she demanded. “Was he restrained?”

  “No,” Minawë said, “he was just standing there.” She thought for a second, and then she snapped her fingers. “Hey, maybe that woman helped him escape. We can rescue him without entering the city!”

  Rondel didn’t answer for a long time. At length she said, “Minawë, as your mother, I want you to promise me something. Whatever happens, please don’t interfere.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? I thought you brought me along to defeat the Stone Dragon Knight.”

  “I wasn’t referring to the Stone Dragon Knight. This is something else. Something . . . well, let’s not jump to conclusions. Iren’s waiting for us. Let’s go.”

  All pretext of stealth gone, the pair walked around a corner and into view of Hiabi. Minawë gasped at the city’s size. It had looked large from the air, but from the ground, it was enormous.

  “Stay focused,” Rondel spat. “From here on, there’s no time for sightseeing.”

  Minawë swallowed the rebuke that came to mind. Rondel was right. They didn’t have to linger here. They could grab Iren and leave.

  Several hundred feet away, Iren and the woman with him moved toward Minawë and Rondel. Minawë’s pulse quickened. Iren was right there! They could be back in Aokigahara tonight if they hurried.

  As the pairs closed, Minawë readied to shout Iren’s name. Before she could, though, Iren said, “I’ve been waiting for you, Rondel.”

  Minawë’s excitement died in her throat. Iren didn’t sound like himself. His voice was low and angry.

  Rondel stopped walking. “Yes, I imagine you have. Tell me, what amusing stories about me have you and Hana been swapping?” She glanced at the young woman next to Iren.

  Minawë took a step back as she realized the woman must be Hana, the Stone Dragon Knight and the person who had kidnapped Iren.

  Only the two of them didn’t look like kidnapper and victim. If anything, they stood a little too close together.

  “Actually, just one,” Iren said. He paused, and when he continued his voice had all the venom of the most poisonous snake in Aokigahara, “The one where you murdered my parents.”

  “It’s a l—” Minawë started to yell, expecting to hear Rondel reject it too. Instead, the old woman kept quiet.

  “Will you deny it?” Iren asked.

  “If it’s true,” Rondel replied, “what will you do?”

  “The same thing I should have done to Amroth. I’ll kill you.”

  “Revenge?” Rondel said with a scowl. “I thought you’d moved past that. I seem to recall you saying you didn’t care who murdered your parents. You only cared about protecting your friends.”

  Iren hesitated, but it lasted a mere second. “I do care about my friends,” he said. “For a long time, I thought you were one of them. But all that time you lied and pretended you didn’t know about my parents or what happened to them. Well, now I know the truth!”

  Minawë couldn’t believe the accusations she was hearing. She was about to intervene on Rondel’s behalf when the old woman retorted, “The truth? How arrogant! What makes you think you know anything about it?”

  “I saw it,” Iren said. “I used Divinion to relive my father’s memories—Iren Saito’s memories.”

  Minawë had thought the conversation couldn’t get any weirder, but she’d been wrong. No matter how much these Maantecs had manipulated Iren, he couldn’t believe Emperor Saito was his father.

  To Minawë’s further surprise, though, Rondel nodded and said, “Then you know why I had to kill him.”

  Rondel put it so matter-of-factly. There was no guilt. There was no regret. She’d admitted to murdering Iren’s father as easily as if she’d told them it was sunny today.

  “Okthora’s Law,” Iren said.

  “You know what Saito did. I didn’t lie to you, except to repeat the official version of events that says he died a thousand years ago. I didn’t want to ruin the image you had of your father as a simple farmer. The reality was that he was a madman obsessed with power and Maantec dominance.”

  Minawë couldn’t listen anymore. “This is impossible!” she cried. “Iren Saito can’t be your father!”

  Iren looked at Minawë as though noticing her for the first time. “Rondel, you dragged her along?” he asked. “Why? Was it to soften my heart against killing you?”

  “Don’t be so self-centered,” Rondel said. “Minawë’s here because of Hana.”

