by Drae Box
Aldora smiled. “You’ll definitely deserve a day off after all this, a week even.”
“Cray needs me too much to give me a week,” uttered Raneth. “Maybe when the crime rate goes down.” He kissed her cheek. “Nuh-night.”
“Night.”
Aldora stayed snuggled under Raneth’s jacket and waited, watching as he closed his eyes and folded his arms again. He stayed facing her, resting on his side. She carefully listened to the soft inhales and exhales of his steady breathing, waiting for any indication that he was asleep. Unlike Rider, who snored loudly enough for five people, Aldora had learned during their time in Newer that Raneth didn’t really snore – he had such a quiet snore it was nearer to a purr. Unless it is a purr because of his griffin-self. She barely dared to breathe as she watched her partner dozing, waiting for him to fall asleep, and the smallest hint of a smile twitched at the corner of her lips when he began to purr. Please don’t look when I get up, she thought.
She slowly slid the jacket down her body and onto the concrete floor, before inching into a stand. Rider continued snoring as she took her first step towards the door Raneth had unlocked for them. She glanced over her shoulder at Raneth, who curled his legs closer to his hips, and then she tiptoed to the door, quickly but quietly. She grabbed the handle. Rider’s snore caught in his throat. Aldora froze and looked his way. His brown eyes were looking straight at her.
“Where are you going?” he whispered. He inspected Raneth as he waited for her answer.
Checking I haven’t killed him? wondered Aldora. “I need a wee,” she lied, keeping her voice low and glancing at Raneth. He was still asleep. Must have tired him out with the flight on top of everything else. She turned back to Rider to see his brown eyes looking her up and down.
“OK. Be quick,” he said, giving her a clipped nod.
Aldora nodded and stepped outside, grateful Rider hadn’t noticed the building had a door with toilet written on it. She closed the outside door and glanced to either side, looking for any suggestion of where to go. She looked southeast. Rider said the factory was that way. She moved along the pathway until another street intersected with hers and allowed her to travel in the right direction. She kept an eye out for any sign of Brethren or Guardsmen, but she didn’t encounter any. This is good. If I can get there without bumping into anyone who might shoot me with a fireball, I’ll be able to find Uncle Denzel’s headquarters that much faster.
Walking along the cobbled streets, Aldora hugged her chest. She thought of Raneth sleeping as she walked. I’m doing this for him and the Dagger. I have to save my family, and that includes Raneth. She exhaled heavily. I’ll show the village – if anybody’s still alive – that I take my Dagger Bearer duties seriously, even if I wasn’t there for them when they needed me, when I should have been there. I’ll show them that I would never purposefully let them down.
She rubbed her elbows as the night’s wind tugged at her frame, pulling the warmth from her body with its bony fingers. It was at that moment that a shadow jerked towards her, slipping into her street from a side road. Aldora glanced around, but there was nowhere to hide. Giften’s soil! A man stepped into view, but Aldora frowned and took a cautious step closer instead of backing away. That’s one of the Rivermud brothers. One of the ones Raneth and I didn’t kill on that date they crashed.
“Hey, Rivermud.” She waved a hand in the most unthreatening way she could think of, shaking it side to side at shoulder height.
The man turned and glared at her, squinting before he frowned. “Dagger Bearer,” he snarled. “Come for me, have you?”
Which one is that? Raneth would know. She took a wary step closer, raising both her palms to be in line with her shoulders. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Where’s Bayre? He’s always sniffing around you.”
“He’s not always ‘sniffing around me’,” protested Aldora. “You’re the youngest Rivermud, right? Henry, Herbert, something beginning with H?”
“Harry,” stated the Rivermud as he strolled closer to her. “Why, what of it? Come to stab me in the gut too?”
“Hey, you and your brothers crashed our date – you planned to run us through. What did you expect to happen when you went after a royal official and someone with a Dagger that shoots lightning?”
The Rivermud’s footsteps stalled, and he hooked his thumbs into his belt either side of his belt buckle. Aldora eyed the sword there, knowing full well that the Rivermud didn’t need it.
