Destruction's Ascent, page 14
part #3 of Dragon Ridden Chronicles Series
"You like to hurt those weaker than yourself, don't you?" Tate's voice was low as she spoke into his ear.
He made a pain-filled sound as his elbow threatened to break.
"Too bad I'm not one of your little birds you can push around. I've got teeth and the will to use them," she told him. One of the men stepped forward as if to stop her and she forced Nate’s hand higher. A thin scream escaped him. "Ah, ah. You don't want anything to happen to your friend, do you?"
The man froze, not knowing what to do. They all watched her as if she was a bunny that had suddenly turned into a wolf.
Tate turned back to the man she held fast. "Don't forget. You're the one who started this. I was minding my own business on my side of the street. You tried to lay hands on me."
Ilith waltzed down her arm and crouched on the top of her hand, her tail trailing down to wrap around Tate’s wrist and forearm. Her tongue flicked out and she cocked her head at the man kneeling in front of Tate.
"Dragon," a hushed whisper sounded.
Tate grimaced and glared at the small dragon. "You didn't have to show yourself. I had this under control."
Ilith's claws kneaded at Tate's mind, sending a flood of adrenaline and strength to her limbs.
"I see you’re like your friend and unable to listen or comprehend," a young voice said from behind the line of men. They parted, revealing Evan and a mass of Avertine at his back.
"Evan, she attacked us," one of Nate's friends told him.
Evan raised a hand and sent a cutting look his way. The man bowed his head and backed away.
Tate released Nate and watched as he escaped, cradling his elbow and shoulder. Her gaze flicked back to the newcomers. Well, if Night had wanted privacy to search the grounds for Jack or other clues, he now had it. Tate guessed a good portion of the tribe had massed in front of her. She noted Eva at his side, guessing that the girl had run for Evan while Tate had been busy with Nate.
"You’re dragon-ridden," he said with a thoughtful glance at Tate's arm. Tate didn't bother to confirm it, figuring it was obvious to anyone with a brain. "Is this really how you want to act? You represent the Emperor. I wonder how he would feel if I made a complaint that you were abusing your authority."
Tate lifted her chin, not liking the threat behind his words. "Your man attacked me first. I was simply defending myself, and I didn't do any lasting damage to him beyond the blow to his pride."
She'd been very careful in how she handled the situation.
"Is that so?" Evan flicked an unreadable glance at Nate and his posse. He clasped his hands behind his back and regarded Tate as if she was a strange, new bug. "Still, I do remember telling you that you were no longer welcome here."
She gave him a tooth-filled grin. "As I told your lackey, I'm not on Avertine territory. The Mason's Stew begins on the other side of the street. I'm on this side."
She held out her arms to indicate the side she was standing as he looked at the street between them. She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw the corners of his lips twitch with the barest hint of amusement before he gave her a sidelong look.
"Are you sure this is how you want to begin? We’re not someone you want to make into an enemy."
Tate barked out a laugh, ignoring the insult on the faces in front of her. "There was never any chance of us being friends." Her face sobered as her eyes hardened. "You threw my best friend out like trash at a time when he deserved the unflinching love and support of his family. There was never going to be anything between us but enmity."
There was quiet for a long moment as the tribe watched her with blank faces.
An old woman, age not detracting from the beauty she'd once had watched Tate with piercing eyes. Her bearing was regal and her expression crafty as she said, "He was trash. We did the right thing in getting rid of him."
Tate's gut tightened and she was glad Dewdrop wasn't here—that he didn't have to listen to the filth spilling from their mouths. She met the woman's haughty gaze. Her face had the faintest touch of wrinkles that did nothing to belie the patrician lines.
Tate took a deep breath and turned back to Evan. He seemed to have some type of power in the group since he gave the appearance of leading them. "I'm going to find that boy." She took a step off the curb advancing slowly with each word. "I'm going to find him and when I do, you'd better pray none of yours had anything to do with his disappearance."
