by Arthur Slade
“Stay back,” I shouted. “Or he’s dead.”
I realized suddenly that I hadn’t thought this through. I had no escape path. I retreated until my back was against the stone balcony. The wind swept through my hair and Corwin’s, the identical colour moving in an identical way.
Corwin began to raise his hand, and I said, “Don’t you move or I’ll kill you.” The dagger was right against his throat.
“I— I am just waving them away, sis,” he said.
The Immortals were closing in. “Go ahead,” I said. He made a signal, and the guards took three steps back.
“You’re going to tell me why you’re doing this,” I hissed. “Then you’ll die.”
“Don’t be so dramatic.” He turned his head enough that I could see he was grinning.
“Don’t test me, Corwin. Why did you do this?”
“I’m just finding my place in the world.”
“By murdering our fellow students? Our maestrus? Betraying our order and our oaths?”
He shrugged. “No one in that room was innocent.”
“No, but they were your friends.”
He shook his head. “My friends are the ones who I let live. And those who were struck off the board would have done the same thing if they’d been offered the same opportunity.”
“No, they wouldn’t.” I jabbed the knife a little closer to his neck. “They had honour.”
He let out a raspberry. “Our parents dropped us off to be raised by assassins. Where was the honour in that? None. We were only worth more because we were twins. Apparently, we learn faster. But what I learned right away is that we are all alone in this world, and we have to survive on our own.”
“We can survive together. With friends and allies.”
“That’s hilarious coming from you,” he said. I had to admit he was incredibly calm. “You’re even more of a loner than me. Not a single friend in all your years of school.” He was right! But then an image of Thord drifted up. Why would I think of him? And was he even alive? “Be truthful, Carmen. You wouldn’t weep for any of them.”
“I didn’t like every last one of them, but I’d never kill them. What you’ve done here is horrible. It’s … it’s evil.”
“Oh, sis. It was neither of those things. It was the right thing to do, and it was beautiful. So beautiful. If you could have seen the Immortals silently coming in on their flyers. All landing on the walls at exactly the same moment. It was glorious and brilliant, if I do say so myself. Every single assassin was surprised.”
I couldn’t help but marvel at the audacity of his plan. To attack the Red Adept Assassin Fortress while it was full of assassins. He had carved a place in history for himself — a horrible place. And it meant people I had known were now dead. “What did you do with them? Why did you drag the bodies away?”
“They are in the morgue to be identified. Emperor Sargon wants to be certain every assassin is dead. We’ll hunt down any who escaped.”
“But what about me? Why wouldn’t the emperor want me dead too?”
“You only have one eye,” Corwin said. I was certain he was smiling. “You’re not a true threat. I promised him you’d become a pig farmer and take over our parents’ farm.”
“I’m more than you think I am.”
He shook his head, even though it meant the dagger cut him a little. “You’re just a half-blind girl, Carmen. You are nothing in this world. You have a few skills, and that’s all.”
I nearly stabbed him for that. “I have a dagger to your throat. You had better tell the Immortals to stop hunting for the others.”
“Now you’re being ridiculous. And you won’t have that blade at my throat for long.”
What did that mean? Several Immortals were standing twenty paces away, but they had their bows lowered. No one else had entered the room. Yet, he had a plan.
I needed to kill him now. He was my brother, but he had wrought such evil. Even if I were to die a moment later, at least I’d take him with me. I pulled the dagger back an inch or two, willing myself to plunge it in.
He had turned his head slightly so that I could see he was smiling grandly. Then he chomped his teeth together, shaped his mouth in an O, and blew his breath toward me. Some sort of gas came out of his mouth.
I plunged the dagger toward him.
Well, I tried to. But I was frozen. Standing on the edge of the balcony.
One by one, my brother gently unlocked my fingers from his cloak and stepped back. The Immortals came running up with their bows aimed at me, but Corwin barked, “Stay back!” They stopped in place.
“I keep a metal shell with basilisk powder in it in a hollow tooth. Twice tonight I’ve frozen you, sis. That’s what a failure you are as an assassin.”
Again, I tried to move, but not a muscle responded. I stood like a statue.
“You’ll pay for this,” I said, surprised that my mouth would work.
Corwin looked surprised too. “Well, that’s interesting. Perhaps you’re a little immune to this powder. But not immune enough. And I may pay for all of this,” he gestured around him, “in the future. But it won’t be you demanding that toll. You shouldn’t have gotten out of your bed. I tried to save you. I really did try. And, in my own way, I care for you, Carmen. You’re blood of my blood. So, I will give you one more chance. Join me and live. I’ll make sure you are well taken care of. I was kidding about the pig farm. You’d have a house in the capital, with a garden. I know you like gardens. You’ll even have your own servants. Join me.”
He actually put out his hand.
I hesitated. Not because I’d a thought of joining him. But I decided that maybe, just maybe, my freezing was wearing off. My toes were tingling.
“I … maybe … I will, but … just give me a moment. It’s a big decision.”
Corwin let out a quick bark of a laugh. “Do you think I’m stupid? You’re just hoping the dust will wear off. You had your chance, sis. I love you, but now you’re of no use to me. Give my greetings to Mother and Father.”
