‘I’d expect a lot more footsteps if that were the case,’ said Sable. ‘I don’t see any going out. Let’s be wary in here; we might not be alone.’
‘But he might attack us,’ said Maddie.
Sable rolled her eyes. ‘We have a dragon with us, remember?’
‘Shall I burn any who approach?’ said Deepblue.
‘Not unless they’re hostile. It might just be some poor refugee from the town, taking shelter in here; but be ready, just in case.’
They entered the first cavern. It had a ceiling so high that any single one of the dragons could have fitted inside. On the opposite wall were several other openings, but Sable walked over to a pile of refuse to the left. She leaned over, pulled away a tattered cloth and picked up a lamp that she had placed there months before. She lit it, angled the shutters to point ahead, then strode to the second tunnel from the left.
‘Follow me,’ she said.
The tunnel was just large enough to take Deepblue, though she had to stoop low to fit. They emerged into another cavern, and Sable lit a couple of wall lamps.
‘This is where we leave you, Deepblue. Millen, you stay here as well. Maddie and I will descend into the depths together.’
‘Why do I have to go?’ said Maddie. ‘Isn’t Millen going to be carrying anything?’
‘He’ll be needed, all right, but first I want to bring up some samples to show Blackrose, and take a count of how much is down there.’ She glanced at Deepblue. ‘We won’t be long. Twenty minutes at the most.’
The dragon nodded, then Sable led Maddie down a flight of stairs burrowed through the rock. The lantern lit their way, and they descended into the heart of the cliffside, passing side chambers and junctions.
‘Am I supposed to remember the way?’ said Maddie. ‘I’m already lost.’
‘We’ll mark the floor on our return journey,’ said Sable. ‘Right, here’s our first stop.’
She turned into a landing and they entered a wide but low-ceilinged chamber that stretched back into the distance. Sitting on the ground were row upon row of large bins, each filled to the top with grey ingots.
‘There you have it,’ she said; ‘several thousand tons of pig iron. Each bin would probably take us a day to move up to the forecourt, unless, of course, you want to use the Quadrant to do it. Think of your poor arms and legs, and how tired you’ll be after each trip.’
‘Knowing my luck,’ said Maddie, ‘I’d end up appearing in the middle of the cliff.’
Sable put her hand out.
Maddie frowned. ‘Blackrose would not approve.’
‘I’ll show you how to do it; that’s all.’
Maddie withdrew the Quadrant from her shoulder bag, then hesitated. ‘By the sacred breath of Amalia, if you vanish when I give you this…’
Sable laughed, and took it from her hand. ‘Alright,’ she said; ‘are you watching?’ She hovered a finger over the copper-coloured surface. ‘You’re not travelling far, so you just need to indicate direction, and then distance; like this.’ She moved her finger. ‘That will take you into the cavern where Deepblue and Millen are. And you know how to get back here, yes? Just indicate that you wish to return to your previous location and you’ll turn up down here again. Got it?’
‘How do I take a bin of iron with me?’
‘Just grab onto it with your free hand; I haven’t the time to explain the complexities of transporting other objects to you.’
Maddie nodded, and Sable gave her the Quadrant back. ‘Thanks. Eh, please don’t tell Blackrose what just happened.’
Sable looked shocked, and placed a hand to her mouth. ‘You’re asking me to keep a secret about the Quadrant from Blackrose? What a disgraceful suggestion; are you trying to get me into trouble?’
‘Shut up,’ Maddie muttered.
She walked to the nearest bin of ingots and placed her left hand on it, then her thumb moved over the surface of the Quadrant and she vanished, along with the bin.
Sable sat on the steps and lit a cigarette.
‘You can come out now,’ she said; ‘I know you’ve been following us.’
Naxor emerged from the shadows of the stairs above her. ‘Hello.’
Sable patted the space on the step next to her. ‘Cigarette?’
‘Yes, please.’ He trotted down the stairs to join her. ‘I ran out a couple of days ago.’
She shook her head at him. ‘There is literally tons of tobacco sitting in one of the lower caverns; what have you been doing with your time here?’
‘Hiding,’ he said, taking a cigarette.
