“I was worried about you,” said Lady Primula. “I thought maybe the Sacred Blood had gotten you, or perhaps dragons had kidnapped you.”
“Actually, the latter isn’t far from the truth,” said Shayla.
Lady Primula raised a speculative eyebrow.
“I’ve spent the last several weeks with dragons, learning about dragons, training with my dragon magic.”
“How was that? What are they like?” Lady Primula could barely contain her curiosity.
“They’re more like humans than I ever imagined. Caritha, my dragon is sarcastic with a dry wit. You and her would probably get along just fine. Apophis is this huge, powerful, alpha dragon. She is what I imagine a queen should be: regal, intelligent, powerful, introspective, a teacher and a mentor.”
“Truly? That is intriguing. Partha’s biggest bitch has a dragon for a mentor. I don’t know if that is encouraging news or frightening.”
Shayla smiled. “I don’t know that I’m the biggest bitch, others might argue that you qualify, or Queen Harn.”
Lady Primula scrunched her face in disgust. “Please, never mention that overfed cow in the same sentence as you and I. She’s a manipulative leech and doesn’t deserve such an honorable title as bitch. You and I can compete to see who is the bigger one, but she may not. She is the filth they scrape off pond scum.”
It was Shayla’s turn to raise a questioning eyebrow. “You know something I don’t about our queen?”
“Aside from the normal royal endeavors? The Harns like to use their staff for sexual pleasure, willing or otherwise. Which doesn’t bother me as much as the age of some of their bedfellows.”
“Not the only royals to have such inclinations,” said Shayla.
“True, but there are limits and she goes far beyond them.”
“Speaking of our royal family, have you learned any more about their plans?” Primula was a member of the royal court and knew most of the kingdoms secrets.
“Yes. They are being rather vocal in their displeasure about the western lands claiming their own kingdom. There will be war.”
Shayla rolled her eyes. “There is always war. King Harn is always trying to expand his territory.”
Primula laughed. “Isn’t that the truth. But enough about the king. You didn’t come here looking for information about royal matters.”
“No I didn’t. Did you consider the attack?”
“Of course I did. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?”
“A dangerous one,” said Shayla.
“I’m a dangerous woman even when I am being a friend. That is why we get along so well. We understand each other.”
It was true. When they first met, it was a formal function her father was hosting to honor a foreign trading partner, and immediately Shayla and Primula had hit it off.
“I see a younger version of myself in you,” said Primula. “All that ambition and anger. However, you are different now. I can see that, but I can’t see if it is a good change for me or not. Time will tell I suppose. As for the attack. You are talented at making enemies. The man behind the attack was Jobe Hollow. A career criminal, but a talented and dangerous one. He has many businesses in Whiteridge, some legit, but most are fronts for his criminal activities. Whiteridge is the perfect place for his base of operations. He steals in Oxvein and sell in Vora, and vise versa.” Primula slid an envelope across the table. “His business locations, known associates and history. Everything I could dig up on him.”
“Thank you, Primula. I don’t suppose you know his connection to the Sacred Blood?”
“It is in there as well. Brother Nemas is his name, another dangerous character. Are you really going to go after them yourself?”
“They came after me, I’m not going to wait in fear for the next attack.”
“Yes, that was certainly a mistake.”
…
Shayla slipped into the alley, and made her way towards the warehouse. According to Primula’s notes on Jobe Hollow this was the center of his business ventures. His distribution hub for redirecting stolen goods between the two kingdoms of Partha.
The night was dark and rainy. Perfect for what she had in mind.
Shayla made her way to the backdoor of the warehouse. There stood two guards. They still couldn’t see her. Her dark hooded cloak matched the black night sky and gray black of the alley.
Closing her eyes, Shayla took a deep breath and remembered her lessons with Apophis. She could feel her anger burning inside her stomach, but she needed to be calm and collected. She would let her anger fuel her magic, but she would keep it under control. Her eyes flickered open and she let a fireball start to build between her hands.
