by Eric Vall
“Julia, hey,” I walked over and knelt down beside her, “are you okay? Should I send for Ruslan?”
“No, no,” she sobbed out a laugh, “don’t get Ruslan. I’m fine. I was just so worried about you. I know you are by blood Ruslan’s child, but I feel like you are my son as well, Evan. The thought of an assassin coming for you in the middle of the night … it terrifies me in a way I’ve never felt before.”
“I’m fine,” I whispered as I wrapped my arms around her in a hug, “and you don’t have to just feel like my mom, you are my mother. I think the fear you’re experiencing comes with being a parent.”
“You are a terrible child,” Julia sniffled and lightly slapped my chest, “making me worry like this.”
“I’m sorry?” I questioned with a grin, and she hugged me.
“Don’t be sorry. I should be proud of you.” She pulled out her fan and quickly fanned her face to dry her eyes. “The sect wanted you dead because you are a threat to them. They know you can destroy them so they came to destroy you first.”
“You can still be both scared and proud.” I pulled away from her and smirked. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry I worry you so much, but if it helps, I am kind of hard to kill.”
“Oh hush, you.” Julia rolled her eyes before she looked back at the assassin’s body. “You should go. I’m sure Lord Nikolaus and Laika have found a spot for you by now.”
“Will you be okay?” I asked as I picked up the body with ease and tossed him over my shoulder.
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me,” she insisted.
“Alright then, I’ll see you in the morning, Mom.”
Julia smiled warmly and continued to clean the blood from the floor.
As it turned out, my mother was right. Laika and Nike had found a spot by the time I arrived, and Ruslan had joined them as well. I was thankful for my enhanced senses as a dragon or else it probably would have taken me some time to find them. They were to the north of the city, along a dry patch of sand that was barren of life except for some patches of dried grass sprinkled here and there.
The assassin Laika had killed was already on the dirt as they waited for me. They’d taken off his mask, and for the first time, I saw his face. He was an older gentleman with dark hair that had several streaks of gray, but I felt no pity or remorse as I looked at his body.
Served the bastard right.
“Hey there,” I greeted my friends as I tossed my corpse onto the ground to join the other in the dirt.
“He was just a boy,” Ruslan sighed sadly when he looked at the assassin I’d just dropped. “He probably didn’t even understand the magnitude of what he fought for.”
The rest of us were silent for an awkward moment, but then I shook my head and shifted into my dragon form as I prepared to burn the bodies.
I could have used my fire magic, alongside Ruslan, but my dragon fire burned hotter, and I wanted to end this as quickly as possible. These traitors didn’t deserve any more time than necessary dedicated to their death. It also seemed like it had been forever since I used my fire as a dragon.
“Everyone, stand back,” I warned the group as I took a deep breath.
Then I exhaled, and a spiral of flames poured from my maw and collided with the two bodies. Their clothes instantly caught fire, and it wasn’t too long before their flesh began to burn as well. Dark smoke wafted into the air, and I was grateful I couldn’t breathe at the moment. I was sure the air was thick with the scent of burning flesh.
It took a few minutes, but the bodies eventually disappeared under my onslaught of flames. Finally, I shut my mouth and looked down, and two piles of dark gray ash sat where the bodies had been.
Good riddance.
I shifted back into my human form and kicked one of the piles to ensure the bodies were nothing more than dust now. The ashes blew across my shoes and coursed through the air, and I smiled darkly at the sight.
It may only be two bodies in an unknown number of people loyal to the Green Glass Sect, but it was a start. I peered at the darkness that surrounded the city. I hoped some of them were out there now, somewhere in the shadows, and I hoped they knew that one day, their bodies would be burned by my flames, too.
The Green Glass Sect had earned the wrath of a dragon, and dragons did not forgive easily.
Or at all.
Chapter 11
The next morning, I stood inside the archives with the rest of the citizens of Hatra. The attack last night had prevented me from getting much sleep, so I’d ordered a town meeting to be held at first light. My parents, Nike, and Alyona stood behind me while I addressed the group of several dozen people who had joined us.
“Thank you all for coming,” I began, “I know this probably seems strange since we had a meeting not too long ago, but I have some new information I felt was important to tell you all.”
“What happened?” Afra called out as she rubbed her eyes and yawned. “And why couldn’t it wait until a reasonable hour?”
I took a breath and considered how to continue. I knew I risked panic if the people knew about the attacks, but I also knew they had a right to know. This concerned them as well. As long as assassins could continue to enter the city through the secret passages, they were all at risk, so the only way to protect them was to alert them.
My eyes locked onto Laika, who stood on the opposite side of the room, and her gaze roamed along the group as she waited to see their reactions to the news. After a moment, she met my eye and nodded, and I returned the gesture before I turned my attention back to the civilians.
“There was an assassination attempt last night on myself and the members of the Green Glass Sect we are holding prisoner,” I explained quickly. “The assassins were other members of the sect. Their leader, Olivier, apparently has maps of Hatra, ancient maps that detail out the secret passages and tunnels we just discovered under our feet. He used these maps to direct his assassins to sneak into the city. One of the assassins claimed they were here for a month before they were given word to act upon their orders. If we are to believe her, that means the others could have been here for a month as well, or even longer.”
