Draka

Zabra’s reply came swiftly. It was one of two letters we received the next day.

In the morning a letter arrived from the lady justice Sempralia’s office, confirming the suggested time and place for our meeting. In six days I would be meeting with one of the rulers of the city, and I was all at once proud, nervous, and excited. The fact that I was important enough to rank a meeting where she essentially came to me tickled my pride in all kinds of ways. At the same time it was a meeting with someone who had the power to make my family's lives very difficult. I wanted her to think favorably of me, but what if she made a bunch of demands I couldn’t accept? I would need to tread a careful line between being on my best behavior and appearing cooperative on the one hand, and not making unreasonable concessions on the other.

There was also a non-zero risk that this was a setup for an ambush. If Sempralia or someone else that she had confided in decided that I had done some kind of unacceptable damage, or that I was an unacceptable risk or complication in the political landscape, a prearranged meeting would be an excellent time to try and knock me off. I had no doubt that the Council had access to people who could hurt me if necessary. Hell, for all I knew that archer who’d been after me was on their payroll. For this reason, all the places Mak had proposed had me arriving from and spending the entire meeting with my back to the sea. Sure, there had been solemn assurances from both sides that the meeting would be entirely peaceful, but Instinct didn’t trust anyone we didn’t control, and Conscience would see us dead before she trusted a politician.

This would be the most politically powerful person I’d ever met in any of my lives. That reminded me that I hadn’t met Rallon for months, which was no way to maintain a working relationship. He surely knew where I could be found, and I met his officers and cousins regularly, so there wasn’t any risk of us falling out of touch. But I still felt that I really should have a word with him soon. But I was just so busy! Refugees and revenge had been taking up all my time lately, and I still wanted to see what Ramban might know about the past of my mountain, and perhaps my draconic father. And there was still that damn archer. They may be hunting me, or I may just have been unlucky, but either way we had seen neither hide nor hair of them since I took an arrow to the leg. I really wanted to know who the hell I was dealing with, and if it was someone I needed to keep worrying about. And I wanted to hurt them a reasonable amount. Not kill them, necessarily. I just wanted to make my displeasure very clear. But if I could be sure that they weren’t likely to be a threat in the future, that would do.

So: busy, busy. And this was what Herald and I had been talking about, late in the afternoon, when Kira came down, knocking on the door and anxiously telling us that Mak had called an emergency meeting.

When we got into the cellar all the others were already there: Mak, Tam and Val, and Ardek. With the addition of Herald, Kira and me, the whole core gang was there.

A peace had settled over Mak since the previous night. While I got rid of Tark, the girls had returned to the inn. There they got cleaned up and fussed over by Tam and Val, who’d stayed at the inn with Ardek in case there were any reprisals for our abduction of Tark. When I returned the whole family had joined me in the strongroom. There hadn’t been any discussion. We hadn’t reflected over what we’d done, or what had happened. There had been a lot more tears, comforting words in every direction as some deep-seated, months old tension finally released. Then, in the early morning hours, Tam and Val had left, and us girls had gone to sleep.

Their sleep wasn’t dreamless or entirely free of nightmares, but both of the sisters got a full, uninterrupted eight or nine hours, and Mak had woken with a smile. She had seemed lighter since then, somehow. Unburdened and unflappable. We weren’t done: There was still Zabra, the damned Night Blossom, to deal with. But while she’d been the one to give the orders, Tark had been the one who’d hurt them, and he was the one who haunted their dreams. That was over now.

When we entered the main room of the cellar Mak was holding a scroll in a relaxed grip. “Thank you, Kira,” she said, nodding to us all. “We will probably be speaking in Karakani, for the men’s sake, but you are welcome to stay if you want.”

Kira looked around the room, then nodded and settled down next to Ardek on one of the two sturdy benches that now sat along one wall. With how and how often the room was used Tam had recently decided to add some seating. I’d had no idea that he was so handy, but he’d put them together himself in a few hours.

“This,” Mak said, holding out the scroll, “is a letter from the Blossom.”

I let my surprise show, settling in to give Mak my full attention. I hadn’t expected a response so quickly, and from the reactions of the others it was clear that I wasn’t the last to find out. Val simply scowled, while Tam curiously asked, “Well, what does she want?” Ardek looked at the rolled up letter as though it were a snake that might decide to go for him at any moment. Kira looked anxious, probably more at the mood in the room than anything else, and Herald crossed the few steps to her sister and took the letter from her hand, unrolling it and reading out loud.

