Secret of the Dragon

by Margaret Weis

  “Only without the bloodstains,” said Zahakis dryly.

  Skylan wore a fur-trimmed leather tunic that left his arms bare, tight leather breeches, and leather boots lined with fur. He was told to wear his own chain-mail armor, since the armor for the tournament had been delivered to the arena in preparation for tomorrow’s game, and his own helm.

  Keeper was also going to be in attendance, as team chief. Skylan asked Keeper what would happen at this party. Keeper told him they would be kept in a holding area, then paraded about the dining hall for the amusement of the Southlanders.

  “They make us dress the part. We wear our armor, but you note that they do not let us carry the weapons,” said the ogre. “All for the spectacle.”

  “A man puts on armor to do battle,” Skylan said, scowling. “Not to be gawped at.”

  Keeper shrugged. “You can go before the Empress looking like a peasant or you can go before her looking like a warrior. The choice is yours.”

  Keeper was wearing the traditional leather harness in which ogres carried their weapons, leather breeches, boots, and nothing else. Ogres did not wear metal armor. Equip an ogre with a breastplate of a size to cover his massive chest, an equally large chain-mail shirt, metal helm, greaves, bracers, and other accoutrements, and the armor could end up weighing almost as much as the ogre. He would be worn out before he ever reached the field of battle.

  Keeper painted his head and face and he wore an animal skin cape that marked his rank as a godlord. The Legate had given it to him, he said. The cape was made from the skin of a bear, complete with paws that dangled down from Keeper’s neck. He looked fierce and formidable. Skylan took extra care polishing his armor.

  He thought about the other times he had worn his armor, worn it with pride, taking his place in the shield wall, facing an ogre godlord alone in single combat. He wore it with the idea of making Torval proud. Now Skylan hoped that Torval was off fighting somewhere and would not be witness to his shame.

  They left before sunset, the Legate and his party forming a small procession. Acronis rode to the palace on his horse. Chloe was carried in a contraption the likes of which Skylan had never seen—a couch covered by a canopy mounted on two long poles. Once she was settled inside, four strong house-slaves lifted the couch, settling the poles on their shoulders. Curtains hung from the canopy to protect Chloe’s modesty. Wellborn women did not permit strangers to gawp at them.

  Chloe disliked the curtains, complaining that they were hot and suffocating and prevented her from seeing anything. Her father insisted she keep them closed, however, and Chloe ostensibly did as she was told, though Skylan saw as he took his place in the procession that she opened them a crack and peeped out at the people as they passed. Her maidservant, Rosa, scurried alongside the litter.

  Skylan and Keeper walked behind Acronis. Zahakis and six soldiers followed behind them. People stopped to watch and applaud. The Para Dix was popular with the citizenry, and Para Dix players were highly respected. Several shouted to Keeper, whom they recognized, yelling encouragement or jokingly asking if they should place money on his team.

  At the palace walls, Acronis and Chloe entered one gate, Skylan and Keeper and the soldiers another. The soldiers took Skylan and Keeper to an area behind the palace, which Keeper said was where the Empress’s team trained. The arena was ablaze with torchlight. A fire burned in the pit. There was roast pig and fresh baked bread, olives and cheese and apples. Each of the players was given wine (only a cup per man and that was watered down). Guards surrounded the arena, but they were relaxed and at ease. Many spent the time chatting with the slaves they were supposed to be guarding.

  Some of the men were free men who had chosen to play in the Para Dix. Many were slaves, like Skylan. Or rather, they were slaves like Keeper. They had grown comfortable, even come to enjoy their captivity. They were given good food, treated well, cheered by the masses. Skylan stared at the well-fed slaves in their shining armor and he wondered, with a qualm of cold fear in his belly, if this would be him in a year. Would he grow complacent? At ease? Would he come to enjoy having someone telling him what to do, what not to do? Skylan shuddered.

