Bray continued. “In the foothills of the Euris Mountains, there is a particularly dangerous breed of snake. The bronze asp. They are so fierce many say they are the descendants of dragons. They live together in great underground hives. There is no pity for those foolish enough to live too close to the hives, foolish enough to threaten the asps in any way possible. Entire villages have been found dead, victims of the asps’ venom. A single bite can incapacitate a man. More than one usually leads to death.
“Men rarely encounter anything but the soldiers of the asp hives. They are enough for most men. The soldiers roam, identify threats, and fight intruders. The asps are nearly all male, there is only a single queen for each hive. The soldiers protect her. But they are not the most deadly of the asps.”
Bray held the crowd in the palm of his hand. His strong voice carried over the whistling wind and the hissing of the snakes. “Within each hive, there is a special warrior. It has one job and one job only. It protects the children, protects the eggs laid by the queen. The guardian asp. It is stronger, faster, more venomous than any other.
“When I finally captured the thief Cal Mast, I lay awake that night, thinking about how he had stolen from and killed my men. I thought about how we must guard each other, protect our future from thieves. I thought of the guardian asps.
“As you can imagine, recovering a guardian asp is one of the most dangerous things you can do. But earlier today I took dragons north and I did exactly that. Six times.” Bray looked over the crowd. “Would you like to see one?”
The crowd cheered. One of the handlers stepped forward. His hand was buried in his sack. When he pulled it out, he had a snake grasped around the neck, just below the head. Once it was out in the light, it twisted and flung its body around, hissing wildly. The handler carefully handed it to Bray. Bray raised the snake over his head. He looked untroubled by the danger, but Cal noted he had it gripped tightly, nearly choking it. The snake was bronze, its scales covered in a pattern of black diamonds. It was about two and a half feet long. Hard to tell exactly the way it thrashed and twisted. It had the hint of a hood around its head, small black eyes. A large jaw with flashing fangs.
“Beautiful,” Bray said. “As I said, some say descended from dragons.” Bray handed the snake off and collected another one. “And here is a queen.” This one was smaller, less violent. It was a lighter bronze, no diamonds. Bray held it up so the crowd could see it. Then he lowered it just in front of his face, placed both hands on it, and squeezed. After a few moments of desperate thrashing, the queen fell still, dead. Bray looked at Cal, threw the body at his feet.
“Cal Mast, leader of the Unflagged,” Bray said to the crowd. “He flew west from Delhonne with three dragons. He drew on the awesome power of nepotism to land a role as an informant to the Castalan government with those three dragons. Today he has ten. He stole four of those dragons from NEST. Used treachery to take them from riders like yourself, more often than not left your brothers dead. A thief and murderer. But, you know what? I think we should give him the opportunity to redeem himself. What do you think?” Nothing but silence, hard looks.
“Since he stole four dragons, he can face four guardian asps.” Bray gave a gesture to the handlers, already ranged around Cal. They readied the bags to be opened. “But I wouldn’t want to ever be accused of not giving someone a fair shake. Maybe we should give him a weapon.” Bray walked over to another falsemarked who held a cloth in his hands. Bray unwrapped the cloth and held up Cal’s sword, the one he had personally shattered last night. There was little more than a hilt. He flung it at Cal, broken blade whirling as it approached. Cal deftly caught it by the hilt. What remained of the blade was only about as long as his hand. The men around him were laughing.
The handlers were lined up on all four corners. The snakes thrashed harder, sensing the dead queen nearby. Hungry for vengeance. They would be released all at once. They would come fast.
“Do you have any last words?” Bray asked as the men laughed again. Cal tried to smile against the muzzle but couldn’t.
He’d never faced anything like this and he found that, because of that, he wasn’t afraid. He couldn’t do more than try. All he knew about snakes was, like most wild animals, they were fast, unbelievably fast. Cal glanced around the room, the men who had brought him here. Pallor looked eager. Bray looked pleased. Clay and Aubrey were unreadable. The nobles, the falsemarked, everyone looked thrilled at what was to come. The one with the puff of white hair must be the Marquis Korrell. That would be Aaron’s traitor, the one who’d made his way into their inner circle. His son was probably one too.
