Here There be Dragons (Book 4 in the Twilight Court Series)

by Amy Sumida

  “I apologize, Princess Seren,” Iku gave me a grim grin. “I like you, I really do, but your death will solve several problems for my court.”

  “Problems?”

  “King Uisdean for one,” he shook his head. “And then there's the Court of the Dragon Kings.”

  “The Dragon Kings?” I narrowed my eyes. “The other dragon court?”

  “Don't worry about that now,” Iku started forward, his face beginning to bubble like a plague victim's. “You'll soon be in the arms of your goddess,” he spat the last word.

  Before Iku could reach me, a black shape loomed up behind him and I caught the flash of gold eyes as dragon claws surrounded Iku's throat and slashed across it. Iku's head bobbed, his eyes huge in shock, as Raza's face appeared behind him. I gaped as Raza tossed Iku away from me and then dove into the water fairy's belly, claws extended. The water churned with blood and bits of flesh as Raza pulled Iku's insides to the outside.

  “The only arms she'll be resting in tonight are mine,” Raza growled into the dying fairy's face. Then he tore Iku-Turso's head from his body.

  “What the hell just happened? Why was he trying to kill me?” I gaped at the body floating gently to the cave floor and then asked it insanely. “What problems would my death have solved?”

  “I'm not sure but we must go, Seren,” Raza sliced the fairy lantern from my belt and it floated down to the cave floor, illuminating his powerful legs as it went. I realized absently that he was wearing a wetsuit. Then he held out his claw-tipped obsidian hand urgently. “Now, Seren!”

  “Yes, I get that,” I took his hand and he pulled me out of the mouth of the cave, curving back against the rock and jerking me against his side.

  “Be as silent as possible,” he said into my ear as one of his wings curved over me protectively. “The beisht kione should hold everyone's attention but it's best not to risk it.”

  I glanced at the battle between the beast and dragons and saw that my Uncle Uisdean had joined the fight. He was wrapping the monster with thorny black vines as thick as my waist. His attention, as everyone's, was fixed firmly on the beast.

  “Damn,” I said begrudgingly, impressed not only at the strength of Uisdean's magic but that he had the balls to use it against a beisht kione.

  “Yes, yes,” Raza swam us to the back of the top of the rock formation, where a hippocampi was tethered, “Uisdean is a great warrior, can we go now?”

  “Why are you here, Raza?” I asked him as he settled me onto the back of the hippocampi and then climbed into the saddle behind me. “How did you even get here? Or know to come?”

  “Not now, Seren!” He snapped. “We still have to make it to the rath.”

  “There's a rath down here?”

  “One of the most dangerous raths in all of Fairy,” he said as he spurred our mount on. “This is monster territory.”

  “The Abyss,” I whispered. “Will there be more beisht kiones?”

  “Among other things,” he wrapped an arm firmly around my waist and leaned us over the hippocampi's back, closing his wings around us to get the most streamlined form.

  We shot through the water almost as fast as a sea dragon. Cries echoed through the desolate dark around us and I started to ask what had made the terrifying sounds but Raza's hand clutched at my belly in warning. Right; better to just wonder at the source than have visual confirmation.

  A manta ray the size of a house sailed by, its gaping mouth hanging ominously open above our heads and its spike-tipped tail swishing lazily behind it. Next,came a hydra; its numerous snake heads joining together to slip through the water like a torpedo. Finally, we saw a school of kraken, though I guess the correct term would be shoal, since kraken are a type of squid monster. They squished by and scarred the bejesus out of our poor hippocampi, who reared and nearly unseated us.

  Raza kept us in the saddle and quickly got the hippocampi under control but I have to admit that even I was spooked by the kraken. No one had to release them in Fairy, they were free to roam wherever they chose. And frankly, I don't think Poseidon himself could have changed that.

  “Here we are,” Raza declared with a note of relief.

