Xenophon stood frozen in place, his eyes wide with fear. Even Cob was white-faced.
Dion’s wings snapped, and he rose into the sky until he was directly over Xenophon’s head. The philosopher gazed up and swallowed, seeing the veins in his outstretched wings and the fork in his long, curved tail.
Finally Dion initiated a tight turn and descended to settle on the graveled path. He concentrated on his usual, human form and a pale mist formed around him and shimmered.
The mist dispersed. Dion approached Xenophon and Cob. He couldn’t smooth his expression now; when he changed his emotions often threatened to overwhelm him.
‘I . . .’ Xenophon swallowed and then started again. ‘I take your point.’
‘Imagine hundreds of dragons, all with riders on their backs. The only thing that stands against them is these.’ Dion scowled at the ballista. ‘I need you. We all need you. It is up to you to do what is right.’
‘I understand,’ the philosopher said slowly. ‘But do you have the resources I will need? You say you want fortifications, which means plenty of cut stone. You want weapons and ammunition, which will require vast quantities of iron.’
‘I will make sure you have whatever you require,’ Dion said. ‘I give you my word, as king.’
Xenophon turned and looked around him. A faraway look came into his eyes as he ran his gaze over the school, the place where he could contemplate the world in peace. He turned back to Dion and nodded. ‘Give me some time while I fetch my belongings.’
Dion saw that Cob’s expression was troubled while they waited for one of the scholars to fetch their horses.
‘Lad,’ Cob said. ‘You know the treasury is low. How will you find the money to pay for all this? The citadel at Fort Liberty, the new defenses at Xanthos, these weapons . . .’
‘I’ll borrow.’
‘But so much . . .’
‘I’ll strip the palace of gold and sell everything not related to the war effort. By the gods, I’ll even sell our winter stores. We’re running out of time. Palemon will be busy with his new fleet, but that won’t occupy him forever.’
Dion thought about Chloe. He had barely seen her since his return from Malakai. He knew she was hurt, but his preparations for war had to come first. And after losing Isobel . . . failing her . . . he had also decided that the safest place for Chloe was far from him.
Chloe would soon be in Sindara. At least she would be protected there, and he trusted her to do what must be done. Everything had to come together. Everything and everyone.
Xenophon returned, carrying a small satchel on his shoulder.
‘I’m ready,’ the philosopher said. ‘The gods sent you here. Let no one say that Xenophon did not heed them.’
2
‘I said the answer is no.’ Queen Zanthe lifted her chin. ‘I have changed my mind.’
Chloe’s eyes wanted to pop out of her head. She wished she could scream at Zanthe and shake her.
Instead she kept her expression as calm as she could make it.
Zanthe stared coldly down at Chloe from the high-backed wooden chair she used as a throne. Chloe had never met the queen of Tanus before these negotiations, but now she felt she’d come to know her well. Zanthe’s expensive purple robe and heavy gold necklace couldn’t hide the ravages of time: she had a drooping quality to her face, with sad, bloodshot eyes and long gray hair matted like a bird’s nest. She was also greedy.
‘I have explained my position. What use are jewels?’ Queen Zanthe shrugged. ‘Tell those creatures it is no longer enough.’
Chloe wondered what to do. What would her father do? She wished Zanthe’s advisers were present, but on this occasion Zanthe had summoned Chloe quickly, with none of the usual ceremony, and they were alone.
Chloe decided to stall for time. She had thought they were close to an agreement. Experience told her she needed help.
‘Queen Zanthe,’ Chloe said, ‘allow me some time to discuss your . . . new request . . . with the eldren.’
‘Very well,’ Zanthe said. ‘See what you can do.’ Her eyes gleamed. ‘I have explained what you can give me to conclude a deal.’
Chloe showed none of her frustration as she bowed and left the queen’s pavilion. She walked quickly past tents and soldiers of Tanus seated around fires, heading for the eldran camp a mile away, although she wasn’t looking forward to giving Eiric the news.
