On Fire’s Wings (32 page)

Kevla craned her neck. “Look down,” she cried to the men behind her. They all did so, and Kevla smiled. Through the haze of black smoke, she could see directly into the heart of the molten pool of liquid rock. Where she had submerged only to be reborn. Where the Dragon had slept for centuries, awaiting her.

But now the Dragon's deceptively easy wingbeats carried them smoothly over the Sacred Mountain, and Kevla felt her heart speed up as for the first time she, indeed any Arukani, beheld what lay on the other side of the mountain chain.

At first, this far side looked much like its twin in Arukan. Then, she caught sight of something in the distance.

They might not have believed words,
she thought with a combination of exhilaration and apprehension,
but surely they will believe this
.

They would likely have no clear sight of the armies tonight, no soldiers or tents or engines of war. It was too dark for that; too dark, as well, for the Emperor's forces to see a mighty Dragon wheeling above them in the sky.

But the men perched atop that Dragon could see the army's fires.

Tiny little sparks they were, and at first, the eye could not be certain as to their identity. Gradually, the Dragon dove closer, and the small orange sparks became campfires.

There were hundreds on the other side of the mountain, several in each encampment.

The army of the Emperor from over the mountain had thousands.

Again, Kevla heard gasps and murmurings. The Dragon went lower still, sailing silently above a vast army that was almost invisible save for their campfires. Now they could glimpse movement, see the faint outlines of tents.

When at last the men behind her fell silent, Kevla patted the Dragon's neck. Obediently the great beast wheeled smoothly and returned the way he had come.

No one spoke on that journey back to the encampments. Tahmu kept his arms around his daughter, and at one point she could have sworn he pulled her closer to him. She did not think it was because he feared for his own safety.

Finally, the Dragon headed for the clearing, easily recognizable because of the circle of fires Kevla had left burning, and settled down gently. The men were in no hurry to dismount. Slowly, they did so, not speaking. Kevla remained atop the Dragon, waiting for their decision. Would they join her and fight for their own lives? Or would they scatter, seeing in their isolation an ability to escape from so terrible a foe?

Her mouth was dry and she was aware that she trembled. If they fled, there was no hope.

“Well?” she said finally. “You have seen the campfires with your own eyes. You know what is coming. The army will be here very soon. Will you stand and fight together, or will you scatter like frightened
liahs?
”

The first to step forward was Tahmu. “The Clan of Four Waters will fight with the Great Dragon and the Flame Dancer,” he cried.

“As will the Star Clan!”

“And the
Sa'abah
Clan!”

“The Horseriders will prepare for war!”

“As will the Sandcattle Clan!”

One after another, the cries went up and the pledges were made. Not a single clan chose to abandon the others. Kevla felt her heart fill to almost bursting. They believed her. They trusted her.

Jashemi, this is your moment. This is your dream. I wish you could see them.

“We will have a council of war,” announced Tahmu. He turned to his daughter. “Kevla Flame Dancer—will you join us?”

Kevla's eyes widened. This would be a council unlike any ever seen in Arukan before. All of the
khashims,
their Seconds, and their most trusted advisors would be present.

A female had never been permitted to participate.

Slowly, she nodded. “Of course,” she said, and slipped off the Dragon. Tahmu extended a hand to help her down. They stood face-to-face for a long minute, each searching the other's eyes.

In Tahmu's face, Kevla saw Jashemi. The two men, father and son, had been so alike, she now realized. They had shared the dream that was coming true at this moment, and she would be a part of that.

She squeezed her father's hand, and went to the council of war.

K
ayle's attendant Parneth stuck his head inside the captain's tent, grinning fiercely. “Captain? The scouts have returned.”

“Excellent,” said Kayle. “A moment more and I will meet with them.” He took another bite of bread and honey. If Kayle had anything resembling a weakness, it was his fondness for sweet things. The golden liquid dripped off the bread onto his fingers and he sucked it off. He had gone ahead of the army with seven of his most trusted scouts, to find the best path through the mountains and, perhaps, to see if there were any unsuspecting Arukani clans within easy attack distance. Even though the army had many men, they could always use a few more.

“Captain.” Parneth hesitated. “I think you had best meet with them now. They come with an extra prize for the Emperor.”

Kayle sighed and rose, still licking his fingers. Parneth knew his master well, and would not push so if it were not important. However, when he stepped outside into the moonlight and saw
the “extra prize,” Kayle thought he might enjoy seeing Parneth beaten.

