Draka

After Val left to get Barro I turned to Mak. “Barro’s been waiting all day? Really?”

She shrugged where she sat, her elbows on her knees. “Reben says that he came early in the morning. Said that he needed to speak to me or Herald urgently, but Reben told him that he could damn well wait until we woke up, so we found him in the common room when we came for breakfast. He was pretty disappointed when I told him that you weren’t here.”

“Did he say what he wanted to tell me?”

She scoffed. “No, says he has to talk to you in person. He had breakfast, stayed for lunch, got disappointed when Herald and Kira arrived without you and stayed for dinner, and now he’s been upstairs, finally relaxing a little after an ale or two. Val’s been keeping him company. They’ve been talking for hours.” She glanced towards the door. “While we’re alone, if it’s alright that I ask: you got something yourself, didn’t you? Something that affects me? I felt something odd, last night. My whole head tingled suddenly, like when your foot has gone to sleep and is waking up.”

“I did,” I said smugly. “Charisma. And I have high hopes for what it’ll do for you.”

Moments later the door upstairs opened again. “Go on,” Val’s voice said, and I heard heavy, hesitant footfalls on the steps. A tall figure came down the stairs, and I recognised Barro’s long, messy hair, then his rugged face as he reached the foot.

“It’s you!” His voice was almost drowned out by the crowd upstairs. It was hushed, almost reverential, and he took two long strides forward, kneeling before me under the lantern hanging from the ceiling.

“You called me,” he said, looking up at me with unashamed adoration. “Like before. You called me, and I’ve come.”

I had expected Barro to have something to tell me. I had expected him to be nervous, anxious, perhaps a little afraid and perhaps a little excited. I didn’t know the guy that well, but those would all be very reasonable reactions to having a dragon talk to you in your dreams and telling you to come meet her at a tavern.

I did not expect him to worship me. I was a tiny bit embarrassed, deep inside, but every part of me liked it. I’d had my pride as a woman, and Instinct had ten times more, and the way Barro knelt before me, the look in his eye and the tone of his voice, they all came together to make me very, very pleased. It was like Jekrie, without the fear. Like Mak but without the guilt.

Val had come down behind Barro and was looking confused and uncomfortable, so I raised my hand magnanimously and said, “On your feet, Barro. There’s no need for that. Thank you for coming. Lalia tells me that you’ve found something that should interest me?”

“I have,” Barro said, slowly standing up and taking a marginally more relaxed stance, moving a little to the side so that the four of us, with Val standing in front of the stairs and Mak sitting on her barrel, formed a rough diamond. “You asked me about Miss Tavia and Mister Ramban, if they’d be willing to share their knowledge with you. And about the house on Cloud Street that was attacked. I think that Mister Ramban might be willing to talk to someone who knows more about the gate and the one in the dark, and I’ve found who owns the house. Two of three isn’t bad, is it?”

“Two out of three is twice as good as I hoped for,” I said. Ramban! Of course! That was who I’d seen when I was dreaming, the one I couldn’t pin down. This was great! He and Tavia, the scholars who’d invaded my mountain, had seemed to be sitting on a trove of historical information that might tell me more about who I was and what had happened to my father. My dragon father, that was. And finding who owned the house where Herald, Mak, and myself had been imprisoned would get us, or at least get us closer to, the Night Blossom.

One thing bothered me, though. “What did you tell the scholars?” I asked.

“Well,” he said, combing his hand through his long hair, “I told them some of the truth. Nothing about you,” he added hastily. “I told them that I’d returned to their dig site, and that I’d met someone there who knew things about the tunnels that they might be willing to share. Miss Tavia wants nothing more to do with it, but Mister Ramban seemed willing enough to meet.”

“So he knows nothing about me?” I asked. That was good. I’d probably have to do something to him to keep him quiet if I talked to him directly, but a better idea might be to have Herald meet with him. I could wait in the wings.

“Nothing from me, at least, I can promise you that much.”

“Is it possible that I might be told what’s going on?” Val asked, looking around the small group. “Some of these things sound familiar but I am fairly lost.”

