Of Bone and Ruin

by T. A. White

Despite the countless adventurers who had gone exploring in the underground labyrinth, the tunnels still had many secrets to give up.

  “You sure you can’t be persuaded to tell me a little bit about these?” Tate asked, resisting the urge to pick up the artifact she’d touched earlier. She wanted to know everything about it.

  “It depends.”

  Tate gave him a quizzical look. “I’m listening.”

  “How about you tell me why I received an irate call from Instructor Daiske this afternoon?”

  Tate had forgotten about that. The artifacts had distracted her from the events in class. She made an expression of distaste and stepped back from his desk. “Whatever that lackwit said, it’s not my fault. I was just trying to follow his instructions.”

  Ryu’s impossibly blue eyes sharpened on her. “How is cracking a summoning circle not your fault?”

  Tate grimaced. That tattletale.

  Dewdrop cackled behind her. “You should’ve seen Daiske’s face. He looked like someone had just goosed him.”

  Ryu didn’t react to that statement, pinning Tate with his eyes. He had the ability to make her feel about two inches tall with just a slight shift of expression. It never failed to put her on the defensive.

  “I was just doing what he told me to do. How was I supposed to know that it would break the circle? It’s not like anyone told me that was a possibility. I’ve never heard of something like that happening.”

  “She pretty much destroyed the floor,” Dewdrop volunteered.

  Tate elbowed him and then gave him a ‘what are you doing’ look.

  He rubbed his side and pinched her. She batted his hand away.

  “Be that as it may, Instructor Daiske is now calling for your expulsion,” Ryu said, his dark gaze enigmatic as he watched their byplay. Again he seemed more thoughtful than frustrated, which was the emotion Tate often engendered in him.

  She gave him a look, unsure how to take the fact that he wasn’t already lecturing her on how important it was that she make this work. That she pay attention and learn what they were trying to teach her.

  “Did you finish the summoning?” Ryu asked.

  Tate thought back. “I thought I had but nothing appeared in the circle.”

  “It’s possible the circle breaking destroyed the link,” Ryu said. It didn’t sound like he was talking to them anymore, rather it sounded like he was thinking out loud. “Those circles are capable of handling level four elementals. Anything bigger would have created a snap back”

  He fell silent as he pondered things that Tate and Dewdrop weren’t privy to.

  “For now, I feel its best that we pull you from the Academy temporarily.”

  Tate felt relieved. Some of her classes were worthwhile, teaching her things she needed to know. Though, she could do without the barely restrained hostility of the students and teachers. Maybe this would give her time to find work. Maybe put a little money away so that Dewdrop and Night weren’t quite so tempted to take side jobs with Ryu.

  “I’ll arrange for private tutors to continue your lessons until we can smooth over this incident.”

  “What? No.”

  Dewdrop snorted as Tate protested.

  “You have a better idea?” Ryu asked.

  Tate’s mouth opened and shut a few times, her gaze darting from Ryu to Dewdrop to his desk. She had nothing. No ideas. No thoughts.

  There must be something.

  “What about that task you were considering?” she said, pointing at the artifacts. “Let me do it instead.”

  “You? You don’t even know what it entails.”

  She shrugged. She didn’t care as long as it wasn’t being stuck in another room with people who barely tolerated her.

  “Then tell me. I can figure it out.”

  “You are qualified for this. He actually asked for your help originally, but I didn’t think you’d be interested.” Ryu’s face was thoughtful as he folded his hands in front of him. “First things first, though. I summoned you.” His attention turned to Dewdrop and Night. “I find it odd that you two decided to accompany her given you had a task to do.”

  Dewdrop shrugged. He usually took the lead when they were dealing with people other than Tate. “Don’t get all huffy. We finished the task. We thought it’d be more interesting to tag along with Tate than go home.”

  Ryu gave him a long look and then glared at her. His features were stern and too rugged to be considered handsome. There was a slight bump on his nose and a little scar bisected his left eyebrow.

