by Arthur Slade
“Yes. I know Scythian dragons never break their oaths.”
“Not true, sad to say. But we do hold them as a high ideal, so you’ll just have to hope I’m not an oath breaker.”
I swallowed. “Promise you won’t eat me or slay me.”
“Now, just a friendly warning to be careful with your wording. I am rather gifted in misinterpreting oaths.”
I clenched a fist, then held it behind me so he wouldn’t see how nervous I was. “I also want you to swear you won’t do anything that will knowingly bring me harm.”
“Done. Any other terms?”
I hadn’t thought much beyond my first request. What else could I ask? Then, without pausing to think it through, I said, “I want you to fix my eye.”
“Fix your eye? I’m not a healer. Nor am I an optician. It’s far too late for that eye.”
“No. You can do it,” I insisted, and the more I said each word the more I believed it. “You can regenerate it and give me sight. I’m sure you can do it. So, do it.”
He chuckled. “You look and sound so serious, but Scythian regeneration doesn’t work that way. I can only regenerate things on myself. And I don’t control it.” He wiggled one of his claws. “I lost this in a battle. It grew back. But not once did I say to it, ‘grow back now, little claw.’ I can’t help you with your eye.”
It had been worth a try. “Then what do I get in exchange for releasing you?”
He made his wings ruffle, a menacing movement. “Is there someone you’d like me to kill? An old boyfriend?”
“No! Besides, I’m an assassin. I could do that myself.”
He lowered his wings. “Well, if you haven’t thought it through, then I won’t do your thinking for you.”
“A ride on your back,” I blurted.
“A what?”
“A ride.”
He reared back, pulling himself to the top of the cave. “You want me to submit to having a human on my back? The degradation of it! I’m not a pack animal.”
“I didn’t mean to offend you. But I want to know what it’s like.”
“You might accidentally fall off.”
“You promised not to hurt me.”
“I can’t control how tightly you grip.”
“You can catch me if I slip.”
He glared down at me, and I stared back. I put the most innocent look on my face, as if I wasn’t aware of his anger. “Fine,” he huffed. “One ride. At dark when no one will see it. These things I promise in return for my freedom. I guarantee it.”
It didn’t sound like very much to trade when listed that way. But I couldn’t think of anything else to ask for, and I realized in my heart I just wanted to see him free. I decided to tell him so. “I really just want you to be free.”
“That’s sweet.” I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic. “Then be your most noble self and free me, Carmen of the Assassins.”
I’d brought a torch. I held it out and he lit it with a puff of flame. Again, I shivered to be so near to something so powerful, so intelligent and magical and not human.
I knelt by the manacle and propped the torch against the wall so I could see. His leg looked even worse than it had the previous night. I wondered if a dragon could go septic.
I brought out my picks, laid them out one by one. Then I took a deep breath and spoke. “Enderos.” I felt a chill when I said it, as though it had summoned a small wind in the cave. The manacle glowed slightly. This is going to work! “Enderos!” I repeated just to be certain. I felt that same chill, and the manacle was now glowing bright.
I’d hoped the word would open the lock right away. I moved my hand in a circular motion, but nothing happened. This was a powerful spell. Perhaps I needed to help it along. I chose my strongest pick, which was made from andantium.
I poked it into the lock, searching for a pin. Nothing happened. I clicked left, right. I finally found the release and pushed on it.
Nothing.
“I’m not feeling very free,” Brax said.
“Enderos,” I whispered. “Enderos. Enderos. Enderos.” The glowing died away. There was no moving the lock.
And finally, my pick snapped.
“I don’t like that sound,” Brax said. “I am greatly regretting our deal.”
Chapter 15
Once More
I threw what was left of my pick against the wall. “It didn’t work!”
“You have a gift for stating the obvious.”
“Honestly, I believed that spell would open this manacle,” I said. “It worked on the locks to my room.”
“And was that lock enchanted?”
“Well, no.”
“Ah, I see.” Brax pointed a claw toward the dead enchanter. “That fried bag of bones over there was actually very adept at several spells — not a full-blown wizard, or he would have been hunted down. Perhaps he knew tricks from his years of study that you couldn’t undo by reading a book for a few minutes.”
“But I really wanted to get you out.”
Brax laughed and, to my surprise, patted me on the shoulder. “You are so very strange, Carmen. You don’t talk like an assassin. Perhaps your heart is too soft to really be an assassin.”
“No!” I nearly shouted it, but it came out loud enough to echo. “I have done all the training and passed all the tests. I am an assassin. And assassins can be moral. We decide which missions to accept.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry for doubting you.” He didn’t sound sorry. “You’re an assassin. There, does that make you feel better?”
“No. You’re just humouring me.”
“I’m the one trapped in a cave, forced into a conversation with a child, and I’m taking the time to humour you. You had better appreciate that.”
I stood up. “There must be another way.” I stared at the manacle for several seconds. “I have it! Why not just cut your leg off?”
“Oh, ouch, how quick you are to remove my body parts.”
“But it would grow back, right? I could sew the wound shut.”
