Broken by Magic: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (Dragon Gate Book 3), page 22
“It’s probably where they’re taking us.”
“Yes.”
And what would be waiting at that jail? An executioner with an axe?
Jadora closed her eyes. She probably had a splitting headache too.
The carriage bumping along the stone-block road to what might be their doom didn’t help.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you from them,” Rivlen said quietly.
Though she was reluctant to voice her failings out loud, and it galled her to have to apologize to someone, she lamented that she hadn’t kept Jadora safe. She’d been certain she could handle this, but it was like the last time she’d faced Tonovan, believing she could handle him too. Clearly, she thought too highly of her own abilities. But she was good. She was used to being able to handle her foes. These people were just… too much.
“It’s not your fault,” Jadora said.
Rivlen grimaced, feeling guilty anew because it might be. “I’m not sure about that. They didn’t show up until I started touching the dragon steel. Maybe they sensed that somehow. An alarm. I didn’t detect anything like that, but I was so focused on it. I… I want to bring back its secrets to Uthari, to prove that I’m worth my promotion and every other promotion he might ever contemplate giving me. I’m good enough for it all and deserve it, damn it.” Tears pricked at her eyes, and she would have spat in disgust if she hadn’t been flat on her back. She was a fleet officer. Tears were unseemly, no matter how frustrating the situation was.
“I believe you,” Jadora said. “You seem very capable.”
Rivlen snorted “Except for tonight.”
“These are extenuating circumstances.”
“No kidding. Why are these people so powerful?” Rivlen didn’t expect Jadora to know—what did terrene humans understand about magic?—and didn’t probe for the answer in her thoughts. Her head hurt too much for mind reading now anyway. “We should have tried to bring Jak. For a complete novice, he’s pretty good at funneling power into people and giving them a boost.”
She’d meant it as a compliment, but Jadora turned a worried expression on her.
“What?” Rivlen asked, still unwilling to use her power to try to read thoughts. Pain pulsed behind her eyes, the worst headache she could remember ever having. When would this bumpy ride end?
“I was wondering,” Jadora said slowly, “what your intentions are for my son.”
Ah. Yes, she might not approve of Rivlen training Jak so he could be an ally for her, a weapon against Tonovan.
“I more or less understand what Malek wants—someone to loyally serve Uthari alongside him—but what do you want?”
Rivlen sighed, tempted not to answer. Another time, she wouldn’t have, but after failing to protect Jadora from these people—and not being certain if they were even now on their way to their deaths—she felt compelled to give her something. To give her the truth.
“An ally,” Rivlen said. “I am not well liked in the fleet. I’m young, ambitious, and apparently the wrong sex to lead men. Nobody objects to women in the fleet in general, but things change if they rise too high in the ranks and end up ordering men with big egos around. Women are supposed to be healers or crafters, not slay enemies with their magic. Or so my male colleagues believe. Every time I’m stationed on a new ship, I have to prove myself over and over again. And explain that I’m not there to have sex with them.”
“I can see how irritating that would be, but how can Jak help? He’s not going to enroll in your fleet. Even if he… ends up working for Uthari—” Jadora struggled to get those words out, as if the idea horrified her, “—I don’t think anyone would try to turn him into a soldier. He was going to school for cartography, and he’s much more of an artist and a scholar than a fighter.”
“I know he likes his big words. I hypothesize that he does.”
Jadora snorted faintly. “That’s probably established enough to be considered a theory.”
“I don’t know how Uthari will want to use him, but trust me, having an ally outside of the fleet wouldn’t be a bad idea. Like a secret weapon.”
Maybe that hadn’t been the right thing to say, for Jadora winced, and probably not because of her headache.
“I don’t mean to use him in a way that would get him killed. Nothing like that.” Rivlen just wanted Jak to feel he owed her, so he would help her with Tonovan and anyone else who tried to keep her down—or force her to do something against her wishes.
“That’s good,” Jadora murmured, not sounding reassured.
“Everything I teach him is useful for him too. Not just for me. He’ll need to know how to best use his power. The world is dangerous. Worlds.”
“I’m well aware.”
Rivlen sighed, wishing she’d said nothing. She’d essentially admitted to Jadora that she wanted to use her son to further her own ambitions. She’d felt compelled to honesty, but maybe she shouldn’t have answered. Now, Jadora might try to talk Jak out of learning from Rivlen—from going through with the promise he’d made. The promise, she’d admittedly tricked him into making and that had been more a tentative agreement than a fervent vow.
“I’d rather see him develop his powers and be able to take care of himself than not,” Rivlen said. “I appreciate that he didn’t doubt that I was a capable mage and leader and had rightfully earned the captaincy of the Star Flyer.”
“I should hope not. We did see you fly that ship into battle over Port Toh-drom.”
“A lot of people believe what agrees with their biases, no matter how much evidence is presented to the contrary.”
“Yes, I’ve encountered that often as well. Can you tell where in the city they’re taking us?”
Jadora probably hoped Malek could find them and rescue them. Should Rivlen admit that she’d lost contact with him?
“No. Just that we’re still on that loathsome stone road.” Rivlen’s headache intensified when she tried to use her magic to sense their surroundings, so she winced and gave up. “You’d think such a powerful race of mages could make smoother streets.”
