by James Duvall
"We're probably going to all be killed anyway," one of the men said. "And then where will our families be?"
"Just as starved as if we'd stayed home," another answered.
"Anyone who dies gets his salary sent home to his kin," one said.
"Whole lot of good that does me," the first man grumbled.
"It does me good. I've got a wife and kid at home," said a meek-looking man. Joshua could see why he might worry. He was nearly a half foot shorter than the next shortest man, and the panthers all had a foot on him at least.
"That's enough talk about that," said the lieutenant, and everyone got quiet for a few minutes.
Then a voice in the back asked quickly, "is it true they've got golems?"
The lieutenant was quiet for a minute, and looked like it might have been the first time he had considered it as a serious possibility. "If they do, and that's very much an 'if'. If they do, then the blasted things are just as likely to step on their own soldiers before they ever made it onto the field to face the likes of us."
"They do," Joshua said, loudly enough that the lieutenant turned to look at him.
"They do what?" the lieutenant asked.
"Have golems," Joshua answered. "They're tall as a house, most of them, but they're not very fast. They're made of rock after all."
The last bit seemed like common sense, but logic dictated that rocks didn't move at all on their own, so he had said it anyway. Was it even possible to make assumptions about how rocks made animate by magic ought to behave? A few of the men laughed, but the rest looked on in wonder.
"Do they bite?" someone asked.
"They never tried to bite me," Joshua said, and shrugged. He wasn't even sure they had mouths. The sounds they made seem to come from roughly where mouths ought to be, but the bit of stone that served as a mouth seemed to float in front of them as though tethered to the main body only by magic or some sort of magnetism or other force invisible to Joshua's eyes. He was not happy that he had come to know that particular tidbit of knowledge, as it had been a narrow brush with death in a life that he felt had already had more than its fair share.
"What do you know about golems anyway?" the lieutenant asked. He had furrowed his brow and did not look pleased with Joshua at all. "What are you, a shepherd boy? You look skinny enough for it."
Joshua frowned back with worry, trying to determine what had drawn the lieutenant's ire. "What? No. I'm Joshua Woods."
The lieutenant shook his head. "Who?"
Surely they knew. Everyone else always did. Joshua didn't know what else to say, so he pointed up at the sky. "The dragon...?"
The camp broke into riotous laughter, leaving a perplexed Joshua standing amidst the bulk of them. He turned a slow circle, and saw not a single face that was not laughing or shaking their head in disbelief. Then Joshua shed his alter, and stood among them as the night seeker. Less than a second passed between the flash of light that brought his draconic form back into the world and the camp becoming so silent that the noise of the embers hissing and crackling was all that anyone could hear. Wide-eyed stares came from every direction, the smouldering fire shining in their horror-stricken eyes. A few of them had thought to go for their swords, but none had the courage to draw.
"Easy! Easy..." the lieutenant said, lifting his hand and waving everyone back down. No one had actually drawn their blade though, for the fear of being the first to draw the dragon's ire was a powerful deterrent.
When Joshua looked back into their fearful eyes, he felt the same way he had when he had argued with Amanda over the dragonslayer's handbook. He had blended too easily into their ranks, become invisible to their eyes. Now they knew the truth, that an agent of death had sat with them as brothers for the past few hours. They shifted uneasily, all feeling the fading jolt of terror as to how close they might have just come to a grisly fate, letting such a thing as Joshua get so close to them.
From then on, he made a point to wear his amulet prominently, so that he would be easily identified. He never again tried to mingle with the human troops, for fear of causing the same disquieting terror he had seen that night.
On this particular night, Joshua found a camp near the supply caravans and settled against a log near enough to the fire to enjoy it, but not so close as to make him sweat. He enjoyed the company of the soldiers, and had got to know a few of them by name. On this particular night he recognized four of the panthers, but could only name two.
Amund had just finished starting the fire and nodded his recognition as Joshua slumped against the log and kicked off his boots.
