Sitting alone, a little dour-faced and looking out of place was Cosmo. He was scratching away on a sheet of parchment with stacks of reports piled around him. His white leathers looked freshly cleaned and he held a steaming mug in one hand. A cradle rocked gently beside him with his sleeping son inside.
As Darnuir and Blaine approached, the dark-skinned fairy looked up, seeming pleased by their arrival. “Lord Guardian,” the fairy said in a confident voice, “it is good you have come. There is much we must discuss.”
“Darnuir, this is General Fidelm, commander in chief of all fairy forces.”
The ink-skinned fairy bowed his head towards Darnuir. “It is good to see you again, Darnuir. You really do look the same, apart from the stubble of course.”
“Thank you,” Darnuir said, not sure of what else to say. It was still disconcerting to meet people who must feel like they already knew him. “I presume it is you we have to thank for the timely aid of the fairies near your forest’s borders?” he added, feeling he ought to say something further.
“If only we could have done more,” Fidelm said. “Yet mustering my warriors is taking a deal of time.” The dark-skinned fairy picked up a sheet of parchment from the table and passed it to Blaine. “From someone named Raymond.”
Blaine scanned the message, frowned, then handed it to Darnuir. “We should discuss the urgency of this,” Blaine said. “Read the letter. Then we can briefly talk over our options.”
Darnuir unfolded the sheet.
‘My Lord Dragons, I write to you regarding the situation at Inverdorn, a city now gripped in the throes of siege. I have secured passage out on one of the last barges but there is now no way in or out via land. The demons arrived two days ago, led by a figure in full plate armour, the colour of blood. It is surely no demon or spectre and I suspect more human treachery is to blame. Although the ship routes of the loch remain open for now, most traffic has ceased. The city is well-stocked and has high walls but was not built for such an attack. Were it not for a healthy contingent of your own kind here, I imagine the city would have descended into panic already. I estimate around two to three thousand dragons are here, trapped on their way to Val’tarra. Added together with the city guard and hunters from the Crescent, I’d put the defence force at around five thousand. Yet all accounts place the demons at forty thousand strong. I trust you find this intelligence of use. I pray that a relief force can be sent from Brevia with all haste, but I fear the city will fall soon. I have given this message into the hands of one bargeman, Grenn, who is sailing north along the Dorian. He is a jumpy fellow, particularly around a certain collection of barrels he has on board. I can only hope these words find their way into your hands. Humbly and faithfully, Raymond, son of Jasper, of House Tarquill.’
Darnuir placed the letter back down on the table. “Well, at least we know where the demons are – Inverdorn.” He was about to follow Blaine to the fairy general’s side when he heard Cosmo perk up from his chair.
“If I may, Darnuir,” he said through a mouthful of his steaming drink, “can I have a word?”
Blaine looked disapproving again but Darnuir waved him off. “Go on, Blaine, I’m sure you can manage without me.” He knew he ought to partake in whatever strategizing the pair would mull over but Darnuir had not seen Cosmo since their short but fierce fight at the edge of Val’tarra. He hoped they could make amends.
Blaine and Fidelm moved off to one of the larger tables with the maps and army pieces on it, leaving Darnuir and Cosmo alone.
“Darnuir,” Cosmo began, “I want to apologise for how I reacted before. It was out of all proportion. I can only blame the fatigue.”
“Thank you,” Darnuir said. “And I am sorry for putting you on the spot like that. Have you given it any more thought?”
Cosmo’s expression darkened. “Just because I am saying sorry, does not mean I have changed my mind.”
“Then why are you here?” Darnuir asked.
“Am I not allowed?” Cosmo asked. “I’ve found sleep to be difficult lately. Besides, this young man wasn’t in much of a sleeping mood either.” He gently rocked the cradle of his son. “So I thought I’d try and make myself useful. Fidelm suggested I compile a full report on the hunters.”
“I couldn’t sleep either,” Darnuir said.
“Pressure getting to you?” Cosmo said.
“I doubt I’ve even felt a fraction of it yet,” Darnuir said. “But maybe it is.”
