Quataldo inclined his head. “I don’t sell all of them, but I’m saving money so my children can afford to continue with their educations and follow their passions. My daughter is almost ready for the university.”
“Doesn’t your officer’s pay provide enough for that?” Tolemek asked.
“Well. I have a wife.”
Kaika grinned. “She likes to shop.”
“Ah.” Tolemek tried to imagine Cas shopping for something besides military supplies. Perhaps he should be relieved she lacked an interest in clothing and baubles.
“It’s getting dark.” Quataldo carefully stored his eggs as he spoke. “We should be able to risk traversing the bridge, since night will hide us, but be careful. The boats come out to hunt at twilight but will return to the city soon. Being caught outside after dark is not wise. The number of predators active at night can grow unmanageable.”
Tolemek shifted his weight. “Just around the city, or are Cas and the others in danger?”
“I am certain they can take care of themselves, but my reports say this area is more dangerous. Some of the unnatural predators covet human flesh over that of animals and fish, and they know that many tens of thousands live in the city.” Quataldo shouldered his pack and stepped onto the bridge. The ropes creaked softly.
“Nothing like being coveted,” Tolemek muttered, following when Kaika waved for him to go second. “Unnatural. Does that mean descendants of dragon pairings?”
“That’s one of the explanations I’ve heard,” Quataldo said. “Others say that shaman scientists in the area used to do experiments, and that some of those experiments changed the ground in places, affecting animals born in proximity to those areas.”
“Scientists, always making trouble.”
He’d meant it as a joke, but the long look Quataldo leveled over his shoulder suggested agreement.
Kaika brought up the rear, her rifle crooked in her arms. Tolemek left his own rifle strapped to his pack, instead keeping his pistol in one hand and a knockout grenade in the other.
They walked along the bridge for what seemed like miles, the night closing in about them. Now and then, they came to a small island rising up from the murky water, but the bridge would simply continue on the other side. Sometimes, other bridges branched off, heading perpendicular to the main route. Quataldo kept going straight.
The paddleboat and the keelboats returned, gliding along more quickly than the group was walking. Each time a boat passed, Tolemek, Quataldo, and Kaika lay on their stomachs on the bridges, not moving until the craft passed. Tolemek wondered if they might have sneaked aboard the bigger boat and gotten a ride to the city, but it never steered close enough to the bridge to truly consider that. He certainly wasn’t going to suggest going for a swim. It had been a while since he had seen an alligator, but water snakes wriggled through the murky swamp more than once.
“We’ll reach the lights soon,” Quataldo said. “There will be more bridges then, and we may encounter guards on the outskirts of the city. Tolemek, if you will provide us some of your smoke and knockout grenades, we would appreciate it.”
“Are you going into Tildar Dem without me?”
“You’ll come with us into the city, but we’ll be leaving you at the Mysora Malosh, an inn that has Iskandian connections and where you should be safe. You have the communication crystal, so we will go out and explore and then come back to you. If anything happens to us, the innkeeper should hear about it and inform you. You can tell the others and decide if the mission might be salvaged or if it must be abandoned.”
“It won’t need to be salvaged or abandoned,” Kaika said firmly, almost fiercely.
Quataldo gave her a long look over his shoulder, but did not comment.
“I have the grenades, and I can give you some of my compound that can eat through walls too,” Tolemek said.
He had no trouble being left behind in an inn while these two skulked about. That should keep him from having to attack his own people—his own emperor. Former emperor, he reminded himself. He wondered why he still had a hard time thinking of the man that way. He had never even met Emperor Salatak. He’d spent far more time talking to King Angulus. Yet, when he had been a young officer in the Cofah army, he’d sworn an oath to defend the emperor and the empire. Even years later, it was hard to forget that.
“Excellent,” Quataldo said.
Tolemek dipped his hand into his pocket, checking to ensure the communication crystal remained there. He had embedded it into a piece of wood so that it would not be easy to lose. He drew it out, its faint glow comforting in the dreary swamp. Since he had nothing to report yet, he fastened it in again, buttoning the pocket flap.
