Dragons Rising

by Daniel Arenson

  The woman flinched, and Cade met her eyes again. They were large, scared eyes. The eyes of a woman far from her home, grieving for her fallen land, her lost family, her lost freedom. Cade could not let her remain in captivity.

  Perhaps a hundred thousand died, he thought. Perhaps I lost the war and lost Requiem. But I can still save a life.

  Cade grabbed the bottle of wine on the table. He tilted it over the paladin's head, letting the red liquid spill down.

  For a moment, the paladin sat still, the wine dripping down his head and face. His captive gasped, and Cade heard Amity snort behind him. Then only silence.

  Slowly the paladin rose to his feet.

  Cade turned and ran.

  "Good work, kid!" Amity said as Cade raced outdoors. "Just next time waste water, not good wine."

  Cade burst out onto the road and beheld the paladin's firedrake there. The beast reared and screeched, wings spreading wide. Its scales were bronze, and a great steel breastplate like a boat coated its underside. A helmet topped the creature's head, bristly with blades. Its jaws opened, revealing swirling fire like molten iron in a smelter.

  Cade sucked in his breath and froze. Cursing, the paladin burst out from the tavern behind him. Cade spun back to face the man, caught between firedrake and paladin.

  "Let your captive go!" Cade shouted, trying to keep his voice stern. He balled his hands into fists. "Let her go and I'll let you live. You don't have to die today."

  I've slain firedrakes and paladins before, Cade told himself, raising his chin. I can kill this one.

  The firedrake screeched behind him, a cry so loud Cade had to struggle not to cover his ears. Hot air blasted his back, singing his clothes. Sparks of flame flew around him. Ahead, the paladin raised his sword.

  "Bloody fool!" the man said. "Are you touched in the head? Death would be a mercy for you."

  Grumbling and still sticky with wine, the paladin charged.

  Cade shifted and soared into the sky.

  I'm sorry, he thought, perhaps directing his thoughts to the paladin below, perhaps to the stars above, perhaps simply to his own soul. I'm sorry. I didn't want to kill again. I didn't want more blood on my hands.

  He beat his wings, rising higher toward the sun, a golden dragon with wide wings, gleaming scales, and roaring fire. He blasted that fire downward.

  The paladin rolled aside. Flames slammed into the ground beside him, showered up, and sprayed the man.

  "Weredragon!" he called out.

  Cade prepared to blow fire again when the firedrake soared toward him.

  The bronze beast roared, clad in steel and wreathed in smoke, and blasted up its dragonfire.

  Cade cursed.

  "Amity, where the Abyss are you?" he shouted as he swerved.

  He dodged most of the fire, but a stream still blazed across his tail, and he yowled. He felt his scales--they were softer and smaller on the tip of his tail--expand and crack in the heat. He swooped, claws stretched out, and slammed into the beast.

  Dragon and firedrake crashed together with a crack like the antlers of rams. Cade roared, shoving the heavier beast downward, until they slammed onto the road.

  Stones cracked beneath them. Their tails lashed, driving into an elm tree. The trunk shattered and the tree crashed down. Cade roared, clawing, biting. The firedrake writhed beneath him, and its shriek pounded against Cade's eardrums. The heat of its breath felt like it could melt Cade's eyeballs. The creature's jaws closed around Cade's shoulder, and he yowled as the fangs drove into his flesh.

  To his left, Cade glimpsed the paladin approaching, sword drawn.

  "Oh bloody Abyss!" Cade roared. Still clutched in the firedrake's jaws, Cade whipped his tail, slamming it against the paladin. The man flew through the air and crashed to the ground. Before Cade could slam his tail down again, finishing the job, the firedrake biting him thrust his claws, slashing Cade's leg.

  "Amity!" he shouted. "Get your arse out here!"

  He heard no reply. He howled, screwed his eyes shut, and blasted flame.

  His dragonfire crashed into the firedrake biting him, then showered up against Cade. The inferno bathed them both. The heat was enough to loosen the firedrake's jaws, and Cade tugged himself free, woozy with loss of blood. Still blinded in the heat and flame, he snapped his jaws, biting at anything he could catch between his teeth. His fangs clattered against scales, unable to pierce them, and his claws thrust madly, scraping across the firedrake's armor.

