"You will go with them," Jaren said, also rising to his feet.
Elory turned toward her father and gasped. "But . . . Father!"
Jaren's gaunt, bearded face was grim. "If Meliora can smuggle two slaves out of the city, she can smuggle a third. Tash and Vale have each other on their quest for the Chest of Plenty. I will not have Meliora walk her path alone. Join her, Elory. Help her find the Keymaker."
Elory's eyes dampened. She stepped toward her father and embraced him, placing her cheek against his thin chest. "Come with us, Father."
He shook his head and kissed the top of her head. "I am a shepherd of Requiem. I cannot leave my flock."
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "And I can? How can I leave the others to suffer? How can I leave you?"
He caressed her cheek. "Sweetest daughter. You are like your mother, a being of pure light and kindness. And here in Tofet, the masters will crush your light, grind away your kindness until only bitterness remains. Ishtafel will seek you again, seek to drag you into his palace, to take you away from me. If we must part, I would see you travel a road of hope with Meliora, not enter a prison of gold with Ishtafel. You are in danger here, Elory. We all are. Go with your sister. Bring back hope."
She held her father close. "I will return to you, Father. I promise. I love you. Always."
As he held her, Elory thought of her mother. Not that last memory, that horrible memory of Mother dying in Ishtafel's fire. She thought of the kindly mother she had known, the mother who would hold her like this, sing to her old songs of Requiem. She would not forget Mother either, not forget all those who had fallen, all those who still lived, desperate for salvation.
They stepped out of the hut in the darkness of night. Above, high in the sky, the chariots of fire were streaming across the river, and the distant cries of the seraphim rose. Around them spread the thousands of huts of Tofet, and Elory did not know if she'd ever see this place—the only home she had ever known—again.
"Come, quickly now," Meliora urged.
Elory nodded. Standing outside on the dirt path, she gave her father a last embrace, and her tears would not stop falling. Vale joined the embrace, his arms stiff at first, but then his grip softened, and his eyes too shone with tears.
"Go," Jaren whispered. "Quickly, my children. May Requiem's stars forever shine upon you."
"Come on!" Tash said, hopping in the dirt. "Those chariots are getting closer."
Elory nodded, wiped her eyes, and released her father. Tash grabbed her hand, yanking her down the path. Meliora and Vale walked ahead. As they hurried between the dark huts, Elory looked back only once. She saw her father standing in the doorway, the candlelight limning his form. He raised his hand in farewell, and then Tash pulled Elory around a corner, and she did not see him again.
MELIORA
They hurried along the bridge, the dark waters gushing beneath them, four figures hidden in robes and hoods. Behind them spread the land of Tofet, cloaked in shadows. Across the bridge rose the city of Shayeen, lit with many lanterns. In the sky the chariots of fire soared, scanning the land below.
We'll never make it across the river. Meliora's heart thudded, and she felt her phantom wings again, aching to flap them, to fly from here, fly over the walls and vanish into the wilderness. How weak were those doomed to forever walk upon two legs! What hope did she have of reaching the port with Ishtafel's guards swarming?
Ten of those guards stood at the southern edge of the bridge, and several more stood in watchtowers, arrows nocked.
"Halt!" they cried.
Meliora halted before them on the bridge. The dark waters of the Te'ephim gushed below, and the cries of soldiers rose in the city ahead, seeking her and Tash, tearing down the city to find them. The light of chariots streamed above, and cold sweat washed Meliora. Truly a fool's quest! She wouldn't even make it across the river, let alone out of the city and across the wilderness to find the Keymaker.
"I told you I'd return with two more slaves," Meliora said, glaring at the guards from the confines of her hood, hoping she looked more angry than terrified. "They are my family's slaves, escaped from our house into Tofet. I've reclaimed them."
The seraphim guards raised their lances, and their torches reflected against their armor and helmets. "Let's take a look at them. And at you. Hoods off! Word is two criminals are out somewhere in this city. We got to be careful."
Meliora's heart beat even faster. Behind her, the others—Vale, Elory, and Tash—shifted their weight from foot to foot, still hidden in their hoods. Meliora had used this ruse—pretending to be a mistress, with Tash as her slave—to cross the river into Tofet. Could she truly fool them twice?
