“Inyene’s not in her throne room.” Abioye cut to the chase. “She’s with Dagan Mar, preparing the capture of the black dragon…I mean – they can’t, because he’s here, right – but anyway,” Abioye said quickly. “She’s left the scepter unguarded, and she’s raised the other mechanical dragons, and they are scouring the Masaka’s southern slopes for the dragon. There might never be another chance like this again!”
I held Abioye’s gaze for a moment, making sure that I could see the truth in what he said. He appeared too high with emotion in order to be lying, so I nodded. “Then we have to go, now.” I turned to Montfre. “The staff – will it work?”
The young mage was busy doing things to the staff, running his hands up and down before stopping at various places as if on a whim, making small notches or markings with a blade, and then beginning again. As I watched, his eyes took on a strange intensity, and I could almost see them giving off a certain brightness – although I couldn’t be sure in this lantern light.
“Aldarn wood? Oh yes, yes indeed,” Montfre muttered, shutting his eyes and raising the stick, point-wise, upwards in front of himself.
I felt something in my stomach, a jittering sort of feeling. But it wasn’t the cold, uncomfortable dis-ease that the mechanical dragons inspired. It was similar, but not the same.
“Strength of wood, whose roots burrow deep into the earth,” Montfre muttered, raising the staff still higher. “Whose limbs withstand the strongest storms, whose might can split mountains!”
Crack! There was a resounding snap of thunder and a flash of light as the mage brought the staff straight down against the manacles between his feet. When the flash receded from my eyes, I saw that the iron manacles had split apart, and that the rounded end of the staff was now scorched and blackened.
“I think she will do very nicely,” Montfre said, testing the newfound reach with his legs.
“It must be powerful enough to destroy the scepter!” I marveled, but Montfre had different ideas.
“Oh no. I’m afraid we won’t be able to destroy the scepter so easily!” he said, appalled.
What? My heart clutched. That was the whole point, wasn’t it?
“It took me three moons to create it, and twice as long in preparatory rituals,” Montfre said. “Although it won’t take nearly so long to unmake the sorceries binding it together – it will still be no easy feat!”
I opened and closed my mouth for a second as I tried to rethink. Nothing changes, I thought. “We steal the scepter. Inyene won’t be able to use her mechanical dragons against us, and then we send Ymmen in.” I grinned.
“Ymmen? Is that your—?” Abioye said lightly.
“My friend, yes, it is. Come on… you’ll get the chance to meet him!” I said with a victorious smile and turned to lead our small party up the stairs, and towards freedom.
“Poison Berry!” Ymmen greeted Abioye as soon as he got to the top of Montfre’s tower.
“He’s… big,” Abioye murmured, almost making me laugh out loud. Why are people always so surprised when they see him? I rolled my eyes.
Ymmen enjoyed the attention though, filling his chest and rising up on his haunches so that he was even larger. Abioye gulped and sank to one knee. “Sir dragon, I am Abioye D’Lia,” I heard him say in a tremulous voice. “And I fear that my family has done you a disservice.”
“They have.” I heard Ymmen’s words clearly in my mind as he lowered his head towards Abioye very, very slowly. The meaning was clear – Ymmen did not forgive him yet. For his part, I saw Abioye nod seriously that he had understood, and back away, and for Ymmen to relax his posture once again. Strangely, I felt approval from the part of my mind that was Ymmen. The older dragon seemed to value honesty very highly indeed.
But there was no time left to lose, I knew. Who knew when Inyene and her guards would be heading back to her throne room – if they weren’t there already? The only problem left, was…
“How many people can you carry, Ymmen?” I looked skeptically at his claws, and then at the four of us.
“No – we can’t use the mighty dragon,” Montfre cut in, with a gracious nod to Ymmen. “Although I cannot wait for the opportunity, sir dragon,” he added. “But as soon as the guards see this magnificent beast approach the keep, I am sure that every alarm will go off in an instant. We will need to gain access to the throne room without raising alarm.” The mage’s eyes turned to regard the dormant mechanical dragon on the other side of the tower top instead.
No! I thought immediately. The very thought of sitting atop that beast was insulting.
“Nari,” Tamin said, and although he looked as disgusted as I did, his voice was somber as he said, “It’s the only way if we want to have a chance at freeing out people.”
I growled in frustration, and it was echoed by Ymmen above. But even in my anger I could see the sense of his words. “Okay.”
“If Ymmen will take me, I will stay with him,” Tamin said, looking abashed for a second. “My fighting days are long over anyway… and this way you will have an extra pair of hands on the outside.”
Once again, I had to agree. I wasn’t eager to throw my god-uncle into the middle of a fight against Inyene’s guards if it came to it. But…
“I don’t have any weapons aside from a sharpened bit of stone,” I said, and Montfre suddenly exclaimed, “Aha! Perhaps I can now help with that!” He turned and, with his recently freed legs, ran down into the recesses of the tower, only to return a little while later carrying a bundle of cloth – and in it was the knife with the curved blade-point, engraved with stylized dragons.
The Lady Artifex’s dagger. I recognized the weapon in surprise. It was the same one that had been in the shrine-chest Tamin and I had uncovered. But I had been certain that Maribet One-Eye had stolen it for herself, just like she had pilfered the Earth lights in the shrine. But I remembered how nervy my old overseer had looked when Abioye had started talking about ‘those who steal mine artefacts’. She must have returned it to the box when no one was looking.
My mouth went dry when I looked up to see that Montfre was presenting the dagger to me. I knew that Montfre trusted me, of course, but to be given the weapon that the dragon-lady who had seemed so strong and independent herself had wielded. I felt humbled.
“It was once carried by a dragon friend, so I see no better reason for it not to be given to another!” he beamed. “Inyene brought it to me to investigate a few days ago.” He scowled a little. “She knew that, even if I had a weapon, she still had me under lock and key anyway and could easily overpower me with her guards.”
“Well, not after tonight, my friend,” I said, as Abioye vaulted onto the back of the mechanical dragon, waiting for Montfre and I to follow suit.
No, not after tonight, I promised myself. Tonight is when everything is going to change.
Chapter 19
The Keep
Riding on the back of the mechanical dragon with Abioye in front of me and Montfre behind me was unlike anything that I had ever experienced.