Great Chief (Chains of Honor, Book 4)

by Lindsay Buroker

  Which time that she’d punched him or teased him had she considered flirting?

  She rolled her eyes again. “Men are so dense.”

  “Yes.” It seemed like a safe response. “Yes, we are.”

  “I just don’t think she’s right for you.” Lakeo glanced at Jhali. “You met her as she was trying to kill you, and I’m not convinced that isn’t still her goal. You can’t read her mind, right?”

  Yanko sighed, tired of being asked that. “No, but she’s proven to me through her actions that she doesn’t want me dead. She was ordered to kill me tonight, and she changed out of her mage-hunter uniform to cut ties with her people forever.”

  Admittedly, she hadn’t said exactly that, but that was his interpretation of the symbolism.

  “I’m just afraid you’re being…”

  “Naive?” Yanko smiled ruefully.

  “Typical. Lots of men throughout history have been taken advantage of by wily women.” Lakeo looked at Jhali again. “And probably two or three have been taken advantage of by grumpy, glaring women with knives.”

  “Just so I have company.”

  “You should strive to be atypical, Yanko.”

  “You don’t think I already am?”

  “Not when it comes to women. But don’t worry. I’ll watch your back tonight.” Lakeo thumped him on the shoulder and walked off to join the group.

  “Thank you,” he called softly after her.

  Yanko knew he was right about Jhali, but it couldn’t hurt to have friends watching his back, especially now.

  He’s in the coliseum, Pey Lu told Yanko as he joined the others. It’s large enough to house several battalions and overlooks the waterfront. I assume that’s why he chose it.

  Ah. In his youth, Yanko had read stories that took place in that ancient coliseum, including one where a Great Chief had been chosen from among the slaves forced into combat in the early days of the Great Land. The stone structure was reputed to be more than a thousand years old, almost as old as the city. Why choose it for a headquarters? So enemies—fellow Nurians who had also grown up on those stories—would hesitate to lob explosives at it? I thank you for that information.

  You’re going to confront him now?

  Yes.

  I’ll hold my attack for an hour then. We’ll time it for when you’re confronting him. Even if we’re simply attacking his ships, he’ll be distracted.

  Yes. Thank you, Mother. He used that term instead of her name, thinking it might mean something to her.

  You’re welcome, son, she said in her familiar dry tone.

  He supposed their relationship, whatever it was, would never be quite normal. And, as he’d reminded himself many times, he shouldn’t wish it to be. Not when she was what she was.

  “Are you using your mage talents to locate him?” Arayevo asked, perhaps noticing his glazed expression.

  “Actually, I was talking to Pey Lu,” Yanko said.

  “That accounts for that constipated expression on his face,” Lakeo said.

  “Fortunately, she knows where he is. The coliseum. It overlooks the waterfront.” Yanko didn’t admit that he didn’t know how to get there. He would figure it out en route.

  “I’ve been there before,” Dak said. “Supposedly, it’s just for your annual athletic games and lizard races, but a couple of years ago, someone was hosting gladiatorial games at night with prisoners from other nations forced to fight. When our emperor confronted the Great Chief about it, he swore he knew nothing about it and that it wasn’t condoned.”

  “A lie?” Yanko guessed.

  “As I learned, he went to the unsanctioned midnight matches himself. It was unfortunate that he wasn’t there when I arrived to retrieve one of our military officers and other Turgonian prisoners. He might have been killed years earlier and saved your country this civil war.”

  “I doubt many would have mourned his loss,” Arayevo said. “I haven’t run into anyone yet who’s cared that he’s gone. People just worry about who’s going to be next and if he’ll be better or worse.” She gazed at Yanko and fortunately did not comment on which she thought likely.

  Yanko gripped Dak’s arm. “If you’ve been there before, then you shouldn’t mind leading us there, right?”

  “Do you know where anything in this city is, Yanko?” Dak asked.

  “So far, the latrine, an office, and the bedroom I’ve been given.”

  Dak rubbed his face.

  “I think Dak is wondering what Zirabo was thinking,” Lakeo muttered to Arayevo and waved to Yanko.