Tolie?
Tylie? Are you staying close?
Fairly close. Phel has been hunting again. He seems to get hungry a lot here.
Tolemek wondered if the dragon was truly hungry or if he just didn’t want to stick around and help with the Iskandian kidnapping scheme. He was still surprised Phelistoth had so readily agreed to come along. He had almost seemed eager at the prospect, if a dragon could be eager. Maybe he was simply staying away now because he didn’t want to be sensed by the other dragon. Tolemek could not object to that.
We saw the city from above as it was getting dark. It’s beautiful. All these lights stretching out into the swamp. The mountains are beautiful too. Phel takes me there to hunt. It’s so wonderful seeing the world this way. Tylie’s contented sigh whispered into his mind. I want to paint everything I see.
I’m sure you’ll have time to do that when we get home. Are you and Phelistoth going to come into the city with us?
Phel is looking at some ruins buried under the trees and vines now, Tylie said. Bhrava Saruth did not let him look at that crystal library for very long or up close, and he’s still seeking clues about his missing kind.
So that means you’re not joining us? Tolemek did not mind leaving his sister out of the danger—and he could only surmise that the city would explode with gunfire once the emperor was taken—but Phelistoth could have been a useful ally.
Do you want us to join you? The other dragon is nearby.
Nearby where you are? Tolemek asked. Or nearby where we are?
Where you are.
Tolemek grimaced toward the dark canopy overhead. Flying alligators might be the least of their problems.
“Look out,” Kaika barked, a hand landing on his shoulder and jolting him back to awareness.
Tolemek crouched down as a loud splash came from their right. Even in the shadows, he could see the dark shape of something springing out of the water, something big.
A winged form sailed toward them, arching over the bridge. Water droplets spattered Tolemek in the face, and powerful jaws snapped at the air. If not for Kaika’s warning, the creature might have taken his head off.
“Don’t shoot,” Quataldo ordered as the creature splashed into the water on the other side of the bridge. “We’re too close to the city borders. We’ll alert guards.”
Tolemek had been pulling his rifle off his pack, but he dipped into his pocket for one of the tiny ceramic jars of dragon-blood-eating acid instead. Neither smoke nor knockout gas would be reliable against an animal—or whatever that had been. He’d no sooner wrapped his fingers around the vial than the boards under his feet were bumped upward. The jolt almost knocked him off the bridge, but he squatted low, finding his balance. More water splashed.
“I suppose explosives are out then,” Kaika said.
“Yes.”
“Shall we run?”
“You two go ahead.” Quataldo crouched, a knife in hand. “Get to the next spot of land and wait for me.”
A second splash sounded, farther out than the first. Was the creature moving? Or was there another one out there?
Kaika hesitated, but then pushed Tolemek ahead of her. “Go.”
Quataldo eased aside to let them pass. There wasn’t much room on the bridge, especially with the lack of ropes or rai
ling to grab.
“Down,” Quataldo warned.
Tolemek dropped to his hands and knees, careful to protect the ceramic vial he’d pulled out. This time, the creature landed on the bridge. The wooden boards heaved. Tolemek gripped the edge with one hand, lest he be flung into the water, which was churning not five feet away as something else approached.
“Could use some light,” Tolemek muttered and dipped into another pocket where he kept matches he’d created that burned for several minutes. He lit one, dropping it onto the bridge.
A mix between a squawk and a roar sounded from behind him. He turned, his thumb on the cork of his vial. Quataldo grappled with some animal—one of the alligators. Wings beat at the air. The creature was long, its back half off the bridge, its tail thrashing in the water.
The animal snarled, and Quataldo gasped in pain. Something akin to a pig’s squeal came from the creature’s throat. Whatever it was, it wasn’t entirely an alligator.
As Tolemek edged closer, hoping for an opportunity to dump acid on it, something batted him in the face. Hard. He tumbled backward into Kaika.
“Hells,” Kaika growled, pushing past him.
