Draka Chapter 312: She’s Terrible (Patreon)

We made it a fair few miles before Mother returned, taking it slow and just enjoying the peace of the forest. After the near death experience we’d had, the wind rustling in the treetops and the calls of distant birds were just what we needed.

The peace was punctuated by bouts of sobbing from Herald, but no one could have blamed her for that after what had just happened. As the shock wore off and the silence left her to process her fear, I would have been more upset if she didn’t cry. And so, half the time she’d be upright, sniffling and trying to enjoy our surroundings, while the other half she’d be hugging herself to our neck, bawling into our scales as Instinct patiently continued along our path, letting her cry herself out uninterrupted.

Our first sign that Mother was back was her voice booming overhead; it wasn’t like we had any chance of seeing her with how dense the cover of the trees was. “Daughter!” she called. “The red beast is fled. Take wing if you can! Or if you cannot, stay where you are and I will come to you.”

“Will you object if I remain in control?” Instinct asked, impressing me with her consideration in not just taking off. “It has been forever since I flew with Mother.”

Go ahead, I replied. I had nothing against letting Instinct spend some time doing something she loved with her favorite person in the world. And if I had, I might have overlooked it after how mature she’d been about this whole trip. There’d been the thing with Herald, and I was bracing for her to try some kind of mischief when it actually came time to liberate Barro and Jekrie, but until she actually went through with something I wasn’t going to go out of my way to be a bitch to her.

Of course, leaving Instinct in control meant that she got to make all the executive decisions. In this case, that meant her simply telling Herald to hold on tight, and then taking off at first opportunity with our sister on our back. If she shared any of my concerns about what Mother might think of seeing Herald riding us, she hadn’t said anything, and she’d clearly rather be told off than censor her own behavior prematurely. Which, honestly, I could probably learn from her there. Denying yourself because you worried what someone else might think didn’t feel very draconic.

As it turned out, Mother either wasn’t bothered enough to say anything, or was just too relieved to care. She flew tight circles around us, inspecting us from every angle as she asked what had happened. Instinct held nothing back, proudly explaining how we had discovered that Behold Her’s breath couldn’t touch us in shadow form, which pleased Mother no end.

As for where Mother had been all this time…

“The insufferable lizard kept trying to double back,” she explained as we continued south. “She flies well, but not well enough to get around me. And she lacks patience. After some time she became careless, and I scored a fine hit that burned much of her flank. She fled in all haste after that.”

“Why did you not hunt her down and finish her off?” Instinct asked.

“I confess she is slightly faster than I,” Mother grumbled. “And given enough time, she might have been able to fly a large enough circle to return to you even with me behind her. I could not risk it. Better to return and stay at your side.”

“But we moved,” Instinct objected. “She would not have found us.”

Mother became pensive then. After a few seconds of silence she answered, “I am not so sure. She attacked you when I was away; at the shrine, and again as you rested underground. Now she lay in ambush as we flew over. While it is possible that she simply planned and tracked and got lucky, I would not put it past her to have some form of prey sense which she has directed at you. Telling her where you are, when you may be vulnerable, or other such things.”

I immediately thought of Avjilan. My hunter could divine where to lie in ambush to find a given target, and all he needed was something that used to be part of them. A horn in my case; a scale, when we wanted to track Mother. Considering that, and Behold Her’s generally malevolent nature, some Advancement that let her know when and where her prey would be vulnerable didn’t seem all that farfetched.

When Instinct didn’t answer, Mother continued, “Do not worry, daughter. Go to your city. Do what you must. I will remain above, and if that vexing scaleheaded fool shows herself, I will burn her out of the sky.”

Above, she said. I couldn’t imagine the Council would love that. Though she had spoken with Sempralia and Soandel without either extorting them or laying waste to anything, and then she’d warned them about Behold Her, so who could say? Maybe they’d warmed to her.

There was an odd feeling of homecoming as we approached Karakan. I’d seen the city from the air when we last went south, and while Herald and I lay on the ledge waiting for Mother, but that had been far in the distance. It was almost four weeks since I’d actually been there. Now that we were this close I was looking forward to seeing the inn and the Forum, and to speaking to Barro and Alanna and even the Council. And I was damn well going to make sure that Sergeant Terdam knew that Mak was alive and well and thinking of him, because I’d seen how happy that man had been making her, and if I was a few weeks away from upending her life she’d need all the good people in her life that she could get.

Mother and Instinct separated a minute out from the city walls. Mother climbed, and climbed, and climbed until she was just below the clouds, where she kept watch in long, slow circles. Instinct climbed a bit as well, at my urging; I didn’t know what the range on those ballistae on the walls might be, but I’d rather not find out because one of the crews got jumpy.

“I think I am satisfied now,” my draconic headmate thought as we flew a long loop half a mile above the rooftops. That was all the warning I got before she receded and I had to fill the vacuum, but we were never in any danger; she’d locked our wings, and Herald was as stable as ever.

“Alright, where to first?” I asked Herald, turning my head back to look at her with one eye.

