Katka put her arm around Delilah and hugged her. The drak tried not to show revulsion at the human’s affectionate touch.
“Even if the job is horrible, you just need to ask, and I’ll help. I owe you!” Katka’s face beamed.
Delilah looked up at the young woman and smiled. “Thanks.” It was good to have a friend, even if she was human.
* * *
Acquiring furniture, cleaning the storefront, and making their home livable for three draks took most of Kale and Kali’s time over the next several weeks. Not the most exciting time in either of their lives, but they both acknowledged the need to complete the renovations. Kale was eager to be finished so Delilah would have a place to stay when she was done with whatever the Arcane University had in store for her.
Since Delilah’s over-the-top appearance in the undercity, the other draks gave Kale a wider berth, although he had to answer the door a few times a day to answer questions about when the shop would be open and what they would sell.
“Perhaps we could do some sort of business out of the storefront.” Kali paused her sanding of the counter.
“Like what?”
“Can you make puzzle boxes, or rat traps, or something like that?”
Kale felt a pang of guilt. Since arriving in Muncifer, he’d hardly thought of his puzzle box. He promised himself he would concentrate on unlocking its secrets once they were finished fixing up the shop.
“I suppose so. I’d need a supplier of gears and springs.” Kale picked at a rough spot on the floor.
“I’ve checked out a lot of the shops in town, and there’s really no one selling vermin traps. We’d make a killing.” Kali returned to sanding the burrs and splinters out of the counter.
“I guess.” Kale grabbed his sanding block and attacked a rough spot on the floor. He wasn’t convinced. Setting up a store seemed like a more permanent solution than he was willing to accept. He didn’t mind Muncifer, but he missed Drak-Anor.
A few minutes later, Kali jumped off the counter. “We need to earn money somehow, Kale. The funds Pancras left us won’t last forever.”
“I know. I just…” Kale stood and stretched. “It seems like committing to a shop says we’re going to stay here. I figure once Deli’s done, we’ll go back to Drak-Anor or go after Pancras.”
“We’ll need to buy food, pay taxes, pay for stabling, pay for repairs when stuff around here breaks, and it will, and who knows what else.” Kali ticked them off on her fingers. “The last thing we want is to be evicted because we burned through all our money when the tax collectors come by.”
Drak-Anor had no tax collectors, so the concept of making citizens pay for non-tangibles after they’d already purchased the building was foreign to Kale. “Maybe we could do odd jobs for people. Maybe we can catch the rats ourselves. I don’t know.”
“Couriers?”
“What about them?” Kale scratched his head. He didn’t need a courier for anything.
“We could be couriers. With your wings, you’d be the fastest drak in the city for delivering things from the upper levels to the lower levels.” Kali made a swooping motion with her hand. “You could just glide on down.”
Kale liked gliding, but he wasn’t sure he had enough muscle control to jump into the chasm on a regular basis. “Nah. Besides, all the draks around here think I’m something special. I can’t be running around making deliveries.”
Kali cocked her head. “Then you shouldn’t go around catching rats for people either.”
The two draks brainstormed for the rest of the afternoon but came up with nothing that appealed to both of them. Kale wished he had a reliable means of sending messages to his sister. She always had good ideas.
After dinner, they worked by lamplight for a few more hours before retiring for the night. Kale was pretty proud of what they accomplished. The home he and Kali established was a far cry from the single room with bunks he shared with his sister in Drak-Anor. As he drifted off to sleep, entwined with his mate, Kale found himself redefining home. Maybe staying here wouldn’t be so bad after all.
* * *
As Pancras traveled east with the Golden Slayer, Edric, and Qaliah, the days grew longer and warmer. The showers of spring caused the land to blossom and grow into lush green meadows and fields sprouting with the first of the year’s crops. Qaliah and Edric passed the time regaling each other with outlandish stories Pancras was certain were mostly lies or embellishments.
