by Chandra Ryan
“We’ll find this dragon and put things back to right, Sophie.”
Not for the first time, she wondered why he’d decided to help, but she didn’t dare ask the question again. She was too afraid that he wouldn’t have an answer and would take that as a sign it was time for him to leave. And she didn’t know if she was strong enough to do this on her own.
It felt as if her boots were made of lead as they made their way to the infirmary. She didn’t want to face the horrors concealed by the plain-faced building. Didn’t want to believe the man she’d been betrothed to, the man she thought she knew, was in some way responsible. It’d been hard enough for her when he’d been just fanatical, but now? She shook her head as she thought about what Maria had told them.
Reaching the back of the building, her eyes went to an open window. She pointed at it silently, Reuel’s nod telling her he understood. She’d planned on lifting herself into the opening, but as she stepped in front of it strong hands wrapped around her waist and lifted her deftly. Holding on to the windowsill, she slipped through the small opening, only letting go of the solid wood frame when she landed silently on floor on the other side of the wall. She turned back to the window just in time to find Reuel squeezing through the small space. The sight could have been comical but, given the circumstances, she only found herself thankful for her small size.
They were in a storage room that she knew too well. It was the one her herbs were stored in. Brushing past shelves of plants, she made her way to the door. She could feel Reuel’s warmth as he followed her.
Stepping into the hall, she heard the soft whimpering of a child, the sound both terrifying and yet somewhat reassuring. At least one was still alive.
The fear for her own wellbeing disappeared as she let the sound guide her down the passageway and around a corner to where the hall ended at a staircase. She wanted to race down the stairs, even more so as the whimper turned into a full blown wail. But Reuel’s hand on her shoulder stopped her before her foot could fall on the first step. When she turned back to look at him, he used the opportunity to squeeze by her so he was now in the lead.
It was irritating to be pushed to the back, but she recognized a losing battle when she saw one. And his stance told her there was no way he was going to let her go charging down the basement steps.
Resigned to her new position, she followed him down the stairs, the wail becoming more chilling with each step. But as bad as it was on the stairs, it was worse in the basement. There the stone floor caused the cry of terror to echo eerily down the long corridors, bouncing off walls as it went.
It was so loud that she couldn’t hear the softer whimpering coming from a corridor to her left until it stopped. She was torn. Do they go straight or turn to the left? Reuel, however, didn’t seem to hesitate. Reaching the branching corridor, he turned left. And, following him, she was secretly glad to have been spared the decision.
A few feet down the corridor they found the large metal bars of prison cells flickering in the torchlight. Even knowing what she did, it took a moment for the horrifying truth to sink in. This was a dungeon. Naryn, their healer, had a dungeon.
The first few cells were empty, but she could see two further up that were occupied. Small bodies sat curled into balls, their hands linked through the wall of bars that separated their cells. Her heart squeezed painfully at the picture of vulnerability.
“Get them back to their parents and wait for me at Maria’s.”
She looked back in the direction they’d come from as the wailing began again. But with a hand on her chin, he turned her back to the frightened children. “They need you Sophie. I’ll take care of the other one.”
Turning away from the children, her gaze caught his and held it. She could feel the cold fingers of dread walk up her spine. “I can’t leave you here.”
“You can.” His hand swept over her cheek, the touch making her more desperate to persuade him of his foolishness.
“I won’t leave you, Reuel. Not alone, not like this.”
“You will.” He turned her to face the children again, their wide eyes shimmering in the flickering light. “They need you more than I do.”
She continued staring at the children, knowing in her heart he was right. And when she turned back to him, he was gone.
Dropping to her knees she waved one of the children to the door. “Do you know where the keys are?” She was proud of how calm her voice sounded.
She recognized Andy Seer as he crawled to the other side of the door. His blond curls were dirty and sweat had plastered them to his head, but the freckle-smattered face was unmistakable.
“They’re hanging just there.” His small finger pointed further down the corridor. “I saw her put them there when she left with Marcus.”
She tried not to think of Marcus as she raced to the keys. She had to believe that Reuel would get to him in time.
Opening Andy’s door, she noticed that the other child still sat at the back of the adjoining cell, her long hair pulled over her face like a veil. “Tasha, is that you sweetheart?” She couldn’t be sure, the child was sitting in heavy shadows, but she looked enough like Marcus’s little sister for her to take the guess.
“She won’t talk.”
Opening Tasha’s door, she slipped into the cell and crouched down in front of the child. “It’s me, Sister Sophie, I’m going to take you back to your mommy and daddy.”
At that the little girl started wailing as loud as her brother.
“Her parents died. The men killed them.”
Sophie’s heart squeezed painfully as she reached for the girl but Tasha pulled further back into the dark corner. She didn’t fault her for her mistrust, but she had to get her and Andy to safety.
With nothing else to do, she grabbed her as gently as possible and looked back at Andy. “Can you run, can you run fast, Andy?”
She waited for his nod before setting off with the screaming girl still bundled in her arms.
