Nexus of Change (Tasks of the Nakairi Book 2)

by K. E. Young

  "Are there gods?"

  I smiled as I realized that I had picked up a smidgen of belief in a deity over the past few days. "Almost a year before I arrived here I made a silver pendant. I was teaching myself sand casting and I worked for days on it. I didn't stop until it felt like it was complete. When I arrived in this world, the Karthim captured me. Lord Cassettis was part of the raiding party who attacked just as I tried to escape. We routed the Karthim and discovered that my pendant could have been made from a photo of Lord Cassettis' dragon form. Right down to the last scale. When I said it was a coincidence, he told me I simply didn't have all the facts. Dantalion says the gods have been around a lot longer than we have and they're better at manipulation than we will ever be.

  "If she brought you here then you have something to do that is necessary here. Be patient. It will come. For all you know, all she needs is your genetics and you just haven't met the right girl yet."

  Michael's expression held equal parts hope and thought. After a minute, he gave me a brisk nod and a determined look. "I will."

  He bowed and made his way over to collect his ribbon, then marched off to find Ilatis and the others.

  Thalak's voice in my ear brought me up short. "My lady?"

  I turned to face him. "Something wrong, Thalak?"

  He threw a suspicious frown at Michael as he disappeared through the palace door. "My lady, Michael identified himself as Nakairu but that isn't possible."

  "Why do you say that?" I was missing something here.

  "Nakairu are always Aria Atlani and all Aria Atlani have dark hair. There has never been a child of Atlan with golden hair. Ever. I do not know where he learned that language you spoke in, but he cannot be Nakairu." His face was earnest. He believed it.

  I gave him my best reassuring smile. "It's okay, Thalak. A child of Atlan can have golden hair — if they're from specific regions. When circumstances isolate a group long enough, they can develop traits that differentiate them from the larger group, like Lord Dantalion's pointed ears. In my world, those who lived in the snows of the far north developed lighter skin and hair. Some scholars of my world made the study of such changes their life's work. Usually, such changes accord a benefit in that location that increases the survival of their offspring or their chances of surviving long enough to have children. Light skin was one of those. The lightening of the hair was just a result of the other change. Besides, English is a difficult language. He couldn't have learned it well enough here to speak with a west coast accent. I promise you, Michael is Nakairu."

  Thalak had relaxed at my explanation. "Thank you, my lady. You should notify the High-Lord though. I doubt the Sabriyu know of him."

  My dragon rumbled at that. The chances that the Sabriyu would have considered him Nakairu were nearly nonexistent anyway and I wasn't about to explain to Thalak about how Lady Sabriyu's assumptions were leading her to make poor decisions regarding Nakairi. "Not today. I don't have time and I want to talk to Michael first. I need to know when and where he arrived, why he's being so quiet about it, and what he's been doing since then."

  "Yes, my lady. A sensible choice."

  The words sounded odd. I looked into the distance as I considered the person before me. "Thalak, I need to know something and I don't want to offend you."

  His expression was both steady and earnest. "Ask, my lady."

  "How do you see our relationship? What is your opinion about joining my household? Is this what you want most?" I wasn't sure if the questions covered what I wanted to know but they were the best I could do.

  He smiled with relief. "I am home. I do not know who my new brothers and sisters are, but I know my mistress is a good and honorable lady who cares about her people. The questions she just asked me tells me so.

  "I had lost hope and prayed to the Goddess for an answer when I heard a priestess say you were forming a household. I took her news as the Goddess's answer and I know now I chose well to give myself to you. You are my mistress, my lady. You will not use me ill."

  It took a few moments to unpack that. It was knotty and I didn't think I understood all he meant. Thalak wasn't stupid and hadn't joined my household because he missed being ordered around by a woman. Maybe the Goddess had answered his plea. Even if she hadn't, he was just as honorable as Harad said he would be… and he had just put his life and his honor in my hands. I could trust Thalak. He was family now.

  My lips tugged in a smile. "Welcome to the family Thalak."

