‘We’re lucky the town militia didn’t turn up.’
‘I would have beaten them up too.’
Van shook his head at him as they turned and followed the narrow pier to their boat.
Naxor was sitting in the galley smoking a cigarette when they descended the steps from the deck. He glanced up at them, and his eyes widened.
‘What happened? I nearly panicked when I got back and realised that you two weren’t here. Have we been discovered?’
‘Calm down,’ Corthie said. ‘We were just out for a drink.’
‘Then why is there blood on your face? And you, Van, are you alright?’
‘We got into a bar fight,’ said the former mercenary, sitting heavily on the bench.
Corthie pulled a full bottle of vodka from his clothes. ‘And look what I snatched on the way out.’
‘But Corthie’s not supposed to leave the boat,’ Naxor cried. ‘You endangered us all, Van; how could you allow it?’
‘Next time,’ said Van, ‘you try to stop him.’
‘There won’t be a next time,’ said Naxor.
‘Shut up,’ said Corthie as he opened the bottle. ‘I’m going out again tomorrow night.’
‘What?’ said Van.
‘Aye. It’s time I got myself back into shape, just like you were saying earlier. I could feel my battle-vision getting sharper as the fight went on. And it’s made me hungry, too. In fact, I haven’t felt this good since Yoneath; this alive.’ He glanced at his bruised knuckles and took a swig. ‘I’m getting better, I can feel it, but sitting in this boat isn’t going to help. I’m going to get fit, and then we’re going to find Aila and my sister.’
Naxor and Van glanced at each other.
‘Don’t worry,’ said Corthie; ‘they thought we were Banner spies; they had no idea who I really was. I’ll see if they fancy a re-match tomorrow. Now, let’s get hammered.’
Chapter 8
The Son Rises
C atacombs, Torduan Mountains, Khatanax – 12th Luddinch 5252
‘That’s the plan,’ said Sable. ‘What do you think?’
Millen and Maddie glanced at each other, their faces reflecting the red glow of the lava below them.
‘I have a slightly more sensible plan,’ said Maddie; ‘we use the Quadrant to rescue Blackrose. You’re all better now after being stabbed, and Sanguino’s been out flying every day. What else are we waiting for? Why do we need to fight Grimsleep?’
‘Us three sitting here don’t need to,’ said Sable. ‘It’s Sanguino. I’ve already suggested to him that we leave, but Sanguino sees it as a matter of honour. But this is it; after we do this, we’ll get Blackrose.’
Maddie narrowed her eyes. ‘You promise?’
‘I promise. And there’s more. I think a few other dragons are on the verge of agreeing to come with us to Dragon Eyre. It’s hardly an army, but it’s better than just Blackrose and Sanguino. We can use the fight with Grimsleep to make them commit.’
‘Which dragons?’ said Millen.
‘Well, Broadwing, for a start.’
‘Who?’
‘Silver body, black wings. He’s about the same age as Blackrose, but has been sidelined by Deathfang and his cronies for decades. He’s a big dragon, as his name suggests. And Deepblue.’
‘What, that scrawny little thing?’ said Maddie. ‘She’s even smaller than Burntskull.’
‘She’s tired of being pushed around,’ said Sable. ‘This is our choice – if we fight Grimsleep, then we’ll have two other dragons to show Blackrose when we free her. If we flee, we’ll have none.’
‘Is that it?’ said Maddie. ‘A reject, and the tiniest dragon in the Catacombs?’
‘Alright, Maddie,’ said Sable; ‘instead of complaining all the time, why don’t you make the decision? Come on. Weigh up all of our options and tell us what to do.’
Sable darted into her mind as Maddie’s brows furrowed. She could see the logic in Sable’s plan, but didn’t want to admit it, and there was still a niggling sense of guilt in her thoughts about keeping the truth of the Quadrant from Blackrose. Sable suppressed her desire to meddle; she needed Maddie to agree without any covert persuasion.
‘I have questions.’
‘Go on,’ said Sable.
‘When we free Blackrose,’ she said, ‘how are we going to explain that we have the you-know-what in our possession?’
‘Leave that to me.’
‘That’s not good enough, Sable. You must have some idea.’
‘I have plenty of ideas. My main one at present is that I tell her we’ve raided Old Alea and stolen one from the gods. In order for this to work, we’ll need a diversion, which Broadwing and Deepblue can provide.’
Maddie chewed her lip for a moment. ‘I hate lying to her.’
‘I’ll take the blame if it all goes wrong.’
‘But I went along with it,’ said Maddie. ‘She’ll know.’
‘Maybe, but she thinks I’m a manipulative witch. We’ll say I forced you to do it.’
Maddie groaned. ‘Fine, we’ll do it your way.’
‘What about me?’ said Millen. ‘Don’t I get a say?’
Sable eyed him. ‘Well?’
He glanced down at the rough map that Sable had etched into the sand by the entrance of the tomb. ‘What if Grimsleep refuses to come out of his cave?’
‘He won’t. He can’t turn down a challenge and expect to remain in charge of the outlaw dragons on the other side of the valley. And, if by some incredible chance he does, then we can still claim victory. We’ll have plenty of witnesses.’
‘What if he uses fire more than once?’
‘We’ve been over this; dragons might bathe each other in fire when they first start fighting, but it’s just for show. Flames don’t hurt them. I only need to make it through that first burst.’
‘What if he gets help from the other dragons that live there?’
‘Those witnesses I mentioned; they’ll join in if the rules that govern fights are broken.’ She smiled. ‘Any more objections?’
He gazed at her for a moment, then blinked. ‘No;
