‘I see,’ said the dragon. ‘I’m going to kill you regardless, as a lesson to the insects cutting down the forest. Perhaps your deaths might give them some pause. First, though, I want you to beg for your lives.’
‘You want us to beg for our lives, and then you’ll kill us anyway?’ said Aila.
The dragon turned her red eyes to the demigod. ‘I sense that you are not as terrified as the other insect. You should be.’
She raised her claws higher, ready to bring them down. Aila’s mouth fell open. If she told the dragon she was a demigod, then the beast would make certain of her death by decapitating her, or by incinerating her to ashes; if she didn’t, then she might survive a mauling. But Kelsey? The young Holdfast woman had no chance.
She raised her hands. ‘We’re friends of Blackrose; do you know Blackrose?’
The dragon hesitated.
‘And Maddie,’ Aila went on. ‘I know Maddie well; we’re friends.’
‘You know Blackrose?’ said the dragon. ‘How?’
‘I came to Lostwell with her and Maddie.’
‘And the insect known as Millen?’
Aila blinked. ‘No, sorry; I don’t know any Millen.’
‘Sable, the witch?’
‘Sable Holdfast?’ said Kelsey. ‘She’s my mother’s sister. Do you know Sable?’
The dragon drew her claws back an inch or two. ‘I have had dealings with the witch.’
‘We were looking for Blackrose,’ said Aila. ‘Do you know where she is?’
‘No.’
‘We last saw her in Yoneath. She came to help us, and she had another dragon with her.’ Aila narrowed her eyes. ‘Are you the other dragon?’
The dragon lowered her claws, and the light in her eyes seemed to dim a little. ‘It wasn’t my fault. I had no choice but to flee. Two Ascendants, they… I…’
‘It was you,’ said Aila. ‘We’re on the same side.’
Some of the fire in her eyes returned. ‘I am not on the side of any insect.’
‘But you’re on the same side as Blackrose.’
‘Blackrose is my mother.’
Kesley let out a strangled laugh.
‘What?’ said Aila. ‘Blackrose didn’t mention having a daughter.’
‘She adopted me, and then I failed her. I should have died by her side, but instead I fled. It has taken me many days to recover from the death powers wielded by the two Ascendants.’
‘Wait; is Blackrose dead?’
The silver dragon closed her eyes. ‘I don’t know.’
‘We can help each other,’ said Kelsey.
‘I require no assistance from insects.’
‘My friend is right,’ said Aila. ‘She has powers, a bit like Sable, except she can stop the powers of the gods. If she’s with you, then no vision powers will find you, and no death powers can hurt you.’
The dragon’s eyes snapped open and she stared at Aila for a long moment.
‘I discern no lie,’ she said after a while, ‘but what you say cannot be true.’
‘All the same,’ said Kelsey, ‘you can’t kill us now. We’re friends with your mother. She wouldn’t be happy if you tore us to shreds, now, would she?’
The dragon’s eyes glowed bright with anger. ‘I cannot tell if you are lying or not. Perhaps you are related to Sable.’
‘Soldiers will be coming for you,’ said Aila. ‘That part was true. Those same soldiers also want to catch us. Let’s help each other, and together we can find out what’s happened to your mother.’
The dragon squeezed her eyes closed and she seemed to tremble with rage, then she lashed out with her claws, ripping through the trunk of a tree a few yards to their left in a frenzy of noise.
‘Very well!’ she growled. ‘I warn you, though; if you hinder me in any way, then I take your heads from your shoulders, whether you are friends of my mother or not.’
She turned, and began to move away from them, crashing her way through the undergrowth.
‘I’m Aila and this is Kelsey,’ said Aila, as they hurried next to her. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Frostback.’
‘Because of your silver scales?’ said Kelsey. ‘I like that. Would it be quicker if we flew? Could we ride on your back?’
Frostback came to an abrupt halt, her long neck turning so she could stare down at Kelsey.
‘You will never ride on my back, insect; never.’
Kelsey shrugged. ‘Alright; I was only asking. Are you always this grumpy?’
Frostback ignored her and started striding away. Aila and Kesley glanced at each other, then ran to chase after her.
Chapter 11
No Fixed Abode
K in Dai, Kinell, Eastern Khatanax – 13th Luddinch 5252
Corthie felt something sharp poke him in the ribs. He groaned, awakening, and wondered why his bed felt so hard.
‘Is this him?’ said a voice.
‘Yes, officer.’
Corthie opened his eyes, his head splitting from the effects of the ruinous amount of vodka he had consumed the night before. He blinked. Daylight. He was lying by the side of a street, in the gutter. An empty bottle sat inches from his face, and next to it were a pair of boots belonging to a man.
‘And he smashed up your tavern, is that right?’
‘Yes, officer; just because I asked him to leave. He also attacked two of my staff, and broke the nose of one of them. He’s an animal.’
Corthie tried to get up, but the spear poked him in the ribs again.
‘Stay where you are, boy.’
Corthie’s confusion turned to anger, and he was about to grab the spear when he realised that a small crowd had gathered round where he lay. He recognised a nearby shop front; he was close to the alleyway packed with bars and taverns, a ten minute walk from the house boat.
‘Bring up the wagon,’ said the man with the spear.
‘What will happen to him?’ said the tavern owner.
‘That will be up to the magistrate. He’s a big lad; he might be sent to a labour camp, or maybe he’ll serve some time in the city jail.’
‘Good; he deserves it.’
The tavern