  I turned back towards the remaining candidates with a light heart. If I had people like Thalak behind me, I could do anything.

  The scholars and clerks were easy. They were pleasant enough and seemed to be relatively intelligent. I thought one scholar in particular could be of help in setting up schools since he had been a tutor in the past and an official with the customs office. His name was Voth. "I will need a large number of people who can read, write, and do arithmetic. Can you help me get them?"

  A puckish smile peeked from behind his greying beard. "My lady, it has been a dream of mine to foster learning among those less fortunate. I have a friend raised in the slums. He is an intelligent man, but his station and his honesty have curtailed his opportunities. I always thought it was unfair. The dragonlords have always been fair masters, not just here but in Therys, Akkad, and Direnis. They haven't ventured into education for those who aren't Aria Atlani until now though. I have great hopes for you. I will do what I can."

  He had a friend who was intelligent and honest? I couldn't care less about the details of his birth. "Can your friend read and write? Why is he not here?"

  "He can, my lady, but he did not feel he was worthy."

  I gave him a stern look. This crap would change. "Tell him to come. I will meet with him as soon as he can get here. Take a ribbon for him when you go to talk to him. I will accept him based on your recommendation. If he fails me, he is no worse off than he was before. If he succeeds, as I suspect he will, he gains more that he thought possible.

  My tone turned dry, "If either you or he knows of anyone else that might be useful, pass the word I don't care about that garbage. If you have a mind and are willing to use it, the rest doesn't matter."

  Voth seemed overcome for a moment. "Thank you, my lady! I will do as you say." He bowed and, gathering the requisite ribbons, headed for the palace gates.

  The clerks accepted their ribbons with gratifying pleasure, as did the healer when it was his turn. Eventually, I reached Padjet.

  I stood with my hands on my hips as I surveyed him. "Tani seems to think you would make a suitable house master. She didn't realize that we award the role more on trust, potential, and relationship than on actual proven skill. However, I would be a fool to pass on your skills. I need an estate manager and I think you are perfect for the task. You seem a capable man who does not need help or watching. What do you think?"

  It was clear he was struggling with a decision. This was not what he was planning and hoping for. Nor would it do his employers much good, but it was all they would get and he knew it. "I was hoping to remain in the area so I could take care of my family my lady."

  "You may take them with you. I will even hire them in whatever capacity they are most suited."

  "My father is quite ill and cannot travel, my lady."

  He was determined to avoid the jaws of the trap, but I was equally determined that he stay there. "Oh. That's awful. If he cannot travel with you to the estate, then I will take over his care myself to ensure that he has the best. I'll even have a mage healer brought from Drakken if necessary. I promise you, I will care for him as if he were my own father."

  Padjet was looking ever more torn. This wasn't going down the way he had planned and it was looking increasingly likely that he couldn't deliver to his patron. I let him stew for few moments more before I decided it was time to pull the rug out from under him. It was clear he would not take the spot offered. If I didn't knock his feet out from under him he would back off and regroup. Next time I
might not be so lucky in spotting the threat. Meanwhile, maybe I can get information from him.

  "It won't happen. Your employer won't get what he wants and if you push it, you'll die. How far you want to take it is your choice. What is Nurian's money really worth?"

  Padjet's face blanked before he looked at me ruefully. "You may have a point. You're not what I was expecting."

  Gotcha. "I can see that. So, how much did Nurian pay you?"

  He laughed harshly. "Not enough to die for now I'm exposed. He said you were just a woman. Perhaps you could turn into a dragon, but still just a woman. There's more to you than that. I've watched you all morning. I should have expected it."

  Yes, you should have. "Well, no harm's been done. Yet. What will you do now?

  He had a confused expression. "I don't understand."

  I had never spoken to an assassin before and I wanted to know more about his thought processes. "Someone hired you for a specific task. Are you able to perform this task?"

  He blew his breath out in frustration. "No. Not really."

  "Then what will you do? I'm curious."

