Of Dragon Warrens and Other Traps

by Shannon McGee

  I didn’t say as much. The only way to know if I was right was if Aella talked to her mother. I wanted more information. Despite myself. Despite my efforts to put Master Noland from my mind. I wanted to know if a greater plot was afoot. Regardless of what Dai had said, if there was a connection between the two, then mercenaries were already involved with Master Noland, even if it was through a third party. I didn’t know how I felt about that prospect, but I gave Aella my assent, and then I led us back to our beds.

  I woke to a pounding head. Fumbling blindly, I felt around for the leggings I had kicked off somewhere beneath my sheets, pulling them on before daring to leave the warmth of the bed.

  The angle of the sunlight pouring through the window told me it couldn’t have been noon yet, but our roommates were gone already. Cassandra was doubtless at temple, and Afua was more likely at breakfast.

  “Aella, do you have any headache tea?” I rasped as I dug through the dresser at the end of the bunk for a fresh tunic. The one I had worn yesterday was crumpled by my pillow and stank of spilled mead. There was no answer from the upper bunk. I pressed a cool hand against my pounding forehead for a moment. The next time I spoke a little louder. “Aella?” Still nothing.

  The girl could sleep through a gryphon’s screech when she had a mind to. Smiling, I shucked the undyed undershirt from the previous day, pulling on my spare coal-colored one, and a sleeveless tunic in the color of oak leaves. My honey-blonde hair was loose and tangled from my slapdash undoing of the braids the night before. I ran my fingers through it, attempting to get some semblance of order into the locks. It was getting long. I’d need to cut it soon before it became completely unmanageable, especially since we were going south to the desert.

  At the moment, I was not feeling up to the effort of multiple braids. All of it went into one long one. I couldn’t see it, but I knew that the mismatched lengths of some of the strands meant bits of hair poked out haphazardly.

  When I’d seen to my dressing, I came back to peek over the edge of the top bunk, ready to poke Aella until she presented the necessary draught to rid me of my hangover. She was not there. Perplexed, I leaned back, still holding onto the wooden slats that lined the upper bed. Where had she gone? Slowly, an idea swam up from my muddled memory of the night before. Had she gone to speak to her mother already?

  Panic clambered into my sober mind. If Dai heard and thought I had insisted upon her questions, he would think I was looking for connections to Master Noland. He wouldn’t care that I’d been addled by drink! He’d think that I hadn’t been working on leaving that part of my life behind.

  My heart pattered painfully against my chest. One of my boots sat by my bed. The other one—ah, I had kicked it off, and it had gone under the bed. On my hands and knees, I reached for it. My fingers had just grazed the top of it when I heard the door open behind me. I turned to look over my shoulder, still grasping for the shoe, and managed to bang my head. Backing out from under the bed, I let out a string of hissed swears, clutching my poor skull.

  “What in the world are you doing?” Aella tucked her lips between her teeth, her eyes dancing with mirth. In her hands were two steaming mugs.

  “My boot,” I moaned. “I was trying to get my boot.”

  She came to sit on the bed next to me, raising the mug in her right hand. “Headache tea. Whenever you feel like coming up for air.”

  I ducked beneath the bed again, snatching the boot from amidst the dust bunnies. My aching head made the action a misery. With its mate retrieved, I took off the boot that I’d already put on and set them neatly next to the bedpost. Then I climbed up onto the bed itself. Lying there, face down, I mumbled into the mattress, “I thought you had gone to talk to your mother already”

  “No. She does her duty to Laeffe on temple days.”

  I turned my head out of the coverlet to blink quizzically at her. “Laeffe? Really? I didn’t know that.”

  Laeffe was mistress of the grains and storms, sometimes depicted as an ox. Aella hitched a shoulder, shaking her head. “It’s who she always pays homage to. You know, diligence and hard work. That’s right in her pasture. She has a little ox figurine carved from red jasper. If you see her fiddling in her pocket, she’s rubbing it usually. She says it helps her focus.”

