"Anything," Jordan looked her friend in the eye, willing him to feel her respect and support. She was still chafing over having accepted the medal, even though he'd encouraged her to. She felt in some way that she had betrayed her Nycht friends by doing so.
Toth caught Sol's eye as he was saying goodbye to his sparring partner and putting the throwing disks into their trunks for the night. Sol either felt the Nycht captain's eyes on him in that moment, or he happened to glance their way at just the right time to see Toth and Jordan both staring at him. One brow went up with curiosity. Toth invited him over with his hand.
Sol tossed the rest of the disks away and locked the trunk before crossing the green and settling on the stone beside Jordan, his feathers rustling as he stretched his wings. Sweat beaded Sol's brow, and he wiped it away with the heel of his hand. Jordan caught a whiff of sweat and damp leather as he moved.
"Have you seen Blue lately?" Toth plucked at a long piece of grass and caught its stem between his teeth, propping his foot against the rock.
Jordan nodded. "And Red, too."
"Is that what we're calling her?" Toth asked with a smirk.
"Unless you can think of a better name?" Sol challenged, wiping his forearm across his brow.
Toth shrugged. "I like keeping things simple."
"We saw them a couple of days ago, in the park not far from our apartment," Jordan answered more specifically. "Why?"
Toth nodded. "I saw them that day, as well. Blue surprised me with a little present."
"Oh? He didn't give us any presents," Sol replied with a chuckle. "Did he, Jordan?"
"Speak for yourself, he licked my face." Jordan gave Sol a smug smile.
"That's all it takes to make you happy? Good to know." Sol mimed taking out a notepad and licking the tip of a pen before writing something on an invisible page. "Lick Jordan's face after extended time away."
Jordan shoved Sol's shoulder playfully. "You're just jealous."
Toth shook his head. "I'm surrounded by children." His mouth twitched with something that was almost a smile, but the warmth of it didn't reach his eyes.
Jordan and Sol flashed each other a look. Their playing around was a bit forced and they knew it, but they were both eager to cheer their captain up. So far, not much could incite a smile.
"The present gave me an idea," Toth continued, as blithely as though he was ordering a mug of ale at a bar. "I'd like to take the dragons and a squadron of Nychts to Golpa."
Jordan let out a long breath.
Her initial reaction was a fearful one, not just for any Nychts who made the journey to that inhospitable, cold, and dangerous place, but also for Blue. Once she'd acknowledged the fear reaction and pushed it aside to make room for her warrior brain, she immediately understood why Toth would want to undertake such a treacherous mission.
In Rodania, they were always on guard, always being reactive, always guessing, waiting and dreading another attack. If they went to Golpa, they'd be taking their power back. There was nothing worse than feeling like sitting ducks.
Sol was nodding. "Go on the offensive. I like it." His brow furrowed as he unstrapped the waterskin at his waist and unscrewed the cap. The waterskin hovered near his mouth while he said, "Only Nychts? Why no Arpaks?"
Toth had an answer ready. "Golpa is a network of caves. They are vast but they are also deep and very dark. Nychts have sonar; we're built to handle the dark. Arpaks are not."
Sol took a drink and put the cap back on the waterskin. He swished the water around in his mouth and spat it off to the side. "True, but wouldn't it make sense to leave some Arpaks outside the caves to pick off stragglers?"
"Wait a second." Jordan put up a hand. "I think I'm with you, but just for clarity's sake, what precisely is the objective?"
"Exterminate the harpies, of course. Kill them in their sleep." Toth spoke plainly, almost mildly, around the stem of grass between his teeth.
"It's a good idea, Jordan," added Sol. "It's better than waiting around here for them to attack us again." He took another swig, this time swallowing it.
"I agree, but what if Red won't go?"
"I think she will," countered Toth, raking a hand through his sweaty, silver hair and making it stand up in spikes like freshly mown grass. "In fact, I think this is more their idea than mine."
"How's that?" Jordan wasn't necessarily jealous that Toth had had some convivial communication from Blue, but she was very curious as to how it came about. Blue hadn't given her any sign of having formed a plan to go all the way to Golpa with intent to kill. It seemed elaborate, even for an intelligent reptile.