  Hana smirked. “You needn’t have bothered. I have orders. This is between you and Iren. I’m not to interfere.”

  “Not to interfere?” Rondel mimicked Hana’s smile. “Is that what you call attacking me, stealing the Burning Ruby, reforging the Karyozaki, and giving it to an Oni to wipe out the Kodamas in Aokigahara?”

  Iren’s resolute expression wavered. He looked at Hana. “What’s she talking about?” he asked. “You reforged the Karyozaki?”

  The formerly implacable Hana shifted on her feet. “Not me,” she said, speaking faster than before, “Lord Melwar. He wanted to buy time to make sure you could regain your magic before Rondel arrived. Azar was supposed to delay them.”

  “A lie,” Rondel said, “and a poor one. Hana took the Burning Ruby from me before you even left Ziorsecth. She thought she’d killed me, so there’s no way she could have known we were following you.”

  Iren’s eyes flicked from Hana to Rondel and back again. “Then why, Hana? I almost died to stop Feng. It took the Dragoon to defeat him! Why would you and Melwar risk that again?”

  Hana gulped, but then her face hardened. She tossed back her hair. “For conquest,” she said. “We didn’t want to waste Maantecs fighting veteran Kodamas in Suicide Forest. Azar and his Yokai know the jungle better. They were supposed to kill the Kodamas so they’d be out of the way once you became Maantec emperor. You could have led our armies north without interference. Besides, there was no risk in it. Melwar knows all about the Ryokaiten. He reforged the Karyozaki correctly. There was no danger of Feng taking over Azar’s mind like he did to Amroth.”

  Iren eyed her with wrath. “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you. I trusted you. All this time I thought you were helping me, but you were just using me. I thought you and Melwar wanted me to become emperor so we could bring about peace. That wasn’t it at all, was it? You wanted me to unite the Maantecs so you could conquer Raa!”

  “Are those goals so different?” Hana asked. “Your father believed they were the same. The other races need to be ruled. Look at Lodia! They’re falling apart because they lack the steady hand of a powerful, immortal Maantec leader. If you brought the Maantecs together, the humans would surrender without a fight. Under your rule, Lodia would have peace forever!”

  He should have rebuked her right away. Minawë clutched at her chest. The old Iren never would have entertained such nonsense. Instead, it took him nearly a minute before he said, “You’re right, Hana. For a time Iren Saito did believe that. Yet in the end he changed. He realized the Maantecs don’t deserve to rule a
ny more than any race does. He came to respect the other races. He even loved and married a human. If I’m going to follow him, then I have to refuse you.” He met Hana’s gaze. “I’m sorry. I can’t be your Maantec emperor.”

  For the first time since Iren had made his accusation against Rondel, Minawë dared to hope. They had almost been too late, but they had arrived in time after all. Iren had seen through Melwar’s deceptions, and he would return home. If Hana or Melwar attacked, Iren would stand alongside Rondel and Minawë to stop them.

  Then Iren turned back to Rondel. “Don’t think this changes anything between us,” he said. “I haven’t forgotten you, or what you did. You say you follow Okthora’s Law, but that’s an excuse. Even if it did apply to Saito, which I’m not sure I believe, it doesn’t explain your other murder.” He clenched his fists and growled, “It doesn’t explain why you killed my mother.”

  Up until that point, Minawë had thought Rondel composed in the face of Iren’s accusations. Now the old woman’s jaw hung slack. She stepped back as if Iren had slapped her. Her eyes fell to the ground.

  “Why did you do it?” Iren demanded. “Why did you kill her? She didn’t know who he was. She didn’t know about Maantecs. She thought he was a farmer. You claim evil must be annihilated? Then explain why she was evil!”

  Rondel collapsed to the dirt. “I never meant to kill her,” she said. “I went to that farmhouse intending only to kill Saito. Had she stayed in the house, she would have lived. But when I heard her wailing for Saito’s worthless soul, I couldn’t stand it. He didn’t deserve to have someone cry over him. He didn’t deserve to have a wife. He had that chance with me, and he wasted it.”