“Of course, gorgeous.”
“I am not gorgeous. I am human. And a plain one at that.” She’d seen enough illustrations of humans in scrolls to know.
“I’m not talking about looks, dear. I’m talking about soul. There is nothing plain about you in here.” She pointed her quill at Vahly’s heart.
Vahly rolled her eyes. Her soul was far from gorgeous. She’d broken as many laws as any dragon in here and she was younger, by decades, than almost all of them. “Beauty, in all its forms, is subjective.”
“Why can’t you just say Thank you?”
“Thank you.”
“Let’s go to the storage room,” Nix said. “I have guests lounging in my upstairs room.”
“And by guests, you mean a crowd of male admirers ready for you to finish work.”
Nix gently tapped Vahly on the nose with one clawed fingertip. “You are quite correct, darling.”
The storage room had one narrow door Nix barely fit through and no windows. Because of the protection from the sun, and the fact that it was partially underground on the backside of the cider house, it was chilly. Vahly wished she had a room like this back at the Lapis palace. It was glorious after feasting near the pits.
A while back, Nix had invited Vahly to live at the cider house. But Amona had railed, recounting the many reasons Vahly should remain in the Lapis palace. Being one of a kynd could be dangerous, Amona had stated, and Vahly was safer near the Lapis who had adopted her.
Well, Amona had been right. Vahly had been safe. But after her trouble tonight with Maur? Now, she wasn’t sure there was a safe place for her to live anywhere in the world.
“Today when I was climbing the sea cliffs there was a disturbance.”
Nix froze.
“The sea folk used their magic on the water and raised the largest wave I’ve seen yet.”
Nix’s gaze roamed Vahly’s face. Her pupils shrinking, then expanding. Nix clicked her blue tongue against her teeth, a common dragon habit. Their tongues weren’t quite forked, but the end was less rounded than Vahly’s. “How bad is it? Your face says it is dire.”
“I won’t lie.”
“Please don’t.” Nix set her ledger on a shelf beside a crock of butter and lit a large candle.
Vahly explained what had happened in detail as Nix listened. “And now, the Lapis are evacuating their lower two floors. I think you’re safe up here on this ridge, what with how the land lies now, but our time is running out. My time. I have to figure out how to get my powers going, Nix.”
Nix took a moment to absorb the idea that the sea folk seemed ready to strike. She pressed her red lips together and took a slow breath. Then she opened her bright yellow eyes. “What’s the plan?”
The scroll slid easily from Vahly’s vest. “I stole this from the hidden chamber you told me about.”
“Nicely done, thief.” From Nix, that was a compliment.
“It talks about the Sacred Oak, mentions earth kynd’s birthplaces, and even has a line about humans and elves working together.”
Nix’s eyes widened. “Now, that is interesting.” She held out her hands. “Don’t hold out on me, woman. Let me see this shocking text.”
Vahly watched her carefully unroll the delicate strip of vellum. Nix read it over, her tongue clicking again.
“Can you read the elvish at the bottom?” Vahly pointed at the darker ink near the elf holding the daggers. “It would be fantastic if it said something along the lines of Here’s how earth kynd gains magic. Step one, and so forth,” Vahly said wryly.
Nix snorted. “Right next to the line about the exact location of Matriarch Elixane’s lost hoard of cursed gold coins.”
“Yes, exactly. Considering she stole them from my kynd—the first and only crime committed by a Lapis matriarch—there should be mention of them in every important document.”
Nix shook her head. “Humans stole the gold to make the coins.”
“No, no. I think you are mistaken, friend. The legends say the people of Bihotzetik mined that gold all on their own, eons before Elixane was even alive.”
“You have only read that in one single scroll. It is a lie. And you know it.”
This was their favorite argument. There wasn’t a meeting that went by when they didn’t badger one another about the lost hoard.
“And this is just one single scroll. But still, it says something important, doesn’t it? Please say yes.” Vahly’s joking tone slipped as hope sizzled around her heart.