When Cal died, maybe Aaron would avenge his death, maybe not. Maybe they’d meet again on the other side. Maybe Elena would be there. He could say he was sorry, he hadn’t meant for anyone to get hurt. He was just trying to reach the other shore, hoping the drum of his own blood and the crash of saltwater would drown out their laughter.
What would his last words be if he wasn’t gagged by metal? Maybe just to tell Bray he was a fake bastard who only got where he was by killing his own, something even the snakes would never do. He’d sent someone else to pay the price. Then turned around and started peddling his ill-earned privilege to other bullies with chips on their shoulders. Turned his pathetic insecurities into an army.
Cal looked calmly at Bray and raised five fingers. He’d stolen five NEST dragons. Might as well do this right.
“So be it.” Bray waved another handler into place.
All noise fell away as Cal slid into a fighting stance, broken sword held loose and low, near his kneecaps. There were well over three hundred men in the Shields but you could hear a pin drop. The smooth slide of Cal’s boots as he slowly rotated, close to the ground. The hissing and thrashing of the snakes in the bags, smelling the dead queen which lay at Cal’s feet. Even the sky, trapped in the panes of glass above, seemed to stand still. Then Bray raised his hand and lowered it again.
The cheers were deafening as the snakes were released to race furiously towards Cal, coming from all sides.
Chapter 30. The Wrong Side of History
Aaron and Shale walked across the roof of River Hall, headed towards the rear staircase. The lights of the party below them were far behind, but they could still hear the sounds of the gathering. Voices, cutlery scraping on plates, glasses clinking, laughter.
“You know,” Shale said, “if you combed through that party, you’d find a lot of allies. A lot of people who wouldn’t mind seeing NEST burn. They’re probably having a good time down there. With NEST tied up at the Shields having their own party, this is one of the few nights the people down there can relax. They know that this isn’t the night NEST comes for them, drags them out, and piles them into the mass graves out west.” They walked a few more moments in silence, feet crunching on the gravel. Shale said, “We haven’t had much of a chance to swap intel on NEST. What do you know about their leaders?”
Aaron replied, “You heard most of what I know about Bray from Matt, I’m sure. Aside from him, I don’t know much. I know he has only a few direct reports. Aubrey Narrows leads the dragon riders, the falsemarked. I haven’t seen him since I arrived, nor has Cal.”
“I saw him plenty last night.” Shale’s face was flushed with anger. “He was the one who gave me these.” She gestured to the long bruises lining the left side of her face. “He’s dangerous. He runs Ellis when Bray is gone. It got bad a few months ago. EU attacked a NEST-backed caravan train when it arrived in Ellis. We got hit back hard and barely managed to escape with a lot of wounded. Apparently, some of the EU were followed back to Ellis Central, the largest local hospital. Aubrey Narrow’s men showed up. They didn’t take kindly to what they saw as sympathy to the rebellion. They killed everyone in the hospital. Everyone. Patients, doctors, nurses. Even the children. I can’t even describe the pain he caused. He might be higher on my list than even Bray or DaNeel. It brought a lot of defectors our way. Some of the blues got a good firsthand look at what
NEST was all about. That’s what brought Matt James over to us. He was a blue. He didn’t take too well to being asked to cut the throats of five-year-olds. Been one of our most valuable ever since.”
“He has feelings for you.”
Shale glanced at Aaron out of the side of her eyes. “I’m trying to keep my people alive tonight. Maybe tomorrow too. If we last a month the way things are going it will be amazing. At any given time I’m teetering on the brink of surrendering Ellis to NEST. I can’t guarantee men and women won’t get used. I’ve got no time to spare feelings.”
She looked off into distance, the direction of the Shields. “What about Clay Duren? What do you know about him? He’s a pretty recent addition to NEST, only been here a year or so. He rose up fast. Matt respects him, fears him a little too.”
“Cal knows him. They butted heads back in Castalan. Clay was the second of one of the big crimelords in Lenn’s Harbor. But when they stamped out the smuggling rings, Clay left. Must have come here. He’s capable. Seems to bear some sort of vendetta for Cal. He’s certainly keeping close enough.”