“Wait,” an older gentleman interrupted, “you left one of them alive? Won’t that force the hand of the sect? Won’t they come for her? What happens when they return?”
The room filled with voices as the rest of the people began to talk over each other.
“Lord Evan was not finished!” Laika’s voice rang above the noise, and the crowd silenced. “Before you begin to panic, perhaps you should listen to your lord and trust him.”
The crowd slowly turned their attention back to me, and I gave the guild leader a grateful smile.
“Laika’s right,” I told my people. “We can’t panic, that’s what they want. They want us weak and crippled, but we won’t let them win. We are going to seal the chambers of the tunnels and continue to search the passages we haven’t gone through. We need to map out the area, too. If there are any other threats inside this city, I will find them.”
I heard a few stray whispers, but they were quickly silenced when I sent the crowd a stern look.
“We can’t let them scare us, that’s what they want,” Alyona’s sweet voice reiterated as she stood and walked over to stand next to me. “We need to show them we are united. If we stand together, they cannot defeat us.”
I grabbed Alyona’s hand and entwined our fingers, and she smiled up a me while I quickly kissed her forehead.
“From now on, I want to put a curfew in place,” I ordered as I looked back to the crowd. “Everyone needs to be home by the time the sun sets. Also, all gates except one will be closed, and they will remain closed until the threat is over. We need to make sure every single person who enters our city is here for the right reasons, otherwise we could easily become infested with spies from the sect. Alyona is also working on a barrier spell that will prevent any enemies of Hatra from entering. Obviously, the guards and myself will be exempt fro
m this curfew, but until we know for sure that no other threats reside inside the city, we can’t put the civilians at risk.”
“What about the reconstruction?” Leon asked from his place in the crowd, and his golden hair identified him before he even stood. “We have a very strict schedule we need to stick to, and we already have the unexpected delay with the secret passages. We can’t fall behind or add more things to our list or else we risk not making our deadline.”
“The reconstruction will continue as planned, we just need to account for the new curfew,” I answered quickly to reassure the people. “For the most part, we didn’t work past dusk anyway, so this shouldn’t interfere too much. The reconstruction is still a top priority, we just need to make sure everyone inside is safe while we do it.”
Leon nodded his approval, and then I turned to the next citizen who voiced their concerns.
The rest of the meeting passed in a blur after that. Afra updated us on the status of the farm and the plants that were nearly ready for harvest, a few random citizens had a small dispute over land that was easily sorted, and Laika updated the people about a new guard regiment that would be in place immediately.
Before I knew it, the library had emptied, and I collapsed with a sigh into the nearest chair.
“I think that went well,” Ruslan commented from behind me. “You did a nice job of reassuring the people and helped keep them calm about all the assassination attempts. You were made to lead.”
“Thanks, Pops,” I murmured as I rubbed my brow.
He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed softly. “You alright, son?”
“Yeah, just thinking,” I sighed. “I don’t think the sect is aware about the passage that leads to the mountains. I’m thinking if the sect attacks again, we can try to send as many people to the caves as possible and get them out of harm’s way.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Ruslan hummed and sat down in a chair next to me. Then Julia stopped behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
“Do you think they will attack again so soon?” she asked quietly.
“No, but I don’t believe they’ve given up,” I replied in a firm voice. “If they want us dead, they’ll be back, but we’ll be ready for them when they do. They won’t have the element of surprise next time, and that is how we can beat them. We know they are coming, it’s just a matter of timing.”
“And I’d like to see them try to use the tunnels again, now that you are aware of them,” Nike remarked with a smirk. “We are ready for them, and they know it. If they want to attack now, they will have to face us head on.”
“Although, Olivier is too smart for that,” Laika added. “When Olivier orchestrated an attack on Hatra with his behemoths, Evan made sure the attack was a failure. Now, they have failed a second time. Olivier knows he will lose if he attacks us again, so he will most likely wait for our guard to drop and then strike. But, as long as we stay vigilant and strong, we can easily defeat any attack he throws at us.”
“Laika is right,” I agreed. “We can’t let our guard down, not now. We need to remain focused on the city and our defenses. Olivier is patient, he will wait until the perfect time to strike. We just have to be ready for him when he does.”
Everyone was quiet as they absorbed my words.
“Okay, then,” Nike broke the silence, “where should we start?”
“We need to secure the tunnels,” I decided. “If we find any other passages that lead out, we can block them off for now. We just need to prevent anyone from sneaking inside Hatra. Other than that, we continue to build the city up. We still have a deadline, and we can’t ignore it because of the Green Glass Sect. The city is nearly finished, there are only a small amount of things left to do, and once we are done with those things, we can begin to work on the Lunar Palace.”
“I’ll ensure the training sessions we have started continue along smoothly,” Laika promised. “Maybe we can even get more Hatra citizens to join now that they know another threat is out there.”
