Rise of the Falsemarked (Spies of Dragon and Chalk Book 2)

by Samuel Gately

  Cal entered the room slowly, trying to look all directions at once. He saved most of his attention for the open doorway and the pit. He needed to remember how quietly DaNeel had snuck up on him before, how close he’d gotten before Clay put a bolt in him.

  Cal held his sword towards the open doorway, then carefully leaned over to look into the pit. A flurry of cloth came from the corner of the room as DaNeel threw himself out of a pile of dirty bedclothes and leapt at Cal. Cal managed to rake the beggar’s side with his sword but DaNeel got hold of the torch and knocked it out of Cal’s hand. The fire dimmed and nearly died, torch lying close to the pit. DaNeel started to flee back into the shadows, but stumbled, weak from the blood loss he’d already had. Cal smoothly ran him through from behind.

  DaNeel turned, twisting the sword out of Cal’s hands. The beggar grasped at Cal, pulling himself close. “Free me,” he said, eyes haunted in the dim light.

  “I’m trying to,” Cal said, wrestling with the Prisoner. He gambled, taking a hard step forward, and shoved DaNeel back into the pit. DaNeel fell over, clutching at Cal as he went. The sword hilt caught on the lip of the pit as DaNeel fell past, ripping open the hideous wound on his back. Blood spilled into the hole. The beggar fell to the bottom, facing up. The light left his eyes quickly. He shuddered once and was still.

  Cal stared at him for a moment. Then he leaned down to fetch the torch, scared to take his eyes off DaNeel for even a second. He bent at the waist, grabbing the torch as quickly as possible. When he straightened back up, DaNeel was still there. Not talking, not moving. Just ended. Cal breathed a sigh. It wasn’t quite relief he felt. Too melancholy.

  He should take the corpse with him, at least a piece of it. The bounty on the man who escaped the Chalk remained, even if many would argue Bray was the real target. Cal could claim the bounty, spend a few years without having to draw his blade to earn a living.

  He left it. He was tired and his torch was going out. There was enough death already. He didn’t need to carry it with him. If Aaron wanted it, he could find his own way back down here and get it himself.

  Chapter 39. There Will Always Be Others

  Aaron stood at the cliff’s edge, looking down over Ellis. It wasn’t a bad view, maybe the first time he’d seen any beauty in the tightly-packed city, all rusting towers and cobbled streets. NEST’s dragon army was headed in a hundred different directions. Some still hunted the Shields, wreaking havoc on the remaining NEST and EU groups. Some were winging it north. A few attacked the city below.

  Aaron had seen a few riders make it out alive. The ones who went south might live, but Aaron had a feeling the system that bonded dragon and rider had been largely broken in the west. The dragons NEST had deceived were unlikely to ever trust men again. Aaron didn’t know the extent of their ability to communicate, but it seemed to be up to the job of spreading the word. It had worked here, one dragon’s cry setting the others to a frenzy.

  The plan had worked well. It had certainly taken luck and a lot of help, but all Conners cared about were results. All Aaron needed were results.

  He was shirtless, marks exposed to the hot sun. He waited for some of the remaining dragons to examine him, satisfy their curious nature. He was no falsemarked. He was unafraid. He hadn’t come all this way just to let this power scatter, reform in the hands of another who would line his people up.

  He heard footsteps behind him. Light, confident even on the slippery glass. Shale. She stopped several steps behind him. He could hear her breathing slowly, taking in the view.

  She asked in a soft voice, “Why don’t you come down? Things are settling below.”

  “I’ve got more work to do.”

  There was a long silence. Then Shale asked, “Will you make order out of this chaos? How many of the NEST dragons will you claim?”

  “I’ll take what I can get.”

  “Are you sure you don’t just want to leave it alone? They’ve brought nothing but pain to the west.”

  “I’ll need them. He was coming for us. There will be others.”

  Shale sighed. “Yes, there will always be others.” Aaron heard a sharp click as she took a step closer on the glass. Then darkness crowded out his bright sun in an instant as Shale bashed Aaron at the base of his skull.

