Of Dragon Warrens and Other Traps

by Shannon McGee

  The head jerked, and then it and half of the long neck fell to the floor with a flat noise of skin against stone. Harold pulled his ax back from the felled creature. It had taken three lightning-fast hacks for the ax to make it through the monster’s thick neck.

  I stared at the blank space where the head had been, not quite understanding what had happened. It was Ito blowing his horn that brought me back around.

  My attention went to Harold first. I expected him to whoop and say something boorish, as was his habit, but he didn’t. He moved out of the mouth of the tunnel and settled back, dripping ax held away from him. His face was tight and frighteningly intense. Understanding, I returned my focus there as well.

  My heart thudding against my ribs, I tried to slow my ragged breathing enough to listen for our companions. There were still sounds coming from within the access tunnel. The occasional curse or screech as monster or human made contact. Then there was a brief silence. Someone blew the horn. Two short blasts and one long one. All that could be killed had been.

  Not long after that, Aella, Aedith, Kaleb, and Victor reappeared. They had to press themselves against the wall to get around the long lithe body of the dead drake. Aella was limping.

  Not caring what anyone thought, I pushed my way to her side, offering my shoulder for her to lean on. She smiled at me tiredly but said nothing. Her eyes drifted down to the dragon at her feet. She stared at it as though she couldn’t look away. Her lips twisted in a bleak grimace.

  I glanced at the unblinking eyes of the monster to see whatever it was she was looking at. From this angle I could see the whole of the beast. It was at least six feet long, with razor sharp claws and a mean-looking tail. Shuddering, I quickly turned away again. It was horrible. Its mouth could have taken half my arm without a problem.

  Ito was the first to speak. “That’s not a yearling,” he said mildly.

  Aedith’s brows were lowered in a scowl, her mouth a grim line. “No. It’s not. Nor was its mate.”

  “There weren’t supposed to be parents,” Tate protested. “Were there?”

  “No. There weren’t. We were informed that those had been taken care of.” That was Kaleb. There was no humor in his usually light voice.

  “An accident?” Cassandra asked.

  Aedith lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “We’ll see what we can figure out. As for now…”

  “We’re calling the hunt for now. We did not catch what we intended to, but we are bringing back the heads of all those slain so there is no confusion as to exactly how hard we worked today.” Dai, who had remained unseen until that moment, stepped into the light. He wore an evil grin. A bulky canvas bag was in one hand, and a drake head, the spitting image of the one in front of us, was in the other, gripped by one horn. He gestured to the monster on the ground. “Who wants to carry this one?”

  Harold ended up getting that dubious honor as the one who had killed the dragon. He trimmed away the excess neck, so all he need carry was the skull itself. Then he wiped his ax off on a cloth before clasping it back onto his belt and chucking the cloth into the sewer water. The rest of us put away our own weapons and took back up the torches.

  This time, Aella and I both walked at the end of the procession on the long trek back to the sewer entrance.

  “Are you all right?” I asked her quietly.

  She jerked her head in a nod. “Yeah. The—” she cleared her throat, “the momma came out of the tunnel to the manhole as I was coming up to the nest. Heard it just in time. Dove out of the way. It caught my thigh. Barely.” Her words were clipped with pain. Belinda wouldn’t do any healings in the unsanitary conditions and darkness of the sewers. Aella would have to bear it until we got to the surface.

  “Did you…were you the one to kill it?” I didn’t try to keep the awe out of my voice.

  She shook her head. “I got enough of a stab in to get it off me, and then I got out of the way. Ma and Dai killed it together. Victor did the babies, and Kaleb had to look after me.” Her voice was tight. Perhaps not just with pain. Aella hated to be helpless.

  Not that I can blame her, I thought, remembering how it had felt to hear her scream.

  I let her go first up the ladder to the surface, guarding her back as she made the slow climb. When at last we were in the open air, the brightness of the noonday sun almost struck me blind. I hadn’t realized how much my eyes had adjusted to the dimness of the sewer tunnels. In the new light, I looked Aella over. Removing my filthy gloves and shoving them in my belt, I swiped a gentle thumb across a wheel on her cheek.

