Aileen straightened the chestnut brown fabric of her dress. The forest green trim set off the queen’s emerald eyes and her auburn hair fell around her shoulders, glinting in the morning sun. For a woman ten years his elder, Kale observed that she couldn’t possibly have been more beautiful. The warrior perched himself on the edge of the seat cushion, leaning forward to face her with his elbows resting on his knees.
“I’m afraid Sir Lyndon has bad news,” the queen said
“Does Sir Lyndon bring any other kind of news?” Kale said with a sneer.
A gentle smiled turned up the corners of her mouth. “I trust him,” Aileen said. “He has long been a friend to my family.”
“If he’s so trustworthy, why won’t he look me in the eyes, except when I catch him glaring at me from across the dining hall? He slinks around in the shadows of Dragonwall like a thief.”
Aileen leaned closer, touching his hand. “My friend, do you not understand that some men are intimidated by you?”
Kale laughed.
“You may not believe it,” she said, leaning back, “but it is true. You’re tall and strong. You’re handsome, and you are fearless. When you walk into the room, other men notice, whether you realize it or not. They react to you.”
Kale rolled his eyes. “What favor do you want from me this time? It must be a big one.”
Aileen’s smile widened, and a mischievous sparkle came into her eyes. She almost said something, and then bit her tongue. The smile vanished:
“Kale, we have something serious to talk about. Another body has been discovered.”
Kale closed his eyes and began massaging his eyelids with his thumb and forefinger. “Like the others?” he said.
“Yes, poisoned, sometime in the night. The killer dragged the body into a dark corner where it wouldn’t be found until morning. I’m sure you are aware that this is the third poisoning inside Dragonwall since your arrival. People are beginning to talk.”
“I can see why,” Kale said. “I’ll look into it.”
“See that you do.” She spoke in a voice that at once reminded him she was his queen, and also implied that she might know more about the subject than she let on. Kale cleared his throat as he rose to his feet.
“If there’s nothing else-”
“There is, actually.” Aileen lifted a sheet of parchment from the table. Kale accepted the document and looked it over. The scribblings were practically indecipherable. It didn’t help that he wasn’t much of a reader. He had learned the basics as a child, but rarely found the opportunity or desire to use the skill in his adult life. The letter was addressed to “Her Royal Highness,” and signed by someone called Mayor Thom Bromwyl. Kale picked out a few words here and there -something about mutilated livestock and something else about defiled corpses- but none of it made any sense.
“What is it?” he said, handing it back to her.
“A request for reinforcements. Ravenwood is a village on the southwestern border, on the outskirts of our kingdom. We used to send patrols through the area, but over the last few years, our resources have gone entirely into staving off the dragons. According to that message, Mayor Bromwyl is deeply concerned about the safety of his community.”
“Safety from what?”
“He doesn’t say,” she said with a distant look.
“Do you think it’s dragons?”
“Perhaps. The dragon population has fallen since the death of the black. It may be that some of the creatures have migrated farther inland. That would be strange, though. It’s not like them to go into the deep woods. They’re large. They prefer wide open hunting grounds.”
“I’m not sure what I can do,” Kale said. “I have less than two dozen knights, and we need every one of them. We can’t pull men out of the militia. We have too few fighting men as it is. It’s going to take months to finish rebuilding Stormwatch. If dragons were to attack, or-”
“Yes, I’m all too aware of this,” she said, waving off his concerns. She gazed into the fireplace with a distant look “In a way, I miss the dragons. They were our one true defense against foreign invaders. No one had any interest in invading Danaise with so many dragons here. Now that the population has fallen, word is bound to spread beyond our borders. I suppose it’s only a matter of time before someone decides to test our defenses,”
“Not only that,” Kale said. “I don’t think you understand how valuable your resources are.”
“Starfall,” Aileen said, her voice nearly a whisper. She turned her head to gaze up into his face. “That’s what you mean, isn’t it? So strange that we’ve gotten by without it for all these centuries and yet it is the very lifeblood of this world. I suppose we must make preparations for the inevitable.” She gazed into his eyes, taking his hands in hers. “Kale, do you believe your friends in this city of Sanctuary will trade fairly with us?”
“I think so,” he said. “They need starfall, but they have valuable technologies to trade. They have airships unlike anything you’ve ever seen. And other things, too. Weapons, for example.”
“Yes, I know. That is what worries me.”
Kale frowned. “What do you mean?”
“If I’m to believe the stories you’ve told me about Sanctuary and Astatia, it hardly seems they have any reason to negotiate with us. They have the power to come and take whatever they want.”
“They wouldn’t do that.”
“Are you so certain?”
Kale couldn’t answer, and Aileen fell back into the sofa.
“Enough of these matters for now,” she said, letting out a sigh. “I would like you to take a small detachment to Ravenwood. Patrol our border for a few days. If there is a threat growing in the west, I want to know about it.”
“And the southern border?”
She dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand. “Ashago is known to the peasants as the Firelands. It is a place of nothing but ash and lava.”
Kale nodded, and headed for the door. She called after him, “Oh, and one more thing: You and I have something important to discuss when you return.”
