The Dragonprince's Heir (20 page)

Steel flashed and sword tips pressed against the soft skin of my neck and through the singed fabric of my shirt. Four blades menaced me, and at least one was drawing blood. I felt the small, hot stain of it just below my collarbone.

I tried to shrink away without moving. "No! I'm no threat. I'm not a sorcerer. I'm not a wizard. I'm nothing."

"He's something," the shadow insisted, but the captain shook his head.

"Stand down," he said, "and get him on his feet."

He waited while one of the guards heaved me upright, then the captain came forward to address me from one pace away.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I come from the Tower of Drakes. I am returning there. These men ambushed me and robbed me—"

He waved that away, uninterested. "You are young. And you are a long way from your tower."

"I traveled with the king's train to Cara, and now I am trying to return home. These men stole my horse and all my gear."

"And your boots as well," the captain said. "And one of the strangest swords I've ever seen. Have you taken a look at the sword, Dellis?"

"It is...interesting, yes. There is no magic to it, but it is strangely made."

The captain nodded, unsurprised. "You are a question, young man, and one I am not important enough to answer. Put him on his horse, but move his bags to one of ours."

I tried my bonds again as one of the soldiers pushed me forward, but the rope offered no give at all. I saw no merit in fighting them now. It was an awkward climb into the saddle, but once I was up I felt somewhat safer. I could direct my horse without my hands. If they just turned their attention away for a moment—

"Secure the horse with a lead to my own," the captain added, almost in afterthought. "I would like to keep an eye on him."

"Where?" I asked. "Where are you taking me?"

He measured me with his eyes for some time, then answered. "Tirah. My lord has a keen interest in the affairs of the king, and keener still in the Tower of Drakes. And in the kind of men who live there."

His eyes cut briefly to the wizard Dellis, still in shadows, then he turned on his heels. "Watch this one close, boys. If he makes a wrong move, kill him."

11. The Lord of Tirah

The captain wasted no more than moments issuing new orders to the squad tending to the wounded bandits, then my keeper handed him my horse's lead and the captain secured it to his saddle. He sent one short, appraising look skimming over everyone in the dell—his own men and the bandits and me—then nodded sharply.

"Good," he snapped. "Tirah by dawn. Hup!" Then he wheeled his horse and set off north at a good clip. Even with the lead I had to urge my horse with my heels to keep pace with him.

Behind us, the other squad was still busily searching and tearing down the bandits' camp. He'd clearly intended to leave them to straggle along after us, but I'd expected the soldiers from the squad who had arrested me to form up behind the captain and me. Instead, they disappeared into the darkness. I did notice the shadowy figure of the wizard fall in on the captain's other side, but the others were nowhere near us.

The captain kept a close eye on me for perhaps the first half mile, just long enough to make sure I wouldn't fall from the saddle with my hands tied behind me. Then he visibly relaxed. He rocked easily with the motion of his horse's gait, and his gaze fixed on something far away ahead of us. I could almost believe he was staring straight at the city walls.

My first thought had been to escape, but now I saw a better option. The captain clearly didn't fear me, and if he'd hated me he wouldn't have given me a horse. He had captured me to end a violent quarrel, but perhaps in the quiet calm of this long ride I could win him over. My gaze kept drifting to the saddlebag that held my sword. I heeled my horse a pace closer to his.

"Captain," I said softly. "I think perhaps I owe you an apology. I should not have threatened your men back there."

He only grunted in response, and it was half a laugh.

I ducked my head. "I owe you my gratitude, as well. I'd gotten myself into a dangerous situation—"

"We know Old Jim's crew well." He said it offhand, as though he hadn't even heard me. "Rumor has followed them all the way from the north coast, but we never got close enough to spot them before. Seen plenty of the corpses they left beside the way."

"And, again, I express my gratitude—"

"The fire caught our attention. Six days on the trail of this crew, and we'd long since lost the scent. Then a nuisance fire on the Cara road pulled us away."

"They robbed me there," I said. "They left me at the inn."

