by Tony Donadio
They had let him keep Jameson’s sword. He still carried it belted at his side, along with an updated badge marking him as a soldier in the reserve. His new orders indicated that he was on assignment to the academy, as an instructor in training. It was a less than subtle reminder of the fate he would face if he balked at the expectations of his new job.
He thought of Diana as he walked. They hadn’t seen or heard from each other since parting at her parents’ house the day after the massacre. He had been prepared for that, of course, but he’d still been surprised that his resourceful young friend hadn’t found a way to at least send word to him.
He had heard from her father, though. A letter had been waiting for him when he finally returned to his apartment and checked his mail. The ambassador’s words had been concise, praising his courage and thanking him again for bringing his daughter home safely. They explained that a reward of a hundred gold sovereigns — a small fortune for a struggling academic — had been set aside for him to collect at a prestigious bank in the High City.
They also made it clear that he did not expect to see the young scholar again. Orion, surprised and mortified, had understood the intended message.
It wasn’t until he found himself turning onto Tribute Street that he realized where his thoughts were taking him. Before long he saw the sign of the Smiling Nymph ahead. It had escaped the devastation of the massacre, and to his surprise the door was open. He went in.
The tavern looked eerily as he had left it six days earlier. A few groups of patrons sat scattered around the room. Most of them were talking quietly and drinking heavily. With a shock he even saw Henry and the woman shopkeeper sitting at the same table where he had left them. The two looked at him for a few seconds with haunted eyes, and then turned away.
A burly man with a noticeable resemblance to Jameson stood behind the bar. He watched Orion as he entered, eyes fixed openly on his hip.
“What can I get for you, stranger?” he asked.
Orion nodded as he came forward. He pulled out a stool and sat down.
“I don’t drink much,” he said slowly. “But I could really use one today. Whiskey, please. Neat.”
The man took a bottle and glass from beneath the bar and began to pour.
“Nice sword you have there,” he said nonchalantly.
Orion nodded.
“It belonged to the man who used to own this establishment. I was hoping to find someone who knew him. Family, perhaps.”
The man looked at him carefully, and then slid the glass toward him. “You have,” he said. “Name’s Glen.”
Orion took a sip. “Your brother?”
Glen nodded. “You have a good eye. What do I call you, stranger?”
“My name’s Orion. Orion Deneri.”
“Ah. That explains it. The instructor fellow from the academy. The one with the girl. I saw you making eye contact with Henry and Else when you came in.”
Orion took a long, slow breath.
“Then you’ve heard about our escape attempt, the day of the massacre.”
“I have.”
Glen stood watching him, silently, for a long time. Orion took a long, slow pull from his glass.
“How did he die?” Glen asked at last.
Orion closed his eyes. He fought the tears that threatened as he recalled the events of that terrible day.
“A hero,” he said at last.
Glen nodded. “Tell me.”
Orion opened his eyes, and he told him. About their desperate run, trying to reach the military base for protection. About the coming of the dragons, and how they were herded into a trap. How they had avoided it and were attacked by the demon Nalef. How Jameson and the others had fallen in their desperate fight against it. And how Diana and he, wounded, had barely escaped with their lives.
By the time he was done he had lost the battle with his tears. He had never had time to mourn his companions from the Nymph, briefly though he had known them. He finally realized why his steps had led him back here — and why he had needed to come.
Glen reached out and slowly, awkwardly, gripped Orion’s shoulder.
“Thank you,” he said thickly. “The demons piled the bodies of everyone killed in the massacre and burned them. If you hadn’t come, we would never have known what happened to him. And to the others.”
“It was the least I could do,” Orion whispered.
“I know most of their families. I’ll tell them.”
Orion nodded. He reached down and began fumbling with the buckle of his sword belt.
Glen gripped his shoulder more tightly. “No,” he said firmly.
“It was your brother’s,” Orion objected. “You should have it.”
He shook his head. “I can’t use it,” he said.
“But —”
He released Orion’s shoulder and tapped his badge.
“And even if I could, the city’s been disarmed. I don’t have a weapons license, and you do. And I don’t want to get arrested.”
Orion looked at him in astonishment. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything. You used it to avenge my brother, by slaying the monster that killed him. You’ve earned it.”
“Thank you, Glen. I’ll do it — and him — honor. I promise.”
Glen nodded. “That’s all any man can ask.”
Orion reached for his glass again, but Glen pulled it away from him. The bartender’s gruff face cracked in a smile as he took another one, and a different bottle, from beneath the counter.
“Let me pour you some of the good stuff,” he said.
The Good Stuff
Orion sat at the bar in the Smiling Nymph. He had nowhere else to go, and he found the little tavern comforting despite its painful memories. And the good stuff was very good. He and Glen said little, the bartender sensing that he needed some time alone with his thoughts.
The door opened. Orion glanced over his shoulder to see a young woman with short red hair walk into the tavern. A longsword was belted at her hip, and she wore a suit of black leather armor with a purple badge affixed to it. He gave her a long, appreciative glance, and turned back to his drink.