Tash stepped forward, a slender figure hidden in burlap, and placed a small, hard object in Meliora's hand. Meliora held it out to the guards—a golden bracelet embedded with rubies.
"I don't want to report my house slaves escaping," Meliora said. "If the City Guard hears, they'll stick the poor bastards on pikes. Take this and let us through—no questions asked."
The guards' eyes gleamed like rubies themselves. One seraph snatched the bracelet, and another made a grab for it. Soon they were quibbling over how to dislodge the rubies and which guard got which stone. It had cost them Tash's silver ring to enter Tofet, but the girl had many jewels, given to her by a host of adoring seraphim lords.
Leaving the bridge keepers behind to fight over the rubies—they were already prying the gems out from the bracelet—the hooded companions made their way into Shayeen.
When rushing into Tofet, only a handful of chariots had flown above, and Meliora and Tash had soon lost the guards' pursuit in the shadow path. Now it seemed that the entire city garrison was out in the night—they marched down the streets, knocked on doors, and flew above in their chariots of fire. Their cries rolled across the city, and in the distance, Meliora could hear her brother shout in the night.
"Find them! Find the prisoners."
Ishtafel did not mention her by name. Good. Meliora smiled thinly in the shadows of her hood. Perhaps he was too embarrassed to have lost his own sister.
I hope your wound burns, brother, she thought. I hope it screams with the same agony as my phantom wings.
"Quickly, this way!" Tash said, directing the companions into an alleyway that ran between brick silos and refineries, the way so narrow they had to walk single file. At the end of the alley, they went down a flight of stairs, took a dark path between two hills, and finally tiptoed along an aqueduct. The shadow path of the slaves was a way of rooftops, tunnels, sometimes even sewers, a network connecting all of the city, as hidden as the passageways of rats.
The port wasn't far, less than a mile from the bridge, but the path seemed to wind on for endless leagues. They hurried through a brick house where fishermen cleaned their catches and fish entrails stank in buckets. They made their way across a barren backyard where fishing nets hung from ropes. Always the chariots flew overhead, and the sounds of guards breaking down doorways rose from the city streets.
Finally, standing between a few palm trees, Meliora could see the port ahead. A boardwalk spread alongside the Te'ephim River, and lanterns bobbed on the masts of sailing ships. There lay her road to freedom.
"Find the prisoners!" rose Ishtafel's cry above, and Meliora looked up to see a stream of fire. It was him. His chariot. She grimaced and clenched her fist, but he shot overhead, moving too fast to see her, and charged across the river into Tofet. A thousand chariots flew behind him, and his voice boomed in the sky like thunder. "Make the slaves pay! Break them until they bring out the prisoners."
Meliora hissed, and Elory gasped at her side.
Elory shuddered. "He's going to kill them. He'll decimate them again." She grabbed Meliora's arm. "We have to go back. We have to get Father! To fight. To—"
Meliora lowered her head. "We cannot."
Vale stepped closer, and anger kindled in his eyes. "You did not see the decimation, Meliora. You did not see the b
odies on the pikes. If he's planning another attack, we—"
"We must bring hope," Meliora said, staring at him. She was tall for a Vir Requis, six feet from her toes to her shaved head, but Vale stood just as tall; he stared back, eye level with her. "More than ever, the people of Requiem need the Keeper's Key," she said. "We cannot fight Ishtafel while wearing our collars. We must leave this city."
They all stared at her. From across the river, screams already rose—the screams of slaves.
"They're dying," Elory whispered.
Meliora nodded. "Then we must hurry. We must fetch the key as quickly as we can. Come now. To the port."
Reluctantly the others followed. They made their way past the palm trees and stepped between a portico's columns. A cobbled boardwalk spread ahead along the riverbank. Lanterns swung from poles, casting orange light upon the river. Piers stretched into the water, lined with the small reed boats of fishermen. Several larger boats—the sailing ships of merchants—docked farther away.
"Tash, the jewels," Meliora whispered.
Tash nodded, stepped forward, and furtively passed more jewels into Meliora's hands: three anklets strewn with gemstones and a silver necklace.
