“You know, maybe the old general’s right,” Travast said. “We should take you and the boy somewhere private. But be warned, if you defy me again, I will cut you down and tell the king we had an accident. Remember, this factory is much more valuable to King Cini than your own lives.”
He clapped his hands, and the war automaton stepped forwards and unlocked the door. Its side mounted cannons remained trained on me, and I had no doubt that if I fought back, it would unleash carnage first into my body, then turn around to annihilate everyone else in the room but Travast. To try to wrestle down a war automaton would be absolute folly, anyway. I could take them down with guns, when augmented with secicao, but it had taken me a lot of training to learn how to do that.
Travast moved around the back of the automaton towards the stairs. “So come,” he said. “Let us have a party. I’ll have wine and you can have Exalmpora. It will be a ball.”
Despite his limp, he somehow managed to skip up the steps. I looked again at the fierce automaton, then at Faso, General Sako, Winda, and Talato, who all looked out from their stations at their beds as if wondering what I would do next.
But I had no choice. I followed Travast upstairs, the automaton’s gun-barrel stuck into the small of my back like a clockwork key unwinding me towards my fate. Taka and another automaton followed closely behind.
The war automatons led us down corridors walled by inactive automatons, into the training room. The door was already open, and the room looked like a traditional classroom with a blackboard, stand-up desks arrayed in front of it and a lectern at the front.
But Travast didn’t seem to intent on giving us a lecture. Instead, the automatons shoved us towards the back of the room, compartmentalised off by a high wooden screen. Behind this stood a round table, with four upholstered seats evenly spaced around it. Travast sat on one of these, with a tall-necked glass half filled with red wine. He had put two smaller glasses on the table, both containing that green Exalmpora, with black specks floating around within.
The sudden sensation came again – the thirst. It drew me towards the glass, as raw steak does a dog. I sat down mesmerised, watching it in awe. Hypnotised, as if part of a sacrificial ritual. Taka did much the same.
But neither of us reached out to drink the concoction – we managed to at least show some restraint. At this point, I’d kind of expected Finesia to be in my head, willing me to take the stuff down in one, telling me I needed it, and that it would complete me. Her absence seemed rather odd.
Was the cyagora blocking her out? I couldn’t possibly still have it in my system, could I?
Though his smile wasn’t visible underneath his bandana, mirth danced in Travast Indorm’s eyes. He wasn’t watching me at that moment, but Taka.
“You know, you dragonseer types are meant to be so sophisticated. I’ve seen Alsie, Charth and Francoiso, and I knew well Hastina, who eventually became Wiggea’s wife until he lost her in the Cadigan hills to the coyotes…” He paused a moment, and I detected a very slight sadness in his voice when he mentioned Hastina.
“Then there was Sukina,” he continued, “and now you. All of you have such grace. And yet all it takes is a drop of the blood of a dragon queen, and you’re reduced to animals. It’s fascinating.”
I clenched my teeth. “What do you want, Travast? Something tells me that this isn’t just about the king.” He most certainly had an agenda of his own.
“That is for me to reveal on a need to know basis,” Travast replied. “After all, I am the one with the upper hand. All I can say is that the battle in the Southlands before did an excellent job of convincing him he should divert additional funds towards this factory. And now, he’s coming to visit the very spectacles of said battle in person.”
“You won’t win,” I replied. “We have a much larger force than we sent inland, and they will come to rescue us.”
Travast let out a raspy laugh. “If you’re referring to that flotilla of archaic ships and icebreakers you sent towards Ginlast, we’ve destroyed them already. Such an idiotic plan of your admiral to send them into a location without an escape route. Ships aren’t meant for travelling through ice.”
“I don’t believe you,” I said. Faso had said it himself – the automatons would have to be heavily modified to have a chance of crossing the ice. They could send the Hummingbird, Hornet, and Roc automatons against Sandao’s ships. But these hadn’t been designed to battle ironclads, and only the missiles from the Rocs could pack a punch against a heavily armoured ship. But those missiles could equally well be torn to shreds by shrapnel-flak. Battles against ships were best fought by ships.
