Shifter Queen

by Miranda Martin

  I sat up and hugged him to me, breathing in his scent, the comfort of his body against mine.

  "I'm fine." I reassured him as I used his solidness to reassure myself. "Just banged up a little."

  He nodded, squeezing me to him gingerly, as if afraid he might hurt me more. We sat there for a few minutes, just existing. Taking a moment to steady ourselves. But then Ashur pulled back, cupping the side of my face.

  "Priyanka is waiting for us to interrogate the prisoners they took."

  Back to the real world. I slid out of the bed.

  "Just give me a second."

  I used the bathroom and splashed some water on my face to wake up some more. When I looked in the mirror, I looked as tired as I felt, but it would have to do.

  We were led over to the prisoners being held in nearby building. They weren't in a cell though.

  They were in what could only be described as an interrogation room, shackled to chairs with people surrounding them already. They looked more beat up then I did, but they hadn't had a chance to lie down either.

  Priyanka saw us walk in and stepped away from the wall, her slim figure dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, both in an off-white that set off the warm brown of her skin.

  "What were your orders?" she asked, sauntering around the room.

  Neither of the prisoners spoke up.

  One was a man who might have been in his late twenties, his strawberry blond hair matted on one side, his face scraped raw on the other. His counterpart was a woman maybe in her mid-thirties, her dark hair cut close to her head. There was a dark bruise along her entire jaw on one side and a cut on her eyebrow. Both of their faces were stoic.

  Priyanka nodded as if she was expecting it.

  "We're going to find out whether you speak or not," she said idly. "You might as well tell us."

  That didn't elicit a response either. It kept going like that, with Priyanka peppering them with question after question. They didn't open up their mouths once.

  Ashur finally stepped forward.

  "We could always just truss you up and drop you off in Emberich's territory," Ashur pointed out, his eyes on them.

  I watched them tense up for the first time, glancing at each other. Emberich had been sure to strike true fear in his people's hearts. What a gem.

  Ashur pressed his advantage.

  "I'm sure he won't be very happy with you for not succeeding on your very simple mission. And for being captured on top of that," Ashur added, giving a regretful shake of his head. "But I'm sure he'd be understanding, right?"

  The woman opened her mouth.

  "Lina, no," the guy urged, leaning towards her like he wanted to slam a hand over her mouth. But he was shackled just like her.

  "I didn't agree with the orders anyway, Sean," she said tiredly. She met Ashur's gaze. "Emberich sent out troops to attack any dragons transporting supplies." She looked over at me. "It's not just about her anymore. He's calling phoenixes to his stronghold." She shook her head, her face pained. "He's preparing for war."

  "War with us?" Ashur prodded.

  She shrugged.

  "If you want it," she said. "I don't even know anymore. He's always been off, but what he's doing now to our own people..." she trailed off. "I don't know."

  We didn't get a lot more out of them after that, but we got we needed. Ashur, Priyanka, and I left the room and walked outside.

  "This is a real clusterfuck," Priyanka commented.

  That about summed it up.

  "We need to do something about Emberich now. We can't wait until after we take care of the refugees," I said quietly.

  "We're going to have to call another meeting," Ashur said grimly.

  I had no idea how this one was going to go, which was par for the course, I guess. But dealing with the problem on your doorstep was one thing. Planning an active effort, making the conscious decision to do so...that was a whole different animal.

  I'd keep my fingers crossed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ashur and I headed back to his territory, already having called for the meeting to take place there. We were becoming the de-facto hub of everything that was going on. There needed to be one and Ashur was a good choice to lead it. He was good at rallying people to come together in a consensus. Much better than I'd be at it.

  As we reached the edge of his territory, we got a surprise. There were maybe twenty dragons hovering there, careful to stay on this side of the boundary line, yellow dragons and orange ones.

  Ashur immediately landed. Since the dragons didn't attack us right away, I knew he was assuming that they wanted to talk. Enzi and I, along with the other three guards Ashur had brought along with him for the trip to Priyanka's territory, followed suit.

  Ashur changed to his human form and waited expectantly. One of the yellow dragons and one of the orange dragons stepped forward, changing as well. The yellow dragon turned into an icy blond woman and the orange dragon turned into a tall woman with medium-brown skin and tightly curled hair.

  "Why are you waiting at the boundary of my territory?" Ashur asked, getting right to the point.

  The two women looked at each other.

  "My group is here because we want to help. Help with the refugees and with whatever else needs to be done," the blonde said.

  "Us as well. We do not agree with our Dragon Lord's decision to stay out of everything," the other woman said in a melodic voice.

  Ashur frowned, crossing his arms.

  "Are you leaving your skeins?"

  They both nodded in unison.

  "We are asking to join your skein," the curly-haired woman said.

  "We are as well. If you'll have us," her companion said.

  Wow. This was a surprise. From the way it set Ashur back on his heels, I knew he hadn't been expecting anything like this either.

