by Zara Quentin
“This way,” she decided, leading Axel down the corridor to her right. Their footsteps echoed over the stone walls, the only sound in the place.
As she rounded the corner, she saw the ornately carved wooden door that led into Scosse’s private chapel and came to an abrupt halt.
Standing in front of it were the personal guards of the Air Marshall. Two of them slouched near the door, quickly standing to attention as Jade and Axel approached. The guards glared at them, clearly surprised and irritated by their presence.
“What are you doing here?” the first of the two men called out. His voice was rough and his nose was set on his face at a strange angle, as though it had been broken at least once. They were both tall and strong, and looked like they had been in their fair share of action. They were clearly seasoned veterans of the Traveller Force, before being assigned to the personal protection of the Air Marshall.
“I have a message for Air Marshall Scosse,” Jade said, lifting her chin. Axel came to stop at her shoulder and frowned as he assessed the two guards.
“The Air Marshall is in private worship and contemplation. He is not to be disturbed,” Broken Nose replied. The other guard uncrossed his arms, putting a hand on the hilt of the sword hanging from his waist. He had a lazy eye which gave Jade the strange feeling that he was looking past her.
“He will want to be disturbed for this,” Jade said, persisting. “It’s important.”
Lazy Eye and Broken Nose smiled at each other as though Jade had told them a great joke. Their smiles disappeared as soon as they looked back at Jade.
“Do you really think the Air Marshall jumps every time a newbie comes at him with a complaint? Go to your commander and say your piece. If it really is important, then I’m sure it will make its way up to the Air Marshall.”
Lazy Eye snickered again. Jade pressed her lips together and stood her ground. She couldn’t leave, but had she really thought she would just be able to walk in and get an audience with the Air Marshall?
“Tell the Air Marshall it’s about Operation Grave Insult. He hasn’t been kept informed of the mission. He is being misled. It is tremendously important that I give him this message.”
“Oooohhh, not just important, it’s tremendously important! Now I see.” Lazy Eye said, and Broken Nose laughed out loud, before waving a hand to dismiss her.
“Make an appointment to see him at a reasonable hour at Force HQ.”
“But—”
“You seem to have problems following instructions, Airwoman. Let me be clear. You. Are. Not. Going. Through. That. Door. Now, turn around, go back to Force HQ and make an appointment. Or better yet, take your problems to your commander. Did you hear me? Get out!”
Jade clenched her fists. The guards stood directly in front of the door, shoulder-to-shoulder so that their bulk obscured it. Broken Nose put a hand on the hilt of his sword in warning, but Jade knew they couldn’t do what he’d suggested. They’d never get through to Scosse. Axel would be arrested and she might be, too. Or she’d have to answer a lot of questions at least, since it would seem like she’d come back from the dead. She couldn’t leave until she’d straightened everything out with Scosse.
They just had to get past these two guards.
Jade looked at Axel. His expression was grim but Jade saw that his hand rested on the knife at his belt. Jade gave him a discrete nod and looked back at Broken Nose and Lazy Eye.
She let her shoulders slump, defeated and took a step back toward the stairwell. Out of the corner of her eye, as she started to turn away, she saw Broken Nose and Lazy Eye’s posture relax and their hands fell away from the hilts of their swords.
As soon as they relaxed, she launched herself forward. A beat of her wings gave her extra propulsion and lifted her into the air to give her a height advantage as she barrelled towards Lazy Eye. Beside her, Axel launched himself at Broken Nose.
They had the advantage of surprise, but that only lasted a moment. Both Lazy Eye and Broken Nose were experienced fighters, and strong. Jade slammed into Lazy Eye head-on and knocked him backwards, pressing him up against the door. This limited the use of his wings, so Jade beat hers with all her might, straining to keep Lazy Eye pinned against it. She reached into her belt for her knife, then cursed as she remembered she’d left it buried up to the hilt in the Yrax’s eye. Lazy Eye was strong, though, and held her at arm’s length with one arm, while he groped for his own sword with the other.