  She was offering one of the mugs to me again. I sat up and took it this time, bringing the small bit of warmth against my chest. It was still too hot to drink, but the heat was comforting. “Thanks,” I murmured.

  “I figured you’d need it. Gods above and below know that I do.”

  “It was a fun night,” I agreed, “but listen, I was hoping you could keep what we discussed toward the end between the two of us. Or else leave my name out of it if you do decide to bring it up to Aedith.”

  She blew on her tea and took a cautious sip, then a longer one. Her eyes squinted as she drank, but I didn’t think she was wincing at the heat. When she spoke, her voice was too casual to be confused as anything but. “Sure, no problem. Why?”

  It was my turn to dither over my tea. The taste of chamomile, lemon balm, bitter skullcap, and willow bark, coupled with a liberal amount of honey coated my tongue and slid down my throat. It burned, but not badly enough that I didn’t take a second drink.

  I hadn’t told Aella about the discussion I’d had with Dai when we first arrived. I did so now, only daring to look at her when I had finished, earnestly adding, “I’m not interested in endangering any of you, and if dragons are what Aedith has in mind, then I don’t want anyone to say that I tried to divert her from it for my own agenda. And anyway, the more I think about it, the more I think that it’s not likely that your mom hasn’t already made the connection and reported it.”

  Aella rested her elbows on her knees, settling her lips against the brim of the mug as she contemplated what I had said. “I’d had that thought as well, but sometimes when I ask mother about something I’m turning over in my head, she fills me in on things happening above my pay grade. I figured you’d appreciate as much as I could give you if it did have to do with Master Noland. “

  “Ordinarily you’d have been right. I would have appreciated it if the whole Dai situation wasn’t hanging over my head.”

  “Right. I mean, I thought you wanted more information because you were afraid of Master Noland, not scrapping for a fight with him but…” she trailed off.

  I flushed at the shrewd look she was giving me and ignored that. “Beyond that, I thought it was something those who are in charge might want to know… but if you really do think it’s likely she already told them…”

  “I do,” she said. “If Conner hasn’t heard word that they’re no longer allowed to sell their targets, the guild has probably already decided the two things are not connected.”

  “Or he hasn’t been told that their jobs have changed,” I pointed out. “Conner isn’t like you; he’s not Hamash’s son or even his second. He might not be privy to all of his commander’s plans.”

  “Yes. That’s true.” She drained her mug in one long pull. “I won’t ask my mother about it then unless it seems to be relevant when we’re out in the field.”

  “Thank you—” I began.

  “I will say, I don’t like that Dai threatened you. I especially don’t like that you didn’t tell me about it when he did. You have to know that I’d have vouched for you. Dai isn’t the final word in the company, and it’s not a crime to want to lay into the person who—well, you know.”

  I was shaking my head before she had finished speaking. “No, Dai was right to chasten me. Even last night, I couldn’t help but be excited by the idea of going up against Master Noland. With everything I’ve seen and heard, the very notion should terrify me, but it doesn’t. Not for myself.”

  “So why keep me from saying anything? You know I could explain to mother that Dai misread you and that you’re not a danger. Why not let the winds push us Master Noland’s way?”

  I caught her eyes. “Talking to Dai made me realize that if
I went bullheaded after Master Noland, then I wouldn’t just be putting myself in danger, which I could live with.”

  “Or die with,” Aella interjected.

  I rolled my eyes and plowed on. “What I couldn’t live with is if I did what Michael did—sacrifice people who have shown me care, people who I care about, in pursuit of my own ends.”

  Aella cocked her head at me, her gaze searching. I looked away first, busily guzzling my drink and praying that it would set me to rights quickly. As I became more awake, nausea was twining around my headache.

  She rested a hand on my knee, her thumb stroking the fabric there. “Sorry, but even if you did push for us to go after Master Noland, I can’t picture you sacrificing us like your brother tried to do to you, Taryn. The two of you were day and night, from what little I got to know of him.”