She stopped when she was standing right in front of him, no more than a foot between them. Her gaze was focused and flinty, her face determined with just a hint of cruelty in it.
"And if we did?" the old woman asked, her tone prodding.
Tate turned to look at her, the movement slow and measured less she break and let Ilith loose on them. She hadn't felt rage like this in a long time—if ever. She felt if she moved too fast it would tip the balance and turn her into the monster Ryu feared she might someday become.
Tate gave the woman a serene smile. "I will burn your world down."
The woman smiled, meeting Tate's gaze with an unflinching one of her own. The air crackled with tension, finely balanced on a knife-edge. It wouldn't take much to push the situation over into violence. Tate found herself oddly wishing that line would break. Maybe it would provide an outlet for some of this anger coiling in her stomach, burn some of it away so she didn't take it back home.
There was a flicker of shadow along the top of the tent. She exhaled, not knowing if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
She turned back to Evan, giving him a bright smile. "In the meantime, enjoy Aurelia. Little Harbor has the best meat pies and the Crow's Nest the strongest drinks. I'd stay out of the tunnels, though. There are some crazy things down there."
She didn't wait for a reply, turning and making her way slowly back to her side of the street, the entire time braced for an attack that never came. She could feel eyes drilling into her back, but she didn't let that force her to rush as she sauntered down the street and turned the corner.
Out of sight of the Avertine, her steps sped up. She didn't trust that Evan hadn't set someone to follow her and perhaps teach her a lesson. Now as her anger cooled, she regretted the timing of her actions. Not her words themselves, she'd meant every sentence she'd uttered. Rather, she wished she'd picked a time when she wasn't facing a crowd alone, where she could have been easily overcome and hurt.
She let out a whoosh of breath, hoping Ryu and Thora never heard of this. She didn't want to think of the lecture she'd receive. A lecture she was currently giving herself on using her head and not letting emotions run off with her.
Night dropped to the ground next to her, shaking his head as his fur slid back and forth. Finished, he paced next to her. You realize you just declared war on the Avertine. On Dewdrop's family.
Tate let out a huff. Put like that, it had probably been a wee bit foolish. "I'm well aware."
She'd spoken truer than she knew, when she told Dewdrop she was the hothead in the relationship. It would probably lead to her doom one of these days.
He let out a grunt. Wait until he hears about this.
"I don't suppose there's any way we could not mention this?" Tate asked, not holding out much hope.
He chuffed, the sound arrogant and amused. Tate drooped. She'd had a feeling he was going to say no.
"Did you find anything?" she asked, resigned.
His ears flicked and he aimed a look up at her. No sign of the boy, but I caught traces of his scent.
"So, he was there?" she asked.
Night's tail flicked, the barbs brushing the cobblestone street. Yes, but our scents were there as well so it could be from this afternoon.
Not much to go on and it didn't explain the oddly smug feeling he was projecting.
"Anything else?" she asked.
They're definitely hiding something.
Now, they were getting somewhere. "What do you mean?"
There was a scent I couldn't place. It reminded me of the tunnels and your Brown Eyes.
"You smelled Christopher?" Tate asked, her voice urgent.
Night shook his head, his ruff sliding and ears making a flapping sound. No, not him. Similar.
Tate frowned in thought. What did that mean? She didn't have Night's sense of smell, so they'd found it was often hard for him to relate what he smelled in a way she could interpret. The piece about the tunnels was interesting, and she stored it away for later.
They were guarding a tent at the back and I saw a man in a blue and silver robe leave while carrying a box.
"Do you think it was a temple guardian?" Tate asked in surprise. They were the only ones she knew who wore that colored robe.
Night gave his version of a shrug, his ears flicking and his whiskers moving forward then back.
"Would you recognize him if you saw him again?" Tate asked.
He grunted in affirmation.