Jade’s heart pounded when she saw him trying to draw his sword. She had to disarm him or it was over. With the advantage of a sword, it would only be a matter of time before Lazy Eye used it. He was stronger and better armed. In a one-on-one contest, she could not win. She had to use her surprise, speed and position while she could. She had to keep him on the back foot, and make sure he was backed into a corner where he couldn’t use his wings.
Jade beat her wings strongly, diving towards Lazy Eye. He stepped backwards into the door, and had to use the hand that had been reaching for his sword to get his balance. He pressed his hand against the door and started to push himself back towards her. She felt at her belt for the blow-piece even though she was far too close to use it properly. She closed her fingers around it, groping for the poisoned darts to go with it. Her heart leapt into her throat when Lazy Eye reached for his sword, and Jade lashed out, jabbing him in the face with the blow-piece. Lazy Eye flinched, raising his hands to defend himself.
In that moment, Jade gulped down a breath of air, using her wings to dart backwards, then flew at him again. She jabbed him with the blow-piece in the ribs on one side. At the last minute, she reached out with her other hand to grab his sword.
The grip on the hilt was rough under her fingers and she didn’t get enough purchase on it to pull it out of the scabbard cleanly. She clenched her teeth and tried to keep hold of the sword, had it half-out of the scabbard when Lazy Eye swung around. He cursed and grabbed at it.
Jade pressed her fingertips into the grip and used her wings to pull backwards sharply, jerking the sword as far away as she could. Lazy Eye’s hand caught the blade just below the hilt, slicing it open. He screamed out as blood ran between his fingers. Jade startled at the sound and fumbled with the sword as she drew back. She held her breath, feeling like she was losing her grip. She swung her other hand around, clutching at the sword. The blow-piece she’d been holding clattered to the stone floor as Jade gripped the sword properly with her other hand, then pressed the blade against Lazy Eye’s throat.
She panted as she forced the blade against the skin on his neck and saw a thin red line appear along its edge.
Lazy Eye froze and his expression darkened as Jade pressed him back against the wall, the blade pushing at the skin on his throat. Jade looked sideways and saw Axel and Broken Nose locked in a wrestling match. She wasn’t sure who was winning, but her breath hitched in her throat as Axel and Broken Nose struggled. They were so focused on each other, they didn’t notice that Jade had pinned down Lazy Eye. She held her breath, watching Axel, willing him to get the upper hand, but they seemed to be locked in a draw. Jade’s heart skipped a beat as Broken Nose jerked and swung Axel around, causing him to lose his footing.
Jade gritted her teeth. She couldn’t bear to watch. She had to help Axel.
She held the sword at Lazy Eye’s throat as she knelt down and groped for the blow-piece with one hand. Her fingers patted the stone floor, feeling around for it. Her eyes darted around—she couldn’t afford to take her eyes off Lazy Eye for too long. Her skin prickled at the force of his glare and she could feel the tension radiating from him, ready to spring into action at any moment.
It took several moments before Jade’s fingers closed around the blow-piece. Jade breathed out her relief and put it in her mouth, gripping it in her teeth while she reached into the pouch for a dart. She carefully inserted the dart into the blow-piece, making sure the red tip didn’t touch her skin.
Her heart thundered as she aimed. Broken Nose and Axel were l
ocked together in a wrestler’s embrace and Jade hesitated. She didn’t want to miss Broken Nose and hit Axel instead, but she couldn’t think of any other way of helping him. Not while she had to keep Lazy Eye hostage.
Her sword arm shook with the strain of holding the blade against Lazy Eye’s throat. She felt him starting to move, testing her concentration. She gritted her teeth and leaned onto her sword arm and felt his body freeze and tense again. She didn’t have much time—she had to take her best shot now. Jade aimed at Broken Nose. She inhaled deeply.
Then blew on the blow-piece with all her breath.
The dart sailed towards the two men.
It was heading straight for Broken Nose’s back when the two men suddenly twisted around. Jade’s heart skipped a beat as Broken Nose swung Axel around. Instead of burying itself into Broken Nose’s back, as Jade had intended, the dart sailed past his shoulder, leaving a red streak over his skin.