  “He really wasn’t always like that,” I said, wistfully. I traced her fingers with one of my own. “Something in him changed after he met Master Noland. And you know, even without that weasel’s influence, I had weeks on the road to see that I was heading toward the same path as him. I was isolating myself and focusing on improving my strength over everything else. Focusing on using this company as a means to get to my own end. I think Michael and I have a lot in common when it comes to focus. I didn’t catch it. Dai did. Who is to say that if someone hadn’t caught Michael early that he wouldn’t have stopped in his tracks? If someone had only made him think about it, he might not have burned.”

  “You can’t think about that. You’ll drive yourself crazy.” She turned her hand palm up to catch my hand in her own. I let her do it, staring at our entwined fingers without really seeing them. “You’re not your brother, Taryn. Not even close.”

  She was close. I could tell that she had cleaned her teeth before coming back to the room. The scent of mint leaf on her breath made me painfully aware of how my own mouth must have reeked. I didn’t want to talk about Michael. I felt as though I had talked it to death, though much of the talk had been within my own head. With the assurance that she wasn’t going to talk to her mother, all I wanted was for the tea to ease my headache and to brush my teeth.

  I stood, and she didn’t release her grip on my hand. She furrowed her brows at me. I smiled at her and squeezed her fingers. “I know that you’re right, Aella. Dai actually said the same thing. He said I wasn’t to blame. It’s just hard for me to feel that way. Let me take our mugs back to the kitchen and clean up a little. Then we can grab something to eat on the go and head out for a ride or something.”

  Reluctantly she let go of me, offering up her mug. “You want me to see if Luke and the rest of them want to come?”

  I bent so I could set both mugs on the floor and pull my boots on, speaking to the stone floor. “That could be fun, if they’re up. Sure.”

  Feet shod, I grabbed both mugs with one hand and stood straight. I pushed my braid back over my shoulder, and it swung heavily against my back. When I looked at her again, Aella was staring out the window. The fort’s gardens were underneath our window, but from our angle all that could be seen was the fort’s walls.

  I tapped her boot with my own. “You ok?”

  She arched an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes a fraction, still not looking at me, still not smiling. “I’m fine. I’m just thinking. I’ll meet you in the mess hall. I’ll bring our stuff.” Her voice was monotone, as though her mind was somewhere else.

  Rather than interrupt her I slipped from the room without another word. Whatever idea had caught her, she’d likely explain it to me during our ride. Part of me hoped the other three wouldn’t want to come along with us, but I doubted that would be the case. Mariah was always up for a ride. If she stayed inside the walls for too many days in a row, she became irritable, and moody.

  The stairwell was dark and chilly as I padded down it. It relied on the light and heat from the rooms above and below, or a candle if you chose to bring one, which I hadn’t. I kept one hand on the railing and let my eyes almost close as I walked. Though my aches were slowly receding, the darkness was still a small blessing to my sensitive eyes.

  At the bottom of the stairs was the privy. It was a long room with ten stalls, and one high, thin window that stretched the entirety of the back wall, to let light through. I ducked in quickly to do my business. I cleaned my teeth at the tiny pump that served as a washing station and made use of my face cloth, scrubbing until I felt a little more human.

  In the antechamber before the causeway between the barracks and the mess hall, I ran into Kaleb, heading in the direction I had come from. His expression was stony, but it softened when he registered my presence.

  “Taryn, gods bless,” he greeted me in typical temple day fashion. “How are you this day?”

  I stopped mid-step, rocking back to keep from passing him. “Just fine, Kaleb. Gods bless. How are you today?”

  “I am doing very well. I’ve just come from temple. Is that where you are headed now?”

  “Err, well, no,” I said sheepishly. “I’m about to return these,” I wiggled the mugs in my hand, “to the mess. Maybe grab breakfast and go for a ride with some people.”

  “The sun is bright today. The Father of the Hearth is smiling his blessing.” Kaleb nodded. “But it is still quite cold. You’re bringing your cloak?”

  “Aella is bringing it when she comes down.” I hesitated. “Did you want to come with us?”

  His countenance was affectionate, but he declined. “No, Taryn, thank you. I have some reports to sort through before noon. I am headed to get them from my room now.”

