Dragon Blessed (The Dragonwalker Book 2)

by D. K. Holmberg

  Would they have brought Indra through here?

  There was no questioning that he had felt the power of a fire mage pushing on him, and as he thought about it, he still did. The effect was lessened, almost as if his efforts to slice through the spell with his dagger had been somewhat successful.

  And if he did find Indra, what next?

  Somehow, it would involve him confronting Elizabeth, and Fes didn’t think that he wanted to do that because regardless of what Azithan said about her, she was skilled and dangerous. She had already confined him once and nearly killed him. He wouldn’t put it past her to succeed a second time.

  And what of Carter?

  She had brought him out on this journey, and it was her fault that he was here to begin with, so he knew that she was a willing participant, but there had been a bit of reluctance to her when Fes had seen her last. Could she have changed her mind about working with Elizabeth?

  “You were headed this direction. What else is here?” Fes asked.

  “Nothing. A place to rest before heading north toward the dragon plains. Nothing more.”

  “There has to be something more. They would have a reason for being here.”

  “There’s a crossing over the bridge north of the city, but it’s heavily guarded.”

  Fes groaned. That was it. “A crossing into Toulen?”

  She nodded.

  “That’s why they’re here, then.” But if he felt the pressure from the fire magic, it meant they were still here.

  Why?

  “Do you still feel the barrier there?” Fes asked.

  Jayell closed her eyes, and when she did, there was a soft buildup of heat from her. It focused through a necklace that he hadn’t paid much attention to. Now that he felt it, he studied the jewelry and realized that it had to be a fragment of dragon bone. That was what she used to focus.

  The heat eased and her eyes opened.

  “It’s still there, but it’s not quite as potent as it had been.”

  That was Fes’s feeling, too. Whatever it was that the fire mage—whether it was Elizabeth or someone else—was doing, it had eased off. Did that mean that Elizabeth was not as close by as he had thought her to be? Or could the effort of staying within the city have diluted her power in some way?

  Fes rode toward the city, keeping his focus on whether or not there would be any other movement. He wasn’t sure what he might come across, but now that they were close to a city, he knew that he needed to be careful. And if the fire mage was here, maybe there would be enough distraction that Fes could figure out what she might be after.

  As they descended into the city, he looked around and started to tense. He glanced over at Jayell and saw her doing the same.

  “Why are there so many of the emperor's guard here?” she asked.

  Fes shook his head. He couldn’t take his eyes off them. There had to have been a dozen or more soldiers already present in the city. All were wearing the crimson and gold, and all were armed with swords or bows. The people of the city, those not dressed in the emperor's colors, seemed to ignore them. Almost as if they made a point of ignoring them.

  And then Fes saw a face he recognized.

  He turned the horses away, trying to veer down a side street, but he wasn’t quick enough.

  Why would Captain Jaken be here?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jayell gave Fes a sharp glance. “What is it?” she asked as they headed down a narrow street. The storefronts on either side of them marked off simple shops, things such as a metalsmith or wax maker. None of the shops were open, which made it difficult to consider disappearing inside one of them.

  “I recognized one of the soldiers,” he said.

  “A soldier? I thought that you were a collector.”

  She said the word with an edge to it, and he wondered if she had nearly called him a scavenger. Could she know how much he hated that word?

  “I am a collector, but before I left, I was summoned before the emperor. The man I saw back there is one of his high-ranking Dragon Guards.”

  He glanced over his shoulder, but there was no movement at the end of the street, not yet.

  Fes kicked the horse to go faster and felt as if the sound of the horse's hooves on the stones was far too loud. Loud enough that it would give away their location. There was no getting around that. No getting around the fact that he and Jayell might have been spotted, and if Captain Jaken brought his troops to bear on Fes, what could he do?

  Nothing.

  And yet, if Jaken was here, what did that mean?

  Could Azithan be here?

  Fes had thought that the heat he was detecting wasn’t from Azithan and that it was from another fire mage, but if Captain Jaken was here, that meant that the emperor had sent soldiers he trusted out of the city.

  “I don’t think we should move so quickly through the city,” Jayell said.

  “I don’t know that we have much choice,” Fes said. “If he catches us…”

  He wasn’t sure what would happen if Jaken were to catch them. Maybe nothing. Maybe he only wanted to ensure that Fes completed his task, but perhaps the emperor had sent him to collect Fes.

  And Azithan had been with some of the emperor's men. Could the emperor have discovered that Fes had slaughtered them?

  If he had, it wouldn’t be surprising for the emperor to send soldiers after him.

  They turned a corner, and he came face to face with a pair of Dragon Guards.

  The men studied him, and one of them brought his bow up, reaching for an arrow.

  Fes didn’t wait. He launched himself from the saddle, landing in a roll. He unsheathed his daggers and slammed the hilt of one of them into the archer and exploded upward, slamming his shoulder into the stomach of the other, who was reaching for his sword.