"That's all I've got left," Tash whispered. "It better be enough. I—"
"Watch it!" barked a burly seraph, trundling between them. His girth knocked into Meliora and Tash, shoving them back, and his breath stank of spirits. Behind him, he dragged a collared and bruised slave.
Meliora winced and kept walking along the boardwalk. She had never been to the port before; her mother had always forbidden it. Meliora had always imagined a delightful, magical place, akin to the little stream that ran through the palace gardens. In her imagination, men and women sat dangling their feet in the water, singing songs while pups scampered between flower beds, and in the water sailed ships carved like swans, adorned with crystals, bringing with them the treasures from distant lands: sweet cakes, the softest silk, and exotic birds in cages.
Now Meliora understood why her mother had forbidden her to visit. Here was no place for a pampered, innocent princess. A drunk seraph lay on the cobblestones by an emptied bottle, drooling. A few pleasure slaves lurked in the shadows—not adorned in silk and jewels like Tash but coated in bruises and scrapes. As chariots shrieked overhead, raining sparks, gamblers were quickly packing up their games of dice and retreating behind the trees. The firehorses galloped above, and soldiers stood a hundred yards away, holding torches.
We must hurry, Meliora thought.
"Now, let's see who we can buy a boat from," she said. "Everyone seems to be fleeing the boardwalk."
She looked around, frowning. The last few fishermen were scurrying off the boardwalk, between the columns, and hiding in the grove of palm trees. The light of chariots reflected on the water, and more soldiers came marching onto the boardwalk, torches crackling.
"Forget buying a boat!" Tash said. "That one. Quickly!"
Meliora nodded and gestured for Vale and Elory to follow. The four cloaked and hooded figures made their way across the boardwalk and onto a pier. A reed boat swayed in the water, tied to a peg.
"Quickly, everyone in!" Meliora whispered. "We'll—"
"Halt!" rose a voice behind them.
Meliora's heart sank. She spun around to see a seraph, armed with spear and shield, march toward her along the pier. His eyes burned within his helmet like candles in a lantern.
Meliora's heart now threatened to leap out of her mouth. She held out her palm, letting the jewels shine. "I'm here to buy this boat. This boat is yours, yes? Of course it is. Take these jewels and—"
The soldier reached her and grabbed her wrist. "Are you trying to bribe a guard of the city?" He growled and reached for her hood. "Show your face, seraph! Who are you? I—"
Tash leaped forward and opened her palm, spraying out green, sparkly dust. The smell of purified hintan filled the air, and the spice covered the soldier's face. The seraph blinked, inhaled sharply, and coughed.
"I . . .," he whispered. "I . . . who . . .?"
Tash gave the man just the gentlest of shoves. He fell from the pier, vanishing into the water.
"A pleasurer's weapon." Tash flashed Meliora a grin, then leaped into the boat.
Vale and Elory followed, and finally Meliora stepped into the boat. She drew her halved spear from her cloak and lashed the blade across the rope several times, finally severing it. The current began pulling them downstream. It was a small reed boat, barely large enough for the four of them, and dipped deeply into the water.
Elory grabbed the oars and rowed, adding speed. They kept flowing down the river, moving farther from the bank. The water rippled around them, and Meliora thought she glimpsed gleaming, reptilian eyes that soon vanished.
"We've got company," Vale muttered and gestured to the boardwalk. Two seraphim guards had noticed them.
"You, fishermen!" one cried from the boardwalk. "There's a curfew, damn it. Get back here."
Meliora tugged her hood lower, clutching her spear. Tash drew her dagger, and Vale reached into his cloak and drew his own halved spear. Elory kept rowing, glancing around nervously.
"Damn it, I said get back here!" shouted the guard. The two seraphim spread their wings, took flight, and stormed toward the boat. "Are you deaf, damn it?"
"Wait," Meliora whispered, clutching her spear under her cloak. "Wait . . ."
The two seraphim descended to hover before the boat. "Turn around now and—"
Meliora leaped to her feet and thrust her spear. The blade tore through one seraph's wing. He wobbled in the sky, cursing, and Meliora reached out, grabbed his wounded wing, and pulled down hard.
