Draka

The somewhat muted sounds of music, of celebration and the thumping of feet on the thick wooden boards separating me from the inn’s common room, confirmed what Ardek had told me. The music was all right, different than I was used to but cheerful and lively, and I relaxed best I could, content to listen to the party upstairs for a moment. There was clearly a crowd, which made me all kinds of pleased for my friends. It was good to see them doing well right off. Herald had mentioned buying something like an inn several times over the past few months, initially as a long term dream and then as a way to invest the money they expected to gain from our adventure in the north, and now, here we were. They didn’t even have to give up adventuring to run it, since it came with staff, including a contrite, thankful, and experienced innkeeper. Which was very good because, out of the four, Mak was the only one I could possibly see being content with running the place. Tam and Val might have stuck around for a while, but Herald? I would give her a month tops before she’d be bored out of her mind.

I could feel Herald move to the door at the top of the stairs, and I Shifted, just in case she had someone with her. It wouldn’t do to scare the life out of some poor barmaid coming down to help her fetch something. But the rapid, excited steps were enough to tell me that she was alone as she rushed down, eyes glowing, and stopped on the last step. She struck an unsteady pose, pointing at me dramatically.

“I can see you!” she declared, a big, smug smile on her face. “Righ’there!”

She rushed forward the rest of the way and tried to hug me, which was very uncomfortable as her arm passed through me. I shuddered internally and pulled back, and she looked highly offended as she followed me with her eyes.

“Come on, Shift back!” she demanded. I complied, and her smile returned as I took form in front of her.

She choked me lovingly for a few seconds while I felt Mak approach and then descend the stairs. She had Tam and Val with her, and Tam was almost as drunk as Ardek, while Mak and Val looked completely sober.

“Hope you don’t mind,” Mak said, raising a large lantern which she hung on a hook in the ceiling with the help of a pole. “Let me get a look at your leg, please. I…” she approached me and switched to a whisper. “Mercies, Draka, when I felt you get afraid… I was so relieved when Herald and Kira came and told me that you were all safe. They told me about the archer. Must have an archery Major at least.”

“Yeah, whoever that was, they have magic. And they can channel it into their arrows. Don’t know what it does for sure, but safe to say it’s bad.”

“If they can get an arrow through your scales, yes. It’s probably bad. We’ll see if we can figure out who it might be.” She fussed a little over my leg, then made a little surprised noise when she pushed some healing into it.

“What was that?” I asked, getting worried. It’s rarely a good thing when your doctor sounds surprised.

“No resistance,” she replied with a satisfied smile. “I could just heal, easy as anything.”

I grinned back at her. That made sense. She was mine, after all.

Meanwhile Tam stumbled forward, almost as enthusiastic as Herald had been. “Draka!” he exclaimed, with an almost childish exuberance. “I’ve got my tavern, Draka! Own tavern! Inn, whatever!”

Val steadied him with a firm hand on his shoulder, smiling patiently. “Apologies, Draka. Most of the month’s profits have been drunk, I believe, by these two.” He indicated Tam and Herald.

“Not Mak?” I asked, looking at her.

“I tried some wine,” Mak said, frowning. “It somehow doesn’t agree with me, anymore.”

There was a crash from upstairs, followed by a chaotic mix of laughter and angry voices.

Val looked up, then rolled his eyes at me. “My intervention may be needed. Word got out of our fortune. You understand. A celebration was in order, and we know many lively and energetic people. Thank you again, Draka, for your part in this.” With that, he turned and bounded up the stairs, and a moment later I heard his voice, stern yet cheerful, loud but impossible to understand.

“Right, yeah!” Tam said as Val was leaving, grinning my way and slurring slightly. “Thank you, you beautiful, wonderful dragon! I’ve always been lucky, but since you… Mercies, you’re my luck, you know that? Just heaps and heaps of it!”

“She is!” Herald agreed, turning to her brother. “Gettin’ you outta jail, gettin’ you outta the tunnels, the villa…” She ticked each item off as she said it.

“Getting us out,” Mak said, looking at Herald and smiling sadly.

“Yeah.” Herald hesitated, then rallied. “An’ your a’va’cement! And my a’va’cement! Hah!”

With that she did a little twirl, stumbled, recovered so that she’d put me between herself and the lantern, and disappeared.

Tam blinked. “You fall?” he asked, moving to look behind me. Mak gasped and covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes locked at the shadow where Herald had been a moment ago.

Herald had been keeping secrets.