To the incomparable Draka,

Forgive my brevity. I only just received your message, and have much to do.

I can only imagine that my previous message was ill received, either in its contents or its delivery. To avoid further escalation and unpleasantness, I suggest a meeting on neutral ground, at a time convenient to you. My messenger will return tomorrow, at the same time. Please reply with a time and place. I am confident that I can rearrange my schedule to accommodate you, within reason.

Needless to say, if you choose not to reply, or indicate that you do not wish to meet, I will be forced to take other measures.

Zabra

“She wants to negotiate.” Herald’s voice was somewhere between incredulity and anger. “We have shown that we can hurt her, and now she wants to negotiate!”

“That is generally the time to do it,” said Val. It was a reasonable observation, but not one that Herald wanted to hear.

“Fuck her and her negotiations! She can hand herself over to us, or to the lady justice if she prefers being thrown from the rock to having her throat slit, but—!”

“We will meet her,” Mak said, quietly yet somehow cutting through Herald’s building rant. “We will see what she has to say and what she has to offer, and then we will decide how to move forward.”

Herald stared at Mak like she’d just announced that she was marrying Ardek. “You cannot be serious!”

“I can, and I am. And Draka agrees with me.”

And, well, I did. I didn’t intend to make peace, or even a truce, but I wanted to face Zabra. I wanted to know how much she was sweating. I didn’t know if Mak had the same reason, but she could read me easily by then.

Herald wasn’t about to give up. “What is even the point? There is only one acceptable outcome of this conflict, and that is with us spitting on her corpse. We know where to find her, and we know how to hurt her. Why waste our time?”

“We know little of our enemy,” Val said. “Mak has met her once, while drunk. Draka also once, while enraged. Neither, I would think, had an opportunity to take her measure. I agree with your sisters. We should meet with her.”

“What we do know,” Mak added, “is that she’s made a name for herself and survived as a criminal. We killed Tarkarran, who seemed entirely fearless and convinced of his own invincibility up until the end. Even then, Draka got hurt terribly. Two inches to the left, Herald, and no magic in the world would have saved her. If she had someone like that working for her, do you not think that she has worse available? We will talk to her. We will see if we can learn more about her. And when we are confident and prepared, we will strike. Not before.”

Herald snorted angrily. “Tam?”

Her brother shrugged apologetically. “Mak makes some good points.”

In a move of utter desperation she finally turned to Ardek, who just held up his hands. “I’m just a minion,” he said without a shred of embarrassment. “Pretty sure I don’t get a vote.”

“Fine. We will wait, and talk,” she spat, and stormed off. Not upstairs, though, but to the strongroom. Kira looked around the room, hesitated, then followed her.

“I’ll talk to her,” I told the room. “I’ll try to cheer her up, and leave it to you all to decide on a time and place. Just give me at least three days. There’s something I want to do first.”

Mak looked at the door Herald had left through, then sighed and nodded to me. “As you say.”

Ardek spoke up as I left. “I’ve got some ideas, actually…”

When I reached the strong room, barely a minute behind Kira, a conversation had already started. Or, rather, Kira had tried to start one, and Herald wanted nothing to do with it.

“Oh, good! Draka! Please send your pet away,” she said petulantly. “She is trying to convince me that I should be ashamed of killing bastards who deserve it.”

“I said no such thing,” Kira said calmly, not rising to the petty insult. “I only asked why you are so eager to take a life when there may be an alternative.”

“Did you understand the conversation?” I asked. I didn’t think she knew more than a few dozen words at most of Karakani.

“No, not at all. But Herald kindly filled me in. I believe she said, ‘We have a chance to kill that disreputable woman, and they just want to talk.’”

“That is not what I called her,” Herald muttered. “But sure.”

“And I understand your anger. I have heard what she and her people did to you all. You have every right to be angry, to hate her even, and to want to hurt her back. But can you not be satisfied? The man who held the knife is dead at your hands. Draka was almost killed in the process. Now you may, perhaps, have a chance to end this without risking anyone else. What if she is more difficult to fight than you expected? What if your information is wrong? What if someone you love dies in the attempt? What if you die, leaving the others to grieve?” Kira sighed. “I just do not understand.”

Herald had listened in silence, looking more and more embarrassed as Kira talked. “I just want it to be over. I want her to be gone. How can we be sure that she does not come after us again, or keep hurting other people, unless we end her?”

“Perhaps you cannot. You will not know until you have studied her.”

“Thank you, Kira,” I said, and she took it as a dismissal. On the way out she held her hand out to my almost completely healed wound, looked to me for permission, and then put a strong pulse of healing into it before leaving.

