Wicked Women

by Gaie Sebold

  ‘You all know what life is like out there now, what it’s like all across the land. Before, the Bask ruled and kept order, but now all of us, all of the six clans, are nothing better than slaves. The firedrake killed our leader and his best warriors before it burned down half the palace and built its lair in what remained. The other clans, cowards that they are, submitted to it almost straight away. Only the Bask had the strength to resist for as long as we did. We are going to continue that resistance.’

  ‘You want us to attack the firedrake?’ Dolan gasped. Jayla’s lip curled in response to the uncertainty in the man’s voice. She tried not to let her anger show: perhaps it wasn’t cowardice, just confusion. The creature’s power was without question.

  ‘No.’ She replied, forcing the word out. ‘Not yet. We are too few. Many of the Bask in this city are losing sight of what it means to even be Bask, much as they would deny it.’ The expressions of the others shifted and Jayla pressed on with her argument. ‘Some have given up all hope of resisting, and are using despair to excuse their lack of action. Some are too afraid to even try.’ Jayla’s voice rose now, anger blazing in every syllable spat from between clenched teeth. ‘There are even those who argue that life is getting better, that submitting to the will of a talking beast has improved our lives. They talk about the land being at peace, of bandits in retreat, of improving trade. All empty words to hide their treachery and cowardice.’

  She paused, drawing in a deep breath before continuing. ‘But as I said, we cannot kill the firedrake. Not yet. What we can do is strike at the very heart of its rule, by slaying the one person that it relies on; the woman who betrayed our great leader and doomed us all to slavery. Dana, the firedrake’s consort. The last member of the Rushani clan.’

  Jayla watched the expressions of the others change as they took in what she had said and thought through the implications. Some looked excited, others nervous. Rae’s expression was impossible to read in the darkness.

  ‘How?’ Rork asked. ‘It’s been tried before but Dana is well-defended and no slouch with a sword.’

  Jayla nodded. It was true. Though she hadn’t witnessed them herself, there had been at least two attempts made on Dana’s life; once within the walls of the city itself and once while she had been travelling between settlements. It was said that Dana herself had killed many of the attackers with great skill, though she wasn’t certain how much credibility could be attached to such claims. In each case the survivors had been taken to the Drake’s Roost for questioning and had never been heard from again. It was whispered that the firedrake had eaten them alive once it had no further use for them; a rumour that Jayla had no trouble at all believing.

  ‘Their mistake was to strike when she and her guards were at their most alert. We will attack where she thinks that she’s safest: inside the palace itself.’

  The room erupted into a babble of questions, everyone talking at once and making no effort to hide their scepticism. Jayla felt frustration rise inside her and struggled to keep it restrained. ‘Enough!’

  They all looked round as Rae stepped out of the shadows; one hand on the hilt of her sword and a look of fury on her face.

  ‘Look at yourselves. You’re Bask, not Mixlan fishwives! Get yourselves under control.’

  As the others quietened down and returned to their seats Jayla nodded slightly in silent thanks to Rae. Though she had not known her for long she was once again reminded of how much she valued her support. She was everything a Bask clanswoman should be: loyal, fierce and dedicated.

  ‘I know that you have questions. But I assure you I have planned for everything. I’ve studied the security and it is tight, just as you would expect. It would take an army to breach the palace by frontal assault, but we’re not going to do that.’

  ‘How then?’ Leana asked.

  ‘When the palace was built, an escape tunnel was constructed. One exit is in a cave outside of the city. The other end survived the damage caused when the firedrake turned the palace into its lair.’

  Now she had them. Their eyes were all fixed on her now, their expressions showing surprise but also a growing acknowledgement that Jayla knew what she was doing; that this would work. She revelled in the feeling that blossomed within her; this was just as it should be. And from modest beginnings her support would only grow.