She lit it for him. ‘It goes without saying, of course.’
‘Yes, yes, I get it. If I try to take Maddie’s Quadrant, you’ll do something awful to me. How long have you known I was in here?’
She shrugged. ‘A few minutes. I sensed your battle-vision. At first I thought someone might attack us, but then I realised it was only you.’
‘I needed it to see in the dark.’
‘So, you’re in hiding? Did my nephew finally threaten to kill you?’
‘Might I say how kind it is of you to refrain from dragging this information out of my head? You weren’t quite as accommodating the last time we met.’
‘How did Belinda react when she found out that you’d propositioned me?’
He shrugged. ‘I’m still alive.’
‘That was very forgiving of her.’
‘It was a close run thing. So, what are five dragons and three humans doing in the Falls of Iron? Apart from stealing iron from my dead cousin, of course. Actually, it could be my iron. If I remember correctly, when I obtained the Falls of Iron for Count Irno, I’m sure I added a clause to the contract that stated that the county would revert to me in the event of his untimely death.’
‘I’ll fight you for it.’
‘Is that how things are done where you’re from? You disregard laws and contracts, and take what you want by force? I don’t begrudge you a bit of iron, but I would like to know what you intend to do with it.’
‘We’re taking it to Dragon Eyre.’
‘How odd.’
‘Not if you consider that Dragon Eyre has a shortage of metals. That iron would be worth an awful lot there.’
He smiled. ‘I knew you would have an ulterior motive.’
‘I don’t – I was perfectly honest with Blackrose. Let’s go back to my earlier question; did you and Corthie have a falling out?’
‘Corthie and I have had many disagreements during the time we have known each other, but he is not the reason I am in hiding. You see, my dear, I have discovered that the Ascendants are after me.’
‘What do they want with you?’
He tapped the side of his head with a finger. ‘They want what’s in here. I have used a Quadrant to travel to the City, I mean the salve world, many times, and apparently my brain remembers the finger movements necessary.’
‘And that’s all they need?’
‘Precisely. They still haven’t managed to get the Sextant to work, so I guess I’m the next best thing.’
‘And where is my nephew?’
‘He’ll probably be in Alea Tanton by now, I’d think.’
‘What’s he going there for?’
‘To do Corthie-type things; fighting and so on. Dying once wasn’t enough for him.’
‘Did he send you away?’
‘No, I fled. Not my proudest moment, but self-preservation has always been a talent of mine, and a priority.’
She darted into his head as he smoked the cigarette.
‘How much do you want for the salve?’ she said.
‘How do you know… wait, that’s a stupid question. You couldn’t resist, could you?’
‘At least I’m offering you a price for it; I could have just knocked you out and taken it. Is it the same jug you had when you healed me in Old Alea?’
‘It is, yes. Nine-tenths of it remain.’
‘How much would be a fair price? I have plenty of gold, as you’ve probably seen.
’
‘That gold is yours? I might have known. Where did you get it?’
‘Lots of places. That Quadrant I took from Felice proved to be very lucrative.’
‘Then why did you hand it over to Maddie?’
‘It was the price of going to Dragon Eyre.’
He laughed. ‘And why, in Malik’s name, would you want to go there? It’s infested with lizards, gods and Banner soldiers.’
‘It sounds like fun.’
‘Suit yourself. You can have what’s left of the jug for five hundred gold sovereigns, standard Implacatus weights, of course; and a favour.’
‘What favour?’
‘Get me out of here.’
‘Where do you want to go?’
‘Home, ideally; back to the City with my tail between my legs, where I shall offer my services to the new king and queen.’ He sighed. ‘How my hopes have fallen, that I would view such a fate favourably.’
‘It’ll be up to Blackrose,’ she said. ‘I can ask her, or you can ask her yourself.’
He shook his head. ‘I already know what she’ll say.’ He eyed her. ‘Maybe, when Maddie gets back, we could…’
‘Haven’t you tried this approach before? And anyway, I’m on my last warning with the big black dragon. One more transgression and she’ll roast me.’
The air by the stairs shimmered, and Maddie appeared.
‘Hi,’ said Naxor.
Maddie clutched the Quadrant to her chest and stepped back. ‘What’s he doing here?’