  The evening for him was a long stretch of boredom, waiting with the other players in the arena until they were formed into a line, marched to the palace, and paraded in front of the Empress. Skylan was aware of a blaze of light, the cloying smell of perfume, men and women reclining on couches, twittering flute music that was drowned out by loud, drunken voices. Most of the players were herded into the room and herded out again. Some of the more famous players, those whose skill in the Para Dix had earned them fame and in some cases fortune, were invited to stay.

  No one paid any attention to Skylan except Chloe. He saw her waving to him from where she lay on her couch. The excitement had brought some color into her pale face. Her eyes were shining; she was having a wonderful time. Skylan recalled his talk with Zahakis about Chloe, the fact that she was dying.

  Skylan remembered vividly the fear of death he experienced every time he took his place in the shield wall—a fear he could never quite overcome, though he told himself repeatedly that when he died, he would be where he longed to be—with Torval. Skylan tried to imagine living with the knowledge day in and day out that death was only days away. Of going to sleep with that fear every night. He smiled at Chloe and stood a little straighter. He was glad he had polished his armor.

  Back in the arena, the players talked about the Para Dix or went to sleep or started gambling. Skylan settled down next to Keeper. He nudged the ogre, who was napping. Keeper belched loudly and opened his eyes.

  “Did you talk to your people?” Skylan asked. “About the invasion.”

  “Keep your voice down,” Keeper grunted.

  Skylan glanced around. “No one’s paying any attention.” Still, he moved closer to the ogre and spoke in an undertone. “Well, did you?”

  “I talked to some,” said Keeper, keeping his eyes on the other players. “Meeting together is dangerous. We tend to stand out in a crowd.”

  Skylan pictured a group of ogres chatting together on a street corner in Sinaria, and he nodded in understanding.

  “None of my fellows had heard anything about it.” Keeper shook his head gloomily. “They did not believe me.”

  “Acronis told Zahakis the news was being kept secret so as not to start a panic. You believe it, don’t you?”

  Keeper shrugged. “I tried escaping once. A friend and I made plans. We found a boat. It turned out to be a trap. I managed to get away. My friend dove in the water. Ogres are not such great swimmers. He drowned.”

  “I’m sorry, but what does that have to do with the invasion?” Skylan asked impatiently.

  “I was excited when you told me the news, but then I thought it over. I’m not sure I do believe it. It’s too good to be true.”

  Skylan was about to say that Wulfe had told him the same thing, but he remembered in time that Wulfe had his news from his friends the Oceanids. The thought of the boy, who was still missing, gave Skylan a pang.

  He sighed and said in a low voice, “I believe it. I have to believe it!”

  Keeper eyed Skylan. “You know that if my people do invade Sinaria, you will be just another pisspot human to them. They’ll kill you same as the rest of these whoresons.”

  “They can try to kill me,” said Skylan grimly. “And at least then I’d die fighting.”

  Keeper yawned and belched again. He’d eaten three times as much roast pork as Skylan. “If the invasion happens, wake me,” he said, and laid back down.

  Time passed slowly and Skylan eventually fell asleep. He was awakened by a stir and bustle. The party was breaking up, time to go home. One of the Legate’s soldiers came to fetch him and Keeper. They joined Acronis in front of the palace walls outside the gate. He was carrying a slumbering Chloe in his arms. He placed her gently in the waiting litter.

  “She fell asleep right after the parade of champions,” Acronis was telling Za
hakis, who was holding aside the curtains of the litter. “I was going to leave early. You know how I despise these feasts. But Xydis insisted on talking to me. Nothing would do but that we had to speak in private. He hauled me out of the hall and off to some secluded room.”

  Acronis tenderly drew a silken coverlet up over Chloe’s shoulders.

  “What did the Priest-General want?” Zahakis asked.

  Acronis glanced around. One of the soldiers was bringing his horse from the stables. The others were holding blazing torches, preparing to light the way back to the villa. Skylan and Keeper happened to be standing on the opposite side of the litter. The curtains blocked Acronis’s view of them. Skylan raised his finger to his lips, warning Keeper to be silent.

  “He wanted to talk about the ogre invasion. He has word that the ogre fleet made landfall at Argon and spent three days there hunting for food and taking on water. Then they set sail again, heading this direction.”