He whirled on the younger man. “You interrupt my meal for a camp follower?” Other men might rush eagerly into the arms of such a lovely woman, but Kayle cared little for the pleasures offered by either sex. His passion was slaughter, and he preferred to save his energies for that.

Admittedly, they'd found a good one. Not a maiden, but a woman, still in the prime of her beauty. She looked tired and hungry, but bore herself erectly.

“She is not what you think, my lord,” said one of his scouts, exchanging grins with his companions. “We will let her speak for herself.”

The woman stepped forward, and for an instant Kayle felt a strong urge to kneel in front of her, so commanding was her presence. The desire passed quickly.

“I have come to you with news for your Emperor, which he will wish to hear. You will take me to him.”

“No, lady, I will not. You will speak your news to me, or I will cut out your tongue and you will speak it to no one.”

She looked at him, a half smile on her lips. “Do you know, I believe you.”

“You should,” said Kayle. He had been in deadly earnest. “I have many things that demand my attention, lady. Speak quickly.”

“I know you recognize what I once was,” she said. “I hear it in your voice. You know nobility when you see it, whatever tattered rags it comes dressed in. I was once the
khashima
of a great House in Arukan—the greatest House. Now, I am nothing but a camp follower. How I fell to this is not important. What is im
portant is that you believe that my desire to have revenge upon my husband and his people is real.”

Kayle's single eye searched her, taking her in, from her long hair to her elegant features to her body. The clothing she wore had indeed been fine once, but was now filthy and stank of sweat. While she was thin, she did not have the aged, emaciated look of one who had lived a step away from starvation all her life. This was a woman who had once lived in luxury.

“Go on.”

“You have been preying on the clans one by one,” she said, “but they have seen your numbers and know what you have planned. In turn, they have abandoned their differences and will greet your army united.”

Kayle scowled and looked to his scouts for confirmation.

“It is true, sir,” said the head scout. “We were shocked when we cleared the range and saw so many campfires. Somehow, they know. I saw hundreds.”

“We have thousands,” retorted Kayle, but still he felt a quiver of doubt. It was one thing to descend upon small groups and conquer them one by one. To face all the Arukani clans together would necessitate different tactics. The Emperor needed to know as soon as possible.

But apparently, the woman was not yet done. “I have followed my former Clan to this meeting place. I have watched what has transpired there. I have listened in the shadows and I know their numbers, their plans, their weapons, and I know of an enemy that would make even your Emperor quail where he stands.”

“Then tell me, lady. My meal is not getting any warmer.”

“In exchange for safe passage in your country,” she replied.
“Food, water, clothing, money. I will not return to the land of my shame.”

He had thought to kill her; it was just easier that way. But the honey had sweetened more than his tongue tonight, and he was in a good mood. While the news she bore was not good, her coming was welcomed in that the Emperor would have time to change his approach. Kayle decided that if what she had to say pleased him, he would give her what she wanted. If not, he'd carry out his original plan.

Kayle turned to his scouts and again raised an eyebrow in question. “We have been able to verify some of what she told us, sir,” their leader replied. “And the information is valuable indeed.”

“Very well,” he said. “Come into my tent and eat and drink your fill. And then, traitor, tell me all you know, and how best I can use this information to slaughter your people.”

For a moment, he thought he saw hesitation flicker across her lovely features. Then her face hardened and her eyes looked bright with an emotion he recognized as pure hatred.

“Do you have
eusho?”
she asked.

 

The council had gone well. Not only was Kevla present, but she had insisted that all the Lorekeepers—men and women—and the Great Dragon be in attendance as well. Some of the
khashims
looked as if they would have seizures when she spoke her conditions, but they gave in.

First, Melaan spoke briefly as to the history of the situation. Two others who had managed to elude the Emperor on a previous occasion told of what they saw. Each clan leader told how many men, weapons and provisions he had brought to contribute to the cause.

Preparations for war began in earnest. While many, such as the Clan of Four Waters, had listened to Kevla's plea and arrived ready for battle, others had simply come to hear what she had to say. Now, these clans sent out dozens of hawks, calling for reinforcements. Some would arrive in time, others would not.

Each night, Kevla and the Dragon soared over Mount Bari to spy on the approaching troops. The army was massive, and because of its size it moved slowly. Also, the mountain chain was not forgiving, and it was difficult to move so many men, beasts and pieces of equipment up its forbidding slopes.

On the third night, Kevla and the Dragon were returning to the clan encampments when the Dragon said, “Kevla. Look down. Do you see them?”

