“We can ask him if we go up there.” Sardelle tapped her fingers on Jaxi’s hilt. “It’s also possible some of the books that were excavated from Galmok Mountain would have the information we need. My people had a library full of history texts related to dragons and magic. All of the modern books I’ve seen that deal even peripherally with such topics seem to have been edited or destroyed.”
Angulus grunted, not denying that the city’s libraries—probably the entire continent’s libraries—had been so manipulated in the past centuries.
“Do we want to know those words?” Zirkander asked. “If they’re what made Ahn go, ah, AWOL?”
“I wouldn’t mind never hearing them again,” Cas said.
“It’s likely the command is what caused the sword to flare to full power,” Sardelle said. “Kasandral has some power when he’s quiescent—perhaps enough to cut through dragon scale—but he definitely grew stronger once he had been fully awoken. Perhaps if the words could be learned, the wielder could be the one to use them at his or her discretion.”
“Another reason to detour to the crystal mines then,” Zirkander said.
Another reason? What was the first reason? Cas felt that she had come into the middle of a conversation.
Angulus frowned. “Perhaps.”
“Would I be safe piloting someone carrying the sword?” Zirkander asked. “I’m open to taking a flier up to catch a dragon, even if that sounds extremely unwise, but I wouldn’t want to be concentrating on flying, only to get brained from behind.”
“You don’t have any dragon blood,” Sardelle said. “The sword shouldn’t object to you.”
“Shouldn’t.”
“Cas,” Sardelle said, “you mentioned feeling irritated toward Tolemek and me when you were carrying the sword. Did your feelings toward Ridge or anyone else in our group change?”
“Not that I remember, but—” She spread her arms helplessly, not able to voice that Apex hadn’t had dragon blood, either. He’d just… gotten in the way.
From the bleak expressions in the room, she did not need to say the rest out loud.
“Kasandral was made to protect humans from dragons and, to a lesser extent, sorcerers,” Sardelle said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “You shouldn’t need to worry about being brained. Unless you irritate your passenger with your flying.”
Zirkander snorted. “So long as you don’t stick Colonel Therrik behind me. He doesn’t appreciate my maneuvers.”
“That’s actually who I had in mind,” Angulus said.
Cas stared at him. He wasn’t serious, was he? She’d assumed… well, she had believed the king might be leading up to assigning her to go along on the mission. She had intended to object, of course, since she couldn’t trust herself to touch that sword again. But the idea of having someone like that hot-headed Colonel Therrik holding it was even more appalling.
“Is that a joke, Sire?” Zirkander asked. “Because it’s hard to tell when you’re telling jokes. Your tone is so dry all the time.”
“It’s not a joke. It’s his family’s sword. And I’m positive that somewhere in his military career, he’s found time to train at swordsmanship.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s trained with every pointy, bladed, or blunt weapon in existence, including his own head.”
Tolemek snorted. He’d lowered his hand from Cas’s shoulder, but remained close behind her. She’d forgotten what it was like to have him there. She’d forgotten how much she liked it. What she didn’t like was imagining Therrik with Kasandral. He didn’t like Zirkander, and he didn’t like sorcerers. What if he used it as an excuse to attack Sardelle? With Jaxi’s help, Sardelle had fended off Cas when the sword had taken over, but with Therrik’s strength and combat expertise, he would be a more dangerous opponent.
“You have another candidate in mind?” Angulus asked.
Zirkander only hesitated a second before looking at Kaika. She had her hands clasped behind her head as she lounged in the chair, but she sat upright now.
“Uhm?” She did not appear enthused about the idea. And why would she? She had been there for Apex’s death and had seen what had happened firsthand.
“No,” Angulus said, his tone cold.
“Why not? She’s got the same kind of training as he has, and I don’t think she has any secret fantasies about braining me—or Sardelle.” Zirkander must have been having the same thoughts as Cas. Someone who already loathed magic shouldn’t be allowed around that blade. The idea of someone using it as an excuse to get rid of what he considered unsavory people appalled her.
