Revelations

  Trip started, feeling as if he’d been caught eavesdropping, and faced forward again. Had that been his imagination or something else? Jaxi? Did I—

  Yes.

  Did you know he had that mission?

  No. I can’t read him, as I told you.

  Then how can you be sure I saw his thoughts? Trip asked.

  Because I can read you—you need to work on making your bank vault a permanent fixture—and sensed the magic you used to extract that information.

  Trip shifted uneasily in his seat. “Extract that information” made it sound like he was some inquisitor, torturing someone to pry out secrets.

  Except without the torture. Sorcery is much more civil.

  But no less an invasion of privacy.

  No, and you’re clumsier than a drunken ox walking a balance beam, so he sensed it. He’s glaring at the back of your head right now.

  Thinking of sticking his sword into me?

  You’d know that better than I would. Jaxi sniffed.

  Great, had he offended her too? By seeing something she couldn’t? Or maybe she was just irked that he was a clumsy oaf and had alerted a questionable ally about his gifts.

  I said ox, not oaf. Though I suppose I don’t object to either classification.

  Trip didn’t know what to say to that. He thought about prying into Dreyak’s thoughts again to see what his intentions were, but decided it wasn’t necessary now. For obvious reasons, people rarely stabbed their pilots while riding in the back seats of fliers.

  “Trip?” Leftie spoke over the crystal.

  Trip realized he’d had the channel open, and the others might have heard his conversation with Dreyak. The wind was quiet tonight, nothing but the buzz of their propellers stirring the air and making noise.

  “Yes?” Trip asked.

  “I told the major but realized I didn’t tell you. When I was taking the tour of the airship with my lady friends—”

  “Friends?”

  There had been more than one? They hadn’t even spent two full days with the Cofah team.

  “Friends, yes. You needn’t be jealous. You got a sorceress, after all.”

  Mortified, Trip blurted, “I didn’t get a sorceress.”

  Even though Rysha was in the back seat of Duck’s flier, Trip feared she would hear the exchange without trouble.

  “No?” Leftie asked. “You were in that room alone with her for a long time. With the door closed.”

  “A long time?” Captain Kaika asked. “I wouldn’t have guessed our young captain had such stamina.”

  “It wasn’t that long,” Trip muttered, having a feeling that nothing he said would make things better. He glanced back at Dreyak. “You may be right. A tendency toward silence might not be a flaw.”

  “As I said.”

  “Anyway,” Leftie said, “I saw that the airship had a whole lot of rope and hooks in their hold.”

  “So?” Trip remembered seeing them, too, but he hadn’t paid much attention. He’d been focused on looking for mechanical problems and making repairs.

  “At first, I was just contemplating whether coils of ropes could make a useful place to lie down if one wasn’t assigned a cabin. The answer is yes, ropes are fine to lie on, and no, hooks are not. But after I was down there a while, I had a thought that those ropes were really big, and it looked like the Cofah might be planning to pull something up with them.”

  “Like what? A dragon portal?”

  Trip meant it as a joke, but Leftie asked, “Did they ever actually say they were planning to blow it up?”

  “Kiadarsa led me to believe they were, but Jaxi couldn’t read her thoughts.”

  Trip now wished he’d attempted to do some mind-reading of his own. The idea of invading another’s privacy might make him uncomfortable, but when it came to enemies…

  I did notice the expedition leader, Jylea, was very guarded with her thoughts and careful not to think about the portal, Jaxi said thoughtfully.

  “I can’t imagine why the Cofah would want to take this hornet’s nest back to their homeland,” Blazer said.

  Her flier was in the lead, and she swung around the base of the mountain toward the southern side. Trip banked to follow her. Their growing proximity to the dragons made his head ache.

  “I can’t, either, ma’am,” Leftie said, “but maybe it’s good that we parted ways from them.”

  “I’m beginning to feel like a fool for leaving my sword with the Cofah,” Rysha said, her voice faint from the back seat of Duck’s flier.

  Nobody corrected her notion, and Trip saw her slump low in the back of the flier.

