Nightfall

by Den Patrick

  ‘It was hard enough to wound the bastard,’ confided Steiner to Kristofine. ‘Even with Felgenhauer and Silverdust by our side.’ Another plume of fire descended on the ship in the distance. ‘What hope is there now with Silverdust gone?’

  ‘We’ll think on it.’ Kristofine put an arm around him. ‘There has to be an answer. Bittervinge has been brought low by men before.’

  ‘By the Emperor and my great-grandfather,’ replied Steiner. ‘But I’ve a feeling the Emperor won’t give his advice freely, and my great-grandfather is dead.’

  ‘We’ll think on it,’ repeated Kristofine, frowning at the horizon. ‘Nothing’s impossible. Even dragons.’

  The merchant ship was now a fiery wreck, slipping beneath the waters of the Ashen Gulf. Bittervinge took to the skies, his vast wings speeding him north. Steiner felt a chill run through him that had nothing to do with the wind.

  ‘I hope you’re right.’

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kimi

  My interactions with Kimi Enkhtuya during the uprising were limited, but the stories about her and the dragons are many. I am happy to say some are even true, having had time to corroborate them in the years since. No one could have foreseen that those majestic creatures, once the bane of Vinterkveld, would be instrumental in the weeks ahead.

  From the memoir of Drakina Tveit, Lead Librarian of Midtenjord Province

  Kimi watched the ground pass beneath them from her vantage point at the base of the dragon’s neck. She sat just in front of muscular shoulders that heaved and flapped vast wings. Her passage across Izhoria had been dizzying in so many ways.

  Do not look down.

  She was still getting used to Namarii dropping his words directly into her mind. The sharp teeth, long jaw and draconic tongue prevented the dragons using human speech, but their mastery of the arcane grew a little more with each day. Kimi pulled her eyes from the swamp that blurred by under her feet and fixed her gaze on the horizon.

  That is much better. You are making yourself sick, though I do not understand why.

  ‘I’m fascinated by just how fast we are moving,’ she shouted above the wind that roared past with every beat of the dragon’s wings. ‘It’s mesmerizing.’

  And exhausting. I grow tired. With that simple statement, and with neither consultation nor permission, Namarii dipped his head and began to descend from the skies. Kimi was beginning to realize she was less a rider and more a passenger, a thought that brought a feeling of irritation and no small amount of powerlessness with it.

  ‘It’s only midday,’ shouted Kimi as the wind whipped at her cloak and made her eyes water, but Namarii didn’t reply. The dragon begin to circle around the northern edge of the Izhorian Forest. A glance over her shoulder confirmed that Flodvind and Stonvind were following Namarii’s lead. Flodvind caught the sunlight, revealing stunning azure scales in a dozen shades of blue. Taiga was not so much riding as clinging to the dragon for dear life. Kimi suspected the high priestess had made the journey north with her eyes closed, praying fervently for safety. Stonvind by contrast was a dark grey silhouette in the sky and Tief rode the dragon proudly with a grin of exhilaration. Suddenly the ground was very close, lurching up to meet them much too fast. Kimi felt a surge of panic before Namarii flared his wings and landed gently.

  I can sense your worry and discomfort. Is flying really so terrible?

  ‘It’s not terrible.’ Kimi swung her leg over the dragon’s neck and slid down to the ground, glad to have something firm beneath her feet. Her knees almost gave out and she stumbled sideways before regaining her balance. ‘Ugh.’ Her stomach flipped and then became still. ‘Flying is not terrible,’ she reiterated, though even she would admit she was trying to convince herself. ‘It just takes some getting used to.’

  The greatest tragedy of your race is that you are born without wings.

  ‘Yes. It’s an absolute tragedy,’ muttered Kimi before sucking down a deep breath. The feeling of sickness passed and she whispered thanks to Frøya for a safe journey, her fingers going instinctively to the artefact that hung around her neck.

  It was not Frøya’s goodwill that kept you safe while in the air. Namarii tossed his head. It was my skill and attention.

  ‘Of course,’ replied Kimi, though she was beginning to think dragons might be held aloft by the sheer power of arrogance.

  Flodvind and Stonvind landed a few dozen feet away, folding their wings neatly and rolling their shoulder muscles. Tief jumped down, shouting joyfully before his knees gave way and he fell face first into a pool of swamp water. He jumped up and ran over to Kimi, laughing loudly.