“She’ll be busy launching explosives at the dragon,” Angulus said, though he sounded a little uncertain.
“She can set up some bombs and hand them to someone else to launch,” Zirkander said. “Like Tolemek. Is he coming? We could use some of his concoctions too. Maybe he can fling a nice acid in the dragon’s eyes so it can’t fly. Or hand it a pill to swallow that will make it pass out. We could stick it in a piece of steak. That works with dogs, so why not dragons?”
“Why can’t I be in the same room as that man for more than ten minutes without him turning me into a walking pharmacy?” Tolemek muttered too quietly for anyone but Cas and Tylie to hear.
Tylie grinned up at him. “You’re good at making things, Tolie.”
Angulus sighed, ignoring Zirkander and facing Kaika. “Do you want to do it?”
“Not really, but I will if that’s what the mission calls for. I haven’t used swords often though. I’ve gone to all the knife classes, but that’s not really the same.”
“Perhaps we could recruit someone new from the elite forces,” Angulus said. “Someone who shares Therrik’s passion for old weapons but who doesn’t share his attitudes.”
“And someone who doesn’t get airsick,” Zirkander added. “That’s another reason Therrik couldn’t do it. He’d end up puking all over the dragon. Or more likely, his pilot.”
As the conversation continued around her, Cas’s thoughts turned inward. Earlier, she had cringed to think that she might be asked to wield Kasandral again, but as no superior candidates were nominated, she started to realize that she might be the logical choice, even if her soul quivered at the idea of volunteering. She was familiar with the sword and would know what to expect. This time, she might do better at controlling the feelings of annoyance it would inflict upon her in regard to Sardelle and Tolemek. And if they kept it in the box until the last moment, its effects might be minimal. Maybe. She remembered Sardelle theorizing that some of Therrik’s belligerence toward her and Tolemek might have been a result, at least in part, from sleeping with the sword under his bed.
Even if Cas couldn’t control her responses, wouldn’t she still be a logical choice? She might not be a blade master, but she already had a stain on her soul. If the sword forced its wielder to kill another ally, and that wielder was she… well, wouldn’t that be better than someone else having to carry that burden?
It took her a moment to answer that question and to accept the answer, but she finally took a breath and said, “I’ll do it.”
The arguing had continued while she’d been thinking, and at first, nobody heard her. She cleared her throat and raised her voice.
“I’ll do it,” she repeated.
This time, everyone stared at her.
Tolemek gripped her shoulder. “What are you doing?” he whispered harshly.
“If you’re taking the sword in the box, and General Zirkander is flying, you’ll need someone light,” Cas said. “And I have experience with the sword. Maybe that would help avoid further atrocities.” She closed her eyes, inhaling another deep breath, afraid—terrified—that she would regret this. “I’m the logical choice.”
Since Tolemek was behind her, Cas couldn’t see his face, but she could feel the tension in his fingers. And she could see the expressions of the others. Zirkander’s face crumpled with distress. Sardelle and Kaika looked shocked. Ort barely knew Cas, except by reputation, but
he also appeared stunned. Angulus was frowning, though Cas couldn’t tell if it was a frown of rejection or just a continuation of the frown he had worn for most of this meeting. Tylie had left Tolemek’s side to peer into a lute in a corner. At least she wasn’t distressed.
“All right.” Angulus nodded to Ort and then Zirkander. “You two have another team member.”
“Yes, Sire,” Ort said.
Zirkander merely shook his head, his expression still bleak.
“Ort, see to getting a dirigible ready. No, make that one of the airships, so fliers can come and go from the deck. Take two with you and leave room for others. Sardelle and Zirkander will try to get a soulblade and those command words, and then meet up with you for the hunt. Everyone else who’s going—” Angulus looked at Tolemek as well as Kaika, “—will go on the airship and start out scouting the skies around the cavern. Scouting only. You will not engage until Zirkander and Sardelle are there to help. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sire,” Ort said, with others echoing him this time. Cas felt too numb to say anything.