  Ahead of us was a mountain of slick gray stone and within its base was a gated cave. As we came to the cave, the gate parted, seaweed undulating against the gold bars, and we raced through. It was too murky to see the symbol on the gate but it looked round and silver; either a moon or the earth. You may think that Earth would be the obvious choice but there were all kinds of raths all over Fairy and several of them were paths within each kingdom. This was one way the fey dealt with the restrictions of their archaic modes of transportation. So really, Raza could have been taking us anywhere.

  Impenetrable darkness closed around us but Raza kept us going straight ahead and soon a slight lightening became apparent. Then the light formed into a rounded opening and another pair of gates swung wide for us.

  We came out into even murkier water than we'd left and Raza angled us straight up. Here there were no sea monsters, though there were some gigantic fish... wait, make that whales... and I did spot a few merfolk. When the water fey saw us, they hurried away without even a wave of greeting. But I suppose a dragon-djinn riding a hippocampi with a twilight fairy was probably something they didn't see everyday.

  We made our way up past muted coral and tangled clumps of seaweed until finally the water lightened and I saw sunlight gleaming through the surface. There was a shadow above us, a boat shaped shadow.

  The calls of humpback whales echoed in my ears as we broke the surface. I wiped the water from my eyes and caught sight of a whale jumping exuberantly into the air nearby. It fell backwards in a graceful arch, sparkling water droplets falling from its fins like diamonds before the water geysered up around it.

  Steam formed from my frantic breaths, puffing into the frigid air as I gulped in air. The thick coating over my eyes receded as if it knew I had no intentions of going back underwater anytime soon. I blinked my vision back into focus and craned my head to look around. We were off the coast of a mountainous region; low verdant mountains in the foreground with snow-covered, steely blue mountains rising up behind them. We weren't in an ocean anymore but some kind of a lake. No, that wasn't right either. It was an inlet or a harbor... a big one. There was the mountains on one side and then islands closing in on the others. But I was sure we were in seawater, I could smell the salt in it, so open water had to be just beyond the islands.

  Our hippocampi snorted, his steaming breath melding with mine, and swam us over to the side of an extravagant fishing boat. The words; Sea Dragon were painted on it in deep green and it made me flinch. I looked back at Raza but he was staring at the boat like it was sanctuary. I couldn't imagine Raza saving my life just to hand me back to the dragon kings, so I assumed the name was just a coincidence.

  The hippocampi gave a neigh as we reached the stern and Raza grabbed the bobbing ledge as he slid off our mount's back. I slid off too and grabbed the edge beside Raza. He leaned back to the hippocampi and removed the reins from its head. It made a happy snorting sound and dove back into the water. Raza tossed the reins onto the boat as a man came striding out of the boat's cabin. He bent down to help me aboard.

  “It's very good to see you alive and well, Princess Seren,” Chad, AKA King Chiwen of the Court of the Nine Sons, AKA Lord of the Rath, AKA the Sentinel, proclaimed. “Welcome back to Alaska.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Okay; we're dry, we're safe, and we have tea,” I nodded my thanks to Chad. “Can someone please tell me why Iku-Turso tried to kill me?”

  It had been a tense boat ride to Harris Harbor from where we'd surfaced in Auke Bay. No one had said much. Chad was driving the boat while Raza and I kept scanning the water. Then we'd docked and Chad had driven us up to his home on the back edge of Juneau. I had tried asking questions along the way but had got shushed for my efforts. I guess the men hadn't felt safe enough to talk until we were well ensconced in Chad's
home, perched overlooking the town, with its back to the thick forest.

  “Iku-Turso tried to kill you?” Chad's exotic eyes went wide, then he turned them to Raza. “Iku-Turso tried to kill her?”

  “It seems that my rescue was timed most fortunately,” Raza sat back in his leather chair and sipped his tea as daintily as any English lady.

  “Why exactly did I need to be rescued?” I tried again.

  “What happened with Iku-Turso?” Chad asked Raza.

  “I killed him,” Raza said with an obvious tone.

  “Iku-Turso is dead?” Chad fell back against his chair and stared at the far wall in shock. “And killed by a land dragon. Wonders never cease.”

  “Could someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!” I shouted.

  “Princess, please calm yourself,” Chad held up a hand. “I've just had a terrible shock and I need a moment.”