‘Hiding from the Ascendants,’ said Sable. ‘I’ve warned him about the Quadrant, but stand away from him, just in case.’
Maddie narrowed her eyes at the demigod. ‘The last time I saw you, you tried to steal the God-Queen’s Quadrant, in the cavern at Fordamere.’
Naxor spread his palms out. ‘I was trying to stop her leaving.’
‘Yeah, right.’
‘How did it go upstairs?’ said Sable.
‘Fine. Blackrose sniffed the pig iron for a minute and pronounced it satisfactory. She wants to look at some gold next.’
Sable stood. ‘Then let us give her Majesty what she desires.’
‘What about him?’
‘I’m sure he can tag along. I’ll stay between him and the Quadrant.’
She picked up the lantern and led them down one more flight of stairs, and then into a long, cold passageway. They came to a door, and Sable pushed it open, then shone the lantern inside. Maddie gasped. The chamber was filled with gold. Most of it consisted of coins, piled up in bags and chests, but there was a heap of ingots in the centre of the floor.
‘You stole all this?’ said Maddie.
Sable smiled. ‘Yes.’
‘You are quite the entrepreneur,’ said Naxor. ‘Some of that bullion appears to have come from bank vaults in Kin Dai.’
‘That’s right.’
‘You broke into a bank?’
‘I had a Quadrant; what else was I supposed to do with it?’ She gestured to Maddie. ‘Pick up an ingot, and we’ll walk back up to the iron bins. I could show you how to get out of here using the Quadrant, but I don’t want to place temptation in Naxor’s way.’
Maddie lifted one of the gold ingots. ‘It’s heavy.’
‘Give it here,’ said Sable.
She passed it over, and the three of them returned to the cavern filled with pig iron. Maddie took out the Quadrant, and Sable took hold of her arm, while Naxor placed his hand on Sable’s shoulder. Maddie swept her fingers over the surface of the device, and they appeared in the chamber next to Deepblue and Millen.
‘Who’s that?’ said Millen.
‘This is Naxor,’ said Sable. ‘Don’t trust him.’
‘Should I burn him?’ said Deepblue.
‘Not yet. Let’s see what Blackrose has to say first.’
They all walked out of the caverns and emerged into the dim light of evening. They crossed the courtyard and went through the broken gates to where the other dragons had gathered. Ashfall was talking to Blackrose, but stopped as the others approached.
‘Things may be worse than we’d feared,’ said the black dragon. ‘Ashfall has patrolled up and down the coast. It is in ruins. Enormous waves have battered the entire shoreline. Cape Armour is no more; the entire settlement is under water, and it is the same to the north.’
‘How far to the north?’ said Naxor.
Blackrose paused, staring down at the demigod. ‘Naxor? What a surprise. I haven’t seen you since your foolish behaviour at Fordamere.’ She glanced at Maddie.
‘We know; he’s not to get close to the Quadrant.’
‘He is already too close to it, in my opinion. Step a few yards to the right, Naxor, just to ease my nerves a little.’ She watched as Naxor did so. ‘Now, what was your question?’
‘The waves you mentioned; did they reach Alea Tanton?’
‘I didn’t go that far,’ said Ashfall.
‘Should I check?’ said Sable. ‘Naxor doesn’t have the range to reach.’
‘If you must,’ said Blackrose, ‘though the fate of that city does not particularly interest me.’
‘Yes, but Naxor said that Corthie is on a ship, headed in that direction.’
‘I see.’
Sable glanced around, then went and crouched by Sanguino’s crossed forelimbs. She leaned against him, and sent her vision out from her body. It sped west to the coast, then turned north-west, cutting out the bulk of the mountains in the way. She passed high cliffs, and things seemed normal. She started to relax. Corthie would be fine; she was worrying over nothing. She rounded the coastline and turned to the north-east, where the cliffs receded, and had her first glimpse of the destruction that had been wrought upon Tordue. Mile after mile of coastline lay flooded and under water, and every building along the shore, to a depth of three miles, was in ruins. It was growing darker, but the moon was out, and the flooded fields were reflecting its light.