But then I remembered the automaton sharks that had attacked us before. If Travast had more of those, they could find their way under the icecaps, and Sandao wouldn’t have stood a chance. Dragonheats, we should have left the dragon automaton with him. Or at least, we shouldn’t have charged in so fast.
Travast watched me discerningly, as if he could hear my every thought. I lifted up my gaze from the table and scowled at him. He responded by raising his glass to the air.
“Let’s raise a toast to King Cini,” he said. “And everything that he stands for.” His words almost sounded sarcastic, but I dismissed that impression as nonsense.
In front of me, Taka already had his glass cupped in both hands, his cheeks glowing as if he was relishing in the slight warmth the cup gave off. He stared down at the Exalmpora, his eyes wide, his mouth slightly agape. But once Travast lifted his drink, Taka smiled and lifted his glass to his lips.
I also raised the glass, while eyeing the two automatons in front of me. They had their guns trained on me, and I didn’t doubt they’d use them if I took one false step. I sighed, touched the glass to my lips, and let the metallic warmth wash over my tongue. I swallowed on instinct, and the familiar sensation I’d yearned for so long returned.
Sheer joy. Sheer power. I could transform into a beast and rip out Travast’s heart. Then, not even a single bullet could graze my skin before I tore his automatons into shrapnel. What a fool Travast was. Did he realise how much danger he was putting himself in?
No, I told myself. I can’t let myself succumb to Finesia. I must not claim her gifts. But where was she? Exalmpora was meant to open up my connection to her.
I also found my spirit soften towards Travast. No longer did he seem a menace who would soon take our own lives if we didn’t do what he wanted for the king.
He wanted what I wanted – at least while under the influence of Exalmpora…
To unify the lands. To eliminate the dragons. To feed the growth of secicao in the northern continent. To create a better world for all.
I didn’t really want this. These thoughts were the Exalmpora’s doing. They were what Finesia wanted. And I remembered what Sukina and Gerhaun had taught me – how to still my thoughts; how to keep myself in control.
“I can handle this,” I said to myself.
“Yes, you can, Auntie,” Taka replied in the collective unconscious.
The collective unconscious. Taka… “The cyagora has worn off,” I said. “Finally, we can talk.”
But that was the last cogent thought I heard from the boy, as his mind went wild and his eyes glazed over. “She’s here, Auntie. And she’ll visit you soon. The wolves roam the night, and the bears stalk during the day. But none of them can beat the shades, Auntie, can they?”
“Taka… Don’t let it take control. You must fight it. Remember our training. You are separate from your thoughts.”
“Oh, I am here all right. I’m here in my purest form. This is my natural state, how I was raised. And the shades, don’t you see them, Auntie? You mustn’t be afraid…”
It seemed I’d lost him. But I also had to put on a front so I would make Travast think his drug was having more of an effect on me than he realised. I stood up and walked towards the window. I tottered a little as I moved as to give the impression of not quite being in control of my senses.
Outside, I
could see the slaves working at the rocks. They had so much energy, despite it being so cold and them wearing so few clothes. The greenness pulsing underneath their skin, would have provided extra warmth. This, of course, was the work of secicao. And so, it took a lot of strength to look upon this despicable scene and keep acting my role at the same time.
“Wow…” I said, drawing the word out long, flat, and slow. “It’s beautiful.”
Travast giggled like a nine-year-old boy who’d just heard a joke about breaking wind. “You know, I’m one of the few scientists in high circles who acknowledges magic exists in this world. There’s no scientific reason Exalmpora should work so well on you, and yet it does.”
I remained silent after that, purposely swaying from side to side on my two feet. The room was spinning a little, admittedly. But I had my mind under control, and I kept my thoughts distant.