“I’ve got an idea that might cheer you up,” I told Herald, who was sitting on the table, running her finger along the carvings on the red lacquered box.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Did you ever get those warm clothes I told you about? The hat and gloves?”

Herald looked up, and her face slowly broke into a wide smile. “Yeah!”

“Get them and anything else you’ll need, and tell the others that I’m stealing you for a day or two.”

It couldn't have taken her ten minutes to get her stuff together. Heavy clothing and some necessities in a light pack. No armor, but she took her sword, her bow and her arrows, both fancy and regular, with her. And my share of the trolls’ blood money, of course. That was way overdue to join the hoard.

Simply flying out with her on my back was an extremely tempting and monumentally dumb idea, so instead we made a game of Shifting and racing down the back streets. Since it was the middle of the day I had a serious advantage. I was pretty sure that I was simply stronger, but I also had a lot more practice and exercise with using my magic in daylight, and on top of that I still had a Nest Heart pumping through my magical veins. It felt like it had weakened since I ate it, but it still made my control of the shadows almost effortless, even when fighting the sunlight. Herald didn't give up easily, though, and cleverly chose to tail me, staying close on my heels and using the same shadows I was pushing to conserve her own energy. It wasn't enough for her to get ahead, but it got her much farther than she would have managed on her own.

She, of course, had the advantage of being able to Shift back and rest without causing a scene. A tall girl taking a breather in the shade didn’t raise any eyebrows, beyond the looks my tall, dark, and pretty friend usually drew. Me, I had to find some place to hide every time. I preferred tall roofs. It wasn't like I was invisible — anyone with a high vantage point and sharp eyes would be able to see me — but I wasn’t causing a panic around my little sister, which was the important thing.

We went a few rounds like that, making it most of the way to the gate before Herald simply couldn't Shift anymore. Then we separated, and like usual, she walked out the Forest Gate, while I made my way through the drains and the sewers to the coast. From there I made my way north until I was far enough from the city to shift back and fly the rest of the way.

Thankfully it was my regular pectoral and not my flight muscle that I'd been stabbed through, because even that still whinged a bit as I got into the air. I couldn't imagine that I’d have been able to fly for another day or three if I’d taken that sword lower.

We met up near the edge of the forest. “I saw you, you know,” was the first thing out of her mouth. “I waited out among the fields, and I saw you fly in.”

“With your eyesight, I can believe it,” I told her. The forest sloped gently from north to south, and I had come in close to its edge, with little to hide me. I was being responsible and avoided being seen flying over the city, but here, miles away? I was taking basic precautions, and that was it. I wasn’t going to let one pesky archer drive me back into hiding.

I brought her a few hundred feet into the trees, where there was a glade we both knew. “You brought everything, right? The hat and the gloves, as well?”

“Yes! But it took quite some time to buy everything.” Her eyes shimmered with excitement as she unpacked her warm clothing. Well, as warm as you could buy in this place, where I’d been told that the water never froze and only the mountains ever saw snow. What she had was a fur lined jacket and trousers, to go on top of her regular clothes, as well as woolen gloves and a hat, and proper boots to take the place of her sandals. I honestly wasn’t sure if it would be enough, not having much experience with proper cold even before I came to Mallin, but we’d know soon enough.

I did know that she looked pretty funny wearing her winter clothes in the warm autumn afternoon, but this was supposed to be something fun and exciting for her, so I did my best not to laugh. We needed to get going. I could tell that she was already starting to sweat, and while I didn’t know too much about dealing with freezing temperatures I was pretty sure that getting sweaty could kill if it was cold enough.

With Herald’s equipment properly secured and her holding on tight on my back, I threw myself into the air, heading north for a few miles before I started climbing, and climbing, and climbing. I made a long, lazy turn west towards the mountains and kept going. My heart fluttered at Herald’s laughter as we hit the lowest wisps of cloud, and when we broke through the thick layer I grinned at her awed gasp at the white hills and valleys that spread out beneath us, with the highest peaks of Mallin’s mountains ahead.

“This is amazing!” Herald shouted over the wind. “Where are we going?”

“Somewhere I have wanted to go for a while. I just never took the time!”

With that I turned north a little. Soon we were over the mountains, and I could feel Herald leaning to the side to better see the high grassy valleys, the low forested ones, and the scattered mountain lakes that we passed over. And there, straight ahead was our destination. I’d spotted the sharp, snow-capped peak during my flight home after skimming the eastern edge of the mountains, and while I wasn’t completely sure I thought that it might be the highest peak on the island. At the very least it was the only one I’d seen bearing snow so far.