  “No.” Dak lowered his hand and nodded to Yanko. “I know what he was thinking, and, believe it or not, I would pick Yanko over the alternatives too.”

  “Because a bumbling and naive Great Chief is good for Turgonia?” Yanko asked, dryness creeping into his own tone now.

  “If you are those things now, you won’t be for long.” Dak patted him on the shoulder and led off toward the nearest exit.

  The simple statement of faith warmed Yanko’s heart. He’d always wondered what it would be like to have a father who bolstered his confidence instead of tearing it down. He hadn’t expected to find that in a dour Turgonian spy, but he wouldn’t refuse the gift.

  21

  Whale-oil lamps burned in sconces all around the fifty-foot-tall stone coliseum, the oval structure taking up several city blocks. Guards patrolled the street out front and barred the numerous entrances. They did not wear the uniforms of the Citizen Protection Force, but their copious weapons made their purpose clear.

  “Some of Sun Dragon’s loyal legions, eh?” Lakeo whispered.

  Yanko, Dak, Lakeo, Arayevo, and Jhali gathered in the shadows of one of the streets that came out on Coliseum Court, the wide cobblestone boulevard that circled the structure. Yanko had woken Zirabo and told him what they were doing, but not until they’d left the palace. He had worried Zirabo would object. And he had. He’d said that future Great Chiefs weren’t supposed to get themselves killed before they took the dais. Yanko had apologized and kept walking.

  “It’s after midnight. Why is it that they seem to be expecting trouble?” Dak looked at Yanko. “I was envisioning this as a stealthy incursion where we slipped into Sun Dragon’s bedroom and dealt with him while he was in his pajamas.”

  “His fleet is concerned by our fleet,” Yanko said. “Pey Lu is going to attack soon. That would keep most men out of their pajamas. I’m hoping that his focus will be on her and that he’ll divert some of these troops to the harbor.”

  From the higher levels of the coliseum, they would have been able to see the harbor. Yanko sensed dozens of ships with full crews down there, the men and women on both sides poised near cannons.

  There were more people in the harbor than in most of the city. As Yanko’s group had walked the two miles to the coliseum, he hadn’t sensed many citizens in the various tenements and houses, and he suspected most who weren’t involved in the fighting had fled.

  Unfortunately, the coliseum itself wasn’t empty. Not even close. In addition to all the guards outside, Yanko sensed the battalions of troops that his mother had mentioned. The Sun Dragons had turned it into a barracks.

  “It’ll distract his admirals and captains,” Dak said. “I’m less certain about him.”

  “I’m sorry your fantasy of a Nurian mage in his pajamas won’t come to pass.”

  That earned a snicker from Lakeo. Arayevo and Jhali, busy pointing at the entrances and discussing their options for entering unobserved, did not join in.

  “Can you get us in without them noticing, Yanko?” Dak waved at the guards at the closest entrance.

  “If they’re mundane, I think so.”

  “I can make some guesses about where the leaders might be, based on my previous visit.” Dak pointed toward the rear of the coliseum. “On that end, there are a lot of rooms with big open windows that overlook the arena. For those moksu with money who don’t want to sit outdoors among the riffraff. There are also dozens and
dozens of cells and walkways underneath the arena floor where the prisoners were kept.”

  “That’s where most of the people are now.” Yanko surveyed the structure with his senses. “And then there are more people in the hallways and stairwells on the various levels leading to the spectator stands. He has a lot of men.”

  “It’s a good thing you can get us past them.”

  “Until we run into a mage or someone with good perception,” Yanko murmured, but he lifted his chin and didn’t let himself share more of his concerns. This was his idea. He had to appear strong and confident for his troops.

  He rested his hand on his scimitar and focused on the nearest two guards, implanting illusions of an empty street into their heads and the notion that with so little going on, they might get away with a brief nap.

  The hilt of the weapon still felt warm to Yanko’s touch, making him wonder how long it would take for the energy he’d stored in it to leak out. Or would he have to use the blade for some magical act in order to release it? And if so, how?

  Yanko shook his head and led the way into the street. After he defeated Sun Dragon, he would have plenty of time to figure it out.