  The beast bucked below, shoving its wings against the road, and tossed Cade off. Firedrake and dragon rolled across the dirt, claws swinging, and slammed against the tavern. The clay wall cracked, raining dust.

  "Keep it down out there!" rose Amity's voice from inside. "I'm trying to eat."

  "Amity, stars damn it!" Cade howled as the firedrake shoved him against the wall. The paladin rose to his feet again and came walking forward, sword raised.

  Cade sneered.

  He would not die here. Not like this. Not outside some roadside tavern, fighting a rogue beast. He had not survived a war to die in a brawl.

  He kept clawing at the firedrake before him, but could not break through the creature's armor. The firedrake raised his head and inhaled deeply, prepared to blow more fire.

  Pinned against the wall, Cade cursed and released his magic.

  He shrank into human form and fell to the ground, banging his knees.

  The firedrake blasted his flames against the tavern wall. Cade ran between its legs, emerged from behind it, and shifted again. He soared, spun in the air, then plunged down onto the firedrake's back.

  The creature squealed.

  Clinging to the firedrake's back, Cade grabbed its spiked helmet in his claws and tugged it loose, then bit down hard, driving his fangs into the dragon's snout. He tasted its blood and fire.

  The beast mewled.

  Cade kept biting, shattering its face, snapping at its eyes, tearing out its upper jaw.

  The firedrake slid down the cracked wall, leaving a trail of blood, and its head thumped against the dirt. It gurgled, spat out a few last sparks of fire, then lay still.

  A scream rose behind Cade.

  He spun around to see the paladin standing on the road, sword raised, throat spurting blood.

  The captive Terran woman tugged back her knife. His neck slit, the paladin crashed down dead at Cade's feet.

  The woman met Cade's gaze, and no more fear filled those green eyes, only cold, hard fierceness. She spoke slowly in the common tongue, her accent heavy.

  "Thank you."

  Amity emerged from the tavern, yawned, and patted her belly. "I'm full. Cade, I finished your potatoes. Hope you don't mind."

  Cade reeled toward her, feeling his anger rise even hotter than during the battle. He released his magic, returning to human form, and stomped down the bloody road toward Amity.

  "You!" Cade jabbed her chest. "Now you come outside! Where were you when a firedrake the size of a mountain was chomping on my shoulder?"

  "Chomping on your potatoes." She wiped her lips and eyed his shoulder. "I'm not sure I got the better deal, actually. You look tasty, and I'm still a bit peckish. Mind if I nibble on your shoulder a bit too?"

  He groaned. "Mind if I clobber your face like I did to that firedrake? Amity! For stars' sake. You were all on about fighting paladins and firedrakes, then you sit down to eat taters while I'm fighting alone."

  She grinned and patted his cheek. "You're still alive." She looked over his shoulder at the freed Terran woman. "Looks like you found another girl to fight your battles."

  Cade sputtered. "Another girl--to fight my--" He groaned and clutched his head. "Oh bloody griffin bollocks, pay for our meal and let's get out of here."

  Amity's smile faded. Her eyes hardened. She shook her head.

  "No, Cade. You shifted into a dragon. The innkeeper and the girl saw you." She knelt and lifted the paladin's fallen sword. "They must be silenced."

  Cade's eyes widened. Horr
or clasped his heart as Amity began walking back toward the inn, sword in hand. "Amity, what are you doing?"

  She paused and looked over her shoulder at him. "The dirty work. You should never have challenged that paladin, kid. Or at least you should've killed him in human form. We're traveling undercover. You blew that cover. Now they die. Kill the girl yourself if you prefer. I'll take care of the innkeeper."

  She walked into the tavern, sword raised.

  Cade rushed in after her. "Amity, stop this! For stars' sake, we're not killers."

  She stared at him, eyes cold. "Oh, but we are, Cade. We are killers. I'm a killer. You're a killer. That's all this world is, all the Cured Temple made it, all we can be if we hope to survive." She walked toward the bar, sword raised.

  The innkeeper saw her approach and gasped. He fled into the kitchen, and Amity followed. Cade rushed in after them. Strings of sausages hung here from the ceiling, and sacks of flour lay on shelves. A fireplace crackled in the back, and a cauldron of stew simmered. A dog lay on the floor, lazily flicking its tail, then leaped up and growled. The innkeeper walked backward, hands held before him.