She reached the city, and slowed. The coastal strip had been devastated, and over half of Alea Tanton was under the rolling waves of the ocean. On the eastern side, the destruction almost reached the inland edge of the city, and crowds of survivors were clustered on the drier land. Despite the water, fires were raging in some districts, and many buildings had collapsed. Along the shore, the wrecks of dozens of ships were lying twisted and broken. Across the whole city, only one area was untouched by the calamity – Old Alea. Sable’s sadness grew. All those lives, snuffed out, thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, dead; and where was Corthie?
She pulled her vision back and slowly got to her feet.
‘Naxor, tell me again; why was Corthie going to Alea Tanton?’
‘Belinda had pleaded for his help,’ said the demigod. ‘He was reluctant at first, but decided to go along with it. He intends to fight the Ascendants again.’
‘And Belinda? Whose side is she on?’
‘I don’t know. I suspect she might have been trying to trap Corthie, but he wouldn’t listen to me.’
‘And the giant waves? Could the Ascendants have done that? Were they trying to kill my nephew?’
‘What do you mean? How was Alea Tanton? I assume you saw it.’
Sable glanced around at everyone. ‘Alea Tanton has been destroyed. The entire city is in ruins, except for Old Alea; that’s fine, but the rest? It’s gone.’
The others stayed quiet for a moment.
‘The whole city?’ said Millen.
‘That’s what I said; it’s… gone. The waves…’ Sable took a breath, feeling a weight of confused emotions battering her.
‘The Ascendants could have done it,’ said Naxor.
‘But why?’ said Blackrose. ‘It is unfortunate, but might this not have been a natural disaster?’
‘Either way,’ said Sable, ‘my nephew’s in the middle of it.’
‘He should have arrived this morning,’ said Naxor; ‘well, according to the shipping timetable in Cape Armour. If his ship docked on time, he would have been the
re when the wave struck.’
‘I know he is your nephew, Sable,’ said Blackrose, ‘but he has been in danger before.’
‘Are you implying that I don’t care?’ said Sable, her temper rising. ‘When he appealed for help in Yoneath, who urged you to go to his assistance? Me. I even went myself. I was going to help him, but I had to save Maddie, and then I was injured.’ She put a hand to her face. ‘And Aila’s pregnant; I feel sick.’ She remembered what Kelsey had whispered to her, took a deep breath, then turned back to Blackrose. ‘I have to go; I have to see for myself if he’s dead, and help him if he’s not.’
‘No,’ said Blackrose.
The forecourt fell into a chill silence.
Sable turned to Sanguino. ‘My dragon, will you take me to Alea Tanton?’
‘I forbid it,’ said Blackrose.
‘You are my mother,’ said the dark red dragon, ‘but my love and loyalty belong to my rider before they belong to you. Yes, Sable, I will take you.’
Blackrose bared her teeth, and the claws on her forelimbs shone. ‘No. This will not happen again. If you leave this company, then I swear to you that I shall take the rest of us to Dragon Eyre without you; do you understand?’
‘But…’ said Ashfall.
‘Silence!’ She glared at Sanguino, who stood his ground. ‘Do you understand?’
‘I do,’ he said.
Sable climbed up the harness onto the shoulders of Sanguino and secured the strap round her waist.
‘I’m sorry, everybody,’ she said. ‘I can’t abandon Corthie. Good luck.’
‘Wait,’ cried Maddie, but it was too late. Sanguino extended his wings and bore Sable up into the sky. The moon was in the east, and they soared away. Sable glanced down at the four dragons. Among them, the three humans were staring up at them. She wiped a tear from her eye.
‘Take me to Alea Tanton, Sanguino.’
‘For you, my rider, anything.’
Chapter 25
The Missing Piece
A lea Tanton, Tordue, Western Khatanax – 3rd Kolinch 5252
Belinda’s vision roamed the devastated city. The scenes of destruction and death were filling her with despair, but she couldn’t look away. Aside from a thin strip on the eastern side of Alea Tanton, the rest of the city was in ruins; flooded, collapsed, burning. The waves had ceased in the afternoon, but the earthquakes and tremors had continued beyond sunset, and were getting stronger with every hour that passed.
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