Nightfall

by Den Patrick

  The sun rose over the city, fighting to be seen through dark grey clouds that haunted the sombre skies.

  ‘At least the fires are out now,’ said Steiner. They were standing at the top of the inn, where an old forgotten balcony offered a partly occluded view of Khlystburg’s many domes and towers. The city was scored with dozens of wounds. Scorched and collapsed buildings marked the places Bittervinge had struck with near impunity. ‘It seems Taiga brought the rain with her. I assume it was Taiga. I can’t imagine Sundra up there somehow.’

  ‘Your Spriggani friends from Vladibogdan, I take it?’

  Steiner nodded. ‘And Kimi. She’s a Yamal princess and fierce blacksmith too. She’ll be leading them, no doubt. I wish I could speak her.’

  ‘You will in time, I’m sure of it.’ Reka stared out over the city. ‘But I don’t think we’ll see the father of dragons today.’ The old soldier and the blacksmith’s son shared a look and Steiner managed to say the words he’d been dreading all night.

  ‘She’s ready to go. Weak but ready. You’ll keep her safe?’

  ‘You know I will. I’ll head south and find a ship to take us to Arkiv.’ From anyone else this might have sounded boastful.

  ‘I only met you a few days ago, and here I am trusting you with the most precious person in my life.’

  ‘Have you told her that?’ Reka glanced away to the horizon as he asked his question.

  ‘That she’s precious to me? Yes. Many times and a few more.’

  ‘Good.’ A fleeting look of pain crossed Reka’s face. ‘All too often people live their lives without saying the things that really matter, and then suddenly it’s too late and they’re taken from us.’

  ‘You sound like you speak from experience,’ said Steiner, not wanting to pry but feeling curious all the same. They stood in the early-morning chill a while longer; a few drops of rain fell, though it was a half-hearted affair.

  ‘Experience is the greatest teacher,’ replied Reka, still not meeting Steiner’s eyes. He cleared his throat and adjusted his sword belt.

  ‘Isn’t Arkiv still blockaded?’ asked Steiner, steering the conversation to more practical things.

  ‘Word has reached us that the blockade was destroyed by the Stormtide Prophet.’ Reka grinned. ‘The island has just declared its independence from the Empire! All your good sister’s handiwork.’

  Steiner opened his mouth to speak but he found himself chuckling, softly at first, and then louder. ‘Kjellrunn!’ he managed to say between bouts of laughter. He carried on for a minute or so until he composed himself. ‘That’s the first bit of good news I’ve had in’ – he gestured vaguely – ‘much too long.’

  ‘I hope you’ve said your goodbyes to Kristofine,’ said Reka, ‘because I don’t intend on lingering too long.’

  ‘Of course. You should go while the skies are clear.’ Steiner all but winced as he said the words.

  ‘It’s the right thing to do,’ said the old soldier, seeing Steiner’s hesitation. ‘I’ll get her somewhere quiet to heal up.’

  Felgenhauer’s cadre took as much gear as they needed, but not everything they owned. What was the point? The looks on their faces confirmed what Steiner had not dared admit to himself: none of them expected to make it back alive. This was Volkan Karlov’s palace. Hadn’t they already lost three of their number trying to gain access to the tyrant and his Ashen Blade?

  ‘How is Steiner the Unbroken this morning?’ asked Tomasz, buckling his sword belt in place.

  ‘I’ve been better,’ he replied. Reka and Kristofine had left an hour earlier, and all of Steiner’s thoughts were consumed with wondering for their safety.

  ‘Well, whatever it is that’s gnawing at you, use it. Use your anger, use your fear, use your anxiety.’ Tomasz frowned. ‘No mistakes today. We can ill afford them. And if you swing that hammer be sure not to miss.’

  ‘I can promise that much,’ said Steiner, hefting his great-grandfather’s weapon with a small smile.

  ‘We move now,’ said Felgenhauer. ‘Before I lose all patience.’ She passed through the inn door without a backwards glance. Steiner joined her in the street a moment later. They walked fast, heads down and hoods up, a dozen people heavily armed and not making much effort to conceal it. The few people in the streets ahead of them decided they had other places to be and hurried away.

  ‘I don’t care for this more direct approach,’ said Steiner. ‘What if we’re seen?’

