by Eric Vall
I turned down a hall and descended a set of stairs. All of the ladies’ rooms were along the top floor, and my parents’ room was on the level below with the room built for Nike, if he wanted it. The next level was meant for the guests, and a dozen or so rooms were built here to ensure we always had room for any visiting nobility. My room was on the next floor below them all, and it was the first level above the ground floor. I wanted it that way, so in case anyone ever tried to break in, they would be forced to make their way past me to get to anyone else.
As I made my way toward the exit, I examined each corridor while I found the stairs to lead me down. I paused on the floor with my room, and I nearly walked to the door and opened it, but I stopped myself. When construction had started, Raisa and Azra made me promise not to look at my room until it was finished, since they’d built some kind of surprise for me inside. So, as eager as I was, I walked past my door, continued down to the next floor, and finally reached the ground level.
The construction here was finished, and it was incredibly well done.
The entryway that led from the left side of the palace into the center was huge, and it was adorned with paintings of Hatra’s history that were done by Julia and Moskal. Alyona had helped them with the history a bit, and Ruslan had picked which stories to tell.
Each wall in the hallway told the same tale, only one side was reversed. So, on the left side of the hall, there was a picture of the Moon Goddess creating Hatra and the original Lunar Palace. Then, on the right was me, in my black dragon body, rebuilding the palace with my stone magic. The paintings then continued on with our history down the hall. The left side was chronologically correct, and the right side told the story from the end to the beginning. So, by the time I reached the end of the hall, my painting was on the left, and the Moon Goddess was on the right.
The first time I’d seen my own paintings, I was at a loss for words. The depictions of me were incredibly detailed. Each black scale gleamed along my body, and my purple eyes shone like gems. I looked like a god building homes and the Lunar Palace from stone as the people of Hatra seemed to praise me from below. I was incredibly grateful for the family I’d made here and was more determined than ever to ensure the safety of Hatra.
I left through the main doors of the Lunar Palace, and they opened up into the courtyard. Neatly trimmed shrubs in swirled designs lined the path to the gate, and hundreds of white lilies and bright red roses decorated the landscape as I walked down the stone path that led toward the rest of the city. I’d built a large stone wall around the palace to help keep any unwanted visitors away, but we hadn’t had the time to create a gate, so instead there were two guards on either side of a giant gap in the wall.
I finally left the palace grounds and turned toward the airship to check on the training of the citizens, but then my path was blocked by a grinning Nike.
“Hello, brother,” he greeted, and he turned to walk next to me. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you walking around alone. Usually Raisa and Azra are by your side.”
“Trust me,” I replied with a tired sigh, “I know. I didn’t realize how busy I would be with the palace. I figured my job would be over once the palace was built, but now I have to help with the small details, like the colors of paint or the flowers to plant in the garden. I figured that stuff would fall to Ruslan or Julia, but the architects keep pestering me about it. I’m pretty sure it’s because Ruslan told them to.”
Nike laughed, and I frowned at him.
“Being the Lord of a city does have its disadvantages,” he agreed as he suppressed his smile, “but it will all be worth it once the palace is finished. We only have a few weeks left until we should be done. Then you can rest a while before the campaign.”
“I hope so.”
“So,” Nike quickly changed the subject, “where are you off to now?”
“I’m on my way to the airship,” I replied. “I want to check up on things. I feel like I’ve been so busy with the palace lately that I don’t even know what’s going on with my people.”
“May I accompany you?” the noble questioned.
“Sure,” I smiled, “I wouldn’t mind the company.”
The two of us continued on toward the airship, and we chatted casually about the city’s progress as we went.
“Evan!”
I heard a familiar voice call out just as Nike and I stepped onto the ramp to go inside the airship. Then I turned and saw Alyona and Laika jogging toward us.
“Hi,” I replied as Alyona stopped in front of me.
She panted slightly, and her black forelocks fell down over her shoulders.
“Milady was very excited to see you, my lord.” Laika shook her head fondly and flashed me a smile. “Though I can’t deny that it is nice to see you out and about in the city. Is everything alright?”
“Everything is fine,” I grinned, “I just had some free time so I figured I could take a look at how the training is coming along.”
“Well, then you are headed the wrong way,” Laika chuckled. “Pyotr took them out to train today. They are over by the fields.”
“Of course he did,” I sighed. “Well, I’m already here. I guess I might as well check up on things here before I head over to find Pyotr.”
I turned back to the entrance and took a few steps forward before an uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. I froze on the ramp and glanced up. Then I realized I couldn’t see or hear any guards at the top of the ramp.
It had been weeks since the last assassination attempt, and since then we’d swept the city several times. I thought the Green Glass Sect had retreated to regroup, but maybe …
“Laika,” I called to the wolf, “do you hear anything up there?”
Confused, the wolf Demi-Human swiveled her ears toward the airship before she tensed.
“No,” she answered and stepped in front of Alyona.
“All of you need to stay here,” I ordered as my heart started to pound in my chest. “Laika, I need your keys. Something is going on, and I need access to the entire ship.”
