Ashes And Spirit (Book 3)

by A. D. Trosper

  Defeat washed over his face. “In the dock master house.”

  “I thought so.” She knew where they were but forcing him to answer was a pleasure she was unwilling to deny herself. “Oksana, fetch those logs for me.” She pointed to the small stone building near the shore end of the largest pier.

  Oksana cast a wary glance at her before walking toward the shack without a word. The boats at the docks when Murynn landed had cast off their mooring lines and were well out into the channels with their sails up, attempting to escape to the sea. Azurynn laughed. There was no escape.

  “It’s your turn now, Murynn. Sink those boats however you see fit.”

  Oksana brought the logbooks to her as Murynn lifted off. “You don’t want to free the slaves first?”

  “They are better off dead.” Azurynn sighed. The loss of the slaves was the only regret she felt. As much as she wished to free them, they would be broken beyond repair like her. In many ways, death was far kinder. “Feel free to let your dragons enjoy themselves.”

  The other two women sent their dragons into the air while she opened the first logbook. This one was for boats headed with merchandise to Las Fane and Port City. Nine boats were loaded with leather, rice from Turindar’s marshes, and olive oil. They also carried silk from Boromar, grain from Hanover, and sharfa beans from Kanther.

  Deep in the hold, beneath the merchandise, the boats also carried several women. One had as many as seven, and a couple as few as three. Those women weren’t for sale at the next port. The other nations didn’t trade in human flesh, not buying it anyway. No, those women held in the damp, windowless bilge would likely never see the light of day again. Their skin would never feel the sun until they died from the horrible conditions and cruelties inflicted upon them. Once used up, they would be tossed overboard.

  Only one boat in the log had sailed without slaves. Azurynn recognized the name of the captain. Dohnlas didn’t believe in boat slaves. He figured if the men in his crew were that desperate, they could spend their earnings in the whorehouses at the various ports. If that wasn’t enough for them, then he didn’t want them in his crew. Azurynn tapped the name on the page with her finger. She would leave that boat alone as an example. She didn’t have a problem with boats and trade, just the slaves.

  The clatter of hooves pounding across paving stones echoed off the red-brown walls of the warehouses. Rehnlas and a large contingent of guards burst into the wide, open space between the warehouses and the docks where Azurynn stood. They yanked hard on the reins. The horses slipped on the paving stones and tripped over bodies as they came to a stop, throwing their heads in the air.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Rehnlas’ enraged shout carried over the chaos in the water of the channels.

  Every boat in the channels burned with crackling green fire. The three black dragons splashed through the water as they killed those who jumped overboard. A thick haze of smoke blown by the chill wind whipped over the winter-brown marshes between the channels.

  Azurynn glanced over her shoulder, her eyes like ice. “I could ask the same of you, Rehnlas.”

  “You have no right to destroy our trade this way!”

  “I have every right as a Shadow Rider and even more as a former slave on one of your precious boats.” Her magic hummed inside as her control slipped, and she almost lashed out with it.

  Rehnlas stared at her in wordless fury.

  “In case it wasn’t clear enough the day I was freed by my magic, there will be no more boat slaves. If you start it up again, I will happily kill everyone involved, including you.” The intention to try to stand up to her was loud in his mind when he dismounted from his horse. “Careful, Rehnlas. I’m not in complete control right now and would find much enjoyment in sending you to a painful eternity. It would be nothing to me.”

  Sadira glared at him. “Remember, Rehnlas, you hold your throne only by the grace of the Shadow Riders. It would be easy for us to replace you. When you accepted us as your protectors we were quite clear there would be no more boat slaves and yet, here we all are.” Her glare slid into a sadistic smile. “We really can’t let such open disobedience go unpunished.”

  Azurynn refrained from rolling her eyes. Sadira and the other Shadow Riders didn’t care about boat slaves. It was part of the agreement Sadira, Kovan, and Oksana had struck in order to keep Azurynn from coming back and leaving Turindar nothing but a feast for crows.

