Dragonvein (Book Two) (13 page)

Coming from the Urazi, Markus couldn’t help but feel honored by such a compliment. “Then I shall not waste any more of your time,” he said. “Tell Shinzan…”

Gault held up his hand, smiling. “I know. To go fuck himself.”

Markus grinned involuntarily. “Exactly.” He turned and set off back toward the ship.

Gault called after him. “You’ll forgive me if I word your response a bit more…diplomatically.”

With each step, the anxiety in Markus’ chest grew. He wanted to run. But even in a place like Port Hull, so many bodies would cause a stir, and the sight of a man running through the streets would draw far too much attention.

By the time he reached the ship, his anxiety had developed into full blown paranoia. How the hell had Gault known to be here? Was there an agent of the Empire on board?

The captain was standing on deck, directing his men as they lowered crates of supplies through a trapdoor in the planking.

“We need to cast off now,” Markus told him, without any preamble.

“There is only one more crate to be loaded,” Jeridia replied. “Once it’s aboard…”

“We leave now,” barked Markus.

“This is still my ship,” he shot back. “We leave when I say so.”

Markus very pointedly placed his hand on the hilt of his dagger. “Unless you want your first mate to get an immediate promotion, you’ll do as I say.”

The two men locked eyes, but the battle of wills lasted only a few seconds.

“Cast off!” the captain shouted.

Markus spun on his heels and headed immediately to Lylinora’s room. After banging hard several times, Ethan answered. Beyond his young friend he could see Kat and Lylinora sitting on the bed, poring over several pieces of parchment.

“We’re leaving now,” Markus announced. “All of you, come down to the hold.” Without giving time for a response, he turned sharply away and left.

He found Jonas and Ganix reading quietly on their bedrolls. On seeing his severe expression, they quickly put down their books and sat up straight. He took a seat just as the motion of the ship told him they were casting off.

“What’s happened?” asked Jonas.

Markus said nothing until the others arrived a few moments later. He then told everyone about his encounter with Gault. The word Urazi caused all but Ethan to stiffen.

“What’s the Urazi?” he asked.

“A myth,” replied Markus. “Or that’s what most people think.”

“More like a nightmare,” corrected Jonas.

“They are a society of assassins,” Markus continued. “Older than the five kingdoms. Some say they formed when humans first discovered magic. No one knows for sure. But one thing is certain; they are deadly. Once given a contract, they do not fail…regardless of the cost.”

“You think this Gault fellow was truly one of them?” asked Ganix.

Markus shrugged. “I suppose he could have been lying. But I don’t think so.”

“Urazi or no, he knew we were here,” said Lylinora. “We need to know how he came by this information.”

“I was thinking perhaps one of the crew,” Markus offered.

“But how would he have got word to Shinzan?” asked Ethan.

“There are ways,” said Lylinora.

“Can you detect if there is a
sending rod
on board?” Markus asked Ganix.

“There isn’t,” he assured him. He held up his hand and touched a thin silver ring on his little finger. “If there was dwarf craft here, this would have told me so.”

“I’ll need to examine the crew anyway,” said Lylinora.

Jonas frowned. “However this man Gault found us, we need to know his method before we get to Borgen.”

“I think we should consider changing our original plan,” Markus stated.

Ganix leaned back and scratched his beard. “First of all, let Lylinora see if the crew is compromised. We’ll determine our next move from there.”

Markus stood up. “Very well. I’ll inform the captain.”

As he turned to leave, Ethan called after him. “Are you all right?” he asked.

The darkness of earlier was still there inside of Markus. It felt like an old familiar friend, overcoming even the fear of encountering the Urazi.

He looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Yes. Never felt better.”

Chapter Eleven

C
aptain Jeridia was
far from happy when Markus spoke to him about the situation. Even so, he had no intention whatsoever of objecting directly to Lylinora, so in the end reluctantly agreed to her examining his crew.

