Gates of Ruin (Magelands Eternal Siege, #6)

by Christopher Mitchell

  She searched for half an hour, and was about to give up when she saw a speck soaring through the sky. Blackrose. She decided not to attempt to make contact, aware that Arete would also discover that, and instead carried onward in the direction the black dragon had come from. She sped over the barren wastes, scanning the ground as she went, until finally, she spotted a lone figure trudging across the sands.

  Sable.

  Belinda longed to make contact with her, to gloat at the woman’s plight. She was stranded in the middle of an enormous desert, alone and without supplies. Belinda watched for a long moment as Sable struggled along, her boots trailing through the sand. She had a fresh wound on her arm, and it was bleeding, leaving drops of blood behind her on the broken ground. Blackrose had abandoned her to die. It was no more than she deserved, Belinda thought, but her attention was drawn to Sable’s eyes, and she discerned a grim determination on the Holdfast’s woman’s face. Belinda’s gloating ceased, and she began to feel pity for her. Sable had risked everything to save Blackrose, and this was how she was being repaid. Was it possible that Sable had been misunderstood? After all, many people suspected Belinda of colluding with the Ascendants, and they were wrong. Could she have been wrong about Sable?

  She cut the connection, and her vision leapt back to her body. She got to her feet, knowing what she had to do next. It was a short walk to Arete’s quarters, and the courtiers allowed her to enter.

  Arete was sitting with a few of her demigod assistants, and she frowned as Belinda walked into her rooms.

  ‘Third Ascendant,’ she said; ‘can I help you?’

  ‘No,’ said Belinda. ‘I am here to inform you of something. Alone.’

  Arete nodded to the demigods, and they left the chamber.

  ‘Well?’ she said.

  ‘I ignored your instructions and sent my vision to the Catacombs.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘There is a mortal living in the Catacombs that I am fond of, and I went to warn her that you will be searching there.’

  Arete sprang to her feet, rage lighting up her features. ‘You warned them? You brazenly display your treachery, and then you tell me about it?’

  ‘Blackrose has killed Sable Holdfast.’

  Arete paused for a moment. ‘Are you lying to me? Are you trying to stop me from doing my job?’

  ‘I am telling you the truth. Go to the Catacombs, and you will see for yourself. The dragon feels that Sable betrayed her, and has punished her for it. The mortal I warned is a friend; her name is Maddie. Whatever else happens, I do not wish her to be harmed.’

  Confusion clouded Arete’s face, though the rage remained. ‘I will do what needs to be done.’

  ‘If you harm Maddie, I will kill you.’

  ‘The mask slips at last,’ said Arete. ‘Your heart isn’t with us; it’s with our enemies, where it has always been. One day, soon, you’re going to make a mistake that you will not be able to hide.’ She pointed to the door. ‘Get out of my quarters, most blessed and noble Third Ascendant.’

  Belinda stared at her, then turned and walked back out onto the landing of the tower. What had she done? What else did Maddie know? Had the Blade girl discovered that Corthie was still alive? Belinda had to assume that Arete would read everything that was held within Maddie’s memories. She walked back into her own rooms and sat, holding her head in her hands.

  Time was running out. Leksandr and Arete were too powerful for her to handle alone, and the threat of Lord Bastion would only go so far. If only Sable hadn’t behaved so recklessly; her actions in the Northern Pits had endangered everything. Belinda’s earlier doubts evaporated, and her loathing of the Holdfast woman returned.

  It was Sable’s fault. Her meddling had ruined everything.

  Chapter 14

  Making Allowances

  N orthern Kinell – 21st Luddinch 5252

  Aila watched as Kelsey cleaned out Frostback’s lair. The young silver dragon had insisted that the ‘insects’ make themselves useful as a condition for her letting them stay, and Aila and Kelsey had been taking it in turns. As well as allowing them to sleep close to the dragon each night, Frostback had also been bringing them back food from her hunting trips, and Kelsey had recovered from the arduous journey across Northern Kinell.

