by Dave Skinner
“Letting our eyes get used to the dark,” Ran said.
“I can see fine.”
“You can see in the dark?”
“Normally,” Nails told him.
“Good, keep a look out as we walk back.”
“That is wise,” Brayson added. “I saw Jacko send five men out after we spoke with him.”
“I noticed,” Ran added.
Ran led them to the middle of the street, and they started back to their inn. Nails pointed out some of the more interesting buildings as they walked. It was an excuse to look around, as Ran had asked. Pools of light spilled from doorways of businesses that were open, but there weren’t many. Whole sections of the street were unlit. In one such area, a little ahead, Nails could see men waiting in the shadows.
“In the next dark spot, there are nine people waiting,” he whispered. “Five on Ran’s side, four on mine. Brayson you should help Ran. Do you want my knife, Ran?”
“Not necessary,” Ran said.
Nails felt a surge of power at his core as the men darted forward. Scales covered his body and his hands sparked, but he ignored them and concentrated on using his sword. He feared fighting with his magic, but not with his weapon. The sword felt natural and comforting. He couldn’t even remember pulling it as he blocked the first attack on his right. His sword flicked across the man’s throat, and he fell with blood gushing down his shirt. Swords bounced off the scales covering Nails’ chest and stomach. The owners of the swords were smiling as they thrust at his body, then their smiles became wider and bloodier as Nails slashed across their faces and cut their mouths open. The two men fell back. As a man on the left side tried to pass him, Nails’ arm shot out. His fist made solid contact and the man crumbled to the ground. Nails spun around to help Ran and Brayson, but he wasn’t needed. The other five attackers were down.
“Everyone all right?” Ran asked.
“Fine.” Brayson and Nails said.
“Are any of them alive?”
“I think one of mine is, unless I hit him too hard. Two others are choking on their own blood,” Nails replied.
“Oh, that is nasty,” Ran said as he looked over at them. “Don’t finish them off yet.” He stepped to the man Nails had hit, knelt, grabbed his shirt, and slapped him repeatedly back and forth, until the man started struggling to escape. “Did Jacko tell you to kill us?”
“I won’t tell you anything,” the man said.
Ran took the man’s arm and smashed it down across his knee. Nails heard the bone break, even over the man’s scream. Then Ran took the broken arm in both hands and twisted it. Nails figured the man would pass out from the pain, but Ran seemed to know exactly how much pressure to apply without that happening. The man was screaming in anguish and tears ran down his face. Ran stopped.
“Again,” Ran said, “did Jacko send you to kill us?”
“He’ll kill me,” the man said. Ran pulled the man’s knife from his sheath and drove it down between his legs. This time, the man’s scream was high-pitched. Blood stained the crotch of his pants. “Yes,” he wailed.
“Yes what?”
“Yes, Jacko sent us.”
“Nails, can you lift those two?” Ran asked, indicating the two with their faces slashed.
“No problem.”
“Good,” Ran said, as he pulled the man to his feet. “Bring them along. Brayson, grab me a knife from one of the dead.”
Nails’ flipped his two men onto their stomachs. Grabbing the backs of their shirts, he lifted them enough to drag them along. He followed Ran back towards Jacko’s Pleasure Palace.
“When we reach the door, I will throw this one in,” Ran explained. “Nails, hold your two up at the doorway. When I say, push them inside and let them fall.”
They stopped in the middle of the street in front of Jacko’s place. Ran shifted his hold on his man, rushed him forward and threw him into the room. There were shouts, then silence for a heartbeat before the commotion started. Nails held his two men at the door as instructed.
“I brought some of your men back, Jacko,” Ran called. The screaming got louder as people looked towards the voice. “Let them go, Nails.”
The men fell to the floor inside the room and Ran stepped into the doorway. Over his shoulder, Nails saw Jacko standing by the bar a look of disbelief on his face. Ran’s arm flicked forward and a knife flashed across the room and buried itself in Jacko’s throat. “Let’s go.” Ran backed out, turned and walked away.