"Evening," Joshua said to the sadean, fighting back a yawn.
The other was Gunnar. Gunnar was also sadean; most of Caedus Beldin's men were. Gunnar was a burly man that looked like there could be no place in the world he belonged more than in front of an anvil with a great hammer in his hand. When asked, he would always respond in the same way.
"Oh I'm not a blacksmith anymore. I am a soldier," he would say, sounding very serious. Then his face would split into a grin and he would add, "though I still intend to use the hammer."
This was usually good for a few laughs, particularly among the soldiers, and it was how Joshua had come to know him. On his first night in Arcamyn he had seen a man with a hammer, and that man had saved his life and many others. While Gunnar was no Keeper of the Word, Joshua had no doubts as to his effectiveness on the battlefield.
Tonight Gunnar had a potato. He impaled it on the end of his spear and held it over Amund's fire like a lumpy brown marshmallow. Amund looked over at it and arched a brow at the man.
Amund was Gunnar's lieutenant, and the highest ranked man around the fire. In fact, everyone present fell under his command except Joshua, who was careful to never interrupt the lieutenant, nor to interfere when the conversation turned to matters of command. It was not his place, and felt he was only welcome at the campfire so long as he remembered that.
"Saving up your rations?" Amund asked, doing little to hide his suspicion.
Gunnar shook his head. He felt the potato and put it back over the crackling fire to warm it further. "Rations are for scrawny little cubs like Henrik. And before you go lecturin' me about filching something off one of the wagons, I went into town and bought it with my own pay. Got a whole bag of 'em back in my tent."
Upon realizing what he'd just said in front of so many people, he looked around the fire with a scowl, meeting every attentive eye with his own steely gaze. "Right next to my hammer," he added for the benefit of any hungry stomachs that might be blind or overly optimistic of their chances with the man's strength.
Amund sighed a little. "Rationing is essential to managing our food supplies," he said, sounding very much like an unsympathetic father. The tone was not lost on Gunnar, who shot him a dirty look.
"You'll be better off if you get used to the idea sooner than later," Amund said.
"I'd be better off if the cooks recognized that bigger men need bigger helpings, that's what," Gunnar answered. "Ask the dragon, he knows. He gets a triple ration and look at him, he's still scrawny."
Joshua had been listening in to the entire exchange, and was grinning in the dark until Gunnar reached over and pinched him on the arm. "Hey!"
"See? Skin and bones, hardly any meat on him."
"That is his alter, Gunnar," the lieutenant admonished. This was not the first time the comparison had been made. "The night seeker is nearly three times your size, and has to fly. I am sure he is quite healthy in his natural form."
"If that's so, why does he look thin as a post?" Gunnar demanded. Amund looked desperately to Joshua for an explanation, but even he did not know and answered with only a sympathetic shrug.
"Perhaps so that you might think to feed it more," Amund suggested wryly. "Though I doubt he will find any scraps from the likes of you, Gunnar."
Any further discussion of the matter was preempted by Syrrus making an appearance. Joshua could tell from the look on her face that it was not g
ood news. He stood, bid everyone good night, and left them to speculate what the mage wanted with the dragon.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, when they were well out of earshot.
Syrrus shook her head and did not wait for him. Joshua followed her up the path until they reached her tent. It was large enough for Syrrus and a night seeker, if needed, though Joshua found he only barely noticed when it began to rain, if he were sleeping soundly enough when it began. It tended to fall gently in Fendiss. Gently and persistently. When they got close enough, two amber fireballs lit in the air by the door, and erupted with an audible bang, like a firecracker. A little shower of sparks fell from each of them and smouldered in the frozen grass. Syrrus appreciated her privacy.
"Going to tell me what's going on?" Joshua asked. "Or did you just want me to walk you home." He looked back down the hill to the campfires, wondering if she knew she was pulling him away from dinner.
"I need you to go to Earth," she said.