Broken Nose cried out, in surprise more than pain, Jade thought, and looked towards where Jade had Lazy Eye pinned down with his own sword. Broken Nose’s eyes widened, and Axel used the moment to knee him in the ribs and drag him to the ground. Broken Nose went to retaliate, but couldn’t seem to move the shoulder with the red streak down the side. Axel pressed his advantage and pushed him down. Jade heard the crack as Broken Nose’s head hit the stone floor.
Axel straddled Broken Nose, pinning him down, then looked over to Jade. Jade let out a breath and realised she’d curled her hand tightly around the pikorua on her neck chain.
“What do you want to do with them?” Axel asked.
Jade looked at Lazy Eye, who was glaring at her with his good eye. She couldn’t kill them, but she couldn’t just let them go either. They had to make sure these two guards wouldn’t be able to either raise the alarm or interrupt their meeting with Scosse.
“Tie them up,” Jade decided. She looked at Axel. “Got any rope?
Axel shook his head.
Jade looked around the hallway but it was bare of anything that might be used to immobilise captives. Then she spotted a door to a maintenance cupboard a little further down the hallway.
“Let’s lock them in there. Then they won’t be able to raise the alarm,” Jade said, as she tucked the blow-piece back into her belt. Axel started to pull Broken Nose’s unconscious body towards the door Jade had indicated, but Lazy Eye started to yell at the top of his lungs.
“Shhh! Don’t make me use this,” Jade said. Lazy Eye stopped yelling for a moment, staring at her.
“You’ll never get away with this,” he said, then gave another shout. Jade took a step towards him and jabbed the sword at his throat. She didn’t want to kill him, since he was just doing his job. But he wouldn’t stop yelling. Jade gritted her teeth, before plunging her free hand into the pouch at her belt.
“Last chance,” Jade held the dart in her hand. Lazy Eye yelled louder, and Jade lunged forward to jab at him with the dart. His shout was cut short as Lazy Eye held up his forearm to ward off Jade’s attack, but the dart caught his hand, embedding itself deeply into his skin. He winced and looked at the dart sticking out of his hand for a moment, before his face stretched into a smile.
“Is that all you’ve got…” Lazy Eye trailed off then he slumped to the floor, unconscious.
Jade let the sword clatter to the floor as she tried to move Lazy Eye towards the maintenance cupboard. She hooked her hands underneath his shoulders and heaved, batting her wings to give her some extra propulsion. She strained against his weight, but his bulk was too heavy. She stopped, panting, and saw she’d barely moved him a handspan. She looked over to see Axel had managed to drag Broken Nose’s unconscious figure only a short distance too.
Jade sighed, “Let’s leave them here. They can’t do any harm as they are.”
Axel left Broken Nose’s body lying in the middle of the hallway and joined her. With only the sounds of their footsteps on the cold, stone floor, Jade and Axel walked towards the ornate wooden door that would admit them to Scosse’s private chapel.
* * *
Jade raised a hand to knock at the door, then thought the better of it. Instead, she pressed her shoulder to the heavy door and heaved it open.
“I told you, no interruptions!” Scosse’s voice rang out from inside the room. She stepped quickly inside and Axel followed her. As the door thudded closed behind her, she saw Scosse standing next to a huge window on the far wall.
She gasped at the sight of the ornate, richly decorated room. It wasn’t large, certainly not by the standards of the Temple, but since there were no benches or low tables cluttering up the space, it appeared larger. Hexagonal in shape and lit by traditional burning lamps fixed at regular intervals around the walls, the room was lined with rich tapestries, paintings, statues and other beautiful works of art.
In the middle of the room was a large statue of the Lady Taraqa, standing on all four legs, Her head bending down as though to look at those who knelt before her in worship. She had ruby-jewelled eyes and flat candles flickered in her open mouth, mimicking the Dragon-Gods’ tongues of fire. Smoke from the candles curled from Her nostrils. It was beautiful, but as Jade let her eyes stray towards the enormous window on the far wall, she gasped.