  ‘I know this because I have a man on the inside. A true Bask,’ she continued, ‘a warrior who has willingly served the usurper to learn what we need to ensure its eventual downfall. We will make our way through the tunnel and at the appointed time, after nightfall tomorrow, when most of the people within the Drake’s Roost will be asleep, my contact will open the entrance to the tunnel and allow us inside. He knows where the treacherous Rushani woman sleeps and will lead us there.’

  ‘How will we avoid being spotted by the guards?’ That was Cole, the last of the seven conspirators and the oldest by at least a decade. Withdrawn and taciturn at the best of times, the man rarely spoke, but when he did it was always direct and to the point. Jayla respected that.

  ‘Good question, Cole. The warrior is a member of the elite Draconic Guard: charged with the protection of the firedrake itself along with the key people in its so-called government. He will leave uniforms and armour for the seven of us within the tunnel. Wearing that, we will not be challenged. After we slay the traitor, we will escape back through the tunnel and to freedom.’

  Jayla paused and looked at each of them in turn, coldly searching for any signs of doubt or duplicity in their expressions. She allowed one hand to rest on the haft of her mace, and knew without looking that Rae would be ready to act as well. If any of them now decided that they wanted out, they would not be allowed to leave the tavern alive. She wondered how many of them had already worked that out.

  ‘Now you know the truth. Do any of you want to back out?’

  Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.

  Jayla allowed herself a brief, tight smile. ‘Good. Try and get some rest, we leave at dawn.’

  The pre-dawn air was chilly and Jayla suspected it was going to be another miserable autumn day. On the positive side it wasn’t currently raining, though puddles of standing water filled every hollow in the saturated ground, and soon enough their legs were coated by splashes of mud.

  As they descended through the city to the main gate they encountered an increasing number of people. Mostly labourers, yawning and chatting amongst themselves as they trudged towards another day of work. Few paid attention to Jayla and her party, perhaps assuming that they were workers just like themselves. Jayla found it grimly amusing and wondered if any of them would remember this in the future; whether they would be inspired by the knowledge that they had walked alongside people who were going to save Talscar.

  They joined onto the main road that ran directly to the city entrance and the number of people increased sharply. The noise of conversation was a constant babble in the background. Carts were lined up in rows in front of the gateway ready to carry labourers to the quarry almost twenty miles away.

  It was a vast work programme put into place by the firedrake and its puppet government. According to them, the mined stone would be used to construct tunnels beneath the surface of the city through which excess water could be drained away, as well as being broken up and spread on road surfaces to make it easier to transport goods. It all sounded very public-spirited, but Jayla knew the truth behind it. Keeping so many people employed at the quarry would prevent them from having the time to appreciate the fact that they were in reality slaves, regardless of how much they were being paid, and leave them too tired to plot against the firedrake. No amount of so-called civic improvements could obscure the reality of what was happening in Talscar.

  Despite the early hour the sides of the road were lined with people: mostly traders selling food to those off to work in the quarry or in the fields to the west of the city, though there were more than a few beggars as well. Some stalls were selling clothing or tools, while one or two had o
ther more exotic items that had been gathered from across great distances, if the proclamations of the traders were to be believed. One man, wizened and hunched with straggly grey hair, was even claiming to have genuine firedrake scales for sale, but nobody seemed to be paying much attention. As Jayla walked past the stall she saw why: the scales appeared to be little more than uneven pottery plates that had been painted a drab shade of grey. If the old man was particularly unlucky he would end up being paid a visit by a custodian: she couldn’t imagine that they would be too impressed by someone trying to sell their ruler’s body parts, even if they were fake.

  Thinking about custodians made her glance around for any sign of them, doing her best to be casual about it. The last ones she had seen had been on guard by the main gate, though she couldn’t see any out here. Her view of the other side of the road was blocked as a cart rumbled by, loaded down with labourers staring blankly at the scenery. When it had moved past it took her a second or two to realise what she was seeing, and when she did she had to fight back the urge to curse out loud. Leana was over there, talking to a man she didn’t recognise.

