“Zuo Mati,” Aaron said to the pair. Two kings in the minotaur tongue. The Dura Mati looked at King Jacob and snorted. “Let’s go. Guard the back,” Aaron said to the minotaur. Then he gestured to Conners to take the lead. “After you, my Lord.”
Aaron turned to King Jacob as they began walking briskly down the tunnel to the east. Yesterday, watching the King at their Palace meeting, Aaron would never have expected him to hold up through this ordeal. Yet here he was, walking strong and unbent. He had shown little fear throughout.
“King Jacob, we need to talk.”
“I imagine we do,” the King replied in an authoritative voice. “You just referred to my butler as your Lord. You have attached strings to my city, Aaron Lorne. I do not like discovering strings I was not aware of, spies within men I trust. Especially so close to my home. You have helped us a great deal with this threat and I would not fault you for using every resource at your disposal. I am grateful for your resourcefulness. Yet we have not discussed your price.”
Aaron kept walking for a moment, surprised at the aggressiveness of the King. “This isn’t a ransom situation. We didn’t save the city for gold.”
“You mistake me, son. I do not accuse you of such. I am merely giving you the respect of speaking bluntly. The doubletalk and deception of the Senate are not for you and me. I am in your debt. I do not like to be in the debt of other men. So tell me, Aaron Lorne, what is next? What do you want?”
Aaron nodded. “I will be taking something from you. I’ll be taking some of your people away. Conners and several hundred of your citizens. I know Conners is important to you.”
Jacob furrowed his brow. “He is. You speak of the Delhonne Corvale? Where do you intend to take them?”
“We go to the Frome Mountains. We will establish a new nation there. The Corvale will be reborn as a tribe of dragon riders.”
King Jacob asked, “Will you lead them well? I have seen good from you, Aaron Lorne. You saw what the rest of us missed, lost in our own inner turmoil. I have seen you command, but I have yet to see you truly lead.”
“A fair question. Luckily, that burden will fall on someone else. Conners will lead the Corvale, as he has done well these past few years. Your servant has held more than one job, more than one allegiance.”
Jacob looked thoughtfully at the back of his dutiful servant as Aaron continued, “But I’ve got more to offer you. I have a gift for you. I’m going to help you rediscover your purpose. It’s something I lived without for a long time. Because you have a new job staring you in the face. There was a lesson for Delhonne in today. Your Senate completely failed to protect the city and its citizens. When you begin a comprehensive inquest, as I’m sure you will, I think you’ll discover through ignorance, greed, and in some cases through malicious intent, that an army of invaders was allowed to march up to the city gates, providing less than a few hours’ warning to the largest city in the east. You need to awaken, just as I needed to, because this City and this State need you.”
They continued walking, the King looking speculative.
A few more Chalk came screaming from the back. The Dura Mati promptly dealt with them. The eastern opening of the tunnel was visible ahead, moonlight streaming in. Aaron watched Conners’ silhouette as it closed the distance swiftly.
“Also,” Aaron continued, “I’ll be making a substantial donation to your cause which will revitalize your treasury in the near term. That should set you up with what you need for the next few weeks. Past that I’m sure you’ll be able to restructure the finances of the Senate. They’ll certainly need to be restricted during the investigation.
“Of course, this donation will start us out on a good footing when we begin negotiations. We’ll have many deals to make in the near future. You’re about to get a new neighbor once the Corvale settle in the Frome Mountains. I can’t imagine the land will be much disputed, but we’ll need provisions from your populace. And as we hold a monopoly on the services of dragons, I think some deals can be struck.”
King Jacob said, “I fear I have lost the people’s faith in me. I have been asleep a long time. It will take me time to be able to speak for Delhonne and Tannes again.”
“I’m not worried about it,” Aaron said. “It will all be restored by the parade.”
They reached the hole. Where the other end of the tunnel had been entirely vertical, this opening was horizontal. They walked under a stone wall, ducking, and found themselves in the shell of a modest home. Derrick Issale and several Corvale warriors stood with bows out and swords drawn. Relief filled their faces as Conners led the party out.