The seraph slammed into the water with a splash. Those reptilian eyes shone again, and a crocodile's maw rose from the water, closing around the seraph.
At Meliora's side, Vale drove his spear into the second seraph's face. The soldier stumbled, and Vale reached out from the boat, tugging him down. The water splashed and the boat rocked. Elory hissed and swung her oar, shoving one wounded seraph deeper into the water. The crocodiles feasted. The seraphim sank. The boat sailed onward.
"Over there!" Elory said.
Meliora spun her head to see five or six seraphim race along the boardwalk. She cursed, lifted the jewels Tash had given her, and tossed them. "Catch!"
The jewels hit the boardwalk, and the seraphim knelt. Elory kept rowing, and the sound of seraphim arguing over a diamond necklace rose from behind.
"Take us farther from the bank," Meliora said. "Far from the boardwalk. We'll vanish in shadows."
Elory complied, guiding the boat until it sailed in the middle of the Te'ephim. The river was so wide that, from the riverbanks, the boat would appear as nothing but a speck, perhaps just another crocodile in the night. Chariots of fire still streamed above, and distant screams rose from Tofet, but the water seemed almost peaceful. They left the port behind, and soon they were sailing between two walls.
"Stay low," Meliora whispered, crouching in the boat. The others followed her lead. "Cover anything metallic so it doesn't glint."
They flowed onward, a lump of black on black. The riverbanks were now each a hundred yards away or more; if the guards along them saw the boat, they gave no sign of it.
We're nothing but a hippopotamus, Meliora thought. Just a big hippo floating in the water.
Ahead she saw it: the western walls of the city. One wall flowed northward, topped with battlements, curving to surround Tofet, trapping the slaves within. The other wall flowed southward, cradling the city of Shayeen, home of the seraphim. Each wall ended with a stone idol, three hundred feet tall, of a god with a hippopotamus head. The two guardians stood with hands raised, shadows in the night, torches lit within their eyes. The river flowed between them, leading out into the wilderness.
"Behold Ur and Talan," Meliora whispered, raising her eyes to stare at them. "Ancient twin gods of the water. Legends say that they set the first stones in this city, that—"
/> "Mythology later," Vale muttered and pointed. "Fire in the sky."
Meliora looked up and cursed.
Two chariots were descending through the sky toward them, diving to fly between the statues. She could see the seraphim within, raising their lances and shields. Four firehorses pulled each chariot, scattering brimstone and ashes, flaming wings opened wide.
"Bloody stars," Tash whispered, gripping her dagger.
Meliora rose in the boat. "Halt!" she cried out. "I lead lepers out from the city. I—"
But the chariots kept charging down, swooping to skim along the water, showering sparks, heading toward the boat.
"Escaping slaves!" cried a seraph in one of the chariots. "Burn them. Burn them down!"
Meliora readied her lance.
The chariots stormed forth, and she stared up into the eyes of the seraphim—of her people. Of the people she had once led. The people she would now kill.
"Meliora!" Elory shouted in fear.
She narrowed her eyes.
I am the wind.
The chariots charged toward the boat.
Meliora leaped into the air, vaulted skyward toward them, and beat her phantom wings.
"Meliora!" Elory shouted again below, but this time Meliora could barely hear. She heard nothing but the fire above, the wind in her ears, the beat of a million dragon wings.
I am the sky.
She had no more seraph wings, but in her mind she flapped the great wings of a dragon, and she soared, spear thrusting upward, and grabbed one of the flaming chariots.
Her fingers burned. She screamed. The fire raced across her arm.
I am fire. I am dragonfire.
The seraph in the chariot grunted and lashed his lance. Meliora thrust her own spear, parrying the blow. She swung her legs, and she leaped into the flaming chariot beside the seraph.
The man snarled and shoved against her. The wind whipped her hood off her head, revealing her halo of dragonfire. The flames crackled in a great expanding ring like the whips of fire the overseers used. The flames lashed the seraph's face, and he screamed, and Meliora shoved his lance aside and thrust her spear.
Crown of Dragonfire Page 6
