The Price of Faith

by Rob J. Hayes

  “Such manners,” Drake purred. “No wonder my empress is so taken with you.”

  “Reckon she’s a little more taken with you. At least I’d hope so,” Jez snorted out a laugh but none of the others joined in, they were far too busy being in awe and fear of the dreaded pirate standing behind her. It would take more than Drake Morrass to make Jezzet Vel’urn wet with either.

  “Mind if I join you then?” Drake asked as he sat down.

  “Yes,” Jezzet replied around the dumpling in her mouth, still not sparing the pirate a glance.

  “No, of course not,” Jaeryn spoke over the top of Jez and bowed his head. “It’s an honour to host such a prestigious member of the empress’ court.”

  “Prestigious?” Drake asked with a laugh.

  “Well you are fucking the bitch,” Jez said. “Personally I’d have gone with deceitful or sycophantic.”

  “Not charming?”

  Jezzet just aimed a level stare at Drake. The man was pretty and no mistake, with sharp features, rugged, weather-beaten skin, dark-oak hair and flashing eyes but Jezzet had seen prettier and she’d fucked prettier. She saw Drake Morrass for what he really was and it was anything but attractive.

  “Guess not,” the pirate continued before turning to the rest of the little guard crew. “How about you boys go stand around outside for a while so I can have some one-on-one time with miss Vel’urn. As payment I’ll say the evening’s on me.”

  Lei stood without hesitation but Sal and Jaeryn at least had the courtesy to look to Jez for permission. She favoured them with a genuine smile and nodded, it was well known to be unhealthy to deny one of Drake Morrass’ requests.

  Jezzet picked up something that looked to have once been part of a fish, now wrapped in rice and held together by some culinary trickery, and popped it into her mouth while the others left the room. Drake sat down opposite her. It did not escape her notice he was still very much armed.

  “What d’you want, Drake?” she asked around a mouthful of fishy-rice.

  He smiled at her and for a moment Jezzet thought it might be genuine, then her common sense kicked in. “I want to be your friend, Jezzet Vel’urn.”

  She gave him her very best blank stare and picked up the small bottle of dry, rice wine and, forgoing the use of the tiny, flat cups, took a healthy swig.

  Drake laughed. “Fine. I want to be more than your friend.”

  Well that at least sounded more honest. Jezzet thought while continuing her silent stare.

  Drake picked up one of the other wine bottles, poured a thimble worth of liquid into one of the cups and sipped it.

  “You and me, Jezzet, we’re very similar,” Drake started. Jezzet scoffed but the pirate continued regardless. “Do you really think you’re happy here in this place? When was the last time you fought someone? When was the last time you killed someone?” He fixed her with a dark stare from eyes that seemed to twinkle in the light. “You aren’t meant for such tedium, Jezzet. This inaction doesn’t suit you.” He took another sip then placed the cup back on the low table and leant back on his elbows. “And it doesn’t suit me either.”

  Jezzet took another large swig from the bottle and gulped down the wine, it was stronger than she was used to and she could already feel the alcohol working its way through her system making her both more confident and less capable all at the same time.

  “So what? We’re two peas in a pod?” she asked him in a mocking tone. “Perhaps we should just strip down right here and go at it on the table. Oh sure, it’s probably a social insult to the establishment but so is simply serving a woman so I think we could get away with it.”

  Jez was ready to break the pirate should he actually try anything but Drake made no move, just sat there grinning at the Blademaster.

  “It’s tempting, Jezzet, but I think I’ll have to decline.”

  “It wasn’t meant as…”

  “Besides, I had something far more interesting in mind.”

  Once, Jezzet knew, she would have loved this sort of banter but these days it just frustrated her. “What do you want, Drake?” she asked again, far more seriously this time.

  “Your services,” he said smiling through his stubble. “Your whole little crew’s services as well, I suppose, but mainly yours. I’ll talk to Jaeryn Ito outside but I wanted to ask you first.”

