Embers of Destruction

by J. Scott Savage

Talysa stood. “You don’t understand,” she said, speaking louder than ever. “The dragons are the rulers of all. To feed them, to bathe them, to help them in any way is the greatest honor any human can aspire to. I’m only sorry they didn’t bring me here sooner.”

  Around the room, women left their machines, coming toward them, each one smiling like a true believer. Talysa turned to the women and gestured to Kallista, Simoni, and Plucky. “They haven’t met the dragons. They don’t understand how glorious it is here. We must take them to meet the dragons.”

  One of the women grabbed Kallista by the elbow. She yanked away, holding her broom in front of her like a spear.

  “It’s all right,” Lenora said. Instead of being angry, she looked sad. “You poor, poor things. You’ve lived so long with fear. Don’t worry, as soon as I saw you, I sent a messenger to let the dragons know you are here. Soon you will meet them and bathe in their glory.” She reached toward them, but Plucky’s knife was suddenly waving back and forth her front of her face.

  “Back off, gudgeons, or I’ll gut you like a grunter.” She gripped the knife tightly in one hand and the bucket in the other. “You ain’t keeping us here.”

  Lenora backed away, her hands in the air. Still, there was no sign of anger. If anything, her expression looked like pity. “No one will keep you here against your will, child. Only—”

  “Good,” Kallista said. “Then we’re leaving.”

  Pushing the women aside, the three of them ran across the room. True to their word, none of the women tried to stop them. On every face was a look of profound sadness, as if Kallista and her friends had rejected a wonderful gift.

  Kallista flung the broom behind her as she approached the open door that led to the roof. Feet pounding, they raced up the stairs. She glanced over her shoulder to see if Plucky was falling behind, but the girl was almost tripping on Simoni’s heels.

  “Take off!” she screamed toward the airship, lunging through the door to the roof. “Get the ship in—”

  The words died on her tongue as she saw Trenton, Clyde, Angus, and her father standing beside the ship—their hands in the air—surrounded by three black dragons.

  Let go of me!” Kallista twisted out of the grip of the guard holding her right wrist.

  “Gladly.” The woman pulled open a door, and the guard holding Kallista’s left wrist shoved her through.

  Kallista stumbled across the concrete floor, hitting her head against the far wall and landing in a heap.

  Plucky and Simoni rushed to her side.

  “Are you okay?” Plucky asked, helping her into one of three chairs set behind a small metal table.

  Kallista pulled at her chair, wondering if she could use it as a weapon. It was connected to the floor, as was the table.

  “Are you bleeding?” Simoni asked, parting Kallista’s hair.

  Kallista could already feel a lump forming on the crown of her head. “I’m fine.” She brushed Simoni’s hand away. It had been a long night, and she didn’t think it was close to being over. After they had been captured, she, Simoni, and Plucky had been taken to a building where they were fingerprinted, washed, and dressed in gray pajamas.

  Following that, the three of them were separated. Kallista had spent the last two hours lying to one question after another.

  “What is your real name?”

  “Flossie.”

  “Where did you come from?”

  “A city deep beneath the ocean where everyone eats sand cakes and wears sharkskin boots.”

  “How did you get here?”

  “By slingshot.”

  “What is your real name?”

  “Flossie.”

  Eventually they’d given up and brought her here. She assumed Simoni and Plucky had gone through the same thing.

  “You didn’t tell them where we came from, did you?” she whispered, wondering if anyone might be listening.

  “Of course not,” Simoni said.

  Sitting in front of the table, Plucky swung her feet. “They took me knives. Even the small one I keep hidden in my braces. They took Allie, too. That’s what I was calling the tibby. Said I’d only get her back if I behaved.”

  Simoni dropped into her chair. “You didn’t see the boys, did you?”

  Kallista shook her head. “They wouldn’t tell me where they’d taken my father, either.”

  “Dirty gudgeons wouldn’t tell me anything,” Plucky said. “Just kept repeating ‘You’ll learn what you need to know once you answer our questions.’” She folded her arms on the table, resting her head on them. “I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.”

  “Do you think they know who we are?” Simoni asked. “What we’ve done?”

  Kallista knew what she was asking. Did they know that they’d killed dragons?

  She studied the small, white-walled room. There were no windows, no fixtures or holes in the walls, and only the one door, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t still be listening.

  “I don’t imagine it’s that hard to put two and two together and figure out that we were the ones who flew into their city on mechanical dragons. As for the rest of it? I honestly don’t know.”

  Plucky looked at Kallista out of one eye. “We should never have come. Did you hear what Talysa said? They don’t want to escape. They like it here.”

  Kallista got up from her chair, pacing back and forth across the room. Six steps, turn. Six steps, turn. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

  Simoni fiddled with the hem of her gray shirt. “They sounded sincere.”

  “All the best liars do.”

  “I don’t know,” Simoni said. “What reason do they have to lie?”

  “To keep us here until they could get the dragons.” Kallista slapped the wall. “Don’t you get it? After you told that nasty old woman how pretty she looked, she called the dragons to come and get us. She probably earns extra dessert for every person she catches.”