"What?" Joshua asked, immediately forgetting about dinner. He felt like she had smashed him in the stomach. "Syrrus, what are you talking about?"
Syrrus crossed her arms and heaved a sigh. "It's not my decision. Caedus wanted to tell you himself, but I told him you would feel better hearing it from me."
Joshua nodded mechanically. His mind buzzed with theories as to why he might be sent away. "If this is about food, I can hunt."
The idea brought a faint smile to his friend's face. "One night seeker's food is very little when weighed against the burden of an army. It's the dragons. We're crossing close to the dragonlands, and Venarthiss is still looking for you. We are not equipped to do battle with dragons. If a flight came upon us, you would be killed and the dragons would at the least set fire to our supplies, and in all probability, burn us to the man."
Joshua nodded slowly in silence. He considered his odds. He had become a capable fighter, but a dragon was an entirely different sort of opponent. Some of them were nearly as fast as him. He remembered how thoroughly Grimlohr had beaten him when he first clawed his way out of the resurrection pool. He could feel his mood turning dark. He had just gotten into this fight. Just begun to prove himself. Yet he knew there was no way he could justify the threat his presence might bring forth from the dragonlands.
Sensing his distress, Syrrus put her hand on his shoulder. "Joshua, you've fought bravely for us. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Were it not for the dragons, Caedus would have you lead him all the way to the heart of Ralia and set fire to the gates of Embrahl."
Again Joshua stiffly nodded. He began to wish he were not in his Alter, where his emotions played out much more visibly across his face, but shifting now would only draw further attention to his dour mood. "And then what?"
"Rest up, then meet me in Nobri in two months. I will be accompanying Caedus for only another week. Once they are safely across the Rilrath I will travel south into Arcamyn."
Joshua looked up at her and arched a brow. "You aren't staying?"
Syrrus shook her head. "No, we are not part of this army. Grimlohr has sent us to Nobri. You were to lead Caedus Beldin into Ralia and then use the kyrithspan dagger to reach Nobri, but plans have changed. Rickthicket arrived with word this morning. I am sorry that I have not had opportunity to tell you until now."
"It's fine," Joshua said. He looked toward the east, where untold horrors awaited Caedus Beldin's army. Gunnar, Amund, and the others would move on tomorrow without him. It surprised him to find that he would rather join their march all the way to Embrahl than return to the nothing that waited for him on Earth. But orders were orders.
"I'll go in the morning," he said at last. "Please tell Caedus I understand and that it has been an honor."
Going back meant facing Solomon's Watch again, and he had no doubt that they would be anything less than extremely displeased to see him. Amanda in particular, whom he had left in a room torn apart by gunfire and dragon claws. "I do not expect Solomon's Watch to welcome me back with open arms. It is possible I will have to leave in a hurry. This time tomorrow I might find myself back in Nobri. What then?"
"Wait for Grimlohr or myself to arrive and try not to draw attention to yourself. Grimlohr keeps his letters intentionally vague, but I believe he is expecting Anthony Graham to have need of us. If Anthony Graham has taken Nobri already, surrender yourself to his troops and tell him who you are. Grimlohr will vouch for you. Do not attempt to deceive him with your Alter." She placed her hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye to be certain that he was paying attention. "He is a paladin, and will be able to see your magic. He may not be able to tell that you are a dragon, but he will see that you are trying to hide what you are and will deal with it harshly."
Joshua nodded solemnly. "I understand."
Chapter 35
The Deputy and the Dragon
Ashcrest, Colorado
The silver dragon bade him look into the pool, and he saw that he was changed.
Amanda burst into the portal room and her first thought was to turn and run right back out and she very well would have, were it not for the scene before her causing her joints to all seize up at once. A cold tickle crawled up her spine. Her breath came in misty white puffs and the rime-covered walls seemed too small for the room they made. Joshua Woods filled the better part of the floor, his wings flared and his jaws agape, fangs glistening. His eyes shone with hate and were fixed balefully upon Officer Dalton.
