by K V Deal
A copper was about a dollar. That was the simple way of thinking of things. A hundred coppers were a silver, and a hundred silver were worth a gold. So, for the roughly two months I had been working for the Exploration team I had earned about two thousand dollars.
That didn't seem like much at all when you compared it to dollars.
The man behind the desk must have noticed my expression, because he explained that the twenty silver was after room and board was taken out. Before those deductions, it would have been a bit more than double that.
I guess that makes sense, but I wish I had been told that all that wasnt actually free. You know, like I was told it was.
Back on the street, I looked over at Charlie as we walked back towards her house. I was eying the box she was carrying under her arm. We had talked about putting it in my ring but, in the end, had decided against it. Too much of a temptation.
I needed to get my mind off of MY- I mean, that ring. “Aren't our wages a bit low for a job that puts out lives on the line?”
“Ya would think so, but money ain't what it was before the change. You, me and that house across from the dungeon are exceptions. Most people don't even see gold.” She waved a hand at the buildings around us. “Our pay is pretty good compared to most people.”
I frowned at that. “Have incomes dropped that much?”
“Yup.” Charlie sighed. “Has to do with how most people are trying to figure out how to handle themselves in this new world.” She patted the bag where she kept her book. “That's why I'm trying to categorize as many things about the Change as I can. And it ain't just me. I'm part of a group that meets once a month to turn in our findings.” She grinned. “It's coming along nicely.”
I nodded, returning her smile.
She winced. “Less teeth please.”
Right. Forgot about that.
As we walked in silence, something began to tickle at the back of my mind. It felt like I was being watched.
I glanced around and saw... Nothing.
Great. Now I'm starting to get paranoid. Let’s try another subject.
I asked the first question that popped into my head. “Was that a good price for the ring?”
Damn! Why can't I get my mind off that?
“Not that I wouldn't have sold. I mean, it's to protect you guys,” I quickly added. “Hell, I would have given... Look, I'm just gonna shut up now.”
She gave me a look.
Yup. Feel like a heel.
She sighed. “That hoarding instinct's giving ya a run for your money.” She paused. “I know why they targeted ya.”
The abrupt change in topic threw me for a loop. “What?” The feeling of someone watching me got worse.
“I gotta bet it's the same guy ya fought in my old room. Nobody else has been able to break into the apartments. So, it's either revenge or...” She drew a finger across her throat. “The Inquisitors are trying to silence ya.”
“Me? Sure, I got in their way once or twice, but I'm not really that big of a threat! Especially with us being basically exiled.” The last part still rankled me.
“Ya might think that, but on your first day back ya stumble across their dungeon.” She shook her head. “I swear I can't tell if your luck is good or bad, but it's something!”
I looked away from her and at the empty street and frowned. This was a main thoroughfare for the new city. It wasn’t that late.
Where is everyone?
Charlie hadn't seemed to notice anything.
I’d figured out a while back I didn't have hair on the back of my neck anymore, but if I had, I was pretty sure it would’ve been on end right now. My eyes flicked around, trying to see if I could spot anything. Not even a flicker of movement.
If it was Inquisitors, though, I wouldn't see anything. They had those damn cloths that made them invisible. Out here, in the open street, I couldn't even count on my lamp to let me see them.
Wait.
During the attack today, I could feel magic. I focused. Trying to feel anything.
The hell?
It was like we were swimming in a soup of magic! The magic that surrounded us was getting thicker and thicker the farther we walked. There were ripples in it too. The best way I could describe the sensation was that it was similar to watching the effect that a bobber makes on the surface of a lake. As it moves, you can see the ripples that it creates. In this case, the lake was the magic we were in, and the bobber represented smaller magic sources.
And there were a few of them. I counted seven in motion, but that didn't mean much. I was getting the feeling that if they stopped moving, I would lose track of them in moments. All seven were up ahead, spread out in a horseshoe shape, just waiting for us to walk into the middle of them.
Charlie turned to look back at me with a quizzical expression. She glanced up at my face and then down at my tail. I followed her gaze. I should have known. The damn thing was rattling again.
“Hey Dragon, what’s wrong?” she asked.
The magic sources were between us and Charlie's home. I didn't know this section of the city well enough to get past them without going at least two city blocks over. No way to do that without them noticing either.
“Jake?” Charlie was starting to look worried. She glanced around, and I could tell by her expression that she had now noticed the empty street too.
“It’s some kind of magical effect,” I muttered. “The stuff is all around us. I can feel at least seven distinct magical sources up ahead.”
Charlie looked down the road. “Damn it all! This is just too convenient to just be a coincidence.” She fumbled with the box, pulled out the earrings and shoved the box at me. She began to put them in, wincing as she did. “Been a long time since I wore some of these, but I'd rather not be barbecue.”
I stored the box. Any temptation my having it caused could be dealt with later. “Then why grab those?”
“Carah's ears aren't pierced,” Charlie said as she fumbled with the second one.