“And you two—” Angulus waved at Sardelle and Zirkander, “—don’t take too long on this sword hunt. Get the command words. That’s the important thing. If you don’t find a soulblade, go back later, after the dragon has been dealt with.”
“Yes, Sire.”
“Dismissed.”
Cas almost bumped into Tolemek when she turned to walk out the door. He raised a hand, as if to stop her, as if to stop all of this, but when she looked sadly up into his eyes, his shoulders slumped, and he lowered his arm. He didn’t want to fight—she saw that. She didn’t know if it was a good or a bad thing. She hoped she hadn’t just condemned herself to a deeper hell.
Chapter 4
Clouds drifted past, leaving moisture on Sardelle’s cheeks as they passed through them. The flier occasionally wobbled or dipped, responding to some air current, but Ridge quickly compensated. The Ice Blades loomed ahead of them, wreathed in thick clouds, the top half of the mountains still blanketed in snow, despite spring’s progression in the lowlands.
It’s very noisy, Tylie informed her. Not like riding on Phelistoth.
Tylie rode in the back of Lieutenant Duck’s flier. Ridge had picked him for this detour to the mines, though grudgingly so. He hadn’t wanted to bring Tylie at all. Given the rough nature of the mines, Sardelle couldn’t blame him, but she needed to come to pick out a soulblade, to see if they could find one that would waken and accept her.
Phelistoth doesn’t have propellers, Sardelle replied.
I prefer flying on his back.
Sardelle couldn’t imagine how Tylie even stayed on the dragon’s back when they flew. If not for her harness, there were countless times when she would have been thrown out of Ridge’s flier. Dragons must swoop and dive just as crazily when they battled each other.
Do you know where he is? Sardelle asked. If anyone could find a dragon, it ought to be another dragon.
General Ort and the airship team had left at the same time as Ridge and Duck had hopped into their cockpits, but they had soon left them far behind. Given the languid pace of that craft, Sardelle couldn’t imagine it catching up with a dragon. Perhaps that was a good thing, at least for now. She and Ridge could finish their errand and join the others before they found Morishtomaric.
Phel is in the mountains. I think he’s hiding. He’s not answering me when I call to him. I hope he’s not injured. What if Morishtomaric is hunting him? He’s mean. Why would he want to fight when there are only two dragons in the entire world?
I don’t know, but Morishtomaric sounds like a stoat’s hind teat.
Such foul language, Jaxi said. Should you be teaching a young woman such profanity?
Aren’t you busy monitoring the ground down there, Jaxi? Ridge asked for a warning if the sorceress shows up and starts flinging fireballs.
I can watch for her and monitor your profanity at the same time. I have an expansive mind.
You have a nosy mind.
Many words can be used to describe the cornucopia of wealth that is a soulblade.
I’m not going to argue with that.
“Sardelle?” Ridge called over his shoulder. “Any sign of trouble?”
Jaxi?
I don’t sense any dragons or evil sorceresses.
Sardelle leaned forward and rested her hand on Ridge’s shoulder as a warning that she would answer telepathically. He rarely seemed surprised by that anymore, but she did not like to presume too much.
We don’t sense anything, she told him.
You’re sure? Because this didn’t happen that long ago. Ridge stuck an arm out of the cockpit and pointed toward the ground ahead of them.
Sardelle had to fight with her harness to lean far enough to the side to see what he was pointing at. As soon as she did, a knot of worry tightened in her stomach. Several columns of black smoke rose from a farm village surrounded by a patchwork of fields. From this height, she couldn’t see any flames, but the destruction must have been recent if the destroyed buildings were still smoldering.
“General?” came Duck’s voice over the communication crystal in the cockpit.
“We see it, Duck. Looks like Prinvale had an incendiary visitor.”
“Is the visitor around?”
“Sardelle doesn’t think so, but keep an eye out,” Ridge said. “This is farther out from the mountains than any of the towns that were circled on the king’s map.” He lowered his voice to add, “Of course, our house wasn’t circled, either. The king’s map seems to be out of date.”