It started when the eldren returned to Sindara. They had been exiled, living in the Wilds and the Waste, for hundreds of years. In that time Tanus had put blood and sweat into this land, where the Blackwell Mines formed deep holes in the hills high above. The human and eldran views were irreconcilable. It was a loss of both prestige and income for Tanus to give the mines up, but they were within Sindara’s borders, and the eldren considered it wrong to burn forests and dam rivers. The two groups had fought over the area, with casualties on both sides.
It was Chloe’s task to bring about peace.
With her pale skin, long dark hair, and white chiton, Chloe stood out from the uniformed men around her as she navigated the camp of Tanus and then left it behind. The fast-flowing river that divided the two groups made soothing music below her as she crossed over the makeshift bridge. As soon as she neared the eldran camp, as always, she noticed the change in smell.
The soldiers of Tanus rarely bathed. They oiled their hair and wore the same clothes day after day. They cooked stews in iron pots that bubbled constantly and butchered the deer and rabbits they hunted close to their fires, leaving the discarded guts to rot in the sun.
Now that she was approaching the eldran camp, Chloe inhaled deeply. The air smelled moist and fragrant, a combination of green grass, moss, and fresh flowers: the ever-present scent of Sindara.
Chloe’s gaze took in the eldren. Tall and lithe, clad in deerskin, they were silver-haired and had odd-colored eyes ranging from pale green to gold. They loved to swim in the streams that ran throughout their homeland, laundering their clothes while they splashed in the water to cool themselves off. They slept under the boughs of trees and disdained all use of metal. Their king, Eiric, slept alongside his people. They were so different, yet Chloe was surprised to find that she felt more at home with Eiric, Liana, and Zachary than she did with people of her own race.
Eiric stood waiting for her a short way from the camp, and his tightly set jaw gave away his tension. Extremely tall and slim, with close-cropped silver hair and golden eyes, Eiric had a commanding presence. Like the other eldren busying themselves among the trees and small fires, he was clad in a deerskin vest and leggings, but he also wore a crown of twisted laurel leaves, the only thing that marked him out as king. Chloe had heard the soldiers from Tanus whisper; they were all terrified of him.
Liana noticed Chloe’s arrival and hurried over. One of Chloe’s closest friends and also Eiric’s lover, she had a calming influence on Eiric’s occasional black moods. She was short for an eldran, which meant that she was slightly taller than Chloe, and she was pretty, with delicate features and grass-green eyes.
‘What news?’ Eiric asked.
Chloe knew they were both impatient to hear Queen Zanthe’s latest response. ‘Should we wait for Finn?’
‘Just tell us,’ Liana said.
‘It’s not good news,’ Chloe said. ‘It seems, well . . . Zanthe has changed her mind.’
‘Changed her mind?’ Eiric frowned. ‘I have already said, we have no more gems.’
It had been Dion’s idea for the eldren to buy the mines from Tanus. There was a wealth of precious stones in Sindara, and the eldren knew where to find them. The payment would allow Queen Zanthe to save face, in value worth years of the mines’ output. The alternative was for Zanthe to keep fighting, but she had already learned her lesson there.
‘A merchant arrived last night,’ Chloe said. ‘Everyone in Galea is talking about war. There’s a sudden scarcity of iron.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Eiric said. He turned to gaze up at the mines on t
he distant hillside. ‘They want to dig for ore?’
‘No.’ Chloe shook her head. ‘That’s not what Zanthe’s saying.’ She remembered the queen’s rasping voice. What use are jewels? Tell those creatures it is no longer enough. ‘The problem is that she’s trying to get iron as well. She knows my people also want peace, and now she’s asking for us to contribute. I’ve already told her that my role here is to mediate. And even if I had the authority, the Assembly of Consuls would never agree to it.’
‘Dion said—’
‘I know what he said, but the situation has changed.’
‘Just like that?’ Liana asked.
‘Things can happen quickly in matters of trade.’
‘They certainly can,’ a new voice interrupted.
Chloe saw Finn walking toward them with an eldran child on his shoulders. He gave a little jump every second or third step, making the silver-haired girl giggle. A slender man, if his shoulder-length hair had been silver instead of light brown Finn could almost pass for an eldran himself. He was Dion’s master of trade and treasury, representing Xanthos in the negotiations. Everyone wanted there to be peace between Tanus and Sindara. Everyone, it seemed, except for Queen Zanthe.