Nix raised one eyebrow. “I knew an elf once. A long time ago. He was a wonderful kynd. Honorable. Wise. Quick as a wink. I like elves. Well, I’ve only met the one, but he sealed the deal. I like them. I don’t care that everyone else claims they’re pretentious. They have cause for their arrogance. They have kept their secrets for all of time. Impressive.”
Nix dealt in secrets so that was no surprise. Vahly had witnessed countless such exchanges during her two years of friendship with the vivacious female. The first exchange she’d witnessed dealt with Vahly’s clan.
The Lapis carvers’ guild had needed to know the new drilling methods of the Jade carver’s guild, and Nix had provided the information. Now, where she’d gained the knowledge, Vahly wasn’t sure. But she’d never ask. Nix protected her spies like a mother hen did her chicks. And so, Vahly would not dare question Nix about befriending an elf nor how she’d made contact with a kynd so reclusive most believed they were extinct.
“This,” Nix said, pointing, “this says that earth kynd, humans, visited the Forest of Illumahrah. I’m almost certain.”
Fire rushed through Vahly’s veins. The forest was the home of the elves, high on the plateau, beyond the Fire Marshes’ long stretch of inhabitable land. “Was the visit tied to the ritual?”
“That, I can’t tell. I only know the words for visit and the phrase the elves use for their forest.”
Vahly’s fists clenched in frustration. “This is going to sound obnoxiously pert, but I don’t understand how you and many other dragons could have lived alongside the human clans for so long and not picked up anything about their power ritual.”
Nix touched Vahly’s arm gently. “The humans did a good job keeping secrets. Not as good as elves, but still, good.”
Nix studied Vahly’s face, and Vahly ignored the look of pity in her friend's eyes. Normally, she would leave off this type of talk, but the time for pride was long past. She had to find answers now.
“Did you ever have someone search the Jade library?” Nix asked. “Probably a waste of time, but you never know.”
“Amona tried that years ago. She says they only have one set of scrolls anyway. They’re all battle histories. Nothing in depth.”
Nix carefully closed the writing and handed it back. “What are you going to do, Vahly? Because I can see those wheels turning in that head of yours.”
She needed more information. Elven information. But she couldn’t seek them, could she? Amona would never allow it. They might not even exist anymore. It could lead to death through the Fire Marshes or by elves if they were indeed still around. They might decide Vahly’s head looked best on one of their enchanted platters.
“I should try to visit the elves. If I don’t take risks and gain information soon, we’ll all be dead.”
“If it helps,” Nix said. “I’ll go with you.”
Pressure built in Vahly’s chest like her heart wanted to shout. “You would?”
“I could use an adventure.” Nix shooed Vahly back through the narrow door. “I need more stories to tell while I pour cider.”
“Nix.” Vahly put a hand over her heart. “Thank you.” Vahly was honestly shocked. Nix had a love for sleeping in and for the first fruits of any hunts her employees went on. A trip through the Fire Marshes would be the furthest thing from pleasurable. “But what will the other Call Breakers think when you tell them you’re off to visit elves?”
“Hush, please. They don’t need to know what we’re up to. We could ju
st be on our way to scour the western lands for early cave paintings near the ruins of Bihotzenik.”
“Amona herself ran a full search of the area years ago, then again two seasons ago.”
“The Breakers won’t know all of that. They won’t care. It’ll be enough to have an interesting lie for them to chew on while I’m gone. Now, let’s have a meal and talk on the balcony upstairs.”
Chapter Six
The common room was still packed and noisy. Peering through green and blue wings, Vahly could see empty bowls, more dice games her fingers itched to play, and a slew of swaying dragons. Several stools lay on the ground, evidence of another tavern fight. Vahly’s boots stuck in a puddle of spilled drink.
At the dark, hand-hewn wood of the bar top, four Call Breakers played Waterfall. The race to finish one’s cup of dropcider started when the youngest of the bunch began to drink. If any dragon stopped drinking before the youngest, said dragon would have to buy the next round.