  ‘You mean by our friend there.’ Felgenhauer nodded to the side of the street. Boyar Sokolov’s man, Ruslan, was doing his best to remain unseen in the doorway of a derelict house. Steiner met the man’s eyes and there was an awkward moment where Ruslan knew he had been seen.

  ‘Why’s he watching us?’

  ‘Sokolov wants to know we’re going to make the best of the information he’s given us.’ Felgenhauer walked faster. ‘He wants Volkan Karlov dead as much as we do.’

  ‘And we’re sure the Emperor really killed his son?’ Steiner cast a look over his shoulder, but Ruslan was gone, returning to his Boyar no doubt. ‘This could be a trap.’

  ‘The Emperor gutted Dimitri Sokolov with the Ashen Blade,’ said Felgenhauer. ‘I asked around among the locals. The story is always the same. Volkan reduced Dimitri to a husk before the very eyes of the Imperial Court.’

  They turned down a backstreet and hurried on. Steiner cast furtive looks over his shoulder every so often, but no one appeared to be following them. The normal rhythms and routines of the city had slowed as Bittervinge’s predations imposed chaos on Khlystburg. The bakers still went about their business; the odd building here and there had the telltale wisp of chimney smoke and the windows were lit by the orange glow of ovens. A few brave souls passed them by, taking goods to market squares that would see a brisk trade in rumours and gossip before they were forced to flee for their lives.

  ‘I’d have imagined we’d be up to our arses in Okhrana and soldiers by now,’ Steiner muttered.

  ‘They’ve all pulled back to the Imperial Palace,’ said Tomasz. ‘And we’ve had word that many Okhrana have been dispatched to the provinces to keep the regional governors in line.’ He grimaced. ‘Hard to think about rebellion if you know assassins are prowling close.’

  ‘Arkiv’s declaration of independence has been’ – Felgenhauer smiled coldly – ‘inspirational. All the Emperor’s resources are stretched thin. There’s never been a better time to remove him.’

  ‘This is it,’ said one of the men as they turned into a dead-end street. A warehouse awaited them at the end: the facade the Emperor had used to cover the entrance to the catacombs. The windows were chained and green paint peeled from wooden shutters. Broken barrels and crates littered the ground outside, detritus of a long-disused, secret part of the city, as unremarkable as it was ramshackle.

  ‘Let’s hope the Boyar was telling the truth about these catacombs,’ said Tomasz.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Kimi

  Streig still talks of the day he prayed for the first time. By this point faith had been replaced by cynicism, trust in the goddesses had soured to despair, and a generation of children had grown into adults never learning the names of Frøya and Frejna. The uprising changed Vinterkveld deeply, and the two Spriggani sisters who should have died on Vladibogdan ushered in a new age of faith and optimism.

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

  ‘It feels like a long time since I walked anywhere,’ said Kimi.

  ‘Not since Izhoria,’ agreed Taiga. They were on the southern outskirts of the city. The people cowered in their homes as the strange procession passed them by. Flodvind walked ahead of the two women, a powerful vanguard for the high priestess and princess. The azure dragon’s presence ensured that every street leading south was mercifully empty.

  ‘Strange,’ said Taiga. ‘You all thought I was going to die that day we fought the gholes, and now …’ The petite Spriggani woman cast a glance o
ver her shoulder. Stonvind limped, his painful gait matching pace with the humans ahead of him. Tief had been tied to the dragon’s back, one side of his face darkened with the purple and black of deep bruising. Namarii brought up the rear. His tail was not between his legs but Kimi was in no doubt that his usual swagger was much diminished. The three deep cuts above his right eye had stopped bleeding but she couldn’t bring herself to feel much sympathy for him.

  ‘And now this,’ said Kimi. The sting of defeat, wasn’t that what they called this feeling? It didn’t sting so much as crush the breath from her lungs; it weighed on her like a pack full of rocks. They had walked all through the night, shepherding their wounded to safety. Hard to know which was more leaden, her hopes or her legs.

  ‘Thank the goddess, he’s still alive,’ added Taiga. Tears gleamed at the corners of her eyes. She sniffed hard and shook off her sadness. Tief was still breathing, that much was true, but the nature of his injuries had eluded his sister. The head wound was obvious, but what else? Would the irascible old rogue recover?

