by Drae Box
“Aldora,” said Pedibastet as rushed down a set of stairs towards her. He jumped onto the arena wall, unharmed but with his long fur pressed to his body as if somebody had brushed him from his front and upwards at a forty-five-degree angle. “Follow the moth dragon. We must get you out of here before anyone comes to clean up this mess of yours.”
Aldora nodded. “Where’s Raneth?” she asked as she started her climb up the damaged section of wall.
“At the brothel. He’s sick from last night. He was bitten. Not terribly, but enough to get poisoned.”
Pedibastet waited at the edge of the damaged wall, where the cracks had yet to reach. The spectators’ cries erupted into the air again as the moth dragon projected vomit at one of them. The victim gurgled as the puke ate into her neck and she dropped to the ground. Aldora reached the lowest section of the seating area and headed towards the nearest way out. An entryway was being swarmed by some of the Newers. Aldora walked behind them. Pedibastet jumped down from the wall and walked at her side, ears twitching to listen to the people around them as the moth dragon headed upwards instinctively.
Slipping through the entryway, Aldora picked up her pace, surprised more of the Newers weren’t in front of her and sprinted across the stone floor. Pedibastet kept pace with her. They turned right, following the black arrows painted on the stone walls. She checked on Pedibastet; he was by her feet, his ears twitching as they neared the soft kiss of the breeze from outside, and perking forwards in unison as Aldora stepped into view of the entrance. The ex-fighters were lined up there – eight of them, different from the day before – but the same ticket master was there, making the ninth. Aldora pointed the Dagger at him, noticing how the others stood behind him, their weapons drawn but uncertain frowns flickering across their faces. They’re unsure what to do. So am I, she realised as she stopped walking.
“There are people in there who need your help,” she said firmly, pointing the Dagger behind her, back into the arena. “The moth dragon is loose.”
Everybody but the ticket master sped past her. He frowned hard at her, picking up a javelin from the ground. He didn’t point it at the Dagger Bearer but held it at his side, watching her.
“Hurrah, the Dagger Bearer lives,” he said, giving a sarcastic bow and a grin. Straightening, he added, “You have more power than people first realise, don’t you?”
Aldora exhaled sharply. “Are you going to let me leave?”
“I don’t want you using that pretty dagger on me, so yes. Thanks for the boob show yesterday.” He gave her a smile as he stepped to the side. He stepped past a fallen body, seemingly unaffected by the sight.
Aldora strode past him, her stomach churning at the body, and warily watched him for any movement in case he decided to try anything. When he didn’t, she sped into a run with Pedibastet at her side. She ran towards Sasha’s.
“Slow down, you look suspicious, and put the Dagger away,” ordered Pedibastet. Aldora stopped and put the Dagger of Protection back into the sheath her father had made, then she picked up Pedibastet. She held him close to her as she started walking, and he purred against her ear.
When she reached the brothel and stepped inside, there where no familiar faces on the ground floor or behind the bar. One of the girls there looked up at her and almost dropped the mug she held in her hand, catching it just as some of the liquid spilled onto the bar. She pointed upwards with her free hand and set the drink down in front of one of the men further up the bar. Aldora nodded and strode up the stairs.
She placed Pedibastet at her feet on the top step before trying the handle. It clattered at her touch, refusing to open. A second later, the lock was clicked and the door was opened by Sasha. She released a large smile at Aldora.
“Aldora!” she whispered, before grabbing the Dagger Bearer. She pulled her inside and locked the door after Pedibastet.
Aldora stepped nearer the sofa. Raneth was lying there under a blanket, his head snuggled into a corner of the sofa, one arm hugging the blanket to his chest. Aldora looked at Pedibastet. “Will he be OK?” she asked.
“He’ll be fine once he’s slept it all off.”
“Sasha, can we move him? I don’t think we can stick around,” stated Aldora.
“He’s a royal official and a Bayre. I’m sure if he has to move, he’ll move, but I’d recommend against it.” Sasha shrugged. “How did you escape the arena?”