Dalton was backed up against the wall, his rifle leveled and pointed at Joshua's chest. The entire room was set up like a row of dominoes about to fall. Amanda could see how it would go down. Dalton was unlikely to survive past the first few seconds. The dragon would be wounded and all the more lost to his rage. Then it would be claws against bullets until one soul remained to mop up the blood.
Amanda drew a thin, ragged breath and forced herself to come the rest of the way into the room, carefully guiding the door shut as though the slightest noise might set the calamity into motion. She had seen him as the dragon before, but never in her darkest nightmares had it been like this. Had he gone feral? Were it not for his own testimony as to the rarity of his breed, she might have guessed that this was some other night seeker come calling. His body bore testament to his long journey, a story told in missing and broken scales, and scars yet fading on his chest and outstretched wings.
"Okay," Amanda said after a swallow. "Let's all just... take it easy... Dalton, put the gun down."
Dalton shook his head stiffly, as though the ice had worked its way into the vertebra of his neck. "No ma'am,” he said in a shaken voice. This was a man on the edge of his reason.
"Dalton, lower the rifle," Amanda said, sternly. Dalton glanced at her in askance and when he saw the set of her jaw, very slowly lowered the rifle until it was pointed at the ground between Joshua's front paws. The subtle shimmer faded from Joshua's eyes, and he looked back and forth between Amanda and Dalton with disdain.
"I will not be treated like an animal any longer," Joshua announced. The dragon's voice cut through the room like an icy blade.
"Joshua, are you alright?" Amanda asked, approaching him slowly.
Joshua folded his wings and kept a hateful eye on Dalton. "It has been a long year.”
Amanda waved Dalton out of the room, an order he was quick to comply with. Though Joshua could still see his shadow peeking in through the crack in the door and knew the man still had his gun at ready. Feeling that the threat of being shot had passed, Joshua felt his guard coming down, and he explained where he had been, and how he had come to be able to return to Earth. He asked with much eagerness after the fate of his kyrithspan dagger, and did not mention his newest, recently acquired from Syrrus. It was in its sheath, strapped innocuously to his foreleg, hidden in plain sight.
"I do not know where it is, precisely," Amanda admitted with some reluctance, "but we are careful about what happens to magical artifacts. Headquarters will know where it is stored. I will have it brought to you."
The old apartment had not been re-let, which was some comfort. The pantry and fridge had been stripped bear, but his meager furniture still remained. His books were still stacked by the bed with the ignominious dragon-slaying book on top. It might have felt like home again were it not for the two armed men posted at his door.
"This is not the homecoming I was expecting," Joshua remarked. “Why are there officers in the breezeway?
“I will bring the kyrithspan dagger to you in a few days,” Amanda said, ignoring the question. “Food will also be delivered while your case is reviewed. Until then you are under house arrest. Is any of this unclear?”
Joshua let the silence hang between them. Outside, the wind blew. It was almost winter again.
“Is any of this unclear?” Amanda repeated with less patience.
“Crystal,” Joshua clipped.
“Good.”
“Now, why is my case under review?”
Amanda heaved a sigh at the ceiling. “The fact that there are so many possible reasons is a problem in its own league. There are three strikes pending against you for failing to follow a watchman's reasonable order. One for failing to stay in the patrol car, another for pursuing the suspect after being ordered to stand down, and another for that mess with Officer Dalton this morning. He ordered you onto your belly and according to his report you lifted your head in a threatening manner, sparked your eyes, growled, and dropped the temperature of the room so far that the officer's glasses fogged over.”
“Now hold on just a minute there,” Joshua said with his hands raised. “Who cited me for the others? You?”
“I did,” Amanda said evenly.
“Why?” Joshua demanded, just on the edge of shouting.
“I had no other options. I will not protect you from the truth, Joshua. One bullet through the eye and I've got a dead drake in a suspect's bedroom and neighbors calling in shots fired to the general emergency line. The rules are in place for a reason.”