"And you hunted them across wild plains, ready to cut them down in the dark."

I turned to meet his eyes and dropped my attempts at meek submission. "I have suffered more than one misery in the last week. I want only to return home." I licked my lips and nodded to the pack that held my sword. "With what is mine."

"I hate to say it, but I cannot let you go."

"I am no threat to you or your lord. I will not harm anyone. I will not even stop to rest, only ride south until I am gone from your territory and safely in my own."

The captain turned his gaze back to the far horizon. "I hear the sincerity in your voice, but this matter is beyond me."

"I found you your bandits. You'd been hunting them for days, and I led you to them."

"And it will not be forgotten," he said gravely.

"Who would blame you if you let me get away? Take those men to justice, and you'll be praised."

He shook his head, cutting me short. "You've got an earnest spirit, child, but I cannot be swayed. I know what my lord wishes."

"The Lord of Tirah? I know about these lords. He would likely welcome me as a friend."

"You?"

"Oh, yes," I said. "My father served your city well."

"Did he, really? What service was this, then?"

Before I could answer, the wizard Dellis spoke from the captain's other side. "Enough! Interrogate the prisoner if you wish, Tanner, but do not let him plead his case. I am bound as much as you to see the Tower traitors brought back to Tirah."

"Traitors?" I snarled at him. "Those are strong words from a weak-willed magician slinking in shadows. My people are heroes and saviors."

The captain dropped a heavy hand on my shoulder. I hadn't realized I'd moved so close to him, but he pushed me out to arm's length. "Right now, you are a prisoner. And we have lords and Justices to settle matters such as this."

"Justices? In Tirah?" I asked.

"My master Seriphenes is as good as one," the wizard said. "And he shall see to you."

Seriphenes. The name hit me like a thunderclap. He was a villain out of my father's stories, not a real man, not someone I might meet. The captain watched me recoil in terror and then struggle to regain control, but his expression told me nothing. He only waited, apparently curious to see what I would do next.

I nearly tried to break and run, but this man would ride me down. I knew it for a fact. He looked kind and compassionate right now, but he would not lapse in his duty. There was too much of Caleb to him.

But staying with them only left me a trial before Seriphenes. Even a slim chance of escape—even a quick death at the captain's hand—might be preferable to that. Still the captain hadn't blinked. Still he watched my eyes.

I swallowed hard and asked, "Your lord is not a cruel man?"

"He is firm and fair. These times would brook no other."

"And this Justice Seriphenes—"

"Is three days' ride from here, at the Academy. And he is not an appointed Justice, but he will come to offer advice if my lord has need of him."

I closed my eyes and took an easier breath. "He will have no need. Your lord will set me free."

"Perhaps," the captain said. "That would be best for all."

"That will not happen," Dellis said with gleeful malice. "This boy defeated my workings in a way we've never seen before. The Masters will want to know more of that."

I shook my head. "No. I don't...I didn't do anything. Your magic just fell apart."

"That does not happen," Dellis sneered.

"It's not my fault!" I turned back to the captain. "Would you really let the wizards take me?"

Before the captain could answer, Dellis cackled. "You appeal to Captain Tanner? He's just a lawman. He can't defy the Academy."

I did my best to ignore the wizard, but panic whined in my voice. "Captain?"

He met my gaze with one of helpless pity. "It is a matter for my lord to decide."

"I've...I've done no wrong," I mumbled. "I
helped
you."

"And it will not be forgotten," he said. The wizard scoffed, but the captain ignored him and went on. "Just come quietly, and we will see it sorted out."

Before I could protest more, before the wizard could sling new threats, the captain spurred his horse ahead, dragging me along in his wake. I fought for hours to calm my hammering heart.

If the apprentice hadn't mentioned Seriphenes, I might not have been so afraid. I still had no idea what had happened with his magic, but I might have enjoyed a visit to the Academy. Though I knew my father had studied there, Father had never spoken of it much. Still, for everything he'd accomplished, he must have had admirers and friends there.