  “Claw skimmed my face as I went down,” she said, grimacing.

  I nodded, marveling at what a near thing that must have been. Her clothing was streaked with sewer muck. The leather of her right leg’s cuisse was punctured and ringed in the brown and red of blood. It would need patching before she could wear it again.

  I led her to a curb so she could sit and remove the armor. Under the cuisse, her leggings were soaked with her own blood, the black fabric shiny where wetness seeped through the most. I moaned in sympathy, letting her squeeze my hand tightly as we unbuckled the armor and then cut and pulled the fabric away from the wound so Belinda, who had joined us, had a better view of the situation.

  I couldn’t watch as she worked. Even being near her as she did, her healing made that buzzing bee feeling in my head. Was it fear that caused it? Or had my battle with Michael shaken me so deeply that I would always feel something when magic was in the air? I hoped not. Far more comforting was the idea that magic might always give off such a feeling, and I just hadn’t been exposed to it enough in Nophgrin to notice. I would ask Belinda when she wasn’t so busy.

  In the meantime, I allowed my eyes to wander the street, searching for Aedith and her seconds. They were speaking to the guard who was our guide. The two adult heads and the bag of baby heads were laying at his feet, and he seemed to be doing his best to lean as far away from them as possible without moving his feet. Whatever they were speaking of, the exchange was clearly heated. When at last it ended, he was the one to storm away, headed toward the center district, which we had come from. Aedith bent her head to speak to Dai and Kaleb, before joining Belinda, Aella, and me.

  “How is she?” she asked. Her voice was brusque, as though Aella were any wounded warrior, but the look in her eyes bespoke a deeper concern.

  “I’m fine, Ma. Belinda is sorting me out.” Aella spoke through clenched teeth. I looked over in time to see the healer’s magic spread across her wound in the faintest cornflower-blue haze. I blinked. I had never seen magic in the air back at Nophgrin. Not even when Andrew had performed healings. Was Belinda that much more powerful than him?

  “Muscles were punctured,” Belinda said briskly, as though Aella hadn’t spoken. “I have to weave them back together. That’s going to hurt.” Aella shut her eyes briefly and gave a small nod.

  I had blubbered like a baby the one time I had broken my arm and Andrew had to set it and spur the mending process. The only sign Aella felt pain was a watering of the eyes and the tightening of her fingers around mine. Aedith watched; her face was impassive, but I sensed she approved of her daughter’s wooden demeanor.

  “You did well in there. We’re waiting on the guard to fetch Anyo. I’m not moving from this spot until someone can tell me why we found ourselves in the nest of seven monthlings and two grown adults still on their parental duties instead of nine three-month drakes.”

  Aella’s eyes were screwed shut as she spoke. “Don’t see why we can’t seem to have one job without something going stupidly awry. Maybe I should start going to temple more often.”

  Aedith was fiddling with something in her pocket, and a smile briefly lit her lips. “Mayhaps. I’m going to inform the rest of the company of the plan. Will you be all right here?” At her daughter’s nod, she pushed herself to her feet. Briefly, she rested a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Don’t be hard on yourself. No one could have been prepared for that.”


  “You were,” I heard Aella mutter under her breath, but her mother had already moved off.

  When the commander had gone, Belinda sighed, her hands still hovering over Aella’s wound—or rather, where the wound had been. The blood was still present, but underneath there was now a scab that was slowly melting into a pink ridge, instead of a ragged cut.

  “What?” I asked.

  Belinda shook her head. “People always think they can cheat the mercenaries. I saw it in the capital from the noble’s side, and I’ve seen it from the mercenary’s. They get us into something we didn’t sign up for and expect the same price or blame us when something foul is going on. Oh—oh here we go, here comes the hard part.”

  Aella’s grip spasmed in mine, as under her skin muscles began to knit themselves together at an unnaturally fast rate. I ground my teeth, refusing to pull back my hand. When Belinda at last took her own hands away, most of the pain had smoothed from Aella’s brow. There was a jagged pink scar in place of the gash that had been there minutes before.

