Part 5 (2/2)

aNow, this city of theirs,a the Margrave went on. aWe thought that if we could push them back to it, get out of the mountains and into the open s.p.a.ce, those of us with . . . particularly useful Talentsa”skills that were doing no one any good all pinned together as we were like sardines in a cana”the fighting would end more quickly. And we did need it to end, because while much of our battle magic was rendered useless by proximity, theirs was doing just fine, and many men were dying.

aNo one quite understands the Ke-Han magic. We do know that itas something unique, feral and uncultivated when compared to ours. Something to do with the elements, though, and they seem particularly fond of wind. I think they focus on that because they know our air forcea”the Dragon Corpsa”is so vital to our successes past and present.

aSeven days they hammered at us with everything they had. The Reds took it the hardest, being commanded to fight no matter what, and most of them with no knowledge of magic save what their grandmothers had told them about the Well.a He shook his head, as though the memory was painful for him, but it was clearly an old hurt, long since healed over, and nothing that I recognized of that deeper hurt with which I was already familiar.

aTheyad only spared twelve magicians on the Cobalts, and there were two and a half times more than that against us. Their leader was a man named Jiro, and he was clever, as much as I hated to admit it. He was going to keep us holed up in those mountains until we died of starvation, or ran out of soldiers, or both.a aWhat about the dragons, Uncle Roy?a Williamas mouth hung halfway open as though he were under some spellbinding enchantment.

aIam getting to them, nephew of mine,a the Margrave said, poking the end of Williamas nose with a heretofore unseen affection. Then he looked at me.

I swallowed, feeling peculiara”as though I were under some kind of enchantment myself. I tucked my knees in closer to my chest.

aWe moved just after noon,a he went on, and this time his eyes did not leave my face. aWaiting until night would have given us better cover, but those dragons you love so much, young William, arenat worth p.i.s.s in the daytime. Pardon my vulgarity. By then the Ke-Han had done us so much damage that theyad grown complacenta”a.s.sumed theyad already won the battle. There were the eight of my fellows left, along with the Fourteenth Company of Reds and a handful of the Ninth. The rocks were sharp and loose from over a week of near-constant a.s.sault, and pus.h.i.+ng down through the mountain pa.s.ses became like sliding on an ever-s.h.i.+fting sea of shale. One of our members had a Talent for concealment; this may very well have saved all our lives.

aIntelligence and more than an appropriate amount of guesswork told us that the Ke-Han were operating from an elaborate network of tunnels in the mountains. Of course, those tunnels were the only spot on the whole d.a.m.ned mountaina”donat tell your mother I used that word, Williama”where wind hadnat hammered the rock to death. We slipped into the tunnels silent as shadows, the other magicians and I, while the Reds advanced farther into the city. Wead been promised air support if the dragons could untangle their wings from their a.s.ses in time. If they werenat there by nightfall, then it wouldnat much matter, either way.a He sighed, rubbing his long fingers over his forehead as though he were suddenly weary, though in a moment it pa.s.sed and I was left wondering if Iad been seeing things. I still didnat understand Margrave Royston and his all-too-mercurial moods, but he smiled with far more teeth than strictly necessary, and it was better than the resignation from days before.

aIt all went wrong in the tunnels. Jenkins knocked over some rock-rabble shrine, and released some d.a.m.ned wind spirit that started howling like fury. Of course the Ke-Han woke up, came pouring in from every direction; it was like being trapped in a rat warren. We ended up racing for our lives. By some miracle we ended up outside. Ia”I went last, collapsed the entire setup behind us.

aBy then, of course, wead caused such a ruckus that the city below was sending off alarm fireworks, bright red like fire in the darkening sky. Our colors.

aWith the element of surprise lost, many of us no longer had anything to lose. The sun was dipping below the edge of the mountain range at our backs; in a few hours it would stain the sky as red as the soldiersa coats. We descended into the city, Ninth Company at our backs and the Fourteenth with me in front.

aI . . . operate better if there isnat anyone in the way, you see, as it wouldnat do any good to go blowing away our allies.

aI donat remember who it was who started singing the anthem, low and rolling. It moved through our battered little platoon like a wave until we were shouting it to the skies, song punctuated by blasts of rock and the shouts of our enemies. We made it nearly to the gates before theyad mustered almost enough of a force to greet us. Wead caught them off guard, remember, and most thought our campaign in the mountains quite over and done with.

aJenkins died with a spear in his throat; it was a terrible way to go. And thatasa”Well, that was when I lost my temper and blew a hole in the cerulean wall surrounding the city. Nearly killed myself in the process, interestingly enough, as thereas only so much a magician can do with his own Talent before it starts to tug at his blood, and the wall was built with a very old magic. Still, it seemed like we might almost be ma.s.sacred then and there, after all, with the Ke-Han screaming b.l.o.o.d.y murder with their deep-throated war cries, and cras.h.i.+ng their enormous war gongs, and pouring out from behind the city walls like an endless stream of ants.

aThen the dragons came.

aIt started as a high whine, like the whistle of a kettle. Then the sound changed, became akin to that of the wind spirits that had rushed through the tunnels earlier that morning. It was, of course, the sound of wings, metal and magic, beating the aira”and turning the tides of battle, I like to think. They covered the sky, streaking copper and silver, platinum and gold, flas.h.i.+ng their bellies and glinting ferociously in the moonlight. Iad never seen anything so beautiful in all my life.a aDo they really breathe fire?a William asked.