Kale stepped out into the hall and pulled the door shut behind him. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. He knew what Aileen wanted to discuss, but he didn’t even want to think about it. As he stood there, a woman’s voice whispered out of the shadows, speaking his thoughts:
“Did she propose to you?”
Kale stared into the darkened hallway. The shapely figure of a young woman in a long crimson skirts came around the corner. She pulled the hood of her cloak back, revealing curled auburn hair and flawless olive skin. Her eyes were dark, her lips pouty and glistening with red lip paint. She moved with the graceful elegance of a swan.
“Shayla,” Kale said, catching her by the arm. “Just who I wanted to talk to.”
She gasped as he pulled her down the hallway and yanked her around the corner. He spun Shayla around, pressing her back up to the wall, and leaned in to kiss her. Her breath was hot and smelled like cinnamon, and Kale inhaled her scent as he pressed his lips towards hers. Suddenly, he felt the blade of a stiletto at his throat. His eyes widened.
“Be careful,” she said. “I can be a very dangerous woman.”
“I know,” he said, forcing his lips closer. The blade tightened against his throat, punctured the skin like a pinprick, but he refused to give way. A drop of blood ran down his throat as he pressed his mouth tight against hers. Shayla struggled for a moment before giving in.
The blade disappeared, and her hand closed on the back of his neck, pulling him in tighter. For a few seconds, the world around them seemed to vanish. Her mouth was hot, her body soft and willing against his hardened muscles. His arm snaked around her, pulling her tight against him, squeezing her hard enough to lift her feet from the ground.
He pulled away. He stared smugly down at Shayla as she struggled to catch her breath. A hand went to her breast, and she licked her lips.
“That was not… nice,” she panted.
&n
bsp; “I thought it was.” Kale tightened his grip on her, pulling her body tight against his. “I’m pretty sure you thought it was, too.”
Shayla averted her gaze. “She won’t quit, you know. Aileen won’t stop until you agree to marry her.”
“I don’t want to marry her.”
“You don’t want to marry anyone,” Shayla said with a disgusted look. “That’s the problem with you. You’re like a child in a playground, and the rest of us… we’re all just toys to you.”
“That’s not true.”
“It won’t be for long, if you don’t do something about the queen.”
“Forget her,” he said, leaning in for another kiss. Shayla pushed him away.
“Kale! This is not a game. This is something you need to take seriously.” She glanced around, shocked by the volume of her own voice. Shayla lowered her tone to a whisper: “There are rumblings. These people… they don’t trust a woman to rule over them. I’m afraid that something bad is going to happen soon.”
Kale pulled back, frowning down at her. “Are you saying I should marry the queen?”
“Of course not!” She turned away, began strolling down the hall. Kale fell in next to her. “But someone has to… and I don’t see who else that could be. The other men here are unqualified, to put it kindly. But I can tell you this: If you care about her at all, you must do something, and do it sooner rather than later.”
“Why?”
“Because if you don’t, Aileen will be banished. Maybe worse.”
He froze mid-step and stared after her. Shayla continued walking. “How do you know that?”
“Because while you’ve been busy playing knights and dragons, I’ve been studying these people. Their culture is far more complicated than you realize. Do you remember when Dane threw that man into the lava for trying to rape me?”
“Of course. I’ll never forget it.”
“That’s why he did it. These people… they need a leader like that. They need someone who will take decisive steps, who will act fearlessly, and if necessary, brutally to maintain order. Believe it or not, it makes them feel safe.”
She had paused a few yards down the hall, and Kale hurried to catch up to her. “What do you think I should do?”
“I have no idea. But you’d better think of something.”
They reached the intersection of the main tunnel, and as they stepped out onto the walkway, a workman in a spring-powered metal suit went stomping by carrying a pallet of wagon parts. A rush of warm air washed over them. It smelled of sulfur and burning iron. Wisps of smoke and steam curled up through the center of the mountain, racing towards the peak of the cone.
“I have to go,” Kale said. “Before I leave, I have to ask you something. Did you have anything to do with the body they found this morning?”
Shayla stared at him, her face a mask of indifference. When she refused to answer, Kale grew irritated.
“Don’t do it again,” he said.
“It wasn’t me. What do you think I am? Do you honestly believe I stayed here just so I could go around poisoning them all to death, one at a time?”
“You must have had something to do with it. You can’t make me believe otherwise.”
Shayla gave him a guilty smile. “If I had anything to do with it, it was only in giving these women the power to defend themselves. They have that right, whether you like it or not.”
“That doesn’t justify three killings in a row! This has to stop.”
“How do you propose I do that?” she said. “The genie is out of the bottle, Kale. They have the knowledge. There is no way I can take that back.”
“You’d better figure out a way, because if these killings don’t stop, something bad is going to happen.”
“That’s the whole point.”
Kale glared at her. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“This behavior, this raping and abusing… it’s going to stop, one way or another.”
“Poisoning every man in Dragonwall is not the answer,” he said. “There’s got to be another way.”
“I’m sure there is. You’re their commander. Figure it out.”
Kale crossed his arms over his chest. “And just how do you propose I do that?”