  His gaze was rueful. "I must return the funds paid. I guarantee my work. This is the first time I've failed. My mentor would be appalled."

  A bit of bruised ego there I thought. Although I imagine that a little arrogance was common in assassins. A certain disdain for the worth of others could be useful. It would make your prey easier to kill. "Really. What did he hire you to do specifically?"

  Padjet looked sharply at me for a moment, and then snorted and said, "Why not, he didn't think to pay me for my silence so there's nothing keeping me from telling you. Nurian wants me to infiltrate your household so I can feed him information about what you and the other dragonlords know about him and his plans, at least, for the next week or two."

  Only a week or two? We didn't have much time. "Nothing about killing either one of us?"

  Padjet looked almost relaxed now. Things were already as bad as they could be for him. "No. He didn't want to pay me that much. He's tight-fisted with his coin, and he's convinced his plans for removing the dragonlords will be successful."

  I smiled brightly at him. "And what might those plans be?"

  A disbelieving look shot my way. "You expect me to tell you that? What will you pay me for that information?"

  Did he think he had a choice? "Your life isn't enough?"

  "I'm very good at what I do. Do you think you can take me down?"

  If anything, my grin got wider. "Probably. And if I can't, there's Thalak here behind me and Dantalion and Harad behind you." Padjet whipped around to see Dantalion and Harad grinning at him with weapons bared. "Also, I should warn you I'm counted as being relatively well skilled in the martial arts."

  Harad rolled his eyes while Dantalion snorted. "That's putting it mildly. She beat the stuffing out of every warrior in Lord Cassettis' household then proceeded to beat the stuffing out of Lord Cassettis as well. Unarmed."

  "You'll need to get through me too. Your sandwich, my love." Mero handed me a plate with a large sandwich on it.

  It looked like a Dagwood special so I pulled off the top bread and some of the filling, put the bread back on and squished it down so it would fit in my mouth. I picked it up in one hand and set the plate down. Grinning at Mero, I said, "Thank you!" Then I took a huge bite.

  Dantalion, Mero, and Harad all looked amused while Padjet's expression was seriously confused. I swallowed and addressed Padjet. "Look, it's simple. I have no reason to trust you and I seriously dislike Nurian. I'll find out what he plans anyway but it will be easier and quicker if you tell me. It has the bonus of making you of some value to me, so I'll be more willing to let you live. If you have no value, then you're only a threat and I remove threats. So…choose." I took another bite while I waited for his response.

  Padjet watched me thoughtfully for a minute, then glancing at the other dragonlords surrounding him he sighed. "I don't appear to have much choice. I might be capable of taking out one, maybe even two, but not all of you at once." He looked me in the eye, "I can only tell you what I know."

  He sighed again. "Nurian has some kind of poison he says works on dragons, but wouldn't hurt people. He plans to dump it into the wells that supply the palace. He's waiting for the final shipment to arrive. That's all I know, I swear."

  Mero looked grim. "I know the toxin he's talking about. Pobat extract doesn't work all that well on dragonlords in human form. It affects us the same as any other human then, but we couldn't shift to dragon form until we flush the stuff from our bodies or it would take effect as soon as we changed. Also, it isn't quite as harmless to humans as he thinks. The poison won't kill unless they're already weak, but people will be very sick from it. Infants and the elderly will be the worst affected."

  "Well then. At least we know what we're looking for. Harad, would you stash Padjet someplace safe and secure until we get this cleared up?" I then turned back to Padjet. "No need to look so worried. We'll let you go. You have done nothing harmful yet and you have done us a service. But, we can't have you talking to Nurian until we're done with him. He might get a little upset with you and do something foolish like try to kill you. In my old world, we would have called it 'protective custody'. Do you understand?"

  Padjet nodded tiredly. "Yes, my lady. I even agree with your thinking. I planned to leave town but this course of action may be more to my benefit. Thank you for your forbearance."