  Frostback’s lair consisted of a shallow dip in the forest, a hollow surrounded by dense undergrowth and trees with a rocky slope on one side. It had been in a mess when Aila and Kelsey had first arrived, littered with gnawed bones and scraps of dead animals, while the bedding of moss and branches had been imbued with a dragon stench that had made them both nauseous. Several days of cleaning and tidying had followed, until they had got the daily routine down to an hour or so.

  The dragon was keeping a close eye on Kelsey as she carried armfuls of fresh moss over to the base of the hollow where the dragon slept. She was quite beautiful, Aila thought. Her silver-grey wings shone in the moonlight, and she moved with a grace that belied her impatient belligerence. Her red eyes reminded Aila of Blackrose, and they would glow in the same way when she was angry, which was often.

  ‘Do it properly this time,’ she cajoled Kelsey, her long neck turning as she followed the Holdfast woman’s movements. ‘It’s not a difficult job; even you insects should be able to manage it.’

  ‘Stop complaining,’ muttered Kelsey as she dropped the moss into the hollow. ‘Before we arrived, you were living in your own filth; it’s no wonder you need humans to help you.’

  ‘I do not need you,’ said Frostback; ‘I tolerate you. You serve me, and in return, I provide you with food and protection. You can always leave if you don’t like it.’

  ‘You’re always saying that, but I don’t believe you. You want us to stay, don’t you? You were lonely until we showed up.’

  The dragon snorted. ‘You have a vivid imagination.’ She raised her neck and sniffed the air. ‘Those goats I was tracking yesterday will be on the move.’ She extended her great wings and lifted into the sky, sending a wave of cold air down into the hollow.

  Aila shielded her eyes until the dragon had gone, then stood, and walked over to help Kelsey cover the ground in the fresh moss.

  ‘Maybe we should be thinking of going,’ she said to Kelsey.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘We’re supposed to be finding Corthie and Van, and yet we’re no closer to Kin Dai. You seem fit and healthy again; if Frostback won’t carry us south, then perhaps we should start walking.’

  Kelsey’s face fell. ‘But I don’t want to leave.’

  ‘What? Are you happy slaving for that flying lizard?’

  ‘Don’t call her that.’

  Aila sighed. ‘She’s bewitched you. It’s the only explanation.’

  ‘We nearly starved to death getting here; well, I did – you would have been fine. I have no intention of going through that again. I’m not walking to Kin Dai.’

  ‘So it’s not about the dragon, it’s about the walking? What if Frostback offers to take us to the outskirts of Kin Dai, would you be happy to say goodbye to her?’

  ‘Oh, shut up. This is the happiest I’ve been in ages, and you just want to ruin it.’

  Aila squinted at her. ‘You like it here? You’re happy living in the middle of a forest with no roof over our heads; happy to work every day for no thanks? Frostback is mean and spiteful…’

  ‘No, she’s not; she’s just had a hard time. Her father kicked her out, and she was nearly killed by the Ascendants. Maybe I am a little bewitched, but come on, Aila – she’s a dragon.’

  ‘This is unlike you; you’re usually very hard to impress, but what about Van? Corthie? I need to get back to civilisation.’

  Kelsey glanced up from the moss. ‘What if we could persuade Frostback to join our cause? She’s already fought against the Ascendants once; if she could get over her fear of their death powers, then she might be willing to help us.’

  ‘She doesn’t seem interested. I think she was only helping Blackrose because Blackrose orde
red her to. If I had to guess her motives from everything that she’s said to us, then I reckon she wants to reconcile with her father Deadfang.’

  ‘Deathfang.’

  ‘Yes, alright; Deathfang. Let’s discuss it with her when she gets back. If she’s not willing to help us, then we should tell her we’re going.’

  Kelsey glowered at her. ‘Why don’t you go? You can go, and I’ll stay here. You won’t starve in the forest and, without me, you’ll be able to use your disguise powers. Look, all I need is a chance to show her that I can protect her from the Ascendants. If that takes a little bit longer, then so be it.’

  Aila suppressed her irritation. Was the young Holdfast woman being serious? There was no way Aila was going to turn up in front of Corthie only to tell him that she had left his sister in a forest with a dragon for company.