Then he booted me in the lower ribcage, smashing the breath from my lungs.
And knocking me over the balustrade.
Chapter 24
The Fall
The Fortress of the Red Adept Assassins had been built on one of the tallest cliffs in all the kingdoms. The fall was such a great distance that I knew I’d be shattered to a thousand pieces when I hit the sharp stones below.
And I was still frozen, not able to even grab at the wall, not that it would save me. Then I moved my arms a bit. It did surprise me that I wasn’t panicking as much as I could. Perhaps it was the freezing, or maybe I didn’t quite believe that my brother had just kicked me to my death like I was nothing more than a bag of seed.
But my right hand still tightly gripped the dagger. I didn’t want to let it go, which was laughable. What use would a dagger be to a pile of flesh and bones?
I thought of Brax. Of how he could swoop up here and save me, but he was chained to the wall of the cave.
It also impressed me how quickly I was thinking, how in moments of battle and danger, my brain slowed things down.
My body began to turn and twist in the wind, and I was getting farther away from the wall now. There was nothing I could do. I might as well just face it all with fearlessness. It had been a hard life. But I wasn’t going to go out with a whimper.
No! I thought. I’m not going out at all.
At least I could control how I shifted through the air. I remembered our jumps off the cliffs and into the water. We’d performed thousands of them, learning to control how our bodies moved through the air.
An idea came to me. I’d fallen the full length of the fortress and was now passing the cliff walls.
I was able to move my arms and legs. The powder had worn off enough. I adjusted my angle so I drifted closer to the wall. Then I grabbed the other dagger.
I reached out at speed, both knives in my hands.
Maestru Alesius had said the
y would cut through anything. I hoped he wasn’t exaggerating.
I stuck them both into the rock wall and they jerked in my hands, but I held tight. The daggers began sparking.
And they cut through the stone with sparks flying, lighting the darkness, leaving two trails in the rocky cliff. I was able to slow myself by digging them deeper into the rock. My hands sweated, but I grabbed them even tighter, praying to Belaz.
I slowed. And slowed. I eventually could place my feet against the rock, burning my boots as the soles wore away.
But the daggers cut and cut and cut.
I eventually came to a stop.
I had fallen nearly the whole distance down the mountainside.
I moved one arm, cut into the stone, then twisted so the blade was flat and didn’t cut downward. Then I did the same again lower. And was able to climb down a few feet.
It took me hours to travel the remaining distance to the ground. When I got there, my robe was torn, my boots were mostly worn away, and there were scratches along my arms and body.
But I was alive.
And angry. So very angry my body shivered with it.
A blood-red plan hatched itself in my head.
Chapter 25
Never
It was an arduous journey back to Brax’s cave. I didn’t want to stop, in case I’d broken bones. I didn’t want to think about my classmates and the maestrus who had died and that my brother — my blood — had caused so much destruction. I concentrated on getting one foot in front of the other. Ignoring the pain. Ignoring the voice that said, Lie down. Sleep. Surrender.
I climbed a short cliff wall using the dagger. All those years of training, the push-ups, the running for leagues, the rope climbing, had helped me become strong. I was testing every last bit of that strength.
When I came to the cave, it was almost dawn. Light was outlining the mountains behind me. I strode past the body of the first mercenary without even looking at it, and past the second, then stopped where the enchanter had fallen. My eye had adjusted just enough that I could see the outline of Brax. His grey eyes glowed in the darkness.
“You look horrible,” he said.
“We have to make a deal,” I answered. I’d been running my words through my head for the last few hours. “It’s a deal you won’t like.”
“Oh, how exciting. Do tell me more.” He clasped his talons together.
“I will release you from your bonds, but in return I demand three things from you.”
“Three things? Why not ask for the world in a bauble?”
I narrowed my eye. “Do you want to hear them?”
He pulled back a lip in a half grimace, half smile. His teeth caught the little bits of light and glittered. “You are all business tonight, Carmen Crow. What has happened?”
“I don’t want to talk about that now. I want to discuss our deal.”
He set his front feet on the ground as if preparing for a charge. “Then give me your offer. I am all ears.”
“First, you’ll promise not to harm me or do any action that knowingly results in harm coming to me.”
“You sound like a barrister. You sound cold. Good. Good. You were innocent before. My guess is that you’ve been blooded.”
“Do you agree to that term?” It came out harshly.
“Yes. I agree. Please continue before I grow angry.”
I pointed at my eye patch. “Secondly. I am blind in one eye.”
“That’s not new, Carmen.”
“I want you to remove your left eye from your head and shape it so that it can be placed in my eye socket, so I can see again.”
A puff of flame came out of Brax’s nostrils. His eyes were wide. “What? What sort of madness is this?”
“It is not madness. You can do this. I’m certain of it. Certain!” I nearly shouted the last word. “Your eye will grow back, and I will see again. I will be whole.”
“You’ve gone insane, child. I see the blood on you. Something horrible has happened, and it has broken your mind. This is absolute madness.”
I drew in a hard breath. “I want your eye. I must have it.”