Right. Tam and Val had been away for the end of the whole scholar situation. I considered how much to tell him, and decided he might as well know everything. “Do you remember the scholars I told you all about? The ones camping at the foot of my mountain, digging out one of the gates? That’s them, Tavia and Ramban. Your friend Barro, here, was the head of their guards while they were working. To make a long story short, I left the gate open for them, they decided to explore, and I scared them half to death. But they know a lot about the mountain, more than I do, at least, so when Barro came back—”

“Of course you’d go back,” Val muttered, rolling his eyes at Barro who shrugged helplessly.

“—the girls—” I nodded to Mak “—and I made sure that he could be trusted, and I asked him to look into some things for me. One was if he could learn anything from the scholars, or if he could arrange some kind of meeting or exchange of information. The other was to see if he could find who owns the house where the girls and I were imprisoned. And from what he’s telling me he’s done a great job!”

“And what is the meaning, Barro, when you say that she has called you?”

Ah. That. I wasn’t sure how comfortable I was with Val knowing about the whole dream-speaking thing, and I hurried to preempt Barro before he said something well-meaning. Charisma, don’t fail me now, I thought.

The lie, or half-truth, came surprisingly smoothly. “Like I said,” I told Val while shooting Barro a pointed look, “I asked Lalia and Garal to set up a meeting with Barro for me. They must have asked him to come here. Isn’t that right, Barro?”

“Ah, well,” Barro answered evasively, catching my meaning but looking uncomfortable. He probably didn’t like deceiving Val. “I did meet them here, and they told me that Miss Makanna and Miss Herald were staying here, yeah.”

“Oh,” was all Val said. His face was completely unreadable.

“So, what did you learn about the house?” I asked, wanting to move the conversation along. “You said that you have an owner for me.”

“Right, I do!” Barro said, fishing out a folded piece of paper from his vest. “A friend in the censor’s office got it for me. The house used to belong to a wealthy Family, the Reverrions, but they sold it about three years ago when the patriarch was appointed to a magisterial position in the south, and they relocated the entire household. It was bought by one Parvion Sardin, to be held by Parvion Tarkarran.”

“That little shit,” I growled.

“Oh, you know him?” Barro asked.

I was about to reply, but Mak beat me to it. “Tarkarran. Tark. He tortured me,” she said. Her voice was low and dangerous, tight with the same suppressed rage that I felt. She’d been sitting on her barrel off to the side and away from the meager light of the lantern, easy to miss, and Barro jumped a little when she spoke. And no wonder, since she was now advancing on him seemingly from nowhere as she continued, “Then he tortured my sister in front of me. Again, and again, and again. Tell me, Mister Barro. Do you know anything else about this man? We know where we might be able to find him, but do you know anything about his friends? His family? His habits? What can you find for us regarding Parvion Tarkarran?”

“Mercies and Sorrows,” he whispered, and I saw a flash of honest, sympathetic pain on his face. “I remember you told me…” he said to me before turning back to Mak. “I didn’t realize that it was you and Miss Herald she meant.”

“Your sympathy is appreciated.” Mak’s voice was flat. “What do you know about him?”

“Nothing. He’s not a public figure. His Family, though, they’re merchants. Not very prominent, but a good reputation. High-value goods, like spices and dyes. They own… three ships, I think. Not sure about the names, but those should be easy enough to find. Trade mostly in the east and south. Tavvanar, Tekeretek, Falthi, places like that.”

“Are you currently employed, Barro?” Mak asked, and he shook his head.

“I’ve been living off what the scholars paid me. Which was quite generous, all credit to them. Why—”

His hand came out reflexively, mid sentence, as Mak threw him a gold coin.

“Consider yourself on retainer.” Despite being a foot shorter than Barro, Mak somehow filled the room. Her tone left no room for negotiation or refusal, and Barro just stood silently, looking between her and the coin in his hand.

I hadn’t been surprised to see Mak speak up, but the way she was stepping in to take charge, that was interesting. I backed up a little and lay down on the floor again, deciding to see how this played out. And honestly I found the whole situation pretty funny. Val seemed to agree. He rolled his eyes at his friend, and we shared a grin before Mak continued.

“I’ll take your silence as agreement. That should cover services rendered and the next two months, don’t you agree?”