For the first few days after leaving the fort, Gisella interrogated him about his experiences having been dead and wanted to hear the whole story about how the shadow demon bonded with him. Pancras explained what he knew to have happened. As to how the shadow demon bonded with him and the exact nature of their relationship, he offered only suppositions and speculations.
After hearing the same story for the third time, Gisella seemed satisfied and changed the subject to theology. She was particularly interested in his views on Aita, especially in light of his post-mortem encounter.
“I’m not sure what else I can tell you.” Pancras rubbed Stormheart’s neck as they strolled alongside their mounts. “Looking back, I see many signs that might lead one to conclude I was supposed to be a bonelord all along.”
Moonsilver nickered and tossed her head, yanking her reins from Gisella’s hand. She grabbed them again before her horse could escape. “Perhaps you’re only being made to think that now that you’ve chosen to devote yourself to her fully.”
Pancras conceded it was a possibility. Having died twice, though, he didn’t want to push his luck. “Signs and portents. As reliable as they are unambiguous. And what of the Golden Slayer? Faithful of Aurora? That’s not what they call their priests, but it seems quite devout… unusual for a Watchmaiden.”
“It’s true. Most of my people prefer Hon or Tinian, even Maris for some of the more aggressive settlements.” Gisella smiled and fished in her pouch for an apple to give Moonsilver. “But, I too, had a vision.”
“I doubt you had to die to see it.” Twice. Pancras chuckled and tightened his grip on Stormheart’s reins as his horse tried to snatch Moonsilver’s apple from Gisella’s hand.
“My sister and I were both very popular in our home village. Some might say we were the beauties of the town.”
Pancras nodded. There were many features of humans minotaurs found downright unattractive, the lack of fur, flat faces, tiny button noses, but Pancras encountered enough humans during his formative years to understand what they found attractive and agreed Gisella to be attractive by human standards.
“Of course, we loved the attention. We were known to use it to our advantage, even. After a particularly passionate evening—” Gisella’s face flushed, and she laughed. “Oh, he was so eager to please and so demanding afterwards.” She shook her head.
“What happened?”
“Like I said, it was a passionate evening, and we slept in each other’s arms, exhausted. Maybe it was the mead and the heat in the sweat lodge, but the dream was more vivid than I’d ever had. Aurora came to me that night. She told me of our grandmother, who she actually was.”
“You didn’t know before?” Pancras stopped, and they mounted their horses before continuing.
“I knew she was a sorceress of some renown, but the details? No.” Gisella patted Moonsilver’s neck as the mare tossed her head and snorted. “Our mother confirmed what Aurora told me. Alysha and I consulted with seers, sages, and as many priests as we could find, and we formulated a plan: I would come north and seek out rumors and signs of our grandmother’s intentions while she stayed safe in the south. She was the one with arcane talents. We felt it would be best if she stayed far away from anywhere the Lich Queen was likely to appear.”
“She always stayed north of the Celtan Forest, if I recall my histories.” It had been years since Pancras read those histories, and the exploits of a dead conqueror didn’t interest him much in those days.
“Yes, her armies made it into Cardoba, almost to t
he Wizard’s Rift, but only as far south as the lake. Anyway, Aurora seemed like she would help us, and since I love the company of men, I figured there were certainly worse gods to whom to devote myself.” Gisella laughed. “Aurora doesn’t demand sacrifices of blood. Tithes are low, and worship…” She chuckled again. “Well, you can imagine what holy days require.”
Pancras felt his face grow warm. Familiar with the sort of ceremonies in which the priests of Aurora engaged during holy days, he couldn’t imagine a fierce warrior like the Golden Slayer indulging in that sort of debauchery.
“We make quite a pair, you and I. A minotaur-would-be-Bonelord of Aita and an Aurora-worshipping slayer of the Arcane University, on a gods-given quest to destroy the Lich Queen. Or at least, stop her from returning to this world.” He chuckled. “It sounds ludicrous, does it not? I only left Drak-Anor to pay the delinquent dues of my guild membership!”