“Fair play, I suppose,” he admitted, giving a small tilt of his head along with a one-sided shoulder shrug. “But I’ll still kill birdie-boy, given the chance. What are you doing without your pet dog?”
“Stop talking about Raneth like that,” snapped Aldora as she drew closer. She nodded at the attire draped over his lithe frame. “I notice you’ve a Brethren jacket.”
Harry scratched at his unkempt, short black hair. “Yeah, what of it? They promised us Bayre’s head if we could help them with what they needed and become members. Now we’re generals.”
“Generals of what?” dared Aldora. I don’t like the idea that three criminals known and wanted for murder are generals for Uncle Denzel. That can’t be good, but it seems like they’re just the sort of people who would dare to stand up to royal officials – the very same people Raneth and the other ROs would chase down on Cray’s orders. It’s a them-versus-us sort of thing, she realised. Crafty Uncle Denzel.
“The Brethren, and the army when they hand the Key over. The navy too.”
Aldora shook her head. “There’s no way the Royal Giften Army will ever recognise Broken Crown, or my uncle, as their superior officer. They’ll never give the Royal Army Key to Uncle Denzel freely. You know how proud and stubborn they are.”
“We have a few legates held prisoner.”
“And I bet each of them is telling you the same thing.”
Harry didn’t say anything, but stared at Aldora blankly.
“Your look tells me they are,” stated Aldora. “Can you take me to my uncle? I need a word with him.”
“Aldora!” snapped a familiar voice behind her.
Aldora turned and saw Raneth and Rider. A small blue horse stood between them, semi-transparent and glowing a light blue around its dark blue frame. Its mane, made of red, glowed with an orange light, illuminating the space between her and the royal officials.
“Raneth.” Dammit! Now I’m stuck again.
“What on Giften’s soil are you doing?” snarled Rider, drawing one of Raneth’s throwing daggers from his belt as the horse turned a bright red, its eyes going a solid black as it turned to face Aldora. The hooves grew yellow tails at the back, almost like tongues of fire. “Stand down, both of you, or I’ll have the horse crack your skulls!”
Raneth grabbed Rider’s arm. “You stand down. I know them both, you don’t.” He strolled a little closer, walking through the horse as if it wasn’t there at all. “Aldora, why did you leave without us, and why are you talking to a Rivermud in a Brethren jacket?”
“I just wanted to see my uncle,” she explained, feeling a tug of guilt as she looked away and turned her gaze towards Harry.
He frowned at her as he took a few steps back, his palms raised defensively.
“Please, don’t fight each other,” asked Aldora. “I don’t need you getting into trouble, Raneth. Or you, Rider.”
“Worry about yourself, girl,” snarled Rider.
The horse trotted around Raneth and reared at her left side. Aldora instinctively stepped out of reach and bashed into Harry, who steadied her with a hand.
“Back off, Bayre!” he snarled.
Raneth took a slow step closer and drew his own palms out to face the Rivermud. “Get away from Aldora.”
“No,” urged Aldora, looking at each of the three men. “Please, no. This doesn’t have to be a fight.”
“Yeah, it does,” growled Rider with a smile.
Fan-bloomin-tastic. Now I have to do something to clean this
mess up. Aldora turned to the Rivermud beside her. But not to him. I need him right now. Reluctantly, she looked at the royal officials. Raneth frowned at her. He knows me well enough to recognise that I’m thinking something through. Aldora took a deep breath. Please try to understand. She listened to her heart furiously tapping away at her chest and inhaled a deep breath. She imagined a fox barking, then she opened her mouth and roared at the two royal officials. Don’t hurt them. She heard the loud boom of her gift-shout and watched as the two royal officials flew back five metres and crashed onto their backs. She snapped her mouth shut then looked at Harry.
“Go,” she whispered.
He eyed Rider and Raneth then looked back at Aldora. “Why did you do that?”
“Not now. Just go.”
Harry nodded, turned and ran.
Aldora sprinted over to the royal officials. Raneth was slowly sitting up, but Rider was rolling onto his front. He jumped into a stand and turned to face her, shoving a palm out towards her.
