“Don’t worry. Not this time.”
“How is this time any different?”
“It just is.”
I grunted and shook my head before digging into my snack. We ate silently for a little while—it was nice.
“You haven’t asked what we were talking about.” Raikidan finally said.
“What?”
“You knew the others were my kind, and we were talking. You’re not dumb.”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You seemed upset.”
“You were talking about me.”
“Then why do you say it doesn’t matter?”
“Because I don’t—”
“Don’t. Don’t say it, Eira.”
I sighed. “Because in the end it doesn’t matter.”
“But you want to know.”
I looked at him. “How would you feel if someone was blatantly talking about you to someone else, a stranger, in another tongue you didn’t know, as you stood right there?” I ripped a bite out of my bread and went back to staring out at the ocean.
“So you are mad.” He sighed. “If it’s any consolation, nothing bad was said about you.”
I still didn’t look at him. It didn’t matter whether it was good or bad, he had still done it.
“They thought you had stolen my heart.”
I looked at him funny. “What?”
“They wanted to know why I was with you, and if you had stolen my heart,” he repeated.
“Stolen your heart?” That was a new phrase for me.
Raikidan nodded. “It’s a story. It’s said if a dragon is to spend too much time with a human of the opposite sex, there is a chance the bond they make causes the dragon to give his heart to the human.”
“They obviously don’t know me if they think I’m capable of something like that.”
“I told them they were wrong, but because they believe their brother has fallen to that fate, they don’t believe me—not that I care whether they do or not.”
“Why would they care if you associate with me?”
“It’s not common for a half-color of my colors to associate with humans. I may be half red dragon, but my darker scales have an effect on me too. It’s that way for most of us. One scale color will have a greater effect, and it’s usually the color we have most of. In my case, black color traits typically dominate.”
“I see. So they’ve been watching us for a while then, haven’t they?”
He nodded. “They sensed me the moment we reached the front gate. They’d been keeping an eye on me, just in case the same was happening to me as it was their brother.”
“Let’s just hope they’re wrong about their brother.” I stood up to head back down to the city. “Because he’s cursed himself if he has.”
Raikidan followed me. “You really believe that?”
“There is a fine line between human and dragon. It’s there for a reason, and to cross that… well, you can’t help but see it as anything but a curse at that point. It’s doomed to fail.”
“You think all relationships are doomed to fail.”
“Not all, just most.”
“Why?”
“Because I have seen so few work out.”
“You fear for your friends, then.”
“I worry about them, yes.”
“It’ll work out for them.”
“I hope you’re right.” My communicator began flashing, signaling someone was calling me, so I answered it. “Hello?”
“Laz, where are you?” Ryoko called in.
“Leaving the lighthouse, why?”
“Oh, wow, you really went out there to see the ocean. How’d you like it?”
“It was nice.”
“Good. Do you guys have plans to do anything else? We’ve finished with the sale, so we’re just chillin’ and doing our own things until everyone is ready to leave.”
“Well, we’re just heading down to the markets to pick up a few things before heading back to the truck.”
“Okay, take your time. I’m going to test drive a really nice car.”
“Ryoko, you can’t have it.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean I can’t drive it for a little bit. Oh, and just a heads up. Blaze said he called shotgun on the way back so you’re stuck with us in the back.”
“All right, no biggie.”
“Well, you two continue having fun now,” she teased.
“Ryoko, don’t you start. Ryoko?” She had hung up so she wouldn’t have to listen to me scolding her. “Stupid mutt.”
Raikidan snickered. “You’re so nice to her.”
“Someone has to be.”
Raikidan shook his head and followed me back into town, but well before we arrived, I stopped when we passed a dilapidated building. The building, while made of stone like many of the buildings around it, resonated a different aura. It used to be big, and by the looks of it, it looked like it used to have large pillars on the inside. Curious, I ventured closer.
“Eira, what are you doing?” Raikidan hissed. “That building looks dangerous.”
I waved him off and ventured inside. My breath caught at the sight. The roof of the building had crumbled away in the center, but there was enough left for me to see part of the intricate painting that was once up there. The roof painting didn’t keep my attention for long—instead, I found the writing and paintings on the wall more interesting.
Jogging over to one of the walls, I ran my hand over the writing carved into it. My heart leapt. I couldn’t believe what I had just found.
“Eira,” Raikidan hissed. “We shouldn’t be here. I just found a sign that says ‘keep out.’”
“I’ll only be a moment,” I assured him. “I can’t pass up this find.”
“Eira…”
“Hey, what are you doing?” A man yelled.
I sighed. Nice going, Raikidan. Here he was telling me we needed to get out of here before we got caught, and he’s the one who got us caught.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Raikidan tried to apologize. “My friend ran in and I didn’t see the sign until just now.”