I realized my mouth had been hanging open and closed it abruptly.

aIn a way,a the Margrave answered, and his eyes lost the distance theyad gathered with his story. aThe city certainly burned, I know that much.a aItas a mechanism,a I said. My throat was dry, my tongue no more useful to my needs than a rock. aI . . . I think,a I added, very soon after that, for this was the Margraveas story, and surely he knew better than I.

aIndeed, it is that,a the Margrave confirmed. aA complicated businessa”another story entirelya”and perhaps one Iall tell you tomorrow. What do you say?a aPlease,a William said, though he never liked to use the word unless he was coerced or tricked into it. I couldnat help but smile. aIs that really your Talent, Uncle Royston? Blowing things up?a aAh,a the Margrave replied. aThatas . . . well . . . in a way. Itas very hard to explain.a aWill you explain that tomorrow, too?a I was grateful for Williamas questions, since they were the ones I wanted to ask for myself but couldnat. I tried not to look too eager for a favorable reply.

aIndeed,a the Margrave said. It wasnat the first time I found him watching mea”as if he could see my wishes because I was very poor at hiding them. aI think, nephew, that I shall.a That night I dreamed of the war cry of the Ke-Han, and Margrave Royston in the tunnels at Cobalt, at that time scarcely more than my own age, much as I would have dreamed of any favorite roman. When I woke, I was almost disappointed to recall it had no bearing on my life at all.

THOM.

Chief Sergeant Adamo and Airman Balfour met me at the door. From within, I could catch wisps of a melodya”one I didnat recognizea”as picked out on the keys of a piano. I could smell, too, the scent of the clove cigarettes certain professors and Margraves of the Basquiat smoked.

Above all that, though, was the smell of fire.

It wasnat simply something as commonplace as the sulfurous gasp of a match struck or a candle lit. It was real fire, the killing kind, the sort that ripped through cities and trapped children in their little roomsa”fire hot enough to melt metala”and the thick, dark smoke groaning at its heel, cruel and suffocating. I didnat like fire of that unpredictable, violent nature. I had my reasons for that, too.

My stomach turned over at the scent, but it was a grounding revulsion, one that reminded me who I was and the relative insignificance of what Iad been asked to accomplish. I didnat know where the dragons themselves werea”I a.s.sumed I wasnat important enough to see them up closea”and rather than overstepping my bounds, I simply allowed a young, rather grimy man to take my suitcase.

aYour quartersare this way,a Adamo grunted.

Balfour fiddled with the thumb of his left glove. aItas only a couch,a he said. aAnd a sort of . . . standing curtain. It wonat be very quiet. Niall wakes up early and he likes to sing while he makes breakfast, but in any casea”I wanted to tell youa”if you wake up and your hand feels funny, wet sort of, whatever you do donat bring it up to your face.a aOh,a I said, and I must have looked something awfully unhappy, because Balfouras face fell.

Adamo stifled what might have been a laugh or might have been a cough behind the palm of his broad hand. aIf youare stupid enough to fall for it,a he said gruffly, athen you get what you deserve.a aNo one deserves a blue face,a Balfour said quietly.

I was inclined to agree with him.

As I already knew, the Airman was a hideous, blunt building, erected in the modern style and designed for efficiency over beauty. It was somewhat nicer on the inside, I was relieved to note, though not by very much. It was also a mess. There were boots strewn about the hallway, and coats in disarray, so that I almost tripped over one. There was even a s.h.i.+rt and what appeared to be a pair of ladiesa undergarments. I realized all at once that these men had no idea how to clean up after themselves, and no awareness that they even should. I wondered what unpleasant smells the permeating scent of burning and the clove cigarettes masked, and found myself quite relieved I might never have cause to know.

I wasnat their nanny, and I wasnat their maid. I was their instructor in the skeleton of basic decency; I would teach them how to interact as humans rather than animals. What they did with their womenas undergarments was up to them.

aAnd thereas Niallas bunker, and Magoughinas,a Balfour was in the process of telling me, aand thereas the first row of showers. You sign up in advance, unless youave been out on a raid, and then youave got first priority whether youave signed up or not.a aUm,a I said, though I didnat mean to sound stupid. aWhyas that?a aOh,a Balfour said, as if it were perfectly common sense, ato wash off all the ash, of course.a aAh,a I said, and promptly decided to keep my mouth shut.

aThatas the common room, the one for music and smokinga”and thereas the private common room, for when youare engaged with a . . . ah . . . companion for the evening, or the afternoon, or whenever youave got off-hours.a A belch of perfume hit me from beyond the half-open door. It reminded me of my childhood, and I stepped quickly past it.

aThatas command,a Adamo said, jerking a hand toward a room across the way. aYou donat go in there.a aYes,a Balfour agreed. aNo one goes in there but Chief Sergeant.a aDuly noted,a I a.s.sured them both.