  “We’ll make sure the portal is destroyed,” Blazer said. “Captain Kaika is in my back seat, rubbing her bombs, and I know she’d be disappointed if she didn’t get to blow anything up.”

  “I have no problem blowing up the portal while it’s inside a Cofah airship,” Kaika spoke over Blazer’s shoulder.

  “The portal is inside the mountain,” Trip said. “I don’t see how they could get it out easily.”

  “It’s there?” Blazer asked sharply. “Is Jaxi sure?”

  Jaxi, are you sure?

  No, and neither are you.

  “Something powerful is in there,” Trip said. “I’m assuming it’s the portal, especially since there are so many dragons around, but it’s possible it’s another artifact.”

  “Lieutenant Ravenwood,” Blazer said, “it looks like we’re about five miles from the ruins site. Do you concur?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I see a likely landing spot there in the shadow of the mountain. Follow me down, boys.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Trip and the others said.

  He eyed the side of the mountain as they descended. No trees or brush poked up from the snow. Was it too frigid for things to grow way down here? It wasn’t just snow, he realized as they drew closer, but massive glaciers atop the rocks and dirt.

  “Take food, water, clothing, those straps for the bottoms of our boots, and rope and picks,” Blazer said.

  “So, everything we packed?” Leftie asked.

  “You can leave behind that little ball that you kiss.”

  “No way, ma’am. That’s my lucky ball. It goes everywhere with me. It was a gift from a lady.”

  “Didn’t your grandmother give it to you when we graduated?” Trip asked.

  “Grammy Erma is most certainly a lady.”

  They set the fliers down between white boulder-sized chunks of ice that had broken free of the glaciers and tumbled down the mountain. If there was land underneath the aircraft, Trip couldn’t see it. The ground seemed to consist of nothing but ice and snow.

  The air was crisp and clear, but not unpleasant, even though it had to be twenty or thirty degrees below freezing. Maybe Trip was simply growing accustomed to the climate. What he wasn’t accustomed to was the presence of the dragons and the way it made his head ache. The pressure against his eardrums was almost painful, as if he’d taken a dive in Charkolt Harbor and gone down too far.

  The airship is approaching the ruins from the other side, Jaxi reported. The dragon scout is still flying around the top of the peak, even though the Cofah are definitely within his range to sense. He has to know they’re coming.

  I see him. The three other dragons have gone into the mountain, right? Planning some ambush?

  The chapaharii blade could be giving them pause. If those two silvers warned their buddies, then the dragons here know that people on that airship have been successfully killing their kind.

  Leftie slipped as he plopped down from his flier. The ground was slick here, more ice than snow. For the first time since arriving in the Antarctic, Trip strapped on the crisscrossing rope-like harnesses for his boots. They were a part of the winter army gear and were supposed to offer better traction on ice. He didn’t want to fall on his ass during a dragon fight. Or while a dragon was watching. Or while Rysha was watching.

  So, in general, you’d prefer to remain upr
ight.

  Yes, can a soulblade assure that happens?

  I could, but how would that be entertaining for me?

  Rysha came up to stand next to him, a heavy pack on her shoulders. It wasn’t quite as large as the one Kaika wore, perhaps not containing as many materials for demolitions, but it wasn’t any lighter than the packs the men carried.

  Her sword—Blazer’s sword—seeped its green glow out of its scabbard. Trip chose to believe it simply wanted to light the way for them, rather than that it was trying to influence her or having fantasies of killing him. Could swords have fantasies?

  Soulblades can, Jaxi said. Those chapaharii swords are far inferior.

  So, Trip-slaying fantasies are unlikely? I’ll find that encouraging.

  Rysha smiled at Trip, and he also found that encouraging. Maybe it meant she’d gotten to the point that she could control the weapons, and he wouldn’t be in danger from her. He hoped so.

  He returned her smile as he remembered their kiss. He also remembered that she hadn’t seemed bothered by his blood. He wasn’t surprised that she’d figured it out, but it did worry him that he wasn’t being as subtle about hiding things as he’d hoped.