“Clay runs the blues, the soldiers. And Pallor DaNeel? Do you know him?” When Aaron shook his head, Shale continued. “He’s the one who looks like a beggar, the one with the broken teeth. He runs intelligence for Bray. He’s the one who penetrated EU yesterday. Probably the most dangerous man in NEST, maybe even more dangerous than Bray.”
“He took a shot at Cal a couple mornings ago, got a knife into him.”
“Your partner chooses his enemies poorly. I’m impressed he survived. I’ve never heard of anyone getting a second shot when Pallor DaNeel comes for them.”
“Cal pulled a note off of him. It said ‘Find your way to us. Have someone in their inner circle.’ Cal doesn’t think it was a plant. We’ve been looking for a traitor since.” They continued in silence for a moment. “Interesting that we’re going to see Kade. And that his father may be at the Shields tonight. Seems we may have found someone who got into my inner circle.”
Shale stopped, turned to Aaron. “We’re not both going to see Kade. I’ll talk to him. You can watch. He doesn’t need to know you’re here just yet.”
“You’ll keep your distance?”
Shale smiled. “You’re sweet.” She gave him a long, lingering kiss. “I’m not the one you should be worried about.”
They reach a trapdoor near the edge of the rooftop. A single guard was lying on his belly, looking forward, head low to the ground. He arched his neck to glance up at them, gently shook his head.
“They aren’t here yet. I’m going to climb down. You’re right here with Marlin.” She gestured to the guard at the trapdoor.
She pulled open the trapdoor, climbed down gracefully using another knotted rope. She swung the rope back up to Marlin. He pulled it up onto the roof and lowered the trapdoor, using a small lever to leave a gap of a couple inches. He pulled out a blade and lay it next to his hand, then climbed back down into position, facing the trapdoor from low to the ground. After watching a moment, Aaron imitated him. When he got into the same position, he realized there was a carefully positioned mirror across from them. Through it Aaron could see the top landing of the stairs clearly, Shale standing still, waiting on Matt James and Kade’s approach from below. She held a single lit candle.
Aaron turned to Marlin, who was watching him, his eyes on Aaron’s scarred cheek. Marlin gave him a friendly nod, then produced a flask. “Welcome to Ellis.”
Aaron took a long drink and handed it back. “Thanks.”
Below them, Shale suddenly raised a hand. “They’re at the bottom of the stairs,” Marlin said. “You’ll hear them in a second. Once you do we need to be quiet.” He shuffled a little as he put the flask back and then fell still.
The sound of feet on the stairs came to Aaron, muffled. Shale looked impossibly small, outlined by the dim candlelight, waiting alone on the landing. More light streamed up the stairs as the footsteps neared. Finally a torch poked into view, Matt James holding it. He was half-turned, refusing to put his back fully to Kade Korrell, who walked slowly up the stairs behind him.
The young noble wore a loose-fitting coat, an intricate pattern of red and yellow running down the sleeves. His hair hung partly over his face. He looked unafraid, coolly sophisticated even as he marched up a hidden and dark staircase. He was also clearly drunk.
“Shale Kormet,” he said as he saw her at the top of the stairs. He stepped onto the landing, looked as if he wanted to slide close to her, maybe kiss her hand, but something in either Matt or Shale’s posture held him. “You are every bit as beautiful as they say.”
“Such a charmer,” Shale said, nothing but warmth in her voice. “How long has your father been with NEST?”
Kade made a noise of disgust, took a drink of the glass he’d brought up the stairs with him. He gave a small mocking bow. “Just over a month, my lady. Ever since Aaron Lorne killed that dragon rider out at the Cove. That sure got NEST into a tizzy. They started gearing up for war, raising their budget for buying cantankerous old men. The Marquis got a good price.” He looked at Shale over the rim of his glass, sizing her up. He opened his mouth but Shale cut in.
“What about your price? Why aren’t you with your friends right now?”