Chapter Seven
Reuel heard the sound of them fleeing up the stairs and felt his stomach relax a bit. Nothing had prepared him for the rage that’d consumed him at the sound of the child’s wail, nor for the protectiveness that’d overcome him as he’d seen Sophie start for the stairs.
He’d told himself that he was helping because it was the right thing to do, because it was wrong to steal essence from any living creature. That’s what his family had fought for.
It’s what they tortured me with.
Shaking the thought out of his head, he focused on the corridor in front of him. He had enough to deal with without dragging his family issues into it. As it was, he was rushing into a fight with an unknown dragon because it was the only way he could keep a woman—a woman he had no business being with—safe. Yeah, he was in enough trouble without bringing his family into it.
Pushing the thoughts aside, he continued down the hallway. Right now he needed to focus on making it to the last child in time. Fortunately, it wasn’t hard to find his way. The cry pulled him with every step. Down a hall and around a corner, he followed it until he reached the door that stood between him and the wails. Being so close to the sound of pain sent another shiver of rage through him.
His hand went to the cold metal of the doorknob just as the child’s cries fell silent again. Fear raced through him. Listening to the child in pain was bad, but the silence could mean far worse things. He opened the door only wide enough for him to slide through it, then closed it silently behind him. He didn’t want them to know he was there—not yet at least.
Glancing around the large room, he spotted two robed figures standing it its middle, partially encircled by thirteen glowing healing orbs, each orb sitting on its own pedestal. It was odd to see the orbs here. As far as he knew only dragons could use them, so they’d be no use to the humans whatsoever. And even if the humans could somehow draw the essence out of them and channel it to another, they’d never need that much energy.
A soft whimpe
ring broke his fixation on the orbs, pulling his gaze to the floor between the two robed people. There, the child’s body was curled into a tight ball. He was bigger than Reuel had expected, was probably thirteen or fourteen, but in the pose he looked vulnerable, fragile. He was still alive, but Reuel didn’t know for how much longer. A good deal of his essence had been taken, leaving him with precious little to sustain himself.
Reuel had to fight against the urge to run over to him, to immediately channel his energy into the dying boy. He needed to know what was going on or he’d risk making things worse.
“He can’t take much more.”
It was Naryn. Reuel wasn’t surprised at the deep voice that’d stood accusingly on Sophie’s front lawn that morning.
“Fortunately, we don’t need him to give much more. A little more will be enough.”
The softly feminine voice, however, did surprise him. There was no mistaking it. The Queen’s healer, Lady Lilith, gave almost as many speeches as the Queen.
It was an easy assumption that Sister Lilith and Lady Lilith were the same person, but nothing else about the scene made sense. The Queen would never approve of stealing essence from a sentient being. It was against the law.
“If we stop now he might still live.” Naryn moved to stand between Lilith and the boy.
“It’s never bothered you if they died before. You said to die while doing the Maker’s will was honorable. That their innocence would assure them the Maker’s grace.”
“It is and it does.” The tremble in the man’s voice gave away his indecision.
Lilith used the opening to walk around him so she was standing next to the child. “Then why does this child’s death bother you? Don’t tell me Sister Sophie has finally gotten to you?”
“I just don’t think we should push them so far, that’s all.”
“Maybe we could have taken less three months ago, but the villagers are on to you, Naryn, on to us. We’ll be lucky if they let the night pass without coming at us with pitchforks and torches. If we finish this now, the fifteen will be filled.”
Fifteen? His eyes searched the space behind them and found the two orbs he hadn’t seen earlier. They were completely empty, their transparent glass barely glinting in the low light.
“How can they be filled tonight when we’ve been doing this for three months and yet all fifteen still sit empty?”
Lilith bent over to the child and ran her hand over his cheek, pulling away more of the blue energy. Standing, she channeled it into an almost-full orb.
Reuel had to grab onto the wall behind him to stop the room from spinning. Questions flew through his head so quickly he couldn’t focus on any of them but one. Did the Queen know?
“They’re not empty.” Her voice was sugary sweet as she spoke. “They’re filled with the children’s energy. You can’t see it, which is why the Maker sent me.”
This time when she dropped back to the boy, a solid line of essence flowed from him to her. The child’s head snapped back in agony and he started screaming again.
Reuel felt the acidic sting of bile as it crept up the back of his throat. Grabbing a large plank of wood, he stepped away from the wall and headed for Naryn. If he could get him out of the way, it’d make taking down the dragon that much easier.
It only took five large steps to bring him to the man, and one swift swing of the plank to knock him out. At the sound, Lilith once again released the child, his body slumping on the floor next to the cleric’s.
“You should have killed him.” Lady Lilith didn’t bother to turn to face him as she spit out the words.
“How loyal of you.”
“They’re a subspecies. They don’t deserve loyalty.”
“They aren’t a subspecies, Lady Lilith. And they’re protected under the Free Rights Accord. Killing him, killing any human, would be breaking Empire law.”
