by Phil Parker
‘Let’s take care now,’ I said. ‘No idea what we’ll find here.’
We stepped through the archway and we both gasped.
The cavern was vast and lit up like a cathedral. It was so wide the opposite wall was hidden in shadow, despite the continuous circle of yellow crystals embedded in the rock. Carved out of a natural shelf in the rock face, a path spiralled downwards but it was narrow, at times it disappeared into the wall to form tunnels, where outcrops spoiled the circular aesthetic the original architects had envisaged. On the floor at the bottom, illuminated by more yellow crystals, an unmistakable stone archway, the portal.
‘What’s that?’ Luke asked as something hissed directly below us.
The vertical drop made it impossible to look straight down so we made our way along the narrow pathway, peeking out as far as we dare.
‘There’s definitely something down there,’ Luke said. ‘It’s moving.’
The words no sooner left his lips when fire exploded a few steps behind us and a creature, green-scaled and with wings stretching half the width of the cavern rose up to stare at us malevolently. Another burst of flame erupted, we dropped to the pathway floor as the air above our heads sizzled.
A rumbling, crunching noise echoed around the cavern. The path itself vibrated like an earthquake had hit. Rocks fell from the rockface above us, bouncing on the path, smashing it as dozens of slabs of solid limestone struck it and bounced off into darkness. We got up and ran as more fire strafed along the sides of the cavern. We reached a narrow tunnel as flames sizzled the moisture on the damp rock where we’d just hidden. Only a few fragments of the path remained, jutting out from the rock face. In places the rock shelf had disappeared completely.
‘We can’t get back!’
Another blast of fire caused more of the pathway to crumble at the tunnel entrance, the searing heat hit us with such force it briefly robbed us of air. We stumbled to the end of the tunnel where the pathway continued to curl its way downward, where we’d end up as barbecued morsels for the dragon that waited for us to emerge.
Chapter 4
A slave’s life was awful. A servant’s little better. A High Lord’s was worst of all.
I sat in my bath, which had been prepared for me, lost in thought as I listed all the ways my suffering had increased.
As a servant, I’d followed instructions and did my best to avoid a beating. But Keir, the heir to the Dark Court throne, lived a life full of punishments of a different kind. The beatings had ended, I issued instructions rather than following them, but each day brought meetings with mean, horrible people and all kinds of humiliation.
Master Darragh remained as my tutor but now I had to learn about economics, history, strategy and politics. My failures didn’t result in the same physical abuse but the insults focused on the dire consequences of a ruler who couldn’t understand such things. Master Darragh didn’t hesitate in telling others about my shortcomings, I was convinced some of the Court raised those topics in my presence simply to embarrass me.
Mab trotted me out to gatherings where people wore expensive clothes and supercilious smiles whenever they met the dark-skinned hybrid who was supposed to be their next ruler. They ridiculed me when they thought I was out of earshot, though many of them didn’t bother if I heard anyway, the current theory was my reign wouldn’t last more than a few weeks, months at best. I’d have been happy about all that, so long as I knew what happened afterwards. I’d started having nightmares where people plotted in the library to manipulate others into murdering me, like had happened to Llyr. The Dark Court was living up to its name, it was full of powerful people whose desire for power drove them to commit dark deeds.
Master Sidwell’s unexpected death left me without anyone I could trust and I missed him terribly. Once he’d confirmed my ancestry he treated me with genuine affection, he spent time advising and reassuring me, making me feel almost like his own son. I found it hard to understand how a human spy had penetrated the palace’s security or why they’d targeted Master Sidwell and no one else. Lord Taranis’ investigations were inconclusive but he’d stepped up the number of guards around the palace, I couldn’t move for them.
The door to my room opened suddenly and startled me.
‘Haven’t you finished bathing yet?’
Deidra’s nasal tones brought reality crashing down around me. She stood there, holding up a towel, her cold eyes eager to find something to ridicule. She tutted loudly, it caused her bottom lip to pout so it looked like it had been stung by a bee.
I still found it embarrassing for her to look at my naked body, especially when she made no attempt to hide her derision. Hiding my private parts with my hand had only made her snigger.
‘Well?’
I stood up, dripping. She deliberately paused a few seconds before wrapping the towel around my body, enough time for her to smirk at what she saw. My one small victory had been to stop her from drying me, I’d discovered new levels of mortification when her rigorous use of the towel caused the blood from my embarrassed face to rush to another part of my body. It was an incident that got passed around the Court with astonishing speed.
I stepped out of the tub and stood in front of the fire.
‘Do you want anything else?’
I looked at her. Yes, I wanted another personal servant, one that was friendly and polite. Except Master Cardew, the young man who’d replaced Master Sidwell, only grinned at me when I’d requested a substitute. He was about my age, his meteoric career apparently down to family ties with Lord Taranis, you could see the same genetic predisposition towards vanity in his perfect hair, bone structure and clothes. He’d leered at me when I made my request.
‘Doesn’t she satisfy you? She certainly did me, when I tried her out.’
He’d elbowed me and walked away laughing to himself.
