Combatant: The Revelations of Oriceran (The Kacy Chronicles Book 3)

by Anderle, Michael

  "The government? How did they find out you were here so fast?"

  Toth frowned. "Maybe Kheko? I suppose, if they were watching for me, the shield could be wired to send them a notice when I cross the border."

  "What does he want?"

  "To meet with me." Toth held up the letter and read aloud, "At my earliest convenience."

  "Do you have any reason not to go?" Jordan wondered if the Nycht was in some kind of trouble with the Rodanian government. After all, he was a rebel; the most well-known rebel, if Kheko's reaction to him was any indication. "Is there…" she paused, finding it difficult to imagine some force Toth couldn't face down. "Danger?"

  "Not that I know of. I haven't been back to Rodania in a decade. What the rebels did offended them, but it wasn't illegal." Toth stood in silence for a long time. Jordan watched him think. Just before she was about to ask him what he was going to do, he said, "The sooner I meet with him, the sooner I can get back to The Conca." He turned his eyes to her, and Jordan nearly stepped back at the way they seemed shuttered against her. "I'll say goodbye, then."

  Jordan's pulse skittered like a deer crossing ice. She wasn't ready to say goodbye. "Why don't you stay the night? Just one night. Be refreshed when you leave for The Conca. It's such a long journey."

  Toth tucked the letter into a pocket. "There is no room for me here. Should my meeting go overtime, I can stay with one of my siblings."

  Jordan felt as though she was standing on uncertain ground. She had no right to ask the Nycht for more than what he'd already so generously given. "Toth," she began, "I don't know how to thank you. Without you-–" Her voice tightened, and she found she couldn't continue for fear of embarrassing herself.

  Toth lifted one shoulder in a small, tight shrug. He amended his plans. "I will come say goodbye before I go."

  Jordan let out a breath and nodded, it was more than she had been prepared to ask for. She reached out and squeezed his upper arm. "Whatever that is," she nodded at the letter, "if there is anything I can do to help you, please ask. I'm forever in your debt, and…" she pinned him with a weighted look, and he knew she was sincere, "I am on your side."

  Toth's face seemed to relax, and he pulled Jordan in for a hug. Then with a rush of wind, he was gone.

  ***

  The following hour found Jordan sitting at Allan's bedside, holding his hand and murmuring to him quietly. He couldn't die. There was so much left unresolved for the Kacy family. How will he react when I tell him about Jaclyn? How much does he know already?

  "Jordan?" Sol's voice bellowed from outside. Jordan had been leaning back against her right wing as it braced against the ground, propping her up. She scrambled up and rushed outside, her heart staggering with excitement. She felt like a sports car that had just gone from zero to sixty in under two seconds flat.

  With a gust of wind, a flurry of dust and feathers, and a thud, Sol landed on the terrace.

  "Sol!" Until Jordan saw him, his wild brown hair with the tiny braids, the lively bright blue of his eyes, she didn't realize just how much she had been missing him.

  She leapt into his arms, which he stretched wide to catch her. The two Arpaks collided chest to chest and fell backward off the terrace together. Both his tawny wings and her bright yellow ones took to beating at the air, working to keep them aloft. Jordan buried her face in Sol's neck as his arms wrapped tightly around her ribs, seeming to circle her torso many times over with his warmth.

  "Jordan," he said into her hair, and his voice was little more than a croak. "I've been going out of my mind."

  "I'm so happy to see-–" Jordan pulled back and gave an enormous sneeze. "Why are you so filthy? And you smell like smoke." She sniffed and sneezed again, turning her face away from him.

  Sol laughed and steered them back to the balcony. "I've been helping clean up the mess on Middle Rodania. Blue returned with your letter only yesterday. Thank God, I had been thinking the worst. I was about to launch a search party of one when he showed up."

  "Where is he?"

  Sol shrugged. "Who knows? It was like he checked in to let me know he was here, and then left before I woke up this morning. Probably out hunting. And your father?"

  "He is here."