  Both men crumpled.

  He looked up at Jayell. “We need to get moving.”

  “They might not have been after you before,” she said.

  “It’s possible,” Fes said. And if they hadn’t been before, now that he had attacked these soldiers, it was likely that they would be after him now. Which meant that he needed to move and do so quickly.

  Where could they go?

  They needed to either get out of the city—and if they did, they would have to ride quickly to escape the notice of the soldiers—or they would have to hide.

  Hiding in the city was less desirable, but what choice did they have? Only, if they were hiding, there was no way that he would be able to search for Indra and Carter.

  Where could they go?

  “How do you think they recognized us?”

  As Fes was climbing into the saddle of his horse, he frowned. “Probably the horses,” he said. He hadn’t considered that before, but the horses were empire mounts. He glanced back and saw branding along the left flank.

  He should have considered that before, as it marked them as either working for the emperor or having stolen from him.

  “Dragon flame!” Jayell said softly.

  Fes smiled to himself. It was the first time he’d heard her swear, and there was something about the way that she did that he found amusing. “Come on,” he said, prompting them to hurry.

  They continued through the streets, weaving through each intersection, heading deeper into the city. Idaris wasn’t a large city, but large enough that they could get lost in it, and he rode quickly, trying to get someplace where they could stable the horses—hopefully with others so theirs would go unnoticed—and sit for a while.

  “Where do you want us to go?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe—”

  Fes heard the sound of music down the street. A tavern. It was as good a place to hide as any. He would have been happier finding a baker or someplace else that they could go to conceal themselves, but a tavern would do.

  And maybe they could find a place to stay for the night.

  They might need to if they were to hide from the soldiers. If they found a room, they c
ould either wait out the occupation of the city or they could sneak off overnight. In the darkness, it would be easier to escape soldiers, and he would be less likely to be noticed riding a stolen horse of the empire.

  When they reached the tavern, Fes noticed soldiers moving at the opposite end of the street. They didn’t notice them. At least, not yet. He rode around back, where a narrow paddock held a couple other horses, and he led theirs inside. It wasn’t enclosed as much as he would’ve liked, but it was better than nothing.

  He grabbed Jayell’s hand and guided her to the entrance of the tavern.

  When he stepped inside, he swore under his breath. There had to be ten soldiers in here. Most of them sat at one end of the room, occupying a long table near the musician. There were others inside, likely locals, and a few of them glanced up when he entered. He could see from frustration on their faces. They were likely accustomed to having the tavern to themselves, and having it filled with soldiers of the empire meant that they had to be on a different sort of behavior.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Jayell asked.

  Fes breathed out. “It has to be, now. If we turn around, it will garner even more attention.”

  They started into the tavern and took a seat at a table along one wall. As soon as they did, the door opened and another pair of soldiers entered. Were they the same ones that Fes had seen down the street?

  He and Jayell tipped their heads down. Fes stared at the table but tried to keep watch out of the corner of his eye.

  “Fes,” she said.

  He shook his head. “No names.”

  He didn’t know whether the soldiers would recognize his name, but Jaken would. He didn’t want anyone to be aware that he was here because if they somehow were, he might need to fight, but he had no interest in doing so. Fighting would draw more attention.

  Fes turned his attention to the soldiers, trying to listen. Most of them were murmuring quietly and a few were dicing, saying nothing as they played out their rolls. Others were eating, picking at trays of food that didn’t smell terribly appetizing. Some were laughing, but they sat nearest to the minstrel, making it hard for Fes to hear.

  “How long are we going to stay here?” Jayell asked.

  “Hopefully not long,” Fes replied.

  One of the servers appeared from behind the door and brought a couple of mugs of ale to the soldiers’ table. When he was done, he stopped at Fes and Jayell’s table. He studied them for a long moment. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

  Fes tensed. He hazarded a glance at the nearest table of soldiers, wondering if they had overheard. One of his hands drifted to his dagger, preparing for an attack were it necessary.

  “Just passing through,” Fes said.

  “Like them?” The server pointed to the soldiers.

  “Are they just passing through?” Fes asked.

  “From what they tell us, they are. They been here the better part of two days and haven’t left yet, so I’m not entirely sure how long they intend to stay.”

  He said the last little more softly and Fes glanced up at the server, noticing the tension around the corners of his eyes. This was someone who wasn’t all that thrilled with the fact that he had soldiers of the empire filling his tavern.

  Then again, Fes couldn’t blame him. The soldiers of the empire had free rein, and likely caused more trouble than they were worth. How much of his typical business had been lost because of them?

  “It’s not that often that you see so many soldiers in a tavern like this.”

  “It’s not so common that so many soldiers of the empire come all the way out to Idaris.”

  “Why do you think they’re here?”

  The server shook his head. “I’m sure the emperor, in his infinite wisdom, has some great plan. We are honored that they are here.”