Situated as it was on the top floor, the huge window looked out into the open central column that cut through the middle of the Temple. Through this window, Jade saw the towering grey clouds of the Portal above, as well as the mosaic tiles of the courtyard below. Towering over the other side of the Temple, was the huge golden statue of Our Lady Taraqa, Her eyes fixed in the distance.
While the smaller statue of Our Lady Taraqa inside the private chapel was just a fraction of the size of the enormous statue right outside the window, it still dominated the room.
“And I meant, no—”
Jade flinched at the sound of Scosse’s angry, booming voice. Mid-phrase, Scosse turned and Jade registered the surprise on his face, before he rearranged his features into a stern mask.
“What are you doing here? Where are my guards?”
“Air Marshall,” Jade began. “I’m very sorry to interrupt your private worship, sir, but I have an important message for you. Please, hear me out.” Jade’s words came out in a rush. Scosse’s expression didn’t change, but he walked slowly towards the centre of the room. Jade noticed there were lines of tension at his eyes and his shoulders were hunched slightly, the muscles taut across his neck and shoulders. Scosse’s eyes flicked from her to Axel. Jade didn’t miss the way his expression clouded over with dislike when he took in Axel’s presence.
Scosse stopped in the middle of the room, standing just under the statue of Our Lady Taraqa. From where Jade stood, it almost seemed as though their Dragon-God was resting Her head on his.
“Airwoman Gariq,” Scosse said. “I see you have miraculously risen from the dead.”
Jade gaped at him, his words throwing her off-balance.
“Not exactly, you see…” She kept talking, though Scosse’s interruption threw her thoughts into disarray. “I know you haven’t been kept properly informed about the details of Operation Grave Insult. It was all a misunderstanding. There was an… item stolen from the Premyans and they want it back. They sent a message about it to Papa, but then he was killed. I suppose you don’t know that, but his death wasn’t natural causes, it was murder. Anyway, the Premyans didn’t know he hadn’t passed on the message and… it’s their custom to demand a lifeprice. That’s what the Traveller deaths on Premye were all about, you see? The thing is, you ordered the Operation to make contact with the Premyans and bring back information. But the Force attacked, killed Premyans and torched their homes and their Temple. The Force tried to kill me, more than once. Then there was looting and I just thought you should know because it couldn’t possibly…” Jade had expelled all her words in a rush of air and she found herself panting at the effort of getting her story out. When she saw his expression, her words trailed to a halt.
Scosse was not surpri
sed. His eyes merely narrowed and his expression darkened.
Jade’s stomach dropped as understanding hit her. “You know about what happened on Premye? But… how could you sanction…”
“Probably because I asked him to.” Jade jumped to hear a voice behind her. She spun around and her eyes widened.
There, in the doorway, stood Zorman.
And behind him, Kyssa.
30
The flame of the candle flickered in Our Lady Taraqa’s mouth, sending eerie shadows dancing on the walls all around. Jade looked into her uncle’s face and remembered the way he had comforted her in her grief, right here in this very building. He had used her sadness to persuade her to go to Premye. He had pushed her to believing Axel guilty of her father’s murder.
Jade felt hollow inside. Then sick. He had betrayed her every step of the way.
He had betrayed Papa. His own brother.
If Axel was right, he’d even sent Basalt to his death.
Her eyes caught Kyssa, standing just behind him in the doorway. Her chest and throat tightened until she couldn’t breathe. Kyssa, her childhood friend, had taken his side. She’d trusted her, and Kyssa had betrayed her.
Jade scrunched her hands into fists. “You! You!” Her breath came out in short bursts as she looked from Kyssa to Zorman, but her eyes settled on him. She wanted to pummel him with her fists, but her rage pinned her to the spot. She was so angry, she couldn’t think straight. There was so much she wanted to say, no—to scream at him. The words churned inside, swelling her chest to a bursting point, but wouldn’t come out. Her fingernails dug into the palms of her hands and she found she was clenching every joint in her body—her knees, her elbows, her shoulders were all tensed—so tight they might snap. “You… traitor!”