One of the guards spotted the fireball. “What in the Seven Hells?” he said as he stepped towards Shayla.
Shayla sent the fireball hurling through the air, not at the guards but at the door behind them. The magical ball of dragon fire hit the door and it exploded, sending chunks of wood flying through the alley. The explosion also sent the two guards flying forwards and they slammed into the brick wall of the building across the alley, knocking them out.
Shayla stepped over what remained of the door and entered the warehouse. The building was filled to the brim with goods waiting to be transported between kingdoms. Jobe Hollows stolen goods were worth a small fortune.
When she reached the center of the warehouse a voice rang out. “Stop right there.”
From the shadows a dozen men stepped out. Two men wearing long black robes leading them. The men were obviously brothers, their faces almost identical except one had scars across his cheek and the other had had his nose broken. The broken nose brother spoke. “My brother and I had a bet. He said you would go to Jobe’s house, try kill him there. Me? I say “Brother, you no understand women.” If he understands women he would know they take revenge very serious. They don’t just kill you, they hurt you then they kill you. So, I tell my brother, the dragonblood will come to the warehouse, destroy Jobe’s business then kill him.”
Shayla lowered her hood so the men could see her face. “Well, aren’t you the perceptive one. What did you win in your little bet?”
Broken nose grinned. “I get to have you first.”
“A prize worth winning for sure. However, I see one minor problem with your bet,” said Shayla.
“Problem? There is no problem,” said the scar-faced brother. “Other than the fact that I loss.”
“I think you may have overlooked one minor detail,” said Shayla.
“What you think we don’t have plan for your magic fire?” asked the scar-faced brother. “We got these robes from mages before we killed them. Fireproof.”
Shayla nodded. “An excellent plan but you forgot one thing.”
“What is that?” said Broken Nose with an evil smirk.
“Your fireproof robes only work if you wear them properly.”
The brothers looked at each other in confusion.
Shayla sent a pair of fireballs at the two brothers, each fireball hit its target in the face. The fools hadn’t thought to cover their faces. They either weren’t smart enough or assumed she wasn’t accurate enough to strike small targets with her fireballs, she would never know the answer as both men were on the ground screaming, their heads covered in dragon fire.
“Kill her,” yelled one of the archers standing in the shadows. He raised his crossbow to fire at her.
Shayla ducked and sent a fireball towards the archer, she then started running, shooting fireballs as fast as she possibly can. Men scrambled and ducked. Some were hit with the fireballs while others managed to find cover behind some of the warehouses merchandise. But soon they found this to be a bad idea. Shaylas fireballs were lighting everything in the warehouse on fire. The intense dragon flame, magnitudes hotter than normal fire, lit the merchandise up and within second the entire warehouse was filled with flames. Men scrambled towards the doors.
Shayla ran out the door she’d come in, and created a
large fiery wall across the doorway. No one else would be coming out of the burning warehouse through this door. She knew the warehouse had main doors on the other side of the building and that some of the men might make it out, she didn’t care if they made it or not.
Running through the rainy night, Shayla made her way to Jobe’s office. She’d scouted the building before making her attack on the warehouse. She knew he was hiding there and not at his home where he had more men waiting. There was a certainly irony to the loud mouth brother’s statement about knowing women. He’d been partially right about her intents. He’d gotten her reason for destroying the warehouse wrong though. Jobe Hollow led a gang of criminals. If she just killed him, another man would take his place and the Sacred Blood could simply keep initiating new deals to make her a target. The attack on the warehouse destroyed the inventory and main supply building for Jobe’s gang. She wasn’t just cutting the head off the snake, she was going to chop the entire snake into chunks. When she was done, the entire gang would be dead or disappeared to parts unknown in fear for their lives.