  "Please, my lady!" he said. "Please, I mean you no harm." The innkeeper reached into his pocket, fished out some coins, and tossed them at Amity. "Here, here! Take them. Take anything you want. Please."

  But Amity kept approaching him. The innkeeper tripped over a stool and fell onto his back. He wailed, hands held before him. Amity raised her sword high, prepared to plunge it down.

  Cade grabbed her wrist, holding back her blade.

  "Amity, no." He stared at her. "No. I've put up with a lot from you. Your recklessness. Your gruffness. Even your inaction when I was attacked. But here I draw the line. You will not commit murder." He placed himself between her and the innkeeper. "You'll have to kill me before you kill him."

  Amity laughed, though her eyes remained hard. "Do you think I won't, that I can't? I could kill you easily, boy. How old are you, fourteen?"

  He glared at her. "Eighteen."

  Amity snorted. "I was slaying men when you were still sucking at Beatrix's teat. I'm a survivor, Cade. Haven't you understood that yet?" Her face became a horrible thing, a mask of stone, the countenance of a demon of cold fire. "I survived for years as a child, fleeing the firedrakes. I survived when even my parents perished. I survived in the islands of Leonis, and I survived as a thousand ships sank around me, as nations burned. And I'm going to keep surviving, even if I'm the only Vir Requis left. Don't think I'd hesitate to cut you down if I must. I will live. Requiem will live. And I'll let no boy and no innkeeper stand in my way. That is how the world works, kid. You better learn to understand that, or you won't survive very long."

  Cade raised his chin, refusing to look away, to stand back from the taller, stronger woman and her sword. "Maybe I don't want to live in a world like that. Maybe I don't want to become what you are, some hardened survivor. Is that all you are, Amity? A survivor? Is that all you do--survive rather than truly live? I don't want that. I'd rather die. If I am to live, I will live free, proud, honorable. I will live by my ethics, even as the world burns." He shook his head. "What you've become is sad to me. You survive, yes, but at what cost? The cost of your own humanity."

  Something seemed to shatter in the hardness of her face. A new fire blazed in her eyes. "I will kill you, boy!"

  He nodded. "Yes, you'll kill me. You'll kill the innkeeper. You'll kill anyone in your way, firedrakes and slaves and boys and anyone else. I've heard it all before. But you know what else I've heard from you, Amity? You know what else you've spoken of over and over on the road?" He clasped her arm. "You spoke of Queen Lacrimosa who led Requiem from the ruins of Draco Murus over a thousand years ago. You spoke of Princess Agnus Dei, the great heroine of Requiem, her scales as red as yours. You spoke of Queen Lyana who defeated the phoenixes, and of Erry Docker, the plucky heroine from Lynport who fought the tyrant Cadigus. For days on the road, I heard you speak of them, the ancient heroines of Requiem, now only tales in a book. And you have to ask yourself, Amity: What is the Requiem those women fought for? You have to ask yourself: What would they do? Would they slay this innkeeper for a chance to survive another day, or would they carry on the torch of Requiem, a light that symbolizes more than survival?" Cade's eyes stung. "It's a light of hope. Of honor. A light of truth and righteousness. That is what must survive. Not our lives but what our lives stand for. Grant this man mercy, Amity. You'll be serving Requiem far, far better with mercy than with steel."

  Amity's lips still snarled, but her eyes dampened and her fist shook around the hilt of her sword. Cade guided her blade down, and she let it clang to the floor. She lowered her head.

  "You stupid boy," she whispered, then grabbed his cheeks in her hand, squeezing them. "You stupid little boy with your stupid little stories."

  She turned away, head lowered, and walked out of the kitchen.

  * * * * *

  The captive woman still stood outside, staring down at the corpse of the paladin she had killed. She still held the knife in her chained hands. Cade shifted into a dragon, grabbed the iron manacles between his claws, and snapped them open. The woman rubbed her chafed wrists.

  "Thank you," she said in her thick accent. "I is being Asina of Gosh Ha'ar." She bowed her head. "I fight with you."

  Cade sighed and looked around him. He saw burnt gardens. The cracked wall of the tavern. A mess of fallen tables and blood inside. He looked back at Asina.