“You ask too much, mortal. I have no idea how long it takes for an eye to grow back. And you’ll not like looking at the world through a dragon’s eye.”
I stamped my foot, hitting the body of the enchanter. His legs smashed into ashes and dust. “Will you agree to that term or not? I don’t want to hear the reasons why it won’t work.”
Brax snorted out another flame. “You have me caught in a hole, child. Starving. I may have a week left. Maybe two. What choice do I have? I agree to that term. Now tell me your last term before I change my mind and kill you where you stand.”
I swallowed. I knew the last request would be the hardest. So, I spoke it quickly. “I want you to surrender yourself and allow me to become your rider. Until such a time as we have hunted down and killed my brother, Corwin. After that moment you’ll be free.”
“What? Me become your winged pack animal? Never!” He pulled hard at the chain and reared up. He shot out a blast of fire, and the flames went past me and into the air. It made me sweat, the cave suddenly hot. “I will never, ever submit to you. To have you shout orders from my back. Never!”
“It is the final term of our deal.”
He pulled on the chain and unfurled his wings. They filled the cave, the air from them pushing me back. “You ask too much, Crow Child! You ask too much. It’s slavery!”
I set my feet. Put my hands on the hilts of my daggers.
“Yes or no?”
I could see his ribs clearly and was certain a dragon usually wasn’t that skinny. He lowered his wings. “I have let the snake into my den,” he said. “You have betrayed me just as I said you would.”
“This isn’t a betrayal. It’s a deal. Your one chance for escape.”
He was silent for several moments. “I have a counter request. A deal must go both ways. First, you’ll become my servant immediately following your brother’s death. For the space of one year.”
“Done,” I said. It surprised me that I didn’t hesitate.
Brax smiled. “And you’ll kill someone for me. No qualms. No backing out.”
I hesitated, running that through my mind.
“Who?”
“Who? Or what? Oh, the answer is a secret. Part of our deal.”
“Yes,” I said. “Yes. I will do it!”
“Then Carmen of the Red Adept Assassins, we have a deal. Don’t make me regret it any more than I already do.”
“I won’t.”
I strode to the chain and pulled out one of the daggers. I lifted the chain and the blade went through it like it was soft flesh.
The chain fell. Brax shook his leg.
“Just like that? Nice dagger you have there.”
“Yes, it is.”
“What about the manacle?”
“One moment.” I leaned over and cut carefully until I could break the manacle away from his leg. It clanged when I threw it down, but I was surprised at its lightness.
“I am free,” he said.
“Yes, you are,” I said. “Now, may I please have your eye?”
Chapter 26
My Word
“I am a dragon of my word,” Brax said.
Then he reached up toward his eye. I couldn’t watch the rest and looked down, shutting my eye. But I heard the screaming, the horrible sound of absolute pain, and it made my bones shake. It would be something I’d hear in nightmares for the rest of my life.
Then the screaming stopped.
I still didn’t open my eye. Brax was moving toward me, and he gruffed, “Look up, Crow.”
I did, opening my eye. He had only one eye. The other socket was bleeding. He was holding his left eye in his hand. It was larger than I expected.
“Lift the patch,” he said. “And hold steady. This is going to hurt, and believe me, I take pleasure in it.”
It took a millennium for him to place his eye in
my socket. And I, too, screamed. I was shamed.
It was a time I wanted to forget. A pain I never wanted to feel again.
“Well, you stayed on your feet. Impressive,” Brax said. And he did sound impressed. “The eye seems to have shrunk to the size of your other one. Even I didn’t expect that. But dragon magic is clever.”
I blinked. Once. I saw him with only one eye. Twice. Again, with only one eye.
The third blink I was looking through both eyes. There was a glow around the dragon. He was clearly visible in the dark now. I can see in the dark! I looked past him at the books, the bones. Around the cavern.
“Yes, you have night vision now. So, it has taken, good.” Even when I turned my head and looked out at the landscape, the distant cliff seemed closer. By focusing, I saw details I couldn’t have made out before. A tree growing out of a crack in a mountain. A goat on a path.
Then my vision went black and flashed. I saw a palace for a moment, and I was jumping, daggers in hand, into a courtyard. I saw my brother’s bloodied face. And a young woman had fallen at my feet.
I rubbed my eyes. “What was that? What was it!”
“Oh, that. Just a bit of seer’s blood in our dragon line. You may have seen the future. Or you saw something that will never pass. You’ll grow to hate it.”
My vision had returned to normal. I took off the patch and looked at it. How many years had I worn a patch? And now I could toss it away. I pulled back my arm to throw it but thought better of it and placed it in a trouser pocket.
“You look older,” Brax said. “And the dragon eye makes you appear more intelligent.”
I drew in several breaths. It was still amazing that I could see. But I had to put that amazement in a compartment inside me and lock it away. It was time to plan.
“I’m hungry,” Brax said. “May I feed, Master?”
“Don’t call me that,” I said. “Yes, let’s get you some food.” I walked to the edge of the cave. The fortress was visible from here, and I could make out smoke coming from several windows. Would Corwin still be there? Even if he was, he’d be surrounded by at least a hundred Immortals. A starving dragon and a half-broken assassin would be no match for them.