  “What do you think they’ll do to us?” Plucky asked.

  Kallista shook her head. In Seattle, even attempting to kill a dragon was enough to earn a death sentence from the Order of the Beast. Here, in a city run by dragons, the punishment had to be at least as bad.

  A moment later, the door opened, and a woman stepped inside. She looked to be in her late thirties or early forties, with long, silky black hair and a quick smile. She took the three of them in and clapped her hands. “Three new girls! How exciting is this?” She held out her hand. “My name is Trina.”

  “You can quit the act,” Kallista said. “We know you aren’t our friend.”

  Trina’s smile disappeared. “Of course I’m your friend. How can you say such a thing? I’m here to welcome you on what will be the best day of your life.”

  “You clanker-telling witch,” Plucky snarled.

  “If you want to make it the best day of our lives, let us go,” Kallista said.

  “You’ll be out of here in no time and snuggled tight in your warm beds. First, though, I need to ask you a few questions, then I can assign you a job and a place to live. After that, you can come and go as you please.” Trina’s perky smile returned. “Other than caring for the dragons themselves, I have the best job in the whole city.” She noticed the lump on Kallista’s head. “Oh, my! How did that happen?”

  “It happened when the guards threw her into the room,” Simoni said. “You say you want to help us, but no one here has been very nice.”

  “You poor dear, you must be exhausted. I remember my first night here. Such a difficult time adjusting to a new place, new clothes, new food. Can I get you something to eat? A glass of water?”

  Simoni gave Trina a smile that turned adults to butter. “Thank you for asking. I’m fine.”

  Kallista glared at both of them.

  “Very well.” Trina opened a folder. �
�This won’t take long at all. Would you please take your seats?”

  “I’ll stand,” Kallista said.

  Still smiling, Trina riffled through her papers. How could anyone bear to smile that long?

  “You are Plucky and Kallista, of course.” She turned to Simoni. “But I don’t know who you are.”

  Kallista felt a shock race up her spine at hearing Trina say her name, but she refused to show any sign that the woman was right.

  Who had told her? Was it one of the boys? What if they were harder on them, torturing them until they told the truth?

  She felt a second shock when Simoni said in her sweet voice, “My name is Simoni.”

  Why was she telling this woman anything?

  “Excellent,” Trina said. “I’ll put that right here in my notes.” She flipped through her papers again. “It says here you three haven’t been as cooperative as you could have been. The people whose job it is to process you into the city are very nice. It isn’t necessary to fight, I assure you. You’re going to love it here, once you adjust.”

  “We don’t want to adjust,” Kallista growled.

  Simoni leaned across the table, her face a mask of sincere interest. “We want to help,” she said, and Kallista could have smacked her. “But I don’t understand what’s happening here.”

  “Of course,” Trina said. “This is quite a change, I imagine. Perhaps I can answer some of your questions.”

  “Thank you,” Simoni said, sounding like she was going to give the woman a big hug and bake cupcakes with her. “First of all, I’m worried about the boys.”

  Trina tapped her folder. “They’re fine. I saw them not fifteen minutes ago. All three are being processed exactly as you are, only in a different building. You’ll be able to see them soon, I promise.”

  Three—not four. Kallista desperately wanted to ask about her father. She knew Trina had intentionally not mentioned him because she wanted to draw her into the conversation. Kallista refused to give her the satisfaction.

  “Thank you,” Simoni said. If Kallista hadn’t known better she would have sworn the girl was buying Trina’s lies. “I’m not sure if I should even bring this up, but you mentioned we could come and go as we please.”

  Yes, Kallista thought. At last we’re finally getting somewhere. Put her on the spot. How do we get out of here?

  “I’d love to see more of your wonderful city,” Simoni said. “The bridges, the moving walkways, the farms. I’d love to get a closer look at everything, but so far, no one has been willing to let us go outside.”

  “You want a tour?” Trina said, and Simoni gave out what could only be described as a squeal of excitement.

  A tour? Really? That’s what you’re going for?

  “As soon as you’ve had a day to rest, I’ll take you to see all the sights,” Trina said. “Unfortunately going outside right now would not be wise.”

  “Afraid we’d bolt?” Plucky asked.

  “Of course they are,” Kallista spat.

  “Not at all,” Trina said. “As I told you before, you are free to leave the city anytime you like. But once you see what we have to offer, I don’t think you’ll want to. There is no place you’ll find that offers more than we have here. Safety, food, recreation, learning.” She looked at Kallista. “I understand you enjoy reading. We have the best library in the world. This city is the most wonderful place. Once you talk to the dragons, you’ll understand.”

  Kallista froze. “Talk?”

  Simoni shook her head. “Dragons can’t talk.”

  “Not all of them.” Trina laughed. “But a few. How else could we communicate with them?”

  “You mean sign language,” Kallista said. “Gestures or signals. They don’t actually speak human words.”

  Trina frowned. “Not all dragons choose to use the human tongue, but those that do most certainly speak words.”

  “That’s impossible,” Kallista said. “In millions of years only a few species of animals have learned to mimic human speech. And none can use more than a few words in a meaningful way. My father and I discussed it over and over in Seattle.”