“I’m coming with you,” the wolf responded evenly, and her ears were perked up on her head as she listened to the noise around us. “These are my people. I need to make sure they’re alright.”
“Fine, but stay close to me.” I turned toward Alyona and Nike. “The two of you need to stay here. Nike, protect the princess.”
“Of course.” He nodded sharply and pulled the Sword of Light from his spatial storage.
“Evan, what’s going on, you’re scaring me.” Alyona’s amethyst eyes were wide with worry.
I opened my mouth to respond, but a scream from the entrance of the airship cut me off.
Laika and I both spun toward the sound and sprinted up the steps without a second of hesitation.
We got to the entrance and found Ravi collapsed onto her knees, with her hands over her mouth.
I rushed over to her and pried her hands back. “Ravi, what happened? Are you hurt?”
“What happened to them?” Ravi whispered. “Are they dead?”
“Who?” I asked, but then I took a breath, and I could smell the slight rusty scent of fresh blood.
I turned, and Laika growled in rage next to me.
The two guards who should have been on duty were collapsed along the floor of the entryway, and blood pooled along the mahogany boards around their heads. For a moment, I thought they were dead, but then my hearing faintly picked up the weak beating of their hearts.
“I was just coming down from my room when I saw them,” Ravi murmured in shock beside me.
“But you’re not hurt?” I repeated.
The phoenix silently shook her head.
“Okay, good. Alyona and Nike are just down the ramp. Go to them, okay? Laika and I are going to find out who did this.
Ravi nodded mutely again, stood from her knees, and quickly ran from the airship.
Once I knew she was safe, I turned my attention back to the two wounded soldi
ers, and their statuses appeared before my eyes.
Classification: Human, Wolf Demi-Human
Condition: Blunt force trauma, two concussions, massive blood loss
Priority: Immediate healing required. Death imminent
Status: Critical
My magic immediately began to heal them, and when I was finished, I looked to Laika, who stood with clenched fists at her side.
“They’re going to be okay,” I tried to comfort her. “They are unconscious, but alive. I healed them of their wounds, so they should wake up soon.”
“Thank you,” her eyes narrowed, “but now we need to find whoever did this and make them pay.”
I nodded. “Then let’s go. I’m guessing this is the work of the Green Glass Sect, so we need to get to the prisoners.”
Laika took a breath to calm her anger before she led us up the stairs toward the jail cells. We reached the level, and the scent of blood returned, but it was stronger than before. We looked at each other before Laika pulled out her keys and unlocked the door.
Then we froze at the sight in front of us.
Pools of blood stained the floor of the brig, and the rusty scent was enough to make my nose sting. My eyes immediately locked on Aleksey’s body, which was separate from the others, and there was a deep gash in his throat.
Well, I couldn’t say I was sorry to see him go. The bastard deserved what he got. I was only slightly sorry that I wasn’t the one to slit his throat.
I tore my gaze away from the dead traitor and looked around the room. Two others had been killed as well, but most of the prisoners were still in their own cells, and their chests moved slowly with each breath, even though they were still unconscious due to the sleeping curse.
“Mara is still alive,” Laika said over my shoulder. “I just contacted the guard outside her cell, and he said everything’s been quiet.”
“I guess it worked out for her that we kept her separated from the others,” I muttered as I looked over the chaos before me. “Otherwise, she might be dead, too.”
Then I noticed there were three dead bodies I didn’t recognize. They weren’t prisoners, and each was dressed in dark clothing with a wet, slick stain along their necks.
I pulled the mask off one of the corpses, and a green leaf was tattooed behind his ear.
“Damm it,” I cursed as I dropped the body back to the floor. “It’s the Green Glass Sect. But who killed these guys?”
Laika fumed next to me before she answered. “After we captured Mara, I had my mages place an enchantment over the prisoners. If anyone tried to hurt them, the action would rebound onto the one who tried to cause harm. These assassins must have tried to kill someone, but the action rebounded and slit their throats instead.”
“That was smart,” I praised, “and at least some of these bastards already received their sentence.”
“We’ve used this enchantment on numerous occasions to prevent the deaths of our more well known prisoners,” Laika admitted, “and it has always been effective. I figured it wouldn’t hurt. But it looks like these assassins might have had a mage of their own to counteract the enchantment, since they still managed to kill Aleksey and those two others and escape.”
“At least it wasn’t our guards who died. We can spare some prisoners, but not our people.” I glared down at the bodies of the assassins before I looked back at Laika. “Come on, we need to get back to Alyona. She could be the next target.”
Laika nodded and cast one last bitter look at the bodies along the floor before we rushed out to meet up with the others at the opening of the ramp.
The moment we exited the ship, Alyona and Ravi rushed over to us.
“Are you okay? What happened in there?”
Laika stepped forward and frowned before she looked around the area. “We need to send out a warning bell, there are more assassins in the city.”
“Oh, no,” Alyona gasped.
Ravi’s eyes hardened in determination. “I can help find them. It will be easier from the air.”
“I’ll gather some soldiers to lead a search in the forest,” Nike said from behind the women. “If they escaped the city, that’s the most likely place they’ll go.”
