Destruction's Ascent, page 7
part #3 of Dragon Ridden Chronicles Series
Thora face was filled with disbelief as he took in Tate. "How'd you manage that?"
She blinked at him, nonplussed. "You were there. You tell me." She'd be interested in hearing things from his perspective, since she still had no clue what had happened.
Thora's eyes narrowed. "I don't need smart remarks out of you."
Tate's blinked at him. She wasn't being smart.
Ryu stepped in before things could deteriorate further. "Lord Thora doesn't always remember what happens when his dragon takes over."
Tate looked at the other man, her expression troubled. That sounded horrible. If Blaise was to be believed, it was worse because his dragon seemed to want to crush anything in his vicinity. She'd seen as much when he'd tried to kill Ryu. She couldn't imagine living like that—not being able to fully trust yourself, because the being inside cared nothing for your thoughts, desires, or moral compass.
When Ilith took over, Tate could still see and feel the world. Granted, those sensations were blunted, but she knew what was happening around her. She could communicate with her dragon, and Ilith seemed to take into account Tate's desires when she was ascendant, not killing indiscriminately.
"I don't know what happened," Tate admitted. "The creature that came through the mirror had me pinned, and then the dragon attacked it."
"Lucky he didn't go after you instead," Blaise said. He turned to Thora. "What could have possessed you to let the beast of Orlay out?"
Thora looked away, his face pale and exhausted looking. "I didn't. He ripped his way free."
Ryu and Blaise looked disturbed at that news, their faces uneasy at the admission.
"I got a sense of great urgency," Thora continued.
Tate shifted, wondering if she should share that the dragon had spoken to her. She disregarded the notion almost as soon as it occurred. If a sign of dragon madness was hearing your dragon, what would they say about her sanity if they learned she could now communicate with other dragons? Such an admission might cause more trouble than she had any desire to deal with.
Ryu's eyes sharpened on her, a thoughtful expression in them. "When I came in, you were standing unharmed while Thora's dragon ignored you. Is there something about this experience that you're not sharing?"
Tate fought the sense of guilt his question sparked. She shook her head, trying to look as innocent as possible. "After it killed the creature, it didn't seem interested in harming me. It did seem upset with all the relics on the ground, and it objected to the bookcases."
They all looked at the destroyed shelves, lying broken on the ground. There were several large puncture holes in some of the books that looked curiously like the dragon had sunk his teeth in them.
Thora moaned, the sound pain filled as he took in the tattered book covers. "My treasures. This is a disaster."
"I wonder why he seemed so determined to eat them," Tate said, her tone full of curiosity.
Thora's glare fixed on her. "This is your fault."
"It is not." Tate gave him an affronted look.
"I told you not to touch the relic."
"What did you want me to do? Let it fall when the earthquake hit?"
The sound he made was a cross between a snarl and a huff. "That thing has existed for thousands of years. Five minutes in your presence and it's almost destroyed." He waved his hand at their surroundings. "Not to mention my library."
"I had nothing to do with this," Tate fired back. "That was entirely you and the dragon."
A growl issued from Thora, his eyes shifting just slightly toward dragon as scales ran under his skin.
Tate stared at him in fascination. The moment was cut short as Ryu grabbed her arm and dragged her off before she could see how far his shift would go.
"I think that's enough for one day," he said.
"I don't," she protested. "He's blaming me for events out of my control."
He propelled her to the door. "It's best you go home and let me handle this. At least until this place is cleaned up. He's rather protective of his library and not likely to be reasonable while it's in this state."
They reached the door and he shoved her out. She turned to face him, a glare at the ready.
"You're the one who wanted me here," she pointed out. Now, he was banning her? It didn't sit right. She'd learned more about what she was in the last hour than she had in the last year. Not to mention that she now knew of two others like herself and Ryu. She had no wish to be kept in the dark any longer.
"And now I'm telling you to go home," he stated in a calm voice. She might have believed him if not for the vessel ticking in his temple and the fact that his expression had turned stiff and unyielding again. Both signs that she was trying his patience.
"I don't—" The door slammed in her face. "Know how to get back from here," she finished saying to the wooden panel.
She sighed and turned away from the door. What a beginning to her tenure in the dragon corps. Truly, she had made quite an impression—not just pissing off the commander of the corps but also a powerful man appointed by the council. What's next? Insult the Emperor and make it a trifecta of awful?
She started back the way her escort had taken her, but once she stood blinking up into the sunshine outside, she had no idea where to go. She thought they'd come from the right, but that way led into a maze of gardens that ended in a wing of the palace. She'd like to avoid that place. Given her luck today, offending someone important was just too high of a possibility at the moment.
She set her feet in the other direction, hoping it would get her off the palace grounds and into the city proper. From there she could work her way home. The one good thing about being dismissed early was that she suddenly had a free afternoon.
*
Tate was halfway home when it occurred to her that neither Night nor Dewdrop would be there—only the cubs. Exhaustion plagued her, and she would have given a lot to find a nice horizontal surface to catch a few hours nap.
