by K V Deal
Carah stopped at the bottom of the stairs which made me slow down to keep from running her over.
Past her in the hall, Charlie had pressed herself beside of the door and was trying to peek around the frame.
“What…?”
She spun to face us and held up a finger to her lips. Waving us over to the door, she stepped back to let us take a look.
The room was as we left it, even with Axle down on the floor under the window. He was looking our way and jerked a thumb at the window.
It looked like we had been right to be worried. I counted fifteen people framed by the window as they were milling about outside my house. From how they were acting, I could tell there were more that I couldn't see.
In the dead center of the group were three people. A thin man in a brilliant white priest's robe stood guarded by two tall warriors in silver, full-plate armor carrying silver spears with golden tips. All three wore strips of purple fabric that hung from their shoulders.
The rest were more familiar. Not the people themselves, but the symbol that they wore. White leather armor covered each person including a leather helmet that looked like it belonged on a soldier from ancient Rome. Belted on each waist was that damned scorpion sword with its poisoned blade. On the center of every chest was the same symbol, a letter “I” surrounded by a shield.
Inquisitors.
There were so many of them!
Carah nudged me hard. I glanced down to see she was pointing to the men in the middle.
I turned my attention to the three.
The one in the robe was nervously dabbing his face with one of the purple streamers attached to his shoulders. His eyes darted this way and that as he inched backward, putting himself in between the two guards that flanked him. He grabbed their arms, pulling them towards him in such a way that they were so close together it was hard to believe they weren't just one person.
“Al-Alright!” I could hear the priest’s shout from this distance. He had a voice for a battlefield, even if you could hear the fear in it. “Take me back. I don't feel safe in this den of evil.”
The two guards slammed the butts of their spears on the ground. “Form up!” a woman's voice called out from the guard on the right.
The inquisitors quickly fell in around the three and began to march away from the downtown city. As I watched them leave, my count grew from fifteen to almost twenty-five, then to over forty, and I was still sure I was missing quite a few.
As they tromped off, I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
“Oh, that was bad.” Carah stepped away from the door to sag down along the wall. “If they had found us...”
“We would have been toast,” Charlie agreed as she continued to peek around the door frame. She bit her lip. “Somebody should follow them.”
That sounded like a good idea.
Not.
“Do you want to get yourself killed by those guys? Because if you do, it would be nice to tell us.” My tail began to flick and rattle as I watched her.
Carah backed me up. “Charlie, there’s way too many of them. In the marsh you could probably pull it off, but here in the city one of them would spot you. It’s a given.”
Charlie grunted at us but didn't make a move to go after them. I called that a win.
Axle slipped through the doorway to join us in the hall. “Well, now we know how come there weren't any Inquisitor bodies in the fight.” He reached up to rub his forehead.
Carah glanced at me before looking back at the half elf. “Think we missed that part.”
“The man in the center, in the white robe who looked like a priest? There was an injured man. bad wound too. That priest just put a hand on the man’s gash, mumbled something, waved his free hand and the wound closed right up. It was nasty to watch, but they could survive a lot with help like that.”
Charlie shook her head. “Where the hell did they get somebody like that? And since when have Inquisitors had armor like that? We gotta get more answers.”
“No, what we have to do is wait here until reinforcements arrive. We have bodies that need to get back to their home, and we need to make sure nobody else goes in there.” He pointed at the dungeon. “Plus, we really can't afford to disobey orders again right now.”
Charlie let out an annoyed grunt.
“Look I understand how you feel, but even I can put aside revenge for a minute when all attacking will do is get us killed,” Carah sharply pointed out. “Let’s think of something more pleasant, like the loot we found upstairs!”
That managed to change the topic.
In the end, after I pulled out the bag and showed them the haul, we decided to split it as evenly as we could. There were forty-three gold coins, so they all got twelve while I took seven and the ruby coin. The book we decided to share between the group, though I would hold on to it. Throughout the whole thing, I kept bracing myself, waiting for my instincts to interfere, but they kept quiet. It was strange, but I was glad I didn't have to deal with them right now.
Just as we finished splitting everything, we heard the sound of people outside.
Axle carefully peeked around the corner of the door. “Hey! They’re here! Let's get out there!”
As everyone scrambled to their feet, I didn't even notice that the brooch was gone.
Axle handled explaining what we knew to the man in charge of the fifty-strong group of people who had arrived as our reinforcements. While he did, I pitched in helping move the bodies from our temporary morgue to the large cart they’d brought to take them back.
I was kinda glad to see that there wasn't anyone I knew in amongst our backup. I wasn't sure how they would treat us now. After disobeying orders, we had pretty much been sent on this long-term patrol as soon as the hospital released us. No time to talk to anyone. Well, except for Axle; he hadn't gotten hurt, so he wasn't grabbed by those damn doctors. I didn't regret what we did but...
The other three came over as I finished placing a body on the wagon. The girls looked happy, but Axle was eying me with a worried expression.
“What's up?”