“You’re a physician now too? Will wonders never cease at the hats you wear! But look closely at that leg and at the wounds.”
I leaned in. The manacle had worn off his scales, and the skin below looked ragged and sore. “It isn’t healing,” I said.
“Right. The spell isn’t just cast on the chain, but on my leg too. My leg will not regenerate. So, if we follow your plan, I will bleed to death in a few heartbeats. It’s a very clever spell from a clever and dead corpse.”
“Oh,” I said.
“Oh is right.” He rattled the chain. I thought it must hurt to even move his leg. “Now I must say I am impressed that you didn’t tell your maestru. I fully expected there to be twenty assassins here to take me down.”
“I wouldn’t break my oath.”
“That, too, is impressive for a human. But we are deadlocked. You don’t seem to have the ways or means to release me. There is no one you know in that den of assassins — and I mean that in a nice way — who you could trust to free me. So, your value to me is limited. Perhaps if I eat you, I’ll have enough strength to survive until someone with a magic key stumbles across this hole.”
“You do like to talk about eating me,” I said. It surprised me how steady my voice was.
“I’d feel a pinch of guilt about eating you. I’m sure that would go away after the first couple of bites.”
I glanced around the cave. The books he had were in perfectly tidy order. “Why are you here?” I asked.
“I told you, I was lured by the promise of knowledge. The enchanter summoned up a teensy-weensy bird that whispered in my ear and guided me here.”
“But why are you here in the mortal lands?”
“I was outcast by my father.”
“What could a dragon do that would get you cast out?”
He looked at the talons on his right hand and squeezed them together. “Murder. Of a fellow dragon. The books you’ve read do not likely delve deep in
to dragon politics, but I was cast out because I killed a dragon before he could marry my sister.”
“You did what?” I looked at the scar across his face.
“Yes. That scar is from our battle. Wounds caused by a fellow Scythian won’t regenerate. I imagine you’ve come to that conclusion already.”
“And you killed this other dragon. In a … a dragon duel.”
“A duel makes it sound so civilized. It was not civilized. It was also against our laws.”
“How long have you been in the mortal lands?”
“Two years.”
“And you can’t go back?”
He shook his head. “Only if I kill the king or if he dies of natural causes. Oh, and I should mention the king is my father.”
So, Brax was a prince too! I’d had no idea that dragons had kings and princes and other royalty.
“I’ll let you live if you promise to return,” Brax added.
“But how will I ever break that lock?”
“I have the slightest glimmer of a hope that you’re smart enough to find an answer. I want you to promise to come back.”
“I will come back.” I said this without hesitating. “I promise.” This was perhaps the longest conversation I’d had with anyone other than Maestru Alesius and my brother in years.
“You are an idealist. It’s quaint. And very odd for an assassin.” He stared at me for a long time. There was something about those grey, magical eyes. It was impossible to look away. He suddenly squinted as if in pain and shook his head. “You are going to betray me.”
“I won’t betray you!” I said.
He gave me a sad smile. “That’s the thing about my eyes. They see things you humans cannot see. Other paths. Other futures. An action you take will lead to pain and bloodshed for me.”
“What is it? What do I do?”
He shrugged, making his wings rattle. “That’s the problem. It’s not clear how someone as small as you can spill my blood. But I still have to let you. Return to me, Carmen of the Assassins. Free me, and I’ll keep my oath.”
“I will free you,” I said. He laughed as I walked away.
Chapter 16
An Ounce of Servitude
I followed the moonlit path back to the fortress. The impressive building rose above me as I neared. I had no idea how the original masons were able to build it right along the top of the mountain so that all four walls seemed to blend into the cliffs.
With each step, I was growing more sluggish. There were ten thousand stairs, and I wasn’t certain I could take them all without collapsing.
Sleep. I hadn’t slept a wink for over twenty-four hours. I’d been trained to go without sleep, but I knew I was at my limits. Too much had happened. It was at least four in the morning, I guessed.
It took several tries to pick the lock on the thirteenth door. I stumbled up to my room, unlocked my door, threw myself on my bed, and promptly fell asleep.
It seemed moments later that someone pounded on my door. I struggled to stand up and then went to the door, not bothering with my hair. At least I was still dressed.
I opened the door to find Thord holding a rolled-up scroll in his hand.
“What do you want?” It came out angrier than I intended.
“That story of the feathers,” he said.
“You’re waking me up for that?”
“It’s twelve. You must have slept through the morning bells. But you can give me the story another time. I came here at the request of Maestru Alesius. He was in a rather severe mood. I— I don’t think it’s good news.”
I took the scroll and unravelled it. The words were written in red, a bad sign because it meant that it was an order I’d have to obey immediately. Report directly to Maestru Alesius. I’d never had a red-letter order before.
“What is it?” Thord asked.
“I may be in trouble.”
“I have swannery cleaning duty. But I think I’d gladly choose that over an angry Alesius.”
“Me too,” I said.
“Well, good luck with it,” he said, and then he continued up the hallway.