  ‘He’ll be up and about again before you know it.’ Kimi tried to smile. ‘He just needs a cup of that tea you make and a half an hour with that awful pipe he smokes.’

  ‘The fool,’ Taiga said cheerfully. ‘He’s much too old to be caught up in a revolution.’

  ‘I’m sorry, I should never have asked you to come,’ said Kimi.

  ‘You didn’t ask,’ said Taiga softly. ‘We volunteered. Remember? We have our own score to settle with the Emperor. Decades of imprisonment. The culling of our people.’

  It was too easy to forget that her friends had two score years on her. Perhaps her companions were too old for what she asked of them? Perhaps she was too young, and perhaps neither and both were true.

  They would follow you unto the ends of Vinterkveld. And beyond. Flodvind’s words chimed gently in Kimi’s head, and for once she was grateful for the interruption. Taiga didn’t look up from her musing; the words had been for Kimi and Kimi alone, it seemed.

  ‘I’m just glad …’ Taiga swallowed and tried to speak again but the words were too hard to utter. Stonvind had recounted how Bittervinge had knocked Tief clear from his mount with a glancing blow from his tail. Such a fall would have most certainly killed Tief, but Stonvind had caught the man, even as the dragon fell and hit the street below.

  ‘Stonvind is incredibly brave,’ said Kimi, wishing she could do something to heal the limping dragon. Her gaze shifted and came to rest on Namarii, slinking along at the back of the procession, cloaked in shame and chagrin, she hoped. ‘None of this would have happened if Namarii had shown some courage,’ muttered Kimi, her voice laden with bitterness. Flodvind turned her huge, wedge-shaped head and cast a look over her shoulder at the Yamal princess.

  Now is not the time to turn on one another.

  Kimi looked away, feeling her cheeks burning. She’d not been chastened for a long time, and never by a dragon. ‘Let’s just get everyone back to the camp, shall we?’ replied Kimi when she’d composed herself.

  They were not alone in their trek south to the cove and its shingle beach. The buildings and streets dwindled to nothing. Columns of people were departing the city with the dawn of a new day.

  ‘Are they following us?’ asked Taiga, holding up one hand to shade her eyes from the sun.

  ‘Hard to tell.’ Kimi squinted into the distance. ‘They clearly want to avoid the dragons, but there’s no doubt they’re headed to the cove.’

  ‘Or the ship, more likely,’ added Taiga.

  A few of the refugees turned and looked back at the city. Fingers pointed to the black-winged speck on the horizon. Bittervinge was taking his vengeance on the capital once more.

  ‘Will he ever stop?’ muttered Kimi.

  ‘I thought he’d need a few days to recover after yesterday,’ said Taiga. Flodvind paused a moment to stare at the father of dragons far behind them.

  Bittervinge would rather appear relentless and suffer the pain of his wounds than give the people of Khlystburg a single day’s reprieve.

  ‘We should have stopped him,’ said Kimi, more to herself than Taiga. ‘It was down to us and we failed.’

  We are taking a moment to rally. Is that the expression you humans use? Flodvind shook her head and blinked slowly.

  ‘Rally?’ Kimi sneered. ‘It doesn’t feel much like rallying.’

  A leader would tell her followers they were rallying, not retreating. Flodvind snorted a plume of soot and launched herself into the air, signalling the conversation was over.

  ‘Is she always like this?’ asked Kimi.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Taiga, looking at the princess from the corner of her eye. ‘We’ve never had to rally before.’

  No one had much to say as they reached the top of the cliffs above the cove. The camp had tripled in size overnight. All manner of makeshift tents, broken-down carts, mangy pack animals, and dozens of bewildered people crowded together with desperation written on their gaunt faces. The Eastern Star remained at anchor, much to Kimi’s surprise.

  ‘I can’t fit you all on,’ shouted Captain Hewn. He was standing on a large crate and a circle of armed men provided a living fence to keep the many potential passengers at a safe distance. The mob of people quickly broke apart and retreated when it became evident the dragons had returned to camp. A few people screamed and fled, while others stood their ground and stared balefully at Kimi.

  ‘What’s got into them?’ asked Taiga, unsheathing her dagger with a meaningful look.

