“Maybe” could have driven her mad.
On the fifth day of her captivity, Ashi woke, watched the sun rise, and, for the first time since Vounn’s death, did not shield herself with her dragonmark. After so many days of invoking its protection, it felt odd. Her mark tingled as if it wanted to be used. The world beyond her window seemed a little less bright and sharp without its clarity. Ashi felt a bit more relaxed, though. There was little need for the mark. Tariic hadn’t come to see her since that first night, and even if he did come today, she could draw on her mark in an instant.
The irony of Tariic’s forged letter, she reflected as she watched the sun climb into the sky, was that the core of it was true. She would never betray House Deneith, but she certainly didn’t feel welcomed by it anymore. If Breven could turn his back on her, she could turn her back on Deneith. If she escaped Tariic’s trap, maybe she would. There was a lot of Khorvaire she had yet to explore. If she went back to Deneith, Sentinel Tower was all she was likely to see. She’d be more comfortable than in her tower prison, but no freer.
Movement in the courtyard below caught her eye. She leaned over the stone sill to watch as a parade of figures streamed out of the fortress and into the streets of Rhukaan Draal. Sunlight flashed on armor—not just the plain armor of guards but the fantastic, ornate armor of the warlords of Darguun. In their midst rode a figure in a bright tigerskin cloak.
Ashi wrinkled her forehead. Where was Tariic going? Out in the street, a crowd had gathered, the sound of their cheers reaching up to her window. She saw Tariic wave in response. As the end of the procession passed out of the gates, the crowd spilled along the street in its wake.
She looked at her scratchings on the wall, crossed one more off and counted them. It was 24 Vult. If the attack on Breland was to take place on 28 Vult, Dagii needed to leave Rhukaan Draal very soon to reach Skullreave in time. That very day probably.
Tariic would be riding to give Dagii his blessing before the young warlord departed.
Ashi closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. Tariic had put her in this room so she could see the Iron Fox ride over the Ghaal as they left the city. It was almost tempting to spite him by not watching—but by not watching, she would miss her last glimpse, however distant, of Dagii and his company.
She leaned against the wall to wait. The sun crept another handspan across the cool blue of the sky—
—and a sudden shout from beyond the door of her prison brought her jerking upright. There was a strange rattling, then the clash of falling metal. Another shout, cut short in a kind of wet grunt.
Ashi reached for the power of her dragonmark, feeling its heat flash across her skin and the clarity of its protection settle over her mind, before she realized that anyone who fought her guard was probably an ally. Still, she dashed quickly across the room and settled into a defensive stance at the side of the door, ready for whoever or whatever came through. Bolts and lock rattled. Ashi drew back her arm to strike. The door opened.
“Lady Ashi,” said a voice with a heavy Goblin accent, “I’m going to enter. Hold your blow.”
The speaker waited for a moment, long enough for her to grasp his message, then stepped through the door. Ashi let her arm fall. “Keraal?”
Dagii’s lieutenant thumped a fist against his chest in a salute. The chain that was his weapon rattled. “Dagii sends his greetings and asks you to come with us. There is little time.” He stepped aside, and three more hobgoblins entered, carrying the corpse of the dead bugbear between them. None of them wore a crest, but Ashi thought she recognized them as members of the Iron Fox.
“How—?” she began, then looked back up at Keraal. “Did Dagii tell you Tariic threatened to have him killed if I escape?”
She wouldn’t have put it past the warlord to keep that bit of information from his men, but Keraal nodded. “He expects the attempt will come from one of the Kech Shaarat, but he doesn’t intend to be around the Sword Bearers for long. He is turning his back on Tariic.” Keraal’s ears flicked. “Dagii also told me that you will be killed if he defies Tariic. That’s why you’re coming with us.”
Ashi’s head whirled. Had Tariic anticipated this? Without her, he had no hold over Dagii once the Iron Fox was beyond Rhukaan Draal—unless he wanted to come chasing after them with the Rod of Kings. But there was another problem. She held out her wrists, displaying the silver cuffs Tariic had forced on her. “I can’t leave Rhukaan Draal with these on,” she said.