The crew was equally unhappy at first. It wasn’t until several of the men reported that all she did was hold their hand for a few seconds that their fear subsided. In the end, she found nothing suspicious in any of them.

“Perhaps the enemy was simply watching the exits from the mountain and saw us leave,” Markus suggested, once all the examinations were completed. “Given our course, it wouldn’t be hard to figure we might stop in Port Hull. And remember, the Imperial ship that Lylinora destroyed had warning we were coming their way.”

“But that doesn’t explain how they knew about the men you were targeting,” Jonas pointed out. “The decision to kill them was made a mere two days in advance, and only a handful of people were ever aware of your intentions.”

Ethan felt uneasy thinking about Markus using his skills as a cold blooded killer. He quickly waved his hand. “There’s no point worrying about all that now. It could be just a coincidence.”

“When it comes to the Urazi, there’s no such thing,” Markus told him. “Gault was definitely expecting to meet up with me in Port Hull.” He smiled at his friend. “You’re right though. There’s no point in worrying about things we can’t control. If someone is contacting the Empire, we’ll find them eventually.”

After three more days of searching and careful observation, King Ganix was fully satisfied that there was no one aboard who had passed on information. He summoned their group to the hold on the morning of the fourth day.

“I’ve decided we will go directly to Borgen,” he announced.

Ethan noticed Markus’ expression grow tense. It took him a moment to realize why. When he did, the objection flew out.

“You can’t do that,” he said fiercely.

“We have no choice,” Ganix told him. “If we’re spotted coming ashore, we might never make it any further.”

“I’ll take that chance.”

“I don’t understand,” Kat chipped in. “Why do you care, Ethan? It would be quicker straight there, right?”

They looked at one another, waiting for someone to explain the situation to her.

“The crew can’t be allowed to know the location of Borgen,” Ethan said. “But if they take us all the way there, then they will.”

Realization washed over Kat’s face. “So you plan to kill them? All of them?”

“We have no other choice,” said Markus. His eyes were cold and distant.

“I won’t do it,” yelled Ethan. “You hear me? To hell with all of you. I won’t fucking do it.”

Lylinora placed her hand on his shoulder. “We have to.”

Ethan looked at her, horror-struck. “You can’t seriously agree with them. There’s more than thirty men here. And the captain has done nothing but help us.”

“The captain would slit our throats and throw our bodies overboard if he could,” Markus countered. “His loyalty is based on his fear of Lylinora. Nothing more.”

Ethan shot to his feet. Kat stood beside him. “I won’t be a part of this,” he stated. “And if you tell the captain to take us to Borgen, I’ll tell him why he shouldn’t. I don’t care how scared he is of Lylinora, he won’t go willingly to his death.”

Having spoken his mind, he spun around and stalked away with Kat hard on his heels. Just as he reached the stairs leading to the next level, he paused to look back at the others. “And if you think I won’t do it, just try me.”

After making his way to the deck, he gazed at the horizon. It was one thing to kill six men who would almost certainly betray them. It was quite another to plan the massacre of an entire crew. He had socialized with some of these men and got to know them quite well in the days before Lylinora had terrified them with her destruction of the Imperial ship.

“Would you really tell the captain?” a voice said.

Ethan hadn’t noticed Kat was still with him. “Damn right I would,” he responded.

She took hold of his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. “Good.”

Ethan allowed his own head to rest on top of Kat’s. “I can’t help it. There’s only so far I can go.”

They stood there together like this for nearly an hour, only moving when hearing the bell announcing that lunch was ready.

Lylinora was waiting for them in the galley. “The others have agreed to keep to the original plan after all,” she told them as soon as they’d sat down. “So you can stop worrying about the crew.”

Ethan took a quick glance around the room. No one else was close enough to overhear their quiet talk. “But you think I’m wrong, don’t you?”

Lylinora nodded. “Yes. But I
can
understand why you feel the way you do.”

“Well, I
can’t
understand you. How can you agree with such a thing?”

“That is what separates us,” she replied, forcing a weak smile. “And perhaps that’s a good thing.”