I couldn’t ignore the order. So I took a deep breath and left my room, closing the door behind me. I climbed several sets of stairs until I reached my maestru’s study. I knocked on the door.
“Enter,” he said. I couldn’t read anything in the tone of his voice.
When I walked into the room I nearly gasped. For both Maestru Olgra and Megan were there. Had they been waiting all morning? The fury on Megan’s face was clear from across the room. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she suddenly spun and threw a dagger. But the only dagger was in her glare.
“Where were you last night?” Maestru Alesius asked.
“I was in the stables.”
“DON’T LIE TO ME!” The shouting made both Megan and me shudder. Maestru Olgra didn’t even blink.
“I went outside. For a long walk. I wanted fresh air.”
“Where did you go?” His tone was still angry.
“To clear my thoughts. That’s all.”
“You smell like chrysanthemums.”
Was this what Brax had meant when he predicted that I’d betray him? But I’d sworn an oath. I had to lie to my maestru. Again.
“I must have brushed against them.”
“They only grow in the gardens.”
I drew in a deep breath. “I can’t say why I smell that way.”
He stared at me a bit longer. “You are playing with words. But where you have been and why you carry that scent, we’ll discuss later. I will get to the truth. I promise you. We have a different matter to discuss. Maestru Olgra, please tell us what happened.”
Maestru Olgra cleared her throat. “The reason we are here is because your apprentice used Thaurug’s pressure point to freeze this student. And she left immediately afterward.”
“Is this true, Carmen?” Maestru Alesius asked.
“Yes, but I—”
“DO NOT SAY ANYTHING ELSE. DO NOT PREVARICATE. JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!”
His voice was so loud and angry it nearly brought tears to my eye. I’d never seen him like this. “Did you use Thaurug’s pressure point on a fellow student?”
“Yes.”
“Are you aware that, if done improperly, it can paralyze the victim permanently?”
“Y-yes.”
He leaned on his desk. “Can you, in a very few words, explain your motives?”
I glanced at Megan and felt a flare of anger when I saw that she was now barely hiding a grin. “Megan insulted me.”
“Insults are an offence to idiots,” Maestru Alesius said. “What was the nature of this insult that you foolishly took offence to?”
“She asked me to work for her as a greeter. She suggested I will never be a good assassin because I am missing an eye.”
“She was stating a truth,” Maestru Alesius said.
“But it’s not true!”
“Do not argue with me.” He tightened his hand into a fist. “You are missing an eye. Therefore, you are not as qualified as Megan. Though you have perfected the majority of your assassin skills, that missing eye will always be a detriment. It also makes you more memorable. It is only your ability to rise above this hindrance that allows you to graduate. But I would not hire you for a mission.”
He had never stated these things so bluntly. He had always been so encouraging.
“So, it was not an insult,” he continued. “It was an honest appraisal. And, on the last day of your last class, you lashed out at her. A sign of emotional weakness. Something you’ve rarely displayed in your years here. So, the fault is all yours.”
I risked another glance at Megan to see that she now had a gloating smile.
“Maestru Olgra,” he said. “What punishment do you decree?”
Maestru Olgra’s face had remained severe throughout the whole discussion. “I declare that for breaking the sanctity of the classroom, attacking another classmate, and risking that classmate
’s health, immediately upon graduation Carmen will work with Megan as her assistant for no payment other than room and board for the period of one year.”
I drew in my breath. I nearly screamed as I let it out. A year! A year! As a servant of Megan.
“That is fair,” Maestru Alesius said. He turned to Megan. “Do you agree to these terms, and in so doing to be bound by the oath of the Red Adept Assassins?”
“Yes,” Megan said. “I do.”
“And Carmen, do you agree to these terms and in so doing to be bound by the oath of the Red Adept Assassins?”
Megan had a full grin on her face. To deny the terms would mean not graduating and perhaps being cast out. To what? Work as a sheepherder? I was not going to throw it all away.
But a year! A year!
“I agree,” I said softly.
“Repeat yourself, but louder,” my maestru commanded.
“I agree,” I said.
“Then it is done,” Maestru Alesius said. “After graduation you will perform one full year of servitude. It will be written in the charter books. You are both dismissed.”
I lowered my head and turned, careful not to look at Megan. I’d be seeing that gloating face for a full year. No sense in staring at it any longer than I had to. I took a step toward the door and it burst open without anyone knocking.
A black-robed assassin, hair slick with sweat, came rushing in. He smelled of the swannery. “Maestru Alesius, we have news. Urgent news!” He looked at me and Megan then back at the maestrus.
“Speak it. They will soon be sworn members of the guild.”
“Emperor Rima is dead. Killed by poison. All signs point to another attack by an assassin.”
Maestru Alesius actually went pale. “You two—” He pointed at me and Megan. “Speak nothing of this. Go to your rooms and prepare for graduation. Leave this chamber now.”
We did. When the door closed behind us, Megan’s gloat was long gone from her face. “What can this mean?” Megan said.
“That things are going to get very, very bad,” I answered.
Chapter 17
Lessons Learned
We silently parted ways, each still in shock from the news.