  “Argon,” said Zahakis, considering. “That’s forty days sailing with a good wind. What does Xydis plan to do?”

  “Pray to Aelon for a bad wind,” said Acronis dryly. “Xydis told me about the defenses he’s planning for the city. Adequate, so far as they go, though it is going to take every one of those forty days to get the job done and they have yet to start! He wants me to block the entrance to the harbor with two war galleys when the ogres are sighted. I almost laughed in his face. Two triremes facing a fleet of over a hundred ships! The man is mad.”

  “How did he take your refusal?”

  “He took it well,” said Acronis, marveling. “I thought he would be furious, but he admitted that he did not understand naval tactics, said the decision was mine, and so on. He asked me for proposals on how the triremes could be used. He asked my opinion on his plans for the city. He was friendly to the point I couldn’t get away. Whenever I tried to leave, he insisted on detaining me to continue our discussion.”

  Zahakis shook his head. “He’s up to something.”

  “Oh, yes,” said Acronis. “I just can’t figure out what.”

  “Perhaps this ogre threat is a lie.”

  “To what end? No, he’s telling the truth about the ogre invasion. He wouldn’t be spending the Church’s gold on building walls and so forth if he didn’t think it was real.”

  Zahakis muttered something, then said, “What will you do, sir?”

  “First I must make arrangements for Chloe to travel far inland to our country estate. She will be safe there. Then I suppose it will be up to me to find some way to defend the city. I don’t plan to put my trust in Aelon . . .”

  The two walked off and Skylan could hear no more. He really didn’t need to hear anymore. He looked triumphantly at Keeper.

  “What do you say now?”

  “About what?” Keeper asked.

  “About what we just heard! About the invasion!”

  The ogre shrugged. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

  He walked off to take his place behind Acronis, who was mounting his horse. He raised his hand and the small procession moved out, moving slowly and quietly so as not to wake Chloe.

  CHAPTER

  16

  * * *

  BOOK TWO

  The night was dark. The new moon gave only a feeble light. A thin layer of clouds obscured the stars. The guards were watchful and alert as the procession moved through the empty streets. No light shone anywhere. The taverns had closed for the night. The glare from Aelon’s dome illuminated the rooftops of the buildings but did not descend to street level. Delivery wagons would not be making their rounds until closer to dawn.

  The silence was thick and oppressive, and when it was broken by the sudden, screeching yowls of two tomcats doing battle in an alley, the men jumped and Rosa stuffed her hand in her mouth to stifle a shriek that might have awakened her mistress.

  They could travel only as fast as the litter-bearers could walk the streets, and they went slowly and cautiously. The streets were paved with large, fitted stones laid over a layer of rock, and although the roads were kept in good condition, sometimes a stone would crack or shift, causing the unwary pedestrian to stumble. No slave wanted to bring down the wrath of Acronis by tripping and dropping Chloe’s litter.

  They were deep in the heart of the city when Skylan became aware that they were being followed. He hadn’t been certain at first. It was hard to hear the sounds of running feet over the tromp of the soldiers, the jingling and clanking of their armor, and the horses’ hooves ringing on the stone. He’d first heard the sounds soon after they left the palace, and though the feet stopped sometimes, they always kept coming.

  Skylan looked around to see if anyone else had heard. Acronis was riding with his head bowed, deep in thought, probably mulling over the news from the Priest-General and wondering how he could defend a city that, in Skylan’s view, was indefensible. Keeper plodded along at the horse’s side, shaking his head groggily, trying to stay awake. Ogres required a lot of sleep and he was not used to staying up late. Neither Zahakis nor the soldiers gave any sign that they noticed anything out of the ordinary.

  Skylan continued to hear the footfalls, and he began to keep a lookout, hoping to catch sight of this person who was taking such an interest in them. Skylan was more curious than concerned. A single person would hardly attack well-armed, well-trained soldiers.

