The Hungering Flame (17 page)

Graelle grunted and dragged a small wooden cask down from atop a nearby crate. He laid the cask on the table and smashed the top of it in with a gauntleted fist. Brown liquid splashed everywhere. He reached up and lifted the horned helmet from his head and
laid
it on an adjacent crate.

Garrett drew in a sharp breath. Burn scars covered every inch of the dragon rider’s hairless head.

Graelle pinched the rim of the breached cask between his fingers and thumb and lifted it to his lips, drinking deeply. He sighed as he sat the beer cask back on the table with a heavy thump.

His blue eyes fell on Garrett once more.
“
Show no fear to Prex,
”
he said,
“
creatures like him feed on it.
”

Garrett said nothing.

“
He doesn’t know what it is to burn,
”
Graelle said, his eyes falling to the oil lamp on the table. He moved his hand over the small, yellow flame.
“
He’s never tasted true Fire.
”

“
Why do you have to burn everything?
”
Garrett whispered.

Graelle looked up.
“
Huh?
”

“
Why do you burn all the good out of the world?
”
Garrett said, louder now.

Graelle’s scarred lips twisted in a grin.
“
You hate me for what I did to you... what I do to your people.
”

“
Why do you
have to make everything worse?
”
Garrett asked,
“
Why can’t you just leave us alone?
”

Graelle’s smile faded.
“
You’re just a boy,
”
he said.

Garrett breathed hard through his teeth.

The dragon rider turned and walked slowly to stand before Garrett.
“
Do you want to die as a boy?
”
he asked,
“
Or will you see the world as a man does and face its truth at the end?
”

Garrett stared at Graelle’s boots, his mind lost in a maelstrom of burned memories.

“
War is the nature of man,
”
Graelle said,
“
It is the fire within us that consumes our lives. Your people would smother it, force it down under their blankets and pretend that it had gone out. Such people burn to death in their sleep, dreaming of false peace.
”

“
It isn’t false!
”
Garrett yelled,
“
People don’t have to kill each other! We can be friends.
”

Graelle snorted.
“
The only true friend is an ally against a common foe. As soon as the foe is dead, friends will turn upon each other.
”

“
What do you know about friendship?
”
Garrett said.

Graelle smiled.
“
Die with your boy’s dreams then,
”
he said, returning to the table to drink again.

“
Skyhammer Graelle,
”
a voice called from outside the tent. Garrett thought it sounded familiar.

“
Come,
”
Graelle answered, turning to face the doorway.

Callister Felix lifted the tent flap and stepped through.
“
You wished to see me, Skyhammer?
”

“
Yes, Stormfist Felix,
”
Graelle said,
“
I have new orders for you.
”
Graelle shuffled through a stack of scrolls on the table, searching for something.

Felix’s eyes fell on Garrett for a moment.
“
I trust the prisoner is proving informative, Skyhammer?
”
Felix said.

Graelle only grunted in response. He pulled a rolled parchment from the cluttered table and stretched it out before the lamp, squinting.
“
Here,
”
he said, passing the scroll to Felix,
“
You will move the Kriesslegion to the ruins of Taelish and hold there.
”

“
Yes, Skyhammer,
”
Felix said.

“
Burn the fires bright at night,
”
Graelle said,
“
Make the sky red.
”

“
Yes, Skyhammer.
”

“
As He has spoken,
”
Graelle muttered.

“
So we do,
”
Felix answered. The Chadiri captain spun on his boot heel and strode from the tent.

Graelle watched him go, his eyes still on the doorway. A moment passed, and then a woman’s voice spoke from without.
“
Skyhammer?
”

“
Come,
”
Graelle said.

A tall woman, clad in red armor entered the tent. She wore her long black hair in a ponytail and would have been beautiful, if not for the long, straight scar from her scalp to her cheek. It bisected her left eyebrow, leaving the two sides out of alignment with one another. She took no notice of Garrett, but spoke in a low voice.
“
I don’t trust him,
”
she said.

“
Felix is a pawn,
”
Graelle said, returning to his beer cask,
“
Sent by his uncle to reap an easy victory through better men’s efforts.
”

“
Let him have it then!
”
the woman said,
“
The sooner we’re rid of him, the better.
”

Graelle said nothing, draining the last of the beer and reaching for another cask.