  ‘It’s incredible! We’re dragon riders! Can you believe it?’

  ‘Tief, we’ve been doing this for two days now—’

  ‘But can you believe it?’ he continued.

  ‘Not only can I believe it,’ replied Kimi, ‘but I can feel it too.’ She pressed her fingertips into the aching muscles of her backside and winced.

  ‘Just wait until I see Steiner!’ continued Tief. If Kimi hadn’t known better she’d have assumed he was a little drunk. She glanced over her shoulder at the considerable presence of Namarii and let herself feel awe at the dragon’s regal profile. Her eye drifted over scales that seemed to be brown but in truth held the myriad tones of a forest in autumn. And there were the horns, teeth and talons, all shining as if made of polished obsidian.

  Tief has a point. Namarii stretched out his neck and flared his wings. We are magnificent.

  Kimi laughed at the dragon’s remark before heading over to where Taiga still clung to Flodvind’s neck. The priestess was muttering calming words to herself.

  This one has been sick. The azure dragon snorted a plume of smoke that Kimi interpreted as displeasure. A slick of vomit ran down the base of the dragon’s cobalt neck. Taiga looked up from her perch; she was deathly pale.

  ‘Thank the goddess. We’ve finally stopped.’

  Kimi helped the high priestess down and set to cleaning the sick from Flodvind’s scales with swamp water. Tief took his sister to one side and offered her something to drink.

  ‘I’m very sorry about this,’ said Kimi to Flodvind. ‘It’s very strange to us to be in the air. It does strange things to our stomachs.’

  No matter. Flodvind crossed her front paws and set her head upon them, the gesture curiously cat-like. I like her. She has a good soul. She has an odd mind yet is fiercely dedicated. When Flodvind’s words appeared in Kimi’s mind they arrived softly, like the patter of rain, so different to Namarii’s direct and regal tone.

  ‘She nearly died in Izhoria,’ said Kimi. ‘Poisoned by a ghole’s claws. We’re lucky she’s still with us.’

  ‘Luck had nothing to do with it,’ chided Taiga. ‘The goddess brought me back whether you want to admit it or not.’

  Kimi nodded but said nothing. So much had happened in Izhoria. So much so quickly. She touched the jade carving that hung from her neck, remembering the great power she had wielded over the gholes. A power seemingly bestowed by Frøya.

  ‘Your sister is very quiet,’ said Kimi to Flodvind as she continued cleaning the dragon.

  What sister do you speak of?

  ‘Oh, I thought … Is Stonvind male?’

  Stonvind and I are not related. In truth I don’t know whether Stonvind is male or female at present.

  Kimi frowned. ‘What do you mean, “at present”?’

  The dragons of old were solitary by nature. They were not known to take mates as you humans do. Dragons can change their gender as suits their needs. We have no need of one another in order to procreate.

  ‘I didn’t know such a thing was possible.’

  The one that you know as Bittervinge, father of dragons, might just as easily be the mother of dragons.

  ‘So are you are a he’ – Kimi winced – ‘or a she? Presently, I mean.’

  Does it bother you so very much?

  Kimi opened her mouth to state that yes, it mattered a lot, but the more sh
e thought about it less sure she was.

  You can refer to me as a female if it helps. Flodvind yawned and Kimi detected a little boredom, as if such a subject was unworthy of a dragon’s attention.

  ‘And what about Stonvind?’

  It seems this is very important to you.

  ‘Well, yes. I don’t want to annoy any of you.’

  Stonvind will let you know if you do anything they find annoying.

  ‘So … you just said “they”, but I tend to use “they” to describe a group of people.’

  Your language is very limited, but then I suppose humans cannot change gender at will as we dragons do. Perhaps you will unravel the mystery of it in time. You can use ‘he’ for Stonvind if you find it easier. Flodvind turned her head away from Kimi, signalling the conversation was at an end. Stonvind hadn’t communicated anything as far as Kimi knew, but this hadn’t diminished Tief’s love of dragon riding at all.

  ‘Why did we stop?’ said Kimi as she returned to Namarii and fetched her gear from the dragon’s back. ‘We flew all day yesterday.’