  He heard the footfalls coming from side streets, moving parallel to them. The times he couldn’t hear them, he came to realize the person was taking a circuitous route or circling around a building, yet always coming back to find them again.

  The procession was coming up on the intersection of two major thoroughfares. Both streets were wide and Skylan calculated the person dogging their steps would have to move out into the open. He watched closely, hoping their pursuer would be near enough to be seen in the torchlight.

  To Skylan’s surprise, the person not only drew near; he jumped deliberately into the torchlight, becoming a head of shaggy hair, a thin body, eyes that flared yellow-red, and a frantically waving hand.

  “Wulfe!” Skylan cried, and ran after him.

  Seeing Skylan suddenly flee into the night, Zahakis shouted orders. He left two men with the litter while he and two other soldiers dashed after Skylan. Acronis reined in his horse and shook his head over the young firebrand, who was apparently making a bid for freedom. The slaves bearing the litter came to a halt that jolted the occupant. Chloe woke up with a start. She was confused, with no idea where she was. She called for Rosa, who was too terrified to answer.

  Skylan had a jump on the soldiers and he reached Wulfe before Zahakis managed to reach him. Skylan didn’t know whether to hug the boy or punch him for having caused him so much worry. Before he could do either, Wulfe grabbed hold of Skylan’s arm with pinching fingers.

  “They’re coming for you!” Wulfe cried shrilly. “They’re coming!”

  Skylan was opening his mouth to ask who was coming when he saw.

  Wolves, the largest wolves he’d ever seen—the size of mountain lions. And these wolves were not only the largest, they were the strangest and most terrifying. Their fur was dark, blending in with the shadows. Their eyes burned with a fiery yellow-red glow that lit the alley. Their tongues lolled, their fangs gleamed. Saliva flew from their mouths. The wolves were grinning with the joy of the hunt.

  Skylan caught hold of Wulfe around the waist and turned and almost ran headlong into Zahakis and the two soldiers. Due to a slight curve in the road, they could not see what was coming.

  The soldiers latched hold of Skylan.

  “Look behind me, you fools!” he cried.

  The wolves bounded into sight and the soldiers, startled, let go of Skylan, who kept on running.

  Sighting prey, the wolves began to growl and bark, one to another, almost as if issuing orders.

  “Don’t run,” said Zahakis to his men. “Use your torches.”

  The wolves were on them now. Zahakis and the soldiers lowered the torche
s and thrust the flaming brands at the wolves in the lead, thinking to use the fire to frighten them, drive them back.

  Ignoring the flaring torch, the lead wolf leaped at Zahakis and knocked him flat on his back. Zahakis cried out and struck at the wolf. His men tried to help him, shouting at the wolves and waving the torches. More wolves emerged from the shadows. The soldiers guarding the litter drew their swords and ran to the aid of their fallen comrades. The lead wolf bounded off Zahakis and kept running. The other wolves circled around the soldiers to follow the pack leader.

  “Skylan, listen—” Wulfe cried, squirming in his grasp.

  “Shut up,” said Skylan.

  He ran to the litter with Wulfe tucked under his arm. Flinging the curtains open, Skylan dumped the boy inside. Chloe was wide awake, more startled than afraid. Wulfe kept yammering about “man-beasts.”

  “No time!” said Skylan sharply, and he yanked the curtains shut, not so much as to protect the youngsters, for the silken fabric would hardly do that, but to prevent both of them from witnessing what he feared was going to be a gruesome and deadly confrontation.

  He confronted the litter-bearers, who were standing stock-still, staring in terror.

  “Get moving, you fools!” Skylan shouted at the slaves. He waved his hands. “Go! Now! Fast as you can.”

  The slaves obeyed him, but not as he expected. They dropped the litter to the ground and fled.

  Skylan cursed them for cowards, even as the thought came to him that he could use this opportunity to make a dash for his own freedom. He spent one brief second considering the notion and then sneered at himself. He had finally found Wulfe and was not going to lose the boy again, and he was not about to leave a crippled girl to be torn apart by wolves.

  “A weapon, I need a goddam weapon!” Skylan called out.