  Jayla turned round and saw that the others had stopped as well, most of them looking at her and obviously wondering what the problem was. She jerked her head at Dolan.

  ‘Get over there and bring that idiot back, now!’

  His face pale, Dolan nodded rapidly and jogged across the road, cutting in front of another cart and provoking an annoyed shout from its driver. Her jaw clenched as she struggled to control her impatience, Jayla watched as Dolan grabbed hold of his sister’s arm, said a few brief words to the person she was speaking to, and started to lead her back. The others were standing around trying to look inconspicuous and failing miserably.

  When the two had re-joined the group Jayla turned without speaking and stepped into a gap between two nearby stalls, gesturing for Leana to follow. When Leana came within arm’s reach Jayla seized hold of her and dragged the woman close to her. Leana gasped in shock but otherwise remained silent: Dolan stepped forward as if to intervene but Jayla shot him a furious look and he stayed where he was.

  ‘By the gods, what were you doing?’ Jayla hissed, her grip tightening around her arm. Leana winced but met her gaze without flinching.

  ‘That was my neighbour; I mean mine and Dolan’s. We know each other, I had to go and say hello. He would have been curious if I hadn’t, might have remembered seeing us all.’

  ‘You will talk to nobody,’ Jayla growled, forcing each word out through gritted teeth, ‘unless I say so. This is too important for any fuck-ups. Are we clear?’

  For a few seconds she stared back at her defiantly, but her expression slowly changed as she looked into her eyes and saw the passion there. Jayla was quite prepared to kill her if she didn’t obey, and perhaps she sensed that.

  ‘Alright. Fine.’

  Jayla studied her for a few seconds more until she was certain that she understood, then let her go. Without another word she stepped out into the open and gestured for the others to follow her. She started to turn, then hesitated and looked back. Rae was just straightening up from where she was crouched next to one of the many beggars that they had passed; silver glinting within his begging bowl where Jayla was certain that there had been none before. She actually looked embarrassed to be caught in the act, much to Jayla’s carefully-concealed amusement. The beggar was staring up at Rae with a look of surprise and gratitude on his grime-encrusted features.

  ‘Let’s get moving.’

  They followed the road for another half hour before turning east and walking along the edges of fields, with Talscar always on the northern horizon. They occasionally spotted labourers at work but ignored them, and if the workers noticed the party they gave no indication of it. When the road was no longer visible behind them Jayla led the group north, following the course of a swift-flowing stream for a while before walking cross-country in the rough direction of the capital.

  As they drew closer to Talscar the ground sloped steadily upwards, becoming increasingly rocky, and within an hour the last of the fields had been left behind. The capital had been built on a series of hills surrounded on three sides by sheer cliffs, making it relatively easy to defend against attacks from anything that didn’t fly. The area that they were walking through, to the south and east of the city, was a maze of rocky slopes and sheer drops with streams coursing along narrow valley floors: it would be all too easy to get lost here. Fortunately Jayla knew where she was going. After her contact in the Draconic Guard had told her about the escape tunnel she had journeyed out here by herself to confirm that it existed. Even so, she nearly took a wrong turn on more than one occasion; her need to concentrate not helped by the fact that she was constantly keeping watch for signs of custodians. As far as she knew they didn’t bother to patrol out here, but she wasn’t certain of that. So much had changed since Dax had been slain by the firedrake.

  It was mid-afternoon by the time they clambered over the top of a ridge and first saw the cave. It was the only gap in an otherwise solid and sheer cliff face; wide enough at the ground for two people to walk abreast, narrowing sharply the higher she looked until it became little more than a barely-visible crack in the rock.

  ‘There it is,’ Jayla said. ‘We’ve found it.’

  ‘About time,’ one of the men muttered, the words carried further than he had intended by the faint but persistent breeze. Jayla stiffened but decided to ignore it, instead walking swiftly up the slope and into the cave.