  A flock of birds arose from the trees to their north, calling as they flew away. Aila turned. Frostback regularly scared the wildlife with her appearance, and the sight of birds being disturbed had become normal, but never from the north. That way lay the ever-encroaching lumber gangs, hacking, burning and sawing their way southwards, and the silver dragon did not hunt in that direction.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Kelsey. ‘The edge of the forest is still several miles away. It’ll be a couple of months before they get here.’

  They finished laying the carpet of fresh moss, and went to sit down by the cold remains of their little fire, where, to Frostback’s disgust, they cooked the meat she brought them every day. Aila knelt by the circular pile of ashes and prepared the fire for the coming evening, while Kelsey relaxed, her eyes on the blue sky above them.

  Aila was laying the last stacks of firewood next to the hearth when Kelsey sat up, her eyes narrowing.

  ‘Something’s wrong,’ she said.

  Aila followed her glance to the north. Smoke was rising from the forest in several places, thin wisps, which were being carried away by the wind.

  ‘Those fires are too close,’ said Kelsey. ‘There’s no way the lumber gangs have reached this deep into the forest by now.’

  More smoke rose as Aila watched, this time from the east and west of their position, a clutch of grey tendrils clearing the roof of the forest. To the north, the volume of smoke was increasing, growing thicker and darker.

  Aila stood, and stared all around them, but saw no movement in the trees. ‘Damn it,’ she muttered. ‘I think they’re trying to burn us out.’

  Her boots scrambled on the dirt as she hurried up the slope of the low hillock next to the hollow. When she reached the top, she turned. She could just see over the tops of the nearby trees, and the extent of the approaching fires became apparent. To the north, half a dozen distinct pillars of smoke could be seen, and flames were visible, licking the upper branches. The fires to the east and west hadn’t grown as large, but they were getting bigger, and more smoke was starting to appear from the south, cutting them off.

  ‘We need to leave,’ she called out to Kelsey, who was still in the bottom of the hollow. ‘Grab everything.’

  She raced back down the slope and began to gather their things, as Kelsey watched her.

  ‘We’re being surrounded,’ said Aila. ‘They must have discovered the lair’s location. The fires to the south are still sparse; if we run, we might be able to get through that way.’

  Kelsey turned to the south. There was no sign of smoke from the bottom of the hollow, and she frowned.

  ‘Trust me,’ said Aila, swinging their bag over her shoulder and taking hold of Kelsey’s arm. ‘Move.’

  ‘What about Frostback?’ said Kelsey, standing her ground. ‘If we run, we’ll get lost in the forest, and she won’t be able to find us. And anyway, I’d rather burn than starve.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I’ve told you, Aila; I can’t go through that again; the thought of starving to death in the forest terrifies me.’

  ‘Is that why you want to stay here? You’re worried you’ll starve if we leave?’

  ‘You don’t understand, do you? You didn’t even come close to dying, but I felt it. Day after day of nothing to eat, it was turning me into a different person. I won’t go through that again.’

  ‘What about me? You’re right that it would take a long time for me to die of starvation, but fire will kill me, and my child; Corthie’s child. I can’t take that risk, Kelsey.’

  Kelsey said nothing, her gaze on the ground.

  ‘I don’t want to leave you here,’ said Aila; ‘please.’

  ‘Pyre’s arse,’ Kelsey muttered; ‘alright.’

  They were about to move along the side of the slope when three soldiers burst through the undergrowth, crossbows in their arms.

  ‘Halt!’ cried one. ‘Where is the dragon?’

  Aila lifted her hands in the air. ‘It flew off; it’s gone.’

  The three men walked forward, keeping their weapons trained on the two women. All around the hollow, smoke was billowing up into the sky, but no flames were yet visible.

  ‘Were you the dragon’s prisoners?’ said one of the soldiers. ‘Was it holding you hostage?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Aila, before Kelsey had a chance to contradict her.

  The three soldiers relaxed a little, but continued to gaze around the lair. A shadow flitted overhead, and then a burst of fire exploded by the edge of the hollow, aimed at the three men. They dropped their crossbows, screaming as the inferno consumed them. Aila cried out in fright, and fell backwards in her haste to get away from the flames. She was about to hit the ground when something took hold of her and she felt herself lifted into the air. She glanced down, and saw a thick, scaled forelimb gripping her, the claws enveloping her chest and waist. She struggled for a moment, and caught a glimpse of the ground as it got further away. Fires were almost completely surrounding the hollow, and beyond them, dozens of soldiers were staring up.