I could still feel her there, of course. Not that I needed to. She laughed, an oddly distant sound full of drunken mischief. My shadow flickered and waved, bent and stretched until it touched the darkness behind a stack of barrels, and my sense of where she was moved, the sound of her laughter moving with it. When my shadow snapped back she was already moving again, the shadows near her dancing as she moved through them.

Either her shadow magic took a lot less effort to use than mine, I thought as I tracked her, or she was improving unfairly quickly. It had taken me months to move as smoothly as she was. Or it was her being drunk and just doing it, instead of worrying about strain or how to do it the right way or anything like that. I’d done stuff drunk before that I could never have done sober.

Whatever it was, I was impressed, and more than a little envious that she made it look so easy. And that she could see me when I was shifted, but I couldn’t see her when she was invisible. That hardly seemed fair to me. I was the magic shadow dragon, damn it! But it wasn’t like I could stay mad at her. It was Herald, and she was so happy!

When Herald finally popped out of the shadows she, of course, scared the crap out of Mak. Tam, though, being severely pissed, took it in stride. There were a lot of questions. Herald had apparently told the others that she’d received her major advancement. They’d had a private celebration before whatever was happening upstairs. And she’d told them that it was a magic one — which made the siblings three for three, remarkable in itself — but she hadn’t told them anything about it. She’d wanted to show them. And now she had, and they were appropriately impressed, and they wanted to know everything.

Herald still insisted they wait until Val came back downstairs, which took a little while. “Apologies,” he said. “Baran and Yana were fighting again.”

“So’s they…?” Tam asked, with a knowing grin.

“A room was rather hurriedly paid for, yes,” Val confirmed with a long-suffering sigh. “I would prefer if their foreplay was less disruptive, but it works for them, I suppose.”

“Baran…” I mused. I recognise that name. “He’s an adventurer, right? Runs with a woman with great hair, a big, bearded guy with a bow, and a short guy built like a brick barbeque, yeah?”

“That’s them!” Tam confirmed gleefully. “Baran an’ Yana, they’re married, an’ Jor an’ Gelven, they’re brothers. Good bunch! We compete for alotta the same jobs, but, eh, yeah? Herald! Show Val the thing!”

Herald, who’d been waiting impatiently for the spotlight, grinned and practically fell backward into the shadows, where she promptly disappeared again as the darkness seemed to reach up and swallow her.

“This…” Val gasped, trailing off as he walked up and looked behind the barrels where Herald had disappeared. I felt Herald move, saw the shadows stretch out to join my own, and this time I thought that I saw a shadow flit across the narrow bridge that Herald had created.

I also saw Val perk up, going very still and turning his head slowly. Tracking her by the sound of her steps, perhaps. If he could hear her steps, muffled and distant, over the sound of Tam’s laughter, I would be very impressed.

I felt a hand stroke my back, warm and reassuring, as Herald passed behind me. Then in a sudden burst my shadow stretched out until it touched Tam, who didn’t even notice. He was still laughing, looking at Val who was listening with an expression of complete focus.

Mak wasn’t breathing, her eyes locked on where my shadow touched Tam. Then I had that same sense of something insubstantial flitting through my vision as I felt Herald round me and shoot towards her brother, who suddenly leapt back with a yell.

“Hells and Sorrows! Herald, wassat you!?” he asked, wide-eyed as he brushed at the front of his tunic. “Something just poked me!”

My shadow snapped back, and it was as though a black blanket had been pulled back to reveal Herald, kneeling on the floor, gasping for air from a combination of debilitating laughter and exhaustion.

“I… I…!” she laughed, then went completely silent, looking up with a panicked expression and scrambling for the barred door.

“I’m gon’… gonna hurl!” she groaned, struggling with the bar, and then Val was at her side, lifting it and opening the door for her. She gave him a pitifully grateful look, her hand clenched over her mouth, as she vanished into the yard, Val close behind her.

Mak took an abortive step towards the door, but stayed. “Well,” she said over the sounds of Herald retching outside, and Val’s soothing words. “Aftermath aside, I think we all agree: that’s amazing. I’d guess you knew already, Draka?”

“I did, yeah,” I said, looking out the door. Herald sounded like she was having a rough time. “But I didn’t know that she could touch things. And did you see her eyes?”

“Gold,” Mak said, nodding. “Like yours.”

“‘s pretty,” Tam said, sitting down on the lowest step of the stairs. He was beginning to look pretty crook, too. “Should getter some nice earrings to match, or something.”

“That’s a nice idea,” I told him. Gold earrings. I liked that. And the right ones would look great on her. I’d only ever seen her with studs, but some nice threaders, maybe? Or a bajoran if she had her ears pierced for it?