I was surprised by how pleasant he was being. He was usually more standoffish.
A soldier poked his head into the building and glared at me. “Miss, you can’t be in here. It’s dangerous.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t pass these up,” I told him as I pulled out a piece of paper and pencil out of my bag. “I need to catalog these Old Tongue writings.”
“Y–you understand these?” he asked, his surprise clear.
I shook my head. “I know how to interpret the pictures but not the writing. Though I do know someone who understands both and he’d be ecstatic to see this place.”
“What’s your colleague’s name?” he inquired.
“My colleague?” I laughed as I held the piece of paper to the wall and rubbed the graphite of the pencil over it to collect the etching from the wall. “We don’t work together, but his name is Me’kunar. He’s always complaining he’s missing information on our ancient past. Looking at these pictures, I believe I might have found him something.”
“Me’kunar, huh? Sounds like a shaman name.”
I nodded and pulled out my communicator so I could take a few pictures. “He is, as well as his colleagues. They run the largest library of our ancient history. They’re going to want to know about this place.”
The soldier nodded. “Then I’ll send word to show him this place if they visit.”
I smiled. “Thank you. And thank you for not throwing me out of here. I’ve gotten what I need to send him to pique his interest.”
He nodded and ushered us out. Once we were back on the road and pointed in rig
ht direction, we headed off. When we arrived, the town was bustling with life now that it was later in the day, making it harder to get to the shops without losing each other. We finally found a food shop, and sought refuge in it. I took my time looking around. I’d need to make sure I had enough for the trip back, and there wouldn’t be much doubt that the others would want some as well and wouldn’t be smart enough to think of buying some themselves.
Every time I chose an item to purchase, Raikidan would take it away and carry it for me himself, without telling me why. Come to think of it, he hasn’t spoken since we left that old building. He didn’t look like he was deep in thought, or taking them away for any special reason, so I decided to keep an eye on him.
Once I decided we had enough for the trip and took our purchase to the counter, the clerk tallied up the total, but before I could pay for it, Raikidan placed money down on the counter. I looked at him questioningly, but he waited for the clerk to give him his change without looking at me. He then grabbed the bag of food to show me he was ready to leave.
I waited until we were outside to speak to him. “I had the money for it.”
He began to walk away. “So did I.”
I didn’t follow. “You’re acting weird on me again, Raikidan.”
He looked at me. “How I’m acting, it doesn’t please you?”
“No.” I walked past him. “And stop asking if things please me. It doesn’t feel right.”
I weaved around the congestion of people but stopped when a young man and woman caught my eye. They weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary, but they still stuck out to me.
“That’s them,” Raikidan whispered.
The woman had long, raven hair and bright blue eyes, and the man, like his brothers, had short red hair and green eyes. Unlike his siblings, though, this one had facial hair. The two of them looked happy, but I knew the look in the Dragon’s eye.
“His brothers are right to worry,” I said.
“How do you know?”
“I’ve seen that look before. He’s made his choice clear, and has cursed them both if she has chosen him as well.”
“She doesn’t know what he is,” Raikidan said. “The other two were surprised you not only knew my identity, but were completely comfortable with the knowledge, too.”
“He fears she’ll push him away if he told her.” I shook my head. “And that is why it’s doomed to fail.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It comes down to the fine line between humans and dragons. Not only do we have different biology, but we have different social structures. We both know our differences have caused us major issues, so think about what it would do to someone who would struggle to accept the existence of dragons, let alone find out the person they’ve been interested in is one. So he doesn’t trust that she will be okay with the truth and won’t push him away. Without that trust, there is nothing for a relationship to build on.”
“I see what you’re getting at.”
I stopped walking and faced him. “Do you see this line, Raikidan, or do you struggle with it?”
Raikidan grunted. “Are you listening to yourself? Of course I see this line. It’s clear as day. Now let’s get back to the others.”
I followed him. At least I wasn’t the only one who saw the line. dragons and humans were too different. I sighed. But if that was true, why did we get along so well? Why did I get along better with him than I did with anyone else?
Chapter 31
The shadow of the irregularly-shaped roof concealed me as I waited, the sound of Dalatrend’s normal nightly sounds roaring in the distance. I was about to do what I did best, assassinating single targets, though I was having a small war inside myself. It wasn’t just soldiers I was assassinating. I was going to be taking out civilians who had their hands deep within Zarda’s pants, and some of them had families.
Back in the day, it wouldn’t have mattered to me. A target was a target, but now I thought differently. Could I really break apart a family for the sake of our cause, even though the target deserved it?
“You can do this, Laz,” Seda encouraged. “Have courage. Everything will be all right in the end.”
“I hope so.”