Derrick approached Conners. “The Chalk are still by the east gate. They have little siege strategy, so they aren’t fairing particularly well. I take it the other force never surfaced inside Delhonne?”
“They did not,” Conners said. He looked to Aaron. “How do we finish this?”
“It’s nearly finished. We need to collapse this end of the tunnel. I’ve got Cal headed this way with dragons, so long as he can find it. Then we do what we can to deal with the Chalk, save as many people as we can. Protect the King.” Aaron hesitated. “To be honest, I’m surprised we made it this far.”
Something was nagging Aaron, something he was forgetting. He felt good. The plan had worked well. So long as Cal and Jon were alive and Miriam had survived Grace, the people he cared about looked to last the bloody night. Conners and the King had been rescued. He had the memory of wiping trails of black blood down Carr’s face to savor. He even had his sword back. Yet he couldn’t shake the nagging suspicion he was missing something.
A cry was raised outside, pulling Aaron from his musing. One of Derrick’s men ran in. “Dragons from the north!”
Aaron went outside. The night air was refreshing after being so long in the dank tunnel. The sky over Delhonne was orange from the light of the many raging fires. The streets around the building that held the tunnel were still, but the noises of battle could be heard from the city walls to the west.
Aaron followed the pointing finger of the guard and studied a group of dark shapes on the northern horizon. After a moment or two he said, “That’s Cal.” Aaron removed his blue light from a pocket and held it over his head. He waved a hand in front of it, creating a pattern of three flashes in Cal’s direction.
The dragons approached and, after a flurry of circling, landed in the streets. Cal dismounted carefully, nursing an injured right arm. His face was covered in dried blood.
As Cal walked over to Aaron, Aaron asked, “How did we manage to gain one dragon?”
“You lost two, sorry. I gained three. How’d it go with Carr?”
“Conners made the kill.”
“I’m disappointed. You missed out on a hell of a mark.”
“It’s better that way anyhow. Let the world forget Gelden Carr’s name.”
“I like it. I never got the privilege of meeting him, but something tells me he would hate that.”
At a particularly loud scream from the west, Cal and Aaron turned. The respite from the battle was temporary. As both men unconsciously touched weapons and packs to verify their readiness for a return to the fray, Cal said, “I see you got your sword back. You didn’t happen to see mine while you were down there, did you?”
“Sorry, couldn’t get it. You look terrible, by the way.”
Cal looked the uninjured Aaron up and down. “Well, next time I get to do the distraction bit while you do all the work.”
“I can live with that. Nice job.”
Cal looked over Aaron’s shoulder. Derrick was pointing out their location to Conners on a map of Delhonne as the former butler issued orders. King Jacob watched, seeming bemused by this new side of his trusted servant. The Dura Mati guarded the tunnel, which appeared quiet. “You too.”
“Thanks. I need to seal this end of the tunnel now that we got Conners and the King out. We could have Chalk pouring out of there any second.” Aaron took a step towards the dragons. “Three new ones
, eh? Those are Coff’s?”
“They were Coff’s.”
“Well, if you want to find a doctor, I can take care of this with the rest.”
“Might be a good idea.” Cal slowly rotated his injured shoulder, wincing as he did. “I know where Doctor Graham lives. Not sure how he’ll feel about me landing three dragons on his street.”
As they turned to mount their dragons, Aaron hesitated a moment. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the locust. “You know I never lost this. However far I strayed, this was always in my pocket.”
“I know,” Cal replied. After a pause, he said, “Keep it close. Don’t know what’s around the next corner.”
Aaron nodded and both men climbed onto the dragons. Cal took off and headed towards the city walls. Aaron told the guards outside to clear the house which covered the tunnel exit. Once everyone had left, he led his dragons to collapse the structure, blocking the tunnel with debris, sealing the tomb of Gelden Carr.