  Sol let out a breath. "Thank heavens. Where?" His eyes darted about, apprehensive. His eyes fell on the bedroom door, then the water closet. "Is he alright? Trevilsom is a wicked place."

  "He's in your bed."

  Sol's brows drew together and he searched her face. "I can imagine he's tired and hungry."

  "He's in a coma."

  "Oh." Sol's face grew somber, and his shoulders sagged. "I'm so sorry."

  Eohne emerged from the bedroom, tools of her trade clutched in her delicate fingers. "Hello, again. It seems we have invaded your home."

  Sol smiled at the Elf. "Jordan wrote that you came to help her; very generous of you. You are more than welcome here. I would be offended if you went anywhere else." Sol searched for evidence of the Nycht. "And Toth?"

  "He was asked to a meeting with one of the Council members."

  "Really?" Sol's surprise at this was genuine, but Jordan got the sense that Sol was not as shocked as they were about how quickly the government was aware of Toth's presence.

  "Any idea what they want?" Jordan searched the Arpak's face.

  Sol's brows pinched together. "It will have to do with the harpy attack, I'm almost certain."

  "They don't think he had anything to do with that?" A cold feeling crept over Jordan. She hoped that Toth wasn't flying into a bad situation.

  Sol shrugged. "I don't know." His face was troubled. "There are things we need to talk about." He crossed to his sink to wash his hands and splash water on his dirty face.

  There was a loud roar from somewhere beyond the apartment, and Sol and Jordan locked eyes, Sol's eyelashes dripping.

  "That's one of them," he said grimly.

  There was another roar, this one closer. The sound was intimidating, but jubilant rather than threatening.

  "Was that…" Jordan began.

  Sol nodded.

  She darted for the terrace in time to see a blue dragon the size of a Great Dane skitter across the tiles, his wings hitting the stones on either side of the open archway with a crack before closing up.

  "Blue!" Jordan cried. Happiness and disbelief blossomed in her chest. "You're huge!" The dragon put his head down and bumped Jordan's abdomen with his forehead. A long, deep rattle rumbled in his chest, ending with a high-pitched whistle. Jordan bent and kissed Blue on either side of his face. "You're so handsome. I missed you, look at you!"

  Blue's scales had changed from the bright cerulean shade they had been into a deeper color, more like the sky before a storm. The yellow blaze under his chin and down his throat to his belly had mellowed from a bright canary to a buttery yellow. The elegant horns on his head had thickened at the base, and his black eyes had changed. Where before there had been no distinction between the pupil and the iris, now threads of color sprayed out from the pupil––a vertical slash––making an orange corona.

  Jordan gaped at Sol. "How could he have changed so much in only a matter of days?"

  Sol crossed his arms. "Because the gypsy lied to us. He can't be a Predoian Miniature. Some species grow exceptionally fast; clearly, he is one of them. We need to find out what he actually is, and soon. We have no idea when he'll stop growing. The only reason he hasn't been kicked out of Rodania for good is because everyone's been so distracted by the harpy attacks, but it's only a matter of time."

  Jordan stroked Blue's scales and he hooked a claw behind her calf, sitting on his haunches. He closed his eyes to her ministrations. "How do we find out his species?"

  "Juer's library in Crypsis would be the best place to start, if we want to keep things incognito."

  "What about the Nychts at the border? They took his blood. Couldn't they tell what he is?"

  "I wondered that, too. I don't know how the magic works exactly. I was afraid to go ta
lk to Pabs, in case they realized their mistake and kicked him out."

  Jordan looked to Eohne next. "Do you have a way of telling us what Blue is?"

  Eohne shook her head. "I have never developed any magic for working with dragons. There has never been a need in Charra-Rae. I can't just look at his blood and tell you what he is—–I would have to have something to reference back to."

  "There is a lab in Rodania that could identify him, but I don't want to alert them to his existence." Sol shrugged. "Looks like we'll have to do this the old fashioned way: books. He might be done growing, he might not; but if he gets much bigger than he is now…" Sol shook his head. "It won't be good."