Shayla reached the office. The lights were still on. With the heavy rain, she couldn’t see any sign of the warehouse fire, so it was likely Jobe had no idea she’d launch her attack. Instead of blowing up the door like she’d done at the warehouse, Shayla snuck up to the side of the building. The front of the office had a large glass window, she put her hand on the glass and heated it until the window melted. Behind the glass were thick curtains, she grabbed them and yanked them down. The front part of the office was empty. She could see light coming from beneath an interior door. She snuck up to the door and checked the handle. It wasn’t locked. Trying to be as silent as possible, she opened the door. She stepped inside the door into the next room.
A movement caught her eye, and she instinctively ducked down. An axe slammed into the wall where her head had been moments before. The man yielding the axe growled and pulled it out of the wall and swung it at her again.
Shayla barrel rolled out of the way of the axe and as she rolled fired a small fireball that struck the man in the chest.
The man screamed in agony as the intense heat of the dragon fire burned a hole into his chest. He grabbed at his chest then looked down to the floor where Shayla was crouched. He fell to his knees. “Damn you, Shayla Finch, and damn those Sacred Blood for tricking me into attacking you. Damn them straight to the bottom of the Seven Hells.”
“Where can I find this Brother Nemas?”
Jobe Hollow looked at his chest and started coughing violently. He spit out a mouthful of blood then spoke. “I’m no rat, but what do I care if you kill those bastards? It is their fault I am dying. You can send all those sanctimonious bastards to the grave for all I care. The Sacred Blood have a temple in Duncaster. They call it the Temple of the Cloud Order, but it is just a front for the Brotherhood. You’ll find Brother Nemas there.”
Shayla stood and started to leave.
“One more thing,” said Jobe. “Burn this office. I don’t want any of those sneak thieves sitting in my desk. I’d sooner go up in flames than let anyone take my place.”
Shayla nodded. “As you wish.” Jobe had given her the Sacred Blood, there was no reason not to fulfill his last request. She walked out of the room, and as she went she blasted the walls with dragon fire. She slipped back out the window and into the night.
She had a strange feeling in her stomach as she walked away from the fiery building. She’d finally struck back at one of her enemies. Jobe Hollow and his gang had been one of the Sacred Blood’s chosen weapons and she’d destroyed them. But it wasn’t joy she felt, it was something else more akin to satisfaction than any sense of happiness. Her enemies now knew she wasn’t going to be a victim any more, but she still had more to do. The Sacred Blood were still out there and now she knew where to find them. I’m coming for you Brother Nemas, thought Shayla as she slipped into the night.
43
Three hundred gold coins. It was more than Jamison had ever imagined, and it would be his once the mission was completed. The first thing he would do was leave Droll. Even if Lyric was killed, the boy had friends and Jamison didn’t want to be killed in revenge, not when he could live the rest of his life in wealth someplace else. No, he would do the job, then head to Northport and leave the isle behind. The job was simple. Kidnap Sibylle Lamar. He even had all the men he’d need. Prince Talon Horne had given him half a dozen men for the job. All he had to do was help the men get the girl and he’d be rich.
“What have you found out?”
Jamison glanced around the room. The men were looking at him, waiting to hear if he’d gotten any results. Joran, the leader of the men, was the one who’d posed the question. Joran was a lithe and stealthy man who moved soundlessly. His dark eyes and scared face had the look of a man who’d seen many a battle. He was cold and unfriendly, but Jamison wasn’t here to make friends he was here to get rich, and Joran was going to help him. “Haylee Benson is having a party Friday night. Sibylle will be attending.”
“Two days isn’t much time to prepare,” said Joran.
Jamison scowled. “She is leaving her estate, will be lightly guarded and traveling at night. What more do you want?”
Joran nodded. “Yes, those are good points. Her guard will be Sir Robert?”
“I suspect so. But I’m not privy to that information,” said Jamison. “I thought the least amount of questions I asked the better.”
“Smart,” said Joran. “Now give me the lay of the land.”
“The Benson farm is west side of town, Sibylle will travel through Middale and up the western road five miles to the Benson farm. Between the Lamar estate and Middale are a few miles of road.”