Chapter 46. The Alleys of the Outer Rim
The remainder of the Chalk army, left alone at the city walls, fared poorly. They were never intended to be more than a distraction. They had no ladders, no siege equipment. They burned the nearby houses of the Outer Rim. They chased and killed the few people unfortunate enough to be trapped near them or those who mistakenly came to the east gate looking for safe passage into the city. But as the Chalk waited longer and longer for support which never arrived, they found themselves milling about with no enemy to attack and no more houses to burn.
The soldiers on the wall, on the other hand, got plenty busy. It turned into a fantastic crossbow target practice session. The well-lit Chalk targets absorbed wave after wave of bolts, until they finally retreated to the spaces between the houses near the city walls. Once they’d done so, the soldiers were free to attack at will, retreating with ease back behind the walls whenever the Chalk showed signs of organizing. With the larger branch of the Chalk army never surfacing to clear the gates, the Chalk were soon splintered into a hundred pieces. The battle had moved into the alleys of the Outer Rim.
Outside the city walls, the hardscrabble neighborhoods had no shortage of men ready and willing to defend their meager possessions, their malnourished children, their wives who had no pretty dresses, fancy silverware, or pots to cook in. These men were not happy they had ended up in these neighborhoods, ended up in this life. But when some pale, alien army came calling with flames and knives, these men were very happy to feed their anger a target, a flesh and blood and painted-white Chalk target. From houses and sheds, from doorways and alleys, wolves materialized, bit their targets deeply, then sank back in the shadows to wait for the next meal to feed their rage and frustration.
Among these wolves, none were more deadly than Aaron Lorne. He was newly freed of his burden of revenge and now killing for the sheer fun of it. He spent the Night of the Chalk with Derrick and his men, collecting kills with his new brothers. He freed the dragons to fight on their own, for once not particularly caring where they went. His black sword found white neck again and again. Aaron’s hands were still stained with Carr’s blood, but he was not nearly finished with Delhonne’s invaders.
Rumors trickled in of Cal and his dragons mopping up the Chalk in the Lower Sweeps who had escaped the tunnel. Sleepy Jon fought by his side. A dark-faced Doctor Graham followed them closely, muttering angrily to himself as he aided wounded men.
The men of the Outer Rim began marking the doors of those houses which had been cleared. As the Chalk dwindled, men no longer fought and ambushed alone. They roamed in packs, tearing apart the remaining Chalk who had taken to hiding. More and more hiding places were exposed. More men joined the hunt as the numbers grew in their favor.
As the dawn threatened, it was becoming clear no more enemy remained in the Outer Rim. They had either fled Delhonne or were feeding one of the many bonfires of corpses that had sprung up.
The sky paled as the sun approached. Aaron watched the tendrils of purple light paint the eastern sky. He stood in a dark, dirty alley, surrounded by the dead bodies of his enemies. As always, the rising of the sun seemed to drain him of his energy. With it came a sick feeling. The feeling that he had made a mistake, a serious one, returned. What had he missed?
It was only later, sharing a drink with Derrick Issale and other new friends, that Aaron remembered something Carr had said. He had said there was an Awakened Chalk leading this army. He even named him as Ulsor Vinn. Aaron should have been doing everything in his power to track Vinn down. The Awakened Chalk would return to the Ashlands with far too much information. Aaron scoured Delhonne until well after the sun was high in the sky, but there was no use. It had escaped.
The Festival of Clouds (an Epilogue)
Chapter 47. Twilight Journeys
Twilight was quickly approaching as Aaron landed Marsail in front of The Old Bellows. This would be the sixth night since he and the dragons had arrived in Delhonne. He would not be here a seventh. The Festival of Clouds was finally underway.
Tonight was all about large bonfires in all the city plazas and dancing. Every musician in the city was playing his heart out. Men and women of all ages would dance around the fire, supposedly to loosen the clouds and summon the rainy season.