"Blue dropped a harpy egg at my feet," Toth explained. "He couldn't have gotten it anywhere else but Golpa. You saw him earlier that same day—–why did he give me the egg and not you?"
Jordan made a thoughtful sound in the back of her throat. She had no answer. She had to admit, giving the egg to Toth was a calculated move.
"Blue is not a stray cat," Toth continued. "He's crafty. It strikes me as deliberate, what he did. All the same, I'd still like it if you asked him for me."
"Ask him if he'll go to Golpa with you?"
Toth grunted in the affirmative.
Jordan chewed her lip. The idea of sending Blue, who was still not yet full-grown, straight into the belly of where harpies bred and slept made her mouth go dry. If there were enough of the demon-birds to attack Rodania in the thousands, how many of them lived in Golpa? Or had a large portion of them been exterminated already? No one could answer this. "I'm sure he would go," she said, "but…"
"Red would go too, Jordan." Sol addressed her unspoken fear with a smile in his blue eyes. He squeezed her upper arm. "They're mates. Where one goes, the other follows."
He didn't need to add, ‘just like us’. The implication was plain enough.
Jordan smiled at him. "Yes, I reckon she would."
Toth was nodding too, but his eyes were alight with something that set a chill in Jordan's bones. Red was who he really was after. Against potentially thousands of harpies, Blue was helpful, but Red… Red was a different story. Red was a force of nature all by herself; she was a flying volcano.
"Without Red," Toth grew serious, as though he could read Jordan's thoughts. "We wouldn't succeed. But with her…" He trailed off, giving a small shrug. There was an abundance of confidence in that shrug, and no small amount of hunger either—–and not for food.
Toth wanted this, wanted it bad.
"You think it will be easy?" Sol crossed his arms over his chest.
The air had grown cool, and the sun had disappeared below Middle Rodania's horizon, sending its rays out from underneath them, as it had not yet passed below the lower island and the blanket of the Rodanian Sea. Their sweat had begun to dry on their skin, leaving the grit of salt on their brows.
"I would never assume any offensive strike like this to be easy, but with two dragons, and Nychts equipped to fight in the dark, we have a good chance of succeeding. And without taking a great number of casualties ourselves," Toth added.
"How would you do it? Have you been there before?" Jordan couldn't visualize how such an attack would go down. With the volume of fire that Red was able to produce, it could very well end in toasted Strix as well as toasted harpies.
"I've spoken at length to someone who has."
"Could Red even fit in the cave? She's massive."
Toth spat out the grass he’d been chewing on and began to talk with his hands. "The caves are enormous. They have high ceilings and there are offshoots and crevices everywhere. Someone once told me they were big enough to sail a whole fleet of Hirola ships into without risk of striking the sides."
"There's water?" Jordan was sincerely alarmed, and pictured a massive half-underwater grotto. Water and Strix didn't mix well. Sonar or no sonar, Jordan had seen what wet wings cost a Nycht, and it wasn't pretty.
"Hirola ships are airborne," Sol explained with a shake of his head. "And big."
Jordan blinked. "
Oh." Airborne ships? "Wow." There was still so much about Oriceran that Jordan had to learn. "How come I've never seen these airborne ships? Wouldn't they be perfect for delivering goods to Middle and Upper Rodania?"
"Hirola ships are captained by Pirate-wizards from Traft," Toth explained. "Not the kind of people you'd want managing your deliveries." Then he dismissed the matter with an impatient sweep of his hand. "I mentioned them only to illustrate the size of the caves."
"Got it."
"Red and Blue would go in first," Toth forged on eagerly. "The Nychts will stay well behind them. The dragons will ignite the caves with fire, killing eggs and harpies alike, then the Nychts will follow the dragons and finish the job."
"I still don't see why Arpaks wouldn't come in handy," Sol interjected. "We can wait at the entrance to kill off stragglers as they try to escape."
Toth tilted his head side to side in what could be agreement. "If the dragons do their part right, the harpies won't be able to escape."