Finn set the silver-haired girl down. She took a couple of tottering steps, looking back at him despondently, before she sat cross-legged on the grass and began plucking daisies. Finn watched her for a moment and then spread his arms as he approached the group.
‘So,’ he said. ‘Zanthe has shown her colors yet again.’
Chloe wasn’t surprised that he already knew. Finn always kept abreast of any gossip in the other camp.
‘But why is she doing this?’ Liana’s expression was puzzled.
‘The first rule of any trade is to know your opponent,’ Finn said. ‘Zanthe is fickle. She desires everything she cannot have. Of course she wants the gemstones – and believe me when I say that your offer is more than fair – but with war coming everyone needs iron, so she wants iron too. Her advisers will be telling her to take your offer. It is my opinion that this comes directly from her.’
‘But how are we supposed to get iron?’ Liana frowned.
‘Ah,’ Finn said. ‘But you already have it.’ He grinned, looking from face to face. ‘All we have to realize is that trade is not always an exchange between two parties.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Eiric said.
‘It’s simple, King Eiric. I know any number of merchants who would happily accept your gemstones in return for iron.’
Eiric shook his head. ‘Why would we want iron? You know we cannot touch pure metal.’
‘Perfectly fine,’ Finn said, ‘because the iron isn’t going to you anyway.’
Chloe tilted her head. ‘So we trade the gemstones for iron in Phalesia, and then give the iron to Zanthe. She gets what she wants and withdraws her claim on the mines.’ She pondered. ‘It’s complicated. You’re sure we can make the exchange?’
Finn shrugged. ‘I don’t have to be. As soon as we propose it, and Zanthe realizes that with her wealth of gemstones she can purchase iron and much more, she will agree to our original terms.’
‘Ah,’ Chloe said. ‘I see. We threaten that she might lose the gems completely.’ She nodded. ‘I think it will work. King Eiric?’ she asked the tall eldran.
Eiric sighed. ‘It makes no difference to me,’ he said. ‘We give someone the stones. We then make peace.’
‘Finn,’ Chloe said. ‘Will you come with me to talk to Zanthe?’
‘You don’t need me, Chloe,’ Finn said. ‘You’ve brought us this far. It’s fitting that you see the new treaty to its conclusion. And Zanthe knew your father and respects your lineage. Me? I’m just a pirate who made friends with a king.’
‘Phalesia would trade iron for the gems?’ Queen Zanthe asked.
‘Of course,’ Chloe said. ‘But only in their entirety. Our traders would not want to release too many onto the market at once.’
The shadowed interior of the pavilion provided relief from the heat outside; the summer was proving to be even hotter than the last. Zanthe sat on her high-backed wooden chair and considered. This time she had a merchant adviser in a yellow tunic standing next to her throne. A slim man with curly black hair, he hurriedly leaned in close to his queen to whisper in her ear. There was a tightness around his eyes, and although Chloe couldn’t hear his words, she could tell that he was speaking with urgency.
When he straightened, Chloe tried not to show her own anxiety, instead appearing relaxed and confident.
Zanthe drummed her fingernails on the arm of her chair and finally spoke. ‘I have made a decision. We will accept the gemstones.’
‘Then we have an accord?’ Chloe asked.
‘We do.’
‘Then, if it pleases you, Queen Zanthe, tonight we should gather on the battlefield and say a prayer for the dead.’
‘That is fitting.’ Zanthe nodded.
‘And, finally, the two camps should join in a feast to honor the new treaty between Tanus and Sindara.’
‘A feast?’ Zanthe sat back in her chair, looking perplexed. ‘But what do eldren eat?’
‘Basically the same food we do.’ Chloe smiled. ‘There are more similarities than differences, Queen Zanthe. This is something we will all learn in time.’
‘You’ll soon be leaving?’ Liana asked.
Chloe nodded. They were sitting side by side on the soft grass, under the shade of a willow, watching the still surface of the emerald pool in Sindara’s heart. Limestone walls rose up on all sides to form a basin. Trees clustered at the top of the cliffs. The last time Chloe had been in this place, she had helped Eiric challenge Triton for the leadership of the eldren. Eiric had sounded the horn, and she had seen him put to rest the last of the roaming wildren.