But Master Seriphenes was the opposite. A vision swam up in my mind, crafted entirely from a child's imagination: a towering giant, gaunt and pale and crackling with malevolent magic. He had tortured my father in some dark prison. He had challenged him at the Tower's gates. He had set the king against us.

And this shadowy Dellis was his apprentice. I shivered at the thought. There had been another apprentice once, the spoiled lordling Archus who had tried to feed my father to a dragon. How much of that had been the master's will? How much of the story was dramatic fancy? If even a fraction of it were true, my father's name could be my doom.

Had I given it at all? No. I'd only claimed to be from the Tower. If I could keep my identity concealed, perhaps Seriphenes would pay me no mind. I'd hoped to find as warm a reception from the Lord of Tirah as I'd gotten from the Lord of Cara, and that would be difficult without naming my heritage.

But I had done no wrong. That would have to be my best defense. I would go before this lord with quiet humility, offer testimony against the bandits who'd beset me, and apologize for any trouble I had caused. With luck and a shred of mercy, I could be free by midday, purchase new supplies in the city, and be ready to go home again by sunset.

Sunrise came and went while I was considering these things, and by the light of day I remembered the quiet escort on our flanks. The captain's men were careful and they knew the land, but I caught glimpses of them from time to time, and they always looked alert.

A cloud of dust trailed after us, too, where the captain's other force followed with the bandit crew. We had left them far behind, pressing as hard as we were, and I saw a frown touch the captain's mouth when he noticed. He didn't slow his pace.

We still were not on any road, moving over rolling hills tall with wild grass. An hour after dawn we topped a wide rise, and there below was the mighty city of Tirah. The paved Whitefalls Road cut across the plains straight as a razor's edge to east and west. The city sat bisected on that road, a perfect square penned in by high stone walls.

And here, just as at Cara, I saw the stains of the last ten years. The road and walls alike were scorched black in uneven splotches. The farmlands outside the city walls grew wild now, the grasses high and healthy, but the farmhouses scattered here and there were all burned down to ash and stone.

Yet unlike Cara, Tirah had no missing blocks, no streets still halfway through rebuilding. From our vantage we could see inside the walls, and by the look of it the dragons hadn't ever done much damage there. Above the city, bands of blue and gold hung in the air, miles wide and woven out of wizards' power. A pang of homesickness stabbed me at the sight, for this was a trick they'd stolen from my father.

"The monsters never burned Tirah," I said.

"Only at the very first," the captain said. "And, no, not much. The wizards served us well."

"Indeed," Dellis said from his other side. "And now your lord will have an opportunity to remember it."

"Your service to my squad will be remembered, too," the captain said. "Now shut your mouth, if you would. I grow tired of your threats."

Anger flashed like fire in the wizard's dark eyes. He directed it all at me, though I had said nothing. But he held his tongue, and after a moment the captain gave a satisfied nod.

"I have been too long on the road," the captain said. "Let us end this."

As we descended the broad slope, the captain's men emerged from the tall grasses and came to join us. Nearer the city's gates, a band of riders came to meet us, too. They wore the livery of the Lord of Tirah on loose tabards over heavy chain armor. At a gesture from the captain, the new arrivals fell in around us, swelling our escort until we approached the city as a force two dozen strong.

The wizard slipped farther and farther away as new riders joined us, and he disappeared down an alley almost as soon as we passed the gates. It took me only a moment to guess what he was up to. He meant to send a message to Seriphenes and bring him down upon me. Would he use a rider or a pigeon, or could he contact the Academy through magic? Magic seemed most likely.

But there was no question of escape for me. The captain and I rode at the heart of this knot of guards, and I was still tied by a lead to his horse. I had no choice but to follow him. And as we made our way toward the palace atop the city's modest hill, we gathered a rolling crowd of spectators. They spoke among themselves, passing rumors and growing more excited as we went. I heard someone say, "Old Jim's crew," and another, "Caught at last."

I recognized their misunderstanding a moment before someone threw a stone. I had enough slack in my bonds to duck, and the fist-sized rock just missed my head before smashing into the captain's armored chest.