When Dragons Rage

51

The dawn came cold and clear the morning the northern raiding force was to set out. Will, standing on a South Tower balcony overlooking the palace courtyard, shivered beneath the thick hide robe he wore, but he knew it wasn’t because of the cold. Out beyond the city walls the white plains stretched on to the north forever, and nothing seemed to be moving out there. The landscape looked sterile, and the idea that anything could survive the trek north seemed impossible.

He knew it wasn’t true—both that nothing was moving and that nothing could survive. According to the reports from Murosan scouts, the Aurolani force had decamped from Porjal and were heading south toward Caledo. The refugees from Porjal had headed west to the coastal city of Nawal and would be sent farther along the coast until they came to Paloso, the city near Lake Eori. Will didn’t know if that choice had been made as an omen, or just because the next stop would be Saporicia and, with any luck, an escape from danger.

They run from it while we ride into it. Will shook his head, then smiled and nodded at a couple of the Freemen in the courtyard below who were preparing their horses. At his headshake they had begun to double-check what they were doing, assuming he was signaling displeasure. Once he nodded, they smiled and went back to work.

The Freemen, who comprised a legion drawn from Murosan refugees and Oriosan volunteers, were one of three units that would be in the northern force. To them were added a legion of Murosan Lancers—the Queen’s Own Guards, whose chosen uniform was white with slashed red sleeves. Originally these two groups, comprising two hundred warriors, along with members of the Crown Company, as the princess’ allies had become known, were all who were going to head north. While all of the warriors were skilled or enthusiastic, that didn’t shield them from reality. Their mission would be very dangerous and would very likely get them all killed.

The odds improved slightly when a company of meckanshü rode into Caledo the afternoon of the day Will had spoken to Princess Alexia. Colonel Sallitt Hawkins led them, and all of them came equipped with draconettes. The colonel had spoken with King Bowmar, and it was explained to Will that these warriors were intent upon returning to Fortress Draconis or, barring that, “causing maximum discomfort to the enemy.”

Nominally they were just traveling in conjunction with the task force, but Colonel Hawkins immediately began coordinating with Wheatly, integrating his supplies with those for the rest of the task force. Oddly enough, Lindenmere evidenced some skill for getting the supplies ordered and stowed—and likewise estimating how much of what would be needed for the campaign. North helped him with the lifting and toting, and a true affection for Lindenmere seemed to have grown up between the other Freemen and him.

And Lindenmere has become a bit harder and leaner, as has Kerrigan. Will watched the magicker move through the courtyard. He still had that gawky, awed look on his face that he always wore, but he stood a bit taller and had shrunk a bit around the middle. That wasn’t to suggest he was even close to cutting the sort of figure that Dranae did, but in Kerrigan one could almost see someone who could be taken for Dranae’s younger brother or cousin.

“What are you thinking, Lord Norrington?”

Sayce’s question surprised him, primarily because she’d managed to sneak up on him. He turned slowly and smiled for her, which brightened her face and made his guts flip-flop. “I was thinking how much the war changes people, and how much they’re likely to be changed. Lindenmere probably never did a bit of hard work in his life, but he’s down there working now, and not shrinking from it. And Kerrigan, he’s changing.”

“And you?”

Will closed his eyes and nodded. “Not even a year ago I was slumkin, stealing anything I could lift and getting regular beatings from my master and my enemies. My world was a place maybe six blocks long and wide, and if you’d asked me then if I’d ever leave it, I’d have said no. And now, here I am, far north, volunteering for something that might get me killed, and certainly will get me hurt. Definitely true of those down below.”

His eyes opened as Sayce approached. Up to that point she had hidden any public signs of affection for him, but with less than an hour before he’d ride away, she was throwing caution to the winds. She reached out and slid her hand over his shoulder.

“I’ve changed, too, Will.”

“I know.”

Sayce smiled and gave Will a look that he knew would haunt dreams and warm him on cold nights. “How do you think I have changed?”

He looked her straight in the eye, then gave her a wry grin. “You were raised as royalty, but young enough that you knew you’d never have to accept responsibility. You realized that you were not exempt from the duties of your blood, so you accepted them and have done your utmost to fulfill them.”

Sayce’s face froze for a moment, then she looked down. “You read me very well, Lord Norrington.”

“You’re not easy to read, Princess; I just know the story well and recognize it.” His gloved right hand emerged from beneath the heavy cloak. He took her chin between thumb and forefinger and lifted her head until she looked him in the eye again. “These are extraordinary times and require extraordinary measures from all of us. Doing what we must is something in which we can take pride and even joy.”

“Yes, exactly. I…”

Will pressed his thumb to her lips to silence her. “Sayce, you will be going with Princess Alexia and fighting to delay those on their way here. I will be going north. Neither of us knows what the future will bring. Out there we could be killed, which would be bad. Worse, we could be broken. Maybe they will make us into meckanshü, maybe not. We could be captured and tortured. We might even be made over into sullanciri”

She blinked at him and tears began to gather in her eyes, but did not yet flow. “What are you saying, Will?”

