by Terah Edun
I'm glad you got something useful out of this, Ciardis said dryly to cover up her surprise. She checked her magic levels quickly and noted that Thanar was right. Her gifts were flowing more strongly into his mage core than his were in reverse, as were Sebastian's. It was like a self-feeding loop that she hadn't been aware of. Comfortable. Undetectable. And powerful.
She refocused her gaze on Seven as he lost control of his expression and clapped as gleefully as a child prepared to receive a toy.
The council members at the top of the steps watched the proceedings warily, but they did not interfere. Looking their expressions over carefully, Ciardis got the feeling that they didn't care one way or the other if Seven was caught in his trap of his own making.
None of them seem to like him, that's for certain, Sebastian thought at her.
Ciardis filed that away to parse later, as Seven said with barely contained excitement, “So tell me, prince heir, what is it that you offer me that contains this freedom?”
Sebastian smiled and raised the palm of his opposite hand. He laid his knife so that the pointed tip rested just above the flesh and said, “My blood to give you passage through these lands. No forest, no river, no road, and no citadel wall will bar you entrance.”
“My feathers in flight,” said Thanar in a voice meant to mesmerize, “will take you to three destinations of your choosing.” He spread the three raven-black feathers in a tantalizing fan and continued, “One. Two. Three.”
Seven gasped and looked back and forth at the gifts. He was fairly trembling in eagerness as his fingers twitched and he restrained himself with great effort.
Slowly Seven turned his head to Ciardis Weathervane, and his gleaming ruby-red eyes fixated on her like a hunter spotting prey.
She froze and stood on her feet unsteadily, leaving the shaman to the dragon for now.
Seven twisted his head like a snake before he licked his lips and said in a faint voice, “And what will the third member give me? The linchpin of the triad of the imperial courts…what say you, Ciardis Weathervane?”
Ciardis looked at him in disbelief and then back and forth swiftly between Thanar and Sebastian's faces.
Thanar's eyes hardened in anger. Sebastian's hand tightened on his knife perceptibly.
But they both shook their heads slightly, telling her not to lash out. Not to ruin this moment and rebuff the creature, as he so richly deserved.
She turned her eyes to Seven to give him her full attention as she reached out desperately with her mind.
“What…” she said in a rush before it came to her.
It came to her with revulsion.
It came to her with despair.
It was the answer, and Ciardis Weathervane was nothing if not as calculatingly ruthless as the two men who made up her flamme gebunden.
She swallowed harshly and gave Seven a weak smile.
Then she moved forward to regain some of the steps that had taken her away from him and the others in her haste to catch Rachael.
She climbed the steps slowly and pasted a wicked smile on her face. The kind they'd taught her in the Companions' Guild's halls. The kind that said all was well, and if we both play this right, we'll get all we dream of and more.
It was the kind of smile that hid all fears and made the recipient less wary.
True to his nature, Seven didn't take his gaze off her as she landed one step below him and looked up at him, and only him, while he gazed down at her—red eyes glittering with curiosity and chest heaving with tense energy.
Ciardis raised both hands, palms up to her side, and called in visible blue lightning to the center. He didn't know that this particular representation of her power was actually an amalgamation of all three magic users' gifts.
He didn't have to, either, because it served its purpose well.
Seven's eyes widened in anticipation as Ciardis said in as seductive a voice as she could manage, “I will give you power.”
Seven looked from her hand to her eyes and back again.
He said, “I have power.”
She shook her head and replied, “Not. Like. This.”
Slowly she drew up her palm and hovered her hand just below his lips. The lightning danced just off his skin like a tantalizing whisper, and she was sure he felt the energy jump through his aura and onto his physical skin like the lightest touch of fire, enough to burn or enough to blush, before diving back into her hands with a rush.
“Control,” she said. “Finesse. You have what the collar of Diamis gives you. The ability to wield what gifts the city deems necessary.”
Seven frowned in irritation. “How do you know that?”
Ciardis let the lightning trail up his right ear and smiled. “I've been watching you. I see how you use your gifts. And I know that it is not yours.”
Seven's look deepened into anger. At her or at himself, she wasn't sure. For a moment she felt doubt, that she had undone all that Sebastian and Thanar had done to reel him in. A fish ready to be landed. Had she upended the net?
No, Thanar said. Keep going. You have him.
Sebastian said, Push forward. He's yours.
Confidence renewed, Ciardis said, “Yes, that's it. Feel that anger. Let it feed your desires. With the prince heir's access, the daemoni prince's gift for flight, and my power, you can move beyond these walls.”
“Your gift,” Seven said in an uncertain voice, “will come with a price.”
“They always do,” she cooed in a voice even she didn't recognize. It was part Thanar, part Sebastian, and yet wholly Ciardis Weathervane.
Seven shook his head as if to dislodge cobwebs from his brain. In truth, he was probably trying to rid himself of Thanar's magic wielding, but he didn't know what it was.
Ciardis watched a dark, satisfied smile come over Thanar's face, and she knew they had Seven right where they wanted him.