I wondered where the rest of my welcoming committee was, or if theyad sent Balfour and Adamo ahead to lull me into a false sense of security while they waited just around the corner like jumping spiders, ready to strike.

aAnd thereas my bunker, and thereas Rookas, and thereas Merrittas,a Balfour continued, still giving me the grand tour. I didnat entirely see that it was necessary. I didnat think I would be spending much time inside any of these forbidding little rooms, their doors staunchly, disapprovingly, locked against me. It was, however, good to make note of which room not to stumble into in the dead of night, thinking it would be the right place to have a drink of water or to relieve myself.

aYou may notice the rooms are all scattered-like,a Adamo said. Indeed, I had, and I said as much. aThe docking areaas below,a he explained. aEach man sleeps above his dragon.a aWhen weare needed, the air-raid bell sounds,a Balfour added. aThereas a trapdoor for each of us that lets us down into each of our private bays directly.a aThe long way around isnat one you need to know, either,a Adamo said. aThe docks are off-limits.a And that was most emphatically the end of that.

aUnderstood,a I a.s.sured him.

aNow, Rookas out tonight,a Adamo added, privately, and I was embarra.s.sed to learn how easily everyone had seen through me, embarra.s.sed to feel Balfouras eyes moving between the two of us. aWe thought itad be for the best. And, knowing him, he wonat be back for a day at the least.a Before I could stop myself, I said, aBut thaEsara”a Adamoas look hardened. aWeare not much used to having thaEsar in direct command of us,a he said evenly. aSeeing as how he doesnat pilot a dragon, himself.a aAh,a I said. As theyad have noted in Molly, Iad stepped in it. aOf course.a I was quickly beginning to understand that conversation with any of the airmen outside of the requisite teachings would be akin to running the gauntlet. In a Ke-Han minefield.

aHere you are,a Balfour piped up, gesturing to a plain standing screen that had been pulled haphazardly across an alcove. This was where the couch was.

I examined my new living s.p.a.cea”it could hardly be called a rooma”with trepidation.

It was a largish couch, Iad give them that. Of course, it made sense that thaEsar would spare no luxury when it came to his precious Dragon Corps. I wondered if he even knew the extent of what went on down at the Airman when his influence wasnat physically present. I wondered if there would be certain things that I was to omit from my reports, and how I would know what was to be deemed information to which thaEsar didnat need to be privy. I felt the onset of a headache creeping from my temples to the bridge of my nose, knowing that if I got it wrong, the airmen would likely feed me to the dragons.

You are accountable only to the Chief Sergeant, I reminded myself. I would make my report, then Adamo himself could discern what information he wanted to share with the head of the nation. That would save me from trying to navigate the pitfalls of that particular arrangement, and also from trying to understand the strange circadian logic that governed these men. I did not at all cherish the deep anxiety fostering in my gut that came from not knowing what to expect.

aIvoryas on your left.a Balfour tugged his right glove on tighter, gesturing farther down the hall to another room, which had been placed as all the rest: with no real rhyme or reason. The man who had designed the building must have been a genius or a madman or both. aHeas very quiet, so you might not be . . . bothered.a He tacked on this last as if he hoped very much that it were true. On my other side, Adamo snorted; he didnat even bother trying to hide it.

I had never before felt so strongly the urge for a door of my very own that I could lock, not even when Iad been living in the very depths of Molly, where a lack of things to steal did not necessarily preclude break-ins.

Small blessings, I told myself again. Rook would be out for the evening, likely the entire night, and might not have the care to coat my hand in something strange and wet. I felt some helpless frustration once again at my predicament, that Iad allowed myself so easily to be caught at the tender mercies of the very type of system Iad made strict measures to avoid my entire life.

aWell,a I said, and was promptly cut off by a bloodcurdling scream that echoed down the hallways.

aMy books!a aAh,a said Balfour. aThat will be Raphael.a aMy books,a said Raphael again, louder this time and with a quivering timbre to his voice, as though he was a volcano on the edge of eruption. aWhat have you done, you p.i.s.s-drinking sons of Ke-Han wh.o.r.es?a as.h.i.+t,a Adamo said, the curse torn rough as crushed cobblestone from his throat. aIad better go. Docksare off-limits,a he repeated to me, as though I were simple.

I could take no offense at his att.i.tude, though, instead nodding to show that I really did understand. The Chief Sergeant was a man I did not want on any side but my own, and if that meant a little more bowing and sc.r.a.ping than usual, so be it.

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