  "I'm going to have to check out your stories. And there's going to be a probationary period. And a vetting process," Ashur said with warning tone. "I do not add people to my skein lightly. We are a family and I don't want to disrupt that with the wrong people."

  "I understand."

  "Of course."

  Ashur sighed. "I will also warn you that if you try anything, our security is already on edge and on high alert. It will not end well for you."

  Both of the women again chimed in that they understood.

  Ashur gave them sharp looks before scanning the dragons arranged behind them.

  "All right. You can follow me into the city boundary and then wait there while I send people out to retrieve you." Ashur changed back to his dragon form and then the women did as well.

  So that was how the group flying into Ashur's territory was much larger than the one that had flown out, even though we had lost two of Ashur's people in that phoenix attack. Ashur face had been heartbreaking when he was told the news. I knew he took his responsibility very seriously. He took both of the losses hard, but he'd refocused on what needed to be done right away. Being Dragon Lord meant you didn't have the luxury of feeling too much when things needed your attention. I'd talk to him about it later, when he'd let me.

  He'd sent orders to gather his people's bodies and bring them back home for the proper respects and funerals. As I watched him shut down his emotion to function, I was worried that this was only the beginning. That there was much more death to come. Much more heartache.

  The new dragons veered away at the city edge and landed while we continued in, my mind still on that line of thought. The dragons from the supply run landed in the city, where their families were already waiting to greet them. I saw a little girl run up to one of them, hugging a thick leg. The dragon carefully lowered his snout to her little pigtails. And all I could think of was the two dragons who wouldn't have another greeting like that.

  Ashur and I landed by his building and changed as well. Hathai was waiting for us.

  "The refugees want to speak with you. They have assigned a representative for themselves and sent him here on their behalf."r />
  Ashur made an intrigued sound.

  "Do you know what he wants to speak about?"

  "He wanted to speak to you directly."

  Ashur turned to me when I made an inquiring sound.

  "More of the refugees that were refused entrance at other dragon territories showed up while you were gone," he explained. "We have a group of about a hundred now."

  Wow. Though I guess I wasn't surprised with the way things were going.

  When we walked into the lobby, a middle-aged Asian man stood up from where he had been sitting in a plush armchair. Sven was sitting next to him.

  He gave Ashur a slight bow.

  "Excuse me, Dragon Lord, would you have a moment to speak with me?" he asked politely.

  "Yes," Ashur said, starting over and holding out his hand. "And Ashur is fine. You are?"

  "Kaito" he said, shaking his hand. "I know you are busy so I will keep this brief. The refugee group has assigned me to be their spokesperson. And what they wanted me to tell you is that we want to help with this fight, if you will allow us to do so."

  Another surprise. Maybe I should just stop having expectations.

  "Forgive me," Ashur said quietly. "But many of you are young children or elderly."

  "That is true. Those of us who are able-bodied would like to help," he clarified. "If you will allow us," he said again, with another slight bow.

  Ashur looked over at Sven.

  "I have been speaking with the refugees here, and they're in agreement," he confirmed. "This is more our fight than it is yours," he added. "We'd like to help."

  Ashur nodded thoughtfully.

  "That it is. I will speak with my people and come back to you with an answer."

  "My thanks," Hai said.

  Then we were starting towards the elevator banks to go up to Ashur's office.

  "Do you think it's a good idea?" I asked.

  He shrugged as the doors closed.

  "More numbers would be helpful," he admitted. "The only problem is that we can't be a hundred percent sure if we could actually trust them in a battle."

  I nodded. That made sense. What if some of them froze in the middle of the fighting when someone else was relying upon them? I could see that happening if they ran into someone they knew. Or what if they ended up being Emberich sympathizers tucked into refugee groups to infiltrate our forces? There was a lot that could go wrong. Even though I completely understood the refugees’ interest in fighting for their own cause, caution seemed like the most prudent response here.

  We didn't have long to think. It wasn't much later before the other Dragon Lords arrived to have a strategy meeting. We were back in the same meeting hall as before, without much time to prepare.

  "Thank you for coming once again," Ashur opened up the meeting.

  As I looked around, I saw the worry and exhaustion on people's faces. I related. I felt like there were non-stop problems going on.

  "I am sure many of you know that the supply lines are being attacked by Emberich's people," Ashur started. "After my own contingent was attacked, we soon received reports of other ones being attacked as well. The prisoners that we spoke to said that Emberich had sent out groups specifically for that reason."

  "That man's head needs to be separated from his body," someone muttered.

  Murmurs of agreement followed. I couldn't really argue with that. Ashur didn't acknowledge it, but I knew he heard it.

  "I believe it's now time to deal with this problem head-on," Ashur stated.

  "You mean war with Emberich," someone clarified.

  Ashur nodded, not shying from the word.

  "He is attacking us directly. We cannot let this go. Unless someone has a better solution, I do not know what other recourse we have," he said quietly.

  Reluctant nods at the table as most murmured their agreement.

  "But we know that he's already gathering his forces to that palace that's actually a fortress," the man who had argued against Heavener before said. "If Emberich has all of the phoenixes behind him and he's set up for a perfect defense, while our own factions are divided, how are we going to win without massive casualties? If we even win at all."