  CHAPTER NINE

  Toth landed on a terrace just outside a towering residence, south of the king's palace. Five tall obsidian pillars, insanely elaborate and expensive, glittered in the sun. He folded his wings away as a young Arpak female appeared from between the pillars.

  She was dressed in a plain white robe that was cinched at the waist with glittering red rocks. She wore her long dark hair tied up high on her head and a thin gold band across her forehead. She had long, slender arms and hands. Her light blue wings were small, the primary feathers barely reaching her knees; they were the kind of wings that were considered beautiful in proportion, but not great for flying. Arpaks who had abnormally small wings were often mistaken for angels in paintings. This was exactly the kind of elegantly proportioned Arpak that artists loved to capture on canvas.

  She's probably never known a day of hard work in her whole life.

  She didn't introduce herself, only said, "He's expecting you." The beautiful Arpak invited Toth, with a fluid arm gesture, to pass through the pillars. "May I bring you a drink, or something to eat?"

  "No, thank you." Toth entered the residence with the young Arpak trailing behind. Expensive looking furniture decorated the spacious parlour. Cathedral ceilings gave the space an airy, hollow feeling, and small birds flew about the buttresses and sat in the high stained glass windows.

  "Through there." The young woman pointed to an archway leading to a second, more private terrace.

  Toth passed through the archway and onto a balcony, where a short, broad Arpak stood with his hands behind his back, facing the city below. He wore a vest of black velvet embroidered with gold thread, and pants made of a soft woven fabric. He had rings on his fingers worth more than anything Toth owned, or ever would own, in his lifetime.

  Toth saw that the girl had come by her wings honestly; this man, too, had small, light blue wings. They were relaxed, and lay apart–—a position typical of someone who didn't fly much. On Rodania, this draped carriage of one’s wings was a sign of wealth.

  Toth thought it just looked lazy.

  The Arpak turned and presented Toth with a wide broad face. His expression was serious but not unfriendly. He looked young and sincere. "Thank you for coming, Toth." Balroc held out a hand. "I always liked the human custom of a handshake."

  Toth gave his hand, and it was shaken heartily.

  "You must be used to it by now, working alongside humans so closely."

  Toth didn't bother to correct him. The humans of The Conca shook hands with each other; not with the Nychts who protected them, unless a deal was being made.

  "As you'll know from my letter, my name is Balroc. Please, have a seat." He gestured to the stools positioned in front of a fountain in the middle of the balcony. Two silver cups had been set out on the small table.

  "I'd rather stand, if it’s all the same to you." Toth put his hands behind his back, a gesture that uncovered the heart and told of some small level of trust.

  Balroc nodded. "I'll get right to the point. I am one of the Council of Ten."

  "I know."

  "Good. Now please help me understand more about who you are."

  "With respect, where is this going?"

  Balroc put out a hand. "I have a proposition for you. I hope you'll be patient enough to hear me out? I promise it is to your benefit."

  I doubt that. "I'm not aware of any proposition an Arpak could make that would benefit a Nycht."

  "Bear with me. I am going to have a seat, even if you won't." Balroc picked up one of the silver cups, filled it at the fountain, and settled himself on a stool. "Word of what you have done for the humans of The Conca reached Rodania a long time ago. It is a shame you and your," he tilted his head, "associates have abandoned your birthplace and taken your considerable talents elsewhere."

  "You mean me and my rebels?"

  "You may be called that in some circles, but I would never assign that name to you. I can't say I would have done differently, were I in your place."

  Toth narrowed his eyes. He did not fully trust sympathetic rapport from an Arpak, especially one on the Council. "Your circle drove us to leave. Your circle calls us traitors and turncoats and worse, yet refuses to recognize the gross discrimination you foment which brought about our defection." Pink spots appeared on Toth's cheeks, and he wrestled to keep his tone from becoming accusatory.

  "We are not all the same," said Balroc quietly. "You have supporters you don't know about; I am one of them. I was only fifteen when you and your fellow Nychts left your posts on Rodania for good, and I have made every effort to follow your activities. I have always believed that a fully Arpak government makes for a shortsightedness that keeps me up at night. Rodania, she is my motherland, but she has several defects, which I am working to remedy. It takes time to change attitudes, even longer to change policy, but there is an opportunity coming that will not surface again in our lifetime. An opportunity to change things for Nychts and get the equality you deserve."