“She used the Dagger rather brilliantly,” stated Pedibastet from the back of the sofa, watching as Aldora knelt down in front of Raneth and gently felt his brow, wearing a concerned frown. “But we must leave. Aldora killed several people there, and worse, she let their moth dragon escape.”
Aldora’s chest tightened as she thought of the body near the ticket master. Pedibastet was right. She might not have meant for the Dagger to do that, but it had because of her. She gulped down the threat of warm tears in her eyes. She couldn’t let Raneth see her guilt. She’d done what she had to do. Sometimes others got hurt. She frowned. And it’s not like they were completely innocent. They paid to watch me die! She gently tapped Raneth’s exposed shoulder until his dark eyelashes parted and revealed his glassy blue eyes. He’s really not well, she realised. “We have to leave, Raneth. My escape was a bit noticeable.”
He blinked at her then frowned and rubbed at the corners of his eyes. “I don’t... I can’t even form right now. You’ll have to go without me and I’ll meet up with you.”
“No way, Raneth,” snapped Aldora. “You come with me and Pedibastet now. I’m not leaving you for the inspectors to find.”
“Raneth shouldn’t leave,” stated Sasha firmly, stepping closer to the three friends. “I can hold the inspectors off for a while, or we can move him into one of the secret wall spaces. He needs rest, sleep preferably, and that’s it. He cannot leave my brothel until all the poison is out of his system. You will stay here, but not in this room – it’s booked for the evening so I will see to it you have one of our guest rooms.”
Aldora barely slept that night, listening to the moth dragon somewhere outside. Screams had jolted her awake the few times she had nearly fallen asleep. She sat on the end of a sofa, her head resting against her hand. Worse, she had spent most of the day listening for the inspectors to come charging to the rooms but it didn’t happen. It’s too quiet, she thought, running a hand over Pedibastet’s head. He purred and angled his cheek towards her hand, so she stroked there instead. Why haven’t I heard anything? If she hadn’t known better, the Dagger Bearer would have thought they were the only ones in the brothel. She glanced at a window she’d opened a smidge, allowing in a cool breeze. She shifted slightly, stretching her legs out in front of her as the Dagger dug into her side. She repositioned its placement. She’d barely eaten anything, even when Sasha had brought them some soup. Hers still sat on the side table by the arm of the sofa next to her, its steam long since fled. Her stomach kept twisting and her throat tightening when she thought of the Newers that had died falling from the arena because of her. She glared at the Dagger, wishing the deaths were anybody else’s fault but hers. I did what I had to do, she reminded herself. Now stop dwelling on it. Raneth wouldn’t feel so guilty. Bad yes, but they shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Next to her, Raneth drew his long legs underneath him.
“I’m glad you’re OK,” he said softly. They were the first words he’d spoken since she’d returned to the brothel.
He must be feeling better. Hopefully enough so we can leave. She didn’t like waiting. Aldora nodded. “Me too. Thanks for trying to rescue me. I’m sorry you got hurt. How do you feel? Can you move about? Run if we have to?”
“Tired, mostly,” admitted Raneth, “but better than I felt before they gave me an antidote. I can leave if we have to, but it’ll only weaken me if we do, which means my griffin-self will be unavailable to us for longer.” Raneth gently claimed one of Aldora’s hands with his own. “We’re not safe here.”
Aldora nodded, rubbing her thumb acros
s the back of Raneth’s hand. I suppose Pedibastet will fill him in properly once his strength is back up, if I don’t do it first.
“I know,” she uttered softly. “The Dagger did something new in the arena.”
When Raneth frowned his silent request for her to go into more detail, she did, from her attempted escape from the cells until her arrival at The Rover. Raneth’s frown grew more heavy with each word she spoke.
“That all sounds sort of violent,” he said when she stopped talking.