‘No. You can go.’
Deidra gave a dismissive sniff and flounced off towards the door.
‘Oh, and one other thing,’ I said, gathering every bit of authority in my voice that I could muster, ‘don’t sleep in my bed either. You did it again last night.’
She turned, lip curled in a feral smile.
‘Some might say there’s something weird when a man prefers to sleep with a dragon rather than a young woman. I mean, if it was boys you preferred, I could understand it. But a fucking dragon? Weird.’
I glared at her but she looked completely unconcerned.
‘She’s not a dragon, she’s a wyvern. And she’s cleverer and better looking than you. Though acid comes out of her mouth too.’
The smug grin froze, the pouty lips returned as she strode out of my room and slammed the door behind her. I’d pay for that insult, she’d put something in my food, or bath water or she’d spread even more lies around the palace, so all the girls giggled when they saw me. I didn’t care. Actually, I did but I knew nothing was going to change, I was destined to suffer embarrassing situations for the rest of my life.
I sat on the edge of my bed, head in hands, feeling thoroughly sorry for myself. I was trapped in a role I didn’t want, in a place full of people I didn’t trust, without a friend in the world. Running away was no longer an option, I’d discovered how dangerous the human realm could be and I had no intention of going back there again.
The door burst open and smacked the wall with a loud bang that made me jump, a black cloak and leather boots stomped towards me. I let out a rather girlish squeal and dragged my towel over my groin. Mab looked down at me, like she was assessing the quality of a prize stallion only to find it had been substituted with a donkey.
‘Tomorrow, I want to see your progress with the latest batch of dragons.’
Just when I thought life couldn’t get any worse, it dumped a big load of excrement.
‘You’d better not disappoint me either.’
It sounded like a threat, she knew I depended on her for my survival, she’d made that abundantly obvious.
‘But they’re not a
s clever as the wyvern. You can’t rush these things.’
Her eyes bore into mine as I tried to explain the impossibility of the situation.
‘I have too many to manage, my lady, so I can’t spend enough time with each one. Once I return to the first one, it’s forgotten much of what I’ve taught it.’
‘I don’t want your excuses. I want results.’
Her tone was so low it could have been a baritone.
‘But, my lady, if only you’d allow me to reduce the number.’
‘I don’t think you understand. Placing a small handful of dragons on the battlefield will make no difference. If they are to have any impact we need hundreds of them. Once you have established the best training methods, others can replicate them.’
She must have caught my forlorn expression because she snorted and shook her head and looked down at her boots, which were muddy, they always were. She strode over to my bath tub, dipped her boots in the water, walked over to me and snatched my towel and wiped her boots with it. All I could do was let out a high-pitched squeak and cover my crotch with shaking hands. She looked at my plight with no attempt to hide the scorn.
‘We need as many dragons as possible Keir. We cannot think small.’
The wiggled heavy eyebrows as she said it and flung the muddy towel at my feet.
‘I will see you tomorrow. Don’t disappoint me.’
She strode out of the room and slammed the door behind her. Everyone slammed my door.
I dressed in dark clothes to match my mood and climbed out of the window, clambered down its wooden trellis and kept close to the wall. Night had arrived and provided the darkness I needed to make my way to the stables. The grooms had left for the day, they would be getting drunk in the village tavern most likely. I whistled and a soft crooning noise replied, I grinned.
Picking up a handful of the special pellets I insisted had to be kept in a bucket near the stable door, a scaly neck greeted me as it coiled around my waist. Cochrann rumbled her satisfaction, I felt the vibrations ripple over my body. I smiled at the recognition that I had someone in this world who was glad to see me. She scoffed the pellets and curled up on the straw so I could settle myself against her belly. When we were comfortable she curled up around me and rested her head at my feet.
I couldn’t stop Deidra’s words echoing in my head, I wondered if she was right, it wasn’t normal to sleep in a stable with a wyvern wrapped around you. I decided to have another talk with Master Cardew and demand another personal servant, someone who didn’t prefer to humiliate me. For now, I felt safe and wanted and found sleep by continuing my fantasies of roaming the land with my performing wyvern.
Sun beams woke me. There was no movement outside but the servants would be up and about shortly. I patted the sleeping wyvern and hurried back to the palace. I climbed in through the window to witness a sight that made me want to vomit.
Deidra lay in my bed, her throat cut, red blood spattered over white sheets.
I stared at the body as though expecting it to sit up and provide answers while my belly turned somersaults at the stench of blood.
Sometime later, I don’t remember what happened next, Lord Taranis sat in front of me, perfectly tailored clothes enhancing faultless features. He reeked of power, if such a thing had a smell, his servants probably sprayed it over him every morning. I might be High Lord Designate but everyone in the palace bowed lower to him, they obediently abased themselves as if he was a god. A word of kindness was worth a fortune of gold, criticism led to beatings and never being seen again. This was a man everyone feared. There were stories about this man that scared me so much I didn’t dare say the wrong thing, or even look at his expression of forced sympathy.
‘And you left the girl in your bed, when you left.’ There was no attempt to hide his contempt. ‘To go to sleep in the stable.’