“
Skyhammer,
”
she said,
“
we can’t afford to play games with men like that. Just give him what he wants, and send him home.
”

“
And why is the Inquisitor here?
”
Graelle growled,
“
There will be no converts in Gloar. What corruption did they send him to find?
”

“
All the more reason to wrap this up quickly!
”
she said, taking a step toward the dragon rider,
“
Graelle, I don’t like this.
”

Graelle turned to face her again.
“
Brenna,
”
he said,
“
men like this are not worthy of your concern.
”

“
A hundred mice may bring down a lion,
”
she said.

“
Only i
f the lion falls asleep,
”
Graelle answered.

Brenna smiled. Turning her eyes away from Graelle, she seemed to notice Garrett for the first time.
“
Who is this?
”
she asked.

“
A Gloaran boy that Felix brought me,
”
Graelle said,
“
Supposed to be an assassin.
”

Brenna knelt beside Garrett, studying him. He looked away, his faced flushed with shame.

“
He doesn’t look very dangerous to me,
”
she laughed,
“
What are you going to do with him?
”

“
He’s for Prex,
”
Graelle said, smashing open the second beer cask with his fist.

“
You’re not going to give him to that monster, are you?
”
she asked, looking back at her commander.

Graelle shrugged and took a drink.

“
Let me kill him then,
”
Brenna said. Garrett’s eyes went wide, staring at the dark-haired woman in disbelief.
“
Trust me boy,
”
she said,
“
My blade’s a hell of a lot quicker than the fire.
”

“
I’m not done talking to him yet,
”
Graelle said, his words muffled by the cask of beer at his lips.

“
Well, you kill him then when you’re done,
”
she said, standing up again,
“
Just don’t let Prex have him. He’s just a boy.
”

Graelle grinned.
“
You’re too soft, you know,
”
he said.

“
You never complained about that before,
”
she laughed.

“
Hmph, I need you to move your legion south,
”
he said.

“
What is it?
”
she said, her tone suddenly serious.

Graelle set the cask aside and reached behind the table to pull out a long tube of carved wood, capped at both ends with silver filigreed stoppers. He tugged the stopper from one end and reached inside. He pulled out a large scroll and unfurled it across the tabletop.

Brenna moved close, her shoulder against Graelle’s chest as she studied the scroll.
“
Taelish,
”
she said,
“
Where did you get this?
”

“
I still have a few friends in the holy city,
”
he said. He picked up a chunk of charcoal and drew an X in the lower corner of the scroll.
“
I want your men there. When the time comes, you will find the enemy here,
”
he said, dragging the coal to the right,
“
once they are inside, you will cut off their escape.
”

Brenna looked at him.
“
You’re using Felix for bait?
”
she gasped.

“
He will
probably
survive,
”
Graelle said. He tossed the charcoal aside and wiped his fingers on the edge of the table.

“
But his legion?
”

“
…will have the chance to earn the honor they sought by inviting themselves to my battle!
”
he said.

Brenna shook her head.
“
Graelle, this is…
”

“
I need you there by tomorrow night,
”
he said,
“
set your best scout to watch the entrance. Once the enemy has committed, let none escape.
”

Brenna looked at him, her face fearful.

“
You must do this,
”
he said.

“
I won’t fail you,
”
she answered.

Graelle smiled, placing his hand on her shoulder.
“
As He has spoken,
”
he said.

“
So we do,
”
Brenna said. She smiled at him and then turned and walked out of the tent.

Graelle rolled the scroll tightly and slipped it back into its tube. He capped it once again and carefully placed it out of sight behind the table. He looked back over his shoulder toward the tent flap and lowered his head for a moment. He drew in a long breath and turned to face Garrett once more.
“
Where were we?
”
he asked.

Garrett stared at the dirt floor. His head ached. His wrists were bleeding. He realized that he was probably never going to feel a moment without pain again. The man that had burned his home to the ground stood over him now, plotting the deaths of the only family Garrett had left. He raised his head and faced the dragon rider.

“
I’m not afraid of you anymore,
”
Garrett said.

Graelle’s scarred face broke into a broad grin.
“
Now we’re getting somewhere!
”
he said. He leaned over and knocked Garrett’s boots and hood off the nearby crate and dragged it closer to sit upon it. He cradled his beer cask in one arm and set his other hand on his knee.
“
Now, I think we can talk as men,
”
he said.