Meanwhile, Taka’s thoughts babbled like a kettle boiling in my head. I didn’t listen to the words, so much, only acknowledged the repeated motifs – the shades, the dragons, the wolves, and the bears. The slave that had visited us in the camp had spoken about similar things in his delirious state.
Soon, I heard footsteps scuffle on the carpet from behind the screen. A redguard appeared and raised a salute. “Commander Indorm, sir, the king has arrived.”
Travast immediately stood up and brushed the dust off his clothing with his hands. “Took his time,” he replied. “Well, tell him we’ll be there in five minutes, I just want to make sure our subjects will make a good impression. Dragonseer Wells, sit down.”
I turned back around, traipsed over to the table, and placed myself down on the seat, as Travast poured more Exalmpora into my glass from a fresh vial. Dragonheats, I’d hoped that I’d only have to deal with one, as each shot would be harder to resist.
“One more for the road,” he said. And he poured a glass for Taka, and then topped up his wine.
This time, I raised my glass before he’d even led the toast. “Here’s to the king,” I said, slurring my words and focusing on a distant point behind Travast’s head to make my eyes appear glazed.
Shortly after, I poured the second glass of Exalmpora down my throat, as I planned what I’d finally do to the king who was largely responsible for Sukina Sako’s death.
Our meeting was a long time overdue, for sure.
20
Travast left Taka and I waiting in a spacious dusty room. We sat on two low foldable wooden chairs at the end of a long oblong table furthest from the room. The other seats in the room were tall, upholstered, and looked soft. Travast had gone to greet the king outside, but he’d posted two redguards and two war automatons to stand guard over us.
Taxidermied animals on plaques and pictures of the entire Cini family line of the Towese monarchy, leading back several hundred years, adorned the three inner walls. Light came into the room from a long line of stained glass windows, again with royal depictions, such as the circular insignia of the four sabres cutting at the air like a propeller blade, and King Cini III himself resplendent in his white fur coat and felt crown.
Though the room looked immaculate, I could taste a dusty dryness on the air, indicating it wasn’t used very much. Probably, it only saw action when the factory received visits from important officials. And King Cini was the most important of them all.
Taka had stopped babbling in my mind by this point, and so all I could hear was the swishing of the wind outside, punctuated by an occasional cough or sneeze from the guards.
“Taka, are you there?” I asked in the collective unconscious.
“Yes, Auntie, I’m here…” He paused a moment. “What do you think they’re going to do with us?”
It surprised me that Taka had regained control of his mind, since he’d seemed long gone in the training room. But that might admittedly have been an act. Or was this all the work of Finesia? I didn’t know. But then, apparently, children could break down Exalmpora much faster than adults could. So it might have just been his natural metabolism.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But right now it’s important that we go along with their plans. We’ll find a way to escape and save everyone.”
Taka let off an audible sigh. “Will we really, Auntie? From what I can see, it seems like there’s no escaping this.”
“We escaped the palace, didn’t we?” And as soon as the words came out, I regretted them.
Taka lowered his gaze to the table and drummed his fingers against it. “We did…” Both Taka and I knew that such an escape had been at a huge cost – Sukina’s life.
While Taka seemed ready to bend to the king’s wishes, I couldn’t help but worry what I might do. I’d driven a knife into the slave at the camp, without being in control. Then I had almost killed Talato. How did I know that Finesia wouldn’t also take control of my mind at such an apt moment?
If I lost myself to her and transformed into a dragon, I could end his life here and now. And he wouldn’t even see it coming.
But then, there was another way out. Another way to end this danger.
They said I was the last dragonseer, but I wasn’t. We had Taka, and if I forfeited my life before the king, just as Sukina had, then Taka might live. I truly believed that he could become the greatest dragonseer in history. Even if he wasn’t a woman.
But if I sacrificed myself, who then would look after Taka to help lift him up towards such greatness? Given his recent rebellious streak, I somehow doubted he’d get there himself.