“What am I looking for?” asked Kevla. There was an odd note in the Dragon's voice and she did not think he was trying to draw her attention to a herd of
liahs
.

“Men,” the Dragon said simply.

She looked harder and then she saw them: eight or so, clad in the strange metal clothing of the Emperor's army. They had only two horses and moved with purpose. At first, Kevla thought they were coming to attack the clans, but then she realized that they were moving up the mountain, not down it.

“They're a scouting party,” she said. “They've seen us.”

The Dragon craned his neck to look at her, his golden eyes glowing in the darkness. “Until now, the Emperor has assumed that the clans could be picked off one by one,” he said. “If these scouts report what they have seen—”

“They'll know we're waiting for them,” she finished.

“They can't be allowed to report back.”

“I know, but….”

“I understand this is difficult for you,” said the Dragon, “but you have done this before.”

Suddenly Kevla had had her fill of these reminders of lives past. Of people she had been, who Jashemi had been, who had lived and died and still lived and—

“No, I haven't!” she cried. “I, Kevla Bai-sha, have killed no one! I haven't even deliberately hurt anyone! I don't want to kill these people, Dragon. I just want—”

“I know what you want,” the Dragon said harshly, “
who
you want. But you can't have him, Kevla. Jashemi is dead. Your old life is dead. And your new life and the lives of almost everyone else down there are going to be lost if you don't accept the responsibility that comes with being who you are! You're the leader, Flame Dancer, and you've got to be bigger now than Kevla has ever been. The boy died so you could become the Flame Dancer. Don't let his death be in vain!”

Kevla was as startled as if he had splashed cold water on her face. She was terribly hurt, and very angry. How dare he speak to her like this!

“A few more moments, Flame Dancer,” said the Dragon in a soft, angry voice, “and you will lose the chance. They will be far enough up the mountain so that the enemy will see our fire.”

Kevla's lower lip quivered. “I can't murder them.”

“Then they will reach the Emperor, and he will learn the truth about the force that faces him, and more of your people will die.”

Kevla swallowed hard. “What do I do? How do I fight them?”

“Like this,” said the Dragon, and dove.

 

Kayle had been more than pleased at what the Arukani woman had told him. She had a good eye for what mattered; she said she had been married to a clan leader and was familiar with such things. His luck. He was so delighted with the information that he kept his word and sent her walking off with food and gold. Privately, he thought she would die in the mountains before she reached the other side, but he didn't care.

He wished he'd thought to bring a hawk, so the news would reach his Emperor even more swiftly. As it was, it would take most of the night for the men to rejoin the main army.

Parneth's high-pitched shriek was the first warning he had of death from the sky.

Kayle whirled, sword at the ready, to behold a sight that froze him in place. The female traitor had warned him of this, but he had only half believed her. In the sky flew an enormous beast, its huge wings bringing it closer more rapidly than he had thought possible for something so big. He put a name to it, that of a creature out of legend:
Dragon.
A heartbeat later the monster opened its mouth and a sheet of flame spewed forth.

The blast of heat knocked Kayle off his feet. He could smell burning flesh and realized that some of his men had not escaped the blast. He dove for cover, frantically trying to wedge his large, muscular body in among the rocks.

The dragon's mouth closed and it turned, wheeling around for a second dive. Thinking he had a few moments before the next attack, Kayle got to his feet and scrambled for a more protected area.

But more fire came. How was that possible? The dragon was facing away, it couldn't—

Glanced up wildly, Kayle now saw that the dragon had an ally. This, then, was the Flame Dancer the woman had warned him about. The traitor had not been exaggerating. How could the Emperor stand against this? Even as Kayle watched, motionless with fear and knowing he needed to find shelter, the figure lifted its arms. Fire came from its hands—her hands—and rushed toward him in an orange-red ball.

In the instant before his death, Kayle did not think of his Emperor, or the warning he needed to bring him, or anything else remotely related to war or death.

He thought about the look on his adopted mother's face as she left him with the captain of the guards, and realized that she had loved him.

 

Atop the Great Dragon out of legend, the Flame Dancer continued to hurl fireballs at the scouts of the Emperor from over the mountain. She kept up the attack until the Dragon banked sharply to the right and rose even higher.

“It's done now,” he said gently. “They're all dead.”

They're all dead.

“You did what you had to do to protect your people.”

She realized that she had been holding every muscle in her body taut as a bow string. Suddenly she shivered and leaned down on the Dragon's neck, wrapping both arms and legs about it. Kevla began to shudder and sob, hearing and feeling the Dragon utter soothing words.