“Ah, yes!” Barro found his voice, the coin disappearing into his vest. “Certainly! Very generous, Miss—”

“I think we can drop the formalities,” Mak said. “‘Makanna’ will do.”

“As you say, then, Makanna. What do you want from me?”

“Anything you can find out about Tarkarran, the Night Blossom, or anyone associated with them. You know why. And if your conscience has begun to pain you since the first time we met, you should know that they tried to murder Val a few days ago, as he and my brother came ashore from their ship.”

“Ah,” he answered simply, as his nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. He looked at Val.

“We were fortunate,” Val said, nodding to me. “Draka took care of the attackers quite… effectively.”

Brutally and with extreme prejudice, I corrected him, silently and with great satisfaction.

“I’d heard about that,” Barro said. “There was talk about the mysterious wyvern, surely some Advanced specimen, attacking a boat in the harbor. Only, some people insist that it had both wings and four legs. I thought of you, of course. But few people dare use the word ‘dragon’.”

“Some people must be taking it seriously,” I told him. “I took a damn arrow to the leg when I flew in.” Barro’s eyes widened at that. “Almost hit Kira. They weren’t your average adventurer, I’m sure of that. Those arrows flew way too fast. I mean, it could be a coincidence, yeah? But my bet would be that someone who’d never stoop to hunting a wyvern has decided to join the game.”

“Did you get a good look at whoever shot you?” Barro asked. “Anyone who could hurt you must be powerful, and should be well known.”

I huffed. “Androgynous, wiry build, curly brown hair… they had lighter hair than most Karakani, but they didn’t look Barlean. Herald didn’t recognise them either.”

“I can ask around about any big-name hunters, either new to the city or someone who might have become more active recently. Would that help?”

“Do it,” Mak said before I could reply. “Do you have anything else for us now?”

Barro thought about it. “No, I don’t think so,” he concluded.

“Then feel free to return upstairs. There should be a few rooms free if you’d rather not leave tonight,” Mak said, then turned to Val. “I'd like to talk to Draka alone, if that’s alright?”

“I have no problem with that,” Val said. “Draka, do you have anything else?”

I shook my head. “There’s always tomorrow. You two go back to the fun upstairs.”

“In that case, good night,” Val said. “Come on, Barro! The night is yet young!”

Barro looked chagrined at his sudden dismissal but left with Val, touching his chest and giving me a respectful nod on the way out.

Mak deflated as soon as the door upstairs closed, and she looked at me anxiously.

“Was that alright?” she asked. “I didn’t mean to step on your authority, but when Barro was talking I just… it felt right. I’m sorry if I overstepped. I didn’t, did I?”

Had she? I hadn’t told her to speak for me, or to handle anyone for me. But she’d done well and it was nice, both to see that I could rely on her to deal with people, and to see her, herself, getting back some of that authoritative air that she’d had before I broke her. She was slowly returning to her old self, and not just that, but better, backed by Command and Charisma. And, importantly, entirely deferential to me.

So, no. She hadn’t overstepped. And frankly she looked so nervous and vulnerable that I might have let it slide even if she had.

“You did great,” I told her, trying to really feel it, so that she would as well. “You handled that perfectly. But, really? Isn’t a whole Dragon a little much? It’s not like I can pay you back.”

Mak’s relief was clear in her relaxed shoulders, in her smile, and in the way she approached me. “It’s a lot, yes,” she said. “But not unreasonable, I think. He’s an experienced adventurer, and he knows a lot of people in a lot of places. And let’s not pretend like there’s any difference between my money and yours, yeah? I owe you more than I can ever repay, and I would never have this money in the first place if not for you.”

“Perhaps. But even if that’s how you feel, don’t go spending like crazy just because it’s for me. I’d rather see you all prosper.”

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, nodding seriously. Then she remained silent for a little while, except for her fingers drumming on the support she stood by. She was getting fidgety overall, with a nervous energy about her that got stronger as the seconds passed. “Oh, hells,” she finally said. “The others should have been here for this, but I guess I’ll show you myself.”

“Hmm? What?”

“Would you come with me? It’s just down here,” she said, backing up slowly towards a door leading to a short corridor.

