Dimitri scoffed. “If any of your Demon friends want to try killing me, I wish them the best of luck.”
“Right.” Kitfox laughed and walked away.
“I’d pay to see a good fight like that,” muttered the blonde.
“You can’t afford anything!” Kitfox called back.
“Okay, fine! If I had the money, I would pay to see a Dákun Daju fight a clan of Demons.”
“How broke are you?” Dimitri asked, taking another draft of ale.
The blonde fixed him with a strange look. Finally, he sighed. “Broke enough that I need to avoid almost every guild on two continents.”
“Including this one!” Kitfox added.
“Oh, shut up!”
Dimitri chuckled. “Did you gamble it all away or something?”
“Nah, mate.” The blonde moved a few stools closer so he could speak quietly. “I’m a pirate, and I lost me ship and me crew in a raid from a rival guild. I need to pay them back to drop the bounty on me head but can’t find any work or crew to assist in such a manner.”
“So you’ll do just about anything for money?”
“Aye. Pretty much.”
“How about working for me, then?”
◆◆◆
Dimitri whistled as he walked the streets back to the clinic. He was in a great mood after leaving the company of the blonde pirate. Finally, he had a plan in the works to bring Xyleena down. All he had to do was bide his time and hope his man worked his magic.
“We’ll go in the morning. It’s too late to see him now, Xy.”
Dimitri froze in his tracks.
“Well, at least Thera managed to translate the clue to Atoka. If not for that, this day would be a total wash.”
Dimitri quickly ducked behind the side of a building as the voices drew closer. He chanced a peek and smirked as he recognized the faces of Xyleena and her team.
“Here’s the inn. Do not worry about affording the rooms. I’ll take care of it.”
“When does Thief’s Paradise open tomorrow?”
“Not until sunset, but we’ll meet up with Kitfox at noon so we don’t need to– ”
The voices cut out as the door of the inn closed behind them.
So Xyleena and her team were in Zadún, and it sounded as if they had discovered the location of the next dragon. Dimitri was elated by this happy turn of events. All he needed to do now was follow Xyleena’s team. He already knew where they were staying and when they were leaving. It was almost too easy.
Dimitri snickered and waited a few minutes more to make sure the coast was clear. When he deemed it safe, he sprinted from his hiding spot. He had to tell his team of this discovery.
It had been twenty years since a Hume had last set foot on Arcadian soil, the site of my son’s first attack. Nothing was the same. The once luscious forest and fertile fields were nothing more than wastelands. Test after test resulted in the same outcome: Life would never –could never – exist here. Thus, Arcadia was officially abandoned.
– FROM “THE CHRONICLES OF ITHNEZ, VOL. II” BY ADJIRSÉ DÉDOS
Say it again, hatchling.
“Deep in ice, Atoka I bound, just north of arctic castle found,” I whispered the clue to Atoka’s location for probably the one-hundredth time.
My two dragons and I had spent the better part of the morning trying to solve the riddle. We were no closer to finding an answer than we were when Thera had first announced her completion of the translation the day before.
There aren’t any castles in the whole of the Arctican continent. Kkaia sounded annoyed and frustrated. At least, there weren’t any one hundred and seventy years ago.
That is provided, of course, that the riddle does not speak of snow castles built by children, said Vortex.
It does not, I assured them.
And the map in the diary does not show any hidden locations farther north?
I sighed as I pulled Dragon Diary out of my hip sack again. Once more, I found the world map and scoured over every little detail while comparing it to the normal map pinned to the wall of my room at the Zadún Inn.
I sighed. “Nothing.”
Three hard raps at the door made me jump. I caught my breath before getting up from the bed and walking to the door. I flipped open my tessens and pressed my ear to the hardwood.
“Yeah?”
“It’s Freya.”
I unlocked the door and opened it ever so slightly before backing away. Freya pushed the door open and glanced at my flared weapons before I put them away.
“What was that about?”