Kade tossed his hair back out of his face. “If you look a little closer, you’ll see my friends are all below. NEST is interested in retaining the old power. No interest in the future. They recruit young nobility but it’s just to ride around on dragons. Gold and women. I don’t need them. If I wanted a dragon, there are cheaper ways to get one than surrendering my future to an organization designed to feed the ambition of one man and one man alone. A man who views the west as a stepping stone. A place to gather forces before he returns to his homeland.”
He took another long drink from the glass. Aaron thought he could smell the liquor from here. “What do you think Eostre will look like if NEST wins? You saw how Aubrey treated the city while Bray was gone. If I joined NEST, I’d have three years of fun followed by a lifetime of regret, watching men like him and my father rule absolute over desolation and oppression.”
Shale held still, content to keep Kade talking. He went on. “The interesting thing is, when I chose not to go over to NEST, they didn’t even care. They didn’t even threaten me. They just shrugged. They probably wouldn’t even care we’re here having this conversation. As long as they hold the greatest dragon army in the world, no one can stop them. They make a big noise about EU and SDC, holdouts in Eostre and Porcenne, but it’s all smoke. Bray knows the world is already his. What could Lorne possibly do? What could you do?
“They’ve got Cal Mast. Did you know that? He’s been a prisoner at the Shields for two days. The corpse Aaron Lorne brought in was a ruse. Mast is alive and in NEST hands. They’ll turn him or kill him. And that’s the last of the independent operatives that matter. Crush EU, which I understand they made some good progress on yesterday. Let me ask you this. You led a major attack on the east landing yesterday. How many men did you lose?” Kade looked confrontational for the first time, agitated.
Shale didn’t answer.
“Well tell me this, then. Did you kill a single dragon? Even one? Have you ever?” Kade asked.
Again, no answer.
“Well, I can answer for you. Anyone can. No, you didn’t. You killed a bunch of blues, the most easily replaceable foot soldiers in their army. As long as they have the dragons…” Kade trailed off as if he lacked the energy to finish the thought. “I suppose I’m not being much fun. I used to be charming. Then I saw the way the world was going, the way my life was going.” He looked at Shale again. “I’ll tell you what, why don’t you come back down with me? We’ll have a dance.”
“Enjoy the party, Kade,” Shale said. “We may call on you soon.”
“She talks,” he said in mock surprise. He let the silence grow for a moment, but when Shale had nothing else to say he sighed. “You know where to find me. Drinking the night
away with the other losers, watching from the wrong side of history. Come on, Matt, lead me back so I don’t break my damn neck, do NEST’s job for them.”
They left. Aaron watched the light retreat around the corner. After a long wait, Shale blew out the single candle. Next to Aaron on the roof, Marlin shuffled around, freeing his flask for another drink.
…
“Learn anything new?” Shale asked Aaron a few minutes later. They were back over the skylight atop River Hall, staring down into the gathering below.
“No,” Aaron said. “He’s not wrong. It is all about the dragons.”
“We always hoped taking Bray out would break the bond with the dragons, at least decentralize it.”
“But how do you get at Bray without getting through the dragons?”
“If I knew the answer to that, Corvale, I wouldn’t be sleeping on a rooftop, grateful only a handful of my closest friends died today.”
Aaron looked sideways at Shale. She’d set aside the usual playful mask. Kade’s words had gotten to her. That or the accumulated stress of the past few days. Aaron wondered, not for the first time, exactly how much he could trust her. She made him want her, made him want to trust her, but she was little more than a stranger. Oh, well. At this point he didn’t really have any other options.
“I know a way. A chance to get at Hideon Bray, maybe end NEST.”
Shale pulled the mask right back on, giving him a cheerful smile. “Why, Aaron Lorne, have you been holding out on me?” She took him by his arm, led him back to her room, where he explained his plan. She listened carefully, asked a few questions, and then immediately began making preparations for an attack on the Shields, to commence when the sun was at its peak tomorrow.
Chapter 31. Too Close to the Line
The corpse leaned forward. “So what happened next?”
Rise of the Falsemarked (Spies of Dragon and Chalk Book 2) Page 22