I got to my feet, following her curiously. It was a testament to how much my trust in her had grown in the last several weeks that I didn’t hesitate even for a moment. She led me through the door into the darkness, down the corridor, past the room where we had interrogated Simdal, and to the heavy door at the end. Casting her dark vision spell on herself, she took out a keyring and selected a large key, using it to unlock a solid-looking lock. When she pulled the door open it went slowly; she lacked the weight, not the strength, to open the thick door, reinforced with metal, quickly.

“This is the inn’s strongroom,” she said, and when I looked inside I saw a small room, ten feet or so on a side, with walls of large stone bricks. It contained two things: a small nest of pillows and blankets, and a table carrying the red lacquered box that had until recently contained our fortune.

“The room doubles as a safe room. See? The door can be barred from the inside,” Mak said, stepping inside and pointing out the heavy wooden beam and the brackets on the frame and the door. “We thought you might like to have somewhere comfortable to rest in the city. Somewhere safe, where no one can bother you.”

“You thought of…” I started, and found myself speechless. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why. Of course they should think of my comfort, and it made perfect sense, then, to put me in the strongroom that no one but them should be entering anyway. But a very significant part of me only saw that they had prepared this place for me here, in their home, in a very real way telling me that I was as welcome in their daily life as I wished, and that part of me wanted to cry.

I didn’t finish the sentence. Instead I just wrapped my neck around Mak, and when that wasn’t enough I added one of my arms, crushing her into my chest.

She laughed, high and delighted. It was a beautiful thing. “Me and Herald thought of it,” she said, putting her arms around me and running her fingers down my scales, “but everyone was involved. Even Ardek and Kira, though Kira mostly came out with us to see the market and such. Val chose the fabrics, of course. You can’t see it, but they’re all silver grey and golden yellow.” She hesitated. “Ah… we chose the fabrics to be hard wearing rather than soft. We figured—”

“Yeah, good choice,” I said, my throat thick. “I can’t feel the difference anyway. It’s perfect.”

We stayed like that for a little while, then released each other. I curled up on the nest, the chest behind me, and relaxed happily. “This is an excellent gift,” I told her, and I could see on her face that she felt just how sincerely I meant that.

“We have another surprise for you, too,” she said, barely able to hide her excitement now that I’d been so grateful for this first one. “But we all promised Herald that she would be the one to tell you, so it will have to wait for the morning.”

“What?” I asked, disappointed, but I forced myself to be patient. If they’d promised Herald…

“You’ll have to wait,” Mak repeated. “Sorry.”

“Nah, yeah. It’s alright. But don’t let Herald oversleep, okay? I don’t care what it takes to make her and Tam into people again tomorrow, I don’t want to wait until noon to find out what you’re keeping from me.” I hesitated, then added, “Please?”

“Don’t worry,” Mak said. “We all need to be at the Censor’s office before noon tomorrow, anyway, and we all want to tell you the surprise before that. We’ll be down here early tomorrow, even if I have to pour one of Rib’s energy potions down each of their throats.”

“Promise accepted, then,” I told her, and she smiled at me.

“I’ll go upstairs now. There’s plenty to take care of before the night is over. I’d love to bring you up there, but… well. Maybe one day? Now, I’ll keep one of the keys to this door. The other is on a hook on the wall, there.”

I looked and confirmed that, yes, there was a key on the wall.

“I don’t see any way that you’d get locked in here by accident, but please don’t close the door unless you have the key in here, yeah? A door like this is expensive, and I’d rather not test if you could break it down.”

I snorted at that, though I did consider it. Could I break the door down? Maybe. “I’ll make sure,” I told her. “Good night, Mak.”

“Good night, Draka,” she said, then left, closing the door behind her.

I got up and dropped the bar. For the first time in a long time I felt completely safe and alone, an unfamiliar and welcome feeling. A few tears trickled down my cheeks before I wiped them away. Was this the kindness of my dear friends, or the dutifulness of my loyal servants? It didn’t matter. My gratitude, and my appreciation for them, was the same either way.

There was no banging on the ceiling here. It was dark, quiet, and comfortable. I lacked my hoard, but the box smelled of gold and silver. I curled up on the nest, my little home away from home, and fell fast asleep.