“What Cannith made, Cannith can defeat,” said Keraal. He produced a pouch and opened it to show her three vials of pale blue milky liquid in its carefully padded interior. “Dagii procured these. They’ll help you resist the cold. Cannith magewrights travel with the Iron Fox. Once we’re beyond Rhukaan Draal and before we leave Tariic’s service, one of them will be made to remove the cuffs.” He put the pouch in her hands.
She stared at it for an instant. Keraal’s ears flicked, and he gave a thin smile.
“Dagii thinks in strategy,” he said. “Come.” He pulled her out of the door. In the room beyond, the other soldiers of the Iron Fox were cleaning up blood spilled in her jailer’s death. Bloody rags were thrown into the cell, and the door closed, bolted, and locked. Until that door was opened, there was no sign that the jailer hadn’t simply walked away from his post, leaving her safely locked up.
Keraal sent his chain wrapping around his torso with a quick flip of his wrist, then pulled on a bulky coat discarded outside the door of the outer room to cover the weapon. Another soldier whirled a cloak over Ashi. “Suspicious,” said Keraal, “but it will have to do.”
Ashi pulled a hood up over her head. “Where are we going? I saw Tariic riding out to give his blessing to Dagii.”
“The blessing takes place at the arena. We’ll join the Iron Fox there. You’ll be carried out of Rhukaan Draal in one of our weapons carts. While the Iron Fox receives Tariic’s blessing, though, there’s something you need to do.”
From a pocket of his coat, he took a familiar folded paper and handed it to Ashi. “Dagii instructs you to find Pater d’Orien. You won’t have difficulty—Tariic hasn’t bothered instructing his guards to watch for you, and all of the envoys will sit together in the arena. Once you find Pater, use your dragonmark to free him from the influence of the Rod of Kings. Tell him to use his dragonmark to leave Rhukaan Draal immediately and carry this warning to Breland. Once you’ve done that, return to us and hide. Faalo”—he gestured to one of the other soldiers—“will be waiting with the cart to hide you.”
Once again, Ashi found herself staring at what Keraal had put in her hands, then she looked up at him. “I would have thought you’d welcome an attack by Darguun on Breland. You rebelled against Haruuc because he held the warlords back.”
Keraal’s face darkened a little at the reminder. “I don’t have any love for Breland,” he said, “but Dagii has shown me why Tariic’s war will only bring disaster for Darguun. Now hurry. I know the passages that a man condemned to the arena walks. We’ll go that way to avoid the crowds, but it will still take time.” Keraal turned for the stairs that led down. “Dagii’s strategy has a schedule. There’s no room for delays or errors.”
The people of Rhukaan Draal were packed into the streets around the arena. Ekhaas couldn’t remember seeing so many, even during the funerary games for Haruuc. Fortunately, they didn’t have to try and fight their way through. Geth led them to one of the monuments the old lhesh had erected around the city and indicated a heavy door behind a barred gate that was built into its base. “Open that.”
Chetiin set to work. In the few moments that it took him to open first the gate, then the door, Ekhaas looked up at the monument. It depicted a hobgoblin warrior carrying a sword and a wide shield—and wearing the horn-adorned ancestral armor of the warlord of the Mur Talaan clan. Geth followed her gaze. “Fenic,” he said. “Haruuc’s first shava. Dagii’s father.”
The door creaked open onto tightly curled stairs going down into darkness. �
�Will we need light?” Ekhaas asked.
“No.” Geth started down the stairs. “Haruuc had a tunnel built, a way to bring prisoners from Khaar Mbar’ost if they’re too hated to transport through the streets. And a way to leave the arena discreetly or in an emergency. I used it a couple of times during his funerary games. There are everbright lanterns lighting it.”
The tunnel was cramped, just wide enough for two people to slide past each other, barely high enough for a bugbear to stand upright. The lanterns were few and widely spaced, giving just enough light to pass along the tunnel. In the midpoint between one and the next, the darkness was complete, even to goblin eyes. Distant sound—the roar of a crowd, the stomping of feet—carried along the corridor.
They’d just passed into the second of the deep shadows, well away from the stairs, when they heard footsteps behind them. All of them froze instantly. Ekhaas recognized the sound of boots coming on at a brisk pace. Through the gloom, she could just make out half-a-dozen figures hurrying along the tunnel. They were armed. She found Geth’s arm and whispered in his ear. “Are there other ways out?”
“Only into the arena.”
“I could take them,” Midian murmured.