Again he smiled for her. “What I am saying, Princess, is that our futures are uncertain, but our past, the time we have spent here—the time spent here together—it will be eternal. It can’t be taken away from us. We don’t know if we will ever be able to stand together like this—if after what we will go through, we would even recognize ourselves as the people who stood here—but we have. I won’t forget. I can’t. I don’t want to. What I remember will be a great comfort in the coming days.”

Sayce stepped closer and enfolded him in a hug. She pressed her right cheek to his, and he felt the burn of a tear. His arms went around her and he held her tightly. That surprised him, because while he knew he didn’t love her, he didn’t want to let her go. Not just yet.

So he held on to her and she clung to him. And, just for a little while, the horror of the future was held at bay.

Through the stable doorway Alexia could see Will and Sayce on the balcony. She watched them embrace and wished she could have heard what Will said.

If he was able to order his emotions, then something in what he said would help me order mine.

She’d given some thought to what she wanted to say to Crow on their parting, but that was only in the little snatches of time they were apart. They’d conspired to minimize them, to their mutual delight, but there were times when duty called them one from another. Just that morning she had been off listening to the latest reports from the north and had agreed to meet him in the stable, but Crow had been delayed.

“Princess Alexia, begging your pardon, but I would appreciate a favor.”

She turned and the smile growing on her face slowed. She had recognized the voice in pieces. First she linked it to Crow, then realized who had spoken. “Colonel Hawkins, what may I do for you?”

The meckanshü, swathed in thick furs and wearing a mitten on his left hand, lowered his eyes. The silver of the mail used to replace the flesh of his face glittered around the right edge of his black mask. “I would ask you to introduce me to your husband.”

“But…” She hesitated. “You already know him.”

“That is not why I ask, Highness.”

From behind her Crow spoke. “He asks, my love, because I’ve not spoken with him yet. I’ve refused.”

Alexia heard pain in Crow’s voice and watched it tighten Sallitt’s expression. She turned to Crow. “Why would you refuse?”

“Because I have no family outside you and Will and Resolute.” Bitter anger strained Crow’s voice. “All that was taken away from me.”

Sallitt’s head came up. “And it was taken away from me, too.”

“You still have your mask. You still have our family.”

“But not our complete family.” The meckanshifs metal hand snapped into a fist. “Tarrant, you don’t know how it was.”

Crow snorted. “It doesn’t take much to figure it out.”

Alexia gripped Crow’s forearm. “Give him a chance.”

Crow nodded and the tension flowed out of his forearm.

Sallitt’s metal hand opened slowly. “After the Okrannel campaign they brought me back to Valsina. That was before the Draconis Baron had figured out how to make meckanshü. I was useless. You’d had your mask stripped away, but for what I didn’t know; and our father forbid us from mentioning your name ever. I knew you weren’t dead and had I been whole, I’d have found you.

“Then the stories started saying you were dead and that you’d killed yourself. I couldn’t believe them, but I couldn’t prove them otherwise. Several years later, long before I ever heard a song of Crow, the Draconis Baron sent for me and made me as I am now. He gave me a purpose. I accepted my position at Fortress Draconis not, as some have said, to redeem our name, but to continue the fight we’d both been part of.“

Crow said nothing, but a tremor began to run through him.

Sallitt’s hazel eyes flashed from within his mask. “Some meckanshü suffer what we call ‘metal fatigue.’We get tired of trying to be human because we so clearly are not. We try to forget who we were because our injuries carry with them a lot of mental pain. I had that, plus the way our father had changed, and the loss of my little brother. I was lucky, though, and met my wife—gods grant Jancis still lives. She brought my human halfback, and it’s that human half that makes me seek you, brother. To tell you I’ve never believed what has been said of you.”

The man who had been Tarrant Hawkins looked up. “But when you were told who I was at Tolsin, you rode away.”

“I did, yes, because I felt betrayed.” Sallitt’s eyes tightened. “We’d been long on the road together. You’d saved my life and yet you had not trusted me with who you were. Should I have known? You, traveling with Resolute, in the company of a Norrington, it all seems so obvious now, but it wasn’t then. You were Crow, a living legend. Had you been Oriosan, you’d have worn a mask, so I never made the connection. But you knew who I was, and you didn’t trust me. That hurt me and made me doubt.”

Crow’s lips pressed together for a moment, then he slowly nodded. “You’re right. I did you an injustice. I’d spent so many years refusing to be Tarrant Hawkins that even though I knew you were my brother, I couldn’t be your brother. Too much pain there, too.”

“I guess I can understand that.” The elder Hawkins chewed his lower lip. “No one in the family believed the charges against you. Even though Father would not speak of you, the rest of us did, secretly. I know he didn’t believe them, though. I think after he took your mask, he learned the truth.”

Crow shook his head. “Our father had his own reasons for doing what he did. How is… How are they?”

“Father died about six years ago. In his sleep. Mother lives with Ellice now. Everyone else is well.” He smiled weakly. “We will have time to talk about them on the road.”

“Perhaps we will.” Crow nodded, stiffly at first, but easing. “I have spent more time being Crow than I ever did being your little brother. It will take time for me to get used to that role again.”