“What difference does that make now?” The ripples were starting to get fidgety. My guess was that our sudden stop for jewelry was making them suspicious.
No real surprise there.
“Shut it, Dragon. I'm trying to think of a way to even the odds.” She winced again as she finally got the second earring in. Charlie stared ahead. “I don't see anything. Are they standing where I would?”
“Should be.”
She muttered a curse. “Inquisitors.” She swung the crossbow off her back.
That set them off. Now the ripples were moving. “They’re heading this way.” I began to arm up as well. I got out my Ring of Second Chances and slid it on, then checked the dagger on my belt. “I really don't like our odds if they’ve got crossbows...” I felt a twinge from the scar tissue on my chest. I got that the last time I had been hit with one of those.
Charlie looked around. “There! Head that way!” She took off running for an alleyway between two nearby buildings.
As I followed after her, the inquisitors broke into a run as well, trying to catch up to us.
Except for one. That one ripple stayed back. It followed but at a much more leisurely pace.
Charlie continued to run down the alley. She dodged past the wooden compost heaps that had once been dumpsters and jumped over broken bottles and other trash that got in her way. I followed as closely as I could, thundering along after her. I wasn't as spry as she was, though, and she began to pull away.
She burst out the other end back onto the street and began to run toward the building at the other end. As I reached the street, we were still in the field of magic. I spared a glance up and down the street. This one was empty too. Whatever the inquisitors were using, it was strong.
The inquisitors had just entered the alley as Charlie threw herself into the door of the building opposite the alleyway. I saw her dash to the side as I approached. By the time I was inside, she had settled herself at a window and was taking aim at the alley.
>
My lamp, hanging ever present on my belt, quickly overwhelmed the light in the room as I moved over beside her.
Charlie pulled out a solid, black, stone dome from her bag and tapped a carving that looked like an eye on its flat surface . She put it down on the window ledge. It began to glow, showing a gray version of the view before them. “How close are they, Dragon?”
I could feel the fastest of the lot about to hit the end of the alley, but it wasn't like I had a map. I could just sense their general direction and distance. Still, before I could say anything, a glowing green shape appeared on the stone dome.
Charlie didn't hesitate. She fired the loaded bolt, trying to use the orb to aim. The bolt deviated from her normally precise aim but still hit the target in the shoulder.
The image on the dome spun around and hit the pavement as we heard a cry from the mouth of the alleyway.
I looked at her and raised my eyebrows.
“What, ya think I was hunting these guys without a way to see ‘em?”
Oh right. I forgot that had been her job.
She began to reload. Two more shapes appeared on her radar.
That’s the problem with crossbows. The damn weapon took time to reload.
One of the two inquisitors stopped to check on the one Charlie had hit. That answered a question I had. They could see each other. That was both good and bad.
I had one of those scraps of cloth they used to turn invisible. I was hoping I could use it to hide Charlie.
Ah well. Guess I should give it to her, so she can see them better.
I fished it out of my ring, pulling it off Vinny's severed hand. It became visible as soon as it came free. I handed it over to her. She glanced at it.
“How did ya…” Then she saw the severed hand. She froze for just a moment before grabbing the cloth. “We're gonna need to have a talk after this.” She said darkly as she wrapped it around her wrist and vanished from sight.
“Took it off of Vinny—you know, Carah's uncle--when he tried to kill us!”
“Where you got it doesn't change anything, Dragon!” There was a twang, and I saw a blur leap from one blank space to another where it vanished. A man screamed. “Still damn creepy you pulling out a severed hand like that! And keeping this from Gloria!”
The door slammed open.
Guess I would have to justify myself later. It’s my turn now.
My eyes flew to the floor. There!
A set of shadows trailed from a spot in front of the door and up the wall to reveal a person, sword unsheathed in his hand.
I threw myself forward, dragging my dagger free from my belt. A wave of heat blasted free from the blade. Usually that heat had people flinching back. Not this time.
The shadow brought up its blade fast, knocking my knife to the side. I ducked its follow up strike, letting the blade whistle over my head. If this had been two months ago, I would have taken that slash to the throat.
It was a bit strange that it had been a slash though. The standard issue for an Inquisitor had always been a rapier till now.
As it brought up its arm for another cut, I closed the distance. Quickly ramming the shadow with my shoulder, I sent the figure sprawling. I dove forward and brought my knife down, stabbing into the form on the ground. The man screamed and thrashed about. A weapon appeared, hitting the ground next to us.
“Help!” The man was screaming. It... Wasn't really a good feeling, knowing I was the cause of that pain, but I had to push that out of my mind. These people were here to kill us.
I brought up a hand and aimed a backhanded blow at where I hoped his head was. There was a loud crack, and I felt impact as the man jerked and went still.
Another twang sounded from across the room, and there was a scream outside.
I yanked my blade back and spun to face the door as I heard more feet approaching at a run.
“I'm coming Ken!” a male voice yelled from outside, sounding out of breath.