Sardelle appreciated that he’d called it their house. He’d been out there so seldom since they signed the rental agreement that she’d wondered if he’d been thinking of it as the out-of-the-way place where he stashed his strange magical friends rather than his home.
She squeezed his shoulder, letting her hand linger. Given the dire circumstances, she shouldn’t find this outing with him appealing, but it felt good to be heading off together again.
Should we go down and see if they need help? Sardelle asked.
Ridge hesitated. “We’re still within communication range of the city. I’ll send word back, so the army can get some people out here to check on the village. We better not deviate from the mission. I already got the feeling Angulus wasn’t pleased that we wanted to detour to the crystal mines before joining the dragon hunt.”
Sardelle waited for him to send his message before responding. If we can learn more about Kasandral while we’re here, he won’t be displeased. My people’s library had a great deal of information. It seems likely there would be a record of that cavern of criminal dragons too.
You don’t have to justify the trip to me. I’m always pleased at the chance to go off alone with you. Ridge turned and gave her a quick leer, though it didn’t last long. The clouds were thickening, and he had to pay attention to the air ahead.
Not quite alone. Sardelle glanced toward Duck’s flier, though she shifted her hand to stroke the side of Ridge’s neck, sliding her fingers under his scarf.
A general ought to warrant a private room there. We’ll arrive late enough that I think we can justify spending at least one night. Keep playing with my ear, and we might not make it to nightfall, though.
Sardelle suspected work would pounce on Ridge as soon as they arrived, and he would be more likely to end up cloistered in a room with Colonel Therrik than with her, but she allowed herself to hope otherwise.
He’s here, Tylie spoke into her mind.
Phelistoth? Sardelle asked, but Tylie’s tone had lacked the exuberance it always held when she spoke of her companion.
The other one. Over in the other flier, Tylie shrank low in her seat.
Sardelle understood the feeling. If they encountered a gold dragon, what could they do? The fliers’ guns would be useless. It would be up to her and Jaxi, and they wouldn’t have a chance if it picked a fight.
We’ll try to avoid it, Sardelle told Tylie. Jaxi?
Do you sense it yet?
I’m looking. She has amazing range for someone from this time period.
Ridge? Sardelle asked.
You’ve stopped fondling my ear. Should I be concerned?
Yes.
Damn. Sorceress?
Dragon.
How far? Ridge’s head swiveled, scanning the horizons. The clouds limited visibility.
Forty miles, Jaxi said. I can sense him now.
Which direction? Ridge must have also heard her comment. Maybe we can avoid him.
He’s to the east. Which way are we going?
East.
Ah.
Will he be looking for us for any reason? Ridge asked. Or will he see us as insignificant?
He won’t see me as insignificant. Jaxi sniffed.
Sardelle? Ridge asked, apparently wanting a second opinion.
I’m not sure, Sardelle said. He’ll definitely sense that we have a soulblade, and he may be able to tell that Tylie and I have dragon blood, at least when he gets close. He may also be attracted to her.
What? Why?
I’m not sure exactly, other than it would have to do with her gift, but he spoke to her earlier, when he came for Phelistoth. Tylie said he wanted her to come with him.
Wonderful. Well, let’s do our best to avoid him. If we can get to the crystal mines first, we’ll at least have artillery weapons to shoot at him. I don’t have a lot of faith that bullets will damage a dragon, but maybe cannonballs.
Sardelle didn’t have faith that either weapon would bother Morishtomaric, but she kept the thought to herself. If they had to face him, she also would prefer to do it with the assistance of a couple hundred soldiers and their weapons. If nothing else, cannonballs might distract the dragon so that she and Jaxi could come up with something else.
Like what? Jaxi asked.
I’ll let you know when I figure it out.
“Duck,” Ridge said over the crystal. “Drop down in elevation. We may have a dragon up ahead. We’re going to hug the ground and hope the contours of the land keep us out of sight as much as possible.”