  A yard-long steel bolt sped through the air, and Frostback twisted, her long silver body darting out of the way. The dragon put on a surge of speed, and raced south over the forest, keeping only a yard or two above the tops of the trees. They passed the ring of flames and hurtled onwards.

  Aila panted and shivered as the wind lashed her. She closed her eyes to stop them streaming and tried not to think about what would happen if the dragon dropped her. Her fingers were gripping onto the scales of the forelimb, while her legs were flailing about. She felt the branches of a tree hit her feet, and she yelled in pain, her voice lost to the rushing wind.

  Her thoughts emptied of everything as she tried to shut out the wind, the noise, and the pain in her waist from where a claw was digging into her, and then, in an instant, it was over, and she was released onto a wide stone ledge. She groaned and opened her eyes. Her vision swam for a moment, then she realised that she was near the summit of what passed for a hill in the forests of Northern Kinell. Ahead of her, the trees seemed to go forever, and the smoke from the fires by the hollow was nothing but a tiny wisp on the horizon. She turned to her right, and saw Kelsey crouching next to her.

  ‘That was amazing,’ said the young Holdfast woman. ‘Thank you, Frostback.’

  ‘I had to drop my goat to save you,’ the dragon said.

  Aila glanced up, and saw Frostback’s head above her, looking down at the two women. The dragon was sitting at the rear of the ledge, where a dark cave led away.

  ‘Where are we?’ said Aila.

  ‘We are twenty miles further to the south,’ said the dragon. ‘Why did they do that? Why are they hunting me? You told me that soldiers were coming, but I scarcely believed it; do they hate dragons so much?’

  ‘You were in their way,’ said Kelsey.

  ‘And didn’t you kill someone?’ said Aila.

  Frostback stared at her.

  ‘That’s what we were told back in the camp,’ said Aila. ‘We heard you killed someone.’

  ‘He walked right into my lair while I was sleeping,’ said the dragon. ‘I reacted in the same way I would have r
eacted in the Catacombs, and raised my claws to defend myself. I didn’t deliberately tear him to shreds, and I even returned the body to his comrades. It is true that I detest insects, but with so many of them employed in cutting down the forest, it was not my wish to antagonise them.’

  Aila frowned. ‘And now you’ve killed another three.’

  ‘They were threatening you, and despite your lack of worth, you are officially under my protection. It would sully my honour if I allowed those who serve me to die.’

  ‘You have a strange concept of honour.’

  The dragon’s eyes glowed a fiery red. ‘The honour of my kin is far superior to that of insects, who lie and cheat every day. And, were the soldiers not attacking my home? I have a right to defend my property. Even as we speak, my former lair is in flames; do you think I should have meekly surrendered? Do you take me for a coward, you ungrateful wretch?’

  Aila edged back, fear racing through her. Her fingers scrabbled on the rock beneath her, but the ledge was smooth, and she braced herself as Frostback opened her jaws, a burning rage in her eyes.

  ‘Is this going to be your new lair?’ said Kelsey, her tone light. ‘I like it.’

  Frostback’s head snapped round to face the Holdfast woman. ‘What did you say?’

  ‘The cave is big enough for us all to fit inside,’ Kelsey went on, getting to her feet and brushing the dirt from the front of her clothes. ‘And, even better, we can see for miles up here. There’s no way anyone will be able to surprise us again.’

  ‘That’s why I chose it,’ said Frostback.

  ‘Thank you again for rescuing us; we’re very grateful.’

  ‘You might be, but the demigod isn’t.’

  ‘I am grateful,’ said Aila, slowly rising to her feet, her palms outstretched. ‘I am. Without you, we would have been arrested, or we’d have burned to death. All I was trying to say was that the soldiers will still be coming after you. You killed another three of them. I know you were protecting us and defending your lair, but they won’t see it like that.’