“It is white!” Herald exclaimed once I convinced her to look ahead.

“It is covered in snow,” I shouted back.

“I know that! But it is barely second planting! How can it have snow? Do mountains not only get snow in winter?”

“Not if they are tall enough! Some mountains have snow year round. And there are lands where I come from where even the ground is covered in snow parts of the year, and where the lakes and rivers freeze in winter!”

“That sounds horrible!”

“Oh, yeah, sure! That is why we are going back to my mountain once we’re done here!”

I landed as close to the absolute peak of the mountain as I could, my feet sinking into the powdery snow. I’d seen and touched the stuff before, when my parents took us all out to the mountains during a rare weekend when the forecast called for snow.

Herald, as it turned out, had not. It didn’t snow in Karakan, not in her lifetime, and why would anyone go up into the mountains unless they had a job that called for it? Either my lair or the silver mine was the highest she had ever gone, but that was still miles below the snow line. Now, here she was with me, twenty thousand feet or more above the sea, and when she slid off my back her feet sank and she promptly lost her balance and slowly fell over sideways with a small puff of white.

“Oh, Mercies!” she laughed, getting onto her back. “It is so soft! And cold!”

I took that opportunity to shovel two hands worth onto her, making her shriek and flail around as some of it got in her face and more got in through the neck of her jacket.

“Why?” she wailed as she struggled to get up, the loose snow sliding and breaking under her. “Oh, gods! It is melting!”

I just laughed until she, still on her back, started furiously flinging snow back at me with both hands. And she was strong. And accurate. I kept laughing, but finally had to throw a wing up to cover my face after getting one too many mouthfuls.

“All right, all right! I give up, yeah? Here.” I carefully stepped over next to her and flattened myself on the snow, so that she could use the base of my wing to pull herself back to her feet. She did, then made her displeasure very clear with one final handful planted directly onto my head. “Blah! I deserved that. Come, let us get to the highest point.”

Right by us was a small rock formation, large enough to climb onto fairly easily but too narrow at the top for me to want to try to land there.

“Why?” Herald asked, breaking my heart with a single word as I realized that there was not a shred of a climber’s soul in her.

“Because that is what you do with high places,” I explained. “You find a way to the top.”

She shrugged and followed me up. It wasn’t so much a climb as a clamber, but soon enough we were both seated at the very top of Mallin, looking out across the clouds and the mountains, and the distant farmland and the sea in the cloudless south-east.

“I think I understand a little better like this,” she conceded after a minute of silence. “But can you not see this whenever you want, when you fly?”

“Not like this. Flying is amazing, but when I am flying there is always the sound of my wings, and I am constantly moving. Like this…”

I let the serene stillness finish my sentence for me.

She nodded thoughtfully, and we spent another few minutes just looking out in every direction. She huddled up to me against the cold until I covered her with my wing, my shadow all on its own curling up protectively around her, and she gave a contented little sigh.

The clouds covered most of the north of the island, moving south-west, and stretched out towards the west. “Look,” I told her, and she twisted to look in the direction I’d indicated. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand as she turned around properly to take the view in.

“Oh!” was all Herald managed.

The sun was setting, painting the thick clouds in pinks and purples and oranges as the sky turned an ever deeper blue above the fire at the horizon. “Yeah,” I agreed. This was something I’d seen a few times before, but always on the wing, and I’d been eager to share it with Herald. Sitting like this, miles away from above all our problems, her huddled up against me and just watching the sun paint the clouds as it dipped below the western horizon, was better than I could have imagined.

“I have never seen a sunset that was not behind the mountains, before,” Herald whispered as the sun finally vanished, leaving only the pinks and oranges of twilight between the clouds and the night sky. She huddled up even closer, putting her arms around my neck and leaning her cheek against my shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” I replied, bringing my head down to press my cheek against hers. “Do you know what is in the west? I can feel a lot of Nest Hearts there.”

“A very few small villages, far to the south, I think. And then nothing. Forest, ruins, and monsters, like in the north. The mountains cannot be crossed, and Happar has not wanted to fund any real colonization effort, as far as I know.”

“We should go there someday, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

We sat looking across the dark clouds for a minute longer before I broke the spell. “It is time to go, I think. It should get bitterly cold up here now that the sun is gone. Did you pack any food?”

“Ah… not as such,” she admitted.

“No worries. We will figure something out.”