  Ashur nodded as everyone started voicing their own concerns.

  "Those are very valid questions," he said quietly. "What I would say to that is that we now have the luxury of inside information."

  "Inside information?" Tanar asked.

  Ashur nodded.

  "The refugees want to give us all the information they can. And if we are willing, they're also willing to fight beside us."

  A stunned silence at that.

  "Do you think that wise?" Priyanka asked. She looked around for support. "What guarantee do we have that we can even trust them? What if there are some here to lead us to an ambush?" she asked.

  That got some grumbles of concern.

  "I say we ask them and see what information we get. And then everyone here who has refugees questions them as well. If the information matches up, I think it would be reasonable to believe it to be true," Ashur said. "It is possible that there are plants among the refugees," he admitted, looking around the table. "We all knew that when we took them in. However, I sincerely doubt that they are all plants. Not with the elderly and small children included. And I believe they do have even more of an incentive to win this fight than we do. I think they're a resource we should tap."

  Thoughtful nods around the table.

  Ashur turned to Hathai in the corner and she nodded, opening the door to admit Sven and a group of refugees.

  "Sven and these refugees say they have information that could be helpful," Ashur said. "I think it's a good idea to hear them out. Any objections?"

  There were none. Ashur had made a good argument.

  Sven stepped forward first.

  "I know of multiple underground tunnel entrances that my people and I have scoped out. I can also ensure that the guards inside will not be a problem."

  "How?" someone asked.

  Sven smiled slightly.

  "It has come to my attention that Emberich was not able to eradicate the full extent of the conspiracy against him in the palace. And some of those who were teetering on the fence have turned on him too after everything he has done in the interim."

  Everyone listened intently after that.

  Sven and the other refugees outlined the security measures in Emberich's palace. From where the archers were situated, to the launching points for troops, to the entrances that weren't so well-known. They also revealed that a good portion of the people who were supposed to be protecting Emberich and his city were either actually working against Emberich, or at least sympathetic to the opposition. They probably would not fight as hard as they should even if they didn't flip when we went in.

  But that didn't mean all the people were like that. Emberich was savvy enough that the vast majority of those in his city and his palace were still his staunch supporters.

  We needed to prepare for the worst.

  We put together a plan that involved multiple modes to enter the city. From underground to arrive directly inside the city, by air to combat the air forces and get aerial shots in, and by car to transport the best archers as support from the ground.

  "In addition," Ashur added as the meeting was winding down. "I've also had dragons showing up from the skeins that walked out on us last time. So we have not lost a full third of our number as we believed."

  The others gave soft exclamations of surprise.

  "I wouldn't want to be associated with a cowardly Dragon Lord either."

  "That is good news."

  "That gives me hope for our race."

  Ashur nodded as he listened to the responses, taking my hand in his.

  "I think that's everything." He looked around the table. "Now...we prepare for war."

  I gripped Ashur's hand tightly.

  The room was sober but determined. This was really the only decision to make.

  I just hoped we di
dn't end up paying too dearly for it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  "Bricker is sympathetic but hesitant to make any kind of move. Rawfer is a little bit more interested in the idea, but he says he needs to talk to his flock first. We have more people on our list, but these are just the ones that we were able to get ahold of so far." Sven shook his head, his eyes serious. "Some haven't responded at all. I hope that's because they don't want to be involved."

  I hoped so too. The alternative was that they weren't there to answer, a sobering possibility.

  "All right, keep us updated," Ashur said quietly.

  Sven nodded, sitting back down at his computer. His group was arranged around him on the table where they all had computers set up for the task.

  Ashur's people were also standing around to read any messages that were sent out. It wasn't a foolproof plan, there was still obviously risk involved in letting the possible enemy send out messages at all. But we were at a point where we needed to trust Sven more if we wanted to move forward with a more realistic chance of success.

  And besides, if this was a ploy of some kind, it was a long and complicated one. We'd come to the conclusion that the risk was low enough to take it. Hopefully we wouldn't regret it later.

  Ashur and I left the room inside the prison building. We couldn't justify giving the phoenixes lodgings in Ashur's city yet, but neither could we put them in cells and expect to work with them. We'd come to a compromise. They stayed in the building housing the cells, but not in the cells themselves. The interrogation and meeting rooms had been converted into bedrooms for them. Not the prettiest surroundings, but not bad. Sven and the others had agreed to the arrangement without a fuss. I guess after everything they'd been through, complaining about something so minor as lodgings wasn't even on their radar.

  "I'm going to head over to train," I said as we opened the door to the street.

  Ashur reached out to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear.

  "I'll see you at lunch, all right?" he asked, his eyes soft.

  I stepped forward to give him a light kiss on the cheek.

  "Okay."

  Ashur left to go take care of something somewhere else in the city and I went back to his building to take the elevator up to the training floor. I'd been trying to fit it in wherever I could. Without work to keep me sharp, I needed it.