  His pack pulled at his shoulders as he walked. Even though he doubted Sun Dragon could be bribed, he’d brought one of the heavy gold bars along.

  The guards yawned as Yanko and the others approached. He glimpsed Dak with his knife out, ready to pounce if the illusion broke. Yanko resolved that it wouldn’t. Even if these people were backing the opposition, they were still Nurian, and he didn’t want to kill them any more than he’d wanted to kill the people in Yellow Delta.

  One of the guards slumped against the wall. Jhali jumped, lifting one of her throwing stars. But the guard wasn’t attacking; he was falling asleep.

  Yanko waved for his friends to walk past them.

  More whale-oil lamps burned inside the entrance. Yanko’s team walked into a wide hallway that mirrored the street outside as it circled the inside of the structure. Numerous side corridors led out to seating areas, steps led to upper levels, and cordoned-off steps led to lower levels. The chatter of men floated up from those lower stairs, and it sounded like a lot of the troops were awake and prepared for trouble.

  Yanko wished he hadn’t been pushed into coming tonight. Three weeks hence when Sun Dragon’s troops had all grown bored by a stalemate would have been a better time.

  Dak led the way down the wide corridor, but his step soon slowed, and he pointed ahead of them. A group of six men rounded the bend, all armed.

  Yanko rushed to create his illusion again, focusing hard to ensure it appeared in all six minds. Too bad it wasn’t foggy outside. It would have been far easier to manipulate real fog to hide them, rather than trying to diddle with so many minds at once.

  His group moved soundlessly, skirting the closed vendor carts to one side of the passageway as the patrol approached.

  Jhali gripped Yanko’s arm from behind, and he grimaced, almost losing his concentration. She pointed to a discarded tankard on the floor that he’d almost kicked. He nodded a curt thanks and double-checked his illusion before stepping around it.

  As the troops drew even with him, one of them paused. He was dressed in sturdy trousers and a tunic and carried weapons, but might he be a mage?

  Yanko redoubled his efforts as the man gazed in their direction. Dak and Jhali were both poised to attack. Yanko detected the guard reaching out with his senses. Yes, he was a mage. Hopefully not a strong one.

  “What is it, Heyku?” one of his comrades asked. “I don’t think that wine cart is opening any time soon.”

  His buddies laughed.

  Dak, Lakeo, Arayevo, and Jhali were as still as Yanko.

  “I thought I sensed something,” the mage muttered.

  A distant boom drifted up from the harbor.

  “Yeah, you sensed us about to get ordered down to deal with those pirates.” His comrade grabbed his arm. “Come on.”

  The mage hesitated as the others moved on, and Yanko willed him to follow them. He didn’t say any words that would give him away, but he tried to instill the idea that Luy Hano Sun Dragon would be mad if he didn’t hurry to help the fleet.

  The mage’s eyes widened, and he ran after his comrades and passed them. Judging by his reaction, Luy Hano wasn’t anyone his people wanted to cross. Yanko wondered why they supported him. Fear? Promises of favor?

  “Let’s go,” Dak whispered as more booms sounded in the harbor. “If the Sun Dragons leave to check on that, we’ll miss our chance.”

  “Right.” Yanko jogged after him, not mentioning that he wouldn’t mind if his mother dealt with them and he didn’t have to. It wasn’t that he feared a confrontation but that he feared he wouldn’t be able to stop Luy Hano and his kin from being a threat without killing them. That was something Pey Lu did far more easily than he. But it would be cowardly to wish the blood on her hands instead of his.

  Dak turned up a well-lit stairway. Yanko didn’t hear any voices drifting down from above. As they ascended, he reached out with his senses to see if anyone was in the rooms Dak had described.

  More booms sounded, the thick stone walls of the coliseum muffling them, but not so much that people didn’t hear them. A lot of men in the lower levels were grabbing weapons and throwing on clothes. Would they all go streaming down to the harbor? He saw a few squadrons trickling out of the coliseum, but more people were heading up the stairs to the spectator stands. That was odd. Unless there was something in the arena to see.