The gift-horse swept into being between her and Raneth and reared its front hooves. Aldora cried out as the hooves smashed into her chest. She fell back, slamming her back against a metal bin and crashing to the ground. She groaned as her back complained and her chest protested. She lifted her head and saw the horse charging towards her, its muscles growing.
Aldora barked.
The wave of air rippled through the horse. Its body juddered with the wave, but the feet and upper torso continued, and its lagging back half caught up almost immediately.
“Rider, no!” yelled Raneth, grabbing his friend by the legs and yanking him to the ground.
The horse exploded into tiny blue motes that lit the street around them softly.
“Get off me! She just attacked us! She’s not safe for you! She’s a traitor!”
Rider turned in Raneth’s hold and grabbed the Bayre’s ear, tugging his head towards the ground. Raneth’s fist slammed into his friend’s groin. Aldora winced and watched as Rider released Raneth’s ear and eased back from the more experienced royal official.
Raneth climbed to his feet. “Sorry, Rider. Listen to your superior officer,” he said, his breath heavy. He turned to face Aldora. “Come here.” His voice caught in his throat as he made the request.
Aldora hesitated. He doesn’t look happy or angry. What is that look? Inching into a sitting position, she rested her hand against her chest. That really hurts. She rubbed where the horse’s hooves had struck, but stopped as the pain intensified. She looked towards Raneth again. He was watching her, shifting his weight onto his other foot, his blue eyes sweeping across the rooftops around them to check how secure they were. Aldora stood up and took a few steps closer to the royal officials, then paused and waited.
“What did you do that for?” asked Raneth. Aldora noticed that his left hand had swept to his side; it was not holding anything, but he was keeping his fingers close to the grip of his sword. He’s ready for a fight, she realised, watching the familiar movement of his fingers.
“I didn’t want you to get yourself in more trouble because of me. You’re already my so-called kidnapper. Do you want to be a murderer of one of Broken Crown’s generals too?”
“General? A Rivermud?”
Aldora nodded.
“That’s dumb,” uttered Raneth. He looked over his shoulder at Rider. The other royal official was slowly standing, his face a deep red and his hand staying close to his groin. “I’ll deal with Rider,” said Raneth. “But you’d better not do that ever again.”
“I won’t,” promised Aldora. “I just thought that was the best way to keep all three of you safe.”
“That was a Rivermud,” stated Rider as he joined Raneth’s side. “They’re supposed to be killed on sight. Put down. Taken out for the sake of the Kingdom’s People. Pick your phrase.” To Raneth, he added, “You should kill her. She attacked you.”
“She felt it was necessary,” uttered Raneth.
Please don’t fight because of me again, worried Aldora, watching as the two royal officials glowered at each other.
Rider huffed, gave Aldora a quick scowl then gently punched Raneth’s nearest shoulder. “I’m going back to bed. Do what you will with her.”
“I will,” stated Raneth firmly. He waited for Rider to walk off a small distance before he closed the gap between him and Aldora. “Please don’t ever attack me or Rider again. Rider won’t listen to me next time. He’s a hothead when it comes to people he cares about, and he thinks of me as family.”
The Dagger Bearer nodded.
“What were you doing out here on your own anyway?” he asked. “Didn’t you realise how dangerous it could be? I thought Green City would have highlighted how bad it was for us to split up.”
“It did,” confessed Aldora. “I couldn’t get away from Thane or the Brethren without you around. But I have to try and get to my uncle before you see him. I have to try and talk sense into him, and get the Dagger back.”
“This is about the Dagger?” asked Raneth.
Aldora nodded. “And keeping you safe.”
“Your uncle has betrayed everyone in this kingdom,” stated Raneth, a hand going to the side of Aldora’s arm and gently grasping it. “You do understand that, don’t you?”
“Stop asking me if I understand things. Of course I do. I’m not an idiot, Raneth. But he’s still my uncle, no matter what he’s done. He’s still family. I have to protect my family.”
“I was ready to propose to you,” said Raneth softly, drawing his hand back and folding his arms. “Don’t you think I’m family yet, A?”