They passed the other dead men in the street and turned the corner towards the Floater’s Rest before Nails heard Ran swear using the Destroyer’s name. After a few more steps, he stopped.
“I am sorry you had to be involved in that,” he said. “I should have let it be, but the idea of slavery has always riled me. I should have known people would die. They always do when I get involved. That is my curse. Hopefully, that will be the end of it.” With that, he turned towards their inn and walked on.
Chapter 20
They left Delvingford the next morning. Nails could tell that Ran was still upset about the previous night, and he said little as they sailed directly into the rising sun. It had climbed two hands towards the zenith before Ran physically shook himself like a dog shaking off water, and started talking.
“New KaAn is almost due east of Delvingford,” Ran explained. “We should arrive in the early afternoon. Hopefully Nails can survive until we can have a late midday meal. I have friends in New KaAn who will put us up for the night.”
Nails felt his anxiety building as the coast grew closer. He was excited by the prospect of meeting others who had scales like his, but at the same time, he was worried about what the wizard would say. He had met a number of people who possessed magic, but no one could help him get rid of his. If the wizard at New KaAn said the same thing, his only hope would lay with Andoo Toran: a powerful wizard who he believed wanted him dead, despite what Brayson said. That prospect terrified him. It was common knowledge, at least among the children he had grown up around, that wizards turned people into creatures like frogs, salamanders, and even donkeys. He could verify the truth of that because he had met hob-goblins—creatures created from a magic curse placed on hobs. He would have to ask Brayson what hobs were like. Nails had never met one, but he got the idea that they were much smaller and less gruesome than what they were turned into. A picture of his uncle, arm extended, shooting a blast of coloured light into the sky at his name-day party came to him, but then Andoo turned the arm towards Nails with a look of hatred on his face. Nails blocked out the image. If he refused to meet Andoo Toran, he would either have to keep trying to control his magic with exercise and grounding like Sinty had taught him or become a hermit. If he lived in a cave by himself, his magic wouldn’t bother anyone else when it flared. That would work as long as he didn’t start having fits and nightmares like Adel did. For now, all he could do was keep calm, and hope the KaAnian wizard could help him.
The glare off the water ahead passed as the sun arched over their heads. Drawing closer to New KaAn, Nails could make out the masts of a few ships and a massive city sitting behind. Closer still, he saw that the harbour was almost non-existent. It consisted of a slight indent into the coast that had been expanded and enhanced with a breakwater on the north and south. Both curved inwards, creating a large protective circle for ships at anchor, and two short wharfs had been built straight out from the shore. There was one ship at each wharf and two more anchored in the harbour. Compared to Delvingford, it looked like a peaceful, inviting place, but Nails still felt anxiety in his chest. These were the people everyone said he was related to, but in truth, he wasn’t. He was something else. Would these people see him as one of them, or just as a magical abomination?
They left Reese’s boat pulled up on a quiet stretch of sandy beach.
“Will it be safe?” Brayson asked. Ran smiled, the first smile Nails had seen on his face this day.
“The KaAnia
ns are not overly fond of water; there were no lakes where they came from,” Ran said. “That single-masted ship anchored in the harbour belongs to the royal family. No one else has one or wants one. I understand the children now like swimming, but the adults do not. No one will steal the boat.”
“What about Bentmen?” Brayson asked.
“There are none among the KaAnians.”
“Is the city made of sand?” Nails asked. “It’s that exact colour.”
“It is built of bricks and then covered in a sand-like coating,” Ran said. “Interesting design. Their old city was overrun and destroyed by demons and ogres, so they gave this one a lot of thought. It is shaped like a starfish. The gates are close to what would be the body, and the arms extend out on both sides of the roads used to access the city. Defenders on the walls can rain destruction down on anyone trying to gain entrance.”