"But you said the caves are really deep, right?" Jordan was having trouble realistically visualizing the extent of Golpa. "Couldn't the harpies just press back and hide?"
"Maybe," Toth shifted on the stone, "but dragonfire doesn't burn dragons. Red and Blue can push forward into their own flames, and root them out."
Jordan shuddered at the visuals playing in full technicolor on the big screen TV of her mind. It was simple, and simply brilliant.
"Take some Arpaks, Toth," Sol suggested for the third time, his tone quiet. "We lost friends, too. Give us a chance for vengeance, and a chance to end this war."
At this there was a short lull in the conversation as Toth gazed at Sol, and the words hung between them.
Then Toth nodded. "I'll choose some Arpaks, then. You are right. Can I assume the two of you…?"
Jordan and Sol were both nodding furiously.
"When do you want to leave?" Jordan asked.
"We'll need some time to prepare. Four days should do it. I'll handpick the squadron and then everyone will need to be outfitted with cold weather gear—–weapons that won't turn brittle or get so cold they can't be handled—–and survival packs and food for the journey. I'd send a scout, but Golpa is too far and too dangerous to send anyone there on their own. We'll have to do our best with the intel we have and then finalize our strategy when we get there." Toth levelled Jordan with a look. "So, will you ask him?"
Jordan let out a tense breath. "I don't know if it's really necessary. From the sounds of it, this whole thing is his idea."
"Yes, but," Toth leaned forward, making it clear that it was important to him. "Will you ask him? I don't want to make the mistake of misunderstanding his gesture."
Jordan nodded. "I'll ask him."
***
Toth felt the presence of someone approaching and turned to see the small form of Arth, his half-sister, crossing the lawn behind Mareya's house.
A handful of Toth's large contingent of siblings had come together to honor Caje's memory. While most of them had to leave afterward, a few still lingered in Mareya's backyard. They murmured under the evening sky, and listened to the insects buzz while sharing memories about their brave, larger-than-life brother.
"Care for some company?" Arth plopped down beside Toth, where he sat on the low stone wall that separated the garden from the grass.
Truthfully, Toth had moved to the end of the yard to have a few minutes of alone time, but Arth was a favorite, so he shifted over to make room.
They sat in companionable silence for a time, watching the sky become a blanket of black velvet sprinkled with pinpricks of light.
"Are you——" Arth began, then paused.
When she spoke again, her voice was raspy. "I was going to ask if you're okay, but I just realized it’s a stupid question. Of course you're not."
Toth felt his sister's small hand on his back, just under his wing. He could feel the warmth of it even through his shirt. Toth had left all his armor at the door, donning only his leather leggings and a simple, homespun, cotton tunic that laced up the back, underneath and above his wings.
His eyes fluttered shut, and he exhaled. "There is nothing that could make losing Caje okay," he said quietly. "We'll feel the abyss left by him for the rest of our lives. But if we fail to win the vote, or if we fail to prevent another harpy attack…" His voice tightened, and he stopped. He didn't have to say out loud what they both already knew.
If they failed at those two things, or even one of them, then Caje's loss would have been in vain. Neither of them could live with that.
Toth's eyes tracked to where Mareya and her husband Eade sat with their arms around one another. Mareya had her head on her husband's shoulder, and the two spoke with an intimacy that struck Toth with an unexpected longing. It wasn't that Toth wanted to be in love or have a wife; his life didn't afford such a luxury. The desire was simpler than that: to not feel so empty.
One corner of Toth's lips tugged upward in the closest thing resembling a smile he'd mustered since before the harpy battle. "They still seem so in love," he observed.
Arth made a grunt of agreement as she followed Toth's gaze to their sister. "You know what they say. Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
"Absence?" Toth looked down at Arth curiously.
"Mareya spent a lot of years away from home. You know, for her work at the palace."
"She works so hard," Toth frowned. "And for a government who has not done us any favors."
"Not all of us suit the rebel's life, Toth."
"I didn't mean—–"
"It's okay. I know what you meant." There was sorrow in Arth's words, but understanding and pride in her voice. "I hope you know that none of us hold it against you. What you did and why you did it. We're all proud of you, proud to call you our brother."
