Zenia backed to the wall, staying out of the way as the combatants knocked furniture aside. Once again, she tried to draw upon the dragon tear so she could help, but her gem was too afraid to act. Zenia knew it had the power to incinerate both those orcs, but the poor thing was too traumatized to realize it.
She was sympathetic, but she was also frustrated because she couldn’t help Jev. As fast as he was, his two opponents had longer arms and a lot of strength in their muscled limbs. Neither of them seemed to notice the cuts they’d received. One crouched and sprang over three tables to catch up with Jev, more like a panther than a man.
The move surprised Jev, and for the first time, he was too slow to react properly. The orc’s dagger lashed toward his chest.
“No!” Zenia cried and glanced around for something she could throw or a weapon she could use. She’d stopped carrying a pistol when she had come to rely on the dragon tear, so she had nothing on her person.
Jev yelled, backing away, the front of his shirt flapping where it had been slashed open. Zenia couldn’t tell if he’d been injured or not. She looked at the ogress, wondering if she’d woken up, if she would help break up the fight. With her size, she ought to be able to convince the orcs to leave.
The big ogress was on her feet, her head almost brushing the ceiling, but she didn’t jump into the fray. Her large hands were clasped together under her chin as she watched, like an adoring fan in the benches at a gladiatorial match.
“Do something,” Zenia yelled, trying to draw upon her dragon tear to add power to the command before she realized there was no point.
Right now, her dragon tear was no more than a pretty necklace around her throat.
Metal clashed as blades met again and again, both orcs standing side by side now to attack Jev. Zenia ran around the outside of the room toward the fireplace and the hearth tools. The poker was the only thing around that might qualify as a weapon.
A roar of pain came from the middle of the battle. It sounded like an orc, not Jev, and she hoped he’d landed an incapacitating blow.
As Zenia reached the tools and ripped the poker free, wood smashed right behind her. A chair striking the wall. She whirled, lifting her impromptu weapon to thrust it like a spear.
But the orc that had knocked the chair aside sprinted past her, clutching his side, blood flowing between his fingertips. He didn’t glance at her as he ran out the door.
Another cry came from the fight. Zenia looked in time to see Jev’s fine elven blade flare with silver light as it sank into the thigh of his foe. The orc threw his head back and roared. He’d lost his blade, but he lunged, trying to punch Jev in desperation.
Jev ducked easily and twisted his sword in the orc’s thigh. That elicited another cry of pain. Jev yanked his blade out, clearly ready to thrust again, but his enemy ran limping out of the inn, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
Jev looked around and spotted Zenia. She still had the poker raised to thrust.
Feeling foolish—and useless—she lowered it. He smiled and saluted with his sword, like some zyndar from the old legends, storming an enemy fortress to rescue a zyndari maiden.
“Thank you, Jev.” Zenia looked at his chest, relieved when she didn’t see blood spurting from under his torn shirt. He must have scooted back just in time. “I had a, uhm, unexpected result from my… ally and am relieved you were able to jump in.”
She touched her dragon tear through her shirt but didn’t explain further. She would when there wasn’t a witness.
The thought made her look warily at the ogress, fearing they were about to be kicked out for starting a bar fight. Several chairs had been damaged and more than one table was overturned.
The ogress hadn’t moved since Zenia looked over earlier. Now, she lowered her hands, her gaze fixing on Jev, and she smiled. A lot of her teeth were pointy, too, so it was almost as alarming as the orcs’ sneers. The pink dress softened the effect somewhat.
She waved for Jev to come back to the bar and patted a paper spread on it. Zenia’s map. A large charcoal stick lay next to it. Had the ogress been filling in some details? Maybe Jev had actually been making some progress when this had started.
The ogress patted the bar again and said something to Jev. Actually, she crooned it as she eyed the musculature revealed by the gaping slash in his shirt, and then she batted her eyelashes at him.
Zenia almost fell over.
“Right,” Jev said, coming over and standing next to the ogress, though Zenia had the distinct impression it wasn’t as close as their prospective mapmaker would have liked. Jev lowered his sword and glanced around, but couldn’t find a rag to wipe off the blood, so he didn’t return it to its scabbard.
Zenia fumbled as she put the poker back in the fireplace holder, then made her way slowly to the bar. The ogress frowned over her shoulder at Zenia, then picked up the charcoal, leaned over the map, and scooted closer to Jev. He scooted a few inches to the side but didn’t move entirely out of reach. Zenia had the distinct impression he was sacrificing himself to get her map filled in.
She stopped a few feet away, not sure if she should come in and put her hand on Jev’s chest to claim her man or stand back and wait while he worked his charms. Fortunately, the ogress was doing as much drawing with the charcoal as she was flirting, and the latter was a lot more innocuous than the orcs’ attempts to make Zenia theirs.
She shuddered, glad the dragon tear hadn’t shown her their thoughts, because she was positive she wouldn’t have wanted to see into their minds.
Are you all right? she silently asked her gem and touched it gently through her shirt.
Even though she knew it didn’t understand words, she thought it would grasp what she meant.
The sense of being shaken came from the gem, as well as a hint of relief now that the orcs were gone. After a moment, a hangdog feeling emanated from it, and she could tell it regretted freezing up on her.