  …

  Taking down the glass panes atop the Shields was no easy task, but the EU crews managed. After some trial and error, it was found that about ten minutes of heavy hammer strikes at the center of the main joint would cause each pane to break into pieces and tumble down to the floor below, shattering on contact with the porcelain floor. The crews worked steadily west to east across the roof, leaving a trail of open sky above and broken glass below.

  When they reached the pane Hideon Bray lay in the center of, spread-eagled and staring at the sun with lifeless eyes, they didn’t bother retrieving him. They simply pounded the glass until it collapsed and fell to the floor far below. It’s not like there weren’t other bodies atop the Shields. One of them, off towards the center of the Shields, had traveled far to reach this destination and reveal Hideon Bray’s lies to the dragons. Bray fell to the floor, joining the many other bodies which had simply been left there. It was a fitting end for the warlord, a fitting end for NEST, that Bray joined the pile. Not quite as fitting as if he were far below in the dark tunnels within the bluff, stuffed in a small hole in the middle of squalid chambers with his servant Neil Rast, who had paid the ultimate price for Bray’s ambition. But it was fitting enough.

  Epilogue. Stories of Bodies

  The light was fading. Their small clearing, home to three tents and a fire circle, grew darker as the sun fell below the treeline. The chill had picked up in the three weeks since NEST fell in Ellis.

  Aaron Lorne sat on a tree stump at the fire, waiting. Bored and frustrated, the manacles on his wrists and ankles heavy. They’d been at this site for three days now. His captors would probably want to move again soon. East, south, west. All to go nowhere. Nothing but meals to break up the monotony. He’d given up trying to talk to Matt James or the other EU who guarded him. They were just as bored as he was. As far as he could tell none had any interesting stories.

  There was a jangle of keys. Matt was approaching the fire, a sense of urgency in his step. Aaron perked up. Finally something new. The thin EU man snapped his fingers and gestured for Aaron to stand. Aaron considered tackling him into the smoldering fire at his back. Instead he stood. Matt pointed to the north. Five dragons in the air, tightly clustered, headed this way.

  “You recognize them?” Matt asked.

  Aaron took a moment. There didn’t seem much point in lying. “Yeah, those are Unflagged. That’s Cal in front.” It was hard from this distance, but Aaron thought he could make out three other riders. One was big, broad shoulders. From his position at Cal’s right hand, probably his man Erik. Another wore a dark brimmed hat. Jardere. The fourth was small. Aaron didn’t know him. There was no rider on the fifth dragon. That would be for Aaron. He looked at Matt, letting his anger at the three weeks of imprisonment show. “Please tell me we’re not trying to hide.”

  “Too late for that,” Matt replied. He handed Aaron the keys to his shackles. “I was just following orders.”

  The dragons landed a few minutes later. Matt was waiting for them. Aaron stayed seated by the fire. He watched as Cal saw to his landing party, quietly issuing orders, settling the dragons down, ignoring Matt James until the last possible moment. Aaron had been right about Erik and Jardere, the latter wearing the rattlesnake skin hat Aaron had first seen him in. The small silhouette was a kid, street kid by the looks of him. Aaron had no idea why Cal brought him or how he knew him.

  Finally Cal turned to the waiting Matt, sized him up. “We going to have a problem here?” The dragons shifted, not yet settled from the flight. A word from Cal and they’d tear Matt and his EU friend apart.

  “No, he’s yours.”

  Cal looked almost like he was hoping it would go the other way. He g
ave Matt a long stare, not taking his hand off his sword hilt. He turned and locked eyes with Aaron. “Aaron, you want this guy to bleed?”

  Aaron shrugged, turned back to the fire.

  “What was this all about then?” Cal asked Matt.

  “Eostre is closed to dragons, even yours.”

  “We noticed. You didn’t think you could just tell that to Aaron? Had to squirrel him away for a three week stroll? Not the most grateful of gestures.” Cal looked over his shoulder at Erik, turned back to Matt. “I’m surprised he’s still alive. First EU men I ran into when I left the Shields had orders to kill me.”

  “That’s not true!” Matt sounded surprised.

  “Okay, just checking. Still, I didn’t appreciate being hunted after all the nice things we did for you.” After a pause, he said, “And I’m still waiting for an answer.”