  ‘The old enmity,’ said Kimi. ‘White faces in the north, brown faces in the south, and I’m far from home which makes me fair game.’ She pulled her sword from where it was slung across her back and unsheathed it slowly and deliberately.

  You do not need the weapon. Flodvind, for all her great size, landed beside Kimi. The ground shook slightly. Nothing will befall you while I draw breath. Not from these people or anyone else.

  Streig emerged from the cluster of people near Captain Hewn. He approached with a look of wariness on his face, his eyes transfixed by the wounded form of Stonvind. He still wore the two-handed sword across his back but had acquired a cutlass at his hip.

  ‘Working for Captain Hewn now?’ said Kimi.

  ‘As a guard,’ replied Streig. ‘Part payment for the voyage back to Arkiv.’ His gaze drifted to Stonvind, who limped past them. The dragon continued a little way until he lay down, curling his tail about himself and tucking his head beneath one vast wing. There was a long, low growl and then silence.

  ‘What happened?’ asked Streig quietly.

  ‘Do you really need to ask?’ said Kimi.

  ‘We had a few …’ Taiga glanced over her shoulder to Namarii. ‘… unforeseen problems.’

  Flodvind lowered her head until she was eye to eye with Streig, who became very pale in the presence of the dragon. Perhaps we could trouble you for those pack animals? The dragon set her gaze on the small herd of mismatched animals lowing in the distance.

  ‘The what? Of course!’ Streig smiled nervously. ‘I mean the refugees won’t need them any more, and we can’t fit them on the ship.’ He was speaking very quickly. Kimi realized she now took speaking with the dragons for granted. Streig by contrast was most certainly not taking the conversation for granted and Kimi thought he did well not to flee for his life.

  I cannot reimburse you for the creatures. Flodvind flexed her talons and gouged foot-deep scars into the earth. And the loan will be somewhat permanent.

  ‘If you don’t mind me asking,’ said Streig. ‘Why do dragons need pack animals? I mean you’re so strong and …’ His eyes widened as he realized the dragon’s intent. ‘Right. Permanent. I see.’

  The herd animals were led to the cove by Streig after some negotiation with the various refugees who suddenly found their chances of passage greatly improved. The dragons slunk off and everyone present gave thanks that it was merely their faithful beast of burden that was being devoured and not a family mem
ber. The saddles were also claimed for the war effort, though they would need heavy modification to fit the dragons.

  Streig returned to the campfire where Kimi and Taiga were making Tief comfortable. A kettle had been hung above the flames and food had been donated by a contingent of Yamal diplomats who couldn’t believe one of their own was a dragon rider.

  ‘It’s probably for the best we don’t tell them I’m a princess too,’ said Kimi to Taiga. ‘There’s only so much a person can take in one day.’ She looked around and a rising sense of panic gripped her. ‘Where’s Silverdust?’ She stood up and searched again. ‘We lost because we set off in haste. If we’d had Silverdust with us we might have stood a better chance.’ She grabbed Streig by the collar and wrenched him close. ‘Where is he?’

  ‘Easy now, Your Highness.’ Streig held up his hands for calm. ‘You’ve had a bad day and a rough night. Calm down, drink some tea, get some sleep if you can.’

  ‘He’s gone, hasn’t he? He’s headed into Khlystburg alone.’ Kimi almost ran to her pack and checked inside, her hands delving all the way to the bottom. Her fingers touched on the hilt of the Ashen Blade and she felt a pang of revulsion. ‘Gods damn it,’ she whispered and pulled the dagger from its place of concealment. ‘At least he didn’t steal it.’

  ‘Steal what?’ asked Streig.

  ‘Never mind,’ replied Kimi. ‘You knew, didn’t you? You knew he was going to head off on his own?’

  ‘He told you clearly he intended to find and help Steiner – there’s no great mystery to it.’ Streig returned Kimi’s hard stare with one of his own.

  ‘You make a fair point.’ Kimi looked towards the city and shook her head. ‘Hel’s teeth, Silverdust. And on his own?’

  ‘It’s been that way for him for a long time,’ said Taiga. ‘It makes sense he’d wander off like that.’

  ‘What are you going to do about Tief?’ asked Streig, providing a clumsy if much-needed diversion.

  ‘Not much we can do,’ said Kimi. ‘We wait and hope.’