But that wasn't what I’d wanted to talk to them about and, frankly, Herald and Tam didn’t seem like they’d be able to contribute much.

“Mak,” I said, leaning in, “would you get Val and help your siblings to bed? Then bring Val back down here. I want to talk.”

Mak looked at her brother, who was now sitting elbows on knees and face in hands, breathing heavily, then out the door. “I’ll do that,” she said, getting up and leaving through the cellar door. I hear soft voices from outside, and some pitiful groans from Herald, and then all three came in, Val closing and barring the door behind them.

Herald was a mess, stumbling and mumbling as she looked at Mak and asked, “Did you like it? My magic, did… did you like it?”

“It was fantastic,” Mak reassured her as she led her towards the stairs. “Like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I’m so proud of you.”

“Really?” Herald sounded almost desperate, pulling loose from Val and wrapping Mak in a sloppy hug. “I love you so much,” she squeaked into the top of Mak’s head. “So much!”

“I love you too,” Mak said, patiently supporting and guiding Herald up the stairs as Val simply picked Tam up in a princess carry and followed them.

Ten minutes later, with the drunk half of the family safely tucked into bed, Mak and Val came back down into the cellar.

Mak sat down on a barrel. “I asked Kira to look after Herald,” she said. “Her new advancement really is amazing. Is it…?” She gestured between the two of us.

“Yeah,” I said. “And I can feel her, just like you.”

“It is still a strange thing, difficult to believe,” Val said from where he sat on the stairs. “I must believe it, since it was you who told me, Mak, but it is like nothing I have heard of before. Advancements directly connecting you to someone else.”

“Yes, well…” Mak said, her tone making it clear that she was gathering her thoughts. “Herald should have been here, really. She’s more well read than I am. But we may have let her celebrate a little too freely, so you get my thoughts on it.

“If people normally got advancements binding them together, we should know about it. If nothing else, Val, you and Tam should have at least one between the two of you. But me and Herald have talked about it and, well, the obvious difference here is that we are all human, but Draka is not. She is a dragon. Her advancements are those of a dragon, and so is her magic. I have never heard of any first-hand accounts of what it is like to be in a dragon cult, or to have any other kind of connection to a dragon, and neither has Herald, and you know how obsessed she’s been. So, for all we know, this might be completely normal, just… hidden, I guess. Suppressed, maybe. It’s not like there’s a lot of reliable information on dragons out there.”

Val rubbed his smooth head thoughtfully, looking at me, then Mak, and back. “It is said, in the north, that dragons would surround themselves not only with worshipers and sycophants, but with mighty warriors and demagogues, the backbone of their cults. It is assumed that these people were already powerful, and were drawn into the service of a dragon by fear or greed or the promise of more power. But there is new evidence here, in you, Mak, and in Herald. There is the possibility that they were made mighty by their connection to the dragon.”

“As interesting as that is,” I said, breaking into the conversation, “that’s not what I wanted to talk about. Mak, Val. You own this place now. You have an enemy here in the city, who’s wealthy and ruthless. What are you doing to defend what is yours?”

Mak grimaced. “Not much, yet. We haven’t had the time. We’ve got an agreement with some street kids to feed them if they keep their eyes open for us. And this is an adventurers’ inn, and we’ve got a good reputation among them. The inn will lose some business since we took over—”

“What?” I interrupted. “Why?”

“Because we’re Tekereteki.” Mak said it as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Most of the adventurers won’t mind, which is one of the reasons we’ve been staying here, but—”

“Fucking bullshit,” I mumbled. “Racist pricks…”

Mak sighed. “Yeah. But as much as we hate it, that’s how it is. We’re all used to it. What I was saying was that we don’t expect monthly profits to be affected too much. As long as the inn makes any profit, or just breaks even, we’re fine. But the point is that it’s an inn full of brave fighting men and women who mostly like us, and we hope that they’ll help defend us and the inn if the Blossom tries anything. At least until we can arrange something, or deal with her.”

“What about arson?” I asked. “The Wolves’ warehouse got burned down.”

“The Wolves’ warehouse didn’t have the protections that this place does. There is an enchantment against fire around the foundation. Old, from when the place was built, but Reben swears that he had it checked by an enchanter only a few years ago, and it should be effective against accidental fires. It would take effort, real effort, to cause any significant damage.”

I looked at her skeptically. That didn’t sound like a sure thing at all.

“I know,” she said, no doubt feeling my skepticism through our bond. “It’s not much. For now, we’re leaning heavily on Tam to see trouble coming, and on his luck to help deal with it.”

“The same guy who’s passed out drunk upstairs?”