  “We didn’t think he’d take too well to the idea. SDC would have been all over the remnants of the NEST army. We needed a little window to slow them down. To give the dragons some time to scatter. Give Eostre some time to heal.”

  Cal was shaking his head. He looked over to Aaron. “Was she worth it?”

  Aaron snorted. “She wrote me a very nice note explaining why I was going to be spirited away for a while.”

  Cal turned back to Matt. “All right, enough. Get the fuck out of here.” When Matt turned back towards the campfire, Cal stopped him. “No, not that way. Ellis is the other way.” Matt opened his mouth but Cal cut him off. “No, don’t bother with the tents. They’re ours now. And whatever else is in the camp. Get on your horses and get lost, else I show Jardere here what it looks like when a dragon rips a man to pieces. Now.”

  In less than a minute Matt James and the other EU were gone. At a gesture from Cal, the kid stayed mounted on his dragon and kept a watch on them as they headed off into the distance.

  Aaron stood, eager to go, but Cal waved him back down. “We’re not going anywhere tonight. The dragons are tired. Why don’t you let them know who you are?” He reached out to the head of the lead dragon, tugged it towards Aaron.

  Aaron pulled his shirt off, letting the chill night air wash over his marks. The dragons examined him, then went back near Cal. “Okay,” Cal said, looking at the kid and getting a nod in return. The newly departed EU hadn’t turned from their path. “Go hunt, brothers,” he said to the dragons. “We’ll see you tomorrow morning.” The kid got off and the dragons took wing.

  As Cal threw some bags down and made his way over to the fire, Aaron said, “We’re really staying the night? I’ve been doing nothing but sitting around campfires for three weeks.”

  “Problem is,” Cal said, “you haven’t had good company.” He dropped a bottle of whiskey onto Aaron’s lap. “That’s the problem.”

  After a moment Cal pointed to the kid, lurking awkwardly at the edge of the fire. “That’s Eyes. He helped me survive Ellis. Eyes, Aaron.” Cal raised his head as if remembering something. “Which reminds me.” He snapped his fingers, gesturing to Erik. Erik stepped forward and handed him a stack of papers. “For you,” Cal said, handing them to Aaron.

  Aaron sighed, poured himself a drink. He spread the papers over his knee. Erik lit a lantern and brought it nearby, waited with a pen. The first set was a copy of Cal’s contract for his work in Ellis. Aaron signed it, authorizing full payment from SDC. The second took Aaron longer to recognize.

  “Wait, you’re claiming you earned the bounty on the Prisoner? I killed Hideon Bray.”

  “And I killed Neil Rast, the one who escaped the Chalk.”

  After a long pause, Aaron shrugged and signed it. “Conners isn’t gonna like this.”

  “Nope,” Cal replied. “He’s already mad at you for letting the NEST dragons scatter. DeMarco was waiting at the Tannes border with messages. Border is a mess by the way. All the falsemarked trying to get away from the reign of EU.” Cal poured himself a drink, lit a cigarette. “EU’s got Kade Korrell running things. Shale’s name is fading but that doesn’t mean she isn’t pulling the puppet strings.”

  “Did you go see Barbayir again?”

  “No, he asks too many questions, answers too few.”

  “What else?” Aaron asked. “Where did Ash end up?”

  “Went straight to Shale. Working as her bodyguard.”

  Aaron looked up as Jardere joined them at the fire. He looked more comfortable in the dark hat, red-gold hair tucked behind his ears. “This guy sign you to a contract yet?” Aaron asked, pointing at Cal. “You want a job with me?”

  Jardere smiled, gave a tip of his hat. “Made me sign it this morning or said he was leaving me behind.”

  Cal smirked.

  “So I’m headed east alone.”

  “Poor guy,” Cal said. “We might go with you. Plus, just cause Conners is pissed about the NEST dragons doesn’t mean the rest of the Corvale aren’t ready to give you a hero’s welcome. You’re doing just fine, my friend.”

  Aaron gave a deep sigh, but he could feel the tension leaving his body. Even if the end hadn’t been smooth, NEST had been broken. His people were safe again. At least whatever passed for safety these days. He poured another drink, lit another cigarette. “So tell me a story.”