  “You've had...” I gaped at him while Raza chuckled.

  “I've been suspicious of Uisdean for awhile now,” Raza started to explain. “When he asked for you to join him on this latest expedition into the Court of the Nine Sons, I grew even more wary. I questioned several members of our court but no one seemed to know what our king was up to.”

  “Is that unusual?” I asked with a grimace.

  “Highly,” Raza nodded. “Uisdean is smart enough to seek the counsel of advisers and I am one such adviser.”

  “But he didn't seek your counsel,” I noted.

  “He hasn't sought anyone's counsel,” Raza said grimly. “But that didn't mean he was acting alone. A king rarely does.”

  “When I was in the meeting with Uisdean and the dragons, they spoke in careful generalities,” I mused. “I questioned Iku and he evaded answering, going off about laws being different in his court. I have no idea what they're doing.”

  “I know exactly what they're doing,” Raza stated blandly. “I found the team Uisdean sent to do his bidding. They arrived at Castle Unseelie late at night and covered in grime. Very suspicious. So I questioned them.”

  “Did you kill them?” I asked immediately.

  “I had no need to resort to such measures,” Raza rolled his eyes. “Dragons generally don't have to ask twice. But these fey were eager to give up their secrets and I don't believe it had anything to do with my race. They readily told me what Uisdean was doing and asked me to help them.”

  “Help them?” I leaned forward in my chair. “Why? What's my evil uncle up to?”

  “He's stealing our resources!” Chad shouted and I stared at him in shock. “Sorry, I feel very connected to Earth now. I suppose that's why the other water dragons didn't ask me to assist them.”

  “What's he talking about?” I asked Raza.

  “Alaska has a wealth of untapped resources,” Raza explained. “It's also in the perfect location to have those resources stolen by fairies.”

  “Keep going,” I narrowed my eyes on him. “What do you mean perfect location?”

  “There are two raths in this area,” Chad took over. “One is here,” he waved his hand to his backyard. “But this rath connects to the island off the coast of Unseelie and you know firsthand what's required to reach the rath.”

  “A ride on the fairy ferry,” I shrugged. “So what?”

  “There's many curious eyes in the Unseelie Forest,” Raza offered. “And a boat crossing to the island always garners attention.”

  “Attention Uisdean's enterprise couldn't afford,” Chad muttered.

  “So he needed to use the other rath,” I started to work it out. “The one in the sea... surrounded by monsters.”

  “No one's looking there,” Raza grinned maliciously. “It's a brilliant plan, I'll give him that.”

  “Except for the part where he had to deal with dragons,” I sneered.

  “Yes, that was a bit of an issue it seems,” Raza mused. “The original agreement was that the Unseelie Court would halve the cargo with the Court of the Nine Sons but perhaps the dragons demanded more.”

  “I believe you're right,” I said as I thought back to the meeting. “There was a lot of talk of numbers. But what resources are they taking?”

  “Alaska has gold, silver, ore, natural gas, tungsten, uranium, it goes on and on,” Raza shrugged. “I believe they're taking whatever they can get their hands on.”

  “But doesn't Fairy have all of those things?” I asked.

  “Yes but we don't believe in stripping our land,” Raza explained. “We take what Fairy gives us and when we do alter the land, we do it gently, with magic.”

  “But Uisdean has no problem with cutting into the Earth,” I muttered.

  “Humans do it,” Raza shrugged. “The problem is, Uisdean needed to send fairies to mine the resources and transport them to the sea. There, the water fey would collect their half before taking the rest through the underwater rath.”

  “And that's a problem why?” I looked back and forth between Chad and Raza's grim faces.

  “I can sit here and tell you that humans mine the Earth and act nonchalant about it,” Raza finally spoke. “But if you put a pick ax in my hand, I wouldn't be able to wield it. Not in that manner.”

  “Raza, I've seen you obliterate a forest,” I scoffed.

  “It was a few trees,” he huffed. “And fire is good for the land. It's a natural part of fertilization and rebirth.”