Zenia patted the gem, trying to convey that she didn’t blame it, that she understood perfectly. If the dragon tear froze again when they attempted to storm whatever village or town the dragon was being held prisoner in, that would drastically reduce the power of her team, but it was better to learn now about the possibility rather than be surprised when they were surrounded by fifty orcs.
“Zenia?” Jev asked, a strange note to his voice.
The ogress had stopped drawing and had her very large hand on his butt. It was as big as both of his cheeks.
“Yes, Jev?” Zenia bit her lip, unable to hold back an amused smirk as the ogress gave him a little pat.
“I have an update to your map.” Jev had cleaned and sheathed his sword—maybe his new admirer had given him a rag—so he was able to use both hands to fold up the map and remove it from the bar.
“You’re a good man, Jev.”
“Yes, I am.” He faced the ogress, smiled up at her, and bowed his head as he said a few words that sounded like gobbledegook to Zenia.
The ogress took one of his hands, held it to her chest, and said a few words in return before sniffing derisively at Zenia.
Some of Zenia’s amusement faded as she imagined the ogress trying to lead Jev off to her room. Or maybe hefting him over her shoulder and carrying him off to her room.
But she released him and stepped back. He bowed more deeply, a proper zyndarish bow one would give to a zyndari lady, then nodded to Zenia and strode quickly to the door.
Zenia hurried after him, aware of the hostile glare the ogress was chasing her out with.
Jev walked past a couple of buildings before glancing over his shoulder and stopping with his back to a post. “That was harrowing,” he said as he unfolded the map.
“Fighting for your life against orcs or having your butt patted by a female ogre?”
“What do you think?”
“That I better pat it myself later and make you forget about her overtures.”
“That will help, thank you.” He looked into her eyes before showing
her the map. “Are you all right? What happened? I got there before either of them grabbed you, right?” His brow furrowed with concern that he might have been too late.
“You did. You were very heroic.” Zenia rose on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. “It seems that my dragon tear is afraid of orcs.”
He blinked a few times. “Really? Oh, because they were torturing her? In your dream? I mean, is that really what’s happening?”
“I think so, or something close to it.”
“That’s upsetting. I’m now ready to thoroughly eviscerate all the orcs participating in that.”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.” Zenia certainly appreciated that he was affronted on her dragon tear’s behalf. On the dragon’s behalf. It seemed so strange to think of a dragon needing a protector or a rescuer, but this one did, and Zenia was glad Jev wanted to help. She decided not to mention that they would have a far more grueling fight if the dragon tear wasn’t able to help with that rescue.
“Anyway—” Jev lowered his gaze to the map he’d opened, “—Gertalda didn’t know of anyone in town that sold maps, but she traveled extensively before opening her inn here, so she was familiar with a lot of Northern Izstara.”
“Gertalda? That’s the name of the ogress?”
“So she said.”
“I suppose it’s good that she offered her name before groping your butt.”
“I thought so. And it was more of a pat than a grope.”
“Did you like it?” Zenia smirked at him.
“No. Are you going to look at your new map or not?”
“I’m looking. I’m not sure what all the fat charcoal lines mean though. Are those roads?”
“No, roads are rare. Sometimes, ships from other nations come to log, so there are a few dirt roads meandering here and there, but the jungle grows extremely fast and takes them back. Rivers are the main way that people travel. That—” Jev pointed at one of the longer lines, “—is a river that empties into the ocean about ten miles up the coast from here at the trade city of Tika. The destination that we wanted to arrive at. The river cuts inland from there for almost a thousand miles. For the first couple hundred miles, there are some small settlements and trade outposts. After that, there’s almost nothing except for lots of very deadly predators that like to eat explorers. She emphasized that.”
“She was probably concerned that you wouldn’t make it out alive.” Zenia was amazed he’d gotten so much information, given the language barrier.
“So I gathered. She suggested I send you in alone for some reason.”
“I don’t like her.”
“Odd.” Jev pointed further inland. “Up here, there are valleys along waterways that eventually empty into this river. The waterways come out of a mountain range—with numerous active volcanos—that runs down the spine of the continent. There are many tribes of orcs that live in one of the larger valleys and worship the volcanos as gods, making sacrifices and such. Gertalda hadn’t heard of any of them acquiring a dragon—all the dragons she’s ever heard of have been hibernating for centuries—but she thought we could find plenty of orcs back there.”
“Mountains.” Zenia leaned forward, touching the spot on the map. “In my dreams, the dragon is chained in a cave.”
“Such as a mountain cave?”
“Yes, I think it could be. The view out of the cave seems like it’s from an elevated perch. And remember how I sensed the dragon was to the south somewhere? Those mountains are south.”
“Everything is south of where we are, but I concede your point. It looks like we have a starting place.” He tapped the line representing the long river.
“Excellent. Thank you, Jev.” Zenia hugged him, amazed how much more he’d learned than the intelligence-gathering Hydal. But Jev had also been in that intelligence-gathering company; he’d been its captain. “As I said before, you’re a good man.”