Chloe found herself captivated by the pool. It shimmered with a warm green light, casting a glow on the walls and on Liana’s face. Deep beneath its surface Triton had said there was a jewel, the Wellspring, the origin of all eldran magic. There was another jewel, the Source, somewhere deep in the Oracle’s cave at Athos. The powers of gold, silver, copper, and iron were connected to the Source’s white light in the same way that the ability of the eldren to change their form was linked to this place.
‘I brought you here to show you something.’ Liana waited a moment and then frowned. ‘It only happens occasionally.’
Chloe watched the pool expectantly, but nothing changed. ‘I do have to get home. I’ve been here for longer than I expected.’
Liana turned to face Chloe. ‘What if I come with you? I can get you home much quicker than by ship, and if there’s any news, Eiric said he wants to get it as soon as possible.’
‘As long as you don’t mind sleeping on a bed in a house?’
‘I lived in Phalesia for a time.’ Liana smiled. ‘You get used to it.’ She suddenly became serious. ‘Chloe . . . There’s something else Eiric said.’
‘What?’
‘He asked me to thank you. Zanthe wouldn’t have come if you hadn’t gone to Tanus on our behalf. You convinced her to negotiate. You calmed their fears of us.’ Liana gave a short laugh. ‘You even got us to feast together.’
Chloe spread her hands. ‘It was Dion who—’
‘Wait,’ Liana interrupted. ‘Here it is. It’s happening.’
Liana was staring intently at the pool. Chloe watched, puzzled, but then she saw that the shade of the green light was slowly changing. From the color of emerald, it gradually shifted hue, developing a yellow tone. In moments it was gold, but still the shade continued changing until it was orange. Chloe held her breath as the light filling the glade became sinister: a fiery red. It pulsed, like crimson coals catching onto fresh tinder. Soon it was yellow, and then green once more.
‘How often does that happen?’ Chloe finally asked.
‘Often enough,’ Liana said. ‘I think I know what it is. Zachary is at Malakai now, keeping watch. He said he has seen the Arch of Nisos in use. They fo
rce a human to go through it . . . always some poor slave. A dragon comes out the other side. I think they just changed another one.’ She hesitated. ‘Somehow the power of the arch is linked to the Wellspring.’ She met Chloe’s eyes. ‘Do you understand it?’
‘No.’ Chloe shook her head. She reflected. ‘But we might be able to learn something at Athos.’
The idea of going to Athos frightened Chloe. Her teacher, Zedo, had said something about her becoming the next Oracle, when all she wanted was to live her own life. But she needed answers, and Athos was where she would find them.
‘We’ll go there as soon as we can,’ Chloe said. She knew that answers were more important than her own dread. ‘How is Zachary?’ she asked, changing the subject.
‘Getting old,’ Liana said. ‘He spends a lot of time alone. When he returns to give us news, he doesn’t stay long. I miss him.’
‘He knows that what he’s doing is important,’ Chloe said.
Liana nodded. ‘He said they have far more than a hundred dragons now. At least two hundred. Most of my people become furies, merfolk, or ogres when we change. Only some of us have the power to become dragons. I can see no way to defeat them.’ She paled. ‘At least if they depart Malakai, we will be given some warning.’
Just thinking about it made Chloe’s heart rate increase. She stood. ‘Let’s get going. We have a lot of work to do.’
3
On the shore of the Aleuthean Sea, by the city of Malakai, twelve huge vessels rested side by side. Every ship was a hive of activity: crewmen coiled ropes and unwrapped sails; warriors carried casks, crates, and barrels up the gangways. Already slave masters were assembling oarsmen, ready to begin the work of heaving the ships off the sand.
Palemon, king of Malakai and heir to Aleuthea, felt tension in his shoulders: this rescue attempt would be a dangerous undertaking, fraught with peril. A tall man with a braided beard and long graying hair, wearing a leather vest, black trousers, and high boots, he stood above the tide line, where he could watch the fleet prepare for departure.
Iron Will Page 2