Now it was time to reel him in.
Ciardis moved up one more step, until she stood flush with Seven, and he, in his confusion, stepped back—until he stood right in the center of the triad.
Their magic rolled around him like a thick, mesmerizing aura.
Their gazes, focusing on just him, pinned the unprepared councilor in their midst.
Their offers, quietly tempting, snared him without them even speaking.
But he was strong enough to resist, just a bit.
In a voice that strained as if he was fighting every instinct in his body, Seven said, “But only if I leave these walls can I use this gift. If I stay, I am king of this kingdom.”
The councilors behind him stirred but settled after Sebastian held up a hand behind his back.
“King of a fortress citadel,” Sebastian taunted.
“Ruler of mindless drones,” Thanar added.
“No one to talk to,” Ciardis cooed. “No one to enforce.”
Seven's eyes widened, and then he caved as his whole body shook.
“It's mine,” he cried. “Give it to me. Give it all and you can have what you seek.”
Ciardis paused and turned her head slightly to the left, hoping Rachael was still there and following their words.
Thankfully, the shaman spoke up with no prompting. “Take off the necklace. Hand it over freely of your own will.”
Seven barely hesitated as he scrambled to unwrap it from his pasty neck while the triad waited aligned around him.
He tossed it to Rachael without looking and turned to Thanar with hands held wide.
With a wicked laugh, the daemoni prince handed over the feathers with his blessing.
Like a child awaiting more presents, Seven quickly shuffled around to look at Sebastian with eager eyes.
Behind them, all the council members began conversing like clucking hens, but Ciardis paid them no mind. She didn't know if they were clucking in approval or disdain, but in either case, nothing they said could stop the magical exchange now.
A mage's word was his bond when said while magic enforced their desired wil
ls. And they all wanted this exchange over and done with.
Without a flinch, Sebastian pulled the sharp knife over the palm of his hand with a skillful flick.
Bright red blood welled on his skin, and he reached out to grip the hand of Seven's that was currently unoccupied by the raven feathers.
With a smear of blood, he transferred his gift and his will.
Shoulders shaking in anticipation, or giddiness, Seven turned to the final person for his gift.
Ciardis smiled and took his hands in both of her own.
She raised them up so they hovered just below his chin and above her lips.
Taking his palms, she pushed them together and then lightly kissed the top of the joined hands.
As she did, she felt her power surge and leap into him.
Ciardis almost jumped back in surprise at the transfer. She held herself in check just barely. She had thought she was merely boosting his present gifts with enough of a surge that he’d feel powerful for a few hours, even a day.
But this wasn’t just a boost. She could tell instinctively. It was a transference.
Something she’d never done before. Not even with Sebastian.
Thinking of him made her realize that perhaps this was part of the triad’s collective gifts.
If it was, she would have to be more careful.
Seven apparently was quite happy with the transference, though. Because as soon as she let go, his eyes glowed with an inner power that they didn't have before.
A power that was all his.
He sighed in satisfaction and looked at them all once more.
“My,” he said in a drunk voice. “If I'd know that visitors would bring such nice gifts, I would have sent out invitations long before.”
He turned to Sebastian and said, “May the collar bring you whatever it is you seek.”
Then Seven broke out of their triangle and stumbled up the city council stairs whistling a tune.
The council members stepped aside with something akin to surprise on their faces, and when Ciardis caught the eyes of Sebastian and Thanar, she had to resist the urge to giggle.
She hadn't had to tell Seven that her gift was limited. But he would find that out soon enough.
Turning back down to Rachael, careful not to fall down the stairs in her lightheadedness, Ciardis Weathervane called down, “Good enough?”
The shaman smiled and shook the collar before slipping it into a pocket of her dress. “Well done.”
Ciardis smiled, looked up at the sun, and grinned. Something had gone right today, at least.
Then she heard a scream rend the air.
They all heard it.
It wasn't the scream of a child. Or the scream of a human at all.
It was the fierce call of a creature that sounded suspiciously like a dragon.
And it was coming straight for them.
33
Ciardis had the briefest moment to feel a sense of déjà vu before she heard Sebastian call out, “Get off the steps.”
Everyone dove for the safety of the covered awnings in the open area below, or the doors of the city council above, depending on where they had stood.
Ciardis hesitated, tempted to run up the stairs after Thanar and Sebastian, but knowing that Raisa would have her hands full with a drowsy Rachael if the wyvern came for the two of them.
So she made a split-second decision and dove down the steps in a roll that she knew she would regret in the morning.
She didn't have much time to recover before the dragon shoved the shaman against a column hard enough for her to bang her head, and then rounded on Ciardis.
Forcing a knife into her hands that gleamed with a shiny black rock honed into a blade instead of metal, Raisa snarled, “Stay.”
Raisa leapt into the center of the arena just as the wyvern rose into the view.
Ciardis watched as the vision that until now had just been on paper came to life.
The wyvern was just as she had imagined it, and nothing like the one they'd seen in the north that had killed General Barnaren.