“I’d be concerned if it wasn’t,” said Cosmo, taking another sip at his mug. “Hmmm, very good this. They call it shimmer brew; it’s like needle brew but much purer. Ground up from those silver leaves I’m told. Keeps you going.”
“Why do you need to keep going?” Darnuir asked. “You should be resting. The fairies are taking good care of us.”
Cosmo shrugged. “It’s not in my nature to sit idle and I have been idle enough of late.” A brief silence passed. It did not feel awkward but Darnuir felt that too much had happened in too short a space of time to make conversation easy. I wish things were different. I could use the old Cosmo again.
“Well, if that is all,” Darnuir said, attempting to re-join Blaine and Fidelm.
“Did you ask Raymond to stay in touch?” Cosmo asked.
“No,” Darnuir said. “But it is him for sure. No one else could ever match his turn of phrase.”
“Pass it over,” Cosmo said. “Fidelm felt it was inappropriate for my eyes.”
“That would not be an issue if you were Captain of our hunter forces,” Darnuir said pointedly. “Now he would require access to such communication.” Cosmo’s expression soured.
“Just give me the damn letter,” he said, hiding his face behind his mug as he took another sip. Darnuir snatched up the letter and handed it to Cosmo, who scanned over the words attentively. “Now imagine a city full of people like that,” Cosmo chuckled from his chair. “And that about sums up the capital. They hide behind glib tongues.”
“You are hardly rough-spoken,” Darnuir said. “City life has left its mark on you.”
Cosmo tapped his fingers off the table and screwed his face up in thought. “I can’t help who I am or where I come from but far worse things have marked me now.” Once more, he gently rocked his son’s cradle. “Perhaps I should stop running.”
“If we’ve learnt anything recently, it is that even a dragon cannot run forever,” Darnuir said. He was conscious not to press too hard on Cosmo. He seemed to be coming back to the world, though Darnuir suspected that Grace’s death was like an injured limb and would only worsen if he were dragged back to normality too hastily. Yet Raymond’s letter suggested that they would have little time to lick their wounds. “We cannot stay here for long, can we?”
“Not unless we want Inverdorn to burn,” Cosmo said.
“Forty thousand…”Darnuir said in a wavering voice. Castallan’s army had proven swift and powerful. Their own forces were scattered and disunited. Darnuir always considered he would fight in a war, he had just never expected to be leading it. “Do we have a better grasp of our own strength yet?” he asked hopefully.
“We won’t know the exact picture until General Fidelm gives us an estimate on how many fairy warriors he can muster.”
“And what of the dragons?” Darnuir asked. Blaine had brought most of the dragons, who had already assembled in the forest to Torridon, but more had arrived after his departure and more were arriving all the time.
“Why do you assume I know?” Cosmo said. “I’m just a lowly hunter to everyone else, Darnuir. The better question is: why don’t you know?”
“Blaine has been taking care of things so far,” Darnuir said.
“Are you not the King?” Cosmo asked. “I didn’t know dragons deferred to anyone else. That’s why they went into hiding for all those years.”
“Blaine says we are equals, of a sort,” Darnuir said.
“Hmmmm,” Cosmo mused with misgiving, “I would be careful around him. As far as I was conce
rned, the Guardian was a thing of the past, of legend even. Now he just appears, apparently out of nowhere and takes control? It doesn’t feel right to me.”
“I’m just grateful for his help,” Darnuir said. “Yet even now, with my minimum involvement, I still feel overwhelmed.” He sighed heavily. “I know I am pushing you into a position you don’t want, Cosmo, but I’d like you to stay close as this unravels. It’s a selfish reason, though I do believe you are the best man for the job. Scythe, Edwin and this other Captain Morwen are all dead. Frankly, there is no one else, and one strong captain will make more sense now than three.” Cosmo smiled warmly at him. It had been a long time since Darnuir had seen that.
“You are doing well enough, I think,” Cosmo said, avoiding answering Darnuir’s unasked question.
“I have done little in truth,” Darnuir said.