  “Thanks,” Aella muttered. Clearing her throat, she groped blindly for her flask. When she didn’t get it in two tries, I took it upon myself to unbuckle it and place the cool metal into her hand. She took a swig and opened her eyes. “Honestly, you’re a lifesaver.”

  Belinda winked. “You only say that because you’ve never seen my bill. I’m going to go fix Victor next. He hurt his shoulder. You want me to get that?” She tapped her own cheek to indicate the cut across Aella’s.

  “Nah, it’ll heal up fine on its own.”

  Belinda’s mouth quirked, in disapproval and she quickly swiped a finger down the cut. “I’m burning out the infection—” she scolded when Aella started to protest. “You can keep your cursed battle scar, but I’m not letting your cheek rot off. You think our friend’s claws were clean? Don’t forget to wash it on your own as well. Sooner than later.” Looking cross, Belinda moved on to her next patient.

  “Thank you!” Aella called after her. Leaning her still leather-helmed head on my shoulder, she murmured, “I just need to… shut my eyes for,” she yawned hugely, “a moment.” And promptly she began to doze.

  I smiled up at Luke, who had come to sit next to us. He squeezed my shoulder and mouthed, “You did great.”

  “Thanks,” I mouthed back.

  Neither of us spoke aloud, not wanting to disturb our friend. Minor though the wound had been, her body needed to rest now. When I had broken my arm, Andrew had explained healings took strength from not only the mage, but also from the patient as their body worked to keep up with what the magic asked it to do. It was why even the strongest mage couldn’t keep a person alive if their body wasn’t strong enough to help in the fight.

  Well, unless that person was a necromancer. Or someone else willing to take massive amounts of strength from other living things.

  The thought of Master Noland set goosebumps on my arms. Was that wood smoke on the wind? Flaring my nose, I surreptitiously scanned our surroundings. There. A chimney several streets down had sooty smoke streaming from it.

  Relief flooded me and mentally I shook myself. Why was I looking for trouble? Master Noland was not here in the bright sun, and why would he be? I couldn’t even picture him among these sandstone and stucco buildings and the sand. Not that I knew what he looked like exactly, besides how he had been described to me—an old man in a hooded cloak but—

  A snore stuttered from Aella’s lips, jolting me from that train of thought. I turned my head to see if Luke had heard. He had, and we exchanged grins. Ordinarily, Aella was a proud non-snorer; she must have been exhausted.

  Victor’s healing had been finished for a half a candle mark, and the sun was becoming uncomfortable with no awnings to hide under when at last Anyo rode in on a yellow gelding. He reined up short at the sight of the drake heads, piled plainly in the open for any and all to see. A few locals had been spotted peering around the corners of buildings, but they had scattered at the arrival of the nobility.

  The gelding whickered unhappily and shied a few steps backward at the smell and sight of the remains. When Anyo had got him under control, he dismounted. Without looking he handed the reins off to the man who had trotted in his wake. In a few long strides, he had reached Aedith.

  “What is this?” The pompous outrage in his voice was pronounced and carrying. Gone was the composed man from earlier that morning, and his proximity to our leader teetered over the line of politeness. Aedith did not move.

  It was Kaleb who spoke, drawing level with his commander. His voice was congenial, but his eyes were steely. “You are well acquainted with drakes, good sir. These are drake heads.”

  “I can see that,” the man sputtered, going red under his golden skin. “What are they doing out here on the street?”

  “Well it seemed in poor taste to parade them back to the inn.” Kaleb tilted his head. “We thought it best to wait here for you.”

  “Yes, but why—” Anyo stopped talking. His eyes were on the scaly heads. The newborns had been dumped from their satchel next to the parents. None of those heads were any bigger than the pommel on Aedith’s sword. Next to them, the parents look massive. His brows furrowed as his gaze roamed over them. His lips moved, counting. “That’s not right.”

  One of Aedith’s eyebrows crooked upward. “Our thoughts exactly.”

  “There ought not be any parents left. The guards killed the parents of the clutch you were hired to kill.”

  “So we were told,” Kaleb agreed.