  We did. Namarii had a way of staring past Kimi as he communicated with her. His large amber eyes were constantly drawn to the horizon, it seemed, always watchful or distracted. Kimi couldn’t decide if she found it rude or merely disconcerting. This is the edge of Izhoria; it seemed a fitting place to rest. Besides, we are still growing, we need sustenance, and flying is vastly taxing.

  Tief had retrieved his gear from Stonvind along with his sister’s gear from Flodvind. At some unspoken agreement, the three dragons launched into the air and flew over the forest. The downdraught of their wings caused the humans to cower and shield their eyes.

  ‘What the Hel?’ whispered Kimi.

  ‘I’d say it’s lunchtime,’ said Tief. ‘For them and for us.’

  ‘It would be nice to be consulted,’ muttered Kimi. She’d become used to giving orders since they had escaped Vladibogdan and now she felt distinctly subservient.

  ‘I’m not sure dragons have it in them to consult with humans,’ replied Tief impishly. ‘But I’m sure they can learn it,’ he added as Kimi’s expression grew stern.

  They were halfway through eating a stew that Tief had cooked, though in truth it was little more than heated water with a meagre scattering of vegetables and spices.

  ‘We need to get to Khlystburg before we starve to death,’ said Kimi.

  ‘There’s really not much of anything left to eat,’ said Tief.

  ‘You have to wonder what they’ve found to eat,’ said Taiga, looking up from her stew towards the forest where the dragons went to hunt.

  ‘Grave Wolves,’ said Tief. ‘Or gholes. I can’t imagine there’s anything else in Izhoria to eat. Everything else is dead.’

  No one spoke much after that. Kimi forced her food down as best she could, but her appetite had fled as memories of the undead creatures of Izhoria haunted her. The dragons returned after a time, though they prowled from the forest rather than arriving by wing. Namarii closed with Kimi and she had to fight down a pang of fear.

  Am I really so terrifying to your eyes?

  ‘Honestly? Yes. You’re huge. You could eat me in one bite.’

  But I would not. It was you that fed us in the darkness beneath Vladibogdan. You helped keep us alive. You conspired to set us free. You are useful. You may be useful again.

  ‘That’s all true but the terror is instinctive,’ explained Kimi. ‘Our whole lives, and the lives of those who came before us, dragons meant one thing.’

  Death.

  Kimi nodded. ‘And then I was captured by Veles, who killed on a whim and made a game of death.’

  And yet you slew him. You slew one of the oldest dragons in Vinterkveld. And then you took his power for yourself.

  Kimi glanced at her pack. Wrapped in a cloth bound with a belt, sheathed and made safe, was the Ashen Blade. Though it appeared to be nothing more than a dagger, the weapon had the power to steal life and confer it on the owner.

  You have nothing to fear, Kimi Enkhtuya. Namarii stared off into the distance. Not from me. I would not let you ride on my shoulders if you were not also magnificent.

  ‘Thank you.’ Kimi smiled at the compliment, but also Namarii’s ever-present arrogance. ‘As I said, the panic I feel is an instinctive thing, before I remember we’re friends.’

  Namarii snorted a plume of smoke and lay down, fixing her with one amber eye. The iris became a narrow slit of purest black. Kimi stared back, afraid she might somehow be swallowed up by the deep knowing of that golden orb.

  Friends. Is this what Marozvolk was to you?

  ‘Why are you asking me about Marozvolk?’ said Kimi quietly. She looked over her shoulder but Taiga was engrossed in her own conversation with Flodvind, while Tief had settled down for a nap.

  You think of her often. I can sense your sadness for her, your regret, your longing.

  Kimi sat down and leaned back on her elbows, staring into Namarii’s eye with a growing sense of unease. ‘You see everything, don’t you? Not just our actions, but the contents of our hearts.’

  I had not intended to delve so deeply, but you have been seated astride me these last two days. Strong feelings have a way of making themselves known no matter how much we might wish to keep them obscured.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ said Kimi, feeling irritated again. ‘Veles said he couldn’t read my mind the way you do.’

  I am not Veles. The dragon blinked slowly. Our relationship is different to the relationship you had with the ghole-maker. And Veles was chiefly concerned with the dead, not the living. Perhaps you trust me more than you think, or perhaps these feelings are bleeding out of you.

  ‘Bleeding,’ repeated Kimi. ‘Like a wound.’