Yet, there was always a chance King Cini would execute me on the spot. Last time I’d encountered him he had tried to kill me. And back then, he had also demonstrated that he didn’t particularly care about preserving Taka’s life either.
“Taka,” I said. “If I don’t get through this, I want you to promise me something. Don’t let Finesia in… You are stronger than her, and you must never let her take control.”
Taka looked up at me and blinked hard a few times. “Auntie, you must get through this. Without you, I’m alone.”
“You have Gerhaun.”
“She won’t last for long…”
And I paused a moment as I let that truth sink in. Gerhaun hadn’t long left in the world, and without her and without me there would be no one to mentor Taka.
“I’m only saying this just in case,” I said. “Yes, I think I’ll get through this. But we need to prepare for every eventuality.”
Taka’s eyes moistened. “You will survive, Auntie. There is no other way.”
A pompous voice coming from the other end of the room interrupted our conversation. I turned to see the alabaster powdered face of King Cini, who now stood at the doorway. Travast stood behind him, blending into the background by leaning against the wall.
“Well, well,” King Cini said, “when we met again, I thought it would be head to head on a battlefield, not in a conference room. While it seemed, regrettably, that I would have to kill you, Dragonseer Wells, now I hear you’re ready to join my side.”
I stared at him, saying nothing, biting my tongue to stop myself screaming out abuse.
Sukina had had a diary in which she’d written of this man’s crimes towards her. This king had thrown her mother’s severed head in the bin after she had died at Cini’s father’s hands. He and Captain Colas had drugged Sukina during childbirth, so they could steal her baby – Taka – away from her. And he’d almost killed her by drowning her underneath the Costondi sea, just south of the Southern Barrier. After that, King Cini had changed Taka’s gender, and masqueraded him around the palace as his nephew.
Later he’d taken me and Sukina hostage, drugged us and forced us into marriage with the two dragonmen – Francoiso and Charth. He had also ordered my home in the Five Hamlet’s razed, destroying everything that my parents had built for themselves over the years, driving them off their own land.
He wasn’t a good man, and I hated him to the bottom of my heart.
These thoughts, as they built up inside my head, caused ange
r to build at an unnatural level. It was almost as if I was being puppeteered by an invisible force. But then, wasn’t that how rage worked? Taking control of your faculties, until you later emerge from your blind actions to feel the regret…
“I have to admit,” Cini continued as Taka and I watched him silently, “I’m sceptical. You see, I want to believe you. Commander Indorm here tells me he’s used drugs to suppress you. But the last time we tried that strategy, I almost ended up dying at a dragonseer’s hands.” He lifted his head, took a deep and loud breath, and drew a sword from a sheath on his back. “Come forward, get down on one knee, kiss the blade, and swear your fealty, and I’ll believe it for myself if I see it in your eyes.”
By this time, my tongue must have been bleeding with me biting it so hard, and the rage continued to build in my chest. He wanted me to bow beneath him, so he could demonstrate his absolute power. If he wanted to kill either of us, he’d only need to turn the blade sideways and slice mine or Taka’s face in half.
King Cini looked at the guards at the back of the room, now standing behind us. “Start with the boy. Come forward, Prince Artua. It’s been so long and look how much you’ve grown.”
Taka kept his gaze distant and swayed on his short legs as he edged forwards. He placed himself on one knee, just above the blade that King Cini rested by its tip on the ground.
“I offer you my loyalty, Uncle Cini, you never lost it and you never will.” His words sounded rehearsed, as if he’d had to speak them before. Probably, someone like Alsie or Charth had trained them into him to stop him getting into trouble with his despotic and volatile king.
All this time, my heart was hammering in my chest. I really wouldn’t put it past this king to turn his blade on Taka right that moment.
Taka leaned over and placed his lips on the blade that glinted in the soft light. He rested them there for a few seconds, and then he stood up slowly. He wobbled a little as he did, and I wasn’t sure if the drug still affected him or if he was putting on an extremely convincing act.
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