Val chuckled. “The plan is not perfect, this is clear. We will need to guard in shifts, just like when we camp. This has already been decided. The woman Kira, who Herald brought, will help, or so I have been told, as I cannot speak with her. I… She’s unknown to me, nor can I get to know her. I will not pretend to be comfortable with this. But if the two of you and Herald trust her, then so will I.”

“Unless she’s a fantastic actress, we don’t need to worry,” I said, certain of my words. “She doesn’t want to see anyone get hurt. If she says she’ll stand guard, I trust that she will. Just don’t expect her to fight.”

Val nodded. “As I said, I will trust your judgment on this.”

“Besides,” I added. “She knows what I’ll do to her if she allows anyone close to me to come to harm. She won’t risk angering me, you can be sure of that.”

Val looked about to speak, but hesitated for some reason. He looked at Mak, who nodded, confirming my words, and he finally said, “I see.”

I thought for a moment about what I had just said. Yeah, that didn’t sound great.

“To be clear, I didn’t hurt her. Much. Recently.”

That wasn’t much better.

“What I mean is that she’s seen the worst of me, and that should be enough to keep her from doing anything stupid. And she’s not violent. All she wants is to help people. And some friends, I guess.”

“What Draka’s saying,” Mak said, looking at me, asking if I wanted her to stop, “is that she feels a little guilty about how she treated the woman. Kira, while she can be annoying, is pretty much a victim here, but one that we can’t let go. Even bringing her here is a risk, but Herald seemed to think that she was miserable in the forest. If we can let her feel included and useful, it might make her feel better about her situation. Is that about right, Draka?”

I wanted to scoff and act aloof about the whole thing, but what she said was true. I did feel guilty. Of course I did. It wasn’t the visceral guilt that I’d felt as a mere human, that sick feeling of having done something terribly unjust to someone who didn’t deserve it. It was an intellectual thing, knowing, not feeling that I should be better than that, and a calculating part of me that told me that it might make Kira less loyal to me, and that it might damage my image in the eyes of others, but it was guilt all the same.

I sighed. “That’s about right, yeah.”

“And, Val,” Mak continued, “I agree with Draka. I’ve spent more time with Kira than she has. I’ve talked to her a lot. I know that she won’t let anyone get hurt, and I doubt that she’ll run. She’s rather disillusioned about serving her country, no matter what lip-service she pays it.”

“Being enslaved and forced to work for murderers will do that,” I muttered.

“She was a slave?” Val asked. “I was told that she was ‘bonded’, but I confess I don’t know what that really means.”

“It means, if I have it right,” Mak said, “that they tell you where to live, what to do, and who to serve. You get paid some small amount, but since you’re never expected to live an independent life, it’s not enough for… anything, really. It’s worse than our indentured servitude. The only things they can’t do to a bonded person is to harm them or force them to… ah… breed.”

“Whoever owns them is not allowed to rape them. How kind,” Val said drily.

“And if a magic user does not report for bonding voluntarily, they lose even that protection,” Mak continued, her lip curling with disgust. “Talking to Kira has made it very clear to me why my mother and father left Tekeretek. She went willingly, of course. She thought they’d put her in a sick-house somewhere, or with the army. Perhaps on some rich House’s staff. Instead she got sent to a mercenary company that makes the Cranes look like saints. She didn’t say as much, but it’s clear that she hasn’t been happy in years.”

“And she still mourned the ones I killed,” I said.

Val raised his hands as though to ward us off. “Please,” he said, “I do not mean to say that I mistrust her, only that I don’t know her. There’s no need to tell me more. My heart already breaks for her. I will show her kindness, and ask Tam to do the same. He, at least, can speak a few words with her.”

I nodded gratefully. “I think she’d appreciate that. Do you think we could arrange something where she can heal people, for a fee? I think she’d feel good about that.”

“Oh, easily. As long as she is comfortable with making her ability to heal public, there’s good money to be made, though she’ll need a license, so we’ll need to figure that out.”

“Great. Look into that. Now, did anything happen today that I should know about?”

“There is!” Mak said. “I’ve been waiting to tell you. That Barro guy is upstairs. He’s been waiting for you all day.”

“It’s been good to see him again,” Val agreed, a contented smile creeping onto his face. “We haven’t met much since Tam and Mak and I became a team. Would you like me to bring him down?”

“Yes, please do!” I said, perking up at the mention of Barro. The man was supposed to have something for me, and I’d been curious ever since Lalia told me, several days earlier. “I’d asked Lalia and Garal to arrange a meeting, but this is even better.”

“I will only be a moment, then,” Val said, rising from the step he sat on and heading up to the common room of the inn.