  "What opportunity would that be?" Toth worked to hide his interest. If Balroc was speaking truthfully, he was one of the few Nycht sympathizers Toth had come across, and they needed every one they could get, if things were ever to change.

  "Rodania is under attack, and not just from harpies. The Elven magic that protects us has been breached, and I do not believe it was simply an error in magical engineering." Balroc lowered his voice. "I have reason to believe it is sabotage." He put a hand out. "And before you jump to conclusions, no, I do not believe you have anything to do with that sabotage."

  Toth cocked an eyebrow, but what he really wanted to do was gape. Sabotage was serious, a crime worthy of Trevilsom.

  "Even if you are right, how is it my problem?"

  "Come now." Balroc gave a sly smile. "Whether you like it or not, the harpies are partially your problem. Most of your family still lives here; your sister even works at the palace. A nurse, I believe?"

  Toth frowned. It was unsettling that Balroc knew this. "You've been watching me and my family?"

  "As I said, I've been interested in you since you left—–you and your brother, Caje. Your own people haven't made it difficult to keep track of your activities, what with their underground publication." Balroc took a sip of his water, but his eyes never left Toth’s.

  Toth kept his mouth shut, but irritation sizzled through him. Thanks to Kheko, he knew what Balroc was talking about, but only just. It made him wonder what else was going on behind his back. Toth's brows knit together, and he looked away, working to get a hold of himself.

  "Let me explain further. Rodania has been arrogant." Balroc forged on before Toth's expression could get any darker. "King Konig has not been himself for years. He became neglectful over a decade ago, and since then has only gotten worse. He and most of the Council believe the Elven magic is all that is needed to protect us. They've been lulled into a false sense of security by the hubris of the Light Elves. I have been fighting this attitude since I joined the Council a year ago, and now it’s too late. I have never been so unhappy to be proven right." Balroc took a steadying breath. His brow had begun to shine with sweat; he wiped a hand across his forehead. "We need a military, and we need one now," he concluded.

  Toth's face softened, and the confusion cleared away like breaking clouds. "I should have known. You want Caje an
d I to fight for Rodania." He began to chuckle. "Now that you're in trouble, you need the Nychts of The Conca to return, even though you drove them away."

  "Not just fight, but train and lead a mixed force of Strix. Take the best of both and channel them against this harpy onslaught."

  "I've heard enough." Toth turned away.

  Balroc leapt to his feet. "No, you haven't. Don't be a fool and leave before you really understand what is at stake here." His words may have been harsh, but it was the near pleading tone that gave Toth pause. Just like that, the tables had turned. Toth felt the shift of power as Balroc desperation threaded his words.

  Interesting.

  "What exactly do you think is at stake?"

  "The future of Nychts. You can change everything for your people, for all of Strix society. This chance only comes once every hundred years. If you miss it, you'll be condemning your people to the same oppressed existence they've had to bear since the beginning."

  "What are you talking about?" Toth growled.

  "There are those on the Council who would wish to see me exiled for telling you what I am about to tell you," Balroc's voice tremored slightly. "Believe it or not, I am at far greater risk right now for speaking with you than you are for speaking with me. Pay attention. I fully expect you to do your own research and verify that I am not lying to you." He took a step closer, holding the Nycht’s icy gray eyes with his own blue ones. "Every hundred years the Council holds a private vote."

  "What vote?" Toth's forearms prickled under his bracers at the look on Balroc's face.

  "Whether to give Nychts a place at the table, or not."

  The air seemed to go still. Toth's lips parted to call Balroc a liar, but the Arpak continued.

  "They don't publicize it because, up until recently, none of the Arpaks on the Council would ever have supported such a change." Balroc put a hand on his chest. "What you don't realize, what none of your people realize, is that you are closer than ever to your goal. I have been fighting for Nychts since the day I joined the Council, and I have made many enemies because of it."