“Can never be too careful,” I muttered and walked back to the bed. “I take it we’re about to leave?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I need to do something besides pick three brains for an answer.” I returned Dragon Diary to my hip sack and grabbed the scant few other trinkets that I called mine before joining Freya at the door. She was staring at me, a curious expression on her features.
“What’s wrong?”
“You are so much like your mother.”
Before I could ask her to explain, she was out the door. Moments later, I was following her out of the inn.
“Ah! Good. Everyone is here,” Freya said as she and I met Thera and Teka outside. “Now, the tavern I’m taking you to is in a rough part of town. A rather rambunctious guild of Demons controls the area, so watch yourselves. Should we come across any Demon besides Kitfox, do not speak, and whatever you do, do not meet their gaze. Doing so could prompt an attack.”
“I can’t wait,” said Teka.
“Should I cover us in barriers, or will that send the wrong message to this violent Demon guild?” Thera asked, trying to ignore the stares of the citizens that passed by. It was clear to tell from their expressions that they had never seen a Feykin before. If their staring was bothering Thera, she certainly did not betray her discomfort. I was impressed.
“No magic unless they attack us,” Freya said, turning to leave. “Let’s go.”
Thera, Teka, and I followed Freya as she briskly weaved her way through the streets and alleys. While we walked, Kkaia and Vortex continued talking about the riddle to Atoka. I, on the other hand, could not shake the feeling of being followed no matter how many times I checked behind me.
Freya’s pace slowed remarkably, as we entered a derelict part of town. She kept sniffing the air and would stop occasionally to stare down a dark alley or behind us. Then with a growl or snort, she would start walking again. Finally we reached the only building in the vicinity that looked halfway decent. I read the sign out front: Thief’s Paradise.
I watched as Freya banged thrice on the heavy wooden door beneath the sign. A few moments of waiting, and nothing happened. She banged again.
“The bar isss closssed.”
I spun around at the raspy voice behind me. An instant later, Freya was between me and the other Demon that had slunk his way in behind us.
“Leave.” Freya growled.
The other Demon did not oblige.
Freya freed her kusarigama and snarled at him. “Leave!”
“Thisss isss not your turf, Wolf. You do not order me about.”
“Get out of here, you slithering bastard!” a woman’s voice screeched.
I glanced over my shoulder to see a nearly naked woman in the doorway of the tavern. I immediately returned my attention to the unknown Demon.
“Make me, wench!” He hissed and shoved Freya aside in a mad dash to the doorway.
I gasped as I caught a full view of him. He had the torso and head of a man, but the rest of him was a black snake.
“Get out of here, Naga!” A new Demon stood in the tavern’s doorway, shielding the nearly naked woman.
He was tall and handsome, dressed in a loose-fitting pants and a sleeveless, white tunic that revealed tattoos of symbols on his muscular biceps. A messy mane of lavender and jet-black hair fell to his waist. Fox-like ears grew atop his head, and deep, amber eyes bore into the Demon befo
re him. He bared his fangs in warning, and the Snake Demon backed down.
“I will not forget thisss.” With a furious hiss, the Snake Demon slithered away.
“You taking in strays now, Kitfox?”
I glanced at Freya as she spoke, then back at the Demon in the doorway. He smirked and glanced at the woman he guarded before stepping into the street. I noticed his bare feet were clawed like Freya’s, but—unlike her—he wore no armor.
“It looks like you are, too.” His amber gaze fell on me for a moment as he walked past.
I scoffed.
Thera giggled. “You have a really poofy tail.”
Freya and Teka snickered. The Fox Demon turned slightly to glance at his lavender-and-black tail before looking at Thera.
“The babes dig it.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, making Thera blush.
Freya promptly smacked him upside the head.
“What was that for?”
“Being you.”
“Either you hit harder than you used to, or I’ve got a soft spot for you.” He grinned and rubbed the sore spot on his head.
Freya rolled her eyes. “Kitfox, this is Xyleena, Teka, and Thera.” She pointed to us respectively. “They are the ones I told you were coming.”