Tomorrow a massive parade would be held through the city. Aaron intended to stick around just long enough to supervise his dragons marching in it. Marsail would carry King Jacob on his back. The team of Conners, King Jacob, Stone, and Drake had quickly put together a plan to appropriately channel the credit for the city defense to the right people. Conners stood to benefit little and was already receiving recognition from Miriam’s commandeering of Grace’s publicity network. Aaron was uninterested in growing his name. They couldn’t be certain Cal would even show up at the parade. He hadn’t been seen since the night before. They decided to heap all the credit upon King Jacob, set up a more favorable power structure for everyone given the temporary weakness of the Senate.
They would need to move quickly. Already the people acted like the Night of the Chalk had never happened. The tunnel and the Chalk army entombed there was well known. Individual Chalk had been sighted in the city walls. The Home Guard had inspected basements, sewers, anywhere some of the creatures could have escaped to. The story of Cal bringing three dragons to their knees by force of will in the Plaza DeMarre was making its rounds. But for all the danger and the nearly dreadful fate the city had narrowly avoided, the threat seemed distant to those uninvolved with the city’s defense. There was a festival to enjoy, money to be made, women to dance with.
The street outside The Old Bellows was already crowded, but not due to festival-goers. Cal’s three dragons were sprawled out on the ground outside the bar, blocking much of the street. No one had the courage to ask them to relocate. Many carts on urgent festival business had somehow found the time to choose alternate paths.
Marsail proudly stared at Tyrne, flapped his wings aggressively, then curled up into his nap position and ignored the rival dragons. Aaron was bemused. He’d hate to see those two square off. He pulled a set of heavy saddlebags off Marsail. They were stuffed with gold, drawn from the large chest he had brought south with him. Aaron slowly approached Tyrne and laid the gold at his feet. Tyrne sniffed the bag once and looked curiously at Aaron. Aaron gave him a shallow bow, then headed inside the bar.
It was far less crowded than the last time he’d been there. Cal sat at that same table in the back, a pretty redhead laughing in his lap. Aaron walked over to the table.
“I was wondering when you’d get here,” Cal said to him. He gestured to an extra glass at the only other chair at the table. After whispering a few words to the giggling redhead, she stood up, straightened her dress and swayed off.
“How are you feeling?” Aaron asked.
“Much better. Doctor Graham’s wife wasn’t too happy about the housecall. I don’t think she’d had anyone bleed on her kitchen table before.”
Cal rolled a cigarette on th
e tabletop as Aaron poured himself a drink from the bottle on the table. “When do you leave?” Cal asked.
“Tomorrow. Conners put out the word last night. While everyone else is celebrating tonight, the Corvale will be packing up. He thought it best to move quickly. Most of their employers will be too hungover to notice their staff is leaving. They’ll be slow in pursuit. Which means we won’t have to kill too many of them.”
“How many Corvale does he think will come?”
“He’s optimistic. His recommendation, Derrick’s, Miriam’s, they all carry weight. I gather they got the woman who leads their Domestic Circle sold on the idea. They think almost two-thirds of the Corvale will go with us. It might be something like five hundred all told.”
“Big group. Lots of preparations.”
“Yeah. Everyone is busy. Derrick and his crew are making themselves available in case there’s any trouble with folks unwilling to part with their employees and such. Conners and the Domestic Circle lady are buying up half of Delhonne’s supplies as we speak. I’d complain about the cost, but Miriam found the fortune in gold Grace was fleeing the city with. It’s going a long ways towards outfitting a new society.”
“I was wondering what happened to him. Everyone is talking about where exactly that tunnel surfaced. That Grace family name is getting dragged through the mud.”
“Miriam took care of him. Apparently hijacked his publicity campaign and got everyone in the city talking about how Conners saved us all. She’s excited to leave. I have a feeling she’ll be busy over the next twenty-four hours. Might be some debts settled. That woman is not shy.” Aaron looked down, smiling.
Cal noted the smile. “She’s amazing. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks,” Aaron replied. “You know, she’s really starting to make her opinions known. The latest this morning was giving me a lot of grief over the Dura Mati story you told her. Apparently you told her about how I ignored your council and all, but you left out how much money you won betting on that match with the Makrah Mati.”
Night of the Chalk (Spies of Dragon and Chalk Book 1) Page 30