“I don’t know, but I can tell you one thing: If Dane was still alive, he would know. That man you found this morning wouldn’t have been poisoned, he’d be frying in that lava pit.”
She spun on her heels and hurried up the hall. Kale stared after her, watching until she disappeared around the corner.
Kale located Sir Gavin in the lower level of the mountain, overseeing the forge workers. The knight stood on the island, surrounded by a lake of boiling lava. Despite the heat of the volcano, Gavin was still dressed in full armor. His helm and gauntlets rested on a workbench nearby. Kale whistled to get Gavin’s attention, and the elderly man hurried over to see what was the matter. Kale quickly explained the situation with Ravenwood.
“It won’t be a standard patrol,” Kale said. “It will be a reconnaissance mission. I’d like you to go with me. You know the border lands better than anyone.”
“Of course,” Gavin said, wiping the sweat from his brow with a strip of cloth. “We can be in Ravenwood before nightfall. We can spend the night there, before moving on.”
“My thoughts exactly. I figured five men in total would be enough. Do you have any suggestions?”
Gavin considered for a moment. “We might be better off alone. The knights have been drinking. I doubt they’ll be much use.”
“It’s ten o’clock in the morning.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
Kale took a deep breath. “Did King Dane have this sort of discipline problem?”
“No, but that was Dane. Don’t hold yourself to that standard, boy. You’ll just end up getting yourself killed.”
Kale frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Dane knew these men. They were his kin; his childhood friends. He knew that when push came to shove, they would be there for him. For you, it’s different. You’re an outsider.”
“But I’m still their commander.”
“That, and three coppers will buy you breakfast at a nice restaurant in Stormwatch.”
“Three coppers will buy anyone breakfast.”
“Exactly,” Gavin said. He clapped his hand down on Kale’s shoulder and laughed. Kale shook his head.
“How do I make them respect me?”
“I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you how Dane did it.”
“How?”
“He threatened to kill ‘em, or worse. And they knew he meant it. But that only worked because they knew Dane had the guts to do what he said, and he knew they didn’t have the guts to stab him in his sleep.”
“And you think that’s what I should do?”
“Absolutely not! These men wouldn’t hesitate to kill you in your sleep.”
Gavin grinned as he said it, but there was a serious look in his eyes. Kale knew the old knight well enough to know he was trying to make light of a serious situation.
“You’re not much help,” Kale said. “I thought people your age were supposed to be wise.”
“I am wise. Wise enough to avoid a knife between my shoulder blades. Are you?”
Kale snorted. “We’re wasting time. Where can I find the others?”
“In the barracks.”
Kale left Gavin with the orders to prep supplies for their journey. He headed upstairs to the barracks. When he arrived, he found the place in a shambles. A gut-wrenching smell of yeast and sewer washed over him as he stepped into the room, and Kale had to clench his teeth to fight back the urge to vomit.
Dirty dishes, unwashed clothes, and overflowing chamber pots littered the floor. Even Kale, who was not by any stretch the cleanest man, was disgusted. Some of the men were asleep, stretched awkwardly across their bunks or collapsed in heaps on the floor. A group sat at a card table at the end of the room, drinking and playing.
“Gentlemen,” Kale said in a loud voice as he approached. One or two glanced at him, and then went back to their cards. The others ignored him entirely. Kale passed one of the bunks where a half-dressed knight was snoring. He grabbed the man by the ankle and yanked him out of bed. The knight dropped to the floor with a groan. He rolled over, both hands squeezing his skull, moaning about his “achin’ brainpan.”
“I need three volunteers,” Kale said as he reached the table.
The men ignored him, and continued playing. As they finished their hand, one of the younger knights named Sir Flynn reached for the pot. He was in his early twenties; a strong and arrogant young man with the physical prowess to be a knight, but very little experience. Kale caught him by the wrist, causing the coins to scatter across the table.
“You just volunteered,” he said. “Get suited up and meet me out front in ten minutes.”
Flynn yanked his hand away. He pushed to his feet, kicking his chair out behind him. “What if I don’t want to volunteer?” he said, his lip curling up in a snarl. “What if none of us want to?”
Kale straightened up, looking them in the eyes one by one. Each looked away, or avoided his gaze entirely, except for Flynn. The young knight glared at him, defiant, challenging. Kale reached over the table in a flash of movement and caught the front of Flynn’s shirt. With a snarl, he dragged the knight over the table. Cards and coins scattered, and the other knights scrambled to get out of the way as the table collapsed.
Kale spun, using his momentum as he turned, and threw Flynn across the room. The knight landed on his side and rolled a few turns across the stone floor before he caught himself. Flynn’s hand went to his boot, and Kale saw the glint of his stiletto blade as Flynn leapt to his feet. Flynn rushed him.
Kale bent over, snatching up one of the broken table legs. As Flynn came at him, the commander stepped aside. He brought the wooden leg upward, driving it into Flynn’s gut. As the knight stumbled, Kale brought it down with a crack! across his back. Flynn fell, toppling down on top of the broken table. He gasped, struggling to catch his breath.
Clockwork Legion (Aboard the Great Iron Horse Book 4) Page 2