Unfortunately, the possibility of that happening if she went home would be slim. They would be with their day attendant—a woman in the building who looked after them for a couple extra taros—but the moment Tate entered her rooms, they'd sniff her out and it would be goodbye to any shut-eye.
Tate's rumbling stomach reminded her she hadn't eaten anything beyond a small piece of bread that day. She set one hand on it with a grimace. One more reason to take a detour before going home.
She decided food was her first order of business, and she knew just where she wanted to go. Little Harbor Market was a bit of a hike, but they had some of the best meat pies in the city. Affordable too, unlike here in the Upper where the food was as expensive and pretentious as the people and buildings.
Tate bypassed the elevators ferrying people down to the Lower. She was tempted to use her dragon-ridden status to try the palace's elevator so she could avoid the lines but resisted the urge. Heading back into the palace again wasn't happening. Her luck just wasn't that good.
That left the long hill at the edge of the city. Known simply as the Hill by most, it was the line that divided the Upper and the Lower. This delineation was reflected in the people who made its steep curve home. Not nobles but not commoner either, those lucky enough to own a house on this street were squarely of the upper middle class—they didn't have enough rank or money to afford the costs above the cliffs, but they wanted better than the narrow, thin buildings of the Lower that were little more than death traps.
All of the doors on this street were brightly-colored, drawing attention to the steep staircases leading up to the homes. The gardens were well-tended, in some the plants and flowers spilled over the edges of their beds in a riot of color, while others were orderly and neat, the flowers and bushes arranged with a military precision.
Despite the long climb up and down the hill on an almost daily basis, the street and its crazy buildings that defied gravity was one of her favorite locations in the city. She liked walking along it, the colorful doors to one side and the bay and Lower city to the other. She usually had it to herself as most people eschewed the long climb for the ease and convenience of the elevators. It suited her.
At the bottom of the hill, she turned right toward the harbor and the little marketplace that derived its name from the bay. It was only a short walk until she reached the normally bustling outdoor stalls. She'd missed the morning and mid-day rush so there weren't as many bodies clogging up the small walkways between the booths. Business wouldn't pick up again until the evening hours.
Where the Night Market had a thread of tension underlying all transactions, Little Harbor was a colorful and chaotic experience, as vibrant as it was loud. The vendors shouted back and forth, some with insults for their competition, others with attractive offers as they tried to draw browsers to their tables.
Tate liked the energy here and sometimes came just to watch things unfold. She'd sit on the balcony of one of the surrounding buildings and people-watch for hours as the market lived and breathed, changing and evolving from minute to minute.
The growing pain in her stomach said that such a move was a luxury she couldn't afford right now. Hunger, she'd learned, was not good for her kind. Since they supported another being inside their bodies, they burned energy faster than the average human. It would be all too easy to starve, and from what Ryu had told her, that could lead to losing control and either dying a painful death or massacring a lot of people.
She made a beeline for the meat pie seller she favored, threading her way through the market and ignoring the hawkers as they tried to draw her attention to their wares. She ordered five meat pies and stood back to wait as he readied her order.
She stuck her hands in her pockets, looking around the market in idle curiosity. The merchants were enjoying the lull in business, some standing outside their stands and chatting with one another. A furtive movement caught her eye.
An urchin boy dodged around a man and then under a table, ignoring the grumbles of irritation that trailed in his wake. His feet slapped against the cobblestone as he dashed down another lane. He darted past Tate and knelt on the ground next to a wooden wagon filled with beautiful, vibrantly colored flowers. He ducked under the white skirt the owner had pinned around the edges to hide the wheels, wiggling out of sight in seconds.
A clatter came from the direction the boy had taken as three men in black coats bearing the crest of the Black Order shoved their way through the market. They marched directly to the flower seller’s cart. A young girl, not much older than Dewdrop, stepped in front of them, blocking their way as she lifted her chin to meet their irate gazes with a calm one of her own.
The fists she clenched in her threadbare skirt, one that had seen better days, said that the calm was a show. Worry was expressed through those white knuckles.
"Where is he, girl?" the man in front asked, his face nearly purple with anger. "This is the last time. I'll see him in jail."
Caught up in the drama, Tate almost didn't hear her order called. Distracted, she handed over the money before drifting closer to the unfolding drama. She dug into her bag and pulled out a pie before stepping closer. This was better than some of the street plays Dewdrop made her stop for every time they passed one.
"I don't know what you're talking about, sirs," the girl said, her voice soft and diffident. "Can I interest you in a flower?"
She plucked one from her wagon and held it out to the man. He slapped it out of her hand with a sneer.
"Your brother. I want to know where he is. The little thief has stolen his last take. We have a witness this time."
"I haven't seen him," the girl said as her voice quavered. She was trying so hard to be brave. Meanwhile her hands were shaking, and her eyes darted around as if searching for help.
Tate took a bite of her meat pie and chewed, looking between the parties in fascination.
The man glared at the girl as he ran his eyes over her in an insulting fashion. "Then you can pay for the crime in his place."
CHAPTER FIVE
TATE SIGHED AND paused before taking another bite of her meat pie. The Black Order officer had gone too far and judging by some of the dissatisfied looks from the rest of the merchants, they agreed. She brushed the crumbs from her fingers as she tried to decide on the best course of action. After the events of the morning, she knew Ryu would not thank her for causing another ruckus.