He heard the sound of boots walking across the floor, and the scrape of a stool being pulled out at his side. He turned to offer an awkward greeting as the woman sat next to him.
He found her looking right at him.
“I had a hunch I might find you here,” she said.
Orion’s eyes widened. I’ve had a couple of drinks, he thought, but not enough to hallucinate about beautiful women approaching me in taverns …
He smiled tentatively. “Do we know each other?”
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
She looked at his glass, and then at the bartender. “I’ll have what he’s having,” she said.
Glen glanced at Orion. His gruff face was trying to suppress an uncharacteristic smile. He set out a glass for her and poured it, and she took a long swig. Then she put it down as a quick shudder of appreciation ran through her head and shoulders.
“Mmmm,” she said. “What was that?”
Orion grinned. “That’s the good stuff.”
“Well, points for first impressions. You do know where to bring a girl. I’m going to have to remember this place.”
Orion took another sip of his own drink. He suddenly felt as though he were going to need it.
“I’m Kay,” she continued. “Larissa Kay. Everyone just calls me Kay. You can too.”
She extended a hand. He took it.
“Pleased to meet you, Kay. I’m Orion Deneri. The fellow behind the bar is Glen Rivers.”
“Yes, I know. About you, anyway.” She turned to the bartender. “Like your place, Mr. Rivers. Sorry about your … brother?”
Glen nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
Orion let out a long breath. He’d finally made the connection.
“Diana sent you,” he said.
Kay grinned. “She said you were bright
. And after a couple of slugs of the good stuff, too. I like that.”
Orion folded his arms and regarded her. Now that he understood why she was here, he was feeling a little less out of his depth.
“Are you messing with me?” he asked. “Or are you always such a flirt?”
Kay laughed.
“There it is. Just like she said.”
“There what is?”
She shook her head. Her manner suddenly sobered.
“I’ll tell you later. Right now I’m here with a message. Can we talk?” She glanced at Glen. “Privately?”
Orion nodded toward an empty table at the far corner of the room. They carried their drinks to it and sat down.
“I assume you got her father’s letter,” Kay said.
Orion nodded, flushing suddenly with embarrassment.
“I think he got the wrong idea —” he began.
Kay burst out laughing. He glared at her, cheeks red.
“You seem to think it’s funny.”
“Very. I wouldn’t take it personally, though. He’d have done the same with any man.”
“Does Diana know?”
“Of course. I told her.”
“I see. And you know, because …”
“Her father told me. I’m the one who delivered the letter for him.”
He shook his head. “I was right,” he said. “You are messing with me.”
She smiled. “Call it a weakness. It’s how I compensate for being so damned serious most of the time.”
“I don’t suppose you’d consider being serious for a few minutes now?” he asked hopefully. “And telling me the story in order?”
Kay took another swallow of her drink. She looked at him thoughtfully.
“I was an officer in the city guard,” she explained. “Badly hurt in the massacre. Diana saved my life in the hospital, and we’ve become friends.”
“So now you’re working for her father?”
“Yes. It was her idea, too. I was impressed with how she played him.”
“How?”
“After what happened he insisted on her having a bodyguard. All the time, everywhere she went. She protested, of course. Made quite a stink about not wanting some muscle-headed lout breathing down her neck. Kept mentioning someone named ‘Kieran.’”
He nodded appreciatively. “Which made you the perfect compromise,” he offered.
“Exactly. By the time I was released from the hospital we were already thick as thieves. I have no family left, and Di asked if I could stay with them until I ‘got on my feet.’”
“And her father agreed?”
“The ambassador checked my background. He liked what he found and made me an offer instead. Which is precisely what we wanted in the first place, of course.”
Orion was intrigued. “What did he find?” he asked.
“My service record. I had two commendations for professional conduct under pressure. I was very proud of that. The last one got me my promotion to lieutenant.”
He grinned mischievously. “That doesn’t sound like the flirt I met a few minutes ago.”
She looked at him levelly, brown eyes suddenly cold and hard. She patted the hilt of her sword. When she spoke her voice was even, businesslike, and had a note of command to it.
“That’s because you haven’t seen me doing my job yet.”
He smiled at her.
“That’s true, I haven’t. Something tells me you’re good at it.”
She returned his smile. There was a hint of abashed surprise in it.
“I am. And my record sealed the deal. Serious and reliable about my work. Loyal to Diana for saving my life. Better with a blade than his own bodyguard, as it turned out when he tested me. And a woman, so he didn’t have to worry about my ‘intentions’ — perceived or otherwise.”
“And no attachments, I assume.”
She smirked at him. “None. Who wants to know?”
He chuckled. “There you go, flirting again. I thought you were going to be serious for a bit.”
“If you want that, then stop giving me openings you could drive a caravan through.”
“The clerks must have tried to conscript you back into the guard. Did her father use his influence to release you to his service?”
“He is the Dorian ambassador,” she said. “And the regime is trying to win his support. It was a small concession for them.”