I leaned against the half-wall and continued to wait. I wasn’t stalling, no, I didn’t want to stall. I was waiting for my signal to get this over with. The others had wanted to see what I was about to do. I didn’t understand why they’d want to see me kill someone. Sure, killing others in battles and an assassination were different types of deaths, but they were deaths nonetheless, and my former military friends were no strangers to death. Regardless, Ryoko had insisted on seeing me in action once. Even in the military, no one had been around to witness what I could do. I had always gone ahead and done my job alone.
“Babe, you’re all set,” Aurora called in. “I have the computer set up to your signal, so we can see what you see.”
I exhaled. “All right. Just to make sure you guys understand this, this isn’t going to be pretty.”
“We’re former soldiers,” Rylan said. “We’ve seen death more than anyone should. We just want to actually see how you work.”
“Very well.”
I snuck out of the shadows and over to the edge of the building. I looked around as street lights reflected off my armor. I would have preferred to not wear my assassin uniform, but this armor had been designed for this activity, and it would have been stupid of me not to use it.
Checking to make sure my daggers were in place, I mentally willed my gloves to disappear around the pads of my finger tips, and the soles of my boots to melt away to utilize the hidden spines under my skin. Clinging to the edge of the roof, I made my way down. This target always left his study window open, so it would be easy getting into his place. He wasn’t home right now, but according to the intel I had, he’d be home soon.
I looked around the large study decorated with priceless objects as my boots and gloves went back to normal. The man had money, but that was to be expected when you sucked up to Zarda. I rummaged through the shelves and tossed things on the ground, not caring if they broke or not. There wasn’t anything of real value to me in this room, so I went to the next. Unfortunately, it was a small child’s room, and I left immediately once I’d realized this. I wasn’t going to touch that.
A jewelry box smashed on the floor as I rummaged through the contents on top of a large dresser in the master bedroom. Curious about the contents, I looked through them. Bingo. I grabbed the most expensive-looking pieces and stuffed them into a bag. I continued to look around the room and tore it apart, grabbing whatever I found pretty or worth something, and threw it in my bag.
I stopped rummaging when footsteps by the front door caught my attention. The bedroom was no place for a murder, so I made my way out of the bedroom and back into the study. I looked down the stairs to the living room, staring at the front door until the locked clicked and the door knob began to turn. Silently, I snuck back into the study and hid in a dark corner to wait.
I could hear a man and a woman talking down in the living room. I couldn’t hear a child’s voice, and for that I was glad. I didn’t want a child to witness the horrid act I was about to commit. The moment the adults saw the mess upstairs, things would end for one of them. As far as I was aware, the woman who lived here was also innocent, and I prayed she wouldn’t get in my way.
I listened as the two came up the stairs and headed for the bedroom. I didn’t react when the woman screamed, or when the man began cursing. I only waited. I could hear the man running down the hall toward the study, and I prepped myself. The cracked open door flew open and crashed against the wall. The man bolted in, looking around at his disheveled room. The gawking didn’t last long, though, as he collected himself and went directly to a safe I had been unable to open earlier.
His back turned to me, I drew a dagger and advanced. The man opened the safe and pulled out a bunch of papers. He sighed and I knew it was best to take those papers with me once I dealt with him. I stopped advancing, and hid my dagger as the man turned around.
The man jumped and stumbled backward, knocking over a plant. “By the gods, I hate it when you soldiers do that, especially you assassins. You’re far too quiet for my liking. But I’m glad you’re here. I want you to find out who did this to my home.” I didn’t react. “Are you deaf, woman?”
“Slit his throat for his impudence,” the voice in my head said.
I revealed my dagger and his eyes grew wide. “Zarda has no more use for you.”
“No, no it can’t be.” He stumbled backward. “You’re lying. I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve done all that he’s asked!”
The man ran for the door. He was fast, but I was faster. I knocked him to the ground and dragged my dagger across his neck, slicing deep into the skin. I then stabbed him in the back twice as an extra measure, although I knew the man was already dead. A slice to the neck was my favored move, even over breaking the neck. It was faster, even if it was messier.
I stood up and froze. In the hallway stood the woman, but she didn’t look afraid or upset. She looked… happy.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I know you are not one of them, and now I don’t have to worry about my son becoming like his father.”
“Don’t trust her.”
I gave a curt nod. I wasn’t about to believe her and give away my voice. Only the dead ever heard it.
The woman tossed me a small bag. “Take the rest of it. I have no use for the jewelry he gave me. I don’t want memories of what he became.”
“Don’t trust it. Kill her too. No loose ends.”
I eyed her and then picked up the papers the man had pulled out of the safe before dashing to the window. Putting extra strength into my step, I pushed off the windowsill and set my sights on the building across the small street. My body flipped twice before I landed on the roof of the targeted building and disappeared into the shadows of the night.
Secrets Page 36