  Sadira only cared about disobedience and the chance to torture Rehnlas. Azurynn shrugged. Who was she to stand in the way of discipline or pleasure? “Do as you think best, Sadira. Make sure you get his face. A permanent, visible reminder of what happens when we are defied on the face of their king will do the populous of Turindar good.”

  Malicious light brightened Sadira’s eyes as her shadows curled around her hands. Azurynn swept the assembled guards with a hard look. “Anyone that tries to interfere before Sadira is done will join him in his punishment.”

  Sadira’s shadows struck Rehnlas at his waist. They burrowed under his skin and climbed toward his face. He collapsed on the ground, screaming until he ran out of breath only to suck in another and begin again. Azurynn turned back toward the water without a shred of remorse for the man writhing on the ground. He should have known better. They all should have.

  She resumed studying the open logbook in her hands. Dohnlas was still sailing the Arcaia. Good, she would know what it looked like.

  “Oksana,” she called over the shrieks of Rehnlas. “I need you to send Dusa east along the coast. There are nine Turindar boats on the eastern route. Eight need to be destroyed and no person left alive. Let her do it however she wishes.”

  “I’m sure she will enjoy the task. Which boat do you want left alone?” Oksana glanced toward the channels and called for Dusa.

  Azurynn pointed to the listed boat. “The Arcaia. According to the log it’s a two-masted ship with a large arcaia fish carved into the prow.”

  Dusa took off in a rush of wind and malignant emotions, winging her way south to the mouth of the river before banking to follow the coast.

  Azurynn flipped open the other logbook. This one had six boats listed bound for Kanther and Boromar. Each carried Turindar trade as well as the newly coveted tobacco grown in Shadereen, wine from Las Fane, and the fine wool and lace that came down the Blood River from the mountain towns west of Calladar. And each boat carried slaves.

  She hated to interrupt Sadira’s time with Rehnlas to send Ranit for the task. Murynn could do it. As soon as Azurynn finished her thought, Murynn raised her head and stared at her for a long moment before taking off and flying west while Ranit continued the job of dispatching the few tattered remains of the crews in the channels.

  Rehnlas’ screams finally stopped. Azurynn tossed the logbooks into the water and crossed the open space until she stood over the king. He lay gasping on the paving stones. The entire right half of his face was blackened and blistered. She studied Sadira’s work. He might never see out of his right eye again. Azurynn knelt next to him, leaned close, and whispered, “If you defy me again, you will beg me to hand you over to Sadira.”

  She stood in a smooth, graceful movement and walked over to the dock master. Putting her finger against his temple, she reached into his mind and burned the memories of every scream, every dying person, and the destruction at the docks with perfect clarity. “I have made sure you will never forget what you saw here today. I’ve made sure the images and sounds will have you waking up in a cold sweat every night for the rest of your life. And, before you get any ideas, I’ve also planted a command deep in your mind.” She gazed into his frightened eyes and said softly, “Though you will want it more than anything else in the world, you won’t be able to take your own life or even put yourself in a situation where someone else will take it from you. You will never be able to drink enough wine to kill yourself and if you are drunk, you won’t be able to walk anywhere near anything you might fall off.”

  “Hear me
now, Rehnlas.” Azurynn spared a brief glance at the king before fixing her eyes on the dock master’s again. “No matter what law this man breaks, he cannot be put to death. Imprison him if you wish, but he must always remain well fed and watered so that his health remains good.”

  She smiled at the dock master. “You will live a long and tortured life from this day forward. You will never defy me again, no matter who gives you the command. If those who replace the dead are smart, they will learn an important lesson from you and Rehnlas, and never forget it.”

  Azurynn released him from the weave that held him in place. He sank to the stones, bowed his head, and wept. She turned toward the guards and gestured at Rehnlas. “You may help him now.”