  “You hunted here? In the east district?”

  Aedith nodded. “They were denned at the base of a maintenance tunnel, south-west of the main entrance, but still within the east district.”

  Anyo rocked back on his heels. He made a harrumph sound, snapping his finger at the boy who held his horse. That boy took out parchment as well as a quill and a glass jar of indigo ink from Anyo’s saddle-bags. He trotted those over to his master, bending at his waist so his back could be used as a table. Aella was still asleep, but I caught Belinda and Ito sharing a contemptuous look. Whether it was for the servant or the advisor, I wasn’t sure.

  After Anyo had scrawled out a message and blown on the ink to dry it, he rolled the parchment up and handed it to the boy. “Makai. He’ll be in Sunhouse, enjoying his breakfast, no doubt. His manservant will tell you he isn’t to be disturbed. Get this to him anyway.” The boy nodded dutifully and set off at a run.

  I realized before he rounded a corner that he wore no shoes. I raised my eyebrows. I wasn’t sure if it was admirable or pitiable that he was so accustomed to running barefoot on the hot ground that he could do so without apparently burning.

  Aedith had watched all this with a bland look smeared across her face. Now, as Anyo watched the direction the boy had run off in, she cleared her throat. “We were not paid for two adults, Master Anyo of Dabsqin.” The words rolled from her lips like heavy stones.

  Anyo whipped his head around in surprise. “Oh, the money. My apologies. Clearly you found a separate warren from the one you were intended to clear. Naturally we will compensate you for this one as well.”

  “Naturally.” Aedith’s smile was close lipped. “We will also need a few day’s rest before we venture again into the sewers for the originally intended quarry. Two of my people were injured in this surprise. They’ll need time for their healings to set.”

  “The earl will continue to pay for your room and board at the inn. We are grateful for your assistance in rooting out trouble where even our eyes could not perceive it.”

  Could a person simper distractedly? Anyo seemed to be willing to attempt it. Though his words were dripping with false sincerity, his eyes kept wandering back toward the building in which the earl and his council met. Its great domed ceiling towered over the other square rooftops. Was he sweating from the sun or from nerves? Even from a distance I could see the sheen on his forehead.

  “We appreciate your generosity, Master Anyo. Truly, there is no hospitali
ty like Dabsqin hospitality.” Kaleb bent slightly at the waist, arm curled behind his back, one curled in front of his chest. A sign of respect.

  Anyo nodded dismissively in response. “This is a delicate matter. The common people, you understand, become antsy if even one warren lives beneath the streets. To hear there were two broods, even with one already killed, it could cause some less poised individuals to panic or become incensed.” He indicated the pile of heads with a grimace of disgust. “If you could wrap those up, I will happily take them and dispose of them.” His voice hinted that nothing would give him less pleasure than to do so, but we obliged him.

  Aella woke as he was mounting, telling Aedith he would speak to her within the next day. Beside him, a squeamish-looking guard held two bags of drake heads. I filled Aella in on what she missed as I helped her stand.

  She yawned hugely. “He has to go grovel before his boss. Even if they don’t take care of it right off, he’s supposed to know if a beasty so much as sneezes in the city. Somehow he and his patrols missed a warren at the base of a maintenance tunnel? That’s trouble for him and his.”

  I made a noise of understanding. I held her hand as she stiffly mounted Juniper, and then I swung into Cinnamon’s saddle. Inside, real anger jangled in my heart. He wasn’t worried about the people who had died because his patrols had not been doing their job. He was worried about his own skin and begrudging us the payment we were owed for the danger he had put us in. Why should someone like that be in charge of anything?

  Back at the inn, money had been left for us at the front desk—the original payment that had been agreed upon for slaying the nest of baby dragons.

  As the coin-filled purse settled into my palm with a clink, a small thrill sang through me. True, my cut was less than the others. Aedith had already deducted the price of my horse, spear, and leather jerkin from it. Still that meant once we were paid for the next hunt, so long as I made sure to set money aside for my guild fee, I could buy things again. My own food, face balm, and maybe even clothes. It was like holding freedom in my hands.