  Cal jumped in quickly. “I could tell you about the brave man who killed the Prisoner, the real one mind you, and emerged triumphantly from the depths of the earth only to find half the city hunting for him based on an arrest warrant issued by his best friend’s girlfriend, who, as it happens, had just bashed said friend on the back of the head and claimed Ellis for her own.”

  “Nah, don’t want to hear that one.”

  “I could tell you about the long hunt across Eostre’s countryside, searching for the kidnapped friend, tirelessly chasing leads to finally pinpoint this new prisoner’s location in some grungy camp between the Garen-Eostre border and the middle of nowhere.” When Aaron ignored him, Cal’s tone got a bit more solemn. “Jardere could tell you about how he found Mario’s body.”

  Aaron gave a slow, sad nod. “No, too many stories with bodies.”

  “I could tell you about a fishing trip young Master Mast took with the Steward.”

  “Does it start with a body?”

  “No, it ends with one.”

  “Pass.”

  The group fell into a comfortable silence. The wind whistled through the trees surrounding the small fire. Finally Jardere spoke hesitantly. “When I was in the Eostre Guard, there was this guy called Half-Job Jimmy. Good story behind the name. It’s a little long though.”

  Cal and Aaron passed the bottle back and forth. “We got no place we need to be right now. Go for it.”

  THE END

  Author’s Notes

  Thanks for joining in on Cal and Aaron’s second adventure. If this was your first Spies of Dragon and Chalk book, I’d recommend taking a look at Night of the Chalk. If you’re interested in more SDC books, you won’t have to wait long for Alliance of the Sunken.

  In the meantime, take a journey across the Sea of Colors and check out Open Fire-eye Close. A similar setting but lacking both dragon and Chalk (for now). Check out the preview chapter that follows.

  To learn more about me and other titles, please visit samuelgately.wordpress.com and sign up for the mailing list.

  Leave a review or tell a friend about the book if you’ve got time. Always appreciated.

  Cheers.

  - Sam

  Preview Chapter. Open Fire-eye Close

  The fire-eye opened over the city of Celest, just as it had every year as far back as anyone could remember. The same day of the year, same time of night, same miracle celestial event. It began with the slow appearance of what could be mistaken for a chain of stars. These grew steadily brighter to form a jagged line of bright purple in the dark skies. Then, so like an eye drawing open, the line spread into an oval of blazing light, colors trapped somewhere between a rainbow and a flame. Huge, taking over the sky above the city.

  Kay didn’t look up. She lon
ged to. Each year brought subtle variations to the pattern of the fire-eye, variations Kay knew far better than any others in the gaping crowd she steered her way through. She should have been home, sitting in the rooftop corner she had set up special for this. Instead, a job offer had come in from a man it was unwise to ignore. Accompanied by instructions to meet him atop the stairs which overlooked the gathering on the plaza. Which left Kay working her way through the crowd, ignoring the shifting light on the cobblestones below her and the gasps of children and visitors seeing the fire-eye from Celest for the first time.

  Soon the lanterns would launch. Many of the crowd had already lit theirs. Small candles heated the trapped air in the paper lanterns and drew them upwards. A tiny spark to pay homage to the great fire in the sky. They wanted to get their lights up early, to beat the thousands that would follow. They were easier to track that way, and later tell the lie that they had seen their lantern pass into the very center of the eye, the flaming pupil. Granting them a wish for power or love or peace. There would be more wishing for peace this year than any other, at least the ones who had their eyes open and knew the refugee situation would get worse before it got better. The ones who realized the hunger and anger of the tens of thousands outside the walls would not wink out as smoothly as the fire-eye would when its time had elapsed.

  The lack of a Farrowe presence at the fire-eye opening was notable. The refugees had packed no equivalent holiday from their homeland. The fire-eye was unique to Celest and the locals made no effort to share the occasion. There was profit to be made from Farrowe gold, one thing they’d packed in abundance, but the Gaoel seemed in agreement that the sense of community brought about by the launching would only be strained by a Farrowe presence, the way it strained everything else. Indeed, with a crowd this large, all Gaoel, all armed with fire, it would be unsafe for any of the lighter-skinned outsiders here. While the lanterns rose and all eyes turned to the sky, it would be too easy for a knife could find its way into a Farrowe back.