  It’s hard to be subtle when you’re hurling fireballs, Jaxi informed him. I’ve always preferred to be grandiose and magnificent, rather than subtle.

  I wouldn’t have guessed.

  “Who’s leading?” Kaika asked, striding away from her flier to join the gathering group. Everyone else had also stopped to attach the traction straps to their boots.

  “Our archaeologist,” Blazer said. “Or our soulblade whisperer.”

  Everyone looked at Rysha and Trip.

  “I think we just got nominated to lead together,” Trip murmured.

  “I’m game as long as your pointy friends let us know if the dragons turn their interest toward us.”

  “I’m sure they will. Grandiosely and magnificently.”

  Rysha looked curiously at him.

  Trip waved a dismissive hand and started off, following the base of the mountain. Rysha walked at his side, and the rest of the team trailed behind. They slipped often, despite their fancy boot straps. The ground seemed the ice equivalent of a field of hardened lava, with ridges and ripples making the footing tricky. Maybe the dragons came out and practiced breathing fire on the snow to ensure the walk up was unpleasant for non-winged visitors.

  Trip pulled out a ration bar that he’d stuffed into his pocket before slinging his pack over his shoulders. It was all they had for dinner tonight, nobody having suggested they take the time to start a campfire and rehydrate some of their dehydrated rations.

  Alas, Azarwrath spoke into his mind.

  Alas, what?

  Alas, you’re going to eat another of those sawdust-like bars of compressed… whatever is compressed into that flat stick.

  Trip looked down at the bar. They weren’t exactly his grandmother’s cooking, but they weren’t awful.

  I beg to differ.

  What does it matter to you? You’re not sharing it with me. Trip glanced at the sword hilt, wondering if the handler-soulblade relationship was more symbiotic than he’d imagined. I mean, you’re not, right?

  I do not take in sustenance anymore, no. I do miss it, however. I enjoyed food a great deal when I was alive. All I can do now is live vicariously through my handlers. In a sense, I can taste what you taste. Such as honey-laced sawdust. The words seeped disappointment.

  Sorry. Trip took a bite. It wasn’t as if there were other options out here, and he would need energy if they had to battle dragons.

  When you return home, you will visit this grandmother? Her meals sound promising.

  I hope so. We’ll probably go back to the capital first. I’m sure there are fancy restaurants there. Trip was less sure captains could afford them. Officers made more than sergeants and privates, but the army assumed its troops would live in fort housing and dine at the mess hall, so there was no need to pay them enough to purchase room and board.

  I dearly hope so. I would be most curious to know about modern culinary trends. Berasa was not much of a food enthusiast, I’m afraid, and the options in those pirate taverns were barely above abysmal.

  Duck cursed from the rear of their formation. “Even a slug would slip and fall on this stuff,” he grumbled.

  “What about a waddling duck?” Kaika asked.

  “Ducks never fall, ma’am.”

  An “oomph” and a painful-sounding thud followed the comment.

  “You may need to update your wilderness lore, Duck,” Kaika said, helping him to his feet.

  “Or get a new nickname, ma’am. Think Crash would mind if I borrowed his this week?”

  A few people chuckled, but Trip’s head hurt too much for humor. He’d always sensed the dragons when they were nearby, but this was more intense than before, and he wondered if more of them might be within the mountain than he believed. Or was it that the ones he sensed were extremely strong and had powerful auras? If so, that didn’t bode well for their incursion.

  The airship is drawing close to the start of a canyon cutting north to south along the side of our mountain, Jaxi reported. Two more dragons have come outside to join the first. They’re sitting on the top of the mountain, looking down at the airship.

  Trip relayed the information.

  “The canyon?” Rysha asked, doing an excited hop. Her boots slipped when she came down, but she recovered more easily than Duck had. “That’s our destination. There are supposed to be statues carved along the sides and also a cave with drawings in it. The drawings are believed to have been made by humans visiting the area thousands of years ago. I can’t wait to see them. They used charcoal and umber and yellow ochres that aren’t native to the region. Did you know the iron oxide and manganese oxide in umber is largely found in—”

  “This isn’t a good time for lectures, Lieutenant,” Blazer said.