“Thanks, you should talk to Natalya as well,” I suggested. “We have the workers at the mines now, so I can give the order to bring home the materials she needs for her shop. The orichalcum would be nice to have again so she can create better weapons for us. Maybe she can even make a few sparring weapons so you can train and get used to the weight of it.”
“Of course, my lord.” Laika nodded.
“I can lead the groups to the tunnels,” Nike volunteered. “I’ll make sure everyone stays safe.”
“We can join him,” Ruslan added quickly as he gestured to himself and Julia. “There isn’t much for us to do here, so we might as well help in whatever way we can.”
“He’s right,” Julia agreed. “We are Elders of Hatra. It’s our duty to keep the city safe.”
“I’d like to join as well,” Moskal spoke up from his sister’s side. “I have to admit I’m curious about the secret passages, and I’d like to see them before they get sealed up.”
“Then it sounds like we have a plan,” I said with a grin. “I’m going to go see Valerra now. I want to talk to her about the assassination attempt and see if she can help us keep an eye on our borders.”
“That’s a good idea,” Alyona replied. “Maybe she can also help us figure out where more of the passages lead. She’s been the guardian of the canyons for three thousand years, if anyone knows about secret passages, it would be her.”
“I never even thought to ask her about that,” I blinked in surprise, “but you’re right. She might know something that could help us out. I’ll come find you all later and let you know what she says.”
I left the group inside the library and quickly climbed up the spiral staircase and into the city. The sun hung low in the eastern sky, and Hatra seemed to be much more awake now that sunlight shone down and illuminated the streets.
I took a moment and let myself admire the scenery before me.
Hatra was beautiful. Strong, thick walls surrounded the city on all sides, the homes inside were nearly all finished, and most already had families now living inside them. There were a few more things left to do before we could start on the Lunar Palace, but I was happy with the progress.
Raisa and Azra suddenly walked in front of me and broke me out of my trance. The two architects held a large piece of parchment between them as they walked perfectly in time with each other, and they had their faces nearly pressed to the page while they whispered to each other.
“Hey!” I called after them. “Wait up!”
The architects froze before they turned to me with identical grins.
“Lord Evan!” Raisa nearly screamed as she released her half of the parchment and ran at me.
She enveloped me in a hug before Azra pried her off me with a laugh.
“Sorry, we didn’t see you there,” Azra explained with a wince, but his amber eyes were bright with excitement. “We’ve been busy drawing up blueprints for the Lunar Palace.”
“We should be able to start construction soon!” Raisa added quickly. “We want to make sure the palace is perfect. Oh! This is actually great timing, we’ve been wanting to ask if there is anything specific you want to add into the palace?”
“I thought it would be more for Alyona than me?” I questioned with a furrowed brow. “She’s the princess. Why don’t you two ask her for anything?”
The two architects shared a confused look before Azra spoke up.
“You’re the Lord of Hatra,” the blue-haired male pointed out. “Alyona is the princess of Rahma, yes, but this is your city. She will have a room here, but all decisions about the palace are yours.”
“Huh, I hadn’t thought of it like that,” I muttered. “Okay, just let me think for a minute, yeah? I’ll get back to you later, since I’m actually on my way to talk with Valerra.”
“Of course!” Azra exclaimed, while Raisa nodded frantically. “We didn’t mean to pressure you!”
“We just wanted your opinion on the cur
rent design,” Raisa waved her hands around her head, “but we can find you when you return. Send us a message, and we can talk about the matter further.”
“Of course, thank you for all your hard work,” I responded, and they smiled before they quickly scampered away.
Once they were out of sight, I walked toward the gates quickly and thought about the designs for the palace. I knew a few things I wanted to be implemented, but I also hadn’t had the time to think about it thoroughly.
No matter. The palace was the last thing on my to-do list right now. I could think about it later.
After a few minutes, I reached the gates, they opened, and I slipped outside. Then I shifted into my dragon body and took off into the sky.
I soared over the deserts toward the Crimson Canyons. When I landed in front of Valerra’s cave, she emerged in her human form, crossed her arms over her bare chest, and glared at me.
“You really don’t know what ‘leave me alone’ means, do you?” she snipped.
“Good morning to you too, Valerra,” I greeted with a smirk. “And I missed you, too.”
“What do you want, Evan?” The crimson dragon rolled her golden eyes.
“I won’t be here long, stop being snippy,” I chuckled and shifted into my human form. “I’m just here to talk to you about something.”
“Great,” she snorted and leaned against the rocky opening of her cave. “Then talk so I can return to my solitude.”
“Assassins were sent to Hatra last night,” I said plainly as I walked toward her.
Valerra’s head quickly snapped up to me, and she stood up straight. Then she seemed to read the expression on my face to see if I was lying to her, and a few seconds passed in silence before she finally responded.
“Was anyone killed?”
“Just the assassins.” I smirked. “What kind of dragon do you think I am?”
“The kind who doesn’t know how to listen,” she countered.
“Very funny.” I narrowed my eyes at her, and she clicked her tongue.