  “I've also seen what magic can do,” I went on. “There are fairy powers which can shatter stones or empty lakes. How is that any different from mining?”

  “That's one of the reasons the truce between our fairy kingdoms has held for so long,” Raza sighed. “Our magic is capable of horrendous things. But Seren, we don't destroy the world on purpose. We ask the stone to shift and allow us to mould it into our homes. It's a gentle process. We don't level mountains, tearing them apart just to reach the gold within them. And if you asked me to do such a thing, I simply could not. It would extract too high a toll on my mind.”

  “So the fairies Uisdean sent?”

  “They were mentally traumatized,” Raza said in a low voice. “Worse than men back from war. Striking at Nature as if it were an enemy, be it within Fairy or the Human Realm, goes against everything we are. It's like asking us to strike our mother.”

  “And that's why Uisdean was so secretive about it,” I mused. “But I still don't understand why Iku-Turso tried to kill me. During the attack, he said my death would solve several problems for his court; including Uisdean and the Court of the Dragon Kings.”

  Chad and Raza exchanged a wide-eyed look.

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “We can only postulate,” Chad said. “But I believe your presence in my court was viewed as both a blessing and a curse. They didn't want you to discover their true dealings with King Uisdean but at the same time you provided them with a possible bargaining chip.”

  “How's that?” I asked.

  “Well, I'm guessing that your father would hold Uisdean accountable for anything that happened to you in the Court of the Nine Sons?”

  “Yes, he said as much.”

  “My spies told me you arrived without escort as well,” Chad went on.

  “The spells failed,” I nodded and Chad shared a knowing look with Raza, “I blamed Uisdean.”

  “As they probably expected you to do,” Chad nodded. “This put you firmly within their control, correct?”

  “I...,” I blinked and then said a really bad word. “Yeah, Iku declared that he'd be my guardian since I had none available to me. He said the dragon court may be barbaric but they weren't assassins.”

  Both men laughed.

  “Alright, I get the point,” I huffed. “I was an idiot.”

  “Not at all, Princess,” Chad held up a hand. “They maneuvered you adroitly. There are very few fairies who could withstand the masterful manipulations of dragon kings.”

  “So if they were going to use me to bargain with Uisdean,” I frowned, “I assume they'd hold the threat of
my death over his head. Kind of ironic actually.”

  “Yes, a little,” Chad smiled.

  “My point is, they'd need me alive,” I gave Chad a heavy look.

  “Unless they decided the bargaining was off,” Raza growled. “Then they'd not only want to kill you but make sure your death benefited them in other ways.”

  “Like implicating the Court of the Dragon Kings,” Chad whispered.

  “Why are they a problem for the Nine Sons?” I asked.

  “There's animosity between the two underwater courts,” Raza explained.

  “So they were going to blame my death on the other court because they just don't like them?”

  “It's a deep hatred,” Chad nodded. “Iku-Turso could have easily killed you and left evidence of a king assassin on your body. Then, not only would your father hold King Uisdean responsible, he'd blame the Court of the Dragon Kings as well. Twilight would be forced into war with two kingdoms.”

  “Wow, they really hate Twilight,” I muttered.

  “No,” Raza smirked. “They really hate the kings and the unseelie.”

  “Twilight would be obliterated,” I shook my head. “Going up against two courts at once.”

  “Who says your father would strike both kingdoms at once?” Raza grinned but it was a vicious smile. “King Keir is a brilliant fairy and he'd have Danu's backing, not to mention that of the Seelie and the Shining Ones Such a righteous cause would compel them to come forth and side with him. Plus, they wouldn't miss the chance of destroying the unseelie.”

  “Did you tell the dragons about Danu?” Chad asked urgently.

  “Yes,” I shrugged. “They were skeptical but I thought there was a chance I could bring them back to her.”

  Chad closed his eyes and groaned.

  “What?” I whined.

  “There is no bringing the underwater fey back to Danu,” Raza shook his head. “At least not the dragons. They turned their backs on her long ago.”

  “Not all of us,” Chad protested. “It's yet another reason I accepted this position. I wanted to be away from their blasphemy.”