“Welcome back, Half-and-half-Draka,” she replied, smiling impishly.

“Half-and-half?” I sputtered. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, if there are three of you and all are Draka, then we need a way to distinguish between you, do we not? So there is Human-Draka and Dragon-Draka, and then there is you. Half-and-half!” She looked very pleased with herself, and not the least bit serious.

“Yeah, keep working on that,” I suggested.

“I like it,” Instinct said firmly.

You would, I grumbled back at her. You get to be Dragon-Draka.

“I will consider it,” Herald said archly. “As for your question, I say we continue circling for a while to give everyone a chance to see us, so word can go out to the archers and the weapons crews that they do not need to try to shoot us down. Then we can start with the admiralty. I would like to meet with Yakamo, if that is all right.”

“Fine by me. She can gather the Council for us.” Then I thought about it and said, “Actually, if she’s there, can I leave you with her? You’d be safe with her, yeah?”

“I believe I would…” she replied, drawn out and thoughtful. “Her bodyguard is not my most ardent admirer by any means, but I do not believe that she would do anything unfortunate. And if she tried… I mean, I would not like to be forced to enthrall another person, but I would, if that was my only option.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that.” I thought back on the conversation I’d had with Lady Yakamo and Miranna, her bodyguard, and how I’d made it absolutely clear just how bad of a decision it would be to do anything that might harm or even inconvenience Herald. “Miranna and me, we have an understanding.”

“Right. The Admiralty, then.” There was a note of worry to Herald’s voice that I didn’t like, but I was sure that she believed me. She knew me well enough, and was clever enough, to know what I meant by that.

I descended slowly, giving any nervous archers down there plenty of opportunity to take a shot at me while I was too high up for them to do any damage, and where Herald had a good chance of spotting any missiles before they even reached us. But no arrows or giant ballistic spears came our way, so I continued at the same pace until I came down to land in the great yard of the admiralty.

Half the staff, it seemed, were waiting for us, the lady admiral and her bodyguard at the front.

“Lady Draka! Young Lady Drakonum!” Yakamo said, striding forward as Herald dismounted. “It is a pleasure to have you here. Come! I have sent some guards ahead to clear the storehouse, where we may speak privately.”

My answer was a shallow dip of my head and a “Lead the way.” I doubted anyone else had noticed what I had: the way Yakamo looked first to Herald, and the abortive way her mouth worked before she addressed us in the correct order—meaning the one that wouldn’t make people wonder why she’d speak to the young woman before the dragon.

As we turned to go I couldn’t resist scanning the crowd for young Mister Dratal, the Admiralty clerk who was possibly my biggest unenthralled fan. His grin when I locked eyes with him and gave him personally a slight nod was nothing less than brilliant.

When we reached the storehouse, Yakamo turned to her bodyguard. “Miranna,” she said, “make sure that we’re not disturbed, and that no one gets close enough to listen in.”

Miranna threw a dubious look at me, then at Herald. She didn’t protest, but neither did she answer quite fast enough for Yakamo’s liking. “We’ve spoken about this,” the lady admiral said with a soft sigh. “I am in no danger from Lady Draka, and especially not from Lady Herald. Now go!”

Despite her mistress’ tone, Miranna hesitated for half a moment before replying, “As you say, my lady.” We entered the storehouse, which was still large enough for me as long as I kept my wings folded, and the bodyguard closed the large gates behind us.

The moment the doors were closed, Yakamo rounded on us. “Lady Herald!” she exclaimed. “Where have you been? Are you unharmed? I have been very worried!”

“I am fine,” Herald said, crossing the few feet between them to tentatively put her hand on Yakamo’s arms for a few moments before releasing her when Yakamo stiffened slightly. “Sorry, I should have asked. But really, I am. I will not lie to you and say that I have always been safe since the last time we saw each other, but I was never hurt. Okay? Lady Draka saw to that.”

Yakamo looked at me, and I couldn’t help but see a silent accusation in her eyes. Like she knew beyond any doubt that if not for me, Herald would have been perfectly safe. “Good. That’s good to hear,” she said, relaxing a little as she turned back to Herald. “Was it the red dragon?”

“It was. She wants all of Mallin for her own, and she is throwing quite a tantrum that Draka will not give it to her. We would like to speak with the Council about that, as it happens. Can you arrange it?”

Yakamo nodded sharply. “An unscheduled session should be simple to arrange, with you both here and with Sower of Embers, Reaper of Flames circling above us.” Then she looked at me again and said, “You should still fit through the doors to the Council chamber, Lady Draka. But if you continue growing like this, we will need to meet in the Forum.”

If she’d been anyone else I might have thought she was making a joke. From Yakamo, I took it as a frank assessment.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied just as seriously. “Now, I have some business to take care of. Lady Yakamo, would you happen to know if Captain Nahasia is still my liaison?”

“I have not heard anything to the contrary,” she replied.

“So she’ll be at the Citadel?

“Is that your arrangement with her?”

“I mean… it was.”

“Then I imagine she will be there,” she said, turning back to Herald and asking, “Does this mean that you will be leaving?”

