by Arthur Slade
I actually took a step forward as if I could protect Megan and Thord.
“Do I have to?” Banderius said.
Corwin looked down at where the bleary-eyed Banderius, the man we had all worshipped as the greatest assassin in Ellos, sat.
“Do you have to?” Corwin repeated. “I’m not asking you to clean the stables. Yes, you have to, and I want it done now. And do make sure there’s lots of blood.”
“Fine. Fine. I’ll do it.” Banderius raised himself shakily out of the chair, using the back of it for support. I wondered how long he’d been sitting there drinking. He was taller than us and had a longer reach than even Thord. Banderius stumbled slightly when he took his first step. He stared at his foot as though surprised at its betrayal.
“We don’t have all night!” Corwin said.
Banderius rolled his eyes and then looked at us. His mouth moved, and I swear he whispered, “Sorry.” He drew his sword.
It was a black blade covered with Oldtongue runes. I’d read about it, a famous sword that he called Lilith. He’d named it after his mother.
“Don’t do this,” I said. “You were Maestru Alesius’s favourite. You can still make good on your oaths.”
He shook his head and did meet my eyes this time. His were red. “Maestru Alesius thought he could change my inner nature, but he was wrong.”
Banderius brought his blade toward us and in a heartbeat, I had my daggers out, deflecting the blow. I’d hoped that the magic in my blades would make his shatter or cut right through it, but it only sparked. Lilith was clearly powerfully enchanted.
Megan darted around his other side and made a quick lunge, but he easily deflected her blow and, at the same time, kicked Thord so that he fell over. Even with the wine in his system Banderius was incredibly skilled. His black armour protected him but obviously didn’t slow him down at all. My next blow was blocked, and he stopped his blade only an inch from my eye and then laughed. The move he had used reminded me of when Corwin had poked out my eye.
So Banderius had taught Corwin that trick!
Corwin edged closer to get a better view. I guessed he didn’t want to miss a single drop of spilled blood.
It was clear that Banderius could destroy us at any moment. He, too, was playing a game, or he felt enough guilt he chose to give us a few more seconds of life.
Thord made a move from one side, so I stabbed from the other. But Banderius was able to easily knock the dagger from my right hand with the flat of his blade and spin in such a way as to deflect Thord’s blow. We backed off.
“This is taking too long,” Corwin shouted. “I still haven’t had my dinner.”
My dragon eye started to hurt again. It filled with tears and then after several blinks came clear. We fought back and forth, near the crack in the wall.
I was able to catch both Megan’s and Thord’s eyes. We nodded and all three of us charged at Banderius at once.
He smiled at the challenge and dropped to one hand, then spun his legs in an arc, catching each of us in the knees so that we fell over. And from that position Banderius sliced at the back of Thord’s heel. Not a deep cut, but when Thord tried to stand again, his leg collapsed and Banderius stepped on him.
I blinked away the pain from my eye. I was now seeing Banderius as a glowing figure. But with my other eye his face was clear, and it was clearly showing some anguish.
“It’s better if I’m quick with this,” he said. He stabbed down, and though Thord twisted, the blade caught him and he cried out.
“I’m so disappointed!” Banderius said. “That was meant to be a death blow.”
“Finish him!” Corwin sounded like he’d moved closer. Both he and Banderius were near the hole in the wall.
Banderius drew back his blade. I now felt like my eye was on fire, but I lowered myself down to my haunches in order to launch myself at him.
Then abruptly I stopped.
For Banderius had burst into flames, the blaze licking around him. I threw myself to the ground. The heat was almost unbearable. My hair sizzled.
Banderius stood for a second or two and then fell over. Dead.
The side of the wall crumbled inward and Brax came charging in, roaring.
“Oh dear,” my brother said. “I really didn’t plan for that.”
Chapter 22
What Is Fair?
Brax blasted out another burst of flame and half the Immortals went tumbling to the ground, screaming and shaking their limbs to try to put out the fires. The others loosed their bows but Brax was unstoppable. Bolts stuck in his snout, his chest, and his forelegs, but he smashed his way through the hole and into the room.
I pushed myself up to my knees and, with a huge effort, stood up straight and glanced left and right.
Corwin had fled.
I picked up my daggers. Thord lay on his back, hand clenched to his side. It was too dark to see how bad the wound was, but Megan packed it with some sort of healing leaves she had pulled from her cloak. “Go get him,” Thord said. He lifted a hand to wave me away. “Kill him. Please.”
I nodded, turned, and dashed past the remaining Immortals who faced Brax. He smashed one down with his foot and snapped his massive jaws at another one. The last three kept their blades up and did their best to battle back. They were brave, but they had only moments to live.
By the time I reached the door my footing grew more steady. The room brightened as Brax unleashed more flames. A wave of heat rushed over me.
I charged into a smaller room full of broken benches and smashed tables. Corwin’s glowing footprints were easy to follow with my dragon eye. I would have marvelled at the ability to see the prints, but there was no time. I went up a set of steps and into a long hallway. A black shadow swept far ahead of me. Too distant for a dagger throw.
“Corwin,” I shouted. “Corwin!”