  They scrambled off their horses and lifted him to his feet. One of the men was sent racing for the king’s carriage. Sadira walked over to the king and took his chin in her hand, turning his face to get a better look. “Make sure you have your physician care for this. I’ve watched many die from the infection this causes. It’s most entertaining. For me at least. I don’t believe the subjects of my attention found it so. It appeared to be a most disagreeable way to die.”

  She dropped her hand and stepped back. “We are placing a mage as an advisor in Hanover to help maintain control. We will be doing the same here. We wouldn’t want another misunderstanding like we had today, would we?”

  Rehnlas just stared at her.

  Sadira’s face twisted. “Answer me.”

  “No. I have no desire to have another misunderstanding,” he mumbled through lips swollen well beyond proportion on one side.

  She patted the injured side of his face and laughed when he flinched away in pain. “Good boy. Now, off to your castle for treatment, your carriage has arrived.”

  The carriage horses bogged down as they did their best to find footing among the dead and pull the wagon over the bodies. The guards helped Rehnlas into the carriage when it came to a stop, then it pulled away.

  “It would seem,” Azurynn said as she looked around, “our work here is done. Even Ranit has run out of people to kill.”

  Oksana glanced to the south. “Dusa and Murynn will likely be a while.”

  “Most likely. No matter, we can all ride on Ranit, and she can Jump us back to the Kormai.” Azurynn brushed away the ash from the burning boats that had landed on her shirt.

  “I agree.” Sadira walked over to where they stood. “As fun as this has been, I have other things to do.” She raised her voice and called for Ranit. The big black with her tarnished gold underside was quick to respond.

  The ride back to the Kormai would be anything but comfortable. After Sadira strapped herself into the saddle, Azurynn and Oksana scrambled up behind her.

  The scales were slippery and the dorsal ridge a torture, even so, Azurynn clung tight to Oksana and hoped Oksana wouldn’t let go of Sadira. Ranit lifted off, rising slowly into the air. Word of what happened must have already spread like wildfire. The streets below were completely empty, not a soul could be seen. How long before they came out of their houses? How long before they were brave enough to deal with the hundreds of dead by the docks?

  Azurynn slid off Ranit the minute the black landed. The muscles in her legs protested after the effort of trying to keep her weight off the dorsal ridge. There was a reason for saddles. Perhaps it was time for the Shadow Riders to adopt something similar to the double saddles the Guardians used.

  Kovan sat on one of the built-in benches along the wall, staring at the floor. Azurynn ignored him and walked into the smaller hall that led to her bedchambers. Murynn would be a while. She wasn’t sure how she knew, she just did.

  Inside her chamber, she flopped on the bed, exhausted by the heavy use of magic and the emotions of the day. Kovan’s persistent search for little Marek didn’t improve her mood. He would never find that baby. She would make sure of it if she had to kill Kovan herself.

  Marek was her redemption, as much as she could possibly be redeemed for the things she’d done. For the tiny life she’d taken that day in the bowels of the ship. It didn’t matter that ultimately she’d saved her newborn daughter’s life by killing her. Saved her from suffering the same fate on the boats.

  Azurynn was forever thankful for the storm that had tossed the boat violently in the water and allowed her to give birth undetected. On a calm day, it would have been impossible to conceal, and she would have been guarded at all times when she was with the babe. When they reached the docks, her daughter would have been taken and given to a slave handler to raise until deemed old enough to be sold.

  The violet eyes of the daughter who’d lived less than an hour had gazed back at her while she held the tiny form wrapped in the bloody skirt of her scanty dress, cradled in her arms. She’d allowed the babe to feed and held her until the storm began to calm and their time together ran out. Then she used the bilge water, sloshing high due to the storm, to send her daughter to the safety of Maiadar.

  Already damaged, Azurynn’s actions that day broke something deep inside her that still haunted her in unwary moments.

  Marek would never suffer that same fate no matter what she had to do. He was safe and always would be. He would never know abuse at the hands of those he should trust, never know the betrayal of those same people selling him.