Good. At least they now had something to go on. She wanted to know what the Avertine were up to and how it related to Jack. She'd learned to trust her gut and right now it was telling her they were tied up in his disappearance in some way. She just didn't know how. Yet.
They approached Colton's Place and climbed the stairs in companionable silence, before turning down their hall. Night lifted his head, his ears pressing back as Tate turned the knob.
"What is it?" she asked, looking back at him as his lips lifted in a snarl. Her hand went to the dagger in her belt as the door swung open to reveal Roslyn, her face strained and guarded.
Night pressed against Tate’s legs, preventing her from entering.
Roslyn tilted her head toward the lone chair in the room—one occupied by a lethal man watching Roslyn with sardonic amusement, his eyes lifting to Tate's as she stepped into the room.
Night crouched at her side, still making that almost silent sound.
Tate took in the rest of the room at a glance. Ashwin was curled on the bed asleep, the cubs twined around her. Roslyn stood between them and the man.
"Blade, I see you've made yourself at home," Tate said in as cordial a voice as she could, given the inherent threat of his presence.
CHAPTER TEN
ROSLYN STEPPED FORWARD, her hands twisting together at her waist. "I'm sorry. I left to get some water for tea and when I came back he was just sitting there."
Tate raised a hand, not taking her eyes off Blade. "It's not your fault, Roslyn. Blade tends to get what he wants. He would have found his way inside one way or another."
At least like this, he hadn't hurt anyone in the endeavor.
His grin was lazy and amused as he watched them in the doorway, much like a cat with a couple of mice that it hadn't decided if it was going to eat or not.
Tate was so glad she could amuse him. It's what she lived for. Really.
Night slunk into the room, keeping low to the ground as he positioned himself between the other man and his cubs. The fur on his back and tail stood up making him seem bigger than he really was. Blade's gaze turned to keep Night in sight, his face still and calm. His apparent relaxation didn't fool Tate, and she doubted it fooled Night. His body was coiled and tight, ready to move without notice—a snake waiting to strike.
Tate bit her lip as she considered their options. He was there for a reason, and she doubted they'd see the back of him before he'd delivered whatever message he was there to deliver. That left her to decide whether to have him say what he needed to say here or try to get him to follow her to another destination.
From the amusement glinting in his eyes at their caution and the boneless way he'd settled in that chair, Tate hazarded a guess that he didn't plan to follow her anywhere. That meant either waking the cubs and Ashwin or letting him say his piece and hoping he didn't reveal anything that needed to stay hidden. She'd prefer not to draw Ashwin and Roslyn any further into her problems than absolutely necessary.
For a second, she thought this might have something to do with their presence in the Underground Market the other day, but she discarded that as unlikely. If his purpose had been to deal out punishment for going where they shouldn't have, he wouldn't have announced his presence first. He would have struck from the shadows, giving them no time to react. He was too good an assassin to leave anything to chance.
Roslyn planted herself at Tate's side in a way that told Tate she wouldn't be easily convinced to leave, then clasped her hands at her waist and fixed Blade with the sort of stare nobles have been giving those they considered their inferiors since the dawn of time. She was every inch the lady in that moment, despite not having the title to go with it.
"You look remarkably uninjured for a man who went a few rounds with several of the Order’s men," Tate said, coming to a decision. Waking the cubs was a last resort option and Roslyn would have refused to leave anyway.
"They were barely a warm-up," Blade drawled, his eyes not moving from her.
Tate couldn't help but be a tiny bit impressed at the level of skill that hinted at. She'd seen the start of his battle and knew it wouldn't have been as easy as he was making it seem.
"You want to tell me why you're here? I know you didn't stop by to brag about how many men you successfully warded off."
His smile flashed again, and he looked to her left, at Roslyn. "A new set of strays you picked up?"
Tate gave him an unamused smirk. "You know very well who this is."
He worked for one of the most connected Night Lords in the city. His intel would rival Ryu's for thoroughness. Given she seemed to have attracted both of the Lucius’s attention, she had no doubt they tracked those who entered her orbit. As their right-hand man, Blade would be privy to all that information.