  Simoni tugged at her hair. “Maybe they learned how from being around humans here?”

  “In less than two hundred years?” Kallista clenched her hands. “First an entirely new species appears without any warning, then they learn to do something no other animal besides humans have done in all of history? No. Something’s happening here that we don’t understand.”

  “How do we know you ain’t feeding us a bunch of clankers?” Plucky asked.

  Either Trina had heard Whipjack slang before or she understood Plucky’s meaning by the context. “Once you meet the monarch, it will all come clear.” She clucked her tongue. “What can I do to show you I’m on your side?”

  “Give me my tibby back,” Plucky said at once. “And my knives and my clothes.”

  “We all get rid of our old clothes as a sign of unity and togetherness,” Trina said. “And I’m afraid we don’t allow weapons. But I’ll get your cat right away. Wait here.”

  As if they had any choice.

  Trina got up and walked through the door.

  As soon as they were alone, Kallista glared at Simoni. “Why are you being so sweet with that woman? Tell me you don’t believe her lies.”

  Simoni shook her head. “I don’t think she is lying.”

  Kallista couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  Simoni turned in her chair. “What does she have to gain by lying? What did the women in the factory have to gain? They didn’t seem scared or stressed. I honestly believe they like it here. And they think we will, too.”

  Kallista felt her face heat up. “Do you think you’ll like it here?”

  “Of course not,” Simoni said. “But not everyone came from a city like Discovery. This may be the best they’ve ever had. We came here to find out what’s happening in the city, to look for weaknesses. You aren’t helping our chances with your attitude. Do you think you could try to be at least a little nice for a change?”

  “Fine.” Kallista dropped in the chair. It was bad enough that Simoni was so nice. Did she have to be right, too? “If this city is so great, why are they keeping us locked up?”

  “That’s what we have to find out,” Simoni said.

  “Here you go,” Trina said, bustling back into the room. She handed Allie to Plucky. “Is there anything else I can help you with before we finish our questions and get you to bed?”

  Kallista tried to force her lips into a smile. It seemed to physically hurt her cheeks. “You offered us a tour, but couldn’t we look around on our own?”

  Trina shook her head. “If you were to go outside by yourselves right now, you would become a meal for the Ninki Nankas.”

  “Ninki whats?” Plucky asked.

  “Ninki Nankas. You may have seen them on your way in. Long, squat things with flickering tongues. They are distant cousins to our magnificent dragons, as you can tell by their wings, but that’s where the resemblance ends. They patrol our streets, protecting us from the wildlife that would otherwise enter our city.”

  “You get a lot of wild animal attacks in your city? Packs of wolves and rabid bears?” Kallista scoffed.

  “You’re making a joke because you don’t believe it’s possible. But trust me, there are more dangerous animals out there than you might think. The Ninki Nankas leave us alone but attack any creatures they don’t recognize.”

  “If they leave humans alone, why do we need to worry about them?” Kallista asked.

  Trina touched the tip of her nose. “They hunt by smell. Part of your processing is to introduce them to your scent. Once one of them has it, they all have it. From that moment on, they know who you are and where you are. As long as you stay where you belong, they leave you alone.”

  They know who y
ou are and where you are. The message couldn’t have been any clearer.

  “Now then,” Trina said, putting a note in her folder. “Only one more thing, and we’ll be done. Everyone in our city has a job. We all take great pride in giving back to the mighty dragons who give us so much. What talents do you bring with you?”

  Kallista folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t have any talents.” Simoni glared at her, and she sighed. “I’m a mechanic.”

  “Very good,” Trina said, making a check mark on her paper.

  “Plucky is great at building things,” Simoni said. “I’m good with numbers. I used to order parts and do inventory for my father’s business.”

  Kallista was so shocked she couldn’t speak. That was a lie! Simoni had never worked with numbers. She was farmer.

  Simoni glanced at Kallista and casually brushed a finger across her lips.

  “Wonderful,” Trina said. “I’ll assign you to our supply department, and Plucky can work in the machine shop. Kallista, I’ll need to see what openings we might have in the mechanic shops. Until then, you’ll start working on one of our ranches. Shoveling manure isn’t the most exciting job, but it is an honor for us all to do our part.”

  Working his way down a row of tomatoes, hacking weeds with a long-handled hoe, Trenton wondered where the cold air had gone that had chilled him to the bones a few days earlier. The morning had been cool, and tonight the temperature would drop, but now, with the sun beating down on his head, it felt like a hundred degrees. At least his small straw hat offered some shade. As if the heat wasn’t bad enough, the field was thick with the stench of fertilizer.

  “Why can’t we use a quadracrus?” Clyde asked. After three days in the fields, they’d learned the official name for the spiderlike vehicles, but most people simply referred to them as “quads,” for their four legs.

  “Because these people hate us,” Angus said. “They’ll torture us for a week or two, wait until our hands our covered with blisters and we can no longer straighten our backs, then they’ll execute us for murdering dragons.”

  “Or maybe we’re stuck working in the fields instead or cooking or fixing things because you mouth off to everyone you meet,” Clyde said.