Orion looked at her thoughtfully. She was tall, almost as tall as he was. Her olive complexion was darker than he would have expected from someone with her distinctively red hair. Her black leather armor looked new, and it did little to hide the lines of a well-muscled physique.
“That explains the context,” he said at last. “You said Diana had a message for me?”
Kay nodded. She reached across the table to take his hand, and turned his palm upward. She traced her finger along the scar that remained from the week before.
“She wants you to know that she hasn’t forgotten her oath,” she said. “And that she’s very sorry about the letter. She didn’t realize how her father would react. She’s really angry with him right now. For several reasons, though this one’s at the top of the list.”
He shook his head. “I still don’t get how he misunderstood. I mean, she’s … well …”
“Barely seventeen,” Kay said. “Yeah, I get it. It’s hard to remember because she handles herself so well. But she is a lot younger than we are.”
He watched her as she took another swallow of her drink. “How young aren’t we?” he asked.
She chuckled. “There you go with that caravan again. I’ll control myself, though. Twenty-four. You?”
“Twenty-three.”
“About what she thought. She knew you’d be mortified by his letter, and she blames herself for it.”
“Why?”
“Because she does have kind of a crush on you. Don’t look like that, it’s not romantic. It’s more like the way a girl idolizes her big brother. She talked you up for days, and she thinks that’s what gave her father the wrong idea.”
He nodded slowly. “But you don’t.”
“No. I’ve known men like the ambassador. And I got a long talking to from him about his ‘expectations’ when he hired me as her bodyguard. I don’t think it mattered whether there was anything between you or not. You’re just not part of his plan for her, and the letter was to let you know that. But he owed you a debt, and so he paid it. That’s all it was to him.”
“She’s never really been allowed to have friends of her own, has she?”
“You mean that she’s chosen for herself?” She smiled. “No, I don’t think so. We’re a new experience for her.”
Orion took another sip of his drink. He was quiet for a time.
“Well, the two of you seem to have worked out a way around it,” he said at last. “And I’m glad she’s got someone at her side she can trust. Please thank her for me for sending you. And thank you for coming. I’m sure I wasn’t easy to find, and I enjoyed meeting you.”
Kay quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Is that all you think this was about?” she asked.
“Why? Is there more?”
Kay reached for his hand and tapped his palm again. There was a faint look of exasperation on her face.
“Of course there’s more,” she said impatiently.
She looked furtively around the room. A few patrons had been watching them at first, but they’d eventually returned to their own business. Even Glen had gone back to wiping the bar and chatting with the other customers.
She leaned forward and gestured for him to do the same. Their heads were nearly touching when she finally spoke.
“A resistance is forming,” she whispered. “Di’s made contact with one of their agents. There’s a meeting tonight to stand up our cell. It’s being staged under cover of a dance in the Upper City North. She wants you to meet us there.”
Orion’s heart leaped. A week of Dame E’lath’s indoctrinat
ion had left him feeling defeated and hopeless. Hot determination woke in him at the possibility of doing something — anything — to fight back.
The fierceness of it took him by surprise. He didn’t hesitate before answering.
“When and where?”
She told him.
“I’ll be there. I have leave until tomorrow afternoon, so it won’t arouse suspicion.”
Kay smiled. Orion suddenly found himself intensely aware that her lips were only inches from his. Her fingertips were still touching his palm.
“Good,” she said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
She leaned back slightly. He thought he sensed a hint of reluctance in her movements as she drew her hand back from his.
“And after tonight?” he asked.
“We’ll see. For now at least, she thinks it’s better if the two of you limit your meetings. I’ll be your contact and go-between.”
“You’re in this too, then?”
She looked at him evenly. Her cheeks flushed, and he could see — and feel — the heat of anger in her face.
“Yes. I have my own score to settle with Zomoran and his demons.”
They slowly drew back until they were resting comfortably in their seats.
“Sounds like I’ll be seeing a lot of you, then,” he said.
“Sounds like it,” she agreed.
She lifted her glass. She frowned when she realized it was empty.
“Damn. What time is it?”
“A little before three, I think.”
Her face brightened.
“I have to head back soon,” she said. “But I do have time for another drink first. Join me? We can talk some more. And this round’s on me.”
Orion watched her thoughtfully as she picked up their glasses and headed to the bar. Only a few hours ago he had been sobbing in his shower, feeling that he would never be able to wash the filth of the last week from his mind and soul. Now he felt a renewed sense of purpose. His oath wasn’t hopeless, and he had friends — and allies — in keeping it.
The Defiance of the Light
The festivities were already in full swing by the time Diana and Kay arrived at the dance hall. Orion was waiting for them near the entrance.
Vendors, performers, and citizens in their finest were roaming the streets, all trying to capture — or at least project — a feeling of merriment. Orion noted that some of the displays seemed a bit forced. He couldn’t blame them; indeed, he knew how they felt. Many in the city were desperate to find some cause for joy. Or at least to fake it, for the span of a few hours’ escape.