Beside those fools, Dramour slumped onto the bar. He lifted his black eyepatch to scratch underneath. When he saw Nix, his good eye brightened and he attempted to stand straight. The effect was comical. Like a sapling in a strong breeze.
Nix walked around the Waterfall players and past the large copper sink where a pile of dirty dishes sat ready for Baww to wash. Amid the colorful display of bottles, Nix’s jewel box sat on a dusty shelf.
Vahly didn’t know who had made the box. Nix pushed the question aside whenever Vahly asked about its creator. The craftsman had carved lapis lazuli stones into circles and set them into the sides and top. Everyone knew that Nix only permitted Baww to touch the box. It held the night’s take.
Nix opened it, threw in a pocketful of coins, then shut the lid. She had to have enough gold in there to buy a whole new tavern. Nix removed a large and tightly rolled scroll from the shelf that held the jewel box.
Dramour, swaying on his feet, accidentally knocked one of the Waterfall players’ drinks over with an elbow.
Nix glanced at Dramour. “Best sit down, Fine Eye. You’re about to greet the ground, my friend.”
Nodding at his nickname, he took a stool, resumed his position on the bar top, and promptly began snoring.
“Baww,” Nix called out. “Bring a good meal to the balcony. And don’t let anyone else come upstairs for tonight, please, darling.”
Baww nodded, then shouted in the direction of the kitchen.
Nix brought Vahly up the stairs and through a round door embellished with wrought iron red hat flowers.
Four males waited in Nix’s rooms.
One lounged on a four-poster bed, his chest bare. The scales over his heart bore the scorched image of a flame hovering over a single claw. It was the symbol of the Call Breakers. The other three males sat in the plush velvet chairs scattered around the room in no semblance of order or arrangement. A large scarf in shades of amethyst and emerald stretched across the ceiling. The thin fabric caught the glow of several oil lamps that hung from chains near the center of the chamber.
“You’ll have to wait for me downstairs, my dears.” Nix swept through the room, toward the double doors leading to her balcony. “I have business with our Vahly.”
The males grumbled, but started out the door.
“Save some of your energy for me!” The bare-chested dragon grinned at Nix before shutting her door.
Nix waved a hand at him, then proceeded to stroll through the double doors. She pulled two chairs up to a table.
The balcony, closed in with an intricate framework of iron flowers that formed a barrier, overlooked the broken ground that eventually sloped downward into the Lost Valley. Saltwater waves rippled across the area like snakes. In the moonlight, the water took on a wine color that reminded Vahly of the place’s history.
The flooded valley had once been Vahly’s home.
A collection of two-story stone houses, taverns, workshops, and a marketplace used to thrive in the place where the ocean now ruled. The settlement hadn’t been there too long, built by those pushed out of the West by the tragedy of the main human region near Bihotzetik. They’d never even given it a name which Vahly saw as a clear statement of their mindset then. The sea folk had beaten the humans, nearly wiped them out. And the humans were numbly going about the business of surviving by the time Vahly was born with her Blackwater mark.
Amona had told Vahly the story. The humans had informed their neighboring dragon clan, the Lapis, about the child who’d been born Touched. The earth kynd anticipated Vahly’s future as an Earth Queen, hoping she would gain the powers that had grown weak and oftentimes unseen for far too many generations. The last Earth Queen before Vahly had died in the Bihotzetik flooding three generations ago, and she’d never been powerful to begin with.
The Lost Valley settlement had thought they were safe from the sea, there on the eastern coast, protected by the wall that mirrored the one holding Nix’s cider house and the clanless city. Besides, the sea folk had never attacked this side of the isle. It was believed their powers waned as they left the western waters.
But the humans had been wrong.
Vahly took a shuddering breath and faced the rippling waters covering her birth mother’s final resting place.
“Vahly?” Nix came to stand in front of her, face filled with concern. “Are you all right?”
“I was remembering my biological mother. She had some guts to do what she did. I wish I could thank her.”
“You just did.” Nix’s yellow eyes reflected the moonlight. “I think the dead can hear us if they so choose.”