I ran over beside the door as blood on my knife dried with a sizzle and burned away. I blinked at it, there shouldn't have been blood on it. When I’d used it on monsters in the past, it had cauterized wounds even as it made them. My mind flicked back to what Gloria had said. These guys might be using the fire-resistant magic items that had been looted from the dungeon team they had killed. Shit! That meant my fire breath was out of the picture too!
When I thought back on all those bodies, the sympathy I had been feeling for these guys vanished.
A shadow entered the doorway. “Ken!”
I lashed out with a punch at the man’s face, throwing my whole strength behind the attack. The man let out a yelp, and I saw a shadow throw itself into the room. My hand whiffed past to shatter the door frame that had been behind him. I heard Charlie start to curse from near the window. I rounded on the man in the room, my tail lashing.
“Dragon! Ya got two of ‘em!” Charlie yelled!
What?
Something cut along my back, making a grinding sound as it slid across my scales. The blow sent me staggering forward.
“Monster!” a woman’s voice yelled from behind me.
My tail lashed out, working on autopilot even as I fought to steady myself. The woman screamed, and I felt the sharp tip cut into something.
The man had recovered and was swinging at me.
Something was whistling through the air at my head. I brought up an arm to block and something hard and round slammed into my shoulder, knocking me to the ground.
Another twang and the woman behind me tried to scream again, though it quickly became a gurgle.
“Got your back!” Charlie called out.
“You Bitch!” the man roared, and his shadow spun to face Charlie.
I reached out, grabbed his leg and rammed my claws into his ankle, sliding across bone till they dug into muscle. The man screamed as I yanked as hard as I could, dragging him to the ground. Dragging myself to my knees, I pummeled the man, not aiming for specific targets, just trying to hurt him enough to take him out of the fight.
“What the...” Charlie called out from the window.
I stumbled to my feet and looked around for her before remembering that she was currently invisible. “What?”
“It’s one of those armored goons from the dungeon! He’s standing there at the mouth of the alley--just...watching.”
Okay. Yeah, that’s a little strange.
She yelped. “Ah damn it! Incoming!”
Was the armored man doing something? I spun towards the door and looked out.
The figure was still standing right where Charlie had said he was, completely visible. Our eyes locked, and while I couldn’t see his face behind his helmet, I could feel the malice almost oozing from the man.
“Jake! Duck!”
I blinked and threw myself back into the room--just not quite fast enough. Something sharp cut through my shirt and grated along my scales until it hit the scar tissue on my chest. There was a bolt of pain as I felt the sword cut the wound open again. With a cry, I flailed with my arms at the empty space, falling back into the room as I did so.
“Enough!” a commanding voice roared from outside. “Fall back!”
“But Ken and the others…”
“…are a lost cause with that beast in there. Grab the brethren that can be saved and pull back!”
There was silence and then the twang of a crossbow.
In the flash of an eye, the armored man had his shield up blocking the bolt with a clang. He stepped back with a grunt and glared in Charlie's direction. “I will remember this, traitor.” And with that he began to back down the alley, keeping his shield between us and him.
Just before he got out of sight our eyes locked one last time.
My instincts were screaming at me as he vanished, and it wasn't ‘chase the prey’ or anything else they usually said. No, for the first time they were saying, ‘That person is dangerous.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Chapter 7
/> I took a moment to check my wounds as Charlie gave a kick to one of the inquisitors I’d put down.
The shirt was a loss, long cuts on both front and back as well as blood from my wound. I yanked it off and tied it across my chest, bunching it up to put pressure on the gash.
If I could, I wanted to at least try to recover naturally this time. While we did have more healing potions, we’d learned their instant recovery came at a price. It left behind scar tissue much worse than you’d expect if you healed the normal way. Doctors probably loved that, since it kept them in business.
“Hey Dragon, come look at this.”
I looked around--no Charlie and nothing else to really look at. In the end, I settled for raising an eyebrow at the world at large.
“Oh. Right.” There was a rustle of movement then a pause. “How about I do the smart thing and fix these guys before I take this off?”
It only took a few moments. I watched as, one after another, the three I’d fought popped into sight.
I frowned. I’d already guessed, but, now that I could see them, there was no question that these people were part of the same group that we’d seen at the dungeon. All three wore the same leather armor that we had first seen there.
I was still looking at the well armored bodies as Charlie took off her own cloth. She was hovering over one of them in particular. “Come on over!” She waved at me, looking grim but eager too.
I stomped my way over, my tail still lashing. She grabbed my hand as soon as I got close and pressed the fingers against the inquisitor’s neck. I could feel a beat.
“This one is still alive!” Charlie said. “Do ya know what this means? It’s the first one we got alive!”
I blinked at her. “Wait! Nobody has tried to catch one up till now?”
She shot me a look. “Wow, why didn't we think of that?” she deadpanned. “No, Dragon! We’ve been trying like hell to get one, but nobody’s been able to! They fight like zealots! ‘No surrender. Keep fighting till ya die!’ And if we did grab one? Poison! Fun all around. We gotta get him to Gloria!”