“Wait a minute.” Kitfox pointed at Thera. “You’re Feykin, right?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
“Not at all.” He shook his head, grinning. “I just wasn’t told I would be teaming up with a Feykin. Should prove interesting.”
“Freya, you’re not seriously forcing him on us, are you?” I looked at her, pleading. “He acts more like a child than a warrior.”
“Aw! I’m not that bad!”
“Trust me, Xy, his battle skills make up for his…personality.”
Freya snickered when Kitfox sent her a hurt look.
“Anyway, I have things which require my attention, so why don’t you three fill Kitfox in on what’s going on.”
“Wait a minute!” I shouted. “You’re leaving? Just like that?”
“I have to,” Freya replied with a simple shrug.
“I thought you were here to help,” Teka said accusingly.
Freya frowned. “I have, and I still am. Trust me. We will meet again very soon. But there is something important I must do before then.”
I sighed and waved her off. “Fine.”
“Don’t be like that, Xy.”
“Just go, Freya.” I met her gaze. “Like you said, we’ll meet again soon.”
“Good-bye.” Freya bowed slightly then turned and walked away.
I watched her until she disappeared from my view.
“So…uh, Xyleena was it?”
“You can call me Xy.”
“Okay. Xy,” Kitfox paused as if testing the taste of my nickname, “do you and your friends want to come inside? You can tell me everything that’s been going on over some lunch.”
I nodded. “Thank you, Kitfox.”
He clapped his hands and ushered us inside the tavern. The bar wench set all four of us up at the bar with some hot stew and cider before disappearing. Thera, Teka, and I spoke for hours about recent events, filling Kitfox in as much as possible. He never once interrupted as he listened.
Finally, we reached the end of our tale and a long silence followed. Kitfox sat in the stool, simply nodding as he mulled everything over. Then he looked at me and took a deep breath. “So you are the Dragon Keeper, and you wrote a riddle to remind you where you hid the Dragons of Light, but you somehow have amnesia and cannot remember a thing. You recently relocated two of the twelve dragons, and now you are here looking for a third dragon frozen in ice north of town. Got it.”
“Woah! Woah! Wait a minute.” I waved my hand to stop him from further rambling. “How do you figure the next dragon is north of Zadún?”
“Simple!” He laughed. “The last line makes it clear as day. Just north of arctic castle found. There is an ice sculpture in the central square not far from the inn you were staying at. Guess what the sculpture is.”
I sighed. “A castle?”
“Yup.” He grinned. “It’s been there, frozen, for at least the last century. It doesn’t even thaw in the summer when temperatures reach fifty or sixty degrees.”
“I like this guy!” Teka said, slapping the bar.
Kitfox looked at her and chuckled.
“I guess he does grow on you after a while.” Thera admitted with a soft smile.
“Aw, that’s sweet of you.”
“Okay, Kitfox. So what do you say you show us to this ice castle so we can begin hunting for the third dragon?”
“Sure. Just give me a few minutes to pack some things and tell Toya she needs to be scarce for a while. I won’t leave her here unprotected with the Warinarc guild hanging around.” Kitfox left his stool and vanished through a door at the far right of the bar.
“If Freya trusts him, it means we can. Right?” Teka asked, glancing over my shoulder at the door.
“I don’t sense any animosity or evil intentions from him, Xy,” Thera added. “I think everything will be okay.”
“I hope you two are right.”
Minutes later Kitfox returned with Toya in tow. He gave her some money out of a chest behind the bar and pocketed the rest. As we left the bar, he locked the door and ran his fingers along the sign over the door.
“For luck,” he said with a crooked smile.
We escorted Toya to Kitfox’s and Freya’s guild house, which was not far from the tavern, and headed off to find the ice castle and Atoka.
Many things are ravaged by time, even those deemed immortal or indestructible. Time is a slow killer; slower than any poison. It is a torturous thing to endure. I sit here and watch as year after year and century after century pass by. I remain unchanged, but friends and loved ones have long turned to dust. Time is killing me.