The gates were typical of others Nails had seen: large, thick planks of lumber, banded together with metal straps. As they came up to them, Nails counted six guards at the gate. All of them had scales showing and carried long swords at their hips and long metal-tipped lances in hand.
“State your business,” one of the guards demanded.
“Visiting friends,” Ran said.
“Name of friends?”
“Mearistay and Adamtay,” Ran replied.
“Yes sir,” the man said. He looked at Nails. “You look familiar. Have we met before?”
“This is my first time here,” Nails told him. The man’s expression turned to puzzlement.
“But you are KaAnian, right?”
“So I’ve been told.” The guard shook his head and then shrugged.
“Carry on, and welcome to New KaAn.”
Ran led them down the main street towards a tall building in the distance. Everywhere Nails looked, he saw people who resembled him. All of them, even the children, were bald or looked bald. He assumed that there was actually a covering of fine hair on their heads like there was on his own. All the males were large, although he topped many of them by a hand-span at least. The children ran around outside of shops and houses, many of which had cloth awnings across the tops of doorways although it was still spring and the sun was not exceptionally hot. The strangest characteristic he noticed was that all the older people had their scales on display, and several had the hoods of their cloaks up.
“Do KaAnians dislike the sun?” Brayson asked. He must have noticed the same thing as Nails.
“KaAn was a hot place with a fierce sun,” Ran said. “So hot that the people and the animals developed scales for protection. To them, our sun is weak, but most of the older ones still protect themselves from it out of habit.”
Ran turned left off the main roadway just before they reached the large building which Nails assumed was the palace. He had no idea how he knew that, but he did. By looking at the walls that surrounded the city, he could tell that they were heading towards another gateway that led to one of the areas between the starfish’s arms. The words killing ground sprang to his mind. When they reached the wall, he saw that this gate was much smaller than the entrance they had used, but still wide enough to accommodate a good-sized cart or wagon. As they walked through it, he saw another difference. This area was a garden, a vegetable garden to be precise, and a few people were there, tending the plants. Ran walked towards one, a woman of moderate size. She was working in the sunshine without her scales and cloak. This fact suggested to Nails that she would be one of the younger people who did not shy away from the sun. But as they came up to her he realized she looked to be around Ran’s age, although still strikingly beautiful. She was working her hands through wet soil and a smear of it showed on her brow.
“Good crop,” Ran said as they came close. The woman looked up and squealed with delight.
“Ran!” she exclaimed, as she sprang up to give him a hug. “Is Manda with—” she started to say. Brayson and Nails were behind Ran, and as she hugged him, Nails saw her eyes travel across Brayson and stop moving as they reached his face. Her mouth fell open, and tears filled her eyes. She brushed them away with an arm as Ran let her go.
“Manda is not with me,” Ran said. “I had business in Delvingford. Let me introduce my friends, Brayson and Nails.” The woman took a moment to compose herself before stepping away from Ran.
“Welcome to New KaAn,” she said. She turned to Brayson and held a hand out to him after brushing away the dirt. “I have a friend named Bray,” she said.
“It is my father’s name,” Brayson replied, “and from the smile on Ran’s face, I believe we are speaking of the same man.” The woman turned to Nails.
“I thought I was familiar with all of our people, but I don’t think we have ever met. I’m sure I would remember you because of your resemblance to an old friend.”
“I’ve never been here before,” Nails said.
“Oh, I assumed you were KaAnian?”
“Not in the traditional sense,” Ran said. “Nails is Micka’s son.”
“Micka’s son,” she sputtered. “How...that is...when did?” She looked at Ran and anger flashed in her eyes. “Did Andoo keep this a secret?”
“It is a long story,” Ran said. “I think Adamtay will want to hear it also.”
***
Brayson had been expecting to go to a small farmer’s house when Mearistay led them back into the city. Then, as they entered the palace instead, he assumed that Ran’s friends must be courtiers or servants. His misunderstanding did not last long when people started addressing Mearistay as Your Majesty, and he tried to hide his surprise as she showed them to suites on the second floor.