Laika nodded in agreement. “I’ll bring my fighters as well to search the city. If they are still hiding around here, we’ll find them. But first, I need to alert Anton. He’s still at the Asuran village. They might pass by him as they try to escape.” She pressed a hand to the blue tree sigil on her gorget and was silent for a moment. “He will be ready soon with all the able bodied fighters he has. The rest of my people await my next orders.”
“Good,” I said. “Ravi, you can come with me. We can search from the skies. Laika, ready as many of your members as you can. Alyona, I need you to find a spell to wake up someone from a sleeping curse. They left some of the prisoners alive, and we need to know why. Take guards with you and get to the library.”
“Okay, come find me as soon as you return,” my future wife replied. “I need to know you’re okay.”
“Of course,” I promised, “Stay safe, okay?”
“You too.”
I pressed a chaste kiss to her lips and pulled away quickly.
“Laika,” I said to the wolf, “don’t leave Alyona’s side until she’s safe with the guards. She could still be a potential target. Especially if the assassins are still inside the city walls. Ravi, come with me. We need to find them. If they escaped, they already have a head start, but the bodies were still warm. They can’t have gone far.”
Ravi didn’t answer, instead she vanished into a column of blue fire. Then her phoenix form took off into the sky, and she hovered a few feet above us.
“Should I fly ahead?” she asked as she landed on the arm Nike held out for her.
“No, wait for me. We have no idea how many of them are here or what kind of people they are. They have at least one mage and could have various magic users, and I don’t want you to be alone when we find them. Meet me at the gate.”
“Alright, see you soon, then.” Ravi pushed off Nike’s arm and tore into the sky in a blue blur.
“I have fighters ready for you,” Laika said as she turned to Alyona and Nike. “They will meet you at the gate. The rest will stay with me to search the city.”
Nike bowed his head toward Laika. “Thank you for the support. If we find them, I’ll send word.”
“And I’ll do the same,” Laika replied.
“I’ll send a message to the Elders, they need to know what happened,” I told the group. “They can join the search group here inside the city. And Laika, make sure the airship is locked down, we don’t need anyone else seeing the massacre inside the cells. It would cause panic.”
I summoned the messenger dragon and relayed my orders. Then he took to the sky in a silver flash and broke off into two different directions.
Laika pressed a hand once more to her chest. When she moved her hand from her armor, she placed it on Alyona’s shoulder.
“We need to go. We can’t waste any more time. I have guards on their way to the library as we speak. We’ll meet them there.”
“Stay safe, everyone,” I ordered before I turned toward the gates.
Nike and I ran toward the gate as fast as we could, and we were equally eager to find the assassins. As promised, a group of ten guild members waited for us, and Nike confidently approached them and began to bark out orders as I slipped out the opened entrance.
As soon as I was free from the city wall, I shifted into my dragon form. Then I beat my wings quickly and launched into the sky.
Ravi’s phoenix form appeared in the corner of my eye as she flew next to me.
“So, where should we look first?” she called out to me as her small form flapped beside my massive eye. “The forest isn’t exactly small.”
I sniffed the air to search for any strange odors. Now that we were free of the smells from the city, it was easy to catch the assassins’ scent.
“They’re g
oing west,” I told Ravi. “Looks like Nike was right. They escaped toward the forest.”
Unfortunately for them, a dragon was now on their tails.
“I found tracks!” Nike called up to me from the ground. “We’re going the right way.”
“I know,” I roared down, “I caught their scent. I think there are about a dozen or so of them.”
“So, it won’t be much of a fight, then?” Nike’s cocky voice was heavy with anticipation.
He was pissed, but the anger that burned through me was a cold one. These creeps broke into my city and killed my captive prisoners. I wouldn’t rest until I found each of those smug bastards and burned them with my fire. I was done playing nice with the Green Glass Sect. Anyone involved in this plot against my city would be killed, either by blade or dragon fire.
I was no longer interested in prisoners. I only wanted vengeance and death.
And dragons always get what they want.
Chapter 14
Finding the assassins proved troublesome, since they were masters of the shadows. They couldn’t hide forever, though, and it was only a matter of time before I finally caught a glimpse of dark figures darting through the trees.
“Ravi,” I called out, and the phoenix flapped up until she was level with my massive eye. “I see them. We’re close.”
“What do we do now?” Ravi asked as she glanced down to the trees and narrowed her eyes at the black figures.
“Now,” I replied venomously, “they burn.”
I reared my head back, and fire exploded from my maw. The inferno of red and orange flames burned through the thick trees and hit the earth below in a giant pillar of fire. I heard screams of agony, and the scent of burning flesh filled my nostrils.
I grinned, and my fangs flashed in the sunlight. It was time for these bastards to meet their doom.
Then I dove to the ground and landed with enough force to shake the trees around me. I could see the burned bodies of the assassins I’d killed, and I scoured the areas for the rest.
Ravi landed next to me and shifted into her human body. Then, with her flames, she created a shield and dagger to arm herself. Her orange colored hair fell wildly over her shoulders and down her chest, and her blue eyes shone with anger and determination.