“We should hire a minstrel to follow us and chronicle our quest.” Gisella grinned. “If we’ve gone mad, their songs will bring laughter to people for generations. If not, then we’ll be legends!”
* * *
Delilah spent her days in lessons with various masters. As a result, her repertoire expanded. She studied with Katka most of the time, though after destroying her third cauldron, Katka was expelled from Alchemy. Fortunately for Delilah, Conner was a suitable replacement and helped the drak retrieve objects from upper shelves in Master Agata’s laboratory.
In the evenings, Delilah spent half of her time carousing with Katka and Conner and the other half visiting with Kale and Kali when she found time to leave the campus. She carried the grimoire of Gil-Li with her wherever she went as a reminder to study it. It seemed like ages since Delilah had so few responsibilities, though, and the drak sorceress made the most of it. She enjoyed the attention she received whenever she visited the undercity, as well, and bestowed blessings. Regardless of whether or not they produced an effect, they seemed to cheer the draks she encountered there.
Each time she visited Kale and Kali, their progress in cleaning up and fixing the old storefront they had purchased surprised her. Because her time there was limited, she was unable to examine in depth the runed circle and the library.
“I hope I’ll have more time to visit my brother after my Novice Trials.” Delilah pulled a chair up to the table where Katka and Conner were eating. The drak heaped food on her plate and dug in with relish.
Conner was quick to disabuse that notion. “After the trial, you’ll be apprenticed to one of the masters. Everyone seems to think you’re the archmage’s pet, so it’ll probably be him. I’d be shocked if he lets you go off and do research for days at a time.”
Delilah shrugged and poked at a sausage on her plate. “Maybe a giant will eat him, and I won’t have to worry about it.”
Katka swallowed a mouthful of roasted potatoes. “What happened with him and the archduke? Didn’t he have a job for you or something?”
“I think he forgot about it. I hope he forgot about it.” Delilah stabbed the sausage, squirting hot grease across the table.
“Don’t count on it.” Conner refilled their mugs with ale.
“He’s got something funny going on with the archduke.” Delilah took a long drink of her ale. She hated politics. “Have you heard anything?”
“No.” Conner looked at Katka and then at Delilah. “Why would we?”
Delilah forgot people in large, human cities like Muncifer didn’t have a direct access to the leaders like she did in Drak-Anor. She tried a different tack. “Doesn’t matter. What’s the deal with the giants in the mountains? I heard the city has some sort of agreement with them?”
Katka laughed. “You think we hear anything about that? My parents have a livery outside of town. We don’t hear any news that doesn’t come from a traveler buying a horse.”
The drak sorceress stared at Conner.
“Don’t look at me. My parents might have heard something before they died, but no one tells me anything.”
Delilah groaned in frustration. “You guys are useless!” It was obvious her friends were not of the same social status as she enjoyed back home. Are the draks and minotaurs in Drak-Anor just as ignorant about Sarvesh and the council as these two humans are about their leaders?
Conner choked and coughed as he wolfed down a sausage, bread, and ale one after the other. Katka pounded him on the back, and he waved his hand, signaling for her to stop.
“What’s the hurry?” Delilah wiped up some ale he spewed onto the table.
“I just remembered I’m supposed to meet Marta tonight.” He waggled his eyebrows. “She wants to practice with me.” He grabbed another hunk of bread and then dashed away from the table.
Katka rolled her eyes. “Marta, Marta, Marta… she’s all he talks about ever since he met in her Master Renata’s conjuration class.”
Delilah heard echoes of her feelings toward Kali. “That reminds me, there’s a test in Master Renata’s class tomorrow. Are you ready?”
“No. I’m never ready.” Katka grabbed another piece of bread.
“You’ll do all right. You just need to believe in your own abilities.” The girl memorized the words, but she always doubted herself.
“Easy for you to say.” Katka leaned close to Delilah and lowered her voice. “People are saying you’re a prodigy.”
