Balikan wrinkled his nose in disgust at the odor. The corpses weren't rotting yet, but their bowels had emptied, and the gallons of blood that had seeped into the gravel had its own aroma. Vulpine had barely noticed; he'd been around corpses so often the odor had little effect on him.
"By the bones," Balikan said softly. "Who could have done this?"
"That, my young friend, is an excellent question."
"I don't see Shay's body. Could he-?"
"Doubtful," said Vulpine. "Shay's never held a bow in his life. Nor has he displayed much in the way of a spine. He probably groveled for mercy when the slavecatchers caught up to him. Someone else killed these dragons. They must have been hidden in the trees."
Balikan scanned the steep bank, his eyes darting from branch to branch.
"I don't think they're still around," said Vulpine. "These corpses are at least twelve hours old. Maybe sixteen."
"How can you tell?"
Vulpine nudged the twisted talon of the nearest corpse with a hind-claw. "They plainly didn't die today. The bodies are cold and stiff-it takes several hours to lose body heat, although one cold night on a damp bank can do it. Rigor mortis sets in little by little-the degree these limbs are contracted tells me it hasn't reached its peak. I also know it's not been more than a day because the buzzards haven't made much progress."
Balikan shuddered. "I've never been around this many dead bodies."
"Get used to it," said Vulpine. "You'll see many more in the coming days."
"Why, sir?"
"King Albekizan kept this kingdom stable for almost half a century. Now he's dead, and his son didn't last a month before a human assassinated him. The humans have taken advantage of all this instability and captured Dragon Forge, just to the west of here." He pointed to the brownish tint in the sky, evidence of the distant smokestacks. "I suspect that's where Shay is, along with Chapelion's books."
"Then he's escaped for good," said Balikan.
"Nonsense," said Vulpine. "I've had a few slaves vanish on me over the years. I can't claim a perfect record. But I've never let a slave go when I still had a lead simply because pursuing that lead was dangerous. Dragon Forge is a magnet for slaves. Shay and these two fools were among the first to hear the rumors and make a break for it, but they won't be the last. Our jobs are going to be much more difficult if the humans are allowed to hold on to Dragon Forge. It's imperative that we sky-dragons act now to strangle this revolution while it's still in its cradle."
"But, the humans defeated an army of sun-dragons!" said Balikan. "They slaughtered earth-dragons by the thousands. Why will we fare any better?"
Vulpine chuckled. "Besting an earth-dragon isn't so hard. In my experience, the average human is twice as smart as an earth-dragon. Sun-dragons might be as smart as the humans, but they're also bullies. They're used to winning fights due to their size, but if a few of them get hurt, the rest turn tail and run. They don't know the first thing about real courage-and next to nothing about strategy-because they don't need it. When evolution has left you with the deadliest jaws in the food chain, you get used to solving all your problems with your teeth. We sky-dragons are made of different stuff. Our brains might be half the size of sun-dragons, but we actually bother to use them. We study the world. We learn things. Brute force failed to break the rebellion at Dragon Forge. It's time for a more thoughtful approach."
"You have a plan in mind?"
"The rough outlines of one, yes," said Vulpine. "This isn't something we're going to be able to do alone, however. We should go consult with Chapelion."
"So it's back to the College of Spires."
"No," said Vulpine. "To the Grand Library of the High Biologian. That's where Chapelion will be by now. He's bringing some order to this chaos."
"How?"
Vulpine ignored him. "Our second priority should be reconnaissance. Let's study the area and gather the information we'll need to solve this problem once and for all. They say the new bows can reach out up to a mile… but there's a lot we can learn from over a mile away."
Balikan looked puzzled. "Our second priority? What's our first?"
Vulpine looked down at the bodies of the three slavecatchers. "We should build a pyre and cremate the remains of our brethren. I've known Zernex almost thirty years. He deserves a more noble end than to be pecked apart by buzzards."
"Of course," said Balikan, sounding embarrassed that this had required explanation. "What of the slaves?"
Vulpine shrugged. "Let the birds have their fill."
CHAPTER THREE:
THE CITY AS A HEART
Jandra looked down at her notes on the thick oak table beside her. "Unlatch safety," was underlined. "One second delay between spark and shot," was underlined twice. "Keep butt of gun against shoulder," had four thick lines beneath it.
She looked back across the spacious loft at the target, a round wooden shield balanced atop a stool about fifty feet away, with a feather mattress behind it, and a thick brick wall behind that. She braced herself as she aimed, gritting her teeth as she pressed the butt of the weapon firmly against her bruised shoulder. She pulled the trigger. There was a flash, a hiss, a curl of peppery smoke, then BOOM. The force rattled every bone in her body, but she kept her balance. A cloud of thick white smoke in front of her hid the target for a few seconds. When it dispersed, she found the target gone, reduced to splinters jutting from the feather mattress. A few puffs of down floated in the air.
"Bull's eye," said Burke. "That's how it's supposed to work."
Anza had her fingers in her ears. Her nose wrinkled as the acrid smoke reached her.
"Does it have to be so loud?" Jandra asked.
"Yes," said Burke. "The cannon I'm building will be even louder. It's the sound of the future, girl. Get used to it."
Jandra tried reloading the weapon the way Burke had shown her, stuffing the wad of powder-filled cotton down the barrel with the ram-rod, then stuffing the shot bag in with it. She tapped some fresh powder into the flash pan, and inserted a new fuse.
"This isn't exactly a fast weapon to reload," said Jandra.
"I'm still working on a percussion-activated cartridge," said Burke. "In the Human Age, guns took centuries to refine. I had a week."
"I wasn't criticizing your work."
Burke sighed. "Sorry if I'm defensive. I've had almost no sleep. It's got me on edge."
"Is your leg keeping you awake?"
"That's part of it. The bigger part is trying to keep this town running. Ragnar's management skills are somewhat lacking. He had no plans for securing resources like food and water, let alone coal and ore. We've had some lucky breaks so far, but it's only a matter of time before the dragons reorganize and set up a blockade. It's what I would do. Holding onto the town isn't enough. We have to be able to project force."
Anza set up a new target, the top of a crate on which the crude outline of an earth-dragon had been drawn. Jandra looked toward the fireplace, where Lizard, the earth-dragon child, sat on the hearth, staring at the flames. The scales on his back shifted slowly through shades of dull orange and red. If Lizard had been frightened by the rifle shot, he didn't show it. She wondered if he'd even recognize the outline on the board. Once Anza was clear, Jandra pulled the trigger again. She clenched her jaw as the fuse sizzled… BLAM! Her shoulder felt bruised down to the bone. Again, though, she was pleased with the results. The target was shredded.
"Okay," Jandra said, lowering the gun. "This gives me the firepower I need if I get into a bad spot. And, I still have this if I need to turn invisible." She raised her left arm, sporting the silver bracelet, the ring of invisibility she'd created for her sun-dragon friend Hex. Her former friend, to be exact, now that Hex had stolen her genie, the source of her powers. Jandra had charged the bracelet with enough reflective nanites to work a half-dozen times. Hex had used it once, to her knowledge, meaning she had five chances to vanish from sight if needed.