The Dagger Bearer thought back to the arena and everything that had happened as soon as the Dagger had activated two abilities at once. Reluctantly, she nodded as she thought about the people who had been pushed from the arena. “I don’t want to be known for violence,” she said softly.
Raneth repositioned himself again so their sides touched and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Aldora rested her head against the side of his shoulder, entwining her fingers in his as she squeezed his hand. He squeezed back.
“Only here,” he said gently. “But it would help if people stop seeing you how the commenter described you anyway. You’re not useless. That’s why so many Giftens look up to you now. You get things done and have saved people’s lives. The guilt over the deaths will remain with you for years, maybe forever. There’s no getting over it but it gets easier with time. If it doesn’t, tell me. I’ll help you.”
Grateful, Aldora nodded but looked to the door as Sasha stepped into the room with another woman that Aldora recognised.
“This lady was down in the bar asking for you. She’s not an inspector or one of their allies,” stated Sasha.
“Rena,” uttered Aldora as she shifted away from Raneth’s snuggled form at her side. “It’s OK, Sasha. We know her. Rena, what are you doing here?”
“Queen Regina sent me here,” she said, giving Raneth a slight dip of the head. “The commander informed her of your situation, so she sent me with this.”
Rena stepped closer to Aldora and Raneth so Aldora stood up and took an offered yellow envelope. Rena waited in front of them, her hands clasped in front of her in the same manner as Raneth would often stand before Cray. Is that pose trained into them both? She read the letter and then looked at Raneth. “Regina’s told the inspectors we’re off limits and if they try anything against us again and she finds out, that she’ll hang them for threatening the friendship between Giften and Newer.”
“Is he OK?” asked the Newer, a small frown present as she nodded at Raneth.
“He tried to rescue me and was bitten by one of the guard dragons.” Aldora gently pushed on Raneth’s shoulder until he lay down on the sofa. “Sleep it off,” she added to him gently.
“It’s likely that the inspectors felt threatened by you two being here in their town, ma’am,” said Rena. “Foreign tampering was a legal way to arrest you, and you were seen talking to a fence, but knowing the inspectors like we do, we suspect it was their pride that saw you arrested.”
“There were two inspectors behind my arrest, from what I saw,” she stated. “Ian and Sheila.”
Rena’s eyes trailed up and down Aldora’s body, causing the Dagger Bearer to flush slightly. “I will be dealing with them,” she asked. “They don’t get another warning. Only the other ones.”
Chapter Nine
Raneth
Almost the rest of the day had passed when Sasha returned to stand in their doorway. “Bad news,” she said. “Teton’s dead.”
“Who?” asked Raneth, thankful he was feeling better. He would have grunted at her otherwise.
“The fence I went to see. Sasha, what happened to him?” asked Aldora, unfolding her legs from under her and standing up.
Sasha peered to either side of the corridor, then stepped inside and shut the door. She spun around and leaned her back against the smooth wood.
“Someone used the moth dragon’s escape as a distraction to snap Teton’s neck in an alleyway near here. One of the patrons downstairs mentioned finding him – he’s connected to Teton. Would recognise him without a doubt, if he saw him.”
It’s unlikely an accident if he’s in an alleyway with his neck snapped. “Are you sure the guy who made you aware didn’t snap his neck?” asked Raneth.
Sasha nodded. “He rubs at the corner of his left eye when he lies,” she said confidently. “He rubbed the back of his neck instead – he’s feeling vulnerable. I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves Oreg in the next few hours. Not a good day to be a fence, it seems.”
“That ruffles my plan a bit,” stated Pedibastet, sitting up on the bedding beside Aldora, before stretching his front legs and yawning. He snapped his jaw shut then looked up at his two friends. “I had been about to suggest talking to Teton about whatever the inspectors are afraid of.”
“We can still see if he knew about it, Prince Pedibastet. Sasha, do you know where Teton lived?” asked Raneth.