A young boy, no older than twelve, brought them each a bowl of stew and a cup of water. Several sailors came in, though none dared to sit at the same table as Lylinora.

Ethan could see the fear in the boy’s eyes as he hurried back to assist the cook. A distressing question then formed in his mind. What kind of monster was capable of killing an innocent child?

The thought lingered painfully with him. During the final few days until they reached the drop off point, he kept very much to himself. Even when Lylinora invited him to join her for a quiet dinner in her quarters, he politely refused.

They were due to leave the ship just before sunset, and neither the crew nor Captain Jeridia made any effort to disguise their relief at seeing their passengers depart. They all gathered on the deck with their belongings while the small landing craft was being prepared for them. Ethan looked to the shore. A thin stretch of beach led directly into thick trees and brush.

Ganix was also studying the terrain, a heavy frown on his face. “I have one final request,” he eventually said to the captain. “I ask that Markus be allowed to go ashore first in order to scout the area. If all is well, the rest of us will follow immediately.”

The captain scowled, and for a moment it appeared that he might deny the request. But a stern look from Lylinora soon changed his mind. “Just so long as he’s quick about it, I suppose,” he muttered.

“I’ll go too,” said Ethan.

Ganix shook his head. “Better that you stay.”

“I wasn’t asking permission,” he shot back.

“Please, Ethan,” said Lylinora. “Stay here.”

“I said I’m going.” He checked his sword.

Markus merely looked at him, then gave a sharp nod.

As the pair of them climbed down the rope ladder, Ethan could see the worried expressions of his friends. Kat was wringing her hands, though she did manage to force a smile. He smiled back at her, adding a confident wink for good luck.

Once in the boat, Markus took the oars. “You need to ease up on everyone,” he said. “You’ve been angry for days now.”

Ethan kept his eyes fixed on the shore. “I have good reason to be.”

“No,” he corrected. “You really don’t. This is war. And people die. Sometimes in horrible ways. You’re 101st Airborne. You know this. Hell…you’ve seen it.”

“Mass murder isn’t war, Markus. That’s what the goddamn Nazi’s do. Not us.”

Markus grunted. “If you keep trying to play by the rules, you’re going to get a lot of people killed. Good people. People who truly don’t deserve to die. Not like the scum on that ship.”

“Better to die a man than to become an animal,” Ethan responded.

His words were met with a hollow laugh. “Tell that to the mothers of the people you’ll be sending to their graves. Tell it to their children.”

Markus stopped rowing and said nothing further until Ethan was forced to look him in the eye. “You’d better wise up. Shinzan is playing for keeps. You need to play that way too if you want to win. So either do it, or get the hell out of the bloody game.”

Ethan shifted his gaze back to the approaching beach and lapsed into silence. His mind was going around in circles. Was Markus right? And even if he was, could he ever force himself to accept the same harsh attitudes? He didn’t think so. But then, he could look at his friend and see what a life of hardship was capable of doing to a man. Even without the scars, he could still see the darkness in Markus’ eyes.

Once ashore, they pulled the boat up the beach for a few yards and drew their swords. Ethan strained his ears, but the rumble of the surf overcame everything.

Markus led the way. Creeping to the edge of the tree line, he got down on one knee. “Stay a few yards behind me,” he instructed.

They had only moved a short distance into the woods when Ethan caught the smell of body odor and stale wine. A moment later, gruff voices sounded off to his left. He looked at Markus, who quickly took up position behind the closest tree and signaled for Ethan to do the same thing further back. He silently mouthed the words: G
et ready
. Three men then came into view. Ethan’s heart sank on seeing the Imperial crest emblazoned on their breastplates.

For the moment they hadn’t been spotted. But he knew there was little chance of them both avoiding detection when the soldiers got closer. He tried to control his breathing and readied himself to charge.