“We’d have to deal with bodies,” said Geth. “Stay quiet and keep ahead of them. The arena isn’t far.”
They moved on, staying to the shadows, darting through the light only when those behind them were also under lanterns. Unfortunately, their pursuers weren’t as concerned with stealth as they were and gained ground rapidly. Ekhaas looked ahead and saw a rectangle of brighter light. The exit into the arena—she hoped.
Then the footsteps behind them paused abruptly and she knew they’d been spotted.
“Run!” snarled Geth at the same moment a voice from behind rasped in Goblin, “Don’t let them escape!”
Boots thundered along the tunnel.
Ekhaas’s ears flicked back. “Keep going! I’ll slow them down!” She whirled, stepped to one side, as Tenquis, then Midian and Chetiin, sped past. She was under a light, their pursuers momentarily lost in darkness. That was perfect. She called to mind the spell of glittering dust that had blinded the varags and drew breath to sing.
A voice—a human voice—rolled out of the shadow. “Stop! Stop! That’s Ekhaas!”
Some of the running footsteps stumbled to a halt. Others continued, the figures of hobgoblin warriors looming out of the shadows until the goblin voice ordered, “Halt!” Ekhaas’s song had already caught in her throat, though. She knew both voices.
“Ashi? Keraal?”
Somewhere behind her, Ekhaas heard Geth curse in surprise and slow his flight as well, but her eyes were on the dragonmarked woman who came charging out of the darkness. Ashi flung her arms around her, and Ekhaas even returned the human gesture before she pushed her friend back a pace. “Ashi, what are you—?”
Ashi didn’t let her finish. “Escaping,” she said, lips peeling back from her teeth. “Keraal got me out of Khaar Mbar’ost. Dagii leaves Rhukaan Draal today. Tariic is sending him to attack Breland!”
“Explain as we move,” said Keraal. Dagii’s lieutenant came striding into the light with three warriors who Ekhaas recognized as members of the Iron Fox company behind him. He took Ashi’s arm firmly, hurrying her along. He nodded curtly. “This is unexpected, Ekhaas duur’kala. Dagii didn’t plan for you.”
“We only just arrived in Rhukaan Draal.” She turned, hurrying to keep up with his pace. Geth, Tenquis, and Chetiin came trotting back. Ashi greeted each of them with an embrace as she kept walking. Then she jerked back suddenly, pulling out of Keraal’s grip.
Midian stood waiting for them.
“What’s he doing here?” Ashi turned to her. “Tariic sent him to kill you!”
“We know,” said Ekhaas. “Ashi, we found something that can counter the Rod of Kings. Midian’s working with us.” She looked at Keraal. “We need to talk to Dagii.”
“He’s waiting with the Iron Fox.” Keraal’s ears twitched back. “Our timing is already close. You may be able to speak with him before we enter Tariic’s presence, or you may not.”
“We have to.”
The end of the tunnel was barred by another heavy gate, though this one had been left unlocked. Deliberately, Ekhaas guessed. Keraal paused, hand on the gate. “Dagii plans to rebel against Tariic after he leaves Rhukaan Draal. If you don’t have a chance to speak to him before we enter the arena, come with us. Ekhaas, you and Chetiin should be able to conceal yourselves among the Iron Fox.” He glanced at Geth, Tenquis, and Midian. “There is a weapon cart we’re hiding Ashi in. If you’re close, you might all fit.”
“I can disguise them with a spell,” said Ekhaas. She turned to Geth. His face wrinkled as he thought, then he nodded.
“We can plan Tariic’s downfall from outside Rhukaan Draal as well as we can from within it,” he said. “Take us to Dagii.”
“Mazo.” Keraal pushed open the gate, and they stepped into an empty, curving corridor. The sound of the crowd was even louder than before. It surged suddenly to an almost deafening level before sinking back. Keraal’s face tightened. “There are ceremonial duels before the blessing,” he said. “One just ended. Hopefully it wasn’t the last.”
He pointed along the corridor. “Ashi, your way lies there. You’ll find stairs to the upper levels and out into the stands. When you’re done, return to the ground level of the arena, and turn left. You’ll find our mounts and Faalo waiting with the weapons cart. You have to be back before the blessing is finished.”
Ashi nodded and slipped past. Ekhaas held her back for a moment. “What are you doing?”