He came to the end of the hallway, pulled up short and let out a swear. It wasn’t until I’d taken a few more steps that I could see why. That part of the keep had fallen in and we were far too high up for him to jump.
Corwin faced me. “Carmen! It’s not fair to bring a dragon to a sword fight.”
I almost laughed. He’d always been so quick-witted. That was why I’d once loved him.
I raised my daggers, and he drew his sword. I didn’t know if I could beat him; my head was still aching, my hair smelled of smoke, and even my cloak was smouldering. But I had to try.
“I’m even better than I was when last we fought,” he said.
“Prove it.” Confidence and rage rose up in me. He had ordered Banderius to kill my friends, perhaps had mortally wounded Thord. His actions had led to the destruction of the Red Assassin Keep, the deaths of my classmates and of Maestru Alesius. “You’ll pay for everything you’ve done, Corwin. Every. Single. Thing.”
“Oh, sister. I should have taught you more about how life really works.” He sauntered toward me over the rubble, swinging his sword in playful arcs, then tossing it from hand to hand. “The lesson will start now.” Runes in Oldtongue were scratched along both sides of the blade. It was one of the ancient swords, an enchanted blade.
My anger made me braver. I charged toward him, daggers at the ready.
Then Corwin stopped arcing his sword, and the confidence in his eyes dimmed a little. He paled as I got nearer to him. He took a step back and another. Did he actually fear me?
There was a loud crash and I glanced back. Brax was working his way down the hallway, shouldering stone out of his way and building up speed.
“Ah, sis, today is not the day,” Corwin said. Then he turned and ran toward the opening at the end of the hall. He whistled as he did so and jumped into the air, plummeting down to what I was certain would be his death.
I ran to the crumpled edge in time to see him flying low on a black swan. He soon arced upward over the broken walls of the fortress and winged toward the stars in the sky.
Chapter 23
Three Hands and a Talon
; By the time Brax got to me, Corwin had vanished into the darkness.
“Is there any point in chasing him now?” I asked.
“I don’t have the strength,” Brax said. There were bolts sticking out of his shoulders and face, and he glistened with lines of blood. He snorted. “I was aiming for your brother with my flames, just to let you know. Not that Banderius fellow. But since you so kindly took my eye out, my aim is off. So it’s your fault Corwin escaped.”
“Well, that doesn’t make me feel any better.” I pointed at his shoulder. “Do any of those wounds hurt?”
“Bah,” he said, pulling a bolt out with his teeth and spitting it to the floor. “Not in the slightest.”
I’d have to take his word for it. There wasn’t any reason for him to pretend he wasn’t in pain.
“How did you know we were in trouble?”
He smiled his dragon smile. “I’ve been keeping a secret from you.”
“What secret?”
“I can see through your eye. Well, I can see through my eye that’s in your head.”
“You can?” I rubbed my dragon eye. I remembered getting a splitting pain just a few moments before Brax arrived. “You mean everything I’ve seen, you also see?”
“No. Not quite. Once in a while I get an image. Like a picture of that ugly seven-eyed seer in Avenus. And the gythia with the horrible tattoo. And, while I was circling above, teasing the swans — I do think they’re actually starting to like me — an image flashed in my head of someone swinging a sword at you. I thought, just maybe, you could use my help.”
“We’d be dead otherwise,” I said. “Thank you.” I put my hand on his shoulder, making sure not to touch any wounds.
“Don’t get all smarmy about it,” he said.
But my brain was already swirling with ideas. Which surprised me since I was feeling rather exhausted. “I wonder if there’s a way to control this connection between us? Maybe we could send each other messages.”
He shrugged, making his wings hit the side of the hall. “What sort of messages? Pick me up, I’m tired of walking. That sort of message?”
“No,” I said. “Just a more clear communication. I …” My thoughts were starting to slow down. My body ached from the fight. “Now is not the time. We had better go back and check on Thord.”
“If we have to,” Brax said, but he turned, shouldering more of the wall out of the way, and began to rumble down the hall.
I drew in a breath when we reached the main room. The place looked like, well, it looked like a dragon had gone berserk in it. I turned away from the charred remains of the Immortals — they weren’t immortal when it came to dragon fire. And Banderius hadn’t fared much better. He looked far from handsome now.
Thord was in the centre of the room, lit in the moonlight. Even from here I could see he was not in good shape. He had gone much paler. Megan had his head in her lap and was pressing down on the bandage she’d placed on his stomach.
“I want Banderius’s sword,” Thord said when I got closer. “The sword that stabbed me.”
He could talk at least. I stopped by Banderius’s body and grabbed the blade and scabbard, neither of which had been harmed by the flames. It was a light blade despite its size. I sheathed it and walked over, and Thord took them from me and clutched them to his chest. His hand was a little palsied.
“You need a healer,” I said.
“Only one thing will heal me now.” Thord’s voice cracked. “Just tell me Corwin is dead.”
I shook my head. “He got away.”
“I don’t think we’ll be safe anywhere in all of Ellos as long as he is alive,” Megan said. She ran her hand through Thord’s hair. I bit my lip. I suddenly wanted to be the one comforting him.