  They sat together for a while, woman and dragon, former prisoners both, feeling the spring sunshine warm them. The trees were still and the silence was deep and, for once, unthreatening. A rarity in Izhoria.

  There is something else. Another sadness, but a sadness mixed with anger.

  ‘My brother,’ replied Kimi. There seemed little point in avoiding the subject. Namarii would learn of it sooner or later.

  You came from the same clutch of eggs?

  ‘Something like that.’ Kimi smiled. ‘He killed our father and disowned me, cast me out.’ Her mouth twisted in anguish. ‘He said I was an impostor. He would have killed me too had I not had help escaping.’

  You are angry because he tried to kill you. Very well. We will head south after we have killed the Emperor and then we will kill your brother.

  ‘What? No!’ Kimi imagined landing in the midst of the Xhantsulgarat and Namarii biting her brother in half. It didn’t horrify her as much as she thought.

  You will not kill him because he is your brother?

  ‘I don’t know,’ admitted Kimi. ‘I feel betrayed. Can you understand that? Betrayal.’

  We dragons do not trust each other. It is part of being a dragon. Earlier you used a word. Friend. You said we are friends. But is that true? I am merely a tool that helps speed you to your destination, and you in turn are useful to me. I value your insight so that we may hunt the Emperor. Is that what friends are?

  ‘Not exactly. It’s about more than simply being useful.’ Kimi took a moment to absorb what the dragon had said. ‘So Stonvind and Flodvind aren’t your friends, just useful dragons.’

  They also wish to kill the Emperor. We hunt the same enemy. They are useful to me.

  ‘That’s not the same thing as being loyal to each other.’

  Every creature, great or small, is only loyal to themselves when faced with death. You know this deep in your heart, Kimi. Your own brother has tried to show you this truth. The Emperor himself reveals this truth to an entire continent every day.

  Namarii’s words stirred a deep unease within her. She remembered the awful moment she’d been dragged from the Xhantsulgarat as an impostor, remembered the look she’d shared with Tsen, knowing he recognized her but would maintain h
is lie all the same. The shame of that day swirled within her.

  ‘Why are they so far south?’ muttered Tief from behind Kimi. She looked up from her musing to see him standing atop of Stonvind, staring north from under the flat of his hand.

  ‘What can you see?’ shouted Kimi, getting to her feet and reaching for her sword.

  ‘Looks like trouble,’ shouted Tief over his shoulder. Kimi realized he was grinning and didn’t much care for the manic look in his eye.

  ‘How much trouble?’

  ‘About a company’s worth.’ He slid down Stonvind’s back until he was sitting in his customary spot. ‘That’s about a hundred and twenty men.’ Tief grinned wickedly.

  Do they count any Vigilants among their number? Namarii rose to his feet and stretched his wings.

  ‘Hard to tell at this distance,’ said Tief. ‘But Vigilants are less common than you might think.’

  Then we shall hunt the Emperor’s servants, leaving a few to spread word of our superiority. Namarii’s obsidian claws raked the earth in anticipation.

  ‘I can’t fault the way you think,’ said Kimi. ‘But that doesn’t make you any less terrifying.’

  ‘Looks like they’ll be plenty to eat for dragons,’ said Tief cheerfully, but Taiga frowned in response.

  ‘We could just fly over them,’ replied Taiga. ‘The Emperor is our enemy, not those misguided fools.’

  Namarii released a low growl. We found little to sate our hunger in the forest and flying is most taxing.

  ‘It’s decided then!’ said Tief clapping his hands together. ‘Lunch is served!’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Ruslan

  One of the lesser-known tragedies of this period was the fate of the Sokolov family, who had ruled the Vend Province since the formation of the Empire. They had always been fierce guardians of Solmindre’s lands, were utterly loyal, and proud of their place both geographically and in the political hierarchy of the provinces. Vend Province could always be counted on to provide timber, wheat, fish, and taxes. The Sokolov family profited from this hugely. It was an open secret that Dimitri Sokolov was hardly the man his father had wanted to succeed him, but for Dimitri to turn away from the Empire that had suckled him from infancy was unthinkable. Just as unthinkable that the Emperor might kill the young man in the Imperial Court itself, causing a scandal on a scale heretofore unseen even in Khlystburg.