  “This is your fault. He wasn’t this mouthy when you first picked him up.”

  Tate smothered a sigh. He was right. Dewdrop was antagonistic, but he rarely got that way with anyone he felt could hurt him. Ryu could break him without even standing up. Seemed she was rubbing off on Dewdrop in more than one way. She’d have to have a talk with him later. There was only room for one smart mouthed idiot in this relationship. Someone had to be the diplomatic one and the Saviors knew it was unlikely to be her.

  She sometimes wondered if she had been this mouthy in her previous life—the one she couldn’t remember—or if it was a result of having lost all her memories and needing to compensate by being as defensive and ornery as possible.

  “Back to this job,” Tate tried. “I would expect payment.”

  Ryu flapped a hand in agreement.

  Tate narrowed her eyes—this was a little too easy. Why did it feel like this was exactly what Ryu had intended when calling her in here?

  She needed the money, true. Dewdrop had been right before. Her savings from working with Jost were vanishing at an alarming rate. Everything in Aurelia cost twice what it would have in another town. Even with Night and Dewdrop helping her with the rent for the room at Colton’s Place and pitching in for food, she wouldn’t last much more than a week or two.

  Ryu had offered to give her money in the past, but she just couldn’t bring herself to take it. That would feel unsettling close to charity to her. It would also make her feel beholden to him, something she would prefer to avoid for reasons she couldn’t quite explain.

  Payment for doing a job for him was an entirely different matter. She didn’t mind receiving money for services rendered. Especially since getting a job while attending classes was near impossible. Not the least of which because Daiske forbade any of his students from taking work without his approval. Which he refused to give to her. She’d already asked.

  Which left more illegal means. That wasn’t an option since the Night Lords demanded allegiance if you wanted to work on the wrong side of the law. She had no interest in getting tangled up with any of them again.

  Ryu tapped the desk with one finger. Her eyes were drawn to the dragon that inched its way up his neck, peeking over the collar of his shirt to stare at her

  Ilith sent her a pulse of warmth and let out a rumble that sounded very like a cat’s purr. She didn’t have Tate’s reservations about Ryu and his dragon. She liked both. Every time they saw the other two, Ilith acted like a cat in heat, the traitorous brat. If she’d had physical form at the moment, she’d be rubbing herself against Ryu like he was catnip.

  Tate didn’t know if it was because Ryu and his dragon were the first bonded pair that they’d met or if it was because Ilith actually liked them.

  Ryu’s dragon fluttered its wings at the sight of Ilith and crawled higher on Ryu’s neck. His wings stretched up onto Ryu’s jaw and cheek. The dragon was beautiful with red, black and gold scales. He looked bigger than Ilith, but it was hard to tell without seeing him in the physical world.

  Tate had been unconscious the one and only time Ilith had transformed, so she didn’t know how big her dragon was either.

  “Are you sure about this?” Ryu asked.

  Was she? No. Yes.

  “How many hours would a private tutor expect to meet?” she asked.

  “At least double that of what you were spending at the Academy.”

  “I’ll do the job.” She couldn
’t take any more sitting and waiting. Anything was better than that.

  “Jost will be pleased.”

  Wait. What?

  “Jost? What does he have to do with this?”

  Jost was the captain of the Marauder, the pirate ship Tate had sailed with for several months after being discovered trying to survive in the isolated Northern Reaches. Turned out that Jost was less of a pirate and more of a privateer for the empire.

  Their relationship had been strained since Tate learned he’d been spying on her and had only allowed her to join his crew under the empire’s orders. She’d thought he kept her on board because he thought she could be an asset; not because she was a pawn. It also hadn’t helped that he’d chosen following the empire’s orders over helping her during the fulcrum incident.

  She’d forgiven him, understanding what it was to be loyal to something bigger than yourself and how that loyalty could lead you to hurting the people around you by simply following orders—but she hadn’t forgotten.