  “What do you want?” Jezzet asked one last time, punctuating each word.

  “I have a shipment of… items coming in five day’s time. Getting them through the city will be more than a little dangerous and I can guarantee at least one attempt to steal the shipment by force.”

  “Why me? Us? Why not your own people?”

  “My people are, hmm, recognisable as my people. I need my name unattached to this little venture…”

  “Your name goes hand-in-hand with greed, corruption, violence, blood and more than a little sodomy. What could possibly be so bad that it would sully your good reputation?”

  Drake winked at her. “Last I checked there was some necrophilia in there too. As for what the shipment is… better you don’t know.”

  “So why…”

  “Because I guarantee a fight,” Drake smiled. “A real fight.”

  Say ‘no’, Jez. Morrass is as slippery as an eel and as dangerous as a shark. Not to mention responsible for even more death than you are.

  “Sure,” she said with a grin that matched the pirate’s, “why not.”

  Jezzet

  “Empress Rei Chiyo,” the attendant shouted out to the court before scurrying away from the balcony as fast as his short legs would take him.

  Such a dramatic entrance every time. I wonder if she’s as bored with it as the rest of us?

  Jez didn’t even bother trying to hide the yawn. More than one of the city magistrates noticed so she decided to compound the insult by stretching out her arms. Even more of the men took notice, some leering openly, others stealing sly glances when they thought no one was watching. Drake Morrass stood on the other side of the hall grinning, his single gold tooth glinting at her.

  When Jezzet had finished with her overt stretching she found most of the magistrates had looked away, either from disgust or just in an attempt to ignore her existence. One of them, a balding man Jez remembered as being called Hideo Rurin had not yet looked away but instead was staring at her with a hungry look on his face, more accurately, he was staring at her breasts. Jez had never been particularly well endowed in the chest area, a fact she was more than happy about, but her current attire made no attempts to hide her breasts and many of the men in Soromo seemed to take that as an invitation to give them the ogling of a lifetime. Jez stared back at Magistrate Rurin and waited for him to notice, when he finally managed to tear his eyes away from her chest and meet her gaze she winked at him. The magistrate went as red as his colouring would allow and quickly decided the floor was more interesting than Jezzet or her breasts.

  Anyone would think they’d never seen a woman before.

  There came the sound of giant, scaled wings beating the air and a rush of wind blew through the gathered court, stirring robes and blowing banners around. Jez’s tabard whipped against her shins and a few strands of hair broke free from their binding and settled over her face. Jezzet thought for just a moment about covering her face with a hand like some of the others but decided against it.

  Let them see you don’t care, Jez. Let them think you don’t fear the giant flying lizard with all those teeth.

  The dragon matriarch touched down heavily on the balcony, its muscled back legs absorbing the impact and its wings folding up quickly so it could fall forwards onto its front legs. The beast roared its own announcement directly into the court room and Jez found herself engulfed by a rotten, reptilian stink. She couldn’t help but crinkle her nose at the smell, an insult if anyone witnessed it but thankfully all eyes were on the dragon in front of them.

  As the dragon lumbered into the hall it swept its gaze over the assembled court. The most powerful
people in all Soromo all bowed their heads and lowered themselves to their knees. The only people in the hall left standing were the Dragon Knights, sworn to protect and exempt from the obeisance, Jezzet and Drake Morrass. The pirate captain winked towards Jezzet, ignoring the giant lizard. She rolled her eyes at him and then looked back towards the dragon only to find it watching her intently.

  Jez couldn’t help but be impressed by the matriarch every time she saw it; half again as big as the male dragons, only one female dragon was hatched each generation and matriarch and empress ruled the empire together.

  On the back of the Dragon Matriarch, in a saddle that seemed to be formed from the beast's own scales, sat the Dragon Empress. Little more than a girl, the current empress, Rei Chiyo was the supreme ruler of the entire empire and even Jez had to admit, the little empress bore the weight of such responsibility easily.

  Benefits of being born to rule, I suppose.