He clasped the back of her head gently and said, “We’ll find your dragon. Now, let’s get out of this town before anything else takes a liking to my butt.”
“Or before that male ogre realizes that his female likes you more than she likes him.”
“His female?” Jev drew back, throwing a concerned look toward the bouncer they had to pass on the way out.
“He’d like to think so.”
“Let’s hope he’s too busy with his human-counting math to ask us questions on the way out.”
7
Rain pattered on the tarp covering the front deck of the paddleboat trundling up the wide Erquat River, as Jev had learned it was called. His ogress informant hadn’t named anything she’d drawn on Zenia’s map.
He looked out at the gray sky over the lush green trees lining the waterway and longed for a return of the sun. They’d had one nice day followed by three rainy ones as their chartered boat trundled up the river, a steam engine driving the waterwheel.
Jev had been glad to find such modern technology, as he’d envisioned Zenia’s team having to pole its way upriver in a keelboat. Or simply having to walk along the bank, hoping to find trails. And also hoping not to be eaten by any of the great cats that roared from the branches of the trees. Thus far, being out in the water had kept them from being visited by any large predators, but Jev eyed the dark pools they sometimes passed and thought of the hydra.
A screech came from the sky, and Jev peered into the rainy gloom in time to see a small wyvern flapping over the riverway. He’d been delighted to see the first one, since the creatures were on the Dharrow family emblem and had long ago disappeared from Kor, but watching one swoop down and pluck up an ape from the trees had reminded him that they were deadly predators. They could just as easily pluck up a man, and the tarp protecting the boat from the rain would do little against fang and talon. There was a large central structure that housed the sleeping area, a couple of officers’ cabins, the mess, and the boiler room, but he wasn’t even positive its wooden roof would deter great airborne predators.
“Your turn, Jev.” Cutter prodded him with his hook.
“Don’t tell him,” Borti said. “If he’s not paying attention, his turn is forfeited, and he loses all his money.”
“That’s not in the rules,” Jev said mildly, shifting his focus back to their Safari Hunt game. He discarded one of his shotgun cards and picked up an elephant.
“It is when you’re playing with zyndar.” Borti winked, and his brother, who sat at his shoulder, nodded sagely. “They can afford to lose a few coins.”
Jev was playing with Cutter, the twins, and two boatmen on breaks. The boatmen were human…ish. One had pointed ears, fangs, and a stocky build that suggested more than two races in his heritage. The other claimed to be a full-blooded human but had fur rather than arm hair, so Jev had no idea what else might have wandered through his ancestry. This whole continent was a strange and exotic place compared to Kor or even Taziira, and it made Jev feel a lot less worldly than he’d imagined himself.
While the others took their turns, he twisted to see if Zenia had come up on deck yet. He would rather sit and chat about inane things with her than with the men. They hadn’t had many private moments together since the riverboat wasn’t very large, and they had been given hammocks in the open sleeping area along with everyone else. Jev’s zyndar status didn’t mean much on this continent.
He spotted Zenia and Rhi on one of the walkways, kneeling at a low point where they could reach the water. They filled a bucket and drew it up. Jev was tempted to call out a warning, since he’d seen numerous alligators floating along the river, their dark eyes pointed toward the boat, but he knew the women could take care of themselves.
Once they lifted the bucket, they dipped sponges into the water and washed their faces and exposed skin. The riverboat didn’t have any washing facilities, and using the lavatory involved going to one side and sticking one’s butt over the railing.
Even though it kept raining, the weather was warm, and Zenia wore a sleeveless shirt. As she ran the sp
onge up her arms, dampening her rich tan skin, Jev’s mind wandered to interesting places. He’d imagined them finding some private and romantic places alone together on this journey and only grudgingly accepted that they might not get to spend any nights together until they were married. As much as he longed to steal her off to some dark nook, she hadn’t had sex before, and he wanted it to be special. Not an experience where they both got splinters in their butts because they were leaning up against the railing of a steamboat.
“Come on,” Borti said, “he definitely forfeits his money if he misses his turn because he’s ogling a woman. Right?”
Borti looked at his brother, but Horti was looking toward the women too. His gaze was locked on Rhi instead of Zenia. Borti slapped him, and Horti jerked his gaze back and nodded vigorously, though Jev doubted he’d heard the question.
“That’s not a woman,” Cutter said. “She’s the woman he made a necklace for.”
“A necklace?” Borti wrinkled his nose.
“It was a manly necklace,” Jev assured him, though he gave Cutter a dark look. He didn’t want his love life to become gossip for the gaming table—or gaming crate, as that was what they were using to hold their cards. “Made with metalworking.”
“Metalworking?” Cutter asked. “All you did was braid together some strands of gold and silver.”
“While I sweated and burned my hand on a forge.”
“When were you near a forge?”
“I bumped one when that elf picked a fight with us.” He tossed down a card and picked up a new one, wanting to move the conversation away from this subject.
He’d lost all track of his strategy and wasn’t surprised when Cutter picked up his discarded dagger and laid out two sets of weapons and a set of lions and elephants. “Safari complete,” he announced and raked in the coins in the center of the crate.
Dragon Tear (Agents of the Crown Book 5) Page 9