Were there two alligators attacking them? Or one? Tolemek glanced around, trying to see what had struck him. Something flying past?
Ignoring orders, Kaika fired her rifle. The gunshot sounded, ringing out across the swamp. For an instant, the creature grappling with the colonel froze. Tolemek lunged in, brushing against a wet, scaly hide as he dumped acid on it. It cried out, its tail lashing the water and creating waves. Quataldo came down atop the alligator, driving his knife into its spine. It squealed again, a dying squeal, Tolemek hoped.
The alligator shuddered, then lay still.
“Get to land,” Quataldo said, jumping up. “Hurry.”
Knowing he did not dare spill any of the acid on himself or either of them, Tolemek took the time to cap his vial. Splashes sounded all around them, the water churning on either side of the bridge, as if dozens of sharks closed upon their position.
Tolemek jumped to his feet and ran after Kaika and Quataldo. The bridge quaked, partially from their boots pounding it, but partially from creatures bumping it.
In the darkness ahead, the shadowy forms of trees came into view. Tolemek ran faster. The tiny island might not offer sanctuary, but at least it would be easier for them to make a stand there.
He was no more than twenty meters away when a splash came from ahead of them, and the bridge heaved. An alligator’s powerful jaws snapped down on the wood boards. It jerked its head from side to side, while its wings beat at the water. Wood cracked, and the bridge shuddered.
Kaika paused to fire. The bullet might have struck but it did nothing to stop the alligator. While she reloaded, Tolemek brushed past Quataldo and ran ahead of her. The effort of maintaining his balance on the roiling bridge left him flailing, but he managed to keep hold of his vial. He sprang for the alligator, dumping the concoction on its head at the same time as it finished destroying the bridge.
The wooden boards sank, and Tolemek sank with them. Cursing and sputtering as cold water swallowed him, he lost all interest in attacking the creature. He simply tried to get by it, so he could swim to the island. The entire bridge was sinking now and useless, and the water was too deep for him to touch the bottom. His pack weighed him down, but he wouldn’t contemplate leaving all of his formulas and salves.
Something hard slammed into his chest—the alligator’s tail? He didn’t stop to analyze it. He kept paddling toward land.
Gunfire sounded, several shots. Kaika shouted from somewhere behind him. Tolemek hesitated. Though every instinct cried for him to get to land, he didn’t want to leave the others to their deaths. He pulled out his knife, lamenting that it was the only weapon he could reach that might do anything now—the gunpowder in his pistol and rifle would be soaked.
Sharp teeth grazed Tolemek’s arm as a maw snapped down right next to him. He could barely see the creature, but he jabbed with his knife. It sliced into a rubbery hide. A squeal sounded, and Tolemek slashed with the knife, trying to keep it back as much as hurt it. It cried out again and disappeared beneath the surface. It wasn’t fleeing. The animal bumped his leg. He kicked, a useless gesture with the water slowing his limbs, and flung the empty vial toward the churning water that signified the alligator was underneath. It wouldn’t do anything, but he couldn’t think of a better tactic. He paddled backward wildly to put space between him and it.
A huge fiery explosion came out of nowhere, and flames leaped into the night. They created enough light that Tolemek could see countless alligator heads in the water, and some other creatures that looked like giant frogs swimming around on the surface. He could also see someone swimming away from the explosion and toward him at top speed. Captain Kaika.
Something grabbed Tolemek’s pack from behind, and he yelped, imagining alligator jaws clamping down on it. But the water had grown still in the wake of the explosion, with only Kaika’s arms disturbing it as she swam toward land. Tolemek realized Quataldo was the one dragging him back. His heel bumped against something. The shore. He could finally touch the bottom. Needing no further urging, he spun and ran.
He and Quataldo reached the island together. Though Tolemek wanted to hug and kiss the closest tree, he turned back toward the water to make sure Kaika did not need help. The explosion had died out, but bits of burning bridge floated in the swamp, providing the light he had longed for earlier. The water was still behind her, no sign of the alligator heads or any other creatures, except for two that floated belly up, wings lying limply on the surface.