  The Chiyo bloodline, if the historians were to be believed, had never been broken. Being bonded to the dragon matriarch gave the empresses unnatural long life, resistance to illness and the most dangerous bodyguard in the known world.

  The court hall was monstrous in design to accommodate not just the matriarch but a number of smaller dragons each belonging to one of the empire’s Dragon Prince’s. Spacious, Jez decided, would be something of an understatement. A number of giant stone pillars, spaced far apart from each other, held up the roof which consisted of tempered glass, clear enough to allow in the sunlight but strong enough to withstand the pressure of the elements. A number of balconies, each able to land multiple dragons, graced the edges of the hall but none were so big as the matriarch’s landing balcony. In the centre of the hall, upon a slightly raised dais, sat the empress’ throne; a massive construction of worked dragon bone that was big enough to seat four of the current empress. It was said each Dragon Matriarch contributed a single bone to the throne and upon the bone was carved the names and deeds of the empress and her dragon.

  On the dais, in his traditional place next to the throne, knelt the Dragon Herald. The man was almost as imposing as the matriarch in his dragon bone armour. Jez had heard many and more tales of his prowess in battle and the idea of fighting the man sent a thrill through her she couldn’t quite suppress. If it wasn’t for the problem that a duel between the two would end in one of their deaths Jezzet would happily have tested her mettle against the herald.

  Fanning out in front of the throne were widely spaced cushions, one for each attending member of court. It was traditional for all members of the court to kneel in front of the empress and only stand when given express permission to address her directly. Not even the elderly or the crippled were exempt from such tradition and indeed neither were visitors to the court, Jezzet would have to take to her own cushion soon or risk arrest.

  The matriarch stopped behind the dais and lowered its head, the young woman sat atop the beast slipped elegantly and fluidly to the floor. The moment the empress’ sandalled feet touched the carpet of the dais Jezzet saw Drake Morrass kneel upon his cushion. She did not follow his example.

  Shorter than Jezzet and a good deal younger the Dragon Empress was barely more than a girl. The last empress had abdicated as soon as her daughter came of age for reasons unknown, leaving the Dragon Empire in the hands of a child. She had flawless skin, the perfect shade of olive, a slender figure with curves that were still developing, and luxurious dark hair that cascaded down her back, reaching all the way to her arse. The empress had recently taken to wearing a tabard in the same fashion as Jezzet but in a deep crimson colour, the same shade as the scales of her dragon. It showed off more of the little empress’ body than many in the court would have liked and they had not been quiet in their condemnation of Jez for so influencing their empress.

  The empress immediately turned her pale green gaze to Drake Morrass and the barest hint of a smile touched her lips. It was no secret anywhere that the girl had chosen Drake as her lover and it was also no secret that the pirate had actively courted Rei Chiyo’s affection. There was no law against it and so long as she never bore his child her actions would never be openly criticized by the court as to do so would certainly mean the critic’s death.

  The Dragon Empress stopped in front of her throne and let her gaze sweep over all her gathered courtiers. Other than the empress herself, Jez was the only one still standing, she would need to sit before the empress or it would be classed as a grave insult. Just what most of the magistrates want. The empress’ eyes met Jez’s and she gave a slight nod. Jezzet inclined her head in return and took to her cushion mere moments before the empress’ royal arse touched down on her throne.

  It’s a shame you never learned to sleep with your eyes open, Jez. Now would be the perfect time. As was usual for such meetings of the empress and her magistrates the first order of business was to discuss matters of the city and of the empire, none of which concerned Jezzet in the slightest. She tried her best to faze out the inane chatter of the folk who ruled the empire by thinking of other things. Jez had to admit she was impressed by the empress’s fortitude over such matters; at seventeen years of age Jezzet wouldn’t have been able to sit through such boredom.