“I am not. I just have decades more experience than all the other students.” Over the last several weeks, Delilah took Master Galina’s advice to heart and stopped showing off so much. The students were all just beginners, and she was an experienced sorceress. It really wasn’t fair to them for her to be placed in the same classes with them. It wasn’t Delilah’s choice, nor was it the masters’ choice. It was a decree by the archmage, and no one felt it was worth fighting him on this matter.
“Most of them don’t understand that, though.”
“Then they’re idiots.” Delilah felt a twinge of guilt as soon as the words left her mouth and glanced around the room to see if anyone had overheard her. It seemed as though no one else in the Arcane University’s tavern paid her and Katka any mind.
Delilah shook her head. “Let’s go, Katka. I’ll help you practice for tomorrow.”
* * *
The next morning, Kale and Kali planned to take Taavi and Blackclaw on a ride around Muncifer. They decided to also bring Fang along for some exercise even though Delilah couldn’t join them. A trip through the fields and meadows surrounding the city would take most of the morning. The sun shone in a sky dotted with scattered, puffy clouds. As he locked the front door on their way out, Kale noticed a hooded drak standing in the shadows of an alley across the way.
He nudged Kali. “Do you know him?”
“No.” Kali drew one of her daggers. She strode over to the alley. “Don’t you have someplace more important to be?”
The drak shook his head as a grin spread across his face. “I’m right where I want to be. You and the winged striper are mates, yeah?”
Already, Kale didn’t like where this conversation was headed. He drew one of his daggers and stood beside Kali. “I’m Kale, and Kali is my mate. What do you want?”
“Boss Steelhand sent me. He thought you might not know about the rules we have around here.” The drak pulled back his cloak and fingered the hilt of a sword. His dark blue scales seemed black in the shadows of the alley.
Kale spread his wings and widened his stance. “What rules? We bought that old shop fair and square.”
“Sure you did. From the humans, right? The thing is…” The drak licked his lips. “Down here, we all answer to Boss Steelhand. You want to have a shop, you have to give the boss his due.”
Kali waved her dagger under the drak’s chin. “Oh no. We’re not paying protection to anyone. We’re not even selling anything!”
“Is that so?” He prodded the tip of Kali’s dagger with his finger until he drew blood. He licked the bead of red off his finger. “Maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe the boss wa
nts his due from you, no matter what. Your sister comes down here, raising a big stink about how she’s going to save all these worthless cretins from their oppression. The boss doesn’t like that. You might say he gets nervous when others start moving in on his territory.”
“My sister is all talk. She doesn’t want his territory. She just wants the crowds out of her way.” Kale did not believe this was all about Delilah’s little displays.
“Maybe so, maybe no.” The drak shrugged. “The boss gets his due, or the boss gets angry. When the boss gets angry, things get ugly. Understand?”
Kale understood the cloaked drak’s message. He spat a glob of flame at the drak’s feet. Steam hissed where the fire licked a muddy puddle. “We’re not giving you anything. The boss wants something, the boss comes to see us himself.”
The drak chuckled and pressed his foot into the flame, extinguishing it. “Suit yourself. I’ll give him the message.”
He turned and disappeared into the shadows of the alley. Kali sheathed her dagger. “That must be one of the thieves the magistrate warned us about.”
“I’m not paying them a damned thing.” Kale turned his back to the alley, taking his mate’s hand. “We’re not selling anything. They don’t have any reason to come after us.”
Kali hooked her arm into her mate’s. “They think they do. That’s all the reason they need. We should probably be sure we’re ready to deal with them when they come knocking.”
For years, Kale spent his days and nights building traps and weapons to hold back armies. Securing his own home would be child’s play compared to that. When they came, he would be ready.
* * *
Master Renata’s classroom was packed full. Delilah was surprised to see so many students in attendance. Most of them, she recognized from other classes and from wandering the university. Only a fraction was actually in the class she attended with Katka. The room was an indoor amphitheater, with rows of seats descending toward a center stage. Upon the stage stood a variety of cages with arcane markings on their floors; cages for summoned creatures.
Lament (Scars of the Sundering Book 2) Page 23