That one had been as slippery as a snake, with a body that undulated and moved with the wind and water like it was one. It had been thin and whip-sharp as well.
This one…this one was like water was to stone. It was solid, all muscle. A true weapon of war.
Its bulky muscle was concealed under thick scales and a wedge-shaped head spread into an impressively long snout.
Its wings looked almost too small for the massive bulk of its body, but it was indeed flying, so Ciardis doubted very much that it cared it was defying the laws of nature.
She watched it flap its wings as it took in the sight of fresh meat before it.
Was it earlier? she had time to wonder. Or did it just sense that it could eat something that hadn't been rotting for a while and decided to chance it?
Whatever the case, it was here. It spied the delicacies that awaited it and dove straight for all the people perfectly aligned at the steps.
But then a strange human woman was before it with clawed hands upraised and it had a split second to retreat or forge on.
Of course, it forged on.
Ciardis had time to yell, “What in the seven sins is this?” as she waved the knife about before the wyvern and dragon engaged in battle.
It was an impressive fight, seeing as Raisa either wouldn't or couldn't transform into her true dragon form.
Ciardis had no idea what was holding her back, though.
From behind her, Rachael let out a rattling cough and said, “It’s obsidian.”
“What?” Ciardis murmured. She didn't take her eyes off the battle as the dragon climbed up the wyvern's neck and across its back, slashing all the way.
The creature yelled in pain, but this didn't stop it.
It didn't even slow it down.
“Obsidian,” Rachael said again while grabbing on to Ciardis's shoulder for leverage. “Can pierce a dragon's hide. Even kill it if targeted right.”
“But we don't want to kill it,” Ciardis said as she watched the wyvern twist in on itself in order to grab Raisa and presumably snap her between its jaws.
But the dragon was fast.
Faster than a normal human and twice as shifty. She moved in and out of its reach with a dancer's grace, and it grew angrier and angrier at its missed prey.
“Precisely,” murmured Rachael. “Why do you think she toys with it so?”
Ciardis eased down until she was half hidden by a fallen column and truly focused her gaze on Raisa's twisting form.
She wasn't grievously harming it; it was true.
“She's baiting it,” Ciardis breathed.
“Atta girl,” said Rachael with a laugh. “And if that doesn't work, well, that knife should be able to take it down.”
Ciardis blanched.
The shaman let out a storm of laughter this time. “Or at least let you get out of its way.”
Before Ciardis could retort that neither effort would be necessary, she heard Terris sneak up on them both and quickly settle down next to the Weathervane.
“Terris,” said the shaman weakly.
“Rachael,” said Terris in a far-off voice as she too watched the scuffle up close.
Then she turned to glance back at the shaman and did a quick double-take.
“What in the name of the seven gods happened to you?” Terris asked in horror.
“I had a vision,” said Rachael wryly.
“You look like you've been dragged through the wringer,” commented Terris.
“Thanks.”
“Don't mention it,” Terris muttered as she winced when the wyvern finally managed to throw the human dragon against the wall with a resounding splat.
Raisa got up, and she looked pissed.
“I don't think she's going to hold off on transforming much longer,” said Terris in a worried voice.
“I know,” said Ciardis. “We need to get that collar ready.”
Before she cou
ld turn to Rachael, Terris yelled, “Collar? What collar? Woman, did you forget?”
“Forget what?” Ciardis asked in confusion.
Then a couple things happened at once.
Raisa leapt at the wyvern and managed to grab on to its entire mouth with a fierce grip.
With a mighty roar, she used her hands and body to clamp shut the shocked wyvern's mouth, and Terris leapt up with a whoop.
Ciardis only had time to scream an obscenity at her fleeing friend before she realized what was happening before her eyes.
After all, Terris wasn't fleeing from the action—she was fleeing toward it.
Braids streaming behind her as she ran as fast as her legs could carry, Terris said, “Now it's my time to shine.”
The Weathervane sprang up and prepared to leap over the column that protected her and Rachael from certain death.
There was no way she was letting Terris face that creature alone. Ciardis conveniently forgot about the dragon riding its mouth like a rodeo driver.
But as she scrambled over the column, she felt two strong hands grab her and yank her back with a thump.
She scrambled out of Thanar's grip and rounded on him with fury. “How dare you?”
He yelled right back, “This is what she came to do. Let her do it.”
Ciardis flung out an arm at the two tussling reptilian creatures in front of them and said, “That's a dragon…with stumped wings. It's not a baby griffin. Or a pet. It will kill her.”
As she turned back to dive into the fray, Thanar grabbed her with both arms and wouldn't let go despite punches, kicks, and a few bites that she was sure left some marks.
“Ciardis,” she heard someone else scream into her ear.
It was a minute before she descended from the haze of fury within her.
“Let me go!” she snarled.
“Fine,” snarled Thanar right back. “Before you do, why don't you look at what you're running at?”
They had somehow ended up on the ground, with Thanar on his back and Ciardis pinned on top of him scrambling to get to freedom. When he let go, she rolled over in a smooth move and scrambled for the column, ready to lunge over it again.