Sasha nodded. “Somebody’s feeling better.” She smiled. “I was hoping you were. I’ve got it here for you.” She handed him a scrap of paper. She stepped outside, shutting the door behind her.
“We can leave,” said Raneth. “I’m feeling much better and Sasha noticed.”
Aldora nipped at her cheek, worriedly frowning. “Are you sure?”
Raneth nodded. “The quicker we find the Shotput and get us back on Giften soil, the better.”
They walked in silence towards Teton’s home, which was near a theatre. When they arrived, Aldora grabbed Raneth’s wrist as he plucked his lockpicks from his left belt pouch.
“Are you allowed to do this?” she asked, frowning.
“Yeah.”
Aldora tilted her head to the side, waiting for an explanation with her eyebrows raised but he didn’t give her one. She let go of Raneth’s hand. He edged close to the door and picked at the lock while Pedibastet watched their surroundings.
“It’s surprising that the streets are so quiet with the moth dragon out of the arena,” stated the cat. “I would expect to be able to hear it every now and then.”
“Maybe they’ve caught it again,” suggested Aldora. “They’ve had enough time.”
“Perhaps,” said Pedibastet.
“It’s open,” said Raneth, turning the door handle and slowly opening the door without stepping through.
A soft pop sounded just behind the frame, and the snapping of a thin wire caught Raneth’s attention. He just spotted the wire whipping up and away from its restraints and grimaced. It would have done serious damage to his ankles if he’d walked through as he pushed the door open. He turned to Aldora. “Come on, but keep an eye out for traps,” he said, before slowly stepping inside the dark room.
As Aldora walked in behind him, no doubt followed by Pedibastet, the royal official analysed the room. The thin black curtains were drawn, holding out the day’s light, but not enough that it was too dark. Directly opposite the front door was a clouded mirror, with a shard from its bottom right corner missing. Raneth took another step. Standing in the centre of the square room, he couldn’t help but notice that it was in a bad state: a brown rug was in one corner, partially standing upright as if someone had plucked it from the floor and thrown it. A low table had been upturned onto its surface, the legs sticking straight up into the air and dirty cups shattered beside it. Books had been flung around the room, and the door to the connecting room was on the floor, shattered at the hinges, with the lock’s bolt extended and the doorframe damaged where the lock had smashed against the wood.
“Raneth,” uttered Pedibastet, who pointed his nose up and away from the humans, towards the right wall.
A sheet of paper was pinned to the wall by a dagger. That’s not good at all. Raneth swept his gaze to Aldora to check her reaction.
She strode over to the wall, ripping it free. “It says, ‘Royal official captain, stop meddling in Newer and go home. Signed, never you mind who.’” Aldora held the sheet out to Raneth, giving him a concerned look. “Inspectors?”
Raneth took it and vi
ewed the handwriting. Nobody that I recognise. If we were in Giften, that would be good news. Here, though, not so much. We’re gonna have to be a little more vigilant. Turning it over revealed nothing about who had left it there, so Raneth plucked the dagger from the wall and inspected that. “I don’t know,” he admitted to Aldora. Something in Eastern Barbaric was inscribed down the blade. “Never seen… Never…” Raneth frowned at the last word then crouched down to show the blade to Pedibastet. “Can you read the fourth inscription, Your Highness?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” stated Pedibastet. “That isn’t even Newer.”
“No,” admitted Raneth, straightening. “It’s Eastern Barbaric. I’m a little rusty.”
“Raneth,” said Aldora softly. “Shouldn’t we check the rest of the house?”
He nodded and led her and Pedibastet through the next doorway, with the dagger and note still in his hands.
There was nothing more to find in the house, though each room held clear signs that somebody had ransacked it.
Chapter Ten
Aldora
Stepping out of the shared bathroom, Aldora spotted Sasha walking towards their room. She’d had an idea. “Sasha?” She hurried down the hallway, her borrowed towel in one hand and her dirty clothes bundled up inside it. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course,” said Sasha, giving Aldora a smile. “What is it?”