“You have got us this far.”
“So you think I made the right decision?”
“Well I would not be alive if you had not made the dragons drag us halfway across the kingdom,” said Cosmo. “It might make me biased but, yes, you made the right choice.”
“Blaine doesn’t feel the same way,” Darnuir said.
Cosmo shook his head. “Blaine doesn’t seem to weigh human life equally to a dragon’s; however, it is behaviour like that that has fractured our people’s relationship over the centuries. You know what they say about the merging of humanity into the Three Races?”
Darnuir did, it was a well-worn phrase. “Bodies, bought and bled for dragon wars,” he recited.
“It’s what many believe,” Cosmo said. “They think humanity was forced into the alliance, only to be sent to die against the Black Dragons, and there is resentment over it to this day. But you have a chance to change that.”
“And you’ll help me?”
“I will always be there to help you, Darnuir, in one way or another,” Cosmo said affectionately. “You know I’ve never really wanted power, of any kind, but a lot of that is merely having it for its own sake. I’ve seen what it can do to people and I never saw the point in becoming captain just because it was expected of me, or because it was the ‘natural’ thing to do. I could do all I wanted as a regular hunter but having some purpose behind that power, well, I wouldn’t feel so bad in helping you make a better world. Bringing dragons and humans closer together, to undo some of that animosity, I think that would be a very good purpose.” He tickled his son’s cheek. “I reckon I owe it to him to try.”
The baby gargled loudly from his crib, as though in agreement. Darnuir moved closer and looked down into those oversized infant eyes, bright and green.
“Cosmo,” Darnuir began hesitantly, hoping not to shatter the fresh reconciliation. “He will need a name eventually. Why the wait?”
Cosmo raised one eyebrow and smirked at him. “Probably for the same reasons you haven’t told Balack about Eve.”
Darnuir’s breath stuck in his throat in horror. She was too close. “W-what?” he stammered foolishly.
Cosmo continued as though Darnuir had not reacted. “I have not done it because it would be too painful to do so; to do it without Grace and admit that she is truly gone. More importantly, I simply have not decided upon a name. Though, just as he will need a name, you will have to confront Balack at some point.”
“How did you—”
“I guessed,” Cosmo said. “I saw the two of you leave the festivities that night and I noticed how you have been avoiding him ever since.” Darnuir just stood there, rooted in his shame; like a young child being chastised, having been caught red-handed at some misdemeanour. Only this crime was far worse than any childish insolence. He had not broken a piece of furniture whilst play-fighting, or been light-fingered with the alderberry pie. Rather, he had fractured his relationship with his closest friend. And he had done it in the worst possible way.
“He doesn’t suspect a thing, Cosmo,” Darnuir said meekly. “How did you find out? I thought no one knew what happened. Other than Eve and I, of course.”
The hunter just gave another little shake of his head. “I watched over the three of you for your whole lives. I saw plainly that Balack was in love with Eve; you don’t think I could work out where Eve’s affections lay? Neither were particularly hard to spot.”
“What good will come of telling him, Cosmo?” Darnuir asked. “I already feel the crack between us. Back in the marshes, he thanked me for being loyal to him, and I did not tell him the truth then. If I tell him now, that crack I feel will only break into a fissure that we can’t cross.”
“I think he knows deep down,” Cosmo said. “But he isn’t willing to confront it and I doubt he ever will. He never told Eve how he felt, after all. Yet letting him maintain whatever delusion he has created for himself is not a kindness, Darnuir.”
“But, if he is happier like this…”
“It is not a question of happiness, but of right and wrong,” Cosmo snapped. “If you really want to build bridges between humanity and dragons, you must begin with this small step. Right this wrong.”
“I can’t undo it,” Darnuir said. What does he want from me?
“No, you cannot, but you can admit your error and learn from it,” Cosmo said. “Learn that just because you can do something, does not mean you should.”
“He’ll hate me,” Darnuir said.
“He’ll never forgive you if you do not tell him, and doubtless, it will reach him somehow.”
“Are you threatening to tell him?”
