'These may be the only copies of these books left in the world,' Shay said, on the verge of begging. 'You can't let him take them.'
'Books aren't equal to human lives,' Burke grumbled. 'Ragnar, take the books. Use them to wrap fish for all I care. As for Jandra, she's leaving Dragon Forge before nightfall. You won't have to worry about her witching up any more of your men.'
'I'll allow her to leave,' Ragnar said, 'provided she doesn't return.'
'Fine,' said Burke.
'But-' said Jandra.
'Drop it,' Burke said, through gritted teeth. It was obvious that the stress of the encounter was causing him great pain.
Stonewall gathered up the books and went to Ragnar's side. Ragnar and his Mighty Men turned and went back to the elevator. He glanced back over his shoulder.
'Burke,' he said. 'Don't think I will tolerate your blasphemy indefinitely. I can be pushed too far.'
'So can I,' said Burke, narrowing his eyes. The elevator rumbled, lowering Ragnar and his men from view.
Shay fell to his knees in front of the charred remains of the book on the hearth. 'This book survived twelve centuries, only to vanish at the whim of a fanatic. Why did you give him the books, Kanati? I would have thought you, of all people, would have valued those writings. Aren't you one of the Anudahdeesdee? The tribe that calls itself the Memory?'
'The Anudahdeesdee have copies of all the books you showed me,' said Burke. 'I've got a collection of over two-hundred manuscripts in the basement of my tavern. The physical books you lost were rare, but the information inside them is more than just the paper they're printed on. Information is essentially immortal with a little technological assistance. At my tribal home beyond the mountains, my people maintain an old press to preserve copies of essential works. We lost nothing here today.'
Shay perked up. 'There's a printing press in human control? That's fantastic! I wish I could see it.'
'Maybe you can,' said Burke. 'You aren't going to be on Ragnar's list of favorite people. You should get out of here tonight. Go with Jandra and Anza. They'll be passing through Burke's Tavern, my adopted hometown. Assuming the town is still standing, and hasn't fallen victim to reprisals by retreating earth-dragons, there's a map in my basement that would be of interest to you. It contains instructions on how to go to my homeland. It's coded, but Anza can give you the key.'
'But… but I only just arrived,' said Shay. 'I came to fight for the liberty of mankind.'
'Stay here and you'll get your throat cut in your sleep by one of the Mighty Men,' said Burke. 'You've never held a sword in your life, have you?'
Shay lowered his head, looking embarrassed. 'No, sir.'
'You're lucky I've already forged the pieces to make a second shotgun,' said Burke. 'The beauty of a gun is the way it equalizes the slave and the warrior. Let me get the crew to assemble it and whip you up an ammo belt. I'll send you off with Anza, Jandra, and Vance.'
Shay looked as if he were about to argue further, but held his tongue. Lizard, still on Jandra's shoulder, stared intently as Burke rolled his wheeled chair over to the elevator and pulled the lever to raise the cage.
'Strong boss,' the little dragon whispered, sounding awed.
VULPINE DRIFTED ON the winds high above Dragon Forge, with Balikan a few yards off his left wing. Reports were that the sky-wall bows could reach a mile, and Vulpine took care to stay well beyond that range. He could see scores of humans armed with bows crowded onto the thick stone walls that surrounded the town. They watched him closely, though he knew at this distance he was little more than a speck.
'They look rather alert,' said Balikan.
'Alert enough,' said Vulpine. 'This is why the brute strength, head-on approach of the sun-dragons was doomed to failure. Shandrazel was too eager to prove his strength and crush the rebellion in a grand slaughter, the way his father crushed the rebellion at Conyers. If he'd been more patient, he could have broken this insurgency without spilling a drop of dragon blood.'
'I was thinking the same thing,' said Balikan. 'He had catapults in his army with a greater range than the bows. He could have lobbed in barrels of flaming pitch and burned the town to the ground.'
Vulpine shook his head. 'There's a difference between destroying Dragon Forge and reclaiming it.'
Vulpine motioned with his head, inviting Balikan to follow his gaze. Dragon Forge wasn't a large town. The fortress was diamond-shaped, encompassing roughly one square mile of earth. Save for a few broad avenues, the interior of the fortress was cramped with buildings built on top of buildings, so that one dragon's floor was another dragon's roof. Three smokestacks dominated the skyline of Dragon Forge, belching plumes of ash high into the sky.
Outside of the walls there were hundreds of heaps of rusting metal dotting the low red hills, the raw material of the foundries. Amid these heaps were hovels where gleaners lived, among the poorest humans in the kingdom.
Threading through these heaps were four major roads. All were busy with traffic. In the absence of dragons, humans throughout the kingdom rushed to Dragon Forge. Some of this traffic, though, wasn't here for the rebellion. Mule trains hauling wagon loads of coal wound along the western road. They cared little who brought their wares, be it human or dragon.
Along the southern side of Dragon Forge there was a river; a canal had been dug long ago to divert water into the city, where a water wheel powered the bellows that fanned the foundries. The water also served to flush the gutters and sewers of the town-crude but effective sanitation. In addition to this water, Vulpine could see a large well at the center of town. The rebels wouldn't perish from thirst. 'With the right eyes, you can see the city as a heart. The roads and rivers serve as arteries and veins, carrying in the lifeblood, carting off the waste. Choke off the roads and the city dies.'
'But by now the rebels will have been stocking up on supplies. They could hold out for weeks, or months.'
'And is the world suddenly in short supply of weeks and months?' asked Vulpine.
Balikan clamped his mouth shut, looking properly chastised.
'In any case, I don't think they will hold out for months,' said Vulpine. 'Humans lack the capacity for long term planning we sky-dragons possess. Presented with a blockade, with food and resources dwindling, they will likely turn on themselves in short order, especially once plague breaks out.'
'If plague breaks out,' said Balikan. 'I must admit, it looks as if they are doing a fair job of keeping the town clean.'
'This need not be something left to chance,' said Vulpine. 'Let's pay a visit to the Nest. It's only thirty miles away and a few dozen valkyries can easily blockade the western road and cut off the coal supply. The valkyrie engineers can also block off the canal feeding water into the town. After that, we'll follow the Forge Road back to the Palace to confer with Chapelion and get the authority to gather all the elements I need to truly solve this problem.'
'We are slavecatchers, not soldiers.'
'After I tell him his books are in the fort,' said Vulpine, 'he'll give me every last soldier in the kingdom.'
CHAPTER FOUR:
PHANTOMS
SHAY TOOK A sip of the steaming sassafras tea. The licorice bite of it opened up his sinuses, clearing his ears so he could better hear Burke as he whispered to Anza. It wasn't Shay's intention to eavesdrop, but over the years he'd grown sensitive to hushed conversations. All the politics and intrigues that swirled around a dragon of Chapelion's station unfolded in whispers and nods. Thus, though he sat on a wooden stool by the fireplace across the loft from Burke and his daughter, he heard Burke's words as clearly as if he was standing between them.
'We had several groups of refugees report that the earth-dragons are raiding human villages.' Burke slipped her a sheet of folded parchment. 'It's only a matter of time before they strike the tavern. Take this to Thorny. There are tools in the hidden room I need, and my notebooks would also be useful. Have him bring them to me.'