– FROM “THE DIARY OF AMOREZ” BY AMOREZ RENOAN
A thousand curses streamed through Dimitri’s head the instant he realized Xyleena had just recruited another team member. And a Fox Demon to boot! With this new addition, he would have to be wary of the Demon’s heightened senses of smell, hearing, and sight. Dimitri’s tactics were suddenly in desperate need of changing.
With a frustrated sigh, Dimitri continued stalking the other team. They had gone from their meeting in the tavern, which he himself had had a drink in last night, to some heavily guarded building. Then from there they headed back toward the inn. He had to wonder what on Ithnez they were up to.
“That Demon…” Godilai spoke barely above a whisper. “I believe he is a member of the Tahda’varett guild.”
“What is the significance of that?” Vincent asked as he scratched the back of his head.
“It is the same Demon guild that Amorez’s Demon companion, Freya Latreyon, belonged to,” Pox answered. “I heard it is the largest and strongest Demon guild on the planet.”
“Could Amorez be somehow guiding that little wretch?”
“Quiet!” Dimitri hissed. The Fox Demon’s ears were twitching, and more than once he had glanced in their direction. Thankfully, Pox had covered them in a field of invisibility. It seemed to be working until the Demon’s senses managed to detect them.
Dimitri swore when the Fox Demon smelled the air and turned to face them head on. He broke away from Xyleena’s team and continued to sniff the air as he meandered closer.
“What do you smell, Kitfox?” Thera had called to him from farther away.
Kitfox stopped and stared directly into Dimitri’s eyes. Dimitri could hear the Demon’s low growl.
“Blood.” Kitfox did not break the stare even as he answered his Feykin teammate.
Dimitri winced, remembering how Kitfox had pointed out the smell on him when they had met in Thief’s Paradise.
“It’s probably from the butcher down the street,” said Xyleena, turning slightly to walk away. “Come on, boy! I’ll get you a bone later.”
Kitfox rolled his eyes in a
nnoyance. Then he smirked. “I’m not moving for anything less than ten bones!”
“What?” the girl hollered in rage.
“Come on, Xy. Don’t be mean to him.” Teka put a hand on the young Dragon Keeper’s shoulder.
Xyleena grumbled something. “Five bones!”
Kitfox sighed. “Fine! But they better have a lot of meat on them!”
“Yeah! Yeah! Can we get moving now?”
“Listen well, for this will be your only warning.” Kitfox’s growl of a whisper was barely audible even by Dákun Daju ears. “Stop following us, or I will tell her you are here, Hume-aju. Then we’ll see how long you really last in a fight.” With a snarl, he turned away and strode back to the others.
“What the? Did he see us?” Dimitri glanced sideways at Pox.
She quickly shook her head.
“His senses are even keener than those of a pure-blooded Dákun Daju,” Godilai admitted begrudgingly. “If we are to continue this charade, I suggest we change tactics now.”
“What do you suggest we do?” Vincent grumbled.
“With you here? Nothing. You are too old and fat to be taking the rooftops.”
“Then why don’t we just change our location so the wind doesn’t carry our smell toward the fox?”
“Whatever we decide to do, I suggest doing it quickly,” Pox said. “They are about to leave our sights.” She pointed in the direction Xyleena’s team was headed.
“Forget the fancy stuff,” Dimitri said. “Just try to stay upwind from Kitfox while we follow them. First chance we get, steal the diary. Take Xyleena’s whole hip sack if you have to.” He rushed after Xyleena’s team.
“I’ll take her head.” Godilai vowed and immediately followed Dimitri.
Pox and Vincent followed moments later. The four of them managed to catch up to Xyleena’s team when they stopped to admire an ice sculpture in the bustling main square.
“Godilai, can you hear what they’re saying?” Dimitri whispered.
“There are too many people here.”
“Xyleena just took Dragon Diary out of her hip sack,” Pox announced.
Ascension Page 23