  The air inside was cool and with the sun obscured by cloud the back of the cave was in almost total darkness. Jayla had left a couple of torches behind a rock when she had last visited, and it took her only a few moments to find and light them. Taking one herself and passing the other back down the line, Jayla walked to the rear of the cave. The flickering light cast by the torch made the shadows leap and dance deceptively and it took her a few seconds to find what she was looking for. The gap was invisible from the cave entrance and narrow enough that she had to turn sideways to squeeze through. She could hear and feel her chest and back scraping against the walls, and had a sudden vision of the unyielding rock snapping together like a mouth and crushing her into a bloody paste. She sucked in her chest as much as she could and squeezed around a hairpin turn, letting out a relieved sigh as the tunnel suddenly expanded and she stumbled into open space.

  Jayla moved aside as one by one the others came through; most appearing very relieved to be out in the open again, relatively speaking. There was enough room in the tunnel for them to walk three abreast if they had wanted to, the rock surfaces around them scarred by tool-marks. Rae was the last one through.

  ‘How far?’ She asked.

  ‘It’s about a half-mile walk,’ Jayla replied. ‘The other end will be sealed; we’ll have to wait there until after midnight when my contact will open it up and let us in. And keep the noise down; sound carries easily in here so I don’t want to risk anyone in the palace overhearing us.’

  Nobody spoke as they walked up the tunnel, although Jayla suspected that had as much to do with where they were as the order she had given. Outside of the light cast by the torches the darkness was absolute, and the claustrophobic sensation of being entombed within the rock was a hard one to dispel. Even worse was the silence. Outside of the noises that the seven made, and the crackling of the torches, there was no other sound, not even the drip of water. It was incredibly unsettling. She did her best to ignore it by focussing on what they were going to do, and what it would mean for the future of all of them.

  After an unknowable amount of time the tunnel came to an abrupt end. A large square slab, by its shape obviously artificial, blocked off the passageway completely. It had such solidity to it that she would have found it easy to believe that it had been there forever. When Jayla stepped closer she could see evidence of scrape-marks on the walls and floor just around it, and a faint whisper of fresh air was issuing from the minute gap between the base of it and the g
round. As she turned the glint of metal caught her eye- the torchlight was reflecting off the chainmail of the Draconic Guard uniforms lying near one of the tunnel walls. Her contact had come through for them.

  ‘Put those on,’ she hissed, gesturing to the uniforms and armour. ‘Then try and get some rest. And keep quiet.’

  The others did as she had ordered, though there was enough grumbling and clinking of chainmail as they tried to sort out which uniforms fitted which person to set Jayla’s teeth on edge. Within the close confines of the tunnel even the slightest sound was magnified to the point that it seemed like everyone within the palace must be able to hear everything they were doing. Eventually everyone sorted themselves out and settled down for the long, tense wait.

  Jayla took a position at the far end from the slab and sat down against the wall. Wearing the Draconic Guard uniform with the claw symbol emblazoned on it made her feel more than a little uncomfortable, but she knew that was ridiculous. It was simply a means to an end, after all: this was their best chance of getting through the palace and completing their mission without being challenged. And when the news got out that Dana had been slain by men and women wearing those uniforms, it would only undermine the firedrake’s grip on power still further. To the ordinary people of the city it would seem that even the firedrake’s elite recognised it for the tyrant it was.

  ‘So what do you think will happen?’ Rae’s voice jolted Jayla from her thoughts. She had been so deep inside her own head that she hadn’t even registered the fact that Rae had sat down next to her.

  ‘When we’ve killed the woman?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Well, by killing that bitch we’ll be taking away the firedrake’s most trusted advisor. We’ve all heard the rumours of how much it leans on her for counsel, and they make sense. It’s a creature that crawled out of a volcano, how much could it possibly understand about the people it’s conquered? With her gone it won’t know what to do. Its grip will slip and the people will see that. It’ll be the beginning of the end.’