“The day you left Valsina you stopped being my little brother. I saw it when we met at Fortress Draconis. A little brother I don’t need. A friend and comrade I know and trust, on the other hand.”

Crow extended his left hand and took his brother’s flesh-and-blood hand in a firm grip. “Agreed.”

Sallitt nodded to Alexia. “Thank you, Highness. I will leave you two. I have things to take care of. Good luck, Princess.”

“And you, Colonel.”

The meckanshü departed quietly despite being half-metal. Alexia smiled at Crow. “I think it is good you spoke with him.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I know your family was important to you and renewing those ties will be good.”

Crow sighed. “I hope you are right. Here and now, though, it is my new family that most concerns me.”

“It made me happy to be included in it.”

“You are it.”

“No, you included Resolute, who can take care of himself, and Will.” She reached up and tucked a long lock of white hair behind his ear. “Speaking of whom, Will might want to talk to you about Sayce. Do him a favor and listen.”

Crow looked up from tightening the cinch strap around his horse’s middle. “What is going on? What have I missed?”

“He and Princess Sayce have become close. Parting will not be easy for them.” Alyx choked down a lump in her throat. “It’s not going to be easy for me, either.”

“I know.” Crow nodded, then crossed to her and reached out to brush his left thumb over her right cheekbone. Alexia half closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against his palm. “Alexia, I have been dreading this parting more than I dreaded being executed in Oriosa, more than I have dreaded anything else in my life.”

He gave her a thin smile and brought his right hand up on her shoulder. “There was a time—there were decades, in fact—when going out to do what we’re going to do meant nothing to me. Not because I’m stupid or I was suicidal; it was just because that was what I did. It was the life I’d chosen—or the life that had chosen me, I don’t know which. Resolute and I would just go out to harass Chytrine’s forces and if we didn’t return, it was another oath broken, another prophecy tested and proved false.

“I never thought my life empty until you came into it and made me want more than just Chytrine’s destruction. I still want that, yes, but I want it because it means there will be a future for the world, for us, for our heirs”

A jolt ran through her. “You would want to have children with me?”

“After all this is over, Will should be able to take care of himself. Resolute will have a homeland to deal with, so I’ll be at loose ends.”

“Don’t joke about that, Crow, please.”

“Forgive me. I’m not joking.”

Again his thumb stroked her cheek. It felt rough, but strong, like the rest of him, and Alyx knew their children would possess his strength and hers. They would stand tall, be brave and intelligent, relentless in the pursuit of that which would make the world better. Her right hand came up to cover his on her cheek, and her left hand strayed to her middle.

She immediately thought of how she had run her hand down her belly to shock her aunt. This time, though, she wanted to feel a swelling. She wanted to feel life beginning within her.

That shook her. Her entire life had been spent in training. She had been forged into a tool to liberate her homeland. Yes, she had thought of being married, having children, but that was always something that would occur after the liberation. As with many other nobles and warrior-women, she had an elven charm on an anklet that prevented pregnancy, because children would be an unnecessary complication in her life.

But now, here, with Crow, she wanted them. As she thought about their having children, she could see them all, at different stages of life. An infant sleeping on Crow’s chest, a daughter astride a horse, shrieking with delight, her gold hair flying, and a son, too young to need to shave very often, but already tall and clean-limbed and dressed in mail, ready for war to defend his nation. All these visions and more came to her in an instant.

“Princess?”

Crow’s soft inquiry brought her back. She blinked then, capturing his hand in hers, she turned her head and kissed his palm. “I want that, too, you know. I will have children by you, Crow, whether I’m the Queen of Okrannel or just a wandering soldier of fortune traveling with the man she loves.”

His smile split white beard and moustaches. “Oh, we will have children, my love, as many as you want. And they will go on to do great things. What we accomplish will be as nothing compared to what they will do.”

The truth of what Crow was saying struck her as undeniable, even though she knew that Chytrine, her hordes, and countless other forces stood in opposition to them and their dreams. Somehow, though, just his saying it created that future and it became an objective she would reach. No one would deny them that future.

“I know you are right, beloved.” She squeezed his left hand, then slid forward into a hug. “I will miss you terribly. Only knowing that we will be together again, together to start our family and raise it, will make our parting bearable.”

He squeezed her tightly to him and she sank into that warm embrace. “There’s the trick of it, Princess. You and I, and everyone here, we’re fighting for a future of hope. The only way you kill hope is to kill everything. There’s little doubt Chytrine would be willing to go that far, but even she can’t do that much damage.”

“Unless she gets the DragonCrown back together.”

A shiver ran through Crow. “Yet one more reason to stop her here in Muroso.”

Alexia pulled back. “You will be careful out there, won’t you?”

He nodded. “No unnecessary risks.”

She gave him a stern look. “You have traveled with Resolute. What you two consider necessary risk would cause Kedyn’s heart to quail.”

Crow snorted and kissed her on the forehead. “I will be careful. You best be as well.”

“I promise, beloved.” Alexia gave him a sly grin. “After all, we’d best be setting a proper example for our children, starting right now.”

“Exactly.” Crow smiled at her. “I love you, Alexia. I will return to you. Ours is the future, and no one and nothing will take it away.”