  I turned to Mero. "Now. You promised me a fight." I put the remains of my sandwich back on the plate and handed it to Thalak. "Thalak, don't let the servants take my lunch away. I'll finish it after I pound on Mero." I grinned and skipped over to the ring. Pulling off my boots, I did a few stretches while Mero divested himself of weapons and his own boots. Mero face was lit with a light-hearted smile and I was looking forward to our match. More warriors had been trickling in during the last of the testing. There were at least fifty of them hanging around by now, most with green ribbons around their upper arms.

  We met in the center of the ring and exploded into movement. It wasn't so much a fight as an exhibition match. Neither Mero nor I were trying to kill each other, and we had nothing to prove. We were just having fun and maybe showing off to each other a little. We ended the match on mutual agreement. It had gone on far longer than it would have back on Earth but while we were both a little breathless, neither of us was exhausted. The warriors seemed enthusiastic but Padjet looked uncertain. I think he realized that he might not do as well in a fight as he thought. Dantalion looked askance at me. "You didn't try to kill him even once!"

  I laughed happily. "I wasn't angry with him this time. We were just playing. I take it you missed the dragon wrestling earlier? The servants seemed to think it was funny although a little alarming."

  Mero chuckled. "They've never seen dragons play."

  "You shoot sparks at my butt again I'll flatten you!"

  Harad and Dantalion snickered at that and Padjet just looked lost. I imagined that he was wondering how he lost to a clown. I took my sandwich back from Thalak, "Go get some rest Padjet, you look tired."

  With a crooked smile, he bowed and turned towards Harad, still looking a little lost. "Shall we?"

  I watched them walk off while I chewed on my sandwich. "You let him live." Mero mused.

  I looked at him while I finished my mouthful. "Padget wasn't an immediate threat and might be useful in the future. He's for hire, but he seems to have some kind of honor. He sounds like he stays bought at least until he finishes his task. It's not loyalty, but sometimes all you need is reliable. Maybe you should consider hiring him."

  I laughed. "Besides, I doubt he'll take anything that would put him up against us again. He seemed embarrassed he gave such a poor showing. He hasn't had to work directly against dragonkin before, I think."

  Mero laughed and I heard Thalak's quiet chuckle behind me. "My love, I doubt it's dragonkin so much as it's you."

  Chapter 15

&nb
sp; Day 8: 46th Day of Sanctuary, 3866

  The seamstress, a troop of assistants, Koris and Tani all arrived together before I could finish my sandwich. The assistants worked with Tani and Koris to get my new warriors measured up for uniforms while I discussed things with the seamstress.

  She wasn't sure she had the right colors so I changed back to dragon form so she could get them right. Admittedly, I wanted to show off a little. My dragon form was the first time I had ever felt beautiful and I loved the feeling.

  After I changed back, we discussed the specifics of the warrior's uniform tunics. My additional colors made changes to the existing designs necessary. We also talked designs for gowns and I gave her the ideas I had thought of while I was posing for the artist. She told me that the wedding gown was almost complete and Mero's wedding tunic was finished. Fortunately, they were white with stylized silver and gold dragons looping around the hems and required no changes.

  I was grateful for her forbearance with everything that was happening so I made a point of telling her how much I appreciated her help. "My lady, I've enjoyed the chance to do something a little different. The court ladies have their own seamstresses so I typically do warrior gear and servants garb. I originally trained to do finer work but other than the dragon-lords' court wear, I rarely get the chance. The designs for court gowns we're coming up with are so different from the clothing the other ladies wear and I like the possibilities I see. I'm enjoying the challenge. My work is more than drudgery now. I've started a new sketchbook for the ideas you've given me and the variations I've come up with on my own."

  That was a relief. "I'm glad. I'd like to see them. You'll send word if there are any problems?"

  "Of course, my lady. I've hired every embroiderer in town to help with the effort to get the tunics done for your new warriors and the patches for your remaining household. The first batch should be complete within the next two days. My primary assistant is already making patterns from the design the artist gave us. Don't worry. I'll make sure they do a good job." She gathered her notes and went to check on her assistants.