“No,” Cosmo assured him. “I would not do that to you. But do you not wrestle with it, Darnuir? Does it not trouble you?”
“I’ve hated that it happened ever since it did,” Darnuir said. She was too close.
“Then do it for your own sake, if nothing else,” Cosmo urged him. “You are a dragon. You might live for another century and you will have burdens beyond measure on you. By then Balack, myself and everyone you’ve ever known will be ground to dust. Will you still have the ghost of Eve haunt you then?”
Darnuir groaned softly and his heart beat with the fear of the confronting Balack. He was resisting but he knew Cosmo had the right of it.
“I’ve been running my whole life, Darnuir,” Cosmo continued, “and, strangely, it has gotten me nowhere. Only back to confronting the thing I flew from in the first place. Face your own demon now.”
A crashing noise broke the solemnity of their conversion. Darnuir whipped his head up to the source of the commotion. Blaine’s fist lay clenched on the map and many of the wooden carvings lay scattered. Dozens of healers stopped in their search of bread and water to get a better glimpse of what was happening.
“Move along,” Fidelm called out to them.
“I should go,” Darnuir said.
“Think on what I said,” Cosmo told him.
“If you promise to think on my request as well?” Darnuir asked. Cosmo gave a noncommittal, silent nod then returned to his report.
Darnuir sidled over to Blaine’s table. “Nothing is too amiss I hope?”
“Blaine was expressing his frustration that it will take at least three weeks before my warriors are ready,” Fidelm said. “Meaning that—”
“Meaning we will likely lose Inverdorn,” Blaine said bitterly. Darnuir was surprised. Inverdorn was a human city, why would Blaine care? The dragons, he realised. There were thousands trapped there.
“How long can the city hold?” Darnuir asked. “Could we lift the siege?”
“With only ten thousand of us, it would be a risk,” Blaine said.
“More of your people are still coming,” Fidelm said. “My flyers report dragons are still trickling into Val’tarra.”
“Trickling is the exact word,” Blaine said angrily. “Too many have brought their families with them. It is slowing them down.”
“Can you blame them?” Darnuir asked.
“Speed would have been our advantage,” Blaine said. “If all dragons had come as I expected then we could crush this army of Casta
llan’s.”
“In the Boreacs, we faced terrible odds and still won,” Darnuir said. “Surely ten thousand dragons could defeat this army?”
“We’re rusty,” Blaine said. “I don’t like admitting it but it’s true. A hundred years ago, there would have been no issue. But now… now we’ve been amongst humans for too long. It has made us soft and sluggish.”
Darnuir let Blaine seethe quietly over the map and turned to Fidelm, who was a head taller than himself. “General, why will it take so long for your men to assemble?” Like the Prefect had done back at the forest’s edge, Fidelm looked to Blaine to check that Darnuir had really asked such an obvious question.
I am not the dragon I once was, people need to keep that in mind. It struck him that he had just referred to himself as a dragon for the first time without consciously doing it.
“My King is not as familiar with your people as he once was, Fidelm,” Blaine said.
“Of course,” Fidelm said. “My kind do not live statically, Darnuir. Other than the Argent Tree, there is no permanent area of Val’tarra that we inhabit. Our people prefer to travel around our vast forest, never impacting upon an area for too long. This makes sending word around all our kind difficult, and also means we have no sure way of knowing where the bulk of our warriors will be at any given time.”
“So three weeks is still only an estimate?” Darnuir said.
“At best,” Blaine said. The Guardian seemed to rally himself, standing up and regaining his usual commanding air. “Fidelm, we shall have to go over this later. There are important matters I wish to discuss with Darnuir now.”
Darnuir tried to mouth an apology to the Fairy General as Blaine swept passed them, grabbing him by the arm as he did so. He caught a look of amusement on Cosmo’s face as he wrestled free from Blaine’s grip. The Guardian marched swiftly on out of the tent. Darnuir followed him onto the grassy road and saw him stalking towards the Argent Tree.
The Dragon's Blade: The Reborn King Page 32