  Eight years into her training and a good few years into becoming a woman, Jezzet had been as trying to her master as his training was to her. Her body was still changing and along with the physical training she found she was finally putting on some real muscle and she had the overconfidence associated with wild youth to want to put that new muscle to the test. She attempted to match strength with her ageing master at every opportunity which made it all the more frustrating that he refused to allow her any such opportunities. Only half way through her training Yuri outclassed Jezzet in every possible meaning of the word skill. He would feign going in for a test of strength only to twist, turn or parry at the last moment and Jez would find herself swinging steel at open air.

  It was also around her seventeenth year that Yuri started cutting her. He said a Blademaster needed to know what it felt like to be injured, to be stabbed and cut so that they could learn to ignore the pain in battle. At first the wounds were irregular, shallow things designed to hurt like hell but leave little evidence after healing. Before long he was showing her the pain in every sparring lesson; different types of wound and different types of weapon and never in the same place. Jez’s chest and back were a field of scars and her legs and arms were little better but she had only the one on her face, a tiny snip of a scar underneath her right eye.

  The old bastard wanted to keep you pretty, Jez. Didn’t want to fuck a girl he’d uglied up.

  Jez still hated her scars, she wasn’t entirely sure why but she hated the idea of people looking at them. Wasn’t often she found herself self-conscious but when folk looked at her battle wounds she felt her skin crawl. These days she welcomed some of that attention though. She bared her arms on purpose to give folk a look, to show them she’d been through worse hell than them and had come out the other side still whole.

  Magistrate Hideo Rurin was called upon to address the empress, the man was stern, with hawkish features and a long horseshoe of hair around his head. He was also the magistrate tasked with overseeing matters of trade between the Dragon Empire and the free city of Larkos, widely accepted to be the biggest and most profitable city in the known world. As the magistrate launched into a recounting of some recent trade agreement Jez couldn’t help but notice the empress’ gaze flicking towards Drake Morrass.

  Jez herself remembered her own fascination with an older man when she was that age and it was not her old master; a fact Yuri came to realise and act jealously upon. As the Blademaster’s apprentice Jezzet had been sexually active since first being sold. Yuri had no scruples over age, nor willingness, nor even a young girl’s understanding of sex. He had used her body whenever it pleased him and did not even bother justifying it to her though at that age Jezzet had assumed it was payment for all he was teaching her.

  There was
another, an older man from the nearby city of Truridge though he looked little more than a boy himself. He had dirty hair that regularly flopped down across his face and wore bedraggled clothes that almost made him look a pauper though it was clear he wasn’t. Jezzet was regularly sent down to the Truridge market either to shop or to steal as part of her training. The young man was always there alone, always drinking a sour wine while watching the world go by.

  He seemed so mysterious and dangerous back then, she remembered with a smile.

  When Jez finally worked up the courage to talk to the man she discovered his name was Thom though she never learned what he did. It didn’t take long before they first fucked and for a week they were at it every day. Though younger than Thom, Jezzet taught him a thing or two. She’d almost convinced herself they were in love. Then Yuri found out.

  He wasn’t the type to get angry, or at least he wasn’t the type to show it. With a bitter smile Jez remembered begging her old master not to do anything to Thom but she needn’t have bothered. Yuri went down to Truridge and found the man. After that Jezzet’s young lover wouldn’t speak to her, wouldn’t even acknowledge her, he would simply ignore her and walk away whenever she attempted to engage him.

  Never found out when the old bastard said to Thom but whatever it was it did a damned good job of scaring him away.

  Thinking of her old conquests inevitably brought Jez to thinking about Thanquil and with it came the dull ache in her chest she refused to acknowledge. She knew what it meant, why it was there; she missed the Arbiter. Missed him like she’d miss a part of herself. Their last words to each other had been shouted, a pointless argument that gained nothing for either of them.

  He’ll always put that damned Inquisition first and you’ll never understand why, Jez. Better just to end it now before it goes any further. Another bitter thought and one she knew she’d never act on; it had already gone too far. She might have the courage to face down a hundred armed soldiers in battle but she knew she didn’t have the courage to leave Thanquil.