“No. The farther from the Lamar estate the better. Tell me about the road to this farm,” said Joran.
“Mostly flat, there is a about a quarter of mile of woods about half way to the far, and the road twists a bit for a creek. There is a long, covered bridge over the creek.”
“That sounds promising. Tomorrow morning the boys and I will go look. You go about your business as normal. You invited to this party?’
“It’s a barn dance. All Middale is invited. But many will leave the party early. Sibylle is a good friend of Haylee’s. Last year she was one of the last to leave.”
“Good. You’ll go to the party. When Sibylle is about to leave, you’ll head outside and signal our man. Then you go back in and stay for as long as you can. Make sure enough people see you. If possible leave with a group so there are witnesses. If something goes wrong we’ll need you to set up another attack.”
Jamison nodded. His friends would stay if there were drinks. He’d bring a full jug of ale for the night and make sure there was plenty for the end of the night. Soon he would be a rich man.
…
For the first time in what seemed like ages, Sibylle was relaxed and stress free. The king’s men were fighting against the southern lords, but so far were content to ignore the interior and north western lords who refused to accept Lord Horne as king. And rumors out of Wilmborne suggested that the search for Lyric had failed when Talon Hornes wolfhounds died. It seemed forever since she’d had a night with nothing to worry about other than how to fill her dance card.
The barn dance was fun. Middale had been a nervous place for months as everyone waited and watched to see how King Horne would react to their declaration of independence. Tonight, everyone seemed relaxed and determined to enjoy themselves.
“You aren’t dancing?” asked Haylee as she joined Sibylle.
Sibylle smiled. “Just taking a breather. I’m too out of shape for this.”
Haylee laughed. “Liar. I saw how hard you trained for the tournament. You practically could do laundry on your belly.”
“I’ve grown soft since, eating cake, and lounging around. I need to get my butt back into training.”
“You could train me. I think you fighting in the tournament was the most amazing thing I ever saw. I h
ad no idea it was you. I was checking you out. Telling the girls what a tight little bottom that mystery knight had.”
Sibylle giggled and shoved her shoulder into Haylee’s. “You never mind my butt.”
“I am serious you know. I would love to train with you. My father would have a bird, but with all the strangers around Middale these days, and the possibility of war with King Horne I hate the idea of being a defenseless maiden. I want to to take care of myself if any man decides to make me the spoils of war.”
Sibylle watched Haylee’s face. Despite the grin, she could tell Haylee was serious. And Sibylle didn’t blame her. They were already hearing stories of atrocities in the south as the king’s men pushed back against the uprising. “Yes, I will train you. Tell your father we are going riding tomorrow then come to Redfall.”
“Thank you, Sibylle. You are the best,” said Haylee before giving her a big hug. She then looked Sibylle in the eyes. “There is one more thing.”
Sibylle raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not the only girl that wants to train. Arria Rowland and Ashley would like to join us.”
“How do they know about this? I just agreed to it.”
“Well, us girls might’ve been talking about it, and we might’ve decided the best way to get you to say yes was for me to ask, you couldn’t say no to me on my birthday.”
Sibylle shook her head and laughed. “I’ve been suckered. Yes, I will train with you. But Ashley works at the pub for Blair, why doesn’t he train her?”
“He’s shown her a few things, but he doesn’t like spending time alone with Ashley. She can be a little too … friendly shall we say. He doesn’t want Valeria getting the wrong idea.”
“Smart man,” said Sibylle. “Never piss off a powerful witch.”
“Yes. So, Ashley needs someone safe to train with. Someone who isn’t going to think she is flirting with them when they spar.”
Ashely was gorgeous, and a natural flirt, so that basically excluded every man in Middale from being her trainer. Sibylle sighed. How are we going to organize this?”
Dragon Magic: Lyric's Curse 2 (Dragonblood Sagas Book 4) Page 24