Toth wanted to say thank you, but didn't trust his voice. He hadn't realized how much he'd been wanting to hear those exact words until Arth said them. After all, he'd done what he did for them, it had been an attempt to make life better for them. He just hadn't expected it to fail.
If I fail again… Toth looked away and gritted his teeth. He couldn't fail. For the sake of his brother's memory, he would not fail.
"We're proud of Caje, too," Arth added. Then after a moment, "There is something I'd like to ask you." She cleared her throat and forged on. "I'd like to come with you."
"Where?" Toth's heart increased its rhythm a notch. He had a feeling he knew what Arth was going to ask.
"To Golpa. I know you're planning to go."
"No." Toth bit the word out without thinking.
"Toth, he was my brother, too." Arth's expression darkened, even in the moonlight and the dim throw of the lantern hanging by the rear door of Mareya's house. "I have a right to seek revenge, same as you."
"I'm sorry. I understand how you feel," said Toth. "But if something were to happen to you, I'm not sure I could bear it. And I still have a job to do."
Arth didn't reply for a long time.
Toth expected her to continue to protest. His little sister was one of the most tenacious and stubborn people he knew; it was one of the reasons she made such a wonderful engineer.
When she spoke, it was so quiet, he had to strain to hear her. "Alright." Then a moment later, louder, "But will you take Teetch?"
Teetch was one of the brothers in between Arth and Caje, a big, powerful Nycht who had worked on the Lewis guns at the forge before the last battle.
"Does Teetch want to come? He hasn't asked me."
"I think he thinks he's already coming. He hasn't stopped producing bullets since you first announced preparations. He's a good shot, you know."
Toth hadn't considered taking the Lewis guns, not even one of them, all the way to Golpa. They were large and awkward and would tire whoever was carrying them very quickly.
Toth frowned. "Was he going to mention this to me?"
Firing guns in a dark cave full of Nycht warriors was a terrible idea, in Toth's view. They
wouldn't be taking them.
"You know Teetch," Arth scoffed, knocking Toth against the upper arm. "He spoke his first word at the age of five, and it was to tell our mother to turn the lights off."
Toth grunted. It was an old family story still enjoyed among Toth's siblings and extended family. ‘Off!’ his brother had barked when his mother had roused him for school on the Arpak schedule, which Teetch to this day refused to adapt to. It was the first word he'd ever formed, and their mother had jumped out of her skin. The entire family had assumed Teetch had been born without the ability to speak. He'd been examined by many doctors, and they couldn't find any physiological reason for his silence. He was equipped with a voicebox as well as a sonarbox, just like every other Nycht. But he had never spoken. Until he needed to.
Teetch was not the fighter Caje had been, but he was big and strong and willing.
Toth told Arth he'd talk to their brother about the guns, and then the two lapsed into silence.
Toth had another brother he wanted to talk with before he left. Breo was the smallest brother of the Sazak family, and he worked as a cartographer for a privately held mapping and surveying company. Breo had travelled more than most Rodanian citizens, as he worked first as a surveyor, then as a supervisor. If anyone could give Toth a better understanding of where they were going and what kind of terrain and weather they were to face on their way, it would be Breo.
"I hate them."
The words roused Toth from his mental musings. "Hate who?"
"The harpies. For taking Caje. For killing so many Rodanian citizens and soldiers. I hate them. I never knew hate until now." Arth's words were cold and harsh, but they were calculated and somewhat emotionless in her delivery. Toth knew his sister; she had spent time ruminating on the true meaning of hate.
"Hate is easy," Toth replied. His eyes drifted back to Mareya and Eade, the bond between them giving them comfort, lifting them up, easing the burden of their grief. "It's love that is difficult."
***
The next day, Jordan was in the middle of a knife-throwing drill when she spotted Blue gliding high over the landscape of Upper Rodania. There was no sight of Red, but that didn't matter. She took off like a shot after him.
Transcendent: The Revelations of Oriceran (The Kacy Chronicles Book 4) Page 4