“We’ll find out the truth sooner rather than later.”
“Not if you have anything to do with it.” Nix took a seat and pointed to the other chair. “I have a good feeling about this plan of yours.”
She spread the large scroll across the table. Green stretches lay against gray mountains and a long, branched strip of silver crossed the length of it.
“I didn’t know you had a fine map like this.” Vahly scooted to the edge of her seat and ran a careful finger over the Red Meadow.
“How else would I help my smugglers find new routes to escape those we aren’t able to bribe?”
“Nix, you don’t have to help me. Let me be clear. I would never hold it against you if you took the wiser route and stayed out of this.”
“You’ve been dealt a dung hand in life, Vahly. You may have bonded with the Lapis—”
“You can tell?”
“I can feel the bond on you. I am far more sensitive than most dragons. If they paid any attention to those other than themselves…” She waved a hand indicating they would hash that out later. “So yes, you are bonded with the Lapis, but the Call Breakers bonded with you long before today’s event. Not in the same way, but it is a bond nonetheless.”
Baww brought a tray of herbed venison, olives, scorchpeppers, and apple slices that showed the slanted markings of a dragon’s claw. He then set two mugs of cider in front of them.
Vahly couldn’t believe Nix’s reaction. The bond with the Lapis was no small thing. Amona could potentially sway Vahly’s mind and force her to do her will.
It was a threat to Nix’s operations.
Once Baww left, and they were alone again, Vahly voiced that very concern.
Nix sipped her cider. Her hyssop-blue scales glittered in the moonlight as she turned a gold and lapis lazuli ring around her finger and tapped it against her mug. “You and I both know that what you witnessed on the cliffs means I can no longer allow my business to come first.” Her reptilian gaze locked onto Vahly.
Vahly reached across her plate to grip Nix’s forearm. “I vow, as far as I am able, I will never allow my bond with Amona to endanger you or any of the Call Breakers in any way.”
“I accept your promise, Vahly of the Earth.”
A tingling rose in Vahly’s fingers as the vow encircled her heart, warming her chest.
Could Amona feel her promises now that they were bonded?
Nix pointed to the Fire Marshes on the map. “Obviously, we need to find a way through here.”
Vahly thought of how Amona had rescued her and had an idea. From the trouble she’d had with her suggestion of riding a dragon’s back, she knew better than to bring that up, but perhaps it was less appalling to think of carrying her in another fashion. “Could you shift and carry me in your claws like you do a kill?”
She wasn’t keen on being hoisted up by full-sized dragon claws like a sheep headed for the roasting pits, but both her fear and her pride would have to stand down in this situation.
Nix tilted her head. “Yes. I could do that.”
“The marshes are extensive.” Vahly bit her lip. The map showed the scorched and smoking ground reaching for miles and miles. “Do you know of certain spots that are safe enough to land?”
“None that I know have ever tried to enter the marshes in full. Of course, we enjoy the earth’s break and the earthblood there at the start of it, but the wind clears the air. Further in, well, breathing will become rather difficult.”
“So we’ll have to move fast or die.”
Nix jabbed a claw into an apple slice, then chewed it noisily. “That should be my motto.”
Vahly touched her sword hilt, the sword Amona had given her. “I think we should ask Amona to help us get there. To the elves.”
“But she loathes their kynd. What am I missing?”
“She is wise,” Vahly said. “Surely she can get past old hatred to see the sense in my seeking them.”
Nix ate another apple slice. “Doubt it.”
“But she could order a troop of dragons to get us across the area. Three, perhaps, that could trade out so that we would always have a strong retinue.” Vahly didn’t love the idea of including Amona, but she didn’t want to risk the lives of Nix and the Breakers more than was absolutely necessary.
“Too bad we can’t simply signal the elves and ask them to come to us. You know, I honestly thought they’d come for you at some point in your life.”
“Why?”
“They can sense great events. Like your birth and who you are meant to be. The elf I knew claimed the wind and shadows sometimes told him stories.”
Fate of Dragons Page 7