Roslyn vibrated next to Tate, but she kept her thoughts to herself and her indignation unspoken. Tate was grateful for that. It meant the other woman recognized exactly what type of man they were dealing with—dangerous, unpredictable, deadly.
Blade dropped one hand to the desk at his side and tapped his fingers against it in thought. It was an unexpected movement from a man who made a practice of being unreadable. A trait that no doubt helped him in the sort of work he did.
Tate watched as he came to some sort of decision and sat up, all traces of relaxation disappearing from his posture.
"You confronted the Avertine tonight." His face was serious and Tate fought to hide her shock.
She knew the Luciuses kept tabs on her. This gave her an idea of how closely she was watched. Turns out it was even closer than she had feared. It was a harsh wake-up call.
It wasn't quite a question, so she didn't respond, holding her silence even as he arched one eyebrow at her. She pressed her lips together and assumed a disinterested expression. If he had a point, he could make it. She wasn't going to do it for him.
"I'm interested to know why," he said after a long pause.
Was he now? Interesting that he knew about the confrontation but not what it was over.
"I don't know what you mean," she finally said. "I was just telling them what a great show they'd put on."
She kept Jack out of it, grateful when Roslyn followed her lead with no more than a slight flexing of her clasped hands.
He gave her a chiding look, one she thought would be more at home on Lucius two's face than his. "So, you didn't tell them you would burn down their world if you found out they had anything to do with a boy's disappearance."
Tate gritted her teeth. Saviors curse it, just how close had his informants been? And how had she not noticed them?
She shrugged one shoulder, affecting nonchalance. "Words might have been exchanged."
"I think you did more than that," he said, giving her a knowing look before sliding it over to Night who gave him his typical blank stare.
"What makes you think the Avertine had anything to do with this boy's disappearance?" he asked in an unexpected shift in topic.
"I never said they did."
"You're not the type to go around threatening to burn people just because they anger you." His voice was amused but his eyes were hard. There was something Tate wasn't seeing. "There must be something more."
"Why do you care?" Tate asked. "It's just one boy from the streets, and I know he's not one of yours. So, what makes you so interested in his fate?"
Or was it less about the boy and more about what she was up to? Or maybe he was asking because of Dewdrop? Her friend had been in the same court as him. Normal people cared about their friends. She studied Blade and snorted. She'd be an idiot if she ever ascribed normal motives to this man. He was anything but normal.
"It would be best if you don't make assumptions on my behalf," he said in a cool voice, the undercurrent of steel in it sending shivers down her back.
She stiffened her spine and ignored any fear that might try to take hold. He was in her room after having let himself in as a thinly veiled threat. She'd be damned to the Creators before she gave him the satisfaction of walking on eggshells. At the same time, she couldn't deliberately antagonize him. Not with others in the room. She wasn't sure she could protect herself, much less all of them if he decided on violence. It was a fine line to walk.
Silence filled the room. Roslyn shifted at her back and Ashwin stirred on the bed. One of the cubs yawned and rolled over, before falling back asleep.
Blade ignored Roslyn in favor of focusing on Tate. "As for my interest, you're right. The boy means little to me. There are other boys, however, who mean a great deal to me and the Luciuses. They've gone missing in the last month."
Tate's interest sparked. "How many?"
"Five. Those are just the ones with a connection to our court and another's. I suspect there are more."
"Wouldn't there be an outcry if so many children went missing?" Roslyn asked quietly.
Blade's lips lifted in a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Justice is reserved for those who can pay for it. The people doing this have chosen their targets wisely. All are children from Seaside or Cliff's Shadow." He named two of the biggest slums in the city, places where the Emperor's law rarely, if ever, reached. "No one of importance cares about these children, so there is no reason for the Lord Provost's dogs or the Black Order to take an interest."