  “You’d be working with him.”

  “I didn’t realize he was back.”

  “He got into port a few days ago.”

  Tate nodded. “On the other hand, a tutor would help me shorten my time at the Academy.”

  “Too late, you already agreed.” Ryu gave her a cunning smile. “Unless you want to spend the next three months with Daiske as your private tutor all day. Every day.”

  Tate shuddered. “I doubt he’d agree to that. He hates me.”

  “Hate is such a strong word. Extreme dislike is probably closer to the truth. And you’re right, he should have prepared you better for summoning. As your tutor, he can rectify his mistakes.”

  Tate glared at Ryu. “What will I be doing for Jost?”

  Ryu’s face lightened as a real smile dawned. It would, since he’d effectively won their little skirmish. Why did Tate have the feeling this was his plan from the beginning?

  “He’s acting as a mediator and trying to negotiate a peaceful accord between several sides.”

  “Sounds diplomatic. Not something I would think he’d be interested in.”

  Ryu shrugged. “His skills are many and he likes controlling the outcome of a thing. This is right up his alley.”

  She studied him. He seemed entirely too satisfied with the turn of events.

  “How long have you been planning this?” Tate asked him.

  He gave her a wicked look, his eyes glinting with mischief. Tate sighed. That’s what she thought. She just hoped this wasn’t as dangerous as the last time she’d gotten roped into one of his ‘easy’ jobs.

  Chapter Three

  “So much for not working for Ryu,” Dewdrop said as they stepped onto the street.

  Tate ignored him and kept moving. Ryu, despite his promise to tell her all he knew about the artifacts, had said Jost would inform her of the specifics of the mission. Tate wasn’t happy, but she’d accepted it after he said she was excused from all classes until the completion of her task. That was enough of an incentive for her to take the job. Daiske would probably be over the moon when he was told.

  Night prowled at their side keeping his thoughts to himself.

  “Thought you liked working for Ryu. You’ve been doing jobs for him.” Something she still wasn’t happy to learn about.

  “Easy jobs that mainly consist of following someone or waiting and reporting back when someone arrives at or leaves a particular location. Nothing like this.” Dewdrop waved his hand. Tate doubted he even knew what he was gesturing at. “Do you remember what happened last time? I was kidnapped. The Red Lady put a collar around my throat. You almost died. Those Kairi did die.”

  “I remember.” Tate’s voice was grim. She had nightmares of those events. Things had been closer than she would have liked. If Ilith hadn’t decided to make her presence known and felt, Tate had no doubt she would have died along with the Kairi boy she was trying to save, and a terrible weapon would have fallen into the hands of some very bad people.

  “So why would you want to get involved with him again?”

  “It’s not like I had much of a choice,” she snapped.

  “Really? Because to me it sounded like you couldn’t wait to jump on board with his plan,” Dewdrop shot back.

  It was the artifact. You think it might have something to do with your past.

  Tate shot a look at Night. He looked back, his face calm and his ears upright. That meant he wasn’t angry. At least that’s how Tate chose to interpret his expression.

  “The artifact? The one that changed shape?” Dewdrop asked.

  “Yes. The one that changed shape.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Nothing.” She sighed. “And everything.”

  “That’s not mysterious or anything.”

  She gave him a dark look. Her sarcasm was definitely rubbing off on him. Now she saw why so many people lost their calm when they dealt with her.

  “I recognized it. It was familiar.”

  It also worked for you when it hasn’t for anyone else.

  “That too,” Tate said.

  Dewdrop sighed. “I know how much you want to regain the memories you lost, but helping Ryu on a highly dangerous mission is probably not the best way to do it.”

  “Why not? Last time I helped him, I found out my real name. Who is to say I won’t find out more this time?”

  “Tate,” Dewdrop said plaintively.