Still, she recognized the girl. Dewdrop had a crush on her, and he'd made Tate stop and buy flowers from her on more than one occasion even though none of them particularly cared about flowers.
The decision was taken out of her hands when the man in charge grabbed the girl, his grip painful as she cried out.
"What are you doing?" the girl asked in a scared voice.
He shook her once. "I told you. Either you tell me where your brother is, or you pay for his crimes."
"Somehow, I just don't think so," Tate said, stepping forward. She took another large bite of the pie, knowing she'd need her energy for the coming confrontation.
The leader rotated his head slowly to look at her as she chewed, her cheeks slightly bulging from the big bite. He wasn't the only one as his cohorts also looked at her in disbelief. One of the other two looked rather amused at her interference, humor twinkling in his eyes, quickly smothered when the man in charge looked at them and the crowd as if to ask if they were seeing this.
They'd become the center of attention in this little piece of the market. Tate would have preferred for this incident to go unnoticed, since the amount of attention they were getting might make things difficult for her down the road. Yup, Ryu was definitely going to have something to say about this, and she had no doubt he'd find out about it somehow. The man had a network of informants that would put the Empire's to shame.
Tate swallowed and took another slow bite of her pastry, ignoring the way the man and his cronies stared at her as if she was some odd creature pulled up from the deep. At least she was used to it by now.
"What did you just say?" the leader asked, raising his voice. He looked around, noticing the crowd they had drawn and smirked, secure in the notion he would come out the winner. Tate almost pitied him. He had no idea who he was dealing with.
"I said, 'I don't think so,'" she enunciated very clearly this time. She didn't want to have to repeat herself a third time.
His smile was nasty. "That's what I thought you said." He looked at his friends. "Looks like we'll have three to keep the boys in the Deeps company tonight."
Tate lifted an eyebrow, unimpressed with the threat. "You're a bully."
One of the man's cohorts choked on a laugh. He composed himself when the leader turned to fix him with a hard stare.
"You'd best be careful, girl," he warned her.
"I hate bullies. They're just so unimaginative," she mused.
There were snickers from the crowd.
"Alright, I've had enough. You're coming with us."
Tate cocked her head. "Does that ever really work for you?"
He looked nonplussed. It was obvious most people didn't argue with him like this. "I don't think you realize who you're dealing with." He leaned forward as if sharing a secret. "We're from the Black Order. We can have you arrested and sent to a prison camp."
Tate gave him a grim smile. "I don't think so." She stepped forward and let some of her dragon peer out of her eyes. Ilith crawled up her neck, her lithe body curving across Tate's jaw, her head snaking onto her forehead. Her tongue flicked.
The man jerked back, his eyes wide with fear as the crowd gasped.
"Dragon-ridden," one of the Order whispered as he made the symbol for the Saviors over his heart. The words were repeated throughout the crowd.
Tate glanced around, keeping her dismay off her face. She hadn't thought Ilith would take the opportunity to be so dramatic. She'd just hoped to scare them off a little, not create an incident that was sure to spread to people she'd prefer to keep out of her business. She sighed. Nothing for it, might as well go for broke now.
"You can't interfere with the Emperor's business," the man in charge said, his expression uneasy even as he stood his ground.
So, the bully had a little backbone after all.
"Let's review, shall we?" Tate said. She finished her meat pie in three large bites, dusting the crumbs off her hands before she continued. "You tried to arrest someone who hasn't committed a crime. Then, when an innocent bystander protested such a gross injustice, you threatened to send that person to the Deeps, despite the fact I have done nothing to deserve such a thing."
The man drew himself up, puffing with indignation. "She's aiding and abetting a criminal."
Tate gave him a disgusted look. Really? He considered a boy no more than eight a criminal?
"Jack isn't a criminal," the young woman said, her voice passionate. She looked at Tate. "Really, he's not."
Tate was willing to bet he was. That didn't mean he deserved to be sent to the Deeps, a prison that was pretty brutal from what Tate had heard. "What proof do you have that he's committed a crime?"
"Someone saw him steal a pocket watch from one of the Front Street vendors," he said, his expression anticipating his victory.
"Where is this witness?" Tate asked with a dour look at her bag of pies. There were only a few left. She hoped this wrapped up soon, so she could try the pastry stand down the way. They stuffed the fluffy bits of goodness with a chocolaty cream that she adored.
"Here, milady." A rotund man stepped from the crowd, his face red with exertion as he mopped at his brow. "The scamp took a pair of watches from me."
"And you saw this with your own eyes?" Tate asked, fixing him with a look. It was the one she leveled on Dewdrop when he was up to no good. It said she knew the truth already and was just waiting to see if he'd be brave enough to admit it.
His eyes shot to the man from the Black Order, who ignored him, his face stony as he glared at Tate. The merchant grimaced. "Not exactly."
She cocked her head as she gave him an incredulous look. "Not exactly? You're about to ruin this young boy's life and you didn't actually see him take it?"