I thought about changing my story but the servants knew what I did at night, denying it now would only make me even more of a misfit. He nodded and looked across at the bed where blood stains had penetrated the mattress. Once again, the door was flung open and Mab was in the room, frowning at Lord Taranis. It shocked him sufficiently to let his perfect features display animosity for a second, before adopting a warm smile of welcome.
‘My Lady Mab, what an unexpected surprise.’
She strode towards me, in her muddy boots, and ignored the polite tones of the man sat on the bed. He gritted his teeth for a moment as she turned to warm her hands against the fire, the early morning air was cold, she spoke to me and ignored the seething man at my side.
‘Someone thought they killed you last night.’
Lord Taranis’s handsome features morphed into a frown that somehow didn’t look appropriate on such a well-cared-for face.
‘Why would you believe such a thing, my Lady?’
Her lined face turned to the epitome of perfection. ‘Because the villagers beyond the palace gates are already talking assassination.’
‘But…’
‘Which I find hard to understand when you gave strict instructions for these events to be kept secret. And the story of the assassination has been circling for at least two hours, in other words, my lord, before the body was discovered. Someone thinks they murdered him last night.’
I stared at the bed stained with blood that should have been mine and vomited over Mab’s muddy boots. The perfect specimen of manhood at my side jumped up in case I chose to include him in the custom, his nose wrinkling at the smell of my stomach’s contents.
‘And how do you know all this, my lady? Surely you have not been up for the last two hours?’
For a woman with perpetually muddy boots she took great exception to having them covered in vomit. She grabbed one of my shirts and wiped her boots, ignoring Taranis’s question. He looked from her, to me and back again, he didn’t bother to hide his resentment at being ignored. Just as he was about to say something, Mab looked up and fixed him with grey eyes.
‘My lord, I don’t lie abed in the morning. I’ve been out since the break of dawn exercising my stallions. Perhaps if you valued palace security more, we wouldn’t have assassins murdering people.’
I didn’t dare look directly at the Taranis, I kept my attention firmly fixed on the woman standing in front of the fire, but out of the corner of my eye I could see he was about to explode.
‘Madam, choose your words with care, I am not one of your stallions…’
She snorted loudly. ‘If you were, I’d have had you gelded long ago.’
He’d formed fists and I wondered if he was about to strike her, she stood with feet firmly planted, no doubt ready for whatever he was about to do. Her eyes hadn’t left him the whole time. Without another word, Lord Taranis stormed out of my room, slamming the door behind him, inevitably.
Mab laughed, it was a throaty chuckle, not a sound I’d heard from her before.
‘He’s got soft, there would have been a time he’d have tried to best me.’
She gave a deep sigh and looked at the blood-soaked bed.
‘Good thing you were with your wyvern eh?’
The softness of her voice surprised me but I could only nod. Deidra’s body had been taken away but I couldn’t get the image of her laid in my bed, throat opened wide and her eyes wide with shock. I had despised the girl, wished a variety of unpleasant fates on her, but not a violent death. I felt tears form in my eyes despite my best efforts not to look weak in front of the woman who scrutinised me now, feet still planted firmly, hands on hips. A faint smile formed on her thin lips.
‘I sleep in my stables quite often too.’
I gasped, went to cover my mouth and realised she’d have seen my reaction.
‘I love the smell. I prefer my horses to people. I think you’re the same with your wyvern, aren’t you?’
I nodded as I searched for words. Mab sighed heavily.
‘We don’t fit in to this place, do we?’
I looked at the woman, with her bare arms and bul
ging biceps, the scar on her cheek and hair cut short at the side, long in the middle, a most unfeminine style and understood why she felt that way. I ought to have realised it for myself. She scared me beyond reason, even more so when she confronted someone like Taranis, but here she was showing me the real Mab. I didn’t know how to reply other than to be truthful.
‘I hate it.’
She chuckled. ‘So do I. But we have to play the game Keir.’
She’d used my name. She seldom did that, only when things were very serious or she was about to make me do something I didn’t want to do. I felt my stomach muscles tense.
‘My worst fears have been confirmed. I thought there might be an attempt on your life. It’s why I had Deidra assigned to you.’
‘You did?’
‘She was a fighter, a little hell-cat in fact. I’d trained her myself. She must have been caught unawares to have died as she did. That means the assassin was highly specialised.’
In my head I started making the argument that it was a mistake for me to be the next High Lord. I didn’t want the job in the first place, I certainly not if it meant getting killed. Mab continued voicing her thoughts aloud and, in the process, wreck my argument.
‘There are bigger things going on here. They haven’t used Llyr’s subtle approach of arranging accidents, someone is so determined to achieve their goal they’ve openly committed two murders already.’
‘Two?’
‘Your friend, Master Sidwell. The story of a human spy was to disguise the crime so we could investigate it quietly. That’s no longer possible.’
The entire world felt like it was crashing around me, a rushing sound in my ears made them hum and vibrate, darkness seemed to crowd around me, enveloping Mab and my room. Then she was shaking me, hard.