  “This is inevitable. The classes on politics and military strategy. The lessons with weapons and magic. People in Aurelia, the government in Aurelia, don’t do this kind of thing out of the goodness of their hearts. They’re grooming me for something.”

  Dewdrop didn’t disagree. They both knew that her being Dragon-Ridden was something the empire felt the need to turn to their benefit.

  “This way I’m at least getting something out of it. Jost is a known entity. I’ve worked with him before. He’s good at what he does and is less likely to betray me.”

  “Jost? The pirate”

  “He’s a privateer.”

  “That’s pretty much just a fancy way of saying pirate.”

  Tate ignored that statement.

  “I do this, and maybe it’s a little easier to say no next time. At the very least I might get a lead on why someone stuck me in that capsule.”

  Dewdrop’s sigh was full of angry frustration. He knew she was right. He didn’t like it, but there wasn’t a lot he could do about it.

  Tate didn’t feel a sense of accomplishment at getting him to see her point. She shared his reservations. If it was up to her, she’d tell Ryu to shove it before taking the first ship out of port. There was nowhere in this world that she could run. Nowhere she could hide that the empire or its enemies wouldn’t pursue her.

  Not now. Not when she knew so little about this world and its possibilities. Maybe when she had more information or when she knew more about herself and her abilities. Until then she was stuck having to make this work.

  This wasn’t a realization she’d come to just then. She’d thought on this for weeks, months.

  “Fine.”

  Tate snorted. “Now that I have your permission, I have to go meet Jost.”

  “We’re coming with.” He hurried to catch up as her long strides took her down the street.

  “No.” It was still ungodly hot out so there were few people to slow them down as they made their way toward the black cliffs overlooking the Lower city and port.

  “Yes, you’re going to need all the help you can get.”

  “Don’t you have a job to do for Ryu?”

  “We just finished it. We won’t take another until yours is done.”

  Night huffed in agreement.

  *

  The city up here was beautiful. Expensive houses hid behind tall ornate fences. Most had some type of yard, but the truly expensive places, the ones that just screamed of ridiculous wealth, sat on estates that would have fit ten to twenty buildings from t
he Lower city.

  The air smelled of roses with just a hint of the salty ocean. The streets were well kept and shone almost blinding white in the afternoon sun.

  The walk to the elevator didn’t take long. They joined the short line waiting for passage down. The wait wasn’t long now, but if someone came in the morning or evening, they could find themselves waiting up to a couple of hours. It’s why Tate mostly stuck to the hill path in the west half of the city. It was steep and added time to her journey, but she didn’t have to get up before the sun to use it.

  The operator gestured to their group as one of the three elevators disgorged its passengers.

  Tate and her friends stepped forward. People eyed them as they made their way onto the elevator, leaving a wide berth around them. Tate saw a spot against the glass wall on the far side and made a beeline towards it, ignoring the way several of the passengers pressed against each other to get away from Night.

  Metal clanged as the doors slammed shut and the elevator jolted into its descent. The first time Tate had ridden in this thing, she'd been convinced it was a death trap just waiting for the right moment to send her plummeting to her death.

  She was still half convinced of that. The elevator looked like something that had been in use since the Saviors liberated the world from the Creators. However, the view almost made her possible death worth it.

  The Lower city and the port spread out before her like a present. The bay formed a crescent moon before opening into the great wide sea. Everything seemed so small from up here. She understood why artists the world over journeyed to this city to paint its ever-changing views. She had zero artistic ability, but whenever she was confronted with the splendor of nature, she felt an insane urge to capture the moment for eternity.

  The three of them were silent as they rode the elevator down, Tate lost in the view and Dewdrop in his thoughts. Night laid down and rested his head on his paws, closing his eyes to take a mini nap.

  After a ten minute ride they disembarked with the rest of the passengers and continued on their trip.

  The buildings down here were mostly made of wood and plaster and were small and narrow. The denizens of the Lower tended to build higher not wider as space was limited by the harbor in front and the cliffs in back.