“You are,” admitted Aldora. “You’ve a very special place in my heart.”
Raneth looked away and flexed his jaw. “Then why this? Why put your uncle first?”
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Then what? You’re worried about how you’ll look as the Dagger Bearer, for losing it? You’ll get it back, with my help. It’s not something someone untrained can do.”
“And your training has you perfectly positioned to help again, does it?”
“Helped well enough the first time, didn’t I?”
That’s true, noted Aldora. Raneth was looking at her with his blue eyes, frowning a little as he waited for her answer.
“You did. I’m sorry, Raneth. I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to keep everyone safe and try and get Uncle Denzel to stop dealing with the royal officials in the way he is. I just wanted to talk to him and try and get him to see things the way I do, and to get the Dagger back.”
“We’ll do that, together. But you can’t believe a single thing he says, OK? He’s stolen a kingdom. Do you know how huge that is?”
“Stop asking me questions like that,” said Aldora. She gently encircled Raneth’s wrists with her hands. “Let’s get back to the warehouse and get some sleep. If Rider doesn’t kill me, that is.”
“He won’t,” Raneth assured her as he turned and followed the path back towards the warehouse. “Because now I’ve gotta make sure of it.”
Aldora followed a step behind him, watching the stiff way he walked as she held her arms close to her body. I’m sorry, Raneth, but I still have to try.
Chapter Eleven
Raneth
Aldora and Rider slept on opposite sides of the building, whilst Raneth strolled between them, listening to Aldora’s steady breaths and Rider’s insistent snores. Why on Giften soil did she think that would work anyway? Why even approach a Rivermud? He could have drowned her with that snot-like blood-gift of his.
He stared at her sleeping form as he hunched his shoulders up and prowled between them again, before resting against the worktable. That was a stupidly risky move she made, even if she does think she can get through to her uncle. Why can’t she see Denzel Leoma as the enemy? Why do I have to push the fact that he’s a bad guy so she stops seeing him as some innocent civilian? He ran a hand over his black hair and scrubbed it down his face, feeling the bristles at his jaw prickle his sk
in. This is stupid.
He looked up as the skin across his body began to tingle, almost like pins and needles, as his blood-gift refreshed itself. OK. I have my griffin-self again. We’re lucky after that night-time stroll. He strode to Aldora. “Wake up.”
She grumbled and rolled away from him, but he gently nudged her side with the rounded toe of his boot.
“Hey, come on. Wake up, A.”
Aldora looked at him over her shoulder; her brown hair was a mess around her head and almost completely out of the hair tie. “What?”
“What exactly did you say to the Rivermud?” he said.
“I asked if he could take me to see my uncle. Can’t this wait until it’s morning?”
“It’s dawn – my blood-gift’s making my skin tingle. What did he say?”
“He was mostly boasting about being a general, so I don’t know if he would have taken me or not.” Aldora sat up as she rubbed a hand against her ribcage. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes with her other hand. “Why?”
“Just wondering what the repercussions are of seeing Harry,” explained Raneth. “I don’t want to make things worse, like you suggested we would last night, but I think what happened likely has anyway.”
Aldora stood up and tugged at her top and trousers, getting them to hang right around her body. Raneth watched as she pulled her hair tie out and readjusted her hair, failing to finger comb it as her fingers became ensnared in her long hair. She tied it back up with an annoyed scowl. “In what way?” she asked.
“Well, now they can say that Rider and I stopped you from joining Broken Crown.”
“That is what happened, Raneth,” stated Aldora.
He had to trust she didn’t mean join them. He had to hope she meant meet with them. Even so, heat rose in his chest at the very suggestion she might. Not wanting to cause an argument, not wanting to worsen the irritation in her eyes, he nodded. “I’m aware of that. I don’t like giving them more ammunition against me, but it’s likely inevitable. The more steps I take to secure the kingdom, the more I’ll be bringing attention to myself. But you also cost us an advantage last night; you’ve let them know we’re in Icoque now, instead of Green. That was a small advantage we had, and now we don’t even have that.”