Kaika clambered up the muddy beach, sloughing water. She leaned against one of the posts that supported all that remained of the bridge, a few boards extending into the water before the rest disappeared beneath the surface.
“Sorry, sir,” she said. “Something was trying to take a chomp out of my leg. I had to discourage it.”
“Loudly.” Quataldo sighed.
“I haven’t had much luck finding quiet bombs yet. Maybe Tolemek can make me something.” She thumped him on the arm.
“As it is,” Tolemek said, inhaling deep breaths and trying to slow his heart, “I wish I’d known... about the dangers of the swamp before. Could have had time... to design more effective weapons.”
“That one critter sure hated whatever you dumped on it,” she said.
“Quiet,” Quataldo whispered, raising a hand, his head turned toward the opposite end of their small island.
Tolemek grimaced, expecting the approach of more hungry predators.
Instead, men with lanterns were striding toward them along the next stretch of bridge. They wore uniforms and carried rifles as well as nets, and they had the look of soldiers or perhaps city guards. Tolemek counted ten people and thought there might be more behind them without lanterns. A pungent scent reached his nose—something burning in the lanterns besides oil? Maybe the aroma deterred the swamp creatures. It would certainly deter him from approaching the men.
“Any chance they’re here to show us to that inn?” Kaika asked.
Quataldo sighed again.
Tolemek did not know whether they could expect a helpful escort or one that would imprison them, but he figured he had better warn Cas what was going on in case they were arrested. He slipped his hand into the soggy pocket that held the communication crystal, the pocket that should have held it.
With dawning horror, he poked into all of the nooks, hoping it was there and he’d just missed it. But his pocket was empty. Even though he distinctly remembered keeping it in that one—he’d even chosen the one with a button flap so he couldn’t possibly lose it—he checked all of the others, hoping his memory was faulty. Some of his vials and grenades had fallen out too. He cursed. Why had he flailed around so much in the water? He should have just yelled at Kaika to blow up the swamp two minutes earlier, Quataldo’s order for silence be damned. He looked behind them, hoping to find the faint glow of th
e crystal coming from one of the bits of wood floating on the water. But uninterrupted darkness had reclaimed the swamp in that direction. He tried to extend the senses Sardelle kept promising him he had, but apparently, they were only good for detecting something as large and magical as a dragon.
“Problem?” Kaika asked quietly.
Tolemek responded equally quietly, since the first of the soldiers had reached the island. “I lost the communication crystal.”
“So our pilots won’t know when to come pick us up?”
Tolemek shook his head. Too bad, since it was now starting to look like a good time for some fliers to dive down and rescue them. As soon as the lead soldiers came off the bridge, they spread through the trees, surrounding Tolemek and Kaika, rifles pointed at their chests.
Kaika lifted empty hands and said something in their language. She sounded polite, and she even winked at one of them. The words they snapped back at her sounded less polite.
Tolemek glanced behind him, wondering if Quataldo thought they should go along peacefully, not that there was much choice when they were so outnumbered. Quataldo wasn’t there.
“Don’t draw attention to him,” Kaika whispered. “They might not have seen him.”
One of the soldiers snapped at her. She raised her eyebrows innocently and touched her chest.
The man jerked his rifle toward the bridge. The meaning was clear, but Tolemek whispered to Kaika again as he walked in the indicated direction.
“What are they saying? Blowing up the wildlife in self-defense can’t be a crime, can it?”
“They’re taking us into custody because we’re suspicious. Sane and normal people don’t wander the bridges at night. Also...” One of the soldiers was frowning at her, so she finished with, “I’ll explain the rest later.”
As they were herded onto the bridge, Tolemek realized she had been speaking with a Cofah accent instead of an Iskandian one, even when she had been addressing him.
Tylie? He tried stretching out with his mind, even though his range for telepathy was as limited as that of a mundane person’s. Still, he hoped his sister might be monitoring him, that she and Phelistoth might be close. A rescue from a dragon would be timely now.
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