  "The war is over," he said softly. "And we've lost. All we can do now is hope to find a new life. Perhaps instead of fighting, all we can do is find hovels, ruins, little homes to mend. Amity and I are heading to Draco Murus, a ruined fortress far in the northern Dair Ranin mountains, and the road swarms with paladins, and the skies are full of firedrakes. I would not ask you to accompany us on that dangerous path."

  Asina perhaps did not understand his words, but she seemed to understand enough. Her eyes hardened. "I have no home. I go with you." She raised her knife. "My home burn. I fight."

  A throat cleared, footsteps shuffled, and the old innkeeper emerged from the ruined tavern.

  "Pardon me, my lady." The innkeeper bowed his head toward Asina. "But you have a home. You have a home here, if you'd like it." He dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief. "My daughter used to help me run the place, but after she died in the war, well . . . the place has gone to ruin." His voice shook. "Her name was Tiana. She fell fighting your people, beg your pardon, in the war against Leonis Isles. She fell serving the Cured Temple, fell for the cruel games of Beatrix." He shook his head, lips trembling. "A senseless war. A senseless death. Perhaps we can find some peace together, a man of the Commonwealth and a woman of the Horde. Perhaps we can mend this little home." His tears streamed. "I lost a daughter to the Horde, but perhaps I can gain a daughter from it too."

  Asina stepped closer to the old man, looked around at the tavern, and lowered her head. She nodded. "I help. I help you heal."

  "You mean rebuild," said Cade.

  Asina looked at him and shook her head. "Heal."

  "Cade!" Amity waved at him from farther down the road. "Cade, get your little backside over here! I need some help."

  The tall warrior woman stood by the corpse of the firedrake, struggling to tug off its saddle and armor. Leaving Asina and the innkeeper, Cade approached her.

  "What are you doing, Amity? Leave that poor beast alone. We're going to bury it. Hide that it was ever here."

  She growled as she tugged on a strap. "Bury it after we grab its saddle and armor." She managed to tug the saddle off into the dirt, grinned, and wiped her forehead. "We're going to need these."

  Cade's heart sank. "Amity, what are you thinking?"

  She tugged at the creature's breastplate. "Will you help me, or do I need to clobber you and make you my slave? Come on!"

  He groaned and shifted back into a dragon. "Move over. This is work for a dragon."

  Before long, both firedrake and paladin had be
en stripped of their armor and buried off the road. Amity and Cade stood before the saddle and plates of steel, back in human forms.

  "Are you ready to fly, Cade?" Amity grinned.

  He heaved a sigh. "Do you really think this'll work?"

  She nodded. "Of course I do. Once we put on Templer armor, nobody will know we're Vir Requis." Her grin widened. "We just have to decide who flies as a dragon, and who rides as a paladin."

  "I'm riding, you fly," Cade said. "That there's a man's armor. Go on, shift and I'll put the saddle on you."

  Amity gasped. "Man's armor? Boy, I've slain more men than all the droplets you've ever pissed. I've got bigger bollocks in my pants than you." She glanced at the armor. "Besides, you're too short for that armor. That there's armor for a tall, strong adult like me, not a little boy." She lifted the paladin's breastplate and placed it across her chest for size. "Fits a bit awkwardly, and it'll squeeze my breasts a bit, but I think it'll work."

  Cade gulped, really not wanting to think about Amity's breasts; he had been struggling not to think about them for days now. "It doesn't fit you. Give it here."

  She shook her head. "Too late, I've claimed it. I'm riding you, Cade, so shift back into a nice dragon and I'll strap on your saddle. Besides, your scales are golden, almost like the dead firedrake's scales. If anyone searches for our buried friend, you'll look a bit like him from the air. My scales are red and would stand out for miles. Go on--shift, my noble steed!"

  Cade knew it was pointless to argue with her. And besides, his feet were aching, and his boots weren't getting in any better shape from the long miles on the road.

  It'll be nice to fly, he tried to convince himself. To spread my wings, glide openly in the daylight, a firedrake in disguise. It was risky, he knew, but then again, Domi had disguised herself as a firedrake for years. Surely he could survive a few days as a dragon, just until he reached Draco Murus. He swallowed a lump in his throat. Are you heading there too, Domi?

  "All right, Amity." He stepped back, grumbled, and shifted. "But it's going to be damn hard carrying your backside with all those ribs and taters you ate."