“No. We won’t,” I said. “He has all the Empire as his resources.”
“Well, I for one …” Thord was gritting his teeth, which made his words hiss a bit. “… I am angry about this hole in me. And the cut in my leg. And, I will do everything possible to hunt him down and …” He drew in a breath.“Stop him.”
“From breathing,” Megan added.
“You took the words right out of my mouth,” I said.
“Let’s shake on it,” Megan said. I had to bend quite a bit so Thord could reach my hand. His fingers were cold. Megan put her hand on mine. To my surprise, Brax plopped his talon on top of the pile.
“I can always use a few more underlings,” he said.
We all shook, three hands and a talon.
“It’s a deal, then,” Thord said. “Now, take me to a healer. There are plenty in the villages of Woden. I just have to live long enough to get there.”
“You will,” Megan said. “You’ve had worse than this. I have faith in you.”
“I— I do too,” I said, though it sounded stupid.
It was a lot of work getting Thord onto the back of his swan and strapping him to the saddle, but soon all three of us were in the air and travelling east, away from the Akkad Empire.
I was certain we’d be flying back this way again. Corwin would hear from us the moment our wounds were healed.
Book Three: Dark Wings
Chapter 1
Luck of the Draw
I’d drawn the shortest straw so it fell to me to enter the executioner’s home. Brax and I circled it from a distance, the night sky hiding us.
The executioner’s name was Naram-Sin, and not only had he been the executioner for three separate emperors, but he was also the greatest Akkadian architect in the last five hundred years. He’d designed so many of the most impressive buildings in all the Akkad cities.
His home had sprung from his mind onto paper, and then tradesmen and slaves had built it on the beach near Eladium, the southernmost port of the Akkad Empire. It was an impressive building with turrets on either side and columns along each wall. The ocean waves lapped almost to the front door. The home had been constructed in the shape of a bear’s head, the largest pool being its eye.
Naram-Sin had also designed the palace that Emperor Rexen had built. Sargon had moved into that palace.
Which meant my brother would be there, too.
Which was why I was here.
“Too many stars tonight,” Brax whispered. “And the moon is too bright. It would not be wise to land very close.”
“I agree,” I said.
“Then I suggest, instead of aiming for the roof, where any human with half an eye — sorry to mention your former predicament — could see us, we should slip into the gardens nearest the home.”
“That is the best direction to approach the home. And I am certain you aren’t trying to get me killed.”
“Me?” He laughed quietly, but the guttural sound travelled in the air. “Never.” He turned his head toward me as if he was glancing back, but used his left side — the side with the missing eye. I was certain he did it on purpose because he knew I felt great guilt when I saw that empty socket. And my eye — which once was his — itched as if it wanted to be back there.
Then Brax swooped silently down and landed in the massive garden. I thought we’d been discovered when I saw several men there, then remembered they were only statues of Akkadian warriors and emperors, including Augillian, the first emperor. We were next to Naram-Sin himself, who was holding a curved and deadly executioner’s axe in one hand and a scroll in the other. I shivered as I looked up at it.
“He looks formidable,” Brax whispered. He tucked his wings close to his body and huddled under several plum trees, hiding as much of himself as he could. “Though I bet he’s not really twelve feet tall. Also, I imagine since he’s over one hundred years old he’s wasting away in bed.”
“I hope you’re right.” I made certain my daggers were loose in their scabbards.
“You’ll find out. Good luck, Carmen Crow.”
And with that, I marched toward the executioner’s home.
Chapter 2
The Bear House
I pulled up my hood and tightened my
cloak. The dark material was like wrapping invisibility around me. My dragon eye made everything clearer by magnifying the available light.
The circular pools had an impressive amount of steam rising from them. Either the water was heated day and night, or the executioner had discovered a rare hot water spring and built his home over it.
I climbed the stone stairs, sticking to the shadows, and then chose another path that led me near the trees. I was aware of what people could see from above me if any guards happened to be at the window.
But with each step I suspected there were no guards. We could have landed right at the front door, because not a soul was out on patrol or watching from the turrets.
I chose the side of the home where there were no windows, climbed to the second floor, and drew myself over the balcony. The door had delicate gold finery and coloured windowpanes, which I couldn’t see through, but at least it was clear the interior was dark. I picked the lock, aware of the slight clicking of my picks. Then I slowly opened the door, which didn’t squeak.
The room was an impeccably neat study. One wall was a floor-to-ceiling bookcase with row after row of books, each in tight regimental order. A slanted table, for drafting, sat in the room’s centre, and as I neared I saw that a half-finished drawing waited there. Perhaps, despite his age, Naram-Sin could still stand and work.
I padded across the floor, pleased that I made no sound. Every floorboard was solid. I imagined any squeaking piece of wood was banished from his perfect home. Perhaps he chopped it up with his executioner’s axe.
Thord, Megan, and I had discussed where his treasure room would be. We were certain he would have treasure since he’d been the emperor’s executioner and architect for so many years, and that meant he’d have accumulated a great amount of gold, gifts, gems, and any other riches he desired.