His rooms were suitable for royalty, and he was still looking around when Nails came barging in.
“Brayson, there’s a pool in one of my rooms,” Nails said.
“I have one as well,” he said. “I believe it is for bathing.”
Nails just stared at him for a few moments. His friend had lost his child-like quality over the time they had been together, but Nails still had an expression sometimes, when he was digesting a new idea, that suggested he was slow of thought. It was the blankness that Brayson had seen the first time he looked at him, standing quietly, while being chained to a rower’s bench. As he walked into his bathing room, Nails followed. The pool was large enough to hold four big-people or ten little-people. Braziers were set about the room for warmth, and sitting on the floor beside each one was a pile of round stones and a set of metal tongs. There were one or two stones in each brazier already. It took Brayson a few moments to figure out their use.
“The stones are used to heat the water,” he told Nails.
“Are you going to try it?” Nails asked.
Brayson smiled. “Of course I am. Do you want to join me?”
He started removing his clothes, and soon they were both lounging in hot water.
“I like these pools,” Nails said. “Hot water is relaxing.”
“Speaking of relaxing,” Brayson said. “How are you feeling about being here? You were getting tense on the trip over. I saw your hands spark a bit.”
“Right now, I feel great.”
Brayson had to agree with him, the water was both relaxing and soothing. He closed his eyes. All he could hear was the splash of water against the side of the pool when he or Nails moved. Occasionally, a sound floated to him through the open window from somewhere outside the building.
“Ran was upset about what happened in Delvingford,” Nails said.
“Yes, he was.”
“I think he is like me,” Nails continued. “I get upset about my magic. He gets upset about killing, although he does it very well. He said it was his curse. Do you think he means like the hobs’ curse?”
“No, my friend, not that kind of curse. I think he means something he does not like that happens to him often. He must have seen many people die in the war against the Destroyer.”
“A lot of people fought in the Dest
royer War. When I worked at the pleasure house, I heard men bragging all the time about how many ogres they had killed.”
“It was a popular topic in Crosstown also, but the Crosses who fought in the war did not brag about it. They did tell stories about Ran. Do you know who he is, Nails?”
“Reese’s father,” Nails said. Brayson laughed.
“Do you know what he did during the Destroyer War?”
“No, I heard you say he was a Dragon Rider. I was going to ask about that but didn’t remember. What did he do?”
“He rode in on the white dragon, killed two of the Destroyer’s dragons and chopped the hand off of the Destroyer after Bray broke the spell that was protecting it. The Crosses believe that the Mother knew the Destroyer would come or was coming, so she created three heroes to fight it. Ran was one of them.”
“Who were the others?”
“Adel, and my father, Bray.”
Brayson heard a loud knocking on the door, and Ran’s voice called out.
“Dinner soon, boys. Get out of the water and get dressed.”
“How does he know we’re in the pool?” Nails asked. Brayson just smiled.
***
Dinner was a private affair with King Adamtay, Queen Mearistay, their children Prince Amontay and Princess Feenatay, Ran, Nails and Brayson.
Ran collected them and took them to a comfortable room on the main floor, close to the kitchen. Prince Amontay and Princess Feenatay arrived shortly after, and they greeted Ran warmly, calling him Uncle. Mearistay and Adamtay arrived together, and it was clear from the first moment that the Queen had not told Adamtay who Brayson and Nails were. As soon as Adamtay saw Nails, he stopped walking.
“Nailmoe!” he exclaimed. He realized his mistake immediately and quickly recovered, but Brayson saw a hint of moisture in his eyes. Introductions were made, and the food started to arrive almost immediately, so they ate while first Brayson and then Nails told their stories. When Nails was finished talking about his life, he turned to Adamtay.
“I’m sorry if my appearance shocked you earlier, Your Majesty. Sinty and Adel told me I looked like Nailmoe but told me nothing about him. I didn’t even know who my mother was until a short time ago.”