  Yanko raked his senses through the open area, the earth packed with dirt and gravel. His stomach lurched as he detected several people with strong auras out there in the open. He recognized among them Luy Hano Sun Dragon, the man who’d taunted him before the dragon battle.

  “There’s nobody in the rooms up there,” Yanko whispered when Dak paused at the landing and looked back at him.

  “You’re sure?”

  Yanko did a quick sweep so he could nod with authority. “The mages we’re looking for are waiting in the arena. Expectantly.”

  Dak sighed. “For you?”

  “I’m not sure how they would have known I was coming tonight, but they’re definitely waiting for someone.”

  “Maybe a tailor is bringing uniform samples so their people will be less scruffy,” Lakeo said.

  “I’m sure that’s it,” Yanko murmured.

  “We shouldn’t walk out there openly if they’re waiting for us,” Dak said.

  Are you enjoying perusing the stairways up there, boy? a familiar voice spoke into his mind. Sun Dragon.

  Yes, I’m thinking of getting a fancy room here at the coliseum once our forces have control of the city. You’re a local, aren’t you? How are the lizard races?

  Our forces. Sun Dragon snorted into his mind. So, you’re calling them your forces now, presumptuous boy. As if a child should rule the Great Land. You’re as crazy as your murdering mother.

  “Yanko?” Dak had returned to his step. “Are you talking to your mother again?”

  “No, I’m talking to my new nemesis.”

  We can let our troops decide that when we go into battle tomorrow, Yanko told the man. I’m just here to give you your money back.

  What? Sun Dragon sounded confused.

  Good. That meant he wasn’t reading Yanko’s mind. Yanko had his mental defenses up, but Tynlee could get through them, so he assumed others might also be able to.

  You hired mage hunters to have me assassinated. I wish to give you your money back so that you’ll call them off.

  Laughter rang in Yanko’s mind. Are my pet mage hunters disturbing you? Even the mightiest mage can fall to their blades.

  An image of Pey Lu with one of Jhali’s throwing stars sticking out of her neck flashed into his mind. Yes, he knew all too well how effective mage hunters could be.

  It is cowardly to send an assassin to do your work for you, Yanko said. That’s worse than being crazy.

  You speak of cowa
rdliness when you are hiding in a stairwell?

  I’m not hiding. I was very specifically looking for you.

  You know where I am. Come to me. Sun Dragon added magical compulsion to his words.

  Even though Yanko recognized it for what it was, he found it harder to resist than he would have expected. He turned and went down two steps before he caught himself.

  He reminded himself that this man had either created that dragon by himself or with the help of a couple of relatives. He would be very powerful, perhaps as powerful as Pey Lu. Which would make him more powerful than Yanko.

  Come to me, and we shall fight for the right to rule this city, Sun Dragon crooned into his mind. A fair fight. There will be witnesses to ensure that. Witnesses who will report which one of us is the stronger and deserves to rule the Great Land.

  Yanko’s stomach knotted as he realized why people were climbing the stairs and going out to the seats. Witnesses. Was that truly what they were? Or did they have orders to rush down and slay Yanko if he emerged victorious in whatever great mage battle Sun Dragon envisioned? Sun Dragon and his allies. Yanko sensed four men and a woman standing beside him in the open arena. And guards in the tunnels that led out to it. In addition to the hundreds of spectators filing out to watch. There were a lot of guards in the main corridor now, far too many for Yanko to fool with an illusion if they decided to leave.

  “I’m an idiot,” Yanko said, realizing he’d walked into a trap. And he’d brought his friends with him.

  Booms kept echoing up from the harbor, and he sensed a great naval battle underway, but it seemed Sun Dragon and his ground troops were unconcerned about what their naval forces were doing.

  “He’s out in the arena waiting for us,” Yanko said to the concerned faces looking at him. “And he’s blocking the way out of the coliseum so we can’t leave.”

  Dak touched his backpack. “I assure you, I can leave when I wish.”

  “Without destroying a thousand-year-old city monument?”

  “Nurian architecture isn’t my greatest concern right now.”

  “Yanko,” Arayevo said. “If he wants you to go out there and face him, that’s the last thing you should do.”