“So you admit to recognizing me.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Aren’t you worried I’ll press charges?”
He had to shake his head at her words, sure he’d misheard. “What charges could you possibly press?”
“Interfering in royal orders. Surely you didn’t think I would be here without direct orders from the Queen, did you?”
He didn’t believe her, couldn’t believe her. “The Queen ordered you to break the law?” He knelt next to the boy and quickly channeled enough of his energy to ensure the child could survive, but made sure not to take his eyes off of the other dragon’s back.
“This essence is needed to save the Queen’s life, and she sits above the law.
“No dragon sits above the law.”
She snorted dismissively as she turned to face him, the cowl of her cape still concealing her face.
“Do you actually believe that?”
Her answer stunned him to silence. Her abuse of her magic and her ability to justify it was what his family had feared. It went beyond corruption to evil. It was what they thought he’d become someday. But they were wrong. “Yes, I do believe that.”
“It was a rhetorical question. I couldn’t care less what you believe or don’t believe.”
He growled angrily. “Really? Well what about this: I believe you’re done here.”
“I’m done when I have enough energy to save the queen.”
“No, you’re done now. You’re out of victims.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He stood again, bringing his shoulders square. “I know I found the two other children and freed them. But if you’ve got something else up your sleeve, please, do tell.”
This got her attention. Pulling the hood back, she let it fall around her shoulders, revealing her long silver hair and liquid silver eyes. “You did what?”
“I freed them.”
Her mouth tightened in distain. “Do you know how much work it was to find such an isolated village and work my way into their trust? These are the last two orbs I need to fill. How will I fill them now?” She paused as her eyes studied him. “Or were you volunteering for their spot?”
He felt her probe at his energy, but with the distance between them, he was able to shield it from her.
“You can control essence. You’re strong in the magic too. How were you not sent to the healer’s temple?”
“My parents knew when to keep something a family secret.” His voice held more bitterness than he’d intended.
“But going to the temple is an honor.” She circled him, her eyes appraising him like a prize bull.
“Not when your grandfather is the one who crafted the Free Rights Accord.”
She laughed manically at the admission. “You’re Stom’s grandson? Oh, what delicious irony. To hate healers as much as he did, and yet he had one of the strongest ones ever born right under his nose, calling him Papaw. He must have cursed you every time his eyes fell on you.”
“That doesn’t matter.” It was a lie, but it was one he’d gotten used to saying over the years.
“What does matter, then?”
“Stopping you.”
“Really, you think you can actually stop me—or were you relying on Sister Sophie for that?” Her smile turned sadistic as she nodded towards the door behind him.
Reuel spun around, his heart clenching painfully as he saw the wide-eyed Sophie standing in the shadows next to the wall, a dagger clutched in her hands. He wished he was surprised at finding her there, but as much as he hated to admit it, he’d known she’d never wait patiently for him to finish this.
“She’s got enough essence to give me most of what I’m lacking.” Lilith took a step toward Sophie, but Reuel moved with her, keeping his body between the two women. “Not you too?”
“You’re done here, Lilith.”
She took another step toward Sophie as if she hadn’t heard him, but Reuel followed the movement. “You know, Naryn wouldn’t let me near her either, wouldn’t even let me be alone in a room with her. He’d rather see children draine
d than his precious Sophie. He actually thought he was doing them a service. Idiot.” Her voice held a sarcastic whine as she took another step toward Sophie. “Not that I minded, their essence was purer than most of the worn-out adults around here. And the sooner I got what I needed, the sooner I was out of here. But I did wonder what made her so special.”
He looked up at Sophie, already knowing the answer. The woman was willing to give her life to protect the children, the people of the village, even him. Not because she was sworn to, or because she had to, but because she truly believed their lives were worth the sacrifice. She was everything the law had tried to be, the ideal it’d been based on. He felt his throat tighten at the realization.
“It’s over! Leave her alone.”
Lilith shook her head dismissively at the words. “It’s over when I say it is. I only listened to Naryn because I needed him to introduce me to the community, to get them to trust me. But I don’t need you.”
She was right. The realization hit him like a sack of bricks. The only thing she needed was the essence.
Before he could talk himself out of it, he grabbed one of the orbs and held it in front of him. “You need me now. Need me to hold on.”
She paused, her attention now focused solely on him. “Bold move, young Black. But I’m willing to bet you won’t do it.”
He didn’t want to. It felt wrong, sacrilegious even, but he didn’t have any other leverage. “How sure are you?” He held the orb up a little higher.
“It isn’t logical. If you break that, that child’s life meant nothing. His death is wasted.”
He saw the twist in her logic. “His life was wasted. His essence can’t change that. It can’t bring him back. And if I drop this, he won’t be any more dead.”
Her face paled slightly at his words, but she wasn’t ready to give up. “But it can keep the Queen alive, and that’s something.”
The new line of logic left him ill. “You’re right. It means the Queen is no better than a common thief. I take that back, she’s far worse, she’s using the power given to her by the people to break the laws she’s signed to protect them.”