  She would make sure the child never saw the darkness that lurked behind false smiles of people more evil than she could ever be. At least the people at the dock knew what they were doing. And they knew not to trust her the minute Murynn landed. They had more of a chance than she ever did. More than her daughter had. Marek was the baby she could save in the place of the one she couldn’t.

  Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them back. Crying had never helped her, never helped anyone around her. It was a waste of time. If she had known then that less than a year later her magic would free her…she shook her head. That too was a waste of time to dwell on.

  Sighing, she rolled over and gazed at the wall where five completed black chains hung waiting—soul separators. Unease crawled through her. From an experimental point of view, it was fascinating to watch it work. But something had bothered her when it began to separate the young rider and his dragon. Thrilled with the success of her creation, it took a while for the impact of it to set in. For the unease to take root.

  Why did these chains bother her so? It was almost an instinctive fear. Rising, she crossed the room and ran her fingers over one. In the back of her mind she sensed Murynn shudder. The dragon didn’t like the chains either. None of the other Shadow Dragons seemed to have a problem with them. What was different about Murynn? Why did the chains make the dragon as uneasy as they made her? And how did she know Murynn had shuddered?

  The puzzled pieces fell into place and the picture they built made her gasp. Her own soul had definitely torn during Murynn’s hatching but not exactly in half. Only a portion had torn away to hatch Murynn. She could sense the piece that was gone. The only way she and Murynn could have both survived the hatching under those circumstances would be if Murynn had her own soul. Or at least a part of one.

  It explained the connection they had, why she didn’t carry as many dark emotions beneath her wings, and why her underside had slowly changed from gray to silver as the black matured. It explained why she and her dragon both felt an aversion to the chains. And why, if she wanted, she could use her magic the same way a Silver Rider of the Guardians could, though she never had the desire.

  The chains would separate her and Murynn as easily as they would Guardians. Azurynn turned that over in her mind. There was some meaning in this, but it was like looking through smudged glass. To the depths of her being, she knew it was important. It was also clear it would reveal itself in due time.

  He stood in the underground cave near the massive natural spring that fed the castle and all of the fountains of Shadereen and kept a wary eye on Kovan. The Shadow Rider paced like a wild animal in a cage and the dark rings under his eyes spoke of lost sleep.

>   Kovan glared at him. “You are certain no women have showed up in Shadereen at the beginning of winter? None that claimed to have been captured, none with an infant son?”

  What was this man’s obsession with a woman and her baby? “There have been no reports. All births in Shadereen are recorded; there has been nothing out of the ordinary. I wish I had something I could tell you that would help.” Something that would ease the madness that hovered in the rider’s silver eyes.

  Kovan sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them again he appeared more in control. “What about other things here in Shadereen?”

  “More and more women are starting to wear pants and learn weapons, standing up to their husbands. It is chaos. I’m at a loss how to stop it. The people think they love the Guardians and their Dragon Law. None of them seem to know what is truly best for them, truly best for Shadereen.”

  “What are the Guardian’s numbers in Shadereen now?”

  “Three stationed here. However, others flit in and out of the borders regularly enough that the number is in constant flux. Some days there are only three and others there are as many as six. I have no way of knowing when they come or go. I believe they have become suspicious of both king and Council and are now keeping a lot of information close.”

  “That helps make sense out of a few things on our end.” Kovan slowed his pacing and rubbed his chin. “Recently, Kojen sent against the villages along the river aren’t returning. The Guardians must have helped them build defenses or learn something that would help bring the Kojen down and decided not to tell you what those measures are.”

  “I am only one man; there is only so much I can do.” Though he never thought such a thing would cross his mind, he suddenly wished it were Azurynn who still handled these meetings.

  Kovan abruptly spun on his heel and walked toward the black dragon lying at the water’s edge. “Then it might be time to find one or two others you can trust. The way things are going here now, it will be all out warfare in Shadereen. It’s possible a good deal of your nation will be destroyed in such an endeavor.”