  “Would you like me to get them?” I was used to running errands for him and other senior members of the company, and the offer came out spontaneously. I shifted from foot to foot, leaning toward the mess hall.

  Again, he shook his head in the negative, his smile knowing. “No, it’s best I get these myself. Besides, I believe I saw the two people you and Aella are to ride with in the mess hall already. Lucas and Mariah, right?” It was well-known that the four of us and Conner all ran together.

  I bobbed my head. “We were going to ask them, yeah. I won’t keep you.”

  He continued inside, and I pushed out into the bright morning. It had been a week since the last snow, and most of it had melted away to small piles. The sun glinted merrily there on the remaining crystals. I slouched to try and shield myself from the glare and hustled into the mess hall.

  Therein, early morning murmurs encompassed me. The room was not full; some people were still in temple, some fasted on temple days, and many were still abed. The majority of those present were still in a post-sleep fog, sparing only enough words to ask to have the honey pot or the jam passed to them.

  I located Mariah and Lucas quickly. They sat at the end of a table close to the food line, both poking at similarly lumpy looking bowls of porridge. Dried apples peaked from the beige goo, pathetically overwhelmed. I set the used mugs into the bin close to them.

  “Morning. Gods bless,” I greeted them. “How are you two feeling?”

  Mariah only glowered up at me from beneath her thick brows before returning to her glop. Luke was a little more forthcoming. “Gods bless. Tired. Caroline and Del came looking for Mariah not long after we left the room,” he named Mariah’s roommates. “They decided banging on my door was a good idea. Saying we lot spilled on the floor, and we needed to come back and clean it up.”

  I tsked impatiently. “Hogwash. Aella and I cleaned up before we left.”

  “Yeah, but there wasn’t anything spilled on their side at all before we all left, was there?” When I shook my head, Mariah’s open hand swept up in a vindicated gesture that screamed, You see!?

  Luke flashed her a grin and went on, “So, then she and they had a row when she said it was from their own flasks and to go away.”

  Mariah, whose face now rested in her hands, muttered something about “lackwits” and wanting a room transfer.

  I snickered. “How did it get settled?”

 
; “One of the women from across the hall, roaring that if they didn’t shut it they’d mop the floor with all three of them.” He smirked. “I think it was Sarah. Bless her.”

  “Has Aella come down ahead of me?” I hadn’t seen her, but it was possible she had already gone outside to ready Juniper. Headshakes came from both of them. “We’re thinking of going for a ride along the lake. Do you two want to come? Get out of the walls for a little bit?”

  Mariah moaned. “I do want to, but I have got to give Magda my application for a new set of roommates. I don’t want to spend another week with those two lushes. They’re driving me mad.”

  “Luke?” I prompted.

  “Not today. I’m going to go light a candle at temple for Soaryph, then I’ve got to do some work on my gear. I’ve been putting it off.”

  I raised my eyebrows in surprise. The god he had picked to pay homage to didn’t shock me. Soaryph was the eastern god of love—all kinds. However, I hadn’t expected him to pass up a ride to pay his respects. Perhaps his particularly bad luck in Nophgrin had affected him more than his flirtations with Mariah might have suggested.

  “Huh,” I said. “All right. Well do you mind if I join you while I wait for Aella to come down?”

  “By all means.” Luke thumped the table next to him.

  Mariah hissed in pain at the noise and shushed him. Though the steam wafting from their cups smelled like more of the same of what Aella had brewed for the two of us, it could only do so much. It couldn’t replace lost sleep or make her forget her dung-headed roommates. At least neither of the women bothering her were part of her company. I said as much to her, trying to be comforting.

  She rolled her eyes and said snidely, “True. I’ll only be blessed with sharing space with Caroline and Delphine another two months if my request gets denied.”

  “That’s the spirit.” Luke said through a bite of porridge. “Till then, if you can’t manage a transfer, you’ll just have to spend as much of your time as possible far away from them. I volunteer my room—ouch!” She had kicked him. I covered a laugh with a hand.