“Soo… I may have some bad news.” Axle wouldn't meet my eyes now.
I looked over at the girls, but they wouldn't meet my eyes either. They still looked happy, though. What kind of bad news could it be when they looked so… I glanced over at the dungeon.
Axle seemed to be guessing where my mind was going. “I'm sorry. We’ve been ordered to head back and report.”
My tail began to lash. It just figured. “So, let me guess. After coming here and doing the right thing and all, we have to leave now.”
“Jake, they need to know what happened here,” Carah started.
“And that takes all of us?” Of course, she would be happy. All of us wanted to go back. But now? When my house was literally right across the street?
Charlie’s smile slipped, probably because my anger was starting to show on my face. “Dragon, calm down,” she advised.
I glanced over at the house. The only thing keeping me from running off and going into the dungeon without them were the consequences that I was sure would follow if I did. I clenched my hands. This sucked in ways I couldn't even say.
“Fine,” I managed to grit out between my teeth. I spun on my heel and began to march towards the city. Leaving the others to scramble to keep up.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Chapter 4
Everyone else was sitting in the large cluttered room. Not me. I was standing, arms crossed, and glaring at the suit of feminine, full-plate armor sitting on the other side of the desk from Axle and the others.
I had spent the hours walking back to the city thinking about the team that had been killed there. That could have been us if we had been there just an hour earlier. All that thinking had gotten me, though, was a bad mood. After this conversation was over, I was going to need to find a way to break out of my grump.
Axle finished informing the woman about what we had found.
“Then the relief that you sent showed up.” He shrugged. “Not much more we can tell you, Gloria.”
Why the hell had we all needed to come for if it was just going to be Axle talking?
Gloria leaned back in her chair, carefully. I was guessing from how she moved that she had fallen doing that once or twice. Not really a surprise. Her change had been one of the more visible ones. See that wasn't armor in the normal sense. Those metal plates were her. From what I understood, Gloria was mostly living armor now.
The glowing lights behind her visor flicked up to look at me again, about the fifth time since the conversation had started. “I take it you’re a little upset about all of this, Jack?”
“Jake,” Axle cut in.
For a politician the mayor was really bad at names. “Right. Well don't worry, we’ll find those bastards.”
Not why I was angry, but whatever.
“We have some people who excel in tracking. With a group the size you described that should be no problem.” She thumped a hand down on the table.
Like that had worked when they had been hunting the Inquisitors last time. It had taken me stumbling into their plans to actually find them. Not that I would have called it skill. Just dumb luck on my part, and I was still not sure if it had been good or bad.
“I hope the people ya send are good fighters not just trackers. They were ready for a fight, Gloria. Really well armed.”
The armor sighed. “Well, we have managed to get some supplies from that place in the marsh. The warg dungeon, right? It’s going slower than I would like, though. Most of our people are still using mundane equipment.” Gloria chuckled. “Gotta keep up with the Joneses, right? Especially when they’re trying to kill you.” She sorted though some of the junk on the desktop until she found the stack of paper she was looking for. She picked up a sheet. “On that note, did you drop off the items we requested at the city dungeon?”
Axle froze.
Gloria shook her head, making a little creaking sound as she did so. “Alright. Well, I’ll just send a courier over with them. Jack, if you would...”
“No.”
She glanced up at me. “I'm sorry?”
My tail was lashing as I looked at her. “I said, ‘no.’”
“Jake!” Charlie began to turn, but Gloria held up a hand to stop her.
She placed her hands on the table, interlacing her fingers as she regarded me. “Care to explain?”
“I'm not giving up my stuff just because you said so.” Yup. That was the reason. Not because I want to get back at her for being yanked around like this.
Gloria glanced over at Axle. “You did tell him we were going to pay him for them, right?”
“I did…” Axle seemed to shrink in his chair.
I’ll admit I felt like a little bit of a shit after that, but I wasn't going to cave just yet.
“Yeah, he said that. But if I don't get a choice, it’s no different than your stealing them. That’s really tough to take, Gloria.” I was trying to keep an even tone, but I felt the beginnings of a growl starting to slip out.
“Jake, ya didn't say anything when we were going to the dungeon! Why are ya changing your tune now?” Charlie snapped. “Don't ya know how important mining that dungeon is?”
“No, I don't really. Unlike you and Axle, I don't get invited to the big picture talks!” I glared at her.
“You remember Haven?” Somehow Gloria managed to give me the impression of a raised eyebrow. Not really sure how…
“I found the letter. So yes.”
“Then you know why. There is a potentially hostile city out there… Actually, considering that they implied they would be willing to help a group of terrorists kill the vast majority of our population, let’s just call it plain old hostile. That’s what we’re arming ourselves against. And you know that.”
She leaned forward looking hard at me. “But that’s not what this is about. This isn't about why, its either instinct or…” She regarded me for a moment longer. “This is about price, not money.” I saw a ghostly grin coming from inside the helmet. “It’s the fact that our offer lost something.”