The very instant the first soldier sensed danger, Markus leapt into the attack, swinging his blade high and completely severing the man’s arm at the elbow. At the same time, Ethan burst into a dead run to join the fray. The two remaining soldiers hastily backed up a pace and drew their weapons. With his incapacitated first opponent no longer a threat, Markus thrust low at the second soldier’s gullet. The blade pierced his armor, but inflicted only a slight wound, allowing him to fight on. With Markus still occupied, the third soldier moved in to attack him on his exposed left side.

A horrified Ethan could see that his friend would not be able to avoid the coming strike. And although closing fast, he was just that bit too far away to stop it from being delivered. Anguish tore at his soul. From somewhere deep within him a terrible cry escaped, shattering the air with the violence of its intensity. It was half a warning shout - half a feral war cry. Driven forward by the sheer force of his desperation, it speared across the rapidly reducing gap separating him from the others like a sonic missile.

For a critical moment, petrified by the ear-shattering sound, the third soldier delayed his strike. It was long enough. He glanced over just in time to see Ethan’s sword swinging down on him. The adrenaline charged blow struck the man violently across the chest, renting his breast plate almost completely apart and sending him sprawling. He lay writhing on the ground, moaning and gasping, blood spurting in short gushes from his wound in time with the beating of his heart.

With nothing to distract him, Markus quickly dispatched the second soldier with a series of precise blows, the final one removing his head from his shoulders.

The first man to fall was still crying out in agony, searching frantically for his severed arm.

“Back to the boat!” Markus shouted.

Ethan ran headlong toward the beach. No sooner had they reached the boat than they heard aggressive shouts coming from their right. Six more soldiers were running down the shoreline at them, swords drawn. They pushed the boat through the clinging sand with all of their strength, but it was obvious they wouldn’t be able to get it into the water in time.

“Go without me,” shouted Markus. “I’ll hold them off.”

Ethan ignored him and readied himself for the assault.

“I said go! Or we’ll both die!”

Ethan knew he was right. There were too many. But he also knew he couldn’t abandon his friend. The soldiers were mere seconds away. There was only one thing left to try. Dropping his sword, he raised both hands in the air. His voice boomed out with unnatural depth and volume.

“
Alevi Drago
!”

The sheer force of his words halted the soldiers’ advance. A wave of heat then blew forth, forcing them to shield their faces and sending them stumbling backwards.

“
Alevi Drago
!” Ethan repeated. This time his voice was so loud that the sand at his feet rippled.

A ball of white flame manifested directly above his head and flew toward the soldiers. It stopped, suspended in mid-air, just before reaching them. With a vicious grin, Ethan turned to Markus, who could only gaze in silence, stunned and slack-jawed at what was happening.

“You should look away now,” he said. “It’s about to get bright.”

Heeding the warning, Markus tore his attention away from the scene and shielded his eyes.

Ethan felt no pity for the terrified men as they began fleeing. The flame expanded and intensified until it took on the form of a giant dragon with wings spanning thirty feet across and measuring at least twice that distance from head to tail. The soldiers had made it only fifty yards down the beach when he sent the flaming beast upon them. Hellish fire from its gigantic jaws rained down, roasting their flesh the instant it made contact. The creature gave a thunderous roar, completely drowning out the dying men’s screams of agony. Then, in almost no time at all, it was over. In another blinding flash, the dragon vanished. Nothing was left but small heaps of twisted metal and scattered ashes. The sand sparkled in the sun; melted into glass from the unimaginable heat.

Ethan touched Markus on the shoulder. “
Now
we can go.”

Markus looked at him in awe for a moment and then quietly chuckled. “I think we’re about even now.”

Smiling and shaking his head, Ethan held up two fingers. This time Markus let out a hearty laugh and slapped him on the back. “Okay. So it’s my turn to owe you for a change.”

When they reached the ship, Ethan could see Lylinora and Jonas grinning from ear to ear. Ganix was a little more restrained, merely nodding his approval.

Kat ran up and threw her arms around him the moment he stepped on board. “That was amazing,” she cried. Her embrace lasted for several seconds before she eased back. “We thought you two were dead for sure.”