“Or figure out how to employ mechanical or hydraulic devices to convert kinetic energy to heat.” Jadora grimaced as they went over a bump and rubbed her hip. “Also known as shock absorbers.”
“I can tell where Jak got his love of words.”
“I taught him to read when he was very young so he could entertain himself without drawing on the walls.”
“Most kids get toys.”
“Books make less noise. Though he drew in those too. He decided to put a map of his favorite places to play in the neighborhood in my father’s Teachings.” Jadora grimaced and sat up. She tried the door latch.
It was locked. Rivlen wasn’t surprised.
She closed her eyes to meditate the best she could without shock absorbers and hoped she could recover her power, and that it would help when they reached their destination. Wherever that would be.
The scaled tiger blocked the exit. Malek could have turned and run in another direction, but the big predator would have taken advantage of that. It had to weigh more than a thousand pounds, all muscle. When it sprang, those powerful muscles would carry it far and fast.
Malek crouched, his sword and main-gauche in hand and waited. The voices of men talking and laughing still carried to him. They were likely used to the sounds of animals coming from this area. Even if they learned that one was free of its enclosure, they were safe in their own cells.
The scaled tiger sniffed the air with nostrils more like a furred animal would have. Its yellow eyes remained focused on Malek. After assessing his scent—assessing him—it sprang, its fanged maw opening wide.
Malek also sprang. Not at it but straight into the air with muscles enhanced by his training and the magic Uthari had funneled into him over the years.
His jump carried him higher than the tiger, and it landed where he’d been, jaws snapping at the empty air. Malek came down on its back and drove his sword downward. Though he aimed for the creature’s spine, the tiger was fast and whipped about as soon as it felt his weight. The sword struck muscle and flesh but not the vital target Malek hoped for.
The tiger bucked, throwing him off to the side. Malek twisted in the air and would have landed easily, but he struck the barrier of one of the enclosures. It startled him with a zap of power that not only stung but blasted him several feet. He still managed to land on his feet, but he came down with his back to the tiger.
It roared and leaped at him, paws leaving the ground as it aimed for his neck.
Malek only had time to drop straight down. He landed on one knee, ducking low to avoid slashing claws, and swept his sword through one of the back legs as the creature flew overhead. He swung fast and hard, cutting through muscle and bone, and hot blood flew everywhere, some spattering his cheek and hands. When the tiger landed, it had only three limbs.
Malek jumped up, spinning to face his foe as it screeched. Despite what had to be great pain, the tiger whirled toward him and sprang again.
This time, Malek held his ground. As its great fanged mouth opened wide, Malek hurled his main-gauche into it.
The blade cut deep into the back of the tiger’s throat, sinking into vulnerable flesh. Still in the air, the tiger slashed a paw at him, razor claws trying to tear off his face. Malek dodged the blow as he swept his sword in, the weapon sinking into flesh.
The tiger, discombobulated from its wounds, landed not on its feet but on its shoulder. Malek leaped on top of it and drove his sword into its neck.
Even down and gravely injured, with the main-gauche still lodged in its throat, the big tiger turned his head and snapped at the sword. Malek grabbed the hilt of his shorter blade, yanked it out, and stabbed the tiger in the eye.
It thrashed, and he jumped free lest it injure him with its dying throes. The scaled tail smacked against the floor as legs twitched and claws slashed. A gurgling roar came from its throat, but the sound was far weaker than before.
Weapons dripping blood, Malek crouched and waited to make sure his foe would die. The magic it carried lingered, even as its breaths slowed and finally stopped.
Other predators prowled in nearby enclosures, watching intently, their instincts stirred by the battle—or the scent of blood.
As the magic faded from the creature, Malek grew aware of a presence behind him.
He spun, surprised someone had been able to sneak up on him. Even though he’d been locked in battle, he’d never lost his awareness of his surroundings or of the possibility of further threats being unleashed upon him. After all, someone had let out this creature.
A figure in a flowing white robe with a raised hood stood in the passageway behind him, a glowing nimbus making it seem more like an apparition from a dream than a flesh-and-blood person. But Malek’s senses told him that she—feminine curves under the robe hinted of hips and breasts—was real, and that she was immensely powerful. Her aura was perhaps not quite as great as that of the dragon he’d faced, but it was more than he’d ever sensed from a human being. Even Uthari’s power would be dwarfed by this woman’s.
How had she crept up on him? He couldn’t believe that he could have failed, under any circumstances, to detect her approach.
An intriguing foreigner from the First World, she spoke into his mind. I heard of your arrival, though not from my trusted ambassador, who should have passed along such news.
I am Malek zem Uthari. He straightened and saluted her with his sword, guessing this might be one of the rulers.
Had she let out the beast? To test him? Or had someone else done that? It seemed unlikely that she would have simply been… in the neighborhood when that happened and come to watch. He had a feeling she’d released the creature. That meant he had to be as careful with her as with any of the other people here. He dared not reveal more than she’d already guessed about his world, especially not about the militaries and the forces they could field if Torvil was invaded.