Herald shrugged. “I thought I might stay with you until the meeting.”

The reply was casual, but I’d only seen Yakamo’s face light up the way it did once before, and that was when I helped her navy destroy the Tekereteki fleet blockading the city. Herald staying was beyond any doubt the best news she’d received since that day, and possibly since a long time before then, too. “That,” she said, visibly struggling to keep her customary tight rein on her voice, “would be very agreeable.”

*

It was an odd feeling, leaving Herald the way I did. The possessiveness was gone, and while I still worried on some level that Miranna might try something, no matter what I told Herald and myself, that worry was deep in the what-ifs. Not so long ago, that would have been enough for me to refuse to leave Herald alone with them; now I could force myself to accept how unlikely it was and go, leaving Herald to brighten the lady admiral’s day.

We’d agreed before I left that in two hours or so, I’d go straight to the Palace rather than stopping by the Admiralty again. And while I had a few people I wanted to meet in that time, I was going to start with Alanna, just as I’d told Yakamo.

I felt a pang of disappointment when I realized that Alanna wasn’t on the roof of the Citadel. It was premature. Alanna emerged from the rooftop access door no more than half a minute after I’d landed, panting softly, eyes wide in a mix of happiness and exasperation.

“Lady Draka!” she said between breaths. “You’re not making it easy. Being your liaison, I mean.”

My reply wasn’t quite an apology, but it wasn’t far off. “Yeah, I’ve been away a while, haven’t I?”

“That,” she agreed, slowly getting her breathing under control. “And making me run up all those steps twice! I waited, you know? I was back down. Figured you’d be heading for the Palace instead. Then one of the lookouts said you were heading here.”

“It’s good exercise, stairs,” I muttered awkwardly.

“I get plenty of that in any case, believe you me.” She straightened properly, her smile telling me loud and clear that there were no hard feelings. “They have me running dragon drills with the guard. Everybody’s learning to shoot a bow, and to reposition in a hurry. Grandfather hates it.”

“The defenses?”

“Having me in charge of training,” she clarified. “Not that I’ve heard from him directly for a few weeks, but Father says he was ranting about his granddaughter being reduced to doing sergeant’s work. As though sergeants aren’t the ones who keep the guard actually functioning!”

“You’ve kept busy, then?”

“Since your exalted mother came and warned us about the blood dragon, yes. Before then, well… I did a lot of waiting.”

A twinge of guilt had me lying down and lowering my head to her level. It felt wrong to make her crane her neck the way she was doing. “Yeah, I never meant to be gone for so long. Things happened,” I told her, before something she’d said caught up to me. “Did you say blood dragon? Is that what you’re calling her?”

Alanna shrugged. “I thought the dragon that attacked us was more of a carmine or ruby, but you know how people love their drama. So that’s what the people are calling her. I don’t see why I should be any different.”

“Nah, yeah, fair enough. You were right, though. She’s a ruby.”

“Oh?”

“That’s what the other dragons call her.”

Alanna blinked at me, her lips parting slightly, and I wasn’t sure what was wrong until she said, “Right. The other dragons.”

“Ah.” I understood the problem. Alanna should have heard about the others from when Mother told the Council, but that didn’t mean that she knew anything about them. “The others won’t bother you,” I told her. “Behold Her And Know That All Things Must End—that’s the ruby—she’s the only one who’s a problem.” I chose not to mention that Unquenchable and Quake might have been a very serious problem indeed if we hadn’t made the deal that we had, nor that they still may if they chafed too much under the rules we’d agreed on. Judging by the worried look on Alanna’s face, that really wasn’t something she needed to hear.

“...Know That All Things Must End,” Alanna said under her voice. “And that’s her name? That’s how she wants people to see her?”

“Dragons, specifically,” I corrected. “I doubt she gives a damn how humans see her.”

“Right. I saw the aftermath, you know. It’s a fitting name. Just… empty doorways. Piles of bones. Animals. Adults. Children.” For a moment she was back there, in those streets ten days ago, her eyes unfocused and her voice hollow. Then she blinked rapidly and returned to the here and now. “We saw her off, but… she’s terrible.”

“I’m going to kill her,” I promised, and I was surprised by how gentle my voice was. It didn’t come out angry. Just determined. “It’s my fault that she attacked the city. She knows that it’s important to me, and she hates me for having what she can’t. And I’m going to make sure that she pays for the damage she’s done. That she’s still doing, out there in the countryside. I don’t know how, and I don’t know when, but I am going to kill her. You all just keep her from doing any more damage in the city, and I’ll find a way to rid us all of her permanently.”

I didn’t see the need to tell her about how Behold Her had destroyed the shrine to my father, or how terribly she’d wounded me, Presence, and Unquenchable. In that moment I wanted more than anything to reassure her, and to make her believe that the red monster could be defeated.

Frankly, I didn’t need to remind myself, either. The fact that Behold Her could outfly anyone she couldn’t outfight was a problem we needed to solve, and I hadn’t a single idea how.