“Warning Breland that Tariic is planning to attack. I have to get to Pater d’Orien in the stands so he can carry the message.”
Midian stepped forward. “I’ll go with her. I know the back ways through the arena and if there are problems with the guards, I can get her past them.” They all looked at him. “I am still the royal historian,” he said.
“No,” spat Ashi. “I don’t want you near me.”
“I’m coming anyway.”
Keraal put his ears back flat. “Just go!” he snarled. “You have no time to argue!”
Ashi glared at Midian, then nodded to Ekhaas and dashed away along the corridor. “I should follow them,” murmured Chetiin.
Ekhaas hesitated, then said, “No. Stay with us. You should be close in case we need to use the shaari’mal.”
Chetiin’s big ears twitched, but he nodded slowly. Keraal gestured to the rest of them. “This way.”
He led them the opposite way along the corridor, then up to what must have been a staging area for the arena. Sand spilled through from the other side of a pair of tall doors, currently closed, but shaking with the sound of the crowd in the stands above. Ekhaas could smell old blood and animal odors.
Lined up before the doors in parade formation was the Iron Fox, armor and weapons polished. Standing at the company’s head in his scarred battle armor, helmet in his hands, was Dagii. The young warlord’s gray eyes turned as they entered—then widened as he saw her.
Ekhaas’s blood seemed to thunder in her ears at the sight of him as well. She was vaguely aware of Keraal urging them forward as he and his men moved to where junior warriors waited to help them don their armor. Ekhaas tried to force her emotions back, but they resisted her. She walked to Dagii with Chetiin to one side of her and Geth and Tenquis to the other. “Ruuska’te,” she said. Tiger man.
He stared at her, not shifting from his parade position, though his ears were trembling. “Taarka’nu.” Wolf woman. She saw him swallow. “I’m about to swear a false oath before my lhesh and then rebel against his command. Gath’muut, Gath’atcha.”
No duty. No honor. Ekhaas knew that it was probably as close to an admission of fear as he was ever likely to come. She shook her head. “Ta muut’rhu,” she said. “You have a greater duty. Dagii, we’ve found a way to block the power of the Rod of Kings. We’re going to come with you. We
can fight Tariic.”
His eyes widened and finally broke away from her to glance at Geth and the others. Ekhaas turned to Tenquis. “Give me the shaari’mal.” The tiefling nodded and murmured the word that revealed the pockets of his long vest.
Beyond the door, the crowd in the arena went suddenly silent.
Tenquis froze, hand reaching for his pocket. Dagii stiffened, his ears pressing flat along his head. “No!” he said sharply. “Get back—”
Tariic’s voice echoed through the arena. “Let my commanders enter!”
The throb of drums and drone of war pipes rose. The great doors began to open. Dagii snapped around to face them as sunlight fell on him. Suddenly Keraal was beside Ekhaas and the others. “Your spell of disguise!” he said. “Use it now!”
Ekhaas blinked and sang more out of instinct than conscious thought. Picking four warriors of the Iron Fox, she held their images in her mind as the magic took shape. Illusion wove itself around Geth and Tenquis—and her and Chetiin too. One of the four warriors glanced away from the opening doors at the rippling sound of her song, and Ekhaas saw his ears rise at the sight of his own double.
Keraal cursed and said, “Try not to draw attention to yourselves.” He shoved them toward the Iron Fox and barked an order. The warriors shifted in their ranks and four places opened up. Ekhaas and the others stepped into formation just as the doors opened fully, and Dagii led his company out onto the sands of the arena.
Ashi found the stairs to the stands and raced up them, not bothering to look back and see if Midian had kept pace with her. In fact, she hoped that he hadn’t. Discovering that Ekhaas, Geth, and the others had made it back to Rhukaan Draal was exhilarating. Finding out that Midian was still alive—and had even become an ally once more—sickened her.
She knew where the dragonmarked envoys would be sitting in the stands. The envoys and their diplomat counterparts from the Five Nations always took the same seats, outsiders banding together in the sea of Darguuls. She paused outside the entrance to the stands, slipped off the hood of her cloak, and pushed the enveloping folds back. The disguise would do more harm than good as she joined the other dragonmarked, but she wanted to keep it available in case Tariic happened to be looking up this way.
The Tyranny of Ghosts: Legacy of Dhakaan - Book 3 Page 27