I represent King Uthari of Torvil—what you call the First World—and seek an alliance with your people on his behalf.
I am Etcher Yervaa. You seek the secret of the dragon steel. Her face wasn’t visible through the nimbus, but she seemed to smile. Your people never learned it.
Did she sound smug?
Malek kept his face masked, his thoughts and emotions locked down, though it was hard to stifle indignation. Whoever among these people had learned to work the dragon steel, he suspected it had happened long ago and that she hadn’t been responsible.
There is little dragon steel on our world. Malek assumed she could guess that already, since she knew of his interest, so it was a piece of information he could give away without revealing anything detrimental. Perhaps by sharing something, he would seem more amenable, someone she could reasonably negotiate with. Dragons have not been seen there for more than ten thousand years.
Then you are fortunate. She lifted a hand, and an illusion formed in the air between them.
Her city floated in miniature, the dome-shaped barrier that protected it visible, and a pair of brown-and-gray mottled dragons flew over it. They soared down and plucked up two people traveling on the road, tearing them to pieces and flinging their remains into the sea. After that, they attacked the city, but mage guards stood on the wall and reinforced the barrier, funneling even more power to it. A white-robed woman—Etcher Yervaa herself?—appeared out of nowhere to stand beside them and also directed power into the barrier.
The dragons tore at the city’s magical defenses, but the defendants’ combined might thwarted them. They flew away without acquiring more victims, but the mangled bodies of the dead floated in the sea nearby.
The device on your portal does not keep dragons away? Malek asked.
Oh, it does. It is very effective, but dragons already lived on our world when one of our great inventors crafted that. It has destroyed many of the vile creatures as they’ve attempted to come through, killing them before they could prey on our kind. We are grateful for it, but the dragons that were already here know to avoid it. When our people attempted to build a second defender device on our city wall, somehow, they destroyed it from afar. We believe it is the combined power of the gateway to the stars and the defender that has kept the original safe.
Interesting.
You will not take it from us, Yervaa said into his mind, as if she knew he’d considered exactly that when they first arrived.
But he hadn’t acted on the thought, nor would he have stolen from another people, and he resented her insinuation.
I am zidarr. I am honorable. I do not steal from those I visit.
I do not know what zidarr is.
I am zidarr. Malek lifted his chin. Sworn to follow the tenets of the Zidarr Code. Integrity, duty, courage, austerity, and honor.
And you have been physically altered by some magical means? The hood shifted, as Yervaa eyed him up and down. With curiosity? Perhaps that particular magic was not something they had learned to cast.
Since Malek had been the recipient and not the doer, it was not a secret he could offer.
Yes, he thought. We do seek dragon steel and the secret of working it, but we would trade for it, not steal from you.
You would find us difficult to steal from. We can slay dragons even without our defender device. It is not easy, but we are capable. There were once more younger dragons on this world, and we have gradually been hunting them, slaying them so they cannot prey on us. Only a few crafty and powerful ones remain in the mountains. Were you to make enemies of our people, you would find it very difficult to defeat us.
I believe you.
Had you found us less formidable, I can’t help but think you would already be plotting to take what you wish from our people.
I would not. Malek clenched his jaw. As I said, I am honorable, and so is my king.
Even though she was a stranger and had no reason to believe him, he was not used to having his word called into question. Even those who feared the zidarr did not accuse them of being liars. Back home, all knew of the Zidarr Code and that Malek and those like him strove to follow it.
Do you deny that an invasion fleet is even now perched around the portal on your world, poised to flood into any weak worlds and take what they wish, now that your gate is working again? Before you answer, know that I’ve seen the thoughts of the mundane humans you travel with.
It is not an invasion fleet. A great flying worm came through as soon as we opened the portal. Our ships are there only to protect our world. Even as Malek thought the words, he wondered if they were entirely true. If it turned out that Uthari had to send troops to acquire the Jitaruvak by force, would he? The mageships were too large to send to other worlds, but there were many, many mages stationed around the portal. Uthari could send an army if he felt the need. Still, Malek did not know if he would, so he wasn’t lying to this woman. As I said, I am authorized to arrange trade, equitable trades, in exchange for your knowledge on working dragon steel. We have natural resources with value, may know techniques for manipulating magic that you haven’t yet discovered, and if you are having trouble with those crafty old dragons, perhaps I could advise you. I have experience slaying dragons.
Only the one dragon, admittedly, and he’d barely survived the encounter, but if he tossed out a number of possible trade items, perhaps one would intrigue her. Sharing knowledge was easier than digging up resources to send through the portal. Uthari would likely approve of such offers.
Do you? Yervaa looked him up and down again. And you would be willing to assist us with our dragon problem?
He noted the word assist instead of advise, as he’d said, but it might be worth risking himself to help them fight a dragon in exchange for the secret of the ancient alloy. If he could leave the others behind, in the safety of the city, he would be risking only himself.
Perhaps, Malek replied, if in exchange, you could give us enough dragon steel to make a few hundred weapons—and the knowledge of how to work it.
A few hundred? She threw back her head and laughed, giving him a glimpse of her chin and nose for the first time, though the white nimbus soon intensified, blurring her features behind the light.