  “Oh, sorry, ma’am.” Rysha was silent for a minute as they clomped along the ice, then said, “Why not, ma’am? We’re not discussing anything else. Our minds could use a distraction.”

  Blazer paused, as if groping for an answer that didn’t involve confessing that she didn’t want to be lectured by a lieutenant. “The dragons might hear us,” she finally said.

  “Are they not interested in umber and ochre?” Duck asked.

  Leftie sniggered.

  Trip was gaining a greater appreciation for Dreyak’s silence. He strode along beside Duck without a word, only the soft crunch of ice under his boots giving away his position.

  Everyone fell silent as they rounded the mountain, and Trip suspected that even those without magic could now sense the oppressive closeness of the dragons’ presence, the power of their auras.

  They passed through a field of those broken ice-chunk boulders, and two things came into view. A long dark canyon cut into the ground—or perhaps the ice—that didn’t appear to be a natural geological formation, and the silhouette of the airship at the far end. The oddly straight canyon stretched for ten miles before ending as abruptly as it began, a deep scar in the earth. There was no evidence that a river had ever flowed through the area, or that anything other than magic had created it.

  “How do we get down?” Kaika whispered as the group gathered at their end of the canyon, using one of the ice boulders to hide them from the dragons perched atop the mountain.

  A few trees and brush would have been nice to help camouflage them.

  “More than that, how do we get down without the dragons seeing us?” Blazer asked.

  “Your ruse appears to have worked,” Dreyak said. “They are focused on the airship.”

  “Are we sure about that?” Rysha touched the hilt of her sword. “We have more magic on us than the airship has on board. Our swords should be like shining beacons to them. Just because their eyes aren’t pointed this way doesn’t mean they’re not aware of us.”

  “Maybe they heard this group was giving boring lectures,” Leftie
said, “and that scared them away even more than our swords.”

  Rysha did not say anything, but Trip sensed her gritting her teeth.

  “Don’t be an ass, Leftie.” Trip knew Rysha didn’t need his protection or for him to stand up for her, but he found himself putting his arm around her shoulders. Just in case she wanted the support.

  She found his gloved hand and patted it.

  “Sorry,” Leftie said, sounding sincere. “I meant it as a joke. It came out less funny than I intended.”

  “One wonders how he lured Cofah women into a cargo hold,” Kaika said.

  “I assumed he didn’t talk much,” Duck said.

  “All right, all right, it can’t be acceptable to pick on me if it’s not acceptable to pick on Ravenwood,” Leftie said.

  “Are you sure?” Duck asked. “Because this feels right.”

  “Trip, I’m going to need you to come put your arm around my shoulders here in a minute.”

  The largest of the dragons—a gold—leaped from the mountaintop, flapped its wings, and headed toward the airship. The other two sprang into the air and followed.

  “This is our chance.” Blazer clenched her fist.

  “There are still dragons inside the mountain,” Trip said, “but that’s all of the ones outside.”

  “We’ll figure out how to deal with the inside ones when we reach them,” Blazer said, jogging toward the edge of the canyon to peer in, “preferably by hiding a lot and not being noticed.”

  Rysha stepped away from Trip to join her. “That’s deeper than I expected.”

  “Our ropes won’t reach the bottom.” Blazer looked toward Trip. “Got any soulblade magic that will help?”

  Jaxi? Trip asked. Azarwrath? What do you think?

  That it is rather odd that a woman leads your military mission, Azarwrath said.

  How can you possibly be that old-fashioned and stupid-fashioned when your last handler was female? Jaxi asked.

  She was unorthodox. Are women not primarily healers, child-rearers, and caregivers in Iskandia?

  You suggest to Kaika that she rear something, and she’ll probably drop an explosive on your pommel.

  I am concerned about the altered values in this era. Certain policies seem less than wholesome.

  Aware of Blazer waiting for a response, Trip cleared his throat. The canyon?