  Fes studied him for a moment, trying to determine whether he was making a joke or not. Then again, a man like this was probably trying to protect himself more than anything else.

  “At least the city is safer for their presence.”

  “You would think so.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  The server frowned for a moment. “What can I get you?”

  “We would like some food and room for the night,” Fes said.

  Jayell’s eyes widened.

  “I’m afraid we don’t have any rooms for the night. Soldiers have most of them.”

  “Is there any place that we could stay?”

  “There are other inns nearby. You could try the Dragon’s Breath.”

  “And where is that?”

  “A few streets down. It’s a little different than the Earnest Craw, but I know the owner, and they will treat you well enough.”

  “And are you sure that they don’t have an inn full of soldiers staying there, as well?”

  “I can’t promise, but I suspect that they have a little more space. It’s a larger tavern than this.”

  Fes grabbed for couple coins and set them on the table. The server took them, glancing at them for a moment before slipping them into his pocket. “I’ll bring you out some food.”

  When he was gone, Fes leaned back and sighed. Somehow, they would have to figure out what was taking place in the city, but doing so put them into contact with the soldiers.

  He looked over at Jayell. Jaken might know him, but he wouldn’t know her, would he?

  “I don’t like the way that you’re looking at me.”

  “I don’t mean to look at you in some unpleasant way. It’s just that I’m thinking that we need information, and for us to do so, it might require that you be a part of it.”

  She frowned. “I’m not going to question the soldiers.”

  “I didn’t suggest that you do. If the opportunity presents itself, we take a chance to see what we can learn from them.”

  “And what opportunity is that?”

  “I don’t know. I think that we’ll know it when we see it.”

  The server returned and set two trays down. Both of them had stacks of thinly sliced meat that surprisingly smelled quite delectable. After spending as much time as he had on the road, maybe anything would smell good. The vegetables had a nice crunch to them and he dug in, enjoying the turnips and carrots, taking quick bites of his meat. Within a short period of time, he had finished his food.

  Jayell took longer. She picked at the meat and turned to the vegetables slowly.

  “What is it?” Fes asked.

  “I can’t shake the thought of what happened to Griffin.”

  “We don’t know what happened to Griffin. For all we know, he is being treated well.”

  “Do you really believe that? Knowing who has him, are you sure that we can believe that he is being treated well?”

  “I know that he committed to not hurting him.”

  That had to matter. When it came to Azithan, a promise like that, a commitment to not harm Griffin, mattered. But what did Azithan want with him?

  It had to do with the fact that he was Deshazl, but if that were the case, why would he want Griffin and not Fes? The boy wasn’t even able to speak, and it seemed to Fes that would make him less desirable.

  “I wish that I had the same faith as you.”

  “It’s not that I have any sort of faith,” Fes said. “I’m completely ambivalent when it comes to spirituality.”

  “How can you be ambivalent? You have seen the power of the dragons.”

  “Have I? I’ve seen that the dragon relics have power, but no one has ever worshiped a fire mage.”

  “You might be surprised.”

  “Why is that?”

  “There are places where the fire mages are worshiped.”

  “What?”

  “Do you think that the empire is the only place that has fire mages?”

  Fes frowned. “I thought that the relics were only found in the dragon plains. And that the empire had been responsible for securing them.”

  “Most of the relics were acqu
ired by the empire. That was what happened to them following the destruction of the dragons.”

  She lowered her voice and tried to keep herself from looking up, almost as if afraid to speak too loudly with the soldiers around. If she shared too much, it would reveal her as either a dragon priest or as someone else with knowledge. He understood that she needed to be careful, and he was appreciative of the fact that she recognized the need.

  “According to the stories within the priesthood, following the war and the destruction of the dragons, many of the dragon relics were brought out of the empire, to secure them and save them, keeping them from the empire.”

  “What kind of items were those?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t been any place outside of the empire to learn what else might be kept there.”

  “Could that be why Elizabeth would want somebody from Toulen?”

  He said the name too loudly and realized almost too late. One of the soldiers glanced up and looked his direction. Fes forced a weary smile, trying to make himself as unthreatening as possible. He wasn’t sure that he did a good job at that.

  “I don’t know. It’s possible. For all I know, they seek to acquire all of the remaining relics.”

  “What type of relics were brought out of the empire?”

  Jayell leaned over her tray and took a few bites. “You don’t understand,” she said between bites. “It’s not as if there are great records of that time. Even what we have is difficult to understand. You’re talking about a time that came a thousand years ago.”

  “And even though so long ago,” Fes said, keeping an eye on the soldiers. Had a couple of them shifted in their direction? He couldn’t be certain. Maybe they had, but it was just as likely that they were eating or had moved their chairs so that they could talk more easily. “There is still quite a bit known. Such as how the empire acquired all of the artifacts.”

  “But they didn’t,” Jayell said. “The dragon fields weren’t even accessible for… a long time.”