What? I didn't get what she was saying.
Gloria turned her attention back to Axle. “Tell you what. I'm going to give your team a day or two off. We have to find a better way to defend that place before… Well, you guys need some time off. I’ll call you when I get my new offer lined up.” She made shooing motions as she reached for another stack of paper.
Carah was up in an instant and began to shove me out of the room. “Thanks, boss! See you later!” I'm not sure how she could have gotten those words out faster. Charlie and Axle were right behind her. Between the three of them, they almost dragged me out of the building.
Out on the street, Charlie rounded on me. “What’s your issue, Dragon?” she snapped, jabbing a finger into my chest. “Ya gotta keep your instincts under control! Or did ya just feel like throwing a fit?”
Okay that was a little rude. My tail began to rattle as I crossed my arms.
“Hey, fit or not, he got us a day or two off.” Carah stepped in between us before I could respond. “And personally, I was kinda expecting it. Weren't you?”
“Ya expected that?” Charlie seemed to be as taken aback by that as I was.
“Yup. I know for me, at least, the longer I have one of these instincts tickling at me, the worse it gets. And he had a lot of time to think about it on the way back to the city.”
Okay. That made sense.
“They even had us take him to the dungeon, and he didn't get to take a single step inside. On top of that, they still wanted to take his stuff! If that was me, I’d be snapping too.” Carah shook her head, making her hair swing back and forth.
“I didn’t think about it that way…” I muttered, looking away from her as my tail began to twitch.
“Yeah, right. I’m just saying I can understand it. I’ve had times just like that,” Carah finished.
“Me too.” Axle sighed. “Some days, if I don't touch some kind of nature, even if it’s just rubbing a bit of bark on a tree, I feel like I'm gonna kill someone.”
Charlie looked back and forth taking in the three of us. “Huh.” She pulled out a large leather book from her bag and flipped it open to a blank page. “So, the longer an instinct is acting on ya, the harder it is to resist?”
“I guess I’d never really thought about it but…” Axel added thoughtfully.
“All I have are weapons and books,” I put in trying to cut them off before they got into the nitty gritty of instincts. Instead, I went back to the topic that had started all of this, Gloria taking away MY stuff.
I focused on the ring, searching through the list it gave me of its contents. “Tell me how those would be necessary for exploring the…dungeon.” Wait. One item on the list jumped out at me. “Oops.”
Everyone turned to look at me.
“Ummm…” I turned to Carah. “You remember that orb we found in Vinn…” I caught myself. I still wasn't too sure about mentioning her uncle. Considering she had been forced to kill him when he had been revealed as an inquisitor, it was a touchy subject. “The orb we found in the butcher’s shop?”
Carah snapped her fingers. “The cold thing! Yeah, I remember that!”
That…was one that I wouldn't mind getting rid of. It had almost killed me when I had first run into it.
Charlie shot me a deadpan look. “That one might be useful. ”
I glowered at her.
Axle stepped in between us. “Alright everyone, let’s calm down. We have a few days here, so let’s make the most of them. Let’s plan to meet up for dinners though. That way I can get in contact with you if Gloria says we need to move.”
Right. No cell phones or anything. This is a big city if someone was trying to find somebody.
“How about we all meet up at my place for the dinners?” Charlie said. “I got plenty of room, and it would be nice to have some guests.”
&
nbsp; “Sounds like a plan! I got someone to meet, so I’ll see you guys later!” Carah waved as she ran off.
Both Axle and Charlie also said their goodbyes as they headed off leaving me to figure out what I wanted to do.
Might as well head back to my apartment.
As I got closer, the streets began to clear out. It had never really been busy over here. And with the combination of new housing showing up on the market and nobody new waking up anymore, I wasn't surprised to see that there seemed to be less people in this section of town then last time I was here.
Not that it bothered me. The quiet was nice.
I walked up to the front door. This place used to be a huge hotel smack in the middle of a mass of 20 plus story skyscrapers the city had called downtown. Now? Well, I wouldn't call it downtown anymore at least. Almost every single one of these buildings were at least half-way abandoned. Not really a surprise when you remember that elevators had been changed into pulley-lift systems that most people considered deathtraps.
Stepping inside, I looked over at the desk.
There was the usual pile of books stacked on top, high enough to obscure anyone who might be behind it. Or one person in particular actually.
I headed that way and gave a light knock on the desk, just enough to let the man behind it know that I was there. No response. I frowned and knocked again. Still nothing.
Well that was strange.
Leaning forward I peeked over the top of the pile. Nobody was there.
Huh. Jasper rarely left his desk. Still, the man had to have time off at some point I guessed. Hopefully he was out doing something interesting rather than just hiding out somewhere. Jasper was antisocial in ways I had never seen before and really needed to get out more.
Might as well head off to my room.
I took the stairs two at a time as I hurried my way up to the fourth floor. By the time I got up there, I was remembering why I had been thinking about moving. Being part dragon, four flights of steps weren’t too bad, but even so, they were annoying.